An intense work beyond appearances.
This drama fascinated me, unlike all the criticism. Rather than being impressed by the drama’s budget, what truly struck me in the end was the talent and golden heart of the screenwriter, along with the skill of the director and actors.Read the review here: https://www.reddit.com/user/_sunoh/comments/1ljwqtb/hierarchy_review_an_intense_work_beyond/
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Hierarchy: A Letdown
"Hierarchy" contains familiar K-drama elements: relentless bullying, unsolved murder, ultra-rich high school students, a poor student seeking revenge, drug and power abuse, and inattentive parents, similar to "Penthouse," "Sky Castle," and "Revenge of Others." However, it disappoints on multiple fronts. The story starts slow and only gains pace in the last two episodes, where the rushed and lackluster revenge plot finally begins. The ending feels abrupt and unsatisfying, leaving viewers with a sense of missed potential.The characters are underdeveloped, making it hard to invest in their journeys. Despite a talented cast and high production values, the drama's exploration of heavy themes remains superficial, used more as plot devices than for serious commentary.
Nonetheless, I liked the male leads acting. If I could complete the drama it was because of them.
Overall, "Hierarchy" squanders its promising premise, failing to deliver a compelling or engaging narrative, and ends up being a waste of time for viewers expecting a gripping drama.
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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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who done it mystery
Slow and dragging with story and characters.School full of moral decay
Good cematroghpy.Flim crew gets a plus.
Spoiler
who gets bumped off in the credits , Moss? A poor attempt to revive it for season 2
The really wasn't a love triangle. The heroine did seem to still love her first love, though the script did put a couple of holes there. but overall she did seem to stay true to her first love. I'm ok with that.
The brother you wanted to wind up with someone better. But in the ending credits the story twists there too. Not really believable for his character.
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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.Was this review helpful to you?
Visually pleasing, but the rest made zero sense
You wouldn't believe how excited I was after looking at the cast and watching the trailer. I really had high hopes for this one. Unfortunately, the only things I liked were the vibes and aesthetics. The story made no sense, the characters made no sense, the flow of the show made no sense. The whole drama felt pointless. It looked cool enough for me to finish it and I like the main cast from other dramas, but this frustrated me a lot. If you want to turn off your brain completely to watch rich people nonsense and impressive glamorous high school parties, and don't mind the characters not having much personality, I'd say go ahead. Otherwise, you wouldn't miss much and it that's really disappointing for me.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
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 hierarchyWas this review helpful to you?
The script of the series falls into clichés from time to time
It successfully reflects the emotional depths of the characters. However, some of the side characters are not explored in depth enough, which weakens their roles in the story and causes them to remain superficial.Questioning the effects of power and money on society the series manages to make the audience think and raise awareness. However the fact that some criticisms remain superficial and are not examined in depth somewhat weakens the social criticism power of the series.
The fact that some of the side characters in the series were not expanded enough caused the character played by No Jeong Ee to stand out even more. In this case while on the one hand it was advantageous from the perspective of having the player's capacity on the other hand it affected the overall distribution of the series.
To be honest, I didn't like Roh Jeong Eui's acting sorry Jeong Ee can use similar acting techniques in some of her roles. This may give viewers the impression that they are stuck in a certain role type or character mold. It may be necessary to break this perception by giving more diverse performances in different types of productions By the way, I really liked Yoon He Ra's acting, I hope her success continues.
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I don't know why everyone is saying it sucks
In a kdrama world that we live in dominated by predictable romance (that I enjoy and is also my favorite genre), this one was not that and I think people hate it because of thatevery episode ended making you want to know what's gonna happen, it had unpredictable twists, amazing acting, attractive cast, emotions, it was a beautiful kdrama
AND DONT GET ME STARTED IN THE SCENE AFTER THE END CREDITS IN THE FINAL EPISODE HOLY, WHAT A HUGE TWIST, definitely more episodes coming
In my opinion, this was wonderful and worth a watch
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Pretty People, Pretty Things, Petty Problems
Hierarchy had been on my watchlist for a while, but I quietly deleted it after seeing an avalanche of bad reviews. The drama community wasn’t kind. But then Kim Jae Won happened, specifically, King the Land happened, and suddenly, I found myself casually soft stalking him like a woman on a mission. Turns out, Hierarchy is one of his newer and more talked-about projects, and with only seven episodes, I figured: why not binge it in one sitting and call it a day?Let me just say this upfront, I walked into this with rock-bottom expectations. I wasn’t looking for deep storytelling or emotional resonance. I just needed something to pass the time before getting back to The Red Sleeve. And in that spirit, here’s my breakdown. Easy, honest, and to the point.
The Good Stuff:
1. Cinematography? Gorgeous.
High-quality visuals, sleek camera work, and a set design that screamed money. Everything looked polished, almost too polished, like everyone lived in a luxury catalog.
2. The Rich Were Rich Rich.
If you’re into watching excessive wealth parade around, think Hermès boxes in every corner, luxury homes, cars that don’t see rain, and private school vibes that are aggressively elite, Hierarchy delivers. Plot? Questionable. But aesthetics? Unmatched.
3. Kim Jae Won and Lee Chae Min = Eye Candy Deluxe.
Whoever cast these two deserves an award and a vacation. Not only are they beautiful, but they also brought more depth than I expected. For their age, the emotional delivery, especially in those tension-filled locker room scenes or when tears started flowing, was surprisingly solid. They carried a lot of the weight of this show, and honestly, they did it well. The rest of the cast was... there. Serviceable.
4. Wardrobe Department Did Not Play.
The outfits, especially for the male leads, were designer from head to toe. Sharp suits, tailored school uniforms, and the kind of casual wear that costs more than my rent. Same goes for the houses, the cars, the props, everything screamed budget.
5. Short and Sweet (Well, Short At Least).
They didn’t drag things out. No 16 episodes of the female lead staring into the void while piano music plays in the background. Things moved quickly, maybe a little too quickly, but at least I didn’t feel like I was being held hostage.
The Not-So-Great:
Don’t expect a plot that’s going to change your life. This isn’t The Glory, Sky Castle, or even Penthouse at its chaotic best. The themes are familiar, class division, secrets, trauma, betrayal, but the writing doesn't dig very deep. It gives rich-people-problems with a sprinkle of a revenge plot and teen angst, but if you're looking for emotional payoff or tight plotting, you might feel underwhelmed.
Final Thoughts:
Hierarchy is like a fashion magazine with a bit of drama sprinkled in. It's not here to teach you life lessons or make you cry in the middle of the night. It's here to look good, stir a little chaos, and leave before things get too complicated. If you're okay with that, and just want to enjoy the visuals, the pretty faces, and some high-budget messiness, it’s worth the watch. Just go in with the right expectations, and you might actually have a good time.
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have stayed away from all the ones involved in his brothers death.. They were all evil.
Trouble is in these sort of surroundings even teachers are cowards.Parents are as bad. You are no good going to Jooshin high if you are not rich because equality for all doesnt come into their curriculum. I did watch the whole series but it wasn't one of the best kdramas. There were no twists or turns and it lacked action. The ending with the baby's photo was one of the high points. was OK..welldone to the actors.. You don't write the scripts..
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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 HORRIBLEWas this review helpful to you?
