The Art of Negotiation (2025)

The power of negotiations

I started for Lee Je Hoon, let's get that out of the way so anyone reading this isn't confused if the review turns into an appreciation post for him.

But he really does have a knack for picking the most interesting of scripts, and this was no exception. The complex world of mergers and acquisitions was still a little lost on me even towards the end, but it was very clear that doing the job required a lot of skill, talent, a bit of luck and a lot of charm. People skills, financial knowledge, business strategies and again, a whole lot of charm.

The story almost felt like it was split into two parts: one of the mergers and acquisitions, and the other of office politics. The thing about having a massive lead cast is that you require focus on every one of them, but that can also mean the story can feel fragmented at times, requiring links to make sure it flows well. I don't think they quite executed that link well with the writing, but doing it any different would've also meant a massive diversion from the original plot.
This may have just been my issue with it, because as a viewer, when you can see two distinct storylines, you tend to latch onto the one you like better. I latched onto the teamwork and personal connections storylines of the M&A team, which meant the office dynamics were a little technical and complicated to me.

But despite that, for the most part, they did a fantastic job making the technical terms really understandable and creating dynamic scenes that kept me on my toes. The masterful tacts, the unpredictable ways in which the story moved, the teamwork between the M&A team were all a delight to watch.

I do wish a little more time was spent on developing the characters but I also understand that it's hard to accomplish in such a plot heavy script. One thing I appreciated was that there were clear character roles - set protagonists and antagonists. Because betrayals and backstabbing are incredibly unnecessary in an already complicated plot, I'm glad it was not done.

The actors did an incredible job, all of them. Having set protagonists and antagonists meant they could fully explore their characters and character dynamics, and every main character was compelling to watch on screen. And Lee Je Hoon absolutely smashed it out of the park I mean, he was just incredible. He always embodies his characters completely and you can't help but root for his characters, that always stands true. Him, and the entire cast, honestly, I can rave about each of their performances.

Overall, this was a solid series with a few downs it always managed to recover from. It kept me interested throughout and definitely had plenty of its moments. They did set up a possible sequel.. I don't know but with or without it, I highly enjoyed the series.

Lees verder