58

Odds and Ends: Sick days in dramaland

girlfriday: So how was your week?

javabeans: Pretty much the same as any other week, except a little more painful since I’m sick. What’s interesting, though, is that dramas don’t quite have the same punch when you’re not feeling well, because then you’re watching it through this haze. Oh, so there’s a fictional serial killer on the loose terrorizing the fictional town? Boo hoo. I have a very real head that’s achy, so there!

girlfriday: Sad. For your achy head I mean, though I guess also for the fictional villagers, because that sucks.

javabeans: See, I don’t think it’s sad for them at all because hello, I don’t have a writer who can magically write me out of my misery! Sickness just impairs the ole sympathy gland.

girlfriday: Oh is that what that gland is for? Though it could be argued that the misery given by drama writers is the worst kind of misery, well, in the universe. Because that cough? That could be cancer you know. But you won’t know that until you’ve finally reunited with the love of your life and finally recovered your memories.

javabeans: So then in the end is that really even misery?

girlfriday: It sure is miserable for me. Which might explain why I don’t really do melodramas anymore.

javabeans: I still like the good ones, the ones that keep moving with just enough emotional gratification to make the pain worth it. The ones with tragedy porn, no thanks.

girlfriday: Yeah watching something in order to feel sad is something I can’t quite understand. A good cry because something is heartwarming or even cathartic, sure. But then if it’s just trying to tell me that life is meaningless, well…

javabeans: There’s real life for that.

girlfriday: Precisely. I sort of like the idea that the fictional people in whatever dramaverse that you’re recapping at the time have to compete with your aches and pains for empathy. I imagine Yoon Sang-hyun (a teeny tiny miniature Yoon Sang-hyun, I don’t know why) running around trying to convince you that murder is serious business.

javabeans: To which I’d tell Tiny Yoon Sang-hyun to spend his time chasing the actual (fictional) murderer and not on convincing ME about it. See, sympathy gland, all dried up. Do your job, dramaland people! Don’t angle for sympathy! Of course, then after I’m better better I’ll feel bad for being all, Psh, her daughter didn’t even die the second time, what’s she so upset about?

girlfriday: Ha. Sometimes Lee Bo-young actually seems like a crazy person in that drama, she’s so into it. In one of the recent episodes she mentioned being in the mental hospital, and I totally heard that as I was in the mental hospital as a teenager, and I think my mind made that leap because it sounded like a completely plausible thing to me.

javabeans: Also, having that many killers in one drama just means that my fear/tension/nerves have to be divided among them, so in the end I’m really lacking that source of suspense. It’s worse when my brain’s in a cold-medicine-induced haze, but what can you do? It’s thriller season in dramaland and those are my options. Serial killer conspiracy, national crisis conspiracy, and serial killer conspiracy.

girlfriday: Don’t forget secret society conspiracy.

javabeans: Right, can’t leave out Golden Cross.

girlfriday: There are just a LOT of killers running around in dramaland right now.

javabeans: I could really go for a show right now where the main conflict of the day is Do you like me? Circle YES or NO.

girlfriday: YES PLEASE. Preferably one where nobody is sad ever, and nobody has children who could possibly be kidnapped.

javabeans: Where everyone is always happy and there’s no conflict? Somehow that drama doesn’t seem more interesting. Maybe we just go back to our old faithfuls when we’re sick, the ones that are safe and comforting. Then again, dramaland does have that annoying habit of spitting out new dramas at a frantic pace regardless of how you feel about it.

girlfriday: Such an insensitive bastard.

 
RELATED POSTS

Tags: ,

58

Required fields are marked *

Awwww...feel better, JB!
Give yourself some happy and watch an ep of Witch's Romance with the girly half of the famous UhmForce. It's flat-out funny and (so far) no killers running around!

:-)

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

With the exception of Cha bong seop and Lee Muung han. Both decided to act in Wr next!!

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Get well soon, javabeans! <3

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Aw, feel better, Javabeans!

And yes, way too many killers and revenge-seekers roaming around dramaland lately....at least we have a light rom-com now on Mondays and Tuesdays.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I hear you, ladies! I've also been in a funk, and there are too many killer dramas on for me right now. I can't handle suspense. Which is why I'm marathoning the fluff that is Sungkyunkwan Scandal right now. I'm still trying to figure out how I'll handle You're All Surrounded, depending on how much violent crime is in the violent crimes department. >_< Feel better soon!

0
3
reply

Required fields are marked *

I tried doing total fluff (ie. a Taiwan drama) and got so exasperated that I wanted to become the murderer in Golden Cross, so not sure that is the answer.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Me too!
Sungkyunkwan Scandal is getting me through this rough patch.
I will watch 3 Days for Yoochun, (bit-by-bit to break up the tension...) but right now, I need fluff.

Get well soon to JavaBean!

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

mommai... agree with you...

i thought spring should be the season of romance... too much depressing dramas these days, i am so frustrated, i dont know to whom i should complain...

Missing all those rom-com drama (RTP, secret garden, master's sun)...

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Hmm.... I don't know....

Sometimes my mother would text me saying "I'm really in the mood for crying a river. Do you have anything for me (k-dramas or k-movies) to watch so I could cleanse my eyes ?". :)

Probably those tragedy-fest dramas are somehow needed so that we could tell ourselves that at least our lives are not that bad. Maybe. *shrugs*

0
8
reply

Required fields are marked *

49 days made me cry like a river.. you could try recommending that :)

0
3
reply

Required fields are marked *

I cried SO HARD at 49 Days, I gave myself a migraine. It didn't help that my greyhound was sick and passed away while I was watching it (not literally, but you know, during the days where I was watching it). It's a wonderful drama but good grief, the tears! Worth it for one of my all-time favorite kdrama characters though, the Scheduler <3

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Oh, 49 Days was broadcasted on a local TV station, so she did watch it. I'm sure she cried, too.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

49 Days made me cry buckets too. It's sooo sad, but meaningfully sad. It's a great drama indeed.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Yeah I do think we need dramas like those but there are certainly dramas that contain melodramatic elements, but that aren't purely tragedy-fests. I like those ones very much. If a drama can hit a lovely tone of bittersweetness without descending into pure, dark, and dismal bitterness than I adore it! Flowers for My Life, for example, had me crying AND laughing all throughout and by the end, though a part of me felt unbelievably sad, it left me feeling grateful for what life brings and made me want to spend my days more wisely. It may have broken my heart, but it also made me feel unbelievably happy.

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

Seconded on Flowers for My Life. Such a great, great drama....

From that and My Sassy Girl, I understand why South Korea adores Cha Tae-Hyun.

Also, a great performance by all the other characters in it particularly Kang Hye-Jung for playing such a quirky heroine who we start out disliking but in the end root for wholeheartedly.

Hope you feel better, javabeans!

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

School 2013. That show is the king of sad reaction gifs.

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

Hmmm, I never really found School 2013 sad, but then again, I didn't really find it that compelling either.

The bromance was alright, but it wasn't the best thing ever, IMO.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Take care javabeans!

And I like the last line: "Such an insensitive bastard."

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Feel Better. I always have to watch fluffy Tdramas or a Thailand Lakorn when I get sick so I don't have to think.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Aw, feel better soon, javabeans. <3

I definitely know what you mean by lacking sympathy when you're not feeling well. I have a chronic illness and when I have my really bad days, I prefer to either watch something super fluffy/an old faithful, or variety, not so much because I can't bring myself to care (though that too), but because I find the fictional angst so shallow and exhausting, when I barely have enough emotional energy to deal with my own pain. At times like that I just want to watch something that will make me laugh.

I am also the kind of person who only likes to watch melos once in a while, and when I'm very happy and stress free, though. Most of the time I'm like, "Dramas are my escape - I don't care if it's unrealistic, gimme my happy ending." (Though it has to make a minimum of logical sense, of course.) Real life already makes me cry enough, lol.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I'm going to have to say -- you guys totally missed the boat on "Bride of the Century." THAT was a fun and really good drama. Yang Jin Sung acted her butt off in that drama and was amazing. Lee Hong Gi - needless to say, he's adorable, but a really fine actor as well. It was a classic K-drama - makjang but it worked perfectly and never got boring. Worth rewatching and I highly recommend it.

0
3
reply

Required fields are marked *

Agreed BOTC was the most awesome show ever even though she tried to kill herself for a man who she didn't like smh ......... SLA is definitely at the Top of my must see List to it's sooooo much suspense and Suspicion its hard to stop watching ........ LOL get betta Javabeans We luv ya's and girlfriday too ?

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Who's to say that they didn't watch that. Not recapping =/= not watching. And maybe they still didn't like it.

All the requests and ardent outside for that drama makes it seem like the second coming, which, though I personally thought the drama was cute and deftly written... it was not...

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Who's to say that they didn't watch that. Not recapping =/= not watching. And maybe they still didn't like it.

All the requests and ardent praise for that drama makes it seem like the second coming, which, though I personally thought the drama was cute and deftly written... it was not...

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Sorry to hear you've been sick! I feel your pain, I pretty much wrote the last 2 recaps of Emergency Couple in a fever-induced flu haze. Then I just watched Arang and the Magistrate in between because I totally had that I'm-all-out-of-sympathy thing. I just wanted to watch something where I knew how it would end, no worrying how it would turn out.

Hope you feel better soon!

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Wishing you a speedy recovery, Javabeans!

Actually, "Do you like me? Circle YES or NO." could be the title for a future K-drama. Somehow, in the hands of the writers, they will make it melo.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I was wondering if you guys were going to recap Angel Eyes :'( i think its reeeally good.
Get better!

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Feel better, Javabeans!

I kind of wish Lee Bo-young's character had been in a mental institution before, LOL. Just because her character IS a little erratic and intense at times, and I think sometimes people who have been there see the world a lot differently from people who've never had breakdowns or gone through manic-depressive episodes and what have you. Thats why I love Claire Danes' Carrie in Homeland. Even judging from the outside persons POV, where her character is totally acting irrationally and self-destructive, I always feel like I know exactly where she's coming from and feel so much for her, even when she's done some ----ed up stuff. I NEVER feel that way when I'm watching a cookie-cutter heroine, on any kind of drama, be it American, British, or Korean. A lot of French movies, on the other hand, have complex, real women characters I really relate to. Everyone else just needs to catch up. :)

So yeah, I guess more complicated crazy women in dramas for me, please. LOL

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

javabeans ...... sending you get well wishes!

I'm so sorry to hear that you are sick. ...... Take care and feel better soon.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

When I'm sick, my go-to show is "Teletubbies". Perfect because of the limited dialog, soothing music and the occasional, "ahh".

Totally relaxing and knocks you out in minutes, especially after taking cold medicine.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

get well soon java beans!! sending you good wishes from malaysia

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Aw I hope you feel better! Both of you should really give Witch's Romance a try. You won't regret it! I can already feel that it's going to offer up some much-needed romance, and fun and flirty romance at that! It's actually reminiscent of Dal Ja's Spring too so it should definitely be your type of thing :)

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Hope you feel better soon! Eat and rest! That is the best medicine

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

OH JAVABEANS, get well soon, take ginger ale girl.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Have a speedy recovery JB! Watch a light drama,, at least it won't fuel your ache. Or sleep, and eat well.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Poor JavaBeans. Get well soon. Send someone to the village herbalist and have them cook up the bitter medicine, (it's always bitter in dramas) .

Sleep if nothing else, read a good book or listen to soothing music. Eat ice cream, no medicinal value, but it tastes good.

Also, have the magic faeries do the laundry and dirty dishes for you while your sick.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Try having a cup of white tea with pure honey...then curl up on your beanbag and watch the favourite scenes of your favourite Kdramas (yes, a lot of fast forwards). However, it is important not to stay up until the wee hours of the morning, which all of us are guilty of I know, no...just do it until 10pm...it always works for me, it may work for you too :-) Get well soon, Javabeans!

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Be happy you don't live in dramaland, Javabeans. Because it seems to me every time somebody gets sick--it means they're going to die soon. (Unless they get barfing sick--which means they're pregnant--usually.)

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

I think the tell-tale sign is coughing up blood. Then they are doomed.

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

With sooooooo many thriller drama,no wonder that u get sick,get wet soon JB *Watching witch romance can help a bit I hope ?

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

...I could really go for a show right now where the main conflict of the day is Do you like me? Circle YES or NO.

Isn't that what Heirs all about?

Get well soon, Javabeans!! We need you and thank for for being awesome as usual despite being sick.

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

Their answer would be: Others: "Do I like you?"

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Get well soon, Javabeans! And no, that cough isn't cancer!

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Hope you feel better soon. Even your snark was toned down.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Feel better JB!

I was wondering, how is Boot camp going??

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Get better Javabeans!!

Whenever I feel or get sick, which is ALOT, I watch gangster movies-my main thoughts are wussies or I could be a better gangster...
Also So Ji-Sub for whatever reason makes me really ill: A Company Man, led to a trip to the emergency room and Master's Sun AND Ghost led to doctor appointments. I'm a bit weary about watching him now...

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Get well Javabeans!

I avoid melos when I am sad, it just makes my sucky mood worse...

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I sincerely hope that you get to feeling better very soon.

And your header made me re-watch a few episodes of (the doomed) drama Big. It had SO much potential! *headdesk*

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

I've been sick too, though the worst is over. It gave me time to watch lots of dramas but enough head fog that I was clueless half the time what was happening.

Last year when I was really ill and watching Shark, I couldn't understand the plot at all. At first I thought it was me, and then realized it was the drama's fault.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Get better!
Nothing is fun when you're sick. Even fun isn't.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Lol on the melo topic. I don't even know why I'm into that genre but as long as it's not I Miss You type melo, I'd take it over a thriller anyday. And I've been complaining about the lack of variety in dramas these days. I'm so sick of thrillers, killers and murderers. Damn when they give us one, there has to be 10 following it. Now I can't wait for the Hong Sister's next drama. At least I know I can rely on that for awesome.

Also, get well soon JB! Even do-I-like-you and do-you-like-me dramas are no fun when you're sick!

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Hi JB.

Wouldn't it be nice to have our favorite actor to take care of us or snuggle up with us when we're sick/down.

For me it would be Jung Gyu Woo like he was in Dr. Champ.

Of course it's best to have a real-life boyfriend/girlfriend/partner but for those of us who don't fantasy is good in the meantime.

0
1
reply

Required fields are marked *

Oops! Left out GF! Sorry GF!

0
reply

Required fields are marked *

reading your duo convo is always interesting, lol
get well soon, JB!

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Okay, you were sick, but were you so sick that you wouldn't lunge at Gong Yoo if he was sitting next to you on the couch looking adorbs sick? Because if so, you are REEEEAAALLLLYYYY sick. Hope you feel better soon. Or Gong Yoo appears next to you on the couch of sickness, whichever you prefer.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Get well soon JB.....I'm totally on board with you guys on the lighter stuff and spend ages scouring reviews n your ratings page for em. Right now I'm really enjoying Bride of the century... Don't know why you guys let that one slip but believe me that my mind is blown everytime I read a recap n think how much work you guys put in. Well hope u feel better soon.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

Hope you get well soon and start feeling like your normal self again.

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *

This week has certainly been a rough one. I don't know about y'all but I was completely caught up by the ferry tragedy. So at this point, I'm looking for some light and fluffy entertainment as well. I can't quite be self indulgent enough to induce gut wrenching laughter from watching old Running Man episodes so I started Angel Eyes instead. It's a light enough melodrama to keep me distracted. And the repeated scenes of emergency workers giving orders to evacuate and sacrificing themselves to save lives has been surprisingly cathartic. The scenes have started to restore my faith in the ability of officials to do the right thing at the right time. Healing day by day. I wish you the same....

0
0
reply

Required fields are marked *