maybe just listen to the ost!!

i was extremely excited to start hierarchy. i was in korea when it was released, and i really enjoyed watching first few episodes and uncovering the plot. sadly, this didn't last long, and i think the main reason is how long it feels.

the visuals are all very similar and the episodes just felt dragging. i do think this was part of the point of the show, as to explain the type of environment jooshin is, but it just made each minute feel like 10. there were times i was 15-20 minutes into an episode, but it felt like 40. this is honestly the sole reason it took me so long to finish the show. i started it at release, and it took me almost 5 full months to finish it. the scenes that felt the most refreshing were the scenes at jaei’s beach house and when the main cast was in the city together.

alongside that, the plot was handled poorly. they really did have EVERYTHING to make an amazing show: good music and actors, beautiful set, and a plot that could have been amazing. in a way, they focused too much on the aesthetics and less the actual plot. the relationships felt undeveloped and the absolute full plot explanation within the last hour of the show was extremely disappointing to see. even though all of kangha’s motivation stems from inhan, it felt like in half of the show he was an afterthought. for a show that spent so much time with all the characters, i feel like i know nothing about them and their relationships. while this could be intentional, it makes too big of an impact on the show to were i can’t think that. the only thing strongly revealed was the hierarchy of the school, which does make sense in the context of the show, but i would love more.

the characters also made me mad. i went from liking people to hating people to liking them again. i do like that everything was wrapped up, like kangha getting closure on his “relationship” with jaei, hera and jaei becoming friends again, and rian and jaei semi-fixing their relationship. woojin felt extremely underutilized, like his only point was to be dating a teacher and pining over hera (which felt like a reallyyyyy unnecessary arch). i really wish time was spent developing them more, instead of focusing on messy relationships and extravagant party life. i assume some of this was the point of the show, but it still is annoying.

onto the thing i actually love: the music. i don’t listen to osts often, unless someone i know is in it, but this is one of the best osts i’ve listened to. just from the intro with cocona’s ‘holler time’, i was already in love. next, junhyeon’s song ‘ruin life’ is amazing when it appears in the outro. aside from holler time, my favorite song is probably ‘paradise’ by xydo. if you haven’t listened to this entire ost yet, i would definitely recommend it! out of all the aspects of this show, this ost is the thing that fits along with the visuals. i felt much more emotion from this ost than the show, and if you don’t think you want to watch the show, listening to the ost will give you a similar feeling.

anyways, did i enjoy this show? yes. do i think it has a high rewatch value? no. now that i’ve seen it and i’m done with it, i’ll probably not revisit it. i’m happy i finished it though, and it’s clearly a labor of love from everyone involved.

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