Mapping the Motifs, Symbolism and Mirroring of SKY Castle

SKY Castle is probably my favorite currently airing drama and easily one of my favorites of this year's best. Focusing on South Korea's aristocrats and the damaging effects of their obsession with education, Sky Castle reminds me in a way of West Indian literature, where there is an almost constant juxtaposition between characters, words and actions to highlight hypocrisies and its themes of self-denial and class. However, as you can tell by the title, the praise being rendered in this article will relate to its brilliant visual feats.

Warning: some mild spoilers ahead!

THE MOTIFS

While watching Sky Castle, I came across a certain repetition in camera movements and shots. After a few rewatches, these became, in my eyes, more than just repetition for repetition's sake. There were some that I didn’t necessarily have to decode. For example, a tendency to pan between characters during a conversation (check the beginning of episode 9 for reference) is more than your typical shot-reverse shot. There was also a focus on shots of characters' hands that prevailed in episode nine.

My favorite of these, however, would be the use of tracking shots. Tracking shots are used for both Han Seo-jin and No Seung-hye as both took major decisions and action about their child’s education.

Han Seo-jin

The ending of episode 6 concludes with a tracking shot following Han Seo-jin as she dashes to Lee Soo-im’s House to retrieve the tablet containing Young Jae’s diary. She does this not for her own daughter who had left on a foiled runaway, but to hide what she knew would be exposed if it was read and seen. The camera here is unstable mirroring her emotions. It depicts Han Seo-jin knowing full well she would face criticism for handing her daughter over to someone with less than caring intentions. The whole scene itself exposes her own insecurities, and the chaos in a decision she could well question the morals of.

The tracking shot returns once again in the same rushed and unstable mannerism at the end of episode 10. Rushing into yet another situation that leads, in this case, to her making a disastrous decision, when she runs into Hye Na, who at that point was already on her own path to revenge. She, later in that very episode, takes Hye Na into her home. This is a decision that she is still unsure of, and yet makes, playing into Tutor Kim’s scheme.

No Seung-hye

Han Seo-jin's scene can be compared to the tracking shot of No Seung-hye as she rips down the prison-like study constructed by her husband. Learning from the Young-jae tragedy (unlike Seo-jin) and following a visit with Tutor Kim, she sees that the very room itself and the atmosphere their father created within it would lead the boys to ruin. Her tracking shot plays out with a smooth camera sequence communicating that she was at peace with the idea of going up against her husband. The faith that she was wholeheartedly making the right decision, and was becoming usefully involved in the twins' education, was something she admitted to not feeling as if she was doing in the first episode. Arguably my favorite scene in the drama, it ends with her literally taking a sledgehammer to the problem.                                                                                                 

THE SYMBOLISM

Episode 9 is probably my favorite episode for the sheer amount of interesting little bits littered throughout the episode. While not having previously caught my attention, the amount of cut-aways to the characters’ hands is pretty noteworthy. It allows for more visual expression and a lot less saying what we can see. That being said, you’ll be seeing a lot of “may be my favorite scene” in this article. Fair warning, right? Because here is my favorite scene in the drama.

“The Winning Hand”

Good ole episode nine, at around 12:45, Seo-jin and Tutor Kim meet to discuss Hya Na's suspicious interactions with her younger daughter. It is then that Seo-jin says: “Thanks to you, I’m holding a winning hand”. In the shot, Tutor Kim brings her hand above the table and interlocks her fingers. For something so simple, I spent the next few minutes either laughing at that brilliantly subtle dig, or just the show of brilliance in general. Effectively, what is communicated here is simple. Madam Kim is the only one in this slanted dynamic with the winning hand, her own to be exact. Through her silent hand, she has, and already had been winning in her goal to slowly destroy Seo-jin and her daughter's lives.

The show itself even recognizes these subtle hints: the episode’s end credits are completely occupied by pictures of hands, from Ye-Seo and Hye Na's handshake to the very shot of Tutor Kim’s clasped hands.

THE MIRRORING

On a more ominous front is the foreshadowing that plays out in the mirroring of Myung Joo’s (Youngjae's mom) and Seo-jin’s interactions in particular when both find themselves begging at Tutor Kim’s feet. Take it as the final warning flag (just saw the latest episodes and that hysterical laughter Tutor Kim went into may have upstaged this.) that an unpleasant ending is afoot. With various similarities for the framing of the actors that each time places Tutor Kim in a position of dominance at the top of the frame, either having her look down on or being looked up on.

This same mirroring is also used to display Tutor Kim's control over Ye-Seo.

The Conclusion

Seeing these small details and the way they are entrenched into the story of Sky Castle is truly refreshing. There is always something about seeing a well written drama also be well executed, something I feel happens maybe not so often in dramas. That being said, praise to writer Yoo Hyun Mi and director Jo Hyun Taek on crafting a truly stellar drama. Thanks for reading and feel free to share any instance of the above you've come across in the show and some of your own interpretations of them.