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 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 lists, click here and if you want to see a list of my favorite asian OTPs and ships, click here!

KDRAMA

Romance Is A Bonus Book (12/16): Cha Eun Ho is a successful and handsome writer who is also the youngest chief editor at a publishing company. He has a calm demeanor and remains reasonable at work. He then becomes involved in the life of his childhood friend, Kang Dan Yi who was once a popular copywriter. She is now divorced, a single mother, unemployed and struggling in life though still attempts to find a job, but even with her once good career, she cannot. However, in a desperate attempt to find a job, she lies about her background and begins to work as a temporary worker in the same building under none other than Cha Eun Ho. As they become involved in each other’s life more than often, a love story begins to unfold.

It took a while but I'm finally finally warming up to Eun Ho and Dan Yi as a couple though I still don't know if I actually enjoy them or if their first date interactions were just barely cute enough for to like them or if I just want to spite the second leads cause I do have a thing for rubbing in cute relationships in the second leads' faces just a smidge. I do like that that much of Eun Ho and Dan Yi's interactions haven't truly changed cause a part of what I thought was cute at the start of this show was that the two acted like a couple before they even were one and in a cute way that feels like they've been together forever and other than a few things here and there, they're not nervous or weird around each other. I found the date super cute especially when they were writing confessions on each other's hands and even when Eun Ho asked Dan Yi out all subtly and they both freaked out in their rooms before taking forever to choose what to wear. I also kind of super forgot that Dan Yi had lied on her resume to be hired but I'm glad that it finally came out though I'm not sure why but I expected Ms Go to have a better response than she did because I thought Dan Yi vaguely explained her reasonings during their drunk gab session. I assume that she might be fired next week but she'll probably return as a marketing person by the end or maybe Eun Ho's call to that headhunter might find her a new job which might make Eun Ho and Dan Yi more relaxed about being in a relationship.

Touch Your Heart (10/16): Oh Yoon Seo is a popular actress. She is famous for her beautiful appearance, but her acting is bad. She gets involved in a scandal with the son from a chaebol family. Her acting career declines precipitously. Oh Yoon Seo hears that a famous screenwriter wants her to play the lead female role for a drama series. The character works as a secretary for a lawyer. To gain experience for the role, Oh Yoon Seo is required to work as a lawyer's secretary for a few months. Meanwhile, Kwon Jung Rok is an attorney for a law firm. He is arrogant and cold-hearted. One day, his boss asks Kwon Jung Rok to let actress Oh Yoon Seo work as his secretary for 6 months. He is not happy about the situation, but he has to accept.

After this week I think I've decided what it is about the romance between Yoon Seo and Jung Rok that I adore. I love that both Yoon Seo and Jung Rok are so open about their feelings and don't lie to each other and that they realize that sometimes secrets aren't about them. It's so sexy when a guy will tell you how he feels directly and not dance around it and Jung Rok is adorable cause he doesn't even know how sweet the way he is acting is and I love how much he takes all of Yoon Seo's suggestions into account no matter how nonsensical or silly they are. I adored when he basically told her that it was okay if she had a secret that she couldn't tell him cause it makes me hopeful that he won't be annoyed that she lied cause it drives me crazy in dramas when a main lead will get angry about something that has nothing to do with them. I'm also really glad Yoon Seo's stalker is back cause as much fun as I was having just watching Yoon Seo and Jung Rok be cute and live their every day life, the stalker is bringing some new energy to the show and I can't wait to see what he does. I also still love all the side characters and I'm hardcore rooting for their romances as well. I was hoping a bit that Lawyer Dan wouldn't be the first to fall for Lawyer Choi cause girl deserves to have someone chase her for a change and I kind of hope that this doesn't end as a joke like all her other romances!

xoxo Allie

The Flash Season 5 Episode 15 Review

I really wonder sometimes if the writers of the Flash ever really like Barry as a character or not cause it seems like they get a kick out of making Barry an asshole and it's only when he's in a crossover that he becomes a character I enjoy. The only reason I stick around and I've set this multiple times across multiple reviews is that I enjoy the supporting cast.

Despite what it sounded like, I actually did enjoy tonight's episode and that was mostly because of King Shark, a character that before today I would have laughed if you told me that I would suddenly be super invested in. I also don't know when we were supposed to know that King Shark was from Earth 2 but apparently that was a thing. I really liked the idea that his wife from another Earth was the reason that he was regaining much of his humanity and it was such a sad story! I was heartbroken when he chose saving Central City and returning to being a shark forever because it really did make him a hero and it was sad cause no one would know just how much he sacrificed to do it. I really did expect him to be fine in the end cause these shows sometimes amp up the stakes more than they end up being but I guess since he wasn't a main that his stakes stuck. I also really liked that when he was human he accepted his mistakes as King Shark and was like I deserve to be punished for them too unlike most villains who claim otherwise. I do hope we see him again cause I'm super down now.

We also got Gorilla Grodd back who I also forgot was on this Earth cause last I remembered he should have been in Gorilla City on Earth 2 but I think he came to Earth 1 to take over Central City in season 3 and must have been captured then. It was nice seeing Lyla cause I always love when she's around and I suppose that the whole Diggle/ARGUS thing we dealt with last night on Arrow might be a little too close for the Flash to use. I also loved the little dig she made at Barry and Flashpoint when she brought up her daughter turning into a son cause we will all never forget poor baby Sara who was a cutie.

Joe was finally back tonight and I assume that means everything went well with his surgery and recovery and we're all thrilled to have him back cause we missed him. I also still really miss Wally and the show keeps bringing him up again and again for no reason other than to make me sad! I did like that Iris's whole story this week was about being afraid to go back to her new office after the time loop and the fact that Cicada knew where it was cause that would have scared me too! I really liked how Felicity was fighting fear over on Arrow and I like that Iris dealt with it too though a part of me really expected Joe to bring Iris to a shooting range or something and I was going to be like um no cause if Felicity can't kill, Iris shouldn't either.

We also know that the meta cure works but I'm pretty sure there was only one dose made and it was used up on King Shark so Caitlin and Cisco are going to have to casually make a new one. This was where I was annoyed with Barry about being written poorly cause he did the one thing everyone agreed not to do and that was force the cure on someone which by the by I still don't entirely understand cause if we're not supposed to force the cure then what where they planning to do to Cicada or does a villain's right to choose not count? I do like the idea of bringing it to Cicada to offer for him to choose but I have a feeling that he'll turn it down cause his mission isn't over yet. I also wonder if all it would do is make him try to kidnap Caitlin and Cisco to make more cures and use them as weapons.

Weirdly there doesn't seem to be much Cicada in the promo for next week and I kind of do hope that we wrap up Cicada and bring Reverse Flash as the villain for the rest of the season cause I really haven't been into Cicada as a villain.

I'll see you all Friday for my weekly drama reviews!

xoxo Allie

Arrow Season 7 Episode 14 Review

What an interesting episode of Arrow that may have finally put one storyline I hate to bed and also changed the board in a fun way.

Let's start with the main story which was ARGUS running an operation to take down Dante with Task Force X with the help of Oliver and Felicity. I really liked that Diggle was the one to tell Oliver and Felicity the truth cause I really thought the show would want to play with the "betrayal" they would feel after seeing Diaz in the field or seeing him after he escapes so props to Diggle for coming out with the truth first. I also loved that Oliver was kinda calm about it but Felicity immediately freaked out cause Diaz has been a nightmare for her and especially now that she's pregnant. As I expected the mole turned out to be the deputy chief who was totally sketch from the first moment I saw him but it still weirds me out that ARGUS has to report to the government cause I always thought the Director (usually Amanda Waller but Lyla here) ran it and did whatever they want which is why it's annoying that Lyla and Diggle keep seeing to get in trouble with them. In a way though it does give us a good reason as to why Diggle would leave ARGUS and rejoin Team Arrow again cause I was wondering how we would get the band back together.

It does suck that we only had Task Force X for like one episode and now they're disbanded again cause it doesn't really make sense. Why bother with so many episodes setting them up if they're going to do nothing. And it wasn't even a fun mission like the last two times we used them in the show cause they had one scene, failed and then were replaced with Team Arrow. Speaking of, I wasn't surprised that Dante ended up getting away but I guess now we officially know that he's the Big Bad of this season after all which I kind of like cause in hindsight it shows that the show was actually pretty tightly written. Diaz took out a loan with Dante last season/early this season and hired the Longbow Hunters while ARGUS was hunting him and now Oliver and Team Arrow have made him angry. I'm also curious as to the connection between Dante and Oliver cause Oliver didn't seem to know him but Dante clearly knows Oliver. He's already a much more interesting villain that Diaz was.

Speaking of, I loved the twist where Emiko turned out to be working with Dante! I was waiting for another reveal like maybe she's not actually a Queen after all but I think she is and Dante just somehow convinced her that he was the good guy. I'm sure it wasn't that hard of a fight cause she even admitted to Oliver that she thought he was just as bad as his father and I bet that she was a Longbow Hunter cause it would explain how she got the skills and equipment to be a Green Arrow though I still don't understand why she chose that mantle if she hates anything to do with the Queens. I bet the story is that she joined Dante before her mother died to get revenge on the Queens only to step away after her mother died to find that killer. I'm sure she'll switch sides by the end of the season though cause she'll realize that Oliver is a good man and nothing like her father.

Also can we take a moment to talk about the DC Easter Eggs? I loved how Qurac and Harjavti were used in this episode. I know them from Young Justice where both Qurac and Harjavti are good but according to the wiki I read, they're both not so good in the comics and it looks like that's what Arrow used too. I wonder if we'll see any more of this or if this will end up just being an Easter Egg.

I also enjoyed Felicity's arc tonight cause I'm glad we're finally put this dark!Felicity thing to bed now cause as much as I enjoyed it at the start of the season, I got over it quickly. I still love her friendship with Laurel so much and it was amazing that she was the one to find out that Felicity is pregnant first before even Oliver and that then she spent the rest of the episode trying to take care of her. My favorite scene of the episode though was the one where Oliver and Felicity talked about Diaz and that Oliver was basically like I'll support whatever decision you make whether it's killing Diaz or not cause it was such a husband thing to do! Of course Felicity not killing Diaz was great too and I loved when Felicity told Oliver about her pregnancy. I hope we see more protective Oliver from now on cause this is their baby after all!

Meanwhile over in the future we had some William and Mia bonding. I still hate these flashforwards cause not only do they show us that everything that our characters are currently doing is pointless (cause everything sucks in the future) but they keep spoiling things for us in a not fun way. It does seem that Mia never knew Oliver from the way she was talking tonight and it also seems that Felicity never told anyone but Diggle (and Laurel obviously) that she was pregnant which leads me to think that the theory about Oliver dying during the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover might be true. Maybe he exchanged his life for Barry and Kara and then because of that Felicity goes into hiding and never sees Dinah or Rene or even Roy again. It would explain why none of them knew Mia existed but it doesn't entirely explain why William thinks he was abandoned. William claimed that neither Oliver or Felicity ever contacted him again after leaving Star City but this episode we saw Oliver leave a mailbox full of voicemails which means that William's grandparents must be intercepting his messages but that doesn't explain why neither Felicity or Oliver go to him in person to be like why the hell are you ignoring us cause no matter what they are his parents.

It was also interesting to find out that Connor Hawke is actually an adopted son of Diggle's which makes sense (cause the name change thing was weird as hell in Legends) but it still makes me wonder where Diggle and Lyla and JJ are in the future. It was also really sweet that Mia said that Felicity was the only person she cared about in the world though it was still annoying to hear both Mia and William talk shit about their parents when I can't imagine Oliver and Felicity doing anything but love them with all they had especially if Felicity never left Mia like I thought she might have last episode (to keep her safe of course.)

Next week looks like we'll finally get to see Team Arrow work with the SCPD which is funny cause Oliver's been doing it for a while now but I like the idea of having the whole team train with the police. I do hope we get more pregnant Felicity with Oliver and Laurel but I also wonder what is her purpose now that she's no longer Overwatch.

I'll see you all tomorrow for my Flash review!

xoxo Allie

Spring 2019 TV Schedule

Hey everyone!! It's finally March which means that the spring 2019 tv schedule is about to start!! As per usual I'm going to be posting what shows I will be watching!! I'll be posting the air dates for all the shows I will be watching. These all air from March to the end of May! Asian dramas are not included on this schedule cause not only is it harder to list which dramas I'm going to watch ahead of time, I will still be trying to keep up my What Am I Watching This Week list so that's where you can find that.

SUNDAY

Supergirl - 8 PM on CW
Game of Thrones - 8 PM on HBO (April 14)

MONDAY

Legends of Tomorrow - 8 PM on CW (April 1)
Arrow - 9 PM on CW
Shadowhunters - 8 PM on Freeform
Black Lightning - 9 PM on CW

TUESDAY

The Flash - 8 PM on CW
The Bold Type - 8 PM on Freeform (April 9)
The 100 - 9 PM on CW (April 30)

WEDNESDAY

Riverdale - 8 PM on CW
Jane The Virgin - 9 PM on CW (March 27)
The Magicians - 9 PM on SyFy

THURSDAY

Gotham - 8 PM on FOX
iZombie - 8 PM on CW (May 2)
The Orville - 9 PM on FOX
Brooklyn Nine Nine - 9 PM on NBC
Star Trek Discovery - 9:30 PM on CBS All Access
For The People - 10 PM on ABC (March 7)

FRIDAY

Doom Patrol - DC Universe App
Dynasty - 8 PM on CW

NETFLIX

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Season 2 - April 5th

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 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 lists, click here and if you want to see a list of my favorite asian OTPs and ships, click here!

KDRAMA

FINISHED Bring It On, Ghost (16/16): A cohabitation comedy about a ghost of a high school girl who has been dead for 5 years and an exorcist college boy with the ability to see and hear ghosts. What he’s discovered over the years is that he can touch them and fight them off, so when he’s in need of a part-time job and can’t find one that pays well enough, he starts putting ads online as an exorcist for hire. His ad: “Will face off with your ghosts. Chances of winning: virgin ghosts 80%, bachelor ghosts 40%, child ghosts 97%, the rest 50%.” One night he goes out on the job and faces off with a schoolgirl ghost, and during the fight, they accidentally kiss and sparks fly.

What a strange show guys! I started this one hoping to find something like The Ghost Detective and though it had some similarities, this was mostly a comedy which ironically I should have known if I read the synopsis. I thought it was fun overall but because it was so silly there was nothing for me to really sink my teeth into and I enjoyed myself but for some reason it was at a distance. I did find the main couple to be super adorable and I loved them at every stage of their relationship from their bickering to their awkwardness to the sweetness. I loved that they fought ghosts together and it gave each episode a fun arc and I like the twist that Hyun Ji was actually alive the whole time but it was a little annoying that she forgot everything when she woke up. The mom's dislike of Bong Pal was also super weird cause it's not like he did anything creepy when she was around and he was just as friendly as Professor Joo was and she was like all over Hyun Ji spending time with him. Speaking of, Joo was such a creep from start to finish but I liked him as a villain and I'm glad that he survived at the end despite having the evil spirit exorcised cause I was worried that Bong Pal or Hyun Ji would be framed for his murder. Overall I'd give this show a 8.5 / 10.

FINISHED Healer (20/20): Seo Jung Hoo is a special kind of night courier, known only as "Healer". For the right price and with the help of a genius hacker, he gets his clients whatever they want, as long as it doesn't involve murder. His latest job leads him to a second-rate tabloid writer, Chae Young Shin and the successful reporter, Kim Moon Ho. He begins to uncover the mystery of a shared past with the two reporters, putting them all in danger.

After watching The K2 earlier in the week, I kept hearing over and over that though The K2 was fun, Healer was much much better and that I had to watch this one but after checking this one out, I'm disappointed to say that once again the hype was too much. I did enjoy myself overall but I felt like this show had an extremely slow and boring start, there weren't nearly enough scenes of Ji Chang Wook being broody and badass, the villains weren't as cunning or well-rounded as I would have liked and the romance did nothing for me until like episode 14. It drove me mad that no one told Young Shin the truth until like almost the end of the show and there was no logical reason to do so other than men are morons. Despite this I did enjoy Young Shin's character cause she was so tenacious and able to put clues together on her own and level-headed for the most part but it sucked that she wasn't clued in earlier. It was because of this that I couldn't enjoy the romance either. I really don't like hidden identity romances and I would have preferred if she found out Jung Hoo's identity as Healer much earlier and it wasn't until she found out the truth about him and then her that I really started to enjoy their romance. I also kind of wish there was more Team Healer moments where the whole crew worked together and that Moon Hoo had more moments with Jung Hoo and Young Shin as a found family situation. The villains as I mentioned were super boring and I really didn't care for them or understand them that much but my favorite part of the show was obviously the scheming our team did and the plans they went through to take down the bad guys even if they were pretty one-note. Overall I'd give this show a 7 / 10.

FINISHED Oh My Venus (16/16): Kim Yeong Ho is a personal trainer for Hollywood stars. He reluctantly comes back to Korea to face his family after a scandal with an actress. Even though he comes from a wealthy family background, he suffered a devastating injury during his childhood days. Now, he overcomes his problems with living a healthy lifestyle. Kang Joo Eun is a 33-year-old lawyer who was once the beauty of her school, nicknamed "Daegu's Venus". Over the years she has become overweight and unhealthy. She gets dumped by her boyfriend of 15 years. Kang Joo Eun meets Kim Yeong Ho, who agrees to be her personal trainer to help her get healthier. As they work on her physical transformation, they both discover they have feelings for each other. As they grow closer, they heal each other's emotional wounds and fall in love.

Even though I don't really love So Ji Sub as an actor (he's too stoic for my taste), I kept hearing the chemistry between our mains was great so I jumped in. Overall I had a fun time and I was honestly pretty surprised with how I never got bored even though if I actually think back on it, there wasn't much plot for the show. I was a little surprised that the ex boyfriend and his new girlfriend weren't the villains of this show cause part of me was hoping for them to get their due but instead they made up with Joo Eun and were able to get a semblance of a happy ending. I did love the main couple and their antics and I did agree that Yeong Ho and Joo Eun had tons of chemistry but my favorite thing about them was how they actually had an adult relationship where they didn't just kiss and then freak out over any physical contact since but actually acted like they were together. It was hilarious that Yeong Ho was the one who kept stopping them from sleeping together unlike most dramas but also that it was a little more of a joke and that it was really timing that stopped them. I didn't love the whole thing at the end of the drama where he refused to let Joo Eun be with him through his accident cause part of me understood where he was coming from but most of me was pissed as hell that he literally cut off all contact for a year and didn't even call or text her while he was hurt and even more annoying was that they restarted their relationship without bringing up this conversation once. On another note my favorite thing about this drama might just be Henry Lau playing Ji Woong who was the most adorable precious human being and I was living every time he was on screen. I also really loved Joon Sung but I wasn't a huge fan of his romance. I'd give this show a 8.5 / 10!

Romance Is A Bonus Book (10/16): Cha Eun Ho is a successful and handsome writer who is also the youngest chief editor at a publishing company. He has a calm demeanor and remains reasonable at work. He then becomes involved in the life of his childhood friend, Kang Dan Yi who was once a popular copywriter. She is now divorced, a single mother, unemployed and struggling in life though still attempts to find a job, but even with her once good career, she cannot. However, in a desperate attempt to find a job, she lies about her background and begins to work as a temporary worker in the same building under none other than Cha Eun Ho. As they become involved in each other’s life more than often, a love story begins to unfold.

You know what I'll never understand about asian dramas? Why everyone are morons about seeing other people's feelings. Like Dan Yi is like in her late 30s and has existed in the world long enough that she shouldn't be a fish out of water anytime anything romantic comes up. Eun Ho all but said that he loved her and she spent all of episode 9 wandering around wondering what on God's Earth he could mean and I'm sitting here like you complete dumbass. And then in episode 10 Eun Ho's talking about how he has to hold back sometimes and she's like what are you holding back like she's never dated before in her life. This kind of naive trope only works for me when the mains are supposed to be in school and it's like their first dating experience and even then it's a stretch! Why can't we ever have a female lead who's smart enough to read a situation correctly? I still don't like the romance cause I'm still not feeling any chemistry between our leads and despite the fact that they kissed this week, I still feel like Dan Yi sees Eun Ho like a brother and seriously what is up with her? She will literally fall for any guy that tells her he likes her. She decided she liked Seo Joon after he told her and then she decided she liked Eun Ho now. It's a little ridiculous. I still don't like Seo Joon as a character and I just find everything he does to be super pretentious and he comes off creepy and I don't know why.

FINISHED The K2 (16/16): Kim Je Ha is a former soldier for hire. He is also called K2. He is hired as a bodyguard by Choi Yoo Jin. Yoo Jin is the wife of a presidential candidate and the daughter of a chaebol family. Meanwhile, Ko An Na is the secret daughter of the presidential. She is also a recluse.

I love love love when I fall in love with a new drama and that's what happened here! I went into this to watch Ji Chang Wook be all hot and broody but I was hesitant cause I kept hearing that this drama wasn't very good and that the main couple sucked and that the only good thing was the villain but I actually disagree with this! I adored the world this show built and how it was basically the story of Snow White. Jae Ha was super hot obviously and he was amazing in his fight scenes but I loved Anna too despite popular opinion. I know that she wasn't the most badass and that she got played by the villains a lot but Anna was locked up her whole life with everyone lying to her and yet I still thought she had this inner strength that helped her face all the tragedies in her life while still being kind and positive. In fact it was super obvious that she was supposed to be a young Yoo Jin only Yoo Jin chose power while Anna chose love and family and forgiveness. It's what made Jae Ha fall for her too! I adored the relationship between Jae Ha and Anna and how much they wanted to protect each other in their own ways and how while Je Ha found the one person he cared about after being adrift for so long, Anna found the one person who would put her above everything else. The villains were amazing in this show too from Yoo Jin who you couldn't help but pity at times (even though she created her own mess) to Gwan Soo who was truly mustache twirling evil to Seong Won who you couldn't read until he played his cards. I even loved the politics in this which was a first cause I expected to want to fast forward a lot of it! And let's not forget Se Joon who I could never decide if he was a shitty father or one between a rock and a hard place. He did love Anna but at the same time he loved power more cause if he really loved Anna, he would have run away with her after her mom died. The ending with pretty much everyone dying and Jae Ha and Anna releasing Kumargate before moving to Spain was so beautiful cause karma hit all those evil people in the asses while giving the only two people who deserved it a happy ending. Overall I adored this show and I'd give it a 9.5 / 10!

Touch Your Heart (8/16): Oh Yoon Seo is a popular actress. She is famous for her beautiful appearance, but her acting is bad. She gets involved in a scandal with the son from a chaebol family. Her acting career declines precipitously. Oh Yoon Seo hears that a famous screenwriter wants her to play the lead female role for a drama series. The character works as a secretary for a lawyer. To gain experience for the role, Oh Yoon Seo is required to work as a lawyer's secretary for a few months. Meanwhile, Kwon Jung Rok is an attorney for a law firm. He is arrogant and cold-hearted. One day, his boss asks Kwon Jung Rok to let actress Oh Yoon Seo work as his secretary for 6 months. He is not happy about the situation, but he has to accept.

Goodness this show is such a weird mix of adorable and cringe! I feel so much second-hand embarrassment towards the things that Yoon Seo does that I end up having to skip scenes cause I'm so uncomfortable (that's not a knock on the show but the kind of person I am) but the romance is just so precious that I'm so in love. I love how open and honest our mains are especially Jung Rok who knows that he's not good at dating and makes a lot of mistakes but admits to them readily in such an earnest way that we all including Yoon Seo just fall for him more! It was adorable watching him try to figure out why Yoon Seo was so upset with him and then how to confess to her by trying to write a love letter than turned out sounding like a memo before giving up and just saying what he meant. I do think that Yoon Seo should perhaps lower her expectations just slightly or at least say something to him when she's upset about why she's upset given how much Jung Rok is open to changing the way he acts. Their first kiss was a bit disappointing cause it was too much bug eyed omg what is happening type of kiss which was understandable for their first kiss but then Jung Rok kisses her again and it's more of the same. Hopefully if there's more kissing in the future it's better cause these kinds of kisses make me super uncomfortable cause it always makes me feel like someone's not down with the kiss.

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 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 lists, click here and if you want to see a list of my favorite asian OTPs and ships, click here!

KDRAMA

FINISHED Moorim School (16/16): The Moorim School isn't focused solely on high academic scores. The school teaches its students virtues including honesty, faith, sacrifice and communication. The teachers and students at the school come from different countries and each have their own stories.

I was in the mood for a school drama so I started this one with literally no idea what it was about and to my surprise this turned out to be a fantasy drama with magic. It felt a lot like a Harry Potter show except with martial arts instead of actual magic and I ended up enjoying this show though it felt like there was more episodes than the plot required cause it felt like nothing happened for so long and then suddenly the last two episodes came around and it was like reveal after reveal. I mean it was a ton of fun for those episodes but it made the rest so hard to sit through cause it drives me mad when villains are winning over and over and the heroes are consistently falling into traps until the end. I really enjoyed the school aspect though and I loved our main character Shi Woo and his romance with Soon Duk as well as his friendships with the other students and his mentor/mentee relationship with the Headmaster. I didn't really care for Chi Ang as a character cause he had such a huge inferiority complex and was the kind of second male lead who I hate where he knew the girl he liked was into someone else but refused to back down like damn grow a brain moron. At one point he even asked her what she'd do if he forced her into being with him and she was like I'd kill myself and I'm like how many times does she have to reject you for you to give up?? I loved the fight scenes and the awesome ability Shi Woo inherited from his father and the reunion scene he had with him. Overall I'd give this show a 8 / 10 cause I liked a lot but I was also kinda bored at times.

Romance Is A Bonus Book (8/16): Cha Eun Ho is a successful and handsome writer who is also the youngest chief editor at a publishing company. He has a calm demeanor and remains reasonable at work. He then becomes involved in the life of his childhood friend, Kang Dan Yi who was once a popular copywriter. She is now divorced, a single mother, unemployed and struggling in life though still attempts to find a job, but even with her once good career, she cannot. However, in a desperate attempt to find a job, she lies about her background and begins to work as a temporary worker in the same building under none other than Cha Eun Ho. As they become involved in each other’s life more than often, a love story begins to unfold.

Do you ever just think to yourself what a flip-floppy person you are? Well that's what I thought after I watched the two episodes that aired this week. I literally cannot decide if I think our main couple has chemistry or not! I started this show thinking that it would be like Fight My Way in terms of a long time friendship that felt like more but I just can't stop seeing Eun Ho and Dan Yi as siblings. It probs has to do with how up until episode 8 there was no flirting or sexual tension to be see anywhere and it broke my heart how Dan Yi refused to see Eun Ho as anything but a little brother. She actually called him a little brother for episodes on end and it made me sad. After episode 8 though I do feel a little more of the tension and I have always liked the idea of a couple being each other's safe harbors in a storm but the relationship feels so one-sided. Eun Ho does anything and everything for her and she does nothing for him. It's possible that it's cause her life is a mess and his is pretty smooth sailing but still I'd love to see her do stuff for him too. I also hope that now that Eun Ho has basically spilled his feelings that she'll start to feel them too or at least realize she feels the same way cause she already mentioned that he's the most important person to her since he's the one she thinks about before anyone else. On the plus side there's no second lead syndrome here cause I really can't stand Seo Joon. He just seems creepy to me for some reason and I don't like the vibe I get off of him. As always my favorite parts of these episodes were the relationships between the office workers. I loved watching the scene where Dan Yi, Ms Go and Ms Seo went clubbing and then got drunk and had a sob session. For the first time in a long time (probably since Age of Youth tbh) the female friendships in this show actually feel like real friendships! What girl hasn't got drunk and told her life story to other girls they barely know?

FINISHED The Last Empress (52/52): Set in an alternate universe, in which Korea is a constitutional monarchy in 2018, Oh Sunny is a bright and vivacious musical actress who marries the emperor. She becomes involved in the palace power struggle and a mysterious murder that sets off events that threaten the monarchy itself, while searching for true love and happiness. But, she ends up falling in love with Na Wang Sik who works as a bodyguard for the imperial family. He started working in the palace to take revenge on the person responsible for his mother’s death.

What a disappointment of a finale. I had heard last week that Choi Jin Hyuk was not going to be in the final 4 episodes due to scheduling conflicts and my heart had sunk cause his dynamic with Sunny was my favorite thing about this show and it made me wonder how the show would wrap up without their male lead and if that meant that Sunny didn't end up with a happy ending and if Wang Sik died. To my displeasure the show puttered on to a dissatisfying close which really sours the whole show for me cause I had enjoyed it so much for so long! We spent so many episodes trying to redeem Hyuk or at least make us pity him and I have no idea why cause he was the worst and no amount of sad backstory or pity towards his childhood could change that for me! It made no sense cause it's not like Sunny or Wang Sik were going to forgive him for his crimes so why bother especially since Wang Sik didn't even feel like the main lead of the story towards the back half with his lack of air time compared to Hyuk. I hated that Wang Sik died and that Sunny cried more for Hyuk than Wang Sik and that we ended on the note that this show was actually a tragic love tale between Sunny and Hyuk as if he didn't try to murder her multiple times! I am glad that everyone in the Imperial Family got their comeuppance in the end and I was mostly indifferent to the monarchy being disbanded. I even liked that Yu Ra and her guard were able to live happily ever after but seriously there really didn't feel like there was enough story for the show to extend four more episodes and it leaves me a bit bitter cause we could have had an actual ending if it had ended on time like it was supposed to. Overall I'd give this show a 8 / 10 which sucks cause it was a 9.5 at the start and then a 8 for most of the second half and only dropped to a 7.5 cause of my heavy disappointment in the conclusion.

Touch Your Heart (6/16): Oh Yoon Seo is a popular actress. She is famous for her beautiful appearance, but her acting is bad. She gets involved in a scandal with the son from a chaebol family. Her acting career declines precipitously. Oh Yoon Seo hears that a famous screenwriter wants her to play the lead female role for a drama series. The character works as a secretary for a lawyer. To gain experience for the role, Oh Yoon Seo is required to work as a lawyer's secretary for a few months. Meanwhile, Kwon Jung Rok is an attorney for a law firm. He is arrogant and cold-hearted. One day, his boss asks Kwon Jung Rok to let actress Oh Yoon Seo work as his secretary for 6 months. He is not happy about the situation, but he has to accept.

Raise your hand if you are also watching this show and squealing every time the main leads are together! Honestly they're so much more precious than I expected them to be! I love watching how natural their romance feels and how it's building slowly at a pace that makes sense. Yoon Seo is the first person to really worry about Jung Rok and he's fascinated by her kindness and the mood swings keep him constantly wondering what she's thinking which builds his affection towards her too. It's a little less obvious on Yoon Seo's part why Jung Rok is so appealing to her but I think his kindness and compassion reach out to her too. I was living for how jealous Yoon Seo got over Jung Rok going to lunch with Yeo Reum and then how upset Jung Rok was about it and how he tried so hard to figure out why she was upset. It was also super fun seeing him jealous of Yoon Seo's manager but I was a bit disappointed that his jealously was resolved in two seconds while had basically four episodes of Yoon Seo being jealous. I kinda wanted to see a scene where Jung Rok is pouting at home and Se Won is super confused about what's happening. I was also a little surprised that the case with the wife killing her abusive husband was already solved cause I thought it would be a season long case since it has been in the background since the first episode. I did like how it was portrayed and damn if I didn't feel horrid for everyone involved. The abusive husband was the monster but everyone else was getting punished.

CDRAMA

FINISHED Love O2O (30/30): Xiao Nai is a gaming expert who, courtesy of his basketball skills, academic excellence, swimming talent and game company presidency, also happens to be the most popular student on campus. When he first comes across the gorgeous computer science major Bei Wei Wei, the infinitely talented wunderkind immediately falls in love. But it’s not Bei’s looks that he notices; it’s the ridiculous mastery with which she is commanding her guild and owning everyone in an online multiplayer game that makes her impossible to forget. Now, Xiao Nai must use his skills both in real life and online to capture the adorable but dorky Bei’s heart. But does their love have the XP to succeed, or will this relationship never level up?

I decided to check this drama out cause I kept hearing that it was the best modern day cdrama out there and I loved Yang Yang in Martial Universe and I love stories set in college so I was super down to check it out but after finishing this drama, I'm torn. There was so much that was fun about this show and so much I liked but one major thing that just didn't work and that took away from my enjoyment of it. I really loved the world that the show built and the creative use of gaming. I loved that there was no real villains but antagonists that actually acted like human beings and were led astray or did something out of spite instead of pure evil like a lot of drama villains do. I loved the side characters especially Nai's roommates though Wei Wei's were sweet too. I loved that there were no misunderstandings or dumb breakups in Nai and Wei Wei's relationship and that he was literally the embodiment of perfection as a man and a boyfriend from start to finish. It's here that I have to say my struggle with this show and that struggle is that I didn't really enjoy Nai and Wei Wei as a couple. On paper they are adorable and I still like the idea of them but in actuality, the two had zero chemistry between them and poor Yang Yang was trying his damn hardest but Zheng Shuang looked like she was either in pain every time they kissed or was attempting to act as a piece of wood. She had the personality of a rock when they first started dating and though she relaxed as the show went on, it was not cute and pulled me out of the show every time it happened. On the other hand, I loved the hinted at relationship between Mei and XO! I was stunned when I first started seeing sparks between them cause asian dramas don't usually do gay relationships but as the show went on, it was pretty clear what was happening even if it was never spelled out. Overall I'd give this show a 8 / 10 and I have to say, I was a little disappointed that I didn't love this show like everyone else did though I shouldn't have had such high expectations after hating Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms which everyone loved too...

xoxo Allie

My Top 10 Korean Actresses

And now onto my top 10 favorite Korean actresses starting from number 1 and ending with number 10 with number 1 being my absolute favorite! Make sure to click on the name of the actor to see their bio if you're interested! And don't forget to check out My Top 10 Favorite Chinese Actors, My Top 10 Favorite Chinese Actresses, My Top 10 Favorite Korean Actors, and My Top 10 Favorite Japanese Actors!

Number 1 is Park Bo Young

Number 2 is Jung So Min

Number 3 is Oh Yeon Seo

Number 4 is Gong Seung Yeon

Number 5 is Nam Ji Hyun

Number 6 is Kim Ji Won

Number 7 is Ryu Hwa Young

Number 8 is Seo Ye Ji

Number 9 is Jun Ji Hyun

Number 10 is Park Shin Hye

xoxo Allie

My Top 10 Chinese Actresses

As you all know last week I did my top 10 actors across different asian dramas and I thought I'd continue that only with actresses this week! I did end up skipping Japanese actresses cause as I was making my list I realized that there weren't enough that I liked to make a list so let's jump straight to Chinese actresses! Of course this list goes from 1 to 10 with number 1 being my absolute favorite! Make sure to click on the name of the actor to see their bio if you're interested in learning more! And don't forget to check out My Top 10 Favorite Chinese Actors, My Top 10 Favorite Korean Actors, My Top 10 Favorite Korean Actresses and My Top 10 Favorite Japanese Actors!

Number 1 is Zanilia Zhao

Number 2 is Dilraba Dilmurat

Number 3 is Seven Tan

Number 4 is Sun Yi

Number 5 is Sandra Ma

Number 6 is Jelly Lin

Number 7 is Gabrielle Guan

Number 8 is Zhang Yu Xi

Number 9 is Crystal Zhang

Number 10 is Ju Jing Yi

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 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 lists, click here and if you want to see a list of my favorite asian OTPs and ships, click here!

KDRAMA

FINISHED Best Chicken (12/12): A man works for a big company although his dream is to run a chicken restaurant. A woman who lives at a bathhouse that her late grandfather left behind, only leaves her home when she absolutely has to. She wants to become a webtoon writer. These two meet and grow with each other.

So the finale for this show aired this week and it felt kind of meh to me which is pretty much how I felt about this show in general. I never got bored or hated what I was watching but there was nothing that made me squeal or count down the days to the next episode either. The finale was strange cause all of a sudden Bo Ah's dad was back and he became the villain for the final two episodes and it felt kind of lame cause he appeared made a problem and disappeared too quickly though then again I really wouldn't have wanted to watch a multiple episode arc of him either so I guess it was okay. It was super weird though that he had a right to the building cause I thought the whole point of a will was so that family wouldn't fight over rights to things so it was super lame that suddenly he had a stake in the restaurant. I did love how Bo Ah and Choi Go's relationship progressed in these last two episodes and even Andrew's flirtation with Bo Ah's friend was funny. I like that we ended with the restaurant doing well though I was disappointed with Bo Ah's webtoon arc. I thought she couldn't draw cause that guy was blocking her but now that's not a problem anymore? Honestly it felt like weak writing more than anything. Overall I'd give this show a 7 / 10. It was fine to watch brainlessly but I don't know if I'd ever go back to rewatch it.

Romance Is A Bonus Book (6/16): Cha Eun Ho is a successful and handsome writer who is also the youngest chief editor at a publishing company. He has a calm demeanor and remains reasonable at work. He then becomes involved in the life of his childhood friend, Kang Dan Yi who was once a popular copywriter. She is now divorced, a single mother, unemployed and struggling in life though still attempts to find a job, but even with her once good career, she cannot. However, in a desperate attempt to find a job, she lies about her background and begins to work as a temporary worker in the same building under none other than Cha Eun Ho. As they become involved in each other’s life more than often, a love story begins to unfold.

I ended up enjoying Dan Yi as a character a lot more this week cause she's finally stepping into her own and it's clear that she's very good at what she does. I actually loved seeing her daughter this week but I wish that she had mentioned Eun Ho a bit cause my favorite thing about long relationships in dramas like this is that the leads know everything about one another so it'd only make sense that Dan Yi's daughter would see him as an uncle or something. In that same vein, I wonder if Dan Yi knows that writer everyone keeps talking about is Eun Ho's father and I kinda hope that she does but is playing innocent cause it's not her secret to tell. The fact that she knew the secret behind the title of his last book makes me think so. I also loved the workplace drama we got this week and I'm adoring the second female lead's friendship with Dan Yi and I just really just hope that when she realizes that Eun Ho and Dan Yi are in love that she doesn't go all grrr evil second female lead on Dan Yi cause I'm honestly tired of watching women try to force a guy to be into them when it's like you're better than this. The only downside I can see so far is I'm not sure how I'm feeling about this romance. The relationship feels too much like a sibling one from the start at least on Dan Yi's side and unlike in Fight My Way, there doesn't feel like there's tension or a possibility of more cause Dan Yi is literally running around calling him her little brother and that just doesn't sit right. I wonder if it's the age gap that's bothering me or if I really just don't see any chemistry between them. I do love the idea of them being super close in an us against the world type of way so maybe I won't mind it too much when they do pull the trigger so I'm trying to keep an open mind.

The Last Empress (48/52): Set in an alternate universe, in which Korea is a constitutional monarchy in 2018, Oh Sunny is a bright and vivacious musical actress who marries the emperor. She becomes involved in the palace power struggle and a mysterious murder that sets off events that threaten the monarchy itself, while searching for true love and happiness. But, she ends up falling in love with Na Wang Sik who works as a bodyguard for the imperial family. He started working in the palace to take revenge on the person responsible for his mother’s death.

So we're coming to the end of this drama and secrets are flying out left and right. Everyone found out that Woo Bin was Wang Sik and though it should have been a big deal, it's kind of hilarious how it pretty much amounted to nothing cause Wang Sik pretty much got all the guards on his side so he was able to escape and then to his luck he met Empress Eun who was actually a good person and was able to get back into the palace and pretty much return everything to the status quo minus Hyuk being all bromantic with him. I also liked that we finally learned who killed the Grand Empress Dowager but it was a little strange that she did it herself though I like the idea that she left what amounts to a suicide note and what I'm hoping is another copy of her will in her belongings. It does suck cause I want Sunny and Wang Sik to take down the Imperial Family but the first Empress was killed by Kang Hee and the Grand Empress Dowager committed suicide and though Hyuk and the Empress Dowager had a hand in both, they never physically committed a crime and that makes me wonder how they'll be able to be taken down. The Empress Dowager is growing poppies and I know they can be made to make opiates so are we supposed to assume that the Empress Dowager is running some sort of drug trade to make herself a slush fund? I guess it adds up with her whole being a party animal in her past. I don't know how this show is going to end tbh... Best case scenario is if Yoon becomes Emperor and Ari leaves with Sunny and Wang Sik who get married after Sunny divorces Hyuk and I wouldn't even mind if Yoo Ra ends up happy with that guard cause I've seriously warmed up to her since she joined our side. I do have a fear that Wang Sik is going to die though cause we still haven't done anything about the bullet in his brain and I'm still pissed we never got any real romantic moments between Sunny and Wang Sik!

Touch Your Heart (4/16): Oh Yoon Seo is a popular actress. She is famous for her beautiful appearance, but her acting is bad. She gets involved in a scandal with the son from a chaebol family. Her acting career declines precipitously. Oh Yoon Seo hears that a famous screenwriter wants her to play the lead female role for a drama series. The character works as a secretary for a lawyer. To gain experience for the role, Oh Yoon Seo is required to work as a lawyer's secretary for a few months. Meanwhile, Kwon Jung Rok is an attorney for a law firm. He is arrogant and cold-hearted. One day, his boss asks Kwon Jung Rok to let actress Oh Yoon Seo work as his secretary for 6 months. He is not happy about the situation, but he has to accept.

Everyone was really excited when this drama was announced cause the main couple was the same as the one in Goblin but it was hard for me to start it cause though I wanted to check it out based on the synopsis sounding fun, I wasn't the mega fan of Goblin that everyone else seemed to be so I had no emotional attachment to the main couple and I haven't exactly been the hugest fan of Lee Dong Wook cause the stuff I've seen him in makes him out to be the cold male lead that I don't like but once I finally sat down and checked this drama out, I find it adorable. I love Yoon Seo's character. She's kind and smart and strong. At first I thought she might be the annoying kind of female lead who thinks the world revolves around her (and doesn't understand how having a job works like in Wok of Love with the mother or Introverted Boss where the female lead literally doesn't care about the rules of her job) but I actually was mostly on Yoon Seo's side in the fight at the law firm. It wasn't that she was just not trying hard or ignoring rules but that no one explained to her how things worked and the second someone took the time to explain it, she did much better. Jung Rok seems to be the type of male lead I don't particularly enjoy but I like that he's kind under his prickly skin. It also helps that there's this intense chemistry between our leads that makes everything Jung Rok does feel swoony. I do think the romance is moving a bit faster than I would like cause when the romance in a romcom is fast, the rest of the show is filled with misunderstandings and breakups and I'd rather watch a couple fall in love over like 10 episodes than fall in love in 4 and then break up at 10. I'm also interested to find out what's going on with his friend and the ex who I think both guys liked but she picked the friend instead of Jung Rok. It feels very Suspicious Partner to me. I'm also pretty into the ensemble of the law firm already and I think it'll be fun to follow them too.

CDRAMA

FINISHED Hot Girl (37/37): Guan Xiao Di is a rebellious girl. By chance, she enrolled into a bodyguard training center and befriended an arrogant boy and four talented girls. Through the grueling training program, she transformed into a legendary bodyguard.

I wanted to watch this drama for Dilruba (cause I adore her) and I liked the premise of the show and after finishing this drama I think I had fun but I feel like the show was paced a little weird. The beginning was really fascinating cause it was so different than anything else I had watched but it was a little slow and it wasn't until our main characters joined the bodyguard training camp that I really started to enjoy it. I loved watching the main characters solve puzzles and train hard and learn to be bodyguards. I also enjoyed watching them be bodyguards once they finished training camp and do well at it but there was a stretch in the middle of the show where I was really bored and I'm not sure why other than maybe the romance stalling and the cases feeling kind of boring. The villain being Rock Security was also not really well done cause they popped up halfway through and were literally there to be villains without any good side to them. If they were more grey maybe I would have enjoyed them better and I wonder if maybe longer bodyguard arcs would have worked better instead of having one-off cases. I did love the romance between Xiaodi and Dawei but it also had pacing problems. I felt like they fell in love too quickly and then we weren't even able to enjoy it for more than an episode or two before Xiaodi found out that they were siblings and then the angst wasn't even well done cause Xiaodi barely thought about him and there was waaay to many episodes where Dawei didn't know and once he found out, it started to get interesting again only to stall once again because she still refused to be with him after the truth came out. I feel like we were told more than shown that they loved each other and that really ruined the romance for me. Overall I think this show's concept was more interesting on paper than the way it was done though we did get plenty of fun training and fight scenes. I'd give this show a 7.5 / 10.

DROPPED Shall We Fall In Love (21/35): A story filled with hilarious circumstances that leave you not knowing whether to laugh or cry. It follows a young man's journey from nothing into someone who proves himself at work and wins over love and friendship. Jiang Yi Nan is an unemployed youth with limited options due to his lack of credentials, Nevertheless, he is optimistic and cheerful as he waits among the many people in the jobless pool. During a random encounter, Yi Nan saves Chen Xin Yue who has fallen into the water. Encouraged by his attraction to her and Xu Hao Yu's provocations, Yinan applies to work at the same company as Chen Xin Yue. Yi Nan relies on his hard work and quick thinking to not only secure the job but to become the top applicant of ShenYuan Group's open recruitment. Unhappy with Yi Nan's happy-go-lucky attitude, Xu Hao Yu makes life difficult for Yi Nan at every turn. His girlfriend Liang Ding Fei, on the other hand, is full of curiosity towards Yi Nan. As it turns out, Yi Nan's acceptance was a mere mistake by President Jin who tries to cover it up by roping in colleagues to ensure that Yi Nan is pushed out of the company.

I really thought about keeping up with this one cause I'm nearing the end so I was like come on you can do it but honestly I really couldn't and I couldn't force myself to watch any episodes this week so I think I'm going to drop this one. I was super into the romance at the start but the show slowly dissolved into this weird mess where suddenly I disliked the main character and the show tried to focus up on the workplace drama which sucked cause I didn't like that part from the start and I mostly fast-forwarded through it which made me miss out on a lot of context but I didn't care enough to go back and watch it cause it didn't make much sense in the first place.

FINISHED The Story of Ming Lan (73/73): The Story of Ming Lan, based on the novel written by Guan Xin Ze Luan, follows our heroine through her youth, into her adulthood, and well into her marriage life as well. She’s the 6th child of the Sheng household. Though she is an intelligent and beautiful child, she was not loved by her family (her dad, her sisters, her mom dies early.) She has to hide her intelligence and suffers through the years, hoping to avenge for her mom. During this process she will meet many friends and foes, one of which is our male lead, Gu’s second son, Gu Ting Ye. He has helped and mistreated her before, but also the one to witness her sharp wits and lonely soul. After they get married, they will work together as a power couple, managing the new King’s regime as well as harvesting a world of happiness on their own.

Can you believe this show is over?? I had no idea that it was ending this week cause I thought there were 79 episodes instead of 73 but to my surprise the finale aired and god my heart was in my throat the entire time I was watching these episodes. From Stepmother Gu trying to burn Cheng Garden down to Ming Lan going into premature labor to crazy Aunt Kang trying to murder everyone, Ming Lan did not have a single moment of peace! I was so so stressed by everything but thankfully Ting Ye came back just in time and Ming Lan was able to deliver a healthy baby boy which was amazing. It was super heartbreaking though to see how traumatized Ming Lan was by everything but at least now Ting Ye sees just how much she loves him and we can get past that weirdness. Sidebar but was anyone else living for how excited Ting Ye gets whenever Ming Lan doesn't act calm? Like when he found out she was jealous and then when she threw a tantrum in front of the Empress Dowager? The other point of stress was the Emperor and for a while I was pretty sure that he was putting on a show of being angry with Ting Ye and the Empress and being sick cause before this we last saw him being a good Emperor with the Shen/Zhang thing but then all of a sudden he was acting like this out of nowhere and he kept looking over at this one specific Eunuch who I thought was a spy for the Empress Dowager. But for a stretch of time I really wondered if that was true cause it would be one thing to put on a show and arrest Ting Ye to weed out their enemies but no one told Ming Lan anything and everything that happened since was insane and made me super uncomfortable to watch. The ending felt a bit abrupt cause it was like everyone just died at once but I guess I didn't mind it too much cause I want my couple happy and on top of the world. Overall I did really enjoy this drama and it was so different from any other cdramas I've watched before. I'd definitely give it a 10 / 10!

xoxo Allie