By Annum Shehryar
Sky Castle is a Korean drama with one season containing about 20 episodes which are a riveting watch. It is available on Netflix. It is filled with suspense, has engaging characters, a twisting turning storyline that never disappoints and comedy is inserted at the perfect times to keep you from completely despairing. Instead of romance and fantasy-themed K-dramas which have become quite common, this drama is like no other. It has a fresh topic and is easily relatable as it highlights the issues related to our flawed education systems, college admissions, the stress and burden students have to go through because of family and peer pressure into gaining admissions into the most prestigious universities. It raises awareness on sensitive issues that are very prevalent in our society which is depression, self-harm, suicide, etc. This drama may not be suitable for the faint-hearted but I myself, who cannot watch such dark themes, had found myself so indulged in this show that I found every second worth watching. This was the most entertaining Kdrama I have watched and I could go on how everyone deserves to see this once.
Plot:
This drama revolves around the lives of 4 families that live in a prestigious area known as Sky Castle. Each family has their own outlook on studying and the lengths that they would go through to reach their goals, but all of them are united in the sense that they desire to see their children at a SKY university, either for their own happiness or their child’s. The families display themselves as happy, powerful, and wealthy people of high social status. This is only an image that they want to show but as each episode progresses we witness the numerous secrets, fears, and misery which is buried deep within the Castle.
There was never a dull moment in this show. I was always on the edge of my seat waiting to see what direction it would take me. When I watched the first two episodes, I thought that this drama would be too complex and sort of boring but now that I have completed it, I realized that I was completely wrong. Scenes unfold rapidly, leaving you with no time feeling bored. Information is revealed to you just at the right times. I never felt more mentally alert than when I was watching this show, it really does awaken you.
Dialogue: This show has a sheer mix of realism and idealism that it was difficult to distinguish between them. The dialogue was cleverly written. Many lines in this show became iconic, especially repeat dialogues specific to certain characters.
Characters and acting: Here I believe, lay the drama’s greatest strength. Every character was fleshed out with motivations, feelings, and personalities which were clearly apparent. Every single character felt so real. Believe me, once you watch this you will be emotionally attached and would want to give the world to some very lovable characters. Sometimes you will find yourself sympathizing with different characters on their anger and feel their pain. There are some characters who you would hate till your heart’s core as they would cause you so much frustration to the point that you would want to start crying. I have been there. The actors and actresses were absolutely incredible with their acting. It was really mind-blowing. No wonder this show was a huge instant hit in Korea.
These individual components were strong, but the overall concept and plot of this show were really impressive as well. It is very well thought out. If you have read till here then, I have tried to convince you that it is so worth your time. Just go, please go start this masterpiece or else you are missing out. What I really admired about this show is that it raised questions and forced you to think about them. It leads you to some serious introspection…
‘’What do you consider most important in life?”
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