Perfume: Started and then dropped as soon as she went from fat to skinny. Just NOPE.

Investigation Couple: I’m sad Stephanie Lee couldn’t return. I am mad they replaced her someone who was almost exactly the same as her. Also plot hole (She said she worked in Miami Labs, but lived in K-town LA, hmmm). I loved loved the case this week. I think it is really important because I have noticed in kdramas that the ultimate evil seems to murder. Every other crime is secondary to that. This case showed the very real and scary consequences of repeated sexual harassment or rape. How the poor woman was so desperate to be removed from that man’s sexual attacks that she stabbed herself. He effectively murdered her without wielding the physical weapon. Sexual harassment can be devasting and on equal footing with murder. That needs to be acknowledged in all societies.

The Secret Life of My Secretary: I love Veronica Park. In fact I love Veronica Park so much I wish she was the lead. Her character is just more interesting, I wish Jin Ki Joo’s character was Veronica Park or someone similar. I wish that for once in these dramas, the female lead is on equal footing as the male lead, both financially and status wise. I also don’t care for the 2nd male lead, something about him is off to me, I can’t seem to like him at all. He irks me a lot. All that to say Jung Gal-Hee and Do Min Ilk are adorable together. Ironically, she has more power in the relationship than he does even he is richer and of a higher status. I really want her to tell him the truth though, the dragging out is both annoying and tedious.

Angel’s Last Mission-Love: Shin Hye Sun is perfect. Her as Matilde is so different from her as Yeon Seo that I want a drama with just Matilde. The annoying mother/daughter duo are really annoying. They are evil just because and honestly I hate them. If they both died I would be fine. As for Geum Ni Na, she is starting to grate too. Meh. Kang Woo was soo happy with Matilde, but his grief has kind of turned into creepy obsession and that is not good for our Yeon Seo. His need to make up to Matilde is hindering his ability to help Yeon Seo. Our Dan who only wants what is best for Yeon Seo. It is pretty obvious that he was human once and I think that is the loophole they will use to allow Yeon Seo and Dan to be together a la Meet Joe Black.

One Spring Night: I am exhausted. I have no idea why I am still watching this. It just kind of pulls me in. I was sooo excited when she broke up with him only to be back with him at the end of episode 6. I need her to get it together. The whole thing is both exhausting and ridiculous. Also I love Lee Jae In, what a fabulous sister. I dig her relationship with Young-Jae as well. As for Seo-In, I hope she finds a way to escape that psychopath of a husband of hers. How horrifying. I want to point out Jung-In’s hypocrisy in getting mad at Shi-Hoon’s parent’s for looking down on her, while if she starts dating Ji-Ho her dad...

Secret Life of My Secretary: B+/B+ I'm behind, only up to day 7. The leads are good, but show still reminds me how much I hate poorly-done office power struggles and family betrayals. The bored board meeting in day 5 was an example of what I hate; the shareholders meeting in day 6 was ok. Meanwhile, I suspect the message of the show will be something like "love the person for who he/she is, not for appearance/wealth/status", which is a message I expect Beanies will like more than some other shows *cough*Abyss*cough**cough*Perfume*cough*. Of course it helps that they don't look bad :)

Arthdal: B/B Big budget over-ambitious misfire? I have to watch is case it lives what I'd expect from the director. Or, considering the big budget, did the director get a big check and go over to the dark side?

Voice 3: B-/C- I'm still watching out of respect for the good parts of Voice 1; feel free to not join me.

Abyss: A-/B+ I don't know what I like more, Park Bo-young or they lines they give her.

Perfume: Some kinds of problematic messages don't bother me as much as they do many Beanies -- I am bothered by other things like robots with unrealistic battery life. And Go Won-Hee was good enough in Strongest Deliveryman that it will take a lot to drive me away. Still, this show might manage that.

Investigative Couple / Partners for Justice: B/A- Good start for an investigation/crime show, if you like those.

Angel's Last Mission: F/B for the 2nd half of day 6; B+/A- for earlier.

First score is how much I liked it this week; 2nd is sorta-kinda how objectively good I think it was.

I think I've done a romance overdose and that's the reason romance in current dramas doesn't interest me.

- Completed -

Le Coup de Foudre: I had such a nice time with all characters and especially Zhao family. The only big flaw was the filter.

- Currently watching -

Angel's Last Mission: During the reception scene and the coincidential meeting between Ni Na and her former teacher, one word came to my mind "dramatic". The cast puts a good performance but the evil family tires me out. I feel bad for Ni Na as if she receives bad things instead of her mother and sister. I would like Yeon Seo to be in contact with people who have nothing to do with ballet (and are humans) because she needs to learn how to love and receive different kind of love, as in friendships. When she asked Dan why he did everything for her when he doesn't like her, I was thinking romantic interest isn't the only explanation (unlike what her employee told her).

Different Dreams: ep 16-18. Mikki is smarter than she appears and perhaps Fukuda will later take advantage of her love to use her? Or she will move on her own to take down LYJ?

Nokdu Flower: ep 25-26. We have time to breath and relax. For now. When the ex-Donghak member will reveal the ogre's identity, the closest ones to Yi Kang will feel betrayed. I'm not ready to see him struggle again so I'm enjoying the lighter moments. Yi Hyun as the head makes me because it feels like he's back as the YH of the early episodes. Once again, it's a matter of time before troubles with the Japanese.

One Spring Night: I thought if Ja In explained Ki Seok why she broke up with him, he would've taken a longtime to acccept it but eventually go through it. The scene at JI's home with her scene showed once more he's inconsiderate not only of JI but Ji Oh. When he said he understands what love is, I let out a laugh. He's too immersed in what he wants to consider his girlfriend's feelings.

Save Me 2: The flashback with Chil Sung defending Min Cheol and their present time conflict were satisfying and showed more reasons for Min Cheol to reveal Elder Choi's true identity. Speaking of Elder Choi, he's a conman but every villager and Pastor Sung are wiling to be conned for their own personal gain. I'm almost angry at all of villagers (the way they gang up against someone) but they're still desperate people. Pastor Sung... it's purely for his own greed to feel special.

Search Query: WWW: I won't add more praises because it already received a lot on the fan wall. This drama seems really ambitious from the get go. From portraying women in high-ranking posts, giving them various character traits, mentionning issues faced by them and other minorities (sexual assault/not assuming someone's sexual preference/one night stand). The intention is good but it needs to handle them the good way because it can quickly turn out good or bad.The romance part felt...

Search Query: WWW
It’s safe to say that my anticipation for this show was off the charts: all the leads have proven themselves with various roles, the setting is an unique concept about the modern phenomenon of working women and I get to finally get to see cute Jang Ki Yong in a leading role without the brooding! After watching the premiere, I am thrilled to see that the writing shows quite some level of depth into both the characters and the plot, with an intriguing perspective on the search portal industry mixed together with witty cultural references. The music is also remarkably pleasant to listen to!

The Secret Life of My Secretary
I’m so frustrated at the prolonging of the lie, however it’s not just only because of the dragging plot but also the reason behind it: with Gal Hee’s emotional ties to Veronica due to their previous working relationship, this is a more compelling case that the show could have made as to why Gal Hee started the whole impersonation charade as well as how she is so good at it to remain uncaught for so long (Veronica taught her). It could have progressed to them falling in love and then struggling to break the lies: Gal Hee telling who she really is and Veronica admitting she conned Dae Joo’s friend.

My Absolute Boyfriend
There’s not much affection I have for Wang Joon at this point: not only is he mistreating and disrespecting Young Gu to intimidate him into giving up Da Da (which borders on obsession for me since she does have the right to love someone else when they have already broken up), he also fails to resolve the noble idiocy that of was his own accord by himself. I find it convenient that she found out the truth just so neatly when he is in his most vulnerable state which garners the maximum sympathy from her: if she had witnessed his arrogance to Young Gu, would her reaction have been different?

Abyss
The romance development couldn’t have been more jarring when placed together with a rampaging killer on the loose, but I believe the show is pushing the notion that Se Yeon had feelings for Cha Min when she was younger. To that, I ask then why she ended up introducing Hee Jin to him? Maybe the show does have an answer, but it needs to balance that with the murder thriller without resorting to absurd dreams. The police incompetence lazy writing does not inspire much confidence though, especially when some random accomplice is just shoehorned into the plot as needed.

Mary, your Lookout updates are giving me life. I cannot wait till you finish it hahahahaha

K-dramas on hold : Angel's Last Mission and Arthdal

Binge-watching (old) J-doramas :
(2016) Ie Uru Onna : I didn't think it will be this funny, but I like it 😄 Plus, Asuka Kudo as Niwano was cuuuute~

(2015) Gisou no Fuufu : this one is quite weird, but I like the dynamic between the characters

Latest NHK Asadora (2019) Natsuzora : before I realize it, I have been involved in a "husband hunting game" between Natsu and the boys. My Natsu-Nobu ship is about to go down but I can't really give it up 😆 I will still watch it until September 2019

Beside J-dorama, I only watched Produce X 101. I've learned from Produce 48, I've promised to myself I wouldn't have any bias. But then episode 5 came and BOSS team performance broke my wall 😅 I think I have accepted the fact that feeling heartbroken is a part of watching Produce series.. But most of my top 11 picks are already on top 20 on last week first round of elimination, so I guess it's still safe.. I'm excited to watch episode 6 !

I'm immersed in Spring Night and so far love its slow rythm... and lingering moments. Pharmacist and Librarian are finally waking up from their hibernation and showing signs of former spark...

While Spring Night is a slow burn, its taiwanese sort-of-version Before We Get Married (We can't be friends) is a full explosion. The chemistry between Jasper Liu and Puff Kao is no joke. Really. And although I do think the male lead crossed the line at the end of the first episode, I'm like a moth heading straight to the flames... (is episode 2 here yet???).

One Spring Night - so good 😊 Every scene is aesthetically pleasing. Lil Eun Woo is adorable. I love Jae In when she immediately defended Ji ho the moment her sister’s boyfriend belittled him for being a single dad.

Angel’s Last Love - marathoned this till current episodes. First few episodes were kinda slow but it all went so good when he moves in as the in house butler.

Voice 3 - I am still watching this for the mystery, although I have to pause a few times while watching to give myself a break from the heavy plot and grotesque scenes.

Kang’s Kitchen 2 - it’s here! I love this series and can’t wait when Kyu Hyun shows up.

I am a happy camper because most of the shows I am watching are recapped now.

The Secret Life of My Secretary: This show continues to be the highlight of my week. I love Min Ik and Gal Hee together and this week we started to see that while his mind is obsessed with the idea of Veronica Park his heart knows better.

But I am also very annoyed that the deception continues and is ruining the show and a promising romance between Min Ik and Gal Hee. It had already overstayed its welcome but now that Veronica mistakenly thinks it needs it to continue and the possibility of her walking down the aisle with Min Ik is making Gal Hee feel she has no choice but to go along with it it's down to Min Ik's choice forced on to him by his bestie. I just hope Min Ik chooses Gal Hee. I still don’t trust or like bestie, have no idea (and honestly not much interest) in what the secretaries are up to. But I am still entertained by Veronica and her mom as well as Veronica and Gal Hee’s sister and I like their brother.

I just realize the picture is taken from Save Me 2, yay! It's the only drama I watch at the moment. Thank you Mary!

Bom Bam: I fall in love a little more every week, but I'm also becoming increasingly annoyed with Jeong-in. She could learn a little something from her Unni about sticking to her guns. Come on, it's time for everyone to embrace a little happiness!

One and Only Love: L sticks out like a sore thumb compared to seasoned actress Shin Hye-sun, and it becomes more telling with every episode. Not that I mind! It actually grounds all of the tragedy a little and makes it a pleasant-enough watch that I never feel too overwhelmed. Lee Moon-sae's 'A Welcome Rain' breaks my heart every time I hear it, though.

Absolute Boyfriend: The love robot is sentient! Whoop whoop! Next week is going to hurt, and I'm ready~

Beauty Inside: I picked this up again out of nowhere, and I've sped through four episodes. I still don't care that much about the romance, but boy does this drama have the best cameos.

CRICKET - Matches have become a bit more interesting. Graphics are good. ECB is run by idiots.

Tennis - Nadal really loves french fries.

Don't fight wit fools - 7/10
Rike Koi - 7.5/10 Hilarious 1st episode. I was wAITING for its translation.

Before We Got Married - The guy is crazy and abusive. Park Ha Sun's show will compete with this one.

Search - I say its just pretentious trash. Might change later. But 1st week is just to fool the audience, mostly female audience.

Angel's Last Mission is another romance trash. Ofcourse angel has to fall in love with pitiable heroine. Dozen other shows had almost same storyline and plot and even almost same presentation. No value at all.

Search Query: WWW I'm in love ❤️ I had zero expectation and didn't even plan to check it out but I'm so glad I did!
A drama with three very strong but conflicted women and I'm interested in all three so far. The drama feels a bit dreamy, the whole atmosphere makes it especially interesting for me. I'm totally in for more!!

MY ABSOLUTE BOYFRIEND: I don't know what to think about this drama. Robot --Human romance is not appealing to me. I think I'll drop it and stick to reading the recaps.
ARTHDAL CHRONICLES: I'm loving this. Can't wait for episode 3.

The Secret Life of My Secretary: Until when we have to see Gal Hee as fake Veronica Park? Min Ik please please find your true love.

Search: WWW: After watching ep 1-2, I fell in love with this show. The three lead women are too strong I likeyyyy so much. I like the theme. I like the characters, scripts. So far so good. I am so excited to see team task force Barro vs best friend-Ga Young Unicorn.
Romance between Tami and Park Morgan is too beautiful. But will there be any twist?! Lets seeee....

- THE SECRET LIFE OF MY SECRETARY (Ep.10): Min Ik is asking the right question even though he is too dumb to answer it: “which girl do I love?”. Aww. I’d prefer to have the truth revealed soon rather than in ep. 15.

- ARTHDAL CHRONICLES (Ep.2): I found ep. 1 too intense, but ep. 2 slowed down and spent some time with two main characters. I can’t wait to see what happens now so I guess that’s good.

- FATHER IS STRANGE (Ep. 8): Is he strange because he’s so undramalikely nice? I haven’t seen such supportive parents and happy spouses in a while! Their kids are so lucky.

Absolute Boyfriend: I am enjoying this show thoroughly, even if I do not like the second male lead. Yeo Jin Goo is killing it & also making me uncomfortable with how he managed to turn me from “he is a kid!” to fanning myself at times. I am glad the end of ep 8 happened because now the FL can finally move on & look at our adorable sincere Roboboy fully, even if I will have to see him get hurt in the process 😭😭

Arthdal: This one is head to head with Absolute Boyfriend regarding which drama I am enjoying the most right now. I don’t have the issues that everyone else has with this one because I went into it knowing nothing &, henceforth, appreciated it for what it was - a high fantasy, which is right up my alley. I appreciate it for breaking up the viewer fatigue that I hadn’t even realized I had until this show came along. I cannot wait for this week’s eps! I hope it stays solid throughout it’s run!

The Secret Life Of My Secretary: This one has fallen on the enjoyment scale ever since I fell for the other two shows, but it is still enjoyable. The plotting in this show is minimal. It is really just all about the cute & watching Kim Young Kwang in love. Which is why the reveal getting stretched for so long doesn’t infuriate me the way it does other people, because I honestly didn’t expect anything else. The reveal will most probably happen next week & I’m tuning in.

The shows I dropped this week:-

Angel’s Last Mission: Acting of key people (mind you, other than Shin Hye Sun) is all over the place, characters feel like caricatures (again, except Lee Yeon Seo), the family conflict is annoying instead of well done, entire scenes & plot lines end up feeling contrived, & the romance shouldn’t exist. I couldn’t care less for the actual plot or characters. The final nail in the coffin was when the person making me watch this mess regardless, the FL, insinuated that she doesn’t need anyone’s love & care unless it is romantic. Oh & when the show developed dissociative amnesia & skipped straight to ep 12 angst after ep 4. No, thank you.

Perfume: Meh. Failed to make any impression on me & the first ep felt like a montage.

Search: WWW: Thank you, @missvictrix. I am glad I am not the only one who thinks this way about the show. Couldn’t get past the first episode.

Search: WWW: It’s been a while since a premiere grabbed me like this. I was expecting something rom-com-ish but got a drama with fierce, complicated women. I like that the drama is set at competing web portals and is bringing up current Internet issues. I like the romance and especially like that it is just one part of the drama and not the focus. I love the dialogue and OST. I’m trying to keep my expectations low in case it goes south later on, but so far, SO good.

Arthdal Chronicles: As someone who never got into fantasy stuff, I wasn’t expecting to enjoy this, but I did. I enjoyed the world-building and liked that despite some silly, fantastical stuff, the themes are very relatable and parallel stuff that has happened and is still happening in the world.

Perfume: I was thoroughly turned off by the premiere episodes. Pass.

The Secret Life of My Secretary: The Good: The OTP is cute. The Bad: The lie dragging on is ruining the cuteness. The WTF: They did CPR on a fish.

Angel’s Last Mission: Love: Not sure I will continue this one. I like Dan and YS but not how quickly the feelings have developed. I hate the evil aunt and cousin. I feel icky when KW is onscreen.

Mary, every thing you said is the reason Lookout is ten times better on rewatch.

I had actually been losing steam in korean dramas this past year but this month has actually a really good run for me (partly because it's my holidays now). Granted, I'm only watching 2 shoes right now but these shows are really fulfilling for me:
1 - Angels Last Mission:
I really love this show! It's such an easy watch for me despite all the melo because there is such great chemistry between the leads. I feel like this is the type of drama where you get attached to every character because each character is so unique and distinct. I start feeling for characters like the lady butler and Ni Na and even the dancers. I love the ballet aspect of it too as the writers really made sure to do their research in the topic to portray it in such a mesmerising and believable way. And of course, the main point -- the leads. They're really doing such a great job and they really nailed it in the sweet spot for me.
2 - Arthdal:
I wasn't so sure about this in the first episode but the second one really tied all the pieces together and packaged the drama really nicely to me. I love how rich the "history" of this land is, like all the tribes and traditions etc. etc.; it makes that world really developed and mystical.

Perfume: I said I'll watch it and I did. I said I have reservations about it and in the 1st episode my reservations were kinda validated.

But I'm not as affected as many beanies are. I assume it is because I spoiled myself too much when I snooped around for more drama info (Dang it SSR and his first lead role! Hah!). The promos were wacky or just conflicting, the descriptions were filled with tropes and cliches it drove my expectations low. It was an encapsulation of all sorts of social issues from suicide, murder, body shaming etc2. I walked in prepared knowing I might dislike this show.

With that said..I found the episodes overall enjoyable. Ep 3-4 reeled me in. There is a tinge of sadness in this despite its wackiness. Jae Hee is so rootable for me. She is so desperate. I don't agree with her choice. Planning to suicide and murder her husband is not the way to go ever. Never. But it is a drama. I'll just go with it. It shows how desperate she is. And now she has another chance to relive the days she lost in her 20s. The days that will never come back in reality. And she is totally aware of the limitations and possible consequences of using the perfume. She actually thinks and use her brain. I like Jae Hee. Both versions of her. She is capable and she knows it, but society does not accept her for her looks.

I'm interested to see her growth. She can be confident but if society in general does not accept her as is, what use is her confidence? She is a capable woman, she holds many certifications with hopes to get a job but never landed any. If anything...the issue is with society in general. How society view beauty. How beauty influences judgement.

I'll continue watching. It is hilarious if watched lightly without much thought. And since it is a fantasy drama and promoted as such I can kinda tolerate ridiculous stuff going on, anything can happen in a fantasy 🤣. I hope they study more about phobias/allergies if they want to include it in the drama. Bad representation of actual phobias/allergies is a no-no.

Angels Last Mission: uh, I enjoyed the show at the beginning but I kinda just skip through the family drama now because it seems like nothing is changing in that dynamic. It's getting a little bit soap operairy for me. Basic evil family members. Nina is really the only one that's actually interesting.

I was really excited when we found out the Ballet director was an angel, because of all the possibilities it opened up for the story. But I'm not sure now if they're actually going to use it in any interesting way.

Search. WWW: Had no interest in this but I learned to always at least give shows a chance, and I'm happy that I dead. Fast pace with good acting and strong writing. And the shows gives me my hot older women fix that I need 😳.

And I think it's funny how the roles are reversed in this and Chang Ki-Yong is playing the love interest candy. His character is kinda shallow but the man can act and make a mail box fall in love with him.

Put Your Head on My Shoulder: Chinese drama. Cute low stakes show. Not alot of angst. Nice show to just have the brain chill out too.

Doom Patrol: Not a foreign drama but I consider it one of the best shows out so I've been trying to promo it more. Comic book show, but it has strong writing with great acting. It's really a dramady about getting over past scars and figuring out who you are now as a person, that just happened to have people with super powers in it (they're not REALLY super heroes.)

The show is stuck on DC streaming service, which I guess is a bonus for DC but I feel like if it was out in the wild it would be much bigger than it is.

Investigation Couple 2 - really strong opening episode, but cringe courtroom sheningans in second one cooled down my enthusiasm, still good procedural, something I really crave this days.

Abyss - dropped, I couldn't stand rewriting characters entrily to introduce romance plot, I don't think that it's shallow or wrong when attractive people are attracted to other attractive people.

Save Me 2 - this week was really strong, finally everything is set in for confrontation, and with character like Min Cheol, violent doofus with aversion to thinking before acting, it's hard to predict how things unravel, I wonder if pastor will be able to work with him against Elder Choi.

Different Dreams - I didn't like last episodes, Mikki is a character that doesn't fit that era and circumstances and her storyline was grating, and I feel like writing became less than stellar lately.

Nokdu Flower - solid as usual, no mid - run slump detected.

Voice 3 - it was purely hate watching because there was no other procedural out there, and I needed my crime fix even just to seethe at stupidity of the writers in the end.

Arthdal Chronicles - it fun to watch and fun to make fun of later with fellow Beanies.

Search WWW - I like the ladies and initial plot, I pick it up because of Jang Ki Young but now I would prefer to have him in miniscule doses on screen, the romance line is the weak and I could live with out it.

Looking for my murder and mayhem fix I binged on some Jdramas, and their crime series are way, way better than whatever Kdrama try to achieve: Strawberry Nights (older version) - great female lead, interesting cases, Maison de Police - fun and quirky, shame that not all episodes are subbed, Anata no Ban Desu - bonkers twist on "Strangers on the Train" but again not subbed regulary.

My Absolute Boyfriend I don't know if it's the writing, directing or Yeo Jin Goo's interpretation but not being able to discern any robot like mannerisms in Young Gu mars my enjoyment of the character. I find his "love" for Da Da absolutely suffocating. This could be totally different if Young Gu is obviously a robot. I would have found it hilarious instead. Even if Da Da doesn't go back to Wang Joon, I don't want her with Young Gu. If the drama had wanted to show that she can be happy with Young Gu, they shouldn't have shown Wang Joon and Da Da in happier times. The contrast is stark. Maybe it wasn't intentional but Hong Jong Hyun and Minah sold it too well.

Angel's Last Mission The idea of god here is awful. Less of it and that annoying aunt and daughter pair. Just give me Dimples and Shin Hye Sun, thank you.

Before We Get Married 😶😶

What did I just watch? Viki had episode 1 up and I decided to check this out so late into the night without knowing what this drama was about. The poster captivated me. But what did I get myself into!!!! The opening song was HOT alright. Thought it would be some sort of mature drama like Misty. Then I got really bored and found the middle part of it tiring to watch (must be because I was watching this too at 1am) and then............. towards the end of the episode...... when main leads started to have more interaction, the guy was straight up creepy af. I got chills (negative chills!) in that party scene when he was slowly chasing the girl as she frantically run away from him cuz again he’s creepy and effed up in the head. Then she went into some bdsm roo, I honestly thought for a second he was gonna rape her right there when his smiled at her like a rapist would. Very very disturbing. I cannot stomach the fact that this is billed as romance. No. I cannot stomach the fact later on in the series this same girl will fall for this creepy male lead. No, girl, please have some self respect. Sick.

Just dropping by to give everyone a warning. I should have stopped, really, when he was slowly chasing her on the staircase but nope I watched till the very end and now I couldn’t get this scene out of my head. Hopefully by writing down what I thought about this series will give me a peace of mind now. 🤢

Angel’s Last Mission: Love - my top priority drama that makes me excited to be home after work just to watch this drama. Now that we know what happened when Angel falls in love with human, I’m scared what will happen to Dan later.

Abyss - This drama is a mess, but I still watch it anyway because I’d like to know the ending. I’ve tried to not nitpicking and questioning this drama because it’s a fantasy drama anyway, but too many absurd things happened that I just can’t...

One Spring Night - Just started watching this drama ep1-4, but uh-oh, I don’t like where this drama is heading to although Jung Hae In (😍) is so handsome in this drama.

Arthdal Chronicles - Didn’t plan to watch this at first because the promo seems meh, but I watched it as it’s on Netflix. I gotta say, it’s not bad and I will continue to watch this as long as the the writer continues with good storytelling.

Voice 3 - I’m late to Voice party, but as usual, this drama has never failed to surprise me.

Absolute Boyfriend is quite a nice surprise. A show I originally planned as a trash watch and then almost didn't start because I hated the Japanese version, turns out to be pretty good - at least up until episode 6. I feel like it's getting to the meat of a lot of the issues around a euphemistic "dating robot" that the Japanese version did not: why we'd want one but also why we can't have a real relationship with one.

In particular, the female lead's determination to treat Zero Nine as if he isn't a robot throws up a whole other set of issues around her ownership of him. If he is a machine and his reactions are entirely programmed, then any relationship she has with him is entirely in her own mind. If he is a thinking, feeling being then he's essentially a slave.

I particularly like that the male lead's noble idiocy was shut down hard and fast by a dose of ice water from his manager. There is nothing laudable about him lying to and dumping his girlfriend to "protect her".

While I'm not totally sold on the antagonist being a crazed misanthropic toy-obsessed torturer, I can kind of see where they're going with it and if they pull it off it could work.

Also I picked up Abyss and I dropped Abyss and what a mess of a show that was.

PERFUME: Watched first episode and dropped. Nothing compelling or interesting in the set-up or acting.
ANGEL'S LAST MISSION: The pace and acting has been good. The evil aunt taking over the foundation plot is terrible. The sponsor dinner was written poorly and unbelievable. The fantasy story elements may overwhelm the humanity of YS recovery.
ONE SPRING NIGHT: Still too "middle episodes" of Pretty Noona to get any real traction (because of the stalled attraction).

@mary, yes to everything you said about Angel's Last Mission. If they make Nina turn evil, they'll be betraying her character. Now that I think about it, what really needs to happen is for her to discover what her family is up to and stand up to them somehow, whether by leaving them, thwarting them, or exposing them. Maybe Ms. Elena will help.

@laica, you nailed it on Secret Life of My Secretary. But let's not put all the blame on GH. They've really dumbed Min-ik down for the sake of comedy. Where did the super-competent businessman go? Wouldn't he have put 2+2+2+2+2 together by now? I wish the writers let him show some intelligence.

My family went viral - this is the best drama of the season. everything has a meaning and I love it.
Kakafukaka - what the everliving bad drama. I am tired of it.
Majo no Jōken - Maybe its cause I watched Chugakusei nikki, but this one looks a bit unbelievable to me.
Also, why is it that in teacher student dramas, everytime the woman is older, her entire life is bad and becomes worse while the drama advances. Meanwhile if it's the opposite the male teacher suffers nothing.
Takane to Hana episode 7 - in a fluffy drama you get a storyline that makes less sense than the main story and make it a mess.
Oh well, thank God new dramas will come soon.

Watching> Nokdu Flower, will watch once weekend has passed, busy at work.
Love Me Actually: Dating show 🙂
Arthdal: Not for me
My Family Goes Viral> Enjoying it.
The Legends

Not much catching my interests in K drama at the moment. Too many of the fantasy C dramas are the same. Hmmm. If I watch too many J or C dramas or too many older K dramas, then my Bean count will suffer, however, suffering through bad dramas for the sake of a Bean is not worth it. 🤔😢😔

I thought Perfume was bad, but I was not even close to Laica's reaction. I too will drop it!
@laica thank you for your review on Perfume.
Also, I don't like how the lie keeps getting extended on The Secret Life Of My Secretary, but I'm in too deep on Kim Young Kwan. I'll just have to endure the reveal 😖

WWW: I watched the first 2 episodes of this last night. I felt a little here and there, and I zoned out for a lot of "purposeful walking" scenes. The 2nd ep was better, so I'll still tune in for a little while - if just for more swoony Jank Ki-yong. He is a really beautiful man.
One Spring Night: I still love, love, love this one. It is my crack. It's been a long time since I watched a show that made me wanted to watch the episodes multiple times. I love the second watch, because I don't have to pay as much attention to the subs and can watch all the micro expressions on our leads' faces. Such good acting.
The Secret Life of My Secretary: Just tell him already.
Le Coupe de Foudre: The ending was perfect. I loved the final episode and all the snap shots of their married life. It was a whole episodes of those little clips that I loved so much from the beginning of the series.
Always Be My Maybe: I laughed throughout this one. Keanu Reeves was the perfect choice for that roll, and it I could thoroughly enjoy it because everything I've read about him says he's actually a super nice guy in real life. :)

*NOKDU FLOWER: Brilliant!! I love this one.. ^^

*ABBYS: the story is kinda scattered but I'll keep watching because of the PBY and AHS's chemistry... They're are so cute together :)

*MY AHJUSSHI: the feels that gives off to it's viewers, every after you've watched an episode are no joke... it's like you're being punched because of it's life related conflicts in the story that you can relate to...

@laica, thanks very much for your honest appraisal of Perfume, now I know for sure that I shouldn't try to watch it 😮

with that bit about www query Id better wait till Im not watching 2 romances that are making me all emotional, it sounds like it wont handle comparison well

@laica, you said everything that I wanted to say about Perfume. I think that’s the most I’ve “nope”’d during the first 30 minutes of a drama ever. I did not watch past that and your comments about what happens later mean that I will definitely not be giving it another chance. Thank you.

Currently Airing

ANGEL’S LAST MISSION: LOVE: Honestly, I really enjoy this sometimes. And other times it’s just ‘meh’. There are so many possible directions and the anticipation of the potential angst is always on my mind, and that makes for distracted drama watching. But Shin Hye-sun just leaves me in awe each week, and that’s enough for now. Also, the OST is very much above average. (ep. 5-8)

SEARCH QUERY: WWW: Wow. All I can say is that I am so utterly impressed right now! I haven’t been this excited about a drama since Misty. The female characters are so intriguing and practically leap out of the screen. It really made me realize just how much dramas are lacking in strong female characters, particularly ones who are incredibly ambitious.

I’m also loving the chemistry between Jang Ki-yong and Im Soo-jung. It’s just so much fun. Awkward beginnings are so my thing, so the first couple episodes have left me very happy.

Gushing over. Just please watch this. Do give it until the second half of the first episode, though. The setup is much needed at the beginning to really get the story going (even if it’s a bit boring).

Side note: I didn’t know you could add so much tension to a drama about the internet. I was absolutely on the edge of my seat during the court scenes. (ep. 1-2)

Le Coup de Foudre: I guess my expectations for this drama were too high. I know I'm probably in the minority here since a lot of you enjoyed this drama. I think ultimately the reason I didn't enjoy this drama much was because of the issues I had with its tone. I loved the novel this drama is adapted from I Don't Like The World I Only Like You (why in the world did the drama go with such a weird French title instead of something closer to its original title for the English translation?). The novel was heartfelt and nostalgic which the drama mostly succeeded in translating to screen however I felt the novel was also playful and funny which I don't think the drama adapted so well and to me that was a huge part of the novel's charm. Another problem I had with the drama was how it decided to write its male lead in the book he had a dry sarcastic sense of humor and they really watered it down in the drama. (Yes there are some flashes of his humor here and there in the drama but for me they are too few and far between.) In addition I hated the change they made to his back story family wise. I'm guessing they did it because they thought the audience needed some explanation to why his personality is the way it is. So they gave him the standard unhappy home drama male lead back story which totally unnecessary. First because it isn't true and second in the drama itself the male lead says in regards to his personality that he's always been like that. I feel like by giving us a sad back story the producers aren't only doing a disservice to its audience by thinking that we need a sad back story for every antisocial and quiet character but they are also doing a disservice to the plot. Because a huge part of why Zhao Qiao Yi rejected Yan Mo was because he came from a happy warm and well off family which was in stark contrast to her poor single parent family. (Yeah they changed Qiao Yi's back story as well but that's not one of the things I have problems with). If the drama kept the fact that Yan Mo's home was warm and happy I feel that would give more credence to Qiao Yi's initial decision to reject him.
Something else that made the drama lose some of its charm for me was the decision not to fully adapt the stories of her college dorm mates. They made brief appearances in the drama but that was it. Their stories in the novel were some of the most funny and heartfelt parts and it saddens me they didn't adapt them even though they had 35 freaking episodes. Which brings me to another issue I had was the pacing which I found too slow for my liking especially in the beginning. I felt like they spent too much time in with the characters in high school I get they were they were trying to be nostalgic but to me it just seemed like it was very meandering. Another thing I was not a big fan of was their choice to frame the flashback scenes with this frame that had blurry edges.
Wow I ranted a lot. Please don't get me wrong I don't think this is a bad...

I’m pleasantly surprised and now hyped about WWW. I went into it with little/no expectations. I didn’t watch the video teasers. I mainly checked it out because of Lee Da Hee. I’m happy that she has another strong, likable role. I love that there is not one, but three female leads and no Candys in sight. I like that they are holding top positions in their career and we will see more of their power struggles and complex relationships.

The premiere was confident in delivering its message and introduction to the world of search engine companies. I did not mind the focus on the business. It was quite interesting.

I’m glad there is more to the plot than just the romance and I hope the writer keeps it that way.

I finished watching Guardian last week which I liked and I came to discover an actor by the name of Zhu Yi Long. This led me to watch Granting You a Dreamlike Life which I enjoyed also. The writer(s) did a good job setting up the friendship between the two male leads so that when it went south you could feel the pain. Also well done was the female lead loving both men. Sometimes when a person loves two people she/he can come across as fickle but for me that never happened. She fell in love with the second lead at first sight then some things happen and she fell out of love with him after she had no choice because of his actions. She and the first lead became friends then she started to love him (he was already in love with her) slowly. Tragic love in the 30s but happy love in the present time.
Now I am watching Royal Sister Returns/Princess is Back. The two previous dramas used 40 episodes wisely this drama did not. I feel like it should have been wrapped up at episode 25 but two more story lines were added stretching it to 36 episodes. I know writers have different plots going around in their head but that does not mean you need to cram them all in one drama.
So far I am liking the acting from Zhu Yi Long. In all three dramas his characters have been vastly different. Once I wrap up Royal Sister Returns I will give Border Town Prodigal a look. I might see yet another side of him.