We have mentioned before that we love a good naming moment. More than that, we love it when the title is a clever pun. Castaway Diva takes on two meanings, with one being literal and the other metaphorical. There is Mok Ha, who was literally cast away on an island for a long time. Then there is Ran Joo, who is called a yesteryear diva who has been sidelined and forgotten. This is the story of both these women and their friendship, which not only fulfills their dreams but also gives their lives new meaning. The drama is going strong, and this is the recap of the third episode.
Spoiler Alert
How did Ran Joo and Mok Ha’s meeting go?
Ran Joo was having a particularly bad day when Mok Ha stood in to perform for her. Her agency was refusing to give her any notable gigs, and her landlords, who were previously her fans, told her that they had stopped idolizing her and needed her to either pay the rent or vacate the premises. The manager who had driven her to the venue made sure to let her know that it was a favor. Overall, Ran Joo was feeling more than any other day that there was no place for her in the entertainment business. That is when Mok Ha stepped in for her and got her the applause she had long cherished, letting her remember that she mattered even though it wasn’t as obvious now.
Mok Ha tells Ran Joo everything about how she spent that long on the island and why she ended up there. Ran Joo is happy to meet a fan, and she and Mok Ha become friends instantly. When Ran Joo leaves, Woo Hak taunts Mok Ha for not pushing Ran Joo to help her, as she had traveled all this way for her. But Mok Ha feels that she cannot add to Ran Joo’s burdens. Woo Hak takes another swing by saying that Ki Ho is the one at fault, especially since if he had managed to hold back Mok Ha’s father that day, she would have been the superstar instead of the girl working at RJ Entertainment today. But Mok Ha refuses to hear anything against Ki Ho. We know that Woo Hak is simply testing Mok Ha, and that makes this scene especially cute and funny. Meanwhile, Ran Joo comes back, asking Mok Ha and Woo Hak for a lift since the van needs to go back to the agency.
Woo Hak takes both women to his rooftop house, where Mok Ha and Ran Joo party together while sharing their life stories. Mok Ha tells Ran Joo about how she attempted suicide in her sixth year on the island but was saved when she found an expired packet of ramen in an ice box. That had given her hope to keep waiting, and nine years later, a drone found and rescued her. As for Ran Joo, she had to get surgery for her vocal nodes, and since then, she can’t sing anymore. Though she doesn’t share it with Mok Ha, we saw at the beginning of the episode that Ran Joo had tried to jump off the roof of the building after her surgery, meaning that she had gone through what Mok Ha may have felt.
Why does Seo Jun discourage Ran Joo?
Seo Jun started out as Ran Joo’s manager and was probably the first person who saw her value as an artist. The reason Ran Joo joined his company was because he had called her an ‘artist’ in the contract, which is probably why she gave so much importance to his words all these years later. But Seo Jun had changed as a person. He had become more money-minded. He still remembered the contract that if Ran Joo made twenty million with the sale of her albums, half the company would be hers. That is why he did not encourage her popularity because that would boost her album sales, and he would lose his shares. This is why Ran Joo’s so-called manager did not try to get her any notable gigs. Unfortunately, this was noticed by Bo Geol, who knew that Ran Joo was at his house, so it wasn’t possible for her manager to have spoken to her that morning.
Meanwhile, Ran Joo asks Seo Jun to audition for Mok Ha to keep her heart. She even tells him that he need not select her, but she just wants him to listen to her. Mok Ha is moved by this gesture, even though she knows the truth about it. But Seo Jun is unable to show that grace back.
Why is Ki Ho’s father looking for him?
Seo Jun doesn’t want to audition for Mok Ha because he believes that it is a waste of time. He says that her age is a factor against her, and she would never be able to gain any popularity or earn money for the agency. Additionally, he also brings down Ran Joo once again by saying that he is cleaning up after her mess. Mok Ha is extremely disheartened when she hears this. But perhaps staying in the wild for all those years has sharpened her senses, and she can sense that it is not just exasperation that Seo Jun is exhibiting but something else as well. She rushes into the room and says that she is willing to be Ran Joo’s manager. With that settled, Mok Ha tells Ran Joo about Seo Jun’s fear, and that proves to be quite a game changer. It is definitely the first time that Ran Joo has heard this perspective, and like they say, sometimes all it takes is one flash to click things into place. Ran Joo stomps into Seo Jun’s meeting and tells the investors about the deal he made with her. She also stomps down his glasses, saying that they weren’t on prescription but more to exhibit an aura. She challenges him by saying that she can make those sales and will take back her shares in six months.
As for Mok Ha, she calculates the exact number of albums they have to sell for Ran Joo. Her plan is that once Ran Joo gets her share of the agency, she will take her audition. Bo Geol also helps Mok Ha book Ran Joo for his show. When Ran Joo hears this, she recommends that Mok Ha sing a song in her stead from the background. She tells her of how she met Ki Ho a decade ago, and she wrote this song after seeing his grief for Mok Ha. While it feels slightly dishonest of Ran Joo, this had to happen anyway since Ran Joo cannot sing at the moment.
At the end of Castaway Diva episode 3, Ki Ho’s father is still looking for him. We suspect that Ki Ho’s childhood friends know where he is. Either they are aware that Woo Hak is Ki Ho, or the man is somewhere else entirely, and only they know where he is. They contemplate reaching out to Mok Ha since Bong Wan wants to look for her and believes that Ki Ho will make an attempt to meet her. When he goes to the island, he comes to know about Woo Hak, who had accompanied Mok Ha to the island, and Bong Wan is trying to meet him now. The mystery of Ki Ho is going to play a pivotal role in the series.
Final Thoughts
We don’t doubt that Woo Hak will continue to pursue the mystery of Ki Ho. Someone also suggested that Bo Geol might be the guy, and that would change so many things, including how and why he is so distant from Mok Ha. Also, we wouldn’t like it if the sullen Ki Ho had grown up into a sullen adult. He needs to be a little silly and sarcastic and know how to have fun with things, at least as an adult.
