Not going to get to visit Korea for a long time, so resorted to watching Lovestruck in the City and sighing over the beaches in Yangyang, the glittering Seoul cityscape, Eun-oh’s so-hip-it-hurts Seongsu-dong rooftop flat, Jae-won’s minimalist hanok, etc etc. Characters? What characters?

Seriously, though, I don’t think the characters are that unlikeable. They seem like typical people, not especially strong or virtuous or intelligent, just stumbling through life, sometimes behaving badly and hurting other people along the way. IMO both Jae-won and especially Eun-oh have handled their relationship quite badly, but I can kind of see why - JW responded to the strength of his feelings by becoming obsessive, while EO was so full of self-pity and self-hatred that she forgot JW could get badly hurt too.

For me, the most problematic thing is the rather contrived mockumentary angle. The show is never clear or consistent about when or whether the documentary crew is filming, or how much each participant knows about the others. I guess the device is a way of getting the characters to discuss their thoughts and feelings without looking like they are talking to themselves. But if the filmmakers are letting them hear and respond to each other’s views, why aren’t they taking the opportunity to understand their partners, ex-partners and would-be partners better?

Run On (Episode 13-14) - Mood: B+
After one cliche had been used in a frustrating manner last week, I was curious yet scared to find out what was in store this week: was there going to more disappointment or a surprise twist that unravels last week’s let-down? Turns out it’s neither: regrettably, it was the mediocre reconciliation trope, but hey, the writer sure padded it with copious amounts of comedy and emotion so I’m just maintaining my slightly displeased outlook. There are a boatload of arcs that’ll need to be wrapped up next week: for me personally I just wish Ye Jun can conclude his crush in a beautiful way. Pretty please?

Mr. Queen (Episode 13-14) - Mood: C
Although it was great seeing something narratively interesting as the King goes on the offensive (both cliffhangers that we had this week were fire), the writer decided to just drop the ball on the other characters. I’m just super disappointed that there isn’t even one grey person at all: the most promising candidate was Byung In which I had hoped would go for the graceful-2nd-lead-who-moves-on route but of course they doubled down on the creepiness and ambition. Now I’m praying the Prince doesn’t get character assassinated too: there’s only 3 weeks left, nothing bad should happen, right?

Cheat on Me If You Can (Series review) - Mood progression: C+ / B / B / B- / C+ / C+ / C / C
The biggest pitfall of this show is that the cheating aspect wasn’t crucial to the whodunit mystery: it ended up being an irritating filler that had a whole web of useless side characters that accompanied both Woo Sung and Mi Rae’s arcs. I’ll say that the story would have been a lot more interesting had the writer just doubled down on Baek Soo Jung’s murder: I would’ve had the head detective & Mr Ma replace Woo Sung & Mi Rae as leads and focus on Yeo Joo’s past. Cheating should have explored in the sense where one’s trust is betrayed rather than interpreting it literally: Fool Me, If You Can?

The Uncanny Counter (Series review) - Mood progression: B / B- / B- / C+ / C / C- / C- / C-
From start to end, this show played well with both the strengths and weaknesses of superhero stories: there were some things that made me groan and roll my eyeballs such as the whole corruption story which had 0 nuance (Hooded Guy’s a much better choice for a villain) but the production certainly knew how to engage viewers with the action sequences. I was nonetheless frustrated that character development for the Counters was minimal, worldbuilding was non-existent (how much do we know about Yung after the show?) and So Mun just became ridiculously overpowered. Disappointing.

Also watching:
True Beauty (Episode 13-14) - Mood: D, A really well-timed terminal illness+OTP separation+time skip trope. /s
Sunbae, Don’t Put on That Lipstick (Episode 3-4) - Mood: D, Two adults fighting over a girl in 2021: brilliant.

-completed-

BRIDGERTON - (watched:complete/ratings:9/10) What a wonderful Netflix series Bridgerton is. This series takes place during the Regency era, which you may be familiar in the films Pride and Prejudice, and Emma. Despite the historical inaccuracies, I truly enjoyed this beautiful piece of entertainment (they took liberties in changing the society of the day to be more fun, delightful and colorful which I believe was their intent, yes, to make a light and fictional but somewhat historical series//if you want to see the reality of those days, please watch the film Belle, which takes place just a few years before the timeline of Bridgerton//). The characters are all fun to watch, their clothes are so colorful, and their dialogue is very rich. What makes this series truly special is the constant gossip and intrigue caused by Lady Whistledown’s scandalous society newsletter (it is hilarious how everyone is either curious, scared or angry with this mysterious person throughout the series😂)…Bridgerton is actually the title of a 9-book series, and the first season is based on the first book about Simon and Daphne. It seems each book is about each child of the Bridgerton family. If Netflix plans for a second season, then I hope they will follow the books and let the other siblings shine.

-ongoing-

MR. QUEEN - (watched:ep14/ratings:9/10) After the “very” serious episode 13, we finally got some humor for episode 14. How awesome it was! The Queen was actually displeased with herself for enjoying the night with the King (it cracked me up when the King did “roar” like Ju-kyung in True Beauty!!!😅🔥). So many lovey-dovey scenes, and it seems an alliance will be made at the next episodes, can’t wait!😏 …But, I must say that the true star of episode 14 was little Dam-hyang, so cute, brave and loyal, a true star.🙌

TRUE BEAUTY - (watched:ep13/ratings:7/10) Great episode! I applaud Ju-kyung for standing up to the bullies (and her courage to come barefaced to the school)…For me, this was the highlight of the episode. I felt bad for Su-ho, and I shed so many tears for Ju-kyung, especially when her mom yelled at her for choosing the make-up path (so heartbreaking😭). To be honest, I hate the mom. Yes, she realized Ju-kyung’s suffering and allowed her to pursue her dream in the end, but if the teacher didn’t tell her about her daughter’s public bullying, she would never realize it herself, because…she is not a good mother🙄 (people who are bullied often show signs even if they don’t express their suffering in words)… I love Seo-jun😍 and I HATE Soo-jin😠 (the show is showing two polar opposite sides for those who have a one-sided love).

HIKARU NO GO Chinese - (watched:ep14/ratings:9/10) I have no words…Such a beautiful story with lovable characters. Are there any flaws? …Moreover, I noticed that those events are taking place in 2003, so are we going to have a time jump? Or are we going to follow our characters through the years? Can’t wait to find out...

Cheat on Me - I enjoyed the detective / mystery aspect of the drama and how the story was told. I also liked the music... and loved the humour (this week: Agent's shoes with the Korean flag on them 😂). I didn't like much Mirae's story and the finale was a bit packed. And I definitely wanted a different ending: I wanted Yeojoo the moment she found out the truth to leave with Suho for Dokdo. Why to waste her life on Cheating Husband when she can be with Swoony Agent?? I have somehow K2 flashbacks (and what could have been).

Sunbae - this is more melo / darker than I expected and I definitely need to keep the manhwa lenses on when watching. All main characters had some questionable behaviour and I wasn't sure how long I would still want to follow them... but... then episode 4 happened with scenes like Songah thanking Hyunseung for the shock reveal, because otherwise she would not be able to break out of the relationship and became the mistress... and I'm hooked (it also helps that Hyunseung is now more respectful... and that Kim Rowoon is so swoony 😊)

Marriage / Divorce Lyrics - too much cheating around for my taste, I also felt completely detached from the characters and I wanted to drop it... but then the marital scenes of the Scriptwriter came and my detachment disappeared and I may check the second episode.

Run On - still my happy pill and I often have Younghwa's smile on 🙂💕 Highlight: Danah's ruined b-party 😂

CRICKET -

England won in Sri Lanka - good job root boy. It was poor cricket from Sri Lanka Though.

England Vs. India - Upcoming test series that can also decide who will play the 1st Test championship's finals in lords.

Australia Vs. South Africa - can bring some competition in the championship.

New Zealand - The 1st ranked test team has no matches to play. ohh.
What kind of ridiculous scheduling this is? And Kiwis have to wait and see what happens in above mentioned 2 Test series. Only few twists in both test series can make them enter in Test Championship finals.
Either India or Australia needs to be out of competition.

Happy Weekend beanies! This was a big week for drama endings.

Completed
The Uncanny Counter - The second half was definitely not as strong as the first but it was still a solid show and I'm looking forward to the 2nd season. Only request would be for the show to stop fridging female characters please and thank you.

Delayed Justice - Underwhelmed by the ending but it was a good look at the Korean legal system with some interesting real-life stories.

Cheat On Me... - In my headcanon, Yeojoo killed her husband, got away with it and sailed off to the island with Sooho 🥰 and nobody can tell me different 🙉

Ongoing
Mr. Queen - KJH is really coming into his own as the story progresses. The discussion on sexual identity is also interesting but I miss Bong-hwan and I thought their consummation scene was a little iffy. So I'm looking forward to more awake ramyun consumption 😉

Sunbae... - Pretty much hate watched the petty manchild behaviour in Ep. 3 but by Ep. 4 I realised that I was no longer infuriated by the ML. The show serves its purpose if I want to just watch 2 pretty people fall in love and fast-forward through the melodrama. It's rather sad that the CEO is my favourite character at this point though.

Secret Royal Inspector - It's amazing how the leads are in danger/captured by criminals/ imprisoned for crimes practically every single week. Nothing works as a cliffhanger because we've already seen them cheat death a dozen times before.

True Beauty - Laughed out loud at the ending time skip (I too have DDSSLLS trauma, it just manifests differently 😑). We all know the Seojun thing is a fakeout so if this was an attempt to keep things interesting, it failed.

Run On - I'm not sure how they're going to wrap this up in 2 more episodes. There seem to be a lot of loose threads right now. Maybe the mom will finally beat the shit out of the dad? One can hope.

Lovestruck in the City - They're trying very hard to build a case for Eun-o and I still don't buy it. Jae-won deserves better. In fact after watching Rin-i trying to sell her gift I think all 3 female leads in the show are just walking red flags.

A Love So Beautiful - Still cute and the OST has been buzzing in my head for weeks.

Also watching 4 Chinese shows. Always Have, Always Will is turning out to be surprisingly sweet and interesting. Wish it had better sub-titles though.

Weekend Plan - Mr. Queen!

The Uncanny counter. I mainly FF the last four episodes. It’s a pity the drama decided to spend so much time with the evil spirit that was dead, not it wasn’t, then was dead, then it wasn’t, now I change bodies, now I don’t. No wonder writer decided to drop if this is were PD wanted the drama to go. Last four episodes could have been one and the last one was just a filler. I won’t be watching S2.

Run On What can I say? I love this drama so much! Why is only one week more? My favourite moments this week (apart from our two couples being super cute together) were that hilarious scene in front of the only cafe in Seoul, JiWon standing for her right to own her life and TaeWoo teasing his older and despicable brother because with honorifics. Ha! I love you, kid!

Lovestruck in the city. It’s time to learn about EunOh, and I know her story hurts. I understand her pain. But I don’t empathize with her, and I will not. Mainly because I avoid toxic people at all costs, and she is toxic. Yet, the drama is moving in the reunification direction. I won’t complain, I’m liking it, even if I dislike almost every character.

Prison Playbook. Why did it take me so long to watch? I’m enjoying every single episode so much! Laughing and crying in equal parts. I don’t know who is my favourite character, although I totally get why Looney is everyone’s favourite. Still on episode 13.

I finished Tree with deep roots and the last four episodes were a bit too much. Everything was perfect to me while the drama was focused on the hangul, how it was created and why and the philosophical discussion about commoners accessing to culture. I had to remind myself many times this was 1445 and what was the historical context in my country and in Europe, and it only made me admire more King Sejong. Han Suk Kyu acting was perfect.

I’ve also started Saimdang as it was the next sage in my to watch list but so far I’m only on episode 2 and I’m rewatching When the weather is fine>/b>t watched, but also I can pay attention to those little details that have such a special meaning. For instance, at the beginning of episode two, when HaeWon is returning home and then EunSeob follows her with a lantern and tells her “It’s dark”, I cried so much, because it was his first confession, it was so, so, so beautiful!

Run On: I don’t want it to end! I so appreciate how the drama emphasizes self love, boundaries, consent in relationships. Is this really a k-drama?Run On regularly has me in stitches, like Seon-gyeom and Mi-joo going full melo while chaos was unfolding in the background. Kang Tae-oh is really good at physical comedy. I also love their movie spoofs. I would watch a full length version of Code Name Candy.

Mr. Queen: I have to give it to the drama, I had zero interest in the romance but Episodes 13 and 14 sold me. I have some gripes with how their night together was executed, but I thought the aftermath with the hide and seek was funny. My major issue with Mr. Queen is the terrible writing for the second leads.

Love (Ft. Marriage & Divorce): I guess this is basically going to explore the reasons men cheat, how the wives react and how the mistresses feel about it all? Don’t really like any of the characters but am a little bit interested in what is going on with the 40’s and 50’s husbands. What is going on with the 40’s husband and his stepmom? The swimming scene was creepy. If this wasn’t a k-drama, I would think 50’s husband was having an affair with a man, but it’s probably one of the younger women.

Lovestruck in the City: I officially dislike all of the characters, Rin-yi and Kyung-joon assaulting the scumbag ex in a workplace sealed it. They spent a lot of time showing why Eun-oh went to the beach and became Seon-ah but none of it explains why she won’t open her mouth and talk to Jae-won.

The Uncanny Counter: Fast forward got me through it. The ending was fine, I guess, but I just didn’t care by the end. Kind of dislike that they made So Mun so powerful. Still hate they killed the cop. I won’t be back for Season 2.

Uncanny counter : And its over. I am disappointed. I dont know what I was expecting but the final battle with the evil spirit felt so underwhelming. I expected for a bit more action. I wondered first why they included a cameo of Son Ho Jun, but then it gave us an answer regarding sugar daddy's former spirit. The reunion with parents was touching and I felt happy that even the grandparents got a chance to say goodbye. The change of writer clearly reflected on the plot. I finished the series but I am not gonna miss it or rewatch it ever.

Love (ft marriage and divroce) : The plot looks convincing makjangy !!! I felt confused with few random female introductions in between. Will see few more episodes to decide whether to drop it or not.

Mr Queen (13-14): After a hand full of filler episodes the show is throwing surprises week after week. I am loving the identity crisis our chef is facing and the previews look so promising. And when the king said My Queen.... something within me melted...🥰🥰🥰Cant wait for the next episodes.

Secret royal agent (11-12): What a way to end the week's episode !!!! I was anxious when the episode was going in circles with everyone behind the evidence and finally when our agent got the evidence.....whoosh... 🏹🏹🏹.

Lovestruck in the city: Did she just try to ran away again??? Unbelievable !!!! The ending was interesting although not what I liked or hoped. But I guess this is the best way. There is no chance of Eun Oh owning up to her mess her own if not forced. Or will she run away again without Jae Won noticing??? I wont be surprised if she does that. I have so much more to rant but will save it for the open thread.

A love so beautiful: My happy pill. Loving it.

True beauty: I was so proud of JK for facing her fears and insecurities. I did feel bad for Soo Jin too. I genuinely hope she finds help and heals herself. Just when I thought where the mandatory separation trope is , the show dropped that bomb.

Sunbae dont put that lipstick (3-4): Dropped. This drama is not for me. I am not able to warm up to any characters and found them a lot more insufferable this week.

Also watched the Winx saga in Netflix. Although I do liked the premises the characters are hard to tolerate.

CHEAT ON ME: (Ep15-16): The writer did a good job of putting in real clues and not red herrings throughout the series in regard to the murder mystery. There were many twists in the last episodes (esp. in 15) But the motivation plots were not as strong. The entire Mirae story was totally irrelevant and immaterial. The script wobbled at the end without a clear explanation of Yeo-joo's relationships. Overall, it was a very good show and Jo Yeo Jeong's performance was stellar.

CRAZY RICH ASIANS (Movie, 2018): This movie garnered a huge amount of buzz when it was released in 2018. It was an opulent film with a cast of a thousand extras, rich scenes, fancy and expensive venues, etc. But the overall story line was meh. The characters were stereotypes, the acting was flat and the "super rich" lifestyle was high school cliche boring.

BUSTED (Season 3, Ep 1-4): The show went very very dark in its first two episodes which is great departure for this hybrid mystery-variety show. It is on par with the first season in terms of quality and entertainment value.

LEE SI YOUNG'S TIKTOK videos: Still great. I don't know why she is doing this short clips, but they are highly entertaining. You can see them on YouTube. She is a great comedian.

Run On: I think I would have liked this a lot more maybe even a year ago. Now I find it fine and don't seem to be quite enjoying it as much as others. That's okay. It's overall an easy watch.

The Rebel Princess (C-drama): I have dumped my last 3 C-dramas or at least put them on hold, but I heard some buzz about this one and jumped in. Yes, about 5 actors should have had younger versions in the first 8ish episodes (41 can never swing 15; I don't care how pretty you are). Yes, the story is same ole same ole. Yes, 68 episodes. Yes, the lead actress is MarySueish. However, the pacing is some of the best I've seen, the acting is on point, the chemistry is so good, the male lead is, 23 episodes in, one of my favorite ever. Can it maintain my high regard, probably not given my experience but I'm in it for now. I will say if someone is in just for the romance, walk away. The focus is on the gal, much in the way MingLan was the focus in Story of MingLan. I mean they clue you in on the title of some of these dramas.

Wanda Vision (Disney Max): (ep 1 & 2) It was nostalgic for me who remembers watching old Leave It To Beaver and Bewitched type shows back in the day. But basically when the teenage daughter wants to watch something with mom, you do it.

The Surgeons Cut and Hunt for The Night Stalker (Netflix): I'm in more a documentary frame of mind recently. Both solid. If not into true crime type stuff, I still highly recommend The Surgeons Cut. My sister recommended it to me and it was so good.

The Counter or whatever it's called - Dropped. I know it got huge buzz but I've seen so many like this.

Mr Queen: On hold. I suffer from Shin Hye Sun Syndrome which makes you think dramas are better than they are and causes tragic wasting of hours of drama watching time before you come out of your delusion. I have 4 extra hours in that ballerina show before I came to my senses. I like a lot of the first 5 hours of this show, but I will wait to see how it goes. And those 80 minute episodes are killing me. Yeah, I watch long Cdramas sometimes but, at 40 minutes a pop, a good one can zip by.

Run on: I’m already missing this show before it’s finale. How will I survive for 2 weeks until Penthouse season 2 starts😭😭.
I like how Danah keeps having all her firsts with Mijoo and she doesn’t fail to tell Mijoo. I ❤️ their relationship I love Danah and Younghwa together. The way she looks at him when she sees him is so precious and episode 14 had such a melancholic feel during their time together at his hometown.
Ki Seon kyum continues to steal my heart. I cried during the episode 13 ending scene. And he even apologized for breaking her heart. Must protect KSK at all cost

Her Private Life - Really cute show.
Something that I needed. Except for the toxic fan culture that was not addressed well, I loved it. I didn't even mind the *unbelievable korean co-incidence* that takes a lot for me to digest.

True Beauty - Really liked episode 14. I'll take more of Seo Jun, please! I don't want to view everything in a very moral perspective because we don't know what we will end up doing in that position. Everyone is toxic at some point. Teenagers are just ... *Sigh*

I need something simple to watch now.

Run On is so so great. That is all.

Cheat on me if you Die: I am really disappointed in the ending. The time they spent on the useless the Mi Rae they could have wasted on Yeo Joo getting revenge on her useless husband. Yeo Joo is still one of my favorite kdrama characters, but the drama that introduced us to her is not good.

Lovestruck in the City: The slowly becoming one of my favorite dramas. It is interesting in that it has a lot of the normal kdrama tropes, but they have somehow managed to make them work with characters who seem more like normal people. We have really interesting discussions on the recap page regarding this drama. Communication as always seems to be the key, whether it is informing, listening, or simply hearing the other person.

Mr. Queen: Continues to be the best drama in 2020 and 2021. It is all simply delightful.

Currently watching: Mr Queen, Sunbae
Just finished : The Uncanny Counter

I've decided to start on Royal Secret Agent since I'm in the mood to watch sageuks and I'm on episode 2 currently but I'm still curious if this is a good watch or not? The first episode was premiered more like a comedy but I'm pretty sure the politics would get more serious as the show progress? I think 🤔
That aside, the drama gives off kinda like how sageuks was used to air back then, even the cinematography is reminiscent of those sageuks 7~10-ish years back. Kinda gives of a nostalgic feeling for me haha

Sunbae, Don’t Put on That Lipstick It reminds me an old drama with typical romance plot but with a modern touch and great acting. I like it. I think I missed a real romance drama. It's very pretty too, I love the colors used in this drama.

Run On I heard that KSH did a cameo, so I caught up the episodes to be ready :p I still doesn't specially like it. The rich/poor angle is way too much overdone between the ML's father and Danah who spends her time to remind people about the fact she's rich. I really didn't like how she question Younghwa's best friend about his feelings. He's a pitiful/sad face in general but at this moment, it was worse :( He needs a hug!

True Beauty It was nice to see JK fighting for herself! I wonder what happened to Soo-Jin during the 2 years.

Mr. Queen Looks like the Queend decided to fight and I think it will be super fun to watch!

Lovestruck in the City The female characters lack decency... Suffering doesn't give the right to do everything you want. The male characters are pushovers...

The only drama I'm following is Secret Royal Inspector, lagging behind by a few episodes.. only at Episode 9. Other than that I rewatched a bunch of dramas over the past few weeks- 7 First Kisses, Chief Kim, Mystic Pop-up Bar, and planning to rewatch Flower of Evil now that its on Netflix. I've also been watching random Swoon videos and videos from all the actors' YouTube channels.

SRI has really grown on me, its a very chill drama and the characters are quite lovable! There are two mandatory really funny scenes from Lee Yi-kyung, Na-ra's character is smart and very calm in dangerous situations
and I find L to be quite good in the scenes where he has to be commanding, also you can see the emotions in his eyes. A much better performance than Welcome. Lee Tae-hwan has a beautiful mane of glory but thats gone now. I agree with everyone whos saying that Secret should be removed from the title, they sent the guy as the secret inspector just after disclosing it to the entire world after the first mission.
Two things really annoy me though- the lack of self defense skills of Chun-sam and Dain, can't they atleast keep a weapon on them, its just not funny after a point, and lack of screen time or any storyline of his own for Lee Yi-kyung (so far), what a waste of talent. But anyway I'm enjoying it and happy its doing well in ratings.

HIKARU NO GO
Following the story of Shi Guang falling in love with Go and trying to catch up with his rival, Lu Yiang, while helping Chu Ying achieve a 1,000 year quest makes for one of the best dramas I have seen. And I cannot think of a comparable hero to Shi Guang: full of heart, cheeky and mischievous, and confident (sometimes naively so). Acting chemistry is in top form here among the main players and all the actors make it an immersive experience. I see characters, not actors. Honestly, I am charmed by and a little bit in love with this drama.

REPLY 1988--re-watch for nth time. Coincidentally, Taek is a Go player. Hmmm….maybe this is the right time to watch Misaeng too. Any other Go-focused or themed dramas I need to add to my list?

A LOVE SO BEAUTIFUL (Korean remake)--honestly, I was dubious to say the least about the main actress but any reservations were surpassed by episode 3. It is a cut bit of fluff that keeps the best of the original while bringing a very Korean sensibility. Although, I do wonder how believable this couple will be once we leave the high school setting.

BUSTED SEASON 3--so ridiculous, but a fun watch. A little gory for my taste: those dummy’s are pretty realistic, at least for a scaredy cat like me. Honestly, my favorite part is being able to recognize the actors who play the guests and bit parts.

TRUE BEAUTY--I am eager to start this back up after I decided to take a hiatus so I can finish it in one go.

Finished two dramas - The Uncanny Counter and Cheat on me if you can. The ending of the first one was better than the later, as they managed to close one story completely. Cheat on me ended where it started. We don’t have resolution over cheating husband or Kang-Joo’s reaction over it. Cheating was a just a gimmick and nothing to with main mystery. I felt cheated by the show.
True Beauty : Paused for now. I will watch all remaining episode next week, otherwise I won’t be able to finish this cliché trope-fest.
Love Struck in the City: At this point I am watching this show as casual bystander who does not care about the characters or story.
Run On : The most enjoyable show of the bunch. It does not have a plot but we have wonderfully crafted oddball characters.
Love ft. Divorce and marriage : According to the show reason of every divorce is cheating, there can be no other element which can break a marriage. I am watching this show to find out how makjang it will get. I want full over the top crazy makjang drama.
She would never know : Even after 4 episodes I can not decide whether to drop it or not. For now, I am going to continue.

Uncanny Counter - Eagerly waiting for it to come out on Netflix in my region (this Sunday yay!) so I can finally watch the last 2 episodes! I could have just watched elsewhere, but I wanted to show some "official" love to it, even if only for a few episodes! xD
I liked it, overall, but I could never connect to the show as much as I would have loved to. The most recent episodes weren't as good as the initial ones, imo, so I lost a bit of interest, but it was still a nice watch! I am not sure if I'll be tuning in for season 2, though.

Mr Queen - My only love right now!!! I am still obsessed, no matter what flaws it might have, I impatiently wait for the new episodes each week, I watch them multiple times, and then wait again! xD
Only issue is that I'm starting to feel slightly uneasy about how they'll handle the last episodes, crossing all my fingers that they'll be able to give us and the show a worthy finale! 3 weeks to go!! For now I'm looking forward to King and Queen's proper alliance, at last!!

Speaking of my Mr Queen obsession, I've been going down a spiral of Kim Jung-hyun related videos on YT, mainly random clips from his past dramas..after a couple weeks of that I finally decided to just pick and watch one of them, Time (2018 drama).
Now, I don't even like melodramas, especially with terminally ill main leads (Uncontrollably Fond was enough), but I just couldn't stop watching clips, might as well watch the whole thing, I thought!
So I binged it these past 3 days, abusing the ff button a bit, and honestly it was better than I expected, at least the first part. Then some secrets were revealed and FL went a bit crazy, and I can't even blame her, let's be honest; but it got just too dark and depressing, with KJH’s character getting sicker and sicker, and subjecting himself to even more pain to pay for crimes he didn't even commit, and it was just too sad :(((( ..Knowing that KJH was having health issues at the same time made it worse..Him having to leave earlier than expected just gave his character an even more tragic ending, in my opinion. The last few episodes after he left where kind of a mess, but I won't even blame the writer too much; cast and crew all work on an extremely tight schedule, I'm sure they tried their best!
Kim Jung-hyun was great, Seohyun was fine too, and the story started interesting, but in the end it felt like a wasted opportunity.
Also, shout-out to the original soundtrack, it was really nice, especially Gaho’s and Sohyang’s songs!

Fly Dragon / Delayed Justice: 6.5 Thank goodness I won't have to listen to those two argue any more.

Uncanny Counter: 7.0 So much time in the finale on boring wrap-up. At least we got to see a bit of Mun's two friends.

Mr. Queen: 9.0

Run On: 6.5

Cheat on Me If You Can: 6.5 Huh?

Feb better come soon. I'm running out of shows.

I am so in love with Run On that after watching the first 14 episodes this week, I started watching again from the beginning to get ready for Wednesday.

I had forgotten how much NICER SG’s clothes were in the summer. Lately he’s been dressed with all these ill-fitting jackets with huge shoulder pads and it is such a waste... he has such a nice athletic body. Sigh.

Run On : I cannot take just how cute the characters are (especially Young-hwa). Just want to squee all the time. The drama is great at pairing the characters is such varied, delightful combinations. This week we saw Young-hwa and Yook Ji Woo be accomplices in Mi-joo's imagination! I'm glad they didn't stretch out the break. I think the space did them some good.

Uncanny Counter: Thank you for the wonderful ride. I was flipping between smiling from ear-to-ear and crying my eyes out (the reunion with his parents) throughout the entire last episode. When the big battle took place at the beginning of the finale, I was worried about typical kdrama shenanigans to stretch it out, but So Moon and the crew believed in each other. It's the faith and support they all have for each other that ultimately defeated the bad guy. Looking forward to season 2. There are a number of good young actors, but Jo Byung-gyu is really at another level.

Cheat on Me If You Can : Despite the drama leaving a lot of unresolved and unexplained things and drag that is Mirae's irrelevance, I enjoyed this series a lot, including the ending. The drama was just so weird and cheeky, especially with Yeo-joo coming off as unintentionally murderous-sounding all the time. I like to think that she stabbed Woo-sung with a pen so he can sign their divorce papers. She lived too hard of a life to waste it on Woo-sung. And then she'll join Soo-ho in Dokdo.

Maiden Holmes: Binged hard on this c-drama. I love how the drama didn't waste any time in bringing together our 5 musketeers. And they all have pleasant speaking voices. The female characters are useful and intelligent and the male characters are so supportive and squishy. Just a lot of likable characters. The drama is pretty simple and straightforward and does not indulge in tiresome jealousy plotlines.

Plan this weekend is to catch up with Mr.Queen and check out Secret Royal Agent again (didn't make it past the first week). Feeling for some light sageuks.

Mr Queen: my weekly favorite. The acting from both leads is brillant, the story with the mix of comedy, action/thrill, palace politics, romance is exhilarating and perfectly balanced. The only two characters I wish were better written are the concubine (or is it the acting?) and the other random one in love with the Queen's maid.

True beauty: I binge-watched this and caught up to ep 12 and I like it! Moon Ga Young is perfect in this, and both male leads are doing great I think. I particularly love Jung Kyung character and her growth throughout. Hopefully there won't be any unnecessary breakup (as the preview for ep 13 seems to suggest).

Run on: this was my weekly favorite until last week... I was confused by the break-up, I feel like the way the Dad is written is exaggerated...and though they reconciled, I still have a hard time understanding the real conflict. This week's episodes were ...meh for me.

Marriage music and divorce lyrics: I wanted to try that just because I love stories about marriage. But I found myself disappointed by the writing and just the feel of the drama. It just feels... outdated, and predictable, like circa 2007 - 2010 (even the makeup and the fashion). The editing was off, we had two very long monologues of the same accusations toward a Mum whose crying was so forced and I still did'nt feel any emotional connection (which was the intention I think), and out of blue toward the end of ep 2 appeared 3 ladies we were never introduced to. I mean, the whole thing was off and bad.

SECRET ROYAL INSPECTOR (Ep. 12): This is like Jun-ki in Waikiki Joseon. Every week Lee Yi-kyung dresses up as something totally unexpected and hilarious. He's basically worn the whole Joseon wardrobe at this point except royal robes.

DAE JO YOUNG (Ep. 30): @kiara I'm a total Yang Manchun fangirl now. :D So far the drama has been a wonderful lesson on the fall of Gugoryeo, i.e.: how to take down your own country. These Gugoryeo ministers worked harder than the Tang army.

TRUE BEAUTY: On hold at episode 13. There are not enough fun tropes, and @stroopwafel's doubts make me think it's better to wait this one out and then binge it.

Beanies, help me out! I love Run On and have not watched many kdramas. Which other lighthearted, soul-warming, binge-worthy show should I watch on Netflix? So far I have seen IOTNBO, Eternal Monarch, Rookie Historian, Heirs, CLOY...

Another week behind on airing dramas. Still on ep 12 of True Beauty - Ho-Jeon bromance is so good! but JuGyung and Suho are a bit zzzZz... Anywhoooo, still watching with the kids they are having fun, although we all agree that episodes are looooong (like, do we really need to watch Jugyung looking for her lost necklace for 10 minutes?).

Also stalling on Mr Queen (ep 12 too) I'll try to catch up this weekend. I don't even remember anymore where I left Uncanny Counter, I was watching it illegal. Maybe Netflix will air it now in my region, now that it's over?

Stroopwafel many of us are suffering from Post DDSSLS Disorder.

My wife is enjoying is now enjoying two Chinese costume dramas: WORLD OF FANTASY and REBEL PRINCESS. She has also watched the British legal series GARROW’S LAW series 1 and 2. As a family we have been enjoying the Chinese Costume drama LOVE AND DESTINY.

My wife and I have also been enjoying the Chinese rom-com MY LITTLE HAPPINESS. It is the essence of fluffy. And it is definitely helping me cope with my Post DDSSLS Disorder.

I am still watching LOVESTRUCK IN THE CITY which is at once both intriguing and frustrating. We get bits of the past doled out, slowly, but to me the emotional high point was when our male lead finally had a chance not just to express his anger but also ask the questions that deserved to be answered by Eun-oh.

SHE WOULD NEVER KNOW (aka SUNBAE, DON’T PUT ON THAT LIPSTICK) got fairly heavy in episodes 3 and 4- and I really like the male lead’s character in this one. But our absolutely favorite show is MR. QUEEN.

I cannot say enough about the excellent RUN ON. Or how hard it is to accept that there is only one week left. As Miss Victrix has pointed out we are definitely set up for some epic confrontations with two controlling fathers. And, with Sun-kyum’s father a suddenly overcontrolling husband who is headed for divorce if he cannot change.

I'm currently stuck in the Trenches of Work with no real time to enjoy my (ever-growing) list - but like Dan-ah I cannot control my heart, so I'm making time for Run On come hell or high water. Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair for a dazzling finale week!!

RUN ON - I really am enjoying this though I’m still not fully on board with Dan-ah/Yeonghwa as a couple. I wouldn’t be super comfortable if the roles were reversed (ie he was the abrupt rich CEO trying to order around the poor female art student) so it just doesn’t really work for me. I love Mijoo and Dan-ah’s friendship though.

LOVESTRUCK- I’m really enjoying this now. To the point where I’m finding excuses for everyone’s behaviour 😅 there is no way I would have stuck with it if the episodes were longer so I’m glad they’re nice and short.

VAGABOND has taken a back seat this week because both my sister and I have been busy, but it’s okay because I’ve had plenty of old 2 DAYS 1 NIGHT to watch 😂

I don’t know what I’ll watch when Run On finishes - maybe I’ll do some finishing up of dramas I have on pause while I’m waiting for MOUSE to start in March.

Kairos (ep 1): AH STRESS.
I'm going to take break and watch next episode later. That was A LOT for just the first episode.

Nobody knows (ep 1-16): I never thought my favorite friendship of the year (2020) was going to be between the creepy ahjumma from Sky Castle and a middle school kid.

School nurse files (ep 3): I don't know what's happening, but I'm fine with that.

Mr Queen (ep 14): I felt so bad for that little girl, so when BH said "being incompetent is a crime." to the king I was screaming "HELL YEAH" to the screen, and then they showed his fingers and I felt bad for not trusting him...

Run On (ep 13): I think this is the first episode in which I saw Dan Ah's brother and I didn't roll my eyes. I don't know what's his place in the drama... but at least this episode he gave us new information about Dan Ah.

Lovestruck ITC (ep 11): I want more of Rini and KJ' story.

Love (marrige & divorce) ep 1: The writting was so predictible and the editing was so bad. I'm not watching more of this.

Spies who love me (ep 1): I think the lead could've done a better job protecting the bride.

Secret Forest 2 (ep 1-16): I loved it. I wanted a little bit more of Seo Dong Jae, but I'm going to just be grateful for him being alive.