Crime or is it?

Although it's from 2007 but it feels even older for some reason, regardless, crime drama from that era all do lean heavily on the drama aspect over crime/action/thriller aspects. All the cases were personal and connected to the characters which some of them also were connected to the main big case. The romance was quick and brief, I miss Go Hyun Jung older roles prior to 2010, I feel they were better than whatever she is doing now.

Young Du was the worst case/plot line, about 4 episodes wasted on his lame boring-ass pity face. On the other hand, I love when Ma Dong Seok start flipping tables. The main villain lacked proper building and depth, they just gave him a generic mentally ill/psycho personality, they often do that a lot from that era. Although it's a crime focused drama but the police force/H.I.T was often an embarrassment.

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Barely passable...

Keep in mind this is pure makjang, it was purposely made to trigger the viewers especially with Do Hyun (Soo In's husband) pathetic plot line which I see a lot of people complaining about it trying to defend Do Hyun, unrightfully though. Just like any other makjang the story kicks off with the classic move of incompetent authorities/justice system. Unfortunately, it doesn't get any better after that, it's infested with stupid characters and weak dialogue. Han Ji Hye didn't seem to be a good fit to play Soo In character by being too tame and soft spoken, she often shines more in other roles where she's vibrant, outspoken and bold. Soo In as a character lacked proper characterization and depth in the first place, she was written as a generic "very nice" girl, replacing her with any other actress wouldn't have had made a difference.

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No.

Disappointing ending/resolutions. None of the other couples deserve to be happy, especially Mi Joo. I don't even want to continue writing this comment for how pissed it left me. It's not like the drama was fine either, to summarize it, it's infested with multitude of problems following every "what not to do" in a family drama.

Jae Min's father and Mi Joo's mother shouldn't be allowed to be together for the exact same reason why Jae Min and Ha Kyeong weren't allowed to be together. The circumstances are identical!

Avoid this drama, there are countless better family drama out there.

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It's watchable...

The name of the game is to make everyone related to one another. Lost children, swapped children, hidden identity and birth secrets, everyone gotta be an extension of the big family tree somehow. The characters' tree is absolutely massive and confusing, it took me a hot minute to mentally arrange everyone's connection to one another within the family. There are 4-5 generations all moved in together from the great great parents to the kids' kids even their relatives and in-laws.

Park Eun Bin might be the shortest adult character in the drama even the grandma is taller than her,
meanwhile Lee Tae Hwan is the tallest character in the drama. Their massive height difference made them cute together, she can't even reach his nipple lol. On the other hand, it's quite ironic how cheesy their love story is while both of them are working on producing a cheesy romance drama.

The drama's biggest downfall is the vengeful male lead David Lee. One of the worst poorly executed revenge stories in a "family" drama ever. It simply doesn't fit the narrative or the atmosphere. Even more it ruins any graceful progression and resolution the story would have had. This is also why David Lee and Jung Eun story sucked royally. With how this ordeal took place it was impossible to give them a decent ending. Overall, the drama is watchable 4.5/10 .

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issa okay-ish

Weirdly enough, most of the main leads story don't feel more than side stories. The main focus/conflict is Kevin Miller and people connected to him. Go Jung Do is there for first 20-ish episodes then he turned to a guest character with the purpose of giving reactions. His story was cut short, he disappeared in the last 10 episode then got a quick update at the end but we didn't know how he made up with his wife. Why make him and his wife main characters in the first place if you gonna neglect them. Speaking of neglect, I wish the divorce plot was given more attention, it would create a better dynamic. The synopsis/plot and the drama started with them but they weren't given more than 5 episodes about their divorce issue. Also, Jung Do's mother who created a massive mess and was considered the main villain suddenly disappears around episode 30. Finally, the female lead doesn't feel like one, barely given any attention to her character writing and most of the other characters stand out more than her.

The drama had a big issue with pacing, plot layout and incoherent writing for the reasons I listed above. One thing really bugged me is how every single secret was blown out of proportions like it was a world ending event. The drama itself is fine, casual family drama with some melo, I was just expecting more of it.

Most of Seo Hyo Rim roles are the usual evil female antagonist but in this drama she's the exact opposite and it's great. Hopefully we can see more of that in future drama.

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it's kinda watchable.

Weak ending! After all this commotion, the absolute bare minimum they could do is to slap a better ending, it left me with a bitter taste. The flashback in the first 4 episodes made the drama to have a weak start. What a joke of a revenge story this is! Forgiving most parties this easily and seeing them becoming ideal human beings with a flip of switch. They ruined many lives over the years and eventually they faced no consequences. Isn't it ironic that Seok Hyun's daughter is a piece of shit psycho despite how deep his love for her mother was?

The number of cast members felt too small for a 50 episode drama. Subsequently, the story also felt limited for what it had to offer and the plot stretched too thin. A long jaded 50 episode of push and pull between the Kang's family members, they had an opportunity to build a bigger plot but not much was going on beyond the Kang's house. The entire plot line of "marrying for revenge" is a whole big mess I don't want to get into.

The drama had one of the weakest female leads in a revenge story. Throughout the 50 episodes all we can see is her being tossed around from everyone like a piece of trash. Even when she attempts to fight back it's weak af. A proper female lead for a revenge story is a one that gets fierce, offensive and aggressive in the second half. This drama also had "things that were too excessive but I guess it's a melodrama" kind of cliches: the parrot, shipping container, steel beams, 15 adults chasing 1 7-yo girl, satellite images and questionable technical stuff. Overall, it's kinda watchable.

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Not good!

It's just another generic crime/thriller drama full of comical plot holes. No wonder Go Hyun Jung dropped out from the drama. Her character was poorly written and barely given meaningful screen-time or attention. At least she dropped mid way because as we were approaching the ending her character was made like a clown. With the change of actress the story got bad instantly and they revealed the entire mystery of the story in episode 16-17, there was nothing left you might as well end it there.

The selection of cast members was doomed to fail anyway. Choi Ja Hye playing dump didn't fit the narrative most of the time. The last 10 episodes had utterly boring stretch of nothingness. I disliked the change of actress, the change of story direction that came with it and the lame-ass ending.

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Average at best.

I didn't watch the American version so I don't have a point of comparison and will treat it as stand alone drama. I didn't like the direction it took and their choice for the final antagonist. I didn't like the inclusion of romance in this one, it felt flat and unnecessary. They tried to add background story to every character but most of them didn't work well. Yun Woo's old friends and grandma, Na Joo Hee and Ji Na's mother, none of them had a meaningful impact. The number of cases were too few for 16 episodes, I was expecting more lawyers shenanigans and less melo fluff. The climax and its ending didn't feel that satisfying. Overall, it's average at best.

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Decent

It was alright although it dragged, they should have filled the middle parts with random interesting cases rather than solely focusing on the main antagonist or expand more on the main story with more events other than his mistress and her kid. It followed the approach of "the only thing stopping the bad guy is the drama writer reaching the last episode". I liked the leads initial interactions but later it became a background noise, would have been nice if they were given a better development/story. On an unrelated note, Jung Soo Young showed unexpected sexy side.

It was mentioned that Kim Min Jung was meant to be the female lead but was replaced due to an injury, although I really like her as an actress but I don't think she would have been a good fit to play Joo Jae In character or to be a matching item with the male lead. Yoon So Yi did a good job as is for this role.

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Absolutely great start, okay ending and below average middle parts.

Absolutely great start, okay ending and kinda below average middle parts. Once the fantasy elements/devil was revealed to the characters one by one (eps13), the drama got goofy, comical, cheap and turned generic. The ending was okay but underwhelming. The light saber fight was bad, like seriously bad! I wonder if the screenwriters were changed after the initial episodes. The drama is still watchable but a huge potential was wasted. Feeling 5.5/10 at best!

Let's talk about hairstyles. Why most of the characters got a similar long-ish hair style? It didn't hit with me seeing Jung Kyung Ho with a long hair, I'm too used to his usual short hair. On the other hand, Lee El with the short blond hair was an absolute stellar!

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Will leave you with more to be desired.

Strong start that's guaranteed to keep you hooked but it doesn't remain consistent. Episodes 11 to 16 were too flawed, full of plot holes, illogical sequence of events, change of mood and pace. The quality as well took a dip compared to how polished it was in the earlier parts, it became too tame and lost the energy. Some plot lines/characters/situations were cartoonish and didn't fit the serious theme of the drama. I wish they showed more of his family and their dynamics, given their bizarre sudden situation. There were only given a couple of scenes at the beginning and another at the end.

The LGBTQ plot line felt off and out of place, it didn't even go anywhere. Some of the obstacles/challenges weren't interesting to follow, tackling real serious issues would have been better. The "villains" and their motives were a bit underwhelming, we were led for something greater with the build up we had. The antagonists might be its weakest point.

Anyway, great acting by the president, it's still a solid watch but will leaves you with more to be desired. 7.5/10

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Another YUCKY brain dead love triangle!

Comically over dramatic and another YUCKY brain dead love triangle :/

The first 5 episodes were the worst, how did they manage to hook the viewers! No wonder they were teasing short snippets from events that will happen in episode 18. It's bullshit how many traits/habits/quirks they gave Soo Yeon for the ML to identify her, we get it she's the girl.

Hyung Joon presence was exhausting, an obsessed mentally ill rich dude who always plays the victim and seeks pity from everyone in every possible situation. Even the character's actor wasn't that good. Meanwhile, Jung Woo is arguably the worst cop/detective you'll ever see in a drama. The dude got beaten up and lost to every thug he went against. How did this weak-ass-bitch graduated?

One more thing, cringe ending :/

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It's a passable family drama

Obviously, Hye Won and Jae Ha were the highlights but I wanted to see more of them in the second half. Their story was almost finished mid way through, why not create more arcs for them? At least they were cute af at the end. I said it before and I'mma say it again, Lee Yoon Ji is one of the most underrated actresses.

It's a passable family drama but lacks some focus on a bigger scoop. Every chunk of episodes focus on a different character/story. They missed the opportunity to make the three sisters' dynamic as the main focus, it was, but for a short period and brushed off fairly quickly. Regarding conflicts and escalations, the writer seems to know one and only one way to achieve that, this is done by isolating the victim and shift all the blame to them by everyone including their family. This was done repeatedly to most of the characters/stories, it makes it hard to watch when it's this detached from common sense. They went overboard by showing that they live in an extremely sexist society, this is not 1920 anymore, again this also comes down to how the writer choose to create conflicts. The overcooked "happy moments" for the last episode felt off and just had too much artificial flavor. Especially with this wacky 10-years promise for Ji Won, just be normal.

My god! What's wrong with Min Myeong Suk, he's abusive, toxic, manipulative, mastermind in gaslighting and borderline misogynistic. Really got on my nerves! I just wanted a better resolution for Ji Won at the end.

Anyway, it's watchable. I'm just too harsh with my ratings.

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Irredeemable

This drama was destined to fail from the beginning. Some of original selected main cast dropped off. Some cast controversies prior to filming. It was cut down from 50 episodes to 26 with premature ending. Conflict between cast. Lee Tae Im absence in the last 5 episodes because she got into an accident, they were even planning to replace her but the drama ended anyway. The writing department suffered immensely, the drama was full of delirious characters. Some complain how stupid Soon Jung is but the real smooth brain is actually Soon Jin, I believe apes have higher intellectual abilities. No wonder why the broadcast ratings were abysmal. Thankfully, it ended early anyway.

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Solid

I'm not a fan of the writing style that pushes the viewers too hard to interpret and speculate. You're expected to accept whatever is present to you. If writers were to do so, they need a better structure and understanding of world building. Take for example the British series Utopia, it does it brilliantly.

The director must really love the Dolly zoom, although it looked good but I wish there was more visual variations even at the cost of it being experimental. You are already pushing your skill ceiling in all departments so why not shoot for the moon?

Anyway, it's a solid watch and will probably appeal to everyone.

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