This review may contain spoilers
Strong Lead, Weak Story
It started off promising, and Lee Je-hoon delivered a solid performance, just like he did in Taxi Driver. His acting was consistent and engaging, but unfortunately, the story itself didn’t quite live up to the same standard. The overall plot felt scattered and lacked a clear direction, and the open ending only made things worse, it felt unsatisfying and unresolved.
SPOILERS;
Some of the best parts of the drama were the apartment grandma episode, the ChaCha gaming story, and the resort daughter one. These episodes made the show somewhat enjoyable. But the main story wasn't very strong. At first, it seemed like the chairman of Sanin was going to be the main villain, but later it turned out to be the CFO instead. Even then, the CFO’s character wasn’t written well and didn’t feel like a real threat.
The side characters didn’t help much either. Most of them felt flat, with no real personality or development. It was like they were just there to move the story along. Director Lee throughout the series, it was never explained why he supported Yun juno so strongly or why he stayed loyal to him until the end. Their relationship seemed important to the story, but it wasn’t properly explored, which made it feel confusing, The CFO, who ended up being the real villain, didn’t have a strong presence, and his motives weren’t clear or interesting. Even though the show started by making the Sanin chairman look like the main bad guy, that twist didn’t feel exciting because the CFO’s character wasn’t built up properly.
The ending was really frustrating. At the end, the CFO shows up as a director from Samoel Fund, but it didn’t make sense why he wasn’t punished more for everything he did. The final scene with Theo (Director of Samoel Fund) also didn’t make much sense. It felt like they were trying to tease a possible Season 2, but it was done badly. Honestly, it didn’t feel like a proper conclusion, and I don’t think the show will get renewed for a second season.
Overall, Art of Negotiation was a letdown. Even though LJH did a good job and there were a few nice moments, the story didn’t come together well or felt satisfying. I expected it to be better.
SPOILERS;
Some of the best parts of the drama were the apartment grandma episode, the ChaCha gaming story, and the resort daughter one. These episodes made the show somewhat enjoyable. But the main story wasn't very strong. At first, it seemed like the chairman of Sanin was going to be the main villain, but later it turned out to be the CFO instead. Even then, the CFO’s character wasn’t written well and didn’t feel like a real threat.
The side characters didn’t help much either. Most of them felt flat, with no real personality or development. It was like they were just there to move the story along. Director Lee throughout the series, it was never explained why he supported Yun juno so strongly or why he stayed loyal to him until the end. Their relationship seemed important to the story, but it wasn’t properly explored, which made it feel confusing, The CFO, who ended up being the real villain, didn’t have a strong presence, and his motives weren’t clear or interesting. Even though the show started by making the Sanin chairman look like the main bad guy, that twist didn’t feel exciting because the CFO’s character wasn’t built up properly.
The ending was really frustrating. At the end, the CFO shows up as a director from Samoel Fund, but it didn’t make sense why he wasn’t punished more for everything he did. The final scene with Theo (Director of Samoel Fund) also didn’t make much sense. It felt like they were trying to tease a possible Season 2, but it was done badly. Honestly, it didn’t feel like a proper conclusion, and I don’t think the show will get renewed for a second season.
Overall, Art of Negotiation was a letdown. Even though LJH did a good job and there were a few nice moments, the story didn’t come together well or felt satisfying. I expected it to be better.
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