COMPLETED
No Gain, No Love - Can't believe the Boks and the cringe-ex suffered zero consequences. Woeful lack of ML in the finale. Hae-young was a fabulous FL throughout though. One of the better dramas this year.

Spice Up Our Love - She had way more chemistry with the Yeo Ha-jun-Ha-jun than the Gyu-hyun-Ha-jun. Still it was short and intermittently funny enough to finish.

Black Out - Oof that real image of 'Snow White' 😢. Great show, excellent writing, scarily-good performances but I don't know if I can watch it again. The amount of incandescent rage I felt 😤. Maybe knowing that everything works out at the end is the panacea I need - I liked that he could study medicine as he dreamed.

ONGOING
The Judge from Hell - It's actually way more fun now that he knows who she is, even though his morals (and job) are going to clash in a major way with hers.

Mom's Friend's Son - Yet another week where they create problems, don't talk, mope and stare at phone, then make up.

Seoul Busters - I'm growing strangely fond of this band of weirdos. Even the kid isn't annoyingly know-it-all anymore.

STARTED
What Comes After Love (up to Ep.3) - I usually find pining for years over a short relationship ridiculous but here I'm buying what they're selling. Preparing for heartbreak.

WATCHLIST
Planning to watch Family by Choice and the Forest of Secrets spin-off about Dong-jae.

C-DRAMAS
Completed Love of Nirvana. Had the ending spoiled for me when I was only halfway through but it added even more poignancy and angst. Conclusion - tragic Ren Jia Lun is best Ren Jia Lun.

You Are My Lover Friend (up to Ep. 23) - There was a bit of spinning of wheels on the relationship front but it felt believable for people who had gotten used to acting a certain way. Enjoying this as my warm, palate cleanser.

Quite a few new shows starting next week. Most excited for The Rise of Ning but might also try out Go Back Lover.

Currently Watching
Dog Knows Everything: pretty light so far! Also, that dog is a good actor. This is nice to have on as a "background" watch.

Seoul Busters: (through ep. 8) Aww I love the whole team. I stand by my initial statement that this is like Pegasus Market, but in a police station instead of a supermarket. I have medium interest in the cases and maximum interest in the team.

Y'all, I dropped No Gain No Love at episode 8... I was never as enamored of it as most Beanies, and I can't seem to muster up the interest to finish the last five episodes. As my Mom said, it was great until episode 9, and then it was disappointing. She was unsatisfied with the FL's demotion, the ML's absence, chaebol boy's lack of consequences, and the five-minute happy ending. Also my mom: "I have a WHOLE PARAGRAPH of things I'm disgusted about [in the finale]" haha. Mom also watched Romance in the House and LOVED it. We had a nice conversation about moms and daughters and family.

Finished
Doom at Your Service: DAYS is uneven, but I loved it!! This drama is a Mood, and by mood, I mean it relies heavily on vibes. The plot itself is a familiar setup. The FL has the worst day ever and is staring her own mortality in the face when she meets Doom. He's immortal, she's very very mortal, and for *reasons*, they make a contract that should give them both what they want. Of course, we know this contract will come to be regretted by both of them. There's lots of symbolism, themes of loss, love, memory, and rebirth, and gorgeous special effects. The leads have fantastic chemistry, which is good, because the believability of the plot hinges on their mutual charisma. DAYS is dark, romantic, and dramatic in a languorously urban-gothic way. The more emotional and philosophical it got, the more I liked it. I really appreciated the exploration of family support, love, and grief. Seo In-guk was fabulous as Doom and has a lot of affecting moments as he holds vigil for "lasts" (like the last graduate of a rural elementary school). His face is as easy to read as subtitles. Park Bo-young was excellent and easy to empathize with. Is it the best example of its genre? Probably not; but file this one under "I loved it anyway." I also loved the OST. (*My review reflects the fact that I found the secondary loveline to be...

Live watches

What comes after love
Why only one episode this week? They did the first week two episode drop with Uncle Samsik but I didn’t realise it is a thing I need to prep for with some of these channels😞
After those bombshells how can we wait a whole week?

Dear Hyeri
This week’s episodes answered some key questions but my biggest one is how does the request to become the main person work if you get rid of the person who earns the money that funds the dual lifestyle?

Love next door
Finishing this week. I have enjoyed the series but it’s not one that I will mourn its absence next week. I hope it finishes well and we get wedding photos if not the actual scene.

DNA lover
I will be glad when this one finishes. I can’t see it getting back in my good books as it is clear that they will waste 90% of these episodes on catching the murderer. I wonder if the priest will leave his post if he doesn’t need to feel he has to cover his twin’s sins anymore. That will open the door for another romance with Andrea and the lab assistant.

Pachinko
Noa has finally got to his well earned university place. Will he finally be able to focus on his studies and feel respected by his equally bright peers.

Binge watch corner

Dongju The portrait of a poet - film
Such a powerful film such a sad story. It was good to learn more about this young poet who wrote during such difficult times and came to my attention as a few of his poems were quoted in What comes after love. Thanks to @kiara for posting about this film on their fan wall.

Hikaru Kimi e -Japanese
😮 watched up to episode 19, waiting for the next batch to be released. Anyone got a theory on what’s happening with the lack of pregnancy with the consort?

Book corner

The restaurant of lost recipes - Hishashi Kashiwai
The second instalment in The Kamogwa food detectives series. More descriptions of traditional Kyoto food and tips about regional dishes. They should just add the recipes of the dishes mentioned so it’s a novel and cookbook in one.
This is more of the same from the father/daughter duo I wasn’t expecting a part two and I don’t think it was necessary. An easy read/listen.

Mina’s matchbox - Yoko Ogawa
Story of a young girl’s coming of age adventures while staying with a rich uncle and his family including a middle aged pygmy hippopotamus.

The reading list - Sara Nisha Adams
Someone leaves sheets of paper in random locations with the message:
Just in case you need it:
To Kill a mocking bird - Harper Lee
Rebecca - Daphne du Maurier
The kite runner - Khaled Hosseini
Life of Pi - Yann Martel
Pride and prejudice - Jane Austen
Little women - Louisa may Alcott
Beloved - Toni Morrison
A suitable boy - Vikram Seth

The book tells the stories of the individuals who become connected through this reading list and the at risk of closure Harrow road library where they access the books.

Webtoons

The Producer’s second life
A producer wakes up to...

For the first time in years, I am watching NOTHING. Not live, not "from the reserves."

In the last month, I have finished watching: Spice up Our Love, Beyond Evil, Manhole, Romance in the House, No Gain, No Love, Cinderella at 2am, Bad Memory Eraser, Good Partner, and Beauty and Mr. Romantic.

What to do?

Live Watches
Mom’s Friend’s Son/Love Next Door: It seems like kind of a lot to propose to your girlfriend when you’ve only been dating for a hot minute and you haven’t told either of your parents (when you’ve grown up next door your whole lives). BUT I like the romance overall, I loved architecture employee deciding not to have a crush on her boss, younger brother’s story arc has been satisfying, and Dan-ho getting his noble idiocy out of the way pre-dating was the way I prefer it. Now if people could just not be completely terrible toward orphans, we’ll be in business.

Judge from Hell: The fact that this only comes out on Wednesdays for me bothers me deeply. I’ve been going back and forth on live watching but for now it’s too fun for me to stop. I loved Bit-na telling the boy she had never been kind or dead, so she has no idea if good people go to heaven, and when Da-on flashed the cross at her, I rewound it three times to laugh at his unimpressed expression!

Recent Dramas:
Midnight Romance in Hagwon: (5 episodes in) I’m actually shocked how much I’m enjoying this. I thought it would be so stressful but with some light spoilers from the weecaps it’s been smooth sailing for me. I love the calculations of our jaded heroine and the cocky earnestness of our hero. It calls to mind an English teacher I had in high school and I love that. And I’ve solved the problem of it being so dark by only watching at night!

Fragile (4): Not gonna lie, kissing a girl that is literally heartbroken and in tears because her relationship "is over" feels like a big red flag. Ji Yu's relationship status feels more ambiguous here, and the kiss more one-sided, than it was in Skam. Also, it's very hypocritical of Chan Seong to blame Ji Yu for keeping secrets and lying when he's literally doing the same thing. Sure, it took some nudging from Kang San, but Ji Yu quite literally told him the truth about her diner with Do Ha, which surprised me because I thought she'd back out. Also, I really liked the bathroom scene where Ye Ri pointed out to Mi Na that her boyfriend is really just lying and using her. My heart genuinely broke for both of them when Mi Na started lashing out at Ye Ri. The context is slightly different, but I think they did a great job at adapting that scene. Oh, and Kang San has a crush? On a close friend? And he's confused? Oh, I do so wonder who that could be…

What Comes After Love (3): Hong's boyfriend seems like such a sweet guy, and my heart is already breaking for him. Also, his intention might've been the total opposite, but it does seem like Jungo started taking his relationship for granted a bit. And the fact that Hong was already lonely only made it worse.

The Judge From Hell (3-4): You know, Bit-na might just kinda be an awful person that uses, abuses, tortures, and kills people, and most definitely let's physical abuse happen... But don't worry, she doesn't hurt kids, so she has morals! And I like her.

No Gain No Love (11-12): Dildo lightsabers were not on my bingo card. Anyway, despite some flaws, this is still most definitely my rom-com of the year.

Spice Up Our Love (1-2): What do you mean she ended up in the censored version of her novel? I signed up for the 18+ novel! I want my money back, this is false advertising! Regardless, while this never reaches the heights of NGNL, and doesn't really have a plot, I did enjoy it. It was short, fun, if ultimately maybe a bit forgettable. My favorite scene was when Ja-yeon saw her young self having a good relationship with her father in her novel. That scene really got to me.

Love Next Door (13-14): I'm still wondering how we went from "let's keep our relationship a secret" to "let's get married". Oh, well, at least it's almost over?

Black Out (Series review) - Mood progression: C / C / C- / D+ / D+ / C- / D+
The plot may have been bogged down by excessive small village conspiracies and a boatload of makjang but I’ll always be thankful for Byun Yo Han’s superb acting. Unfortunately, the predictability keeps it from being much more exciting.

No Gain No Love (Series review) - Mood progression: D+ / D+ / D+ / D / D / D-
Noble idiocy followed by a time skip followed by a last-minute reunion before rolling to the credits? That’s such a wonderful ending! And the 2nd couple basically had a crash course in some of the dullest romance tropes. Not watching the spin-off.

Dog Knows Everything (Episode 1-4) - Mood: B- / B-
Not one but five senior actors being featured in a miniseries? Ok this unconditionally gets +1 point. And the show really has outdone itself with the characterisation of the main leads as well as their struggles with aging. But the show really could’ve done without the stupid cliche birth secret or the shouting detective. Still, if they keep the vibes going, this will be a winner.

The Judge from Hell (Episode 3-4) - Mood: C
Oh, show. Of course a demon will cease to exist when they fall in love, that’s such a lame fantasy element. And then we get Kim Young Ok’s prophecy that practically confirms that there’ll be a romance in the show, when it didn’t need one?

Dear Hyeri (Episode 3-4) - Mood: D
Shin Hye Sun can try and act out a panic attack to the best of her ability but she can’t salvage a writing disaster. I can’t believe they actually wrote a kiss when the FL was still emotionally out of it, not to mention the ML’s egoistic speech?

Love Next Door (Episode 13-14) - Mood: D-
We don’t talk about the OTP because anyone saw the cliffhanger coming from a mile away but the 2nd leads also gave me whiplash: 2ML noble idiocy, 2FL eavesdrop at columbarium, 2ML change of heart, 2FL’s mom says no, then says yes. Sigh.

DNA Lover (Episode 13-14) - Mood: D-
So there’s the kidnapping cliffhanger where I presume the FL will reevaluate her views about love again and the ML gets to rescue her while the 2ML loses out and gets randomly paired with the 2FL. Please tell me the finale isn’t gonna be like that.

This was a good week.

Judge From Hell: 8.5 ! Demons doing public service, bringing food to the elderly!? Satan had to escape from Hell so he went to Korea of course, because Hell Joseon.

Gyeongseong Creature s2: __ (ep 3 / 6) As a sequel to a show that didn't earn a sequel, it doesn't deserve to exist and thus doesn't deserve a score. Don't let the tax guys find that secret room with all the treasures!

Dear Hyeri: 6.5 ??? After a confusing but interesting first week, day 3 was dreary. Day 4 - now I sense where they are going... it will probably be a "good" show, but not much to my taste. YMMV. Also, no body = not dead, and what happens if she turns up?

No Gain No Love 7.5

Seoul Busters: 8.0 👃

Dog Knows Everything: 8.2 :) It's really more about getting old than about crime solving & a talking dog. But the dog is cute. And so is the granddaughter.

Spice Up Our Kdramas: 9.5 I took 56 screenies just of ep 1, but tried to exercise some restraint on the posts.
- When it comes to episode count, less is more? #girlk #splishsplashlove
- Are kmovies really just uncensored kdramas?

Pachinko 2: 7.0

LIVE WATCHES:

1. LOVE NEXT DOOR - Too much drama at this point but I'm persevering on since there's only 2 episodes left.

2. AGATHA ALL ALONG - Episode 4 is fantastic! I'm still very much enjoying this.

3. THE JUDGE FROM HELL - I'm just really looking forward to every new episode because Justitia and her minions and Daeon are all just such fun!

And that's still about it this week - work is still uber busy and with Domestic Violence Awareness Month currently underway, I only have so many brain space for new series/dramas. I do re-watches mostly and leave them playing in the background while I work.

Iron Family

My first live watch in years!

Like Flowers in Sand

I am loving this!

This week my wife and I had to bid farewell to the Monday-Tuesday show NO GAIN, NO LOVE. The ending was less than perfect but it was still a good show.

I continue to enjoy DOG KNOWS EVERYTHING.

I am actually surprised by how much I have enjoyed watching THE JUDGE FROM HELL.

My wife watched the Chinese Costume drama FAITHFUL: One of those which involves mystery and suspense. It was entertaining. Then she turned to FORBIDDEN FLOWER, a C-drama with great cinematography and a stellar cast that just sort of drew her in with a compelling story.

She also watched a movie adaptation of the classic Sixteenth Century Chinese fantasy novel FENG SHEN YAN YI (sometimes translated as THE INVESTITURE OF THE GODS). The movie was titled THE CREATION OF THE GODS I: KINGDOM OF STORMS, so it may be that what she saw was just the first portion of what is actually a very long story. This came to us on DVD from our library so I do not know if it is available on a streaming service but if it is then it is definitely worth a watch.

None of these kept her from staying current with the Chinese Costume Drama LOVE OF NIRVANA or from finally starting her watch of LOST YOU FOREVER 2 (Although she did have to go back to review the ending of LOST YOU FOREVER in order to get the full context of the second drama- it had been a while since she watched it).

Most of the characters in our new weekender IRON FAMILY are actually likeable or at least relatable. Of course, only two episodes in we have not been introduced to all of them- It is likely that tonight we will meet the people who are responsible for the ‘crime’ and ‘thriller’ descriptions of the show. Inevitably we will get some less likeable characters as a result of the beginnings of that side of the story. Even so, what we have seen so far is very highly encouraging.

Hi beanies! I hope you are having a nice weekend.

What I'm watching:

_ Dog knows everything (4/12). It's not the kind of comedy which makes me laugh, but it's very entertaining and never boring because several things happen in every episode. It's a procedural (case of the week) but there is enough time to know the main characters. The locations are beautiful (Geoje island).

_ Missing: the other side Season 2 (9/14). This season is better than the first one in everything, imo. The intro credits are so touching with all those pieces of home videos...

_ C-drama The story of Ming-lan (39/73). All the episodes between 32 and 39 (included) have been wonderful. The action scenes are scarce but I'm impressed by the editing and direction in all of them.

Finished:

_ C-drama Forever and Ever. (The sequel of One and Only). I really liked it. The main couple is charming. I love how much they loved each other. This is a good example of a show where the FL is totally head over heels for the ML, since they first met.
Cinematography, settings and music are excellent.
As a negative point I'd say the ML's family, which is a mess and even though I tried to understand the connection between them, it was never well explained.

Sure NO GAIN NO LOVE fumbled its finale (after a weaker second half) but still, it was a great rom-com overall. An A- from me.

I’m pretty sure THE JUDGE FROM HELL will go up in flames way sooner than its finale. But for now it continues to be a fun ride…just so long as I don’t rubberneck at all the violence.

At 36 episodes, THE IRON FAMILY will have more opportunities to fail but less so than the usual weekenders, which had 50. No, wait, 34 episodes. Because the first two were pretty good!

As for DEAR HYERI, I can’t tell if it’s succeeding or failing after four episodes. But I also feel compelled to watch it. I am not ambivalent about the male lead tho. Unless we find hidden meaning later, just no.

Surprisingly, WHAT COMES AFTER LOVE was less compelling than I thought it would be. Rather, it was just fine but I hope to tear through my tissue box in #3.

As for LOVE NEXT DOOR, skip-watching for just the Jungs made it a decent enough watch, but that's all.

Dear Hyeri The direction is really beautiful. I wish both couple could find happiness.

No Gain No Love It's sad the writer couldn't find the balance between the FL and the ML. SHM's character was great and I felt for her. KDY's character? I'm still wondering who is.

Black Out I liked the end! I liked how the ML could create new relationships and got a new chance with his mother and his friend.

The Judge from Hell I don't need to see a villain suffering from what he did, I just need the victim to be happy.

Love Next Door I really like how the ML and the FL are still the best to support each other.

What Comes After Love My mind just gets stuck on Kentarō Sakaguchi, the rest is a plus.

Seoul Busters Don't underestimate Swiss chocolate for crime solving!

Spice Up Our Love I found it really bad... nothing made sense. They got a lot of ideas but couldn't assume any of them.

Not Kdrama :
You Are My Lover Friend (cdrama) I like the actors, they have a good chemistry. But 20 episodes of hide and seek are long.

Heartstopper S03 This drama is not really discret about its "agenda", OCD and anorexia in this case, but the characters are lovely.

Nobody Wants this It was really a great rom-com! It was a long time I didn't like a US rom-com.

Happy Saturday, Beanies!

LOVE ITCH IN THE DESERT: A micro-drama mistakenly – or for lulz – given a slightly bigger that usual budget, slightly better actors and... that's it, everything else is impressively the same))) Including total lack of logic, depth of a poodle – in desert – and such a fierce dedication to unreasonable fanservice that I'm hella sure the writer started out in fanfics. Yunno, those with 90/10% smut to plot ratio. Not sure what's funnier – Apocalypse-proof makeup on ladies, endless moaning (har!) about harsh life in desert while everyone behaves like horny tweens on school trip (lack of water ain't stopping rivers of alcohol spilled in every episode!) or “variety” of MLs terminally unfit for anything beyond drunken fling you'll regret bitterly in the morning (one is a rapey road bandit, another left FL full orphan over petty reason and the last one is patricidal orgy lover). Not that any of this matters to fill up the space between bodice ripping scenes anyway^^

I wish I could say that performances make it all dumbly fun at least ala THE DOUBLE, but nope – FYL is only SLIGHTLY better here than in TLB (I suppose he's better at heating it up than being all alpha and morose) and lifeless dub doesn't help, FL tries but opera-thick makeup refuses to cooperate, second leads are so hammy in comparison that it feels jarring and everyone else simply doesn't bother. Visuals are oversaturated to sometimes painful degree, real desert they filmed in looks fake af etc... Sorry, show – you're just too damn dry for even a forgettable quickie! Here's a very cool opening song tho:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzszvCG2y3A
And nice FYL's one (wasted on this chara and show):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4p8LecpxxuE

MELODY JOURNEY (c-variety): Half music show, half comedy))) It's so wonderfully chaotic – I assume premise of needing to compete for songs gets all these singers REALLY riled up so they don't bother much with filtering themselves. And tactics they resort to win! Expected flattery aside - sneaking, begging, crying, openly dissing rivals, sometimes rather brutally... No wonder poor LYN was legit scared for his image after recording it. Not sure if he's right to be worried, but I wouldn't say he stands out too much – some of them are much worse lol. I do agree with complaints that rules allowing multiple singers perform the same track clearly invite fandom wars. There is also an aspect of having AI not only churn out different statistic analysis, but also writing songs. Which singers team unanimously rejected. To quote Yuning: “it lacks soul”. Ha! Actually, he was super chill and laser focused through the whole thing, hardly giving editors any material to bite into – why do I feel like the next time they will try their hardest to shake him up?

Dear Hyeri - I'm really loving the Hyeri and Joo-yeon storyline. I know trauma can't exactly be overcome with one conversation, but I especially loved the one Hyeri had with Joo-yeon's mom. I am of the opinion that she might even fall back into pattern after this, but it was a conversation that sorely had to be had.

Iron Family - Not exactly watched yet. I skipped through this and the scenes I saw were great, the bickering of the grandparents especially. I'll settle into this soon.

NO GAIN NO LOVE ended - ok. Actually, the last 2 episodes were really boring, the ubiquitous temporary break up did not improve things. Overall, I did enjoy watching this drama.

I contrast, BLACK OUT was excellent throughout, to the bitter end (for the real criminals) and the good end for ML and his mother. This will likely be the best drama of 2024 for me, with PACHINKO a close runner up.

WHAT COMES AFTER LOVE is a lovely melo. I like that FL admits her own failings in the relationship, that she was too rash in her actions. Her loneliness in Japan made her needy towards her boyfriend, especially after her friend returned to Korea. It is not easy and it takes time to make her own circle of friends in her situation, but maybe she gave up too quickly. Still, Lee Se-young has such a wonderful way of speaking, she does poetry so beautifully.

Watching the first episodes of DEAR HYERI, I was appalled by the behaviour of FL towards her boyfriend. Her constant need for reassurance that he loves her, switching of the electricity so that he cannot watch the news, but must give her his attention, lying on the kitchen floor and clinging to his leg, are so toxic, that I was surprised that he did not cut her off straight away. This makes it also hard to believe that he is still attached to her now. Still, the Hyeri personality is so touching that I will continue with this otherwise uneven drama.

SEOUL BUSTERS are the perfect antidote to all these melos and dark themes. Somehow this drama gets away with humour that I would find normally questionable.

I can understand that THE JUDGE FROM HELL is handing out justice by making the culprit suffer the same as the victim, but that means I must watch all that cruelty twice. This is not very nice and also a little boring. I hope it gets better.

LOVE NEXT DOOR - oh what a surprise, the mothers (all of them) are against the boyfriends. Having the trope doubled does not make it any more watchable.

'Blackout'. Just watched the finale. Fabulous. Ten out of ten on this one. Wonderfully twisty plot, with really well-developed characters. Brilliant acting and pacing. An intense drama, without being unrelentingly grim. The best k-drama I have seen in a long time.

I'm so sad this has ended. I loved the characters of Jung-Woo & Sang-Cheol & Heol, and really wanted to spend more time in their company.

'No Gain, No Love'. The finale was a tiny bit weak, as is common in romantic dramas. But overall this was enormous fun. Loved it.

Woe. What am I going to watch to cheer myself up on Mondays now?

I couldn't quite make it through 'Spice Up Our Love'. I just wanted a couple of hours of hilarious innuendo and smouldering glances, and my brain couldn't cope with the writer-falling-into-drama plot.

Now rewatching 'Numbers' for the third or fourth time. ("Why?" I hear you say. "Why would you do that?") The writing is cheesy and the acting is cheesy, and it bears no resemblance in any way to any facet of real life. Which makes it perfect. After a day at work, I've had quite enough of real life, thank you.

NGNL - I think you all know that I overall liked it, but ep 12 could have been improved and it left a lot of loose ends. I don't like loose ends 😂

Spice Up Our Love - umm, I might have watched it twice already. 🫣 I loved it. I have a lot more thoughts but I'm saving them for a recap or discussion space, assuming we're getting one.

DNA Lover - I'm just trying to get my bean at this point. Ughhh

NO GAIN NO LOVE started well, ended less well. Somewhere along the journey, the SML/SFL kept me watching as their pairing seemed more likely than the FL/ML. BLOODHOUNDS (2023) with Lee Sang-yi was a very good 8 episode series, so this makes sense.

Stopped by JUDGE FROM HELL, and held on for 1.5 episodes. Too dark for me in 2024. Pass.

Made it through episode 28 TILL THE END OF THE MOON (2023). Kudos to the series director for maintaining flow of the storytelling. This is a complex, visually impressive, head-spinning and heartbreaking viewing experience but it's dark. On hold until early winter.

Happy watch of the week goes to I WILL FIND YOU A BETTER HOME (2020). So many good things to say about this utterly wonderful series. It tells the stories of a small cadre of adorably imperfect sales agents led by the bighearted, accomplished Luo Jin and complicated go getter Li Sun, in a Shanghai branch office of a big real estate firm. These two! They don't so much as ACT in character as the BECOME the characters.
Li Sun is the finest actress I've witnessed in Asian cinema. And Luo Jin, oh my goodness, what a master class in low key but impactful delivery. All of the performances are winning. Charming, funny, heartfelt, informative (especially about real estate laws in Shanghai and China), well-paced and compelling -- highly, highly recommended!

Finally, going back to the last episodes of LOVE NEXT DOOR this weekend, as we are now in the final stretch. Hoping for a great topoff for this series.

No Gain No Love (completed): I'm happy enough with where everyone ended up, but I wish there'd been a better balance of tears and cheer in the last two episodes. I didn't expect to spend that much sadness. Also, with the two-episode spinoff about to air, perhaps there could have been a bit less of the secondary couple's romance and more time with Hae-young and Ji-uk after their reunion. I wanted at least one happy scene of the whole gang hanging out together, maybe grilling on the rooftop and teasing Gyu-hyun about his choice of weapons. In the nitpicking department, his chaebol parents got an undeserved pass on some pretty awful behavior that they never expressed any contrition for. I would not be joining them for family dinners anytime soon.

What Comes After Love (through Ep. 2): It's so beautiful, but wow ... broken hearts, broken people. Not banking on a happy ending, but I hope present-day Hong reaches a point where there's some light in her eyes. Despite being both the breaker-upper and the leaver, she seems to have struggled more with the aftermath than Jungo. Maybe she should write poetry about it.

Judge From Hell (through Ep. 3): It’s fun watching PSH having so much fun playing Bit-na. More underworld minion humor, please.

Iron Family (through Ep. 2): The positive Beanie comments about this one roped me in. The first two episodes were funnier than I'd anticipated, and the lower episode count might be a good sign for tight plotting. No pathologically narcissistic characters yet. Am fully prepared to get burned once again, though.

Love of Nirvana (completed): Let's figure out how many ways an ML can be misunderstood, wrongly accused and suffer injustice while trying to clear his family’s name. (OK, OK, so that's at least 30% of historical drama heroes.) If the bromance had kicked in at least 10 episodes earlier, the back half of the show wouldn't have felt so unrelentingly heavy.

What Comes After Love 💐ep1-2 I like that the story started when they first met so we got a little backstory and the standard meet cute. Then we were left with the mystery of why they broke up when they were seemingly inseparable and inlove. The cast are gorgeous and charming. It looks like I found my other new drama.

The Judge From Hell 👠ep 3-4 This is my favorite among my currently watched shows. Its the one I looked forward to the most! Park Shin Hye continue to be the star as devilishly portrays the demon with a heavy penalty. Her Kang Bit Na is just deliciously devious in all her dealings with Han Daon. I particularly loved her messing with him when she was in handcuffs at the police station. Their is building attraction but it will have deadly consequences to one of them. Looking forward to how she navigates the current mess she finds herself in.

Seoul Busters 🦖🦕 ep9-10 we got to know more about the maknae this week. The case this week is a murder of a neighborhood enemy but also an acquaintance of one of our team members. It felt like a dead end at first but with a lot of legwork and good detecrive skills they got a good lead. There is something unexepected about our maknae. It was also made a point that he had better sense of smell than tĥe canine unit. Its a very good skill to have especially for this week's case.

Yanxi Palace: Princess Adventures 🐦ep 3-6 *finale* I enjoyed watching this so much. It had the right dose of court intrigue, deceit, manipulation and revenge. It was also has a satisfying ending despite being such a short series. I didnt particularly like the two main antagonist and looked forward to what our ZhaoHua will do to ruin them and she did not disappoint. The bad guys got what they deserve. The seventh princess got her revenge and her happily ever after. Well the best case scenario given her situation.

Love Of Nirvana 🎭 ep1-15 I started this out of curiosity since I like the enemies to lovers storyline. In these episodes, They are definitely enemies but FL begrudgingly worked together with him due to manipulation and coercion on the ML's part. I like that the FL has her own agency, quick to act and smart. She is still innocent in the manipulation and intrigues but I hope she will be formidable once she wisens up.