Soundtrack #1: Episode 1
by mistyisles
Soundtrack #1 presents a short and sweet tale of two lifelong best friends on the cusp of becoming something more. But before that can happen, they’ll have to be willing to risk letting things change between them.
EPISODE 1 WEECAP
If I had to describe my overall first impression of Soundtrack #1 in a single word, it would probably be comfortable. It’s not a fast-paced or complex story by any means, but there’s a softness in its simplicity that makes it a very easy and pleasant watch.
We start out with our two leads, HAN SUN-WOO (Park Hyung-shik) and LEE EUN-SOO (Han So-hee). He’s a newbie photographer, she’s an aspiring lyricist, and they’ve been best friends for nearly 20 years (i.e., almost their entire lives).
As it happens, they’re both facing uncertainty in their respective careers. Although Sun-woo is preparing for an upcoming exhibition, he feels that something is missing in his photography that makes his photos feel inauthentic. He’s so dissatisfied, in fact, that he cancels the exhibition.
Meanwhile, Eun-soo presents her lyrics to a composer she’s been dying to work with, only for him to tell her the lyrics sound insincere and that he can tell she’s never experienced the song’s theme – unrequited love – personally.
And, as you might imagine, these professional roadblocks are reflective of their personal lives, too. The composer is right: Eun-soo doesn’t understand the pain of unrequited love at all, since when she likes someone, she tells them outright. It doesn’t make sense to her that someone would keep those feelings inside and suffer silently. Sun-woo, on the other hand, has been doing exactly that for years.
As the episode goes on, it becomes clear that he’s completely and hopelessly in love with her. The problem? They both treasure their friendship more than just about anything. A flashback shows us Sun-woo was once on the brink of confessing, but before he could, she’d remarked that the two of them could never, ever date, because she couldn’t bear losing him should they break up.
Though Sun-woo manages to hide his pining from Eun-soo, when she asks if he’s ever experienced unrequited love, he can’t disguise that he has. (He does, however, let her think it’s for some nonexistent person he met while living abroad.) That gives her the idea that sets up the rest of the story’s premise: she’s been granted two weeks to revise her lyrics, so she proposes he stay at her place for those two weeks and act as her assistant.
Sun-woo immediately shoots the idea down, leading to an adorable sequence where Eun-soo drunkenly tries to win a claw machine stuffed animal for him as a bribe. Sun-woo goes from sighing patiently to cheering her on to dragging her away after she fails and tries to reach inside the machine and get a prize anyway.
Eventually, Sun-woo decides to take a chance, though. His roommate kicks him out for the night so he can have his girlfriend over, and after spending the night in his photography studio, Sun-woo shows up at Eun-soo’s door with two weeks’ worth of luggage. (And immediately jumps on her couch and wraps himself in her blanket, lol.)
They settle right into the new arrangement as he helps her clean house and then cooks dinner for the both of them. Naturally, five bottles of makgeolli later, they both end up sprawled on the living room floor, and she rolls over and grabs him in a sleepy hug. No matter how he tries to extricate himself, she just clings tighter, so he finally gives up and just stares at her with open longing.
That longing on Sun-woo’s part, coupled with the wintry setting and their winsome chemistry, envelopes the whole episode with a touch of melancholy that’s more sweet than bitter. There’s sadness, yes – and Eun-soo even remarks that all of Sun-woo’s photos seem overtly sad – but the pair’s friendship is so supportive and wholesome that it makes sense why they’re both reluctant to let it change into anything other than what it already is.
But that’s not to say it’s all strictly sentimental, because these two can turn on the bickering at a moment’s notice, like when she asks him to approve her outfit for meeting the composer, and he does the whole answering-without-looking thing. So she grabs his face, and he deadpans, “Wow, so pretty.” They also share the same weird type of humor, and are just overall really charming to watch together.
Of course, with a show called Soundtrack #1, I’d be remiss not to talk about the music, every note of which is perfectly attuned to the atmosphere and timing of the moment it accompanies. It’s wistful and soft as they go about their lives, Sun-woo pining and Eun-soo oblivious, then warm and hopeful once he moves in, and finally breathtakingly tense as they wake up tangled in each other’s arms.
Whether they want it to or not, something is definitely about to change.
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Tags: first episodes, Han So-hee, Kim Joo-hun, Park Hoon, Park Hyung-shik, Soundtrack #1
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1 pohonphee
March 24, 2022 at 4:47 PM
I will wait until it finishes its 4 eps to watch it. Sorry Disney don't Grid me
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2 FiyaShady
March 24, 2022 at 5:14 PM
They only have 4 eps? I don't know why I cannot finish anything that involved HSH's acting. Many commentators said she is solid good in My Name but I'm still stuck at Ep 1 😓. Even Nevertheless, I stopped watch until midway.
Is this worth the time to spend and watch it?
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princesspreets
March 24, 2022 at 6:07 PM
Couldn’t get into it because of HSH too! 😂
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Islander north
March 25, 2022 at 7:53 AM
Skip episode 1 of My Name and continue on, it's a good show and the best female action fighter ever.
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💜🍍☠ Sicarius The Queen of Melonia ☠🍍💜
March 25, 2022 at 10:00 PM
Honestly I found her kinda bland in My Name lol.
Lots of death and blood and stacked cards action scenes though if that's your thing...
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soulsearch12
April 2, 2022 at 12:27 AM
I think she's been a bit overhyped no offense. She seems like a cool and mature lady in rl, but she hasn't found her defining role yet imo. She's only reached the tip of the iceberg, and I feel like she could do so much more. I feel like when she leans into her natural edginess, it suits her more better.
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3 Alluvial_Fan
March 24, 2022 at 5:59 PM
Hmm. Tried to watch on Walt+ this morning but got stymied by some "kid-14" nonsense. Understandable with a brand so closely associated with princess movies and child-scarring animations. Worked it all out and looked for Soundtrack # 1.
Honestly, by the time I got to s-o-u-n-d on the search screen and still was in Julie Andrews land, I knew that we had the second Dis-block.
So okay you all DON'T want me to watch. Fine.
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Tazzo
March 25, 2022 at 12:00 AM
Didn’t ever use Walt plus, so a bit curious. Can’t one choose the show to watch on Walt plus like you can in Netflix? This sounded like a nightmare honestly - trying to watch something but you get taken to something else every time. Sounds a bit like Spotify 😪
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4 junichyung
March 24, 2022 at 6:43 PM
Just recently watched this, and I actually liked the first episode. It's definitely what I expected it to be so I really look forward to the next episodes. I'm liking also the chemistry between Han Sohee and Park Hyungsik. Quite sad that it's definitely short (and one ep per week 😞) but for this kind of material, I think the total length is understandable.
So far, I'm interested to what is the main characters' next step towards their relationship with each other but I personally perceived that Sunwoo decided to live with Eunsoo just for the closure of his unrequited feelings to his best friend. But who knows, maybe, Eunsoo has hidden feelings as well but she is just not too ready to take a risk because she finds their friendship very much more important. Let's see.
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5 latebloomer
March 24, 2022 at 6:47 PM
How many times in one episode does the FL need to get drunk? Why is that appealing?
Apart from that, not really feeling the chemistry here.
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Islander north
March 25, 2022 at 7:52 AM
I'm always bewildered by the acceptance of females getting sloppy (even vomiting) drunk and it's cute or at least no big deal. In the US, it would be a dealbreaker if you liked a girl and she behaved like that. Yikes.
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velvetstuff
March 25, 2022 at 10:55 AM
Rather than acceptance, I think they just try to make them look unique bc of their drunkenness. The parents always seem to hate it and are always disappointed in their daughters walking home like that. So it's probably not actually respected.
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6 mmmmm
March 24, 2022 at 7:08 PM
With 2 attempts, I could only watch 17 mins of the first episode. To me, it lacks everything except the visual aspect. It is the worst type of show for me because it was so boring. I couldn’t feel anything. A stark contrast to 2521 which makes you feel things.
And this is coming from me who found HSH so charming and had great acting chops in Nevertheless.
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7 Nizmy
March 24, 2022 at 7:59 PM
I am not into romance theme. But if there are 16 hours episode with Park Hyung Sik staring a log, I will watch it..his eyes are just so expressive..glad there are only 4 episodes. So we can expect fast paced love story..i hope there are no bed or steamy scenes. I am so done with all the scenes..you can sell love stories without it.
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8 emsel
March 24, 2022 at 8:04 PM
Did the writer/director of this drama watch Happiness and typecast Park Hyung Shik in a similar role because he is good at emoting feelings through his eyes that say "Hey girl, notice Me! I have always been in love with you!" ? Or was he choosen for his good looks, so he can match the beautiful cinematography?
Apart from the lead, everything is mediocre. I don't know if its the acting, but I found the FL superficial and exaggerated when she got drunk on the pretext of being upset over him winning second place in a contest. I also don't find her backstory or her friendship with the lead appealing, so I'm not rooting for her and so I'm out!
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9 Ally
March 24, 2022 at 8:27 PM
The strongest thing in this show is its cinematography. Which, apparently, is really all I need in a show to keep watching it. 😂 But I like soft, squishy, boop-my-nose PHS and will always fall for him in these kinds of roles. I also like HSH in this. She’s a normal girl. She never plays just normal, so I’m already intrigued. And 30 minutes a week is a perfect watch for my ADHD Hunny and me. I agree that this is comfortable. Nothing complicated, just perfectly mindless, and I like mindless sometimes.
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10 Kurama
March 24, 2022 at 10:09 PM
The first episode had nothing new to offer than You Drive Me Crazy, Because It's The First Time or Reply 1997 already did.
Park Hyun-Shik is really good to make puppy eyes but after Happiness, it's weird to see him in this role but with another girl :p
HSH is not bad but her character is pretty standard.
I was hoping more for the OST with this title. But I don't really remember the songs from the OST.
The drama is pretty on the other side.
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11 ssandulak
March 25, 2022 at 1:43 AM
I mostly enjoyed the first episode but it definitely plays things safe. With a 4 episode run I’m sure I’ll watch the whole thing. I liked the chemistry between the leads and everything was at least good.
Han So-Hee was great in My Name, and it’s interesting to see her in a more “normal” role. Park Hyung-Shik is always excellent, so it’s no surprise he’s solid here as well.
I’m definitely sick of this one episode a week thing Disney is pulling but I suppose I’ll suffer through for 4 episodes (6 was when I tapped out for Grid).
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12 Kafiyah Bello
March 25, 2022 at 4:25 AM
The first episode was fine. There is absolutely no reason to drag this over 4 weeks. The first episode was 45 mins. What is the point. I will finish it, but this is nothing spectacular. So far Disney Korean fare has been meh at best.
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13 neener ~ Inside the Magic Shop ~
March 25, 2022 at 5:20 AM
I didn’t check how the long the episode would last so I was surprised it ended soon. Guess I’ve been programmed with recent dramas that lasts more than an hour.
Nothing really new here but if it’s only 4eps, I’ll wait till it’s all out to binge the last 3eps. And now I’m off to watch Happiness.
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14 Aidualc
March 25, 2022 at 6:42 AM
Since this is a short one I will watch as I usually like PHS and am curious to finally see HSH in something after hearing about her so often. But I will wait until 2 or 3 episodes are out, not a fan of the once a week format.
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15 Pan cake
March 25, 2022 at 9:07 AM
Why PHS why....why on earth did you choose this Drama after Happiness...why. And what's up with the hairstyle OMG I am shocked Hehe. Ok, no harsh feelings ....just shocked with the same old cliché.
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16 azkiya
March 25, 2022 at 7:00 PM
first timer of HSH as the FL here,
and for the first 20mnt of this ep I was so disappointed because she didn’t entice anything in me to like her character, her acting looked..awkward.
but, I started to warm up to her acting (a bit) when the ML moved into her house. from that moment on I felt that she seems to relax and it wasn’t too painful to watch her acting on otherwise a beautiful cinematography of snowy Seoul drama.
Nevertheless (ahem!) I’ll drop this and making 1 slot to be available for other drama.
[OOT: hmm, i heard YYS is no longer the contender for PMY leading man, so that one is out, then maybe i’ll settle with Korea’s remake of La Casa de Papel, YJT as el professor? yeah!]
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