When the Stars Gossip: Episodes 1-2
by DaebakGrits
“A gynecologist and an astronaut are launched into house.” Which will learn like the start of a joke with a doubtlessly NSFW punchline, however it’s really the plot of Lee Min-ho and Gong Hyo-jin’s newest drama. As absurd because the premise sounds, although, there’s simply sufficient cheekiness within the storytelling to make this ludicrous plot not solely palatable however form of endearing.
EPISODES 1-2
Our story begins in media res, with GONG RYONG (Lee Min-ho) and COMMANDER EVE KIM (Gong Hyo-jin) boarding a rocket in Kazakhstan that may shuttle them to the house station the place they are going to conduct their scientific analysis. Whereas Eve is hoping to get a pair of mice to efficiently breed in house, Ryong — the “house vacationer” who supposedly spent 70 million gained to be part of the mission — will probably be learning human sperm exercise in zero gravity. For a man who shelled out some huge cash for a seat on this spacecraft, although, he appears suspiciously nervous. It’s comprehensible that he’d really feel some form of approach about being launched into house, however there’s not a single trace of pleasure for what’s to return after the scary, explosive half. You recognize, when he’s (roughly) safely tucked on board the house station.
Nicely, come to search out out, Ryong is a (largely) unwilling participant on this little house journey. You see, he’s been relationship CHOI GO-EUN (Han Ji-eun), heiress to MZ Group, and her chaebol father CHAIRMAN CHOI (Kim Eung-soo) doesn’t approve of the connection. Ryong’s zero-gravity discipline journey is definitely a situation Chairman Choi positioned upon their pending engagement, and if Ryong desires to marry Go-eun, then he’s acquired to discover a method to straighten Chairman Choi’s heroically-noble-but-tragically-dead son’s crooked sperm and implant it into the eggs extracted from his son’s widow, NA MIN-JUNG (Baek Eun-hye). If ever there was a time to simply take the envelope full of cash and run, this could have been it, however the reality Ryong is prepared to go to such lengths for Go-eun he should love her, proper? (About that…)
Shortly after breaching the earth’s ambiance, Ryong friends out of the window subsequent to him with a purpose to get his bearings and tamp down the wave of nausea plaguing him. However as he stares into the vastness of house, he spies a lone house swimsuit floating close to their vessel. Is it a hallucination? Is it a metaphor? That’s to be decided, however upon seeing it, Ryong assumes it’s a lifeless astronaut whose physique has been deserted and left to orbit the earth and, properly, he can now not suppress his urge to vomit. As little liquid bubbles of abdomen acid float across the cabin, we flashback in a “I wager you’re questioning how I acquired right here” form of approach.
The recap of Ryong’s life spans from his beginning to his adolescence (being raised by his three adoptive aunties) to receiving a standing ovation as a result of he helped an expectant mom ship her child within the time it took their practice to cross the Han River. The entire flashback montage is paying homage to Large Fish, given the exaggerated tone and visuals. However essentially the most unbelievable half about this sequence wasn’t both his declare to recollect all 9 months that he was in his mom’s womb or the cheerleaders and synchronized swimmers who carried out throughout a mock intermission (for the viewers) whereas he helped ship a lady’s child in a public pool. No, it was that our director determined to place Lee Min-ho in a highschool uniform as a substitute of utilizing a youthful, up-and-coming actor. (Lee Min-ho appears good, however not still-in-high-school good.)
After establishing Ryong because the “birthing hero,” our story corroborates his questionably inflated backstory with the truth that he was Min-jung’s gynecologist — as a result of everyone knows heir-conscious Chairman Choi isn’t going to let simply any physician deal with his son and daughter-in-law’s fertility points. Nevertheless, Ryong’s profession tanked after a literal run-in with Go-eun, who was experiencing a medical emergency as a consequence of her undiagnosed ectopic being pregnant. Ryong terminated the being pregnant with a purpose to save Go-eun’s life, however because of this, this significantly diminished the chance that she’d ever be capable to conceive once more. Chairman Choi blamed Ryong for his daughter’s infertility — and for considerably reducing the longevity of his household line — and ensured Ryong was fired and blacklisted.
Chairman Choi’s response is appalling on so many ranges. Clearly, there’s his abuse of energy when he tanked Ryong’s profession, however it’s his full disregard for his daughter’s well-being that’s essentially the most disgusting — particularly because it’s implied that her (Chairman Choi authorised) boyfriend might need gotten her pregnant on goal and with out her consent. Ick. Evidently, when she determined to insurgent and provides her father the ol’ metaphorical center finger, it is smart that her concept of revenge is thus far the very physician her father blamed for ending his household line. Ryong, equally spiteful, agreed to her plan, however within the course of solely Go-eun fell in love. Whereas Ryong genuinely likes Go-eun and objectively and admirably acknowledges her worth past her household’s financial wealth, he by no means developed robust emotions for her. In truth, he questions if he’s even able to love. He believes she’s possible the closest he’ll ever get to feeling that approach, so he agrees to marry her — even when, apparently, a stipulation to her father’s approval includes house journey.
Again in house, Ryong begins choking on a regurgitated chunk of apple simply as their spacecraft is hit by a bit of the very actual house swimsuit Ryong had seen floating in direction of them. After Eve saves Ryong with the zero-gravity model of the Heimlich maneuver, they study that they have been hit by a bit of a suitsat, or a decommissioned house swimsuit that has been repurposed as a satellite tv for pc. So not a lifeless astronaut (Cue: Ryong’s sigh of aid.) As soon as Ryong has regained his bearings, he presents to sew up Eve’s toes, which she sliced open whereas attempting to stabilize herself throughout the Heimlich maneuver. She reluctantly concedes after lots of back-and-forth banter, and we lastly get a way of not solely her character’s persona however what sort of chemistry she could have with Ryong.
Eve’s clearly displeased that Ryong has joined them on their mission, given her not-so-subtle jabs at Ryong’s “house vacationer” standing. Her professionalism, nevertheless, prevents her from being antagonistic and overrules any frustrations she could also be feeling over having to babysit a civilian who stubbornly insists on being useful when he’s clearly unprepared and out of his factor. Living proof: his supply to sew up her toes regardless of his full lack of expertise in zero gravity and the way it impacts one thing so simple as threading a needle. Regardless of this, although, Eve assures Ryong that she will probably be high quality when he hesitates to stitch her up her toes with out localized anesthesia. It was an entire bluff, in fact, however she freely expresses her ache as a substitute of attempting to maintain up appearances.
Maybe my favourite facet of her persona, although, is her ardour for her science and the way she geeks out when two fruit flies stow away on their spaceship through the fruit Spanish astronaut SANTIAGO GONZALEZ GARCIA (Alex Hafner) introduced as his private merchandise to share with the remainder of the crew on the house station. As a result of the flies are mating, Eve insists that they delay opening the door to the house station with a purpose to permit the flies to complete getting their freak on. Her enthusiasm is infectious, and Ryong finds himself staring extra at her than the flies he nicknamed Public and Indecency (*giggles*). Gotta hand it to Lee Min-ho. If there’s one factor he’s indisputably good at, it’s trying totally bewitched by his main girl.
Again on earth, the remainder of the human inhabitants anxiously watch their tv and telephone screens questioning why the astronauts haven’t opened the hatch and joined the house station’s awaiting crew. Santiago updates KANG TAE-HUI (Lee El), Chief of Seoul’s Mission Management Middle (MCC), and the remainder of her group and explains the maintain up. Cue: a collection of fly-sex jokes which have my inside 13-year-old boy and PARK DONG-AH (Kim Joo-hun) — a former astronaut and Eve’s present lover — in stitches. I a lot most popular the snickering over fly mating rituals over the crass jokes in regards to the results house journey has on Santiago’s penis, however it seems analysis into Santiago’s “crooked sperm” is definitely what triggered the collection of occasions that led to the actual high secret motive Ryong was despatched into house.
You see, like Santiago, Chairman Choi’s son had crooked sperm, which is why his and Min-jung’s makes an attempt to have a child failed, even with IVF. Nevertheless, since studying a examine on Santiago’s sperm — which supposedly straightened out in zero gravity — Min-jung is hopeful that she will have a profitable spherical of IVF if her lifeless husband’s frozen sperm is artificially inseminated into her eggs whereas in outer house. Chairman Choi is, in fact, on board for any Hail Mary try to provide him an inheritor — thus his take care of Ryong — however there’s only one downside. Whereas experimentation on human sperm has been sanctioned on the house station, the identical can’t be stated for human eggs.
So now there’s an extra layer of subterfuge to Ryong’s mission. He has to sneak Min-jung’s eggs, which have to stay frozen throughout their transit, onto the house station through his carryon merchandise. Not a simple feat, however Chairman Choi has the cash and an entire firm of minions at his beck and name. So what do they do? They create a particular container that’s in a position to hold their firm’s ice cream (and Min-jung’s eggs) the right temperature whereas being blasted into house. To outsiders, the MZ model ice cream appears like a PR stunt that’s as delicate as Kopiko PPL, however the actuality is that Min-jung’s eggs are hidden contained in the false backside of the vanilla ice cream cup.
However, in fact, a cockamamie plan like this one isn’t going to go easily, so is anybody really shocked that Eve picks the vanilla ice cream over Ryong’s mango providing? Or that she’s instantly suspicious of the dessert’s contents and insists on testing it for dangerous substances — a course of that includes heating the ice cream? Or that she crushes and disposes of the container earlier than Ryong takes a peek on the — largely possible scrambled — eggs? Oh the horror.
However, as luck — a.ok.a. Chairman Choi’s interference — would have it, the eggs weren’t put contained in the cup of vanilla ice cream. As a substitute, Chairman Choi instructed them to be positioned within the chocolate ice cream cup so Go-eun’s ex-boyfriend, astronaut and scientist KANG KANG-SOO (Oh Jung-se), would get them as a substitute. The logic being Kang-soo has extra expertise in zero gravity and is much less prone to fail in such unorthodox situations. Plus, you recognize, he likes Kang-soo higher than Ryong.
His daughters are nonetheless pissed, although, and Go-eun awkwardly calls Ryong and awkwardly explains that her dad tricked him. Ryong is nothing greater than an over-certified deliveryman. And, oh by the way in which, her crappy ex-boyfriend is on board the house station and he’s the one in control of ensuring the eggs and sperm have their zero-G rendezvous. When Ryong confronts Kang-soo about Min-jung’s eggs, he’s met with a wall of logic and hostility. Logically, Kang-soo factors out his intensive expertise dwelling in zero gravity places him better off over Ryong who can barely hold himself upright. And on a private stage, Kang-soo is offended that Ryong “killed his unborn baby.” This means that he both didn’t care that Go-eun’s life was threatened by the being pregnant, didn’t inquire as to what state of affairs led to the being pregnant’s termination, or — as is most certainly the case — was misinformed by Chairman Choi.
It’s arduous to consider that Ryong would undergo all this hassle for a lady he doesn’t love, proper? So it’s no marvel that MINA LEE (Lee Cho-hee, who additionally performs Mina’s twin sister DONA) and LEE SEUNG-JOON (Heo Nam-joon) — the remaining astronauts on board the house station — are speculating if he actually is a gold digger who is barely attempting to win over his potential father-in-law. Seems, he didn’t cut price his relationship. As a substitute, if he’s profitable, Ryong desires the outcomes of the IVF publicized, and he asks Chairman Choi to fund a fertility clinic in house so different individuals in determined conditions may have youngsters.
If the writers have been attempting to provide our hero some form of grander goal, this one is a fail for me for a number of causes. For starters, this type of analysis is, logically, solely going to learn the uber wealthy who can afford to have their specimens despatched into house, which is much less altruistic than Ryong has introduced it. Secondly, Ryong’s request performs proper into Chairman Choi’s antiquated precedence of household lineage above all else. Provided that Ryong is an orphan raised by his three adoptive aunties, it appears odd that he would prioritize this analysis over options, resembling adoption. Then once more, his mom died shortly after his beginning, so maybe he’s extra targeted on aiding ladies who desperately need to grow to be organic moms as a result of he by no means knew his personal. Type of hoping the writers increase on his motivations extra, although, so it aligns higher along with his upbringing.
Within the meantime, although, if Ryong desires that house analysis clinic, he’s going to wish to show his value, and the chance to start paving the way in which for his success presents itself when one among Eve’s lab mice aggressively assaults the feminine mice in its cage. Kang-soo is in settlement with Tae-hui that they need to follow protocol and kill the mouse, however Eve disagrees. Not solely does she have some emotional attachment to her take a look at topic, however logically she believes that they need to discover a trigger for his conduct so as stop recurrences and future setbacks of their analysis.
Whereas they’re debating the mouse then goes into cardiac arrest and when chest compressions don’t revive it, Ryong means that they carry out an open-chest cardiac therapeutic massage. The entire mouse surgical procedure was a bit extreme and theatrical, in order a lot as I dislike Kang-soo, I form of relate extra to him throughout these scenes whereas he stand-floats within the background, arms crossed and looking out doubtful.
The surgical procedure was not solely a hit however it was the primary surgical procedure ever carried out in house, so in fact Tae-hui instantly releases a press release to the press. There’s an on the spot bump in Ryong’s credibility, and even Chairman Choi begrudgingly compliments him whereas watching the information. In the meantime, again on the house station, Eve is so ecstatic that she hugs Ryong. Regardless of her early assertions that he ought to tackle her as Commander, she provides him permission to name her Eve. As she praises him and unleashes her unabashed pleasure, Ryong will get a glance on his face that clearly says, “I’m falling for you, and I do not know.” And he’s so caught up on this feeling that he ignores Go-eun’s incoming congratulatory telephone name.
I’ll be the primary to confess that I’ve — lovingly, I guarantee you — thrown shade at Lee Min-ho’s typecasting prior to now, however I’ve acquired to say: I’m having fun with him on this position. As a substitute of the extra princely characters that Lee Min-ho has performed prior to now, Ryong is form of an on a regular basis hero who, like Forrest Gump, finds himself unwittingly — and unwillingly — bumbling his approach by means of a collection of ridiculously extraordinary occasions. He’s flawed — properly, as flawed as a Lee Min-ho character could be — and an unreliable narrator for his personal life, which really makes me query how a lot of what we’re seeing is the reality. What if it’s all simply an exaggerated tall-tale, just like the exaggerated recap of his life that was proven in Episode 1? Even when there isn’t a twist on the finish and we’re seeing occasions precisely as they’re occurring, I’m having fun with the general quirkiness. Did I feel 2025 would start with me writing about “crooked sperm” and flies having house intercourse? No, however all issues thought of, there are worse methods to begin a brand new yr.
However, as a lot as I get pleasure from how the story is being advised, I can’t say the identical for among the visuals. There have been instances when I discovered the particular results downright distracting. I attempt to give a little bit of grace to the visible results group as a result of I do know it’s immensely costly and troublesome to simulate zero gravity, however there have been a number of scenes the place components of the forged members’ our bodies had been noticeably changed by CGI. One of many extra memorable situations that involves thoughts is when Santiago’s fruit started floating across the cabin and Seung-joon reached for an apple. His complete arm, along with the apple, was CGI, and except Heo Nam-joon is basically unhealthy at performing with objects that aren’t in entrance of them, I don’t perceive the choice to recreate his arm in post-production. For me, it crosses a bit of bit into the uncanny valley, so I’m going to need to suppress my instinctive response to this specific manufacturing selection as I proceed to observe this drama.
That being stated, my dubiousness over among the present’s scientific accuracy has had me Googling issues like “suitsat” and “can astronauts use cell telephones on the worldwide house station?” So inadvertently, this Okay-drama has acquired me researching and studying extra about house exploration than Neil deGrasse Tyson. So there’s one other win for When the Stars Gossip.
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