Military Prosecutor Doberman: There isn’t really much to say about this drama. They are moving along their revenge plan, with a little crush growing between the two. The little turn about by CEO Kang because he saw her little love eyes at Do Be Man was weird, but whatever. I do believe No Hwa Young is one of my favorite villains though, she is pretty ruthless. There are only two episodes left, so I am not sure why they added the shooting storyline. The drama is entertaining enough, but nothing really fantastic about it.

Love Alll Play: I really enjoyed this. The bullying is stupid, unnecessary, and adds nothing to the drama, however our leads are so cute together. They have a nice easy going chemistry. I hope this continues to be this cute.

Tomorrow: I did not like this storyline at ALL. A bulimic needs intensive psychiatric care to get over it, a few words and eating with a friend is not going to solve her issues. I like that they shined a light on an eating disorder, but the rest of the episode was incredibly irresponsible.

Again My Life: This is fine too. Everything is going to plan.

Haven’t watched Shooting Stars yet.

Our Blues: This is okay.

My Liberation Notes: This is my favorite show of the week.

Showtime Begins!: I am so excited for this.

Soundtrack - there were some good moments (like the refusal of one guy and confession to the other one), but I expected much more from the drama (and from its *cough* soundtrack *cough*).

I also expected much more from Weather (which I finally finished). I loved the setting, so interesting and unusual, and I also liked the first episodes... but then... it lost most of its spark (and logic)... and should have been shorter.

Crazy Love on the other hand is constantly positively surprising me and its humour always cracks me up. Though I'm a week behind because of...

...My Liberation Diary - oooooh, this is goooood. I wanted to check just the first episode... and ended up watching all 4 available episodes. The writer is again good at combining the melancholy, sadness, desperation and frustration with some humour 😁 I think my favourite thing right now is the Liberation Trio Club Members 🙂

Our Blues: Cha Seung-won and Lee Jung-eun were both very good in the confrontation scene. Their story had a bittersweet ending, but I liked it. The teaser to Shin Min-a’s story was interesting. I’m also interested in the teen pregnancy story, as that is a topic k-dramas don’t really cover.

My Liberation Notes: I love the Liberation Club. Sitting face to face really does feel too aggressive. I don’t relate to Gi-jung as much as Mi-jung, but I love her. I would pick up my lover’s severed head too. I like the idea of her with the divorced dad, but understandably his daughter probably will not. Son Seuk-gu is hot.

Green Mothers’ Club: Well, this drama took a dark turn. Jin-ha was a sad piece of work. I said last week that Chun-hui would backstab Eun-pyo at some point, and it happened. I liked their budding friendship but Chun-hui has too much to hide. She needs to ditch that skeevy husband.

Tomorrow: I thought Episode 6 was a little too heavy handed, but I liked the actor that played the old man and at least the resolution didn’t bother me. I’ve been critical of the overly simplistic resolutions but Jun-woong not only stopping a suicide in Episode 7 but also a decade or so long eating disorder was too much. Lee Soo-hyuk only being in the epilogue certainly didn’t improve the episode.

Love (ft. Marriage and Divorce): I missed the old Yoo-shin during the meeting with Dong-ma. That dude would not have been intimidated. These ex husbands are such hypocrites. It’s okay for them to marry or live with someone but their exes must stay single and raise the kids.

COMPLETED
Grid - Went too far down the open ending route. Just left with a sense of dissatisfaction.

STARTED
Love All Play - The past scandal storyline and the bully-like seniors are meh. But the leads are adorable and Jo Han-chul is hilarious as always.

Shooting Stars - First episode was mostly introduction. Seems fine. Lee Sung-kyung seems a little over-the-top though.

ONGOING
Crazy Love - Too much drama in Ep. 14. Lot of disappointing endings in dramaland recently so I really hope this one sticks the landing.

Tomorrow - In Ep. 7, I'm glad Ryeon acknowledged that they can't offer solutions just sympathy and support because otherwise some of the resolutions in the show seem too pat. The suicide planner storyline seems interesting.

Again My Life - We got the stage set for his future partners, his quasi-harem, and even the money he'll need. Now waiting for Prosecutor Version 2. Meanwhile I'm wondering if Min-soo is also someone who's travelled from the future/ living his life again?

My Liberation Notes - Still going strong. The ending was 💯 - you knew he was going to jump but the jump itself still makes you sit-up and take note. Also I'm so invested in the Liberation Club.

Our Blues - I liked the way Han-soo and Eun-hee's story wrapped up. The rest is frankly not very interesting except maybe Seon-ah's story.

PLANNING TO WATCH
From Now On, Showtime!

C-DRAMAS
Started and caught up to My Sassy Princess. Planning to start Who Rules the World once it releases on Netflix next week.

JAPAN -

Honest Real Estate - 6/10 - typical low budget japanese drama with emotional scenes thrown around and everyone reading their own story. time pass

Murai's Love - 7/10 - Takahashi Hikaru - yeah. good fun for 20 minutes

My Family - 7/10 - Tabe is now getting more screen. Story is engaging and moving good.

Nanba MG5 - 6/10 manga to live-action. Bad bad fight scenes. timepass because shotaro is playing the main role.

Modern Young Won ha - Haruka is playing similar role in real estate.

Talking Nonsense about Love - 6/10 - manga to live-action. typical high school story

Grid (Series review) - Mood progression: B- / B- / C / C / C / C+ / C / C / C- / D+
Even when time travel and all of its theories and paradoxes came into play, I still harboured hope that it would be great to rewatch after the finale. Well, here we are with a new faction introduced literally 2 mins before the ending. Table flip!

My Liberation Notes (Episode 3-4) - Mood: B+
Who knew that the serial dater would be the one giving genuine advice? For a moment, I was worried that he was up to no good and that Gi Jeong was being buttered up to be his next dating target but nope. I’m also pleasantly surprised it was not Chang Hee’s ex cheating but his own insecurity that ruined the relationship: it’s good to know that the breakup was due to personality rather than external factors, those have better narrative meat. Though I do have to say that the two freaky weather incidences and those leaps bordered on the line of disbelief, even if Mr Gu was a long jump athlete.

Love All Play (Episode 1-2) - Mood: C-
I know my love for Chae Jong Hyeop will carry me through this show but really: a childhood connection and an ill-fated tragedy? Let me guess: Tae Yang got Joon Young injured and forced her to retire, hence forcing Tae Joon to be the family’s breadwinner and causing Jung Hwan’s mental block? But how’s Tae Joon unaware? The bullying’s so lame.

Tomorrow (Episode 5-6) - Mood: C-
The Korean War veteran procedural was quite decent? Now, if the rest of the procedurals could take inspiration from it, I’ll be more than willing to ignore the mess that was the initial 5 episodes. But sadly I’m not that optimistic with regards to Ryeon’s backstory and I haven’t found any reason to really be concerned about who is who or even who knows who?

Green Mothers’ Club (Episode 5-6) - Mood: D
Okay, the show got me really good with Jin Ha’s death: I certainly didn’t predict that! And here I thought that Eun Pyo’s husband was a cop because Chun Hui’s husband would commit drug-related crimes: well, that might still happen? The show took a bad turn however with Chun Hui framing Eun Pyo: I don’t think the remaining ten episodes can be rescued.

A Superior Day (Episode 6) - Mood: D
LMAO it’s hilarious how Soo Ah just keeps on getting kidnapped! I hope her mom actually has a plan offering herself up because it seems she’s got no cards other than Sun Woo’s miracle recovery. At least the stupid reporter got murdered?

Crazy Love (Episode 13-14) - Mood: D-
Wow, there’s a camera that just so happened to capture everything in 4K: such awesome writing (not)! And I find it just funny how Se Gi taunted Mr Noh to find out why he betrayed him but ended up spilling the beans himself about his sis?

My Liberation Notes: This show has my hearteu.

Our Blues: Armsss

BTLIOF: I binged the last 5-6 episodes yesterday because I miss MLN and I miss Lee Minki. Watching this show in 2017 was the best, most fun live watch experience I had (also the most active I’ve ever been on DB) and the feels are still the same today.

Hah! What a wonderful week well spent.

OUR BLUES: The third episode was beautifully executed and the lead actor Cha seung-won did a terrific job showing the frustration and shame he felt. That mirror scene was really heart wrenching because I know how it feels not to let go even when there's literally no way forward just backwards.

The latest couple in episode 4 are really cute and what more can I say, I'm crazily in love with Woo-bin, he is damn sexy, his deep voice as a bonus and his hammerlike fist.😂

One of the main reasons why I'm watching episode 5 is to see what the to-be father-in-law's are going to do when they find out what's on the secret cooking pot. There's gonna be a full blown war in Jeju soon.

Pachinko: 9.5 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1923_Great_Kant%C5%8D_earthquake

Tomorrow: 8.0 Show finally got it together in day 6. Day 7 - The virus from in Hell, plus another winner epilog.

Again My Life Covid Hiatus: 8.0 (The ML is reported to have it and filming is paused)

Crazy Love Plot: 6.0 A new baddie? Two!?? At this late stage? 😠👎👎

Military Prosecutor Doberman: 7.5

Grid: 6.0 Well, at least it kept my attention. But "who is that masked man" and why did he seem to be fighting Ghost and then cooperating with her a minute later?

Racket Grown-Ups? Love All Play: 6.0 But not loving those dreadful PPL shoes.

Shooting Stars: PPL Lipschtick less than 6 minutes in. Koreans are so great and Africans are so grateful. Colonoscopy prep. Arsehole actors. The whole wasn't quite as shitty as the parts.

My Liberation Notes – This one checks all the marks, with voiceless dialogue done to perfection. The mystery around Mr Gu is magnetic, and his voice of silence just edifies his aura. Plus the athletic back and forth leap we get in ep 4’s conclusion, that’s daebak! I’m definitely adding Son Seok-ku to my actor watchlists. The woes of the three siblings is too close to real life, if not real life itself. Ki-jung – being qualified doesn’t necessarily imply getting what comes with being qualified, Mi-jung – walking on eggshells even on your own right, Changhee – self-sabotaging due to insecurities, adding to his dad who I so like his character not helping matters. If there is anywhere his insecurity is springing from, it is from home. Perhaps leaving his fathers eye is what he needs to find himself.

Crazy Love – Crazy love took a crazy nosedive this week into some bits of melancholy. Understanding why someone did something bad does not imply that forgiveness is what comes next. Both parties have to own up to their faults. Both parties messed up. However, I hope we haven’t seen the last of Director Ma. Whatever fallout happens next week, I’d love to see the conversation Go-jin and Sina had in his office concluded. One of the many things this drama does well is not elongating unnecessary angst just for plot movement, and keeping the communication between the leads on any threat to their relationship. No noble idiocy of any sort, at least at this point. how certificates did Ilpums CEO forge?

Green Mothers Club – This one has envious green written all over it. Not all of the mothers are interesting individually, but the arcs they share are interesting. And the writer should do more with Jang Hye-jin’s character. While it was cool to know that Eun-pyo’s son is a genius kid, his recalcitrant behavior prior to the reveal isn’t it. Were he Chun-hui’s child, I doubt he would display such. I really do not get Eun-pyo’s bad blood with Jin-ha. Its Luis Bunuel she should direct her anger at. He’s the one who got drawn to Jin-ha first, not the other way round.

Military Prosecutor Doberman Not enough Bolt in the last episodes.

Love All Play Not a fan of the martyr part by the FL, but the leads are super cute together and it's enough for now. I have a drama to watch on Wednesday and Thursday!

Tomorrow I like how they are working as a team now :p

Again My Life I don't really care about the characters, not sure I will continue this one.

Our Blues Kim Woo-Bin looks good.

Shooting Stars I think I will never click with Lee Sung-Kyung's acting... She's not bad but it doesn't work for me. The first episode was like a big intro. I was hoping for the cameos!

My Liberation Notes The drama I'm waiting the most with Tomorrow. I love everything! I just want them to release every episode now.

Grid I was waiting for the end to binge it but now with the comments, not sure I will.

Pachinko I would like this drama spends less time on secondary characters but focus on the main ones.

I'm old enough It's an old Japanese show on Netflix about kids doing task alone for the first time. I'm not sure I could have done it at the same age. It's kinda chaotic but so cute.

My Liberation Notes (Diary) - The show I look forward to since it started. It's just fantastic. Every single character has my attention.

Our Blues - Great cast but the drama's not as gripping as I originally thought it would be. However, I'm looking forward to how the different stories will continue to unfold.

Kill Heel - So, um, basically, one person completely had the wrong impression about a situation for 20 years, planned every detail of her revenge based on this wrong impression, but forgot to verify one huge piece of information before embarking on the revenge mission. Oops!! .... Oh yeah, and the CEO just really wanted to feed cats.

OUR BLUES (EP. 3-4): Episode 3 ends the Hansu arc in a very bittersweet but appropriate way. Eun hee is smarter than the rest of the market crew, except when it comes to love. They were looking out for her, but in the end she scolded them about what it truly means to be real friends. Episode 4 starts with a new couple, Captain Joon and flirty Young Ok. Personality opposites are drawn together. She has a back story; I wonder if it parallel’s the young teens sudden adult crisis.
Seon-Ah’s catatonic depression does not answer why she went to Jeju to see peddler Dong Seok. Was their past the cause for her current condition?

Variety:

SEOUL CHECK IN (Ep. 2); It is becoming clear that Lee Hyo Ri feels bored and isolated for the past 9 years on Jeju Island. She misses the Seoul city life. In this first part of a ski trip with old acquaintances, she is very nostalgic about the old music industry and the lifestyle of her youth. It seems it is part talk show and part therapy session.

SIXTH SENSE: I was torn between two choices, and naturally picked the wrong one.

HOW DO YOU PLAY? Jae Seok is back, this time his alter ego is creating a new female vocal group. The first four blind auditions were spectacular. Unbelievably great. Guesses are two may be musical actresses, a rock singer and a professional singer. Fully invested on to see who they are.

PROBLEM CHILD IN THE HOUSE: Kim Jong Kook has been stereotyped in RM. His popular YT channel is all about gym workouts. So it was surprising that he is the new MC (replacing Kim Yong-man and Jung Hyung-don for the moment). The original cast ran the show with their guests more like a talk show than a quiz show which was a good thing. KJK was very talkative at the beginning, then SJH arrived as the guest. It did not have the casual flow of older episodes.

Again My Life
Military Prosecutor Doberman.

I think these are performing so well ratings wise due to them being counter programming from typical melodrama and romance oriented stories. They are both fun uncomplicated revenge thrillers that are easy to watch. I hope MPD is able to stick its landing with the finale.

Who Rules The World.
Its been a while since we've had a decent (or at least a solid) entry in the Wuxia genre, i like this one so far, despite what feels like a derivative plot . The heroes are likeable, the fight choreography is good and its moving along at a good pace.

Viki got their Roku issue fixed but I'm going to pretend that Shooting Stars and Showtime are actually Mon/Tues and Weds/Thursday dramas. Weekend stuff has to happen in real life.
Enjoying the slow burn and crafty writing of Liberation Notes and just letting Our Blues just flow by. Is the episodic/ensemble structure preventing me from caring about any characters?
Fell headlong into 30 but 17 with renewed admiration for Shin Hye sun who is acting rings around anyone else on screen. Ye Ji won is busy trying to steal scenes as the almost-AI housekeeper. The fun surprise is Ahn Hyo seop as a goofy love-struck puppy and his irrepressible high school pals. Is 10 episodes in a row considered bingeing? Looking forward to more.
Finished Traveler Cuba - laughed to see the gruff ML in Liberation Notes watching it as he drinks on a rainy night.
Not K-drama but looming large is a show I can actually discuss with friends Better Call Saul which is exquisite in its writing/cinematography/acting. Kdrama action/revenge dramas tend to forget to leaven the drama with some humor.

Tomorrow: Used up a whole box of tissues for this week's episode, specially the old man's story.
The One and Only: Just started, not too invested yet but I liked ep 1-2.
Crazy Love: Our couple is killing it with the sweetness.
Love Feat, Marriage and Divorce Season 3 - Love the twist of Yushin's stepmother; one ghost left some time ago and now another ghost is living with them.
It's Beautiful Now: Hyun-jae seems to be falling for Mi-rae's positive personality.
Green Mothers' Club: I don't understand why the teacher didn't give a diagnostic test to Dong-seok when he started school.
My Liberation Notes: All the siblings have their own flaws, and I'm not sure if I'll go thru with all the sadness.
Our Blues: I don't know Shin Min-ah's story yet but I liked the first 3 eps.
Happiness: Bingeing on this one and I love PHS in this.

Still watching Mystic Pop-Up Bar. Love it more and more with each episode, so I'm trying to take my time and not binge-watch it, cause then it'll be over too soon.

My Girlfriend is an Alien - I loved the premise and the lead actress was delightful. But I really did not buy into the lead actor's supposed love for her until about halfway through. He seemed to go from super annoyed to fully in love without any in-between stages, and no indications in his behavior to let us know he was falling for her. It was just BOOM all of a sudden his secretary is talking about him being in love with her. But it did get better about halfway in and when he became invested, he was quite charming.

Just started Falling Into Your Smile. 3 eps in, the acting is a little awkward, so I hope it improves.

Stuck on ep 4 of Crash Landing on You. I can't seem to get invested in this one in spite of the wonderful Hyun Bin. When I watch an ep, I enjoy it, and he's so yummy in uniform, but I don't have any urge to watch the next ep. So weeks go by and I finally make myself watch the next ep...and it's enjoyable, but then it all repeats. I think I was expecting it to be a crack drama for me, and it's not. Maybe the crackness will kick in later?

TOMORROW: After fast forwarding through ep. 7 only to get a tiny glimpse of LSH in the epilogue, I decided I'm done with this show. I want to watch the drama it appears to be in the opening credits: moody, sexy, and cool. But instead, it's a run-of-the-mill and, frankly, boring exploration of a social issue of the week with very little character development of the leads. I appreciate that the writing takes on some heavy subjects, but the depth and nuance isn't there to do these subjects justice. It would have been better to take just one--say, bullying or body image issues--and explore it over the course of the drama through various stories, and then hark back to a main characters' experience with the same. And again, why hire LSH if you're only going to give him a few minutes of air-time? It just speaks to the poor writing overall.

OUR BLUES: In contrast, this show knows how to use its vast array of actors, and I like the clear sense of place and time. I also like the atypical narrative structure of characters floating in and out with a central focus on one couple that lasts a few episodes and then may or may not return to them.

LOVE ALL PLAY: A promising start with appealing leads who don't seem like replications of characters we've seen a million times before. They're already intrigued with each other and flirting like crazy, which makes me wonder if we're in store for some twists and change in direction within a few episodes. I like the tone of this one--it's not going to be a tragedy, imo, but will have just enough disappointment and sadness to make it a more addictive watch.

MY LIBERATION NOTES: I'm watching this slowly because it's worth savoring. I've never actually seen "My Ahjussi" which is probably a loss overall, but it makes my enjoyment of this show more profound, I think, because the style and tone seem so unique and satisfying to me. Biggest shock: I didn't even recognize Lee Min-ki in his opening scenes! This character is so different from any other one I've seen him play and he's so good. But of course, the whole cast is amazing. I'm not even sure what I should be hoping happens to these people--there's an elusive quality to the writing that makes it hard to figure out what to root for--but I can't wait to see how everything ends up. I'm a little worried my heart will be crushed, though, so think it'd be better to binge this one than watch it week by week.

I'm not caught up with either "Crazy Love" or "MPD" this week. They're both good shows, but I feel like they would have been better as 12 episode dramas.

25-21: I wanted to wait to comment on this one until I finished it, given all the controversy around the ending, but (ducks behind furniture) I actually really liked how things resolved. After watching lots of shows over the years where women wait around and pine for absent partners, it was lovely to see a female lead decide to move on with her life, and to suggest that therapy, not unconditional love, might be the best option for the male lead. I also appreciated that that the show suggested that there could be many kinds of love, and that they could be powerful and life-affirming even if they never became romantic or if the romantic side of things didn't work out (I was kind of rooting for a Hee-Do/Yu-Rim pairing though). I am also incredibly gratefully that the writer allowed her characters to work things out in messy, realistic ways rather than having someone get hit by a bus at the end.

My Liberation Notes: Everyone is doing their job. The writer has the pacing down, the actors are on it and the director has the mood just right. I actually would like to see the sister learn that she could be a good step-parent. I am in a culture where blended families are common and I've seen the good, bad and ugly of how this can end up working out but it would be nice to see it fleshed out a bit in a k-drama. (Five Family did it fine but most aren't into the long family dramas.)

Tomorrow: I am going to keep watching but the main flaws are 1. they are not spending time on the backstories of the reapers. There should be a blend of this mixed with the saving of the soul serial aspect. I am re-watching Master's Sun and this show does that kind of blend very well (move the main romance along but tell the Ghost story at the same time.)

Oh and with the eating disorder story, they needed one scene. Instead of taking a bite of cheese cake and having a conversation - problem solved - the drama should have had the gal in the hospital talking to a mental health person starting the years!!!! long process of dealing with this issue.

Interested in starting Shooting Stars.

The commentator Welh wrote last week about the changing viewing habits and shortening the duration of shows, and I am one of those who grew up during the oldtime tv era, but still am having real difficulty keeping up with the shows being released one episode at time while hunting for a happy ending romance with two leads I actually want to see united.

Interestingly, the show I’m finding enjoyable but with the least substance is Tomorrow, although you always know you’ll end each episode with tears flowing down your cheeks as the team saves another potential victim with just a few words of comfort. And of course the tears are also coming from biting your tongue to avoid exclaiming to your wife yet again that Kim Hee-Seon is one of the most beautiful actresses you’ve ever watched in a K-drama, and that's saying something

Our Blues is a worthy, if somewhat melodramatic examination of small town community that I give a lot of credit to, because it is actually developing its characters effectively. Also, one of my rom-com favorites, Shin Min-A, is doing penance for any overly cutesy behavior her character was guilty of in Hometown Cha Cha Cha.

Again My Life is like watching something written by a friend of mine, slightly depressed over turning 63, who says to himself “what if when I die after failing in my career goals, I am met not by a monster grim reaper but by a beautiful woman who saves my life, sends me back into college where I’m an even better athlete and fighter than before, am also a brilliant student, I have 3 attractive women in. love with me, and can make all the right career decisions because I know what is going to happen” but who as he is writing this fantasy, glances over to his wife and says to himself “okay, in the later episodes I better drop that 3 women angle.”

Finally, Liberation Diary is a genuinely engrossing character study that always commands close attention but unfortunately hits a little too close to home for my friend, and is the reason he is somewhat desperately trolling through fluffy Chinese rom-coms.

Again MyLife - Lee Jun-ki appears to be completely enjoying himself. Not as classy a production as Flower of Evil, but still entertaining.

My Liberation Notes - watched two episodes and just couldn't get over the slow pace. My ideal slice of life drama is Hometown Cha Cha - maybe MLN is just too "real" and not enough escapism.

Crazy Love - still hanging in with it, although it's lost some of the punch from earlier episodes.

Pachinko - omg yesterday's (Fri 04/22) episode. It is so different from the rest of the show and different, from what I've heard, from the book. Devastating, I got strong 9/11 vibes in the aftermath.

Tomorrow Honestly can't continue. Maybe because there was a teenage suicide in my extended family, I just can't get into it.

Shooting Stars - too soon to tell, but maybe even something along the lines of Crazy Love with a "drive each other crazy" plot line?

The Secret House - Hanging with this daily although it seems a real step down in quality from shows like Man in a Veil and The Second Husband, which could have been weekend dramas as far as production and acting. May drop it soon if I don't find it interesting.

Others:
The only Chinese show I've found pretty decent recently is My Sassy Princess. In American shows, finished Severance. Highly recommended if the idea of The Office meets Twin Peaks appeals to you.

Tomorrow (up to ep 7): ep 6 was just a beautiful tribute. It doesn't undo the what the veteran had gone through, but I'm glad he had the best last day on earth. I think this drama worked the best with the veteran story because he didn't have to live the next day. I feel one of the drama's weaknesses is that the resolution of the cases are too pat. I'm skeptical as to whether these people recovered. The bulimia story was interesting, but you can't cure bulimia with just a conversation. I did like how the drama had her and the more confident, not-skinny coworker be friends at the end so that someone can watch out for her, but I'm still side-eying this resolution.

Sh**ting Stars (ep 1): Lots of fun, thought not cracktastic just yet. I think the drama has built a good crew of supporting characters so far which makes the drama fun to watch even without the leads. There isn't wasted time. I'm sort of in love with the FL's male coworker, and I have to give a shoutout to the actor who played the CEO guy/former senior who was at the hospital - he was hilarious! I looked him up and he was the sad uncle of the ML in Sell Your Haunted House and was also the funny chicken vendor in Hometown Cha Cha Cha! I hope he gets more screentime!

Lady of Butcher's House (up to Ep 19) Fun watch without any need to pay close attention. The characters have just moved to another town, where lo and behold, there is corruption to be tackled!

Haven't felt like picking Crazy Love back up.

I’m watching a lot right now.

I just finished Soundtrack #1 and enjoyed this bite sized drama of PSH. Easy story, soft palate, a very comfortable show. Anyone could have played these characters though.

My Liberation Notes. It’s the first show I watch on the weekends because dang, everything is on the weekends right now. This writing is what I love. Some suspense to keep us engaged, witty banter and insightful dialogue. On top of this, the casting director needs a raise, because it’s a stroke of genius casting SSK as Mr. Gu, and the siblings with Lee El, LMK, and Kim Ji won. I can’t imagine anyone else playing those characters. I LOL’d at @missvictrix’s summary of Our Blues. Because yeah, that’s all I’m thinking as I watch this show too. I kind of think I’ll be only watching the episodes where he’s the main story. I also started Love All Play. It’s what I’m craving after 25-21 for my young love fix and pretty sure I’m getting a happy ending this time! And Shooting stars—yay! I’m in this one too. I liked the first episode a lot!

Viki reports that the Viki Channel on Roku crashed but now is fixed. I can personally confirm that. Talk about inconvenient: It happened right when Viki had posted the first episode of SHOOTING STARS. My wife is almost all the way through the 14th season of Heartland- so this problem was not an immediate crisis. Not that there is not a lot to watch on iQIYI if needed. The first episode of FROM NOW ON, SHOWTIME! is also now posted as well. We are looking forward to both. I too wonder why so many shows are being loaded onto the weekends.

But it was awkward when we went to continue our watch of DEVILISH JOY last night and it was a no go. This is a show that I did not get to complete way back when Dramafever was shut down. It is really well done.

I think that I have fallen in love with all three of our future sisters-in-law in the new weekender IT'S BEAUTIFUL NOW. After three weeks the story is starting to flesh out- and we even have love rivals for our older two ladies. As for our youngest couple- they are not fooling anyone but themselves. We had a wonderful seen where Mom gets to watch them playfully washing dishes and splashing each other: These two are in love, they just don’t know it yet. Still the ‘fake marriage that turns real’ is a time-honored trope that we all know and love. So why not one more time?

OUR BLUES is on Netflix and we are good to go on the 5th episode today. We have actually been enjoying this one a more than we thought we would. It is essentially an anthology show and the stories are good.

KING OF TEARS is posting it 29th episode today. My wife is particularly anxious to watch the penultimate episodes.

In last week’s edition of What We’re Watching Solstices mentioned the Variety show TRANSIT LOVE, streaming on the legal site On Demand Korea as TRANSFERRING LOVE (for free if you do not mind commercials- this time the McDonald’s add is in Korean). As she said- it is addicting, maybe because we see the hesitations, flaws and anxieties of the participants so much more than in comparable shows.

A lot to update after several weeks. Also the weekends are getting ridiculous.

Again My Life: Insane that Kim Jae-kyung isn’t the female lead because her and Lee Joon-gi have great chemistry. Other than that, it’s just…fine. Typical Lee Joon-gi action drama where I have fun while watching but will forget about it afterwards.

It’s Beautiful Now: Lawyer Shim is petty and vindictive for no reason and that makes her character a huge turn-off. I don’t even like the eldest brother that much, but he didn’t deserve to get his TV opportunity ruined just because she got jealous. A red flag for a relationship if I say so myself. Hyun-jae and Mi-rae are cute, but I have no idea why/how she already has feelings for him.

Love All Play: Although the childhood connection made me roll my eyes, I’m glad they showed it and got it over with. Like most people, Tae-yang’s martyrdom and the extreme bullying is a bit ridiculous to me. Overall, it’s no Racket Boys (nothing can be, tbh) but the OTP is adorable so I’m here for the ride.

My Liberation Notes: MY FAVOURITE SHOW OF THE WEEK!!! There may be a dozen other shows airing at the same time, but this is the one I wait for. First of all, I just want to thank the genius who thought of casting Lee El, Lee Min-ki, and Kim Ji-won as siblings. I’m really not exaggerating when I say it’s easily one of the best casting choices I’ve ever seen. Then add in Son Seok-ku as Mr. Gu and I’m done. This show is perfect. The writing and dialogue work is perfect. The character work and slow pacing is perfect. This is going to be a new favourite. Also, Son Seok-ku is so sexy.

Our Blues: I forgot what a great actor Cha Seung-won is. That confrontation scene was so brilliantly acted. I felt every minutiae of shame and frustration he felt. I also thought the story wrapped up really well. Han Ji-min and Kim Woo-bin’s (GUYS HE’S SO GOOD HERE OMG) doesn’t immediately interest me like the previous one, but there are elements of things I’m curious to see how Noh Hee-kyung will handle. Or maybe I’m just hesitant to see Woo-bin get hurt because things will surely get worse before it gets better. Shin Mina’s story is what I’m most looking forward too. Dramas are usually abysmal at portraying depression and other mental illnesses/disorders (see Tomorrow), but the bits we saw are already better than most so I can’t help but have some hope.

Shooting Stars: Haven’t started yet, but I will today so might as well put it here. But I’ve already heard about the racist depiction of Africa, which dampens my excitement considerably. Dramaland never learns.

Showtime Begins!: Another one I haven’t started yet but for this one, the more I hear, the more excited I get.

Tomorrow: I really, really disliked the portrayal of bulimia in episode 6. A simple talking-to will not and cannot cure such a severe eating disorder. I get that the show wishes to tackle social...

Soundtrack: 5/10 for the series - Show was average. There were cute moments but nothing new or special here, despite me liking both the leads they just couldn’t elevate the material above stock standard.

Love All Play: Fun opening week. I’m really enjoying the chemistry between our leads, and even the general dynamic between all the players/coaches EXCEPT the bullying which doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me. I’ll continue watching this one for sure.

Again My Life: Fun watch, with a pretty standard trope of a villain. Nothing that’ll blow your mind but I’m enjoying it. I have a lot of fun just watching these characters bouncing off each other. Our surly reporter Veronica Park is still great and I wish she had even more screen time.

My LIberation Notes: My favourite weekend show now, and good lord are there a lot of shows to measure it against. Weekends are too packed with stuff. The characters are quirky, and you get a good taste of their personalities with every interaction. The Liberation trio is fun, as 3 introverts bundled together for survival.

Green Mother’s Club: I’m not sure what type of show it’s trying to be, and just when I’m enjoying something (like the budding friendship of some of the mothers) that’s quickly smashed in favour of a direction I was not expecting. I might watch the next episode or two with some heavy fast forwarding, but this is looking like a drop in the near future.

My Liberation Notes: I am in love with this show, but if you ask me about it, I dont know how to explain what it is about. It is just fantastic. I love how the weather is part of the show. And kudos to Lee Min Ki for the dialogue on the 3rd episode (why he had to break up). That was a long speech with a lot of words, feeling and emotions. There is no way I would remember all that.

Tomorrow - they've really put a lot of weight on "the right words being said at the right time"... its really poking the line on being insulting. Having experienced times when I've been cheered up/given good advice/thought things were going better only to then experienced an even lower point makes the series miss the point where quick-fixes aren't be best solution to the problem. And, are you even giving them ways to better handle their issues in the future? Sad because otherwise this series is pretty good.
Did this week also issue a cw for disordered eating? If it didn't I wished it had.

My Liberation Diary - found it precious when he asked her father for her number.

Sh**ting Stars - the asterisks certainly stand for both "oo" and "it." Really enjoying Lee Sung-Kyung's portrayal. But lets never open another series with The Circle of Life again, unless its in a hospital where the elder sibling is holding up their younger sibling trying to reenact Lion King's opening before their parents get them in trouble.

Love All Play - bit heartwarming to see a character do something embarrassing, notice they're doing it, not know how to stop themselves from doing it, and still be quite insightful. Tho that prank wasn't cute.

Military Prosecutor Doberman - MORE BOLT!

FORECAST LOVE & WEATHER: A rather mediocre drama that could hardly captivate me, especially in the last episodes, so I was more busy with my smartphone than following the plot.
The main couple was quite a disappointment. Neither could I understand why they were together or had a one-night stand (there were no sparks at all), nor why who broke up and when.
That's where the second couple was more interesting. I loved hating on both of them and looking forward to the time when they would find out that their exes were together.

I'm all the happier with CRAZY LOVE: Here, the chemistry between the main characters is just right, whether they're fighting or are in love. The series is always good for surprises and the over-the-top humor is right up my alley.

Hope or Dope
This is actually my favourite airing drama right now. It’s a lighter version of Extracurricular. It follows a group of teenagers who stumble upon a weed plantation and decide to harvest it and sell it. I love the dynamic of the group and how, for a short webdrama, each character is fleshed out. I also love the relationship between the three brothers.

You Are My Spring
It’s true that this drama has a strange tone but it works. I’m only 5 episodes in but I like how the relationship between the leads is developing.

Again My Life
I haven’t read the webtoon but ep3-4 seem to hint that our main lead might have a bit of a corruption arc or maybe he is going to succeed in achieving his revenge without compromising on his values.

Tracer
I am eagerly awaiting the next episodes.

I watched half of the new Netflix series Heartstopper.I had read the graphic novels so I knew to expect cuteness but OMG I didn’t expect to find the tv adaptation even cuter. They did such a good job for the casting, especially for the actor who plays Nick. I can’t wait to binge the last few episodes. If you want cute feel-good rom-com, I highly recommend it!

I binged watched Cdrama, My Unicorn Girl. It was a great drama and I enjoyed every bit of it. I laughed and I just couldn't get enough of it.

Started watching: Love all play. Though I enjoyed seeing the leads, I just don't understand the bully. Whatever she did, does not warrant such nasty and wicked behavior from the team.

Also, Shooting Stars. My weekend is complete. I will be looking forward to a filled weekend. Enjoyed the first episode. Waiting for the sub of the second episode.

Also watching Tomorrow. Personally, I believe words have a way of touching one's heart heart. I wasn't fat nor slim but I was very okay. But after one month of marriage, I added weight and it was so obvious that I added. A lot of people told me to my face that I was fat. It hurt and it still do but I would have felt terrible if my husband said I was fat. When I ask my husband, he appreciates me and my weight and that is all I need. Now, if only she had someone who makes her see that she is beautiful and appreciated, it won't have been that bad. Words can heal and cause pain. All she needed is someone to encourage her to love and appreciate herself and our leaf did.

I’m watching Crazy Love but haven’t seen this weeks episodes yet - sounds like it’s a bit of mess but I’ll keep going.

Other than that I’m waiting eagerly for jdrama The Full Time Wife Escapist (We Married As A Job) which is coming out once a week on Viki in my region - am really liking it so far, waiting is hard especially when I KNOW it’s from 2016 and I could find all of it if I looked in dodgier corners of the internet 😅

Am also doing a couple of rewatches
- Love, Now (Taiwan) at the rate of about one episode a week (with my sister), which is such a blast from the past but fun to watch
- Dawson’s Creek (also with my sister), if we’re talking about blasts from the past 😅 I’m basically watching it going “my friend had that shirt/pants/haircut”
-Another Oh Hae Young, I remembered this with fewer premonitions of the future and less angst but I am enjoying it all the same
- An Incurable Case of Love (jdrama), I love this drama so much. I was only going to watch from halfway through but I kept skipping back to start from earlier 😂

Only watched two Airing Dramas.

1) Green Mother's Club: I was not anticipating enjoying this drama. After the first episode, it set a spark in my curiosity. Now I'm fully invested in this drama.

2) Again My Life: I know action drama is this actor's wheelhouse so it's not new but it is interesting.

My Liberation Notes and Sho**ting Stars will be on my next list. Now I'm only catch up with Tomorrow every week.

Many people comment that Tomorrow is only give easy solution with words and too simple. Yes it's right, but like Jade Emperor said, the Risk Management Team only giving their words/console people who want to suic*de that they're never hear, after that it's back to people choice to help themselves, like they should seek therapy or professional help. Unfortunately it didn't show (consider the duration). I know it's not easy for everyone to watch bcs so many triggers can hurt but I'm not going to drop this drama

My Liberation Notes: Today's episode felt a little different, but I don't know why... I felt a little lighter than with the previous episodes.

Tomorrow (EP 7): We got a little of comedy again. Nice.

Doberman (EP6): This show could be Woo In kicking ass for 16 episodes straight and I wouldn't complain.

Work Later, Drink Now (EP2): Perfect title for the show since the only thing they do is drink.

Our Blues: stress. It seems like there isn't a part 2 for the kids story. Thanks god. And why did they show us Dong Seok when we already were going to watch Hyeon's annyoing dad and have a stressful episode in general? Starting the episode with DS was the worst. I hope his mom never calls him again, she doesn't deserve his crap.

My Liberation Notes
I’m sticking like a glue with this one. For the first time, I patiently wait week by week for new episodes of live watching drama. I don’t feel any rush and just want to enjoy every moment.
By end of episode 4 when Mr. Gu asked for maknae ttal phone number I squeed like a stoopid girl. I didn’t realize I’d been holding my breath for any signs for him and Mijung to make a further step.

Crazy Love
Don’t get me wrong. I LOVE Kim Jaewook, all the way back since Coffee Prince days, but I think he is more suitable for deep emotions kind of drama. As a psycho in Voice or troubled priest in The Guest.
I feel like Crazy Love or Her Private Life is too….I don’t know how to describe correctly. Light maybe? Not strong enough to convey his ability? I think he would be awesome in melo. A happy ending one, please.

Crazy Love time for reckoning for No Go Jin's poor treatment of his secretaries and unforgiving attitude. I enjoyed the behind the scenes between Kim Jae Wook and Krystal. Hopefully the show will wrap up the story well this week.
Again My Life I am watching this for Lee Jung Ki and Kim Jae Kyung. I am interested to see if he will be successful in toppling the Big Bad with the second chance given to him.
Shooting Stars I enjoyed the first two episodes. I like that there is a complicated history behind the leads. Gong Tae Sung is a man child. With the reveal in the last few minutes of episode 2, he reminds me of Choi Ung in OBS. A pettier and larger-than-life version though.
My Liberation Notes I just want that club counselor to just leave our Liberation Club members alone. I think giving her minutes of the meeting would be enough to keep track of the club activities. I would be upset of she reads their journals. MiJeong has written really personal thoughts in it.
I like the friendship between GiJeong and her boss. She does need someone like him to keep her on track.
I love HyeonA. I wonder if she will have a loveline with ChangHee.
I like the burgeoning relationship between Mr Gu and MiJeong. I don't know what she saw in him but being played by Son Seok Ku helps me get past his drunkard persona.
Showtime Begins the first episode was interesting. I like Park Hae Jin, Jin Ki Joo and the trailers. So looking forward where their story will go.

Sixth Sense S3 still watching for the cast. I like that they are a close knit group. On JuWan and Kwon Il Yong, first profiler of Korea, were guests on the last episode. As a Through the Darkness fan, it was fascinating and I like his comments all throughout as they discover the fake.
Unexpected Business still watching this mainly for the food the celebrities cook for their snack bar. It makes me want to learn and make it at home. Particularly interested in learning how to make a tonkatsu but maybe as a torikatsu instead. Didn't know its that easy.

Watching Pachinko it’s well done. Kind of wish they just followed the time line without jumping around.

King of Pigs

J dramas first few episodes Shoujiki Fudousan A real estate agent who suddenly can not tell a lie. (Cursed after destroying a shrine). A Candy newbie is under his wing to learn the business.

Hoshi Shinichi no Fushigina Fushigina Tanpen Dorama Collection of short stories. First two eps subbed.

YouTube videos, lately watching heavy duty tow trucks, some crazy recovery work going on. Favorite is a cement truck that rolls down a hill into a house . No injuries The rigging and calculations that they do in order to remove the truck is really amazing.

Ah! I was so busy last few months to comment here. None of the dramas I've been watching right now are completely engaging me

Tomorrow: Right now only thing that has stopped me from dropping this drama is Koo Ryeon and Park Jongil's backstory. They have amazing chemistry, the writers should be emphasizing on that. Why do they, especially Lee Soohyuk gets only 5 minutes of screentime? Episode 6 with the war veteran was the best one so far. I like the world-building, characters and the actors but the execution itself is so unsatisfactory. Its hard to believe that words have SO much power that it can solve years or lifetime of issues.

Again My Life: First two episodes were entertaining even though they were a bit cliche. But by the end of episode 3-4, this drama resembles a harem-drama with 3 women interested in the super talented ML. He has time to study, do martial arts, help these 3 women as well as any side-characters that he comes across. Did the grim reaper gave him extra hours in the day along with a second chance? Its still entertaining so I'll keep watching for now.

Sh****ng Stars: The whole thing with "Africa" was terrible, the least they could have done was to give a specific country's name instead of generalizing the whole continent. Aside from that the first two episodes were a quick watch. I like that the leads had some sort of history with each other. I don't believe they were actually dating but the reasons for animosity between them seems understandable. But the scene with ML chasing FL into toilet and attempting to show that he isn't 'impotent' would be considered sexual harassment and wouldn't be funny in real life. For me in hate-to-love scenarios, I have hard time rooting for the couple if the guy behaved like a complete asshole before. So far, except that one scene the ML didn't get on my nerves. Let's hope the writers don't go that far in next episodes

I also watched two really fun short-form cdramas. Both can be watched in a single day so even if you don't end up liking them you don't feel like wasting your time.

The Killer is Also Romantic: This one is 18 episode drama, with each episode being 12-14 minutes. Mr & Mrs Smith in historical Chinese setting is the simplest way to describe this one. Leads have nice chemistry and most scenes are what would consider highlight points of a drama.

Her Royal Highness: This one is even shorter one at almost one hour. Its also called 'The Elder Princess on Top' and thats the dynamic between the leads. FL is a dominant princess that runs the imperial court from behind the scenes while ML is a guard that is a spy. This one has such a strong female gaze and the relationship between the leads have a different vibe compared to your usual cdramas.

I also watch Heartstopper on Netflix which was also short and super heartwarming. I wasn't sure if I would be interested in a coming of age show but I really enjoyed. The fact that the characters were played by actual teenagers was a huge factor in making it more likeable.

Entertainers:

Rewatching with my sister and my therapist (each one in a different country). What can I say? I know many beanies didn't like this show, but me.. it still stings my heart and make me tear up once here once there...

I am looking forward to watch My liberation notes... but I am crazy busy with moving back to the city I used to live... I went to another one because of stupid situation of somebody else, better not to give details... but thanks God I am coming back.
So... I send you greetings from abroad!!!!!