No. of episodes: 20 (each episode approx. 1 hour long) + bonus episode
I had this drama on my watch-list for a long time and finally got the chance to watch it. It was worth the wait. This one is a unique drama, which falls under the ‘Power & Rich family’ genre. The story revolves around the four families living in the ‘SKY Castle’. Before proceeding further, here the word SKY does not denote the High-rise apartments where the main characters are staying but highlights the top three (most in demand) Medical Schools in South Korea: Seoul National University, Korea University and Yonsei University.
The Kang family is led by Han Seo-jin (Yum Jung-ah) and Kang Joon-sang (Jung Joon-ho), who have two daughters- Ye-seo and Ye-bin. Seo-jin looks after Ye-seo’s strict education to which Joon-sang and Ye-bin oppose to all the time. However, it is shown that Ye-seo does not have any problem with her mother’s obsession with SNU Medical School and finds it encouraging. She believes in bragging about her perfect scores and looks down on others who are not at par with her. Seo-jin always appreciates and encourages this behavior and is blinded by her love for her daughter. She wants to prove to her Mother in-law that Ye-seo can too become a doctor and with that show others that she helped her daughter succeed, even after belonging to a poor family.
The Cha family is headed by Cha Min-hyuk (Kim Byung-chul) who is a law professor and had a childhood dream of becoming the President. However, as he was unsuccessful in achieving it, he transferred those longings to his daughter, Se-ri and his twin sons Seo-joon and Gi-joon, who are absolutely scared of disappointing their father. Seung-hye (Yoon Se-ah) is shown to be suffering from multiple dilemmas as she doubts her husband’s methods. But when it comes to her children’s life, she tries her best to save them from his ruthless behavior, be it at the cost of her own marriage. She has been treated as an outcast in the neighborhood, for not being a stern believer of Private education and forcing kids to study hard to become a doctor.
Woo Yang-woo and Jin Jin-hee play more of supporting roles and add comic timing to this drama. They do not seem to have strong convictions like the other families and are in constant doubt as to what ideologies they should believe and which family to support. Where Yang-woo is shown to follow around Dr. Kang in the hospital, Jin-hee is show as a blind follower of Seo-jin. But there are scenes where both parents wonder whether they are doing the right things and is it what their son, Su-han wants truly.
The Hwang family is shown to be simple minded people, who believe happiness is greater than achievement. Lee Soo-im (Lee Tae-ran)likes to give her son, Woo-joo freedom to enjoy life and study simultaneously. She does not force her thoughts and believes and tries to convince the other mothers in the neighborhood that this is the best way to teach their children. Hwang Chi-young (Won-young Choi) trusts her wife and does not interfere in her ways. He is shown as a humble and understanding husband and doctor, who treats everyone with respect and love (even his interns and colleagues).
Coach Kim (Kim Seo-hyung) is shown to be a mysterious and manipulative woman who manages to control the lives of these SKY Castle families. There are multiple instances where it is shown that Coach Kim was responsible for the suicide of Lee Myung-joo and ruining Yeong-jae and Dr. Park’s life. However, in the later part of the drama, her real motives are revealed. Her famous line to Yeong-jae, ‘’When their parents were happier than before, they crushed it at one go’’ really shocked me and I kept on wondering, how can a teacher use such wrong thoughts as motivation against their student.
The drama questions the greed of the parents of getting their kids accepted in the Best Medical schools. There were multiple instances where the whole tragedy with Se-ri, Woo-joo and Ye-seo could have been avoided but every time the parents decided to choose a shortcut and thought, they will be forgiven for all their wrong-doings, once the children become successful.
In the last few episodes it was shown, how Dr. Kang regretted giving more importance to his ambition and almost losing his family like Hye-na. Eventually, Seo-jin came to her senses and revealed the wrong-doings of Coach Kim, leading to the release of Woo-joo. Kim Joo-young also realized that even after destroying the lives of other families, she cannot undo what had happened to her daughter, K. The scene where she was trying to stop K from eating the poisoned curry was painful to watch and for the first time, Coach Kim’s helplessness was shown, which the audience empathized with her. Professor Cha also came to terms with himself and understood that, forcing and intimidating his children to get high grade gives no guarantee of their success in life. The show ends with a new family moving in place of the Kang and the other residents find remarkable resemblance between her and Seo-jin’s personality.
