CurlyFries

Pyramid Game is a drama that I think embodies the idea that simple storytelling can work well. This drama wasn't groundbreaking nor did I really expect it to be, but I still think it held its own fairly well. There's always an innate appeal of an underdog story and combine that with the promise of a thriller that is female led? It was impossible for me not to check it out.

It's rare to find a decent story that is written about women for women and for it to actually portray female characters in a decent way. That might sound absurd, but from my experience it is quite rare to find one that isn't romance led. The premise was quite good: a teenage girl that moves around a lot is forced into a prestigious class that plays a sick hierarchy game that is lead by a sociopath. I really liked seeing how Suji maneuvered her way through an unfair system that she had no choice but to participate in. In fact, I'd argue it's hard not to like Suji as a protagonist; she's smart, perceptive, strong-willed, confident, and stands up for herself. It's not everyday that I find a female protagonist as compelling as she is, but Pyramid Game managed to sell me the simple story through her perspective. Though of course, you can't win 'em all; while I believe Suji was a good protagonist and an entertaining character, I can't deny that the rest of the cast doesn't really hold a candle to her.

Her friends aren't all that interesting except for maybe Ye Rim and Ja Eun to a degree. The others were just background dressing needed to advance the plot to bring down the Pyramid Game through sheer numbers. Jae Hyung's whole character is being bubbly and horny, Ji Ae is the loser that is a perpetual leech, and Eun Jung was Ye Rim's knight in shining armor. There really wasn't that much going for them outside of that. Ja Eun was Suji's opposite in the sense that she was the kindness opposed to Suji's firmness. But if I'm honest, I feel like all that she did was perpetually blame herself and try to save almost everyone even if they didn't deserve it. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with a lead that's motivations are linked to their guilt, but the issue is that guilt wasn't really deserved. Then that gets us to my main issue with the characters: Baek Ha Rin. I think she is a very weak villain for a story with a protagonist like Suji. First off, her actress isn't very distinguishable in the role; she isn't a bad actress, but she doesn't sell the character as this chilling mastermind that the writers want you to think she is. In reality, she just looks and sounds like an average girl that would be better suited as a minor antagonist rather than a main one. Da Yeon and Seo Ah were more interesting and encapsulated their antagonistical characters in comparison to Ha Rin's. She didn't have the smile of a sociopath, not the aesthetic of one, and most certainly not the charisma/aura of one. To make matters worse, her motivation was quite weak as well: she started a downright criminal hierarchical game that tears people down and leaves them as husks of themselves simply because she wanted to get back a previous friend from 2nd grade that accidentally initiated her getting bullied. Her bullying wasn't even severe from what was shown through flashbacks, so why was she so brutal in everything that she did? I didn't buy it. I know that she was called out for being pathetic by Suji because of her motivations, but that still doesn't change the fact that I believe the central antagonist in a story shouldn't have such shallow motives to commit atrocious sins that torment the cast throughout the entirety of the plot. I just found her extremely pathetic and actually pitied how her adoption was dissolved so late in life. I think what they really should have done was shown how she got from Point A to Point B; show how she went from a victim of name calling into a girl that manipulates people and thrives on extreme violence, such as burning a little orphan girl's palm. Ja Eun shouldn't have felt that extreme guilt anymore after everything Ha Rin put her and her classmates through. She even pushed Woo Ri into attempted suicide, yet Ja Eun's extreme guilt didn't budge. The punishments just do not fit the crime in her case.

Though, this series did do well in trying punish abusers decently well. Though it's unrealistic, it's still nice to see bullies be exposed for their crimes and the bystanders be called out for indirectly enabling said behavior. You don't see a story be so clear with punishing everyone quite as much as this one! Even Suji's father is forced to realize the pain of a parent that was oblivious to their child's suffering, and how closeminded he was in his beliefs. I think it's great that this show wasn't afraid to showcase how negligence from adults is what leads to a lot of children becoming bad people themselves. Especially considering the fact that the story takes place in a country that prioritizes age in regard to showing respect.

Something else that I appreciated was that the story was only 10 episodes long. I'm honestly tired of seeing Kdramas that think they need to reach 16 episodes in order to tell a full story. You don't need that many episodes!!! Pyramid Game used 10 50 minute episodes to tell a decent story and that was great on its part. Did the story drag at times? Yes. But was it still entertaining for the most part? Also yes. It didn't feel like the writers were just throwing in random plot points for the fuck of it. Everything had something to do with the overarching plot, so it never felt meaningless. It used its strengths of having a unique protagonist and a good premise and ran with it. I appreciated that it never tried to be some greater-than-thou story that I've seen one too many times; it started with a girl wanting to break down a corrupted hierarchy in her classroom, and it ended with her doing just that. She didn't go and fix world hunger or anything, she simply solved her own issue and didn't let herself become a doormat like everyone else did. I seriously don't know why writers think it's impossible to make a protagonist that can have their own self-interests as motivations. They don't all have to be white knights. Her bond with the convenience store guy was also quite cute. Something that I wish we were shown instead of told was how Ye Rim helped Woo Ri. We're told that Ye Rim originally tried to go against the Pyramid Game, but we're never shown that. It also made it harder to accept her coughing up her idol dreams when she seemed the least deserving of such an outcome. I also would've liked to see her and Eun Jung's relationship confirmed, rather than ambiguous. I loved that they included the LGBTQ without showing an agenda in the audience's faces, but I think it would've been even more impactful had it been confirmed rather than left open ended. I choose to believe they ended up together.

The production was decent, but not extraordinary. Though, I never expected it to be, so I wasn't heartbroken over it or anything. The music was fine but was too reliant on the opening song for any semi-climactic scene in every single episode. I think they must've only had one song at their disposal. Settings were never really exemplary except for maybe the first shots of the prestigious class building and absurdly high budgeted bathroom.

Overall, I liked this show more than I disliked it. It wasn't extraordinary, but it was a good timewaster. It gives me hope for future Webtoon adaptations. The ending featuring the Miryo twins and indicating Suji's second round of outmanipulating mean girls made me actually wish there was a season 2. I would've loved to see the same type of story except with more compelling antagonists next time. It's just a shame that it's heavily unlikely to ever get a second season since the Webtoon of it is marked as completed.