SKY Castle (2018)

A Riveting Indictment of Tiger Parenting...

As someone who was forced to go to dental school by his doctor and dentist parents, the plotline and trailer for this K-drama immediately captured my attention. Melodramatic and manipulative though also exciting and engaging, I can see why this drama is the second-highest-rated drama in Korean cable television history. Topical and relatable, this series showcases the detrimental effects of strict tiger parenting. 'Sky Castle' should be seen by all parents who push their dreams on their children, viewing him as trophies to brag about rather than as human beings with their own dreams and goals.

On a side note, it's hilarious how the parents were so obsessed with their children getting into medical school, but not finishing it. I absolutely ADORED Professor Cha's and Soo Han's families! They were easily my favourites out of all of the families at Sky Castle.

Leia Mais

I love this drama. It is dramatic and yet you feel like it speaks to things that really happen in reality. The characters are profound, the episodes always have exciting cliff hangers and the soundtrack is so good. When I started this drama, I didn't expect anything big, but it surprised me positively. The dialogues are well developed and there are many surprising twists and turns. But what I love most is the profound characters. Each of them has a history and plausible motives. What also surprised me were the jokes. This drama is funny without being pushy. I laughed, cried, got excited and thought about this drama for a long time. Not every drama can do that.

Leia Mais

This drama damn near made me cry and I rarely cry while watching tv shows. The cliffhangers in this one will keep torturing you till you click on the next episode. I loved everything about this drama; the story, the characters, the acting, the suspense, the subject matter, and the ending. Teacher Kim is easily one of the best villains in Kdrama history. I thoroughly enjoyed her character and I want more of that in every drama villain. The variety of expressions, the gut-wrenching backstory and the meaning behind her actions... it was all superb.

If I must point out, there are only two things I did not particularly enjoy: The one-dimensionality of Woo Joo's character, and the not very enjoyable humor coming out of Jin Jin Hee's family, it got a little boring after a while and I found myself skipping her scenes entirely.

You must watch this drama, if only for the villain, and that is reason enough I assure you.

Leia Mais

An exceptional show, coming from a family forced to take a degree it really hit straight to my soul. However did i only realise now the hard work and nagging paid off. At times we don't understand our parents , we thought we knew everything.
All the actors in the drama are really experienced and skilled at their craft,
Love the OST . SKY Castle has it all, and it all comes together in one polished, dysfunctional package.

P.S : I dont like Young Jae, he didnt realise there are many people who could not study nor does not have the privilege, he should be grateful :)

Leia Mais

I finished watching this drama within a month since I was so attached to it I couldn't stop watching. The plotline is so gold. It criticizes the system of teaching and how families would do anything in order to keep their reputation and improve their children's education. I personally could relate to this drama very much since I too am a student who just recently submitted their applications. The stress over rankings, grades, maintaining my reputation, and ofcourse, the multiple tests you have to take are all incredibly real to me. The casts were amazing. There's no one else who would do a better job. This drama does an incredibly great job of evoking my emotions of anger, sadness, empathy, hate, as well as humor. I am glad this drama is one that has so much to take away from. I highly recommend Sky Castle to viewers of any age range. (Also remember to prepare some tissues I sob in like every episode it just really hits home for me.)

Leia Mais

Impactful Critic Towards Education

I put this drama on hold for its first episode, which when it's released, it is so depressing and hits close to home. However, the remaining episodes remain attention-grabbing. And it is now, one of the reasons I will look forward to more serious dramas.

Education takes a lot of time in our lives. The war within is variable, and I am glad that this drama exists to point out the essential problem (that I think is) in Asian families. Even though my condition is not an exact reflection of the characters in the drama, the point of view of the parents still stuck. The meaning of life is to live comfortably, with wealth and power. It's inevitably true however this series, though it may seem idealistic, prove you something.

Some scenes happened in real life, no matter how I experienced it myself or that I know about it. It makes me look forward to the problem solving the writer, and the director offers to me. I think it pretty makes sense.

I really love the acting of the mothers. They reveal a natural sense of mental state the mothers experienced. I learn to side with the kids but then finished with another point of view with the parents'. Again, the characters in the series are privileged, the one who is not ended up badly, so it is not entirely fair...but you get what I mean. Each episode's ended with a cliffhanger that is addicting. I keep on looking forward to more. It is great that the characters are having two sides or many, it makes the story more complex.

I really reflect on this drama.

Leia Mais

This is a spoiler-free review, so I'm gonna be very generic from a certain point on. I adored this drama, it got me hooked from the first minute of the first episode, but in the second episode there is the actual beginning of the plot: Myungjoo's death shocks everybody, in first place the viewer. She seemed to be living her best life, with a respectable husband and a perfect son who managed to get in SNU. Yes, this is the main focus of the characters in SKY Castle, getting their children into the top university in Korea, at all costs. Don't forget this "at all costs".
When Sooim's family move into what was Myungjoo's family house, everything seems to be getting even worse. Sooim is a courageous woman, bold and determined to discover what was the secret lying underneath Myungjoo's death.
In the meantime, Seojin manages to get famous teacher Kim Jooyoung tutoring her daughter, Yeseo. And Kim Jooyoung looks like a ruthless woman, and seems to be hiding far more secrets than she wants to believe.
So, the story leaves you hanging episode after episode, the plot is extremely well-structured because the characters are extremely well-structured. They are not characters anymore, they are people. Each one of them has their own reasons to act the way they do, whether it's right or wrong. They are very strong-willed (except for Jinhee and her husband, but it's characteristic either way) and hardly ever back from their positions.
The cinematography is excellent, nothing much to say, I've rewatched my favourite scene in episode two always getting chills with how well it was taken.
The musical choices were amazing (the OSTs were the best ever, probably?), nothing much to say here either. It accompanied very well the main scenes.
Honestly speaking, I've been recommending this drama for months to all my friends and acquaintances. This drama is entertaining cause you just can't get your eyes off the screen, but it's also taken to an almost surreal level in order to actually provoke something inside viewers, to raise awareness of how dangerous and harmful this school system can be to children from such a young age.
This drama actually had a huge impact on Korean general public, but apparently some didn't seem to understand the satire and the social criticism behind the characters and their actions.
Anyway, great great great. All actors were beyond spectacular. Kudos to all of the people who worked on this legendary production.

Leia Mais

Revolutionary

This drama was nothing short of revolutionary, as someone who grew up in an Asian country and has seen the effects of what undue pressure from adults about grades and careers can do to children. The best thing about this drama was how life-like and realistic the characters and their portrayal by the actors was. There were no black and white, evil and good characters in this show and that made their actions less predictable and their stories more interesting. The OST was eerily perfect for the mood and vibe this drama was going for. And the sets were beautiful, along with the cinematography and direction.

Contrary to popular opinion, I liked the ending. The show not just managed to wind up all plot points and lose ends without dwelling on any single one for too long but also managed to assuage all the emotions it had invoked, in the last ep. Just the corny part about glorifying Uju dropping out of HS to discover himself could have been taken to a different direction, as this show had never blatantly shunned the prospect of education itself in the last 19 eps but seemed to do so at the very end, it just seemed a little trendy. Other than that, perfect storyline and acting.

Leia Mais

"Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!" - Sir Walter Scott

Playing catch up can be really fun (at times). I've had "Sky Castle" in my queue for a while. Mood played a part in the delay. I moved on to other themes after I finished a similar genre with "Crash Course in Romance." I'd had enough of bratty kids. Though "Crash Course" was good, "Sky Castle" had a much deeper experience. It wasn't long after episode 10 that I was already thinking about how I was going to review this show. Just so much going on and many roller coaster of emotions.

A father of 6 myself, I originally had so much to say. Even though it's from 2018, I'm sure the new Kdrama watchers will love it. So, I tried to keep it short:

An upper class group of families lives in Sky Castle, which is an exclusive and prestigious residential complex. There are a lot of academically driven residents and their kids go to a prestigious school. Family dynamics are explored in the series, showing the pressure parents put on their kids to do well in school.

The show highlights the fierce competition within Korea's education system. The acting was fantastic. Actors Yeom Jung Ah (Seo Jin), Kim Seo Hyung (Kim Joo Young), and Lee Tae Ran (Lee Soo Im). These were my standouts, but credit is definitely due to everyone else. Everyone did a great job. Characters are well-written and complex. A major theme of the film is the ambitious and driven parents, who often sacrifice their own needs and desires to help their children succeed. It's outright ridiculous in some cases. My blood was boiling in some episodes, while others just intrigued me.

The cinematography is also impressive, with the use of camera angles and lighting techniques to enhance the storytelling and create a visually stunning viewing experience.

Sorry I just have to explain my rating for rewatching of 6.0, which isn't terrible. Let's be honest. This show is a well-written "one and done"type of series. This type of story is structured like that. I like how the story unfolds with each episode showing you critical points, character revelations, character motives, and answering most of your questions. The second time around won't be the same. Those emotions you felt during your second 20 episode watch may be diluted, because you already know all the secrets. I feel of 50 folks that rate the rewatch at 10, only about 15 or less will actually rewatch.

Over all, "Sky Castle" turned out to be a very enjoyable watch and earned a high mark.

Wow, and this is my short review.

Leia Mais

I am so drawn to dark comedy. And Sky Castle didn't disappoint at all. I came for it expecting nothing. The rating was a single digit for crying out loud. And for a cable drama, that's not bad at all. But boi did it come for me with a vengeance and showed me a narration that I did not know I needed until this drama.

Story: It is drama in every sense of the word. Sky Castle is an exclusive place for the elite and educated. This is enunciated at the very first episode when Seo Jin hosted that party for Myung Joo. The affluence was dripping and everything just screamed expensive. The first episode is gripping enough to want to see the next one immediately. I know I did.

It revolved around 5 families in total in which one way or another have an unhealthy obsession about the perpetuity of their family's affluence through their children. Both parents in the 5 families are in some way flawed and reflect the type of parents we have today. Seo Jin and Joon Sang want to produce a third generation doctor in their family, Min Hyuk wants his children to be as smart and ambitious as him, Jin Hee wants her son to excel in school, Soo Im who have an intelligent stepson, and then there's Myung Joo committed suicide because of guilt at how her son turned out.

What I like about each family is that they are struggling in their own way on how to be a proper family while also showcasing to the rest of the world that they are a model modern family that should be emulated by everyone. The irony of the things we show and the things we let rot inside our home. The play on this plot had been a genius move by the writer and she did it beautifully. From the death of Myung Joo and how it stirred the actions of the mothers to the death of Hyena and how the children, including their parents reacted was critical and meticulously wrought. I'd rewatch the whole drama just to pan-out the whole narration again.

Acting/Cast: The cast was phenomenal. No one was overshadowing or outperforming anyone. The girls in this drama is meant to be heroes. They know what they want, and fight for it. They have their own principles and stood their ground to protect their children and their family. It is so clear in the sequence between their husbands what role a wife plays in the making of a great home and great family. In this sense, I commend the chemistry shared by the adult cast, and the children wasn't far behind their parents. Ye Seo was amazing. I love how the twins love their mother, Ye Bin and Soo Han was outstanding, and Se Ri is badass. Woo Joo's acting was so on point too.

Music: We All Lie kept playing in my head for weeks. That's it.

Rewatch Value: Definitely worth watching again. Not the genre that would be loved by everyone but the flawless story telling would make anyone think otherwise.

Leia Mais