We may all be the same species, but we are certainly not equal. The rules of this ultra-capitalistic society dictate that some “deserve” more than others, no matter how unfair that may be. Netflix’s new K-drama The 8 Show makes that startlingly clear from the get-go, as a bizarre social-experiment-slash-reality-show pits cash-strapped, desperate strangers against each other in a bloody battle where time literally is money.
Based on the popular webtoon Money Game, the series follows eight down-on-their-luck individuals who are thrust into a closed environment meant to function as a pseudo-society. Each of them lives on a separate floor of the eight-storey compound, getting paid by the minute, where they quickly realise that they need to work together to extend their time in the game in order to earn the biggest possible reward. However, the unequal power structure leaves those on the bottom floors at their mercy those above them.
As the “bottom-feeders” worry about equality and a fair distribution of tasks and chores, the top dog (known only as “8th Floor”, earning a whopping KRW340,000 every minute) lavishly buys designer clothes and accessories, and cuts off everyone else’s food supply when she feels slighted. With inequality pervading, the precarious system devolves into scheming, cruelty and kissing ass – all the while a group of anonymous, filthy-rich spectators watch from behind closed doors and throw money at the participants when they’re entertained.
Comparisons to Squid Game are not unexpected: both shows push cash-starved people to their mental and physical limits for the entertainment of the ultra-wealthy. But The 8 Show takes a more sinister (but markedly less deadly) approach of mental manipulation, rife with illusions and false safety nets that strategically plant insecurities from within under the guise of choice.
While a little too on the nose at times, The 8 Show invites viewers to put themselves in the participants’ shoes and ponder what they would do for money in this microcosm of a society that’s not unlike our own. Save for Bae Jin-su (Ryu Jun-yeol at some of his sleaziest, yet finest), participants are known only by their floor numbers, creating empty moulds of stereotypes that one can easily slot themselves into.
As the scales maliciously tip against the ones on the bottom, a streak of self-righteousness is sure to strike. “I wouldn’t do that” is something we’re likely to tell ourselves – but how true is that really? While stuck in the cycle of how we might do things differently and how people can be so callous, we might miss the larger context: it was never about making the right choices or getting the right chances. The fault lies in the system that inherently adopts survival of the richest as a policy.
A perverse sense of intrigue, curiosity and often disgust will keep you going from one episode to the next, as you wonder whether this is why the mysterious figures keep throwing these guinea pigs a bone or two. Even so, the series never quite tips into either the devastating despair or blissful oblivion that the premise promises – but that shouldn’t stop you from giving this sordid yet entertaining tale a chance.
The 8 Show is available exclusively on Netflix internationally