Shooting Stars: Episodes 15-16 (Final)

by Unit

It’s time to say goodbye to the characters we’ve spent the last eight weeks with, and watch them march off into happily ever after land with a full heart, and a healthy dose of smiles and laughter.

EPISODES 15-16 WEECAP

As it turns out, Ji-hoon and the PR team have known for a while that Tae-sung and Han-byeol are dating, but they pretend to be blissfully unaware of the very obvious romance. Meanwhile, to make sure no one catches on, Han-byeol bans Tae-sung from coming to see her at work.

But Tae-sung is not one to let a little thing like people finding out stop him from seeing the love of his life. And he comes up with a series of excuses to do just that — from bringing PPL snacks for the PR team, to unhelpfully answering their calls and even telling a reporter that his next project is a workplace romance.

Smarty pants Tae-sung also capitalizes on the workplace drama project to kill two birds with one stone. He officially gets to come in to work to practice his “method acting” and he can see Han-byeol at the same time.

Despite Han-byeol’s misgivings, Tae-sung assures her that it’s a foolproof plan. But aside from making subsequent morning meetings slightly awkward for the others, he also does nothing to hide his relationship with Han-byeol at work. He’s so whipped, and I love it for him.

Another set of whipped office couples are Yoo-sung and Ho-young who happen to be working together again on a new project. It’s actor Yoo-sung’s unrequited love drama which also stars Da-hye, and somehow, these two give me another potential couple vibe.

Back to our main couple, Tae-sung realizes how little he knows about Han-byeol compared to how much she knows about him thanks to her many years as his PR agent. So he sets out on operation “All about my Oh Han-byeol” and gleams information about her from the PR team in exchange for helping them with their tasks.

Tae-sung goes overboard with some of the tasks, but his earnestness makes up for it. And more than learning extra tidbits about Han-byeol, Tae-sung also comes to appreciate how much effort Han-byeol puts in behind the scenes to make her stars – including him – shine.

A boyfriend-less Ki-bbeum is left to mope on the sidelines when Han-byeol and Ho-young get into a comparison-of-the-boyfriends, but she does not mope for long as Soo-hyuk soon expresses his interest in her and asks her out for dinner. Yaaayy!!

And though they might have taken eons to get together, things progress quite fast between them. I mean, Ki-bbeum sleeping over after their first date? That was pretty awesome!

But while our erstwhile potential couple has gotten together, Han-byeol and Ho-young are temporarily pulled apart from their boyfriends thanks to their work schedule. And this leaves Tae-sung and Yoo-sung to bond over how much they miss their girlfriends. Relax, guys, it’s just three days. Lol.

When Han-byeol returns, pictures of Tae-sung’s recent visits to the agency have spread online. But unlike Tae-sung, Han-byeol is not ready to go public with their relationship thanks to PTSD from those dating rumors during their university days. And to avoid getting caught, she says they have to be careful.

Hence, Tae-sung’s method acting days at the office sadly come to an end. Despite this, office romance keeps alive with cutie pie Jung-yeol and his girlfriend… Hong Bo-in! I knew it!!

Jae-hyun and Yoo-na, being the adventurous kids they are, get pregnant and decide to get married, sending Dae-soo and Yoo-sung into panic mode. Wait, is this a parody of real-life celebrities getting “blessed with a baby” while preparing for marriage? If yes, I’m all for it!

Now that I think about it, weren’t Jae-hyun and Yoo-na the first official couple in the drama? They also kissed first, and got pregnant and married before the others! Yes, I keep score.

Their wedding ceremony has all their agency friends in attendance, and as usual, Han-byeol busies herself with PR duties. Jung-yeol mans the congratulatory money stand, Ji-hoon officiates the wedding, and Dae-soo doubles as the ~~maid~~ man of honor. Heh.

Not to be left out of the fun, our main couple go on a romantic Jeju Island trip. But privacy is nonexistent as they keep running into the newlyweds who are there on their honeymoon, and the crew of actor Yoo-sung’s drama which is also filming in Jeju. Lol.

But nothing can stop Tae-sung from making the trip a memorable one for Han-byeol, and he invites Soo-hyuk and Ki-bbeum over to Jeju. Together with Yoo-sung and Ho-young, the six of them have an amazing couples hangout. And my mouth hurts from smiling widely like the seventh member of their hangout from behind my screen. This is really thoughtful and sweet!

After a passionate night together, Han-byeol gets a call from a reporter on a tip about Tae-sung going on a trip with a non-celebrity. And as the moment of truth dawns on her, Han-byeol takes the bold step to go public with her relationship!

The others also take steps forward in their respective lives and careers. Ji-hoon retires (and goes on a trip to meet Si-woo?), and Yoo-sung takes over his position. Ho-young moves up to team leader, and Jung-yeol also moves to senior manager, with a set of rookies under him.

Soo-hyuk and Ki-bbeum are doing great in their relationship, and actor Yoo-sung’s career blossoms. Fangirl Da-hye gets promoted to manage Tae-sung’s fancafe (lol) and the newlyweds become brand ambassadors for baby products.

It’s truly a happy ending, and I couldn’t be happier for all of them. Weekend and family dramas aside, it’s rare to find a drama with as many as five different couples! But a good thing about ensemble dramas like this is that there is someone for everyone. And for a hardcore romanticist like me, it’s a dream come true to watch this many ships sail.

That being said, I think Shooting Stars is one of those dramas that would have benefited from being 12 episodes. Instead, they had to pile up the drama with the estranged mum subplot and Yoon-woo’s death.

The anti-fan site is a legit issue when it comes to celebrities, and without the added baggage of Yoon-woo, it might have been a nice subplot to explore. However, seeing how the founder of the anti-fan site ended up being a remorseless minor who thought he could get away with it because of his age, maybe it was for the best that the drama didn’t dwell too much on it. Otherwise, we might have gone off the rails into some Juvenile Justice territory.

Nevertheless, this is one drama I enjoyed watching as much as I enjoyed being its weecaptain here on Dramabeans. I won’t be re-watching in full anytime soon, but I won’t say no to a few clips here and there to relieve the fun moments.

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Shooting Stars: Episodes 15-16 (Final)