REVIEW: ‘Castaway Diva’ Episodes 9-10

Castaway Diva continues its strong writing streak with Castaway Diva Episodes 9-10. The focal themes lingering in these episodes surround empathy, choosing happiness over violence, and the meaning of sacrifice in pursuit of one’s dream. Never do these themes feel overwhelming or preachy. Instead, they are seamlessly woven into the fabric of overarching conflicts surrounding Seo Mok-ha (Park Eun-bin), Kang Bo-geol (Chae Jong-hyeop), and Yoon Ran-joo (Kim Hyo-jin).

Castaway Diva Episode 9 starts with Bo-geol confronting his father, Jeong Bong-wan (Lee Seung-joon), who now knows where Bo-geol and his family live. Bong-wan frisks him, revealing that Bo-geol was recording their conversation on the phone. This makes Bong-wan erupt, destroying his home and assaulting Bong-wan in kind for abandoning him all those years ago and being unfilial. Bong-wan blames Bo-geol’s abandonment for disrupting his happiness, but a flashback conversation between Bo-geol and Mok-ha reveals that Bong-wan’s unhappiness is his responsibility, not anyone else’s. We can understand it somewhat, but ultimately, fixing his unhappiness involves searching within.

There is a clash of wills here. Bo-geol pushes against Bong-wan, telling him to leave the family alone but Bong-wan won’t relent. Revealing a separate device that recorded the entire exchange including Bong-wan assaulting his son, Bo-geol threatens to ruin his father’s reputation after revealing he’s been collecting evidence of his abuse for over 15 years. With that ace in his pocket, Bo-geol leaves, but his mission isn’t entirely successful. Bong-wan’s fixation on his family grows deeper and, picking up an empty beer can that Bo-geol touched during the debacle, the man submits the can to try to extract a fingerprint to confirm his son’s identity and ruin his family in the process.

For Mok-ha, she’s still reeling from Ran-joo’s rejection of her. Ran-joo has been burned by a mentee in the past, revealed later on in the episode as Park Yong-Gwan (Shin Joo-hyup). Mok-ha delivers keys passed onto her from Ran-joo’s mother before departing, but she gets little time to spend alone. A brief commentary on fan culture and how easily they are to turn, Mok-ha gets seized by fans who want to take a picture. Devoid of empathy, they take issue with her confusion and lack of smiling and plan to ruin her reputation online based on that single interaction.

It is here that Mok-ha, a bloodied Bo-geol, and Kang Woo-hak (Cha Hak-yeon) intersect, with both Bo-geol and Woo-hak coming to her aid in their own different ways. All three return home to have a difficult discussion about what has happened with Bong-wan, only to have the conversation overheard by their adopted father, Kang Sang-doo (Lee Joong-ok). Regardless, these moments are the equivalent of a noose slowly being tightened around the throat. Things are about to hit the fan soon, and fast.

But first, Mok-ha needs to figure out her future—a resounding focus in Castaway Diva Episodes 9-10. She takes the plunge and calls up President Lee Seo-jun (Kim Joo-hun) to arrange to sign a contract with RJ Entertainment. Her motivation is to prove Ran-joo wrong, which catches the idol’s interest. As for Mok-ha’s competition, Eun Mo-rae (Bae Gang-hee)? She’s struggling with her voice, indicating her following the same path as Ran-joo as a fresh, less strained singer follows after her like a dog nipping at her heels.

Mok-ha’s next task is to select a song from RJ Entertainment’s archive, which puts her in the crosshairs of Yong-Gwan. When she lands upon the song “Stagnant Water,” she relentlessly pursues permission and we see both Yong-Gwan’s history as well as why he has grown to dislike Mok-ha. In the end, he finally gives in when she shows the changes she’s made to his song. And, when she performs it at the company’s showcase, the emotional impact resonates off his face. Mok-ha is the person living his dream but has what he never had.

Ran-joo discusses with President Lee producing Mok-ha’s entire album after considering adding a clause in her termination contract. Despite this happy change in events, bad luck seems to follow Mok-ha. A seemingly innocuous conversation around dumplings between Mok-ha and Bo-geol reveals Mok-ha keeping him away from home as both Mok-ha and Song Ha-jung (Seo Jung-yeon) find themselves face-to-face with Bong-wan.

Woo-hak, meanwhile, pursues dash cam footage to find evidence of the suspect responsible for a major car crash. He is able to narrow down the location and the person (his father) by retracing his steps, leading to him realizing he likely has a copy of the footage that would have captured his father in the act. Fortunately, his boss finds someone to restore the footage, granting his company an exclusive but also highlighting the further danger Bong-wan represents. This leads him face-to-face with his adopted father caught in a lie, but away from the events taking place at home.

Castaway Diva Episode 10 picks up the altercation between Bong-wan, Mok-ha, and Ha-jung. The threat of Bong-wan revealing their identity theft to the police lingers in the air, but Mok-ha is undeterred. She calls the police and, as Bong-wan advances, it builds further intensity to the situation. This is when Woo-hak and Sang-doo arrive, with Sang-doo revealing that he’s already confessed to the police about the identity theft. With the threat of Bong-wan looming over their heads, he took control back and removed what leverage the former police officer could hold over the family.

This sequence with this core group of actors provides some of the best acting of the series, especially after such a pivotal start in Episode 1. Actor Lee Seung-joon is particularly chilling and truly personifies every element of the danger his character has come to embody throughout the run. As violence explodes, it’s difficult not to watch in horror, but the police do eventually come. But only before Bo-geol is able to rush back. With their identities now reported to the police, their lives are about to be upended once again, but to the entire public, leaving them open for criticism and a resounding lack of empathy towards their situation.

Making the situation even more explosive is the payoff from foreshadowing hinted at in the past few episodes. The bodies of the family members whose identities were taken are unburied and the case, along with the reported theft of their identities, puts Bo-geol and his family up for slaughter. From closing their salon to both brothers submitting their letters of resignation, what they’ve done has cast them as pariahs in the public eye. And, because of the bad publicity, Mok-ha is placed in a position by both Ran-joo and Bo-geol to separate from the family to keep her reputation spotless before her debut.

It is here that, ultimately, Bo-geol pushes her to make the decision to move out and also proves how much he loves her and cares for her by revealing an apartment he’s paid for her to use. Pushing her toward her dream, the two are forced to part ways yet again, but with an understanding of how their industry works. However, the hurt still remains all the same, especially when the two are so good for one another. Bo-geol is literally the best friend a person could ask for.

Mok-ha works relentlessly alongside Ran-joo to make her dream happen after sacrificing everything she’s known and cared for. However, a damning article goes live questioning Ran-joo’s motivation for supporting Mok-ha’s album. Both come up with a plan to address the controversy head-on. This head-on approach carries over to Bo-geol and his family when it’s revealed the police want to cross-examine them with Bong-wan. The episode ends dramatically with the reveal of Bong-won’s attempted murder victim, Han Dae-woong (Kim Min-seok) waking up, setting up the intensity for Bong-wan’s fate in future episodes.

Castaway Diva Episodes 9-10 continue to build on its storytelling, blending a well-balanced mixture of heartwarming goodness, thrills, and messaging all of us can take away with it. The friendship between Mok-ha and Bo-geol continues to shine and truly highlights how adversity can bring people together and also help us persevere against all odds. As the series draws to its end, here’s hoping it ends on an equally strong note.

Castaway Diva Episodes is streaming now on Netflix.