COMPLETED
Moonshine - The classic problem of having 'too much story'. Merchant Shim being the long lost son was a genuine surprise but we got that revelation so late that we didn't care. Finale and where everyone ended up was mostly fine.

Ghost Doctor - I wish most of the last two episodes were the moments when Young-min was teaching Seung-tak. Still it wasn't a bad finale and the MLs were good. I can see myself rewatching clips of the bickering bros down the line.

ONGOING
Rookie Cops - I wish there was more focus on the other rookies. The search for the scammer by the comical trio was probably the highlight for me.

Thirty-nine - I think I'm a bad person. I do not feel anything for any of these characters not even the terminally ill one. Maybe it's because we spent most of the two episodes on Mi-jo dealing with the news rather than on Chan-young - hopefully we get that next week?

Grid - I am really liking this show but (and I foresee myself saying this often) one episode a week is not enough 😣.

Forecasting Love and Weather - I was so irritated with the way the FL was treated in the beginning of Ep. 3 that I nearly dropped it but I managed to stick it out up to Ep. 4 and the show marginally improved. Mostly because of PMY. I'll continue with some very generous fast-forwarding.

Twenty-five Twenty-one - This drama is my happy place right now 🥰

Through the Darkness - It's back 🥳! Will watch both episodes together today.

Tracer - The back half of this is also out but the subs are …what they are…so will wait for the good people making better subs.

C-DRAMAS
Watching The Autumn Ballad and Royal Feast right now.

LIFE IS BUT A DREAM: Apple has commissioned famous Korean director Park Chan-wook to create a short film as part of its "Shot on iPhone" campaign. Park, perhaps best known for the action thriller flick OLDBOY, used an iPhone 13 Pro to shoot a 20-minute fantasy martial arts movie which Apple released on YouTube.
 
The film starts off with horror-like elements after an undertaker digging up a grave to steal a coffin but awakens the ghost of a swordsman. Later, the ghost of a maiden hero who died after saving the undertaker's village returns to demand a proper burial coffin. After that, it becomes a blend of action, romance, dark comedy, dancing and pansori, a Korean genre of musical storytelling. Pretty interesting story and it is hard to tell it was made on a smartphone. Worth watching. It may also pave the way for a condensed movie genre since kids today have only a TikTok attention span.

ALL OF US ARE DEAD (Ep. 7- 12 ) I binged to finish the series. It was good but the ending was basically a clip show without final answers. It fell flat in my estimation. I do not like the concept of a second season to clean up a first one. Kdramas are supposed to have a beginning, middle and END. I think if the show went with linear episodes, it would have been a better finish.

World building quibbles: the pseudo science explanation for the zombie virus was not clear. The writer gave us an equation A + B + C = X but the math question is “solve for Y.” It was shown the zombies are dead (no heartbeat) but the virus hides in cell RNA then controls body movements when activated (by the brain, which seems to control “hambie” state for a while if person had strong emotions prior to being zombified). But muscle movement is controlled by nerves and brain signals. Mad pharma dad stated that white blood cells tried to fight the virus but lost. We still do not have a direct answer of why the zombies function, why they hunger for human blood and why some die and others do not.

I think the young actors did a good job in their roles. The message that the surviving teens should not trust adults is a little heavy handed. There was plenty of repetitive gore and differences in the sad, pathetic, heroic, noble idiocy and painful deaths. I will not watch the second season.

THIRTY, NINE (Ep 3-4) After debatable story telling direction in Episodes 1 and 2, the next two were somber. Again, Episode 3 was more of a focus on Mijo, who was becoming unlikeable. She claims her two friends are her family, but we know she has a loving and protective older sister and great, loving supportive parents. In fact, all the parents on the show are great. We have not seen any Mijo panic attacks but only her hot temper anger then non-confrontational sadness. Chanyoung now knows her prognosis - - but she continues to be the cool friend. Joo-hee’s relationship is the only natural one we can root for to come to term. She plays the timid mouse quite well. Episode 4 appears to be...

CRICKET - The exciting and beautiful test match between Kiwis and bangladesh.

T20 - here a weak or not so strong team can compete against a strong team and still losses most of the time. In T20, a weak team has more chances to beat the other team. Strong team being off-colour that,wrong team selection, bad performance of few key players, not adjusted to weather as well as playing area conditions. Pitch and several other factors. 1 woah performance from 1 or 2 players of weak team. Here you can escape mistakes but time and opportunities are too few. Skills and talents gap isn't as much because of the nature of T20 - still a big gap between both. T20 allows upsets.

ODI - Even more difficult for a weak team to win against big name strong team. It allows more time to see and escape from the mistakes already done. Allows more time to gain control. ODI does have few upsets but they are "too few".

TEST - different from T20 and ODI. completely - 5 days of a match demands high level of physical and mental fitness.Especially mental. International matches so countries tour each other. Home team has huge advantages. Even a weak team becomes highly competitive. audience, spectators, media, weather, climate, season, pitch and few other factors are on home team's side. Visiting team has to adjust to everything and then face the home team.
Australa and England the strong teams have lost matches in bangladesh.
Bangladesh being the visitors won in New Zealanda against the strong team of Kiwis that have won the 1st test Championship. It's big. Yup. This is one rare upset of Test CRICKET.

Test cricket favours strong teams to see and clean their mistakes. 5 days is enough time to do that.

This win of bangladesh is beautiful. From competitive to winning the match is beautiful.

I'm still surprised that Forecasting is the show that I'm looking forward to the most. And I like that among all those weather predictions the show self is quite unpredictable 😀

25-21 - this really is a show in the vein of Reply series... and I love it. Also... I cut my fringe (bangs) in Heedo style... and now I'm expecting a boost of energy 😄

Business Proposal l caved in and glimpsed at the original webtoon naively thinking that I would read just a biiiiiit of it... and now I'm 40 episodes further 😅... It's very funny (and very romantic 🥰 )... and I'm trying to stop myself from reading more.

TF4 - I thought it was loosing its spark when I started episode 9, but then it started building up... and up... and up... and I actually literally cried towards the end of the episode. This adaptation is really good at grabbing my heart and making me feel for everyone (nearly. Though even the Ice Queen has sometimes a point).

39 - didn't watch... because when I was planning to watch Ukraine happened 😢 💔

Twenty Five Twenty One: This drama is so good! I really like how the scenes are shot, like the green light scene and the scenes in the rain. Hee-do is quickly climbing up my list of favorite heroines. I loved the scene with the gang all together and am eagerly anticipating more.

Thirty Nine: The writing is pretty mediocre but the performances are good enough to keep me watching. It bugged me that Mi-jo knew Chan-young’s diagnosis before Chan-young and for the better part of two episodes, made it all about herself. Joo-hee continued to be an afterthought, but the actress was so cringe worthy acting drunk, I was almost okay with that. I continue to be distracted by Yeon Woo-jin’s hair and spent a lot of time this week contemplating Jin-seok’s short suit jackets. Chan-young and Jin-seok had the best scene of the week.

Forecasting Love and Weather: I like the weather forecasting enough to continue watching for now but the OTP leaves me cold. I just do not buy that Ha-kyung would start dating another coworker, her direct subordinate at that, just a couple months after her life blew up and became fodder for the gossip mill. Rebound sex, sure, but dating? They sacrificed proper build up for surprise twists.

Juvenile Justice: Episodes 1-4: Wow, South Korea’s juvenile court system is different with judges basically acting as judges, prosecutors and probation officers. They addressed the Juvenile Act straight out of the gate and are delving into other social issues. I like Kim Hye-soo but don’t always like how she is delivering her lines.

Ghost Doctor: This was a fun, heartwarming drama with a wonderful bromance. I thought the final two episodes were some of the strongest of the series. Young-min and Seung-tak really were a rom-com pair. I thought the coma ghosts had touching endings. Rain and Kim Bum should do more comedies. They both have good comedic timing though Rain really excels in the quiet scenes.

Young Lady and Gentleman: This drama really lost the plot. The writer spent the whole middle section on amnesia and now with only 10 episodes left, Dan Dan is supposed to forgive her dad and Anna Kim for the unforgivable all while dealing with more relationship drama as crazy Se-ra pretends to be pregnant with Young-guk’s child. How Se-ra and Gun are supposed to be viable after all of this, I do not know. Soo-chul’s cheating just gets swept under the rug, I guess. This drama had potential but Dan Dan’s scenes with the kids were the only good parts. I hope the next weekend drama is better.

Thirty, Nine - To be perfectly honest, the only interesting storyline is Chan Young's. Everyone else is kind of bland except for when the trio get together. I would also dearly love it if TV shows stopped romanticizing alcoholism. It isn't cute or kind of embarrassing, it is pathetic and sad. They are trying to make Jin Seok sympathetic and it isn't working for me. His wife might suck but he chose to marry and stay with her. He is trash for his emotional cheating and Chan Young isn't much better in that department. That being said Chemo is the devil's cure and I fully understand not wanting that before you die.

Rookie Cops: This drama continues to be cute. Our lead couple is adorable and I like how they are showing them. I appreciate the kisses in places you will get caught and the casual touches. It is really sweet and shows they are a couple.

Grid: Okay, the second episode upped the ante and it became more interesting. We are learning more about our characters, what they do, and why they function. We are also getting more questions. I am really enjoying this drama.

Juvenile Justice: This was not what I expected. It is interesting how the stories are structured and I don't know if I love it or hate it. Lee Sung Min is yelling again, because that is what he does best. They have oddly infantilized Kim Moo Yul's character and I'm not sure why. Kim Hye Soo's Judge Sim is a tsundere character, but I don't know that I am a superfan of her characterization. That being said I'm enjoying the drama I would say, mostly because it is different and unexpected.

Tracer: New subs out today, so looking forward to this revenge plot. I am curious about the importance of Hye Young's unseen "fiance." His parents are garbage, but why haven't we seen him yet.

Through the darkness: Excited for that sexy haircut and t-shirt. Lol. Welcome back KNG.

Twenty Five Twenty One: My gushy feeling for the week. I love this drama so much.😍

Grid (Episode 2) - Mood: B-
It’s obvious the writing is deft with multiple instances of “show not tell” exemplified but the setup is still ongoing after 2 weeks as motivations remain cloudy. It does seem like the department head and her subordinates have differing goals.

Thirty-Nine (Episode 3-4) - Mood: D+
You’re telling me that Chan Young heard about her illness from Mi Jo and not the doctor? What on earth has happened to patient confidentiality? Even if Mi Jo’s uncontactable, her parents exist? And Mi Jo tells it to Seon U before Joo Hee? I don’t like the makjang style birth secret but it did give us some great acting so there’s that. The ending however is no.

Twenty Five Twenty One (Episode 3-4) - Mood: C
Injeolmi: it’s good that it isn’t Yi Jin cause that would’ve been one too many coincidences for me to accept, but it being Yu Rim does feel like a bandaid solution to the enmity between the fencers (because we all know they’re going to be so close in the future). I’m ambivalent on Ji Woong’s infatuation: the puppy love does feel undeveloped and his scenes are almost entirely about his smooth moves, which ironically signals a lack in personality. The writer is definitely teasing all the viewers about the future, but will they be brave enough to follow through with the bittersweetness and deny a OTP?

Forecasting Love and Weather (Episode 3-4) - Mood: D-
I think it’s awkward that I’m having trouble differentiating Song Kang from his Nevertheless character: it was certainly very confusing trying to figure out how flirty Si Woo’s supposed to be. And then the visibility twist: I’m a bit disappointed that Ha Kyung let her feelings dictate her choices though I guess her mother’s equally bad at that too.

Rookie Cops (Episode 9-10) - Mood: D-
Hello, why wasn’t a police report made the moment the sting operation failed? Besides that, why are trainees behaving like actual detectives? That was also a really random love line for Han Na: writer has got 0 ideas for her character arc?

Ghost Doctor (Episode 15-16) - Mood progression: C- / C / C / C- / C- / D+ / D / D
Deus ex machina smh. If only they cut the romance and villain nonsense and did a coma ghost procedural instead with Tess as a mentor? What a show it could’ve been! But yeah, the writer even forgot about the motorcyclist so fat chance.

Moonshine (Episode 15-16) - Mood progression: D / D+ / D / D- / D- / D / D / D
I was almost impressed that they squeezed a whole backstory for the villain including a birth secret and all in the finale but frankly it’s just an overused grandeur delusions trope which Choi Won Young can act while in slumberland.

Juvenile Justice - The show has an interesting premise and the acting is solid, but I’m too sensitive when it comes to bad things happening to animals, children or the elderly. After watching Ep 1, I made the decision my heart is not up for this.
Thirty, Nine - I was really looking forward to this show, but something about it is not clicking for me. I don’t hate it, but it feels flat.
Forecasting Love and Weather - I like learning about weather phenomenons. The cheating exes are keeping it interesting. The two leads are growing on me. Slowly.
Twenty Five, Twenty One - This is the show I can’t wait for each weekend. Just like that promo ad, this show makes you feel like your eating popsicles with your best bud on a summer day, even when in reality it’s sleeting outside.

Is Kill Heal and I haven't done my best yet available with subs anywhere?

Thirty-Nine Cha-Young is the most interesting character with her illness and her love story. It's sad the focus is on Mi-Jo. The last friend is kinda boring. I really found stupid the lotery ticket thing.

Through the Darkness So glad it's back!

Twenty Five Twenty One I really like this drama : the ambiance, the characters, the production. Kim Tae-Ri is a great actress, she made her character so lovely and lively.

Forecasting Love and Weather If I like romance dramas, it's for the part where the characters get closer, start to know each other, for the bickering, etc. But they completely skipped this part and now, I need to think they're a plausible couple? It doesn't work for me.

Grid I like it but we are still in the dark with the story.

Juvenile Justice The judges are kinda cliché with the realistic one and the idealistic one...

Rookie Cops Why did they make the FL so incompetent as a cop? After the issue in Korea with the police woman, they could think it wasn't a good idea that the FL can't fight, drive and makes lousy plans... Kim Tak in black shirt was a good idea! I like this character, he deserves better than Ari.

F4 Thailand How can we have a sad break-up when they don't even date officially.

Twenty-five Twenty-one: Count me in as one of the many 'I love this show' folks. It has made me nostalgic for some of the concrete things of this time...not the financial uncertainty, but the music, the ability to actually have a conversation as opposed to texting!

Thirty-nine: I'm confused about what is happening. I mean I *know* what is happening but where are the character arcs going? Joo-hee seems to look confused. We know the characters are all paired off with someone but occasionally it feels like everyone is sort of secondary Mi-jo. Understandable, but it would be nice to have some substance to the character. And boy does the make-up make the women look pore-less! Where can I get that foundation??

Forecasting...: I'm learning more about weather forecasting and Korea's landscape, than I ever thought would be accessible to me.

Juvenile Justice: One episode down. I'm intrigued.

Her Private Life: Park Min-yong is the closest thing to effervescence in this show!

Dal Ja's Spring (Year: 2007) Even though the drama is 15 years old, it is still relatable and has aged well like an old wine. The show had covered almost all grounds in portraying the desires and sufferings of the females in different stages of their lives through the characters of an unmarried woman, a mother, a wife, a daughter, a boss, a divorced woman and a widow. I love this show even more for emphasizing on women's career and not sidelining it in favour of romance that somewhere in the middle, I thought the male leads were reduced to supporting characters with storylines revolving around the women in their lives. The last two episodes were totally unnecessary, but I still loved the dialogues throughout the end.

I lived all these years alone and I know to live well alone, but I don't know how to live as two.

This has got to be the best breakup line ever. Of course, they could have solved the misunderstanding by talking it out, but relationships don't work that way, especially ones with increasing pressure of marriage and insecurities coming in with age that is tied to social security and birthing kids.
My Verdict Recommended

New Heart (Year: 2007) Now, I know why Ji Sung and Kim Min Jung had sparkling chemistry in The Devil Judge Also, this show made me wonder if Kdrams just recycle shows every year with different actors because the storyline is similar to Dr.Romantic 2. The operations were more comical than serious because they had blood spurting everywhere and senior surgeons messing up operations due to their misguided faith and superfluous ego.
My Verdict Not recommended because most likely you would have watched the same plot elsewhere, maybe at the same time in 2007 (which are White Tower and Surgeon Bong Dal Hee).

Ghost Doctor (Year: 2022) Thanks to the good bromance between Rain and Kim Bum, the show started out great and ended on a good note, though the middle had UEE being fleshed for her money's worth by having her cry.
My Verdict Recommended for a watch when you are in middle of dark crime dramas and depressing melodramas.

Forecasting Love and Weather Ep 1-4 This has got to be one of those dramas that stays true to its context by actually showing us the process of forecasting weather and its importance. The real lead here is the weather because of how it is used to describe the unpredictable nature of human characters and their relationships. Park Young Min's chemistry is the something else because she made me like Song Kang😂😂

Twenty-Five, Twenty-One: 8.1 Should I be glad he didn't give her a piggy-back ride like every other kdrama ever, or pissed that they did such a silly walk?
Question: Since you're not supposed to give your significant other shoes in Korea because they'll use them to run away, what about giving slippers? Just run away slowly and carefully? Is that why he's (apparently) not the father?

Ghost Doctor: 6.5 Ending was predictably sentimental and by-the-numbers. Somewhat ghostly numbers, but still.

Moonshine: 4.5

Tracer: 6.5 (for days 3 / 5)

Rookie Cops: 6.5

Grid: 7.9

Juvenile Justice: 7.5

The Red Sleeve: Surprised but thrilled that this show refused to give in to the fantasy that genuinely consenting relationships are possible between a king and a slave. It recognizes that claiming someone as "yours" when that is literally as well as metaphorically true is not a romantic gesture, and that no matter how much mutual affection may exist between two people true happiness is only possible when both partners have agency. I also appreciated that the show avoided easy villains - it recognizes that the problems are systemic, not individual and that bad systems lead to bad outcomes no matter how good the intentions of the participants may be.

Also, does anyone know if there's a way to watch Grid legally in the US? I mean, I know Disney is the evil empire, but are they really going to produce Asian shows and then make it impossible to watch them?

The Red Sleeve (2021)
Thoroughly enjoyed this from start to finish, the entire ensemble was fantastic. This might be the performance that washes away the stink of "idol-actor" from Jun-ho, his talent is legitimate and his consistency has finally paid off. Lee Se-young was fantastic too and in some ways her performance was a lot harder to pull off than his, her comedic timing was on point, her dramatic moments were compelling and she even managed to pull off some silly and physical slapstick moments with finesse.
Overall a great and bittersweet story about two people who were victims of circumstance and simply had to make do with the hand that life dealt them.

The Crowned Clown (2019)
A solid and entertaining political thriller that hits more than it misses. Yeo Jin-goo was great as the titular clown but this entire drama belongs to Kim Sang-kyung an excellent performance that sticks with you well after the drama ends.

Bad Guys (2014) [Rewatch]
It somehow manages to be even better watching it the second time round, the spinoffs and sequels are nowhere near as good as the original.

Next up on my watch list:
Mr. Sunshine
Gakistal
Chicago Typewriter [rewatch]
Voice [Seasons 2 - 4]
The Legend of Condor Heroes [2017]

Thirty-Nine (Ep 3&4) - So far so good specifically Ep 4 where viewers are being brought to a rollercoaster ride of emotions. Kudos to SYJ, JMD & KJH for their top notched performance here. This show emphasizes more about human emotions than anything else. I supposed those who have experienced these kind of situations will truly understand what it means :)

Through the Darkness (Ep 7) - Finally all the painstaking clashes within the factions are coming together and bearing fruit in their investigations. Not 1 but 2 serial killers are on the loose and I can't wait to see what's going to happen in Ep 8.....

Grid (Ep 2) - Everything seems so secretive and suspicious still :P It's kind of hard watching only 1 ep per week cos I'm still not sure what to make of all the characters here. Is Ghost coming from the past or future? What's with her monitoring certain individuals in the current timeline? What's with the sweet tooth? Sigh....

Juvenile Justice (Ep 1 to 10) - I'm so glad it's not that slow of a slow burn (that's what was tagged) series. Initially I thought KHS's character is all bad ass and all out to clamped down hard on those juvie offenders but that's not really the case. It explores on how the judicial system deals with young offenders i.e is the punishment handed to them really gives an impact to them to change their ways. Are maximum punishments the only effective way? The backstory of Judge Sim will reveal why she becomes what she is and why she is adamant to make sure these juvies are severely dealt with. I like Kim Hye-soo but I felt that her dead pan expression throughout the show a bit funny....I mean do all judges looked like that? :P I was wondering if it's normal for all these judges or lawyers in SK to actually do site visits on their own in any hours of the day? They seem more heroic than the police :P

Just finished "The One and Only" and it reinforces my belief that Kdramas have trouble with endings. First, Mi Do did not have to die. After letting Se Yeon die, the show made its point. There was no reason to have the other friend die. Second, In Sook losing her memory was a really bad choice. After IN and WC spend the whole show falling in love and surviving the murder plots, to have her loose her memory is just cruel. I don't always need happy endings, but they deserved one. With that in mind can anyone explain the ending to me?

Love the writing and directing for TWENTY FIVE TWENTY ONE, there are so many touching and original scenes, as the note on drunk Yi-jin and the green fencing lights. Not so happy about the angst element with the hint that there is no happy end for the leads, it makes it more difficult to root for the romance.

I also like THIRTY-NINE, but not quite as much. Is it only in Korean drama land that doctors do not seem to be bound by patient confidentiality (not just in this drama) or is this ok in real life Korea, too? Mi-jo's parents are adorable, they must be the nicest parents I have seen in any drama. Jin-seok is a mess, he is stringing along a platonic mistress, sticks to a wife for whom he has no respect all for a son who is not his own child. Who invents such a unbelievable character? I am a bit tired of pancreatic cancer plot and the deep sadness that comes along with it. I know too many real people who went through it and do not like it as a drama plot.

THROUGH THE DARKNESS is back, hurray, but still have to fast forward the killing scenes. Do detectives still not know that criminals always escape when they ask for a toilet break?

Only watched half of ep 1 of JUVENILE JUSTICE. Good so far.

Done with ROOKIE COPS.

THIRTY, NINE: Appreciate your perspective on the context, @welh. It could explain why the show is the way it is.

I know many may disagree (and please know I envy those of you who do -- if you're enjoying the show, I'm so glad you are! -- because I had such high hopes for two of my favorite actresses ) but I've been underwhelmed by the interactions between the three leads...which y'know, forms the entire premise of the show, so, a bit of deal-breaker!

We've all seen k-dramas rock friendship time and again, cf. the Reply series, Hospital Playlist, Dear My Friends, ad infinitum. It's what they do best. So I'm puzzled by the lack of chemistry/awkward acting amongst the lead trio, especially because I know those three can act. It's almost as if the director told them to slow their scenes down (rather than, say, letting them flow with any ad-libs) and those microsecond pauses between their lines kills my immersion in their experience.

Instead of forgetting I'm watching actors act (as I am with Twenty Five Twenty-One, aaaa!), I am reminded that I am indeed watching something artificial. And the whole point of a show is to feel as if it is real. Gah, I am so sad about what could have been!

TWENTY-FIVE TWENTY-ONE: I ADORE this show, and am absolutely living for the weekends these days. Said everything that had to be said elsewhere so will stop taking up space...for now. I'll probably be gushing under the latest recap after I watch this weekend's eps!

A PIECE OF YOUR MIND: I started it thanks to Beanie recs and the high DB rating, but I'm struggling. Love the tone, the acting, but where is it going?! I'm midway through episode 5. Someone help me out here...

A BUSINESS PROPOSAL: I know. It hasn't aired. But I'm here to let everyone know I'm counting the days. Don't let me down, Show!

My Husband Got A Family (finale): 😭 why did it end?
Lovee this show.

What am I going to watch now? Not all family dramas are this simple (but thoughtful) and cute and have so many likeable characters. And I can't watch a regular drama... :(

FORECASTING LOVE & WEATHER is our favorite show. Episodes 3 and 4 started to pull our love square into full focus. Daebackgrits is right that this is a classic rebound relationship, but it is not one that is centered on their respective exes- if anything the second leads are a major nuisance to them. What makes this different from the usual rebound relationship is that both people are on the rebound, and both are high quality individuals who are better off after being dumped by their exes. In other words, in this case the rebound is not the heart of the relationship but rather the means by which it could logically form so rapidly. That they now have to get to know each other and, in addition, face real challenges to their situation are what will form the heart of their story.

Occasionally I will watch a J-drama. This week I was charmed by RINKO-SAN WANTS TO TRY. It was nice and light- and R rated for good reason. Now I am watching IN TIME WITH YOU (JP), the Japanese re-make of the classic T-drama. The Korean re-make was quite forgettable- and it appears that there has also been a Thai version as well. I have just started so it is too soon to tell if this version is worthy of the original or not.

We are finally back to 2 episodes per week for YOUNG LADY AND GENTLEMAN. I love the Winter Olympics but I am glad to have our shows back. This week focused on the travails of our OTP, with our secondary romances largely side-lined. It was a rough ride, but our Young Lady and Gentleman are finally back together, to the great relief of the children. But one more dark cloud is looming on the horizon in the form of the scheming Jo Sara- again. There are some characters in a weekender that you come to hate- and Chief Jo is one of them. It looks like this romance will be challenged one more time.

This week my wife took a break from her beloved Chinese Costume dramas to watch something lighter: the classic YOU’RE BEAUIFUL. This was actually a re-watch as we had actually first watched this show about three years ago. If you have not seen it before you will certainly enjoy it. She then followed this with IDOL: THE COUPE- and loved that too.

MissVictrix, fencing is a fabulous sport. I took it up in college and frankly wish I had continued with it afterwards but- law school. Fencing requires strength, endurance, highly developed muscle skills, focus and brains. Imagine playing chess, volleyball and running two miles simultaneously- that is fencing. It is a pity that more people do not know about this sport because it is a great one. I plan on starting TWENTY FIVE TWENTY ONE soon.

Currently traveling in Europe where war has exploded. Ukraine is number one topic of conversation in the streets, tube, cafes, and offices. All we are watching this week is news. Kdramas will be paused temporarily because the mood isn't there.

Kdramas I caught up on before this week:

2521 To my surprise, I am really liking NJH here. I was very skeptical about his pairing with KTR given their gap in acting skills but he is anchoring the show for me. KTR's acting as NHD is trying too hard. All I see when NHD is on screen is KTR trying to act like an 18-year old and it's taking me out of the viewing experience.

39 Dropping this show. The subject matter has TONS of potential with all the stuff you can explore about this time period in life, but instead the writer is delivering a draggy, unbalanced story with uncessary focus on romances, singular emphasis on SYJ's character, and a forced cancer plot.

Work has been rough these days, but I’m somehow still keeping up with dramas…for now.

F4 Thailand: Kavin and MJ are a hilarious, I need more scenes of just the two of them screwing around. And speaking of Kavin, Kaning and him are so cute together. I always had a soft spot for this couple even in the previous adaptations I disliked, so it’s no surprise to me that I love them here too. Give them more screentime, don’t be shy! That “breakup” (does it count when they’ve only officially dated for like three days?) scene was genuinely sad. I felt terrible for Thyme, but I understood where Gorya was coming from. While we the audience know that this is a cinderella story, she doesn’t, so I get why she thinks it won’t work out. Also, they should tone down on the product placement.

Grid: I enjoyed the first episode, but the second episode really got the ball rolling. I like the characters, the setting, and the tone. Now if only we got more than an episode per week…

Thirty-Nine: I’m frustrated with how Mi-jo-centric this show is. The debacle with how to break the diagnosis to Chan-young was ridiculous; Mi-jo shouldn’t have known in the first place! What the hell is wrong with that doctor? Why do dramaland doctors always forget about patient confidentiality? This should’ve been about Chan-young, not how awful Mi-jo felt. But I fear Son Ye-jin’s a-list status is getting in the way of telling the story as it should be: an ensemble with equal attention and consideration to all three women. Also, glad to see Jin-seok is finally not the worst. It’s super convenient for the drama to make his wife shady, but whatever allows Lee Mu-saeng to be likeable, I’ll take. He’s still a garbage husband and a cheating scumbag (no matter his wife’s conduct), but at least he cares about his son. I wish the show would care more about Joo-hee than just make her an alcoholic.

Through the Darkness: IT’S BACK!!! I missed the show so freaking much. It was only three long weeks, but it felt like three years. Let’s see if I can actually appreciate the drama for it’s nuanced depiction of crime and detective work again, or will my brain malfunction because Kim Nam-gil is sexy. I only ask the real questions here.

Tracer: I still have to get to episode 5, but my overall opinion of the show remains the same. It’s intelligently written and paced quickly and masterfully. The characters are all interesting and surprisingly easy to keep track of despite the huge cast. I do wonder where (and who??) Hye-young’s fiancé is. Now in the real world, he’d just be some guy and that’s fine, that’s how it usually is with a colleague’s family anyway. But I seriously doubt that can happen in a drama.

Twenty Five Twenty One: I love it! The drama feels fresh and original in the best way possible. I love Hee-do and her passion for fencing. And I’m surprised by how much I love “Back” Yi-jin too (oh the tragedy of netflix subs). I’ve been critical of...

Through the Darkness is back! Huzzah!

Completed
Moonshine: 5.5/10 for the series. It was…fine. An enjoyable enough watch, but nothing really wowed me throughout. The twists weren’t twisty enough to fool anyone, and the main characters were all fairly stock standard. Nothing offensively good or bad but I’m putting on the slightly above average side of things due to decent performances with a solid cast.

Currently Watching

Rookie Cops: Oof, another mostly average show. Our FL is what I’m here for, and she can lift up even the worst of shows in my experience. Still watching, so it’s doing something right. Random side note…I think the OP song might be the worst one I’ve heard in recent memory. It’s not catchy, and I actively skip it faster than all others.

Juvenile Justice: Watched the first episode. Alright so far. Was not expecting all the episodes to drop at once, but it’s got a good cast so I’ll give it at least a couple more. Definitely seems like it’s going to fit right in with Netflix’s darker shows, based on the first episode alone.

Twenty-Five, Twenty-One: My favourite by a country mile, and it’s only really close because Through the Darkness is also solid. I’m chomping at the bit for every episode, and all our characters are flawed and charming and fun. Watch if you’re not (especially if you’re into the genre, and even if you’re not).

Tracer: Argh, I made the mistake of catching up on a bunch of episodes because of the sub team providing better subs. Now I’m anxiously awaiting more and can’t pain watch through the bad english subs aside from this group.

Through the Darkness: Watching right before I post this, but I’m just going to reiterate how happy I am it’s back!

Dropped:
Thirty-nine: Bland, predictable, and just not what I’m looking to watch. Got through 3 episodes, and that was it for me.

Grid: I actually think this one is solid, but the one episode a week, with the bad cliffhangers is just NOT doing it for me. I’ll wait for a binge, and by then I’ll at least have some idea how it turns out due to other beanies.

Finally finished Ghost doctors. What a wonderful drama. I had great time with the drama. The comedy was great.

Currently watching :
The Gentleman and the Young Lady : I am already tired of the drama. No more plot. The only parts I enjoy was DanDan with the kids. Now that the reveal is out, what next? Because there is no more plot.

Twenty One Twenty Five: I always look forward to this drama. Such a comfort and entertaining drama. I am loving Na HeeDo.

Royal Feast: The subtitle is wrong so I am not enjoying it as I should.

Dropped Forecasting Love and Weather but I am ready to pick it up.

Happy return to Through the Darkness.

Semantic Error - they changed the language course to French, which hilarious, though I kinda wish they kept the same skit theme. And he stopped wearing red :3

Royal Feast - bit sad the focus is shifting from food to Sun/Zhu Zhanji
I wonder if they're going to show Emperor Xuande's reign was actually quite short.

The Autumn Ballad - I don't really understand the whole scheme with the pearl

F4 Thailand - feel bad for Glakao, he just wanted a fun going away party.

I finished my re-watch of Solomon's Perjury and I love when I enjoy a drama more the second time around. This one is definitely underrated. I barely hear anyone talking about it anymore which is a shame. It's a great one! Bae Joonyoung was my favourite character.

Twenty-Five Twenty-One is still amazing. I absolutely love Heedo and Yijin. Their friendship is so beautiful and they are also just fantastic characters on their own. I wish I had Heedo's fighting spirit. I'm so jealous of people that have dreams and the courage to pursue them. I can't get enough of the drama and I can't wait to see where the story goes once we reach the twenty-five twenty-one.

I am still following Tracerand enjoying it. Dongjoo is an interesting character and Im Shiwan is wonderful as per usual. I also love Go Ahsung and they have chemistry together.

Outside of Dramaland: I started re-watching the third season of Dawson's Creek.
Pacey and Joey still have my heart and Dawson is still the absolute worst.

Just leaving this here for the record because Lent is upon us and I'll be giving up kdramas again (not that I'm watching any but anyway).

MOONSHINE Ep. 16/16. Completed my first drama of 2022. The ending tied up everything nicely. Maybe it was because of the Olympic hiatus and the fact that I binged the last 4 episodes, but I enjoyed those 4 episodes more than the rest of the drama. I'd love to see Yoo Seung-ho in a serious sageuk next time.

THE ONE AND ONLY (C-drama). Ep. 19/24. Continuing on my slow watch. Bai Lu's silent crying kills me. This drama has the most monstrous Queen Dowager I've ever seen, but props to the show for portraying even a lustful power-hungry queen with finesse. American shows and Netflix would have thrown in R-rated scenes but this Cdrama has class.

Two days after the posting of "What Watch" which is what I call this based upon the famous scene in Casablanca. I think I've experienced Kdrama overload.
Because we were all in a drought I lined up some classics to watch. Straight up sage with Tree With Deep Roots and I'm struggling with the intricate plot. Then Gakistal for modern perspective. How can a ML get tortured/whipped and still look so hot?
Started the day with Through the Darkness which made me go out on an hour long hike just to deal with it all. Balanced that with Business Proposal which allowed me to laugh and chill out.
A few eps of Youn's Kitchen 2 really served to ground me in human interaction and great food. Now I want to visit Tenerife.
Decided to save Juvenile Justice for tomorrow 'cause I'm well and truly overloaded.
Dang, I love me some Kdrama.