mngpanda

yeah the tuk tuk, photo drop and courtroom scenes were like a 'low budget comedy' with nonsense all over the place XD and then ML's sudden confession without build up and not logical while he did it on the way of rescuing Majin.

Yes they better focus on whatever they are good at : slice-of-life, relationship and characters development (but ML s/b strengthened).  The Thailand arc unfortunately exposed further the weakness in writing intensive plot twist and business narratives. As some others aldy commented, it's more appropriate for the writer to depict actual business issues in a trading co. during IMF rather than a series of over dramatic/ unrealistic problems and solutions. The tone will be more consistent with a realistic slice of life story in earlier episodes.  Hopefully they will improve pacing starting next episode, otherwise the finale will be rushed.

I am okay with constant failure and struggles in a coming of age story, and even can accept only a final win at the end. Just the process of achieving it gotta be interesting and engaging. The writer was poor at writing plot twist in business hurdles.

Whoever suggested the recasting of FL deserved a pay rise.

Good for him. Maybe he will take more OTT and movie project going forward. It's hard to have well written weekend dramas these days, taste of viewers changed and only makjang, dramatic or family/ marriage issue dramas could get high ratings.

A safe choice for him as a comeback to Chungmuro.

Viewers who are not into romance could skip the whole Thailand part.

Second half of Ep10 seems back on right storytelling after they returned to Korea. But the Thailand arc (ep8-mid ep10) fell short, a filler to me.

The writer is new but PD did have notable work like Fight for my way and Mine for which she got Baeksang nominations. I think earlier episodes were generally solid, most recent complains come from the Thailand arc. Since it's just half way, I will still keep watching before making a conclusion

Yeah we all know LJH is a romance master but doesn't mean he has to act like a love puppy in every drama he takes. They can still keep the romance subtle, slow burn like in early episodes but no idea why they suddenly changed to a romcom vibe in Thailand. That being said, I think episodes before Thailand arc were generally solid. So far I'm just disappointed with the latest episode, same as you I've expected Majin case could be wrapped up shortly but it dragged alot without interesting plot. It quite common for kdrama to insert few filler episodes like this in 2nd half of the run tho, so I will still invest few episodes before making a conclusion.

Couldn't agree more. Imagine if the writer is Park Jae Bum (Good manager, Vincenzo) and the director is Cashero PD Lee Chang Min (Agency, one my favorite single protagonist business drama), the business plot would be much more compelling with charming male characters. Then the rating will be definitely go up up up. I definitely like to have good slice of life in a coming of age drama, but here the balance is not well placed. Also seems like PD wanted to showcase different facet of LJH but she should consider whether it is fit, like what's the point of portraying ML like a love struck in Thailand arc rather than a CEO handling business? It worked in a Romcom like KTL but didn't fit here.

Agreed. The director and the writer were great in capturing slice of life and character development (esp female characters), but the business plot was not well written enough, and sometimes quite loose and dragged. it is bearable but not great. Also i feel the writer is very ambitious to integrate multi genre in one drama, so the mood transition between exciting scenes and slice of life wasn't smooth at times.

I had exactly same feeling initially after watching ep8, the conflicts between FL and Majin seemed exaggerated to a point that ML and business plot were sidelined. But after second thought I think writer intended to prioritize humanity and character growth over the business plot. Making money is definitely one key objective of doing a business, but the hardest part to manage is actually 'people', the conflict between FL and Majin was a typical people issue at workplace that worth to dig in depth. Only when those human issues were resolved and good work culture established (in long run) then a business can grow. i think this is one of the messages that the writer wanted to deliver through the Thailand arc.

Teaser looks promising and exciting.

She is compatible with Jang NaRa i think.

Major update as Netflix announces Korean show to ‘rival’ Alice in Borderland - ‘Finally’
https://www.themirror.com/entertainment/tv/korean-netflix-show-major-update-1485825

Netflix has lowkey started promotion

Netflix Tudum official (4 Nov): 'Cashero Brings Payday Power to Netflix in 2025'
https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/cashero-release-date-news

No exact release date was given but pretty sure by end of the year, no postpone like CTLBT.

I'm happy that the writer didn't follow kdrama cliches that had ML stand upfront to save FL but stayed true to the reality. Initially I feel the conflicts between FL and Majin was overly emphasied in EP8 and sidelined ML and the helmets selling plot, but after second thought now I think it worth an episode for that as human issue is also an important business agenda nowadays other than making money.

The shoe park story should be ended when the shoes were loaded onboard. So from the scene where the police raid came for drugs, to ML back to the port was a filler to me. FL's reaction was bit over too and editing of scenes was raw. I like the loan shark confrontation scene on the boat but the reason why they came for ML was not convincing. They should know the shoes were loaded and their money was secured.

It's a story about growth. Workplace has various type of mistreatment not just limited to sexism. Learning how to deal with and learn from an experienced but difficult person like Ko Majin is part of work life. Let the FL grow. She's also learning how to overcome inferiority and stand up for herself. Meanwhile ML's learning how to resolve internal conflicts among employees and I'm not surprised he will step up to change work culture against sexism in the future. All these things need a process and time. Ko Majin is a catalyst let them review their weakness and grow. Drama wise, viewers don't like to see FL suffer and expect heroism in ML, but it's not the way of resolving mistreatment in real workplace settings, especially during a business trip where the work agenda was supposed the priority.