The Penthouse: War in Life is a South Korean television series starring Lee Ji Ah, Kim So Yeon, Eugene, Um Ki Joon, Yoon Jong Hoon, and Park Eun Seok.
Title: The Penthouse: War in Life 3
Also known as: Penthouse 3
Hangul: 펜트하우스 3
Genre(s): Suspense, Drama
Episodes: 14
Duration: 70-95 minutes
Release Date: June 4 – September 10, 2021
Network: SBS
Penthouse 3 focuses on the residents of Hera Place after their trials and their kids who prepare themselves to take the college entrance examination.
Just when Shim Su Ryeon (Lee Ji Ah), who faked her death in Season 1, thinks she can finally live happily, Logan Lee (Park Eun Seok) dies right before her eyes. Meanwhile, the Hera Place residents get out of prison and attempt to get their lives back together. This starts the final lap of greed, corruption, justice and redemption.
Penthouse 3 sealed the season with unexpectedly devastating and insanely jaw-dropping finale! The viscerally affecting storyline, nerve-wracking plot, praiseworthy performances, and gut wrenching turn of events proved that Penthouse is undeniably one of the best makjang dramas of all time! This season is a lot crazier and bloodier than ever. It will send you to a whirlwind of huge emotions—a one hell of a roller coaster ride! It started in a hilarious tone, then it became insane in the middle, and ends on an absolute tragic and poignant note. It successfully made the viewers’ blood boil and it turns out to be unpredictably heart wrenching. It was wrapped up in ways that we will never forget. This series has definitely what it takes to keep the viewers glued from it. A thought-provoking and highly engaging drama that will tug at your heartstrings. A notably real good stunner! Solid entertainment! A gem!
Honestly speaking, this final season is a hit or a miss. Why? Because it can be the greatest or worst season of the series. I really have high expectations from this season as it was announced to be the last war for power. I love how they started the third season—it was very funny. I can still vividly remember how hard I laughed from most of the scenes at the beginning. Now, during the middle part, I felt like the story became lousy, draggy, redundant, and insanely implausible to comprehend. A lot of supposedly shocking twists turns out to be underwhelming because most of them felt forced just to make the series continuously run. That was the point where I was already contemplating if it still going to succeed in making the audience entertained. But I decided to keep my faith on the show even if I am already feeling disappointed. Luckily, I did that decision because starting from the 10th up to the final episode—Penthouse 3 absolutely recovered! It got back on track, it finally came back from its roots—evocative and mind-blowing storytelling!
If there is one aspect about Penthouse that I extremely admire, that’s the groundbreaking cast. Each actor of this series contributed in making Penthouse one that shouldn’t be missed. Every actors did an on point and spot on portrayals. This is a tribute to the ensemble cast! From the caliber senior actors Lee Ji Ah (Shim Su Ryeon/Na Ae Gyo), Kim So Yeon (Cheon Seo Jin), Eugene (Oh Yoon Hee), Um Ki Joon (Joo Dan Tae), Yoon Jong Hoon (Ha Yoon Chul), Bong Tae Gyu (Lee Kyu Jin), Yoon Joo-hee (Go Sang Ah), Shin Eun Kyung (Kang Ma Ri), Park Ho San (Yoo Dong Pil), and Park Eun Seok (Logan Lee) up to the promising actors Kim Hyun Soo (Bae Ro Na), Han Ji Hyun (Joo Seok Kyung), Kim Young Dae (Joo Seok Hoon), Choi Ye Bin (Ha Eun Byeol), Jin Ji Hee (Yoo Jenny), and Lee Tae Vin (Lee Min Hyeok) all of them did a tremendous job in their portrayals. Their addition to the plot made the series an electrifying one. The veteran actors proved how solid their acting skills are and how their star is still shining brightly and the new actors solidified their spot on the entertainment industry. They are the strongest suit of the series. Hands down to all of them!
Let’s pay tribute to the actress who navigate the whole show with her staggering acting prowess:
Kim So Yeon as Cheon Seo Jin
I really want to praise each actors from this show but it will definitely take me a long time to finish if I will write individual tributes for them. But this actress is an exception. She is the star of Penthouse. Honestly speaking, without her—as an actress and her character, I don’t think this drama would be this great. I couldn’t think of any actress who can pull off such noteworthy portrayal from an extremely challenging role. She is definitely one of the most evil and cruel characters from this series but I ended up admiring her because of her compelling performance since from the beginning. It is the first time I saw her on TV but I know that it’s not going to be the last because of the impression that she left me with. She is an actress with wide range of acting. Her versatility is indeed extreme. She executed her character in a manner that is very remarkable. There is no doubt why she took home the Best Actress for Television in the 57th Baeksang Arts Awards. Kim So Yeon is absolutely an actress to look out for. She sealed her spot in the Korean Entertainment industry. Kudos!
[SPOILER ALERT]
Like what I’ve said during the first part of this review, I am really having second thoughts about this drama especially on the middle run. A lot of twists seemed unlikely and unconvincing. The deaths of the main characters looks so underwhelming and rushed. Especially Oh Yoon Hee’s death. It seemed unexpected and forced. Yes, it was supposed to surprise the viewers but it doesn’t feel like that instead it ended up disappointing us as it was really rushed and unnecessary. The writer and director did a lot of lame decisions just to make the story going. They put the quality of the story at risk. The execution was so third-rate and disappointing. Take the death of Joo Dan Tae as an example, we’ve been waiting for it for such a long time but it didn’t surprise me because of lack and poor in execution. It was supposed to be brutal and violent but it doesn’t feel like that at all. There’s a lot of deaths that happened going to the last episode that felt bizarre and far-fetched. But I realized one thing—despite the fact that it already seems implausible, I still find it enjoyable to watch. I keep on spotting the imperfections and I also can’t stop myself from watching it at the same time. I am too captivated, immersed, and fully engrossed to the show to the extent that I am willing to shrug these things off because I really feel entertained from watching it.
[END OF SPOILER]
After almost a year of watching this spectacular series, I find it really hard to say goodbye from the show. I already feel attached to the drama and its characters that it breaks my heart because it’s already time to bid my farewell to this Korean drama. Considering the fact that they gave us such kind of ending. Who would have thought that a blood boiling makjang drama will end up breaking our hearts? How am I supposed to move on from such ending? This show really has a way of infiltrating the hearts of the viewers. In spite of all the flaws and imperfections, Penthouse succeed in becoming an edge-of-the-seat entertainment. I will never forget Penthouse. Two thumbs up!
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐️
Annyeong Kimchi Land 