This show promised pansori, and it's going to give us pansori, no matter what! Director has confidence in her production team and her actresses - to perform and film extended performance sequences, and to make it entertaining for a likely unfamiliar audience. She has confidence in gukgeuk as a form of entertainment - in fact, it needs to be entertaining, accessible even to giggly fangirls, because its roots are in a working class medium. Idk it's not surprising that the ratings shot up for ep 3, which is truly where the show hits its stride & shows us the driving force behind its creation.

Kim Tae-ri is the kind of performer who can bend a scene to her will, and the fun thing is that Shin Ye-eun won't give her even an inch to out-act her lol. This dynamic of actresses with powerful screen presence works so well when they're on stage, because it feeds wonderfully into the subtle tension and phenomenal chemistry that Young seo and Jeongnyeon have as actresses.

Episode 4 honestly felt like production flexing their costume design chops. Lovely to see Lee Mi-do, who I find slightly underrated as an actress. It's fascinating, but unsurprising, that the moment Jeongnyeon steps out from the cloisters of all-female gukgeuk, and into the world, she's already surrounded by predatory-seeming men, who are sizing her up for value to their new modern, advancing art form of television.

I know that KTR has a good singing voice from her previous works. But sing Pansori? That Baeksang nod is already a no brainer.

And that trainee performance was just amazing. I'm more surprised they showed the whole thing uninterrupted. Other PDs would just cut the majority of it and just focus on the leads but everyone had their moments.

Having already expressed my love of the Pansori performance, a few random observations while the caffeine hits:

1. Kim Tae-ri’s acting as Jeong-nyeon really reminded me of JN's take on Bang-ja, or just the overall exaggerated stage theatrics of Pansori. JN is a pansori character off stage! Having said that, it's no minor relief that JN's country bumpkin era might be coming to an end.

2. Ignoring the webtoon and the speculation on queer erasure on the recap, I would love to see a relationship between JN and Young-seo. Wow. Their relationship is crackling.

3. And since I also believe YS didn’t tattle on JN, I’m wondering if it’s either her bestie Ju-ran (I know! but it'd be quite the twist) or Hye-rang?

4. Hye-rang was not at all appealing in these episodes. (Opinion subject to quick change.) I’m not sure I want her paired with my beloved OK-gyung atm. So with JN also out in my head, that leaves...me! 😂

5. The fourth episode was a little predictable with its makeover, sus contract, etc. I have, however, made my peace with this being a SHOW rather a complex dramatic tale. But I was surprised how quickly it all moved. While I expected more travails within the troupe before JN headed to TV, the fast-paced twists are entertaining. And I'm sure she's coming back to pansori.

6. I hope we keep getting more of these complex older female characters: her mother, the troupe director, the divorcée. All powerhouse actors with complex stories who'd I'd love to see more of.

Onward show!

I loved the Pansori performance. It was so pleasant to watch from both actresses. I love a show within a show. I maintain KTR has the most chemistry with JEC. They are really electric on screen.

This show has a really interesting setting (and gorgeous set design), but I'm not all that gripped by the story. It feels like a Disney version of plucky girl coming to the big city I've seen before. The most interesting parts are the dynamics and rivalries between the women - and whenever Jung Eun Chae is on screen I want to see more of her.

The actual progression of the plot, outside of the unique setting, all feels a bit obvious. I love Kim Tae Ri but her performance here is veering towards Park Eun Bin's in Castaway Diva - it's just so big all the time. I thought she was at her best at the end of episode 4 when she showed some steel after Young Seo tried to slap her again.

Probably sacrilege to say, but most of episode 3 they were just showing us an entire am-dram performance. As a non-Korean, I don't have enough of an understanding of the background of the play they were performing to get sucked into it beyond thinking 'wow, these actresses have learned pansori really well'. That's cool to think about, but it takes me out of the scene and I'm not sure it really makes a _drama_.

It's doing crazy well in the ratings in Korea though - and they probably have more background knowledge to draw on to appreciate what's on show.

I think Kim Tae-ri's character is the less interesting for now. I wish to see more scenes with Jung Eun-chae.

The good: The Pansori was incredible to watch. I know nothing about this art form, but can appreciate the magic of watching someone turn an audience from laughing to crying 💖👏...loved how she also told her mother about not being able to give up once she had experienced that audience response. So many actors have told me that applause is the 'best drug' there is...

The...frustrating.
I found the contract scene really frustrating TBH. It's a long-standing truth (sadly still going!) that artists don't read the fine print and get screwed over in business deals/recording contracts, but I didn't think it was set-up in a believable way here. 

As soon as she says 'I can't really read it' or words to that effect, why not have her be clearer about asking what it says instead of 'I don't know what any of these words mean, but happy to sign regardless'! When he tells her it sets out how much she will get paid, why wouldn't she ask how much that is?? 😬🤷‍♀️

We see Jeong--nyeong at the beginning being pretty entrepreneurial in how she sells their wares at the family fish stall, and haggles with other people, so it's not like she is a sheltered rich kid who has never been in the real world. He seems dodgy as hell, but I didn't believe she needed to be portrayed as that clueless.

She is too often depicted as gormless rather than innocent. Personally not a fan of the way the director lingers on her open-mouthed stunned mullet reactions -it feels like panto instead of drama. Save it for the gukgeuk! 🤣

The story and the characters are still underwhelming to me. I would drop it, but I love Kim Tae-Ri and Seunghee. So, I will watch casually.

I don't see what's so great about Jeong-nyeon. I don't understand why she's so loved by everyone especially Ok-gyeong. I was on Young-seo and Hye-rang's side. Young-seo saved their performance by matching Jeong-nyeon who shouldn't have been allowed to perform after skipping all their rehearsals. I didn't feel sorry for Jeong-nyeon for getting kicked out of Maeran. Begging won't make Director Kang change her mind, and Hye-rang was justified in not wanting her to stay at their house. I knew that Young-seo wasn't the one who had told on Jeong-nyeon, so I was glad that Jeong-nyeon knew too. If Joo-ran had really wanted to confess, she would've done it when Jeong-nyeon couldn't stop her. After our sword fighting role-play, the best actress is hands-down Director Kang's niece Do-aeng.

Obviously, Jeong-nyeon not reading the contract will blow up in her face, but thanks to PD Park, she gets to live in luxury. Patricia is the best character in this show. She's self-confident and independent and refuses to let being a divorcee define her. Jeong-nyeon is lucky to have her as a mentor from buying her new clothes to teaching her etiquette. I can't wait until Jeong-nyeon drops her satoori. She told the café owner that she would use Seoul dialect while serving but didn't.

How does Cho-rok not get punished? Director Kang must've known Jeong-nyeon’s staff prop was broken by Cho-rok on purpose and injuring Joo-ran despite Director Kang's literal demonstration before their turn. Nor is Director Kang aware of her finance manager stealing their troupe's money to gamble.

The show brief foray into 1950s pop music serves to remind us that the modern equivalent to the pansori academy are those notorious K-pop trainee bootcamps, which take in girls at an alarmingly young age and subject them to rigorous training