CRICKET - not watching female world cup matches. only news.

Boring test matches but now 4 teams are in direct fight - The real decider for India and Australia is in October. Then we have T20 world cup.

Root boy - good going.

1st April - new changes -

BUSINESS PROPOSAL (Ep 5-6) Tae Moo’s hypocrisy was teeth grinding but thank goodness it did not last for long. Oddly, his anger turned into affection as in the timeless saying “you always hurt the one you love.” The show certainly did get dark quickly with the stalker angle device to get both lead couples together. The show flips the switch on the OTP “fake” relationship while the second couple rockets off on a drunk confession. TM’s hidden agenda to get HR alone so he can attempt to charm her is not a persistent man asking a woman out but more towards chaebol stalking to make employee to like him. The second fake relationship would be unnecessary if TM had the courage to ask her out, be transparent with his feelings, instead of his hidden agenda.

I still have issues with TM using his authority to make HR like him instead of telling her outright he likes her then have the story center on his stumbling to woo her in comedic fashion. I think we need Grandpa to put his arms around the couple and drag them to the alter.

THIRTY, NINE (Ep 7-8): I wondered how big the drop-off in viewer interest would be this week (Ep 7 down 1.2% or 17% then rebound to 7.2% for Ep 8). The show continues to be unbalanced with the side stories’ pain and suffering eclipsing CY’s ordeal. The show continues to orbit around Mijo’s character but now with more about her life issues than the other two friends’ stories. The scenes were too short, choppy and edited in a cascade of doom fashion in Episode 7 and complete scenes were chopped up in Episode 8 which did not add anything to dramatic effect. When CY’s parents get the News, instead of focusing in that evening with their daughter, the show pivots back to Mijo’s uncertainty about her BF and her biological mother.

At that moment, the climax of THE storyline, a long CY parent talk would have been more appropriate than the final summary of their acceptance of her actions. How did mom do a complete 180? That struggle and acceptance was sorely missed for no apparent reason.

All the GF’s parents are the best; and SW’s father is the worst. He is such an embarrassment to SW that it starts to put a wedge in his relationship with Mijo. Likewise, Mijo’s biological mother puts her on mental edge affecting all of her relationships.

The writer is trying to redeem Jin Suk’s past actions with his current caring attitude towards CY, but it still does not work for me. CY should have been stronger to push him away, but again, she does not get enough screen time to explain her actions. The chef’s break up with his status hungry GF was probably the most realistic scene this week. The script continues to be weak and the editing/cut scenes still annoying in pace and information. It seems the story path to the end will be more set ups for SYJ emotional scenes.

This was a very good drama week!

COMPLETED
Through the Darkness - The best show I've seen in a while. Great script and great performances especially Kim Nam-gil's.

Rookie Cops - They killed off my favourite character 😒. It was being telegraphed for a while but still whyyyy. Rest of the finale was fine just like the show.

ONGOING
Business Proposal - It’s sooo trope-y but it has that indefinable something which makes it enjoyable. Also Grandpa 🥰.

Crazy Love - Yes he's faking it! The over-the-top niceness was suspect from the beginning so this makes more sense. Keep being crazy show!

Thirty-nine - I don't know if it's the editing or the script but the show feels disconnected like they are just showing a series of events independent of each other. Makes it very hard to relate and feel.

Grid - Grabbing his throat and strangling him right back was pretty badass 👏 but the story seems to only move in the last 5 minutes of each episode. Rest of the episode had too much exposition.

Forecasting Love and Weather - Senior Forecaster's wife needs to get a grip and have an actual conversation with her husband.

Twenty-five Twenty-one - What a gorgeous 'confession'. This show is my happy pill but with each subsequent week I keep bracing myself for heartbreak. It can't bode well that older Hee-do has no memory of the 'school trip'.

C-DRAMAS
Still watching Royal Feast. Started Oath of Love.

Twenty Five Twenty One: Both episodes were good this week but Episode 9 was pretty much perfect. From the confession to the scene with Hee-do and Yoo-rim’s mom, there were so many beautiful moments. There were plenty of funny moments too with Yi-jin and the “critters.”

Business Proposal: This week needed more Grandpa and more drama in drama, but it was cute. Kim Se-jung is the first actress in a long time that feels like she could be the next rom-com star.

Love (ft. Marriage & Divorce): This show … So Dong Ma has some weird scream fetish and dumps his fiancee after hearing Pi Young scream at a dermatology clinic and immediately proposes marriage. They’ve met once at this point. They have an endless conversation with her telling him he’s crazy and him spouting off lines like “When I heard you screaming, it felt indescribably electrifying.” He then dresses in a pirate costume and follows her and her daughter around an amusement park, blissfully listening to her scream on a ride. The writer is insane. I hate myself for not being able to look away.

Forecasting Love and Weather: This week just reinforced to me that Ha-kyung and Shi-woo are at completely different stages in their lives. I like the sister and coworker.

Thirty-Nine: I’ve been pretty patient with this drama but this week was boring. They really should have made Mi-jo the terminally ill one. All of the focus on her and her romance and the biological mother storyline would have made more sense then. So much drama this week and she’s not even the one dying.

Military Prosecutor Doberman: Still fairly entertaining.

Grid (Episode 5) - Mood: C
With this writer, I can have faith that loose ends like Ghost’s visit to Sae Ha’s house will be tied up by the end, but it’s a poor decision to make for a show that only has one episode/week. Especially when, you know, that was the cliffhanger.

A Superior Day (Episode 1) - Mood: C-
Not gonna lie, the girl has 0 concept of stranger danger despite her dad repeatedly warning her and yet proudly claims that she’s no kid? The dad can’t be blamed for leaving her alone: she was going to wander into trouble sooner or later?

Business Proposal (Episode 5-6) - Mood: C-
Yes, if you don’t think too hard about the details, without a doubt, it’s fun to see Tae Moo now pretend for Hari (though, you do owe her an apology for ditching her in the rain, also, where’s her bag). But it would’ve been so much better if we didn’t have Min Woo or Yoo Ra in the picture? I liked the confessional kisses but the cousin is going to be trouble, right?

Twenty Five Twenty One (Episode 9-10) - Mood: C-
While the show handled the Injeolmi arc as ideally as it could, the patch-up between the fencers felt really artificial: I’m not seeing how Yu Rim’s suddenly besties with Hee Do, though my gut tells me that the upcoming plot might have them commiserating with each other. Ignoring the nonsense that’s the documentary colleague, there’s real drama to develop regarding professional-private conflicts of interest, but sadly I don’t think it’ll be framed as anything but an obstacle to the OTP’s romance. As for Ji Woong and Seung Wan, finally the writer’s giving them material. Stay on this path please?

Thirty-Nine (Episode 7-8) - Mood: D
Y’all, I’m disappointed that they made the chef’s girlfriend a negative character so that we’ll root for Joo Hee’s love but at least there’s progress (part-timer quitting’s random but whatever). As for the rest of the plot: it’s makjang nonsense.

Crazy Love (Episode 3-4) - Mood: D
This show would’ve been dropped if it wasn’t for the fake amnesia but now there’s also the delusional ex who sadly is a burden narratively? Se Gi not being the culprit would be a major twist at this stage but there’s plenty of episodes to go.

Forecasting Love and Weather (Episode 9-10) - Mood: D
I hope showing what Ha Kyung’s mother did this week was meant to mock helicopter parenting and only that (Seok Ho, you also deserve better). Ha Kyung not reporting the work error feels out-of-character: if anything I thought she’ll do it.

Rookie Cops (Episode 15-16) - Mood progression: D / D / D / D / D- / D- / D- / D
No surprises for the finale: well, I still hold the opinion that the Sinyu Club arc was narrative crap, even if it gave us that awesome cameo from Kwak Si Yang? Even four sappy romances between the main cast would’ve been better?

Weather - when this week the predicted warm day didn't happen and the Main Forecaster apologised and talked about the computer models (and how in our little country the predictions are sometimes difficult to make, ha!) I couldn't NOT remember of our Korean forecasters 🙂 Real Life imitating Kdrama 😁
I'm still loving the drama and still appreciate that Hakyung and Shiwoo are talking and explaining their points of view. The Senior Forecaster Wife should learn from them (I shivered from the hatred in her voice).

Proposal - this show just makes me happy (and giddy). And I like all those small comments thrown here and there, like Should I buy him an apartment for his cleaning? Or when Haraboji gleefully mentions And stay until tomorrow! 😄

Crazy Love - the crazy is still there, but I was loosing my interest (the show doesn't make me as happy as BP) and wasn't sure I would continue... until the last minute reveal happened. Now I have to check next week!

25-21 - I love Seungwan. And her food tactic was pricless 😂 This week was full of love and warmth... and then the current covid time line scared me again.

F4 Thai- Oh, Lita, your break-up scene broke MY heart 💔 And Kavin, the Main Maid did mention that you are the most exhausting one from the F4, but you better be careful with Kaning's heart!

Business Proposal: To say I look forward to Mondays is an understatement. I love love this drama so much. I love our bestie girls and our bestie boys. I love the romance. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Military Prosecutor Doberman: I am enjoying this Boksu drama. Jo Bo A does best in these dramas it seems, lol. I miss Bok Soo. That being said this drama is just fine. I enjoy it for what it is. I like that the setting is different too.

Rookie Cops: I fast forwarded through the last two episodes. Daeil was my favorite character and I don't think it was necessary to kill him to unveil this vast conspiracy in the police force. And of course everything was connected. blah blah blah. The first half was cute at least.

Grid: We have more questions than answers is the common refrain for this drama. Initially I was okay with the 1 week per episode format with this drama, but it isn't helping the drama at this point with all the unanswered question.

Kill Heel: The main lead's transformation was interesting. The CFO continues to be my favorite character. The rest is fine I guess.

Twenty Five Twenty one: Missvictrx's belief that this will be another Reply 1988 stopped me because I think she is right. I feel like Yi Jin will disappear like Jung Hwan did and I am not ready.

The King of Pigs: I haven't started but will start today!!

Plugging along on my trope project which gives me some legit excuse to rewatch Business Proposal from the beginning. Combined trope list from tvtrope.org with the cliche list from kdramalove (that list is more detailed and hilarious).
Since it's killer pollen season right now, I will happily stay inside for new eps of Forecasting and 25-21 .
Dropping 39 because its just a meandering mess.
Trying to watch as many Oscar nominated films as I can and in my search I found this gem of a short film shot by Park Chan-wook, Life is But a Dream on apple youtube. It is 20 minutes of genius, shot on an I 13 Pro phone.

Through the Darkness is a prime example of genre served up straight, without any frills or gimmicks. I’m all for serial killer stories told from other angles, like Nobody Knows or Beyond Evil, but I’m also impressed with TTD’s approach, which combines directness and restraint to great effect. The cops are neither geniuses nor outrageously incompetent. They are emotionally involved in the crimes, but not in a melodramatically personal way. For all their brutality, the killers are recognisably - and chillingly - human. Song Ha-young and the Behavioural Analysis Team’s arc is done just right. It’s completely believable that they spend most of their time observing, talking and reading (!), leaving the actual catching of the criminals to Yoon Tae-goo and co. A second season would be most welcome, but I think the show has come to a perfect end, with Ha-young finding more like-minded people to share his burden with.

Crazy Love I dropped it. This humor doesn't work on me and I don't specially like the characters.

Business Proposal The girls are still the best and the guys are finally catching up with them :p

Military Prosecutor Doberman I'm still behind but don't want to drop it.

Thirty-Nine I can see the writer is trying with the sad stories but it lacks the little something that could make me feel for the characters. I think it's a mix between the writting, the directing and the acting.

Twenty Five Twenty One This drama is really beautiful. Kim Tae-Ri knows to choose great stories.

Forecasting Love and Weather The story of the main couple is regressing, they started very strongly without real reason and now it lacks substance.

Grid I decided to wait until all the episodes are out. I like the actors, the story seems interesting but the fact there is only one episode by week breaks the rythm of the story.

Rookie Cops Kim Tak should have been the main lead, his story was the most interesting and Lee Shin-Young was way more better than Kang Daniel. The rest was pretty meh. I hope Chae So-Bin will be in a better drama next time and have a better partner. She formed such a cute couple with Jung Hae-In.

Through the Darkness This drama was a perfect investigation drama! No stupid drama, decision, characters, etc. I will miss it.

My love mix-up: I don't remember your name, beanie, but if you're reading this THANK YOU! 'My love mix-up' is the show that I need it. 100% cuteness, 100% wholesome,
0 tsunderes, 0 external interferences, 0 jerks, 0 (real) love triangles.

This show has the best misunderstanding since Ho Gu's Love and has the cutest ensamble since WFKBJ and SKL. I loved it!

I do I do: the leads are so cute but why are they dragging the lie? Everyone knows he's the father of the baby except for him, that's mean. He's an angel, he deserves better than that.

Twenty Five Twenty One: My love and enjoyment of this show is hampered because I’m anticipating a sad (disappointing?) ending. And why does adult Hee-do never talk or reminisce about Yi-Jin? Even at a platonic level, they were close friends. So, I’m grasping at any small sign of hope, like the fact that she drives a red car.
A Business Proposal: my happy place. This show is so much fun. Thank you, thank you, Dramaland! We needed this ray of sunshine in our lives. 💃🏻💃🏻
Forecasting Love and Weather: I’m enjoying this drama, even if it doesn’t pull at my heart strings. I think I like the other characters’ storylines more than our leads.
Only Just Married: I discovered this J-drama and it’s a nice filler while I wait for the aforementioned dramas. It’s cute.

It’s a rarity that I’m watching 3 dramas concurrently as two are normally my max…

BUSINESS PROPOSAL - this continues to be my happy bill. It might become the best romcom that propels Kim Se-jeong to be the Julia Roberts of Korea. With 4 more episodes, I guess it will concentrate on our two couples becoming real couples and - what I look forward to the most - tata, grandpa facing the real life pork cutlet and fried chicken trope himself.

TWENTY FIVE TWENTY ONE - just binged it in the last couple of days and now up to date. Guess it will be a contender for the best drama in 2022. I’m once again impressed by Kim Tae-ri’s acting which is always about bringing a character to life with authenticity and she is truly the Na Hee-do fleshed out fully right in front of our eyes. I regretted catching up on this drama the minute the adult Hee-do said she couldn’t recall the beach trip. It just sounds do tragically for us viewers and what lies ahead??

CRAZY LOVE - not hooked on this one (yet) but worse is neither lead characters are likeable four episodes in. Hope Ep 5 will pick me up as the amnesia is confirmed fake.

A Business Proposal reminds me that I can never trust my own taste meter on kdramas. Cliches that often seem annoying suddenly became my jam~ I love that I can click play and just lose myself in its silliness, those archaic bird sounds, and the two friendships. My favourite is definitely Yongseo – I love her character and how the actress plays her! She’s delightful and makes me want to be her friend.

Twenty Five, Twenty One: I’m having a hard time watching this drama. Not because it’s bad, but it makes me a little too sentimental than I’d like to be these days. I’ll probably wait till it’s over or when my general frame of mind lets me savor the emotions better.

For non dramas, I just finished 7 seasons of Clone Wars *sniff* The show left me so full and heartbroken and inconsolable and maybe it’s the reason why my heart has no room for 2521 right now, lol.

Twenty-Five, Twenty-One: 8.5 Day 9 was good, day 10 started slow, then got suspiciously happy... we're doomed.

A Business Proposal: 8.0 Now that we have had a cockroach in love, when do we get the insects that *REALLY* find us attractive? #mosquitoinlove

Crazy Love Lies: 8.0 Complaining about people who watch too many soaps and think everyone has amnesia...

Military Prosecutor Doberman: 7.9 Crime/prosecutor show with just a touch of D. P. this week. And I never knew Koreans with orange hair could be so hot :)

Grid: 7.8

The Pirates: The Last Royal Treasure (k-movie): 5.0 Because maybe if I were 5 I might have liked it.

Rookie Cops: 5.5 Ending was formulaic, predictable and in the final 25 minutes unusually cheesy even by kdrama standards -- none of that mocking overdone kdrama tropes for these hacks. And the big fight/climax -- ARRGH! Hanna smacks the head baddy with his golf club and then instead of pulverizing him while he's stunned she gives him time to recover and turn the tables, thus providing us with several more minutes of pointless "drama" and proving that she has the combat/survival instincts of a turnip.

Income Taxes: 2.021 Pulse-pounding suspenseful finale, much like previous seasons, but *somehow* worse.

Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo: Finally watched this and had mixed feelings. It felt like the show's heart was in the right place, but it had follow-through issues. If you're going to argue that big, muscular women can be sexy and desirable, it wouldn't hurt to actually cast one as your lead (no disrespect for Lee Sung Kyung's acting, but no amount of bulky sweaters could hide the fact that she's a model). Also, if you're going to include queer-coded characters it would be nice if they were actually allowed to be queer rather than emphasizing that they're "actually straight" at the end.

Currently Watching:

Legally Romance: This drama is such a delight. The FL never knew the ML has feelings for her until she went back and began the signs she missed.

2521:Episode 9 was perfect and episode 10. One of my best kdramas of all times.

Business Proposal: I always look forward to Mondays and Tuesdays. My happy pill.

The Gentleman and the Young Lady: Decided to complete this drama even though I don't enjoy it anymore.

I have two category of shows this week. Just like Marie Kondo says, those that 'spark joy' and those that simply don't! Hahah!
2521: If it was possible for a show to reach out from within the screen, give me a hug, and make my heart feel full, this is the one! My only woe is the show finishing off in 2 more weeks. Can we please extend this to 20 eps?
Legally Romance: While 25-21 is set in HS, this one is filling that void inside me that wishes to see the Taeyang-Squad being fierce rivals & sweet friends through College! ^^ Drama-land has finally given me my spirit-animal in terms of the unapologetically money-grubbing, loud, troublemaker FL, who also happens to be a ray of pure sunshine!! Bickering classmates & competitors, to bickering colleagues is one of my favorite tropes!! The ensemble of supporting characters is surprisingly so sweet! And those who attended college in the 2011 era, would have a blast to the past with glimpses of FB statuses , and Sony Xperia phones ! Ah, good times!
Business Proposal: The only reason I look forward to Mondays now! The fake gf trope turns to the fake bf trope next week, but who's complaining? I'm here to slurp it all up (& choke on my white-kimchi raviolis while laughing!) After Romance of Tiger & Rose, finally we have a Rom-Com that is so self-aware of itself... plot ingenuity: 5/10, overall fun: 1000/10. :P

Strangely, all 3 are nailing the chaotic girl/ calm boy dynamics so well! :P

The shows not sparking so much joy....
-Crazy Love: Almost gave up post ep 3, but ep 4 finally looked promising. Seems like a sister-drama to Bad & Crazy with how chaotic things get here.
-Dine With Love: I need more food, less angst, and even lesser denial, please! :P
-f4 Thailand: The first half of the show feels written by a different person than this half. Kavin X Kanning is my only joy now.
-Majo no Jouken: Guess I wasted my time with CN & Melancholia. Utada Hikaru's First Love is so ear-wormy, but I had no idea she wrote it as an OST to this! <3 Vintage dramas hit different! :')

Both BUSINESS PROPOSAL and CRAZY LOVE are my top favourites just now. Wonderful use of tropes and a good dose of wackiness. It's good to start the week laughing!

25-21 remains well written, with great acting performances. I hope the hints of a not so happy ending are a red herring, but fear that they are not.

I think So Ye-jin's as Mi-jo is crying real tears - for having signed up for this drama. I would be depressed, too. The script is all over the place, badly written, the editing weird. Dropped after episode 7. Feel sorry for all these actors who have to see it through to the end.

Like the way WEATHER FORECAST is exploring different expectation and views about marriage. I would not be surprised if the drama will have an open ending, with the main couple staying together unmarried for the time being, without ruling out to get married at some stage. I would be quite happy with that. And with Mum staying out of her daughters' relationships.

DOBERMANN seems to settle for a well trodden path, but I still like badass Jo Bo-ah and will hang on.

Not yet started KILL HEEL, after reading that there were 2 slapping scenes in the first episode. Will wait to hear whether it is still worth watching.

I'm plenty thankful for the rain of good dramas this period. My drama watching schedule is pretty hectic but I enjoy every bit of it.
Crazy love -- i wasn't expecting noh manners to be pretending about his amnesia, i can't wait for his 'fiancee' to find out the good news lol

Business proposal --- whoever did the casting for this drama deserves a raise. Everyone is killing their role. I love all four leads... Give me more

Doberman--- my sweetie badass red wig and long legged doberman are making me root for their revenge success. Although I felt a tiny bit empathy for chairman no because of his embarrassing secret but trash is still trash.

25,21 --- I got a sore tooth because of all the sweetness this drama keeps feeding me . I want more though. Na hee do and baek yi jin fighting!!

Love & weather--- Yoon park's character is the absolute worst like how can you treat someone you supposedly love in that manner. I really hate the way he treats his wife.

Grid--- the more I watch the more questions I have. Please show give us answers please

Cops/Crime/Mystery fans, has anyone seen or watched the recently finished 20 episode cdrama UNDER THE SKIN (Viki US)?
https://mydramalist.com/70249-lie-zui-tu-jian

A 2021 cops/crime/mystery cdrama I enjoyed and can recommend is the 16 episode DOUBLE TAP (Viki US) (not to be confused with the 2000 HK action film).
After the excellent THROUGH THE DARKNESS I started Jin Goo’s A SUPERIOR DAY (Viki US) and enjoyed it not withstanding his age appropriate annoying daughter. ASD is only one episode a week on Sunday evenings so I plan to jump into UNDER THE SKIN.

I continue to follow the guidance of the weekly theme--this is a great feature for those less experienced in k-dramas--great recommendations from the staff and commentators. Obviously as a guy I could not relate to having a girl crush on any of the characters mentioned, although I realize an article on non-gay boy crushes would be pretty boring, since it would list every lead actress of every k-drama. Still, I really love watching strong female characters--apart from crushing on them, which is quite unseemly at my age.

So last night we watched several of episodes of My Name which @missvictrix and some other readers mentioned. After seeing the heroine dispatch a few dozen thugs, I just wanted to let female DB readers inspired by a girl crush on Yoon Ji-woo, that if they encounter me strolling in my neighborhood, I am well aware that even a woman of small stature can do tremendous damage to my person. No demonstration will be necessary! Also, I have never harmed anyone’s father!

So far, this show has a bit more sophisticated plot than the last violent revenge story I watched, the 2010 film The Man from Nowhere, where Won Bin plays a lonely widower with a bad haircut who starts taking care of a young girl. When she’s abducted, he’s forced to singlehandedly kill every criminal in the city. The violence in that film actually got a little tedious for me, but it was helpful in explaining why so many k-drama serial killers fled to the rural provinces, and now deposit their victims in drainage ditches or fields of waving grass.

I’m watching all these dramas already and am still planning on starting new ones… *sigh*

ONGOING

Business Proposal: I adore this drama from the bottom of my heart. It’s hitting every note perfectly and is overall such a joy to watch and rewatch as a viewer. Just delightful in every way.

F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers: The product placement in this drama is absolutely ridiculous to the point that I’m convinced it’s intentional. I continue to be impressed with how intelligently and concisely this old story (adapted time-and-time again) is being told. It feels modernized and thoroughly set in the 2020s, which I think would be difficult to pull off, but the writers are doing a brilliant job. I’m interested to see how they tackle Kavin and Kaning’s relationship because I’ve always had a soft spot for this secondary pairing - even in adaptations I disliked. Also, the actor playing Ren - Dew Jirawat Sutivanichsak - is so handsome it’s actually distracting.

Grid: I think it’s time the show actually starts answering some of the questions and mysteries rather than simply create new ones. There’s very little plot progression that’s actually happening and only in like the last 5 minutes of the episode. I still have practically undying faith in Lee So-yeon, but come on, give us something.

Thirty-Nine: The combination of boring writing and abysmal editing is making this drama truly difficult to trudge through. This still feels like Mi-jo’s drama, with Chan-young and Joo-hee only as supporting players. Oh, this is so disappointing.

Tracer: Definitely not abandoned. Planning on binging all the episodes once the subs are out. I feel like the weekly wait-time hinders my ability to keep up at times so it’s better to just wait and enjoy it all in one go.

Twenty Five Twenty One: @missvictrix put it best. There’s just something about this show that’s so beautiful and poignant that it’s sometimes a tad bit difficult to watch. It’s such a gorgeous experience that I become breathless. Surely, it can’t be this good. Surely, this cannot last. How could it possibly? The comparison to Reply 1988 stopped me dead in my tracks. I CANNOT handle Baek Yi-jin as a Jung-hwan figure, I simply cannot. It would break me. However, I’m deeply afraid, dreading with fear, that this will be the situation. Good god, this freaking show.
Older Hee-do continues to ruin the vibe. When she said she didn’t remember the beach trip, I didn’t know whether to cry in frustration or reach out through the screen to smack her.

finishe rookie cop but what a wast of a what could have been a nice coming of age/college slice of life story. nothing groundbreaking or anything, but it could at least give us the small bits of cheesy and fun with them trying to navigate this new environment and being adults. but no, they had to make it a investigation thing, but with poor quality lol it ended up being not one or the other. the cast had its down and high. kang daniel was the weakest link from the 4 """"main"""" and the other are all good actors that just didnt have a nice story to work with at all. maybe one day I will get my park yoona + lee sinyoung pairing.

trying to catch up with dramas that I haven't had time to check, I plan to start tracer and on the verge of insanity. I'm REALLY intersted in twenty five twenty one bcs I love taeri and I'm curious for bona, but nam joohyuk is just such a snoozefest that he's actually pulling me away from the drama, ugh.

kept an eye on crazy love through DB weecaps and I THINK I might watch next weeks eps to see how it goes. maybe it will get in my wachlist then

25-21: as I said before, every week I find myself liking this a little bit more! Ep 9-10 were really nice, I loved that the beginning of ep 9 managed to solve a bunch of issue I had previously...but I still wish they didn't make Yurim so mean, when she was mostly a sweat girl with everyone else; her change felt too sudden. I have to say though, since I watched these episodes a little late, I was already over my disappointment with her behavior in previous eps, so there's that! xD
The beach trip in ep 10 was lovely and warm, the right vibe I need these days! ^^
I might be in the minority here, but I don't mind a future where Heedo and Yijin are not together, as long as it makes sense. The part I dislike, though, is how the present day scenes seem to be there just to spoil the mood, and make the main story somewhat meaningless...why would present Heedo forget about such a happy time with people she cared about a lot? There might be some valid reasons for her to not remember that trip, but for now it looks like the writer wants us to be just confused and I'm not pleased.
Personally I'll just ignore those scenes, try to not give them any significance, let's see how the main story plays out.

Also I finally finished a few days ago Some Day or One Day and what to say? In short, it was good!
I still think the beginning was too slow, and the initial back and forth between timelines was not the best, but once it settled a little more in the 1998 story it got more interesting and I thought the twists and turns were quite cool...but then the last third was pretty frustrating, not gonna lie! Those twists and turns became too much to be enjoyable, imo, like the writer kept playing with viewers, or something!
The final episode broke my heart before the last 15 minutes or so made up for it with a last twist. Overall I consider it a fitting ending that was able to make sense of (most of) all the loose ends, but at the same time I wonder if it was enough to justify all the frustration and pain of the last few episodes. Having said that, I can still say that I left satisfied, and that I enjoyed the ride!
Even though I can now understand why it's loved by many, I still don't see the masterpiece, to be honest. But then again I don't think I could assign that title to any of the dramas I've watched before, no matter how much I liked them, they're all flawed in some way, after all!

BUSINESS PROPOSAL: Delightful. I can turn my brain off and the hour flies by. I've been critical of AHS in the past, but he was enjoyably all-in in these latest episodes and as always, the rest of the cast is perfection.

MILITARY PROSECUTOR DOBERMAN: JBA owns this drama; it's definitely the best role she's ever had. The story is straightforward and I wish the villains were slightly less cartoonish, but the leads have excellent partnership chemistry (they have romantic potential, too, but it's probably better they don't go there. And I like the FL's friend who clearly is crushing on her). I still wish that the rape had been either better handled or replaced with another type of criminal transgression entirely because things would be more interesting if I could summon even the slightest bit of compassion for the chairman, who is clearly a victim or his abusive mother. And all the tight shots on his angelic face certainly suggest the writers would like us to feel some kind of pity for him. But I just can't with rapists.

CRAZY LOVE: Here and there my mind wanders and I realize I'm getting bored, but then there's a hilarious little touch (like the mugs and the FL hanging that giant glowering pic in the ML's bedroom) that pulls me back in. The ML faking his amnesia is the twist the drama needed to keep going so I'm glad it's been revealed. The episodes should be 45 minutes instead of 70, though.

TWENTY FIVE TWENTY ONE: I've been saving this one so I can binge it, but it's so universally loved I started the first episode early. I am in awe of Kim Tae-ri and the way she transforms from head to toe into a teenage girl. NJH is excellent, too, at showing how grief and disappointment are completely absorbed into one's bones so even simple movements take effort. The writing is funny and light in parts, but there's a melancholic undertone that lends complexity but also makes me fear what's to come.

Watching:
Crazy Love, Thirty nine, 2521, Grid

On and off:
Business proposal, Military Prosecutor

Will start:
Superior Day, King of Pigs

Might binge once all done:
Weather

TWENTY FIVE, TWENTY ONE: Beautiful and poignant. Though I am completely with you, @missvictrix (and lots of other Beanies, I'm sure) on its potential ending. The foreshadowing of a sad end is what has me in apprehensive knots every time each new episode drops and we get that much closer to the truth. Your comparison to Reply 1988's Jung Hwan is just spot on. I envy all of the Beanies who are approaching a possible breakup/death with such equaninimity (truly!) because I am just going to be absolutely, absolutely gutted if the screenwriter chooses to break our hearts. Seriously, there is sooooo much bad/crazy/awful in the world right now! Could I not at least be allowed to live vicariously through Yi Jin and Hee Do's happiness??

BUSINESS PROPOSAL: So completely different in every way from 2521. This is one of those shows that could so easily have flopped but the magic came together and it's just the right dose of big-hearted, saccharine silliness. I live for Mondays.

I am dreading the end of BP and 2521. Anticipating some very real PKDD - Post-K-Drama-Depression!

I find myself anticipating Beanie reactions either way that 25-21 ends. Clearly, people will go nuts if Hee Do and Yi Jin are not together. Conversely, if they are together there will be an outcry about how we have been so misled that there would be a bad ending. Honestly, I can’t wait to see if the writer finds a way to explain all and get around the two opposite endings.

We are already at the mid-point of BUSINESS PROPOSAL so, of course, the sixth episode came with a kiss- but between our second leads. But what a kiss! Other K-dramas please take note- and notice the perfectly executed trope known as The Drunken Confession. The second leads were a ship that needed to sail and now it has to the great happiness of both characters. Future Korean rom-com writers should take note of the value to be added to a story of a Second True Pairing or STP, The writers used the SFL’s Love At First Sight trope very well in this story- But what makes it work is that they drew our second leads in such a way that we see that these two people really are made for each other- and that our seemingly at times thoughtless SFL actually has a very wise heart. And now our lead characters this week will give us the newly named Boyfriend Bluff- but with the twist that our boyfriend already realizes that he has seriously real feelings for our leading lady. What fun- this is an actual comedy. I love MissVictrix’s description of our four main characters as two noble heroes and two girl besties. This show has had very good ratings but probably deserves even better ones.

Rough weather in this last week’s episodes of FORECASTING LOVE & WEATHER. Perhaps the most surprising development was the revelation of the second female lead’s story: You can’t hate her anymore. Rather one has to pity her- she traded one problem for another problem. Who saw that one coming? But I appreciate that this also shows us a male lead who actually is far less than perfect- and, given that he had a much different vision for his future than the female second lead she actually did the right thing in dumping him, even if she did it the wrong way- but she is imperfect too. If the female second lead in BUSINESS PROPOSAL has a very wise heart this SFL has a foolish one. This show gives us some very flawed characters and thus is actually more true to life than most.

My wife finished MY GIRLFRIEND IS A GUMIHO, which is a classic, and then enjoyed the C-Drama MYSTERIOUS LOVE (very good) and then followed that with the classic K-drama HEALER, which is super good and a classic for a reason. But she continues to enjoy her costume dramas and this week that was the sageuk GRAND PRINCE- well acted, well directed and, of course, sumptuously costumed.

YOUNG LADY AND GENTLEMAN will be ending this weekend. The penultimate episodes did do some damage control for this story but some of it was fairly awkward. Future weekender writers should take note- this show lost its dramatic mojo the moment our titular Gentleman inexplicably collapsed to the street with the “second amnesia”. Two amnesias is at least one to many. The old naval term “losing the plot” applies to this. I will, of course, watch the final episodes. The ratings for this show continued to climb so maybe the writer was simply giving the audience what it wanted, but I like a show that has better...

2521: Paused. The show is a beautiful watch, but not grabbing me / I'm not in the mood for it right now. I'll probably binge it next week or before the finale.

Business Proposal: Started this show after seeing the hype and binged it over 2 days. It's oodles of fun. I'll liken it to junk food - no nutritional value, a guilty pleasure, but oh so delicious! I've seen Kim Sejeong being compared to Emma Stone and I definitely see it. Her facial expressions remind of Emma Stone in Easy A. She's definitely holding up the show.

When it comes to Ahn Hyeoseop, oh boy. He's such a bad actor that it's kind of entertaining? I can see the gears turning in his brain when he's trying to act out a scene. In the context of Business Proposal, AHS's acting actually isn't maddening since it fits in with the show's play on cringe romcom tropes. He is really, really pretty though, and I can see why he got cast in the Someday Or One Day remake because he has that heart-fluttering, boyish handsomeness. However, I don't think his acting skills will fly in SOOD, so good luck to Jeon Yeobeen in advance for hard carrying the drama (girl, WHY did you agree?).

I'm not that interested in the 2nd couple and am FF-ing through their scenes.

Turning Red: Found a friend to bum Disney+ off of, so gonna watch the new Pixar film (with a focus on Asians) this weekend.

Forecasting Love and Weather This drama is riveting and interesting, but also a little depressing with the marriage talk. Like what does marriage mean? What happens when you have differing goals? I'm excited for the coworker+sister pairing. Though, I'm not sure if I could live with someone like the coworker who hates keeping korean side dishes and ferments in the house.

Twenty Five Twenty One Loved this weekend's episodes so much. Made me smile and laugh so much and even swoon. I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop since it looks like this period in Na Hee-do's life doesn't mean much to her in the future.

Business Proposal So much funny that I need my inhaler! Just a weekly delight! LOL, the stress never ends for Hari! It's so cute how Tae-mu is totally into her, but Hari is not there yet. She's still at the start line. The second romance is adorable too. Cha Sunghoon breaking down that bathroom door for her was one of the most heroic kdrama moves ever. My favorite couple is still Hari and Young-seo. Please let them win best couple!

Crazy Love Totally ramped up this week! I'm loving Krystal/Shin-ah's crazy eyes. I'm excited but also a little bummed that Go-jin was faking it too. I really want Shin-ah to have the total upper hand because he was a toxic boss and had let power and prestige get to him. But it's exciting to see how much he can put up with while he maintains his fake amnesia.

Twenty five twenty one finally landed in my region! Teenager Kim Taeri is awesome so cute and fresh. Only watched ep 1 yet, but it already made me laugh out loud. Dohee flipping over the castrated statue, the diy manga, her running away while howlering an explanation 🤣 🤣 Drama also gave me a moment of pause when Baek Yijin explains to Dohee how her plan is crap because she lacks the experience to realise that real life is a lot more dangerous than the scenarios she imagined, and that she should seek help because it's available to her. I wished that my teenager self had someone around that told me this, because it would have saved me from a couple of really dangerous situations.
I'm also watching Military Prosecutor Doberman, not so much for the plot, but for the visual appeal of Jo Boah kicking ass and Ahn Bohyun rocking a suit. Kdrammas really know what theyre doing: that scene with the tailor happily taking up his measurements was a proxy for us all marvelling at ABH's dressing up superpower 😄

Completed

Rookie Cops 5/10 Average - The most average show to ever average. Our FL held this one up, while the ML dragged it down. I get it’s his first major role (maybe first role?) but it definitely showed. I still watched the whole thing, but nothing special here, and an easy skip for those that missed out and were wondering. I still can’t get over how bad the opening theme song is…probably what I’ll remember the most.

Through The Darkness 8/10 - Great show! Dark and depressing, but wonderfully acted and shot with solid characters all around. I guess I wanted a bit more drama, but I can’t fault the show for sticking to it’s tight pacing and leaning more into realism. The cops weren’t super geniuses, and sometimes got lucky for a break in their case. NOT a show I’d rewatch, but I can heartily recommend to any fans of the genre.

Currently Airing

Twenty Five Twenty One: Still great. Not a bad episode in the bunch and I hope that continues till the end.

Forecasting Love and Weather: I’m not sure I’m going to make it through this one. I enjoy both our leads (though PMY has a way better track record for shows I watch and actually finish) but it’s just not grabbing me anymore. I like the setting, and it’s definitely unique in that regard however I’m not finding that enough to keep me watching. Made it through today’s episode with some HEAVY fast forwarding, and that’s a bad sign I’m about to drop a show usually.

Grid: The show is starting to drag as well. I mean everything that’s happening is going at a pretty quick pace, but we’re not getting ANY answers so far. 5 episodes in, with one episode a week and ending on cliffhangers each time is draining me.

Military Prosecutor Doberman - Little behind, looking forward to knowing more about her plan.

A Business Proposal - ML learning about her identity this early was slightly surprising but I like that it wasn't going to be the reason for angst.
I might not be in the headspace for the chaebol drama tho with real life becoming more and more expensive: watching people throw money around feels wasteful.

Legally Romance - cute shenanigans.

Oath of Love - This was disappointing. Really disliked the entire "push through" and everything will be fine approach other doctors were taking with ML.

F4 Thailand - lol at MJ's red jacket. Love the KFC commercial they built for him.

Forecasting Love and Weather

I don't know why I didn't notice this before, but there is something about this drama that pulls my heartstrings in ways I didn't expect it to.

First off, Ki Joon and Yoo Jin. I didn't expect to like them and while I still don't like them, their problems are so real and raw that I feel like I'm watching a real life couple go through their marriage problems. Being jealous of their exes, putting off the registration because they can't wrap the fact around their head that they are actually married now, and many more. Their main problem is jumping into conclusions before talking with each other. They don't communicate and that's going to be a huge problem if they plan on staying together in the future. The fact that I don't hate them means that I understand how flawed they actually are and not the picture perfect married couple people assume them to be.

I've noticed that almost all of our lead characters are so insecure about their place in someone else's life. Ki Joon and Yoo Jin are definitely insecure. But so is Ha Kyung and Shi Woo. They are definitely in love, but I've noticed that Ha Kyung thinks that she has the upper hand in the relationship. No one should have any hand in the relationship, together they should work it out. Just like with the other couple, they lack communication too. Shi Woo works with rose colored glasses, expecting more from Ha Kyung when she's putting up walls to protect her fragile heart. And while Shi Woo wears his heart in his sleeve, there are moments when he completely closes up. While Ha Kyung is there to help everyone else, she doesn't stop and look at her already failing relationship. So the episodes this week actually made so much progress in their relationship. It's not bland anymore, forward or backwards, their relationship is now moving.

My favorite character continues to be Senior Forecaster Uhm. While Seon Ho is as competitive as ever to win my heart, there's something about the clueless dad who works so hard to provide to his family but their family never realizes the sacrifices he makes. His wife doesn't understand how hard he works and it frustrates me so much that I just want him to blow up in her face. I've never seen him have any other expression other than complete neutral or uninvolved face he gives which cracks me up big time. He reminds me of NCT Jaehyun for some reason. While I feel the forced relationship between Tae Kyung and Seon Ho, I actually love them together. Although I do hope that they have a complete work relationship or that Seon Ho will have a crush on Tae Kyung and she will be blissfully unaware of it until the end of time. Something about bringing high and mighty Seon Ho down from his perch gives me the giggles.

Crazy Love

I'm actually loving the hijinks of this one. While now it's pretty obvious that Go Jin is faking his amnesia, it turns things around completely. At first I felt a bit uneasy...

Back when it aired, I dropped HWAYUGI at episode 3 as I'm a scaredy cat and the FL was really poorly written. Despite this, I decided upon giving it another chance and this time I'm staying for Cha Seung-won and Lee Seung-gi. Man, if the writers only had half of the love they had for O-gong and Moo hwang (or literally any other character) for Sun-mi, this could have been good. It didn't help the actress is so stiff, either.

To my surprise, I couldn't bear to drop BUSINESS PROPOSAL. It has some quality amidst all that mess of a writing. I think it might be the innocence with how it's all being showcased. Anyhow, I've turned out willing to forgive.

F4 THAILAND. This is great, I just love this. And listening to Wit and Folly's deep dive afterwards is so rewarding.

*Business proposal : i'm enjoying this very much despite Ahn Hyo Seop that I kind of pushed my drama-watching-partner into watching it so that we can discuss it together.
*Run on: our watch-together is a bit in pause due to previous drama. Really good dialogues.
*Ghost doctor: who doesn't love a good bromance ?
*Legally romance: watched some clips because I like FL and was sucked in by the deep voice of ML and all the fun.
*The oath of love: watched some clips because I like FL and was suprised to see the high rating of ML (that I find quite bland). So I'm kind of watching for reseach.

On stand-by because I only have so much hours in the days
*Hello the sharpshooter for the cuteness
*Emperess Ki
*Evil Minds
*Good Manager, too much business intrigues need a pause
*Well dominated love, my quota of tropey romcom is fullfilled these days

Just finished:
*City of streamer: so pretty, so witty. A bit long with the intrigues at the end, but still very good. I will surely watch other period cdrama.
* Mysterious love: action + romance + excellent lead chemisty. Short cdrama easy on the eye.