So is this whole drama series about all these assassins trying to kill the patriarch?
No, it is not. It's just the first arc ep 1-10. But it is important and the setup to SMY & SCH differing ambitions & ideologies which later...well, we'll see!
You're not the first to say that. But believe me when I say it's not until Ep 10 that you'll see a shift in SMY. That's because there's a shift in plot/arc. This shift in plot/arc and demeanor in SMY feels intentional. I call it the first arc "Protect the Patriarch at all cost" is over and the next begins. In the first arc, there's a certain version of SMY (smart, rigid, monotone, very serious, expressionless) that's needed to play that specific arc. In Ep 10 you also see SMY role within DR changes, no longer being Kui. Because he's no longer Kui and no longer carrying the burden of one, his attitude and mindset shifts a little thus his demeanor shifts. He becomes less matter of fact, monotone and more "cocky?" Cocky is not the right world but I can't find the right word rn. Maybe someone else can explain below.
The first 1-12 is one version of SMY. I believe after 12, a slightly different version of SMY emerges.
1 
1 
1 
The first 1-12 is one version of SMY. I believe after 12, a slightly different version of SMY emerges.