We never expected Castaway Diva to serve us a mystery as engaging as this. In fact, the way they have tied this with the love triangle is giving us flashbacks of Start-Up, but with a better plot. This show would have created such a frenzy if all the episodes had been released together, but we are also enjoying the slow-burn hype surrounding it. Here is a recap of episode 4.
Spoiler Alert
Does Woo Hak tell her that he thinks he is Ki Ho?
Ran Joo is bright and optimistic now that she knows that she has a few TV gigs scheduled and that she is coming back into the public eye. Mok Ha works hard to arrange Ran Joo’s stage performance, and during this time, we are surprised that she did not spot the similarity between Bo Geol and Ki Ho. Bo Geol tells her that she needs to get a phone and a driving license, and he also calls her pathetic for being so clueless and overenthusiastic. We are not against Mok Ha getting offended at that, but didn’t she find Woo Hak similar to Ki Ho because he acted the same way? Then why doesn’t she see the similarity in Bo Geol? Or perhaps she is wiser than we would have been, and she doesn’t look for Ki Ho in every guy who is out to insult her.
Mok Ha starts working at Bo Geol and Woo Hak’s parents’ salon so that she can have some money while waiting for her salary as Ran Joo’s manager. Ki Ho comes to have lunch with her, and Mok Ha wonders why Ki Ho has not tried to contact her so far. She is quite dejected at that, and Woo Hak assures her that he may be in some unforeseen circumstances. He tells her about his own memory loss and mentions that Ki Ho may have gone through something similar. Of course, Mok Ha says that it is not a common enough occurrence for this to be the reason, but neither has she noticed nor has Woo Hak said that he himself might be Ki Ho.
How does Ran Joo’s performance go?
The format of “Heyday Again” is that the current performance of the artist is compared to their best performance in the past. That means that Ran Joo has to compete with her 2008 self, and that is what Mok Ha is up against. Ran Joo expects some friction at the show because the producer was one of the leaders of her hate club in the past. As for the producer, she remembers Ran Joo as being extremely fussy and annoying, which is why they started the hate club to begin with. However, it is a joke that it was Ran Joo’s diva behavior that got the studio a humidifier and an air purifier.
When Ran Joo gets there, a surprise is waiting for her. Seo Jun has sent treats for the entire crew and also arranged for a beautiful dress and a skilled makeup artist for Ran Joo. All of this comes as a surprise to everyone, especially Ran Joo, who cannot fathom this sudden outpouring of attention from someone who acted like he despised her. Mok Ha warns her that Seo Jun is not all that he is showing himself to be, and these gifts could lead to something entirely different.
The time for Ran Joo’s performance approaches, and when Bo Geol hears that she may have a cold, something clicks in his brain. He remembers the rumors about her smoking and drinking, including the general opinion about her singing after her performance, which is that she had improved manyfold. Additionally, he remembers his brother’s words about Mok Ha’s singing and deduces that it is her voice on stage and not Ran Joo’s. The other person who knows this is Yong Gwan, Ran Joo’s former manager, though we don’t think he has revealed this to Seo Jun.
It is time for the performance, and as expected, Mok Ha’s voice knocks it out of the park. People are once again head over heels for Ran Joo, and the conclusion is that she has beaten her 2008 self. There are a slew of news articles praising Ran Joo and calling her time on stage’ the return of the queen’. Ran Joo sees herself in her old age, retiring with a smile and at the peak of her glory, as she had always wanted to.
Is Bo Geol The Real Ki Ho?
We were introduced to a surprise in this episode of Castaway Diva. Ran Joo has feelings for Seo Jun, and at some point, they were definitely dating. It could have been the early days of the agency, but it had been there. Ran Joo has been lonely all these years, and in her fall from fame, Seo Jun has been the only thing keeping her afloat. Perhaps that is why his one act of kindness caused her to melt all over. She saw the arrangements he made for her, and she couldn’t resist meeting him. But that is when she came to know that his actions were motivated by guilt. He had ordered all her records to be taken away from the sales, which meant that no matter what Ran Joo did, she would not be able to sell anything. Seo Jun had played dirty, and the arrangements were a tiny apology on his part.
Elsewhere, Bong Wan (Ki Ho’s father) sees that Mok Ha is also looking for Ki Ho. He sends her flowers with a note saying that they are from Ki Ho and he would be waiting for her. That upsets Woo Hak, who was completely convinced that he was Ki Ho, since he related to the boy a lot. Nevertheless, Mok Ha is overjoyed, and she sets out to meet him. But when Bo Geol hears about this, he realizes that Mok Ha is in danger, and he rushes to find her. At the end of Castaway Diva episode 4, we see that even Ki Ho gets back a memory of his. He sees the time that Bong Wan tracked him down, and he remembers being scared. Woo Hak remembers that the person who dropped off the flowers was the person from his memory, and he also rushes to find Mok Ha. While Mok Ha is waiting for Ki Ho, she spots Bong Wan, and she starts running from him. Luckily, Bo Geol comes and rescues her at that moment.
There are two possibilities here. The moment that Bo Geol heard about the note, he seemed to have known that it was a case. It means that he must know the whereabouts of the real Ki Ho. That brings us back to the theory that Woo Hak is indeed Ki Ho, and Bo Geol is protecting his brother. Another possibility is that Bo Geol is Ki Ho, and he is denying his identity because he blames himself for his brother’s memory loss. We love the mystery of Ki Ho and these brothers.
Final Thoughts
In the next episode, we will see Mok Ha come up with a way to sell the records and challenge the agency in her own way. Also, how long can they protect the secret of Mok Ha being Ran Joo’s voice? Ran Joo is going to be angry with Mok Ha for no reason, since she needs an outlet for her anger over rejection from Seo Jun. It will all simply get better.
