Live watches

Resident playbook
I know I will enjoy this one but I have accepted that it will be a four episode ease in to the world of the characters. I am looking forward to getting to know the characters.

When I first started university during the first week of lectures one of the lecturers said that we should look to the people sitting to our left and right and know that by the end of the course one of us will have left as most years ⅓ of the cohort drops out. If only the residents were told about the week three challenge and ways to manage it they would at least have been aware of the kinds of support that could be offered to them. Each one got help but it was not necessarily tailored to their needs e.g. the one who was most sleep deprived would have loved that sauna option. I am desperate to know if the two sisters live together with their men due to the financial situation Yiyoung found herself in after the incident at the other hospital.

Divorce insurance
Confusion reigns but it is an ok watch.

Crushology
Looking forward to meeting the fourth contender and seeing the love challenge games begin. Surprised to see Me too type issues popping up in this low key drama so maybe it will have more depth than implied in the first two episodes.

Kururi - who’s in love with me - J drama
This drama shows the different motives behind the approaches used to support vulnerable people with limited access to their memories. The psychiatrist whose wife has dementia and thinks he is her older brother, the florist who claims to be an ex to support from the side lines, a current boyfriend who pretends to fall in love at first sight to try to restart the relationship, an acquaintance at work who claims to be a friend in order to have ongoing contact when she leaves the job. It ends next week so hopefully it will explain the stalker and what happened in the three months which she still can’t remember. I am guessing the relationship was rocky and she either had plans to end it or they had already broken up.

Hello, nice to meet you. Let’s get divorced - J drama
Still slow watching.

Completed

XX+XY
This was an O’PENing 4 episode drama about a child born with a condition that meant they have male and female sex organs. The adoptive parents give the child a name that can be male or female and allow the child to make the decision about which gender they want to be. This was so much better than the Taiwanese film Hijra in between which has a similar theme but showed the decision making being forced upon the young person at the point of crisis and implied that being a woman without a womb was not an option.

The decision making process shown in both the film and this drama had a huge impact on the young person’s friendships and sense of self. This drama gave an interesting perspective for the characters as they navigated their sense of identity and coming of age challenges.

Our beautiful apartment
Another O’PENing short this...

Missed last week so this is two weeks' worth of http://WWW...

COMPLETED
The Potato Lab - Very YMMV. I can see why people liked this but for me the bright spots were few and far between.

Buried Hearts - What a hodgepodge of nonsense. I regret earning this bean.

The Art of Negotiation - Good conclusion while leaving space for more story if we get a S2. It's been a while since I've enjoyed an Ahn Pan-seok show and esp. enjoyed the directing - some of the scenes were almost hypnotic to watch in my inability to look away. Gotta call out Jang Hyun-sung's performance too - so good!

STARTED
Resident Playbook - The main characters being divided into stereotypes made me pause but it got better as the story progressed. Did find myself clock-watching a bit in the Evil Resident parts - the episodes are a tad too long.

WATCHLIST
The Haunted Palace - I do not do well with horror so I'm hoping this will live up to its Wikipedia description of being a 'rom-com fantasy' 🤞. Plus I have nothing else on my plate 😬.

C-DRAMAS
Started The Demon Hunter's Romance mostly because there wasn't much else to watch but it's surprisingly engrossing. I'm up to Ep. 7 now and the story beats are familiar - childhood connection, ML's past - but the leads are selling it.

The Divorce Insurance: I continue to enjoy this drama despite the forced moments. It is nice that there doesn’t seem to be an issue with any of the couples cross pollinating. I still don’t like the dancing farmer.

Dear M: I tried the first episode and most of the second. I just wasn’t in the mood for it, so it is a pass for me.

Way Back Love: I cried A LOT. It had some flaws, and I mostly liked the ending. However, saying goodbye to the ones you lose is very hard, that grief can be all encompassing and I think this drama showcased that beautifully.

The Haunted Palace: I’m not sure how I feel after the first episode, will wait to make a determination after the 2nd.

Resident Playbook: Can’t wait to get more into our 1st years lives and cases.

Resident Playbook (1-2): These doctors are about as flawed as it gets, which should hopefully make for a great story about growth (and hopefully friendship as well). And with like the entire Hospital Playlist cast reportedly making cameo appearances at this point, we're probably getting fan-service every week, so that should be fun.

The Divorce Insurance (5-6): The two main romances are great, and a delight to watch… And then there's Ah-young's relationship with this dancer/ farmer/ village head dude that this drama really loves to force down my throat for some reason. We really went from her planning to marry herself (how refreshing) to her getting involved with some random overbearing loser (how utterly predictable). I'm not sure this drama is quite as open-minded as it likes to pretend it is.

Bunny and Her Harem (2-3): Kinda wish we actually heard that A-rang recording that made Jae-yeol shift into possessive protective mode, but whatever I guess. I'm sure we'll find out if and how A-rang is shady, but I wouldn't have minded a bit more context so we knew whether or not Jae-yeol's kinda possessive actions at the end were reasonable. Like, I'm sure all of this was meant to be romantic regardless, but that doesn't really work for me if you give me no context to work with (and I don't see what's swoony about suddenly grabbing somebody's wrist and then refusing to let go).

Live (13-14): What kinda terrible world is this that Jung-oh has to apologize for saying that sex ed is important, and that it might actually help prevent sexual assault? Heck, she didn't even speak out of turn because she was literally answering the questions the parents were asking, they just didn't like the answer. Now, I'm pretty sure that this was supposed to be anger-inducing and frustrating, but I'm a bit mixed on the execution of it. Because most of that story really just felt like a bunch of guys yelling at her about something they didn't actually fully understand, while Jang-mi, the one person that's arguably the closest to possibly understanding, didn't get involved in this story at all for some reason. Like, that scene Jung-oh had with Yang-chon really should've been given to Jang-mi, as I'm not sure that scene as it was had quite the intended effect as all it accomplished was making me angry at Yang-chon. Like, for all his faults, even Sang-soo knew he had to shut up when Jung-oh told him about her past (which Yang-chon literally overheard).

The Flower in Prison (5-12): Yun's stint in prison didn't last nearly long enough, though it was certainly satisfying to see. I was hoping that Ji-hun would actually be a tough but fair police captain when he was first introduced, but he's really nothing more than Yun & Jeong's lapdog at this point. Anyway, very curious to see how succesful Oknyeo will be in proving that the coup was fake (and thus getting Tae-won free). Also, I'd very much love it if she...

Live Watches
Buried Hearts/Treasure Island: Huh. I really think the whole thing would have been better without the last 10 minutes, but on the other hand, I think I understand what they were trying to say. This was always a story about people who had set their eyes on a goal and wouldn’t let anything stand in their way. Honestly I’m the most disappointed that they made sure we all knew Dong-ju and Eunnam had unprotected sex at the very beginning and then it didn’t result in a pregnancy! It goes against all kdrama logic. I was entertained as I watched this show, but I already don’t remember most of it, and if PHS hadn’t been there, I probably wouldn’t have started it in the first place. Still looking forward to his true villain era next!

The Haunted Palace: (halfway through ep 1) Off to a fun start! That poor prince is giving me Kingdom flashbacks, but not in a bad way. Kim Young-kwang is having such a blast here, and I’m having a blast watching him! Hopefully it won’t be disappointing when our Imugi switches bodies…

Older Dramas
Taxi Driver 2: (finished!) Always satisfying to watch our heroes take down a bunch of terrible people. And I actually enjoyed Shin Jae-ha in this role a lot more than I was expecting to! The twist with his parentage at the end was well done and his end felt appropriate, especially in light of our recent conversation about redemption arcs for people who have gone too far. Excited to watch Lee Je-hoon with silver hair next!

My Ajusshi: (rewatch, 15 episodes in) Dong-hoon’s determination to be happy is a reminder I needed right now. This whole drama is such a work of art, I’m just trying to savor every conversation before it ends. Realized this week that the Chairman of the engineering company is probably my favorite character. Him and the custodian.

I've been in a bit of a slump... nothing is as beguiling as The Witch (I continue to listen to the instrumental OST on repeat); nothing is as fun as Undercover High School. Watched the first episode of a couple of things, but nothing clicked. Also, want to mention - they're very different dramas, but they somehow remind me of each other in terms of feels and vibes, so if you liked The Witch, you may also like Rainless Love in a Godless Land.

Finished
Finished a slow rewatch of The Matchmakers - just as gentle and lovely in a second viewing! It's always curious to me how a drama might change its impact or lose its lustre on a second viewing (some dramas just can't transcend the emotional space and place you bring to an initial watch), but I'm pleased to report this is NOT the case for The Matchmakers. Sweet without being fluffy, and just the right amount of bittersweet to avoid being saccharine. It's still number one on my list and in my heart! ♥️ Pleased once again by how beautifully complete and happy the ending is, without sacrificing narrative fidelity. (Although I'm STILL upset they never released a full instrumental OST). Between this and The Witch, I'm recognizing that what separates my favorite romances from "meh" ones is a narrative reliance on (mutual) yearning, sacrifice, and protection, all with a happy ending, of course! (*Rather than relying on skinship and "cuteness"*). (*See also: Rainless Love in a Godless Land; Bossam: Steal the Fate).

I'll be trying The Haunted Palace this weekend - fingers crossed that this will be my next live watch!

Webtoons
Since I haven't been watching as many dramas this past week, I've been reading more webtoons! From This Life to the Next has been excellent and has beautiful artwork. I'm nearly caught up with The Ki Sisters, which is a HILARIOUS parody of rom-com tropes. These are two favorites I'm reading right now.

Eagle Brothers: Hedgehog has been nailed by Cupid🤣🤣🤣. That game of cards😋😋😋... totally loved it. I knew Gwangsook was in for a lot of spanking. Thankfully they didn't settle for the head spanking punishment for losing cause Gwangsook will be red by the end of it all.

How Am I Going to Kill Dong-joo This Week: It ended. In the most illogical way possible. Causing Tae-yun harm in that manner leaves room for a lot of suspension of belief. And to have Eun-nam painting like life goes on...it is pathetic and unfeeling. I don't have anything good to remember this drama with. They just ruined 16 episodes of work with that one singular shot at causing consequences to his mother. The writer should have looked for a more fitting punishment for his Mom.

The Art Of Negotiation: Episode 10 was a blast. The CEO guy could have gotten his money but he just had to be corrupt.

Resident Playbook: I have a struggle connecting to the main character in the lead ensemble but I see her plight. Oh! I laughed a lot. Too much for a medical drama. But I think they did a good job telling me explicitly that this is no Hospital Playlist. I'm hurt but such is life.
Ra Mi-ran was a blast. The dream in a dream in a dream in real life was chef's kiss. She shined too much I was pissed she wasn't a running cast member for the rest of the show.
The perfect gift to wrap the week? The guest appearance of Ahn Eun-jin, our Eternal Chu Min-ha (Chu Chu). I look forward to how they introduce other cameos as this runs. Oh! They are fresh newlyweds!!!🎉🤭🎉🎉

Strong Girl Bong-soon: I just have to rewatch bits once in a while, because while parts of it is so, so dumb, it just has irresistible silliness, too, and if ever there was chemistry, Min-Min and Bong-soon has it. This time watching, it struck me that it was quite fun if you perceived “stop motion” as “a little break where you don’t move”. However, I ended up making this https://media1.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExY3Q5YWdrbWFoc25mcmppYnN2ZDZqaXF1eGF0djBycG1sdXBjdHBiMiZlcD12MV9pbnRlcm5hbF9naWZfYnlfaWQmY3Q9Zw/8JPMKJwxkycI1uL506/giphy.gif
When my sister was learning to play the piano and first encountered the (quarter) rest sign, she asked what it meant and was told: “a rest”. “Wow, great!” said she, and leaned back.
The Art of Negotiation: That was nice … it was more exciting along the way, though. I think the more delicate human interactions that made deals work was the best part of this drama.
***
Not-a-K-drama :
The Residence: Such a cool crime show! And so funny! Highly recommended from here!
Our Nest Box Cam: MomSvit, the great tit, has laid 8 eggs and has begun brooding. Daddy Svit is bringing her food. The eggs look a bit like cricket balls.
The Handmaid’s Tale (ep. 1-4) : Of course, this show was incredibly good in the first season while following Margareth Atwood’s masterpiece closely, and since then it has deteriorated for every season, while still occasionally bringing some interesting perspective.
This season, proclaimed to be the last season, is looking up, - it probably helps, as the recapper of The Vulture Amanda Whiting writes, that they don’t have to keep the motor running, using the same plot over and over again to prolong the tale.
A lot of the time, though, I feel an emptiness, some kind of Papier-mâché figure, in the roles. Though Serena is a wonderful example if you want to learn about White Feminism (took me some time to get it, but you know, it’s basically privilege blind feminism; and when it comes to blindness, Janine has nothing on Serena. Ms Joy can barely see her own nose with either of her senses) … though she is a wonderful example of that, it’s a bit much that she really hasn’t learned anything during all this time? That she (SPOILER) blabbers on to a trainful of ex-handmaids that they really ought to be thankful?
*
[Another insert: If only one time ever (and not just: always), now certainly is the time to remember that even if right now, me, myself and I am not troubled directly by the current avalanches of crumbling justice, it will come to me, too, if I do nothing. And to my children.]
*
And … I get that June is ruined, but when she acts out in the fourth episode, it seems so childish. I mean, are we just going to accept any act from her as probable, because she has suffered so much?
Another thing – which is a bit unfair to the show whose premise was the...

Crushology 101: 6.5 Day 2: mostly harmless, moderately amusing. Day 3: Locked room mystery, kdrama edition -- why do phones never work when somebody is locked in a room?

Resident Playbook: 6.5 Episodes are pretty long. And feel long.

Dear M: 4.0 Depending on where you look, this show may belong to 2025 or 2021. It seems Kim Sae-ron was originally supposed to be in it, but left supposedly because of a dispute over top billing. This was before her drunk driving disaster, when she could have been a legitimate lead. Then release of the show was delayed (except for some streaming sites) because of bullying allegations against the girl who got the top billing. KSR's replacement was Roh Jeong-eui, of recent Witch & Crushology fame.
I can't help speculating that:
1: The wrong girl left. Couldn't possibly have turned out worse if KSR had stayed in.
2: Show is arising from the dead now to catch the Roh Jeong-eui wave.
3: We should have year end polls for "Stale Bean" and "Bean of Indigestion".
Dropped after ep 2. Didn't seem to have much except eye-candy and contrived boring dialog delivered by wooden actors. Made me wonder how KSR even ended up agreeing to take a role in this lemon, and wonder even more about how she left.

Way Back Love: 6.5 So you have to say someone's name 3 times before you take them to the afterlife!? Good to know.
The ending was quite "kdrama". This is how you know a writer doesn't have the guts to really upset the viewers, much like Hyperknife.

Haunted Palace: 7.5 At least there's one show this week that's easy to stay awake for.

EAGLE BROS (Ep 21-22) The culling of the "bad" secondary characters have begun in earnest. The week was highlighted by the hospital "dates" of the leads. A nonsensical news report cliffhanger attempts to pour cold water on Gwang-Sook's accomplishments.

VILLAINS EVERYWHERE (Ep 9-10) The series continues with more comedic perils of the Oh sisters families. First, Na Ra wants to compete in a TV dance show but her husband refuses. (IRL, Oh Na Ra graduated with a college degree in dance.) But brother in law is an intense dancer who comes out of his wife’s dance banishment by bribery. It takes a good dancer to show the painful moments of an amateur dancer. They fail in their quest but their adventure ends on their own terms. Meanwhile, the teen cousins start their earnest quest to impress house guest Won Hee. initially, by acts of fruit strength then by putting aside their fear and allergy to dogs to help shelter Won Hee’s lost pup. Yi-Na’s secret internship status puts her Dad into more awkward situations that cascade into a farce of misunderstood signals. Second, the familiar family failure of things being too good top be true: the Song family’s attempt to take their first overseas trip turns into a cascade of stumbles and bumbles. But in the end, the families unite to make memories over the loss of money.

DIVORCE INSURANCE (Ep 5-6) We get another week of the show splitting off into new directions, including a bad CGI tiger appearance. More corporate espionage, more hand holding applicants to stop a claim being filed, and the strained push to start love lines between the cast.

HIDDEN FACE (2025) During press screenings, her cast members kidded Jo Yeo Jeong about “taking them to the awards shows” based on JYJ’s performance in this film. They were right: two nominations for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress at Baeksang. Having not seen the prior source materials did not matter as the trailers outlined the base element of the premise: betrayal. Jo gave a dynamic performance: from spoiled to feral, to narcissistic to sociopathic that tied together the disturbing story twists to the very end. Jo was The Star of this film. It was one of a few winter holiday season movies to break even though it was rated 19+.

COPY + PASTE+ STEAL Artists v. Generative AI (Undercover Asia/CNA Insider YouTube channel): A year-old investigative news report on Artist copyright claims against AI misuse, scrapping and legal issues that covers the matter from a global viewpoint. One interesting thing is a photographer’s case against AI plagiarism was her unique magazine portrait of Korean actress Park Ji Hyun.

The Haunted Palace (1/16): As a Melody I came for SungJae but it looks like I will be staying for less superficial reasons!🤭After that good buildup I understandably like our female lead, even though boring Gab holds no candle to delightful Imoogi Kim Young-Kwang…well until SungJae pulled his usual supernatural alter ego, that is!🫡 I cannot wait for more darkness and shenanigans, I like my romcoms spirited.😉

Happy Saturday, Beanies! And Easter to those who celebrate)))

BURIED HEARTS: Bye-bye, crazy drama! You started with a bang and ended on a gloomy whimper, but when the bang is literally your own protagonist shooting his brains out, you can keep it, tyvm. Hyungsik did so well, and that's enough. His other revenge drama seems to be in pre-production limbo for ages, guess it's time to let my hopes for it go. Heard TWELVE is slated for August, so we'll see him soon there instead.

CHINESE HORROR STORY THE DEMON HUNTER'S ROMANCE: It's alive! And quite watchable, which is good, since I have nothing else ongoing on my plate otherwise. Coincidentally, it's the same scriptwriter as in recently ended AMBF, and there are plenty of similar points: slower, introspective pace, soft witty humor, likable in non-flashy way leads, gentle slowburn romance, plenty of ethical topics to ponder... Difference is that this drama is creepy af. Literal horror – like early seasons of SUPERNATURAL meets classical Chinese horror creepy, with a dash of SPIRITED AWAY. I was also reminded of Simon R. Green's NIGHTSIDE novel series – very first book in particular. It's not a standard xianxia setup – most people doesn't know or even properly believe in the fact that demons (yaoguai - nature and other spirits) exist, and latter take full advantage of that. I find it very interesting how drama gives demons both human qualities, making us feel for them, but also monstrous ones – nothing is simple or black and white about it here. Actors for these parts all did fantastic job so far too, including folks I didn't expect much from.

That's not to say that leads are weak in comparison – it's the first time I'm seeing both, and they deliver, separately and together (and both dub themselves). FL, in particular, is really good, I see now why people were so upset with her tax accusations hurdle. Hope she'll be able to get her career back on track after this (and, hopefully, TPOB soon) doing well. I imagine many people not liking her character tho – gentle, easily frightened, non-combat proper young ladies don't do great with the modern crowd for variety of reasons – but she plays the role so human-like, with soft resilience and understated wisdom. Well, 2 roles – there is a certain arc, not to spoil much... You need to see it for yourselves, but impressive indeed. ML is good too – I've heard VERY polarizing opinions on his acting, and guess he's the case of “if the role fits”, which is what we're seeing here. It's always nice to get ML that is - gasp! - calmly mature and not eternal aching pain in the ass. And leads like each other based on mutual kindness and care – well, that and certain “not again!” trope I always expect in this genre so wasn't bothered by, sorry^^

I’ve been shedding tears Beanies. At the state of the world. At the most beautiful Way Back Love. At just the first few episodes of When Life Gives You Tangerines, which I finally started. At least the last two are good cries—love, love, love.

However, I don’t think a few scenes of Hong Min-ki in Crushology 101 are worth the price of admission for me. Instead, I’m going to catch The Haunted Palace and Heavenly After . May drama fortune strike me thrice this weeK.

Hi Beanies! Happy Easter! 🌸🌼🌷

What I'm watching:

_ Crushology 101 (3 out of 12). As someone said, this show is fluffy and unsubstantial like cotton candy. There are tropes galore, but it's entertaining. A total guilty pleasure. I'm still waiting for Hong Min Ki ☺️

_ Heo's Diner (8 out of 10). This show is about to end and there is zero progression in the characters and the plot 🤦‍♀️

_ C-drama Eternal Love (3 out of 58). I don't know if I'm in the mood for a xianxia yet, but I'll try with this classic. The first episodes are light like a fairy tale.

_ The Haunted Palace. I have only watched the first minutes and I like it. Nice intro!

What I have finished:

_ Way Back Love. A good mini drama with a positive message and very good actings (Kim Min Ha gives a great performance as a cheerful teenager who is experiencing her first love and a depressed young adult who has lost her reasons to live).

_ The Art of Negotiation: one of the best dramas this year. The last episode was excellent. I could watch a second season.

_ C-drama Under the microscope. Good script about a historical anecdote. Maybe the trial lasted for too long, but I enjoyed the actings of Zhang Ruo Yun and Wang Yang.

_ Western shows I have watched lately: Landman (I didn't like it. However I loved 1883, also created by Sheridan), Outlander season 6 and I'm currently finishing Black Mirror Season 7.

This looks more like a shopping list lol

When Life Gives You Tangerines It chops onions for you too, dang. But most of those were good tears! It has its sad moments, but this is one of the warmest and most lovingly told stories I've ever watched. The time jumps reminded me of reminiscing while looking through a box of old photos. Literally everything about this drama, especially the acting and way it focused on the simple but profound acts of love from family and community, was amazing 🧡

The Potato Lab Paused it 10min into the premiere to wait for the Beanie consensus, and it sounds like the kind of light n' breezy swoony nonsense I could enjoy. Watching ep 1 now 🥔

Eagle Brothers
Chairman Han basically on a date with Gwangsuk and being so happy made me grin from ear to ear. 🙂

One Week Before I Die
An absolutely charming snd heartbreaking tale about grief.
I laughed... and I cried.
(I did like 1-4 more than the ending episodes, but it was stil a very good watch.)

Art of Negotiation
This was not a show I originally had on my watching list, but I'm glad I checked it out. The plot was actually usually simple (and a lot of points I guessed), but, as with all PD An Panseok's dramas, it was a great pleasure to watch all characters, even the ones with minor roles. And so I enjoyed Jang Hyunsung as overconfident financial director aiming even higher (and yet being not so smart), Hidden Strategist Oh Manseok... or the secretary team... and uri Lawyer's Mom. Then there was of course the M&A team... and Lee Jehoon's white hair, a stroke of a genius. (I admit at one point I even searched for a webtoon source material and was surprised there was none. 😄) If they make season 2, I will definitely check it out, for the characters.

Demon Hunter's Romance, 3 eps
A relaxing watch so far, Song Zu Er is finally back and I am quite enjoying her performance.

The Witch

I was LOVING this show, and then ep 9 happened. Everything about the last 2 eps felt wrong. The nonsensical disappearance of Dong Jin, the way Eun Shil knew everything but we had to watch her discover everything again (excruciatingly slowly) with Joong Hyuk. The way the 2 suddenly fell in love out of nowhere. The way confessing to love or else witnessing someone dying felt like a bare sword hanging over Mi Jung's (and JH's) head. MJ going to Hallstatt??? How did she have the brain jump that he would be there?? (And why did he decide to go there in the first place??) Then what was the point of preserving both their childhood houses? All of the clues left behind when he was safe and alive added nothing but wasted air-time (like all the maddening flashbacks which were worse than anything I've ever seen in a drama) to the story. Now if that accident had really happened at the end of ep 8, that would have been another story, and the clues would have veen very much on point, giving some hope to JH's future, and even MJ's future. And DJ would remain the unattainable super-idealistic self-sacrificing hero that he already was. Because the way this happened in the end it didn't at all feel like MJ truly loved DJ, it just felt forced because she was scared of having someone else die because of her (JH's love too)

I should mention that I had watched Jin-young before only in 2 mysterious and intense roles in He Is Psychometric and The Devil Judge, and Noh Jung Ui only in Deserving of the Name in a very tragic role, so when I started watching theis I was mostly getting a feeling of deep mystery, intrigue, and vague tragedy, and interestingly no romance. I might have been predisposed then, but I still think my ending is a lot better than what we got 😁

In conclusion, like mostly everyone else has said, this was a very very interesting story, very badly executed.

Some positive points:

I LOVED everything about Jin-young's acting. His voice-overs. His very natural style of fast speaking. His desperation. His nearly manic dedication. The way he simultaneously feared and expected disaster every second. Every second of his feelings felt almost physically palpable.

The ost and the background music were so so beautiful and on point. I loved all of it.

I loved loved the relationship between DJ and his mother. Even her sickness and passing was beautifully shown.

There have been a few dramas where every location, every shot, every object feels like an important character and sticks in my mind. One such drama was Que Sera Sera. Another was Bitter Sweet Home. The Witch had a similar effect on me too.

After The Witch, I tried watching The Art of Negotiation. But after watching Jin Young looking for logic like a maniac for 10 hours I felt bored with men looking so cool and snotty very quickly.

I thought maybe I was in the mood for more fantasy so I started Family Matters which I had recently seen...

I barely made it past the 10 minute mark of CRUSHOLOGY because I just could not with the FL stating that, sigh, she had to accept she likes handsome guys as if that's somehow novel or interesting (every straight woman and gay man feels the same, girl). But worse, the first boyfriend who we were supposed to see as decidedly NOT handsome was still very cute. I get that we're in the mixed up world of kdramas where someone who isn't absurdly beautiful is considered ugly, but still, I couldn't stomach it and had to move on.

So I tried RESIDENT PLAYBOOK. I really like Go Young-jung and I accepted at the top that I was probably going to have to slog through a couple of initial episodes chock full with cliches about resident life. But still, I had trouble focusing on the set-up. I think this is probably the type of drama that pays off in the end, so I will give it another go.

Finally, I hit play on HAUNTED PALACE. How did I not know Kim Young-kwang was in this?! He's clearly relishing this role and is so fun to watch. At the same time, I despaired at the thought that we're probably not going to see very much of him shortly thanks to the body swap. However, this was a lot better than I thought it would be and I was still thinking about it after watching, which is always a good sign that I might be hooked soon. The supernatural story is genuinely interesting and chilling at points, the humor works, and there's potential here for a lot of romantic tension. Not a big triangle person, either, but I can see an epic one possibly forming here. Excited for episode 2!

Resident Playbook is my only live watch right now.
While waiting for this week's eps to air, decided on a whim to go rewatch Search WWW. It was my second ever Kdrama, and I absolutely loved it then, so I was a bit apprehensive in case it turned out less good than my memory served. Happy to say I love it still, or possibly more, this time around even after 4 years, and so has very much cemented it's place in my top dramas ever.
Watched Glass Dome (Scandi Noir, after a long time) also. Quite good, though I guessed the perpetrator halfway through.
I want to watch Haunted Palace, but I don't think I can lol.

Heavenly Ever After andThe Haunted Palace are on my list.

Crushology 101 It's very superficial and the "spring(=youth)" filter is too much.

Resident Playbook I read some people was unhappy because the 4th year resident wasn't handsome enough... As a person who didn't like the romance in HP but curious in this one, I'm frustraded people who judges only by the appearance...

Way Back Love This drama was so good! Very funny and touching. I liked the cameo with Krystal (our couple of gods reunited) as a Grim Reaper, Shim Eun-Kyung as a sunbae, Kim Ji-Soo. I wished to see Jung Gun-Joo again at the end. But it was nice to see she kept in touch this time. Kim Ram-Woo would have been a great candidate for Tomorrow's Crisis Management Team! The actors were great, Kim Min-Ha was incredible as a teenager and as an adult.

Live watches...

The Divorce Insurance It's all over the board but somehow I'm still enjoying it. The dialogue is particularly good. Lee Dong Wook never disappoints with his expressive face. I love his chemistry with Lee Joo Bin and Lee Kwang So.

Way Back Love I really appreciated the acting and production quality of this short, bittersweet story. However, as with WHAT COMES AFTER LOVE, it lacked a truly creative ending. I do wish k-drama writers/directors would take more risks with these short stories. They could be much more compelling and more popular.

The Haunted Palace Looking forward to watching eps 1-2 tonight! And I'll be starting The Witch next week.

From the vault...

Finally getting around to watching 2019's Extra-Ordinary You. It took a few eps to grab me but now I'm appreciating the story and its potentially deeper commentary. I always love a drama filmed at the height of a lush Korean summer. It's also really fun to see so many now popular actors when they were younger. And the same school setting as UNDERCOVER HIGH SCHOOL. A light and easy watch with an "extra-ordinary" number of wrist grabs (going both ways haha).

Have a great week beanies! 😀

Just Finished:
1. Way Back Love
2. Under the Microscope
Both were so good - but for utterly different reasons (the former, gut-wrenching; the latter, cerebral and riveting) My heart is full.

Live Watches:
TBC - Heavenly Ever After seems to be the only one with potential but we will see. While I love medical procedurals, knowing that Resident Playbook is a spinoff from Hospital Playlist gives me *serious* pause (since I consider HP grossly over-rated) Would love to hear Beanies' takes on RP and Haunted Palace before I decide

Just started:
1. Tangerines 2. Art of Negotiation
SO GOOD

For all its flaws I have been enjoying THE DIVORCE INSURANCE. We are now at the halfway point.

My wife finally watched all of THE LONGEST DAY IN CHANG’AN and really loved it. She had started it once before and had then been distracted. This time she binged all 48 episodes. She recommends it very highly. She finished INHERITANCE DETECTIVE and really liked that Japanese drama as well. Now that we have Britbox she is watching British mysteries.

RESIDENT PLAYBOOK started and was actually not an easy watch but got better at the end of the second episode.

Speaking of highly recommended shows tomorrow my son and I will be watching TO THE WONDER. This will be a re-watch for me.

General Public Service Announcement: iQIYI is now having its annual sale (new members only)- this year it is only 40% off. It is worth it. The sale runs from 4/17/25 through 4/27/25.

This weekend our weekender FOR FIVE EAGLE BROTHERS will hit the halfway point. Last week saw our two leads spend two days in the hospital in adjoining rooms. It was sort of like a date- or perhaps our Chairman was even more accurate in describing it as a vacation. In any case our leads spent significant time together. Though neither would admit it their romance has now begun. This week will be much more dramatic.

THE HAUNTED PALACE has begun. I was too busy to catch the first episode but plan to rectify that today.

Happy easter!

I've hit pause on DIFFERENT PRINCESS now that the last stretch has doubled down on the angst factor and instead used my easter holidays rewatching my favourites among chinese webdramas, namely A FAMILIAR STRANGER, THE KILLER IS ALSO ROMANTIC and NIGHT OF LOVE WITH YOU for at least the third time. I just wish Viki would accept the two latter and rid my watching experience of that evil sound manipulation that befalls youtube. Anyone got any tips for great webdramas?

I noticed the scriptwriter for two of these has been involved in two dramas last year, HARD TO FIND and BE YOUR KNIGHT but I'm a bit sceptic towards the leads in those dramas so I'll see about that.