“The Devil’s Plan,” a reality show, has started on Netflix. MeinMMO editor Benedikt Schlotmann has seen the series and is enthusiastic. This is mainly due to the sophisticated mix of competition and human relationships.
What kind of series is this anyway? In “The Devil’s Plan” 12 people compete against each other in various games over 7 days and collect points. Anyone who has no points left at the end of a round is eliminated from the game and has to pack their things. The two losers in a round end up in a “prison” and only receive bread and water.
To be honest, the show kind of put me off at first. Because only people take part in the reality show that I, as a German, don’t even know: all stars, starlets and personalities from Korean life.
But in the end I watched the series with my partner in just a few days. Because what makes the series so brilliant is not just the really well-staged competitions, but also the interactions around them.
The Devil’s Plan has been streaming on Netflix since September 26th. There is currently a season with 12 episodes, each approximately 70 minutes long. A second season has already been announced (via Netflix).
You never know if my friend isn’t my next enemy
What makes this series so brilliant? What makes this series so clever and ingenious is the combination of competition and social interaction. The special thing is that the candidates live together in the same house between the competitions: they eat and drink together and sleep in the same rooms. This brings those involved closer together – for 7 days.
Friendships and alliances are forged here and in the end no one really knows who is friend or enemy.
The next morning we go back to the next competition, which takes place in the same building. And then the heated discussions between the players begin again:
The group formation that many people know from the schoolyard quickly emerges. The loss and elimination of a teammate is much harder because everyone has gotten to know each other at the end. Even the toughest player has tears in his eyes because you have to say goodbye to your friend who has been behind you for the last three competitions.
Because the devilish thing about the Devil’s Plan is that you end up having to betray a valued teammate in order to stay in the game yourself. And that affects the psyche of almost all players, because everyone knows that in the end only one player can win.
Also nasty: After the competition, the next step is a prize game: Here the participants then have to work together to increase the final prize money. Because suddenly the players who were previously actively fighting against each other have to play with each other again.
What I also really like is that the series completely avoids physical violence. Nobody is beaten up, injured with weapons or killed here. The series focuses primarily on mental work and the interactions between the players.
That’s probably why I’m looking forward to a sequel and am waiting for the second season. Because rarely has a series captivated me so much.
More on Netflix: You can find other good series on Netflix directly on MeinMMO in the following top list:
5 series on Netflix that you can watch in a weekend