Class of Lies

" Class of lies " had a strong start. The story goes deeper and deeper as it goes, involving more and more characters as it proceeds.

However, there were a few elements that prevended this drama from being great, even though the performances were seriously good. First of all, the story was good, but the drama had some boring scenes. Maybe they didn't handle the pace well enough to keep it interesting through and through. Then, the whole mystery and plotting was not as easily believable as it dealt with kids. But that was easily overlooked. Finally, the ending was questionable.

So, overall, seven out of ten.

I went into this show with I would say about average expectations. I am a fan of Yoon Kyun-Sang and I like OCN dramas but sometimes they end up disappointing at the finish line. However this one came through, scoring a solid 8.5 rounded up to a 9 for me. The show starts off running with a gory stabbing scene, and Kyun-Sang playing a cocky and charismatic lawyer proved to be an interesting start. The soundtrack really solidified my interest as it switched back and forth from edgy and suspenseful to tragic and gorgeous using some beautiful string pieces as well as a very catchy rock banger.

The mystery is set from the very first episode, and the writing is excellent, dropping bread crumbs here and there for the viewer to come to the conclusion of "who done it" around the same time our ML discovers it. The pacing is done well, there are no boring or dragging episodes, and every scene is used to further the plot. The cinematography was gloomy and cool toned, using dramatic angles and clever shots to bring the story along. The acting is also really great, particularly from our villains.

I felt like everything was done in a realistic way, there were no dumb subplots or crazy leaps to be made to get to the conclusion. The show wrapped everything up very well, leaving just one tiny mystery at the end for the viewers to chew on. Overall this was a very well done mystery/thriller, and for those that like this genre this is a must watch!

The conflict here is so subtle yet horrifying to watch, the way the bullies has rank and abusing their means to get what they want, even the lawyer has to stay under coverage(which is a little loose end to me, like how on earth some high case lawyer unrecognized on this school still bugs me) but its interesting

Here's my take on this series:

Premise: 8/10 The premise of this show is genuinely good, I swear. However, there's this strong soap opera vibe that the director brings in, which kind of takes away from its potential.

Screenplay: 5/10 With such a good premise, it's a shame that the screenplay is quite drawn-out. Many unnecessary scenes are dramatized to the point that this otherwise great show feels like a cheesy soap opera. I'm sure it would be much less 'soap opera' if the writer cut out the unnecessary scenes that don't give impact to the plot. This series could have been wrapped up in just 12 episodes and would have saved a lot of budget.

Acting: 6/10 No, seriously, I'm not a hater. I don't even know most of the main cast. So this is purely from my neutral standpoint. I feel like most of the actors here aren't giving their best performance, especially the one playing Beom-jin. After some digging, turns out Beom-jin's actor is the most popular among the other cast, but he's the one that bothers me the most. There are some villains here, like Gi-hoon, Joon-jae, Beom-jin. But Gi-hoon and Joon-jae managed to portray their villains in their own way. They're natural in their roles without seeming forced. While Beom-jin, I'm not sure if he can't handle his character well or he's just not a good actor. There's something odd about the way he portrays Beom-jin. His acting isn't consistent, sometimes he does it fairly well, but most of the time not. Jaw-jutting and glaring are typical cheap soap opera angry acting we've seen. And that's what he's doing in this show. The way Beom-jin gets angry is really like watching your average soap opera actor. And honestly, his acting seems much more forced compared to other villains in this show. Whether it's his fault or the director's, I don't know.

Scoring: 5/10 Everything feels overly dramatic. Simple scenes that could've been conveyed through dialogue are drowned in excessive dramatic music. And sometimes there's a song in the middle of conversations, no, I'm not kidding, it's literally a background song playing amidst the dialogue between the characters. And it's not a romantic scene with a song playing, it's a regular conversation scene between students. Really weird.

My conclusion: While the storyline premise is intriguing, its execution feels more like a dragged-out soap opera plot. Like i said, this show could've been wrapped up in just 12 episodes, but the excessive drama and flashback scenes make it drag on for 16 episodes. Even after sitting through 16 (each 1 hour long), the mastermind behind the murders didn't face the consequences he deserved, which was quite disappointing. Save your 16 hours for watching another show.

Intriguing murder mystery crime drama. Extraordinary performance by Yoon Kyun Sang, but then again, I'd watch him in whatever drama he's in. The entire cast was unbelievably awesome. The narrative was absolutely fantastic.! Brilliant! Loved it!