Eleison

Nah, it's not weird, it's just your preference. People like different things! :) I like tracking themes built around the story and characters, so this is my JAM.

And this screenwriter always nails the pilots.👍This title is a little strange in that it's so specific. The other titles by this screenwriter leave more room for interpretation; I don't know if you saw any of the theories about how Castaway Diva refers to Ran Joo, too (the diva who was "cast aside"). It makes sense when you see her listed before Bo Geol in the cast list as a main. That said, I don't think you're wrong that it might initially mislead someone's expectations.

I see what you mean, but I think this is a plot synopsis issue? I agree the synopsis could be better, but that's often the case on this site; sometimes the synopses are just wrong. 🤣 Though I think the tone struck by the first episode showcases who will be emphasized throughout the drama. I don't think it was ever meant to focus just on Seo Mok Ha (again, a synopsis issue). The first episode focuses specifically on the three main leads and sets up the way their stories intertwine.

Hmmm, I see. Yes, more of them would have been very nice!

Yes, this ☝️!!!

SundressSavage had a really good rec; another that comes to mind is a sageuk (it's long, haha) called Rebel: Thief Who Stole the People. FL is very supportive of ML (she's super cute and lovable) and prioritizes him and his dreams/goals. Their romance doesn't really take off until the second half, though.

True! Though I sometimes detail and outline just so people who might like the drama who are reading the comments don't get scared off by details that won't ultimately factor much into their experience of the drama if they know what they're looking for and this is actually it. 🤣

Did you think the kiss lacked chemistry, too? I can see what you're saying about them being good friends as most of the vibes exuded from their relationship, but if they had lacked chemistry, I don't think they could have nailed that kiss (I thought they did, at least). It didn't feel like it was out of left field, and that is telling, I think?

"I wish the drama focused more on FL's struggles on the island and later when integrating back into society."

Probably a worthy project for a different type of screenwriter with a different kind of writing emphasis. :) And if they had gone that route they would have had to make her experience of surviving on the island a lot more realistic. 🤣 A lot of suspended disbelief for that part of the plot was required for viewing. I saw the time on the island more as the writer's attempt to create distance between the characters to grow past and towards each other again. But the screenwriter went more for the fantastical route rather than a realistic one (this plot device was this screenwriter's version of the hiccuping in Pinnochio, the future-seeing dreams in While You Were Sleeping, and the reading people's mind from looking into their eyes in I Can Hear Your Voice). She usually writes a kind of realistic fantasy story, so from my perspective she's being consistent here.

I'd rather finish a show wishing there was more of it than wishing they had cut stuff. At least I can fill in the parts not explored with my imagination as opposed to trying to erase scenes that drag down my whole experience of a drama. That's just me, though. :)

Her acting is good in Do You Like Brahms?, but I found the way they portrayed musicians' relationship to their music or instruments kind of frustrating, and it is a pretty slow drama. Eun Bin is lovely in it, though. :) She's cute in Hot Stove League, too!

I wouldn't say they didn't have chemistry, but they definitely didn't have a lot of "romantic" or lovey-dovey scenes together that we have come to expect in rom-coms. We definitely missed out on some of those since romance was just one of the many aspects of this story's plot. I was a little sad about that!

I think that there were two different crimes he could have been prosecuted for, right? The one with the insurance agent wasn't confirmed in court, just implied through some evidence that was being discovered. It probably would have taken at least a few days for them to get a warrant and arrest him or call him in for questioning as related to that crime? And as for the stabbing, remember he walked by them and Woo Hak was so busy trying not to let his dad bleed out that he just walked away? So they came for him later that evening, it seems, once they figured out who had probably done it. Those were my impressions, at least, of why things happened the way that they did.

I think most of us can agree we wanted more of them. 🥰 They were just so cute!

Also, in addition to what SundressSavage wrote, add While You Were Sleeping to the list! :) The production quality is markedly better than IHYV or Pinocchio.

And at the end of the day, everyone has their preferences, which is totally valid, but yeah, if people try to say they didn't like it because it was badly written, I get defensive. This drama is the epitome of good writing as far as Kdramas go. Totally get if this TYPE of story, or the WAY it's told is not your thing, but please admit that rather than dissing the writing. 🤨

Also, I LOVE I Can Hear Your Voice, too. One of my favorites also. :)

Yeah, she was probably forced to cut things down and had to sacrifice some of those elements. I totally see what you mean, and felt what you're describing the most in Episodes 10 and 12, but everything else was so good that I can let these aspects slide pretty easily for this drama. But I get where you're coming from! 😏

Yeah, I think it's the thematic emphasis that throws people off. It's not as straightforward as some are making it out to be, or as straightforward as the typical drama.

I've been reading some comments here and there that the bad dad plot felt unnecessary, tacked on, or too intrusive on the main plot. Because I think this drama is more theme-driven than the average Kdrama, I would like to disagree. Mok Ha becoming a diva (and Ran Joo being re-awakened to her passion, since she's also the "castaway diva," isn't she?) is the setting and framework, not the point, of the drama.

Firstly, Episode 11 helped me solidify that the main theme of this drama (in my opinion) is about the beauty of sacrificing for those you love. No matter the cost. This will come up later.

Secondly, Jung Bong Gwan is the catalyst for Ki Ho and Mok Ha becoming what they are to each other (as awful as the abuse was, Ki Ho would never have done what he did for Mok Ha if he didn't have that deep compassion and sympathy for Mok Ha due to the experiences they shared). Also, Mok Ha's story became intertwined with Ki Ho because of their connection in Episode 1, and was the reason they searched so tirelessly for each other. Bong Gwan was a foil to them being together later since the family had to hide from him, but those same lies and hiding being exposed brought about all the change and development of the 2nd half of the drama for our characters, allowing the Kang/Lee family to finally have freedom and peace and the opportunity to completely embrace Mok Ha as one of their own.

Lastly, since this is a story about the love and sacrifice of our main characters (the sacrifice of Ki Ho, of Ran Joo, Ran Joo's mom, of the Kang/Lee family, of Lee UK and Woo Hak) to help those they love have the best life possible, Bong Gwan was intentionally placed in stark contrast to them and their choices. He showed us what grasping, possessive, selfish love looked like: "No surviving friends or relatives." He was the character who embodied hate rather than love, and the dangers of self-deception and being unable to learn from our mistakes or put others first. I think he was a huge part of the story coming together as it did, since the characters who formed a bond over their shared suffering became who they are because of how they overcame their struggles.

I think the father's placement in the story was 100% fitting if you lean into the theme (rather than the basic plot) of the drama. But that's just my two cents!

I wonder if you felt this way because many of the more meandering scenes that we come to expect in Kdramas (which you won't see outside dramas much) and which this screenwriter can also do very well (e.g. people making food together or for each other, playful banter between family and the leads, scenes with characters that don't necessarily move the plot forward but that connect us to the characters and show their connections to each other, developing the stories of related but side characters, etc.), had to be left out to make this fit into a shorter format. My sister and I were just talking about this, that the drama had trimmed out everything that was absolutely unnecessary and it ended up taking a faster pace than we're used to and faster than is typical (and we admitted it made us both a little sad 😔). I don't agree that it felt incomplete because it felt like every moment was agonizingly thought over for what would be best to spend time on and include, but I think I know what you mean. As I reflect on even the scenes I wasn't as much a fan of, I realize they helped make the story what it is, and ultimately helped make it into the drama I love.