The thread is open.
In “Start-Up,” it was very clear why the SECOND male lead, JP, didn’t want to associate himself with Dalmi when she came looking for her childhood pen pal. He wanted to distance himself from the past when he was a poor and lonely teenager, with only the generous halmeoni to support him. He already re-invented his image as a hot-shot, super-influential, venture capitalist so socializing with a girl like Dalmi was *beneath* him.
Because he absolutely refused to meet with Dalmi and reconnect with his past, he coerced the male lead, Dosan, to go stand in his place. Ultimately, Dosan earned Dalmi’s heart.
Choices have consequences. Unfortunately, the rabid but obtuse fans of the second male lead actor didn’t understand that JP’s poor choices cost him the love of his life.
Now, in “Castaway Diva,” the screenwriter takes up the themes same again, but this time around, she gave them a different spin. Like JP, KiHo doesn’t want to have any association with MokHa. It’s clear — at least to me — why KiHo, doesn’t want to reveal himself. He’s hiding from her because of:
a) danger. He endangers MokHa and his family should he reveal himself as his father is still seeking him.
b) guilt. As WooHak likes to rub in, KiHo is to be blamed for MokHa being castaway for 15 years. He failed his mission to bring MokHa to RanJoo because he failed to stop MokHa’s father. I know it’s absurd to blame KiHo for the circumstances, especially when he did his best. But guilt can be absurd that way.
c) their promise. He wants her to escape her past and have a new life and identity, just like him. Remember what he told her, “Change your name like Ranjoo did when you get to Seoul. Forget about everyone on this island. Including YoungJu, Daewoong, and me. (grabbing her shoulders) That way, your father won’t find you. Understand?”
Essentially, he’s hiding because of their shared past.
That’s why BoGeol disapproved of RanJoo bringing up KiHo in the post-interview.
BG: Are you okay with the questions?
RJ: Yes, they’re fine. Can I add one more, though?
BG: Yes, of course.
RJ: I want to find someone with this song. He was my manager’s childhood friend.
BG: I know. Isn’t his name Jung KiHo?
RJ: So you know his name. I’d like to talk about them when introducing this song. I want to help them meet again.
BG: Are you sure it’s okay to mention something so private on TV? They may not be up for it.
MH: (running in) I am up for it! I’d totally love that.
BG: No. I’m talking about Mr. Jung.
He also dissuaded MokHa from searching for KiHo.
BG: Where’s Ms. Yoon?
MH: She’s changing.
BG: Then, please tell her to follow the script for our next live show.
MH: I apologize. I begged Unnie to say that on camera.
BG: Are you that desperate to find him?
MH: Sorry?
BG: It’s been 15 years now. He’s probably changed. Maybe he became a criminal and couldn’t reach out to you.
True. In one sense, KiHo resembled a criminal. That is, he was a FUGITIVE hiding from the police, his father.
MH: (on the defensive) Do you know KiHo?
BG: No.
MH: I do. So please don’t say such things if you don’t.
BoGeol knew he lost. Instead of convincing MokHa, he only managed to fire her up. She became more determined to find KiHo because he tried to argue her out of it.
Let’s enjoy the show!
I watched only half of Episode 5, but it looks like there is no doubt that BG is KH (unless writernim forgets all logic and common sense). And what’s more important, MH herself is starting to figure it out too.
Thanks for the update, @Snowflower. Will try to catch up with you all on Tuesday.
Have to switch gears and watch the Rowoon drama (what’s it called again?) so I can post something for the blog. Too many dramas, so little time. ⏳⌛️
Thank you for this updated thread, @packmule3. I watched episode 5, so there are spoilers below.
The uniform the father wears is because he is a security guard at a housing complex.
No, the father (Mr Jung) doesn’t have a redemptive arc. Just the opposite. He’s stuck in a delusional past where he lives with his whole family happily in a house in Seoul. The same house that appeared in Moo Hak’s dream.
Jung gets a request from a tenant to deal with some Asian hornets and says he’ll remove them himself.
He gets a visit from Dae Woong the insurance agent and former friend of Ki-Ho, and a thank you present of towels. Well meaning but not too bright Dae Woong just won’t keep schtum about Ki-Ho, saying he left not because he was scared of Jung, but because he was scared he would end up injuring Jung, so please give up on looking for him. The next time we see Dae Woong, he’s in an ambulance after a crash in which his car is full of hornets.
It seemed to me by the end of the episode that Bo Geol is aware of the father and of the family’s secrets and has been working behind the scenes to keep everyone safe. I have no doubt that anyone who gets in the way of Jung’s ideal family will be in danger. As Bo Geol said, there’s no point in going to the police – there is no proof that he intended to hurt MH and stalking has to be repetitive in order to exist as a crime. All they can do is wait.
To me, it seems like it’s time for the whole family to sit down and go over the details of the past. There’s no point in keeping Moo Hak in the dark now that he’s getting memories back and has been tailing Jung. Moo Hak could himself be done for stalking plus trespassing if he gets caught, or worse. Certainly Jung would go after the step-father who has taken his place.
@packmule3, I think you were half correct about the flashback in your comments on 3-4. It would have taken place after Ki-Ho ran away from the island, but the house where the family lived never burnt down, instead they must have fled. The father has kept it as a museum to the family. Moo Hak looks at the mugs on the rack and says, Does he have a family? Then MH sees the family photos.
I think you are correct that the family split and the father took Ki-Ho to raise on the island as he took a transfer there. When Ki-Ho finally left the island, the father pursued him back to that house where the family lived. In the flash back Jung is yelling, ‘Where is he?’ presumably to Moo Hak who seems to be the only person there.
I think the director is messing with us because Ki-Ho in the large family photo looks like Moo-Hak and the other boy looks like Bo-Geol. (BTW, I noticed that Moo-Hak doesn’t always wear his glasses when driving, so is he far-sighted rather than near-sighted?) Moo-Hak says he recognises himself in the photo, but which boy does he mean?
I agree the director is still messing up the audience pertaining the family picture but there is also a strong indication who KiHo is – he is the brother who did not have amnesia, who continued to wait for MH at the train station way past high school and that is BG. Quite “tricksy” of them to keep doing this. Also several indications on BG and MH’s conversations, too. I hope they wrap up this “mystery” soon.
On Moowak’s snippets of memory, it’s possible he got kidnapped by his father and when trying to escape, that’s when he got his head injured and had amnesia. I also noticed the mom has a limp and it’s possible that the dad hurt the mom, too. Such an awful family situation.
The ep also showed backstory of RJ’s mentor and how they left the island to pursue her stardom but at the price of his family breaking up. We also understand why they had a falling-off and why she signed up for a different company when her contract ended. The wedding performance was also good because now, RJ is not lip synching but singing duet with MH. she can still sing but not the high notes. I hope they can seal the deal of releasing her old albums to meet the 20million copies and stick it to Mr Lee!
@Janey, was it you who mentioned the possibility of a Taylor Swift situation where the rights of the masters from older albums aren’t in the hands of the current management company? I’m glad that our two singers were able to help out with the wedding, helping the Emperor of Sugar save face and allowing him to accept RJ back. A good example of the episode title, Regret vs. Pride turning what had been a regretful break up into a moment of pride.
I like the phone nicknames. I wonder what Mok-Ha will save BG as? Drone brother or something else?
Wasn’t it brilliant that BG showed up in a suit to attend the wedding? Cool headed, that one. I liked that he filmed it, too. It’s a parallel to Mok-Ha’s imagined debut in an earlier episode where she hoped Ki-Ho would see her perform.
I hadn’t really noticed that the mother limped. Well spotted. Another point against Jung.
I’m glad I’m not the only one left scratching my head after that final scene – had I missed a final reveal or not? I’m glad I didn’t go back to re-watch,
Yes – ‘tricksy’ – in a cliff hangerish way – how long will the show maintain the mystery?
I am wondering if Woo Hak lost his memory before Ki Ho and his dad moved to the island. I had assumed that the accident happened after KH ran away. Maybe the dad got transfered to the island as a demotion because of domestic violence. The incident left the mom with a leg injury and limp, and the other son with a memory loss.
Just finish ep 6, just like my prediction. Woohak memories of his dad was happened before their mom separated with his dad.
So wh never ever meet mokha in the past
I guess his mom runaway with woohak when they were in hospital. Leaving kiho with his dad.🤐 since his dad was once mentioned his wife runaway..
Episode 6 spoilers:
I really liked the scene between Mok-Ha and BG at 44.15 when she says to him, “You are definitely not him.” (Jung Ki-Ho) BG confirms this, but then gets curious and asks why. “He was unwavering and determined. He had a strong and reliable gaze.” MH proceeds to insult BG as wishy-washy, confusing, weak, pathetic and mutt-like. But BG comes right back, asking her in turn why she didn’t confront the other manager about the unfair competition.
The ending for episode 6 had me cheering for BG, Mr Black and White. I was so glad that he called an end to the singing deception. He could perceive that there was a problem between Mok Ha and Mo-rae’s manager. He managed to fix things without laying blame and with utter fairness.
As regards the wild boar, to paraphrase Pride and Prejudice: “Readers, I ate him.”
@Fern,
Laughing here at your final comment!!
I liked the scene between BG and MH that you referenced… and BG couldn’t help coming back to MK for her unflattering feedback.
Did you feel that she was challenging BG to stand up to the plate and to be the man she really suspected him to be? Why tell someone off for not being Ki-Ho unless she really thought he was.
This was a strong episode and I liked the ending too – BG the incisive, resolving a situation.
Everybody in that little family seems to be being forced to address the great compromise within which they have lived in order to survive. MH is clattering around stirring the pot!
I wonder if Jung will be caught on someone else’s dashcam putting the hornets into the car. It won’t be the cctv, because he has control of that. Which brings me to another question, if an insurance agent would never think of driving without a storage card in the dash cam, why would he leave his doors unlocked — or did I miss something?
@Kate, yes, it felt like a challenge to me as well. Well put. They both were also spurred on by the kind intentions of the mother to train Mok-Ha as a hairdresser.
I forgot to mention that BG acted empathetically to both artists. He told Eun Mo-Rae that he understood that she wanted to sound as good as possible for her fans. He told Mok-Ha and Ran-Joo, “Enough with the lies now. I get that you had good intentions and no other choice.”
He continues, “But a lie is a lie. If you keep it up, your weakness will grow and you’ll have to stay silent.” He was saying this to Mok-Ha as well as to Ran Joo, that Mok-Ha will lose her chances to perform as herself. Everything she (and he) went through to get to Seoul and to Ran Joo’s side would be for naught. Such a smart man. He stole the thunder from the R&J manager and forced everyone into a proper competition, but three sided almost. IF Ran Joo wins she will also be compared to MH.
Meanwhile the camera pans to the little reservoir that is draining away due to lack of rain. Is the reservoir a metaphor for secrets? I wonder what will be revealed by the receding waters?
Earlier, Kang Woo-Hak asked his brother if their family did something wrong – BG replied that they had no choice. This wasn’t a yes or no reply, but perhaps I’m reading too much into it. I was thinking that maybe there’s a reason why Ki-Ho in particular was targeted in the past and present so vengefully by Jung. Jung recently encountered WH and didn’t seem to care. He could have followed WH home from work. It was Ki-Ho that he wanted.
Before reading your other comments, I’ll post my impressions.
Episode 5, first viewing.
I’m thinking back to episode 4 because I was looking for a scene with Ki Ho’s father.
The sequence of scenes at the end is impressive, when Ran Joo and Seo Joon meet. And what’s in between. This drama would need to be cut into scenes to better see the techniques used (and even timecode/duration). Anyway…
So… I was looking for this info: how does Ki Ho’s father know where the meeting is at the station and at 8pm? No info in episode 4. I assumed he knew where their meeting place was. But in that case, why didn’t he go there in previous years? (assuming he found the info in Mok Ha’s bag lost in episode 1). And his message saying the time but not the place.
First scene ep 5: we discover the moment before the rendezvous! The father has to follow Mok Ha from the hospital, where he was waiting in ambush. A place where he could logically be. This tells us that the father probably didn’t know that the location is the train station!!! (when it comes to time, is it coincidence?)
Meeting Bo Geol and Mok Ha.
I used to need to analyze several scenes to know why a scene is moving, but here, the scene alone is enough (with the general background of course). It makes things easier. Good scene, to be seen again and again.
– Bo Geol saves Mok Ha (risky situation).
03:08 – Bo Geol drops her hand when she says “Ki Ho?”.
03:28 – He reveals his face, as if to disappoint her (“I’m not Ki Ho”). It works.
03:45 – A classic: Bo Geol annoyed. The person who cares about the other yells at her instead of being nice. Does this procedure have a name? He worries and yells at her for coming. A series of valid arguments. But saying that her safety is his only concern (before being nice, saying whether he’s Ki Ho or not, etc).
04:30 – Reversal: (piano music) Mok Ha responds movingly with a series of arguments showing how much she cares about Ki Ho.
The emotion is high because of what is being concealed. We assume that Bo Geol is Ki Ho. That he’s moved but has to hide it. Dramatic irony, Mok Ha reveals to him what she feels without knowing it’s him.
05:20 – Softening: (music) more tender moment, he stops being angry, gives her his green pancho.
05:43 – He tells her “Ki Ho is fine”.
Woo Hak in front of Ki Ho’s father’s apartment.
09:20 – Something tells me this scene is AAA in terms of direction. The number of different angles taken on this area. The photographic quality + various techniques.
Yong Kwan (Seo Joon’s assistant) blackmail Mok Ha.
For some reason, he’s rather neutral. He’s sided with Ran Joo before. Not here, however, he doesn’t reveal anything to Seo Joon about the playback.
He threatens Mok Ha with exposure if she causes trouble. This seems annoying because we’re taking Mok Ha’s side. But I think his arguments are fair. What they’re doing is cheating. A good conflict scene.
Mok Ha is naive, and pities Ran Joo for such a bad entourage (she should also consider Ran Joo a potential problem at this point, as he advises her)… leading to the next scene with Hwang Byung Gak [CEO of Suga Entertainment]. The transition makes us guess that he too will be a difficult case.
33:00 – Bingo (street, night) Ran Joo has hurtful words for Mok Ha.
The scene is short but excellent! With a double twist.
Invective – apology – cancellation of apology, invective.
Strong emotion follows: Mok Ha in denial.
Losing hope in Ran Joo could destroy her dream more than a shipwreck on an island?
39:05 – Ki Ho’s father puts his key under a flowerpot as he leaves for work. Strange for a former policeman… Sounds like a trap? Does he know he’s being followed? He works in private security. You could tell by his clothes. Nothing surprising or original for a former policeman.
45:00 – Daewong with Ki Ho’s father. This scene tells me that I can abandon the hypothesis of redemption. 🙂
I’m not sure of the translation, but he says about insurance: “there’s one for everyone” ???
Hu???? One insurance per person? Is he planning to kill the whole family or what?!!!
Ends with the father’s SINISTER face.
50:35 – Amusing detail, probably unimportant (like my whole comment, I realize while translating, lol): the screen in the karaoke booth shows the ocean, rocks, an island.
53:00 – I’m taking notes as I watch. (I shouldn’t and concentrate instead, but I like this feeling of sharing live).
At this point, I’d like Mr Hwang to change his mind and help Ran Joo. But most of all: for Mok Ha to sing at the wedding on his own behalf, since Ran Joo isn’t there (and can’t do it).
I didn’t pick up on the details, but I think the screenwriter created this anticipation through various touches.
57:20 – It gets even better than that! A real duo. With the idea of “voice make-up”. I have trouble discerning, but in this case, they can harmonize like this: Mok Ha takes the high part (difficult) while Ran Joo can sing in the heart of the low part (without the risk of crashing).
A strange detail (plot-hole?): Why didn’t HWang notice Mok Ha’s voice?
1:02:30 – Technique of cutting a scene in two. We didn’t have Hwang’s answer before. Just an assumption that he would accept. But the truth is in this flashback, continuing the scene.
1:04:20 – Moe-ra. I feel like I’ve seen her before in the drama, but not sure. She leaves writing “f-u-c-k” with pistachios. Another diva…
1:09:00 – The dramatic intensity increases severely, with life and death at stake. Assassination attempt on Daewong. Of course, we guess that it’s Ki Ho’s father, since he was talking about hornets in an earlier scene.
1:14:45 – It’s confusing. We don’t know who Woo Hak recognizes. And when Bo Geol comes, not sure what the line of dialogue is. He asks why he’s with his mother? Who’s who?
AND OF COURSE: very annoyingly for us, the audience. Bo Geol says NOTHING!
Otherwise, we could already guess that it was their mother, and that she had remarried.
Episode 6, first viewing, impressions.
01:45 – BoGeol on the road, at night.
Although the two events are unrelated, we see the police cars, to remind us that Daewong’s murder takes place in the neighborhood. Okay, he’s two steps ahead and already knows where his father lives.
03:30 – Mok Ha asks the mother “do you know Ki Ho?”
She’s lying like Bo Geol. She lies very well!!!
But insistent shot of her guilty face as she climbs the stairs.
04:50 – Bo Geol promises Woo Hak that he’ll reveal everything!
I have my doubts. Will he? Or will something else prevent it?
The father returning home? For that matter, why did Woo Hak come at night, when the father sleeps here? Or does he work nights? Am I missing something?
05:05 – Flashback with the two brothers.
This episode follows on strongly! Plus the scene seen in vision by Woo Hak.
Woo Hak takes the chair to the head instead of Ki Ho!
And that’s it, the mystery of who Ki Ho is is over.
– What remains to be seen is what Ki Ho is doing on the island, etc.
11:05 – Voice over from Mok Ha, about secrets not to be revealed.
Why are we shown a swamp? Is there a corpse under the water?
26:00 – Cheating, playback singing.
They continue… I wonder:
What’s this weird TV show where they sing locked in a booth?
But I just figured it out: People vote for the best singer, without knowing if it’s today’s or yesterday’s singer. So inevitably, the singer has to be hidden. Aaahh. It’s so convenient that this show works the way it does…
33:45 – Mok Ha cheats but isn’t happy…
… when things don’t go her way. What nerve.
So she demolishes a garbage can!!! ahaha! She’s definitely a diva. 😀
37:00 – Ran Joo goes to the doctor for her throat.
She’s in good health and wonders why she sings so badly.
HEY-HO!!! Has she been doing vocal exercises since the beginning of the drama?
No. She never practices. Lazy. Virtuosity requires regular practice.
38:30 – Flashback to Ran Joo and his producer.
Her albums hadn’t been selling for a while. Big financial loss.
Moe Ra is the new goose that lays the golden eggs.
Next: thanks for the flashback recap. Indeed, Moe Ra was the girl who signed in place of Mok Ha. But not as good as her. A good motivator for nastiness: feels belittled for always being second.
45:30 – Bo Geol and Mok Ha on the roof at night.
Here, the twist comes when Bo Geol accepts her idea of not being Ki Ho.
But then… Hey… It bothers him. Would like to know why.
The scene turns to comedy, when Mok Ha lists why he can’t be Ki Ho.
“You’re bland and confusing. A mutt crying helplessly in front of a puddle.”
48:30 – Mok Ha’s nightmare #2.
Ki Ho’s father is a wild boar chasing her.
55:30 – So, the screenwriter needs an excuse…
… To get rid of the TV show’s producer. 🙂
So that Bo Geol has to replace her for a while.
It could have been a car accident, but it turned out to be an appendicitis attack.
56:00 – I missed the part where Mok Ha learns to drive…
A little spice in the scene, when Moe Ra arrives.
The usual vexations on all sides ^^
1:00:45 – Confrontation between Moe Ra and Mok Ha.
The scene transitions meant that the boar was associated with Ki Ho’s father.
But Mok Ha voice-over says she interprets Moe Ra as the boar. Strange.
1:07:30 – With Bo Geol as producer, justice reigns!
All live. Mo Rae, on a diva’s whim, refuses, leaves.
Same goes for Ran Joo. No more cheating! ahah!
Voice-over and view of the MARECAGE. No plot on this, seems just a symbol of something slimy like lies.
@Fern. Yes, I was under the impression otherwise, but it seems to be that way.
Father and mother separated, but the father has custody of Ki Ho. So Ki Ho fled the island, went to his mother. But the father came here looking for him. He got into legal trouble after sending Woo Hak to hospital (chair beating). Then he was dismissed from the police force.
@Lovebangwon. Gosh, you’ve got me doubting again…. But the first solution makes more sense to me with the narrative, because Bo Geol says that afterwards, thanks to Woo Hak, they could all forget. This foreshadows the two brothers living together with the mother right afterwards.
STOP STOP. Just review the scene.
It does seem an established family scene. Ki Ho is accused of saving money. Things look right before the island, but I can’t find any evidence. And how would he then go to the island with Ki Ho after assaulting Woo Hak? Is it blurry on purpose?
Another inexplicable thing…….
Good afternoon, @WEnchanteur. Marecage would be swamp. To me it looked like a pond or water storage area (reservoir), but it would certainly become like a swamp if the water level got low. So you got an eerie feeling about it as well?
As to the family scene where Ki Ho is accused of stealing, then saving money. He was doing it on the island as well, but kept it hidden better and gave it to Mok-Ha when they parted. Do you remember BG telling Woo Hak that the laws had changed? We could see that back at that time, the police didn’t punish domestic abuse. Jung may have got a slap on the wrist/transfer to the island. He was very good at justifying and self-defense. He didn’t get fired until the time Ki-Ho left.
I haven’t done any rewatches or pauses but from my run through watch I understood it to be
KH and WH lived with mom and had WH hospitalized-Mom wasn’t yet? WH is hospitalized. Maybe another attack (mom gets injured) while he is hospitalized so KH and mother go to island with a plan for her to leave and go back to WH and KH will keep father occupied and then make his way back to mom. Which he eventually does and that’s when they tell WH the fabricated family story.
Where did the new dad come in the picture? Why would the mom let KH be alone with the dad?
I’m probably way off 😂 but my 10 year old is watching along with me and that’s her understanding as well. And she called BG as KH from the second episode so maybe she’s got good instincts
Oh and I did notice the call back to the working for the dad’s birthday gift part. No wonder it set the dad off for KH’s island beating. It was also nice to see WH in his protective elder brother role in the past.
I just realized my first post is jumbled. To try and clarify,
Mom, dad and 2 sons live in city. WH has chair injury and is hospitalized. Mother may or may not have limp let. During the hospitalization, there’s another incident and KH, mom and dad move to island possibly while WH is still in hospital. There’s another incident (maybe when she gets the limp ?) and KH gets mom to run away to be with WH and he stays behind with dad with plans to find them in the future. Which is what he does and it’s when he meets WH after his discharged.
@Fern, yep. When the pond is fully dry, I expect to see a corpse here. ^^
This place screams: “hey, dive a murdered one into me, I’m welcoming for deads”.
@Fern, yes it was me who mentioned Taylor Swift regarding her re-release of records at former label. Storyline is quite relatable to current news. ☺️
happy that RJ was able to mend her relationship with her mentor. She also realized she was doing the same thing to MH, lashing at the people closest to her when she was hurting.
@WE, I have to rewatch but I think KiHo’s dad knew the meet up at station because of the song. RJ explained she made the song for them and had sone details on the train station meet-up.
Ep 6 is great setup for the turn of the story – we (audience) know who KH is. Everyone is stepping up to the plate to clear the lies, misunderstanding and secrets. Great job by BG to maneuver this. Even the reservoir shots is a setup. A body will most likely be found? Maybe the person who they got the identity from?
@WEnchanteur, you make the hairs rise on the back of my neck! Or if not a body, some other sort of incriminating evidence.
I was pondering – what would I do with a giant boar if I were all alone? A few days of barbeque and then, what, Jerky? Preserve in salt water?
@fern – roasted pig or lechon for me! 😁 Preserve in salt water for samgyupsal! Rub salt and air dry as well.
@Janey, but so very much work, when you think about it! She wouldn’t have a butchering knife even. Yes, samgyupsal with the pork belly, eating as much of the fresh meat as possible before it would go bad. Possibly smoking the rest/drying it if she had the ideas and ability. There was no way she could let it live: it would dig up the potatoes and other plants she had been eating.
@WEnchanteur, I didn’t think of the parallel of running from the dream boar and running from Jung. The only reason is that in the preview from episode 5, Mok-Ha was shown saying that Mo-rae was like a wild boar that invaded the island. So I had that in mind already. But I really like your image: that Jung will have to be trapped somehow in order to bring him to justice, as the wild boar was tricked into a pit he couldn’t leave.
I liked that BG gave the memory stick to WH so WH could honestly tell Mok-Ha that he had seen Ki-Ho and that was the proof. He ad-libbed the bit about Ki-Ho being married to further prevent MH from continuing her search.