Thanks BeanKeepers, for taking up my topic idea!

I’m very bad at dropping dramas, and the farther into one I am, the more likely I am to succumb to the sunk-cost fallacy and just finish it. So I’m excited to hear about everyone’s strategies for making this decision!

Mostly I’ve dropped dramas after only the first couple of episodes. The worst thing a drama can do in my mind is be boring, so if it doesn’t grab me in the first two episodes, it’s much easier to give it a pass overall. One drama I was trying to watch before it disappeared off a streaming platform, but I only made it halfway through before it did. When that happened, I realized I didn’t really miss it, so when it popped up on another streaming platform a few weeks later, I never went back to it.

My most recent drop was DWY, which was really hard for me. So many other people loved it that it felt like I must be missing something. But finally I realized that I wasn’t having fun watching the drama (type 1 fun) and I also wasn’t really having fun talking about it with other Beanies afterward (type 2 fun) since I didn’t just want to sit in the comments being nothing but negative. I’m totally in favor of negative views on a drama but once I expressed my dissatisfactions, I didn’t want to repeat them over and over which is what it seemed like was going to happen with each episode. So I stepped back from that one and am glad I did.

But it’s still hard to know when enough is enough! Help me out, Beanies!

Oooh, interesting question. I think I have this rule: If I’m watching a drama for the first time, and grow tired of the plot (be it the main plot or a side plot), so much so that I would *like* to fast-forward. Then it’s a drop.
Why bother with a show I don’t find 100% captivating? Sure, there are shows with more or less interesting side plots… but if I can manage that without busying myself with other stuff at the same time (say: mindless scrolling on phone, laundry folding, staring into the void…), then all is still fine. But if the show cannot keep me „entertained enough“, I’m pretty indiscriminate in dropping it quickly, no matter what episode I’m on. 🤷‍♀️

I never really drop, but i do put "on-hold" for several months if i am not feeling it at all. I try to almost never do that, but i do have like 10 dramas like this. If the show feels like a chore to watch or if i am just not in the mood, pausing is the best option. I would hate to sour an actual good drama just because i wasn't in the right mindset to enjoy it at the time.

It's harder to drop good dramas than "bad" dramas, but I also want to respect my emotional boundaries for what I can handle in what I watch!  I do get FOMO hearing Beanies enjoying a drama I've dropped - but I want to acknowledge the things that bother me in a plot, if it means it should be a drop for me. I think part of knowing my thresholds is, if a drama makes me feel icky, anxious, or angry long after I'm not watching an episode - if it lingers into real life, and the payoff doesn't feel like a good emotional price to pay, that's generally a tipping point for me.

I think the easiest way for me to tell is to simply ask myself at the end of an episode: do I care about what happens next?

I am kind of ruthless when it comes to dropping dramas early on. Lately I like to give most dramas a shot, so I have been watching the first episodes of most of the new shows the past couple of months. If it doesn’t grab me in some way in the first episode, it goes in the trash. No second chances unless I see lots of people raving about it in a way that makes it seem like it might be my type of show after all.

I feel like I’ve become pretty good at judging how much I will enjoy a drama by the first episode after 13 years of drama watching. Once a drama passes the first episode test, I’m much less likely to drop it. As long as there is some significant chunk of the story or a major character’s arc that has me invested, it’s pretty easy for me to put up with other story elements I might be more iffy about. Also, I always like to see where the writer is going if I’m already invested.

There are two recent dramas I dropped:
Unpredictable Family was my first daily drama and while it was surprisingly pleasant and watchable I just realized 5 or 6 episodes in that it wasn’t enough to keep me hooked.

Then there was Destined With You, which I thought was fine enough in the beginning but it quickly infuriated me and made me realize I hated almost all of the characters and the drama didn’t seem to be going anywhere. I did not at all feel bad about ditching it after Sin-yu’s pathetic (and boring) ass had the nerve to kiss Hong-jo without actually breaking up with his girlfriend. I was not rooting for the characters or their romance and I was not entertained or invested in any way.

As part of the masochist-completist club, I rarely drop dramas (2% of the time), but when I do, it is for only one of two reasons.

1. The drama has actually upset me by the way it treats its characters. I have some patience for topics like physical and verbal abuse when used for a purpose and with sensitivity. I have less-to-no patience for outright racism and misogyny. I have also dropped a drama because I could tell in episode 10 of 17, for example, that the only goal of the drama had become to hurt the characters so that their pain could, in turn, hurt me...in my own heart. Gah! Never again.

2. I become bored with the plot and actually cease to care what happens. This second one happens less frequently, but it has happened!

Otherwise, I'm usually compelled to at least FF through all of the final scenes of a drama so that I can have seen and heard the whole arc of the plot with own eyes and ears.

Indeed, I have a category in my DB-approved listing of all the dramas I've ever seen called, "Skimmed," where I can admit to myself that I've not really seen it, but that it still can go on the list somewhere. I now see, thanks to this Drama Chat, that I "skim" about 20% of the time.

I have a confession - I'm a habitual dropper^^ It's gotten better lately as I've got more selective with what I watch and more ruthless in discarding what doesn't feel worthy of my attention after a setup, but still, the number of shows I start is much larger than the number of those that I finish. Sometimes FF helps, sometimes not. Telltale sign is when I delay playing the new episode, keep coming with excuses and so on. Most of such "on-holds" never get picked up again, let alone completed. When I'm REALLY interested, I watch right away, sleep and everything else be damned, and when I'm not... then I am not *shrugs* It's like a fleeting crush cooling off - you just know at some point that your heart is not there anymore.

I have been watching Asian dramas for about 15 years and I definitely drop more than I used to. I also have currently one *advantage*, being to have a very limited watching time = only shows which really really somehow interest me (that doesn't say anything about the quality, of course 😅) stay on my watching list (the others naturally shuffle back... and drop...).
So.... the priority is ME, MY mood and MY catnips 😁
(And yes, I also follow Beanies comments on shows I'm on fence about.)

I go with my gut feeling most of the time. Once I'm disinterested, I'm done and it's very hard to get back into it.

I knew I had to drop Why Her? at episode 10 cause it was no longer making sense. Finally I got a drama where the FL matched Heo Jun-ho's aura (I still hold the sentiment that Kim Hyun-joo wasn't complementing Heo Jun-ho well enough in Undercover
P.S. I've only seen 3 Heo Jun-ho dramas where I especially noticed him in), Seo Hyun-jin was doing a superb job in that regard. But, the romance wasn't giving. Hwang In-yub just wasn't clicking in my head. Plus, there was an obvious guy who was clicking in but sadly wasn't the drama's endgame. So add in the further arrrghs the Why Her? did down the line and I do not regret stopping at episode 10. Thankfully, Daebakgrits recaps were there on hand to fill me in on what I missed.

I also drop dramas if it so happens that I read the recaps before watching and I still have nothing to look forward to, especially when its a drama I'm struggling to get behind - Destined With You ep 13.

I drop patronizing movies as quick as it comes up. It is so weird that I could seat behind WWWSK but I can't seem to forgive any other show that does this. Cue to...King The Land. I'd prefer to watch an episode special centered around his half-sister than the 16 episodes the drama aired. I almost dropped Secret Royal Inspector for doing so with Kwon Na-ra.

I drop dramas when they do their characters dirty, just to shove an OTP down my throat. It's character assassination.

Should I see a theme about loving husbands who turn out to be a douchebag in hiding, it's an instant drop for me. My mental health comes before any of such dramas. Cue to Trolley Ep 15 and Lies Hidden In My Garden Ep 2. Trolley actually helped me drop LHIMG like hot potato.

The comments from other beanies will point out other signposts I agree with.

More than experience, I would like to say that going into dramas without reading the synopsis or watching the trailer, helps me scrutunize the initial episodes without the effect of external factors like hype, expectations etc., and makes the task of dropping dramas easy. If you can nip the misery in the bud then there won't be any worry of having to drop it in the middle or close to the end because there is rarely a drama which has redeemed itself towards the end after falling from grace.

If I had to drop a drama in the middle, then I would question myself on the amount of productivity it adds to my real life. Nothing can scare you and help you refocus more than life priorities and goals. In short, if few years down the lane when you can't recommend the drama to other people then it is totally not worth the watch.

There are different criteria.

I always try the rule of 4 episodes. From my own experience, the writer/PD put a lot of things in the first 2 episodes, exaggerating some traits of the characters for example.

After that, I will decide if I continue or not.

If I watch a lof of dramas already, I would tend to drop the ones I don't really like. If my drama schedule is pretty empty, I will continue to watch using the FF.

I drop if I don't really like the acting, the story or the characters.

For dramabeans and the recaps, if I don't specially like a drama, I don't want to be too negative on the recap because it's not fun for the ones who like the drama. So I would give my opinion on the first recap and last one, and between I try to talk about things I liked or I don't comment at all. When the comments are too negative, people who like the drama comment less, and the whole discussion can become depressing 😅

I love watching the 1st ep of a drama, even I know I will just watch that one ep only, and have no intention to finish it whatsoever. I can't say I drop it because my purpose is only to watch 1st ep only ha ha

When I started watching kdramas I started keeping a list and by now I'm at 44. However, a handful have been dropped and I hate it! LOL I want a complete list.
However, I have finally learned to not feel guilty at dropping a show.
Usually when I just leave the show playing while doing something else and not even paying attention is when I know it's time to go.
I'm still trying to finish "Legend of the blue sea" DESPITE getting stuck somewhere in the middle. I just really love the mermaid and I really want to know the entire story BUT it's lagging so bad! And it has more than 20 episodes! And now it's just Lee Min Ho and his buddies running around or playing house.
I have dropped shows at the very start and I have gotten to the last 2 or 3 eps and then I stopped watching. Like "Again my life". I clung on only for Lee Jun Gi BUT BUT BUT I don't understand politics AT ALL and I have zero idea of what's happening. I've also done this to an American show I loved, "Fringe". I got to the last season (5 or 6) and stopped watching shy of the ending bc it got too convoluted.
The way I see it, even if I get bored, I don't consider wasted time bc I enjoyed the episodes I DID watch.

Mostly, I always give first 4 episodes some grace because usually it’s around time the introduction wrapped up and the story start to going somewhere interesting. In very bad cases, I dropped it at the second episode, this is happened when the directing can’t elevate the strory, the story is so bad it doesn’t make sense since early and the script is too bland. Oh, also when the main leads acting is painful to watch. The last drama that I remember I dropped before my period grace ended was Jirisan. The rescue method at first episode just didn’t make any sense I lost interest to watch.

After 4 episodes, if I chose to continue, 70 - 75% of those dramas I’d finish watching. The rest percentage is when I’m usually dropped because a couple of reason. 1. I actually forced watch it since the beginning because though I don’t favor the writing, I like the acting. But in the end the story got so flat I don’t have any interest left to continue watching (King the Land, Song of the Bandits, The First Responders) 2. Some stories are stop evolving and lost its pace from the middle, I don’t feel the necessity to continue until the end.

1. When it becomes too unbelievable, even if it's sci-fi, e.g. Sisyphus.
2. The premise becomes repetitive, like Lies Within.

When I find myself reaching for my phone, fast forwarding as much as possible and counting the minutes until the end of the episode.

When I realize it is crap ? 😓
Whew, that was easy. 😉

When you watch a show because Oppa or Unnie is in it but you realize the story stinks and you can’t bear to watch Oppa or Unnie suffer in a bad drama so you cut it loose. Example for me was Alchemy of Souls , sorry Jung So Min 😢

When the OTP suffers endlessly . Many C dramas bog the OTP down with a endless series of angst , I’ve been within 4 episodes of finishing a 50+ episode show and I chuck it all in the trash 🚮 Example Love Like the Galaxy

When the drama is an endless series of fights and beatdowns.
Every 10 minutes the hero endures or even worse, inflicts yet another beating.
Missed a beating ? Don’t worry , there are at least 5 more beatings this episode. Examples :Too numerous to mention .
Oh yeah, if there are a 100 gallons of blood being splatted about = instant trash heap.

Serial Killers hiding out in what are billed as RomComs
Seriously, What the heck !?! Who writes this ?

When I don't care about the characters or I FF a lot (My Id is Gangnam Beauty Episode 4, The Beauty Inside Episode 4), when I don't like the script or the humor (King The Land. Episode 1), when I roll my eyes too many times (Hwarang. Episode 6)...

Said that, I don't like dropping dramas, I usually give them several episodes of grace and sometimes I have started enjoying some dramas after seven or eight episodes, and then I'm glad I didn't drop them (Attorney Woo, Flower of Evil)...

When I first started watching kdramas, I wouldn't drop *anything* or even fast forward! In fact, I remember telling someone that I loved kdramas even when they were bad, because even at their worst, they were better than a lot of American shows out there (note: I am not saying "Western media is a dumpster fire full of cheap violence and sex and therefore single-handedly responsible for everything that is wrong in the world" because that's a reductive argument I hate. I'm merely pointing out that at this time, I was struggling to find one of the many quality American shows I know exist).

But over time, I started to realize that when I start to grow bored, it's a sign that the drama is never going to entertain me. I mean, I still give dramas some time to get going, but once I start to notice that the show is on and I'm watching but I'm struggling to track what's happening because I'm thinking about what I ate for dinner or that I really need to vacumn, then yeah, it's time to turn it off.

The last show that made me feel this was "Strong Girl," which I also found offensive in a few places as well. But in all honesty, that was probably just a rationalization because simply saying "It's boring" didn't feel like a fair critique. I also tend to find makjang and revenge dramas boring even though a lot is going on, so note that it doesn't always mean the material is dry.

When your finger gets a cramp from the FF button or when you start doing other things when trying to stay with it? Or when you just can't stomach the plot holes or ridiculousness of the phantom story that was supposed to be but flew out the window from fright?

1) when you a doze off mid episode.
2) when you forget you were watching the drama and fail to hit play.
3) when you feel anxious not having the remote or hands on FF button.

When I feel visceral rage or disgust at a main character who is supposed to be sympathetic or at least intriguing instead. Examples Doona!, Kokdu, Summer Strike.

When I haven't figured out who's who and what's going on by the third or fourth episode, but sticking to it long enough to understand feels like homework or more trouble than it's worth. Examples: The Heavenly Idol, Island.

In fact, whenever keeping up with a show starts to feel like homework, even if I liked it at first. Example: The Uncanny Counter 2.

When the show's idea of funny and mine are fundamentally different, especially if its humor is based on cringe, humiliation, or exploitation. Examples: Ho-gu's Love, Behind Your Touch.

I am not a regular drama dropper but I am also very choosy with my dramas. There are a few things that really piss me off like
1) Too much aegyo (fight for my way) I know the drama is good but that aegyo is unbearable.
2) Too much cursing and all related etc( squid game, the worst of evil basically those are on international platforms) Korean dramas are famous for their clean content but this type of change I don't like it.
3) Too much pushing and pulling between leads.
4) Slow dramas (that brams one and many others.
5) FL being too naive and innocent seriously
6) lastly and most importantly when my right hand is always on FF button and I don't get a chance to eat my snack ( strong women 2 , arsthdal 2, Doona, my lovely Lier my lovely boxer all lovely etc lol)

When, everytime I consider playing it, my brain says “uhhhh. Maybe later”
When the sight of the lead’s face makes me want to throw something at the TV

When it becomes torturous to watch and I am thinking I am wasting my time.

I don't feel like I make conscious decisions to drop it. I just end up ghosting it. I don't pick up one week and then intend to catch up...only to not catch up at all- perhaps because there is nothing that makes me feel invested in finding out what's next or the other stuff out there look more interesting to me at the time. I find something new and that new thing takes up the time that I would have spent with that other drama. Sometimes, a drama and I are not a good match or are not a good match at the time.

This is interesting!

When the story doesn't make any sense to me anymore or when I'm super close to throwing the tv remote, then that is the sign for me. However, there are cases I still continue watching when the acting is good. But when neither of those two appeal to me anymore that can justify my time, then it's a definite drop.

I dropped Kokdu: Season of Deity and Worst of Evil and those were my first "official" drops. Previously I stopped before watching the last 4 episodes of Again My Life but I had intended to finish it later but never did.

Kokdu: Season of Deity: ugh, so disappointing because the premise was fun and the dynamic between Kokdu and his minions was fun. If the show was just about them and avenging people, it would've probably been alot better. The reason I couldn't go on with it was because in large part due to the female lead character. She was supposed to be a doctor but she behaved ridiculously dumb (from what I remember. I think she tried to do an operation when she (a) wasn't qualified (b) understaffed (c) there was a threat or fire or something (I remember it was an emergency situation but I don't remember specifics). And then she criticized the doctor (who kokdu was inhabiting) for calling out the stupid and reckless actions of all involved. Ugh, just thinking about it again makes me 😮‍💨😒 Next, I didn't like the couple together. I'm not into romance anyway but they didn't do anything to make them particularly endearing. The only reason you're supposed to root for them is because they are the main couple; not because they have chemistry or that the relationship developed in any special way. The villian wasn't interesting nor was any of their confrontations with the protagonists.

The Worst of Evil. It was just never engaging enough to me. I genuinely wondered how I could be watching a fight/action scene and it feel so boring and hollow. The only thing interesting in the beginning was Gi Cheol and that's only because he actually *did* anything. And then if you think harder on it, it's like how did we even get here?! Like I still don't understand why that crime boss recruited him in the first place when he was just a DJ even if he did have his clique of fighters. Did he see him as a potential future threat so he wanted to get him under his wing(or foot is probably more apt) as soon as possible? Was this supposed to be the first time the concept of undercover work was used in SK because the level of risk vs reward was SOOOO uneven and was probably never going to lead to a satisfying execution. Truly, the only reason people can become undercover agents is if they have a *STRONG* sense of justice or have external reasons (such as needing/wanting to protect someone or they're forced) because the rewards are SOOOOO low to the point of downright nonexistent.

Again My Life. I liked when he was redoing aspects of his life and the effects it had others such as befriending the prosecutor's daughter led to him having a reporter ally or how he saved his parents led to the restaurant where everyone hangs out. I liked how he used his knowledge to inform people about cases. Once the story wasn't about using his future knowledge, it became less and less interesting to me. And then the moment that really made me roll my eyes was when the bad guy tried to use a honey trap on the lead character. Everything about it was 😒🙄 including the random woman's overconfidence.

Its a number of things for me but it boils down to a few things: (1) am I still enjoying this show or has it become a chore to watch?, (2) annoyance at the story progression, is it senseless? characters test my patience?, (3) if I have low enjoyment from the start and does not pass the 2-4 episodes test, and (4) I lost interest since its so bad or boring. Not willing to invest another hour on the show.

I drop dramas when they bore me. I barely finished the first Episode of King the Land. I regret not dropping 19th Life and You Are My Spring.

I try to be selective when starting a drama so dropping feels like a mistake even when it's a liberation. 80% of dramas, I do not watch alone but with a friend who has different tastes. 90 dramas later, it's becoming difficult to find something that we both enjoy. I've become expert in reading the news/recaps and the subtitles at the same time (even though I know that's not good).

The dramas I've dropped recently were because at least one lead was insufferable : Numbers ep10, Miss Hammurabi ep5, Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol ep1 (if beginning was a mistake due to title confusion, does it count as drop?).

Other reason to drop is I am not interested in the characters or the story, or I don't buy it: The law cafe ep2, Touch your heart ep13, Now we are breaking up ep4, Familiar wife ep2, Nevertheless ep7, Tempted ep4.

Whenever I don't click on the next episode the drama is officially dropped. No matter the episode count.

It might be because the show was boring, frustrating, triggering, the leads being very bad actors, or too aware of their looks or fame, or too phoney... The list is endless.

I will put up with a lot if I like even only one thing about the show (like I'm rewatching the whole of Shooting Stars for only 2 scenes) but if there isn't even that one factor to hold me, it's an immediate drop.

A drama becomes a drop for me when it becomes a chore for me to press play and when I just don’t care for the characters and their development anymore, not even the leads

I'm afraid that it may be time for me to drop My Dearest. I'm way behind, and I don't even have the motivation to catch up. I also have to admit that I don't really understand the plot. I expected that it would be like Mr. Sunshine, which I also initially dropped because it was so slow-moving, but then picked back up and am so thankful I did because its climax when the war broke out was epic and made me cry buckets. So I'm waiting for the same to happen in My Dearest, but the comments, which I only skimmed as to not be spoiled, don't sound encouraging.

The Four Horsemen of the Dropocaplypse:
Stupidity
Apathy
Boredom
Annoyance
Often under the guise of We Literally Just Cannot Be Bothered.
Or just gut instinct.

Or we torture ourselves, it's fine.

Sometimes it's when I internally scream "I can't take this anymore!" (I hope it's internally).

Other times maybe it had a good run but it looks like it's going downhill from here, then I declare victory and move on.

Hello everyone, I see myself in many of your reasons.
The thing I do when I decide to drop a drama is to watch the last 30 minutes of the last episode in 1,5 speed and/or fast-forward through it to have the confirmation it was not worth my time! lol This way I have no lingering regrets :D

I don't like excessive violence, so I tend to drop if they're too dark and gory. (If I want to be depressed, I'll just turn on the news.)

I am a writer/editor by profession so a bad script will definitely turn me off. I watch for the plot, and by that I really do mean the PLOT. There are not enough abs in the world to make up for a badly written script. I also give up on ones that are okay, but mostly full of tropes with nothing really new to add. There have been some recent popular ones (a lot of office dramas) that are just ho-hum to me.

Tailgaiting off of that, bad acting drives me crazy, too. Like, I don't care if you're an idol. Can you act? (Some can, some can't.)

And then if the fundamental premise is just a worldview I disagree with, I will drop. I like to see new viewpoints and explore cultures outside my comfort zone, but there are some things I just have no patience with. (It's hard for me to come up with a concrete example off the top of my head, but I know I've dropped dramas or wished I had for this. Like if a drama's point was to mock and denigrate a whole race or religion or something, I'd be like...thanks but no thanks.)

My biggest reason for a drama drop is - the Male lead : If the man does not have chemistry with his audience, I don't care if he looks like Adonis, I will drop it (Kodku, WaterGod - or whatever that abomination was called).
The second reason is the sugar-cute-coy-naive-idiotic female leads . They even have this weird tone of voice that sometimes sounds like a bad kink play acting in adult movies. Can't stand it. I almost, almost, almost dropped Butt Touch, but Han Ji Min is too good of an actress and thank God for that, becasue she made idiotic look somewhat believable.
Plot - or lack thereof - it must have some teeth. I don't mind watching goofy, slapstick humour or lots of melodrama (I love Melo), but it needs to connect (King The Land).
Bad acting : The only time I will swallow a bad actor if it has a great plot, and often a sensational SML, but more often than not I will drop a badly acted drama (Suspicious Partner, Shooting Stars)
Slow and Mauldin : Nopes. Can't take it. (When Ou Love Blooms). I am this close to dropping My Dearest, or at least wait until the last four episodes are over. But then, this is where great actors, plot and production value take over.

I don’t have a hard and fast rule for dropping a drama. I usually power through( invested time) I think Iv only dropped 3-4 in the 15+years I have been watching.
One big one is that i don’t look forward to it every week. If I miss a week and I don’t care it’s done. Also if i find Im more on my phone then paying attention is a good indicator also. I guess it just depends sometimes the characters are a turn off and can’t continue. I wil say the only exception to some of these is my dearest. That’s a drama I have to prep for before I watch. It’s amazing but brutal

I, like most it seems, don't have a hard rule for dropping. After having watched so many shows it can be for any number of reasons. Maybe the characters who were fun at first have turned to frustrating? Maybe the production took a DEEP downturn in quality. Sometimes I'm just not excited to watch the next episode. Honestly it's usually just how well done I think it is. Good writers can make horrible villains or frustrating characters interesting...but if they're written badly they'll often turn into mustache twirling stereotypes.

Mentioned in the original post was fast forwarding, which I hadn't put much thought into. But looking back at recent shows I've definitely noticed a trend that when I start to up the amount of fast forwarding, my enjoyment of the show is usually commensurate with that. A recent example is Strong Woman Nam-Soon. I still enjoy bits and pieces, but I must have skipped at LEAST half the latest episode, which means it's not likely long for my watching world.

It's good IMO, to be at the point where you can just drop a show if you're not enjoying it. We've all hate watched to the end, because we're 2-4 episodes away (FOR THE BEAN!) but I've definitely found myself able to drop a show even in the last week. And with the glut of content available these days, having less and less regrets doing so.

'Badly written' is a reason that stands out the most. A drama can have my favorite actors, gorgeous cinematography, a great soundtrack, but if the writing isn't there there's no reason to stick around. I can think of a few dramas that were generally beloved that I just couldn't finish, and a few dramas that were generally panned that I've watched repeatedly. All because of the quality of the writing. I've even kept watching shows I hated because I has to admit it was well written.

I think it's a personal character trait thingy, but I don't really drop dramas once I start them, and would like to feel like I have seen through something I started and not quit it halfway (which leaves a lingering note at the back of my mind always!). Maybe that is why I am selective with the dramas I start with.

But of course, an interesting genre or plot premise does not mean the drama is eventually going to execute it well, but for me, instead of dropping them, I just leave them playing in the background while doing something else and paying intermittent attention. That is my compromise between the personality trait and boring dramas.

But even I have my minimum thresholds, and my threshold is when a drama is so downright bad that it actually feels like a personal attack and insult on my intelligence. And I have felt that once very strongly with Kokdu: Season of Deity, that I dropped it like a hot potato. Im Soo-hyang's drama choices (read: Woori the Virgin too) recently have been on the verge of making me feel that way.

Ah yes, this is my time to shine.

Personally, dropping a drama is when I realize that I'm just forcing myself to watch it. It happens when the drama fails to keep me hooked and I'll just be using my phone while the drama is playing in the back. I've experienced this quite a lot recently & its quite sad because the show started off well but just spiraled.
One recent case was My Lovely Liar. It started off really well and even had Minhyun from AOS but MAN I got bored. I dropped it around ep11 too which was rare for me as by then I would usually stick it through but I just couldn't.

If my cat jumps on top of me and I’m more interested in petting my cat than watching the drama- the drama gets dropped.