oh i agree with each and every word you said.. and also yes to 4 epi grace period.
i choose my dramas very carefully that i need not to drop it (cause then i feel i betrayed my fav actors by dropping their dramas..am still feeling guilty Kang Hoon for dropping SRGH) and then give my unconditional love attention for first 4 episodes and its serves me well as i eventually finishing up the drama (happy sad or angry.)...
but if a drama is extremely bad or not matching the vibe of my kind of drama or i start to dislike any of the leads (male, female or second male lead) or just doesnt like the story progression in first week.. i drop it (yes with guilt) as i dont want to keep on pulling my hair while watching my dramas which are my only way to keep my sanity intact in this crazy real life outside mobile screen.
phew.. i wrote a lot but hope i was able to share my inputs clearly

For slower genres like slice-of-life, slow-burn thrillers, saeguks and fantasy, a four episode grace period is usually useful to determine whether to watch the drama or not. I will not use this formula however, if the drama has less than 12 episodes.

Ooh good observation & topic for discussion @missvictrix! I actually learnt about the 4 episode rule here on DB, during my very early drama watches. I usually get very easily swayed by online opinions. So if it's a drama that's already finished airing and has high reviews and comments, I'm more likely to try stick to the 4 episode rule if it didn't immediately grab my attention - just to see if I can stick around to see what all the hype is about anyways.

For on airs, it really depends on my mood. Sometimes I'm in the mood to give it a chance, sometimes I'm not. Especially in situations where, like you said, if there's a lot of other dramas on offer at the same time and it's no longer a matter of 'oh but there's nothing else to watch so let's try to see this one through'.

But in saying that, there's a slight exception to this too. Even when I'm not really in the mood, if there's an actor and/or actress I really like or an originally promising synopsis, sometimes my love for the actors/actresses or the potential plot sees me pushing through to the four ep. mark at least for dramas where I might not have if it was a cast I didn't really know and/or a plot I didn't really care about in the first place.

I do think overall that the four episode rule is a good litmus test though because I think that's honestly when there's been enough plot and character set up that you can make a solid judgement as to whether a drama is your vibe or not. There's been so many dramas that I've recommended to friends online and offline and really had to highlight the 'if the first few episodes don't stick, don't give up!! push through, trust me!!' or 'don't worry the first two episodes are slow, it really picks up after ep 3 and 4, trust me!!'

Your first reason doesn't apply to me because I never feel there is so many to choose from. I'm usually choosing between 2 or 3 shows at the most. BUT, it probably does apply to a lot of viewers, and results directly into your second reason, which is very true imho.

Dramas in the past used to be at least 16 eps, usually 20, even 24 eps was normal. Let alone all the longer sageuks. 12 eps ones were very rare. Nowadays there are web dramas, 12 ep dramas, even 4 or 8 ep ones, two-season ones. Dramas have become so varied in length, and consequently the audience tolerance has shortened very much. Dramas need to grab you quickly or lose you.
I always gave a show 4 eps even before discovering DB, but nowadays I only do it if I really want to like the show. If I have no reason to continue (favorite actors, favorite catnip, new actor catching my eye, even being completely inoffensive, anything), I won't bother.

I also have a habit of "sample firsts". I watch the first episode of 2 or 3 dramas, and decide which one to continue. But it doesn't mean I'm dropping the other 2 for ever. I do get back to them later when I'm in a more suitable mood and give them a few more episodes.

I haven't really watched something that I considered disappointing. This is probably because my grace period is pretty short - 1 episode- and I know if I should continue or drop. If the show feels right in the first ep (actually, in the first couple of minutes, to be exact), it's a go. If it feels a bit off, it's a no-go, at least for the moment.

I really am surprised that Beans do really give shows the 4-ep grace. You guys are super patient.

I watched a lot of KDramas now and the 4 episodes rule is still valid for me. There are so many good dramas I could have missed if I didn't try longer.

During the first 2 episodes, the writer often exaggerates the characters like the FL is very messy, the ML is very cold, etc. But after they can become real characters and not clichés anymore.

Some characters need redeemption or development, so it takes time to do it.

For example, Gaus Electronics's humor was not funny in the first 2 episodes, the poor ML was bullied. But after, it became very fun.

When I’ve first got introduced to kdramas I was watching everything and anything I could get my hands on. Later with better internet access and more legal services becoming available, I could afford to be a bit more choosy and know my taste better.

So I haven’t really attempted the four episode grace period. I was in two extremes, binging whatever I could find, or giving an episode or two a try but then if it didn’t interest me in anyway, no hook to grab my attention either from the story, the cast or the creative team. I do give more grace if I like certain writers and PDs from past works but even then I’ve been burned many a time. Our Blooming Youth being a recent example (dropped around episode 10).

If I didn’t like the first episode but I thought the concept was interesting, I usually look at beanies reviews. This happened with Gaus Electronics, I hated the first episode and it looked like an immediate drop but high praise from beanies made me it give another go, and yeah I really enjoyed it!

Sometimes the concept seems too intimidating, with a big cast and a lot of political manoeuvrings. Under The Queen’s Umbrella was one I was hesitant to start because of this, but again seeing good reviews gave me the courage to give it a go and I marathoned the drama within a week! This rarely happens to me lately, so it was fun reverting back to my old kdrama binge watching days.

Most of the time I finish bad or mediocre dramas because there’s still something that captured my attention. Dynamics between certain characters I enjoy, the acting or the direction even if the story sucks. Or sometimes I just watch pure trash because I want to see how much worse it can get. I’m a little bit of a masochist and a bit of a completist too.

Which is why I usually only give an episode or two a try and if other beanies are giving mixed reviews it’s usually an immediate drop for me. This is not just because there is so much more content but also because of the length of episodes this days. Thanks to TVN, and other cable channels an episode’s runtime is usually around 90mins. Back in the day it was usually an hour or under. So watching two episodes is already 3 hours worth of content. See I can do math 😁

I think the 4 episode grace period makes total sense for a 16 (or 18 or 20) episode drama, but it also makes sense to me to scale it down for dramas that have fewer episodes than that. 12 episode dramas are so common now, and Netflix's are almost always shorter than this, and if they take a full third of the drama (or more) to hook me in, that's a bit much for me.

When it comes to my actual practice though, I don't always do this grace period. Usually, I give a drama two episodes. If they can't make me eager to come back the second week, it's hard to justify my hard-earned free hours on it when there are tons of other options - usually both currently airing and older ones I haven't gotten to yet. Dramas I'm still sort of interested in I'll read weecaps for, and sometimes muster up the motivation to jump back in and catch up if it seems like it's something I could get into given the proper timing. Honestly though, this has happened very rarely. Generally it's two episodes, and I can stop without regret.

Nope. These last few years, I mostly give those new dramas 1 eps trial periode. Sometimes I extended it up to 2 eps when the drama felt promising but not too grabbing in the 1st eps yet. There are just too many option vying for my free time these days to give them my usual 4-5 eps trial run anymore.

In my case it was three episodes! ^^ But it's true, that has change.

Grabbing my attention isn't the problem in my case.
The problem is that I've changed.
Even tho I'm a cliche lover, there are tropes or characters that I can't take anymore.
For example Dr Cha or Little Women are shows that are supposed to make me feel empowered and say "go girl", but they just frustrated me since the beginning. I was expecting the characters to be cool since day one, because poor regular girls and housewives can be cool and smart.
1. So, making the husband cheat on her, making her kids brats -as if she and her decisions doesn't deserve respect- made me drop that show and never look back.
2. Same with the Little Girls. They were so embarrassing and dumb the first few episodes it was frustrating. Where were their instincts? Dignity? Idk.
I just didn't want to root for them.

Bo Ra is another example.
3. Why kdramas keep trying to make me root for annoying dudes? Why kdramas keep making women fall in love with the guys that treat them like trash for no reason? Rude/arrogant people are my least favorite.

So yeah, lately I'm trying to not waste my time with shows that I know are going to make me feel annoyed.
The real problem are the sneaky dramas. Those dramas that seem to have a nice meaning and vibe but start to feel a little bit off in the middle (around episode 7-8), but you think it's all in your head and that they'll end the show on a good note, but they don't. Something like Crash Course in Romance. Biggest disappointment of 2023.

I don't know if this means that I'm growing up or that I'm intolerant. LOL But I'm just dropping shows like flies these days, and tbh I don't regret it.

I have an n-2 grace period where n is the length of the series. Often I'll watch a show almost to the end and decide I can't stand it anymore. There was a 50 episode series where I knew there was one more car accident and bout of amnesia coming up so I stopped there around episode 48.

Aside from that, I don't have patience for introductory grace periods but instead I have skip-ahead periods. Often I find the first episode uninteresting or off-putting, so I'll try episode two, and failing that, three. Or if it starts off with childhood backstory, I'll fast forward to adulthood. Four episodes is sometimes the right number for that.

I rarely watch dramas from episode 1. Sometimes I start from ep 2, 6, 8 out of 16 episodes. Sometimes I also click the button on the last episode first to see if the ending is the way I want it to be. If the drama is 40+ eps, I think I still can catch up the story even if I watch them from ep 18. Then I will start over from eps. 1 if they are worth my time.

Unfortunately, it also applies to textbooks. I don't feel feel like studying when that "whatever" page I first open doesn't interest me . 🤭

I have not been strictly living by the 4th episode rule but upon pondering, I think I have been unconsciously applying this grace period on dramas that have high reviews. If by episode 2 and I am still not warming up to the show, most likely I would drop already, but if I have pre-knowledge that the drama would be good (from reviews/recs), I’d give it a few more episodes.

Happened to me with Reply 1988 and Into The Ring. I started both (on different occasions) because of the raving reviews. Had not warmed up by episode 2 but since I had faith in the reviews, I sticked around for a few more. By episode 4, I was already hooked with Reply, while ITR was still not doing if for me even after 5 episodes, that I lost the will to continue.

If it's a writer I trust or a show that other folks have raved about or it features a really compelling acting performance, I'm much more likely to give a drama several episodes to get rolling. It does help that I rarely live-watch shows so I'm often not going in totally blind. That being said, there are plenty of shows where I watched the first episode, or part of it, and just decided, for better or worse, not to continue. Sometimes that has less to do with the quality of the show than with whether or not I was in the mood for it at that particular point in time, and occasionally I'll pick one of those back up again later and enjoy it.

Historically, I've given a lot of drama 4-episodes grace by *not* watching until the 4th episode. Which, yes, is admittedly not the same thing (for one thing, it requires far less commitment), but it became my go-to rule because, honestly, it generally took until then for the plot to really get going. More importantly, characters often come out of the gate far more grating than they are episodes 4-16, so it gives them a far better chance of not turning me off by irrevocably and irretrievably getting on my nerves.

The thing is, you could just wait until the whole drama is available and start it at episode 5. It's not like when I was in college and you had to choose your courses during the add/drop period. (Or indeed, like it was when I was a kid and TV shows might only be aired once!)
But did you know also, if you get a book from the library you can just return it if you don't like it? This is why it's better to borrow books than to buy them. Also, you can start a drama, put it aside, and pick it up again later. Streaming services have made TV more like books. (Now that I've written out that sentence, I realize that my k-drama problem is probably never going away. 😔)
I read a book recently, it was the transcription of a course by Jorge Luis Borges in English literature that he gave at the University of Buenos Aires in 1966. I started at lecture 7 and it was amazing. As you know, the middle chapters of a novel, the middle third of a course, the middle of a k-drama, they're all usually the best part.

Two episodes or less. Sometimes I can tell right away whether the writing is any good. Then sometimes the beginning is so unrepresentative of the drama as a whole (oh those beginnings!) that I drop out several times before I decide to try starting further in. The classic example of this is Empire of Gold, which I tried two or three times before I finally ignored the beginning (a lurid spoiler from later in the plot), FF'd through 15 min of Ep. 1, and discovered one of my favorite K-dramas of all time.

I am very picky when choosing which drama to start. Once a start a drama, I don't drop very often. Usually I can tell by the end of Episode 2 if I will continue watching. If I am still not sure after Episode 2, then the Episode 4 grace kicks in. I'd rather spend time researching a drama than starting a watch without knowing anything about it. That being said, I also break my own rules and end up being pleasantly surprised.

It depends on the genre for me.
If it's a plot driven show like most romcoms or thriller/mystery I give it 2-3

If it's a character driven show like most slice of life and melodramas I'll give it 5-6
But for shows that are both plot and character driven I'll give it till episode 4.

I'm typically don't really grade the first episode since set-up is always a bit awkward. It's trying so hard to introduce everyone and make an impression. I feel like the characters are often overly exaggerated in episode 1 (Look how spunky she is! Look how cool he is!). Sometimes I watch episode 2, and then go back to watch episode 1. With sageuks, the first episode is often just someone's parents getting killed.

The 4-episode grace period is not a rule for me, but I do like to see if the drama can attract me after the first week awkwardness. Whether I stick around with it really depends on mood and what's available and interesting to me at the time. I may end up going back to it later. That hasn't changed in all my years of drama-watching. One memorable drama that I'm glad that I had extended grace to was Chicago Typewriter. I don't think that drama really got into it's groove until episode 5.

It's a tall order for a kdrama to hit it out of the park the first week and then keep momentum for 16 episodes. I think back to one of my fave American tv shows. Parks and Rec's first season was rough. But I'm glad the network execs that be kept it around for longer so that it could grow into a gem.

I've never really had to think about a grace period for dramas. I don't usually have the energy to watch things that need too much of my brain to be engaged at the end of the day, so if I don't start a drama/finish the first two episodes/go back for the second week, it's a pretty safe bet I'm never watching that drama.

I dropped BoRa at episode 4. Hung in there for Dr. Romantic and started liking it around 4th episode. So I guess you could say I am following the rule

I've never followed any sort of system for determining how long to give a drama a chance.

For probably the first 7-8 years of being a drama watcher, I never dropped dramas. If, for some reason, I did drop a drama (although I can't remember any examples of me doing so), it was probably after the first one or two episodes because the story didn't grip me and I forgot to keep watching, lol. But the majority of dramas I started, I completed, whether I liked them or not.

At this point, whether I continue a drama or not is very much based on how I'm feeling. I still sometimes unknowingly force myself to keep watching a drama even though I'm not enjoying it, because I don't realize that I just don't like and don't want to keep watching. But I don't let the number of eps I've watched play too much of a role in whether I decide to drop or not.

Can't hit my goal of 30 dramas a year if I'm getting stuck on dramas I don't like, now can I, lol?

Hah.
I used to use the 4 epiosde thing, before it was even introduced as a thing on here, it was my own rule.
But I also used to hardly ever drop shows at all. I was a serial finisher. I thought I had to. So I would list shows half finished as hiatus and never dropped.

Then 2019 came along and this became to my detriment. I *had* to start dropping shows after 2019, for my own sanity.

So now I will drop things anywhere between the first 20 minutes, and the second to last episode. And I will also still finish things I have no right to finish, and not finish things I could've.
Such is. 😂😅
But at least I know how to drop now.

I usually give it 4 episodes, unless I absolutely hate the opening episodes. Even if it is just okay, I'll try because often times dramas do get better.

I used to be the 4th ep benchmark, but now nah sometimes I read the genre is enough for me 🙂

Interesting topic!

4 episodes, usually 4 hours, should be more than enough to establish the feel of a drama for me. I so agree that more than one episode is usually necessary. If episode one is "the bait," then episodes 2-4 are the "hook, line and sinker" to catch my attention. It seems that there are SO MANY MORE choices and list of classics continues to grow.

I resent those dramas that take 6 episodes and I like the dramas that take less than 4. With all of the new platforms and the growth of the international market, the Kdrama industry should probably re-evaluate the old "tried & true" 16-20 episode format. I have watched 130+ dramas since my gateway drama (CLOY), yet, I have quite a list of dramas that I dropped after 1-2 episodes for various reasons. I try to be respectful of the Korean culture that created this phenomena and format; I realize that it is their creation that I so very much enjoy. My experience, plus researching various ratings, reviews and recommendations help me decide so that hopefully I don't have to invest 6 hours before I drop or put in "the freezer" for later.

I used to be even more generous than that, but times has changed, so if I'm not watching a show through gritted teeth for a specific reason then I can drop it anytime. Literally anytime - I can name a few famous titles that lost my attention few hours before the finale... But usually it's either first few episodes or somewhere in the first half. Maybe it says something about shift in drama quality overall that now I often drop dramas very early on. Or maybe it's just me. Who knows?

I did like sageuks more when they still had that few episodes childhood backstory prologue thing though. Even if adult versions were underwhelming in comparison, it kept me invested for a while at least. Now it's a trope from the past, which is just sad. And, dare I say, pretty bad for the genre overall. Also, someone recently said to me that xianxia dramas (before that damned 40 episodes max rule) need like 10-20 eps to find their groove, which left me absolutely speechless. Who has a patience for that?!

As someone who routinely drops dramas based on (1) posters; (2) trailers); (3) genres; and (4) descriptions, I do not always understand the 4-episode rule.

I do concede that it takes an episode or a few to set up introductions, etc., but I would expect a good drama to start the story alongside the intros, and not wait for everyone to "settle down".

I think in my early kdrama watching days, when I was still bemusedly trying to understand what this strange universe was all about, I might have watched entire dramas, to the detriment of my own mental health. But, even if I say so myself, I was a quick learner, and am a serial dropper now. The consequence is that I hardly finish watching any dramas now 😂 (In 2023, I have watched exactly one kdrama in entirety so far). Ah well.

I wouldn't say I have a hard and fast 4 episode rule, though I do tend to watch 2-4 if something piques my interest. I think when I first started watching dramas I definitely did this, and it helped me find some real gems.

These days I'm more of a "each week has to get me to watch next week" kind of guy. Like the 4 episode rule it's not hard and fast and strict. I'll watch a show and sometimes it has a meh week, but the previous weeks had me hanging off the chair so I'll give it the benefit of the doubt. Doing it this way though I feel much better about dropping a show when I'm 8, or 10, or 12 episodes deep.

Honestly I think it's a good rule depending on how much time you have, and how deep into korean dramas you are. Newbie just dipping your toe in the waters of the classics all the way to modern day? 4 episodes is a solid taster. Older, more jaded, 'seen this trope 10,000x' kind of fan? You've probably got a decent sense of these things by now and can mostly trust your gut.

This topic piqued my curiosity on what could be the dramas that had (1) Bad/so-so start but ended up a gem (2) Great start but went downhill in the middle or towards the end and (3) Great from start to finish, for the Beanies.

Oftentimes I don’t know which dramas to start, so your sharing will be helpful to my drama-choosing. 😊 Mine’s below.

BAD START-GREAT FINISH
- Reply 1988

GREAT START-BAD FINISH
- Birth of A Beauty
- Crash Course In Romance
- Oh My Venus
- Sh**ting Stars

GREAT FROM START TO FINISH
- Because This Life Is Our First
- It’s Okay To Not Be Okay
- Move To Heaven
- Birth Care Center

I realized I don’t have much Bad Start-Great Finish dramas. I want me some more surprise gems. Jebal!

I would agree, but four hours is a long time and there are so many other dramas out there. This is especially true for on-air dramas where they are a bunch airing at once and only so many hours to watch them outside of work.

It depends on the drama for me. If I liked the story and leads, I would usually give it another episode or two for the drama to win me over. Otherwise, like you said, if I had other dramas on my list and this one or more kdramas just didnt sit well for me in the first episode, I would just drop it and focus on the other dramas I am invested in. I do not have the luxury of time to waste on a show that I just didnt like from the get go. It may change my mind later on but I eill not force myself to sit through it. Years of drama watching and sitting through bad shows that I knew was bad from the start taught me well.

I believe one knows that normally after the 4th episode whether to continue watching but it is not a hard and fast rule. I did watched a number of dailies and really do like the child actors until the time jump mostly after 2 or 4 episodes, after which I immediately dropped upon seeing them as adults. I could not stand the overacting of the lead actors nor of the characters' stupidity. A few dailies like Vengeance of The Bride and Witches' Revenge etc. But if there are dailies with my favorite child/adult actress Kim So-Hyun in it, I am sold. She is that good. In retrospect, I have watched several dramas like Bora despite having one of my favorite actress Yoo Inna that I dropped after 2 episodes whilst in others I dropped midway as it was either too draggy or getting too boring. I was so looking forward to Bora and was deeply disappointed with the plot.

Do people really feel the production of new dramas are making more efforts to make better, more enticing first eps? I've been thinking the opposite lately. Almost like they know for sure audience will give any drama at least 2 eps before making a decision if they like it. I wonder if knetz have a 2 ep rule they follow because the recent premieres seem to spend way too much time on details, and boring setups, and then on the final 5 minutes something dramatic will happen to grab attention for the second episode.
Four hours is a huge, insane almost, amount of time to give as a free pass to a product of 16 hours. A chance to have a quarter of boringness because maybe it will become interesting. These days I can give them one hour and that's if they have some special quality to keep the interest because a decent drama should manage to do something decent in at least 30 minutes.

I've just known about the 4 grace period. But, it makes perfect sense when we get many options to choose. Well for me, I've always been picky when it comes to watching. I remember early days when people were crazy watching and talking about Cdrama Meteor Garden, I said to myself, “Ok, let's see give it a try.” But right after I knew about the story, I dropped it right away even when my friends continue watching. Now, there should be at least one strong point whether the plot or the actor/s that I like for me to even start a drama. 16 hours or more is a total waste if it doesn't appeal to me. Mostly, I'd give 2 episodes top to decide. Sometimes the first ep is enough for me to know that I'd love a show or not. Case on point: Forest of Secrets, My Mister, Dear My Friends.
Admittedly, by doing so, I have only watched a handful of dramas compared to others. But I'd rather rewatch over and over again than to torture myself in the process.
On other hand, there are times when I'd just continue watching despite everything just for the sake of watching and finishing what I've started. On that case, you could ask me about it later and I wouldn’t have any clue what it is about.

My husband and I try to abide by the 4 episode grace period for dramas that are 12+ episodes. We understand that sometimes the male & female leads aren't necessarily likeable or aren't blessed with good decision-making skills in the first couple of episodes.

A key aspect of k-dramas is good character development within the framework of solid storytelling. BUT we will stop watching if the writer(s)/director starts to dumb down the character(s) instead of giving them more depth. Tropes may abound in kdramas (which we like) but stupidity shouldn't ruin it.