Castaway Diva is the balm to our hearts before the atrocity of Strong Girl Nam Soon, which airs right after this. The only thing there is to add to how good this show is is that the writers are having fun with the audience, and that is one of the rare things that makes a script so much fun, so the following is a recap of the episode.
Spoiler Alert
What is the secret of Woo Hak and Bo Geol?
The one thing that has become clear in this episode is that the writers are not interested in giving us a clear answer as to who Ki Ho is between Woo Hak and Bo Geol. It only looks like the answer has been given by saying that Woo Hak is Ki Ho, but there are certain actions of the protagonists that show a particular conflict and some micro-expressions that convey that all is not out in the open, which leads us to believe that things are only getting more complicated.
Bo Geol tells Woo Hak that the latter lost his memory after a particularly violent assault by his father. When he woke up, they had escaped and had a new family with different identities. This is the lie they have lived this whole time. Woo Hak wants to reclaim their original names and stop hiding since they have grown up and can face Bong Wan should he find them. But there is more to the story that the audience has not yet heard, and Woo Hak is forced to go back to secret keeping. After getting back home, he meets Mok Ha and tells her that he met Ki Ho and that he was a happily married man. Woo Hak also gives Mok Ha a pen drive that has her audition from fifteen years ago. However, he really underestimates Mok Ha’s intelligence. She may not be as polished because she spent 15 years alone on an island, but she hasn’t become dull because of it. If anything, her senses might be the sharpest of the lot. She senses that Woo Hak is hiding something from her, and she confides in Ran Joo about it. She mentions what Woo Hak’s mother had said and how Ki Ho had told her that his mother said the same thing. Both the women suspect that either Woo Hak or Bo Geol had to be Ki Ho.
Why does Mok Ha decide that Bo Geol isn’t Ki Ho?
Yong Gwan has made it clear that if she irritates him in any way, he will release the recording of her lip-syncing for Ran Joo. This has to be a loophole in the story because instead of blackmailing Mok Ha with it, if Seo Jun directly released it, then nobody would buy Ran Joo’s records anymore, and the entire problem would be solved. But maybe Seo Jun doesn’t know about this, and by limiting his blackmail to Mok Ha, Yong Gwan is managing his conscience.
Ran Joo has won three times on the “Heyday Again” show, and for her fourth appearance, Seo Jun wants her to compete against Eun Mo Rae. That is a change in format, but since Mo Rae is such a huge star, the producer of the show is more than willing to accommodate her. However, Mo Rae doesn’t want to sing live; she wants to lip-sync instead. Mok Ha protests this, as it would be unfair to Mo Rae since Ran Joo would be singing live. However, she isn’t able to say much because Yong Gwan is ready to blackmail her.
As for Bo Geol, even he supports letting Mo Rae lip sync for the stage, which angers Mok Ha. At home, she tells him that she once suspected that he could be Ki Ho, but she is now sure that he isn’t. If Bo Geol was indeed not Ki Ho, he should have been surprised that Mok Ha ever thought that, but instead, he is offended that she doesn’t think of him as Ki Ho anymore. Mok Ha’s reasons are that Ki Ho is a determined person, but Bo Geol is a lot more wishy-washy and goes where the situation favors him. Therefore, he cannot be Ki Ho.
Meanwhile, Woo Hak is on a trip of gratitude for everyone around him, and they are surprised by the change. That day, he covers the case of the man who died due to the hornets in his car, and his wife tells him that it is impossible that the dashcam was missing because her husband was an insurance broker who wouldn’t make such a mistake. The case may be investigated more, but for now, Bong Wan is listening to all the recordings, and he hears the call to Young Ju, where she says that they should reach out to Mok Ha. Bong Wan’s next target may be her.
Why Does Bo Geol Want Ran Joo To Sing Live?
Mo Rae is extremely insecure about Ran Joo and absolutely without any good reason. During her audition, she had heard Ran Joo say that she was not as good as Mok Ha. When it was time to make her own album, Mo Rae wanted to cover Ran Joo’s debut song, but the singer did not agree with it. Mo Rae thought that meant that it was because of her preference for Mok Ha. As for Ran Joo, she was angry that Mo Rae had become more important than her in the agency, and in that pettiness, she agreed with Mo Rae. She admitted that if Mok Ha had shown up as she should have, Mo Rae would never have been a star. Mo Rae has never been able to forget that, and it is a continuing source of insecurity to this day. For the competition in the present day, the only reason Mo Rae agreed to go against Ran Joo is because she wanted to show her that she was better, and she also wanted to upstage Mok Ha in some way.
Ran Joo is determined to be strong, and she genuinely carries herself well when Mo Rae tries to upstage her. Even Mok Ha is not far behind. When Mo Rae tries to confront her, asking if she agrees with Ran Joo about taking her place, Mok Ha says that if Mo Rae is indeed that good, she will sing live instead of lip-syncing. Bo Geol hears all this, and when the parties are going over the script at the end of Castaway Diva Episode 6, he says that both of them will have to sing live. Mo Rae stomps off, and bringing her back is up to Yong Gwan, but Bo Geol also wants Ran Joo to sing by herself. Once she is done, he wants Mok Ha to get on stage. This farce has gone on for long enough, and this is Bo Geol’s determined way of supporting Mok Ha by not letting her use these shortcuts anymore.
Final Thoughts
The preview for the next episode takes away all the surprises that were to come. Either way, Ran Joo’s problem with singing has been termed psychological, so maybe she will overcome that in the episodes to come. For the rest, the editor of the preview needs a stern talking-down.
