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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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That was a very solid opening. I can't help but be reminded of my favourite superhero Kal-El; like this is 400 years after Krypton blew up. :D

Between Prime Minister and I, and this it looks like I'll be ending the year well. I'm excited because once again I'm excited about Prime time dramas.

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I havent wached this but read the recap and thot nothing much really happens in this episode. But I do want to see the pretty JJH and wonder if KSH is meeting my expectation. Maybe first thng I will do after work today.

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such a hot alien!! buttttt, if he's such a genius with powers how does he not know that is her??

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I wonder

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Good question.

Also, Comet Ison has since crashed into the sun and is gone forever, so not sure how they will handle that part.

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This is soooo awesome so far! I hope this show will continue being this good or better as it progresses!

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Best part was finding out he'd been in the army a total of 49 YEARS. Sheesh. No wonder he's got the looks AND the moves.

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I once asked a question on Open Thread about the nature of the Twitter-relationship between stars and fans /netizens and I find it heartbreaking to see it presented in such a miserable manner (as in, a miserable-making situation). Cause I think in some cases there is truth in it. people don´t think the "person on the screen" is a real one and say harsh things. thats why I sometimes leave positive comments everywhere I can hoping that perhaps...

It feels a little like I have seen this setup before. alien, 400 years...but I can´t remember where. it is somewhat stereotypical solution and yet...executed in this melancholic manner... with a few puns. that makes it bittersweet and watchable. there is delicacy.

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I never quite understood it, but apparently the whole SNS Twitter etc thing is a lot bigger factor in Korea than most places. And from what I have seen, the fans can get pretty ugly when they turn on you. There was a blog up a while back at one time that posted translated posts, but it has gone away now.

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About the SNS thing, it kind of reminds me of The Greatest Love where Ae Jung kept being bashed by netizens and at the press conference, she asked "Is it okay if I die". A lot of dramas portrays that harsh relationship that stars can have with their fans or non fans.
People behind a screen think it's okay to say such harsh things because they are anonymous aka invincible and it's soo easy to write bad comments with no consequences.
It's really sad to see that people can be so mean though.
It reminds of the SNSD's Sooyoung/Won Bin dating scandal where Sooyoung got insulted like crazy for the mere fact that she was in the same article that God Won Bin. I remember reading these comments and gosh', you feel the urge to commit suicide if you were the person they were talking about.

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I know, so sad that people can be so thoughtlessly cruel. I don't blame stars who take legal action against things like this - you wouldn't stand for something like this being done to your face, nor should you when it's done via the "anonymity" of the internet, towards someone they don't even know.

Seriously, humans are responsible for enough pollution as it is - do we need to add virtual pollution to the list as well?!

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It's my Christmas wish too please be good! Its been a while since I watch a drama. I'll try follow this one diligently!! I really enjoyed the first ep it was funny, there is an explosive chemistry btw the main characters, an interesting story everything is good so far!

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I just want to say Kim Soo hyun is super sizzling hot if all aliens are like dat I want me one,but he has to be able to mix saliva since I can't have meself a hot alien guy and not kiss him. That would be tragic, puhlease show I really want to see KSH and JJH kissing.

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Thanks for the recap! Reading your witty opinions while watching just makes the whole experience even better.

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I wonder if he took the advice about kissing she gave him in The Thieves, about relaxing his lips. Can't we have a chance to test it out? Allergic reaction from swapping saliva be damned.

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dear, i want to know from which drama is your web header? is that kim soo hyun? i'm curious :D

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Yay! I thought I would like this and I really did. The first scene where everything froze gave me shivers up my spine.

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Ahh I love all her outfits! Especially those knee length boots that she wore to class. Everything looks good in this show!!

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woah..Daebak!!:)
ohh, isn't that In-hye from Good Doctor??
and Kim Soo hyun with an ABSSSS???
#awesome..

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Thank you very much for this recap! Loving it!

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It's my Christmas wish too! I was in love with Jeon Ji Hyun in the first 30 minutes. I want expecting much from this drama but i was so shocked at how much I already live it.

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She is so pretty , hot and gorgeous , good actress what else can I say ..

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I was so excited for this one since it's been so long since I watched anything Jeon Ji Hyun. And I agree with you about not really being moved by the characters she plays. I was surprised at how she pulls me in with this one. Same goes with Kim Soohyun. I never saw him as practically attractive before but wow, you should've seen me drooling over my screen while watching this. lol

I love the slow motion scenes, they're just beautiful. I look forward to more awesome episodes~ kyaaaaaa~

And wow, 15.6%? Really solid start right there. Thanks for the recaps javabeans!

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Thank you so much for the recap! ^^

My main concerns...
- His blood/saliva issue. What exactly does it mean? How bad could it be that he doesn't eat with other people? Does it mean no kisses? WA! NOOOO!!!
- How did the girl die? Why did she die? How far does his knowledge about his own feelings go? Do feelings exist in his own world, or are they new to him entirely? How far are the writers going to take the possible reincarnation/fate issue?
- NO KISSES? WHATTT??
- No that couldn't possibly be it. Maybe humans can get a glimpse of his superpowers when his blood/saliva mixes? Maybe the girl got his powers, got frightened and accidentally died?
- Ok, sorry, I'm done. For real.
- I'm glad he has a friend! But how and why did he choose to tell that lawyer friend? Why a death certificate every ten years?
- How in the world is the comet supposed to help him get back home? What's his home like? Do they always wear all black? And do they all look Korean? heh..
- How is the drama going to deal with the issue of him not getting older? Maybe that's the whole saliva/blood deal!! Maybe it means he ages faster! Then there can be lots of kisses and love and butterflies and problem solved!!!!!
- But that would make it way too easy and the conflict really wouldn't be a conflict.......

Ok, I'm done now. For serious. I'm excited for this drama, curious about how the conflicts are going to ride out, and looking forward to lots of zazzles and sparks between our couple! Even if the storyline happens to fizzle at certain points (IT WON'T, I HAVE HOPE!), I'm sure the chemistry alone will keep me satisfied enough not to punch my computer screen.

Cheers! and happy holidays!

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Last question!

Who is talking to in the interview-like sections? Does he have an alien coming out? Why is he explaining everything to someone?

So many questions! I love it!

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Lots of good questions, kiye :). I would like to learn more about his planet and people as well. Was his landing in Joseon coincidental, or did he have a mission? They should also show how he met his lawyer friend. Maybe he needs certain connections for specific purposes in this world, but maybe this particular connection turned into a genuine friendship. Or perhaps the lawyer friend unwittingly discovered something about him and the relationship began from that moment. I agree, so many questions. The show has enough time to answer them, I hope. So while the relationship in the present can develop, I hope that we will have enough time to look into the past and lay the groundwork for our world. There will surely be angst, but I hope that it (and the second leads) do not take up most of the story's development. I want this show to remain good. Someone posed a question regarding how he could be in the army and avoid sharing food. I wonder that as well. Again, I hope that the show explains the blood & saliva rule/condition.

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"Why a death certificate every ten years?"

I guess this is because he doesn't get older, so it would be weird to be, I don't know, 40 years old but looking like a boy/man in his mid-twenties.

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Like the set up, but CG could have used some improvements. The army joke is quite funny though.

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So he would have recognized the grown up version of her if she had grown up in the past so mostly she died young. Hmmm, he isnt over the top handsome or cute. For the most part, he looks like a school kid. The actress looks real good though. They might have chemistry but he still looks tooo kiddish that the ab scene didn't really work.

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GAH, that's it, I'm freakin' addicted to the drama.
I anticipated it soooo muuuch especially with The Heirs and Mirae's Choice being such a disappointment so I'm soo happy that the first episode was so good and left an amazingly great impression on me.

Kim Soo Hyun has always been an awesome and talented actor so I had no worries about him but really, Jeon Ji Hyun surprised me. I love the way she portrays her character.

Directing and Writing are freakin' good. No wonder when the writer is the one who did my freakin' loved family drama, Unexpected You. (gosh', I have to rewatch it again for the good old times :D)
I love the special effects, it's not cheap and tacky, it's kind of elegant/class or whatever. But really, it's soo pretty and I don't know, but when he was eating dinner and that the glass came to him, I giggled inside. I FREAKIN LOVE SUPERPOWERS XD.

I really can't wait to watch the next episode subbed tomorrow. This month's dramas are so good. Prime Minister and I, Man From Another Star and Reply 1994 ? I'm all in :D

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I like it over all.
Thanks for the recap.

He has the wooden thing down here, I can't wait to see him relax with her later. I am really hoping somehow, please, please they get him back into the bra top like in Secretly.
I laughed for days over his sudden transformation in that scene.

She is a beauty and the pain she taps into as far as the fan hate has to be partially genuine, which makes me really sad.

Reply 97 and 94 Mom looks lovely all dolled up.

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I've spazzed about JJH enough and the world know how crazy I am with her and this drama.
so now, i'd like to talk about one surprising thing in the drama.
Lee Il Hwa!!
I didn't except to see you there, ommaa!! She herself, is plain gorgeous and beautiful. I literally love her from 1994
I think she'll be kinda mean here, but I'll still take her because she is just breathtaking here.

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oh, and about the saliva thing.
is it part of the plot or because JJH is married they want to prevent them from kissing? :(
Because I think JJH and KSH could make the most gorgeous kisses in all dramaland for the far future and so i really NEED THOSE KISSES.
THOSE KISSES meaning many many many kiss.

I hope this part of the plot though, so they will like this longing-but-cannot lover and desire.

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Looks like a fun drama to kick off the holiday season!

There's a heck of a lot going on here - the 400-year-old alien with superpowers and a mysterious handicap, the actress who's going back to school, the comet, the problematic family relationships, the love triangle with her childhood friend and Yoo Inna, and to cap it all off, we've got reincarnation!

I'm hoping the writers have it all planned out, and I'm looking forward to the ride!

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PLEASE PLEASE PLEASEEEEEE BE GOOD TO US drama. 2013 was such a letdown that i dropped a few (ok MANY) dramas after the writing got bat shit crazy in the later half of the drama. PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEEEE :'(

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Soooooooo loving this. Sweetly sad so far. Darn, he can't mix saliva or blood with humans! The first drama where the korean way of eating and "double-dipping" can actually cause trouble. Nothing said of sex, though. I'm already thinking this is gonna end sadly...and not just because of the no kissing rule. Liking the world-building.

Thanks for recapping this.

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Hm, i'm thinking if blood and saliva can't mix, that also goes for bodily fluids. :(

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BTW is it just me or i'm having queen in hyun's man vibes from this drama?? I mean the story is totally different and all. But seeing MJ living in the present, and having flashbacks frm Joseon era idk it just gives me QIHM vibes. Which is good since i loved that drama to pieces. Oh and Yoo In na playing an actress in that drama and this drama too :)

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Yes!
The special effects of the Joseon morphing into present day Seoul was also done in QIHM, but a lot less elaborately. Both were very well done.

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BTW is it just me or am I having queen in hyun's man vibes from this drama?? I mean the story is totally different and all. But seeing MJ living in the present, and having flashbacks frm Joseon era idk it just gives me QIHM vibes. Which is good since i loved that drama to pieces. Oh and Yoo In na playing an actress in that drama and this drama too :)

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I totally did too! (I was holding back from saying so, since it may be a bit unfair to Kim Bung Do to compare him to an alien! :D)

Somehow, the quality of the flashback sequences and the tone of the drama feels very similar. Which is a great thing, cos I loved QIHM!! Go Yoo Inna!

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I decided not to pay much attention to the story's mythology (why is an alien so similar to humans and the like) because dramas seldom do well in that area. If I love a drama it's for the characters and not necessarily for the plot anyway. The problem is, the characters felt flat to me. After watching the first episode, my reaction wasn't "what happens next?" but rather "so what?". The problems seem blown out of proportions, and not really all that important.
The thing I definitely did not like was the gimmick with the girl having the same face as the Joseon girl. It seems to have been done so many times that it actually put me off.
Both leads look great, but neither of them made me interested in their characters. Let's see if the second episode can breathe some life into the story.

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I am reserving judgment on the "same face" deal, it might be part of another plot. Or it could also be something totally makjang that throws the whole plot off, like she is some reincarnation or alien offspring or something.

It usually takes me a bit to totally digest a drama, and even though my initial enthusiasm is pretty high, I can see a lot of plot points that can go wrong in this one - more so than in most dramas.

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Hi would anyone mind explaining the garlic pizza joke? I guess it's a pun on language so lousy in translation. Thanks!

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*lost in translation

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I guess the name of the pizza was written in English (Literally "Garlic Pizza") and Song Yi doesn't speak English, therefore she was excited that this "gar-something" pizza tasted like garlic.

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keh keh! So breaking into Hollywood is not one of her aims, then?

Poor clueless Song Yi! (btw, does anyone know what her name means?)

Pretty cool meta, seeing as how she's been living in the States for several years, right?

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Yay! I thought I would like this based on the premise and I'm so glad I did! The first scene where everything freezes gave me shivers up my spine. So cool!

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I am HOOKED. No seriously, I was right, this couple is great!

There is a real script (Heirs-how-you-needed-that-so-bad), everything's set up from the beginning and it is funny. I like.

But I really wonder why he can't mix blood with humans... Interesting...

There's only one scene I didn't like: the one with the guy talking business, I think it's the second lead guy's dad?
It looks boring. I don't want to hear anything about chaebol business, I am done with it.

Anyway, great start!

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Oh, and another minus: Jeon Ji-Hyun's last outfit in this episode (the recycled plastic bag parka, are you SERIOUS?)...

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Loved the concept. Thank God, for the first time an Alien being an Asian rather than American. he he... and as good looking as Kim So Hyun. And it's refreshing to see Ji Hyun after a while. She looks stunning!

Both of them are amazing actors and I hope they will continue to amaze us.

I loved the cinematography. And the story pace. They have shown us a lot in the first episode and all the character dynamics. I loved how they have managed to portray all the time lapse back and forth.

I hope this will be a great drama. And Thank you for your wonderful review.

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Korean men must be rejoicing to see Jun Ji Hyun on the small screen.

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Men and women :). That's pretty good for the rating.

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I can't remember the last time I was so excited for a drama after the first episode! Heirs who?

(P.S. Thank you for all your work javabeans & girlfriday, I always just lurk, but believe me I appreciate how well you write your recaps - often they're more entertaining than the episode itself.)

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Hmm...

But, why an 400 old allien was so fixed on a children?

Pedo ahjusshi allien ?? LOL kidding, kidding.

But really...

And Yoo In Na -who most of time get second roles- is playing an actress that always get second roles? LOL Poor her.

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I love Yoo Inna and i think she deserves her own lead role especially after Queen In Hyun's Man, but i wouldn't call it too much of a loss for YFAS, consider the female lead in this case is Jeon Ji Hyun, who is undoubtedly the stronger of the two. Yoo Inna has that lovable charm and can play cutesy roles well, but she mentioned herself its hard to be playing bitchy roles since it's outside her personality. But, it is acting after all. I'd be curious to see where the "bitchy" comes in since it was included in the synopsis but she seemed more like the sad, overlooked 2nd lead in this first episode. In that case, she'll probably be going on over to the dark side after she's had enough, which makes her a stronger 2nd lead than most already. I like the ones that start off "nice" and end up "mean" rather than just evil throughout.
Here's to hoping Yoo Inna can show us another side to her acting, and that she'll be able to grab a hold of leads in the future. :)

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I've been looking forward to this show and wasn't disappointed.
It's beautifully shot and seems to be well thought out as well. I can't wait to see the story unfold.

Can someone please explain the joke behind the “garlic pizza incident” . I read the explanation in recap - ...she didn't know that the word garlic was the food garlic....
Huh? What am I missing?

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Wow, i am really glad the other drama ended. I was waiting for this drama. I did not expect it to be good since Heir was a disappointment but i was glad this drama is looking really promising.

I really like JJH. She is so good.

I am not fan of any of the leads but i think i love JJH already

I must say Keyeast is really good at selecting scripts for KSH. I am sure this is going to be a rating hit.

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Either KSH has the midas touch or he (like you said) has a good eye at selecting projects that end up becoming [commercially] successful hits.

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If this show continue to rock until the end, I can say that SBS really had a good streak on Wed-Thurs Drama: IHYV to Master's Sun to The Heirs...

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I just tried this because I needed a show to watch and man am I hooked. Since I didn't have any expectations for it, I think I like it more. I mean I love love love her bratty movie star personality. I adore her already!

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I wonder if the post preview scenes will continue. The discussion of how long he's done army duty since coming to Earth. It seemed like a part of the episode just a bit of his history, but it was hilarious.

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Kim Soo Hyun has the cutest little face.

I didn't pay much attention to who else was going to be in this drama, and I had JUST finished watching My Sassy Girl before I started this. Ha!

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So, that thing on Jeon Ji Hyun's nose is a "beauty mark"? I started off staring at it like it was a pimple, but it is too early in the series for her to get stress acne. Then I thought it might be a wart, then a mole. And I did notice that her 15 year-old self didn't have one, so the character she must have had it added.

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Beauty mark is just a nice way to say mole. Moles can form over time, so it is not completely illogical that she did not have it as a young girl.

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Yeah, maybe it's a girl thing? I've had a few moles grow over the years.

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I wasn't sure what to make of this when I first heard about it. From basic promos and stills and little news bites about the plot, I wasn't sure whether or not I would like any character, least of all Song-yi. I just wasn't sure if I could relate to her or not. Needless to say, I worried for naught. Mostly. I do have some issues with this show, but I'll get to that in a moment.

What I love, is that Song-yi is so damaged (for me, that's a good thing) that I can relate to her, and even like her. I like the character more than I thought I would. I feel bad for her. I dislike her mother, already. I like her brother, I hope we get more of him.

As for Se-mi, I don't know quite what to make of her. By all accounts, Yoo Inna would be playing the jealous second lead, out to make the female lead's life miserable (more so than it already is, anyway), but we've seen her sweet and kind and apologetic. Not sure what to make of her. If she does veer into second lead territory, I'll be so disappointed, because frankly I'm getting tired of Yoo Inna playing those characters. She can play others, and she can play the lead. Part of me wanted her to be the lead in this, when I first heard about it. Oh well, maybe next time.

Hwi-kyung seems like a decent guy, too, for now. We'll see if he becomes a clingy second lead, or if he remains a stand-up guy, lets Song-yi go, and ends up with Se-mi, which is what I want.

As for Min-joon, I find him really interesting. Kim Soo-hyun plays him with the prefect amount of emotional detachment from the majority of the cast, so I can see why people love him so much. I find the fact that he wants to return home absolutely endearing, because that speaks of a very normal human feeling: the knowledge that home is safe, and home is best. He's spent 400 years on an alien planet, watching people live and die all around him, while he remains the same. He must be so lonely, even though he allows himself one friend, Lawyer Jang, even knowing that one day he will die as well. But know, he meets Song-yi and the potential for romance is something really interesting. Will he still return home? Will he stay? Will being with her kill him? Will it kill her? If he can't exchange blood and saliva with humans, what does that mean? I find that fact really intriguing. If the Joseon era girl died because of him, does that mean they kissed, or their blood was mixed somehow? How does he know? Trial and error? And if this is a case of reincarnation, does that mean that he's meant to be with Song-yi? Will she be immune to him, or him to her?

I know, that's a lot of questions, and maybe only some (if any) will get answered. But I'm ready. I'm in for now. I just how this show stays as good as that first episode.

Thanks for the recap, JB!

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*hope

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Love.Love.Love. Thanks for the recap. I am fully invested and hoping this is the rom-com we were all waiting for...even it it comes just in time for Christmas. Please, be amazing as you are setting up to me!

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We know the little girl dies that he met 400 years ago and that he holds himself responsible for it, which is why he had to go save her this time despite his "nothing changes fate" attitude in general. So I'm intrigued about the guilt that is plaguing him as well.

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I love this show already. The actors are all good. Although the only criticism would be that for me KSH is legging behind JJH skills. I feel she is the lead and is definitely drawing me in further. The comedic acting is working out for her imo but she pulls the emotional scenes off. I would love to see more emotion come through for KSH as the show progresses. I assume he will become more human due to his love, so I do hope he gets challenged to show something different soon.

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It was worth the wait. The effects are amazing! Wooooo!!!!!!! Welcome back to dramaland Jun Ji-hyun!!! :)

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