You From Another Star (alternate title: My Love From The Stars), that SBS drama featuring a 400+ old resident alien who falls in love with a top actress in the modern era, came to an end like... a few days ago. In a normal situation, I'd get occasional post drama withdrawal symptoms for a show this good. But You From Another Star became somewhat of a different story I moved on from like, snap! Or was that because I'm just busy with work?
Ha. Either way, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying the drama isn't any good because it is. I loved it—really really did. Jun Ji Hyun was perfect as Cheon Song Yi and Kim Soo Hyun nailed that 400+ old alien gramps Do Min Joon. However, the ending wasn't much like I expected it would be, considering that it started with a premise that wowed and was followed by an execution that wowed even more. Though it was a good thing that Min Joon's fate to stay or to leave wasn't given away up until the last week, I find the open-ended ending not much of a gratifying resolution to our couple's cosmic rift. I mean, come on. You throw in a wormhole in the last minute of the show to reason out Min Joon going back and forth from home for his happy ending? Sawrey, but it doesn't make sense. I get that it is needed to establish the happy ending our couple should be having, but a deus ex machina is still a deus ex machina. Period.
So yeah. I wasn't completely satisfied in an intellectual way, but character wise it's another story.
❀ RAVES ❀ »•»
1) Jun Ji Hyun as Cheon Song Yi. Cheon Song Yi, that audaciously laugh out loud diva who takes on almost anything and anyone with so much gusto to boot, is a totally seriously really unforgettable character. I love how in need of love she is and how vulnerable she can be because of it. I love that despite this, and the many other downfalls she's had, she refuses to back down. She's flawed, but at the same time a strong woman—much stronger than she appears to be. I love how selfish yet selfless she can be, and how she mirrors Min Joon's depth at love in that she'd rather choose to send Min Joon back to his own planet than live with him thinking he'd die the soonest. And I love Jun Ji Hyun for totally owning such a character.
2) Unique series of epilogues. This scene at episode 11 where Min Joon told Song Yi that he never really felt anything for her, but took it back by kissing her in that stopped time, was just... love. Trapping his feelings in that frozen lake and time was candid and heartbreaking it slayed me. Most poignant thing I've seen in television. Ever.
3) Prettiest of stills that can very well pass as a painting. Cinematography is breathtaking in You From Another Star. Be it a scene from the Joseon era or the modern time, it's pretty evident that attention to detail has been observed in the making and filming of this drama. I love the rich and profound colors apparent in each shot, and the tone it exudes as you watch each scene unfold before your eyes is just so gorgeous. I also love how the director matches tinges of emotion currently played in a scene, in that warm combinations are present during happy moments, whereas palettes turn into cool by the time it forebodes into the unknown.
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| Seriously Kim Soo Hyun, don't you attempt to get a perm like that ever again. |
4) Lawyer Jang and Do Min Joon. I love Lawyer Jang and his decades old relationship with Min Joon. You know there's so much more than just friendship between them, and that last goodbye they had in the park where they first met spoke for hundreds of emotions built from all those years of caring and looking out for each other. Lawyer Jang even mentioned that him sending Min Joon away feels like him sending a son away. Woot woot. Way to go, Lawyer Jang.
5) Min Joon's Growth. It was amazing to note how Min Joon grew throughout the course of the show. What started out as a layered and stiff grumpypants gradually evolved into someone emotionally naked (okay, maybe not as naked), with his layers and shells peeling off right before us as the show progressed. I specifically love that deep affection he has developed for Song Yi, in that he is able to sacrifice everything—even his identity—just to make sure Song Yi is safe.
6) Best roster of quotes. I am a sucker for clever writing and candid quotes, and You From Another Star has a great roster of those, such as these from Song Yi and Yi-hwa.
5) Min Joon's Growth. It was amazing to note how Min Joon grew throughout the course of the show. What started out as a layered and stiff grumpypants gradually evolved into someone emotionally naked (okay, maybe not as naked), with his layers and shells peeling off right before us as the show progressed. I specifically love that deep affection he has developed for Song Yi, in that he is able to sacrifice everything—even his identity—just to make sure Song Yi is safe.
6) Best roster of quotes. I am a sucker for clever writing and candid quotes, and You From Another Star has a great roster of those, such as these from Song Yi and Yi-hwa.
Song Yi: "People have a tendency to see somebody in a better place, and rather than wishing themselves to go to that nice place, they pray for the other person to fall down into their own abyss. Sorry, but I won’t go down to the abyss where you live. Hating someone, being jealous, doing hellish things—I won’t do any of that. So don’t try to bring me down to your level.”
Yi-hwa: "Farewells should be made in advance, because if it's truly the end, you can't make farewells. Before I met you, I had no hope for the days I had yet to live. I felt only resignation and resentment. After meeting you, for the first time I felt happy for my future. For the first time, I wanted earnestly to live. I was thankful, and more thankful. I'll not forget. I can't forget. After death, whatever world I come to, I won't forget you."
❀ RANTS ❀ »•»
1) Se Mi's Redemption. Se Mi's redemption, plot wise, was a tad too quick. For someone who had been on the dark side because of love—clinging to a person whom she can never have and abandoning her best friend in the process—being able to realize what kind of person she had become because of her love and doing something about it is a strong point, but the execution fell short and rushed for me. Accepting defeat isn't easy if you have an ego and pride as large as your head, and that's just exactly how Se Mi is.
2) Min Joon Less Explored. I loved Min Joon and his growth, I loved him for loving Song Yi too, but I probably would have loved him even more had his growth been in full and his character better explored. I mean, with the way things had went for the drama, it somehow looked like Min Joon was actually just living for Song Yi and nada for himself. I know I wanted Min Joon to not leave Song Yi for good, but may he not have really wanted to go home himself? Throwing that option for himself out of the window... Was it really just as easy as that?
3) Deus Ex Machina Ending. Deus ex machina, as a literary device, is when a character or a thing suddenly appears to provide a contrived solution to an apparently insoluble difficulty. The wormhole thing thrown at the last minute of the show is a perfect example of that. And sorry, but no matter how I look at it, it just doesn't make sense.
❀ RULING ❀ »•»
All in all, You From Another Star is one roller coaster of a drama that will make you laugh, cry, squee, cry, and then laugh again. It was rather overhyped, yes, but is still a cute and entertaining watch that may top the bill for every romcom drama fans out there. And oh, if you're going to watch it for anyone, watch it for Jun Ji Hyun. She's a hands down killer with that Cheon Song Yi role she literally owned You From Another Star—heart and soul.
Edit 04/21/14: I didn't know there was a special episode (or more like, an extended epilogue) for You From Another Star. I just recently found it after searching amid the buzz of GMA airing the drama locally. Upon watching, I came up with this: had SBS aired this special in addition to the final episode, I probably would have glossed over the whole wormhole thing in that the last stills proved that Min Joon was able to stay for good. Which is probably all the fix I ever really needed. Or... maybe not. Deus ex machina is still deus ex machina, after all.
Edit 04/21/14: I didn't know there was a special episode (or more like, an extended epilogue) for You From Another Star. I just recently found it after searching amid the buzz of GMA airing the drama locally. Upon watching, I came up with this: had SBS aired this special in addition to the final episode, I probably would have glossed over the whole wormhole thing in that the last stills proved that Min Joon was able to stay for good. Which is probably all the fix I ever really needed. Or... maybe not. Deus ex machina is still deus ex machina, after all.
