kakashi: More new Korean dramas? Does this ever end? (The answer: no, it doesn't). I still don't feel at all like picking anything up, so I won't. At home, we are re-watching "Arabela", a Czeck TV series from the early 1980s with the kid (it happens to be one of my husband's favorite TV shows). It's a lot of fun. All the other Czeck TV shows from around that time are also great, if you have a way to check them out! Pan Tau, The Little Mole, Lucie, postrach ulice, Návstevníci (The Visitors), Chobotnice z druhého patra (The Octopuses from the Second Floor), etc. The humor is just unbeatable.
JoAnne: I'm going to opt out. For now.
Trotwood: I am winding down on dramas. It's budget season and with all the other darkness going on in world, I really want something fun. I can't get past the death premise of Universe Star. Suggestions? Maybe that show about the tiny strong girl? Doesn't that start this week?
Yes and I'm very excited because I like all 3 leads quite a bit.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but it does not start this week. It starts February 24.
Sigh. Should I start Chief Kim? Looking to see who's watching it. I need some fun damn it!!!
Dammit. I hate it when they move things around.
Jaehyus (yes, I'm going back to this because Block B comeback): We have so many new dramas! I'm testing them out.
Korea
Hwarang
Oh, these boys. In a couple of different conversations this week it became apparent that no one, including me, cares at all about the romance between Seon Woo and Ah Ro. There are about 7 or 8 different bromances going on, and we care deeply about those. Most definitely! And especially, the struggle between Ji Dwi and Seon Woo, the latter of which easy money says is actually his older cousin and, if life were fair - the future king. He certainly acts kingly, because his nature is noble. But Ji Dwi is doing admirably well considering he's been kept in the dark like a little mole all these years. Yes, I love them both. Can they not rule side by side? Right now our pretty warriors are being treated like toys by their disgusting Baekje neighbor. I cannot wait to see how they school him, because you know they will. Next week!
Shy Boss
They took a break last week to rethink things so I'm very curious to see what the writer/production team have in store for us this week.
Defendant
I am reading recaps of Defendant and trying to decide if I can take the anxiety of watching it.
Rebel: Thief of the People (new)
Two thoughts. First, 'my goodness, they treated people badly back then', and second, 'I don't care how upset someone is, I don't need to see snot running down their face. Ever.' All in all, though, I'm interested in enough to watch episodes 3 and 4 next week. I think we'll be out of the childhood portion then .
Right, so I won't watch this while eating. Although kdrama has an uncanny ability to play something gross exactly when I'm eating.
It's interesting, not many people tweeted about this, but when they did, they tweeted about the snot.
Missing Nine
I like this more each week. True colors shining through and all that, I guess? Anyway, not counting the two pilots, we know whether or not 4 people have survived so far: Bong Hee yes, Tae Ho yes, the CEO yes, and So Hee no. We know that Tae Ho has killed at least two people, three if Yeolie is in fact dead. We know that there are some creepy AF people associated with Legend Entertainment. We can't rightfully say yet whether Prosecutor Yoon and the people investigating the crash are good or bad, can we? Every week, I can't wait to find out how they're going to skew what I thought happened in the previous week, and as usual, Jung Kyung Ho is killing his role. Yes, I'd rather see him in things like Cruel City, but he gets to have touches of that darkness here, a little bit. I'll take what I can get !
Saimdang
1 & 2 were interesting, but 3 & 4 not so much, which is weird since I usually like the sageuk bits the most in anything. As Jo said in the Rebel show, gosh people were treated horribly back then. Anyway, I want to know how the present Saimdang is going to get out of the terrible state her life is in.
I haven't seen this week's episodes yet - maybe tonight. I do want to know why they didn't end up together in the past - it seems to have been fairly traumatic for both of them.
Oh, that's is something new and original for KDrama!
Chief Kim
I finally got to this one - it actually looks pretty good? Namgoong Min is an accountant for gangsters, saving to move to Denmark by skimming off the top. Why Denmark? because it's the least corrupt nation in the world, he says. He runs that well a bit dry and seizes on an opportunity to go to work for a real conglomorate - which is shady, naturally - and apparently in the process he'll start fighting against the bad guys instead of just trying to get some for himself. It's mostly funny, with the required emotional aspects, and I do like these transformation dramas.
I liked it too, from episode 3 onwards.
Solomon's Perjury (Finale)
I was surprised to discover that there is a serious contingent of Ji-Hoon Haters out there. I'm no apologist for him, but I totally got what he was going for and don't really think he'd have accomplished those valid goals if he'd simply said up front that he was there, that he turned his back on his suicidal friend, and that his friend died. I don't find him whiny, I understood why he mislead the other kids for a while, and I definitely don't think he did all of this to make himself feel better. In fact, I think he was floored by the forgiveness he found and absolutely believed that he fully expected to be condemned and vilified.
Setting aside the fact that this trial followed no particular procedural rules in any legal system I have even the slightest familiarity with, I thought that the kids did a good job of exposing the truth and that it was an important exercise for them. I also agree with Ji Hoon's assessment of So Woo's decision - that he was wrong to give up at this point in their lives - and I believe that the real 'bad guys' did get punished and that justice was served for the students of Jeongguk High School. I enjoyed this, but I was never deeply emotionally invested - I think because there were so many (so very, very many) instances where I thought, 'well, they'd never .... in real life.' and that would pull me out of the story. Still, I'd easily recommend it as an interesting watch.
I really enjoyed this show a lot, and if you can get past that this is a high school trial then I think you would enjoy it. There were so many layers to people and to everyone. Everyone was more than they appeared on the surface,m even the side characters. I loved the friendships in this show and the real tragedy was that So Woo had such potential friends right in front of him and never got to see that. There was something new revealed not only about the case but about everyone in each episode--not like the odd surprised or lack of writer continuity as in other dramas--but all of which made sense to who they were. I'd like to spend more time with them. Was it the best drama? No. But it was much better than much of what is on and, frankly, much more ambitious in its narrative--never treating viewers like we are dumb.
Father, I'll Take Care of You
Lots of confirmations this week: Chang Soo is going to train to be a classical singer and magically now his new mom is fond of him. His old mom is feeling sad that she didn't recognize anything special about him in the 15 years she was raising him, and I think she is also feeling a little put out that star student Ji Hoon only seems interested in learning magic tricks now that he's with his new family. Hyun Woo and Jung Eun have reached a new point in their relationship and it seems he does genuinely care about her. The idiot lawyer brother is having an affair now, it seems. I hope he gets kicked to the curb. There is nothing likable about his whiny ass. Chicken Shop brother is doing some investigative work on the side and I'm sure he'll be back to reporting in no time. Sung Joon and Dong Hee are farther apart than ever, which is frustrating. And - ta da! - unless they pull a fast one on us, it is all but final that Sung Joon is actually Sang woo, Hyun Woo's long lost brother. And that mysterious voice on the other end of Halmeoni's phone calls? Is probably the rightful leader of the company that Sung Joon works for. Not sure why he's in hiding.
Voice
I may have lost interest in this. Someone tell me when Handsome Oppa shows up.
I forgot about it, and, in the interest of my sanity, I will keep it that way.
I'm still watching even though it's so nerve wracking that I find I want to fast forward just to see what happens. I hate waiting to find out if people live or die. Once I know then I have patience to find out how that happens but this . . .
I feel like I'm about to have a heart attack. Not just any dead bodies but falling out of closets in plastic wrap.
Who's handsome Oppa? Tell me and I will tell you when/if he appears.
Kim Jae Wook. I am not sure who named him, but it's very appropriate.
I wonder what role he's gonna play in this .... NOT.
Tomorrow with You (new)
I like this - the look and the feel are subtly different, Lee Je Hoon isn't so theatrical, Shin Min Ah is her usual winsome self, and I want to know the story. I also want to know why he keeps touching a stranger so much! I would have punched him by now, I think . Of course, the time they 'meet' is not the first time they've met (Faaaate) and all his manipulation of her future naturally will have an effect on his own. Two episodes in, I do like...although I think Shin Min Ah is over-Shin Min Ahing, if you can understand me.
I do understand what you mean by that. I'm enjoying the show, too. I'm hoping that he does get to change the future otherwise we know that they are living on borrowed time. Do you think the reporter guy is also the same reporter who keeps periodically writing the bad stories about her? I'm curious about that. She's clearly not acted in decades.
Oh that's a good question! Maybe?
Not Korea
Behind Your Smile
Oh boy. Lots of smiling Marcus. One of those back you up against a wall, then another wall, then through a door, then on to the bed kisses. YES, girl. I KNOW. And then a tiny piece of shit hits the fan... and later, we realize that maybe Marcus has been played by Qianni's dad. For a LONG time. Now, that opens the door to Marcus teaming up with his lady love and her mama, so I don't mind what's coming. Man, I love this show.
MARCUS! MARCUS! MARCUS! He needs to give drama kissing workshops because I can't imagine anyone not being able to respond to him. Usually, I'm annoyed when the lead girl gets all cutesy and silly after falling in love, but seriously I can't blame her. I'd be touching him every single chance I got. I mean when he's tricking her about why he doesn't want her in his bedroom and whispers in her ear while making her look at his bed and says "it's just that in here I want . . ." or something like that (I think my brain frizzled a bit there), I thought grab him now girl. Take him up on the offer!! Yup, it looks like Qianni's dad is playing everyone. I'm worried about the bromance, too. I really love these brothers. In fact, I think I love them more than the OTP despite their kisses.
The Magic Star (new)
You know, probably never going to do this.
Make space! Delete!
The General and I
Someone on TList is eating up episode after episode of this, I should get back to it.
Emerald City
We got the back story of how the previous generation ended up in Oz, and who Dorothy's father is (not the Wizard), and it appears that Glinda is behind pretty much all the stuff that's happening. She's the reason Lukas can't remember anything, and the little girl, Sophie? There are more of them, all in Glinda's hands.
Diamond Lover
The problem with these dramas that air 5 or 6 times a week is that when I tell myself I don't have to keep up, I end up not watching for long periods of time.
A Series of Unfortunate Events
Have you seen more of this, Kakashi? I know it's on a 'someday soon' list for me.
I haven't and don't feel all that much like it.
I liked it a bit, but not enough to continue with it.
Santa Clarita Diet (new)
This has the Dramaworld Girl! She's the daughter. Mom is a zombie or something, not sure how or what yet. More later. Update: I watched 3 episodes. I'm not that interested. She's a zombie, they have no idea how it happened. She looks completely normal and she was fine with raw hamburg and then she ate Nathan Fillion and there was no going back, it's gotta be human flesh. Dad is trying to be supportive, teen daughter is wondering what she can get out of it, there's hijinks, I didn't much care and for some reason Drew Barrymore was really irritating me. And I spend a lot of time averting my eyes from vomit and entrails.
I like the Oliphant and the Fillion and Drew Barrymore, so I will give this a try (eventually). Even though I absolutely hate zombies.
The Magicians
Eliot is the best, you're right. And it is funnier this year, also right. Plus, shirtless Penny. I get a kick out of the Beast constantly singing his observations on the situation, don't you?
Oh my goodness, this was so damn funny. Horrible and funny. funnible? Horunny? There was a lot I liked in this episode. It's the exact right mixture of humor and horror. And I love how they never get anything right, at least not without incredible efforts. But what curse is on the castle? Don't hurt our Eliot!!
Candle in the Tomb (Finale)
SakiVI: too busy to watch! I'll get to it when I get to it. I'm calm because I saw it raw, and well, recapping anyway.