{Watch Party Wed. #1-OL} Idol I Episodes 1-3
Hello, Internet, and good mornight to you all!
My name is Taffryne, shoppekeeper of Midnight on Memory Lane, and it is my absolute delight to welcome you to the third feature of this week's inaugural Watch Party Wednesday!
'Tis a pleasure to meet you here for part three!
As the title says, this post is about the first three episodes of the Korean drama, Idol I. I've finished from episode 1 to the episode 4 preview; thusly, I humbly present my thoughts for your enjoyment and consideration. Accordingly, please mind the spoilers ahead.
Since this is the first post regarding this show, allow me to present you with the relevant synopsis and background information:
Idol I
Drama Type: Korean Legal/Mystery/Romance Drama
Source: Original Screenplay
Season: aired Dec 2025 - Jan 2026 on Mondays and Tuesdays
Main Cast: Choi Soo Young, Kim Jae Yeong, Choi Hee Jin, Kim Hyun Jin, and Jung Jae Kwang
Platform: Netflix with English Subtitles
Duration: 12 Episodes at ~60min/each
Plot Summary: "A virtuous star lawyer and devoted fan defends her favorite idol after he is accused of murder..."
MDL Link: Click here!
Disclaimer: I apologize if there are any crucial cultural notes or nuances that I misunderstand or fail to recognize. I, unfortunately, must trust the accuracy of the translated subtitles to represent the story and characters.
Trigger Warnings: Death of a Friend, Depictions of Murder, Blood and Dead Bodies, Depictions of Physical Assault and Mugging, Bullying
Episode 1
At the point I'm writing this, I have only just finished Idol I's first episode a mere 5 nanoseconds ago and, my word, I am absolutely enraptured to see the rest of this story through. Just...holy smokes there is going to be so much for us to learn and unpack as we get through this. Granted, I expected nothing less from the premise of "fan-girl defense attorney takes on bias's murder of fellow bandmate accusation", but I was certainly not expecting there to be this many layers on the onion. I am utterly thrilled.
For starters, let's talk about our characters, right? We've got our badass defense attorney and dedicated fangirl, Maeng Se-na, and the titular idol-turned-murder-suspect, Do La-ik. For now, I'll say Se-na and La-ik. Focusing on Se-na, admittedly her character at this point is fairly straight forward as a non-bothered, focused on her goals career woman. She really pays little mind to what people say (unless it could reflect badly on her idol) and she pulls incredible court stunts for the sake of getting more time and money to support her bias. I 100% respect her hustle of refusing to waste any off-work time on a surprise office party when she could be home streaming the newest music release. The scene where she pulls ace-level court interjections just for the sake of trying to make his autograph session? More power to her. I think the thing I appreciate the most about her is that it's not portrayed in a way that diminishes the skill she possesses in her job. She's able to do what she does because she's a powerhouse attorney and not simply because the plot lets her. I'm interested to see how she'll handle it when the distance between her fangirl self and professional self gets erased though. I suspect there will be some cracks for the same of drama, but I really hope they don't sacrifice the quality of her work for it. Also props for that egg block at the opening press scene.
Turning to La-ik, holy smokes there is so much baggage we need to unpack from this pretty boy right here. Naturally with most idol-based drama premises, I knew that there was going to be commentary on crazed fans/stalkers and the disparity between someone's idol image and their true self...but oh my god this boy needs a hug so bad. There's so many different heartaches he's clearly trying to cope with via the drugs from the psychiatrist: his rock-bottom self-worth, his alluded traumatic past regarding his mother, his breakup with the pretty girl, the clear poisoning of whatever relationship he had with his former groupmates, his douchebag mcassholeface of a manager, and now he's a murder suspect with no immediate reason not to be. I can't say the "idol but they're actually dying inside" archetype is new, but damn, Kim Jae Yeong's portrayal of La-ik's hurt and lash-out-perfectionism was captivating. When I engage with the darker sentiments like these (through the safety of fiction at least), I think that making them as natural as possible is the make-or-break point in terms of quality. Real life crash-outs aren't always these big, warfare levels of violent spectacle. They're sour conversations and escalated conversations that get broken up either by consequence or because it gets too bitter to stomach anymore. The ending shots of him holding Woo-seong's body in sheer panic and the deflated despair when he's sitting in the holding room...he portrays "broken and lost" so well.
I started getting antsy as the episode reached it's end and nobody was dead yet. I never saw the trailer, so the moment Woo-seong stepped into the apartment my heart sank a little bit; I knew a bandmate would be the one to die, so of course it has to be the one trying to repair the bridges. All that said, I am so keen to see how the show progresses in showing these three stories intertwining. They have to flesh-out Se-na's character and her relationship with her idol-client whilst elaborating on all the demons La-ik is holding in his heart whilst also handling the "whywhodunnithow" of Woo-seong's murder. For what it's worth, I hope La-ik gets to find his humanity again...and the song was also pretty good. Also what was that flashback? Don't tell me they met during his trainee days and that's why she stans him? Cheers to budding relationships and funeral wreaths from here on out, I suppose.
Episode 2
Much in the spirits of Episode 1, Episode 2 brings about even more layers to the depressed cabbage spiced with an actor having to skillfully act like someone who can only unskillfully act. I can't believe that is what pushed her needle into trusting him. It also comes with the reminder that I need to watch myself when handling more despaired sentiments because, even though we are blessed we the buffer of fiction, the emotions they carry can and will still affect us. At the very least, the flashbacks of their original meet-cute were very heart warming. It's a treat to see two people support each other just for the sake of it.
I am so glad that Se-na's professionalism and character did not get assassinated by her adoration for La-ik the Idol. She had her deserved moment of freakout at the situation and promptly got her shit together so we can return to the true meat of the story. She was stunning to watch in court against Prosecutor Von Ego-douche (as I'm choosing to call him). Absolutely a spectacle in how effortlessly she tore apart their argument. I'm not a lawyer (I'm a shoppekeeper, surprise!), but jeez even I could see how they were rushing things. You didn't investigate thoroughly enough yet to know A) he had a home-break in B) what the murder weapon is and C) the fact his place had signs of searching??? Two of those are just flat out within the realm of your job (*or, well, your police's jobs) and the first one should've been discovered if you had bothered to interview his management company??? I've seen enough crime shows and played enough Master Detective Archives: Rain Code to know that this isn't a clear case. How arrogant must you be to fumble this poorly as the "golden child" of a long-reigning prosecutor family and apparently ex-bully. The reveal of her father being accused (and presumably convicted) of murder as well has piqued my interest in her character. I can't wait to know more of her dimensions, and I especially cannot wait to see this confident and eccentric side of her peak through. I do enjoy a kind "good morning!" knife pose.
For La-ik, I feel so bad. He is getting tossed away by everyone. I understand how he got to this point; a reputation for being rude and argumentative alongside a murder allegation would definitely make people run for the hills...but nobody is bothering to not show a guilty-first mindset here and it's disheartening. His agency is focused on stocks, his former members are still reeling from the death and fights, and the interrogating cop made it clear he wasn't giving him any courtesy of compassion. I think what haunts me the most about his current state is the onslaught of memories he's dealing with. He can't go home because that's where they spent time together. He can't drink because that's what they used to do. He can't even sit on the sidewalk without seeing his face vandalized or flashback to the rookie days. All his stress and grief is bubbling up and ruminating in his mind...and it's awful. I've dealt with intrusive memories and grief before. Objects, scents, places, or even a word can make it all come flooding back to you whether you want it or not. I really appreciate their depiction of it because I think having him released from custody and immediately sleeping in the same apartment his friend died in would've been too clean and uncaring. They keep teasing us about this pretty girl with the bow who used to be his girlfriend and I just want to know what her deal is. Does she still love him? Was there a scandal? Why the heck do Manager McAssholeFace and Reporter Guy have a no-contact pact about her??? I know that La-ik has a long way to fall further before he can start healing, but I wonder how much farther down he has to go.
There are two sequences I specifically want to shoutout from this episode. The first is when Se-na absolutely plays the obsessed fans like fiddles after tracking them down. Imagine their horror when all of a sudden the eyes of the world are on them, and the reporters are the ones chasing them, and it's their information getting leaked to the masses for harassment. Funny how it's not okay anymore when it happens to you. Se-na had a great line to summarize it, truly, "That's not love. That's hunting". Please, check your entitlement and let the door hit you on the way out. Second, the back-and-forth Se-na has with Figment La-ik as she grapples with her idea of him was a masterpiece of exposure and reality checking. "You created me. So, you should decide the answer. Which one do you want? Who is the real me?". I don't think I've come across a more pointed stab towards the concept of having an "idea of someone" before, especially in an idol-fan context. Idols are real people. Everyone, no matter how saintly or villainous is a real soul living within this universe. If you cannot handle recognizing the reality of someone's existence, then you should not be dictating who they get to be or not to be. Nobody should be doing that regardless. I wonder how much more discussion around this will come up and La-ik regains his memories and makes peace with his burdens. I wonder how much will be left of the "real" him when he does.
Episode 3
Well folks, Episode 3 is officially the first episode that's made me cry. Not a single tear cry either. A full, hit in the feels, cry. To no one's surprise, it was the funeral scene that got me. Funerals always get me. Fake or not, they are such a concentrated event of sadness that I will be afflicted regardless of my relation to the deceased. I hope some of you understand the feeling. I also wish that La-ik and his bandmates had some sort of interaction at the funeral. I know they think he's the murderer, but, just some head nod or something. The flashbacks of their friendship and the early days...what a shot through the heart. It has also brought the issue of the pretty woman to a crescendo of ???. On the one hand, I absolutely love her 4d chess move of getting a blind date with the prosecutor, trying to egg him for information on the case, and then ghosting him with a mortgage-payment of a bill to pay. What a class act. On the other hand...WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT IS YOUR DEAL WITH LA-IK AND HIS GROUP??? God, I can't wait for this to all come to a head, truly.
In other news, Prosecutor Von Ego-douche is getting on my nerves and so is his father. I'm right beside the Mystery Pretty Lady in calling him arrogant because how dare you (the son) say you can tell if you can get a conviction just by touching a case file. Things are not that obvious nor clean cut, you dick. Especially not this case. How dare you (the father) chuck all of your sense of justice and honour out of the window so you can purely get a confession out of the suspect you think did it. Absolutely despicable. I hope your barber-and-also-maybe-massage-person gets a better job away from you and that BOTH sides of your pillow are boiling hot. You absolute disgraces of well tailored suits. Thankfully, our leading lady Se-na does her job with the proper amount of respect towards her impeccable tailoring. I half-apologize his manager for getting him confused with the CEO. Manager is now just manager and the CEO is now CEO McAssholeFace. I can unfortunately believe how solely focused you are on profits and shareholders that you can't extend a most basic ounce of human care towards this child you've groomed into an idol while he's dealing with all of this bullshit. Also, his mother sucks. Absolutely shameful. I'm so angry on his behalf. I don't even care what her reasoning could be, they both suck. I asked how far he could fall last time, and apparently they wanted to take all of this and add a mugging to the list. I'm glad he got his shoes back and has taken to the support Se-na is givng him, but just, god the portrayal of his despaired death wish gave me chills.
Harsh switch from the heavier stuff, I want to pay my respects to Se-na's...accomplice? Partner? Informant? Honestly, I have yet to figure out what role this guy plays for her except as her grey-area-of-legality assistant. I also for the life of me can never remember his name. So, uh, Mr. Assistant for now. I need to know more about his backstory with Se-na. Apparently she pays him a salary and they have such excellent sibling-level banter, but how the heck did they meet? Why does he live below her house? How did he end up working for/with her? Is this a Neil Caffrey and Agent Burke situation or a Sherlock and Watson arrangement? I daresay he has as much mystery as the Mystery Pretty Woman if not for the fact that he's been an active help and Mystery Pretty Woman just got her first lines of dialogue. I do hope we get more backstory on these two because, dang, I'm curious.
A side note, I want to steal everyone's hoodie from this show. Oh my goodness. They are all the perfect level of bulky with big hoods and acid washed palettes. Where do people find these SSR rank hoodies??? I'd also like to shoutout the sparkly couch from the flashback. Black fabric, beautiful upholstery work, and then it has rainbow sparkles throughout?! Agh, true dreamboat of a couch. I want one...but not that one. Nobody ever take a blacklight to that couch. I'll take a new one delivered to my shoppe.
Episode 4 Preview
Oh dear, we are in for it. The romance plot begins. The tensions rise. The mystery of the Mystery Pretty Woman might just be solved!
I hope you've been able to watch and enjoy the show for yourself! If you haven't, that's okay too. My thoughts are here to keep you updated in the meantime. We've reached the end of this week's Watch Party Wednesday series, so off into the nighttime I go in preparation for tomorrow. I hope I'll catch you at the next one!
May we meet again when the clock strikes 12:00!