This review may contain spoilers
Apart from all the regular stuff that we see in a k-drama this one does a great job of exposing the many problems that we face in our day to day lives. Being a member of LGBTQ and a POC in Korea. I started watching this because of the title that seemed catchy 😄 Boy I'm not disappointed. The acting by all the cast members was just brilliant. Especially Kim Da-mi was too perfect for her role. From being a talented and troubled kid who has lost her interest in life falls in love with a person who is the exact opposite of her and then tries so hard to make him fall in love with her and being with him through his troubled times and helping him get his revenge on the people who was responsible for his father's death. Through this journey she also starts to see herself changing. She is simply amazing. The ML Park Seo-joon who was a socially inept guy and lost his father to men in power strives to get justice for his father and to make his words have power and to lead a life with no regrets and consequences. Even with a poker face he was able to connect with us so well through his actions.
The OST was amazing.
Overall it's a good watch. I would recommend this 💯
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This review may contain spoilers
Cho Yi-seo queen
Ep. 8 left me in a limbo. It'd be stupid to believe Yi-seo would betray Sae-royi, but I'm afraid that whatever she's planning will be misunderdtood -if it's not planned with Sae-royi.This drama is so perfectly made that I have 0 complaints about it. Yi-seo is mean, selfish and goal-oriented no matter what, which makes me love her since her first appearance. But what I love the most about her is that there is so much room for improvement to her character and that's what I'm looking forward to the most. I don't really know how I feel about Soo-ah yet, but I definitely don't like her as much as Yi-seo. She's a strong woman who lets nothing stand on her way too, which I love, but I'm not entirely sure about her stand yet. Also, the fact that Yi-seo and Sae-royi are complete opposites makes their dynamic so much more interesting.
On the other side, I hope we can see some character development on Sae-royi as well. We see him as the perfect man: emotional, but cold-headed enough so he plans everything out; goal-oriented, but also incredibly empathic and people-centered, so he can manage a group to reach the goal. He is perfectly balanced and has been planning his strike back at Jangga for the next 15 years and can overcome every obstacle that gets on his way without losing focus or his values. He is way too ideal, even has the perfect amount of emotional character. There MUST be something to improve on him.
Of course we've seen him grow from a hot-headed teenager who was about to kill his father's killer with his own two hands, into a man with a perfectly-planned goal for his future; not to mention that he was an asocial boy with troubles to make friends, but who now is the owner of a pub in which his main focus is to reach his goals alongside his workers who he thinks of as friends.
There has definitely been some development in his character from teenager to adult, but I'd also like to see some improvement during his adulthood, but I just can't think of what could that be because he comes off too perfect.
Anyway, I'd still need to wait until the end of the week to see what on earth is Yi-seo planning after meeting Mr. Jang. It had been a long time since a drama made me this excited while waiting for the next episode.
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It’s just bad for many reasons
1. The only likeable characters are the male lead and his friends who most of them belong in minorities, so that’s the only positive thing that has as a kdrama. The diversity.2. The female lead is so unnecessary mean. Not only that she’s racist and homophobic/transphobic and the only reason she “changed” towards the end is because she wanted the male lead to like her, which I find very wrong. You will say she’s a sociopath so that’s why, but please that’s not an excuse for everything.
3. The way the story goes on is a bit frustrating because everything happens fast and there’re throwbacks and then back to present, escalates at the start and at the end only. A bit messy I would say.
4. The love story between the leads is very forced because it gives you a very blunt ending. Not only that there’s a big age difference with the characters which makes you wonder are they really … gonna be together now!? Meh
5. The villains are not likeable at all obviously haha (you know sometimes you guilty like them) but in the end they’re the only ones making this kdrama interesting.
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Good plot, romance and FL r weird
I felt like I had way higher expectations of this drama that what it actually is... so this is not a typical story and it has its sad background but overall it's all about hope persistence and hard work and they show that really wellMy only problem with this was mostly the FL, the actress is really good but the character was so unreasonable violent and ill-mannered and while she gets better as her development she was still really annoying (to me)
Another thing is the romance... when pairing a couple with an age gap usually they show how the younger one is responsible and the older one isn't mentally old but here it wasn't like that and it was kinda hard for me to like them and it got to a point where I didn't want to see any romance at all (coming from a rom com obsessed teenage girl) hence my low rating
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way too overrated
i pushed off this drama for so long and finally gave it a shot and man... i initial gut feeling of feeling like i won't like this drama was right lmaoinitially i was slightly interested in it for the whole revenge plot and the idea of a diverse group of characters but wow all the excitement for those aspects just got watered down so fast. so many annoying and bland characters that are clearly written for the sake of creating drama.. like come on... the whole love triangle whatever is so bad,, so so bad... i legit lost all interest after ep11 and just started skimming through the rest. the whole show was so predictable and frustrating in the worst way, like it wasnt even entertaining it was just pure aneurysm.
anyway, i dont recommend, just watch a recap if you wanna know what happens but honestly we all know what was going to happen anyway from the beginning.
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Disappointing and wasted potential
This drama started really, REALLY well. It was deserving of all the initial hype. The editing, cinematography, and plot coupled with great scoring were unprecedented. However, everything got thrown away at around ep 12. The writing became too sloppy that the characters seemed liked hypocrites. So much for character development huh. Plus the last 2 episodes? What was that even? It’s like the writer didn’t know how to end things well, so he used his webtoon experience and just whisked whatever plot twists he had in mind, capitalizing on what most fans wanted to see. That in the process it lost coherence, logic, and brilliance. Acting-wise, the actors were stellar. But everything else about this drama was just plain disappointment, especially the romance. It was almost disgusting and seemingly a mere afterthought.I wanted to appease myself with the fact that it’s the first drama of the screenwriter anyway, but no, he just created a very big damage to the story that it’s beyond forgivable.
I would not recommend this to friends without a big warning. Watch at your own risk.
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This review may contain spoilers
Itaewon class is definitely not a rom-com if that's what you're coming here to watch. I'd be honest and say that I was disappointed too, but it has opened me up to a new type of drama that I really enjoy. It's one of the most eye-opening dramas that I've watched and really makes you think about your own life.I've read my fair share of reviews and many have mentioned the lack of depth in character, romance, or storyline. Park Saeroyi's character is very unique. He's persistent in what he wants and he cares a lot about those around him. Some people have mentioned that he lost his character once he kneeled in front of the old man for a woman but he knew what he was doing. He had no choice or else one of the closest people around him would die. Knowing his character, he would've done it for any of his friends.
Many reviews have said the romance wasn't well developed. While I agree that's semi-true, the reason why he's been rejecting Yi-Seo over and over again is that Geun-Soo was always after her and he didn't want to betray him. He was also very focused on his revenge for his dad so his life did not revolve around his love story. And he had a clingy Soo-Ah to deal with. He kinda lost track of who he had feelings for before he did realize he was in love with Yi-Seo.
There are some places where I think the storyline could be better. It did feel a little rushed towards the end and some scenes gave me a question mark. For the most part, it was a good story and I feel like PSRY's life has given people a new perspective in life. I especially loved that the story featured a lot of minorities: strong female leaders, LGBTQ+, PoC (other than Koreans), ex-convicts. It gave a fresh feeling to the drama.
I'd say go for this drama if you don't want the typical sappy rom-com. The acting is superb from all the characters, especially PSRY, Yi-Seo, and the old man. This drama is different from the norm and I'm all here for it.
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Was Good At First...
I liked this drama at first and it was good enough to make me watch it all the way through. But it went downhill in the last few episodes. Most of the characters are annoying. (Not the actors/actresses. They did a good job portraying such unlikable characters.) The ending seemed so forced and rushed. No, it’s not the worst drama ever but it’s definitely not the top of anything. I guess it’s like when they make a movie based on books but in this case it’s a webtoon, What I’m saying is, I think the webtoon is probably better. I should read it and see for myself.(I have nothing else to say but I need 500 characters...)
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A frustrating disappointment
Itaewon Class was one of those dramas I really wanted to love. The premise had everything: revenge, resilience, social justice, and a diverse cast. But as the episodes went on, I found myself more frustrated than invested.The characters felt flat and one-dimensional. The protagonist was emotionally stiff, and the romance? Completely forced. I couldn’t connect with the leads at all, they lacked chemistry, and the love triangle just made things worse. Instead of rooting for anyone, I was mostly annoyed.
The villain was another letdown. He was cartoonishly evil and somehow got way too much screen time. Meanwhile, the side characters (who actually had interesting stories) were pushed aside or barely developed. It felt like such a waste.
What disappointed me most was how the show handled serious social issues. Racism, transphobia, inequality... all briefly mentioned, but never truly explored. It came off as performative, like the writers were checking boxes rather than telling meaningful stories.
Itaewon Class had potential, and that’s exactly why it frustrated me so much. It could’ve been powerful, emotional, and thought-provoking. Instead, it felt shallow and overhyped. I know a lot of people loved it, but for me, it just didn’t deliver.
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actually problematic
i got hooked on the first few episodes and then it came to a point when the plot was DRAGGING. it became an old good for nothing rich man vs. young good for nothing poor man. it tried so hard to justify both parties' actions and why you should hate evil old man and root for good young man to the point it became pretentious for me. only the acting was what pushed me to keep watching. its good they addressed issues like racism and transphobia, but it felt like they were just there, just so (but im not one to comment about it because im not a black poc and im not trans).but WHAT BOTHERS ME MOST!!!! is
that part of 10-years-younger yiseo kissing DRUNK AND PASSED OUT 10-years-older saeroyi???? HUH this must be some male fantasy. and then later on...we see yiseo stopping drunk sooah from kissing saeroyi and then blabbing laws about harassment?????? HUH? WHAT ? WHY ???? the only explanation is that it's written and directed by men. up until this day, men cant write actual strong female characters without making them act tough or cold. they really tried to prove a point that a huge gap isnt predatory because the younger girl was the one who pursued the older man... and they painted yiseo as some highly-competitive woman who refuses to lose, to hide that fact.
even if healthy huge age gap relationships do exist, this was simply not a good one to show it as it believes it did. lol.
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