COMPLETED
The Auditors - I'll echo @kafiyah-bello - Numbers was better (and that wasn't very good either!).

Serendipity's Embrace - The second couple were cute. Sang-pil was a good friend. ML's mom was crazy. Those are all my takeaways.

ONGOING
Nothing! Which is why all the new shows were a relief 😂!

STARTED
Romance in the House - Liked it the most out of the new shows but I'm worried there's going to be a lot of 'decision-making for other people because I know better' by the daughter.

Your Honor - Is it bad that I'm already 100% on the side of the criminal(ish) Chairman? Just find it hard to feel any sympathy for the judge and his son.

Perfect Family - I know it's meant to be creepy but it was so overdramatic, I almost laughed. Story had some surprising turns though so will continue.

I also tried watching The Tyrant but it took me an hour to get through 10 minutes of it plus I couldn't actually see anything so I gave up 😬.

WATCHLIST
Planning to try out Black Out (which would make it 3 thrillers/murder mysteries per week 😅) and, of course, Mom's Friend's Son 💖✨.

C-DRAMAS
Completed You Are My Secret. Sweet little show. I totally cried at the Zhao-Rao proposal scene. They remained awesome till the end.

Was on a bit of a Miles Wei kick so I binge-watched Hello, I'm At Your Service. The leads were witty and likeable and their dynamic was quite fun. Another sweet little show.

Started Hidden Charm/Are You the One (up to Ep. 3) and so far it is just as fun as I expected. The fact that the ML is quite scheming but also sort of hapless and floundering in the face of the FL is amusing.

Ongoing

Perfect Family : I really didn’t know what to make of the first episode. But slowly it’s started to look like a thriller. The casting of some characters kind of giveaway where the show will go. I don’t think the fire in the orphanage was anything to do with Sun Hui. The morning after scene with mom acting like nothing happened was creepy as hell. Also, I didn’t know L was in this drama!!!

Romance in the house : I enjoyed the second episode. I hope Moo Jin turns out to be a nice guy with a tattoo and not some murderer. I want the show to make me want to root for the leads. And hope Moo Jin doesn’t use his position as landlord to make it difficult for them. So far he didn’t ask them to move out but I understand why they felt the need to. Can Choi Daniel cameo continue please. And I want Choi Min Ho’s character to fall for the daughter first. He is getting there :)

You are my secret (cdrama) : Ep. 25! Zhao and Rao Jing are killing me!! Zhao gives the softest melty looks and I am in a puddle. Their secret relationship at work was such a delight to watch. The way she indirectly complimented him in their bus trip by comparing her bf to actors was just so sweet. They are just so adorable!! absolutely the best. 🥰🥰

Love like the Galaxy : Ep 52
A lot of angst going on. The Empress arc was so beautiful to watch. I really loved watching her and Shaosang’s relationship and how they both learnt from each other. Hopefully this is Shaosang’s final engagement :) I don’t know what’s going to make her forgive him or what he needs to do to earn her trust again. Few more episodes to find out. No spoilers please. Thanks.

Your Honor - This seems more like a drama I'll follow via the recaps than watch it. It wasn't exactly easy settling into the premiere episodes and I don't think I watched up to 10 minutes material of the two episodes. I'll give it this week to see if anything changes.

No Way Out: The Roulette - Same as Your Honor. I didn't quite settle into episode 1. I skipped through it for most of my less than 10 minutes watch. I hear episode 2 got better so I'm hoping it does same with me.

The Auditors - My favorite character in this drama was Jin Gu. My first watch of him and he won me over entirely.
My character I ended up not liking from start to finish was Han-soo. And that mini-Cha-il was laughable at best. It gave me a nice chuckle.
I wished they introduced us to the person who took over as head of Audit. If Seo Hee-jin is outsourced, I'd highly recommend Seo-jin went into specialized training and took it up after a few years or Manager Ok A-jung if they decide to do it internally.
Some people are experts of physical comedy. And they pour out their entire physiology into it. I always rolled my eyes at some comedic antics that seemed forced. But the way Baek Hyun-jin jubilated at the appointment of Dae-woong as president, he is a seasoned hand. I was impressed and had to rewatch it a few times. It flowed naturally into the scene. He's skilled, I must say.

Jung Jin-young's cameo☺️☺️☺️. That's the best wrapping gift you can give me. In the spin-off that occured in my head with the setting at the Korea Auditing Board, I made one wish the moment I saw JJY's character's card : Be what Undercover failed to be.

Good Partner - The case for episode 6 weighs on my mind more than the current case. I'm yet to complete the episode so my thoughts might change by the time I've finished it.

So I picked up a 2018 movie titled Intimate Strangers. It is one well packed stars into one single location and they did just excellently. I highly recommend this if you're looking for a movie to watch.
Parts I enjoyed... their childhood hangout at the lake/sea. They conversed so naturally unlike how it is mostly done in dramas when children are conversing. I don't know where they got such talents from but I can only name a few child actors who could hold such seamless conversations amongst themselves. I had to ask intentionally if it was adults speaking or kids.

Tae-so. This one pissed me off the moon and back. I know he later changed for a moment and complemented Soo-hyun but I can't seem to forget the several moments he acted without concern to her affairs. Not even the barest minimum.

It had some very nice teaching moments too.

Serendipity’s Embrace: I liked the simplicity of this drama. It was trying to be ordinary and it was, except for the mother thing, that was weird. It was plain Jane and I appreciated her.

Perfect Family: I got 20 mins in and noped out. I am really mostly over murder for drama, it is so tedious.

The Tyrant: These were short 45 min episodes. So, I watched all of it. However, the plot armor and holes were too much for me to like it. When you dumb down everyone else to make the protagonist smarter, you lose every time. So, the writer lost big time in this. Also, I understand people think Americans act a certain way, but there is nuance, and I can always spot when someone writes what they think or even believe Americans are like. I always end up tilting my head, like a dog listening because I can always tell, yup a non-American wrote this, lol.

Black Out: Waiting for subs for this. I don’t know if I’ll be able to find one though.

Love Next Door: PLEASE PLEASE be good.

Romance in the House: I am looking forward to episodes 3-4, I hope they are as entertaining as the first two episodes.

Mission Cross: This movie was popcorn fun. Very predictable, but who cares.

Good Partner (6): And we're back! I feel so bad for the daughter, she doesn't deserve any of this. Also, Eun-kyung helping Sa-ra get promoted to her dream position, only to then fire her 30 seconds after she gets it is such a genius move, and I love it.

Perfect Family (1-2): Really liked the first 2 episodes. The show has this constant unsettling vibe to it, which is sure to stress me out for 6 whole weeks. This is my first time seeing Park Ju-hyun in anything, but she's really good here.

Twenty-Five Twenty-One (5-12): Time to be controversial! The main romance just doesn't work for me. I love them individually, and I like the support they have for each other, but romantically? No. It's not really the age difference, it's that they don't feel like equals to me, and I just can't get past that. It makes me wish that the show would put less focus on the romance and more on the ensemble, because basically everything outside of that romance is fantastic. It takes 10 episodes for Seung-wan to get something to do, and she literally manages to become one of the best characters in a span of 3 episodes. Also, speaking about relationships, I'm just way more interested in the Hee-do and Yu-rim relationship than I am in the main romance.

Bossam: Steal the Fate (5-12): As great as this show is, I still haven't fully warmed up to Ba-woo. Like, I don't hate him, but I certainly don't love him either. He's a complicated, flawed person, but some of his actions in the beginning are downright despicable, and the show glosses over it a bit too fast, and a sad backstory definitely doesn't excuse any of it. Still, the show is great, and I really just want the best for everyone. And there are some fantastic moments between the leads as well. One of my favorite moments in in episode 7, when Hwa-in (& Lady Jo) are captives, and Ba-woo coincidentally stumbles upon them in that small boat. Ignoring the massive coincidence, everything about that scene is amazing. Both leads manage to convey so many emotions without even saying a single word, and the music is fantastic too.

Come and Hug Me (22-24): The director apparently still doesn't know how to direct a kiss scene, but consent is sexy, so I'll let it slide. I knew Hee-jae was gonna escape at one point, but how on earth did he manage to escape when he was literally surrounded by cops? Are they just incompetent or is he just that good?

Live Watches
감사합니다: Well whadaya know? Se-ung did kill his brother! Maybe that will be a lesson to me not to overthink things too much (spoiler: it will not.). This was a fun action/investigative drama, and I enjoyed Shin Ha-kyun immensely in all his last-minute meetings and tiny betrayals of facial expression. Also liked Jo Aram, who I’ve only seen in this and Doctor Cha, but hopefully more soon.

Is it fate?: If Mom’s only purpose in this drama was to give Hong-ju the opportunity to do one of the best jobs defending herself and her relationship I’ve ever seen, that nearly justifies her for me. I love that Hu-yeong is making his own decisions, that Hong-ju doesn’t fear being abandoned as much, and that they’ll face the future together even if it means being apart for a little while.

Recent Dramas:
Welcome to Samdalri: (11 episodes in) Now that all my other dramas are finishing I get to spend more time with this one which I’m loving. The flashback when Yong-pil made Sam-dal feel better after her exhausting couple of days by singing embarrassingly to her? Perfection. The relationship developing between Ha-yul and the earnest and excitable dolphin guy? Adorable. (And oh the way I caught my breath when Ha-yul called her mom “Aunt”! That girl is too knowing for her own good.) Sometimes I dislike all the gossipy townspeople in dramas, but the haenyeos are so endearing and so obviously care about everyone that I don’t mind them as much.

Older Dramas:
Happiness: (1 episode in) There are only 14 bazillion dramas premiering this weekend so obviously I had to start a totally unrelated one! But it’s for the community watch, so it’s okay! Loving our leads so far and extremely pleased with the number of zombies we’ve encountered already. Coming in and out of attacks of zombie-ness also feels like an interesting take on the lore, so I’m excited to see how it affects how you combat them. Husband’s comments so far: I like how they just showed us the FL’s stats on the hospital form. Who gives out a survivability score? (But he likes it too!)

WATCHING:

Queen of Tears - Paused in the middle of episode 13. I’ve mostly enjoyed the show so far, but I can see where the plot is heading and I don’t like it one bit. Maybe it’s better to quit while I’m ahead rather than push on just to score the bean?

COMPLETED:

My Dearest - The show was on its way to making my all-time favorites list,
with an engaging story, a dynamic main couple with a clear relationship arc, and a knockout performance by Namkoong Min. It just missed the mark, let down by a poorly-constructed plot that had too many repetitive scenes, needless separations, multiple cases of amnesia, incomplete character arcs, and a happy ending at odds with the overall tenor of the show. I thought the parallels with Gone With the Wind worked well on a number of levels, but the writers couldn’t sustain it as long as they were unwilling to end the show with the ML telling the FL that frankly, he didn’t give a damn. (I kinda wish they had.) Still a really, really good drama.

Sweet Home, Season 3 - A further diminution in quality from Season 1. There were too many characters and not enough character development. The plot lacked focus and internal logic, while the rushed ending did not feel uplifting or satisfying. I did enjoy some of the fight scenes and special effects.

The Bequeathed - Nothing particularly special about this show. It moved along at a brisk enough pace to keep me watching through all six episodes, earning me an easy bean.

FILM:

Mission: Cross - New on Netflix, this tongue-in-cheek comedy/thriller is about a househusband who gets involved in a perilous mission with his detective wife, who has no idea he was formerly a secret agent. A formula action film elevated by witty banter, some hilarious in-jokes, exciting car/truck/motorcycle chases, and terrific chemistry between Hwang Jung-Min and Yum Jung-Ah as the gun-toting spouses. I loved that the wife was just as confident and badass as her husband.

Live watches

Romance in the house
An ok start to the series so many weekend watches and so many other demands on my time. All those months with no new dramas in my genres and then they all drop at once🫤

Bad memory eraser
Not sure if I can keep watching with so many new ones dropping I may put on hold and bring back when things are quieter if I am still interested.

Tiger with wings - Japanese
Some more episodes came through finally but still waiting for the most recently aired batch to drop. This is just the most enjoyable watch interesting stories and historical background.

Umi no Hajimari - Japanese
Waiting for the episode to drop is just torture.

My name is Gabriel
Latest episode is not out yet.

Looking forward to
Love next door and DNA lover.

Binge watch corner

Youth over flowers -Africa
This show was mentioned in a book and because I have seen clips from it over the years I decided to look for it. The version I saw had very poor picture quality considering it is from 2016 not 2006, so I am not sure why. I don’t enjoy the variety show reduced quality of life elements like sleeping rough, limiting money for food and inadequate clothing. I don’t get why they think it would be entertaining when the actors literally get paid to stay on top of theses areas for their other projections yet for the duration of this show they have mosquitoes, exposure to the sun and lack of sleep impacting on those elements. The actors constantly seem to be squeezing things in to their schedules so we know that they won’t have the necessary down time between this and their next project to get back in shape. I did enjoy the scenery and most of their activities and it was nice to see the Reply 1988 boys back together not sure why they had the two brothers rather than the fourth male school friend. It was also funny to hear the banter about Bogummy stealing the second lead’s wife knowing the second lead was in a real life relationship with her for so many years even if it ended so publicly recently.

I got swept by work and family holidays... and Olympics... and some pesky Real Life stuff (like house repairs)... and had to drastically limit my drama addiction to the point that I was forced to stop my live watching. And now I have difficulties to come back to my unfinished shows even if I quite liked them (Mobster) or enjoyed the simplicity (no murders!) and hoped for a feel good romance (Serendipity)... Did I miss my window???

What I did watch when I had a bit of a time here and there was an oldie - a jdrama from 1996, Long Vacation . Yes, I got nostalgic and somehow got in the mood for the re-watch and boy is it still sooo good! even if it is nearly 30 years old. Yes, the cloths, hairdos... and all that smoking is definitely dated... but the story of two young(ish) people searching for love, career and what they really want in life is still so well told. I loved the two main characters (a pianist in a slump and a model getting too old), individually and even better together, they really spark together and the dialogues are good.
I like how we witness their growing friendship... and then their growing love. How dispite their different characters, they, in their own way, notice each other, respect each other, inspire each other, can tell each other some unpleasant truths and give push to the better direction, can apologise to each other, can wish each other the best and let go... and then fully embrace their love for each other even if there are seemingly better alternatives. ❤️

Anyway, now I'm ready for My Mom's Friend's Son this night and hope it will be goooooood!!
(I'm so excited! I'm so excited! 💃)

drowns in all the new shows … I would like to watch 5 of them premiering this week but no time lol

Serendipity’s Embrace (Series review) - Mood progression: D / D / D / D
Huh, that’s how it ends? It’s not looking great for the show if I’m more happy that it ended rather than not, but the show did itself no favours by trying to cram in an entirely predictable last minute forced separation trope. Personally, I think the show could’ve just featured only the 4 classmates and how they develop an adult friendship after being each other’s teen crush?

Romance in the House (Episode 1-2) - Mood: C-
Was there really a need to add the murder mystery angle to the whole my dead broke father returned rich synopsis? Worse, it’s already confirmed without a doubt that said father is linked in some sketchy way. Also, the daughter’s romance looks to be pretty irrelevant too and would take up screen time better used for exploring family dynamics. The little bro needs a arc.

Love Andante (Episode 3-4) - Mood: D
It’s kinda bad when the plot would be better even with a random serial killer crashing into the story, because the show is so flat with things that just happen that bring the OTP closer with periodic moments from the other characters to break up the monotony. The actors aren’t given material to work with and this is to their disadvantage, but I think they’re not holding up.

Bad Memory Eraser (Episode 3-4) - Mood: D+
I thought the premiere week was passable but of course, this week’s script pretty much flipped the table with both brothers pretty much behaving like kids and trapping the female lead in a love triangle. And the second female lead is just as insane as most badly written ones are, so I think my enthusiasm for this show just went down the drain. So many upcoming shows!

Serendipity's Embrace It was cute and I already forgot about it.

Romance in the House I'm not sure about this one yet.

Black Out I'm curious about this one.

Good Partner Don't they have shared custody in Korea? Instead to torture their daughter.

Love Next Door I'm sorry for this drama because I put a lot of hopes in it because of the 2024 being pretty disapointing.

The Tyrant After 2 episodes I didn't understand what was happening.

You Are My Secret I don't watch a lot of Cdrama, only modern ones. But lastly I had the feeling I watched kinda 3 different dramas with the same pattern... With Best Choice Ever and The Best Day of My Life, we got a ML who fell with the FL in college without her knowing it, he didn't have any other love stories since, he's kinda older, more experienced in his work. To get with her, he offers the most weirdest marriage that looks like a cohabitation (except BCE, but their first night was really not romantic at all).

I finished The Auditors (fun, dun use too much brain tho) and am halfway finishing episode 6 of Good Partners (I enjoy the master/disciple relationship, really feel sad for the daughter).

Also watching You Are My Secret (cdrama, easy watch) and recently finished As Husband As Wife (cdrama, not everyone is likeable but was an interesting concept 😆).

p.s. how do I make bold words? (not sure if I should ask her or elsewhere 😅)

ATEEZ! was absolutely amazing; very thankful for this experience ❤️

Currently Watching
Romance in the House: 🏠❤️ It's charming, fresh, and funny, with heart and some intrigue and suspense to add spice. Loved the premiere week!

Perfect Family: 🧑‍🧑‍🧒 I was hoping to try, saw some clips, and decided NOPE. See you next time, L!

Miscellaneous:
●31% done with Welcome to Samdalri which Wookie and Shin Hae-sun are hard-selling and I'm loving. They just vibe together... watching them sort out their relationship is lovely.
●Hovering at 94% done with Like Flowers in Sand because I can't bear to finish it and have to move on.
●50% done with Serendipity's Embrace - it's like a really good webdrama. Skipping all SML scenes 👍
●36% done with Gunman in Joseon - I want to watch Lee Joon-Gi be intense and kick butt, and that's what I'm getting 🤗
●In other news... Mom LOVED My Sweet Mobster!!! She liked how sweet and funny it is, and what a good guy our ML is. It's in her top-ten!!!

Finished
The Auditors: Ending was kind of meh. Jin Goo is still awesome, Han-soo is cosplaying as Cha-il, and Seo-jin is in a unit that appreciates her. Numbers is still the king of accounting dramas in my heart.

River Where The Moon Rises: This was a very good drama: a story of the price of ambition as told through the loyalties of people to their nation or their love. It's essentially an epic told in a prologue and two acts. The prologue sets up the history of the characters. Act I reintroduces the characters as adults, and sees their situations change dramatically. I would say Act II starts in episode 10 and puts these people on a collision course with the almost fated outcomes of their past and present choices. The ending is both hopeful and happy, but this drama is essentially a tragedy (in the classical sense) as we see our characters mired in war and destruction, playing out the course of rebellions and loyalties begun by their fathers. Running in parallel to this framing is the story of On-dal, a gentle giant who lives as a fool, until he is remade into a warrior by the princess Pyeongyang. This is where Na In-woo really shined,

COMPLETED:

1. THE AUDITORS - That was entertaining but anyone expecting it to be a drama about accountants and forensic accounting would be sorely disappointed.

2. SERENDIPITY'S EMBRACE - Unevenly paced and the ending fell flat on an otherwise fairly okay Romance.

3. THE TYRANT - Dark and violent with Horror elements but unlike A SHOP FOR KILLERS and BLOOD-FREE, it did not engage me enough for me to pay attention properly so I had to re-watched scenes. That about says it all.

LIVE WATCHES:

1. ROMANCE IN THE HOUSE - I am hooked... for now. Let's see where this takes us though I am NOT impressed with ML's manipulative behaviour. I mean, buying the block of flats that his former wife and kids live in? That just screams red flag to me. Minho's character, on the other hand, has all the green flags so that kinda balances it all out.

2. ARE YOU SURE? - I'm not normally a fan of reality TV shows but BTS's Jimin and JungKook are very amusing in this one so it stays. For now.

And... that's it until MOM'S FRIEND'S SON begins.

Serendipity's Embrace-a fast forward watch for a bean. It had all my least favorite tropes--FL doesn't think she can admit to liking ML for some bizarre reason, possessive ex-boyfriend, and over-the-top controlling mom. A couple of cute moments.

Romance in the House--I really liked this one. The whole show clicked for me, setting, characters, story lines. I'm excited for a redemption arc for a husband and mature romance.

Bittersweet Hell--After all the Beanie love on the fan wall (Really it was those lovely overhead landscape pictures. Sorry I forgot who posted them!) I tried this out this week and was drawn in. Adding delight when I saw it had the FL from Tomorrow. I can't wait for FL and MIL to team up more.

C-dramas:
I've been back at work and had a lot less time this week. I'm excited to get back to:
You are My Secret (up to ep 18)--although with the length I'm worried about a stupid breakup. Hopefully it stays light and sweet.

Love's Rebellion (up to ep 17)--I was surprised how much I liked this. There is as much cute as momentary angst so far. I'd really like it to stay that way!

I'm also excited to dive back into Good Partner, and so many new shows to watch. Too bad they correspond to when I'm going back to work for the new school year. I'll have to save some for later in the year or catch up when Chuseok hits and we have a lot of preemptions again.

I still have 2 episodes left of THE AUDITORS. I think, Mr. Mane of Glory might have been put in as caffeine. 😆 Bit sad this slowed down on the action levels, and is now more an investigative adventure. Like the female auditor, she won’t let herself be weaponized by the president - at least not right now. Preview showed exactly what I was expecting - LOL! Will hopefully find the time to finish soon.

Another streak of insomnia had me reach for a sweet, fun and short special I hadn’t yet watched: SPLASH SPLASH LOVE. I guess my neighbors hated me a bit as I was cackling away loudly at 4am when she was riding on that horse - Gangnam Style 🤣🤣🤣 Enjoyed this a lot!

Continued with YOU ARE MY SECRET (c-drama), and right now am in for it solely for the second couple. They are absolutely adorable. Didn’t like the latest reveal about them as much, I must say, but intrigued how it will all play out.

Rewatched a bit of DR SLUMP, too. And I guess I’ll have to start HAPPINESS (yikes!), for the community watch. Will see if I can manage, because I’m usually the first person hiding behind a sofa cushion when things get scary/violent. *gulps* 🫣

Very excited to start MOM’S FRIEND’S SON today!!!!! 🥰🤩🥳

The Closing Ceremonies for the Olympics were very well done. The French do so many things so very well but even the US portion at the end was clever.

I watched the first episodes of ROMANCE IN THE HOUSE and they were OK. We shall see how it goes from
here.

THE GOOD PARTNER is back. Last night’s episode was really good.

I have also watched several episodes of the Cdrama YOU ARE MY SECRET. This show is a cut above most Chinese romcoms.

Sometimes, when my wife has watched an exceptionally good Chinese Costume drama, she will take a break for a while and watch other things instead. This happened with THE DOUBLE- although having been immersed in the Olympics had something to do with it too. In the meantime, she watched THE FACE READER, a sageuk movie which she thought that was fairly good. Of course, it involves court politics so it may not be what everyone is looking for. Then she decided to watch DESTINED WITH YOU a more modern fantasy Kdrama on Netflix. But now she has started ARE YOU THE ONE which is currently running on Viki. So far, she is liking it.

The weekender BEAUTY AND MR. ROMANTIC returned this week with some serious course corrections which might have saved it from the death spiral that this show went into with its middle episodes. That does not mean that I am not looking forward to tonight’s episode without trepidation, given the previews which ended Episode 38.

DNA LOVER is starting tonight on Viki and LOVE NEXT DOOR on Netflix. I have been looking forward to both of these.

Hi Beanies! I hope you are having a great weekend.

What I am watching:

_ Kairos (3/16). Such a great start! The pacing is superb.

_ C-drama You are my secret (24/32). It keeps being a good slice-of-life + romance. The episode 21 was one of the best. Very moving scenes and great acting by Miles Wei.

_ C-drama Hidden Charm or Are you the one? (2/40). The start has been very confusing but I'm enjoying the strange relationship between the main couple. I'm quite intrigued by what's happening.

What I have finished:

_ K-drama I'm sorry, I love you (2004). This series is like a poorly made puzzle. Nothing fits. Sometimes it seemed the episodes didn't follow a chronological order because everything was so random... The main characters are incomprehensible and frustrating: when you think you have understood them a little, suddenly they change completely without reason. Their feelings and personaties are volatile. Almost all the characters say they want to die several times, from the first episode to the last one, or "do you want me to die? Because if that's what you want, I'll die" or "you are not answering my messages, I swear I'll die if you don't pay attention to me", etc. I have never seen anything like that. The FL gets me on my nerves more than anyone. And her pusillanimous father goes to my list of terrible characters in Dramaland. "Prepare hankies", I was told. However I haven't needed them. When the scripts are so over-dramatic, I see they can't really move me. But this drama is hooking, and there are two or three memorable sequences and lines ("Mother, thank you for bringing me into this world") so I don't regret having watched it. If this drama was an artistic style, it definitely would be a cubist painting.

Western shows:

_ Finished The Umbrella Academy Season 4. It was a very good series but the ending was a little disappointing imo. I want to read some reactions and opinions about this closure.

_ Movie Dune (2021). I didn't like the story but Villeneuve's direction is so elegant...

Catching up on some already-aired kdramas:

Doctor Cha: Completed. It was a fun ride that stuck the ending! It's a fantastic combination of funny, heartfelt, and emotional with multi-faceted characters. They nailed the balance of making contemptible people feel capable of warmth and human, but are still deserving of that contempt for the times when they act terribly.
And Uhm Jung-hwa was just such a relatable and magnetic presence through it all.

Like Flowers in Sand (up to ep 5): Started it. I really love the stripped down timelessness of the look and feel. It did take until episode 3 to get into it. I'm surprised by the murder mystery but it doesn't seem in your face.

Happy Saturday, Beanies! I did watch more shows this week, but I NEED to rant about only one, so for the sake of character count we'll get to other dramas next time)))

AMAZING RIDE ONE EPISODE TOO MANY SNOW FALL: Here we are, it's over now and I am devastated both by the fact (too soon! damn you, express package and so little episodes, I wanted more!) and that once again I unwisely fell for the misery fest ending drama despite noticing all its 100500 red flags since the start. We have a very apt expression featuring a cactus eating mouse here for such situations... I never learn, am I?)))

On a serious note, I'm not THAT furious over show's ending lies! – certainly not like I was with TTEOTM, but still far more than with AJTL. I guess the common point between 2 former is that they have source materials that end logically happily, so drama adaptations pretty much ruined the narrative by forcing last minute open tragedy where it didn't belong. Not to mention hilarious in the hindsight bit that censorship made script to cut all patriotic stuff (in the book villains are Japanese occupation forces and collaborators which leads fought against), yet couldn't help but insert my hated “you aren't allowed to have any true love in life other than Mother China” trope. And also a hint of HE for side couple NO ONE cared for? Really?

So the huge backlash over ending was not a surprise to me at all. Funny how first PD tried to spin it as an open HE (yep, that final scene SCREAMS optimism... if you're a cenobite who worships pain), then screenwriter came up with modern times text epilogue (where, ofc, it's never explained how ML managed to return or why it took him what I presume another century... well, that's one way to end an age gap debacle at least), only for viewers to get EVEN MORE pissed and be like “keep it, we wanted a proper ending, not excuses!”. Combined with moronic moment in the finale where poor FL is left with a cruel joke of consolation prize that is forced reunion with her abusive mom – did they lift it from Tanith Lee's “The silver metal lover” novel? the parallels of depressed young heroine falling for an “impossible” guy (android in her case), but tragically losing him and being left all alone except normal human jerks around, left me speechless, yikes! - I fully support this outrage. Maybe at some point drama makers will finally learn that people do not want this “pointless artsy tragedy” BS and drop it? See, my naive optimism is more unkillable than any vampire)))

No Black Out in my area...
Currently watching: Bulgasal Immortal Souls - the most artistic use of gore since Mr. Sunshine and Kingdom
Rewatch: The Red Sleeve

Really enjoyed the start of Romance in the house, I hope the next episodes keep staying enjoyable. Loved the mother daughter relationship, the promise of a complex but redemptive rekindling of a crackling middle aged romance, Ji Jin hee's stunning face, and hopefully what will be a hilarious/intriguing misdirect of a criminal history.

Just finished It's Showtime, and was so charmed. Didn't go in with huge expectations and was quite impressed by a lot of small decisions in it, especially for the fl, and just enjoyed the overall vibe of the show. Jin Ki Joo is adorable, talented and truly delightful and Park Hae Jin has an award worthy face.

Kind of interested in starting Thirty but Seventeen, while I wait for the real time new drama updates. Haven't heard much about it but the premise and Shin Hae Sun are intriguing.

Currently trying to tamp down my crazy levels of anticipation for Love next Door. Nothing can live up to the anticipation I've built up for it...or can it?!

Still in the summer doldrums for kdramas. One problem with watching a great series like IMITATION (2021) for the first time, it's hard to find a followup of equal quality. Suggestions welcome...

ROMANCE IN THE HOUSE. Nope.
BAD MEMORY ERASER. Nope.

So, like Blue (@mayhemf), I'm (re)watching LOVE LIKE THE GALAXY. My happy watch of the week goes to this tremendous series. I'm so delighted with the humor! Drama is one thing, comedy is really, really hard to do well. This series is special because it does both comedy and drama well.

So grateful to Dramabeans contributors who have helped me sift and winnow through the multiplicity of good dramas out there. Armed with Dramawiki, I'm sorting out which dramas are dubbed. Once you know a performers real voice, it's jarring to watch a drama with dubbing.

Next up: THE SECRET OF FOX VOLANT and perhaps LOVE NEXT DOOR on Netflix.

Well it’s sad to hear TYRANT isn’t well received. I haven’t watched it yet, tho I did see the first WITCH film in the franchise. Not gonna lie, I saw the movie after OUR BELOVED SUMMER, so I was totally shipping Kim Da-mi’s and Choi Woo-sik’s characters. Kim Da-mi was great as usual, and Choi Woo-sik’s villainy was top notch and what I wanted from him in A KILLER PARADOX.

KILL BOKSOON was the highlight of my week. I thoroughly enjoyed this one, the assassin/noir genre tends to be very male oriented and hyper masculine, so it was a pleasant surprise that the film not only had Bok-soon as a lead but other female characters be central to the story. It was darkly humorous and at times a little too relatable especially with Bok-soon’s relationship with her daughter. How we try to reconcile (or avoid) our different identities. I also liked how not everything was answered and it’s up to the viewer to read between the lines.