Hierarchy

Another rich kids drama

Where do i begin, i won't dive on all the other obvious points that Where mentioned by others reviewer, the lack of acting skill of fmc and her baby daddy, sorry i forgot all of their name this is how irrelevant they were, the only character i liked and remembered was He-Ra. What i would like to talk about is the plot rather than the characters. We were promised a revenge, we were promised justice but nothing EVER happened, there was no real consequences for the rich kids action, they basically all got away with it, the fact that they focused on the "less rich" idiot and the scholarship kid who was forced to do all the rich kid dirty work, how disappointing, like i did not expect them to achieve The Glory level of genius and satisfactory storytelling, but come on, at least they could have take some note, and i guess they were banking on the serie being successful enough to have a second season so they arrogantly did the last scene like to tell you the story was not over but just beginning.

And this is where i completely loose it and actually get mad, because one thing i absolutely hate is when producers and directors take their audience for idiots, it's like they were convinced if they had great visual, if their actors where super hot, and of course korean, it means we would eat it up, because of course as the korean culture has gotten so popular, it means we as an audience are willing to consume any trash, but that's where they are wrong, korean culture and arts got popular BECAUSE it's amazing, the shows or music artist, movies, books etc... that are now representative of Korea got their flowers because how brilliant they were, even more when you were comparing it to the lazy trash the western media was producing, that's why people jumped on the bandwagon of Korean shows and movies, we were tired of the us mediocre shows. So to have this kdrama being written exactly like the mediocre shows we hate in western media felt like a punch in the face.

They blow out their entire budget by investing in the visual, casting elite actors Bae Hae Sun (the school principal), Choi Won-Young (fmc mean father) and they had the best acting in the entire show (and still they did not explore their characters enough, so maybe they didn't have enough money to pay them to appear in an entire episode) but they did not have money left to hire good writers, so the plot basically felt like something generated by ChatGPT if you ask it to write you a korean fanfiction version of elite and gossip girl and any privilege kids tv show and you have this, a very robotic 7 episode series.
Even when it was revealed that fmc had gotten pregnant and lost the baby i know it's cruel to say but i simply did not care (maybe the actress did not know how to portray the emotions correctly for me to feel her pain) but when it was revealed i was more like "that's it? You are making all this drama because of this? Some one was actually mvrdered as a consequence of the bullying in school (and eveif the teacher was the "killer" if they didn't bully, it would not have happened, so really the teacher was just the bullet and the school the gun giving them no consequences and kids where the one pulling the trigger) fmc was the bystanders who never did anything but wanted to act like this good morally correct character, and mmc who had such good promise with his revenge mindset, fold so quickly for this girl???? Who was just as guilty... wow, anyway next...

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All style, little substance

TL;DR:
Visually stunning but emotionally hollow — Hierarchy sets up a juicy elite school revenge plot but fizzles out with weak payoffs, shallow romance, and forgettable characters.

The story kicks off with a dramatic moment: a student fleeing a party in fear, only to be hit by a car. That event sets the stage for a dark high school drama centered around Jooshin High School, a hyper-elite institution for Korea’s wealthiest and most powerful families. The school operates on an unforgiving social ladder — and if you’re not born rich, you’re barely even seen.

The main character is a scholarship student who enters this world with a hidden agenda: he’s investigating the death of his brother, who he believes was a victim of bullying and systemic cover-ups by the school’s elite. His mission is clear — expose the hierarchy, shake the system, and get revenge.

But along the way, things get complicated. He falls for Jung Jae-Yi, one of the elite girls — who also happens to be the girlfriend of the boy he believes is responsible for his brother’s death. To make things messier, Jae-Yi and her boyfriend actually did love each other, and their breakup happens over a flimsy, unconvincing reason. Even when she starts to develop feelings for the main lead, the shift feels rushed and emotionally shallow. Her romantic arc ends up feeling wishy-washy, which weakens the impact of both the romance and the revenge plot.

Despite the show’s attempts to explore class division, guilt, and justice, most of the characters feel more like pieces in a melodramatic chessboard than real people. The emotional core — especially around the love triangle and the main character’s grief — never quite hits the depth it promises.

That said, the production value is top-notch. From the luxurious sets and polished cinematography to the elite fashion and moody lighting, the drama looks incredible. It gives off serious “expensive Netflix drama” vibes. The heroine is visually striking and carries a strong presence, even if her character is inconsistently written.

Acting-wise, performances are okay but not particularly standout. Most actors deliver their lines competently, but there's a lack of nuance, especially when it comes to conveying emotional tension or trauma.

Hierarchy is the kind of drama that looks like it has something to say, but doesn’t commit to any of its themes. What starts as a promising revenge plot tangled with class politics becomes a muddled romance with unconvincing turns and a disappointing resolution. It’s worth a watch if you’re drawn to dramas set in elite schools with dark undertones — just don’t expect much substance beyond the aesthetics.

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Nah this sucks ngl

I've only watched 6 episodes, but I don't wanna watch the last one. it just feels like time wasted, dude. In the 6 episodes I've seen its just felt awkward and the characters haven't grown at all.

All the characters are annoying, and I couldn't care less about any of them. Why are they acting like theyre gods. People keep talking about the main antagonist like he has some sort of superpower "watch out or he'll kill you!" dramatic ahh

The concept of having a hierarchy school is a concept that can work. Just look at the anime "Classroom of the elite".

All the characters in Hierchy are just forgettable. None of them have a interesting backstory that'll get you emotional. They just feel like the cliché "I'm cool because I'm rich".

Of course, He-ra (who's the only name I remember) and her family got bankrupt, but then the main female cast helped her and said "I've always seen you as a friend" and that's just stupid because clearly when that party thingy was, she didn't introduce He-ra's father to her father, because she didn't feel like it. The characters are just inconsistent.

The main female cast is also just shit. 6 episodes in and she still wants to protect the antagonist. "He's done nothing wrong!" yeah that's cap. she feels like one of those "I can fix him!" type of girls whom I despise.

Overall this show's dookie

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How to delete this from my brain?

Hierarchy: A nonsensical combination of Gossip Girl and Elite that ultimately tries too hard and absolutely delivers nothing.

There's still hope that there won't be a second season, cause honestly let's invest that money into actual good well written kdramas. Let some of the actual good actors shine in a piece that will do them justice instead of making them return to this. This is truly a case like madame web HOW DID THIS GET FUNDED? WHO THOUGHT THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA? I now have personal beef with the people that gave this the green light. Studio Dragon do better! Also, my two year old nephew can even tell a more cohesive story than the writer(s) of this actual drama. AND IT'S THEIR JOB!

My negative nelly truly came out but this show really pissed me off. And I was actually enjoying it for the first two episodes despite being unrealistic as hell. I can only throw so much of my brain out of the window while watching something as nonsensical and unrealistic as this. By the end of episode 5, I was still watching the show because at that point I was oddly curious at how kuch more ridiculousness they could add. How much worse could it get? The answer was soooooooo much worse.

Plus, they dressed up an 18-year-old high schooler as a 30+ rich house wife that has to deal with a cheating husband and a horrible mother in law..... make it make sense please

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Another Big Budget Disappointment

It is as I expected just a korean version of elite + bullying. None of the characters especially the rich brats be it the FL or SML or others are likeable as each is just selfish.
The cast has surely done a decent job with their characters and makes us want to root for some and hate others. Although I would say this is RJE's weakest performance till date.

ML is out for revenge but has gotten wavered by a pathetic FL who only cares to protect SML.

Fl's character is a total damsel in distress who all she does is cry and beg. I really didn't like her character at all. A cold ice queen type who slowly opens up to ML or SML about her inner pain surely would have been better instead of a FL who is a weak crybaby from the start but anyhow this is how the show makers wanted it. RJE was a total miscast for this role and has zero chemistry with any of the leads and was bland the entire time with her acting.

SML is an A grade trash who deserves to be sent to prison. Dude is ruthless with no remorse for his actions. I am glad he doesn't get ML's forgiveness till the end.

Frankly Both SML and FL deserve each other as both were pathetic. One enjoys bullying other students while the other one only watches it and not once tried to stop it and then both acted all guilty and how sad they felt for ML's brother death. Not even once did any of these two tried to stop it, had they done it he would be alive.

The bullying shown in this drama is something I have seen many time before in Kdramas and is quite prevalent in South Korea's schools and colleges.
The show's story screams how much it is influenced by spanish drama "Elite". All the bullying, sex, drugs, filthy rich morons and their brats, parties, pregnancy ..... just reminded me of it. The only good thing about the drama is the production value and nothing more.

It is another disappointment after "The Impossible Heir" although the acting is good in this one.

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Try hard-chy

The early episodes of this drama is so busy trying to give an impression that it will be edgy like the western teen soaps that it seeks to ape that it forgets to set up characterization for any of the main characters moving into the story. It soon falls into the usual school drama cliches, just with a bigger budget and the lightest possible sanitized take on whichever taboo subject it's using for shock value. None of the cast have the acting ability to carry any kind of nuanced angst or charisma needed for any of these kids. The show is so wishy washy to fully condemn the bad behavior of the rich chaebol bully main character and there is also no bite to Kang Ha's plan for revenge for In Han.

Putting aside he somehow easily got the probably highly sought after empty scholarship slot left by his murdered brother, he has no genius plan at all. He just lucked out finding Ju Won has all the illegally recorded videos and even after everything is turned over to the police, there is no cathartic change or justice aside from low pawns on the totem pole like the principal getting fired and the pedophile getting rightfully arrested for murder. Woo Jin is the minor being abused, but he's also definitely an accomplice to hiding the murder. It's also sickening the show keeps presenting the rich kids with wholesome friendship moments like typical kdrama leads and are so wrapped up in feeling bad for them that Kang Ha, the reminder of them being horrible classist bullies pretty much disappears for a lot of the episodes, so the show could pretend they are a whole different drama other than the one where these are the bad guys that they set up.

Jae Yi and Ri An confirm their love for each other, but it doesn't evoke any strong feelings or romance, neither does Jae Yi confirming to Kang Ha that she did have a little bit of feelings for him. Aside from feeling horrified for Jae Yi being threatened by multiple people with both her illegally filmed by her brother sex tape (that's CP as well) and miscarriage, I don't feel bad for the rest of the chaebol bully crew at all, there is no dimension to their stories. This show is unable to form complicated characters, doesn't have any great acting to elevate it, and it's generally boring. The post credit scene of the last ep shows Kang Ha taunting Ri An after the latter comes upon a bloodied student. I can't even tell who that is supposed to be and why it means anything except for the show using supposedly shocking imagery but not delivering anything in the storytelling.

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A revenge story without the revenge

I am so disappointed maybe it’s because I was really hyped going into it. They had a pretty decent cast, good cinematography with beautiful shots and a storyline who could have been really interesting.

I was more enjoying and rooting for the “bad guys” that the MC like boy was giving me nothing. The MC didn’t feel like a MC I don’t know how to explain it but when he showed up, I just wanted to sigh.

Let’s talk about the forced romance because it was forced. Why did he fall for her? It doesn’t make sense at all. And why are they trying to make me believe that she ever loved him? She didn’t at all, well she didn’t look like at all.

And where is the revenge please!!! No the last scene of the serie was really underwhelming. I was just happy that it ended but anyway that’s a good series if you like to edit the face cards were insane.

~ Wrote by The Diary of an Angry GuMiHo

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