OUR BLUES (Ep. 5-6) The long focus on the teen’s situation was more than I expected. The push-pull of decision making felt real and daunting. Dong Seok is his own worst enemy. He has such a huge chip on his shoulder that he pushes everyone away. Seon Ah’s illness has taken an emotional toll now, but we still do not know when or how it started. Captain Joon and Young-Ok’s relationship is on a nice slow pace but the old ladies whispers to Joon about her speculative past will soon throw a road block between them. I think Young-Ok’s past mirrors Yeoung-ju’s story. Each character’s story is unfolding like a blues song. I have a haunting feeling that the solution for most of the character’s problems will come at a greater cost than they can collectively handle.

KILLER’S SHOPPING LIST (Ep. 1-2) I really liked the opening title graphics and the Episode 1 back story of Lee Kwang Soo’s character, Dae-Sung. His mother, Myung Sook, is a pistol and his suffering long time girlfriend, A-Hee, balances the relationship humor with a reality check. The premise is wrapped around the idea of community as family which is being lost as constant redevelopment changes the neighborhood and attitudes. I was surprised that there would be more than one victim to investigate; the details and nuances of the story have been well done. It is a real crime puzzle with a lot of pieces to match up.

Variety:

SEOUL CHECK IN (Ep 3) LHR seems to be trying to re-find her youth or prove to herself she is still young by snowboarding. She asks about how the younger generation dates and laments about not having city-style fun. Since it is streaming on TVing, the platform is not giving audience ratings but percentage increases from the pilot episode so we do not know how popular the show really is in Korea.

SIXTH SENSE 3 (Ep 6) This was the easiest one to get. 50 percent success rate so far.

HOW DO YOU PLAY? The second round of auditions were not as great as the first group but still pretty good. This is a much different way to create a super-idol group than the normal music talent shows. I really wonder if any of the prospects are not professional singers.

Crazy Love (Episode 15-16) - Mood progression: D / D / D- / D- / D- / D / D- / D-
Se Gi believed the anonymous letter? What nonsense is that? And yes, let’s introduce another disgruntled ex-colleague during the finale week, cause why not? And then have the flimsiest backstory and ending for the main villain. Just, wtf?

My Liberation Notes (Episode 5-6) - Mood: A-
Normally, I wouldn’t be hoping for this if I roughly know that the show would be decent at best but I wish that the writer doesn’t include any sort of romance for any of the leads: wouldn’t it be more interesting to cover the growth of platonic relationships? But it’s to the writer’s credit that I’ll probably be fine even if the show transitions to the classic love arcs.

The Killer's Shopping List (Episode 1-2) - Mood: C+
It’s weird that Dae Sung didn’t recognise Nunchucks Grandpa as the culprit behind both the 1996 and 2001 incidents: I guess that we’re dealing with a twin here which explains why Dae Sung might not have drawn the link if he presumably killed the counterfeit guy in 2001. But I find myself drawn to that BGM with a varied tempo: composer deserves a raise!

Showtime Begins! (Episode 1-2) - Mood: C-
With the writer of Mystic Pop-up Bar at the helm, there was no doubt some expectations going into this show. I recalled that back then, that show’s only major flaw was its villain: unfortunately, I have the same worry here with there being an evil spirit on the loose. I also don’t really like the implied romance between the leads: there’s no need for that?

Shooting Stars (Episode 1-2) - Mood: C-
Ignoring the gaffes, I found the premiere a mixed bag: on one hand, I quite enjoyed the focus on the staff members and how they navigate the waters of the entertainment industry, on the other hand, I’m worried that going forward, it’ll be a one track story about the romance and Tae Sung’s celebrityhood. We’ll have to see how the writer tackles the balance.

Love All Play (Episode 3-4) - Mood: D+
Is it realistic that Tae Joon never crossed paths with Tae Yang or Jung Hwan when Joon Young got injured? It’s just iffy. Also, what axe does Young Sim have to grind with that backstory? And are we really having violence previews in 2022?

Tomorrow (Episode 7-8) - Mood: D
We’re back to using words to resolve mentally distressing issues when we all know that’s not how it works in reality! I’m also annoyed that there’s been 0 non-procedural development: no, a super predictable 5-min flashback doesn’t count.

Green Mothers’ Club (Episode 7-8) - Mood: D
The only adult character worth rooting for in this show is Eun Pyo’s husband! Please keep him alive till the end? Please!

A Superior Day (Episode 7) - Mood: D-
Of course, Chan Woo gets forgotten for like six episodes before his tracking device becomes coincidentally convenient.

I had too much work this week and felt sooooo tired... that slow weekender It's Beautiful Now was the optimal watch for me (and covered a couple of days as I often fell asleep during my watch 😆). The Lawyeress is still the highlight for me... and the Elders Trio spreads a happy smile on my face. (The Ex-girlfriend on the other hand I hate with all my kdrama-watcher strength - she is a selfish manipulative Snake.)

Showtime - I could do without the kdrama policing... but the ghost trio never fails to crack me up... and that card *trick* in episode 2 had me ROFL 😂😂 (I'm also somehow always grinning whenever Seulhae turns on her aigoo 😆)

My Liberation Diary - I really like the budding friendship of Kijung and her Boss. And still shipping Hyeona and Changhee.

(Keeping Crazy Love for next week.)

COMPLETED
Crazy Love - Ended pretty much as expected but with one too many suicide attempts. The lead couple remained good till the end which was nice.

STARTED
From Now On, Showtime - It's funny. I think the magician will turn into a part-time police consultant to escape his shaman fate.

ONGOING
Love All Play - I get bored any time the leads are not together. But they light up the screen when they are. The slow unveiling of Tae-jun's apartment amenities (or lack thereof) was hilarious.

Shooting Stars - Okay-ish start. Didn't get around to Ep. 3 yet.

Tomorrow - Too little information so far on the characters we all care the most about. But at least I was right about the past life connection 💅.

Again My Life - Saw up to the drug bust and there's been too much smooth sailing. Time for him to start failing/ facing more obstacles to make this more interesting.

My Liberation Notes - Mr. Gu was kinda swoony last week. But Chang-hee was my favourite. His entire speech about knowing when you are on the verge of an explosion was just perfect.

Our Blues - The teenage pregnancy storyline is going to go full crazy-parent this week and I'm not looking forward to it. Seon-a's story would be more moving if we knew more about her.

C-DRAMAS
Completed My Sassy Princess. Started Who Rules the World (yay Netflix!) and liking it so far. Need to find time to read the book now…

Our Blues: I thought this week’s episodes were really strong, especially Episode 5. I’m really invested in Young-joo/Hyun and Sun-ah. Both of these stories are really sad. For Young-joo and Hyun, the smart choice would be adoption, but many people in their situation don’t make the smart choice, for various reasons.

My Liberation Notes: I appreciate that Chang-hee does have some self-awareness, but man, he is annoying. I find the scenes between Mi-jung and Gu interesting and am really invested in Gi-jung but part of me feels like the writer is really skirting the line of “love conquers all.” Time will tell how it all turns out, but I kind of wish at least one of the siblings had no interest in finding love. People can be happily single, yet still depressed or discontent with their lives.

The Killer’s Shopping List: I really enjoyed this! It was a strong opening week. I like the mom and Lee Kwang-soo is perfect for these kinds of roles. It’s looking to be a tight little mystery with a colorful cast of characters.

Showtime Begins!: I have never liked Park Hae-jin as an actor and nothing in the first two episodes changed my mind. I thought Jin Ki-joo was adorable, however, and liked the ghosts. I wish this was only 12 episodes because I can see it veering off course.

Shooting Stars: I was not impressed. Between the Africa stuff and the flashback of the male lead chasing the female lead into the bathroom, the drama got off to a problematic start. I might give it another episode or two because I did like the supporting cast but the leads don’t interest me and their acting is a bit rough.

Green Mothers’ Club: Chun-hui is a piece of work. You’ve failed as a parent when your kid accuses someone of something that horrible just because he was accepted into a gifted program. I love the actress, but at this point, I don’t want to see a redemption arc for Chun-hui. I’m glad Eun-pyo is finally fighting back. I see tons of hate for Eun-pyo online, but I think she’s a flawed person trying to do her best.

Love (ft. Marriage and Divorce): Cleaning the wax out of your new husband’s ears on your wedding night is certainly sexy. The message I’m getting from the drama is that wives should stay home, have kids and be subservient to their in-laws. It’s pretty gross, but yet I keep watching. The mess with the housekeepers makes me think the writer wants another season. Please let it satisfactorily end this weekend.

Tomorrow: I finally dropped this one. There’s just not enough character development or Lee Soo-hyuk to keep me watching. I hope they told him when he took the role that he would barely have any screentime.

CRICKET - who can play sports in a heated summer. where is spring?

Japan started its own cricket league. On youtube - live. I was like what? and then saw the teams and player names - majority of them are indians - heh. Atleast Cricket is more in Japan compared to Korea.

Stokes is new captain and i'm waiting for english summer test cricket.

Japan vs. Korea cricket can be turned into good rivalry that can generate good profits but for that cricket need to absorb Baseball.

Nationalist attitude can change the landscape of sports completely.

Military Prosecutor Doberman: All is well that ends well. I am happy the romance didn't start until the very end. IT was good enough and that is good enough for me.

Love All Play: This is my Wednesday-Thursday happiness. Our leads are so utterly adorable. This drama is like a nice glass of water after a morning jog, so refreshing. The Park twins are clearly crushing hard on each other, even the childhood connection isn't annoying. The surrounding characters are fine, but the gems are truly our leads.

Again My life: The revenge is petering along nicely. I am curious if Lee Min Soo is a good guy or a bad guy. He is far far too smart, so he suspects something.

Shooting Stars: I really really wish they would dig a grave and kill the Africa thing, when his friend said he wants to dig wells and give them dreams, it was so condescending. SIGH. If they do it again in the next episode, I am go to quit the show, it is really really offensive. I really like the rest of the drama without it, it is really fun and the side characters are so heartfelt. It is very obvious GTS has a massive crush on OHB, why he doesn't just tell her instead of annoying her like a 5 year old, I really hope we find out. She is clearly the reason why he is at the agency and doesn't literally everything he does. PHY is my favorite though, she is so great as a manager and her telling someone to be an actor because he is pretty is hilarious. KYS is the strangest though, he will really do anything for his clients.

Showtime Begins!!: It was fine, I like JKJ in it, the ghosts are funny, I'll keep watching.

Our Blues: These next few episodes with be a s*&tshow. Those dads are going to lose both of their collective minds.

My Liberation Notes: I love this drama so very very much. Best part of the weekend for me!!

I'm surely watching sexy Mr Gu smiling at this phone.

Crazy Love I didn't watch this drama, I dropped it. But I followed the recap for Kim Jae-Wook (maybe something would have made me watch it again). But at the end, it's the typical drama where everybody is awful during almost the whole drama but everything is forgotten and everybody loves each other at the end.

Military Prosecutor Doberman It wasn't the best drama, but it was entertaining. The cast was good.

Love All Play It's a cute romance and the leads are giving us diabet.

The Killer's Shopping List It's a weird drama mixing mystery, humor and kinda huis clos, but it's fun. I found funny how the policeman changed by aging but not the mother :p

Tomorrow They should have more Kdrama with pets! Bolt, now Kong, they are the cutest! Kudos to the dog actors, they were good! Goo Ryeon intrigues me. She seems to still remember her past, she knows Joong-Gil from the past, she's know as reckless but she could work with him during 200 years without saying anything about their past? I mean it's Lee Soo-Hyuk...

Showtime Begins! The first 2 episodes were fun. I liked the magic scam with ghosts :p

Again My Life I'm behind.

Our Blues I wonder why they changed the format like this. I prefered episodes focused on one story. Choi Han-Su and Jung Eun-Hui as teens is still my favourite story.

Shooting Stars After 3 episodes, the main couple is the less interesting part of this drama but I really liked the rest of the characters and their jobs. It was funny to hear Lee Hong-Ki's OST for The Heirs.

My Liberation Notes It's Saturday!!! This drama is so good. I just hope that I won't be disapointed by Mr Gu's past story.

Pachinko I need to watch the last episode. Not sure I will watch the second season in the other side.

I finished PACHINKO, and I’m glad Apple TV+ just announced there will be a Season 2. It would be rude to keep us hanging.
OUR BLUES and MY LIBERATION NOTES has me living for the weekend. Although this week, Our Blues is going to get ugly for our Romeo and Juliet teen couple.
Started watching SH**TING STARS, but I’m not completely sold yet. All I can think of when I watch is does Lee Sung-Kyung ever eat? She seems to get thinner with each drama.
While waiting for the weekend, I watched THE MYSTERY OF MARILYN MONROE: the Unheard Tapes on Netflix. Marilyn was not a saint, not by any stretch of the imagination, but I still feel sorry for her. To be so gorgeous and famous, she was never happy. And through corroborating testimony of several people, we learn the “official” story surrounding her death, isn’t what really happened. It was an interesting show.

My Liberation Notes: I’m really happy that I found another drama that I could give all my love to. The characters have such wonderfully relatable soft and rough edges that I can’t help but enjoy them. I look forward to all the growing relationships — this week I think I’m more excited to see Gijeong and the single daddy.

Our Blues: I struggle to care about anyone. It doesn’t help that I see them as actor first, character second. When last week’s focus shifted to the teenagers instead of Kim Woobin & Han Jimin 2, I found myself fast forwarding everything. This wasn’t the reaction I expected to have for this show…

ah I want to watch Again My Life, missing Teacher. But I´m so busy I hardly find time to sit eat or bathe. washed my hair today though

Again My Life: 6.5 If you have trouble keeping track of who's who, including the famed "quasi-harem" (as @miso2019 named them) and their parents, the Wikipedia article on the show will tell you their connections. Then you need the pictures in the Asianwiki article to place them. For shows like this it helps to bookmark both if you are trying to live-watch and have a bad memory.

Shooting Stars: 6.9 I'm enjoying the supporting cast employees at the agency more than the leads. Quite "happy" to see Kim Seul-gi in day 2.

Tomorrow: 7.0 The key to this show is understanding that it's 96% just stuff you have to wade thru to appreciate the epilogues. Day 9: Dog wants to commit suicide? If walking in front a Truck doesn't work, just hang around in front of one of the restaurants that still serves dog meat.

From Now, Showtime!: 9.0 Strong beginning. Guess that means they'll fumble the ending like everyone else. Anyway, it's showtime.

Crazy Love Plot: 6.5 Krystal is much improved from wooden (plywood?) performance I vaguely and reluctantly recall from My Boring Girl. Points for that.

Military Prosecutor Doberman: 6.5 Aide Yang... If you want an assassination done right hire a Truck.

Killer's Shopping List: 6.6 Day 1 was lackluster; day 2 had promise but what was that silly fight in the market? Cool concept but I have no faith in their ability to execute.

Love All Play: 6.5

Monstrous: 6.0 A bit bland compared to shows like All of Us Are Dead. The flashbacks and hallucinations didn't work for me. Also, if Korea has any extra of that black rain, have them send it to us here in California. We won't be picky about the color.

Pachinko: 9.1 Looks like they'll have some good timing to use Japan's big real-estate crash to stick it to them in season two. I kinda smelled that coming when they were working on the real estate deal and I checked what year it was.

It's Beautiful Now: This show is the cutest thing on air right now. I love this show. I love 99% of the characters in a family drama how is that even possible OMG. Just stay like this for 50 episodes, please. Every relationship in this show is so damn precious. Mi Rae and her mom make me miss my mom. Hyun Jae's dad and grand pa are EVERYTHING. In the hyun-- present and in the past.

Am I wrong or Mi Rae's name means future? Hyun Jae and Mi Rae?

My Liberation Notes: I need to watch today's episode right now.

Our Blues: I miss the vibe from the first story, the bittersweetness. Now everything is just bitter. I wasn't that interested in the second story but now I want them back. I'm sorry Seon Ah but I can't stand your episode partner.

Drink Now, Work Later: They make me want to want to drink. "I think I'm gonna give alcohol a second chance." That's what I think every episode. Then I remember I hate how it taste and I'm like "girls, chocomilk is more tasty".

Tomorrow: I feel bad for not watching episode 8 this week, I had so much fun with episode 7. The comedy was on point.

Crazy Love (finale): This show was crazy and I loved it. Such a cute couple, I'm gonna miss them.

25-21 (rewatch EP 1): I needed motivation in life and I knew Hee Do would motivate me.
When Yi Jin was like "why everyone in this neighborhood is so damn loud?", I was like "boy that's my favorite thing about her. I love her energy".

Finished Mystic Pop-Up Bar and was very happy it ended the way I'd hoped it would. It was predictable but different and I was fully invested from start to finish.

Started watching Tomorrow, up to ep 5. On the fence about this one, as I pretty much agree that they're glossing over the recovery aspect and also that there's too little attention given to the back story and Lee Soo-hyuk.

Finished Falling Into Your Smile. Great story, very nice romance. Enjoyed all of the characters but I have one complaint that prevented me from fully enjoying the drama: the lead actress's behavior and facial expressions seemed to be limited to petulance, annoyance, and defensiveness for the majority of the drama. She showed more range at times, so I really think it was a directing issue and not a true representation of the actress's skills.

Started A Girl Like Me, liking it a lot so far. Every episode has me laughing. I love the Ban family so much and the Count is VERY easy on the eyes lol.

Also started Love O2O. Wish I'd known to watch this one before You Are My Glory, cause it was a bit startling to see Yang Yang so much younger. But I'm still enjoying it a lot, and will probably binge watch it over the weekend. I also like the way they portray the gaming as opposed to the way it was done in You Are My Glory and Falling Into Your Smile, even though the CGI is pretty crappy in Love O2O. In Love O2O I have no problem figuring out who is playing which game character - I was almost always confused during the others unless they explicitly showed who was playing who.

I'm with you, missvictrix, on OUR BLUES. I can't deny that this week's episodes were well done, but they were extremely hard to watch. I was expecting more of a Romeo & Juliet type teen story (with a happier ending of course) so I'm disappointed that it's going to focus on the fallout of their decision to keep their baby. As I mentioned before, I didn't expect a character in a mainstream drama to choose to have an abortion (even though, in this case, I did think it was the best decision for her to make), and I appreciate that the writer tried to tell a balanced story. But it's hard for me to stomach the incredibly public pain and sacrifice over this very personal choice everyone involved will now endure. Frankly, I just don't want to see it, even if, as I suspect, it will resolve with some type of communal (and adoptive) happiness.

The depression story is also well done, but also extraordinarily painful to watch. Seeing this woman suffer and attempt suicide over losing her child was absolutely awful. And not that a romantic relationship will solve anything, but the setup with Dong Seok is equally painful to watch. So far, their flashback scenes have only shown a one-sided crush that led to confusion, frustration, and unhappiness for both people.

It's a good show and I'll continue to watch it, but right now there's too much bitter and not enough sweet. And the foregrounding of cultural assumptions about motherhood and female sexuality hits on a lot of my personal triggers. So I might need a break.

In contrast, MY LIBERATION NOTES is a triumph, and it's all based on small, yet revelatory moments. Gu is one of the most interesting male protagonists I've seen in forever. I am a little concerned with how his alcoholism (and he is an alcoholic, not just a heavy drinker) will ultimately be handled, and I'm worried Mi-jung is going to become way more invested than she anticipates, but their story is so beautifully told and acted. The rest of the show is equally wonderful, but their story is what holds everything together.

LOVE ALL PLAY: I'm loving it. Some of the bullying is hard to take, but the main couple just works, and the burgeoning second lead couple (or the potential triangle to come) has caught my heart, too. This drama is sweet but not cloying, and the dialogue is just unpredictable enough that my interest doesn't fade even when the leads aren't on screen.

SHOOTING STARS: Not quite as deft and fun as LOVE ALL PLAY, but I'll give it another week. I'm not sure there's enough story here to sustain the dramatic tension, and so far, it's pretty predictable. The humor isn't always working for me, either. But I like the premise, and the leads have a history that could lead to a compelling present.

Finished MILITARY PROSECUTOR DOBERMAN which was an enjoyable watch I've already pretty much forgot about. This is not a knock on the drama--which was tightly written (with some holes, yes, and not the best...

The King of Pigs – The law is flawed. Sometimes it protects those it shouldn’t. Sometimes those who wield the power of the law work within it’s ambient to tweak things to their advantage – for bad, to bypass punishment, to save face. Never was I expecting a ceremonial burial service for Lieutenant Jung Jung-sok. Was it that they swept Lieutenant Kang’s findings under the rug. And no mention of Hwang Kyung Min’s name in the closing. If anything, King of Pigs reminded me that it wasn’t going to give me ending I so wanted – Jung Sok paying for his actions, even in death. Hwang Kyung Min need not be glorified, he has to pay for taking justice into his hands – not that those in charge would do service to it – he took human life and so even in death, he should pay. He should have gotten the minutest teeny weeny acknowledgment. King of Pigs however threw life at me instead of fictional justice. Kim Dong Wook wowed me to the end with his performance, his stellar performance. If I see him in this kind of genre again, I’d watch it wholeheartedly.
Worthy mentions to Chae Jung Ahn. Her character is one I couldn’t help but take serious.

Our Blues (Ep 2) - This has its own dose of laughter, that faint- epic. We expect to see Newton’s 3rd Law apply in our lives so yes, it is depressing to see it not even the other way round, but in ways that makes us wonder why we gave what we do our all in the first place. Why are we also not in a good place?
Han-su lying in the water body is…refreshing. It’s tiring being an adult. They should be allowed to be teenagers once in a while.

Juvenile Justice (Ep 7) - Finally found the mood to watch this and it’s not an easy journey. I never liked Justice Kang, but I was forced to like him through episode 6-7. As he walked through the trouble his family threw him into, and the various perspectives of his family I concluded ‘He’s a flawed character, but he is not a bad guy. He’s a flawed good guy. He is a mantra for justice, and all the time he was stifling and playing safe, he never forgot what he stood for : justice.’ I admire his character.

My Liberation Notes - If Mr. Gu’s stare face is saying a hundred words, his smiling face is…beautiful. Who dresses that simple on a date - oversized roundnecks🤣.
It is so hard to stand Chang-hee. His pains are well felt. There’s nothing he can do about a father who isn’t even ready to hear him out, even for his father’s benefit. His workplace nemesis isn’t making things any easier. Were I Gu, after his stunt he’d never set foot in my apartment.

Through the Darkness – I’m just enjoying this one.

Love ft Marriage and Divorce (ep 14) – At this point I’m pissed at what the writer is doing to Shin Yu-shin. He stopped being a good husband, but he definitely remained a good father. I’d also snap at the way Ji-a held Dong-ma’s hands. While not justifying his adultery, denying him his daughter when he’s not given you a reason to doubt his affection for her is too much. I’m...

At the moment I only watch dramas that make me feel good and comfortable. Apparently I need this at the moment.

This week I finished CRAZY LOVE. The drama hit exactly my humor (black, sometimes a bit nasty) and the love story could also deliver what I had hoped for.

LOVE ALL PLAY provides the necessary feel-good moments. Above all, the series is cute and relaxing.

Right now, I'm eagerly anticipating the fourth episode of SHOOTING STARS. The high maintenance actors are the highlight of the series. Anyway, for episode 4 I hope that Gong Tae Sung and Oh Han Byul will be more in the spotlight again. I love their feud.

After two episodes of SHOWTIME BEGINS! I decided that this drama is not for me.

I'm on ep5 of MONSTROUS and I'm a bit flummoxed so far. At first I thought: after about a decade of skewering Korea's Christian organisations, Yeon Sang-ho has finally turned his attention to the country's Buddhist institutions. But the Buddhist monks are by far the most endearing characters in the show; even the guy in the sky takes the trouble to send a meteorological warning to the beleaguered town. (Btw, AFAIK Yeon has never criticised religion per se, let alone Buddha. It's the people who exploit religion that he seems to hate.)

What really bothers me about Monstrous is how derivative it seems to be. It's like a throwback to 2016, being a bit of a cross between Na Hong-jin's countryside horror The Wailing and Yeon's own Train to Busan, the two films that dominated Korean cinema that year. It has troubled parent-child and spousal relationships, like Yeon's Hellbound. I LOL'ed at the abrupt tribute to Hitchcock. And 6 half-hour episodes don't leave much room for either plot or character development.

That said, I AM enjoying the little character sketches and vignettes, like Ki-hoon's brazenness, the ineffectual governor, the way almost everyone submits to the psychopathic tyrant Yong-joo and the substation chief telling her son to listen to the adults. I also liked the way we see hints of some of the possessed characters' anger, fear and pain. Well, on to the final episode...

Pretty sure that MY LIBERATION NOTES will be my favourite drama this year. I even re-watch the episodes which I don't normally do.

Sad goodbyes to a bunch of good dramas this week. CRAZY LOVE did wrap up nicely with a satisfying ending. DOBERMANN also made it well over the finishing line, but what really impressed me was the performance of Kim Dong-wook and Kim Song-gyoo in KING OF PIGS. It was a difficult drama to watch, but the young actors playing the bullied teenagers did a fantastic job, especially Choi Hyun-Jin as Cheol! Their future should be bright.

Still catching up with all the new dramas. LOVE ALL PLAY looks pretty good, the leads look so effortlessly comfortable with each other. Park Ju-hyun is one of my favourite newer actresses. SHOOTING STARS is not bad either. Typical love-to hate-to love plot? The Africa plot is sadly cringeworthy.

The teenage pregnancy plot in OUR BLUES is uncomfortable, but I will wait with my judgement for now. Both doctors were absolutely terrible. To answer a medical question of a young patient with 'go and google it' is unprofessional to say the least.

Dropped TOMORROW and GREEN MOTHERS CLUB. The Grim Reaper's job is to collect a dead person's soul, not to save lives. Maybe it is this contradiction in the set-up of the drama that I find off-putting (plus the often clumsy treatment of sensitive topics).

Pleased that the next season of PACHINKO is going to come. Love this drama so much.

From Now On, Showtime: Makes me itch for the next episode! ML may seem cold, but he's got a humane streak. FL is dogged, but not one-note. The 3 ghosts are fun to watch, and I enjoy finding out the secrets behind the "magic" tricks. I enjoy how the case was handled and am excited to see the leads team up! Great OST by Soyeon.

Shooting Stars: Really cute. I like how not only the leads, but the supporting leads and guest actors (like Method Actor and his manager) are fun to watch. I love the behind-the-scenes going-ons behind a k-celeb world that always seem so overly polite, perfect, and "happy happy". I'm totally on board the Manager Kang Yu-sung fan club. Not only because of his looks, but because of his mind. Dude is genius.

Tomorrow: I'm starting to get impatient with the slow progress with the backstories. And why is Lee Soo Hyuk on the promos when he has so little screentime? The suicide instigator story was terrible and nonsensical. The story of Kong the dog wrecked me though, and I loved it. Skeptical that a dog can understand human language that much, but the feelings felt natural.

Lady of Butcher's House: (up to ep 25) c-drama. My don't-need-to-pay-attention watch that is great for chores and when I do pay attention, I enjoy how nice, helpful, and considerate the protagonists are.

Ugh that screencap of Son Seok-gu makes me want to pick up My LIberation Notes. I'm not in the mood to watch it yet though.

Although there are plenty of quality kdramas to watch, I’ve had to start a few Chinese rom-coms to relieve my existential dread—thanks again to those here who recommended some.

These Chinese shows are themselves somewhat overwhelming, in that each seemingly has 50 episodes. However, since each episode often begins with the same theme song, in a futile attempt to amuse my wife and a successful effort to disturb my dog, I began singing along to the theme songs using the English translations on Viki. I cannot carry a tune for the life of me, but it’s a nice challenge, and fun as a kind of CDrama Karaoke. To give three examples from CDramas I began this week:

By far the easiest to sing along with using the English translations is the theme song from “The Day of Becoming You”, perhaps because the male lead is playing a singer. The first lines:

“How far should the moon hide itself/to finally appear lonely no more”

are pretty easy to fit in with the music, although you really have to extend the “finallllly”

Hard to sing are lines of the song from “My Little Happiness:”

“How are we supposed to break apart/when our fates are entangled in the corners of our clothing”
And
“I only anticipate a frown, smile or a calm gaze from you to stay by your side”

You have to run together “fatesareentangledinthecornersofourclothing” and “frownsmileoracalmgazefromyou” really fast, and it doesn’t sound musical even by my extremely low standards.

The lyrical duet that opens “The Oath of Love” is difficult to do by yourself, and oddly, my wife refuses to attempt it with me, but the toughest lines are the first:

“As it turns out there is something special amidst a sea of people/ fingertips flipping the pages of an eternal dictionary.”

Its “as it turns out” that’s the problem in the opening line. I find it impossible to fit the notes. Plus, while most of the duet is really quite logical and poetic in translation, focusing on water--sea/rain/umbrella--I don’t really get how “fingertips flipping the pages of an eternal dictionary” suits the rest of the imagery. Frankly, the line just doesn’t speak to me, as a vocal artist aspiring to make his dog howl.

Anyway, if you are currently an English-subtitle C-Drama watcher who has a musical bent, or who is just bent, I highly recommend this way of interacting with the shows!

This last weekend my wife and I watched a fair number of episodes of MY SASSY PRINCESS on iQIYI in large part because the Viki App on Roku was crashing. It is a fun show. Viki has since fixed the problem, but it has been a good reminder as to my reasons for also subscribing to iQIYI.

We continued to enjoy OUR BLUES or perhaps more accurately were mesmerized by the all too real stories which were told last weekend. And I can sympathize with MissVictrix’s response to those episodes. However, I take serious exception to the stunt pulled on Shin Min-a’s character by the investigator: It was grossly out of line and a serious breach of duty for the investigator to show the video of child’s response to her- and completely at odds with the duties of that investigator to conduct a neutral investigation of the parents and child. I understand why the writer needed to do it as a dramatic device but I did want it known that in real life these are highly trained and responsible people who would not do that.

After Viki was fully restored to Roku my wife found the older weekender YOU ARE THE BEST starring a very young IU (my wife just loves her) and Yoo Inna. It is a fun story with all of the things that one expects from a weekend family drama. We have almost completed the entire thing. Which leaves us behind schedule on a number of other shows.

KING OF TEARS will finish this weekend and it has been outstanding. Even if you do not love sageuks you should see this one. I hope that this writer continues to write more dramas and I would be shocked if offers were not already being made.

I continue to be in love with all three of our future sisters-in-law in the new weekender IT'S BEAUTIFUL NOW. It has settled into its groove as a very watchable weekender. I look forward to each episode and that is the hallmark of a good show.

Time to post this- my wife has just called for me to join her to finish the last episodes of YOU ARE THE BEST.

I love :

Shooting Star - Because I love the whimsy Lee Sung Kyung.

Showtime - Of course I love fantasy genre, and so far the writing of this show is interesting.

Again My Life - With each new episode, I'm holding my breath afraid of what if someone's close to Hee Woo would backstab him...

Love All Play - I love sports drama that discusses about things revolves about the sport itself, not just focuses on love story; like the Racket Boys. And I super love this drama too.

Military Prosecutor - Catching up on last few episodes, currently just starting episode 15- No Hwa Young & No Tae Nam really shine.

My Liberation Diary - What a gentleman Gu is! In my personal lense (you can call me old fashion, it's okay), if a guy wishes to get closer to a girl he's interested in; it is a very romantic gesture for that guy to ask first from the girl's father. And Gu asked for Mi Jeoung's number from her father. That is so sweeeeeet!

I'm just watching Gu watching his phone.

My Liberation Notes continues to be mesmerizing. I rewatched eps 5 and 6 so I could focus on the expressions and body language rather than the subtitles. I'm trying to restrain myself from watching ep 7 today so I can see both new eps together tomorrow, but I may lose that battle.

Meanwhile I'm starting Bridgerton Season 2 as a palate-cleanser and a break from subtitles. Anthony was my least favorite character in Season 1; I'll give him 2 episodes to change my mind. The costumes are fantastic and are a whole drama themselves for someone who designs and sews clothing, as I do.

Just watched the first two episodes of Going to the Blue House Like This. It does feel a bit like a gentler The Thick Of It, with Lee Jung-eun like a nicer and more competent Hugh Abbot or Nicola Murray and - naturally - no equivalent to the fearsome Malcolm Tucker. But it does have a cracking cast, many of whom play eminently punchable characters, and the nothingness behind much of the sound and fury of its world should be recognisable to anyone who has ever been in the civil service.

I liked the longer story arcs as well @missvictrix, and Our Blues is sinking ever lower on my watch list as time goes by.
Also hit pause on Tomorrow and on Again My Life. Maybe I just don't like "mental-illness-lite" and revenge plots?
Finished 30 but 17 and enjoyed it because, although very tropey, managed to treat each with a slight twist and a practical resolution. Determined to finally finish Chief Kim/Good Manager this week during that midweek lull.
My Liberation remains the highlight of Sat/Sun and is my reward for doing chores. Now I want one of those sun hats that Gu jumped for while I work in the garden. Also Gu to lend a hand with the heavy lifting - it could happen, right?
Film wise After Yang has been called a sci-fi weepy but it has a beautiful core story of an android who is loved and who loves in return. Clicked on Seo Bok with Gong Yoo and Bo-gummy. It was poignant and ultimately very violent. It's not nice to fool Mother Nature (or mess with Jang Young-nam). So excited to learn of the June release of Koreada's Broker; will definitely be seeing it in a theater.

My liberation notes: I just love Lee El. The earnestness and idealism she injects into Ki-Jung is so cute and then her flip to depressed and sad is just so good. The slow burn romance of Mr. Gu and Mi- Jeong I hope will pay off at the end. I’m ready to know the mystery behind his hiding though. And why does Lee Min Ki always surprise me with his acting? He’s just so good. No character he plays is like another—everything from mannerisms to speech patterns, to personality is different. Is he a genius? I don’t see any of his old characters in Chang-hee.

Shooting Stars: Did anyone notice that Lee Ki-woo is in two shows? This one and MLN? He plays the method actor who faints from malnutrition when his character has his final dying scene. 😆 I love leads that bicker and banter. It’s my happy place and doesn’t remind me at all of my own marriage. 😂

Love All Play.l: Thank Heaven for VPN! These two main leads are just adorbs and I knew Chae Jong-hyeop was going to slay me in this. But how cute is second lead Kim Moo -Joon? These two guys are the next generation and I’m glad they’re doing so well here.

And hubby started Who Rules the World which just dropped on Netflix while still airing in China, which I guess is unprecedented. Yang Yang and Lu Si have great chemistry already. Lu Si is probably my favorite Chinese actress right now. Romance of Tiger and Rose solidified that.

Had to drop Tomorrow. Too depressing, all the time. People suck. We get it.

Our Blues: don’t know if I’ll continue this with so much content coming out next week. I’m just barely invested it it. Looking forward to Kang Hanna and Jang Hyuk’s sageuk May 2nd!

Bunch of new shows, some good, some so/so. Definitely too many shows to be watching live…weekends are absolutely slam packed.

Crazy Love *6.5/10 Series*
I enjoyed the show most of the way through. The ML was a bit too much of a jerk near the beginning, but I can’t say I didn’t enjoy his dynamic with the FL so it ended up working out. The villains were so/so. Some were good, and some motivations were absolutely insane so I couldn’t get into it. Krystal got to play against type here, so that was nice to see. Fun little show overall.

Love All Play *7/10*
Good week, and I thought the badminton was shot a little better this week as well. Nice they get the accident out of the way, and they don’t let it drag too much. I suppose now it’s only left for the team to find out for the full catharsis.

Again My Life *6.5/10*
Continues to be worth the weekly watch. Not breaking the mold, but I’m enjoying the hijinks. Our hero is collecting a harem?

Showtime Begins *8/10*
NEW SHOW! I enjoyed the first week quite a bit. It’s an interesting premise, and when we saw the “behind the scenes” of the magic show with the ghosts acting it out I laughed quite a bit. The cards floating around him especially. Shamans aren’t exactly a new area for kdramas, but this seems like a fun angle and the characters themselves are charming.

Military Prosecutor Doberman *7/10 Series*
A good show throughout. The chemistry was fun, and while the villains were over the top you still felt good about them getting their just desserts. Not something I’d watch again I don’t think, but if you’re in the mood for either of the two leads…a solid watch.

The Killer’s Shopping List *4/10*
Opening was pretty weak in my opinion. First episode especially. The second did pick up a bit and got me more invested so I’ll give this one another week, but with so many shows to watch I may drop this one and return (if it gets some good reviews).

Monstrous *8/10*
Kind of blind sided me to be honest. I remember seeing this one upcoming and then hearing nothing about it. Subs dropped and I decided to check it out due to the cast. Koo Gyo Hwan was excellent in D.P. and Kwak Dong-Yeon is always a favourite (and picks such diverse roles). Short series too, looks like the episodes are only about 30 min each, with 6 total. I ended up watching the first 3 last night and had to force myself to sleep to not turn into a night owl. Simple premise, but it’s done well enough that I’m really enjoying it.

Tomorrow - looking forward to learning more about Ryung-gu.

My Liberation Diary - bit confused on why the co-workers were all worried after the supervisor read off their plane tickets and asked why Ji-won wasn't going with them. Did they not know she knew already? They hadn't been real quiet about buying swimwear and such, so thought they did.

From Now, Showtime - slightly making me think of Daebak Real Estate, looking forward to more shenanigans.

Sh**ting Stars - I kinda don't want them to have dated before. (They also don't talk like they dated before so is that a ruse for laughs?) Might be too invested into the enemies to lovers trope.
Disappointingly the Lion King soundtrack made a re-appearance.

Love All Play - BACK HUGS BACK HUGS BACK HUGS. Park Ju-Hyun and Chae Jong-Hyeop are doing amazing as the Park Twins.

Military Prosecutor Doberman - it feels rare to have a plot heavy last few episodes with a kdrama, which was a nice change of pace. It would have been amusing though if Bolt had interrupted the first kiss, but that might have been me just wanting him to have more screen time.

Who Rules the World - Yang Yang pulls of sick weakling very well XD

Again My Life: I had higher hopes for this, but the drama is turning out to be predictable and generic. Well, at least Lee Joon-gi has his reverse-harem. Kim Han-mi should’ve been the main female lead.

It’s Beautiful Now: That ex-girlfriend needs to GO! Ma’am, your divorce case isn’t even over yet and you’re out here hitting on your lawyer/ex who you dumped to marry your to-be-ex-husband. I need her to stay away from Hyun-jae and Mi-rae, who are adorable and actually compliment each other very well. Unfortunately, I am willing to bet all the money in my bank account that Mi-rae’s mother is the long-lost daughter of harabeoji. Because what’s a weekend family drama without a sprinkling of pseudo-incestuous vibes?

Love All Play: It’s no Racket Boys (nothing is), but the show is so cute! The leads are crushing on each other HARD and it’s such a delight to watch. I wish the rest of the show was more engaging though.

My Liberation Notes: EASY CONTENDER FOR THE BEST DRAMA OF 2022!!! I don’t even have words to explain how much I utterly and wholeheartedly love every aspect of this masterpiece. Just… AHHHHHHH ❤️. Mr. Gu and Mi-jeong OWNS me.

Our Blues: I don’t get the sudden change in format. I feel like it lessens my interest in the characters. Not quite a proper omnibus anymore, so the synopsis was kind of a lie. Han-su and Eun-hee’s story is still the best one in a long shot. I hope it gets back on track soon because 20 episodes is a big investment to keep up. I’m not looking forward to the reactions from the dads.

Shooting Stars: I cringed through the “Africa” portions of the show (seriously can they please drop that aspect??) to finish the first two episodes. It’s clear that Tae-sung is infatuated with Han-byul, so he should just treat her more nicely and not like a 5 year old pulling the pigtails of the girl he finds cute. The supporting players are great and contributes to the overall feel of the show really well. Now if only they drop the white saviour bulls-it with Tae-sung’s volunteer work…ugh it’s the WORST.
P.S. The bathroom scene where he tries to pull his pants down is a textbook example of sexual harassment and I hate that it was played for comedy. I swear it’s like the writer is actively trying to make me not watch their product.

Showtime Begins!: Enjoying this one. Jin Ki-joo is amazing and the ghosts are hilarious. It’s also kind of nice to see a female lead who can actually cook. A refreshing change of pace. I only wish it was 12 episodes instead of 16, because I don’t know if it has enough plot to sustain storytelling of that many hours.

Tomorrow: Not enough non-procedural or world-building development. The lack of Lee Soo-hyuk is also glaring. The procedural elements are getting tired. I understand that the show wishes to tackle serious social issues, but their way of going about it is uninformed and condescending at best, and actively...

Crazy Love  the drama is not perfect but I did like how healthy Go Jin and ShinAh's relationship was in the end. It did have its crazy moments but I did like the chemistry between Kim Jae Wook and Krystal.
Showtime Begins I find Jin Ki Joo really adorable as Go Seul Hae. I also love her dynamics with Park Hae Jin's is cold-hearted magician who is reluctantly assisting her. Their relationship has a lot of potential to be more hilarious. And there is also something brewing that can make their partnership a win-win for both. Episode 3 just cemented by love for the show. I hope it continues.
Again My Life this is still an entertaining mindless watch. I get why the ratings is high.
Shooting Stars Tae Sung is like a middle schooler pulling his crush's pigtails to get attention. His antics grows on you and he lets us see his hidden crush on our PR Manager, Oh Han Byeol. I also like Lawyer Do and I want his happiness too. This may be the start of a SLS, I may just end up getting hurt for him.
Monstrous It was an entertaining thriller. The drama slowly set-up all the characters and fleshed out the key relationships. It did make you root for certain characters to survive the mysterious happenings around them. It can get gory but just enough to give you an idea of the evil at work. I was satisfied with the ending enough that it made me want to see what can happen next. It did leave a possibility of a sequel.
The Killer's Shopping List the first two episodes were okay but my least fave on everything I am watching. I am disappointed since I wanted to like it. Hopefully ep3 will change my mind.
My Liberation Notes I have yet to watch today's episode but I did like last week's.

The King of Pigs - Just finished the last two episodes today. Strong finale that left an impression yet I wasn't fully satisfied. I wonder if that point was intentional.

I was frankly annoyed that Jong Suk got a fancy, respectful ceremony while his dark secret was never revealed to the public. Perhaps, the writer left it like that because even now, there are people living well or having success despite being cruel and evil when they were younger.

The policework wasn't great...just typical. *rolls eyes* The female lead did her investigation, but she did it alone. She should have confided in her boss, the higher ups, or SOMEONE sooner and actively tried to protect the only witness she had. Overall, I still liked the drama. It was compelling throughout its run. Kim Dong Wook was completely nailed his role. The child actors were also excellent!

Our Blues--Like Old Lawyer, I was mesmerized by Episodes 5, 6 and 7. Terrific acting and story telling, completely riveting to me.

It's Beautifuly Now--I don't usually watch each episode of a weekender, but this one has me hooked. Love all the storylines in this one so far.

I have been watching ‘My Liberation Notes’ and I have enjoyed it so much. The lack of KD tropes in itself is such a delight. The only thing that bugs me is the realistic depiction of summer heat. I don’t like heat and it makes me feel uncomfortable just watching them.

Currently watching:
A crap ton of Thai BL's: KinnPorsche; Cutie Pie; Secret Crush on You.

Our Blues (Ep. 5-6): I thought it was a good episode. I was honestly angry at all parties involved with the teen pregnancy. It was just so hard to watch, because it really does happen so often!
Stars: 3

Shooting Stars (Ep. 4-5): This show is definitely needed. I love the friendship and the back and forth between the leads. I am so dunce though. I really didn't think the lawyer would be the second lead. Didn't even consider him at all, but I love that we are now making some strides with this.
Stars: 4.5

My Liberation Notes (Ep. 7-8): Okay, I love Gu. I think that he is a simple yet complex person. Once he started to speak more, I felt that he really is a passionate man. Mi Yeong sometimes still feels like a character who barely expresses herself except when she is with Gu. Ki Jeong was a character that I hated to admit was basically me. When she got on her knees and apologized during the night, I was stunned. I've done the exact same thing. I apologized to anyone who gave me chance when I was at the desperation for finding someone. I am so hoping the writer gives her a happy ending, it would give me hope.
Stars: 4