Following the success of “Mask Girl” and “A Killer Paradox,” Netflix Korea continues with projects adapted from webtoons, with the latest being “The 8 Show.” Directed and scripted by Han Jae-rim, the series is based on Bae Jin-soo’s webtoon “Money Game.”
Even before its release, “The 8 Show” was compared to “Squid Game,” as it also features a survival game narrative and is funded by Netflix. However, the scale of its game is smaller than “Squid Game,” and its storyline is entirely different. The 8-episode story unfolds within a mysterious building where eight strangers must find ways to prolong the game because they earn money by trading their time. Unlike “Squid Game,” in this survival game, a crucial rule is that no one is allowed to die; if someone does, the remaining participants must leave empty-handed. Similar to many other Korean films, including “Squid Game,” “The 8 Show” is heavy on its messaging, using the story of the eight participants to convey moral lessons. However, it does so in a way that feels seamless and not forced, unlike many previous works.
A Crazy, Unexpected, and Thrilling Adventure
Viewers enter “The 8 Show” through a young man burdened with a massive debt. He is a typical character in society—lacking looks, talent, cunning, and being overly trusting and kind-hearted. This virtue becomes a potential death sentence in the survival game. Entering the game while drowning in debt and contemplating suicide, this character becomes known as “3F.” Similarly, the other seven characters are identified by their floor numbers rather than personal names, even when leaving the game, they do not ask each other’s names, symbolizing their loss of humanity upon entering this unknown game.
The eight individuals with precarious and hurtful fates include “1F” (Bae Sung-woo), “2F” (Lee Joo-young), “3F” (Ryu Jun-yeol), “4F” (Lee Yul-eum), “5F” (Moon Jeong-hee), “6F” (Park Hae-joon), “7F” (Park Jeong-min), and “8F” (Chun Woo-hee). Each represents a different personality type, making the game a mini portrayal of society. Despite their differences, they share a common trait of wanting to abandon themselves, being rejected by society, and carrying the pain of financial desperation.
Different from “Squid Game,” participants in the 8-person game do not know the rules or what they must do next. They must figure out how to extend their time since time is the currency. They also have to create their own entertainment not to pass the time but to amuse the watchers who grant them more time. They run, perform circus acts, dance, sing, perform martial arts, make love, and even torture and beat each other to earn more time.
This element of players creating their own games and rules is a fresh take, adding curiosity, excitement, and unpredictability to the audience. The different treatment and resources each floor receives, with food and water delivered by elevator, emphasizing the social hierarchy. The higher floors indulge in luxuries and oppress those below, while the lower floors yearn for rebellion, culminating in “1F’s” painful uprising.
Objectively, the middle part of the series slows down, reducing tension. Although the violence isn’t extreme (due to the rule against deaths), it is somewhat overused. Nevertheless, “The 8 Show” remains a creative and crazy script compared to typical Korean films, particularly in the survival genre. The show also presents an emotional journey, leaving both players and viewers uncertain about who is behind it all and what crazy rules might emerge next.
“The 8 Show” masterfully integrates social satire, surpassing “Squid Game” in delivering its message
With eight fitting episodes, “The 8 Show” provides a ruthless look at capitalism, modern society, and human selfishness in the relentless pursuit of money. While “Parasite” and “Squid Game” mocked capitalist Korean society by highlighting class disparities and humiliating journeys for money, “The 8 Show” exposes inequality, class division, and labor exploitation in a distinct manner. Instead of a bloody game, where the rich use the poor’s desperation for entertainment, in “The 8 Show,” no one knows the mastermind, not even the audience. Players create their own rules and games to earn time and money, leading to class division and transforming the game into a microcosm of society, where “8F” becomes the richest, exploiting others’ misery for personal amusement.
The 8 Show dives into the absurdity and cruelty of survival games by showing how characters become aware of what makes “viewers” spend money on them—through becoming sensual, violent, funny, and humiliating the weaker ones.
There are no direct orders, but exploitation is continually exposed, and the desperate sink into a collapsing world. The audience sees human nature laid bare, where everyone, willingly or not, becomes violent. Despite brief glimpses into each character’s past, viewers clearly understand their motivations, how they sell their time and morals. Both players and viewers continually question whether the money displayed on the screen is worth it.
Compared to “Squid Game,” the message in “The 8 Show” is conveyed more smoothly, avoiding the forced, half-baked philosophy of some previous works.
Additionally, “The 8 Show” is a relatively compact series with 8 episodes, each under an hour. The scriptwriter uses every minute of the show perfectly, reflecting how the eight players race against time. Despite some unresolved issues, such as the ending of “1F,” the series builds impressive characters and a captivating setting, mostly confined to a single building. The director’s choice to change the aspect ratio between past and present scenes adds an interesting layer to the story. It allows viewers to distinguish between past traumas and present reality. As each character’s story unfolds, changes in their lives are depicted through changes in aspect ratio.
Overall Rating: 4/5
“The 8 Show” successfully explores the depths of eight characters representing today’s society. It delves into moments when kindness erodes, and selfishness reigns. It takes the desperate to the heights of hope, fuels their desire for a better life, and then plunges them into the worst chapters of their lives, where fear rules, and their wounds make them yearn to live more than ever. A round of applause is due for the performances of the cast, especially “3F” Ryu Jun-yeol, “8F” Chun Woo-hee, and “6F” Park Hae-joon. Their acting evokes a wide range of emotions, making “The 8 Show” arguably the most insane Korean drama and the best Netflix original series of early 2024.