Extracurricular is an excellent drama

To be really honest, and I've already posted a short rant about it, I had big expectations from this show since the moment I saw its trailer.

I was expecting a darker plot, and because it is a Netflix show, it gave it full freedom to do so as compared to the network dramas which are bound to do otherwise.

The result? I wasn't impressed. 

It wasn't a bad show for me but neither it was something that blew me away, personally. And I'll give my reasons for the same so bear with me.

The plot :-

 For a crime thriller, this one felt a bit underwhelming. Although, in terms of plot, it had a huge potential. I was really impressed to see that they took up one of the most sensitive and controversial topics as its background theme. But unfortunately, they were quick to dispose it off and shifted their focus on other things. The way they handled it was amateur at its best and something that I really didn't like. When you are working with sensitive and triggering issues it's your responsibility to execute it wisely but here it didn't seem like it. And as a result, half of the viewers ended up not putting much focus in it.

They had a perfect chance to make it up through the character of Minhee, she could have served as a passage, after all she was a victim of the dirty game Jisoo and Gyuri played and could have added a lot more insight into her life, the complications and the risks involving her job. They did try it out with the "traumatic episode" but soon gave it up yet again.

Moreover, they didn't even make her much likeable, she was just whiny for the most part (though, I do believe she showed great development as a character).

The direction :- There were many things that didn't make sense at all. Jisoo's character (I'll come onto that later), various incidents such as the whole mafia who didn't even seem like one, using the Dexter's method to look cool, their overall behaviour (which was funny but still it was so not realistic and even absurd), Jisoo teaching them about the app, them making the deals, there were many unnecessary scenes as well.

The characters :- I'll mainly talk about Jisoo and Gyuri - Jisoo, a gullible, seemingly innocent and clumsy guy came up with a plan he called "security service" to secure his future. His character made it really hard for me to be convinced of the fact that he did in fact pulled something like this off. Now, good grades aren't enough and definitely isn't equivalent to being street smart. Also, the way he handled the situation with Gyuri further made it Impossible for me.

The most important thing that still bothers me about this show is the portrayal of his character.

I love watching psychological crime thrillers, and psychotic criminals. But oftentimes in those shows, we do get a timely reminder of the reality of the said protagonist. We aren't conflicted (even though we love them) but we do somewhere accept their realities. A crime is always a crime with no justifications whatsoever.

Surely, we do know it here as well, but the way they portrayed Jisoo here, made it seem at times that his innocence overshadowed his crimes. Perhaps, they wanted to highlight how his circumstances turned him into someone he wasn't, but sadly, it overpowered the cruelty of his crimes. 

He was a pimp no matter what. And he made the money out of underaged girls and women. 

And to make it worse, they added Gyuri into the mix who ultimately became the person into whom we put all of the blame. Because things got worse when she entered the scene and began manipulating him (but we know he was doomed no matter what) 

Judging by many comments and including myself, it was clear that we spent more time being frustrated about their characters than actually realising the extent of his crimes. And that's why many of us were conflicted with do we want him to run away or be punished? And many even hated the police lol

Now coming on to your points! 

I think the ending meant to things - 1) they ran away 

2) they were caught because Jisoo is tired of everything and we've seen it.

And also, I feel Mr Lee did recognise him because at the hospital he tells him "this time we were unlucky" 

I assume, the we meant both of them.

And yes I do agree! There are many more questions regarding how Mr Lee came to help him and all.

Do I want season 2?

While, there were things I didn't like or enjoy, I do feel this show has a great potential. It had some powerful metaphoric scenes (like the broken snail and the way light flickered at the bus stop where Jisoo was sitting . the Cinderella effect when Gyuri is kidnapped and leaves one of her shoes behind lol and when Gyuri gets a red coloured hair once she starts rebelling against her parents)

so yep! Definitely would give the season a shot if it comes.

Ok. I tend to disagree with some of the comments above...

For me, the show was about the teenagers who are confused about their life, and bring out their rebellious self to the world (behind the classroom). However, during class, they have to pretend like normal high schoolers, according to their society's perspective (whether as a popular bully, smart student, top leader, etc).

The main protagonist may seem “annoying,” but he is still a kid, a high school student who wants to live up for a better future. The protagonist was hesitant throughout. Also near the end, he made almost near death like actions to fulfill his toxic romance with Bae Gyu Ri. Maybe his behaviors weren’t always smart and, of course, flawed, but that made the drama more realistic. The main protagonist isn’t yet an adult.

I wish Mr. Lee’s background were also discussed more throughout the show... but we do get the sense that Mr. Lee and Ji Soo have some loyalty and attachment. Even in the earlier episodes when Ji Soo couldn’t pay Mr.Lee, Mr.Lee refused to work for the hookers without Ji Soo. Moreover, even during the middle of the scene where Mr.Lee was stuck with the gangsters, Ji Soo helped to save Mr.Lee while also risking his own life.
Seo Min Hee was an annoying character with the most immature mentality. However, that made her more “teen” like rather than an adult-like person. I think her situation made her “foolish” and annoying actions more plausible. In the earlier episodes, when Mr. Lee questioned why Min Hee is still working, Min Hee couldn’t answer. Moreover, her relationship with her aunt doesn’t seem that strong. Min Hee also stood up for Mr. Lee when her coworkers wanted to switch the insurer, implying that maybe Mr.Lee’s concern was one of the most genuine connections that she has received. Thus, I don’t think she has fully received all the care at home and throughout the show, she probably was a lost and emotional child.

Bae Gyu Ri played an important role in this drama. Yes, she caused trouble for the protagonist, but also, she was more of a fuel to cause the protagonist to sacrifice himself more in the dangerous times, as seen in episode 9 And even ep 10, taking all the Gyu Ri’s blame when confessing to Min Hee. Other than the dangerous romance and crime partner, Gyu Ri represents some of the strict students today who are living with probably a well off parents but also live with constant stress for high achievements. Gyu Ri’s background is the most interesting since we see that her “wonderful” life isn’t that great. She is stuck and controlled by her parents. For example, She sometimes has to fake her self to meet other business partners from her parent's company. She couldn’t be herself. I think when Gyu Ri is with Ji Soo, she can release her rebellious inner demons out. Be freer, but also that led to more consequences and a screw-up.
The homeroom teacher represented an ignorant parent. I feel like he represents some of the parents today who are very kindly caring for their teenaged children, but behind the parent's back, their children are hanging out with the bad crowd, not always doing the right thing. But no matter what, the homeroom teacher is an extreme side of the “loving parent” who care for their children but has not yet built the capacity to suspect such a horrendous crime that their children are committing behind their backs....

This drama is gripping and at times disturbing... however, I feel like this drama also lets some of the younger audience (at least me, who is a college student) relate to the struggle and conflicts that teens face and without the adult help, trying to survive the hectic society. Maybe some people have a very supportive and also equally balanced restrictive parents to guide their children to the right direction. However, some may not have supportive parents (like Gyu Ri or Min Hee) or very naive parents (homeroom teacher). And we see the children (teens) gathering together to do something that their parents or the homeroom teacher don’t know about.

Vilte: (maybe this is too long to get quoted too)

Main protagonist: I’m not sure how much I agree, but I can see where you’re coming from!

Mr. Lee: To try to answer your question about why he was so willing to die, I want to say that maybe there’s something we don’t know (that would potentially be explained in a second season), but that argument doesn’t work all the time, and everything can’t keep on being pushed to a season 2.
But now that I think more about it, you’re right about his motive being unclear, idk if someone told him off camera or what, (maybe I missed a tiny tiny detail).

Maybe another reason could be that he also knew that this would be the downfall for him if he got caught. As far as I understood he got out of the hospital to get away from the police, so I just assumed he came there to fight for someone(maybe just himself). But when I think about how caring he seemed towards Minhee (despite the facts that he also was a part of the crime obviously) it would seem ooc for him to go to his death to get away.

Gyu Ri: I don’t really agree with this, except that she was there to put the story into the direction of doom. I must also say it is limited how deep a show with only 10 episodes can go into each character, and for me I didn’t feel like I needed to go into details about her (at least not yet). For me she brought chaos that made me intrigued for what was gonna happen next, and I did think some of the moves she made was stupid. If it wasn’t for her, Jisoo had never gone crazy.

Their relationship: For me personally I didn’t mind their relationship being chaotic because everything was chaotic in the first place. I think their relationship did develop, especially at the hotel where they almost kissed, it felt like some kind of metaphor that I found strong(not sure how to explain exactly what I mean sorry). And when Jisoo was confessing his crimes to Minhee he also took all the blame from Gyuri, even though it was her involvement that led to all the chaos. But one thing is for sure, and that is that their relationship was toxic as hell.

Minhee: I also thought “why does she absolutely wanna work today when she knows they wont be there to watch over her” I found that a bit stupid, but I did think (as Sirius above also said) that she had some great character development (which is also why I don’t think she’s gonna die, it would be waste to kill of a character like her (like they did with mr lee…)

Gitae: I wanted him to get into the story earlier too to get to know more about him. I found his relationship with Minhee a bit weird too…

Teacher: maybe he was there to represent the parent that the kids needed? (kinda like Eunjun Choo commented below your comment). Clearly Jisoo’s parents don’t care about him, and Gyuri’s parents are too superficial. But yeah why didn’t any parents go to the hospital? You’re right about that!

 To Sigr0487 -

Yes, they did. And the fact that you too were busy to focus on other things just explains it even more xD They shouldn't have taken such sensitive issue in the first place I feel. Their interpretations weren't perfect as well.

I agree with you that not everything has to be genuine and it's a work of fiction after all. But I think for me personally, I draw a line somewhere xD

The motif of the show as told by the director and writer was to throw some serious questions at the viewers. Which makes me assume that they were going for some serious tone and mood.

And the gang members were in fact an important part of the plot, I don't mind the comic relief but their characters were really absurd which in return made things absurd and unbelievable for me. And it's not even their behaviour, but them as a whole. Even Gyuri being "miss know it all" and easily acquiring information from Minhee regarding her work. There were scenes that were all too easy to be convinced.

It could definitely be possible that Mr Lee helped him more than we have known so far. But I also think that with or without Gyuri, Jisoo's downfall was apparent. One can argue that he successfully carried it out till the present time. But his innocence, clumsy and gullible behaviour makes me think so.

He was probably doomed ever since the beginning. It was only time that his seemingly "innocent" plan (which was anything but) would have led him to his doom (which is what eventually happened here as well) 

I agree!!  There are many questions and the whole mystery about Mr Lee. He is my favourite as well :)

And thank you! For creating this thread and being up for a discussion! I was dying to discuss these things with someone xD