Chief of Staff

Although it's politically themed drama but it's a watered-down surface-level politics and the excessive overdramatization didn't fit its theme. Repeating the exact same dramatic flashbacks multiple times throughout both seasons further highlights my point. It ended up relying on these melo moments rather than having a better written political drama and a more engaging dialogues as you would expect from a good political drama to have. What also didn't fit its theme is the male lead constant overreacting and overacting for his role. The romance of the main leads and the pair up of the secondary leads were all out of place. On the other hand, the OST was nice, it reminded me of Comrades (2010). The drama is okay if it was your first political drama, can serve as an easy introduction to the genre.

Lee Jung Jae plays a chief of staff trying to change a corrupt system with the help of the beautiful Shin Min Ah, an assemblywoman of the opposing party. In this well acted drama he is faced with the dilemma that to change the system he has to stoop as low as the people he despises. Well paced with a story that holds the attention and an excellent supporting cast.

It can be impossible to follow a complex plot in a foreign language with unrecognisable names. But persevere into episode 3 and the political shenanigans start to become clearer. If you stick with it you will be rewarded.

Many of the strengths of Korean drama are on display here: deft plotting with twists and turns galore; superb acting by all involved; and high production values.

The moral conundrum at the heart of the story serves to raise this a notch higher in my estimation. Highly recommended.

The plot, which is complex and full of twists and turns, provides an excellent insight into the cut-throat world of politics. I would have given 5 stars to the series if the romantic relationships had been a little less shallow, which would have helped the viewer care more for the "good" characters. The actors are all excellent, with a special mention for Shin Min-a and Lee Elijah, whose roles are unfortunately a bit subdued. In that sense, there is an old-fashioned feel to the show that could have been averted by giving women strong storylines rather than using them as accessories caught in the flow of events.

The show was suspenseful and dramatic just fine. I would only give it a medium rating because watching this old man playing the M. O. J eat in like every other scene was distracting and DISGUSTING. Who's idea was that and please fire them forever. Yuck. Totally took away from potentially powerful scenes. So i guess I'd just say great writing (other than that the genius main character would just leave game changing evidence in his desk drawer. Not believable even for an idiot.) Great cast. Bad directing. Ew made me sick watching him eat.