ShinzoBinzo
Sky Castle is innovative, and I appreciate new ideas and stories (why I like foreign dramas) as it makes it fun to watch. The cast is excellent, and acting is top notch. The music is well thought out - don't expect to go searching for an OST unless you are looking for a dopamine hit as in most Dramas its usually repetitive BGM throughout. Camera work is great and utilizes many angles and lens. The show is shot on quality film and is a big budget show based on the quality of the filming. Reviewers who gave this show 10s across appeared to be more emotionally involved than critically reviewing and that's ok. The writers are talented; However, there are too many situations where people are conveniently snooping or hearing things with perfect timing and feel the writers got lazy or didn't know how to resolve those situations. I find that the writers made all the men (Men who are supposed to be high level doctors) slow, dumb, bumbling, and mostly the comic relief. Currently, a Japanese version is airing, and it is clear that they saw this too and throttle it down a lot. Again, the acting is top notch. You can tell the actors really enjoyed the roles they played. Sky castle at times feels like a movie and then you get sucked back into going - ok this is a drama because of the Dialogue and camera work is not consistent ... it kind of hurts the flow the show - but not enough to want to stop watching. The rest of the Review will have to contain spoilers. ***** Spoilers beyond this pointHere is my biggest problem with Sky Castle. What exactly does it want to be? Does it want to teach a lesson to overbearing parents, or does it want to feed on the emotions of people who may have felt the pressure and/or abuse of parents pushing them to be in the top 1% and getting ratings. The character Cha Min Hyeok (pyramid guy) I get it he is overbearing, obsessive, narcissist even; however, his daughter blows off 60k and fakes going to college, his wife constantly goes behinds his back and undermines him. Many of the parents depicted in the show are disrespected, written as incompetent and feel that it simply pushes away the people who need to see it the most and Sky Castle missed a great opportunity to create some kind of balance were the parents can be respectively written yet be thought a lesson. So basically, revert the show as pure entertainment and nothing more.Han Seo Jin (lead)- is kind of like the Anti- hero, in a way you want her to win at the end. You kind of understand where she is coming from, and she wants the best for her daughter (and the daughter is on 100%). She is witty, smart, calculating and at the same time she is vinegar and can lie, manipulate and be a *itch. Other than Han Seo Jin - everyone is pretty much unlikeable and this forces you to care for Han Seo Jin because she is the most likable person, and I had no attachment to any of the characters even Noh Seung Hye or Kim Hye Na Noh Seung Hye (The new neighbor) - I wanted to like her. I think I am supposed to like her, but again Han Seo Jin is the anti-hero so any butting in makes me disconnected from her. Towards the end her character changes dramatically and her character is a critical role for the plot . In reality she should have been the main character and Han Seo Jin "the Villian" but the story builds too much on Han Seo Jin.Kim Hye Na (The girl that moves in)- this is another character I had no attachment too. She was smug, arrogant, she had no likable features. She even used Noh son as a tool to manipulate Han's daughter. She was constantly snooping around and challenging authority and adults and got caught up into. Its more likely the writer was looking for a Shakespear like tragedy. They could have made her more likable loving and the outcome would have made me feel more like "damn" what a twist.Kim Joo Young - excellent actor - love the fact you really don't know her motives for 90% for the drama - you don't know if she is bad or good till the very end. I feel that Kim represents more than just a single character - but is the essences of despair among parents and that they are willing to destroy the relationship and mind of the child simply for them to achieve a power position. Kang Joon Sang (father)- I am glad the Japanese version has cleaned this character up. They made him smart, kind and tolerable. I'm not sure why Sky castle original writers could not write him this way. Cha Min Hyeok - The comic relief. This is probably the best actor in the show in my opinion, if not second to the Lead actor. My issue again is how the men in the show are all depicted as the emotional abusers of the kids and somehow all the mothers are just willing participant (or victims) when we know in reality they can be just as bad or worse. Again, the writers really drop the ball on making this a good teaching lesson instead of disrespecting the very Parents they are trying to give a message too. There are 100s of positive reviews and I didn't want to rehash all those points - so even though my review sounds negative all in all it is a great show .
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