“Our Blues” Episode 1 Review

• Aird Day: Saturday, Sunday
• Air Time: April 9 2022- June 12 2022
• Airing Channel: tvN

Plot

Our Blues is about a group of folks living on Jeju Island. Lee Dong-Seok (Lee Byung-hun) is a man born and raised in the province of Jeju Island who makes a living by selling items from his truck. He’ll be seen opposite Shin Min-ha, who portrays Min Sun-a, a newcomer to Jeju with a dark secret. Han Ji-min portrays Lee Young-ok, a new haenyeo (female diver). Kim Woo-bin plays Park Jung-Joon, a ship captain who falls in love with Young-ok.

Spoiler Alert

Episode 1 Recap

The first episode of Our Blues opens with a fresh day breaking over the scenic seaside town of Jeju. Eun-Hui gets up early since she operates a seafood store. The fresh catch of fish has arrived, and as the sun begins to shine, bidding at the fish market begins. Eun-Hui manages to collect the cargo, and she and her employees all make it back and start preparing the hairtails. Interestingly, we cut to different individuals here as well, including Young-Ok, who leads a surly group of old ladies aboard the boats. She’s a diver, and she appears to have feelings for the skipper, whom she winks at before plunging off the boat.

Another individual we see here is Dong-Seok, who arrives in his car, fully packed up and ready to sell his products. We don’t see much of him in this episode. But it’s enough that he’ll play a greater role in this drama later on. But for now, we return to the past to learn about Han-Su and Eun-Hui. They both went to school together, with Eun-Hui getting on the bus with a pig and nearly being harassed by the other students. A battle appears to be on the horizon, but Han-Su rushes in to defend her.

This is the beginning of their new friendship. Eun-Hui, ironically, remembers about the first time she kissed Han-Su, her first love. When questioned about it at school, he does not deny it, instead telling her, “you enjoyed it too.”
As the camera pans out and the episode concludes, Eun-Hui and Young-Ok sit together and laugh over this story.

Author’s Thoughts

Our Blues has some strong Hometown Cha Cha Cha vibes, which I love! Given the way these episodes look to be arranged, it appears like we’ll get a glimpse into the lives of each character in the season, intertwining their own storylines while set against the background of this little town of Jeju. That’s a pretty clever method of studying all of these individuals, and perhaps the episodes will keep the good sensations going. We also have a solid 20-episode run-time to work with here, so there will be plenty of opportunities for characters like Dong-Seok and Sun-A to have some screen time.

What are your thoughts on the first episode of Our Blues?