Red Heart: I like it. I like the players. I love Lee Joon in this. I like that he isn’t a pure King or evil. I like that he is somewhere in between. He can be sweet, but he is also very arrogant and uppity. It makes for a great character study. It also looks like Jang Hyuk’s character and Lee Hana’s character have layers as well. I look forward to seeing them.

Love All Play: Our utterly adorable leads continue to just be super cute. Tae Joon’s sister is going to ruin it. I hope they continue to be cute together.

Again my life: The revenge is revenging along. They don’t waste time in this drama. He doesn’t have any obstacles and lots of convenient coincidences to help him get revenge. It is enjoyable for what it is.

The Sound of Magic: I am consistently surprised when they start singing lol. This drama is very strange. I am not really sure what is happening. Also, Hwang In Yup looks every bit his 30 years and he also looks like an anime villain. I’m not sure I see the point of the show. I have one more episode left though.

Shooting stars: Hopefully the show continues to get better and they never mention the continent again. I like that they choose who they think will be a star based fully on looks. You think he is talented because he is pretty, lol.

Showtime Begins!: I continue to enjoy the ghosts and JKJ. When my dude got his new outfit for his blind date I was so excited for him. I also love that he didn’t know she wanted him to book a hotel, which was hilarious.

Our Blues: Well, let us see the aftermath of all these incidents. Woof.

My liberation notes: The joy of my weekend. I can’t wait to see what is next.

Our Blues: The story arc with the teens and their dads was so raw and powerful. The actors were all stellar. The writer is so good at making you angry with characters but feel for them too.

Bloody Heart: Wow! Sageuks always have impressive cinematography but this drama is stunning. Lee Joon has such a great voice and an impressive range. His character is really interesting. I’m glad to see both him and Kang Hanna in lead roles. I’m excited and scared for Yoo-jung to find out the truth and enter the political fray.

My Liberation Notes: I like this drama, but I want to love it like everyone else. This drama has good dialogue but I’m still disappointed so much of it is about love. I loved Gi-jung crying on the bus but the bike stunt veered too far into wacky rom-com territory for me. I can’t root for Gi-jung with either Mi-jung’s coworker or her boss; they’re both actual adults. I’m not sure about how Gu’s drinking is being handled.

Love All Play: I’m watching way too many dramas right now but started this because I wanted something cute, and it certainly delivers. Park Ju Hyun is a young actress I really like. She has cute chemistry with Chae Jong-hyeop.

Sound of Magic: I watched the first episode but don’t think I will continue. Nothing about it really grabbed me, and I’ve always found characters suddenly breaking into song hokey.

The Killer’s Shopping List: I hope the killer isn’t someone predictable, like Yul’s dad. I enjoy the relationship between Dae-sung and Ah-hee.

Showtime Begins!: Jin Ki-joo continues to be adorable. I’m not crazy about the past lives connection or evil spirit storyline. These kinds of storylines always suck the fun out of dramas and turn them too dark and serious.

Shooting Stars: I decided to give it four episodes, and I just might continue despite not being interested in the leads. The supporting cast and stories involving the agency employees and their actors are pretty good.

Green Mothers’ Club: Poor kiddos. That much academic pressure shouldn’t be placed on elementary school students. I think Eun-pyo will snap out of it and Dong-seok will be fine, but the other kids are doomed.

Love (ft. Marriage and Divorce): I knew the writer was going to pull the same trick, angling for a S4. The first two seasons were boring and infuriating but a somewhat entertaining look at marriage and divorce. The writer obviously ran out of ideas and fell back on her old habits with the ghosts. If it comes back, half the cast will end up ghosts.

A Superior Day (Series review) - Mood progression: C- / D+ / D- / D- / D- / D / D- / D-
Covering a 24h period over 8 episodes broadcast over 8 weeks was difficult enough in theory but the writer didn’t even bother to put in any effort into the story. I mean, I actually timed how long it took to watch the finale: took only 10 mins!

My Liberation Notes (Episode 7-8) - Mood: B+
Not gonna lie, I’m not liking the implied trajectory of Mr Gu’s backstory or the fact that he’s actually proceeding into an open relationship with Mi Jeong when he hasn’t even told her who he is yet while he knows her deepest secret. But I do like that Tae Hoon said no to Gi Jeong: this will be a true test of the writer’s skill to see how they proceed on from here.

The Killer's Shopping List (Episode 3-4) - Mood: C+
Alas, I was kind of hoping that Veggie was the 3rd victim because that would’ve been a nice impetus to get the Scooby Doo-like investigation going instead of Dae Sung being framed. But then the show really ramped up the stakes with Yul getting kidnapped of all people: it’s a really nice cliffhanger so I hope that it isn’t a fake-out and she isn’t just at home?

Showtime Begins! (Episode 3-4) - Mood: C-
There’s plenty of superfluous material in the show from the rival magician to the shaman’s granddaughter but the stuff I find more worrying is the ill-fated historical connection trope between the leads or characters like Hee Soo that would turn over-protective and conflicted over the girl in an upcoming love triangle. And there’s an evil spirit on the loose too!

Shooting Stars (Episode 3-4) - Mood: C
The really awkward thing about this show is that the side characters are carrying it while the main ones are dragging it down: who really wants to watch a love triangle, past trauma and terrible bosses when there’s the agent of chaos Jung Yeol or the budding actors Jae Hyun and Si Deuk? Ok, Yoo Sung’s great, I’ll excuse him, but the other mains are boring.

Love All Play (Episode 5-6) - Mood: D+
Veteran drama watchers will have loads to fear knowing that an early start to the OTP’s romance usually spells trouble later on, especially with said trouble already making her return soon. I’m not sure how to react to the incredibly blatant plot device that was the hamburger food poisoning but I guess it did give us another cuddly moment between the OTP?

Tomorrow (Episode 9-10) - Mood: D
Well, the show realises that it’s in the 2nd half and is proceeding to reveal all those backstories accordingly but I’m just finding the exposition perfunctory and disjointed. It hasn’t made me care that Joong Gil doesn’t have all his memories?

Green Mothers’ Club (Episode 9-10) - Mood: D
If anything, I hope the preview has Eun Pyo finally waking up. Her family should’ve left the neighbourhood in episode 3!

Crazy Love (finished) - I loved the Crazy Humour and the dynamic between Krystal and Kim Jaewook (Krystal was such a nice surprise here!). The Crazy Villains, however, were not my favourite part and I would appreciate less time on them and more time on the family moments - I really missed Dad in the last episodes (and we were, again!, robbed of a wedding!!).

Liberation - the show is still doing well mixing the pathos, hope, embarrassment, humour, absurdity, poetry... and it's not that I like the characters all the time and agree with everything they say or do (the Siblings need to get out of the house!)... but they all feel so close and craved their way into my heart. The highlight moments for me are still the ones with the Liberation Club - the words of the Third Member about time were so spot on... and I love their rules! I also love Hyuna and want her as my friend ❤️

Still enjoying Beautiful Now and laughing with Shooting Star.

And can't wait for Woori the Virgin 😁

JAPAN -

Murai's Love - 7 out of 10 - oho ho - cute act getting to my heart. I'm really at 2022. Those cheeks - yeah yeah.

Father and Daughter's wedding style - 7.5 out of 10 - from start i'm saying this is drama of the season - and surely it is. so many concepts in 1 episode alone. Christmas Cake. haha.

Mentally Strong Beauty Shirakawa-san - 6/10 - Yeah as usual.

Almost every other Japanese actor opening their own youtube channel is like shifting whole business on twitter and its when broadcasters as well as idol groups upload videos for Japanese region alone. Now too much competition. Why you allowed Koreans to have easy way with whole market, idiots.

STARTED
Red Heart - Liked it. The younger versions of the leads were great especially Park Ji-bin. Everyone's mentioned the excellent cinematography already. Bracing myself for another sageuk, with 'red' in the title, to make me cry.

Will binge The Sound of Magic if beanie feedback is good.

ONGOING
Love All Play - Still very cute. Last scene reminded me of Strong Woman Do Bong-soon. Also lol @ #BoysBeAmbitious.

Shooting Stars - The bumbling manager is a sweetheart. I like the staff and the blossoming romance.

Tomorrow - Tough to watch last week's episodes and this week will be the same. But at least we'll get to see more of the past as we delve into Ryung-gu's sorrows.

Again My Life - I'm ready for some bigger chess pieces to fall now that Il-hyun is mostly out of the picture.

From Now On, Showtime - Funny and fun. The romance feels a little hasty.

My Liberation Notes - These siblings are a mess so why are they so fun to watch. In different hands this could be a depressing story but time just flies by.

Our Blues - Seon-a congratulating Yeong-ju was a nice scene.

C-DRAMAS
Fallen behind on Who Rules the World 😖.

Finally completed Juvenile Justice which by the way is a force to reckon with. Good thing I watched this as my mood saw fit and allowed me to – bit by bit. Some of the cases were a bit dramatic and a little over the top, still it was a nice ride. Penning down thoughts on each case is almost impossible, space wouldn’t permit me to. And while I share her sentiment about juvey offenders, her methods and rulings are sometimes without mercy consideration.
There’s need for speed in the judicial system so people can return to their lives, some systems adopt adding more Justices to fill the vacuum, I wondered why they didn’t think about doing so here. It might not be the best option but at least gives them the speed they need and time to carry out judicial proceedings. And talking about speed in judicial proceedings as per the judge, I’d like to borrow a thought from Stranger 2 drowning case. One thing the show stressed was that sometimes, outright we know there is little we can do to punish some acts, that doesn’t mean we let them off the hook just like that since the ambient of the law doesn’t mete out punishment. However, we can make them acknowledge and remember what they did by making sure they realize what they have done wrong before we let them go. Handling things this way has proven effective for me several times during family conflict.
Good thing Judge Sim still hates juvenile offenders…Another good thing is she has found/is finding a balance so she isn’t biased against them. They deserve the same fair shot at justice.

One thing, though. Judge Cha. Did he ever preside over a case as the series progressed?

My Liberation Notes - How many praises would I cook up for this must watch of mine plus the laughing doses it prescribed. I could just watch Gu and Mi-jung for an entire episode if possible.
Hyeon-a as a side character is on another level. How she so quickly grasped their idea of worship to the closest degree, she’s introspective despite not being a Mi-jung-ish kind of person. She really knows her friend more than the family does.
Good thing someone knows Mi-jung’s worth, even though she doesn’t know her directly. Good thing subtly putting her supervisor in his place. The way he loudly tears her down is disheartening. I really hope he doesn’t take credit for her work since all the drafts are saved in the cloud and they all have access to it.
I’m preparing for Ki-jung and her boss relationship, wherever it takes them both, together or individually. Hyeon-a lending her voice when she had just Ki-jung’s attention is friend-power, and very respectful of what happened to Ki-jung.

Green Mothers Club (Ep 8) - Who is crazier, mother or child? How Yu-bin could construct such a narrative, she’s more crazy than her mom. Good thing Chun-hui feared after she knew what her child did, even though it was for a moment
Park Yunju sure had to panic fearing for her daughter’s wellbeing, but she is too...

FYI. Two 2022 jdramas that aired earlier in the year are now available on Viki. Both have gotten very good reviews on MyDramaList:

1. In crime/mystery: DON’T CALL IT MYSTERY. 12 episodes. I have been waiting for the longest time for a crime/mystery jdrama on Viki.
2. Along the lines of MIDNIGHT DINER (Netflix US) and THREE STAR BAR IN NISHI OGIKUBO (Viki US) (both highly recommended) there is:
ROKUHOUDOU COLORFUL DAYS. 8 of 10 (25ish min) episodes available.
I have really come to like the 25 or so minute episode format that the Japanese do so well. Late last year in kdramaland we experienced it in the wonderful WOULD YOU LIKE A CUP OF COFFEE. 12 episodes. (Viki US).

Finished Happiness a while ago and it was good for me - even watching it at night! And the ending was just right! Finally done watching The One and Only and here I thought they were all incurable! But Woo-cheon and In-suk's love will conquer all! Loved this week's episodes of Tomorrow. Green Mother's Club is turning out to be a whodunnit ... Loving Hyung-jae in It's Beautiful Now - he doesn't know it yet but he already likes Mi-rae.

OUR BLUES (Ep. 7-8) The main characters cursing anger is all emotional (especially the fathers) lacking any intellectual or common sense. It really makes them unlikeable and a bit of a nonstop drum beating downer. I can see why Ho-sik was bitter about In-Gwon kicking him when he was down (bluntly stating he was using his adorable daughter to beg for money when he was dirt poor.). But that was a long time ago; both changed to support their “abandoned” children. I really did not get the relationship between Eun-Hee and Ho-sik or she said she only had two friends. When Seon-ah congratulated Yeong-ju for having a baby, it took a stranger to comfort her in her decisions. I thought the two could have started a bond at that moment, but Seon-ah walked away.

Captain Joon’s doubts about Young-Ok and having a relationship with her sets up YO’s trip backstory which I guess will mirror Yeong-ju’s. Just as Hyeon is fumbling to try to make money to support his baby, I assume Young-Ok is in the same situation.

KILLER’S SHOPPING LIST (Ep. 3-4) The explanation on Dae-Sung’s anxiety disorder due to the Five Dollar man makes sense, as does his mother and girlfriend spending the last two decades protecting him. The story is clearly trying to shift viewer suspicion to the male market workers, but I think the culprit is someone else. (And if my theory is correct about the motive, it will be twisted/sad.)

Variety:

SEOUL CHECK IN (Ep 5) The three generation of pop singer discussion was interesting and their video performances nostalgic. But overall the show seems more repetitive than breaking new ground.

SIXTH SENSE 3 (Ep 7) Torn between two choices, I guessed wrong.

HOW DO YOU PLAY? The next round of auditions were OK but I really don’t understand why established stars would want to join a new vocal group. The eliminations were fine, but I am a little surprised that Mi-Joo got a pass.

My Liberation Notes: Chang Hee and Du Hwan are so cute. I miss my bestie.

Showtime Begins: the drawing of all the gang at the island was so cute.

Shooting Stars: Yeol reminds me of Jang Geu Re. Rookies don't know how to use printers. - I'm super invested in the side stories. But the writer lost me with the main couple when they put a petty 12yo actor and a really cute and funny regular guy as rivals, lol what am I supposed to do with that.

Our Blues: noisy neighbors, abusive parent, screaming at moms, useless teachers, humiliating friends infront of their kids, kicking out depressing people. Woo Bin, are you really blaming your ex gf for not liking this place? P-please.

Tomorrow: No idea how I feel about this show anymore. I love it and hate it lol

Sound of Magic: the songs are good. And oppa's hair.

Master in the House: yay, finally watching it again. Rain's hidden camera was sad and hilarious. And the rock concert OMG. I cried.

Red Heart I'm more invested by the beauty and the hope of their love story than the politics.

Love All Play This drama is cute and lovely. It's nice to watch simple but warm drama like this.

The Killer's Shopping List This drama is about Seolhyun trying to not laugh at Lee Kwang-Soo's antics.

Tomorrow The story of M. Lim's mother was so tragic and unfair. He really needs to save her in this life.

Showtime Begins! This drama is fun. I wonder if the FL will be able to see the ghosts too.

Again My Life It's more like a Lee Joong-Gi's show than a real drama at this point.

Our Blues I have nothing against not perfect characters, on the contrary, but in this case, I don't find them or their story appealing.

Shooting Stars Not enough of Si-Duk for my taste.

My Liberation Notes This drama ist the best for now! I can't believe we already watched 10 episodes.

The Sound of Magic It was pretty but I wished more magic and hopes. At the end, I wasn't really more happy for the characters than at the beginning...

I just finished SOUND OF MAGIC. The last two episodes, which I liked the most, conveyed the message of the story very well.
Since the drama doesn't have a lot of plot, it's the perfect length at six episodes.
(Ji Chank-wook looks damn good again by the way).

For me, ideal to relax after a stressful day is LOVE ALL PLAY. The series makes me feel good, I don't have to think much while watching it.

But my weekly highlight is still SHOOTING STARS. I always eagerly anticipate the two new episodes at the end of the week.

I also tried a CDrama, but dropped out after two episodes because it wasn't for me. Maybe later I'll give another drama another chance.

Red Heart: 5.0 Kang Han-na!!! And some other people.

From Now, Showtime!: 8.0

Shooting Stars: 8.0

Tomorrow: 6.0 No funny epilogues this week :(

Again My Life: 7.5

Killer's Shopping List: 7.8 Parts are pretty good, especially at the end of day 4, but they spent too much time earlier this week on things I didn't like to watch, like the obnoxious detective and customers leaving. We're currently supposed to think the killer is the kid's dad, but it's a bit early, so likely another misdirect.

Love All Play: 6.0

The Sound of Magic: 8.0 For eps 1 / 3. How does the actress from Beyond Evil last year look so much younger here? Magic?
Ep 1: 2 min - it's been a while since a show has got my attention that well that quickly. 17 min - nice metaphor for Koreans chasing after money. 1 hour - so the moral of the story will be that nothing but magic can solve the problems of a poor Korean?
Ep 2: 9 min - nothing like parroting your lines.
Ep 3: For the horseback riding scene I thought they should have been singing "Gangnam Style". And it's past 2:30 am.

There is so much I love about LIBERATION NOTES, especially the absurdity in so many of the scenes, this kind of humour appeals to me. The Liberation Club members choosing a table where they do not have to look at each other, Mi-jung asking to be worshipped as well as offering to worship in return, older sister asking to be run over with a bike as a back up if the date goes wrong, the gloomy father doing most of his communication with his stares,.... How can it be so interesting to watch the characters walking on the street to or from the family home. Gu and his anger is completely disarmed by Mi-jung revealing her deepest vulnerabilities and weaknesses to him - he can only surrender! Please, writer, allow him to deal with his past without destroying what these two have.

Lots of love in LOVE ALL PLAY, but the cosy relationship will surely be severely rocked in the coming episodes. The badminton scenes are not as gripping as in Racket Boys, but still nice to watch.

Strong start in RED HEART, really like the cast (Jang Hyuk is a lot of things, but never boring!) and the cinematography. Unfortunately I do not care one bit about palace politics. I might need some help in understanding some of the Joseon terms and traditions.

Still enjoying SHOOTING STARS as well as SHOWTIME and AGAIN MY LIFE. Love the three ghosts who are doing all the hard work for the magic tricks!

Not too happy with OUR BLUES which I have been watching with my husband who only shakes his head at the two fathers and their ongoing temper tantrums. I am not sure he or I will continue watching.

LOVE ALL PLAY: Continue to love this even though the leads getting together so early probably means they'll spend a lot of time apart later. And it's reaaalllly hard to buy that a) everyone doesn't already know the sibling connection and b) the sister didn't speak to her family, boyfriend, or teammates for an entire three years. But ok, show. You're still giving me very sweet and sparky moments with the OTP and I enjoy the side relationships as well, so I'll suspend that disbelief.

SHOWTIME BEGINS: This is entertaining and I like it. That's really all I have to say.

OUR BLUES: Still haven't made it all the way through the teen episodes. Maybe it's due to the impending changes to abortion law on the horizon in my country, but this whole story just hurt despite all the amazing performances. Actually, that's been my experience with this show from the start: the actors are doing such a good job but watching the stories unfold is (emotionally) quite painful.

OUR LIBERATION NOTES: The whole confession debacle was also painful to watch, but Gu and Mi-jeong remain riveting. At this point I feel that Gu is ready to tell her everything about who he is, but she simply doesn't want to hear it because it will ruin their perfect (but delicate) dynamic of mutual trust and quiet connection. I am curious to know, though: are we to understand their relationship has a physical element that happens off-screen or is it entirely chaste?

BLOODY HEART: It's like they created a sageuk with me in mind, lol. This one just checks all my boxes, although it's clearly going to lean heavily into tragedy. As expected, the acting is mesmerizing. So happy to see Kang Han-na in a lead role! It's also clear to me after having that Lee Joon can do anything--I've seen him be brilliant at comedy and heavy drama and I know he's going to be riveting here as well. I love Jang Hyuk, too, but I will say that so far his performance hasn't totally grabbed me. Maybe because the character type feels well-worn.

Over the course of the last couple years, I was catching up via Netflix and Viki on some earlier kdramas. So watching a set of new dramas at 2 episodes a week makes me feel like I'm back in the twentieth century. (Isn't that a kdrama time travel plot--viewer finds himself back in the twentieth century while watching tv?). Liberation Notes and Our Blues have been excellently analyzed here--I'm too emotionally engaged in the first and not enough engaged in the second, but I'll still watch Our Blues to the end, while hoping that plot developments in Liberation Notes don't take the turn I'm anticipating.

The two Rom-coms that are on the weekly watch, Shooting Stars and Showtime Begins, are at times pretty funny, although what's interesting is that, especially with Shooting Stars, I don't really like anyone in the love triangle(s) so far (I have a feeling that lawyer will turn out to be a condescending jerk in the end.) It would be great if we could see the lawyer's sculpted abs in counterpoint to the stars muscular back!

What saves that show is the rest of the ensemble. All the women in the supporting cast are really well played, and what they have to put up is funny as well. "Close the door with sincerity" is a line we've already used at home. In Showtime, the humor lies all with the ghosts, which is okay for now, but I think will wear thin by the end.

Finally, I want to say a word in defense of The Sound of Magic. We haven't finished it, and I anticipate it taking a dark turn that will be especially jarring. But going in, knowing it was musical, I found the songs pretty well integrated into the show, and in general I really liked the music. Not sure if the stars are doing the singing, but the voices are pleasant listening.
I think the reason it has gotten some bad reviews is that its themes and the lyrics of its songs (hold on to the magic of youth, find your own path) are appropriate to a children's movie, but several of the scenes (the groping of the female lead, gangsters beating up the magician, Dad absconding with funds) are much more adult. Plus Ji Chang-Wook has put a little bit of creepy menace at times into his portrayal of the magician, but I kind of enjoy that, as does my wife, who keeps saying how "charismatic" the actor is. "Charismatic"--pfft.!

From Now On, Showtime My most-looked-forward to drama. The leads and the supporting ghosts are totally endearing and all the actors are great at the physical comedy.

Shooting Stars (up to ep 5) Just lots of fun. It's really more of a workplace comedy with romance as the cherry on top. I continue to fangirl over Yoo-sung and how he's like the mama chick to all the little chicks.

Tomorrow (up to ep 11) A steak of 3 good episodes and now we're finally getting into the main characters. I am craving more Lee Soo-hyuk though.

Lady at Butcher's House Completed. C-drama. It was a cute and enjoyable drama with a happy ending. I love the focus on supporting each other and teamwork.

Legally Romance (up to ep 18) C-drama. Picked it back up. I'm a little impatient for the heroine to wake up from her coma now since I'm falling too in-love with the history-rewrite happening in her coma-dream.

Just live watching 2 shows. I'm also re-watching Happiness with my niece, because it's just so good, and she likes zombies.

Our Blues--the ensemble cast is so great, the acting amazes me. Unlike other Beanies, I cannot turn away from this drama. IRL, everyone have a story (even those we don't like such as bullies or loud mouths), but this drama is excellent at giving us all the small details that get us to the current lives of these flawed characters, without having to drag out the past scenes. I am amazed at the acting, scenery, editing, and writing for this drama. The first 10 minutes of the latest episode is amazing. It keeps getting better and better.

And I'm still liking all the plot lines of It's Beautiful Now.

My liberation notes: I caught up on this and binge-watched all 8 episodes over this week. This is such a gem of a show. It is so reflective, funny, smart, just overall so so interesting. I get into it and I don't want to get out of it. Mi Jeong and Mr. Gu's interactions are perfection. I think the casting is perfect for this. I kind of wished I had not finished watching it because now I have to wait for new episodes.

Our blues: I am less interested in the two friends' stories and also kind of got tired of the teens ' stories. I dnt think the way it is solved is realistic. So that slowed down my excitement for this. I want more Shin Min Ah, and I want to know more abt Woo Bin and Han Ji Min.

Tomorrow: this was put on hold. I think I have identified that I have an issue with Rowoon. Other than that I like everything with after-life related world and mythology and at first I enjoyed the stories, but for some reason the built-up of the world feels a bit disjointed. And I dnt like the comedy that they try hard to insert in.

We finished watching YOU ARE THE BEST. A good weekender that is well worth the watch. My wife is an IU fan so that contributed to the enjoyment. One of her Mother’s Day presents is an IU CD.

KING OF TEARS completed, and it has been outstanding. The entire tragic story ended with the death of Lee Bang-won but also on a high note as we see the young King Sejong choosing to rule in a completely different fashion than his father and grandfather. This writer is really good- showing us the character traits in our new king which will lead him to become the only ruler in his country’s history who is remembered as “the Great”. This was an exceptionally well written drama and I hope that the writer, Lee Jung-woo, will continue to write future screenplays (this was apparently the first one of his to be produced). My wife was inspired to watch another version of the events by going to Netflix and watching MY COUNTRY: THE NEW AGE.

Progress continues to be made in the stories of our three future couples in the new weekender IT'S BEAUTIFUL NOW. Want a character to hate? Try our middle brother’s nasty, scheming ex-girlfriend- she is delightfully bad (and sexy). Our youngest brother seems to be discovering that he has real genuine feelings for his “fake fiancée”. Our middle brother’s walls are cracking thanks to the beautiful lady who would be far better for him than his Ex. But I actually think my favorite future couple is older brother and our lady lawyer: After forty years of being a ‘dolt’ romantically he seems to be waking up. Perhaps the most charming thing of all is seeing how thoroughly our lady lawyer has fallen for him despite seeing his every flaw- and how right it is because no one lacks flaws and actually he really is a good man. As frustrated as she is at this moment you can readily see that her heart has actually picked the right man- he just needs some educating.

Two more riveting episodes of OUR BLUES. Perhaps our two feuding fathers have finally resolved their differences- we can hope so: Long ago they had agreed that someday their children would marry- this may fall into the category of needing to be careful what you wish for, because it may be about to come true. As for their poor kids, we know things will be tough.

SHOOTING STARS is light and fun- we are really liking it.

My wife really loves Chinese Costume Dramas and she is now watching yet another one: GOODBYE MY PRINCESS. She is really enjoying it.

All of the above has left me way behind on a number of other shows. We will be catching up this weekend on a number of them.

Haven't checked in for a couple of weeks, so Im going to bundle everything up together.
My current biggest kdrama highlights are 25 21 (ep 12) and A Business Proposal (ep 10)
Yes, of course I'm a couple of months late and I have spoiled myself about both dramas, but they are such a joy to watch that U don't care at all. Specially 25 21 hits me at all the right feels, probably because it is so pretty and nostalgic and I was a young adult exactly at that time. I love Na Heedo's coming of age and forging friendships that help her find her place in the world - because this drama's real OTP are Heedo and Yurim, with the enemies to lovers arc, the childhood connection trope, the hidden identity shenanigans, so cute! And it feels totally true to life, because that's really how it feels to make a good friend when you're young, you just feel exhilarated because you've found a soulmate. And Nam Joohyuk is very cute, but Kim Taeri, gosh, I have such a crush on her, she's excellent!

My Liberation Notes : Yeom Chang Hee is the philosopher of our time. He breathes wisdom. Listen to him and you’ll save yourself from moments of humiliation in life (please, takes notes, Yeom Gi Jeong!).

Our Blues : To be honest, I was quite dissapointed by the premiere episodes, but after last week I remember why I love No Hee Kyung’s drama. The raw story of humanity without any sugarcoating yet engaging. Hope we’ll find another more interesting stories every week.

Sh**ting Stars : I don’t bothered by the Africa “controversy” and thanks to that I’m enjoying this show. It’s interesting and most importantly so funny. I love the girls friendship, the good teamwork between management and PR teams also the fool, Jung Yeol. I wish it can goes even better with each episode.

Bloody Heart : Hmmm. I’m excited for Lee Joon, but … something is missing about the 2 first episodes. I’ve found myself having a hard time to invested in the story. The directing is beautiful and the acting are great (it’s Lee Joon and Jang Hyuk after all, and Kang Ha Na wasn’t average either), but something makes it not gripping me enough. I’m not sure what.

Cdramas: At the halfway mark with A Girl Like Me. I've slowed down to where I'm watching only 1 episode a day, mainly because there are still 20 eps to go and Lord only knows what suffering the leads will have to go through before their happy ever after.

Started Moonlight because I really liked the ML in The Romance of Tiger and Rose. I like him here too, but the FL's voice dubbing is super distracting. It's waaaaay to childish for an adult at her workplace. That said, some of the scenes in the end credits give me hope that she'll mature as the drama progresses.

Kdramas: officially dropped CLOY. FINALLY finished my rewatch of Faith. Should've just dropped it the moment the bad guys started getting on my nerves. Started Tale of the Nine-Tailed. Already aware of mixed reviews, so I've lowered my expectations.

Will probably start a rewatch of Oh My Venus pretty soon.

Really enjoying Showtime because the ghosts are such great kvetches. Shooting Stars has me rooting for all the overworked underdogs.
Started Radio Romance which is very re-cycled plot-wise but fascinating for behind-the-scenes in radio shows. Political Fever is funny and fast and I know 90% of the humor is going over my head because it must be topical but I am laughing nonetheless.
Savoring Liberation and taking hope from the poster which has the fab four in winter coats - so maybe they make it that far?
FF-ing through Our Blues. Not ready to hard drop but maybe it will just fade away.....

Continuing my kdrama education, last week I binged Fated to Love You, the 2014 Korean remake of a Taiwanese series. My summary: FTLY is a misleadingly titled 14-episode drama in which the FL and ML meet cute and are quickly forced into marriage. However, after tragedy and heartbreak, he pushes her away in a bout of noble idiocy so extreme that it borders on brain damage. They suffer through a lengthy separation during which the FL rebuilds her life and finds joy and healing in a new career. When they meet again, he persists in acting cold to her while she is drawn to the kind, supportive, handsome SML through their common interests and mutual attraction. In the final scene, she accepts the SML’s heartfelt, imaginative proposal and the ML is left with only his memories and regrets, while she finds happiness with a man who truly deserves her.

That’s the drama I watched, anyway. Some streaming sites show that there are a further 6 episodes, but clearly that’s an editing error.

My Liberation Notes: Love this show so much. It's my weekend comfort show and it helps me decompress after a busy work week.

Sound of Magic: Going to start this. Wish Netflix would space shows out so I don't feel like racing to binge them.

Everything Everywhere All At Once: I saw a Beanie talk about this film in the WWW thread a few weeks back, and since then have seen a lot of good reviews for the movie, so I went to see this and support Asian creatives.

It was one of the trippiest films I've ever seen. I should've taken some edibles beforehand because that would've amplified the experience and helped me understand the film better. I am 100% convinced the film writers were on drugs when they wrote this, because there's no way anyone could've come up with this story in a normal frame of mind. Would recommend this film, but suggest you not go into the watch experience completely sober.

I have been in catch-up mode recently and last week I watched the final 6 episodes (of 32) of THE KING OF TEARS: LEE BANG WON. The acting, directing and writing were top notch. Not that I have seen many of the older sageuks but this production I think may have returned to sageuk roots if you will.
I do want to give a shout out to one fine young actor in the production—Kim Min-gi who first played Prince Chungnyeong and then King Sejong when he assumed the throne at age 21 after his father’s abdication.
The only other drama I know KMG from is RACKET BOYS where he played the brainy but sweet In-sol. He was given such a meaty role in LEE BANG WON and nailed it. Well done KMG!

Currently Watching:
1. Love all play. It is so obvious that our ML loves flirting with the FL. Such a fun and lovely drama.

2. Tomorrow: Just finished the latest episode and all it was so painful to watch. As a pregnant woman, there's always a need to rest especially when one us close to the due date. That customer was a terrible person
Because of her, Mrs Lim lost her baby and she was not held accountable for that. I wanted to see her punishment.

3. Shooting Star. It is so obvious that he has a crush on the Miss OH. And has been protecting her from backlashing.

My question is, if Africa is not mention repeatedly, will the show die? I blame the Writer, Director and even the TV station that allowed the drama in the first place. There's a need for South Korea to be well informed concerning the continent called Africa.

Shooting Stars *8/10*
Most folks seem to enjoy all the side characters more than the main ones, and I can see that, but I’m all in for the whole lot of them. Lee Sung-Kyung is always so charming, and Kim Young-Dae is doing a pretty good job as the snarky lead. The cameos are fun, and I like the chemistry between pretty much everyone. Also, I’m not sure why, but the OST is really hitting the right notes for me. I find myself humming along to a few of the songs even when I’m not watching the show.

Love All Play *7.5/10*
I really liked our couples dynamic. They’re so adorable, and there’s no real angst between them. Our FL’s smile just lights up a room, and I find myself smiling along whenever she’s happy. Nice to see some growth, if slow from all parties involved.

Again My Life *5/10*
Haven’t watched both episodes for this week, but honestly all the episodes are kind of blending together at this point.

The Killer’s Shopping List *4/10* -DROPPED-
I’ve made it through episode 3, and I think this may be a drop for me. Episode 4 is out, but I’ve just had NO motivation to go and watch it. I’m just not getting hooked by either the mystery or the characters. They’re mostly fine and nothing is particularly bad. Might come back if I’m in the mood, but I’m happy dipping at this point.

Monstrous *4/10 Series* -FINISHED-
Ouch, what a fall. I was really impressed with the first couple episodes (gave them an 8/10), and this one took a deep plunge afterwards. CG is typically so/so in kdramas at the best of times, but the hitchcock birds took up way more time than I would have liked. I thought we were going to get some good character moments between these characters, but it ended up being them taking turns dipping into their own personal hells, so there was almost NO interaction I had been looking forward to.

Bloody Heart *7/10*
Solid opening week. Lee Joon has a crazy good stoic/serious look with some real gravitas. I could imagine a young king having that kind of aura. Kang Han-Na in a lead, yes please! And I always Love Jang Hyuk, though he does seem to be playing a pretty standard evil councillor. Shot well, OST is fine, if mostly lingering in the background.

The Sound of Magic *7/10*
I’ve only watched the first episode, and I’m not typically a fan of musicals unless they have some absolute earworms (To.Jenny isn’t a musical, but any time good songs need to be brought up I’ll reference this one for sure) but I really liked it. Pretty standard downtrodden FL but Choi Sung-Eun is doing a good job. She’s very expressive without overacting. I definitely really enjoyed Hwang In-Yeop in True Beauty but I’m starting to see the age seep in. I’m not a huge fan of older actors playing high schoolers when there’s so much young talent out there. That being said, he hasn’t had much to do yet so maybe he’ll grow on me over the next 5 episodes. Ji Chang-Wook is charming as this mysterious magical...

My Liberation Notes: As @kafiyah-bello said, the joy of my weekend (too) especially as I’ve been pretty sick.
A general observation: I wonder why so many KDramas include detailed scatological observations. TMI and then some. You’ll know from Ep 9.

@missvictrix I got into the Happiness train really late, but it really was a great drama and I enjoyed it very much. I think it’s in my top favorites and was the only drama I recommended heavily to a friend! I don’t do scary at all, but somehow my brain was able to handle it, probably because the plot was interesting and the actors were great. I hope you love it as well!

My Liberation Notes- In love with this slow paced drama which resonates with my life so well. Each sibling kind of have some similarity with me which is uncanny to me .HAHA. On a serious note I love the way the characters are written and the story is told. The inner turmoil within our hearts and mind is the greatest battle we have to fight and the show focuses on it so well.

Bloody Heart/Red Heart: A beautiful saeguk and I am so hooked to this drama. Cant wait for more episodes

I finished watching You Are My Spring. I liked the main romance but many of the side storylines felt abandoned or shoehorned, especially that serial killer mystery. I don't mind (even love) dramas that have a weird juxtaposition of genres and tones but it didn't quite work here.

I started my second Wuxia drama, Love and Redemption. I am only on episode 8 but I am already invested in the storyline and the romance. Looking forward to an epic journey.

I am still following Our Blues and Again My Life.
The first one is a bit more melodramatic than I would like but I am still enjoying it. My biggest criticism, however, is how it normalized a father beating his son. No you are not "allowed" to hit your child just because you worked hard to raise it... Also is share custody not a thing in Korea? I don't remember ever seeing it in a drama.

For Again My Life, I am waiting for the other shoe to drop. Although satisfying to watch, I still find Heewoo's revenge too smooth sailing.

I watched the first episode of <The Sound of Magic. I love musicals so I enjoyed the opening music number. I'm not yet invested in the story or characters but I am looking forward to checking out the rest of it.

I am debating whether I should drop Tracer...I love the cast but I have lost interest in the story.

Mr Goo was a heavy for a crime boss/bosses or was a mid-level crime boss himself? Right?

Someone who has access to the streaming of Red Heart: please do a Vulcan mind meld with me - one especially designed for deprived beanies who want to watch this damn show and can’t? Pretty please?