Weak Hero Class 1: Episode 1 (First Impressions)

by solstices

We’re no strangers to seeing school violence portrayed in K-dramas, but Wavve’s Weak Hero Class 1 takes it a step further by having the victim fight back — and quite viciously, at that. Our quiet protagonist may be a man of few words, but that doesn’t mean he’s an easy target.

Editor’s note: Coverage will continue with a Drama Hangout for the series drop if there is sufficient interest.
 
EPISODE 1 FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Right off the bat, we’re introduced to Byeoksan High’s star student YEON SHI-EUN (Park Ji-hoon), whose stoic demeanor belies a tumultuous tempest within. As the class reviews their answers on a test, he slams his fist down on his desk, effectively silencing them all.

Everyone freezes at this uncharacteristic display, watching in shock as Shi-eun stalks down the aisle, grabs a book off a desk, and swings it at a classmate’s face.

Rewind to thirteen days ago. Shi-eun is the definition of the model student, answering problem sums with ease and revising his study material even while he’s eating. We soon see why he’s so laser-focused on his studies — his absent mom is an academic lecturer. Shi-eun watches her videos to study, and I get a sinking feeling that he sees her onscreen more often than he does in real life.

In class, Shi-eun receives the gold prize for a math competition, which he accepts without much emotion or fanfare. Meanwhile, fellow classmate JEON YOUNG-BIN (Kim Soo-gyeom) gets the bronze prize — clearly ruffling his feathers and adding fuel to the fire that is his inferiority complex.

Young-bin’s ego is bigger than his brain, which means this incident kickstarts a series of bullying against Shi-eun. Young-bin and his cronies may be high school students, but they’ve already begun mixing with the wrong crowd. Not only do they indulge in drinking parties at a club, but Young-bin also obtains drugs from his older cousin JEON SEOK-DAE (Shin Seung-ho).

At school, Shi-eun silently tolerates the bullying — which ranges from getting a shoe thrown at him, having his gym uniform stolen, to being strangled in the locker room. It’s clear in Shi-eun’s unflinching gaze that he’s no doormat, but he simply allows himself to be treated like a pushover because he’d rather not fight back.

The same can’t be said for AHN SOO-HO (Choi Hyun-wook), whose fists fly faster than his words. He loves his daytime naps more than anything else, but when the egotistical baseball team wakes him up to confront him about supposedly hitting on a girl he doesn’t even remember, Soo-ho’s quick to counter their punches and put them in their place.

Outside of school, Soo-ho works a delivery job, which takes him to Shi-eun’s apartment (turns out Soo-ho got the address wrong, LOL). Since he’s already there, Soo-ho makes himself right at home, depositing himself in Shi-eun’s hallway and asking for some water. Shi-eun’s dumbfounded expression in the face of Soo-ho’s audacity is absolutely hilarious, and I’m already looking forward to more of this mismatched dynamic.

Last but not least, we get introduced to the final member of our main trio — the bespectacled and meek OH BUM-SEOK (Hong Kyung). He’s just transferred to Byeoksan High in order to escape his previous school, where he was bullied badly.

Needless to say, he quickly becomes Young-bin’s newfound target. Since the only way to get under Shi-eun’s skin is by messing with his studies, Young-bin uses his knowledge of Bum-seok’s past to coerce him into sticking a Fentanyl patch onto the back of Shi-eun’s neck. It’s a painkiller that will dull Shi-eun’s mind and even induce vomiting, effectively ruining any chance of him scoring well.

With no other choice, Bum-seok does Young-bin’s bidding, causing Shi-eun to stumble out of the class halfway through the mock exam. He can barely stay upright, staggering and swaying the entire way to the washroom.

By the time Shi-eun returns, he’s numb and dazed, having realized about the patch on his neck. Peeling it off, he starts slapping himself repeatedly, not stopping even when the teacher cries out in concern and the whole class looks on in shock. It’s a heartbreaking scene — it looks like Shi-eun’s doing it to wake himself up from the drug’s effects, but it also feels like he’s punishing himself for messing up the exam.

After the exam, the students go through their answers, and Shi-eun’s frustration builds with every question that he gets wrong. Eventually, he can’t take it anymore, and he slams his fist down on his table — taking us back to the scene that opened the episode.

Without an ounce of hesitation, Shi-eun bashes a book into Young-bin’s face and stabs a pen straight through his crony’s hand. Then he wraps the curtain around Young-bin’s head, and hits him till his blood stains the fabric. As Young-bin collapses to the floor, face bruised and bloody, Shi-eun reminds him: “I asked you to stop.”

Whoa. It’s one thing to suspect that Shi-eun has the capacity for such violence, and quite another entirely to actually witness it in action. It’s terrifyingly brutal, and the way his eyes go blank is downright chilling.

What’s even more frightening is that Shi-eun doesn’t seem to be able to stop once his switch has been flipped. He moves to step on Young-bin’s battered face, but Soo-ho intervenes, shoving him back and lightly telling him not to cross the line. Shi-eun doesn’t take kindly to Soo-ho’s playful demeanor, and he grabs a chair and charges towards him.

The episode ends there, and I’m left reeling. It’s nowhere near as gory or brutal as some of the fare we’ve seen in recent years, but there’s something raw and desperate about the violence here that has my stomach churning. Shi-eun is a sympathetic character, but it’s clear we haven’t seen all there is to him, and that makes him a loose cannon that’s equal parts intriguing and terrifying.

Meanwhile, Soo-ho and Bum-seok are instantly likable characters, and I’m already looking forward to seeing how the three team up. Soo-ho’s lackadaisical attitude is highly amusing, but he seems to be hiding a mature mind beneath that devil-may-care smile. And of course, I’ve already developed a soft spot for timid Bum-seok, who just wants to avoid a repeat of his previous trauma. Together, our three main leads may just be the support system that each of them needs.

 
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