Summary
Mask Girl has some clever ideas as well as some less clever ones, thus the overall impact is entertaining but frequently misinformed.
This review of the Netflix K-Drama series Mask Girl Season 1 does not contain spoilers.
Every drama borrows elements from numerous different Series, but the Netflix K-Drama Mask Girl wears its influences on its face, I suppose. Squid Game‘s remarkable production design and social undertones? Check. Like in The Glory, is the main topic revenge? Check. Online swaying and dual lives a la celebrities? Check again and again.
To be fair, this slightly undersells Mask Girl. It may have some well-known components, but it expertly combines them to create a dark, somewhat anthological murder mystery that only really falters because it is more preoccupied with its own plotting than making us care.
Mask Girl Season 1 review and plot summary
Mask Girl is mostly about payback, but on a far larger scale; retaliation against a heartless and impersonal world, with a formal ambiguity that suggests that a person’s appearance or identity are the last things that identify them.
The ambiguous lead character in this story is Kim Mo-mi, a woman who has endured unending hardships due to her physical looks and now toils away in a mundane accounting position rather than enjoying the fame and money she always dreamed of. Mo-mi, however, uses her secret identity as a masked cam girl with a sizable fan base as an escape until it turns into something else entirely.
Around this core notionMask Girl plays with a number of interconnected subplots and stylistic eccentricities, experimenting with genre and perspective to great effect, especially at the beginning when character connections grow more shaky and twists begin to accumulate for no apparent reason other than the sake of it. Each of the seven episodes is told from the viewpoint of a different character unrelated to Mo-mi, which occasionally slows down the rhythm but at least keeps things interesting.
The framework does, however, give the program more appeal as a series of stand-alone experiences rather than as a cohesive whole. While each episode has a consistent theme, it must be acknowledged that the experimental horror of late-2000s internet culture—rather than the more typical contemporary influencer rubbish—is a particular highlight throughout. However, the show occasionally runs the risk of becoming silly, especially because of a clumsy plot device wherein cosmetic procedures justify having multiple actors play the same role.
Is Mask Girl good or bad?
Unquestionably engrossing and intriguing, Mask Girl is a thriller that sandwiched moments of near-genius with self-defeating flourishes and a propensity to divert from its central concepts with ever-more-complicated diversions.
Despite being so blatantly influenced by numerous previous series, it occasionally manages to create something remarkably original, even if that freshness turns out to be more fleeting than it initially seems.
Is Mask Girl worth watching?
For a seasoned K-Drama or even thriller watcher, it’s simple to suggest this film, but be aware that not everyone will find it to their taste.
What did you think of the first season of the K-Drama Mask Girl? Please leave a comment below.
If you have a Netflix subscription, you can view this series.
Additional reading:
- Mask Girl Season 1 Ending Explained
- Will there be a Mask Girl Season 2?
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