Team Dramabeans: What we’re watching

by DB Staff

So, what are we all watching this week?

What kept you reaching for more (or agonizing when there was no more), and what made you want to throw your remote through the screen? Time to weigh in…

javabeans

Age of Youth 2: I just… wanted one more episode. Not only because of Ji-won and Sung-min (argh, why so stingy with their storyline?), but because I felt like the big emotional story came to a close and then we had to cram in resolutions for each character, when I would have liked just a little more of a wind-down with everyone. I felt like I loved everything the show gave me, so it’s not like I have beef with anything it did—I just think they ended 5 percent too early.

Because This Life Is Our First: Refreshing and sweet, was my first impression. I really like these two characters, and how they both feel realistic and relatable but also very distinct—you can see how, despite their differences and quirks, they unexpectedly get along so well together (I just love that he sees her as the perfect mathematically calculated roommate and is reluctant to let that go). It seems like we’re going to go into full-fledged contract romance now, so I’m gonna sit back and get comfortable because I eat that stuff up.

20th Century Boy and Girl: I was expecting this to be cute, but I didn’t expect it to be poignant as well. And while I could have expected a bubbly kind of chemistry between this couple, I was surprised to get sweet and innocent instead, and how well it works within the context. The friendships are sweet and the tone is contemplative—not what I thought it would be, but welcome.

Witch’s Court: Jung Ryeo-won can play some badass characters when she’s given the chance, and I’m looking forward to how she brings life to this confident, super-capable, nearly brash role here. I’m a little leery of it going heavy on the legal cases, but as long as it keeps the focus on the characters and their interplay—the contrast between the ambitious and pragmatic Jung Ryeo-won and the principled Yoon Hyun-min should make for a lot of clashing—I’ll be satisfied.

girlfriday

Currently recapping: While You Were Sleeping

Age of Youth 2: I’m annoyed. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy every minute of the second season, because I did. I just thought we were going to be rewarded with the one romance I had been waiting for for two whole seasons. It’s a small comfort knowing that the Song/Sung-min ship takes off in the future, but it seems purposely withholding and a little perverse not to give it to us onscreen. It’s not a mystery that this is the one fan-favorite loveline! And then to further blow our minds, we’re left with that haunting epilogue?! *cries*

Witch’s Court: This show surprised me. I was afraid it would be really dark, but the characters are refreshingly odd and outspoken (namely the spunky heroine), and the leads’ partnership has that classic workplace bickering chemistry that makes it breezy to watch. I had the lowest expectations for this one out of the gate, but I found myself reaching for the second episode eagerly to see how Yoon Hyun-min would drive Jung Ryeo-won batty with his indefatigable earnestness.

Because This Life Is Our First: This drama has great cliffhangers, which is not a thing I would’ve expected of a low-key, slice-of-life romantic comedy. But at the end of every hour I’m pleasantly shocked and dying to know what happens next. This is definitely an odd couple, but that’s the point, and I rather enjoy the heaps of awkwardness and secondhand embarrassment, probably because I relate to both characters a good deal.

Mad Dog: Yoo Ji-tae’s tragic backstory was so engrossing that I wondered why the show didn’t open on it, but in hindsight I get the appeal of opening on slick, capery hijinks instead, even though it then takes two full hours to get a complete picture of the story. When the team is on a mission, the show feels very much like Lookout or Police Unit 38 with the added advantage of Yoo Ji-tae’s gravitas, and I’m eager to see how Woo Do-hwan’s presence will affect the tight-knit team.

Temperature of Love: So far, every time I think the second leads will get meddlesome or the story will take an annoying turn, it doesn’t. I’m impressed with how the drama feels like a conventional melodrama but doesn’t play out like one at all, and I’m always left satisfied that the leads act like real human beings dating in the real world, who talk to each other honestly about their feelings. What a strangely refreshing concept.

odilettante

Woman of Dignity: I haven’t liked this writer’s previous works so I was actually anticipating that I’d kind of hate this drama even before I started watching. I only began the show because I wanted some background noise and because I will watch Kim Sun-ah in literally anything. To my surprise, I got totally sucked into the saga about the “Desperate Housewives of Gangnam.” The gothic-esque murder-mystery underpinning everything made it easy for me gobble up episode after episode, and suddenly it was a couple of days later and I’d somehow finished watching all 20 episodes. In contrast to my earlier expectations, this has actually become one of my favorite drama-watching experiences of the year, if only to serve as a reminder that dramaland’s addictive power is still as strong as ever.

Temperature of Love: Despite being Kim Jae-wook’s No. 1 fan, I just can’t find any traction on this show, and I don’t think it’s worth making space for in my limited drama-watching time (especially with so many new shows premiering!). Sometimes you just need to know when to admit defeat—and beg someone to make a supercut of all of Handsome Oppa’s scenes. Pretty, pretty please? For the pretty? Please?

Mad Dog: I would watch Yoo Ji-tae be tall’n’sexy no matter what, but I enjoy it even more when he gets to be a vigilante bringer of insurance justice in a black leather jacket. The plot so far seems fairly predictable and similar to other dramas that have gone before, but it’s still an enjoyable romp with a great cast. A drama that doesn’t require anything from me but to go along for the ride is sometimes just what I need.

tineybeanie

20th Century Boy and Girl: Lol. I can’t say it’s super addicting, but I like it for now. The steady relationships that Jin-jin has with both her girlfriends and her family were heartwarming to see. I’ve loved Kim Ji-suk when he’s been in roles where he’s shown to be a bit petty or villainous (Rebel and Oh Hae-young Again), so I’m not too blown away by his bland-seeming normal K-drama hero character. But I’m hoping we’ll be able to see some cute bickering and interesting flaws soon.

Witch’s Court: I didn’t think I’d tune in to this one because I’ve been exhausted from all the legal-ish thrillers I’ve seen this year in dramaland (Falsify, Suspicious Partners, etc), but I actually really like this one at least from the first two episodes. I think the heroine’s story is so relatable, and even though her actions may be completely off-putting, I can understand where she’s coming from and her drive to succeed, especially because we also get to see that she does have a conscience and that she feels conflicted all the time. It’s just that she does sacrifice those morals in order to gain what she wants. Also, the background has been set up so that I can almost feel the pangs of heartbreak when she finds out what happened to her mother. It’s going to hurt doubly hard when she realizes that she’s been perpetrating and complying with a corrupt patriarchy that has elevated the very people who did harm to her mother.

 
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