I'd argue that holding rats for lab experimentation is animal abuse. One gets injected with something but nothing happens to it. So on-screen there is no "real" animal abuse, at least it is not portrayed.
Timestamp: 1:21
Brief shot of a bloody tail on a road which implies that the animal has been run over and killed. Said animal gets buried and later dug up. There is no actual shot of the dead animal though and we don't see what animal it was.
Timestamp: 1:21
Brief shot of a bloody tail on a road which implies that the animal has been run over and killed. Said animal gets buried and later dug up. There is no actual shot of the dead animal though and we don't see what animal it was.
The main characters father is abusive and in one scene you can hear him and the mother talk about her wanting a divorce. He is emotionally and financially abusing her. This isn't portrayed though and can only be made out from that one small conversation.
One character is said to have committed suicide but we later find out that it was a lie.
Another main character frames her death as suicide, she is alive though and only faked it.
No throat mutilation but there are two separate scenes where a knife is held to someones throat. Nothing happens though.
E7 17:25 and I think in the 15th or 16th Episode
Obsession is one of the main themes of the show. Stalking however isn't present a lot. The main character steals data from the other main characters phone though and tracks her location through her phone without the other one knowing. This is also a form of stalking but "traditional" stalking as in following around does rarely occur.
Right at the beginning of the episode there are some shots of the ocean but only the shore and beach is shown, no underwater shots.
A few minutes later from 6:38 to 7:38 there are underwater shots with some tense/chilly music. The main character is submerged in the water and sinking. She does however, not struggle to breath or anything like that. The water and scenery is merely there to show how her mind is focusing on studying now due to the enhancement drugs she took just before.
Timestamp: From 16:26 to 17:27; Flashback of the main character getting beaten up by a bunch of bullies from her school. Rather graphic and very cruel. She is burned with a lit cigarette. The scar from said burn can be seen multiple times throughout the show.
I would argue that Jay exhibits abusive behavior by being controlling and obsessive. This behavior is learned from her father but is a lot less worse than his. It is still problematic. Seulgi does not seem to suffer under it directly though.
Most prominently seen in E14 12:23
The main characters sister seems to suffer under some sort of mental illness, though we don't know what exactly. She experiences memory loss and is anxious. It could be PTSD.
The main characters father is emotionally and sort of physically abusive. He is extremely controlling and pits his children against each other in order for them to work harder. Furthermore, he makes the two children hit each other as a form of punishment.
The controlling behavior can be seen in multiple episodes but it's arguably the most obvious in E8.
S1 E7 Around 3:14
Another side character has an abusive mother. She starves her child in order for her to look good in child actor auditions and prohibits her from eating which results in a bad eating disorder. This abuse is only portrayed in this specific scene.
This is a main theme of the show so if pill usage triggers you I'd advise to skip this one since it contains drug use in basically every episode.
The drugs are treated as normal and casual too since everyone in the school is very used to everyone taking them to withstand the pressure and to achieve good academical results.
The drugs are enhancement drugs which help the characters to stay awake and focus so they can study more and better.
A main theme of the show as well. Multiple characters show signs of addiction throughout the series, like having to up their dosage, anxiety and withdrawal symptoms when not taking enhancement drugs.
Timestamp: From 16:26 to 17:27; Flashback of the main character getting beaten up by a bunch of bullies from her school. Rather graphic and very cruel.
At around 28:10 the same scene is referenced again through some short shots and the original audio from the scene.
From 6:38 to 7:38 there are underwater shots with some tense/chilly music. The main character is submerged in the water and sinking. She does however, not struggle to breath or anything like that. The water and scenery is merely there to show how her mind is focusing on studying now due to the enhancement drugs she took just before.