MaryMeKpop

Just when you thought this drama couldn’t get any crazier, it does. You thought the first 6 episodes were already crazy enough and then the drama got even more wild and went in a direction you never thought possible. “When the Stars Gossip” is so unhinged and it has no chill. Absolutely no chill. It just keeps going and going and doesn’t know how to stop. But even with how crazy this drama has been so far, at least it’s also been somewhat entertaining.

Things got dangerous again in episodes 7 and 8 after some debris from a collision forces our space crew to evacuate in a separate space craft. But Gong Ryong being Gong Ryong, he risked his life to save Min-jeong’s eggs and was left behind on the original space craft. This prompted Eve to go out to save him. She risked her life in the process (she was almost killed by the space debris) but she managed to eventually reunite with Gong Ryong. By the end of episode 8, it was just Eve and Gong Ryong – naked and alone in the space craft, inching closer and closer to their deaths as they waited to be rescued.

The ending to episode 8 was funny to me even though it wasn’t trying to be funny. I was just laughing at how ridiculous it was. To be fair, the drama had been hinting at it with the beginning scene in episode 7 so when it actually did happen in episode 8, I somewhat sort of knew the drama would go there. It’s just the picture of Gong Ryong and Eve doing it out in space while naked that made me laugh. They really did have a “idgaf” attitude and went all out. Forget the fact that they were about to die and be eventually found naked. They decided that if they were going to die, they might as well go out with a bang.

But even as funny as the ending to episode 8 was, I actually thought these two latest episodes improved from the earlier episodes. The main reason being because something finally happened again. I realized after watching episodes 7 and 8 that I actually think the drama could have been a better and stronger drama had it decided to just go all in on the space station premise and exclude any of the MZ Group stuff. If Gong Ryong had just been an astronaut like the rest of the crew and then we follow their journey out in the space station and watch as they try to survive in all these dangerous types of situations, it would have made for a much better watch. But the drama decided to force the whole MZ group sub-plot which 1) dragged things out for way too long  and 2) just isn’t interesting enough.

Episodes 7 and 8 were interesting. You were on the edge of your seat because the crew was in danger and Gong Ryong was left behind with no success of communication and little to no chances of escape. The suspense, the anticipation, the action, the intensity of the situation was gripping and this is what the drama should have focused on from the beginning. But instead, the drama decided that the MZ group sub-plot would be the central storyline and took up the majority of the screen time in the first act of the show. Who wants to watch a show centered around a storyline that involves characters who we don’t care about and shouldn’t root for? I could not care less about Go-eun or her dad or even Min-jeong. The drama never gave me a reason to root for them or to be invested in them. I want to see more of our space crew and them doing their work or them rescuing one another because their lives are always in constant danger being out in the vast space. There were ideas and concepts and themes that “When the Stars Gossip” could have gone with. It wanted to be a sci-fi drama with the whole space station setting but it also wanted to throw in the wacky MZ group eggs sub-plot which just didn’t work. It wasn’t effective. The drama showed that it wasn’t really capable of balancing both. You can’t have one foot in one storyline and then one foot in the other. The meddling between the two just ruined things altogether.

Eve and Gong Ryong’s relationship was solidified in this episode and they finally were on the same page in terms of their feelings for each other. I thought the reunion scene between them in the beginning of episode 8 was sweet. The relief that they felt when they finally locked eyes was impactful because Eve risked her life to come back and be with Gong Ryong. She had no idea if he was still alive or not at that point but she went back anyway. Then all that terrified Gong Ryong could do was just watch Eve slowly make her way to him. He felt powerless at that point because there was nothing he could do. Additionally, I liked the confession that Gong Ryong said to Eve in episode 7 as she was “asleep.” He said to her,

“When we’re back on Earth and standing on solid ground, let’s go out for meals, movies and walks, just like everyone else. If it rains, let’s get wet and let the wind blow us over. Let’s go on dates like they do on Earth. When we get back, I’ll be good to you. Once I set food on solid ground, I can be good to you too.”

The confession would have been great if it came at a later time when there was more of a solid foundation and basis to Gong Ryong and Eve’s relationship. I mentioned this in my previous reviews for the earlier episodes but Gong Ryong’s initial confession of his feelings for Eve came too soon. They had only been together for a few days in the space craft at that point and didn’t know each other all that well. How could Gong Ryong already have developed feelings for Eve? There was no proper build-up to their romance so when episodes 7 and 8 decided to ramp things up between them, I didn’t really feel anything. If the drama spent more time in planning out their relationship, the confession scene in episode 7 and the reunion scene in episode 8 would have been so much better. It would have been so much more emotional. So much more impactful. The scenes individually by themselves were great but the timing in which they happened wasn’t. The drama was speedwalking through Eve and Gong Ryong’s romance and just wanted to skip to their dating phase without putting in the effort and work to get there.

As many flaws as this drama has, I do like the way they implemented some flashbacks here and there. I think this drama would have benefited by throwing in more flashback scenes of our crew or Gong Ryong training and preparing for the mission. I liked that we got to see Gong Ryong and Eve’s first interaction and introduction to each other. We even got to see a bit more of Eve when she had her TV interview (with a special cameo by Jo Jung-suk. Their interview scene at the end of episode 7 was so cute and funny!). I’m just so interested to see what it was like leading up to the trip out in space. What did the characters do? How did they prepare? What other training did Gong Ryong have to go through? I really wished the drama could have explored more of this.

But I like that at least some of the space crew is back on earth. We will finally get to see them in action on land which will provide a nice change of scenery and pace. I imagine that Dong-Ah is going to fly his ship out to save Gong Ryong and Eve (because of course he will. This drama has no limits. Anything can happen in the show LOL). And then once they’re rescued, things will get messy when Gong Ryong and Go-eun reunite. Also, I have to commend the director for the end of episode 7 when Gong Ryong realized he was left behind. It was pretty cool to see visually and it gave me the chills when Gong Ryong came upon this realization. Then Eve’s rescue scene in episode 8 was also pretty cool so the drama seems to be excelling visually with the cinematography and directing.

“When the Stars Gossip” isn’t the strongest or greatest drama out there (I have a feeling that a lot of people will be turned off by what they saw in episode 8 if they haven’t already been) and there were a few times myself where even I was confused on how to react to what I was watching. There were a few times where I asked myself what I was watching or what was going on. I laughed at certain points because the drama made me flustered or baffled. But hey, I appreciate that “When the Stars Gossip” gave me a heads up after watching episodes 7 and 8. I am a bit fearful as to how far it’s going to go because I have no idea what it’s going to do next. I guess we’ll just see once we get there.