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Team Dramabeans: What we’re watching

So, what are we all watching this week?

What kept you reaching for more (or agonizing when there was no more), and what made you want to throw your remote through the screen? Time to weigh in…

 

missvictrix

Currently weecapping: The Veil, Yumi’s Cells, Dal-li and Gamjatang

Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha: Sigh, I really wanted to like this week’s episodes. I loved the confession and kiss from last week, but for some reason Episode 11 and 12 just didn’t work for me. Our OTP is giddy and cute but something about these interactions felt contrived and boring. It’s weak episodes like this that make you realize this drama doesn’t really have much of a backbone, or any storytelling structure really — it’s just a vehicle for cuteness. I’m usually not one to turn down couple cuteness, but something about this one rubs me the wrong way. I’m particularly frustrated with Hye-jin’s character. She’s flatter than flat. She hasn’t changed or grown in any way. She’s merely moved and fallen in love; we’ve seen nothing that tested her character, or forced her to change. In fact, I don’t even know if we’ve seen that for anyone. Has there been any character growth at all? Feel free to argue, but I’m thinking not. At this point I’m watching for the bean.

 

quirkycase

Currently recapping: Human Disqualification

The Veil: I actually like the whole unreliable narrator thing here. Sometimes that tactic can be annoying, but framing it through memory and trauma is interesting. It lets you feel the frustration and confusion along with Ji-hyuk.

Dal-li and Gamjatang: This is like an old-school, zany rom-com but with a modern sensibility. It’s fun with just enough seriousness to make it more than fluff. I hope it keeps the balance and doesn’t tip too far over into the nefarious dealings storyline.

The Great Shaman Ga Doo-shim: I ended up waiting out the last few episodes so I could binge it in one go. Kim Sae-ron and Nam Da-reum were delightful from start to finish, and the plot was simple and fun. I’m so glad I picked up this cute little drama. It makes me want to watch more web dramas (as if I have the time).

 
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ice University: It ended nicely. It was a sweet drama, a bit predictable, but sweet.

Lovers of the Red Sky: Our leads continue to be adorable. The fantasy aspect continues to not make sense. I am not sure who Hwancha is, I don’t understand why the mountain spirit can stop Ma Wang, I just don’t understand. Lol. It is okay because I shall continue to watch.

High Class: So Danny’s very obvious crush on Yeo Wool is kind of hilarious. The fact the Ji-Yong is alive was easily predictable. Why, he is up to his shenanigans is the question. Why is Doctor Lee poisoning folks? I’m not sure but I do like this drama.

Dali and the cocky Prince: I really like this drama and it 100% because of Da Li. I like the fact that she seems composed in everything she does, but with Woo Tak you see the real her. She gives glimpses of it to Moo Hak, but not too much. She likes him, but she has more important things to worry about so she focuses on that, her character is so refreshing. I also like that she tries not to let misunderstandings linger.

Hometown: Hmmm. So the guru has somehow managed to use rudimentary psychology and hypnosis to get people to forget even the worst of the things they do. Maybe in the back six we will actually learn about Kyung Ho and how he became the guru.

The veil: Nam Goong Min, I say this with love, the drama is very bland and I am watching it solely for you. Ha

One the Woman: Hopefully she finds out who she is these next couple of episodes. The close calls are getting annoying.

Lost: Our leads are back together again. Hopefully they will make each other lighter again. They both really need it. What is the shape of love? Whatever shape fits you.

Hometown Cha Cha Cha: So the angst is coming because it is inevitable, sigh, the cute was wonderful while it lasted.

The Great Shaman Ga Doo Shim: What an adorable drama. Nam Da Reum's turn as a lead is off to a great start.

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I feel you about Red Sky and The Veil.
I don’t get Hwancha. He is just a goblin, he can’t be as powerful as MaWang, and yet he could make him disappear. I get why the mountain god can win over MaWang (they are powerful beings as I learned form my distracting foxes drama), but the whole mythology asks for a very clear suspension of disbelief.
Anyway, I’m loving the drama because of the super cute OTP.

As for NGM, I will only say this: NGM 😋

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Hi, did anyone notice that the white ring Ha Ram gave to Chun Gi was also glowing white along with Hwacha's green powers during the Ma Wang attack? Does the ring also have magical powers?

And at the beginning of EP9 when Ha Ram was passed out after attacking Chun Gi, Samshin made Chun Gi fall asleep, then appeared and put a butterfly amulet/talisman in Ha Ram's hand saying, "For a while, the Demon won't be able to come out." So how was the shaman able to summon Ma Wang in EP10? And why did the Tiger goddess in the painting not stop him in the room right there? But instead, he was able to stagger all the way to where Chun Gi was sleeping.

I love the show but the fantasy aspect is just frustrating.

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The answer: the mythology is just inconsisten.

The butterfly amulet was the same one Samsin gave HaRam when he was a little kid and that turned into the tattoo on his neck.

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Yeah, I'm getting the sense that this is one of those "just go along with it" shows. Lol.

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It's interesting, because for me the problem with the show is the couple not the mythology. I have dropped the drama because of the writer's choice to make light of the violence against FML. Twice now the male lead has tried to kill the female lead and she reacts as if nothing has happened. She doesnt question him about it. In fact the second time she denies it even happened. I'm alarmed by her behavior and it is an intentional writing choice that makes even less sense than the Hwancha (which I agree doesnt add up).

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I think the Tiger said she could win because they were in the Palace, her territory and Mawang is weaker there and overall because he doesn't have his eyes anymore. It's why he always attacks HG everytime he can.

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Gotcha, sense for one part at last, lol.

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I also really like Da Li as a character and I hope the show doesn't lapse into a string of different guys "rescuing" her, since she seems perfectly capable of getting herself out of tough situations.

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Agree about Lovers of the Red Sky...OTP together just makes everything else go blur for me... esp when they being cute and playful together..
same is for Dali and the cocky Prince...for Dali and her swag even in her lowest time. the way she walked out of presscon was nothing short of grand....

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I also loved what she was wearing, it shouldn't have worked, but she looked so fabulous, I didn't even care.

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i know.. what she was wearing was looking cool..
it had The Space design printed on it... so used her situation to create the hype there exhibition needed with the dress only.

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ONGOING
Hometown Cha-cha-cha - Violence against your BF is not funny writer-nim. Still both episodes had some cute and laugh-out-loud moments. The resolution of the love triangle was also beautiful. But MVP was Chicken Ajusshi for getting Eun-cheol and Miseon together at last.

Lovers of the Red Sky - I was pleasantly surprised by Ha-ram not indulging in noble idiocy because of the Ma-wang thing. But Yul is super annoying - the exact kind of second lead I hate and what a contrast to the HomCha SL.

Dali and Gamjatang - This show is like watching a 'down-on-luck heiress' Hallmark rom-com mixed with a makjang drama. This week was a difficult watch for multiple reasons not just the violence. The acting of JMH's family and Dali's cousin is so over the top it's unbearable, especially all the shouting. I fast-forwarded through most of the two episodes. But the leads (and second leads) are doing so well that I'm continuing to stick with it.

COMPLETED
The Great Shaman Ga Doo-shim - The 'big fight' ended up being not very big. I seriously think this show was undermined by its episode length. Even 30 minute episodes would have made the show seem less abrupt in its editing and the way storylines were resolved. Hyun-soo's story in particular was sadly short-changed. Still the leads were very good with what they were given. Looking forward to more from both.

C-DRAMAS
Dropped Cute Programmer and Fall in Love With a Scientist - the MLs were truly intolerable. Paused A Female Student Arrives at the Imperial College because it's kind of…boring.

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Was Chicken Ajusshi in Cha Cha a cameo by a well known actor? He was great. Actually I thought he should tell Mi Sun to date him instead.

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He seemed familiar so I looked him up. He's been in bit roles/ support roles in a lot of shows I've seen recently - he was the dead uncle in Daebak Real Estate for instance.

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I got sick (some ordinary autumn cold), thus Romantic Seaside was perfect with its nothing much happening 😆 (some parts even looked like a TV advertisement 😄). I didn't like much the direct or indirect (=shopping) violence of Hyejin against Dushik, but I loved Sunghyun (and his trigonometry speech 🙂)... and yes, timing IS important.
Hwajung's story was the only serious element and... ouch... (that socks scene made me teary).

I then watched few episodes of Dream Family and the first episode of a funny cdrama Dear Diary... and finally got a bit better to be able to follow Dali and Muhak and gosh, I loooooove Dali! 😍 I love how she speaks, how she carries herself, her grace, I love her laughs and her sadness... and her badassness and vulnerability... and I also love her hair 😁 (that Audrey Hepburn comparison is spot on). I like Dali's conversations with Muhak and I also like their cliffhangers, so rich in emotions. And I generally like how the show can combine comedy and melancholy... and mourning. (I also fully admit I'm speeding through the rest... except Brother...and Taejin... sometimes.)

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Yumi’s Cells: I have so much secondhand embarrassment for the characters while watching each week. If it weren’t for the cells, Yumi would sometimes exasperate me. They keep things like the trip fiasco and wedding fiasco relatable and fun. Ahn Bo-hyun has been so unexpectedly great as Woong, I'm not excited about the Jinyoung era.

Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha: Filler week but I was happy to get the lovey dovey moments. Hye-jin’s rejection of Sung-hyun was beautiful and bittersweet. I felt so bad for Hwa-jung when we learned the reason for the divorce. Chicken guy for the win!

Dali and Cocky Prince: I think this week was the last for me. The mystery storyline is weak, the gallery workers annoying, and Moo-hak kind of bothers me. His crush is sweet, but I don’t like how he has inserted himself into gallery business to be close to Dali. I did agree with him about the trash “art.”

Non-kdramas
Maid: Excellent series. Well-written, acted and directed.

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JAPAN - Lot of Cinema and tv dramas. new season has started and there are some that interesting. Time to add new rules for Japanese media too.

Gohoubi Gohan - 4/10 - sakurai hinako in another manga to tv drama. 23 minute episodes. food genre. As i ahev said many times before this kind of media never translates well into a visual media aka tv drama.
Same here.
Main problem with food dramas is them trying too hard to make characters appreciate and enjoy the food and those expressions and feelings that are blatantly false and fake.
Most shows and dramas build around food pay too much attention on the guest and so called actors-idol aka plastic faces that they completely miss the main subject, yes, the food.
Who is interested in watching plastic faces fake enjoying food and making those fake moans and then giving those fake praises?
There are dramas that bring in ingrediants as well as cooking in between to turn thes into your typical cookery shows but in the hands of these beadutiful idols and again miss the point of food shows.

Food is that n that won't satisfy anyone, different angles of food - won't. camera effects and use of software won't make the food appealing. You can do makeup as much you want, it won't have significant impact on audience unless you are real.

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KOREA - 2 tv drama - both lack quality writing but atleast 1 has enough action scenes to keep you engaged and you keep on guessing who is involved and who isn't.

Mr. Nam - 4.5/10 I watch it for action, the only thing above average. Writing is horrible on all scales. The ohh moments are turning out to be funny.

Rich brats - 4/10 - The show now is dragging. The character to go for is daughter who wants to be a boy so could gain everything. The general scenario that is presented in these dramas, If female has to be at top then she has to be half-boy.

She wants the D meme - is working too fine as real in that literal porn. It wasn't catfight it was B-fight from the beginning and delusional beings consoling themselves by attaching realistic, relatable meme buzzwords shows their mental state. I have to do nothing when others are hell bent on proving me right. And to think i've my own fandom and they are this much into their fanatical fantasies - oh no, no no nono nono.

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CHINA - I watch Chinese dramas more now and its the same for many other viewers - Whether someone believes it or not - Chinese saw business, went aggressive and captured the audience. From Japan to Korea to now China. If someone ever read Business newspapers then they can find how much Chinese companies were investing in Korean media houses from 2010 onwards - And who is Chinese main platform for foreign audience!!? Business demands through planning and meticulous execution.

A River Runs through it - earlier it had bad translations - I was in for rural or very small Chinese town family+less nonsense romance atmosphere - saw 2 videos on youtube and wanted to see those scenes and bang watched 31 episodes -
Time jump - 5 seconds - 10 seconds - 15 seconds - saved a lot of time. Drama is another Chinese teens romance garbage.That's it. 1 word garbage is enough to explain everything.

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Yumi's Cells (Episode 5-6) - Mood: C
Introducing conflicts into a relationship that has sailed is almost a necessary evil in shows which have plots focused on the romance, but what separates good from bad is where these conflicts originate from. External points of tension tend to be pretty cliche as opposed to internal ones: Sae Yi’s doomed to be a big negative for the show unless her character magically gets a transplant, but Woong’s tendency to tell white lies and Yumi’s persistence in keeping her face give the plot a better chance at succeeding if they want to explain why the OTP might break up later (yes, I saw some spoilers).

High Class (Episode 9-10) - Mood: C-
Of all the characters in the show, why has the writer got to do Yi Chan dirty like that? Sure, he might be shocked due to his dad’s reappearance but why hide that fact from his mom to the extent of denial when she’s desperate for the truth? Honestly, the real twist was Ji Yong being actually dead at this point: sure, maybe he planned his escape from the boat but it’s so much more interesting if things went astray as opposed to him lurking around all this time? Most of the other main characters are just annoying or useless as far as plot’s concerned. At least the new soundtrack sounds very nice!

Dal-li and Gamjatang (Episode 3-6) - Mood: D+ / D+
It’s a good thing that I could binge watch 4 episodes at once as last week’s episodes weren’t good to say the least: the (presumably) manipulative Tae Jin isn’t good news (neither is Moo Hak’s friend: she feels iffy too!) and both leads have conniving family members who aren’t up to any good. This week’s episodes also had Moo Hak (and Tae Jin, smh!) grab Da Li’s hand and breach her personal boundary: yes (both of) you may have had moments of intimacy with her but she certainly isn’t close to (both of) you. And of course, more useless antagonistic characters in the reporter and politician.

Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha (Episode 11-12) - Mood: D+
Good on the show for ending the love triangle well and not having the annoying third-quarter breakup trope, but it feels like the show is holding onto the trauma cards for the penultimate week conflict, which will definitely be more annoying. It’s probably just me not being in the right mood to watch but it seems like things are overly predictable: Sung Hyun will miss the writer and get paired up with her, the policeman is the lottery winner and cue surprised faces, divorced couple will make up and remarry. It’s not strictly lame but this show clearly wasn’t going for slice of life vibes and it feels lame.

Also watched:
- One The Woman (Episode 5-6) - Mood: C-, Whose side is the housekeeper on? The real Mi Na’s? Or herself?
- Lovers of the Red Sky (Episode 9-10) - Mood: D, A new deity? A new shaman? Random confessions? Just no.
- The Great Shaman Ga Doo Shim (Episode 12): Not the best project for both leads.

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Finally someone called out the breaching of Dali's personal space. I hated it. It was annoying how the show seems to justify it because both princes were "worried" for her. I also really don't like the cocky prince! He needs to learn that shouting at someone is not the way to convey your concern. Ajeeb. I think Mu Hak as a character had potential. His crush on Dali is really sweet and I found my self smiling whenever he was thinking of her buttt I absolutely detest the way he's always screaming. Be it at Dali or at the gallery workers!! It was annoying when he called himself the director last week to stop those goons from destroying Dali's workspace and it was annoying this week when he started lecturing the gallery workers this week for their "lack of responsibility". I'm almost disappointed at Dali for not stopping him then. I don't think being a creditor gives him the right to act like the boss. The reason I say he had potential was that the first two weeks I didn't dislike him even if his loudness was not my cup of tea. I accepted it as part of his quirky, new money character. I was rooting for the two leads but then the second week happened from where on onwards his screaming is just not justifiable. At the start of ep 3 when Dali talks to him in a manner that suggests both know each other from before, Mu Hak again resorts to loudness.
The thing is the whole show is set up on the knight in shining armour rescuing the damsel in distress cliche and that's just sad! I'm honestly rooting for Dali and might not drop it only for her.

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I like Dali, but I agree with you about Mu Hak. It's interesting but minus the shouting, most of the criticisms Doo-shik from HomeCha has gotten is how I feel about Mu Hak.

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watching Dali I knew this moment would become the thumbnail of what we are watching.. this show has great moments to grab the attention.
My watching list..
1. Lovers of Red Sky.. absolutely beautiful show. OTP is The Gold together and their interaction funny/serious are soo beautiful.
And then "Catch Ma Wang if you can and Seal only if you dare" plot is soo interesting and gripping.

2. Dali and Gamjatang - LAUGHTER RIOT.
Dali and her confidence was at peak in epi 6 and she rocked the world. And Moo Haks flying at the end was the best thing he could ever do. Now waiting for Moo Hak and Won Tak loud yet entertaining encounters.

3. Homecha.. going ok just lost its charm or may be cause it took so much time to reveal Hong Banjang's past life and its still hidden from us and Hye Jin. not going well with me.

4. Yumi's cell - Dropped.
It's fun and entertainment quotient is not consistent for me. It goes up then down then up n down.. and I couldn't continue.

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THE VEIL (Ep 5 & 6): Han Ji-Hyuk’s mind is playing tricks on him, but the writer is playing even more tricks on the viewers. In the jumbled madness of these episodes, we really don’t know what to believe, what is fake, and what is the “accepted” truth. The feud between domestic and foreign intelligence departments has gone from childish to brutal. Adding another secret organization with no morality to the mix seems like overkill, but that is the main theme of the show. We do see that there a few characters that really cannot be trusted.

HIGH CLASS (Ep 9 & 10): The enormous amount of money Ji Yong stole/lost/hid (in the hundreds of millions of dollars) makes every investor a suspect in trying to put Yeo Wool through hell. The school CFO being Ji Yong’s “agent” seems to be a bait and switch move because the clues are now clear that Ji Yong faked his death to avoid his creditors. Instead of keeping Yeo Wool safe, his plan apparently continues to use her, confuse her and make her take the fall in order to maintain his escape. The Episode 10 plant twist really confirms it.

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The great shaman Ga Doo Shim. Waiting for subs for last episode.

Hometown Chachacha. This drama sort of reminds me of WWWSK. Nothing really is happening but the OTP being super cute together. Not complaining, though.

The Veil. Haven’t watched yesterday’s episode, so commenting on last week’s. I never liked nor totally trusted JeYi, I don’t buy that innocent rookie agent look (after all, she’s been years collecting intelligence, she know much better). I really hope SooYeon is not dead, and I’m pretty sure JiHyeok is not as innocent as we want to believe.

I finished yesterday episode 7 of Lost / Human Disqualification and I’m totally in love with the drama. I know it can be everybody’s cup of tea, but this is my kind of drama: nothing really happens. The acting is superb and the music is another level.

Lovers of the Red Sky. So now everybody knows that MaWang is inside HaRam. I liked the fact that HaRam told CheonGi the truth and proposed a plan for her to get away, not using noble idiocy which would have been the usual trope to use, bit instead he treats CheonGi as an equal and as someone he really loves, not patronizing her. The scene where she was painting his portrait (that I assume will be essential later in the plot) was filmed so beautifully it felt like a fairy tale. Someone give all the awards on the world to the Art Director of this drama. Also, I feel we are losing our playful Prince Yangmyung, the way he said “I always get what I want” saddened me, as if what was love turned now into possessiveness.

Confession (2019). I’m finding the last episodes surprisingly entertaining (only 15¬16 left), but this is another drama in which the 16 episode rule didn’t really make sense. I have to let myself go into he suspension of disbelief, specially on everything trial related, but even so, I’m enjoying. The best of the drama is the beautiful relation between DoHyun and YuRi. When Junho and Shin Hyun Bin share time on screen it’s just another level.

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Yes Ha Ram is always honest with Cheon Gi, I love that about him. I wish she would reciprocate, he needs to know what happens when he loses his memory.

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I liked that HaRam accepted the accumulation of evidence that Ma Wang is inside him so quickly.

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The Great Shaman Ga Doo Shim👻👧(12/12): Third Bean! The ending felt a bit abrupt, is that the short episode length or is it me? To all the wise Beanies who waited: you can binge now!😆

Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha🌊🦷(12/16):🎵Lalalalalalalalala, Romantic Weeeekeeend🎵 The soundtrack explains it all. The third quarter was the final countdown to and establishment of our OTP.😊 Unfortunately, the cute quickly became boring for many reasons. First of all, our rotisserie couple also went steady!🥳 Secondly, it is about time to find out how much of my Doo-Sik theories are either spot on or waaaaay off. Finally, my major SLS will not allow it. I asked for a nice Lee Sang-Yi character and he delivered! His past with Hye-Jin makes for an unexpected and beautiful story about first loves, and everyone deserves a Sung-Hyun by their side. Especially whenever they feel they are at their lowest.❤️

Lovers of the Red Sky🖌️🦋👁️(8/16): Episodes 7 and 8 were not as interesting, but I choose to blame that on being spoilt rotten in episode 6. Episodes 9 and 10 promise more romance, so I can forgive the slight dip.🤭 I did speed through episodes 6-7-8 last weekend, so it could be possible that the Chuseok break detached some Beanies temporarily.🧐

Dal-li-and-Gamjatang 🖼️🐖(4/16): Kim Min-Jae, ladies and gentlemen.👍We were both K-drama rookies in Second 20’s. Time has flown, but fortunately that voice has not changed.🥰 Until now he often played characters who were either shy, calculating, brooding,… in short emotionally repressed. Loud and bold Jin Moo-Hak is a pleasant surprise and Min-Jae is giving it his all and he is loving every second of it. Speaking of loud: I salute him for his fashion sense.😉His secretary and his father were hilarious in other dramas, so I anticipate a lot of comical chemistry between them and our male lead. Of course I cannot talk about chemistry without mentioning Dalri. I love our OTP already and I aspire to become as classy as our female lead in the face of opposition.💪

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@turtuallysarcastic,
Great D&G analysis. I can’t remember another kdrama where days later I am still chuckling to myself over one of Moo-hak’s (Kim Min-jae) antics. KMJ is having a ball. Great cast. Yes, the evil stepmother, evil stepbrother, evil nephew tropes are here but you know what will eventually happen to them.
(Those responsible for the look of D&G from clothing, sets, locations are doing a great job.)

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I like the balance of this drama where both of our leads have Eeevil relatives.

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😂😂

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Kim Min-jae really pulls off the flashy suits. I think he has the face for them too. On other actors, it could seem too costume-y.

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I am forced to think about Dali's father. Why did he leave his daughter in so much debt and danger? Anyways this rom-com is much better than other rom-com out there. About cha cha cha I have realised in early episodes that this drama lack backbone for sure hehe.

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Well in this week's episodes they seemed to hint at the idea that someone is manipulating the situation behind the scenes. Moo Hak's secretary noted how the sudden debt was odd seeing as the gallery was doing alright before he died. Ya know a big baddie. Not super invested in this subplot but the leads make it worth the watch.

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Police UniversityIt's over.

Lovers of the Red Sky More painting less demon, please!

Dal-li and Gamjatang I was disapointed by the last 2 episodes. I love Da-Li and found Moo Hak super nosy and loud. My favourite scenes were Da-Li and her puppy friend, I like their friendship.

Hometown I think my brain is not ready for this one. I'm so lost...

The Veil I'm disapointed. They put all their budget in the action scenes and forget the scenario. NGM is good but was better in Awaken.

Human Disqualification Another one that is loosing me, the story lacks a spine.

Yumi's Cells Wedding? Really Yumi?

Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha After this one and Yumi's Cell, it looks like dating in Korea looks more like an obstacle course. Guys have so many tasks to do to make their girlfriend happy :p I kinda pity them.

Great Shaman It was a cute drama. Not sure about the choice of format and one episode by week on the other side...

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I also think NGM was better in awaken. He’s always fantastic in anything but I somehow feel he’s a bit lost in the muscles.

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I'm kinda sad for him. It looks like a lot of efforts and will power for a not very good drama...

It's not like he wasn't muscular in Awaken.

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He was, but not like this!

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Yumi's Cells: 8.0 Not a huge fan of the bathroom humor, lies about wedding plans, etc., but the sullen royal was great. Yumi has a Samsung vacuum that is Not Dyson™ !

The Great Shaman Ga Doo Shim: 8.0 Decent show, bland ending.

One the Woman: 7.5

The Veil: 7.5 Holds my attention, but depends too much on twists.

Hometown Cha Cha Cha: 5.0 Show is a big nothing for those (few?) of us who don't care about dimples.

Police University: 5.0 for the week, which was mostly pointless wind-down, including the mandatory Subway meal and two time skips. Must. Not. Forget. Time. Skips. 7.0 for the series.

Lovers of the Red Sky: 5.5

So I Married an Anti-Fan: 3.0 (day 11)

Dal-li and Gamjatang: 7.9

Hometown: 4.0 Silly me. I started this hoping that an exuberant Lee Re might brighten my day like in Hello Me!, but instead... Let's just say no form of "bright" comes to mind, despite all the candles. How much money are they spending on candles?

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“ Yumi has a Samsung vacuum that is Not Dyson™ !”

I did not know that was a possibility.

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Didn't even know other vacuums exist in Korea 😜

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Haha I just assumed in was a Dyson

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Lost: I like Kangjae and Bu-jeong and even the husband, and that there's no specific trauma behind Kangjae's depression (so far, from what I've seen) because that's also very possible and real. I like the show overall, but somehow I'm still stuck on episode nine.

Dali and Gamja: I watched the first ep earlier this week and this is one of the current shows that I'd most likely continue. Moohak's outfits are delightfully ridiculous, and Dali as a character is a breath of fresh air.

On the k-variety-ish side — Hosplay's spinoff Wise Mountain Village Playlist aka Three Meals a Day: Doctors started last night! Jung Kyung-ho is a treasure that must be protected. What a gem. I've only seen clips and am currently fumbling through Viu's site to find the episode, ha ha ha...

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1. Darli and Darli: I changed the name of the show a little bit because all I'm seeing is this lovely FL. I love her sense of fashion, the way she deals with people and everything. There were times when wanted her not to be that humble because some people just didn't deserve that kind of gesture, but oh well -she is and that's still fine. I love her refined taste and find her speech about the credit card and her love for luxurious items very true to her character and entertaining: she knows what she likes, but I don't think she's senseless as to spend money on luxurious items using Won Tak's hard-eared cash. That brought me to respect her more. I didn't like the ML in the first episodes, but I can see how some of his "knowledge" is exactly what Darli lacks.

I don't care much about side characters, but these are some thoughts on them and the execution of the show:
- The SML has good/great chemistry with both the FL and the SFL: with the FL, there is that undercurrent chemistry every time both of them share the screen; with the SFL, I think both complement each other well. Whereas one seems cold and the other hot-headed, they fight for what they want regardless of anything. They are also both possessive and self-centered.
- That the setting is in galleries is enough to have me sold. It's so nice to see all those beautiful paintings and the world of the "riches".
- I love it when the show makes certain scenes resemble some oil-on-canvas paintings. With great ost, the show seems magical at times.

2. 2D1N: The episodes about the Heirs are a little bit on the boring side, but that also remind us all that if we don't preserve what we have, those things will disappear through time and that is such a sad loss for humanity. Until now, I still think that the Super Heroes episodes where they had 3 guests are the best and the most hilarious. I wish there were more episodes like those ones.

3. 18 Again: I think I'm at ep 8. The show seems to drag a little, and I am a bit annoyed at how the ML didn't do anything to IMPROVE himself. He is nice in the sense that he always takes care them, but you SHOULD also take care of yourself and your future self by doing something that your future self will be thankful for. The show has heart though and that will keep me going. The FL is again, love. She is just that kind of woman who is mentally strong, kind, and can take very good care of herself and people around her.

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Started watching 2D1N again. I still miss the old members except Joon Jung. I liked the Picnic they are currently showing

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Have you seen the eps about the Super Heroes? I think they might be like 10 eps before the Picnic series. They are THE BEST.

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Live the use of the OST in Dali. There was a scene when the camera focused on Moo-hak's face right as the singer sang a line that the translation had as something like "He's wrong".

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Oohhh I got goosebump.
Yes, Beverly, I think they did really well on the OST front, and that is one reason I can't not love the show.

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Lovers of the Red Sky: I loooove this drama. The OTP, their chemistry, the painting, the astrology, the physiognomy, Kwak Si Yang...everything! Well, everything except the nonsensical & consistently inconsistent fantasy lore AND the second male lead who is “Na In-Woo in Mr. Queen” levels of infuriating.

Dalli and Gamjatang: I tried this after all the gushing on here. But I haven't been able to finish EP1. I quit when Kim Min-Jae's character appeared about 6 minutes in with his shouty, over the top acting. It comes off like the actor is trying too hard. Maybe I'll go back and power through it.

Once Again: not much to say here except I LOVE IT! The fake aunt storyline was the only turn-off but thankfully it was resolved and I'm now at EP47.

Need to catch up on:
Shaman Girl, High Class, Lost

I might or might not try:
Yumi's Cells, One The Woman, The Veil

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Imperial Coroner: Despite a rather abrupt ending, I really enjoyed this - it's an excellent example of how to create a solid show with a limited budget and a young cast. Also, while the "opposites attract" trope can be fun, it was nice to see a couple bond over their mutual love of forensic science - sometimes two "cold", rational geniuses are better than one.

Dali and Gamjatang: Was in the mood for something fun, and this is fitting the bill so far. I can see it spiraling off the rails into second lead shenanigans, but I hope it keeps the off-beat humor and focus on the blind spots, absurdities, and petty hierarchies of wealth and class.

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I was also impressed with Imperial Coroner. And I agree that it's nice to see a couple bond over mutual interests and similar personalities.

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It's been ages since I watched an ongoing K-drama - this time, I am watching "One The Woman" and loving it! Started watching ep 1 last week, then I binge-watched the next three episodes and have now caught up. Waiting for Eng subs for tonight's ep 8. Female lead Honey Lee is killing it - she's simply hilarious!

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This week has been good for me.

Completed Police University.

Currently Watching:
1. Lovers of the Red Sky: I don't like the Grand prince and how he reacts to things.

2. Dali and the Cocky Prince: Enjoying every bit of it.

3. A gentleman and a young woman: I am enjoying this family drama but I don't like the step mother at all. She just has no shame. Dandan and her family are both making sure they do something in order to earn money but the step mum 😑😑😑😑. She is just so lazy and what gave her the right to tell Dandan to leave the job. I am so angry with her.

4. Hometown ChaChaCha: Interesting but i didn't like the Violence of the FL.

Cdrama
Falling into your smile: Indeed I fell in love with the drama. My heart skipped while watching this drama. I am currently rewatching it. Been a long time I fell in love with a drama.

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I too find the "stepmother" of our young lady in YOUNG LADY AND GENTLEMAN unsympathetic at this point. I remind myself that even if she is not the biological mother she is in fact the legal mother of our titular Young Lady having not only saved her husband and essentially adopted daughter back when then they were about top die but giving her legal daughter a legal mother when her birth mother had run off. In fact the only thing I do not understand is why they would even have told her about her birth mother and have left her with such a false impression of the situation. However lazy, stupid or silly that mother may be she is in fact the true mother of our Young Lady all biological facts notwithstanding and not a worthless person, just flawed and all too human. So clearly there is room for a redemption arc here and this is part of what I hope to see.

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I just hope she redeems herself. Well, that's how some human beings behave so I think that's how she is.

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Hometown Cha Cha Cha: I think it suffers from going over an hour in length. It makes the lack of story progression more painful. I really don't need that much fluff. Also, I wish k-drama would stop showing small town/countryside citizens in such a cliche manner. This drama's main couple don't have enough going on so the drama really relies on the ensemble cast. One of the less painful love triangles I must say.

DaLi & Gamjatang: I love this show. I know many are bothered by the ML yelling and, yes, it is a stereotype of someone brash and uncultured with "new money". I mean to not even know who di Vinci is seems a bridge too far. Regardless, the drama is doing well showing he might have some of the street smarts to blend with FL's book smarts. Oh, and i love the gal's hairstyle.

Lovers of the Red Sky: Enjoy it. Don't know if it makes much sense and don't care. I seem to have no trouble zipping through an episode.

The Veil: On Hold. I will continue to read reviews and see if it is worth jumping back in. Besides ML's performance, I saw nothing that I haven't seen before.

Great Shaman: I need to jump back in. I will finish but don't seem to enjoy as much as many others.

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I dont like yelling and often have a hard time with characters who yell all the time, but with Moo -Hak at least it makes sense. 8 doubt he even really knows how often he yells. He grew up with a father who "talks" the same way and then married a woman who also yells. I know MH has made a comment about his father's yelling but I doubt his father notices either. I think this is pretty true to life, some families express themselves in very loud ways.

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I think his brash loudness oddly compliments her quiet calm, but I know not everyone sees it that way. Oh and my father-in-law would often tell of his nightmare experience spending the holidays with his Czech-American in laws. He said the women would get together and it was loud and he would go hide with his own father-in-law to watch a game.

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While my family is certainly more like Dali's in being far more reserved, etc it is true that there are families who are simply loud. But I also think that there is a dramatic intent as well. As Quirkycase pointed out this rom-com harkens back to the zany mad-cap romantic comedies of many years ago- rom-coms which were truly comic. This sort of loud and brash versus calmer, dignified and reserved dichotomy would have been a staple element of those shows. I actually find both of our leads delightful characters.

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Dali: Right now this is my favorite. I love our leads. I like them so much that I'm finding the side characters who are working against them even more annoying than usual.
I pray to the drama gods that Won Tak has absolutely no romantic feelings for Dali at all. They both need family, so please let it stay there. I could of done without our heroine being assaulted. Really could of done with out that.

Yumi's Cells: Also could do without Yumi always embarrassing herself. The second hand embarrassment is starting to be a bit much. I won't mind if this second half has Yumi learning not to care too much about what others think and to put herself at the top of her lists. I've read spoilers about the webtoon so .........
......... *spoiler* *spoiler* *spoiler*
I wonder if after the Yoo Babi arc, if the show gives them a romance, that the show will circle back to Woong being end game. That they will basically merge his story into the final act of the webtoon instead of staying completely true to the story.

Hometown Cha Cha: I really did not like Hye jin hurting Du-shik to cover their romance, it just wasn't funny. I have no problems with this show being more about the daily interactions of the town and the blossoming of a romance, but those last two eps where just ......odd. Why are they sending these two back to Highschool basically? They can be sweet and flirty without being childish. I'm not putting down aegyo, but this was too over the top.

Great British Baking Show: just comfort watching at its finest. Only two eps in so do not have any strong favorites amongst the bakers yet. Besides seeing what everyone will bake, it is also fun for me to hear the different accents.

I want go get back to My Fated Boy this week and also start You Are My Spring.

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Just saw that Yumi's Cells is maybe to have more than one season? Then they may stay true to the webtoon. I may of waited to watch if I'd known. Just to make sure , if it is how they are going, 5hat the next season is definitely being made.

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I read somewhere that its maybe 3 seasons. Production team noted there would be multiple seasons, 14 episodes each.

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I should of waited. Not that I neccesarily mind multi seasons,though now prefer the traditional one season,but will they actually happen.

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From what I've read, the second season is already in production.

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I finished A Piece of your Mind this week and I was surprised by how much I loved it. I know many were put off by the AI but that was honestly one of my favourite part of the drama. I just loved the inclusion of science fiction into this kind of melodrama. It made the story unique.

What I loved most about this drama was its tone, themes, cinematography and soundtrack. It was soothing and beautiful. I enjoyed the comparisons drawn between unrequited love, grief, and break up. In each cases, you eventually have to let the person go and move on.

I know it might be an unpopular opinion since I completely understand why someone would not like this drama but I consider it an underrated gem. Jung Haein was great and I got to rediscover Chae Soobin. I hope to see her in more dramas soon. Kim Sunggyu was also great in this role.

Yumi's Cells
I binged the 6 available episodes. I have mixed feelings about this one. It's cute and I enjoy how they blend the live action with the animation but it feels to me like the story is missing something. I'm also not a fan of having all the main male characters friends but all the main female characters enemies competing for a man's attention...It does not help that both Ruby and Saeyi are quite annoying and unlikable characters.

However, I hope it stays true to the Webtoon unlike that other Webtoon adaptation...you know the one on Netflix with butterflies.

Squid Game
I am enjoying this more than I thought. Mostly, I was not expecting to find its dark humour so amusing... I only have 4 episodes to go and I am curious to see how this end. I understand the hype now.

Rookie Historian Goo Hae Ryung
I started this sageuk this morning and I have to say that I really like Hae Ryung's character. Her no nonsense attitude is funny. I'm only on episode 2 but I really hope the story is ending in the direction that I want it to take.

Looking forward to finishing The Great Shaman Ga Doo Shim once the subtitles are done.

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I loved A Piece of Your Mind. It is definitely under-rated. I will watch this again at some point.

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I'm glad I am not the only one who thinks it is underrated.

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You're not the only one. A Piece of Your Mind was a beautiful and profound drama and I'm still so sad they cut four episodes off it.

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I loved so much A Piece of Your Mind... those two characters, the soft, nostalgic mood. The colors... pretty much everything. It's one of my absolutely fave dramas <3

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Oh I forgot to mention that I finally re-watched The Lake House with Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves and watched its original version Il Mare with a young Lee Jungjae from Squid Game coincidently.

It was very interesting to see the type of changes they had made for the adaptation. I think I prefer the original. Although both versions' ending lead to a significant plot hole, the American version had far more inconsistencies throughout. It's like they tried too much to "spice up" or expand the story. Weirdly enough, although The Lake House has more things happening, I found that the pacing was a bit off and it dragged more than I remembered. Il Mare did not seem to have that problem but it was also my first time watching it.

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I watched those both recently as well, and despite having had fond memories of The Lake House it did not hold up at all 😅 I think they tried to do too much. Il Mare didn’t try to go in so many directions and was much better, I thought - but like you it was my first time watching it, so that may have kept it fresher as well.

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The way they used the AI in A Piece of Your Mind was really beautiful and poetic. It helped them to know themselves better. The point of reaction had so much deepth : his mum and Before Dawn for her.

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I can't speak highly enough of A Piece of Your Mind. It touched on grief and grieving, and how it could be mediated, in thoughtful ways. I loved the emphasis on touch at the end, amidst all of the AI. It was too slow for the impatient unimaginative people who want to know what a drama is about right from the get go. (There I've said it!! "Ha", to be taken in a dryly sarcastic, mildly aggressive tone. A personally cathartic moment). I'll never forgive the complainers who may have assisted in leaving us with a truncated drama. A hex upon you all.

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Dali and the Cocky Prince The only thing I don't love about this show is the nasty step-brother plot. I intensely dislike the scenes with him, his mom and the dad. So bad. Other than that - it's love. Dali is a great character, played beautifully by Park Gyu-young. She has such elegance and grace. Kim Min-jae, well I've been smitten with him since Do You Like Brahams, and nothing has changed. I think there is a subtlety in his performance, given the loud, brash nature of his character. I loved the scene with his secretary where she said, "didn't you plan that all, for her to expose herself and get views" and he asks her (and himself really) "Am I that garbage of a person?" My one worry is that Won-Tak will be a third love interest. Ugh, I hope not. And how refreshing to have no "fated since childhood" trope so far with our OTP. I can't wait to see what happens next.
The Veil Here for it until the end. Love all the plot twists, the unreliable narrator, waiting for the takedown of some of the villians. Namkoong Min is glorious. It's silly, for sure. If you can say that about such a violent show.
Lovers of the Red Sky I've been enjoying this for the most part. Not really fond of the "you must leave town" /"you must stay away from him "plot. Why is it so hard for kdrama writers to write a male character who says "I'm worried about you - can I help?" Noble idiocy gets so tiring.
Human Disqualification Favorite drama of the year for me so far. So many stellar scenes and performances in the last four episodes. That scene in the elevator with Bu-jeong and Jung-soo about why it's been a year since they visited her dad together - fire. I felt I got this critical point about her disappointment with her husband - he can only say he's sorry but his apology has no real meaning because he owns up to his mom but not to his wife. And he won't stand up to her. Not that she makes it easy, she doesn't, but I can see how she lost respect for him. And to see her show her anger to him. She's waking up, at last. And Gang-jae - the face he shows to his friends - "nothing wrong here, I'm so cool" and what he shows to Bu-yeong and his voiceovers to his dad - I can so relate to those two selves. And Ah-ran's scenes with the director and then the actual aftermath of the violence - stunning. My heart was in my throat. I am getting worried that this is going to have a terrible ending, though.
Hometown CCC Done. It's just too much nothing. I'd rather have a show about Chief Hong and the PD and their bromance.

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Hospital Playlist S1/S2: Just finished rewatching both seasons of this gem. I just love this drama so much. I love the characters, the different relationships, and the different patient stories. I know I will be rewatching this again in the future. 10/10
Yumi's Cells: After 5 episodes, I like and dislike this drama. There are cute scenes, but so much frustration. I want to like Yumi more, but I do struggle with her actions (or lack of). I am going to keep going, but not looking forward to the obvious plot line coming. 7/10
Falling Into Your Smile (C-Drama). I just finished this drama. It is cute and fun, but the FL can be a bit annoying. And C-dramas have a terrible habit of dressing their FL like little girls. 9/10
The Great Shaman Ga Doo Shim. Just started with episode 1. I enjoyed it and am looking forward to watching the rest of it. Since I have only watched one episode I am not going to rate it yet.

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I'm surprised so few beanies are watching One The Woman. It offered me a dose of recreation every time I tuned into it during these dreary cloudy rainy days, and I just get can't get enough of Honey Lee and her convincing double portrayal of corrupt (maybe?) prosecutor and haughty chaebol twin (maybe?) sister. And of course all the hijinks. I wish the episodes were shorter to condense the humor and all that chaebol game of thrones. I wish they emphasized the romance more, it's like they are still dipping the toes in that area, and it comes across unconvincing. As always in k-dramas, the villain comes off cartoonish.
But. The writing on that show has been stellar. If you listen to the dialogue, that quick and hilarious repartee between the characters, it comes of as "excellently hilarious" and I just can't get enough!
Another show I'm watching right now, the Veil, has got to be the most interesting and inventive K-dramas I've seen in years, and whoa, in a long time have I had a please to simul-watch two k-dramas. What a treat.
I'm going to binge watch next week, Yumi, Squid, Shaman and Disqualification. I'm kinda skip-watching Cha-Cha now. Likely to simul-watch Cocky based on all the "it's fun and zany!" reviews from Beanies.

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I'm going to watch it, although it will have to be via that other platform from which I'm always terrified my laptop will get an insidious infection. I love Honey Lee. I'll get there v soon.

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Ugh, I know the pain. Recently, I've started to be more diligent about my expenses and having a gazillion subscriptions to all streaming services that are popping up like mushrooms after the rain, is just a no-no. I'm activating Viki and Netflix, only if I checked the first episode on these "spammy" websites, and really, really want to watch something, and then deactivating it. That way I'm stretching what would be a 12 month subscription into 7-ish.

I'd say, One The Woman is worth your time. It's funny with great acting (and great fashion), with very well-written dialogues. Honey Lee and her dimples are just too cute to pass up. :)

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DALI AND GAMJATANG definitely held our interest this week. Many of the pieces of the mystery were revealed in episodes 5 and 6 but I also noted that both of our characters are showing real growth. By the end of episode six Moo-hak is starting to moderate his voice at times- and is showing signs of his very real intelligence as he realized that something or somethings are going on behind the seen as it were. Meanwhile Dali is learning to swallow her pride to some extent and even turns her supposed scandal into a promotional opportunity for her museum’s upcoming exhibition- which suggests that she may have begun to see things a bit more from Moo-hak’s perspective. And the very ending scene was wonderful as she gives Moo-hak a back-hug- in a successful attempt to keep him from killing the thug who had hurt and robbed her. Back hugs are a staple of Asian rom-coms but this has to have been the most unique one of all time. Both Kim Min-jae and Park Gyu-young are giving great performances in this drama. I was struck by Quirkycase’s comment - this is indeed like a Hollywood rom-com from the late 1930’s: in fact it has some of the elements of THE LADY EEV.

We definitely love LOVERS OF THE RED SKY. In the recent episodes we saw much more involvement by the Mountain God- and an interesting sit down conversation between her and the goddess Sam Shin- with Mountain God clearly not buying what Sam Shin is selling. The plot moved forward but over all I had the sense that the plotting people have no idea who and what they are really messing with, although the Shaman Lady seems to be sensing an unforeseen danger. The story definitely got more interesting this week.

My wife has now caught up on the most receent episodes of the Chinese costume drama JUN JIU LING, which is really good and is also watching the Chinese costume mystery/fantasy drama CHONG MING WEI which she finds good but also exhausting- after watching a few episodes she simply has to stop for a while. For lighter fare at that point she watched season 2, 3 and for of the Hallmark Channel series CHESAPEAKE SHORES.

The story of our main leads in HOMETOWN CHA CHA CHA also moved forward this week- as did the delightful secondary romance. We are still really enjoing this show. I agree with Missvictrix that Hye-jin has n ot changed- other than her gradual reaization that perhaps she has foound her place in the world and it wasn’t Seoul. But remember that this show was adapted from a single two hour movie and so the central story is not that expandable, while we can get much more of our side stories. Indeed, my only complaint is that we could have used a little less couple cute and spent a little more time time on the side characters- particularly Eunchal and Mi-seon. Mi-seon has in fact grown a lot precisely because she finds that she is not really willing to give up on Eun-chul. After being stuck in a rut for a decade she is in fact moving forward in life again, although it is...

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I meant THE LADY EVE- I was in too much of a hurry.

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And to finish my thoughts: It is amusing to see that in HOMETOWN CHA CHA CHA Mi-seon is still sort of in denial about where she is headed. Subconsciously, the reason she could not really let go of her attraction is because she is in fact ready to move down a new path but her happy statement that she is eagerly looking forward to teaching Eun-chul about how to be a boyfriend (when she has been told by Eun-chul that to him romance has a different purpose) tells us that she is in denial as to where this is all going. That fact alone gives us a lot of material for the next few episodes.

The new weekend family drama YOUNG LADY AND GENTLEMAN is still in the setting up stage although there have already been a few developments, but this show is starting slow and I am not yet fully engaged in it. I have also returned to watching the Japanese rom-com AN INCURABLE CASE OF LOVE which is not perfect but is fairly light.

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COFFEE PRINCE: I finally broke down and signed up for VIki and now I get to finally watch this and other wonderful dramas. I'm really surprised by the very open and frank dialogue and situations in this 2010 show that I don't see much of in more recent dramas, like joking about private body parts, or whether or not to marry after pregnancy, or homosexuality. Have things become more conservative since then? Anyway, this drama is a breath of fresh air in my life at the moment, and looking forward to many more on Viki. P.S The subtitles are great, except when they forget to translate on-screen writing. Not a big deal.

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Preach! I’ve been lamenting the same ever since. I’ve rewatched Coffee Prince, Sam Soon, What’s Up Fox, etc., that all feature open and frank dialogue and situations, so many times, I’ve lost count! Kdrama CAN be “shy” and “adult” at the same time, no need to compromise for the sake of chaste morality. The years 2000-2010 has seen some of the most stellar and mature dramas in the Korean landscape. I still need to watch the “Lovers” series and Que Sera Sera. A bit latter dramas like Queen of Reversals, and I Need Romance bore the pole but slowly the dramas became more “slick”, production values rose but the themes have surprisingly shifted more toward cliches, infantalizing our characters to a laughable degree, more genre driven and niche (zany comedy or art house dramas or slice of life or boy love), more powerhouse-actor-writer driven, more, dare I say, westernized to satisfy the widest variety of tastes. Damn I miss those earlier dramas with all my heart. I know I’m ranting like those “They were truly great times, buddy!” old people but those were truly groundbreaking AND truly entertaining dramas that I don’t see nowadays anymore. Such a pity.

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I'm not a huge rom-com fan, but Coffee Prince is an absolute gem, in part because it is so refreshingly honest and up-front about the challenges and realities of relationships. Not all older shows hold up well, but this one is awesome!

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This one is indeed a classic. And yes to thimble's comment, they were really open and honest about these controversial issues since 2010! I was actually thinking about rewatching it again sometime soon.

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CP was only recently added on VIKI so you signed up at a good time! I’m loving rewatching it! Glad you’re able to get in on the antics of an earlier classic kdrama!

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POLICE UNIVERSITY wrapped up ok. It was a nice drama for the beginning of a week, but not exactly memorable.

Still very much enjoying ONE THE WOMAN and the way FL is dealing with the horrible in laws and husband. Thank goodness she is not the often seen, suffering doormat.

DALI and PRINCE are still watchable too. Loved the junk art mix up! Surely most people secretly want to do what Moo Hak did - clean it up. Lovely cameo of the artist. I really like Dali and even her hairstyle.

Still watching THE VEIL, but I am not making much of an effort to try to solve the mystery - I am confident Namgoong will do it for me in time, after wrecking a few more cars and lots of (fake) blood.

RED SKY LOVERS are meant to be, we are told, even if I do not really feel the attraction. Is it because ML is supposed to be blind and there is no point in looking up lovingly to him? I do not really care about all the spirits, but I like the mountain/tiger spirit. The art works are what keeps me watching.

HUMAN DISQUALIFICATION and HOMETOWN CHA CHA are dramas at the opposite ends of the spectrum. One is so slow, full of feeling, exploring deep and difficult, sad emotions, the other is so shallow and boring and looking at the world through unbelievably rose tinted glasses. Not even the rejected love interest is allowed to be really unhappy. All hey have in common is a total lack of humour.

Lots of humour luckily in YUMI'S CELLS. King Sullen was wonderful! What is the point of a toilet with glass walls!?

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I though it was just the bath/shower that was in a glass room. It looked like the toilet was behind the brown door next to it. Maybe I’m mistaken.

I thought it was ridiculous how they both made such a big deal about it honestly, especially Woong. That kind of reaction would have been a deal breaker for me.

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I think he made a fuss, because he thought that the hotel had been dishonest by not mentioning the glass walls. If that had been the case, he would have been quite right to complain. Of cause Yumi should have explained how it all happened, I am sure he would have understood, he seems to be the forgiving kind of man.

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I finished MAD FOR EACH OTHER and found it an interesting drama, although I felt the romance part was equally redundant and unnecessary.

DINNER MATE: Kim Hye-kyeong is the most wholesome and mentally secure character I've seen in any drama, like, ever. I really don't like the second leads, although Lee Ji-hoon is as compelling as he is creepy.

Watched the two first episodes of MINE, and gosh, what a spectacle. By this point, it feels really predictable but the two leads are amazing so I'm gonna keep watching.

Also couldn't help myself but to check out the first episode of DALI AND GAMJATANG. The FL is amazing and the actress does a great job. Kim Min Jae, on the other hand, seems a bit awkward in this loud persona. Dali seems like such a capable young lady.

And I'm really, really looking forward to The Red Sleeve Cuff!

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I too am looking forward to RED SLEEVE CUFF.

I like Kim Min-Jae's character in DALI- in part because it is such a contrast to his character in DO YOU LIKE BRAHMS? I suspect that people may be put off by that difference. I loved BRAHMS but I am actually liking DALI even more. The extraordinary differences between our leads is part of the reason why- but also we are seeing some surprising parallels as well: Both are very good at what they do and both are afflicted by despicable relatives. Both are highly intelligent but it is not surprising that it is Du-shik who has realized that there must be someone pulling the strings behind all that has happened because he is the one who has the background to be able to detect such a thing. Our male lead may come across at times as ignorant but that is not really true, rather he is simply equipped with a different body of knowledge.

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Actually, I think it was just KMJ finding his footing with the character. During the second and third episode he seems much more at ease with Mo-hak. Haven't had time to watch further but I see what you mean by them sharing despicable family relations.

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Dinner Mate is far from being a perfect drama, but the OTP is fantastic (adults acting as adults) and HyeKyeong is one of the best male leads I’ve seen in dramaland. He is considerate, affectionate, respectful and looks hot even in halmoni’s outfit. The worst, terrible part of the drama is the exes arch. It would have been tolerable for 3 or 4 episodes but it was too much, and while Son NaEun left an eternal trauma with her non acting I’m hardly overcoming (I’m watching Lost where she is almost harmless), LJH is such an extraordinary actor that made his very creepy and despicable character look human. Forever his fan since this one.

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Son Na-eun's scenes bring about spasms in my fast-forwarding finger. A bland actress in a terribly bland character, a total snooze-fest.

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Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha: Still watching just to see Du-sik's mysterious past and the great sceneries. The different side plots are great, with memorable lines & lessons but am just not fully invested in the main couple. At first I was, but not sure why, but it went... 🙄

Lovers of the Red Sky: Been a while since my last Sageuk & Fantasy drama so this was enjoyable, with both genres. Plus, was waiting for Ahn Hyo Seop's comeback drama since Dr Romantic 2. Love the intro music, by the way.

One the Woman: This is such a breath of fresh air, with just the right amount of comedy, mystery and... well maybe a bit too much of the "evil" in-laws! 😂 But still, love this.

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Halfway with I'm not a robot. Fun and super sweet! I love FL

Backstreet Rookie (6/16): The funniest comedy of the year. FL is really beautiful.

It's okay to not be okay (15/16). The first part is more beautiful, but still essential for kdrama lovers. I would have preferred more comedy and less dark.

Love is Blind (brasil): Every now and then I indulge in a bit of trashy TV :) I'd be curious to see the Korean version. However, one of the most enjoyable reality show of recent years.

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I loved BACKSTREET ROOKIE despite an obnoxious and completely unneeded side-character. Unfortunately there were many people who could not see past that character and thus missed a great story. This show was originally shown on iQIYI- and remained one of their top twenty shows for over a year. Given the gigantic audience available to iQIYI that says a great deal.

The FL in BACKSTREET ROOKIE is played by Kim Yoo-jung a fabulous actress who is currently knocking it out of the park in LOVERS OF THE RED SKY. She is indeed gorgeous but in a different fashion from most Korean actresses. But even more than that is that she is in fact a great actor- not just highly talented but truly dedicated to her craft- a true professional in every sense. This is why she is one of my favorite actresses.

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Backstreet Rookie was great at showing a falling relationship of two reasonably nice people. Then there was the family theme... and Mom. And some great acting, not only from Kim Yoo Jung.

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Kim Yoo-jung was actually criticized for taking the role and her response was that she wanted to do it because it was a drama about family- which it certainly was. THE ML's mother was wonderful. As you said- there was great acting by many people in that show.

And that included our 2nd FL. Which was important because the second theme in this story centered around the ethics of dating and relationships.

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Hometown Cha Cha Cha: Smiling and cringing (LOL the honeymoon period of a relationship) throughout. It's the perfect weekend drama. After a busy week, it's like sitting back and having a meal and drinks with a friend who lives nearby. Nothing particularly special but enjoyable.

Lovers of the Red Sky: Squeee! Camera angles and music to provide the prettiest and most romantic of vibes. Great balance of fantasy, romance, warm pseudo-family relationships for the female lead, and humor. And no ministers and officials going "jeeeonnnha" all the time. Mad at the royal family for doing a crap job with the Ma Wang stuff.

Cocky Prince and Dali (up to ep 5): A drama that I feel is really carried by the OTP and their sweet chemistry. Scenes of them apart and scenes with the other characters are too boring to watch even though it has a number of likable actors.

Great Shaman Ga Doo Shim (up to ep 11): So short. *sigh* I hope there will be a season 2 since Doo Shim and Woo Soo now have allies in the fight.

Behind on Yumi's Cells. Started ep 5 though. I think the cells are adorable and the drama is really well done, but I also find it sort of stressful.

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Dali and the cocky prince is much more depressing than I thought it would be. After watching an episode I went and watched an episode of Revolutionary Sisters because those characters have nicer personlalities.
Yumi's cells. Why the bathroom humor episode? WHY? Otherwise I'm enjoying it.

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Dali and the Cocky Prince : Kim Min Jae as Jin Moo Hak reminds me of Kim Ji Suk as Yoo Ja Sung in Monthly Magazine Home, which I loved except for that horrendous ending.

One The Woman: Honey Lee is so charming and funny, I love her!

Yumi’s Cells: I love everything about this show, well except for SaeYi.

HomeCha: I’ve put in on hold after being annoyed at ep 11 and have decided to binge watch everything on the final week. Shame coz I love the first few eps but now I don’t know…

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MONTHLY HOME MAGAZINE did indeed crash and burn at the end- what a shameful waste of the talents of Jung So-min. You could actually see that she thought so too as the writer had her character do things that were in fact out of character for the character we had been shown in that drama. It was just bizarre.

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Couldn’t agree more. I felt really betrayed on that last episode.

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3Cha - Sticking around to confirm the mysteries and see what the side characters are up to.

Lost - Everyone's decision to stay quiet about the job situation frustrated me but it led me to wonder if they had stated that they knew to Bu-jung, would that have changed anything for her? As much as I wish being told that there was no shame to the situation would elevate some of the load on her shoulders... would she end up feeling more embarrassed because she is embarrassed about it? Perhaps I'm overthinking it.
Kang-jae's new bangs are kinda interesting. Some shots show them well and he looks quite good. There are other shots where I think they are quite ugly, haha.

The Veil - The jokes on me. I had hoped the start of Ep7 would have rounded out an interesting gotcha-moment set up by Ep6. Instead I can only manage to recommend the abs.

Dali & Bluster - Half of this show is really awesome and delightful. The other half I'm happily skipping as much of it as I can.

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Dal-Li and Gamjatang : Episode 5 was hard to watch. I felt as if my heart sank with Dal-Li's never ending challenges.. I cried for her.

Episode 6 was a relief. Even though the robbery is scary and terrifying and I guess if I'm at her spot; I'd still have so much trauma; she managed to turn the traumatic moment into something that'll be helping her gallery.

This episode shows that this show is mostly about Dal-Li and how she managed to solve her own problems without the help of the men who like her.

I love seeing Moo Hak's puppy sweet love. But I wish he has more roles in this show other than chasing Dal-Li around.

I don't mind him being loud, because seeing his background, it's understandable.

I have some friends in real life who are loud but with very kind heart.

Save Me : Been putting this series in my "watch list" since I watched Seo Ye Ji in It's Okay Not to Be Okay. But because of the cult thing, I'm not brave enough to watch it.

Later I learnt that Woo Do Hwan was also in this show, so I give it a try.

To be honest, this series would have been bland without Dong Chul's involvement. It repetitively show how Sang Mi was abused/ tortured at Goseonwon.

I had to read spoilers to get through each terrifying episode, until Dong Chul came more often into scene, it's a bit bearable to watch.

I wish at the end of the series, Sang Mi's dad will be awaken from his 'undivided loyalty' although I know it'll be a hard thing to do.

But, no, he's not. It's frustrating...

Police University : I love this show until I'm not sure starting which episode, that I think the loveline between Sun Ho and Kang Hee are just not necessary, or didn't blend well.

The ending is okay.

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Watching Lost

Watching old movies , music videos, audio books

Rewatched The Hidden Fortress (1958)
Started rewatching Jewel In The Palace | Dae Jang Geum

YouTube suggests music/videos to watch, I ignore many, though some have been pleasant surprises.

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It's October and that means our annual rewatch of the great Korean feminist masterpiece, I'm Not a Robot. To be honest, since this is year four I was wondering if we should watch the show again but now we're into it, I realise why I still love it so much.

Even four years later it's still so refreshing to have a Korean drama that's so unapologetically feminist and doesn't pander to outdated stereotypes of male and female behaviour.

It's hard to choose one thing I love the most about INAR - and it changes with every rewatch as I also change and grow. But it's probably its critique of objectification and the way it canvasses female autonomy through its many, varied, strong female characters.

I still feel like INAR marked a turning point in how kdrama portrays women - their wants, needs, aspirations, and agency. And I'm still impressed with how intelligently it portrays the issue of objectification and social ownership of the female body, not just through the robot but the other female characters as well.

Also... it's just a damn good drama.

Happy OctobINAR!

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Also Yoo Seung-ho is THE SUN and I miss his delightfully squishy beta male leads. This is really what women want: gentle, kind and emotionally honest men. I want another YSH romcom, stat!

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He is, he is... And yes, that what we want, 100%.

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Yes to this!

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I love, LOVE, LUUUURVE I'm Not a Robot! Unfortunately, I somehow missed it when it was being broadcast, and as a result missed all the deconstruction discussion it inspired here (it was here, right?) I'm going to seriously spam your fan wall with all my thoughts and gushing...just let me gather my thoughts first. I absolutely agree with everything you said and more! Great, great drama.

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When I start an older drama I go straight to Dramabeans archives to read the recaps and comments as I go.

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Can't wait!

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Also yes the deconstruction discussion was here. The recap pages are well worth a read. Dramas Over Flowers also did a deep dive and I basically hijacked Fangirlverdict's review of it as well. I went kind of crazy over INAR. Just a tad. A little bit.

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Dalli and Gamjatang
This one continues to be fun and lovely. I love Dalli and 3 boys. I just wish this romcom doesn't too many villains.

Hometown ChaChaCha
I have stopped watching after episode 8. I love Kim Seonho in 2D1N, but I can't seem to connect with him in the drama.

2D1N
The only variety show that I have been religiously following for over 10yrs. S3 is still the best for me, but I love how Jongmin is the center in S4 and everyone adores him, specially Ravi.

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Hometown (Ep 5&6) - This week episodes felt like fillers for me as the story reveal is something that I've guessed earlier on. I think we'll get to know more about Uhm Tae-goo's Jo Kyung-ho character next. Pretty sure the welfare home that both Kyung-ho & Jung-hyun was housed before being adopted is a sinister organization.....

The Veil (Ep 7&8) - I'm not sure why but I kept thinking that Soo-yeon is not really dead :P.....anyway it's still about trusting no one this week (I think it's going to be like that till the end of the show). The feeds that Ji-hyuk is sending to himself made me think that he actually shot dead his 2 colleagues in that fateful mission. Not sure who is the rat among them but probably due to the trauma he concocted a plan to wipe out his memory and try to piece everything back from scratch to catch the main culprit as in the one who gave the instructions to kill.

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as always the universal things everyone agrees to love are off putting to me:-(
but I wont say it. just, another character whose charm is a mystery for me.

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After the late summer drought of Kdramas I feel guilty for not enjoying the current deluge. Not intrigued enough to continue with YUMI'S Cells or The VEIL.
Catching up with LOVERS of the RED SKY but it is irritating me a Lois L'Amour way. Once on a camping trip we escaped constant rain in a cheesy motel. In the drawer was a novel by this author who mostly wrote cowboy themed series. Every action was heavily fore-shadowed and, most annoying, every chapter was summarized at its end. I'm noticing this tendency in LOTRS and wondering why since the plot is not all that convoluted.
Still enjoying Hometown Cha Cha although I steeled myself for the inevitable angsty eps. As others have observed, the writers and actors are very self aware and are making a bit of hay with the tropes while ticking them off one by one. After a tough week, this show is a lovely escape. My hope is that our OTP visits his shrink for a bit of couples therapy. Both are so clueless about how to keep a relationship strong.
Re-watching HOTEL del LUNA with hubby this time, who has developed a crush on IU (who can blame him?). I may leverage this into a re-watch of My Ahjussi!
Looks like I will have to check out ONE the WOMAN because I'm needing some laughs and so many Beanies are enjoying it.

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