To My Star Season 2: Our Untold Stories (2022)

life changed (again)

i have so much to say but ill try and keep this short and sweet

i really didn't think s1 could be topped but damn they did it. the chemistry, the story, the ost, the writing this show had me LOOSING my mind every sunday. i have not seen a drama stir up this much of a conversation and had people having such a range of emotions to each of the characters. there were some people that didn't like the realisticness of this season, saying that there should be more cute shows however personally i loved it. this season explores trauma, human emotions and mental illness in a very matter-of-fact, sometimes so relatable its somewhat startling to the viewer.

though i won't give any spoilers the story telling was so good and the thing uncovered near the end was somehwat surprising but very welcome. the cinematography was gorgeous, some of the shots of the town and the camera placement in scenes told a lot about what was going on & characters emotions. there was also so many references to s1 both big and small they made me go crazy. the ost was SO pretty and the fact that woohyeon composed multiple songs and he even sang one completely melts my heart.

just by the first episode i was once again completely and utterly invested in seojoon and jiwoos story. kangmin and woohyeons chemistry and acting this season is JAW DROPPING they genuninely have the best chemistry i have ever seen in a drama let alone a bl. there were definitely points i hated both their characters but after an episode or two the thoughts behind their actions come to light and it becomes very clear they are both just somewhat scared kids who were treated too harshly by the world. and those kids found eachother and found comfort in eachother. sure they went through a lot but in the end they realised being apart was never going to work. they are eachothers 'one'.

this show really gave me so much energy to get through the month and just got through life in general lmao it may sound dumb but it really did . i do not think ive ever been this invested in a show and i watch a lot of shows and get very easily invested. they made me feel so many emotions, put me through stages of grief but also made me the happiest ive been in a long time (it may sound sad but its true). my notes app is filled with analysis, and this is the type of show that is meant to be analysed. to be able to understand the characters and their action you need to really think about it, and theyre such complex characters its interesting and fun to do so. ill never stop rewatching it nor loving it. i could talk about it for hours and hours and no matter what it will always have a very special place in my heart.

i can now die happily knowing kang seojoon and han jiwoo are living happily in their silly litte seoul apartment being soulmates.

i could say so much more but i think thats enough for just a review. please please if you have not watch this beautiful show.

(btw if you dislike tms or this season more specifically you are just simply wrong idc)

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Not for the faint hearted.

I’ve been holding off disclosing my true feelings regarding To My Star 2. This is probably because majority of the fandom are set on one opinion I don’t entirely agree with,. This is, that people are satisfied with both the ending and pace of the series.

I want to start off by saying that I enjoyed a lot of the aspects of season 2. However, I’ll remain firm on my belief that we can still enjoy things that are open for critique. Even though I’m happy with certain things about the ending, especially the level of softness/fluff we got in the last two episodes - their reconciliation seemed rushed considering we were put through unnecessary amount of heartache (watching only through Seojoon POV in the first 6 episodes). Therefore, my opinion on the pace of the series, as a whole, is nuanced.

At the beginning, some part of me was sure that the reason why Jiwoo behaved the way he did around Seojoon, and that his POV was purposely held off for so long, was because there was a huge secret he’d been keeping - that there was a solid reason behind his harsh words and actions. But revealing it too early would’ve disclosed too much.

However, after more clarity in episodes 7 & 8, we understood that there was a different reason for his sudden departure. Number one being the fact that both of them had conflicting personalities and different perspectives. And number two, Jiwoo left because he felt an enormous amount of loneliness around Seojoon during their relationship. It sent him on a self-imposed guilt trip, having put his ex-girlfriend through the same unpleasant feeling, and going down a destructive spiral of self-loathing and depression.

Now, disregarding my previous theory of “there must be an ulterior motive behind Jiwoo’s actions,” I was somewhat happy that the central focus for Jiwoo’s reasons, was simply (not so simply), the deterioration of his mental health instead. It was refreshing to see something like this be addressed in a BL series, having gone through my own mental health struggles in previous and recent years.

I understand that people struggling through poor mental health, sometimes have a compulsion to hurt and push away those who are the closest to them for illogical, and sometimes no particular reasons. I get this, having imposed some of that hurt on other people, myself. However, we shouldn’t stir too close to the idea that just because someone’s fighting a battle with their inner demons, their actions/words should be excused. There’s no excuse for cruelty. And, given the fact that there was no ulterior motive behind Jiwoo’s disappearance, I would’ve preferred the introduction of his POV a lot earlier for the sake of not building too much negativity around him.

Don’t get me wrong, I have liked both Seojoon and Jiwoo equally - even before they got together in season one, where we understood them as individuals first e.g. their personalities and quirks. TMS and TMS2 hits differently compared to other series, because it’s the first one where I’ve found a lot in common and empathise with both protagonists.

But in my opinion, we were in Seojoon’s POV for too long. So naturally: the hurt, frustration and overwhelming sadness he felt, wasn’t easy for some of us to let go, even after Jiwoo’s POV was revealed in small flashbacks and episodes 7 & 8. It wasn’t easy to let go of the fact that in every episode leading up to no. 7, Seojoon’s heart crushed a little on itself - especially after the ‘friends with benefits’ scenario was put forward and, more sadly, the point where he hit rock bottom and was willing to change everything about himself that bothered Jiwoo - in order to still be with him.

That’s not to say Jiwoo’s heart wasn’t breaking either. Up until episode 7, and ‘reading between the lines,’ his struggles were shown more subtly through his body language and exchanged looks, when he tried to deny his true feelings. His lack of communication/inability to express himself properly at the beginning of the series, was only a true and raw reflection of what most of us struggle with in real/daily life. So I applaud the director for addressing it. But he also had a whole year away from Seojoon to take a breather and figure things out (yeah, I know some people spend a lifetime doing this). However, with two weeks after the finale was released, I’ve yet to come across a complete and satisfactory explanation as to why Jiwoo was so horrible to Seojoon.

There were also some concerning things that I’m not happy with leaving hanging in the air i.e. the fact that Seojoon wasn’t able to eat and sleep properly when he was separated from Jiwoo, only for his eating and sleeping habits to get better after their reunion. I know this can be common in some people who find difficulty handling break ups (especially one like theirs). But it’s still alarming the extent of dependence he had on Jiwoo. And no, this shouldn’t be played off as something romantic like, “they can’t live without each other,” because this statement can be equally worrying as well. Couples should have a modicum of independence in their relationship as well. And of course this wasn’t addressed properly as well.

Some people in the fandom are completely satisfied with how things ended, and that’s ok. We’re all going to have subjective opinions regarding this, just as with fictional books. I’ve acknowledged that after their reconciliation in episode 9, it was evident that they both put more effort into making things better. Jiwoo was apologetic and concluded that there was no perfect person and, therefore, no perfect kind of love while striving to be more open about his true feelings. They both learned each other’s love language. He became more vocal about his affections towards Seojoon, while Seojoon became more frequent in his physical affections towards him. Where one made effort to visit their apartment in Seoul more often, the other visited the village more often. The little montage of them taking turns being the other’s ‘pillow,’ was a reflection of how they’d become capable of compromising with each other.

However, the way I would’ve had it if there was money in the budget, is to include everything above - but to extend the series by at least 14-16 episodes so it wasn’t crammed into two episodes. If the reconciliation was half way through (ep. 7/8), they could’ve had more time to heal before, or even after they got back together - considering how severely they were both effected by their first break up. In my opinion, this would’ve been a better way to address their mental health struggles and open discussions about it in real life as well.

Circling back to the fact that, in order to pull off a satisfactory ending, I believe Jiwoo’s POV should’ve been revealed early on, for the sake of more character development in himself and Seojoon. In saying all this, I know we all fuck up some times, especially in relationships. Life isn’t perfect, so the imperfectness of the way things are handled i.e. messy break ups, potential reconciliations and mental health struggles, should be reflected in the shows we watch as well. But it all comes down to how it’s done.

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Sequel topping S1. Superb!

I re-watched S1 before watching S2, just to see if my original rating (7,5) would stand. It did. I liked the cuteness and sweet interactions. I was expecting something similar for S2 (I try to avoid spoilers as much as I can). But I was in for a surprise. The bittersweet heartache starts in the first minute and hardly lets up until the forelast episode. Where I loved Ji Woo and loathed Seo Joon's railroading him in S1, it was the reversed in S2. Ji Woo is being a closed up a**hole and Seo Joon is trying with all his might to save their relationship and show his love. His honesty and candor are heartmelting and I could not understand how Ji Woo could resist. The slow meltingf of the ice wall Ji Woo has around his heart is shown with great subtlety and the hardening of Seo Joons heart made very clear. In the end I could not see how they would ever get back together and feared for a BL-style weird plot-twist, but I'm happy to say that the way they ultimately find each other is so raw and emotional, it simultaneously broke and healed my heart. I loved it.

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Surprisingly better than season 1

Trust me. I am totally unexpected that the season 2 of this drama is much better than the previous season. I was initially confused by the scenes and the plot in the start of this season in which the two leads broke up. After the episode 1, I thought this season would fail. But, but, to my surprise, the following episodes makes me feel the characters, their emotions and the reason why they break up more deeply. I smiled and cried with them. This reflects real life situations. The plot is beautifully written, the acting is marvelous as usual, and the casts and crew did their job really great. Although this season is deeper and darker than the first season, I have to say this is one of my favourite BL dramas of this year.

P.S. Yoo Ha (the little girl) is so so cute. She is the heart of the series. :D

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perfect sequel to To My Star (and probably the best sequel to ever exist)

When I first heard about the synopsis I was already making up my mind and lowering my expectations that this season would be just as awful as all the other sequels. There would be some stupid cheating plot and miscommunication, and it would be frustrating to watch and could've been resolved easily if the characters would just talk for two minutes. I was worried that this sequel (like so many other sequels before) would butcher the characters for easy drama and make me hate them. But what I actually got was... so much more profound and better than I expected.

Story: At first it may sound out of nowhere and odd that Jiwoo just up and left to go to some tiny village to open up a restaurant. But it makes sense when you think about it. In season one you can already see that Jiwoo is more the type to suffer in silence and run away and isolate himself once things get too much for him, which is exactly what happened here. This season stays beautifully in character and doesn't once feel overly dramatic or forced. Jiwoo sure did cause me a lot of frustration because of how he treated Seojoon. And I know that many expected a big declaration of love and Jiwoo on his knees begging for forgiveness, but that wouldn't be in character, since Jiwoo has trouble expressing his feelings and that's why I find that scene perfect. The show took its time without it seeming too lengthy. While the make-up scene is handled rather quickly, it doesn't feel rushed at all.
At first it seems very unreasonable for Jiwoo to just cut Seojoon off and throw away everything they've built for each other, but the more time passes the more you find out what led Jiwoo to do such a thing. And you slowly learn to understand his character more and more. And the way they resolve their issues was beautiful. The show didn't end with them making up and everything being fine. Jiwoo voices his concerns about their future almost immediately and they talk it out. They make compromises and communicate and that's how they make it work. Neither of them has to give up their life or their profession and that's actually a perfect ending. They can both still pursue their jobs and keep their homes. And the show manages to convince you within just a few minutes that they will make it work. I'm also glad that we get to see the story of the side characters (some of which we already know from season 1). They go on their own little journey and find their way in this world, making new plans for the future and finding love and friendship.
This ending leaves you both happy and sad. Happy, because it ends perfectly, and sad because that means we have to say goodbye to our beloved characters.

Acting/Cast: As always, the acting was superb. The cast is perfect, and I wouldn't change a thing. There are a few new faces this season and they make you like them almost instantly. They manage to make you interested in their stories. It's amazing.

Music: I think that music and soundtracks are actually one of KBLs strengths. I have yet to watch a BL where the soundtrack wasn't at least decent. And the music in To My Star season 1 was great and season 2 surely didn't disappoint.

Rewatch Value: I know that since this season isn't Jiwoo and Seojoon being happy 24/7 isn't going to make people rewatch it a lot, but I think that you should at least watch this season twice. This season has a lot of rewatch potential since it completes the story of the characters and now you know how things will play out you will see a lot of the scenes in a new light and you will be able to understand the motivations behind the character's actions more. Also, when you rewatch season one now you can already see the little foreshadowing and the little hints that lead to everything that happens in season two, which I think is always a great thing.

Overall: I think Hwang Da Seul and the rest of the cast and crew did an amazing job once again. And I am so grateful for this season and how things played out. This sequel is proof that there can be a sequel that deals with issues that are realistic, not out of nowhere, and don't involve cheating. And for that alone, I am glad.
I definitely recommend it to anyone who has watched season one.

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I wish I didn't watch this

Don't get me wrong, I still love this couple and the first season will always put a smile on my face. However this season did the exact opposite. I don't think I was happy for a single scene in this season and I truly wished I could forget this season happened and go back to my happy couple days. I actually hated what they did to HJW character and I hated him for everything he did to KSJ. I also hated how KSJ still loved him and forgave him despite everything. I couldn't justify their decisions and I still can't accept it. Despite this, I actually learned about love. I genuinely sympathized with KSJ and his love for HJW. You could love someone with your whole being and they still might not be your soulmate or the one you're meant to be with, and when KSJ thought that about HJW I felt so extremely sad for him.

I learned about love but at the cost of my happy couple.

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Cold garbage that destroys the heart of the first season

I'm surprised so many people are loving this under the guise of it being so "realistic". Sure the relationship struggles with inner jealously and resentment building mostly because of a horrible lack of communication are realistic I suppose. I don't have a problem with the story not being fluff or all happy days etc. It's more how the characters don't act realistic at all.

It disgusts me the idea that someone who loved you even a tiny bit ever could just leave a shit note with no explanation and never speak to you again is apparently "realistic". Or that it's "realistic" to just let someone treat you like absolute shit over and over again and because of "love", you're meant to just bear through it until they decide to stop being a selfish prick. It's so pathetic and desperate and Seo Joon deserves better. If this were such realistic story, Seo Joon would moved on from such a cold hearted POS and found a new love with someone who actually loves him. That would be the plot of Season 2.

It makes me sad because the first season is so good and full of heart. This is just cold hearted, drawn out cruelty for the sake of drama to fill a whole season crap. You shouldn't have to beg someone to be with you- that's not love and it's not the kind of "romance" I want to watch. Everything could have been resolved in a much smarter, more realistic way had they just you know talked to each and communicated about their issues. but no instead we get garbage treatment until the last episode. One episode where they basically revert back to being a couple who actually cares about each other just doesn't make up for the 9 garbage episodes before that imo.

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A Rollercoaster of Love and Loss

First, I would like to say sorry for I thought, more or less two years ago, that this will not be good and I'll hate it because idk season 1 is so perfect to me and I don't actually wanted a second season hence I didn't watched this while airing last year...boy I'm clearly missing out and I'm glad I had time and energy and decided to watch this... I did not write a review about season 1 so I'm writing this as an amend for doubting it. This might be long so here it is.

I thought I'd seen it all in Season 1, but this second installment dives even deeper into the turbulent world of Kang Seo Joon and Han Ji Woo.

The chemistry between Seo Joon and Ji Woo is like a magnetic force that draws you in. It's not just about their differences; it's about how those differences make their connection all the more powerful. The ups and downs of their love story feel so real that you can't help but root for them, and when they're happy, you're on cloud nine with them.

But just when you think they've found their fairy tale ending, bam! Life throws a curveball, and you're left holding your breath, wondering if true love can withstand the storms of life. The suspense is killer, and every episode leaves you hanging on the edge of your seat.

The cinematography is like poetry on screen, capturing the glitz of Seo Joon's celebrity life and the quiet, intimate moments with Ji Woo. The music? Don't even get me started. It's the kind that lingers in your soul, making you feel every emotion the characters are going through.

Now, don't get me wrong; it's not all rainbows and butterflies. There are moments when you want to shout at the screen, "No, don't do that!" The plot can be a tad predictable, and yeah, there are some clichés thrown in. But here's the thing – the actors pour so much heart into their roles that you forgive the drama's flaws. You're not just watching characters; you're feeling their joy and heartbreak like it's your own.

In the end, "To My Star Season 2: Our Untold Stories" is a tearjerker, a heartwarmer, and a testament to the crazy, unpredictable journey that love can take you on. So, brace yourself for the emotional rollercoaster, and get ready to fall in love all over again. I might rewatch this when I'm lonely idk.

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The Angst Is Worth It!!

I know. This drama takes less than a day to finish, but I enjoyed it! I completely disagree with those who say all the angst wasn't realistic. There were so many layers to this plot, and it was so well written!
Jiwoo went back to his hometown, hoping Seojoon would follow because Seojoon said that if Jiwoo was having a hard time he would go to him. Jiwoo felt lonely, probably a little unwanted, and it's mentioned that his self-esteem is low. Seojoon is likeable and funny, he's good with people and popular. Jiwoo saw that and felt like he wasn't good enough and that all his feelings about Seojoon - "Don't have frequent calls with others and don't laugh. I'm the jealous type. I won't let you do it. All this time, you acted like it was nothing. I've been holding it in all this time. Had I said it, I was afraid it would affect your job." - this would damage their relationship. Since Seojoon would clearly do anything for him, Jiwoo knew that if he could say how he was feeling, Seojoon would stop taking roles and stop appearing on shows which would be horrible! Seojoon is a great actor and Jiwoo didn't want to take that away from him. Jiwoo felt like the problem, so instead of talking to Seojoon, which we see in a flashback is difficult for him to do even about simple manners, Jiwoo left.
I adored all their cute and romantic scenes! These actors once again delivered! I would highly recommend watching it if you liked season one!

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