starlit-dramas

I'm sure she won't mind your ire if you don't. 😂 Trust her though; so far in my opinion (though I can't speak for later on), it's been very good. I hope you enjoy it too. <3

I want to report to y'all that my miniature poodle is absolutely HOOKED on this drama. She's a pretty hyperactive and troublesome one year old who loves to leap into all sorts of problematic places (like tables, desks, windowsills, etc.), but her eyes were GLUED to the screen when we watched it together earlier. I wonder who she thinks the murderer is... 🤔

Oh yeahhhh, I ought to get around to those sometime!

RIP Agatha Christie, you would've LOVED Idol I 😔

That's so sweet!! Thank you. ♡

Though I'm no natural detective (more just along for the ride); I love how this drama is keeping me on my toes when it comes to the mystery 💀 I'm still second guessing almost EVERYBODY but the leads at this point

Not so far, no.

Can I ALSO just say that I love how the pace their stories are unfolding match with their characterisations? Like – we already know a lot about La-Ik, which makes sense, as the mystery is in large part found in his history; but it also aligns with how he's portrayed to be a bad actor, how he's very impulsive and acts rashly. In a lot of ways, in his personal life he's an open book. He doesn't really regard privacy (or his safety) as a given right – even the times he withheld information to his own detriment, it was often for the sake of somebody else – and it's demonstrated as well as said that he finds it hard to draw that line between his professional and personal life.

Se-Na, on the other hand, easily brushes away anything remotely touching on personal. She is a tried-and-true professional, and every single one of her personal desires are pushed way down. She'll say that she's taking on hard cases for the money – but really, it'll be because of an internal debt she feels she owes. There's a strong sense of internal obligation; every act of kindness is paid back many times over, but she would never willingly admit to that. People speculate that she's a machine because she doesn't like to let anything show. Any time La-Ik, the person who's the most likely person to tear these walls down, asks her questions, she can barely answer – I'd argue that's not only to make him comfortable, or to draw professional boundaries (though of course those are factors), but also because she also feels more comfortable that way, not letting anyone in.

I'd argue this is in large part why she got so hung up on La-Ik from that encounter when they were younger. Both that strong sense of internal obligation in what she owes kindness, mixed in with a teenage infatuation (heightened by traumatic circumstances) – and because she doesn't want to let anybody in. It was safer for her to "love" the idea of him from a distant memory than face the idea of being truly known to anyone.

At this point, I think La-Ik is the only one she really would open up to; just like I think her patience, compassion, and relentless pursuit of justice – especially when he doesn't believe he deserves any of it – will be what opens him up to being himself around her. We find out about her at almost the same pace as he does – and I don't know whether any of this is an intentional set of choices in the storytelling, but I find it all so incredibly fitting.

Not so far, but it's only midway through right now.

Obviouslyyyyy I'm obsessed with everything about this drama so far, on a technical and emotional level – but can I just pause real quick to appreciate how GOOD Se-Na's suits are? They look sooooo amazing on her. I just love them (and her).

I feel the exact same way. The hard part is the waiting – but I also like the anticipatory build that comes with the story unfolding over time. I love the characters; how rounded and flawed the mains are while still wanting to ultimately do good, and be good to someone. I agree that the drama's doing a really good job of fleshing them out so far.

I completely agree; I think her knowing him through an action of his will absolutely be key to his "People only love the idol La-Ik / Only the product is deserving of love" mentality. He gave her something very real when she needed it most, and she's returning that exact feeing back to him now. I think (hope) he's going to end up seeing it like that eventually. As an aside I honestly really love seeing your comments on here. 💯 10/10 top quality commentary fr.

There's an interview I saw where she was talking about a scene where she holds a photocard for luck, and apparently they informed her behind the scenes that Girls' Generation was the first group to have photocards included with albums, lol. I feel like it must be interesting to live out the other side of her experience.

Sorry for the delayed response; I was asleep. But thank you! I completely agree. This is a romance story, and though underlying archetypal structures are common to most stories, romance in particular follows a very specific pattern, without much deviation. Wanting or expecting this drama to change course at this point is beyond silly.

Thank you so much for the link! I'll go check it out. 🙏🏻

I feel like a lot of people watching are forsaking the "entertainment" aspect of this drama, and are treating it as a 100% serious depiction of idol life and a full endorsement of excessively obsessive behaviour, when I just don't think that's the case at all.

I think the FL, in some capacity, is supposed to represent the “everyfan”, and capture certain parts of that fan experience. A big part of her story is that he saved her at her darkest moment, handing her a song when she was about to kill herself – and I think, for a lot of people, this is how music and fandom operates. I remember being quite badly suicidal from about the age of 13-16 due to health complications, and I genuinely think one of the things that kept me holding on was music. Keeping that wonder and that fantasy alive, the birthday-like excitement of new releases, the idea of saving up to see concerts, has all been a major part of what has kept me alive too. I think this aspect of her storyline is literalising that feeling – when a song (or another piece of art) made by a person you don't know reaches you, and you build your world back around that.

I'm not saying it's right to lay in bed dejected when your crush / first love (who happens to be famous) is rumoured to be dating someone – but it's hardly the worst reaction I've seen in Kdramaland, let alone real life. Healthy? Probably not! But each of these characters have been flawed, dynamic and complex so far in this, and I don't really think either can be classified as "healthy". I do think, for the sake of real life – the fact that she went through the process mentally with herself, and ended up both empathising with him more and handling her emotions without lashing out at him or his ex, was actually a good direction for it to take. I hope more people in real life will be able to empathise with each other and be able to develop the emotional regulation required to feel through complicated emotions, even if rooted in some degree of parasociality.

One more point, is I feel like this drama is doing a good job so far of balancing the scales a little; so even though she knows an abundance of surface-level details, like his body language tells and skincare; she doesn't know who he is on a deeper level. I think with the current trajectory, this drama will keep on having her getting to know him beyond his public persona. Her house has been stripped back, and so far it feels like we just barely know who she is, what her father did or did not do – her connection with the guy next door. She's got her guards up, and I feel like it's going to be his role to get her to lay her sword down and be emotionally vulnerable. I can't see her doing that with anyone before him at this point.

This has been lengthy as hell, and I genuinely applaud anyone who's gotten this far by reading it all the way through. I guess TLDR; I think there is a side to this show that mirrors real life fans and idols, but I feel like this all has to be taken as a STORY with fictional characters doing fun things too.

Fairly lengthy commentary on this drama + my thoughts on reactions to it (so far) below:

Oh, then good for her!!🥺 I hope she manages to get a page on here; I really love her work on this so far.

I wish the screenwriter was listed somewhere, because I love to watch the back catalogue of the writers for the dramas I'm loving 💔

Fr. This isn't worth destroying the planet over.

That's so nice; thank you so much!! And sameeeee – I love the music direction on this drama so much, honestly.