OUR BLUES (Ep. 19-20) For 10 weeks we have been smothered by sadness, cruelty, anger, darkness, abuse, neglect, hardship, pain and suffering with only a few gasps of hope and kindness. The last focus on Dong-seok and his mother laid heavily on their estrangement. Only one thing was clear: stubbornness is an inherited trait. Their reconciliation was foreshadowed but it did not hit home like other story arc resolutions.

I really thought the tenor of the show would have ended on a much more serious and depressing note. The community field day was an attempt to put some fun in their bleak lives. The corny ending message that everyone in life should strive for happiness seems to be a “duh” refrain.

Overall, it was a good show. It slathered on anger, misunderstanding and cruelty to the breaking point in most of the stories. It took risks most series would not do. There will be many award nominations for the cast and crew.

WEDDING HELL (Ep. 8-9 ) Episode 8 & 9 continue to the inter-parental struggle of status, control and tradition. The next issues are furniture and marital home. Why the bride and groom cannot make their decisions on their own is annoying. They are adults. Each episode has no new ground - - - I have never watched an episode with more “I’m Sorry” lines.

CLEANING UP (Ep. 3-4) The story continues to add hardship in the three cleaning ladies as justification for criminal activity. By the end of episode 3, it is clearly just another form of dangerous gambling. The behind the scene players are now revealed (no surprise on the other woman). The only real highlight of these episodes was Yeon-Ah’s singing in her high school band.

Yong-Mi is poor and about to lose her children. She is a gambler addict so playing the stock market is really a bigger gamble. In-Kyung story is muted compared to Yong-Mi. In-Kyung just has a dream and a leech boyfriend. There is no character growth; jsut an endless loop of anxiety. Su-Ja is bipolar in the sense she is tough at work but meek at home. She has a lazy husband and nasty in-laws.

There really is no big dramatic moments. Speculation: the audit leader’s appearance at the captain’s meeting is not the death blow but leverage for Yong-Mi to blackmail her silence. In fact, I believe the story will conclude not with noble idiocy but rarer noble sacrifice: Yong-Mi confessing to the authorities in a plea deal while she makes the company pay the large reward to all the cleaning ladies (bonus, salary boost and respect).

Variety:

SIXTH SENSE 3: Again, missing on toss-ups between two places. Season record 5-8.

Shooting Star left me with a big happy smile on my face and I will always love it for that and for all the laughs it gave me. I think I enjoyed the most the manager duo Yoosung and Daesoo (Yuuunayaaaaa!!) and the lovers duo Kippeum and Mr. Lawyer - I was soooo giggling during the elevator scene (and loved how nonchalant they both were). 🙂

Link - I still love it (including that credit song). It makes me laugh (Gyehoon's jogging scene 😄) and yet it doesn't gloss over serious topics like domestic abuse or stalking (shivers) and the resulting traumas. I liked when Our Chef Gyehoon was creating a positive link to Dahyun's nightmares with his good food and friendly talk. And ha, the Stalker had probably unfortunate encounters with all of the town people... and I gleefully wish him that 😁

Woori - I wish the PD of Link directed this (and took the Link writer with him). Episode 9 was fine, but E10 mostly bored me... and I fully admit I read the wee(p)cap for this week's episodes (seems it was a wise decision).

Yumi's Cells 2 - thanks to Covid (no idea how I got it) I marathoned what I had left from season 1 and started season 2... and wow, Bobby is sooooo swoony! Just... sometimes I'm not sure what's genuine and what's a calculated move. Btw, I love Kim Go Eun here, she is excellent.

Kiss 6th Sense - no, no, no! No quarrels and misunderstandings (and dangerous stalkers)! Back to (contract-) dating... and kisses, please!

COMPLETED
Shooting Stars - I'm glad the show became fun again. Last episode was cute but I agree with @daebakgrits - it's not a story that will stick with me.

Our Blues - I didn't love this as much as everyone else. Still it's nice to see a show that's populated with lots of strong, professional women.

From Now On, Showtime - When the last episode has the evil spirit possessing 4 different bodies, you know the show has gone off the rails. Should have ended at Ep. 15.

ONGOING
Doctor Lawyer - This is close to being a drop because even Shin Sung-rok can't reconcile me to the ludicrous non-plot.

Why Her - How Gong Chan's sister ties into it all is probably going to be the core of the mystery.

Red Heart - Gye-won walking past the bodies of the court officials was chilling. Hope Jung can rein in the King.

Link - Love everything about it. The confession to murder. The 'threat'. The dumb, dumber, dumbest trio of women. The props comedy. And Jin-ho!

Insider - The violence sometimes makes this hard to watch. But there are surprising moments of humour in it. Sun-ho has become more interesting despite his intense cruelty.

STARTED
Jinxed at First - The exploitation of women inherent in this story is gross and creepy. Seo-hyun is unconvincing and it makes no sense for her to be so naïve. Giving it another week.

Planning to watch Alchemy of Souls because I haven’t suffered enough from the Hong Sisters apparently.

Our Blues: One of the best dramas of the year and cemented Noh Hee-kyung as my favorite writer. I didn’t like either Dong-seok or Ok-dong during the series but Lee Byung-hyun and Kim Hye-ja delivered wonderful performances in the finale. I could relate to aspects of so many stories and am thrilled that all the characters got to be the stars of their own lives. More writers need that attitude, and I hope the success of this drama leads to more dramas using the omnibus format.

Bloody Heart: If the final two episodes deliver, which I think they will, this will also be one of the best dramas of the year. The happiest ending would probably be to have the King and PGW take each other out, leaving Yoo Jung to raise a King. I kind of root for Tae though.

Yumi’s Cells 2: Episodes 1-3: Even though the drama is still really good, I’m not feeling the same spark as I did before, but maybe it’s just because it’s not new anymore. Yumi’s behavior was realistic, but she was annoying the crap out of me. I like that Yoo Babi is direct and likes to read, but I’m not quite ready to join his fan club. He doesn’t have much personality. His cells certainly do, but they don’t really seem to match with him? The kiss was good.

Why Her?: This drama would be much better without Gong Chan. His character and the romance annoy the heck out of me and neither the writer nor Hwang In-youp are doing anything interesting with the character. I’m so sick of him constantly overstepping.

Insider: Yo-han certainly has a complicated life. I don’t know if the gambling scenes are realistic because my brain has never been able to comprehend card games. There still is not enough Lee Yoo-young. Jang Sun-oh and the not so deaf guy are the most interesting prison characters.

Jinxed at First Sight: I tuned in for Na In Woo and while it wasn’t quite what I was expecting, I didn’t hate it. It has an old school, low budget feel but that’s okay. The romance is quite squicky given how innocent and child-like Seul-bi is, so hopefully they have her adapt and grow up quickly. I do like the leads and their chemistry and hope the second male lead stays good, though I wouldn’t count on it.

Shooting Stars: The ending was fine, if a bit schmaltzy. I liked the lawyer and reporter, the rest of the couples didn’t quite work. It was kind of a copout to have the dating news happen at the very end, with the fallout happening offscreen.

Showtime Begins!: Disappointing ending to a disappointing series. The only thing I liked about the finale was the ghosts reincarnating as the little kids. Jin Ki-joo and the ghosts were the highlights of the series, at least in the first half when they were spunky and fun.

Just started on SHOWTIME BEGINS. Though it’s no masterpiece, it does make pleasingly light-hearted use of some tired old tropes. (Which is a mercy, cos the cop + shaman + evil spirit / serial killer combo initially gave me nightmarish flashbacks to OCN’s Possessed.) So far, my favourite thing about the show is the way the interjection of the supernatural makes the hero look less, not more, impressive, e.g. when his ectoplasmic employees huff and puff around him to create his stage illusions. I also like the slight naffness of the stage magic element, which seems all of a piece with the more shallow and uncool aspects of Cha-woong’s character.

I hated Jung Joon-ho’s shtick in his noughties films, so I was glad to see it reined in by balanced writing and strong co-stars. As for Park Hae-jin: I think the guy has finally found his calling, and it isn’t as a heartthrob. To me, he has always seemed a bit too shifty to be a convincing straight action or romantic hero. (Sorry, PHJ fans, but he has always reminded me of the Awkward Look Monkey Puppet meme.) However, as Showtime Begins and Kkondae Intern demonstrate, his huge eyes are perfect for bugging out in horror; his pretty mouth, for pursing in bitchy disapproval; and his height, for folding in mortification, or for other characters to cavort around like he’s a human maypole. In short, I think he has a great future in comedy, especially playing guys who are not as cool as they think they are.

CRICKET - 3 months of IPL - big no no no. These leagues gonna ruin the atmosphere of cricket. Everyone after money.

England vs. New Zealand - Test 2 - What a match it was - flat pitch - fast scoring from both sides - looked like a draw till day 3 and then came day 4 - Kiwis didn't run their chances - 5th day match still in balance and then kiwis got 4 initial wickets - Match very much on their side, then bad bowling and some quality batting happened from England - they made many records and won the match.

Both Tests 2nd inning was a bad bad play from kiwis - After winning the 1st ever Test Championship they are losing matches everywhere -

They are not even in the 2nd test championship's final's contest anymore - they had to win all matches and then look for other teams outcome and well with this match everything is done.

Main contest now between India, Australia and South Africa.

What a world cup of tests done in 2 months is impossible when a match alone takes 5 days to complete - but it can be done as a promotion - 10 million dollars for winner and few more things.

not got for broadcasters and advertisers but much fun for the audience. won't happen - afterall, everything is about money.

Jinxed At First: 9.0 The FL was so happy the first time she was outside and free, you'd think she was a kpop trainee who just got out of her slave contract. Or a Beanie who is finally done with Errands.

Why Her?: 7.0

Doctor Lawyer: 6.5

From Now, Showtime!: 8.0 Day 15 was excellent; the finale tried hard but fell a little flat.

Yumi's Cells 2: 5.0 Sigh. Stalled out in day 3. Likely drop. The novelty of the Cells wore off before the end of season 1; leaving just a so-so romance and the looming prospect of countless seasons of "Why aren't things going smoothly and who will she end up with next?" I'll go hide now. And no, I haven't read the original manhwa.

Shooting Stars: 6.5

Cleaning Up: 4.0 Insider trading hijinks and snooping for info could be fun, but they spend too much time on domestic troubles and other non-fun bits.

Link: Eat, Love, Die: 8.5 The cast aren't my favorites, but for once the plot is strong enough to carry them instead of the other way round.

Red Heart: 7.0

Kiss Sixth Sense: 6.5

More about Jinxed:
1: With 3 (?) generations of witches held in isolation -- who's the father?
2: Show is from the PD of River Where the Moon Rises, and just happens to have cameos by at least two cast members from that show in day 1. Guess they didn't hate him or they're afraid to cross him.
3: Another roof-top apartment. Sigh.
4: If the imprisoned ladies wanted freedom, maybe they could have learned to intermittently give not-so-good advice to make themselves less valuable (?)

Bloody Heart – Busted. This is a perfect show on how to bring out villains hiding in the story. The Queen Dowager is a reckon with, an interesting villain. The standoff with PGW… what sort of chemistry is that. It is…fire. How the King will face off against Consort Park esp after her reveal on the ministers who stood for him is the main highlight for me next week.

Kiss Sixth Sense – Yeah! Pil-yo. That’s the way to go about it. I don’t want to see he and Ye-sool together, but I want to see him both in a good place, a place as good as Minhu.
Minhu’s reactionless mode when discussing and reenacting the ‘code’ is so sweet. What a way to put vivid ideas into the mind of a partner more impressively.

Our Blues – This one is rough. Eun-hee fainting after lying about the kiss in the premiere episodes as I read in the recaps was what prompted me to start watching, Young-joon and Ho-sik was the first story to keep me invested, and continue watching. Good thing ending on a happy note and on the end, it was a fun ride with the Jeju locals.

You Are My Spring – I’m enjoying the rewatch of this.

Eve – Unhappy chaebol marriage leading to infidelity🙄, just do your duties couple. Seo Ye Ji looks like she’d break the next minute, at the same time it gives her this dangerous stealth persona.

It’s Beautiful Now – The eldest couple Yoonjae and Haejun, just gets more loving. I can't get enough of them I could watch this pair an entire week. Dr. Yoonjae’s sister-in-law is another character I am enjoying.

Many series have come to an end (SHOOTING STARS :-( ), but I have started some new ones.

I'm in the middle of KISS SIXTH SENSE. The 8th episode was quite disappointing, but I hope that the little low will be overcome on next Wednesday. And I want kisses or more....

LINK: EAT, LOVE, KILL is quite different from what I expected, but actually all the better because of it.

Why do so many shows have to run at the weekend? For one thing, there's WHY HER? And then there's YUMI'S CELLS 2. I'll also pop in to see ALCHEMY OF SOULS.

I also finally managed to finish TOMORROW. Because of the subject matter, I was only able to watch it in small stages.

I stopped watching JINXED AT FIRST because I got bored very quickly (and didn't like the FL).

Showtime Begins! (Series review) - Mood progression: C- / C- / D+ / C- / D+ / D / D+ / D
What happened to solving procedural cases with help of ghosts? I know, the writer went down the same old road of the historical tragedy between the leads. It worked for Mystic Pop-Up Bar but the world-building or the characters was so much stronger then? Instead, the writer rehashed all the bad parts (mainly about the villain) and copied it here.

Yumi’s Cells 2 (Episode 3-4) - Mood: C
Gorgeous kiss aside, it’s nice to see that Season 2 is reusing many plot elements from Season 1. But it’s really worrying that Yumi is essentially following Woong’s unemployed journey (really, just quitting your job without any concern for the budget or any concrete plans for writing anything?) or that Woong has essentially taken on Sae Yi’s role in this season.

Link: Eat, Love, Kill (Episode 3-4) - Mood: C+
They’re heavily telegraphing the idea that newcomer cop is the son of the peeing guy and the confessor that Gye Hoon is looking for: I do wonder what’s his purpose returning to this neighbourhood. Yes, we’ve got the childhood connection and we need to suspend our disbelief that the stalker who’s already bleeding out wasn’t dead. But I can close one eye?

Kiss Sixth Sense (Episode 7-8) - Mood: D
I was really close to changing my opinion on this show when they gave the 2ML some actual plot points, but they really shot themselves in the foot with the 2FL committing sexual assault on the ML. And of course there’s company drama, a damsel in distress situation (looks like bar owner - hey I just saw this in another show), side couple developing horribly.

Jinxed at First (Episode 1-2) - Mood: D+
Truck of Doom and attempted murder followed by swapped identity with a doppelgänger? Wow, I surely haven’t seen it all before, right? To be fair, I had 0 expectations coming in and I’ll continue along that path: Min Joon won’t be different from his father, unless this show’s writer has a brain transplant and suddenly produces some great arcs. But we’ll see?

Cleaning Up (Episode 3-4) - Mood: C-
With this show, there’s a very simple formula that determines when I’m pressing the fast-forward button: if it shows the families/ex/loan shark. This week’s episodes already showed how cleaners get mocked by staff: that could’ve been the motivation for them to do insider trading instead? Also, I’ll love if the show pivots towards Yong Mi’s thrilling double life.

Woori the Virgin (Episode 11-12) - Mood: D-
Y’all, they really character assassinated the male lead in the penultimate week just for introducing a love triangle in the finale. And that’s not all: we’ve also got ultra lame Chairman Kim nonsense that somehow couldn’t be less predictable.

Red Heart: I have no predictions for this show. I don't know if it will end in tragedy or not. That being said the King has clearly been planning this a very long time so Lady Jung interrupted his plans. However she did lose someone she loved, so that sucked for her. She has my empathy on that front.

Woori the Virgin: The writer did Raphael dirty. Up until he proposed, he was kind and understanding. What was the sudden about turn. Hopefully they do a time jump and Woori is alone during that time.

Link: So She isn't a murderer, as I thought he was alive. The question though is who hit him, she certainly didn't. As for the link, I am not sure it is with her. I think it is with someone else. The childhood connection made me roll my eyes, but it makes sense that they both went back to their hometowns, so they would have crossed paths at some point.

Kiss the Sixth Sense: Nothing really happened these episodes. They dragged for no reason. I will say it is a good thing she saw that she misinterpreted her vision. That being said they weren't compatible anyway. The fact that he loved her isn't enough reason to be in a relationship. Both men also needed to give her space to think and breathe. Why was the Que Sera Sera barkeep stalking her? Why did Min hu think she was in danger just because she didn't show up back at the hotel?

Insider: They are finally utilizing LYY. So the drama got a little bit more interesting. The fact that Mok Jin Hyung is such trash that he moved his grandmother's body to that field. I mean yikes. Also it looks like he killed that man, hmmmm.

Eve: I am not sure I understand what they are doing with Seo Eun Pyeong. I can't tell whether he has older brother feelings toward her or romantic. It isn't super clear. I don't know what La-El is feeling either. I can't tell if she like Yoon Kyum or is just pretending. Park Byung Eun is playing this character oddly, he rarely changes his facial expression even when he is being passionate, it is weird. However, Yoo Sun is playing Han So Ra to a T, she is really giving that crazy her all and I like it.

Doctor Lawyer: I am not sure I understand the logic of not telling Seok Young how her brother was killed. Why not tell her the revenge plan early on. I am loving Jayden Lee though, Shin Sung Rok is my absolute favorite in this.

Alchemy of Souls: I have to think about whether to watch this or not. Hmmmm.

Red Heart For people who care about their people, they fight way too much each other.

Woori the Virgin It became pretty boring. They made Raphael being comprehensive during the whole show but suddenly he made a public proposition... it was so stupid.

Link: Eat, Love, Kill Their scene between the leads are so funny and nice to watch. I really like them together.

Jinxed at First They advertised it as a cute drama but I found it super creepy.

Why Her? I don't like how they wrote the ML. I liked the fact he didn't turn completely bitter and angry after what happened to him. But he still acts like a teenager, a little bit naive and innoncent.

Alchemy of Souls Curious about it but not excited.

Yumi's Cells 2 The elavator and the pyjama scene were so funny! I just love this drama.

Kiss Sixth Sense Not sure that I like any character... I don't think the ML should put forward the fact he's possessive and jealous.

Yumi's Cells 2 - Yumi's back! The best thing about Yumi is that she restores my faith in dramaland, the worst thing about it is that she makes every other drama seem stupid, and most of them are, because they don't respect logic. I could talk about Yumi's perfect cast, the cinematography, the nice soundtrack but the main thing is the good writing, the metaphors, the dialogue, the way Yumi is always absolutely believable whether she behaves childishly or wisely. I don't care if she dates BaBi, Ruby or nobody, she is back and she remains adorable.

Kiss Sixth Sense - Ep 1-5 - I like the 2 main MLs and I'm always up for any crazy fantastical element but this drama is very hard to understand. I have no idea why the FL does anything and the actress, unlike the ML, doesn't help. Her cousin is the same, I guess she is supposed to be funny. The FL makes these big decisions based on her power but we don't know why she does any of that. It's not explained, or even asked, why the predictions dates varies so much or the practical use she and others would make of them. There is a big unexplored potential that this drama ignores completely. Probably because it is a manga adaptation and source material has maybe never bothered with any of it. Also the probable reason why there are so many ridiculous situations, things that might work on manga can seem absurd in a drama. This entire drama relies on her weird behavior. Has she ever tried to change the outcome instead of chasing them? She doesn't want a romance with her boss so she does the only thing that could lead to it. That scene when they try to stage her memory was one of the most awkward, embarassing and stupid moment in any drama.

Link - Ep 1-2 - What a weird drama. A strange mix of genres that I'm not sure knows what it wants to be. I'm not a fan of the way it deals with the supernatural element, a bit contrived, feels like plot device, but I do like the cast and the mistery. The leads have good chemistry and the family and friends feel natural.

It's Beautiful Now - Ep 1-16 - I'm not usually into weekenders but I wanted something about regular nice people and somebody recommended this. In a way I guess it does it's job because there are a bunch of "nice" characters but they are also kind of flat and there is almost no plot, many situations go round and round happening a million times. Maybe most weekenders are like that.

Slump is hitting hard after finishing Love All Play, and I'm not even sure why :/
So I still haven't started S2 of Yumi even though I was waiting for it!! Maybe next week. Even though I'm having a hard time avoiding spoilers basically everywhere I go..oops 😅

In the meantime I started Insider which is a totally different genre and a nice distraction from previous rom-coms.
It's not my usual pick, way too much violence, I ff some scene too, but that aside, it's intriguing enough to keep me going for now. Really curious how it will continue, especially after ep 4 ending! 👀
Also I'm glad they switched to Poker, because I had no clue about the Korean game they were playing in previous episodes! xD

Loved the ending of Shooting Stars but here I am shipping the 2nd leads and not the main OTP.
I can understand Woori's rejection of Raphael but the plot is getting crazy.
Still on ep 14 of From Now On, It's Showtime! I really can't understand why men (specially princes) don't accept rejection but I like the Cha-woong ang Sul-hae together.

Sh**ting Stars (finished): Looking back, it was a solid drama filled with good vibes and a true ensemble. It lacked stickyness, but it made me happy. I could feel the love and care the writer had for each character, and they could conceivably be the leads of another show. I like enjoying all the characters and their screentime. I had a grin on my face throughout the entire final week.

From Now On, Showtime (finished): Love the ending with our ghost family's reincarnations! OTP was romantic and adorable, and I love all the warm moments. The writer nails it on warmth and likability and that family feeling, but also proves lacking when developing bad guys/bad-guy situations. Drama turned my lukewarm feelings for Park Hae-jin into like, and I also like how the ML has a unique profession.

Kiss Sixth Sense (up to ep 8): The OTP chemistry was the only thing keeping me going for this drama and this week had so little OTP screentime - half of which was spent moping or being weirdly angry (declaring you're a jealous, possessive bf in a dark storage room is creepy). Everything else is pretty blah, but I did like how Pil-yo knew about Ye-sul's ability. I wish the drama will let the OTP get to interact with each other more organically now that the visions have done the setup.

I am still stuck on youth of may. So I'm repeating that.
Unpopular opinion: Does business proposal get better because the first 3 episodes bored me to death I can't. Does it get better, anyone? I only like the grandfather watching dramas

The favourite now is KISS SIXTH SENSE and I really liked the twist with her false interpretation of the vision. I believe this is a typical element of Greek tragedies which include oracles. As much as I like the two leads together, I am not impressed by the reason why they are dating. I may be a bit old fashioned and think that liking each other should be the main reason, not finding out whether they will like each other eventually. Minhu and his reasoning makes more sense to me in this regard than Seul. The kidnapping plot seems to be over dramatic.

JINXED AT FIRST is another drama with kidnapping and oracles and so far I like the fairy tale style of it. I like both Seo-hyun and Na-Inwoo as leads. No shades of grey from the evil CEO who treats the 'witches' like possessions, he is just bad. Hopefully his much nicer son will not turn evil as well.

Expecting quite a continuation of the blood bath in RED HEART for the last two episodes. The only certainty is that the queen dowager will go down, but I would not dare to predict what will happen to the king or the Left councillor. The king was in tears again, I felt their absence in the previous week, and probably will shed some more on Monday and Tuesday.

Dropped INSIDER, the violence is too uncomfortable to watch. The plot is not gripping either and I do not need a crash course in poker.

But I do enjoy the craziness of LINK and the family trio, ending up at the police station with tools suitable for killing. The one sane person, Cha Jin-hu, does a fantastic job in bringing out the craziness of all the other characters. I am pleased that he cleared up that the two leads are not related - we can have a romance! The whole neighbourhood is dubious and I wondered if the police woman could be the missing sister, she seems to be normal so far and I find this suspicious.

DOCTOR LAWYER has improved only slightly with Jayden and I do not get the romance in WHY HER. Seo-Hyun-Jin outperforms everybody else. Hwang in-youp's is wasted with this character, I have seen him so much better before (with a better hairstyle, too).

I'm watching Ghost Doctor. It has a lovely classic rom-com vibe without any cheesyness, which I'm loving.
I have never been a fan of Kim Bum's acting, and he is a bit lacking here too, but it actually seems fitting instead of off-putting. It makes him look and feel his character very much: younger, less experienced, more carefree than Rain. And I have always loved Rain in rom-coms.

Yumi’s cells
Still enjoying the cells and the story line. I was so pleased to finally get to see Babi’s village. This had some laugh out loud moments for me which was embarrassing as I remembered too late that the windows were open. I am sure the neighbours heard as it was just as the sun was rising so I bet they were not impressed🫢

Jinxed at first
I am looking forward to the Jinxed side ending with her arrival and watching how the evil chairman will be taken down. His complete objectification of the women will make the revenge all the sweeter when it comes to his suffering. Hopefully, it will involve a stint in prison so he can know how it feels.

Why her
The backstory goes a long way to providing an explanation for her attitude and cold behaviour towards others. I am not impressed with the students acting on their own and muddying the water in their attempt to ‘help out’ and it just getting increasingly ridiculous that Gong Chan continues to try to protect his love interest as if she is frail little kid when he knows nothing about the games that are being played way above his pay grade.

I do wonder about the youngest son of the Choi dynasty if his older brother is struggling to gain his dad’s respect I can’t see how Yoonsang will be able to withstand the wrath of his dad when he sees how involved Yoonsang is in attempting to bring the wrongdoers to justice. Yoonsang will be a very dangerous spy in the camp for the legal clinic if he changes sides. I am wondering if he will be the second lead and jealousy will become a factor if he loses out to Gong Chan as he i get the impression he has liked Soojae since she was his tutor. Then it would be a double Noona romance and I don’t know what she would gain from being with either man when she has the power, money, career and friendships she yearns for.

Bravo my life (2022)
I continue to watch this daily with relationship games and backstory secrets. The ruthless chaebol wife is going through as many tropes as you can throw at her and still looking for more.

Sungkyunkwan scandal
Watching an episode a week.

Devilish Joy
Watching an episode a week.

Completed
Two romance in university dramas:
I have watched two of the Three colour fantasy mini series, Queen of the ring revolves around a ring with magic powers and Romance full of life has the side effects of a medical trial providing enhancements to the male lead. These were both easy to watch as they were short and not taxing.

Let’s Eat 2, I watched Let’s eat 3 first and because I liked it started the second season. They are all stand alone so seasons can be watched out of sequence without knowing the story of the other seasons although there are cameos from the previous season in seasons 2 and 3. I would recommend the later two as I was not impressed with the side characters so didn’t get past episode one of the original season.

DON’T CALL IT MYSTERY (JPN)—this is in my top 5 dramas of all time, and I think, my top mystery series ever-even over beloved British mystery series. It is in a league of its own for me, and there better be a second season!

I am enjoying SHOOTING STARS. Oh, my cheeks hurt. I have not laughed with such abandon in a while, but ep 15 had me breathless with laughter. It was a rough start but this turned into a show I was able to watch with no skips and I cared about all the characters and couples and friendships. I think it will be a comfort re-watch for me.

Re-watching: EXTRA-ORDINARY YOU and FIGHT FOR YOUR WAY. Both are a treat to watch again. Go Ae Ra and Dong Man are a drama couple all others hope to be. And Dan Oh is a firecracker and I NEED to see Kim Hye Yoon in another drama soon.

HAPPINESS-oh the commentary of how extreme circumstances—like a pandemic—bring out the best and worst of humanity. It’s a chilling and fascinating psychological thriller with a stand-out couple at the center. I just hope they, the little girl and ahjussi cop survive. Please.

It turned out to be a Park Hyung Sik appreciation week. In addition to HAPPINESS I am watching SOUNDTRACK #1. Both have the set up of long-time friends falling in love, albeit in vastly different circumstances (that’s an understatement). I am enjoying them both immensely
PHS really has great chemistry with the actresses he is partnered with and I love the characters of both his love interests. Han Hyo Joo is fierce and fearless under pressure but also compassionate as Sae Bom; Han So Hee as Eunsoo is endearingly clueless about one-sided love (I just love how it doesn’t make SENSE to her because she is a take-charge girl), quirky, and determined.
This week’s watching reminded me of one of the reasons why I think (many) Kdrama women are inspirational. I know representation is not perfect and we all can name female characters that we wish we could re-write (especially 2nd FL), but I admire and relate to how strength in women is not a one-size-fits all and it is refreshing to see character strength represented. For example, in this week alone I have seen strength shown in the following ways in female characters: the ability to persevere, being compassionate during a pandemic, the determination to fight for your dream, choosing to forgive, letting yourself cry when you really need to let it out, leaning on someone else for strength to get back on your feet, admitting you were wrong, and having the courage to be vulnerable and make scary life changes. Tremendous!

LINK: I agree with Unit's summation that finally, Yeo Jin-gu has real chemistry with his FL (although to be fair, I thought he and Lee Se-young also clicked, but the show didn't develop their romantic relationship much once she found out his secret which left a rather flat final impression of their connection). The plot is an interesting mix of small town crime drama, family hijinks mixed with trauma, and burgeoning romance. I like the food scenes, too. Promising.

YUMI 2: I never actually watched season 1, so all of this is new to me. I love the cells! The back and forth from animated to real world is seamlessly done, and I really enjoy that Yumi is a flawed, occasionally weird, and yet likeable heroine. I've always liked Jin-young and he's very endearing here, although perhaps a touch too perfect. Or Yumi is idealizing him so heavily in her post-breakup fog that he appears to be so. Loved her Olympic-level menu ordering!

RED HEART: I understand Jung's pain and anger, but I also get why the King didn't fill her in about his plan originally, and some of that concerned her safety most likely. I was surprised he didn't tell her when he woke up, though--I guess he didn't anticipate she'd be that upset, which was rather stupid of him. The only other things I'd say in his defense are that a) left unchecked, the Dowager Queen would have killed him and Lady Park any day now, so he had to do something, and quick and b) the other deaths were probably also inevitable, then, too, and not solely the King's fault for enacting this plan and finally c) Jung just recently conspired with the Left State Minister to keep Tae in the dark about who was behind the attempt on Jung's life so she shouldn't get too terribly self righteous about him keeping things from her. They both need to learn to fully trust and work together, especially now that she's pregnant.

Finished Shooting Stars and am in complete agreement with @daebakgrits, there’s no “there” there for me, so poof! away it goes. I became so annoyed with the 2nd manager couple in love and the three office ladies who all acted like children. Only Kibbeum and our lawyer behaved like adults in the real world 🤷‍♀️ so they are who I will remember.

Doctor Lawyer (Ep5 & 6) - Ok the plot is finally picking up (gives me motivation to write something here :P). Yi-han finally revealed to Seok-young what happened 5 yrs ago and I'm glad that this is cleared up as her initial treatment of Yi-han is pretty annoying. I'm curious to know what Jaden Lee's role in all this is right now so I'm really looking forward to next week's episodes.

Link: E,L,K (Ep 3 & 4) - This drama has it's funny moments with all the townsfolks being secretive & creepy at the same time. The story can be a bit outrageous though (take the body in the fridge for example) so I'll pretend that normal people will do that (as in breaking into a shop or no one checking what's in the fridge is a normal thing :P)

Shooting Stars: Easy enough watch but pretty forgettable at the same time. I'm still trying to find that k-drama set in the entertainment industry that really does more than superficial.

I need to jump back into the rest of the dramas I started including Showtime.

I did start a C-drama that people were talking about, Dream of Splendor, and am on episode 14. This works totally based on the main couple. When they made her ex-fiancee a jerk, I think it was just the easy way to have a nemesis. Lazy writing. I am sticking with it on the lead's chemistry. I have been unwilling to invest time in a C-drama in probably 2 years so crossing fingers I don't get burned here.

Hulu is gonna start season 2 of Murder in the Building and am looking forward to that.

I watched a lot this past week, wanting to catch up on several airing dramas. New rule: watch live whatever is covered by Dramabeans 😉 That means I still have to catch up on Woori, Doctor Lawyer and Jinxed at First, but I can leave out Eve, thanks for that. I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to keep this up, but I will try once in my Kdrama-life!
Our Blues
Finding closure doesn’t mean you need to forget and forgive all. I appreciated the different stories, some resonated a lot with me, others not so much. The fabulous cast and Jeju will be memorable for sure. And thanks for using Jimin’s OST again for the final summary montage!
Shooting Stars
I finished this show last week and had a giant smile on my face until it ached – what more to wish for from a drama! (Lots, I know, but I really enjoyed this…) Five couples means many kisses <3… I have a girl crush on Lee Sung-Kyung now, she is also adorable on Instagram 😊
Bloody Heart
Love it and can’t wait for the finale next week. I don’t even know if I wish for a happy ending…
Showtime Begins
This is one of my fastest watches in three days. After I found the first couple of episodes so-so, I enjoyed it. Was surprised at the extent of past history and how that was covered extensively, could I have guessed that from the summary? Some more magic showtime in the present would have been nice. But all in all, a good watch, charming and funny. I noticed the reference to period poverty, well done!
Link
Even more shady and suspicious people, different childhood connections, murder, stalking, abuse, abduction… I could have known from the drama’s title “LINK: Eat, Love, Kill”. Less kill, more love and eat for me, please!! Maybe I need to change my expectations and go all in for the over-the-top drama. Love the grandma, Da-Hyuns confessions, Yeo Jin Goo and his beautiful coats, but I did miss more beautiful food in the last two episodes 😉
Insider
Started this week and watched the 4 available episodes in one sitting. This was gripping from the beginning, and didn’t let go. Corrupt police, justice system, politicians, chaebols… had a bit too much of those recently, but corrupt prison life is much more interesting. I had a really hard time watching the violence, especially the various torture scenes. Initially I started because of Kang Ha-Neul, and he is terrific, but now I’m in for the leading couple Yo-Han and Sun-Oh - let’s see how long that lasts…
Why Her
More corruption and legal affairs… I for one am in for a woman as the OT lead and for the romance (I used to tell Kdrama newbies that they can expect holding hands in Ep.8 and a kiss in Ep.12, but not here!!)
Kiss Sixth Sense
I had started this weeks ago, didn’t like it at first, but after reading a recap I picked it up again and caught up to the current episodes. True, this is an adult romance and a welcome change from youthful romcoms. And of course the basic theme is “Is your future fated or do you make your fate?”-aka free will - with the obvious...

Getting great pleasure out of A Dream of Splendor. The cinematography can qualify for eye therapy. Kudos to the writer for finally giving us a emotionally mature romantic relationship that showcases good communication and mutual respect. This is the best I've seen Liu Yifei act and the show could almost rely on her and Chen Xiao's chemistry alone.

The dynamics between all the characters are so good that it makes up for a less fast-paced plot.

Yu Mi's Cells: Woong honey, I was your biggest fun but your time is over. You're a good boy, but as a boyfriend you were kinda disappointing. I have no regrets about the break up, Yu Mi deserves someone that meets her in the middle, not something that makes her go all the way to Sanpo but never goes to Seoul.
I'm sorry boy, I love you but not with my Yu Mi.

It's Beautiful Now: Yes, unit, when are we getting a double date?? And Soo Jae, please, just talk with your family.

Flower Boy Next Door: I always get shocked at how horrible Jin Rak is. This dude freaking scares me. Almost ten years and I haven't found a SL I hate this much.

Shooting Stars and Showtime (finale): I'm sad this shows are over, they were cute, fun and warm. I'm gonna miss them. And if someone wants to watch Showtime, know that it has 15 episodes. Episode 16 is a weird special episode, no need to watch.

Shining Inheritance💍(11/28): And so it begins. Hwan is warming up to Eun-Sung! Always nice to witness the journey to OTPhood, even more so when feelings force our male lead into finally growing up. Grandma should have raised him and his mother and sister to be better human beings, but then there would be no need for Eun-Sung to turn their lives upside down and this K-drama would not have been able to exist.

Fruits Basket (2001)😾(22/26): twenty minute episodes feel like no time has passed! Most of the zodiac members have been introduced and it is actually hard to pick a favorite character because they all have interesting personalities and interesting, tragic backgrounds. I do dislike The Pig girl and Yuki’s fan club. No means no, leave Kyo and Yuki alone!

Misaeng👨‍💼 (1/20): This one has been on my to watchlist for ages and I finally pressed play. This will be a beautiful, but hard watch. Geu-Rae indeed is all of us at the (office) job and the worst part is that I cannot crawl into the screen to make copies or take (foreign) phone calls for him, let alone give him a big hug.

Finally made it to the end of Showtime but it was a slog after the ghost crew dematerialized. Since I can't watch three shows being recapped here, I've dipped into some Beanie recommendations.
Painter of the Wind because I needed a sage and Bleeding Heart isn't available. First few eps are strangely familiar, perhaps the setting was recycled (side-eye Lovers of the Red Sky)? It is very slow.
Beauty Inside started off fun and provided a LMK fix. After the mom-centered episode it began to drag AND no cute puppy. The cameos are great, though, as are the age and gender switches.
Started King of Dramas but not too sure I can take the gigantic sociopath male lead.
Also started Shining Inheritance and immediately caught the second lead syndrome. I have predicted the plot tropes for the fist five eps so I doubt I'll last. The depiction of the younger sibling, Eun-ho, of the FL as being on the autism spectrum is pretty audacious for this era of drama, or am I wrong? The actor in that role is doing a credible job. I am not in mental health but have had a fair few high functioning autistic students. Poor thing is suffering from abandonment, lack of familiar routines/people and no piano. I'll probably last up to the point where he is found and safe.

OUR BLUES ended well with loose ends wrapped up- a great drama that kept us enthralled for 20 episodes.

SHOOTING STARS also ended, and I will miss it, it was good. It was not great, but it was not trying to be- it was simply a light entertaining show- and we need more of those.

FROM NOW ON, SHOWTIME also came to an end on a satisfactory note, although the final episode was a bit weak.

The fun continues on WOORI THE VIRGIN, which will wind up soon.

My wife completed her re-watch of NIRVANA IN FIRE. A great show and well worth watching- and re-watching.

We have not yet started JINXED AT FIRST but I am looking forward to it.

The weekender IT'S BEAUTIFUL NOW continues its gentle progress. It is simply more relaxing than the two weekenders which preceded it. Problems have raised their heads and we are about to see significant conflict, but so far things are still fairly normal. Our two older couples found out about each other- and how this impacts other relationships- our lady lawyer is the middle brother’s boss and already has a friendship with his girlfriend. The inherent awkwardness of his older brother dating his boss is wonderful not least because our lady lawyer and her dolt have become a very serious couple.

With some trepidation I will be checking out ALCHEMY OF SOULS for no other reason than my love for Jung So-min. It is written by the Hong Sisters but I will hope for the best anyway- maybe another miracle like HOTEL DEL LUNA. In any case I will give it a shot.

We will also be checking out WHY HER?

My wife and I checked out EVE and dropped it.

Bloody Heart - I have never rooted for a villain in a kdrama until this one. I love how cunning he is and also he isn't doing it all since he is corrupted rather history not to be repeated. Alas, finding that he indeed help it to happen yet again and his reaction was just *chefs kiss* one of the best scenes in this drama. Actually I lost count how many scenes I have claimed to be the best from this drama. Jang Hyuk makes every scene mesmerizing with his performance. 2 more episodes to go and I know I will miss this drama when it will finish airing.

Kiss Sixth Sense - This drama is all about the chemistry between the leads and to have MCs in the 30s makes it all more sizzling. Also, I am a sucker for guy falling in love first or secretly being in love with the girl trope, so this drama is my current catnip.

Shooting Stars - I cant say I watched this drama mainly cause I had skipped episodes here and there and caught up whenever I could. Never found the story appealing, nor any chemistry between the leads. Glad that this finally got over.

Link - I am suspicious of every single soul in this drama. Cant help but distrust everyone I see on the screen. And I love how it makes me do the guessing work to my brain. Such a brain teaser. This drama reminds me so much of the drama When Camellia Blooms and I say it in a good way! So far so good!

Love All Play - Finally finished it off... and I have the same thing I kept saying since the last 6 episodes or so... Taejun deserves so much better.

Voice - Finally came around and watched this drama since I have downloaded and kept it long back. Also because couldn't get enough of Jang Hyuk after seeing him in Bloody Heart. Suffice to say it good in the beginning but lost interest halfway through. Didnt enjoy!

I dedicated last week-end to jdrama IN HOUSE MARRIAGE HONEY and though I think I liked the opening credits the most, it was time well spent. But my gawd, the amount of sex in this drama.😳 And let's not be shy about how this is a lot how it is in newly formed romantic relationships, I'm just used to the Korean style of let's-awkwardly-hold-hands-occasionally-and-have-kisses-be-special-events.
I didn't appreciate the office secrecy and even less the MLs reason for it, but fortunately he saw the error of his ways and corrected it once it came back to bite him. Speaking of him, I really liked the actor.

Watching episode 5, I decided to drop LOVE ALL PLAY on account of the endless blame and martyrdom. But since I really like the OTP, I read the wee-caps and was even happier I didn't waste any more time on even more blame and martyrdom.

And I finally finished F4 Thailand. Gosh, what a show! The only thing I feel I could complain about is that the final episode felt edited and rushed and the amnesia arc deserved it's own episode. Other than that, the show is simply a masterpiece, expertly crafted throughout every scene. A special would be the icing on the cake. Furthermore, the excellent episode analysis of Wit & Folly (F4 obsessed) brought such depth and insight to the vision of the director, I'm stunned.

WHO RULES THE WORLD continues to be an evenly balanced show. The politics, the romance, the intrigue. It's all moderate and suited for filling a empty time slot in the evening.

A Dream of Splendor - the FL & ML pairing is great. They didn't keep them as enemies very long and the transition towards frienship was done really well. The transition from friends to lovers was slower but worked for the situation. And now they're going on dates that are actually date-like, very sweet.
Enjoyed the new addition of Zhaodi to the group because I can't seem to like Yinzhang. Sanniang is pretty great tho.

The highlight of my drama week was definitely watching Yumi's Cells eps 3 and 4 back to back. I absolutely love Yumi, and this week was particularly swoony and funny. So many fun moments with the Cells (Tongue Cell coming for tea and a bit of dancing, lol).

I also finished both From Now on, Showtime and Shooting Stars and found both ok, but meh. Specially FNOS could have delivered a lot more than the trope salad they decided to serve as final episode.

Also checked out Jinx s Lover because of Seohyun and cutie Na Jong Chan but, dang, that women prisioner setup is super creepy. Will check out next week because I have the feeling action will be centered on the found family at the market, and I also have a soft spot for loan sharks with a heart of gold.
Besides all the airing shows, I started Moonshine. Kudos to the lighting team! I love love love sageuks with loads of beautiful night scenes. Characters are fun and there's
a lot of cute intereactions in their enemies to lovers dynamics. And action scenes are goofy, but in a way that is right up my lane (lots of roof jumping with wires, flying kicks, weird slow takes in between fast scenes), which is a plus in my books because there's enough pretty to offset the silliness😂
And that's it. BTS, fighting! 💜

Watched C drama Water Margin (1998), I enjoyed the heroes fighting corrupt officials. There is a Japanese version from the 70’s , I would love to watch that.

Rewatching C drama Nirvana in Fire

YouTube videos, true crime , forensic files sort of stuff.