Castaway Diva (2023) K Drama Episode 1

Episode 1 of Castaway Diva starts with a look at diva Ran-joo, who’s on her way to a radio show. The host there is getting nervous because she’s late, but he’s reassured that she’s in the elevator on the way up.

This is a life or death experience… at least for little Seo Mok-ha. She’s an island native on Chunsam Island and absolutely desperate to become a singing idol. It’s all she thinks about. She’s desperate to get a phone so she can listen in. Mok-ha even plays the sob story and begins crying in front of a fellow student, Ki-ho, trying to gain sympathy so she can have his phone. He concedes and lets her reluctantly, given her own is on charge at home.

Mok-ha answers the call just in time and speaks to THE Ran-joo! Mok-ha naturally can’t keep it together and starts fangirling. Midway through, Jung Ki-ho nonchalantly takes his phone back, replaces the SIM and crushes Mok-ha’s heart. The thing is, she was hoping to sing for her and be taken away from this world, becoming a diva which is her dream.

Ki-ho meanwhile, is on a very different trajectory in life. He works hard down by the docks, behind his father’s back to make as much money as possible. He begs his boss to keep it a secret from him, claiming that he’s doing this to buy his pa a gift. Naturally, the guy immediately goes and tells Ki-ho’s dad.

Unfortunately, when he returns home, he  beats his son Ki-ho, berating him for hoarding money. It’s a horrible moment and there’s a really slick scene during the morning after, as Ki-ho puts the mirror back up and looks at his reflection. There’s a crack all the way down, reflecting his own imperfections in life.

Ki-ho is on a collision course with Mok-ha though, who’s desperate to get her hands on a digital camera. And guess who has one? Yep, it’s Ki-ho. Mok-ha broaches the subject the next day and offers a whole bunch of cash to film her performance. As she begins signing, there’s a big ol’ montage. These different angles, all over the island, are then edited together by Ki-ho, who has a bunch of books back home on video editing.

Unfortunately, Mok-ha also comes from a broken home, with her step-father just as abusive as Ki-ho’s. He smashes up her guitar and tribute to Ran-joo, leaving Mok-ha in such a state that she doesn’t even show up to school the next day. Instead, she works for her father.

Ki-ho though, knowing that today is the deadline for the video submission, rides off down to see Mok-ha. Police are outside his father’s shop though, who explains his situation by saying he’s just a bit drunk and beat her “for her sake”. Through the window. Ki-ho sees the bruises on her arm and knows exactly what’s going on. The police, unfortunately, are not helpful. They force Mok-ha to apologize and not play up again, while her dad is told to hug her.

That night, Ki-ho shows up to see Mok-ha and hands over her finished video file. Together, they watch Ran-joo on TV, with Ki-ho revealing that she used to be from the island but had plastic surgery and her dialect changed to wipe away any remnant of being from the island.

Ki-ho takes the file back and decides to apply on her behalf, putting his own number down for the confirmation so her father can’t know about this. Ran0jio gets the file through and loves Mok-ha’s work. She even likes the music video too, showing off all the sights and sounds of the island.

The next day, Ki-ho receives a call on behalf of Mok-ha. He’s shocked and races through school to find her. It’s Seo-hun from Sugar Agency and he hands the call over. She shrugs off the idea, believing it’s impossible to get over to Seoul. Ki-ho is shocked but in class, she breaks down in tears. Ki-ho understands her woes, knowing that she wants to be saved from her hell of a life. Ki-ho is insistent, pointing out that if she doesn’t do anything, she’s going to die like the fish in the fish tank. She needs to take a chance and gamble. And Ki-ho is going to help her out.

When her father gets drunk again, Ki-ho tells her to come over and knock on the window. I she does that, he’ll leave with her. He’ll take her to Ran-joo. It doesn’t take long for her to leave either. Ki-ho is true to his word, and packs up a bag for her to leave alongside hi. He even has a raincoat and extra shoes too.

Ki-ho makes the call, finds the date and time to meet in Seoul, and promises that they’ll be there no matter what. In the middle of the night, while she’s out, Mo-ha’s father wakes up and bangs on her bedroom door once more. As he races out, Ran-joo makes her decision and decides to sign up to Seo-Jun’s agency.

Unfortunately, the fisherman down by the dock notices Mok-ha and Ki-ho together, and makes a call over to the former’s mum. It’s touch and go for a while, as they get on a boat across to the mainland, unaware that Mok-ha’s father is desperate to get her back. Ki-ho realizes that they’ll both be caught unless he does something, so he stalls for time and gives Mok-ha instructions to get to Seoul.He even hands over his phone too.

Ki-ho makes her promise to be the best idol ever, and hurries off the boat to stall for time. “I wont let you take another step sir,” He says, and takes a beating on Mok-ha’s behalf to save her. While he holds Mok-ha’s father off, Mok-ha opens the bag left behind and finds an array of different items, including food, a diary and photos of his abuse in the back. Only, there’s a problem. Mok-ha’s dad manages to get onboard the boat.

With nowhere else to go, and nothing else for it, Mok-ha jumps off the back of the boat into the water below. Her father tumbles over the edge too, and then we cut to black.

When we return, it’s Ki-ho and he awakens in hospital. He learns what happened, and how the search teams have been trying to find her, but to no avail. Unfortunately, this means Mok-ha doesn’t show up to her appointment with Ran-joo, and is presumed to be dead, alongside her father.

Symbolically, Ki-ho heads to their shop and decides to let the fish go into the water. Ki-ho is beside himself with grief, believing this shining star has passed away and is dead. In reality though, she’s anything but.

Mok-ha is very much alive but in a rough way. She’s stranded on a desert island all alone, and with seemingly no way back. here is this island? Who knows. She heads inland though and finds potato flowers. She’s got enough to survive on and as the years go by, Ki-ho meets outside the station every year at the allotted time to try and meet her, refusing to believe she’s dead.

As for Mok-ha, she’s made a life for herself over the years, complete with plenty of food, fresh water and a nice little hut too. However, one fateful day everything changes when a drone shows up and sees Mok-ha by the shore.

The Episode Review

Castaway Diva kicks off with an excellent opening episode, one packed full of drama, heart and charm. The only trouble is, it comes from the same writer who brought us Start Up, and we all know how that ended! However, that similarly had a really strong opening few episodes so either way, it looks like we’re off to a good start.

There are sprinklings of Twenty Five Twenty One here, especially with the two kid leads who grow up to be in different places in life, and it’ll be fascinating to see how these two reunite. There’s some great cinematography in this and lovely symbolic scenes, especially the one with Ki-ho looking in the broken mirror.

The acting, as you’d expect, is great all round and there’s a good balance of drama and tension too. The synopsis would lead you to believe this is going to be a comedy but so far, this is anything but. That could change going forward but we’ll see. So far, the tone is wonderful.