I think this is an okay watch. With the premise and start it has, it definitely could have been better. A guy who was this powerful family’s loyal lapdog to only get betrayed by them, and he gets a second chance at life being born again into that very family.

The best thing about this drama is the cast and characters. Every single person owned their role. No matter what character was on screen, I was interested. That’s not something I can say about many dramas.

I also like the historical aspects of it. Getting to see historical events unfold in the drama, and how the MC used those pivotal points to further his plan to take over Soonyang.

What I think could have been better is the revenge itself. It was lacking some oomph. In the first half, it was like the MC was playing the revenge game on easy mode. Things were fairly easy for him, since he knew the future. Without the other side being able to give him some obstacles, it makes the revenge less interesting. By the time they do get back at him, it felt like such a huge cop out. Like that’s it? After all the MC did over the years, and that was all they had to do to take him down? It felt cheap.

And then the ending story arc. I feel like it could have been better, if they had started it a couple of episodes earlier instead of leaving it for the last episode. It felt sudden and somewhat out of place given how important it was and yet given so little time to evolve.

Lastly, him not really spending any time with his real family. I thought that was odd. His dad and brother had so little screen time.

Overall, I think this is an ok watch. If I had known everything that I know about it now, I’d still watch it. The characters really are well written here, and I enjoyed watching how the MC used his knowledge of historical events. Watching the Soonyang family implode on themselves was quite satisfying, too.