Not even four months into 2024, I think I've found the best K-drama this year

When I initially came across pyramid game on my TV, I completely ignored it, thinking I was tired of dramas with school settings but boy was I wrong for that. The interesting edits I came across social media ultimately motivated me to pick this gem of a thriller up and that was probably the best decision I've made all year.

Every week, in fact every episode left me on the edge of my seat, distressed about what could happen next. The story is well-paced, smart, intriguing and engaging, perfectly embodying the thriller genre. Another aspect I loved about this story was the fact it was female centric in an all girls' school, more than physical strength,mental and emotional strength were the key points used by our main character to overcome the abuse she faced in school. I also admire how the writer has shown us how miniscule things that we do even when we're children can manifest into something more sinister and eventually become a major consequence for us in the future(regarding jaeun being a bystander when harin got bullied as orphan when they were in 9th grade). Besides that, the representation of queer characters openly in a major K-drama like this one without censoring the original work also left me impressed, they definitely did justice to the webtoon on this one!

Can't submit this review without taking about the acting, Kim Bona outdid herself on this one. She's quickly become one of my favourite actresses even though it's my first time watching one of her works. The rest of the cast too, did such a good job! Each of them portraying their respective characters very well whether as bullies or bystanders, they all evoked many emotions within me when I watched the show. If I'm not mistaken, this is jang da ah's first role in a K-drama and I'm thoroughly impressed, she did so well despite Baek Ha Rin being a very difficult and complicated character that's quite the challenge to understand.

The review is getting too long but there's too much to talk about when the show is too good. I loved the music and ost they had on this one as well, higher by Ava grace and in the dark are both in my playlist now. They're fitting for the show and are catchy at the same time, it's not very often that I get interested in a show's ost but pyramid game has some stellar music and ost collection. The costumes and the set were also beautiful and aesthetically pleasing, very otherworldly and totally unrealistic to be a school but I loved it a lot.

I think there was no disappointment for me while tuning in on this one. However, I do wish they don't keep continuing the game lmao, I want my girls to be in peace finally 😭

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+5 for the cast,- 5 for wasting their time and talent

Disappointment is an understatement to describe this show.
Imagine hiring podd,khao,janhae,ciize to participate in this hot mess. The storyline was all over the place. However,the problematic nature of tonhon was the worst part. His character being the all cocky macho that does not treat or deserve chonlate at all. Besides that, i really hated the crazy ex girlfriend plot point as well, boring and cliche as always.

The way they could have salvaged this show if only they stuck to book’s story,they strayed so far from the book to create a more dramatic show only to fail miserably. In the original book, tonhon was not an asshole. He was a masculine guy but no the point of oozing toxicity,he was supportive his queer friends and accepting of chonlate who was feminine by nature only to gradually realise he was interested in him. In the show,they’ve damaged this character beyond repair with minimal if not no redeeming qualities. As for chonlate, he was supposed to be unapologitically feminine with his pink items and shorts, unafraid to be his authentic and true self. However, the adaptation killed chonlate’s confident personality,made him less feminine and instead an awkward and meek guy who harbored a secret crush on his toxically masculine childhood friend. A total 180 degree flip in characters’ natures and important plot points of the original piece.

The best part of this show if there’s any to begin with….should be the cast. I love these set of actors,they can and will definitely deliver a good performance granted the script is good and suitable for them. But I’m sure we are past the point of believing that considering the script was garbage. I can see that they tried to work with it and they did alright for their roles despite the very poorly written script.

Other than the script and acting, every other aspect is not even worth brushing upon. The cinematography,lighting,cameraworks,bgm were all bland and was somewhat decent for the time the show aired, nothing stellar or special but nothing to complain much about either.

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2024's snoozefest

I have absolutely no idea how I finished this without dropping but I did and even I'm surprised that I did complete this one. Judging from my headline, I'm sure you'll have figured how boring this one was. It was a bland show with nothing much to offer through it's story, acting and the abhorrent subtitles surely didn't help it's case. There's so much and so little to talk about that I have no idea where to begin and structure this review properly.

Nevertheless, let's start with the show's weakest point: The acting and the chemistry between the main characters. Thankfully the acting was not very cringey from the main actors but still it lacked some emotions or rather didn't evoke any emotions in me as a viewer. In simpler words, it was not impactful. Besides that, I didn't really "feel" the chemistry between the two leads even when they progressed their relationship status as lovers. To be frank, I didn't really care for them as a couple, probably wouldn't even have cared if they didn't end up together.( Jet seemed like a better option tbh.). Another minor point would be that I didn't really like the acting of prod's sick mum, she seemed so robotic in a sense(?)

Next point would be the story of course, the core of this show. Being upfront and all, I really wouldn't have watched this show at all if it didn't include the classic "unrequited love" troupe. It's my go-to when I crave some angsty story to make me feel sad, it makes me empathize with the characters. This is actually the only reason why I even continued the show. Other than that, the story is very cliché, boring and there isn't even much to add to this

Review wouldn't be complete without talking about music and overall production value, both were poor in this show's case. The music wasn't my forte and the production value was visibly outdated for a show airing in 2024, it felt like I was watching something from 2015 to 2017. One of the biggest complaints for this show is it's ridiculously inaccurate subtitles which I have to agree is very irritating and affects the overall viewing experience. However, in my case the other poor aspects of the show didn't make the subtitles seem like the biggest issue as context clues could still be applied to understand what's happening, just maybe not in high levels of accuracy.

Overall the best part of the show was the side lesbian couple, everything else was mid tier to downright "never do this again" tier.

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Quite dim in the world of k-bls

I have nothing much to say about this show’s storyline, it wasn’t special but it wasn’t uninteresting even. In fact, it would’ve had the potential to be great if done right which they didn’t achieve. I’m a huge unrequited love with a happy ending enthusiast which is one of the best aspects on the storyline.

The main shortcoming of the show would be the acting. It was rather underwhelming especially when it came to romantic scenes. The sound tracks also were not stellar. Overall, I probably would not rewatch this show. It was not bad but simply underwhelming and does not stand out. However, I don’t think I’m bored enough to watch this show again.

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Fans of this show are not going to like this

I really anticipated a new gl after watching gap. However, I was ultimately disappointed with love senior. I really started off the show all enthusiastic despite it's trailer already making me sceptical and worry about how I'm probably not going to enjoy this one. Nevertheless, I gave it a go and I really couldn't..... I've ultimately dropped it after episode one. It was way too cringey for my liking, the cinematography and the camera works were also a let down. I usually would still go on if the previous aspects aren't up to my expectations. The deal-breaker for this show was the story though. Despite all it's shortcomings, the main reason why I had to drop it is because I couldn't overlook the poorly paced storyline that I couldn't find myself getting attached to or even find any sort of entertainment in. It was rushed, poorly developed and all over the place which led it to be messy and boring for the most part in the first episode itself. However, I may or may not pick it back up as others have said in their reviews that it gets better later on and we'll see if my opinions will change

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