Disney+ K-drama Revenge of Others: high school revenge drama starring Shin Ye-eun and Lomon needs to sharpen up
- Korean drama series about school bullying and revenge stars Shin Ye-eun and Lomon, with Squid Game’s Kim Joo-ryung and Kang Yeol
- Shin plays a high-school sharpshooter whose bullied brother dies at school in Seoul in a series that starts unpromisingly, full of stereotypes and melodrama
In the hospital, a doctor comes out to greet the boy, and gives his consultation in the waiting room. This is probably the only time in history that a doctor has conferred a brain tumour diagnosis in a lobby. Presumably it was necessary that the girl learn of his condition, and this is the best way they could come up with.
While this writer would like nothing more than to report that Revenge of Others is a tongue-in-cheek exercise in melodramatic excess, the truth is that it is merely a sad collection of sloppy stereotypes.
The show combines the well-worn codes of the Korean revenge thriller and the high-school bullying drama, and attempts to heighten them with extreme melodrama. So why does it feel like a potluck dinner made from all of last week’s warmed up leftovers?
The set-up is pretty decent. Ok Chan-mi (Shin), an orphan and ace high school sharpshooter in southern Korean port city of Busan, is having a video call with her twin brother, Park Won-seok (Kang Yeol), who was adopted from their orphanage when they were younger and now lives with a new family in Seoul.