Hierarchy is the perfect example of bad writing!
This school revenge drama made me regret spending my entire Sunday binging this...
So, recently, on a perfectly normal Sunday when I had nothing to do whatsoever and I felt like just laying in bed. I was scrolling through the tons of Korean Drama titles available to watch when one of them caught my eye. It was Hierarchy. I am fan of revenge dramas. The poster in itself was something that I usually avoid. I am not really a fan of school K-dramas. I think it’s because I cannot really relate to it and most of the time, I am just thinking that this is just not how normally schools work. There were a few exceptions of course,
There was Twenty Five Twenty One, but it was far more than just a normal school drama, you know.
There was also Racket Boys but that was more focused on the sport of Badminton than on their school life. Personally, I never really enjoyed the school parts. I think it’s because I am a young adult now even though I don’t even feel like it but I prefer something more inclined to that section of life.
But this time, I wanted to put these prejudices behind and try my hand on this drama and…to be completely honest.
It was the worst way ever to spend my precious Sunday. I resent myself for wasting those hours spent on this drama just like Jung Jae-i. I could have stopped watching in between but I just thought to myself that I have to finish what I have started at the very least even if I don’t like it. So, I got through it somehow.
Firstly, a big disclaimer.
I don’t think the actors and actresses did a bad job with this drama. The characters that were meant to be hated were hated and the characters we were meant to root for, I rooted for them wholeheartedly. But the main problem was the writing. You see, I love writing. I believe words are comforting and filled with power to change minds and help us rally together as humans. Writing is a powerful tool but when not used appropriately or even effectively. It’s a mess. Actually, it’s a fucking shitshow. The biggest example is right here. The perfect example of bad writing.
Okay?….Great!
(From here on, there will be spoilers.)
The drama started off good with setting the scene for the death of Kang In-han and there was no repercussions of any sort whatsoever in the school, it seemed like. We are also met with our protagonist as well, Kang Ha who is smiling like an idiot at every step of the way. That’s where it all started to go wrong. At first, I did think he was just a complete idiot not understanding what was going on in his surroundings but then, it changed to Kang Ha is up to something. Really quick. But of course, we find out that it was all a ploy to get to know his brother’s killer (Kang In-han being his fraternal twin). But there is a limit isn’t there? From the first few interactions with the uber rich kids, it was completely clear that Kang Ha had something up his sleeve and there was something off with the whole thing. He was overcompensating, that’s what it felt like and it made him look like an idiot protagonist in my mind at least.
Of course, going forward. He does things that are very smart with finding out that the Class President actually has access to all the data on the phones. But that’s really it. Everything else is far too emotional from his side. While emotion is necessary. For a revenge drama. It’s the coldness of the revenge taker, that sets up the entire thing.
Then, there are the uber rich kids who are not even kids to be honest. There were so many scenes in this drama where if these scenes were isolated, no one would guess that these characters are even high schoolers. The entire group of these spoilt brats are just trying to be adults all the fucking time. Like why? Also, it’s actually different to act like an adult and just be an adult. The scene with Yoon He-ra and Jung Jae-i confronting each other on a rooftop restaurant dressed like they are in their mid 20s is so out of place. It’s uncomfortable to be honest. It doesn’t sit well with the entire drama atmosphere roaming around the fact that the school and the school’s culture is the main problem.
But it wasn’t just that. There were also the two narrators/characters. The two girls Ryu Ba-da and Gil Ye-ji. Some of you might not even remember the names. That’s how insignificant they were to the plot! They keep on repeating stuff that we as an audience have already understood from the past incidents and it’s really irritating, it’s like the writer wanted to make sure that the audience is on the right track with the interpretation of the previous scenes or they were forced to give these characters some lines. It’s just spoon-feeding the audience.
It’s like when you first start writing, you pack the entire thing with details, so that everyone can imagine it the way that you imagine it and that’s not how writing is supposed to be. It’s a two way thing, it’s the writer’s work and it’s the audience’s own interpretation that makes writing come truly alive. The writing is there to stimulate the audience’s own imagination. Of course, this applies to the video format as well. Because all of these shows, dramas and videos start off here. On a piece of paper or a word document.
At first, I was rooting for Kang Ha wholeheartedly as it was revealed that he was there for revenge. I was all for it and waiting for it to happen. But it never did. Kang Ha’s motivation to get revenge changed somewhere in the middle when he started to like Jung Jae-i and that ruined everything. I was also all for him manipulating Jung Jae-i and using her as a pawn and even that didn’t happen. In the end, he didn’t get the girl nor did he get his revenge properly. There were changes in the school culture but still, it was not satisfying. It’s like you weren’t able to eat the best bite in a meal because there is none. In the end, he seemed to be okay with Kim Ri-an and the entire ordeal, it seemed like that and then, all of a sudden in the ending after the credits. He was again out for revenge, going after Kim Ri-an. Like…like what is even happening? They should have just stopped it after this one season. But they are milking it dry. There is no need for another season. Please.
Then, there was Kim Ri-an. From the first episode, I knew he couldn’t be the bad guy. The way he was written and portrayed was just bad. It would have been much better to have him be the villain completely. But since Jung Jae-i was in love with him and she is one of the good ones. Kim Ri-an cannot be bad fundamentally to make their romance a possibility. In the end, Kim Ri-an just became a kid with a tantrum who just whined all the time that Jung Jae-i is breaking up with him.
Then, there was Yoon He-ra. Actually. I swear. Her character was the only well written in this entire drama. She did her job, she was a bitch and just wanted to get with Kim Ri-an no matter what. But she had a lot of problems and her father became penniless for a brief moment but she was saved by friendship! Then, she got some character development and she is better than before. Still, a bitch. But better. I think the best moment for her character arc was when she slapped Jung Jae-hyeok for the video that he had made of Kim Ri-an and Jung Jae-i. That was the moment. The moment when I thought that at least this drama has one redeeming character. Yoon He-ra was the only one with good character development in this entire drama.
Then, there was of course the Student-teacher relationship. I don’t even want to talk about that. What did that even bring to the table? I don’t even understand why and the way she left in the last episode was so horrible. The writer just wanted a reason for the two to talk, that’s the only thing I can think of. But even then, the teacher. The only worthy thing the teacher did was to kill Kang In-han. That’s it. She contributed nothing else to the entire series other than being a possessive jealous woman. She needed to be arrested, not for Kang In-han but for being such a bad character…
All in all, this entire drama was a shitshow to say the least. I regret spending my free Sunday on this show. There might be people who think differently. But this is just what I think is wrong with the drama. Netflix should have done better with this drama. It could have been a good one-off revenge drama if done right.
One tangent, I believe that could have been good. I was thinking throughout the drama that since Kang Ha was raised by his childless uncle. I was thinking maybe he was part of some rich family as well like these other kids. But he was out of his own will, working part time jobs and kept it a secret to stay together with his brother through his schooling. At least, that’s what I was thinking. I thought there was a hint to it when Yoon He-ra was throwing Jung Jae-i a farewell party, she saw Kang Ha in a suit and she had this eerie feeling, a familiar feeling. Also, in the end we see Kang Ha and Yoon He-ra sitting together and eating a snack. Maybe they could be going with this tangent in the next season or it’s foreshadowing that Yoon He-ra has moved on from Kim Ri-an and now will assist Kang Ha in his revenge.
Either way, I hope they don’t make season 2 if the writing is going to be the same as this season. I hope. Wholeheartedly.
Anyway, that’s all from me. Thanks for reading!
