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Itaewon Class korean drama review
Completed
Itaewon Class
1 people found this review helpful
by Parthivi
Aug 5, 2021
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 9.0
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 10.0
Music 10.0
Rewatch Value 8.0
This review may contain spoilers

Flavor of youth, freedom and victory of the underdogs

You know it's a great show when Park Seo Joon decides he wants to inspire the youth, by chasing his ambitions be it Fight For My Way, or Itaewon Class. The feelings I experienced this show while the second wave of the pandemic was going on in my country cannot be explained. I loved episodes 1-13, but the last 3 episodes can just go to hell. While I did love the show, I will not shy away from talking about the things that bothered me in this show as well.

Let's talk about the Characters and their arcs.

Park Se Royi - He is one of the best male protagonist in any K-Drama I've ever seen. Never have I seen a male protagonist protecting his values and his morals in such a way and him being challenged for them was highly intriguing. We see his journey and his ups and down and it is his journey that makes my heart melt. His relationship with his father was amazing and really tugs my heart. Park Seo Joon knocks it off with his superb acting.

I love other characters as well. Lee Joo-young as Hyun Yi and her representation is historic in K-Drama history. Even her arc was done very sensitively. I liked how they never overdid Seung-kwon's character as well. Toni's arc was kind of hit or miss for me. But amazed to see the representation.

I'll talk about my controversial opinion on some of the characters here now.

Geun-soo - Started off as a really good character, but his character just took a random U-turn after episode 10 or something. He became randomly vindictive for a "crush". And don't even get me started on how he outed Hyun Yi while they were such amazing friends. I really liked him though.

Soo Ah and Yi Seo - Ok hear me out. These two really switched positions by the end of the show for me. I hated Soo Ah in the beginning for her selfish ambitious which to me seemed preposterous. Like honey it's not really difficult to switch jobs. I loved Yi Seo in the beginning because again after IOTNBO, she is the only other APD diagnosed FL I have seen in any drama. She stood up for not only herself but for Seroyi as well, and it seemed appropriate that she is what Seroyi needed in his life to balance his principles.

But but but, by the end I realised how toxic Yi Seo is. She made so many questionable decisions throughout, and clung to Seroyi too much while being toxic to other characters. Also it was because of her Seroyi had to bend his principles (which I'll come to later). On the other hand, Soo Ah literally came out as the winner in the end for me. She single handedly brought down the main villain of the show which even the protagonist was not able to do. She also took her revenge in a much more practical and less headstrong way. She was the GOAT

About the villains - Jang Dae-hee was an amazing villain and amazing acting by the actor. Didn't care much about Geun-won though. He had his moments but the writing was limited for his character.

Romance - While Soo Ah did redeem herself by the end, she definitely wasn't deserving of Park Seroyi inspite of their wonderful chemistry. She kept him on the hook for too long. And I loved how Seroyi just let her be and never held her against her ambitions. And while Yi-Seo is definitely great for Seroyi I was really uncomfortable with the age difference and the lack of chemistry between the leads. Plus the insta love in the last 3 episodes really ruined things for me. They were so great before that as colleagues and business partners.

Also I'm not sure that I understand why Seroyi HAD to bend the knee in the end. Was it to show his love for Yi-Seo, then why didn't he did it for his father?? Anyways if someone know then please comment. Overall I loved the show except the last 3 episodes and the music and the OST was absolutely amazing and gave me all the youthful rebellious feels.
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