You Who Came from the Stars (2013)

On paper the rough concept sounds really good. An alien that is left behind by his research expedition because he became embroiled in the affairs of humans and misses his ride. He's stuck on earth for 400 years until his people return due to the fact that they use an asteroid/comet to cover up their visit. He becomes world weary and no longer wants to help mankind, but to simply wait for the time he can return. That is until the final 3 months in which love walks into his life.

Sounds good. Until suddenly the science fiction is all over the place. Such as Do Min Joon's powers. So time moves slower on his planet and it's fast on earth. Meaning he never ages and can freeze time. Not only that he can teleport, levitate things with his mind (so telekinesis), has the abilities to electrically kill and start things, and so on. Psychically he's faster (I'm assuming do to his time abilities), stronger, better eye sight, and his hearing is so amazing he can even hear through sound proof walls and pin point someone through an entire city to long distances. Pin point one person by sound. The whole thing is based on superior aliens who can teleport not being able to duplicate their powers and create their own teleportation device. “BEAM ME UP SCOTTY!” They don't want to alert humans to them, so they have to do it stealthy. That's just touching the tip of the sci/fi and basic questions here. Yes, plot holes.

Enter the female lead who immediately rubbed me the wrong way. She's kind of clueless (read brainless), loud and obnoxious. So on. On paper You Who Came From the Stars sounds good and then as I began to watch it started to play out in a way that I would normally dislike. Cold male lead, annoying female, and silly world building to support it's sci-fi theme that is just a romance story. The first episode I could understand why the fans did liketh. Then as I kept watching my episode ratings increased. Because the writer kept doing what I have wanted many drama writers to do: grow their characters.

It didn't hurt that the humor is amazing and Jeon Ji Hyeon is truly an amazing comedic actress. As the writing and Jeon Ji Hyeon were able to take hold of Song Yi and develop her I soon went from being annoyed to feeling really fond of her. Like Do Min Joon I soon fell in love with her. Song Yi may be clueless about somethings, clearly studies were not her strong point, but she has heart. She doesn't lie to herself she realizes that she's a diva and spoiled, but that's who she is why should she hide! If you're her person, and there's few of them, she is loyal. Soon her inner depths are revealed and I appreciate it anytime that a well developed female lead graces the screen.

Do Min Joon develops out of his cold male lead stereotype. As flashbacks into the past show us some of his experiences of why he no longer feels compelled to help the common man. Despite his words he still has helped. His best friend Jang Young Mok is someone he got involved with despite his big words about staying out of the affairs of people and just wait to return to his Star. Yong Mok and Min Joon's relationship is so wonderful and I love that this show has hidden depths of emotion and relationships. Do Min Joon is pretty funny himself and I urge everyone to give this a chance. Especially wait to get a kick out of the drunken flashback . . . oh gosh! While Do Min Joon originally dislikes Song Yi and only is truly drawn to her because she was the girl . . . that looked like someone from the past, he is the one that enters the love zone first. Or starts to at least crush first. Not to mention that actor Kim Soo Hyun is simply amazing.

It showcases the fickleness of super stardom and how quickly fans will turn on you. (Maybe a commentary on the Korean news media and the so called fans.) Shows how stardom can affect the people around you; friends and family. Being a star has it's own issues.

The villain is pretty awesome and it can be argued that Lee Jae Kyung is evil for the sake of being the villain here. However, the actor, Shin Sung Rok, does it swell. If you don't watch this look up Lee Jae Kyung in the red suit. * fans self * Lee Hui Kyung is the bad guy's unsuspecting brother and of course the third wheel to the love story. He should have been soooooo annoying as this stupid guy who follows Song Yi around. She's told him no, but he will and never leaves her. Yet the writing again develops his character and you understand him and are heartbroken with him. Respect. I thought Do Min Joon was beyond stupid trying to protect Song Yi from Lee Jae Kyung, but Lee Hui Kyung not only turns around and gathers evidence, but he does the cop and Do Min Joon's jobs. It's very overlooked, and not acknowledge by the other characters, that he saves the day. Sure Do Min Joon was called in to use his powers, but if push came to shove I'm sure Lee Hui Kyung could have done it himself.

Even the girl friend turning out to be a jealous friend was handled well! (Song Yi's friend!) See solid writing can turn a hated trope into a good thing. You can understand Se Mi and where she is coming from. What I liked even more is that she eventually grows up. I really loved the actress and hope to see her in some leading roles. (Apparently Goblin???) Other actors and relationships I enjoyed would be actor Ahn Jae Hyun! Oh, I've been watching his stuff backwards, but I'm happy to see his “debut”. I loved his relationship with his sister and her fame, and shockingly Do Min Joon! His crush/hero worship of Do Min Joon is another great thing. I also enjoyed Song Yi's family as we learn how broken they are and by the end come together. Oh, and Song Yi has a real friend and I loved their relationship so much!

While I probably won't be rewatchng the whole show anytime soon I will be watching favorite scenes over and over again. The music is all right and while nothing truly pops up while watching I did sing along with the OST. Though if pressed I couldn't sing it to you now. Out of my head already. The instrumental pieces were simple and fit well, but I won't go out of my way to get the soundtrack. Visually it's stunning and I thought the affects were done well enough! It is a TV show and they budgeted well.

You Who Came From the Star pretty much has the frame work of world building and ignores some of the obvious questions about its science fiction aspects. This is a fated across time love story with aliens. All of the regular tropes tossed in and written well enough that it's not annoying (most of the time). While I'm worried about certain alien and human incompatibilities not being addressed at the end. (To which my alternate ending idea would have fixed. Someone needs to hire me. ^_-) Not to mention the explanation to the ending, I have to be honest that this worked. The writer focuses on the things that turns You Who Came From the Stars into a pretty fun show. Character development, fantastic and clever humor, a build up to love (no instalove thank you), and turning unrealistic characters to realistic/relatable ones. By episode 5 I believe viewers will fully know if this show is for them. Some might not be able to turn a blind eye to the glaring plot holes, maybe even find things slowing down as the show was slated for 16 episodes and dragged out to 21 (though I think they did a pretty good job only 2 episodes truly lagged), and might not be able to click with the female lead. However, I think if you let the writing take hold and simply enjoy it's all well worth it.

I enjoyed myself and I'm glad I did.

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