What Dramas Am I Watching This Week?

So here's what I'm watching this week! Of course the list is split by country and the amount of episodes I've seen so far are written below! There will be spoilers from now on so if you aren't caught to the episode number on list, you might want to go watch that episode and then come back! If you're interested in previous reviews, click here and if you want to see a list of my Favorite Asian OTPs and Ships, click here!

KDRAMA

A Love So Beautiful (20/24): Cha Heon is a student at Chun Ji High School who has both good looks and brains. He appears to be a cold character, but he is actually someone with a warm heart who is awkward at expressing himself well. Shin Sol Yi is a bright and bubbly 17-year-old who has a crush on Cha Heon. She openly confesses her love to Cha Heon continuously, and she is a clumsy but lovable character. Woo Dae Sung is a talented swimmer who transfers to Chun Ji High School and falls for Shin Sol Yi. He does not express his feelings for her and quietly stays by her side.

Okay so I actually really liked that unlike a lot of other shows in which we have a large time skip and then flashback or hear about what happened in those years in exposition, here we actually followed our main characters over the course of 6 years. Sol Yi and Heon really did start dating and they were pretty happy until Heon's busy schedule paired with his studying abroad situation caused a rift to form between the two. I don't entirely know what changed between high school and college that gave Heon the confidence to tell Sol Yi his feelings or why he'd been holding back this whole time which I wonder if the cdrama did better. It's also always such a struggle to watch couples like them cause on the one hand being a doctor really is a full time commitment but on the other it's hard to watch a girlfriend be sick or lonely without her boyfriend by her side. Sol Yi grew up a lot during this time skip and she's an adult now and can't live off of crumbs of affection from Heon like she did. He went off to America and then came right back and is attempting to insert himself into her life once again and I wonder if it's one of those situations that I'd find romantic if I actually liked the main romance or if it's always kinda creepy seeing the guy who noped out come back and be possessive of the girl.

FINISHED Birthcare Center (8/8): Oh Hyun Jin has had a glittering career in her work life. She is the youngest member on the board of executives at the company she works at and is used to acing everything she does. But when she delivers her first child, she is in for a shock. Giving birth was far more difficult than she had expected, and she quickly discovers that although she is a dab hand at all things work-related, she hasn’t got the first clue about how to bring up a baby. After being discharged from hospital, she heads to a birth care center – an exclusive establishment where even A-list stars come to get postpartum care. She is dismayed to realize that she is the oldest mother in the center, and embarrassed to notice that everyone else seems to know what they are doing when it comes to looking after babies. Fortunately, the other mothers at the center prove inspirational. Among their number is Cho Eun Jung, aka the Queen Bee – a seemingly perfect mother whom everyone wants to befriend in order to learn childcare secrets. And Choi Hye Sook is the charismatic center manager – a veritable font of knowledge about all things childcare-related.

When this show first came out I was not interested cause I'm not usually into dramas like this but then I kept seeing gifs of the main couple and they looked really cute so I couldn't help but want to check this show out. As per my expectations, the main couple was actually just as cute as I wanted them to be and I was honestly just so thankful for it cause dramas rarely ever show us a married couple who are happy or in love. Anytime there's a married couple (outside of a family drama) the show is all about cheating and lying and abuse but this show actually gave us a couple madly in love. Do Yoon was one of the best married male leads I've seen with how supportive he was no matter what Hyun Jin was going through. Having said that everything else about this show was not for me like I expected. This whole birth center would have been my worst nightmare if I was a mom who had literally just given birth. The amount of judgement and expectations were ridiculous and the other moms were just as annoying. I liked the idea of them bonding and helping one another but we only really got one or two scenes of that while the rest of the time was spent watching Hyun Jin suffer. I hate that she buckled so hard until societal pressure over whether to breastfeed or use formula and the idea that a working mom is a worse mom than a stay-at-home one is so irritating but also this is such a real problem that women face. I also really hated that though Do Yoon stayed with Hyun Jin he barely ever spent any time with Ra On which further perpetuates the idea that dads don't need to be involved with the childrearing. In the end I'd give this show a 6.5 / 10.

FINISHED Graceful Family (16/16): Mo Seok Hee is the sole daughter of the MC Group business empire. Financially, she wants for nothing. However, all is not well with her. She is haunted by the passing of her mother, who died in mysterious circumstances a decade and a half ago. Ever since her mother’s death, she has been living in the United States, apart from her father. But when she makes the fateful decision to return home to South Korea, her life is sent into a tailspin – along with the fortunes of the MC Group. Back in South Korea, she meets Heo Yoon Do, a lawyer from a humble background. Heo Yoon Do has been hired by the MC Group as a member of the TOP crisis management team that helps cover up misdemeanors committed by the Mo family. Together the duo builds an unlikely friendship and embarks on a quest to uncover the truth about the death of Mo Seok Hee’s mother. Will Mo Seok Hee and Heo Yoon Do uncover the dark truth behind a death that took place 15 years ago? What other secrets is the MG Group hiding? And could working together lead the duo to romance?

Do you ever watch a show and then want to smack yourself for not having watched it while it aired cause it was just so good??? This show would 100% be a contender for my Top 10 Asian Dramas if only I had watched in back in 2019 when it first aired! See the thing is I'm usually not into makjangs like this but recently I saw that Lee Jang Woo was the male lead in this show and I have been living for him in Homemade Love Story so I thought why not give it a chance. I think it helped going in this time knowing that it was going to be extremely over-the-top and all about revenge so I was able to adjust my lens and properly enjoy the hot mess we were thrown into. The best thing about this show was hands down the partnership that evolved into the most organic love between Seok Hee and Yoon Do cause you know I forever live for the us against the world trope. I loved that the two had a common goal and pretty early on they laid their cards down for one another and were able to tackle the murder mystery side-by-side without any fear of misunderstandings or lack of trust. I loved that they were both extremely smart and that Yoon Do tempered Seok Hee's impatience so that they could drop bombs at ideal times rather than right when they got their hands on in unlike a lot of other revenge dramas in which I'm screaming at the leads to stop being so dumb. I also really liked TOP and Ms Han as our villain too and Wan Soo was also a standout who's ending I cried over cause of the family he was on of the few that I wanted to live happily. The revenge was perfectly paced so that we gained ground little by little and so we didn't spend 15 episodes watching our heroes fail over and over again. I'd definitely give this show a 10 / 10!

Homemade Love Story (84/100): Three families live under one roof at a boarding house called Samgwang Villa. Sun Jeong's family lives a pure and simple life and doesn't have a lot of money. Jung Hoo's family is rich but is far from peaceful. Jung Won's family looks perfect from the outside but is actually quite rocky. Others join these families at Samgwang Villa, each with their own stories. What is the meaning of family in this day and age, with so many single-person households and people choosing not to get married? Let's meet the people who open their hearts to one another to live and love as a family in Homemade Love Story.

I'm honestly shooketh that Chae Woon and Jae Hee are getting married next week! I really and truly didn't think it would happen until the finale of this show but I'm glad that it seems most of our problems have been dealt with. If I'm being honest I am a little curious about this cause there's still like 20 episodes to go and there's no way that things are just happy and good for the rest but I suppose we still have Seo Ah and Na Ro to deal with and maybe more of Chae Woon's dad. Either way I believe our heroes will get through it together so I'm not worried. Jae Hee found out that his dad really did help his middle school friend out and once again I'm left thinking that James is such an ass. Like with his wife, he let their relationship sour just to what keep his pride or something? Also like I guessed, Jae Hee and Chae Woon are going to stay with James but I kinda wish that we would have gotten a cute apartment for them instead cause it would have been fun to see. Everyone else is happy too including all three other Samgwang Villa couples including Hae Deun and Jun Ah who forgave Jun Ah for lying about being Jung Won's stepson. On that note Jung Won did end up revealing that Chae Woon was her daughter and dismissing her mom as Chairwoman but part of me is still like it's a little too late for me to care or appreciate.

FINISHED Hush (16/16): “Hush” is an office drama about newspaper reporters and their everyday struggles, problems, and ethical dilemmas. Han Jun Hyeok is a veteran reporter for a newspaper. He first became a reporter to pursue justice, but he is now conflicted between idealism and pragmatism. Han Jun Hyeok must also deal with personal issues as a husband and father. Lee Ji Soo is a bold intern reporter who isn’t afraid to say what needs to be said, even during a job interview. When she meets Han Jun Hyeok as her mentor, she begins to dream of becoming a true journalist.

So the finale of this show aired this week and I'm not sure I liked what we got. I feel like this show wanted to go the Secret Forest/Stranger route in showing us that in real life things don't get wrapped up nicely with a bow and that whistleblowers tend to hurt themselves more than others but unlike in Secret Forest/Healer, there wasn't a silver lining to this finale! No one involved in all this bribery and scandal were charged with anything let alone sent to jail and in fact our HUSH team just ended up quitting while the bad guys lived their best lives. I mean yeah the CEO couldn't run in the election but Chief Na become the CEO while Editor Am became Chief and that terrible Digital Korea reporter became Desk Editor. I guess I do like the idea that our HUSH team all quit and opened up their own news agency or actually what I think is an online news show on YouTube or some sort of streaming service cause now they can actually report what they want without having the oversight of politicians. I'd like to imagine that the general public knowing that they were whistleblowers trust them more than other news agency but who knows cause the ending seemed to be more comedic than anything else. I think I'm just sore cause I didn't like that nothing changed but I also don't think that this show did anything new or subversive that other shows like this didn't. All in all I'd give this show a 7 / 10.

Love Scene Number (4/8): An eight-episode omnibus drama that centers around four female leads who are at a turning point in their lives when it comes to love, dating, and their values. 23-year-old Doo Ah is a university student majoring in psychology. She is involved in a secret polyamorous relationship with three men. While 28-year-old Ha Ram is an elementary school teacher who runs away from her own wedding after undergoing a sudden change of heart. 35-year-old Ban Ya is an adjunct instructor at a university, and 42-year-old Chung Kyung is a furniture designer who discovers that her husband of 20 years is having a spiritual extramarital affair.

Okay this week actually made me cry and hit a lot harder than last week's episode. Whereas Doo Ah was kinda just fun to watch in her commitment issues, I really seriously hate stories about cheating. Logically I get the romanticism or even the pragmatism of forgiving a significant other after they cheat but in reality I can't imagine things ever work out unless the love dies. I mean wouldn't you mistrust your SO after finding out they had been cheating on you? Could you ever let him/her talk to the other sex without worrying? In a way I did find the story we got here fascinating cause it looked at the idea of what's worse: emotional or physical cheating. Woon Bum never actually touched Hwa Ran but he fell in love with her or at least enjoyed their time together and it was kinda messed up that everyone around Chung Kyung was ready to tell her all about the cheating from Hwa Ran's husband to their mutual friend (who by the by was the author from last week who believed in polyamorous relationships.) It was super messed up of Chung Kyung to attempt to get back at her husband by trying to sleep with Hwa Ran's husband but at least it didn't actually go that far and it clearly showed Woon Bum that he still loved his wife and doesn't want to leave her. The best part of this week was definitely the smackdown Chung Kyung gave Hwa Ran when she pretended like she knew Woon Bum was going to her and that they just pitied her.

Lovestruck In The City (15/17): Lovestruck in the City is a realistic portrayal of young people who pursue romance and happiness while struggling to get by in a busy, competitive urban environment. Park Jae Won is an honest man, a passionate architect and a lover of city alleyways. His hobby is collecting more hobbies. A romantic at heart, he cannot forget a certain woman. This thief of his heart and his camera had disappeared like a fleeting midsummer night’s dream. Lee Eun Oh is an ordinary woman who temporarily reinvents herself as the spontaneous and free spirited Yun Seon Ah. She takes off to a remote place on an impulse and falls in love with Jae-won under this new identity.

Okay so this show got me a little. I still don't love Eun Oh and Jae Won as people but the chemistry between Kim Ji Won and Ji Chang Wook is fire enough that when they had that moment this week I melted a little. I love the trope where a couple is fighting and fighting and then suddenly they kiss cause they're overflowing with emotion! It was damn time that Eun Oh stopped lying to Jae Won and herself and Jae Won like he said weeks ago was ready to embrace her flaws and all if only she gave him an opening cause how head over heels he is. The other thing this show did that melted my heart was the friendship between Eun Oh, Rin Yi, and Geon cause I think we've all longed for those people in our lives that we can tell everything to. When Eun Oh disappeared, the sweetest thing they could have done was wait quietly for her to return by paying her bills and keeping her house ready and when she did return, they didn't ask any questions. I do think this is the first step in Eun Oh and Jae Won's actual reconciliation cause there are no more secrets. In other news I actually am starting to think that this show with end with Rin Yi and Gyung Joon breaking up cause it keeps feeling like Rin Yi doesn't want anything serious from her job to her boyfriend and while at first it was cute seeing how much Gyung Joon did for her, now I'm starting to feel bad for how he has to tiptoe around her. 

L.U.C.A: The Beginning (4/12): “LUCA" is based on Charles Darwin’s proposition that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestors. (LUCA stands for "last universal common ancestor.") Ji Oh, who rarely reveals his emotions to others, has a special power and a secret but doesn't know who he really is. He is chased by mysterious figures while he tries to find answers to numerous questions that surround him. Gu Reum is a detective whose parents disappeared when she was a young child. When she decides on a course of action, she won't change no matter what. Gu Reum chases after the truth behind her parents' disappearance. She meets Ji Oh and her life changes.

I have to say that the music is this show is absolutely killer. I know that really has nothing to do with this show but that's how I feel every time something plays! We started off this week right where we left off. Ji Oh saved Gu Reum and took her with him cause not only did he recognize her as the woman he saved even after his memory was wiped but also apparently he's got this 6th sense that tells him when someone is dangerous and his sense never went off around Gu Reum. The weird thing is that if this was a special power then his friend should have sent it off too cause as we learn this is the 2nd time his friend has screwed him so some part of his subconscious should have remembered it leaving me to wonder if it has more to do with how an animal can smell anger or fear. We are slowly learning more about this world and the more I see the more I feel like this show is exactly like Awaken only without the genius characters. Gu Reum's dad was a member of this lab and he was the one who actually created Ji Oh but then I think someone saved Ji Oh and years later the dad found him again and brought him back cause his wife was being threatened. It does look like Ji Oh might have killed Gu Reum's dad out of self defense but I wonder if Gu Reum's mom is still being held prisoner or if she's dead too. I wonder if Gu Reum will open up to her cop team at some point or if we'll see Yoo Na switch sides (especially after seeing how she was set up so that this was her only choice) or if this show will really be Ji Oh and Gu Reum working alone together.

Mr Queen/Queen Cheorin (18/20): A male chef has risen up the ranks to find a job cooking for the country’s top politicians in the South Korean presidential residences, the Blue House. He is something of a dreamer – but one day finds himself in the body of a young queen from Korea’s past, Kim So Yong. Kim So Yong’s husband is the reigning monarch, King Cheol Jong. However, he is only king in name – the late King Sunjo’s Queen, Sun Won, has taken advantage of Cheol Jong’s better nature, and is ruling the realm in his name. Queen Sun Won’s brother Kim Jwa Guen also has designs on power. However, Kim So Yong soon discovers that King Cheol Jong harbors secrets, and is not as gentle and meek as he seems…

Okay so this week was actually ridiculous in terms of where the story took us. This show really wants us to believe that rumors are enough to depose a Queen? Honestly if that was the case, why not just send assassins into every room and murder everyone who's against you and then blame it on some random criminal and kill them?? It's seriously irritating to watch and I'm really not happy that this is where the show decided to fall apart. I do wonder how the story is going to wrap up next week cause Cheol Jong and So Yong still haven't made any new alliances but I bet that letter than Byung In forced everyone to sign is going to help. If they could make it look like all these people worked together to kill Cheol Jong (which I mean they kinda indirectly did) then Cheol Jong can kill them all and rebuild the Court how he wants. The only thing is that the Queen Dowager and Great Queen Dowager would still be thorns and if that's the case then something like this could happen again. In terms of Byung In, he's really gone from aww possible SLS to a monster who's obsessed with So Yong. No one can say that he loves her anymore cause what he's doing isn't love. He doesn't give a single shit about what So Yong thinks or feels and wants to be the only man in her life. I also really wonder if this show is going to end with Bong Hwan returning to his time or if he's permanently stuck here.

She Would Never Know/Sunbae Don't Put That Lipstick On (8/16): Yoon Song Ah works as a marketer for a cosmetic brand. She enjoys her job and does it with vigor. Her dream is to start her own cosmetic brand. Meanwhile, Chae Hyun Seung works with Yoon Song Ah as a marketer. He becomes attracted to Yoon Song Ah and tries to develop a romantic relationship with her. However, Yoon Song Ah rebuffs his advances, because she does not see younger guys as dating partners.

So we're about halfway through this drama now and I'm really liking the direction this show has suddenly gone which I can't help but wonder if it's related to the backlash this show got when it first premiered. Even up until last week I was feeling kinda iffy over Hyun Seung and how he seemed to be crossing the line a little too far when Song Ah made it clear that she's not interested but this week he officially backed off. After meeting the ex that cheated on him and hearing from her how he was basically doing the same thing to Song Ah as she was doing to him, I think he got worried that he was being annoying or creepy. I liked that he was apologized to Song Ah again and was like yeah I might have had ulterior motives when I showed you that BM Lee was cheating and yeah I was low key hoping that you would fall for me but now I've realized that no means no. Fortunately for him the old adage appeared to be true for Song Ah: absence really does make the heart grow fonder! I'm fairly sure that she's a few steps off from falling for him so his sudden disappearance from her life left her adrift and I was honestly proud of her to admit it to Hyun Seung at the end. I am curious about BM Lee's sudden devotion to Hyo Joo and the way the show has dialed down Hyo Joo's obsessiveness but I can't imagine that the peace will last. If anything this is probs the quiet before the storm. I also want to shout out how cute Jae Woon and Ji Seung are though I wish that they got more screen time than like five minutes in two episodes! Can we get more of them and less of Yoon Seung and that chef who's clearly dating her husband??

FINISHED The Heirs (20/20): Kim Tan is the heir to Empire Group who has been sent to study abroad in the U.S. In reality it's a form of exile, as his elder half-brother back home schemes to take over the family business. While in the States, Kim Tan meets Cha Eun Sang, who arrived from Korea in search of her older sister. He feels himself falling for her, never realizing that she's the daughter of his family's housekeeper. When his fiancée Rachel Yoo arrives to bring him back to Korea, his heart is torn between love and duty.

I had been meaning to check this drama out forever cause it's one of the kdrama classics alongside Coffee Prince and Boys Over Flower and Healer that you're always told to watch but I always put it off cause though the world sounded like Gossip Girl I didn't think that I would enjoy the main love story between Eun Sang and Tan but eventually I decided to watch it anyway for the ensemble full of actors that I adore. I found myself feeling exactly the way I thought I would over the cringeworthy story of Eun Sang and Tan though I do have to admit that I liked Eun Sang and Tan in America cause they ended up feeling the most natural away from the chaebol society but part of me couldn't stop seeing Eun Sang as the bad guy in this show. Maybe it's cause I adore Kim Ji Won that I ended up liking her character the most in this show despite being the typical evil second female lead but part of me just found it so horrible that Eun Sang was so unafraid to step in and ruin an engagement no matter whether Tan loved Rachel or not. He was straddling the fence all season over whether he loved Eun Sang or his father more and it really soured me on him as a male lead cause he should have broken the engagement before cheating on Rachel with Eun Sang. On that note if Eun Sang and Tan were the Serena and Dan of this show, Rachel and Young Do were definitely the Blair and Chuck of this show which is why I thought their chemistry was super fun whether they were scheming together, thought of each other as siblings or were just friends. I do hope the two actors would do something together at some point. Choi Jin Hyuk was also a highlight in this show though I never really did end up liking his romance with the poor teacher. I think all in all I just wish this show had been more Gossip Girl than Boys Over Flower but either way I'd give this show a 5 / 10.

CDRAMA

A Girl Like Me (30/40): The beautiful baroness, duchess, princess Ban Hua has skirted marital bliss three times. Her straight-shooting manner and explosive temper ensured that each relationship ended in disaster – for the potential grooms! Despite her awful reputation, she is quite well-meaning and thoughtful deep down. Of late, her dreams have been forecasting danger around every corner, She has interpreted them quickly in order to keep her family safe and to protect those around her. Her life changes forever when she meets Count Rong Xia, a young gentleman scholar whose family suffered a tragic fate. Rong Xia is on the hunt for answers regarding the past, including his true identity, a secret long-kept from him. A friendship is formed, with Ban Hua determined to help Rong Xia learn the truth. As their alliance deepens, could this be a case of ´fourth time lucky’ for Ban Hua?

I'm not sure what in the hell the point of Hua turning down Xia's proposal in that cave was especially after he was so romantic about it when we know that Hua and Xia are in love and have been wanting to get married forever. It felt like some sort of fake angst in order to fill up time cause everyone and their mother knew that it wouldn't last especially when the real angst was revealed at the end of the episode. Hua accidentally drank the poisoned juice that Luo wanted to give the Crown Prince and because of that she's dying and when Xia went to beg for the antidote, Feixian blackmailed Xia into dumping Hua. I do wonder if Hua will know what's going on when she wakes up cause I keep waiting for her dream power to mean something and I also can't imagine that she'd believe that after everything Xia isn't interested in her anymore. I have to say that I am starting to think that this show is actually going to end with Xia as Crown Prince or Emperor cause the more I see of the two actual princes the more horrified I am for the future. Like the Crown Prince is such a complete moron and doesn't want to rule while the second Prince is honestly just a monster so who's left but the supposed bastard son of the current Emperor??

Douluo Continent (15/40): Having lost his mother at a very young age, Tang San grew up relying on his father just as much as his father relied upon him. Meticulous and mature for his age, with extraordinary talent and wit, he was sent to Ruoding Academy, at the age of sixteen, to begin pursuing his dream of becoming a great soul master. There, under the tutelage of Yu Xiao Gang, he befriends an orphan by the name of Gu Xiao Wu, and together they begin the long and difficult journey of cultivation. As time passes, the two friends draw ever closer, eventually swearing to look out for each other as siblings for life. As their power and connection grow, Yu Xiao Gang realizes they need more guidance than he can provide. Sending the pair to the Shrek Academy, Tang San and Xiao Wu join five other prodigies from various academies, in their journey of cultivation. Strong in their power, the seven students become known throughout the land as the “Shrek Seven Devils”. With their fame ever-growing, the talents of the Seven are eventually noticed by a few very prominent nobles who invite them to continue their cultivation at the esteemed Tian Dou Royal Academy. Not long after accepting the invitation, the Seven Devils find themselves caught up in an imperial struggle for power, between the first and fourth princes. At the same time, Tang San uncovers a long-hidden secret about his mother’s death. Suddenly facing battles on many fronts, Tang San finds himself forced to fight, not only to protect those his loves, but to bring honor to his sect, save his country, and complete his quest to become the greatest soul master of all time.

This is an interesting world that we've dived into and it reminds me a lot of Fights Break Sphere in the way that our main leads interact and how we're learning to cultivate from a school. In this world people have Martial Souls and a certain amount of Soul Power and in order to control it or make it stronger, they need to go to a school. So far we know that there's the Marital Soul Hall which is supposed to be the most prestigious, Ruoding which was mostly just a ego boost for the governor and his family, seven clans which aren't really open to outsiders, and the Demon School. I'm curious to know more about this world cause we haven't set up any villains that our heroes need to face or politics that they have to work around. I do have a feeling that Tang San is somehow going to end up being half Soul Beast cause of the way his father reacted to the idea that Soul Masters are monsters that kill Soul Beasts without caring whether they're good or bad but I'm also really curious about Xiao Wu's story since she seems to be able to gain Soul Rings without killing and I'm pretty sure that she's been raised by the Titan Giant Ape but I also wonder if she's one of those 100, 000 year old Soul Beasts that can turn into humans based on how she asked Tang San what he'd do if a million Soul Masters were after her. On that note the best part of this show is definitely Tang San and Xiao Wu's relationship so far which is funny cause they clearly don't know what they are to each other yet and being so young they're like we're clearly siblings! He's already ready to do anything and everything for her and she refuses to ever leave his side and it's totally precious.

The Blessed Girl (18/40): Shrouded in mystery, the continent of Suchuan exists a land of legend and lore. Once a beautiful place of peace and prosperity, it has since become a bleak land torn apart by division and chaos. Growing up in this land of misery, a young monarch by the name of Yuan Yi (Lin Yi) ascends to the throne. With his position as king firmly established, he vows to put an end to the troubles that plague his people. Believing that the source of his kingdom’s troubles stems from the legendary falling of the gods, Yuan Yi takes it upon himself to find the one with enough spiritual power to restore the fallen gods of old. With rumors circulating of one in possession of such power, Yuan Yi disguises himself as a commoner and sets out in search of the only one strong enough to fight back the evil that plagues his lands. Following the rumors and whispers of his people to a remote village, Yuan Yi meets Ling Long, a young girl in possession of incredible spiritual power, and her father Huo Tu Xin. Convinced Ling Long is the one he’s been searching for, he asks her and her father to join him on a quest to save Suchuan. Agreeing to his request, the Ling Long and her father join Yuan Yi, setting out together on a perilous journey to save their world from the evil forces bent on its destruction. In an age-old battle between good and evil, will the efforts of this intrepid trio be enough to usher in a new era of peace?

At this point I guess we should just assume that everyone has terrible ancestors cause the way things are going isn't great. Apparently the Yuan ancestors had been sacrificing girls for decades in order to awaken the Gods but 500 years ago Yuan Tu got really strangely worried out of nowhere that the people would realize that the Yuans were sacrificing girls for their power so he tried to kill all the Gods using the Eternal Fire and when the Fire spread to far, Yuan Tu along with the Yin chief blamed it all on Huotu Ke. I definitely think it'll be important that Yuan Tu was the only Yuan ancestor who got worried over the secret getting exposed cause I think we'll find out later that someone was egging him on. The other thing is that I keep feeling that things are moving too quickly cause we're not even halfway through the drama and yet Yuan Yi has been deposed, Ling Long's Goddess seal has broken, and we've lost the entire Moon Tribe. Are we really about to spend the second half trying to take back the kingdom even though Yuan Yi has no allies other than a few random people? I keep feeling like this show meant to do something interesting but has no idea how to do it so while our main couple is cute and I like their dynamic, I don't like the world we've built or the stories we're told.

The Rebel Princess/Monarch Industry (38/68): Wang Xuan and Xiao Qi strike a deal for the sake of power. They marry first before falling in love and join hands to protect their homeland. She is a woman who is no less than any man while he rose from humble beginnings. The imperial family has become rotten to the core. The nobles are lavish with no regard for the people. Princess Wang Xuan and her childhood sweetheart, the third prince, become pawns of a prophecy that states, "to acquire thee is to obtain the world." Being pulled into the matters of the court, Wang Xuan is married off by her father to Xiao Qi who comes from a poor family. On the night of their wedding, Xiao Qi is forced to leave the capital. Wang Xuan is shamed and discouraged. The Helan Prince kidnaps Wang Xuan in order to seek revenge on Xiao Qi. The crisis they face becomes a blessing in disguise for the couple. Wang Xuan is moved and inspired by Xiao Qi's wish to bring peace and prosperity to the nation and they fall in love. However, circumstances threaten to destroy them. The Wang and Xie clans are fighting for power, the Empress Dowager schemes to separate husband and wife, the military has committed treason while the Helan clan has raised their flags in rebellion. Wang Xuan puts her life on the line to escort the third prince to safety. She leads an army of men to defend the last stronghold in hopes that Xiao Qi can arrive in time with reinforcements.

Okay so I know that I'm that person right now who sneaks into the back of classroom ten minutes late with Starbucks but cdramas are insane guys and sometimes I'm not in the mood to watch a political show. One thing leads to another and you realize that more than half of a show has aired and then you struggle to want to catch up! Let's just be glad that I came to the party at all!! Okay but seriously I was an idiot for putting this show off. It gives me the same feelings that I had while watching The Story Of Ming Lan which you know is one of my fav cdramas of all time. I always adore stories in which both the leads are these cunning intelligent people and I especially love when they get married early on and become the biggest and baddest power couple. One of the best moments of this show was when Xiao Qi remarried Awu in front of the whole court in order to profess his love once again but I'm also so fond of all the small and sweet moments like when he tells her to stay warm or how she waits around for him to come home or how his heart practically fell out of chest at the thought of her being hurt. I also seriously live for every time he saves the day especially at the start of the drama when Awu was in danger every few episodes! I also think all those people complaining about the cast are ridiculous cause yeah none of the actors look like the 16 year olds they're supposed to be but we honestly have plenty of idol dramas out there for those people. In terms of the politics, this show manages to balance them in an interesting way just like The Story Of Ming Lan did so I'm never actually bored though I do have to say that I'm really looking forward to where this show goes cause we wrapped up what I thought would be the story that would continue to the end with Awu's dad and the Wangs. 

FINISHED Vacation Of Love (32/35): Xu Ke Yi is an established manager. On New Year's Eve, she brings her artist Gao Jun Yu along with her to a resort for a performance. She thought that her ten years of the contribution could reap her a beautiful relationship, but she was sorely let down. While drinking alone at the beach, she meets Hou Hao, a man that has been watching silently over her. Suffering from the setbacks in her relationship and career, Xu Ke Yi finds herself healed from the warmth and comfort brought by Hou Hao. Also at the resort is Song Xiaoke and Chen Bin Bin, who has been married for years and has two children. Song Xiao Ke, who is now a strong career woman, can no longer stand Chen Bin Bin's idleness and decides to get a divorce. However, the couple has no choice but to put on a pretense due to their children and family. Chen Bin Bin, who regretted his rashness, tries his best to win back his wife.

Wow so the finale for this show aired this week and it was very unexpected since I still feel like the show has just started airing! I have to say that I didn't love the sudden and weird twist this show threw at us about Hou Hao being an ex-con and hearing what actually happened didn't help. Up to this point we haven't seen Hou Hao worrying about his past or being closed off from finding something new which he totally should have if that was in his character from the start and not just a last minute addition. Ke Yi was more scared of commitment than he was! I also found her reaction kinda strange cause who wouldn't care if the guy they liked had a criminal past but since this is a drama, I was happy that she let it go so quickly and embraced him anyway. The other thing that I really didn't like was the idea of Ke Yi wanting to take Hou Hao as her new artist cause it's like if she learned one thing from Jun Yu it should have been don't mix business and pleasure! Also I don't think that we've ever been told that Hou Hao wants to play music cause he's been saying his dream is related to food. Having said all that I did really like the scenes with Jun Yu and Ke Yi when they finally talked through their problems and it left me a little sad cause it kinda made me wish the two would end up together again much more than Bin Bin and Ke who still took up too much screen time but I guess yay they ended up together? Oh and his niece and the much older man she was seeing got engaged too. Overall I'd give this show a 5 / 10.

Weaving A Tale Of Love (18/40): In the reign of Emperor Taizong (627—649), which was called the Prosperity of Zhenguan, former clothing maker An is framed and imprisoned. When she was in danger, she entrusts her young daughter Liu Li to an old friend in the palace. Liu Li grows up in the palace and becomes a medical officer, responsible for epidemic prevention. She also inherits her mother’s superb talent for making clothes. After falling into a trap by those jealous of her, she meets Pei Xing Jian, who was exceptionally capable and helps her escape the danger. Liu Li keeps investigating the truth of her mother’s case and, the two work together and secretly fall in love.

I can't help but feel like Liuli going to work for the head seamstress seems like the absolute worst idea. That woman is the one of the only ones in this world who could figure out that Douzi is Liuli just based on her work alone cause she was her mom's disciple. I also still think it's ridiculous that the Head Seamstress of the Palace would have so much power not only cause she's a woman in a man's world but also cause she's ranked evenly with every other department in the Palace so why does the Court of Misfortune and Palace Eunuchs have to listen to her?? I suppose I should just be glad that Liuli has figured out who her real enemy is cause it's always the biggest pet peeve of mine in dramas like these when the heroes aren't told who they should look out for by the people who knew what happened. I also have to say that Xingjian falling for Liuli already was super cute and I'm just kinda heartbroken that there might not be so many interactions between them now that Liuli has returned not only to the palace but dressing up like Douzi. I'm glad that now that he knows who the Crown Prince is that he has more of an open invitation into the Palace especially if he does become the new bodyguard cause the best parts of this week was definitely Xingjian, Liuli, Lady Wu, and the Crown Prince playing Telephone to warn the Crown Prince that he was in danger and then again to save him from poisoning. 

JDRAMA

3B no Koibito (5/10): Kobayashi Haruka fell in love before finding out that her boyfriend was actually a married man. At that time, a regular customer predicts that she will wind up meeting 3 different men. She begins encountering them just as predicted. There's the hairdresser Shintaro, the band vocalist Yu, and the bartender Yoshi. What will come of these fateful encounters?

We're officially halfway through this drama and from now on I have a feeling that things are about to get more intense! We've done the obligatory introduction episodes for each of our main three guys and had two episodes to focus on Haruka so now I think is when the romance will amp up. I mean Yoshi is already ahead of the game because he kissed Haruka though she did shove him off pretty quickly and didn't seem flustered as so much as confused so I'm not entirely sure what she thinks. Of the trio I do think that Shintaro probs has the lowest chance of being chosen and part of me wonders if it will be Yoshi after all cause he was the first guy that Haruka actually met at the bar and we've seen him eye Haruka with the others a lot more than the other guys. As I mentioned last week I definitely like that the show gives us reasons to have these guys interested in her and I definitely knew from the moment Haruka was sweet to Yoshi at the bar that his heart was fluttering!

FINISHED The Confidence Man JP: Princess (1/1): Set in Langkawi, Malaysia, con artists Dako, Boku-chan, and Richard target the Fuu Family as their next mark. Raymond Fuu, the now - departed patriarch, has left behind 10 trillion yen, a formidable sum the enterprising trio scheme to inherit.

I was so excited to see that this movie finally got subbed this week and I jumped right in to watch it since as you all know I've watched the original show and the movies that followed. I think it's so fun that clearly everyone must adore the world The Confidence Man JP inspired cause why else would the studio consistently make movies that follow the first season of this show? This movie I have to say was the best of the two I've seen and the special that we got cause I kinda just love the way it ends and the plot twist we got. I do think it's hilarious that Fuu decided that pretending that he had a fourth child was all based on something Dako said though I'm surprised he went with it cause what if a truly horrible scammer appeared that didn't have a kind heart like our crew? Maybe the butler was in on the plan? Either way Kokri has it made for life! She's got all the money in the world and now three siblings who will adore her. Not too bad for a girl who grew up with nothing other than abuse! Talk about a real life Cinderella cause after all the horrible things she went through, she still stayed good. I also really liked that characters from the last movie appeared in this one like Monako and Jessie and Akaboshi though seeing Jessie made my heart hurt a little given what happened to Miura Haruma in real life. At this point in my viewing experience I'm a veteran in the con twists so I wasn't even the slightest bit worried when our crew was caught and I was right. All in all I think I'd give this movie a 9.5 / 10!

TWDRAMA

Wacko At Law (11/15): Mai Daqi is a genius in the legal profession, but because of his dissatisfaction with the profitism of the law firm, he shelved his lawyer's license. It wasn't until an air crash that suddenly took the lives of his parents and his fiancee four years ago. In order to get justice for his family, Daqi regained his legal profession and overthrew American Airlines' first-class lawyers.

This week ended up being a little boring and I wonder if part of it is cause this felt like a set up episode rather than an episode in which things happened. Wan Ting has officially moved into the Mo home but it's not because she's into Ji Ping like she told Yu Xin but actually cause she's got a plan in the works. I don't know yet if she's planning to look into L365 for Da Qi or if she's looking for vengeance on behalf of her father or if she's trying to solve the actual murder mystery but it might just be all of the above. Poor Yu Xin is the only one who's out of the loop and I think it has to do with Wan Ting being her blindspot rather than ignorance cause we've seen that she's good at putting things together in other situations. The more important thing that happened this week was that Jing Tao told Yu Xin that Wan Ting likes Da Qi which feels like a bit of dirty play but at the same time the girl deserved to know cause though Wan Ting isn't actually planning on stealing him from Yu Xin, there's still something not right about the way she's constantly probing Yu Xin or guilt tripping Da Qi over it. In terms of the murder mystery, I'm almost completely sure that Ji Ping did it through a hired killer like he's doing currently cause the whole scene where he was threatened by the killer was sketch and hands down staged.

xoxo Allie

What Shows Am I Watching This Week?

 Hello everyone and welcome back! Let's dive right in shall we?

Horimiya Season 1 Episode 4

We're all shooketh over Miyamura confessing his love for Hori this week and the biggest question is whether he thought she was asleep or not! Cause I mean it's important to know if he means love love or love like I adore you and you're my best friend but given this is a rom com, I'm sure it's the former so I'm more curious about why he confessed at that specific timing. Of course I wanna give props to him for not only realizing how he felt but also accepting it so early in the season given that Hori was a little horrified by the confession and was like if I pretend not to hear it we can remain as we are though I wonder if it was in return for Hori telling him she doesn't want him to leave her. I do have to say it was a bit ironic that immediately after he told her that he won't leave unless she asks him to he was like okay bye gotta go to school now. I guess he meant more metaphorically. I also liked a lot of the student council shenanigans we got this week with a possible new love interest for Toru which is nice cause he's a good guy and deserves to meet a nice girl who would like him and I liked seeing one of Miyamura's middle school friends.

Riverdale Season 5 Episode 3

This episode really felt like a series finale more than what should have been a season finale and I was really just left curious as to where the show will take us now. Graduation happened and everyone but Archie got their diplomas. Archie ended up enlisting in the army but unlike the Naval Academy, he's be going in as a foot soldier rather than an officer. Veronica left to stay with her mom in the Hamptons while Betty and Alice went on a road trip that would end in Yale. Cheryl and Toni broke up but Cheryl decided not to go to college and remained back home hoping to fix the Blossom name while her mom turned herself in. FP and Jellybean went back to Ohio and Jughead the dramatic idiot rather than staying with them or in the Cooper house decided to go back to squatting. This whole episode felt like a soft reset honestly with a return to what was the status quo when this show first started and the one thing I didn't love was the fact that Jughead was the only one who bothered to return one year later like they all promised which did break my heart a little. Though Betty and Jughead didn't break up on screen, I'm assuming they broke up soon after going to college cause otherwise why would he say that it would be six years until they saw each other again. I do have to say 6 years is a random time jump cause I was expecting either 4 or 5. I'm really curious to see if the characters really will feel different than they were cause though Jughead said they were, I will believe it when I see it.

Okay so the promo just like high key spoiled us as to where our core four ended up! Archie was obviously at war, Betty is a FBI agent, Jughead is a published writer, and Veronica is married which is honestly the funniest cause not only did she marry some random dude (as in not a named Archie Comics character) but he's like so average looking in a cast of some of the most attractive people I've seen!

Jujutsu Kaisen Season 1 Episodes 17

This week's episode was actually really good as well and I'm starting to warm up to the ensemble characters this show is giving though I think my problem is still that we're too early in this show's run to be having a tournament arc. Everything I liked in the first half of the show had to do with catching spirits and battling them so I'm really very uninterested in the internal politics of this world. Our Jujutsu Tech kids are clearly leagues stronger than those from the sister school cause the only times they've won is when they've cheated like in the case of Kugisaki who had her battle in the bag and lost only cause she was shot at by another student outside which really shouldn't actually be considered cheating but based in the context of a one on one battle perhaps. I also liked the look at the twins and how Maki is much stronger than Mai but the family doesn't see it cause she doesn't have the ability to see curses and that Mai never wanted to be a sorcerer in the first place and was only forced into it cause Maki decided she wanted to be one and the family couldn't let Mai be left behind when she was the heir they chose.

Wandavision Season 1 Episode 5

This episode was absolutely insane and the perfect mix of the sitcom world with the real world which means it took what I loved from last week and added to it! This week we were in the 80s and though there were still sitcom shenanigans with Wanda and the twins who apparently can age themselves at will but the main story I was interested in was Vision starting to realize that things aren't right. After this week I'm of the mind that maybe Wanda isn't the bad guy after all and I'm doubling down on my original theory that Agnes is the one behind all this but that Wanda slowly realized what was happening and now this is all she wants. The reason for this is how adamant Wanda was that she didn't start all this and the fact that she had that conversation about Pietro in front of Agnes in which she talked about how you can't being someone back from the dead and then low and behold there's Evan freaking Peters having been recast as Marvel's Pietro. Part of me feels really sorry for the original actor who I actually really liked in Age Of Ultron but clearly no one else did and the rest of me wonders if this recasting will be permanent or if this is another scenario in which a random person is forced to act as a specific character. I also think it's important that Norm said that "she" did this and not "your wife" or "Wanda." I also want to mention that last week the popular theory was that Hayward was a bad guy and I was sitting here like that's a bit of a jump but after this week I'm definitely on board that train. He hid the fact that Wanda snuck into SWORD to take Vision's body from Monica and his whole shoot first ask questions later mentality was really such a villainous move. Does he want to kill Wanda before she can expose him? What if it was Agnes who disguised herself as Wanda to steal Vision's body??

xoxo Allie

What Dramas Am I Watching This Week?

So here's what I'm watching this week! Of course the list is split by country and the amount of episodes I've seen so far are written below! There will be spoilers from now on so if you aren't caught to the episode number on list, you might want to go watch that episode and then come back! If you're interested in previous reviews, click here and if you want to see a list of my Favorite Asian OTPs and Ships, click here!

KDRAMA

A Love So Beautiful (17/24): Cha Heon is a student at Chun Ji High School who has both good looks and brains. He appears to be a cold character, but he is actually someone with a warm heart who is awkward at expressing himself well. Shin Sol Yi is a bright and bubbly 17-year-old who has a crush on Cha Heon. She openly confesses her love to Cha Heon continuously, and she is a clumsy but lovable character. Woo Dae Sung is a talented swimmer who transfers to Chun Ji High School and falls for Shin Sol Yi. He does not express his feelings for her and quietly stays by her side.

I wonder if we're coming up on the time skip sooner rather than later given that our kids have gotten into college and are thinking of their futures now. Sol Yi found out that Heon was planning on going to an elite school that's 2 hours away and she starts fretting over the fact that they will have a long distance relationship and I was just high key cringing cause it's like girl you two aren't even dating yet. Fortunately for them both Heon didn't actually want to go to that elite school cause it was his mom who wanted him to be a math professor while Heon wanted to go to medical school. He also spent a chunk of this week drowning in his jealousy and kept being silly over Dae Sung and Sol Yi spending time together which Dae Sung clocked and clearly thought was hilarious cause in Sol Yi's eyes there are no other men out there other than Heon. Dae Sung did end up confessing to her just to get it out of the way and I think they'll be better friends for it.

Homemade Love Story (80/100): Three families live under one roof at a boarding house called Samgwang Villa. Sun Jeong's family lives a pure and simple life and doesn't have a lot of money. Jung Hoo's family is rich but is far from peaceful. Jung Won's family looks perfect from the outside but is actually quite rocky. Others join these families at Samgwang Villa, each with their own stories. What is the meaning of family in this day and age, with so many single-person households and people choosing not to get married? Let's meet the people who open their hearts to one another to live and love as a family in Homemade Love Story.

It's kinda funny that last week I called what was happening between Chae Woon and Jae Hee their breakup arc cause in actuality it's more like they're just doing long distance for a bit and being all depressed and guilty about each other which makes me feel a lot better. I was so confused last week when it was Jae Hee that seemed to pull the plug but as it turns out he was just doing the dumb guy thing in which they're like I don't want my girl to watch me suffer while Chae Woon was still guilty that it was her dad that screwed them up. I keep waiting for someone or something to prove that it's not Pil Hong or even Na Ro that's behind everything especially since we're coming towards the end but I guess since everyone already knows that Seo Ah was behind it though they have no proof, maybe it doesn't matter as much? Hae Deun also found out about Jun Ah being Seo Ah's brother and that pretty much nipped all the feelings she had for him in the bud cause she's still pissed over the way Jung Won treated Chae Woon but I'm sure it's only temporary. On that note I officially stopped expecting things from Jung Won the cowardly kitten who cannot do anything without her hand being held for her. On this week's roundtable of horrible decisions, she picked a meeting over going to see Chae Woon in the hospital and I'm honestly just so tired of her existence. Man Jeong and Hwak Se got back together which was sweet and I felt a little bad that Jung Hoo was tricked by Seo Ah but I'm sure that James will clear it up for her soon enough.

Hush (14/16): “Hush” is an office drama about newspaper reporters and their everyday struggles, problems, and ethical dilemmas. Han Jun Hyeok is a veteran reporter for a newspaper. He first became a reporter to pursue justice, but he is now conflicted between idealism and pragmatism. Han Jun Hyeok must also deal with personal issues as a husband and father. Lee Ji Soo is a bold intern reporter who isn’t afraid to say what needs to be said, even during a job interview. When she meets Han Jun Hyeok as her mentor, she begins to dream of becoming a true journalist.

I still don't entirely know what Jun Hyeok's big plan is but somehow it must relate to the secret phone that the CEO keeps in his safe and I'm honestly so embarrassed for Jun Hyeok who pretty much got caught screwing with the safe cause the picture frame wasn't tightened correctly. I do wonder why Chief Na told Ji Soo that what Jun Hyeok's doing is criminal cause the only sketchy thing he's done is not be up-and-up about his real intentions but that's not exactly illegal. Maybe Chief Na was just hoping that Ji Soo is too dumb to realize that and that she would verbally vomit up what Jun Hyeok is doing out of worry? I'm still waiting to know why he got so interested in Ji Soo unless it's just a matter of he sees that Jun Hyeok cares for her? I am really glad though that this show never went the romance route between Ji Soo and Jun Hyeok and for once a show actually explained that it would be super creepy for a boss and their underling to hook up. I am a little heartbroken that Ji Soo and Kyung Woo put the hammer down on their relationship blooming cause Kyung Woo explained that he mixed up awe/respect for liking her and that's sad cause I liked them together. I was also really proud of Ji Soo and Kyung Woo for confessing their crimes to the senior reporters and I was proud of the senior reporters for being like we understand and we love you guys anyway. On a related note, do we still think that Soo Yeon was murdered? I mean Ji Soo was so sure but the finale is next week and I feel like we've done no work to hunt the truth of it so unless the CEO has a copy of the CCTV file in his safe, it doesn't feel like it'll be wrapped up well. If it was the CEO who killed Soo Yeon, that could be the thing that screws him in politics I suppose.

Love Scene Number (2/8): An eight-episode omnibus drama that centers around four female leads who are at a turning point in their lives when it comes to love, dating, and their values. 23-year-old Doo Ah is a university student majoring in psychology. She is involved in a secret polyamorous relationship with three men. While 28-year-old Ha Ram is an elementary school teacher who runs away from her own wedding after undergoing a sudden change of heart. 35-year-old Ban Ya is an adjunct instructor at a university, and 42-year-old Chung Kyung is a furniture designer who discovers that her husband of 20 years is having a spiritual extramarital affair.

No matter how many times I mention that I don't usually like short dramas, I find myself crawling back to them every time! This one is slightly different I suppose since it's more of a collection of romance stories than an ensemble cast with each of their own stories like Lovestruck In The City. This first week was focused on Doo Ah who I was disappointed to find out wasn't actually in a polyamorous relationship. You can't call it that if the other parties don't know that you're dating multiple people! That's called cheating guys. Either way I found her super interesting as a character cause the show didn't even bother to hide that she wasn't the best person and we saw every side of her. I liked the idea that she was in love with her childhood friend Do Ham but that she was too scared to put the label of boyfriend on him despite the fact that they practically already were and that she used the other guys to fill the same role as he did in order to separate herself from him. I was screaming at her at the end to tell him the truth and that she loves him but she was still too scared. It does look like we'll be spending 2 episodes a week dealing with each of our four main ladies and their love lives but I wonder if we'll ever see them intersect.

Lovestruck In The City (13/17): Lovestruck in the City is a realistic portrayal of young people who pursue romance and happiness while struggling to get by in a busy, competitive urban environment. Park Jae Won is an honest man, a passionate architect and a lover of city alleyways. His hobby is collecting more hobbies. A romantic at heart, he cannot forget a certain woman. This thief of his heart and his camera had disappeared like a fleeting midsummer night’s dream. Lee Eun Oh is an ordinary woman who temporarily reinvents herself as the spontaneous and free spirited Yun Seon Ah. She takes off to a remote place on an impulse and falls in love with Jae-won under this new identity.

Every week I'm left more and more irritated over Jae Won and Eun Oh and the way they're acting. Like say as much as you can about Jae Won being clingy (and I've definitely said plenty) but at least he's honest about his feelings! Eun Oh refuses to say anything even though Jae Won is begging her to and she wants to more than anything. After Eun Oh was dumped by her ex and rejected from that hotel, she ended up riding the bus until the last stop which ended up being that surfing beach town and decided to remodel herself as the Seon Ah that she met at the hotel interview that was bubbly and charming. She apparently meant to tell Jae Won the truth when they met up but she was too scared and even now after she knows he knows everything, she still won't explain. On the other end of the spectrum Sun Young is still the worst and I don't care how many times the show tries to convince me she's cool. The fact that she won't believe Geon or the girls no matter how much they say that they're just friends is ridiculous as is the notion that guys and girls can't be friends. I mentioned it a few weeks back and I'll say it again. Gyung Joon has no problem with how close Rin Yi and Geon is and it just proves that it's a Sun Young thing not a dating thing.

L.U.C.A. : The Beginning (2/12): “LUCA" is based on Charles Darwin’s proposition that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestors. (LUCA stands for "last universal common ancestor.") Ji Oh, who rarely reveals his emotions to others, has a special power and a secret but doesn't know who he really is. He is chased by mysterious figures while he tries to find answers to numerous questions that surround him. Gu Reum is a detective whose parents disappeared when she was a young child. When she decides on a course of action, she won't change no matter what. Gu Reum chases after the truth behind her parents' disappearance. She meets Ji Oh and her life changes.

Sooo was anyone going to tell me that Lee Da Hee was starring in a new drama?? I started this show and was honestly shocked to see her and I think she'll pretty much be the reason that I keep going! This show honestly reminds me a lot of Awaken only instead of a male lead who knows everything, Ji Oh knows nothing. I mean literally nothing. Every time he uses his powers he seems to overload himself and lose his memory which means that rather than having him lead the charge to either get revenge or solve a mystery, it'll be Gu Reum who'll be doing it which isn't all that terrible cause I am watching this show for her. The only thing is that I really don't like when shows focus too hard on suspecting the heroes when we the audience know that they're not the bad guys so it just feels like treading water rather than solving a mystery. Like the White Night foundation in Awaken, here we have these weird Church cult who's trying to create a superhuman for reasons and they only succeeding once with Ji Oh only someone got him out. At some point Gu Reum's parents found him and must of known who he was cause they brought him home and were worried for their safety. Since the cult enforcers seriously don't care about collateral, I'm assuming that they raided Gu Reum's house and killed her parents but she thinks that Ji Oh did it due to what I'm assuming is repressed or false memories. The thing with this show is that nothing feels new or original and it's about a dime a dozen in terms of thrillers but the fight scenes are pretty well choreographed and at least there's a shorter episode count so we'll probs be flying through plot.

Mr Queen/Queen Cheorin (16/20): A male chef has risen up the ranks to find a job cooking for the country’s top politicians in the South Korean presidential residences, the Blue House. He is something of a dreamer – but one day finds himself in the body of a young queen from Korea’s past, Kim So Yong. Kim So Yong’s husband is the reigning monarch, King Cheol Jong. However, he is only king in name – the late King Sunjo’s Queen, Sun Won, has taken advantage of Cheol Jong’s better nature, and is ruling the realm in his name. Queen Sun Won’s brother Kim Jwa Guen also has designs on power. However, Kim So Yong soon discovers that King Cheol Jong harbors secrets, and is not as gentle and meek as he seems…

Guys this show has officially reached Eulachacha Waikiki levels of hilarious. When I watched that show for the first time, I laughed through every single moment and that's how I feel about this show. Of course there are some types of humor I'm not about but in general I spend my 2 hours every week dying of laughter. This week So Yong and Cheol Jong officially built an alliance after So Yong put together everything that happened and how she was framed and Cheol Jong's brother and right hand man also seem to be on board. The thing is that I couldn't care less about the politics but in general what I'm picking up is that the group is trying to take down every person who's corrupt piece by piece but Byung In is really throwing a wrench in the works and my question is what the hell does he want cause he can't go around being like I'm protecting the Queen or doing what she wishes when So Yong has made it clear as day that she doesn't want him to do anything. I do have to say that her way of going around and getting revenge on those who wronged her were honestly hilarious. I am curious about this sudden 180 Hwa Jin seemed to do and I can't help but wonder if she's got an ulterior motive as well or if it's just a matter of her realizing that too many people are onto her game so it's better to confess first. It's also important to note that So Yong is pregnant and dudes that's totally going to shake up the board in a fun new way!

FINISHED Run On (16/16): Ki Sun Gyeom is a sports agent who was once a popular sprinter on the national team but was forced to quit due to legal issues. Oh Mi Joo writes translated subtitles for movies. She was thrilled to see her name listed among the credits when she first started. Ki Sun Gyeom had just quit sprinting when he encountered Oh Mi Joo, who felt that destiny most certainly brought them together. Seo Dan Ah is the CEO of a sports agency and rightful successor to the Seomyung Group. Despite this, she is held back from advancing in the company due to her gender. She fiercely wishes to reclaim what is rightfully hers and lives her life accordingly. Lee Young Hwa is a university art major who enjoys movies and drawing will soon enter his life. Could romance be in the cards for these two couples?

So the finale for this show aired this week and I'm really very sad for multiple reasons. Of course I'm going to miss this show but more than that I was sobbing throughout the whole thing cause of how bittersweet it was. As you all know I ended up loving this show for the secondary couple of Dan Ah and Young Hwa and what this show did was make me want a romance drama in which Choi Soo Young and Kang Tae Oh are the leads especially with how they were the only characters in this show to not get a happy ending! I kept waiting and waiting for something in Dan Ah's life to show me why she would be ruining Young Hwa's life if they stayed together but nothing happened so I'm left feeling like their breakup was meaningless. She became the VP like she wanted but no one threatened her with Young Hwa's career or his life or anything! In concept I like the idea of showing how a first love doesn't always work out and how that love can remain in your heart forever as a warm memory but in practice I just wanted my ship to be together forever. I'd like to headcanon since they still spend time together that at some point Dan Ah will gather up the courage to be with Young Hwa. In other news Mi Joo and Sun Gyeom lived happily ever after, Woo Shik and Sun Gyeom's other friend joined Dan Ah's agency, Sun Gyeom's parents divorced and his dad's political career was ruined. I guess in the end it's a question of whether the journey or the destination matters and my opinion it was the journey for this show. The tragic end to Dan Ah and Young Hwa did not take away from how much I liked watching them come together therefore I'd ultimately give this show a 9 / 10.

She Would Never Know/Sunbae Don't Put That Lipstick On (6/16): Yoon Song Ah works as a marketer for a cosmetic brand. She enjoys her job and does it with vigor. Her dream is to start her own cosmetic brand. Meanwhile, Chae Hyun Seung works with Yoon Song Ah as a marketer. He becomes attracted to Yoon Song Ah and tries to develop a romantic relationship with her. However, Yoon Song Ah rebuffs his advances, because she does not see younger guys as dating partners.

As I suspected Jae Shin really did transfer Hyun Seung to work under a different mentor out of jealousy and I really don't like the way the show keeps trying to paint him in a sympathetic light especially around Song Ah when Jae Shin has literally made his own bed. It's clear that the Chairman hates Jae Shin so if Jae Shin really didn't want to be married to Hyo Joo then he should have gone to the Chairman and been like I've barely spoken to the girl and she's decided she has to have me so you deal with this unless you want me to be your son-in-law. He could also quit and work somewhere else where he doesn't have to hear all this nonsense but Jae Shin puts his pride first so he stays. I'm glad that Song Ah's reaction to this all is more pity in the sense that you're pathetic rather than pity in the sense that she wants to protect him cause finding out his big plan had been to marry Hyo Joo and then whisk Song Ah off to Europe was disgusting. I still think Hyun Seung is too much at times but there are other moments when I think he's sweet. Also interesting to note is that it looks like Ji Seung is a little interested in Jae Woon after all cause rather than finding him creepy or weird, she seems to see him as kinda adorable instead and I find it hilarious that he's so in control in every aspect of his life except when Ji Seung is involved and then he becomes a puppy. I do worry that the Chairman won't like Ji Seung either though I can't tell if Hyun Seung's family is supposed to be well off or not given that Ji Seung owns a wedding dress company that clearly is popular is someone rich like Hyo Joo would come to it. As a sidebar I also want to mention that I'm fairly certain that Yun Seung's husband and the chef are seeing each other cause I just get that vibe and every time she lectures her siblings I feel all weird like maybe you should worry about your own garden before you look to others.

FINISHED True Beauty (16/16): True Beauty is a romantic comedy about a high school girl Lim Joo Gyung, who rises to pretty girl fame after she masters the art of make-up from YouTube. She turns into a goddess because of her makeup skills, but would rather die than reveal her bare face to anyone. It tells her love story with the only boy that saw her without makeup, Lee Su Ho. Lee is an attractive and handsome boy who appears cold because of his dark past but is actually very caring. They grow when they meet each other sharing their secrets and finding love with each other, but can Su Ho make Joo Gyung find her true beauty?

Why do so many dramas tend to go the way of starting out so strongly only to fall apart?? The finale for this show aired this week and I was left just wanting the show to be over already. I had really enjoyed the concept for this show and the way it was portrayed at the start but the time skip really just wrung my emotions dry. I always think a time skip is so cheap especially when there's nothing behind it other than a need to give our leads some more angst cause there was no universe in which Joo Gyung and Su Ho didn't end up together so why did we need to drag out their happy end? In that one year time skip Joo Gyung ended up getting her license while Seo Jun become an idol and Su Ho didn't contact Joo Gyung for a year cause he was busy with his father. When he came back he never once apologized for cutting contact or anything of the like and just jumped straight into following her around like a stalker. On that note look I didn't have SLS here or anything of the sort but it still left a sour taste in my mouth to see the way he was used in this finale. I should give props to him for confessing on his own before Su Ho appeared but at the same time it was not nice of Joo Gyung to use him like she did when it was clear that she still loved Su Ho. I suppose the one positive was that Hee Kyung and the teacher ended up getting married and I guess I liked that Soo Jin was redeemed though I wish that she hadn't gone bad in the first place. Overall I'd give it a 7 / 10.

CDRAMA

A Girl Like Me (24/40): The beautiful baroness, duchess, princess Ban Hua has skirted marital bliss three times. Her straight-shooting manner and explosive temper ensured that each relationship ended in disaster – for the potential grooms! Despite her awful reputation, she is quite well-meaning and thoughtful deep down. Of late, her dreams have been forecasting danger around every corner, She has interpreted them quickly in order to keep her family safe and to protect those around her. Her life changes forever when she meets Count Rong Xia, a young gentleman scholar whose family suffered a tragic fate. Rong Xia is on the hunt for answers regarding the past, including his true identity, a secret long-kept from him. A friendship is formed, with Ban Hua determined to help Rong Xia learn the truth. As their alliance deepens, could this be a case of ´fourth time lucky’ for Ban Hua?

This show was honestly hilarious and one of the better cdramas I've watched this week! It's super silly and wants to be darker than it is but I'm truly having a blast watching it. Ban Hua is fascinating cause she reminds me more of a second female lead than a female lead with her love for money and fashion and how she refuses to let anyone take advantage of her. I adore the entire Ban clan in fact and I adore how close they are and how no on in the family is out to get one another. Hua and her mom are the brains of the operation and the boys mostly just follow their leads and it's absolutely everything. Every subsequent man that falls for Hua is hilarious to watch and I seriously love every time an Emperor is a good man and that's what we have here. He adores his Aunt who's the Grandmother of the Ban clan so in turn he adores every member of the Bans and despite all this he's not insecure over his position or their so-called power and even when others try to lead him astray, he knows what's right and wrong. Rong Xia is a fun dichotomy in terms of his character cause on the one hand he's trying to get revenge for his clan getting murdered and though he clearly has no idea who's behind it, he thought it was the Bans but at the same time he fell in love with Hua and her charms. The politics in this show are much more in the forefront than I normally enjoy but I think the comedy they use helps me not to think of all the old men so poorly.

FINISHED My Little Happiness (28/28): Cong Rong has long dreamed of becoming a lawyer, but her mother is absolutely determined to see her daughter study finance abroad. Hoping that her daughter will successfully settle down somewhere overseas, Cong Rong’s mother won’t take “no” for an answer. Unable to convince her mother to let her pursue her dreams, Cong Rong has no choice but to do as her mother wishes. Or does she? After successfully convincing her mother that she has set off for distant lands, Cong Rong secretly returns home to begin work as a legal intern. Taking on her first case, Cong Rong comes face-to-face with her childhood friend, Wen Shao Qing. Now a surgeon, Shao Qing isn’t just Cong Rong’s client, he’s also her landlord and next-door neighbor. Tied together by the ever-tightening strings of fate, Cong Rong and Shao Qing find themselves drawing closer, despite their best efforts. Engaged in a never-ending battle of wits, the childhood friends may fight against the ties that bind them, but how long will they be able to resist the inevitable?

Guys this show was so cute!! I didn't have a reason to check this drama out other than the fact that the synopsis sounded fun enough and I found a super precious show! Since Shao Qing remembered Cong Rong as his childhood love, we were able to skip over the enemies part of their relationship and jumped straight into his devotion for her. I loved the way he didn't care that Cong Rong remembered him and that he decided that he would make her fall in love with him all over again. I loved that the two shared so many kisses and were so unafraid to love. The best thing though was the fact that Cong Rong was actually good at her job and that we spent so much of the show watching her balance her love life with her career. The two were so well matched. The one thing I didn't love was how creepy it was that he flew all the way out to Shanghai and then flew back a few hours later just to see her which I know the show wants me to think was romantic but honestly it was just too much. I also really liked that though there were second leads in this show, they weren't bad people and backed off as soon as they realized the person they liked liked someone else. I also really adored the second couple and I found it kinda funny that the main couple was so smooth sailing and that it was Cheng Cheng and Rang that had the bumpy road. All in all I think this show was super fun and cute so I'd give it a 8 / 10.

The Blessed Girl (14/40): Shrouded in mystery, the continent of Suchuan exists a land of legend and lore. Once a beautiful place of peace and prosperity, it has since become a bleak land torn apart by division and chaos. Growing up in this land of misery, a young monarch by the name of Yuan Yi (Lin Yi) ascends to the throne. With his position as king firmly established, he vows to put an end to the troubles that plague his people. Believing that the source of his kingdom’s troubles stems from the legendary falling of the gods, Yuan Yi takes it upon himself to find the one with enough spiritual power to restore the fallen gods of old. With rumors circulating of one in possession of such power, Yuan Yi disguises himself as a commoner and sets out in search of the only one strong enough to fight back the evil that plagues his lands. Following the rumors and whispers of his people to a remote village, Yuan Yi meets Ling Long, a young girl in possession of incredible spiritual power, and her father Huo Tu Xin. Convinced Ling Long is the one he’s been searching for, he asks her and her father to join him on a quest to save Suchuan. Agreeing to his request, the Ling Long and her father join Yuan Yi, setting out together on a perilous journey to save their world from the evil forces bent on its destruction. In an age-old battle between good and evil, will the efforts of this intrepid trio be enough to usher in a new era of peace?

I went into this show expecting a more historical/political drama which is why to my extreme pleasure I was surprised to note that this was actually a fantasy (with politics naturally) cause I mean there are gods and people with wings running around! After having watched this first chunk of episodes I have to say I'm torn about how I feel. I mean yes the show is pretty to look and yes I like the worldbuilding but I can't help but feel like aside from our main couple, nothing else in this show is worth paying attention to. Yuan Yi and Ling Long are supposed to be teens from what I can tell but I really like that they're not naive and silly like a lot of other characters. They honestly have a keener sense of duty than a lot of the others and their innocence is more of a highlight than a hindrance. It's actually Ling Long's dad that takes on the idiot role that most lighthearted fantasy cdrama female leads take with his inability to understand anything in the outside world and the tantrums he throws. I also really don't like the way the Yins are portrayed cause we're told that they're basically human lie detectors but that ability clearly only works when the show wants it to cause they knew right away that Ling Long's dad was lying about why they snuck on the ship but couldn't tell that Yin Zhuang's husband-to-be was lying in every breath! In terms of the politics in this world, it's pretty much the same as any other political drama. Zhu Xi wants to take power but he can't as long as Yuan Yi is somewhat revered as the Emperor so his plan was to find the Goddess and kill her with his magic monster killing sword showing everyone that Yuan Yi isn't all powerful. I do wonder if he knows of a way to transfer the God which is why his secret son is so important cause then he can puppet rule. It's also important to note that though Ling Long is the Goddess, the Goddess isn't her so when the Goddess fully embraces her powers then Ling Long will disappear.

Vacation Of Love (22/35): Xu Ke Yi is an established manager. On New Year's Eve, she brings her artist Gao Jun Yu along with her to a resort for a performance. She thought that her ten years of the contribution could reap her a beautiful relationship, but she was sorely let down. While drinking alone at the beach, she meets Hou Hao, a man that has been watching silently over her. Suffering from the setbacks in her relationship and career, Xu Ke Yi finds herself healed from the warmth and comfort brought by Hou Hao. Also at the resort is Song Xiaoke and Chen Bin Bin, who has been married for years and has two children. Song Xiao Ke, who is now a strong career woman, can no longer stand Chen Bin Bin's idleness and decides to get a divorce. However, the couple has no choice but to put on a pretense due to their children and family. Chen Bin Bin, who regretted his rashness, tries his best to win back his wife.

It's actually totally awkward how little I care about none of the storylines other than Ke Yi and Hou Hao so because of that I tend to fast forward the rest and I don't even know if I should talk about it cause of how little I payed attention. In general Ke and Bin Bin told his parents that they got divorced and I low key loved that his mom was on Ke's side though in the end she was trying to get the two back together again but then Ke confronted his ex and they had the most awkward fight over him and I'm just sitting here like damn he's no prize don't fight over him. Meanwhile with Ke Yi and Hou Hao, the two got together officially and it was all very sweet until he overheard her saying that he was nothing cause she was trying to pull off an evil plot with the girls but fortunately she apologized and he forgave her. I'm not entirely sure why what Jun Yu said about her also turned Hou Hao off a little but in the end Hou Hao decided that he cared about her more than whatever he was worried about so he took Ke Yi back to his hometown to show it off. My favorite thing this week though was when Cindy was revealed to be a victim like Ke Yi and how the three girls teamed up to take Jun Yu down though nothing really came of it. It does look like this whole show will take place while all these people are on vacation but I wonder if in the end, Ke Yi will end up becoming a marketer for Hou Hao cause he mentioned his company only went bankrupt cause they didn't know how to market themselves which is literally her job.

Weaving A Tale Of Love (8/40): In the reign of Emperor Taizong (627—649), which was called the Prosperity of Zhenguan, former clothing maker An is framed and imprisoned. When she was in danger, she entrusts her young daughter Liu Li to an old friend in the palace. Liu Li grows up in the palace and becomes a medical officer, responsible for epidemic prevention. She also inherits her mother’s superb talent for making clothes. After falling into a trap by those jealous of her, she meets Pei Xing Jian, who was exceptionally capable and helps her escape the danger. Liu Li keeps investigating the truth of her mother’s case and, the two work together and secretly fall in love.

This show started out as a serious hot mess but I'm hoping at as it goes on, things will calm down a little. I wanted to like it so badly cause it reminded me a lot of Because Of Meeting You in terms of the focus being on embroidery and designing clothes and if you've been following me for a while then you know that Because Of Meeting You is one of my fav cdramas out there. Unfortunately while the show is not nearly what I wanted. The main idea is that Liu Li's mom was framed to be a traitor by her former apprentice cause that apprentice wanted to steal a golden needle she had so Liu Li grew up pretending to be a boy. You would think that this would lead to Liu Li being a Ming Lan type of character cause she literally experienced how monstrous this world was up close but instead we find her acting like a complete ditz who has no care or worry for the fact that people clearly hunted down her mom for some reason. I do think that now that she's out in the real world and met her uncle again that maybe just maybe she'll start to grow up a little. I'm liking her dynamic with the male lead and I can't wait until they get to move past the enemies stage. The funny thing is that everyone who's important seems to know who she is from her father to her uncle and now even her father's concubine knows which is why it's ironic to hear the concubine call Liu Li's mom a foxy vixen like girl the mom was the official wife and you're the concubine so you will never be more and neither will your daughter! I'm hoping that they pick the Duke's house to marry into cause Liu Li is obviously going to marry Xingjian and the half sisters don't need to be related in marriage too.

JDRAMA

3B no Koibito (4/10): Kobayashi Haruka fell in love before finding out that her boyfriend was actually a married man. At that time, a regular customer predicts that she will wind up meeting 3 different men. She begins encountering them just as predicted. There's the hairdresser Shintaro, the band vocalist Yu, and the bartender Yoshi. What will come of these fateful encounters?

I debated whether I should start adding this drama to my weekly drama list cause after the last batch of jdramas I attempted to watch and talk about struggled so hard to stick to a subbing schedule, I wasn't sure if I wanted to try that again until the whole jdrama was subbed. In the end though I couldn't wait and so here I am! This jdrama is more of a reverse harem than any that I've seen in recent memory with 3 guys falling in love with one girl but I really like that Haruka isn't the typical blank lead of a reverse harem in which you are meant to put yourself into their shoes. Yes Haruka is quiet and shy and looking for love like a lot of jdrama leads but she also is able to say what she means and I think that it's pretty clear why all of these men are interested in her. Despite what most playboy types say, the thing is that most of them are usually desperate for the affection and care that they never got as a child or young adult and while these 3 are surrounded by women, none of these women except Haruka really care about them outside of the excitement of being with a handsome man. Haruka helps them, worries over them, and feeds them whatever they're craving without needing anything in return. I don't exactly have a favorite of the 3 guys yet though I'm starting to lean towards Yu as the man that I want Haruka to chose but I wonder if she even will end up picking one guy cause in most reverse harems we never get to see a man chosen.

FINISHED Hajimete Koi wo Shita Hi ni Yomu Hanashi (10/10): Junko Harumi was once a model student during her middle school and high school days. She failed to enter the prestigious Tokyo University and her life has not gone smoothly since then. She had a hard time finding a job and having a romantic relationship. Now, at the age of 31, she works as a teacher at a private institute. 3 men, who vary in type, appear in front of her. Masashi Yakumo is her smart cousin that went to Tokyo University, Kyohei Yuri is a disorderly high school student and Kazuma Yamashita is Kyohei’s teacher in high school.

I was looking for an older woman/younger man romance to watch and I stumbled upon this one that starred Yokohama Ryusei who I loved in Watashitachi wa Douka Shiteiru last year and so I thought why not this one. The thing is that usually I hate teacher/student relationships cause they're so beyond creepy but something about jdramas kinda let me forget the creepiness entirely which can probs be chalked up to the fact that unlike in American shows, when a teacher and student fall in love they do so innocently. I went into this show knowing that Junko and Kyo would end up together which is why I wasn't really all that interested in the reverse harem situation that Junko was involved in when I know for normal viewers it was probs really fun to guess who she'd pick but I kinda like to know ahead of time who the endgame is cause I don't like getting emotionally attached to the wrong lead (which is tbh why I barely ever get SLS and when in the rare case that I do, I end up dropping the show!) I do have to admit that part of me still felt a little skeevy over the fact that there was a 14 year age gap between the leads making we wonder why it couldn't have been like 10 or something more reasonable but I don't know if I noticed it on the regular cause our leads had such great chemistry together. I was also really glad with the side pairings we got and the sheer excitement I had when Kyo got into the school he wanted. All in all I'd give this show a 8 / 10!

FINISHED Love Me, Love Me Not (1/1): Yuna and Akari are two high school girls with very different views on love: Yuna dreams about romance through rose-coloured glasses, while Akari is down-to-earth and practical. Meanwhile, high school boys Kazuomi and Rio also have different views on love: Kazuomi is an airhead who can't grasp the concept of love, while Rio grabs onto any confession as an opportunity—so long as the girl looks cute. Will these four classmates end up leading a youthful romance that meets their expectations?

Well you know me and my love for high school Japanese romance movies so was it really any surprise that I would watch this movie and love it?? I was extra excited about this one cause Kitamura Takumi who I fell in love with in Waiting For Spring was the male lead. The funny thing is that I had no idea going into this movie what the main plot was so I was totally shocked to find out that it was basically a love square in which Akari and Rio were step siblings but also in love with each other cause they were so close to dating before they realized their parents were dating too. This movie did a fascinating thing by showing us how creepy it is to have two step siblings be interested in each other cause in most Japanese/Korean/Chinese dramas/movies alike when two step siblings are into each other, it's not really shown to be bad or creepy. I liked that Akari and Rio put their families first and found love elsewhere. Honestly I wasn't all that interested in Akari and Kazuomi but I liked that they gave each other the courage to go after what they wanted whether that was reconciling with their parent or admitting what their dream was. Yuna and Rio however were my ship and though part of me felt that Rio's interest in Yuna came a bit out of nowhere I could see that if she was constantly there helping him through his heartbreak that maybe he would fall for her. I liked that he gave her the courage to be more confident and his confession was super sweet. Overall I'd give this movie a 8 / 10!

FINISHED Second Love (9/9): Taira Kei has a talent for contemporary dance since he was young and went to study in Germany to join a dance company in his teens. He has won several international competitions and was referred to as a “prodigy”. However, he encountered a setback in the middle and got frustrated. He returned to Tokyo and takes a part-time work while he tries to re-capture his dream. Nishihara Yui is a Chemisty teacher in her 30s, working at a prestigious high school. Even while continuing a love affair with a married colleague, she was still lonely until she meets Kei and gets swallowed in passion.

This show actually broke my heart a little which is kinda funny cause I went into this show thinking that it would end up being a guilty pleasure full of very little substance but instead I found something else. Now don't get me wrong though this isn't that deep or meaningful a story, the thing that elevates this show is the chemistry between our leads. Maybe it's just cause I'm a lover of love and a sucker for cheesy romances but I had no problem believing that Kei and Yui were passionately in love despite not having known each other for long. They found one another at their lowest lows so of course a person who cared for them and thought about them was enough to form a lasting bond. I swooned over how desperately Kei seemed to pine for Yui and every time he grabbed her into a hug to keep her from going or when he ran to her, my heart melted. Of course the middle stretch was totally hard to watch cause despite how much Kei loved Yui, he seemed to think of her secondary to dance but also I think he just sort of took her for granted thinking that she would always be there. Meanwhile Yui constantly felt alone and unwanted and because she had nothing in her life besides him that she looked forward to, she was empty. It's the perfect example of why a person shouldn't have their life's goal be another person. That's why I think their breakup was needed cause it gave Kei time to realize what a complete douche canoe he was and it gave Yui time to find something she was passionate about outside of Kei. Of course I was thrilled that they managed to get a happy ending with Kei becoming a permanent Arts Director in Hamburg and Yui ending up joining a company in Hamburg as well. I'd give this show a 8.5 / 10 which might be a little high but that's how I feel!!

FINISHED Snow Flower (1/1): Miyuki Hirai has always been physically weak, even as a child. One day, she receives a terminal diagnosis stating that she'll be dying soon. Miyuki Hirai still dreams of going to Finland to see the Northern Lights. One day, Miyuki Hirai is the victim of a theft. She can't make a sound and drops down to the floor. At that moment, Yusuke Watabiki appears in front of her. Yusuke Watabiki is a honest and blunt young man who aims to become a glass craftsman.

I'm not usually the biggest fan of movies like this where we go into it knowing that one of the leads (or both) is terminally ill cause I feel like it's a bit of a cheap way to tug on our heartstrings but Nakajo Ayami who I loved in Anonymous Noise was the female lead so I decided to jump in anyway. I did think the movie went about the typical story in a little more of an unique way cause we never actually got a clear ending as to where our heroes ended up. Instead we were left more on a bittersweet moment after the two decided to be together as long as they both were alive and we the audience were left to theorize on how long that was. The way Miyuki and Yusuke fell in love was all very sweet and you all know I'm a sucker for contract dating/marriage in which the couple falls in love for real so it was really my bread and butter. The cinematography in this movie was stunning and I loved the way the story was kind of told in these vignettes. Both of our leads came alive when they were together and they gave each the confidence to be seen and heard and go after what they wanted. I also think that the way the show used Miyuki's cancer as more of a catalyst for her living life to the fullest was also interesting cause we rarely actually focused on the cancer. I'd definitely recommend checking this movie out cause I'd give it a 9.5 / 10!

TWDRAMA

FINISHED Someone Like You (20/20): A man loses everything in one day in a tragic car accident. Fang Zhan Cheng lost his fiancée, Liang Luo Han, but he also lost his own eyesight. Devastated by the loss of his fiancée, Zhan Cheng is inconsolable and even refuses a corneal transplant that could restore his vision. But his life takes an unexpected turn when Wang Yu Xi, who looks exactly like his fiancée, is hired to become Zhan Cheng’s day nurse. Another young woman, Xu Ya Ti, receives Luo Han’s heart in a transplant and begins to exhibit many of Luo Han’s mannerisms and personality. Caught between a woman who looks exactly like his beloved dead fiancée and another woman who behaves just like her, what will Zhan Cheng do?

This show was honestly everything That Winter The Wind Blows wanted to be but better cause of how heartwarming this show was and how it cut out all the dramatics that you would have expected other than one or two! At first I was worried that Yuxi would be too irritating for me with the way she managed to be the most shrill and worst nurse I've seen but as the show went on, she mellowed and I found myself totally seeing why the two fell in love. Their chemistry was out of this world as were their kisses but more than that they were both just such good and sweet and kind people that it was obvious to see why the two wanted to be together. Yuxi brought light into Zhangcheng's life while Zhangcheng showed Yuxi how to put herself first and that she deserved to be adored. I did think that Boyan and Yuxi's relationship went on a bit too long and it did feel like Boyan was pretty much the only character in this show trying to be in a makjang while the others were in a slice-of-life. Boyan didn't seem to care about Yuxi in the slightest until he lost her and it wasn't until then that I could even understand why he had it out for Zhangcheng. At the beginning I kept waiting to find out why he was so hellbent on taking Zhangcheng down cause it made no sense that some assistant wanted to when his boss didn't but I guess we're just supposed to assume that he was just a terrible person. I loved all the side characters and how Zhangcheng's family was so gung ho about him dating Yuxi. My only real complaint was that the show dragged a bit in the middle and the ending was a bit nonsensical but on the whole I had fun! I'd definitely give this show a 9 / 10!

Wacko At Law (10/15): Mai Daqi is a genius in the legal profession, but because of his dissatisfaction with the profitism of the law firm, he shelved his lawyer's license. It wasn't until an air crash that suddenly took the lives of his parents and his fiancee four years ago. In order to get justice for his family, Daqi regained his legal profession and overthrew American Airlines' first-class lawyers.

I want to start with talking about how impressed and thankful I am with the way Da Qi and Yu Xin's relationship has been depicted. I had mentioned when they first got together that I was worried that the show would suck all the personality out of Yu Xin and make it so that she was only a moony love interest cause I had literally just experienced this in the last twdrama I watched (Lost Romance) where the female lead went from this multidimensional and intelligent character to one who couldn't do anything without the male lead. Fortunately for all of us, Yu Xin has kept all her quirks and more than that there hasn't been any cringy or awkward moments between Da Qi and Yu Xin cause they actually act like real people who are dating. They can separate their love life from their professional life and cause of that we get to see them do work while also being more closely on the same wavelength. I was glad that the Chairman He ended up going to jail cause the more we learned about how much work he had to put in to switch the babies, the worse it got but I wasn't thrilled that the show didn't do anything to Mrs He who had the evil plot to take both girls and I wonder if this will continue offscreen so by the end of the show we'll have a line from Xiao Ke that's like oh the two families are working hard. It does look like the next case will relate back to the Mo family but I've been saying forever that oh okay now we'll focus on L365 but in actuality I like that the show has a procedural element alongside the overarching mystery so it doesn't bog us down by having us swim around in the same circles like a lot of kdrama revenge/mystery/detective/thrillers do.

xoxo Allie