The new crop of late spring/early summer dramas has seduced me into again live-watching too many shows for my own good. I've commented in Open Thread #553 on the shows I'm live-watching.

Listed by day of week:

WOK OF LOVE / GREASY MELO has me in stitches when I'm not being outraged by the latest revelation of horrid behavior by Chef Poong's ex-wife and her paramour. Or when I consider that Sae-woo's husband truly loved her, and that his family seems to be the ones who broke them up, for reasons yet unknown. Jang Hyuk slays me as Chil-sung. And I love Buster to bits.

MISS HAMMURABI: I'm tuning in for Ryu Deok-hwan's comeback after military service. He's playing a gadfly. So far I like the vibe of the show, which reminds me of LIVE. The title character is smug and self-righteous. PC or not, I have to admit I laughed out loud at her “rebuttal” to the comments on how she dresses for work. I feel more sympathetically disposed towards L's character.

ABOUT TIME: The premise intrigues me, although I don't have a handle on it yet. The music in the audition scenes was wonderful. Lee Sang-yoon was fine in LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL and ANGEL EYES, so I'm giving this show a whirl.

SUITS continues to keep me glued to the screen. I'm still waiting for the shoe to drop and Yeon-woo to end up in the slammer. I have to catch up with the recaps to see which details I missed. We finally learned why he's got that tattoo on his wrist, but my goldfish memory has struck again. Off to read the recaps.

COME HERE AND HUG ME: I enjoyed Jang Ki-yong's performance in GO BACK SPOUSES, as well as the uproarious BOY NEXT DOOR. The fact that Nam Da-reum plays his younger self is icing on the cake. Heo Jun-ho is convincingly psychopathic. This gripping tale has me riveted with its treatment of media malfeasance and the rewarding of crime. http://www.dramabeans.com/2018/05/open-thread-553/#comment-3245329

THE UNDATEABLES / HANDSOME GUY: Namgoong Min lured me in. The implications of the female lead's mission tickle my funny bone. Off to find active noise cancellation headphones to block her shrieking. I will watch in spite of her. Until I can't take it any longer.

Part 1 of 2
- continued -

Only show i'm watching right now is lawless lawyer. It has a pretty cliche revenge plot line but I'm in it for the leads and LJK silly cronies.
Sketch also premiered this week. The first two episodes were so intense and i was on the edge of my seat. Definitely a good thriller anyone should watch if they are in the mood. Also my love for Lee Dong gun intensifies from 7DQ <3

Suits - Good in that it's slick but not too slick, has nice character moments and cases that are good teaching points for Yeon Woo and challenging enough on a personal level for the bromantic lawyers, so that they add interest and conflict to their relationship. Sunbae's interpretation of when to apply the law is becoming somewhat questionable in Ep 10 after his (appearing to be or) being on high moral ground the last 9 episodes. Hoobae probably becoming confused. Must watch the next episodes to see how this plays out. So do we get to root for an honest lawyer or not? 😖

Lawless Attorney - Another fast paced law show with an attorney who does not at all pretend to be law-abiding, although he wants to fight with the full force of the law. OTP (I assume they'll be an OTP) backstory as kids makes their present day engagements more engaging. I like the uncomplicated hierarchy of villains who are not too simple or one dimensional, and that everyone's motives are quite clear. I'm waiting to see if Kang Yeon Hee, childhood rival to Ha Jae Yi will turn out better as a good prosecutor compared to her mum who's minion to villain. And oh ... I like that the baddies have a female as the head honcho for a change. 😄

The Undateables - I'm not sure if I'll stick with this show but it did draw laughs out of me. Sometimes just zany, sometimes verging on slapstick... however I do find that Namgoong Min's dead calm and Hwang Jung Eum's excitable antics do well as counterpoints. I can see that HKE is likely once again to over-act and over-emote. As it's meant to be a light and somewhat silly show, it's acceptable. However, because this is her usual style, in spite of her stint in Kill Me Heal Me, I find it hard to ever take her in a serious role, seriously. 😋

One of the downsides of finishing a great drama is that most things appear not so great in comparison. This is the mind space I find myself after watching my ahjussi. I can't really get into most of the shows that are currently airing. I tried "about time" but the male lead character was getting on my nerves, which is unfortunate cause I love Lee Sang Yoon. Miss Hammurabi, undatables and lawless lawyer were also a bust. I'm not sure if it's because they aren't good or I can't get into them cause they're just not as good as my ahjussi. My ahjussi really had everything going for it. The story, cast, directing and cinematography were all done so well.
That said, I am currently watching greasy melo, which is weird and great! I hope they keep up the vibe for the rest of the show.
What I really want to talk about is Hyori's bed and breakfast. Why didn't y'all tell me how good it is??? I love how wholesome and pleasant it is. Hyori and Sang-soon's relationship is so sweet. It's so nice to see how they get along and they truly love each other. It fills my heart!
I'm kind of jumping all over the place with it. I started with the episodes with Park Bo Gum, cause duh, bae lol. I wish that kid all the happiness in the world. He seems to have such a good heart.
I'm now back to the beginning and IU has joined the staff. She's so cute! I'm loving this show right now. I feel like it's come to me at just the right time

About time: I know there's only been two episodes but so far I very much enjoy this. Loved the first half of episode one, second half dragged a bit but episode two was great. I especially love LSK's character and her relationship with her friends.

I tried to continue "Wok of Love," but I thought episode 9 moved too slowly (and wasn't funny enough), and I gave up. Not even Jang Hyuk could keep me watching. Maybe another day?

I like Lee Sung-kyung and love Lee Sang-yoon, so I was looking forward to "About Time," but it left me cold. My sister and I started laughing when Lee Sang-yoon's character started spouting the definition of anxiety disorder. Korean dramas tend to do exposition very badly, but this was a new low. We didn't even finish the first episode. I hated the writing and the pacing, and I didn't think the leads had any chemistry. (I also hated Lee Sang-yoon's new nose. Know when to stop, people!!!)

After giving up on "About Time," we turned to "Miss Hammurabi," mostly because my sister is the biggest L fan in the world. I knew his acting wasn't well-regarded, but I think he's attractive enough that I'd willingly sit through an episode or two. Well, he's very good in this show, and I think his character is very well-written. In just a few scenes, the show establishes that Ba-reun has an inner life. He has actual thoughts about what's going on around him, and about the things others say to him; as is the case with real people, what he says and what he thinks are not necessarily the same thing. He's an unconventional thinker, he's snarky, and he's more than a little misanthropic, which I love.

As for Miss Hammurabi herself, ugh. I wanted to shake Oh-reum and tell her that detachment is what makes it possible for professionals to do what they do. Watching her tear up over every little thing set my teeth on edge. Oh-reum, getting emotional doesn't make you a better person than those who hold their feelings in, and it's making you a worse judge! (I tend to be a bleeding heart myself, and though I was never as bad as Oh-reum, I still flamed out after just two years as a hospital nurse, so I know what I'm talking about.)

I do appreciate that "Miss Hammurabi" gives us some consequences for Oh-reum's touchy-feely approach. But overall, it seems that the show is arguing in her favor. As I've said elsewhere on this site, as a writer, whatever behavior you reward, you're basically advocating for, and from what I've seen so far, "Miss Hammurabi" seems to be rewarding Oh-reum's (gag-worthy) actions.

Go Ara herself is pretty good in this role. I was never impressed by her before, but she brings a pleasing gravitas to the character of Oh-reum, and it's mostly to her credit that I don't hate Oh-reum more than I already do.

Finally, I tried "Come and Hug Me." It's intriguing enough, but a bit too heavy for me right now. Also, I preferred the scenes in the present, so I lost interest when the show kept going back to the past.

Come and Hug Me: I love this drama already, thought it's cheesy and dramatic to the awful extend lol, but I like it, it's not trying to be something that it's not.

Lawless Lawyer: Look, I love LJK, and the show has potential...but I am not not not sold on the romance between the leads...LJK's character to me is not in love with the female lead, it's more like he confused guilt and duty with romance and...no. Also, episode 6 this week, what even lmao, because all men who try to protect us deserve our dying love lmao. But besides that, I do like the drama.

About Time: I tried with episode 1, and I couldn't. LSK is a favorite of mine, I adored her in WFKBJ, and I think this role fits her really well, but why was she paired up with Lee Sang-yoon?? He.Is.Bland, the character he plays just doesn't shine with his portrayal, and it makes me sad because I really wanted to see her in a new drama, but I'm giving this one a pass because I just cannot like the male lead.

So I spent most of my weekend watching dramas and I have a sense of what is staying in rotation. Prepare for a loooonnnngggg essay:

WOK OF LOVE- Dropped. Was planning to watch the next couple of episodes, but I just don't care. I was watching for Jang Hyuk and Jung Ryeo Won, but I can't do it. Junho's character just annoys me and I really don't want him with JRW.

ABOUT TIME: Will continue to watch. The first couple of episodes were both intriguing and mediocre which I think takes a particular amount of skill from the production team. I don't think it's as bad as people say, but it has its flaw. The premise intrigues me and there are moments in the episodes that keep my attention so I'm going to watch. I'm hoping it will find its footing from here on out.

LAWLESS LAWYER: LOVE! This was the winner out of the whole weekend. I wasn't going to watch this, but Beanies on the Fan Wall were talking about it so I gave it a shot and I am here for the long haul! It's hammy and not that deep, but I don't care. It's fast-paced, the acting is good and I love our two leads so much! I am now a Lee Junki fangirl cause MY GOD! Where have I been the past 9 years of my drama watching?! I kinda wanna watch his previous dramas though I haven't heard good things about most of them. He's just very attractive and charismatic. ::swoon::

UNDATEABLES- ::shrug:: I need to find a recap of the first two eps since I watched them, but couldn't tell you what happened. I think that is partly a flaw of the drama, but I was also in one of those pointless debates in IG comments so I was distracted. I did find it shrieky, but oddly not a lot from HJE who does that from time to time. Other characters need to take it down several notches though. I'll probably give the next couple eps a shot....maybe.

SECRET MOTHER- I like it. Song Yoon-a's character, Yoon-Jin, annoys me, but in her quiet moments when Yoon-jin is acting like a rational person I like her. Kim So-yeon could read a dictionary and I would watch her so there you go. The premise kinda reminds of Big Little Lies with the catty moms, though not nearly as good. It's still a solid show and I'm intrigued by the mystery so it stays in rotation.

HERE TO HEART (c-drama)- I loved this. It's flawed, but the fact that I was watching the raws and then stalking Viki for subs mean something since I DON'T do that. I just like the lead couple / actors and they got their happy ending so YAY.

I do still plan to check out Sketch. I may wait on Come Here and Hug Me. I don't want to over load myself.

Come and Hug Me so far is good enough, the young actors doing a good job, with the complicated material. Also, looks like the show is currently the year 2015, with the older phone models and managed to catch the calendar for the seaside restaurant and it showed 2015. Looking to see how they integrate the serial killer dad into the story more as he is evidently in jail. That actor just oozes charisma and boldness.

Investigative Couple am solely watching for the loud and abrasive coroner actor. I have yet to watch this veteran movie actor in a drama. PRevious ones were too serious for me. This one feels just right, but the Prosecutor girl could do a bit of toning down.

Also, Handsome Guy / Undateable - Hwang jung eum is not too screechy yet, hope she keeps it in mostly. But looking forward to this spring romance drama with Nam goong min. He is a hoot playing those eccentric characters.

Greasy Melo: now this is just a hoot. Such an oddball story with different people coming together. I hope those gangster boys gets back to working at Hungry frying pan. Jo jae hyun ajusshi looks fine as he gets older so does Mr Jang Hyuk. He is so cool in this role.

I’m loving Lawless Lawyer and LJG can do no wrong. 😍 Re: ep 6, I screamed and nearly fell off my chair during a *ahem* certain scene with him and SYJ.

I wonder what the next unexpected crop of great dramas is going to be this year. Dramabeans seemed to have been caught a bit off guard by the quality of 'Misty' and 'My Ajusshi' and had to run to catch up. I recently made a list of all the K-drama I've watched (it was alot). 'My Ajusshi' and 'Forest of Secrets' are tied at first place for the best TV I've ever seen anywhere.