Rather than a recap, this is more of a first impressions/summary of the first two episodes. In fact, the first two episodes were short enough that I don’t think it merits a full recap. If you’re a fan of IRIS and ATHENA, you might enjoy this one. If you love Hwang Jung Min, you’re probably bound to watch this no matter what. I’m none of the above, but I sure am an action/political thriller junkie!!

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Read the rest of Hanbando / Korean Peninsula: Episodes 1-2 (3,022 words)

© kaedejun for Dramabeans, 2012. | Permalink | 18 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: cable programs, featured, first episodes, Hwang Jung-min, Kim Jung-eun

The end is here! And it is not without pain, suffering, sadness, and tears. Oh my – I think I sound quite depressive, but then again, how else can I feel when such a wonderful series comes to an end? There are enough happy moments, but all tempered with a tinge of dread as we all know what’s going to happen to Sun-Man. I hope you’ve enjoyed watching this series, more so than reading recaps; What’s Up is quite the rare gem, and it’s definitely up there in my list of favorites.

Now let me just whip out a box of tissues…

SONG OF THE DAY

This ballad plays quite frequently in What’s Up. [download]

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Read the rest of What’s Up: Episode 20 (Final) (3,076 words)

© kaedejun for Dramabeans, 2012. | Permalink | 47 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Daesung, featured, Im Joo-eun, Im Joo-hwan, Jang Hee-jin, Kim Ji-won, Lee Soo-hyuk, What's Up

So Baek-ho travels back in time to relive his high school days. It’s his first shot at fixing his wrongs and turning them into rights. We get a few more clues from his past which speaks more about his present. Will he be able to identify what went wrong between him and Yi-seul or will fate get in the way of his desire to change his present? You’ll have to dive in to find out what happens next.

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Read the rest of Operation Proposal: Episode 2 (3,457 words)

© gummimochi for Dramabeans, 2012. | Permalink | 48 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: featured, Lee Hyun-jin, Operation Proposal, Park Eun-bin, Yoo Seung-ho

All right, time to up the stakes, and ratchet up the emotion on all sides. People are pushed into corners, and characters take one step closer to making some finite decisions. Hwon takes one step forward in the big mystery of years past, but also suffers a setback as the baddies get crafty, too. And that cliffhanger leaves us wondering if we’ve hit a point of no return, or if our hero can find a way out. (Okay, I’m pretty sure it’s not a real point of no return, but at the same time I’ll have to remain in suspense another week. As will we all.)

SONG OF THE DAY

Lucid Fall – “어부가” [ Download ]

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Read the rest of The Moon That Embraces the Sun: Episode 12 (3,844 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2012. | Permalink | 208 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: featured, Han Ga-in, Jung Il-woo, Kim Min-seo, Kim Soo-hyun, The Moon That Embraces the Sun

Episode 19 and 20 are really two halves of a whole. It sends the entire series hurtling towards the end, and wraps up the Tae Hee and Jae Hun storyline into a neat little bow. I actually don’t like that it’s a neat bow, but more on that later. What we do get is a nice moment with Chae Young, who shows no indication of changing her manipulative ways… or will she?

I was most disappointed by the lack of music in this episode. Boo.

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Read the rest of What’s Up: Episode 19 (2,978 words)

© kaedejun for Dramabeans, 2012. | Permalink | 39 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Daesung, featured, Im Joo-eun, Im Joo-hwan, Jang Hee-jin, Kim Ji-won, Lee Soo-hyuk, What's Up

A strong premiere for Operation Proposal. I was oddly excited and nervous about this show since my expectations were based off of its Japanese original, Proposal Daisakusen: Operation Love.  Remakes are usually a hit or miss which largely depend on the cohesion of the drama trifecta of writing, directing, and acting. But we’ve got a pretty solid start to our story and characters here and shows promise for this series. A bit of the whimsical, a slight taste of outrageous, but a lot of heart.

What would you do if you had another shot to fix your past to change your present?

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Read the rest of Operation Proposal: Episode 1 (3,206 words)

© gummimochi for Dramabeans, 2012. | Permalink | 82 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: cable programs, featured, first episodes, Lee Hyun-jin, Operation Proposal, Park Eun-bin, Yoo Seung-ho

Yay, the fun is back! I love this episode. It’s full of funny pranks, stealthy missions, and some new mystical elements that work nicely to integrate our characters further. Hwon finally starts playing detective and asking some key questions, and I say, IT’S ABOUT TIME.

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Read the rest of The Moon That Embraces the Sun: Episode 11 (3,848 words)

© girlfriday for Dramabeans, 2012. | Permalink | 139 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: featured, Han Ga-in, Jung Il-woo, Kim Min-seo, Kim Soo-hyun, The Moon That Embraces the Sun

Sometimes it takes just one great moment to turn the tables and change our perception of the drama reality we’ve been given, and this episode had one of those great moments. History of the Salaryman is loud when it wants to be, but it’s in the subtlety that this show really shines – even though the very unsubtle visual gags and jokes were enough to have me crying from laughter during the first half of the episode. I just can’t heap enough praise on this show – it’s fun without being fluffy, and entertaining without being too slick. In short, it’s a textbook perfect drama.

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Read the rest of History of the Salaryman: Episode 12 (3,814 words)

© HeadsNo2 for Dramabeans, 2012. | Permalink | 58 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: featured, History of the Salaryman, Hong Soo-hyun, Jung Kyeo-woon, Jung Ryeo-won, Lee Beom-soo

We’re given hints at the potential conflicts of a few more characters, but as usual, what we get are crumbs. In attempting to give too many characters adequate screentime, you end up shafting everybody; it would have been vastly more effective to establish rapport with two or three kids, then work in the support crew. What we get instead is a lot of flimsy storylines, none of which have found purchase because they’ve been given no chance to connect with us.

I think there’s promise in what today’s episode gives us, but I fear it may be too little, too late.

SONG OF THE DAY

Jinwoon – “걸어온다” which Yoo-jin played in the street in yesterday’s episode.
[ Download ]

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Read the rest of Dream High 2: Episode 4 (4,098 words)

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Post tags: Dream High 2, featured, Ji-yeon, Jung Jin-woon, Kang So-ra, Kim Jung-tae

Love is in the air, or at least a whole lot of crushing, as lovelines come flying left and right, and end up crossing one over the other like one big web of angst to come. We see another side to our hero and our villain as well, for a nice change of pace, and the boys gear up for the first big battle over practice turf, with the odds stacked against them.

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Read the rest of Shut Up: Flower Boy Band: Episode 4 (3,300 words)

© girlfriday for Dramabeans, 2012. | Permalink | 119 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: featured, Jo Boa, Jung Eui-chul, Shut Up: Flower Boy Band, Sung Joon