Brilliant Legacy

Since the characters and their growth and relationships are what make memorable stories memorable, this series scores high in that regard. The acting was good enough you can forget it's acting and feel as though your watching the lives of real people rather than fictional characters. I had a bit of trouble with Jung and Hwan's mother but I'm given to believe it was intended for both to be camp for the purpose of comic relief. As such, I'll still give them high scores. Highest scores have to go to both of the step-sisters. From the onset, Eun-sung was compassionate and caring while retaining the compulsiveness of a young adult. While Seung-mi was obviously the antagonist, it was easy to see the pain she felt for what she was doing to Eun-sung. What made her contemptible was her willingness to sacrifice anyone else for her desire to keep Hwan in her life. But blind, possessive love can do that, even in real life.

Another review mentioned the music and songs were too few and were repeated continually throughout the series. I have to agree. The soundtrack could have been a little more diverse. However, it does nothing the diminish how nice most of the music fit the scenes and the love song, 사랑에 미쳐서 (Crazy In Love), was sweet and endearing enough that I bought a copy after hearing it the first time. If we were still in the days of vinyl records, I'd have worn it out with the number of times I've listened to it over the last few days. And after all of that it still brings tears to my eyes every time it plays. There's just something about a soft, sincere, breathy, almost whispering voice singing to beautiful, well orchestrated music.

I mentioned in my comment on the last episode's page that had it not been for the announcement the series would "go away" after the 8th of September, it's highly likely I'd never have stumbled across this one. It easily makes my top ten list of K-Dramas--right up there with Coffee Prince (which is still my number one). I'm sad this one will go away because it means others will have to look elsewhere to enjoy such a wonderful story.

If you're looking for a good story with an interesting plot, well developed characters, and a satisfying end, I'd recommend this one.

Be well.

I haven't seen a drama this good in a while. And that's not an exaggeration. Each episode is well constructed, with cliffhangers that will keep you wanting more. My sleep schedule has been thoroughly destroyed, but I don't mind at all! Trust me, it's that good.

Initially, I was apprehensive about watching this series since I've seen a variety of kdramas before with pretty much the same premise: rich boys, poor girl (and the quintessential love triangle/square/or whatever you call it). The same cliches and all. And while I can't say that this show doesn't contain those elements, the storyline provides enough twists to even it out. (I especially liked the fact that it left no loose ends at the conclusion)

The characters are also interesting. You'll certainly love the ones you're meant to love, and hate the ones you're supposed to hate. The antagonists and protagonists are very convincing; the actors have portrayed them in ways hat will make you smile, cry, laugh, and groan.

All in all, I highly recommend this drama. Not a single boring episode that will certainly keep you wanting to click 'next' despite your lack of sleep. 28 episodes seem really, really long--but it was all worth it. After finishing it, I was curious how it fared in Korea. I checked it out and apparently, it garnered great attention; placed 1st in viewership from its third episode and onwards. Rightfully so.

Esta serie tiene de todos los generos un poco. En el podemos ver como se desarrollan diferentes problemas y sus soluciones. Podemos ver lo engreidos que son muchas personas adineradas sin importarles como se sientan o perjudiques a los demas. Todo esta en su punto.

This drama got me staying up till 5:30am.
At first I thought this was gonna be your typical Korean drama love rectangle plot. HOWEVER, after I finished the first episode, I knew something was different. This drama is so underrated. It is one of the BEST dramas I've ever seen in my life. EVER. The popularity of this drama should be greater. It deserves much more attention (not saying it doesn't already have attention at all).
I love the complexity of each main character, and the storyline was AMAZING and simply BREATHTAKING.

Overall - This drama is one of the best dramas ever, it is a must see. Overall, it is really great.

Storyline - The storyline was the best of all. It started off as a small problem but everything seemed to branch out and cause more consequences. The storyline flowed really well and there was never a boring scene. The only bad thing I have to say about it is...

Music - The theme song is lovely, but the OST isn't the best I've heard. However, the instrumental music always set the mood at the right time.

Characters - Each actor portrayed their character so well. Especially Yoo Seung Mi and Go Eun Sung. I think it would be weird for me to see Han Hyo Joo (Go Eun Sung) not acting as Eun Sung. She acted her character so well, it would be hard for me to see her as another character x) I think Moon Chae Won (Yoo Seung Mi) did an amazing job as well. Her emotions can be felt clearly through the drama. It made you feel bad for her but at the same time hate her. Lee Seung Gi (Sun Woo Hwan) was also good. His character changed a lot throughout the drama and at the end, I could really believe how much he changed. Also Yun Joon Suk (Go Eun Woo) was especially great at acting as an autistic younger brother. He seemed very realistic and natural as his character.

Acting - The acting was explained on top ^^. I think the acting for everyone overall was superb. I've never seen better acting in a Korean drama. I loved this.

THIS DRAMA IS A MUST WATCH.

I love this drama so much!
The characters were so loving and dramatic:)
The story is amazing and I love the way it turns out.
Great for any drama fan:) My fave so far. Life changing drama:)

i disliked how the main character (i cant remember her name) ended up with the spoiled rich guy after they hated each other with a firey passion thru 95% of the show. even though he did begin to change towards the end of the show. it's infuriating!!!! i'm sooooo angry!!!

I have never hated a character as much as I hated the step mom in this show. That to me shows just the tip of the iceberg of how talented these actors and actresses are. You connect with the characters so much that you laugh and cry with them. I remember watching it as it was being aired and I was a part of a forum that would comment and and support each other as we dutifully waited each week for a new episode. I think this story is the heart of what Korean drama set out to accomplish.

This K-Drama was very well thought-out. As embarrassed as I am to say this I finished in a 2 days. The overall outlook of this drama was amazing so I give it a 9 at best in comparison to a lot of the other dramas that I've seen. Though it hits you with a splash of happy it slaps you in the face with an iron fist of reality as well in thinking "My God, what if this happened to me?" type of deal. Some of the scenes and main characters may be tedious and ongoing with their parts but very well developed. Some characters so well-developed you've grown to either hate them or love them. In my case, towards the antagonist, I realistically felt so much despise in their characters and didn't have a care in the world if they cried, felt sorrow, or even died. When you start to believe in the character so much it makes you feel their roles and that's why I felt more pain towards the main characters because the opposing characters did their parts above and beyond what they were supposed to and drew you into the drama. Music was done beautifully though repetitive enough as it was to have used a few songs over again, still the effectiveness from the emotion that each song brought to the table was astounding. Acting was very well done. Though some characters were more believable than others I still felt a strong yearning between each one. Each pain, a happy smile, suffering, and sorrow... I've watched only a handful of dramas but this one just so happened to be my top three... I couldn't help myself but to rewatch a few episodes again before i got to the end. I give this drama an overall 9/10 for its effectiveness and sheer entertaining creativeness. With other dramas I've simply skipped through that fat of each episode and just got straight to the good parts. But with this one I had to watch every waking moment in order to have full comprehension of what was really going on. A MUST SEE DRAMA... I'm watching it again as I type... (>_<)

This was a good but not great drama. I expected more laughs but 75% of it was drama. The main female cried in every episode which got tedious but shes an excellent actress. The ending was okay, couldv'e done a fast forward type of deal to make it great. This is a drama I'll only be watching once even though i loved all the characters. Some advice, skip some of the episodes!