This hour is the bookend to Episodes 1 and 2, and even though it’s been a while since Wol-ryung and Seo-hwa have been at the center of this story, it turns out they can still wring our hearts, just like they did the first time. I’m not crying, I swear. I just have something in my eye.

 
SONG OF THE DAY

Yisabel – “My Eden” from the OST [ Download ]

 
EPISODE 21 RECAP

Wol-ryung and Seo-hwa finally meet for the first time in twenty years. Seo-hwa’s voice shakes as she calls his name, and this time we hear Wol-ryung’s thoughts as he looks back at her curiously: “Who is she, that woman? How does it hurt just to look at her?”

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Read the rest of Gu Family Book: Episode 21 (3,424 words)

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Post tags: featured, Gu Family Book, Lee Seung-gi, Suzy

One bromance gives way to another and there are so many adorable moments that I’m still squeeing. This show continues to pull the right emotional threads and the revelations are sure to throw you for a loop. Our characters will find that challenging the biggest hotshot in school won’t be easy, especially when their newest addition is still very much a mystery.

EPISODE 5: “Let’s Fight, All for One!”

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Read the rest of Monstar: Episode 5 (3,864 words)

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Post tags: featured, Ha Yeon-soo, Kang Haneul, Monstar, Yong Jun-hyung

There’s actual watchable goodness this week! If you’re trying to watch this show strategically, my recommendation is to watch the first 25 minutes of Episode 30. They’re thoroughly worth it. And then you can resume your usual fast-forward (or skipping) routine.

(Given the recent pattern of makjang and angst, I’m amazed that there’s as much as 25 honest-to-goodness minutes of squeal-worthy cuteness between these two episodes. It’s definitely our upper limit for all the episodes in recent memory.)

The rest, sadly, is more of the same.

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Read the rest of You’re the Best, Lee Soon-shin: Episodes 29-30 [Open Thread] (1,278 words)

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Post tags: featured, IU, Jo Jung-seok, Lee Mi-sook, Sohn Tae-young, Yoo Inna, You're the Best Lee Soon-shin

I’m just gonna take a moment to bask in that image right there. He’s smart, dogged, and soliciting cuddles? Nab him, and fast!

It’s a pretty major episode, with long-suppressed secrets finally spilling forth and giving our heroes solid victories. That means there’s a fair amount of fist-pumping going on as we get to enjoy watching the queen squirm—she’s slippery and cunning, but for right now it’s pretty satisfying to see her behind the curve and slow to react, for once. She’s not pulling the strings anymore—or perhaps it’s safer to say that her victims have learned to pull strings right back at her.

SONG OF THE DAY

Ha Dong-kyun – “From Mark” [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Mandate of Heaven: Episode 16 (3,852 words)

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Post tags: featured, Im Seul-ong, Lee Dong-wook, Mandate of Heaven, Song Ji-hyo, Song Jong-ho, Yoon Jin-yi

I feel like a yo-yo after every episode of this show because I’ve been so wildly yanked from one extreme to the other—laughing out loud and then clutching my heart, sometimes in terror and other times from the giddy romance. But even though I feel spent, I’m a happy little yo-yo; yes I am.

 
SONG OF THE DAY

Every Single Day – “Dolphin” from the OST [ Download ]

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Read the rest of I Hear Your Voice: Episode 4 (4,802 words)

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Post tags: featured, I Hear Your Voice, Lee Bo-young, Lee Jong-seok, Yoon Sang-hyun

Romances take another step forward, and it’s a nice day for our good guys, who are forced to step up the strategy in circumventing their thwarters. I worried that we were spending too much time on a plot point that seemed predictable, but we end up moving the story along significantly, which I’m always happy about. I coulda used some more of my rugged investigator and his sweetly awkward romance, but I suppose I shouldn’t be too greedy. I mean, I’m still going to be greedy, but I can recognize when I’m being demandy. *practices restraint*

SONG OF THE DAY

Yellow Monsters – “Cold Rain” [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Mandate of Heaven: Episode 15 (3,731 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2013. | Permalink | 30 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: featured, Im Seul-ong, Lee Dong-wook, Mandate of Heaven, Song Ji-hyo, Song Jong-ho, Yoon Jin-yi

Ah, that moment when your feelings finally hit and you realize that you’re not the only one who harbors them. We learn more about Se-yi’s past in this episode as our group of misfits end up on a stranger’s doorstep in the rain. And yet with all the clues that we’re given, we’re still looking at a puzzle that has yet to be solved. Now that we’re all caught up, I think I’d like to take that catnap now.

SONG OF THE DAY

J-Rabbit – 선잠 (나 그대의 사랑이 되리) “Catnap (I’ll Be Your Love)” [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Monstar: Episode 4 (3,828 words)

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Post tags: featured, Ha Yeon-soo, Kang Haneul, Monstar, Yong Jun-hyung

Revenge, thrills, mystery, forbidden romance, investigative crime-solving—this show literally encompasses every genre but comedy and sageuk, and does so with aplomb. I can’t heap enough praise for the assured directing, which keeps the thrilling moments brimming with intensity and the quieter moments as contemplative as they should be, but it’s as good a time as any to say that the acting is really starting to shine, too.

Not like Sohn Ye-jin and Kim Nam-gil were phoning it in before (not even close), but perhaps it’s because their characters are really coming into their own that I can better appreciate all the nuance coming from their performances. They’ve got a lot to convey without the convenience of words to explain how they’re feeling, so the fact that we’re normally fine-tuned to their wavelength is a great place to be. The worst thing a mystery-laden show like this can do is make all of its characters equally mysterious, so we’ve got a great balance going on between the overarching secrets and characters we can empathize with.

Except for Grandpa Jo, that is. Of course he’d be the one drama grandfather to not meet his untimely death while someone withholds a bottle of life-saving pills. He’s just as diabolical as he is healthy, go figure.

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Read the rest of Shark: Episode 6 (3,817 words)

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Post tags: featured, Kim Nam-gil, Shark, Sohn Ye-jin

Yup, I’m back for more. Like I could stay away, right? This show is really rockin’ my socks off, so I’m in it for the long haul, sleep and sanity be damned. Each episode continues to be a pleasant surprise—fantastic characters mixed with a swiftly moving story, and I just love the heroine more and more with each episode. She’s so endearingly flawed and winsome, and easy to root for.

Ratings continue to shoot skyward: I Hear Your Voice rose to 15.0% today, with Mandate of Heaven in at 8.0%, and Go Hyun-jung’s new drama Queen’s Classroom premiering to 6.6%.

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Read the rest of I Hear Your Voice: Episode 3 (4,364 words)

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Post tags: featured, I Hear Your Voice, Lee Bo-young, Lee Jong-seok, Yoon Sang-hyun

We wrap up one case and acquaint ourselves with another, while relationships get cookin’—and on multiple fronts. This show is deftly juggling its brisk rom-com-iness with its subtle character moments, and I’m really loving the balance. There’s the risk of bogging down a show like this too much with the client cases because that plotting occupies so much of the screentime, but in a good show you find ways to make those those matter. Thus far I’m classifying Cyrano as one of those good shows because its main characters remain at the heart of the story, even when they’re working to make other people fall in love, though I’m not blind to the fact that there’s no guarantee it’ll stay this way. But hope springs eternal.

SONG OF THE DAY

Standing Egg – “Miss Flower” [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Dating Agency Cyrano: Episode 6 (3,036 words)

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Post tags: Dating Agency Cyrano, featured, Hong Jong-hyun, Lee Chun-hee, Lee Jong-hyuk, Sooyoung