“Penthouse 3” episode 2 has aired last night, and I’ve finally gotten the chance to watch it.

After finally getting to catch up, there is a lot to talk about and to unwrap, so let us begin right away.

Note: this is a subjective review. I will share my personal opinion while keeping in mind how others might perceive it. This is a spoiler review

The cultural appropriation

Let us first address the elephant in the room. The most recent episode featured a ‘new’ character named Alex, the older brother of Logan. He makes an appearance wearing dreadlocks and covered in tattoos. Many international fans found an issue with this, I am not black so I shall not comment on whether they should feel offended or not, but as an outsider, I couldn’t help but ask this, ‘why? Was it necessary?’

Park Eun Seok actually lived in the U.S for quite some time, so he’s already familiar with the context surrounding this issue, so it makes it more puzzling that he’s agreed to this, it could be that it was not something he could do anything about since he’s not the one who is writing the script. Actors don’t usually have a say over that and the character could well be intentional.

Regardless, it felt unnecessary. They could’ve done away with the character without that look. I am curious to see in the next episode whether this was in any way shape or form intentional or not.

Reviving Logan

In this episode, I think I laughed the most since I’ve watched the drama and I bet this wasn’t what the creators behind this drama want to hear. “Penthouse 3” feels like an unintentional comedy drama and for all the wrong reasons, you laugh not because the dialogue is intentionally comedic but because it is so absurd and lacks sense.

When I saw Alex, aside from the first thought that went into my head which was ‘NO, you did not just do that,’ the second thing I did was laugh. Not only was the way he was speaking very weird but the entire idea behind his character was laughable.

I really like Park Eun Seok, he is a rising talent. If his character is dead, then commit to it, you don’t have to keep reviving the same actors to play ‘different characters.’ just get different actors. I like how he’s a spitting image of Logan but he is said to be the older one. She missed to label it another twin plot-twist.

I was waiting to see how she [referring to the screenwriter] revives this character and this is honestly not it. I knew it was going to be absurd but I was almost sure she wasn’t going to use a twin this time, I was wrong.

Its becoming comedy

“Penthouse 3” episode 2 had many instances when it was funny, unintentionally as I’ve said before and it wasn’t only Alex’s character story but also many other scenes that felt very very odd and misplaced.

Even if you’re not a writer or someone who pays much attention to the writing, you can still pick this drama apart. Many characters motivations are now borderline absurd, especially Seok Kyung’s character whom I could say has gotten on the nerves of all of us.

All the characters get released from jail over the most absurd conditions, it makes me wonder, why did she lock them up to begin with?

The sad part about this point is how many of these scenes could’ve played out differently and would’ve otherwise been completely heartbreaking, the screenwriter could’ve easily focused on the psychological aspect of the entire ordeals the families went through, that would’ve made the drama way more interesting and given it a more ‘realistic’ feel despite its ridiculousness at times.

Could “Penthouse 3” go downhill?

“Penthouse 3” episode 2 ratings are lower than that of the premiere and this is a what I’d call a defining moment, the drama’s writing is so ridiculous it could be the beginning of its downfall.

We have 10 more episodes similar to what we’ve seen before the show ends, which means there is plenty of room for improvement or a possible downfall.

I’ve discussed this before and I want to talk about it again. “Penthouse 3” only airs one episode weekly, and despite its long run time, it is still only 1 episode, this means, the audience will get more chance to ponder and discuss each episode.

In the past two seasons, we got bombarded with so much happenings that we were sort of blinded and left in fury. Once the smoke clears and you can see a bit, it becomes tricky.

The drama’s writing could be easily picked apart, if I want to do that I’d be up all night, and its something I bet most of you can also easily do. It is so easy to pick at the drama’s writing.

Since we have only one episode weekly, this could potentially be a disaster in the making. Because the more people realize its becoming too absurd, the more likely they’ll tune out.

I am not saying everyone thinks like that, but reading from the comments of both k-netizens and international fans, I can see that people don’t have as much patience for this season as they did with the previous ones.

Many posts on Pann are already discussing how “Penthouse 3” jumped the shark with its latest episode.

The drama was always on the edge, it is very absurd and people watch because they know that and they’re suspending their disbelief for a period but even that has its limits, especially if you decide to undo the progress each character makes.

And the issue is, we know that she’s scrapping the barrel, we know the screenwriter seems to be struggling to fill the timeline.

After “Penthouse 3” episode 2, I am even more convinced the drama should’ve ended with season 2.

The problem is how she ended that season, it was almost the perfect ending minus Logan’s death.

I don’t understand why she made the characters serve jail time if she was going to bail them out by the first episode. This should’ve been saved for the last blow. How on earth does she plan to end it this time?

The entire last episode of the drama writing will come to haunt the screenwriter later and you shall see. The last episode should’ve not only been saved for later but also extended for the most pleasing finale. Their court battle and downfall should’ve been explored properly but it wasn’t. It is so tangled that even the best will struggle to untangle it.

Also, 12 episodes is too much. I am curious to see whether she can pull it off or not. So far, it doesn’t seem like it and not only that, but almost every ‘plot-twist’ has become predictable.

So these are my thoughts on “Penthouse 3” episode 2, so what about you guys? did you like the episodes? let me know what you thought in the comment section below.