MaryMeKpop

I like this one. I really kind of like this one!

I’m starting off the year with ‘When the Stars Gossip’ starring Lee Min-ho and Gong Hyo-jin. Gong Hyo-jin plays Eve Kim – a commander of a space station while Lee Min-ho plays Gong Ryong – an obstetrician-gynecologist who encounters Eve Kim on the space station as a tourist and has a secret project to carry out.

I’ll be honest – the first episode didn’t really do it for me and I had my doubts about the drama. I wasn’t so sure what type of drama it wanted to be, what tone it was going for, and really what was even going on. But the second episode provided more information and details on Gong Ryong’s secret project that he was to carry out in space which answered a few of my questions that I had after watching the first episode. The drama had to sell me on why he was on the space station in the first place and what the context behind his story was. The second episode did all of that and so much more which was why I found myself a fan of the drama after finishing episode two. I felt much better and more optimistic after finishing the second episode. 

What could a doctor be doing out in space with a bunch of other scientists who each have their own reason and purpose for being out there? What does he have in common with them, if any? What kind of purpose or value does he provide to the group? And as we saw in episode two, Gong Ryong is not new to saving lives. He’s saved plenty of lives before and he did the same in episode two – except not with a human being but with a mouse. And this mouse was integral to Eve’s research and project. And just when other people in the group were keen on getting rid of the mouse and had given up hope on saving the mouse’s life, Gong Ryong didn’t. He applied the experience and knowledge that he learned from his time as a doctor and applied it in this unfamiliar setting. He was able to accomplish something that had never been done before – he was able to successfully perform surgery and save a life while out in space. With this achievement that no one was sure was going to succeed, Gong Ryong proved everyone wrong.

The mouse procedure was my favorite moment of the first two episodes. It was so impactful on so many levels and illustrated various points (even if it wasn’t the most believable and realistic thing in the world, lol). One of them being Gong Ryong’s value and worth in the group out at the space station. Up until that point, everyone kind of perceived him to be the odd, silly, and clumsy outsider who struggled with zero gravity. They weren’t familiar with his skills, knowledge, or experience. They didn’t know what he was capable of. But the successful operation on the mouse showed what he could do. As he had done many times before, he could save lives. The second aspect about the mouse operation that stood out to me was how it served as a catalyst to the foundation for Gong Ryong and Eve’s relationship. Her work revolved around the mouse and she believed it was incredibly important in saving the mouse’s life. Not only was Gong Ryong able to save the mouse’s life – he was able to save the mouse’s life by working with Eve and giving her instructions on how to do so. They were able to collaborate and work together. This was her project and Gong Ryong proved that he cared – not only for her but also for her project. Eve expressed her appreciation, gratitude, and excitement for Gong Ryong after by hugging him and allowing him to speak to her informally (she gave him permission to call her Eve and not Commander). It’s as if the wall that had formed between them before finally broke down with this successful operation. I anticipate seeing the two much more comfortable in the upcoming episodes now that Gong Ryong has proven how helpful he can be to Eve and his willingness to help her out in any way that he can. Lastly, the successful surgery with the mouse illustrated the theme of a life for a life: in the same way that Eve saved Gong Ryong’s life on the space station, he returned the favor by saving the mouse’s life that was crucial to her project. There were other reasons as to why Gong Ryong took up the challenge (he wanted to get back at Gang-su for his demeaning comment and wanted to prove himself to the group) but I liked that there was this common theme of life that was introduced in the first two episodes. 

The drama has a whole lot going on both inside and outside of the space station. There’s the group in the space station and each of their projects (I wonder if the drama will continue to explore each character and show the group encountering issues with each of their projects like how we saw in episode two with Eve’s project). There’s also Gong Ryong’s secret mission with the whole sperm and egg situation which relates back to MZ Group and his connection with not only his girlfriend, Go-eun, but also with Go-eun’s father. As if things aren’t chaotic enough, Gong Ryong also has to put up with Go-eun’s ex-boyfriend Gang-su who’s also on the space station with him. Thennn there’s also Eve and her romantic relationship with Dong-ah back at the headquarters. But we all know that Eve and Gong Ryong will eventually fall in love with each other so that will just complicate everything even more and it’s going to get even messier than it already is. But boy oh boy, it’s going to get spicy and I’m going to be seated for all of that when it does go down.

I also have to commend the director for the way that the drama is filmed and shot and edited. It was so interesting to watch the group in the space station navigate and move about in the space craft. It can be tricky filming locations that are essentially a closed space and still try to be engaging, intriguing, creative, and cool. The director of this drama was able to successfully direct the drama in a way where it was effective in telling the story but also was pleasing to the eyes. I also think music played a big part in defining each moment, scene, and story. Music and songs in dramas in general play a big part but the background music in this drama just elevated each scene even more and showed you what type of scene it wanted to be. I wasn’t left guessing if a scene wanted me to treat it seriously or comically and a big reason for that was because the background music helped me out in determining that.

While I started off with some hesitance and doubts after episode one, episode two proved to be much much better and helped alleviate many of those doubts. It was so much stronger by providing more context and information behind the characters. It was also able to capture the highlight and biggest moment of episode two in a captivating and impactful way that will eventually serve as the foundation for blooming relationships in the space station. I don’t know how the drama plans on keeping the attention and interest of viewers for 16 whole episodes given how it primarily revolves around the space station (at least that’s what I assume it will be for now). But I’m happy to say I was satisfied with what we were shown in episodes one and two.