My Dearest Nemesis: We are now in the angst stage. SIGH. I am hoping it is resolved quickly so we can move on. Being angry at a 15-year-old boy lying and professing his love for you is silly. This thing with the grandma blaming a child for his parents dying is INSANITY. Ma’am you your child all his life, he had his parents 1/3 or ¼ of his life. Every time she shows up, I get annoyed.

When Life gives you tangerines: The way I cried these episodes. SMH. The candy reminded me of Grave of Fireflies (If you know you know) and I cried even harder. I will say her marrying a man similar to her dad is hilarious, the moment her dad realizes that is what is happening is even funnier.

Buried Hearts: SIGH, lol. A childhood connection I believe completes the kdrama trope lists. I don’t think one has been missed and that is crazy, lol. We even had a haunting. I hope DJ actually let EN go because I am sick of her. Girl, go be with your husband.

Undercover High School: I am waiting to watch both episodes at once. It is so nice that Su A knows. It is also nice they were bonding as well, before he found out she was his first love. Bring on the romance!!!

The Potato Lab: I know everyone dislikes the FL, but I like her, lol. I am looking forward to the next episodes. My favorite is Ga On though, she is a hoot. She likes romance manhwas, hot guys, and delicious food. My kind of girl.

The Art of Negotiation: The first two eps were soso for me, except for that terrible background music, FOR WHY? I am hopint the next couple of episodes pick up for me because a silver foxed LJH makes me happy.

My Dearest Nemesis: (7-8)🐉🎮 Ugh, she's going to break his sweet little heart again. Boooooo. Her emotional progression has been hate -> rude -> cordial -> "love" and I guess we're headed for hate again. He's such a sweet, nice nerd, but this drama will lose my Bean due to the FL and the grandma. The ML deserves better. (But the SL couple has fantastic chemistry!! More of them, please)

Undercover High School: (5-6) 🥸🏫 I laughed so hard at the aftermath of the closet surprise! And him bluffing when she caught on backfired in the best way. I'm thrilled they've joined forces (also, his promise to protect her?? *melts* 🫠). Lol I cackled when she scared the crackers out of him when he was reading that ghost story. And the MODELING SHOOT! Now that they're on the same team, I essentially want them to co-parent Ye-na and Yu-jeong. And fall in love. And find the gold. That's only three things, drama! Make it happen!!

The Potato Lab: (3-4)🧪🥔 Gaus Potato Lab! Week 2: Kang Tae-oh is still distractingly hot (when he offered her his arm to get out of the window??😍). But he's also funny!! So that's a win-win. The aftermath of the kiss was exquisitely cringy for both parties as they embarked on a pitched battle of passive-aggressiveness 😂 The ML directing traffic and chef-ing was like watching anime; he's as chaotic as she is, just a different flavor! I really liked how plot developed in episode 4 and how the characters are developing. I love the FL's friend and brother (both as individuals and together), and I CAN'T WAIT for them to catch feelings for each other.

C-dramas
50% done with Love of the Divine Tree OH I'm LOVING this!! The ML is magnetic (and hot). You know how lots of xianxias want you to think their ML is dangerous, but it's 95% posturing and guyliner? Well, the ML here is actually dangerous, and when he flips the switch to "vicious," there's no mistaking it 🔥🫠

Live Watches
Undercover High School: I had a big presentation at work yesterday and was really drained from the preparation and delivery - until I remembered that it was UHS night! *insert high pitched sound of excitement* I hope Dong-min doesn’t get totally sidelined now that his bullying is over - I’m glad that he’s having a chiller time at school but I love him as the source of the ghost stories and want him on this ridiculous team! But I also appreciate the increased focus on the girls and their dynamics. I hope Si-hyun tells Bong-ja about who he really is soon (maybe she’ll show him the photo she found?) - he led into it a few times and was foiled!

Buried Hearts/Treasure Island: (Through episode 5) Yay we got some justification for Eun-nam’s suspicions against Il-do! I was trying to think if there were any other explanations besides “double amnesia” (😂) that fit the bill for Dong-ju’s situation, but Sister Agnes went ahead and confirmed it. Does it start to become a syndrome if your brain’s first line of defense is to wipe itself clean? And Big Bad Yeom must be pretty confident Dong-ju is faking it, otherwise his plan to torture his memory back is a very stupid one…

When Life Gives You Tangerines: (Through episode 2.5) I’m not really trying to keep up with this one, but using it more as my binge-watch in between other things. But I love it so far! I was trying to temper expectations because there was so much hype for this, but it’s so different than I imagined (and better, honestly). Sometimes I shy away from stories in the 50s and 60s because it was such a hard time in Korea, but this is doing a good job of showing really difficult struggles and making me laugh two minutes later.

Recent Dramas
Study Group: (finished!) This was the first drama I’ve watched for which Viki made me enter a PIN to prove to them I was old enough. It dealt with a really heavy topic, but somehow it was one of the cuter dramas I’ve seen in a while. Everyone in the study group was so endearing, and I loved seeing how the two non-fighters still contributed to the efforts. The scene where they found out that Ga-min had gone up by ten ranks and everyone was so happy for him was one of my favorites.

Buried hearts How to bury Seo Dongju every single episode I’ve lost all interest in how the story unfolds. The villain is just ugly and evil, there’s nothing compelling about them. But I’m still watching for PHS because he’s so captivating I couldn’t look away.

——

Undercover high school I’m obsessed with the OTP and the show at this point ("I’m a little complicated" and that "Get it together" in the pool LOL. I’ve never seen SKJ this hilarious before). If the fanwall was still here, it would be filled with many posts of mine with GIFs of the OTP and NIS team. Maybe that’s the very reason the fanwall was removed, to stop all fangirling activities 😅

I love Suah’s entrance on Chopin’s Nocturne and then the choreography of this scene, with SKJ in that suit and JJK in that lovely dress . The mix of fighting and dancing is chef’s kiss!! (But he put that necklace on for her and no one in the hall noticed??)

https://imgur.com/a/aejTaiP

I’m glad that Yujeong’s come to realise that her oppa may be a heart-throb elsewhere, but with her, he can be silly and teen-y, and all he wants is to make his little sister laugh and trust him. I don’t know why some Viki viewers said Yujeong is annoying. She’s one of the loveliest characters in the show. She’s daring but not rude, she knows her place but isn’t weak. Everything she does, it comes from kindness and tact.

If Yeom Jangseon in Buried hearts tries to kill Seo Dongju by every possible way, Yena’s mom in UHS is someone who tries to traumatise her dear daughter at every opportunity. Byeongmun’s director is a psycho.

So, by the end of ep 7, Haeseong realised there’s someone from his side who has been leaking every piece of information to the director. But I hope it’s not team leader, Haeseong’s father figure all these years 😟 Because it will break my Haeseong’s heart if that is the case. Let NIS team continue to be hilarious without any betrayal. Please, show 🙏

Anyhow, when I learnt of the fanwall deletion, I thought its only upside was that I could watch the shows on my tablet in peace from now on, I wouldn’t need to watch on my laptop to screen record to make GIFs when there’s no place to post them. But here I am, couldn’t help it 😅 There are many scenes I’d love to GIF but I did these two scenes because I like this little expression

https://imgur.com/a/lPkSUHT

and how the smile lingered on his face even when he already looked away

https://imgur.com/a/fc7KtTc

I like those details because it feels realistic and it looks charming and fun.
And while at it, I’m just sneaking in this expression of JCW too because it’s of the same topic 😅

https://giphy.com/gifs/HtmUZbOAcpwYiQtETC

Ah, one tiny observation: Seo Kangjoon’s voice can sound a little weird at some high notes. If he pays attention, he can modulate it to make it sound better.

——
The art of negotiation This is not a genre I like to watch but it is...

Undercover High School: 8.5 Jin Ki-joo and the writer are both nailing it.

Witch: 7.5 Guys mostly die when they are leaving, not when they're with her. So DON'T LEAVE!

Potato Lab: 6.0 Some of the humor lands with me and some doesn't. The FL's friend gives me the most smiles per minute.

My Dearest Nemesis: 7.0

Newtopia: 7.5 Not really worth a 7.5, but the chain saw, scooter and padded costumes were funny.

ONGOING
Buried Hearts - Been a while since I laughed in disbelief at a ToD scene. So…good job, I guess?

Undercover High School - These episodes were probably the funniest so far. Nice that the way she discovered he was an agent was actually plausible and not an insane series of coincidences. The childhood connection on the other hand…

The Witch - I'm betting on Joong-hyuk also being a 'witch'. Time for someone else to play stalker detective next week I guess.

The Potato Lab - I think my favourite part was how rational he was about firing her. Humour is still not working for me - it's basically just harassment of the ML in various ways.

My Dearest Nemesis - Loved how sweetly and simply the second leads came together. Grandma should just go hang out with the Grandpa from Wedding Impossible - both are equally illogical.

STARTED
The Art of Negotiation - Not bad. Dramatic but realistic and no ridiculous shenanigans. Hope it doesn't turn into the usual revenge saga over the brother(?)'s death. Also please stop with the music 🙉.

WATCHLIST
Still When Life Gives You Tangerines - Was going to start it yesterday but was startled by the 8 episode count 😅. Will binge over the weekend.

May or may not add Hyper Knife to the list. I think I'm not in the mood for so much murder-i-ness right now.

C-DRAMAS
Completed
The Best Thing - Stayed pretty, and low stakes, till the end (yes I'm ignoring the cancer story insertion).

The First Frost - It seemed fine while I watched it but, in hindsight, probably wouldn't rewatch. They went too overboard with the trauma and by the end the ML had no real personality or interests outside of the FL.

Filter - An unexpected delight right till the end. Loved it. Long live 🎶 the alpaca song 🎶!

Still watching
Si Jin (up to Ep. 28 ) - I'm glad they retained some of the king's humour. To be honest this is being hard-carried by ZWY's facial expressions.

Northward (up to Ep. 20 ) - The brother's death was just too cruel for poor Si-yi 😢. Nice to see them all grown up now. Xingchi's character sure took a turn.

Started
Ski into Love (up to Ep. 4) - It's cute but I might like it more if I hadn't read the book. Also I thought I was over THE VOICE. I'm not.

Life cut into drama watching this week but that is how it goes sometimes.

I did manage to watch POTATO LAB and MY DEAREST NEMESIS. We did not manage to start WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU TANGERINES and that is a shame.

My wife has watched all available episodes of the Chinese Costume drama SI JIN, which is a good show. She completed KILL MY SINS, a Chinese Costume drama involving suspense, crime and mystery and liked it. She also completed LOVE AND SWORD and, on the whole, liked it as well

After some hesitation my wife has gone ahead with watching LOVE OF THE DIVINE TREE, thanks to positive comments from several Beanies (Thanks to all of you who mentioned it) and she loves it.

She has also enjoyed some Japanese detective shows, having completed both seasons of GALILEO that can be found on Netflix. She has also been watching INHERITANCE DETECTIVE but is frustrated that only one episode is posted each week. Then, on Viki she found USOTOKI RHETORIC (The title itself is a mystery) and has really enjoyed it.

Largely missing from our weekender last weekend were its three brightest characters: Baby Hani, Bom and our Maknae. The story of Bom and Maknae is particularly missed because theirs is the thread connecting all three families but, on the other hand, at this moment all Maknae can do is heal and consider his future after having to leave Naval service for medical reasons. So of course, it was time to finally delve into the story of our eldest brother-in-law with the appearance of his nasty soon to be ex-wife demanding her “share”. Professor brother’s ex at least has real feelings for Hani but she too is trouble and in all honesty our Professor Brother is not handling things well either. The story of Zumba Bother and his women continues to be a sad comedy that is so disconnected from the rest that one can safely use the FF button when they appear. As for our two leads- there remains a bumpy ride ahead until they can finally be together. Is this show watchable? Yes (but see use of FF button) and it is even a better than average Weekender despite the one flaw.

EAGLE BROS (Ep 11-12) We get more detail of the women (good and bad) in the Eagle Bros lives. Zumba Bro's story line is weaving between story genre lanes like a frat boy on spring break. FL and ML still have their dance of ruffled misunderstandings. The show is headed for a major family law procedural with divorces and nasty child custody case.

MICKEY 17 (movie) Director Bong Joon Ho returns with a Hollywood big budget sci-fi film on the allegory of current times. But one can easily see the finger prints of Hollywood executive’s heavy push on political cultism and worker exploitation over a deeper story and character development. Bong's adaptation of Edward Ashton's novel stars Robert Pattinson as a young, heavily indebted man who joins an intergalactic expedition as an "expendable" -- a worker doomed to labor until death, only to be revived through "reprinting" technology. Except for Pattinson, the film’s cast was fairly one note or cartoonish. The sweeping exterior planet landscape scenes gave AI vibes. The film was about class struggle and worker welfare but those themes never met the level of PARASITE’s script, acting and cultural significance. As with other critics, it was good but it did not meet the high expectations from his last film.

UHS is the only drama I am enjoying right now. It’s so much fun and ep 5/6 had scenes with a lot of rewatch potential.

Always Home (cdrama) - Fini
After a long time I enjoyed a drama from start to finish. What may seem like a typical coming of age drama was handled so beautifully with thoughtful writing and wonderful characters. The ending was just so beautiful with all these kids coming back home and meeting.

By the end of it I was happy and sad to say farewell to these kids who I had grown to love. I had no impression about Zhai Xiao Wen (except that he was cast in HOB) and was pleasantly surprised by his acting.
The main OTP was such a ray of sunshine. Their progression from neighbors to friends to lovers was beautifully executed. You just knew they belonged with each other.
And thanks show for no toxic parenting. They had flaws but it felt real. And all the struggles came from a good intent for their kids.
If I have to criticize, the university portion was meh. I could have done without ep 15-19.

What a week to return to dramas! Good lord. (I also finished reading A Fine Balance. I didn’t know this history, but I did weep.)

In need of some lighter fare, I tackled Undercover High School first. So. Much. Fun. Tho some of the darker elements were surprisingly, um, dark. I didn’t quite connect with My Dearest Nemesis so it’s on pause right now. Luckily, Filter is a hoot. I’ve just watched the “DID” diagnosis and the “Kill Me Heal Me” cure. 🤣 But poor ML. I hope he isn’t kept in the dark too long.

Now fortified, I’m ready for 🍊🍊🍊 this week. I hope it lives up to the rave reviews so far and doesn’t turn into 🍋🍋🍋. And now that I finished my work project, it’s back to attending family gatherings and catching up on Hot Spot with my niblings, who kindly waited and watched Skeleton Crew in my absence.

Whoop, whoop, just got to watch UNDERCOVER HIGHSCHOOL episode 7! Cannot tell you how much I love this. Every episode has me laughing out loud because of some hilarious main plot or just because random characters do random fun things in the background of a scene. (The photo shoot!) 😆 I really like our main couple-in-the-making and am happy they’re now sprinkling in the romance (even though - of course - it’s again “people in their thirties who never dated before”, which gets a hard eye roll from me, but I already got that out of the way so I’m now just enjoying the ride!). “What are they doing?!” 🤣🫠🫠
I’m rewatching this like every other day. Oops.

Meanwhile, I kinda continued both NEMESIS and POTATO, but both not really seriously. 😖 The main NEMESIS couple lost me completely by now, so I’m enjoying the secondary couple whenever they have some screen time. And I stumbled over POTATO eyebrows, and might not be able to recover… 😅 🥺

Other than that, I enjoy that things are starting to bloom again around here. Yay, spring! 🌸☀️

Happy Saturday, Beanies! Hope your weekend started better than that of clumsy me who cut her palm half-open with a can lead and is now largely useless for idk how long as result. Don't worry, I'm alright, just inconvenienced and mildly... fine, greatly annoyed.

BURIED HEARTS: Holy cow, these guys have been screwing ML over since bronze age or what? Writer surely didn't hold back in piling on the damage, at this point I wouldn't be even surprised with reveal of pet goldfish DJ had in middle school also being murdered by Chas/Yeoms for kicks or something. Good for him to finally remember everything and open fighting back season. Btw, rugby? And diligent practicing with punchbag to gain thick fists and blow off the steam of teen rage? DJ, bro, I'm starting to really like you, let's be gym friends! After my dumb injury recovers, that is Boy is getting progressively more daring – his actions in Ep7 progressed from bold to outright mad freaky, awesome))) If only also him telling EN off – and we cheered! - was for real and not to protect her or stall time or whatever. Here we have an expression “suitcase without handle” to describe things that take painstaking effort with little to no return, and that's exactly what she is in his life atm. Drop her, dude, do yourself a favor!

P.S. Stop baiting me with incest twist, drama! I know very well it sounds too got to be true!

NUTJOB SQUEE FILTER: The worst thing about this drama is that it ended. What I'm supposed to do now without my daily dose of hysterical fun? *wails* My “do not recreate it at home” method of choosing dramas to watch randomly with eyes closed among ongoings continues to hit bullseye – I haven't enjoyed cdrama romcom this much since MOONLIGHT. There is so much to praise here: show never losing its riot humor until the very end (misunderstanding in Ep31 lmao – way to shake ML's faith in laws of biology once again), more or less smooth incorporation of deeper topics (found FL and her fam apology group session a bit preachy, but I get what it was there for), mostly solid characterization with an actual personal growth by nearly everyone, sweet romances grounded in certain realism (second leads were a constant mature delight and ML is a goddamn poet when it comes to articulating his feelings and mindset towards life – low EQ guy, everyone!), plenty of iconic for different reasons scenes (rainbow stairwell, color restoring kiss, most epic glasses off moment since Superman), great believable friendships, nice OST etc...

Undercover High School (6-7): Seo Kang-joon's talent speaks for itself here, but Jin Ki-joo deserves just as much credit here. Both are absolutely fantastic. This drama continues to deliver on all fronts. Also, Ye-na is quite an interesting character. She's not exactly a likeable person, but it's also quite hard to not actually feel bad for her at the same time, and I hope she gets a redemption arc.

Newtopia (7): I've really been liking Young-joo's development over these last 2 episodes. Turns out she's quite good at killing zombies, it's just a shame she lost the chainsaw to those guys at the end. Also, those scenes in the vents, and on the swing stage, had me on the edge of my seat. Curious to see how this will end though, and if Jae-yoon and Young-joo will have their happy reunion.

Idol: The Coup (11-12): Stella's (back)story in episode 11 was way darker than I expected. Like, I don't know what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn't her starring in a porn movie against her will when she was a kid. And episode 12 also proved to be an emotional rollercoaster. It's not without flaws, but I really loved this drama overall. Honestly wish it was 16 episodes so the pacing could be a bit better, and so we could've gotten more character-focused stories (Chae-ah in particular was in dire need of one). Loved the ending: Cotton Candy is finally free of their "failed idol" status and now free to chase new dreams. Minor nitpick is that I wish the last scene of Cotton Candy was longer, because I really didn't care about that reporter in the last 5 minutes.

The Witch (7): So, basically, this is what you get when you turn the American drama You in a Korean romance, and then add some Final Destination to it for good measure. Haven't watched episode 8 yet because all this romanticized stalking made me lose my sanity. Like, I'm confused: was I supposed to root for Dong-jin to get hurt or not?

The Potato Lab (3-4): Honestly really hoping Mi-kyung gets her job back before getting together with Baek-ho. But then again, both of these people are kinda crazy, so who knows what they'll do at this point.

Rebel: Thief Who Stole The People (1-12): Simply put: this is great. Minor nitpicks is that I wish the King's dark turn, and Gil-dong's & Gong-hwa's first love was more developed, because both happened a bit too fast for my liking. Really wondering what side everyone will end up on at the end. Some seem obvious, but I wonder if there'll be some surprises. Also, Ga-ryung is a joy to watch, and I really hope Gil-dong warms up to her soon. Also curious of her backstory, and how she got that scar. Now, how deadly is an arrow shot exactly?

Eagle Brothers: Gwang-suk loves her Mom. Her Mom loves her back in equal folds. They bicker and it hurts. But, I am loving their dynamic.

More dirt is getting into Hedgehog chairman's ears and Silla baddie is ever ready to latch onto and poison it further.

I don't think him hearing the conversation from start to finish would give him full perspective either. He actually needs to sit down and find out information just as he found out this information that's now poisoning his mind. I'm just glad it hasn't gotten to the point where LX dissolves their contract with Eagle Brewery. I don't hope against it happening. I actually want the brewery to make their impact elsewhere. LX might have given them that platform, but I don't want their buoyancy tied to LX at this rate.

Buried Hearts: Classically dumb ToD. Weirdly shot ToD even. The accident swept the victim to one side yet ML was looking at another direction and still manages to unlock his memories even though he isn't looking at his sister's hit form... Makjang-ish at one of its laziest and nonsensical.

Shogun Ep 5: Did Buntaro survive? How? Isn't he Mariko-sama's husband? So how?

The Art of Negotiation: I've skimmed through the episodes. I am yet to watch properly. Some scenes stuck during the skimming, so I'll wait till I'm properly done to give a thought.

My Dearest Nemesis I have the feelings to watch a new version of Big, a teenager in an adult body and not an adult with "childish" hobbies.

The Art of Negotiation I watch the first episode and it didn't feel like an An Pan-Seok's drama. I'm one of the rare ones who loved the OST in his past dramas, but in this one, the instrumental music is so dramatic...

Undercover High School This drama is so fun. I don't really care about the gold and the villain. I'm just here for the couple (they're so lovely) and the fun!

Buried Hearts How many lives does the cat have left?

The Potato Lab This drama doesn't bring anything new. It would have been an issue if it was well written but it's not the case. I'm not interested in the best friend-young brother's relationship, it's too commun. The FL is not an interesting characters. The colleagues are not better...

When Life Gives You Tangerines So it's not the usual drama but a description of the hard life of people in this area.

Solo Leveling It's almost the end of the 2nd season 😥 But it means we will get funny Beru after that!

It's another ugly week in RL, but a stellar happy watch week for dramas.

I'm of the mind that Seo Kang Joon's agent got an UNDERCOVER HIGH SCHOOL script while SKJ was serving his military service, promptly collected every copy and put it in a safe deposit box until SKJ completed his service. Because this is a terrific return to kdramas for SKJ. Comedy is way harder to do convincingly, especially for a ML, and here SKJ shows both marvelous comedic chops and hard pathos. UNDERCOVER, it's just such a winner.

So many interesting comments on DB about GUARDIANS OF THE DAFENG, so I circled back this week. To me, this is Dylan Wang's shout-out that he wants to be taken seriously as an actor, not just an idol (which, I gotta say, is a trap, obvi). Reminds me of Ji Chang Wook's stepping out of his idol image with LOVESTRUCK IN THE CITY. GUARDIANS is a breakthrough role for Dylan Wang, and it's worth the watch. What an interesting series, silly, lovable, meaningful. Wonderful performances especially by veteran cdrama actors Liu Yi Jun, Yue Yang, Feng Hui and so many others. Thank you to the writers for this especially interesting family! Only thing I really didn't get was the flying water dragon thingy??? But, I digress.

Finally, my happy watch of the week goes to Viki for broadcasting the classic kdrama MOON LOVERS: SCARLET HEART RYEO (2016). Five episodes dropped this week. Some great roles here for the young performers, especially the bold Lee Joon Gi and conflicted Kang Ha Neul. Kudos to the exceptional production quality, terrific camera work, and superb sound quality of this drama. This made me realize what I've been missing from some of the great cdramas where dubbing has become commonplace. In ep. 5, two characters (IU & Kang Ha Neul) are walking through the snow and you can hear the snow squeak. That, right there, is a really hard sound to capture and even harder to fake. No wonder this drama sticks with viewers long after it was first broadcast, its quality is timeless.

Filter (through episode 27): I haven't had this much fun watching a show in years. It's the rare rom-com that actually lands the funny, the sweet and the sexy, and Landy Li and Tan Jian Ci are nailing their timing and physical comedy. It also doesn't feel like I'm just watching the same structure/tropes for the 900th time, although to be fair, I understand why no one attempted the "boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy meets alpaca, boy loses alpaca, boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy meets boy, boy loses boy, boy gets girl (maybe?)" plot outline before. I don't know what the final five episodes will bring, but for right now I'm just savoring the happy.

The Potato Lab: Enjoying this – like others have said, there is an abundance of good Rom Coms with a lot of the “Com” part in them right now. And I love to see Kang Tae-oh so different from how I have seen him before.
When Life gives you Tanguerines: On hold while I gather courage for more “bittersweetness”.
Under Cover High School: Phew! We won’t have to deal with a teacher making out with someone she believes to be her pupil for real!
My Dearest Nemesis: You need to accept a couple of criteria for this to work. It’s fine with me. When you do, it’s funny. And I think the OTP are find, as are the … do you say the OTP2?
Of course, we will go through “Darn stupid conflict” next time. We can only hope they get it over with quickly.
Extra-Ordinary You : I liked this very much after seeing it one time, but now that I have rewatched it, I think it is a work of freaking genius. It’s just that funny, and it ends in a meaningful way, which is honestly a rare occurrence in dramaland.
***
Not a K-drama:
The Boy and the Heron: Moving, but also like a long nightmare, not easy to know what’s up and down in these worlds. I saw it with my daughters, and I cherish that.
C-drama; Filter: Again the strange fiction that the heroine is, allegedly, “ugly”.
Also, for a long time; horrible treatment of each other, made funny only by the fact that it is so absurd. A bit like the torture in Monty Python sketches. Or like, the Killer Rabbit.

Hi Beanies! I hope you are enjoying the weekend.

What I am watching:

_ Undercover Highschool (6 out of 12). Still funny. The comedy is well done and the mystery works too, but I don't like the subplot about the villain's daughter. Today I'll watch episode 7.

_ The Art of Negotiation (2 out of 12). I liked the first episodes, if I don't count the questionable use of background music. Good script and good performances.

_ Suspicious Partner (13 out of 20). I'm interested in the thriller part (Dong Ha is doing a very good job), but the romance isn't working at all. Btw, this is my first drama starring JCW!

_ C-drama The longest Day in Chang'an (7 out of 48). Wow. This drama is very good in everything. I wonder if the whole show will take place in just one day (story wise) but it seems so.

_ J-drama Jin Second Season (7 out of 11). I like this season a little more than the first one. I'm getting very fond of the doctor and Miss Saki and I'm also learning about Japanese history.

What I have finished:

_ C-drama Destined (2023). I enjoyed it from start to end. Such a great couple! (I think Bai Jing Ting and Song Yi have good chemistry). It is a slow burn romance but they were so cute together since the beginning! And surprisingly, 40 episodes without filler content.

_ Jin Season 1 (2009). A very weird first episode almost made me drop it, but once the ML travels to Edo it is a very good medical + fantasy + philosphical drama. I'm very glad of having watched it.

Current Live Watches:

1. Undercover High School: My fav pick-me-up show - for the chuckles and heart, and of course our beautiful Adonis

2. My Dearest Nemesis: still funny but I now wonder if the one-note villainy of Toxic Nana is actually a meta-callout to the Big Boss NPC archetype in video games....cos Grandma is so...ONE-note.

3. Potato Lab: Let's all just come back to the potatoes please? And don't try to pass off workplace harassment as comedy, it doesn't cut ice with me.

4. The Witch: Defending this to the bittersweet end. "I believe in statistics!!!" (famous last words before River Han plunge) *slow clap* you got to hand it to a man with conviction willing to die on this hill call data (or is it love?)

Others:
1. Come Here and Hug Me l My Roommate is a Gumiho: on a Jang Ki-Yong roll. He's a walking force field all by himself - and possibly the only actor who reminds me of the aura of Rutger Hauer in Blade-runner (esp in CAHM)
2. Three-Body (C-drama): heavy but worth the time - I love hard sci-fi

Undercover High School (up to ep 7): Better with each episode, and now I've reached the point where I'm highly anticipating the next episodes. Started rewatching scenes. Having Soo-ah in on the mission really ramped everything up. It's also fun to see Dong-min come into his own in the background.

Potato Lab: The second week got better as the drama leans into chaos. It's not doing much for me as a rom-com or even as a comedy, but I like it as a collection of fun scenes. The potato competition and learning about the ML's various service industry skills was a hoot.

Filter (cdrama, up to ep 27): So love with it. It's got heart, trruly LOL-until-I-can't-breathe humor, and positivity. I like the approach of accepting people as a whole, instead of feeling the need to rectify their flaws. Also, the user-testing of the perfume with the older ladies made me cry so hard.

The best thing (cdrama, up to ep 5): Not bad, but too light. It feels like background music at a bookstore. But nice to have on when feeling too mentally burnt out and didn't want to watch my more favorite dramas while feeling that way. Zhang Linghe is nice to look at.

I promise this is not a low effort post 😉... I just want you to guess what I watched... (I'll tell how I felt about the drama later 🙂)
https://youtu.be/lehyheNiqto?feature=shared