Jeongnyeon's refusal to accept the reality could be annoying, but also, I understand her, and my heart breaks for her. But luckily, there may yet be hope there... Which is a good thing because literally everything else seems hopeless right about now.

Our OT3 all had to deal with mommy issues this week, and only one of those isn't awful. While I may not exactly agree with Jeongnyeon's mom, I can at least understand where she's coming from, and it's clear that she loves her daughter (episode 10's ending is an obvious highlight here). On the other hand, we have Ju-ran's mom, who literally wants her daughter to abandon her dream so she can marry her off to some random guy all so she can afford the hospital bills for her other daughter (who she definitely loves way more). Honestly, thinking about this just makes me angry and sad. And the worst thing? I feel like Ju-ran might actually go through with it...

Meanwhile, we also have Ok-gyung and Hye-rang's divorce, and I think there's a lot of discussion to be had there. You see, Hye-rang is the obvious red flag, but I don't think she's the only one. I think we've been ignoring the less obvious red flag, which is Ok-gyung, and maybe we were all just entranced by her act as a prince so we didn't realize it. There are a lot of questions there, ones that probably will never be answered, but this week made me curious nonetheless. What caused the decline in the Ok-gyung & Hye-rang relationship? What made Hye-rang act like this? What started it? Did the prince ever realize how much the little mermaid loved him? Or did the prince never really love the little mermaid at all? I can understand her being bored and tired, but I don't think that's all there is to it, nor do I think Hye-rang is solely to blame for it. Here's a question: We know Ok-gyung had an opium addiction. Did she ever manage to overcome her addiction? Or did she just trade one addiction for the other?

Quite frankly, Ok-gyung's actions feel cold and heartless, especially since she's leaving in the middle of production. Actions have consequences, and sadly, her actions might be the downfall of the entire troupe. Let's hope for a happy ending for all involved, even if things aren't looking good right now.

Youngseo is the clear winner in the character development department. She could have chosen to be self-centred and take all the credit for herself, but she is so honest. And seeing how Jeongnyeon is not a threat to her at first and now values her as healthy competition to help her grow, as well as saving her from drowning shows how deeply Youngseo cares for Jeongnyeon and Maeran.

As for Okgyeong though, she's a completely different person this week. She feels so defeated that her handpicked protege's voice will never be the same and probably will not find another one like Jeongnyeon to give her some sort of excitement.

I have zero sympathy for Jeong-nyeon, however, Director Kang is partly to blame. If she had not begged the other judges at the audition to give Jeong-nyeon a second chance, then maybe she wouldn't have coughed up blood and collapsed onstage. Jeong-nyeon's pity party was exasperating to watch, so I enjoyed the middle of Episode 10 much more without her in it.

During their "Princess and the Fool" production, I was struggling to recall the plot of River Where the Moon Rises. Was Princess Pyeonggang a bloodthirsty ruler in the drama? Did On Dal die in the drama? Which character in their stage did Lee Ji-hoon play?

A part of me agreed with Director Kang that Ok-gyeong is very irresponsible to quit in the middle of their shows as it really puts Maeran out, but another part of me was secretly happy at Ok-gyeong screwing Maeran over.

Things I was happy to get in this drama:

1. An incredible introduction to a beautiful, nearly forgotten artform of female theatre (gukgeuk) and amazing renditions of those stage shows on screen - Brava! 👏💖

Found this interesting tidbit from the Korea Times newspaper as well:
"While "pansori" (traditional Korean musical storytelling) was safeguarded after being designated as an intangible cultural asset, all-female gukgeuk was excluded from support, leading to a severing of its lineage."😬

2. An incredibly complex relationship between two women who could have been merely 'rivals' but have been shown as so much more (and of course, Young-seo is a character who really shines).

Things I was not happy to get:
1. A ridiculously frustrating lead who ruins her own voice, after not listening to literally everyone who knew what they were talking about and then was still convinced they were wrong about the medical outcome, but never once seemingly blamed herself for bringing this about...

Double frustration for this being also exactly what her mother did years before!

2. No resolution for all of the theatre troupes money being stolen. No follow up consequences for Hye-rang as the princess who facilitated all the thieving.

3. Ok-gyung suddenly turning into a full-blown villain... The idea that she was at the end of her creative tether with the troupe was well established. She must have told everyone that she was hoping for someone to replace her. But once she saw this could be Yeong-seo rather than our FL, why did she ask if she would leave the troupe with her? I didn't understand that at all. sigh. 😖

Youngseo is the heroin for me! She grew up so much. She listens people and takes their advices to become a better artist.

Jeongnyeon is selfish, everything is about her and her passion. She doesn't care about people around her. And how you grew up beside the sea and can't swim?

Ok-gyung and Hye-rang didn't do this job for the same reason. Hye-rang wants to be famous and wants glory and money and now she got them, she doesn't need anything else. Ok-Gyung wants to be an artist, to feel emotions with her acting and to grow as an artist. She needed to leave because she was clearly unhappy.

i just love her sister so much...

Man this show. It's so uneven, but so fascinating and I can't be impartial about it because I see so much of my younger self in it.

Jeongnyeon is a 100% a diva, but she fell in love with gukgeuk hard and fast, and not only that, discovered that she could be good at it. Loving and being talented at an artform - especially one as competitive and precarious as gukgeuk - can be like an obsession. Like there's this overwhelming compulsion inside of you, this force that needs urgent release. Some artists have a very levelheaded approach to their discipline, for others it's something more consuming, more desperate. Losing your ability or your chance to make that art can be like death. Getting a bit personal here, but when I was 19, I was paralysed by my fear of not becoming an animator. It was a fixation that made me a lonely, anxious person. When it quickly became clear that I couldn't become an animator (for various reasons), I got really depressed. I grew up some more, got a job and got through it, but for a while, I couldn't pick up a pencil without feeling sick. It's silly, self-indulgent, folly of the young, but it's a very real way that some artists relate to their work. And that's why I'm okay with Jeongnyeon walking willingly into Hye-rang's trap. Hye-rang also has an obsessive relationship with gugkgeuk - gukgeuk is where Ok-gyung is; Ok-gyung, the prince of Maeran, the master of her craft, belongs to Hye-rang. Both Hye-rang and Jeongnyeon have very unhealthy relationships with the craft, but Jeongnyeon loses her voice, which forces her to relate with her art in a different way, to see how an imperfect voice can still be a channel for that force inside of her. Episode 10's ending is beautiful in a way I struggle to describe. Yong-rye's wounded voice cracking, then rising, the sun rising over the beaches of Mokpo. Ugh, this show just gets it. I didn't expect Jeongnyeon's coming-of-age to take this turn, but Episode 10 tied it together for me. I wouldn't have it any other way.

I don't think Ok-gyung's switch-up was unexpected. Without Jeongnyeon, the one hope she had for staying in Maeran, there was nothing holding her there. Her break-up from Maeran was always going to be ugly, especially since Director Kang and Hye-rang are both in varying levels of denial about the future of gukgeuk. It's so sad. Kim Yoonhye's performance in the break-up scene is sublime. Her delivery of the line, "What about me", gave me chills - like Hye-rang is a lost child. And someone mentioned getting a full gukgeuk performance from this cast - yess, please.

To paraphrase you @mistyisles, It's not without its faults, but Jeongnyeon – The Star is Born feels like a love letter to the performing arts, and to the kind of passion for one’s craft that can be just as destructive as it is life-giving.

Hear, hear!

We see how it has positively impacted Young-seo and negatively Jeong-nyeon. I love Young-seo's affirming arc as much as anyone, but I find the destructive nature of Jeong-nyeon's passion also fascinating to watch. From what I've read, artists can be very selfish, bullheaded, in the pursuit of their art. It doesn't make them very likeable, however, as some comments attest.

I also noted everyone is emphasizing Jeong-nyeon's acting skills. Will that lead her to working with Ok-gyung in film eventually? While Jeong-nyeon's star may rise again, pansori we know is fading. But with only two episodes left, I don't know how much we'll explore the end of an era.

Young Seo is the best part of this show. Her charactdr arc has been a beautiful thing to see.