I have to say, though, I'd have liked it better if the OST were more varied. I didn't really pay that much attention to it since the storyline really had me inmersed and hooked, though, so I'd say this isn't that big of a deal.
Overall the acting was amazing, the facial expressions were on point and the way it was filmed gave it a really different vibe from what we're used to, driving way more attention to body language and letting us discover ourselves what the character is feeling and/or thinking.
For me it has always been difficult to finish a lot of dramas after episode 8 more or less, I start to get easily bored and I just don't feel like watching anymore. I don't know if it's because this one is only 10 episodes, but it was so easy to watch... I was always wanting more at the end of the episodes and even now that I've finished the drama I'm still wanting more, so I really hope there will be a second season.
Last, but not least, this is a dark drama. I don't usually watch this genre but I did and I ABSOLUTELY loved it. I don't regret anything. 'Extracurricular' is not the typical crime drama we're used to. Netflix is a whole different story, they just care about getting the audience hooked and interested and I can assure you they do! The fact that our lead is directly involved with the crimes makes it a whole different experience, at least for me. I do have to say there's a lot of bloody scenes, so keep that in mind.
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WATCH RN !!
I absolutely love this drama so much. It made me furious about some of the characters, but that's what I love about it. I HATE THE ENDING SM BRUH. Why did it have to end like that :(:( Overall, I really like the storyline and the acting is phenomenal. PERIOD. If you like thrillers like this one, let me recommend a few. I enjoyed watching Class of Lies, 365 Days Repeat the Year, Sky Castle (I luv this one), Save Me, and Penthouse. ANYWAYS, I am going to rewatch it today bc it's THAT good. I normally never rewatch series, but I will for this one :DWas this review helpful to you?
I never once thought 'They could have done that better.'
Wow. Whatever you'd expect from a TV series about teens committing crimes, you can scrap it. This was intense and stressful and filled with drama and danger but also not far fetched or cliche in some eye-rolling way. There are no masters of their trades here, just regular people who are doing regular crimes and trying to keep their heads above water. Except for Mr. Lee, he's a BAMF, no contest. From start to finish it's a fantastic show, from feelings of wanting to strangle Gyuri and Oji's dad, to wanting to strangle Kwakkie, Minhee and that cop lady, and to wanting to strangle and comfort Oji in equal turns. Then wanting them all to just calm TF down and have a snickers bar. But also not, because stuff gets crazy and when it all sets off, it's awesome. It was entertaining all the way!And the acting was so fantastic! Great casting all around. The show also had some nicely executed humor, which is always good, every show, no matter how dark, needs some humor.
Over all, I wouldn't change a thing, I never once thought 'Eh, they could have done that better', because everything was written, directed, acted and produced so well. If there is no second season, I won't even be mad, it has a solidly satisfying ending as far as I'm concerned.
Great show!
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Acting/ Cast- Speaking of portrayals O_O OMG EVERYONE did an amazing job: Donghee and Joohyun SLAYED their roles- SLAYED!! They are the main characters but they sure made it hard to like them at times. The casting director did an outstanding job choosing these young stars and I can't wait to see more of them.
Music- It did what it was suppose to and set the mood. With certain scenes I would become more anxious and I realized it was because of the music showcasing that particular scene. The opening/ closing credits were the same song and it fit well.
Would I rewatch this? Not to say this is a bad drama, because it isn't, but I tend to not watch dramas again esp one that had me on the edge of my seat- the original thrill is gone.
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TO STRESSFUL AND WAS NOT WORTH IT
I was expecting so much more, and in the end it was just an stressful experience. At first I just felt sorry for the male lead, but in the end I just want everyone to end up in jail.But the acting and direction was really good, the real problem was the plot and characters.
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oooo ooo oo ooo o oo oo o o o o o oo o o o o o o oo o o o o o o oo o o o o oo o o o o o o oo o o o oo o o o oo o oo o. o o o oo
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A true crime masterpiece.
THINGS I LIKED(+) Unique story with non-cliche scenes or tropes
(+) Great acting
(+) Dark and true crime concept (this may be a negative for some people)
(+) Complex characters and development
(+) One of the few dramas I would compliment on a great ending
THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE
(-) It felt a bit slow during 1-2 intermediate episodes (this is very minor)
REVIEW
Where do we begin? This series takes you on a journey. If you are a fan of true crime and don't mind a darker concept, Extracurricular is one to watch out for. The main characters we follow in this drama are designed beautifully complex and believable - particularly our mini Bonnie and Clyde leads, that is, Oh Jisoo and Bae Gyu Ri.
The synopsis kicks off with a slightly confusing first episode. For a long while, I wasn't clear of the illegal activity being engaged as well as understanding GyuRi's character and motivations. However, once you reach the third episode, the plot really starts to pick up and you can just sense some major storm foreshadowing your way. This story is written and executed really well with minimum downtime or fillers. Expect to feel more and more tense after each episode as this plot takes our characters down the rabbit hole further and deeper.
This is a story about two high schoolers whose background and life experiences had driven them to enact illegal crimes. They are not the people we should root for in reality but we somehow want them to succeed in this drama so very badly. In terms of romance, it's quite subtle for a kdrama but in this case, I find this approach to be very fitting. This story fundamentally shows how far a person can go to achieve their own dreams despite the action may appear to be out-of-character or the potential harm it may cause to others. This is very noticeable in the later half of the show especially in the ending. I won't say anything more about the second half other than it is just a diamond in the rough. One of the best endings I have seen in a kdrama where most tend to fall short on.
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VERY RAW STORYLINE AND CHARACTERS, BUT WEAK LEAD CHARACTERS.
It was an okay show with a very different storyline then other Kdramas. It didnt hold back at all and it was very raw and real. The storyline was interesting and the side characters were really good but the two main characters were just not it. I couldnt really like any of the characters, they were pretty annoying most of the time (all exept than Mr Lee). The best thing in this drama is the relationship between Mr Lee and Min Hee, i believe he was like a father to her and they both felt it even if he never admit it. The male lead wasnt so bad or annoying, but the female lead ruined everything for me, i was about to stop it because she was just so annoying but the side characters just kept me.Not your average kdrama.
Hope it has second season cause the ending was just not an ending and i hate it.
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Unconventional K-Drama
'Extracurricular' is a whole rollercoaster. It took me 2 days to finally decide to write this review because this drama is a lot to sink in and process.It starts with what looks like a simple high school story with your regular poor main lead who struggles to make friends and live a normal life after his parents abandoned him, and then turns to be a dramatic and crazy story with bits of Tarantino.
As a film lover, I must say 'Extracurricular' exceeded my expectations considering this is a K-Drama. I've watched all genres of K-Dramas but never have I ever seen one dealing with such deep topics from the perspective of high schoolers. If you've watched many dramas too, you'll know that Koreans are very reserved about how they portray high schoolers, since they're still children, and you'll mostly only see criminal/taboo behaviors from high schoolers in K-Movies. So, to see the characters of this amazing show deal with topics like prostitution, explicitly about minors, or sex trafficking was pretty much a shock. I know this didn't air in public or cable TV, hence why it was much more detailed and censorless, but still kind of shocking.
One thing that annoys me a bit from TV dramas is that whenever there's a smoking scene, there's always someone who takes the cigarette out of the hands of the person that was supposed to smoke it and turns it off, or they just show the back of the person smoking it. However, we saw high schoolers with cigarettes turned on and actually smoking it, teenagers talking sexually about body parts, being fully aware of sexual stuff, being criminals... The unconventional nature of the show really surprised me and left a great feeling on me.
I love the way they developed the story. I hadn't been as annoyed and frustrated about every character in a show in so long, and 'Extracurricular' made it possible for me to hate each and every single character on the show, except from Mr. Lee and the teacher. Every other character was absolutely stupid and frustrating, and oddly that's one of my favorite things about this story; that the characters are completely unlikable and annoying and there's little to no personal development on their personalities at all and I see this from the POV of someone who values personal development the most in a show. The fact that this story didn't take them anywhere good gives you a bittersweet feeling and you start wondering, "was it really necessary?" about almost everything that happens. You question the logic of these characters and wonder why can't they simply use their brains wisely. And to me, this created a really remarkable story.
Oh Ji Soo is the most stupid male character I can think of from a K-Drama, but since his personality is somewhere in the middle of a genius and a dumbass, I can only say he's actually a genius. Bae Gyu Ri is a nosy girl that ends up uncovering a pimp business that offers security to prostitutes and ends up ruining the whole thing for O-ji. I can't say I didn't hate her 90% of the drama and wanted to get in the screen and slap her face so bad. She's pretentious and selfish, but I liked the way she cared for O-ji. They both made a dangerous, yet great couple.
Overall I don't want to get into details as I don't want to mark this with spoiler, but I'll just say I loved the unconventional and unique ending that they gave us. My review is only positive, but there still were some things I would've improved about the casting and role of certain characters so I'll give it 9/10.
PS. I loved the nightmare scenes, especially the one about Seo Minhee. All the nightmares are among my favorite representation of a dream in a show.
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!!Korean Bonnie and Clyde!!
Okay, I've actually never seen Bonnie and Clyde but from what I heard they were riding or dies and that's how I describe the two main characters. This shows my GODD this show I need a season two. From the start, you are at the edge of your seat. It starts with a "WHAT THE HELL" and ends with a "THAT'S IT!" From the characters to the plot to the over vibe this show is a MUST WATCH! This show set me off loving all the thriller dramas and I have not looked back. Every little thing is important so pay attention.Was this review helpful to you?
Should be watched by everyone
A thriller that is dark and unpredictable. Slow burn but this really kept me hooked on till the end. It pulled me to the edge of my seat, made me anxious at every turning point. The characters were crazy but every actor put their soul into it to bring the character into life. It just makes you keep on wondering who is right and wrong? what is good and evil?. Some secrets tend to keep as it is but what will happen if it gets revealed?... To find out watch this series.Tip: This series picks up the pace from ep 3-4, Hence have some patience.
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This review may contain spoilers
Masterpiece
I really liked this show.It was really exciting and had the binge-factor.
The ending was really open, i do not know till this day if Jisoo is dead or not. But I especially liked the actor of Jisoo, he portrayed the emotions really well.
Gyuri was a cool character, many people disliked her but I think she was a very important role and was special for Jisoo. Even if she brought him a lot of trouble, they were into this together.
I recommend this show to people who like action, because there were scenes that could trigger people, like a lood of blood.
The OST‘s were sooo good, I liked them a lot and still listen to them like to normal music.
I would‘ve wished for a second season but it doesn‘t look like there will ever be one.
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Usual Netflix stuff
This drama took a weird thought very seriously and conceptualized it into a drama. As much as interesting and bizarre the idea of a high schooler being a pimp, some things didn't quite add up. But it's all fictional so okay. It did keep me on edge of my seat, with all its violence especially the climax violence scene was just for the hype and chills. The first half was very interesting with discovering each character and the second half went high voltage with its brutalities. The ending pretty much was usual Netflix style. One time binge but I didn't binge it so the effect wasn't rewarding. FL's character was quite complex and I liked how she was portrayed. As for actors, it was nice to see the actress in this type of role. I liked the music and intro title track of this drama. I won't be rewatching this one.Was this review helpful to you?
