What a wonderful way to review the year, @missvictrix
And yes, yes, yes, yearning is my answer to the question too. It took me a while to work out why I keep coming back for more k-drama and it's one thing: the yearning. My goodness, so well done.

I haven't watched your first two (the first not right through and the second, not at all), but I will make certain I do, especially Dali.

That scene in the King's Affection was everything you say it is, beautiful and heart-breaking all at the same time. As I watched it, I thought, "this is it, she's only ever going to get there in the afterlife," (and I was thinking that even when I was sure she'd taken an antidote), but then we got the scene on the beach too.

I loved Imitation and the break-out dance was brilliant - so much fun and clearly demonstrating that these two were in sync with each other in more ways than only in dance. Imitation also said something important about that industry and paid tribute to the many lives sacrificed to its brutal imperatives.

One of my standout scenes for all time is the one in Lost when they walk down the street looking at each other - exponential yearning.

You've got me thinking now of other scenes imprinted on my brain that I'm going to have to recapture. How do they do it? Fabulous directing and great acting to start with, but also tapping into emotions and giving them back to us in ways we recognise. Cathartic.

Very nice 2021 theme, @missvictrix! I loved all of the scenes!

I didn't get to watch any of the aforementioned, yet your sincerity is well conveyed. Three scenes stand out for me.
Hospital playlist ep 8 when Seok-Hyung skipped music time to be with Chu-Chu. That was one giant stride for our character.
2. MMH episode 8. The scene where Yoo Ja Sung said it was his first time eating a meal cooked at home. There was longing in his character that stuck with me.
3. RoY actually scores 2 scenes. i) When An HyunSeung defended his wife before his mum and his wife basked in his acknowledgment in that very moment, then they went ahead to talk about it the very next scene. I appreciate that scene anytime. ii) Episode 12. When Hyunseung told JHJ that he'd forgiven her and asked her not to leave him. AHS was at his weakest, and that plea from his character, like he'd loose his essence, it was loving and heart wenching.

Thank you, @missvictrix this is the PERFECT way to remember the year! I agree completely with the nebulous feels of Yumi's Cells and the brilliant writing and acting in that scene in Dali and the Gamjatang.

I would also add the last scene in Navillera; it captured the regret that colors life. And then I would add the bank rescue scene opening the cdrama You Are My Hero....just brilliant in quietly showing how even in small moments we can profoundly affect each other❤

A pretty good year, indeed! And I had so much fun weecaping King's Affection with you~~ 😊

I know the choice/choices were supposed to be from 2021 Dramas but I discovered this world of story telling only this year and zigzagged back and forth across the years. Some Beanies kindly recommended Dramas to me and one of these was “Just Between Lovers”/Rain or Shine.
I loved it so much and one extended scene from Ep 10 has stayed with me for weeks: Halmoni is in the hospital being visited and fussed over by her “grandchildren”. Kangdoo is grieving her impending death but is trying to remain as stoic as he can. His voice over says the following:

“Halmoni said life is a repetition of regrets and failures. I sarcastically asked what is the point of living. Granny said it’s to regret and fail more wonderfully”.

For the King's Affection, it's the life Dam-Y should have had if men weren't stupid and decided that the futur King couldn't have a twin sister. It was a very stupid reason that caused a lot of deaths.

The scene showed she could have been very happy : she has a good relationship with her brother, she still loves the same man, the Eunuch and the Court Lady aren't stressed by her secret but just as happy than her, Ji-Woon didn't run away from the Palace because of his father.

Her both grandfathers took it away from her...

Thanks for this post! I've only watched TKA, but the other three dramas are under my radar and I would certainly watch them.

I honestly loved that dream sequence. TKA has proven just how much one's circumstances can affect their personality, and this is no less true for Hwi. The dream showed how much Hwi's real self had been sat on. Dream Damyi was like a completely different person, down to her skipping steps, wide smile and the glow in her eyes. (How many times have we actually seen Hwi smile?) If she had grown up as a princess, she would've been so much like Hakyung - pampered, loved, carefree, happy.

When she called the real Hwi orabeoni, I teared up a little. If really Hakyung married the real Hwi, Dami and her would've been best friends. I guess that's why Hwi felt sympathy for the queen - they were alike, not just because they had been roped into terrible circumstances by fate, but because their personalities matched as well. Hwi knew better than anyone just how much staying in unhappy circumstances could change Hakyung. And we did see Hakyung lose a bit of her glow, but hopefully not too much.

At the ending, we could see a little bit of dream adult Damyi in Hwi. But it obviously wasn't the same, and it could never be. At least, now she's freer and happier than she's ever been while stuck in that stupid palace.

More often than not, I find the "less sentimental" scenes more touching than the intentionally very sentimental scenes. Sometimes, it really is the little things that matters the most.

In the final ep of Yumi there is the perfect example of this: Who is the lead character of your life if not yourself? The cell telling Yumi herself this, this short but huge dialogue, led me into shedding tears. We ourselves make out who we are. We should be #1 on our priority list!

I'd love to hear if anyone else also has these "small but huge" scenes, which are special to you!

@missvictrix, I had to stop reading your piece when I noticed you were mentioning the kings affection and I hadn’t seen the last two episodes. And now that I have, for me the sticking scene was the one where Dami is kneeling before the new king and the ministers are entreating the king to save her life. This is the only time when all of them chanting in unison actually affected me—Of all the sageuks I’ve seen prior, I never heard this sincerely. And Park Eun Bin’s face, of course, telling the story without any words like she does so well.

I think your last sentence resonates with me not just in dramas but in this year as well. The little moments between the terrible is what we need to focus on.

I loved Yumi's Cells and The King's Affection. Yes, those scenes will really touch your heart. I haven't seen Dali and Gamjatang and Imitation but I might binge watch later. I still have to catch up with Secret Royal Inspector and The Red Sleeve.
Thank you for giving us another way to remember dramas by, @missvictrix!

"Stuck in like Glue." What a great way to remember this year in dramas. For me the scene I have reflected on since watching it was from You Are My Spring, the last episode. When Ian Chase goes home after visiting a psychiatrist. At that visit, he says his message to his twin would be "I was in the shadow. Not you. And it was also me who clung onto you." He is all alone afterwards. He is still haunted by the decisions he has made. Will he ever face punishment? Will he ever seek forgiveness? Will he ever not be alone? I believe that these are the questions that will haunt him for a long time, and they will move me as I reflect back on this drama.