Netflix's "Itaewon Class" didn't interest me at first. In retrospect I must have been tripping because everything from the production value to the actors is stellar. It only took one episode for me to fall in love. Nothing wrecks me like an underdog facing off against the world. Below is the media BGS posted for the show with short explanations.
I'm not an advocate for violence, except in the case of self-defense. Nevertheless, it tickled me to see Psycho Betty kick ass. Call it female empowerment or call it payback, but I appreciate that she stood up for herself and had a sense of agency. She wasn't waiting to be saved. When she could, she did the saving. When she couldn't then Park Sae-ro-yi and the gang was there to save the day. I did a separate post about some of her best fight scenes which you can find here.
This is one of my favorite scenes from this series. I played Park Sae-ro-yi's father's reaction like 10 times. There's nothing like your parent being proud of you and having your back. He didn't give AF about Diabolical Dad or that job. Son Hyun-joo, as Park Sung-yeol, is a veteran in the game and easily recognizable from the many films and TV series he's been in.
Easily my favorite character behind Park Sae-ro-yi, Jo Yi-seo (aka Psycho Betty) is another strong character. Only in a Kdrama can we have a chick like her. In real life her ass would be in jail somewhere for pimp slapping the wrong person.
Oh Soo-Ah (aka Orphan Annie) is much lower on my list of characters, for obvious reasons. Chief among those reasons was that she was a sellout. She is definitely a more complex character than Psycho Betty and initially more relatable. The scenes that she had with Diabolical Dad were layered and sometimes shocking.
At one point Song Rae and I were unsure of who Park Sae-ro-yi would end up with. Anyone who watches dramas regularly could use clues from the show to know who he'd end up with, but the writers successfully confused us enough to make it debatable. If anyone has read the webtoon that this show is based on I'd love to get your take on the show in comparison.
