After her candy small-town romance “Second Shot at Love” that made hearts skip a beat and his fantasy “The Choose from Hell” that took followers by storm, Women’ Technology’s Sooyoung and Kim Jae Yeong are again on display screen with their Monday-Tuesday ENA thriller Okay-drama “IDOL I.” The drama follows the story of an idol embroiled in a homicide allegation and his fan/lawyer, who’s his solely hope for justice.
Warning: spoilers forward!
The premiere of “IDOL I” opens with a monologue: a girl with earphones blasting a rock ballad says, “I can not assist however preserve falling into silly fantasies, of by chance sharing a desk at a restaurant with you, or bumping into you in an empty, late-night theater.” The lady delivering this monologue is our feminine lead, Maeng Se Na (Sooyoung) and the “you” in query is Do Ra Ik (Kim Jae Yeong).
Maeng Se Na is a lawyer who is known, or extra suitably, notorious for the sort of shoppers she chooses to signify. In keeping with most people, she is a cold-hearted one who would defend even criminals simply to extend her financial institution steadiness.
In a single scene introducing Maeng Se Na to the viewers, the feminine lead is proven strolling out of court docket with a smile on her lips, indicating her victory. Nevertheless, the individuals rioting outdoors the court docket, screaming, “Justice in Korea is lifeless!” attempt to persuade the viewers that Maeng Se Na has no morals.
However how a lot weight does this assumption maintain?
The viewers will get the reply quickly sufficient when a person who appears to be Maeng Se Na’s shut pal tells her that she ought to have made an announcement earlier, that she ought to have advised the press that the proof had confirmed her shopper was certainly harmless. Our feminine lead responds calmly, saying that individuals solely see and imagine what they need, and it doesn’t matter what she says, it will not change something.
This single interplay makes just a few issues clear. First, whereas Maeng Se Na is perhaps stoic, she does have morals and, opposite to standard perception, doesn’t discover loopholes to assist criminals achieve freedom they don’t deserve. Second, she may need been wronged by individuals to such an extent that she has stopped caring about their opinions altogether. Third, the one individual she is at the moment near is the pal who additionally collects proof for her instances.
However there’s a secret that Maeng Se Na holds, which, if made public, would positively upend everybody’s notion of the lawyer. Maeng Se Na, the stoic lawyer, is a Okay-pop fan. And no, she just isn’t the informal kind whose fangirling is proscribed to listening to her favourite artist’s music whereas driving to work. She is the kind of fan whose bed room partitions are lined with footage of her favourite idol, who buys picture playing cards for the sake of it, who streams her idol’s music to assist it climb the charts, and who works arduous so she will be able to monetarily assist him.
And guess which idol Maeng Se Na adores? Do Ra Ik.
The primary scene of our male lead, Do Ra Ik, a member of the now veteran Korean band Gold Boys, is precisely how one would anticipate an idol’s introductory scene in a Okay-drama to be. Wearing garments price greater than most individuals’s month-to-month lease, Do Ra Ik steps out of a automotive most individuals wouldn’t even dream of affording and walks down a path lined with followers on either side, screaming his identify on the prime of their lungs. The scene appears to be like aspirational, till the viewers is smacked within the face with actuality. A fangirl, or extra appropriately a sasaeng, jumps out of the group and grabs onto Do Ra Ik’s jacket, making him fall.
As infuriating as this scene is, it’s sadly not restricted to fiction. There have been real-life incidents of followers making an attempt to the touch idols with out their consent. Within the very subsequent scene, Do Ra Ik is proven, fairly justifiably, getting offended in regards to the incident regardless of smiling in entrance of followers simply moments earlier. This sequence doesn’t painting him as callous or impolite however merely as human.
Your complete idol tradition is constructed on idols being compelled to keep up excellent personas. They can’t snicker, smile, curse, and even work together with coworkers as they need for worry of backlash. More often than not, idols don’t do that as a result of they need to painting a pretend picture however as a result of they’re compelled to by their firms. That is proven clearly in a later scene the place Do Ra Ik breaks down in entrance of his company’s CEO, who refuses to file a case towards a bunch of sasaeng who broke into the idol’s home the night time earlier than. Do Ra Ik asks the CEO, not so calmly, “Since I met you after I was 10, I’ve solely carried out precisely what I used to be advised. When will I be capable of say I’m hurting when I’m harm and inform individuals who wronged me to cease tormenting me?” The feelings on this dialog between the lead and his CEO really feel too actual and too uncooked, palpable sufficient to make you surprise what number of occasions actual idols have had this exact same dialog with their superiors.
By episode 2, Maeng Se Na’s earlier fantasy of by chance sharing a desk with Do Ra Ik lastly comes true however within the worst approach potential. The desk they share just isn’t at a scenic restaurant however within the visiting room of a police station. One among Do Ra Ik’s bandmates was murdered in chilly blood at his home the night time earlier than, and the idol is the prime suspect.
At its core, “IDOL I” is a thriller homicide thriller during which Maeng Se Na should show Do Ra Ik’s innocence. It should even be fascinating to see how Maeng Se Na and Do Ra Ik’s relationship develops and the way their idol-fan dynamic adjustments. However what viewers appear to anticipate most is seeing how Do Ra Ik lastly makes the world acknowledge the dehumanization idols face each day and the way the story navigates their transition from idol and fan to lawyer and shopper and to lovers with out crossing into skilled malpractice.
Begin watching “IDOL I”:
Javeria is a binge-watching specialist who loves devouring complete Okay-dramas in a single sitting. Good screenwriting, lovely cinematography, and a scarcity of clichés are the best way to her coronary heart. As a music fanatic, she listens to a number of artists throughout completely different genres and stans the self-producing idol group SEVENTEEN. You possibly can speak to her on Instagram @javeriayousufs.
Presently Watching: “IDOL I”
Trying Ahead to: “Positively Yours”
