Birthcare Center (Episode 5-6) - Mood: A-
Okay my prayer was answered and Do Yoon isn’t a cheater but the show tried to put my heart through the wringer with the Eun Jung and Delivery Man pairing which was teetering on the edge of an emotional affair! I’m glad that he treated her as a friend (I feared a playboy arc!) and she drew the line though her lies still remain worrying. Sprout’s mom being delusional over Glue Stick due to her baby’s death was a great twist that brings the thriller element into the main story: there were clues such as the wailing, black clothes or her wanting Hyun Jin to not breastfeed (she uses her own milk!).

Search (Episode 9-10) - Mood: C-
It was a really underwhelming finale with lots to be frustrated at. My main agony was seeing the stupid decisions made by the good guys with Da Jung and Ye Rim damsel-ing themselves while Dong Jin just outs his identity for no reason to Lee Hyuk. I also found Ye Rim’s backstory a gimmick that was largely irrelevant to the overall story which is bad as she is the female lead. Sergeant Joo was awkwardly written out of the climax but at least he didn’t witness the worst of his former commander who he looked up to. I’m unhappy we got no wedding scene! But Sergeant Park is alive so I’m okay.

Live On (Episode 1) - Mood: C-
I’ll admit: when I first saw the list of the main cast, my mind floated to an image of multiple parachutes flying in the sky depicting idols without significant acting experience landing upon lead roles. With coloured lens on my eyes, I watched the premiere and was disappointed to see the character archetypes: rude girl with a trauma, cold boy with a heart (I’m wheezing at how they got Kim Hye Yoon to throw herself at him), simping boyfriend (Noh Jong Hyun I pity you), whiny girlfriend, sociable guy. The friend from the past: she’s the interesting one, I’m staying on for her story.

Start-Up (Episode 9-10) - Mood: C-
In true drama fashion, Dal Mi just happens to stumble upon the entire truth: we already had a narrative reason where it would seem plausible for Grandma to have taken the wrong phone instead (her losing vision), so this mistake by Dal Mi just seems like one of those coincidences a more careful writer would have dodged. Also, I’m not sure if I’m glad In Jae is getting screen time to be privileged, manipulative, rude and arrogant but I don’t think Kang Hanna deserves the unprofessionalism. As for Ji Pyung, I should have seen the character desecration coming but I give the twist credit.

Also watching:
Private Lives (Episode 13-14) - Mood: D, Male lead rescues female lead once again from GK: deja vu?
The Spies Who Loved Me (Episode 8) - Mood: D, Stop dragging it out if the killer is Derek.
More Than Friends (Episode 13-14) - Mood: D-, The delay is just torturing me.

JAPAN -

Shanai Marriage Honey - 4/10 - This actress is a typecast now. 1st episode was as usual your typical shoujo trash.

Dangerous Venus - 7/10 - off this show is funny at times. meme funny but overall above average.

Ramen Goddess - 7/10 - She learned the things hard way but that also shows her skills = suffering she went through

Remo love - 7/10 - quality show. This show just keep delivering each and and every episode.

after arimura now we got Takumi the crybaby's fictional life.

Search:WWW wasn't sold on it right from the beginning, as while it featured lots of interesting female characters they weren't entirely likeable. But that was exactly the point and after just a few episodes I learned to love them and the show. The plot was fast paced, it didn't drag. I liked both the heroines private lives and the business politics equally. And I have to give a shotout to the best drama within a drama:"What's Wrong With My Mother In Law".
When the Weather is fine only saw one episode, no idea what the plot is even about and it's a bit slow, but I really liked it. Seems perfect to watch at this time of the year.
DDSSLLS - I still love it

I won't be able to comment much on any current dramas today... and that's because I randomly watched first episode of My Unfamiliar Family... and haven't watched anything else since then. The drama feels like a weekender condensed to 16 episodes (or 20 if we take into account the real length of a TvN episode). And despite it is a drama (and the director apparently loves to make dramatic endings 😁) it feels very real (it also helps that the actors are great). The misunderstandings of the parents felt real (with all those sad consequences), the love life of the Second Noona felt real (with that lovely slow change of her relationship with her Friend), the siblings and their family roles felt real... and I was surprised that the character I could feel for the most was the (very) direct Oldest Noona - she (and her story) made me cry more than once. But after all the tears there came better days and the drama ends on a happy note with all our family members smiling.

(Of course, the most sunny character and the happy pill was our late addition Lawyer Min Woo (fantastic Kwon Yul). And I especially can't forget his phone call with his mom 😁😁, that laugh (and warmth) may be just the thing Noona will appreciate the most in the future 🙂)

I'm SO happy today is Saturday. I've been waiting the whole week for Start-Up next episodes. Ahh... it's only about less than an hour and I'll get to watch ep.11.

Life is indeed so good. 😊

Alas, my Bean Count Record from last year shall not be broken this year.😢I collected 6 (2019) Beans last year and had hoped to collect 7 this year, but most shows that interested me aired in the latter half of 2020 when live-watching was the least of my priorities unfortunately. My new job starts in December with little time for K-dramas, so my K-drama year practically ends in 10 days. I do hope that I get to collect my fifth Bean for Zombie Detective by then, because going from 8 episodes a week to barely 1 is not encouraging.

Zombie Detective🧟🕵️‍♂️ (9/12): Excuse you, Seon-Ji. How dare you compare Zombie-nim to a dog! He is a dignified Zombie thank you very much!😤This sounds bad on paper but of course Choi Jin-Hyuk turns the whole owner-dog bonding into a masterpiece.👏 He also made me laugh out loud when he switched roles with the Chinese zombie and started bouncing around with his outstretched arms and bulging eyes.🤣Seon-Ji was right about one thing though, Zombie-nim is the most humane among all living things and he was not-so-secretly flattered by it!❤️

Shopping King Louie 🛒🤴 (3/16): “Hohoho, she is crazy!” should be my ringtone from now on, so I can hear Ziggy anywhere.😉 His whining and dramatics reminds me of Sabrina’s cat Salem.😂After nothing but bad luck for our duo, I became invested as soon as they started taking small steps forward, like getting a place and buying domestic stuff. I was not even bothered by Daddy Joong-Won Long Legs giving her the ginseng money and getting her that job, simply because it was another small step forward for Bok-Sil. I do hope that Louie will stop getting her into (financial) trouble and that Bok-Sil will eventually be able to stand on her own two feet in Seoul. Joong-Won can give them his amazing side-eye whenever they mess up.😆

Tale of Nine Tailed: All caught up and ready for the new episodes. It is quite addicting fun ride. I want Ji-A to become Imoogi that achieves Dragon status, just because Dragon-Gumiho pairing will annoy higher-ups greatly.
Search: On episode 3. It is quite entertaining so far and with only 10 episode I will earn myself a bean.
Live On : Well, it was quite bland experience. The cast is quite green. The only bright spot for me was cameo of Kim Hye Yoon. That girl can light up the room with her presence.

I'm still watching I'm Not A Robot. I don't love it. I don't dislike it. I just like it. On paper I know I'm supposed to sympathize and care for the characters more but I realized I don't really. I love Chae Soo Bin and I like her character but why am I more intrigued by Pi and her ex. Can I have a spin off with the Santa Maria team? lol I watch an episode one day and then another three days later and then a week later. So it feels like I've been with these characters for a very long time but yesterday I realized I'm only on episode six. Ahaha. But I like it enough not to drop it and I want to see everything go down, no matter how angsty it may get.

Also, I am thoroughly enjoying 2 Days & 1 Night or is it 1 Night & 2 Days? You get the idea.

Start Up. When anyone sees any female character development, please give me a call. DoSan and JiPyeong could be fighting over a chair and it wouldn’t make any difference. This drama is about to join my list of dramas that could have been and not because I’m on JiPyeong side.

Search. The ending was not up to the fun I had during the previous episodes. This absolute nonsense was really fun to watch, but fortunately for me and the Universe only lasted 10 episodes. It made me wonder how easy it can be having a picnic and a nice promeade in the DMZ (why did CLOY make things so complicated?). Best thing: Lee Hyun Wook. Worst thing: where do I begin?

Kairos. Only one episode this week. I suspect everyone. We know who the baddies are (uhhh, do we?) but we still don’t know their motives. As expected SSK and LSY are top notch.

Tale of the Nine Tailed. Watched the special which wasn’t really that special but at least I got my dose of distracting foxes.

Also I continue my watching of Six Flying Dragons little by little. I gave it a try to The Secret Life of my secretary and even if I found the OTP really cute, I can’t deal with all the tropes (birth secret, evil CEO, evil rich mum, Candy, face blindness, revenge… only a webtoon designer and amnesia was missing in the first four episodes). So I watched first episode of Strongest Deliveryman and really liked it. I needed an extra dose of Mr. Dimples and besides, I have Chae Soo Bin.

Penthouse - I have to say I love Ju dan Tae, he’s so good at manipulating I had to laugh when cheon seo jin fell for his I love you. Despite all her toughness she changed her mind so easily lol. Ro-Na is still so annoying OMG!!! I think seok kyung’s plan will backfire on her and seok hoon will definitely fall for rona. That guy who saved rona at the end though. I still think seok hoon or JDT killed seok min ah

18 Again: I binged this in a week! I haven't done that in a while - in fact, I haven't finished a nice show in a while - so it was all a really refreshing, fun experience. Definitely a good way to spend 16 hours.

Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol: I wholeheartedly enjoyed every moment of this show, until episode 14. I actually skipped through the hard bits, which I never do. Although I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation to why Joon is acting like this, I can't help but really resent him for it. Like, I'm furious. I don't think noble idiocy has elicited a reaction like this in me before?

More Than Friends: Unironically my favourite thing airing. I have to admit, I miss the mid-portion of the show, which was deliciously dramatic at all times and the character were constantly hysterically miserable, but I'm looking forward to the last week too. We seem to be gearing up for quite a memorable conclusion - this show has always had something to say about modern relationships, so I don't think it'll let me down.

Start Up: Such a perfect demonstration of why Park Hye-ryun is one of my favourite drama writers. I'm glad to see While You Were Sleeping was a blip in a bigger picture.

Samgwang Villa: My unironically other favourite thing airing - I got so obsessed with this when it started airing that it usurped my then-obsession with Do You Like Brahms! It has the usual weekender downfalls, the main one being purposely infuriating characters (there's always one very persistent girl chasing a boy she has no reason to believe is interested in her, for instance), but I still love it. I think the characters are more interesting than weekender characters are often allowed to be, and I keep shocking myself by how much I ship Chae-woon and Jae-hee, they're such a lovely main couple. So yes, I recommend this one for anyone missing a good weekender (especially if you want to be whiplashed by some good old-fashioned amnesia and birth-secret makjang).

KBS Drama Specials: Modern Girl was a wonderfully fun little fusion sageuk with a great story about emancipation, and Crevasse BLEW MY MIND with it's sensitive and suspenseful psychological drama about... no, I won't spoil it, GO WATCH IT.

Penthouse - What doesn't happen in this show? Seriously, it's so over the top!

My Dangerous Wife - I don't think a plot involving poisoning attempts has ever elicited so many laughs.

Private Lives - For reasons unknown, this drama decided to change its mind and tell a different story. Twice.

The Spies Who Loved Me - I've only watched two episodes of this. Will try to pick up more episodes this week.

<b<Kairos Really good! We never know what will happen.

Live On I like Jung Da Bin but the first episode was weird. We don't really know who is the FL, but for now just a brat.

Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol My favourite couple is a couple! They're so cute together!

The Spies Who Loved Me A smart FL, it's so rare.

Start-Up I would like to know more about the other start-ups.

2 Days 1 Nigh The season 4 is fun. I love how Yeon Jung‑hoon and Kim Sun-Ho look tall and handsome but weak for the games 😂 At least, they look even more cool when they win a game :D

Startup: 7.6 I know kdramaland doesn't work like this, but what if Dal-mi dumps both the liars and tries to reel in someone else. Is Alex available? Is he a good guy?? Anyone else?

Birthcare Center: 7.5

Live On: 💤 👎 Lasted about 10 minutes. Bye.

Spies Who Loved Me: 7.3

Fly Dragon / Delayed Justice: 5.5 Do they still think a bog-standard underdog vs the powerful & corrupt story gets original or enjoyable because the good guys so much time bitching about money problems? Spare me.

Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol: What a week full of reversals - both hilarious and heartbreaking. I really like how we have 3 couples at various stages of the romance. More dramas should do that. Every relationship will hit its rough spot and that when we need another romance to enter its honeymoon period (Seung-gi and Ha-yeong). And we have the developing one with Suk-kyung and Chu Min-soo. I love how this drama reveals new depths to really off-to-the-side characters so that they feel like they have beating hearts within them. We also get varied interactions (Chu Min-soo and Dr. Cha as roommates!). I wouldn't mind if there was another time jump/separation since Joon still has to go to college. He is also not mature enough yet since he went to the noble idiocy route rather than be honest with Ra-ra, who would have understood because she is actually more mature and resilient than anyone assumes.

Tale of the Nine-Tailed : Caught up! The drama is really good at being fun and exciting to watch even if there are characters with frustratingly unclear motivations (Tae-ri Imoogi and Taluipa). I think part of the fun is that the characters try not to limit themselves to a "this or that" choice. They try to think outside of the box. I'm sort of excited to see Ji-ah be an Imoogi. But dread to see how the Imoogi will use Shin-joo and the Snail Bride lady.

MY DANGEROUS WIFE (Ep14): My brain did actually predict the mistress twist which is surprising since the show continues to repeatedly grind the story into sausage mush. It has come to the point where no character has any social redeeming quality.
TALE OF THE NINE TAILS: Being on hold since that big story reveal is torture.
Variety:
HOW DO YOU PLAY? The end of the Refund Sisters arc was bittersweet and heartwarming. I hope the women continue their strong friendship.
ReWatch:
CHIEF KIM (Good Manager): Still enjoyable but not with the same impact as when viewed the first time. Just finished the scene with the revival plan double cross.

DoDoSolSolLaLaSol: i actually hate that the writer chooses the noble idiocy route to end the whole plot (joon with rara, joon with his parents). i dont think this noble idiocy plot actually match with Joon's character. really dissapointed.

Kairos: the wife is an imoogi in disguise yikes.

Welcome to Waikiki 2: i need Kim Seonho right now but i dont wanna see him being second lead so here i am, rewatching waikiki 2. i dont remember laughing this much when i watched this but i really laugh a lot watching it second time. totally recommended if you love Seonho, and wanna watch something light, funny and cute.

1. Start up: Ep 9-11. I was just getting happy about all the delicious character development of Do San and even Dal Mi we were getting. I cried a lot in ep 8-9 and in 10 for everyone including JP. Now I am just worried. Sigh now that we know DS is the one DM wants what's with the time skip. Noble idiocy and what not. I don't even know what I am ranting. Also I spent too much time on start up discourse.

2. Tail of the nine tailed: Ep 11-12. Okay both the episodes were good. The Imoogi was totally scary. Lol Yeon's meeting with Ji Ah's parents lol. 'What do you do?' 'Nothing' lol. Anyway I am kind of confused about the two Imoogis.

3. Kairos: Ep 4-5 Its very good. Though I got confused one time. Also I like Ahn Bo Hyun's performance here but I keep on calling him Geun Won lol.

9 Tailed Foxie Family: still mid-episode 12. Loved everything Lee Rang about episode 11 - Lee Rang's smirks, happy smiles and interactions with his Puppy Family. I was even proud of Suri's murderous skills, so cute! The twist was also well delivered and the Imoogi is fittingly creepy. That finger kiss, ugh!🤢

Read that things take a left turn on ep 12, so I'm kind of dragging my feet, waiting for this week's episodes to come out for the drama to find its way again. Also, hope they keep on bringing supernatural creatures, because the ones in earlier episodes were super entertaining.

Next week's creepy releases: Uncanny Counter and Awaken, yay!

After a 3 year long wait and agonizing over "will they ever air it? They will, they won't, they will, they won't" changes by the censors, more episodes, less episodes, finally:
THE WOLF aired. I'm going to like it, whether I like it or not.

START-UP is very intelligently written, well acted and simply well done. We can love all the characters except for Stepdad and Stepbrother. This is a great show that has a real impact on the viewers- how else to explain over 350 comments being posted in four days on its open thread (last week over 400). I know that the writer is very successful but this time seems to have set a higher standard for this show. Stroopwafel is right about the relative underdevelopment of In-jae’s character but I suspect that this is because she is the only truly new character among the four main leads- and yet I would point out that most of the comments actually see her in a positive light. Even as we wish with Selena for Do-sum and Ji-pyeong to develop their budding friendship- now being tested by rivalry over Dal-mi (again an element straight from Rostand’s play) we also want the sisters to find their way back to each other while teaching evil stepdad a serious lesson. In-jae may not be the target of revenge per se but she has put herself in some danger with her project and already we have seen Dal-mi shielding her with her body.

DO DO SOL SOL LA LA SOL continues to be my happy pill. Last week’s shock ending was a head fake. Oher head fakes revealed- Secretary did not steal the company from Ra-ra’s dad- it really did go bankrupt. Second, Dr. Cha is not terminally ill- he just takes a lot of vitamins. But then we ended with what has to be another head fake- Jun breaking up with Ra-ra. I already have this one figured out (but will not reveal because- no spoilers) and I also know why and how it happened.

I am still loving THE SPIES WHO LOVED ME.

My wife finished THREE LIVES, THREE WORLDS: THE PILLOW BOOK. Now she is watching SCARLET HEART. These period costume dramas have inspired my entire family to watch a Great Courses history course on China. We are now up to the later Han dynasty. Lots more to come but my wife tells me she now understands some things that she see in the C-dramas that she did not really get before.

The weekender HOMEMADE LOVE STORY has now picked up. I am also still re-watching the classic SMILE YOU as well

TALE OF THE NINE-TAILED has been thrilling- but aired no new episodes this week. This is frustrating. No foxes? asked my wife. She was very disappointed.

A threadbare week for me when it comes to my drama watching.

Goblin: finished, heart broken and then stitched back together. Since I anyway started watching this (finally) sank happily into the bromance, and am super impressed by the depth of feeling and pathos in the Sunny/Grim Reaper pairing. The chemistry between YIN and LDW is incredible. I swear you can feel their souls actually tearing when she walks away on that bridge.

Search: still in the midst of wrapping this one up, but it's been fun. Didn't take much from me to watch, and I really appreciate that in a drama these days.

Tale of the Nine-Tailed: though technically no new episodes this week, and I didn't watch the special, I did re-watch some of the earlier bits to see if there were any clues I missed. Not sure if I discovered anything new, but, gosh, those foxes are pretty.

I've been catching up on dramas I missed when they were airing. Now I'm watching Missing--The Other Side. What a different way to tell a mystery. I'm on Episode 7, and so far, every episode has been engrossing. I highly recommend it if you like OCN dramas.

A MAN IN A VEIL: Yes, terrible ratings, nobody's watching it but me. It's so nostalgic for my favorite American soaps that are long gone. Halfway thru it's actually getting better, even with all the tropey cliches. But is it a daytime makjang/soap? Because I don't see it listed in the on air evening dramas or weekend dramas.

Search - The first two episodes were the creepiest. The whole night mode atmosphere was very suspenseful. The drama stopped being scary and went towards other genres. The last two episodes were thrilling again due to the action. Overall, I wasn't too invested in the characters and the 10 episode watch was just quick and easy. It may have been better if it remained a monster drama through and through. I was crushed about Lee Hyun Wook's character in the finale even though it was really typical. I'mma need to see him in a new role where he gets a happy ending~

Penthouse - I was curious so I watched the premiere week and it was full of awful people, bullying, and violence that I almost dropped it. But it certainly wasn't dull and distracted me from real life at the time. So I'm still watching it. Only decent person is Su Ryun. I don't even like the poor characters striving to beat the chaebols. I thought Su Ryun was weak in the beginning, but she has showed her smarts after the first week.

Also watching (and behind on) Tale of the Nine Tailed and Fly Dragon.

You would think I would have caught up on more dramas after all these episode delays this week, but my drama watching has slowed down. Nothing really grabbing me fully.