[HanCinema's Drama Review] "The 8 Show" Episode 1

So just to get this out of the way- no, "The 8 Show" did not rip off "Squid Game" from 2021. If anything, it was the other way around- the webtoon that "The 8 Show" is based on dates to 2018. And what a difference three years makes. Ryu Jun-yeol's leading man, only ever really described as 3, after the floor he occupies, is everything that Lee Jung-jae's character wasn't. 3 is a luckless and occasionally pathetic young man badly in debt, but he has reflexive empathy. And more importantly, a reflexive grasp of numbers.

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This straightaway is the biggest distinction between the shows. Where "Squid Game" was only interested in its games for the sake of setpiece, the math is the single most important part of "The 8 Show" as is the fact that 3's work in a convenience store gives him a strong practical understanding of it. Perhaps more importantly, though, is 3 managing to be desperate enough to search for suicide as a way out yet lackadaisical enough in this ambition to give his suicide attempt weirdly comedic vibes.

This hits a crescendo when an unexpected influx of unearned cash forces 3 to abandon his scheme. Gradually, 3 manages to talk himself into a highly mysterious and ominous employment arrangement where he earns investor tier money to just stand around in very peculiar living circumstances. I'm loathe to get into too many spoilers on this point because what makes "The 8 Show" fascinating is 3 slowly and ineffectually trying to puzzle out how and why he's being paid the way he is.

While 3 may have been suicidal, he wasn't stupid. The intellectual curiousity of the character is what makes him such an excellent cipher for the audience, while still having a very distinct personality in his own right. More than just a typical self-insert fantasy, 3 represents the discerning viewer, who takes a wide view of the situation and realizes that the mystery is just as integral as the money. Even if, for the foreseeable future, the money is all he or anyone else ever cares about.

Episodic reviews of "The 8 Show" are a bit weird, admittedly, since the show is available to view all at once as of today, May 17th. However, since Netflix saw fit to give HanCinema plenty of advance notice in terms of screeners, we can offer our dear readers reviews for each and every episode. Each of the eight reviews will focus on one of the eight characters, much as the opening sequences themselves do, and future ones will unapologetically spoil plot points from previous episodes. But having just seen the first one? I can write, unequivocally, that I'm eager for more.

Written by William Schwartz

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"The 8 Show" is directed by Han Jae-rim, written by Han Jae-rim, Lee Jenny, Song Su-rin, and features Ryu Jun-yeol, Chun Woo-hee, Park Jung-min, Lee Yul-eum, Park Hae-joon, Lee Zoo-young. Broadcasting information in Korea: 2024/05/17, Fri on Netflix.