SHOWS I AM ENJOYING
FxC
Season Two, y'all!!! It's not gonna be as solid as season one...but come what may, I'll follow our leads, their parents (dead or alive), their siblings (um? hewp?), their loved ones, and their delightful found families into 2026.

Wedding Impossible
The best rom-com in years. Years, I tell you. She hit him over and over, not very violently, mainly because she wanted to touch him so very badly, but had no other way...it was so painfully real. This show is surprisingly well choreographed, well written, and well cast! So good.

The Midnight Studio
Not gonna lie. This week, I wanted to drop. I was like...I have too much on my plate and surely this "comfort" watch is too ridiculous and I can dismiss it with my cynical Gen-X filter. NOPE. Noooooope! This one stays. Joo Won is a greek statue. Kwon Na-ra's lips could launch a thousand ships. Truly. So good. So fun. So whimsical yet emotional. I'm one ajumma who is here to STAY!

Chicken Nugget
Not gonna lie...I can tell by the number of new names liking my Fan Wall posts on this drama that the Nugget Nerd community is growing. Squee!!! For those who don't know, come on over to my Fan Wall, Nerds ( https://www.dramabeans.com/members/attiton/?page=fan_wall ) !!!! I'm going to have "Greatest Hits" posts for a while that'll remind us all of the good times. The GIFs are made (which means I've now seen this drama THREE times)!! I'm just posting them slowly so I don't take over the stream. Be Melo meta post is coming soon...as is one on the "Third Dude in the Office." God I love him.

SHOWS I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO
Hide
The cast is so amazing, and, um, the CAST IS SO AMAZING. Please be good. Plz. I'd give a lot to just be totally subsumed in this drama. Or totally subsumed by someone my age, or not, or my age. Actually, don't care. My morals are out the window.

Beyond Meat
ALL the Ji-hoons. ALL OF THEM. I want VR. I want fake meat. I want 2MLs that turn my head all the way around so I can't escape. I want Disney production values (because I'm not Disney-starved). Um-nom-nom-nom!!!!!

SHOWS I AM, UM, LESS-THAN-ENJOYING
Impossible Heir
Dropped! I drop so few shows. Srsly. I drop so few shows. I feel zero remorse.

Nothing Uncovered
Too tediously geared towards folks, like me, whose only recourse is to shuffle off to Buffalo, as it were. I mean that I'm old and that I can recognize pandering. MLs are hot. It's not enough. It's not enough!!!! Turns out...give me an FL who can act or has a motivation or facial muscles left or something. Anything!!!

The Midnight Studio: The priest storyline was so heartwarming. It gave our leads a stronger connection by reinforcing belief and it was fun. As predicted Halmoni passed. I was crying buckets, but I’m glad she got her money and to see the flowers.

Nothing Uncovered: Ummmm, I am still watching. It isn’t bad, however it isn’t great either. It is middling. So I will continue to watch.

The Impossible Heir: Oh, Tae Ho and In Ha. The only person whose reaction I care about is Hui Ja, I feel so bad for her, when she realizes what In Ha did to her love. The warring emotions will mess her up.

Flex X Cop: The ultimate villain is boring, unimaginative, and predictable. SIGH. These last two episodes aren’t fun even if as the lovely @attiton said it was shown in the beginning. I wouldn’t mind the darkness so much despite my complaining, ha, if it wasn’t so unimaginative. The motivations are just so BLAHHHH. Whatever, I still look forward to season 2.

Hide: Maybe this will be interesting, maybe, lol.

Queen of Tears: I think we are getting angst these next two episodes. She is going to find out about the divorce and sooner is better than later. I think that is what these next to episodes are bringing. My only hope is that it is resolved quickly. Make use of 1.5 hour episodes writer. Please, pretty please with a Cherry on top.

Eye Love You: Motomiya, Motomiya, Motomiya, girl stop running away from that man. The way my heart broke when his face got so sad after she rejected him. Girl….WHY, you were dreaming about him so hard, you fell off the bed. I didn’t realize we were getting a love triangle, but I should have, Taishi Nakagawa is adorable, but still. Well, I’m in it now. Also does anyone know how long this drama will be?

COMPLETED
Doctor Slump - It was nice to get two episodes of just healing and goodness at the end. Something I can go back and watch when I'm in the mood for soft and sweet.

ONGOING
The Chaebol-Cop Show - The reveals were very nicely stacked over the two episodes. I knew the 'hid your candies' line would come back. Wondering if the show will end on a cliffhanger for Season 2.

Queen of Tears - This makes me laugh but also tugs on my heartstrings. It's such a delicate balance to make both characters likeable but the leads are managing it. Poor Park Sung-hoon just can't escape the psychopath fate 😔 (maybe he's buying Queens Group to hand it over to Hae-in, like the stepmom in CLOY - yes I know I'm clutching at straws 😅)

The Midnight Studio - Well they got me with Grandma again. The number of times I've cried over this lady's death in different dramas 😭. The Aespa bit was funny.

Wedding Impossible - The ex deserves everything bad for outing Do-han like that. Hate that the brothers' long overdue conversation only happened because of it. I'm glad our OTP also finally said the things that needed to be said.

The Impossible Heir - I don't even know where to BEGIN ranting. The 300+ comments on Reddit for these episodes were more entertaining than the actual episodes.

C-DRAMAS
Completed Pegasus. Stayed good till the end and the last few races were really exciting.

Started In Blossom (till Ep. 4). I was sort of taken aback by the plot twist but I'm looking forward to this a lot now.

Also started The Legend of Shen Li (till Ep. 2). More laidback and funnier than I expected for a xianxia. Will read the book before I proceed further though. It has been on my list for a long time.

Live watches
Wedding Impossible
Looking forward to seeing how all the leads can have a much needed happy ending AND keep the company going strong. I need to see how the tragedy of the parents’ death will be explained away without it being underwhelming as it has been dragged out for so long the expectations that it will be something elaborate are bound to be unmet.

Queen of tears
Looking forward to this weekend’s episodes. The dark web being drawn around the family will mean they will need to rely on each other to survive but the divide and conquer approach is being successfully implemented to distract them from seeing the bigger picture.

The impossible heir
Poor Taeoh and poor Taeoh’s mum.

Binge watch corner

The best chicken
I have come back to this after a break as it was too heartbreaking to watch a young man’s livelihood being impacted because of a spy within; young woman who chose not to find another way to manage her own distress.

Completed
The producers I was sorry the slow rewatch came to an end, it really was a joy.

Book club:
The personal librarian - Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray
A fictionalised account of a real person Belle Marion Greener who was the personal librarian for J P Morgan from 1908 and after his death in 1913 his son later becoming the director of the Pierpont Morgan Library when it became a public institution until her retirement in 1948. She was a light skinned black woman who was the daughter of the first Black student at Harvard. As the family were living during the times of segregation her mother made the decision to move the family to New York and register the family as white with a Portuguese grandmother as a means of survival. This led to her father leaving the family home and Belle changing her name.

Currently Watching
Wedding Impossible: 🤵‍♂️🚫👰‍♀️(ep. 7-8) The confession scene in episode 8 was SO GOOD. The writing, directing, and acting elevated beyond its standard setup. Everyone is so flawed, and the writing is taking more time with that than the usual contract marriage drama. The shizzle is about to hit the fan!

Flex x Cop: 👨‍✈️ I've really loved this one. I'm going to watch 15 and 16 today, and have been avoiding spoilers. I want I-soo to be ok, and I hope Gang-hyun supports him through these last crises! As of now, I'm excited about season two, but let's see how I feel after watching 16 😂

Finished
Chicken Nugget: 🐔 It was weird, and unique, and hilarious, and surprisingly heartfelt and moving. I loved it! Seung-ryong and Ahn Jae-hong knocked it out of the park. There were so many moments when I laughed SO HARD at their reactions.

Miscellaneous
Watching bits and pieces of other things: tried Judge Dee's Mystery but likely won't continue. Saw that In Blossom is coming to Viki, and it looks like a mashup of A Familiar Stranger, Ancient Detective, and Imperial Coroner?? I'll try it! Slowly watching (and loving) Rainless Love in a Godless Land. Watched one episode of Blood of Youth and will continue with it.

Live Watches
Doctor Slump: It wasn’t for everyone but it was certainly for me. For once, a drama that didn’t rush the ending, that didn’t split the couple up last minute, that didn’t forget what it was trying to say. I loved that they didn’t have Ha-neul magically know how to balance her work with the rest of her life - it’s something she’ll have to figure out for a long time. I loved that they didn’t feel the need to have Jeong-u reconcile or forgive his parents - some familial relationships are just complicated and don’t get less complicated because other things in your life improve. And I really loved those wedding photos at the end - so adorable! Brb going back to look at them right now.

The Midnight Studio: An incredibly comfortable watch for me. I love this combination of elements in a drama, and Joo Wan makes it even better. His lonely ghost photographer is breaking my heart, and I’m so excited to see how he blooms now that he’s not so alone!

Queen of Tears: I didn’t have time to start this when it premiered, and when I read the first weecap I was trepidatious, but the second weecap reassured me. BUT I didn’t realize each episode was movie-length, so it’s taken me a while to get fully up to speed. That said, I’m liking it as much as I could have hoped (and despite feeling all kinds of conflicted about the ML), and I’m really excited to see how much it captures me, and how far the ratings go.

Chicken Nugget: 6.5 (ep 4 / 10) Original. Creative. And oddly not as good as those words would normally imply.

Flex x Cop: 7.0 Liked the "Case of the Week" phase, but not so much the big case, and not really looking forward to a sequel. What "Big Case" will they stick us with then, or are they going to leave this season's big case open so they can use it again next time?

Dr. Slump: 7.0 Had some cute moments in the final week. Also had drunkenness, serial jewelry flip-flops, some dull stretches...

Queen of Tears: 8.5 Week 2 was a riot - far more to my taste than the first week. But I'm not sure how they can reconcile the humor and misunderstandings of this week with the ominous signs of evil conspiracies. Can't help wondering if it might have been better to shorten the show, drop all the baddies, and just stick with the illness & non-conspiracy confusion.
What should we nickname the scheming 2ML? Evil Investment Advisor? Dog-Slayer? He Who Must Not Be Nicknamed?

Midnight Photo Studio: 6.5 It's been done before, and better. Sell Your Haunted House, Master's Sun, Sell Yer Master's Son...

Wedding Impossible: 6.5 Do-han's old boyfriend -- where are all the serial killers when we need one?

LIVE YOUR OWN LIFE (Finale) I went into the last two episodes wondering how bad the series would get. I guess in that respect, it did not disappoint. It went from bad, to worse, to unbearable to incoherent as if a hallucinating AI bot was writing and editing the final weeks of the show. If anything, the show runners did UEE no favors as they boxed her in to a narrow character, shoved her story aside for nonsensical hysteria arcs of her family and overwhelming, time consuming, immaterial tertiary character stories. We had a chance for a unique and proper ending for the FL. Instead, WE never saw her live her own life. We were hit over the head by overacting, unbelievable plots, factual errors, and this show’s deep rooted commitment to pre-modern filial duty, toxic relationships and manipulative guilt tripping vulnerable individuals that kept the characters imprisoned by their bad choices. One of the worst written and executed k-dramas.

SHOGUN (FX) (Ep. 5) Blackthorne cannot grasp the cultural significance of his words. His little command of the native language leads to his gardener being killed for eliminating the rotting pheasant from the courtyard. He also learns about Mariko’s family background. Her father chose the wrong side so he had to kill his entire family, except Mariko, then kill himself. She lives with the family shame; she is treated lowly by her husband. Lord Toranga berates his son for starting the conflict with a falconry analogy, but then rewards the man who planted the idea in his son’s head. Blackthorne helps to save Toranga’s life for a second time, but he is not rewarded with his freedom.

HOUSE ON WHEELS 4 (episode 5) Kim Min Ha is an actress that the regular hosts have not met before which continues a theme for this season. Kim is the award winning actress from “Pachinko,” a show I did not see. She does not have a long list of acting credits. The location is off the most beautiful road in Korea: a village of scholars and art, Gasong-ri, Andong. They take a boat to a historic scholar academy from the 1500s that is pictured on the 1,000 won note. Though part one has much awkwardness, Tranquility was the theme of this autumn trip.

APARTMENT 404 (episode 4) The best part of the show is the history lesson about the seedy side of Korea’s rapid industrialization. The game without spies was scavenger hunt bingo with bribes but the ending morality fell flat. FYI, Jennie has now decided to take a hiatus from future variety shows.

Chicken Nugget (Series review)
As much as I would want to say that I enjoyed the series for all its absurdist humour, the ending was truly absurd in the bad way because the writer basically used a variation of the ‘it was all a dream’ cliche where the viewers are ones who dreamt. I also wasn’t a fan of the whole professor’s family (ancestors and all) because they were clearly written into the plot for the drama but ended up being an irrelevant plot device that spanned the show’s middle. To be fair, the show did have a twisted message about how ignorance is bliss and I guess the ML did willingly enter a time loop. But that’s narratively unsatisfying.

Doctor Slump (Series review) - Mood progression: D+ / D+ / D+ / D / D / D / D / D-
Well, the finale was cringe and more cringe: even the supporting couple joined in with all those stupid tropes and cliches! In what can only be described as a narrative nothingburger, the show’s plot probably did the most in featuring alcohol which I believe promoted intoxication of all things. At least Yoon Park had a better role this time round (bar in hell though)?

The Midnight Studio (Episode 3-4) - Mood: C-
Ok, we knew Kim Young Ok was dying because her character would be a catalyst to bring the OTP together but I’m having reservations about the sleazy prosecutor arc and the whole drama behind grandma dying, because I’m definite that isn’t the last we’re seeing of him. And suddenly the FL’s safe zone disappears and she can see ghosts? Do explain it, show!

Queen of Tears (Episode 3-4) - Mood: D+
As the makjang continues to pile up and schemers continue lurking nefariously in the shadows, I can’t help but feel that it’s so much harder to stay engaged in the show. But I think I’ve finally found the motivation to keep going: Hae In is unwittingly gathering allies that would help her in the upcoming battle over Queens Group. It’s still daily drama level, but I think I’ll last.

Flex X Cop (Episode 13-14) - Mood: D
I guess Kwak Si Yang really was casted for his ability to play conflicted characters after all, though I’m not pleased to see the typecasting when it’s so obvious his character will flirt with the dark side and go through a rushed redemption or just go straight full villain to conclude the makjang arc in the ML’s family. Whatever choice the writer makes, this just sucks.

Wedding Impossible (Episode 7-8) - Mood: D-
It’s 2024 and some shows still cannot grasp media representation: it’s bad enough narratively that the ex is trouble, but we just had to watch someone get outed against their will as a plot device to advance the OTP’s romance. I should also say an inconvenient truth: the ML is mad cause of love while the FL is throwing away her friendship for love. I don’t see the appeal.

What! Saturday already? 🤔😆

With DR SLUMP ending (and I liked how it was wrapped up!), some watching time freed up in my schedule, which was all consumed by OUR BLOOMING YOUTH (or, how @attiton aptly called it: “CSI: Joseon” 😂) community watch! Oooh, this series is so much fun. Gotta admit I could not hold myself back and binged through half the drama already. Really enjoy our ensemble, most of all the Crown Prince & Jaeyi.

I also managed to squeeze in MIDNIGHT STUDIO as well, which was heartbreaking but … fun?! 🥳 Strangely, the show balances comedy & drama very well, and it’s really a comfort watch after a stressful work day. Just feeling sorry for woori drama granny. 😬

Then, I specifically downloaded all of CHICKEN NUGGET, to finally finish watching this while spending some time traveling this weekend. I just forgot that I cannot watch anything while on the train, because it gives me motion sickness. 🤢😵‍💫 So there. No CHICKEN NUGGET again, just boredom. *sighs*

At least, the magnolias are in full bloom around here. Happy spring!

The Midnight Studio It's not bad but it doesn't make feel anything... I think there is nothing new or unique and the actors are good but doens't bring anything special to this drama.

Nothing Uncovered I like the actors and I watch it for them. The story is quite meh for now.

Wedding Impossible This is my favorite one! I love the 3 leads and I want them to be happy.

Wonderful World There are so many scenes where nothing is happening but just focusing on the actors with loud music... it's quite weird. Not sure that CEW is really the best actor for a cat and mouse game.

Flex x Cop Poor I-Soo, give him a break!

Queen of Tears Kim Soo-Hyun in a suit, drenched on a bike 😍

The Impossible Heir I hope one day I will like a drama with LJW as a lead 😅

Pyramid Game I really liked this drama. It was nice to get a drama with only girls who were smart, caring and strong. I wasn't a fan of the actress playing the villain, she was the leats charismatic from all the girls for me. Now, the message was a little bit better than Weak Hero Class, but it's still a drama about bullying not very realistic.

Dr Slump It's over and I won't miss it.

Flex X Cop (through Ep. 14): Will watch the final two episodes with fingers crossed for a satisfying (temporary) ending for a show I've really come to love. Seems like Yi-soo will need all his new friendships to help him cope with this latest trauma. I hope we're not left on a cliffhanger just because Season 2 has been announced.

Wedding Impossible (Ep. 8): I'm glad the OTP got their feelings out in the open, and surely more cute couple scenes lie ahead, but other secrets are still being talked about obliquely at best (Do-han's sexuality) if not frustratingly maintained (the truth about the accident -- hello, Grandpa?). Curious how it'll all be resolved in four episodes and if WI will have a story arc for its gay chaebol that doesn't see him leaving the country ... again.

Midnight Photo Studio (Ep. 4): This show is playing with all the colors in the crayon box as we went from a hilarious aespa dance break to the tearful parting of Bom and her grandma. Looking forward to seeing how Bom's ghost-seeing powers change the dynamics among the core four.

19th Floor (Ep. 18): Can't get away from childhood connections, even in a thriller. The big bad has revealed his face and duplicity, if not his endgame. The players have -- so far -- chosen teamwork over individual survival. It's been fun to knock off an episode or two when I'm in need of a change of pace.

Everyone Loves Me (Ep. 19): Just when the OTP's push/pull period started to drag, there was finally forward momentum and a heartfelt confession. No flowers or fairy lights, just clotheslines of laundry in the background, but the ML's sincerity shone through. The workplace parts of the drama keep it grounded and show the characters are more than their crushes.

Queen of Tears - This remains fun most of the time.
I've already watched sweet Park Sung-hoon, so I'm gonna assume he's not in this drama and let baddie Eun-seong do his thing on my screen.
Hae-in's mom is one dumb character. She might have the class all there is but she's no match for Moh lady's slyness. The one daughter who is a march is confrontational about it and that doesn't exactly help. Instead of them helping Dad to see the truth about her, what they should devote their time to doing is protecting their backs while letting her do what she wants to do. She wants to manipulate? Manipulate all you want we won't stop you.
I know it's a joke but I wasn't at all okay with Hyun-woo's reaction to his wife finding a treatment offering 51% cute. It made good physical comedy but detached me away from him.

Of all the characters in this universe, it's only Hyun-woo's mom that I like. Sadly she doesn't have enough screentime. But, I did like how she subliminally put Hae-in's mom in her place. How dare she walk away while the family picture was being taken. I liked how Hyun-woo's mom took the initiative to follow Hae-in's mom alike even though it meant not appearing in all the family pictures. She following Hae-in mom's immediately tanked whatever MIL drama Hae-in's mom's absence in the pictures would have caused

Nothing Uncovered - I'm not enjoying Kim Hanuel here at all. It's like she's not acting.
However, Jang Seung-jo delivered. And cop guy Yeon Woo-jin... he's a good cop.
Someone tell Soo-hyun to call the police when she comes upon a dead body or a crime scene, and not to touch the said body or scene. For an investigative reporter, that is 1000 % dumb.
While the writing faltered in this area, it excelled in a particular scene. The standown between the Seol father and son. But then, I'm pissed that they've soiled this powerful scene with an adultery teaser. Why can't we have a marriage like Song Ga-kyung(Jeon Hye-jin)and Oh Jin-woo(Ji Seung-hyun) in Search:WWW.

Unpredictable Family (finale).

The good
1. The relationship between the adoptive parents and their children.

You can say anything about the parents, but I don't think anyone would doubt their love for their children.

I hate it when shows try to emphasize this "blood is thicker than water" message or anything that can be use to normalize or ignore abuse and other toxic dynamics inside a family. So I really adore how this show didn't took the concept of family lightly.

The drama showed us how valuable is the love, care and support these parents gave to their children.

One highlight for me is Mi Guk finding out Ga Ram isn't related to them by blood. All he kept saying was "that's my son".

Another highlight is Sun Woo telling his mom that she was his mom and that would never change.

But nothing wins against the scene of Eun Hyuk taking his mom shopping and buying her dinner. It was so simple but sweet! the way he was trying to cheer up his mom was adorable.

2. The characters.
The characters were so refreshing! I'm gonna miss haraboji asking "how old are you" all the time. He's the best! he gave so much color to the show.

Same goes for Sun Ju. She has no filter but it's hard to feel offended by the things she says. It's impossible to hate her. I just love how straightforward but harmless —that's probably the coolest superpower ever— she is.

The men! Why is every single guy in this show so perfect???? wtf? This raised my standard for men in kdramas... Are second leads going to annoy me even more now? I hope not, there's too many of them. 🤣

Ha Young! I almost lost faith in her, but the character development was so satisfactory I don't even remember how awful she used to be.

Also, the chemistry! I think I'm gonna miss the family dinners the most. Every family had a unique dynamic that made those scenes so nice to watch. But in general the entire cast has an amazing chemistry. I'm not even going to talk about the couples because it is too obvious, they were the cutest!

The bad
I kinda wish we had a different focus for the last few episodes.

After the wedding, we could've focused on Eun Ah and her relationship with Mi Guk and Ga Ram. I wanted to see them become a family.

I also would've preferred that bitter mom found out the truth sooner. That way we could've skipped the whole "monster in law" thing after the wedding. I would've liked to see Sophie and Marie become friends again and start the restaurant together. We literally skipped the whole healing process between both families. I wanted to see that!

The unpredictable
The "married life" scenes for my two girls were weird af, tbh.
Wtv campaign or propaganda they were trying to do, went very wrong... Or maybe that was the point? Maybe I didn't get the irony, Idk. It felt off.

Wedding Impossible
Still squeeing... and feeling like many years ago when I just started with kdramas. 🦋☺️ (I'm also more and more interested in Dohan and wish Ex-boyfriend was more nuanced, with more interesting backstory.)

Chaebol, up to ep.14
That's not the direction I wanted the show to go. No more chance for reconciliation. 😭

Queen of Tears
Haein and Hyunwoo were so cute and sweet when falling in love for the first time, with bragging Hyunwoo and Haein's grandma dress stitched in Italy 😆. But then the (chaebol) life was not really friendly to them and the 1031 reveal was rather a hard one. The sickness paradoxically can be their second chance to rediscover and deepen their love and be again together (같이). In the meantime, intrigues thicken. Hyunwoo on the surface may look meek, but with all those hints about his hidden skills (sharp shooting) I somehow expect a turning point, a change into a darker version à la Jang Uk from Alchemy of Souls 2, and I'm envisioning Hyunwoo marching with his gun and entering the Tower of Villainy with My Wife Can't Sleep on his lips.

Yay Spring! 🌷🐇

WATCHING
Wedding Impossible: I'm really enjoying the little details that make the difference between an average and a great drama. The complex characters are so appealing. I'll miss this when it's over, but 4 more episodes feels just right. The traditional 8th episode kiss was perfectly timed.

The Midnight Studio: A light watch with some surprising elements along with the predictable ones. Soothing and sweet and heart-tugging in all the right places. I'm kind of liking the cheesier special effects that give it that throwback feel. The saturated fantasy colors are gorgeous, just like the poster. Meanwhile, I can't get aespa's Next Level out of my head 😜

Flex X Cop: Finally picked this back up again at ep 5 and still loving it! The dialogue is exceptional. I'm bummed I didn't live-watch it with beanies, but I'll be going through all the recaps and comments for fun. Hoping to finish this next week, and then I'll probably start Queen of Tears. Or not.

The Legend of Shen Li: c-drama Started this on a whim one night when I couldn't sleep and was immediately drawn into the silliness for 4 episodes. I have no idea what to make of this story, or where it's going, but I'll dabble with it for a bit. It's the first xianxia I've not dropped within minutes. I actually thought it was a wuxia, which is why I gave it a try (although why I thought wuxia was a good choice for middle-of-the-night viewing I have no idea, lol).

COMPLETED
Doctor Slump: I loved the premise, the numerous meaningful conversations, the art direction, and the production quality. But I was really put off by the overdone comedy (sadly, and especially, PHS) and the irresponsible messaging around drinking when diagnosed with depression and taking prescription drugs. Even without the latter, the drinking in this drama was beyond excessive imo. Sigh. It was still good, but it could have been amazing.

Amidst a Snowstorm of Love: c-drama This was a terrific drama, including the tone and pace, the many and varied characters, and the beautiful relationship between the leads. The large-ish cast was memorable. What an easy, pleasurable watch! It took a few days to come down off the lovely high at the story's end.

Have a great week everyone!

Well, i started a (non-airing) new drama again instead of finishing the stuff i wanted to finish xD. Life with audhd i guess lol. I think about watching shows more than actually watching them most of the time.

Currently watching "My Perfect Stranger". Why did i not watch this last year already? Finished episode 7 and it's great so far. Love the small town mystery vibes and chemistry the cast has. Now i just have to dodge spoilers as much as possible lol. I hope the leads stay platonic, i *really* don't want romance between them at all, but the show seems to hint at it :/.

I want to start/check out:

Flex x Cop
Wonderful World
Grabbed by the Collar/Nothing uncovered
Hide (episode 1 comes out today!)
Chicken Nugget
(My watchlist for 2024+ alone is so damn long, it's not even funny anymore: https://mydramalist.com/list/LOPaeKZ3)

But i still have to finish:
A paradox killer (love the vibes/cinemaphotography but i have a hard time watching vigilante stories tbh)

Night has Come (didn't finish this last year for some reason lol)

Knight Flower (it was cute, but i kinda got bored of it, may never finish this)

Pyramid Game (finale was this week! I need to finish this soon xD)

Mask Girl & Gyeongseong Creature (i also haven't finished them, even though i loved the episodes i watched. I think i just got slumps when i watched them. Ugh, why am i like this.)

And more.... that I will probably never finish but still refuse to count as dropped.

other shows than kdrama: rewatching some stuff and finishing frieren and apothecary diaries because they finished this week :((.

Completed:

Doctor Slump. The last episodes were perfect for me a slice of life addict who likes happy endings. In the end they aren’t cured but they have healed enough to now have the strength to endure any misfortunes and also found the true family and friends who will stick it out on the arduous journey of life. I think this will be a good rewatch during any rough patches in life when you need a kdrama escapism and pick me up.

Khitan Goryeo War. After the last battle which I am still confused about, I had very little motivation to watch the rest. Did the Khitan army leader throw that metal thing as a sign of surrender?

Cdrama- Love in a Snowstorm. Picked this up at a recommendation of a beanie but found the first 2 episodes rather slow and soporific. Good cure for my insomnia though. Seems like a lot of long silence awkward stares from the two leads who are clearly interested in each other but barely talk.

So instead I am rewatching Our Blooming Youth with a bunch of beanies. I find this way more entertaining although have to rush to catch up so FF through the cackling.

You know what, my two most hated things in kdramaland right now are chaebols and serial killers. Tho honestly I’d watch a drama about serial killers murdering chaebols 🤷‍♀️

Never thought this would happen, but (all) my friends and I managed to watch a kdrama together. And I never thought CHICKEN NUGGET would be the drama of choice. We didn’t finish but damn is this definitely a crowd pleaser. It’s weird as hell and comedy gold. 2024 is turning out to be the year of quality over quantity (for me).

On hold: Captivating the King. I've been watching all the Oscar nominated movies, so this one had to be put aside.

Finished: The Kidnapping Day. This is truly a gem. Kim Shin-rok rocked. That meltdown at the end shows she's very talented. Nice to see Kang Yeong-seok get a better role than that lame turn in Welcome to Samdal-ri. And I didn't expect my man, Kang Haneul, to turn up.

Started: Queen of Tears. Just got done with the first episode. I'm not sure this show is for me. I just tuned in for the leading actors. And I want to see Park Sung-hoon after the above show.

Others: American Fiction (finished); Maestro (started)

Flex x Cop (up to episode 15): Took an almost stale turn with episodes 14 and 15 with the Yi-soo family drama. It tried to be twisty, but twisty in a boring way, which is weird considering this drama is about a super rich guy who gets to become an unofficial police officer. I was happy to hear about a sequel, so maybe the sequel will bring back the fun.

Queen of Tears: I'm in the midst of watching the episodes, time flies by and I'm hooked, but I'm not salivating for the next episode. I'm intrigued by all the little reveals of all the characters who may be plotting something against the Hong family - plotting perhaps together? Hae-in has me heart and soul, and I'm waiting for Hyun-woo to wake the eff up and realize that he would be really sad if Hae-in dies.

Midnight Studio: Loved the priest episode with the trippy Aespa moment! It was fun, wholesome, and gave me a break from all the sob-inducing episodes. Then it smacked with Halmoni's death. Kdramas and their penchant to extra-orphan their leads.

Chicken nugget (up to episode 3): I'm liking it so far, but it doesn't make as much of an impression as i thought it would. I feel like it needed a movie's pacing.

Blood of Youth: Wow, I finished a 40 episode c-drama in 2 weeks. I loved this story of friendship and brotherhood and sticking with your principles and am thinking about a rewatch already since now I know who everyone is. The second half was a little more into the palace politics side since that was what drove the ML into outside world, but it's all tied to the overall themes. Ends on a high note. Anyone watching it, don't forget about the 5 minute ending special that you have to dig around to find.

Arang and The Magistrate/Tale of Arang. This was my third attempt at this show. At first this gave me some My Girlfriend is a Gumiho vibes due to the rhymn of the comedy and some of the acting but eventually that faded. I figured that's a result of the time period. Wooow, the level at which I'm not even the tinest bit sympathetic to Lee Seo Rim's death. Maybe it's because I'm too jaded and cynical. Maybe it's because I'm not a romantic. Maybe it's because I've always disliked the "love at first sight" trope (one of the reasons I lost interest in dramas and manga in the past was the characters almost ALWAYS seemed to follow this trope and oh, how it confused and irritated me so much that I couldn't even stand it. They never even go from "like" to love, it's just always instantly love) but I seriously just felt no sympathy and just thought like "what a pointless death" (well I suppose "pointless" isn't fair since apparently this was part of some long con/plan). She fell for a random guy at first sight, one sidely proposed marriage (never even met him), followed him when he went off with a random woman, witnessed creepiness, and then jumped in front of knife to protect him. All that and he (1) didn't even know her (2) didn't even feel gratitude or curiousity towards her (3) just dumped her body and forgot all about her.
Lee Seo Rim's love story is so pitiful and dumb (to me) but I suppose there are those who would say it's a romantic "it's better to have experienced love than not".

Something that bugged me: it was never shown/explained how or why she was in the shed (where she took the hairpin) in the first place. I feel like I missed something because she went from following them -> to the shed (witnessing the creepiness) -> sacrificing herself -> to being in the shed again but dead and neither the guy or the lady recognized her (so how could she have called out or took the hairpin?). This just bugged me so much yet I don't think it stood out to anyone else haha

My overall feel about it was that it's fine. I like how progressive the show was in universe (though I don't know why he didn't release his slave from his status but I guess there was reasons)

The Midnight Studio. I think I'll be watching this and just crying/tearing up each week haha. I think this may be in a similar vein as Twinking Watermelon when it comes to comedic heart and Move To Heaven when comes to emotional heart.

Physical 100: Underground (aka S2). The first season I recognized some people due to seeing them on variety shows but this time I think I recognized 2 people haha. I *think* there seems to be more diverse casting when it comes to their occupations/backgrounds which is cool (though in the end the same type of people usually end up in the higher ranks). Like I've never even thought of an arborist as someone who would be on this show (then again, I've never thought of tree climbers as jobs people had). I...

Rain and blustery wind today . Good day to watch something.

Watching K drama Queen of Tears I want a happy ending already.

Watching C dramas Legend of Shen Li Female demon/Cgi Phoenix and Sickly ML /God ?

C Drama Laughing in the Wind (2001) No CGI here. Good old martial arts fighting scenes.

C movie : The Wild Blade of Strangers (2024)
Charcoal vendor and Fortune teller save a woman and child from evil . Child is the true heir, a mysterious Woman in White also wants the child.

J dramaIdaten Focus on swimming and eyes on medals.

YouTube videos machinists making or fixing stuff.

Walt Disney film Dr. Syn, Alias the Scarecrow (1963) Fond memories watching this as a child. The vicar is the smuggler Scarecrow !
This led me to listen to some audiobooks of Dr Syn’s adventures, he led a far wilder life than the Disney adaptation, as the vicar was a pirate captain in his youth.

I also listened to a audiobook of Robin Hood

My “What we’re watching“ are always so delayed – I guess they are being reviewed – so I will put all my gif links in the comments. If they are not there, those comments are still being reviewed by DB superiors and will come later – but you can also just go to the rooftop BBQ on my fan wall and see them.
Watching Continued:
Queen of Tears: I love the OTP, both of them, and Iam deeply invested in them living happily ever after. But first, it will go terribly, terribly wrong, it can’t be helped. Please, don’t make it end bad!
Doctor Slump: This was a nice show, and it ended well. Park Hyung-sik beat his own bed-wriggling record, something of a feat, I should say.
Finished:
Extra-ordinary You: That was a great show. I have written A LOT about it on my own fan wall. I enjoy the meta on K-drama (or Shoju manga) tropes, and felt a little uneasy about how I myself expected the OTP to get each other in the end. When the writer started using the way the story was changing, forcing it in traditional directions, it became a little bit confusing, (and we deserved being confused) though when the FL went full aegyo, it was obviously the writer messing with her.
Starting and finishing:
Moonshine: I bothered everybody with how the ML didn’t have the looks to make it work. Having finished the show, I must say he seemed plausible as a love interest in the end BUT STILL: He started out as a terrible person, and the show had those prolonged glances followed by embarrassment that means: “This is the OTP”, and it really did not make sense. There was no reason the FL should fall for him before well into the season. Though no one should ever fall for a privilege blind stodgy, classicist misogynist who can’t even do his traditionalist BS and be classically polite while doing it, if at least he is goodlooking, there’s something to hang you plot on.
Anyway, [spoiler alert] the FL gradually develops pirate queen authority and looks (minus being actually murderous), and if you can’t love that, you are not my real friend. The ML is falling hard for it, and on hight time, too. Byeon Woo-seuk is the underestimated SML as usual, and I guess they had to make him evil for half an episode or someone would have burned down the studio if he didn’t end up with FL.
Also, I insist, Moon You Kang in this role as tortured casual killer had strong reminiscences of a young Brad Pitt (look-wise). I need someone to agree with me! The mouth! The nose! The way he smiles! ( Funnily, Moon's eyes are much rounder than Brad's. Both have beautiful eyes).
Chicken Nugget: This was a strange and funny show, reminiscent of Gudetama, the sentient egg yolk, A Town called Panic, Three Busy Debras, and also Miracle Workers with Daniel Radcliffe, actually. I documented...