Money Game (2020)

One thing that viewers should be aware of before watching Money Game is that it is an economics drama and it stays true to its genre. Therefore, someone who has no knowledge of economics will be very confused when they watch this drama. Even with a general understanding of economics, I sometimes found certain conversations difficult to follow, but despite this, the drama was very gripping and had me on the edge of my seat each episode. If you don’t want to be completely confused in the beginning, I’d recommend at least reading a little bit about the IMF Crisis and neo-liberalism before you start this drama.

Story
While not perfect, the pacing of this drama is excellent. Not too slow, not too fast. Many dramas start off well, but eventually lose track of their momentum around the latter half, but this does not happen with Money Game. Each episode plays an important part in driving the drama towards its finality. Attention is paid well to the details of each scene and the dialogue of each character so that everything is well connected to the story as a whole. I do think the drama could've gone more into depth on the rationale behind why some characters believe that capitalism and neoliberalism is bad and vice versa.

There technically is no romance in this story, but there is a very subtle “romance” that was unexpectedly very engrossing despite not being the central part of the drama.

Acting/Cast
The acting in this drama is phenomenal, especially by the main four leads (technically, main three leads and a side character who doesn’t feel as if he is a side character).

As always, Lee Sung Min did a great job portraying Heo Jae as a multi-layered character who is very driven and willing to compromise his moral beliefs to achieve what he think is for the better good. Throughout the drama, it is difficult to easily say whether he is “good” or “bad” because he has very believable, although maybe not justifiable, reasons for his actions. His frustrations with the 1997 IMF Crisis and South Korea’s current economy are understandable as they are debatable.

Go Soo portrayed Chae Yi Hun very well as probably the most human character in the drama for me. He is intelligent and ambitious, but also gets lost along the way, becomes unsure of what he’s working towards, and sometimes lets his emotions affect how he treats the people around him. However, he is a character that truly cares for other people and is able to reflect on his actions and even apologize to his subordinates when he knows he’s in the wrong.

Shim Eun Kyung did such an excellent job in portraying Lee Hye Joon that I can’t imagine anyone, but her as Hye Joon. Lee Hye Joon is probably the most level-headed and reasonable female character I’ve ever seen in a drama. She in incredibly ordinary, but she isn’t at the same time. Even in her most vulnerable moments, she still stays true to her beliefs while being able to be empathetic, even sometimes being the one to make her male counterparts open their eyes to the big picture. She is hands down my favorite character not only in Money Game, but out of all of the dramas I’ve watched.

As for Yoo Teo, I also can’t imagine anyone, but him for the role of Eugene Han. Despite being a side character, he was a scene-stealer in every scene he was in as the Korean American “bad guy” from Wall Street. Eugene could have easily been portrayed as more of a one-dimensional antagonist who only cares about money, but Yoo Teo added depth to his character that made him easy to empathize with even when many of his actions would be considered morally wrong. I do have to mention that he does have an accent when speaking English, as in it doesn't sound like an American accent even though his character grew up in the United States. This didn't bother me, but some people seemed to be put off by it.

Music/OST
The OST is mellow and fits the drama very well. I like all of the songs, but I think Elaine’s “Fallin’” is amazing. The line “I wish it was a dream” gives each episode quite a dream-like quality and when I think about, don’t we all wish all our economical and money problems were all a dream?

I don’t rewatch dramas, but I’d consider Money Game as one of the more rewatchable ones as it’s quite informative on economical and social issues.

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