REVIEW: ‘When The Stars Gossip’ Episode 3

When The Stars Gossip, directed by Park Shin-woo and written by Seo Sook-hyang, has taken the Kdama rom-com to space. Set to run for 16 episodes, our leads, OB-GYN-turned-space tourist Gong Ryong (Lee Min-ho) and Commander Eve Kim (Kong Hyo-jin), are far from dating. While they started on the wrong foot, at least in the last episode, Ryong was able to garner some of Eve’s respect and slightly change his clumsy persona. For When The Stars Gossip Episode 3, Eve winds up taking the spotlight.

When The Stars Gossip Episode 3 can be split into three sections as an episode. The first is Kang Kang-su’s (Oh Jung-se) goal of fertilizing the eggs for Chairman Choi (and the fallout from that). The second is Mina (Lee Cho-hee) discovering a winning lottery ticket with the words “Stand By Me” written on it. Finally, Eve gets put into serious danger on a spacewalk.

To kick things off, Ryong may have zero respect from his soon-to-be-father-in-law, but saving the mouse’s life with his surgical skills has made him a crew hero. More importantly, Eve has softened toward him and backed off slightly from viewing him as an unprepared klutz. But none of that really matters because Kang Kang-su is the one that has the Na Min-jeong (Baek Eun-hye), the Chairman’s daughter-in-law’s eggs.

The only thing in Ryong’s favor is that everyone back on Earth is against Kang-su and his interference with their plan. Na Min-jeong’s protest is due in large part to the wishes that she and her late husband, Choi Dong-Hun, had to begin with when they decided to go under IVF treatment with Ryong back on Earth. They began their journey with Gong Ryong, and to Min-jeong, IVF is more than just fertilizing the egg.

For her, a doctor herself, it’s about caring for and being committed to being there for the fertilized egg past the first step until it gets back to earth—something that she doesn’t trust the cold and calculating scientist Kang Kang-su to do.

Episode 3 shows that Kang Kang-su can’t let go of Go-eun. 

For Ryong’s girlfriend, Choi Go-eun (Han Ji-eun), giving his much-hated ex the keys to the kingdom and the chance to win her hand is an affront. But when Go-eun tries to support Ryong, you have to ask if she’s doing this because she loves him or because she hates Kang-su. It’s a question that also comes up with Ryong while on International LEO Station as he attempts to steal the eggs from Kang-su by literally running on a treadmill until the motor breaks.

But Ryong’s physical dedication to getting the eggs back from Kang-su in When The Stars Gossip Episode 3 is highlighted by his reasoning. He just wants to succeed, and his hatred for Kang-su, as much as it comes from how he treated Go-eun, also seems to come from his personal refusal to lose to him. Kang-su’s choice to steal the eggs is very clearly an attempt to win back Go-eun’s love, which he sees as beginning with her father. He isn’t doing it for money or fame but to get his ex back. The picture in his room with the words “Stand By Me” written on it shows that dedication.

Even though Ryong also has a photo of Go-eun in his room, the reverence he shows is almost nonexistent. And if we remember from earlier, he doesn’t really love her, at least not in the way that she needs. But what becomes even clearer in When The Stars Gossip Episode 3 is that he is beginning to feel a certain way about Eve Kim.

He worries for her safety, agrees to help her keep the fruit flies that mated in Episode 1 away from Kang-su, and, most interestingly, tells her that they should meet on Earth once they leave the ILS. That said, at this point in When The Stars Gossip Episode 3, though, much of the romance is secondary to Ryong’s quest to steal the eggs back and watch over them.

Lee Min-ho continues to charm as Gong Ryong.

Lee Min-ho continues to be as charming as Ryong. The simplistic way he solves problems and his eagerness to get closer to Eve are endearing. He’s clumsy, but actor Lee’s ability to switch between light comedy and earnest curiosity helps make Ryong a fantastic leading man. But while we see Lee Min-ho’s warmth as Ryong, we also begin to see Oh Jung-se inject care into the cold Kang Kang-Su.

Kang-su’s dedication to Go-eun is difficult to understand when the audience knows about the ectopic pregnancy that Go-eun had and how he wasn’t there when she needed him most. But for him, it looks like Kang-su has never stopped loving her and has no idea about the past in the same way that Ryong does. When The Stars Gossip Episode 3 isn’t focused on the Choi family mission, it uses the rest of the ISL crew to bring levity. This time, Mina and her joy (followed by apprehension) in finding a winning lottery ticket.

Between the episodes’ large points in storytelling, the lottery, first meant as a distraction crafted by Kang-su, is now at the center. Mina has a chance to change her family’s life, but the ticket also really belongs to one of her crewmembers. For the audience, the words written on the ticket tell us who, but for Mina Lee, she has no idea.

The lottery tickets get a plot point. 

This subplot offers audiences the chance to get to know who Mina is and her life beyond the ISL. That said, I wonder if we’ll have the chance to learn more about Lee Seung-Jun (Heo Nam-jun). I’d say we should also know more about Santiago (Alex Hafner), but we also know his sperm is the reason the mission was cooked up by the Choi family to begin with. However, it would be nice to see every crew member of the ISL get some backstory.

The final focus of When The Stars Gossip Episode 3 is the series’ most tense. The series has upped the stakes from just interpersonal drama and instead included real life-ending danger. Usually, in a romantic Kdrama, when the heroine is in danger, we can bank on the leading man to pop up behind her and save her no matter what they were doing before. But that can’t happen here. Eve is alone.

When you’re in space, what do you do? Eve is the Commander of the space station, and Ryong, well, is “the tourist.” As the episode points out early on, he doesn’t even have a fitted space suit. The nature of the danger means that Eve has to fend for herself, show her grit, and get out of a bad situation with only people to help from the control room.

Commander Eve Kim has become one of the most interesting Kdrama heroines.

When The Stars Gossip Episode 3 turns the dial on its genre and reminds everyone watching that this is as much a space series as it is a rom-com. As I said before, the series is more Killing Romance than Gravity, but what it shows in its cliffhanger shows how well the team behind the series is at balancing thematic elements.

The series takes the time to deliver foreshadowing and explain everything that could potentially go wrong before Kang Kang-su and Eve go on their spacewalk. They also use it to show Ryong’s concern for Eve. That said, it never feels out of place. Instead, the exposition is used to lead up to the episode’s climax, and that works.

This episode has its share of drama, and I mean that in the best way. The way the characters interact with one another, what they withhold from each other, and ultimately, their motivations have allowed viewers to immerse themselves in relationships as much as the overall story. Yes, I’m invested in seeing more of Ryong’s growing crush, but now, I’m heavily invested in what it takes to survive in space, to begin with.

When The Stars Gossip Episode 3 is probably the best so far. It has propelled Eve into one of my favorite drama heroines. Thankfully, this is just the first of the two-episode batch released this weekend because a cliffhanger like that has left me anxious to dive back in for Episode 4.

When The Stars Gossip Episode 3 is streaming now, exclusively on Netflix, with new episodes airing every Saturday and Sunday through January and February 2025.

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