TLDR: If you can make it past the side characters and the second couple then you'll probably like it

Overall: The show isn't anything new and follows a lot of the traditional cdrama tropes. But the business power fantasy and comeuppance is what kept me coming back for more and I have no regrets. Watching the leads go through their ups and downs as a couple and in the workspace was a treat to watch even if the rest of the cast was pretty lacking.

Story: The story is a pretty standard office drama with the only real twist that the FL has a powerful background that the audience sees from episode one but other characters find out as the show progresses. The appeal is really that you get to see how everyone reacts and watch her navigate the space while trying to get things done on her own merit. No new ground is tread but that was perfectly fine for this kind of show. If you can make it past the side characters and the second couple then you'll probably like what you see.

Acting: no complaints across the board. I feel like maybe some of the side characters were a little over the top at times but I assume that was the direction they were told to go in so can't really pick on it too much.

Characters: The leads were great. Probably one of my favorite FLs to watch in recent memory. She is strong in every sense of the word but also isn't afraid to ask for help which was refreshing to see. Janice Wu did a great job bringing her to life and it felt like I was right there with her through all the satisfying reveals. ML was ok as well. The character was kind of a doormat with a whole lot of backstory that gets revealed to make you feel sympathetic toward him. I felt that they could've done a better job with this because there never had to be any misunderstandings and it seemed to me like it was mostly just the ML refused to tell the FL important things that were happening. This isn't new to the cdrama space but I could've done without the whole years of angst because he didn't just say he had a family situation.

The second lead couple were the only other side characters that get any kind of background but they were unfortunately not my cup of tea. I felt like their relationship felt off from the beginning so seeing them go through their rocky patches actually felt pretty real and I was happy with that direction. But then the entire show just gaslit the woman into thinking that because the guy likes her a lot she should put up with his BS. I will say that normally breakups in dramas tend to be nonsensical, but this one had a really grounded and relatable reason that felt true to the characters as well. The guy had a character flaw that she didn't want to put up with, he repeatedly demonstrates that he can't fix it. She clearly communicates what the problem is and why she wants to end things. He still doesn't work on changing. The show puts them together anyway. Needless to say one of my least favorite couples out of the dramas I've watched.

The side characters in this show have got to be the worst I've seen in quite some time. No shade on the actors/actresses as I think most of the issues lie in the material that they were given or lack thereof. Starting off I don't think I've seen a group get so much screen time yet we know next to nothing about any of them. I literally could not tell you what any of their hobbies are, any childhood memories, outside friends, partners etc. etc. etc. They pretty much only exist to either start drama or react to drama happening around them which is sad because they could've been so much more. Just as an example, there is a sudden double agent kind of reveal halfway through and it came so far out of the blue that I was just like "Oh, ok." when I'm pretty sure they wanted it to hit a little harder and be some big shock. The only reason I didn't care was because we had no reason to care about the character in the first place (citing aforementioned lack of background) and there was literally no build up to it (even on second watch it felt like a writer rolled the dice and just said yeah, she gonna be evil now lol).

The other big miss for the side characters was their dynamic. I think the writers were going for some kind of super familiar, we've known each other for years vibe so we mess around with each other but it all felt really artificial. Couldn't really put my finger on it but I compared it in my head to the main trio in King the Land and I just felt like that dynamic felt authentic. The characters in this drama also flip between sides so fast which contributed to them feeling less like actual characters and more like set dressing. Tangible example is later on they hear the boss may be closing their company and instead of just asking the person they've grown close to over the course of a year they just instantly choose to believe that was her motivation the entire time because surely putting in so much work just to close the company makes sense. Its not even that it doesn't make sense its that they didn't even hesitate for a single minute to paint her as the new villain which made it harder to like them.

Music: I actually added a few songs to my playlist so that counts as a win in my book.

Rewatch: Despite the many problems the show has, I would rewatch it (and have) for the premise alone. Not even close to the top 20 best dramas I've watched but I've already watched it again all the way through not even a week after finishing it.