The excellent cast and acting make this big budget grand saga worth the big commitment. 56 episodes may seem daunting but quite a lot of it was exciting as the story covers a sweep of history in Korea. This uses the basic premise of 2 boys switched at birth from the Steinbeck novel but most of the saga is it's own story. Gangsters and casinos and corrupt politicians are actually not far fetched. When things reach a stale point the story jumps a few years and the characters do evolve.
The beginning in the mining town with the young characters was strong and emotional with great performances from Kim Bum as the younger main character Dong Chul. Lee Mi Sook also acted superbly as the mother but her character go irritating for a lot of the show even more so than the main villain. During the second part when things move to Macau its is quite exciting and Lee Yeon Hee is quite charming and lovely. Song Seung Heon takes over as the main character and acts quite well but he has a terrible hair style at first and moustache but later it gets better. Because of it's length the story there is room for lots of characters to take front stage. The other outstanding actors are Han Ji Hye who gives a very good performance as the conflicted and damaged Ji Hyun and Park Hae Jin as the flawed Myung Hoon who shows the most character growth. Usually long dramas lag in the last third but here it doesn't. When the revelations about the switch at birth start coming to light there is quite a roller coaster of angst and emotion as each person discovers the truth and reacts in their own way. Then alliances change and the painful conflict starts between the brothers. Makes you think about what blood relationships mean.
One of the best things about this show is the casting of the switched brothers looking like their biological parents. Park Hae Jin really looks like Lee Mi Sook and Yeon Jung Hoon looks like Jo Min Ki.
There are some faults. It would have been better if some of the kidnappings beatings and frustrating things had been cut out. About 10% could have been shaved off. And it keeps strong at the end. But in the end I didn't regret the time spent watching this. They don't make epic sagas like this nowadays.
The beginning in the mining town with the young characters was strong and emotional with great performances from Kim Bum as the younger main character Dong Chul. Lee Mi Sook also acted superbly as the mother but her character go irritating for a lot of the show even more so than the main villain. During the second part when things move to Macau its is quite exciting and Lee Yeon Hee is quite charming and lovely. Song Seung Heon takes over as the main character and acts quite well but he has a terrible hair style at first and moustache but later it gets better. Because of it's length the story there is room for lots of characters to take front stage. The other outstanding actors are Han Ji Hye who gives a very good performance as the conflicted and damaged Ji Hyun and Park Hae Jin as the flawed Myung Hoon who shows the most character growth. Usually long dramas lag in the last third but here it doesn't. When the revelations about the switch at birth start coming to light there is quite a roller coaster of angst and emotion as each person discovers the truth and reacts in their own way. Then alliances change and the painful conflict starts between the brothers. Makes you think about what blood relationships mean.
One of the best things about this show is the casting of the switched brothers looking like their biological parents. Park Hae Jin really looks like Lee Mi Sook and Yeon Jung Hoon looks like Jo Min Ki.
There are some faults. It would have been better if some of the kidnappings beatings and frustrating things had been cut out. About 10% could have been shaved off. And it keeps strong at the end. But in the end I didn't regret the time spent watching this. They don't make epic sagas like this nowadays.