Celebrity (Season 1): Recap & Ending, Explained

Celebrity (Season 1): ‘Celebrity’ is a series that portrays our current world – a world filled with social media influencers and their power over public opinion. The show also delves deep into the behind-the-scenes of an influencer’s life. The connections, the likes, the followers, and more and what that means to the audience. It also portrays the role of these followers in shaping the influencer’s lives and vice versa.

This article contains spoilers.

Celebrity (Season 1) Recap:

Episode 1: #get_famous

The episode opens with our lead, Seo A-ri (Park Gyu Young), photographing food in a restaurant. She is a social media influencer with over 1.3 million followers. She says that her one post made huge profits for that restaurant. Seo A-ri promotes many products and has her own product. A-ri goes live in a factory and tells her followers the story of her popularity. Before she became the most popular social media influencer, she was a door-to-door salesman selling cosmetic products. But she grew up with a silver spoon as her family was rich.

When she was 18 years old, her family business came crashing, and her father died, putting her mother and her to fend for themselves. One day, while running errands in a luxurious store, she met her childhood friend Min-Hye (Jeon Hyo Sung). Min-Hye believed A-ri had gone to an Ivy school and was still rich and popular. She tells her that she would brag about her to her friends. Min-Hye invites A-ri to an influencers’ party, and she goes out of curiosity.

Meanwhile, the hottest feud on social media breaks out between Biniimom (Jin So Yeon) and Wang Ro-La (Han Da Gam). It was rumored that Biniimom and Min-Hye were buddies, but Min-Hye started looking down on her after gaining more followers. The online fight got serious, and the Gabin Society met to discuss what could be done. The Gabin Society comprised top influencers whose names had come up during this feud. Chae-Hee (Han Jae In) wanted to sue Biniimom, but Si-Hyeon (Lee Chung Ah) did not think it was necessary.

A-ri attends the influencer party, but before entering, she encounters Jun-Kyung (Kang Min Hyuk), who she mistakes for being a pervert. Jun-Kyung gets confused about A-ri for Si-Hyeon. A-ri threatens to report him, but after he gives his number willingly, she decides to let him go. A-ri’s mother runs a tailoring shop in Gangnam, and A-ri wears one of the customer’s designer clothes. At the party Min-Hye brags about A-ri’s Ivy League education and her popularity. Chae-Hee and Si-Hyeon enter, and Si-Hyeon recognizes A-ri’s dress. A-ri finally confesses to the group that she had gotten into Ivy League but had not gone, and she excuses herself to leave.

Biniimom tries to enter the club but is refused. She eventually enters and slaps Min-Hye, telling her that she is nothing and taking her name off the list. We cut to all the influencers panicking seeing A-ri’s live. The episode ends with A-ri mentioning her life, indirectly asking the other influencers if they were shocked to see her alive. A-ri especially mentions one famous user and accuses this user of attempting to kill her.

Episode 2: #following, follower

The episode begins with A-ri on the path to expose the world of social media influencers. She is on a livestream, telling her audience how these influencers gain fame and money. The Gabin Society worries and wonders if she had pre-recorded the video, but Si-Hyeon tells them she is responding to live comments. At the end of the live stream, A-ri mentions how celebrities buy followers, the other processes behind the scenes, and how the human mind trusts these influencers and celebrities.

We get a flashback to the time before A-ri became popular. Si-Hyeon visits her mother’s store and discovers that A-ri had worn her dress to the party. A-ri apologizes and offers to pay, but Si-Hyeon refuses and tells her that she intends to throw it away. A-ri gets a call from a manager of a marketing company, who explains to A-ri that he sees potential in her and tells her that everything is a business in an influencer’s life. He also asks her if she knows how Biniimom and Min-Hye had risen to power and fame. Min-Hye is worried about her reputation because the party and the other members of the Gabin Society are ignoring her. She hosts a party and invites everyone.

We get to know that Jun-Kyung and Si-Hyeon knew each other from college. Jun-Kyung wondered why A-ri was not responding to her DM. Jeong-Sun (Park Ye Ni), A-ri’s friend, asked her to post pictures on her social media as she gained followers because of Min-Hye. Min-Hye gets to know about A-ri’s life. She takes her to her store where the party is happening, pulls A-ri into her live stream, and helps her sell her make-up products. A-ri gives Min-Hye a reality check, and they fight over it. A-ri recalls her high school days when she was rich, and Min-Hye was not. Ari gets a call from the police asking her to come to the station. She visits the station, and the cops tell her she wastes their time as the matter seems personal. It is revealed that Jun-Kyung had called her to the station.

Episode 3: #likes

The episode begins with a flashback of Jun-Kyung and A-ri at the police station. Angered, Jun-Kyung provokes her, and A-ri says she would like to file an official police complaint against Jun-Kyung. In the present, A-ri is on a live stream talking about likes and their impact. She talks about a flame war she instigated out of anger targeting the members of the Gabin Society. In the flashback, we see A-ri get curious after she receives many followers and collaboration offers. She visits Ju Seung Hyeok (Moon Tae Yu) to get advice. Seung Hyeok gives her a taste of what the influencer world looks like outside of money. A-ri recalls all the times the Gabin Society had humiliated her. She finally reaches out to Seung Hyeok, telling him she is in. Seung Hyeok calls Min Hye and asks her to be A-ri’s new best friend (for social media). Min Hye hates the idea, but she agrees to bring her reputation back.

A-ri visits the pop-up store that Min Hye was hosting, and this is the first post of A-ri officially entering the influencer world. Ari is surprised by the number of people liking her style. Some of her followers were ready to buy from a local and cheap store just because A-ri was wearing it. Min Hye is jealous but does not show it. After the event, she is treated like crap by Min Hye. Si-Hyeon invites the Gabin Society to her charity event. At the event, A-ri realizes that Min Hye had called A-ri to clean up but not to participate. Si-Hyeon was kind enough to let A-ri sell her products but was humiliated by the Gabin Society. Out of embarrassment, she rushes out but falls, and Jun-Kyung helps her; the crowd is surprised that they know each other.

Chae- Hee pesters Jun-Kyung about how he knew A-ri, but he does not answer and asks Si-Hyeon to join them. In the present, we see the cop reaching out to Min Hye to ask her about A-ri, and she loses her mind and says awful things about A-ri. Si-Hyeon decides to go to the police to investigate A-ri’s death, and he livestreams it. The entire Gabin Society stops her to remind her that A-ri had messed with everyone, including her, even though she had her back. The episode ends with A-ri questioning herself if she was a bitch as people online claimed in her livestream.

Episode 4: #lets_connelt

The episode begins with A-ri facing backlash because of her infamous post throwing shade on the members of the Gabin Society. The members of the Gabin Society show off their perfect life and answer questions about the post that A-ri had made. They tell her to post off as an act of jealousy. A-ri’s followers drop, and her manager shows A-ri the social media account made to hate on her. Ari is shocked and disappointed.

A social media account with the famous name reaches out to her and offers to help her. Ari takes the offer, and her follower count spikes. Ari asks who the person is, but they say it is not unimportant and want to help her. Jun Kyung asks to meet A-ri, and she tells him that he had decided to withdraw the case because she did not know who he was and realized that she would not win this fight. He asks her to go out with her as he has a nickname, “princess maker,” because he would date people below his stature.

We see the Gabin Society members, especially Chae-Hee, angry as Jun Kyung has created a social media account just for A-ri and has followed her. Min Hye is worried as the Gabin Society is ignoring her and has warned her to clean up the mess since she was responsible for bringing A-ri into the Gabin Society. Chae-Hee tells Si-Hyeon that maybe Jun Kyung was doing “it” to A-ri, implying probably that he had done something with Si-Hyeon.

We see A-ri doing a lot of sponsorship activities, and her followers reach close to 100, 000. Jun Kyung’s company was launching a new product, and A-ri was invited as one of the influencers. Song Yeon-Woo, a famous TV personality, meets Chae-Hee at the event. After she sees A-ri, she snubs Chae-Hee. Si Hyeon asks Jun Kyung not to play with A-ri’s feelings as she is kind. Chae-Hee creates a scene by calling Yeon-Woo and A-ri a nobody, and A-ri later thanks Si Hyeon for stopping Chae-Hee. Si Hyeon tells her she had created a social media account just for A-ri, and it would be nice if they could connect.

In the present, Si Hyeon tells the police officer that A-ri was a nice girl until she did something. We also see other members of the Gabin Society calling A-ri a murderer on their live stream. In A-ri’s Livestream, she talks about what it meant to connect with someone on social media, but we do not really know what the other person is thinking about, and she also mentions that she was responsible for a man’s death.

Episode 5 – #pandoras_box #the_world_they_live_in

The episode begins with A-ri’s livestream, where she promises to uncover some scandalous secrets about the lives of these influencers. Min Hye visits Chae-Hee and tells her that because of all their livestreams, more people are watching A-ri’s livestreams. In the flashback, we see A-ri meet Jun Kyung, but Jun Kyung is disappointed as she brings her friend to the meeting. She agrees to go to his place for lunch and declines his offer of dating as she has different preferences. Ari receives a call from Angela asking her to meet. Angela tells A-ri that Chae-Hee is ready to put aside the differences and she should meet her the next day.

Bbbfamous gives more details about all the influencers’ past lives, and A-ri asks who this person was, but they refuse to tell her and inform her that they have her back. Ari gets to know that Angela used to be a call girl before. Ari decides to make it big by earning her place and not by being fake or cheating people. She decides to open an online thrift store.

A-ri reaches the place Angela had called her from, and on arriving, she realizes that Chae-Hee was unaware of the meeting. Ari decides to leave, and Angela stops her and informs her that Chae-Hee would calm down. A-ri enters the room to find Chae-Hee high on drugs, and in that state, Chae-Hee uploads a picture of her and A-ri. Si Hyeon was meeting with Jun Kyung, and Si Hyeon decided to tell him why she broke up, but her husband came in. Si Hyeon sees this image, and they rush to the club.

A-ri decides to leave, and Jun Kyung, without knowing the entire story, tells A-ri that he also does not want to date trash like her. Once they enter the room, they learn that a man is dying from a drug overdose. When A-ri tries to contact the police, she is informed that even though she did not take drugs, she will not get away with things because she was in the same room. She was asked to run away from there. The episode ends with them exiting the building through the back door.

Episode 6: #sorrynotsorry #life_is_unfair

The episode begins with the cop investigating the case as he goes to his superior, asking to investigate the drug case. He hints at the officer being close to the law firm Si Hyeon’s husband works at, and the officer gets worked up. Ari, in her live stream, asks if the audience thought that they knew these influencers were trouble or if they were shocked. In the flashback, we see A-ri trying to call the cops because of the night with drugs, but her friend interrupts to give her good news about her thrift shop doing well. A-ri meets Si Hyeon, and they clear things out, but her husband comes to A-ri with threats to sign an NDA. Jun Kyung and Si Hyeon take her side.

Jun Kyung visits Tae-Jeon (Si Hyeon’s husband) and tells him to clean up his mess and not involve A-ri in anything. A-ri’s thrift shop is doing very well, and Min Hye plans to stop A-ri. She visits the Gabin Society and asks them to relax as she takes care of A-ri. A-ri’s business hit when Min Hye contacted Hwang Yuri, who runs Besta Room, to make A-ri’s products exclusive. Outside the manufacturing unit, Park Gyeong-Bae hears about A-ri’s business and is shocked. Ari finds out about this and confronts Yuri. Yuri does not back down, and A-ri takes Bbbfamous’s help to call Yuri out on her past. In a game of cards, A-ri tells her that she bet on the amount she charges VIPs to sleep with her. Yuri is shocked to see the amount of information Yuri knows.

Episode 7: #what_a_hotmess #turn_the_tables

In this episode, we see A-ri take on her livestream and explain to her audience the power of influence within the influencer community. She tells them that despite the community being against her, she has decided to fight back and use every cheat code. In the flashback, we see Park Gyeong-Bae, who used to work in A-ri’s father’s factory, offering to help A-ri with her business as he had a factory. Min Hye was celebrating as her plan to ruin A-ri was successful, but A-ri fought back.

Ari is not reachable to anyone, but she blackmails Angela and gets invited to the famous Balmain event. Ari shows up to the event wearing a rare piece of clothing and befriends the most popular model Choi Bom. Choi Bom promotes A-ri’s online store on her social media, and A-ri’s business takes off wonderfully.

Yu-Rang is getting closer to discovering what happened at the club. Tae-Jeon is losing his cool as the man who overdosed seems dead. Ari reaches out to the marketing team of Jun Kyung’s company for a collaboration. Si Hyeon seems jealous about A-ri and Jun Kyung’s relationship. At the meeting for the collaboration, Jun Kyung accepts the proposal and makes a move on A-ri. Ari is infatuated with Jun Kyung, and they kiss.

Episode 8: #hierarchy #the_world_we_live_in

The episode begins with A-ri talking about the exhaustion that comes with the online world. She tells the story of the events that led to her life turning upside down once again. In the flashback, we see A-ri living a lavish life. She was bombarded with sponsorship ads and more. She was not inclined to do many ads but wanted to focus on her company. Without her knowing, A-ri was changing and had said a mean thing to her friend. She gets invited to a charity event at the same club where the drug case occurred. The reporters ignore Min Hye and rush to capture images and talk to A-ri. A-ri seems close to Choi Bom. Chae-Hee is jealous and tries to create a scene but makes a fool of herself.

Jun Kyung and Si Hyeon talk, but they hear a commotion and rush there. A-ri also reaches the place, and Si Hyeona and A-ri discover that the man who had overdosed had died and his sister was looking for him there. Min Hye tries to overhear Si Hyeon and Tae-Jeon’s conversation. Jun Kyung expresses his need for A-ri. A-ri gets rude messages from bbbfamous, and A-ri refuses to accept bbbfamous’s ridiculous requests.

A-ri gets collaboration requests from a Chinese e-celeb. She is in joy. Meanwhile, the famous reaches out to Chae-Hee and asks her to reveal one piece of information that can help eliminate A-ri forever. Someone had posted information about what had happened at the drug incident with images of Chae-Hee and A-ri. Tae-Jeon is trying to clean up social media. Jun Kyung is trying to reach A-ri, but she is not responding. A woman enters Ari’s store and expresses how happy she is to meet A-ri.

Episode 9: #truth_wins #spill_the_tea

The episode begins with A-ri doing her livestream and addressing her audience about the influencer world-drugs, connections, mysterious deaths, and murders. Tae-Jeon is furious to see A-ri’s livestream blowing up. Min Hye is consoled by her husband, who tells her that Tae-Jeon would clean up the mess just like he had done in the past. We cut to a flashback; the woman who visited A-ri was Wang Ro-La. She says things that seem familiar to A-ri and asks her if she is famous, and Ro-La does not seem to know what that is.

Ari cracks the deal with the Chinese e-celeb, but her heart is not in it. Jun Kyung visits Tae-Jeon and asks him to clean up his mess, but Tae-Jeon retaliates. Tae-Jeon returns home to find Si Hyeon, doing the same thing to him, and he loses his temper. Ari expresses how she feels to Jun Kyung, and he reveals what was going on online about the leaked drug case.

A-ri’s mother accuses Jeong-Sun of making money using A-ri’s name. Ari comes to the store that night to find her doing exactly that. Ari and Jeong-Sun argue. Just before they go live with the Chinese e-celeb collaboration, a cop visits to meet A-ri to talk about the rumored drug case. A-ri goes ahead with the stream, and they sell 1 million pieces of clothing. A-ri’s marketing manager visits Jun Kyung, talks about collaboration, and informs him that he could not reach A-ri. A-ri visits the police station to reveal the truth about that night at the club.

Episode 10: #get_your_popcorn_ready

The episode begins with A-ri narrating the incident to the cop. A senior cop informs Tae-Jeon immediately, and the cop is transferred. A-ri, on her livestream, tells her audience that they would be entertained because she was going to reveal the truth about the misery she went through. In the flashback, it is revealed that Min Hye had posted about the drug case. Ari meets Si Hyeon and informs her that she had mentioned to the police what she had witnessed and did not intend to take Si Hyeon with her as she had respected her. Bbbfamous reveals the chats to the Gabin Society. Min Hye fabricated the chats and uploaded garnering hate towards A-ri. A-ri decides to do a live stream to clarify all the information.

Tae-Jeon visits Min Hye and asks her to fix the mess she has created. A-ri starts the livestream and is about to reveal the truth, but her mother and her friend see Min Hye’s livestream, and Min Hye blames everything on A-ri on Tae Jeon’s demand. A-ri’s gets all the clothing people had purchased. A-ri’s brother tells her that the cybercrime department has found the people who had created hate accounts for A-ri. Jun Kyung and Si Hyeon decide to go against Tae Jeon. Tae Jeon asks his people to hurt Jun Kyung, and he meets with an accident on the way to the police station. A-ri visits the police station to find Jeong-Sun as one of the people who had created hate accounts in A-ri’s name. A-ri is in a state of shock.

Episode 11: # but_she’s_dead

In this episode, we see A-ri showing her disappointment in Jeong-Sun. Jeong-Sun confesses that she is jealous of A-ri. A-ri reached the hospital but could not see Jun Kyung, still unconscious. A-ri breaks down. A-ri gets another bad news that Gyeong-Bae has committed suicide and left a note for her. A-ri is devastated. She decides to pay for her choices and attempts to commit suicide, but Si Hyeon stops her.

In the present, Si Hyeon asks for a divorce from Tae-Jeon, and he threatens her, but she is firm about her decision. The cop convinces his senior to take up the investigation based on the livestream and informs him that three months ago, A-ri had reported, but Tae-Jeon had covered up the case. A search warrant is issued for Tae-Jeon’s law firm and the plastic surgeon’s clinic. Min Hye visits A-ri’s mother in prison to find out about A-ri’s whereabouts, and her mother cusses at her, saying she was the one who had reported her for tax evasion and killed her daughter.

The cops find out the location of A-ri’s livestream, and so do Tae-Jeon’s men. They reach the location, and the cops surround Tae-Jeon’s men. A techie calls Jun Kyung and gives him the exact location of the livestream; Jun Kyung reaches there to find out that the one doing the livestream is not A-ri and is confused. We go back to the flashback where A-ri informs Si Hyeon that she wants to take everyone down, and before that, she has to pay for her sins, and she drives herself into a body of water.

Episode 12: #nowhere #but_everywhere #like-you_and_me

The episode begins with a massage therapist getting her hair done. The Gabin Society is gossiping about A-ri and their lives. She overhears them. She lives in a filthy way, recording conversations with people. She is nervous. All the members of the Gabin Society are arrested one after the other for all the crimes they have committed. A-ri’s brother and Jeong-Sun turn themselves in for using deep fake and inform the police that A-ri knew about the consequences of the action, and this is exactly what she wanted. They also tell her she has one final wish.

A-ri’s mother is released on probation and discovers that A-ri is alive. Jun Kyung is alive, and he makes deals with Tae-Jeon’s lawyers from the law firm to put everyone involved behind bars. While Tae-Jeon is sticking to his act of being innocent and ratting his sister out, his lawyer is helping Jun Kyung put the club’s owner behind bars. Jun Kyung visits Tae Jeon and informs him that he has hit rock bottom and will be behind bars as all his games are over. Si Hyeon helps A-ri find famous and confront her. At this time, A-ri finds out Jun Kyung is alive, and they reunite. Ari informs Jun Kyung about her whereabouts as she does not want to worry him. Si Hyeon shows a fan account with 3.9M followers waiting for A-ri’s return. Ari is tempted but holds back.

Celebrity (Season 1) Ending, Explained:

From Likes to Lies: Can A-Ri Overcome the Traps of Fame? Who was famous?

It turns out famous was none other than the massage therapist. She was also part of a congregation, and she heads out with the members and listens to them gossip about A-ri. We learn that her name is Eun-Chae. Eun-Chae would use her job and social circle to listen to everyone’s secrets, go anonymous online, and try to ruin everybody’s lives by revealing their secrets.

What happened to the famous?

After being confronted by A-ri, she jumps off from the window sill, but thankfully, she is alive. She will be taken into custody as soon as she recovers. The police dug into her life and found out that she was mentally unwell as she was getting therapy for depression. A-ri learns that the only personality Eun-Chae had was by being famous. Ultimately, we see A-ri succeed in her plan and put everyone who committed crimes behind bars. The series also makes you think about our world and the things we indulge in. We also see A-ri, in the end, realize that public opinion changes very quickly, and even though she is tempted to return to the social networking world, he stops herself. The ending of the season also suggests that there may be a season 2.

Celebrity (Season 1): Recap & Ending, Explained – From Likes to Lies: Can A-Ri Overcome the Traps of Fame?