Burnout syndrome is a virulently anti capitalistic show that simultaneously also understands exactly WHY capitalism works.
While Burnout may be a BL [ and at some point this show will have its romance arc ] ; this a show about Capitalism. And while I went in thinking that the center of this show was probably Jira ...by the second episode you realise that this entire shows center is Koh.
Everyone in this show lives entrenched and enmeshed in a capitalistic framework , but Koh is the only one who thrives in it. In fact the show esp in the second episode, shows exactly how Koh is able to succeed where every other character in the show fails. And its not even a situation of moral absolutism either ; because everyone in this show has flawed morals ..there are no upstanding innocents among these people. However, Koh's complete lack of a moral framework is the key to who he is , and the show does a good job of underlining that.
Like when Pheem has to fire his entire department without any notice, you can see the hesitation . So much so , that he delays the firing just because he can't do it without psyching himself up. Without building himself up to it. His guilt is so all encompassing that he confides in Mawin [ AJ's character] almost immediately when the prudent thing would be to keep everyone in the dark. The whole thing ends wiith Pheem offering his apartment upto to Mawin till he's able to get back on his feet.
This is the reaction of a man who has some amount of a conscience. Who thinks of his colleagues as his friends and empathizes with them. This is the reaction of a man who's eaten up by the consequences of his actions on the people he cares about.
And in the same episode you have Koh in the same situation as Pheem, but here he fires Jira without so much as a passing regret. Infact Koh takes pleasure in firing Jira ....making it more about his power to throw Jiras world off its axis than anything else . He enjoys the moment he gets to fire him; savoring the moment that he gets to checkmate him in their verbal sparring match. Which is worse, because Jira is in a way more financially precarious situation than Mawin is . And Koh is aware , in complete detail of Jira's financial situation and yet , he doesnt hesitate for a second before he fires him.
This is a man who doesnt just consider the destruction he wreaks as necessary ..he takes PLEASURE in it
Like the moment he asks Pheem to fire his department
He could have had HR fire the department. He could have just sent emails to the staff. Instead he does this , specifically because he CAN. Because he knows that this will gut Pheem, that it will make him twist in the wind. But also Pheem will have to do it . Having Pheem fire his entire department on his birthday [ which he obviously knows] is like the most fked up power play I can think of. And yet , Koh does it so he can watch. So he can see just how much power he has over Pheem. Over the people in his orbit.
Also his capacity to read people is insane. He knows how much Pheem can be pushed. He knows what Thame needs to hear so that he will give him a seat on the board. He knows what his counsellor needs to hear to remain sympathetic to him. He knows how to surround himself with people who prize duty over everything [ his butler for example]. He knows EXACTLY what to say to Jira to make him want to take this job despite the secrecy of it all.
And yet, the most dangerous aspect of Koh however is none of this. The scariest thing about Koh is how he has none of the normal motivations that people have when it comes to money.
Pheem remains at his job because he loves his job to the point that it has become his identity. Pheem genuinely doesnt know who he is outside the framework of his career..its the scaffolding of his life and he doesnt know how else to envision himself. Jira's motivation is financial security [ which is a very valid motivation ] , especially when his world has been endlessly precarious for the past year or so. Even Ing's motivation is just stability and security , both for Jira and herself.
Yet Kohs motivation is to just continue the engine of whatever he is. He doesnt cut costs from greed. Instead he wants to keep streamlining his company because he has no patience with people. He wants a seat at the board of Library so he can sic his AI on its archive and throw out his designers ; because designers and their vagaries irritate him. He wants his app dev team out because its an entire department of people that he doesnt have to consider anymore. Yes, he may have a lot of money and live in a penthouse apartment but have you seen that apartment ? A bare bones bachelor pad where the only luxury is his alcohol and his giant tub. This is a man who takes a penthouse apartment just so he doesnt have to accidentally meet the occasional neighbour ..not because the luxury of it all holds any interest for him.
There was a Warren Buffett interview I read once where he's asked what his motivations were. Is it the luxury ? The power that comes with the billions of dollars he has ? The celebrity and the adulation ? Turns out it was none of them. Warren Buffett , kept winning and stayed winning at the game of Capitalism because to him money was a Scorecard. An internal scorecard of how well he could play this twisted game we call Capitalism. The actual numbers meant nothing to him. Instead what mattered is how the numbers showed him just how well he was winning.
Koh is this exact kind of monster. The one who stays winning because he's beyond greed. Beyond avarice. Beyond lust. Beyond gluttony . Beyond the hunger for power. There is nothing he desires and there is nothing you can hold over him.
Koh is the Perfect Capitalist because he's beyond morality and immorality. He's the Uncorruptible Absolute. And honestly , that is TERRIFYING.
