Early Access: Mystic Pop-Up Bar E1

E1. I'm pleasantly surprised by how engaged I feel, after just one episode. Usually, it takes me a couple of episodes at least, to feel drawn in by a show, but I feel quite optimistic about this one, pretty much right away.

I can see why people say that this show has some Hotel Del Luna vibes. It kinda does, but I prefer this show's vibes. Let me explain. Hotel Del Luna has a sadder, more plaintive sheen to it, beyond the funny that Show works to serve up, and I think that's to do with 1, Man Wol's backstory being amped up to really bring the tragedy, and 2, the hotel being set up to help ghosts.

In contrast, this show seems to have a more cheerful vibe, once we turn the corner away from the flashback set-up. Show seems to gloss over Wol Joo's personal tragedy and subsequent suicide. Not only that, she commits suicide in a state of vengeance and not of sorrow, and Show treats that with a pretty light touch. We're not cued to mourn for Wol Joo at all, because right after her death, we're brought right to the present, where she's curiously grown up (do ghosts age?), and all kinds of feisty.

The other thing is, this show has Wol Joo helping the living, rather than the dead, and that in itself puts Show in a brighter, more hopeful category, because the "patients" - or "clients" or whatever you'd like to call 'em - are alive. I don't know about you, but I definitely prefer to watch the living gain hope to keep on living, rather than the dead come to terms with past regrets. That's two points in Show's favor.

I was a little wary of Hwang Jung Eum because she has a tendency to start her roles being quite screechy, but she is not at all screechy in this, which I count as another plus. Wol Joo is like Man Wol in that she's angry and bitter, but unlike Man Wol, who comes across as quite dead on the inside, Wol Joo is spirited, energetic and feisty. I like Wol Joo's energy; she feels alive, even though she's supposed to be a 500-year-old ghost.

I do like Hwang Jung Eum's wardrobe so far, though I admit I was a little thrown by the bare shoulders and the décolletage. That's culturally avoided in Korean society, as far as I understand, so I was a little startled to see her dressed in a hanbok without the jeogori (the little outer jacket). But, I rationalize that to be shorthand for how Wol Joo is not one to abide by societal rules, but boldly wears whatever she fancies, never mind what anyone else thinks.

It is rather overly convenient that Yook Sung Jae's character has the ability to unlock people's desires to share their inner pain, when that's exactly what Wol Joo lacks, but this is kdrama, where opposites are always drawn to match perfectly, so I'll just accept this as part of Show's premise.

Kang Bae strikes me as a likable character so far, even though he lives in constant dismay at his gift inadvertently subjecting him to hours of people unloading their cares onto him, at every accidental touch. I'm quite amused by this so far. I wasn't surprised that he moved to save Mi Ran from killing herself by walking in front of an oncoming truck, but I was surprised that instead of pushing her out of the way, he planted himself between her and the truck. That seems rather extreme? Did he do that just to avoid touching her? Coz.. that is also very extreme, to put your own life in danger, just because you're afraid the person you're trying to save will unload their cares onto you.

I do like Choi Won Young, so I'm glad to see him at the Bar as Manager Gwi. So far, he seems wry but helpful, and I do love the little arc of him visiting that abusive customer in his dreams, to impress on him the importance of eating his food at home, and treating supermarket samples as samples. Hur.

All in all, a solid first episode, and I'm actually looking forward to seeing more of this show.