You From Another Star: It's a bird. It's a plane. It's . . .

Well, helloooo strange visitor from another dramaverse.

I’m a sucker for Superman. So imagine my surprise when I found the Joseon version of him on my TV screen last night. Truth be told, I felt very little interest in You From Another Star, but made myself watch it so I could enjoy the recaps today. There I sat folding laundry as a flying saucer crashed into 17th century Korea. Towels, socks, underw . . . wait. What is this amazing thing unfolding before my eyes? Needless to say, I had to stop folding the laundry. It’s such a stylish, beautifully shot, Alien-Fusion-Superhero hybrid that I’m rubbing my hands together, just waiting for where it will take us.

No Red Tights Needed 

Not only do I love Superman, but I have a serious thing for Clark Kent. So the sight of our alien eye candy wheeling around in a snazzy suit and giving the most hilarious college lecture on the mating ritual of bugs. Be still my heart. Kim Soo-hyun plays this part with a tight restraint, yet you never feel like he’s phoning it in. There’s acting going on, even when he’s completely still. Which happens a lot. He sits calmly at his desk or stands motionless in an elevator and you still get an other-worldly vibe from him. This guy is good.

She’s no Lois Lane 

This girl. *Snerk * K-drama females aren’t exactly known for their SAT scores. Cute, clumsy, heart-of-gold Candies are the staple. But this anti-heroine takes braindead to a hysterically low level. When I thought about it later, I realized that I don’t actually like her. Yet. She’s self-centered, abrasive, and dumb as a rock. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t hate her, and find her clueless antics highly entertaining. Anyone who can karaoke into a hairdryer like that can’t be all bad. But the show isn’t trying to sugarcoat this girl, and I appreciate that. She’s got a lot of room for growth, and I hope the drama slowly develops her to the point that I love her in the end.

Cue the Hero Shot

This show is pretty, pretty, pretty. And I’m not just talking about the actors. The matrixy leaves being brushed aside during our extraterrestrial introduction. The multiple versions of Kim Soo-hyun in period clothing as we fast-forward through four hundred years. Everything looks like a movie. Can they really keep this kind of quality up through the chaos of a live-shoot? If so, I will be one happy K-camper.

Faithful Sidekicks 

Maybe I have a Yoo Inna bias because of Queen Inhyun’s Man, but I’m really rooting for her. She hardly had any lines, yet she won my sympathy right off the bat. The way she silently suffered in the van as her manager tried to get better treatment for her told a lot about her character. She doesn’t seem like the scheming second lead type even though it’s obvious she’s nuts about the guy who’s nuts about the heroine. I really liked Park Hae-jin in My Daughter, Seo-young, so I guess there’s a bias for him, too. I hope these two get their own side-couple storyline, and we get double happy-ever-afters in the end.

Or is Happy-Ever-After even an option?

The thread of fate runs strong through this story. The revelation of our OTP’s previous meetings both in the near and distant past delights the romantic in me. But I’m worried. There’s something inherently tragic lying just under the surface. We don’t know the details yet, but the reason he’s been stuck on earth all this time is because of an accident that caused her death back in the Joseon era. Four hundred years later, he finally gets the chance to go home and meets her again only three months before his departure date. Will he go? Will he stay? And, even if he chooses to remain with her, she will eventually grow old and die. This leaves him alone again, and still so far from home. I’m okay with bawling like mad in the middle, as long as I’m smiling when the credits roll. Please, show. Don’t break my heart.

It’s easy to get swept away by a story when the actors generate enough electricity to light up Pittsburgh. I first saw these two together on a movie I saw on my plane ride back from London and they were the best part of The Thieves. Believe me. I’m already squeeing in anticipation for what’s to come.