KDrama Review | Sky Castle (Ending Discussed)

“The greater your suffering; the greater your enlightenment.”

The Story

Sky Castle (SKY 캐슬) is the neighborhood where wealthy families of doctors (mostly) and lawyers live. They are known for raising their children to be third-generation doctors, doing private education by hiring the most skilled tutors.

My Thoughts In General

💭 At first, you might think there is nothing special about it. Though, going deep into the story, secrets and revelations keep on unfolding every chapter. When I started watching, I was like “it’s okay” and didn’t actually plan on continuing, but heck, the way they ended Episode 1? You can’t just stop there.

💭 Know that it is NOT a comedy. Black comedy, yes. Satire, yes. Drama, yes. It needs a trigger warning, to be honest. There are deaths and sensitive content. It is funny for the most part, sure. The amount of satire is prominent. Though, I can’t deny the fact that it is really dark. The backstories are the best, too. I love those parts in Korean dramas that make me sympathize with the characters. It is not like you are trying to justify the action; you are just trying to see where the person is coming from. I believe that there is always a trigger for why we speak and act the way we do.

💭 Sky Castle has all emotions plus deadly sins here and there – pride, greed, envy, wrath. The highlight of this is the mother and child. Please, I bawled my eyes out.

💭 I really love the mothers’ relationship here. They all went through so much and it strengthens their bonds.

💭 There are lots of characters here, and it’s remarkable how they made each one tug at your heartstrings. There are annoying characters, of course. Then, something would be revealed and you would finally understand (or not really).

💭 I think parents will definitely cry watching this. It is hard raising kids, right? It’s not like that I know that. I just think I can start seeing from my parents’ perspective as I became an adult. Though, I still believe that parents do not always know best. Damn, who knows best?

As an Asian, it is not new to me that education is like a matter between life and death. It’s not like my upbringing was as intense as Sky Castle’s parents parenting. However, it is instilled in our brains that we need to do well in school or it’s a shame. A “line of 9” (as we call it here) is preferable. Getting a “line of 7” or “palakol” is degrading. You are smart if you are in “Section 1” – that kind of stuff. It brought me back to those summer vacations where we were studying English and Math when we were supposed to just play and enjoy the sun. To be fair, I enjoyed it, anyway. 😆

⚠️ SPOILER ⚠️

I want to discuss the ending scene of Sky Castle because I heard some people do not actually like it or they would prefer an alternate ending. So, for my two cents:

I think Professor Kim is still in prison. The ending is just to portray that the same system keeps on happening – which I think is a good way to end it. I also love how Han SeoJin was just staring out the window while she was listening to her daughters’ banter. It is a simple moment, but she was finally happy and at ease – no more lies, no more pretending.