Finished PARK’S MARRIAGE CONTRACT watching with one eye - it was fine, but as has been mentioned before, it could have been a lot better. Liked Sawol & Mr Hong best!

Also finished ROOKIE HISTORIAN! This one was entertaining, and wrapped up nicely (plausibility aside: the main characters were happy, that’s what counts I guess!). I liked most of the characters, but I have to repeat myself: the Crown Prince stole the show for me. LOL! The main couple was sweet and all, but I was somehow more interested in what was going on with him, his relationship to historian Song, and that ill fated back story considering his insufferable father. Oh well. 🤓

Did some KTL rewatching as a fluffy cleanse, and am now twiddling my thumbs waiting for other good dramas to start! Will definitely have a look at KNIGHT FLOWER, once I’m back home. (I am also dreading to find out whether DR SLUMP will really be available in my region or not. Looks like it won’t be after all. 🫣)

On hiatus: MY DEMON. (TBH I don’t think I’ll pick it up again… 😅)

I am watching THE GORYEO-KHITAN WAR. It actually does explore some of the political issues of the time, though less so for the Khitan, who are treated very superficially. At this point the Khitan Army (very much diminished) has been forced to withdraw from Goryeo but not before having sacked and burnt the Goryeo capital. The damage suffered by Goryeo was in part caused by the failure of the regional lords and chiefs to support the war effort so I believe that next we will see an internal struggle as the king must now attempt to reform the government of his country. At least that is what looks like will happen- not knowing that much about this part of Korean history I could be surprised. The final battle scene in the most recent episode is one of the most memorable that I have seen in a long time.

For a long stretch the plot of our weekender, LIVE YOUR OWN LIFE seemed to be just one long wallow in misery but now things have picked up, in fact the plot seems to be flying along. I wonder what Grandma will do now that she knows that our ML and FL are seeing each other? What will happen in the marriage of our 2ML and 2FL (which could not have started on a worse footing)? Is it OK to actually start to dislike our ML? (I am still thinking that UEE should have followed the shaman’s advice) There are characters that I generally like in this show- in addition to our FL: Mi-rim for one and, surprisingly, I have come to like our 2ML’s little sister Tae-hui. I was on the verge of liking Ru-bi, who was briefly the voice of reason, but she has reverted to selfish brat mode so I am back to wanting to strangle her again. In any case it should be obvious that I am not about to drop this show.

The daily UNPREDICTABLE FAMILY continues to be my favorite show even though the main story has hit a rough patch for our two leads: Their family’s rejection of their relationship which had to be expected given the past history of the parents. What we may be headed for may be the least idiotic and most understandable separation ever in a Kdrama. Will true love triumph in the end? Meanwhile our half-siblings have started to inter-act. It was nice to see our half-sisters actually bonding through their competition for the heart of our kind and humble young father. Still, the highlight of the week was actually seeing our 2FL show real integrity in turning down our ML’s mother’s request to hurt the movie by dumping the FL from her role in it. She did this after having a serious discussion with our 2ML, for whom she is starting to acknowledge her feelings. The genius of the writer really shows in things like this: Instead of going overboard for a cheap effect our very human characters seem to learn from their mistakes, at least some of the time.

Death’s Game— my favorite parts were when SIG used the compilation of info from multiple lives or things in lives overlapped. That was fascinating to me. I think we have no idea in real life how much life events depend on unknown overlaps of good or bad or things other people do. Otherwise, I felt really uncomfortable about the heavy handed suicide message, especially considering recent events. Acting was incredible, though.
Lost Romance-a Beanie recommended this T-drama on the fluff post, and it was a great watch while I wasn’t feeling well the end of this week. I also went on a Marcus Chang binge. It was nice to watch Chinese language dramas without underlying the-all-controlling emperor-is -really-good-for-the-people or public-service-above-all-else messages. I watched a lot of Wonderland of Love the week before, and the OST is FIRE, but the tropes and heavy-handed save-the-empire kept me jumping around. Nice ending back to the show’s strengths ,though.
My Demon- I couldn’t make it much of last weeks episodes, and it seemed partly knowing the other shoe was going to drop and being a little bored. The build up to the convenience store accident before and after was so strong that it felt like the end of a show, I was struggling to reenter. Now that there are more episodes it might help me move on.
I’m looking forward this week ro trying some other k-dramas I’ve been wary of but are getting good recommendations.

Live-watching

None.

On hold:

1. Tell Me You Love Me: If it finishes airing and people are satisfied with it, I’ll go back to it. Not in the mood to be burned by any drama.

2. 2D1N (3rd rerun BB Kim Seon-ho eps): The eps about national treasures listed by UNESCO became uninteresting for some reason. Bored. On hold even with dimples on screen.

Finished:

1. No Hard Feelings: Rowdy and quirky and funny. Jennifer Laurence is as good and charming as ever.

Dropped:

1. When Calls The Heart (series): Hallmark soapy since the first 5 mins of the first ep.

On my to-watch list:

1. Stepmom (Julia Roberts)

Ps I really want to watch classic Hollywood movies like Sleepless in Seattle, You’ve Got A Mail, etc. Does anyone know where to watch these legally?

WHAT I AM WATCHING, REALLY, REALLY WATCHING:

LIKE FLOWERS IN THE SAND: I realized that I am actually really watching, as in paying close attention, no multi-tasking, multi screening, this show. This is a a noticeable change from many recent dramas that I have skimmed, had on while doing something else, or fast forwarded through. LFITS invites and holds my attention. There isn’t a lot of yelling (hint, this scene is funny), screaming and scene chewing crying (cue:this scene is important), or pandering (here, have some eye candy scenes while the attractive leads show off their beautiful bodies and clothes) to demand my attention. Instead, the show just conveys such richness in details: Baek Du’s father is a man of few words, but his presence tells so much; the community members (the neighborhood mothers, the sirreum team members, the police officers) all are not just flat stand-in stereotypes (compare Sam Dal-ri) but seem like actual and different people such that it feels like a community; the practices seem like ordinary practice days, and yet, you can see changes in how Baek Du and the team is feeling. It’s a like slice of life show, but it doesn’t have all the trappings announcing it—no slow camera work, no atmospheric music, no melancholy scenes. Instead, it sets us down in the world of sirreum in a small town, which is both very physical and active yet, not super flashy. If you zone out, you miss out on so much because much of this show is not done through verbal exposition; instead, it is acted out by doing. Also, JDY is just slaying as Baek Du, a character who isn’t book smart (he failed the driver’s license written test twice), but his intuition, EQ, and heart are genius—once again, he isn’t flashy, but he totally wins. While Baek Du isn’t typically eye candy, there is no denying his physical body and embodied presence just hits hard. Love this show.

READING RECAPS, BUT STILL IN HOLDING CELL BECAUSE I CAN”T TAKE THE YELLING AND DRUNKENESS

SAM DAL-Ri

Completed: D.P. Season 2. It wasn't as edgy as the first season. Great job all around, esp. Kim Sung-Kyun and Moon Sang-Hoon (Kim Ru-ri) and Bae Na-ra (Nina). Son Suk-ku probably got asked back because of his on-going popularity. His character was redeemed this time around, but preferred his ass-hole of a commander role in the first go round. Would like a third season.

On-going: Welcome to Samdal-ri. So, I adore Shin Hye-sun. I thought I'd check this out. It's silly and they're all past 30 y.o., the drunkenness is off-putting, but heck I'm in episode 8. I might as well stick it out. Poor Sang-do, nice guy. I don't get that he doesn't have a girl, yet. He's successful, nice, hard-working. I'm here for Kang Yeong-seok as well (was great in Insider, overshadowed Kang Ha-neul, imagine that!). Speaking of KHN, I've always wanted a comedy with SHS and KHN together. I bet this show would be a lot funnier. At least Sam-dal confronted her lying assistant back in Seoul.

Movies: Love Reset/30 Days. I must have been lost in translation because I didn't find this movie funny. It had its moments. I did love seeing KHN and Jung So-min all grown up, looking sophisticated since the movie, Twenty.

Non-Korean.
Ferrari. I thought Adam Driver was good in this one.
The Boy and The Heron. It was OK. My Neighbor Totoro and Princess Mononoke are far superior in regards to Miyazaki's work.
Poor Things. My favorite movie of the year. Not recommended for those in high school because of the nudity.

Procrastination is the name of the game this week - I've watched a whole lot of 1 drama episode and 6 variety episodes and even that took an effort. Both are now complete which makes me wonder what excuse to delay the shows I'm behind with I'm gonna use next time)))

A GOOD DAY TO BE A DOG: Somehow we crawled to the finish line, folks! We are the strongest soldiers! I... don't have many words to say about the show, let alone good ones. It messed up spectacularly considering how unchallenging the genre and premise were - huge negative non-kudos to scriptwriters for their "efforts". Hope to never encounter works of these people again for I clearly do not vibe with their obvious sadistic streak of torturing innocent needlessly all while letting dumb villains get away with anything. Wish I could confidently say that I'm burned enough by romcoms to not touch one in a while, but DR SLUMP is coming for my sanity so no cool farewell one-liners today, sadly.

THE TRUTH (2022 c-variety): Slightly mixed feelings - second to last case was fire, if hella complicated and all kinds of disturbing, but the grand finale was a bit... underwhelming? Rushed? There was an explanation of main culprit's motives and so on, but it wasn't as fleshed out as in other cases, not to mention super fast and oh-so-emotional conclusion. Fine, that was nice, but also lol - totally unserious, just like the rest of the plot))) Would've like to see a bit more of epilogue from 3rd timeline, even in voice over, but oh well...

What I liked: moar makjang (seriously, I didn't think they can do it but they managed! gold medal for overall tropey insanity), surprisingly human view of culprits (even that one hopeless nutcase that really didn't deserve any oxygen), silly lighthearted approach (never seen people so eager and happy to admit they're jerks AND criminals lol), team spirit that even "Among Us"-like twist couldn't fully squash (they're either saints or idiots to get over it all so easily... guess which option I'm leaning towards lmao), all the recurring recurring gags (if you'll ever need example of a nice song being meme-d beyond redemption...), LYN flexing his quick wits and delicious creepiness while interrogated (the man's smile has insane range... btw I obviously cannot do math, but shouldn't his success percentage be higher than that?), hysterically sentimental last culprit reveal (was actually somewhat surprised by it, tho signs were there) and ending punishments (the one involving chocolate... why, just why?!))).

Aaand now there are rumors of Season2 - with most of OG cast returning (LYN included) + ZLH (lol, this needs to happen if only for us to stop wondering who among the two is taller) and Dilraba... Producers want it to be EVEN MORE chaotic, right?))) I'm all for it ofc - preferably with improved subs, but let's not be too greedy!

Finished recently:

A Good Day to Be a Dog I read the entire webtoon while waiting for the drama to update and it's structure is kind of meandering, too (it starts out as a modern romcom with doggy elements and then turns into a whole Joseon story about completely different people, with the story of the mountain spirit and his love taking center stage). But the drama's last episode didn't even reflect anything from the webtoon. I liked the lead couple's chemistry and whoever handled the visual elements of the drama (color schemes, camera work) definitely deserves a star. But the plot could have been presented in a more logical (and satisfying) way.

The Story of Park's Marriage Contract What was that ending?? I'm a bit in the minority that I didn't *feel* as much in this drama as everyone else seems to, The second leads had more personality, but the main leads seemed to exist more for the plot than as complete people on their own. (Dimples--urk--will never replace real character creation for me.) But the ending just left me scratching my head and feeling sorry for Joseon Tae Ha. I think they were trying to make a point with all of this separation of the two characters who were actually the same person (sort of), but I just never figured out what it was.

Current: My Demon I know, I KNOW that the past year has been one long string of past lives and omo-I-killed-you-in-the-past and now I want a different future. Not to mention political machinations in the company!! I know all this in my mind, but the leads are so vivid, their chemistry so sparky and natural, that I can't help but be pulled in. Sometimes I feel like either the script or the actors themselves hold the characters back, but everyone is all in with this one, so despite all the tropes, I'm here for the ride.

I really appreciated Death's game. What a great example of genre mixing and excellent acting.

Mr Sunshine is pretty but too slow for my friend, so we alternate the episodes with A good day to be a god. I have told her that I will drop at the middle, but for now (up to ep 5) it's fun. And millions km different from the previous dramas in term of quality.

I appreciate the machinations in Undercover, but I'm going slow as I do not have the time.

We finished The story of Park's Marriage Contract and sadly this is another drama that started way better than it ended. The lack of comeuppance for the baddies is frustrating. The changes of character made no sense. There is no reason at all for the story. It happened... just because ? This is really an argument against live-watching.

Watching Continued
Welcome to Samdal-ri: I am still charmed and also, still really like Shin Hae-sun. A vicious circle of shame and violence coming from the parents was revealed in more fulness last weekend. I am looking forward to seeing a rebellion from all the lovers, putting an end to it. Hopefully!
My Demon: I like it. It’s fun, exciting, and the OTP are very beautiful, so easy on the eyes. Ml in love looks … lovely, I have to say. Apart from that, I love his audacious style.
Finished:
Park’s Marriage Contract: Finished last weekend and it was not impressive, I must say. I missed the woman we met in episode one – the one who could really angry and demand money and obedience from costumers.
A Good Day to Be a Dog It ended, and the comments made clear I did the right thing by stopping in December. I recommend for anyone loving a cute, fluffy, suspenseful story to watch episode one to eight. It has an almost complete satisfactory ending there, and the loose ends (Mountain God stuff) are not tied up satisfactorily in the remaining episodes anyway.
Rewatched
Chief Kim /The Good Manager: Have rewatched quite a bit … it’s still a really good story with great things in the margin.
Looking for what to watch next … ?

After the holidays, I realized that I had put several dramas on hold and never returned: My Demon and The Matchmakers

I briefly started two others Gyeongseong Creature and Death’s Game but quickly dropped.

ONGOING And now realize that I’m totally invested in Live your Own Life, even though I have no interest in the OTP. Other couples, 2nd tier family stories, the main mystery (what happened 3 years ago??), corporate intrigue - except for the two thoroughly despicable mothers, I’m enjoying it very much. Although the first 25 episodes were a slow build up, once the holidays were over the writer is blasting forward across many stories and characters which are frequently intertwined for a variety of reasons. It’s total opposite of The Real Has Come which centered everything around one couple such that for the 2nd half of the drama, all other characters were nothing more than sticks of furniture (@oldawyer's term) sitting around in two separate family meetings talking, talking, talking about the main couple.

But probably the main reason I’m enjoying LYOL is the solid group of Beannies who meet up once a week (thanks to @unit and @quirkycase recaps) to analyze what happened, what is the writer trying to communicate, where do we think the different stories are headed, which characters will have a happy ending and which ones will end up in jail. We now have a betting pool as to which episode the ML (played by Ha Jun) will meet up with his beloved (and believed to be dead) Grandmama.

Started: Knight Flower - we’ll see if it keeps me interested.

Story of Park's Marriage Contract: I was expecting disappointment since inter-temporal relationships and time travel are just almost impossible to end well, so wasn't surprised when I felt disappointed. On the bright side, the writer gave the leads a happy ending and didn't try to betray the viewers (*glares at Heartbeat*). But poor Joseon Tae-ha. Still, no regrets! The drama was hella charming and romantic, and I had fun these last 7 weeks.

Welcome to Samdalri: Except for Eun-joo and terrible ex-bf - whom I enjoyed watching being splashed with stinky vinegar and getting hounded by Samdal's supporters- I'm just invested in everyone finding their healing and their happiness. Even Resentful Dad. Let it go, man! On a more visual note - Shin Hye-sun as Samdalri looks so great with Ji Chang-wook as Yong-pil.

Live Your Own Life: I'm an episode behind. I can't just take Hyo-shim's mom anymore even with generous fastforwarding. How is she just getting worse?!

My Boss (up to ep 8): Cdrama. Cliche office/cohabitation romance drama where the FL is the subordinate both at work and at home. Started because of Chen Xing-xu. The characters having a decent enough grasp of reason (bar is low for this type of drama) combined with the grounded, low-key enough delivery by the actors saves the dynamic from being irritating. What I really hate is the english title. So lazy! The original Chinese title - You Also Have Today- captures the optimistic vibe and is so much better.

I Am Nobody (halfway through ep 6) : Cdrama. Thanks for recommending it, HopefulRomantic and books7time! Holy moly, this is like an anime come to life. ! I'm getting a kick at how scenes can sometimes look like they're from a xianxia drama only to have modern technology pop up. It's nailing the mix of LOL humor (always comes out when I'm not expecting it!), emotion (comes out when I'm not expecting it too), and action. Feng Baobao is my fave character.

The Long Ballad ep 28-49 this show was adapted from a manhwa with liberal adaptations of real historical figures. I liked the story of how the heroine learned her path was not of revenge but help improve the lives of all the innocent people. She also got her happily ever after with her tribal prince. the second leads story was not the typical path. I enjoyed their journey as they found love amidst the political turmoil of the era. The ML story was also good as he found his peace amidst the violence of his upbringing. Overall, The leads' story felt like a callback to the historical novels I read in my younger years.

the Story of Park's Marriage Contract ep 11 - 12 I am glad that Yeon Woo and Tae Ha got their HEA. But the road to that was full of plotholes and sacrificed my adorable Joseon Tae Ha. I like that other characters was at a better place in the end but the unnecessary pain for some. Chaebol Tae Ha's happiness came at the cost of losing his grandfather whom he adored. Its beyond painful to watch someone physically there but not remember you.

My Demon ep 11 - 12 I still find KYJ and SK really pretty and fashionable. But for some reason I am losing interest in the show. I watched both episodes in full but hardly retained much of what happened. All I know is his powers are back and he is happy. Someone is dead. His past with Wolshim was explored.

Derailment ep 21-22 New discoveries about their pasts were revealed. the time travel theory was debunked. The main selling point for me here is the leads. I enjoy their connection and interactions.

Death's Game ep 5-8 the saving grace of sitting through the gore and violence is in the last episode of Death's Game. The last death made me cry. It was a fitting punishment for the ML's rash decision in the beginning.

Meet Yourself ep1-10 I jumped into this not reading the synopsis and only knowing its a city girl moving to a rural area. So watching her life in the city and her interactions with her bestie was so relateable. Then what happened after was very hard and you can empathize as she struggled with it. 😭 then her decision to leave it all behind and take that long overdue trip. 💝 I think I got onboard this healing drama from the get go. I like the slow pace and quiet ambience of the show. Also the interactions among the villagers and their family.

Dropped
Gyeongsong Creature - not interested to know how it ended
Like Flowers In Sand - I will pick this up later. I am not in the right mood atm.

TMTYLoveMe: I feel like, if it wasn't for birth mom, Mo Eun would've ghosted Jin Woo for like a month.
Sand Flowers: My DuDu couple is EVERYTHING. They complement each other so well.
Unpredictable Family: I loved Sun Ju this week. She minded her own business and just wanted everyone to have a "fair game". Tbh, she reacted to everything way better than I expected.

I was expecting uri Eun Hyuk to be the one supporting the couple, but I guess this situation is too much even for him. I enjoyed the little scenes with the brothers tho. I want more of them!

Watching Eun Sung all sad and annoyed was so weird. But it was even weirder how cold she was while breaking up with Sun Woo, when he was acting so desperate and clingy. 🥺 Tbh, I'm enjoying all the parents drama a lot, but I don't like watching my couple be all cold and heartbroken.

Ha Yeong's conscious made a great comeback this week. I was ready to give up on her but, like always, Eun Hyuk guided her to the right direction... Ha Yeong, most have saved the country in her previous life or something.
Sam Dal: kdramaland gave me this so I don't become spoiled. It would be a problem if I get used to only watching good shows. LOL

BONUS
Watched the films Appropriate Behavior, Tiempo de Valientes, and The Watermelon Woman. Loved them all!

I also started with the Percy Jackson books because I'm enjoying the tv show A LOT.

Finished Good Day to be a Dog and I have never hated flashbacks as much as I have throughout this show. They spent the first 5 min reminding you what happens almost every episode and then even within an episode multiple times in case you forgot less than 30 minutes ago. The final episode really was the worse offender with a shadow play of the whole show and then a flashback of the shadow play.

Binging Twinkling Watermelon completed 9/16. I still can’t quite figure out the logic of the FL going back to figure out her mother’s first love to prevent her future existence. I mean she would not only need to figure out who it is but find a way to bring her mom in her youth back from the US and reunite with this first love. How was she planning to accomplish that? It’s also amazing how different her personality is from her mom’s and the fact that no one in her school has picked up on that is weird too. Overall the ML is adorable and his ernest need to save his family but is slowly learning to enjoy his life and experience things beyond saving others is great.

Still one of few beanies watching Goryeo Khitan war. I do like history so it keeps me engaged.

Welcome to Samdari. Behind but hope to catch up. Better do it before the show that follows, Dr. Slump, start airing or else I may never finish. That 3rd trailer/highlight reel looked so good I hope it can live up to it.

My Demon also on hold waiting for hubby to not be too tired to watch. At least I can keep up with the recaps and maybe if it crashes and burns then I won’t need to push to restart watching.

Based purely on the description of Baek-du as a cinnamon roll, I started Like Flowers in Sand, and my only regret is that I can't binge watch the last four episodes. I love all the characters, including the Greek chorus of the three women in the market (or are they more like Macbeth's witches?) and the gaggle of townsmen that determinedly march together whenever anything related to ssireum comes up.

I love the silent, strong, loving dad, and his not-so-silent but equally loving wife with her unfailing ability to intimidate her three giant grown sons. I love Baek-du's generosity in coaching/encouraging other wrestlers, and his unfailing eye for analysing their weakness, which speaks to me of his successful future as a ssireum coach--maybe in Seoul, wink wink. The slapstick fan in me chuckles every time he gets slapped, usually in loving frustration by the women in his life. I enjoy every beautifully composed shot of the town, the beach, even the arena.

I love our protagonists together; I foresee a long and happy marriage, much like his parents', which produces a national women's ssireum champion who's adored by her numerous giant brothers (I'm ready for this spin-off now).

The first episode of Knight Flower has me hooked. Honey Lee looks terrific sprinting in her ninja garb over the rooftops, and I'm intrigued by her nemesis/future love interest. What's his backstory, why did he return to the capital, and where's that promised shot of his abs? I'm waiting, like our heroine in that promo, to start fanning myself.

Interested in seeing more of Park Ji-Hoon after puzzling over him in Love Song for Illusion, I started Weak Hero Class One. What a ride, and so much fun identifying favourite characters from other shows ("It's the Prince from AoS! It's Yi-Chan from Twinkling Watermelon!"). But Park Ji-Hoon is the revelation. Sherlockian in his analytical abilities, but with a ton more of repressed anger and grief, with a nice edge of psychosis. I adore the way our Three Musketeers are there for each other, but with half of the eight episodes yet to watch I'm also worried for them. Will they self-destruct? (Don't tell me, I need to binge watch the rest asap).

Live Watch:
My Demon: I am still catching up, but this has a lot of heart and the right hooks and a lovely leads. BUT, I so disappointed Song Kang does not seem to be coming through his promise that I felt he had in Nevertheless.
But hey, he is really an eye candy, so it's OK.
Marry My Husband I am not a Min Young fan and again I am way behind, but I want to know what will happen next.

Binging:
The Matchmakers A show that grows and grows on you. It is such a kaleidoscope of sweet emotions strung together that it's hard to look away. This is perhaps the first series that has me hopelessly invested in the side characters.
I admit. Rowoon, after weirding me out for the first three episodes, has now started growing on me lol. I swear I saw him emoting!
I love the scenes with the King. It has me in stitches.
Finished :
Perfect Marriage Revenge I liked it but...it reminded me of old Hindi movies that had cliched surprises sprung on you with every bow neatly tied and sweet music playing at the back.

Watching
1. Maestra
Love the chemistry between Lee Moo Saeng and Lee Young Ae.

2. Knight Flower
Loving Honey as the widow who is definitely not a normal grieving and meek heroine. Bonus: She used a rather unusual gadget too

3. Goryeo-Khitan
Love the interaction between the King and Kang Kam-ch'an. A really good history lesson about the Goryeo Dynasty too.

4. Marry My Husband
Time travelling and fantasy are not my genres. Watched Perfect Marriage Revenge but it didnt appeal to me, especially the heroine.

On hold: Tell Me You Love Me: Scared of the potential ending. Waiting for it to end first.

Samdari: Too busy to watch this week.

Love Song for Illusion. I find this so interesting. Based on the promos/trailers and how I don't particularly care for the webtoon, all signs should point to me not giving this any time but when I watch it, I just like it. I like the actor trying to display two distinct personalities sharing a body. I like how fast it moves. I always find it funny how the girl instantly, perhaps instinctively, can just read Hyun like a book which leaves him flustered and offended yet intrigued and drawn to her. For whatever criticisms and flaw it has, I just find it entertaining.
Sidenote: I'm a bit confused why both of the leads are considered rookies. Park Ji Hoon did some child acting and he's been the male lead a couple of times. He's even an award winning actor.

The Killer's shopping list. This was something I was mindly curious about solely because Lee Kwang Soo was in it and I'm curious about him as actor. I do try to just view him as an actor when he's acting but man alive, his variety presence does cast a shadow sometimes haha. I think on one of the variety shows I've seen him in, it said he didn't choose comedy, comedy chose him and I think that's such a valid description. That's another reason this show was on my radar, the fact that it's supposedly a comedy. So far it hasn't made me laugh but I can see what's supposed to be funny. Regarding the mystery/thriller aspect, While I *am* curious about who the murderer is, I feel like I've seen better and I could easily drop this without finding the culprit. The final reason I decided to check this out is because of the new upcoming drama that's spun off it. I wanted to see what about this world made someone think "let's play in and expand this world".

Welcome to Samdal Ri. Ah, Sang Do just does not appeal to me at all. Objectively, I think there are probably many folks like him, (hell, even *I'm* like him to an extent with being paralyzed by fear), but he's just SOOOOO pathetic to watch (to me). "I like someone, for a really long time, but I've never confessed. Now I think I may have a chance but maybe I don't have a chance plus they like someone else". Dude! If you know, why are we on this merry go round?! You *know* she's interested in someone else. You *know* those feelings are mutual. Where exactly are you seeing a chance? Is he talking about a chance to actually confess because OBVIOUSLY it wouldn't lead to dating because AGAIN, she has feelings for someone else.

Knight Flower. I don't really like sageuks but the idea of a strong female character fighting for the "little people" in a vigilante/robin hoodesque kind of way in such a restrictive period has tickled my curiosity. Originally I had no plans of watching this but I figured I could give the first episode a try. It seems fun yet I think it will be predictable regarding the high society powers that be. Like will the same person behind the widow's brother's...

Just now I wanted to look up something so I fired-up the final episode of the 2019 series 'Melo Is My Nature'. After watching a random scene for 3 minutes I'm going to have to go back and watch the whole thing aaaaall over again. Its a rare thing these days where a glance at a finale will send you back to rewatching.

I really am needing these recommend ideas this week. I'm so lost in drama world waiting for endings. But the sad part is they End:
Park Marriage- dropped. So disappointed with the story holes it just felt werid
Good dog Day- never Stated because of terrible ending reviews.
So if all else fails -rewatch Attorney Woo -where I know I'll get perfection. And watch a surprise- Backstreet Rookie - which was new to me. 9/10 for fun, laughter and chemistry. If only the mom had not talked so loud!!! Why why do they do that.
Any other good happy suggestions???

So I finally decided to drop My Demon 😞. I just don't feel like continuing. I was watching episode 11 and 10 minutes in, I just lost focus and interest lol.

So now I'm currently watching Marry My Husband. Not sure how I feel yet but it's definitely keeping my attention and have me intrigued. Also I just can't take Lee Yikyung seriously. His Waikiki image is too strong 😂

I caught up with My Man is Cupid. I was quite enjoying it in the beginning because it's such a mindless watch type of drama but now that it's past episode 12, I'm wondering if this show even need more than 12 episodes? I feel like it could've just be written as a 12 episodes drama. Now I feel like they're just trying to drag the whole mystery thing.

Also am I the only one who's already tired of the whole past life + murder mystery which is present in most fantasy kdramas nowadays?

THE SECRET LIFE OF MY SECRETARY: I was so curious about what other projects Kim Young-kwang's been in, I decided it was time to press play. Although the lies gets kind of tiresome and in other casting situations actually would have been enough to make me drop the drama, Veronica Park and Kim Young-kwang make the drama shine. More than shine.

I AM NOBODY: This Xianxia drama sucked me I and has kept me enthralled for several days. The high ratings are very much warranted and the leads are amazing. Peng Yu Chang, Wang Ying Lu and Hou Ming Hao are bringing their A-game to live up to the directors vision. And it is quirky, shameless, unexpected and well thought-out.
So, I loved it. (The grandmaster, Ming Ye, the shameless duo of Feng Baobao and Zheng Chulan. I'm over the moon)
Then things went haywire.
I've been pondering where it went wrong and I think it was around ep 25 where the previously slow story started to move in leaps and bounds, with some huge suspension of belief thrown in, which culminated in a typical season finale of shounen manga (friendship overcomes it all! I'm too old for this.) and landed us in what basically was ground zero. I was so upset with this as I had the distinct feeling the show got terminated ahead of time and thus treated the characters poorly. A second season might redeem this and the end is very much leaving things open, so we'll see. As long as the leads return, I'll give it a chance. In the mean time, I'll rewatch.

This in turn has made me put back BACK ON THE BRINK on my watchlist because of Hou Ming Hao. I loved the novel but felt put off by reviews hating on the FL. That, and the ugly costumes in the profile pic on Viki.

We are enjoying old stuff at the moment-
A Korean Odyssey I grew up with reruns of 'Monkey' so the characters were instantly obvious. Love the PK/Pigsy in this. And the twist with Geum gang go acting on the heart, instead of on the head. We are up to about Ep 7, so we have all the bittersweet pain- Jin Seon-Mi has finally found her 'tribe', friends she can hang with who can see what she sees and do not think she is weird. The group chat with all of them had us in fits of laughter. Problem is, none of them are actually her friends, all of them (except Richie) are trying to think of ways to double cross her .And Monkey has just supposedly sincerely confessed his love, except that has to have been a set up between him and General Winter, so that happiness is not going to last long either.
Secret Inspector and Joy Also something that I am just having fun with. They must have had a bit of budget for this, I love all the traditional Korean arts and entertainment they are including as extras. And more than one outdoor set as well.