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I like how you describe what you don't like about the drama.
I can see the love, passion and disappointment. It's like you write it out of love despite the score.

Off topic, can I ask about where your profile pic comes from?

I feel that splitting it into 2 parts makes the show less contained.
They knew it will be 6 and 6 so they'll make the last part contained all the meat and the first one is the build up.
It can work if the show has a lot of character but small achievement should be there too.
The 2 episode/week seems to pack more punch because you just have 2 episode to sustain people interest.
I think the seasonal Kdrama feels like "staging season" + "execution season" rather than each episode or 2 episode can contains both.

I am thinking of reading the original material to see how similar the drama structure compare to that.

- She worked hard to get to the same school as the daughter, had they changer her school there is nothing she could have done.

But they didn't know she is coming, it's not luck, it's that she comes after the daughter already in admission. The point is she prepared to come to their life when they have less controlled and catch them off guard. They aren't bullying people in the same at this point in time, they are grown adult that has too much reputation to lose

- She got the tattooed guy on her side when he could have said no and tell the others.

She comes to him because he is the weakest link of all. She studied their friendship over the years and realised that he is mistreated but he always long for power. You go for the henchman first, this strategy is not new. Since highschool, the tattoed guy and the steward is not rich, they are the lackey.

- She got lucky that the husband didn't stop going to that game place she met him and didn't stop playing all together. It's also convenient that she was so good at it even though she played against people who played all their lives.

We see her research the game beforehand, she knew he is interested in baduk and went to this place. She is targeting him on his own interest. You can't stop habit out of nowhere.
Regarding her being good at baduk, it's hardwork , you see her studying while working at factory, we see she train with the doctor. Even hardwork is luck now? It's like saying, it's lucky that yeonjin can enunciate well enough to be the reporter. As egregious as it sounds, it because they work on it.

- She was lucky that she got caught snooping by a woman who needed something too and didn't tell on her.

This is indeed lucky and it explained in the drama that even if she didn't get helped, she'll keep trying. All of this helper is actually the things she didn't anticipate, aka, her bad luck. She never planned to work with another people, we see her being conflicted about it.

The one luck you write is considered bad luck in her plan because she didn't wish it to happen.
The other is to show her meticulous planning and it lies mostly because no one thought about her. This bully gang didn't even remember what they did to her or even guard themselves and this explained because they never have things go south.

Imo, the luck that she has is that her "partner" is good at their job. That's the only luck that just based on luck factor.
if something can be explained by plot and timing, it's not luck cause even a successful things can be called luck.

I think the luck also in theme with the drama, she keeps saying that the God is not on her side but all of the scenario, whether she has luck or not, she'll be successful because it's their retribution.

I am not saying that she is unlucky but it feels like your post didn't acknowledge how much she plan everything and stand through the hardship to get where she is right now.

You write a review, like listing an ingredient of a product. The problem is that you didn't write the right ingredients.

I agree that the 10/10 review is also egregious and some just out of passion. Why I reply to you is mainly because you criticism is out of place. You can give this 2/10 and it's fine if your point actually make sense, the point is it doesn't.

note : I reply because you see your capslock since it seems that you are influenced to be a contrarian than actually find out what's wrong about the drama.
I am not trying to force my personal view, it just you didn't write an actual criticism. Have a good day.

I think he just too rich to care. His life has been smooth sailing cause he didn't even do bad things (so far), work to his capacity and also got what he wanted, like the pages 18.
1. He doesn't need an actual loving wife, he needs to pick one of the three that is the most presentable. Someone on his caliber can have many dates as he wants and he only comes to meet 3 women
2. He never need to justify anything to his wife cause he doesn't think it's a problem, her wife will always be thin because of her job. He doesn't even reply to that statement like how he said that he isn't a chatty person.
3. He spend enough time and went to the event if get asked. You see how he'll back at night and hugs the daughter when she came to him. He notices something but doesn't feel the need to ask since he isn't color blind. The thought hasn't appeared especially when the wife strongly suggest the kid to hide it. He is shown as very busy but also can always spare some time.
4. The wine shows that he doesn't understand the concept of money for normal people. He just doesn't want the wine and want to give it to the driver. He said to try the cheap wine is to see the contrast of both wine cause the driver said, he can't differentiate the taste. It's not like he said, "you'll never be able to know the difference"

I don't think he is red flag from the season 1 because this character is shown as a good and faithful husband, loving father, analytic and logical but also unaware for other things just because it doesn't concern him directly. He doesn't fast on emotion. It's more on the gray area because the power that he has.
Where is the part that he is manipulative so far? Controlling?
It's easy to draw conclusion when you see a powerful man and draw pattern from there but if you don't see him as powerful man and count on what he does so far, all this red flags falls flat.
I think people keep throwing toxic, manipulative, controlling as buzz words to easily, anything that isn't literally shows as good is toxic but fails to grasp at plot and nuance. People doesn't always makes the good decision but they can improves based on the new information they got.

This is based on season 1, he may have more characterization that falls for the bad spectrum in season 2 but season 1 so far shows that he is a pretty based individual.

It's not about being stupid or their antics, what I meant is SK Chaebol started differently from the US. The government make them and from the beginning of their foundation, the government borrow money from them. It's not a rich people that own the larger market but they funded the government, literally. It's generational wealth, status and influence that normal person will never be able to reach.

I don't know what makes you think that 90% of SK feels imperfection is wrong, or even how you get that number. Nowadays there are many normal people but internet gives lenses to the most deplorable cases. It's a society that also has merits, like their peaceful protest to dethrone the president, how they help each other during natural disaster and many more, especially from outside of Seoul.
Imperfection is wrong has been the basis for most Asian country and being rich is better also because Asian country was poor. The economic boom happened but the society aren't ready so we got this mix and match with perfection and money issue. Give a time for the society to arrange themselves in their new status since even 20 years ago, SK isn't even a name people remember. Also remember that SK isn't just Seoul, where the most outrageous things happen. To say that they are deplorable and programmed based on drama and assumption for their society feels like you belittling their growth as a nation. Asian growth is fairly new in the scale of American and European, just because you are aware that there are nasty things happens don't mean that they can't be saved or even a lost cost.

I saw that kind of post, also when Because this is my first life arrived and the similarities with Nigeru Haji.
It feels weird that people dismissed any of the claim about Squid Game because the creator thought about it 10 years ago while Kaiji has been around for longer. I was in the youtube discussion when there is this comment about SG is so original and when you tried to argue that some part of its is definitely comes from another scene in another movie, they started to talk about how influential SG and the people who talk about Kaiji is just sensitive of success.
It's like the other work doesn't even matter.

There are a lot of documentary about how chaebol own South Korea, perhaps that's will give more perspective. Money does runs the world.

Your children are part of you, they are extension of you. That's the basic reason why they care.
It's classism, that's why she can't talk back to her mother in law, how they get offended by the caretaker of the children that one time and fired her immediately.
They lack empathy for things that they deemed not in their level but things that theirs is untouchable. Another example, when the stewardess use the white dress that apparently one of the friend's own. They think the dress is stained because it has been used by people that not on their level.
It's not just this is my kid but we aren't in the same level to even worth worrying. My kids is definitely in my level just because she is my kin but there is probability that she'll discard her child if she is below standard. She keeps saying about how pretty her child and how she needs to hide her color blind. We also see the artist friend's mum who dislike her daughter real self but also hides it because she has a good public persona.

I've watched and read silence. My point is your review misconstructed the plot for your criticism.
You didn't review based on stuff that is a plot hole in the drama story line or something that can't be explained. It just shows that you miss the plot point or information. It's fine to not like the show, at least make a substantial reason that can be back up other than "this isn't real life".

My rebuttal isn't talking about the probability of this in the real South Korea. Talking about real South Korea, there are mass post bullygate happen in 2020 iirc. Even National Volleyball athlete get dragged and forced to leave the team.

You said "She has nothing on her hands"
Yes, that's precisely why she start with mental torture and make them slip up in the present. She know her case wouldn't get them in jail but public is free and her job is an anchorwoman, a prestigious, young lady, perfect woman type of job. This job and bullying accusation isn't line up.
The female lead has scars on her body, has the nurse and other people that work with the bully at work that can back up that she never changes. There are other kids that she bullied also. Once one of the post surface, other will join and that's what she is afraid. It's like you have never see people get cancelled just based on allegation. She barely managed to clutch on her job by bribing the company with ads, she is not indispensable.

"Her torturer is now in a powerful position and would have many possibilities to just finally get rid of her bullying victim, thus, her hysterical and anxious reaction is totally unbelievable - and that is my point, the whole story is unbelievable like that."

They even talked about this in the drama, when she talked to the police officer that she tasked on getting the dirt on female lead. The police officer said that the world has changes. 2009 and 2022 is 13 years apart and we now can have a lot of movement start with a single post. She isn't that powerful, she isn't even that big without her husband support. The playing field changes. Before it's a high school, now it's the adult world. There are activist for school bullying, organisation that will rally on this cause alone. She priorities her public persona, ofc she freaks out, she has too much to lose now.

Your post dismissed the writer attempt to explain their character and disingenuous.

Illegitimate child , I think this isn't that shocking but about the goal, she doesn't really want to be a good mother and a good wife. It's a common idiom to talk about your goal/dream. She never really mean it, to be a good mother and a good wife. She just said it cause she doesn't actually has a dream and that's what a good girl in the public eye see.

Regarding the child, imo it's precisely the point, that her life isn't messed up because of other people's doing. It was always because of her, because she pretends to be something she isn't and try to reach something with fake persona. Like her career, her friend and social clout, her child, nothing about her that we see is real. Dongeun just reveal it. Also probably to break the cycle, like 2 bully has kids together, will the kid become like them or not. That this behavior is perpetuated by outside factors.

What I get from him is that he is the opposite of Dongeun.
He get "justice" by having the perpetrators behinds bars, he has a lot of support around him yet his demon stays within him and meeting Dongeun validated that his demon may have a purpose to stay. To help her because he also have the same desire but can't execute it.

Dongeun didn't get justice and abandoned by everyone, it's more understandable to rally behind her than his cause so he chose that as his choice. Like what he said at the end of his therapy/consultation session. I think the execution falls flat but their story parallel each other. They both didn't do anything wrong yet dragged into this cruelty and their heart is still unsettled. We may see another parallel in the next season (I hope so) since Dongeun now has support and she may changes some of her approach and he may get dragged into the darkness.

The past was in 2009? I think, at that time, physical punishment is still big in asia, especially to the student they deemed "delinquent"

I think the execution falls flat. What I get from him is that he is the opposite of Dongeun. He get "justice" by having the perpetrators behinds bars, he has a lot of support around him yet his demon stays within him and meeting with her validate that his demon may have a purpose to stay. To help her because he also have the same desire but can't execute it.
Dongeun didn't get justice and abandoned by everyone, it's more understandable to rally behind her than his cause so he chose that as his choice. Like what he said at the end of his therapy/consultation session.

I think the execution falls flat. What I get from him is that he is the opposite of Dongeun. He get "justice" by having the perpetrators behinds bars, he has a lot of support around him yet his demon stays within him and meeting with her validate that his demon may have a purpose to stay. To help her because he also have the same desire but can't execute it.
Dongeun didn't get justice and abandoned by everyone, it's more understandable to rally behind her than his cause so he chose that as his choice. Like what he said at the end of his therapy/consultation session.

He loves her and the kids is his connection. Also that she is colorblind like him, like she is part of him.

I think it implies 2 things ,
either someone has dispose the body to get rid of the case,
or there was never a body in the first place. It just to scare the other dude into doing Doengun bids

Can you elaborate the part that rely with the luck factor for the main lead?
I don't think she is particularly lucky

1. In this 1st scenario, the main point is that she always prepare for this scenario and the reason she recorded it so she can blackmail the family for money. It's not to stop bullying. Her main goal for tutoring is to earn money and she knows the power dynamic with rich influential household so she prepare a backup plan to even get more money from them. It's not to stop bullying. It's on the dialogue and how she count the envelope after leaving the house. It's to show that she is fine with doing something immorally to get her goal.

2a. "I here do ask myself though how would a girl coming from her background with no parents, bodily heavily disfigured and traumatised, with no money and no connections get into college alone and study to become a teacher?"
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She said it, "welcome to where I can assert my authority". She knew the world has changes and with her little power, the only way where she can gains some power and gravitas is by being a teacher. Also school institution is what abandoned her when she was a teenagers, this is align with her motive to payback them on the same situation.

2b. With no money and no connections get into college alone and study to become a teacher?
They talk about it, she takes the exam to become public teacher first and she also lost a lot of year, you can see that her career is not as high as the other peer.


2c. Which lets me question by the way why a very rich person would send her daughter to the same school she was in together with our female lead, a very poor kid?
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For the High School, it's a good public school and not a poor school kid, there are prestigious public school and this school has backup, you can see in the beginning of the episode where the rich kid parent's are donor for this school. You can see how they don't even want to deal with the bully problem because they want their reputation. Also rich people go to public school, sometimes because it less competitive, easy to bribe about the grade while private school usually has stronger donor and higher competition. You see that their kids is comfortable being the peak of power, that's why there kids don't even want to leave this school.

For the bully's kid
- it's a prestigious elementary school. There is dialogue about why a public school teacher (female lead) move to private school because it's rare. She also get her job by bribing the school president. It's not a public school for poor kid

- threatenes her verbally several, many, many times openly? Why would her enemy not simply tape all of the open threats ('you need to be punished and I will punish you' etc).
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Because the bully is afraid of their past to be revealed. It's in their conversation. Female lead said she has nothing to lose and the bully has a very public persona.
If the bully report her for verbal abuse, she can just post their past on her social media and her career is over. It's not that they can't report her, it's that they afraid that she'll speak up. In 2022, cancelled for being a past bully is a things. They are afraid of her since she literally has nothing else that can be a threat, like other colleagues that hate them. The bully has high public career that can go down in crumbles the moment their past is revealed. Verbal abuse can't even detail people and if they reveal the recording, well it's their bad behavior also get show to the world. You see how she check the news forum every day and how she knew that even if the post get taken down, she has many enemy that can use this to take her down.

3. Also the whole storyline with these two seems so 'created' and not real to me.
- It was meant to be that way, albeit the execution falls short. The young doctor dialogue pretty much sums it up, that he doesn't need to hide himself and has outlet for his own revenge after he knew the female lead story. If you see both of their interaction, it was never really a truthful interaction between them.

"It's more like a juvenile revenge fantasy, not thought through to any end"
She torture them mentally, you can see how their world crumble based on what each of them priorities. She doesn't want to just expose them, she wants them to has no backup and betray each other.
Juvenile is when she just run to the social media and post everything. This is personal revenge where even if they went to the police, they can't even prove that she did something criminal yet their reputation will be in the gutter. She thought this through and you can't even jail a bully from years ago. She makes them commits crime and lost reputation while she herself may not get any real crime.

I think your comment is not based on the story since you got the story wrong for your review.
The drama is no means flawless but your criticism is just not align with the story presented.

You can't really review something when you don't even get the storyline.

note : I randomly open mdl and thought that negative review will has some provoked thought since I do not particularly think that this drama is the best. I ended up making account just to reply since your post has a lot of misinformation