Tia

Man wtf was that ending for episode 9??? 😭

Incredible drama for me. I liked the ending as well.

To be slightly fair to him, I understand why he lost his mind (but he was unhinged from the get-go), going to prison and getting framed for something he didn't do. 😂 Gun-Young coulda died at the end of Season 1 for me. The Chief of Staff was a way better foil/antagonist.

There are much worse antagonists, what I did like about his arc is that he became the VERY thing he hated (and seemed to regret it?) Regardless I was a Ki-Tae fan from the beginning lol

No season 3, but I like to believe that he's alive and out there somewhere. :)

Hyun Bin was absolutely the star of the show. He earned that Baeksang.

I watched The Scandal and finished Made In Korea Season 2 (reviewed it), as well as OK! Let's Get A Divorce (terrible, btw.) Still watching Mouse (2021.) I've got like 2 other dramas to review and I've started Empresses in the Palace (c-drama) and began my rewatch of Magnificent Century: Kosëm (Turkish drama. Going very slow, though.)

I have no idea why people are surprised, it's rare for a villain protagonist to get a good (let alone a HAPPY) ending. But I like that it was open-ended. And in a way he won because the system he created continued to thrive.

Agreed!

Ohhhh. Well, glad to say that I won't be watching that one... lol

Yes, but no. He gets shot by his brother Ki-Hyun (he was manipulated by him by the General Hwang Dae-Sik), but Ki-Tae's actual fate is left ambiguous. In a way, Ki-Tae won because the system he created survives.

Review is up (very late, sleepy. This is all I could think of right now lol.) Spoiler alert, of course.

https://mydramalist.com/profile/lullabyliyah/review/610324

Finally finished it. I actually didn't dislike the ending as much as I really thought I would.

My theory is that Ki-Tae is alive, he did make it, and somehow faked his death/became a fixer overseas. Possibly. The ending was intentionally ambiguous.

Great season, though, with great performances/acting (Hyun Bin was STELLAR! Please let this man play more villains), music, directing. Overall score for Season 2 is a 9.5/10.

Baek Ki-Tae is a goated villain protagonist to me. 🔥

OMG THANK YOU!!!! Literally did that for nothing...

I never wanna hear about this drama or see the writer ever again. Here's my angry 8/10 rating, I'm tired of this shitshow already. 😂

There won't be a season 3, no.

Yes??? No one made him do that? I've been faithfully watching this show since Season 1 (okay, I was late to it, but still) lol

I'm not saying he's a *bad* character overall, he's fantastically written. BUT he is a villain protagonist. It's canon. It's real. And there's nothing wrong with that. People were/are very proudly rooting for him, even in Korea!

A begrudging 8/10 for the sheer insanity and audacity. "Watching" this through weekly recaps. Im Sung-Han, you have competition!

No, he wasn't. The man was a villain since Season 1... he's the epitome of a villain protagonist. He was ambitious, a drug dealer, and a killer. He colluded with the yakuza. He is in no way misguided.

UNLESS you mean Ki-Hyun and not Ki-Tae? Because Ki-Hyun was absolutely misguided, I agree with that lol

Umm, he is the main villain... technically. He's a villain protagonist.

Up to you, but watch season 2 and read recaps of season 1 (thereviewgeek.com has them in detail.)