‘Idol I’ K-drama review: Sooyoung and Kim Jae-young deliver a stellar performance amid glitz, glamor and deception

in the first episode of Idol IDo La-ik (Kim Jae-young), a famous singer and member of the group Gold Boys, is on his couch and drinking when he suddenly hears someone calling his house. We assume he’s at home all alone and in some state of panic, two women come out from behind the curtain, who are his self-proclaimed crazy fans who scold him for drinking and not taking enough care of himself.

This K-drama that puts an idol (a popular term used to refer to an entertainer in the music industry) at its center starts off thrilling its audience. Do La-ik has to deal with fans who are stalking him, aggressive behavior at a fansign event, reporters gossiping behind him, and his deteriorating mental health. If you’re a K-pop fan, it won’t take long for you to recognize some of these different incidents that seem to be inspired by real life events.

The case soon comes to a head when La-ik’s bandmate and friend is murdered in his apartment and he is named the primary suspect. Lae-ik’s inability to remember anything from the night of the incident, being drunk, and taking heavy medication doesn’t help his case.

Enter Maeng Se-na (Choi Sooyoung), a competent, no-nonsense lawyer who is moving in as a lawyer for the wrongfully convicted. Se-na may be a working person who hates all niceties, but one of her big secrets is that she is a secret fan of the Gold Boys and especially Lae-ik. When her favorite idol is blamed, she comes forward to defend him. However his decision isn’t just motivated by his fans; She is convinced that he is innocent, and does not want to be wrongfully persecuted as her father did many years ago.

Over the course of twelve episodes, Idol I Works like a slow-burn whodunit. Faced with an ongoing police investigation, and a despicable prosecutor Kwak Byung-gyun (Jung Jae-kwang) bent on convicting La-ik, Sae-na sets out to uncover what really happened. The Gold Boys were a group in turmoil and this infighting accounts for the bulk of the drama, but also their strained relationship with their agency and Laika’s unstable relationship with her mother. For a portion of its runtime, La-ik also appears to be unreliable when it comes to his version of how it all happened and this helps with the suspense. He is extremely stubborn and refuses to cooperate when Se-na steps in to help his cause.

A scene from ‘Idol I’ Photo Credit: Netflix

For Se-na, who is a fangirl, being with her favorite idol may be the stuff of dreams and elaborate imagination, but she pushes boundaries and hides all her makes and life-size posters to be professional about it all. Certainly a show like this requires a willing suspension of disbelief, especially seeing how a slow and steady relationship develops between Se-na and La-ik; If you want to see how ethical all this is, it is strictly prohibited. Sho can’t make up his mind about Se-na; If she is shown as someone who is capable of drawing boundaries, then we soon get back to seeing how heartbroken she was when her celebrity crush was rumored to be in a relationship. Why is there this discrepancy when it comes to a character who is otherwise shown to be smart, capable, and sympathetic?

However, it helps that the show has a central mystery that maintains interest, and has serious, likeable leads. In a nice touch of meta casting, it’s Sooyoung, a hugely successful idol in real life, who plays the fangirl here. Both she and Kim Jae-young slip into their roles with ease and make a case for their characters, each dealing with a different kind of demons. Jang Jae-kwang, who was last seen as a discreet anesthesiologist Trauma Code: Heroes on Call Gets an interesting character here, and he’s not just the one-note villain it introduces.

In the latter part, Idol I This could have been done with tighter writing because like the show’s investigation team, we too are groping in the dark as to how it all will ultimately play out. Thankfully the show holds its own by the end, and instead of ending abruptly, manages to focus on whether everyone manages to get out of all the chaos unharmed.

There have been many K-dramas in the past including the 2021 show Imitation that focused on the pitfalls and harsh realities of fame that come under public scrutiny. Idol I However, this makes for an entertaining whodunit more than anything else. Come for the suspense, and stay for the reveals, with a sprinkle of romance of course.

Idol I is currently available to stream on Netflix