Pyramid Game (2024) K Drama 2024 Episode 5

Episode 5 of Pyramid Game starts with Soo-ji and Ye-rim having a chat about her feelings for Eun-jeong. Just then, Seung-yi sends a group text to the Year 2 Class 5 group and informs them that she is going to end her life. Soo-ji, Ye-rin and the rest of the students rush to class only to see Seung-yi slit her wrist, as blood drips down to the floor.

The other girls try to stop her but Ha-rin shows up and takes the knife away. She asks why Seung-yi decided to do something like this when Seung-yi mentions how she was being threatened by Soo-ji. Soo-ji realises this is all part of Ha-rin’s plan. The students start calling Soo-ji names for driving Seung-yi to make such a harsh decision.

At the same time, Ms Yoon tells Lieutenant Sung all about the school bullying that was taking place in Class 5. The parents all show up in class and witness the kids blaming Soo-ji for what Seung-yi had done. Director Choi Yi-hwa, Ha-rin’s mother tells the parents that the class had their way of dealing with issues like these and asks the parents to stand outside and let the girls punish Soo-ji.

Do-ah leads the group and reveals that since Soo-ji is a Rank D student, the rule of Rank A students being allowed to punish the outcast students is not applicable. Out of the blue, Da-yeon suggests that Soo-ji’s votes be confiscated so that she won’t be able to vote in the next pyramid game. Soo-ji tries to counter when Ha-rin suggests that the 25 students of the class should vote in favour of Soo-ji or against her.

In her defence, Soo-ji asks Seung-yi to reveal what she did to threaten Seung-yi but the latter does not have an answer. Ha-rin intervenes that the entire class should decide Soo-ji’s fate and the group casts their votes. Ms Yoon tries to put an end to this but Yi-hwa stops her. The entire class votes in favor of Soo-ji’s votes being confiscated and Soo-ji realises that this was all a part of Ha-rin’s game plan from the beginning.

The parents observing the class from outside are proud of their children resorting to democracy while making important class decisions. Soo-ji realises that she won’t be able to go through with her plan of using Rank D students’ help to overthrow the game. After this, Hae-jun backs out from helping Soo-ji.

Soo-ji learns that making friends in Ja-eun’s way would have been better instead of blackmailing the girls as Jae-hyeong was still loyal to the group. Meanwhile, the parents show up in Class 5 for an observation and Ha-rin talks to them about the pyramid game and social hierarchies. Ha-rin asks the parents to participate in the ranking game but Yi-hwa stops her.

However, her grandmother shows up and gives Ha-rin a note of approval to go ahead with the game. The parents, except Soo-ji’s father all cast their 5 votes and Soo-ji comes out as a Rank F student. Ha-rin asks Lieutenant Sung what he felt about Soo-ji being a Rank F student. He tells the class how ranks were a common part of human existence as social hierarchies exist everywhere.

Soo-ji is infuriated by his answer and asks if he knows what Rank F students had to go through. Soo-ji tries to explain that life as a Rank F student could mean hell but Ha-rin stops her. Ha-rin states that the ranks will always stay the same and never change. She Soo-ji what she thought about it when Soo-ji revealed that she would smash the pyramid itself.

Soo-ji’s resolve impresses Mrs Byun and she shakes hands with Lieutenant Sung and Eun-byeol takes a photo. After school, Do-a, Ha-rin and Woo-yi are walking back when Woo-yi talks about how upset she was with Ha-rin for giving an art scholarship to Yu-rim. Ha-rin shows Woo-yi her place and asks her to walk back home, prioritising Do-a.

Soo-ji spots the camera Seung-hwa had placed in the class and wonders how she can get more evidence against the bullying with the help of the camera. Ye-rim meets Soo-ji in class and discusses their previous conversation. Soo-ji states that she will never use her feelings for Eun-jeong against her.

That afternoon, Ji-ae leaves the group to go back home and Soo-ji, Ja-eun and Jae-hyeong are left by themselves. Soo-ji goes inside the store to get the trio some ramen but Ja-eun tries to shield her from Seung-hwa. Ja-eun recalls how Seung-hwa had reacted after Woo-ri had to leave the school and remembers him as an aggressive person.

Present-day, Soo-ji tells Ja-eun that the two have set up a camera in the classroom to gather evidence against Ha-rin and the bullies. Soo-ji states that Ji-ae was going weak and would not last longer. Ja-eun goes to meet Ji-ae and tries to talk to her about Soo-ji’s intentions. Ja-eun states that Soo-ji only has good intentions for her and does not mean any harm.

That night, Seong-hwa helps Soo-ji take her mind off the next pyramid game by forcing her to jog back home. Meanwhile, Haa-rin sends a message stating how she wants Ja-eun to be a Rank F student in the upcoming game. The next day, Ye-rim starts acting out in class as she has now joined Soo-ji in her plan to overthrow the pyramid game.

She tells the class that Ha-rin should also be punished for leaking the contents of the game to the parents. After some pushback from Da-yeon and Woo-yi, Ye-rim asks the students to cast anonymous votes again. Surprisingly, there are 13 votes against Ha-rin and she too has her voting rights taken away for the upcoming game. Ha-rin is upset by the decision.

Meanwhile, Soo-ji asks Ja-eun to put her in Rank F as she wants to get some proof against the bullies with the help of the CCTV camera in the class. Ha-rin is alone in class when she suddenly notices the camera. The following day, a photograph of Ye-rim is leaked on news sites. This pisses Eun-jeong off and she attacks one of the girls who makes a joke about the situation.

She slaps the girl across her face to the point of bleeding. Ye-rim asks Eun-jeong to apologise to the girl and refuses to talk to her. As it turns out, the photos were leaked by Woo-ri who has been stalking Ye-rim. Ha-rin insinuates that the photo was taken from their class and adds that they have a hidden camera. The girls end up finding the camera Seong-hwa had hidden above the blackboard.

Soo-ji realises that Ji-ae and Seung-yi were acting suspiciously and concludes that it was the two who leaked the information about the camera to Ha-rin. Ha-rin asks for the camera footage to be examined so they can determine who the camera belongs to. Just as Do-ah is about to check the contents, Miss Yoon shows up in class.

She states that it was she who  placed the camera originally as she wanted to see what the girls of Class 5 were up to. Before the girls can check to confirm, she destroys the camera and leaves. In her office, Principal Im scolds Miss Yoon for meddling with Class 5’s business. The principal asks her to bring proof of the school violence going on in the class.

When Miss Yoon hands out proof against Ha-rin, she is threatened by Ha-rin herself. Miss Yoon resigns from the job and leaves the school. On her way out, Miss Yoon gives Soo-ji her contact number and asks her to bring down Ha-rin. In the school backyard, Ha-rin is smoking with Da-yeon and Seol-ha when Da-yeon suggests they report Miss Yoon to the Ministry of Education.

Ha-rin calls Da-yeon a Rank F student who is physically abused at home. She calls Da-yeon out for being bullied by her father for killing her brother while she was in her mother’s womb. The comment pisses Da-yeon and Seol-ha off. Meanwhile, Soo-ji calls Ja-eun, and Ji-ae for a rooftop meeting and reveals that Ji-ae has been relaying information about their group to Seung-yi who is Ha-rin’s informant.

Ja-eun is disappointed in Ji-ae but Soo-ji asks her to get out and never show up at the rooftop again. Ji-ae apologises to the two but leaves, recalling all the memories she shared with Ja-eun and Soo-ji over the last four weeks. On the rooftop, Soo-ji tells Ja-eun that she is still going to record proof of bullying on her phone and asks to be put in Rank F.

The girls gather in the classroom for the 15th Pyramid Game where Soo-ji and Ha-rin are the only two students who cannot cast votes. The results of the game are calculated and to Ha-rin’s surprise, there are no Rank F students. Ja-eun is a Rank D student with 2 votes from Jae-hyeong and Ye-rim while Soo-ji is a Rank C student with 3 votes from Ja-eun, Jae-hyeong and Ye-rim.

Ye-rim, Ha-rin and Eun-byeol are Rank A students for the month. Da-yeon and Woo-yi are shocked due to their rank drops. Meanwhile, Ye-rim is worried that Eun-jeong’s rank has dropped to D. The result leaves Ha-rin upset and she is not able to hold herself back, as she yells at Woo-yi in class.

On the rooftop, Soo-ji thanks Ja-eun for voting for her and tells her that with Ye-rim’s help, she is going to destroy the game. She thinks to herself how Ha-rin’s goal is to harm Ja-eun and now the only way to defeat her was by making sure that Ja-eun never becomes a Rank F student.

A flashback shows Soo-ji plotting with Ye-rim, asking her to vote for Ja-eun so they can get rid of Rank F altogether. In the school backyard, Ha-rin meets Ja-eun and scolds her for making new friends without thinking about her. Soo-ji shows up there and finds the two chatting. Ha-rin tells Soo-ji that she has turned into a Rank F student because of Ja-eun.

Soo-ji dismisses Ha-rin’s attempt to cause a fight between her and Ja-eun. She tells Ha-rin that she does not care what Ja-eun and Ha-rin have going on between them. Soo-ji tells Ha-rin that she has learned her goal of putting Ja-eun in Rank F forever and asks Ja-eun if she wants to be an outcast forever. Ja-eun states that she does not like being an outcast which shocks Ha-rin.

The conversation ends with Ha-rin leaving to go to class and the rest of the students stand in the school foyer, watching her get on the stairs. The episode ends with a flashforward from the school burning down with an unnamed student passed out on the floor.

The Episode Review

As interesting as this show is, so much of what is happening here is confusing. We see the parents, especially Lieutenant Sung, showing up at school and learning about the bullying taking place in his daughter’s class. Being a soldier himself, the way he turns a blind eye towards it, just because the bullying is termed as social hierarchy is absurd to me.

This episode makes it seem like Soo-ji has planned everything 10 steps ahead of what Ha-rin is thinking. As smart as that sounds, it is not plausible in the real world and it takes away from the authenticity we saw in the first 4 episodes. It looked like Soo-ji was stumbling and finding her way in the past but now every move is calculated and every step Soo-ji and those around her take were planned from the beginning.

With all that being said, I am here for Eun-jeong and Ye-rim. Whatever happens to this show, I want the two girls to end up together and have a happy ending. Moreover, from the looks of it, Woo-ri is still in contact with Ha-rin and it is quite possible that her brother – Seung-hwa knows nothing about this. We will have to wait and see the extent to which Ha-rin takes her mind games and her toxic manipulation.