1
Amazing surreal and absurd experience.
Side note about the term "makjang": It can be either described as a format (daily/weekend dramas) or a subgenre. "7 Escape" is a thriller-mystery drama, but ultimately a makjang, which is the extreme of melodrama here. It can be considered as a sort of high budget, prime-time soap opera, and a contemporary revival of the picaresque genre.
(btw, this poster is AWESOME: https://kisskh.at/photos/QJdAJ2_4)
7 Escape is the ultimate makjang — where logic takes a backseat to spectacle — creating an epic, extremely twisted narrative set in a grand, deliberately forced setting. I can't recommend it easily because the protagonists there are villains and it depends on how you feel about it. Personally, I felt great while watching it and was always very excited. I love these villains. It's a very chaotic and different, well thought-out drama with a great budget and a stellar cast. I love that the cast had a great yet challenging time filming it and especially had fun on the island, of course. Also never saw such genuine praises from a drama's cast to a writer before. The budget allowed the drama to surpass itself to such a provocative extent that cannot be surpassed anymore, which is why this is peak SBS. The main character is constantly switching here (shifting ethical and moral standards) and it's like a game you can't predict.
I want to add that the drama has great symbolism and the opening should never be skipped in both seasons, in fact you should rewatch the first opening after the first episode of S2 due to a foreshadowing with a certain character, you'll know who and that character also has another parallel in both episode 1.
Speaking of the characters... There is one comic relief villain who's a great antithesis to the drama. You'll know who.
Music? Stunning combination of classical and modern elements. Cinematography/aesthetic? Amazing contrast between both seasons and literally extraordinary. Details? References and cameos to Penthouse, The Last Empress and other iconic works unrelated to the drama's writer which you might or might not recognize (as well as maybe a niche one I'll share in the comments to avoid spoilers). The number Seven likely being a reference to the seven deadly sins and maybe even possibly the Seven from The Boys (an often brutal parody of the superhero genre with characters inspired by DC and Marvel - Marvel is actually mentioned in the drama). Dark humor? Amazing.
As Lee Joon said it, this drama is so fun that it feels like reading a comics. The drama starts out wrapped in a veil and the way it unfolds in the first episode already is genius. The island arc then serves as a mirror to the drama with a great contrast, fulfilling its promise of a divine punishment and how the work used Dante's Divine Comedy as an inspiration (the adventure novel "The Count of Monte Cristo" was also mentioned). It can be said that 7 Escape has taken the grey spectrum to its extreme, making it a memorable watch. The colors in the ending scene of S1 are even used to reflect that.
I know very well that the lack of logic makes it unbelievable and stupid to some viewers. But I disagree because it suits the drama and makes it stand out. Obviously, if you only look at this and not the bigger picture, then I guess you're right about it being stupid. As for how to enjoy it despite the unbelievability, we all know fiction crosses the boundaries of reality, but this drama takes "fiction" to a new extreme (even the makjang broke its own rule with one specific event at the end of S2). So at this point, you might as well think of it as happening in a parallel universe. Also, the storytelling was always meaningful.
Last but not least, the social accusation is the best here and the technology aspect is spot-on. People called it far-fetched but the drama was ahead of its time in many ways, and it was satisfying to see some Koreans themselves recognize their mistakes and praising Kim Soonok, especially when the deepfake scandal broke out.
I have learned to know Soonok, and as crazy as her writing may be, she's a lovely person with a great mind and probably a religious person too. Definitely my favorite writer since I watched 7 Escape, and yes, surprisingly not Penthouse. Seeing how it drove some Koreans mad, it should be considered a masterpiece. We know makjangs are exaggerated, but imagine getting mad that a fictional work shows the darker side of your romanticized country. Aside from this, it's just underrated and misunderstood.
The drama actually did well in Korea on OTT platforms for most of S1's runtime (only episode 5&6 were rated 18+ on TV), although the TV ratings were disappointing considering the budget. I'm not sure about S2 on OTT platforms, but the TV ratings got lower due to the focus on the characters being more serious and less fun (S2 had me CRY), which means that the main audience are the true fans. I'm hoping for a Netflix release, please think about requesting it here: https://help.netflix.com/en/titlerequest.
But honestly, even if you dislike the direction of the drama, how can you say it's not good? It absolutely is. I didn't have the best time ever watching it with my friend for no reason. Nor did I get so attached to the characters and cried so much for no reason. I lowkey started to hate Penthouse because of the hate 7 Escape received, and to begin with I wasn't a fan of that drama. I mostly liked the last episodes. Yet I'm not calling it bad.
P.S: still rewatching ep 5 and 6 to this day, peak fantasy, but also the psychological extremes... top-notch.
-- Playlist and spoiler will be added later in the comments
(btw, this poster is AWESOME: https://kisskh.at/photos/QJdAJ2_4)
7 Escape is the ultimate makjang — where logic takes a backseat to spectacle — creating an epic, extremely twisted narrative set in a grand, deliberately forced setting. I can't recommend it easily because the protagonists there are villains and it depends on how you feel about it. Personally, I felt great while watching it and was always very excited. I love these villains. It's a very chaotic and different, well thought-out drama with a great budget and a stellar cast. I love that the cast had a great yet challenging time filming it and especially had fun on the island, of course. Also never saw such genuine praises from a drama's cast to a writer before. The budget allowed the drama to surpass itself to such a provocative extent that cannot be surpassed anymore, which is why this is peak SBS. The main character is constantly switching here (shifting ethical and moral standards) and it's like a game you can't predict.
I want to add that the drama has great symbolism and the opening should never be skipped in both seasons, in fact you should rewatch the first opening after the first episode of S2 due to a foreshadowing with a certain character, you'll know who and that character also has another parallel in both episode 1.
Speaking of the characters... There is one comic relief villain who's a great antithesis to the drama. You'll know who.
Music? Stunning combination of classical and modern elements. Cinematography/aesthetic? Amazing contrast between both seasons and literally extraordinary. Details? References and cameos to Penthouse, The Last Empress and other iconic works unrelated to the drama's writer which you might or might not recognize (as well as maybe a niche one I'll share in the comments to avoid spoilers). The number Seven likely being a reference to the seven deadly sins and maybe even possibly the Seven from The Boys (an often brutal parody of the superhero genre with characters inspired by DC and Marvel - Marvel is actually mentioned in the drama). Dark humor? Amazing.
As Lee Joon said it, this drama is so fun that it feels like reading a comics. The drama starts out wrapped in a veil and the way it unfolds in the first episode already is genius. The island arc then serves as a mirror to the drama with a great contrast, fulfilling its promise of a divine punishment and how the work used Dante's Divine Comedy as an inspiration (the adventure novel "The Count of Monte Cristo" was also mentioned). It can be said that 7 Escape has taken the grey spectrum to its extreme, making it a memorable watch. The colors in the ending scene of S1 are even used to reflect that.
I know very well that the lack of logic makes it unbelievable and stupid to some viewers. But I disagree because it suits the drama and makes it stand out. Obviously, if you only look at this and not the bigger picture, then I guess you're right about it being stupid. As for how to enjoy it despite the unbelievability, we all know fiction crosses the boundaries of reality, but this drama takes "fiction" to a new extreme (even the makjang broke its own rule with one specific event at the end of S2). So at this point, you might as well think of it as happening in a parallel universe. Also, the storytelling was always meaningful.
Last but not least, the social accusation is the best here and the technology aspect is spot-on. People called it far-fetched but the drama was ahead of its time in many ways, and it was satisfying to see some Koreans themselves recognize their mistakes and praising Kim Soonok, especially when the deepfake scandal broke out.
I have learned to know Soonok, and as crazy as her writing may be, she's a lovely person with a great mind and probably a religious person too. Definitely my favorite writer since I watched 7 Escape, and yes, surprisingly not Penthouse. Seeing how it drove some Koreans mad, it should be considered a masterpiece. We know makjangs are exaggerated, but imagine getting mad that a fictional work shows the darker side of your romanticized country. Aside from this, it's just underrated and misunderstood.
The drama actually did well in Korea on OTT platforms for most of S1's runtime (only episode 5&6 were rated 18+ on TV), although the TV ratings were disappointing considering the budget. I'm not sure about S2 on OTT platforms, but the TV ratings got lower due to the focus on the characters being more serious and less fun (S2 had me CRY), which means that the main audience are the true fans. I'm hoping for a Netflix release, please think about requesting it here: https://help.netflix.com/en/titlerequest.
But honestly, even if you dislike the direction of the drama, how can you say it's not good? It absolutely is. I didn't have the best time ever watching it with my friend for no reason. Nor did I get so attached to the characters and cried so much for no reason. I lowkey started to hate Penthouse because of the hate 7 Escape received, and to begin with I wasn't a fan of that drama. I mostly liked the last episodes. Yet I'm not calling it bad.
P.S: still rewatching ep 5 and 6 to this day, peak fantasy, but also the psychological extremes... top-notch.
-- Playlist and spoiler will be added later in the comments
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