Revenge of Others

Presentation

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Analysis

Synopsis

Ok Chan Mi is a high school student who used to be part of the shooting team. One day, her twin brother dies. While chasing after the truth, she gets involved with Ji Soo Heon, who protects his classmates by taking revenge on their bullies.

My Opinion (No Spoiler)

Saying that Revenge of Others is an excellent drama is probably an understatement. From the beginning until the end, I was immersed in the plot. The mystery surrounding Won Seok’s death served as a red thread until the big reveal in episode 12. Characters were complex, human, and all had their secret(s) that made them interesting. Thumbs up as well to the acting performance of this young cast, especially Seo Ji Hoon who did an incredible job at portraying Seok Jae Bum. The tension and suspense were present throughout all episodes, particularly in episodes’ cliffhanger, which made me want to see the next episode even more. So, I highly recommend this drama if you’re into mystery and school dramas.

Analysis (Spoiler Alert)

Injustice under all its forms

Despite being a school drama, Revenge of Others manages to tackle some serious topics that actually give this dark vibe to the story. It succeeds in displaying injustice under all its forms, whether it’s related to society, the systems surrounding us, and the people dependent on them (on which we can have a small impact); or fate, life and your own body. In this case, there’s not so much you can act upon. Still, it remains an injustice that you need to live with.

That being said, there’s not a single character in the drama who doesn’t suffer from these kinds of injustice. Their actions, likes and behaviors all influence the way they are being treated by others and the system itself, resulting in either hatred from their peers or required protection from other classmates. Hence, the title ‘Revenge of Others‘.

The victims

Bullying and suicide: A huge part of the intrigue has to do with these 2 tragic circumstances. The list of bullied people at Yongtan High School is quite long:

– Park Won Seok (Kang Yul) is being blackmailed by Gi O Sung (Chae Sang Woo), which forces the young student to act as a bully on O Sung’s behalf. This toxic relationship taints Won Seok’s reputation, who quickly starts being disliked and feared by the rest of the school. Though the teenager would like to free himself from the clutches of his torturer, he refuses to talk out of fear of having his big secret (he’s gay) revealed.

– Moving on to the Won Seok’s twin sister, Ok Chan Mi (Shin Ye Eun). She may be new to the school, but her sneaking around to uncover the truth behind her brother’s death, as well as her close friendship with Ji Soo Heon (Lomon) cause some heavy backlash. Indeed, Kook Ji Hyun (Lee Soo Min), who also happens to be O Sung’s stepsister, has a crush on Soo Heon. She is eaten away by jealousy, as she witnesses Soo Heon and Chan Mi’s growing relationship. To avenge herself, she hires a group of older female bullies to beat Chan Mi up. The latter is resilient, brave and determined. She’s more than willing to take a few blows, if it means unmasking her brother’s murderer.

– Tae So Yeon (Chung Su Bin) may not have been bullied at Yongtan High School, but she used to be the class’s scapegoat back in her old school. Humiliated and mentally broken, she transferred school only to discover her former bullies had ties with those at Yongtan. She braced herself to suffer the consequences of this unexpected connection, when Soo Heon jumped in the line of fire for her. After that, So Yeon did a 180-degree turn. She dyed her hair white, became taciturn, and developed a hard shell. As a former victim, she understands the predicaments some of her classmates end up into. So, she’s turned into an intermediary between them, and the school’s ‘Hero’ Soo Heon. That’s her own way of taking her revenge on those who hurt her.

– Min Seon Ha (Ahn Hyun Ho) is the pivotal case that will turn Soo Heon’s and the school’s lives upside down. The young girl was sexually assaulted by Sa Jung Gyeong (Jin Ho Eun). The aggressor was never prosecuted and even allowed to go back to school, alongside Seon Ha. He also took advantage of the situation to make her pay for denouncing him. Seon Ha felt cornered and tried to take her own life, as her daily harassment became impossible to withstand. Although the entire school is aware of her suffering at the hands of Jung Gyeong, no one helps. Except Tae So Yeon. She hires Soo Heon to scare Jung Gyeong and force him to stop his abuse.

It’s true that in Seon Ha’s case, bullying leads to her attempted suicide. But there are other situations in the drama in which murder is disguised as such. Indeed, Gil O Sung pushes Seok Jae Bum (Seo Ji Hoon) from a rooftop, and makes him believe he did it to hide his alleged relationship with Won Seok. This excuse turns out to be false in the end, but could’ve been legit. Same for Park Won Seok himself. Considered a bully by his classmates, he has supposedly jumped off a window and committed suicide. Once again, it could’ve been a valid justification, if it had not been a crude attempt to cover up his murder.

Homosexuality: Apart from the typical red thread of students committing suicide and being bullied (I know these are serious themes, but they tend to be present in most school dramas), Revenge of Others takes it upon itself to tackle another interesting subject: Homosexuality. Many new dramas include more and more same sex relationships (and I’m so glad about it!), yet it generally remains a bit taboo. Here, the story uses Park Won Seok and Kwon Se Jin’s (Kang Yi Suk) romance as the triggering point of the tragedy that unfolds.

Park Won Seok and Kwon Se Jin both fell in love unexpectedly. Se Jin used to be bullied, but it rapidly stopped after Won Seok’s intervention. Both students grew closer, while discovering they shared a lot of similarities. Despite their growing feelings, they kept their relationship a secret. Won Seok even confessed to Chan Mi he had a girlfriend. Unfortunately for the pair, their kiss in an empty classroom led to their demise. O Sung used that picture to blackmail Won Seok, and to force him to bully the rest of the school. In the end, he died trying to protect his secret love.

I really appreciated how the relationship between Se Jin and Won Seok was built. They were shy and unsure, but still bold. They both took responsibility of their feelings. One became the bad guy to prevent their pics from circulating around; the other partnered up with Chan Mi to clear his lover’s name and find the real murderer. I was really sad to see their blossoming love tragically come to an end because of criticisms and bias. For sure, these two wouldn’t have been cornered, if society and people in general had been more open-minded. Once it’s not a taboo, there’s no reason to feel threatened by the consequences. A good message of love to take-away.

Teen pregnancy: I was surely not expecting to hear about teen pregnancy in this drama, but it shed light on that topic in a rather positive and light-hearted way. Hong A Jung (Woo Yeon) is a student, who’s pregnant with her idol boyfriend’s baby. From the very beginning, she’s adamant on not getting an abortion. Her best friend Tae So Yeon is reluctant, but quickly gives in. She and Soo Heon respect and support their friend’s decision. Despite her young age, A Jung never wavers proving that your choice is what matters the most in the end.

The wronged avengers

Ok Chan Mi, aim for the head: Ok Chan Mi is the definition of resilience. Her childhood has not been easy. She lost both her parents, then her twin brother got adopted in a family in Seoul. She was forced to stay in a Busan orphanage, and had to learn how to fend for herself. Despite the distance, both siblings remained very close. This bond is the reason why Chan Mi is so keen on fighting her brother’s murderer. As he was her only family left, she refuses to let him go without bringing him justice. At some point in the drama, I actually wondered which situation was worse between that of Chan Mi and that of Won Seok. Indeed, Chan Mi may have grown up in an orphanage, but she received love and affection from the people in charge. Opposite to that, Won Seok was adopted, but it’s rather clear that his new parents didn’t consider him as their own. The scene when they are ashamed of him because he committed suicide (a sin for the Catholic religion) is heart-wrenching. The spite and hatred towards their alleged son is palpable. I honestly don’t know how Chan Mi managed to contain herself in front of such despicable individuals.

That being said, Chan Mi is living proof that hard work pays off at some point. She may have been bullied, threatened, lied to, manipulated, assaulted, but she never gave up on her brother. This sisterly love was heartwarming and painful at the same time, as Chan Mi appeared desperate many times in the drama. It’s hard to scare her off as well. She doesn’t hesitate to confront Seok Jae Bum with a gun at the end in order to have him confess. What a woman!

On top of being a badass student who belongs to the shooting team; a tough cookie who goes against the police alone; she has proven that she is a clever individual. Her instinct and deductive skills are top-notch. They allow her to uncover the identity of the murderer, and to have him punished. Chan Mi may be rough on the outside, but she has a tender heart. She is cute and soft when she opens up to people (like Soo Heon). She’s loyal and protective towards her friends, always willing to fight for them.

Ji Soo Heon, break the legs: If Chan Mi is the brain, who manages to unravel O Sung’s lies, then Ji Soo Heon is the body. He’s a man of action, using his boxing skills to protect weaker ones.

Just like Chan Mi, Ji Soo Heon’s life has not been a walk in the park. His brother committed suicide, which led to their mother’s depression. The shock was so big that she had to be placed in a nursing house. Unfortunately for Soo Heon, he’s the one who has to pay the bills. The teenager juggles between school, part-time jobs and his mother. As if it were not enough, he learns that he has a brain tumor. Soo Heon suffers from side effects like fainting and atrocious headaches. Still, he choses to tell no one. Mid-drama Soo Heon’s mother dies leaving him all alone in the world.

On that matter, it was clear to me that Chan Mi and Soo Heon were meant to meet. They both had a tough life, they lost their last family member around the same time, and both got involved in Won Seok’s murder case. So, I was glad that they had at least each other to lean on. They may have lost everything, but they have found each other in the process.

Before his mother’s death, Soo Heon partners up with So Yeon to earn more money. He gets hired as a ‘hitman‘ (although he never kills anyone, he only scares the bullies). This night job turns him into the school’s ‘Hero’ after Sa Jung Gyeong’s case, even if no one really knows his real identity. Interestingly, this special status which caused him so many troubles in the past will protect him at the end.

Seok Jae Bum, cut the wings and fall to the ground: Seok Jae Bum is older than the rest of his classmates. After his accident, he took a year off. Now, he’s back to graduate high school. From the get-go, I doubted him. He is the archetype of the rich kid, popular and kind, who hides secrets. However, the more Chan Mi and Soo Heon got to know him, the more reliable he became. He never faltered, and always gave his all to have his new friends’ back. I think he was also as eager to know the truth as the two main leads, because the tragedy was directly connected to his lost memory.

The least I can say is that Seok Jae Bum struggled. Not only was he betrayed by O Sung, who constantly fed him with lies; but he also felt unstable with his own self. He understood pretty early on that he had another (more dangerous) personality, though he tried hard to conceal it. But one scene gave it away. By the end of the drama, Soo Heon is kidnapped by Sa Jung Gyeong. Chan Mi calls Jae Bum hurriedly after witnessing the event. The latter is wealthy and powerful, so he hires hitmen last minute to deliver Soo Heon. When he arrives in the abandoned warehouse, he grabs O Sung by the collar, threatening him whilst turning into a whole new person. After that, he signs his witness statement with his left hand, when he’s in fact right-handed, giving Soo Heon a heads-up.

Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID): Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is a mental condition characterized by the presence of at least two distinct personalities within the same body. This disorder is generally the result of a childhood trauma that had such a great impact on the individual that he felt the need to develop someone else (to protect himself, forget what happened, or many other reasons).
In our story, Seok Jae Bum has indeed had a childhood trauma. During a conversation with Chan Mi, he confesses he had a twin brother as well, who unfortunately died when he was younger. This event left and indelible scar in Jae Bum’s memory to the point that he developed a second personality, that of his twin brother. This was his way to cope with his grief, while keeping his brother close to him. Nonetheless, his condition pushed him too far. Every time Jae Bum would feel stressed out, his alter ego would resurface and protect him (by killing people for example).

Jae Bum may have been the killer all along, but I honestly couldn’t help feeling sad for him. In a way, he’s only partially responsible for the murders, as he has no memory whatsoever of committing them; and more importantly he was manipulated by Gi O Sung. The fact that he’s empathetic and well-intended, supporting Chan Mi every step of the way, makes it even harder for everyone (he included, and me of course) to accept the truth.

Seo Ji Hoon’s performance is to be acclaimed in the drama as well. He perfectly portrayed these two antagonistic personalities and the struggles associated with this mental condition. Huge thumbs up to that great actor!

The system:

Apart from being victims of other people (like bullies), most characters in Revenge of Others turn out to be victims of the system itself. The inability of the police to unmask Park Won Seok’s murderer, or even the identity of the ‘Hero’, illustrates perfectly the actual loops that exist in the system. The rich and powerful, like Sa Jung Gyeong tend to be protect by a corrupt police, while victims like Seon Ha are forced to fend for themselves.

In fact most of the intrigue relies on these legal and judicial loopholes. If Sa Jung Gyeong had been arrested and prosecuted properly, Soo Heon wouldn’t have been hired by Seon Ha’s father to beat him up. If Seok Jae Bum’s and Park Won Seok’s deaths had been investigated correctly, Gi O Sung would’ve been arrested immediately. If the teenager who stabbed several times his crush had been judged as an adult, he would’ve stayed longer in jail, and wouldn’t have terrorized the victim’s mother.

The system gave the opportunity to bullies to keep on being ones, and precipitated the chaos that occurred in the drama, like a domino effect.

The murder mystery

Summary of the plot: Gi O Sung is in love with his step-sister Kook Ji Hyun, but the love is not reciprocated. To force her to share his feelings, he asks a friend to take a picture of them kissing. Kook Ji Hyun had no idea of what he was scheming, and was kissed unexpectedly. Seok Jae Bum discovered the picture. To make sure he won’t talk, O Sung pushed him off of the rooftop. Fortunately, Jae Bum survived, yet he lost all memories of the incident. O Sung took advantage of that situation. He gaslighted Jae Bum by making him believe that Won Seok, whom O Sung hated, was the person who pushed him. Jae Bum believed his friend’s lies. He thus pushed Won Seok, who died. The plot gets a little bit more complex when we understand that Jae Bum has a special condition called DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder). Because of that, he doesn’t remember killing Won Seok. That’s why he tries so hard to help Chan Mi and Soo Heon.

Gaslighting and manipulation: Gaslighting is a manipulation technique that allows someone to make another person doubt his/her reality, and thus influence his decision-making and actions. The main goal is to mislead someone in your favor. If you have watched Bad and Crazy or Blind for example, you can clearly understand how someone can shift someone else’s perceptions and make him/her do whatever he wants.

In Revenge of Others Gi O Sung uses that same technique to put the seeds of doubt in Seok Jae Bum’s head. After pushing him off of the rooftop, O Sung takes advantage of Jae Bum’s memory loss to make him believe that Won Seok is his actual enemy. This mental manipulation results in Jae Bum avenging himself on Won Seok, who was just another collateral damage of O Sung’s evil scheme.

Gi O Sung’s great capacity to lie and manipulate is one of the reasons why the plot is so suspenseful. He constantly misleads Chan Mi, Jae Bum and Soo Heon which creates a good number of twists, and makes the truth even harder to uncover.

Ambiance: I was not expecting to have so much violence, suspense and mystery in a school drama. Generally, these dramas tend to be cheesy, cute, focusing on growing up and small daily issues. Yet, Revenge of Others proved that school drama can also be dark, intense and full of twists. In the same genre, I would quote Class of Lies or Extracurricular. These are two great pieces that shed light on a gloomier, darker and more cruel side of school life.

Hero prevails: In the last episode of the drama, Gi O Sung kidnaps Kook Ji Hyun after she had sided with Soo Heon by putting a tracker in her step-brother’s bag. Her betrayal pissed Gi O Sung off, who puts the blame on Soo Heon. To avenge himself, he pretends to be Ji Hyun and uses her phone to call Soo Heon to the school rooftop. There, the teenager ends up face to face with Ji Hyun, tied up, and O Sung. They start fighting, O Sung takes a cutter out, and attacks Soo Heon. While fending for himself, O Sung falls off the roof, and crashes on the ground.

When classmates on the ground floor raise their eyes, they see Soo Heon. The latter escapes, convinced he’ll be arrested by the police. However, his good actions to protect victims from their bullies protect him, as Min Seon Ha (Jung Gyeong’s victim) sends a message to the entire school informing that Ji Soo Heon is actually the ‘Hero’. Rumors spread like dust, just like the truth regarding Seo Jae Bum’s killing and Gi O Sung’s despicable gaslighting.

Shortly after, the police arrives and interrogates students. All understand the negative consequences the truth could have on their ‘Hero’ if they talk. So, they don’t. Even Kook Ji Hyun pretends she doesn’t know/remember.

The scene ends with detective Jin So Jung (Kim Joo Ryung) pronouncing probably the most emblematic sentence of the drama: ‘If everyone corroborates a lie, then it becomes the truth.’

In my opinion, this collective action is even more meaningful than that. First, it shows that school is a microcosm, sometimes cut off from the rest of the world. That’s why, Chan Mi and Soo Heon’s are always one (if not several) steps ahead of the police. They have access to direct information that only a student can have by listening to rumors, talking to classmates, etc… School is a jungle with its own set of rules. Justice is not dependent on laws, but on people. The stronger ones are kings, while weaker ones have to suffer in silence. However, this structure is purely based on fear. Once fear is shattered, there is only one value that holds all students together: Loyalty. But you have to earn it. That’s exactly what Soo Heon did. He protected the weaker students and turned upside down the school system. He refused to belong to one group, but chose to be kind to everyone instead (except bullies). This forged other students’ respect, admiration and love towards him. All of these emotions turned into loyalty. That collective sentiment became a protective shield for Soo Heon, as his classmates turned into his protectors at the end. A good way to thank him for his actions. In the end, the ‘Hero’ prevailed, and so did school justice.

The ending: I couldn’t possibly finish that review without mentioning our main leads’ relationship. Their partnership is as unexpected as pleasant to witness. Both come from similar backgrounds and have experienced the same life struggles. They also work hard together to reveal O Sung’s misdeeds.

Their romance is slow and shy. There are no big love confessions, which was perfectly adapted to the tone of the drama. Instead, small gestures deliver a more meaningful message of affection and care. The best epitome of that is Soo Heon’s red shoelaces. Not only do they act as a red thread, proving that Soo Heon and Chan Mi were somehow meant to be, but they also embody their lucky charm. Thanks to them, they are able to designate the killer’s identity on the murder video.

The red shoelaces that become a red bracelet is a talisman that brings good fortune to both characters. That’s why they wear it at the end, whilst leaving school together once the murder case has been solved. They can now turn the page and start anew together.