Team Dramabeans: What we're watching » Dramabeans Korean drama recaps

216 October 29, 2016April 6, 2017

Team Dramabeans: What we’re watching

by DB Staff

I love it when the weather turns slightly chilly, and you feel like reaching for a blanket and snuggling up on the couch with some good dramas. Maybe in honor of Halloween I should watch something scary? I’m taking recommendations! I’ll just have to convince javabeans to watch it with me, because there’s always safety in numbers. –girlfriday

javabeans

Fantastic: Somehow this week I didn’t feel like watching dramas very much. These lulls come and go every once in a while, and I figured, don’t force it and just roll with it. I managed to watch this one because it was ending, and while there were moments in this drama’s run that were really very fun and heartwarming, by the time the last episode rolled around, I’d sort of fallen out of love with it. Everything seemed pretty much right for a finale, but I didn’t have much of an opinion about it.

Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo: You’ve killed off everyone interesting and the remaining survivors are either dumb or dull, and now it feels like Lee Jun-ki is acting in a drama by himself. *mourns*

1% of Anything: I’m sorry, Drinking Solo and Park Ha-sun, I betrayed you and jumped OTP-ship before you finished! The Ha Suk-jin romance with Jeon So-min crept up on me and now this show is the highlight of my week — the couple isn’t about big drama or grand romance, but there’s a satisfaction in watching two mature, modern adults figuring out that they like each other and falling in love the more they date (okay, and also worrying about their “contract” relationship being purely a business deal — this is a K-drama!). Their loveline feels natural and realistic, and I love that even though the relationship has been pretty chaste so far, the drama’s attitude isn’t prudish; the characters are frank about sex being a part of relationships and discuss whether or not to sleep together, and it’s refreshing.

girlfriday

The Man Living in Our House: This rom-com has a pretty bizarre setup, but I like the mystery of not knowing whether our hero is a shady mom-seducing conman or a gangster-turned-chef with a heart of gold (strangely not that uncommon in dramaland). And once they started in on the banmal-jondaemal father-daughter hijinks, I was sold.

Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo: Here I was thinking that this drama was going to give us the untold story of how Wang So was really just a misunderstood dude. But now that he’s king, he’s just as assy and capricious as all the other kings. Is there something in the water? No really, are they still poisoning the water in that palace? Because everyone who sits on that throne goes evil!

Fantastic: I finally caught up by the show’s end, and overall it was a sweet drama that had some great friendships in it, but I was never hooked. I was honestly pretty confused by the chaste romance, and everything was just a little too pat for my liking. I do wish noona-sshi’s storyline had been given more time to develop too, because that part of the drama was fun. The one awesome takeaway from this drama is Joo Sang-wook’s foot-acting. That will never not be funny.

Drinking Solo: I’m sad to see this one go. The slice-of-life stories were so relatable and easy to watch, and it seemed like a sitcom that could’ve had a hundred episodes. It was a show that made me nostalgic for High Kick, both in content and format. On the bright side, if they’re really planning to make a Season 2, this isn’t really goodbye!

Gogh’s Starry Night: This was an easy one to pick up on a whim because it’s only four episodes. It’s a light workplace rom-com and there’s really not much to the story—it’s almost like coming in during the middle of a show, because characters already like each other in the office by the time we meet them. Fluffy, breezy, and best of all, short.

Shopping King Louis: I found the separation pretty pointless, and was hoping that Shopping King Louis would’ve found a more creative solution to the same old, same old. I just don’t care about anyone or anything if Louis and Bok-shil aren’t together. That’s the only thing I ever ask of you, Show, and you gave me nothing but crumbs this week.

On the Way to the Airport: I like the Jeju Island portion of the show, even though sometimes it feels like the drama is one big advertisement to shirk your responsibilities and pick up and move to Jeju, where no one has any cares because it’s just too pretty there to be stressed. Maybe it’s not marriage that’s suffocating, but the city. Waitaminute…

Jealousy Incarnate: That fight about fighting was so good that I replayed the whole thing just to appreciate the banter and the performances. This show has a gift for turning the most mundane, petty arguments cut from real life into hilarious and emotionally satisfying story beats. And I love, love, love Jo Jung-seok in love so, so much.

chickachunga

Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo: I’m three episodes behind on this show, but I have a feeling I didn’t miss out on any noteworthy moments. Or the moments in theory are noteworthy, but probably weren’t executed all that well. I’ll just stick with Heads’ recaps until I feel like returning.

Drinking Solo: I started this when I got bored of Moon Lovers, and I’m so glad I checked it out! It’s fun, cute, and an easy watch. Park Ha-sun as the underdog No Geu-rae is adorable, and I’m always looking forward to seeing the celebrity impression, Ha Seok-jin’s “high quality” food that’ll accompany his beer, and the hijinks of the three gosiwon buddies. I really want a funky tracksuit now.

216

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51 PV

October 29, 2016 at 8:46 PM

Dropped K2....may catch up on it once it ends. The story is going nowhere, just getting more confusing and bad.

1% is light and refreshing. The actress in it is really good.

How come no one is watching Three Meals a Day: S3 - Eric is a revelation in it. He is just amazing.

As of today, Entourage!!!

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52 Lily left the valley

October 29, 2016 at 11:52 PM

@girlfriday: I have a scary recommendation if you haven't seen it already (or maybe watch it again if you have). It's not a drama but a movie this site wrote about last year: Guest (I found it to watch under "The Piper".)

The cast is solid. The visuals chilling. I loved it.

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53 Anh

October 30, 2016 at 12:47 AM

Marathon a lot of drama this week:
Liar Game very interesting mind games
Missing Noir M crime, thriller but also reality because damn that ending!! And some of the eps as well, the good guys do not always win, and they suffer as from injustice a lot, like A LOT! I demand season 2
TEN season 1 and 2 awesome crimes but some eps in season can be a bit confusing. and when will we catch F?
Beautiful Mind Half way through, pretty interesting but I was so annoyed at female lead, her impulsive actions and instead of getting evidences, she pretty much believe in anyone...
Signal wah, that was sooo good, was nice fusion of time paradox and crimes solving, I need season 2
Man live in our house Im enjoying the first 2 eps, waiting for the truth to unfold, how main lead is ex-gangster(?) turn chef marry the mother, and the vampire-like guy is interesting as well
Train to busan It was good, but damn, why do despicable people survive so long, and because of those despicable people, more innocent people die
Society Game Watched ep 1 subbed, the 2 hrs fly by without me knowing, it like a combination of big brother, the genius and survivor but of course, less bikini naked people, which I really appreciate for Korean entertainment. For ep 1, I'm team Madong. Hope the ep can be subbed faster though, this is one variety show that Im really excited to see.

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Beanfan

October 30, 2016 at 3:45 PM

@Anh--

If you had to choose, would you watch TEN I or TEN II? I haven't watched either, but I'm leaning towards the 2nd one.

I finished Beautiful Mind over the weekend, and if you stick with it, the female lead gets less annoying.

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Anh

October 30, 2016 at 7:33 PM

I like TEN 1 more since the cases are more thrilling, but if you want more analogy of case of the week to Jihoon's story/inner feeling, then TEN 2 give more hints and parallelism

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54 feignedreality

October 30, 2016 at 9:28 AM

Moon Lovers - One thing is for sure, I will miss seeing LJG weekly after this ends.

My Wife's Having An Affair This Week - Solid start. The dialogues are funny but they also have a touch of realism to them. I love the whole cast specially LSK and SJH, but Lee Sang Yeob's writer character had me rofl'ing on Ep. 2 [can't believe it's the same guy who creep me out with his serial killer portrayal on Signal]

3MAD: Fishing Village 3
1N2D
Infinity Challenge

...waiting for Entourage to start this week

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55 saranga

October 30, 2016 at 11:37 AM

i love that photo! it could totally be me! down to the glasses i wear at night!

3 meals a day fishing village- you know, i don't really keep up with na pd's shows that thoroughly. reality shows require a different mindset going in; you need more focus, of a different kind from drama-viewing, or else you have no idea what's going on. with a drama you can just turn it on and start folding laundry and don't have to try too hard. so as much as i like na pd's shows (i hope we see the grandpas soon!), it's not often that i sit down and watch every single minute of his shows.

but this cast, with lee seo-jin + eric + yoon kyun-sang, is interesting to watch and i look forward to every minute. i find i like watching eric. i do think he might have practiced a few dishes prior to the show (i mean, he brought specific ingredients for specific dishes!), which takes away the spontaneity and glee of watching the cast scrabble to make things work. and somehow i don't like knowing that actors prepared so hard to be on a reality show either.

but i like watching him cook. he doesn't exaggerate for the cameras and solely focuses on his work, the cooking, with a few quips thrown in here and there. he's careful, precise, and organized. i love his knife skills—so cautious! and it was hilarious how he kept trying to figure out if he had enough veggies/right ratios for a stew to feed three. it was relatable, because i always have the same problem, only i'm just feeding myself! and his food must be really good—lee seo-jin seems to REALLY love his cooking.

but the whole time i was watching the three episodes that have aired so far, i kept thinking (good naturedly) how shameless na pd is. he takes two things—food and cute animals—and turns it all into a popular show. such insanely simple ingredients!

so that's my highlight of the week, along with the K2.

other shows:

jealousy incarnate- needs to end. worst thing i've seen gong hyo-jin do.

man living in my house- i thought i'd like soo-ae being cute and bubbly, but i mostly found her annoying and too aggressive and too loud. i liked her in 9 end 2 outs (YEAARS ago), but that was it.

woman with a suitcase- skimming.

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56 Beanfan

October 30, 2016 at 3:59 PM

I spent the weekend clearing out old shelves, and came across, to my delight, old dvd box sets of some older Kdramas, like Alone In Love, Hotelier, Glass Slippers and Phoenix.

Alone In Love: Gotta say I'm impressed with Son Yeh-Jin's acting in this.. The last drama I watched with her was Summer Scent, and she was only okay...probably cos she was also a relatively new actress. Then I saw her in a couple movies (two at most), and saw some growth. But, in AIL, she shows true greatness.

I tried watching this years ago, but was not hooked on the first episode, so I stashed it away. I'm so glad I made it past that first episode hurdle, cos while I'm only on episode 4, but I already think this is going to become one of my favorite dramas.

W: Still haven't gotten around to picking it up again. Stopped at episode 8, and probably will just read the recaps.

Beautiful Mind: I would give this a 7/10. Loved it every time Jang Hyuk appeared on the scene, and it has made me a fan of his, but I don't really like medical dramas, and this one didn't stand out that much, other than the male lead's eccentricities. But, then again, many medical dramas center on an eccentric doctor...so, what's new?

3 Meals A Day: I'm just reading Purple's recaps. (She has a blog called "Variety Recaps.") I haven't searched the blog's archives, but I'm hoping she has other 3 Meals A Day seasons recapped as well.. I'm hooked cos of all the great cooking, and cos I'm a new fan of Eric's, and I love watching Seo's grumpy-ness and dimples.

So...because of Seo and Eric, I'm planning to eventually watch Phoenix. Any thoughts or comments on it? If it's a melodrama, I might not be able to power thru it.

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saranga

October 30, 2016 at 10:58 PM

i watched phoenix a really long time ago—right when it came out actually, and i was in high school. i think it was definitely on the melo side. jung hye-young was also in it, as female lead #2.

basically, rich girl meets poor (but smart) guy, they end up getting together despite girl's family's opposition. in the end, they split up. girl's family loses their money, and she meets the guy again years later, only their positions are completely swapped. eric comes into the picture then.

i would at least try it. i enjoyed a lot of it, though it will be pretty dated. but it was a popular drama and it's still a show that lee seo-jin and eric are remembered for.

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Beanfan

October 30, 2016 at 11:59 PM

@saranga--

Thanks! Maybe I can then...fast forward thru most of it and hazard wild guesses as to what happened before and in-between? haha..

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57 August

October 30, 2016 at 5:18 PM

Which kdrama is the tv watching image for this week's Team Dramabeans: What we’re watching post from?

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ShinRaeMi07

October 30, 2016 at 6:17 PM

It's from The Man Living in our House. She's the sister of the second male lead.

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August

October 31, 2016 at 8:25 AM

Thanks zia!

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58 weirdnshort

October 30, 2016 at 9:31 PM

I stopped Louis in the middle of Ep. 4 (after her idea was stolen coz i couldn't stand how Naive they were) but now I'm on ep. 7 or 8. Marathoned it today. Haha. I kinda like it now. It's fluff. I know I'm going to be addicted to the Stranger Living in my House one. It's my kind of drama.