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When the stars chatter lays some interesting groundwork in Episode 1, even if it’s a bit silly for its own sake.
It’s fair to say that sci-fi isn’t exactly a go-to genre for K-Drama, and sci-fi comedy even less so, which makes When the stars chatter a particularly curious choice for a Netflix series. Fitting perfectly into the range just like When the phone ringsa series with a similar title but very different and much more traditional, has just endedthe tonal boost of Episode 1 could make many viewers bounce back to the series.
We have love triangles, slapstick comedies, archaic silliness, surrealism, flashbacks and… feet, for some reason. It’s hard to know where to start. We’ll try the beginning.
It was October 25, 2024, at the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, which is also the setting of the Call of Duty : Black Ops “Executive Order” mission. This is the starting point for the series and a mission to study samples that could reveal some of humanity’s great unsolved mysteries, if only the three astronauts on board can make it to the space station without any calamity, which doesn’t seem particularly likely given the inexperience of either of them.
It’s Gong Ryong, who is the center of attention When the stars chatter Episode 1. Nicknamed a “space tourist” because a huge amount of money was spent to secure his inclusion in the mission despite not being an astronaut, Gong Ryong is an obstetrician-gynecologist – he i.e. obstetrics and gynecology – who can’t find the courage to choose the flight song or hold their stomach during the journey.
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Through a cloud of his own zero-G vomit, Gong Ryong remembers. He was raised by his eccentric aunts and grew up to become something of a famous midwife. He's sharp as nails and a better brawler than his wobbly space legs suggest, but he's also locked in an ongoing rivalry with his father-in-law, President Choi Jae-ryong.
This is due to Gong Ryong's relationship with the president's daughter, Go-eun. When she lost her unborn baby after surgery, President Choi accused Gong Ryong of ending her lineage and subsequently sabotaged her career. Gong Ryong's Revenge is a whirlwind romance with Go-eun, leaving many lingering suspicions about the authenticity of the union.
So it stands to reason that Gong Ryong might have eyes for someone else. When, in the present day, the mission's commander, Eve, saves her life by unblocking her airways, it becomes clear that he might just have eyes for her. Eve, however, has a – very new – relationship with Park Dong-a, who works at the mission control center. And, aboard the space station is Go-eun's ex, Kang-su, who wants her back and is close to her father in a way Gong Ryong could only dream of. Naturally, Chairman Choi prefers Kang-su as a suitor for his daughter.
As you can see, there's a lot going on here, and it's no doubt going to get a lot more romantically complicated as things progress. Gong Ryong is clearly more interested in Eve – or perhaps her feet in particular – than he is in Go-eun, but that seems to be the tip of the iceberg of what's to come.
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It's certainly a departure from more traditional K-Dramas and some shoddy CGI and green screen work here and there doesn't really help matters, but there's also something a little charming about all of which fits the show's obviously eccentric vibe. It's still hard to judge in episode 1, but there's definitely potential here for a fun series; Hopefully he doesn't get too bogged down in the silliness of the arc and remembers to be right.
