Hyun Bin was absolutely amazing in this drama.
Btw, it was the first k-drama I ever started and the third I finished.

Hope this has a happier ending than Uncontrollably Fond.....

Kim Woo-bin's long hair is giving a bad Bride of Habaek. I hope Genie chops it off early on in the show.

My biggest squee this week was when I finally watched the finale of the jdrama Ichiban Sukina Hana (My Beloved Flower), which was a beautiful and heartfelt ending to a fantastic drama. Friendship really was the name of the game here, and the drama never once got confused about that, but I also love how this friendship wasn't just between our 4 leads, but also between some of the side characters (and I loved how the finale basically brought back everyone that mattered in some way).
It's really a drama about the connections we make, both past & present, and how those connections can influence the life of you and others, even if that's not necessarily in a big way. After all, sometimes all you need is that one person that doesn't hate you. The story isn't really all that grand, it can often be very simple, but that's also where the beauty in it lies. This was a gem that I won't soon forget.

Yes, I agree there that he was in subtle tears, but I read them as tears of relief that CJ and SY survived the ordeal. I meant that he seemed happy later, when he is back in a suit and looking around at modern Seoul and smiles. But of course we aren’t given very much of him at all, so it’s hard to say.

I'm happy to report that I was never confused, and understood everything the first time around. It's one of my favorite dramas. Glad that you liked it this time!

Lol, Anne 18, confession:
When I just visited r/kdramas I was surprised to see I had been there about 2 months ago and left a comment about Song Kang’s first possible post military drama: FOUR HANDS where he will portray a piano prodigy. As far as I can remember that is my only comment there. I got 3 upvotes LOL.

Rewatched Memories of the Alhambra this past week - binged in 2 days. I was surprised how much I loved it this time around. I found an explanation for all the game logics, was much more understanding of PSH's personality and bouts of crying, and am totally fine with the ending. JW is alive and well and will leave the game confines as soon as his programming team finds him, and they will thanks to his helping new gamers and causing some buzz! Huge squee for Hyun Bin - so impressed with his acting in this one. His scene pulling out the Key of Heaven from his chest was so realistic I started getting worried! Realized this time around from the 1st ep that he's not a good guy, or at least hasn't been acting like one, so his transformation over the course of the drama was amazing. Can highly recommend the analyses of packmule3 at b*tchesoverdramas for anyone still confused about what actually happened, the consistency of game rules, symbolism etc.
This drama has jumped 60 spots in my favs list - now at #15 :) Maybe I'll watch W now?

I watched episodes 5 and 6 and forgot to write up my impressions here. Discussing the show is one of the most pleasurable parts!

In episode 5, I kept thinking about a murder case from the 1980s where a young man from a wealthy background picked up a woman in a bar and strangled her to death. They were school friends and he claimed that he accidentally killed her during "rough sex." (Which was obviously, a lie.)

Having that in the back of my mind made me super uncomfortable in the scenes in the bar where Kang Hyo-min meets the ex-boyfriend/defendant in her case. I understood that she was made uncomfortable because she couldn't reveal that she was a lawyer in his case in front of her friends. (That would be a potential breach of confidentiality.) Yet she also had an obligation to divulge who she was to the defendant.

At the same time I thought, "well, at least she's safe from his sadism." When he started coming on to her, I figured the friends didn't stop it because they thought he was her type.

Everything on these shows depends on dramatic irony, doesn't it? Only we know that the plaintiff in the dating case was pressured into sexual torture for her boyfriend's gratification.

Episode six was a little over the top. How did the established artist copy the young genius? I had no idea. Also, the opening scene with the social climbing friends arguing about who got ripped off by copy cats was more alienating than watching people eating squirming octopus tentacles. I do approve of the consistency of the screen writers for sticking with disability and parenting themes.

Even after six episodes, I still don't like Hyo-min's boss, Seok-hoon. The actor is really good at looking concerned and like he's listening intently, which is 100% of his charm in every role. But! The mentor came back and there is intrigue at work. That makes me want to watch more.

I love that AC dedicated a book to her dog, and that she named him Peter.

I started this series late, and so far have finished 4 episodes (no spoilers). You summed it up beautifully -- and reminded me that I really do enjoy sports tropes, provided that the production respects both the sport and the genre. Although Hot Stove League is perhaps more of a corporate genre (Namkoong Min did not play an athlete), and Prison Playbook is more of a prison genre, baseball adds an extra special something to both of them. Like the MLs these series, Ga Ju-ram has won me to his side (although I did not immediately warm to him). However Winning Try's antagonists seem a bit overdrawn compared to those in Stove League and Prison Playbook.

I feel that the first game at the end of episode 2 had just the right touch, though I must add that I know very little about rugby. (But I do know and love baseball enough to recognize universal aspects of team sports and am enjoying the rugby.)

May you have to eat every meal across from a person who chews too loudly, who snorts like a pig when sipping soup, and speaks/sprays food when talking to you.

The dancing to "Soda Pop" internet trend has hit some of our favorite middle-aged Korean actors. Link is to Youtube: https://youtube.com/shorts/28X0BwVjNpw?si=ckSSYjxfNWmVV-AV

@anne18 You've written: "I think 2000s was the decade of glossy lips." Which made me wonder, have you seen drama Miss Korea?

K.Pop Demon hunters? everyone is talking about it but I didnt think much of the songs ... but then he is a pretty big name at this moment at least. yes, I like that we get different things - opera in july, now classical, traditional and jazz. pretty cool, also the film shelf in the library and I seriously am glad. I did a sneaky thing, I know I should not but I put myself on the waiting list for 3 movies already. librarian advantage. totally exploiting my position. but look I have waited 4 years for those movies...

Haha, “87% more cool” is surprisingly specific 😂 But I get it. The ending did not leave me overwhelmed or underwhelmed by any means, but maybe just… okay? 🧐😅
I liked that we got to see the little glimpses of their future, but I agree there could have been a lot more screen time for those. I liked the fusion of both personalities, but So-yong wasn’t a real melting pot of character traits in the end, so I felt a little bit sad for our king that he was robbed of some of the quirks he grew to find so very endearing in “her”. (At least I’m sure So-yong will at most display a very much toned down version of Bong-whan’s “specialties”, being more in tune again with her original character. Will she still go to the palace kitchen or utter random anglicisms he will need to translate? I doubt it! 🥹)

However, despite the “a little bit flat” ending I still think that this is one of the rare drama gems I will enjoy watching time and time again. 🥳 I cannot remember having laughed out loud so many times watching another show. 😂 Fantastic ensemble! And I also found the romance very special and warm. 👏🫰

Wasn't that just lovely? Thank you for the wedding scene link. This brightens my day. Park Seo Joon, you forget what a smooth performance he can deliver.

He changed his mind about throwing the soap and cologne away and then was interrupted, so we don't know for sure. I just remember that in a flashback, there was a nice ajumma who worked for him taking out the trash. So maybe he has help and doesn't have to know how to sort the garbage?

Also, please, I'd like to mention that I am at a baby Korean level, so anyone with more brain than me shouldn't feel embarrassed correcting us!