The Penthouse: War in Life (2020)

Ridiculous plot but entertaining to the fullest

●HOW I CAME TO IT
Watched an MV of Bae Ro Na and Joo Seok Hoon, thinking it to be a school drama but it turned out to be the kids from the makjang drama THE PENTHOUSE, which I avoided to watch but here I am after writing a review.

●FIRST IMPRESSION
It's a sickening crazy story with all sorts of ridiculous impossible plots.

●PLOT VIEW
Well, the opening hits hard with a murder, and if anytime you are getting curious what happened and there you fall in the slump to binge this ridiculous drama. It showcases the adult's selfishness, greed, adultery, cheating, and high expectations from their kids. The kids are thus pushed so much that they turn out to be bullies, cheating and hurting other fellow classmates and friends.
Every adult is selfish and seeing their acts of deceit and greed I clenched my teeth and I wanted to drop it but couldn’t. the story is fast-paced that once I skipped knowing further story but couldn’t understand. Each episode had some gripping high-tension scenes with unchewable truth, also unexpected new characters keep popping up giving the crazy storyline more spice. Each episode ends at a clue revelation or madness making the viewer watch the next episode. There was no normal conversation only shouting and fighting.
There are lots of bold kissing scenes too which might be uncomfortable to see if one is not ready to see the extent of cheating.
The only thing I didn’t like was the opera singing, simply because I don’t enjoy opera. It feels like screeching to my ears.
I liked Bae Rona in the beginning but as her mother helped her she became bratty more which was really irking.
Ha Eun Byoel was a tool for her mom. She was psychotic and gave creeps with her eye expressions.
While thinking that females are bad I saw that Men's are also gangsters in suits.

●ACTING/CAST
Exceptional, yeah that would be the word. Each actor played the part as if they are living it. The protagonist and antagonist are quickly differentiated with their storylines. Though the antagonist had got more shades to perform with the expressions of anger, deceit, and dishonesty. My favorite were Shim Su Ryun, Gu Ho Dong, and Oh Yoon Hee.
The young actors playing high schoolers were also marvelous. They had got a lot of potentials. I loved Joo SeokHoon and Bae RoNa and hope they be together.

●MUSIC
BGM and Osts were perfectly synchronized to give the right amount of tension. Violin music for the intense scene was galvanic.

●REWATCH
I don’t think I will rewatch this, it is mad and sickening. If only I had to rewatch I would go for RoNa and SeokHoon scenes.

●APPRECIATION
The glamorous representation of high society.
the Hera Palace, although its graphics it seems beautiful.
Yoon hee and Su Ryun friendship

●CRITICISM
nothing to criticize because that is how the crazy plot is written. I wish I don't agree but still gives lots of entertainment.

●FAV SCENE
Bae RoNa and Seok Hoon first meet
Cheon Seo jin and Oh Yoon Hee trophy fight

●RECOMMENDATION
For those who like ridiculous plots or say makjang.

●AFTERTHOUGHT
Just because you live in a place called a palace doesn't mean you will be the queen.
When you are living at the 100th floor, Penthouse they think that all the people are below them and they could trample over them. That was really evil thinking of the residents of Hera Palace.

Am also hooked up to watch the next two seasons of THE PENTHOUSE.

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This drama is a wild ride, brings out intense emotions!

Extremely frustrating, but I just kept wanting to watch! only watched it because of one of the female leads, sim su ryeon, a true hero and legend in my opinion. A mother that greatly cares for her children and is righteous at heart. Does what needs to be done to protect her children, and to have justice return. She was the only character who was almost perfect and good in every way. All characters besides her were neither good or bad, but very dimensional. There were only a couple where I felt, ok these guys came straight from hell! But seeing more of their background, it starts to make more sense. It was very sad some of the characters stories, and extremely frustrating how bad they were communicating and misunderstanding each other. Their view on others and life seemed so small, it became insufferable. But nonetheless, very well acted, and a story worth watching. The twists and turns and revelations and schemes were breathtaking, and seeing justice finally come was satisfying. You never know whats happening next, which is what makes you want to keep going. If you watch this, I tell you, I wish you patience and calmness because it is likely gonna make you extremely angry and frustrated. But eventually relieved.

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You will go through all the emotions !

This drama is absolutely amazing in all its aspects. I didn't expect that when I started it but the story is totally addicting. I sincerely believe that it can appeal to a large number of people because of all the subjects it deals with.

As for the actors, I have absolutely nothing to say other than the fact that I was very surprised by the acting of some of them that I didn't know or very little. Whether parents or children, everyone manages to make us experience their emotions. We learn to love them, to want to protect them, to avenge them but also to hate them for some.
Besides, I really liked how the characters all have an important role to play in the drama despite the fact that there are a lot of characters.

In my opinion, the only negative aspect is in the scenes which were cut during the editing (then revealed later). I really find that a shame because they were really important and they could also have allowed us to understand a little better certain scenes remaining in the drama, but also to better understand the feelings of certain characters. Compared to that by the way, I would have really liked to see a few more scenes with the kids, I find their role very interesting and I really hope we will see a little more of them in season 2.

Anyway don't hesitate to give it a chance, I don't think you will be disappointed, you might even be surprised, as I was.

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Amazing!

I finally had the time to watch The Penthouse, witch was recommended by many but haven't started since the lack of time.
Though it's not the typical drama I usually watch I truly enjoyed this masterpiece. Starting with the plot, through the actors everything is excellent.
It has lot of plot twist witch can make a drama awful but this time it strengthened it.
I also hated with full heart the villains, but it made the story more interesting to watch.
The ending was perfect as I know that there are more seasons to watch and I will surely continue my journy with the 2nd season.

This is my very first Review so I hope it was ok :)

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Mind-blowing and insane

The first season of Penthouse never failed to amaze me. How each episode ended always kept me at the edge of my seat even with the cliffhangers, which was a great way to keep the interest of the viewers. The script was also good in this drama. This drama made me feel intense emotions which was overwhelming, that's why I think it's not suited for people who can't handle heavy dramas. While it was a heavy drama that would make you angry, frustrated, and stressed, the writers used characters (mainly Kyujin's and his family) as comedic relief (even though he's quite annoying sometimes) to balance out the emotions. Although I think Kyujin's character was just there for comedic purposes and does not actually contribute largely to the plot.

As the story progressed, it exposed more of the characters' evil actions outside their contributions to Seol A's death, which stretched out the story to give Sim Su Ryeon more reason to continue her revenge to each and every character that wronged her. I also like how they smartly planned out Sim Su Ryeon's revenge. They did a great job in building the story up to the biggest plot twist that is the main culprit of Min Seol A's death - revealing that a 'nice' person like Oh Yoon Hee could be just as evil. They showed how every person could be selfish in many ways to get what they want.

One particular thing that I didn't like was how they excluded some scenes with Oh Yoon Hee and Bae Rona that showed their sweet mother-daughter moments. They made it look like Rona was mostly a brat and an ungrateful child. I also think how the Hera club kids bullied Seol A was overly exaggerated just for it to be an event that contributes to her eventual death. Even some of their bullying scenes were over-the-top and unnecessary too.

Penthouse had without a doubt one of the best cast. Individually, each character was portrayed very well by the actors. Specifically, I would like to commend Kim So Yeon's acting performance here. Likewise, Choi Yebin and Han Jihyun also showed commendable acting performances, almost like they were not rookie actors then. Together, the actors had amazing chemistry as friends, lovers, and as family.

Overall, this drama was a stressful yet exciting and mind-blowing one. You will never know what to expect as the story progresses.

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Not for people who gets mad easily

What can I say? I binged watch the whole series for three days. The first thing I'll do in the morning is to get my phone and watch it for that whole day nonstop (I admit I've got no life?) but anyways, It's definitely worth it. I've never finished a series this fast consider that this has 3 seasons and 48 episodes with some episodes having an hour and a half of run time but if you try to watch it, you'll understand why I just can't stop. It's because of the never ending stress, anxiety and angst this show gives literally every episode. So angsty that whenever you finish an episode, you'll hit the next episode right away.

There's so many twists, some sprinkle of competition in classical singing which I thought this series is all about, deaths and resurrections. Although this series may have imperfections, you'll never actually thought of it that way because I believe that those imperfections that people are complaining about is what makes this series intriguing.

Casts are so well played especially the three mothers Yoon hee, Suryeon and of course, Seo jin. They all portrayed the parents that will do everything and I mean, EVERYTHING for the sake of their children. I actually believe that this show is all about that. All about what can parents do just for their children. Revenge, cheating, murder. These parents not just the moms but also the fathers are what completes this series. Also, the teen casts, the children of the parents. Now, this is where the opera singing plays its role in the series. Their children competing to be the best singer. Their performances are really what captivated me and the reason why I was convinced to watch this show. Well, It's quite annoying because literally every competition has cheating involved but it doesn't really make it boring. They all played their characters well. I'll have to give it to Seokyung for her great acting skills but I gotta admit that she's the most unlikable character. She's literally the worst Hera kid. My personal favorite is my Rona. She's the one who convinced me to watching Penthouse because she's always viral. She's not really the best character at the beginning but as the show progresses, you can't tell me that she's not the most decent kid in the series. (She's literally the only one who didn't bully anyone) I love her and her performances. She's the best singer amongst all the kids in the show (Well, there's someone who can potentially be the same level as her if she didn't...?)

Anyway, I really recommend watching this. I love everything about it. The angst, stress, everything. It's a roller coaster of emotions. I love the friendships, the betrayals, the character development and the legendary deaths and resurrections that literally made this series iconic.

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A MUST WATCH KDRAMA WITH MANY TWIST

Watched all the seasons. This drama is my most fav drama cause it was so unpredictable unlike other dramas. All the twist and turns made me love this drama so much. But I cursed a lot while watching this because of the evil JU DAN TAE. Overall if you start watching the drama you can't wait to watch its next episode because in last part of every episode they leave a suspense situation. Its a little violet drama o if you like mainly romcoms then you may not like this drama. But this drama not only contains affairs, dirty truth about high class society but it also contains a little comedy in a sarcastic way.

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One of my top 3

This is one of my favorite KDramas. I went into this thinking it was going to be okay. I even thought I might drop it because the story seemed boring. But once I started it, I couldn't stop. It's SO amazing. I loved the actors and the plot twists were amazing.

!SPOILER
One of the few things I didn't like was that a couple of the deaths seemed downright "useless" or rather unnecessary to the plot. Another thing I didn't like was that the killer plot twist seemed a bit forced. Just to create another plot twist. But aside from that, it's just an outstanding drama that I recommend everyone to watch at least once

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eun byeol is a true legend.

i really love the way she does everything in heels.
but now talking serious, my impression is that this series is the riverdale of korea. the overacting, the comic characters, and other things makes it iconic but exaggerated. by the way, it holds you, and makes you create affection with characters even though they're not good people.
something that is by far excellent is the soundtrack. omg so many music classics that makes you want to search opera performances.
is a good choice of k-drama to watch, i guess you will like it, and i have sure this will turn a korean classic drama.

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Absolute Banger!

Trigger warning:Bullying
*Don't watch this if you are sensitive.It deals with sensitive issues and has this whole unsettling vibes.Penthouse can definitely make you angry easily so pls watch out for that as well*
This was a much needed binge marathon for me.I have been away from kdrama scene for a while now.Though,i have tried watching many other shows(leaving it in the middle) this one caught my attention and it did not disappoint me at all.My attention span doesn't allow me to watch anything for long hours but this was something else,something i absolutely needed.I started this on a whim.The first five episode was intense so much that I had to take a break.I dont know if any show made me hate so many characters at the same time.All the time i was like- rich people doing rich shit
The first five episode kinda set the tone for the whole series it's based on - in this case the death of a student and the mother trying to take revenge for the same.
The whole time I was screaming for these people to go to therapy(and then to jail?) . Everyone's mental health was going down the hill.
The acting was top notch! They did a fabulous job in this department, From kids to adults everyone did an awesome work. I was extensively reading articles to see whether Kim soyeon, Lee Ji ah and Eugene hate each other offscreen as well lmao, I can't help it looked so real(They are good friends in real life so it's okay)
Some of the things I won't lie was very exaggerating because see, as much as you try it's not easy to cover up so much. Though it was over the top- it still was better at executing the whole thing.
Overall I'll say if you don't like intense show with rich people doing rich shit, then don't watch it. Also it can mess up your mind a little because watching this you will definitely be annoyed with all the Dumbass thing (crime) they are doing. It literally made me so angry that I had to find something else to balance it out lol.
But, if you love watching a full length drama with crazy twist and turns and something that will keep you on your toes till the end, then you should watch this.
This was definitely different than a lot of kdramas I have watched so I'm happy with it.

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One Season Only

“Kill it before it dies.” This is one of the things I learned in story writing as a Communication Arts major.

I enjoyed The Penthouse because of the unexpected twists and turns along the series. The characters are sick to the core except for some rare ones; so if you cannot stand evil characters winning and partying until the last episode, stay away from this show.

Knowing this show still has two more seasons to go (S2: 12 + S3: 12 = 24 more episodes left at 1-hour-long each), I am not sure if I could still wait for that long before I get the closure I need. I am afraid that the next episodes will just repeat, recycle, the plot they used in Season 1 because I don’t see the point (narrative-wise) to drag the show further. I can foresee that the next seasons might just bore the viewers resulting to the ratings plummeting, unless the show makers still has something more explosive and shocking up on their sleeves.

If you decide to watch this and have no patience to wait for a couple of months or more, just a very strong warning that you won’t get a satisfying ending by the end of S1. Better stay away and wait for the airing of the final episode of S3 and review of folks before you dive in.

As for me, I’m done with S1 and will just wait for the whole show to finish and bingewatch if I find it worth my time. The end of S1 is totally geared up to do another season so don’t expect a satisfying ending, really just a cliffhanger. Anyway, there are a lot of more wonderful dramas coming up this year so I don’t think I’d miss so much if I skip the next two seasons.

Again I emphasize, The Penthouse should have killed it on a higher note because it has a very high potential of losing viewers out of boredom and redundancy for stretching it further.

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