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Indian Express

Weak Hero class 2 review: A manhwa misfire, but Park Ji Hoon and Ryeo Un outweigh the flaws of Netflix's rushed adaptation

Weak Hero 2 is one of those rare high school K-dramas that got a second season, and watching how the show was butchered in parts, especially with the rushed scenes and a race to wrap it all up in just eight episodes, tells you exactly why K-drama makers are always hesitant about greenlighting sequels. Weak Hero Class 2 picks up right where Class 1 left off, with Park Ji Hoon in the lead, still haunted by his past and struggling with the guilt that his best friend Su Ho is in a coma because of him. Season 2 follows his life at a new school, Eunjang High, after transferring from Byuksan (his former school) under the cloud of a violent past. Rumour has it that he almost killed someone and got the boot from his last school. Though the initial build-up was gripping and showed a promising storyline, especially for a sequel to a series that won hearts with its raw portrayal of teenage pain, Season 2 quickly loses its emotional punch and depth. Weak Hero class 2: Baku and Ji Eun keep the heart beating For someone who loved Weak Hero Class 1 without singling out a single flaw, loving how it took on South Korea's extreme school bullying culture, Season 2 came with sky-high expectations. I was hoping for a more intense take on the issue, god-level actioners, and most of all, deeper character development, especially with Choi Min Yeong (from XO, Kitty) joining as Seo Jun Tae, a bullied guy who sees Si Eun as a ray of hope and wants to live by his formula of Newton's third law. But none of those ever happened, and at times, it felt like no real efforts were made, and Netflix just wanted to ride the wave of Season 1's success. (Which its doing). ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW VIDEO But it was the bromance, we guess, that saved the story for fans. We thought Si Eun would be a loner again through most of the episodes, especially after that opening sequence showing him in therapy, popping pills, and battling insomnia. So it was honestly a relief to see him have Hu Min (Ryeo Un) and Hyeon Tak (Lee Min Jae) by his side. Park Ji Hoon's performance, the way his eyes always pop out when he sees his friend getting bullied, the way his cheeks flush, you can feel the sensation. He's just brilliant. But Baku, Eunjang's top dog, who's dead set on never letting his school join the union, was the character for me. The heart of Season 2. He's strong enough to burn the whole union down on his own if he wanted to. But it's the emotion he carried that hit the hardest. The union boss, Bae Na Ra (D.P.), plays Na Baek Jin — Baku's childhood best friend, turned underground shady boss. And Baku, clueless about what made him turn that way, holds back from going full throttle on him. The show probably wanted us to feel sympathy for Baek Jin, but, just like Baku, we too never found an answer. Being the main antagonist, his arc felt rushed and abrupt, and all we got was the boys crying at his funeral in the end. A big disappointment for Manhwa fans Weak Hero Class 2 debuted with a fan war. K-drama fans and manhwa loyalists are battling over the show's pros and cons. But siding with the manhwa fans makes sense for now, since the show is adapted from the same, created by Seopass and Kim Jin Seok. The first season debuted on South Korea's homegrown streaming platform and Netflix quickly acquired the rights for season 2, and is now dealing with accusations of rushing the show so hard that it missed out on vertical aspects the comic had. Some criticised the weak writing, some felt the platform ruined their favourite story—it changed some characters for the worse. This season focuses on the four Eunjang friends who battle against the Union, led by Na Baek Jin of Yeoil High, his second-in-command Geum Seong Je (Lee Jun-young) of Ganghak High, third hand, Do Seong Mok of Yeonsung High, and Baek Dong Ha. The Union is backed by gangster CEO Choi (Jo Jung Suk) of Cheon Gang. At times, the series seems desperate to mimic some high-school Hollywood cult formula, forgetting that K-dramas have their own charm when it comes to school gang alliances, not the kind that feels like a full-blown mafia ring. From phone thefts to bike deals and underground ops, just too much for students in school uniforms who are not even in their senior years. The central storyline involving Baku and Baek Jin lacks impact, especially since they're constantly labelled as former lovebirds and best friends, with their interactions clearly showing pain even during fight scenes. For a plotline that eats up so much screen time, the emotional backstory and motivations between the two childhood-friends-turned-rivals feel underdeveloped. Even the dialogues were lacklustre and felt like some of them were taken straight out of a melodramatic soap opera, clearly stripping off the tension between the characters. The only one who actually tried to stand out like the manhwa was Geum Seong Je. Jun Young playing Wolf Keum was easily one of the best casting choices, many praised how the comic book character had an uncanny resemblance to his on-screen version, and even his mysterious personality delivered. The last, we saw of him, he was taking charge in place of Bae Jin, completely unaware of what happened to him but looking all excited to sit on a pile of money without knowing the consequences. Our take Netflix's version of Weak Hero is more polished, flashier, and released on a grand scale, but still hollow. While season 2 was an 'okayish' successor to the first, for me, it never came close to the impact of season 1. But something tells us it'll return for a season 3. The cameo of Ahn Su Ho (Choi Hyun Wook) in the final moments, where he wakes up from a coma, sees Ji Eun, and their eyes say a thousand things, was that classic K-drama cliffhanger. When he asks, 'Who are the guys behind you?' and Ji Eun replies, 'Uri chingu' (my friends), the show teases another round of rowdy boys teaming up to take down bullies. Fan theories are everywhere—some suggesting Su Ho will join Eunjang. And since the show left so many loose threads, a next season might just tie them up. The action tried to land blows across all corners, warehouses, rooftops, alleys but when the big Union vs. Eunjang brawl hit, too much of it felt like a rehearsal with sound effects doing the heavy lifting. Left us flinching… but not in the good way.