“The Penthouse”: Episodes 1 & 2 Review

There’s no hope for the poor. The wealthiest will always come out on top, and they are allowed to do whatever they want to achieve their goals–that includes bullying anyone in their way and extorting the impoverished . The new drama, “The Penthouse” explores a world where the rich rule the world and will do whatever it takes to keep their power. 

The “makjangness” of this drama is already overflowing in the first two episodes, but it’s expected of screenwriter Kim Sun-Ok, who has a list of hit over-the-top dramas under her belt: “The Last Empress,” “Jang Bori is Here” and “Temptation of Wife.” We’re seeing lots of elements that are similar to her previous works: people screaming, extravagant characters, physical abuse, injustice and unfairness, exaggeration, affairs, and birth secrets.

“The Penthouse” has many characters but mainly follows three families living in a luxurious 100 floor building, two of which are extremely wealthy.

Episode 1

We are first introduced to the elegantly dressed Shim Su-Ryeon (Lee Ji-Ah),  as she takes the elevator in the luxury building, Hera Palace. In the glass elevator, she witnesses a woman falling from the top. Cut to the next scene which takes place 2 months prior to the incident in the elevator. Oh Yoon-Hee (Eugene) shows a congressman around an apartment. She mentions the brokerage fee and the congressman interrupts her, telling her that he’s aware that she doesn’t have a license. He then kicks her out. Still outside the apartment, Yoon-Hee spots a celebrity entering the apartment.

Yoo Jenny (Jin Ji-Hee) is having her classical singing lesson in her school’s practice room. She glances over and sees Bae Ro-Na (Kim Hyun-Soo), her classmate who’s also interested in classical singing, secretly watching her singing lessons. Ro-Na races home and sees her angry mother, Yoon-Hee, with all her music books laying out in front of her. Yoon-Hee tears up the music books and tells her to give up on her dream of singing. Defiant, angry, and crying, Ro-Na will not give up on singing. 

Back at the Hera Palace, Cheon Seo-Jin (Kim So-Yeon) invites three other married couples to dinner. At the dinner table, Seo-Jin tries seducing Joo Dan-Tae (Uhm Ki-Joon), Soo-Ryeon’s husband. They secretly meet in Seo-Jin’s dressing room. Just as they are about to kiss, they hear Soo-Ryeon calling for Dan-Tae.

Jenny overhears Ro-Na singing in her practice room and angrily grabs red paint in another room. Moments later, Yoon-Hee rushes to school as Ro-Na is accused of spiking Jenny’s drink, resulting in her coughing up blood and being unable to speak. Without clear evidence, Yoon-Hee screams at everyone to stop treating her daughter as an assailant. This reminds Yoon-Hee of her mysterious past, so she kneels and apologizes on behalf of her daughter. Later, Jenny secretly reveals to her mother that she was pretending, but her mother already knew she was lying. 

Anna Lee (Jo Soo-Min) enters So-Yeon’s room to interview for the Math tutor position. She claims to be a student of UCLA. After getting hired, Anna starts by attempting to give her students a Math competency test, but they refuse and openly mock her.

 

Ro-Na tells Seo-Jin that she’d like to receive classical singing lessons from her. Seo-Jin refuses, claiming that she’s fully booked. Ro-Na’s classmates tell Yoon-Hee (Ro-Na’s mother) that Ro-Na has gone to meet a famous singing instructor. Yoon-Hee then rushes over to Seo-Jin’s and tries to drag Ro-Na out. Seo-Jin instantly recognizes Yoon-Hee. The two were competing in a singing competition and Seo-Jin won unfairly using her connections. Yoon-Hee, being very upset, dragged Seo-Jin to an empty room and tried snatching the trophy away from her. Then, Seo-Jin callously slits Yoon-Hee’s neck with her trophy. With blood gushing out, Seo-Jin quickly smeared some of Yoon-Hee’s blood on her face and pretended to collapse on the ground.

At the school violence committee meeting, people point fingers at Ro-Na. The principal demands that she transfers to a new school. Yoon-Hee is furious! She runs towards the principal and gives him a kick in the face knocking out his front teeth.

Like Kim Sun-Ok’s previous dramas, “The Penthouse” is almost guaranteed to keep you curious about what’s going to happen with twists and turns that are impossible to predict.

 

Episode 2

Joo Dan-Tae receives a call from the principal. Hearing that one of his twins, Joo Seok-Kyung (Han Ji-Hyun), turned in a blank answer sheet during an exam, he asks to see them in his office. When he asks Seok-Kyung if it was true, she bravely admits it. Infuriated, Dan-Tae says it’s time to have some bonding together in his secret layer. Her twin Seok-Hoon (Kim Young-Dae) begs him to hit him instead. Dan-Tae agrees and drags Seok-Hoon into the room to beat him.

Yoon-Hee blackmails the congressman, threatening to reveal his affair. She gives the bribe money to the principal, begging him to let Ro-Na graduate. And out of the blue, the singing coach who taught Jenny offers to teach Ro-Na.

In Seok-Kyung’s room, Anna is tutoring the twins. Fed up with Anna, Seok-Kyung sneaks a keyring into Anna’s bag and accuses her of stealing. Dan-Tae believes his daughter insists that Anna apologize, telling her that she can’t leave the building without apologizing. At the indoor swimming pool, Anna apologizes but Seok-Kyung pushes her into the pool.

Su-Ryeon is aware that Seok-Kyung lied about Anna stealing. She tries to make her apologize, but Seok-Kyung screams that Su-Ryeon isn’t her biological mother. Su-Ryeon panics and apologizes to her instead.

The teenagers attend the Cheong-Ah Arts High School Performance Test, necessary to get into the high school. Ro-Na bursts into tears learning that the test requires two Italian songs instead of an Italian and a German song. Knowing that the singing coach was the one who told Ro-Na to prepare a German song, Yoon-Hee frantically calls the singing coach but is unable to reach him. Witnessing that scene, Seo-Jin asks her employee if they had taken care of the fraudulent singing teacher, all part of her plan to sabotage Ro-Na and her nemesis, Yoon-Hee. He reassures her.

The results are announced. A mysterious candidate named Min Seol-Ah turns out to be the top student of the classical singing admission test. In the lobby, Seok-Kyung walks towards Anna and pulls off her wig, revealing that Anna is Min Seol-Ah.

Ro-Na learns that she didn’t get accepted to Cheong-Ah Arts High School, but is number 1 on the waiting list. She runs out into a stormy night, crossing the roads recklessly. Yoon-Hee chases after her, but loses her.

At Dan-Tae and Su-Ryeon’s place, Seol-Ah is being questioned by the family. She apologizes for lying. Seok-Kyung still slaps her twice for not knowing her place and deceiving them. Dan-Tae steps on Seol-Ah, saying how nasty she is.

Su-Ryeon stops Seol-Ah from leaving and tells her that she has something for her. As Seol-Ah waits, a helmet is forcefully put over her head. When Su-Ryeon comes back, Seol-Ah is nowhere to be found.

The helmet is removed from Seol-Ah, and she opens her eyes to see the teenagers she tutors.  She apologizes to them again, but they aren’t satisfied. They shove a bottle into her hands and lock her up in a van. The group begins having fun by taking pictures of Seol-Ah holding the bottle of champagne. 

Cut back to Yoon-Hee who finally finds Ro-Na crying on the stairs. Ro-Na blames Yoon-Hee for being poor and not being on good terms with Seo-Jin. Yoon-Hee cries along with her daughter, apologizing to her for being inadequate.. 

Don’t miss “The Penthouse” it’s already started off with a thrilling bang, and has already been greenlit for 3 seasons (K-dramas rarely have multiple seasons!). See how the wealthy live in this opulent drama with Seoul as it’s beautiful backdrop. If you love anything from Shonda Rhimes mixed with elements from the HBO show, “Succession,” you are gonna love “The Penthouse.”  “The Penthouse” airs every Monday and Tuesday. Subscribe to KOCOWA to catch it as soon as it’s available!

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