Hierarchy (2024)

it's not so bad, it's not groundbreaking either

I recently finished watching "Hierarchy" on Netflix, diving in without even seeing the trailer. Just from the poster, I had a feeling it would be the Korean answer to shows like "Gossip Girl," "Elite," and "Pretty Little Liars." After watching, my initial impression held true. The plot was fairly predictable, and the twists didn’t really surprise me.

Set in Jooshin High School, the most prestigious institution in South Korea, the series revolves around students chosen from birth to attend. These students include Jeong Jae Yi, the eldest daughter of the Jaeyool Group, Kim Ri An, the heir to the Jooshin Group, Yoon He Ra, the youngest daughter of an international trading company, and Lee Woo Jin, the second son of a powerful politician. In stark contrast, the poor students, though wise and cheerful, face a different reality.

The story kicks off with Kang Ha transferring to Jooshin High School, bringing with him a secret that threatens to unravel the entire establishment. As expected in high school/teen suspense dramas, the rich students bully the poorer ones, with the administration turning a blind eye to their misdeeds. We also see the pressures these privileged kids face: maintaining family reputations, inheriting businesses, and dealing with envy.

While the storyline wasn't disappointing, it wasn't particularly outstanding either. The series felt like it was trying too hard at times, and the storytelling wasn’t as seamless as it could have been.

On the positive side, the production quality was top-notch. The show looked incredibly expensive, with meticulously designed sets and costumes. The cinematography was stunning, with each shot looking cinematic and the colour grading flawless. The background music was catchy and perfectly conveyed the emotions of each scene.

Overall, "Hierarchy" is a decent watch. It’s a good time-pass drama that’s bearable but somewhat below average. If you’re a fan of western teen dramas like "Elite," you might enjoy it—just don’t go in with high expectations.

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NOT EVERY HIERARCHY IS EASILY TOPPLED.

I must confess that when I started watching the drama, I saw the terrible rating of the last episode and thought it had been awful, but I found it consistent with how it began and how we got to this point. I noticed several insights for a second season. Some considerations:

• Finally, Jae-I realised how toxic, obsessive, and abusive her relationship with Ri An was. It was a relief for her to understand that the two of them together, directly or indirectly, brought misery to everyone around them.
• I noticed an interesting insight left by the writer. Did you notice she rode a bicycle, stopped to sit on the bench near the street stall, and bought that snack with Ri An? Clearly, it was her subconscious showing that the moment she was happiest in all the hell she went through was with Kang Ha. In other words…
• I firmly believe that, in the hypothetical second season, the writer will develop the relationship between Jae-I and Kang Ha.
• I also believe that Kang’s smile and the exchange of messages were not him sending messages to Ri An. I think we will have someone violent who wants something. Kang Ha showed throughout the drama that he was a naive and kind young man.

That said, it is a drama with mediocre performances, but I liked the actress who played He Ra and found the actor who played U-Jin stunningly handsome.

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Very mid but I liked it

I'm kinda gonna go against the grain here, even tho I agree with the outstanding majority. The general consenses is spot on--The show has tons of wasted potential. The most redeeming qualities are the pretty cast and cinematography.

That being said...I still enjoyed this, at least the first 4 eps. But even after that I cared enough to see it to the end. Let me be honest: As someone who loved Penthouse and Sky Castle I came into this for rich people mess and high school shenanigans. As crazy as they get, you gotta have a high tolerance for bs and throw logic out the window with makjangs. Compared to those dramas this pales, especially in the mess department. Still, I have to think a drama is really bad or boring in order to drop it. Eps 4-5 is when things started downhill. And it did go downhill. But...I want a S2. I found it likeable enough to want to see more. The finale was open ended enough and the premiere was successful so it'll prob happen.

The biggest reason why this wasn't impactful is there simply wasn't enough time to flesh out anything. 7 eps isn't long enough to bake the cake. The outside is delicious but the inside is underdone. I don't call for this as much anymore but 16 eps seemed better this instance. That way we could've had more room for the plot to cook.

Characters were ok overall. Unpopular opinion: Lee Chaemin carried. Losing sight of his motivation was what ultimately brought him down. It would've been more interesting if he led Jae-I on as part of his revenge plan despite actually liking her. Only then would I have gotten behind them as endgame.

To sum it up this was a good example of presentation >> substance. Its true we got a half baked cake but I still ate it up. Maybe folks should lower their expectations next time?

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The Great Promise of an Empty Series.

The premise is simple, and really repetitive these days where there is the murder of a student, the sibling or friend show up at school afterwards and try to find out what happened and who is responsible.

After that, it really comes down to details, like the characters, the twists, the suspense, etc. The problem here is after big K-drama successes that tackle bullying to various degrees, like "The Glory" or "Weak Class Hero", can this drama really afford to acknowledge the violence that the protagonists have initiated against other characters and make them get away with it in way ? This was not satisfactory one bit.

In general, injustice in society is a hot topic, the disgust for those whose social class is so high that they have no repercussions for their actions is very present, and again it's tackled in many k-dramas these days.

With the premise that strangely resembles "Elite", this series has offered us a nerfed version, full of rainbows and inconsistencies. Which is a shame, many series try to make themselves on formulas that work, which is okay, but why do it so lightly ?

The production is not questioned, but the characters and plot are. The series does not make sense, Kang Ha in particular has so many good moments that prop him up to be a decisive character, but somehow he caved in at the end ? The only thing that redeems his arc a little is the last scene at the end, when he seems to send a message of threat to Ri An. His crush on Jae Yi blinded him more than once, and he would have let them get away with it if Jae Yi did not play the 'voice of reason' by encouraging others to take their responsibilities.
Also, it should be mentioned how someone as despicable as Ri An is romanticized ? Not only does he orchestrate bullying and violence, but his toxicity and sense of ownership towards Jae Yi has no limits. It's more of a codependent relationship than anything else. It's not romantic, and he deserves to be punished with more than a slap on the wrist. Oddly enough, He Ra stands out as a character that we can relate to. She has her flaws, but she's relatable. Woo Jin is a discreet character, that we haven't really discovered, it's obvious that he can be cunning and even dangerous, but overall his character is overlooked and doesn't even get punished for being an accomplice.

The series was filled with scenes full of ostentation without real meaning, the plot is empty, it's just about characters provoking each other for attention, jealousy and power, nothing leaves space to breathe. Everyone watches these series to satisfy their inner sense of being petty and righteous, somehow, this series failed at that and just gave more frustration. I hope season 2 will live up to expectations, because honestly, do we really need a second empty season ? Like what is even the plot now that they've all 'paid' for their mistakes ? A murder ? Can't it get more cliché, sigh. It's their last year, I have low expectations.

I just hope this series will help Lee Chae Min land more series in the future.

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JUST MY OPINION

I love this, why everyone hate it
it's so freaking good
I love the cast
my biggest fav in the cast it's hera love her so much
I saw so many people that doesn't like this kdrama maybe this type of genre isn't something you like
guys don't bother other that says this is the worst
just watch it

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A PERFECT PRODUCTION

Maybe for some countries, the magic of HIERARCHY has not taken. But in mine we loved it and now it is also ranked 1st in 23 countries and 5th worldwide in the category of television programs.
He also entered the top 10 in the United States for the first time.

SO I LAY THE FOUNDATIONS BEING A BIG FAN OF GOSSIP GIRL AND OVERALL I REALLY LIKE THE ELITE HIGH SOCIETY SCHOOL SERIES OF COURSE I WAS THE PERFECT CUSTOMER FOR "HIERARCHY"

"DESPITE THE FAT I LOVED IT. WITH A RESTED HEAD I ALSO SAW HIS DEFAULTS.

HIERARCHY IS FOR ME MORE A ROMANCE THAN A REVENGE AS THE LATTER HAS LOST ITS MEANING OVER THE EPISODES. AND CLEARLY GO YOUR WAY IF YOU DON'T LIKE THE "PSEUDO" HIGH SOCIETY OF YOUNG KOREANS CHAEBOL THAT WE HAD ALREADY SEEN IN PYRAMID GAME. FROM THE FIRST EPISODE I AM EMBARKED DIRECTLY. THE NEAT CINEMATOGRAPHY / PLANS / MUSIC AND THIS DISTURBING AMERICANIZED PAW STILL PUTS YOU IN A BRAND NEW STYLE OF KDRAMA ALMOST AWAY FROM WHAT WE HAVE BEGUN TO APPRECIATE KOREAN DRAMAS FOR THE DIFFERENT STYLE OF WESTERNS ETC.

HERE THE CHILD IS MORE THAN KING. HE SPEAKS BADLY TO ADULTS, HE HAS POWER (TOO MUCH EVEN) SEX TOBACCO ALCOHOL DRUGS ALL THIS IS PART OF THEIR VERBAL LANGUAGE THEY ARE TOTALLY DEVERGOND. WHY NOT? BUT IS THIS REALLY THE IMAGE OF YOUNG KOREANS? NOT COMPLETELY!
THE "POOR" HERO GOES TO THE "RICH" HIGH SCHOOL (YES WE ARE IN THE CLICHÉS) TO DO JUSTICE TO HIS BROTHER WHO PERISHED BECAUSE OF HIM. ON THE WAY HE MEETS THE LOVE OF HIS LIFE ONLY THIS ONE ALREADY HAS HER HEART TAKEN AND A VERY TRAUMATIC STORY TO HER MAKING HER DEVOID OF ALL EMOTIONS.

OUR HERO WILL THEREFORE HAVE TO JUGGLE BETWEEN HIS RECENT CRUSH AND THE HUNT FOR THE CULPRIT ALTHOUGH THIS WILL NOT BE THE PRIORITY OF THE CENTRAL PLOT YOU WILL HAVE UNDERSTOOD IT. BECAUSE HIERARCHY'S PROGRAM IS RATHER A LOVE TRIANGLE AND DECEITFUL PEOPLE AROUND WHO ALL HAVE THEIR LITTLE SECRETS AND WHO CLOSE THEIR EYES TO EVERYTHING IF THEY DON'T HAVE POWER, AND WHO ABUSE IT IF THEY HAVE IT TO MAKE AMERICAN PARTIES OR POUR MONEY/ALCOHOL AND LUXURY OUTFIT AFLOAT OR TO MAKE THE LAW AT SCHOOL.


THE PROS:

CINEMATOGRAPHY

OST

DECORS / UNIFORMS

CHOICE OF ACTORS (LEE CHAEMIN) AND PARENTS

THE SHORT FORMAT

VF AUDIO TO EXPAND THE KDRAMAS PUBLIC

THE FINAL MORALITY

THE SECRET OF THE LEAD WAS QUITE SURPRISING FOR A SCHOOL NOT USUAL OF KOREANS WHO ARE TABOO WITH THAT

THE INTIMATE SCENES THAT WERE DIFFICULT TO SHOOT FOR YOUNG ACTORS

APPEARANCES ARE MISLEADING

THE MAIN ROMANCE WAS STRONG BUT ABOVE ALL THANKS TO THE GUY

. THE CONS:

THE LEAD WAS WITHOUT EMOTION IT BECAME TIRING CREATING A LACK OF ALCHEMY

THE PLOT VENGEANCE IS COMPLETELY ABSORBED BY ROMANCE AND OTHER PROBLEMS

THE USA SIDE IS NICE BUT IS AWAY FROM KOREAN REALITY

INDECENCIES AND INJUSTICES ARE TOO NORMALIZED (LIKE THE TEACHER AND THE TEACHER EVERYONE KNOWS BUT?? )

THE LEAD IS EATEN BY THE SECOND LEAD SEVERAL TIMES AND WE NO LONGER KNOW HIS PLACE

THE CLICHÉS (BUT I DON'T LOVE IT)

THE MORAL END BUT AMBIGUOUS IN THE END WHO REALLY LEARNED THE LESSON?

THE FACT THAT THE TEASER DOING MORE THRILLER


GLOBALLY I LOVED THAT THE KOREANS GET OUT OF THEIR COMFORT ZONE EVEN IF WE WERE A LITTLE IN THE EXCESS FROM PENTHOUSE, ESCAPE, ETC. THEY LET THEMSELVES GO A LITTLE TOO MUCH LIKE US LOL AND IT'S NOT A GOOD SIGN FOR THE FUTURE IF WE CHOSE KDRAMAS IT'S BECAUSE THE USA SERIES ALSO LIFTS US TO THE BASE. I STILL ENJOYED THIS CINEMATOGRAPHY AND GLOBAL PRODUCTION THAT GOES UP A NOTCH AND SELLS DREAM FOR AN ELITE SCHOOL BUT WHICH IS VERY FAR FROM KOREAN CLICHÉS AND REALITY. I TOOK THIS WORK AS IT CAME AND I APPRECIATED SOME ACTORS WHO PLAYED WITH A LOT OF BITES DESPITE THE SCENARIO MISTAKES. I ADVISE IT TO THE REGULARS OF THE USA SERIES NOT THE REGULARS OF THE WEAK HERO DRAMAS ETC. TAKE THE WORK AS IT COMES. IT'S NOT A CHAOS THERE'S WORK BEHIND YOU DON'T BELIEVE AND GO DOWN THE DRAMA IS NOT JUSTIFIED FOR ME BUT I CAN UNDERSTAND THAT IT DIDN'T AFFECT EVERYONE

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