So my love for screenwriter Park Hye Ryun is basically contrary to mainstream lol, I’m so invested in Pinocchio, While You Were Sleeping, and Start-Up, but her bigger hits are I Hear Your Voice and now Castaway Diva which I am enjoying but not rabid about. Her formula is still at work here to great success, an engaging and emotionally gutting childhood portion and a transformative catharsis to come in the adult portion. Castaway Diva has more than doubled in ratings since the premiere of 3% to now 7.988% with Park Eun Bin absolutely worth her salary and then some with how incredible her acting skills are. But the drama for me has become the “Who is grown up Ki Ho” show between male leads Chae Jong Hyeob and Cha Hak Yeon and thank god neither are trendy actors with insane fan bases otherwise the ship wars will detract from the enjoyment. I think it’s for sure younger brother Bo Geol as signs point to older brother Woo Hak and I adore both and honestly these characters are such abused children I just want happiness any which way for them.
If we use Mouse theory, woohak looks more like kiho than bogyeol. I used to think jaehoon must be bareum since they look similar and I was right.
Well regardless I just want woohak to be the endgame
the aspect of “who is kiho” really annoyed me since it reminds me of how toxic the ship wars in start up used to be and that really took the enjoyment out of the story for me.
not really drama related, but it surprised me to see HakYeon and JongHyeop looking about the same in height, since I know the latter is really tall and never thought HakYeon was but now that I see them side by side in that variety show pic, the difference in height between the two is obvious. I wonder if they had HakYeon step on some boxes or if they played with camera angles to make them look equally tall in the drama.
Well I really like this drama, and I think the writer uses the style she used for start up in a way. The character Yoon ran joo, isn’t exactly the main or lead actress but there’s a way the writer balances it out, one cannot help but notice that actress. It’s as if all the main characters are equally or near equally carrying the same level of significance, at least for both ladies. As for the guys, I think it’s going to pan out well, I think ki ho who seems to be centre stage will be on one hand, and whoever isn’t ki ho, my money is on the older brother, will have a compelling back story that’ll make us unable to just shove him away and focus on just ki ho. I admire the writers decision and determination, in my opinion to make these major characters all shine almost with the same intensity. It’s like in start up when Kim seon ho’s character although not the lead man was the break out star in that movie. And I cannot end without saying I simply love chae jong hyeob, his smile is sooo beautiful, I don’t know the other guy but so far he seems like a decent actor.
Yes, I really love how this writer seems to really value all of her characters, not just her leads and its apparent in most of her works. Second leads, parents, or even friends can have weight or depth to their characters and not just convenient plot excuses to give the leads romantic moments.
Exactly, I completely agree 💯.
Is it really a mystery at this point?
We see a soldier waiting at the station, if WK lost his memories in highschool, he can’t be KH.
The father didn’t react when he gave the flowers to WK. It still went to the station to find MH.
But I really like PEB in this role and their friendship between both women. I love their scenes.
I think it is the older brother because he was so sure that it is not his younger brother. Also, a person’s personality changes as he grows up. My dilemna though is how did either end up with their present family and why does the younger brother lost his memory from middle school and prior.
Because of how they come off, you’ll think the older brother is the younger one. Actually the guy with the lost memory is the older brother 😂😂. I know, I was shocked too, he gives off younger brother vibes while the other one who keeps reiterating that the other one isn’t ki ho is the younger brother. And correct me if I’m wrong but what older brother on earth copies his younger brother’s clothes to the tee 😂😂. He’s a crazy older brother that’s for sure.
Start up’s fan wars drove me bananas and basically made me stop watching the drama. But this writer does like her love triangles lol. Dream High had such a rabid following (but it was a whole lot more enjoyable as a drama and the fans weren’t as crazy).
Anyways, the writer is very hit or miss for me. I’m yet to decide on this one but so far so good.
I NOTICE Cha Hak Yeon in Bad And crazy with starring Lee Dong Wok and Wi Ha Joon and Tomorrow and I love him there. So I definitely the only one who is bias towards him. Many people seems prefer Chae Jong Yeob. I think they will choose Cha Jong Yeob because he already land his male lead roles meanwhile Cha Hak Yeon is yet to land such roles?
I wanna vote for Cha Hakyeon but I don’t think he’s elevated to ML league yet compared to Chae Jeong Hyeop
Not a fan of the who is Ki Ho storyline atm – it’s annoying how they lead us to think that WH looks like Ki Ho but BG acts all mysterious like he might be Ki Ho. and frankly a person’s face doesn’t change so much from high school to late 20s-30s that he would be unrecognizable unless some cosmetic surgery is involved. the most acceptable storyline to me would probably be that WH is Ki Ho – but since he lost his memory he is not that Ki Ho anymore, and thus MH will end up with BG who loves her now instead of with WH who loves her based on a missing memory
Remember after ki ho’s father talked to that insurance man, he called his wife and while talking he asked her if she thinks they should tell ki ho that his father seems to be thinking of reaching out to MK just to find him. This means whoever is ki ho knows he is ki ho. He doesn’t have memory lapse. And the friends seem to still be in contact with ki ho, with ki ho knowing they’re his friends from his days as ki ho. But to change his name and everything, the father must really be a monster. Or so I think 🤔
I am the same as you Koala. Pinochio and Strat-up are my favourites from this screenwriter and ones that I watched more than once and recommended to other people.
What i like the most is the relation between the diva ( really good Kim Hyo Jin) and Park Eun Bin . About “who is who” i think that there is no mystery there .The most important thing for me is the bond between the characters .
I’m still catching up some old K dramas. I can’t wait to binge watching this one after all the eps are aired. Happy to not read any spoilers in the thread. LOL.
To me it’s extremely clear that quiet BG is KH, and not WH (despite the glasses). But the real question for me is, why does WH know creepy dad as well? Was he a friend who helped KH escape? Like, what’s the story there? I don’t read it as the same love triangle/shipper war thing as Startup. I feel like each character’s story and plot are are important, whether that’s MH, BG, WH, or the singer lady. They all intersect and they are all vital, because each character grows as their plotlines intersect and they react with each other.
The extra story line is what makes the drama interesting and worth waiting for every weekend. I had a hunch Woo Hak was Ki Ho, Bo Geol and mom are his real family. My theory is dad was so abusive, mom tried to run off with the boys but managed to only take Bo Geol with her. Ki Ho/Woo Hak somehow reunited with mom and lost his memory. Younger brother knew the entire story, and was protecting Woo Hal. He didn’t want Woo Hak to regain his memories due to the trauma. Furthermore, he didn’t want to give dad the opportunity to find them.
For me, Castaway Diva’s story started with the young couple – Moon Woo Jin & Lee Re. This pair set the tone for the whole drama; given that they grew from the same miserable, abusive homes yet Mok Ha had this spark that Ki Ho was so drawn to instantly. Looking forward to the projects of these young actors, hopefully together in a project, in their 20s or 30s, someday. Heck, if production could have waited another ten years & let these kids finish out the drama themselves! No offense, PEB & CJH …
Speaking of PEB & CJH, shipping this couple now!