Hierarchy

had me at first, then lost me

The first few episodes were captivating. The sense of mystery and a dark plot lured me but then the horrible ending and outcome blew everything down that the previous episodes had built. I say I enjoyed the show from episodes 1-3. 4-7, lost me.

Kang Ha, the ML, comes to the school for revenge and then gets attached to a girl for absolutely no reason and ends up messing up the whole epic revenge we were all waiting for. There’s no reason for him to fall in love with Jae-i, friends is all they could’ve been. Their chemistry was weak and dare I even say he loved her? It was pure attachment at its finest.

This show does depict the difference between attachment and love. Ri-an truly did love Jae-i and would undoubtedly do anything for her. She’s truly happy with him and did what she thought would protect him. On the other hand, Kang Ha comes out of nowhere and believes he can top years of trust and love Jae-i had with Ri-an.

I thought this would be an epic revenge delivery story, but the romance ruined it. The romance didn’t even take place, which I won’t complain about because Jae-i’s true love is definitely Ri-an but the show wasted limited episodes on telling this story of “romance” when the view could’ve been on revenge.

The only character who was tolerable was He-ra. She did do inexcusable things, but she still knows right from wrong.
- Slapped Jae-i’s brother for filming such an inappropriate video
- Got upset at Woojin for going to Jae-i’s dad and resulting in her getting sent overseas

Additionally, He-ra was the only character I genuinely felt bad for. Her dad’s company went under and I could feel what she was feeling through the screen.

Moving on, the cliffhanger left us with some questions. I don’t feel the need for a season 2 but if one is made, it could possibly redeem the whole show. Questiosn were left unanswered.
- Is Kang Ha a chaebol?
- This new principal, what is she about?
- Is this principal related to Kang Ha somehow?
- Who was murdered at the end?
- Why was Kang Ha not wearing a tie at the end?

Overall, this was a small mess. It wasn’t horrible, but it was disappointing.

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Failed Attempt, one of the worst kdrama (Spoiler Alert)

They gave so much hype to the series. But didn't workout. This series have the same story as dokgo rewind season 2 (which was supposed to happen, but didn't happen). In dokgo rewind season 1 they ended as there will be a 2nd season also the main plot was revealed too. Surprisingly hierarchy have the same story lol😆 . Also the main lead actress don't have emotions while playing it's really hard to know whether she is acting or not. Some may say it's because of her role...but we have seen many actors playing the same type characters, even though in these type of character they may show some emotion so that we could literally understand what they are trying to convey. Also in the end male lead doesn't have the real revenge. In the end director just want to make like the heroine is innocent,she didn't do anything wrong, she is always right and also she's the main soo she can't down like that. When her boyfriend (2nd lead) was bullying main hero's brother she was just looking at that and didn't even care about that. Not just that she is the reason for hero's brother got bullied. Even though in that situation director tried his level best to prove she innocent, she is scared and she is conquering..But in the same time hero was trying his best to solve this and truly loving her. The 2nd hero's bullying led to the death of hero's brother (not saying they are fully responsibile, but they are playi g major role in that incident). If they do bullying, they must be punished. Instead of that heroine gone against hero and trying to save 2nd hero. On that time the main content was changes. Just like the main hero did something wrong and heroine is right and she is doing the right thing. All faults was by the heroine. And director tried to glorify her actions. That's the failure. Her character build up and story ending make the whole series a failure. If dokgo rewind 's 2nd season release, we could see the story focused series. I hope they would do the 2nd season (2nd season of dokgo rewind). And don't release the 2nd seasons of hierarchy. As a k drama lover it's an utter disappointment to watch hierarchy. 1.5/10 my rating to the hierarchy

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a waste of time

I felt like this was completely influenced a lot by western teen dramas and honestly was not feeling it. I got pretty annoyed throughout the very first episode. As the scene of them playing spin the bottle or truth or dare. (Can’t remember because it just wasn’t anything remotely rememberable.) it just felt completely forced and like your cliche western talking about sex and hooking up and flaunting there wealth and being bullies. But I wanted to see it through as it could possibly turn around. Where it almost did once I found out who kang ha was. And thought “here we go it’s about to get juicy “ But let me down as it went on because a lot of it just was all over the place and didn’t really flow i felt.

There was just no plot and seemed like every other common western drama to a predictable murder mystery. A love triangle and family drama. Even though I expected someone completely different of being the person who killed kang ha twin brother. But even that still wasn’t enough to get me fully hooked on it.

I didn’t really understand the dynamic between kang ha and the female protagonist jae yi. It was pretty pointless and I felt there wasn’t much chemistry for him to be so intrigued with her.
He had a goal to expose the people envolved in his brother’s death. And felt like he lost sight of that because of his fascination with jae yi and wanting to protect her. Even tho she could honestly care less because she was trying to keep her secret hidden. Which she was just not likable. To be honest there were not one likable characters if I’m being honest. But this is just my personal opinion.

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JUDGE FOR YOUR OWN!!!

Okay hear me OUT; if you won't be swayed by the reviews then go for it...

GAHHH, okay this drama had SO MUCH POTENTIAL. like SERIOUSLY.

Also, for everyone complaining about the acting, yes to each their own about the acting opinions but honestly, MOST of the characters fit WHO they were role playing - makes SENSE.

Had some heartfelt moments and really justice + revenge was getting in place.

NOW - why I think a lot of people had issues with this drama - THE PLOT ITSELF:

IT WAS INTERESTING BUTTTTT I think whether it's the screenwriter, director or whatever, FAILED to really GRASP and ORGANIZE the storyline.... LIKE IT REALLY HAD POTENTIAL, I did want to watch more and FIGURE OUT WHAT was going on and WHO was on WHOSE side etc.

It was also a bit CONFUSING? Like you didn't know who to side with, what everyone's intentions were <--- another FAIL in terms of character development, showing relationships, bond etc (just used flashbacks) but that won't relate much with the audience.

Overall, with the ending and everything, it was a DECENT watch. Like I wasn't dying to leave the drama but I wasn't left on an exact cliff hanger.

I usually love shorter dramas bc they get to the point and really packs an impact, however, I think there was TOO many concepts going on for this short film....

I PROMISE this storyline had potential - I just think it was executed poorly........ :(

UNFORTUNATE really....

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The fact that this had so much potential makes me mad.

This is the type of series that makes me mad. Even though the plot was basic and has been used multiple times. It had potential and could’ve given us a better revenge. Basically the ML ended up falling in love with the girl that let his brother die, even if she was sorry about it she did not do ANYTHING. It’s even worse when I tell you that the girl didn’t even like him back. Also the series could’ve been fixed if they gave us a second season but no. It’s a “limited Netflix series” meaning there will be no season two, and that it will not be fixed at all.

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Time wasted

This is my first time writing a review, so bear with me. I had heard a lot of bad reviews, but I still wanted to watch it. The 7 episodes started out good, but then the plot just didn't go anywhere. The main character focused so much on the girl that he totally forgot about his brother.

Why was it so short, and why did it go nowhere? I mean, I guess the teacher got arrested, but still.
They should've addressed the fact that the teacher was literally a pedo. She got arrested for the murder but not for her relationship with Lee U Jin. He Ra might as well have been the female lead because Jae i didn’t do much. He Ra was the best character. Did Kang Ha waste his time focusing on Jae i only to get rejected? It’s frustrating—they had so much potential but brought nothing to the table. Episodes one and two were good, but after that, it was pretty bland.

There were some scenes, like the car race, that weren’t needed. They spent so much money on that instead of developing the plot. The love triangle was pointless. Why mix a love triangle with a murder mystery? They combined two plots but still couldn’t make a good drama. The way they tried to imitate American football in Korea was so funny.

Since the actors are a bit older, it feels weird watching them try to act like teenagers—you can tell they’re not, not just by their looks but by their acting.

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simplesmente raso

no início parece que vai ser ótimo, mas no final é uma bagunça. um dos PIORES doramas que eu já vi. querem que você torça por um casal rico em que o par masculino é responsável consciemente de mais da metade dos problemas que acontecem e você não sente a menor empatia por ele. as amizades são falsas, as vinganças não são fortes, nada parece certo. só existem dois personagens (kang-ha e jae-i) que talvez mereçam alguma paz, mas ambos tem fortes falhas, principalmente a jae-i que decide proteger o ri-an que é desprezível. no final as relações são rasas e a história ainda mais sem profundidade. uma pena.

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Flash Over Substance

I was originally just going to write a comment but it got out of hand so...full review it is.

The show started off somewhat interesting, but they didn't really bring anything new to the table. We've seen this done multiple times already in Korea, as well as in other international Netflix properties...and better.

Having multiple actors who were in SKYCastle made it all the more obvious how bad the pacing and writing was in this show. I can see what they wanted to do, and I'm okay with watching shows with similar plots and tropes, but not when the writing is lackluster and the acting is...missing something.

Lee Chae Min(Kang Ha) and Lee Won Jung(Lee Woo Jin) were the only actors amongst the younger cast that I believed and saw the subtle emotions they tried to get across. Chae Min studied acting and it shows. Even though he's only been active since 2020 he has a confidence in front of the camera that is important for a lead actor. The was an insecurity showing from Kim Jae Won that I didn't really understand.

TBH the reason I wanted to see this show in the first place was because of the lead actress Roh Jeong Eui and after watching her performance...I have some questions. Where the hell did her extremely prominent dimples go? Why do actresses keep get tweakments RIGHT BEFORE shooting a drama where they need to be able to emote? Her smiles seemed forced and unnatural for most of her scenes with Kim Ra In. There was no connection between their characters. And I don't know what it is about Kim Jae Won's eyes, but it's giving 'no thoughts, head empty'. She's been acting for over a decade, and I really want to know what happened here...was it her...was it the director? Other than what I've already said I'm not sure what went wrong with this performance. It feels like they said "your character has no personality so just stand there and don't smile, don't show any emotion"

Okay, let me put this in a way that you can understand why I'm a bit harsh with the emoting and chemistry. If you've seen the show Maxton Hall recently you might have seen the lead actor talking about how he'll go over a script and see what lines could be omitted and just be expressed through a look instead. The LOOKS that the entire cast give in that show...you can practically hear their internal thoughts/struggles.

There is a way to express cold and standoffish without giving statue and dead eyes. The reason I was drawn more to Kang Ha as a character was because he had those looks down. He had his mask side, and his true self. He had emotions that spanned more than just happy and disinterested. There were thoughts in his head that the audience could interpret. Same with Woo Jin, best example, when he realizes what he's done in bringing about the unhappiness of the girl he likes and his best friend.

I'll give it to the make-up/wardrobe department for doing the work towards the end to soften the characters. The different make-up techniques on the girls were noticed.
Using Prada for the FL is smart in that it is extremely structured and angled, but simple, classic and understated. *snaps*
I just wish we could have gotten a few more "relaxed" versions of the characters. There was a lot of what I like to call "over produced" scenes that should have been more intimate. We really didn't need the Michael Bay level break up scene...I swear I was waiting for an explosion to go off as she walked away. A lot of the cinematography was flash over substance imo. It's one of the things I notice the most in any production. A lot of the show felt more like an ott music video(which is how Michael Bay got his start as a director) than an actual human story.

We also never got to really see Kang Ha's personal space. Everyone else's rooms were over the top or cold and impersonal. It just all felt so...fake. I know that that was the intent for some of the set design, but there was little to no contrast and it all just felt the same person decorated multiple locations. The only space that sort of showed the personality of any of the characters was Woo Jin's studio.
We should have been shown a home at some point, what we got were show rooms.

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maybe just listen to the ost!!

i was extremely excited to start hierarchy. i was in korea when it was released, and i really enjoyed watching the first few episodes and uncovering the plot. sadly, this didn't last long, and i think the main reason is how long it feels.

the visuals are all very similar and the episodes just felt dragging. i do think this was part of the point of the show, as to explain the type of environment jooshin is, but it just made each minute feel like 10. there were times i was 15-20 minutes into an episode, but it felt like 40. this is honestly the sole reason it took me so long to finish the show. i started it at release, and it took me almost 5 full months to finish it. the scenes that felt the most refreshing were the scenes at jaei’s beach house and when the main cast was in the city together.

alongside that, the plot was handled poorly. they really did have EVERYTHING to make an amazing show: good music and actors, beautiful set, and a plot that could have been amazing. in a way, they focused too much on the aesthetics and less the actual plot. the relationships felt undeveloped and the absolute full plot explanation within the last hour of the show was extremely disappointing to see. even though all of kangha’s motivation stems from inhan, it felt like in half of the show he was an afterthought. for a show that spent so much time with all the characters, i feel like i know nothing about them and their relationships. while this could be intentional, it makes too big of an impact on the show to were i can’t think that. the only thing strongly revealed was the hierarchy of the school, which does make sense in the context of the show, but i would love more.

the characters also made me mad. i went from liking people to hating people to liking them again. i do like that everything was wrapped up, like kangha getting closure on his “relationship” with jaei, hera and jaei becoming friends again, and rian and jaei semi-fixing their relationship. woojin felt extremely underutilized, like his only point was to be dating a teacher and pining over hera (which felt like a reallyyyyy unnecessary arch). i really wish time was spent developing them more, instead of focusing on messy relationships and extravagant party life. i assume some of this was the point of the show, but it still is annoying.

onto the thing i actually love: the music. i don’t listen to osts often, unless someone i know is in it, but this is one of the best osts i’ve listened to. just from the intro with cocona’s ‘holler time’, i was already in love. next, junhyeon’s song ‘ruin life’ is amazing when it appears in the outro. aside from holler time, my favorite song is probably ‘paradise’ by xydo. if you haven’t listened to this entire ost yet, i would definitely recommend it! out of all the aspects of this show, this ost is the thing that fits along with the visuals. i felt much more emotion from this ost than the show, and if you don’t think you want to watch the show, listening to the ost will give you a similar feeling.

anyways, did i enjoy this show? yes. do i think it has a high rewatch value? no. now that i’ve seen it and i’m done with it, i’ll probably not revisit it. i’m happy i finished it though, and it’s clearly a labor of love from everyone involved.

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