COMPLETED
Mom's Friend's Son - This will be filed under the 'what could have been' category. The writer was much too fond of fake-outs and creating non-conflicts - every episode repeated the same cycle over and over.

ONGOING
The Judge from Hell - It was nice to see Justitia get smarter with the prison(van)-break but her general recklessness and lack of awareness of what her lackeys are up to will definitely be her undoing.

Seoul Busters - It was sweet how they all rallied for Min-seo at the cheating ex's wedding. I do not like where we're going with the killer of Yu-bin's girlfriend - seems like too serious a set-up for this particular show.

What Comes After Love - Young and inexperienced really describes all that went wrong with this couple. Didn't like the boyfriend turning up at the book-signing - there was no need for him to insert himself in this.

STARTED
Family by Choice - The animated title sequence was cute and the kids were ADORABLE. So far, the changes from the Chinese version aren't jarring. But my intense dislike of the mom in Go Ahead has already transferred to the counterpart here.

WATCHLIST
Excited to start Jeongnyeon and A Virtuous Business 🥰. Didn't get around to Dong-jae… and Doubt - will see if I feel like starting them too.

C-DRAMAS
Completed You Are My Lover Friend. Slow-burn but sweet. They seem to have left a bit too much on the cutting-room floor - the story of FL's senior could have had more poignancy.

Watched two episodes each of Go Back Lover and The Rise of Ning. The latter is definitely more engrossing. I think I'll use the weekend to read the novels for both and then continue.

Haven't started Snowy Night: Timeless Love because I don't think I can do sad and dramatic right now. Kill Me, Love Me is also about to release - another one I'm hesitant over given how insane the novel gets.

C-drama land is going crazy with releases right now. I believe Love Has Fireworks, Northward, Fangs of Fortune, etc. are all slated for release in the next couple of weeks.

Dear Hyeri - I'll call both of them enablers of the situation that led to their break-up. Initially I was mad at Hyun-oh when it was earlier revealed that he wasn't a fan of marriage and I am still mad at him for assuming for Eun-ho that she wouldn't want to see what his life loomed like. He should learn from Joo-hyun. Back to the "I am not going to get married" issue...that for me is a deal breaker that you should have started earlier on. But, upon learning in episode 5 - the reveal conversation was given more context - and I learn that Hyun-oh was clear about that early in their relationship if not from the beginning, I am inclined to sit both Hyun-oh and Eun-ho down for some chit-chat.

Eun-ho should not have expected that he was going to change his choice as their relationship progressed. And, Hyun-oh could have raised the issue again as things got serious. Let Eun-ho know that no matter how serious things got, this was what he can offer at best as far as defining their relationship was concerned.

Personally, if we have a different viewpoint on what defines our being together, I won't even continue pursuing us. I'll deaden that desire till it snuffs out.
Hope is a good thing. It makes us believe one will change, that one can change. The hope she held out was dumb...very dumb.

With her very own hands, Eun-ho wasted her time. With his very own mind, Hyun-oh developed a martyr complex and a savior mentality that makes him feel complete when he's offering a hand. I don't know when he developed that savior personality, but I don't think it always existed. Some of the things we learnt about his past suddenly made him tell Eun-ho should be sick everytime. He got so used to the Halmonis being dependent on him that he can't compartmentalize his life. Somehow he feels complete when people are dependent on him. Perhaps he wants them to be indebted to him in gratitude.

I was already prepared to give up on any KDrama that has a married couple and marriage at the center of its story/plot. Not exactly keen on the bad husbands they've been projecting on my screen. Last week I stumbled upon the film While You Were Sleeping (2024). Chu Ja-hyun's picture on the poster drew me in. Lee Moo-saeng's name on the cast gave me cold feet. The plot description gave bad husband PTSD. Well, this morning I decided to watch it as I had breakfast and I was so glad I had finished breakfast before it got to the heavy 2nd half cause I just couldn't hold the floodgates again. It was a beautiful story. A very sad beautiful story. My face towel had some work to do. It has defeated Crevasse and Il Mare and shot itself to my favorite korean film. I wanted to wake up from the sleep.

My faith isn't restored in kdrama writers to write something as beautiful and memorable as far as marital life is concerned, I will still be wary of them. I look forward to when they overcome their PTSD and stop their projections. But, I am very much feeling...

I was too busy last week(end)s with Real Life stuff (some good, some less good) and when I had a bit of extra dramatime I surprisingly watched a show that I originally didn’t plan to watch at all and I checked it just because of the actors - Dog knows everything. It didn't grab me first, because the beginning was full of the typical Korean toilet humour and I just wasn't in the right mood for it. But the moment Kim Yonggun appeared, it clicked. Partly because of the nostalgy as I remembered him and Lee Soonjae in Grandpas Over Flowers (and that earned some extra chuckles from me 🙂) and partly because we then finally moved from Seoul and the real story started. And I'm now really enjoying the show, the weekly crime stories, the overarching story, the humour (perhaps even more as I'm getting older myself, not that old, but, yeah, I can now appreciate some of the situations and cynical remarks 😄)... and the actors - they are all great, but the oldest quartet is just delicious! 😄 And then of course Soonjae and Dog, a wonderful duo. 🙂❤️

Family by Choice
I started because of the Dads, but it were the Kids who grabbed my heart during the first episode and I admit I was sad when I realised they grew up by the end of it.

Iron Family
Ommo, ommo.... we seem to have a good old family weekender with heart here! I'm so excited and hope all the writing fairies are protecting uri writer. 🤞

No Gain, No Love
I have to give it to the show that it was nearly, nearly perfect and it didn't cease to surprise me (that was a really creative way how to break a tension... and stop the abusive father intruder 😂).
I also appreciated Unni's pregnancy story line, including her partner who I think really wanted to be a father, and showing some pitfalls of polyamorous relationship (the other girl clearly wasn't as open as she had claimed and she purposely hurt them).
I also totally understood the separation of the leads, Jiwook did need the time alone and I think he used it well.
BUT then we spent unnecessary time on obvious misunderstanding about Jiwook's Canadian sister... which was stupid and not worth this drama. I wanted the show go with a bang, with a lot of humour, teasing... and sexy times. 😊

Are You the One, cdrama, finished
This was a solid drama, though I missed a bit of the initial spark towards the end and wished for slightly more passion (and less make-up 😁) between our main leads. The Royal Couple grew on me and their story was actually the one that touched me the most.

Fragile (5): Well, that escalated quickly. Ji Yu broke Do Ha's kiss, Chan Seong finally told Ji Yu the truth, and then Mi Na slapped Ji Yu, casually reveals that Chan Seong is Su Jin's ex and that Ji Yu "stole" him, before revealing that she saw the kiss between Do Ha & Ji Yu, and that Do Ha is actually her boyfriend. Oh, and of course Chan Seong witnesses all of this. And all of this happened in less than 7 minutes! Kinda wish they hadn't revealed literally everything at the same time, but whatever. Anyway, A Ra is literally the best friend everybody needs, with her going to Ji Yu's house to check up on her, and defending her in gym class when Su Jin bullies her (which obviously turns into a huge fight with lots of hair pulling, because of course they found a way to adapt that Skam scene). I also appreciate Ji Yu's honesty in admitting that she was drawn to Do Ha, but can we please put the blame where it actually belongs? Do Ha is a massive cheater who actively took advantage of both Mi Na and Ji Yu (and who knows how many others). Can somebody confront him already? Also, Su Ho giving up his table for A Ra (& Ji Yu) when his drinks were still full, and then looking like a nervous puppy in front of her? Oh, I love everything about this.

What Comes After Love (4): All angst and no communication, but at least we got Lee Se-young singing "How Long Will I Love You". That's a win in my book.

The Judge From Hell (5-6): I really hope the weekly cases are going to become more varied and interesting, because this is starting to get very repetitive already.

Love Next Door (15-16): Disappointment of the year is also a prize I guess.

Live watches

What comes after love
As we get more info on the couple it really does make me wonder what the point of the reconnecting is. Will she read the letter and then speed read the book and realise that she needs to return to him or will it be the closure she needed and lead to regret that she didn’t read it at the time so she could move on smoothly knowing she dodged a bullet as his lack of communication would have driven her crazy as who has time to wait 5 years for an issue to be resolved😬

Dear Hyeri
This show is really fascinating I really can not tell what will happen next.

Pachinko
Noa 😭 Just as I suspected there is no guarantee season 3 or 4 will be made so the story is left hanging for everyone.

Family by choice
Had a great start to the season looking forward to seeing where they go next.

Dropping this weekend
Will be testing out the first couple of episodes of A virtuous business and Jeongnyeon: The star is born

Book corner

A suitable boy - Vikram Seth

As I had only vague memories of this book I decided a reread was in order and downloaded the 68 hours Audible version💪🏾

Into the uncut grass - Trevor Noah
A children’s book about conflict resolution

Judge From Hell: 8.5

Gyeongseong Creature s2: __ (ep 7) An unearned sequel which will probably spawn its own unearned sequel. It deserves to be buried in an unmarked grave with a splintery stake thru its heart. Crap sequels are all over Kdramaland now -- where's Buffy The Sequel Slayer when we need her?

Dear Hyeri: 2.7 but YMMV. Day 5 - I can't quite bring myself to drop a Shin Hye-sun show (yet) especially since I don't have any other Mon-Tue show now, but it's a terrible slog. Day 6 - out after 27 minutes.

Bring It On Ghost: 9.0 (rewatch day 1 / 9) The antidote To Hyeri. Show could have been a 9.9 with a little less dumb & dumber, and like many shows it's not quite as good in the middle as it was earlier.
- It seems like the leads are comfy enough with each other to speak informally, but if they weren't, who would have to use honorifics in which situations? He's older but she is senior in terms of acting career. Or does kpoping count towards show-business-seniority as opposed to just acting-seniority.
- Asianwiki thinks Kim So-hyun has an upcoming show with the same writer. They must not have hated working together here.
- I'm also going thru the recaps. Back in the days on the old site you couldn't give likes, so if you happen to go there and see some thumbs-up, they're probably from me, but feel free to add some of your own. There's also a bit of nostalgia for the old-style recaps, and it's sad to see so many once-familiar names who haven't been active recently.
- FWIW this is my 3rd watch. The 2nd was soon after it came out.

Seoul Busters: 8.0 Not in the running for Show of the Year, but excellent comfort food.

Dog Knows Everything: 8.5 Cat was awfully tame. Dog continues to be great. Show is largely about getting old, but show itself doesn't get old, if you know what I mean.

Family By Choice: __ Chose to wander away after about 15 minutes.

Doubt: 6.0 I Doubt I will continue.

Pachinko 2: 8.0

Back to the Gyeongseong series: S2 wasn't as big an offender as S1, but...
I can happily accept supernatural gods/vampires/demons/Judges in fiction. And I can accept strictly natural parasites or viruses that turn humans into zombies or somesuch. After all there are parasites that makes mice easier prey for cats, funguses that zombify ants, and demagogues who turn susceptible humans into half-zombified fanatic followers. What I CANNOT accept is any allegedly natural parasite or other critter that violates basics like gravity, conservation of mass, etc, etc. When a human suddenly changes shape and becomes 5x larger and then reaches out 30 feet to pick someone up without tipping over, I start to suspect that a lazy writer thought that pushing the special-effects dept to its limits was a valid substitute for pretty much everything else. Cut the effects, obey physics, and have the baddies be strong, fast, mean...

LOVE NEXT DOOR came to an acceptable if overlong conclusion, but even then I couldn’t grade it beyond a B (for the Jungs) or a B- (when I take off my biased lenses).

Our fake DID character did a marvelous job in THE JUDGE FROM HELL but I found myself a little tired of the violent justice meted out by Lady J this third time around. Let's see what this weekend brings.

I did enjoy FAMILY BY CHOICE, most especially the childhood years. But I’m not sure how I feel about the adult FL or about the romance coming up between the siblings by choice. But I could be persuaded.

I can’t say DEAR HYERI invokes the same passion in me as it does in other Beanies but it’s interesting enough to keep me going. Love the lively comments section.

I could only laugh as the ML in THE IRON FAMILY wandered out of the hospital in his gown, trailing his rolling IV stand. I wish! Is this why I’m loving the 2ML more? (PHS and CTJ are my ⭐️ Couple this month.)

I forgot I was watching WHAT COMES AFTER LOVE till I came on the site. 🤦🏾‍♀️ That’s telling. I think I’ll wait to binge the last three episodes.

But yay! That frees some time to dip into the weekend premieres. Woot. Woot.

Dear Hyeri A lot of people with trauma.

Family by Choice I liked the first 2 episodes. It was heartwarming.

A Virtuous Business and Jeongnyeon - The Star is Born Excited to watch it!

Doubt I hope the cute new cop won't be the killer.

The Judge from Hell It's more fun when the demons assume who they are. It was boring to watch her deny the murder and act vexed when he was right.

What Comes After Love It's kinda weird how their love story didn't seem so passionate or burning to the point they look like someone is dead now...

Seoul Busters The team is fun! And they arrest people now!

Uprising I tried this movie yesterday evening and stopped it. I don't know if it was because I was tired but the editing was so weird. There was no context, just scenes of fights, incendies,... I don't know if I want to re-start it.

Fragile It's really too slow...

Love Next Door I will miss these characters, they were lovely together.

You Are My Lover Friend It's funny to see the ML now that Family by Choice's remake is ready.

Seoul Busters. It's weirdly fun for me. As always some things are funny for me while other things fall flat or doesn't interest me. I like the moments between the team.

Because of @gikata @redfox @mrsbuckwheat @jillian I've fallen down a rabbit hole of watching Shinee and Taemin videos haha. Ugh, some of the songs are so catchy to me but I'm kinda envious of how well he (Taemin) moves his body haha. Kudos to whoever comes up with the choreography and kudos to him pulling it off. I do see the Michael Jackson comparison.
I can't compare him to the other idol dancers but yeah, props to him.

I've also been looking at videos of the Got7 guys. I prefer the variety/entertainment stuff compared to their music. Kinda the same with Seventeen (but Super is stuck in my head! Oh my god, it's living rent free! Haha). I wonder if any of the Seventeen guys are gonna get into acting. It seems there's always at least one idol member who gets in acting. (From what I can tell. And now I'm wondering how and why haha)

I am considering watching Family By Choice but grr, the dreaded love triangle. I don't know if it's gonna happen but I fear it will and that would just piss me off. Maybe I should just wait until it's finished and see how it goes.

Somehow, I’m not picking up any new show that premiered this week. :O

Love Next Door (Series review) - Mood progression: C- / C- / D+ / D / D / D / D- / D-
All’s well that ends well except pretending that the writer didn’t squeeze in the parent disapproval and forced separation in the finale as well as dedicating a good part of the show to medical issues. I wasn’t expecting a masterpiece but this, yeah.

DNA Lover (Series review) - Mood progression: D / D / D- / D- / D- / D- / D- / D-
As feared, the finale went as badly as it could. This wasn’t a show with much promise at first glance and I gave it a chance for Lee Tae Hwan’s first post military project but ended up affirming that I indeed have the ability to torture myself.

Dog Knows Everything (Episode 5-6) - Mood: B-
The charm of the show continues as trope subversions occur and hilarity ensues. Truck of Doom and scammers? Nope, it’s actually rich CEOs living a YOLO life. Birth secret? No worries, ML figures it out. Language barrier? Bilingual animals will do to save the day! Drugged and kidnapped? Whatever, Sophie just quickly plans her escape. Falling in love with your doctor? Sorry, your eyes tricked you. Okay, humour aside, I do find myself missing the earlier episodes when the entire gang was all involved in the capture of the culprit. And I don’t see the point of the flowerpot waiter character, tho at least he’s just there.

The Judge from Hell (Episode 5-6) - Mood: C-
So now there’s a character who’s right by the FL to take her out the moment she shows any emotions, great. And it’s rather difficult to suspend disbelief regarding the court scenes. We’re halfway through but there’re so many filler side characters.

Dear Hyeri (Episode 5-6) - Mood: D
ML’s backstory doesn’t endear me to his noble idiocy, sorry. But to be fair, the FL was in ‘I can fix his anti-marriage stance’ mode in the past, and I’m not hoping that’s not her pretending to be Hye Ri in the ending now? Just more lies and triangles.

LOVE NEXT DOOR (Ep 15-16) It is hard for a show to have all its story lines have open endings, but LND did. The premise was OK, the story set up was bad, the execution sloppy, the stereotypes were too stereotype, secondary leads and cameo characters were more compelling than leads; there was a lack of rom and nearly non-existent com with forced melo that suddenly vanishes without a trace. It was hard for the story to match expectations. The foundational relationship premise of the leads was continuously tied to their 7-year-old school yard days was awful and a drag. It is like a broken record: the series could have been better but it turned out average at best.

DOG KNOWS EVERYTHING (Ep. 3-6) Ep 3-4 brings Soo-Jung’s old murder mystery to life. It has a lot of suspects and confessions, a couple of side stories to distract us, but the ending is enhanced with Officer Hong (Yeonwoo) putting the pieces together with the general information Soon-Jae and her dog gives her. This arc gives us linear profile of Hong’s mother and Soon-Jae’s son Ki-Dong’s complex past and awkward future.

Ep 5-6 adds more color to our elderly acting troupe. The clever inclusion of the group into the islanders‘ daily lives is well done. The theme of this two episode diver arc is “who do you trust?”
The script has been well done until my pet peeve reared its ugly head: the legal claim that you can disinherit your legal heirs. It is false, and unnecessary to throw a motive and doubt on the pile of suspects. Only a few months ago, a Korean court ruled certain provisions of its probate code unconstitutional (the Go Hara case) but did not negative the concept of minimum inheritance stakes for spouses and children. The conclusion of the diver murder was so-so.

DISABARI-NATIVE FOX (YouTube) (ep 3) Lee Kyung Kyu and the conservation crew build a third observation site to try to see a wild-bred fox family. They succeed in finding a trail where one year old fox cubs are becoming independent. The siblings fight over food like any other family group. They have grown too big for their original burrows so the 7 pups have begun to spread out among the forest. Even the cubs have the instinct to bury food to eat later instead of gorging on a catch. (The team set out chicken parts and dead mice to draws them closer to the camera tent.) The naturalists are very hopeful with the re-introduction of native foxes into the wild.

I have a cold and was not in the mood to watch stuff, my head is finally starting to clear though. Sadly I can't watch the show I was waiting for, because no streaming site was picked it up and I can't find it subbed in any language I know :(.

I really wanted to watch Dongjae (Stranger spinoff) as it airs, but it will probably take a few weeks if not months to appear somewhere subbed. Or did any of you watch it with english subs?

Kind of insane that a spinoff of a very succesful kdrama like this barely gets any coverage and doesn't even stream internationally. I thought we were over these days where you had to wait weeks/months for subs... but it still happens for some reason.

Doubt and Jeongnyeon start airing this week too, so i'm glad those two are (probably) subbed at least xD.

Next week I hopefully have wi-fi to keep up with those shows! I'm on a trip to a forest. Hopefully the view is nice (and I'm not sick on monday lol)

Finished BLACK OUT, the most satisfying drama this year so far! On its heel come DOUBT which is even darker than Black Out and hopefully as good with Han Suk-Kyu in the lead.

My favourite is now SEOL BUSTERS. The humour is just so good! I could not stop laughing at the story of ex-boxer cop's failed marriage proposal and the meeting with the former fiancé whilst he is undercover and disguised as a hobo!

DEAR HYERI remains uneven and unsatisfying. I am afraid that I am not moved by the sad backstory of ML. The grannies are not that bad, really. Worst of all is Shin Hye-sun as Eun-ho. In the flashbacks she speaks in this annoying Baby voice, something I strongly dislike, because it is so manipulative. It makes it almost impossible to sympathise with her tragic story. The writer likes bicycle scenes - but none here are as good as Hwi on a bicycle in THE WEATHER IS FINE.

WHAT COMES AFTER LOVE is a good story, because the leads recognize how naïve and immature they were. This relationship did not have to end this way and they are both still mourning this intense love. I am not sure they should get back together, but they certainly need to give the past a proper send-off.

FAMILY BY CHOICE had a very good start. Jung Chae-Yeon reminds me so much of Moon Ga-young! Hwang In-Yeop can still play a teenager, good for him!

VIRTOUS BUSINESS and A STAR IS BORN look promising which means I can drop the JUDGE FROM HELL which I find really boring.

Knowing what is going to happen, I need a little courage to start the last episode of the otherwise wonderful PACHINKO.

LIVE WATCHES:

1. FAMILY BY CHOICE - And we're off to a running start to this adorable family drama. I'm in for the ride!

2. AGATHA ALL ALONG - This is a really fantastic witchy fantasy show that deserves a whole lot more plaudits.

3. THE JUDGE FROM HELL - Still one of the dramas I look forward to every week with glee.

COMPLETED

1. LOVE NEXT DOOR - And so this family melo with a slice of rom-com comes to an end. It was an okay watch though the writing could be tighter.

2. LARA CROFT: THE ANIMATED SERIES - This just dropped on Netflix and is miles better than any of the live-action series. An easy and quick binge-watch.

Currently watching
MONTHLY MAGAZINE HOME (Ep 1-5)- The male lead is obnoxious, the female lead is pitiful. So far I’m hanging in there, but seriously considering dropping this one

YOU ARE MY LOVER FRIEND - A little slower than expected, but it’s doing a great job depicting the transition of friends to lovers. I really love their friend group and how much they bond over food.

I’m dying to watch Family By Choice, but don’t have the patience to wait on new episodes to drop, so will binge when complete. Also, seriously considering starting Cheat On Me If You Can. It sounds quirky enough to be entertaining.

Dear Hye-ri: I was definitely right about the ML needing the FL to be mentally weak so he can be strong. I don’t like him, even if it is a dirty trick from the caster’s side to make Moon Woo-jin play ML as a boy … who can manage to now love MWJ when he stand there all serious?
Captivating the King: It was interesting intrigues, and the love story was compelling, too, and I was so relieved the little prince wasn’t killed, though I wanted him to see his sister again, but why oh why did they have such a lame ending? If they wanted to emphasise that her life wasn’t just the king, maybe we could have seen her in action abroad, though it would still be … meh. Why do they love so much to kill the love story? Intense love story ending in time skip and then vague meeting … what is that?
Love Next Door: Happily ever after, okay. One small thing: Wauw, cool that the Mudflat man doesn’t get even miffed that she drew him in so much just before leaving with no warning. But to promise his daughter to be there for her and then evaporate? Tsk tsk tsk. Don’t promise something to a child that you know you probably can’t keep. And especially not a child who has already lost before. You are just stepping on her trauma, lady, and I am not impressed.
Like @DaebakGrits wrote last week, I was not really sure whether it had ended last week or the week before and actually had to check … the main love story was getting so unengaging.
Moving: This is a Top Shelf Drama, never gets boring or half-hearted, instead of “fillers” there are deeply moving background stories about one or two of the main characters (there are about a dozen of them).
Ehm, I kind of look sideways to the screen during fight scenes because … Body horror. But the fights all are part of the drama, the brutality itself is part of the story. And this is a great drama!
Except also: I just hate that thing where you know or strongly suspect there is a merciless killer going for your loved one, but you don’t tell them, because it might ruin their mood? Instead, you give them some weird rules that of course they can’t take seriously: “Come straight home, don’t answer if somebody asks for the time, and never wear anything red!” Stuff like that.
Just seconds before that scene with the crying soldier I wrote this:
“Moving, ep 18:
Okay so with the rigorous testing in North Korea, we now know that they only have those with the gift of healing or of flying. Super senses or sheer muscle power or speed gift? All gone.”
So I guess he and I agree: It doesn’t make sense to “test” someone by ruining them. People who are very skilled but without superpowers are useful, too. (Quite aside from being human beings). Or else, should all the rest of the military just jump off a cliff right away?
There’s the sweetest ML (or top-ML, since there are many) ever, and a really lovely FL (top-FL) – if anyone doesn’t like her, they can come here and...

Hi beanies!

What I'm watching:

_ Dear Hyeri (6/12). Weird but good. I binge-watched the six episodes in two days. Even though I can't say I like these characters, I'm hooked and intrigued by this show. And that's thanks to a very good direction, script and cinematography.

_ Dog knows everything (6/12). My weekly happy place in beautiful settings. I enjoy finding familiar faces in each murder case. Some cameos are very funny.

_ Iron Family. Thanks to the positive comments I felt curiosity and I watched the first episode and half of the second one. It's not bad, I liked the FL and other characters, but I'm not sure if I'll keep watching it for now.

_ KBS Drama Special: Let us Meet (2017). A nice film set in the 30ies. Son Ho Jun and Jo Bo Ah are a very cute couple in this rom-com where he tries to find a good match for her.

_ KBS Drama Special: Review Notebook of my Embarrassing Days (2018). I watched this because the PD is the man behind Into the Ring and The Matchmakers, but this drama Special doesn't have anything special, imo. I liked others more.

_ Goryeo-Khitan War (13/32). I'm struggling with this show in this central part. Too much war and violence but few time to know the characters.

_ I have finished Missing 2 (2022), which I found better than the first part. The last episode leaves a huge door opened for a third season.

_ C-drama The story of Minglan (45/73). Minglan and Gu Tingye are now a married couple and she is learning how to move like fish in the water among her in-laws and servants.

_ C-drama The Rise of Ning (2/40). The starting could have been better in some ways (editing, mainly), but it's not boring. I'm trying not to get too distracted by the main actress' acting and baby voice.

_ J-drama Tsuiraku JK to Haijin Kyoshi Lesson 2 (2/6). Same mix of deadpan and cringey humor than the first season (which is the only J-drama I have fully watched).

_ Shōgun (1/10). Very good.

Catching up on No Gain, No Love. I have to admit the puns in the spin off, Spice Up Your Love made my knees go weak. I love that sort of thing.

Anyway, I saw this crazy story in the Korean Times about this woman that killed an 11 month old by throwing him off a balcony? She was off her meds, etc and the plotted to kill her 11 month nephew? There's so much to ask about that kinda thing.

The other thing I saw was the Korean government begging people to have children, but I've still to yet see anyone address the problems with SA (and the whole idea it has to be "violent" to count and the lack of childcare facilities), in general. Begging people to have children, and giving money seems odd if you're not willing to do anything about after the birth? And also not do anything to try to close the reported gender gap that's been opening in the last few years?

Those issues made me ask so many questions.

What Comes After Love 💐ep 3 this is an interesting exploration on what happened during that breakup. I can't blame Hong for feeling lonely and desolate in a foreign country. Also I understand Jungo's striving to earn money for his education and gain experience for his future literary works. They were both self consumed with their own issues that they failed to communicate and work out their issues. I do not think they were both mature enough at that time.

The Judge From Hell 👠ep5-6 I prefer watching this back to back. It helps with the flow of the story and makes me stress less about waiting for episodes. The criminal this week is played by a familiar actor from CLOY. All I can say he is good especially with the duplicity his characters plays to all. Judge Kang needs to be smarter in choosing her targets. There is an obvious trend with the serial killings and her involvement however circumstantial on the surface. She does not need to take the cases of her targets so there will be less suspicion of her. Or better yet make sound judgments to put them to jail and then kill her targets strategically.

Seoul Busters 🦖🦕 ep11-12 its Min Seo's turn. The main case this week is about dating crimes. I love how this team has come together and support one another each. It culminates to the dinner scene in the end when each member made it a point to eat as much as they can for payback. Omg the scene with the stacks of food being carried by JoongRyeok and Jung Hwan. While Tansik follows in the background with a food cart with more plates full with more food looking so happy. It was hilarious. Yiu got to watch rhe episodes to know why. YooBin was sweet in his own way as he shared his own observation and thoughts to Min Seo. I can't help but root for this team.

Family By Choice 🍜 ep1-2 I enjoyed the first two episodes so much. I also love the three child actors bond and be a family. So much so that it was just jarring to find them all grown up as teens. The two dads are just making the best for their kids. I am all for that. I feel for Ju Won upset that she will need to get a mother to get the older brother she asked for. In the end, she not only got one but ended up with two! I feel bad for San Ha hearing stuffs his own mother said in anger. Hae Joon was adorable as he looked on in admiration at Ju Won's Appa and his utter delight when he got to call him Appa as well. My heart is full and I sure hope this show will continue to be great!

Love Of Nirvana 🎭 ep16- 27 I enjoyed the growing attraction and trust between the lead couple. But of course, it is not without its hiccups. Our FL softened towards ML once she knows more about his background. I am casually watching this but still enjoying the main story. The identity of our ML is now known to the SML so I wonder how he can manuever this to his advantage. They just need to stop the war thrust upon them and drag the general back to the capital asap. I was also...

Judge from Hell: So much fun!! I love how Da-on presents a problem for Bitna as he wants her to stop killing these murderers, but she is able to get around him and mete out her brand of justice. It's also interesting how much more angry Bitna has gotten with the family-murderer. She's definitely getting human emotions.

Love Next Door: I wish the db staff can change the genre tag for the Love Next Door header to family drama. While there is much to be critical of, I still liked it and am satisfied with the ending. There were a lot of themes, emotions, and relationship (platonic, newly romantic, married, family, neighborly) dynamics that resonated with me. I don't regret my time spent with them.

Spice Up Our Love: I didn't watch No Gain No Love, but I like this premise and it's a short 2 episodes. Felt like it took too long to get to part where she faints and enters the novel, but once we got going, it was funny and entertaining, but sort of forgettable?

Iron Family: Had meant for this to be a background/doing-chores watch, but I'm finding myself sucked in with the good writing and warm, multi-faceted characters. The grandparents are stealing the show. Please protect and preserve them to the very end.

Go East: (up to ep 29, cdrama) Now that it's less quirky and we're in the final quarter, I'm stalling since I'm almost sure one or more characters will die. I do love our Scooby Gang though.

Completed...
No Gain, No Love - one of my favorite k-dramas this year, despite the weak final episode.

Spice Up Our Love - have to admit I found myself saying "What the heck is this?" more than once. The ending was the best part. And the soundtrack.

Love of Nirvana - netz seemed to take a lot of issues with this c-drama but I thought it was quite engaging and different. Especially liked the 3 leads and the sets/costumes/music.

Watching...
Romance in the House - two eps to go and I'm finding this to be an underrated gem. Also: totally smitten with Choi Min Ho.

Snowy Night - kudos to the team that made the trailer because it's the best part of this c-drama so far. Tbh, feeling let down by the production quality and average acting. May drop.

Waiting to binge...
What Comes After Love - decided I couldn't take 1 ep/week, so patiently-ish waiting til all eps are released.

Wishing you all a great week! 🤗

Family by Choice- I want to shout out a huge thank you to the translator. I love that they kept "oppa" as "oppa" and the little notes if needed so we can understand a joke/reference.

Iron Family- It feels like a book I am reading two chapters of each week.

What Comes After Love- I wish it still had the promise that I thought the first episode had, but I am still invested.

Love Next Door- I am only on ep 12 and not sure what to say about this one. If I wasn't watching with others I'd have dropped. I think the leads are doing amazing and the second leads too. But too much excess drama with the families and the exes. Those I am watching with don't agree but I want a little more from the ML. Not the acting, JHI is doing marvelous, but the character. I really like this FL and want him to be her safe space and strong partner and to me he just doesn't feel that way.

A Piece of Your Mind- only one ep in. Slightly to very confused but lime the vibe.

The Double - one ep in and that was intense. I was shocked when he actually hit her with the shovel....and then gave her her flute?

So tempted to add in You Are My Lover Friend or try Doubt or My Merry Marriage, but I think I want to save space to read some witchy or paranormal type romances this month.

One thing I can testify to, people in America are really jittery.

So, my drama watching in the next few weeks is limited to no-angst shows. That means re-watching THE MATCHMAKERS (2024), maybe A DREAM OF SPLENDOR (2022) or FLEX X COP (2024). I love Rowoon being silly and sending himself up in MATCHMAKERS; I love SPLENDOR's empowerment story; and I enjoyed the FLEX buddy/cop team and redemption storyline. This is drama as therapy.

After completing the wonderful I WILL FIND YOU A BETTER HOME (2020), I picked up THE SIDE STORY OF FOX VOLANT (2022). This drama constantly tops itself, really impressive action. Hoping the story holds up. Returned to NOTHING GOLD CAN STAY (2017) for a few episodes, and started FATEFUL LOVE (2024) -- I think I'm going to enjoy this one.

Gikata, wrapped up ep. 29 of TILL THE END OF THE MOON, a study in grieving but so expressive and visually inventive. My happy watch of the week goes to the designers of this production: the dandelion "forest", the acid waters, the glorious costuming. While not my usual "happy", the look of this drama is like seeing FANTASIA (1940) for the first time. (This powerful story now goes on hiatus for me until winter.)

I'm having a little too much fun with kdramaland these days!

Last week ended with the lovely Iron Family being, you know, lovely. And this week started on Wednesday, full of sweetness and warmth, thanks to Seoul Boyfriends, Dog Knows Everything, and Family by Choice. These dramas just make me smile (TMI: I went grocery shopping with my mom and saw an ahjussi with his three kids, and of course I was automatically reminded of FamilyBC).

The week continues well, since What Comes After Watching About Time, finally had an episode I genuinely enjoyed. Tbh, at first this reminded me of Past Lives trying to convince me that cheating is cute when it involves your "soulmate" aka. a guy you don't even remember until your mom mentions him.
But now I feel like we're going somewhere with this show, and it isn't just a love story built on air.
"I wasn't trying to forget Jungo, but the me who loved him", I want more of that.

Also, I'm still loving Judge, Where Did You Buy Those Heels. But I wish Da On would flirt like that when he's sober.

Oh, I also watched Doubt aka. Perfect Family but reversed. I don't have an opinion about it yet. And I suffered the existential chaos the stylists of Merry My Marriage have going on, but I say it's worth it because of how fun the main couple is.

Tonight, my friend and I will discuss the first 7 episodes of Beyond Evil. We spent the whole week restraining ourselves because we couldn't wait to talk about the show (we changed the limit from 5 episodes, to 6, to 7 real quick). So I'm happy it's finally happening. I have SO MUCH to say. Hahaha.

I love everything about this show, but I particularly love how this is more about a group of broken people trying to live their lives the best they can, than about catching a killer or wtv.
Dong Sik is so hurt but he tries his best because he doesn't want to make the same mistakes other people made with him and his family. T.T I love him.

Btw, I bet he would despise our Judge Justitia. And Da On too! 😂 And I feel like he would respect Son Hae Young? LOL I don't know why but I had those random thoughts.

BONUS
Heartstopper (S3 - dropped): why did this become an aggressive mental health comercial? I felt attacked. No one told me to get ready for all those war flashbacks.
Tom on the background is how I survived three episodes and a half.

Stage Fighter: why can't they show all the dancers in one episode? I wanted to see the ballerinos too.

Iron Family (through Ep. 4): Promising so far! Ample warmth and humor, not much screeching. It's a weekender I'm actually looking forward to watching (as opposed to sticking it out from sheer stubbornness or for the bean).

Judge from Hell (through Ep. 5): It's all over the place, but the combo is still working for me, especially when there are surprises like the demon meeting/cooking class.

Rise of Ning (through Ep. 6): Hits the same beats as many other costume dramas, and not necessarily better than recent standouts did. But it's watchable and has Zhang Wanyi. I think my fave character is the FL’s very capable right-hand woman.

Go Back Couple (through Ep. 5): It’ll be interesting to contrast this drama with What Comes After Love, as well as other shows that have featured a fictional reality show in the plot. At this point, it's not as melancholy as the former. The core group of friends is appealing and there's actual communication and signs of emotional growth post-breakup.

Happy Saturday, Beanies!

SNOWY NIGHT: MEET NON-CUTE TIMELESS LOVE: Perhaps my overall bad mood affected the impression of 1 episode I watched, but damn, talk about all around annoyance! Like I could've forgive terrible CGI (which had no business to be THAT bad in wuxia), bad camerawork (actors are clearly trying to do stunts, but why their efforts are filmed so poorly?), questionable styling decisions (FL's fake nails gave me spit-take), badly explained prologue and visibly forced acting if at least the story was gripping or characters likable/fun.

But nah – ML is a sweet summer child jianghu edition (I've seen ZSX in 3 dramas and he played that in ALL of them) suffering from living in a crapsack world surrounded by equally crapsack people, while FL is possibly the moodiest bitch I've ever seen in cdrama not as a villain. Which would've been fine if she kept that aspect while also being a professional miracle doctor she is, but nope, she's lazy, unethical and treats her very few ridiculously overcharged patients as a nuisance at best and enemies to bury in her snowy yard at most. Neither this lady nor her band of cronies should ever been allowed anywhere near medical profession, wuxia or not. Romance between these two certainly needs a huge dose of fantasy to be any convincing, but this is not xianxia, so I'm not hopeful. I get that makers tried to do the whole “warm man defrosts the ice queen” thingy, but this is opposites attract taken to an extreme where there's no attraction anymore, just hostility. This ice queen does not need thawing by love, let alone by a decent (if foolishly so) man, run, boy, run! I know people had expectations for this show to be THE wuxia of 2024, but I believe we have to keep waiting.

MELODY JOURNEY (c-variety): I had so many thoughts about Ep8 right after watching it, but now they've all escaped me lol. Basically I keep enjoying the hell out of this show and its “daring concept” (LYN's quote). This episode was particularly heated because nearly all singers fought fiercely over the same song (super sad ballad about loneliness and struggles of rising artist) while 3 (out of 8) demos remained unclaimed at all. Which was pretty sad because at least 2 of these demos were pretty good, imo. In the end “all in” approach won, leaving a bunch of singers disappointed, heh. LYN, interestingly, did participate in this race too, but I didn't notice real effort. Idk, I've seen how determined he can be and there was none of that. Maybe he just played along with “everyone wants this track!” theme for variety sake? He was still nice enough to visit and comfort rejected composers (because “we'll still cooperate in the future” - I love his blunt practicality!), only second to niceness of Joker Xue who was more into giving free songwriting advice than grabbing tracks for himself (got 2 anyway lol).

I continue to enjoy DOG KNOWS EVERYTHING and THE JUDGE FROM HELL.

My wife completed her watch of the Chinese Costume Drama LOVE OF NIRVANA and recommends it- it was good. So was LOST YOU FOREVER 2. She also enjoyed FORBIDDEN FLOWER which was very well done, including great cinematography. Right now, she has taken a break from C-dramas to watch MY LADY JANE which is fun.

The characters in our new weekender IRON FAMILY are mostly likeable or relatable. Even the ‘baddies’ which we met this last week are simply greedy burglars or loan sharks- just people out to make a dishonest buck and nothing more. There are no sociopaths anywhere in sight and our FL’s mother is as far from the previous awful ones of the last year as one could possibly get. The first four episodes in have been excellent. There are set-ups for at least two side romances- including for our FL’s Unni but to me what really stands out is the potential for future friendships. Romances are not the only love stories that are worth telling.

I sometimes watch Dailies and so this week I started watching MY MERRY MARRIAGE. I am just a few episodes in so it is hard to tell whether this will be good or not

Continuing my re-watch of Midnight Romance in Hagwon. I still find the conversations between the characters to be the best part of this drama.

Dear Hyeri--A fascinating story, that we're only being allowed to see in bits and pieces. The way the way the story is being told in such a fragmented manner seems to mimic the way in the which the female lead's personality has split into two, and the loneliness of our two male leads. The main characters have very sad background stories, but I'm hopeful for them to be healed.