Actors: Park Gyu Young, Lee Chung Ah, Kang Min Hyuk
Streaming: Netflix
Plot
The cut throat world of influencers is seen through the eyes of Seo Ah Ri, an influencer who was pronounced dead. Everyone is trying to be on top. It’s the craziest power struggle. You have the ladies of Gabin, a group of rich influencers who are always together, in a very unsupportive way. They essentially use each other to get what they need and pretend to be best friends. Seo Ah Ri (Park Gyu Young) is new to the game and quickly learns how to rise to the top. Unlinke the Gabin group women, she does not like endorsing the luxury brands to her followers and finds her own way. The story is narrated from her live stream after everyone thought she had died.
My Review
I am totally loving these 9-12 episode kdramas! So many times I’ll finish 16-20 episodes and think, this could have been done in 10 episodes. Skip the fillers and just cut it short! But I also love the 52 episode makjangs too.
This show had me hooked! I did not leave my couch until it was done. There were birds chirping at one point and I am so thankful it came out during the long weekend.
I absolutely adore Park Gyu Young. She is such an underrated actress and I am waiting for her to hit it big. If you don’t know who she is, check her out in The Third Charm, Sweet Home, or Dali and the Cocky Prince. She is absolutely elegant and her subtle style of acting always conveys so much emotion. Her character Seo Ah Ri, is unassuming and becomes a huge influencer. She faces all of her haters head on and it is beautiful. We see her rise and fall in the course of the show. No one could have accomplished what Park Gyu Young did as Seo Ah Ri.
I always find it hard to watch influencers in the wild as they’re on their phones the whole time even when they’re at dinner. They have to make sure their lives appear perfect. Other people my age laugh at them but I tried making successful Instagram accounts and failed. It is a full time job. I honestly feel that anyone who has over 10k followers on their own, should be given marketing degrees. They sit there and wait for the likes and comments to come in, completely ignoring everyone around them.
Celebrity touches on the crazy amount of psychological damage social media has on people. It was an interesting way to look into their lives and what motivates them. What was even crazier was the public’s reaction to them and how much damage internet trolls can really do to these people.
The power of the troll. We don’t know who the troll is until the last episode. It is crazy how Ah Ri suspected everyone. She accused the people who were closest to her and her enemies. This troll did so much damage and the actual person at the end really had no power. The troll only grows when we pay attention to them.
Ah Ri already had a strong sense of self before she entered this world but she still got caught up in becoming famous. She used to think they were crazy and didn’t understand what the big deal was. Then the likes started coming in. Then the money. No is immune or above it. All she had to do was post a few photos of herself and she made it to the top. As quickly as someone can rise, they can fall and Ah Ri was a stunning example of this.
I loved all of the cameos in it and I don’t want to give too much away but many famous influencers and actors can be spotted if you look carefully. If you blink, you might miss one.
I hated Han Joon Kyung. What kind of dumbass needs a maid to take off his shoes while he’s walking? I hope rich Koreans like this don’t actually exist. As a fellow Korean, it’s embarrassing. I didn’t feel any romantic connection between him and Ah Ri during the show at all.
The story was perfectly executed and I loved that it was narrated from Ah Ri’s perspective. The acting was amazing especially from Park Gyu Young. I am putting my money on her to win Squid Game 2.
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