[Kdrama] ‘Who are you: School 2015’ ep 7&8 ~ review/impression/opinion~

I never knew that School 2015 could become my drama crack. Judging back, while I was watching the first two episodes I was barely excited about the story since everything seemed confusing and simply messy. Now that the story is already set I’m loving everything about it. From the mysterious student that keeps sending messages and no one really knows what happened because the writers are still keeping some things away from the viewers, up until the romance and character development.

First, we need a moment to clap for Kim So Hyun who is doing a wonderful job playing two different characters on top of that making a character act like the other one but with visible differences maintained between Eun Bi and Eun Byul. However for me, the actress who plays the bully Kang So Young, Joo Soo Hyang stole the whole show. Everyone hates her and that surely means one thing, the actress is doing her job properly by the hate her character receives. The character is so hateful and despicable that I hope Joo Soo Hyang receives some rookie award at the end of the year.

I barely care about the two main male characters, Yi Ahn and Tae Kwang mostly because the females are going such a great job for their respective stories that they outshine the male ones. Of course, both Yi Ahn and Tae Kwang are in for the romance battle and the struggle is there especially in Yi Ahn’s case whose inner battle makes him look frail.

Even though I said that Kang Soo Young stole the show, episode 8 was definitely Yi Ahn’s win. There was a definite presence with the character as he was trying to deny the (possible) reality that the Eun Byul he sees before his eyes isn’t the real one, after all that means that the girl he loves is still missing.

As Yi Ahn, Nam Joo Hyuk’s portray is giving emotion to Yi Ahn and I’m liking how things are evolving so far. Lying to himself that the Eun Byul he sees is the real one and almost losing it by trying to confirm that his desire is reality makes me pity him. One thing bugs me for sure, is the fact that Yi Ahn said that he likes the new Eun Byul? Then does that mean he likes Eun Bi or he just likes that Eun Byul wasn’t that strong in actions as she used to be – she wasn’t getting angry or irritated with him as in the past so he probably saw that more like a ‘broken wall’ that he succeed to tear apart. Yet, wasn’t Eun Byul irritated because she was trying not to show that he likes him? probably, but at that age is pretty normal and by her acting like that, Yi Ahn didn’t knew about the feelings that she shared with him. Therefore, saying that he likes the change in Eun Byul doesn’t necessary mean that he likes Eun Bi.

After all, he liked Eun Byul for years, can that change just because the other person has the same face as the one you used to love/like? Maybe it can change, but not that fast. There are a lot of questions here, or at least I have a lot of them. For example, I’m also questioning that Yi Ahn is trying to deny the fact the Eun Bi isn’t acting like EUn Byul simply because he is starting to like her and not Eun Byul, so he hates that the love for the older sister has stopped. Am I thinking too much into these things? Or am I starting to become too makjang all of a sudden? Maybe I should write a makjang story, would anyone be interested in reading it? No, I’m kidding.

Anyway going back to the drama, I really liked the scene when Eun Byul (Eun Bi) told Yi Ahn “I can’t go to you, can’t you come to me?” – because although Yi Ahn was in a battle of denial but at the first stage, Eun Bi is trying to cope living as another person and at the same time lying the people she is starting to form a bond with. More than that, Eun Bi has to deal with the bully who pushed her to commit suicide. Having to see Soo Young on a daily basis and with her continuing to harass, Eun Bi is one strong teenage girl for trying and mostly succeeding to keep a strong stance against the bully. Of course, there is also the other side that Eun Bi has Tae Kwang who comforts and makes her regain confidence in her own persona where during her middle school days, she didn’t had someone who supported her among the other school mates.

It seems like we got a handful of dysfunctional families in this drama and lots of parents who are losing vision of their children lives because of their own desperate desires of being the best of the best or at least showing that image to others. First is Park Min Joon’s mother who can’t get respect for the things she does so she takes it on her son to make her feel above others.

Tae Kwang’s father wanted to send him abroad because he ‘thought’ Tae Kwang wanted to stay away from him. Tae Kwang found a reason to stay but he tells him to live quietly – suppose the idea of thinking for Tae Kwang’s good being was all in the end still about himself rather than his son. Let’s face it, the man wants to have Tae Kwang away from him because the boy reminds him about his wife. The way he acts around Tae Kwang shows it, the way he vents his anger on his son shows it, on top of that he thinks that the son is the one embarrassing him in society. But isn’t Tae Kwang’s attitude rather normal, of a child who wants attention? Yet the father forgot about his own son and cares about what other think.

He seriously needs to take a look at Tae Kwang and see how his own hatred for the ex-wife is breaking his son. All in all, he needs to realize fast that Tae Kwang should matter the most for him before sending the kid to another mental institute. Still, I think of the father’s attitude asif he doesn’t know how to act around Tae Kwang that’s why he is trying to keep a distance, however by throwing the son to the garbage things won’t get better.

And the cake of all parents, Soo Young’s father! His daughter bullied someone to the point of that person wanting to commit suicide yet he even helps Soo Young find out if Eun Byul is in fact Eun Bi. Does that even matter, if Eun Bi is acting like Eun Byul considering that the daughter should be stopped.

Even more, he doesn’t seem to understand the seriousness of what Soo Young did and that his own personality made his daughter like that. What’s more infuriating is that the man keeps on pushing Soo Young to make the same mistake by giving her the papers of the test that showed Eun Bi and ‘Eun Byul’ to have the same writing while even saying that she needs to show them who is the top. Does it matter who is the top, especially in this case?

Before these parents understand what they are doing, their children will continue with the slow decay of their emotional lives. Hopefully we’ll get to see a better side of these parents faster before Min Joo, Soo Young and Tae Kwang break because of their own actions.

Advertisement

Tags: Kim So Hyun, Lee Pil Mo, Nam Joo Hyuk, Who are you: School 2015, Yook Sung Jae