KDRAMA REVIEW: CELEBRITY

I'm usually picky about my K-dramas. I'm not a snob who only watches highly rated dramas. Not at all. But the thing is, if I'm going to dedicate 8 to 20 hours of my time on one long story, it has to fit my exact mood from beginning to end. 

I read summaries, reviews, watch tons of clips to see what tropes, plot twists, and endings to expect. I know that makes me seem like some kind of deranged psycho but I never want to be surprised. 

This was different.

I had never heard of this drama even a day before I watched it. I came across one YouTube short of the main leads and their chemistry had me immediately pulling the  drama up on Netflix.

I went in without knowing what to expect and honestly, it paid off.

Celebrity follows Seo Ari as she strives to become the next best social media influencer. As she navigates the glamor, she discovers a world that's more sinister than she ever imagined. As she struggles to stardom, she finds that staying through to herself can have dangerous, sometimes deadly consequences.

Triggers: drug abuse, prostitution, fraud, bribery.

I Love Me A badass female lead

The drama opens with our lead, Seo Ari, going live for her followers. In today's world, going live is nothing out of the ordinary and no one would bat an eye at it. But this one live not only gathers the attention of the general public, but also the media and law enforcement. 

Maybe it's the fact that she has over a million people watching. Or maybe it's the fact that Seo Ari, our female lead, is supposed to be dead.

Now, while everyone is wondering what's going on, what's real and what's not, Ari begins the story of how she came to that moment.

From here, time rewinds to the beginning.

As Ari tells the story, one thing soon becomes obvious. She’s no damsel in distress. After her family goes bankrupt, she doesn't mourn the luxuries she once had. She gets grease on her elbows and uses the knowledge gained from being the daughter of a former textile mogul to make it as a door to door sales person in the beauty industry.

Her job is far from easy, and not even making good sales guarantees success.

One thing is sure. She has little time for people that have nothing to do with her. So when her best friend, Jeong San, obsessively goes on and on about the lives of rich social media influences, she brushes it off. At first.

But then she gets a glimpse into their lives and begins to wonder just how they became so successful.

It's this curiosity that leads her to get involved, not only in the world of social media, but with the members of a prestigious group of influencers known as The Gabbot society. 

What I love most about Ari is how driven she is. She has a vision for her future and will stop at nothing to achieve it. But this is also well balanced with a conscience. She is not willing to sell herself out for the promise of fame.

This is way more that we can say for many of the other characters in the series.

An antiheroic but charismatic male lead

Junkyoung first meets Ari at her first attempt to infiltrate the echelons of the upper class. As she stands in front of a high-end club, in a borrowed dress, steeling herself to enter, he mistakes her for a friend and taps her on the shoulder.

To Ari, this is nothing but a creep's sleazy attempt to get her attention, but to Junkyoung, this makes perfect sense. 

See, Junkyoung has more money and connections than you and I and certainly Ari can grasp. The only reason he mistakes Ari for his friend is because the dress she borrows (steals) is one of its kind,  an exclusive designer dress that can only be bought with the right connections. It’s his connections that helped his friend buy the dress, so of course, he's surprised to find someone else wearing it.

After being cursed out, Junkyoung retreats into the crowd for the rest of the night. When Ari gets into an altercation with a member of the Gabbot Society later that night, and comes out on top, her Charisma instantly captures his attention. And who can blame him really? Ari has us all falling for her in that scene.

But what really makes this hero memorable is what he does next.

Ever heard of guys pretending to run into girls to get their attention? Well, that's much too basic for Junkyoung. With no way of contacting Ari, Junkyoung, our sweet male lead, decides to call the police... and turn himself in…for harassment (because he tapped her that night).

I guess for him, if he couldn’t go to her, he could at least make her come to him. 

It’s a unique strategy for sure, but highly successful. His police report brings them together again, this time with begruntled police officers as their audience.

This sets the stage for the kind of person Junkyoung is. A little odd. A lot intense. The kind of man that loves deeply but also overwhelms.

And sometimes, he’s just an ass. 

Having grown up in luxury, he's never had to care or even think about what other people feel. He has a deadpan expression and a matter of fact tone that can sometimes be off-putting. Not because the things he says are untrue but because he delivers his statements without an empathy at all. The epitome of an out-of-touch rich kid.

To give you a sense of how outrageous he can be, one particular scene made the rounds on Instagram for a while because of how out of touch it is.

On deeper thought, maybe scenes like that simply reflect the realities of the upper echelon of society. He isn't trying to be an ass, it’s just what he knows to be normal.

I'm not going to excuse his behavior but try as I might, I could not bring myself to dislike him. I guess I've always had a soft spot for intense male leads with a dash of villainy.

A Plot That Kept Me Guessing

When someone who has been dead for months suddenly goes on live, it tends to cause some questions. For the public. The police. You and Me.

How did Ari die? How is she alive now? Was there foul play involved? Is there a mastermind behind it all? How would this end?

These questions are playing in our heads like clockwork as the pace moves quickly from scene to scene.

The alternating timelines make it even better.

In the past, we have Ari, her come up story and her eventual destruction. Her rise to fame, her war with the Gabbot society, her romance with Junkyoung. Her eventual involvement with an anonymous Instagram handle who knows more than they should. 

And when things slow down there, we switch to the present, where Ari, risen from the dead is spilling secret after secret to millions of people. The media is going crazy. The police start an investigation. The members of Gabbot society are making calls. Out of guilt? Shame? Care? Or something else entirely?

Everyone is racing against time to find Ari before she says too much. 

In the process, at least 2 people end up dead, one more in a coma. And Ari? No one knows.

And behind everything, there’s a mastermind, pulling the strings.

In short, I could not tear my eyes from the screen.

Unfortunately I made the poor decision of beginning this at 8 pm when I had work early the day after. I kept looking for a good place to pause but there just isn’t. Once the story truly starts, it keeps a steady fast pace till the end.

It kept me at the edge of my seat and I loved every second of it.

The Chemistry 

What do you get when you cross a charismatic female lead with an intense male lead with rich CEO vibes? Explosive chemistry. And rumors. Lots and lots of rumors.

Even though they’re drastically different, they’re drawn to each other. 

Junkyoung for sure makes no secret of his intentions. He’s ready to do anything to win over Ari. Even stare her down. Literally.

Their romance is complicated by an ex lover, Ari’s indifference, Junkyoung intensity and all the things going on in the plot. 

Though their scenes together are few and far between, they had butterflies flapping in my belly.

The Lack of Depth

This is a plot heavy story with many layers but I think there’s a lot of missed opportunities for a much deeper, more profound, more character driven spine. 

I love Ari but I also feel like I don’t really know her. How does her family go bankrupt in the first place? What happened to her dad?

And Junkyoung. Who is he beyond someone intensely in love with Ari? What was his childhood like? His past relationship with Shiyeon? How does he feel about Shiyeon right now? How is his family so rich?

These are important details that could have brought an additional layer to the story.

I guess what I'm really trying to say is that I wanted more depth.

How Shallow The Supporting Characters Are

First, the villains.

Ugh. They’re so good at being bad that there’s absolutely no room for redemption for them. But they have no substance to them. No nuance. Why are they so bad? How did they become this way? What do they care about beyond fame, money and power?

Even a small detail like having a well-loved puppy, or having a career they care about would have made them a little interesting.

Instead, they are nothing but pure evil caricatures.

And you would think that with this selection of villains, it would be easy for the writers to pick a final boss from between them. No, that would be too easy. Too reasonable. Too believable. Instead, here comes this random stranger revealed as the hidden mastermind.

Plot twist or Cop out? I'll let you be the judge.

Shiyeon.

She’s the most interesting of the supporting characters. 

On one hand, she is part and in charge of the Gabbot society. On the other hand, she does not have a social media account and is not as shallow as the rest of them. She seems to have a soul, a conscience but is so ingrained in the messiness of the upper class, that it’s hard to guess which way of the moral pendulum she falls.

She also has a complicated relationship with our male lead. They’re exes and now friends. And at first, our male lead seems unable to let her go. 

Because of all of these things, it was hard to guess her motives and predict her actions. I kept expecting her to reveal a deeper, more sinister purpose, and was disappointed to find that she ends up being just as vanilla as she seems. Another missed opportunity to create what could have been a very nuanced villain.

Ari’s Family and best friend.

They’re forgettable and blend into the background. Even though the best friend has some sort of arc, it is bland and predictable.

Final Thoughts

Storytelling: 4. The alternating timelines help to build momentum and keep things interesting.

Characters: 3.5. The characters are simply shallow.

Plot 4: Although it has a slow start, the plot is well placed with at least, some surprising twists.

Themes: 3.5. There are important themes of fame and wealth and how it changes you.

I loved it. I loved it so much that I wish I could say only good things. But alas, it was a little short of perfect. If I were to rewrite this, besides giving our leads more romantic scenes, I would give the villains a deeper backstory to make them more empathetic. I would make Shiyeon the mastermind behind it all. And I would write off the random stranger inserted into the story to be the final boss.

Still, I give this a 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Who Is It For?

I recommend it for people looking for a light thrill. Although it has some dark elements, this is not your typical gory thriller. It's more of a drama with some of the trappings of a thriller.

What it is, for sure, is a fun time.

Happy watching!