REVIEW: ‘When the Stars Gossip’ Episode 1

Fresh off his stellar performance in AppleTV+’s Pachinko, Lee Min-ho has gone to the stars in the Netflix KDrama, When The Stars Gossip Episode 1. This streamer’s interstellar K-romance is setting the ground to tell a story that especially bridges high emotion and cosmic adventure. Opposite of Lee Min-ho is Kong Hyo-jin, an icon in her own right.

When The Stars Gossip (Byeol-deul-e-ge Mul-eo-bwa) is the first time the two drama icons have been romantically paired together. Written by Seo Sook-hyang (Jealousy Incarnate) and directed by Park Shin-woo (It’s Okay to Not Be Okay), the premiere episode of this romantic space story is already set to be a fan favorite. The series also stars Oh Jung-se, Han Ji-eun, Lee El, Kim Joo-hun, and Kim Eung-soo.

For his part, Lee Min-ho as Gong Ryong doesn’t embody the suave character you usually associate with him. Instead, his charm is shown through his clumsiness. To start, Gong Ryong isn’t an astronaut. An obstetrician-gynecologist by trade, Ryong has joined the space mission as a “space tourist” and research scientist to study the movement of sperm in space when they reach the space station. Oh, and he’s the future son-in-law of the MZ Group, the richest conglomerate in Korea.

Yes, the reason he’s there is actually pretty hilarious when you look at it through the lens of romance. He’s just there because his future father-in-law (Kim Eung-soo) wanted to send his deceased son’s sperm into space. From the first 10 minutes, the melodrama has begun, and it’s honestly adding freshness to the K-romance.

This new Kdrama feels fresh, unique, and fun even with some missteps.

Sent into space to appease his future father-in-law, Gong Ryong isn’t the most confident person on the flight crew. That honor goes to Kong Hyo-jin as Eve Kim. For her part, actress Kong is cast as a resilient and independent leader. She knows how to do her job and be the best, but ultimately, she has no time to deal with the space tourist she’s been sandbagged with. When they launch into space, Ryong isn’t excited or happy; he’s quite frankly terrified. He couldn’t even pick a song to calm him down before liftoff.

Eve Kim is his polar opposite. She’s sure of herself, annoyed with ignorance, and the epitome of a dynamic female lead. Her flippancy to Ryong’s fear is funny in its own unique way, and their launch into space sets up the dynamic that we’re about to see.

As a romance, the flipping of gender roles in When The Stars Gossip is welcomed. While I’ve always been enamored with Lee Min-ho’s depth as an actor and his ability to captivate and intimidate in his previous roles, seeing him return to his melodrama romance roots is exciting.

Actor Lee is clearly the main protagonist of When The Stars Gossip Episode 1. We see the events through his perspective or through those close to him. We hear him narrate flashbacks highlighting the women who raised him, his aunties—taking the role of his new moms when his biological mother died in childbirth. They pay for his school, and while he comes off as arrogant and bossy even as a child, he beats up men to get money for mistreating his moms.

Gong Ryong (Lee Min-ho) is, quite frankly, a mess, and it’s charming.

Gong Ryong isn’t the perfect leading man. He’s selfish, but he has always been forced on one thing: succeeding. Well, and wombs, apparently. The use of jazz and erratic pacing paints Gong Ryong’s life as something chaotic and heroic. He’s seen delivering babies and saving mothers, even on a train. He’s shown to be the best in what he does. The erratic race through Rong’s life and how bringing new life into the world gives him excitement is the series’ absurdity at its best.

Right down to his meet-cute with the daughter of a chaebol family, it’s all a comedy. Gong Ryong is a poor ob-gyn who gets rear-ended by a rich chaebol princess as the only remaining heir of MZ Group. Choi Go-eun’s (Han Ji-eun) carefree life isn’t hers alone. When her father ruins Ryong’s life and career, they come together. However, the power imbalance between the two feels insurmountable, and their awkward relationship is set to color the background of When The Stars Gossip. I mean, we can’t really cheer for a romance in space when Gong Ryong’s girlfriend is still on Earth.

Getting it out of the way, Ryong’s narration makes it clear that he doesn’t love Go-eun. She is just the best he can do, and everything else is just him trying to find a way forward in life. Despite his looks, his charm, and the fun jazz music playing in the background, it’s safe to say that Ryong isn’t the happiest in his life. Ryong isn’t entirely likable, but he is charming.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t be in space while being absolutely terrified. But as he says, he’s been chasing a lightning strike for most of his life. To put it simply, Gong Ryong is a walking mess, not a great role model. And, of course, his girlfriend’s ex, Kang Gang-su (Oh Jung-se),  is at the space station he’s headed to.

A love triangle is central to When The Stars Gossip Episode 1.

A floating gun foreshadows the ominous nature of their trip to space once they hit zero-g, but it is quickly tucked away. When Ryong spots a dead body floating in a spacesuit, he can’t control himself. The joy of adventure and what the stars can bring quickly rushes away, and instead, it’s replaced with immediate fear. And, of course, he vomits and wrecks the mission.

When the spacesuit impacts the ship, Commander Eve Kim heads into leadership mode. Choking on his own vomit, Eve tries to resuscitate him, injuring herself in the process. But an exciting first mission quickly turns into a dangerous escapade that is only happening because of the MZ Group’s secret goal. More akin to Killing Romance than Gravity, When The Stars Gossip is eccentric, absurd, and the start of something exciting.

Eve also has her own story and lover, only he’s watching from the command center. Most of When The Stars Gossip Episode 1 focuses on Gong Ryong, and Lee Min-ho holds the focus well, expectedly so. That said, I find myself wanting even more of Kong’s Eve. She’s assertive, fearless, and the right woman to be in charge. I mean, she injures herself and has no idea.

Despite the misfortune, Commander Eve Kim is resilient. But I need to know what her past is outside of the spaceship. Eve is capable, and it accentuates the slight airhead quality that Ryong has outside of his element. But when he gets the chance to prove himself and stitch up her injury, they connect in a way that they didn’t expect.

While I know that love triangles and love squares, for that matter, are common KDrama expectations, the build-up that When The Stars Gossip Episode 1 delivers is less interesting to me than if it was simply a commander and a space tourist with no outside romances. Here, it feels like it’s doing too much, and ultimately, it’s this episode’s single mistake.

That said, When The Stars Gossip is one to watch, even if only because of the strength of Kong and Lee and their polar opposite characters. They play off each other fantastically, and I’m entirely invested in it. With the space station and Gong Ryong’s girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend waiting for the shuttle, it will be a surprising season, to say the least. A romance and drama in space, with two powerful leads are enough for me to already fall in love with this Netflix Kdrama.

When The Stars Gossip is now streaming on Netflix with new episodes every Saturday and Sunday with both English subtitles and dub. 

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