What Dramas Am I Watching This Week?

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 I 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

Devilish Joy (8/16): Gong Ma Sung is a successor to the Sunwoo company. Life seems to be going well until he gets into a car accident while trying to help a woman. Since then, he suffers from memory loss where his memory lasts only a day. Every night before bed, he writes notes about what happened to him that day and the next morning he memorizes everything that happened. Gong Ma Sung then meets Joo Gi Beum, a formerly well-known actress, and falls in love.

Ahhh we're halfway through this show and things are finally moving along! Ma Sung and Gi Beum are literally the cutest sweetest most adorable couple ever and I watch this show for them! Every time they interact I have this huge grin on my face. I love that he finally remembered what happened between them 3 years ago and I'd like to believe that he remembered hearing about that CEO selling her to that dead actor too cause CEO Kim is SUCH a douchebag and I NEED him to be destroyed by the end of this show. Now that he's remembered I would love for him to tell Gi Beum the truth about his memory loss and every time it comes up, I always get my hopes up that maybe this is the time when he'll tell the truth but he never does and it's obnoxious cause now that the evil CEO knows, he'll probs be the one to tell her the truth but in a way that makes it sound like all her fault causing her to break up with him out of guilt cause that's how these shows work. I should be more annoyed with it but I'm just glad that she'll finally know the truth! I'm even warming up to Ha Im cause I find her relationship with Ki Joon adorable. Speaking of adorable, I loved that the secretary chose Ma Sung's side and I was dying every time he pulled out the resignation letter. This show has it's funny moments every once in a while that are so unexpected that they kill me!

The Ghost Detective (14/32): Lee Da Il is a private investigator. Jung Yeo Wool becomes his assistant to solve a mystery related to her younger sibling’s death. They work together to solve other mysterious crimes.

Only two episodes aired this week which is heartbreaking cause of all the shows that I'm currently watching, this one is my favorite and I hate that we lost two episodes but we did learn a little more this week. So as expected Da Il killing the red woman didn't work and now she's even more horrible in that she can not only affect people but now she can touch them and kill them herself too. She told that witness not to say anything about her and even when she wasn't around, he couldn't mention her. Like his memories basically got rewritten. Also she seemed to have creepily gone and gotten dressed in what looked to be Yeo Wool's apartment but I might be wrong about that. I'm glad they were able to get the police to stop suspecting Yeo Wool cause like Da Il said, they really do have more important things to do. Everyone's kinda on board but the detective and the lawyer don't believe in ghosts and I'm not sure why Da Il can't lift a pen or something to prove that ghosts exist and nip that in the bud. We also learned that the detective is into Yeo Wool like I called a couple of weeks ago (honestly I wouldn't be super against that if Da Il is really dead) and that the ex of Yeo Wool's sister also recognizes the red woman so I'm interested to know how he fits into all of this. I'm not thrilled with the fact that Da Il constantly touching stuff is dangerous but again expected cause how else is he supposed to have stakes? It was kind of funny though that all it took was some kind of desperation or strength of will on his part to be able to touch things. I feel like it'll probs be more based on his motives for touching things that will turn him like hurting a human is bad (obviously) but touching a pen and writing isn't.

FINISHED Time (32/32): This is the story of two polar opposite people that come together in tragedy. One remains stuck in time, whilst the other only has a limited amount of time left to live. Seol Ji Hyun is a woman who, although living a hard life, remains positive, upbeat and social. Cheon Soo Ho is the CEO of a restaurant and the son of a wealthy family with a terrible temper and no regard for other people. They both meet briefly under negative impressions of each other. However, their lives become entangled once more when Ji Hyun's sister dies unexpectedly in Soo Ho's residence. From there, Ji Hyun's time stops and she becomes a cold, miserable person who finds nothing to live for. But Soo Hoo, who carries heavy guilt and is drawn to her, promises to himself to use the 6 months he has left to live to help her, whose life was destroyed because of him. In the process, Soo Ho falls in love with Ji Hyun, but how far can love develop when you only have a limited time left to live?

What a terribly sad ending for a terribly sad show you guys. Honestly even to the very last last minute of this show, the only character who tugged on my heartstrings was Soo Ho no matter how much pity I felt for Ji Hyun. I was sobbing once again when she was packing up his clothes and talking about the outfit she met him in and then when she wrote him that letter telling him that she misses him and is trying to live well and that basically she loves him without actually saying that. It was fascinating how despite everything and how much they clearly liked each other, neither said those three little words out loud! I did like that the truth all finally came out and everyone who was involved went to jail though I do wish that the Chairman had gotten more time cause despite everything, he never once changed his mind or repented and truly he might have been the most evil character in this show. It was so satisfying seeing the other son come and beg the chairman for help cause he had only just taken over and he already nearly bankrupted the company. I also did wish that we could have actually seen Ji Hyun be a little happier and I expected her to adopt that kid cause at the very least he would have been a welcome addition to her life. It was also a little funny cause this is one of the first dramas that I have watched where a main lead dies in not a fantasy setting so in the back of my mind I was like so reincarnation? Overall I did enjoy this show but in a wow life is terrible and I hate everything sort of way lol. I'd give it a 8.5 / 10 for sure!

CDRAMA

Age of Legends (6/47): Chan William plays Liu Zi Guang, 30 years old, representing young men with a burning ardor, persevering to the top despite his humble background, displaying stories of love from all around. With a strong sense of justice and courage, he gathers a group of like-minded men. Due to an incident, he disappears from the world for 8 years, returning to find his dad beat up and admitted to the hospital. After delivering his brand of punishment to the deserved people, the nurses fall for his charms and upon meeting our female lead, the cop in charge of the case, they butt heads immediately. Doesn’t help that she discovers his involvement with a case from 8 years ago and is determined to uncover more dirt about him. 

I wasn't sure at first if I wanted to check out this drama because I was burned by Lover's Lies which had a similar plot to this one with the whole undercover drug world thing but my bae William Chan was in this and looking smoking hot on the poster so I decided why the hell not. At the very least I could enjoy his beautiful dimples for a hot second. After watching six episodes, I'm not entirely sure how accurate the synopsis is cause Zi Guang's dad was dead before the show even started and I was pretty sure that this whole show would be about taking down the crime boss aka his sworn brother but your guess is as good as mine. I was dying about how sexy I found William Chan in his scraggly drug lord look which really goes to show you how either I'm just so in love with him or he straight up looks amazing no matter what. I'm really sad that Hu Rong's dad is dead but I sort of expected that as soon as he popped up on screen tbh. I'm really not a fan of the amnesia storyline cause it really does put the poor guy at such a disadvantage so I'm hoping that he'll remember everything soon enough and honestly Hu Rong is a little annoying right now. Like she just decided that he's suspicious cause he's buff, could fight and had a tattoo. Like we know why he is he way he is but why does she assume that he's a bad guy immediately? Also I'm not sure about the timeline in this show. I'm going off on the assumption that he washed up on that beach a few days later but that doesn't explain why his best friend mob boss is acting weird about him cause they didn't have any kind of falling out before he disappeared so like shouldn't the friend want to go get him? I'm interested to see more but I don't predict this show being a favorite of mine. I feel like I just get more attached to cdramas that aren't set in modern day...

Fights Break Sphere (27/45): Xiao Yan is a genius child who suddenly loses all his powers.In a world governed by strength and power, Xiao Yan’s lack of talent is an embarrassment to his family. At the age of 15, Xiao Yan accidentally summons Yao Chen from his mother’s ring. With the elder’s help, Xiao Yan’s skills improve by leaps and bounds. After his entire family is assassinated, Xiao Yan embarks on a journey to find his family’s killer and return peace to the Jianghu (martial world.)

One of the struggles when I watch these kind of mystical wuxia shows are that I literally never understand the rules though I suppose that makes my attachment to what I'm watching stronger.... At first I was annoyed that pretty much everyone who was in any kind of position of power was part of the Blood Sect and how easy it was to infect others cause I thought the show was telling us that they had infected the leader of the academy. But then plot twist you learn that he never was infected and was just acting insane to keep them off his trail. I was so so glad cause it was getting ridiculous that everyone ally we had was evil! And then it seemed that they not only used his absence to infect Xiao Yan (which horrified me more than it should) but also that he was going down a dark path. I was honestly just as disappointed as his teacher in the ring was with him but apparently he was able to beat the darkness and now is able to use both good and evil techniques in battle. Also sidebar but if other people can sense evil auras inside a person, why can't they sense the Soul Palace spies? Done for plot connivence? Anyway I was excited about this group we were building but honestly it just seems like most of them are around to be comedic and heaven forbid Xun'er gets something to do. I'm just hoping that with the Gu Tribe name being dropped so often that it means that eventually she'll have something to fix with them giving her something to do. I am also a bit disappointed with how slow the romance is building but his evil persona did place her importance up with his mom and dad so maybe that's something? I was hoping a little that he would admit to being jealous of whoever that hero was that she told him she liked but unfortunately not....

FINISHED Oh My General (60/60): During the Song Dynasty, Ye Zhao cross dresses to become a general of outstanding ability, receiving a top rank of general. The Empress Dowager constantly worries about Ye Zhao holding too much power and took the opportunity to betroth Ye Zhao to one of the Emperor's nephews, the no-good Prince of Nanping, Zhao Yujin, who possesses remarkable beauty but is pampered, lazy and spends his time on "useless" artistic pursuits. Thus, the story of the real battle of who will take power in this new household begins.

I started this show expecting and hoping for a comedic wuxia show and I ended up finding a really adorable one that I fell in love with! I enjoyed pretty much every moment of this show from it's characters to it's comedy to it's political plot! Imagine that huh? I actually enjoyed watching politics and power struggles for a throne! I loved that the show knew when to be comedic and when to be serious. I loved the romance between our main leads and how they basically switched the male and female role in normal shows. I loved that the king was actually kind and moral and smart for once so he couldn't be swayed by enemies lying to him when they tried to turn him against the people he trusted. I did get a tiny bit bored in the middle of the show when we seemed to switch focus from our main leads to the court politics but it only took a few episodes for me to get back on board. I also was surprised to find how much I fell in love with Crown Prince Hardun as a character and how much I wished that he could have lived happily with Xiyin who I pretty much disliked the entire show (because dude the guy you loved turned out to be a girl so how about you move on and not decide to kill yourself!) I'd like to believe that drinking poison at the end was due to her finding Hardun dead cause she loved him and not out of guilt or sadness from Zhao not being with her. Overall I really enjoyed this show and I'd definitely give it a 9 / 10! The beginning of the show is a little hard to get through but if you stick through it, you'll find an amazing show!

xoxo Allie

What Dramas Am I Watching This Week?

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 I 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 20th Century Boy and Girl (32/32): A top actress/singer who has an innocent soul in contrast to her gorgeous look, a slender airline stewardess who loves food and a young attorney who luckily landed a job at a private law firm but finds herself working long hours... All three of these women were members of the Bongo clique from the time they used to live in the same Seoul Mansion apartment complex. They still stay in touch despite their busy lives. Appearance-wise, one friend seems to have a successful acting career, and the other two work in reputable professions in the airline industry and law, but they deal with a lot of stress in their lives. Their lives as thirties in the big city of Seoul is a stressful one and they try to rekindle the lives they had when they were in their innocent teens while also searching for love and maintaining their deep friendship.

I started this show cause the synopsis sounded very similar to Age of Youth and it really did feel like a mix of that show and Father is Strange which are both two shows that I loved so it wasn't that big of a surprise that I enjoyed this one as well though it wasn't as amazing as those two shows. You know I have a soft spot for male leads that aren't cold and so I adored Ji Won and Jin Jin throughout this show although I did wish that he was less hesitant at the start cause it was clear that Jin Jin liked him but he was so hurt from his ex, he kept wavering and I was thrilled that Jin Jin called him out several times cause if I was her, it would drive me crazy too. Despite that when they did get together, they were pretty adorable. It was the second lead that was really annoying tbh and I don't know why I disliked him so much but I did and it was hard not to roll my eyes anytime he was on screen. I did like his relationship with Ji Won and I wish that his family was showcased as much as the girls'. Speaking out, the friendship between the three girls was amazing and I loved how close they were for 35 years! I also liked Ah Reum's relationship with Woo Sung and Yeong Shim with her lawyer though they never became official. Overall I'd give this show a 8.5 / 10 cause it was a fun watch but not one that'll go down as a favorite!

Devilish Joy (6/16): Gong Ma Sung is a successor to the Sunwoo company. Life seems to be going well until he gets into a car accident while trying to help a woman. Since then, he suffers from memory loss where his memory lasts only a day. Every night before bed, he writes notes about what happened to him that day and the next morning he memorizes everything that happened. Gong Ma Sung then meets Joo Gi Beum, a formerly well-known actress, and falls in love.

I'm struggling a bit with this show cause so much about the show irritates me but damn it all if I don't find it swoony whenever Ma Sung speaks or when the chemistry between our leads is so intense! The whole point of tension in this couple is literally that Ma Sung won't open his mouth and tell Gi Beum the truth about losing his memory. He wants to date her and keeps telling her things like why are you doing this to me but of course she's not into it cause everything from her perspective makes him look like an ass so why would she give him the time of day? I wish they would just sit down and talk for a hot second. And apparently last week we learned that he's dying for some reason and that's apparently an added annoyance to this show that along with the evil aunt I was not interested in though I suppose it is a little better than the only problem being that Ma Sung won't tell the truth. I can't wait to see them use his whole memory thing to convince him he did something when he didn't cause there has to be a reason that he doesn't literally record everything along with his journal cause writing in a journal though helpful cannot cover every single moment! I also think his aunt definitely had something to do with his parents' death and we also learned that the asshole CEO who tried to sell Gi Beum to that actor also knew Ma Sung had caught onto his scheme and purposefully hit him with a truck (like I expected.) I can't wait to see him confront Ma Sung out of fear and actually reveal what happened to him by mistake. Aside from that Ma Sung and Gi Beum's kiss this week was so goddamn hot and I melted how he not only tried to help take the attention away from her but also when he showed up just when she was feeling sad after the show to comfort her. I was hardcore waiting for her to throw herself at him cause that's what I would have done! 

FINISHED My ID Is Gangnam Beauty (16/16): Adapted from a popular webtoon, this drama tells of Kang Mi Rae, a girl once bullied for her looks. As a result, she became insecure, cautious around people and withdrawn. However, Mi Rae decides she wants a fresh start away from bullying and gets plastic surgery to transform her face. When she begins university, she meets Do Kyung Suk from their middle school days, who sees people for what they are on the inside and not the outside; he then becomes attracted to Kang Mi Rae. As Mi Rae begins to get teased once more and labeled "Gangnam Beauty", the cold, aloof but kind inside Kyung Suk becomes the one person that stands up for her and in the process, Mi Rae begins to recover her lost confidence and discovers that true beauty is not on the outside.

This week was the finale of this show and I'm honestly fine with it cause as the weeks went by I lost interest in the main couple of this show ever since I noticed that Mi Rae literally had two expressions and I only really kept watching cause I was interested in all the side characters. Soo Ah was one of my favorites cause of how fun she was to hate. I do feel kinda bad for her cause her backstory was pretty awful (and much more similar to Mi Rae's if she cared enough to find out) and a lot of the men in the college campus are entitled assholes who think a smile is enough to force her to date them but I don't know if it changes too much. She's still a bitch to Mi Rae for no reason and I really can't abide by the idea that someone who got bullied when they were young becomes a bully when they grow up. Despite that she didn't deserve what happened to her and I'm glad that the show ended with her getting some help and finding out who her true friends were such as Eun who literally is the sweetest. I was a little disappointed that none of the side characters hooked up especially the bartender and Mi Rae's other friend (who's name I totally didn't forget.) Their story felt weirdly unfinished tbh. I also loved that Tae Hee got to turn down her ex cause he was an ass and she deserved much better! Other than the main romance I did enjoy this show for what it was and how it told such female empowering stories so I'd give this show a 8.5 / 10!

FINISHED Suspicious Partner (40/40): Noh Ji Wook is a unique prosecutor. He is handsome, hard-headed and intelligent who strives hard to be successful. He is the perfect example of what a prosecutor should be. Later, he becomes a lawyer. Eun Bong Hee is a prosecutor trainee. Once a former taekwondo instructor, she trained to become a lawyer. She is confident and strong, but naive. She is assigned to work under Ji Wook. They work together on a mysterious case involving a sly psychopath murderer. As they're working as a team, they develop affection between them.

After going through almost a two week struggle of trying to find a drama that I enjoyed enough to binge, I came across this one and though on paper it seemed to be everything I wouldn't enjoy, I ended up falling in love with this show!! I adored pretty much every single moment of this show and how it was a rom com with a little action tossed in. Bong Hee was such a delight from pretty much the first scene she was in and I loved how she was confident and strong and sassy. Ji Wook was so sweet and romantic and I loved how he was never the cold male lead type. Their dynamic was everything from when they were fighting to when they were together! Also sidebar but Ji Chang Wook can smolder like no one else. I swear I was melting every time he flirted or when he bit his lip. Ugh. I also loved that their relationship was treating like two adults dating cause it never ceases to amuse me how dramas like us to believe that two 30 years not only have never dated before but that a closed mouth kiss will fluster them so it was everything that these two shared so many kisses and slept together without it becoming a huge thing. The side characters were all fun and I loved seeing the little family the lawyers built as well as the frenemy circle the girls made. The law cases were fun as well and I loved our villain and how crazy he was from the start and how that plot twist went down when you realized that he was there for the gang-rape too! Overall I seriously adored this show and the only downside was the short period of time when Ji Wook and Bong Hee broke up so I think I'd give this show a 9.5 / 10!

The Ghost Detective (12/32): Lee Da Il is a private investigator. Jung Yeo Wool becomes his assistant to solve a mystery related to her younger sibling’s death. They work together to solve other mysterious crimes.

This show has me on the edge of my seat every week! I'm loving that our team is growing larger and larger and that Mr Han was okay even though I really doubted that the show would kill him off. The forensic scientist and the police officer are both on board now and we also learned more about ghost lore in that only bad ghosts can actually move outside of human rules so that's why Da Il couldn't phase through walls and stuff before and that ghosts that come from coma patients can't leave their bodies for too long before returning to where they were which kind of takes away from the theory that Da Il is in a coma and not actually dead. I'm also curious about what happens to him when the woman in red touches him but I bet you if he holds onto her long enough he'll turn into an evil spirit cause ghosts are dead so pain is ultimately meaningless and if we want to give Da Il stakes, turning evil would be a good (but emotionally terrible) one. He already did something to be able to touch things now and it turned his eyes red like when humans are possessed so we're definitely going down this route! It's also a little interesting how much the romance is played up cause I really didn't expect any but it's sweet that Da Il and Yeo Wool are each other's anchors even though our hearts are all going to be broken cause there's no way for them to be together in the end. I also wonder what else is up with Yeo Wool's sister's ex and whether he knew what was happening to her sister or if he can see ghosts too which is why he warned Yeo Wool. I didn't really understand the whole living spirit thing but I think overall if she's not killed while inside her body by someone who would die for a ghost that the exorcism doesn't work so like now that Da Il ruined everything, does that mean that the red woman is now a ghost in a human body like that other possessed body we met this week? If so that's kinda a good thing now that she can't make others hallucinate and in order to kill, she actually has to do it right so it'll be a little easier to stop her no? I feel like we're flying through plot and that makes me super excited cause after struggling in Devilish Joy where I feel like nothing happens, it's so uplifting to watch a show where shit happens!!

FINISHED Thirty But Seventeen/Still Seventeen (32/32): Woo Seo Ri, a violin prodigy at 17 who was about to study in Germany, got into a bus accident and fell into a coma waking up 13 years later. Mentally she is still only 17, while physically she is now 30. Gong Woo Jin is a 30 year old single man who works as a set designer. Due to a trauma he experienced 13 years before, he does not want to have a relationship with others. This series is about a man and a woman whose lives have been mangled due to a grisly accident. Together, they use all their might to try and open the door to happiness that they once thought had been closed to them.

This week was the finale for Thirty But Seventeen and I'm really going to miss this amazing show! When I first started it I didn't realize just how much I was going to fall in love with the world and the characters so saying goodbye was hard! I enjoyed a lot of what happened this week and I loved how the show ended though there were things that I wished had been done a bit differently. I enjoyed the slow build of Seo Ri and Woo Jin's relationship but I wish instead of some of that we could have spread the reveals out a little to maximize the impact and allow us to breathe with each reveal. Seo Ri's version of how she knew Woo Jin as a child was incredibly adorable though and like I called it last week, she just made up an excuse to talk to him so it wasn't his fault that she stayed on the bus longer. I also wish that Woo Jin hadn't run away in the end cause the whole thing left a terrible taste in my mouth cause of poor Chan and just how much he was hurt so the fact that it was brushed under the rug in favor of Chan confessing to Seo Ri was a bit annoying. Like I know he was into her but I feel like those feelings would have taken a backseat after what happened and the fact he even told her for no reason was weird! Despite all that these last two hours were full of amazing moments. I loved that Seo Ri decided against leaving and chose to be happy here and decided that music therapy was what she ultimately wanted to do. Woo Jin was literally boyfriend goals when he said that he'd support whatever decision Seo Ri made even though it broke his heart. I also liked the fast forward and that we got a wonderful happy ending with Chan choosing college and being a kid over growing up too fast, Jennifer leaving and rediscovering herself before returning to her found family and of course Seo Ri and Woo Jin getting married! I really really did enjoy this show and I'd give it a 9.5 / 10 and say you should definitely check this show out if you haven't already!

CDRAMA

FINISHED Bloody Romance (36/36): In the turbulent interregnum following the collapse of the Tang dynasty, a young daughter of a herbalist was tricked and sold into a brothel. After a harrowing escape from death, she eventually found herself in a city of female assassins. Assuming the new name of Wan Mei, she began to learn from ropes of being an assassin from Chang An, a young man who acted as her guide and warder. Over time, Wan Mei and Chang An began to develop genuine affection for each other. But Cha Luo, the leader of the assassins took a dislike to Wan Mei and plotted against the couple with her cohorts. Wan Mei's personality and gifts caused Gong Zi, the hidden owner of Gui Hua City to take a interest on her. Burdened by his hidden identity, Chang An began to distance himself from Wan Mei. The protagonists found themselves embroiled in escalating conspiracies involving deadly betrayals and struggles for power.

I loved some parts of this finale and some parts that I was wished were done better making me wonder if this truly was the end of this show. I loved that Wan Mei is finally Chief and that she had the support of all the other girls in Gui Hua City but I didn't really understand why Cha Luo's shadow turned on her cause I understand that she lost her way and became slightly evil but it still didn't make sense for someone as loyal as him to help the other side. I did laugh at how even to the last scene Wan Mei turned down Gong Zi even though he kept putting himself out there so I was a little surprised that the show didn't end with him falling for his right hand woman. I suppose it does make sense in a way though cause the show seemed to want to give everyone a bittersweet ending. Speaking of, I have no idea if Chang An is still alive or not but I feel like if he was then he would have come back for Wan Mei at some so we never did get a resolution to that but Wan Mei seemed depressed enough for it to be true that he died. Chang An's story was so strange cause it's like a lot of my problems with him started when his secret royal birth came out and that storyline literally went nowhere. The woman who pushed him to lead killed herself (for reasons) and he decided Wan Mei was more important so he basically killed himself too. Overall I did enjoy this show and the music was amazing though I felt like the first half was much better. The show did do a good job with both male leads cause I did waver back and forth between who Wan Mei should pick and that shows that the writing was really good cause usually I have a favorite but in this case I would have been fine with either although the fact that Chang An and Wan Mei never even kissed was hilarious. I'd give this show a 8.5 / 10 and I'd recommend checking it out if you haven't just cause of how unique the plot was even if I wish the writing was better at some points!

Fights Break Sphere (18/45): Xiao Yan is a genius child who suddenly loses all his powers.In a world governed by strength and power, Xiao Yan’s lack of talent is an embarrassment to his family. At the age of 15, Xiao Yan accidentally summons Yao Chen from his mother’s ring. With the elder’s help, Xiao Yan’s skills improve by leaps and bounds. After his entire family is assassinated, Xiao Yan embarks on a journey to find his family’s killer and return peace to the Jianghu (martial world.)

I'm feeling a bit bitter this week cause this show has somehow turned into a harem one with girls throwing themselves at Xiao Yan. It seems that pretty much every woman Xiao Yan meets falls for him and just this week we met three with the important ones being Xiao Yixian and Medusa who is supposed to be Xiao Yan's second wife in the novel (which please show don't do.) It was revealed Yixian's dad was the Ice King who is friends with Xiao Yan's dad and apparently unlike what Yixian kept saying, she was not abandoned but ran away cause she was being a brat which is ridiculous. It was funny for a second how she decided they were married because of how all Xiao Yan's friends reacted but he doesn't really seem to want to change her mind which makes me uncomfortable cause you know I ship him with Xun'er. Xiao Yan and Yixian even went on an one-on-one adventure together and I'm wondering why Xun'er has been relegated to the background repeatedly because I assumed she was the one he was supposed to end up with seeing how she's the one on the poster with him. I also wish that Xun'er had more of a character or a storyline outside of caring about Xiao Yan cause it seems like every other female character has something to do and I wish she would get some screen time for something that makes her a real character and not just a love interest.

FINISHED Martial Universe (40/40): This is a drama adapted from the novel of the same name by Tian Can Tu Dou. It is a story that talks about Lin Dong, a child from a small village who isn't favored by his family. By chance, Lin Dong obtains a mysterious artifact that is coveted by many clans in the martial world. Because of this artifact, Lin Dong is approached by many people of different clans and is forcibly involved in various events of the martial universe.

I just found out that there are in fact 2 seasons of this show and the second season will be 20 episodes long. I guess I was just the moron who didn't read the wikipedia page cause I would have complained a hell of a lot less about the pacing if I had known! I'm still not the hugest fan of why Huan Huan left (cause she was embarrassed of her aging) but the delicious pining Lin Dong was doing was so worth it. It really showed how much he loved her if he wouldn't give up and wanted to fight fate for her. I liked how the cultivating healed her right up and I bet you anything that the Ice Emblem will suddenly decide that her powerful love for Lin Dong is moving enough that the Emblem will make an exception to the memory removal. It was a nice parallel to Lang Tian going to the Darkness Palace for Qing Tan but in his case, he wasn't sincere and I just want her to punch him in his face at some point. Like I guessed she was the Darkness Emblem Successor and I can't wait until he realizes that he was played by the Yimo himself. No one turned on him. He was the moron who coveted fame and fortune over love. Now we have 5 Emblems and there are 3 left but I'm assuming that the tiger and the prince will be the next 2 Emblem masters cause I don't think Qing Zhu will get one as she is the Emblem Protector instead so maybe we'll meet a new character in the second season to take the last one. Also I totally should have seen it coming that the Dao Sect senior we met several times turned on Dao Sect but I always assumed his weird reactions were cause he was in love with Huan Huan. It was heartbreaking to see Lin Dong lose his eyes to defeat the Yimo but it was even worse when he didn't go to Huan Huan when he had the chance cause he didn't want her to see him blind. Both of these lovable morons did the same sacrifice thing and honestly I just can't wait to see more! Overall I did enjoy the first season of this show though I think the second half was a lot better than the first and there were some pacing problems but I loved watching Lin Dong and Huan Huan fall for each other so I'd definitely give this show a 8.5 / 10! Here's hoping the next season will be just as good or even better!

xoxo Allie

What Dramas Am I Watching This Week?

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 I 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

Devilish Joy (4/16): Gong Ma Sung is a successor to the Sunwoo company. Life seems to be going well until he gets into a car accident while trying to help a woman. Since then, he suffers from memory loss where his memory lasts only a day. Every night before bed, he writes notes about what happened to him that day and the next morning he memorizes everything that happened. Gong Ma Sung then meets Joo Gi Beum, a formerly well-known actress, and falls in love.

I really am loving this show and how Ma Sung as much as he wouldn't like to admit it is more of an adorable puppy than a guard dog and though I don't entirely understand why he was so much more of an ass to Gi Beum this time around, I love how she's melting him into a confused little puddle. I'm not a huge fan of the idea that he's remembering her cause he loves her (cause that's not how science works) but I always assumed the reason that he was starting to remember her was cause she was his trigger since he got hurt trying to help her so I guess it's close enough. Also of course he's got so much more trauma than just his amnesia. I do hope that all this CEO stuff with his aunt doesn't lead to rich people struggles cause man oh man do I not care about or want that but seeing the smirk on her face after finding out that he can't be under bright lights does not bode well. Also I don't know why he's hiding so much. Like it's one thing to not tell Gi Beum the truth but it's another to not even tell your cousin. But speaking of, I don't know why he won't just spit it out that the reason he didn't show up/forgot her is cause he got into an accident not cause she wasn't memorable. It would warm her to him significantly but I guess if the show did that then there wouldn't be drama. I'm glad that Gi Beum decided to stage a comeback but I was hoping that she would try to solve what happened to that guy first cause trying to be an idol is really not going to work if everyone thinks she's a murderer. Also sidebar but the fact that the show is trying to convince us that Gi Beum isn't still gorgeous just cause she wears ratty clothes is hilarious.

FINISHED Life (15/16): This series examines the hospital as a breeding ground for misuse of power. It is a place of conflicting interests and clashing egos. The doctors have the power to save lives, but the board has the power to kill doctors. In a building supposedly dedicated to the public’s health, it’s the personal vendettas that fuel people to get up in the morning.

It's finale week for Life and because I actually binged it over two weeks rather than the normal 8 weeks, I'm not too sorry to say goodbye. Part of this is because the show turned out to be much different than I expected (or wanted tbh) it to be and part of this is because I didn't have the time to get attached to these characters and this world. I could understand objectively how well rounded these characters were but none of them charmed me or made me love them which led to a bit of a disconnect. I did cheer out loud though for Director Oh who swept in like a badass and smacked those gangster like Reconstruction Team around. Honestly most of the stuff that happens in this show doesn't feel legal but perhaps it is and it's just morally reprehensible which it why it feels so wrong? Either way the lesson of this show is once again rich people are the goddamn worst and really should learn how not to be monsters. Even the poor president got used and used until he wasn't of use to the chairman anymore and then tossed him out. I liked that not all the problems in the hospital got solved by the end of this show cause that might have felt a bit too unreal but the hospital was able to keep from being privatized so that was a win and tbh having a doctor as president might be a good thing! Overall this show was fine though a bit lighter on the medical side than I wanted so I'd give it a 7.5 / 10.

My ID Is Gangnam Beauty (14/16): Adapted from a popular webtoon, this drama tells of Kang Mi Rae, a girl once bullied for her looks. As a result, she became insecure, cautious around people and withdrawn. However, Mi Rae decides she wants a fresh start away from bullying and gets plastic surgery to transform her face. When she begins university, she meets Do Kyung Suk from their middle school days, who sees people for what they are on the inside and not the outside; he then becomes attracted to Kang Mi Rae. As Mi Rae begins to get teased once more and labeled "Gangnam Beauty", the cold, aloof but kind inside Kyung Suk becomes the one person that stands up for her and in the process, Mi Rae begins to recover her lost confidence and discovers that true beauty is not on the outside.

Mi Rae is FINALLY growing a backbone and it's so beyond time cause if I had to listen to one more episode of her being like "pretty people deserve to be with other pretty people and what would people say" I was going to lose it. Like I get it. Everyone is shallow but that doesn't mean that Mi Rae should never do anything ever in fear of people thinking one way or another about her! I was thrilled that she finally owned up to her feelings and now Kyung Suk and she are dating though even before that I enjoyed that both knew how the other felt and they didn't really stress about misunderstandings. It was a bit annoying watching them run around hiding their relationship cause they could have just been like yeah we're hanging out what of it cause like we've seen over the course of the season, everyone assumes Soo Ah and Kyung Suk are a couple anytime they even look at each other but Mi Rae and Kyung Suk can literally be together 24/7 and everyone's like oh Kyung Suk just doesn't have any other friends. Like seriously what is this double standard even? The Soo Ah smackdown was also everything. I'm starting to understand her crazy a little bit better but it doesn't mean I pity her anymore than I did. She's still the worst and I'm glad that not only did Kyung Suk and Mi Rae read the room with her but that Eun and the other senior girls are figuring it out as well. Soo Ah's been juggling too many balls in her attempt to have every boy like her while trying to be nice to all the girls and it was about time she started to see those consequences. Next week is the finale and I'm curious to see how this show ends though I don't know if I'll miss it or not....

The Ghost Detective (8/32): Lee Da Il is a private investigator. Jung Yeo Wool becomes his assistant to solve a mystery related to her younger sibling’s death. They work together to solve other mysterious crimes.

I may or may not be in love with this show after this week. I didn't even realize how much I enjoyed not only the acting but the writing cause at the end of every episode I'm like damn what happens next! I was shocked to know that both Da Il and Yeo Wool knew that Da Il was a ghost basically from the first moment they met again but looking back at the way it was filmed and the way they acted, it makes sense and I love it! I also love that they have an even stronger reason to work together now that they know that the woman in red threatened their loved ones into killing themselves to protect each other. We also learned that apparently people in comas can be ghosts too so now I'm fairly certain that Da Il isn't dead dead but probs in a coma especially after not finding his body. I'm sure the woman in red is saving that reveal for the final battle. I wonder if only people in comas can be ghosts cause otherwise we'd see so many of them on the streets like in Goblin or A Korean Odyssey no? Mr Han finding out and believing was awesome and I hope he stays okay cause I love having him on the team. We also met the ME who can sort of sense when a ghost is around and she'll be a great help I'm sure. Also do we think killing the body of the woman will kill the ghost? I suppose it all depends on the idea of whether only coma patients can be ghosts or not. If that's not the case, then the only way to stop her is to wake her up and that's not really something they could do. 

Thirty But Seventeen/Still Seventeen (28/32): Woo Seo Ri, a violin prodigy at 17 who was about to study in Germany, got into a bus accident and fell into a coma waking up 13 years later. Mentally she is still only 17, while physically she is now 30. Gong Woo Jin is a 30 year old single man who works as a set designer. Due to a trauma he experienced 13 years before, he does not want to have a relationship with others. This series is about a man and a woman whose lives have been mangled due to a grisly accident. Together, they use all their might to try and open the door to happiness that they once thought had been closed to them.

My god guys why is this one of the best dramas I've watched in a while? I love how problems that you always think are going to last for a while are solved through talking it out which is so rare in a drama! Woo Jin found out that the girl he was crushing on when he was younger was actually Seo Ri and not Su Mi. Seo Ri found out that Su Mi actually died in that bus accident and that not only was Woo Jin crushing on her when they were young but that he was the guy that she liked too. Chan found out that Woo Jin and Seo Ri are dating and Seo Ri's doctor friend found her and found the guy who had been paying for her hospital fees. I was also thrilled with Woo Jin's reaction to Seo Ri's doctor friend cause rather than get all possessive and jealous, he calmly accepted his presence and even when the friend tried to get all alpha male on him, Woo Jin didn't rise to the bait and I was melting cause it's one of the only times I've ever seen the male lead act this way in the face of "competition!" I was worried that he would freak out over Seo Ri being who she was cause I thought that in his mind he would still blame himself for her losing so much time and unfortunately I was right but thankfully the show took the airport troupe and flipped that on his head. Woo Jin did try to leave but ultimately decided not to! I was sobbing my little heart out during the third and fourth episode mostly cause of how Chan was worried and upset and I swear Woo Jin better make it up to him! We also learned that the reason Jennifer is the way she is now is that she lost her husband in that accident and the stress from that caused her to lose her baby too! I think that the man paying for Seo Ri's bills is actually going to be the bus driver (who I thought might have been Jennifer's husband but nope) and that Seo Ri is going to tell Woo Jin that she actually didn't need to get off on the stop she asked him about and only did that so she would have an excuse to talk to him cause why else would she be meeting her friend on the next stop?

Time (28/32): This is the story of two polar opposite people that come together in tragedy. One remains stuck in time, whilst the other only has a limited amount of time left to live. Seol Ji Hyun is a woman who, although living a hard life, remains positive, upbeat and social. Cheon Soo Ho is the CEO of a restaurant and the son of a wealthy family with a terrible temper and no regard for other people. They both meet briefly under negative impressions of each other. However, their lives become entangled once more when Ji Hyun's sister dies unexpectedly in Soo Ho's residence. From there, Ji Hyun's time stops and she becomes a cold, miserable person who finds nothing to live for. But Soo Hoo, who carries heavy guilt and is drawn to her, promises to himself to use the 6 months he has left to live to help her, whose life was destroyed because of him. In the process, Soo Ho falls in love with Ji Hyun, but how far can love develop when you only have a limited time left to live?

This week had four amazing episodes that not only looked at the aftermath of Soo Ho's death but allowed for weird team-ups and some of the truth to finally come out. I loved that Soo Ho left letters for everyone in his life and even in his letters, he's such a cinnamon roll that attempted to see everyone else's perspectives. I was a little disappointed that he didn't tell Ji Hyun that he loved her and I kept waiting and waiting cause it was obvious how he felt about her but maybe it's more powerful seeing the love they have for each other? Like I actually burst into tears seeing Soo Ho's bucket list and how everything on there was stuff he wanted to with Ji Hyun. Meanwhile I loved how Ji Hyun talked about him being in her heart and lost it at Lawyer Shin when he touched the turtle bowl and the police for going in his room cause that was Soo Ho's and how dare they. I also loved that Ji Hyun teamed up with Chae Ah cause the chairman really is the worst cause even when his son died, he continues to lie. It was poetic seeing Chae Ah in the same position that Ji Hyun was at the start of this show. Also straight up someone needs to kill that swarmy cop who makes my blood boil every time he opens his mouth. I don't think Ji Hyun is dead cause Shin shot her in the shoulder but I do think it was a plan Shin came up with on the fly and that perhaps he recorded the chairman telling him to kill her. If she really is dead that would be insane and I would honestly clap for the writers for making this show a true tragedy though it would be unfortunate that only the bad guys lived to see another day.

CDRAMA

Bloody Romance (32/36): In the turbulent interregnum following the collapse of the Tang dynasty, a young daughter of a herbalist was tricked and sold into a brothel. After a harrowing escape from death, she eventually found herself in a city of female assassins. Assuming the new name of Wan Mei, she began to learn from ropes of being an assassin from Chang An, a young man who acted as her guide and warder. Over time, Wan Mei and Chang An began to develop genuine affection for each other. But Cha Luo, the leader of the assassins took a dislike to Wan Mei and plotted against the couple with her cohorts. Wan Mei's personality and gifts caused Gong Zi, the hidden owner of Gui Hua City to take a interest on her. Burdened by his hidden identity, Chang An began to distance himself from Wan Mei. The protagonists found themselves embroiled in escalating conspiracies involving deadly betrayals and struggles for power.

The problem with a lot of cdramas as I find is that their episode count is so high that sometimes I find myself falling out of love with shows that I previously adored. I'm not entirely sure what doesn't work for me anymore but I have a feeling it all started going downhill from the moment we realized Chang An's true identity and then it kept spiraling with how indecisive Wan Mei was. One minute she loves him, the next she doesn't. One minute she wants to leave Guihua, the next she wants to be chief. It's honestly exhausting and I'm kind of over this show. There wasn't anywhere near as many assassinations as I had hoped for when the show started and even the Chang An and Wan Mei relationship built up too quickly so we were left watching them will they/won't they for episodes upon episodes which is the least fun part of a relationship! I also don't love how Wan Mei treats Gong Zi in general but it's also kind of annoying that everyone keeps telling her how she should love him cause he did this or that for like as if love works like that. Chang An the weirdo was supposed to leave Guihua City but instead he got involved in more drama and honestly there's like four episodes left and I don't understand at what point he's supposed to take the throne. Also I'm sure Gong Zi is going to be fine. Honestly I never really thought he would die.

DROPPED Candle In The Tomb (8/21): Hu Ba Yi is well versed in Feng Shui with specialization in tomb configuration, which he learned from an antique book he inherited from his family. The knowledge saved him when he fell into a ditch in a snow avalanche in Tibet. And again when he and his friends joined an archaeology team to explore the "ghost cave" located in Taklamakan Desert. As he helped the team navigate through the dangers, he couldn't help feeling that someone had predicted their every move and designed the traps and hidden passages accordingly.

I really wanted to like this show cause it sounded similar to The Mystic Nine with it's plot being about tomb raiders but from almost the first episode I was bored out of my mind which makes me wonder what went wrong in this show for me when this show is so highly rated! I think my problem stems from the fact that I didn't connect to any of the characters and neither was I charmed by any of them unlike in Mystic Nine where from the start I fell in love with so many of them. Ba Yi seemed bored by everything and his best friend was a moron as was pretty much all the archaeologists except for Shirley who just was awful with her secrets and lying and disregard for pretty much everyone. Now I could have gotten past a lot of this but 8 and a half episodes in and we didn't spend as much time in tombs as I would have liked and the time we did was mostly to character build but when I didn't enjoy the characters, there was no fun in seeing them be themselves. I tried three separate times to get through  episode 1 and then I kept pushing forward hoping that something in the show would catch my attention only to be repeatedly let down. Honestly if you're looking for a tomb raiding show, I would say skip this and watch The Mystic Nine instead.

Fights Break Sphere (12/45): Xiao Yan is a genius child who suddenly loses all his powers.In a world governed by strength and power, Xiao Yan’s lack of talent is an embarrassment to his family. At the age of 15, Xiao Yan accidentally summons Yao Chen from his mother’s ring. With the elder’s help, Xiao Yan’s skills improve by leaps and bounds. After his entire family is assassinated, Xiao Yan embarks on a journey to find his family’s killer and return peace to the Jianghu (martial world.)

This show has turned out to be a lot sillier than I expected it to be but I'm not complaining cause I think it's pretty fun! The bullies were a little intense especially since most of the teachers at this school are prejudiced against Xiao Yan so they took the side of the bullies but of course two of the three bullies ended up joining the Blood Sect so they're pretty much gone from the show. The last bully was trounced so badly that apparently he spent a whole night sobbing outside of a teacher's room and the visual the description described was everything! I love how strong and badass Xiao Yan is and just how much he loves Xun Er though I can't decide if it's more than sibling love for him cause we know she loves him. I think we need some jealously to flare up before I can really tell but I doubt that'll happen since when the main character is a guy, no one else likes his leading lady unlike when the lead is a female then every person she meets is into her. We did get a moment where they were on top of each other and faces pressed together and I think Xiao Yan felt some feels but it was hard to tell cause he was pretty stone-faced. I also love how slowly but surely Xiao Yan is making as many friends as enemies. This week he got the leader of the Medicine Sect who I adore now. I also liked the switch up at the end of the week where we left the school and went monster hunting cause the school duels were getting a little repetitive. Episode 12 was a little boring cause I didn't really care for that Cloud Mist girl but I guess he does need to make allies with other clans.

Martial Universe (36/40): This is a drama adapted from the novel of the same name by Tian Can Tu Dou. It is a story that talks about Lin Dong, a child from a small village who isn't favored by his family. By chance, Lin Dong obtains a mysterious artifact that is coveted by many clans in the martial world. Because of this artifact, Lin Dong is approached by many people of different clans and is forcibly involved in various events of the martial universe.

So I'm looking at the episode count and wondering if maybe this show will have two seasons cause I cannot imagine Lin Dong getting all 8 emblems, fighting for Huan Huan not to be forever incased in that bubble and defeat the Yimo in 4 more episodes.... I know I do this every week but let's count emblems! We have 3, Ling Tian has 1 but that still leaves 4. Lin Dong is focused on getting to Huan Huan and saving her so there's no chance that he cares enough to travel to other realms to get the emblems anyway which is why I'm thinking there must be a season 2 planned especially since we met new people this week that makes me feel as though new main characters are being introduced and with it being so late in the game, that doesn't make sense. For some reason I also didn't realize that each emblem needs it's own successor and mostly assumed that Lin Dong was supposed to get them all but after this week I'm guessing that each of our main characters will become one. At the very least Lin Dong's sister is in the Dark Palace so she can grab the emblem from there. Over on the romance side, Lin Dong finally realized that he loves Huan Huan and they had some super cute moments (and one super awkward kiss) but overall I was disappointed with how the angst happened cause I was so looking forward to Huan Huan having to leave and Lin Dong going after her but instead we got multiple episodes of weirdness and then Huan Huan left cause she was "too ugly" now. I do hope that she heals herself by cultivating or whatever cause I really don't like this storyline. 

DROPPED Princess Agents (15/67): The story takes place during the chaotic times of Wei, where innocent citizens are often kidnapped and turned into slaves. Slave girl, Chu Qiao was thrown into a forest along with other slaves and becomes the next hunting target for the rich lords. She is saved by the Prince of Yanbei, Yan Xun. Afterward, she is brought into a powerful family of Yu Wen and witnesses their bloody power struggle. Seeing this, she swears to take her younger sister and flee from the situation. However, she catches the attention of Yu Wen Yue and undergoes strict training while building a sense of companionship with Yan Xun. Drama focuses on Chu Qiao's life beliefs and her struggle to survive in a cruel and unfair world.

Honestly guys I don't think I'm a fan of this show. Like Candle Tomb it took me two tries to attempt to start this show and eventually I started to enjoy it but as the episodes go on, I'm less and less interested again. The pacing of this show is so slow and the one and only thing I enjoy about this is Chu Qiao and Zanilia Zhao's portrayal of her. Honestly that's what made me stick around at the start of this show cause I adored her in Mystic Nine and I was stunned to see how different Chu Qiao was compared to her previous character and it fascinated me enough to want to watch more. Unfortunately I accidentally got spoiled about this show and how despite me wanting to enjoy the spy aspect of the show (which seemed the most interesting to me), I found out that there is barely any spying in most of this show and that Chu Qiao runs off with the second lead which is annoying cause I find the second lead overbearing. Though then again the main lead is the same so I'm not really in this show for the romance but the idea of what happens sounds so boring. I really struggled to decide if I wanted to keep watching this just to see Zanilia Zhao kill it or if I'd rather my attention go somewhere where I actually have fun or fall in love with a show and I decided that with so many amazing dramas out there, why struggle through one that just didn't click for me?

xoxo Allie

Top 10 Nickelodeon Shows Of My Childhood

As promised, here's my Cartoon Network list! If you're also curious, check out my Top 10 Disney Shows and Top 10 Cartoon Network Shows lists as well!

1. Avatar: The Last Airbender
2. Danny Phantom
3. Zoey 101
4. The Fairly Odd Parents
5. Drake & Josh
6. The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron
7. Chalkzone
8. Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide
9. Blue's Clues
10. Rugrats

xoxo Allie

Top 10 Cartoon Network Shows Of My Childhood

As promised, here's my Cartoon Network list! If you're also curious, check out my Top 10 Disney Shows and Top 10 Nickelodeon Shows lists as well!

1. Star Wars: The Clone Wars
2. Young Justice
3. Teen Titans
4. Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends
5. Chowder
6. Ben 10: Alien Force/Ben 10: Ultimate Alien
7. Total Drama Series
8. Dexter's Laboratory
9. Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy
10. PowerPuff Girls

xoxo Allie

Top 10 Disney Shows Of My Childhood

So I was thinking about the shows I loved as a child the other day and it made me want to actually make a list of those shows based on channel so I'll be listing them from 1 to 10 with 1 being my favorite show! Up first is The Disney Channel. If you're also curious, check out my Top 10 Cartoon Network Shows and Top 10 Nickelodeon Shows lists as well!

1. Kim Possible
2. Suite Life of Zack And Cody
3. Wizards of Waverly Place
4. American Dragon: Jake Long
5. Austin And Ally
6. Hannah Montana
7. Life With Derek
8. The Proud Family
9. Phineas And Ferb
10. Sonny With A Chance

xoxo Allie

What Dramas Am I Watching This Week?

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 I 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

Devilish Joy (2/16): Gong Ma Sung is a successor to the Sunwoo company. Life seems to be going well until he gets into a car accident while trying to help a woman. Since then, he suffers from memory loss where his memory lasts only a day. Every night before bed, he writes notes about what happened to him that day and the next morning he memorizes everything that happened. Gong Ma Sung then meets Joo Gi Beum, a formerly well-known actress, and falls in love.

What an adorable first two episodes! It reminded me so much Legend of The Blue Sea with the whole first meeting set during what seems to be a vacation for our hero before amnesia hits and our heroine is the only one who remembers. Their second meeting of course wasn't as cute but it's weird cause Ma Sung seems to be more like an ass now. I do hope that soon Ma Sung like Joon Jae basically melts in front of the adorableness that is the woman he loves. Honestly as you know it's basically my kryptonite seeing a rough guy (rough not cold) melt when the cheerful girls charms him! It's really sad what has happened to Gi Beum since they last met 3 years ago and it's heartbreaking that Ma Sung got into that accident when trying to save her. I really like that Gi Beum seems to still be a positive and kind person even after all the trauma she went through cause I always think the strongest characters are the ones that remain good under the worst circumstances. I'm assuming by the end of this show Ma Sung will remember everything again and I do hope that not only does the truth come out about that creepy producer but also that Gi Beum is able to make a comeback. I think this show will be the exact cute and fluffy rom com I've been waiting for!

Life (14/16): This series examines the hospital as a breeding ground for misuse of power. It is a place of conflicting interests and clashing egos. The doctors have the power to save lives, but the board has the power to kill doctors. In a building supposedly dedicated to the public’s health, it’s the personal vendettas that fuel people to get up in the morning.

When this show originally came out I was planning on checking it out but the subs were delayed for a while and then eventually I decided that this show wasn't worth it so it wasn't until this week when I finally became curious enough to go back and check it out since some of my other shows ended. When I first started this show, I wasn't entirely sure how I feel about it cause objectively I could see that it was written really really well (like Circle level well) and I loved that pretty much all the characters were grey rather than black and white but despite that all, I was watching a bit on autopilot but as the show is coming to an end I've gotten more and more excited about it. The president of the hospital is a fascinating character cause he's originally portrayed as evil but over time you realize that though he's not exactly on the up and up, neither are most of the doctors in the hospital which leads to what is causing me a little bit of struggle. There's so much politics happening in this show and so little medicine that it kind of feels like the show could have been set in pretty much any setting which is disappointing cause I was hoping for more of a medical drama with politics thrown in here and there (more like The Night Shift if you've watched that American show.) I am loving the relationship between Jin Woon and Sun Woo cause it started out feeling like maybe the brothers didn't like each other that much but as the episodes passed by, you saw more and more of how much they actually love each other. I do kind of wish the romance was building between Jin Woon and No Eul rather than what we're getting but this isn't really a romantic show so it doesn't bother me that much. I can't wait to see how the hospital finally fights back and how they work together with the president to kick out the chairman who's the real black and white villain in this story!

My ID Is Gangnam Beauty (12/16): Adapted from a popular webtoon, this drama tells of Kang Mi Rae, a girl once bullied for her looks. As a result, she became insecure, cautious around people and withdrawn. However, Mi Rae decides she wants a fresh start away from bullying and gets plastic surgery to transform her face. When she begins university, she meets Do Kyung Suk from their middle school days, who sees people for what they are on the inside and not the outside; he then becomes attracted to Kang Mi Rae. As Mi Rae begins to get teased once more and labeled "Gangnam Beauty", the cold, aloof but kind inside Kyung Suk becomes the one person that stands up for her and in the process, Mi Rae begins to recover her lost confidence and discovers that true beauty is not on the outside.

Mi Rae was irritating me a bit this week because even if I can = understand where she's coming from, personally I wouldn't have acted the way she did with her treatment of Kyung Suk. It was way out of line for her to yell at him or act as though it was his fault when she had feelings for him but was too scared to do anything about them in the fear of being gossiped about by others. I hope that soon she realizes that you are gossiped about regardless of what you do (especially as a girl) and you shouldn't let fear stop you from doing anything cause once you do, you will be filled with nothing but regrets later. I also straight up don't understand Soo Ah cause the girl knows that Kyung Suk basically despises her and now Mi Rae doesn't like her either so continuing to play nice is ridiculous as well as trying to get in the way of them especially since even if Mi Rae does read a situation incorrectly, Kyung Suk is going to do anything possible to clear it for her. I loved how her trying to snitch on Kyung Suk and Mi Rae going to the police station and throwing herself at him went so sideways so I was cackling since I'm living every time she gets the beatdown for literally anything. I did really enjoy the stuff with Kyung Suk's mom and sister cause it was so sweet seeing them trying to bond and how happy the sister was with something as simple as eating leftover rice her mom made.

The Ghost Detective (4/32): Lee Da Il is a private investigator. Jung Yeo Wool becomes his assistant to solve a mystery related to her younger sibling’s death. They work together to solve other mysterious crimes.

I decided to check out this drama cause I've been so low on fantasy dramas for a while now and I wanted to check a new one out but I didn't really know what this one would be about so I decided to check it out and so far I'm really enjoying it! Can you say plot twist or what??? I was totally thrown when the reveal at the end of episode 4 happened where we found out that Da Il is actually dead! I didn't think the title of this show was so literal! I've been super into detective stories as of late so I was excited that this one is about a PI. I honestly expected this show to have weekly cases but one that overarches throughout the season but now I'm thinking that the case of the red dress ghost will probably be what the whole mystery is about! I was curious at first about whether this woman in a red dress was the only ghost in this world or if there are more but now that Da Il is a ghost, we definitely know there's more. I wonder what causes one person to become a ghost and not another cause Da Il became one but Yeo Wool's sister didn't. I also wonder if there will be a reason why Yeo Wool can see ghosts when no one else can or if we'll just hand wave it away cause it seems that not only can she see them but she can touch them cause she was touching Da Il during episode 3 and 4. I was also low key hoping for a romance between our main leads and though that's technically still possible, I don't know if the show will go there now...

Thirty But Seventeen/Still Seventeen (24/32): Woo Seo Ri, a violin prodigy at 17 who was about to study in Germany, got into a bus accident and fell into a coma waking up 13 years later. Mentally she is still only 17, while physically she is now 30. Gong Woo Jin is a 30 year old single man who works as a set designer. Due to a trauma he experienced 13 years before, he does not want to have a relationship with others. This series is about a man and a woman whose lives have been mangled due to a grisly accident. Together, they use all their might to try and open the door to happiness that they once thought had been closed to them.

The first two episodes this week weren't so great but everything about the third and fourth was so incredible that it more than made up for what I didn't like in the first two. It was heartbreaking to find out that Seo Ri was invited to play just so she could be made a spectacle of and her reaction to when Woo Jin tried to warn her was heartbreaking. This included her steamrolling over his confession to her though honestly Woo Jin that was pretty sucky timing to be confessing cause of course she's going to focus on the other stuff you said! One thing this show does so well is not drag out drama and so something like this which should have taken episodes to solve was fixed in the next episode when Woo Jin and Seo Ri actually plot twist talked about their feelings! Like OMG can you even imagine? Problems can be solved by talking about them! I also adored how they supported each other but the best was how perfect their first kiss was. Both leaned in at the same time and it was beautiful! Poor Chan still has no idea and it's going to be so sad when he finds out. We're only a little past halfway through this show and it's crazy cause I feel like we're so much further along than we are! I'm glad though that these two got together now cause her doctor friend still has to come in and we need to find out what happened with her aunt and uncle cause now it seems like her aunt cut ties but her uncle is still looking out for her!

Time (24/32): This is the story of two polar opposite people that come together in tragedy. One remains stuck in time, whilst the other only has a limited amount of time left to live. Seol Ji Hyun is a woman who, although living a hard life, remains positive, upbeat and social. Cheon Soo Ho is the CEO of a restaurant and the son of a wealthy family with a terrible temper and no regard for other people. They both meet briefly under negative impressions of each other. However, their lives become entangled once more when Ji Hyun's sister dies unexpectedly in Soo Ho's residence. From there, Ji Hyun's time stops and she becomes a cold, miserable person who finds nothing to live for. But Soo Hoo, who carries heavy guilt and is drawn to her, promises to himself to use the 6 months he has left to live to help her, whose life was destroyed because of him. In the process, Soo Ho falls in love with Ji Hyun, but how far can love develop when you only have a limited time left to live?

I'm not crying, you're crying! Who cares if Soo Ho probs just died this week! Not me! I just have some dust in my eyes. I feel a little empty after this week and honestly I should have expected how sad this show was going to be from the start but I always felt like there was a hint of hope amidst the pain but recently it's been all gloom and doom! I don't know how I feel anymore and honestly neither do any of the characters! I was disappointed as hell that Ji Hyun blamed Soo Ho for everything and though I understand why most of her ire is pointed towards him (cause she trusted him more than anyone) it was breaking my heart to see how he was being treated. Soo Ho was half blind and dying and still only cared about her and I was dying right alongside him. It was sweet to watch how she was slowly thawing in the face of his kindness and I feel like if he wasn't actually terminally ill, eventually they might have been okay. I mean he's in love with this girl and she's in love with him but his guilt and her anger are blocking it out. I'm a little heartbroken that we didn't get a love confession from Soo Ho before he died and honestly I don't know how Ji Hyun can feel any emptier after losing the last person in the world who cares for her. I really do hope that this show doesn't end with Ji Hyun and Lawyer Shin together again cause he might fight against W Group with her now that he's been fired cause Lawyer Shin is an asshole and she deserves better. We've got two more weeks of episodes left if I'm calculating that correctly and honestly I don't even know if I want to keep watching this show without Soo Ho.

CDRAMA

Bloody Romance (29/36): In the turbulent interregnum following the collapse of the Tang dynasty, a young daughter of a herbalist was tricked and sold into a brothel. After a harrowing escape from death, she eventually found herself in a city of female assassins. Assuming the new name of Wan Mei, she began to learn from ropes of being an assassin from Chang An, a young man who acted as her guide and warder. Over time, Wan Mei and Chang An began to develop genuine affection for each other. But Cha Luo, the leader of the assassins took a dislike to Wan Mei and plotted against the couple with her cohorts. Wan Mei's personality and gifts caused Gong Zi, the hidden owner of Gui Hua City to take a interest on her. Burdened by his hidden identity, Chang An began to distance himself from Wan Mei. The protagonists found themselves embroiled in escalating conspiracies involving deadly betrayals and struggles for power.

I keep wavering back and forth about whether I feel bad for Gong Zi or not. One minute I want Chang An and Wan Mei to be together and the next I want her to pick Gong Zi. Mostly I think it's just a knee jerk reaction to being pissed at Chang An. Ever since I found out he was a secret king I've been a bit annoyed cause I could not give less of a shit about a royal birth secret especially when it causes Chang An to pull away from Wan Mei. It's heartbreaking every time she reaches out to him and tries to get him to tell her the truth but all he says is that he's sorry and waits until she's gone to break down. Gong Zi on the other hand is so fascinating cause I can never tell what he's thinking. I do think he's a terrible person at his core but his love for Wan Mei tempers that a bit and it was obnoxious as hell how quickly Wan Mei distrusted him. Like after all they've been through she should at least give him some credit. He literally just told you he loved you this morning, do you really think he's going to kill you in the evening? If I'm honest though, both men are such assholes and though they do love Wan Mei in their own ways, each puts things above her and that's tough cause though I understand why they do what they do, Wan Mei clearly wants someone who will put her above everything else. At the same time, she's one of the most indecisive main characters cause one minute she wants nothing but to be away from Guihua City and the next she is angry that the men in her life want to push her away and fight by themselves. Girl the only reason Chang An is saying this is cause five seconds ago that's what you wanted! If you had always wanted to be an assassin, he would have helped you with that! Make up your mind!

Fights Break Sphere (4/45): Xiao Yan is a genius child who suddenly loses all his powers.In a world governed by strength and power, Xiao Yan’s lack of talent is an embarrassment to his family. At the age of 15, Xiao Yan accidentally summons Yao Chen from his mother’s ring. With the elder’s help, Xiao Yan’s skills improve by leaps and bounds. After his entire family is assassinated, Xiao Yan embarks on a journey to find his family’s killer and return peace to the Jianghu (martial world.)

Am I little obsessed with Chinese wuxia fantasy shows? Maaaaybe. It doesn't help that there seems to be a billion to choose from and they get subbed regularly! I'm really enjoying this show so far. The main leads are both interesting and though they can be silly, they know when to focus and be serious. The female lead is in love with the male lead but plot twist she doesn't revolve around him and give up everything else!! She's just as strong as him in fighting ability and can focus on the situation at hand without panicking. It was interesting cause I started shipping them almost immediately but I thought that someone else was Xiao Yan's love interest so I debated continuing this show cause I really didn't like her very much. Fortunately I figured out that she wasn't the female lead and that brought my attention back. I'm interested to see how the male lead falls for her cause you would think after spending years with her, he'd have some sort of feelings. I'm going on the assumption that since he was engaged as a child, he never allowed himself to care for her like that. I also kind of love that the show is entering a martial arts academy cause it reminds me a bit of Hwarang and I'm hoping we get a few episodes of fun school antics before the big revenge plot kicks back up!

Martial Universe (30/40): This is a drama adapted from the novel of the same name by Tian Can Tu Dou. It is a story that talks about Lin Dong, a child from a small village who isn't favored by his family. By chance, Lin Dong obtains a mysterious artifact that is coveted by many clans in the martial world. Because of this artifact, Lin Dong is approached by many people of different clans and is forcibly involved in various events of the martial universe.

Little disappointed that Lin Dong wasn't able to figure out that Huan Huan was a fake but I do love how worried he gets whenever she's in danger cause I'm fairly certain that he has real feelings for her already but doesn't know it so he focuses all his attention on Qing Zhu in that way where you don't want to touch your deeper feelings cause you're scared. His face when Huan Huan tried to sell herself to that Ghost Puppet Sect guy was everything. As much as I love her with our crew, I keep feeling like she should go off and do something else cause I still think that Lin Dong doesn't see her true value cause he always just expects her to be around and into him. We've only got 10 episodes left so she has to leave to become the Emblem protector soon enough. It's also a little interesting but I feel like Qing Zhu might be getting some feelings for him cause she seemed jealous whenever Lin Dong and Huan Huan were arguing (flirting tbh) though I think it might be too late for her... The hunt for the emblems really feels like it should be a bigger focus than it is but after seeing how in Legend of Fu Yao, the quest was basically an afterthought so I'm just trying to enjoy what's happening and live in the moment. It's kind of annoying though cause there are like what eight emblems and we've only found two so far though we do have a map to the third and I think one of them is in Dao Sect where Huan Huan has to take over. I feel like there was way too many episodes in the beginning where nothing happened so now everything might be rushed in the last ten to conclude the story unless the show is planning to have another season or unless the show is planning to end before the Yimo are destroyed. Also sidebar but how anticlimactic that the sister died only to be brought back. Are we ever going to learn about her powers and the dark palace she got them from?

HKDRAMA

FINISHED The Stunt (25/25): The Stuntmen’s main storyline centers on Tai-Chi and May-Chu, professional stunt performers for the movie industry. May plays Chun Chun's stunt double, while Duncan plays a director.

Le sigh. So May-Chu chose Tai-Chi this week and it was sad as hell cause people are still telling her that Duncan is better for her but I guess the heart wants what it wants. Honestly I was surprised that May-Chu didn't mind at all that Tai-Chi never showed up in Taiwan for her cause he was worried about everyone else and that she gave no thought to the idea that if someone loves you, you should be their number one priority like how Duncan dropped everything to be there for her. Like the stuff with Tai-Chi's son was obviously more important but I think he could have skipped checking up on one of his friends who was perfectly fine! And idk something about him being her father figure and then her falling in love with him is kinda creepy if I'm being completely honest especially after her sleezy Uncle mentioned it today and freaked me all the way out. Also what a plot twist that May-Chu's father actually worked with the Uncle to kidnap Duncan but then felt too guilty and tried to rescue him! Poor baby Duncan! Overall I thought this show had potential at the start but we didn't get nearly enough action and stunts for me to enjoy the drama. I'd give this show a 6.5 / 10.

xoxo Allie