“Mr. Plankton” ~ I Want to Know Who I Am Before I Die

“Mr. Plankton” is a 2024 limited Netflix Korean drama TV series, with 10 episodes, categorized as Romance and Comedy (Rom-Com).

SUMMARY: A young man is told he is suffering from an inherited disease and has a few months left to live. A young woman is told she is in early menopause and will never get pregnant. The man and the woman both grew up together in the same orphanage. They have no parents or relatives that they know of; and only have each other. But they had parted ways for a while but meet again when he shows up at her wedding and kidnaps her. From that point it gets kind of crazy!

♦ I Don’t Know Who My Father Is But I’ve Inherited His Disease

In “Mr. Plankton”, Hae-Jo and Jo Jae-Mi grew up as orphans. At one point in their life, they were lovers. But Hae-Jo broke up their relationship. Or was it Jo Jae-Mi who broke up their relationship? That part is fuzzy. At any rate, they each went their separate ways never intending to reconnect. But if there is one thing about life that people can predict, it’s that life is unpredictable.

The first part of Hae-Jo’s life was wonderful. He had a loving mother and father. His father had been diagnosed with an illness and thought he might die. So he opted to freeze his sperm and then inseminate his wife. It turns out he beat his illness, he and his wife had a child, and life was grand! They were a happy family until one day the doctor notified them that there had been a mistake. The sperm used to impregnate his wife was not the husband’s sperm. It belonged to another “unknown” man. The result? The couple abandoned Hae-Jo when he was about 8 years old and then he grew up in an orphanage. As a young adult, he ran his own business of … ??? … doing almost anything that would make him money, except murder or other illegal activities.

One day he was hired to kidnap a woman from her wedding. She didn’t want to be married but the guy was a gangster and it was hard for her to say NO. She paid Hae-Jo to rescue her from her future husband by staging a kidnapping. Hae-Jo showed up on a motorcycle and they made their escape. In the process, they got into an accident. 

He woke up in the hospital and the doctor informed him that he had discovered tumors in his brain. Surgery is not an option and he had about 3 months to live. It was then that he decided he wanted to find out who his birth father was and at least meet him before he died.

Coincidence or fate? It so happened that on that same day, Jo Jae-Mi was at the same hospital and had also received a devastating diagnosis. The doctor told her that she had early menopause which is a condition that can cause fertility problems and make it difficult, if not impossible, to get pregnant. The really bad part was … she lied to her future mother-in-law and told her that she was already 8 weeks pregnant. It was her fiancé’s idea. Jo Jae-Mi was an orphan with no family background and he was from a prestigious wealthy family.

His mother had difficulty conceiving and giving birth to him and was desperate to have an heir to their fortune. Her fiancé told her it was the only way to get his mother to approve of their marriage.  Jo Jae-Mi agreed because she thought that once they got married, they would have plenty of time for her to get pregnant for real. But now, she’ll probably never get pregnant!! In her frustration, she screamed out loud that she couldn’t possibly have early menopause because she needed to be 8 weeks pregnant! Hae-Jo heard everything!

For Hae-Jo, the only real family he has is Jo Jae-Mi. But they parted ways, and now she is about to get married. She is about to get married based on a LIE and … he’s about to DIE! This is his FINAL journey for life. He may or may not find his biological father. However, maybe when he does leave this life he will be with Jo Jae-Mi, the only person in this world that he knows as family.

BUT? Jo Jae-Mi is getting married. He heard her yelling and screaming at the hospital about her upcoming nuptials. Shouldn’t newlyweds be with each other? Hae-Jo and Jo Jae-Mi have not seen each other for a while. How does he plan on getting her to be with him during his final days when, theoretically, she should be on her honeymoon? No worries. He’s got a plan. He’s going to show up at her wedding and kidnap her. After all, he’s kidnapped a bride before. What? Wait? Does Jo Jae-Mi know she’s going to be kidnapped? Not exactly. He’ll iron out the details with her later. LOL.

Main Characters:

• Hae-Jo (played by Woo Do-Hwan*)
• Jo Jae-Mi (played by Lee Yoo-Mi, “Strong Girl Nam-Soon”, “All of Us Are Dead”)
• Eo Heung (played by Oh Jung-Se, “Death’s Game”, “Revenant”)

*Other K-Dramas Starring Woo Do-Hwan:

• Joseon Attorney ~ A Morality
• MAD DOG ~ Exposing the World of Insurance Fraud
• Bloodhounds ~ Action-Packed Crime K-drama Based on Webtoon
• My Country ~ The New Age

Where to Watch

Viewership and Rating:

• IMDb: 8.3 out of 10 stars
• My Drama List: 8.7 out of 10 stars

My personal rating is the same as My Drama List.

Everybody loves Woo Do-hwan. The popularity of this South Korean actor continues to grow. I have already published several reviews here at PopGeeks in which he was either the lead character or part of the supporting cast. He is the main character in “Mr. Plankton” and this series has an unusual storyline. When I say “unusual” that means: fact is almost always stranger than fiction and it makes for a good plot. The facts are that sperm mix-ups and early menopause do happen, but …

Imagine the doctor mixes up the sperm and the couple finds out years later that the baby is not their baby.

• Woman sues sperm bank after racial mix-up | CNN
• Their Children Were Conceived With Donated Sperm. It Was the Wrong Sperm. – The New York Times

Imagine you’ve already told your future mother-in-law you’re pregnant only to find out you’re going through early or premature menopause and you can’t get pregnant!

LINKS OF INTEREST:

Mr Plankton Review: The K-Drama Is A Mixed Bag Which Is More Frustrating Than Fulfilling | NDTV

Review | Netflix K-drama Mr. Plankton review: Woo Do-hwan, Lee Yoo-mi in disjointed road trip drama | South China Morning Post

‘Mr. Plankton’ Netflix Review: Woo Do-Hwan’s Charisma Doesn’t Really Hit The Mark | Digital Mafia Talkies (DMT)

‘Mr. Plankton’ review: Woo Do-hwan’s K-drama is a feel-good yet tragic romcom you’ll fall hard for – Entertainment | Mashable Middle East

TRAILER/TEASER:

Netflix K-Content. “Mr. Plankton.” YouTube, 13 Oct. 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rc6BVr9Wq3w.

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