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 Memories of the Alhambra (16/16): Strong spirited Yoo Jin Woo is the CEO of an investment company with a degree in engineering and a knack for developing video games. He has an adventurous and competitive spirit. Suffering after his best friend betrays him, he takes a business trip to Granada, Spain in search of the mysterious inventor of an innovative augmented-reality video game. He ends up at a hostel that Jung Hee Joo owns. Hee Joo is a former classical guitarist who came to Spain to further her studies. After the death of her parents, she takes on various jobs to support herself, including running the old hostel. They are both drawn into a series of strange and unexpected events.

The finale aired this week and I'm a little sad to say goodbye to this show even though these last two episodes were a little underwhelming. I was continually impressed with the budget of this show, the amazing writing and the creative concept. It felt so different from every other drama that I watched and I think that's what kept me coming back! The romance between Hee Joo and Jin Woo felt like it grew at a natural pace and it was very clear why these two fell in love. I loved the idea of Emma being the reason that the game ended up glitching and that it was only through her deleting all the bugs in the game before resetting it that everything would be fixed. It was sweet cause See Joo clearly saw Hee Joo as his savior cause she was the one who helped him grow up safe and healthy after their parents died and it was super sweet. I felt this evil thrill of joy when Cha died cause he was the absolute worst and oddly proud of J One after they launched the game and killed it in the stock market as if I was a proud parent! I'm also glad that See Joo ended up joining the R&D program at J One cause he deserved it after everything. The only thing that sucked about the finale was that I wish that we had a little more interaction between Hee Joo and Jin Woo cause though I didn't mind the ending being kinda open ended with us knowing that Jin Woo didn't die, I still would have liked it we got to see them reunite or have a cute moment before he went to die! Overall I really enjoyed this show and I'd give it a 8.5 / 10!

The Last Empress (38/52): 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.

We finally caught up with the first scene from the first episode of this show and we got the reveal that the person who was buried wasn't Sunny like we all thought but actually the first Empress who we were hinted at for a while. It was crazy cause not only do we now have proof that she was murdered and didn't have a heart attack, we were shown that it actually wasn't the Emperor who killed her or even the Empress Dowager who I actually thought did it but the nanny who did it for power. Yu Ra also found out about her ex-fiancee being involved in all this and it seems like the first time she might have heard anything about this which is really interesting cause I've been waiting to hear what happened in her past and whether his death killed the last good part of her. I kind of want her to join our crew and end up happy with her fiancee guard but then I remember what a horrible human she's been for so long and I'm like nah never mind. I also don't entirely understand why she's still trying to find Wang Sik cause it's not like she's on the Emperor's side anymore. Speaking of we got a lot of extremely hilarious scenes with the Emperor and Sunny's family but I really don't care how many funny things and sad backstories we get of him cause it's like cool motive still murder. He's an asshole and needs therapy not a woman's love. Speaking of women he loves, it was such a thrill watching Sunny be a badass this week and play everyone around her including the nanny and take down the Empress Dowager though it doesn't look like revealing her craziness did anything cause she's still got power and in the palace. Why they don't send her to the dungeon I'll never know! I still adore Sunny and Woo Bin/Wang Sik so much and it's super sweet how he's constantly worried about her and pretty much places her above everything else including his revenge. I have no doubt that though the Emperor fears Woo Bin/Wang Sik stealing Sunny away that he'll be able to talk his way out of that cause let's be honest the Emperor is a moron and my couple are super smart. I'm also not thrilled that the bullet is like a ticking time bomb for him cause I want these two to end up happy together at the end with Ah Ri and Dong Sik by their sides.

CDRAMA

Shall We Fall In Love (13/35): 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.

There are two things I want you to take away this week. One, Nichkhun as Yi Nan is the most precious cinnamon roll and needs to be protected at all cost and two, Hao Yu is the most insecure piece of shit that likes to whine about his shortcomings and then blame other people. I kind of saw this coming at the start of this show but after this week, Hao Yu is seriously the most annoying character. He's constantly trying to undermine Yi Nan while also making sure to let him know what a terrible person he is while also being jealous that Yi Nan is such a charismatic person that he attracts everyone around him. He's also being super annoying to Xin Yue and like how dare he tell her to leave her job when she had it before him. It's not her fault that he wants power so he left her for someone else. For a hot second I also felt bad for Ding Fei who is being used by him cause she's rich but then she got Xin Yue fired even though again none of this was her fault! I did adore watching Yi Nan support Xin Yue cause I find them so precious together. They're both super into each other but she's fighting it even though every time she sees him she basically lights up! I am a little over all the workplace stuff cause I still find it the least interesting but I suppose we need a backdrop for all the cuteness.

The Story of Ming Lan (45/73): 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.

This week was everything cause Ming Lan and Ting Ye are finally married and working together to be badasses. I've seriously adored the pacing of this show once I got used to it and how serious the world is cause it adds stakes to everyone's actions and makes it feel more intense! Because we spent so many episodes getting to know Ming Lan, a lot of the schemes her in-laws and random people try to pull on her now are the same as ones she's dealt with before so she's able to outwit them. I love that Ting Ye supports her so much in the background and it's cause of his backing that she's confident enough to get what she wants done. It's super cute how much he wants her to love him and how sad he is that she doesn't trust him entirely yet though I was glad that he overheard her so he knows that it's cause of her past trauma and not him. I do think that she's half in love with him already though and he just needs to give her time which since he is the main lead, we'll get. I love that she's the gentle one and he's the fierce one in public and the way they handled the Imperial Farmstead was everything! It's kind of funny cause everyone's evil plan is constantly introduce a pretty girl so Ting Ye will take a concubine and reduce Ming Lan's importance and at first all I could think was you morons he's not an animal that will pant over any pretty girl but then I realized that actually yeah men are that stupid normally and Ting Ye might just be an exception. I also really loved the sisterly relationship between Ru Lan and Ming Lan cause they're so precious and I'm so glad that Ru Lan was able to marry the guy she wanted. I was also evilly thrilled to see how miserable Mo Lan was with her married life and how jealous she was of her sisters cause karma is a bitch girl.

xoxo Allie