Hierarchy (2024)

nothing special!

This show was entertaining to watch but nothing special just another rich high school mystery drama. In this drama there is a prestigious school named jooshin high school where only rich kids attend but scholarshipp students are also admitted as a way of showing that they're giving back to the society. But in reality these scholarship students are discriminated, bullied and humiliated. And the show starts with showing death of such scholarship student kang in han. Whose only crime was getting close with jeong jae i "the high school royalty'.
Enters kang ha who has a secret but he appears bubbly and his closeness with jeong jae-i annoys her ex kim ri an whose sidekicks tries to warn kang ha. but foe him its do or die .
This is nothing new as we again see rich kids being bratty and always showing off their wealth. all the luxury brands are paid actors in this drama as you will always see them with characters.
Things I disliked -
1)There are confusing instances in this drama like we might think that jae i was pregnant with kang in han. Only for us to figure out she was pregnant with ri an's kid!
-Another confusing thing was kang in han spying on her. Why did he had recording camera pen ?this was never explained.
2) kang ha's romantic interest in jeong jae i despite being aware of her involvement in his brother's death.
3) Adults in the school bowing down to students and having no authority and one of the teachers literally having an affair with student . that teacher had audacity of questioning kang ha despite killing his brother
4)Rushed conclusion - the drama concluded hastily with nothing ground breaking. all the scholarship students should have shown the rich kids that they are nothing special and their privileges dont make them any more important .
the cast is good. I only loved lee chae min's acting. just one time watch drama for passing time!

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not bad but not good.

Here's the thing. The story had a good premise. Kang ha is enrolled in an elite private school with a scholarship. Space for said scholarship opened up because his fraternal twin brother died the year before in a hit-and-run car accident. Kang ha enrolled so he could get revenge and justice. Jae I, the female lead and the constant center of attention, has just broken up with her boyfriend of several years after returning from the states. Her boyfriend, Ri an, is obsessed with her (painfully obsessed) and so he's in denial. Kang ha takes advantage of Jae I's connection with Ri an because he knows that Ri an was involved in his brother's death. Alright, there's the premise.

The whole thing was ruined, though, because for some reason they just HAD to give Kang ha and Jae I a goofy little "love" story, if you could even call it that. Kang ha never had a chance, that much was obvious because Jae I OBVIOUSLY still loved her ex-boyfriend and had only broken up with him out of fear of her crazy father. Kang ha is supposed to be driven by revenge, he's supposed to hate all of these people for just standing by and doing nothing while his brother was abused and tortured. But...oh! Oh my god! Pretty cold rich broken girl is just SOOOOOO heart-wrenchingly loveable! So Kang ha starts to like her, and now his plot for revenge doesn't seem so much like a plot for revenge anymore. This story could have been GREAT. Amazing, even. Imagine if Kang ha were a morally grey character and he'd manipulated everyone to get exactly what he wanted? He could have destroyed lives and made a spectacle of all of them, but he didn't. Why? Because he had a crushy wushy on Jae I!

Then there's Jae I herself, the most ridiculous character I've ever seen. I understand that she's supposed to have anxiety and whatnot because of her father. But that's not what I'm focused on. She spends this entire series USING Kang ha's crush to get away from her obsessed ex, and then we find out that the WHOLE time while we THINK she's catching feelings for him, she was actually just thinking about her ex. Okay, fine. That happens in the real world. But then, why, when Kang ha runs after her and cries in her arms, does she lead him on??? I hate her character so much lmfao she was dumb and didn't make use of ANY of her resources. Just acted like a damsel in distress the entire time. I can count the amount of times she raised her voice on two hands, maybe one.

We were SUPPOSED to have a murder mystery, trying to find out which of them had run Kang ha's brother over, but instead, we're given a teacher who doesn't act like a teacher that...oh my?!?!?! ran him over because he...caught her kissing a student!?!?!??!?! shut up what the hell that ruined whatever this drama had left to redeem itself lmfao because are you fr??? And the way they BUTCHERED this even more by adding in all this ridiculous side plot with the pregnancy and the stalker brother??? This should have been focused on the MURDER. That's what would have made this good. The ending? Even more absurd than I thought it would be. They tried making it bittersweet and ooooo dark ooooo, but really....?????? Ugh why do they ruin good stories with bad writing

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Listen to the reviews and skip

Like many I was intrigued when I first saw this on Netflix’s what’s next video showing all of this years releases and considering it had all my favourite elements (supposedly), rich kid problems, school setting, bullying etc, I was seated. That was until I actually tuned into this disaster. It starts out promising with great cinematography and a good premise but half of the storylines set up get side tracked for a very useless and boring romance plot which you are not expecting whatsoever. Depressed expressionless fml with ‘troubles’ that means she has to push everyone away despite being offered help by her super rich bf which he probably could’ve resolved and saved us about 5-6 episodes. Despite being involved in the killing of the ML’s brother we spend almost the entire show being forced to feel bad for her (which I still don’t f her) because she has ‘anxiety’ … give me a break. So much anxiety it takes the ML trying to seek revenge for her to finally say something about her bf orchestrating some team of bullies to ‘show scholarship students their place’ which she has been watching happen this whole time. Now the ML has to be the most spineless person in this series which is ironic since he spent the entire series handing out empty threats to the adults for this very reason. Completely ruined the class presidents plans of teaching the SML and FL a lesson for their actions cause he stupidly lets his feelings get in the way (even though this girl was literally a contributing factor for his brothers death). Only when the fml turns him down does he make an effort to carry out SOME revenge. (Which hardly works as none of the actual perpetrators are punished but continue going to school like nothing happened). Whole show is pretty much centred around this pathetic love triangle and sad girl FML instead of getting to the bottom of what happened to ML’s brother.

Also a random predator plotline which really holds no actual significance apart from in the last ep much like the explanation on the death of the twin brother. This show is just an aesthetically pleasing waste of time, if you are considering this thinking you’re getting sky castle or penthouse s1 kind of goodness, think again.

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ONLY WATCH THIS IF YOU LOVE THE VISUALS

I originally highly anticipated watching this drama due to the visuals (Roh Jeong-eui, Lee Chae-min) plus even knowing that it would be a high school drama with revenge played in, something like Elite. I maintained this impression of this drama throughout the first episode, not knowing that frankly it was the best episode, and everything would be going downhill from then. (first three episodes were ok)

Messy plot
The main reason that I despise this drama is because of its messy plot and characters, which left me angry and VERY CONFUSED. The writer was too greedy and wanted to add too many elements to this drama, and in the end, didn’t even manage to execute one perfectly. The main plot of the story revolved around Kang Ha (main lead) avenging the death of his brother who died from a car crash, then for the whole drama, it was hinting that his death was caused by Ri-an indirectly as his friends bullied him. However, the end revealed that his death was caused by the teacher who crashed into him. There, I started to wonder, then why did they blame Ri-an and Jae I for the whole drama, painting them as the antagonists of the show who caused his death????? And to be honest, they weren’t even the one bullying him, they were just onlookers, and I understand that onlookers are at fault too, but are they really the ones to blame???? I really couldn’t understand this part (or could someone explain to me), and I felt that the writer just wanted to tie these two issues together (mystery/ death + bullying), but it was done terribly. Another one of the many things I couldn't understand is why are there so many people blackmailing Jae I and Ri-an with the making-out clip, like why does everyone have the clip including Jae I’s brother who took the clip, principal’s son, and Ri-an’s mother. I don’t even understand what’s wrong with them being together, I mean they are both from wealthy families, and I know they mentioned that their parent’s company are in conflict or whatever, but it’s not like they are transcending the status quo to be together. The story also covers controversial issues such as Jae I’s unintended pregnancy, teacher student in a romantic relationship, but truthfully, it just didn’t work out that well.

Messy characters and relationships
Going into the drama, I was fully prepared to ship Kang Ha and Jae I as their visuals were LIT and they had great chemistry in episode 1. However, after finishing the drama, I couldn’t even tell what their relationship was. Jae I has a fluctuating attitude towards Kang Ha, sometimes acting friendly, then other times acting cold to Kang Ha. For instance, she was acting cold to Kang Ha in the first episode, then suddenly in the second episode, they acted like friends and she even invited him to her room, and let him sleep on her shoulder. I was like what????, she was still acting like she didn’t care about his existence at all, then suddenly they developed this intimate relationship?? Then in episode 3, Jae I becomes cold again, but then in later episodes Jae I confesses to Kang Ha about the death of the scholarship kid (which is like her deepest secret??) and even tells Kang Ha at some point that he is her most trusted person. I really couldn’t comprehend their relationship, and I think it was due to poor writing that failed to depict the development of their connection. Despite all these, I couldn’t resist crying in the scene where Jae I and Ri-an ride the bicycle and eat the strawberry toast. To me, those were moments that belonged to and were dedicated to Kang Ha and Jae I, it was when they started to develop a romantic interest towards each other. But then, Jae I decided to do all these with Ri-an?! This really just shows that Jae I doesn’t even care or had any romantic interest in Kang Ha. That was the scene that hurt me the most.

There were many more poorly written relationships, but here I will talk about Jae I and He Ra. To be honest, I still don’t understand why Jae I was being so mean to He Ra in the first few episodes, it even seemed to me that she was being mean on purpose. She just ordered her friend around like she was her subject (eg. telling her to search the anonymous instagram user). Then Jae I continues to be mean by giving off vibes that she doesn't care whether He Ra likes Ri-ah or not, and even hints that He Ra wouldn’t have a chance. Then, she decides not to help He Ra by not letting their fathers meet. I really didn’t understand why Jae I had to do all these. Then, at last, they become friends again because Jae I asks her father to help He Ra. Like what????? So essentially, their friendship is resolved because of money!!. She didn’t even try to show any personal and nice gestures for her friend, and instead just asks her father whom she despises to help????

Execution → show not tell, the writer did TERRIBLE
The lines were written terribly in this drama. It reached the intention of telling us what characters feel or what happened, but it didn’t SHOW. For example Jae I says “Ri-an is my everything”. Since they suddenly got back together, Jae I just keeps saying or expressing something like that. But frankly, I really couldn’t see that she was still madly in love with him in all the previous episodes. Kang Ha also expresses his love for Jae I later through the lines of the principal's son, but similarly I couldn’t see how and when he fell in love with Jae I. The other even worst part of this drama is that mysteries are not revealed gradually, instead the characters just suddenly know the answers. For example, Jae I just suddenly knows that U Jin and the teacher have a relationship. The murderer of the drama is also just suddenly uncovered, Kang Ha didn’t even take part in investigating the death, and U Jin just decides to hand in the video evidence because of his guilt. The writer did such a terrible job in the mystery part of uncovering the crime. The last few episodes were the worst, as every time the characters met up, they were either saying sorry or asking someone to say sorry, or saying how wrong they were. (especially Jae I, Kang Ha, and Ri-an). They could have just depicted better scenes of them that showcased the character’s relationship.

Huge plot holes that the writer didn’t even bother to fill in
For instance, they didn’t explain why Kang Ha’s brother had the pen with the camera in his pocket. I know that it acted as a great tool for recording the evidence of the teacher crashing into him, but they didn't even explain why Kang Ha’s brother had that pen all along. Secondly, why didn’t they destroy this important evidence, like why would the teacher even leave the pen in the car, she would have immediately destroyed it if she really didn’t want people to find out that she killed someone and also had an inappropriate relationship with her student. This also leads me to ask: so what was Jae I and Kang Ha’s brother actually discussing in the scene where they were talking and Jae I found out his camera pen. Were they talking about the pregnancy? And why was Kang Ha’s brother recording her? (as it seems)

As a side note, I also want to ask what did Jae I’s mother do that made Jae I’ father despise her that much. Her dad keep saying you're becoming the type of woman your mother was, but what did her mother actually do?

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The hype was all for nothing

Expectations were low because of past experiences with overhyped dramas, but I still ended up being disappointed. Started out extremely good then everything went downhill after episode 3. For the most part the cast didn't have any chemistry. The Bullies punishment wasn't served well, it was a slap on the wrist at best. The plot twist were bland/underwhelming. Focused way too much on romance and not enough revenge.

It's a shame because I'm a big fan of the main cast, but the drama was too flashy that it ended up being boring. It completely lacked suspense and excitement. Unless you have absolutely nothing to watch, save your time and skip this one.

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[Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Romance, Youth], And I Didn't Find Any Of Them In The Series.

Despite Having Such A Good Budget, Promising Actors, And Pretty Decent Plot, This Series Remained An Average And Time Pass Series.
The Primary Genre [THRILLER] There Is No Thrill In The Series After The Second Episode, The Main Plot Suddenly Disappeared And Came Back In The Final Episode.
The Secondary Genre [MYSTERY] And I Still Didn't Find Out What Is Mysterious Here, Everyone In The School Knows Who Is There For Revenge And FL Also Knows Who Is Threatening Her With Videos.
The Third Genre [ROMANCE] Is There Any Romance They Are Just Using Eachother for Their Profit Or Casually Having Intimacy As Their Tool Of Pleasure.
The Last But Not The Least [YOUTH] It Is A Youth Drama But Everyone Here Are Acting Like An Middle Aged Person That They Are Holding Some Influence Of Their Own, And The Point Where They Want To Handle Situations With Maturity They Are Acting Like 8 Graders, Like You Hit Me I Hit You Too...

And The Character Who Has Most Of The Screentime Kang ha, He Took Admission In Jooshin To Fight Against The Bullies And After Sometime For The Inequality Of Jooshin System, But The Bullies Are Still in The School And The System Is Still The Same The Scholarship Students Still Can't Do Anything...

SOME POSTIVES POINTS OF HIERARCHY.
1. The Production Quality Is Just Amazing. Set Designing Is Good And Quality Looks Very Premium As They Mentioned Jooshin High School As The Prestigious School In Korea.
2. All Actor Are Good And Did Their Job Pretty Well, But The Two Male Leads Lee Chae Min And Kim Jae Won Carried The Whole Show.
3. The Best And The Coolest Thing Of The Series Is Its Camera Work And Sound Design. DOP And The Sound Director Did An Fabulous Job..

Overall It Is An Average Series But If The Post Credit Scene Indicating The Chances Of Part 2.
And, Is The Student Died In Class Is Killed By Kang Ha? Is He Out For Blood And Revenge?
If That's The Case Then Its Pretty Decent Prequel.

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Is all I can say

All that for just a teacher accidentally hitting a kid
I mean it has potential.... That's something can't seem to deny ... The production Quite fancy
And how the heck they're in highschool and facing this kind of things
And how is the female lead.. I mean why would you protect someone who's has a power to do so... A if he's kind of a damsel in distress.. and why would you ask for help to someone who is ....
Actually I waited for this series, like I even scheduled it to my calendar because I've seen there's something to watch in it...
You know if there's season 2 ... I hope it would be well written... And the acting... Should be well expression
They can't just be... You know what I mean .

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Revenge is a dish served with a dumb romance plot

This show wanted to be like Revenge of Others and it couldn’t meet that standard.

The “revenge” dies halfway through the story because he “fell in love” with Jae-i, who happens to be involved with his brother’s death. But no! Let’s get distracted from our revenge plot for this girl AND feel bad for her and her friends.

Boo-hoo, womp womp, no one cares.

Nothing irritated me more than the bullies getting away with everything, the school still standing, and her being like “I did like you but I want my psycho boyfriend who bullied your brother to his death.”

None of these characters are likable and have such shallow depth with no character development. The only satisfying part was the teacher being arrested (which was barely satisfying).

I don’t know what they were thinking when writing this but it’s terrible. The cast and set couldn’t even save this bad writing. Why’re you trying to make me feel bad for these stupid rich kids?

Like I get the miscarriage, the emotional abuse, and the manipulation they went through but the writing is so shallow I couldn’t care about them. Penthouse had me caring for the bullies because they wrote them in a complex manner to care about them and understand why they were bullies.

Kang Ha sitting with He-ra at the end boiled me to the core like do you have no care in the world about your brother?

Chan-mi did it better and got the boyfriend but she stood on her business!

What a waste of my seven hours. I had to put it in 1.5x speed to hurry up that nonsense.

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The actors are good in the eyes

If you like Sky Caste & Heir you would also like this one, they have the same vibe but it has a darker side. It becomes the battle of the rich and famous. You become famous and powerful if you are wealthy enough. It also tells the life of a rich kid, its not ony a glam life there is also some disadvantages wherein your life is planned already, your parents will decide on what to do with your life without asking your point of view they olny did what they think that is best for you, you opinion doesn't matter to them.
This drame focus to reveal the dark side of the school and wht really happens to his tein brother. He decides to enroll on that school to take revenge on what they did to her twin brother. As he was closely revealing the truth the revenge never happen because there was love involved, he is slowly develops feelings for her. And many more secrets have been revealed, and he finds out what really happens in that accident that killed his twin brother.
I have to praised the SL although he is such a red flag in this drama he also has a charming face thats keeps me an awe, and his performance is superb.
Can't wait for the next season .

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I quite enjoyed the drama

I quite enjoyed the drama and it is not clear why it is condemned and it receives such bad reviews, it is a bit like an American drama, it is true, after all, it is a Netflix production. I don't understand why the viewers should compare it to other dramas. I think that beyond the plot, (which is not bad at all) there are some difficult social criticisms in it, concerning the humiliating attitude of parents towards their children, the humiliating attitude of the rich towards the poor, the humiliating attitude of teachers towards students and the humiliating attitude of students towards students (and this is seen in many Korean dramas. They all bring everyone to the edge of their mental endurance.
Maybe because I am also a mother of twins, the story touched a sensitive chord with me. ..it's also not clear why Netflix doesn't mean that in episode 7 after the subtitles there is another and very significant section for the end of the series ..that many viewers don't notice and think that the drama ends with the leading woman arriving at her mother's house?? The series had a great soundtrack, the actors were great...all in all, not a bad drama at all and since Netflix defined it as a "limited series", I guess there is no second season and it's a shame, because it was left with another murder that you can hardly understand who was murdered (perhaps on purpose) and the end open, and has the good man become the bad man?

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Flavorless

It had potential start, but came crashing down so fast. Felt like the whole series something was about to happen but at the end nothign really happened.
Story wasnt written well, and it's like 10 different western teen shows combined, but also it's giving nothing.
Jae-i's actress had very blunt and bad acting, chemistry wasnt there with literally anyone.
Honestly it felt like he-ra's actress was the only one who knew how to act and suited her character.

Only words to describe the show is flavorless and tasteless.

Well the music and cinematography was good, but couldnt save the show.

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