REVIEW: High Society (Practically Spoiler-less)

I was so excited for this show when the announcement was made about the full cast. Three of the four leads already captured my attention in other dramas so I was really looking forward to seeing them again. After watching just a few episodes I knew the drama was going to be good and I was glad that the show kept my attention until the end.

First off, I have to say that I like that the show wasn't overly cliche. Korean drama writers seem to love the themes of money and love, so I was worried that this would be a mix and match version of so many other dramas I've already seen. I'm happy to say that it wasn't that. Of course, there were very familiar elements that I've seen time and time again but the writers, actors, directors, etc managed to give the show an appropriate amount of sprucing up so that I didn't feel like I was watching The Heirs, mixed with Secret Garden or something like that.

The fact that I was able to lose myself in the drama was a good sign. It meant that even if there were majors errors I didn't care. That's the mark of a good drama.

Aside from a well written and well executed show, the acting was just as I had predicted: A-Class. It's really funny how young, and in some cases, green, the leads are. Three out of the four leads didn't even start as actors yet they delivered performances that even veteran actors can appreciate. I applaud them for a job well done. My favorite has to be Park Hyungsik. The transformation he undertook to play his character is marveling. If we think about the last notable characters he played then I think it's reasonable to be shocked at the type of character he played in this show, and how well he played Yoo Chang Soo. I'm already excited about his next role and this one just ended. Uee's character wasn't much different from some of her other characters but she still shone in this show. I really like Sung Joon. I like the characters he takes on and how he seems to grow into a better actor with every role. This is my first time seeing Lim Ji Yeon and I am really excited to see her in more. She played her role really well and definitely made her character lovable to the very end. Overall, it was very good casting of the four leads and I also have to give a nod to Ko Du-Shim as Min Hye Soo (Uee's mom) and Yoon Ji-Hye as Jang Ye Won (Uee's oldest sister). They did a great job at scaring me with just their eyes. *shivers at the memories*

One of the best parts of the show was watching Yoo Chang Soo's relationship with his mom. In most shows about rich kids all we get is Evil Rich Parent vs Nice Poor Parent. I like that in this show we got to see a healthy relationship between rich child and rich parent. It was sweet and funny, but mostly it gave us a fair portrayal of parents. There are some mean parents, there are nice parents with expectations. I liked that the writers didn't just explore the love and relationships between the leads but between family members too.

Lee Ji Yi grew to be one of my favorite characters. She was bold but in the sweetest way and she didn't try to do what she couldn't. She was smart and knew when to let go. Her character knew her place and tried not to step outside of it too much. She was able to win over many hearts by being honest but humble. My other favorite character had to be Yoo Chang Soo. Not only was dude's hair game out of this world, but I actually liked that he tried really hard not go against his parents wishes. When his parents set a rule he wanted to follow it even if it meant going against what he wanted to do. Isn't that so normal. I really appreciated these two characters for being as normal as they could be while still keeping me excited about their journey through the show. I also really enjoyed watching the two as a couple and comparing their innocent love to the other relationships on the show. It was pretty refreshing to have them break up all the bitterness, even though they had their own set of problems to face.

If I have to give a critique about the show it would be the haphazard way they handled Jang Yoon Ha's (Uee) brother, Jang Gyeong-Joon (Lee Sang Woo) at the end of the show. They didn't give him any time to hash out his problems at all. They just kind of ignored the events that happened and I think that they hoped we would too. But that was the one thing that I was really curious about in the aspect of the show and they kind of swept it under the rug, and made his part pointless. Aside from that the rest of the show was worth watching.

If you are looking for a serious show that's realistic enough then this is the one. There are so many good aspects of the show: good acting, well thought out characters, and fair portrayals of all types of people that could exist in real life. However, my favorite aspect of the show is that it was it's own show. I wasn't sure how the show would turn out after the first episode but I am really glad that the writers didn't piece too many familiar aspects together and try pass it off as something original.