Beanie level: Errand boy

I am unsure about how I feel regarding the ending of Moving. Yes it was a ‘happy’ ending of sorts and it was also refreshing how they portrayed NK folks but I felt there were some loose ends that they didn’t tie up properly.

I wonder why BS didn’t keep in touch with HS. He was all there flying around being a superhero but why stay away from the girl he loves? What’s at stake here? The return of KDS was also ‘unceremonious’ to me. I felt more could have been done there.

I think the problem was that they decided to introduce brand new characters and their backstories in the last episode without giving proper well rounded closure to the characters that we cared about.

Anyway overall it was still a proper good show. Interesting plot, well developed characters and amazing vfx and action scenes. Would recommend!

6
8

    Agree. It was fine. But it could have been much better with some different narrative decisions.

    3
    1

      I felt the same. I think the show is overhyped thanks to the ensemble cast and their excellent ability to emote. Other than that, the plot was incoherent. Characters’ stories were scattered, we saw bits of each character here and there, and it sort of prevented me from connecting to the characters.

      Bong-seok and Hee-soo were cute but the most memorable performance to me was that by Han Hyo Joo, and the most memorable character to me was Kang-hoon.

      I would rate the show 8.5 out of 10, as 8 is a bit low but 9 is a bit high.

      5
      1

        Kang Hoon was my absolute favourite! Absolutely

        1
        1

          At first I was impressed by the adults arc, and tho I still appreciated each episode set separately, by the end I didn’t connect with it as a whole. Also, when they rejoined the kids arc, I didn’t care as much for the kids as I did in 1-7. And yes, having such a large ensemble didn’t help either.

          I was also disappointed by the ending. Among the issues, they spent too much time fighting (tho I know others loved that) and new characters and flashbacks. I feel we got shortchanged on several existing characters, esp. Do-Shik. On the whole the resolution felt rushed.

          Having criticized so much, I’ll say it might be because I held it to a much higher bar than most kdramas. But if I was to grade it on a bell curve of 2023 dramas, I’d give it a 9.5. 😀

          Oh, and Kang-Hoon was interesting to me because of the good guys, he’s shown as the most complex, ambivalent. The actor did well.

          4
          1

            I definitely enjoyed the parents arc more than the kids and would have preferred it if they started with them first then going to the kids. They just rushed it in the end.

            2
            0

    I tbought I was the only one having a problem with the show. I’d give it 8/10

    2
    0

    I too think something is off about the ending. The prospect of a S2 could be the cause of it.

    The major issue I have is its casting most attention on fighting with those from the North when we have 2/3 of the drama is about problematic operations of NIS and DDirector Min and his crew. (And how I wished Min died with a painful death.). Then still introducing new characters in the last two episodes. But the North Korean crew is a whole new drama on its own – and Park Hee-soo’s character as a sympathetic operator is great to watch (and he redeems the trauma on me from Trolley with this role). Consistent with the humanist theme of this drama, it makes Yang Dong-guen not much an evil guy by the end of it.

    I would still rate this the best drama of the year in that it is a mega production that’s done right – a very difficult feat compared with smaller scale productions and at international scale. The team behind it should be very proud. It’s almost like an anthology of movies weaved together with great skills. A lot of comments about the use of flashback but I applaud it to make a complicated story even more intriguing and interesting. I don’t think I’d like it as much if it’s done chronologically.

    Will re-watch the last three episodes because my first watch was done through sleepy eyes.

    5
    1

      It was definitely the best drama of the year still! No doubt about that. Just that things could have been done better like we all said.

      1
      0

DWY ep10

Was that a nod of Secretary Kim?

5
4

THE RED HAND!!!

Pretty sure that is past life Hong Jo’s hand at this point!

8
1

    We’re all just relieved the writers didn’t forget the red hand. I wouldn’t have put it past this lot.

    8
    0

I refuse to believe that MLL’s money hungry mum will suddenly change and go back to her dirt poor husband! That was not a true resolution.

7
6

    Agreed. Overall, just barely okay. I’ll probably forget all about MLL by tomorrow.

    6
    1

      I have already forgotten. I was playing games on my phone during the last 2 episodes and I don’t speak Korean 😆

      2
      0

    What was that whole story line for anyway? What was the point of Dad living on the mountain if he didn’t end up knowing something about the murder? Oy, whatever.

    2
    1

      It made no sense! Dad basically gave up on life after being heartbroken by his money hungry ex and didn’t even physically keep in touch with his own daughter and now suddenly the ex is all fine slumming along with him? And he is happy? And yes, why the mountain when there was a murder on a mountain storyline elsewhere? Ugh

      2
      1

They all forgot about the red hand didn’t they? And by they I mean the writers. If spells don’t work why did that disappear? Or does he think it was all in his head like that neural coupling bullshit?

6
13

    My assumption was that the red hand is the shaman in the past life, who may well by Hong-jo in the current life. So I am wondering if the red hand disappeared because of the shared destiny Shin-yu now has with her reincarnated self?

    4
    2

      This is what I think too! And/or the real cure was something to do with Hong-jo and not the spell book.

      5
      1

        While I wasn’t thrilled about the neural coupling—I did think it was effective as yet one MORE reason Shin-yu could pretend his feelings weren’t really his. When Hong-jo shouts “why don’t you tell *all* these excuses to Na-yeon!!” I felt that her ability to say “all” made her plea more effective. That’s my take anyway. It was still not ideal.

        As for the Red Hand…I’d be SUPER surprised if it didn’t come back. But then again, I didn’t think they’d do what they did to Taec in HB, so….

        3
        1

          That’s how I took it as well, it felt like the neural coupling thing was introduced not as the actual reason but to show us another way that JSY was trying to rationalise the fact that he liked HJ.

          I’ve got a feeling it’ll come back too, it’s probably more subdued/temporarily out of action right now than gotten rid of entirely – I’m predicting it’ll come back mayhaps when our leads (and we, the audience) are enlightened a bit more about the past life story! And then it’ll go away for real forever when HJ an SY finally start dating for real or something.

          2
          1

            I’ve got my recap comment all queued up…I also predict that the hand will return when Joseon-ville arrives :)!!

            2
            0

      It is my assumption that for the short-term we’re sort of to imagine that he’s “cured” because her “Avert Disaster” (or whatever) spell had worked. His hand doesn’t hurt either…

      However, we’re now in the messy middle where it’s not clear whether or not the spell worked and whether or not he’s still dying or whether or not he’s still engaged or whether or not she actually cast “Fair Skin” or that other one about making Jae-kyung fall for her (like was implied when she was reading) or whether or not Na-yeon is an actual whole character or whether or not those flowers got replanted at the side of the road…

      I have questions, and frankly, I have more, and frankly, I’m in love with them all and am happy still to see where this all goes.

      4
      1

    Exactly! How come suddenly it is gone and no one wonders why ! I was so disappointed both episodes in this week. I still cant wait for next week tough 🙂

    4
    0

    The red hand Re: we shall see…

    2
    0

    I felt something similar to this watching MLL turning into some strange show. I’m glad I ended the day watching Love at First Sight (NF 2023).

    0
    0

    Can it please come back and start killing off annoying characters? Like the two office ladies and, yeah I’ll say it, his ditzy Mom? For once, I’d be fine if a romcom turned into a serial murder story.

    1
    1

      Absolutely detest those two colleagues. Problem is I don’t think they will get their cumappence because they are just ‘written that way’.

      Loathing the mum and the young friends storyline. Yuck! If my friend tries to get on with my mother I will cut him! Ewww!

      1
      1

        Thank you! For one teeeeny tiny second I thought the bun-head girl might be the person taking the pictures but … she doesn’t seem smart enough. Unless she suddenly is revealed to be in love with the 2FL and is trying to break them up without having to kill Sin Yu (sorry, lame riff on MLL there) 🙄

        0
        0

DWY ep 8

From everything that’s going on did we really need that stalker angle? Why? Also why didn’t she turn turn the damn torch on her phone?? Why?

2
6

    Just*

    0
    0

    I was wondering about it too.
    Too many tangential storylines – will they be able to wrap up everything?
    PJ stealer + Vodoo doll maker = Stalker ?
    Secret life of SML,
    Cheating SFL and annoying client,
    Annoying gardener,
    Annoying co-workers,
    Awesome boss + martial arts blind date seeker …

    3
    0

    How else would we have had the worst excuse for a date? Did you sense any strategy there at all?

    4
    2

      ‘Let’s fake date for a stalker’ worst plot ever! All I want is to see Shin Yu act like a bumbling idiot in front of of her and nothing else! Lol!

      4
      1

        He does … but then he takes a grip of himself (on red hand now!)
        I want to shout at him now …. loosen that grip Jang Shin-yu and love her like she deserves to be loved!!

        1
        0

      More excuses from Shin-yu to spend time together.

      I just kept thinking she wasn’t dressed warmly enough.

      4
      0

DWY ep.7

I think too many unnecessary things happened. That neural bull, the situation with the 2FL, the kiss, that yucky direction with the mum and the friend, the dad suddenly being all chaebol dad

4
6

    dint like the kiss.. esp the motivation behind it…. and very much wrongly placed…
    rest this show is no brianer for me… i know it makes no sense and i have to bear with it cause nothing else making me laugh like this.

    1
    2

      I think I laughed the first 5 mins on this episode. A tad disappointed. Waiting for tomorrow though!

      2
      0

      And yes I didn’t like that kiss. A bit misplaced me thinks…

      1
      1

    Yeah great point about the dad too – I also didn’t like that he started cosplaying unyielding chaebol dad. I mean he hasn’t been the nicest person in previous episodes, but there was that glimmer of warmth and ‘quirk’ when he tried to help solve the ‘riddle’ and also during the dinner at home when mum was doing charades.

    3
    1

Moving is so amazing and I am trying to catch up as fast as I possibly can. I wonder if they tell us how they became how they are? Do they discuss it in the later episodes? I am in ep 10.

3
3

    Tonight we will have Ep 16-17. Ep 11-14 are pretty much still the parents’ backstory and then Ep 15 brings us back to where we were at Ep 7. While I enjoy Ep 1-7 tremendously, the subsequent episodes about the parents are to me drama extraordinaire gearing our emotions to the max. Enjoy!

    5
    1

    Kim Doo Shik tells Mi Hyun that he was born like this.

    2
    0

Wait? Are we going to have two more episodes of My Lovely Liar?

Why?

6
13

    This drama would have been way better with less episodes and less characters.

    7
    1

      I know right? I struggled to keep track of all the people in the neighbourhood.

      2
      1

        When that girl slept with that dude I was like “Wait, which one was that again?” I even had to Google it

        2
        2

          Oh my god same! 😂

          1
          0

          Why were all these characters in the drama? Serious question. If it was to give a sense of found family, they have failed (imo). If the writer wanted to show that ML finally starts to have a social life, it could have been shown differently in the last episodes…

          0
          0

    Ahn Nae-sang flaunting his fancy hair?

    2
    1

      Heheh! He does resemble Antonio Banderas.

      3
      1

        Votes on whether that “bee sting” is actually a real stye and they had to work it into the plot?

        Also, in no way does he resemble Antonio Banderas 🤣

        4
        2

          Yup, my first thought was “that doesn’t look like makeup.”

          I can kind of, faintly, sort of see it if I squint and don’t look directly at him. Which is how I want to look at many of the side characters in this show.

          Also, if superpowers can be inherited, can we expect to see the shady NIS team from Moving show up pretty soon?

          3
          1

            Could we send Doo-shik on a tactical mission to take out these writers??? They’d never see it coming.

            5
            0

          Hahha! I was referring to the comment his shitty ex wife made about him 😄

          1
          2

            Jin Kyung (the actress who plays the shitty mom) makes me laugh because I keep seeing her in bad mom’s roles these days.

            2
            0

            Oh, yes, @coffeprince4eva, ha. I knew that. I was pushing back on the show’s words not yours 🙂

            1
            0

I just finished watching A Time Called You and I thought it was a good well written and acted drama for anyone who hasn’t seen the OG version.

Honestly it is not a criticism at all. The K version did a great job on its own and as similar it was to the OG version its direction was completely different.

Someday/Oneday was about grief and loss. ATCY was a love story that transcended time and space. I ‘felt’ the OG FL’s heartbreak and grief over the loss of her boyfriend. I cried every time she cried. Her grief was palpable her loss almost excruciating. Watching the 1st episode I remember thinking ‘okay, why did she breakup with him then?’. She convinced me that her man was out there somewhere and she somehow needed to reach out to him. I was stunned leaning that he was gone for good and never coming back.

K version FL did a fine job on her own right but the core dna of this version was as a fantasy time travelling love story. I felt sad by her loss but did not see myself shed a tear. Was it a bad thing? Probably not. Did I become a lot more immune to watching heartbreak on the screen in the last 3 years? Probably not.

AHS as the ML exceeded my expectation. GS was stellar and AHS did a good job portraying 2 different characters. Onwards and upwards for him from here!

I think now I will go and watch the OG version for the second time. I just bought a box of tissues and I am sure I’ll need them.

8
7

    Very well articulated. Thank you.

    “AHS as the ML exceeded my expectation” – absolutely I was totally charmed.

    3
    0

    I’ve only seen the remake, so I have no comparison.
    The first episodes didn’t make me cry either, although I rarely do. But the more episodes I saw, the more connected I became with the characters, so that I felt for them more and more. I still think about the drama while I’m working (or surfing the internet), which is not a bad sign.

    I wonder if it makes a difference if you binge a drama or have to wait for new episodes every week, which adds to the excitement. Who knows how I would have felt about the first episodes if I hadn’t been able to continue watching immediately.

    3
    0

    “ Someday/Oneday was about grief and loss. ATCY was a love story that transcended time and space.” This is such a good point! Also the song that replaced Wu Bai’s “Last Dance” didn’t quite work the same for me.

    2
    1

      Hey! Nice you see you Green! It’s been a while.

      Oh yes the OG song was special! I commented about it on my wall sometime ago!

      2
      1

        Hello hello! ☺️ Yes – the release of the remake brought me back, I was curious about what beanies thought of it. Hope all has been well, Ren!

        1
        0

    Your take really resonates. I felt more or less the same, but couldn’t articulate it.

    2
    0

    Hope you enjoy your rewatch! I started mine when I hit ep 6 of ATCY and I was surprised by how much I adore the original, even the second time around!

    1
    0

I think Ahn Hye Sop is doing a stellar job of filling in the huge shoes of Greg Hsu. The OG version is in my top favourites of all time and I am trying not compare both and enjoy them as they are. I am only halfway through the K version and I am loving it so far.

I also kinda miss the OG song even though I remember getting sick of it while watching it in 2020 😄

10
4

    Agree about Ahn Hyo-seop and I miss the OG song too! Though I love Seo Ji-won’s song too – esp. knowing the story behind it.

    2
    2

      The first time I heard that song was in the Hospital Playlist OTS (sung by the main cast).
      It must be a classic in Korea.

      1
      1

        I think the first time I heard it was on Reply 1994. Definitely a classic in Korea.

        3
        0

      Oooh I gotta google and find out the story now!!

      1
      0

Ah! To feel all the feels of Someday/Oneday from A Time Called You! Solidly remake and all episodes are up!!! 🫶🏽

9
7

    What???? And my weekend is shot…

    2
    1

    You finished? Wow. I am impressed.
    And it is a SOLID so far for me.

    1
    1

      No no! Just finished the first 2 episodes! Probably should have made that clear lol

      2
      0

    I didn’t watch the OG and I didn’t read the synopsis, so I’m watching episode 4 with a big headache because I have no idea what’s going on. 😂

    2
    1

      I completely understand the confusion! Hang in there for a bit. If it goes anything like the OG series, things will become clear soon enough ☺️

      2
      1

‘I feel like I am the only one wearing a Hawaiian shirt at a funeral’ 🤣🤣🤣

Never thought I was going to enjoy DWY!

9
1

Was that finger heart in the end? 🤣

7
10

    Yes – complete with dramatic music for the reveal!! 😂 This drama has a really quirky sense of humor. I dig it!!

    5
    2

    OMG! So quickly?

    I shouldn’t be on the fan wall till I watch this. Slinks off.

    2
    1

      Oops sorry! I made sure there was no ‘face’ though before I posted this spoiler!

      2
      1

        Nothing like that.
        1) as the recent dustup reminded us, spoilers are allowed on the fanwall.
        2) this wasn’t particularly spoilery at that
        3) i don’t really mind small spoilers anyway
        4) it reminded me to go watch…

        …and what the heck is this show 😂😂😂

        4
        1

          Oh and by “so quickly” I meant he’s already making hearts!

          3
          0

    I mistook it for ‘fingers crossed’ initially and got confused. Why would be say that if he didn’t mean it?
    But then I rewatched that scene and went ‘what!!’
    Can’t wait for todays episode. I need Rowoon to loosen up a little bit.

    4
    1

      Yeah me too! He is not nailing the serious guy vibe very well! Defo looking forward to the next episode now!

      1
      0

Touch your ‘butt’ is completely ridiculous! Why would anyone even write something like this and why would good actors want to star in it?

3
3

    The writer must love this kind of humor. It appeals to some, though, judging by the rating.😊

    2
    0

    Dropped – I couldn’t get myself to watch this week’s episodes. So I’ll just follow along with the recaps.
    sigh – what a waste…

    1
    1

What kind name is Law and High? Also very pretty people yet zero chemistry….he has more chemistry with that red bloody hand than with her.

#DestinedForYou

4
7

    I agree with the red hand lady chemistry with Ro-woon. It set fire to my screen each time.

    4
    1

      I asked myself ‘is he scared or turned on?’ Wtf!!!

      5
      1

        Yeah, I think both. Uncomfortable and yet totally not. Frightened but also needy. Pretty good work, if ya ask me.

        3
        0

    I saw those and thought, “Well, those are two English words that are either hard to pronounce or read phonetically for speakers of Korean.”

    I quite like our OTP being truly distant at the beginning, though. I’m hopeful. Not HeartBeat hopeful, but I’m looking forward to seeing how/if these characters change.

    4
    1

      He looks so young. Even with his serious demeanour lol

      1
      1

        As others have noted, so do his parents. I think “youth” is going to be a plot point. At least, it’d be interesting if they made it a plot point.

        1
        1

          Oh my god yes! I thought his dad was his brother or maybe uncle!

          1
          0

What atrocity is this tshirt, tunic, cardigan and jeans combo?

9
8

    You didn’t mention the sneakers 😂

    5
    1

    The worst was when she turned up to the basically a date dinner in an earlier episode (well ok Do-ha said he’d treat her to dinner to thank her but whatever it was a date to me) and she was dress/jeans/sneaker combo again but it was like a FANCY place and he was in a chic blazer 🤦‍♀️

    6
    0

    It kinda looks like a failed attempt at Y2K fashion…maybe 😭🤣

    4
    0

    I appreciate I am in the minority (by which I mean, the only one), but I don’t really care. It doesn’t look as put together as many other dramas and frankly it is a bonus point. It’s not stylish. It’s not pretty. It’s not flattering. It’s going all over the place, and nothing goes together, and she doesn’t look like a cute little princess unlike anywhere else she features in. So I’m in love with this horrendous look for all these reasons. It works for me precisely because it doesn’t work.

    4
    2

      I understand your feeling! But if she was dressed like that all the time then it would have made some sense. She does sometimes wear very pretty clothes. Her dress sense is like an entire spectrum.

      0
      1

        But so is mine. I don’t wear the same style every day, so I’m happy to see someone like me too!

        *actively demanding representation for people with no sense of style too*

        “Please, K drama gods, show us more of those horribly dressed people who don’t look like they come out of a fashion makeover 101”

        3
        0

      I’m with @darkcc. I love all her clothes, frankly.

      1
      0

My Lovely Liar is kinda growing on me even though I think he is not much of a good song writer/musician 😂

3
0

Wait? What? No….

(Incoherent words in comments…)
#Heartbeat

4
6

Am I the only one who didn’t like My Dearest? I dropped it in the middle of ep 1. I can’t do slapstick.

5
3

    I know what you mean. It’s like Chief Kim rolled into Joseon. Not what I expected. I don’t want to spoil anything but soon there will be layers uncovered and heavier themes introduced if you decide to jump back in.

    3
    1

      I am a fan of NM but he looks old! I mean so much older than the FL which he is in real life. Gah!

      1
      1

        Yup. It doesn’t help that she looks so much younger than her real age. I don’t like it, but I’m still watching. And after episode 3, I’m getting ready for NM to shatter my heart. The slapstick eased up a lot. I didn’t see any at all in the preview. It’s gone dark.

        1
        0