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You From Another Star: Episode 1

Ooh, finally a show that gets me excited. I have been waiting for you aaaaages! (Okay, months. But sometimes that can feel like forever.)

Aside from having stars I like and a quirky premise, I love that already I love the characters and feel their dilemmas. (Jeon Ji-hyun is great! A happy surprise, as I have always kinda liked her but never been moved by her.) Plus, while the unaging-alien-falls-for-actress setup was funny, I wasn’t sure where the story could go from there—but the show sets up the rules right away and gives us high stakes and a ticking clock, and that means I am invested. All the way. Bring it on.

Ratings were strong out of the gate, with You From Another Star drawing in a solid 15.6% rating, while Miss Korea drew a 7.0% for its premiere and Pretty Man settled back down at 3.5%. The game has just begun so it’s early days yet, but it’s a good sign for the show.

SONG OF THE DAY

Cranfield – “Sand Castle” [ Download ]

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RECAP: FIRST RECORD

We begin in 1609, the first year of Gwanghae’s reign during the Joseon era. It’s on August 25 that a mysterious “round, shining flying object” was sighted and logged in the official records; it zoomed overhead with “a thunderous noise” before disappearing into sparks, leaving the skies clear and cloudless.

(This is a real part of historical record, and served as the basis for tvN’s sci-fi-mystery drama Joseon X-Files, which I recommend by the way.)

A procession makes its way along a mountain road, carrying a young girl who was widowed just as soon as she was married. Suddenly, the UFO appears directly above them, kicking up such a fierce wind that the travelers go flying.

The young widow is buffeted about in her sedan chair, which eventually gets caught up in the tornado and skids along the ground, teetering at the edge of a cliff. Time slows down to a crawl as the sedan chair flies over the edge and the widow braces for death…

With the world suspended nearly at a standstill, along comes a figure in all black, walking without difficulty through the maelstrom.

The man comes to the sedan chair and pulls it back from the precipice, setting it safely down on the ground. As time resumes, the wind dies down to a slow breeze and our hero offers a hand to the widow.

We cut to the hero in modern times, sitting down to an interview with an unseen audience. He informs us of his origins with that UFO, which carried him from a planet extremely similar to Earth, which he identifies as KMT184.05.

We see different versions of our alien hero, named DO MIN-JOON (Kim Soo-hyun), as he lives through the 400 years since his landing, from the hanboks to the groovy seventies fashions to the sleek bachelor of today.

Min-joon explains having acclimated perfectly to Earth living (throwaway mention of water yields obligatory shower scene!), although his senses are seven times keener than humans: “Thanks to that, I do see things I don’t want to see, and hear things I don’t want to hear.”

Perhaps telekinesis is one of those perks, as a water glass goes sliding into his hand of its own accord. Min-joon sits down to a solo feast, saying that he can’t mix saliva or blood with humans: “That’s why I always eat alone.”

He bicycles his way to work, and witnesses a handbag theft on the street. He doesn’t step in, saying, “It’s meaningless to intervene in their lives.” He didn’t want to come to Earth, but he believes that what will happen will happen, regardless of whether you want it to: “Earthlings call this Fate.”

A news report catches Min-joon’s eye, and he stops in the road to watch news of a comet heading toward Earth. Back at his interview, he sets an hourglass to restart its countdown and says, “A new Fate is beginning. A comet I’ve waited 400 years for is approaching Earth. In three months, I will be able to return to my planet.”

On to our heroine, top actress CHUN SONG-YI (Jeon Ji-hyun), who takes a coffee break while filming a drama. She only wants the mocha for sel-ca purposes, posting a tweet with a cutesy photo and a quip thanking a famous historical figure for smuggling in those mocha seeds centuries ago.

Too bad Song-yi’s attempt at wit only exposes her ignorance; the guy smuggled in cotton seeds (mok-hwa), not mochas.

Her poor manager and her agency CEO are used to cleaning up after Song-yi’s mistakes, but it’s still a hassle to deal with. Even as CEO Ahn bemoans Song-yi’s stupidity, to her face he’s all obsequious pandering, suggesting that she quit tweeting because she’s too good for those nitpicky netizens. She doesn’t want to: “Then who would I talk to?” Oh, that’s sad.

Song-yi gets her CEO to back off with the vague threat of jumping ship to his rival’s agency. So she’s book-stupid, but rather street-smart.

In a university department office, Min-joon’s professor colleagues invite him to a departmental dinner, which he’s always declined. They joke that he doesn’t even know his colleagues’ names, and rather than answer, he excuses himself. Ha.

Song-yi’s manager tries in vain to get her to quit social media, reminding her of the “garlic pizza incident” (when she didn’t know that the word garlic was the food garlic) and begs her to consider the mysterious goddess approach to fame. She says she doesn’t care about internet hate comments and refuses her manager’s escort up to her new apartment. He’s nervous of her riding in elevators with strangers, given that run-in with a pervert that had him actually pitying the pervert.

It’s at the elevator that Song-yi is joined by Min-joon, and gives him an interested look up and down. When he doesn’t push a floor button, she assumes he’s a stalker and gets in his face, offering a photo in exchange for him getting lost. She follows him out shouting, only to realize he’s her neighbor.

Song-yi tries to smooth things over and asks if he knows who she is. Blank-faced, Min-joon wonders, “Do I have to know that?” Then he enters his apartment and leaves Song-yi confused, asking herself, “How can he not know who I am? Is he from North Korea? Or an alien?”

At a fancy restaurant, four stage moms dine together while the two leaders snipe at each other passive-aggressively. Their kids all started out acting together, but now only two are still in showbiz: Song-yi and the less-famous Se-mi. Song-yi’s mother is the tacky ajumma who puts on airs, while Se-mi’s mother is the quietly elegant one who nevertheless seethes because her daughter is always the sidekick and second lead.

Song-yi’s mom loves bragging about her, but has to cover up her embarrassment at not even knowing that Song-yi moved. So she calls her afterward to complain at her daughter’s lack of contact, interrupting Song-yi in an internet-reading session. (Song-yi scoffs that the netizens are immature brats to insult her, but can’t hide the tears in her eyes.)

There’s an interesting history here, because it’s Mom who previously declared their relationship over and now she’s pestering Song-yi for news and—more to the point—money. Song-yi has put up mountains of cash for her mother to run a restaurant into the ground, and an import business, and a diet company…

Song-yi listens blank-faced as Mom snaps that she owes her for giving her that face and body, especially since she’s a crappy actress. On the verge of tears, Song-yi retorts that she resembles Dad, not Mom—the man Mom ditched the moment he lost his money.

Mom tells Song-yi to call her Yoon-jae, her kid brother, who hasn’t come home in two days. Song-yi sighs that he’s run away again, and dutifully calls.

High schooler Yoon-jae is currently playing games at the PC room, pointedly ignoring noona’s phone calls. Looks like we’re dealing with the silent rebel type here, all quiet angst and glowering. When Yoon-jae’s buddies photoshop a bikini shot of Song-yi and cackle about doing it with nudes, he erupts at them and warns them to delete it. They don’t know he’s the big star’s brother so the outburst has them confused, but aw.

That night, Min-joon struggles to fall asleep, thanks to his superhuman hearing powers that pick up dripping faucets and loud neighbors. Next door, Song-yi’s dealing with her hurt feelings by scream-singing into her hair dryer, and Min-joon finally can’t take it anymore and heads to her door to complain. Tellingly, she looks more miserable than giddy when she stops singing.

Song-yi apologizes for the loud singing, but Min-joon is too annoyed to let it go easily and adds that she’s disturbing the peace, which is a reportable crime. That raises her hackles, and she takes out her hurt from the netizens onto him, saying that she’s been bashed all day long. She’s just taking out her frustrations, but he’s telling her she can’t even do that?

She starts to break down, but stops and excuses herself. She cries in her bed, wondering what she did to merit such hate. Next door, Min-joon hears her sobs in loud detail, compounding his guilt.

Unable to sleep, Min-joon heads down to his enormous study, crammed full of books from as far back as Joseon. He takes out a journal and starts writing: “A record of my last three months on Earth.”

On the drama set, perpetual sidekick YOO SE-MI’s (Yoo Inna) indignant manager protests to the director for the lack of scheduling consideration. Se-mi has been on standby since early dawn and then made to wait needlessly, to which the director snaps that Se-mi should be a star if it bothers her so much. She jumps in to soothe tempers, apologizing for her manager.

There’s another scandal on the horizon for Song-yi, who is technically a university student but hasn’t been to campus in ages, leading to a report on celebrity favoritism. The report is scathing, particularly since she was free enough to go tweeting about her daily activities.

CEO Ahn jumps into damage control mode, telling Song-yi she’ll be shooting her scenes secretly at night, and urges her to go to school today. Sure, she’ll get scorned for the timing, but it’s better than not going at all, he argues.

On to our last main character, LEE HWI-KYUNG (Park Hae-jin), the playboy son of a chaebol. He arrives at the airport and sees the Song-yi tweet, and is thus waiting to say hello with open arms. Those arms get readily rebuffed, but he cheerily offers to drive her to school.

Hwi-kyung is good-natured and frivolous, pestering Song-yi to marry him this year. She treats him just like a friend, though, saying that she’s not interested in marrying soon. Besides, she won’t get any good roles (surely a meta statement, given Jeon’s relatively new married status), scoffing that she ain’t doing rom-coms in particular. Heh.

She pushes his buttons on purpose by saying she’s gonna do a hot melo, all full of kissing and bed scenes, and Hwi-kyung sweats while insisting he’s totally cool with that.

Her arrival at school causes a huge commotion, and she walks in like the movie star she is, all slo-mo struts and glamorous backlighting. The male students drool in awe and the female students snipe that she’s all plastic surgery.

The professor arrives, and Song-yi sits up in surprise: It’s Min-joon. Her manager says it’s good that she already knows him, since he’s known for being a stickler and she already got one F, lol. Song-yi cringes to recall all the ways she probably offended her prof.

Of course, she doesn’t help things by yawning through his lecture (on fly mating rituals, and how each side one-ups each other in a cycle of trickery) and violently nodding off.

Still, she hangs back after class to smooth over the matter some more, trying some flattery and empty words at first, which don’t interest him. So she drops the act and levels with him: She has to come to school due to the press, but she doesn’t want to hand in the report. She pleads with him to cut her a little slack, since trading favors is how people live.

That gets Min-joon’s attention, and he says no, that’s not how people live: He looms over her and backs her against a table as he says that people take advantage of you once you’ve helped them, asking for more and more help. And then they never repay you as they promised.

With that, he leaves. She’s a little flustered by all the in-your-face closeness (rawr), and a little offended at that young prof talking down to her.

That evening, Min-joon plays chess with a much older lawyer friend at an old-fashioned cafe, and the two trade fond memories about how the dramas and singers and movie stars of yore were way better than all the youngsters of today. Ha, I’m gonna die laughing if this old man was once Min-joon’s (physical) age.

Song-yi has dinner with Hwi-kyung and Se-mi, all of whom have known each other for years. Hwi-kyung takes out a ring and calls Se-mi’s name… and asks her to be witness to his proposal. Aw, man. Poor Se-mi, who has to sit by and watch Song-yi get the guy and the ring.

Ah, Lawyer Jang knows about his background, because Min-joon tells him he’ll need another falsified death record in three months. Min-joon does this once a decade, but he’s only been Min-joon for two years, which makes Lawyer Jang curious. “I think this will be my last,” Min-joon explains. He thanks Lawyer Jang (“my only friend”) and tells him he’ll be heading back home.

For old time’s sake, Lawyer Jang pulls out an old photo of them, when he was thirty years younger and Min-joon looked exactly the same. Min-joon says, “This is why I was afraid to make friends. People age quickly, and die quickly. I’m the only one left behind, just the same.”

Lawyer Jang asks why Min-joon couldn’t go home when he first landed here. Min-joon says there was an accident that prevented his return, and caused the death of a child: “The first child to give me a gift.”

In a flashback, we see that young widow offering Min-joon a drawing—a landscape, with a UFO in the sky. She says, “It was in the sky the day you came riding in it, like a moon.” She asks if he’s the grim reaper, and he smiles.

Present-day Min-joon recalls another strange event, from twelve years ago on Christmas Eve. He was a doctor then, and a strange feeling had washed over him. He’d had an image flash in his mind, of a girl about to be hit by a truck—and it was the girl with the same face as the girl from 1609.

Song-yi looks at the diamond ring dispassionately and reminds Hwi-kyung of the ring he’d given her on Christmas Eve, when they were in middle school. She hadn’t accepted it then, and she isn’t going to accept it now. She apologizes and returns the box, while Hwi-kyung tells himself he’s been rejected so much it doesn’t even hurt anymore. But he does want to know why she doesn’t want him.

Song-yi replies, “His face—do you remember it?”

So now we see a flashback from her perspective, of young Song-yi (looking just like that widowed Joseon girl) crying as she runs off, rejecting Hwi-kyung’s gift in the process. He chases after her, too far behind to do anything as she steps into the path of a truck.

Everything comes screeching to a halt. And there Song-yi is, cradled in the arms of Min-joon, safely out of harm’s way.

Se-mi calls that man Song-yi’s first love, which is an idea Hwi-kyung finds ridiculous. Song-yi corrects her, saying that he wasn’t quite first love material but had always remained in her mind. She can’t quite remember his face, but she’d always wanted to talk to him.

Back to Min-joon’s side of the flashback. He sees Song-yi running into the path of the truck and reacts with his superhuman reflexes, saving her just as he had saved her doppelganger 400 years ago. Young Song-yi asks if he’s a ghost or a grim reaper.

Min-joon asks his lawyer friend whether that night was a dream, and whether it’s possible for two people to have the same face. “If it wasn’t a dream, I’d like to meet her again before I leave,” he says. “But I suppose that’s impossible.”

As he comes home that night, he comes face to face with Song-yi again. Destiny?

 
COMMENTS

Aw, I love this setup. I was a little worried (okay, outright dubious) about the setup just because I wasn’t sure where the conflict lay, but now that it’s right there front and center, I’m so hooked into the dilemma that I’m in, all the way. The alien has waited 400 years for his chance to return home, and finally gets his window… only to fall in love? I’d say life-or-death stakes are as high as you can get, but this takes that to more of an extreme in turning that upside-down—the fate worse than death is a lifetime of blank eternity, living alone and friendless, away form home, unconnected and uncaring. It’s not unlike Gumiho daddy’s dilemma in Gu Family Book, except hopefully less tragic. Or, you know, not tragic at all.

I love the way Kim Soo-hyun plays this character, who is completely accustomed to human ways except for perhaps the most important one: feeling. Caring. It’s not that he’s incapable of love, but he hasn’t allowed himself to because a lifetime of love is a lifetime of pain, and so he waits for his comet while living as an observer in his own life. It’s just so sad.

The role reminds me of everything I loved about him in Covertly, Grandly, which I know got some mixed reviews but which I loved pretty hard, flaws and all. In both he played an outsider learning to care, only in You From Another Star we get the double-whammy of pairing him with a co-star with whom he has sizzling chemistry. (Honestly, I’m half-convinced that this drama came about because a bunch of people saw The Thieves, said Man those two really need a romance together in a drama, and then said If they won’t make it then IIIIIII will!)

I’ll say this: I have liked Jeon Ji-hyun in the past, and even thought her a decent actress a cut above the “only an actress because she’s pretty” group of starlets in showbiz. On the other hand, I haven’t really connected with her characters before, so it’s a huge relief to be so drawn to her here. The writing helps, of course, because while we’ve seen very little of Song-yi’s backstory, there are enough hints built in to make me curious to know how she got to be the way she is—wanting connection despite her complete disconnection with the world, her outward blasé attitude warring with her desire to be liked by people, even the ones who mock her.

It’s that loneliness that makes these two characters such a great match, Fate tie-ins be damned (which, shrug, are the part I care least about at this point). They’re both completely isolated in different ways, afraid of making a connection and also of never making a connection. I enjoy the bratty top-star character just in general because it’s basically the opposite of what Korean stars are allowed to reveal in real life, but I found myself caring a lot more about Song-yi than I thought I would. She’s not egotistic just because egotism is funny (and it is—see Dokko Jin and Joo Joong-won); she’s so starved for affection that she’d rather have hate mail than no mail, even when that hate mail rubs her heart raw and makes her cry at night.

So you have two lonely hearts with a prior connection and a ticking clock that threatens to cut short their time together (all good stuff), mixed in with a healthy dose of first loves and Fate and maybe reincarnated souls (which basically sounds like a recipe for a hot mess). Yet You From Another Star pulls my heart-strings in all the right ways, and is beautifully shot and lovely to look at on top of that. I’m in the mix for a heart-warming romantic comedy, and now I’ve got all excited about this one. Please, please, continue to be good. It’s my Christmas wish!

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Thank you!

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Thank you and I would like to ask you what you think of the epilogue? It is shown after the preview at the end of the show. Since I didn't see anyone mention about it, I would like to direct your attention there. It was very funny hearing him tell us in his ever collected and calm manner, that he has served the army for 47 years after the snide remarks of his colleagues, haha!

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A couple of people mentioned that part but for 49yrs instead of 47.

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I'm not sure if I'm doing this right but you mentioned Gu: Family Book and I loved that serious I read your review and I know you're not crazy about it but the similarity and yes hopefully less tragic

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Watched this and Miss Korea last night. I liked this one better. Love Jeon Ji-hyun's character. Also just realized that this is Yoo Inna's third time to play a star/actress in a drama.

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Liked this better as well. The drama was better than expected. Only wish, they didn't add the fate connection, premonition, save from truck bit.

Also, good thing the producers were able to steer away from that Yunho casting. OMG that would have been a travesty of epic proportions. Just try and imagine it, go ahead *pause* yeah, thank goodness for small favors.

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Haha same! I'm glad, I need to watch a drama to recover from Heirs.. /shudder.

Also I can't be the only one that is in love with cinematography in this drama right? It's so fantastic and great omg

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Hey you're right!!!! HAHA!

Kang Seri from Greatest Love
Choi Hee Jin from Queen In Hyun's Man!

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I really liked the episode! He has got to be one of the hottest aliens EVER! And she is one hilarious basket-case!

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She is a basket case, but with a mother like, who wouldn't be :D

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May I just say Jeon Ji Hyun is just beautiful like seriously. She looks just as wonderful as she did her Sassy days, maybe even better.

Anyway, story looks rockin and I'm excited to see how this turns out.

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yeah, she surely is beautiful in here - soo pretty!!!

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YUP! KSH played the un-aged-able hot alien, but seriously goddamn, Jeon Ji Hyun looks screamingly the SAME as back 2002 in Sassy Girl. What?Now is 2013-end? In sort cuts, there is a mature glimpse on her face, but thats like so little, 5%? She is ALIEN. I have no idea whats she gotten.

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Oh, yes. She's always been spectacularly beautiful, and there were times in this drama I wanted to thank the camera for lingering on the perfection of her face.

And blessedly, she's always had more than her looks going for her - she's a good actress, that scene with Song-yi on the phone with her mother and with Min-joon after the singing nearly made me cry, which is not something I thought would happen in ep 1 of a rom-com!

Also, it looks like SBS have yet another ratings hit on their hands, 15-odd percent for a premiere? If the story holds the way it's doing so far, that's only going to get better.

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Loved this first episode!!!

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javabeans, thanks for the recap. Oh no, another great show is coming along that will probably own my soul.

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This is what I need right now. I love it already, thank you so much for the recap <3.

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Yay! Good to see you onboard Kiara, since i know you only watch the rare underdogs. :)

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I like rooting for the little guys but I really need something fun and light right now :).

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REALLY! thank you, in fact all i wanted was the name of the 'star' already on ep 17, but thanks, i didn't want to watch the whole episode again to get the name :)

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Julia I thought you only love Beautiful Man :D

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I sort of want to break up with Pretty Man after episode 9.

My love for David Choi and desire to keep him from harm is huge. I'm going to pluck David Choi directly out of the drama into my life, and let the show go on without him, so David can play and sing for me. hahaha

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I think many of us can agree with having second lead syndrome for that drama.

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Me too. I love David Choi so much. I'm upset he's not in my life.

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This may be a case of where I actually wish there were FEWER shows worth watching, simply because I don't have time to digest them all. Between this and Prime Minister, and the other shows it is getting hard to keep up (also watching 3 j-dramas and a C-drama).

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Hahha, I see. But are you still watching Beautiful Man? Somehow I couldnt get through the 1st episode of Prime Minister and I.

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Still watching Pretty Man, but last 3 episodes or so it seems to be in a rut, and really wish Bo Tong would start to grow up. I am hoping this one does not start to fizzle out halfway through.

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I don't know which episodes you're still on, but imo eps 9/10 gave us some progress in bo tong as a character. :)

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Yup, she surprised me on Christmas night :D First time I see a girl in Korean drama actually abandons her first option for the second not because she prefers the second one but because she thinks it's fair to keep her promise. She is childish fun but also sufficiently rational. I like that.
The last 2 episodes didn't have the crazy sock things going on anymore but I still have quite some good laughs.
I'm so sad dramabeans decided to stop recapping this show... and sorry to discuss this show in another show's thread!

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Okay, I laughed at that shower scene. Couldn't the director find a way to make it seem he was naked instead of having a towel around his waist while showering? Great abs though. Didn't expect KSH to have that.

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Right? Who showers with a towel on... even if you are not human. I feel like 400 years of showering you would know that by now.

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That shower scene was perfect but that stupid towel ruined it. WAE.....

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Thank god, I was hoping I wasn't the only one who noticed that.

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haha, yes, couldn't let that towel go by without a comment!

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towel say what!!. As long as he does not cry i am in. Cry face fugly

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Omg I thought I was the only one ........ ...

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I just want to comment 1st then off to read! Since I've active drop a comment here during master's sun and not in the mood to comment during the heirs recaps since that drama didn't make an impact to me.. so here goes! I'm not yet watch the 1st ep.. but I just want to tell im so excited to watch thid drama likr aaaagesss! Like the writer say.. thats all.. and thanx for the recaps javabeans

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I'm loving this show so far! The first episode is so good. It's one of the few dramas that have pulled me in by the first ep this year. It feels like I've been waiting forever for my crack drama, and this just might be it.

I'm loving Chung Song Yi, the airhead actress. She's so dumb but so damn likable. LOL. Also a love that spans centuries? Count me in. HAHA :)

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Finally!! great start..looks promising though..okay, I'm going to watch this after office^^

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Wait, but they can't kiss? Right? Because the saliva thing? That's gonna kill me!!!!

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i know right. i was wondering the same thing. how bad is it ? allergic reaction? in the name of love

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Like Tae San eating shrimp?

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I love how most of our comments and concerns are about this saliva part, LOL. I'm sure they'll kiss and we'll just have to see what the consequences, if any, will be. And if it's anything like The Thieves, it'll be hot.

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I'm guessing it will practically kill what I am hoping will be are new favorite alien.

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are = our: I really need to start proofreading myself.

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Well if it turns out to be deadly they might aswell give us one hell of a kiss

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Maybe he killed the Joseon girl by kissing her and his saliva is poisonous to humans... that'd be sad

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Or he is doomed to age like human beings?

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Oohhh, that would be great!

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I'm glad i wasn't the only one concerned about that non-mixing saliva bit.
Surely they have to find a way/loophole around that cause you dont just put kim soo hyun and jeon ji hyun together and NOT have a kiss scene.

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Does that mean it will change his body, so that he won't be able to travel back to his planet?

Can he get a talisman so that it grants him immunity to kiss? Or maybe 9 incense sticks with an alloted time for kissing?

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I checked it out when it was raw (I skipped many parts) and the scenes I saw were kinda dull/sad so I got worried but then I watched the whole thing subbed and really loved it!

Jeon Ji Hyun is a trip! Hilarious and gorgeous!

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javabeans. u r the best. no matter if i have watched the ep or not, i find solace in ur recaps. love u jb!!!! arigatoo

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no mixed saliva??? no kiss??
thanks javabeans^^

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I guess I'll have to give it a try then....but I'm keeping this for later marathon :)

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I usually don't comment but....this shows first episode was amazing...I'm so excited for it!!!!!

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Great first episode with a good balance of humor and depth. Love the characters and the chemistry between JJH and KSH. LOL at what you said @javabeans in regards to them in The Thieves but SO true, someone had to do it and I'm glad it's this.

In regards to KSH:
1. So aliens shower with a towel on, boo.
2. The part where he mentions that he can't mix blood and saliva with humans.. um, what will happen when he starts kissing JJH? rAwr.

JJH looks flawless in every angle especially her hair and KSH is yummy.

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The cut-off/teaser scene after the preview was awesome, where he talked about how each time he got a new identity, he had to off to the army. Then the show of pictures of him in an army/war across different eras... with the exact same face... such lawls.

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i loved that part!! and i liked that it tied back to the past bit when his colleagues were all offended that he didn't even say their names - and now we see why. he knows that they are always b*tching about him behind his back, so why bother trying to pretend to be nice? (of course, maybe if he had tried a bit when he first met them they wouldn't be so mean, but still - excellent tie-back)

loving this show! (minus the towel - just shoot from the waist up! otherwise it's really really dumb)

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Love the set up....is ALL Alien gonna be this HOT

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Loved the first episode. It feels so whimsical. All of the instrumental music in this drama is awesome! Hopefully is continues to be fantastic!

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i was anticipating this drama for agesss, to other ppls the the heirs might be their most anticipating drama but for me its this dramaaaaa because of jun ji hyun and kim soo hyun come back (oh yeah!). i was concerned at first because the teasers and trailers doesn't seem all that interesting and it was kinda...disconnecting in some way no matter how i look at it BUT i guess it's wrong to judge a drama based on posters and trailer because 1ST EPISODE LEFT GREAT IMPRESSION ON ME ....arghhh the cinematography is just perfecttt and there is some depth behind the characters.15% is a great start yayy....

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I felt totally disconnected from Heirs, but this one and PM have managed to suck me in right away. But this shows also why I don't trust teasers and pre-publicity any more, it is not possible to really get a feel for how well the actors, directors, and writers all work together to make a show actually work.

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Agree. im long past the days of using teasers and stills as a reliable basis on formulating an opinion on the show or whether or not i'll be checking it out.
Too many times great stills give us decent/bad turn outs and sucky/boring stills give us great shows.

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Same here. Teasers, stills and publicity appearances/posters are zero guarantee of anything in a drama these days except maybe of telling if a lead couple have some chemistry at the outset (Master's Sun, Heirs, now this).

I mean, I Hear Your Voice and Secret would probably be enough of a lesson to people to watch the actual show before making judgements, instead of just going by the pre-show buzz - both shows had none.

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For me its Miss Korea!

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Jeon Ji Hyun strikes me as a inherently head-strong character. So I don't know how underplaying would suit her. Yoo In Ah on the other hand would fit in like a glove... & even end up looking cute. :-P

I liked all the subtle references- married actress playing a Melo, Kim Soo Hyun being a North Korean, etc. The ending sequence covering his military experience was quirky & refreshing ... :-)

BTW... is it only me who thinks, KSH sports a constipated look? Well, look at the first and last pictures in this very post.... he looks like he was swallowing something but stopped mid-way :-D
All the more funny :-D

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It's a very HOT constipated look. He works it with a lot of "umph!"

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I really enjoyed the first episode. Loved how all characters were introduced, briefing of their background, interact and the overall premises of the drama. Unassuming first episode. Dang, if Aliens looked like KHS, please send more to Earth!

I never thought much of JJH, except she was pretty but she did great in the first episode! Omg, what kind of shampoo does she use? I love how they use a different lighting on her whenever she's on screen and/or in her diva-mode. Lol Female version of Dokko Gin!

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While I was watching the episode I kept thinking she was the female version of Dokko Jin! So I wasn't the only one thinking this. LOL

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- The teenage Joseon Song-yi really looks like JJH without that beauty mark on the nose, I had to watch that on repeat because I really thought it was her at first.
- Song-yi's female asst looked soooo familiar that I had to pause vid and google where I had seen her before. She was that milk girl in Master's Sun.
- Lol at Song-yi's tweets and that singing scene. Also laughed at the meta statement that she won't gt any good roles when she gets married.
- "...she's book stupid, but rather street smart" LSG came to mind. He's the exact opposite in Noonas Over Flowers
- Na-jung's mom! I loved how she handled Song-yi's terrible mom
- Song-yi's arrival at school was totally awesome. The role really suits JJH. She's so pretty. Also, I like the PD most during that scene.

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Oh! Thank you, I was trying to figure out where I knew the assistant from! And yeah, the girl playing young Song Yi is very well cast. I totally believe that she was Song Yi 12 years ago. How old is Song Yi supposed to be though? 25?

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She's supposed to be 28 I read...

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The only thing i have to pick with this show is the whole fate/reincarnated souls idea which is a bit more on the cliche side for me, but this first episode got me hooked and proper.

The cinematography is GORGEOUS (what else should we expect from director of tree with deep roots). The "action" scenes are very slick. You can tell this director loves his sageuk scenes because of the attention to detail. Heck, he makes everything visually stunning, from the pieces of leaves floating in the air to the falling snow.

Song-Yi is definitely the female version of Dokko Jin. I can see how one could find her haughty/BIG ego a turn off, but Jeon Ji Hyun adds that extra layer of vulnerability that just makes me LOVE her so much. It took me a few episodes in to love a character like hye-sung from IHYV, but already i'm invested in Song-Yi.

I love me my smart heros and Min-Joon fits that. He's the closest thing to Boong Do i've seen in in a while since Queen In hyun's man.
I also enjoy it when we get a reversal where the girl thinks she's the hot shot, while the guy is the one unmoved. Love seeing song-yi getting her ego squished when he didn't acknowledge her.
Such good chemistry. I've been missing me some whimsical romance and slick action that keeps the story moving along.

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Song-Yi is definitely the female version of Dokko Jin. I can see how one could find her haughty/BIG ego a turn off, but Jeon Ji Hyun adds that extra layer of vulnerability that just makes me LOVE her so much.

She's totally Dokko Jin, only the egotism comes from a place of vulnerability and not imperviousness.

There's really something to be said for casting a seasoned veteran actor with a decade plus of experience, in roles like these - they do bring that something extra to the table, when they have the talent. I noted it in Master's Sun, but the same goes here too - this role would NOT be the same if you had some young idol or some actor who only has a career because of prettiness, in the role of Song-yi.

And yeah, young Song-yi does look like JJH, though initially I thought she looked like Yoon Eun-hye. (though I noticed thanks to Golden Rainbow, Kim Yoo-jung is really growing up to look a lot like a young Jeon Ji-hyun!)

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Woah the rating from first episode already give us info that the viewer love them.....the CEO of SBS surely very happy ...after..not so good drama in the months..they get two big rating drama straight in the row.....woah...
Glad that this drama get airing in Wed-thurs...so it doesn't compete with my beloved drama Empress Ki... I t will be difficult to choose if my precious JCW had to compete head to head with my Cheona KSH ...lol

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Reminds me of Twilight, but the alien kind. I am hooked! More shower scene, pretty please.

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Just one comment:

Thank GOD finally KSH gets to co-star with someone of his equal in talent and looks. (the horrors with him starring opposite Han Ga In who can't act for nuts just put me OFF that totally over-rated drama)

Now I just hope the story is good for the entire run!

Hooray!

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I love how talented they both are (and i might have to give the edge to Jeon Ji Hyun for this episode. still love ya kim soo hyun!) so it makes watching them together that more pleasant.
It totally sucks seeing a much more capable actor acting alongside a much lesser capable one.*cough MTETS* The imbalance is so discernible that it just throws off the synergy of the leads whenever they're together.

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Can't agree more with what you said!!

It's tough enough trying to find 2 leads who are as strong and good, unless you have a movie budget to invite these A-listed stars to the same drama. And it still doesn't gaurantee that the 2 will have fireworks-type chemisty together on-screen.

So I give this production team 5 stars for being successful in bringing these 2 leads together.

I have to admit that while I think KSH is absolutely talented, I find his off-screen persona a little robot-like lol eg his no-expression appearance on the year end drama awards' red carpet etc. One day I hope to see him in a comedy! Pureeeeeeeeese! ^^

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yeah, I definitely think JJH was better/got to do more here, and she totally showed why she's a superstar all right. And thank god for decent OTP chemistry on my screen again, it has been too long since Master's Sun.

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He had more chemistry with Kim Min-seo. They were the only two good things from that drama. She should've been shaman Wol/Yeon-woo, but on the other hand Yeon-woo was so boring compared to Bo-kyung.

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Totally agree!

Kim Min Seo gave a really great and memorable performance as Bo-Kyung! So "human" with so much feelings!

vs

Yeon Woo, the cannot-emote-shaman (thanks to Han Ga In)

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Kim Min-seo really rocks her sageuk roles and usually puts in far better performances than the actual leads - she impressed me in SKKS, and in Moon/Sun too.

Shame the adult OTP there didn't live up to the child OTP, I blame casting for that - the leads were initially supposed to be Song Joong-ki and Moon Geun-young, but there is a lot that is thrown off when they cast an actress who had NO chemistry with either of her male leads.

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Love it soooo much........beautiful man u hve competition ? ohhh btw Kim soo Hyun has an outie iyiyiyi (didn't know he was that buff )

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Whew! I can breathe. I'm so relieved that this was a strong first episode. I was half expecting to be completely underwhelmed since my track record for picking dramas to watch this year hasn't been great (I very much identify with HeadNo2's end of year review).

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This drama is pure awesomeness. Jun Jihyun is like the epitome of swag. In a nutshell, her character is just epic. I can't imagine anyone else playing the part except for her. I really love our leads. We've got some really distinct characters with quite a lot of background, which is a great start. We havent seen much of Yoo Inna's character but there's something that intrigues me about her already. I was totally expecting them to have a catty relationship, but so far it's all chillax and sweet. I guess it won't be like that for a lot longer. But I hope they can have a good frenemy relationship. Something similar to Big Sun & Little Sun in MS, or Hyesung & Doyeon in IHYV. Wont that be fun? :)

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THIS WAS SOLID.

it's been so long since a drama's inaugural episode has excited me this much. i expected it would be well written, given the writer's strong track record (you who rolled in unexpectedly, queen of housewives, get karl oh soo jung).

and i knew i'd love kim soo-hyun, but it was jeon who surprised me. she's worked mainly (well, practically exclusively) in film, and in my opinion i just think dramas can be a better gauge of an actor's acting ability. and jeon hasn't done a drama since apparently 1999?! so for me, it was like getting to know her for the first time, despite having watched her most popular films. i loved that she wasn't afraid to get crazy for her character. i was really kind of surprised by her acting, and how good she was.

and garlic pizza gaffe? i literally bust out howling/laughing. you have to understand korean for the hilarity of it to hit you properly, and it just slayed me. i don't know why, but it was the garlic pizza thing that stuck with me.

i think the rankings are where they should be. pretty man might be better with different actors (i will tolerate jang geun-suk, but not IU), and miss korea was all right, but it was nowhere near as good as this one. funny, because premise-wise, miss korea seemed like it would be the more interesting/funner watch.

thank you so much for the recap!

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Am I the only one who found this episode boring and not funny?

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In fact, I will quit this drama because this reminds me of The Moon Embracing the Sun and I HATE that drama. I hate destiny crap and when characters can't forget their first love. But, that's just me. Maybe I'll pick it up again after 10 episodes air, but right now, I'm sick of giving dramas a try, and wishing for them to get better and better, but only to get my hopes down. I realized all the dramas I had watched in 2013 made me mad or rant somehow haha goodbye YFAS, you just aren't my type.

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Nope. I didn't care for it either.

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@ Kate,
Can we be bestfriends, because when i read the recap, i was like really that's it. Because i am tired of characters i cant relate to, and while i have nothing against the male lead, he did kind of look detached from the proccedings, like he was just going through the motions.
I also find the premise ridiculous, he looks that young and he is a professor? It's so ridiculous it's not worth contemplating, the least age amoung my professor's is from mid-late fiftes, do they know how long it takes to get a doctorate, talkless of being a professor, it's like the writers decided we need the male lead to have a job and Bam they decided, let's make him a professor without actually finding out all pertaining and covering their bases.
Okay rant over, i will not be following this drama , i might check what's up with it around episode 10 but until then, astala vista chingus

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We sure can be chingus, but be warned, I rant a lot haha :P and most people don't agree with me. I don't watch dramas to stare at pretty faces, I watch them for the plot and I can already tell, this isn't my cup of tea. I need to leave or people will get mad at me for talking bad about the dramas they like.

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OMG yes, you are the only one. Isn't that the answer you're looking for?

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I did not find it boring, not as funny as PM though. Actually I think it had a good start for a first episode - but we all know how things can get much better or much worse after the first few episodes.

I liked it a lot - but I can also see how things could go wrong if the writer gets a bit too makjang. I always give new dramas at least two, usually four episodes before I go insane for or against them. I am not a fan of the whole "fate and destiny" thing either, but can live with it as long as it does not get to be an over riding plot driver.

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I love Jeon Ji Hyun so. much. She never disappoints at playing badass characters. Our whole introduction to Song Yi in this first episode is art imitating life. Celebrities ruining their images through SNS. Hateful netizen comments. Actresses surviving on an apple and half a lettuce leaf all day. Special university admissions for celebrities. Even money-grubbing celebrity parents.

My favorite male leads have always been the genius, emotionless robots, and Min Joon fits that to a T. This must be the true definition of crushing on your professor. I am very relieved Min Joon has Lawyer Jang to confide in. It would break my heart if he had to live 400 years alone. Them reminiscing on the past was so cute. He’s an old timey at heart. I wonder whether there will be any butterfly effects with him interfering with fate by saving young Song Yi. I take it she was supposed to die that night?

Welcome to 2013, crack drama. I’ve waited for you all year. Thanks for the recap, javabeans!

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GAH this drama is sooo awesome already!!! They have so much chemistry together... and his eyes....

Also liked the whole time-stop inception thing. *inceptioonnnnn*

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Ooh. U r right. It was like Inception. Although I was also getting a major Smallville vibe from it. Not that I'm complaining. I'm a sucker 4 Superman stories. (Thanks for the recap JB)

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I haven't watched it yet.Based on recap,it was a good episode.Interesting setup with mixture of comedy and heartwarming storyline.I am more into female lead than male lead.
Love to see In-Hye here.The child actress from good doctor .
Keep it up. :)

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Happy Happy Joy Joy

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Maybe he gets drunk off humans saliva! That would be hilarious! Lol.

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What a cool opening scene!

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I just realized that maybe his salvia/blood hurts humans. We don't know how the Joseon girl died.

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GASP. No, say it ain't so!

But that would be so awesome.

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noo, it won't, no kissing scenes then! :(

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andwaeeeeeeee.......

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that's the first thing I thought when I heard (rather, read) that he can't share bodily fluids with humans: WHAT NO KISSING? Although it would explain a lot about most k-drama kisses, one party (the girl, usually) is just being suuuuper careful because she's an alien?

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lol. that is a hilarious analysis of k-drama kisses in general. ;)

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But are you suuuuuuuuure, JB?

That means no kisses :(

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But the connnnnflict! It would hurt so good.

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People don't kiss with saliva in most Kdrama. So, we were pretty much safe on that score from the get-go. Sharing food is probably the tension.

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it'd be like pushing daisies, where he loves her but can't touch her or she'd die (maybe they worked around this eventually - i only watched the first few episodes).

but yeah, excellent source of conflict.

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My first response from Javabeans. Yay!

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yes that came to mind.

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Nah, I don't think it kills people.
My guess it is something less dire, but still has consequences. They fall in love with him? Even if they are not of the opposite sex?
They contract alien-like symptoms? Super hearing and seeing?

After showing all that time in the army, I wonder how he managed NOT to eat or bleed near humans then. They would have shared a lot in close quarters.

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oh, good point. Plus he did have a cup of tea beside him when he was with his lawyer friend.

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Awwww no alien human babies sad ????

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No, I want kisses.....but that could be more interesting ummm...//// still I want kisses.

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That's kinda legit. I was wondering how he recovered from an event where he learned mixing blood or saliva is a no no. There's no real conflict if all he needs is an EpiPen.

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I don't know. I like it for the strong acting and quirkiness but in a way I don't either. I need a few episodes to decide. JJH was superb but I'm sorry to say that I find our leading man overrated. Overall still a great first episode.

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I thought that turtleneck was gonna swallow homeboy whole.

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Really looking forward to the season. The towel thing almost made me throw my iPad. What is that? Is that his special way of dealing with water? The towel is not a magic barrier...or is it.

This is completely random, but I love her sunglasses. I was trying to figure out who they were to the point that it actually distracted me.

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Not sure if you ever got or found an answer but I think her sunglasses are from Gentle Monster.

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I enjoyed the first episode of You From Another Star.

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I LOVE LOVE LOVE Ep. 1! It was freaking awesome! It has everything. I wasn't expecting it to be so funny, but it was just the right amount without the usual Korean clique comedies so I totally tune in and can't wait to see what's gonna happened next. I hope the writer keeps up with this pace, but I'm loving it! And I have to say that Kim So Hyun really has a good eye for picking out good projects! Everything he signs on seems to be a hit! The only concern I had/have is how he's soooo thin here. I hope he goes back to how he was during SamDong era. So thin now, he looks like he will fly away if the wind blows too hard...LOL...

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not completely sold yet, but here's to hoping!

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same. Dramas almost never pull me in the first episode but I will admit it was a decent opening. I like to give dramas 5 episodes before deciding to drop or not.

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I thought I would not like our leading lady, but that scene when she broke down made me like her, aw poor puppy, just wants some love, and her possible love interest is a allien, that is going away in 3 months and can't kiss her LOL

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Aw, yeah, like others have said, the vulnerability of her relationship with her mother just killed me, not to mention her feeling so truly betrayed by the fickleness of her netizen followers...

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When you put it that way, heroine does start from a pretty pitiful place. But then again, she is bitchy to everyone around her, then asks why no one likes her.

When she can't even remember the name of the woman she has known for a decade, that's a bit too self absorbed. Which I guess makes her a match for the Professor who doesn't bother to learn the names of his coworkers.

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Will wait for my sister to come home and watch this w/ her. We need a drama to satisfy our cravings. :D

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okay finally good drama again after The Master's Sun. SBS wed-thu leads again~ at least it's much better than The Heirs.

love this shipper since The Thieves wkwk

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I love that little extra bit at the end where he talked about being in the military for 49 years...especially how they slipped in that little bit about Psy (haha). Hope they keep that up!

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although..he knows who Psy is? lol

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