The 8 Show Series Review: Written and directed by Han Jae-rim, a new K-drama arrived on Netflix on May 17th which, as we will see in our review of The 8 Show, seems to be the younger brother of Squid Game. The streaming product in question, in fact, features 8 unfortunate young Koreans, all intent on winning this mysterious game that could save them from a life of poverty. All the contestants have one thing in common: staggering debts, so much so that some of them even attempted suicide. Who will win? But above all, what will the price be?
As time continues to pass, the contestants soon begin to understand that the game they are playing is not as simple as it might have seemed at first. Every minute they earn thousands of won to pay off their debts, but not all that glitters is gold: subsequently, in fact, they understand that inside the playground building in which they are locked up, everything is fake: the swimming pool, the food, and even the bathroom. Everything necessary for their survival must be bought with the money added to the account during the day, with the small detail that the requested objects are charged about a hundred times their value on the market. So a simple 5,000 won pack of Marlboros costs 500 won. The moral issue is around the corner and they soon find themselves faced with difficult choices, which will concern not only the amount to spend but also other lives to save.
A series to reflect on
The 8 show doesn't aim to be better than Squid Game, it obviously takes inspiration from it but also tries to immediately distance itself from it. In this sense, you will notice how each episode is divided between comical and dramatic moments, but without really going into deep reflections or tear-jerking situations. Everything remains on the surface, insinuating into the viewer some reflections on contemporaneity which in many cases are obvious, but which are always good to highlight. The key concept within the Korean series is that of time, its flow, and its value. How much is a minute, an hour, or a day of your life worth? Is the amount the same for everyone?
The 8 show, as the title tells us but the contestants themselves tend to forget, is still a reality show. In fact, like any self-respecting reality show, the viewers' primary enjoyment lies not in seeing the contestants overcome the challenges assigned by the scriptwriters, but in everything that "the beauty of live broadcasting" entails: arguments, ploys, alliances, accidents along the way. As the years have passed, the viewer has become demanding, wanting to see more and more on the screen. The result? Very often it is the competitors and their dignity that lose out. How many times have we found ourselves faced with an indefinable number of famous people by chance or former people forced to get in front of the cameras, in ridiculous situations, to recover their lost popularity?
Is The 8 Show better than Squid Game?
Each episode is around 40 actual minutes and apart from some dead time or useless digressions, the series seems to flow more quickly than all those released on the platform in the last period. What particularly helps the narrative is the director's decision to insert a new surprise element into each episode. We not only see the characters evolve into a new version of themselves, but some new detail always appears useful to make us understand what the ultimate goal of the architect of this perverse game is.
The 8 show is certainly missing two important elements: the introspection of the characters (which here are still a bit too fictional) and moments of true drama. The 8 show is an excellent K-drama but, due to some small limitations, it fails to break away from the stereotypes of its genre and transform itself into a truly revolutionary drama. A fitting ending (obvious, but no less intelligent) for a social experiment with an indisputable Heart of Darkness-style moral.