LIVE WATCHES
Beauty and Mr. Romantic
Sadly, BMR did slow down this week. I'm still optimistic that the gear shift was intentional, but I could also be simply pushing down those tell-tale dramalover's vibes that the writer is about to start meaning serious things. 🥶☠️

Freaking Fairy Tale
Best kisses this year? I think they may be. I am under the spell of this show, and think it's one of the better-written K-dramas I've, frankly, ever seen. It's weirdly intricate and straightforward at the same time--a lot like a, um, fairy tale. I am sliiiightly worried that we only have two episodes left, but also not, as I've come to really trust this writer. But hey, we've all been burned before.

Bitter Sweet Hell
I'm liking this, but can't help but feeling that it is both enough and not enough makjang, all at the same time. I want to inhabit a fictional world that is totally against me in a way I don't deserve and have me the FL claw her damn way out of it. I want everyone to be a caricature and all emotions dialed to 11. I don't need kelp...I need painful melo.

Lobster
An unexpectedly delightful love triangle. So typical, and yet so deserving a trio! In other news, I think I know how people felt about Ha Joon's character in DWY now. My SLS is retreating--not growing for once 🤷‍♂️--and I'm remembering what a lot of you said about Jae-kyung back in the day. This dude just doesn't have it. Y'all were still wrong about Jae-kyung 🦦.

Miss Night and Day
I will continue to watch this drama happily, despite all my reservations about the perils of the agassi-ajumma dichotomy. I will not predict how it will end up, and frankly at this point don't care. I have been so disappointed by dramas of this ilk this year, that finding joy in the first few episodes leaves me pretty dang thrilled.

FROM THE RESERVES
I am so ecstatic about having a full slate of live-watches back!!!

ON DECK
The Auditors, 'nuff said. It can't live up to the hype at this point, but at least there will be accountancy back on our screens.

Currently Watching
Dare to Love Me: 🎭🪡 It's sweet and simple, except for the antagonist, who is fascinating. I kind of want him to succeed at whatever his end-game is. (Also: L's voice is lovely, making THREE currently-airing dramas with great voices!).

My Sweet Mobster: 🍭🦞 I'm in luuuuurve!! Favorite moments this week: our shy ex-mobster's childlike joy at the playground, his shame-spiral after the playground shenanigans (Lol), our caring content-creator mending Ji-hwan's coat... and then trying it on and commenting on his wide shoulders (*same, girl*), cat mobster's pearls, Ji-hwan's eyes every time he encounters prejudice against ex-cons (sad, resigned), "I got home fk," the family breakfast and table prayer, and Ji-hwan's face (*Those angles*✨️📐✨️).

Miss Night and Day: 🌜🙇‍♀️🌞 I LOVED the first episodes - what a great intro to the personalities of the leads. I went in pretty blind, so I didn't know about the thriller plot... why oh why can't we have nice, normal murders? Why must they be so grisly? I guess if you set the bar at ''dismemberment,'' it can't get that much worse, right? RIGHT?? But I digress. I love the magical realism (Lol at *yet another* deus-ex-machina-magic-cat, plus two other HeartBeat alums), the gorgeous visual- and sound-design, the ML and FL, and the cast in general. So I'm sticking around. P.S. let's petition for a magical golden retriever in a drama. I'd love that.

Finished
Frankly Speaking: This drama was really three different dramas (1st: wk 1; 2nd: wk 2-4; 3rd: wk 5-6). Any one of these could have been excellent. Choosing any two could still have been great. Trying all three didn't quite work, but if looked at separately, I enjoyed each one. Taking a multi-week break before tackling the last four episodes mitigated some of the tone shift and helped me enjoy it on its own merits. It was a great cast of characters even if the story faltered. A lovely ending, though!! The children's play was necessary because they forgot to emphasize their own moral/message throughout, but I loved it anyway. It was adorable.

In other news... Mom watched the "sweet and funny" Honey Sweet and really enjoyed it. She started Flex x Cop and is loving it so far! Haha she loved it when he flew in on a helicopter. (*Continued below*)

Three shows ended this week and my k-drama plate is so empty 😯.

COMPLETED
Crash - I loved this sweet little team and how they always came through for each other. Wouldn't mind a S2 to wipe that smug smile off Lee Tae-joo's face.

Uncle Samsik - Loved the way they merged past, real footage with the scenes of the protests and the coup. It ended pretty much as I expected but I still cried in the scene before the execution. I liked it - it was plot-dense but the story-telling style allowed for multiple perspectives, which kept things tense and exciting.

High School Return of a Gangster - I'm glad Se-kyung got to apologise directly to Yi-heon and that not everyone got a redemption arc. This was surprisingly moving and had a good, complete ending. Two 👍!

ONGOING
Dare to Love Me - Two more weeks…

Dreaming of a Freaking Fairy Tale - I love how unserious this show is - the throat punches, the bathroom scene, the rap battle 😭. The stuff with the mom was a bit pat but makes sense in this story.

My Sweet Mobster - Loving the humour in this too - be it the Thirsty Deer folks or Hyun-woo with his office investigator. Ji-hwan going crazy in the playground was so cute. Uhm Tae-goo's pauses and intonations are just 💯.

STARTED
Miss Night and Day - I liked it. Mi-jin feels like a real person despite all the k-drama style troubles she got into. All 3 leads are likeable as always. Did anyone else find the ex-soldier suspicious 🧐?

C-DRAMAS
Still enjoying The Double, which I should be able to finish over the weekend.

Will start Follow Your Heart, which had a surprise drop yesterday. Hopefully we get The Princess Royal this week too.

Crash: What a sweet show. It had growth, family, found family, some comedy, some heart, and a big bad taken down. It was enjoyable for what it was and that is all you can ask for.

Player 2: Still swindling and getting money. The show arc is coming to a head, so looking forward to that.

My sweet Mobster: This still continues to be fine. There isn’t really much happening, but our OTP is cute.

Uncle Samsik: What an ending. An Kichul got his way, but I think the real architect was Kim San, because he got his way too.

Dreaming of a freaking fairytale: We are almost at the end and I am sad. These last episodes took away most of the funny and brought the sincerity. Cha Min’s day and night dreams are hilarious. Sir, just say you like her. His mother’s appearance was sudden, but it is only 10 episodes and they had to wrap everything up anyway. However, the dropping of the security umbrella was bittersweet.

Miss Night and Day: I am looking forward to this even though the characters don’t really match, I am enjoying the shenanigans minus the serial killer, smh.

The Midnight Romance in Hagwon: The angst has arrived, but thankfully it is only in the last 4 episodes.

Bitter Sweet Hell - I'm sincerely tired of No Yeong-won's manner of handling matters. For a psychologist, I am very disappointed. How she went from that Cheshire cat smile in episode 7 to whatever it is in episode 8, I'm highly disappointed.

I'm all for Hong Sa-kang and her methods. She is the main treat in this bittersweet hell.

Special P.S: Can we have Jung Woong-in appearing in the same manner Kwon Yul did in Frankly Speaking.

Uncle Samsik Episode 12: The threat Cha Tae-min doled at Kang Seong-min was chilling. Man was scared in his pants.

So the death happened. I shivered at Lieutenant Jeong's death. I am going to postpone watching the rest till next week cause I'm still reeling from it.

Connection - I'll always love this for the break-neck speed with which the plot moves. I know the relationship between Tae-jin and Jong-soo will be the undoing of all of them, but that friend of theirs is a ticking time bomb. With him now knowing Tae-jin's entanglement with Jun-seo's wife, I'm sure he's going to try bargain his way up into the group.

After I finished Carry Sun-jae and Run which I really loved, I was looking for something 1. totally different, 2. quite cheesy, and 3. not quite, shall we say, good. I didn’t want it to compete with Lovely Runner, and as @hopefulromantic pointed out, it can be good to reset expectations. Soooo, I started watching The Scholar Who Walks the Night, which I have been intrigued by ever since @mistyisles recommended it as a cheese-fest a couple of years ago. It is fitting the criteria perfectly 😅🧀

I’m having fun, but probably not for the reasons the show intended. This drama is one that every single actor has committed to, and that Lee Joon-gi is absolutely carrying on his shoulders. Within the first episode, when I was totally supposed to be horrified by our hero having to drink the blood of his love, I found myself cracking up - at the inappropriately swelling music, but even more at the absolutely wild squelching sound effects. But y’all, Lee Soo-hyuk was born to play a vampire, the crown prince is interesting and conflicted, Ho-jin is incredibly endearing, and Lee Joon-gi continues to have some of the most elegant eyelids in all of dramaland - emphasized beautifully here by an unsubtle amount of eyeliner.

On the other hand, 20 episodes is way too many! If you gave me a copy of the script, a red pen, a pair of scissors, and a few hours, I could hand you a drama that would be a solid 16 episodes (or even 14!), would be better paced, and would be at least 71% better and less confusing. It’s already cut so strangely I can’t really mess it up too badly. I don’t always know how to fix a questionable drama, but this one I feel like I could really help out. Ah well. As a little break, I also started watching The Young Woman Who Walks the Night Miss Night and Day, which is super fun so far! An ajumma cycling around and dancing to her own music is a nice change from the secret plots and vampire overlords!

K-action Movie of the Week
Deliver Us From Evil: No idea why this movie is named this, but it was pretty good! The trans-representation could have been better, but could also have been much much worse, and I was glad that they portrayed her as a moral and sympathetic character (who gets a reasonably happy ending!). It’s quite violent, so be warned, but it was fun to see Hwang Jung-min as a more fatherly character than I’m used to, and Lee Jung-jae as an absolute psychopath. Plus, Park So-i was so tiny and adorable! It’s a tale as old as time - dangerous man #1 is trying to retire, girl is kidnapped, DM1 tries to save her as dangerous man #2 tries to stop him - and it’s no Man From Nowhere, but it was solid nonetheless!

CONNECTION (Ep. 7-8) The KH gang’s plans continue to fray the edges of their friendship. Kidnapping Yoon-Jin made no sense; threatening the Taxi Driver just makes him want to betray in order to live; trying to seduce the passcode from a widow; etc. We did learn that Joon-Seo and Chang-Soo have major secrets to reveal. Even with stop-gap measures, time is running out for many of these players.

BITTERSWEET HELL (Ep 7-8) Generational hatred for one’s family is the tornado aftermath in the main characters lives. Se-Na is a master manipulator whose back story is as terrifying as her game with the Hong family. Se-Na’s obsession may have a dark horse contender in Dr. Oh. We have 4 episodes to the finish line. The idea of MIL and No working together to solve the family’s problems out of mutual “maternal love” was quickly thrown out the window. MIL’s deep secret is tied to her own overprotective nature to her son. It seems the writer is making the point that a mother’s unconditional love for their child resides in a murky swamp of contradictions and moral quandaries that can be exploited, even by their loved ones.

PRINCESS MONONOKE (1997) I re-watched Hayao Miyazaki’s animated epic to find over time it still holds up great. Besides great world building and animation, the story is one of the most complex in Studio Ghibli history. There are actually five factions that oppose each other during the fight for control of the forest and Nature’s resources. The good and evil aspects of the factions meld into several gray area characters against some villains who are just greedy with a purpose. Great movie.

Miss Night & Day: 7.5 Lee Jung-Eun + Jung Eun-Ji = Lee Jung Eun Ji + 😸

Missing Crown Prince: 5.5

Crash: 6.5 Sigh. Time skip. Because kdrama.

Player 2 - Master of Swindlers: 6.0

High School Gangster: 6.5 for the week; 7.5 for the series. Ep 7 gets only a 5.0 for wasting an hour pretending that a certain character might not do what we all knew he would do, setting up a fake dramatic climax, and then giving it all away at the end in the preview of the next episode (which we were all going start in about 30 seconds anyway, so why bother with a preview?)
Also, Lee Kyoung-young wasn't very evil this time!!!!? 😱😨

My Sweet Mobster: 7.5 Their novelty is starting to wear off. A little.

Dreaming of a F***king Fairy Tale: 7.5

I know it’s only been half a year, but I nominate the infamous umbrella for being this year’s most versatile inanimate object

Not only can it be used as a romantic gesture from saving a loved one during the rain, sun & snow. It can also be used as a shield from angry fans throwing eggs or worse anti-fans throwing acid. While the umbrella does have great defence mechanisms, it also has great attack capabilities. Just poke a couple of baddies and voilà they’ll be kneeling at your feet! However and most importantly the umbrella is the ultimate and I mean ultimate emotional support object! Now who wouldn’t want such an incredible and useful tool for the low low price of $9.95! 😁

MISS NIGHT AND DAY (Ep.1-2)
Could easily become a favourite and so far I’m enjoying it. I think we all act differently around different people, as in I act differently around my friends, than I do with my co-workers and my parents etc. So it’s an intriguing thought experiment on how we’d behave if we woke up in a different body, would we still carry all the same baggage, stresses and anxiety? Or would there be new hurdles? It’s an interesting conundrum for sure and I’m excited to see how the drama will tackle it.

CRASH (Ep. 11-12)
I thoroughly enjoyed the chemistry between our ragtag TCI team and I‘ll be happy if we do get a season two. One of the things I like about kdramas is that they don’t shy away from the corruption amongst the police. However, aside from a few “bad apples” I would’ve liked to see a more systematic critique. From lobbyists to politicians to city planning and the police, I think there could’ve been a more holistic approach to issues surrounding car accidents and deaths. I say this as someone who lives in a very car dependent country, much more than South Korea. Anyway still happy that I got to see Heo Sung-tae not play a villain or killer for once!

DROPPED: DARE TO LOVE ME
Became uninterested as soon as they did the dirty on Joon-ho. I don’t like how he’s become a one dimensional villain with no nuance and I hate that evil grandpa seems to be getting a redemption arc. Especially when he doesn’t even seem to be the slightest bit apologetic to how he treated and continues to treat Joon-ho.

COMPLETED:

Although I’d seen him as the ML in Her Private Life and in secondary roles in a few other dramas, Kim Jae-Wook had never really been on my radar. That changed this past week, when I watched a movie and then a drama series from opposite ends of his career. In both, his was far and away the best performance, elevating so-so material and helping the other actors to shine. Sir, you are now firmly ensconced on my “watch anything they’re in” list.

Antique - “Can anyone be unhappy while eating cake?” While the tagline certainly got my attention, the main incentive for watching this frenetic 2008 movie were the goofy bromantic hijinks of the 20-somethings Ju Ji-Hoon, Kim Jae-Wook, and Yoo-Ah-In as—respectively—owner, chef, and boxer-turned-apprentice at a high-end pastry shop. The film is an adaptation of the manga "Seiyo Kotto Yogashiten.”

I was pleasantly surprised by its lighthearted, largely judgment-free depiction of some unabashedly gay characters, with same-sex flirting, kissing, and even a sexy interracial, post-coital bedroom scene with KJW and his French lover. As the incredibly hot gay pâtissier who makes both men and women swoon, KJW gave a magnetic performance devoid of the stereotypical gay mannerisms. Somewhere in there was a scrambled mess of a plot about—let’s all say it together—childhood trauma! But at least it gave us a tweenage Yeo Jin-Goo playing the child version of JJH’s character… the cherry on top of the cake, as it were.

Crazy Love KJW’s funny, tender, sexy, nuanced portrayal of genius math instructor Noh Go-Jin, was the main reason I really enjoyed this show. He had terrific chemistry with leading lady Krystal, from the smooches and pillow fights to the misunderstandings and frank conversations. The show devoted a lot of quality time to their growth as individuals and also as a couple. The rest was only so-so, with a hateful SFL, insufficiently developed secondary characters and backstories, and a hastily thrown-together conclusion. I did, however, appreciate that it avoided some of the usual pitfalls by not letting certain situations and misunderstandings play out for too long.

Montage - Sadly, Kim Jae-Wook wasn’t in this 2013 crime thriller starring Uhm Jung-Hwa and Kim Sang-Kyung as a bereft mother and a police detective trying to track down the kidnapper and killer of the woman’s young daughter before the statute of limitations runs out. The movie felt dated, without much tension or suspense. My favorite part was name-checking the police squad, a Who’s Who of character actors I’ve seen time and again in countless Kdramas.

DROPPED: -

Crash - Dropped after episode 4. I really wanted to like this one. But it didn’t work for me either as a drama or a comedy. I found it predictable and uninspired, with nothing that set it apart from dozens of other cop shows other than the traffic-crime angle. There was little sense of camaraderie among...

This week I am behind with my watches but will catch up next week.

Live watches

Lovely Mobster
I have yet to watch episode 4 but I continue to like what I see and I think this will be my favourite lighthearted drama.

Uncle Samsik
I still need to watch this weeks episodes but poor Hanmin paid the price for taking matters into his own hands so now I wonder who else will pay the price.

Dreaming of a freaking fairytale
I have not seen this week’s episodes.

Completed:

Crash
It ended well but with an opening for a second season? If they did make a second season using the same format of a case stretching a couple of episodes and a main story running in the background that would work for me as I would like to see the team grow. I like the judge who has sorted a new mission and I can see her becoming part of the team get togethers.

High school return of a gangster
I liked how they tied up the loose ends. I hope Jaemin gets a fresh start after paying for his crimes. The only issue for me is the age difference if Deukpal chooses not to date according to his actual age.

Book corner

The sense of Wonder - Matthew Salesses
Re read in time for next month’s DB book club discussion. I loved it just as much as the first time. It is crying out to be made into a film or short drama.

Banyan Moon - Thao Thai
Vietnamese family story from Great grandmother’s story of how she came to the States and how the later generations survived. Sad tale with folklore, domestic abuse, young love, and family miscommunication running through the story.

JOY OF LIFE 2 —It is finished! Thank you to the Beanies who shared their thoughts and encouragement along the watch. You were a little bubble of happiness in each WWW.

I rewatched the last scene more than once; it was a satisfying way to wrap up the season while increasing the excitement for the next. He is back! I look forward to a Fan Xian who is in his full power and with the maturity and knowledge he has gained this season.

I definitely had some drama withdrawal symptoms after completing the last episode, and it took a while to find a drama to watch because every other script and actors was paling in comparison. Now, we wait for season 3 and hope for a reasonable timeframe we can endure. Please not 4 years again.

STARRY LOVE (23) —It is a hoot! I think my favorite thing is how the ML falls for the FL quickly each time, but she falls for him the more she gets to know each piece of him —no spoilers, but if you have watched it you know what I mean. Also, what a gorgeous OST!

MY LOVELY BOXER (7) —I avoided this because of what I thought it would be —a con artist sports agent using his athlete but slowly changing and helping her by the end. It is that, but it is much, much more. And the character motivations are the key. I never thought our heroine would WANT to throw a match so she can peacefully leave the sport she abhors, or that the main lead would be motivated by his loyalty and love for his friend. All this means I am thoroughly enjoying the story right now, and I cannot say good enough things about the acting of Lee Sang Yeob and Kim So Hye. Plus—and this is a BIG plus—the women and female relationships are fantastic: supportive, non-competitive (outside the ring), and relatable.

CRASH LANDING ON YOU (ep 6) —I have never gotten past episode 5. (I know. You will have to take away my Kdrama card membership now.) The drama is great quality in all aspects and I like the characters, but for some reason I have never clicked with it. I am trying again though. Wish me luck!

AGE OF YOUTH 2 (10) —always a great rewatch, but in particular I could watch Park Eun Bin and Son Seung Won do their Lois Lane/Clark Kent act all day. I wish we got more of these two.

MY MILITARY VALENTINE (4) — Once I got past the first episode (I rolled my eyes a lot) and into our story, I was able to settle in and enjoy this. It is surprisingly constructed and may be confusing to drama watchers who do not like non-chronological storytelling. But I love that we are given the puzzle pieces almost randomly because so far my patience has been rewarded when the pieces clicked together.

Also, Kim Min Seok —loved him in Age of Youth 2!—and Nam Gym Ri have some fun chemistry between them. If they can learn to work together, I think I am going to really like this pair.

COMPLETED:

1. CRASH - I very much enjoyed this drama and hope it gets a second season.

2. DOCTOR WHO - Ncuti Gatwa is fantastic as The Doctor and I look forward to future seasons of the show.

ONGOING WATCHES:

1. BRAIN WORKS - Jung Yong-Hwa and Cha Tae-Hyun are very entertaining as the Odd Couple crime investigation team working together to solve mind-bending crimes.

2. I'm continuing to rotate DOCTOR SLUMP, SECRET INSPECTOR & JOY, and BLACK for my lunchtime viewing.

OTHER WATCHES

1. Just finished watching the K-Horror movie THE CAT starring Park Min-Young. It's pretty good.

Crash (11-12): Another two great episodes, with a satisfying conclusion as well. I'll miss this team. Wouldn't say no to a season 2 though.

Dreaming of a Freaking Fairytale (7-8): It's not exactly original, but it has it's heart in the right place, and this week feautured a rap proposal, so I have absolutely no reason to complain.

Midnight Romance in Hagwon (11-12): I have issues with how the aftermath of the big conclict was handled, but hopefully the drama gets back on track for the last 4 episodes. And if it doesn't, at least the second romance never fails to put a smile on my face.

My Perfect Stranger (3-6): I do hope our leads start communicating better and stop keeping secrets from this point onward, because while I for the most part understand why they did that, it was getting pretty frustrating.

Hospital Playlist (6): It might take me a while, but I will finish this drama. But in all seriousness, I do really like it, it's just that I don't think it's a very bingeable drama, which makes it harder to keep up with. Think this episode was my favorite so far in terms of the friendship between our characters., and I love how they supported Song-hwa.

WATCHING
The Double c-drama eps 15-20
Ridiculously entertaining. The chemistry-fueled interactions in this slow burn romance are so fun to watch. The rest of the ensemble cast is terrific. Youku has been very generous with BTS clips and interviews. I've lost count of how many I've watched, even though most aren't subtitled 🙃

That Pink Show
I'm completely smitten with this drama 🩷 It has such an easy style, so I'm hoping that the dramatic elements will be low key and not overwhelm the sweet vibe. Love love love the leads. They'd better end up with oodles of kids (somehow).

Dreaming of a Freaking Fairy Tale
Still fresh and funny. I love all the characters, the narrator, and the funky sets and costumes. I've got fingers and toes crossed that it glides right into a perfect ending.

COMPLETED
Missing Crown Prince
An unusual sageuk with many fine points, but an unfortunately weak ending courtesy of poor screenwriting. Disappointing.

Fake It Til You Make It c-drama
A gem of a modern romance. Lots of great conversations and complex characters. The jazz lounge/French cafe soundtrack mix is the cherry on top. Highly recommended.

Have a great week beanies! 🌞

I am reducing my drama time and time on internet. Only watching 3 shows now. And probably won’t start many new shows unless it’s really compelling.
Crash - completed. Enjoyed our cop gang. Don’t mind a season 2.
Mobster - Has all my heart. 🥰🥰
Connection- Love the show. A very tight thriller and makes me look forward to new episodes each week.
Freaking fairy - Easy fun watch. The leads are great. Need more kiss scenes because they are so good at it.

I’m enjoying the teaching journeys within Hagwon but not the romance as much as I’d hoped. My Lovely Mobster also carries an inspirational message but is already delivering on the romance. And like most Beanies, I’m just enjoying the hijinks in Miss Night and Day while ignoring the murdering.

I finally started watching C-dramas again with my buddy. We completed Will Love in Spring and just fell in love with this story and its characters until its rather disappointing ending. Boo. And we started on To the Wonder. Only two episodes in (out of just eight!), and this might be my favorite watch of the year. I’m not sure how to describe this unique cross between traditional drama and...cinéma vérité (?), but this tale of a young writer finding love and herself among the Kazakh herdsmen is as much a love song to the people and the landscape of this stunning corner of China.

However, we paused at Episode 2 as she felt it was whitewashing the conflict in the region while I think it lies in the grey. Any Beanies watching this *and* have thoughts on it?

Starting:
Sh**ting Stars: Fun and nice. I to enjoy have so many to ship.
I do not enjoy the aegyo of the FL. She is a supercool boss but when her frenemy-love of almost two decades comes close, she acts like a three-year-old who is washed in her face with a cold and soapy washrag?
Soundtrack #1: I promised last week that I had a gifsay coming up elaborating on a scene in this drama, and another one for the Danish documentary that was Not a K-drama:. The gif-says are here now, and one can be found on my wall, the other under Community Watch on the wall of @minniegupta1
The scene I have giffed made me so angry I had smoke coming out of my ears because it triggered memories and even a kind of ambience I felt I knew all too good.
This was definitely not lessened by the documentary described under “Not a K-drama”. If I hadn’t recognized what happened by right along when I watched it, I certainly would have, helped by that documentary.
Finished:
Not a K-drama:
Sexism in the Music Industry: I had a week showered with these kinds of moods on my TV scream. Instantly recognizable, - so I had to make the gifs for that fantastic scene in Soundtrak #1, and for this Danish documentary. They complement each other so I really recommend seeing both gif-says.
Links will appear in comments.

WATCHING AND HAVING FUN-- HOW NICE IS THAT?

Dreaming of A Freaking Fairy Tale This show remains silly and touching even if it is sometimes a little pat. This show demonstrates how ridiculous comedy done with heart can just hit the spot. In addition to Lee Jun Young and Pyo Ye Jin’s solid performances, I would like to give a shout out to the narrator with the Julie Andrews-like voice invoking Princess Diaries memories.

My Sweet Mobster Um Tae Gu’s acting is amazing here—if you watch the BTS of this show, you will realize how different he is from Ji Hwan (UTG seems painfully shy in person) but when the cameras roll, he goes all in physically and emotionally. He is well matched with Han Sun Hwa’s commitment to her character, and her smile and sweetness is really irresistable without being saccarine. This show makes me feel and smile from OTPs’ scenes to the many swagged out clothes of the bulldog. LOVE.

LATE TO THE PARTY
Extraordinary You There are so many similarities to Lovely Runner, but yet, it’s still its own thing. However, the one thing the two shows have in common is that it proves that adage that it is always better to play tennis with a partner who’s as good or better than you—Kim Hye Yoon is that partner. What she brings to both these shows is a character who is utterly loveable and you see why Haru and Sun Jae are smitten with her. She’s a very good actress as evidenced by emotions you see her acting partners feel. Kim Hye Yoon serves and returns with the best of them and she brings out a better game in her partners.

Hi Beanies!

What I am watching:

_ Sweet Mobster (4/16). I had decided I would drop it or keep watching it after this week's episodes. Even though I'm not so smitten with this show as other beanies, it hasn't been boring so far, the songs are nice and the ML is growing on me. So I think I won't drop it.

_ C-drama Joy of Life 2 (13/36). Great. As always. Superb script, amazing Fan Xian... and I'm in love with the new Bing Yun.

What I have finished:

_ My Ahjussi. It was very good. Everything: script, acting, music, songs, cinematography...
However, it doesn't enter My Top 10. I prefer Misaeng and Signal (by the same director).

_ Parasyte The Grey. Watched in two days. Quite "meh", imo. But I gained another bean. I'd watch the second season.

Western shows:

_ Baby Reindeer (6/7). A good series, but quite hard.