Itaewon Class (2020)

I was drawn to this because the vibe seemed so different from most KDramas, and I really liked that, but Itaewon Class is the kind of drama that I think tries too hard to be cool and relevant. I like that it tackled a few topics like race, gender identity, ageism, and social status, but it also does it in a way that was too corny for me to take seriously. I still want to give it an E for effort because I liked the idea of the diversity and inclusive vibe of Itaewon. What initially drew me in about the story was the revenge plot, which sadly got overshadowed by an annoying love triangle... square... pentagon... which eventually ruined everything for me. The only consistent likable thing for me throughout was Park Seo Joon as Sae Ro Yi.

I think Sae Ro Yi is a great character. Watching him navigate epic hardships and relationships with an endearing stubbornness and loyalty was my favorite thing about the show. I've loved Park Seo Joon in so many dramas, he never disappoints, so this drama just solidifies what a great actor I think he is. Surprisingly the one area where he is weakest in this drama is the "romance" aspect, but that's not his fault. From "Witch's Romance" to "What's Wrong with Secretary Kim" it's obvious to me that he is a great romantic lead, but the problem here is that the romance plot is the weakest part of this drama. His relationship with Nara as Oh Soo Ah had an initial spark of chemistry but was soon too repetitive, and I thought his relationship with Kim Da Mi as Jo Yi Seo made absolutely no sense! They had no chemistry but seemed to appease some fans so it felt like it was forced into a story that didn't need it.

More than romance this drama focuses on friendship and loyalty. The cast is full of interesting characters who learn to accept and depend on each other with Sae Ro Yi as their guide. I liked the supporting cast in general, even if their acting skills weren't all equal. My favorite performance of the supporting cast was Lee Joo Young as Ma Hyun Yi, and sadly my least favorite was Chris Lyon as Toni (who's Korean was way more impressive than his acting... but I don't speak Korean so that's just a guess lol). I also thought Ahn Bo Hyun was great and consistently unlikeable as Geun Won, and Yoo Jae Myung was epically evil as Jang Dae Hee, and I love epic villains worthy of epic revenge! I can't really say that anyone was bad, but many in the cast were more decent actors than amazing.

The breakout star is clearly meant to be Kim Da Mi as Yi Seo, but she was not my favorite. She's a great actress, and was an interesting character in the beginning, with her sociopath social media savvy persona, but she soon became annoyingly obsessive and childishly whiny. I wanted to root for her being a young empowered and clever female lead character, but instead, she felt needy, self-involved, and just too hard to like at times... most times. The forced love story definitely didn't help me like her character. I guess some people found her devotion cute, but I thought it was creepy. I think people liked her IDGAF attitude, but I found her selfishness irritating, which overshadowed anything I liked about her initially.

That brings me to the plot, which was just messy! It starts out as the motivational story of a pied piper of misfits bringing random people together to create his dream to fulfill his epic plans of revenge, and suddenly focuses instead on a really bad love story. I can't blame the age gap, because the first drama I saw him in was a romance with a huge age gap. I just think the match didn't work and was so awkward to watch no matter how hard they tried to make it a thing. Then evil characters started to be less realistic and more cartoony, and things suddenly resolved and fell into place way too easily. Even though there are many moments I still liked, overall the script is more bad than good. I waited to watch the last 4 episodes because I stopped caring, and the last 2 episodes were so painfully drawn out and dragged so much that I was tempted to drop the drama with only 30 minutes left in the last episode. Even all of the confrontation and fight scenes that the show was building up to were boring to watch.
This has the same Director as " Big", one of the most ridiculously awful dramas I have ever watched, so maybe this turn isn't surprising after all.

Would I watch this again? Obviously not, and I almost wish I would have dropped this sooner, but I was still too invested in Sae Ro Yi and all he went through to give up on this completely. The ending was good about addressing everything that needed to be addressed and had a few moments that I liked but It still was not satisfying enough to make me like this drama as a whole.

Overall, I was excited by the beginning but the thrill didn't last till the end. Yes, there was an overall message that I am not mad at... about friends like family, what real power is, and what really matters in life, but the weak love story, rushed character development, predictable resolutions, and lack of emotional depth didn't execute those themes well enough in the end. It looked visually cool, but the substance felt too immature and unrealistic for me. I wouldn't personally recommend this drama, but I can understand how people can like it more than I did, especially if they liked Kim Da Mi's character a lot. For Park Seo Joon fans it may be worth it to watch even just the beginning, then decide on your own if it's worth your time. Personally, I wish I could edit out whole parts of the drama to make it better, but instead, I will move on to something better while looking forward to the next Park Seo Joon drama instead. It did make me curious about visiting Itaewon when I finally make it to Korea, because they did make it look cool, so I guess that's a good thing too.

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Itaewon Class was an emotional ride with an especially promising start. Just after the first two episodes, I felt immensely attached to the main character, Park Saeroyi, and was looking forward to following him on his journey. Throughout the 16 episodes, I definitely learned a lot from his hardwork and values. Park Seo Joon did a phenomenal job with his character and left me in absolute awe. Whether it may be understanding the beauty of life or being reminded the importance of hardwork; I was thankful to be able to get to know and learn from Park Saeroyi.

However, apart from Park Saeroyi, I did have a few complaints for the other characters. Some characters were especially annoying, and lacked development. I did like that the drama showcased imperfect characters, but it also sometimes excused the ignorant behaviour of these characters - almost making it seem that such behaviour was appropriate to viewers. Some characters were especially inconsistent, and just seemed random. This switch was really annoying to see because it didn't make sense. I think these characters had a lot of potential to really compliment the story, but the writer just changed them randomly in order to make Park Saeroyi look good. I wish the side characters had contributed a little more to the overall plot but unfortunately we were unable to see that as viewers.

The show also became a little slow in the middle, but then quickly picked up its pace later. I was disappointed with the last two episodes as I felt that there were unnecessary additions to the plot. However, the ending was still quite nice and most questions were answered.

Overall, this was definitely a meaningful and enjoyable watch. The reason why this show is receiving such a high rating (from me) despite its flaws is because of the lessons it served. As I saw this show and went about my life, I found myself thinking about Park Saeroyi and the importance of hardwork. Even if it was fiction, I really learned a lot from this drama and was thankful for the insights I gained. In addition, Itaewon class held some especially beautiful scenes that had my heart racing and gave me goosebumps. The OSTs were beautiful, and I know I will play them countless times in the future! Itaewon Class may have been lacking in some areas, but it was still a great show that managed to keep me eagerly waiting for new episodes each week ((:

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