Chief of Staff (Season 1)

 Chief of Staff--Season 1 (Available on Netflix) 

Content Warning: Language, Violence, Innuendo

Rating: D-

Character Glossary:
Jang Tae Joon: Main Character/ Chief of Staff to Assemblyman Song

Kang Seon-yeon: Assemblywoman 

Yoon Hye-won: Works in Tae Joon's office

Han Do-kyeong: Intern 

Lee Seong-min: Assemblyman

Song Hee-seop: Assemblyman over Tae Joon 

Chief of Staff is a political drama that follows the chief of staff of a rising assemblyman. 

I hated this show. The only reason it didn't get an "F" is because I liked some of the characters and the plot was interesting. I am mildly curious about season 2 because of the cliffhanger but I can't make myself suffer through 10 more life draining episodes. Listen, if you like politics--especially the darker side of them--ignore this review and look at the show because this is the one for you. If you can't stand politics or constant frustration I would not watch it at all. I forced myself to finish season 1 so I could give a full review and hopefully get some questions answered. I wish I had never started this show at all. 

SPOILERS BELOW READ AT YOUR OWN RISK 

OVERALL STORY: Like I said above this is the perfect story for people who like watching political shows. For those of us who are so sick of politics this is a waste of time. The plot developed in an interesting an unexpected direction but instead of getting more intrigued I found myself getting angrier and angrier. With the exception of a few characters everyone else was stepping on the backs of the

people they claimed to serve in the name of politics. I have nothing against spiraling characters who are morally gray but this is ridiculous. You cannot expect me to support characters who disregard life this easily. But I digress. One of the frustrating (and I guess "gripping") things about this show was it was hard to tell who was on whose side. I did think this was well done even if it made me want to strangle everyone. It shows just how turbulent politics can be and how deals can be broken as quickly as they are made. This show does end on a cliffhanger so be prepared. I did want to know who killed that guy (if it is Tae Joon I will lose my mind.) but not enough to suffer through 10 more episodes. Note; This is not a show with a "good guys win" ending so don't expect it. 

ROMANCE: There was very little romance in this show. Tae-joon and Seon-yeon had a relationship that was pretty cute but I hated Tae-joon so much at the end I was rooting for her to break up with him so... I don't know if I have the most positive view of their relationship. I did ship Hye-Won and Do-Kyeong and I am sad I didn't get to see more of them. But there wasn't much with them so it wasn't a big loss to me. 

JANG TAE-JOON: And here is the winner of "My Least Favorite Asian Drama Character Ever." I don't know if he gets better in season 2 and, frankly, I don't care. He did awful things to those poor market people. He walked on the backs of the people he claimed to serve and shook hands with the devil for one thing: Power. And I hope he gets it. And loses everything else in the process because he deserves nothing for how awful he treated those people. I really don't want to make this section long because I am still seething about him and could talk about how much I hate him forever. Long story short: I hate him and I don't think I could ever forgive him for what he has done. (Also he might be a murderer....if anyone has seen season 2 I would appreciate the answer to that.) 

KANG SEON-YEON: She was one of the few people I liked in the show. She was still a politician which means she still made me angry at times but overall I liked how firm she was on what she believed. And she put people before her ambitions which is something many people in this show are lacking. (*cough cough* Jang Tae-Joon) I also liked how she would stand up to other people--we need more people like her. 

YOON HYE -WON: I liked her for the most part but she was really disappointing at the end. She knew what Tae-Joon did was wrong and yet she stood by him and preached his same lame excuse. I expected her to be more firm on her beliefs so this kind of ruined her character for me. She seemed like she really wanted to help people so I can't believe she was okay with everything. Her loyalty goes too far and I wish she had stood up to him. 

HAN DO-KYEONG: He was seriously my favorite character. Thank you sir for having a firm moral compass. From the little bit of research I've done on season 2 I know this doesn't happen but I'd love it if Do-Kyeong single handedly takes Tae-Joon off his stupid pedestal. I really hope that he continues to stay firm in his beliefs because they seriously need more good politicians and I feel like Do-Kyeong really cares about people.  

LEE SEONG-MIN: Why did he have to die? Like seriously who else was going to talk Tae-joon off the ledge? But I liked him for the portion of the show he was alive for. He was determined to take down corrupt politicians and would fight to the end for the people. I wish he had stayed alive to keep fighting because we have so few people actually trying to do the right thing for the right reasons. 

SONG HEE-SUP: WHY THE HECK DID HE HAVE TO WIN AT THE END???? I finished this season for the sole purpose of seeing him lose everything but no Tae-joon just had to let him win. He couldn't think his way out of a paper bag and yet people gave him so much power. He is not all that intelligent he is just good at taking opportunities that are offered to him. I hate him about as much as I hate Tae-joon and I wish I could stomach season 2 so I could see if they take him down. 

QUOTE:
"How could you change the world when you disregard someone's life?" 

(Sorry there will be no video for this review)