Prison Playbook: Spoilers. What a fantastic drama! Favorite prisoner storylines were Min-chul, Captain Yoo, Crony, and Jailbird/Young-cheol. I also loved Joon-ho’s journey from being on the verge of leaving the profession and being annoyed with Lieutenant Paeng constantly to learning to have a more nuanced view of his role and settling in longer-term. And of course his story with Je-hee was the best thing ever. I loved how slowly and respectfully their relationship developed, as was probably necessary for a sexual assault survivor. And when he leaned in for a kiss and stopped to ask her permission? I swooned so hard I hit my head and then watched it four more times when I came to. The show did such a good job of making Je-hyeok totally dumb about some things, but oddly brilliant when it came to people. Over and over again we got to see that Je-hyeok wasn’t lucky, as all his enemies claimed, he was just kind and generous and brought out the best in other people.

Strangers Again: We’re off to a strong start and I’m so intrigued to get more of the back story of our two leads. Jang Seung-jo’s eyes are already doing so much heavy lifting all on their own, and it’s a testament to them and to his pretty flawless acting that I want to know more about him instead of writing him off instantly. I like the other cases that they’ve dealt with so far and that they provide a natural way for us to explore the various reasons someone might get a divorce. There’s so much betrayal to unpack that I hope it can maintain the funny bits - we might need them soon!

Crash Course in Romance: I was so tired last night after what felt like (but was actually not) a long week, so I watched the two available episodes of this and was so glad I did. So happy to just continue having Jung Kyung-ho on my screen, and I absolutely cried with him at the end of episode 1 when he could eat something and keep it down. Also slowly adjusting to the fact that our FL is obviously older than our ML, but we’re supposed to believe they’re the same age.

ONGOING
The Forbidden Marriage - Well finally we get the real name reclamation. The preview was a bit weird - will we finally get some reference to the beginning of the show when they talked about two girls being born on the same day?

Payback - There's enough back and forth between the good guys and the villains winning to keep it interesting.

Poong S2 - They got rid of palace politics only to drive us into medical politics 😑. Though I liked that the preview shows them trying to deal with the princess as a patient - that level of anger cannot be mentally healthy!

STARTED
Crash Course in Romance - Cute! Very cute! Also lol @ the meta of JKH constantly being called too thin. But why is there a stalker/weird metal-ball attacker in my rom-com?!

Can We Be Strangers? - It's okay but I found the legal cases more interesting than our main couple - there are going to be a lot of table-flip emojis if they go the noble idiocy route (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻.

C-DRAMAS
Still watching and loving Meet Yourself and The Blood of Youth but I'm running very behind on the latter and trying to hide from a world of spoilers 😭.

Strangers Again (Episode 1-2) - Mood: C
Why just why did they think setting up Eun Beom as a cheater was a good idea? Let’s think: he couldn’t have really cheated because good luck convincing your audience to root for him, so it must mean some misunderstanding from her side or even some twisted noble idiocy going down on his side or a mix of both. This just leads to a lose-lose situation where someone is going to lose out on the characterisation and that’s the one error you want to avoid especially in a OTP. Speaking of that, it was disappointing, though expected, that the ending will probably be a reunion: it would’ve been so much more interesting, if this was a story about both parties in a divorce acknowledging their respective faults and coming to terms with it, closing a chapter of regret on both ends and moving forward as friends. And I was very hyped up about this show, what a bummer.

Crash Course in Romance (Episode 1-2) - Mood: C-
It’s 2023, why are we still writing genius but arrogant characters who are pure workaholics, anti-romance and has traumas affecting them? It’s so predictable, I much rather have a drama revolving around Jae Woo and the struggle caretakers face when having to juggle multiple responsibilities. But this is Shin Jae Ha’s comeback and he’s getting a love line, yes

Missing: The Other Side 2 (Episode 9-10) - Mood: C
After playing villain after villain, I guess Kim Tae Woo demanded something special to get typecast again, but little did I expect it to be a ridiculous haircut! Also, a big facepalm for Mr Jang sacrificing himself, even if it was on purpose. I did like that the show didn’t try to overcomplicate matters with Il Yong’s coma but it seems like there’s one more twist with him?

The Interest of Love (Episode 9-10) - Mood: D-
You’re telling me that it took 10 episodes to get to the cheating? Come on, even makjang dramas can do it in less? And why have one act of cheating when you can get two, though I wasn’t expecting the other culprit to be Kyung Pil. It’s one thing to make all your characters unlikeable but it’s another to make them pathetic and I think this writer thinks they’re being smart.

The Forbidden Marriage (Episode 9-10) - Mood: D-
Plot armour features once again this week as So Rang survives yet another fall off the Cliff of Doom (the counterpart to our dear modern friend, the Truck of Doom) with the bonus of Shin Won’s hand healing miraculously. Their saviours also have a daughter who coincidentally happens to have the latest updates for them. Finale looks to be a predictable villain takedown.

Happy Lunar New Year.

Movie:

EXTREME JOB (2019): Two Korean staples: chicken and crime. A screw-up police drug squad attempts to take down a criminal organization and they must go undercover to do so. They begin their stakeout working at a chicken restaurant. The place suddenly becomes famous for its delicious chicken. They are so busy running the restaurant that their stake-out is blown and they are suspended from the force. It is heavy on standard bad guy action and mild on screwball comedy but I can see why it was a popular film in Korea.

I have a new crack. And it isCan We Be Strangers?. There is not a second I would feel skipping and if anything, I even rewind and listen to the dialogues again. Kang Sora as Oh Hara is excellent and I'm so happy having the actress back on my screen.
Hara is clearly not over her ex-husband and it hurts (and reminds me of one of my past relationships when after the break-up it took me quite some years to cut the emotional cord completely). Though, it also seems that Eunboem is still in love with her as well (and Jang Seungjo and Kang Sora are sparkling together!), but I need to know more about Eunboem and his true past and current intentions, because right now he looks like a scumbag and I'm rooting for the second lead.

Crash Course - why, just whyyyy does it have to be there that thriller element??? 🙄 All the rest is fine and I'm happy to see so many actors I like!

For @reply1988
I tried Remembrance of Things Past and Meet Yourself, but the beginning was too depressing and thus I postponed it to the times when I'm more ready.

Oh, and I also watched 4 episodes of My Lethal Man. Don't ask me why 😆🙈

Crash Course in Romance’
This was a perfect beginning for a rom com! Totally enjoyed it. And Jung Kyung Ho is effortlessly funny! Excited for more.

Strangers Again
Jang Seung Jo is too pretty to be the bad guy. So show, give us a good reason and make us root for the OTP!

CDRAMAS
Hi Venus
at ep 19.. slowly making my way to the end! Assistant Lin is cute!

Meet Yourself
at Ep 18. I have an unhealthy love for this show and Li Xian right now. Loving our main OTP and all the other characters.
It’s kind of sad to see Xie Zhi Yao and Xu Hong Dou connect so well and lean on to each other knowing this will end in 3 months.
I do think the show will give us a HEA for them, but I won’t be surprised if she does choose to go back to her life in Beijing.. but but, she is so happy here 😢

Time and him are just right
I started this show on a whim after seeing some clips on IG. It’s a sweet high school romance with good leads. I was sold right away when the FL was not written dumb but actually did well in her studies. And ML is not a jerk but just a loner. I didn’t quite like the college part, but will mostly continue.

Planning to watch the movie Jung_E today.

Brain Works The stories are so ridiculous, it's kinda hard to focus. It's sad because the actors are hilarious.

Missing: The Other Side 2 When someone vanished, it's good thing but it's so sad in the same time. Crybaby detective's moment was full of emotions.

Strangers Again I was a little disapointed. First the Korean law on divorce doesn't make sense and it was tiring to see the FL reminded us every minute her husband cheated on her and she hurts.

The Interest of Love I love it! Every word, glance, touch is so meaningful.

The Forbidden Marriage I didn't sign for the FL being weak and cold during a whole episode...

Crash Course in Romance First 2 episodes were a nice introduction.

Lighter and Princess It was nice to see the duo of Go Head's fathers in a new cdrama! I really liked the couple and the chemistry of the actors. Kdramas should learn : cuddling moments on a sofa are way better than any amusement park date cliché!

Trolley: So we are now seeing the Congressman for the smooth political operator he is. I still think he fully loves his wife and was trying to protect her, but he is very calculating and trying to think of everything that can be used. As for Soo Bin, she was a scam artist at some point and part of a crew, hence the JD tat. Hye Joo is the only person who has shown her kindness in a very long time, even her mother is trash, thankfully that other man couldn't manipulate Hye Joo like he wanted too. I am really curious as to what Yeo Jin isn't telling though.

Strangers Again: What a fun two episodes. Korean law is wild regarding divorce though. Imagine fighting to stay married to someone who wants to divorce you. I also hope we get Eun Beom's perspective. I also really hope he cheated. There was discussion and differing opinions on the recap page, but I am firmly team he cheated and learned his lesson. Noble idiocy makes Eun Beom look like an idiot and an A#$hole. It also will make Ha Ra feel like a fool for not recognizing that her husband was lying to her after 10 years of being together. It is a terrible feeling, so why do it.

The interest of Love: So after Jong Hyun and Soo Young had sex, I think that is when the illusion of love stopped for both of them. Soo Young realized nope, I don't like him romantically after that, but I feel obligated to him. Jong Hyun realized she didn't like him that much, but he feels like if he tries harder it might work. However, he also recognizes that trying harder doesn't work, look at his life. So they both elected to be miserable together and probably cheat on each other. She just did and he probably already has. Communication needs to happen for everyone involved. Mi Kyung is making herself miserable, more manipulative, and more petty over a man she knows doesn't like her. You are rich, young, and carefree. Find someone who wants you. Sang Su is, sigh, sir break up with Mi Kyung, should have never gotten with her in the first place. Be single. Everyone in this drama, please be single, and love yourselves.

Agency: It is heating up for Ah In and she is punching back. I love her character, but she needs talk therapy and to stop taking those drugs. My goodness, that is unhealthy.

Payback: I knew it was too easy. Well, almost back to square one.

Forbidden Marriage: I am just finishing it because this is the last weekend. Sigh

Crash Course in Romance: I am nervous about this stalker person. IT seems like it is Sun Jae's secret sibling. Hopefully it is resolved quickly.

Jung_E- Will watch this weekend.

Just watched Yeon Sang-ho's latest Netflix movie Jung_E. At first it seemed like a rather awkward, tired robot flick, but gradually it grew into something extraordinary. I'm not going to spoil it for anyone, but IMO it's Yeon's best and most mature work so far, and a fitting valedictory role for the late great Kang Soo-yeon.

Forbidden Marriage Ep 7 - The height if disrespect the Minister of War has towards the throne is irritating instead of giving the villain vibe. So-rang basically making resolutions for the King without his approval is just utter crazy. Add in Shin-won joining her to make jest of Heon and it's just the right amount of perfect - just how I like the trio.

Trolley - The revelation of Soo-bin just changes a lot of things. Yoon-seo's high and mighty attitude is very unpleasant, and at the same time she's highly tactless, and disrespectful.
If Trolley withholds the info between Woo-jae and Yeong-ju next week, I won't be pleased at all.

Strangers Again - I like everything here. Our main leads, the Co-CEO's, and the supporting leads. And the two stories this week were thought provoking. It wasn't one sided at all and I like it.

Red Balloon - So it's confirmed that there's no clearly good person here but I have to root for someone. I'm rooting for Eun-kang and Cha-won. I thought it was only Bada's mom so it was really uneasy to note that Bada is somehow not too different from her mom. I was kinda hurt.

Agency - What a week.
Eun-jung's husband and MIL are clearly not making any difference. And her son acting up like that seems to me like failed parenting on the part of the MIL and her son. Each time I see thier resigned reactions when it happens it makes me think they are the ones engineering the young boy.

Crash Course in Romance - Guilty pleasure.
So Hae-ee would have been the complete top of the class if not for her math grades. No wonder Su-a felt threatened when she joined Chi-yeol's class. And what's with the lawyer momma. What exactly is she breeding in that house that her son isn't aware of.

Forbidden Marriage: 6.5 Cliff/River combination with magic healing powers = true OTP.

Payback: 7.4 Doesn't stand out much against the crowd of shows with similar themes. At least no Lee Kyoung-Young.

Crash Course In Romance: 7.0 Another stuck-up genius math tutor? It hasn't been long enough since the one in that other show that I wasn't Crazy about.

Strangers Again: 7.5

Island: __ Jerks split it into 2 parts but didn't even pretend to arrange a decent climax for part 1. Hope part 1 counts as a bean by itself because I may skip part 2.

Yesterday I finished Psychopath Diary. Great, great, great. I have loved it a lot, even more the second half of the series. Unpopular opinion: I have enjoyed it more than Vincenzo.

I'm watching While you were sleeping too. I have watched 12 out of 16 episodes. I like it but I already know it won't be one of my favorite k-dramas. I'm not really hooked on the story/plot. Nice OST, though.

I was watching VINCENZO, then got up to answer the door, and now somehow I haven't gotten back to it for 5 days. I don't know, it doesn't grab me. Everybody's acting feels dated and mediocre.
I have watched all of Song Joong Ki's shows, and I always have the same problem with him. I can't read his face. In Tree With Deep Roots and Sungkyunkwan Scandal this worked to his advantage, both his characters benefitted a lot from being unreadable and mysterious. But in his other roles hi woodenness just confuses me. Is he sad? Is he happy? Is he acting? Is he bad at acting?? What am I supposed to feel right now.
Here in Vincenzo I was ready to accept him as a villain, or antihero, or whatever, but they started the show with him working with his mother's lawyer. Then the accident happened. I don't see ANY feelings in his face! Did he like the lawyer or not?? Is he sad?? Was it all a show to use him? Give me something boy!
If there were other fascinating characters to pull me in I might have been intrigued and ignored his wooden acting, but as it is, everything is just dated and boring.
And unfortunately this has completely put me off watching Reborn Rich although I LOVE Lee Sung Min.

Crash Course in Romance (Ep.2). I loved it!! I was praying this would be food and the first two episodes didn’t let me down. Loved JDY and JKH, they never let you down. And I’m so happy to have again in my screen Shin Jae Ha, our unfamiliar maknae.

The interest of love (Ep.10). What a ride. Four people being miserable because of miscomunication. I think this is the show I love the most of the ones I’m watching. I can’t see why people find it boring (or has it found it boring so far, until we got our kiss). The story is so compelling, the writing is solid and the acting is just top notch.

Strangers again (Ep. 2). Well, I’m here and having fun, I need to use a huge dose of suspension of disbelief but still here. As most people watching I do hope the cheating is real because it would feel like fresh air in dramaland, but also as this is dramaland we all know the cheating won’t be real and a HUGE dose of noble idiocy will be involved.

Payback Ep. 4. I’m not into revenge dramas but I’m into Lee Sun Kyun’s voice, so I gave it a try. So full of tropes and yet so funny. Things happens at speed of light and I’m liking it. Also, I am glad not being alone finding Park Hoon so interesting…

New life begins. (Ep. 20). I’m on half of it. I don’t want to stop watching because I really like the leads but I’m losing interest...

Crash Course in Romance: Mixed feelings. I like how we're getting strong, charismatic leads along with a great supporting cast. I'm not too fond of the thriller inserted into a rom-com since I feel like with the writer developing supporting characters who feel 3D, there should be enough to write about.

Poong, Joseon Psychiatrist Season 2 I may have to tap out. I love our leads (the way Poong and Eun-woo look at each other gives me butterflies) and Gye Soo Clinic, but the princess and royal clinic guy are like nails-on-chalkboard annoying and they take up half the episode and are in scenes where they interact/bully the protagonists, so it's harder to FF through them. And this means each case takes up 2 episodes.

Reborn Rich: Finished! I could see why the ending fell flat. It was an okay ending but didn't live up to the other amazing 15 episodes. I didn't mind having the different drama (vs webtoon) ending BUT they went too explicit with the ep 1 killing of HW (even if the miracle of survival was granted, no way was that even recoverable after a week's rest) and the recording was too contrived (did 2004 flip phones even have that feature? And why choose to record?). Assuming that Hyun-woo was just living out OG Do-joon's life as it happened in the OG timeline, OG Do-joon must have been incredible. Without knowing the future, he excelled enough to get to the point where he became a threat to his greedy family.

Dream of Splendor (up to ep 36): The main romance got a bit boring with the ML guilty-ghosting the FL, but the story of our ladies still remain front and center and their grit and ingenuity have been a pleasure to watch. Actually, I'm glad the ML was MIA since we got to see how awesome the ladies are and how they took care of things. Yinzhang personally destroying the guy trying to pimp her out was so satisfying.

Hi Venus up to 17. Still cute, but I'm itching for the FL to go back to her pediatrician role, which was her main job.

Current/recent:
The Forbidden Marriage 1-11: Is it really SLS if I am not crushing on the SML but think everything about the show sets him up to be a better match (and he’s a better actor) and then fails to convince me otherwise? It doesn’t help that Park Ju-hyun seems to have checked out and Kim Young-dae is out-acted and bland. I hope this show will have provided the seasoning he needs - it does make clear that at least for now, comedy is his bread and butter. I tolerated so many gats for this and it should have stuck to farce.

Crash Course in Romance: Adults adulting, with intermittent high kicks! I love it so far - but wary of the outbreak of ball-bearing violence and a little skeptical of yet another autism-spectrum side character if he’s just going to be a flavor-of-the-month plot device.

Strangers Again ep. 1: I’ve erased the 2022 glut of lawyer dramas from my memory and am trying to start fresh. And damn, that is one of the handsomest men I’ve seen in a drama. His sad eyes! It’s my first Kang So-ra drama as well and I can see what the big fuss is about. Instantly engaging.

Island 1-4: Another show where the discussion threads are better than the drama. Maybe I’ll get around to eps. 5-6 before March, maybe not.

Older stuff (Kdrama continuing education program):
The Liar and His Lover: How did I even get all the way to ep. 10 of this? Underage FL is underage. Jealous SFL is jealous. ML is a more interesting character but Lee Hyun-woo looks like a 16-year-old emo boy with too much lipstick (he was actually ~23) and it’s disturbing. The music and the idol-making setting are modestly interesting but not original. I think I just don’t have the patience for 16 episodes of manufactured teen angst and probably won’t go back to it.

Live Up to Your Name: Dropped for now because I’m too squeamish to deal with the needles - sadly, another in the vast category of “shows I wish I could watch but can’t handle.”

After two episodes of CRASH COURSE IN ROMANCE I am still not quite sure what to make of the show- why does there have to be a thriller element?

On the other hand, I really enjoyed the first two episodes of STRANGERS AGAIN even if it makes a thorough hash of legal ethics and the law. Sometimes one simply has to suspend one’s critical faculties and just enjoy a show- which I am doing despite the flaws.

On THREE BOLD SIBLINGS: As I suspected our nasty cousin faked a new DNA test (using himself and his bio son’s material to produce a positive test result) so as to perpetuate Evil Birth Secret Lady’s lie that our ML was the actual father of her child. Nasty cousin still believes that lie his mother told him about his aunt having taken his father’s insurance money- instead of it going to his mom (the normal beneficiary of a life insurance contract). This has always been his excuse for his utterly despicable behavior and now the fallout is seen in the kidnapping of his adoptive son and the guilt-ridden ML asking our FL for a divorce at the end of episode 33. I have to admit that this may be the first weekender that I have seen that featured a kidnapping. But the truth may be about to catch up with him- and perhaps with Soorim’s evil Ex as well, while news that the ML’s aunt is pregnant is spreading. This week's episodes should be interesting.

My son has spent the holidays with us before heading off to his new job. While he is here, he is really enjoying the classic GOBLIN: THE GREAT AND LONELY GOD. But he has also been watching the Chinese drama THE SILENCE OF THE MONSTER which his mother really liked. He and I might be able to watch the campy ISLAND before he leaves but there may not be time for it, which is OK: GOBLIN is such a classic that it makes sense for him to watch it instead. In addition, it appears that Amazon has decided to repeat Netflix’s mistakes and split ISLAND into two parts- a further reason to wait and watch it much later.

My wife finally returned to watching the Chinese Costume drama THE LONG RIVER, leavened with a bunch of British mystery shows like the ENDEAVOUR series. She was really delighted at the return of POONG: THE JOSEON PSYCHIATRIST and she really likes BRAIN WORKS.

I have continued to watch the Chinese romcom HI VENUS which is a really nice show. I am starting MEET YOURSELF because so many beanies like it. So far, I am not far enough along to know if I will too.

My wife and I also continue to watch the C-drama SHE AND HER PERFECT HUSBAND. This story is a bit different from the usual cohabitation contract relationship story- we see two people who are actually growing together and coming to understand each other as a gradual process.

Forbidden Marriage
Looking forward to the final episodes, everything is set up for some drama with a successful solution and a happy ending. I hope we get a lot of humor with the drama!
Brain Works
Interesting thing about how hard it is to change your brain (it takes 6 years supposedly…), but did it have to get so dark, with a child seemingly being guilty of her father’s death? And do we have to have teenage prostitutes here as well as in Trolley?? I’ll stay aboard for brain science and the bromance.
ML still wearing dark blue and black, I approve…
Crash Course In Romance
The opening was great; I like the combination of mathematics and food. I’m not sure about the upcoming romance, but I guess I’ll let the drama convince me, and it surely will upgrade Haeng Seon‘s styling, that will help me a lot. Favorite moment: Choi Chi Yeol crying over food, so relatable…
Bonus: Real math problems suitable for upper grade high schoolers!
Big Bet
Didn’t really plan to pick this up, but the start with the unusual location, the quick pace and the short episodes got me into this – and of course Son Suk Gu since Ep.5.
Payback
Number brains, succulents and Lee Sung Kyun’s voice = nerd heaven 😊 The pace and acting are great, and even though I have been frustrated with Again My Life and Why Her, this revenge drama looks promising.
Strangers Again
I *really* didn’t want to watch this because of the subject matter, but since it’s on Viki I turned it on a whim, only saw Ep.1 so far. The chemistry is great; I’ll give it 4 episodes to see if it’s worth my time.
In between, I finished Run On which was good, but not as great as I expected it to be. I guess I don’t get prickly, driven, self-centered heroines; the same thing happened with Our Beloved Summer, which I can appreciate as a really good drama, but I just didn’t like it very much.
KDrama friend project:
Together, we’re still watching a lot of BL 😉: Finished Minato’s Laundromat, The Director Who Buys Me Dinner and My Beautiful Man and are currently watching The New Employee and Ameiro Paradox. Also still waiting for Alchemy of Souls to be released on Netflix in Europe…

It’s been so long since I watched a Kdrama live.

Currently watching:

1. Crash Course in Romance: I like the overall positive vibe the show gives. There are elements that I don’t like, which have been talked about by other Beans here, but I still look forward to watching it each episode. I really like the actress who played FL. I have never seen her work before, but I learnt later on by some Beans that she is also a big name in Chingmuru. That is no surprise to me actually as she exudes this effortless charm that gives her character depth and life. She is a force to be reckoned with imo. I love that she seems to not care how she looks in certain scenes, and that is a very big brownie point from me.

I hope that the next episodes we’ll get to see more delicious-looking dishes and the banchan shop is not only used as FL’s workplace for the story. I wish the show focused more on food and how it helped ML. Another thing that I wish we saw less in Kdramaland is how inconsiderate of other people’s feelings some characters talk sometimes. There are scenes when FL would snap at her autistic brother and I didn’t like that. There is also a scene when ML humiliated FL because she brought him food. I know it’s realistic because people do that sometimes but I just think it’s unnecessary.

Some things I like about the show besides the fact that it has so many actors I like, is that the cinematography is really nice. There have been two times this ep3 that it wowed me. You can’t really compete with Koreans on this front. They do this really really well.

2. Korean Cold Noodle Rhapsody: if you’re a noodle person like me, you really should watch this one. I was watching My Wiggly Friend (Chinese noodle short documentary) before I began this. I’d have to say that I liked the Korean one much more. This is because it has much nicer cinematography and it showed how each type of Nangmyeon is made in quite to some detail. The Chinese one focuses more on some noodle specialty from each province than the process of making the noodle itself.

Finished:

1. Singles’ Inferno: what an infuriating show! 😆 It gave me headache sometimes, and I just have no idea if this is scripted or not. What baffled me was that all the contestants I liked turned out not to end up with anyone. The show focuses on the appearance of the contestants more than other things because they had so little time together, and they were supposed to find their ideal partner from the very small pool the show gave. Competitions were brutal. There is a couple I ended up liking though (Se-jun and Seo-E).

Wanting something low commitment between big dramas, I watched HIT THE SPOT.
When all is said and done (and believe me, everything R-rated you can think of is said and done in these 8 short episodes), I’m not sure what to make of HIT THE SPOT. Is it meant as an instruction manual? Public service announcement? A cheerful dimwit, clueless at age 30 about the workings of the female body, throws over her hard-working ordinary boyfriend of 5 years because he is mildly self-centered, particularly in bed. I felt sort of sorry for the guy, not given a chance to improve before being dumped in favor of a sex guru. Maybe he just needed some education. Her more sophisticated friend and fellow podcaster was a more interesting character, but she is short-changed by the series. And the sex guru? He’s a fabulous lover. After 3 encounters, he says “I love you.” Stepping back, she says she needs more time. His response? 
“I was happy for a while. Thank you. Bye.” He’s cool, not the clingy type. I’m assuming this drama is the product of women writers still in their formative years. But can South Korean women of the 21st century really be that dense in matters of the body?

DALI & COCKY PRINCE (14/17) The curls around her face, her wardrobe, her cool refinement - in stark contrast to his boorishness - immediately got me. A lot of good stuff in this show and many hilarious moments, with long stretches of tedium in between to slog through. Also, too much shouting – I had to turn the volume way down so as not to upset the neighbors. I liked the business vs. art theme. Also liked that Dali appeared to be a genuine art expert without being snobby about it, which made his boorishness all the more enjoyable. By ep. 14, I’m concerned about Dali blowing hot and cold, over and over. Her attachment to the ML strikes me as weak, while his feelings are solid. All in all, an entertaining watch.

The Rise of Phoenixes: I'm always a fan of epic historicals filled with messy, ambiguous characters and political intrigue, but I especially like the way this one plays with gender. Most shows don't explicitly or implicitly code their male lead as feminine and their female lead as masculine so I'll be very interested to see how this plays out in the second half.

I've started watching 'Strangers Again' but its tone is clashing with my currently watching C-drama 'She and Her Perfect Husband'. Both involve an ambitious woman lawyer who specializes in divorce cases and both involve an ex who they're compelled to work with in the firm. Its dangerous to watch two very similar dramas together because one is bound to lose in comparison.

One of the many sports that I am enthusiastic about but bad at playing is tennis, and this week the Australian Open, which is televised in the evening here in the west coast, has taken up a lot of my kdrama viewing time. (Interestingly tennis is the one international sport that S. Korea has no high profile presence in—odd since both Japan and China are prominent.) Not that I wasn’t able to keep up with Trolley, Payback and add Strangers Again and Crash Course in Romance so I’m not exactly kdrama deprived.

One of the shows I managed to fit in, Crash Course in Romance has the FL as a former team handball star. Team handball is not a sport that is big the U.S. so I’ve only seen in the Olympics. I do know that this IS a sport that Korea has been very successful in, so I wish they had showed a little bit of it. Maybe more will appear in the flashbacks to the OTP’s difficult youth, which will continue to appear in the show, if it follows the classic traum-rom-com format as it seems to be doing.

Since I can’t play team handball, I did make 6 banchan last night to accompany some braised pork belly, but I can’t say they moved me to tears as they did the ML in Crash Course. Either my banchan weren’t authentic enough, or my youth wasn’t traumatic enough. Both are probably true!

STRANGERS AGAIN: Finally, a drama that is exactly what I hoped it would be. There are some ridiculous, head-scratching moments (like the FL deciding to demand entry into her client's car so she could give him a pep talk immediately after he just tried to plow down his ex-wife in a parking garage), but the tone is the perfect blend of light and heavy. The casting is excellent as well, as our main couple play off each other beautifully. Jang Seung-jo is pretty much irresistible in this role (Those eyes. Please!) even if his character, as hacja pointed out, is currently a classic kdrama jerk. But I don't want to dig too deeply under the surface just yet. My sense is that this is definitely a show about two estranged lovers finding their way back to each other, which is a trope I love, so I'm all in.

INTEREST OF LOVE: I've been waiting for this slowly addictive show to grab me by the heart, and now it has. That kiss was lovely and passionate and I'm sorry I doubted YYS's casting because he sold that 100% and has made me believe his character's sincerity. It took a while to unfold, but I can fully see both why the leads are drawn to each other, and why they they make each other happy. The story is complicated with troubling themes (are the writers really saying that we must never date anyone who makes more or less money than we do?) and I really didn't like that is-it-real-or-is-it-fake moment that showed Sang-soo and Mi-kyung married (it was so mundane that I worry it was a glimpse into the actual future), but I'm totally sucked in.

TROLLEY: Like the two described above, this is a well done drama with a clear point of view, even if the themes get muddled at times. I've given up trying to guess what happened in the past and what might happen in the future, simply because sussing it out doesn't seem to make it hurt any less. I definitely don't binge new episodes when they come out; I have to watch them slowly and sit with things for a bit before I progress. At heart, this is a show about how much damage societal conventions do when people internalize them. That can be incredibly painful to watch unfold, especially when the people involved (like the FL) deserve to be happy.

Trolley Ep 1-3 - It's a relief to have characters acting and talking like real people and the political intrigue is almost interesting so far but the pace can be very slow. Why so many fillers and flashbacks? Probably should have been a 10 ep drama.

Crash Course in Romance It has a charming ML and a lot of potential. We just have to pretend the FL is younger and ignore another silly stalker on the prowl.

Strangers Again First ep was atrocious. Both leads are quite detestable and drama itself thinks the FL is funny in her temper tantrums, arrogance and hypocritical behavior. She manages to be even worse than her ex-husband, who probably pretends to have cheated, and acts as if it was a big joke.

We paused Train after the 4e ep to watch Prison playbook before it leaves Netflix. And it's as great as eveybody says.
Blood is dripping in between.
I might have dropped She and her perfect husband and The silence of the monster in favour of Lighter and Princess that have not the same overly pretty pictures but more staring, bickering and cuddling.

Big Issue for the millionth time, but only because I need a decent action drama until the real ones I want to watch finish. The great thing about this one is that it makes no apologies about its subversive ethics because they believe in their efforts of thwarting even more morally reprehensible targets. It's a classic robinhood concept except they keep the rewards for themselves, which is highly satisfying considering the scumbags they extort from deserve that and more. The action/narrative execution is also very well done, and the cinematography is almost film quality.

Catching up on recent shows, halfway through Reborn Rich but I'm enjoying Unlock My Boss more. I like this trend of 12-episode series with a lighter tone.

Has anyone watched Fly High, Butterfly / Salon de Nabi? Seems like show was supposed to air on JTBC but never did and was only streamed on Prime.

It’s a slice of life about the people working in a hair salon. 6 episodes in and I’m kinda enjoying the mundane story of these people going about their lives. What stops it from being boring is that the show has random comedic punchlines scattered throughout the episodes. Kim Hyanggi and Park Jung Woo (the guy fr 20th Century Girl) as the main leads are also cute.

It's dark and it's cold and there is a lack of shows to love after the big hitters of December. January is definitely the time of year for rewatching those shows that make you feel warm. I am trying not to binge too hard through Beloved Summer as this is my 3rd rewatch and I really need to savour it. I'm also enjoying Love Like the Galaxy again after the disappointment of Forbidden Marriage. The latter caused me two main worries: the hatred of the make-up person for Sorang, and the conditions of their set that gave her a permanent cold.

watched 헤어질 결심 (Decision to leave, Park Chan-Wook) in the cinema. Maybe not as knife-sharp and you know, if you expect action, there isn´t much. It is like ... more of a chase of a persons´ mind. and souls drawn to each other in the wrong circumstances, just barely missing out. From the preview I thought: oh, lots of pretty mountain views. Not that many, but still a bit. a very recognizable stairs.... One spot I defo saw in Iljimae or ...I think. with a pine tree. Still, in Estonia it is in 4 cinema chains. What I admired: how korean moviemakers know their people, they create characters straight from life. Estonian characters have turned into stereotypes...Warning: you will get an ice cream craving.
I also went to a movie premiere of which I participated. 36 takes and actually they gave me 3x medium shot of my face, & 6,5 seconds screen time. Nice one, I didnt expect that. we were 32 people there, and only 4 more had their actual face on screen. Too bad the reviews for the movie itself weren´t all that great. It is called Kuulsuse narrid and you can find the trailer on Youtube
otherwise I really missed my childhood girl crush Gillian Anderson and watched the 10 y old series The Fall. Really she is SUCH a bombshell. and a really good actress.

Crash Course In Romance:
I’m enjoying it, the writer is a hit or miss for me, but with such charismatic leads even if it fails during the second half, the chemistry between our OTP is enough for me to stay the course (pun intended 😉)

Trolley:
Sad that I have to wait two weeks for the next episodes but the drama has me hook line and sinker! There are so many secrets and while our heroine is the backbone of the show I don’t trust her husband at all at this point.

Strangers Again:
I probably have the most unpopular opinion regarding the show, which is fine everyone is different. But yeah I’m tentatively watching the drama and if does go the adultery route I’m gonna drop it. Cheating is a no go for me.

The Forbidden Marriage:
I really need to comment after I finished watching the episodes. While yeah I still don’t see why So-rang was attracted to
the King they seem happy together. I guess my problem was that I was always team Shin-won but now that he sorted his feelings and he is no longer the sad brooding second lead, I’m less heartbroken. Still I hope he does get his own romance with Hwa-yoon. She seems cool in her own subtle way

Completed:

Forbidden Marriage: Fun, hilarious, and surprisingly raunchy first half gave way to a cliché baddies vs. heroes plot later. Still, I breezed through this and was entertained throughout. The leads were great, and played off each other well for the most part, but unfortunately they lacked the romantic chemistry to pull off the 'steamy' bits so those felt forced. The ending was satisfying and wrapped things up nicely. Recommended for fusion sageuk fans up for a modern, if somewhat average, twist on the genre.

Bulgasal: Immortal Souls: I'd describe my relationship with this drama as 'complicated.' I loved the world-building, the supporting cast of found family, the gory beauty of it all, and it featured my favorite K-drama villain ever. How he managed to be revolting, unhinged, charismatic, and pitiful - often all at once - is a credit to the actor (who apparently ad-libbed a significant portion of his scenes). Also, the first two and final episodes were amazing. Too bad the middle was bogged down by the uncompelling main leads who circled each other to the point of repetitive tedium, and Kwon Nara's performance, which I came to find borderline unbearable as the show went on. I don't regret watching, but I had to force myself to sit through too much of it.

Current:

Unchained Love (China): So the tonal shifts in the beginning were a bit awkward, but the mix of off-beat humor and darker themes were mostly working for me. But then our male lead's scheme-y revenge plot took a total backseat (other than the occasional reports about spies thrown in when the writers happened to remember it was supposed to be a thing) and now I'm apparently watching a fluffy romantic comedy? I mean, I'm entertained and I love the pairing, but the show feels like it doesn't know what the hell it wants to be. Unless this is the calm before the storm and the intensity's about to ramp up...? I hope...?

Nirvana in Fire (China): Oh, I am so loving this! Hidden identities, false treason charges, revenge, strategic plots, treacherous concubines... oh my! And the cinematography is gorgeous in this classic filmic way I'm totally in love with, the characters are layered and intriguing, and the fight choreography is just...! Yes, yes, and more yes. Can you tell I love this?

Flower of Evil: After the first episode... color me intrigued! I suspect not all is as it seems, as our heroine's first case exemplified, and I'm excited to see where this goes.

Hate to say it but I am totally binging Scarlet Heart. Every sage/wuxia everywhere should deposit money in Tong Hua's bank account right now. How do I recognize every plot twist/character reference/arc building? Because she did it before all you all.
Once again I FF'd through the penultimate eps of Forbidden Marriage. Yeah not even bothering with the bold thing. Not worth it. As much as I wanted to love it - can't even. So sorry but I don't think I can continue to press play.
Somebody somewhere asked if we Beanies could sit down with all Kdrama writers to discuss the endless repetition of tired tropes. I don't think that would change anything.
Having spent years teaching science to creative writing majors there is a truism we need to own up to. If you only ever read books and never experienced real life, how can you write about the real world??
Every so often se a bit of glimmer from Crash Course but really??