Hello Beanies!!!!

Long time, no What We’re Watching for me, but I’m back!

The Kidnapping Day: What can be said about this show that hasn’t already been said? It’s not perfect, but god damn, it has so much heart that I don’t think anyone cares. Myeong-jun and Ro-hee will forever live in my memory, I’m convinced. Just thinking about them brings a smile to my face, as well as a pain in my chest. Yu-na was so, so spectacular at the end of episode 11. I’m glad it was preempted the other week because it means we get to enjoy this show’s presence for a few days longer.

Twinkling Watermelon: I’m having a lot of fun with this show! A lot of people seem very impatient for answers, but I’m totally fine just being along for the ride. I’m one of the (few?) people who love Eun-yu, and the beautiful scenes between Eun-gyeol and both of his parents go without saying.

A Good Day to Be a Dog: It’s fun! And cute! I could definitely do without the past storyline, but I really like the scenes between Hae-na and Seo-won. They have some great, open conversations that are just enjoyable to watch. Here is hoping it stays as fluffy and cute as Hae-na’s dog form! (The real dog, not the CGI monstrosity)

Evilive: Not usually the type of show I go for, but I thought I would give it a shot and… yeahhhhhh definitely not for me. 😶 Sorry not sorry, show.

I have dutifully been avoiding anything and everything related to Doona! because I will be watching it with my friends on Sunday, but fingers cross it’s enjoyable!

Have a great weekend, Beanies!

Live watches:
Twinkling Watermelon
This is my favourite watch each week. I can’t guess what happens next and there are so many sparkling moments it makes smile and touches the heart. Now I have to decide what drama to drop to place this in my top 10.

A good day to be a dog
Loving this drama, great webtoon adaption. Had me laughing out loud. So upset with the two week wait for episode 4.

Completed
Doona
It was an ok adaption of the webtoon, they captured the female lead and the tone of the story with a few alterations and added elements. I didn’t like the female lead in the webtoon but stayed because the story was ok.

A quick Google search came up with various figures for the smoking rates in South Korea varying from 31-19% of the population so this may explain why they had the female lead smoking unique cigarettes and focusing on the sound of cigarettes burning. In a Korean film I watched recently, they literally described that sound as a feature of a particular brand. How much does cigarette PPL pay for smoking to be so dominant in K dramas and films when the majority of the population does not smoke and figures are reported as declining.

The Adultlike - webdrama on YouTube
Great drama about a group of friends in their 30’s navigating work and relationships.

Marriage with me? Seriously? J drama
Very average drama not worth holding out for the reveal of why he chose her.

Turn to me Mukai-kun - Japanese drama
I quite liked this drama showing a 33 year old assessing his life and relationships. It had quite an interesting look at adult relationships from different perspectives.

All these years - Chinese film
Romance with two friends who met at school then lost contact and reunite years later as adults.

My love story! - Japanese film
A school romance with a gentle giant who can’t see the girl he falls in love with at first sight also loves loves him back. He assumes she loves his very popular friend so does all he can to get them together.

Shades of the heart -film
A novelist living abroad returns to Korea to publish his next book. His encounters with various people on his return leads him to start penning his next piece.

Kim Jiyoung born 1982 -film
Rewatch for Beanies Bookclub discussion on 12th November

My worst neighbour - film
Rom com with neighbours with poor sound insulation. Has an incident of toilet humour but other than that is light silly watch.

Webtoon corner
Second Lead Syndrome.
Secret Playlist in prep for drama drop in November.

Book corner
The poppy war - R. F. Kuang
Just started this one on Audible.

Days at the Morisaki bookstore by Satoshi Yagisawa
A woman goes to stay at her Uncle’s bookstore following a crisis in her life and finds hope and new direction from the books she reads and the people she meets while she is there.

Miss Kim knows and other stories by Cho Namjoo
Short stories exploring experiences of women at different stages of life. An...

LIVE WATCHES
Strong Girl Nam-soon
This continues to entertain me. I'm less taken with the faux-seriousness about the dangers of drugs and capitalism than I am with the ways that our three lead strong women interact as representations of what means to be a woman, connected to other women in a family unit, over the course of your life...daughter (all three), mother (two of them, so far), grandmother (one, so far), and then, of course, what it might also then mean to act as "just yourself."

Doona
OK. I had some hours deliciously alone last night, and I'm as surprised as anyone else that what I did with them was start Doona.

I am sort of loving it.

I'm through half of episode 4, and I'm FF-ing when I feel like it, but folks, there's no male trauma. In fact, when our ML reveals what he feels his most shameful past action is to date (it's sweet and not that shameful), you know what Suzy does? She laughs at how normal it is.

Not only that, when Suzy/Doona gets real mad and starts shouting (obscenities) about how it feels to be treated the way she is treated, or how it feels to be condemned for just acting like herself--I'd wager a guess that I'm not alone here in having felt that way too. I've twice been surprisingly affected by how well she expresses her frustrations at being trapped in her expected role. If she does it again, I may shout with her.

The visuals of the show pretty much focus wholly on how men like to look at women, but hey, it actually sort of works here so far to emphasize Doona's experience. When I'm done I'll head over to the Hangout. I doubt it's gonna be this good through the end, but I'm a sucker and will always hope for the best.

FROM THE RESERVES
Mad Dog
The Community Fan Wall Watch ends this weekend, people! Come one, come all!!

ON DECK
Just waiting for Castaway Diva to start airing, and for Kidnapping Day to stop airing so I can safely start it!

Twinkling Watermelon: Eun Gyeol and his mom,😭😭😭😭. The love story between him and his parents are so sweet. His first meeting with his grandfather must have been so jarring. That they were just willing to let be silent and non-communicative is WILD. At least send her abroad, that was just evil. As for fake Se Kyong, I feel bad for her, her life is just trauma. I did have to laugh at the drama’s rendition of NY though, that was hilariously bad.

A Good day to be a Dog: AWWW I love this little drama. It is so cute and our OTP is adorable. FOR WHY do we have to wait weeks for this.

The Killing Vote: Ah the fracturing of our heroes has arrived. I love that Moo Chan thinks you have to be bad to be competent, sir you can be both a competent police officer and a good one.

The Worst of evil: Poor poor Jun Mo, talk about being caught between a cliff side and arrow to the heart. He is fighting so hard to finish this case so he can go back to his wife, but every single force is fighting to keep him under. JCW is working hard. That kiss with the Chinese Princess was when filmed by the director and JCW, he was FIGHTING that kiss, yikes.

Doona: This was fine. The ending was dissatisfying, not even because they didn’t end up together but because it was just…..It was good to see Yang Se Jong again. Also, the cameos in the drama were really great. The amount of smoking though, yikes. Those kisses must have tasted like ash and she must have reeked of smoke, ugh, lol.

Evilive: It was fine, the 2nd episode was better than the first for me. I hope they figure out a direction for the drama though, the writer seems confused.

Strong Girl Nam Soon: It is getting better and better. Plus, our OTP is ADORABLE.

My Dearest: Our tragic leads are going to see each other soon. Gil Chae FIGHTING.

CRICKET - This week - good matches

All Matches - lack that competition - every match one team is way ahead of others.

2 upsets - yes - i'm happy

Afghan boys winning against England and

Netherlands winning against South Africa

Weak teams you side with - This is what a beautiful romance is - heart right in your hands - these feelings, warmth and affection for cricket that makes you figth on.

I can see the love - i can feel love - This is what real world gives you - lots and lots of +ve love and as usual it comes from Sports.

COMPLETED
Kiss Sixth Sense -Wanted to watch more Yoon Kye-sang so binged this one. I thought it was pretty fun until the last episode hit. Now I'm just left with annoyance.

ONGOING
My Dearest Part 2 - The show sure jumped through a lot of hoops to bring Gil-chae into Jang-hyun's orbit and yet, somehow, never actually let them meet. I did like that the show documents a lot of the atrocities common people underwent during the war.

Strong Girl Nam-soon - So much cuter in Week 2. The mom's strangely intense acting is definitely a choice but the rest is fun. Bong-Min cameo 🥰.

Twinkling Watermelon - Eun-gyeol and Chung-ah almost made me cry. I love that the MLs are so sweet and gentle with her - something she has severely lacked so far.

The Worst of Evil - After last week's ending, it was only a matter of time before Jun-mo moved into actively killing people. JCW did a great job in that scene. Finale next week - don't know if there's a way for Jun-mo and Eui-jeong to get a happy ending here on out.

A Good Day to Be a Dog - Liked the way Hae-na protected Seo-won. Need more Bo-gyeom. Still don't understand why this is 1 episode a week.

The Kidnapping Day - Oof the heartbreak at the end. Ro-hee is smart and resourceful so she's going to make everything all right. I refuse to believe otherwise!

C-DRAMAS
Romance on the Farm - Very interesting premise and no court politics (so far!). We do get unbelievably infuriating family members instead but I've just started skipping their scenes in chunks. Rooting for our FL and her 1000 taels of gold.

A GOOD DAY TO BE A DOG (Ep 3): The awkwardness leads to some humorous moments, but I really dislike the idea that Mr. Lee is an evil, past life noble who is out to get our OTP. I said after the first week that the past life connection was unnecessary in the context of the premise and present day school dynamic. There is no reason for the cute show to pivot into some dark mode. Show, Please buck that trend.

TWO LIGHTS: RELUMINO (2017 Short Film; 30 min) Han Ji Min and Park Hyung Sik star as two young adults with vision disabilities. Park has retinitis pigmentosa, a rare eye diseases that affect the retina (the light-sensitive layer of tissue in the back of the eye). RP makes cells in the retina break down slowly over time, causing vision loss. RP is a genetic disease that people are born with but his symptoms have come on recently and he is having a hard time adjusting to his situation. Han has lost vision in one eye at an early age and has blurry vision in the other. Both try to live through their disabilities. They meet at a photography club for the blind which an interesting avenue to explore this subject matter. As they get to know each other, they continue to work their jobs with their other senses. Park uses a Relumino, a visual aid viewer for people with low vision. He brings it to the class photograph exhibition to give Han a chance to “see” how he feels about her. It was a nice, simple and compact slice-of-life drama. This short was made by Samsung and it was posted on a video sharing site. I found it on my YouTube feed.

A MUSE (Eungyo, 2011): Every country has its art nouveau films with avant-garde directors pushing the boundaries of societal norms and cultural relationships. This Korean film follows the same format as other risky topics: an old artist (famous poet) in retirement becomes infatuated by a stray, lonely teenager who has her own motivations as a temptress. The poet’s protege, a failed writer, is jealous which leads to betrayal through a series of incidents. The film is shot in a very quiet, artsy style. Overall, it was just an average movie for its genre. It was Kim Go-Eun’s debut work at age 20.

I’m enjoying my trio of shows ranging from the sunny A Good Day To Be A Dog to the heartfelt yet funny Twinkling Watermelon and the full sturm and drang of My Dearest. I decided to skip the pile-on in the My Dearest recaps because despite the episodes’ flaws, the characters and their journey still have a hold on me. And the end of #13? Oh, they got me good, again!

On the fence regarding Strong Girl. The comic book take, with its broad strokes and little depth, isn’t appealing to me. Will try two more episodes. Live Your Own Life—in a separate category as a weekender—chugs along.

Decided to watch Extraordinary You for my reassessment of Rowoon. He did well at the start, but it was really Kim Hye-yoon who grabbed my attention. But then the plot began to drag, the characters dulled, and it was tough to finish even with fast-forward. But I was impressed by Lee Jae Wook toward the end. He really added nuance and depth to a character who’d been too easy to hate.

I think I’ll skip The King’s Affection for now, and watch one of the other Beanie reccos next week if I have time despite my travels. Or should I wait till we decide on the next community watch now that you’ve all completed Mad Dog?

Strong Girl Nam-soon: 8.5 Silly and over-the-top in an upbeat antidote-to-My-Dearest sort of way. Watch or rewatch daily as needed to combat gloom and depression.

My Saddest Dearest, pt 2: 6.0

The Kidnapping Day: 10.0! Day 10 = Day of Kidnapping a Cop. I guess she had to kidnap him so we could have so much fun listening to her chew him out for being incompetent. Day 11 = Holy crap that kid can ACT!! 😲😲😢😭
The ending of day 11 reminds me of the scene in Mother when they get caught, so now I want to retitle this show as "Father".
Also, if younger Yu-na ever decided to throw a temper tantrum because she didn't think it should be bedtime or she didn't want to eat her vegetables, her parents never would have stood a chance.

Good Day to Be a Dog: 7.5

Killing Vote: 6.0

Doona!: 7.5 (ep 1 / 3) Mostly Harmless. But does our upcoming Castaway wannabee Diva have any idea what pressure she is in store for if she "succeeds"?

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When everyone is done with the Dramabeans ratings pages, scroll way down and click on "Resources" at the bottom for more oldies-but-goodies, including
http://www.dramabeans.com/faq/

and when you have a lot of spare time
http://www.dramabeans.com/top-posts/

Then go buy the book.

I am a happy drama watcher with so many good dramas on right now.

A GOOD DAY TO BE A DOG (ep.3)—This is my unexpected dopamine boost between the cute dogs and the even cuter couple. I think elements that could be cringy or cross a line work because the drama does not take itself seriously. So far this adaptation is capturing the whimsy and emotional beats as well as the surprising moments of poignancy that is in the original webtoon (and that was sorely lacking in the OTHER adaption I shall not name).

TWINKLING WATERMELON (ep.8)—finally he met his mom! This is the relationship I was waiting for.
I don’t even know what to call this drama’s relationship polygon. I am just enjoying how fun it is to watch. The writer plays with appearance and reality to bring out the comedy as misunderstandings and feelings zing and ping.
I think my biggest takeaway though is how impressive Choi Hyun Wook is as an actor; I will be watching his future career closely and going back into his past filmography.

DOONA! (ep.2)—Honestly, I would never have expected Yang Se Jong and Bae Suzy to have this kind of chemistry together. I am going to enjoy this particular friends to lovers transition.

KIDNAPPING DAY (ep. 7)—I understand now why several Beanies mentioned being pulled away from PARALLEL WORLD for this one. Everything is working together but the magic is really our reluctant kidnapper turned hero and his genius “victim”. I am now in the section where the tension is ratcheting up and I am trying to survive—I just want happy endings!

PARALLEL WORLD (ep 25)—I want to know how Chang Dong fits into this! And why do I suspect body swapping between Luxi and Qingzhi?! But don’t tell me if I am crazy or adeptly picking up plot crumbs. I am keeping away from all spoilers.

OTHERWISE:

Looking forward to JIMIN’s documentary coming out next week!
We have a new King in KING OF MASKED SINGER but we had to wait 4 weeks to hear his voice again due to network preemption ( at the same time this is happening to A GOOD DAY TO BE A DOG. Sob).
Reading Elizabeth LIM’s SIX CRIMSON SWANS, a retelling of the Grimm Brothers’ “Six Swans” that I highly recommend, as well as listening to QUEEN OF ATTOLIA on audiobook.

Current/recent:
My Dearest part 2: This show is going to kill me - because I’m going to die of frustration with the writer. Ep. 13 went in circles. Lee Chung-ah’s presence is the only thing that brings a little dignity to that absurd character.
The Kidnapping Day: Continues to be the BEST. Oddly, I think the delayed-episode schedule worked well for the overall pacing - the ep. 11 emotional cliffhanger is so far out over the cliff’s edge, and the show has hit every note so perfectly. Everything is in place for a spectacular finale. Please don’t fail us.
A Time Called You: Completed, reasonably satisfactorily. I’m not sure I would have grasped the time convolutions if I hadn’t seen the TW original, but the experience also suffered from watching so soon after seeing that. I appreciate the tighter pacing and storytelling of the Korean version, and Jeon Yeo-been is fantastic as the dual FL. Ahn Hyo-seop is fine here; he just isn’t quite up to her level. Worth watching - but wait a while if you’ve recently seen the TW drama.
Twinkling Watermelon: This is funny, heartfelt, clever, sweet, thoughtful, well-executed - and leaves me indifferent. It’s me, TW, not you. On hold and maybe dropped, at least for now.
A Good Day to Be a Dog: Nothin’ but cute so far. I’m (reluctantly) staying out of the recap threads so I can experience the drama as it unfolds without any webtoon-based expectations.
Doona!: Ick. The FL is deeply unpleasant and not in a way that makes me curious what about what makes her tick - more in a way that makes me want to take a shower. Dropped at ep. 1.

Older shows:
Mad Dog: Group watch on the fanwall. The plot is very plotty but Team Mad Dog is a stellar found family and Woo Do-hwan is Woo Do-hwan, and that’s already enough for a fun ride.
W: Two Worlds: Yet another rewatch. I tell myself I’m just going to watch a few scenes, and three hours later I realize I’m all-in again. This show is crack.

Live Your Own Life
I'm here more for the lighter parts, like Aspiring Actress at the audition 😂, than the heavier ones (loan sharks, terrible marriage of Oldest Oppa)... and I definitely enjoy more of funny Hajoon, now openly pulling Hyoshim's pigtails. 😁 (I watched his grin after hanging up more than I want to admit.) His cousin Taemin can be swoony, but I still think he is not the right man for Hyoshim. Grandma is settling down at the rooftop of Hyoshim's house, with her usual grace. And everyone seems to love her. Me too.

Watermelon
Some things don't make sense to me (especially about Chungah family), but I don't care much as the humor and emotional beats are just so well done. Yichan and Chungah are so cute and tender together... and then they top it by Eungyeol signing to Chungah.💕💔

Dog Day
So cute and adorable. 😍
And although I have not read the webtoon, it's giving me an impression of a well done adaptation (and keeping the webtoon vibes).
Btw, who is Mr. Lee? Deity? Mountain Spirit?

Kill Me, Heal Me, recaps, 10eps
Inspired by @sp2022 I just wanted to glimpse at the first episode and refresh my memory... and I couldn't stop. Now I'm half way through and wish I had more time and could rewatch. It still looks so good, even after nearly 9 years.

Still watching It's a Good Day to Be a Dog. Ah, so many puns, and little things that won't translate well.

I was also surprised by Romance on the Farm. It's better than I expected.

I remembered the Japanese drama idea(s) from last week I forgot...

So there are stereotypical Japanese personality types...

Tsundere, cold exterior, but warm interior.

yandere cute until you get too close to them.

kuudere cold, serious, but soft and sweet.

yangire seem friendly and nice, and cute, but change to aggressive later.

dandere rarely speaks and is shy.

If those are the stereotypical extreme Japanese personality types, the question is can the character types be with their polar opposites?

For example, a tsundere, be paired with someone that seems cute and fluffy, maybe even lolita type, but then that person turns out to be cold when gotten close to? Usually Tsundere are men and the pairing is with someone genki female, right? But if the genki kawaii person suddenly flips to cold, it would be really entertaining and funny. And you can flip the sexes here. (Lolita genki kawaii man suddenly turning cold? lol And a tsundere, bossy woman suddenly turning timid?) I think actors would like the challenge of playing against the usual gender types and the sudden switch.

I think it would be funny to see them switch places. Just as the Tsundere is getting warm and fuzzy, their partner is getting to be cold out of embarrassment, fear of commitment/abandonment, etc. And there is a ton one can do to explain why (such as psychological attachment theory), etc and play it for gags and voice overs.

Since Japan tends to be really good at deep diving into characters and motivations, it might be really good to get into that.

Even funnier would be maybe yandere paired with a yangire? Descent into total chaos. Honestly, seeing this as a horror/mystery series would be fantastic. Romance between the protags going off the rails in weird ways brought to the tonal extremes with manic laughter, etc. Making it convincing would be fun. Maybe they could solve stalking and kidnapping cases together while they slowly go off the rails as they get closer romantically, but the argument for their INTENSE love of each other still somehow makes sense?

And then for the deredere, pair them with someone loud, outspoken who often has a foot in their mouth so tends to overspeak and is often embarrassed, but too awkward to shut up.

kuudere also paired with their polar opposite. Someone who is not monotone and has a slapstick sense of humor and passionate about everything and emotional about everything.

I'm aware all of this originally plays with tatemae (建前) v. honne (本音), but sometimes people put on awkward loud masks to mask quieter feelings and failings, so it might be a good way to delve into the psychology of people and characters. Plus you can coin the terms? And I know Japan really likes doing this kind of thing. With a touch of humor, but...

Dropped: Strong Girl Nam-soon - I’ll watch some Byun Woo Seok highlights while waiting for his next show with Kim Hye Yoon(!!). I can tell from all the posing he did for the past 4 episodes that the writer ain’t writing at all.

Doona! (Series review)
That was better than I thought? To be fair, my expectations was that of a gender-reversed Nevertheless and that’s such a low bar to clear (though I was feeling scared for Yang Se Jong given that this was his comeback project). In short, the characters were pretty bland and the story is as cliche as it can get (Won Jun harem followed by love obstacles), but I’m always glad to see more of Kim Do Wan. Does anyone know if he’s completed his mandatory army service?

A Good Day to Be a Dog (Episode 3) - Mood: C
With all the other school staff sans the leading trio being uninteresting plot devices, it’s hard to get enthused in the plot if it tries all types of ways to force the OTP together, not to mention the 2ML doing exactly just that as well. Yul is the exception with his playful banter that gives the FL space to breathe under the stress of her secret. 2 weeks for 1 episode is a big sigh: MBC is really repeating the exact broadcasting snafus as SBS did. Making people wait for new content in 2023 just isn’t it?

Twinkling Watermelon (Episode 7-8) - Mood: C+
I’m not convinced that we need romance between Eun Yu and Eun Gyeol but the show is clearing going there with that slow motion hair flicking shot so yeah (though she looks like her mom and it’s not like there were any lovely vibes between them, so I’m confused as to how he’s falling for her). I hope Eun Yu stops it because of her relationship with Eun Ho in the present but then again, she was intending to kill herself so I’m not sure if that’s a factor at all. But regardless, we finally got the Eun Gyeol teaching Cheong Ah sign language scenes and they were glorious! I hope the second half gives us more of the feels?

The Kidnapping Day (Episode 10-11) - Mood: C-
Hmm, I can’t honestly say I’m really enjoying this show now beyond any scene Ro Hee is in: the plot has kinda gone down a very large drain with the antagonists while Myung Jun’s decision to entrust Hee Ae in Hye Eun’s hands is baffling even after Sang Yoon’s warning, not to mention the possibility of the security guard being Hye Eun’s biological dad. Hope it ends well?

The Killing Vote (Episode 9) - Mood: D-
Ok, they had so much trouble getting into Lee Min Soo’s house in previous episodes but now our FL can suddenly penetrate all the way into his lair? That makes no sense! Of course, we end on a cliffhanger with the FL in danger after finding out the truth that the audience has already found out in the first half of the show. And it’s still trying to bait us with No. 3’s identity?

Live Watches
The Killing Vote: I’ll be honest, I’ve never been more confused. But, in a good way? Maybe we should make a chart of all the confirmed Gaetals and their numbers?

The Kidnapping Day: Still recovering from the emotional rollercoaster I went on in episode 11. Tearing people apart (like, literally, physically tearing) is always heartbreaking, but when it’s a traumatized and exploited kid and her protector and father figure? I’m devastated. We all knew it was coming and it was still so devastating. Happy ending or we riot.

A Time Called You: I still have the last two episodes left but wow I’m loving this more than I was expecting to. I don’t really trust Netflix to make good original dramas very often, and I wasn’t sure what to think of a remake of another drama, but I’m swooning and gasping exactly where they want me to.

A Good Day to Be a Dog: Yul was one of my favs when I read the webcomic and I’m relieved to discover that so far, he’s a gem in the drama too. I could watch him and Seo-won interact all day, if I didn’t already want to watch Hae-na and Seo-won interact all day.

Older Dramas
Revenant: In honor of spooky season, this is the next selection I convinced my husband to watch with me. Also, I figured I’d be less scared watching with someone else hahaha! We just watched the first two episodes so far, so plenty of setup, but I’m into it. I wasn’t sure how many effects they would need for a show with so many supernatural elements, but they are pulling it off well with mostly just shadows and mirrors. Sold!

GOOD DAY TO BE A DOG (Ep. 3)
Are we surprised I’m watching this? Happy to find an enjoyable light hearted rom com, with plenty of cute puppies and doggos to give me a serotonin boost

DOONA! (Ep. 1-3)
Doona is the Sad Girl version of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl . She revolves around Won-jun’s timetable, has no friends apparently but is sociable, depressed and smokes but in a hot way (I guess?) and is portrayed in a very male gazy way. I know I’ve only watched three episodes and maybe Doona gets more development later on but it ain’t looking good so far. I’ll probably finish it tho, got nothing else to do while I wait for CASTAWAY DIVA

Also watching KIDNAPPING DAY & MY DEAREST

Twinkling Watermelon If this drama was focused on Chung-Ah, it would have been so good.

Wednesday-Thursday ; I missed Destined with You 😭

A Good Day to Be a Dog It's fun and light for now.

Strong Girl Nam-soon I would have cut the mum's hair instead...

My Dearest They have 7 episodes to make this couple happy... I have doubts.

Arthdal Chronicles: The Sword of Aramun I watch it when I have nothing else and I'm bored... So I'm very behind.

The Worst of Evil I think they should remind Junmo that his role is to find evidences against GY, not making him the King of the drugs...

Doona! It was so boring... I hated Suzy's haircut and clothes and her way to smoke eveytime.

Hold my Hand at Twilight I started this Japanese drama, the actress is just so charming.

Behind Your Touch : I enjoy all the offensive jokes. In this time where everyone seems to be easily offended even by the pettiest thing, this show doesn’t hold back with their butt touching antics or male cops overworking female vet for his benefit. My complaints with the show are its gone to dark toward the end with all those deaths and not enough romance building between the leads. But overall, it was a fun watch.

Arthdal 2 : The change of the main casts was okay at best. I still prefer SJK and KJW, but LJG doing quite good even though not as good as SJK, but SSK just fall so far behind KJW performance. Despite that, I’m still enjoying the show and admiring the archetypal and originality of this well written story. But there is this one part where I found not making any sense which when Tanya denying the existence of gods. I mean, girl having all that super powers but concluded that supernatural being is total bogus? Much better if she name them by different name and create a whole new legend instead of rejecting the whole idea of gods. For Tagon, he is consistent from beginning to the end. A war hero destroyed by his feeling of insecurity cause by traumatic childhood. The one who lift him up to the top of hirearchy and the one who drag him down is himself. And Taealha probably the best villain of the year for me. She is smart, have good intuition, strong and quick witted. She just can’t be conquered. What makes her also remarkable is the way she is greedy for the throne and willing to kill Tagon for it, but she is also have pity and feeling sorry toward him. That somehow makes her human instead of completely evil. Though she betrayed him, Taealha never swore his loyalty to anyone else but Tagon. The top notch acting is definitely help to elevate the character. Kim Ok Vin owned Taealha.

Strong Girl GNs : I have severe dislike with the way FL talks. Maybe because one of my pet peeves is when an adult talk in childlike manner. It just irks me. Why can’t she just talk properly? The only reason right now that keep me watching is OSW. He is so friggin handsome in here and he played the character well.

I am mostly streaming spotify bc I got studying to do mock exam is next week.
somehow older dramas that used to be great quality streaming are now all blurry. I didnt think that happened with digital content. how does it get like that?

We really enjoy STRONG GIRL NAMSOON – Much more than I expected to.

I am not a time travel fan so I am not watching TWINKLING WATERMELON but my wife does not share that bias and she has enjoyed it.

My wife loves mysteries. My life also loves Chinese Costume dramas (and Sageuks too). No surprise that she is really liking RIPE TOWN a Chinese Costume crime and mystery drama set in the waning years of the Ming Dynasty.

She also really loves MY DEAREST even though it is kind of tough emotionally. She mistakenly thought that the brutal enemy was Chinese but I was able to tell her that, no, they are actually Manchu and that they will be taking over China in less than a decade from when the story of MY DEAREST takes place.

The new Weekender LIVE YOUR OWN LIFE finally got back to a normal two-episode per week format the last weekend. We see the beginnings of the main plotlines but much of the weekend was spent continuing to flesh out our characters, including the minor ones. Tonight, we will get to meet the actor who will be replacing the late No Yeong-kuk as the Chairman/ML’s uncle/2ML’s father, etc. What is encouraging about this new weekender is that serious screen time is being devoted to characters beyond the leads. In fact, at this point I would have to say that perhaps too little time has been devoted to the 2FL.

I am also watching the new daily UNPREDICTABLE FAMILY. With a grin on my face. It is really a good one.

I just about made it up to date on all my current dramas, after missing a lot in the last weeks. How come I have so many dramas at the same time that I sincerely love?
As Soompi says: “My Dearest is back and ready to rip our hearts out”. And not only about the love story, but so much else: war, desperation, brutality, jealousy and regret, trust and devotion… It’s fantastic.
Three good thrillers at the same time, I’ve never had that before: The kidnapping Day (the separation scene at the end!), Worst of Evil (that fight scene in the corridor!) and The Killing Vote (love the manic villain and how he lounges around on the couch when he’s not killing people). They all have great writing, interesting characters, and surprising story twists.
And three comedies that are so much fun: Sparkling Watermelon, Strong Girl Nam Soon (the MinMin-BongBong cameo was wonderful!) and the cheap but still enjoyable (for me) Boss-dol Mart. Add the new A Good Day To Be A Dog makes four! Yet again, a Joseon connection for the leads – but I don’t mind, since Cha Eun Woo looks EXACTLY the same as when I saw him in my very first kdrama, Rookie Historian Goo Hae Ryung.
Devil’s Plan Still haven’t finished this, but it’s so engaging!
KDrama friend project: We’re not in sync with watching currently airing dramas, so we looked for something else… and since we both like fantasy, historicals, beautiful costumes and settings, flowing hair, beautiful men and bromance/BL, it should be no surprise at all that we started The Untamed and totally love it. That should cover our meetings for the rest of the year 😉