Castaway Diva

For reasons related to sanity, this is ^not going to be a full review short post. Also, Castaway Diva is a harmless if dull show that is more of a DV PSA. There’s really not enough and at the same time too many competing threads for me to come up with a coherent review. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against social message shows—they have their place in the kaleidoscope of Asian dramas. Like Ms. Hammurabi is close to my heart even if there’s no actual plot or anything in it, or at least a plot that’s bigger than Myungsoo’s dimples. And yes, on its face, Castaway Diva is a story about surviving, beating the odds every day. I appreciate the thought that went into making Seo Mok-ha a castaway in more than one sense of the word. And I appreciated the Kang family’s story too.

However, right from the get-go the screenplay didn’t really let us settle into the story at all, or rather it didn’t let us settle into a story. The first half of Ep 1 had me thinking that I was going to be watching a gritty thriller, the second half made me correct that assumption and start expecting a literal marooned-on-an-island survival story. In reality, the story that we end up getting defies all these laughably tame even if reasonable expectations. Because by the end of the roller-coaster ride that was Ep 1, we finally land on what feels like a hazy, undefined space between dimensions—like the feeling you get when you miss a step climbing the stairs. The writers (Park Hye-run and Eun Yeol) were like “Lol, jk, we’re just messing with you. Seo Mok-ha’s story is indeed about being on an idol show”. Like, wu-wu-whaaat dawg? What am I supposed to be feeling right now? Is this metaphysical commentary or something?

As such, I am a teensy bit impatient with social message shows that don’t go beyond the surface level of “Our society has an x problem” and “it’s a big problem that we have this big problem”. Yes, indeed, it is. Humans can do awful things to each other. There are genuinely horrible people doing horrible things out there. Yes, and? Identifying the problem is Step 1. To be fair, Castaway doesn’t really bungle this plot line (looking at you, The Glory) but I really wish we didn’t have to wait all the way till Ep 11 to get a tangible, emotional, and empowering resolution for the Kang family’s story. Those scenes in the DA’s office almost overshadowed all the other episodes and plotlines for me. Not that the other plotlines were bad.

In fact, be it Yoon Ran-joo’s second wind arc, or Mok-ha’s tenacity and resourcefulness throughout, her innate honesty and candour, the way she is portrayed to be naive but never infantilized (which is refreshing, we need more MCs like her), I liked all of these angles individually…Not to mention, Eun-bin’s portrayal of Mok-ha is almost flawless; in lesser hands, such an idealized, good-on-paper character wouldn’t have been as compelling or relatable. It’s just that there are too many different threads to follow, which predictably blunts the emotional heft of the story. Admittedly there are worse, more egregious genre-mashup k-dramas out there. The disparate pieces of Castaway do sort of fit together. But barely. Some jagged edges remain, as do many gaps.

BTW, all of the main actors—Park Eun-bin, Chae Jong-hyeop, Cha Hak-yeon—have done roles that allowed them far more scope to demonstrate their comedic timing (or acting chops, even), than Castaway. Like, have you seen Unlock My Boss? In terms of storyline and plot, it’s a decent watch (a fun but skeptical look at AI—exploring the problematic ethics surrounding its use—AND A MUCH BETTER TRIBUTE TO CHO YONG-PIL. SAMDAL-RI COULD NEVER), but it’s Jong-hyeop who makes it unmissable. You wouldn’t realize looking at his extreme length, intimidating width (of shoulders) and his puppy dog eyes, but Jong-hyeop is funny AF. Like, seriously. So is Hak-yeon—he shone in his brief role as Assistant to the Regional Inspector in Bad and Crazy, a drama where everyone needed therapy, and probably did get it! Yay, rare therapy W.

It kills me that these talented younger actors don’t get enough well-written roles that will allow them to truly shine, also making for good viewing for us in the audience! It’s a win-win-win, I don’t know why there’s such a shortage of good scripts. Do you know why? Cause I don’t. I mean I can guess, but I don’t want to.

Key takeaway: Moon Woo-jin is all grown up, huhuhuhuhu

Hello, My Twenties!

But of course, the gulf separating these other shows and Castaway in terms of quality and characterisation is not all that much. Except in Eun-bin’s case, where there is indeed one show that is leagues and leagues above any other series she has been in (the ones I know of, at least). If you really want to see a coming-of-age story that does justice to Eun-bin’s talent as an actor, can I recommend BOTH SEASONS of Age of Youth/Hello, My Twenties? Yes, that’s right, not Attorney Woo (I haven’t seen it, but I don’t need to see it to know that Eun-bin deserved a Baeksang not for Attorney Woo but for Hello, My Twenties). She is phenomenal as Song Ji-won. I mean, altogether great casting, but Eun-bin stands head and shoulders above her peers.

I am personally incapable of reviewing Hello, My Twenties (Writer: Park Yeon-sun). I love it too much. Both seasons, although if I’m being completely transparent, S2 a little more than S1 (I’M SORRY S1 I LOVE YOU TOO, A MOTHER LOVES ALL HER CHILDREN EQUALLY). Instead, I can brokenly offer a nowhere-near-exhaustive list of some of my favorite storylines/moments from both seasons.

1. The Yi-na-Ye-eun rivalry at the start of S1 that eventually blossoms into a close friendship.
2. The juxtaposition of Yi-na and Jin-myung’s choices in life and how they learn to appreciate and sympathize with each other.
3. Yoon Jin-myung’s journey in both seasons as she navigates poverty, loss, death, love, and yes work too. Also how she’s the de-facto mom of the group
4. Literally every second Song Ji-won is on the screen—her carefree, jokester, bohemian, free-spirit-I’m-in-my-hoe-phase-wannabe, braggadocious, compulsive lying ass-self… like I cannot tell you how much I love this character.
5. Yoo Eun-jae’s tiny fish in a big pond but with a dark past and her series of firsts as she slowly, and bumpily, settles into college/hostel life. Her being a diminutive, nervous, and shy person in general but also the bravest in an emergency.
6. Ji-won’s and Sung-min’s bickering, just… this is how you write a slow burn, okay team? Take copious notes. Frenemies to something more? arc…Idk, it’s implied but never confirmed (WHICH IS THE CORRECT BEHAVIOR).
7. The legendary funeral scene. Need I say more?
8. The outtakes after every episode—especially when they use it to make tongue-in-cheek, meta references to the show itself. For e.g., when in S2, Eun-jae admits sheepishly that she’s “changed a lot” because in reality, they changed the actor? I died.
9. Jo-eun being such an ODOROBOL softie, which is basically the gentle giant trope but female and MAN, DOES IT WORK! Ever so well. Really, excellent, top-tier writing.
10. Continuing the theme of “the firsts of youth”, Eun-jae’s (first) break up which so perfectly captures the turbulent messiness of young love—whether it be the lack of maturity to accept endings or the lack of wisdom in letting people go, but eventually acquiring both and growing as a person—it will immediately take you back to your own youth when you were so dramatic and every setback seemed like the end of the world. Unless you are in your twenties right now, in which case, it gets better, child.
11. The entire Asgard/Heimdall-kpop idol subplot. I mean, Eun-jae’s heartbreak may have made me tear up a little, but the episode where Ji-won and Jin-myung manage to get Heimdall a farewell performance? I bawled.
12. Ye-eun and Ho-chang’s unlikely pairing and in general Ye-eun’s journey of self-actualization does such a great job of showing us that love comes in many shapes and sizes and will often take us by surprise and teach us things about ourselves we didn’t know before.

There are probably tons of other moments, like Ji-won’s attempt to invite all the local stags to a house party, or Yi-na driving to the airport (in fact, that entire Ep 1 of S2 was a TRIP) but yeah, I will stop here because when it comes to describing the things you love, less is more. Because you want others to discover those joyous moments for themselves. I will say, however, that I wish the show had been more categorically pro-LGBTQ. But even the antagonism/ambivalence towards a potentially gay person is not out-of-character because Ye-eun is slightly prissy and Eun-jae is parochial/ignorant in many ways. It’s safe to assume that they will both likely get over their prejudices and become better people eventually. Plus, the writer was also trying to make a point about gender expression and sexuality which, you go, girl, I’m with you 100%.

Oh, and, Hello, My Twenties also has an IPV angle, and while every such story is different (and no matter how extreme, it’s never the victim’s fault), I do feel good writing helps to avoid stereotypical and reductive portrayals of abusive relationships, so that we’re better able to appreciate just how commonplace and normalized such violence is. Also, the lasting impact on a person’s physical and psychological health is not something that can be neatly resolved by the end of the story in a sterile, happy ending. Hello, My Twenties is a perfect example of how a show can handle such sensitive topics without compromising it’s overall light-hearted, feel-good vibes. Precisely BECAUSE it doesn’t shy away from exploring the multitudes we contain, how our good and bad experiences interconnect and seep into each other. The end result? A wonderful, heart-warming tale about the healing and succor to be found in friendship and community.

Maybe someday when I watch it all again and I’m capable of more objectivity (probably in like 20 years from now) I might attempt to write a more critical review/glowing tribute.

Anyway, BYE.