Castaway Diva (무인도의 디바) is a Korean rom-com that tells the story of a woman stranded on an island for 15 years and how she comes back into society and tries to pursue her dream to be an idol. Directed by Oh Choong-hwan, the drama stars Park Eun-bin, Kim Hyo-jin, Chae Jong-hyeop, Cha Hak-yeon, Kim Joo-heon, and Lee Re, alongside other cast members.
The Kdrama tells the story of Seo Mok-ha who dreams of becoming a singer, however, an incident leaves her stranded on a deserted island where she survives for 15 years. Now, she is rescued, but times have changed and circumstances make achieving her dream challenging. Will she be able to become a singer and get her stage?
The show will have 12 episodes and be broadcast on tvN in the Saturday-Sunday slot at 9:20 PM KST time slot previously occupied by Arthdal Chronicles season 2. The Castaway Diva episode 3 has a run time of 75 minutes.
Watch the Castaway Diva Trailer
The synopsis of the Kdrama reads:
Fifteen years after being stranded on a remote island, an aspiring singer reenters society- stopping at nothing to pursue her dream of becoming a diva.
-Castaway Diva Episode 3 Recap Contains Spoilers-
Castaway Diva Episode 3 Recap
Castaway Diva episode 3 begins with a flashback as Mok-ha and Ran-joo are seen standing on the edge, ready to end their lives. While one stands on a cliff and jumps into the sea, the other stands on a hospital rooftop with sad tears. However, their lives don’t end there as Mok-ha comes back to the surface when she sees a floating cooler box while Ran-joo is not ready to give up yet.
The scene then shifts before the event where the two meet where Lee Seo-joon is seen holding a press conference about the future of the company while Ran-joo sends him a suicide note. After announcing the change of the company’s name from Ranjoo Entertainment to Rhythm & Joy Entertainment, he calls her and Ran-joo desperately asks for a gig as she hasn’t gotten much work in months.
Seo-joon suggests she does a local event which angers her but when he mentions her living in a half-basement apartment, she is stunned and realises that the landlords who were her fans revealed this to him. Later, she is also told to move out as they are no longer her fans, leaving her with no choice but to take her stuff when going to the event.
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However, little did she know that this would become a life-turning event for her as she took over social media once again with her performance at the event. Later, Bo-geol tries to approach the manager who brought her here but is turned down due to various reasons. Meanwhile, Ran-joo hears out what happened to Mok-ha and is surprised by her survival strength.
Mok-ha too is shocked by the way her agency has been treating her and cannot help but burst out following which she asks about the video she had sent to Ran-joo 15 years back. Ran-joo tells her that she does remember her and had also waited to meet her in Seoul but she never came.
Due to this, they later chose Eun Mo-rae in her place and Ran-joo was the one who personally brought her to stardom. Woo-hak is shocked when the name of the biggest star in the country comes up in their conversation and cannot help asking more about it. He realises that Eun Mo-rae is living a glorious life which had originally belonged to Mok-ha which angers him to the core.
Later, the two see off Ran-joo after which Woo-hak erupts into anger as he blames Ki-ho for harming Mok-ha by not trying hard enough 15 years back to hold her father back. Mok-ha is angered by the way Ran-joo is treated by her agency but when she hears Woo-hak badmouthing Ki-ho her anger is diverted into defending her friend who tried to help her.
Suddenly, Ran-joo comes back and asks if they can bring her back to Seoul as the manager has to go back to Eun Mo-rae along with the van as they belong to her. Later that night, Bo-geol returns home trying to think of a way to approach Ran-joo when he accidentally finds out that the star is living on his rooftop room with Mok-ha.
He heads upstairs and finds the two dancing around to Ran-joo’s songs and greets them before leaving for the night. Woo-hak is shocked by his actions and follows him down while Ran-joo compliments the two men as well as Mok-ha who survived on the island for so long. Mok-ha then tells her that she had tried to end her life but a cooler box with ramyeon inside it saved her life.
The taste of the noodles made her realise that she could’ve missed this miracle had she died at some other time and just the wait of another such box kept her for long enough to be found by the drone. Ran-joo is moved by her story and reveals that she has vocal nodules which messed up her voice.
While she did try to get surgery for it, it did not work and left a negative impact on her career in the coming years. Now, no one other than Mok-ha knows about this and it includes her mother and Seo-joon as well. Mok-ha entered her life when she wanted to give up on everything which now makes Mok-ha her cooler box who saved her, and now she only has to wait for a drone to come to her.
The mood gets emotional and Ran-joo suggests getting a drink while taking out the wine she got from the event; ensuring a crazy night ahead. Elsewhere, Jung Bong-wan hasn’t given up on his search for Ki-ho and approaches his old friend to contact him if they get in touch with Mok-ha. Bong-wan is sure that Ki-ho will come out to meet Mok-ha and wants to find a way to her.
The next morning, Ran-joo wakes up to a mess and realises the crazy deeds she did the previous night with Mok-ha and the parents of the two men. Remembering her promise to mentor Mok-ha and bring her to an audition she curses herself when she gets a call from Seo-joon.
Ran-joo is once again struck with memories of having called him the previous night about Mok-ha’s audience and pleads to him for the same after apologising for her behaviour. Right then, Mok-ha and the two men overhear her begging for a fake audition for Mok-ha on the call which leaves Mok-ha saddened by what has become of her idol.
Seo-joon agrees to give Mok-ha 15 minutes and Ran-joo tries to celebrate the audition with Mok-ha in her way. Mok-ha is saddened by the way Ran-joo is working for her but does not reveal what she has heard and joins in the celebration. That night, Bong-wan makes his way to the restaurant Mok-ha had stopped by on the island and gets Woo-hak’s card.
The next day, he makes his way to the entertainment company while Bo-geol attends the meeting where Ran-joo’s manager rejects bringing her on their show. He tells them that Ran-joo personally refused when he met her this morning which makes Bo-geol realise that there is something fishy behind his behaviour.
Later, the manager calls Seo-joon and informs him of another gig he cancelled for Ran-joo on his orders. Seo-joon thanks him and heads to the company while Ran-joo arrives there with Mok-ha to find the company’s name being changed. The two head to the meeting but Seo-joon changes his attitude and refuses to listen to Mok-ha’s singing.
Ran-joo asks Mok-ha to wait outside and argues with Seo-joon who tells her that Mok-ha is only suitable to be her manager as a singer who is 31 years old is not suitable for the spotlight. Mok-ha overhears this and finds out how hard the hit of the truth bomb is as she knows that what Seo-joon is saying is not wrong.
As she finds herself drifting away from her dreams again she remembers Ran-joo’s words from the drunken night. Ran-joo had told her that if she succeeds in making 20 million album sales within a period then she will become the major shareholder of the agency. This makes Mok-ha realise that Seo-joon is afraid that Ran-joo would be able to reach the goal which is why he is now sabotaging her.
Castaway Diva Episode 3 Ending
Upon realising this, Mok-ha rushes into the room and agrees to be Ran-joo’s manager. Seo-joon then leaves for a shareholders’ meeting while Mok-ha helps Ran-joo realise the truth and is ready to help her reach the 20 million album sales she needs to make. Mok-ha then heads out to find the Kang brothers outside the agency and asks them for help.
While Mok-ha begins to calculate Ran-joo’s total album sales, Ran-joo heads to the conference room and lets Seo-joon know that she will fulfil the contract and get half of RJ Entertainment in the next 6 months. Meanwhile, Mok-ha finds out that they need to sell 84,731 albums to help Ran-joo reach the goal before revealing that only by making Ran-joo the major shareholder can she get an audition.
Bo-geol understands that Mok-ha has become Ran-joo’s manager and offers to bring her to his show which will become the beginning of reaching their goal. Ran-joo arrives home and Mok-ha tells her about the news after which the two begin their preparations. Mok-ha tries to help her get her voice back but having tried every method, Ran-joo asks her to sing for her like she did at the event.
Mok-ha is unsure about this but Ran-joo reminds her that bringing her voice out will help her find Ki-ho. This surprises Mok-ha and Ran-joo tells her that her song “That Night” was inspired after she met Ki-ho who had asked her to treat Mok-ha well if she ever gets to meet her. Mok-ha realises where the hug came from and breaks out into tears for her friend.
Later, she sings her heart out for Ki-ho while Bo-geol and Woo-hak listen to her sing. The scene then changes to Mok-ha standing at the place Ki-ho had asked her to meet on July 1 and she waits until a man approaches her.
Castaway Diva Episode 3 Review
From more hints about Ki-ho and the beginning of a new adventure for Mok-ha, this episode kept the plot going steady and we are loving every bit of it. Once again, Park Eun-bin leaves me satisfied with her performance and every emotion shown in this episode was wonderfully put forward by the actress.
What leaves me further satisfied is the chemistry she holds with her co-actors and how they don’t fall short but only elevate the atmosphere she creates in this show. While the plot itself is going strong, I can also see the revelation mess of Mok-ha singing for Ran-joo bringing some blackmailing scenes as well as an emotionally heightened finale for us all.
Hopefully, there have been some thoughts about not giving us the obvious and leaving us surprised because this is one of the shows that has me happy and entertained since episode 1.
What do you think about the episode? Let us know in the comments below!
Watch Castaway Diva on Netflix.