Beanie level: Errand boy

Meanwhile, FAKE IT TILL YOU MAKE IT gets more fun! Watched till ep8 badly subbed, and rewatched better subs on Viki (available here only till ep4). 

We’re only half way through the drama, but I think FAKE IT might be one of the better shows of the year! Superficially, it seems to be about a man and woman flirting their way into each others’ lives (and Elvis Han and Elvira Cai are doing a fine FINE job teasing us all). But at its core, the story is about how we bury our “real” selves and build up “pretentious” identities to survive in the rat race; the modern urban human condition, if you will. This affects everything around us, how we walk, talk, dress, relationships with friends, family and lovers. The question is, when, if ever, do we ever let the veil fall and allow the truth to reveal itself? 

Full credit to the original novelist for writing up such a real, cynical romance. Full credit also to the director for adapting this his own signature style. Love how the city becomes a character in his shows (ref.: REMEMBRANCE OF THINGS PAST), and how the stories are not just flat, 2-dimensional fairy tales, but have many layers to peel back. Like someone commented elsewhere, I don’t watch many romances, but if they made more like this, heck, I’d watch them all! It’s going to be very hard to go back to the regular drama fare after this.  

Happy to see others are on this boat too! e.g., @mayhemfSorry my gif game is poor, otherwise I’d have picked up some scenes to add to this. But generally, this is a recommendation for all who are interested! 
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    ooh Pickle recommending a romance, this must be good. The plot sounds intriguing so i will definitely check it out now. I think this is especially relevant to my generation which grew up with social media and is cynical about the future and relationships in general

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      Go for it, Mani! I recommend you watch with Viki subs, because whatever else is floating around seems to be MTL-ed, and the nuance in this show is in the dialogue.

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    I am loving this show. But pacing myself. I told myself I will Make some gifs of foot flirting hopefully this week gets better and I find time.
    Ep 3 was too good and I rewatched scenes.

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      Interesting. I have Ep 8 airing tonight on Viki. I wonder why it’s different in different regions.

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      It stays good! I’ve really watched only up to ep4, and the rest of it has been me guessing what the MTL-ed subs mean 😂

      Both the FL and ML are so good at backing off at the last minute, as the audience, you are always deceived into thinking, was that real or not? has s/he caught feelings or not? is s/he still fake-flirting or not? it’s a delicious tease.

      I also appreciate they made both of them smart people, and thank goodness, no dumb FL who needs to be rescued by the ML (even though ML seems to be more wealthy).

      There are some very well thought out scenes even outside of the OTP, which I have appreciated so far.

      I’m super bugged with the 2FL, but I get why she is in the story, as a counterpoint to the FL, and an alternate “reality”.

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    I just love this show. I have to thank you by way of Blue for recommending it. I won’t lie. It’s that crack romance that has pulled me in. So good. However, I appreciate it much more for its complications and cynicisms rooted in the dog-eat-dog world our protagonists are hell bent on succeeding in. There is so much to mine here. It’s a rare case where I wish we had DB cover a c-drama. And it’s only 14 episodes!

    I’m going to drag myself over the angsty finish line for TWS.

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      I like the romance too! But what pulled me in was the director / RemOTP. I didn’t know what I was signing up for when I started this, and had never seen the leads before.

      The romance aside, I really appreciated how ep1 set up the realities of the corporate world so well. I didn’t find the investment banking scenes as convincing, but I’m willing to bet that the writer (or the director, or someone in the production team) is / has been a lawyer. The law firm, etc., scenes are just spot on, down to the cray partner, the fussy client, the afterparties, the meetings over drinks, the flaunting of that latest unnecessary piece of jewelry you bought….

      MangoTV makes some good dramas, except they don’t invest in subs, and just palm off the job to their license partners. It’s a good thing Viki has taken it up! They’re doing a wonderful job.

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        I don’t know either world but good to know they got the legal part right. To me it was fascinating how much she was willing to court the other-millionaire-named-Ma, with the encouragement of her boss. I don’t know how far along you are so I won’t say more.

        The push-and-pull was a bit much in these episodes. I felt the rubber band was going to snap, or was that me? 😂

        Lastly, did you notice how she and others try to belittle her looks while glamming her to the max. It’s so patently false that it bugs me.

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          oh I need better subs to understand the details. But yeah, the teasing was a lot! I feel like it’ll all snap this week.

          I find the general discussion on appearance, fashion, beauty, so interesting here – it’s not laying it out in b&w, but there’s a lot of faking, a lot of subtext, a lot of judging. This is a super clever drama, it’s not treating viewers as stupid, and I’m loving it for that reason!

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    The very few Cdramas I’ve tried have not stuck, and the plot setup sounds bog-standard, but I might have to reconsider for this one. I do love a good romance – and also because the lead actors are named ELVIS and ELVIRA. To an American of a certain age, that is just such a hilarious match-up.

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      As a non-american, and not of the appropriate age (clearly), I had to search for the Elvis-Elvira reference 😂and I’ve been lol-ing since.

      Notwithstanding, I upvote this drama precisely because of how refreshingly different it is. It’s a very clever, smart script. Oh how I would love it if asian dramas pivoted to this style more, both directorially and script wise.

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THE WAY YOU SHINE – Dropped at ep20
cc: @mayhemf (I forget the others, sorry! 😢)
I\’d kept eps 21-24 for this week, but spoiled myself with the ending. Quite bugged now. Moving on to other things…

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    I don’t understand why they thought it was a good idea to remind us her wedding night with her ex when she was finally marrying Tianyu. But otherwise, it was a happy ending but the ton was odd.

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Here to recommend another tw-drama, OH NO! HERE COMES TROUBLE.

This is labelled as supernatural and mystery, but don’t let that deter you, as it did me at the beginning. It’s an episodic show, still airing, and actually a very gentle balance between humour and thoughtfulness, with some surprising and unusual decisions on topics tackled. Even though it’s thematically in the same drama family as shows like “Move to Heaven” or “May I Help You”, it’s highly original and catches you unexpectedly. A 15-minute section in episode 5, for example, ought to go down as a classic segment in any drama, but I won’t spoil it for you.

AveX also sold the show in a half-way review recently, so it’s not just me raving about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAysLj3eUkg

Go and watch it!



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    Wow, this sounds amazing, Thanks for flagging it here. Hopefully, there will be a group of people this will be ideal for who will be able to share the moment with you. I hope it can continue at this level and end well.
    I can’t believe you didn’t say Avenue X gave it top rankings. I am new to Avenue X so may have missed it but I get the impression it is rare for her give top marks and to a still airing drama. That would be so risky with K dramas that can go rouge randomly close to the end. She has highly recommended a number of dramas that I have gone on to love too.

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      Oh ya! I forgot to mention she gave it a 3 gold mine rating!

      My own review was independent of AveX’s, which is why it didn’t strike me to mention that 😂 She doesn’t review tw-dramas as often, so that makes it rare. Not sure a 3-gold mine is super rare, but I do know many people don’t align with her ratings at all, so it doesn’t matter as much.

      I trust tw-dramas generally more than k-dramas, and there’s a high chance they land better on average (although there have been some disasters – side eying Rainless Love, Arc of Life, as recent examples).

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    Interesting. The trailer didn’t work for me and hence didn’t start. As much as I am starved for TW dramas I didn’t think this would be for me.
    And I didn’t care for the two dramas(k) you mentioned.
    Now I am curious. But not sure what needs to fall off my watchlist. Stop adding more dramas to my list 😬😬

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      I did not like MTH (and didn’t finish), and was not interested in MIHY either. I honestly wasn’t interested in this when it started out, but Jen (forget her DB id) sold it to me as a slice of lifer and comedy, and it totally hits all those notes.

      After my watchlist emptied itself out post-Call It Love, I scrambled and added almost a dozen new ones 😂 Very few stuck, this is one of them. I don’t see anything else on the radar, but I will keep an eye out – just for you 😉

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    I’m watching now!
    Though I’m still uncertain whether to continue. I should preserve, you say? 🙂

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      Hello! Sorry for the delay, was travelling and disconnected. Umm, I’d say it’s an interesting and original story (IMO). I will not say I understood a lot of it, some of it was probably due to some cultural nuances lost in translation. But I enjoyed it for what it was. Some of the stories/ vignettes were especially lovely.

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Whoever planned to watch QUEENMAKER, don’t (I suffered it for you)!

Instead, I recommend THE WAVE MAKERS, a tw-drama. Just 8 episodes, it’s thematically similar (politics, elections, etc), but plot is different, and far more sensibly handled. It’s timed beautifully as well (unless I’m reading too much into the subtext), in that it’s very much about the idea of democracy, whether it’s about celebrating it, or recognising its underbelly.
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    I dropped Queenmaker after ep 2.

    I saw Wave Makers and wanted to start. Thanks for the review.

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      Queenmaker was utter rubbish. I watched it only for Moon So-ri, and she didn’t even have that great a role.

      I’m reading TWM as an insidious tw-led pro-democracy campaign. But I also thought it didn’t push the envelope far enough on many issues. Would love to hear your thoughts after you watch!

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    Queenmaker felt a little makjang-ie for me after the end of ep2 so thanks for the review, will not continue unless I’m in the mood

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      It was exactly that. I think it was my first truly makjang-ie drama, having successfully avoided others in the past. I watched the whole thing in utter shock and awe at how ridiculous it could be. Good decision to drop!

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        I tend to drop nowadays if it’s feeling makjang-ie. Too bad though bcs I wanted to watch these two great actresses.

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          I was more disappointed with the writing. It became predictable from scene one. Plus I felt the actresses did not shine in the two episodes I saw. Glad I dropped.

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    Thanks for this recommendation! Just had a look – director of The World Between Us and Ying-Hsuan Hsieh as the lead!! I am in. Hsieh is an excellent actress and so versatile – I will forever remember her performance in Dear Ex.

    And probably the drama may not be as dramatic as the real politics in Taiwan, which is always fascinating to follow.

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      Yess! Some of the political positions taken in TWBU are being re-iterated here, which comes as no surprise. I do wish they’d been a little more adventurous with the politics, but I guess the liberal democratic angle they took here was bold enough for a drama, otherwise it might have descended into an all-out manifesto.

      And yes! YHH is such a star! – she’s one of those actresses I’d love to befriend, because she just seems so cool.

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    I’m enjoying Queenmaker as a group of great actresses showing what they can do. Also as a reflection of how dirty and corrupt politics is everywhere.

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Call It Love: Eps 11-12
So, I didn\’t love this week\’s episodes as much as previous ones. I found the ending a little absurdist, which was entertaining. But the rest was hmmm. Spoilery thoughts below.

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    The one arc I did appreciate this week was Jun’s. Show gave him a good story, and some solid talk-throughs and monologues of what he’s going through on account of the siblings this week. From a starting point where I didn’t see the point of Jun being there (I still don’t, tbh, other than as a potential interest for noona), to appreciating his growth as a character regardless of relevance, I think it’s been pretty okay.  

    I think fundamentally the set-up is weak – of the house being taken over and the siblings being to leave. This is compounded the totally flat delivery by the actress playing ML mom, and the characters around her (her current bf, the hairdresser aunt, etc). Where are the lawyers? How can some random goons strongarm the siblings into vacating? where are the possession rights? when was the will read out? how did the ex-wife not know about this before? 

    As contrived as this set up is to begin with, it has not been as well thought through as the rest of the show, which effectively means the show is resting on a poor foundation.

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      I’ve never thought the Korean judicial system was very well organized or accountable.

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      The mother lied and said that the father gave her the house before he died i.e. not that he left it to her in his will. But I also don’t understand why they never asked to see proof that she owned it rather than just leaving. I can only put it down to their utter lack of faith in their terrible father.

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        okay let’s ignore the siblings. they’re (a) stupid, and (b) did not trust their father, (c) expected him to do something stupid like this and (d) didn’t think they should check in with their mom about any of this anyway. Okay.

        Then my question would be how is the realtor entertaining her? surely she should have seen the papers that entitle her to the property?

        And that (relatively) new arc the show is stringing about her current bf wanting money to escape his loan sharks, or whatever, is wholly unnecessary at this point. As though we don’t have enough unresolved – and unwarranted – messes.

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          Yep yep yep. How is she selling a house without proving she owns it first? If anything, her claiming to own it when she didn’t would explain why she didn’t sell it. But now she’s put it on the market? That makes no sense.

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            Maybe this is the reason she didn’t sell it in the first place. This thought came to mind while watching this week’s episodes: where did she live before with sibling’s dad? Was that house theirs? Why did she move?
            In Spain there is an organism where you can ask if there is a will, insurances or any property to the name of a deceased person and you get copy of all that…. but as someone pointed out before, according to dramas Korean Law is quite a mess…

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          She wants to sell the house. Don’t think they have legally started the process. She was only talking about estimates.
          She was the legal wife and she is selling her husbands house. Whose name is on the title would make all the difference
          Which we don’t know yet.

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    Agreed. There isn’t much left to uncover in terms of the plot. The only major arc remaining is Dongjin finding out about Woojoo’s intentions of revenge, which is really dragging and putting a dampener on things. Hyesung nailed it when she said Woojoo made her staying the night sound like she was dying. I’m also conscious of the FL having a handful of expressions, which worked up to a point but I would really like to see some nuance because as it stands now, all I’m getting is that Woojoo is uncomfortable all the time.

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      Oh absolutely agree! She’s making it out to be a big deal, but I also don’t see how things can be reversed from here. It’s basically a pain of no return from here on out. I can only see DongJin being abandoned, and going off in his camper van forever now.

      Also, I’m LSK bias, because BokJoo is forever seared in my heart, but I can see that she’s out of depth here. But I also maintained this from the start – none of the actors are doing an amazing job or anything, IMO.

      This drama has been resting on the cinematography (let’s agree to ignore the pink filter which has not significantly improved with later episodes sadly), framing / art direction, and some decent direction. Show had a relatively weak opening, very strong middle, and now I’m not confident of the end..

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        I also thought that she lied about Dongjin apologizing to her (while talking to her mom) I don’t think he knows yet.
        Because when talking to Sun Woo she clearly said she has to reveal a lot if she has to explain her actions of revenge.
        So we do have the big reveal yet to come. How DJ will take it is anybody’s guess.

        It’s in line with her personality. She takes everything upon herself and suffers alone. what’s worse is she knows what hurt him before. Women lying and walking all over him. And now she sees herself as another one in his life. Another deceiver.
        Sadly, she has kept her one friend in the dark. I miss their scenes together. I don’t like that the show has more of Jun and elder sibling more than the friends.
        She had a good chance early on to reveal. When she recognized she likes him and didn’t know he liked her. She blew her chance.

        Trouble now is she is in this too deep. She wants this. and she is behaving in ways she would never. I think I get her conflict. Even if DJ forgives her I don’t know if she will forgive herself soon.

        I’m still enjoying this. The show hasn’t changed anything for me. It’s just people doing people things. Dumb stuff et Al.

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          Oh yes that DongJin apologizing to her thing was totally a lie, all in her imagination!

          And yes! I feel like the show could have shown the Jun-WooJoo dynamic more, and made him seem more relevant, instead of relegating him to a noona love interest, which honestly, I totally felt what he was feeling, and it would be soooo icky awkward…. (which is why I also appreciated his arc this episode).

          I can’t see how Woojoo can reverse this – it’s kind of crossed the rubicon, and there can be no HEA from here. I can’t see it happening. We’re just waiting for the inevitable … boom. In one scenario, okay, I can see DJ saying, oh it’s no big deal, I hate my mom anyway, and we can ignore her completely, but she’s always going to be looming over them, so unless she – umm – dies or something drastic like that happens, there can be no scope for reconciliation even, at this point.

          That line, where she says, “We’re both stupid people” – I was silently yelling at the screen, saying, “HECK YES”!

          I’m enjoying the show generally too (just that I like these eps less), and I will watch through till the end, whatever happens (I say I’ll be burned, like 2521 burned 😂, but it’s ah well okay).

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            Your flaming optimism 😏

            The mom arc is only going to get more ugly. She is broke and desperate. I kind of liked the parallel between and Hyesung, both women cannot be alone. One person serial married and another serial dated.
            I am not saying they are similar, but I do like that the show didn’t make the mom a caricature. I liked that Min Young gave her a piece of her mind. It was long due. How will her arc end? Redemption? I doubt they are gonna kill her off.
            She is greedy for money so I wonder how they will settle this.

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            How will she get money?

            DJ will sell his business or his share in the business, give the money to her to silence her. He will ensure – somehow – the house is returned to the kids / or maybe she has no right to title anyway, so whatever sale she tries will be a dud. And then, since by now, he will have learnt the truth about the house and the owners, he will go off into the sunset in his camper van. Woojoo will be eternally depressed too, and will hang on to Jun’s friendship. DJ and WJ will cross paths one day in Seoul, and wonder, what if…. An open ending.

            I’ll be happy if none of this comes true 😂

            —
            I liked Minyoung giving it back to her. But idk if mom is just a terrible actress or her character is badly written. I was cringing so much while watching her scenes. Same with Hyesung. Show gave her a more rounded story, but still kind of irrational.

            I see that the show is about dealing with different types of loneliness, and serial dating / marriage is how Hyesung and Heeja are trying to cope with their version. To that end, their characters work. But beyond that, I can’t get behind their motivations. (Maybe the writer can’t either, which is why they’re so flat as characters 😂)

            —

            Okay I feel I’ve written so many essays on this. I won’t have anything to write in the recap. boo.

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    The Heeja arc, being the central pillar on which the whole story is resting, can’t quite be ignored, but I do wish the show had written this arc / character better, and the director should have instructed the actress better 😂

    Absolutely agree about Hyesung, and maybe Woojoo and Jun will help her find her own space and identity (and that would actually be a great character arc / resolution for Jun-Hyesung).

    The dream-apology sequence was interesting. I’m not sure I liked it much, because I feel it doesn’t help her character grow – it suggests she’s still stuck in the lying mould, when she needs to be honest with herself and everyone around her. Enough lying already. This is why, like Blue said earlier, Woojoo’s relationship with Jun is so precious, because he’s the only one who knows, and whom she’s actually told the real story herself, voluntarily. He’s her confidant and true friend, and with whom she’s most comfortable. She needs to realize that telling the truth is what will get her there, to that comfortable space. Because right now, gosh she’s not comfortable 😂

    The karaoke scene was my most favourite scene in this week’s episodes – there was so much subtext in that panning of the camera – truths, lies, and everything in between. It was a loaded scene!

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Call It Love: I feel like the scriptwriter\’s brief was \”My Ahjusshi, but with romance\”.
So many callbacks, it\’s hard to ignore. But gah, show is totally standing out on its own too.

This will be my first completed kdrama of 2023, I\’m in it deep, regardless of what madness scriptwriters are wont to pull off after ep10 (I\’m hoping for the best, of course!)

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    I unironically think that while the brief was exactly what you said, Call it Love is what My Liberation Notes thought it was. By that I mean, characters have monologues that don’t feel off in terms of context, you understand the characters’ loneliness and the point of mutual understanding, the siblings feel like siblings and the characters’ liberation is palpable. Even the athletic background of the lead feels more authentic. Woo Joo does not throw one arrow and then we forget about who she was, instead, the athletic background is used as a proof of how intense Woo Joo’s impulsivity and grief are.

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      That’s an interesting comparison too. MLN tried too hard. You’re right. Here, it’s just right, and all the pieces fit well and the growth makes sense. What’s fascinating for me is how characters that appeared 2D early on (e.g., sister, best friend, ex gf, director shin) have suddenly acquired more facets and are fully fleshed out. It’s excellent writing and execution.

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    I have complete faith in the writers. Every scene is written with purpose and every frame conveys meaning. There is no way it can derail 🙂

    I will be rewatching episodes 9/10!

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      spot on! there are so many shots that speak for themselves, without any dialogue at all. The silences are actually meaningful and speak loudly for themselves and take the story forward. They don’t slow things down.
      I rewatched ep9 already 😂 now on to ep10

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    Yes, the resemblance is there but the romance is front and centre. It’s beautifully done and you’re drawn into the story and their world.

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    That’s exactly what it is, and exactly why I like it more—also, I love Sung Joon and so glad his scenes are just as grand with the FL as KYK’s. I mean, he’s the best friend we all need, who sees the train wreck a mile away and despite his attempts to stop it, it just keeps barreling towards him. I trust this will end in the satisfying way. If not, you know I will have thoughts! 😂

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      this is my first time watching Sung Joon. At the start I was indifferent to his character, but I like how he’s acquired roundedness, and his role as pharmacist-healer, the one who always has the right kind of balm to soothe you, whatever your ailment may be, is very nicely built up!
      I will join you in … thoughts… if it doesn’t end right! 😂

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Okay I\’ll jump in on this one. A day late, and I already don\’t know if I\’ll survive all entries.
This has been my worst kdrama year ever since I started watching a couple of years ago, with 2022 dramas watched less than double digits, and not all were 16eps even. I trudged through most. Not a single 10/10 drama, although a couple came close. The only entrant in my 10/10 list came from elsewhere (a jdrama, DOUBLE, in case anyone wants to know):

Bloody Heart – the one I enjoyed from start to finish
Fanletter, Please – so boring
Love All Play – started out fun, but they ran out of story
May It Please the Court – solid leads, loved the banter, but story was all over the place
My Liberation Notes – what a waste of a wonderful cast, title and premise
Sh**ting Stars – fun fluff, KDY has comic skills
Through the Darkness – the Hair. the drama could have been better,
Twenty-Five Twenty-One – the one I enjoyed from start to three-quarters in.

For the record, my MDL records report that I tried 22 other kdramas and dropped all of them. The one drama I\’m still watching is Cheer Up, but it\’s lost its early charm, so it may well be the 23rd on that list.

2022 was a bad year not just for dramas but for life in general. I hope 2023 is completely the opposite.

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Just here to thank @earthna and her band of subbers for letting this superb episode out to the world for peasants like us — TRACER EP1 WAS ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT!!!!!!

I’m calling this early – it has everything going for it – terrific ensemble cast (so many people, I lost track), a fine genre mix of tragedy+suspense+action+comedy, (so far) pitch perfect acting / no weak links visible…. (and the excellent subs helped!!!)

Everyone who’s interested – and even those who’re not – GO WATCH!!!!
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IMO, Isaac Hong has one of the best voices in the business right now, and this rock ballad, appropriately titled ‘Pain’ 😅, from HAPPINESS, allows him to showcase his range. Some interesting rhythmic switches too!

(While I’m not obsessed with this OST (yet), I thought it might get buried in the 2021 list because it arrived so late in the year, so I thought it deserved a post.)

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I\’m enjoying the fanwall coming alive again! and we have @eazal to thank for this, of course, who decided that something productive should come out of the disastrous drama year she\’s had 😅

But I also see not enough love for ON THE VERGE OF INSANITY. So, while I\’m not participating in the year-end celebration (but will definitely be lurk-reading like many others), I thought Insanity/ OTVOI needed an acknowledgement that it\’s one of the best dramas of 2021, and in my own list, one of the best kdramas I\’ve EVER watched. 😍

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    It doesn’t get the appreciation it deserves. It was one of the most cohesive dramas I’ve seen in a long time and arguably the most cohesive one this year. And it was frantic and funny and dramatic. I don’t love it quite as much as you do but I do appreciate it. I think it’s one of the best dramas this year and needs more love.

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    Yep. On the Verge was quietly brilliant. Even now as I read about Samsung restructuring their promotions and evaluations, I think of what might happen behind the scenes a la On the Verge and I am amused, (be)mused. (I might be transferring my own experience too)

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    Looks like I have to start watching it asap!!

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    On the Verge of Insanity was definitely one of the best dramas of the year. I’ve been trying to give it love.

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Posting here after ages! I was catching up with ep 5 of YOU ARE MY SPRING, and I heard a familiar voice. I wasn’t sure, so I went to YouTube to check, and OMG, I was right, Kim Min Seok / Melomance is BAAAACK with an OST for YAMS (I knew it when I heard that voice!!!) – so good to have these guys back together again now!! Can’t wait for more beautiful new music and getting to listen to that glistening distinctive voice again! I think I might be one of the only Melomance fans here. I’m celebrating on the fanwall nevertheless.

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    DB is not allowing me to add a video, so here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eAEN3hzW90

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    I think the singer has a great voice.

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      He does, doesn’t he? I think this is the only k-music group I’ve listened to on loop ever. Haha.
      The other voice I’m addicted to is Isaac Hong, but he puts out much less music. :/

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    I first discovered Melomance through 사랑하고 싶게 돼 / Make Me Want to Love, from Because This Is My First Life. That song really stands out from most OST songs, and added a ton to my respect for that drama. Bonus: in ep. 13 Melomance does a street performance. https://youtu.be/gBcqwC8WEgM

    1
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      Yes! I remember that song and their busking appearance in the show well. Unfortunately I didn’t enjoy the drama as much as everyone else seems to have, but Melomance’s music is always lovely and very speciala. I personally prefer their live performances or jam session recordings to their OSTs, because they’re both – Kim Minseok and Jung Donghwan – great at improvisation, and only live shows allow them that freedom.

      0
      0

The World Between Us
A 10-on-10 show

There are some shows that you really don’t know how to respond to, other than just stand up and applaud, and this one recently got added to that list of mine. I got curious after I discovered that the scriptwriter of Dear Ex and The Arc of Life had also written The World Between Us, besides the fact that this show had won a bunch of awards. At the end of a 10-episode binge of this taiwanese drama over 3 days, I figured why it was rated so highly, and completely agreed. My quick notes:
 
— Without spoiling too much, I’ll just say that this show is set in the aftermath of a violent incident, and through the points of view of the families of both the victims and the perpetrator, discusses a range of issues.  
— The themes are wide-ranging, from retributive justice, to post traumatic stress, to mental health, to criminal psychology, to media trials… This makes it a serious watch. But if, like myself, these are questions you have occasionally pondered over, you will not regret having watched this at all. To be able to tackle such a range in such a short span of time, and not make it seem preachy or pretentious, is a phenomenal achievement.
— There were some things I wish were discussed more (e.g., capital punishment), and there were some things I wish were less melodramatic, especially after the climactic mid-point, but I will put that down to creative license.
— The casting was excellent, although I was more partial to the actresses than to the actors.
— I loved the small editorial and production touches in the show, such as, how the closing credits changed as the episodes went by, how the palette changed, the documentary-style hand-held cinematography.
–The story is very real, and I imagine everyone would have experienced at least some aspect of the story themselves. I have, certainly.
— The fact that all the characters belonged to the same dramatic universe was extremely contrived, but it was used as a means to highlight ideological clashes, and give different points of view, and only enriched the storytelling.
— The end also deviated a bit from the realism of the rest of the show, but that’s okay. I’m not complaining.

Overall, this is a 10 on 10 in my books, and joins a very select group of shows. I won’t forget it in a while, and will be recommending it onwards quite regularly now. Please bear with me. 😂
10
8

    wow you’ve already finished it !
    Glad that you’ve found it and that you’ve enjoyed it 🙂 .
    I agree with many points you wrote, can’t comment a lot but here’s the post I made about it when I finished it 😉
    https://www.dramabeans.com/members/kudoran/activity/908113/

    1
    1

      I binged this 😂 I found it a really compelling watch. But it makes sense that you watched one episode a day. It’s a show to be savoured. Your review dates to before I became active on DB, so I missed it when you put it out! But it’s perfect. I like how we have used similar words to describe it – raw, real, documentary style… We picked on the same things!

      1
      0

    Where did you watch this? I’m intrigued!

    1
    1

      I had to darkside it because it’s not available for me here anywhere. I believe though that a bunch of other options might be available for some folks: Prime Video, Hulu, HBO Max, even some Netflix regions. (I’m not sure of licensing restrictions though!)

      1
      0

    Yes, it’s been on my watchlist since forever and from all accounts, a 10/10 drama. Will watch ASAP.

    1
    1

      Awesome yes please do! I hope you find it as thought-provoking and interesting as I did

      0
      0

    It’s really is so so good! The main actress is fantastic and now that you tell me the screenwriter is the same from Dear Ex and Arc of Life, it makes so much sense why I loved this. I liked the main actor, too, but I have seen him in other things and brought some baggage from those roles with me.

    1
    1

      I liked all the actresses, actually – the perpetrator’s brother, the news editor, the juice shop owner… The actors were okay, and played their parts. But I can’t say I’m a fan. I agree with you – I had baggage regarding the two male leads – the lawyer and the journalist – but the third chap, the director/brother was great. So different from his Arc of Life role, almost unrecognizable here.

      1
      0

Just Dance
A happy binge

While everyone is raving about Navillera, I thought I’d use this occasion to write about the “other” dance show that the kdrama world has produced – Just Dance. When I first saw the title and the poster of this drama, I thought this would be your run-of-the-mill coming-of-age drama, about a bunch of underdog kids winning a dance contest, finding their dream, etc., etc. For the longest time, I kept away from this for this reason. I didn’t want to watch another cliched story. What a surprise I was in for when I finally started, and binged it!, over one weekend.

It was eight hour-long episodes about a young girl and her classmates navigating through family, love and life in their last year of high school. A group of underdogs come under the wing of a caring teacher, who teaches them dance and life lessons while they figure out their future.  On paper, it’s a very simple story.  But in execution, it dealt with some very complex issues, showing incredible depth in the story writing especially towards the end of the show.

The tagline of this show should have been, “the pursuit of happiness” (literally, although there’s a hat tip to the movie somewhere in between the show as well). The romance was incidental and I paid limited attention to that. The questions tackled were of a serious philosophical order: What is happiness? What makes someone happy? Does the answer to happiness lie in achieving your goal? What happens if you don’t have a goal? How long do you / must you keep trying to achieve your goal? How do you distinguish the feeling of happiness from a merely ‘pleasant’ feeling?

Along the way, it also very briefly touched on darker topics such as suicide, depression, mental health, but in a way that embraced the larger warmer tone of the drama. (Indeed the drama had this warm film to it, that gave it a dreamlike feeling).

This was the first in a long time that I could actually relate to the characters. The conversations and the internal monologues of the schoolgirls felt very real and personal, and reminded me of my own monologues and conversations with friends and peers. It assured me that everyone goes through the same things, and that there really are no answers, and sometimes, just the act of asking the questions is the beginning you need.  

I also paid closer attention to the form of storytelling, since the director is the same as that of the very fine Forest of Secrets 2. I realised a few similarities. The director has terrific control over the story. This story was a quiet story, even though it was about young adults and dance (both being subjects that would be termed “high energy”). But the director employed some interesting tricks to imbue the story with action, notably through using multiple camera angles for every dialogue. I don’t know the technical terms for it, but in almost every conversation, we had close ups, long shots, POV shots, diagonal frames, zoom outs.

The other thing I noticed was the movement between these shots and between scenes generally – it was so smooth and seamless! there was no awkward cutting or interruption. The editing was absolutely top class. These are two features that were immediately comparable with FOS2. I came away with the thought that this director knows what he’s doing, for sure.

Overall, this show comes highly recommended for those who haven’t seen it. For those who have and who’ve recommended this to me over the past several months, thank you 🙏 This was truly a beautiful find!
17
7

    Dancesport girls! This was such a terrific gem of a watch.

    2
    0

    I too watched this on a whim last year and it was SO good.

    2
    0

    I had been waiting for you review, and it’s worth it!! Thanks for sharing 🙂

    1
    1

      You were the primary reason I watched this 😁 Thank you for the recommendation!! ❤️

      1
      1

        I liked the drama so much.
        As I told you I felt also that PD was able to create that oppressive feeling I also felt in FoS2. In my opinion it related with the use of light as well as the editing you mentioned.

        1
        1

          Yes yes yes! The similarity was so obvious. It was such a quiet show, but very stifling and you were left gasping. It could be just technique. But wow, so powerfully done!

          1
          0

    This is one of my favorite dramas! I should rewatch it again soon.

    1
    0

Nobody Knows was live airing this time last year. 😍 Nothing like that has come so far this year. 😩Wondering if Taxi Driver or Law School will make the cut. 😢

8
14

    Have you seen Beyond Evil?

    4
    5

      No, I haven’t.
      Are you trying to bait me into commenting on your OT😅

      1
      1

        LT is the strongest proponent of BE these days.

        3
        1

          Haha, yes! I am more tempted to join the Vincenzo brigade, than the BE one, honestly. I watched the first two eps live, and quite enjoyed them. Maybe I should catch up before the finale airs next week.

          3
          3

            You definitely should Pickle, even when I’m not so sure what’s so good about Vinnie and the gang. Having peeps to gush about a show is just so much fun I can imagine that.
            I feel a little sorry for dear LT since she wants to have friends to gush about BE but I can’t. 🥺

            4
            0

            Vincenzo is a hoot but Beyond Evil is a really well written crime drama. It doesn’t have any ducklings, though. It is sans ducklings.

            PS I’ve given up hoping that people will comment on the OT. Other than Waadie. She loves me.

            7
            0

            LT you and your sense of humor! 😂😂😂
            Many love you, I can assure you that – Waadie in particular I suppose.

            1
            0

      Ooh, “really well written crime drama” sounds very attractive indeed. It’s coming to Netflix here over the weekend. I shall dip toes and see. Thank you for the sell.
      (why does Viki only have 2 eps up when it’s almost ending?!)

      2
      0

      Now that it’s finally on a platform I have access to (viki) I’m going to start it! Just as soon as subs are up.

      2
      0

      It’s finally available on Viki!!!
      Ready to watch this weekend and comment on your blog!

      1
      1

      I second Beyond Evil.

      2
      0

It\’s a quarter of the year in, and I haven\’t earned a Bean as yet. Should I be worried? Do I need to get myself examined? Does someone need to write me a prescription? ☹️😐😶

6
38

    It’s okay. I havent got a bean too. Maybe watch a completed drama while waiting for a new drama? I have several recommendations 😆

    3
    1

      Kat, you’re watching Sisyphus (even if mainly to send me CSW gifs😂). And all those makjangs. You’ll get bean/s soon.

      And completed dramas, eh? I wonder which you mean?…

      1
      1

    You are not alone. I’d be lucky to get 5 by the end of the year.

    3
    1

      I know!! I was looking through the list of kdramas planned for the year – some list on a website somewhere – and gosh, nothing looked compelling!

      1
      0

    Have you counted Taiwanese or Chinese dramas? I was under the impression you were watching one or two of those.

    Overall, this year seems to be more disappointing in terms of dramas than last year. That said, I’m still enjoying Vincenzo. I started watching Navillera and really quite like the first two episodes. I’m going to give Oh My Landlord a shot, too.

    1
    1

      Oh I was thinking only of kdramas. I didn’t count tw- and c-dramas. I guess I have 2 or 3 there…

      Actually, Maq, you might enjoy You are my Hero, if you haven’t started watching already. The ML, Bai Jingting, is quite the ML, and the FL is Sandra Ma (one of my girlcrushes!).

      Navillera seems too melo, and I didn’t like Song Kang’s poster stills – he didn’t pull off the dancer vibe – I can’t help but compare with someone like Luo Yunxi (of Love is Sweet, whose every movement is grace). I should probably give it a shot, though. I didn’t stick with Vincenzo. And ep1 of the Nana-LMK drama was cute, but it didn’t jump out at me. Oh well. It’s a kdrama slump, methinks.

      1
      1

        I had the same feelings about Song Kang from the teasers, as I wasn’t convinced he could pass as dancer, but I was pleasantly surprised he did. Also, the vibes I’m getting from Navillera are When the weather is nice meets My Unfamiliar Family (mentioning MUF may catch your attention…).

        2
        2

          Navillera is definitely a melo, but I actually find the plotline involving Park In-hwan very refreshing and humane. Song Kang probably is the weaker lead in this, but I find I’m pleasantly surprised with him, as well. He also does pass as a dancer, surprisingly! I don’t if they’re just using an amazing body double or what, but I buy him as a dancer. It also seems like Song Kang worked on his body for this role; he seems to have put on muscle and it makes him seem more believably as an actor.

          I have a whole bunch of TW and C-dramas in my backlog now! I think I’m still in mourning from Skate Into Love tbh. Is that weird? I hope it’s not.

          2
          1

            I saw some teasers, in which they conveniently avoided showing his face/head when showing him using the barre and stuff. I definitely think it’s a double. But you’re both – you and Eazal – pushing me towards this. I’ll have to give it a watch at least!

            I think You Are My Hero might undo Skate Into Love feels. Although, I think we’re entering angst territory now that we’re at the halfway mark of the show. But so far, it’s been all kinds of delightful.

            1
            0

          Hahaha – you know what the keywords are!! 😂 Okay okay, I’ll check it out.

          1
          0

    I have three beens and only Run On is memorable.

    2
    1

      Oh Run On counts?! For some reason, I thought it was a 2020 drama. It’s been so long since I enjoyed anything. Sigh.

      1
      1

        I counts and I don’t think I’ve enjoyed any airing drama other than this. I’ve liked some dramas from other years (18 Again, Prison Playbook and Because this is our first life).

        2
        1

          Ooh, speaking of old dramas, I watched (and LOVED) Just Dance! I wrote a review also, but forgot to post. I’ll put it up soon.

          3
          1

    Are you me? Let’s get the prescription together. I haven’t watched anything since Run On and am not that invested in anything now. Will give Navillera a shot and Oh Joonim first episode felt lacking so the dramaland future looks bleak.

    1
    1

      OMG same!! I’ll ask the doc for duplicate prescriptions 😂

      I also felt the same about Oh Jooinim!! And Navillera seems too melo for my state of mind right now, among other things.

      I’ve been watching cdramas and twdramas meanwhile. There are 1 or 2 that turned out okay. Magic Moment (twdrama), and the currently airing You Are My Hero. You might like both, I think. 🙂

      0
      1

        Yes get one for me too 😂
        I may not continue Oh! Master, let’s see but I was bored the first episode.
        Secondly, Navillera was on my list but I’m not in the mood. Watching a melo when I’m not really in the mood has never worked well for me. I watched Weather and MUF when I was not in the mood of sth heavy and rather than distracting me they provided food to my weird mood lol. Eventually I dropped them both before completion because I was exhausted and it was never the show’s fault. I fell I’ll do the same to Navillera so I’m being conscious. But there’s nothing good upcoming either.
        I will check out your recs though. Also yes I started a webdrama to fill in the slump. How to be Thirty. I’m surprised that it isn’t sub par as most web dramas and is actually going at a good pace and I look forward to next episode. Plus it’s on Viki and only 20 minutes long. It’s not something out of the world but it’s good enough.

        0
        1

          Also I dropped by discord and saw a poster. Is it your birthday? Happy Birthday!!!

          0
          1

            Thank you for the wishes, wapzy! 😊
            I will check out the web drama you mention. Short eps sound like they will go with my attention span these days. 😂

            0
            0

    No beans here either. My hope is LMK and Nana will be my first bean of 2021.

    2
    1

      Yes! I started it as well. Hoping it’s the hit we’ve all been waiting for 😊 Otherwise, we’ll have to wait longer…

      0
      1

        Everything has been so dark. I don’t need or want dark or heavy feelings. I’ve got too much reality in my reality, so I want FUN.

        2
        2

          Hello, Me! is fun (although the small amount of bathroom humor is not my thing).

          2
          3

            I watched the first two episodes. Enjoyed them, and yet just can’t be bothered to press play on episode three. I’m broken.

            1
            0

            @egads It gets so much better. Honest.

            1
            0

            I tried this too. The bathroom humour was no fun, for sure. I have been watching it off and on at 1.5x speed. Stopped a couple of weeks or so ago, I think. I have a feeling this might end up being a drop. Unless I muster up the inclination to finish.

            2
            0

          Yes exactly this!! I can’t deal with dark or melo right now. There’s too much depressing stuff IRL that I want to get distracted away from. Dark is not helping. 🙁

          2
          0

    Last year was a slow year for me, but right now I’m having trouble fitting in all the dramas I want to watch.

    3
    1

      Ha, impressive! Last year I locked in about 10-12 dramas in total. I had already begun by the start of the year. I’m nowhere in comparison right now. That’s what got me wondering.

      2
      0

    I have/will have lots of beans, as usual, but this is definitely the year of the sageuk, dark dramas, sci-fi and makjang, and I’m getting tired.

    1
    1

      You know – the one genre I’m kinda waiting for is the 1980s Korea themed shows that are in the works. Some political intrigue, some modern history, some retro stuff. That might potentially be something I will be interested in.

      0
      0

    2021 has been lacklustre so far…. especially when 2020 was pretty good.

    I have only finished Mr Queen and Run On, both leftover from last year. Currently only watching Hello Me which seems on track for completion. The new lots seem promising but will wait till more reviews available

    1
    1

      Yes! I couldn’t go beyond ep1 of Mr Queen 😂 And Hello Me is not engaging me enough – I did try harder for that though. I think the pandemic may have taken its toll belatedly…

      0
      0

    Does Startup count? Because if it doesn’t I, too, have 0 beans. Though I’m watching and enjoying Vincenzo a lot (it’s crazy fun), so hopefully will bag that bean.

    1
    1

      I think Startup is well and truly and 2020 show? Glad you’re enjoying Vincenzo ! I watched and kinda liked the first two eps, and thought I’d stick with it, but somehow couldn’t bring myself to hit play the following weeks…

      1
      0

Kdrama PPL makes it to the Arts pages of the New York Times. It\’s peppered with references, but they missed out on some of the best. No Dyson. No TKEM. No Be Melodramatic: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/14/business/media/subway-product-placement-korea.html

10
4

    This is such a let-down. Talking about Kdrama PPL without mentioning either Dyson or TKEM is just wrong. So wrong.

    8
    1

So I watched three premieres this week of (what I thought was) this fairly uninteresting crop of dramas. Nothing jumps out at me, but if I had to choose, I’d pick Vincenzo over Sisyphus or Hello? It’s Me. There were many issues, episode length and too much slo-mo, to begin with. But the cast appears cray cray enough, show is not taking itself too seriously, and the Korean-accented Italian (with SJK sounding like he’s struggling to read off a teleprompter) is the source of many laughs already. I might check out the next episode of this, then. Maybe.
9
12

    Totally agree with you. I didn’t know what this was about and was just enjoying SJK’s pretty face. But there were so many times I had to replay a scene from laughing so much.
    And the music is spot on. The shower scene especially. I enjoyed the first episode with the introduction of all the tenants.
    So let’s hope it stays as goofy with episode 2.

    5
    3

      The music made me laugh so many times!

      3
      0

      Yes yes yes, to the music!! It was definitely one of the better things about the episode!!! Thank goodness they didn’t break into Kpop-inspired BGM. What was in fact chosen was very appropriate indeed

      3
      0

      Agree with all of this! I’ll also just add that the visuals as a whole in this show are amazing. The opening with the dream of the collapsing building, the scene with the vineyard going up in a conflagration as the car sped away, and really all of the scenes where SJK is up front and center are really nice to look at.

      2
      0

    His Italian is not that bad, in fact. I think it’s better than his English. But he couldn’t pass as someone who’s lived all his adult life in Italy, his pronunciation isn’t bad at all, but he totally lacks intonation, specially considering how musical Italian is. And even so, as I said, it wasn’t that bad.
    It was funny how the Italian sentences were softened so, so much when translated, that was even funnier.
    I read that he didn’t know a word of Italian so he and his coach have done a really, really good job.
    He got all the “cazzo” correctly 😂😂😂

    5
    2

      I could tell his intonation was off, he kept saying every sentence in the same way- but it’s good to know he’s not that bad lol.

      They softened a lot of the Korean in translation too- which for Netflix is a bit of a shocker… what with their 2019 habit of throwing the F word in subs when nobody was talking lmao

      5
      1

      Besides the intonation, what also gave him away was how *slowly* he spoke. My recollection of Italian on the streets is that the words per minute is much higher than most others, and of course, it’s very animated – the use of hands as you say – like the Spanish. These were all giveaways. But good to know that he’s done a decent job otherwise!

      4
      0

    I like it. It’s not amazing or anything, but it’s fun and wacky and SJK is lovely to look at. The side characters are all weird but funny.

    0
    0

It\’s not just me who doesn\’t know what to pick up next for a live watch. Even DB doesn\’t seem to know what to recap next! There\’s nothing added after💄 sunbae. Hah.

7
18

    I know what I’ll be watching in March (Mouse is out March 3) but there’s a whole month till then and I have no plans.

    Maybe I should do something other than watch kdramas 😅

    2
    1

      yeah @wapz suggested Mouse to me too! I’m not sure I’ll pick it up if it has a sci-fi angle though. That doesn’t excite me :/

      If this is up your alley, I’d recommend what I just started live-watching: A tw-drama about three women entrepreneurs, slice of life / office drama, called “The Arc of Life”. I loved the first 4 eps I watched already. 2 eps out every Sunday. I am able to access this on iQiyi. I think this is going to be my live-watch for the next few weeks now.

      3
      2

        It’s been ages since I watched a tw drama, I might check it out – would need to get iqiyi though, hmmm

        0
        0

        Taiwanese drama-slice of life-women entrepreneurs.
        These words go so well together. Planning to check it out today.
        I remember the time there used to be a dearth of slice of life dramas in C, K and T dramas and I was left waiting and complaining after watching Misaeng that why do they not make such shows more often. Now we’re blessed with lots of them, even if some are just preachy and nothing else but unfortunately they are not in the next kdrama batch. Looking forward to no kdrama at all for now.

        1
        1

    RUN ON is my only live drama right now. My card is going to fill up soon however with RIVER WHERE THE MOON RISES, VINCENZO and probably a couple of others.
    One romantic mystery/dramedy (?) was not on my radar but I just added it to my queue on Viki (US) after watching this teaser for DEAR M. I never thought I would hear Julie Andrews singing in a kdrama:
    https://twitter.com/kdrama_news/status/1356750301773004803

    2
    1

      OMG!!! I didn’t know whether to sing along or LOL while watching this!!!

      I have watched bits of the web drama of which this is supposed to be a spinoff, and it’s cute. This might be too. I doubt that this will be a mystery though. I think it’s an all out rom com.

      I’d have pencilled in VINCENZO if it had shown signs of being a comic thriller / action comedy, but so far, it does not.

      (RUN ON is my only current live watch too! – I can’t usually live watch more than one show at a time. I started the tw-drama The Arc of Life as my backup, although I’d have liked a kdrama to fill in the gap. Sigh.)

      1
      2

        Glad you enjoyed it. Likewise I found myself humming along.

        1
        0

        Speaking of tw-dramas, did you happen to watch YONG JIU GROCERY STORE (2019)?
        I had it on my Viki queue for awhile and let it drop but I remember it get good reviews and since I am between dramas I think I will try to work it in. Ten episodes is also a plus.

        1
        1

          Yes! YJGS was lovely! I highly recommend it. When the Taiwanese do a good job with a drama, they do a darned good job.

          Another tw-drama from last year in the same genre – meditative, minimalist, thoughtful, and slice of life – that I really liked was “I, MYSELF” (also ~10 eps, I forget the exact number). It doesn’t have outstanding performances, but the storyline was very unusual, and felt very personal to me (it analysed the spectrum between solitude and loneliness, in and outside of relationships). I loved the theme and the presentation. I don’t know if this is up your alley, though. The few folks who watched it on my recommendation preferred YJGS over this.

          1
          0

    Cdramas 🤔🤔🤔😏😏😏

    1
    1

    I’ll give it a try to LUCA and to River where the Moon rises, mainly because they’re on Viki.
    As for the rest, I really don’t know.

    1
    1

      Yeah, I’m not excited about those two.
      I’m going through my back catalogue instead – besides the tw-drama that I started.
      And oh I binge-finished JUST DANCE!!!
      I LOVED it, like you said!!
      I have plans of putting up a fanwall note on it sometime soon.

      1
      1

        I knew!! It’s such a gem!
        When I was watching FoS2, the oppressive atmosphere and the tiredness of the leads remind me so much to this drama, I was all the time wondering if that “I can’t breathe” feeling was part of the PD’s touch.

        Oh, and regarding new dramas, I’m dying to watch Vincenzo because it can be such a disaster… or maybe a fantastic one (I’m leaning on my first option though), and because I need to see SJK speaking Italian and acting as an Italian in his heart. I could even pay to watch this…

        1
        2

          Italian SJK 😂

          1
          0

          For me, the biggest common factor between FOS2 and JD was a technical thing: the super-smooth transition between the camera angles and the scenes, and the multiple camera angles to show the same conversation from different POVs. I don’t know if this was an editorial decision or if the director had some control. Seeing the similarity, I feel the director had something to say (unless it’s the same editor-director combination working here).

          The oppressive atmosphere – hmmm – My note to self while watching JD was that it was seemingly a very simple story (coming-of-age + underdogs winning), but actually sooo much more complex. This was definitely because of the script, but the director also made sure that the script didn’t collapse into the stereotype. I loved it. It’s a top quality show.

          1
          0

I binge-watched the tw-crime drama The Victims’ Game this week. It comes recommended! When the Taiwanese make a good show, they make a good show! Spoilery notes below.
6
2

    Eight episodes, short and easily bingeable. I liked a few things and didn’t like a few things.
    The things I liked:

    — I liked that it had one single story and was not a procedural, which can get boring.
    — I liked that it tackled issues that most shows would be nervous to tackle, head on, e.g., mental health, sexuality. It was not done disrespectfully or nonchalantly, and the character sketches for this purpose were on point.
    — I liked that it was a short series (8 eps), and it was divided well.
    — I loved that there was no romance.

    0
    0

    Things I didn’t like:

    — Although the topics discussed were serious and were well chosen, they couldn’t be discussed in depth, e.g., sexuality needed a much deeper dive than the due it was given. So the pacing was a little off.
    — One or two actors didn’t sit well with me. I know many thought Ruby Lin was great, but I thought it was a bit OTT.
    — I also thought some parts were really slowed down – too much slow mo makes me lose patience.

    Overall, I give this a thumbs up. It’s a good crime drama, not great though. Totally bingeable. (TBH, I think my own problem is that I kept comparing it with Stranger, and the standard eccentric/odd ML type format, which I thought this was a marginally lesser version of).

    0
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Run On is so pointless, but so well done, and such fun! I hope this sets a trend. I can watch many countless hours of this kind of drama.

17
4

    I could watch another 16 hours of Run On.

    I’d love to see more dramas like this one. I don’t need a lot of drama in my dramas, just give me fun characters and situations.

    9
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    I agree, more to such stuff. It’s weirdly relaxing, totally in a league of its own. And is surprisingly making unlikable traits likeable. It was only today that I noticed Seo Dan Ah is a huge narcissist and they are very hard to like in real life but SDA is girl crush.

    8
    2

      I agree as well! It’s really relaxing and introspective, and it doesn’t try so hard to sell itself as a “human drama” or “healing drama,” making it flow naturally, just like how life should be.

      3
      0

      I like the alpha female they’ve tried to make SDA out to be. TBH, I’m still not getting the romance there, but I like her as a character otherwise.

      1
      0