Happy Weekend, Beanies! Anybody else just staying home and binging dramas to avoid the heat ~(￣▽￣)~*?

ONGOING
The Auditors - I laughed a lot. I don't think the writing intended for me to do that.

Miss Night and Day - Im Sun was great as always. Everything about the mountain hiking/climbing/digging was hilarious to me. The romance on the other hand is middling.

Red Swan - Still finding the chaebols more interesting - the scene where the Mom slapped the son for suspecting Wan-soo was pretty good. The second son is Lawyer Han's right?

My Sweet Mobster - I'm ignoring the preview and focusing on the cuteness - of which there was loads (✿◕‿◕✿)(❤ ω ❤).

STARTED
Good Partner - Liked it. Probably coz I find Work Eun-kyung super-relatable.

C-DRAMAS
Completed The Princess Royal. It was good but if I hadn't read the novel, I might have liked it more. The leads shined in their roles.

As Beautiful as You turned from a background watch into a drop.

Wish there were more than 24 hours in a day because my watchlist of ongoing and upcoming dramas keeps growing - Lost You Forever S2, Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty S2, Another Soul in Me, Dashing Youth, Hidden Charm...(* ￣︿￣)

My Sweet Mobster: OH MYLANTA, our OTP is so ADORABLE. I am so glad they gave this to us before the inevitable angst and possible noble idiocy. Their interactions were so cute. Our sister-in-law and her found family. As for our 2nd leads, they are cute too. I hate to say this because it encourages nonsense, but Il Young is an adorable drunk.

Red Swan: This continues to be nonsense and Rain. Rain is the plot and the plot is Rain. The rest is superfluous bad acting or over the top acting.

Good Partner: I hope they conclude the divorce in this next episode, so we can move on. I do appreciate that Attorney Cha does actual tell Rookie Han the truth. She is mentoring her in her own way and I appreciate that.

Miss Night and Day: For the love that is all that is holy and good in dramaland, kill the misunderstandings and miscommunications. We have 6 episodes left, get it together.

The Auditors: Keep being ridiculous and great.

Serendipity’s Embrace: I am SOOOOO EXCITED for this, come to me Monday.

Live Watches
Miss Night and Day: Korean is a beautiful, complex, contextual language full of homonyms and ~implications~… But Imma need our leads to ignore basically all of that for a few minutes while they sort out whatever they do or do not have going on. Remember: Subject. Direct object. Verb. I have faith in you!

감사합니다: Oooh, ok, this is a police procedural. Now it makes more sense. I’m probably the only person not annoyed with Han-soo right now, and I really like the dynamic that is developing between him and Cha-il. Now if we could just get uri teamjang to betray some emotion, I’ll be happy.

Recent Dramas:
Chief Detective 1958: (through episode 8) Judging by the comments on the weecaps (or lack thereof), very few folks watched this as it aired. I didn’t have access at the time but it popped up on Hulu for me (in the US) a few weeks ago and I’ve been tearing through this week. I’m really loving our band of misfit detectives (and not just because of my love for Lee Je-hoon), and the romance has been short but so sweet. They deal with some really heavy topics in this, but I’m still having fun because our leads are so zany and tenacious. I’m commenting on some of the weecaps because they feel so lonely, so feel free to join me if you’ve watched!

K-action Movie of the Week
Old Boy: Ok, I admit: I did not really know what this was when I started watching it. I knew it was famous, and a classic action movie that inspired countless others. I was expecting hyper violence. I was not expecting a Greek tragedy. So be warned, lovely Beanies, that is most certainly what this is. There were many parts that I “watched” with my fingers covering my eyes, and even more parts that made me feel a little ill. I’m glad I saw it once, but I never really need to see it again. Moving on.

Divine Fury: This is not really a great movie, but I thought it was fun and had a way better time watching it than Old Boy (🫣). Park Seo-joon is an MMA fighter, so at the end of the day, we always have that! Other than that it’s a pretty classic exorcism movie in most ways. My husband actually thought it would have made a better drama than movie, since it took them a while to establish the central relationship and then we could have had a possesion-of-the-week. In the end though, if you want to see what Woo Do-hwan looks like when he turns from devil-worshiping cult leader into full on snake monster (and really, who doesn’t?), this is your movie.

THE AUDITORS (Ep 3-4) The speculation and assumptions without concrete legal evidence is really dragging down the embezzlement stories. The series is clearly not a office drama or a crime show but Shin as the Corporate Terminator fantasy in an unrealistic Batman world. OK, even if this is pure Marvel escapism, then let that roll unabated by logic. This is no more apparent than next week’s episode when the “audit” team becomes a counter-terrorist squad. Really? No One has the number to the policer department?

When American drama writers lose control of their foundational story elements, they often claim the show was really “a character study.” This week we can conclude that the lead, Shin, is an obsessive non-romantic. I think the acting is still good, in an upscale Old Western way, but the plots cannot be believed with any sincerity.

TAROT (“Santa’s Visit” episode) This was the episode starring Jo Yeo Jeong shown at Cannes Short Series, marking the first Korean TV short in the competition series. It is a only 30 minutes long. It was marketed as horror but it is really a psychological thriller. JYJ plays Ji-Woo, a down-on-her luck single mom who, while Christmas shopping with her young daughter, finds a “Wheel of Fortune” Tarot card (which in the show is said to mean “Opportunity and Luck,” but can also mean change.) She immediately gets a needed cashier’s job but it starts on Christmas Day which leaves her daughter home alone. This is when the fairy tale and creepy tension ramp-up. Close-ups of JYJ’s increasing range of believable emotions sells her character’s plight. It is a very simple story well acted with a satisfying ending (even though I read some people did not understand it). Highly recommend this episode.

Knight Flower, eps 5-6
Oooh, the plot thickens!!
And it is clear that Yeohwa has actually been taken as a hostage!
I wonder what she will do when she realises the truth and the true colours of her father-in-law.

Mobster
I confess that this week the romantic silliness of the main couple was a bit too much for me and I more focused on the secondary couple... and there is enough hints for me to see that both are taking their decisions seriously and that their relationship actually could work. I'm still not sure about his past (probably orphanage) but it is clear that under the closed exterior Smexy Right Hand is longing for a family and someone who genuinely cares for him. And that it is not (just) the two stripes but all those caring gestures why he has decided to pursue Gumi Bestie. She on the other hand doesn't need him (in a sense she is able to live her life without him), thinks about the baby independently and weights who is for her a good partner and what she wants. Just... she is swayed by his smexiness (and why not? 😊)... and by his wish to share everything together. 💕 Yes, I think they could work. (And Gumiho's parents have enough love and affection for both of them.)

I feel that I am in drama heaven right now with

MYSTERIOUS LOTUS CASEBOOK — Fascinating cases, layered relationships, and a complicated hero. This drama is the whole package of all that I want in this drama genre. The relationship dynamics between the trio are the highlight with Chen Yi stealing the show. What an introduction to Chen Yi!

STORY OF KUNNING PALACE —I wish I could freeze time so I could watch this at the pace I WANT to watch it: everything at once. This is my first Bai Lu project and I understand now why she has a devoted following—she is magic in this role.

WONDERLAND of LOVE —The fight flirting! I was sold on this couple the moment they cross paths as competing assassins.

JOURNEY TO LOVE — I am well aware of the infamous ending, though so far, the journey is worth it.

HOMETOWN CHA CHA CHA — Once the one-dimensional towns people got fleshed out I think I fell for this one. And this is by far the most respectful writing I have witnessed for a love triangle and the SML.

JOY OF LIFE 1 —I am watching this with my parents and to my immense joy they are hooked! They are not even counting the episodes now; they gave me the side-eye when I told them the episode count (I haven’t mentioned the second season to them yet).

The Auditors - I finally picked this up and it has been a blast. It seems to me that we are not having a clear cut villain between the two brothers. But I do love how both brothers one-up each other. I'm more pleased at how Se-woong gave Dae-woong power that wasn't power. Both brothers have their winning moments. But Se-woong has the major wins for now.

I am going to assume that the audit staff knows that guy is selling them to the Vice President. I'll be very much disappointed if they are "shocked" at his betrayal whenever he is "revealed."

I always knew Yoo was sketchy and was guilty. But I didn't prepare myself to learn that she is playing everyone in this game. She played her cards right. I'm looking forward to this week's culprit.

I finally took a look at the last 5 episodes of Uncle Samsik. I knew Jeong Hanmin's death hit so bad, but I didn't expect to be affected by Kang Seong-min's. And, Uncle Samsik's voiceover did a good job of appealing Kang Seong-min's case to me. Kang Seong-mim could be anything but he was always crystal with Samsik. Plus, I have a bias for Lee Kyu-hyung and I was so sad to see him leave my screen in that manner. All I screamed was why did he run into open space when he could have ran into the mazed building structures he just came out from? I guess he was out for survival and just ran anywhere his legs directed him to.

Watching: Miss Night and Day - enjoying the antics of Im Sun, and the jealousy of the asst. prosecutor when he saw the young idol being close to her
My Sweet Mobster - I like the secondary couple - it's Il-young's turn to want to be with Mi-ho
Beauty and Mr. Romantic - a common weekender, I really can't understand why the ahjummas have to be so 'shrieky' (it hurts)
Red Swan - I agree, this is Rain's drama and Ha-neul is like added spice
The Auditors - The auditor seems like a detective looking for crimes. Is he the auditor of a particular group of companies?
Good Partner - Liking Jang Nara's stoic personality

Hi Beanies! I hope you are having a nice week.

What I am watching:

_ Sweet Mobster (12/16). As I said last week, my favorite episodes were 5 and 6 and then... Unfortunately the show went downhill, imo. This week I liked the orphanage playground scenes. It was a cute moment. And ML and SML's battle of comments was funny. But I'm afraid this drama is too fluffy and oversweet for me.

_ C-drama An Ancient Love Song (5/14). It's a really interesting time travel show. A very well done minidrama.

What I have finished:

_ Racket Boys. Lovely, moving and endearing! I loved how well written all the characters were, even the secondary ones, and the show took its time to give sub-plots to all of them. Beautiful cinematography, editing and OST. A little gem. I'll miss these boys.

_ Gu Family Book. A very addictive "oldie". A fantasy-makjang set in XVI century. Cinematography and FX look old, though. But the OST was very good.

And I saved (what to me is) the best for last:

Two live streamings of Yoon Shi Yoon on his Instagram account. As if he knew it had been my birthday, his gift was his first live streaming (ever). It was an unannounced test last Tuesday. And the second one has been today four hours ago. He is so nice, genuine and cute. Love him 🥰

The Whirlwind ❤️ep5-8 The animosity is leveling up between our leads and its in the best way. Both are smart and cunning. They are using those brains to manipulate and corner each other to further their agendas.i just love that they manage to one up the other in every turn.

My Sweet Mobster ep11-12 their dating stage is cute. The Thirsty Deer bros are as adorable as ever. I think I will like if YeNa and Hong Ki get together. I honestly like the tweed jackets Ko Yang Hee wears in the show. There are different colors and all look good on him. While Seo Ji Hwan's suits and sweaters are nothing to scoff at. Its just that I like the tweed jackets better.

The Auditors 🤞ep3-4 re the new case, The moment I recognized Hong Soo Hyun I know that there is more to her character. I was not disappointed. Although all the law breaking is hurting my head. I do not take this show seriously anymore and just enjoy it for what it is. It has not veered towards campy yet which is good. Since I can not envision Shin Ha Kyun in a comedy.

Follow Your Heart 🫣ep 23-29 I am trudging along. I still like the lead couple but for some reason I just find myself ffwd scenes. I want to know the real identity of YNX and why was she kidnapped as a child who will be married off to someone. I did enjoy the twist for their second wedding. How inconvenient. 😉 but after that it felt like a bunch of filler episodes since the lead couple got separated and they were off doing their own things.

The Princess Royal🫣 ep13-17 I like these episodes much better. There were political intrigues and court dramas. The power struggles and manipulation between the royal and noble families. Pei Family also have their own issues to deal with influenced by external forces. Our lead couple have a part in these issues and has their own issues to deal with. Pei Wen Xuan is acting like a jealous husband while Li Rong acts oblivious to his jealousy.

Events and life got in the way of much drama viewing this week. I watched the first two episodes of GOOD PARTNER and have mixed feelings about it. I will continue as I am a big fan of Jang Nara.

My wife watched the Chinese Costume drama JADES FATEFUL LOVE and enjoyed it. On Viki it is listed as being “Romance, Adventure, Fantasy”: How could she not like it?

Her binge- watch of the prate drama BLACK SAILS is almost done. She is not sure which Chinese Costume drama to choose to watch after that is done. STRANGE TALES OF THE TANG DYNASTY 2 and LOST YOU FOREVER 2 both look good. She will probably watch them both. We need to get back to watching THE PRINCESS ROYAL in any case.

This week our weekender BEAUTY AND MR. ROMANTIC has come full circle with our sociopathic mother once again selling her daughter to our sociopathic second male lead who may actually have a birth secret as well. This show is struggling.

I am watching the daily BRAVO, MY LIFE.

Sweet Home 3 (1-8): I am broken. A non-stop rollercoaster of pain, misery, and depression. I loved it, but man, every episode felt specifically designed to absolutely crush you at least once, and I'm really just emotionally drained after all of it. I thought it was better than S2 as a whole (which I loved as well). The new characters in S2 weren't really that impressive, but this season does actually try to give all of them some backstory and moments of focus. It's not much, and not all of it works as well, but it certainly counts, and I did end up really liking a few of them. They aren't all that important to the main story though, which is really about our remaining original characters (and Yi-kyung's daughter). The ending is very rushed though, but I do actually quite like it, even if it really could've used another 15 minutes to properly show it. I do think it's a fitting ending overall. I'll write more thoughts on the Drama Hangout.

Reply 1988 (2-11): A non-stop rollercoaster of life, friendship, family and love. I really like it, despite me knowing nothing of 1988, and the sometimes very heavy blurring of things that make it harder to understand what they're talking about. But I love the characters, the relationships they have with each other, and their stories. Now, excuse me while I go rewatch the episode 10 beach scene between Soo-yeon & Taek for the 50th time.

Flex x Cop (15-16): Finally watched the last 2 episodes, and… I'm disappointed. The story they went for makes sense, but I really missed
the fun. Like, these last 2 episodes were basically devoid of any comedy, save for some at the very end. After the surprising twists of episode 15, the finaly was very predictable sadly, and held very few surprises. It's well excecuted, sure, but I know this show is capable of more, and of better. The finale also sidelines almost everyone, including the FL, which is a shame. I didn't want their romance at this point, as I love that they had built a solid foundation first before getting into any of that, but I did expect the leads to actually talk to each other. Like, we had stares, avoiding, and flashbacks, so where was the actual conversation? Still, at least we seem to be getting a S2, which I'll definitely be here for.

My Perfect Stranger (13): I really like the slow-burn, more subtle romance that our leads have going on. It's not the focus, but it's very sweet and beautiful to watch, and it's exactly the kind of romance I love.

One Spring Night (1-4): Spend a long time debating watching this, because I hate what Something In The Rain turned into (the angst wasn't the problem, the problem was that the show broke literally everything and fixed absolutely nothing). So far so good, but my expectations are pretty much on the floor. Still, I like the romance, and our characters. There's lots of potential here, if only they don't mess everything up... again.

My Sweet Mobster It's fun but sometimes the humor is a little bit too much over the top for me.

Miss Night and Day I don't think the day-night girls theme is really well explored.

Good Partner It's not a good thing to be a woman having a big career in Korea, it means your husband is cheating...

The Auditors I'm disapointed. Nothing is new...

Red Swan It looks like a parody of K2 sometimes.

Happy Saturday, Beanies!

STRANGE TALES OF TANG DYNASTY 2: TO THE WEST: It's finally here, and just as good as S1 so far! With bigger budget obviously – improvement in costumes, CGI and amount of action scenes shows. The tone is still the same, characters remains true to themselves, humor didn't change, and I even started warming up to 2FL who's addition initially felt like makers tried a bit too hard to avoid any BL suspicions this way lol. Callbacks to previous cases were so nostalgic! Wonder who else from S1 will show up. Looking forward to more!
Moral of the drama: capital sucks, royal family also sucks, avoid them and their people at all costs.

“Drama news” segment :

- mostly drama wraps and getting license stuff. First, wrap for Tencent's FIGHT FOR LOVE (Victoria Song, Ding Yuxi, historical action forbidden romance between in-laws - spicy!) based on novel from TPR's writer I'd even call good, if not for that one triggering twist in the finale... Anyways, I bet censorship will fix that, heh. Not very thrilled with FL casting (and DYX is a bit too old too), but it can still work – whether it will or nah remains to be seen:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFBQBb_AxlM

- iQiyi's CHAO XUE LU (Li Landi, Ao Ruipeng, Yu Chengen, Shen Yujie, historical mystery romance) dropped a first trailer, despite apparently still filming:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGqpSC9Hco8

- Youku's A BETTER LIFE (Sun Li, Dong Zijian, modern workplace drama) also wrapped with a trailer (a subbed one!):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGnVgPqsLM4

- freshly licensed iQiyi's NORTHWARD (Bai Lu, Ou Hao, Zhai Zilu, Gao Zhiting, Vanda Margraf, Liu Hengfu, retro family drama) dropped trailer and posters ahead of airing somewhere in August:
https://x.com/ultra_melons/status/1813490538202698106

- speaking of Bai Lu, her other iQiyi's project – xianxia romance LIN JIANG XIAN with Zeng Shunxi – got an... interesting poster and angsty MV. I find the main pairing a laughable fit, but perhaps all the pretty will save the day:
https://i.mydramalist.com/QJPjy4_3f.jpg
https://x.com/dablcpnk2/status/1813411143039492128

Good Partner (Episode 1-2) - Mood: D+
I’ll be honest, I didn’t really have a very strong inclination for divorce lawyer procedurals but picked this up because I had a soft spot for Kim Jun Han. He’s finally playing a nice guy for once (I hope)! But then of course, Jang Na Ra gets cheated on again and the worse thing is that the affair will be the overarching narrative. Sigh. I thought the procedural aspect was decent despite the cliche conflict between law and morality. Both male leads do look to be pretty directionless?

Miss Night and Day (Episode 9-10) - Mood: D
It might not be offensively boring but the show is numbingly boring as it trudges through some of the most trite cliffhangers that don’t even carry even the slightest oomph in them. And as feared, the preview does show a kidnapping as shows must always crash to a new narrative low at the third quarter. I suppose our ML will do the rescue and will find out the truth then.

My Sweet Mobster (Episode 11-12) - Mood: D
Isn’t it quite obvious that the cliffhanger is a fake out with the intruder clearing aiming for Dong Hee instead of Eun Ha? But yeah, it does feel like we’re dragging out this “FL in danger” crisis until there’s some payoff and god forbid someone dies to save her. The show’s desperately trying to hold unto some semblance of the whole ex convicts theme but it’s just pure filler.

This week I completed THE STORY OF MINGLAN, and the last ten episodes went too fast. And, they were fabulous. What a great watch, what a great cast and especially Zhao Li Ying as Ming Lan and Feng Shao Feng as Gu Ting. The writers did me a big favor in the last few episodes by finally maturing Ming Lan into a full-blown adult. Very thankful to all who recommended this high quality show.

MY SWEET MOBSTER. If the show (loosely) follows BALL OF FIRE (1941) plot, then our adorable mobster Uhm Tae Goo is about to get kidnapped by the catguy and his criminal father, leading to a hilarious rescue by Han Sun Hwa and the lovely reformed gangsters. Can't wait! This show delivers the goods. Also, Kwon Yul is having his moment and he deserves it. Good actor.

Dropped in for a few episodes of AS BEAUTIFUL AS YOU ARE, and got kinda bored so I'm going to wait until this one is finished to complete watching.

Picked up BLOSSOMS IN ADVERSITY. Well! This is a cut above. A well written drama, with some great roles for actresses to shine. Also, an incredibly creepy, charming Emperor (scene stealing Hai Yi Tian) turning in a really chilling performance.

Finally, my happy watch of the week goes to THE SWORD AND THE BROCADE'S Wallace Chung and Tan Song Yun for their performance in episode 35. Up until that point, Wallace Chung plays an iceman. At the 9 minute mark, he melts. Young actors, study this pro at work -- this is how you capture your audience convincingly, memorably. Sometimes one scene makes a drama -- this is one of those.

Sweet Mobster - 💙💙💙
The found family has all my heart.

As Beautiful as You (cdrama) -OTP is nice and I like their chemistry. Their dating phase looked natural with lot of kisses and even implied bed scenes. But it’s starting to feel draggy with all the corporate politics. And a break up is also coming. So I don’t know if I will continue.

Love in the Galaxy (Part 1 upto ep 23)
No spoilers please.
I rarely watch costume drama. I picked this up on an impulse and I am totally enjoying this. I figured I can watch costume as long as there are horses and brooding ML who is also swoony. I love LuSi and she is great here. The humor is good. I just reached the point of proposal. I was surprised at how quick his proposal came. But it made sense because Ling Buyi’s desire to protect her is at its peak now. And boy wasn’t going to let this chance go by. Looking forward to her getting to know him and stop fearing him.
The introduction of all the palace people made me go 😵‍💫. Hope I can handle the palace politics.
But I am really here for Swoony Leo and OTP moments.

1. Miss day n night
2. Thw sweet mobster cause its THE FUNNIEST show in the looooooong time and absolute treat to watch even after 5 rewatch.... ❤️❤️❤️
3. Under queen umbrella at snail place on 12th epi for last 2 month
4. planing to start still 17 rewatch soon

Watching at marathon speed the first non-Asian subtitled drama I've ever seen -- "Bride of Istanbul." I thought it was 87 episodes, then it kept going, and going. Now I'm wondering how long it actually is, but however long, it's got me. Classic upstairs/downstairs soap but done with some deeper adult vibes & some of the richness of Turkish culture. Wonderful acting. I'm no end impressed with the senior actress playing the fiery family matriarch. She's a wow. By the time I get back to anything Asian in drama the language is going to sound, uh, strange.

🫠🫠🫠 Enjoying my kdramas with a side of ice cream this week.

Looking forward to continue with THE AUDITORS this weekend. Was a bit sad the double trucks of doom didn’t have the tank-ish quality of CLOY (this is a Batman remake after all!?!), but will continue nonetheless - still hoping for pyrotechnics! 💥🔥💯

I’m savoring BITTER SWEET HEEL slowly, also because the final episode will only be released today in my region! I’m in the middle now and really enjoy our two heroines as a team (and hello, Mr. Restaurant Owner. You’re so very helpful and devoted! Love the chemistry between him & our writer!). Lots of plot twists and still a lot of things in the dark (why is the sociopath FL so obsessed with that family?! Gah!). They really do hand out the puzzle pieces very slowly!
Also rewatched the first few minutes of episode 1 a few times, because they’re just SO SOOO beautiful. A work of art! 👏👏👏
Wondering if I can ever have corn noodles at the corn noodle restaurant.

Continued with c-drama AS BEAUTIFUL AS YOU, which is starting to fall a little bit, since we’re now in the last quarter of the show which means OTP disruptions on the horizon! Why do all romance dramas have to separate the main couple at one point?! (Didn’t happen here - yet - but I fear it’s coming.)

Oh my, and is it time for new dramas next week?! I’m not well prepared!

🧊🍦☀️

Live Watch :

The Red Swan Continuing because - live watch, a promise to a beanie friend, some interesting twists, and Rain. It's short, so I don't think it will be too much of a strain to finish, given how low the bar already is. The story is predictable, and it's already evident who-done-it.

Miss Day and Night At this point, I am watching it to get my bean so I can distribute it to something else 😂 Is that bad? I mean, it does not require much emotional investment, and I can liberally use FF when I want to......

Finished

Connection By far one of my top watches this year. Solid premise, fantastic acting, tight pacing and almost no loopholes, plus what I love in my K-dramas - layers in storytelling. I cannot recommend it enough. I do wish I had live-watched this instead, feeling a sense of missed opportunity, but well, I wasn't too far behind.

On Hold : because the plate is really, really full, but have every intention of finishing soon:

Secret Inspector Joy (binge-watch plan for this weekend with a post for discussion on my wall next week; If interested to join, please leave your tag, and I will add you 😍)
Joseon X-Files
Nokdo Flower

Community Watch

Just Between Lovers Two words: Junho and trauma.
Suspicious Partner Not my favourite, but this time around, I find myself laughing a bit more than I did before. Wookie looks handsome in every frame - from when he tries to pull FL's hair (my brain has trauma grooves from that scene) to when he rescues her (OK, I swooned, but that was the point, right?)

Non-K-drama

The Silk Road Interesting, informative and eye-opening. Again, I was taken aback by the perceptions I had forever. It's a lovely watch and is on Amazon Prime.

Land Of Bad Unless you absolutely adore Russell Crowe (I do), the two less famous Hemsworth brothers (I don't) and some really cool action scenes, you can give this generic Hollywood fare a pass.

LIVE WATCHING:

1. THE AUDITORS - This drama continues to entertain me so it remains my sole weekly live watch.

ONGOING

1. THE CURSED - This is turning out to be really good but needs to be watched in small doses because it's really creepy too. Not as creepy as REVENANT but creepy enough.

2. BLACK - This continues to be good supernatural drama fare so I will keep on going with this.

FINISHED

1. STEALER: THE TREASURE KEEPER - A nice entertaining leave-your-brain-at-the-door romp with shades of INDIANA JONES.

Only laugh-watching Red Swan right now... It's SO fun, though it's a wonder I've not gone cross-eyed considering the amount of eye-rolling I do through it.
Also skimming through As Beautiful as You (Cdrama)... One thing comparatively (at least with the few C shows I've watched) is that Kdramas are so coy regarding how couples behave... The pairs in this are largely quite natural with skinship and what-have-you. I noticed that K shows often portray people in their 30s and beyond as being virginal and easily shocked (contrary to the news I read in general, I may be wrong) Case in point, Samdalri and Slump.
I have yet to watch a Korean version of Fake it or Love in Spring. The closest are Ahn Pan Seok's shows, and Hometown Chacha somewhat.

Sweet Mobster Started episodes 1-2. I like it so far and enjoy the creative humor - the Thirsty Deer commercial and funeral planning scenes were really something! LOL! Not quite in love with it yet. Even without the raves about this drama, I can sense this couple will be cute. The leads are so sweet and polite.

The Double (Cdrama, partway through episode 33). So good and intense. Ah Li removed the leftover twinge of victimhood from Shen Yurong and really exposed his ultimate selfishness. The women in this drama really have the most moving dialogue. I think I may need to save the Wanniang vs Ah Li battle for a binge, so I don't

Follow Your Heart (cdrama, up to episode 35) Love how each couple has a different but equally lovely chemistry. Love the Blossom Beauty Bar staff interactions. BUT the bad guys are getting too much screentime now. And the bandit leader seems shoehorned in and grates ony my nerves.

The sweetness in SWEET MOBSTER is not as off-putting as I would normally find these childish scenes, probably because the drama is not serious in any way. All these tropes are treated in a cheeky way. I can just imagine the cast coming up with OTT ways to play all these tropes they are used to, they are clearly having a lot of fun. The flirting between the leads is hilarious and these two also have that cheeky gleam in their eyes while they are at it. The only trope I do not want to see is the time skip.

I am still watching THE AUDITORS, but agree with our tough new head auditor that rookie Goo Han-Soo needs to leave and do something else, he is not auditor material. I don't think it is hard to predict that Vice president Jin Goo is really a good guy trying to unmask the president as the real villain in a way that fills 12 episodes.

MISS NIGHT AND DAY is still watchable, but only just so.

Miss Night & Day: 8.0

Good Partner: __ Premise didn't sound interesting. The PD did Flower Crew: Joseon Marriage Agency, which I was so allergic to I couldn't finish the first episode. The only person in the cast I want to see is Yu-na from Kidnapping Day, but she doesn't seem like a major character. Out at 22 minutes, but might come back if Yu-na gets mentioned a lot in the recaps.

O'PENing: The First Glance: __ Affordable nutrition (aka "cheap bean"), but sadly not available at my favorite neighborhood discount store. Little Ra-jin from School 2015 has reportedly grown up to be a bad driver.

My Sweet Mobster: 8.0 So in kdramaland you give someone a car without bothering with registration paperwork, insurance, or spare keys? Or asking them what kind of car they like?

Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton story (6/6): Such formidable but flawed women! Initially I did not want to watch anything that did not involve the Bridgerton siblings, but I am glad I binged this one as well. I already loved Violet Bridgerton and Lady Danbury since the original series, but now I can extend my respect to Queen Charlotte and even her mother-in-law as well. Women gotta do what women gotta do to survive, after all. Lots of kudos also to the four actors playing King George and Brimsley. Portraying mental illness is never easy, yet I related completely to Farmer George. And Brimsley, well, who would not want someone loyal like him always five steps behind?🤭

My Sweet Mobster🦌🏰(12/16): Time to register the whole family. We have Papa Emperor Penguin Deer, Mama Mouse Deer, Monkey Deer, Elephant Deer, Kangaroo Deer and Maknae Frog Deer!🐧🐁🐒🐘🦘🐸! Il-Young plans to leave the nest, but he is not listening to Mi-Ho.😠All is fair in love and war, the trope book always says, but love does not conquer all. Does it matter whether she likes you back or not if she clearly does not feel comfortable dating you?😠 Kwon Yul should heed that advice as well, threatening to take away Eun-Ha if she is in danger, as his annoying SML roles tend to do. You are not social services and she is not a minor!😠 On the other hand, he wiggled his butt on camera and did silly dances to portray our emperor’s jealous thoughts, so he is forgiven!🤭

My Sweet Lobster (12/16): cuteness overload, these 2 episodes really delivered this week! From the finger hearts to the sexy off to... Clear communication in a relationship?? 🥰 I just wish we had more time with them as a couple before the showdown with evil gangster dad 😞
 
Ms. Saionji doesn't do Housework (1/10) - another amazing first episode, I think I’ll love this drama? Came for a cute romcom about a woman who doesn’t do housework, stayed for the emotional story about gender roles, grief parenthood and the human condition. Especially hyped about the found family already coalescing…
 
Also, if I had a nickel for every time a FL in a recent airing drama suddenly got promoted to StepMom™️… I'd have $0.03, which isn't a lot but it's funny it happened thrice.

So, I made a reckless/bold/crazy decision and decided to re-watch Moon Lovers. If you ask me why I am putting myself through this torture again, I have no clear answer but the fact that I did fall in love with Lee Joon-ki's Wang So and he had my heart ever since. Granted, I want the female lead both as actress and character swapped, the editing might be all over the place (each time I watch from a different site, I find more or less scenes), the death scenes were tragic and I got into a ranting state after watching the drama for the first time but I guess this drama holds a special place in my heart especially Wind OST which breaks my heart every time I listen to it.

Good Partner–I finally started this, a little nervous, and liked it more than I thought, especially Jang Nara’s character. She’s working within what the law is to get the best possible outcomes for her clients. I also don’t think she’s that mean to the newbie. She just doesn’t sugar coat her words. Jang Nara says that her time is really worth a lot, and you see her giving a lot of it to this new colleague–going to her court cases, having discussions, and going out to lunch. I also am surprised at the newbie who doesn’t listen to any advice when starting a new job. I think her character is not written as well.

My Sweet Mobster–the cute moments are SO cute, and everything else is very frustrating. The peacocking was highly annoying, the ML is controlling when he should communicate, and they should just talk about the real dangers and make a plan to deal with them. Yet I am still thinking of that adorable scene of the FL and the Deerlings doing laundry and playing with bubbles with the orphans.

C-dramas:
A Journey to Love–I had to skim through last episodes to avoid the pain, but I think it was a good ending to a good show. I just didn’t want to engage with feeling devastated. I just wished they’d given a better growth arc to the antihero obsessive character. If he could have stopped obsessing earlier, it would have been more interesting. He was captivating otherwise.

Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty–I watched most of this this week to prepare for Season 2. The younger ML feels like an arrogant passing side character that usually gets his comeuppance in most C-dramas, but here he is the ML, which is interesting. He changes a lot with time. Female characters could be better written.