In Pyramid Game, Sung Sooji (Kim Ji Yeon/Bona from WJSN), a high school student who transfers to class 2-5 of Baekyeon Girls High School realises that the class engages in a popularity vote under the guise of a game with potentially dangerous consequences.
I watched this on a whim because it's been getting quite a bit of buzz online, and ended up watching 7 eps over 2 days and completed the show in 4 days! It's been awhile since I've blown through episodes of a show, so it was definitely an addictive watch.
Our protagonist, Sooji, is the transfer student who ends up with 0 votes in her first time participating in this game, and realises that it's a way for the class to create an outcast who gets bullied. Luckily, she's cold and calculating, and starts devising various schemes to get herself out of this miserable situation.
Her first action plan is to join forces with Myung Jaeun (Ryu Da In), who is grade F as she refuses to play the game. Myung Jaeun is initially introduced as a delinquent student who sleeps in class and is frequently absent, but we soon find out that it's because she's outcasted and bullied by the class. In reality, she's the sweetest, kindest friend and thinks that by staying in grade F, she's keeping everyone else safe. I loved seeing her open up and brighten through the course of the show, aptly matched by the change in her jacket colour from black to grey to white in the last episode!
The friendship between Sooji and Jaeun is one of the highlights of the show. Initially, Sooji's schemes mostly comprise of her using other students' weaknesses to threaten and blackmail them (similar to our main villain's modus operandi), but Jaeun uses sincerity to win people over, and it is Sooji's wits + Jaeun's moral compass that nets them the biggest wins.
Our main villain who came up with this ridiculous game is Baek Harin (Jang Da Ah), who is just detestable. She was bullied when she was younger, but the show made it quite clear that her actions in setting up this insane game were nevertheless not justified.
The cast mainly comprised rookie actresses, and their rawness worked for the show, especially Jaeun. Bona was serviceable as the lead - she didn't have to show a ton of emotions as her character is so cold with lots of inner monologue. I know many people were impressed by Jang Da Ah's acting but she didn't impress me. I understand it's her first role, but I do wonder how the role could be elevated in the hands of a better actress. I really liked Kang Na Eon as Im Yerim, who was my favourite character and showed a bit more range than the others. I also think she's really pretty and look forward to her growth as an actress.
Shin Seul Ki of Single's Inferno fame played Seo Do Ah, the class president. She was one of the more interesting characters, who seems to have a moral compass yet is willingly maintaining this game. I didn't watch Single's Inferno so it's my first time seeing her and I think she did fine - not outstanding but perfectly serviceable.
The adults were all ridiculous caricatures of characters, but shout out to Ahn Soyo as Teacher Yoon, who was the best adult character. I have to admit being quite excited when I recognised the actress from The Glory, which is probably THE most prominent school bullying k-drama in recent years.
The writing was generally fine, but I read that it deviated quite a bit from the webtoon, especially the backstory of Harin. I do think that this version better sells that she was just finding an excuse to come up with a ridiculous game to bully others. Directing was solid, though it would have been nice to have more than one song in the OST. How many times did we have to hear 'take me higher~ through the fire~'?!
While this was a school violence story, the overall tone wasn't particularly dark to me, compared to The Glory for example. The whole premise was honestly pretty ridiculous, so it was more fun to watch the one-upping between the protagonists and villains (with many moments of vicarious satisfaction when our protagonists score wins) rather than disturbing. There were also funny and light moments sprinkled in, especially courtesy of Jaehyung who is a hoot.
All in all, Pyramid Game was a fun and fast watch which I surprisingly enjoyed and it was definitely a good opportunity for these young actresses to hone their skills. Can't help but root for them and their characters!
