life is a drama

It seems like those complaining about Argan did not pay attention to the first episode or notice the certificates in his office Paek Saeon was FBI trained in crisis management/hostage negotiations. He was in active war zone for years, he only worked in the Presidential office because of pressure from his family. Both Hong Hee Joo and Paek Saeon are pursuing careers of their dreams. HHJ merged her dreams of being an anchor with being able to sign, you cant undo the past trauma but you can embrace the new you, what was once her punishment gives her renewed purpose.

I just wish they gave something more to say to Senior Hong to explain his POV, his silence didn't add depth just confused us.

wowwwwww was that him amazing. most korean actors if not all are such great singers.

A near perfect drama.
If there was any big plot holes or things that did not make sense it was Senior Mr. and Mrs. Hong, what did Chairman Hong really gain from supporting the family that murdered his son (if it was all about money/power this did not come across well) and worst is Mrs Hong this woman had no redeeming qualities yet they tried to gaslight us into thinking noooooo she does love her daughter, lets call FUBAR on this.
Paik Sa Eon is an excellently written character, everything he did/said was in line with the psychology of this character that was well developed and presented with nuance. The final action of fleeing does make sense if you understood his trauma. YYS gets full marks on his performance.
Hong Hee Joo had a tough challenge to hold her own against a very charismatic ML and give full credit to CSB for able to portray HHJ with silent strength. She was not just a romantic tool, or a mere plot device, she was her own interesting person and her character had a fully evolving journey in the plot.
Final acknowledgement of excellence to the entire production team director/editor/writer, especially the screen writer for this superior adaptation.

Point 4 is critical this is why most audience get frustrated and their criticisms are invalidated. Dramas has characters that are the creation of the writers, these people are not you, so it is not about you and they will not behave like us. Every dramas has its own internal logic, and in a well written drama like WTPR this logic will be very consistent and the characters will operate within this logic (not real world) and they will react/respond accordingly to their imagined personalities.

That is the ultimate irony, Old Baek is demonic but maybe the mothers are normal that is why his 2 boys the eldest yes he is a buffoon but he is no killer and youngest is the ideal self righteous boy, so they get humanity from their mothers side. But the grandson is hit with double dose of insanity because of his own mother being a ruthless killer, she wants revenge against the old man is justified but why hurts innocent people. Paek Saeon is messed up because of mommy.

Thanks for saying this. Everyone whining about plot holes, your questions are answered in the drama, it is not the script writer's fault you are not watching carefully enough and expect to be spoof fed like a toddler.
Him disappearing was his OG plan and he warned Hee Joo this will happen and he promised her he will return, so why are we complaining about this.
Him finding out his father tried to kill 3 innocent kids would be a shock to him, he knows his father murdered his grandson over the years perhaps he justified it to himself saying real PSE was a psychopath so his father did what he had to for the greater good. But to find out that his father is just an evil ruthless cold blooded killer with nothing to redeem him would blow up his world.
Yes he is smart, but human instinct is self preservation, he didn't seriously investigate the accident or much of his father's crimes because deep down he didn't want to know, he didn't want to be the son of a monster.

Yes anything about 8 on douban means the drama is actually excellent work and it is not just fan girls delusions. Drama is not just about running on fumes of chemistry, it is actually excellent plot pacing, structure of plot, editing, production, keeping even the simple details consistent that reflects hard work of actors and professionalism of the entire team, screen writer has done a excellent job in adapting, great dialogues, fabulous acting. This drama is rated high for the right reasons.

yes that evil smirk by inho just reinforces his belief that gihun was always a hypocrite. not sure if he really genuinely had any faith gihun's goodness but inho is a purist he doesn't deal in grey, if you can't all be good all the time then you are bad trash.

South Koreans who are here on MDL, our sincere condolences and deepest sympathies over this latest tragedy that has affected your country. Any time of the year is still devastating but to happen at end of the year is morbid it feels like a curse that has doomed us all for eternal sorrow. It seems silly to discuss dramas at this time, life is unfair and death is cruel. We grieve this senseless tragedy and hope for peace for the lost souls and the families left behind.

I would vote for this plot twist but not happening lolzzzz

This drama is good with details. The only time he is not wearing his wedding ring is in the hospital.

Their relationship is irrelevant

Wait what when did they say this.

The character is a deranged psychopath are you really asking why such a man is not acting logically

Perfectly said they tick all the boxes

The reason they can't show HeeJoo significantly hurt for couple of reasons; first drama starts with a month's deadline with the presidential nomination coming up which is when the climax will happen any significant injury will take weeks or months to heal there is no time for this, second you cannot decommission your protagonist with a significant injury or stall the story with a time skip because antagonists are on attack mode they are not going to kindly wait to strike to allow her to heal. Certain sacrifices in logic has to be made for the larger narrative to work.
I don't see significant plot holes either as of now, ofcourse there are lots of secrets and we have 4 more episodes to wrap that up neatly. Final judgement should be reserved til the finale.

YYS has performed this character so well, people have wrongly assumed this looks so easy any actor could have done it. Noooooo this is a complex character, he has to be gentle but not so gentle that it diminishes his intensity, but not too intense that he becomes toxic, audience has to empathize with his hardness and sympathize with his softness. This kind of duality only a very experienced actor can pull off who has excellent control of his craft.

The actor YYS is perfectly cast in this role. Why because Baek Saeon has seen some shit and lived a stressful, unhappy life and that needs to reflect on his face. He has been a war correspondent running into bullets, hostage crisis negotiator, prime time news anchor, now he is in government in an influential position where his responsibilities are more than what we see. He has had 4 different high profile careers, rich by his own merit, obviously he will not be in his 20s or 30s. Baek Saeon is not looking weary or old, actor does an excellent job with his body language to project power with his imposing walk, his eyes have commanding intensity when he gives others the stare down, when we see wrinkles on his ace it is not about exposing his age but it is more reflection of his experience and authority over a situation. The character Baek Saeon is not just a romantic lead, character has larger function in the story than to romance the heroine, only a mature actor could have pulled off this character with ease. BTW those sexy strong veiny hands with the wedding ring that people love, it takes a certain age to get those type of hands.

Every popular drama will get its wave of naysayers, which is a good thing bad thing. People can be so childish like the OG poster said not every genre is for everyone, and what joy do people find in making insulting comments, ofcourse genuine criticisms are valid no drama is perfect this drama has its share of issues. But there is a difference between genuine concerns versus attacking the audience/actors.