Jeongnyeon: The Star is Born – K-drama Episode 10 Recap & Review

Episode 10

Episode 10 of Jeongnyeon: The Star is Born begins with Ok-gyeong asking Yeong-seo if she would leave with her. When Yeong-seo asks why she is asking her, Ok-gyeong says Jeong-nyeon is a lost cause and won’t be the same even if she comes back. Yeong-seo refuses Ok-gyeong’s offer and says she wants to wait for Jeong-nyeon because she’s the only person who makes her grow.

So-bok hasn’t been sleeping well, so Do-aeng suggests she go visit Jeong-nyeon. When Joo-ran hears the news, she gets ready to go as well. But Yeong-seo says it’s a bad idea and offers to go herself and convince Jeong-nyeon to come back. Yeong-seo asks So-bok to let her accompany her.

On the road, Yeong-seo tells So-bok about her conversation with Ok-gyeong. But So-bok is confident that Ok-gyeong wouldn’t leave Maeran. The two of them reach Jeong-nyeon’s house and receive a cold welcome from Yong-rye. Yeong-seo manages to get Jeong-nyeon’s location from Jung-ja. She gives Jeong-nyeon the record of her mother singing.

When Jeong-nyeon says she doesn’t need it, Yeong-seo throws it into the sea. Jeong-nyeon jumps in to save it but Yeong-seo realises she can’t swim. She jumps in and saves Jeong-nyeon but the latter grows distraught and screams at Yeong-seo for coming here and reminding her of pansori. Yeong-seo, in turn, yells at Jeong-nyeon that she still has her acting skills.

Later, the two girls share Yeong-seo’s coat and sit on the rocks. Jeong-nyeon describes a recurring dream she has of that audition. Yeong-seo tells Jeong-nyeon that she’ll wait for her to come back on stage.

Later that night, Jeong-nyeon goes home and tells her mother she’s going to continue doing gukgeuk, whether as an actor or even an extra. Yong-rye is frustrated and even tells So-bok to leave quietly in the morning. So-bok then recalls the past, saying that she had only improved because she had Yong-rye and she missed her terribly when she left. She then tells Yong-rye that she’s the only one who can teach Jeong-nyeon to sing with a broken voice.

Yong-rye angrily denies this but then sits on her own and tries to sing. In the morning, Jeong-nyeon tells Yeong-seo and So-bok that she’ll be back when she gets Yong-rye’s permission. Yeong-seo returns to Maeran and tells Joo-ran that Jeong-nyeon will be back soon.

The night of the play arrives. So-bok drops by Ok-gyeong’s room and tells her she can choose the next play, even if it’s a bit experimental. Ok-gyeong says this is the best offer she’s received although her expression doesn’t match the sentiment. In the green room, Geum-ju trips Joo-ran and triggers a fight between them and the Maeran girls. Yeong-seo gives them a talking-to and tells Geum-ju to beat the others with skills rather than cheap tricks.

The play begins and Yeong-seo and Joo-ran do a stellar job, receiving loud cheers. Backstage, Ok-gyeong tells Hye-rang to show her best performance and promises to be her own best self as well. Both actors do an exceptional job portraying the story of a princess who begins to crave bloodshed in the name of her kingdom and a husband who cannot stop her. In the end, Ondal, Ok-gyeong’s character, dies due to the war.

In the end, all the actors come out to bow on stage except for Ok-gyeong. Hye-rang goes backstage and tells Ok-gyeong that this is her last performance. Ok-gyeong reveals that she’s quitting gukgeuk to go work in film instead. She tells Hye-rang they should go their separate ways. Ok-gyeong then breaks the news to So-bok as well, saying her offer came too late. So-bok realises this would be disastrous for Maeran.  

Back in Mokpo, Jung-ja tries to convince her mother to let Jeong-nyeon go. At night, Jeong-nyeon tries practising despite her weak voice. Yong-rye overhears her and is moved to tears. She later tells Jeong-nyeon about a pansori master, Master Jung, who had a broken voice but moved his audience to tears anyway. Yong-rye then begins to sing as Jeong-nyeon watches in awe at the end of Jeongnyeon: The Star is Born Episode 10.

The Episode Review

Jeongnyeon: The Star is Born Episode 10 brings back the element that really shines in this series — the gukgeuk, its story, and large-scale spectacle. The art form has so much beauty to it and this episode brings all of it back. It’s also intriguing to watch Ok-gyeong and Hye-rang perform a story that is so similar to their own. Ok-gyeong’s departure was long due and brings out a harsher, more self-centred side of her character which is fascinating.

The few moments between Jeong-nyeon and her mother have been nicely executed, warm, and tragic at the same time. With only two more episodes to go, we can expect Jeong-nyeon to find her way back to Maeran and to gukgeuk. A fairly predictable direction for the story but one that the actors infuse enough heart into, which makes it worth the watch.