COMPLETED
Romance in the House - Nice wrap-up to everyone's stories. Sweet couples in a sweet show!

Perfect Family - I think this show was so in love with how it told the story that every new episode was just 'AHA! Uno-reverse!' until the reversals lost all meaning. Might have enjoyed it more if I liked Sun-hui as a character. At least the parents were amazing.

Good Partner - Stuck the landing beautifully, with two wholesome episodes last week and then a nice finale yesterday (though somebody should give poor Kim Jun-han an actual romance next time!). Really well-written show. Go Ah-sung's cameo was cute.

ONGOING
Black Out - Deok-mi's true colours will come out this week. Can't wait for more loss of faith in humanity 😑…

Mom's Friend's Son - I watched the episodes after reading the recap. Maybe because I'd vicariously vented at the entitled twerp ML already, I didn't mind where we ended up. The leads deserve each other lol.

No Gain, No Love - So nice to see characters just say that they like someone/want to date them instead of waffling and agonising for weeks. So curious how Lucifer and Mr. Volunteer are going to handle next week.

Seoul Busters - These episodes felt really slow - like the case went on forever when the perpetrator was obvious. I think the funny scenes also go on for too long. Next week looks more exciting at least.

WATCHLIST
Planning to try out the The Judge from Hell. I feel like there'll be no midway with this show - it'll either be amazing or amazingly terrible.

C-DRAMAS
Love of Nirvana started with quite an opening sequence. Only 3 episodes in but nice to see the ML a bit of a departure from the norm. Will try to catch up over the weekend.

Live watches

No gain, no love
💛The highlight of my week. Each week I try to wait so I can watch the two episodes back to back on a Tuesday but I fail miserably because I am literally watching the clock to press play on a Monday afternoon.

Love next door
I am looking forward to this week’s episodes to see where this drama takes us, it is always an interesting watch.

DNA lover
😬This has become disappointing because the second female lead character is annoying me and she is everywhere and there is the unwanted element of a hint of a killer lurking in the background.

Cinderella at 2AM
The couple have spent a lot of time in misery due to the unwanted break up so I am hoping we will see them have some fun times this week as they are good together. The work place team members have not shown any competence in the work place and rarely use their initiative so I am not sure why they have been promoted.

Tiger with wings - Japanese
🥰I have come to love this show and I am very disappointed that we only have 10 episodes left. It has been a truly epic historical drama showing how the changes in culture have influenced the political and legal systems through the lived experiences of the main character’s journey from a teenager into a grandmother.

Umi no Hajimari - Japanese
🥲Such a bittersweet story. I really don’t know how it will end next week but I feel it has realistically shown the many facets of becoming a parent by choice including single parenthood and blended families. I struggled with the aftermath of Umi’s mum’s death because of the choices she made when she was alive and I feel the same with Umi’s dad’s choices at times. I hope that the drama ends well whatever the outcome because it has been such a beautiful story.

Hikaru Kimi e -Japanese
😮 A historical drama that I am loving despite the political elements. It is showing the struggles of the people outside the palace and so many elements of the author’s life were included in The tale of Genji. I hope they show that she stretched the story due to the money it brought in because that story was ridiculously long (72 hours on Audible) I am worried I will be left hanging as this series started in January and runs an episode a week for 48 episodes so most of the episodes have been out for months but I only have access to 16 with subtitles.

Binge watch corner
Two outs in the Nineth Inning
Decided to watch this often mentioned oldie. It is going to be a slow watch due to the bite sized 6 chunks per episode with the multiple ads between each chunk on YouTube. It is not the drama that will make me pay the premium price to avoid the ads, but it is ok so far.

Book corner
Talking to strangers - Malcolm Gladwell
Fascinating listen on what influences our perspectives on others. Really interesting presentation style on Audible with podcast style clips from interviews, police radio audio, and it has a theme song.

A tale for the Time Being - Ruth Ozeki
This seems to be the...

No Gain No love: I did not know this drama was a 12er. So, we are more than halfway through. The subway PPL and avocado discussion reminded me of when there used to be more restaurant variety. I recently did a rewatch of Secret Love, courtesy of a recent reminder(ha), and they had TGIF PPL. I remember thinking even then, oooh how random. I also remember the Papa Johns era. Ahhhh PPL, which reminds me of Be Melo, lol. Tangent complete.

Seoul Busters: It was boring. I didn’t even chuckle this time. So, it is a drop for me. Hopefully, we will get more Wed-Thurs dramas.

Good Partner: Nicely wrapped up and a good ending to a really good show. However, NJH and P.O. had no chemistry, lol, that was the only odd thing. But it wasn’t about them, so it didn’t really matter in that sense.

BlackOut: The temerity, audacity, gall, gumption, and sheer arrogance of these people is BREATHTAKING. What gutter, garbage, and toxic landfill people. Just awful. Geoh Oh and Deok Mi didn’t even do anything, but their coverup of these crimes is diabolical. I am shocked every time at how awful these people are.

The Judge from Hell: I look forward to this!!

Love Next Door: Maybe there will be some romantic movement, maybe we will continue to meander, who knows. I am the fool who keeps watching, ha.

Currently Watching
I'm behind on Seoul Busters and No Gain No Love... I may wait and watch the last five eps all in one go. On the other hand, I've started a rewatch of The Matchmakers, which is just as lovely as the first time.

In other news...: Mom breezed through Marry My Husband and really enjoyed it. She thought it was dark with the villains but found the revenge satisfying. She called it "delicious," and said the ML was "so good" - she found Na In-woo "adorable" and "sweet" (so do I!!)

Finished
Romance in the House: What a lovely surprise this drama was! Over the course of twelve episodes, we saw relationships being mended, families being strengthened, and individuals finding their purpose - their vocation - and what they really want in life. Parent-child relationships were central to the story, and we got to see them get stronger and better. The last episodes were so nice. Seeing both dads get into a dad argument about how great their adult children are was great. Seeing Mi-rae ask her dad to change a light bulb was a great moment. Seeing Tae-pyung talk things out with his dad was great. And can I praise how well the show handled the dating rumors in the office??? No noble idiocy and breakup; FL's coworkers extending understanding; and that passive-aggressive clap-back at those bitter haters with her team having her back! Well done!!! Finally, I really liked how Mi-rae and Tae-pyung's relationship was built on mutual respect, understanding, and communication.

Welcome to Samdalri: I loved this!!! Shin Hye-sun was excellent, and really made me connect with her character. I shed more than a few tears for her journey. This is my kind of healing drama. Her FL is a dragon raised in a small stream, who rises to fame, but is forced to retreat to her hometown due to the venomous lies of her poisonous assistant. This "villain" was scary because of how evil she was and how easily she achieved her goals at first. But, this didn't stress me out, because not only was this the necessary origin story for how our heroine rediscovers and comes back to her true self and the things in life she truly loves, but it also serves to illustrate how she has a defensive bulwark of family and friends. Even at her lowest, she is not truly alone, nor without allies. I just love...

Recent Dramas:
My Sweet Mobster: (slightly more than 14 episodes in) I have never seen a drama that so obviously should have been 12 episodes. I really love it when the leads are cutting through the misconceptions, when Hong-gi is comforting the orange-haired creator, when Ji-hwan is being tentative and polite, basically anytime the Thirsty Deer’s two most attractive employees (by their own accounts) are on screen, and when the TD’s actual most attractive employee (Lee Joon) shows up to be ridiculous and amazing. But I like it less whenever I’m supposed to care about the SML (was it mean to hope that he would stay unconscious longer after he was hit with the brick?), whenever the ML stops communicating about anything, when our poor maknae deer gets blamed by a violent vigilante for a murder that was actually an accident, and when the FL boldly strides into situations and makes them way worse for everyone. I didn’t dislike the second couple as much as I was prepared to based on the recaps, but they obviously could have handled that better too. Still, I’m here to watch people get stabby at the end, to see our leads’ conclusion, and most importantly to send uri deerlings off well.

Older Dramas:
Happiness: (8 episodes in) I got super busy this week so we didn’t really watch ahead of the community watch. My husband is no longer that into it, but will still finish it with me. But I’m still really loving it! Korea does society’s descent into chaos so well and I really like it here too. Our leads are obviously amazing and I’m still finding LC Han as interesting as I was before. Whenever Sae-bom loses her temper and twists someone’s arm back or slams them on a table it is sooo satisfying. Whenever I encounter a truly awful character I’m going to imagine her absolutely silencing them with her withering glances and cool moves. As ever: I hope Seo-yoon makes it through this show.

Live Watches
Mom’s Friend’s Son/Love Next Door: I’m glad ex-fiance bowed out and did it quite gracefully this week. I’m not sure if I have a higher tolerance for angst in a romcom (almost definitely true) or if I just had fewer expectations going into this drama, but I’m one of the few still enjoying it. I like our leads and am excited to see them start to explore what they could be to each other now that they have closure and secrets are out. And I could even excuse the dead fish kiss between the second leads (I think I would have been shocked too!) especially since I laughed so much at Mo-eum trying to sneak away only to be foiled by the fact that she lives next door!

Fragile (2): Even more like Skam than the first episode, as beyond just adapting the story, they also literally adapt specific scenes. This episode also introduces the rest of the characters, and it becomes very clear very quickly that not a single character here is original. All of them are based off a Skam character, and the core personalities of them appear to be largely intact. Honestly, the biggest change so far is that they replaced the Muslim character with a Southeast Asian character. From a western perspective, it's interesting how she literally states "to Western people we look alike", and I do think there's a sense of truth to that. I appreciate the show keeping the racism theme intact here, as I think it's an important theme for a show like this to touch upon. I really liked this second episode, and I'm already loving the growing friendship between the girls, and I can't wait to see more of that.

Good Partner (15-16): Drama of the year! Or at least so far. You know that empty feeling you get when you finish a drama you really loved? Yeah, I'm definitely feeling that right now. I just loved seeing these characters grow, and ultimately live their best lives. The cases were consistently great as well, and the show even managed to deliver some wise advice and inspirational life lessons along the way too. It made me laugh, it made me cry, it broke my heart as often as it warmed it, and it just made me fall in love with everything.

Perfect Family (11-12): This show might've been imperfect, but I very much enjoyed the ride. I'm very satified with the ending overall. They might've caused me a lot of stress, but I'm going to miss this imperfect perfect family.

No Gain No Love (7-8): With the spin-off coming up, I'm pretty curious where this drama will leave off the story of the second leads. Will they have a conclusion here, or will they leave it open ended and save the actual conclusion for the spin-off? Regardless, I can't wait to find out.

Love Next Door (9-10): Someone remind me while I'm still watching this? Because the only thing in this show that consistently entertains me are the second leads.

Romance In The House (1-7): I gave this show another chance after previously bailing halfway through episode 1, and I'm quite enjoying it. Not the biggest fan of the dad though. On the other hand, Tae-pyeong might actually be a real green flag, and not one of those imposters that fool people into believing they're green flags.

I was actually on holiday this week, but I'm glad I still managed to keep up with my dramas. I put Revenant and Be Melodramatic on pause for the week, as I had easier access to watch RITH, so I actually wanted to finish that while on holiday, but sadly I didn't have enough time for that.

Perfect Family (Series review) - Mood progression: C- / C- / C- / D+ / D / D
Classic characteristics of a rushed makjang finale: characters get thrown into and out of life and death scenarios with very quick resolutions, antagonists either die or have brain transplants, increase in references to the show’s title. It’s just a sigh.

Romance in the House (Series review) - Mood progression: C- / D+ / D+ / D / D / D
This show is what happens when you take elements from a family sitcom and sprinkle some murder mystery dust: it’s quite bland and uninteresting to watch. And it’s not just the plot: you just knew which characters would start screaming at when.

Good Partner (Series review) - Mood progression: D+ / D / D+ / D+ / D / D / D+
As with most procedurals that struggle, this show also relied significantly (too much, I say) on its cases to carry the story. I would’ve preferred no affair but the writer clearly planned around it, so much so that the 2ML only got his arc in the finale?

Cinderella at 2AM (Episode 7-8) - Mood: C-
As the main plot collapses under the weight of one shitty mother (who we all know will get a brain transplant for the finale), the 2nd leads arc finally blossoms and uplifts the show. I would’ve also liked more of FL and bro but I’ll take what I can get.

Black Out (Episode 9) - Mood: D+
Of course Na Gyeom’s the mastermind, she’s the only lead other than the ML from that town. The predictability does make it less interesting to watch though who knows what might happen with 5 more episodes. Or that’s just me manifesting it all.

No Gain No Love (Episode 7-8) - Mood: D
The secretary didn’t seem like he had any feelings for the writer so she would’ve been friend zoned anyway, but I guess the writer wasn’t confident enough and had to perform character assassination to get the ship going. That’s not great writing?

Love Next Door (Episode 9-10) - Mood: D
Oh, it’s turned into the cancer and depression show this week. And if that wasn’t enough, the show’s strongly hinting at the ML’s mom having hidden Alzheimer’s while facing forced retrenchment and divorce papers. What’s next, cancer relapsing?

DNA Lover (Episode 9-10) - Mood: D-
You know, the plot twist would’ve been that the jersey was belonged to some random guy. But now we have the 2FL ruining things because she’s a child who wants her favourite toy, and I suspect we’re heading towards the third-quarter break-up?

Bad Memory Eraser (Episode 13-14) - Mood: D-
Ah yes, they really had the OTP go through one conflict while making up in the same episode, while saving one more for an explosive cliffhanger. Of course there’s the ultra makjang reveal where the 2FL’s dad is the stalker to ensure an epic finale.

Are You the One? 17eps
I have not watched much as Work and Real Life got busy, but I have been enjoying this one as a slow relaxing watch. Though, things are turning a biiit darker as we are getting to the core of the story and Heroine is getting her memories back. And while I was totally fine with the deception at the beginning as a war/tactical strategy to lure an enemy, I think now Uri Lord totally missed the chance to tell the truth.... and confess his true feelings.

No Gain, No Love
Every week I expect a drop in my entertainment adrenalin, but no, this show is still fun (Jiwook trying to be the man in the house... totally failing... and then cancelling the help channel 😄)... and joy... and butterflies (especially whenever they close up on the wedding ring 😊)... and the show still!! surprises me.
What a twist with Secretary Yo... and honestly, after some thinking, for me this actually makes more sense and fits the characters and what we know about them more.
I'm also wondering whether after the workplace, relationship, newlyweds (and sexual life 😁)... we also get interesting comments on pregnancy/parenting as Unni seemed to miss her Red Days.

LOVE NEXT DOOR (Ep 9-10) A rom-com is not doing well when the leads’ ex-es are nicer characters than the leads themselves. Then add the sudden story turn to melo and the ML having a personality transplant to be demanding, pushy and clingy jerk.

There was a lot of material packed into last weekend’s 3 hours, but none of it translated to chemistry between the leads. It is like watching two magnets with like-poles point together, that naturally should push apart (repel each other). The only good foreshadowing I see from “The Illness” arc is Dad’s self-esteem lifted by becoming successful selling high quality Joseon Gungjung Tteokbokki and the second couple getting back on track.

BEAUTY & MR. ROMANTIC (Lurking & Dropped) I have been extremely bothered by the FL, JY/Dora, under false pretenses taking Grandma’s generosity and money. I find it odd that no one is bothered by this when it is in plain sight. When Dora/JY regains her memories, she continues on as JY taking money from the dementia Grandma who thinks she is her long lost granddaughter. Grandma buys a nice apartment for them, then gives her hundreds of thousands of dollars of her savings. Dora uses it to pay off the family’s loan shark. It is no different than her mother scamming others. And it gripes me that JY can put a lot of energy in time finding the sponsorship actor to clear her name but never once thought about finding Grandma’s real family (she knows all their names).

The final straw was when the police show up to the apartment to investigate Grandma’s missing gold that Dora’s mom stole. JY filed the complaint as the “granddaughter” (under a known false ID). The police arrive knowing that Dora’s mom pawned the gold for money. She is a convicted felon and now a thief. The detectives would have interviewed every member of the household, including Grandma, about the crime. They would have easily found that Grandma’s dementia has allowed non-family members into her house to take advantage of her since Dora’s brothers would have had to shown their real IDs. A background check of Grandma’s real family could have shed light on her real family members and the elder abuse. The show makes the police and viewers incompetent, and the only conclusion is that JY/Dora continued her own identity theft to protect her real family more so than Grandma’s well being. It is the worst financial elder abuse shown without any legal or moral consequences.

No Gain No Love Kim Young-dae was really a bad choice. It's a romcom and they barely promoted this drama together. Shin Min-ah went alone on TEO channel and for the cook contest, they didn't pair the couple against each other...

Cinderella at 2AM I'm still wondering why the FL did this choice. She was miserable without him and she didn't enjoy a rich life with this money!

Black Out Only 3 good people... It's not a lot.

Good Partner I'm not sure this drama needed 16 episodes. After her divorce, the story lost its charm.

The Judge from Hell I'm curious about this one and happy with the actor being the ML for once!

Love Next Door Give me the romance now!

Seoul Busters Kim Dong-wook's face when he mixed/shaked his noodles was hilarious.

I still need to finish Romance in the House...

The Game: Towards Zero

It was a most beautiful psychological story.

The characters. They were so so good! Each one of the big cast felt like a main character with how their story was told.

The background music. It's so unlike any crime show. It's low, it's haunting, it fills every scene with such a deep sense of foreboding that you practically give up on any character surviving.
They also use silence extremely well. The real scene sounds, the actors talking, I keep looking for the sound director credits because they are one of the best I've seen.

The cops are so good at their jobs that if this was a normal cop show without the added layer of a man seeing death we wouldn't have any story! Not that they are fantastically good to fit a heroic story. No, they are just good men. The are efficient, they are persistent, they are diligent. They are human, they make mistakes, they apologize and they try to do better. It's extremely gratifying to watch these people living their lives and doing their jobs.

The dialogues, the overall franknss, clear communication, social commentary, information sharing between all characters, are all such amazing themes to watch.

This show isn't a crime show. It isn't even a psychological thriller. It's a psychological melodrama.
It resembles Blind in genre, while I love Blind to peices I confess that it has a few plotholes making the timeline confusing, and especially taking the punch out of the punchline if you think too much about it. I didn't see any plotholes in The Game.

It was simply flawless until ep 10, going at breakneck speed, everything happening a good 5 episodes sooner than you would expect it to. An insanely fast game of cat and mouse, driving each lead to more dire extremes by every turn.
Then at ep 11 the speed suddenly dropped to a snail's pace. It it one of this show's only faults, which is admittedly huge: the last 6 episodes should have been 2 episodes, or 3 at the most.
I don't know if the episode count changed midway through airing, or if the writer was forced in any way, or even if they miscalculated. I can't even say I wish they had sacrificed some of the initial speed to make up for later episodes, because I absolutely loved that speed!

I still appreciated that they stuck with their story and didn't throw in random side stories to fill up the hours, but the downside was that the story suddenly started to draaaag. I totally understand any live-watchers dropping the show. I even tried watching on 1.5 speed but I loved the story too much.

The show's only other fault was that the last episode was not as good as the rest of it. I loved how they went to the utmost last possible end of the story, it felt very fitting for the title, but the editing and the dialogues weren't as good as before. Interestingly this was my exact reaction to the last episode of Defendant.

To conclude, can the people who re-edited Samsoon try...