You From Another Star: Wherefore art thou?

Being a happy-ever-after junkie, there are certain descriptors that make me drop a dvd back on the store shelf like it’s contagious. Words like heartwrenching. Or based-on-a-true-story. And that giant of all red flags – starcrossed. I admit some tragedies are too good to ignore. Who can hate the soul searing beauty of Romeo’s declaration, “Then love-devouring death do what he dare; It is enough I may but call her mine.” *Swoon*

What does Shakespeare have to do with K-drama you ask? I’m afraid this story is giving me a starcrossed lovers vibe. How is it labeled a Romantic-Comedy? Granted, there are some hilarious moments. But the overall mood is thoughtful, lonely, and a little tragic. That being said, I’m still eating it up. Whether the end brings triumph or heartbreak, it looks like I’m in it for the long haul.

These violent delights have violent ends

I thought we were done with the Joseon backstory, but far from it. A whole mystery surrounds the child-widow in the past. Her mother makes her copy long, morbid death passages for her homework. And some masked bandit with an unknown motive is trying to kill her, but fails thanks to our Sageuk Superman. This makes the second rescue by the sweet alien, but we already know she still dies. No wonder his future self is so averse to messing with fate.

Et tu, Brute? 

The newly arrived 17th century Min-joon feels different from his 21st century self. Less jaded. Happy to wander about like a space travel tourist, enjoying the sights of this strange planet called Earth. And not averse to stepping in and helping those in need. He arranges a gambling win for a father who bets his sick daughter’s medicine money, but this decision comes back to haunt him when the unscrupulous father tries to sell his offspring for one more chance at the tables. I get the feeling that four hundred years of being constantly disappointed by people is what led to Min-joon’s fatalistic attitude. I hope the human race gets a redemption arc before the end of the show.

One may smile, and smile, and be a villain

I don’t think Evil Brother is getting any redemption, not that he’d ever ask for it. He’s too busy threatening hysterical women on the phone. His smiling persona of the puppy savior clashes so drastically with his psychotic alter-ego who expects his victims to thank him for not killing them. *Shiver* I don’t know what he has to do with our main couple, but you can be sure he’ll orchestrate something nasty in the future. And I can’t help but wonder if the masked kidnapper in Joseon will prove to be him, as well. Time will tell.

What fools these mortals be 

Open, Sesame! Was this everyone’s favorite part, or just me? The drunken Song-yi trying to break in to her professor’s apartment injected some much-needed comedy into this “Rom-Com”. Which then led to some naked-shoulder staring from our brainy hero, proving he’s not made of stone. For such a detached observer, he got awfully worked up when Hwi-kyung took her away. It appears that our emotional robot has a heart after all.

Though this be madness, yet there is method in’t 

Thank you, show. Thank you for not dragging out their past connection mystery for six episodes. Min-joon now knows that Song-yi is the girl he rescued twelve years ago, thanks to a family photo in her wallet. And his calm, collected demeanor is starting to crack like crazy. It’s fascinating how attuned to the idea of fate our Scholarly Spock is. You would expect him to sneer at such things, but he’s seen too many “coincidences” to ignore his connection with this woman. Where will it all lead?

Will this drama be All’s Well That Ends Well or Romeo and Juliet? Will it leave me all hearts and flowers, or huddled in a weeping mess? Either way, it looks like it’s going to be a tale worth telling.