As someone who loves Korean dramas and the HBO show Succession, Reborn Rich felt like a KDrama version of that show with a fantasy/reincarnation twist and I absolutely loved it!

This show did extremely well with viewers in South Korea and it's easy to see why, There is the chaebol revenge plot, the reincarnation/fantasy element, re-living recent Korean history with actual news clips from the time (allowing viewers to go "hey I remember that"), and of course a cast full of familiar faces all giving strong performances. I will say give this show until the end of episode 3 if you're on the fence as the first two episodes (while enjoyable for me) are not really indicative of what the rest of the drama is going to be.

There are a few elements of this drama where you need to not think too hard about what you're seeing on screen and just take what the show is giving you without question so you don't get annoyed or taken out of the story. Think actors playing the same characters over a 30 year span but with minimal changes to their appearance or a two year real life age difference between actors playing a father and son. These things can become distracting if you let them, but if you just accept the absurdity of it early on you'll be fine for the rest of the show.

I'm sure lots of people here will watch for Song Joong Ki, and he does quite well, but for the most part it's not really a juicy role for him (although when more emotional scenes are required he can certainly deliver). Lee Sung Min gets the meaty role as the patriarch of the family, Jin Yang Cheol, and absolutely steals every scene he's in. From his voice to his posture to the way he looks at others, it's amazing! He makes a character who is quite unlikeable the best part of the show. He also has excellent chemistry with Song Joong Ki and Kim Kang Hoon who plays the younger version of SJK's character.

The supporting case is excellent as well, all familiar faces if you watch kdramas and some in roles very different from what I've seen them in previously. A warning though, if you are looking for romance this is NOT the drama for you. There is minimal romance and the female lead's role is not as large as Shin Hyun Bin's high billing would suggest, but that didn't really annoy me as her role fit in nicely to the narrative.

When I watch shows like this I know I'm not going to understand all the business terms that they throw around but this show does a good job of helping you along so you at least always know who/what you're rooting for. These business and succession plans, while potentially boring to some people, for me, resulted in both moments of great tension and moments of great satisfaction. You'll know fairly early on if you'll find this engaging or boring.

I didn't mind the ending, although I can understand why people had a problem with it, I thought it fit the drama well, but be warned odds are you may not be as okay with it as I was. The area where I did have a complaint was when there would be a scene from Hyun Woo's life thrown in as a flashback; I thought the director didn't make it clear enough what the viewer was seeing. The few times this occurred I was so confused trying to figure out what was happening until I realized I was looking at Hyun Woo, not Do Joon.

Overall an excellent drama (with one of my favourite opening credit sequences) that kept me on my toes and entertained throughout its run. A great drama to end 2022 on!