“When The Stars Gossip” Episodes 1 And 2 Review- What An Impressive Feat In Editing BUT Surprising In…

After what could only be described as an eternity, “When The Stars Gossip” finally aired on tvN! So how was the premiere? Let us discuss!

I was very excited about the drama and I recall I was under the impression it would air in 2024, but its been getting delayed forever and I think its due to its setting. It cost around 50 billion won which is over $30 million and its the 1^st ever kdrama to be set in a space station.

So it was likely not an easy feat to get this off the ground but it finally aired and I must say, I enjoyed it way beyond my initial expectations but upon just some reflection on some lines in the drama, I am simply puzzled. Overall, I choose to remain cautiously optimistic about how it will end up.

So, let us begin with the script and the core of the puzzled expressions I had. Its written by Seo Sook-Hyang, who wrote “Don’t Dare to Dream.” I don’t recall being particularly happy with that drama…. She’s also a woman, we’ll discuss why some thought she was a man below.

If I recall correctly, I had issues with how obnoxious the characters were in that drama and how borderline unbearable they became as time went by. I also recall not being quite happy with how the relationships progressed in the drama too. But, I could be wrong on that, its been such a long time.

What reminded me of this was how this time too screenwriter Seo Sook-Hyang seems to also want to explore similar themes, so both lead characters are in relationships with other people and from the hints of it, it seems unserious on the woman’s side but a bit more serious on the man’s side.

Gong Ryong doesn’t seem to be motivated by money to be exact and I believe he deeply cares for Choi Go-Eun, otherwise he would have never entertained this idea to begin with. You don’t just go to space if you’re not serious to a degree about her. You could just die up there, they’re dating to get married.

Things seem slightly more casual with Eve and Dong-A, but we’re not sure yet.

I see this as a huge sign for significant conflict in the future, I think it’ll drive a good portion of the drama’s run time.

I would love for both our main leads to be precise, clear and communicate properly with their partners before they begin anything, and I Hope we don’t see the screenwriter scurry around that and muddy the ethics of it.

I wonder to what degree the plot will take place in space, I am guessing something will go wrong during the 7 or 8 days they’re supposed to be there because the editing and post-production for this drama took this long due to the setting.

Now onto my issue and surprise with the script. The lines uttered by Gong Ryong were surprising to say the least. So, in the 1^st episode he says, “I attended private afterschool academies, received a perfect score on my CSAT, went to medical school, then saw women’s uterus everyday and delivered babies everyday.”

He also says, “The uterus of my mother and the aunties were like alcohol but were comfortable and warm. The breasts of my aunts were drenched in cigarettes but were very big and safe.“

I’d expect such lines to be written by a man in his 40s or 50s, not a woman. This on its own is weird.

There is also a particularly weird storyline in the drama, not that its bad just weird. Gong Ryong says he remembers all his moments in his mom’s uterus and since his birth… I just thought the edition of that was odd on so many levels and just the addition of it seems unnecessary too. It was weird, like…. where are you going with this? You could say he studied hard and was smart and wanted to help women deliver babies without making it weird in the beginning, I just don’t get it, maybe there is an explanation for this later on in the series.

Let’s see how Korea reacts to this. I would also say this is the screenwriter’s most daring script to date. I didn’t expect it to not censor, but I watched it on Netflix, so we might have two different versions in this case. I’m not saying that not censoring is bad; it was just surprising.

Now onto characters. I must say, I am very intrigued by the characters. It will be very interesting to see how these characters interact back on earth and I hope our main leads don’t infuriate me too much. I also liked Min Ho’s acting here and thought he suited the kinda clumsy all-over-the-place character and I am pleasantly surprised he played a ‘poor’ character role.

What also surprised me was the light tone for the drama’s premiere. Most information was conveyed to us super fast with a lightheartedness that doesn’t always go well with how serious some of the topics are. There is a certain lightheartedness when addressing certain issues but I don’t have enough scenes to judge it too harshly yet, let us see how we go from there.

Overall, “When The Stars Gossip” is an interesting drama, and a feat for Koreans in terms of the CGI used to make it work. The editing team worked so hard and I can see it through the screen.

Have you guys seen “When The Stars Gossip” premiere yet?