From its premise, to its talented cast, to the strong deliveries of said cast, Show has a lot going for it.
Show does have some weaknesses in the storytelling, but overall, I found this to be absorbing and even quite gripping, sometimes.
Your mileage may certainly vary, but I found this to be pretty solid, on balance.
Overall, I’d say that Show had a lot more promise than it ultimately delivered.
I thought Show’s first half was very, very solid; it made me feel that Show had so much potential to be an all-around excellent drama.
Unfortunately, stuff gets wobbly in Show’s second half, and I struggled especially with the characterization of our female lead, which I thought was rather, er, inadequate, to put it nicely.
Still worth a whirl, if only to see Jo Jong Seok’s outstanding performance as our titular King. 🥲
THE SHORT VERDICT:
An earnest, underdog story with lots of heart, Itaewon Class feels like a breath of fresh air, for a good part of its run.
Even though the backstory hinges on the idea of revenge, this always feels more like a story of an underdog trying to make good, while collecting a found family along the way.
In particular, I really appreciate the diversity that Itaewon Class embraces, in the course of peopling our drama world. I don’t think I’ve seen the same degree of diversity in another drama, to date.
Oddly, I feel like this drama is at once a Park Seo Joon vehicle, and yet, an ensemble drama, at the same time.
Our protagonist Park Sae Ro Yi is the backbone of this story, and it’s his journey, his thoughts, his philosophy and his unflagging determination that drives this story forward.
At the same time, it’s the ensemble of endearing characters around him that makes this drama world pop and come alive in such a heartwarming way. Altogether, an unusual dichotomy which I’m happy to embrace.
I felt the OTP loveline was rather too forced in Show’s final leg, and I also feel like Show’s focus shifts in the last stretch, such that Show loses some of its original charm, but I still enjoyed this one very well, overall.