More August's watching list:
1. Twelve
2. My Troublesome Star
3. Love Untangled

Hi Beanies!

What I am watching:

_ Our Golden Days (4 out of 50). Episodes 3 and 4 are much better than the first two, in my opinion. I didn't find them slow or boring, and the characters gradually become more interesting. The ML is not someone likeable, but he is not a tsundere, nor a red flag. He is simply not very nice. I'm more curious about his best friend and what his story and plot will be.

_ High Kick Through the roof (2009) (90 out of 126). I'm yet with my sitcom, but watching slowly because I'm sad to be finishing it.

_ My troublesome star (First episode). As I mentioned in the recap, I quite liked the parts set in 1999, but the series lost a lot in the part set in 2025, so I think I'll leave it there for now. I'll probably read the recaps. I want to know if the younger versions of the main couple will have more screen time. Lee Min Jae is adorable.

C-Dramaland:

I've started watching Moonlit Reunion and When Destiny brings the Demon. It took me several days to start them because Viki released them a bit late in Europe.
I'm not going to live-watch both shows, but I wanted to check out at least the first episodes so I could decide which one to watch now:

_ C-drama Moonlit Reunion (Episodes 1 and 2). I admit that the plot doesn't interest me much at this moment, but visually the series is gorgeous, that's indisputable.

_ C- drama When Destiny brings the Demon (Episodes 1 and 2). It has started light and funny. The FL's behaviour is understandable and even relatable. The first episode is a good introduction to the characters and the situation, but the second episode fills in some of the missing information about the ML, and the comedy moments are on point. I'm not a huge fan of xianxias, but I think it could be quite an entertaining series.
The episodes fly by, so I'll keep watching it on air.

_ Western animated series Pantheon, based on an original story by Ken Liu (3 out of 16). Wow. The animation is far from being good but the script is excellent.

What I have finished:

_ C-drama The Imperial Coroner (2021). Even though it's a low-budget production (and it shows), the script more than makes up for it. It's a very well-written series, very interesting, and much more complex than it initially seemed. The main characters are a nice group of nerds, and I like the relationship between the four. I'll definitely watch the second season.

_ J-drama Animals (2022). This J-drama is a pleasant surprise. Everything feels very natural, there's little exaggeration (so typical of J-dramas and animes), and the characters and situations are quite believable. The music and songs are good too. The only downside is that the costumes and overall styling are incredibly strange. In this series, I've seen clothes and clothing combinations that I thought were quite ugly, honestly. I found it incredible that the characters actually liked those looks.

_ Western show Upload, season 3 (2023). This show had a...

Let me post my list first, will comment later.

Completed:
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For Eagle Brothers
The Defects
Omniscient Reader (kmovie)
Glass Heart (jdrama)

Currently Watching:
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The Nice Guy
The Winning Try
A Lovely Journey
Our Golden Days
Butterfly

Mary Kills People I wish to watch this drama but it's hard to find it...

The Nice Guy Noble idiocy...

Beyond the Bar It's surprisly the one I prefer for now.

The Winning Try The FL is so useless... Please, focus on the cute kids!

Dramas I need to try :
Twelve, My Troublesome Star, Aema and Bon Appetit Your Majesty

Aema (1-6): This one snuck up on me, and I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. The drama is technically presented as a comedy, but said comedy is also a front, as the main story here is ultimately pretty serious, which becomes more and more obvious the further you get into the drama. At it's core, this is a drama about two women in an industry that wants to exploit them, and how they try to to endure and stand tall against it all, and I quite liked how the drama used the erotic movie they were making to show both these things. With only 6 episodes, it's quite short, and maybe it could've used 2 more episodes to dive deeper into certain things. It's not perfect, but I think the drama succeeds in what it's trying to do more often than it fails, while also avoiding becoming guilty of the exact thing it's trying to criticize. Lee Ha-nee & Bang Hyo-rin both shine here, and I was also pleasantly surprised to see some familiar faces in the supporting cast. Also, bonus points for the horse riding, and Lee Ha-nee using a whip, as they feature in some of my favorite scenes.

Our Golden Days (3-4): Didn't expect the loveless marriage for the ML turn here, but now I'm actually hoping the drama actually goes through with it, even if I'm pretty sure they'll back out. Look, this thing is 50 episodes, you might as well use them

Lie After Lie (5): I'd say Eun-soo's plan to "seduce" Ji-min is off to a good start, because she has him right where she wants him. I actually really like their chemistry too, so I'm excited to see more of that.

Age of Youth 2 (6-10): S2 is actually genuinely hilarious, as I'd argue the comedy here is better than it was in S1, but when that comedy falls away, the cracks begin to show. Episode 9 was probably my least favorite episode of the entire drama. Eun-jae's break-up story hasn't gone anywhere, as I still struggle to understand what it's actually about. How am I even supposed to get invested here if they barely give me any context about the break-up in the first place? Jin-myung's story is... not even about her as the drama is more interested in the story of a failed idol with more ego than talent. Genuinely, what is this story even doing here? Did the drama forget who the lead is here? And the only interesting thing about Eun's story is her family, which the drama barely focuses on, because it's more interested in the borefest that is Jang-hoon while they still parade a lie in front of Ye-ji, who deserves better. Ji-won & Ye-eun are still the best, but Ji-won's story has been on the backburner lately, while Ye-eun's story with her friends isn't my favorite (and I'm still waiting for her and Ho-chang to really connect).

The Defects started strong with every one of us who were interested with the show believed it will give us a good show and a perfect ending. Some even hoped for a redemption arc.

But towards the end of the show especially in episode 7-8, there are too much loopholes and weaknesses as the director was running out of time in order to fit everything in these two final episodes, and it ends up being a disappointing watch overall.

My thoughts:

1. Why did the show kill the police detective so quickly in ep. 6? What a waste of good character, when we were very hopeful because the good detective wanted to help the kids, and his character can make a difference than what we normally see in policemen in Kdramas. The loophole: Nobody in the police department investigates his horrible death.

2. I'm glad Jung hyeon doesnt get a redemption arc because he's just a killing machine; after the detective, he went too far and mercilessly killed one of the kids 😥 (but still wondering why he couldnt kill the 2nd Ah Hyeon, so i wonder, is he a failed villain? Since his character is specially made up for the drama, they made him a weak villain). I also don’t feel anything when he's dead (he doesnt deserve an easy way out!!); he had several opportunities to redeem himself but he chose to continue being the Monster's killing machine. I just cant see how Se-hee came out of nowhere and appeared in the gym and he straight away trusted this stranger to call her mom. 🤔

3. So sad that Seok su dies. He doesnt deserve that humiliating death in front of the evil father. This boy deserves a good ending.

4. From episode 1 we prayed for a miracle that Ajussi Tae sik will appear to save the kids. But his resurrection is a waste. His special-ops-act killing Jung hyeon's 2nd in command also is also a waste of screening time.

5. Seeing how monsterous See-he could be in all episodes, she doesnt need a background story about being abandoned and bullied. I dont feel bad for her at all because she has never been a good mother to all of her children and she even killed her good husband (he could be 1st Ah hyeon's biological father). She went too far by killing her imperfect offsprings! How can we rationalise her childhood traumas with those killings? She is such a despicable person that it doesnt matter whether she got abandoned or bullied, none of it justifies her killing acts. Se hee is a villain who doesnt deserve the humanisation and sad backstory (what a waste of screening time). It is a good thing that 1st Ah hyeon leaves the gun for See hee to kill herself, but for her crimes, she doesnt deserves that easy way out.

6. All of the children behind the child shopping scheme are half siblings! See hee used her eggs for all of the fertilization with different sperms from the male donors and then using surrogates to give birth for her. Hohoo this is a mind blowing!!

Yup, I just returned from my birthday trip, and the first thing I did once I reach home was to complete The Defects because I had high expectation for the show. The final two episodes are too short to wrap up everything. I am disappointed with the weak ending.

That being said, we understand that all of the actors did the best they could with whatever materials they have.

The only happiness I found from the ending is that So-mi is reunited with her mother, that her mother is safe and she also adopts Si woo.

I had high hopes for TROUBLESOME STAR to fill in the early week void and I really like the two leads, but it is not only the ruddy make-up that needs to be toned down. I am still hoping that it will get better.

TOD, noble idiocy are all making an appearance in NICE GUY as expected near the drama's end. Best bit was the reaction of the police office when he was told about the loan his fair lady took out (and the size of that loan). What I cannot understand is how she could have given her parents house as security, unless she is also an owner.

MARY KILLS PEOPLE is the most interesting drama at the moment, but I have to wait for subtitles.

With so little to watch, I am still there for BEYOND THE BAR. The case of consent and love impairment was interesting, but the budding romance is not. I have high hopes for the new CEO of the law firm, I loved her as a lawyer in Pride and Prejudice.

Looking forward to the new dramas starting.

Thanks for the endorsement of Aema. I just started it myself, and was worried it would implode. Now I'm looking forward to it.

Keep us posted about Butterfly. It's on my watch list, once I finish me current viewing load.

I am enjoying BEYOND THE BAR. It is a better show than LAW AND THE CITY was (so far).

I continue to look forward to new episodes for MY LOVELY JOURNEY but was a bit puzzled at where the most recent episode ended. Hopefully this will be cleared up this weekend.

LOVE, TAKE TWO has become more interesting but I was expecting more romance given the title- and now we even have awkward love triangles (maybe sort of?)?

My wife loves Chinese Costume drama THE LEGEND OF THE FEMALE GENERAL (she loves it) and also THE WANTED DETECTIVE, has enjoyed THE IMMORTAL ASCENSION (Xianxia) and also FEUD (also Xianxia- and quite colorful- but I am not sure that it has the best CGI). The first episodes of WHEN DESTINY BRINGS THE DEMON have no been posted to Viki.

Our new weekender has completed four episodes and we now have a setup for our stories- and the beginnings of our main story. KBS has high hopes for this one but if we simply have a simple ordinary love triangle at its heart that will probably not happen. Sadly, if the show would just shift the FL from Jung In-sung to Go Won-hee by having the wedding actually take place and then tell that story going forward KBS might very well have been quite pleased with the results. I do not see that happening and I am afraid that Go Won-hee’s character will scarcely be more than a cameo.

Kdramas

The Winning Try The makjang is scoring more points than the Rugby team, which is disheartening. I am still watching this (at least for now). I admit, though, my motivation at this point is mainly to see scenes with Im Se-mi.

Aema This just came out on Netflix, and I am just starting episode 2. This one is giving me the same vibes as the Netflix J-drama "The Naked Director" that came out a few years ago. The subject matter is similar, so I am preparing myself for nudity and some sex scenes. I will use fast forward when necessary...

Human Disqualification (Lost) I finished it, and was pleasantly surprised that it avoided a train wreck. In fact, I ended up enjoying it quite a bit. I left a review on its Drama page here.

Jdramas

Their Marriage I find this one is still interesting, especially now that the plot is hinting at a weird and quasi-perverted love triangle. Remove that spice and we are left with a slow-burn mystery. The pacing could be a little better.

Learning to Love This show keeps getting better and better, although the actions of the ML are starting to annoy me. Not sure how it will end, but I'm on board to find out.

Chihayafuru: Full Circle This show is my favorite of all my current viewing. It's uplifting and heart-warming in the old-school Jdrama way. The world of competitive Karuta is still fascinating, as are the characters. I have been captivated by the actress Lina Arashi. She is obviously not ethnic Japanese, but she is completely fluent in the language. Her mysterious background was solved by asking ChatGPT, who told me she is a mix of Japanese, German, Russian, Iraqi, and Iranian descents. Amazing, and quite beautiful (she is also a model).

Cinderella Closet This is just one of those silly, awkward-situation plot Jdrama rom-coms, but somehow I am still being entertained. It helps that the episodes are short in length.

On the Verge of Insanity👨🏻‍💻👩🏻‍💻(16/16): Number one on my to watch list is finally crossed off! 🎉 A bit overrated in my opinion, but that is on me for getting influenced by the Beanie Hype. Not that I disagree, it is a great K-drama with many employees I would love to have as colleagues. Our Leads are among the better ones in K-dramaland, but my favorites will forever be the Shin siblings! ❤️❤️

OUR GOLDEN DAYS (Ep 3-4) This week we have a jarring left turn by the aloof, anti-marriage ML who a) rejects his friend (FL) who cares about him; b) agrees to marry an acquaintance (cameo actress?) in order to 1) get a high paying job and 2) get out of his family’s house. This opens the road for the 2ML to ask out FL who is on the rebound from ML’s rejection. The other story lines are following the very worn tropes of a stalker, potential birth secret, manipulative step-mom and looming family financial bankruptcy.

Mary Kills People is that drama I sorely want to watch but is freaking unavailable to a great degree. I watched the 5th episode with headaches trying to fill in the automated subs.
Oh Eui-shik will be missed. Man rocked that sleek golden hair so well.
Personally, I find it hard that they're looking to indict her for murder. They have no case, unless SK constitution has no thoughts on euthanasia. Indicting her for physician-assisted murder [correct me if I'm using the wrong wording] but then, it'd bring some heat the assemblyman's way.
Kwak Sun-young and Lee Yi-kyung🤣🤣🤣. I forgot to mention them in my last WWW but what an impressionable intro to the couple.

Nice Guy: Tae-hoon, I really liked you.
Honestly, Seok-hee should leave that guy alone. If I am to make a sacrifice, it has to be with someone who is willing to do same for me. It is not even about expecting my woman to move mountains for me, it is knowing that my woman will move mountains for me, no holds barred, just as I will move mountains for her no holds barred. Just to have that assurance. But this one....he's all about his own alone. His furtherance, never hers. I don't care that his heart is in the right place, he's equally self serving and that's a downer.
On the other hand, I'm loving Byung-soo and Seok-kyung.

Butterfly: The story is not new. So I'm watching to see how this is executed in this fashion.

The Winning Try: 6.0 Ep 8: A bit weird seeing the former coach again, knowing that the actor has died since we saw him in the early episodes. #9: Meh. Meanwhile, as an American I'm more interested in the shooting than the rugby -- ya know, what we do here 😖😨

Beyond the Bar: 8.0 Ep 5 was cheesy, but the good stuff, not Velveeta. #6 was ok-ish.

My Troublesome Star: 6.5 The description of the premise sounded meh, except at least it wasn't "My Lovely....". Then ep 1 was a bit better than I expected. Ep 2 wasn't.

Aema: 8.5 A rare show that ended better than it started.
- They did well with the dictator, casting someone who resembles Chun Doo-hwan. I you don't know what I'm talking about
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chun_Doo-hwan
- Also, finale had the best horseback riding scene since ep 2 of Splash Splash Love.

ONGOING
Mary Kills People - Did NOT expect Si-hyeon to be killed off like that. Also did not expect the backstory with So-jung's mother. Worried about Dae-hyun and Jae-yeon.

The Winning Try - Skimmed through Ep. 9 to see if there were some actual consequences for the Shooting Coach and…nothing. Not sure what point this show is trying to make with all these straight up evil people winning all the time. Seeing the rugby team succeed in Ep. 12 will not have much impact if we spend the previous 10-11 episodes watching everyone get stepped on.

My Lovely Journey - Well at least they didn't kill off the dog, which is what I was worried about. I do find the stories of the clients much more interesting than our main characters' - like the story of the Seoul/Hakodate romance. Still don't like the FL…

WATCHLIST
Aema, Bon Appetit, Your Majesty, and Twelve. I'll finally have a fuller k-drama plate 🎉🎊.

C-DRAMAS
Completed
Legend of the Female General - Liked this right till the end. Story mostly held up, leads were great (Cheng Lei is FINEEE), and there was a happy ending.

Summit of Our Youth - I'll just pretend the last 2-3 episodes never happened. Serviceable modern drama. FL's parents were probably my favourite part.

Started
When Destiny Brings the Demon - Dropped a few episodes in because Chen Fei-yu was epitomising 'Go ahead queen king, give us nothing' 😑.

Moonlit Reunion (up to Ep. 11) - Like it. Was worried about Tian Xi Wei portraying someone so mature but she's doing a great job and the larger cast of characters are good too. Quite different from the novel though so might not be for adaptation purists.

Watchlist
Shadow Love starting tomorrow. Might've watched anyway for the 'Cheng Lei opposite another female general' aspect but iQIYI's insane TikTok promo has made sure of it.

Love Take Two (Episode 5-6) - Mood: C-
Despite the overkill of family issues and the entrance of ML’s ex (which based on the preview is going to get really ugly), I’ll say this: this show does know its core narrative and keeps the focus on it. Sure, the surfer dude also having mommy issues was quite forced and I already dread the doctor’s delirium causing drama next week, but there’s the overall plot to hold on.

My Troublesome Star (Episode 1-2) - Mood: D+
The plot does remind me of Thirty but Seventeen but with double the Truck of Dooms and double the conspiracy. It isn’t exactly subtle with the politician already being foreshadowed as the sponsor that Se Ra rebuffed back in the past. I’m already missing Lee Min Jae and I hope there’ll be more flashbacks. The plot’s a mess anyway, might as well right.

My Lovely Journey (Episode 5-6) - Mood: D+
Now that we’re halfway into the show, I do feel like my initial interest in this show has pretty much died down as it settles in with the procedurals: it’s not the coming-of-age story I was looking for but rather a slice-of-life exposition where the link is the FL helping out in them all. No main or supporting character is developed interestingly and that is how the show lost me.

Beyond the Bar (Episode 5-6) - Mood: D+
I read a theory online about how the FL’s ex will end up with the FL’s sister to atone for his sins and thought that was crazy, but it seems like a redemption arc might be in the works for him. On another note, I’m disappointed with Min Jeong’s arc as it is just very insipid: you have Jeon Hye Bin and Lee Hak Joo and this is what you give them to work with?

The Winning Try (Episode 7-8) - Mood: D
One disease wasn’t enough so they had to add another?! Two teams weren’t enough so they had to add the aerobics team drama?! Three weeks aren’t going to be enough when there are still four players in the rugby team who are basically extras at this point of time but we’re already headed into the penultimate week. I feel so pitiful for the actors who deserved better.

My Girlfriend Is the Man (Episode 9-10) - Mood: D
We are in the penultimate week of the show and the gender change is still being thoroughly abused as a plot device for the narrative. There is no reason or logic for why Ji Eun keeps on switching as the show refuses to develop the fantasy element even when Grandma is right there. Young Seok rejecting both women is a nice touch but I think his arc has come to an end.

I'll take that honestly. She'll deliver to perfection. I'm watching this solely for her in the main cast.

While looking for old embroideries for the So-young Journey, I stumbled upon some old satirical drawings and was amazed at the surreal tigers there ... Dali has nothing on them!
I especially think on the one to the right (your right) here: https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1630/6193/files/minhwa.png?v=1597279793

About that middle position of knowing very little, but still a lot than nothing at all:
After getting the idea to that embroidery cult story, I posted my pictures on Facebook, too, because I thought the idea could be fun also outside K-drama watchers community.
Only the next day it occurred to me that most people don't know what "oppa" means.
(I then posted a long and inaccurate explanation).