[Drama 2023] Castaway Diva, 무인도의 디바

[xiashenghan]

3 hours ago, Bojun said:

A nice perfect ending to the drama, but her final song was far from my favorite.
Also I wonder how much scenes were cut to make this a 12 ep instead of a 16 ep drama. The promotional poster showing Mok-ha with a longish dress and a seashell on her ear wasn't even shown.

 

I guess with all the songs she sang the whole series my expectations were really high for the final song. Sadly it was a letdown for me. 

[larus]

Park Eun Bin's "Castaway Diva" Ends with Record-High Viewership, "Welcome to Samdalri" Ratings Rise

by Lily Alice, December 4, 2023

13 15

 

The tvN drama Castaway Diva concluded its run, scoring 9.002% (nationwide) and 9.84% (metropolitan), its highest of all time. The K-drama commenced with a nationwide rating of 3.17% and reached 7.98% for episode 4. It dropped to 5.39% for episode 5 and mostly scored 7% ratings till the penultimate episode. But, it remained the most-watched in its time slot. 

Castaway Diva also consistently ranked on Netflix's Global Top 10 list (non-English). From October 30-November 5, it was spotted ranking ninth and rose to the fifth spot in the next two weeks. However, as of November 26, the K-drama ranks seventh with 16.7 million viewed hours in total. 

Castaway Diva was mostly popular in Asian and Latin American countries such as Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore,  Saudi Arabia, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, and Ecuador, to name a few.

 

 

Where to watch the K-drama Castaway Diva?

All the episodes of Castaway Diva are available to stream on Netflix.

 

https://mydramalist.com/article/park-eun-bin-s-castaway-diva-ends-with-record-high-viewership-welcome-to-samdalri-ratings-rise

[larus]

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.

 

more

https://www.dramabeans.com/2023/12/castaway-diva-episodes-11-12-final/

 

[Bojun]

One week after the drama ended and am still not getting tired listening to Park Eun Bin's songs.

Also, is it just me, but I like her looks as Mok-ha over her reallife one.

Must be the long hair.

[larus]

[2023 Year in Review] Bean of Disappointment

by DB Staff

Following up the Bean of Greatness, the next bean we’re awarding is the Bean of Disappointment. It’s a sad bean to bestow, because even though disappointing dramas happen often (i.e., we’re used to it), there’s often one that just stings with what could have been, should have been, and might have been… if only they had consulted us.

 

Not to be confused with the famous Editors’ Picks, this bean series is much like our other DB team posts — each writer sharing their feels. Add your own personal Bean of Disappointment in the comments and join the crushed hopes fun!

 

 

Dramaddictally: Nothing leads to great disappointment like great expectations. That’s why in a year with a lot of dropped dramas, my bean doesn’t go to one of the universally despised or ignored, but to a drama that many people loved. With The King’s Affection in 2021 and Extraordinary Attorney Woo in 2022 — dramas that made my best lists in each year — I couldn’t wait to see what Park Eun-bin had up her sleeve for 2023. But when Castaway Diva premiered — a fantasy-premised drama about a woman who pursues a singing career after being stranded on a deserted island for 15 years — I knew after one episode that it wasn’t for me. Still, I persevered because Park Eun-bin generally plays strong characters and brings light to all her performances, and I wanted to see how the story would turn around. The answer was that it never did. Amidst the wildly unrealistic story was graphically realistic domestic abuse, and the further it went along, the more the central characters succumbed to the whims of the stalker plot and its male-lead mysteries — leaving its female lead as washed out as she was on that deserted island. If not for Park Eun-bin, I would have listened to my instinct and given this drama up early, rather than giving it my Bean of Disappointment.

 

alathe: So, to be clear, I do not consider this bean a mark of shame — quite the opposite. After all, to be disappointed, you have to have had high expectations. I outright adored the first two-thirds of Castaway Diva. It hit all the right beats: the characters were intensely lovable, the singing was gorgeous, and it made me weep on a once-per-episode basis. It really had that spark that makes you realize you’re watching something special! But the last few episodes soured that for me. The plot seemed tacked-on, the noble idiocy rife, and Mok-ha’s decisions felt bewildering in light of her previous characterization. Overall, it made for a frustrating end, because I’d stopped caring quite so much about our leads — despite, or perhaps because of, the fact that I’d cared so deeply before. There were plenty of shows this year that didn’t quite stick the landing, but this was the one that stayed with me. After all, the majority of it was so brilliant!

 

https://www.dramabeans.com/2023/12/2023-year-in-review-bean-of-disappointment/

 

[frozentundra]

The folks at DB really did not like Castaway Diva.  I could tell that the person doing recaps was trying, but it just really wasn't their drama, which made me sad. (Still. You don't know until you get into it sometimes if you'll like it or not.) Meanwhile, it was top tier to me. The story I watched and the story people at DB watched seem to be two completely different stories.

 

I suspect that 95% of a storyline is what the script, director, and actors have created, but the last 5% is what the viewer brings to it. And that 5% makes a massive impact on what we think the main plotline/themes are, and is what sets our expectations. Obviously if a story is about something we aren't interested in, we probably won't like the drama. But also, if we expect a certain thing but the script goes in a different way, we feel disappointed and don't like it. It's not that other viewers are stupid. It's more like we are literally watching different dramas. (Which probably also explains why I tried one of the dramas currently listed in the top 10 on the best bean count and could barely get through ep 1. I found the script incredibly makjang and the acting atrocious. And very likely completely missed out on whatever made the voters love that one.)

[Photo Photo]

6 hours ago, frozentundra said:

The folks at DB really did not like Castaway Diva.  I could tell that the person doing recaps was trying, but it just really wasn't their drama, which made me sad. (Still. You don't know until you get into it sometimes if you'll like it or not.) Meanwhile, it was top tier to me. The story I watched and the story people at DB watched seem to be two completely different stories.

 

I suspect that 95% of a storyline is what the script, director, and actors have created, but the last 5% is what the viewer brings to it. And that 5% makes a massive impact on what we think the main plotline/themes are, and is what sets our expectations. Obviously if a story is about something we aren't interested in, we probably won't like the drama. But also, if we expect a certain thing but the script goes in a different way, we feel disappointed and don't like it. It's not that other viewers are stupid. It's more like we are literally watching different dramas. (Which probably also explains why I tried one of the dramas currently listed in the top 10 on the best bean count and could barely get through ep 1. I found the script incredibly makjang and the acting atrocious. And very likely completely missed out on whatever made the voters love that one.)

 

What is DB?

[frozentundra]

38 minutes ago, Photo Photo said:

 

What is DB?

Dramabeans, a website with drama news and also recaps of current dramas. The post immediately above mine is a quote from one of their posts. From what I can tell, there's a split between people who liked the initial premise but were disappointed by the way the drama went, and people who really loved it. (It shows up in both the "bean of disappointment" post as well as the post tallying votes of people's favorite dramas of the year.) I guess the good thing is that it elicited a lot of feelings and discussion?

 

 

[larus]

[2023 Year in Review] The real husbands of dramaland

by Unit

They are charismatic, they are dramatic. They are possessed with a glib tongue and the ability to lie without blinking. They know how to work a suit and can charm your pants off. They are: The Real Husbands of Dramaland.

 

When I think about male characters in a K-drama romantic setting, my mind primarily goes to the swoony — and very much single — love interest who’s coming to charm the pants off the female lead. Or the pitiful second lead who’s always one step behind. Husbands are definitely not at the top of my mind. But this year, somehow, I kept noticing them. Maybe because a number of them had similar characteristics — which we’ll get into soon enough — but yeah, 2023 was indeed the year of the husbands. We had the good, the bad, and the ugly. And without further ado, let’s dive into some of the featured husbands in dramaland this year.
 

9. The Castaway Diva men

Jung Bong-hwan

I will lie to punish my family.

When I mentioned the good, bad, and ugly husbands in the intro paragraph, “ugly” was totally referring to Bong-hwan. He was a terrible husband and father, and what made it worse was that he was a cop! A person whose job it was to arrest domestic abusers was the champion wife and children beater. Like the vindictive RickRoll'D he was, Bong-hwan had zero remorse, and he was willing to destroy his family just to prove a point. He didn’t see them as humans with agency — he saw them as objects he owned. I legit shuddered whenever he came onscreen, and I’m glad he met an inglorious end. Good riddance!

 

Kang Sang-doo

I will lie to protect my family.

Did someone say “green flag”? Nah, Sang-doo was the entire forest! From the little things he did like matching his steps to that of his limping soon-to-be wife, to the big things like committing identity theft — as a civil servant — to protect his new family. Sang-doo damned all the consequences to show his wife and sons what it was like to actually have a husband and a father — because Bong-hwan doesn’t count for RickRoll'D. Sang-doo proved that blood does not make a family, love does. And my uncontested bean for husband of the year goes to him. There’s no more deserving recipient.
 

 

https://www.dramabeans.com/2023/12/2023-year-in-review-the-real-husbands-of-dramaland/

 

[larus]

[2023 Year in Review] Side plots, supporting characters & spin-offs

by Unit

I’m somewhat of an Oliver Twist, so even after I spend 16 hours of my life on a drama, I sometimes still want more. But I’m not just pulling my greed out of nowhere. Some dramas are rich enough to have side plots that intrigue me enough to want to watch a fleshed-out version, while others are so bad that if they’d expounded on a portion of the plot and abandoned others, the drama would have been better for it.

 

Generally, I think a deeper insight or a fresh perspective on some of the side stories in dramas would be nice to explore — which leads me to my 2023 top six side plots that I’d totally watch a spin-off of. Although with dramaland’s track record of second seasons and spin-offs, I wonder if I’m jinxing these storylines by putting them out there…

 

Little miss Mo-rae (Castaway Diva)

Castaway Diva was the Seo Mok-ha story — and rightly so (when we weren’t playing the Ki-ho guessing game). But if there was one character who drew my attention, it was lil miss second place: Eun Mo-rae. While the drama (and Ran-joo unnie) set Mo-rae up to be Mok-ha’s rival, I did not see her as that. All she did was enter the competition as a fellow Ran-joo fan and place second. She did not ask for Mok-ha to be stuck on the island and she definitely did not force Ran-joo to sign her on as a replacement. In a way, Mo-rae was a victim because it seemed like Ran-joo resented and blamed her for Mok-ha’s predicament.

Replacement Diva My Mo-rae spin-off is the story of an idol fangirl who was thrilled to “win” a competition, only to learn — from her idol — that she was a replacement winner. We’ll see resentment build as she goes from a wide-eyed trainee to an idol singer who battles with self-esteem issues. We’ll watch her grapple with the weight of “second place” and push herself to be the best — not for her sake, but to prove a point.

We’ll journey with her as she pushes herself to the brink and eventually comes to the realization that she is indeed deserving of her place irrespective of who the original winner of the competition was. And no, she no longer needs to spell the F word with peanut shells because she is worthy. She is enough.

 

https://www.dramabeans.com/2023/12/2023-year-in-review-side-plots-supporting-characters-spin-offs/

 

 

[2023 Year in Review] Serendipities of 2023

by mistyisles

“Life can’t always give you everything you want, but it sometimes hides small gifts here and there.”
–Twinkling Watermelon

If there’s one lesson K-dramas like to hammer in over and over, it’s to expect the unexpected. They just love to surprise us — but too often it seems those surprises are of the unwelcome variety. Like a serial killer invading your favorite fluffy rom-com. Or last-minute plot twists that overturn the show’s entire core message.

 

But in this post, I’ve decided to focus on the *positive* ways that dramaland surprised me this year. Because there are many reasons I keep coming back to K-dramas — even after an ending fizzles out here and a beloved character gets a personality transplant over there — and it’s not (only) for the eye candy!

So, without further ado, here are some of my favorite surprises and discoveries from K-dramas in 2023.
 

 

Castaway Diva

And here we are back to Chae Jong-hyeop with Castaway Diva, A.K.A., the drama that wasn’t at all what I expected and yet was exactly what I didn’t realize I needed. When I say this show made me cry, I mean I cried. Every. Single. Episode. Have you ever watched a K-drama and felt like the characters were breaking the fourth wall just for you? Not literally, of course — they were speaking to each other about their very specific fictional situation that doesn’t really relate to your life at all… and yet they were also speaking directly to your own experiences? That’s what Castaway Diva did for me. Repeatedly.

Add to that the fact that I have a huge soft spot for Cha Hak-yeon, Park Eun-bin, and now Chae Jong-hyeop, and well — I know plenty of people were disappointed with Castaway Diva, and I understand why, but it’s very precious to me. Plus, dramaland — and life, for that matter — could always use more genuinely good people whose goodness pays off in the end.

So here’s to all the happy surprises, beautiful characters, and heart-pinching moments that K-dramas gave us in 2023 — and here’s to many more of them (and fewer disappointments, please, drama gods) to come!

 

https://www.dramabeans.com/2023/12/2023-year-in-review-serendipities-of-2023/