This review may contain spoilers
You Do Live Long Enough to See Yourself Become the Villain
I first saw this series about two years ago, and to be perfectly honest, I didn't quite know how to feel about it. I was, in fact, very reluctant to rewatch the season because I didn't want to relive it. But I felt compelled to do so as I intended to watch the second season and I could barely remember the first, probably due to selective memory.
The first half of the series was engaging and the action thrilling. I was specifically impressed by the creative ways Si Eun fought, it was visceral and almost feral yet always strategic and well-thought out. But just when I thought I had the whole plot figured out, it turned every trope I could think of on its head, and delivered a twist so disturbing, resonating with me so deeply that it upset me. I'm not going into all the details as plenty of people have already written reviews that are similar to mine. So I'm going to just talk about the emotional scar that this series has left me, my gripes, and how they affected my rating.
Anyone who has ever been bullied physically or psychologically can relate to this story and I am one of those people. I saw myself in Beom Seok's shoes, the socially awkward and tormented teen who always felt inferior and a total outsider even amongst those closest to him. So for him to turn against his friends and do a complete 180 was distressing to me to say the least because I knew deep down that could've been me, I could've done that if I had chosen to go down that path. Many of this drama's viewers hate on Beom Seok, but he's as real as it gets. He is what happens when a tortured and lonely soul, who was raised to believe that power and acknowledgement can make people love him and see him as an equal, is pushed to the limit.
Even though this part of the story made me disconnect myself and tune out from what I was watching, I realized that his character and betrayal is what truly makes this drama so powerful. This is not just a drama about bullying, it's about the tragedy of what comes after. It's about the psychologically troubled teens who finally snap after all the torture, humiliation, and demoralization by their abusers and decide to bring guns to school to shoot every last one of their classmates in absolute rage. I believe Beom Seok zeroed in on Suho because he was disappointed in him. He placed Suho on a pedestal because he was the complete opposite of his father. He lashed out when the idol he worshipped turned out to be someone whom he thought was no better than his abusive father. I do not condone his actions but he had his reasons no matter how selfish or twisted they were.
But as much as I was moved and emotionally tortured by this drama because of the painful realism they portrayed these characters, I couldn't and still can't give it a much higher rating. The reason is the violence in the last episode that left a bitter taste in my mouth. I expected Si Eun to avenge Suho by using his usual tactics and being smart about it, but he didn't. He went full Rambo with guns blazing and the bloody war he waged against his enemies took me out of it because it was so unrealistic and just plain ridiculous. No school would allow such a thing! And for the things he did, he would've been sent to juvenile hall and even forced to leave the country because no school would ever take him in no matter the circumstances. As an educator, I cannot begin to fathom why the teachers can be so unbelievably useless and ignorant! Dude, the police or even school security would've been called the moment Si Eun walked in with murder in his eyes. But there was practically no intervention. I mean, the fights inside the classroom were already wildly unrealistic, but that last fight was times ten! The only thing that made that scene less cheesy was Jihoon's acting. He sold it, I'm not gonna lie. But I still would've preferred that they had dialed it down and made it more grounded. There are other ways to exact revenge other than going full berserker mode, which I felt was uncharacteristic of Si Eun at that point in his life. Sure, old Si Eun would've taken the pen and stabbed someone with it with no remorse. But the Si Eun who found friendship in Suho would've stopped and thought about how Suho would've reacted if he had gone back to his old violent self. I guess the reason why I was slightly disappointed by how things turned out is I expected a lot more from this drama considering the strong start. Maybe I'm a bit harsh, but I can only give this an 8.5 and no higher than that. This drama could've been truly brilliant if they had managed to maintain the quality of the storytelling and fight scenes until the end. I expected a clever solution, but I got bloody violence in the end.
The first half of the series was engaging and the action thrilling. I was specifically impressed by the creative ways Si Eun fought, it was visceral and almost feral yet always strategic and well-thought out. But just when I thought I had the whole plot figured out, it turned every trope I could think of on its head, and delivered a twist so disturbing, resonating with me so deeply that it upset me. I'm not going into all the details as plenty of people have already written reviews that are similar to mine. So I'm going to just talk about the emotional scar that this series has left me, my gripes, and how they affected my rating.
Anyone who has ever been bullied physically or psychologically can relate to this story and I am one of those people. I saw myself in Beom Seok's shoes, the socially awkward and tormented teen who always felt inferior and a total outsider even amongst those closest to him. So for him to turn against his friends and do a complete 180 was distressing to me to say the least because I knew deep down that could've been me, I could've done that if I had chosen to go down that path. Many of this drama's viewers hate on Beom Seok, but he's as real as it gets. He is what happens when a tortured and lonely soul, who was raised to believe that power and acknowledgement can make people love him and see him as an equal, is pushed to the limit.
Even though this part of the story made me disconnect myself and tune out from what I was watching, I realized that his character and betrayal is what truly makes this drama so powerful. This is not just a drama about bullying, it's about the tragedy of what comes after. It's about the psychologically troubled teens who finally snap after all the torture, humiliation, and demoralization by their abusers and decide to bring guns to school to shoot every last one of their classmates in absolute rage. I believe Beom Seok zeroed in on Suho because he was disappointed in him. He placed Suho on a pedestal because he was the complete opposite of his father. He lashed out when the idol he worshipped turned out to be someone whom he thought was no better than his abusive father. I do not condone his actions but he had his reasons no matter how selfish or twisted they were.
But as much as I was moved and emotionally tortured by this drama because of the painful realism they portrayed these characters, I couldn't and still can't give it a much higher rating. The reason is the violence in the last episode that left a bitter taste in my mouth. I expected Si Eun to avenge Suho by using his usual tactics and being smart about it, but he didn't. He went full Rambo with guns blazing and the bloody war he waged against his enemies took me out of it because it was so unrealistic and just plain ridiculous. No school would allow such a thing! And for the things he did, he would've been sent to juvenile hall and even forced to leave the country because no school would ever take him in no matter the circumstances. As an educator, I cannot begin to fathom why the teachers can be so unbelievably useless and ignorant! Dude, the police or even school security would've been called the moment Si Eun walked in with murder in his eyes. But there was practically no intervention. I mean, the fights inside the classroom were already wildly unrealistic, but that last fight was times ten! The only thing that made that scene less cheesy was Jihoon's acting. He sold it, I'm not gonna lie. But I still would've preferred that they had dialed it down and made it more grounded. There are other ways to exact revenge other than going full berserker mode, which I felt was uncharacteristic of Si Eun at that point in his life. Sure, old Si Eun would've taken the pen and stabbed someone with it with no remorse. But the Si Eun who found friendship in Suho would've stopped and thought about how Suho would've reacted if he had gone back to his old violent self. I guess the reason why I was slightly disappointed by how things turned out is I expected a lot more from this drama considering the strong start. Maybe I'm a bit harsh, but I can only give this an 8.5 and no higher than that. This drama could've been truly brilliant if they had managed to maintain the quality of the storytelling and fight scenes until the end. I expected a clever solution, but I got bloody violence in the end.
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