Jeongnyeon – The Star is Born: Episodes 3-4
by mistyisles
Our vocal prodigy’s musical profession has solely simply begun to take off when it takes a pointy left flip. Whether or not that flip is for higher or worse stays to be seen, however for now, she’s studying to broaden her horizons and take possession of her selections with out remorse.
EPISODES 3-4
Decided to show herself, Jeong-nyeon declines Okay-gyung’s provide and focuses on discovering the essence of her assigned character for the trainee manufacturing. And discover it she does — taking inspiration from a avenue dancer who performs solely for the love of it — however she misses the final week or so of rehearsals within the course of.
Younger-seo, recognizing a chance, prepares to play each Jeong-nyeon’s half and her personal, by no means thoughts that their characters share a number of scenes. However Jeong-nyeon exhibits up within the nick of time (that is changing into a sample for her), and Younger-seo doesn’t protest. After an preliminary bout of stage fright, Jeong-nyeon comes alive onstage, hamming it up a lot that she upstages actually everybody and Younger-seo has to improvise to maintain up. When Jeong-nyeon’s strolling stick prop breaks and he or she falls flat on her face — turning an enormous emotional second into an unintentionally comedic one — she and Younger-seo work collectively to salvage the scene. The present is a rousing success (and an absolute deal with to look at), and Jeong-nyeon earns the official audition script.
Younger-seo, nevertheless, is fast to burst her bubble. In response to her, the one motive they didn’t each crash and burn on that stage is as a result of she matched Jeong-nyeon’s deviations from the script. In different phrases, “I made you look good, not the opposite approach round.” What Younger-seo doesn’t inform Jeong-nyeon is that watching Jeong-nyeon carry out made her momentarily overlook she was an actor on a stage.
Troupe Chief Kang makes use of a sword combating lesson to level out the largest downside with Jeong-nyeon and Younger-seo’s rivalry: they’re treating the stage as a battleground as a substitute of a collaboration. In a efficiency, the purpose is to not win over your “opponent” — the purpose is to be in sync together with your accomplice.
To additional increase on this concept, the present offers us a have a look at Jeong-nyeon and Younger-seo by the eyes of one other pair of stage (and, it’s vaguely hinted, romantic) companions: Okay-gyung and her main woman search engine optimisation HYE-RANG (Kim Yoon-hye). They every have their favourite of the trainees and are fast to level out the opposite’s flaws. However whereas Hye-rang takes each alternative to look down her nostril at Jeong-nyeon (methinks she’s a bit jealous of the eye she will get from Okay-gyung), Okay-gyung is comfortable to supply Younger-seo real constructive criticism. If Younger-seo actually needs to excel, she must loosen up and let herself benefit from the efficiency.
On the heels of her first style of success, Jeong-nyeon’s dream involves a screeching halt. All of it begins together with her new greatest good friend, HONG JU-RAN (Woo Da-bi), who secretly works part-time at a café to pay her sister’s medical payments. Whereas not technically in opposition to the principles (they’re solely forbidden from incomes cash by singing, or utilizing the troupe’s fame for revenue), it’s nonetheless not advisable. However when Ju-ran fractures her arm, Jeong-nyeon insists on protecting her shifts till it heals.
Sadly, Jeong-nyeon made sufficient of a reputation for herself within the trainee manufacturing that the café proprietor quickly discovers her identification and coerces her into singing for the patrons. When Troupe Chief Kang finds out (it’s made to seem like Younger-seo could have informed her, however that seems to not be true), she expels Jeong-nyeon instantly, and never even Okay-gyung can change her thoughts. The one factor that may have saved Jeong-nyeon would have been for her to clarify Ju-ran’s predicament, however Jeong-nyeon is simply too loyal. So as a substitute, she will get tossed out into the road (fairly actually). One factor results in one other, and he or she finds herself spending the evening within the jailhouse as a result of she bought pickpocketed and couldn’t pay for her dinner.
Out of choices, Jeong-nyeon calls up tv PD PARK JONG-GUK (Kim Tae-hoon), who gave her his enterprise card upon listening to her sing on the café. Park PD’s provide to make her a star nonetheless stands, and so Jeong-nyeon steps into an entire new way of life, getting ready to change into a pop singer on TV as a substitute of a gukgeuk performer.
Whereas PD Park’s motivations appear a bit of shifty at instances (he’s weirdly concerned about her hometown, and he doesn’t clarify all the small print of the contract he has her signal), Jeong-nyeon’s new mentor and vocal coach PATRICIA KIM (Lee Mi-do) is as heat and nurturing as Troupe Chief Kang is strict. She offers Jeong-nyeon a chic trendy makeover and recommendation about sticking to at least one’s convictions even when it’s not thought-about socially acceptable. As a divorcee, Patricia is aware of what it’s wish to be an outcast, and I respect the light approach she challenges Jeong-nyeon’s trustworthy ignorance to assist broaden her perspective.
Jeong-nyeon’s first massive outing is to the live performance of a well-recognized well-known opera singer. That’s proper — it’s Younger-seo’s older sister. Jeong-nyeon comes face to awkward face with Troupe Chief Kang, Okay-gyung, and Hye-rang, and nobody can fairly determine what to say even in greeting. On the afterparty, although, Okay-gyung calls Jeong-nyeon over to their desk to save lots of her from uncomfortable small speak with PD Park’s colleagues. Whereas supportive as all the time, Okay-gyung advises her to not stray too removed from gukgeuk.
There’s a basic air in regards to the gukgeuk crew right here that means the stress between them and PD Park is about extra than simply Jeong-nyeon, although nobody says as a lot. Younger-seo comes the closest, bluntly stating that PD Park solely sees Jeong-nyeon as a product. Nonetheless, the 2 women nearly have a candy second of connection when Jeong-nyeon admits she is aware of Younger-seo wasn’t the one who ratted her out for singing on the café.
However then the second is ruined when Jeong-nyeon overhears Younger-seo’s mom lambasting her for “embarrassing” the household by defending her option to pursue gukgeuk over opera. In her mom’s eyes, gukgeuk will all the time be a low-class artwork type. As an alternative of accepting Jeong-nyeon’s sympathy, Younger-seo lashes out — verbally and bodily. However Jeong-nyeon not has incentive to play good and slaps her proper again.
In the meantime, it appears like there’s extra hassle brewing within the background, and Hye-rang is correct in the course of it. I’d have preferred to see her and Okay-gyung as a wholesome instance of a (secret) energy couple, however Hye-rang isn’t simply being petty and making an attempt to drive Jeong-nyeon away from Okay-gyung — she’s entangled one way or the other with the shady man who’s been garnishing the trainees’ wages (which is why Ju-ran and others needed to discover further work within the first place).
Musically, although, I like that Jeong-nyeon’s journey has her exploring completely different elements of the broader leisure world, simply as she’s studying to take inspiration from individuals of all walks of life. And whereas the entire café debacle wasn’t the most effective set of selections on her half, I can’t blame her for taking the subsequent greatest alternative as soon as she’d been thrown out. Particularly when it got here proper after her mom disowned her to her face for not giving up on gukgeuk. That stated, I think about it’ll be tougher than she thinks to keep away from dealing with the identical swift rise and arduous fall her mom apparently did, and I’ll be shocked if she by no means finds her approach again to the stage (in spite of everything, she promised Ju-ran she’d come again!).
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