Bitch X Rich: Episodes 1-2 (First Impressions)

by Unit

Bitch X Rich welcomes us to the typical high school in dramaland where the students might wear the same uniform and attend the same classes, but make no mistake, they’re not all in the same class. What happens when a seemingly harmless attempt to move up the social ladder spirals into something bigger? Well, let’s find out.

Editor’s Note: Continued coverage is pending.
 
EPISODES 1-2

My first introduction to prestigious education and what it entails in dramaland was at Shinhwa High School from Boys Before Flowers. More than ten years later, nothing has changed. We still have a league of condescending golden spoon brats running the world with their mom’s credit cards, and bullying everyone beneath them at the elite Cheongdam International High School, where our drama is set.

Before we meet the rich kids of Cheongdam, though, the drama introduces us to a high schooler on the opposite end of the spectrum. This is our heroine KIM HYE-IN (Lee Eun-saem), the dirt spoon kid who gets by with part-time jobs and scholarships. However embarrassing it may be, Hye-in is pretty much resigned to her current situation and in her words, “Even if I live my life hard like this, nothing will change.” So, she doesn’t envy other people. At least, not when we first meet her.

Hye-in is both book smart and street smart, and she soon lands a sweet tutoring gig by impersonating her college unnie-like friend LEE SUN-JOO (Kwon Se-eun) — with Sun-joo’s permission, of course. It’s a seemingly harmless arrangement between both girls — almost as harmless as Hye-in posing with a luxury bag belonging to KANG NA-YEON (Go Joo-hee), the rich middle-schooler she’s prepping for Cheongdam, and then posting the picture on social media. #IDontThinkThisBagIsThatPretty #ThisBagIsFiveMillionKRW #LuxuryBag

But when Hye-in’s part petty, part spur-of-the-moment post goes viral, Hye-in is called out by her classmates — some of whom are just learning that she’s poor, and that she applied for a scholarship. The others want to know if there’s truth to the rumors that she’s from a rich family due to the viral post. And when Hye-in is asked to settle the debate between poor and rich, she goes all in. “Yes! Actually, I’m rich,” Hye-in declares to her eager classmates, and this is the beginning of her problems.

At first, pretending to be rich is Hye-in’s way of escaping the humiliation that comes with being a poor scholarship kid. But she soon starts to enjoy the fake lifestyle because if she can’t be rich in real life, at least she can be rich on social media. But her luck runs out when Na-yeon returns home earlier than expected, and she finds Hye-in in her clothes. And it’s not just any outfit, it’s her newly-arrived hand-stitched custom-ordered Cheongdam uniform!

As expected, Na-yeon is furious, and even more so when she goes through Hye-in’s social media account and sees the dozens of pictures where her tutor posed in her clothes and around her house. Now Na-yeon knows that Hye-in lied about being a college student, and she threatens to report Hye-in for impersonation and fraud.

Na-yeon already proved to be no joke with her “Poor people act like they don’t want things they can’t have… but will happily accept those things once they hear that it’s for free,” jab at Hye-in in an earlier scene. And in exchange for her silence now, Na-yeon turns Hye-in into her lackey: from doing her homework and that of her friends, to carrying shopping bags, and running coffee errands.

Things come to a head when a frantic Na-yeon calls Hye-in on the day of her entrance interview at Cheongdam — which coincides with Hye-in’s midterms. Apparently, Na-yeon forgot her interview script at home, and she needs Hye-in to get it for her. Between getting sued for fraud and forgoing her midterms, Hye-in chooses the option without legal complications. But as she steps into the Cheongdam lobby, she overhears Na-yeon mocking her to her friends. Turns out, Na-yeon already had a copy of the script and was just messing with Hye-in. “It’s her fault for being born into a family like that. Thanks to me, she’ll now get a tour of Cheongdam.” Damn!

Hye-in’s first location on her Cheongdam tour is the bathroom, where she sheds some frustrated tears. And while there, she meets a Cheongdam student who notes — thanks to the name tags on their uniforms — that their names are very similar. This student is KIM HAE-IN (Jang Sung-yoon), and she’s one of the bottom feeders in the Cheongdam food chain as evidenced by the “I’m sorry. I’m from a low income family” post-it stuck to her back. Hye-in rips off the note and scrunches it into the trash, and that’s her tipping point.

Armed with a bucket of water, Hye-in marches to the next location on her tour: the interview room where Na-yeon is in the middle of giving a passionate speech to the admissions board about wanting to fulfill her dreams at Cheongdam. Tsk. To everyone’s collective shock, Hye-in marches up the stage, and splash! She drenches Na-yeon with a “Screw your dreams. You need to work on your character first.” Whoosh!! And I’m not gonna lie, this felt sooo refreshing! Hehe.

This week was all about setup and character introductions, with a major focus on Hye-in. And I have to say, I appreciate that she’s not one of those powerless female leads that seem to populate the high school dramaverse. Hye-in is not as unhinged as the Cheongdam populace, but she’s not a saint, either, which makes her the exact breath of fresh air that the school needs. And while I don’t expect her to go in guns blazing right off the bat, I don’t expect her to sit back and take any form of disrespect when she eventually gets into Cheongdam.

Speaking of which, we get glimpses of our other main characters at Cheongdam. There’s BAEK JE-NA (Yeri), the only daughter of a top chaebol family, and Cheongdam’s resident queen bee — with a penchant for targeting poor students and setting them up to be bullied. Not that any of the accusations against her stick.

We’ve also got SEO DO-EON (Lee Jong-hyuk), who has no problem giving Hae-in — who seems to be his crush — a two million won gift and then throwing it into the trash when she calls the gift burdensome. He’s not an active participant in bullying, but he doesn’t call his fellow rich friends out on their actions, either — even when Hae-in is targeted. He does look like the poster child of family/childhood trauma, although that’s left to be seen.

For now, we haven’t gotten any violent or triggering scenes, as all the bullying is just verbal/reported. But this is just an introduction, and I can’t tell what’s coming next. The short run-time per episode makes for a quick watch, and this opener was engaging enough to hold my attention. As far as plot goes, this drama could turn out to be the stereotypical “poor kid transfers to a prestigious school to crush the arrogant elite students.” Or, it could be more.

A number of dramas have explored bulling, the dichotomy between the haves and the have-nots, and the cycle of oppression that trickles from the wealthy down to the middle class and the poor. So far, this drama isn’t really doing anything different. But as the synopsis already stated, we’re getting dramaland’s favorite plot device: a murder mystery! And whichever direction the drama goes, I’ll be seated.

 
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