Summary
When the Stars Gossip feels like it’s going somewhere in Episode 5, but we’re constantly reminded that it isn’t quite there yet.
When the Stars Gossip needs a turning point, I think. If Episode 5 proves anything, it’s that the status quo isn’t quite enough, despite the novelty of the setting, the bizarreness of the premise, and the likeability of a couple of characters. The whole thing still feels hamstrung by curious tonal flip-flopping and the distinct feeling of a K-Drama that can’t quite decide what it wants to be at any given moment.
At the very least this installment ends with the potential of turning the drama upside-down a little, livening the situation on the station up enough for it to feel compelling without gimmickry. A bit of actual seriousness, which would mean less time for pointless nonsense, is just what this show seems to need. But can it – or will it, more accurately – commit to that?
You’ll recall that Episode 4 ended with Ryong getting drunk and confessing his feelings to Eve, so there’s a “morning after the night before” quality to this chapter. But despite the embarrassment, he still more or less stands by what he said, especially since the chance to say it will evaporate once they return to the normality of Earth.
Eve isn’t so romantically inclined, though, and rightly points out that the whole thing is inappropriate. Which is fair. But it turns out you can’t simply instruct someone to turn off their human emotions. Her seniority on the station doesn’t give her that magical power.
It does give her the power to look into how the alcohol got on board in the first place, though, since it’s easier to blame that than properly grapple with Ryong’s admission. Luckily, Santi keeps the liquor rotating through various hiding spots, making discovering it difficult.
You can kind of see the show’s self-sabotage in When the Stars Gossip Episode 5, like reframing Ryong’s daring rescue of Eve from outside as a comedic sequence and devoting time to another speculative spending spree montage when Seung-jun overhears Mina speaking about the winning lottery ticket. Like the alcohol, the ticket remains hidden, and Kang-su remains none the wiser, but it’s hardly a tenable situation.
That feeling of things going steadily wrong, personally and professionally, is the saving grace of the installment and is what gives me a bit of confidence that we’re moving in a more interesting direction for the season’s back half.
On the personal front, Ryong calls off his engagement to Go-eun, claiming that he’s not a good enough partner for her. He’s probably right, but he uses his inability to do his job on the station as evidence, not his obvious fondness for another woman. But his limp approach gives Kang-su the upper hand, certainly with the Chairman, who is still gloating about Kang-su’s successful fertilization mission.
It’s entirely by chance that Eve suddenly ends up as a much more viable romantic partner for Ryong. When she calls home, her partner is in bed with another woman. It’s fortuitous timing for Ryong, if not for her, and causes her to double down on her search for the alcohol in frustration. But this search also leads her to smoking-gun evidence of what Kang-su has been up to. Just when it seemed like he was winning, he’s rumbled.
Eve’s sudden availability and Kang-su being found out has got to be good for Ryong, right? You’ve got to feel for Go-eun a bit, though, since she seems to have no idea whether she’s coming or going. A bit more development in these directions and When the Stars Gossip will feel like it has some kind of point. Hopefully it happens sooner rather than later (if it happens at all.)
