I love Lee Soo-yeon’s brilliant writing in Forest of Secrets, but I think this time it is overly ambitious. Just from the top of my mind, I can point out a few topics that the writer raised, but then simply gets forgotten. For example just for Seung-hyo alone, the writer never explains what drives Seung-hyo to bend over backwards and devote his whole life to Hwajeong. It’s only mentioned that he’s a scholarship student (so what? unless all scholarship students are legally contracted to be life-long slaves, Seung-hyo always has a way out). Additionally, JSW has said in the press conference that his character is loyal to the former chairman out of gratitude, but it’s never explicitly shown what he’s grateful for. We could’ve understood his character motivation better had this been made clear from the beginning. It’s also mentioned in passing that Seung-hyo was once badly screwed over by some of the subsidiaries’ presidents, and that’s why he’s now very cautious when it comes to doing anything that can potentially piss off the chairman, but we never know what happened. A simple flashback scene on these topics along the way would’ve sufficed, and yet we’re at the final two episodes and we still haven’t got any crumbs.

Also, what’s with the Seosan pioneers (the original land owners)? Is it important enough for us to pay attention? Do the Korean viewers just automatically relate because it’s a current social issue, whereas the international viewers are here scratching our heads wondering what the big deal is? Seung-hyo has planned for so-called “caretaker lodgings” to be built near the new hospital complex, and we know that he intends for them to be used for a different purpose unbeknownst to the current chairman, but what is it? I could go on and on with the many loose threads that the writer has created, but shows no signs of being resolved, which is a shame.

Acting – This actually starts with mis-castings. No-eul was casted too young. If it was intended from the start that she would be Jin-woo’s cohort, then they should’ve casted someone who looks and carries the gravitas of someone her age (mid to late thirties). It was super awkward to hear Sun-woo call her noona. Lee Kyu-hyung himself is not baby-faced, and I only accept it because he acts like a puppy around her. If I could re-cast I would’ve probably picked Han Yeri, or Moon Chae-won. What Won Jin-ah also didn’t manage to do is create an unambiguous chemistry with Seung-hyo. I’m just confused as to what the writer intends to do with her character and their so-called love line. Is it a platonic friendship, is there flirting, or potential for romance and soul mateship? Instead of having a clear-cut something that the viewers can root for, all their interactions just turn into a big messy, forced, ambiguous nothing.

As for Lee Dong-wook (and Jin-woo), sigh. I digged deep into my heart to find something positive to say about his performance, but this is one of those times where I cannot understand or relate to the hero of the story. However, it would be unfair to say that the blame lies solely on the actor, because frankly, the writing for the character itself is pretty damn frustrating. Do you want me to root for you or not?

Directing – One could argue that the writing in Forest of Secrets is equally muddy from the start, as there are so many characters, each with different motivations, which could possibly point them to be the main suspect. However in the director’s hand, each layer of the character is peeled at a pace that is just right. Do it too early and you risk running out of steam towards the end. Do it too late and the viewers disconnected and already left before the meaty part starts, plus you run out of time, as is the case for Life. It is admittedly, a larger ensemble cast compared to FoS, so there’s less time allocated for each character’s development, but what a waste of a bunch of good actors. We could’ve done away with some unnecessary scenes and save it for what’s really important. The director did his best, but I foresee that there was just not enough time to try and wrap up this story in a satisfying way.

Music – The less said about the stupidly loud background music, the better. I’ve noticed that they’ve thankfully toned it down a notch in the later episodes, possibly due to criticisms. I hope the music director learnt something from this experience. Sometimes less is more.

Your criticisms are so on point. It has been a solid, wild ride but as we approach the end, I’m almost certain that not all the loose threads that matter would be resolved successfully. Most of the reasons (or maybe the only reason) why I love this drama have to do with Seung-hyo’s character and JSW’s performance. Director Oh and Team Leader Kang are tied for second favs <3 Other than that, FoS by far is superior in terms of writing and directing.