WEATHERING WITH YOU (2019): To be considered a great japanese animator, one needs to be able to create realistic rainfall. Makoto Shinkai is the heir apparent to legend Hayao Miyazaki. Shinkai’s formula style is teen angst, personal crisis and first love being interfered by supernatural forces that jolt the main characters to solve adult problems. His current film, SUZUME, is a smash hit in South Korea after a record setting run in Japan, so I decided to look at his previous film. It had all the elements of his classic style and does deliver at the end.

SECRET ZOO (2020): It was billed as a wacky comedy but in reality is was just . . . sad.

My biggest take away was that if I was a casting director I would cast Kim Tae Hee and Kang Sora as sisters.

Divorce Attorney - this week I got shivers from Step-Mom. Not because she is a very questionable lawyer, but because of how awful she is towards her Stepson. Luckily
Fanboy Lawyer balanced it. 📷🙂

Real Has Come - for a weekender, the start was very strong (I'm closing both my eyes about some unimportant side factors, like a very small baby and his very pregnant mother). I like both our main leads... and I was surprised by the ending of the second episode - what's going on?

Call It Love - I really liked Suho, how honest, observant and straightforward he was. Hyesung is growing partly because of him and I'm glad that she is trying to do some changes, like eating alone... and she apparently has no problem to argue with Jun. 🙂
Dongjin's and Woojoo's introverted love is so precious and I want the Universe to protect these soulmates and let them be happy together. I hope there is a way.

Romance of The Twin Flower, 5 Eps - there definitely are better dramas (and it can't compare to Tiger and Rose), but I'm enjoying it anyway and having fun with the Money-earning Heroine and her Puzzled Husband.

Still slowly continuing with c-Gaus (Never Give Up, 25 Eps) and checked Nothing But You.

CRICKET - English summer - England vs. Australia.

PM Sunak playing cricket video has 6 million views - wow

JAPAN - not much to watch - waiting for the new season. This season was quite uneven - either wow shows or low quality ones. season lacked consistency. And japan really need to get away low quality ol, virgin, not in relationships nonsense.

I had a very whirlwind two weeks with almost no drama time, but I had a long train ride on the way home this week and that gave me some time to catch up.

Our Blooming Youth: I know that this has flaws but I find it difficult to care about them. I just love all our characters so much, I love the mystery, I love the twistiness of history, and I can’t wait to see what happens on Monday.

Divorce Attorney Shin: I’m quietly enjoying this. Nothing major to complain about. Bromance gets better with each episode, backstory and sister’s mother-in-law get more interesting with each episode, and Ramyeon Shop Owner is secretly the best character.

Delivery Man: I liked this week’s episodes better than last week’s, now that we got over the awkward beginning of the romance. Very here for the team-up between Detective Dad and Young-min, and hoping we can wrap up this psychopathic doctor situation quickly so we can figure out how to revive Ji-hyun.

Reply 1988: All the 18 year olds are so great. Well, I guess now they are 24 year olds. I love that we get to see them all some years on, but am always slightly weirded out by the fact that kdrama characters go for SO LONG without doing anything about their crushes.

K-Action Movie of the Week: Kill Boksoon Strong John Wick vibes here, if half of John Wick was about him also trying to be a parent. I really enjoyed Jeon Do-yeon here, and found her at least as interesting as her role in CCIR. Same naggy mom vibes, but this time she was more multi-facetted and wasn’t like that to everyone. I loved the effect of showing a fight scene play out in multiple hypothetical ways, and thought it was clever that most of the final fight scene was done through this effect. I also thought it was cool that there was some ambiguity in the ending for that reason. Most gross sibling relationship goes to the Cha sibling (seriously, it took me forever to realize they were siblings and not just lovers). And what a pleasant surprise to see Lee Jae-wook in a cameo as the younger version of the chairman! This was fun, I’d recommend.

The Secret Romantic Guesthouse - Give this an award for pace. I hope it keeps it up.

Our Blooming Youth - The Queen took a drastic turn. I wished we've seen more of her vibes earlier than now. It's chilling.

Sacred Divorce - I like what they're doing with Seo-jin. And I found it weird that the stepmom used the family registry to force end Gi-yeong's timeout with Sung-han. Is the law different in Korea? Is familial blood ties nothing at all in Korea. Was it that Sung-han couldn't force them to correct the family registry? He's a lawyer and I am surprised he just took it like that, with a defeated look. It was disappointing. Like...why are you a lawyer if you cannot let her know the ground she's standing on is very shaky.

Pandora - I thought Jae-hyun needed protecting. Turns out he doesn't. But then, this conflicts what was doled out in one of the teasers.
For someone who just literally saved your beloved son from dying, just at the right time, I find it unthankful that she spoke so ill to Do-jin. What if he got there late? She'll kill him? Or accuse him of getting what he's been looking for all this while. And think he's not even thinking about coming into the said company for the same reasons, and I'm sure she knows it, it makes her all the more an ungrateful being.

Call It Love? - You ain't killing anybody. I'm a bit sad that Woo-joo thinks their attraction and affection is something that should not be. I know she has more knowledge than Dong-jin, but I still don't know where her conflict of interest is coming from.
That aside, awwwwwn 🤤.
Tell Sun-woo to not cause anything for my pair.

I watched the movie Confession (2022) and I loved it from start to finish. Epic and solid.

The Secret Romantic Guesthouse I would like Shi-Yeol being the hero and getting back the throne.

Our Blooming Youth The story is so slow... What the point to give them clues, if they do nothing with them during 5 episodes at least... The love story is pretty flat too.

Wednesday-Thursday : Where are the dramas?!? (the good ones, I mean)

Divorce Attorney Shin The step-mother is scary. She had no reason to act like this...

Joseon Attorney Waiting for more episodes to make an opinion. But WDH is still handsome :D

Taxi Driver 2 This season is not as good as the first one. The rythm is too slow.

Road Home I tried it for Jin Bo-Ran and if he's still hot and I love all the snow scenery, I'm kinda tired by their friends forcing them to get together. I would have prefered a natural and quiet reunion.

Divorce attorney Shin
Hopefully the two cases will conclude this week and we will see his thinking re the benefits of taking on this case

Joseon attorney - a Morality
It started clearly showing that the male lead’s morals were questionable to say the least. His tactics for getting his plan instigated meant his first client faced the full impact of the collateral damage.

Three star bar in Nishi Ogikubo -Japanese
Three school acquaintances running a bar as a resting time while they heal from their personal dilemmas.

The examination for everyone - Chinese
Slice of life, youth friendships taking the final exam during Covid in China.

Chicago typewriter -
This months watch and discuss club selected drama.

Completed
Page Turner last month’s Watch and Discuss Club watch.
I originally watched it months ago and rewatching, something I never do, was pleased to see it was still an enjoyable watch.

Recipe for farewell
Favourite episode, the undercover family BBQ! Favourite character the shop assistant in the supermarket who knows everything about everything because he was going to open multiple types of specialty restaurants or food shops😆 This is a slow paced slice of life drama like Would you like a cup of coffee and Twelve nights. It came highly recommended by the resident critic of critics on DB and I can see why. The topic is sad but seeing the family grow closer as they face adversity was a joy. The story is told well over 12 thirty minute episodes.

Audiobooks
Completed:
Convenience store woman by Sayaka Murata - Japanese
Story told in the voice of a woman with undiagnosed Autism.

If I had your face by Frances Cha - Korean
Story of 5 women living in a officetel. The story is told by 4 of the women hard hitting tale of the experiences of who have faced poverty and discrimination with glimpses into the impact of the cosmetic industry, child abuse, the sex industry and mixing with the chaebol young adults.

Call it Love - *insert incoherent screaming* I love this show to bits and am going to really feel a bit empty when it finishes :( While I don't agree with it or think it's the right thing, I do get why WJ is holding back on telling the truth (been there done that too 😭) but my face is permanently etched into a wince waiting for the other shoe to drop ever since last week's episodes.

Romantic Guesthouse - controversial opinion maybe but this is more of what I wanted OBY to be like vibes wise, it has a cute romance developing steadily and although it's light it's got enough going for me to be quite invested!

Warm on a Cold Night - a really nice C-drama, the leads are super cute and the mystery solving aspect of it is entertaining and nice too (as I write this I realise this is another drama that's giving me what I originally wanted from OBY). I've got 20 odd episodes to catch up on but I'm taking my time and will be using this to bide the waiting period for other shows.

Our Blooming Youth - I've been pressing the ff button on this one increasingly as each week passes. At this point I'm just resigned to the fact that it's just not my cup of tea but I want to see it to the end just to see what happens (and because I've come this far).

The Real Has Come - is cute, engaging and but not too serious that I'm hung up over waiting on episodes to drop (that's another brand of agony that I'm already dealing with for CIL so I can go without for another show).

Gogh, The Starry Night - I'm really just watching for KYK at this point, I'm half way through and I thought I'd warm up to the FL at some point but I'm really not.

CALL IT LOVE - I’m late to the party, but finally binged watched, and I am loving it!! I’m expecting our main couple to have the bottom to fall out in the next few episodes, but I’m hoping they will have a happy ending. They deserve it. But I’m enjoying the journey. However, as a real estate and probate attorney, it bugs me that Hee-ja was able to kick the kids out of the house without any proof such as a deed or will. Is that not mandatory in Korea, or did the kids just not think to ask? Maybe their mom will get to the bottom of it. Or better yet, Dong-jin.
ROMANTIC GUEST HOUSE - Now that we know who’s the prince, things should get interesting.
JOESON ATTORNEY The first episode is finally available, so I’ll be watching.

Current/recent:
Our Blooming Youth: This show is all over the place and I wish it had stuck to mystery - although that would be a waste of Park Hyung-shik’s eyelashes, which could carry a romance storyline all by themselves.
Bros on Foot: Amusing and sweet but sometimes draggy. The guys trying to be human sheepdogs did make me actually laugh out loud.

Older stuff:
Stove League: Holy hit-and-run, beanies! This is SO GOOD. Every episode throws another curve. Namgoong Min turns the acting equivalent of an unassisted triple play. Park Eun-bin never lets a ball get past her. I’m on ep. 11 now and afraid to jinx it, but I don’t think I have ever loved a drama as much as I love this so far.
Queen In-hyun’s Man: Ah, 42-minute episodes are the best - all forward action, no time for filler. It makes me laugh several times an episode. The makeup is heavy and dated, but the amped-up acting by everyone except ML Ji Hyun-woo is unexpectedly fun and feels right. Kim Jin-woo is both hilarious and hot hamming it up as the cad ex-boyfriend.
Gogh, the Starry Night (Go Ho’s Starry Night): Short and insubstantial, but pleasant enough as a zero-braincell watch - it helped to think of it as a live-action manwha. As with many dramas, it fails to identify attempts to force a workplace “romance” as the sexual harassment it is. On the plus side, Kim Young-kwang is a hedgehog heartthrob as the ML.

Continuing to enjoy Call It Love and Divorce Attorney Shin.
I probably would have dropped OBY if not for all the beanie interaction in the recaps. I will earn this bean!

My latest obsession is Nothing But You cdrama. Loving it a lot. Great chemistry between leads and really likeable characters. I love how sweet yet mature Song Sanchuan is. Leo is nailing this role. So it Yu Tong. Even the sister character is written with more depth. Overall, good writing and great casting. Hope it continues to be good.

Taxi Driver s2: 7.4 After a hard-to-believe streak that dragged down the score, day 11 regained credibility with a straight-from-the-headlines version of the Burning Sun scandal.

Secret Romantic Guesthouse: 6.5 Did they actually reveal something important this early? Or was it a tricky feint?

Our Blooming Youth: 7.5

Call It Love: 6.0 Too much moping. Could use some humor. Or a serial killer. Yes, my tastes are different from many Beanies. Why do you ask? And why wasn't I smart enough to drop this early instead of getting stuck in a dull bean-watch? If I go back to watching at 1.5x, do I get 1.5x the Beans?

Delivery Man: 7.0 Somehow more "enjoyable" than "good". Can't score it on originality or creativity without resorting to negative numbers or risking an antimatter explosion -- but the same can be said of 86.429% of kdramas.

Joseon Attorney: 7.1? Has promise, too early to be sure.

Duty After School: 7.0 (ep 1/3) Even more an All Of Us Are Dead clone than I expected -- and not an improvement. Is this "Duty After School" really much worse for the students than cram school after regular school on the Highway To Hell Joseon?

Finished:

_ Solomon's Perjury (2016). Very good k-drama. The last episodes (from 9 to 12) are intense and painful. The ending is bittersweet.

_ Unlock my boss (2022). It's not bad at all but I thought it was going to be lighter, funnier and more entertaining. Too many screen time for bad people here.

_ Documentary "Walking on the tidal flats in Suncheon Bay" with Yoon Si Yoon ☺️ Landscapes and wildlife in the south of South Korea.

Currently Watching:

_ Extraordinary Attorney Woo. (6 out of 16). I'm not liking this drama as much as the rest of the world, it seems... But I'll keep watching it.

_ Secret Romantic Guesthouse (4 out of 18). I'm enjoying this show a lot for now. Very classic style (in a good sense), some misteries and a bunch of nice characters.

With the exception of Taxi Driver, Asian dramaland has been a bit of wasteland as of late, and ill never waste my time or money on those two major evil streaming companies, this was a perfect time to check out some older dramas

Live (2018)
An excellent slice of life drama detailing the ups and downs that come with police work.

Prison playbook (2017)
Started this week and enjoying it so far, character driven dramas are rare and this one is nailing it so far

Call It Love I love the overall mood of this show. I like the main couple and how they changed. Although I can't help but feel that it may not be a HEA for them.

Duty After School I just picked this up today. I realized I will only tolerate HS dramas if its in a dystopian setting since I stopped watching these shows for a few years now I think. Only exception is AOUAD. Too soon to tell if I will stick with this or just wait until all eps are out to binge it.

Watching
K Dramas,
Secret Guesthouse Easy to watch
Oasis Show is doomed if they keep the love triangle
Duty after School Liked it more than I thought, don’t know cast
Apple of my eye Daily shows, hate the stereotype rich family characters. Nice to see Baek Jin-hee again.
The Real has Come Not sure if I’ll keep watching these two

C dramas
Going to set Luoyang and Science of Falling in Love on hold. Going to give Autumn Ballad a try.

YouTube

Continue watching Maigret . Wonderful tv, well written and acted. Maigret has to be one of the most laid back detectives ever. He has the most understanding wife and a great crew of detectives working for him; Sgt Lucas, Janvier, Lapointe, and Torrence.

CALL IT LOVE could well be my favourite drama this year, it will be very hard to beat. The cinematography is simply beautiful, the dialogue very good and the acting top notch. Disney has a winner here!

Not worried about the cliff-hanger in TAXI DRVER 2. They need Kim Do-gi for season 3!

Otherwise it is a bit of a draught in dramaland for me. OASIS is still watchable and I was really looking forward to Woo Do-hwan in JOSEON ATTORNEY which turns out to be a Joseon version of CHIEF KIM and ONE DOLLAR LAWYER. Not sure yet whether this is good, but I will give it a chance.

The Starry Love: Nice to see a show driven by its female characters and their choices and actions - more of this please!

It's been a while since I posted here:

OUR BLOOMING YOUTH (Ep. 15-16): For people who claim they are not rebels, the Byeokcheon people are sure acting like it. I think it's as simple as they have their base in the Gaesong shrine, were found out by the Min family during the avalanche, and bloodthirsty fish went on a rampage. The drama has dragged the mystery out too long for me to care anymore. *shrugs*

Cdrama
FOREVER AND EVER (2021): Ep. 4. I was very moved by ONE AND ONLY so I thought I'd give the sequel a go. So far it is unremarkable. :(

I am looking forward to Woo Do-Hwan's drama!

Recently finished:
When the Weather Is Fine - enjoyed it a lot, but thought the break-up was completely unnecessary, and that dimmed my enjoyment somewhat.
Hoshi Furu Yoru ni (On a Starry Night) - loved it to bits, mainly because of the adorable ML.
Autumn's Concerto (rewatch) - I knew this one wouldn't have aged well, but wanted to give it a chance anyway. Lots of FF/skipping, but overall still enjoyed the main story and the romance.
Love Me If You Dare (rewatch) - a good bit of FF/skipping through some of the crime scenes, but otherwise still a really good drama.

Currently Watching:
Our Blooming Youth - actually put this one on hold at ep 14. Gonna binge the last 6 eps once it finishes airing.
The Beauty Inside - just finished ep 11 and really hoping there's no breakup. Loving the leads together.
Warm on a Cold Night - 4 eps to go and wondering how they're going to tie up all the loose ends in 4 eps when they just introduced a new mystery. I strongly suspect who the actual person is behind the "drug cartel" and I hate that because I was really hoping he was a nice guy. I think the leads are cute together and love the Scooby gang vibe. I keep wondering if the FL's illness has anything to do with the divine flame. And let me just say that for all of it's cuteness and light-heartedness, there were 2 eps that had me out right sobbing.
The Starry Love - finished 6 eps and put it on hold while I finish Warm on a Cold Night, which will probably be today.

Call it Love: Talk about an earned kissed. Also once again I have to praise the director of this drama, s/he just knows what to do. So impressed every time with the direction.

Divorce Attorney Shin: We are almost at the end. I am glad about it, it allows the writing to be tight and it is such fun writing.

Joseon Attorney: It was fine, however I am already annoyed by the Palace angle and the fact that our attorney has an eidetic memory.

ONGOING
Divorce Attorney Shin - The divorce case makes very little sense to me. Best part of the two episodes were the scenes with Hyeong-geun and Jeong-sik.

Our Blooming Youth - Still haven't caught up and at this point I don't know if I ever will.

Secret Romantic Guesthouse - The obvious reveal came pretty quickly but this show has 18 episodes so I'm assuming there are more reversals to come?

Delivery Man - The sequence of events for the mom and Ji-hyeon's attacks really made sense. I was impressed by the smoothness of it all. The baiting of the serial killer on the other hand wasn't quite as smart.

STARTED
Planning to watch Joseon Attorney.

C-DRAMAS
Started and really enjoying Nothing But You. Love both leads so I was predisposed to liking it but it's actually good!

Am also giving Road Home another chance because people have been raving about it. It improves with some generous fast-forwarding.

Enjoy your drama watching @alathe. I know both drama are great for me and they do have such an impact even at slightest/ short scene. And yes, both had me tears and emotional wreck too.

I am with you, @daebakgrits, just joining bandwagon of Call it Love. The only bad side is that I honestly thought it was already a finished series 🤦🏻‍♀️. The torturing is begin now 😭. I binged 12 eps in one-go! Why on earth I play that series 🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️! This drama is so good (up until 12). My sincerely wish for it to be wrap it properly then 🤞🤞🤞.

I put on hold for Attorney Shin as I don't want to wait every week. Gosh, I missed this drama so bad, my husband and I enjoy it very much during our leisure time after all day of hassle at work.

CALL IT LOVE: This show hurts so good. Although I'm still hoping against hope that Dong-jin already knows who Woo-joo is (how could he not at this point?), it does seem like we're headed for a painful reveal here soon that will test their burgeoning relationship. And I admit that although I understand Woo-joo's fears of coming clean clash with her inability to stay away from the man she loves, I can't find the logic in her decision to let him believe they are in the beginning stages of a forever relationship then shred his heart to pieces by either continuing to withhold the truth and disappear, or tell him the truth and disappear. The show, however, so often subverts expectations and predictable storytelling tropes, that I can't help but trust it will all be ok. I also love how Jun and Hae-song are moving either to a romantic relationship or simply becoming deeper friends--either way, I trust the writers to do right by these characters. Finally, I suspected Hee-ja didn't actually have a right to the house, but I wish this character was less awful. I don't see how Woo-joo's father spent 13 minutes married to this shrill, selfish, stupid woman, let alone 13 years.

ROMANTIC GUESTHOUSE: Oh, I love it when a show doesn't impress me at first, and then suddenly gets way better. These two episodes were fun, interesting, and perfectly paced. And I finally cared about the romance! I hope it continues.

OASIS: I think I may have dropped this one. It's just such a mess. The FL is the only character I truly like and respect, and I think she deserves to be the star of her own drama.

REAL HAS COME: It has been a long time since I've watched a weekender, but this one grabbed me. The storytelling seems assured, and I like the characters. Excited to watch the next two episodes this weekend.

JOSEON LAWYER: As Scottie says, the opening definitely gave me "Chief Kim" vibes. I'm not sure yet if this will keep me tuning in longterm, but I'll definitely watch the next episode.

Call it love : this week's episodes, oooh the angst, the swoony-moments, Dong-Jin finally smiling... this story is so good. Woojoo should have just told Dong-Jin the truth, she missed so many opportunities and I can't take the tension it creates on her. I fear Dong-Jin would feel heartbroken when he finds out. I also felt bad for Min-Yeong and I am glad she got to give DJ's mom a piece of her mind. The mom is the only character in this drama that I find too far from reality and makjangy.

The interest of love: just two episodes to go and overall I think it is a satisfying watch. Lots of people did not like it because of the slow pace and the back and forth between the leads. I on the other hand enjoyed it because it felt real. I think it was about choices, and how love is about timing, self-love and self-destruction are connected, social status plays a part in relationships... Those are struggles real people do face, and I appreciated that. Moon Ga-Young did a phenomenal job as Su-Yeong.

This week I became a film editor due entirely to Dinner Mate. Watching on prime with a hard-to-handle fast forward made me realize just how important pacing is to any drama. The mail leads were great: gorgeous guy and fiesty/angsty gal, but lord I cared nothing about any other character. I guess I enjoyed it enough to FF my way to the conclusion.
Can't say the same about Our Blooming Youth and I'm on the verge of a permanent pause. Great eyelashes only go so far.
While searching for several Beanie recommends I stumbled on the mother lode of all sageuks, Jewel in the Palace. Only 6 eps in but I'm amazed that a 20 year old show is so unabashedly female-centric. All those great little girl faces some of which I recognize as A-listers now.
Because I so enjoyed Youn's Kitchen I am trying to get into Jing's Kitchen but the gentle charm is sorely lacking. Everything is hierarchy, titles and profit. Does it get better?

Alathe, MR. SUNSHINE is one of the truly great, classic Kdramas. If you were not an emotional wreck at the end it would have meant that there was something wrong with you. Everyone should see that drama.

I continue to enjoy DIVORCE ATTORNEY SHIN because the backstory is well developed and the relationship of that story to present events seems so organically connected.

We finished THE HEAVENLY IDOL. The ending was satisfying and it was largely a fun show even though it was not the show that was promised.

We enjoy watching SECRET ROMANTIC GUESTHOUSE even though Palace Politics plays a larger part in it than it should.

My wife absolutely loved MONEY FLOWER and it was a nice break from Chinese Costume dramas.

The new family weekend drama THE REAL HAS COME! has started off very well indeed, with a plot twist at the end of Episode 2 that no one in the audience could possibly have seen coming. The writer’s bait and switch happened so fast I got whiplash. And I am not talking about the love square that broke down as soon as it was formed, with our FL’s Ex proven to be scum- and serious questions raised as to the past between the ML and the girl his step-grandmother had decided he should marry. Plus, things are happening to and with the people around them. Messy relationships abound and this means real potential for the stories to be told over the next 48 episodes of this show.

My wife started the Chinese Costume drama EVER NIGHT and dropped it as too weird. She then watched REBIRTH FOR YOU instead and thought that it was just wonderful. How wonderful? She put everything else on hold until she finally finished it. Now she is watching WARRIOR BAEK DONG SOO because one cannot watch too many Sageuks.

She has also continued to keep up with each episode of the Sageuk OUR BLOOMING YOUTH which she really likes.

My wife also watched the HBO remake of THE TIME TRAVELLER’S WIFE (done as a drama series) and says the original movie was vastly better. Far better is the ENDEAVOUR series- the Masterpiece Theater pre-quel to the Inspector Morse dramas: she has really loved those.

I have also been enjoying the C-drama romcom PERFECT AND CASUAL and am planning to watch JOSEON ATTORNEY with my wife.

FATHER IS STRANGE (2017). 20 of 52. I was waiting until I felt really brave and strong to tackle a longish family drama. And what a totally immersive family drama this is. The secrets and lies! The mix-ups! The snark! Most of all, the comedy. I'm mesmerized by how neatly all the parts click into their grooves. At episode 20, the gears are spinning out a head-on collision between conservative and modern family values. Intelligent arguments have broken out between warring parties. The familiar faces include a youthful Ahn Hyo-seop of Business Proposal and Jung So-min of Because This is My First Life. Damn, 2017 was a good year for drama.

Our Blooming Youth: Finally some more movement on the mystery! The Byeokcheon story is definitely more interesting than the usual conflicts in sageuks. I hope the next few episodes are zippy. I'm sort of ready to be done with this drama and Minister Jo's cackling.

Heavenly Idol: Finally finished. I know it had been going downhill, but i was hoping for a better ending that what we got. We got a happily ever after but the execution was really off. It's like everyone gave up all at once.

The Glory: starting part 2. On episode 10 now. Feeling a bit nervous now that it seems like Team Bully are getting their way. But I still have confidence in Dong-eun, who likes to serve her revenge cold.

C-drama binge:

Royal Rumors (up to ep 20):> Highlight was the FL getting paired up with the stuck up princess when they were kidnapped! It was LOL! It's funny watching this after Starry Love. In Starry Love, the word, sister/jie-jie, was always filled with deep affection. Here, sister/jie jie is quite hilariously barbed. While the plot is halfhearted enough that my attention sometimes drifts, it's a fun in a cotton-candy sort of way and there are multiple romantic lines!

Miss Chun is a Litigator: Very watchable. Fast-paced investigative drama, though it looks like the drama has been cut down to the bone and then some. Makes me think I've missed a scene or 5 sometimes. Lots of good dialogue and likable characters, though it got sort of too serious at the end and ended on a cliffhanger. It was a hopeful cliffhanger, so I'm unsure of whether there will be a part 2.

Going to finish Never Give Up (C-Gaus) this weekend. I don't want to say goodbye to the drama.

The Secret Romantic Guesthouse (Episode 3-4) - Mood: D+
For all the misdirections and red herrings this show tries to throw at us, the show revealed its cards with Ban Ya: indeed, no better way to clarify who the male lead is by bringing in another female. If not that, the cliffhangers have made it clear. The romance does feel rather rushed given that it’s 18 episodes: I’m worried this is an indication of more politics down the road. It’s also really predictable if I can tell that Dan Oh’s sister is Shi Yeol’s consolation prize and Ban Ya is Yoo Ha’s consolation prize in week 2: to be fair, I’ve watched too many dramas that nothing mediocre will ever surprise me anymore? But oh well.

Delivery Man (Episode 9-10) - Mood: D-
Lmao so the protagonists caught onto the villain only because they happened to catch him smiling at a funeral? And yes, it is a travesty to have made such a predictable thriller, which by nature of the genre is supposed to be twisty. The romance’s progression is also downright ugly when the audience also happens to know more than the characters and for many weeks already at that. I honestly doubt there’ll be anything in the finale that’ll surprise us: it’ll be the same old classic psychopath takedown coupled with the joyous discovery that she’s actually not a ghost followed by some sort of generic happy ending.

Call It Love (Episode 11-12) - Mood: D
Oof, Woo Joo does as all k-drama female leads do and consummates with the male lead before telling him the whole truth? I should’ve have expected this nonsense given that this show’s backstory was entirely makjang but it still hurts. Hye Sung’s characterisation also took a nosedive as she flings herself at Joon without any warning: I guess the silver lining is that we’ll probably not see any sort of crush from Joon towards Woo Joo given the lack of airing time left? But, that means next week is going to be chaos and drama in the terribad way with the supposed reveals and nobody looks forward to such nonsense.

Taxi Driver 2 (Episode 9-10) - Mood: D-
The 2nd half finally brings about some movement from the villain, whose arc lacks any sort of meaningful integration in the procedural-only-no-plot narrative. And we also get a pure-bait-nonsense cliffhanger this week: it’s obvious Do Gi prepared for the sabotage so that he could go undercover. Ha Joon also targetted Do Gi’s trauma but he didn’t seem affected at all? I also read an interview from Shin Jae Ha which clearly shows that he’s intentionally typecasting himself in the role and it’s worrying if he thinks this is the way to popularity: he’s not entirely wrong but he must pick his roles well. And hasn’t.

I have watched BRAIN WORKS and loved it so so much. It is very rare that I rush to my phone and remember regretfully that I have no more episodes of the show left to watch.

Now I'm rewatching TRAIN because there is no way I would start a new show right after one I have loved so much.

Finally finished Flower of Evil (whose title I often get confused with Money Flower). Took a while to get through the last few episodes, although I did like the finale, as it focused on the leads' relationship, and their acting together is great. Would like to see them in another series without an irritatingly obvious serial killer.

Started on Revolutionary Love despite the lack of enthusiastic reviews. The leads are charming and it's an easy watch except for the ceo-dad-on-chaebol-heir domestic violence (why can't we have nice rom-coms these days?).

There is not enough romance nor Song Joong Ki smiles for my friend, so she paused Reborn rich and we just started Jealousy incarnate and this drama doesn't miss a minute of exposition. I knew I was in for a serious SLS... indeed.
Taxi driver is the adrenaline shoot. Last week was so stressful : Do Ki went on an operation table voluntary and underwent an anaesthesia. Shin Jea Ha is definitely on the bad side.
Costume A league of noblemen was fun and pretty.

My watch of older drama continues.
I started Two Cops and I think I was confused about the premise so I was surprised when it wasn't a straight body/soul swap but instead more of a sharing of one body. That's a bit different. I think it's cool when actors have to portray different characters while already playing their main character (ex: taxi driver when he plays different personas or the western show IZombie). I liked the lead actress more in May I Help You?. I don't know if she got better at acting or the role in MIHY was better suited for her, but I think she was better in that drama. Plus, I wasn't really feeling her relationship with either guy (one seems too old & the other too scheming) nor did I buy her as a journalist. I think she was supposed to be an experienced journalist but she was always sidelined but at most, to me, she seemed like a rookie trying to establish herself. (Maybe she really is a rookie and I'm forgetting)

I watched Kairos and timey wimey shenanigans are always a weird one. The story is good and well acted but there were many times when I was just like "why are they going this far?" I know it's a show and you're supposed to let these things go but maybe that's some kind of benchmark for me? Whether I can get totally lost in a story and naturally do the mental gymnastics and/or rationalize enough to go along with things and not care about flaws or whatever; just enjoy what I'm watching. Anyways, back to the show. I wondered many times why the mother wouldn't just tell someone what the hell was going on. Why the wife had to go so far just to reinvent herself. Those were the main two that confused me most. I think the male lead, for all intents and purposes, acted as realistically as possible given the information he had. Maybe there were times when the female lead was reckless but I also thought she was fairly realistic as someone who acted from an emotional place and that's why she needs people who are more objective or pragmatic and grounded.

My current watches

Peak Time is still interesting to me though I don't remember the acts as much as I did for the survival & rivals rounds. I could never be a judge because there's so many people to focus on and so many dynamic & passionate performances, I would just have like one group in mind for any given challenge. Like this week, the very first group went so hard, they blew out some lights and that was a standout moment to me but I don't remember the performance vs the trio who went with some cute concept. I remember them more because it's only 3 of them and they were 30 somethings going for a cute concept which was kinda cringe but then when they performed, it worked. I don't really remember any thing after them. Sidenote: I know this is an idol show but can these people, like the trio or the duo, not debut as performers like G.O.D? I don't know much about them aside from 길 (english title=> road) but I don't think...

Seeing some positive feedback on Divorce Attorney Shin, which makes me think I should give it a chance. I wrote it off after reading the premier week’s recaps, but maybe I should watch it and see. I do love a good bromance, and Cho Seung-woo is just *chef’s kiss*. One thing though. Is there romance? I hope there isn’t any romance. If there must be, I hope it’s handled tastefully (I’m assuming it would between the ML and the woman who cheated then got divorced).

The Real Has Come: I just want to watch today's episode. This show is totally my jam.
Our Dating Shim (completed): no idea what was that in episode 7, but it was a nice ride overall. I liked this drama a lot. Super cute couple.
Personal Taste (rewatch - dropped).
Lie To Me (rewatch): having way too much fun with this show. Just loving it.
I miss Eun Hye unnie so much. 🥺

Variety shows

HyeMiLeeYeChaePa: These girls are so extra. They never fail to make me laugh. I should bad for Lee Jung and her retirement LOL but tbh that challenge was hard. I knew all those songs and the only one I could guess was Fiction. I'm still shocked I didn't get Move right away, my first thought was Kai's Mmmh.
No Math School Trip: I know this is a variety show, but I wouldn't care about screen time and stuff, I would protect my food no matter what. All those "all or nothing" bets they do make no sense to me. JUST EAT WHAT YOU GOT MAN. I would probably be like "hyung, don't mess with my food".
Peak Time: (Re)watching it with a friend that hates kpop. Doesn't like the songs but enjoys all the drama. It's fun watching the show with someone else.

PS. I started my "rewatch challenge" so think I'll be watching a lot of old shows this month.

OUR BLOOMING YOUTH: I'll take this week as show's lowest/most dragged point and move forward with hope and fighter's determination. You better give us more meaty stuff (pls stop with silly humor, it's not the time for this and you're not doing it right at all!) and not just endless annoyance next time, drama! I'll even take pure angst and rampage, thank you very much.

ROMANCE OF A TWIN FLOWER: I know I said it's not binge-worthy... well, I'm taking that back. It's surprisingly okay, esp if you're not looking for anything grand or epic. Once again, it's no ROTAR by any means - more like sillier and younger version of Dream of Splendor in terms of leads' occupations (businesswoman and official), multiple lovelines (4! no, really) and heavy emphasis on female friendship/cooperation. My personal faves are bodyguard and courtesan, they have the best chemistry and most organic relationship so far. Leads are fine - sweet, but nothing spectacular - yet. There's still 18 episodes more, who knows... As long as censorship allows Ding Yuxi to deliver his usual flirty magic, that is.

JOSEON ATTORNEY: With ML's shrewdness and problem-solving pace I wonder why is this 16 episodes instead of 8 max... Oh, right, we also have to develop a (impossible class-wise) romance and SML (why did they turn Hakyeon into stalker? and why his first appearance's gat looked like someone chewed on it?). Music, color filter and hanboks are good. Let's see if story will be on par with the pretty. And I loved the expressive donkey)))

I somehow couldn't get past ep 1 of the new shows (Divorce Atty, Call It Love) even if beanies loved these shows. Also dropped OBY, Delivery Man and Heavenly Idol.. only show left is Taxi Driver2. I started Queen and I (Queen In Hyun's man) and binged it for 3 days! This was truly a romance done well.

I still continue watching variety shows though, and I find myself leaning into these lately. I just want my laughs and do not want to get emotionally invested.

Greetings, Beanies -

I rewatched ANOTHER MISS OH. The first time I saw it I loved it. The music was so good. The side characters were my favorites.

Then, I watched it again & didn't like it as much; the male lead annoyed me. I saw plot holes, etc.

I just watched it yet again. I loved it and this time it was thought provoking, making me think about the passions of being young, about friends & family & first impressions etc etc etc. I wish I had a bff so we could discuss it for hours on end.

I think it's interesting how my perception changes over time. Probably depends on my mood?

Question: does anyone know the name of the music - I think it's a tango - that appears in a couple of the scenes? The female lead & her mom dance to it in their house & later someone else does; not sure who. Might be the lawyer played by Kim Ji-seok. I want to put that music on and dance around my kitchen when I am overcome with emotion. haha.

Also watching HOT STOVE LEAGUE, which, as others have mentioned, is excellent.

Oh, & have started OLD MISS DIARY because, after rewatching ANOTHER MISS OH I wanted to see things featuring Ye Ji-won. It's on VIKI & it says there are 232 episodes!!! Wow.

Finished DIARY OF A PROSECUTOR. I confess to skipping parts of this.

I've started a number of shows on Viki & have become stalled. Might finish them, might not.

Have fun with all the watchy watchy watchy.