"PERSONALLY" ONE of the BEST K-Drama in 2023.

First let me say that this review could be biased since I personally like the cast so much. But seeing the positive ratings from pretty much most of the people watching this drama, I hope that this review could relate to most.

Story, the story is so good. Perhaps saying that it is just good can't possibly show how good it is. This drama doesn't only provide entertainment, but also a lot of hidden messages that have meanings where we can relate in real life. I thought at first that it would be like 18 Again, but instead this drama actually went back in time and instead of the dad being the lead, the son will try to change his dad's fate and make sure that his dad would not change his love interest whilst also trying to prevent him from getting into the accident that made him lose his hearing. (My prediction is that I think him preventing his dad's accident is so when he returns to his timeline, he wants to perform in front of his dad knowing he could hear the music he's playing). The best quote on this drama is where Balsan shares what HEG has been doing for HYC without him knowing and says that he almost cried when he said,

"I want him to shine. First, on the stage. Then in life."
- Ha Eun Gyeol

Casting, there is no other words I can use to describe HOW each and everyone FITS exactly where they should be. I can't even imagine anybody else playing the main roles other than them. Both couples, Ryeorina (Ryeoun and Seorina) and Hyunsoo (CHW and SES)'s chemistry is so good. Even though I ship Ryeoun and Eun Soo more than... nvm since it would've been weird if the drama took that turn.

Music, I personally like both the OSTs and songs covered or used in this drama. For the OSTs a few that I personally liked the most is A Song For You by Joonil Joon, and Higher by JU-NE. But this drama also features Canon Rock, Walking to Heaven by Jang Hyunchul but I think in the drama they used Song Jin Wook's rock version, and much more (including their band's songs like Shining, etc).

Rewatch Value, I can't tell you how many times I've watched this drama from episode 1-8 while waiting for the 2 new episodes each week. I would rewatch this drama over and over again since I can't wait for the next episode. (And this is during my mid term exams as well..).

10/10 for me. If I could rate it higher I would.

UPDATE:
I just finished it and currently in the middle of debating whether I should be happy or sad that it's over. Even though in my head I had thought of a very different ending,
*SPOILER*
I half hoped that the accident that HYC had in episode 15 wouldn't be the same as what had happened before and he wouldn't be deaf, and the ending would've been them (HEG's band) performing in front of him and him being proud of his son's band.
*END OF SPOILER*
but the ending that happened in the drama didn't disappoint me at all, but I think that this is one of the most acceptable happy endings and didn't make me change the rating for it. Personally I felt that the ending was quite rushed, since a few things haven't been cleared up (Such as OEY's trip back, HYC's coping mechanism to his new condition, HYC and YCA's love story after the accident, and the band's fate ). But still a well deserved 10/10 drama near the end of 2023. Hoping that this drama would bring a few awards back home to either the production crew or the acting casts since this was a blast.

Currently waiting for Sweet Home S2, Squid Game S2, and All Of Us Are Dead S2 and hoping that they would come sooner and not end up as a disappointing season 2.

Dictionary for the Abbreviations:
1. HEG - Ha Eun Gyeol
2. HYC - Ha Yi Chan
3. YCA - Yoon Chung Ah
4. OEY - Oh Eun Yu
5. CHW - Choi Hyun Wook
6. SES - Shin Eun Soo

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What just happened??

I don't get the ending... at all.. When she goes back to the timeline and was reading the book. All that was changed is that the book was revised to have a happier ending for the book characters only, and her existence isn't even important or remembered anymore. If that's the case, then I don't get why she went in the book/gets inside the story if she wasn't even remembered (I mean they hinted that the male lead either misses her or knows someone is missing, but that's about it). Did she even change the plot of the story? Since the recap on the ending part just shows that when He Huan was performing the ritual he failed and they were exposed, blabla...

I sincerely loved it, had a few laughs here and there, the actors and actresses did their part (felt some chemistry with all 3 couples), and I finished the drama due to my curiosity and I was genuinely disappointed with what happened. I love happy endings and sad endings equally, BUT I really hate it when the ending just baffles me and the drama that I spend time watching doesn't even have a clear ending.

I would rather prefer a sad ending (since they more or less forced it to be one, since she suddenly without any reason at all goes to ML's brother and pretends to have a fake relationship until suddenly she was forced to get married and she regrets her decision?) Like girl, you should've just stayed put with the ML, have the children there, and done, the drama has a happy ending. But since she suddenly finds herself in the air thanks to a what it seems to be a hot air balloon that she rigged to explode, they should've just made it into a sad ending in the book (meaning that HER presence changed the storyline in the book), BUT they meet in her timeline and finally reunite (or something IDK, anything is better).

Edit:
Thanks to another user, @Suzette Ser, there is a better alternative ending (refer to their comment or go to this link: https://www.douyin.com/user/MS4wLjABAAAA8Gft2z08CjrLcEI3BGbNk6CLkePD5pUTxQbD0haYQBF7uU0hiAy4KW651lRC_yAL?modal_id=7360304476701396239 and if you're interested go ahead and look at it). Where her existence is not forgotten since the ML in the book remembers her, which gives meaning to him looking at that flower. Even though they did not interact in the real world, that is still a clearer and better ending than what we were given in the drama.

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Exciting Opening, But Dull Closing....

I will start this review off just like my previous reviews. I loved most of the cast here, I loved RJE in 18 Again, and also excited to see JHW and LCM as "Main Leads". This is one of the drama's I've yearned for... I've waited for this drama to come out, and when it did, I couldn't even watch it thanks to some stuff I had to do before I could binge watch it. I had really high hopes for it, and it's disappointing to say the least. I personally think that all of the actors and actresses did their part, but it still turned out quite disappointing.

Story, the story starts off quite well, making us drawn into the fact that there's something wrong with this highly prestigious school. It's almost like the drama Pyramid Game, where the rich and powerful are feared by the less fortunate or in this drama's case, the student's that are scholarship students. The main leads' introductions were forward and clear, like Rian (played by KJW) being an athletic and rich figure that everyone has to respect to, Hera (played by JHW) being a flirty and spoiled rich girl, Woojin (played by LWJ) being the more calmer one out of the group, and lastly Jae Yi (played by RJE) being the 'queen' of the school. As we progress we can see why Kang Ha (played by LCM) resents them (mainly Rian due to his suspicions) and even went out of his way to annoy and trigger Rian and all the adults responsible for his brother's death. But as it progressed further, we can see that Rian is not even the perpetrator and that all his efforts was useless and a waste of time and that what he did (kissed Rian's girlfriend, approached her and even fell for her, protected her) is slightly immoral in the end. I actually felt bad for Rian because throughout this drama all he did was love her sincerely (even though sometimes he can seem a bit clingy), in the end since if I'm not mistaken, she even left him to go to New York with another guy as per her agreement with her father to help Hera's father's company. I... don't quite understand Woojin's correlation with the whole story, I mean he is important yes, but it was only discovered near the ending that he has hidden the story with the teacher. Woojin's entire character was only flirting with the teacher, being victim to Hera's flirtatious acts (and also revealed that he actually likes her but just doesn't know how to say it) and then he suddenly becomes important near the end. I mean he could've had a romantic relationship with Hera instead or maybe chased after her instead of not really existing until the "twist" came. As for Hera, her character is a typical rich girl who has everything going and doesn't like when what she wants isn't hers. From the beginning she is already aiming to steal her best friend's boyfriend (remember that here Jae Yi is only ghosting Rian, and their relationship is not yet over) and is also a typical gossiper. I've long predicted that she would get karma, and yes she got it. Her redemption arc is also slightly believable, considering the flashbacks show that she actually cares about the friendship between her and Jae Yi (shown by her actually crying in the car after they cut off their friendship ties). The story itself it quite confusing towards the end and there are a lot of open-ended things that we just have to imagine ourselves, such as the ending itself where Jae Yi met her mom? Also what happens to Rian, Hera, and Woojin? Is the story ending with Rian being sad since Jae Yi left him, Hera being a better person overall, and Woojin is being Woojin? Overall, I end the story part with a sentence that I sent to my friend as soon as I finished this drama...
"i went from oh shit thats good, to what the fuck just happened, to oh its because of that, BUT how and why? And why DID that happen."

Casting, I have 0 complaints about the casting, the actors and actresses DID a VERY GOOD JOB despite the terrible plot.

Music, I actually quite like the opening scene music and also the other soundtracks. They did a really great job composing it and also the usage of the music was perfect in each scenario. You can check out the full soundtrack playlist by searching for "[MV] 'Hierarchy' Official Soundtrack Playlist | Netflix" or
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULATL_g0WOE -> the official Netflix K-Content Youtube Channel

Rewatch Value, no.. just no.

Dictionary for the Abbreviations:
1. RJE - Roh Jeong Eui
2. JHW - Ji Hye Won
3. LCM - Lee Chae Min
4. KJW - Kim Jae Won

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