I know this won't be a popular post but i would still like to express my views on the subject. I also apologize…
Very fair point. However even though Dong-jae did some really awful things in Season 1, I still can't hate him and I do root for him. In the first season, he later did reveal he cared for Eun-soo when they were at hospital when he said he wanted things to go well for her. That's why he tried giving her guidance/tips (even though maybe the tips weren't the best lol). He also played an important part in helping Shi-mok solve the case when he was the assistant for Lee Chang-joon at the Blue House. Shi-mok, having regret never trusting Eun-soo and probably realizing the assistance Dong-jae gave in helping him solve the case, is what led him to give Dong-jae another chance last season.
Also if you look the motivations for Dong-jae's actions this season, it is mostly done for his family not out of corruption. I believe this to be a sign Dong-jae has changed a bit since the event of the first season. Dong-jae works so hard and is desperate to move up the career ladder so he can stay Seoul and be with his family, and that is something many people can probably sympathize with. That being said, Dong-jae is definitely not morally upright compared to Shi-mok. Those cases he brought to Woo Tae-ha were done purely out of ambition, however Dong-jae was still nonetheless investigating those cases to find the truth (though for personal gain). He is also excluded/looked down on by other prosecutors since he never went to a top university. He is most likely aware of this and that's why he is such a weasel, but he just wants to live!
Despite the things he has done in the past and now, Dong-jae definitely did not deserve to get kidnapped like that and people probably recognize that! While he does some shady things, at the same time he does care for other people (Eun-soo, the victims of the juvenile cases he's worked on, and his junior prosecutor maybe). So Dong-jae isn't truly evil or truly good, and I suppose that's what makes him a very human character. Both Cho Seung-woo and Lee Joon-hyuk have said that Dong-jae is one the most human characters in the show, and I now understand why.
tl:dr The motivations for Dong-jae's actions this season are sympathetic and show that he's changed, and he is a very human character trying his best to live
Just finished, and honestly this drama deserves a higher score. I can see why people gave a lower score considering certain developments in the plot and/or Seohyun's sometimes flat acting, and I somewhat agree. But don't let that and the relatively low rating deter you from watching or else you'll miss out on extraordinary acting from the other main leads (especially Kim Jung Hyun), a well paced and heart breaking story, and high production values.
Hm, I might be weird but I was reading your review expecting you to trash it. A 7.5 rating and you were only talking…
True my review does sound very positive but I rated the drama at 7.5 due to the story/writing, which could've been tighter. Also the fat humour in the beginning could be considered problematic for some. I suppose I should've added that even though I enjoyed watching the drama, from a critical point of view it's not that special of a series and I felt 7.5 best represented that. Typically I try to balance my ratings by giving only ok dramas a 7, good ones a 7.5, great ones a 8/8.5, and amazing but not perfect ones a 9/9.5. Anything lower than a 7 just depends on how bad I thought it was lol
Also if you look the motivations for Dong-jae's actions this season, it is mostly done for his family not out of corruption. I believe this to be a sign Dong-jae has changed a bit since the event of the first season. Dong-jae works so hard and is desperate to move up the career ladder so he can stay Seoul and be with his family, and that is something many people can probably sympathize with. That being said, Dong-jae is definitely not morally upright compared to Shi-mok. Those cases he brought to Woo Tae-ha were done purely out of ambition, however Dong-jae was still nonetheless investigating those cases to find the truth (though for personal gain). He is also excluded/looked down on by other prosecutors since he never went to a top university. He is most likely aware of this and that's why he is such a weasel, but he just wants to live!
Despite the things he has done in the past and now, Dong-jae definitely did not deserve to get kidnapped like that and people probably recognize that! While he does some shady things, at the same time he does care for other people (Eun-soo, the victims of the juvenile cases he's worked on, and his junior prosecutor maybe). So Dong-jae isn't truly evil or truly good, and I suppose that's what makes him a very human character. Both Cho Seung-woo and Lee Joon-hyuk have said that Dong-jae is one the most human characters in the show, and I now understand why.
tl:dr The motivations for Dong-jae's actions this season are sympathetic and show that he's changed, and he is a very human character trying his best to live
9/10 from me