Welcome to Kdrama and Ramen!

A lead singer of a famous band begins sleepwalking due to a troubled relationship with his father and the day to day pressure of living in the lime light.  His agency hires a private live-in doctor to treat his condition and keep him safe.  But a crazy case of mistaken identity leads them to hire the doctor’s twin sister, who lies about who she is because she needs the money.  But as she gets to know not just Yoon Tae In, but all the members of the band, she is torn between her desire to stay with them and her need to tell the truth.

Lee Jun Young as Yoon Tae In

As the lead singer of the famous pop group Luna, Yoon Tae In lives under constant pressure.  Because of this stress, he has started sleepwalking.  He is totally against the idea of having a live-in doctor, but his agency insists.  But to his surprise, the treatments begin to work.  And even more surpising, he begins to develop feelings for “Dr. Kang”.  Eager to keep her with him, he begins to embrace their sessions together.  But the more he tries to draw her closer, the farther away the doctor becomes.

Yoon Tae In carries the weight of the world on his shoulders, between his troubled relationship with his father and his need to make sure that Luna succeeds.  All of this has made him cold and withdrawn.  He doesn’t have anyone he can lean on, until he meets Dr. Kang.  She becomes a much-needed life-line that he never wants to live without.  Lee Jun Young continues to grow as an actor, but his last two roles have been very similar.  I worry that he will get type casted as a cold, unfeeling idol.  I hope he can break out into some more challenging and mature roles as time goes on.

JR as Lee Shin

Lee Shin plays the bass for Luna.  He has been secretly dating a divorced actress, who he met while appearing on her radio program.  But when word gets out, he is forced to make some difficult choices.  He is young and naive enough to think that he can still have it all, but his fans and band mates are not as thrilled with the idea.  

♥ Fun Music

There is something fun about taking musicians from different bands and letting them work together, both acting and making new music.  These idol dramas usually have fun, upbeat soundtracks that fit the mood of the shows.  The song “Beautiful Breakup” has been recorded as a single by the drama actors, making Luna at least a semi-real band!

 ♥ Ga  On

So, I am familiar with AB6IX as a group, but I don’t know the individual band memebers.  But Kim Dong Hyun as Ga On was such a wonderfully sweet character.  His sunny disposition and fierce loyalty made him a highlight of this drama.  He felt like the emotional anchor who held everyone together.   

Posing as a Doctor

I don’t seem to be alone in feeling some general discomfort with the whole premise of this drama.  For Yoon Joo to pretend to be a doctor is not just a small white lie or harmless case of mistaken identity.  This is playing around with someone’s health and welfare.  And the fact that she succeeded in “curing” him seems to belittle the seriousness of the problem.  

Band Interaction

Although we hear them talk about a time when the band members were close and spent time together, this drama really starts with them so distant that it’s hard to imagine them as friends.  A slower drifting apart might have made this element more believable and interesting.  If they hadn’t said anything, I would have assumed they had never really gotten along that well.  And when Dr. Kang asks how they get along, the managers seem to gloss over it as if there was some secret there.  That only added to my general impression that their relationships had always been rocky.  

“Let Me Be Your Knight” ends on a happy, upbeat note.  After Yoon Joo saves Tae In from the crazy PR stalker lady, he realizes her feelings for him were sincere and forgives her for lying.  But then Yoon Joo breaks it to him that she is going to go back to America with her sister for awhile, and figure out what she wants to do with her life.  While she doesn’t make any promises, Tae In says he will wait for her.  And he uses that time to put his energy into the band.  Luna works together to make a new album with input from everybody.  They go back to their roots and play smaller more intimate concerts that help them remember why they became musicians in the first place.  They also each take time to pursue their own personal goals.  Dong Joo opens his own music studio, Ga On goes to college, Shin creates his own radio show, and Ji Sung takes an acting role.  The final scene shows Yoon Joo back in Korea, when she gets a call that her family home is under new ownership and looking for a renter.  She rushes there and finds Tae In with the keys.  And I’m pretty sure they will live happily ever after!