{Watch Party Wednesday #2} Idol I: Episode 4
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 second and last of the two delayed posts from last week's Watch Party Wednesday.
'Tis a pleasure, 'tis a pleasure indeed.
As the title of this post says, we're going to be talking about the fourth episode of the K-drama, Idol I. I humbly present my thoughts for your enjoyment and consideration. Accordingly, please mind that there will be spoilers ahead!
MyDramaList 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 text to accurately represent the story and characters.
Trigger Warnings: Dating Scandals, Attempted Murder via Car, Blackmail, Sabotaged Relationships, Generic Warning - Idol Dating Culture, Arguments, Car Crash, Hospitals, Paparazzi
Episode 4
Recollection
- La-ik and Hye-joo (pretty woman) were involved in a past dating scandal (they were dating but lied) exposed by Mr. Tabloidman, but La-ik broke it off to save Hye-joo from the worse rumor of being a player (Mr. Tabloidman blackmailed him)
- Hye-joo says she saw Jae-hee at the dorm the night of the murder (but he claims he was at the hospital)
- Jae-hee says he's gonna leave the company and that he knows La-ik's motive (he saw La-ik and Woo-seong fighting about the woman)
- Mr. Tabloidman threatened La-ik again by using dirt on Hye-joo, so La-ik threatened him, but ultimately it gets fixed by Se-na legally threatening him
- The night La-ik met with Hye-joo, he broke things off completely and then she was about to hit him with her car but decided not to
- Mr. Prosecutor is in a mutually-assured-destruction stalemate with Hye-joo because of the date she trapped him into
- La-ik went snooping around Se-na's house (he lives there now), but didn't find the stash yet
- Se-na has some struggles with the whole "my idol is a human being with human needs" bit
- Se-na also made La-ik a carefully constructed carepackage of the self-care items he uses...to which Mr. Informant just plops them down for La-ik and is bothered by his presence
- Brief flashback showing that Se-na and Mr. Informant are childhood friends possibly
- Se-na and La-ik confront Mr. Prosecutor about his bias through this whole case and to leave Hye-joo alone
- Mr. Prosector implies and accuses Se-na of taking this case purely to spite him which makes her laugh
- La-ik is growing more curious about Se-na's relationships with Mr. Informant and Mr. Prosecutor, much to her offense
- Se-na's car appears to be sabotaged in an attempt to harm/kill them
Holy jeez, Idol I. Must you keep me on the alert and invested in every single episode??? Please never stop. Seriously though, I am relishing how many layers and interwoven webs all of these characters have with each other. It seems like everyone knew everyone else during the past and now it's like the worst reunion part ever.
I'm glad we got closure on the Pretty Woman side of things, and it's honestly what I expected. The two were clearly close and dating, but the unfortunately toxic parts of idol and tabloid culture ruined it for them. Even though she clearly still cares about him and he clearly still cares about her, the season has passed and all of the outside forces have tainted whatever bliss they had beyond salvaging. To speak to reality here: I really, really don't get why idols dating is a "scandal" in the first place (outside of massive age gaps or abuse or the like). Idols, as much as people may pretend otherwise, are human beings. They have social needs like the rest of us and, whether they are in a group or a solo artist, they have a human right to support systems and socialization. There is nothing ungrateful in wanting to receive the love and compassion from someone who isn't a fan behind a pit barrier. There's also nothing wrong in wanting to be close with someone who's in the same field/company/fame as you and gets it OR someone who's absolutely not famous at all and gives you a break from it. Why is it such an issue? Do you WANT your idols to be isolated and alone with no one to turn to? Even group-member idols deserve to have at least ONE person who isn't affiliated with their group or their family to be their safe space. Just...c'mon people, can we not do this please? It's none of our business to begin with.
As far as the murder goes, I'm 99% sure it wasn't La-ik and I'm fairly confident it wasn't Hye-joo or Jae-hee either. All three of them are just too obvious Honestly, at this point I'd almost be more willing to believe that it was actually the kicked puppy maknae (youngest member of their group) over there who finally snapped. There's still 8 episodes, though, so who knows! I will say, Mr. Prosecutor needs to get his head out of his ass and actually do his job instead of pigeon-holing himself in stupid personal hang-ups or easy-case biases.
We're clearly starting to get into the more romance-based elements of the story between La-ik and Se-na, so I'm curious how that'll develop. She still has her secret La-ik shrine stuff stashed away somewhere alongside the iPod that started it all in her bedside drawer. That's a bit dangerous. Honestly, I think I'm in the camp where I'd rather have her fan-stash get exposed prior to them going any further in the romance direction. For me, I think him discovering it after the fact would be a far worse betrayal and to just pass over it would feel really unrealistic. La-ik is also starting to get into that possessive/protective view towards Se-na alongside a bit of a "my savior"-level of worship...so I really hope they tackle that too.
By far, Mr. Informant is my favourite character. The acting of everyone in this series is incredible (especially La-ik's emotional breakdowns), but he stays so consistently the underdog with great quips. I hope we get more of his own story because, again, WHY IS HE LIVING IN HER BASEMENT SHACK THINGY???
Se-na reading Mr. Prosecutor for all he's worth was delicious to watch. Please give me more of her. La-ik's fear in the car during her rage driving was very funny. Now, who the hell dared mess with our attorney's car???
Thanks for Reading!
I hope you've been able to watch and enjoy the story for yourself! If you haven't, that's okay too! My thoughts are here to keep you updated and entertained in the meantime.
This caps off this post, so off into the nighttime we go in preparation for the next and NOT delayed ones publishing very shortly!
May we meet again when the clock strikes 12:00!