Season 1 |
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Episode Guide
Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3
Episode 4
Episode 5
Episode 6
Episode 7
Episode 8
If you’ve not heard of Weak Hero Class 1, welcome to the fight club and this is one party you do not want to miss.
Earlier this year, Weak Hero Class 1 sneaked its way onto Viki from webtoon roots on Naver. With reason, one might easily perceive this as another school-based idol drama. There is no sweet little romance and very little innocence; Weak Hero Class 1 is about survival.
The story takes us the through the harrowing day in a Korean school for boys. Our hero, Si-eun, just wants to study and get the heck out. He’s even pretty nice about it, calmly asking his classmates to just leave him to it.
Now, if you’re already the guy that’s too cool for school, that’s just an invitation, isn’t it? Bring along your pack of cronies and whack the brains right out of that kid – and see if he talks back again.
However there’s more to Si-eun than just a head for memorizing. Like a modern-day Sherlock Holmes, he uses his backlog of knowledge to quickly develop a strategy, turning the tables in any scenario.
After he gets rid of the leader and Pavlov-style ‘trains’ some fear into the sidekicks, you’d think there’d be peace – but there is always revenge.
Struggling to watch, two more side-lined students get involved, supporting Si-eun and launching an unexpected friendship that may not have otherwise come about. Of course, more people does not mean fewer reasons to brawl.
Led by actor and Kpop-star, Park Ji-hoon, he’s practically unrecognizable from his previous work on Flower Crew: Joseon Marriage Agency or his music video released last October, Nitro.
He’s flanked by classmate and MMA fighter Su-ho, played by Choi Hyun Wook (Twenty-Five Twenty-One). Su-ho also prefers to stay out of school drama, until things gets personal.
The third staff in the triumvirate is Beom-seok who has his own alarming backstory and a tendency to buy his way out of or into things. He’s played by Hong Kyung who won an award for his role in Innocence and will star in upcoming drama The Devil.
Directed by You Su-min, every episode is a new trip to the hospital for someone. Yet it’s compelling stuff.
You’ll discover it all, accompanied by Meego’s fantastic theme tune, Hero, the anthem of the abused. If WHC1 is the Dangerous Minds of Korean school dramas, Hero is surely the Gangsta’s Paradise.
Visceral, violent and petty – but certainly not meaningless; as much as it’s calculating, there’s a lot to be angry about. It’s a strong ensemble, bullies & bullied alike. Watch for the very Karate-Kid/Cobra-Kai-like moment where a pack of feral teens practically screams ‘sweep the leg.’
It’s hard to take in but stick with it. There is a resounding message about knowing who your real friends are – the ones that stick with you even when they don’t understand you. Even when they don’t know you anymore or maybe never did.
Don’t bother scurrying around looking for that lovely ‘all is forgiven’ moment here though, this drama and its source material leave us awaiting the retaliatory next swing.
READ MORE: Weak Hero Class 1 Ending Explained
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Verdict - 9/10
9/10