Hierarchy

The Character Problem

I think the issue with hierarchy is it's characters. The idea of the plot makes for a good revenge thriller. However, it feels more like a teen high school drama than a thriller. this is probably because the protagonist has forgotten his motives five minutes after kissing the female lead. The fl is another issue. She has no personality; she's basically a robot. It's like talking to a brick wall. Her boyfriend, Rian is an obsessive, pretty boy with mommy issues. They both casually admitted during one of his flashbacks that their relationship is just a way to escape the burdensome realities of their lives, yet they somehow thought their confessions were romantic. Hera, the second female lead had a lot of potential, but her writing was shallow. She was still a bit entertaining to watch, though. I'm not done with the show yet, but it's been boring so far. Different people watch shows for different reasons: characters, plot, aesthetics, etc. Personally, it's impossible to get invested in a show that doesn't have interesting character, and these are by far one of the most boring set of characters I've come across in tv.

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This Ain't Revenge. It's Regression

first two episodes really had me thinking.. "this is not that bad, why does everyome hate this?". oh boy did i know what was coming for me.

“the baby must have understood i didn’t want it, so it left itself.”
and that was the only line that had any impact.

let’s start off easy—there is no plot. hierarchy attempts to throw in three different plotlines and then expects them to miraculously blend like some k-drama smoothie. spoiler alert: it doesn’t work. these plotlines don’t intertwine, they run parallel, like socially awkward train tracks.

there is no development, no real mystery, no gripping romance, no fulfilling revenge. just vibes (and not the good kind). the only time the plot moved an inch was during the last 45 minutes. until then, i was multitasking my way through like a champ, wondering what genre this drama even belonged to.

revenge? poorly done. handled with the grace of a toddler throwing a tantrum at a birthday party they weren’t invited to
romance? non-existent. only people that did have chemistry didn't end up together so.. what's the point?
mystery? girl, where??
character development? raw. not rare. RAW. stove wasn’t even turned on.
plot twists? mostly yawn, with one almost-shocker that you could kinda see coming if you squinted.


lee chaemin's acting? great. his character? spineless. sir, your whole arc is about avenging your brother and you give it all up because you caught feelings for a girl you met two business days ago? be serious with me, kang ha.

woo jin? pretty, but a certified clown.

yoon hera? the only saving grace. she deserves the world, an oscar, and a better drama. ji hyewon, thankyou for the gem of a character.

jung jae-i? emotional depth of an orange. actually, no—an orange peel. her character arc was meant to be deeply emotional. teen pregnancy, miscarriage, abandonment—this had the potential to carry the entire drama. but her acting? yeah no. she was the protagonist, and she failed her own story.

kim ri-an? boring. not even brooding. just blank. like his entire screen presence. honestly, him and jae-yi deserve each other. two characters with emotional range stuck at zero. and again, not a single compelling moment to tie up their arcs.

the pacing? somehow fast AND boring.
the visuals? appealing to look at. they clearly spent a fortune making this look good. pity they forgot to include a functioning story with it..
the OST? can't remember a single track.
the ending? unsatisfactory and face-less like, seriously. couldn’t even show jae-yi's mom’s face.

“Hierarchy” had potential. but potential doesn’t save you when the script is running on fumes and the characters are running on vibes and delusion. the ideas were thrown together like ingredients in a blender with no lid. messy, flavorless, and exploding everywhere. they had the budget, the cast, the aesthetics—but forgot the soul.

but go off i guess, Netflix.

Rating: 5/10 for cinematography and overall enjoyability, and for hera trying her best in a sinking ship. if you search up the definition of "mid" on wikipedia, this drama pops up btw.

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Romantic thriller about privileged teenagers — an intense work beyond appearances

Review with images, spoiler marks and more: https://www.reddit.com/user/_sunoh/comments/1ljwqtb/hierarchy_review_an_intense_work_beyond/

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Hierarchy is a drama that, behind an apparent classic structure — elite school, bullying, revenge — stands out precisely through its ability to go further, delivering a human, emotional, and above all, resolved story. And that is its strength.

The story doesn’t need a sequel because it is complete. Kang Ha gets the truth he seeks, and justice is served. No blind revenge, no spectacular payback, but a quest for meaning, understanding, and repair. The drama doesn't dwell on the brutality of bullying as often seen elsewhere, it chooses a more subtle, mature, realistic tone. And that makes all the difference.

Kang Ha, as a central figure, disrupts the established order through his academic excellence, courage and emotional intelligence. The way he prevents the sharing of the video, or his heartbreaking line to Ri An — “Learn to live with your guilt because I will never accept your apology” — gives the whole story its meaning: a life lesson, not a revenge tale.

Every line of dialogue matters, every word carries weight, and it’s in these exchanges that Hierarchy finds its full scope. The final episode is especially striking: intense, accomplished, and deeply moving.

Jae I herself embodies the ambivalence that makes the characters so human. Both victim and witness, stoic yet wounded, she perfectly illustrates the emotional complexity the drama aims to convey. Her performance, subtle and restrained, makes her a memorable character, just like Kang Ha, whose portrayal literally carries the drama. Moreover, all the main characters—and many others—add depth and nuance to the story.

Far from being a simple “aesthetic” drama, Hierarchy knows exactly where it’s going. It doesn’t seek consensus perfection — it seeks resonance. And it succeeds, because every episode is rich and layered, every emotion measured, every transformation believable. Even Ri An benefits from a complex and realistic character arc. And that’s precisely what makes this work memorable: nothing is black or white, and above all, everything is said.

The settings themselves play an equally interesting role. They depict a school of unreal beauty, which makes the contrast with the darkness of the drama all the more striking. It evokes certain dystopian films: a seemingly perfect world where the worst seeps into every crack. This visual dissonance is no accident — it reinforces the drama’s atmosphere and underlines its tensions. And clearly, I’ve rarely seen such beautiful color grading.

It's easy to criticize the drama for a lack of originality, but that's a misreading. Hierarchy doesn’t overplay elitism or corruption — it deconstructs them with finesse. And above all, it highlights a powerful message: the importance of change, awareness, and education — even in the most closed environments.

All in all, Hierarchy is a short but impactful drama. Not because of its spectacular aspect, but because of its sensitivity, accuracy, and its ability to evoke emotion without relying on gimmicks. The drama doesn't aim to shock — it aims to heal, to bring growth, and it does it well.

The post-credits is a symbolic scene of Kang Ha and the school hinting at a Season 2. Either way, Lee Chae Min, Roh Jeong Eui and Kim Min Chul got reunited in Crushology 101, which I absolutely loved.

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A show to NEVER recommend!!!

this show was complete waste of time every single episode I was so irrated. if it wasn’t seven episodes and longer, I would have NEVER finished. I disappointed for wasting my time on it. The female lead is so annoying and how are you going to have a relationship with the teacher and the teacher becomes possessive. not only that why are you falling for the person who feels she killed your brother and dated the person who is apart of the reason your brother is dead. if you wanted revenge I feel like you could have done it better. At least the revenge part was somewhat decent. and then the other male character s are so annoying especially the FL’s ex.. like you broke up with him and now you are saying you still love him and this and that. I feel that if she got with the male lead more ppl would be happy but at the end she left everyone and it was kind of an open ending in terms of. what happens at the end of the show. but all in all the show is HORRIBLE

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I'd give it a miss...

I wasted too many hours of my life watching up to episode 6 (although it took me MONTHS of dipping in and out) before I finally gave up for good. Please do not waste your time, the storyline is poor.
I thought it would be decent to start with, like a Revenge of Others vibe, but it was just a car crash.
Everybody was so stiff, there was no chemistry between any of the characters, and the most expressive character in the whole show was the principal's strange son. All the characters have something that makes you hate them.

And WHY, when they go outside to have conversations, do they stand 6ft apart every time?? They might as well shout it so the whole school can hear their secrets.

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Waisted Budget

I was very excited to watch this drama and was really looking forward to it, unfortunately I was disappointed. The cinematography and scenery was really good, you could tell they put effort towards the production. Also, they’re outfits and the settings were cool. I was looking forward to watch this drama because I usually like the high school trope that involves revenge. The first episode started okay though after that it fell off. I’m not even sure what the plot was supposed to be after watching it. I was looking forward to see some revenge or at least chemistry with the characters. Nothing against the characters but the script was clearly not it. Hopefully, they make better high school tropes as it seems dramas have been lacking in that genre. Wouldn’t recommend 🙂

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Skippable. No really, don't bother.

A synopsis that had me hopeful for a good revenge drama, eventually disappointing me two episodes in.

Basically the writers focus so much on the struggles of the rich kids that the viewer is left with "I really don't give a shit." There are ways to concentrate on the antagonists without making them into the main character. Meanwhile this drama has managed to show that the only thing we are supposed to care about are the societal and familial struggles of rich kids rather than the literal boy who died because of their actions. That's..ridiculous.

Every minute I wondered: can we get back to the student that DIED already? Or maybe show us what the kids who get bullied go through? The pressure on the scholar student kids who act shitty because of the rich kids pressure? Show us their home life, their decision making, their pain. Hello??? Show us anything, literally ANYTHING relatable.

I'm used to revenge stories to focus on the revenge not trying to humanize shitty rich kids who didn't give two fucks when people were bullied and beaten up around them. It made me feel nothing but annoyance. Maybe I would have cared had they not been such shitty, dismissive, entitled people about everything that didn't directly affect them. So yeah, I don't have a single care for Jaein and Rian's "star crossed lovers" arch...

Also how are they not mentioning that Ri-an is a toxic boyfriend? He's controlling, he literally has people beat up just for befriending his girlfriend and he won't take no for an answer and the writers gloss over it completely.That's crazy.

The acting is stale and the story presented forgettable. This is something you can watch if there is literally nothing else to watch out there, which is not a thing.

I found this drama by chance only to realize that it's giving Elité season 1, if it was bad and not fully thought through.

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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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could this be the worst kdrama in 2014?

First off, this is my opinion. If any of you liked the drama, then good for you. Just respect the fact that not everyone liked it

This drama made me wonder if Korean elite really lived like that. Seriously, students who rule the school, so much so that the teachers are afraid of offending them??? Be that as it may, the extravagant display of wealth i.e. helicopters, chauffers, butlers, etc... was just a bit too much for me.

I though that this story revolved on bullying but the sub-stories easily overpowered this notion. The FL, while visually pretty, was nothing short of irritating, Blank expression from start to finish... MEH... I hated her character really. The way she avoided her ex BF would make you think that the guy did something MAJORly bad. But loh and behold.... it ended up that she was "protecting" him. Seriously, what kind of storyline was that. Protecting him from the fact that she got pregnant and miscarried? Very lame.... This show was literally children playing grown-ups by making common life problems a BIG issue.

And Hera? From bitchy BFF, it felt rushed how she turned a 360 sympathizing with the FL.

This story has just too many flaws and I wholeheartedly agree with anyone who gave it a low rating.

Not to belittle the efforts of the cast and crew, but this really was such a waste of airtime on Netflix.

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Missed Opportunity

I shouldn't have watched the ending credit scene, it annoyed me. This story was meant to be avant-garde like Nevertheless and both failed. If you want a story to be edgy, it should have a point and a definitive ending. I hate ambiguous endings the most, it's sloppy, if a sequel was intended, set it up as so, this way fans can be excited and anticipate it. Doing so builds respect for the writer. I will follow a good writer's career because I appreciate the talent required to tell a good story.
What I did like: I liked the love story between Jae I and Ri An and the friendship between Jae I and Kang Ha (because that's all it was) He taught her to find value in herself and protect what she loved, and she did. I was glad to see she showed him the ultrasound; it was a poignant moment in their relationship.
One thing I hate about stories like this is powerful never pay for their crimes and neither do their kids. Those that do their bidding are the ones sacrificed. I hope to god, if there is a sequel, they don't make Kand Ha a villain, I would be extremely disappointed because it wouldn't fit his character.
This my two cents, take it for what it's worth from a fan that loves great stories and is disappointed in missed opportunities.

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