Imitation Episode 2: When and where to watch and what to expect from the K-Pop inspired drama

"Imitation," the latest Korean drama, seems like it will stand up to its name. The new show focuses on the K-Pop industry, and it looks like it will not be glossing the industry over.

K-Pop, while immensely successful, also has a dark side, highlighted by sexism, mental health stigma, racism, and other issues. K-Pop stars often live by a strict schedule, with female K-Pop stars forced to go on extreme diets. And many of them face immense anxiety and stress due to the expectations levied on them.

While it is well known, the depiction of K-Pop stars in Korean dramas is often glorified, showing their luxurious lifestyles and the stars doing what they dream of. But behind that success is years of struggle, and Imitation does not seem to be afraid of showing it.

Read on to learn more about the upcoming episode of Imitation and where fans can watch it.

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When and where to watch Imitation Episode 2?

Imitation airs every Friday on KBS2. Episode 2 will air on KBS2 on May 7th at 11:10 PM Korean Standard Time in South Korea. International viewers can stream the episode shortly afterward on Rakuten Viki.

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What happened previously on Imitation?

In the first episode of Imitation, viewers are introduced to Lee Ma Ha (Jung Ji So), a young trainee at Music Holic who works hard to make it big in the K-Pop industry. However, after she was cut from Music Holic, she joins Omega Entertainment, where she replaces Annie in the girl group, Omega III. Annie has disappeared and no one knows where she is.

Ma Ha successfully replaces Annie and begins training, practicing the choreography, and gets ready for debut. However, on the day of their debut, Annie's body is found in the Han River. To avoid more controversy, Omega III's debut stage is pulled, and debut solo artist, La Li Ma (Park Ji Yeon) takes their place.

At the same time, the popular boy group, Shax's lead singer, Lee Eun Jo (Kang Chan Hee aka SF9's Chani) disappears. Curiously enough, Eun Jo and Annie were in a relationship. After his disappearance, his best friend and rival, Kwon Ryok (Lee Jun Young aka U-KISS's Jun) takes his place.

Fast forward three years, Shax is more popular than ever and La Li Ma is a famous solo artist. Meanwhile, Ma Ha is still struggling to make it in the K-Pop world.

She then joins the new group, Tea Party, and tries to improve her popularity through her impersonations of La Li Ma. Ryok, La Li Ma's close friend, does not like this, and Ryok and Ma Ha begin to be drawn to each other on the set of a historical Korean drama.

The epilog of Imitation Episode 1 also reveals that Ma Ha had met Ryok long before he had become famous. At the time, she had asked him to teach her to dance, which he rudely refused.

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What to expect in Imitation Episode 2?

In the upcoming episode of Imitation, Ryok and Ma Ha will inevitably spend more time together as they continue to work on the historical drama. Moreover, this could trigger jealousy in La Li Ma, who is good friends with Ryok, and Ma Ha's close friend, Lee Yu Jin (Jeong Yun Ho aka ATEEZ's Yunho).

Meanwhile, Ma Ha decides to spend just one more year trying to make her K-Pop dreams come through. However, she may just get her big break in the next episode through her first performance with Tea Party.