Surprising absolutely nobody given the nature of the show, the ending of Hierarchy in Episode 7 is a cavalcade of reveals and setups for a second season, including a now-obligatory post-credits epilogue.
For the benefit of those brave soldiers who suffered through seven predictable episodes of this cliched and salacious teen drama, which is cribbing from a format already past its use-by date, let’s briefly run through everything that happened so we’ll have something to refer back to when this inevitably becomes Netflix’s replacement for Elite and runs for seven increasingly terrible seasons.
Change Comes From Within
Kang Ha’s revenge against Jooshin High School’s students was ultimately successful in one very meaningful way – the school itself had to acknowledge its failings.
It’s unlikely that Kang Ha’s mission is over in the traditional sense – there are still students to torment, after all – but if by some miracle Hierarchy lives up to its limited series designation, the point will have been satisfyingly proved. The school’s principal and board had to answer for negligence, and all the students connected to In-han’s death were at least brought to the attention of the police.
Whether or not any of them face direct consequences for their actions – Professor Ji-soon is arrested, to be fair – is beside the point. Kang Ha’s actions crucially prevented the matter from being swept under the rug and forced the point that in a social powder keg like this, nothing occurs in a vacuum. If you’re complicit, you’re guilty.
Redemption
Hierarchy Episode 7 is surprisingly reluctant to actually condemn these people, though. In fact, redemption is a major theme, and the idea that everyone who bullied In-han would magically return to school a much better version of themselves is a bit of a stretch.
Still, there are at least redemptive actions, which is a start. Ri-an comes forward about his participation in the bullying and begs Kang Ha for forgiveness; Woo-jin gave Jae-I all the recordings at great familial risk. These things aren’t the be-all and end-all, but they do matter.
And Hierarchy clearly wants us to buy into the idea of Ri-an, Woo-jin, and He-ra having learned some valuable lessons – perhaps potent enough ones to completely upend the dynamic of Jooshin High School and close the gap between the wealthy students and the victimized scholarship kids.
Wishful thinking? Probably.
Jae-i Needs To Rebuild
Romance is always a key subplot in teen dramas, and it’s Jae-i’s love triangle with Ri-an and Kang Ha that provides the bulk of this stuff in Hierarchy.
But there’s no ideal romantic conclusion. Jae-I ultimately determines that she needs to rebuild her own life before committing to anything, and Ri-an ought to do the same. They do not end Season 1 together, despite how much history they share.
Getting to this point was traumatic for Jae-i, who suffered a miscarriage that caused her to isolate herself and break up with Ri-an. This, in turn, led her to become closer to Kang Ha, but despite obviously reciprocated feelings – tinged with a little guilt over In-han – her heart does seem to be with Ri-an.
Hierarchy’s Post-Credits Scene Reveals Another Murder
Part of the reason I don’t trust Netflix is that, despite a clear limited series designation, there is a post-credits scene in Hierarchy Episode 7 that clearly sets up a second season.
In the scene, He-ra finds a corpse in one of the classrooms. There has been another murder. And Ri-an receives an anonymous, threatening text.
This clear tease for a follow-up suggests that Kang Ha’s revenge may not be over; on the contrary, it may have been taken to new levels. Either way, someone’s dead, which means someone else killed them, and that’s all Elite ever needed to justify seven seasons and counting.
Will Hierarchy follow in the same footsteps after that ending? Let us know in the comments below.
