The Penthouse: War in Life K-drama Review/ This Series is the Definition of Overrated.

I got into this K-drama The Penthouse knowing that this is one of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful Korean dramas. It has won many accolades including a Seoul International Drama Awards. Honestly, after watching this series, I am beginning to question the credibility of these award shows which are supposed to be authentic. Because, it is such a badly written and executed series, which, maybe, only for some ‘bold’ ideas, became extremely successful. Here is my review of the K-drama, The Penthouse.

The One Good Thing

Let’s begin with the latter. How on earth did The Penthouse become so successful? Well, for starters, it is mounted on an unbelievably huge scale. In fact, that is the only thing good about this series – its production scale and technical brilliance. The only person that deserves the accolades this series deserved is its cinematographer. Every frame is simply spectacular and makes us go wow. The first shot involving Lee Ji-ah is a testament to their brilliance.

The Production Design and…

And whoever did the production design has my complete respect. It is absolutely flawless and gives the viewer a near-tangible experience (I mean look at that sculpture of Goddess Hera!) Secondly, this series involves a lot of ‘controversial’ elements which people usually do not see on TV. There are several such shocking aspects in the series which would have taken the hell out of an average Asian viewer. And the music is phenomenal.

The Bad Writing and Execution

Sadly, the good aspects of this series end here. The technical brilliance of The Penthouse does not receive its due because of the shallow writing and direction. I have never been disappointed so much because of the expectations. The creators probably got the idea from the more praiseworthy Sky Castle. It is as if they copied many aspects of Sky Castle and mounted it on a bigger scale. (I mean, look at the titles; Sky Castle and The Penthouse – Doesn’t that ring a bell?)

The writing is so poor; there is nothing on paper. All the characters are one-dimensional. It is either black on white or no in-betweens. The characters of the kids are better written than the adult main characters. Consequently, the young actors display more acting prowess than the more experienced senior actors.

The Acting – Tell Me It’s a Joke

It is a series of cliches with zero unpredictability (for God’s sake this is a thriller!). Even the acting is so cliched. If I am to write essays on how different actors play their characters, it will all read the same. And if I am to take a shot every time a main character breaks things, I will be the drunkest person alive on the planet.

The acting is so full of histrionics and theatrics. Well, this is a drama, so lots of that too. All the actors are mediocre at best. (Some of them are there only for their looks, I presume). Maybe I can write another article on how bad the acting is. I will never run out of words. The acting is very pretentious and all the actors exhibit only a limited set of expressions which they repeat all the time.

The only actor who stands out is Kim Seo-yeon (but, I do not think her performance is worth any awards). But even she falters at times and is repetitive because the writing is too bad. In scenes involving surprise or shock, she is feeble. And the only interesting character, at least from a writing perspective is that of Bong Tae Kyu (Lee Gyu Jin). The actor has brought in a little variety amidst repetitions.

The Young Actors

As I said, the better job is done by the young actors. All of them really shine in their respective roles. This series would have been better if taken from the perspective of the kids. Because these actors are so good.

Hmm…Final Thoughts

I still cannot believe that The Penthouse is critically acclaimed. It was very underwhelming for me and was so disappointing. Except for the technical brilliance, everything was terrible. The inaccurate subtitles on Netflix were annoying too.

thoughts on penthouse?
byu/killuasbreadcheeks inkdramarecommends