When the Stars Gossip

High expectations led to big disappointment

I gave this a higher rating because it really doesn’t deserve the low 6.6 overall rating currently.
There’s a lot of discussion on pro choice, the female being subjugated etc.
But I think the story didn’t mean to go that deep.
The premise was to find out if fruit flies or mice got pregnant in space but instead a human being gets pregnant.
The choice was fully hers….I didn’t see any coercion.

This ended up being a B rated drama while the stellar star cast and high budget raised all our expectations for an A+ drama.

So many shortfalls, too much greed for a lottery, many convoluted love angles, space shuttles are like flights, space walks are strolls for a passenger….

The FL is the star - she walks away with great performance.
Lee Minho doesn’t look or act like an obgyn…..the chemistry between them is so lukewarm. But the most annoying part was that he gets slapped/ beaten/ kicked by a bunch of people and that made his character even more spineless.

Just go with low expectations and the drama will be bearable.

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BULL’s EYE

Writing this after episode six and the intense meeting of the sperm.

Totally love love loving this drama so based on my very own viewing entertainment, it’s a perfect ten. Rather than the other ongoing drama series that are recycling plot lines (also enjoying), this is refreshing to me. Mind you I was terrible in science and all the experts are probably jumping on concepts in this drama because I don’t know it’s accuracy. BUT, I find it intriguing and interesting. It’s a sci-fi after all but very thought provoking. Can you imagine if this can be done? Oh my gosh, it would be absolutely cool.

Lee Min Ho and Gong Hyo Jin are perfect for the roles simply for the very reason everyone thinks they aren’t. Totally different from their other roles, it’s probably the appeal to their taking it. I see nothing less of their acting abilities except to shine even more. It’s great seeing Jin again after missing due to personal growth and to me, she’s still that natural great actress made for camera entertainment. Min Ho after so much growth also is natural and this role is cute for him, Dr OBGYN. Love it! Combining a hint of romance, science intrigues, crew bonding, personal relationships, medical decisions, and more makes this drama. It’s short so i don’t know how it’ll all be wrapped but it’s a great flow and very interesting to me.

Everyone in this work deserves praise. The crew on the ship might have their own agenda (raffle ticket) but I predict where they’re going with it. Minor distraction but the bonding of people working together in a small space is good. The space team at the station have their added intrigue. The rich and their own agenda that of course is unscrupulous as very common trope also adds to the build up. In all, I find this very entertaining made solid after episode six and while it’s sad many are not connecting with it, I for one is loving it so I feel it’s made just for me. (wink, wink). Yep, they hit a bulls eye (to me at least) with this production. Give them a try.

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Those of you watching, be careful what expectations you have!

Episode six, already seen, reignites the drama... I cannot ask an unevenly distributed population to change their views on life/death/relationships within families/experiments... I don’t know what they were mainly expecting from a drama set in space—stand-up comedy? Romance? The crash of the NY stock exchange or having coffee at a four-star restaurant? There, people conduct experiments, during the time period proposed as the setting for this sci-fi... I was impressed because in this episode, life steps out of its limited, ephemeral, and sexual space to meet the timeless aspect of existence... Professional rules, material concerns, honesty, love, betrayal, all these are discussed in a whirlpool full of life. I exulted when the protagonist erupted with reproaches toward the heroine—maybe it wasn’t okay, but it was entirely sincere, from his level of understanding of life, and he became a believable character, beyond the unrealistic and stereotypical perfection of protagonists that Lee Min Ho usually portrays. Finally, he breaks free of the mold, and I will search for more of his recent dramas. To the critics, I remind them of the 2017 film Salyut-7, made with cosmonauts based on true events that happened in 1985... that’s how I think things unfold in space—people aren’t just sitting around chatting.
I will add more as episodes are released. I’m sure I would have been happier if there were a maximum of 12 episodes, and I should add that the OST is very, very good!!!

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Not for everyone

Honestly, I don’t get all the hate this kdrama is getting. To me, it’s been a fantastic show with stunning cinematography.

I’ve seen some people saying they don’t like it because the female lead isn’t ‘pretty enough’ for Lee Min-ho, or that the space theme feels boring, and so on. But honestly, it seems like many of you just prefer the same clichéd romances where the leads are conventionally attractive. So, I’ve come to realize this drama isn’t for everyone.

Personally, I think the main leads are delivering amazing performances, and their chemistry is spot on.

That said, if you’re open-minded and ready for something a little different, I think it’s absolutely worth checking out.

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Eve, the Ezer Who Remembered the Garden

A dazzlingly original Korean drama, rich in profound ideas, with outstanding casting and performances across the board—not to mention a beautiful soundtrack. Eve (Kong Hyo-Jin) and Ryong (Lee Min-Ho) portray the biblical depth of belonging between two mature adults, with all its beauty and pain, through a rare and powerful affinity.

Here, I only share a few reflections that may help some viewers recognize the deeper message of the drama.
This drama must be seen. Whether or not it breaks viewership records is irrelevant.
I’ve avoided describing the emotional or heartbreaking moments—let everyone discover those for themselves.

Postscript:
At first glance, the following remarks might seem like a religious reading of the drama—but that is not the case. While K-dramas enjoy huge popularity across Korea’s neighboring countries, outside of Korea and the Philippines, viewers familiar with Christian religious culture are very much in the minority. Even so, the scriptwriter appears to have taken the bold step—at least it seems so—of drawing on a modern re-interpretation of the Bible.

In this reading, the biblical Eve is no ordinary figure. She is portrayed as trustworthy; the Bible describes her as ezer—God’s gift, first among protectors. The writer sweeps aside the unjust medieval portrayals of Eve as the source of sin, depictions that caused centuries of suffering for women in the Christian world. The director nods to this as well, when Eve herself asks in Episode 12 (0:11:05), during a drinking scene with Go-Eun: “Do I seem like a boring woman to you?” This ezer-like role seems to rest on Kong Hyo-Jin as if it had always belonged to her—she wears it with a quiet radiance, an ease and truthfulness that make the character feel less performed than simply lived.

I will not attempt to reframe my earlier thoughts on the drama; I will simply leave them as they stand, now with this addition.
End of postscript.

In the Christian Bible, the myth of the “founding tragedy” ends with humanity’s expulsion from Eden. By disobeying a divine command and eating from the Tree of Knowledge, humanity enters the drama of the world and its own history.

Writer Seo Sook Hyang boldly takes up this theme, and her interpretation likely resonates with modern theological understandings of the Bible. She rehabilitates the biblical first woman through the actions of her distant descendant, Kim Eve—a commander with an inquisitive gaze and deep respect for life, played by Gong Hyo-Jin.

Seo Sook Hyang almost certainly drew inspiration from the Bible’s original description of the first woman. Eve only receives her name after the expulsion. Before that, the Bible refers to her as ezer kenegdo—“a helper fit for him,” or more precisely: “a divine companion given to man.” The meaning of ezer is crucial:
ezer – a gift from God; equal (partner); first among protectors.

This casts the first woman in an entirely new light. She is God’s favorite, assigned to stand beside Adam. Her “sin” is not desiring the fruit of the Tree under the serpent’s influence, but rather protecting Adam from temptation.
Eve believes they must not eat nor even touch the tree, or they will die. The serpent says: “You will not die.”
[This contradiction might arise from the fact that the command was given to Adam before Eve was created, which may explain the miscommunication.]
Eve, as ezer, the first among protectors, resolves this paradox. The Bible simply says of her thoughts: “She saw that the fruit was good, desirable, and would grant knowledge.”
And so, as ezer, she eats first. If she dies, Adam will know the serpent lied. Only afterward does Adam knowingly eat the fruit.

Once humanity is expelled from Eden, the question remains: Does humankind possess the capacity to handle knowledge without destroying itself?
This is a sharply relevant question today—atomic weapons, artificial intelligence, genetic engineering, environmental crisis, the sanctity of life… These are all forms of knowledge not always accompanied by moral maturity.
The drama echoes with this very question.

It’s worth noting the director’s use of grotesque sequences—absurd quarrels over lottery tickets, the obsession of MZ’s leader, and nearly theatrical mise-en-scène.
Even in seemingly minor details, this grotesque humor emerges. The leader assures everyone that a mini-storage unit will protect a mulberry sprout from all “unknown radiation.” The absurdity lies in the phrase itself—“unknown” radiation is, by definition, something we don’t understand (and might not even be aware of). If I were in the leader’s place, I’d find it far more reassuring if the sprout were protected from known harmful radiation.

God loves the righteous. Whoever seeks truth is seeking God, and such a person dwells close to God. To their eyes, the actions of the deceitful seem grotesque.
God is love. One of the most quoted declarations of love in Christian tradition is from Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians (Chapter 13), which essentially says:
You may be crowned with glory, power, and wealth—but if you have no love, you have nothing. And the opposite is true:
You may be poor and possess nothing, but if love resides in your heart, you have everything.
Grotesqueness, then, is a form of judgment.
Eve is never depicted grotesquely—on the contrary, she serves as the contrast.

In this light, Christian culture often returns to a haunting question: Why does God allow the righteous, the innocent, to die? Where is the justice in that?
If this question doesn’t arise naturally in the viewer’s mind, Ryon raises it, quoting Eve: “She jokingly said that I should die instead of her.”
A possible answer is offered in a brief, emotional one-minute short story: Paulo Coelho’s The Two Jewels
[https://paulocoelhoblog.com/2017/10/09/the-two-jewels/]
Or in the Book of Wisdom 4:7–15 (excerpt):
“The righteous, though they die early, shall be at rest. For old age is not honored for length of time, or measured by number of years… Their soul being pleasing to the Lord, He took them quickly from the midst of wickedness.”

There is no better place for a person than beside the Lord.
Eve, the ezer, is only temporarily on Earth. God wants His beloved by His side. He does not let her suffer any longer.

In the final scene, we see Ryon in a wheelchair on the beach, filmed from behind.
From behind the camera’s point of view, a little girl runs into the frame, followed by a tall, radiant woman—
As if the Lord Himself were offering comfort:
“I have not forgotten you either. When your time comes, I will send them for you.”

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"When the Stars Cheat: A Space Romance That Crashes and Burns

When the Stars Gossip aimed to blend romance and science fiction, but it ended up as an absurd mess that insults both genres. The script is directionless, filled with repetitive dialogue, predictable twists, and irrelevant conflicts that make it difficult to stay engaged. The pacing is inconsistent, alternating between boring filler and ridiculous drama, leaving no room for emotional connection.

One of the most infuriating aspects of the show is its shameless glorification of cheating. The male lead (ML) is engaged but has a relationship with the female lead (FL) while showing no guilt or remorse. What’s worse is that the drama justifies it under the guise of "true love" simply because he’s the ML. In other dramas like Marry My Husband, cheating is portrayed as a horrible crime worthy of punishment, but here, it’s romanticized just because the main leads are involved. The double standard is glaring and insulting.

Beyond the terrible writing, the characters are poorly developed. Even with a talented cast, their performances suffer due to the weak script. The leads lack chemistry, and their interactions feel forced rather than natural. The drama also damages the image of astronauts, portraying them as unprofessional and more concerned with love triangles than actual space missions.

Ultimately, When the Stars Gossip is a massive disappointment. While it may appeal to viewers who don’t mind nonsensical storytelling, it’s impossible to recommend due to its lack of depth, logic, and respect for its own premise. If you’re curious, watch the first episode—you’ll quickly see how fast it spirals downward. Save your time and skip this one.

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Space cringe opera

This show is trying to be many things at the same time but doesn't get one right. 

The humor is stale and cringy, like feet fetish level.

The director is all about style above substance, like the pointless dream like pool sequence and other space screensaver shots that bring nothing to the story progression.

But, a even bigger problem is that the characthers storylines are outlandish and cheesy and the premisse is simply preposterous: let's shoot some dead chaebol heir sperm into space ... 

Such a big budget and so many known actors for this this trainwreck off a show. At least this is a clear winner for the category "cringiest show off the year".

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