mngpanda

If they think cliche conflicts would help ratings, then at least they should make it more clear of villain's motive and better balance success and failure sequence. Probably they also revised other parts of the script where Pyos didn't show up, such as Thailand plot as the writing and directing were quite messy too.

This drama really had the potential to hit >15% if they got the same quality as early episodes but unfortunately missed the chance. I've seen some comments saying they continue watching it just for the actors; otherwise the ratings might only be 5-6% like Good Boy which was also heavily criticized for having underwhelming and repetitive plot.

Mark (ep15) is a corporate raider who targets small and medium-sized companies during the IMF period, he makes money off of other people's failures. The premise had good potential to develop into a compelling plot like Typhoon trading vs corporate raider and grasp deeper narrative but the writer didn't fully utilize it, ultimately resorting to personal grudges with Pyo again.

Definitely

RIP

This is popular comments especially among Knetz, many people (including myself) tuned in with the expectation that the hardship ML experienced in biz arc would be related to IMF crisis and there would have some workplace narratives. However, the writer chose the easiest approach - creating obstacles through a flat villain and repeating the same pattern throughout all episodes. Most of the plot involving the villain was unrelated to the crisis itself. The show had a good start so I'm quite surprise that they didn't invest in writing good business plot as its the backbone of the story. The drama depicts the growth of young ceo amid saving a company, if the business narrative couldn't deliver then the whole show would be downgraded.

Based on how the drama has progressed so far, they probably need at least 100+ episodes to grow Typhoon trading into a more sizable company...The biggest shortfall right now is the business storytelling but tbh from character and relationship building prospective, this is a good drama. It would be great if it's a long-running weekend series (50+ episodes), focusing on life of ML and FL's families/ friends during IMF era whereas the company story as a subplot and Ryo as a business competitor iso a villain.

Actually the inclusion of a villain in this drama was not necessary, his existence was unrelated to IMF background but merely served to create same pattern of problems for the mainleads. Given this setting, the motive of his actions should be convincing and rational but somehow those aspects were lacking.

Can't compare the acting requirements for a drama with crisis background vs a lighthearted fluffy show.

Enjoyed the first season sm, can’t wait for this.

ok seated

This one looks like a big production, and Jang Hyuk is back.

Best comment from Knetz: The biggest villain of this drama is not Pyo, its the writer XD

Usually actors only got scripts for the first 4-6 episodes when they receive an offer, so the script quality for the remaining episodes couldn't be guaranteed, the risk is even higher if it's an original story by a rookie writer like this one. It's rare for a top actor like LJH to star in two consecutive projects by new writers. He may be one of the few who truly supports original stories and newbies, but as a viewer who considers him a trustworthy actor, I'd much rather he choose scripts adapted from novels/ webtoon, or original works by experienced screenwriters. There are good works by rookie writers, but it all depends on luck.

The only kdrama sequel I've been waiting for, yay!

A Shop for Killers Season 2 YES! The 2026 lineup is more impressive than that of Netflix.

He is a great actor, want to see him more

yeah the tuk tuk, photo drop and courtroom scenes were like a 'low budget comedy' with nonsense all over the place XD and then ML's sudden confession without build up and not logical while he did it on the way of rescuing Majin.

Yes they better focus on whatever they are good at : slice-of-life, relationship and characters development (but ML s/b strengthened).  The Thailand arc unfortunately exposed further the weakness in writing intensive plot twist and business narratives. As some others aldy commented, it's more appropriate for the writer to depict actual business issues in a trading co. during IMF rather than a series of over dramatic/ unrealistic problems and solutions. The tone will be more consistent with a realistic slice of life story in earlier episodes.  Hopefully they will improve pacing starting next episode, otherwise the finale will be rushed.

I am okay with constant failure and struggles in a coming of age story, and even can accept only a final win at the end. Just the process of achieving it gotta be interesting and engaging. The writer was poor at writing plot twist in business hurdles.