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If I could name a drama equivalent to The Handmaiden, it would be SKY Castle.
SKY Castle is a satirical drama that criticizes practices from corrupt business hierarchy to extreme parenting environments. The drama has impeccable directing, story is full of plot twists, comedy is subtle and melds well, and the cliffhangers are absolutely wild. The drama tends to often be dramatized, especially as it is a satirical work, but the underlying themes are never truly lost.
SKY Castle focuses on a person's wellbeing above all else, be it education, money, or job position. Yes, the aforementioned are important, but at what cost? Certainly not at the expense of giving up all of one's happiness or opportunity for happiness. This drama hits extra close to home and really resonates with people who relate with any of the characters' upbringings, which is fairly common amongst Asian households with views along the conservative side of the spectrum.
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As someone that grew up in an environment frighteningly similar to some of the children in the drama, these issues are very real. Some elements of the drama are definitely exaggerated, but parenting ideals are unfortunately very accurate. When I was growing up, anything not perfect was considered failure. Got a B on an exam? Unacceptable. Got an A, but it wasn't 100%? Not good enough. Actually getting perfect? No compliment, only expected to upkeep the results. It wasn't uncommon for me to experience physical abuse for disobeying anything or not achieving expectations. This type of harsh environment is displayed in SKY Castle, and it really unveils how damaging it is to a family.
Abuse shouldn't be a tolerated, period. The drama displays the issues that can arise through punishment especially, as opposed to positive reinforcement . The cycle of punishment can create a rift between a parent and child that gradually expands and expands, eventually leading igniting hatred. So many parents also project their ambitions and dreams onto their children saying it's for the best, never asking or caring what their children want. In some cases, everything works out fine; in others, the child adapts a similar perspective as the parents, and the abusive cycle repeats. In many cases, this absolutely destroys children's relationships with their parents. Often times I thought about suicide, running away from home--these options seemed better than the torture that was presented by my parents. These are serious issues that potentially tread on life and death, and it's very well highlighted within the drama.
At times it wasn't even the studying that was the most draining part of my childhood, but the fact that I felt unloved, only there to satisfy my parents' desires. Endlessly I was told to become a doctor, a lawyer, or insert whatever high paying prestigious occupation. Who cares about what I want, right? Children aren't and shouldn't be a parent's opportunity at a second chance towards their dream; they are their own people, and should be respected as so. Here's a quote that really resonated with me in the drama:
"Who cares if they acknowledge you or not? I just want to be happy."
I was also constantly compared to other children, told how I was inferior to them. "These children can do this and that; why aren't you able to?" This competitive mindset is dangerous; often parents will disregard their children's wellbeing for the sole sake of pushing them towards the absolute limit to be better everyone around them. And...for what purpose? To satisfy the parents' eligibility for bragging rights. Of all things, they push and push and push their children...for bragging rights. Does it matter that your child is smarter or more successful than other children if they're in complete agony?
My relationship with my parents to this day is completely broken. I don't tell them any of my worries and fears, what I'm doing, how I'm doing, because it's unimportant to them if I'm not 'successful' to their standards. Can you imagine being so afraid to tell your parents--who should supposedly be closest to you--anything because you will be disregarded, not acknowledged, and shamed? The characters in SKY Castle can. It's a shame that the people you should be able to lean on are the ones you're afraid of most.
"The greater your suffering, the greater your enlightenment."
This is another quote that I feel can be attributed greatly to SKY Castle on the whole. Often times it's not until you lose everything that you see all that you took for granted. With what this drama presents, hopefully people become more aware of their situations to where such tragedies needn't occur.
At the same time, the drama doesn't fail to also showcase that not everyone is capable of change. Some people, despite losing everything refuse to acknowledge to mistakes and change for the better; they are too blinded by their ego and necessity to be right. That's an unfortunate reality.
With everything previously said, I want to iterate that education is of course vital; this drama definitely isn't making a statement that education isn't needed. It's the balance of a good education with one's wellbeing. Of course, SKY Castle also attributes this not only to education, but jobs, money, titles, and backgrounds as well.
I'm really glad that SKY Castle addresses so all of these issues, and sheds light on how damaging these practices are. Having personally experienced the harsher end of this type of parenting, I don't expect my parents nor many others to change, but small steps in bringing awareness I hope at least has some degree of an impact. This is a very meaningful drama, and I hope everyone that watches it can at least gain something from watching it.
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Moving on towards the characters, cast, and acting--everyone did an absolutely phenomenal job.
This drama built and developed characters astoundingly well. Aside one certain character, I could sympathize or empathize with every character on at least some significant level. Even towards characters that I viewed in poor light, I could sympathize with. Despite me not agreeing to so many actions from various people, I could not help but admire the lengths they would go to, especially out of love. It is apparent that many of these characters aren't inherently bad people; you can see that their conscience is slowly eaten away by guilt. They are just widely driven by greed and love for their children, that their perspective is clouded in misjudgment. I couldn't hate them as people for those reasons, only their actions. I believe that is great execution of character depth and development. I've not seen a more convincing performance than from SKY Castle's cast; they were exceptional.
What allowed SKY Castle to be so successful in creating tension and shifting moods ever so flawlessly was its exquisite incorporation of music. The music complemented the brilliant directing and production of the drama. The flow of the drama was never inconsistent. Pure comedic relief scenes were few, but meshed with the drama very well through its music. Ha Jin's "We All Lie" creates a very intense atmosphere, in combination with the cliffhangers, leave you craving for more every episode.
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SKY Castle gradually garnered a massive audience as the drama progressed through its satirical portrayal of malpractices, corruption, extreme controversial conservative parenting, neglect, and more. Brilliant directing and production, engaging plot, convincing acting with a powerfully befitting soundtrack to boot. This drama is very well worth your time, further compounded if you can even slightly relate to any of the issues it brings up.
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MY STORY RELATING TO SKY CASTLE:This drama made me cry. I mean, ugly cry because a lot of the moments I watched throughout this drama related so much to many, if not all, moments in my own life.
I'm Korean but American-born. Though I wasn't reared in Korean society, my parents were still very much Korean traditional. It doesn't really matter where you grow up because your parents are the biggest influence you will ever encounter and will dictate a lot of what happens to you. I related really closely with Se-Ri though. Her story was basically my story. I'm an only child, no brothers or sisters. Me and my parents are the only ones in the States we can call family. I had a tough dad that always pushed me to think about the future. There were many many many times that he would force me to sit down at the kitchen table to lecture me hours on end past midnight about life lessons, how important getting an education is, and how hard and cruel life can be if I don't get it. I was only in middle school and he would go on to do this until I graduated high school. My mom was not a strong-willed person and often bent at the strong-arming of my dad.
I also lied for a time in my life about basically the same thing Seri because I feared disappointing my parents. The only difference is it wasn't Harvard but I did get accepted into a good university. I did OK during my first year, but because of certain reasons my grades started to slip and I eventually got expelled. I was no longer a student but I I couldn't bear to disappoint my parents and tell them that their daughter failed out of university and got expelled. I was also afraid of what my dad would do if he ever found out, just like how Se-Ri was fearful of what her father would do. So, instead of telling them the truth, I continued to pretend that I was going to school. I moved in with my friend after moving my stuff out of my dorm to continue the charade that I was still a student to my parents. My parents didn't know how to work social media and didn't really know their way around the internet but I would call them every now and then and tell them about my classes and friends on campus.
But eventually all lies surface in the end. They found out about my expulsion. I pretty much reacted the same way Seri did towards her parents. Of course I felt truly awful lying to them and knowing the kind of grief, sadness, and disappointment they would feel after finding out. But I was also at MY limit. I tried just as much as Seri did in her life to live up to the ridiculously high expectations her parents had for her. I remember a lot of moments in my life where it was suffocating living with my parents because there was no air to breath. But it was heart-breaking knowing that my parents probably didn't love who I was as a person, but loved me for being the kind of daughter who got good grades and did well in school. Anything less than an A was disappointing to them. Even when I got a B, they would always say "You could've gotten an A if you tried a little harder". What broke my heart even more though is that my parents probably couldn't tell me what my favorite color was, or what kind of music I listen to. They probably couldn't tell me what I liked and disliked. Because they never asked and probably didn't care if they knew or not. All they would ask me is "How was school?" or "Did you do good today?".
But anyways, a lot of things happened afterwards. It was a turning point in my life and changed me and how I approached life from then on. What had happened actually broke my family and I ended up moving out but after a year of being apart we were able to reconnect and pick up the pieces again. I think we were quite lucky to have come together because I know that lots of times when families break apart, it's unlikely that they ever have the chance to rebuild it, much less, want to. Me and my parents are together again now but we are still healing from the past and trying to change for the better. It's definitely not been an easy to do, but my parents have gotten much better at being the parents that I always needed them to be in the first place. So, more or less, it's a happy ending. But a bit bittersweet.
FIRST IMPRESSION: I put off watching this drama when it first came out because I judged the drama premise based on it's synopsis. Big mistake. It wasn't until later my curiosity of why everyone was making such a big deal out of this drama that I started watching it a month after it finished airing. This is by far one of the most realistic, gripping, human, relative, and controversial drama I've seen to date. The writing was superbly done with a good steady pace. The plot escalated when it needed to, and declined at the right moments. The cliff-hanger endings of every episode was done flawlessly. The depth of the characters and their development was spot on. The theme of the drama was perfect during these current times. Overall, basically perfect in every way.
STORY: The theme of the overall drama was well suited for how Korea handles the importance of education in their society. Many of the elements and plot points in this drama point to a very controversial yet unspoken side of how Korean citizens treat their children when it comes to rearing them. A lot of the moments told in this dramas related very closely, if not exactly the same, for a lot of children in the real world. Myself included. I got really emotional many times over during the whole span of the drama because a lot of the things that happen to these children, happened to me as well. It made me cry. Truly cry because the drama was not shy to show the rawness of situations like those. It didn't make the issues any more or less than what it really is. The plot itself was very well written.
ACTING/CAST: Honestly, I think this is the first time I'm watching most of these actors/actresses in any drama. There are a few I recognize but most of the main cast I saw for the first time for me. I can't praise enough how extraordinarily talented these actors/actresses were in this drama. It was provoking, touching, heart-wrenching, and amazing. The children cast in this drama also did a fantastic job! But I honestly have to sing gospel praise for Yum Jung-Ah (Han Suh-Jin / Kwak Mi-Hyang) and Lee Hyun-Jin (Coach Kim) for their incredible acting skills. But I have to say that everyone in this drama were just as spectacular with their acting. No matter how small the role, or how little the screen time, every actor/actress made the most of it and displayed their best acting skills forth.
MUSIC: I'm not picky about music and in most of my reviews I don't say more than a few words or a sentence but the music in this drama was well-picked and well composed. Especially the theme song for the drama. It's beautiful, dramatic, and relative to the theme of the drama itself too. The decision and usage of Erlkonig was perfect match to Coach Kim's theme song. The musical choices in this drama definitely sets itself apart from the typical musical choices typical dramas have in their soundtrack. Great job!
OVERALL: This drama was pretty cathartic for me but overall, objectively, I think it was perfect. I really can't poke any holes in it to be honest. Even about the last episode. Some people may have been a bit disgruntled of the lack of going-ons in episode 20 of SKY Castle, but I thought it was a wise decision and a refreshing one to write an easy going episode like that. I especially LOVED the contrast we see from the beginning and ending. This contrast we see from the first episode and the last episode was really beautiful and subtle moment. I appreciate how the writer was able to show us this.
Though the last episode wasn't really eventful it still held a purpose. When a drama ends, I think we can all imagine how everyone exhales after holding their breath for so long, but in most dramas the short sweet happy ending is short-lived and only serves it's purpose of showing smiles and exudes an "all is well" moment and ends the drama. After it's done, sometimes we get a sense of anxiety because after all, we invested 16-20 episodes in watching a situation escalate, then the drama reaches it's peak and drastically cuts down to a happy ending and then THE END. I think episode 20 of SKY Castle served more in the purpose to help the audience take a breather. To better adjust to how things ended. Yea, it's a happy ending but it's also important to know that even after a happy ending, life still goes on and when it does, it's pretty mundane. But usually, mundane moments in life are sometimes the happiest ones.
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I enjoyed the series (even though the last episodes felt pretty draggy), the actors were TOTALLY amazing and the OST too!I specially liked episode 20, it was kind of an epilogue and I’m glad to see many of my favorite characters doing well, still I really need to vent my anger at Seo Jin’s “happy ending”.
ATTENTION:
Swear words and spoilers may be ahead.
Are you f*king kidding me?? After all the bad and awful things she did she still gets a good ending?? Not going to jail, not actually paying for what she did! She only told the truth because Ye So’s mental health was being ruined by thinking about what they did to WJ! Until the very end, HJ feared for her daughter mental well-being first and foremost which is why she ended up “letting go” of her greed, she never really cared about others.
(That scene at the beginning of Ep. 20? Coordinator Kim was absolutely right in every single thing she told her!).
Did she ever thought about the other people she made suffer?? Ye Bin? Hye Na? Woo Yoo and his family? Her husband? Why does she gets to get away with a simple apology and some tears? She was a straight up b*tch for 18 episodes!!! Why does everyone just forgives her?? She was nasty, I don’t care what anyone says.
If there is something I don’t understand about kdrama writers is why do they always redeem and make kids forgive their freaking parents!!! The f*ck!!
And even though coach Kim was a total psycho she was right saying that’s all the parents’ fault! They are the ones pressuring their children and wanting them to enter SNU as if they were mere trophies to show off.
End of rant.
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A MUST WATCH !! Every Female character rocks the show.
Just AMAZING!! Phenomenal!!Story is JUST PERFECT!! It delivered everything to you - Comedy, Mystery, Drama, Thriller, School, Slice of Life.
The script is intense and engaging throughout with many twist and turns. Every second, every expression counts, you can't even look away for a single second coz you may miss minute and subtle details in the story.
It portrays the reality of a very sensitive subject of pressures of Education and its toll on the survival of both students and their parents living in the high society. This amazing series takes you on a roller-coaster ride of emotions. One moment you are sad, at others you laugh out loud. One moment you are angry while other moments make you smile with satisfaction. Most importantly, you get to feel all these in EVERY single episode.
The main feeling you get The MOST is the angst you feel while relating to situations of many characters.
You get to know why the person is behaving a certain way and the reason is no nonsense. All characters are multi-dimensional and the actors who performed it are Just FANTABULOUS! Never felt a drama can be this good after My Mister.
I won't go into details about characters coz it will be difficult to describe them in a single word and there are too many characters where I can't decide who did better. But every single female character has STRONG presence in the story. But that doesn't make male leads weaker. They are perfectly blended into the story.
Music is GREAT! Loved almost all the OSTs.
Another plus of this drama is the Cinematography and body language of every single character.
Rewatch is a MUST! I rewatched many scenes even many eps. again because every bit is WORTH it!!
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It appeared like different theme. The whole story was dark and then surprise! Everything fixed and they live happily ever after. I didn't like that those characters did not take their time to think about their sins... They changed because they were afraid of losing their beloved children or because they finally realized that they didn't live life with their own decisions and rules. I didn't like children's decisions at the end. What a privileged people who born with a silver spoon in their mouth. It seems like all those 19 episodes were written by different person than the finale.
It was really great and i loved it... waste to end up like this.
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A group of rich families live in a high-class residential neighborhood called "Sky Castle". Wives manage homes and children while husbands work as important surgeons in the same hospital. Their biggest concern is to ensure that their children excel at school and the ultimate goal of their life is to have them admitted to the most prestigious universities SK. Once again a South Korean drama that talks about the pressing SK school and working system.
So what makes it different from the others, so much to have won so many awards?
There are three strong elements of this drama: satire, mystery and acting.
The lives of these families are shaken up by a tragic unexpected event, shrouded in mystery, this event will immediately capture the viewer's attention. Because of this event, a new family moves into the neighborhood, a family that lives more modestly. This creates new complex relationships and compares life and priorities between high-class people and common people.
The first part of the drama is divinely written, the daily life of these families intertwines with each other and is told to us in a perfect way with a mix of tragic and satirical, the characters are many and complex, often contradictory. The viewer will often find himself hating some characters, and then sympathize with them a few seconds later and laugh with them a few minutes later. Perfect acting certainly helps this variety of emotions.
Why I am piss then? Simple, the initial mystery dissolves immediately, the characters don't learn anything from what happened and they continue undeterred to hammer their children by dumping on them all their dreams and unrealized ambitions. The topic has been widely discussed and after 9 episodes the story has nothing more to tell about it, too bad that the drama lasts 20 episodes. Therefore it needs fillers, which arrive in the form of makjang, secrets of birth, bad mother-in-law, school tutors who hide secrets and trope related to the classic power struggle in the workplace (hospital).
Satire and acting are not enough to make up for a plot that has turned into lazy writing. Seeing a well written plot expire in the usual clichés has been frustrating and depressing. In addition I didn't appreciate at all a few sub-plots, in particular all the drama created by the neighborhood, when one of them wanted to write a novel, about the mystery that happened. Useless and roughly managed sub-plots.
Nothing to say about the cast, good work. Excellent idea but overall they have not been able to dare, offering less episodes but all dedicated to the characters and the consequences that the pressing South Korean society has on people and families. Avoiding all the trope and clichés.
Honestly speaking, I have too many dramas to watch in order to waste my time with the same trope.
From episode 10 I skipped a lot the clichè parts. At the end the drama had finally shown some characters development and the evil turn out to be who I initially tought.
Overall, between all drama that dealt with this topic and between all makjang, I can't deny that this is one of the best written, acted and executed. But I also can't deny that the drama lost his charm along the way.
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Overall, it's a solid drama. It's just not what I expected. Maybe I had too high hopes. Perhaps its great potential from the beginning led me to believe its ending would be on par. It was not. I wanted this drama to turn a lot darker than it did.SKY Castle presents itself as a satire, as a critique on South Korea's educational system and patriarchy. It touches on sensitives subjects (especially for SK), such as, mental health, suicide, and emotional abuse. It shows the lengths parents would go for their children to get into the top universities. It comments on helicopter parenting, the stress it induces on children, and how that pressure affects their impressionable minds. There is manipulation and gaslighting.
The ending's saving grace was the very last scene because it showed all these (in my opinion, easy) resolutions to serious, heavy conflicts that moved into happy, cheery nonsense from episode 19 to 20 was, indeed, idealistic. There will still be copycats of Kim Joo Young. There will still be wealthy families searching for coaches and using their money and power to get ahead solely because they are the one percent and that they can. The cycle continues. I am glad they acknowledged this.
I was disappointed with how they wrapped up these characters' stories. I hoped for greater, realistic consequences for their actions and greed. Am I expected to believe their happy endings after watching all their selfish and stubborn selves for hours and hours? After SO MUCH dialogue. After Lee Soo Im's talking of sense that fell onto deaf ears. These parents have a quick change of heart and want to be better parents. What if it's too late?
Playing my own devil's advocate, I can see why the characters' endings make sense. Only after many, extreme situations, the parents finally realize education does not equal happiness. You never know how precious someone is until you lose them. And these parents almost did. That kind of rude awakening forces their change in mentality, though I roll my eyes at it taking deaths and breakdowns for character development to occur. In fact, I didn't want them to change their ways. I wanted them to suffer from being caught up in the world they live in. I would've preferred the drama to follow its dark course until the very end with these characters.
More often than not, I see dramas, especially Kdramas, end happily ever after because they may be afraid of deterring potential viewerships. I thought SKY Castle would be different. If they wanted to shine a light on such dark themes. If they wanted to hit home to South Koreans for being so relatable, they should have gone all the way and hit a home run. I felt like it was a cop out. Don't shy away. Be bold and give me a sad ending. Even though it's just a drama, you've included realistic issues with South Korea and all over the world. Why not dare take that extra step and put them on full blast?
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Sky castle was for me a masterpiece because it made the viewers want more of it, expect more of it. It makes you stop and think about each and every scene. Memorize the dialogue and even put yourself in the characters' shoes.
There were never a 100% black or white character. Pure evil and pure good. All the characters are gray, you can choose a favorite and root for them but it doesn't mean that your choice was the default for someone else.
There were a lot of mixed opinions about the final ep but honestly speaking, as unrealistically some points of it were I was glad that the drama ended that way. In the end nothing is perfect, even Sky Castle.
As I rewatched many scenes while waiting for the next eps every week I am sure that I'll end up rewatching this drama a lot.
And as each episode ends with it of course I can't end this review without dropping the iconic "We all lie~"
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
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I think this kdrama it's both a necessary story that everyone should watch and also one we have to watch with a grain of salt. Even though the first episodes are what you would call a more "realistic" representation of the korean education system, the further you go into it, the more it's about a sudden "murder investigation" and less about things that i was looking forward to watch.I would say, if well written, instead of a murder investigation, the more realistic scenario would be mind manipulation made into suicide... cause that's what happens when kids are pushed to be the absolute best in a broken environment. There's many cases of suicide within students, and if something extreme needed to be showed in this particular kdrama, then it would be that... no one wants to see it, but it needs to be talked about more often.
We start this kdrama hating absolutely every character, and that's just right for the type of story it is. The murder investigation was what made possible for us to see how far some of these parents are willing to go to see their kids at the top, but somehow i wished this was showed without the kdrama-murder plot. Because i feel like in real life, parents do a lot to see their kids at the top and play dirty too, without being involved in murder cases.
The last episode... it's a joke. From beginning to end. Had to drop a star and a half just for that. Some people will live in a broken household all their lives, will hate their family all their lives, will run away from home for good... the sudden happy endings for every household is a total break of character for almost everyone. In reality that wouldn't happen. Even the "good" parents would still make you finish at least highschool, and the not so good parents would not suddendly become good just like that, not even when threatened.
For this kdrama to be as perfect as the high ratings indicate, they would have to show at least 1 ending in which some of these family's would be broken or unfased for life, because that's how it actually goes.
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