Diva à Deriva (2023)

chaotic and cheerful family abuse story

this story is about children overcoming abuse from their father. I know a lot of people loved it so much, but I didn't (not as much). why?

1st: 12 episodes seems to be a few, but the duration is 1:20 hour. that means the show has 14 episodes lasting 1h. it's not so far from the usual 16;
2nd: there is a lot of things happening during these 12 episodes: a music star being born, an old music star surviving the decline of her career, 2 families getting rid of their abusive father (this alone should have been enough), and how a young girl got lost on a remote island and how she got rescued, and how she adapted again in the society (this also alone should have been enough). the result is a little bit overwhelming. I really think that the quality of the show would have been better if they chose to focus on less main subjects.
3rd: the music was nice, but I didn't LOVE any of them.

what I loved: the actors were really good, especially the young actors. the atmosphere of the show was very well transmitted. the writer did a very good job sharing his views about the complexities of relationships. you are sometimes very mad at some characters then understand that they had their own reasons and it's forgivable. I think that it can be very interesting to re-watch the show.

audience: not under 15 because there is some violence
when to watch: it's a dense story, watch it on week-end so you'll have some time process it.
even if it's mostly cheerful I didn't find it relaxing.

Leia Mais

I've been struggling this entire year to get hooked on a kdrama, most of the ones I've started seemed promising but when I gave them a chance dissapointed me. I began watching Castaway Diva without really having a lot of expectations, but it quickly grabbed my attention and I devoured it in 3 days.

The acting of the child actors on the first episode was amazing, and really sold me on this show. I liked their future selves, and thought that the reasons they were kept apart were reasonable, instead of just an excuse. I found all of the characters interesting and complex, they felt like actual people. They were not steryotipes or just tropes. There have been some dramas (coughKing the Landcough) in which the characters feel like caricatures and you get tired of seeing them, but I felt the opposite with the characters of Castaway Diva.

The only complaints I have are:

I wish we knew more about what happens with Ran Joo. Like, it seems like she's become the producer of the entertainment firm, but she chose to stay with somebody that she had a romantic relationship with and screwed her over multiple times? I did ship them at the beginning, because I loved the angst of it and there were scenes in which he was considerate towards her, but he went way too far, so I'm a little yikes that she chose to stay on the company that treated her like shit instead of building her own. Or at least have her get part of the ownership of the place so they could co-direct it, something that gave her more power of choice.

I wish we had more of the romance. We only had ONE kiss between the main couple, and not really a lot of scenes in which they're happy or like go on a date together. We've seen A LOT of them supporting each other, which is good to make the relationship believable, but I wish we'd had a few more scenes of them happily together after all the suffering and time apart they went through.

Leia Mais

I just couldn't get to sit another four hours for this drama.

It started off really good and interesting. It's quite refreshing. The plot was kinda unique as we were introduced to a girl who survived 15 years in a deserted island and how she continued to pursue her dream. OSTs too were really great, and I'm surprised Park Eunbin herself sang to some (or all?) of the songs performed in the drama. I also do love the whole moral of the drama — if you want something, it will come to you in one way or another.

However, I lost interest midway, torturing myself to finish the 7th and 8th episode until I decided to drop this. To be honest, I find it cringe; mainly because of the FL and the whole ass love triangle. She was rather more mature when she was 16 than when she turned 31. Also, how quick she had a change of heart. One time she's all willing to be a singer, and the next thing we knew, she's all out supporting her idol like someone who doesn't have a dream for herself. It's like she didn't have that solid character. Another thing is the love line *sigh* I'm sorry for those who loved the romance but it's a no for me. There's no chemistry whatsoever with the ML and FL, their younger selves played it better. And the fact that the other brother literally did more things for the FL than ML himself? But in the end we're forcing that sweet highschool buddies to be together? I'd rather love to see them highlight FL's journey to getting the spotlight rather than unnecessary romance in between.

Thanks for the good songs from this drama though. I'll still listen to them, they're really good.

Leia Mais

They changed the male lead

So in the first episode we saw the back story of Seo Mok-ha and Jung Ki-ho, and in the second episode she gets found from the lost Island and she starts to live with Kang Bo-geol and Kang Woo-hak and during that time she spent most of her days/episodes with Kang Woo-hak and the whole show betrayed him as the lost childhood friend and it seems that the main character was going to fall in love with him most of the episodes were focused on him but in episode 8 we found out that Kang Bo-geol is actually Jung Ki-ho and after being cold to Seo Mok-ha the entire show he suddenly has liked her for 15 years and wants to be with her and all of a sudden? And just because he is her childhood friend she fall in love with him too when she hardly ever talked to or knew him??! This plot is so stupid if the other brother was the childhood friend she would’ve fallen in love him too, right? and plus Kang Woo-hak told his brother that he likes her from the beginning so how could you know your brother like someone and still go after the same girl after telling him you didn’t like her? that’s so stupid so basically she would have fallen in love with any guy as long as it was the childhood friend?

Leia Mais

Unbalanced, too much of good feelings but still ok...

1/ What I LIKED :
- Childhood version of the leads and the backstory. So good.
- Who is Ki Ho?
- The guy who saved a family by creating a new one. Where this family started from and how they loved and cared for each other...
- FL positiveness and the funny lessons she learnt.
- The mystery regarding the original father, his bad deeds and his demise....
- The two brothers and how they dealt with each other. Especiallly SML and how he took something hard like a brother and like a man.

2/ What I DID NOT LIKE:
- SFL singer... honestly I never liked her character... I liked her mom... but not her.
- FL focusing too much on being with her fav singer to help her in any case...
- Yoo Ran Joo and president Lee.. they dated or not? or they just banged?

3/ OST:
Some very good songs and good moments of music.

4/ REWATCH VALUE:
Honestly? No. No epic moments.

5/OVERALL:
Decent and entertaining but a bit draggy and the ending was too much of unicorns and rainbows. A short and decent drama to binge watch but week in week out I felt it was draggy at times. 8/10.

Leia Mais

Park Eun Bin is very special ,her roles will tell us a our whole life story

Park eun bin is my favourite actress and one of the best actresses. This woman never fails to ace whatever role she plays. So excited for this ❤️ lets see what happens to next epsiode .
I was blown away by the performance of Park Eun Bin in Extraordinary Attorney Woo... and now - she's outstanding in yet another sensational role!!! I can see this will rise to the top of the echelons in pure performance skills.

how she always takes on new challenging roles to grow as an actress. Every drama has been successful as well. ?❤Every time when Park Eun Bin films a new drama, she enriches herself as well. She learns new things, violin, horse riding, guitar, singing, dialect, etc. In some interviews/videos, we know that the practicing/preparation time is almost the same as the filming time. She practices so hard to meet the standard. She actually can choose the project not so demanding, but she intends to choose the project that is meaningful to her. Really admire her and support her!
Only Korean actress who can act and Looks damn natural exactly knows how much to do without being over the top and cringy.Queen Of Versatility Park Eun bin

Leia Mais

A Drama That Inspires You

this drama is not your typical romcom drama.. this is more of a healing slice of life, it's beautiful and the characters shine through the pain ...i think when you go you should be expecting that so go in in the mood for a healing slice of life rather than a romcom

Most reviews I read about it and most comments made me think this was gonna be terrible but it was such a blast I’m so glad I still watched it and didn’t let the bad comments make me biased

in the dramas defense : i don't agree that the name and trailer are misleading, they fit the drama perfectly and stayed true to it pretty well and you understand that there gonna be some trouble ( melodrama and a dark side to the story from the trailer ) , but then again i agree the synopsis is kinda misleading but like from the first and second episode it explains clearly what the drama is going to be and it become clear where it's going... a drama about a castaway survivor who ended up stranded on the island trying to run away from her violent father's abuse and the boy who was going to run away with her who also was a victim of his father's abuse and then searched for her for over 15 years while hiding behind a different name wasn't magically going to somehow be a corny, funny romcom and not have any difficulties/dark side along the way

A drama that inspires you.. the drama truly inspired me and i appreciate what it actually is , i saw the beauty of it and it truly teach you something .. the story here is beautiful. heartwarming and inspiring . it has a message to tell. actually quite a few messages

i cried so much watching this drama it always had a tear falling down my cheek . always in my feels, always rooting for the characters
it makes you realize how you can give without expecting much in return , how you can love and give unconditionally, how some times you finding a meaning in life , doing so , genuine connections here were beautiful and meaningful and they can teach you something

the amount of character development you see in this drama for certain characters is just so good and so worth it , the acting is so excellent and i thibk this drama is better binged thank goodness i waited

and just like that the second half of the drama won me over in ways i can't explain it made the drama go from a 7 to 9 for me , it was very beautiful and well made
after such a perfect satisfying finaleee in such a long timmeeeeeeeeeee and now the 9 nine feels insufficient i so it's def a 9.5

and mok ha is incredible truly precious one of my fave female leads

the acting here is brilliant on behalf of all the cast, the ml did a lot of good acting with his eyes .. so expressive

Leia Mais

First Two Episodes were Amazing, then they ruin it with misunderstandings

I was genuinely taken aback by how well the first two episodes were written. It was such a unique plot that dealt with child abuse well. For me, it all went downhill when Ki-ho didn't reveal who he is, and we get those generic altruistic main character plots. On top of that, we have the cliche of memory loss for the second lead. I wish they had made the second lead just a friend, I didn't like how they made her interested in him and then made him distant with her in the second half. It's like after he realized he wasn't interested, he stopped being Moka's friend too.

I understand what the drama was trying to do, by having Ki-ho conceal his identity, but by doing so he just sets Moka up for failure and a need to find Ki-ho, it would've been so much better had he just told her in the beginning, it felt like unnecessary drama. I'm so disappointed in how the show went after episode 3. I still finished the drama but it just lost its luster and became a very stale and average drama.

Leia Mais

Deeper than expected with great OST

This show ended up being much deeper than I expected when I first started this. I assumed it would be a light hearted rom com about finding your way to stardom and love but what it delivered was a poignant journey through pain while maintaining a radiant heart.

First can we talk about this string of dramas lately that have green flag men as the male leads? Because I am all for it and both the male leads in this drama are the type of men you wish you were surrounded by as a woman. This drama touches on domestic abuse and suicide which carries a hefty message throughout the drama. Watching these characters navigate these desperate and heartbreaking situations will make your heart ache right along with them.

Exceptional acting from the entire cast, and I'll specially mention the child actors here for their performance. Between the acting, production, and OST this will quickly become one of you favorites this year. And its heavy subject matter turns this from your typical rom com to a bit of a mystery while also delivering beautiful life lessons type of dialogue throughout. It is hard to not enjoy this or root for the characters.

The only things that I think took points away from this drama are the pacing in the first half of the show that made me a bit bored occasionally and the romance was a little lukewarm for my taste. The actors had chemistry but the story did rely heavily on the shared trauma and past to glue the pair together which did work but I would have liked to see some more actual romantic scenes. That is a minor complaint though since the trade off is the well balanced and lovely family portrayal that had plenty of time to capture your heart.

Leia Mais