Extracurricular (2020)

A true crime masterpiece.

THINGS I LIKED
(+) Unique story with non-cliche scenes or tropes
(+) Great acting
(+) Dark and true crime concept (this may be a negative for some people)
(+) Complex characters and development
(+) One of the few dramas I would compliment on a great ending

THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE
(-) It felt a bit slow during 1-2 intermediate episodes (this is very minor)

REVIEW
Where do we begin? This series takes you on a journey. If you are a fan of true crime and don't mind a darker concept, Extracurricular is one to watch out for. The main characters we follow in this drama are designed beautifully complex and believable - particularly our mini Bonnie and Clyde leads, that is, Oh Jisoo and Bae Gyu Ri.

The synopsis kicks off with a slightly confusing first episode. For a long while, I wasn't clear of the illegal activity being engaged as well as understanding GyuRi's character and motivations. However, once you reach the third episode, the plot really starts to pick up and you can just sense some major storm foreshadowing your way. This story is written and executed really well with minimum downtime or fillers. Expect to feel more and more tense after each episode as this plot takes our characters down the rabbit hole further and deeper.

This is a story about two high schoolers whose background and life experiences had driven them to enact illegal crimes. They are not the people we should root for in reality but we somehow want them to succeed in this drama so very badly. In terms of romance, it's quite subtle for a kdrama but in this case, I find this approach to be very fitting. This story fundamentally shows how far a person can go to achieve their own dreams despite the action may appear to be out-of-character or the potential harm it may cause to others. This is very noticeable in the later half of the show especially in the ending. I won't say anything more about the second half other than it is just a diamond in the rough. One of the best endings I have seen in a kdrama where most tend to fall short on.

Leia Mais

VERY RAW STORYLINE AND CHARACTERS, BUT WEAK LEAD CHARACTERS.

It was an okay show with a very different storyline then other Kdramas. It didnt hold back at all and it was very raw and real. The storyline was interesting and the side characters were really good but the two main characters were just not it. I couldnt really like any of the characters, they were pretty annoying most of the time (all exept than Mr Lee). The best thing in this drama is the relationship between Mr Lee and Min Hee, i believe he was like a father to her and they both felt it even if he never admit it. The male lead wasnt so bad or annoying, but the female lead ruined everything for me, i was about to stop it because she was just so annoying but the side characters just kept me.
Not your average kdrama.
Hope it has second season cause the ending was just not an ending and i hate it.

Leia Mais

Unconventional K-Drama

'Extracurricular' is a whole rollercoaster. It took me 2 days to finally decide to write this review because this drama is a lot to sink in and process.

It starts with what looks like a simple high school story with your regular poor main lead who struggles to make friends and live a normal life after his parents abandoned him, and then turns to be a dramatic and crazy story with bits of Tarantino.

As a film lover, I must say 'Extracurricular' exceeded my expectations considering this is a K-Drama. I've watched all genres of K-Dramas but never have I ever seen one dealing with such deep topics from the perspective of high schoolers. If you've watched many dramas too, you'll know that Koreans are very reserved about how they portray high schoolers, since they're still children, and you'll mostly only see criminal/taboo behaviors from high schoolers in K-Movies. So, to see the characters of this amazing show deal with topics like prostitution, explicitly about minors, or sex trafficking was pretty much a shock. I know this didn't air in public or cable TV, hence why it was much more detailed and censorless, but still kind of shocking.

One thing that annoys me a bit from TV dramas is that whenever there's a smoking scene, there's always someone who takes the cigarette out of the hands of the person that was supposed to smoke it and turns it off, or they just show the back of the person smoking it. However, we saw high schoolers with cigarettes turned on and actually smoking it, teenagers talking sexually about body parts, being fully aware of sexual stuff, being criminals... The unconventional nature of the show really surprised me and left a great feeling on me.

I love the way they developed the story. I hadn't been as annoyed and frustrated about every character in a show in so long, and 'Extracurricular' made it possible for me to hate each and every single character on the show, except from Mr. Lee and the teacher. Every other character was absolutely stupid and frustrating, and oddly that's one of my favorite things about this story; that the characters are completely unlikable and annoying and there's little to no personal development on their personalities at all and I see this from the POV of someone who values personal development the most in a show. The fact that this story didn't take them anywhere good gives you a bittersweet feeling and you start wondering, "was it really necessary?" about almost everything that happens. You question the logic of these characters and wonder why can't they simply use their brains wisely. And to me, this created a really remarkable story.

Oh Ji Soo is the most stupid male character I can think of from a K-Drama, but since his personality is somewhere in the middle of a genius and a dumbass, I can only say he's actually a genius. Bae Gyu Ri is a nosy girl that ends up uncovering a pimp business that offers security to prostitutes and ends up ruining the whole thing for O-ji. I can't say I didn't hate her 90% of the drama and wanted to get in the screen and slap her face so bad. She's pretentious and selfish, but I liked the way she cared for O-ji. They both made a dangerous, yet great couple.

Overall I don't want to get into details as I don't want to mark this with spoiler, but I'll just say I loved the unconventional and unique ending that they gave us. My review is only positive, but there still were some things I would've improved about the casting and role of certain characters so I'll give it 9/10.

PS. I loved the nightmare scenes, especially the one about Seo Minhee. All the nightmares are among my favorite representation of a dream in a show.

Leia Mais

Masterpiece

I really liked this show.
It was really exciting and had the binge-factor.
The ending was really open, i do not know till this day if Jisoo is dead or not. But I especially liked the actor of Jisoo, he portrayed the emotions really well.
Gyuri was a cool character, many people disliked her but I think she was a very important role and was special for Jisoo. Even if she brought him a lot of trouble, they were into this together.
I recommend this show to people who like action, because there were scenes that could trigger people, like a lood of blood.
The OST‘s were sooo good, I liked them a lot and still listen to them like to normal music.
I would‘ve wished for a second season but it doesn‘t look like there will ever be one.

Leia Mais

Usual Netflix stuff

This drama took a weird thought very seriously and conceptualized it into a drama. As much as interesting and bizarre the idea of a high schooler being a pimp, some things didn't quite add up. But it's all fictional so okay. It did keep me on edge of my seat, with all its violence especially the climax violence scene was just for the hype and chills. The first half was very interesting with discovering each character and the second half went high voltage with its brutalities. The ending pretty much was usual Netflix style. One time binge but I didn't binge it so the effect wasn't rewarding. FL's character was quite complex and I liked how she was portrayed. As for actors, it was nice to see the actress in this type of role. I liked the music and intro title track of this drama. I won't be rewatching this one.

Leia Mais

the female lead ruined the show

the plot and story are actually really good and entertaining. it was really interesting to see how the main character dealing with his situation and how a high school student can fake his life that no one even suspects him. but everything ruins when the female lead gets into the picture. like i understand its the plot but she was so annoying. like idc she ruined the show for me. without many spoilers- she wanted to show her parents so bad that she’s not what they’re expecting her to be and that she’s a rebel that she ruined what the main character was basically living off. he just didn’t deserve it. that’s why I hate her. also the ending was really weird and that also effected the enjoyment of the show for me

Leia Mais

Good drama but lacks characterisation!!

I freaking love this drama, but i have quite a few criticisms.

The actors were great and the storyline was engaging. There was a lot of tension and high intensity scenes, and even episodes.

The characterisation fell flat, however. There should have been more of a background story for the characters. It would have been interesting to know how the ML started the whole job and why exactly he did it. In a way, it sort of doesn't make sense; he explains that he wants to lead a normal life without drawing too much attention to himself but his "job" is the opposite and can get him into a lot of trouble. If he wanted money, he could just get a job that regular kids his age got like at a convenience store.

The FL was the same; she wanted to make money but had no motive. They tried to give the storyline that her parents wanted her to pursue the same thing as them and she didn't want to, but how exactly is doing what she was going to help her get out of her parents' desired plan for her? Also, why is she willing to risk getting in trouble for managing a sex work business just to not be a ceo - it's not equivalent.

Another thing about the fl was that she was annoying. She clearly hadn't set her priorities straight, as evident in the previous paragraph. But, from the first episode we see that she's a pretty shit person. She went out of her way to take the ML's phone so she could go through it. When she didn't know the passcode, she watched him enter the passcode for his other phone and used that to get into his phone. The invasion of privacy is not cool and I'm pretty sure she doesn't apologise. I don't like how the writers chose that as a catalyst for how the FL had to find out about everything. Other than that, she's purely fucking annoying. She is constantly putting everyone in danger and she feels no remorse. As soon as she is introduced, she fucks everything up. And luckily for her, she has the money to buy herself out of trouble because her parents are rich, whereas the ML has to suffer more.

Mr Lee was such a g bro. I love him. I also liked the homeroom teacher.

Did the second leads even genuinely like each other? He was pretty shitty towards her and relied on her for her money. But, he was able to get his homeboys to trash the karaoke bar for his GF. The scene was pretty iconic though.

With most of these characters, there was no clear motive for most of their decisions *cue motive by Ari and Doja* which i think is the biggest flaw in this drama.

But I did genuinely enjoy my time watching it. I'm really into high school dramas that are dark like 'Class of Lies'. Both of these dramas, along with 'How to Buy a Friend' have all been compared. Personally, my favourite would be 'Class of Lies'. Because there were only 10 episodes in extracurricular, they might have not been able to develop the characters as well.

I know some people want a second season after the last episode but i don't really think it would be as good. I'm not sure how they would add another 10 episodes without dragging out and ruining it. I think people need to start being okay with dramas where the ending is unclear.

Leia Mais

Dreams are expensive

I had been putting this one off for a long time thinking that I had to be in the right mood to handle something so heavy. It turns out, however, that it wasn't as dark as I expected and I realized I was wishing that it was. The entire time it felt like the drama was going at 70% intensity; it amped up a little during the climax but not for long.

It's interesting because I think this drama teeters between being character-driven and plot-driven and it probably could've gone deeper on both aspects — I found myself wanting to explore the character backstories and original lives more, and I also found myself wanting the plot itself to be a little more intense and harrowing.

Overall, I still think this was a great watch; the writing is solid and the performances are great, and I also think there are great moral questions to ponder. You find yourself rooting for anti-heroes and I always love that.

Leia Mais

ExTrAcIrRcUlAr

(^^lol the title is a joke with my brother's friend) I started watching this because my friend already saw this and recommended it, so I tried it. Y'all the plot is one of the most addicting plots I've ever seen. I really want a season 2 because the ending was really vague, but I feel like a lot of things would change throughout season 2, and therefore would ruin the original plot. Maybe they should have a movie sequel to further explain the ending.

Oh Ji Soo, if someone told me that he was the most innocent person in the class without telling me he ran something illegal, I'd believe you. At such a young age, he was forced to learn how to survive, and he was really good at surviving on his own. Bae Gyu Ri was the worst female lead I've ever seen. Like I understand she's not happy with her life, but that doesn't mean you practically shove yourself into someone's life just because you want a thrill in your life. He was right when he said something like "You think my life is a game to you", she's done nothing but interrupt everything Ji Soo's worked hard for. Seo Min Hee was pretty unlikable, but in the end she's just a girl who just wants to please her boyfriend through money, which she gets through Ji Soo's business. I kind of wish she had a better ending, but it's whatever I guess. Kwak Ki Tae was a pretty unnecessary character, considering Min Hee could've have had another person in mind to make money for. Lee Wang Cheol was a good character, why did they do him dirty like they did. They also should've added a backstory as to how he was found by Ji Soo and how he became the "shadow boss" as I refer him as. Choi Jin Woo reminds me of my teachers that I was close with; they were caring, and were willing to listen and cover for me. He's the kind of teacher we all need if we want school to be a happy place. Officer Lee Hae Gyung was like the older version of Gyu Ri; she was annoying. She always thought she was entitled to look into everything, and was even willing to break the standards of what an officer was supposed to do. Like ahjumma, leave the main cast alone.

Leia Mais

Worth a watch if good writing is not your priority

If you are a fan of good writing this show is not for you. At least for me, it's a huge disappointment.
1. Lack of motives, the show doesn't have enough backstory to explain why they do the things they do
2. Lack of character development (They even become stupider lol)

However, if good writing is not your priority, it's worth a watch for these reasons:
1. Actors/ actress are good looking
2. The production is quite nice, the mood and pacing etc
3. Exciting plot

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Leia Mais