Recap: Navillera, Episode One

Ballet? Age gap friendships with old people? Quick and easy subs on Netflix? Say no more, I’m there! It’s time to recap the new Netflix Korean drama Navillera, the tale of a 70 year old man who pursues his lifelong dream of performing ballet. Along the way, he befriends a 23 year old young man who is also pursuing a dance career.

Navillera: Recap, Episode 1

The story starts at a funeral. Shim Deok Chul (Park In Hwan) pays his respects to the family of the deceased before joining his friends at a table. They discuss the fact that there are fewer and fewer of them who show up at these things now. They chat about the changes in getting older. About how they are too old to work, but too young to just hang out at the nursing home. They don’t even cry at these funerals any more.

On his way home, Shim Deok Chul stops to pick up a bottle of liquor. Coming out of the store, he hears the swelling sounds of classical music and it draws his attentions. He follows the music down a hallway to what appears to be an empty dance studio. The piano sits empty and silent. As Shim Deok Chul scans the room, the music swells again and a young man, Lee Chae Rok (Song Kang) dances into view. The older man watches, transfixed.

When the dance ends, the dancer turns to see Shim Deok Chul watching him. Embarrassed, Shim Deok Chul turns away from the window and hurries away.

Dance Studio

Later in the same studio, a young woman plays at the piano and Lee Chae Rok dances while his teacher, Ki Seung Joo, watches. The teacher stops his student and complains about the dancing. He has an audition with the National Ballet soon and this dancing is not up to par. Lee Chae Rok leaves to take a short break. The teacher follows Lee Chae Rok into the break room and asks why he is hesitating in his dancing. We learn that there is something going on between Chae Rok and his father.

Nursing Home

Meanwhile, Shim Deok Chul is walking up a road carrying the bag he bought earlier. His destination is the nursing home at the end of the road. When he arrives, Deok Chul’s friend bemoans that there isn’t actually any alcohol in the bag, only snacks. As they talk, the friend says that though his body is getting week, his mind grows stronger by the day. He can remember things from his youth with great clarity. One of the things that he remembers is the name of the ship he always dreamed of building for himself.

The friend asks if Deok Chul remembers his dreams, his unfulfilled wishes. Deok Chul looks surprised. His friend encourages him to follow those dreams now before it becomes too late.

Birthday Dinner

Later, Shim Deok Chul is gathered with his family to celebrate his 70th birthday. His granddaughter asks him what he wished for when he blew out his candles. His wife, Choi Hae Nam, cuts him off to say that of course he wishes for his children’s happiness and that he wouldn’t be a burden to them as he grows old.

The dinner devolves into fighting between the siblings as the more successful son digs away at his less successful brother-in-law and his missing youngest brother. His younger sister defends her husband as voices escalate. The younger man tries to redirect the conversation by asking about his niece’s new job. The youngest brother arrives late to a room full of uncomfortable vibes. Halfway through the meal, the oldest brother starts in again. This time he digs at his youngest brother, telling his daughter to work hard so she doesn’t wind up a loser like her uncle. Deok Chul sits quietly while his children fight and ruin his birthday. Eventually the youngest son leaves after wishing his father a happy birthday.

Ride Home

In the car on the way home later, Choi Hae Nam tries to reach one of her children on the phone. She plans to send money to her daughter to help them out. “My children are my life”, Hae Nam tells her husband. They drive around a corner past a lit up building and the camera shifts to watch as Lee Chae Rok walks out on to the sidewalk.

He walks to a columbarium where his mother’s ashes are kept along with a few pictures of her and her son. She’s been dead for about 5 years now

On the day of his audition, Chae Rok’s father is set to be released from prison. No wonder he feels heavy. Leaving the building, Chae Rok reads a text on his phone telling him that he doesn’t deserve to be happy.

Dance Studio

Couples dance together in a large, brightly lit practice space as a woman sits watching. She doesn’t seem overly impressed. She gives the dancers a 10 minute break. The door opens and Ki Seung Joo walks in to the room. The dancers all bow respectfully and say hello as he walks across the room to where the woman sits. He sits on the ground next to her as she greats him.

Seung Joo asks his ex-wife what it means to be in a slump. He says that he doesn’t understand it and doesn’t know what to do about it. She calls him annoying, but appears to be taking the conversation seriously. She sighs when Seung Joo mentions Chae Rok’s name. Meanwhile, at his apartment, Chae Rok gets ready to leave for work.

Deok Chul

Deok Chul sits at home flipping through newspapers. He looks up at the clock and rises to go to his granddaughter’s new office. Standing in the foyer, Deok Chul texts Shim Eun Ho to come down and let him take her out for lunch to celebrate the new job. She sneaks to a quiet corner to call him. Unfortunately, she’s already eaten her lunch, she tells him, and hangs up. Deok Chul heads over to the burger place where one of his friends works making deliveries. Deok Chul half jokes about getting a job as a deliveryman too.

Chae Rok

Chae Rok wears a uniform and dries dishes to be put away at an upscale-looking restaurant. His friend talks about how the head office interns are going to be coming to work the floor with them soon. They turn to greet customers and stop short at who they see. It’s an old classmate, Ho Beom, with a group of friends. There is clearly bad blood between them. When the group has finished eating, they walk over to Chae Rok and ask him loudly about his dad getting out of prison.

The group leaves without paying, but Chae Rok says he’ll cover it rather than make a bigger fuss.

Flashback

Chae Rok wearing a high school uniform approaches Ho Beom. When Chae Rok mentions his father, Ho Beom punches him in the face. Apparently Chae Rok has quit their soccer team and Ho Beom is angry about it. Ho Beom calls Chae Rok selfish for thinking that he could get help from his former teammate after quitting on them.

Present Day

Deok Chul waits at a bus stop and sees a poster for a production of Swan Lake. The scene changes to backstage at a practice for the ballet. Seung Joo approaches his ex-wife and tells her that he’s not there to see her. Chae Rok is meant to be at this evening’s performance, but he’s still at work.

Later as the crowds arrive for the show, Chae Rok slips into a seat near Seung Joo. Near the back of the auditorium, a door cracks open and we see Deok Chul come in and find his seat. The show begins and Deok Chul is mesmerized.

After the show, Seung Joo suggests they all go get something to eat together. Chae Rok says he has to go practice and the ex-wife also rejects the idea. As they all walk off separately, Deok Chul comes out of the auditorium behind them. He glances back at the stage.

Deok Chul and Chae Rok ride the same bus from the performance. Chae Rok gets off first and heads to a closed orthopedic clinic where he bangs on the door until someone answers. As the doctor tapes up Chae Rok’s knee, he complains about Chae Rok continuing to dance with an injured knee. The doctor begs him to take a break after his audition and get some proper physiotherapy.

Dance Studio

Chae Rok practices and practices, but his bum knee keeps on giving out when he tries to land a jump. His frustration grows, but he keeps at it until his teacher arrives and turns off the music. Seung Joo tells Chae Rok that there’s no heart, no emotion, no art in the moves he is practising.

Seung Joo reminds Chae Rok of when they first met. When newbie dancer Chae Rok lacked skill but told Seung Joo that he wasn’t thinking, just dancing with his emotions. Seung Joo tells the younger dancer that he’s missing his emotions. The way he is mechanically pushing himself is no good and if Chae Rok can’t figure it out then he should just forget about the audition.

Deok Chul

Laying in bed next to his wife, Deok Chul asks her if she is sleeping. He tells her that he went and watched a performance and that the kids were amazing but there was nobody old like him on the stage. There weren’t even any other old people in the audience. The father who forbade him to dance when he was young has long since passed away. Deok Chul mourns that he never had the courage to try, that he let life pass him by.

Audition Day

Chae Rok walks to his audition. There’s a notification on his phone reminding him of his father’s pending release from prison that morning. He keeps on walking. Seung Joo calls the audition manager to see if Chae Rok has arrived. He has, which relieves Seung Joo. He boasts that Chae Rok will be lead danseur within a year. Chae Rok takes some painkillers and looks at his phone again. His father will be released shortly.

On stage, two ballerinas dance their audition and then exit. Chae Rok’s name is called, but he doesn’t come to the stage. The manager from earlier runs to check but Chae Rok is nowhere to be found. We see him running furiously towards a bus stop.

Deok Chul

In a home office, Deok Chul pores over a scrapbook filled with newspaper clippings, ticket stubs, and programs from the ballet. He gathers all the loose papers and throws them in the trash.

Meanwhile Chae Rok rides the bus out to the prison where his father has been released from. He ignores a phone call from Ki Seung Joo.

Deok Chul’s phone rings too. When he answers, it is his friend from the nursing home asking if he will visit today. Deok Chul says that he will come again next week (uh oh, that friend will be dead before then won’t he?). The friend surprises Deok Chul with what he says next.

The friend hangs up without explaining what he means.

Prison

Chae Rok’s bus arrives at the prison. He walks up to the gate just as it is being opened and the former prisoners are being released. Chae Rok waits and watches as all the other people gather their family and friends and leave. He waits. He watches. No dad. Turns out his father was released early in the morning. Chae Rok has missed his audition and missed his father. His phone rings and we see an older man at a phone booth. It’s Chae Rok’s father. He’s already in another town and is leaving for a job. He hangs up on his crying son without even waiting to hear his voice. Chae Rok quickly calls the phone booth, but his father just walks away as the phone rings.

Deok Chul

The phone rings in the middle of the night (here it comes…), it’s the nursing home. Deok Chul rushes to the nursing home. He is handed a letter written by his friend. The nurse says that she came as soon as she heard the crashing noise, but it was too late. We flash back to earlier in the night. The friend awakes and hears the sound of the sea calling to him. He folds a paper boat and sends it off his balcony into the night air.

In the present, we see Deok Chul reading the note that was left by his friend. The note says that lately he keeps dreaming of the ocean and of the boat he never built. He dreams of sailing, and seeing whales, but he always wakes up from the dream. He’s tired of being lonely. He’s tired of being in pain. He’s tired of waking up.

The Next Day

Chae Rok stands before Seung Joo in the dance studio office. He tells his teacher that he left the audition to go see his father. He apologizes for missing his chance.

Deok Chul sits in his home office again, a paper boat sits on his desk. He remembers watching Chae Rok dancing that day. The memory changes to one of him as a child watching a different dancer practice. A man grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him away from the window. He marvels at how high the dancer could jump in the air. The way he seemed to fly like a bird.

But his father drags him away complaining about dancing being a useless life path.

Dance Studio

Chae Rok once again practices alone in the studio. Once again, Deok Chul arrives to watch. This time, Chae Rok approaches the older man and asks him why he keeps watching. This time, Deok Chul doesn’t run away.

A surprised Chae Rok takes Deok Chul to wait in the office. Ki Seong Joo arrives to the excitement of Deok Chul. The older man is a huge fan of the younger one. He has seen every Korean performance Seung Joo took part in. Seung Joo tells Deok Chul that they don’t give lessons here but Deok Chul persists in asking Seung Joo to teach him.

As he leaves the studio, Deok Chul passes Chae Rok in the hall. The young dancer brings a coffee to his teacher and says he has to leave for his part-time job. Seung Joo asks Chae Rok when he’s going to quit that job. Dancers have short careers and Chae Rok is wasting too much of his precious time. Seung Joo tells Chae Rok that he seems pathetic compared to an old man who begs to learn ballet. Chae Rok says the old man is pathetic for not starting earlier in life.

A Different Day

Seung Joo looks up from his office to see Deok Chul standing in the doorway watching a different dancer practising. He says it’s fine for Deok Chul to watch if he wants to. Later when Chae Rok is practising, Deok Chul applauds the performance. Later Deok Chul cleans the studio as a sort of payment for being allowed to watch the dancers. He asks if he may come again to watch, but Seung Joo tells him no. Chae Rok and Seong Joo watch as a dejected Deok Chul leaves the studio.

The next day, Seung Joo watches the empty window to see if the old man returns to watch while Chae Rok practises. Stepping outside his office, Seung Joo sees Deok Chul sitting quietly against the wall, mimicking the dancers movements from his seat. Seung Joo sits next to Deok Chul and asks him why he wants to do ballet.

Restaurant

At Chae Rok’s part-time job, they are learning about the new interns who will be starting. One of the interns is Deok Chul’s granddaughter Eun Ho (pretends_to_be_shocked.gif). Later during the dinner rush, Eun Ho watches the other staff work. She gets called over by a customer who wants her recommendation on what to order, but she has no idea what to say. Chae Rok comes to her rescue, but the manager tells Eun Ho not to do things she isn’t ready for yet.

Meanwhile, two of the other staff gossip about Chae Rok and the disbandment of the soccer team. Chae Rok’s friend overhears them and tells them to keep their mouths shut. He was on the soccer team so it affected him more than them anyway. Eun Ho overhears this exchange.

Seung Joo

Seung Joo sits in his ex-wife’s office. He tells her about the old man who wants to dance. He says that he can’t stop thinking about the words the old man said, or the look on his face when he said them.

Later Chae Rok arrives at the practice studio and finds Deok Chul sitting alone at the piano. Seung Joo calls both Chae Rok and Deok Chul over to him. He tells the young dancer that he asked the old man to come. “Don’t tell me you’re gonna teach him to dance,” says Chae Rok incredulously. “No,” answers his teacher.

Final Thoughts:

I do not believe that I can clearly communicate how much I love this drama so far. I love everything about this. Sports dramas are my catnip and ballet is my jam. The characters are wonderful and I can’t wait to see more of them all. I love the actor who plays Ki Seung Joo. I didn’t know that he was in this drama and the fact that he’s seemingly normal, not evil, and not apparently dying of a devastating illness (if you know Kim Tae Hoon’s body of work, then you’ll know what I mean) is a delightful bonus. The story this drama seems to be telling is one about family, and dreams, and missed opportunities.

The mood of this drama puts me in mind of last year’s I’ll Go To You When the Weather is Fine. It has the same soft warmth while dealing with hard subjects. Other dramas it kind of reminds me of are Just Between Lovers and My Ahjusshi. It has that same sort of heaviness mingled with hope, but definitely in a much lighter package than either of those. I will definitely, definitely be continuing on with this drama. How about you? Have you started it yet? Will you? What do you think about it? Let me know!