Hierarchy: Korean Version of "Elite" That Ultimately Missed

This kdrama centers on a student named Kang Ha (Lee Chae-min) after he transfers to the most prestigious school in South Korea, Jooshin High. He navigates the world of the uber rich in all its complexities including romance, drama, and even murder. But what these students don't know is that Kang Ha is hiding a secret behind his kindhearted nature, one that could destroy the entire school.

The characters feature powerful but reserved Jung Jae-i (Roh Jeong-eui), proclaimed king of the school Kim Ri-an (Kim Jae-won), and deviously jealous Yoon He-ra (Ji Hye-won). To be honest, I had high expectations for this drama that kinda fell flat. I hope not to spoil too much, but it's necessary to explain. Kang Ha transferred to Jooshin as a way to enact revenge after a tragedy impacted his life, but throughout the show it seemed like he conveniently forgot about his plan in favor of protecting Jae-i's feelings. That would've been okay, but Jae-i was a primary proponent of the tragedy; I don't feel that Kang Ha should've disregarded his grief just to ease Jae-i's guilt. All of this makes more sense if you watch the show, I promise.

Jae-i attempts to right past wrongs by leading an initiative aimed at rectifying the behavior of the students. While I appreciated the efforts of a moral crusade, I felt that it was incredibly unrealistic. People born into such a high level of privilege don't seem very likely to radically change their mentality. The writers seemingly created this plotline with the intention of the show only having one season. That's what I thought until I saw a post-credits scene in the last episode, one that ended on a cliffhanger and indicates a possible second season.

The show had such potential, but I felt that it fell apart because of plotlines that were too implausible. There was such an exaggerated element of surprise that I was just left confused. Maybe if there was more subtlety in the writing it would've been better, but that's simply speculation (I'm not an english or creative writing major so I have no idea). If there is a second season, hopefully it'll be more promising.