MaryMeKpop

I’ve been so busy catching up on my recaps for “Love Scout” that I almost forgot that this other drama existed. But I managed to make some time to finish episodes 5 and 6 for “When the Stars Gossip” and came away still enjoying what I saw.

It was fun to watch the two latest episodes because it allowed Gong Ryong to step up and pull off some shenanigans again. Eve ended up discovering that Gang-su was operating on human eggs out in space which greatly upset her as it’s illegal to do so. Eve ended up throwing away his work which diminished any hopes of Min-jeong becoming a mother. Go-eun’s father fell sick in disbelief and anger and it seemed as if all hope was lost. But good thing Gong Ryong kept the other 3 eggs that belonged to Min-jeong and was able to successfully inject her husband’s sperm into the eggs. I have to say, the last 10 minutes of episode 6 that focused on Gong Ryong’s operation felt like it was out of a movie. It was so interesting to watch and it was quite the experience. It wasn’t just that Gong Ryong only had 3 chances to get things right. The drama decided to amp up the risks and suspense even more by 1) unexpectedly having Eve show up to their room which disrupted his operation for a few minutes and 2) having Gong Ryong fail with his first two attempts. Though I do feel as though the drama can drag out certain scenes in one sitting for a little too long (to the point where you just sort of want them to move on to the next scene), the operation scene at the end of episode 6 was pretty well executed. Did it feel like forever? Yes. But that was only because I wanted to know if Gong Ryong was successful with his final attempt and not because I got bored or was disinterested.

With Gang-su out of the picture, now Go-eun’s dad and Min-jeong will have no choice but to go back to Gong Ryong and rely on him for any chances of Min-jeong having a child. Go-eun’s dad treated Gong Ryong carelessly and threw him to the side once he thought he could rely on Gang-su. But Gong Ryong continues to win in the end and he’s the last hope they have in getting what they want.

I look forward to watching Eve slowly develop feelings for Gong Ryong. We saw the two share this excitement about the concept of life and bringing lives into the world. For Gong Ryong, that’s why he’s an obstetrician-gynecologist (OB-GYN) and for Eve, that’s why her research mainly revolves around testing that theory out in space with mice. He’s really the only one who’s as excited about her project as she is so she searched for him when she got good news related to her project. She was also hurt when Gong Ryong expressed his disappointment and frustration with her after she disposed of Min-jeong’s eggs. Along with having something in common with Gong Ryong that they’re both passionate about, Eve also discovered that Dong-Ah, the man who she had been talking to, had a thing for Tae-hee. That one’s gotta hurt because Eve not only was betrayed by the man who she had feelings for and was interested in but the woman who he got involved with is someone she knows, is familiar with, and relies on professionally. Eve will now pivot away from Dong-Ah (as she rightfully should) and maybe this will cause her to pay more attention to Gong Ryong. It seems as if she’s already started to feel differently towards him. She used to not care about him like that before but now he’s the first person she looks for when she has good news or she gets hurt when he tells her he’s disappointed in her.

It wasn’t cool that Gong Ryong confessed his feelings for Eve while he was still in a relationship with Go-eun. But at least he admitted his honest thoughts to Go-eun afterwards and told her that he didn’t want to be with her anymore. I don’t think his feelings for Go-eun were ever really sincere. I don’t think their relationship was built on love and trust and sincerity. They were interested in each other and also saw how being together could benefit them in their own ways which is why they started dating. I can’t quite confirm that what Gong Ryong feels for Eve is sincere either (I think he’s more serious about his feelings for Eve than he is about Go-eun) but I need a bit more convincing from Gong Ryong that he’s genuine about Eve. I think his confession was one thing that the drama may have rushed on just a little too soon because we had just barely scratched the surface into their relationship and then Gong Ryong dropped the love confession to Eve just a few days in. I get that he’s impulsive and hard-headed and he does what he wants to do, but narratively his confession happened just a little too soon.

The last thing I want to discuss for this weekly review is my opinion of the low ratings. “When the Stars Gossip” recorded its lowest rating yet at 1.8% for episode 5 and then 2.9% for episode 6 which caused it to drop to 4th place. The low ratings brings up the interesting discourse around casting popular names and assuming that the drama will be good (because why else will these bigger actors be taking on the project) or that the drama will still be immensely popular even if the quality isn’t necessarily there due to star power (see: “Queen of Tears”). In watching “When the Stars Gossip”, I can understand why the drama isn’t as popular with the public. It’s a little different from what we’ve seen before in K-dramaland. It’s a sci-fi drama which is a genre that South Korea hasn’t explored as much or as often. The directing is cool but it can also be a bit wacky sometimes (example: episode 5 of Santi and Seung-joon imagining themselves with a ton of money due to their knowledge of Mina’s winning lottery ticket). Then there’s also the crazy moments in the script (example: Gong Ryong suddenly rescuing Eve outside of the space craft when her life was in grave danger and she was close to dying). There are things happening in the drama but because the drama primarily revolves around the group being out in space, there’s only so much that it can do or focus on. I do think it was okay to have higher expectations for the drama because of the cast as well as the director-writer combo whose projects include notable ones like “It’s Okay to Not be Okay”, “Encounter”, and “Pasta.”

With all of that being said, if I had to describe “When the Stars Gossip” in one word, I would say the show is unique. It’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. But that doesn’t mean that the drama is the worst thing ever. Because it isn’t. I plan on continuing to watch this drama because I still enjoy it to some extent and I’m curious to see what direction the show goes in and what else is going to happen next. Gong Ryong only has a few more days left in the space station. Is he going to return to earth and if so, what’s going to happen there? Or will something go wrong that causes Gong Ryong to somehow stay in the space station for much longer than expected? What’s going to happen to Eve and her relationship with Gong Ryong? Hopefully, the drama maintains its current pace and doesn’t completely go off the rails. I’m not so sure how much better the drama can get and how much more it can elevate since we are already 6 episodes in. Maybe this is just how the drama is going to be. But as long as it stays this way and doesn’t dip, then things should be okay. There are still things to look forward to with this drama.