LIVE WATCHES
Atypical Family
Has been a bust for me in terms of its plot, and this surprised me.

Midnight Romance in Hagwon
Has been a bust for me in terms of tone, and this surprised me.

Dare to Love Me
Has been a bust for me completely (plot, acting, humor...), and I'm not particularly surprised about that at all.

Crash
The first episodes, frankly, were somewhat boring to me, and this really surprised me. They 100% cribbed the "Charlie's Angels" theme music in the first five episodes--but I don't think it's going to be as fun as all that. It's a far more gentle show, I think, than it seems and I'm going to give it the four-episode try.

Frankly Speaking
Was wonderful in its first four episodes but took a turn to the tedious and formulaic this week, which disappointed me. We are only halfway through, though! Fingers crossed for a course correction.

Beauty and Mr. Romantic
Is the only show airing right now that I'm authentically excited about, which, um, surprises me. We're in an amnesia-plot moment that actually serves as a narrative point. Crazy!

FROM THE RESERVES
Crazy Love
What fun! A traditional rom-com with a twist. If you don't like having your lead male be irredeemably self-centered and horrible in the first few episodes--no matter if he's redeemed by the end or not--this show is NOT for you. But, if you like a show that's about the real messiness of forgiveness, where folks can often do things for which forgiveness simply must be tantamount to forgetting, I recommend it highly! I really liked it.

ON DECK
Since I'm clearly in a place where my live-watch schedule is barren, I've got lots of time for continuing my binge-watching habit, both on and off airplanes (only four flights left this month!). Here's what's on my list now (having completed or tried and rejected all of the dramas on my last list)--please let me know your opinions on them!! Where should I start?
* Secret Royal Agent (srsly, is this any good?)
* Queen & I (I started this and it looks fresh for something from 2012!)
* Dinner Mate
* Zombie Detective

ONGOING
Lovely Runner - I don't understand why Sol can suddenly share a lot of things she couldn't before. Nor do I like her choice - the whole point of last week was for her to stop doing that! But I still love our OTP - they are very k-drama-y but still feel real and incredibly sweet.

Frankly Speaking - Both the confessions (of sorts) were so great. The blowing-out the sparkler was cute. I knew Woo-ju would end up a contestant but I don't mind because the leads are just so simple and sincere together.

Chief Inspector 1958 - I liked the interplay of history with the cases. Hope the finale stays strong.

The Atypical Family - I hate everyone except I-na but I'm still weirdly intrigued by the show as a whole.

STARTED
Dare to Love Me - This was awful. No redeeming qualities at all. I'll probably keep watching.

Crash - Quirky and funny. The parking lot accident scene was hilarious. I'm in.

Uncle Samsik - It's basically telling us of the same time period as Chief Detective but with a more macro focus. Found the retelling of the events leading to the coup (even with the barely covered-up names) pretty fascinating. Sent me on a Korean history Wikipedia spiral.

C-DRAMAS
Completed To the Wonder - The depiction of different cultures in Xinjiang was interesting and beautifully shot. The story also touched on several important issues but with a light hand - laughed quite a bit and then cried too (that poor horse 😭). Recommended!

Will start Joy of Life (Season 2) today. Woohoo 🥳.

Currently Watching
Carry Sun-jae and Run: 🏃‍♂️‍➡️❤️ I didn't think it would be possible to top last week's confession and kiss, but IT DID! Every week is a slam dunk to the heart.❤️
Im-sol: "If I go back tonight, don't cry, ok?"
Me: 😭😭😭
...and Sun-jae: "Sometimes you make choices even though you know the outcome."
Me: 😭😭😭
You guys, I just love this drama (and 우리 Sun-jae-ya~) SO FLIPPIN' MUCH. Next week looks brutal, though 🥲

Frankly Speaking: 👨‍💼🔊 While I miss the over the top zany comedy of week 1, I'm fascinated by the sweet character study this is settling into. There's something really calming about the ML and FL's cameraderie and attraction. This show is SO CHARMING!!! SML is two-faced and has a scary smile, though.

Crash: 🚔💥 Of the recent premieres, I chose to try out Crash! Its brand of action and humor isn't going to be for everyone, but I'm loving it so far! The opening sting operation was hilarious! But also: TODs on steroids and angsty back-stories. I like the characters, and I think this might be Mad Dog's fun cousin. If you liked Numbers, Flex x Cop, or Extreme Job, you might like this, too.

Mr. Queen: 👨‍🍳➡️👸 (1-2) My mom loved it, Beanies love it, but I still hadn't seen it, so I started it last weekend! I knew it would be fun and funny (and zesty and spicy!), but I didn't know it would also have impressive fight choreography and that I'd get IMMEDIATE SLS for Na In-woo 😭 The last two sageuk premieres just didn't work for me, so I'm glad I have this gem to enjoy! I'll be watching slowly, as a treat.

In other news...
My mom enjoyed Wedding Impossible and liked the ending. She tried Strong Girl Nam Soon and said "the ML is cute and sweet," but dropped it because the side plots were "so lame," and watching "felt like work and I don't care." She RARELY drops dramas, so that says a lot. Now she's enjoying W: Two Worlds. Oops - I forgot how disorienting and violent the opening scenes are 😅 But she forged ahead and says it's exciting and unique! But also, "it's getting absurd" and "the plot isn't making as much sense - how did she get back into the cartoon?" So it's a bit of a mix 😂

Live watches only this week

Lovely Runner
Still enjoying my laugh out loud extra cute time travel story. I can’t believe we only have two weeks of fun left😞

Frankly Speaking
Still a fun watch despite the reality tv format. I am hoping they will confirm the child’s secret skills and the identity of his mum rather than drag it out.

Dare to Love
I quite like this easy watch rom com.

Crash
Loving this misfits crew working a case of the week. It’s funny whilst covering some serious issues.

Uncle Samshik
Who knew a drama about historical politics could be such a fast paced intriguing watch but I really like it and I am looking forward to the final episodes when they drop in the week.

The Midnight Romance in Hagwon
I will see how I feel after these two episodes but it is looking unlikely I will stick with watching and will follow with recaps instead.

Crash: This was so much fun. Let’s please stay fun.

Dare to love Me: Nope, lol. Hated the first episode and was bored by the 2nd. So, it is a drop for me.

Lovely Runner: I hate the characterization Im Sol. She is exhausting for me. She keeps making decisions without thought thinking that she is going to save Sun Jae. It makes this drama a chore for me to watch. I’m only watching to get my bean at this point. This show has so many parts of it that have potential, but then they waste time on stupid things. Sigh.

Frankly Speaking: This is like my balm after the drama of Mon-Tues dramas, lol. It is fluffy, kind, wholesome, and adorable. It isn’t super funny, but the rom is roming and that is really fantastic.

Uncle Samsik: I like it well enough. I think it is now getting to the juicy part. We know all the players and the set-up is there. Let us see what they do.

The 8 Show: I saw the first episode and it didn’t mind it. I started the 2nd show, can see where it is going and I have no desire to watch anymore, lol. It isn’t bad, but I think I need the headspace to watch it and I am simply not in it.

The Atypical Family: This was a drop. Worse forced romance EVER. Terrible People. The only good spot is I-Na, and unfortunately, she isn’t enough to keep me.

Chief Detective: Aww we are at the end. Hopefully it is a good send-off.

The Midnight Romance in Hagwon: Excited for the rest of this. I enjoyed the first two episodes.

Bridgerton Season 3: Will watch the first 4(I am still so annoyed by this, lol) this weekend.

Flex X Cop: (Up to episode 11) This is a really fun procedural! I already know to be disappointed by the brotherly betrayal and the ending that anticipates season 2, so I think I’m ready to just enjoy this for what it is. I find Jin Isoo much less annoying than I was expecting, and the smoldering but understated chemistry between Jun-young and the forensic pathologist is amazing.

Somehow, I am only watching one thing right now. My partner and I started a rewatch (for me) of Like Flowers in Sand this week, and we are planning on watching Uncle Samshik the minute he is available, but other than that, I’m just working straight through a binge-watch for the first time in forever. Of the currently airing dramas, is there something I should definitely pick up next? Lovely Runner is on my radar, but I can’t decide if I should wait for it to finish before starting…

Frankly Speaking - I'm disconnected from this for most of the time. But I'm sticking with this for Kang Hanna and Go Kyung-pyo.

Waiting for some dramas to premiere.

After a busy two weeks at work, I have come to sample some of Yoo Jae-suk's YouTube talk show, 뜬뜬 DdeunDdeun. I still miss the Korean network long-form talk shows but YT now has a wide variety of them.

My wife and I finished CRAZY LOVE and we both heartily recommend it.

DARE TO LOVE ME is simply fun. FRANKLY SPEAKING is an even better show: Kang Hanna is perfect in it.

After completing her re-watch of WEAVING A TALE OF LOVE my wife is now well into WEAVING A TALE OF LOVE 2, which she really likes a lot, but has paused. Why? Because the newest season of OUTLANDER was now available and when she completed her watch of that show part 1 of season 3 of BRIDGERTON was available- which she started but discovered that she needed a re-watch of season 2. Such is the tortured path of drama watching- but now she has completed as much of Season three as Netflix will Currently allow so back to WEAVING A TALE OF LOVE 2.

Dramatically our weekender BEAUTY AND MR. ROMANTIC has been very well-paced, but it was with some trepidation that I faced the two-year time skip that occurred in the first portion of episode 16 – with our FL ‘afflicted’ by amnesia (Oh no, I thought). But in fact, for once amnesia was a blessing and not an affliction at all. The Halmeoni who unconsciously adopted her had not only paid for her medical treatment but for two years has showered our FL with all the love she never got from her despicable mom. Meanwhile, rather than simply leaving the side couples hanging we had seen the FL’s younger brother return to America- but as Mi-ra’s friend while her older brother had been dumped by our ML’s aunt. We have been told what happened during the two years: Our broken hearted ML threw himself into work and is now a successful director, Mira has been haunting the subway station where she met and fell for our ML in hopes of catching a glimpse of him (she is obviously at least as romantic as her half-brother) and our FL’s younger brother had to return to the ROK and then cut ties with his family, a better example of living his own life than was ever seen in the previous weekender. What does all this mean? That our writer has changed the format of weekenders. Instead of a long-drawn-out version of a standard K-drama with extra characters what we have instead is episodic in the truest sense: There was the initial 3-episode chapter from the FL’s childhood and then a twelve-episode chapter which ended in apparent tragedy and was really almost a complete K-drama in itself, which is why it moved so fluidly and quickly. With episode 16 we began a third chapter and the story actually picks up more naturally because the writer was careful in handling the side characters in preparation for the two-year break. Our writer has invented a new format for weekenders: A story told in chapters. Dramatically it is working. This new format may become the template for future weekenders.

JOY OF LIFE 2 is now available on Viki.

Chief Detective 1958: 8.5 Splicing in history adds a lot to the show but is probably more meaningful to Koreans who know more of the background and who live in the results of that history.

Missing Crown Prince: 7.4

Lovely Scammer The Atypical Family: 7.5 I keep wanting to drop the "The" and insert a space "A Typical Family". This show is going to require some mental acrobatics now that 8 Show has conditioned me to think of Chun Woo-hee as Chaotic Evil.

Crash: 7.6

Dare to Love Me: __ Haven't started it yet.
Midnight Hagwon: __ Haven't started it yet.

Lovely Runner: 6.5 Ep 11 - Did anybody not see the Condom Catastrophe™ coming as soon as the guy said he had a bag of them for the other guy who was getting married? And in view of S.K.'s low birth rate, aren't condoms as wedding gifts a bad idea from a national wellbeing point of view?
Also, buy only quality non-tearing shirts and plastic bags.
Ep 12 - Probably unpopular opinion here, but I'm not a very romantic soul and I thought they wasted too much time on boring silliness. Locking the father in the bathroom... which bedroom/tent to sleep in... drowning that car... Don't they know the only approved ways to destroy a car in Kdramaland require either ToD or FHoD (Falling Human of Doom). And outside of Kdramaland, who keeps a tent in their living room?

Uncle Samshik: 2.05 For those who aren't getting enough history from Chief Detective? Guess I am getting enough because I wandered away at 20:55 of ep 1.

Frankly Speaking: 8.0 What if their dating show went all 8 Show?

The 8 Show: 4.88888888 Bean⌚ It was only 8 relatively short episodes, but I think they should have stopped at 5. They were going in circles too much. For the talent show in ep 3, 2F could, ya know, Just Dance. If you don't know what I'm talking about, https://asianwiki.com/Lee_Joo-Young_(1987)

The May drama glut has arrived. Help!

Lovely Runner (through Ep. 12): Sol and Sun-jae are as sweetly squee-ful as ever, but gosh, it feels a bit like we're going in circles at this point. Sol hasn't evolved away from her theory that the only way to save Sun-jae is to push him away, no matter what he says, feels or does. I'm kind of ready to leap to the present and see how things shake out.

Frankly Speaking (through Ep. 4): The OTP have lots of appeal as kind, regular-seeming people (truth-spewing curse aside). But I have concerns about the reality show storyline and the love triangle, two of my least favorite devices/tropes.

Midnight Romance in Hagwon (through Ep. 2): I like the leads and their conversations. It's like watching a pair of dancers or, at times, sparring boxers. I appreciate the insights into the educational system as well but hope that the show's balance still tilts toward the titular romance.

I Am Not a Hero (through Ep. 4): Interested but not emotionally invested. We'll see who ultimately ends up using whom. In a different show, Yi-na's talent would be pyrokinesis and everyone would have to watch out. As the innocent in a minefield of morally dubious characters, I hope she's treated well by the script.

Beauty and Mr. Romantic (through Ep. 16): Best use of amnesia in a long time -- maybe ever -- has given the FL freedom from her abusive mother and a new, carefree outlook on life. Given the rapid pacing of this show thus far, it surely won't be long before the ML starts to find this new production assistant oddly familiar. Also rooting for fun interactions between the adorable and principled Ma-ri and Do-jun.

Dare to Love Me (through Ep. 2): A cute watch when taken as lightly as the FL wishes to be treated; otherwise the existence of the Joseon village becomes quite the downer. Are the residents (especially the women and laborers) living there of their own volition? It'll be hard to reach a HEA without confronting the entrenched inequality that the ML seems oblivious to thanks to his gender and class.

Missing Crown Prince (through Ep. 10): Might consider dropping, except that it doesn't take long to watch with fast-forwarding. The plot is kind of bonkers, so I guess that's why I'm still around.

And then there's Joy of Life 2 and Bridgerton 3. There are literally not enough hours in the day.

Lovely Runner (Episode 11-12) - Mood: C-
I mean, we just barely escaped noble idiocy last week only to charge into it this week. Also, there is a marked uptick in filler scenes: there was only the secondary couple to worry about previously but now we have a voice crack, a car loss or even a random stuck in toilet arc that I hope isn’t a precursor to the OTP being step-siblings. Lol, I’ll laugh if that’s the final drama.

The Atypical Family (Episode 3-4) - Mood: D+
They had to make the FL somewhat palatable for the eventual OTP romance, so of course she’s not truly heartless and she only scams because her adoptive family are 2D antagonists needed for the setup of this narrative. But Moon Woo Jin has finally grown up enough to be part of a love triangle! Sadly, it seems like his job in this project is to look really pretty.

Frankly Speaking (Episode 5-6) - Mood: C-
Not the Love is for Suckers trauma! But really, it is very difficult to get the show-within-a-show concept right, when you’re throwing in so many characters and caricatures and cliches all at once into a narrative. Honestly, it’s hard to say the writing’s doing anything right when the FL has now become a contestant. I do have a bad feeling things are going downhill?

Crash (Episode 1-2) - Mood: D+
The plot is pretty much a paint by numbers police procedural, featuring a low EQ, high IQ ML with trauma alongside a feisty FL who’s physical and reckless. The director seems to be a fan of gratuitous backward driving scenes and didactic PSAs (a repeat from Taxi Driver) but I guess there’s value in casting against type (except for Baek Hyun Jin, lmao).

A lot of shows but none of them really have my attention.

Crash This show is not really original. But I like the characters.

Dare to Love Me I need more time to make an opinion. Is it just a romance and I need to stop thinking or is it more than that and will show some interesting different points of view ?

Lovely Runner I still think the show will have been better if the depression of Sun-Jae was the "villain" and not a random guy who can be everywhere and whose intentions are still unknowns for now.

Frankly Speaking It's one of these shows where the lead has a job in the plot and after 2 episodes, he's doing something completely different...

The Atypical Family I think if the ML didn't have a daughter I could have forgiven his behavior but in this case, he's way too selfcentred.

Chief Detective 1958 This drama surfs on lot of themes but never treated them really in depth.

The Midnight Romance in Hagwon It's the only drama I'm 100% invested in!

Uncle Samsik I watched the first episode and I had to read about this era because it's hard to follow just like this.

The 8 Show Pathetic characters thinking only about money are not the most interesting. I will try the second episode.

I will see if I finish Begin Youth and Chairman of Class 9.

Lovely Runner. I am still not *as* enamored or charmed as others are but there's many moments when I appreciate the actors and the characters. The start of episode 11 made me smile cause they just seemed so happy and wholesome. It's kinda infectious. It makes one wanna have a crush or be in love (the fun, fluttery parts of it). I liked seeing Sol, Sun Jae, Tae Sung, and In Hyuk together and it made me wonder WHY we ended this serial killer angle? I feel like maybe the same idea of Sun Jae "needing" to be protected could've still been told without the murderer cause there's PLENTLY of ways and reasons for an idol to be depressed and suicidal just as there are ways of them being victims of violence. Seeing the 4 of them together made me want a story that focused more on the four of them. It's irksome when I remember how threads may never be acknowledged or were kinda pointless when that could've been used some other way but that's just a peeve. It doesn't impede my enjoyment of the show. I miss the show about the fangirl and idol.

Dare to Love Me. I found the discussions in the comments more entertaining than the actual show. I'm not sure whether I would continue watching. I don't really want to but then I might be curious about what happens. I feel like the folks who like it, *really* like it so they would have a TOTALLY different reception to it than me. I think it's already fairly predictable. The most curious thing to me is how exactly does a Joseon minded guy fit in with modern society. It's hard for me to wrap my head around that. I think he's supposed to show all the "good" aspects of the philosophy/lifestyle but yeah, I don't know how to even understand it. Like even showing his wrist or collarbone was too immodest to him yet he can have a modern haircut. I'm kinda reminded of fanfic where folks just cherry pick elements they like and change the story according to their whims.

The 8 Show. I am so confused by all the smoking. I thought Koreans looked down on smoking so why would they accept/partner with a cigarette company for PPL? I appreciate the acknowledgement that women have periods and folks need to use the bathroom HOWEVER I could've done WAYYYYY less with seeing it. Just seeing those scenes made me feel as if I could smell it and nauseated me. I haven't laughed even though it's supposed to be a "dark comedy". I just thought of it as an interesting social experiment type thing. I also wondered what I would do in that situation. Which number would I have picked. Would I have just given up out of boredom and/or laziness. Which character would I be most like.

I watched reacters watching DOCTOR WHO (the modern era) for the first time and aww, it vaguely reminded me of when I first got into the show haha. I think I started watching the show during Matt Smith's tenure (the 11th doctor) but I had watched watched all the (modern era) episodes prior leading up to him (at the time,...

Crash
Love the whole team! It is funny while touching on serious issues in South Korea.

Uncle Samshik

Waited for this drama since 2022 and I was not disappointed at all. There are no power hungry ministers in beard, but ambitious individuals with different plans for Korea. With these talented cast and experienced director&screenwriter (who happens to be the same person), I am now hooked to the dialogues, cinematography and acting.

Chief Detective 1958
A nice blend of history and fiction. It is one of my favourite dramas in 2024. Sad to see that today is the final episode.

Midnight at Hagwon
Enjoying the first two episodes. It is a slowburn romance like Something in the Rain, which I really love. Bonus: Nice to see Jung Ryeo Won again.

Marathoning:
Missing Crown Prince: My friends are really persuasive.

Non-Korean dramas
Unnatural (Japan)
Bridgertone 3 (UK)

Hi Beanies!

First things first, I'm glad Javabeans watched and enjoyed Twinkling Watermelon so much. This is a new classic in my books.

What I have been watching this week:

_ Lovely Runner (12/16). Episode 11 was the best so far, imo. I thought: "Now I'm enjoying this show almost as much as everybody else (at last!)". But episode 12 was a bit of a letdown. Too silly.

_ Atypical Family (4/12). My favorite drama currently on air. As I said in the recap, I think the "how", the style, the mood... are more important than "what" the story is telling (a case of form over substance), but I'm quite interested in Ina and some of the mysteries. I'm looking forward to watching this week's episodes.

_ C-drama Will love in spring (13/21). Even though I don't like it as much as other great Chinese slice-of-life shows (Fake It till you make it, Meet Yourself, When I fly towards you...) this drama is very good too. The music is stunning.

_ C-drama Joy of Life Season 1 (24/43). Great. Here the how, the what, the why, the details, the pace, the settings... everything works. Episodes 23 and 24 have been wonderful. I'm trying not to read/see any spoilers of the second season 🫣. (I'm obsessed with the intro and credits songs).