Mystic Pop Up Bar

(71 minutes, 708 calories) I was going to watch another episode of Good Casting today, but something was going on with the subtitles on Viki...so after fighting with it for a few minutes, I gave up. I was caught up on Oh My Baby. So...I started a new one on Netflix that even the hubby had said, hey, that looks like something you'd watch.

It's Mystic Pop Up Bar with Hwang Jung-eum (from She was Pretty) and I feel really bad because I totally didn't recognise her looking beautiful. I spent the entire episode going Who the heck is she? She seems so familiar... I should have figured it out purely from her craziness. Like Jun Ji-hyun, she's not at all afraid of pushing the boundaries of physical comedy. It was a facepalm moment when I figured out who it was. Doh! In my defence, there's 5 years difference between the two shows and she has aged. In a good way! But mostly, it's the lack of frizzy crazy hair.

Anyway. She plays Wol-ju, a 500 year old ghost. The show opens on the start of her life way back when. She had an ability to see/be in people's dreams and went around helping people as a youngish girl (old enough to be married but not a woman, so...eh...maybe supposed to be 16 or 17? Park Si-Eun, who played the young Woo Seo-Ri in Still 17, plays her there. Anyway, she helped out the Crown Prince and fell in love with him (and perhaps "married" him kind of in secret) but this got her on the bad side of his mom and the villagers. Her mom, a shaman, foresaw that she was going to be in big trouble and tried to send her away (wearing mom's clothes). But when she sees a fire, she turns back and finds out her mother (in her clothes?) has been murdered and her house burned. She curses everyone (did anything come of this? no idea) and hangs herself from a sacred tree.

Yikes.

Flash forward nearly 500 years to modern day and she's a spirit who has to help 100,000 people via their dreams or get sent to hell as atonement for committing suicide on a sacred tree. She's got just 10 more to go...but now she's got an ultimatum. Just one month left. She's grown up to be angry (but in that comedic, kinda flailing way) and professes to hate humans but we see her helping the downtrodden in the first episode...just not in necessarily the, er, kindest way.

As she's trying to help one particular girl and not having a lot of success getting her to open up, we also meet Yook Sung-Jae playing Han Kang-Bae. He's always had a spiritual problem...as in, when people touch him, they feel compelled to be completely honest and tell him what's bothering them. This has basically meant that he's got the weight of the world on his shoulders and has learned that secrets are what keeps the world going. Too much truth is a burden. (Heh...kinda one of the themes from my fourth book, so I am predisposed to like this puppy boy) He is able to re-enter the Mystic Pop Up Bar where Wol-ju does her thing, even when he shouldn't be able to see it, because of his spiritual power.

There's also a "handler" of sorts played by Choi Won-Young who is there to try and keep control over Wol-ju. I get the feeling he'll be comic relief. Heck, it's all comic relief, isn't it?

At the end of the first episode, Wol-ju has figured out that she needs Han Kang-Bae so she can hopefully help 9 more people in time. And he is hoping she can help him (probably to change his ability? Because I imagine he just wants to be normal).

So far, I'd say this one looks very fun and interesting. I'm intrigued. It's got a bit of a Beetlejuice thing going on. It's also ongoing (sigh) but there are 4 episodes out already and all 12 will be out by 25th June. I am a little concerned about the 12 thing...most of these have 16 so is this another one where Netflix is breaking it into seasons for no good reason? I hope not. Anyway, production value looks good as well. Love the dresses Wol-ju wears in the modern day, like she's never completely grown out of her past. I imagine that's why.

Edit 10 July, after episode 2 (77 minutes, 1009 calories): Finally watched another episode. Not because I didn't like the first one (I did) but because I've had so many other shows going on. Today, I was thinking I really ought to watch one of the last two episodes of Oh My Baby but I couldn't bring myself to do it because I am about 99% sure they're going to do some Noble Idiocy/Separation plot in the next episode and MEH. I don't want to see sad Yi-Sang. 

Anyway. Mystic Pop Up Bar episode 2 was a bit of a tear jerker too, but in a different way. This one dealt with a woman who had drunkenly caused the split up of a friend & the man she loved and the death of the friend -- then had raised the baby as her own...but now she was about to die from cancer and hadn't been able to find the father...and the grown up daughter was about to get married...So, yeah. Lots of guilt, etc. in this one. 

So even though this is ultimately a comedic show, there's some depth to it too. And we also got a bit more of Wol-ju's background on why she had to help 100,000 souls. Still really liking it.

Edit: 15 July, after episode 4 (93 minutes, 1205 calories -- also an episode of Midnight Diner): Yes, I'm really liking this one. I think I know where some of the story is going (possible spoilers from Twitter) but I don't mind. 

Edit: 21 July. Am up through episode 7. Really loving this one. They've been dribbling in the past history. I'm sure that Manager Gwi (handler dude) is either directly or the reincarnation of the Prince Wol-ju was in love with. And pretty sure that Kang-bae is somehow their son. Not sure how that will actually work, but I don't think it's any mistake that they have all wound up together. And they've introduced the "Evil Spirit" who was once the friend of the Prince 500 years ago. Hoping it will all make sense, but even if not, it's still a charming show.