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Writer's pictureMia Penfold

Penthouse Season 1, Review

Main Cast: Eugene, Kim So Yeon, Lee Ji Ah, Uhm Ki Joon

Genre: Melodrama, thriller, suspense

Fashion: Shoulder pads, elaborate dresses and power suits

Swoondar: 3/10 *I see you Dr. Ha and Seok Hun!*

Where I watched it: Rakuten Viki


After watching only the first few episodes of Penthouse, I knew this show was going to be a deliciously loaded drama. With high intensity, edge of your seat, shouting at the TV moments, Penthouse has it all... even with many laugh out loud lines amongst the relentlessly feuding - power hungry parents of Hera Palace!

The highly rated Korean drama, notably stars Eugene as Oh Yun Hui struggling to make ends meet for herself and her daughter, Kim So Yeon as Cheon Seo Jin - one of the most craziest, twisted character's here with a major wealthy wicked (step) mother vibe. Also, Lee Ji Ah as Sim Su Ryeon the *only* morally stable character who uses her connections and fortune for the social good. Hello! We love a dynamic female leading drama!


General Storyline:

Warning: this show is not for the faint hearted, or those who are easily angered by social injustice!

The wealthiest Korean families flock together to make their status known in the famous high rise apartment building, exclusively for the rich and *untouchables*, Hera Palace. The story pivots around the Hera Club members (the richest residents, including the penthouse owner, Sim Su Ryeon, her husband the slimey Ju Dan Tae, and their children). Also part of the Hera Club is Cheong Ah Arts High School chaebol, teacher and prima donna Cheon Seo Jin, her husband Dr. Ha Yun Cheol, gossip-mongering-suck-up lawyer Gyu Jin, his wife and Ma Ri who swans around waiting for her husband's apparent return from Dubai. They all battle out for wealth, power and their children's success - doing whatever they can to receive the coveted, prestigious Cheong Ah Arts trophy (and a free pass to Seoul National University) for their kids.


Yun Hui strives to enter high society and give back to her daughter, Bae Ro Na, all the luxuries they have missed out on since Yun Hui's soprano crown was unfairly taken by Seo Jin back in high school. Wading through her poor and unstable lifestyle, Yun Hui will do whatever she can to become a Hera Palace resident and get her extraordinarily talented Ro Na into Cheong Ah Arts High School.


The Penthouse shadows a love triangle of corruption, power and wealth.

Penthouse is not shy of being a crazy, rollercoaster drama with overly dramatic and morally corrupt characters thirsty for power and money. Entwined between the thirst and greed, is a murder mystery of a poor Cheong Ah Arts student who was accepted in because of her operatic vocal talent *unusual for this drama!* and turns out to be the biological daughter of one of the Penthouse Women.


None of the characters in Penthouse, especially those involved in the Hera Club, are particularly likeable - they all have dark sinful streaks using whatever connections and funds possible to cover up deeds or excel to the top. The show highlights the power divide and injustice between the rich and the poor, how the wealthy can easily discriminate and shield themselves with no regard to the average civilian. The only decent character's stem from outside of the toxic Hera Palace, particularly Yun Hui, her daughter Ro Na and the unjustly murdered Seol Ah - each of them come from poor lifestyles and have a good moral compass for social justice, and frankly for the latter, just getting on with life!


It's always wonderful, but rare, to see strong female main leads as Penthouse has, and as a bonus, it offers a refreshing side dish of strong female supporting roles too. Such as the children of Hera Club who all attend Cheong Ah Arts School, even if they are brutal to each other, they are still well developed with their storylines and characters, just as much as their powerful parents.


The 21-part series is definitely a must see for drama fans who love suspense, mysteries and have time to get super invested - trust me it's a hard drama to put down! I managed to binge Penthouse in a week - a week which I am grateful for dedicating to this magnificent melodrama. A love-hate relationship definitely arises with this series, however frustrating, nail biting and angering Penthouse is, it definitely keeps you gripped with it's crazy truckload of twists and turns between it's light humour reliefs and dramatic operatic soundtrack scores, making you press the next episode button quicker than Seo Jin's eyeballs darting from left to right!


No wonder the likes of Blackpink's Lisa and actor Lee Jong Suk recommend their fans to watch Penthouse - it's suspense and storylines are a cut above other thriller dramas I have watched. It seems Penthouse Season 1 is setting up Season 2 for the downfall and revenge of the narcissistic characters - I'm thinking Cheon Seo Jin and Ju Dan Tae especially! I'm excited to find out what happens next! Look out for my review on Season 2!


Overall Rating: 9.5/10


M x


Ps...

The Swoondar, for me, is a 3/10 for Penthouse, simply because swooning isn't the main focus for this drama. However, I gave it these points for the elaborate fashion *which now makes want to raid Seo Jin's wardrobe*, as well as the swoonworthy Dr. Ha (Yoon Jong Hoon) and Ju Seok Hun (Kim Young Dae, aka Nam Ju in Extraordinary You)... Park Eun Seok's super cool character Logan Lee, too, makes it to the list!


Please note, this review is all based from personal opinions, if you find statements which you disagree with, that is completely fine as well, all opinions and thoughts are regarded equally.

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