Having had its release delayed by slightly over a month due to COVID-19, Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol is another Netflix Original K-drama that has finally graced our screens. Marking the return of well-loved actress Go Ara (Reply 1994, Black) as female lead GOO RA-RA as well as the first time that Lee Jae-wook (Search: WWW, Extraordinary You) is cast as the male lead in SUNWOO JOON, this romcom revolves around a young pianist who loses everything but her optimistic outlook on life in one day, with her moving away to start her life anew in a calm seaside town and a part-time job worker who hides a mysterious background behind his cold, handsome exterior. With these two names headlining the drama, it's without a doubt that this was definitely on lots of people's radars. While we have yet to fully grasp the direction this drama is going, episode 1 has successfully grabbed my attention and makes me want to continue watching. Let's dive in.
INITIAL THOUGHTS AND COMMENTS (SPOILER ALERT)
The first thing that comes to your mind when you see Ra-ra's family situation is probably that they're filthy rich and you would be absolutely right. Her father Man-su [played by veteran supporting actor Um Hyo-sup (Start-Up)] is Rara Cosmetics' President and they basically live in a mansion. Ra-ra's mother died when she was still a baby and her heartbroken father would play his wife's favourite classical music next to Ra-ra's crib. Mistaking her cries for excitement or pleasure at the music, Man-su would sign Ra-ra up for piano lessons when she got older. Little did he know that his misunderstanding would lead to quite a big plot element in the drama.
Initially lacking in talent, a nervous Ra-ra blows her first competition by messing up her performance of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, repeating the beginning notes over and over, "do do sol sol la la sol", hence the drama's name. Laughed at by the other contestants and treated with disdain by the judges, a dejected Ra-ra probably would've quit piano from that day on if it weren't for a supportive Man-su, who applauded her regardless of how badly she performed. Our female lead then goes on the pursue piano professionally, culminating in her graduation recital, where she cheekily sneaks in her rendition of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star for her father. I really enjoy this close father-daughter relationship because it's rare to see Um Hyo-sup play a benevolent character and it also makes what happens after far more tragic.
Everything seems to be going perfectly for Ra-ra. She's doted on by her father, she's about to get married and most importantly, she's rich but this happiness isn't going to last. In one day, almost everything falls apart from her. On her wedding day, Man-su collapses from a heart attack and passes away, with Ra-ra not even able to see her father for one last time. She also finds out that her father is in debt and their house has been auctioned off, with creditors now after her head. Even after she escapes with a large sum of money that Man-su's secretary gives her, our naïve heroine gets tied up in a housing scam, winding up homeless and penniless. With nowhere else to turn to, Ra-ra sees someone on Instagram with the handle @dodosolsollalasol inviting her to Eunpo City for a fresh start, which is where a large part of the drama takes place. As she drives towards her destination, she ends up almost colliding with a cyclist and instead crashes her car, being knocked unconscious. This is where we get up to speed with our male lead Sunwoo Joon.
Joon is introduced to us as the strong silent hero, doing part-time work at a construction site without complaint. By chance, he ends up delivering the bride's bouquet to Ra-ra at her wedding and he seems to show some form of recognition of or attraction to her (which will probably be explained later on). Of course, we get a bit more of Joon's mysterious backstory when we see him on the run from some hired muscle, escaping like a true spy from his motel room, complete with collapsible hook ladder and all. Contrary to his roughed-up appearance, Joon comes from an affluent family and for whatever reason he's on the run, with his mother hiring people to catch him. He coincidentally finds himself in front of Ra-ra's house and hears her playing her heart out on the piano, with the pair releasing out their sorrows on either side of the wall. As fate would have it, Joon decides to head to Eunpo City, where he'll end up being the cyclist that Ra-ra almost runs over and just like that, they meet again.
Taking into account everything presented to us in episode 1, it's easy to assume that Joon's the owner of the @dodosolsollalasol account that entices Ra-ra to move to Eunpo City. However, I'm following a different train of thought, one that leads me to second male lead CHA EUN-SEOK [Kim Joo-hun (It's Okay to Not Be Okay, Start-Up)]. A massively popular orthopedic surgeon, Eun-seok suffers from occupational burnout, completely stressed out from work. He decides to quit his job and divorce his wife who really couldn't care less about him, and decides to head to Eunpo City as well. While we don't get much information on him yet, the episode's epilogue shows us that Eun-seok was present at Ra-ra's graduation recital and while he's about to leave, he gets stopped in his tracks by her sudden Twinkle Twinkle Little Star insert, with a smile breaking out on his face. This to me is reason enough why Eun-seok is @dodosolsollalasol because of that one moment when he instantly connected with Ra-ra. Also I think Joon's too much of a mysterious guy to be approaching Ra-ra on social media.
It's always a joy to see actors and actresses that you recognise from previous dramas, it's one of those nice moments of going "hey, I know this person" and this drama is no exception. From Moon Tae-yoo (Hospital Playlist) and Jeon Soo-kyung (My Strange Hero) as Ra-ra's ex-fiancé and almost-mother-in-law respectively, or Seo Yi-sook (Start-Up) and Ahn Nae-sang (More Than Friends) as Joon's mother and Man-su's secretary respectively, and even Ye Ji-won (Dinner Mate) as Joon's neighbour in Eunpo, there're lots of recognisable faces in this first episode and it's satisfying to see. At this point in the drama, we see that lots of people are moving to Eunpo, advertised as the city of romance and dreams, and no doubt these are all the side characters that we'll see trying for a fresh start in their lives, just like our three leads.
It's very refreshing to see such an optimistic female lead, even when everything's going wrong with her life, she still goes on with a smile on her face and I think Go Ara embodies this happiness perfectly. It's also really great to see Lee Jae-wook headline a drama and considering how he's one of the up-and-coming actors in the industry, I'm looking forward to a great performance from him. Not forgetting Kim Joo-hun, it took me a while to recognise him without his beard especially because I last saw him with one in Start-Up but this is honestly the first time I've seen him in a lead role and I'm excited to find out more about the connection between him and Ra-ra. By the end of this drama, I hope to see Ra-ra maintain her happy-go-lucky nature, not worrying what others think about her, just like how she played those same notes at her last performance, Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol.
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