Currently Watching
Wedding Impossible: 🤵‍♂️🚫👰‍♀️(ep. 2-4) Oohh things developed more depth in the last couple of episodes! It was nice seeing the ML and FL stand up for each other to jerks. I'm liking the ML more now. Chaebol half-sister seems quite interesting - will she become the primary antagonist?

Flex x Cop: 🕵‍♂️ (ep. 10-11) So the cases are getting a bit darker (*and bloodier*), but I'm still enjoying it. Ahn Bo-hyun is just doing such a nice job making the ML personable and likable. Their team is just so chill and supportive! It's nice to see positive work teams. Also, I LOVE seeing Isoo make breakthroughs and solve things with his non-linear processes!

FINISHED!!🥳🎉
The Matchmakers
The most beautiful drama. "Love is everywhere, and is the beginning of everything." I loved the tone of this... sweet, wistful, and a little bittersweet, but with hope and happiness instead of sadness. The love between our main leads is developed through their admiration and esteem for each other as they get to know each other. The ML is a sweet nerd (just my type), and has to learn about romantic love because he hasn't had any practice. But he's sincere, genuine, and patient in his pursuit. The FL is a young widow who loves love, and tries to help other couples find love like she experienced in her marriage. The manifestation of her love is shown as a desire to protect - to protect her clients, her family, and her new-found love, even offering to be his shield. She and her MIL are cut from the same cloth, which her MIL sees, but whereas MIL will sacrifice anyone to advance the monolithic concept of "family," the FL is willing to sacrifice her own happiness for people she considers family. Such an interesting contrast. I also loved the Romeo and Juliet thematic bookending of the first and last episodes. The villain was complex and compelling, the characters well fleshed out and nuanced, the love sincere and gentle, and every scene was GORGEOUSLY framed, lit, and filmed (I mean, even using different colors of light to visibly show passage of time - just WOW). My new #1 drama.
🦆❤️🦆🫏📚🏮👰‍♀️🤵‍♂️💕

COMPLETED
Sejak - What a relief that everyone in Qing was as blind as everyone in Joseon 😑. JJS was too good for this show.

Queen of Divorce - Meh. Still waiting for Kang Ki-young as a lead in a good show.

ONGOING
The Chaebol-Cop Show - It'd be interesting if they actually let the mother's death remain a suicide. I thought this was 12 episodes with the cult being the final arc so I'm glad we get more episodes!

Doctor Slump - The Trucks-of-Doom are evolving 🙄.

Wedding Impossible - The show is jumping through so many hoops to make everyone's super irrational motivations believable. But the characters keep surprising me - even evil chaebol trio - and I enjoy it.

The Impossible Heir (Ep 1-4) - The story is moving so fast - it's hard to relate to any of this scheming. Still Week 2 was better than Week 1. The FL is extraneous to this story. Nice to see Lee Ji-hoon again.

WATCHLIST
It's finally Queen of Tears weekend! Let's go 💃🎉🎊!

C-DRAMAS
Only had time to watch 4 episodes of Pegasus so far but liking it a lot. Hu Xian Xu is such a talent.

Not really enthused by any forthcoming dramas right now 🙁.

Completed
Queen of Divorce: Oh Min Seok! 😍Everything else *yawn*

Ongoing

Flex Cop upto 4 episodes. I am having fun with this show. First two episodes were ok, but I really liked episode 3 and 4. I love how earnest our chaebol cop has become. It was nice to see him find something he enjoys and is actually passionate about it. He even informed his boss he is running late!! All he wants is to be part of the team. It was sad when no one went to his dinner invite nor did they invite him. I can’t wait for our cop team to warm up to him and make him feel included. He is such a softie and endearing chaebol!
Also, the forensic lady and other cop dude have some insane chemistry!! In just two scenes so much was said. Need morawwwe!
Only complaint is that the two cases so far have been in the rich realm making it easy for Chaebol cop to contribute. Hope we see him learn in other cases and be thrown into unfamiliar territory.

Shop for Killers : 5/8. No progress this week.

Impossible Heir :
What are they even doing!! So flat. But everyone is so pretty and are acting like the smartest cookies in Korea, so I just want to see where they go from here.

Wedding Impossible :
So so fun! Absolutely enjoying the faux seduction backfiring on Ji Han. I hope the show can keep this up.

Shogun : Yet to watch Ep 3.
I really liked Ep 2. Hiroyuki Sanada as Toranaga is brilliant. The assassin sequence was so well shot!! can’t wait to watch episode 3 this evening.

Exploration method of Love (cdrama) :
Paused.

Dropped
Doctor Slump :

Live watches
Wedding Impossible
Still the most fun drama in the week. Having to qualify this as a week day drama knowing later today I will finally start watching Queen of tears which I am hoping will be my fun weekend watch.

Queen of tears
Drops later today🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳

Dr slump
Hoping dark tones aka Hyung disappear as that is the only reason this drama has not been able to reign as the ultimate watch. It is a great slice of life rom com but I feel the slice of life elements were dark enough and would have kept it more realistic.

The impossible heir
Singing All by myself 🎶 again as I am the last woman standing still enjoying this drama for what it is is.

Between Him & Her
Progress in the main relationship at loooooooooooooooooong last.

Eye love you -Japanese
I have the last two episodes on hold as the show will finally drop tomorrow on Netflix with hopefully better subtitles. I want to watch on Netflix so the ratings are captured to support smiling boy and his projects.

Binge watch corner
The best chicken as recommended by a beanie on their What We’re Watching list a couple of weeks back. Thank you for recommending this no stress watch.

Special Labour Inspector Jo
Early days with this one. I think it’s going to be Miseang and On the verge of insanity type hard core watch so limited number of episodes in each binge session.

Completed

Queen of divorce
Shame the ‘happy’ ending was so briefly tied up.

Book club:
The tale of Genji - Japanese classic from 11th century
Only 6 hours of listening left. Non spoiler review to be posted next week.

Flex x Cop: The meta reference and his Iet’s not talk about it wave of his hand to his next life was pitch perfect. I am glad he can make fun of himself. Corrupt police, smh, but this continues to be my fun drama. Also Yisoo’s earnestness is so sweet, we are a team indeed.

Wonderful World: SIGH, we had to go the cheating husband route. I biggest problem with this plot point is that at the end of the day, the ultimate cause of Gunwoo’s death was not the cheating or the door open, it was the man who hit him with the car and left him to die. This is annoying and I think that was my last episode.

Queen of Tears: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE be good!!

Doctor Slump: Well I guess no more cutesey moments and cringe, now we have dramatic acting and tears. I look forward to it.

LIVE WATCHES

Impossible Heir
Those who wanted "moar politix" certainly got that in episodes 3-4. Unfortunately, even though some of us were able to watch them about a week early due to a Hulu slip-up, it has not felt like an extra hardship to have to wait an extra few days for episodes 5-6. Here's hoping they'll get better. Week one was so good.

Wedding Impossible
This one has split the community. The FL is pretty well universally loved by the fans, tho.

Queen of Divorce
While not a master class in script-writing, the last episode did contain some pretty solid commentary about what constitutes a strong attitude towards marriage at the wedding ceremony, but then undercut them in the last five minutes with our "lead couple".

FxC
Such a simple show. Predictable each week, in a good way. Hopefully, it stays that way!

Dr. Slump
While welcoming the exit of Park Hyung-sik's aegyo, the reason for its departure was disappointingly trite.

LYOL
Almost done! With luck, Ha Joon will actually get scripts offers after this, and with even more luck, he'll pick a good one.

FROM THE RESERVES

Sell Your Haunted House
Going slowly, but through episode two, it's fantastic. Love the world-building. Love the characters.

Chaebol, up to ep.10
I loved the old hotel setting (with Choi Taejoon the ghost hunter). I also liked the twists surrounding the Older Actress (and she was awesome!).
In the meantime, Chaebol is growing up and finding true friends. I still hope that he and Father (and Hyung) will also find way to each other (and heal what needs to be healed between them).

Queen of Divorce
Oh Minseok.

Wedding Impossible
Jihan, I see, you have a plan... ha. 😁
And Ahjung, you are not interested, not even a tiny bit, I see... ha.😁😁
This show is still a delight. With surprises and unexpected complexities. I love it. Is it Monday yet?

Everyone Loves Me, 3eps
I needed something light and undemanding and this cdrama fitted the bill perfectly - quite outspoken and online badass Heroine is having a crush on Hero and tries to act sweet and innocent around him to attract him (not working, he hates it). The funny thing is it is the Hero himself, an online shooting buddy of the Heroine, who gave her such an advice during their online conversation. And now he is basically jealous of himself. 😁

Still there with Live Your Own Life and a bit behind with Unpredictable Family.

Live Watches
Doctor Slump: Like many folks, I didn’t love the truck of doom development. But there have been so many other things that I did love, including in these episodes, so I’m going into this weekend hopeful that they will handle the situation well.

Older Dramas
Sungkyungkwan Scandal: (up to episode 14) So far Yong-ha is winning the fav character battle. I said during Reborn Rich that I would just watch SJK swanning around winning all the time with a cocky smile on his face and I meant it. But Yong-ha has lovely other sides that he carefully hides under his pretty hanbok. That scene where he confronted Jae-shin as he was sneaking out? Fire. Slow clap for uri real OTP. The main couple is growing on me though. I like watching Seon-jun realize that his inflexible convictions might not be entirely accurate, and then bending them slightly. I don’t really like watching Hyo-eun do anything at all - she is aggressively annoying and how Seon-jun could resign himself to a tiresome life with her is beyond me.

Wedding Impossible (Episode 3-4) - Mood: D
I don’t know, it’s a struggle watching this when there’s really nothing narratively that’s interesting. The family drama is crap not worth discussing about, the side characters lose out to the cameos, the 2FL gets a nice edit because this is building up a love triangle down the road, and the OTP is just doing as most romance leads do and flail into compromising situations. It is also disappointing that the one character with any narrative potential (2ML) is being given that scorned ex development.

Flex X Cop (Episode 9-10) - Mood: D+
Hmm, it feels like I’ve seen a cult as a procedural case in way too many shows already, so I can’t say I’m looking forward to revisiting that again especially when it ties into FL’s dad’s downfall. I’m not sure where we’re going with ML’s mom but it’s a rollercoaster after they dropped that revelation and had ML move on. Imagine if the twist is that it’s truly just a suicide with nothing shady behind it: that would be glorious trope subversion I could get behind? But there’s that opening scene though.

Doctor Slump (Episode 11-12) - Mood: D
It’s crazy how everything is pretty much skippable except the 2nd leads, who finally get content because this is the time we have to endure 3rd-quarter nonsense (of course it was the Truck of Doom in the cliffhanger). For a moment, I had thought I would see the supporting couple carry the show like John/Ji Wan did in Love is for Suckers, but then of course that park date happened and I knew the whole point of that was to hash out drama and pivot back to the Kyung Min crap. Sigh?

Branding in Seongsu (Episode 17-20) - Mood: D-
With the revenge arc coming at the eleventh hour, I’ve fully checked out of the plot which has already jumped the shark too many times. Wasn’t the show about finding out who the rabbit mask killer was while navigating a soul swap? This plot twist not only isn’t great, it also feels like the writer didn’t know where to go and just winged the plot to meet the deadline. I have to wonder if the actors were given the whole script at once because their acting also seems like they’re adjusting on the fly.

Captivating the King - It ended. I'm so sad to see it go so soon. It was worth it while it ended.
This drama is really good though. Gave us 3 strong cameo performances in persons of Choi Dae-hoon, Jo Sung-ha and Sohn Hyun-joo. I really thought he would return with Hee-soo from Beijing. I was a bit disappointed that he didn't.

I'm going to hold on to the fact that Lee In and Hee-soo were never intimate - hot kisses from JJS and undergarments, or not.

I didn't quite understand what went on in Hee-soo's head by wanting to not appear before Lee In after her return from Qing. Make it make sense cause it is glaring nonsense to me and one annoying form of something worse than noble idiocy.

@kiara what implications does it have when a King moves his palace residence to another location because the Queen Dowager threatened to leave the Palace? The mention of that act shut the QD almost immediately and it kinda piqued my interest on the severity of the action of carried out.

Talking about the Queen Dowager, I liked her defiance towards Lee In. "You want be back at the palace? Come and find me yourself." Moments like this is why I like Sagueks that are properly done. You don't see this kind of grandstanding in modern kdramas.

Goryeo-Khitan War - I was moved to feel for the Empress. However progressive Hyeong-jung was and conservative she was, she made her point clear. I blame Hyeong-jung for how she ended. It could have turned a different way. At least she didn't go Queen Wonyoung's way. While she was still Princess, she told her husband "half of Joseon belongs to her. And that he shouldn't leave her out of discussion of state matters". Not that she didn't have the right to make such statements cause she did have every right to every word she said. The Empress did nothing compared to Queen Wonyoung and I came to realize she overcompensated for it.
I hope those officials know not to mention touching the military's dues again to satisfy their own paychecks. Sometimes I find this people parasitic, and I was very disappointed to see Gang Gam-chan just watch it happen without saying a word in opposition. It was only the King speaking on the side of his military.
The death of evil Chunju guy's adopted son pained me quite a bit. Even though it was late, I liked that he never lost focus of what was supposed to be.

Mr. Queen - I've gotten to the most iconic line of mine in Mr. Queen: Incompetence is sin. Episode 11-16 was a blast.
2nd iconic line: Let me remind you once again who this palace belongs to. EP 11.
But I'm not so excited to complete it. Unless I'll have to skip to episode 20 ending.

Finally the real Queen will premiere today.

LIVE YOUR OWN LIFE (Ep. 46-47) The writer and director are trying too hard to give every character personality transplants and happy endings as the series stumbles to the finish line. The idea of adding at the eleventh hour a slew of new actors for tertiary characters’ immaterial stories shows how off-course the show has been for a long time. Poor Uee, she has the least amount of screen time for any weekender lead. Her character has not have had any alone time; she is constantly running around putting out fires even after moving out of her Mother’s dungeon.

SHOGUN (FX) (Ep. 3) Edo Lord Toranaga escapes his hostage status with the help of the British pilot Blackthorne who continues to forge favors with unlikely enemies. He cannot grasp the honor in Japanese deaths as he has done everything possible to hang on to his life. He still cannot understand Mariko’s husband’s final suicide mission instead of saving his own life. He also could not understand her stoic reaction to it - - - the concept of an honorable death is more foreign than this strange land. His reward is to be forced into a regiment commander to teach European battle techniques. It is an honor and a curse as his newfound mutual respect with the Edo Lord.

HOUSE ON WHEELS 4 (episode 3) The MCs are extremely nervous about meeting their guest. None of them had ever worked with her or part of their friend circles. It was awkward as a freshman mixer. Kim Ha-neul confessed that she only came on the show because it was in Jeju Island (which photographs magnificently) and eating Hyo Jin’s famous Jeju gimbap. A lot of childhood nostalgia in this episode.

Flex X Cop (through Ep. 11): Sad there are only two weeks left. This show has been an absolute delight, in no small part because it treats its characters with grace. Even trashy reporter and the guys on the other investigative team are proving to have a conscience. Coffee with a view is Yi-soo and Kang-hyun’s friendship language. Kudos to the writer for developing their relationship so naturally.

Wedding Impossible (through Ep. 4): Nearly every other drama FL risks seeming bland in comparison to Jeon Jong-seo's Ah-jeong. She is absolutely owning the role and elevates the entire show. But as much as I enjoy watching the two players unintentionally play themselves into falling in love, I hope Do-han doesn't get sidelined too much. I know he's not the ML, but his character deserves to be more than the mechanism bringing the OTP together.

19th Floor (C-drama, through Ep. 4): Needed a break from chaebol succession storylines and figured a thriller would do the trick. It's fun and my kids are enjoying it. Curious about how it'll sustain the excitement for 30 episodes, but a balance between the mysteries of the haunted world and the real world might do the trick.

Exploration Methods of Love (C-drama, completed): Gave us two intelligent, strong-willed leads in a twins-switch-places plot, brought them together and then flubbed the ending. A power couple should combine forces and be stronger together, not succumb to last-minute noble idiocy and an uneven relationship dynamic in which one half of the "OTP" seems waaaay more invested than the other. Not to mention they let the bad guy completely off the hook.

Wedding Impossible I love the chaos that our leads cause when they're together.

Queen of Divorce This drama had an interesting premise that the writer didn't follow at all. I'm sorry for Kang Ki-Young but after this drama, I don't think he can be a ML.

Doctor Slump The last 2 episodes were very disapointing. I don't like the writer chose a villain for this story, it wasn't necessary.

Wonderful World I'm disapointing by the new elements, it's so unoriginal...

Flex x Cop I like how the leads tell each other their truths, he was childish, she doesn't trust anyone.

Queen of Tears D-Day \o/

The Impossible Heir It's quite meh for now, the story, the characters and the acting.

Pyramid Game Myung Ja-Eun comes straight out of a Japanese manga, the style and the character. She's my favorite!

Branding in Seongsu I have no idea what the writer is trying to say with this drama but it would be better if the characters were consistent and didn't act differently in each episode...

Eye Love You I like how the FL is a food lover, it's quite surprising she doesn't cook herself. I'm not sure about the plot with the scientist...

Starting:
Queen of Tears: I haven’t seen more than the trailer yet, but I am looking forward to it. The trailer has as much crying as the bumper cars have collisions, and though I like to be a bit sad with Oppah Soo-hyun, I hope there are bits of plot between wailing binges. It seems in the trailer as if huge amounts of crying, overwhelmingly melodramatic, are played for laughs. Well, let’s see.
The Secret Royal Inspector and Joy: This comedy that I had at first shelved because it seemed to light weight and generic, is becoming more and more interesting and complex, and I love some og the “side” characters a lot. (Like; a lot!) I have giffed some moments that caught my eye, and they are mostly not about the OTP. A bit like with Byeun Woo-seok I started gaffing the moments one evil guy was not killing anybody, but this time it is not because the rest of this drama is “Dødens Pølse” (=The Sausage of Death = Boring), but because this guy is so intense every time he is on screen. Honestly, he seems like a much more interesting person than the main character, though not one I would SMLS over until he got his daddy-issues sorted out. Man, he’s got at baaaad round of daddy-issues.
https://www.dramabeans.com/activity/p/1546606/
https://www.dramabeans.com/activity/p/1546997/
Branding in Seongsu: I have had some good talks with @hacja on the hangout about this drama
There are many ways this could end intensely and well, but we dare not hope that all the mystery – and there’s a lot – will not just be “solved” with the K-drama equivalent of “Because I say so!”
Nevertheless, I will have to watch and hope til the end.
Watching Continued:
Doctor Slump: Last Sunday’s episode was way below the rest. I hope the writers tighten the harness for the last episodes. I don’t mind comedy mixed into my thriller – at all –as long as it’s tight (and the drinking binge with the in-laws wasn’t) - and anyway, to me the most important here is the story of how they manage neurodivergence, Rejection Sensitivity, depression, and PTSD, but I also wants to know what happens with the evil co-worker and the Truck of Doom.

I didn’t get around to posting last week, which is why this one’s longer than my usual long posts.
Beware of possible ***SPOILERS*** that may lie ahead.

COMPLETED:

LTNS - Though it was by no means perfect, I still find myself thinking about this show long after reaching the end of the final episode. I loved its black humor and indie-movie vibe. While the bumbling-blackmailer escapades may have been the hook, the heart of the show was the evolution and gradual disintegration of a marriage. The fault lines were apparent from the start: Jin seems to have chosen eager-to-please Samuel not out of love, but because he promised not to cheat on her. Starry-eyed Samuel, on the other hand, sees Jin as his soulmate. When the couple’s physical passion fizzles out, they secretly try to fulfill their separate needs outside the marriage: Jin through a one-night stand with her sleazy ex, and Samuel through a platonic (so far) relationship with the married woman next door. It begs the question: which is the bigger betrayal…the physical or emotional one? Or are they equally bad?

I appreciated the show’s lack of moralizing when it came to the various unfaithful couples—showing that in some cases (such as the lesbian couple and the elderly lovers), infidelity is not always a simple case of right and wrong. And speaking of right and wrong, Jin and Samuel’s investigative methods ranged from the uncomfortable to the reprehensible—not to mention the criminal. No matter how awful their behavior, though, I was always on their side. A huge amount of credit goes to the outstanding lead actors. Esom brings her usual depth, nuance, and quirkiness to the role of Jin. The schlubby but endearing Samuel, Ahn Jae-Hong, was not on my radar, but now has given me some incentive to watch Chicken Nugget.

I’m not sure I liked the ending. It felt significant that Jin reached out to Samuel after the divorce to apologize, since during their marriage she’d always resisted expressing her feelings. I thought the show should have ended there; having them get back together (if only for sex) may have pleased audiences, but for me it undercut the drama’s message.

No discussion of this show would be complete without mentioning the frequent appearance of water in many guises. There are floods, both literal (Samuel’s taxi) and metaphorical (Jin and Samuel’s apartment during the blowout argument that ends their marriage.) A huge delivery of water bottles blocks their apartment door. Samuel and his neighbor bond over their love of cleaning, beginning with their meet-cute at a car wash. Samuel swims over to spy on the couple in the cabin out in the ocean. Missed opportunity not naming the ML Noah rather than Samuel.

Death’s Game : I’m so late on reviewing this but I want to give my appreciation for the story, directing and acting. This one for me is like antidote to US drama like 13 Reasons Why by delivering the important message of why suicide shouldn’t ever be the answer no matter how hard someone’s life is. Despite the heavy issue this show trying to convey, the directing was properly packed and somehow manage to be light enough so it wasn’t uneasy to watch. All the performances from the actors were well delivered but honorable mention for Lee Jae Wook because he ate his cameo role whole and left no crumbs.

The Impossible Heir : Overall, 6.5/10? The scene transitions quite odd a lot of times, the time jump from 5 years to another 5 gave a big void to the story, and till episode 4 I don’t really see the purpose of triangle love story in the first 2 episodes. The triangle love story plot reminds me of the drama New Country, which I don’t think that particular plot is necessary neither interesting to add as conflict. And I hope it will not become like drama Oasis where this triangle love story become the main reason for the fall out between best friends. I really dont want to hate KIH. Just give me strong bromance, please. And yes, the FL acting just not enough. I personally think it’s not her facial expressions, at least for me she doesn’t look awkward on the screen. But, she doesn’t have strong presence either despite her beauty. That’s weird with that kind of face someone could be so flat. And also I think it’s her voice. I think hers is the kind of voice that would take a lot to work on, it was heavy low tone yet not deep. Or, maybe she speaks without understanding the script, that is why her delivery was boring and soulless. Also her background character or the lack of it wasn’t helping either.

Pyramid Game : The main appeal of the show for me is the fact they don’t create all power with no brain villain, quite the opposite, the villain is surely powerful yet she isn’t all money but also mind gamer. She is calm, poised, and manipulative. It made her difficult to defeat because the heroine has to be careful and tactical in her attack or she will be buried before be able to launch even a slap on the wrist. And that exactly our heroine. Soo Ji is a very well written character. She is as composed as the villain and a street smart given her life experience of moving places multiple times. It is so entertaining with the all psychological battle because there was no soft ball thrown from the antagonist yet the hero managed to always hit back. Also with courage, empathy and easy going manner she obtain a powerful thing the evil girl could never which are friends. People follow her not out of fear but respect and trust. Acting wise, Bona nailed it. I’ve always like her since GG 97. At some scenes when she is talking back the delivery was so good I felt cathartic. And I think Jang Da Ah also performed a well job given this is her debut project...

@Javabeans
I liked Kim Youngdae also in Cheat On Me, if You Can.

No comments about Kippeum and Mr.Lawyer? 😁

CURRENTLY WATCHING:

1. BLOOD - This vampire drama is bordering on makjang for sure. It's watchable but I keep thinking that Lee Dong-Wook would make a much cooler vampire doctor/surgeon.

2. A KILLER PARADOX - This one is taking me a while to get through. Not sure why because Son Seok-Gu is excellent in it.

3. THE TALE OF NOKDU - I can now confirm that I have been hit by the Jang Dong-Yoon Truck (TM). Every drama I've seen him in just shows what a versatile actor he is - he literally inhabits his roles. It doesn't hurt that his is *ahem* absolutely gorgeous!

4. THE GENTLEMEN - Just started this Netflix series by Guy Ritchie. It seems promising so far but I have a feeling it's gonna tip into extreme violence before long.

FINISHED:

1. SOMEBODY FEED PHIL - Apart from a couple of inaccuracies (No, Phil, the Taiwanese greeting is in Hokkien, not Mandarin and the restaurant in Scotland is not Malaysian food - it's Scottish-Malaysian fusion) it was fun and informative as usual.

WEDDING IMPOSSIBLE is the favourite for now with the FL who is tough on the outside, but really a marshmallow for the underdog, including Ji-han who thinks of himself as so smart and suave, but is really pretty clueless.

Looking forward to QUEEN OF TEARS, but also worried after watching IMPOSSIBLE HEIR. With Jae-wook and Jun in the lead, I foolishly thought that nothing can go wrong. I forgot the writer and director who are producing a thriller which is anything but thrilling!

Got my bean for QUEEN OF DIVORCE. Still like FLEX X COP and how ML remains enthusiastic about his detective work. It is nice to see that he slowly appreciated by the team. The police chief is corrupt after all! He was so nice at the beginning.

Started WONDERFUL WORLD, but needed a break already after ep 1 after watching all that grief. I read the recaps and might just jump in for the new episodes this weekend.

Best watch is SHOGUN. The production is excellent. I remember the craze in the 80's, but I am not sure why I was not much interested then, but this remake is really well done.

What I'm watching:

_ Captivating the King (12/16). I'm struggling to find the motivation to watch this drama. I'll get my bean, but sometimes I think I should have dropped it in the first episodes.

_ Wedding Impossible (4/12). I'm enjoying this series. It is far from being perfect, but the script is quite clever and I'm looking forward to knowing what's happening next.

_ C-drama The story of Minglan (7/78). I wanted to start a historical c-drama which was not a wuxia, and this one was a usual recommendation. At first it was difficult to understand who was who, and the drama spends a lot of time showing long discussions about domestic issues, so the pace is really slow. I now understand why there are 78 episodes. I admit the first three episodes were hard. Fortunately, I have found a blog which explains all the episodes, characters and lots of details that I could never notice without this help. I love the settings and cinematography, everything seems realistic, as a true journey to XI Century (Northern Song Dynasty).

_ Variety Nemo Travel: A trip to Spain (6/12). So funny! Lovely actors Shin Ye Eun, Kang Hoon and Yoon Park having a great time in Spain.

What I have finished:

_ Mini C-drama My Husky boyfriend. It was silly but funny. I liked Ryan Cheng here (I had watched him in Familiar Stranger before).

_ Mini k-drama Death's Game. Great show. I preferred the first half over the second one, but it was an enjoyable watch.

Captivating The King - poor court lady Dong

Alchemy of Souls Part 2 (rewatch) - some details of the world building don't make much sense, but the characters are so cool!

Just noticed I missed the last few WWW threads! So, what have I watched…

DR SLUMP. I guess the last two episodes haven’t been the best in my books, but I’m ready to continue and hoping for the best. This one surely is a rollercoaster ride. But I was coaxed on willingly, by all the beauty and … flower petals! The question remains: will I get off all dizzy and with an aching back? Or would I want to do it all over right away? Time will tell.

Finished KNIGHT FLOWER, which I put off forever, because… I didn’t want it to end? Ha!!! The end did not disappoint though. I’m quite happy everything was tied up neatly, I was happy for our couples, and didn’t mind the “missing kissing”. The two of them still were super cute together and definitely will live on as a happy couple in my head. Plus the king? I imagine he would have a great time having some drinks with the one from THE MATCHMAKERS.

Binged through UNLOCK THE BOSS, which I found quite entertaining! Love the found family in this one (also ML’s parents are the best!), and I like the overall setting in a “techy background” (though most of it was “common” company politics, which I didn’t mind either, for some reason!).

I started GHOST DOCTOR, because Netflix practically started playing it on its own when I logged in. So far it’s entertaining, too, but I gotta admit I expected “more romance” after the setup in episode one. (I mean, younger ML basically squeed upon seeing his love interest from afar… and then? Nothing much…?!) 🤔😂

Super excited for QUEEN OF TEARS, which I’ll start today. Also waiting for EYE LOVE YOU, which’s release I seem to have missed somehow up till now, but got a notification about it along with QOT. Fingers crossed!!!

Memory rewatch, ep 12/16

I was so sure I would never rewatch this show. It had wrecked me the first time, why would I put myself through it a second time??

But we lost a friend's mother to Alzheimer's recently, and I was reminded of it. Being in a very sombre mood, needing a serious show to rewatch (rewatching shows means it isn't too straining on my nerves because I know how it ends), and remembering the stellar acting led me to click play and get sucked in immediately.

Some random thought:

The acting. The casting. The directing. Everything is incredibly spot on. It could be such a feast for the eye if it wasn't giving me panic attacks left and right.

Kim Ji Soo, the actress playing Lee Sung Min's wife has such a sweet reassuring voice and speech, she is perfect for her role, like many others.

I have never liked Yoon So Hee's acting, but I like her role here so it makes up for it.

I can't believe so many sensible people know about his disease and still let him drive himself around.

The extremely complicated family and friends ties, in every direction, not just our core characters, are fascinating to say the least. The emotional bonds in expected and unexpected places surprise and wreck you at every turn.

Lee Sung Min and Song Sun Mi playing not-lovers... I was heartbroken on my first watch :D, but they are still lovely. Unbelievable actors both of them.

I even like Jun Noh Min's character, he is complicated, and perfectly acted.

I HATE Lee Ki Woo's horrible role, and the fact that he takes so many villain roles. Ugh.

I hate the premise of child hit-and-run, and it could turn me off this show if it was one degree less amazing.

I'm glad I'm rewatching this. It would have been a pity to only remember the panic attacks it gave me.

WEDDING IMPOSSIBLE is my favorite new show. It is witty and the FL shines. It is good to have a new favorite show as my very favorite show is the daily UNPREDICTABLE FAMILY which is now winding down. As we ended the week, we got to see our FL and 2FL in their wedding gowns and the ceremony is about to start. How amazing this show has been- at the end of 121 episodes I am still smiling. I do not know if Monday will be. the final episode or not but this has been a real highlight of my drama watching since it started last September.

My wife waited until the show was complete and then binge- watched CAPTIVATING THE KING. She really liked it.

My wife and I have continued to watch DOCTOR SLUMP but were a bit disconcerted at how the most recent episode ended. Even so we continue to love the show.

This last week saw the penultimate episodes of THE GORYEO-KHITAN WAR. The Khitan have slipped around the main Goryeo forces and are staking everything on grabbing the Goryeo King (technical military term: a decapitation strike). This may not seem like it but it is actually a gamble which is rooted in and caused by the comparative weakness of the Khitan forces. If they do not immediately succeed, the Khitan Army will be wiped out by the now superior Goryeo Army who are in hot pursuit. The King has asked the ordinary people of Goryeo to help man the walls- even women have taken up bows. This weekend’s episode’s will be the dramatic finale. I can’t wait.

Our Weekender, LIVE YOUR OWN LIFE is also winding down. While, still better than the previous one a great deal of potential was wasted. Still it has had some unique features to it: The true protagonist of the is drama is not our ML but Tae-min, our ‘official’ 2 ML. Even if he does not ‘get the girl’ (as in the FL) it is he, and not our ML who was the true dramatic counterpart to our FL and the male character most in need of gaining a new independent or at least more fulfilling life. In contrast our ML had the opposite problem from the FL and our protagonist: He was living an independent life already but against his will. We have four episodes to go and to me the real question is whether or not our protagonist will in fact finally have a life that is truly his own.

We are also looking ahead to QUEEN OF TEARS, which is finally here.

Here goes my hope to catch up with dramas I'm behind with this week - as if, ha! Guess I'll have to reserve a spot and try to aggressively binge at least something this weekend. The list is already unimpressive but my progress with it is even less so...

DR SLUMP: I watched Ep11 and it left me seriously questioning why I'm even still bothering with the show. Decided to do the rest later, then read the weekap and damn, this did not inspire me to continue at all! I've famously once said that I'm willing to watch ANYTHING, no matter how bad, for PHS because he always delivers even when in a trash drama... but here I think that writing and directing gave him a disservice too big to keep even me invested. I know the guy, he absolutely CAN do much better than that! Perhaps dropping the show before my high opinion of him starts to shake for real would be a wisest way out of this unfortunate situation. I'll take a cautious peek at 13-14 and decide.

WHITE CAT LEGEND: *sigh* It just ended and the spoilers I managed to fish out made me pretty confident in finishing it at the comfortable slower pace. Certain major events stayed true to source material as well which is rare af almost always a plus. Btw, while we're at it, look at this funny MV for ending (recorded by all main cast together) - not really into workaholism anthem theme, but everything else is cutely hilarious, esp the choreo)))
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKvZlhd1AVU

ETERNAL BROTHERHOOD: I'll catch up with it tonight/tomorrow and elaborate further, I swear! On merciless FF during FL's scenes, which will save me time AND braincells.

WATCHING
Wedding Impossible: I'm thoroughly enjoying this imperfect romcom. It's goofy, meta, and keeps surprising me with the directions it takes. Plus, I can't get enough of our FL.

Reset: c-drama Started this on a whim. It's offbeat in just the way I like. It's the kind of show that reels you in and suddenly you're reacting to the events on-screen like a D-list actor in a bad film.

STARTING THIS WEEKEND
Queen of Tears: Looking forward live watching this with beanies!

Eye Love You: I'm waiting to see how Netflix releases this. All at once? Two at a time? One at a time (as is currently being released in Japan)? That will determine if I start this week or not.

COMPLETED
Captivating the King: This could have been truly memorable. I kept wishing it had been ... more. Instead it was... pretty good. Solid from a production standpoint but missing some scenes and direction that could have elevated the storytelling. And I wasn't overly excited about the tidy but weak ending either. The soundtrack, however, is fabulous.

Everything else is on hold atm, including Doctor Slump, Flex X Cop, and The Hope. I was going to watch My Name is Loh Kiwan last night but realized I can't handle heavy right now.

Have a great weekend beanies! 😉