 |
| Image source: DramaFever |
MY LOVE FROM ANOTHER STAR (별에서 온 그대) is so shiny!
Shiny, shiny, shiny. It's cracktastic sci-fi romance in the sense that the show
has significant flaws, yet manages to entertain in a delightful way. Does it
succeed despite the flaws? That'll depend on whether viewers are willing to
overlook them.
MY LOVE FROM ANOTHER STAR may also be
the first show of its kind, or among the first (i.e., live action sci-fi
romance soap opera). While the trope of an alien hero visiting Earth and
falling in love with a human woman isn't new--in fact, it's been explored many
times in SFR books--its interpretation in a visual medium is still pretty rare.
I'm going to share my experience
watching this twenty-one episode show. I'll provide general impressions and tags, but will avoid
major spoilers.
MY LOVE FROM ANOTHER STAR originally
aired on SBS. To catch you up to speed, here's a description and trailer:
Do Min Joon (Kim Soo Hyun) is an otherworldly beauty, literally. After crash landing on Earth 400 years ago, Min Joon has diligently observed humans for centuries, ultimately coming to cynical conclusions. On top of being a super babe, Min Joon's got enhanced vision, hearing and agility — all the more reason to believe he's superior to everyone on Earth. That is, until he pursues the beautiful actress Cheon Song Yi (Gianna Jun) for a romance out of this world.
What is this this show, exactly?
I've been a fan of Korean cinema for
years (hello, OLDBOY, MY SASSY GIRL, and THE WEIRD THE BAD THE UGLY), but this
is the first time I've dipped my toes into K-drama. I was really excited to
watch MY LOVE FROM ANOTHER STAR ever since learning about it from issue #1306
of Entertainment Weekly. I had no
idea what to expect or if it'd even turn out to be an SFR in terms of romance
genre conventions--especially since various descriptors for the show were
anything but.
It's accurate to describe MY LOVE FROM
ANOTHER STAR as a fantasy, comedy drama, romantic comedy, or a combination
thereof because the premise and science fictional angle fall under the superhero
category. I'm willing to bet many viewers of this show don't automatically
equate superheroes with SF in the way they'd equate AVATAR or STAR TREK with
SF. Superheroes can be fantasy or SF-based, but they're also kind of their own
thing.
Anyway, this being my first K-drama, I
had a learning curve ahead of me, but as an adventurous viewer that aspect held
appeal for me. I'm not a fan of American soaps, but I did watch Soñadoras back
in '99 (without subtitles!). That show was loads of fun (for the record: my favorite
character is Lucia--so adorkable!), but given my predilection for SF/F, I
didn't pursue any more telenovelas.
A few episodes into watching the show,
I read "My
Love From Another Star" Initial Review: A Story of Love, Aliens,
Immortality, and Watching a lot of Vampire U.S. shows
(via A Korean in America). The post contained helpful information given my
newbie K-drama status. First, I learned that SF isn't a common setting for
K-dramas (not a huge surprise, but good to know for context). A Korean in
America also noted:
…However, it is not really a Sci Fi show. The show seems to skew too much towards the off beat fantasy prevalent in K-dramas recently. To understand what this show is, we have to look at how the "Alien" is portrayed….
… The interesting factor of “My Love from the stars" is not that it is a fantasy with some Sci Fi coating. It is that it is similar to the modern vampire genre coming out of the U.S.
I agree that MY LOVE FROM ANOTHER STAR
is a blatant attempt to cash in on the vampire romance trend. Otherwise, why
have an alien with a centuries-long lifespan? On the other hand, since I hadn't
seen much of the show yet, I decided to keep an open mind. Would there be a
significant amount of overlap with paranormal romance, or just a little?
 |
| Image source: Fanpop |
The post also gave me a clue about how
the hero might be perceived by more experienced K-drama fans:
The female character is just a common K-drama archetype. The male lead is rather more interesting. He seems out of place with K-drama archetypes. [emphasis mine]
That last sentence intrigued me. What
qualities make him seem atypical? Would I, an SFR fan, find the hero similar to
those found in SFR books?
I wonder if Do Min Joon seems "out
of place" because he comes across not as a typical vampire, but as a
mashup of Superman and Spock. Because IMHO he's totally a blend of those two
iconic characters. So the question I continually asked myself while watching
the show was this: is his character, while an attempt to appeal to vampire romance
fans, crossing over into more truly speculative territory (albeit of the lite
kind)?
Now that I've seen the show in its
entirety, I believe he did. Do Min Joon may seem "out of place with
K-drama archetypes," but regular SFR readers will instantly recognize his
"type." Plus, a number of sci-fi romances have featured PNR-SFR
blends (e.g., vampire heroes in space). Again, not a new exploration, but it
popped up in a new medium.
Type of science fiction
The basic tags are alien-on-Earth and
superhuman SF. Contemporary setting.
Type of science fiction
 |
| Image source: My Rara-Pop |
Despite a reference to a wormhole,
plausibility is definitely not a strong suit of MY LOVE FROM ANOTHER STAR. The
science fictional elements involve lots of wavehandium and some of it isn't
fleshed out in a satisfying way. Therefore, hard SF fans and viewers for whom
plausibility is important should adjust their expectations going into it.
The show employs non-linear storytelling techniques, which add a number of surprise twists to various episodes. Those were pretty cool and some of them helped deepen the romance in unexpected ways. Speaking of romance....
Type of romance
 |
| Image source: Fanpop |
If you like the rescue fantasy in
romance, you will *adore* this show. Cheon Song Yi has got to be the ultimate
damsel in distress. Do Min Joon rescues her in various ways throughout the
series (he's also extremely rich). Though I don't enjoy that trope, I decided
to grin and bear it for the sake of exploring a new SFR angle. Luckily, the
show had many other things going for it.
What both perplexed and fascinated me
was how the rescues were framed. Some were a matter of life and death while
others were more mundane in nature. But even if the rescue was over something
small, like Cheon Song Yi breaking her fingernail, the overall direction,
framing, composition, music, etc. presented it as the most Epic! Rescue! Ever!
(I made that up about her fingernail, but sometimes the situations felt that
trivial.)
So yeah, over the top would describe Do
Min Joon's heroic interventions at times. And yet I still marveled at how cool
all the shots were, especially when Do Min Joon would leap to the rescue. I
think it worked because he comes across as very human rather than a more
obviously extraordinary superhero such as Iron Man. It's risky for Do Min Joon
to break out his powers, so it means more when he sprints into action.
On the plus side, the show acknowledged
how extreme the damsel-in-distress thread was getting, especially since certain
plot points were used repeatedly. Cheon Song Yi's mother expressed as much in a
meta comment, which I will of course not spoil for you! Comedic moments also
tempered the relentless heroine-in-peril aspect.
One could argue that Cheon Song Yi
helps rescue Do Min Joon on an emotional level. He's got a seriously thick
shell around him and she intends to crack it open. When he smiles or expresses
other emotions, it feels like a triumph for Cheon Song Yi as well as a super
special moment.
Heat level
Heat level
 |
| Image source: DramaFever |
MY LOVE FROM ANOTHER STAR is for
viewers who like "sweet" heat level romances and lots of angst. It's
very chaste and innocent (perhaps because it's a mainstream television show
most likely geared toward adolescents/young adults?). So chaste, in fact, that whenever
there was a scene of Cheon Song Yi and Do Min Joon cuddling in bed, they were
fully clothed.
The show also presents a convenient
reason to keep the heat level sweet and unthreatening--Do Min Joon can't have
physical contact with humans (for reasons I won't spoil).
While I often enjoy steamy SFRs, I
found the chaste aspect a bonus because it allowed the show to develop the romance
in other ways. This isn't a show one watches for the love scenes, anyway. I
suspect it's more for the numerous scenes featuring Cheon Song Yi and Do Min
Joon gazing into each other's eyes!
Subplots
Subplots
 |
| Image source: Korean Drama Fashion |
There's a suspense/police procedural
subplot in the show. Basically, Do Min Joon's presence creates a ripple effect
in Cheon Song Yi's life as well as in the lives of her friends and family. His
special abilities plays a role (in other words, if his alien status were taken
away, the story would fall apart).
Additionally, flashbacks help fill in
the story of Do Min Joon's time on Earth. The layers of his life in different
historical time periods are gradually peeled back. I really enjoyed this part
of the show. The flashbacks lent the show an epic/saga type feel.
There's also a love triangle subplot.
Hero & Heroine
As I stated above, Do Min Joon is a
combination of Superman and Spock. His character is at once both derivative and
original. Makes me wonder why no one's done this combination before!
Do Min Joon is the ultimate Beta hero.
He's smart, bookish, and an introvert. But he's also a grumpy, reluctant hero.
Living on Earth for 400 years exacted a toll on his personality and heart.
Do Min Joon is a fun hero, but he has a
frustrating lack of background. Even though the origins of Superman's powers
are very simplistic, at least there's a clear explanation. Unless something was
lost in translation (the subbing on DramaFever wasn't perfect), I never learned
why Do Min Joon had powers (for reasons other than being an alien) or if they
worked differently on Earth than on his home planet. I was hoping for just a bit
more depth there.
Do Min Joon occasionally infantilizes
Cheon Song Yi, which annoyed me greatly. I guess he was supposed to be still
protecting her? This happened several times even though Cheon Song Yi had
clearly earned the right to know certain things about him and/or was obviously
mature enough to handle distressing information. I'm not sure if that's a
K-drama romance hero thing, but I've certainly come across it in romance.
Obviously, I'm not the target audience for that particular element.
Cheon Song Yi is a diva with a heart of
gold. She's an A-List actress at the top of her game when the story begins. Her
world is all about the glamour and fame. She's a prickly character, which might
irritate some viewers, but I was glad she wasn't presented as instantly sympathetic/likeable.
She was clearly being set up for a growth arc.
Despite a major setback, Cheon Song Yi
never quite loses her privileged, moneyed status. On one level, I kept
thinking, "Aww, she's having poor little rich girl problems." Again,
I'm probably not the exact target audience for this show, and I understand that
in the end it's all about the fantasy.
The comedic aspect helped ground her
character and made her relatable. In addition to being funny, Cheon Song Yi has
a conscience. She's not evil arrogant, just clueless arrogant. The
circumstances leading to her fame also contributed toward trapping her in that
fame, to the point where she didn't know anything else. I can't help but wonder
if this show's subtext was you can have fame and fortune or you can have love,
but not both.
As a couple, Cheon Song Yi and Do Min
Joon have good chemistry, in large part because the show tells us they're
destined to be together. :) A few montages helped develop the romance, but
there were enough scenes of them talking and learning about each other to
convince me they were building a relationship.
Secondary characters
Secondary characters
 |
| Lee Jae-Kyung (Image source: Villains Wikia) |
While some secondary characters had
more depth than others, they were all an immense treat. I enjoyed the
supporting characters as much as the primary ones. There are many, so I
encourage you to just check out the show--it's worth it for the other
characters alone!
I'll highlight two of my favorites. The
villain, Lee Jae-Kyung (Seong-rok Sin) is deliciously over the top. I loved how
the actor interpreted the character. His performance is very suave, especially when
he switches his expression from warm and friendly to devious and evil. OMG it's
so creepy-cool! And Lee Jae-Kyung's face-off with Do Min Joon is pure awesomesauce.
Do Min Joon has a longtime friend and lawyer, Jang Young-mok, and I actually engaged emotionally with their friendship a little bit more than the main romance. I think it's a combination of the role itself as well as the actor playing the part (Chang-wan Kim). He is superb.
The
HEA factor
I began this show without a clue as to
whether there'd be an HEA or even an HFN. And if the show had ended with
episode 20 as originally planned, I would have tagged this series as romantic
SF with a bittersweet ending.
Apparently, fans of the show demanded
an ending with better closure and so the "bonus" episode ties up
loose ends and delivers a solid HEA. Plus, there's a fanservice epilogue you
can watch on YouTube (English sub) that makes the romance feel even more complete. It's extreme, but also
pretty righteous.
Production values
Production values
The cinematography is impressive, as is
the catchy music. The show is well-acted overall. Special effects are okay, and
unfortunately hokey in several scenes. However, some of them were better than I
expected. All said and done, it's a pretty, sparkly show!
Cultural
impact
If you'd like to read more about the
popularity of MY LOVE FROM ANOTER STAR, here are a few articles:
Fan fiction site (English): My Love From Another Star (Continuum)
I wonder if someone is going to
purchase the rights for a U.S. version of this show. Wouldn't surprise me. I'm
not sure how well it would translate, though. Are general U.S. young
adult/adult audiences ready for extreme romances of this type?
Plus, a huge reason behind my interest in MY LOVE FROM ANOTHER STAR is the
fact that it's a non-Western show. In fact, I would love to see more books,
shows, and films explore this type of diversity (i.e., PoC humanoid aliens). But
if someone wants to create a Western version, I'll watch it!
Conclusion
You can tell how much I enjoyed MY LOVE
FROM ANOTHER STAR based on the length of this post, yes?! I was excited to
discover SFR in an unexpected place. It's an interesting show to explore and analyze.
Want to know more? Here's a mind-blowing,
in-depth review and recap of MY LOVE FROM
ANOTHER STAR, courtesy of The Fangirl Verdict. Since it's full of spoilers, it's
best read after you've watched the show--and for when you need a moment to
relive it. Like I did. :)
Joyfully yours,
Heather