Completed

Impossible Heir : Bean of Disappointment.

Wedding Impossible : That Noble idiocy was so unnecessary. A mutual separation would have been so much better.

Chicken Nugget . Was a fun show!!

Shop for Killers :
Did not appreciate the ending. It just felt forced.l for season 2. And Bale is still alive?!

Ongoing

Queen of tears I warmed up to the show a lot. Hong family is so dumb. Looking forward to some village hijinks. Soo cheol May be dumb but I feel he will make an excellent village lad and will actually be good in a farm. I can totally see him bond with the village ahjushis. But he is going to miss his family so bad.

Nothing uncovered
The show picked up! I am quite invested in the murder mystery and investigation.

Hide : I don’t trust the husband. Definitely not telling the whole truth. Lee Bo Young is so awesome there.

Shogun : upto Ep 5. This show is amazing. The ‘gardener’ scene was so well done.

Mask Been on my list for so long and finally started last time. Oh my. Is this some melo makjang? JJH is such a baby and his acting is so different. Glad he evolved to what he is now. I have only watched 2 episodes so no spoilers please.

Guess Who am I (cdrama) :
Time pass watch. Somewhere in Ep 4.

Dropped

Exploration method of Love (cdrama) :

COMPLETED
Wedding Impossible - I definitely fell out of love with this over the last two weeks. And then we got noble idiocy. And a time skip 🙄. I'll just be content with literally everyone getting a happy ending. Anyway, Kim Bum 🥰.

The Impossible Heir - There are worse shows than this one. But the gap between expectation and reality was just too high for me.

ONGOING
Queen of Tears - Cried as usual 😭. Loved the Schitt's Creek of it all by the end. I'm almost scared of saying good things about the show because I like it so much and I don't want to jinx it.

The Midnight Studio - Interesting reversal with the evil ghost played by Choi Tae-joon (when will he get a proper role and not just cameos). We seem to be rushing through the plot with the love confession. Not sure what we have in store with 16 episodes.

WATCHLIST
My ongoing k-drama list is looking a bit bare-bones now. Maybe I should start Hide 🤔. Or should I just wait for the badly-named Lovely Runner starting on Monday?

C-DRAMAS
Completed The Legend of Shen Li. The entire arc starting with Xing Zhi finding Shen Li was just so beautiful. Stayed good to the end with a full-fledged ending covering even the book extras - a rare sight in c-drama world nowadays.

Also completed In Blossom. I think they introduced the Big Bad too late and then gave him too much power just for the dramatic last minute reversal. But overall, I still liked the show. It was ultimately quite light and frothy fare for a murder mystery suspense drama.

Looking forward to Best Choice Ever next week. The trailer suggests it'll be loads of fun.

The Midnight Studio: I really appreciate the stories they have been telling and the variety of ghosts. I see our big bad ghost is coming though. I like how the romance is progressing, our leads are really cute. I actually think it is good she is pushing his boundaries a little bit, I don’t think she has crossed the line though. She likes him and wants him to enjoy life.

Nothing Uncovered/Hide: I realized I didn’t care about either of these dramas and so stopped watching.

The Impossible Heir: I fully forgot about this drama on Wednesday, I was only reminded because I saw the drama hangout about it. So, I still have no idea what the point of Hye Won was. She added nothing and did nothing for the drama. The writing was bad on this drama, very very bad. I don’t know why or when In Ha changed, nothing was explained. Why did Tae Ha want to be where he was, I don’t know. His father came out of prison, leading to the death of his mother, and then went back to prison. WHY? What was the point? Everyone in this drama is awful. Everyone. Awful, awful drama. Also, the Impossible Heir wasn’t Impossible. I’m a little annoyed, but it is my fault, I watched this until the end.

Queen of Tears: I cannot wait to cry, laugh, and scream in the next episodes.

Live Watches
The Midnight Studio: I’m bummed our episodes are now out of sync - we weren’t supposed to have to wait a whole week for our college grad to get his diploma and acceptance, and we’re not really supposed to have to wait to see what happens with Bom’s possession! But I am glad our leads now have a definite reason to stick close (40cm or less!) to each other. Now if Ki-joo will just come clean about his “sabbatical” we’ll really be getting somewhere.

Queen of Tears: All the doubts I had about what kind of person Hyun-woo is have been washed away. Not only were his inlaws’ attempts to dig up unsavory things about him completely unsuccessful, but he absolutely rose to the occasion when the villains’ trap closed. Glad to see him find his footing and be assured of himself after so long. So excited to see this whole Schitt’s Creek situation play out!

Older Dramas
Our Blooming Youth: The polo match was just as good the second time around! I love all the lessons about trust in this drama. Hwan wanted to believe Jae-i so badly, acted on his impulsive doubts, and regretted it so quickly. She always manages to say exactly what he needs to hear exactly when he needs to hear it, and she’s the only one who can serve up that sass to him.

The Kidnapping Day: (up to episode 8) Slooooowly making my way through this rewatch with my partner and really loving it again. He says he loves our leads together, is very much in favor of our intrepid detective, and finds the lawyer as adorable as I do. BUT he could take or leave the mystery plot and he finds the whole experimentation history somewhat uninteresting. I see where he’s coming from but I think I liked the whole history better in light of the ending, so we’ll see what he thinks after four more episodes.

Finished
Wedding Impossible: 🤵‍♂️🚫👰‍♀️ Excuse me as this is slightly rant-y. UGH, Do-han annoyed me to no end. Everything he did was just to make himself feel better, including the press conference he gave only after the people he supposedly cared about the most had thrown themselves under the bus for him. ARGH. When Haraboji said, "that's you making a selfish decision again and using those two as an excuse," I said MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY. And then in the last episode, he had the NERVE to tell Ah-jeong not to feel guilty?? Did you somehow forget how you tried to guilt-trip and manipulate her into protecting you for half the series??? 😤 But Ah-jeong's family (and Ah-jeong) soothed my rancor. I originally thought Moon Sang-min would be just a pretty face, but he brought a nice cuteness and "boy in love" believability to Ji-han. I loved his proposal! I loved all their interactions, actually - they were really "2000s American Rom-Com" vibes, and I loved it. I definitely bought his chemistry with Jeon Jong-seo. She, of course, elevated a standard FL role and made it so much more rich and complex as an actress who just wanted the role of a lifetime and leapt before looking. So much of the writing took very standard scenes and did them better with the dialogue, particularly when the ML, FL, and her family had conversations. This wasn't an epic romance, but it didn't need to be. All in all, I didn't get very attached to anyone, but I had fun!

Watching
Rainless Love in a Godless Land: Only a few episodes to go. I dread finishing this because it's been such a beautiful journey, and I'm not ready to reach the destination.

Blood of Youth: the fights are fun and the adventure is fun. Right now, the plots are plotting in setup, so it's a pretty relaxing adventure.

Apartment 404: it took me nearly a week to finish ep 6, but now I'm caught up to watch ep 7! I also really liked the pun that revealed the culprit in ep 6. And also Lee Jeong-ha being adorable. The editing isn't snappy or exciting, but that just makes it a comfort watch.

Not much time to watch dramas, as the main thing that keeps me engaged is Elinor’s Real Life, a chaotic spectacle of family fireworks, office blow-ups, and petty sniping. Only dogged determination and a thick skull skin allow our burdened-but-unbowed FL to triumph over minor sports injuries and malfunctioning supermarket self-checkout stands. Ratings are deservedly low. On the *fictional* drama side -

Current/recent:
Midnight Studio: I’m a few episodes behind. So far it’s predictable but still enjoyable because of Joo Won, and the supporting cast is engaging enough to make the obvious, manipulative tear-jerking palatable. Side note: I am SO TIRED of lead characters who stand stock-still (or worse yet, SIT DOWN) as a ToD bears down on them, overcome by their grief, stress, and raging idiocy. I wish next time one of them would just get hit and die and the drama would end in the second episode and I’d get 14 hours of my life back. Seriously, if you miss your dead granny/uncle/golden retriever that much, just keep standing there and you’ll meet them very soon.

Wedding Impossible: Less than the sum of its parts, in the end, even though a lot of the parts were pretty darned good. More feisty FLs like this one, please - or maybe just more Jeon Jong-seo. Can’t writers ever figure out a way to stuff the crappier tropes into the front half of a show and let loose with the imaginative stuff in the second round?

The Impossible Heir: I’ve given in to my appetite for outrageously messy dramas with pretty people doing inexplicable things. This show fed that brilliantly and I enjoyed it all, in all the wrong ways. This isn’t just any train wreck, my friends. It’s a cosmic train wreck that has run off the trestle bridge and is suspended gravity-free as plot points and characters slowly drift away, tantalizingly out of reach like a spacewalking astronaut’s lost toolbox, eventually breaking down into a mass of floating junk and might-have-beens.

Older shows:
Come and Hug Me (2018): The show where everyone constantly says “sorry” except the people who should be sorry. Jin Ki-joo and Jang Ki-yong with a strong cast are all doing some of their best work, especially Heo Joon-ho as an uber-creepy killer and Seo Jung-yeon as Best Mom Ever, and there’s even a fleeting glimpse of baby Chae Jong-hyeop in his first role. It does suffer from the endemic kdrama maladies of using repeated self-endangering behavior from female characters to advance the plot, and of completely, preposterously ignoring conflicts of interest when police and prosecutors are investigating cases in which they’re personally involved. I’m on episode 28/32, hoping it doesn’t crash too hard.

Queen of Tears - Poor Soo-cheol. However his actions sometimes, I know he's not the kind of guy to deserve what his wife dished to him. Him searching around for them on a bicycle multiplied it. I can't ride a bike myself so I wouldn't even think of searching for someone whilst wobbling on one. But he did.

I don't feel too sorry for Grandpa. Not after hitting my favorite Beom-ja. He had it coming his way. I wonder how he built Queens Groups with such precision in his A-days and went senile with age. I don't like the fact that they are easily swayed - from Grandpa to son to grandson. Well... grandson was always a cause for worry so I can't exactly count him in.

I do hope we are greeted with some warm and fresh colors now that the setting has moved from Seoul to the countryside.
I'm up for the rude awakening the Hongs will have to face for the next few days or weeks.

Nothing Uncovered - I don't know what they are trying to do with Seo and the detective... they better focus on the romance they shared in the past and nothing more. It is off that they played a romantic score when they interacted. Is the music director for this drama on a break or what exactly.

The murder drama is the part that interests me more. And the vibes are maintained week in week out.
I guess it's villain Han Chae-ah this time. I wasn't expecting that but I'm sure she'll deliver excellently.
I don't get the drill with husband Seol. He doesn't strike me as a killer...but he sure does have some crazy skeleton in his cupboard that makes him being a killer the lesser of two evils. Like whatever happened to Na-ri. I initially thought Na-ri was Eun-sae with a new identity. I'm still confused about Moeun and how it weaves into the story. But it seems we will be having a cold and closed case being investigated alongside this.

Detective guy and Daddy Seol's main guy are actually buddies...now that's a twist.

The ex-prosecutor...I'm sure he's in the middle of everything. But I didn't expect that he'll also have an influence at Seo's workplace. Her boss for crying out loud. Her FIL has her boss boss, her main enemy has her boss under his grip. That workplace isn't it at all.

I do agree with Detective guy that Seo lady used him to get to his friend. But I'll delay from nailing anyone until the full story comes out.

I'm all for the investigations - both police and reporters.

Wedding Impossible (Series review) - Mood progression: D / D / D / D- / D- / D-
When I first heard about this show, I was feeling really hyped up about a fresh story where the protagonist was a beard and the LGBT character wasn’t for once in a love triangle. I couldn’t have been more wrong: the show utilised Princess Diana as a background leading to an overload of contrived drama tropes. Furthermore, I personally found the LGBT representation a tad distasteful when a LGBT person not coming out became an obstacle to the OTP’s romance. And while it isn’t fair to talk about online discourse in relation to the show, I wonder if the writer ever thought about how insidious this representation is.

Hide (Episode 3-4) - Mood: D+
The show may already be digging in the bottom of the barrel when it comes to the writing with the classic take down a mini villain in order to reveal a bigger one development, but I’m not gonna lie, it was thrilling seeing the FL work that court scene and impress Jin Woo, who is most likely going to be her one true ally in this corporate conspiracy crap. Speaking of which, I don’t think Lee Chung Ah picked a role with much substance given the preview but I would like to be proved wrong. Actually no, I must be proved wrong because I’m already turning my brain off watching the ML try and gaslight the FL hard.

The Midnight Studio (Episode 6-7) - Mood: D+
This was the week where the show kind of lost me because I don’t think a romance was ever crucial to the central narrative and the plot fumbled by focusing on the cliche ‘jealousy then damsel’ combination that a writer employs to develop an OTP inorganically. The show tells us clearly that the FL is a special ‘living soul’ but doesn’t explain because yes, we’re dragging. On another note, it’s kind of funny that Choi Tae Joon cameo-ed yet again as another devil beneath the surface: a warmup before returning to film another full length series? His wife did after all just finish hers and maybe it’s his turn now?

Queen of Tears (Episode 7-8) - Mood: D
Was there anything original in what was supposedly the mini climax of this show? The answer is no and then some: literally, I watched DNA testing, poisoning, terminal illness, amnesia, child abduction, corporate takeover, secret baby and I guess a history in the past where one moment makes the 2ML obsess over the FL (so creative, right?), not necessarily in that order. But not all hope is lost because I do think next week will be funny with FL’s family struggling to live in ML’s village, well, until hell breaks once more with the battle to take back Queens. I would be shocked if the writer actually writes something good.

HIDE (Ep. 3-4) Episode 3 pushes the pace faster on Husband’s alleged suicide. Na is relentless and fearless in her investigation. The detective appears to be competent. Her friend prosecutor is still suspect even after the DNA test. I still do not trust the husband’s spin of the events. Episode 4 has the action and ending reaction that confirmed much of my initial theories from the first weekend episodes.

SHOGUN (Episode 7) Blood is not thicker than ambition as Toranga’s half brother double crosses him by taking the regent’s lordship and most of his lands as his bargain with Osaka castle. Toranga surprises everyone with his “surrender” but that may have just been a clever ploy to surprise his opponent. Blackthorne spent the hour pacing about waiting for something to happen (just like the viewers). However, his brash son, eager for war, tries again to strike at the council’s envoy but ends up with a dishonorable demise.

CRIME SCENE 2 (Ep 1) Crime scene shows had been a growing segment of the variety landscape until big budget escape/challenge shows bulldozed onto the scene. This show has all the hosts play a role in the actual murder story then try to find clues to vote on the killer. It does get a little confusing and counterproductive as they are acting roles and accusing each other of the crime. But way before the end, I knew who did it.

Wedding Impossible - finished
I understood the necessity of the pause and a bit of the Nobel Idiocy of the boys - everything needed to calm down and both boys wanted to give Ahjung back what she loved, her acting career. However, I missed some important talks among the trio and later I wanted more sparks between the leads (and more friendship scenes between Ahjung and Chaewon!! Pendulum was good though. 😁). On the other hand, we got Dohan looking really happy and doing what he wanted... and I was surprised how much I loved the story of Evil Noona. (And... ehm... is it strange that I think she and Kim Bum would make a better couple? 😅 )

Queen of Tears
I should have trusted the writer more and spare my worries about the misuse of the signed divorce paper. The divorce self was surprisingly straightforward and superfast and served to two purposes - (1) Hyunwoo and Haein finally being more open and viewing things from the standing point of each other (2) having a funny cameo with smexy Vincenzo handling the case (my daughter even came to ask me what made me laugh so much 😄). Though... I admit I was a tiny bit disappointed that the investigation of Hyunwoo by Haein only wasn't a secret ploy between them.

When ending of episode 8 was approaching, I realized that THIS was the climax the writer had been building up to all the time - NOT the take over by the Evil Squad, no no, but the ARRIVAL of the Queens chaebols to the countryside. And I can't wait for all the hijinks (and characters' arcs) to start. 🍿😎

Guess Who I Am - 6.5eps
Contract Marriage while staying enemies... but of course! 😄

Queen of Tears: 8.0

Wedding Impossible: 6.5 The wedding!? WTF!? It's starting to look like an actual wedding for Ah-jung is kinda impossible. Chae-won was the luckiest and sanest of the major characters -- next time just make a show about her being bemused by everyone else's messed-up antics. Meanwhile...
... Someone should have a talk with Korean car manufacturers -- ya know, about all those fatal car fires and that self-destruct timer that initiates when their cars roll over. Did somebody misinterpret the part of the specs that said cars should have reliable ignition?
And how will kdramas depict fatal battery fires after they run out of gas-powered vehicles?

Midnight Photo Studio: 6.5

Parasyte: The Grey: 8.5 (complete -- I survived a Friday Night of Doom!)
- I like the graphics in the opening credits.
- I kinda even liked their message.
- If you are wondering if it's safe to skip the closing credits, there are no Easter Eggs.
- Jeon So-nee has redeemed herself from Our Blooming Youth. Asianwiki thinks there will be a Netflix show with her and Park Bo-young!
- When I read "The Grey" I keep thinking Gandalf.
- When I see the monster tentacles I wonder if they are saving money by re-using Duty After School & Gyeongseong Creature work? Or are tentacles on monsters just the new Big Thing now?
- Then the educated part of my brain kicks in and I want to rage-quit because huge tentacles sprouting out of a head are such a flagrant violation of conservation of mass, even before you get to the problems with weight/momentum/BALANCE swinging those tentacles around while standing on just human-style feet.
- Zombies and vampires are more believable, or at least much less in violation of basic physics. Even Godzilla is less impossible, which brings us to...

The Last Stand of IJN Takao - Guns vs Godzilla: 9.5
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtOstlmOc98
Short documentary by naval historiographer Drachinifel. You get one guess when he posted it.
"Today we take a look at the last stand of the IJN's cruiser force, this time against a giant radioactive lizard!"

Note: IJN is "Imperial Japanese Navy". Takao was a real warship. You can find an alternate version of her fate on Wikipedia.

Doctor Slump🧑‍⚕️(12/16): Beanies, you have my gratitude. On one hand, thank you for not spoiling from episode 11 onwards, or I still would be stuck at 10. On the other hand, thank you for warning me something bad was coming. The ending of 12 would have left an even fouler taste if you hadn’t. Fortunately, bad plotlines make me cackle rather than seethe, so I had a good belly laugh before bedtime!😉Send some good vibes for me and my friend to finish this quickly, because The Matchmakers will be next!🤗

The Midnight Studio I don't really know why but this drama doesn't work for me. I'm not invested in the character's stories. I wished the cop finds his killer, but he never talks, so I kinda forget about him. The other ghost is torturing poor people trying to earn money instead their villain boss. The FL is too pushy.

Wedding Impossible I think it's the kind of drama when the journey is more important than the destination. I don't regret to watch it, it was quite fun. The reveal made the story becoming flat but I still liked the characters till the end. It's sad they couldn't balance the love they felt for each other with the moments they actually spent together...

Nothing Uncovered The investigation is interesting and there are enough twists to not be predictable. I like the love triangle in this one.

Hide Can we divorce from a dead man? Because the FL totally should!

Wonderful World The 3 characters don't communicate and the villain can do whatever he wants. What's the point to tell him his mother's death wasn't accident if she didn't give him more details. So he went to the person responsible to say he wants to investigate it...

I'm surprised how Beanies were happy when a veteran actresses got a drama but at the end, it doesn't seem a lot of Beanies are watching Nothing Uncovered, Hide or WW.

Queen of Tears This drama is full of twists! I love the couple!

The Impossible Heir I like Lee Jae-Wook but I realized that I liked him in second roles but since he's a ML, I never liked his drama. I hope the next one will be good!

Couldn't watch anything the last two days because i am on a trip, but tonight i will binge again (i will regret not sleeping more LOL). I've got a nice hotel room, might has well chill there later and watch TV.

Currently watching:

The Guest (on episode 8) 10/10
ATLA (on episode 17) 8.5/10
Apothecary Diaries (on episode 19) 9.5/10
Somebody (on episode 3) 8/10
Hide (on episode 2) 8/10
Nothing Uncovered (on episode 1) 8/10

and a lot more that is currently paused.

I already wrote it here yesterday, but the Guest is REALLY good. Why didn't i watch it sooner? I don't usually go for fantasy-horror, even though the one's i've seen are great. I know it's agreed upon that this show is scary, but honestly i think it's kinda tame for horror, but then again i am not a good way to measure how scary something is. Fantsay Horror has never really phased me, if anything it tends to either gross me out or make me uncomfortable at most, meanwhile anything with SA will make me skip scenes or make me cover my face. I guess it's because one is more likely than another? I can calm myself with thinking that a fantasy monster could never kill me, but catcalling and other crimes lile stalking are very possible. Some of my friends have sadly experienced this already, i hope i never do.

Wedding impossible
Queen of tears
Legend of shenli
In blossom
Parasyte: The Grey

Struggled through episode 8 of wedding impossible. I will try and finish the last four episodes.
Religiously following Queen of Tears although I can feel my interest waning .
Also following Legend of Shenli. ‘Avenue x’ came with her usual negative Nancy review😂
I learned that my favorite character died in “In Blossom”, so I dropped it at episode 27.
Just downloaded all episodes of “Parasyte: the grey” on Netflix. I hope it’s good.

Teasing Master Takagi-san (3/10) - Netflix and Japan made this for me. The most adorable, cutest lil drama ever, the perfect way to relax and unwind after after work. 🥹🥹

The Midnight Studio (7/16) - watching it, loving it.

My Undead Yokai Girlfriend (1/8) - yeah, it’s fun, but it relies too much on the “pathetic loser ML” trope. Let’s see if I continue with this.

Living no Matsunaga (11/12) - God, why are they making me side with the 30yo trying to date an 18yo? Ugh. Look, it’s a cute romcom if you ignore everything about the premise and characters. At least I’ll be finishing it soon.

Paripi Koumei (7/10) - banger as always. I’m very, very slowly making progress on my backlog of past dramas.

Shogun (7/10) - still enjoying it, but it is a bit slow imo. Would like to see some action but that might just be me, ik people are enjoying the character study, the psychological tension and political maneuvering. My military history nerd self just wants to see the Battle of Sekigahara already.

Impossible Heir : Probably the worst written drama I’ve ever finished. It probably means that it wasn’t the worst show out there because I didn’t finish a lot of shows, or something gone wrong with me.

Midnight Photo Studio : Kwon Na Ra and Jo Woon looks good together. Though I don’t see anything special with the stories but almost every week they brought me to tears. It’s good.

QOT : I might missed this because I ff a lot of times, but why would they go to BHW’s home in minibus? Wasn’t the villains only took over their shares? Given their wealth, they must still have their private assets. They are not supposed to go broke overnight, right? And the grandpa, how can someone who build and maintain an empire so guillible? I understand they might not trust BHW, but due dilligence isn’t subjective opinion but basic common sense.

Been a long time o watched Kdrama that my heart skipped until Flex X Cop and Wedding Impossible. The best kdrama I have watched so far. Although the Noble Idioticy was unnecessary, I was happy they had their happy ending.

Also watching Midnight Studio. Such an emotional drama. I want to see the end of that wicked ghost. 😡😡😡

Also watching Queen of Tears. Let the drama begin. I was so happy that they didn't drag it. So, let's see how it goes.

Started Beauty and Mr. Romantic. Nothing to say for now.

Enjoying some new anime.

Sand Flowers (finale): "Don't feel rushed. Some flowers bloom later". 💚💚💚

Queen of Tears: This show feels like a love letter for kdrama fans. 🥺💚 I don't even think it's my nostalgia-obsessed brain talking. This show really feels old (in a refreshing way).

Anyway, I'm ready for the Couple or Trouble/Smile You energy! Chaebols need to go to live with their in laws more often in kdramaland.

Wonderful World (EP4): I thought this was going to be like Human Disqualification, but instead it feels like Trolley.
Just not as fun.

Beauty and Mr Romantic : It's weird that the ML is supposed to be 34, but the character acts like he's still 19, while the actor looks 20 years older -because he is-. My brain just can't process it. I'm not watching Poor Things, am I?

Also, what's the obsession of this show with age gab? If the message is "it isn't a big deal", they're failing. Extremely. They're even making me hate gaps between ages I didn't care before. 😂

...Is that their real plan? 🤔

Love Is like a Cat (EP2, dropped): ?

Wedding Impossible:
Don't know how to make the leads meet? Do Han. What excuse to make them spend time together? Do Han? Don't know how to develop the characters or romance? Do. Han. Don't know how to break them up? DO HAN. Don't know how to get them back together? Time skip! Oh, wait, but only after Do Han comes back to Korea and gives them permission... So... Do Han? The end.

Okay, but then AT LEAST make the friendship at the level of Roomie Gumiho or She Was Pretty, and the bromance at the level Tale of the 9T, TW or IOTNBO. That way the show wouldn't have felt so groundless and the conflicts so random when they added Do Han as an excuse to move the story along.

I don't get why this turned out so weak and empty. They didn't even have serial killers stealing screentime!

Jazz for Two (EP2, dropped): the writer of this show and I were enemies in our past life. 😆 I just can't with their projects.

BONUS

—My Siblings Romance: why is this so freaking funny?
—EXchange: The angst, the romance, the comedy, the DRAMA!
—Solo Leveling: this was fun, but they kinda took the "solo" part too seriously? 😂 I hate it when the main character is fighting for his life in the other eight characters just stand there and watch. And why make the "healer" level B just to make her "too weak" to heal anything later?

LIVE WATCHES
The Midnight Studio
We saw our young ghost hunter in the episodes this past week, as he was taking possession of his camera. You wanna know what? Check out that kid's style. Whoo-ee. That's going to stand him in good stead for 20 years. Srsly. He's got taste, that kid. It looks good on Joo Won anyway.

Beauty and Mr. Romantic
The best show on Korean TV right now. Hands down. Don't even have my fists up by my face in defense.

FROM THE RESERVES
Sell Your Haunted House
Completed and loved. So many reasons to love it. Let's one day talk about Covid on this site, though. It was a thing. That global pandemic affected us all, including our dramas and our responses to them.

My Secret, Terrius
I started it on a whim because of last week's WWW. I love it. I hate the FL, as always in 90% of all dramas, and so, while true, this is not a deterrent. I love the ML, and also whatever part Kang Ki-young is playing, and also all the other laydeeez. Love them. Also, it surprisingly hard to watch for something so good. Way to go 2018 K-dramas!! So Ji-sub is gonna be in something dramatic this year and I'm not anxiously lying in wait. No, I'm not 梁. I don't want to see that show. But sigh. Also, a propos of nothing, why wasn't this show entitled Terrius at my Back in English? That's clearly the absolutely correct translation.

ON DECK
The choice for Ha Joon selection will be Bad Prosecutor because also D.O. But the choice was tough. I'll also watch Crazy Love, but it'll be later.

So much happened in QUEEN OF TEARS! Grandpa Hong got nicely played by his mistress which should not be surprising since it is Lee Mi-sook. Now the family has to rely on Soo-hyun which will make it hard for Ji-won to nurse a grudge and obsess about punishing Soo-hyun. He has to find another reason for her to want to stay alive. It was a wonderful sight to see the Hongs file out of the van with very sheepish expressions.

The end in IMPOSSIBLE WEDDING was just boring, not bad - maybe something to be content with nowadays. WONDERFUL WORLD in contrast seems to be going the way it should. Seon-hyul is now aware of his father's behaviour and has made the very painful realisation that his revenge was misplaced. He still cannot forgive Soo-hyun, rightly so, because she still has not said sorry, but I think she will get there in the end. Her husband is saying sorry all the time, I wish he would stop and avoid doing things he has to apologize for.

Jang Seung-Jo as shady writer husband in NOTHING UNCOVERED is growing on me as is the drama altogether. I like seeing adults behaving as such and not like teens.

MIDNIGHT STUDIO is plotting on alright.

Getting a spring cold right when it gets REALLY hot outside is such a me thing lmao... So forgive me for a bit incoherent rant, by brain is a little fuzzy thanks to meds rn. Speaking shortly, I didn't watch much dramas this week and weren't strongly into them either... Waiting for something grabbing to come, wonder what it'll be.

IN BLOSSOM: *deep sad sigh* Of course my worst fears about cutie SML's tragic fate had to become real in the most painful way possible – guess “don't ever have sex if you wanna live” horror movie rule applies here too. Problem isn't even the fact itself – tho I take a GREAT offense at his untimely horrible demise – but that it was so easily avoided AND script had to severely weaken/dumb down the character to off him this way. Like I understand – he's a mob boss of all things, his body count had long exceeded just impressive and became legendary, oh, and he's also son of one of the villains... Censorship surely ain't approving any of that, he's got to be "punished".

But! First, it was never a fate he initially wished upon himself – dude was planning to take a state exam and be an official before certain events strayed him from that righteous path. Second, his gang disbanded midway and as unofficial teammate of the leads he could've easily just go back to his original career plan. Or doing something else decent with his life. But nah, revenge for the daddy idiot, take two ftw! Not to mention that he's even achieved a rare feat of successfully graduating from FL's hopeless suitors fish tank and getting himself a much more fitting lady that was literally ride or die for him... And yet, writers had to go for sudden bloody drama – probably to show how high the stakes are or something. So the boy gets tortured to death by baddies, leads get some crucial info from his uncalled for sacrifice, SFL is utterly heartbroken and alone again, but yay, it's a happy ending with villains punished and OTP (only people who matter) together! Sorta. Maybe. Throwing a hint of the mastermind behind the mastermind at the last second was really bold move, show. Keep it, pls, as much as I liked you before you've become a parody of yourself – I don't need sequel, nor do I think it will ever actually happen. Yet another entry in my “good start, disappointing ending” and “fave charas graveyard” drama lists.

FIERY CHICKEN AND DIVINE TROLL THE LEGEND OF SHEN LI: Look, xianxia with a proper elaborate happy ending that doesn't make you wish to strangle writers! Yeah, I'm at loss here too, this happens SO rarely! Thanks to spoilers that it doesn't suddenly get crappy and open/sad/both out of nowhere in the last episode I went back to the show with an easy mind, phew. As of 8 or 9 episodes in I don't love it madly, but it's enjoyable enough and mostly harmless. Good stuff after another fresh heartbreak...

Three-Body (Chinese version): Through 12 episodes, this is thoughtful, creepy, and aesthetically striking. I don't know how I'll feel about the payoffs when we get to them, but so far, I love the production design and how it combines a gritty Cold War vibe with Blade Runner-esque neon and projections. Its use of music/sound design is great as well. This is a show that feels like it was made with great care, which makes me trust that it knows what its doing and where its going.

Hello beanies! Happy Easter again!

These past days I have been on a trip, so I only had time to watch dramas each night when I went to bed, but I was too tired, so I fell sleep after watching just one episode.

What I am watching:

_ C-drama The Legend of Shen Li (24/39). It is a wonderful and very enjoyable show. The main couple gives me all the feels.

What I have finished:

_ Wedding Impossible. I don't understand why the rating in MDL has dropped so much in a few days (from 8'4 to 7'9) after the last episode. There are lots of bad comments! I have not read other beanies' opinions yet, but overall I liked this drama. Even the ending.

Western shows:

_ All the creatures great and small. Season 4 (4/7). Still a happy place and a lovely watch.

CURRENTLY WATCHING, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A LONG TIME, NO KDRAMAS

This week, my Kdrama slump hit a new low— no current Kdramas. The cause could be Chaebol fatigue, impossible plot lines, maybe new drama standard reset after Like Flowers in the Sand , who knows, but taking a little respite by visiting other dramalands.

SHOGUN
The show continues to hold my interest even though it is heavy on political machinations and power plays—not my usual cup of tea. The Japanese cast own this show, especially Hiroyuki Sanada as Toranaga who is the charismatic center of the show. Blackthorne, whether it’s because of the actor or because of the story, is relegated to the side so much that at this point his character makes a doofus (that’s the technical term) cameo each show asking for his ship and men back and not much more. Mariko’s role (very well played by Anna Sawai) is so compelling sad in her duty-bound life—to her lord, her husband and her debt for her family’s “dishonor”—that it is heartbreaking and believable when she says that her wish is for her to be allowed to die.

NOTHING BUT YOU A Cdrama set in the world of competitive tennis that is a slow burn, but rich in character and relationship development. Leo Wu and Zhou Yukons do a wonderful job in showing a mature relationship (even with a 10-year age gap) as they navigate love and career by actually spending time together and talking through issues and concerns. It sounds boring, but the show actually turns out to be compelling and squee-worthy in watching true affection and love develop and be sustained.

COMPLETED

WEDDING IMPOSSIBLE I’ve said a lot about my frustrations about this show. The ending, well, sigh, okay. It was fun, especially the first few episodes of the couple bickering, but in the end (and the middle) the show neglected the plot, the characters and the dog. Thanks for the sparkler until it sadly burned out.

Midnight Studio: Sometimes a head-scratcher must mostly cute enough. The pre-emption a week back really messed with the rhythm, but it does leave me going "omg, what's going to happen next" at the end of each week.

Queen of Tears: I was gutted by having three of my fave characters - Hae-in, Beom-ja, and Soo-cheol- being betrayed by the people they love. At least Hae-in knows that Hyun-woo does still want to be with her. Team Evil bringing down the hammer by episode 8 was such a surprise. I'm worried about spending more time with Hyun-woo's annoying siblings though.

Legend of Shen Li Up to 31. While I was enjoying the drama, ep 23 flipped some switch in me and made me obsessed. It was like how the ML didn't realize his feelings (understandably) until it all hit him once Shen Li is gone. Then it hit me how much I loved Shen Li, the OTP, and the drama. It's xianxia, so I expect to get a bittersweet ending. In the meantime, I'll enjoy the sweetness. And the music for the drama has been top-notch - so many instrumental pieces and variations for all the various moods and all very cohesive. Only complaint is that it got too flashback-heavy when Shen Li was "gone".

Fighting for Love Cdrama. Picked it back up and watched up to ep 14. I really enjoy it for the FL and the surprising touches of humor, but may drop after reading about the second half. May check out the movie version next year. Again, whoever gave it the english title is an idiot. This primarily a war drama.