Hierarchy – K-drama Episode 2 Recap & Review

Secret: Within A Secret

Episode 2 of Hierarchy starts with Woo-jin waking up in bed next to a random woman. They’re in a studio and she hurriedly leaves before him, as they both head to school separately. It turns out she’s actually his teacher. Woops.

Elsewhere, we cut across to Ri-an’s house where his mother finally returns after a big business trip. She’s not exactly attentive to him, nor does she remember that he’s in the second year of Jooshin now. They havent had a conversation in over a year and she’s been gone for three months. He craves some affection or attention from his own mother but she brushes him off, refusing to take this seriously. Ri-an eventually drives off to school, but it goes some way to understanding his history.

At the front of school, Kang Ha immediately greets Tae-ho, the kid who warned him about Ri-an and the gang last episode. He bemoans Ha touching him and claims that he’s royalty. Ha laughs it off but things are not well.

At school, he comes face to face with Ri-an. He knows his ties with Jae-i but doesn’t back down during an encounter in the hallway. Ha keeps eye contact and remains vigilant around him. He knows that Jae-i is his Achille’s heel and Ri-an even goes running right to her after, questioning the kiss. He promises to do whatever it takes to find out what secret she’s keeping and will put her back “where she belongs”.

After this chat, the school is on high alert. Nobody is allowed to even acknowledge the new kid, and while all the other students are briefed on this, Kang Ha is sitting at the back listening to everything take place. He laughs incredulously, holds his own against one of the kids and plays their game.

Class ends and Kang Ha approaches Jae-i. They trade banter and he acts pretty cool in front of her, telling her he enjoyed the kiss and he won’t drop out, despite her advice. Hera continues to scheme though and after hearing Ha fail at wooing her best friend, she speaks to a mopey Ri-an, who’s watching old videos back at the hotel, and decides that he should date someone else. Ri-an though only really cares about why Jae-i is leaving. Hera refuses to spy on her best friend.

That night, Jae-i receives another incriminating picture and message. They vow to send it on to her father, but the nature of this remains a mystery. It seems like she was involved with In-han, the kid hit in the hit and run. She’s done something and he promises to help her figure it out. Jae-i is worried that her father will kill her but quite why and for what purpose is a mystery. However, she notices that In-han’s pen has a recorder on it and her friends burst in and pull him away.

Now, In-han was in deep with these kids. In another flashback, he speaks to Ha and reveals that the kids spiked his drink. Ha sees first-hand how In-han is losing his mind and composure. Kang Ha won’t have that same problem, especially as he squares up to Ri-an and vows to do what he can to “survive”, even if it means going up against the hierarchy.

This rot runs all the way up the chain of command. Ms Han is obviously having an affair with Woo-jin and this explains why she turns a blind eye to the bullying in her classroom. Kang Ha calls her out for it though and even threatens to go to the press given she’s okay with bullying.

Ms Han has no choice and opens up one of the lockers that presumably holds drugs inside. When she opens it up… they find a whole stack of Xanax. Han claims that the kids are prescribed this given the stress they’re under. They’re not illegal drugs as he suspected, which contradicts his suspicions about the drinks being spiked.

Another kid struggling here is Nam Ju-won. The others contemplate how to get rid of him, and he seems like a loose end. He speaks to his mum, who happens to be the headteacher, and reveals that she covered everything up about In-han’s murder so there isn’t even a single trace of evidence.

Whoever this mystery person is, they message Jae-i again and have the video taken at Woo-jin’s party (the one we saw earlier). Jae-i tasks Hera with figuring out who has been sharing this around. She begins by questioning indirectly all those at Woo-jin’s party.

A retreat with the school goes ahead, and Ju-won is tasked with showing Kang Ha the ropes. He shows him to his cabin, which happens to be tucked away from the main area, which is apparently better for the scholarship students.

Ju-won tells Ha to stay away from the popular hobbies and also reveals his nickname is “moss”. He’s not offended by it and actually wears it like a badge of honour. In a way you can understand why. If his existence goes unnoticed, he could theoretically gain intel against people and blackmail them, and simultaneously avoid bullies too. He is quick to tell Kang Ha they’re not friends though.

Speaking of friends, Hera volunteers to be the person Ri-an sets up his fake relationship with, given his attempts to woo Jae-i are failing spectacularly. She actually ends up beating Ri-an to the punch, as she finds Kang Ha outside and decides to catch a ride with him down to the shops to pick up some cigarettes.

The journey is a calming one and she smiles, pointing out how peaceful it is. When it starts lashing it down with rain, the pair seek refuge under a shelter. Jae-i’s cold demeanour breaks when a wet dog shows up and she giggles. Apparently she’s been raised to supress her emotions ever since she was 3 and that explains why she’s so emotionless.

As for Ha, he scoffs at the notion of being poor and never saw himself that way until he showed up at the school. There’s a moment where it looks like she’s going to kiss him but they walk back together instead. She even invites him back to her villa to get out his wet clothes.

This is quite amusing, given there’s a bunch of kids, led by Tae-ho, waiting outside Ha’s place for him. Our protagonist doesn’t show, of course, while Ms Han notices Jae-i and Ha going inside together. There, he reaches up to kiss Jae-i, but she pulls away, especially when she notices the fish pendant on her wrist.

As for Ms Han, she questions Woo-jin that night about how close Jae-i and Ha are. He, in turn, rings Ri-an and the Principal, who show up and notice them together. Jae-i becomes curious and manages to obtain a file on Kang Ha’s past, while Ha himself shows up and finds a photo and flowers on his desk. He realizes how awful the kids are, as they all head to the disciplinary hearing.

Kang Ha remains silent, knowing that it’s futile to speak up. However, just before he’s expelled, Jae-i arrives and pulls him out, saving the guy from certain doom. Apparently, she did this because of his connection to In-han. She tells Ri-an that she likes Ha and they head outside together.

The Episode Review

Alas the plot thickens. We see more romance now as Kang Ha and Jae-i grow closer but damn, their chemistry is almost non-existent. In fact, their scenes together are rather awkward and whether this is a result of Jae-i being “stifled” from her emotions or the mismatch of leads is up for debate.

More intriguing however, are the supporting characters. Ju-won is an illusive character and his nickname and the way he can slip in and out of situations (not to mention knowing the cover-up about In-han) makes him a prime candidate for knowing who caused the hit and run. Is he the blackmailer?

We still don’t know the full extent of this, and to be fair it may even be completely unconnected to the whole affair with In-han. We’ll have to wait and see on that front! However, the drama is just starting to heat up and it’s anyone’s guess quite where this one will go next!