Episodes 11-12 (Final) » Dramabeans Kdrama MGG

Castaway Diva: Episodes 11-12 (Final)

by quirkycase

We’ve come to the end of the road, and our characters’ dreams are within reach. But not everyone is happy about it. A certain villainous father goes all out in a last-ditch effort to thwart everyone’s attempts at a fulfilling life. With everything on the line, our diva and the stalwart brothers prepare for one final fight to secure their happiness and protect what they hold dear.

 
EPISODES 11-12

So it turns out it’s hard to break ties with someone when certain family members don’t follow suit. Woo-hak is not about all this dramatic separation business and doesn’t heed it one bit. In fact, he and Mok-ha are back to being besties now. They meet up secretly to exchange info about the family and Mok-ha’s career. But poor Woo-hak is no stealth master, so it’s not long before Bo-geol finds them chatting in the attic like old times.

When Bo-geol drives her home, Mok-ha takes the opportunity to admit she still has feelings for him and she’s not going to let him slip away. She doesn’t care if he or his family have to serve time for the identity theft – she’ll wait for him.

Meanwhile, Mok-ha is nervous about her first press conference, but she’s got support. Woo-hak helps prep her for the reporters, and she’s got pro Ran-joo taking the lead. Not that anything the women say changes much. The reporters still write mean-spirited articles and public opinion isn’t much better. (The brothers spend their time disliking all the mean comments and articles, something Woo-hak does very loudly and Bo-geol quietly.)

Ran-joo not only has to deal with the negative press, but her mom takes a turn for the worse. After discovering her mother also wanted to be a singer before getting pregnant, Ran-joo puts on a special performance for her where she sings her mom’s old song. They record the lovely performance as a music video and release the song as her first single in years. Just like that, she’s back on the charts. Not long after, her mom passes away.

Elsewhere, the family prepares for their cross-examination by the prosecution. The family goes in for questioning, and first up is Sang-doo and Ha-jung. They’re forced to sit beside Bong-wan while he lies through his teeth and plays the victim, but the prosecutor isn’t buying it. There’s no doubt after both sides’ testimonies who truly loves the kids. As the prosecutor succinctly sums up: “One father is lying to protect his kids, while the other is lying to punish them. Who do you think is the real father?”

Next up are the boys who go in together and face their father. Bong-wan goes on about how he’s such a good dad – he even named them as beneficiaries on his life insurance. That massively backfires when it comes up that his insurance agent is Dae-woong who got into an accident right after meeting with him. Woo-hak informs the group that Dae-woong is now awake and willing to provide his testimony right now over the phone. It’s damning and sinks Bong-wan further into a hole of his own making.

Mok-ha meets them outside the courthouse with encouragement and umbrellas for the whole family. Proving to be a much better person than Bong-wan ever deserved, Ha-jung takes him an umbrella. Then, he watches his family walk away from him forever.

The family waits on pins and needles until they receive the verdict: insufficient evidence for any charges. Everyone is ecstatic. It’s the biggest smile yet we’ve seen from Bo-geol who looks like a massive weight has been lifted. Mok-ha makes the first move and kisses him, the two of them finally getting to be together free from the specters of their birth fathers.

They have a celebratory party and invite Dae-woong and his wife Young-joo. It’s a middle school reunion! While the four classmates – Ki-ho, Mok-ha, Dae-woong, and Young-joo – catch up, Woo-hak and Sang-doo get a cake. As they walk together down the street, being as adorable as ever, Bong-wan watches them. He passes by and stabs Sang-doo in the neck, determined that if he can’t have his family, no one can. (Noooo. Do we really have to do tragedy in the final hour?!) After leaving a ridiculous suicide note for “his family,” Bong-wan kills himself. But Bong-wan is dealt a final blow after death when Sang-doo unexpectedly pulls through! And now the family can make their status official. Ha-jung is able to marry him Sang-doo for real, and the boys take Sang-doo’s surname Lee. They’re officially Lee Ki-ho and Lee Chae-ho now.

In the wake of the incident, Chae-ho has decided he will now be fully expressing himself because he was apparently too subtle before. He startles his family by regularly telling them individually how much he loves them and going in for hugs (or air kisses when Ki-ho won’t let him touch him). HA. He laments Ki-ho’s tendency to repress everything and act like the “keeper of all secrets,” warning him he’ll regret not expressing himself. It’s good advice that Ki-ho takes to heart. He starts trying to be more open about his feelings, particularly with Mok-ha.

With the family situation resolved, Mok-ha can now fully focus on making her music dreams come true. Ran-joo and Mok-ha trust Seo-joon about as far as they can throw him, but he assures them he’ll do all he can to make Mok-ha succeed. He even promises to step down and relinquish his shares if the new song he picked for her doesn’t make her a success.

Mo-rae thaws a tad toward Mok-ha and Ran-joo, enough to ask Ran-joo to produce her song in exchange for giving her songwriting credits. The song is a smashing success, while Mok-ha’s first single does decently well but doesn’t top the charts. Not that it puts a dent in Mok-ha’s enthusiasm. She’s giddy that she booked the same event Ran-joo performed the day they met, despite it being a small festival.

In a full-circle moment, Ran-joo, Yong-gwan, and the brothers blow up tons of balloons and prep the crowd to cheer for Mok-ha. When she steps on stage, she’s stunned by the excited crowd chanting her name this time. From there, her popularity only rises, and it’s onto roaring stadiums with tens of thousands of screaming fans. Her dreams of being a superstar have finally come true.

Not only does she get the career of her dreams, but she got a bonus dream family too. At the family home, she’s added to the photo wall and her awards are displayed prominently on the shelves. We end as the loving, blended family shares a meal together having found their happiness and freedom.

It was a bumpy road for everyone, but we did get a happy ending after all. I was a little worried we were going the devastating route when Sang-doo almost died, but thankfully that didn’t happen. This is not the type of drama I want to go dark in the last moments; these characters suffered enough, and killing off the best dad ever would’ve been going too far. The lovely family dynamics were one of my favorite parts of this drama. We got loving parents, close siblings who talk things out, and a family where everyone is respected and doesn’t try to force their choices on each other. I’m so glad the drama didn’t go the usual route and introduce tension between the boys over Mok-ha, but instead had Woo-hak gracefully step back.

While I did warm to the idea of adult Ki-ho and Mok-ha together, I can’t say I ever totally got off the Woo-hak train. I think my issue was that Mok-ha didn’t connect emotionally with Bo-geol until she knew he was Ki-ho; the whole relationship hinged on their childhood connection rather than creating an organic connection in the present for them as adults. This could be personal preference since I’m not big into childhood connection as a sole reason for a later romantic relationship. Also, for me, there was a bit of a disconnect with Bo-geol since it was so weighted toward Woo-hak in the earlier part of the drama – I felt like the writer sacrificed Bo-geol’s character development for the surprise factor. It took way too long for me connect with Bo-geol given I was all in for both young Ki-ho and adult Woo-hak from the jump.

As for Mok-ha, I liked her but did find her character frustrating at times. She felt a little one note in that she was unfailingly optimistic and sunny, almost to the point of annoyance. I wish the drama had better explored the emotional and social challenges she faced after being alone on a freaking island for 15 years – you don’t just reacclimate to normal life overnight. Except she basically did? I’d hoped we’d see more of how her bizarre circumstances impacted her, but it stayed surface level. The island was more a unique way of separating her and Ki-ho than a fully fleshed out part of her story. I did like that the drama incorporated moments from her time on the island throughout the story, I just wish it had delved a little deeper. That could’ve gone a long way in further developing her character.

I loved the first half of this drama, but the second half was a mixed bag for me. I still loved a lot of the characters and relationships but found they sometimes got lost in too much plot. What made this drama work were the central characters and the emotional core. Whenever it focused there, I was invested. When it ventured too far into entertainment agency drama and side conflicts, my attention wandered. I did really appreciate Ran-joo, though, who added a lot to the plot and was incorporated well. It’s always nice to see supportive female friendships, even (or maybe especially) when they’re imperfect. Ran-joo and Mok-ha both had maturing and growing to do, and I enjoyed watching them find their way.

I think if the drama had narrowed its focus and stayed centered, Castaway Diva could’ve been so much stronger. The drama had a lot going for it – the relationships and characters’ journeys were emotionally resonant, the wins felt earned, and there were some delightful moments along the way. All in all, I’m glad I went on this journey, imperfect as it was, and got to spend time with our characters as they fought for a better life.

 
RELATED POSTS