Oops I meant Because This Is Our First (Life). Ugh typos galore today. Sorry!

Strong Woman Do Bong-soon is basically pure fluff and ridiculous, low-brow comedy with some weird serial killer stuff thrown in. The main couple is cute. If you want something to shut your brain off during, then it’s a good choice. Sometimes it feels like it’s TRYING to make some sort of social commentary but it never really goes there. It stays light throughout... besides the serial killer stuff.

Because This Life is Our First is very funny but also contemplative with some incredibly well-written dialogue. The conversations are important (and engaging) and they don’t shy away from tackling relevant social issues. It’s the much more grounded and “real” of the two, and it subverts many drama tropes. Sometimes it gets so real it hurts.

So it depends on what you’re looking for! They’re very different shows. I’m biased, though, as BTLIOF is one of my favorites... and Nam Se-hee is like, my favorite character ever.

If you want something purely light-hearted that doesn’t make you think too much, though, I would go with SWDBS.

Hey - I'd recommend Do Bong Soon over BTLIOF, but I think I'd be in the minority? ^^ I enjoyed Do Bong Soon more.

Funny, I watched Strong Woman EXACTLY because I wanted to forgot the terrible feeling after Hwayugi. It's really happy and cute and shallow, with moments where I coughed up my coffee on my laptop screen from unexpected laughter -- which is exactly what I needed. This show basically kills you with its cuteness and you're almost cringing from it but you still can't help smiling even if you're saying, "OMG, this is so stupid." Definitely what you need after a super heartbreaking ending.

Re : Nirvana in Fire 2, the story has a different focus and I think they try to be different but still can't stand by with Lang Ya Bang.

I read somewhere else that this is a drama when the 2nd lead or sidekick character that becomes main lead as opposed to a traditional hero, weird but bear with the explanation.

Yuanqi is a traditional hero in this sense with a tragic backstory, things to prove himself, an ally that comes suddenly, fate that catch up to him and the from zero to hero story... but our main lead is actually PingJing, who is born with everything, good family but get thrown upside down and chose his path.

I think the main story is actually engaging because they give a totally different hero, who has to mature so quickly after being indifferent about things, rise up in rank and then realised that he is still the same person that didn't have the ambition as people hoped.

We have family values and Kings who actually listen [both of them are open-minded and kindhearted].

The unsatisfaction comes from how the villain/antagonist treated than LYB. In Nif2, they just disappear without getting confronted and realised their wrongdoing. At one point I even think that they win the battle because they died thinking that their plan will succeed. There is a lot of morally grey area that didn't explore to finished their villain, LYB, on the other hand, gives all of the villain time to realise how screwed they are.

The pacing after PZ battle also off and dragged so it lost the steam, should have stick to 35 ep [iirc] as planned.

Agree. NIF 2 isn't as interesting or as engaging as Season 1. Puyang Ying loses steam as the villain and his role ended in a disappointing manner. The story seemed more to be about Yuanqi rather than about the hero and his family. PZ and his wife, Feizhan were more impressive than Pingjing and Lin Xi. The latter's story as a couple didn't interest me much, I would have been equally okay with them being together or not in the end. Overall, NIF2 didn't create that tension as NIF1 did.

i always look at OT for drama recommendations, might check out that man oh man soo just because i think we have similar tastes in dramas...

also hope you resolve whatever it is you're going through right now. Had that same feeling last year but now things are beginning to be bright for me what with work application looking to be on the positive side :)

Hopefully it stays that way until the end. 🙌 The plot is quite refreshing, together with "some romance" plot. Not a huge fan of fantasy drama, but if it is not so confusing, then I'll be gladly watching.

I'm going through something similar greenfields. I'm unapologetically avoiding real life in dramas this weekend. I suspect I'm not going to get a chance for a while. Things are very stressful and there's nothing like a martini and an escape watch. Just finished Fight For My Way and catching up on some ongoing shows.

checking out *good witch*, feels like something I've seen a thousand times but I watch it just to turn my brain off anyway

It really feels different now. :( Last week, I didn't notice the directorial stuff, and was trying to ignore all the criticism in the comments so I can enjoy S2. But the difference can't be ignored this week, especially since the old side characters weren't there anymore to keep the mood similar. Hopefully it gets better next week. :'(

i am watching it and i wouldn't say i dislike the direction but yeah its significantly different than of first season. as if trying to prove it to be more on serious side (all efforts to make it seriously a detective drama) while first season was so effortlessly being same but i never felt it was so as i was enjoying the light side as much the serious one.

I agree with what our fellow Beanies have said here, the directorial style is different and quite noticeable from the first season.

We'll see what happens with the upcoming episodes.

At first I was REALLY upset with the change in the drama's tone from dark comedy to almost slapstick with the fast motion and CG angels/demons on the shoulder schtick. (I like those things but in a genre to which they belong).

This week's episodes upset me as well because I'd talked myself into accepting the lighter tone when BAM! I was in tears with the little girl and her mom after the horrid thing that happened to them. Maybe the director took note (or was told to take note) of the fans take on the change. Or maybe he felt that since not a lot happened in the first two episodes, so he thought he needed the funny to keep the audience until the darker crimes began to happen.

Whatever the case, I hope he picks one tone and sticks with it. I don't like dramas that shift in tone midway and especially not from episode to episode. Just my personal preference. (Although it did work for me in Chicago Typewriter.)

I thought episode 3 and 4 were much stronger than episode 1 and 2, which were slapsticky. I also really dislike when a show spends half an hour explaining everything that happened in Offscreensville between season and then the next half dismantling all of that again. Why bother?

I also miss my Cupcake Cop, although I understand that Lee Won-geun probably had bigger projects these days.

I think differently. I have noticed this new season’s tone is different now that you’ve mentioned it but I’m okay with it. However, the last episode really pissed me off with the way everything was handled. I’m talking about the kid. It was such an interesting premise then they had to kdrama it and be forgiving 🙄. Other than that, I’ve been enjoying it. Oh and I still don’t get why they’re not together yet.

Yes, it's very discouraging / frightening over the past several months (more-or-less since JB posted about being in a drama slump).

Besides the dire theory that JB might be (gasp) tired of kdramas, it's easy to design a tentative theory that money is the root of all DB's problems: (take the following with a lot of salt, pepper, msg, etc)

1: New site cost a lot of time/effort/money but didn't generate much new revenue ?
2: Ad revenue is down (??) because of ad-blockers and/or people just not clicking on ads. (This is all my fault - I hate ads and I think I have only clicked on 2 in the last 20 years. Sorry).
3: Shop was supposed to bring in lots of $ but didn't bring enough (?) and was dropped. (Hey, mail order. It's hard to compete with Amazon. But I did my bit).
4: Weekly videos were another un-successful attempt to bring in more $ ?
5: Lack of money means recappers get compensated less means fewer recaps.
6: Web site crashes and is slow largely because they can't throw enough money at their cloud provider ?
7: Financial woes contribute to JB's drama slump ?????

If I'm right and money is a problem (or if the overlords just need more designer handbags) just tell us where to mail the checks. Seriously. If secure credit-card processing is a challenge, go low-tech with a post office box and a DBA.

We've two dramas in current recap list. I don't recall such small number of dramas being recapped ever. I won't count Misty or Mother. They don't even update casting, script reading or occasional movie casting news like they used to. The site has become slow. It discourages me to Log In. Something is wrong. I honestly don't care for all the added features. I like the wall and beanies interaction features. But I am willing to give up all that and would love the old Dramabeans back which had actual drama recsps. I don't care for the new video, shop features. I thought those were unnecessary features given youtube is there and other established sites for buying stuff. I have a feeling those aren't generating enough revenue like they hoped either. So, like I said I would gladly take back the old Dramabeans over what we have right now. I am sorry site mods if I come across a bit blunt but I am scared for this site being in serious financial woos. I love this space, would hate to not be able to be here. Hope y'all are listening.

*takes deep breath*

I confess worse thoughts than monetary woes have cross my mind. I fear that a fall out among the staff has taken place behind the scenes. I found it strange that HeadsNo2 and gummimochi just left without a word. Tell me if I had missed something. If there was some announcement or farewell of sorts, I apologize for my error. Otherwise, they have been recapping on DB for a long time and I didn't even know exactly when they left or will they return? I know DB doesn't owe me an explanation or anything but... I also miss girlfriday and javabeans jesting together on podcast, talking about a drama in a written feature and things like that.

I don't want to speculate further. If it's monetary, maybe beanies can pitch in. I don't patronize the shop because k beauty products are easily accessible in where I am. I'd rather contribute directly.

would definitely watch that!!! Anyways dramaland could use more strong moms than stories about heartless chaebols we've seen 20000 times before XD

Is it bad that I started thinking who will be cast as the Dark and Handsome Death?

That's the intro of God's Gift: 14 Days! (I'm just excited to recognize the story since I'm watching this right now haha)

Am I the only one whose mind immediately jumped to God's Gift? I think the original fairytale ended in a tragic way (because I remember the character in that drama rewrited the ending to give the mother and her child a happily ever after).

This one is Andersen, the master of heartbreaking stories. If it could have a happier spin...

this sounds like a European fairytale. They're quite dark...

I'd watch this. I'd read it too if you've completed the story.

This actually resembles a Hindu mythological story but only in this case, it is a tale of a devoted wife Savitri who used her wits to win back the life and riches of her husband from the hands of Yamraj (god of death). Legend has it that she literally followed Yama to the gates of heaven in order to bring her husband back to life.

Yea, at first I was skeptical with all these conspiracies theory that the higher ups try to cover up the #metoo with celeb dating news, but for past few weeks, we got all this nonstop dating news, which seems ridiculous to me and then this week bam! Park Shin Hye! Suzy! Which coincidentally at the time when that politician got exposed. Also, for them to out famous celebs dating, they are for sure trying really hard to cover up the scandal. Really sick and disgusting indeed.

And tomorrow they'll all write, produce, direct and act in a drama about corruption where the rich use the media and their wealth to make sure the rules don't apply to them...

Regarding Mystery Queen 2, I'm hoping for a bit more quirky, especially from Seol-ok because I find that this personality characteristic suits this actress particularly well. This preference, however, may be because I'm spoiled from having seen her personality in Season 1. But that's ok, it's nevertheless great to see Seol-ok and Wan-seung back in action of course! :)

It may also be that often-mentioned by now, directorial style. The time spent on scenes, and on dialogue seems to be cut a little short this season in favor of more, dare I say, abrupt style, moving from one thing to the next more quickly. I'm still looking forward to seeing what happens though!

I am a bit frustrated because I saw all 4 episodes of MQ2 and still do not know what to make of it. But that case of burned mother was well narrated and very touching.

I came here to see if anyone was watching Grand Prince. I've watched the first episode and looking for reasons to continue. It's not that it's bad but when it starts off with so much angst in the first episode I'm always hesitant to continue. What do you think of it so far?

Bakery Owner.. is the most mysterious character out there. and i am really looking forward to how her presence will add more mystery to already mysterious plot line.
and direction is indeed different than before.

you too hv great Friday n happy weekend.

I'm more than upset with Jason at this point--or rather how the writers are depicting him. I thought he would be the voice of reason in Su-ho's life and now he's just a tattle-tale to CEO mom. I really hate that he's a psychiatrist too.

Congrats on the million views!!

Same here, I tried to watch some of the new shows and nothing, ( The Good Witch = a maybe). When Misty and Mother are over, I fear I’ll be adrift in a sea of blah. Time to dust off some older shows or just delve into some Japanese taiga dramas. I wish the main drama channels carried more of them, watching on bootleg sites is a pain. Meanwhile, I am rewatching Yoo-na’s Street , which is like comfort food.

Here's praying that things work out for you to go to Seoul to do that medical exchange! I know how much this would mean for you! If not this year, but sometime soon. Now, if only they would need an allergist. LOL! But family is more important and should trump anything, so I'm all for that too. Fighting!

Good to see you! Have a good trip to Sydney. ..... The opportunity in Seoul certainly sounds great and I truly hope that something can be worked out. But as you mentioned, real life things do happen and I certainly understand the need to attend to those things also. Wishing you all the best.

Have a great weekend also!

Hello there! Enjoy your trip and the last episodes. Since you lowered your expectations you should be fine.
Your decision will definitely be the right one. And who knows, you may get another chance in the future.

* waves to @michykdrama *

Have a wonderful visit in Sydney!

When the time is right for you to go to Seoul, you'll go. Maybe you could let them know that the timing doesn't work for you at this time, but to let you know when the next opportunity rolls around. Plant a seed and see what happens. It can't hurt. ;-)

Here's hoping that The Boy is fine and dandy. ;-) Vaya con Dios!

Heh, they do have similar smiles!

This anime is so beautiful, the story, the art, the songs. The ED song especially, Aimer can do no wrong for anime OST.

Totally agree with your comment, this anime is more than just a love story. I love that we can understand their mind, the story definitely sort of challenging on what's the norm and the thin line of morality (and kudos to Manager for never crossing the line so far and just be there to be her support system, I mean Akira is definitely gorgeous) but through it all, it just goes to show that people are never black-and-white, they are complex creature.

Hmm this is quite a tough question LOL. I watched Oh Jak-doo first since it started first, but I think maybe I loved first two epi of Oh-soo / Evergreen more. Depends on your mood? Maybe if you crave for some light stuffs, then the latter is for you. But if want more serious stuff, then the former is for you.

How I wish the production of this drama decided to use Evergreen only, it's very confusing when a drama has two different titles. And both titles give different kind of feeling as well - That Man Oh-soo made us came to the drama with the expectation to see the main focus to be about the hero and his magical power, but Evergreen seems to be more suitable with the storyline based on the first two epi.

🙋 for MQ2 open thread.. and i am literally commenting on every post or comment abt it, cause i want to damn badly. i am loving MQ2 beyond words and cant wait to find another way to pour it all (other than my fan wall).
anyone from admin please listen to our plea...