DAY 2:
This year had some really good women characters. Women taking the center stage and even at times being ahead of their male counterparts. And even though I have liked most of the female leads in this and last year (in the dramas I’ve watched and dropped together), I still couldn’t find that one which I could say is someone I can see myself or the women around me in. Untill came,
Kang Ah Reum in The Spies who Loved Me
I finally found the one female lead that is isn’t super badass but just the adequate amount that makes her look realistic. She is mature and we see her growth over her two marriages. She is ultimate girl crush but someone I can also become. Scarlett from WWW may have been the girl crush too but I knew she’s a tad bit unrealistic. Ah Reum on the other hand is just perfectly imperfect.

This is the first time in kdramas that I think a writer hasn’t crafted an imaginary character out of their desires but after looking, observing and understanding the women around her. She is smart, sensible, not careless and is saving her guys rather than the other way around. It’s hard to top her, I have finally found the fleshed out female character that wears the crown of the best till now. And she constantly surprises me by becoming even better every episode. Props to Yoo In Na for making her so natural, so realistic.

Honorary Mention: Eun Jung. While good characters are always appreciated , I love my grey ones too. Eun Jung is a deliciously complex character and I totally understand her. Life wasn’t as good to her and it reflected in everything around her. Still she was beautiful inside out and was so wonderfully portrayed by Choo Ja Hyun.
Kang Mo Yeon : for disrupting the female character expectations.
And @azzo1 for narrating her own story to us wonderfully this year 😅
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    This is the best description of Ah-reum! ❤ She is “perfectly imperfect,” as you say, and therefore so relatable.

    It also just occurred to me that I may have picked up Spies because of a comment or post you may have made, @wapz, come to think of it….

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      Ah Reum is just amazing!
      I’m glad i managed to lure someone to watch Spies 😅

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    I love these two!

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    How could I forget @azzo1? She’s definitely my first place this year!

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      Honestly Stuck on You is one of the reason I watched only 4 dramas this year, everything else fades in comparison 😅

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      Aww! Why so sweet ❤☹

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    I’ve been curious about Spies – it seemed like an interesting premise, but I didn’t have the bandwidth to pick it up. How would you rate it generally in the larger scheme of dramas this year?

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      What really shines in Spies are the relationships and character depths. I love morally grey characters and noone in Spies is perfect. The premise is good too but I especially like the way Yoo Inna’s character is written. The female lead is breaking many stereotypes and that is apparent from the very first episode. The dialogues are spot on and the characters are all mature. The spy stuff is actually secondary to the relationships because the title is pretty literal. But don’t expect much from the spy stuff it isn’t that serious. I have watched very less shows in 2020 so Spies is actually at the top for me because the writing is very good (provided I haven’t seen many shows that were big hits this year).

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        Nice! Thanks for the review. I didn’t like Yoo Inna in Touch Your Heart (actually I didn’t like that drama much), so I was skeptical of this. Good writing sounds like a draw, although I must admit the “spies” in the title was what attracted me in the first place 😂 I will add it to my list! But I doubt I’ll finish (or even start) it in time for the year-end bean

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          I have never liked Yoo Inna in anything even if I have seen her several times. Here she is different and is nailing her role. The spy stuff is a prominent part of the show(even involves the female lead yay) but the relationships dynamics are stronger. Also I can’t guarantee if you will like it or not fully. Right now I’m totally invested that is why I am praising is a lot more, this might be different for everyone 😅

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    What? I get a mention? I kind of feel really flattered!

    Thank you 😂

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      Of course you get the mention!
      You made our 2020 better <3

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