COMPLETED
The Judge from Hell - I like that it didn't try too hard to create some grand, tragic fantasy narrative. The rules remained arbitrary and the open ending is in tune with what we know of Justitia.

The History of Us - I wasn't expecting that ending. Reminded me of Rookie Historian a bit. Wish it had been longer.

Dong-jae… - A different vibe from Stranger. This was more of a comedy wrapped in a thriller. Favourite moments - Dong-jae working at the construction site and calling himself Hwang Si-mok 😂 and (Ex) Attorney Kang coming in clutch at the end.

ONGOING
Jeongnyeon: The Star is Born - The acting was stellar but I rapidly ran out of sympathy for Jeong-nyeon. The character I felt for the most this week was poor Cho-rok.

A Virtuous Business - Nice to see the village ladies being supportive - Butcher Lady is a boss! The leads are cute.

Family by Choice - I'm with Ju-won - waltzing back into her life, after years away, without explanation or apology is ridiculous. The confession was so abrupt.

STARTED
Brewing Love - Unfortunately not very interesting. The scenes with the little bro were probably my favourite. There also seems to be a strange whitewashing filter on the whole thing - maybe trying to make the actors fairer 🤔?

Face Me - Jung-woo's back-story was quite sad but it's a teeny-tiny bit funny that this is the 5th or 6th drama where Lee Min-ki gets hit by a vehicle of doom 😅. Doesn't seem to be doing much new as a procedural but fills the mid-week gap.

WATCHLIST
The Fiery Priest S2 of course! Kim Nam-gil 🥰

C-DRAMAS
Fangs of Fortune (up to Ep. 21) - There is no real plot here. And they retcon things every so often. People die and come back alive. There are no real stakes.

The Story of Pearl Girl (up to Ep. 18) - Almost the opposite with too much plot! The pockets of happiness are always interspersed with murder, kidnapping and torture. Like in today's tragedy - Shrimp 😔.

Love Game in Eastern Fantasy (up to Ep. 19) - This is the easiest to watch and doesn't take itself too seriously. Can't believe Xu Hai Qiao is playing a parent with a tragic love story yet again 😅.

Waiting for Beanies' opinions on Smile Code before I try it.

A VIRTUOUS BUSINESS (Ep 7-8) The Fab Four ladies are slowly growing their inner circle to include more town’s women. Dae-Geun’s story of being his family unsuccessful outcast did not hit home. I also think pairing him with Ju-ri is too forced and strange. Likewise, Do-Hyeon’s physical touching Jeong-Suk was way out of place. It is part of the show’s growing theme that Korean men are mostly introverted, perverted, clueless, socially awkward, inept, man-children and yet, aggressive. Do-Hyeon’s mission to find his parents seems to stall as his feelings grow for Jeong-suk. He never never thought that his parents were not looking for him . . . really?, when the country has a national data base for foreign adoptees looking for their parents? (My theory is that the fires and stolen babies was part of a profitable foreign adoption business.)

This week highlighted the difference between Young-Bok and Geum-Hui’s marriages. Geum-Hui went on one blind date and laid down the law: she would be a modern woman who would not have children. In a conservative era, that was unknown. Young-Bok’s difficult situation is all tied to her husband being an ex-convict. This is why he cannot get work. How they overcome their regrets and troubles will determine their futures.

BREWING LOVE (Ep 1) Too many side characters, too many genres and too many potential conflicting story lines in the first hour. Our spunky, petite FL is a beer company sales rep who is a former special forces soldier who collects payments like a gangster. In the real world, that makes no sense but this is action-fantasy like THE AUDITORS. Our ML is the introverted zen master genius with no social skills which gives me the vibe of BEST CHICKEN but with beer. But then we get a a bunch of overly quirky farm villagers trying their best to be a community theater version of PEGASUS MARKET. Then we learn the ML has a bad relationship with his former soldier father, who does understand his “sensitive son.” But the ML’s empathic ability is shown more supernatural than instinctual. It seems the set up will include a factory (office) crisis, a love triangle with the rich marketing woman who is looking for the “perfect” man, illogical corporate fighting between beverage companies and multiple family melo moments.

ART DECO (YouTube) This is a YT channel where the host explains the back stories of famous paintings by the masters. You would never know what the painter is symbolizing unless you know the context . . . and most of the Renaissance paintings have embedded stories that would rival any modern drama.

Live Watches
Judge from Hell: It’s fun to have an antihero once in a while! This one in particular felt pretty cathartic because the drama was really careful to make sure all the men she killed were super horrible. In the end I didn’t love the romance; it worked for me towards the beginning when she was dropping truth bombs that he found comforting, but when they actually got together it fell a little flat and I had trouble imagining them happy together. I still liked the show overall, and it was nice to have something that didn’t stress me out or demand too much from me.

Brewing Love: This one struck me as odd at first but I’ve come around after episode 2. I’m really liking the leads, warming up to the side characters, and excited for a bright, light drama.

Recent Dramas:
Black Out: (10 episodes in) OOPH. I’m glad I didn’t start out trusting anyone so that I’m not heartbroken when everyone turns out to be in on it. That all these village folks could know so much of what happened and still demonize ML to this extent makes my blood boil. And the police chief? Mr. My-son-is-already-dead-so-you-don’t-have-anything-on-me-anymore? I cant remember the last time I’ve wanted to see a character taken down so badly. Truly a fantastic show and I’m bummed I haven’t had as much time for it this week. Onward!

Like in Real Life, this week brought me some drama surprises. I was looking forward to Brewing Love, but... after 5 minutes I closed it and started Face Me instead (originally not really planning to watch at all) and was hooked straight from the start. The show is nicely shot, with speed, and reminds me a bit of Japanese dramas. I enjoy a lot Han Jihyun here... and her little police team... and her exchanges with Dr. Lee Minki (who has a mystery tragic backstory, of course).

Then I checked The Story of the Pearl Girl... and after a couple of episodes I surprisingly switched to Love Game in Eastern Fantasy. It has Esther being Esther 🙂 but she is rather good at it. 😄

Iron Family
This is becoming my favourite show of the week. It manages to mix comedy and touching moments really well. And Kim Junghyun is a joy to watch.

Virtuous Business
-One of my theories was, that Geumhui was Dohyeon's mom. I was clearly wrong.
-Oh, Im Chulsoo, I knew it. I knew you would have more prominent role. But I didn't want you (and Kim Sunyoung) to make me cry. 😪
-Jeongsooki is an earnest worker/student at everything, even at investigating. 😄
But the hug was wrong - not only because Jungsook was a recent victim of an assault, but it was also out of character of Dohyeon.

Family by Choice
I was looking forward to the time jump, but to be honest, I got disappointed this week. I'm not sure what exactly makes me feel so unsatisfied, probably the pacing? We first spent a lot of time on a couple of days saying goodbye... and then bam, 10 years later... with a huge missing knowledge... and with boys behaving like nothing has happened... I don't know, there was like a beat missing... extra shot, lingering moment, flasback or something. Anyway, the storytelling aside, I just want to say... that I'm in love with Dal. 😊

I was really looking forward to BREWING LOVE but after the first two episodes- I am not sure what I am watching. The good news: No one is getting drunk. The bad news- there are a lot of attempts at slapstick comedy but often it doesn’t really connect. It seems like the writer and PD are trying to achieve effects similar to a webtoon- and if the show were based upon a webtoon I could understand this- but there would also be more logic in the adaptation to live action as well. Oddly, the best parts of the show are when our ML is interacting with his very much younger brother. Yet the show does have moments when things really do connect. For the time being I am sticking with it.

Five weeks into the new daily MY MERRY MARRIAGE and there are still no marriages in sight. We are a little short on merriment as well although we certainly got a tragic background story for our ML’s mom- and reason to totally despise his grandmother. But the real prize goes to our manipulative 2FL. Why do I continue to watch? Curiosity and nothing more. This is not the very best of Dailies.

In stark contrast stands the Weekender IRON FAMILY. This is what Weekenders are supposed to be like and now that we have come to love so many of our characters the impending danger will be all the more poignant (Note: there are no serial killers). We have now completed the first third of our show with the wedding of our FL’s Oppa to his truly beautiful bride. Our FL’s aunt is now divorced from her cheating husband- who has taken custody of her son (but a surely as rain falls from the sky her child will soon be back with her). This sounds bad (it is) but really it just means that her true love story can now begin as we found out that Bom’s dad is a widower (talk about a perfect setup). But perhaps the nicest scene was the reconciliation of our FL with her Unni. Family relationships are a very big part of what Weekenders are about and they shine in this one.

This week my wife took a break from Chinese Costume dramas to watch all three seasons (on Prime) of the Ukrainian historical drama LOVE IN CHAINS. She is now watching LOVE AND REMEMBRANCE the sequel to THE WINDS OF WAR. There was a time when American TV could create quality shows (and strictly speaking the recent re-make of SHOGUN is actually American).

I also checked out FACE ME. Police procedurals are not generally my cup of tea, but the first two episodes held my interest.

Brewing Love: I liked these two episodes. The empath part was unexpected, but I like it. I think our leads have good chemistry and I am looking forward to the rest of the drama.

Dongjae: I cannot wait until Wan Sung gets his. I also would really like to know who killed Yu Ri and how they will get their comeuppance.

Family by Choice: Ju Won has all my empathy. She was genuinely heartbroken about the Boys leaving and they took it so casually. So because of that, she had to grow up and she did. The boys on the other hand are a little bit in suspended animation of when they were happiest. Also, I am rooting for Dal to have all the good things.

Face Me: This is a paint by numbers police procedural. Nothing special, so I will continue it just for fun.

A Virtuous Business: Ahhh a double checking of a crush as if they are teenagers instead of grown up, how chaste. I really hope our criminal didn’t do anything, I am rooting for this couple.

Jeongnyeon: Sigh, I hope she learns her lesson from this. She earned losing her voice and I hope she actually grows from this.

Gangnam B-side: It is better than the other one so far. The story is coherent and has woven all the pieces well together. I am enjoying this.

Mr. Plankton: I thought this would be lighthearted. I watched the 1st episode and most of the 2nd, it was mostly just sad. Pity

Jeongnyeon: The Star Is Born (7-8): I swear, everybody has so much chemistry with each other, I absolutely love it. But it also makes me very curious to see where all our pairings will end up. Anyway, episode 8 was heartbreaking, and Kim Tae-ri was phenomenal. Now that she's hit her lowest point, I guess the only way to go from here is up... right?

Face Me (1-2): I enjoyed episode 1 enough to watch episode 2, even if it wasn't anything great. But surprisingly, I really liked episode 2, and I thought it was a lot better than the first. I got a better understanding of our leads (especially the ML), and I'm pretty curious to see where our main story goes. Also quite liked the episode 2 case, and I thought they did a pretty good job at how they handled that "twist". Also, Lee Yi-kyung is obviously a bad guy here, isn't he? Or maybe I just have trust issues.

The Judge from Hell (Series review) - Mood progression: C+ / C / C- / D+ / D / D-
It’s hard to take the fantasy aspect of the show seriously when the deus ex machina has their own deus ex machina. It was going somewhat well at the start before the romance / serial killer / Satan mess wore me down. Of course, Bael had to be a downer twice in the finale because the writer needed to force in some conflict, and I absolutely hate seeing contrived crap.

Brewing Love (Episode 1-2) - Mood: D+
To be honest, I picked this up because it looked the most interesting out of all the premieres this week. So, I was quite okay (actually not okay) seeing the unnatural closeness of the male leads or the forced bickering of the female leads. But I’ll say that the whole empath pseudoscience (especially the directing) is concerning: it looks and sounds like a romance gimmick.

Dongjae: I'm on the last two episodes of Dongjae. I'm going to miss this weasel. This show was such a delight, I loved that they decided to go a more comedic tone, it fits Dongjae a lot better and it makes the serious moments stand out more & contrasts with his personality.

I really hope we get a second season or at least news on a third Stranger season!

In my opinion, ten episodes is way too short when you want to tell a story as complex as Stranger, it worked for Dongjae/a Spinoff, but it wouldn't work for Stranger. So I hope whatever Stranger-universe content we will be getting in the future, it get's enough episodes to tell it's story.

Jeongnyeon & Doubt: I'm watching up to all the episodes today, I enjoy both a lot.

These three are some of favorites shows I watched this year!

planning to watch: gangnam-b-side. I heard good reviews, I really loved BIBI and Ji Chang Wook's acting in the Worst of Evil, so I will check this one out as soon as I can xD.

anticipating:

- when the one rings. I like the premise and the trailer, so I will check this one out for sure! Yoo Yeon Suk is playing the ML in this, I love that he plays in another thriller. His acting in a bloody lucky day was kinda terrifying, it's kinda weird seeing him in non-thriller roles because of that lol.

- squid game (has anyone seen Park Sung Hoon's hair in the teaser? It looks kinda silly. very different vibe than his usual roles)

school spirits (american, but I just found the teaser for s2 a few days ago. I NEED to know how soon "coming soon" is...)

Judge From Hell: 8.5 Why do so many good shows have to end all at once?

A Virtuous Business: 7.0 Day 7 spent so much time on assorted assaults/criminals/arson/kidnapping/mysteries and so litte on sexy underwear or business development. Day 8 was slightly better, but once you get past the "want to support the ladies and oppose sexism" bit, the show needs to decide what it wants to be.

Jeong-Nyeon: The Star is Born: 7.5 Once the novelty wears off, there's such a thing as too much singing. And I think the antagonist isn't well done.

Dongjae, the Good or the Bastard: 7.0

Brewing Love: 1.5 The over-dramatic (meaning silly) motorcycling 11 minutes into ep 1 was an ominous sign that the writer and/or PD have tastes that are not mine. Out 15 minutes into ep 2, but I was totally bored and should have left sooner. Also, show is eternally cursed for being the evil omen I was trying to watch on election night.

Face Me: 7.0 The backstory was overdone and kdrama-ish even by kdrama standards, but we can hope they'll finish it off soon (??) and focus on current-day.
- My main reason for sticking around is Han Ji-hyun -- she's been too good in other shows to just drop near the start. I'm having some whiplash adjusting to her as a detective after Cheer Up, Spice Up Our Love, etc, and she seems to be a bit to Cheery for a detective on a case.
- Also, I don't have enough other weekday watches :(
- Lee Min-ki seems terribly typecast.
- And I almost wonder if either lead can play any type except what I'm used to seeing them do.

Gangnam B Side: 1.7 Out 17 minutes into ep 1.

Fiery Priest s2: 6.0 Parts seemed targeted more at 7 year-olds than 70-somethings like me. I dropped season 1 early because it seemed too childish, but this time I'll try to hold out long enough to see what so many other people liked so much.

Mr. Plankton: __ Sorry, terminal illness isn't my thing.

Dog Knows Everything: __ Sophie!! Where are you? Come back!

There are so many issues in so many shows that could be solved better and quicker with Judge From Hell crossovers than whatever the actual shows do. The real world could use some too.

And Youtube is suggesting videos about countries that are easy for Americans to move to. Sigh.

While Koreans drown their sorrows in liquor, I'm drowning mine in K-dramas. #IYKYK.

Speaking of which, there was far less drinking in Brewing Love than I thought there'd be. Like many others, I hope it settles down and finds its groove soon. Also like other Beanies, I thought the 10-year no-contact time skip in Family by Choice poorly done. Seoul aint Singapore, San-ha! But I'm hoping we learn more next episodes.

But unlike many others, it seems, I didn't mind the other weekday premiere Face Me. Just your average police-plastic surgeon procedural. LOL. Sure, Min-ki was Min-ki'ing yet again but Han Ji-hyun was adorable, no?

Am I feeling generous? I am. K-dramas were a salve for me this week. Thank you A Virtuous Business, Jeongnyeon, Iron Family and others. But since I can't stand more suffering right now, I will skip Mr Plankton. I may need a dose of The Fiery Priest 2 today. If only the good guys always won...

LIVE WATCHES:

1. FAMILY BY CHOICE - The family is back together and the San Ha-Ju Won ship has sailed and I am here for it!

2. A VIRTUOUS BUSINESS - It's awesome seeing the drama push back against rape culture. Keep up the great work, Writer-Nim and cast!

COMPLETED:

1. THE JUDGE FROM HELL - This has been a great drama from start to finish despite the plot holes. Park Shin-Hye was AWESOME and the final episode stuck the landing.

2. CINDERELLA AT 2AM - It's pretty good as a lighthearted watch but the ML is a bit of a Red Flag Dude.

Was traveling last month so lots of shows to catch up on.

WATCHING:-

*Iron Family* (3/36) - The last few weekenders have been disappointments, so I have my fingers crossed for this one. It does seem to be following the footsteps of My Father Is Strange and Once Again, so I'm hopeful. The ML is kind of weird till now. He is the only character I'm not liking.

*My Damn Business* (6/7) - Another low budget KBL with high quality content. This office romance is as cute as it's heart-fluttering! The runtime is too short but the show is making every minute count.

*What Comes After Love* (2/6) - Maybe I'm in the mood for a melancholy vibe. The pining of an earnest lover is very well done. I'm curious to see how Hong could just dump someone like him?

COMPLETED:-

*Let Free The Curse of Taekwondo* - It hurt so bad but it healed so good! Director Hwang Da-Seul has done it again - given us the most emotionally fulfilling love story. Her 'To My Star 2' still remains my favorite, but this one is a close second. 9 out of 10 Stars

*No Gain No Love* - Started better than it ended. Loved the sisterhood, but not the girls individually. It was the second couple that kept me watching till the end. 7 out of 10 Stars

*Moving* - Started it months ago and then put it on hold after the first few episodes. Picked it up again coz I really wanted to watch Jo In-Sung. The story got interesting when the narrative moved to the parents' time. A little too violent for my taste, but the relationships kept me engaged. 7.5 out of 10 Stars

Happy Saturday, Beanies!

MERMAID AND SHARK BUSINESS SAGA THE STORY OF PEARL GIRL: I have a confession to make – I wish I loved it more. Make no mistake – show is still entertaining, I enjoy leads tried and tested acting/chemistry and we're getting more romance (not to mention damned kisses TLB robbed us of!), but it's just not that great. Not to everyone's tastes (certainly not mine) heavy focus on Tang trade 101 aside, there are plenty of not quite there moments, pacing issues and literal plotholes. Case in point – how did FL learn to make jewelry? She had one basic design idea the other night, and suddenly she's already crafting finest hairpins in the town in bulk. Just like that? I get that her dad was a genius at it, but pretty sure he didn't develop his legendary skills without teacher and years of training.

Another thing is development of OTP feelings – logically I see when, how and why that happened (more with ML – idk if I should laugh or clap at the writing lowkey implying he won her over with a sob backstory and a few moments of sexually charged skinship same, girl, I sooo get it!), but it still feels escalating too quickly given the somber, serious tone of the main story and how preoccupied with other things both of them are. Frankly, I feel TERRIBLE for having “so soon?!” first reaction to them smooching. Not that I'm a slow burn person – nope!!! - and 17 episodes in is hardly too early, but it should've feel more smooth, yunno? Good thing the chemistry is on fire as ever, lesser CP would've make it crush and burn with such amount of sabotage from their own drama crew... Ofc, I know that fast diabetes romance happened because we're getting a bloody fallout following and afterwards it's gonna be slow and excruciating until getting better again, but I wanted to enjoy all the highs and lows equally. I wonder if cutting scissors went too far on the show – editing keeps shortening high tension/emotional scenes (and kisses – PD so ain't going into my “nice” list anytime soon) for unknown reason, often leaving bare bones only. Almost as if PD lacks the trust in actors to carry key scenes on their own and needing montage/speedrun pacing to make up for that, which is pure BS 'cause they're EATING it. Like ML's crying scene in Ep13 – compare drama cut with bts and fan edit merging two into one (tbh, I'm so mad/puzzled - Yuning's voice acting was the best part here and they just threw it away?!):
https://x.com/liu_yuning08/status/1854348718570438893
https://x.com/Just_Lice0304/status/1854173314874548345

Virtuous Business: This is a really nice show. I have been involved in a discussion about the consent or lack of same regarding the finishing hug. And the positions on that subject are interesting, because this show is pretty interesting.
Jeungnyeon: The Star Is Born I just love this show! I love the singing, even if I don’t know the genre and is in no position to say if they fulfil the genre qualification well (as discussed on a general plane in the staff post about Professions in K-drama some time ago). But as a former singer, I can say they sing well enough for me to feel it, and it is also crazy interesting that this culture has existed, and in the 50’s of all times, so recently, in Korea. And considering how that subject is usually treated in K-drama, it’s amazing to see how friendship and shades of queer are mixed with a light hand here. In traditional art.
I have looked for clips from the RL performances, but all I can find are clips from the show.
The Fiery Priest (1): Hmm … that was a weird show. I giffed a good deal about it. I’ll probably not be watching the new season, though.

Not a K-drama:
Cute animal videos: Something not-so-nice on an international scale happened this week, and I couldn’t do anything about it, so I have spent some time watching cats befriending birds or jumping from furniture in a fun way.
SNL: Last week had some good bits
Agatha All ALong: Just your typical coven-with-family-mystery show. Nice to watch with my daughters. One of them turned 21 this week (not a turn-stone in Denmark, that’s 18 for most things and 15 for the rest) and I made a friendship bracelet for her saying posed to be fun*XXI* . Swifties will get it.

Brewing Love Not convinced by the first 2 episodes. But I will still watch the next ones.

Family by Choice I really liked Go Ahead and it's hard to not compare both dramas.

Face Me I really don't understand how you can be a doctor without a minimum of empathy...

A Virtuous Business My joy pill of the week!

Doubt So many problems just because they didn't communicate...

Jeongnyeon - The Star is Born If the FL is not my favorite character, I really like the setting : the era, the costumes, the songs, etc.

Gangnam B-Side They don't try to hide their corruption anymore... It will be fun to watch them working together. There were a lot of familiar faces.

Mr. Plankton First, why I didn't know Lee El was in this drama? Otherwise, the characters were messed up and pretty selfish but it was quite funny.

KBS Special drama : History of Us We got to the point where Nam Da-Reum and Tang Jun-Sang's characters are played by young actors now... It doesn't make me feel any younger. Otherwise, the story was interesting, surprisy a subject pretty modern. I wonder if it happened later in Joseon but this time the historians didn't mention it.

LOVE GAME IN EASTERN FANTASY (7)—I picked this up for a light watch and it has delivered that and more. Esther Yu is killing this role (and Ding Yuxi’s overacting fits his character). I wasn’t sure about this one but it won me over by the end of the first episode. It is a flurry of comedy with a hint of mystery that is keeping me intrigued.
Why do I suspect that the big bad is the love Goddess after being turned by betrayal? And what is her connection to our hero? And how is Miao Miao going to survive having lost the game ability to regenerate?

And how can she leave her father? The scene of her sharing her “dream” with her father sneak attacked me with tears.

FAMILY BY CHOICE (6)—THIS is the Kdrama magic I have been missing. Love, love, love. I did wish the Korean version would give the mothers’ voices more time and flesh out their choices —they were so easy to vilify and dehumanize especially as a foil to the fathers. I swing between WANTING to understand them and really enjoying when our family by choice gives them the truth attack. But I will wait till the end and reserve final judgment on that wish.

LIKE FLOWERS IN THE SAND (9)—Kim Beak Du-yah! I needed a comfort (re)watch and I can’t think of a better one. It is as magical the second time as the first.

But once you start with Jang Dong Yoon role it is hard to stop so…

THE TALE OF NOKDU (14)— I stopped halfway when I was watching this live, and now I think it is better binge watched. Beside once again admiring JDY ability to become his role, I admire the casting team. I am enjoying the manhwa world of this story because it is grounded by the sincerity of the actors in their roles. (And seeing pre-EAW Kang Tae Oh as the baddie is a trip.)

RISE OF NING (32)—besides eye-rolls at logic holes, I keep enjoying this. It is a steady watch—not memorable but good enough to keep going. The romance has just started and even though I WANT to root for them, I am not sure about this couple because the romantic acting has been unbalanced so far.

BOSSAM:STEAL THE FATE (11)—Excellent! Jung Il Woo and Kwon Yuri are crazy good in these roles and are drama magic together. I see why this was loved by many. But I am also skipping through the palace politics since years of drama watching allows me to fill in the blanks.

Jeongnyeon: The first k-drama of 2024 that I wholeheartedly love. The plot structure remains the weakest link, but the amazing cast, immersive directing, and unabashed embrace of the agony and ecstasy of the performing arts and female desire are everything I could want in a show. It's so refreshing to see a drama set the screen on fire without a male lead anywhere in sight.

A Virtuous Business: Speaking of men, this week's focus on everyone's relationship issues was less interesting to me than prior episodes, but it's still a solid show.

Jeongnyeon: The Star is Born
I am trying to remember that she is still only a teenager and at times as frustrating as any teenager can be, but maybe the adults should have been more direct in their warnings and told her about her mother loosing her voice. The production and the acting is still excellent.

Family by Choice
This one is pulling my heartstrings! This mix and match family of 5 is so adorable, all the actors gel beautifully. Ju Won has from the start impressed me with her emotional intelligence, clearly inherited from her father. San-ha's confession felt a little rushed, but maybe it was the right thing to do, if he wants Ju-won to see him as a man she can fall in love with and not as the brother she loves.

A Virtuous business
One of the best things here is that there are no mobile phones! All interaction is face to face. The balance between comedy and drama is well done. My guess is that it was Jeong-Suk's mother who found and dropped Do-Hyeon off at the orphanage.

Of the new dramas I only watched BREWING LOVE, but could not finish even the first episode. Sadly disappointing so far, but maybe will give it another shot.

Oh my, that header pic melts my heart! 🥹

@starrygazer I have The Veil on pause. I loved the acting, and the story was intriguing, but the editing was so clunky that I felt sorry for the actors. They kept acting their hearts out and the scenes kept being randomly cut.
But I often think of it. Maybe I'll go back to it some day.

Royal Secret Agent 7/16

This show is so hilarious keeps making me laugh out loud. It is totally light, entertaining, with things happening constantly at breakneck speed so there's never a bored moment.

It's quite interesting how different this show is from Taec's Secret Agent. The biggest difference is that while Taec's drama was quite traditional, even going deep into strorylines about rules, traditions, and superstitions, L's drama feels inexplicably American. Or modern? No it's not even Korean modern. It definitely feels American. I don't know how to explain it well, but the way the characters walk and move, the way nobody bats an eye when the fl goes around in male clothes, and not only the completely covered hanbok, but even the under-dress, the interactions, the background music bits in between scenes, so many things. But the heart that the Koreans do so well is all there so it's very very fun to watch.

Hi beanies!
I hope you are enjoying your weekend.

What I am watching:

I keep watching Grand Prince (8 out of 20). This drama has better script than direction. It's very entertaining and fast paced, though.

I am also watching the C-drama The Story of the Pearl Girl (17 out of 40). I can say I'm in love with this show so far. It has everything (adventure, love, comedy and drama) in the right dose and interesting characters. And frankly, Liu Yuning and Zhao Lu Si's chemistry is off the charts.

I have also watched two Korean movies:

_ 60 Days of Summer (2018). It's about the bonding between a lazy teenager boy and his serious grandpa when they have to live together for two months. It's not a "must" movie, the story is simple, the cinematophy is very dark in too many scenes... Not bad, but neither highly recommended. Btw, the ML is Yun Joon Suk, who played the endearing brother of FL in Shining Inheritance.

_ KBS Drama Special The History of Us (2024). This new Special is quite good! An interesting approach to a dark page in Korean history (it immediately reminded me of a famous sageuk which has the same main character and backstory).

What I finished:

C-drama Rise of Ning. It was good, but the FL's feelings for the ML changed too easily from "siblings love" to "romantic love" 🤔

Kept up my spirits this week with:

BREWING LOVE, ep. 2. Dipped into this newly released kdrama, and so far it's working for me.

RISE OF NING, ep. 31. A solid cdrama with very good lead performances by Zhang Wan Yi and Ren Min, plus the added bonus of SML Ci Sha. Looking forward to the horsemanship!

THE STORY OF PEARL GIRL, ep. 17. What's not to like? LYN's voice alone had me at hello.

JOY OF LIFE, ep 26. My happy watch in a week where I really needed the lift. Superb. You know you've got a masterful storyteller when the death of Teng Zi Jing/Wang Yang in episode 8 (?) is so profound it spins every character on a new course. Wang Yang, what a standout performance, amidst so many great performances.

Special note: traveling this week and thanks to Gikata, I've been able to enjoy listening to the fabulous songs from ep. 11, Melody Journey. Highly recommended to cure the blues.

Ongoing kdrama but late to the game:

Family by Choice. 4/16 Easy watch for me since they have followed pretty closely to the original cdrama although made it more compact. Can’t believe that the older brother actor is still pulling off high schooler at 33. Will he start playing a 20 year old when he’s 50?

Finished oldie
Like Flowers in Sand. Very heartwarming and opened my eyes to a new form of wrestling. Could have used more time with the ML and his ?frenemy reconciliation. Felt like that could have added more meat to the bones. Not sure I figured out how/when the FL fell for ML but his puppy devotion to her all along was cute. Did they ever explain the title?

Irish Wish American movie- future community watch movie which per requirements I knew had a happy ending which is exactly what I needed this week.

Started cdrama

Love Game in Eastern Fantasy episode 4. Premise is a bit crazy but somehow it comes across as light, funny and engaging. I hope it stays this way. Another good one for mood improvement.

Judge from Hell Whew, I liked the ending! It's a teensy bit open, but I love how we got all those healing moments with the victims' family and Justitia's interactions with her friends and acquaintances - supernatural and human. Love the callback to the first episode statue scene. Sure some parts didn't make sense sometimes, but it was committed to being fun, campy (in a good way), and cathartic with barely any demon/human relationship angst. And PSH was just killing it week after week!

A Virtuous Business I love seeing these ladies week after week ramping up their business with new sales/marketing ideas and seeing the the town's ladies as being more than gossips. They stepped up to support Jeong-suk and probably saved future women from being the creep's victims. I'm worried about Yeong-bok's husband.

Iron Family: Up through episode 11. I'm not meant for the criminal life. I'm really enjoying the series so far and love how the everyone feels multifaceted, but I'm getting so anxious at the money laundering. So bold to launder a home down-payment's worth of cash at a wedding filled with police!

Go East cdrama. up to episode 35. Got more interesting again once they travelled to Yanle. I have to say that the drama nails it at the warm camaraderie scenes, but really drags out the emotional/serious scenes.

Excited for Fiery Priest 2!

IRON FAMILY: This remains my favorite airing drama thanks to writing that is somehow both comfortingly familiar and surprising. I love how nothing remains a secret for long; that must be a record for fastest reveal of a birth secret, not to mention less intense but perhaps ultimately just as consequential things like the true "forehead kiss/shout joyously outside Da Rim's window" culprit. KJH is utterly charming in this role as a bumbling beta hero who nonetheless might be slowly making his way to the FL's heart thanks to his straightforward loyalty and cuteness. Both the chairman and Tae-woong have similar stoic exteriors with soft, mussy hearts, and although it was a little hard for me to feel for either one this week because the stoic took a turn towards cold, thanks to the writing I do get where they're both coming from: wounded pride. Da Rim needs to abandon her crush on Tae-woong already, though, even if sometimes he appears to send mixed signals (I think she clearly mistook his anger over her saying nice things about Kang-joo as romantic rather than the filial jealousy it actually was). I was thankful, however, that Unni made more sense this week and showed her love for her sister. Finally, what's up with Mom's red cheeks? The actress is obviously wearing extra blush and several characters have commented on them. Was that just about setting up the facial she got? Or her guilt? Or something more?

MR. PLANKTON: It only took 10 minutes for this drama to hook me. It's totally my jam. I'd somehow forgotten how much I love Woo Do-hwan--the voice, the effortless sexiness, the deadpan line reading that somehow still reveals so much--and although I hated "Strong Woman" with a fiery intensity, Lee Yoo-mi is excellent as well. Their chemistry in the flashback round-up of their relationship (which believably captured the highs and lows and all the passion in between) was palpable. This has the same dark fairy tale appeal as "It's Ok," and uses humor similarly well to both break tension and make the characters feel authentic even in the most inauthentic of circumstances. (Case in point: the overwhelmed mom screaming at her husband over the phone because she's pregnant again and he's all like "Kids raise themselves" was darkly hilarious, but then we shifted to the utter heartbreak of Jae-mi begging to take "just one" of that woman's kids.) I devoured the first episode and wanted to watch more, but decided to prolong the pleasure and watch only one episode per day. Can't wait to see how things unfold.

GANGNAM B-SIDES: This is the kind of drama I think people who like to complain about the Westernization of kdramas could point to because like "Queen Woo," it feels like it's trying really hard to be edgy (not as much with the sex--at least not in the first 20 minutes I watched--but definitely in terms of violence and drug use) rather than actually being edgy. I waited until JCW showed up as a pimp (I think?) wearing...

C dramas

The Rise of Ning Ep 15. I sidelined it for a few days
The Story of Pearl Girl Ep 4 I started it .

K drama
Jeongnyeon: The Star Is Born This took up most of my time getting caught up. Enjoying it.
Cave singing binge ? 🤔🙄

There is a You Tube/Rumble channel , America’s Untold Stories, hosted by Eric Hunley and Mark Groubert.

Interesting look at history and politics. Has a wonderful series on the JFK assassination. I have gone down the rabbit hole that is Watergate, which is not what the media said it was. Ted Kennedy and Chappaquiddick. Crazy insane power behind the scenes in all of these stories. JFK wanted to smash the CIA, they need smashing more so today then ever.

Iron Family: I only have one question for Bom halmoni. "Why🤷🏽? Who sent you on this particular errand🤷🏽🤷🏽🤷🏽?" Look at me laughing at the fiest with which our trio teared at their chicken pieces. I'm so eager to watch episode 13.

The first impressions kinda killed my enthusiasm for Face Me. But, imma try it for the whole main cast. I'm really glad to note that Han Ji-hyun has enjoyed a career since Penthouse. The Penthouse twins really found a leap from the drama that evolved into what I didn't know again.

I'm going to dip into The Fiery Priest 2 and see the actors in action for the very first time. I was a faithful follower of season 1 recaps though.

DOG KNOWS EVERYTHING: Watched the last episode which I enjoyed. Overall, it was a charming watch.

PACHINKO: I have just two episodes left to watch in season two. I still find it to be an engaging watch. I think season 2 has been better than the first, there have just been some beautiful moments. This is a show that I never even skip the opening---I just love that dancing scene in the Pachinko parlor. Well, let's see how this goes as I approach the last episode.

PRINCESS'S MAN: I went back in time to watch this historical. I enjoyed it. This was my first time watching Park Si Hoo who looked lovely! So, I looked up his shows and found PROSECUTOR PRINCESS with So Yeon Kim who I loved in 9 Tail and Penthouse. I don't know, I'm only about 2 episodes in--should I stick with it.....

Judge From Hell (finale): I really like that OST with the chants.
Iron Family: those flashbacks were EVERYTHING. I need more of the siblings in the past and in the present.

And I hope Crosswalk's dad gives him a hug soon. Poor boy.
Family by Choice: kids, and this is how you're not supposed to treat your family.
Let Free of the Taekwondo Curse (finale): awwww. I really liked this one. I wish they had given this story more time to develop everything it had to say.
Brewing Love: go to the hospital, mate.

And of course beanies made the whole beer thing way more interesting than the drama did.
A Virtuous Business: I felt really bad for Yong Bok and Cat boss these episodes. I hope their story takes a brighter turn this week.
And I hope Geum Hee's husband is alright.
Mr. Plankton (EP1): Why isn't this a Netflix interactive drama where I get to make him escape with Lee Da Hee and have a wild romance with her?
They looked so 🔥 together.

Oh, and I'm loving the cast. Glad to see Lee El and Min Seok again after a long time.

BONUS
Mad Men (rewatch, S01E04): Helen is swell.
Abbott Elementary: I'm loving this season.

Very disappointing that The Fiery Priest 2 is not showing up on Hulu yet. Anyone have any info? Doesn't show on Disney+ in US, so Hulu only hope. Was really looking forward to it.