This review may contain spoilers
#intense_interesting_and_relevant_8.5_out_of_10
Overall Impression:If you want to watch a K-drama on Netflix with a unique and solid plotline and great acting, look no further. Originally from the first episode, I thought this drama was just going to be nonstop catfights and petty beef for lighthearted entertainment. Happy to say I was wrong. This drama is so much more, and just got deeper and better after each episode.
The beginning of the drama gives us a peek into the lives of a group of Korean Instagram influencers called the Gabin Society. As the show progresses, we discover what truths lie behind the feeds of these gorgeous girls, showcasing a life filled with luxury, happiness and fine aesthetic pleasures, where they seemingly have it all. Our main protagonist, Seo Ari, finds herself becoming involved in this world of glitz and glamour after an encounter with an old friend (Minhye) who’s a part of this society. One thing leads to another, and Ari decides to join in on this web celeb lifestyle as she believes it’ll improve her current social and economic status, but later embroils herself in unwanted situations that threatens to wreck her stability and sanity.
Things I thought were done well/likes:
- Time Jumps. These were the main plot device. Scenes within each episodes jump back and forth from the time of a present-day livestreaming Ari, thought to be deceased by her circle, to the time the events she's narrating in the livestream take place. It usually starts with Ari suggesting something cryptic, but she leaves the viewers hanging by only stating the conclusion, giving us time to make our own predictions about what happened. The secrets aren’t exposed until they play out in the past timeline, and this does a great job at keeping curious viewers engaged.
- Eye-catching and Interesting Characters. Ari was calm, intelligent, strong with an emotionally mature way of thinking, and super cute, with her lil bob hair nicely framing her face, but also not the in-your-face type of cute, making her the perfect underdog influencer protagonist to support. And then there were also the Gabin Society girls, each with their own backstory that kept me interested in them, and their husbands, who also had their own idiosyncrasies. Only stereotypical character was Joonhyuk, but he is the handsome cutie of the cast and that more than compensates for his lack of personality…hehe
- Modern-Day Relevancy. The toxicity and performative nature of social media. Followers, likes, etc. as the main form of social currency. Transactional friendships formed on the basis of mutually beneficial cooperation. The destructive power of potential gaslighting and deception by anonymous users like @_bbbfamous (oh the irony…). Though it’s obvious the vast majority of this story is a dramatized depiction, this drama still touches on things that are too real and relevant to the year 2023. I think this drama would be interesting to revisit a couple years down the line.
Things I thought could be improved/dislikes:
- The romance. Granted, this drama isn’t centered around romantic love. The relationship between Ari and Joonkyung isn’t at all the point. But it’s odd how their attraction to one another seemed to have developed out of nowhere. It would’ve been much better if the writers had just squeezed in a few emotional and intimate moments between the two to build the chemistry first, rather than make it seem like she reciprocated his affection only because he was always around to support and protect her. Makes me think the romance was added simply to force the plot in a specific direction, but I guess it worked so it’s fine.
- Ending. Justice was served! I just wish they made it more impactful somehow. There were so many opportunities to add in a pithy message that speaks to problems with the internet and its devastating effects today that would’ve resonated with people and be quoted again and again missed.
Overall an 8.5/10. Definitely recommend adding this drama to your watchlist! :)
Was this review helpful to you?
Different kind of drama - fast and unpredictable
Starts off nauseating for a few minutes but then settles down quite nicely into a comfortable position.So what does it take to become a celebrity when you've got nothing? Apparently: Instagram, lots of luck, and being hella pretty.
This kdrama puts forward very actual problems and stakes today in 2023, some even coming up as a complete surprise. This series has great plot twists for sure, hard to predict!
The lead mainly acts with her eyes, it's rather interesting. Definitely a change of pace, as generally kdrama stars are all about outward expressiveness, so might not be everyone's cup of tea on that front since she's more reserved.
Unfortunately as exciting and engaging as this drama is, it still has its share of problems, most notably main story events that just plain make no sense. Some characters are tropes on legs while others… subvert those tropes really well? Just uneven all around.
But I'd be lying if I said this show didn't hold my attention from the first episode to the last. It doesn't devolve into excessive melodrama, it's actually fairly tightly paced and well acted. I could have used a couple more episodes to flesh things out which is something I rarely say with kdrama.
But the writing… damn, so contrived. In all, I'd say it's pretty good, but be ready to nod a few times like "ooooookay…?"
Was this review helpful to you?
Gripping
This drama is definitely a must watch, it's close to as if the glory meets the fabulous! I was intrigued with Seo a-ri and Han Jun-Kyung's chemistry and needed more scenes with them together 🥺Overall each episode left me at the edge of my seat, definitely has a lot of twist and turns and there was never a dull moment !!! I really liked how they portrayed how certain celebs/influences can be, unfortunately not everything online is truly how it is, and this drama speaks volumes on that topic, and how hard and how far people will go to become known to the world and the selfishness of those who are already there. The acting in this drama was phenomenal and the plot twists had me binging this series! Han Jun Kyung and Seo a-ri was a unlikely pair, but I loved it, I hope there is a season 2 to see what all these characters are up to
Was this review helpful to you?
Fun to watch
I love the main female lead of the drama, that's what i thought that like i've seen her somewhere and that's when i found out that she was in sweet home too having that badass role. personally, i skipped on some of the scenes where jun kyeong and ari like no hate with junkyeong role but am i the only who didn't get the chemistry between them like seo ari won't need a romance thingy on her life and the plot twist, chef kiss. gabin society is another fun thing to watch, they r so funny af and a lil bit trashy too 😂Was this review helpful to you?
Good for binging
I think the core concept and ideas of the show, of social media in our lives, comparing yourself to others, finding success and losing other things in the process along with all the over the top kdrama tropes that come with it are nothing we haven't seen or already discussed. But they did do it in a nice easy to consume way.The acting was good, music was fine and the storytelling and rhythm was very good! Nice duration, not too long. I think many kdramas are mistaken to think they have something that important to say that it has to be 16h. Ridiculous atp. So 45 min and 12 eps was a nice refreshment.
So overall good, but I won't be revisiting it or thinking of it.
Was this review helpful to you?
betrayal
So I watched this drama ,because it was my sister's suggestion I was excited because it was about the world behind the scene or back stage world that what i thought.But I guess I'm not a fan , I wasn't encouraged to write a review of it too.
At first the production of this drama is huge but I can't deny that I didn't like it at all. It was going smoothly in the first episode and then it started to crack . All characters I mean all of them were cursing all the time like it was some kind of competition
I was disappointed of how it goes - I thought this might be funny and enjoyable but it was not.
The relationship between the main characters weren't real that's how I felt .there were a lot of things that wasn't explained .
I didn't like of how they show us that people are stabbing each other's back for some views and followers .this is a bad Representative of social media's people's life .
At some point I thought is that real in Korea or any other place in the world , people who work in social media industry are they really something like that?
All actors did a great job the music also was great .
If you are someone who love plot twist and betrayal this drama is for you.
Was this review helpful to you?
A nice time, no alcohol required
This could have easily been a 10, but the whole message was a little of a letdown.I liked the actors, the story was good (not great) and they did an awesome job with the visuals. I think this will resonate with a lot of people in a world of internet stars and wannabe influencers, but what exactly was the real message here? or have I missed it?
I don't regret watching this drama, we enjoyed ourselves marathoning it in 2 days. Would I watch it again? not entirely but some parts were really good and I might give them another look in the future
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Realistic view of influencers life
This drama was so refreshing, the actors did so well,the story was interesting till the end.The influencer's life and environment was revealed through the episodes and it was quite interesting and realistic .
The character's development was well done and the end was satisfying. I liked the fact that the male lead remained beside the female lead till the end.
By the way the lead actor is from CNBLUE band, active since 13 years, y'all should listen to his music, you won't be disappointed.
Was this review helpful to you?
Not too bad
LIKEAh Ri's wits and how she reacted at a party
The method Joon Kyung used when trying to get to know Ah Ri
Pitiful Shi Hyun like how helpless she was with her life
DISLIKE
All the entitled chaebols who thought they owned the whole world
MUSIC
Not to my liking
REWATCH VALUE
Five for now
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Had potential to be one of the best shows of the year
It was no surprise that Kang min hyuk and Park guy young were perfect as seo ah ri and Han Joon kyung. Kang min hyuk played my favorite character and one half of my favorite couple on heirs.This show had a lot of potential and started out great. But the pacing I guess? It was like they were having so much fun with the plot that they forgot that they had only 12 episodes to tell the entire story and then before they realized it was already episode 11.
Like this show had it all. The tension was there, the leads had so much chemistry and I was so invested in the plot like I wanted to find out so bad who BBB famous was and when her best friend was sitting in the police station l literary screamed and was like OMG this is insane is it her friend? But it turned out to be nothing and it actually turned aut to be this unknown extra and then she killed herself and we were throwing like some kind of pity party for her? Like why that girl was literally a terrorist and she never gave us an explanation for her actions and the entire live stream turned out to be a deepfake
All in all I Don't regret watching but idk is I will be rewatching. Maybe just for the leads.
Was this review helpful to you?
?? can be rated as best drama of the year
I can't believe I am writing a review. I never write review until the drama is really good and this drama is totally that drama of the yearI never thought I will watch this drama as I am into Rom- com dramas but this drama is an exception
First of all what a wonderful cast and acting
Both leads are the stealers especially FL and Ml both did justice to the role
I expected more romance but this cast and story really makes up for it
I will definitely tell to start watching it first after 1 st episode you will be definitely get hooked up like me
I was watching this drama without a skip till end 😍. I would definitely tell this drama can bag awards this year.
I can't believe I am writing this review as I never write any review until I am sure that the drama is blockbuster and this drama is it
Suspense part is also good 👍 and the male lead will make you fall in love with him
Must watch 😍😍😍
Was this review helpful to you?
Solid 7. It was fun just not my type of fun.
I have been giving high reviews recently so I am excited to give this one a solid 7. I thought my drama meter was broken, turns out I still had places where I draw the line on bad.The drama ended and I still didn't root for any of the characters, I didn't trust or believe anyone including FL. This is not what I typically watch dramas for and if it wasn't a full binge I probably wouldn't have finished.
Many smart moves and for once the police weren't bad - he might actually be my favorite. I appreciate the point of the story just can't help but think it was lacking in delivery. The villains survived far too long with their pity schemes and the only "true" villain's downfall was a behind-the-scenes prep. I am not gonna write an essay about it so I'll stop here. It was fun while it lasted but the production, cast, cameos, and acting were superior to the plot. I also don't get why we couldn't get a better happy ending when the ending was supposed to be happy. Like really no cute couples? The best couple scenes were given to the Sihyeon and not Ari?
Was this review helpful to you?
