Neffy

The ending is nuanced and here's why:

⭐ My Review of Highschool Return of a Gangster

(My rewatch values don't matter because I never re-watch and music doesn't matter to me. So, take those specific ratings with a grain of salt!)

So I just finished Highschool Return of a Gangster and honestly? I loved it. I know a bunch of people were dragging the ending, but I’m gonna be real their complaints don’t make sense to me at all.

The drama follows this suicidal, depressed student who actually ends up killing himself. A gangster dies at the same time while trying to save the kid—their souls switch and the gangster ends up in the student’s body. The whole story is basically the gangster trying to fix the student’s life so that when the soul eventually returns, the kid can live peacefully.

But the twist? At the end, the switch almost happens, but Yi heon refuses. He literally says he has no will or energy left to continue living, and that it’s enough for him that the gangster can be happy in his body. His soul just… disappears. And I liked that. I genuinely get where he’s coming from. Depression isn’t “fix someone’s problems and poof, they’re fine.” It’s about your will to live, the energy to keep going . And he didn’t have that anymore, even with the “better” life waiting for him.

People were mad that the KDP ended up taking over the kid’s life “too easily,” but honestly? The man actually wanted to live. He tried. He fought. He even hesitated when the Yi heon refused to switch back. But if someone has decided they can’t keep going, and somebody else actually can live that life happily, then yeah that person is the one who’s able to live it. That was Yi heon's choice.

Then there’s the whole “friend” discourse. People were losing it over how Se kyung was okay with the KDP staying but not his “old friend.” Like… THEY WERE NEVER FRIENDS. Y’all blind. He avoided the Yi heon the whole time. He didn’t hurt him on purpose, sure, but he also didn’t help him. The real friendship only forms after the soul switch, with the gangster. So of course he wants the gangster to stay. That’s literally the person he bonded with. We get to watch the scene where the friend apologizes and that's the only reason the yi heon's soul lingered around. Se kyung wanted Yi heon's soul back because he wanted to apologize and genuinely didn't understand who the stranger was in his classmate's body. That doesn't mean Se kyung was anything more than just a classmate to Yi heon, his real friend or should I say—his bestfriend is and always will be KDP.

And honestly, everyone whining about “bad writing” seems to forget the most important detail: the Yi heon died that day. Whether there was soul-switch sorcery or not, the boy who jumped off that bridge did lose his life. KDP fixing things wasn’t the “purpose” of the story. He didn’t even know he’d stay in the body forever. He just wanted to do one good thing before actually dying.

To me, the real point of the drama shows itself at the end: Yi heon's choice, the reality of his depression, KDP’s will to live and how their stories collide. It’s messy but meaningful and that’s exactly why I liked it.

The reason why I gave this a 8.5 and not a 10 is because of my own expectations. I was expecting this drama to be more mafia focused. Perhaps a balance between the highschool and mafia theme. I also didn't like the way the female antagonist was handled and the poor representation of addiction recovery.

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Here's why connection is more than just a cop story

I don't follow the mydramalist rating, so here's my rating system to help navigate my review better.

Plot: 1/1, Emotional impact: 0.5/1, enjoyment: 1/1, dialogues: 1/1, dynamics: 1/1, originality: 1/1, expectation: 1/1, acting: 1/1, ending: 0.5/1, recommend value: 1/1

Overall, Connection is 9/10 now let's get into the review!

The drama follows a familiar set-up, a police officer searching for the truth, but ‘connection’ stand out by placing our lead in the narcotics department and then turning the tables on him. His descent into drug addiction not only significantly raises the stakes but also adds a layer of irony because now it isn't just about the case or his dead friend. It's about survival.

Every characters feel sketchy, each with their own hidden agendas. While it is awfully obvious who the killer is, the story is rather concerned with why the murder happened.

The lead's addiction is central to the story. Hes constantly battling withdrawal, hiding his secret and forcing himself to power through the case. That tension keeps you hooked, always waiting for the moment everyone discovers his secret.

That all being said, the ending didn't land. It felt abrupt and undercooked, cutting off the emotional payoff just when it shouldve hit the hardest.

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Hierarchy was disappointing as a revenge series but is that what it was intended to be?

If you go into Hierarchy expecting a revenge plotline, then yes, you’ll be greatly disappointed. I was too, because that’s exactly what I thought it would be about. I've read all the bad reviews and I mostly agree. This series was tea served at room temperature but I'm a tea lover so I had to ignore that fact and form my.. rather optimistic opinion.

The story follows Kang Ha, who loses his brother in an accident, only to later find out that his brother was actually bullied in highschool and driven to his death. He enrolls in the same prestigious high school under the scholarship program to find out who killed him. I’d like to point out that Kang Ha wanted to find who his brother’s killer was, not exactly to take revenge. His goal had always been to uncover the truth and make sure no scholarship student would have to go through the same bullying and discrimination as his brother did.

Rich, spoiled brats are often portrayed as irredeemable, but I’d like to disagree here. These kids weren’t just rich spoiled brats, especially Jung Jae-I and Kim Ri-An. Both had redeemable qualities because, despite their wealth, they were bound by their parents’ leash. When this happens, people often turn out more empathetic rather than becoming arrogant scumbags. That’s why it was surprising, but believable, that Jae-I and Ri-An chose to accept punishment and confess which is something you don't immediately see in He-ra and Woo-jin.

The direction this story took feels fresh. It shows that revenge isn’t going to solve everything, no matter how badly you want tit-for-tat. Even though Ri-An apologizes to Kang Ha, Kang Ha refuses to forgive him and that, in itself, is the revenge. An apology will never bring his brother back, so he isn’t obligated to accept it.

Although, Kang Ha having a crush on Jae-I felt superficial and left a bad taste in my mouth. The story could have “achieved” everything it did without forcing that aspect in.

But I absolutely loved Ri-An and Jae-I’s relationship but they literally could've done better.

While most of us wouldn’t call this a happy ending, I’d say it’s a nuanced one. Kang-Ha had a goal, and he achieved it so for him, it is a happy ending.

That said, the acting could've been better. The story dragged, it was cringe at times and I feel like even if what I said above was the true intentions of the makers, they did a horrible job at executing it.

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