What Shows Am I Watching This Week?

Hey guys so I wanted to apologize for skipping both the Arrow and Flash reviews last week but I was crazy busy and I will be for the rest of the tv year and I debated how to keep up with my normal reviews while having little time and in the end I decided to do my reviews like I do my weekly asian drama reviews where I do kind of quickie reviews so here we are! I hope you enjoy!

Game Of Thrones Season 8 Episode 2 

I really enjoyed this episode and I actually think I liked it better than the first episode of season 8 cause though both had similar themes of the calm before the storm, the first felt more like let's catch up with everyone we haven't seen in ages while this one felt more like the actual let's live before we die. Arya and Gendry hook up and Jon tells Dany about his parentage. We unfortunately cut away before we could truly see what her reaction to that news would be but based on the type of character Dany is, I'm sure she'll see him as a threat to her rule and I wouldn't be surprised if she tries to kill him midbattle or flees south out of anger. She's made it clear over and over that she's only here cause she loves Jon no matter how terrifying the White Walkers are. This of course leads to my favorite scene of the night which was Sansa and Dany talking one-on-one and I think that after this scene where Dany literally says "who's manipulating whom" to Sansa the foreshadowing for Jon using Dany's feelings against her is pretty clear and I think this was the moment that Sansa realized it too cause she softened immediately afterwards though I love that she stood her ground about Northern Independence. One of my favorite things about Sansa is how much she cares about the smallfolk and their comfort cause people seem to forget that Sansa had a front row seat to the smallfolk riots in Kings Landing when they were starving and because of that she knows how terrible it is for the nobles if they don't care. I also loved the reunion between Theon and Sansa which almost brought tears to my eyes cause of how sweet it was. It's interesting how much the show is showing us this season the differences between Dany and Sansa and the kind of rulers they would be. Dany only cares about what she wants and hates when advisors disagree with her and once they do something she doesn't like, that's it for them *cough Tyrion cough.* Meanwhile Sansa cares about everyone and people flock to her out of love and respect instead of fear and she takes what they say into consideration like with Brienne and Jaime. Speaking of, the chamberfire scene when Brienne was finally knighted was so beautiful cause it was all she ever wanted and I loved Podrick singing that terribly beautiful song that's foreshadowing all the death next week.

Speaking of death, I definitely think Grey Worm, Theon, Bran, and Gendry are all main characters who are going to die next week. I also wonder if maybe sending all the women and children to the crypts is a bad idea but I also don't know the rules for how old a body has to be for the White Walkers to raise it so we'll have to see.

Supergirl Season 4 Episode 18

I really debated not doing this review cause I'm really over Supergirl as a show and I don't know why cause the writing of this show is probably the most consistent it has been but I just think that there's nothing in this show that keeps me interested and no characters that I've connected to. There are themes that I think are really interesting and I of course am loving Lex and his amazing plan to discredit Supergirl but other than that I'm meh about the whole thing. Kara spends the episode being hated by everyone and Lena and Alex try to change that. It was funny watching all the inmates suddenly hate Supergirl for being a terrorist and I'm sitting here like but all of you are the same so why do you care? Otis was a highlight especially when he called the press out for being unable to see the bigger picture as long as they get their hot story. I also loved when Kara ran into the thug from before and suddenly he's a big fan of Kara for being pro-alien. Brainy decided to destroy the alien registry to protect other aliens and I do adore him despite the terrible writing the show gives him. It was a little weird to see Haley turn and be on Supergirl's side and I didn't really buy her reasoning for doing so even if it was uplifting to see her warn Supergirl of the danger in the DEO. Maybe part of my struggle this season is just how much I hate the storyline of the country turning against aliens cause it hits too close to home with all the anti-immigration sentiment in the country in real life. I got so nauseous watching the president deputize the Agents of Liberty as if they were a force for good rather than just another hate mongering group.

The promo for next week shows that Nia will be stepping up as a hero and honestly is anyone else as confused as me as to what her powers are? I thought she could only dream of the future and didn't have any extra powers or strengths which to me feels like she should be a supporting hero like an Overwatch or a Brainy than out on the streets type.

Arrow Season 7 Episode 19

Last week I had to skip my Arrow review cause of time but I really enjoyed watching the ladies of Arrow kick ass especially with Sara returning and this week we got back to the overarching story and I'm still loving Emiko as the Big Bad. We met Emiko basically Day 1 of this season and I love that unlike Dante who is just another Diaz clone, Emiko is much more interesting. She has so many more ties to the characters of Arrow and though I wish hints of her had appeared earlier, I like how she's written. I like that she's torn between being this evil person and a lost girl looking for family. Every time Oliver reaches out to her, you can see how torn she is about turning him down especially since the only reason that Emiko even turned to the Ninth Circle is that they gave her a sense of family. Now that she found out that Dante was the one to kill her mother, those ties are probably even weaker and I definitely think she'll turn on them by the end. I was surprised that she killed Dante so easily/quickly but I'm wondering if there's anyone else she has to listen to or if she's really at the top cause when she changes sides, will the Ninth Circle be completely destroyed? I was also surprised that Felicity killed ARCHER this week cause the flash forwards showed us that ARCHER is still up and running but then we found out that Alena kept a copy of the code and I'm sure she's going to try to sell it to whoever that fancy tech guy they talked about. I actually thought for a second that maybe he was a Ninth Circle member cause that would have been a very sneaky way for Emiko to get ARCHER but instead they went the old fashioned break in route. I did love that we finally met some of Diggle's family cause it's been 7 seasons and we never met his parents! It was funny that he was a Stewart (cause of Green Lantern duh) and I'd like to imagine in Jay Garrick's Earth where Diggle is a Green Lantern that he probably took Stewart's last name. The flash forwards were awful as always cause they always seem to provide us new and horrifying information about our heroes and this week we learned that JJ actually became a criminal and that he hates his entire family enough to actually want to murder Connor.

The promo for next week shows Oliver being framed for murders that Emiko commits and it's very strange that I'm so surprised by this cause I really don't know why Emiko would blame Oliver for any of her anger but I think it's a matter of misplaced anger. Robert isn't alive for her to hate and she just killed Dante for her mother so Oliver's the only one left to despise. It is a little sad how quickly everyone turns on Oliver cause like wouldn't Star City believe in him a tiny bit more?

Legends of Tomorrow Season 4 Episode 12

This was a bit of a disappointing episode of Legends especially since I so adored last week's and it probably has to do with the fact that this was an Ava centric episode. For the life of me I cannot get behind Ava as a character. Like she's fine in most instances and I love her dynamic with Gary but I think she's best as a recurring or minor character and although I find some of her moments with Sara cute, I don't entirely ship them either and as the season goes on, I'm more and more afraid that this is a way to write off Sara or take her from the Legends cause the whole theme of this episode was Ava and Sara's relationship. It was interesting to see how much Ava wants Sara to be a different person which once again bugs me. Sara isn't really the type to settle down. She likes adventure and living in the moment and Ava's the opposite. I understand Ava being insecure and being scared that Sara will leave her for someone or something else but Sara is already committed in the way she knows with being exclusive and being together whenever there's nothing wrong in the timeline and I don't really think this episode cleared this up so I'm not entirely sure where this left us. On the other hand, the Neuron stuff was the most interesting and I really didn't think that he was killed off cause that would have been too quick. I do like the twist that Neuron is in Ray though it's super strange that Constantine would not be able to sense that Ray is possessed and I guess it's a really good thing that Nora's in a coma otherwise she definitely would. I still really hate the way the show took Hank and I really don't understand the theme park thing but it was fun to watch Nate be at the end of his ropes. I loved his line about how he would throw himself out a window if the person calling on Hank's secret phone was his mistress. We end the episode with Nate stopping the destruction of the theme park and that makes me wonder where they'll take this cause I doubt he wants to follow through with this plan. Maybe he wants to make a sanctuary for magical creatures or maybe he will go through with the park only now he'll get the consent of the creatures? Zari trying to figure out what to text Nate all episode was really funny as well but I was sitting here like why can't you just ask him if he's okay cause afterall his dad just died!

Never mind what I said about not knowing that Neuron is in Ray cause it looks like Ray was only slightly possessed and it is enough for him to realize that something is wrong but not enough for him to be controlled entirely like Desmond. I'll be interested to see what happens and whether Neuron ends up jumping into another body like this is some sort of hot potato game but if I had to guess, I'd say that he'll probably get entirely controlled by the end of the episode.

The Flash Season 5 Episode 19 

This was an interesting episode cause I'm usually a huge fan of Caitlin centric episodes and I haven't been a huge fan of Nora this season but I think this episode was poorly placed in this season. Nora just got interesting and instead of focusing on her and Eobard and Iris going to the future, we focused on Icicle and I was just not as interested as I would have been. Despite this I did like what the show did with Icicle this week and I loved the idea that he wanted to make an ice family for himself which is why he kidnapped Caitlin and her mom. Was anyone else even the slightest bit surprised that the mom ended up getting meta powers? While this was happening, I was casually trying to think of other female ice villains in the DCU besides Killer Frost and the only one I could think of was Mrs Freeze! It was sad to see Thomas sacrifice himself for Caitlin but narratively it was there so Barry could see that his approach to Nora was wrong. By the by Caitlin literally just lost her father to Grace!Cicada like Barry lost his mom to Eobard but how much do you wanna bet we probs will never touch on this again except for maybe a line or two in the future from Caitlin about how Grace!Cicada needs to pay? The more interesting part of the episode to me was the Iris stuff and how angry she was with Barry for sending Nora back to the future without consulting her. I was completely on her side in this argument cause not only was Barry an asshole for not even thinking to consult his wife about his decision but he blamed her for being emotional when it was him who wasn't thinking clearly. I kind of wish that this anger had gone on for more than one episode cause I can't see how in real life an argument like this could be solved in a day but I get it cause this show doesn't like to separate Barry and Iris for more than a few seconds. I loved that she got to see Eobard and Nora interact in the future and more Ralph is always a great thing. I had been thinking for a while that Eobard seemed to really care for Nora and she clearly really cares for him too cause she's never had a father figure so it was nice that Iris mentioned it too. I wonder if they'll end up getting Eobard out of death row to get him to help and then once he does, he escapes cause I can't see the show actually killing off Eobard.

Next week is another female rogue team and it looks like Nora is going to be a little evil which is kinda fun. I really wish the show would get rid of Grace!Cicada already cause she's just as boring as Cicada was and I'm so much more interested in evil Nora and Eobard and I had really hoped for a while that they would do like Arrow and switch their villain midseason.

Riverdale Season 3 Episode 19

What a strange episode that we all just watched! The Jones Family played G&G to save JB, Betty kept trying and failing to take down the Farm and Veronica and Archie tried to deal with the death of the boxer who Archie fought last week. It never ceases to amuse me how Betty and Jughead always have their own stories to deal with while the show always seems to put Veronica and Archie in the same storyline no matter their relationship status. I assume it's because Jughead and Betty are actually interesting while Archie is a stick in the mud who I've been bored with since season 1 while Veronica is touch and go. I still hate that she broke up with Reggie cause they had loads more chemistry that Archie and Veronica did. In turn I was super bored during most of the Archie stuff but it's weird that we're circling back to the Hiram hates Archie storyline which I really thought we put to rest. I assume Hiram was playing a long game once he got out of the hospital but I also wonder if it came about once Veronica broke up with Reggie and starting hanging out with Archie again. I was surprised to find out that Evelyn was actually Edgar's wife and not his daughter as Betty found out this week and like the only thing I could think of was ew but also couldn't Betty take that info to the police or the news and at the very least get Evelyn kicked out of school? It was hilarious honestly seeing Penelope up and run away with one of Polly's babies and I seriously doubt that Hal is dead. If anything he probably escaped in the cover of whatever accident occurred. Gladys also left town which was a sad moment but JB is sticking around and at least now Riverdale will be safer with the drug trade once again shut down.

The promo for next week shows that we might finally get rid of the Gargoyle King and I hope that's true cause honestly the Farm is much more interesting and seriously Betty needs the Core Four to help her fight cause she's lost everyone else to them and she's starting to waver too which is why she needs Jughead at the least by her side.

Gotham Season 5 Episode 12

This was the series finale for Gotham and I actually really liked the idea of seeing everyone 10 years later though I wish that we had actually seen more of Bruce. I am glad we at the very least saw his batsuit which tbh was actually not half bad! The actress who played adult Selina looked so much like young Selina so like props to the casting! I loved seeing her be a cat burglar and that even to this day she knew when Bruce was around and though it was heartbreaking that the show is ending with them apart, I'm sure that their relationship is not over especially we're just now reaching batman year one. I was a little annoyed that we never saw the adult Bruce on screen but I guess that it makes a little sense cause Bruce does need the crew to separate him from Batman and to act all frivolous and uncaring would help them separate young Bruce who had a sense of justice from older Bruce. It was also really nice seeing Barbara as a tycoon and baby Barbara who looked a little too young to be 10 but still with a sense of justice that makes her a future Batgirl. We also caught up with all the villains and it kinda makes sense that they were all in jail or imprisoned so that they're starting fresh with Batman too. Even Jeremiah is fine and hilariously he killed Ecco (cause he needs Harleen in the future.) Overall it was a pretty uplifting finale and totally makes me want the adult version of this show which I suppose is the point cause though it's the end of this show, it's only the start to Gotham's Dark Knight.

Fruits Basket (2019) Season 1 Episode 4

This episode was Kagura's introduction and honestly I was pretty meh about the whole thing cause I've never really liked Kagura as a character back in the 2001 version and I didn't have high hopes for this version either. To my complete lack of surprise, Kagura was just as abusive and clingy as I remembered her to be tbh and it was a pain to sit through this episode. Kyo's always been my favorite of the zodiacs and I definitely shipped him with Tohru but my dislike of Kagura has less to do with her getting in the way of my ship than the way she's portrayed to be this pain in Kyo's ass that everyone thinks is cute. Like I know it's an anime and everything but violence isn't a good thing and the fact that Kagura makes Kyo so uncomfortable and the fact that she hurts him when he doesn't do what she wants just doesn't sit right with me especially since everyone is just like marry her Kyo, she loves you! Despite that as always the animation for her boar form was so cute though. Of course my favorite scene of the episode has to be the one on the rooftop where Kyo opened up to Tohru about his love of martial arts cause duh but I still think it's too early for either of the two to catch any real feelings.

Next week seems to be the episode where Tohru's grandfather tells her to return home only for Tohru to decide to stay with the Sohmas instead.

xoxo Allie

What Dramas Am I Watching This Week?

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

KDRAMA

Big Issue (28/32): Set within the frenzy world of the paparazzi media. Due to a photograph, Han Seok Joo loses everything, including his job as a photographer for a top newspaper and his family. Ji Soo Hyun is the notorious chief editor of a paparazzi group. She hires the man to become a paparazzi photographer.

To my surprise now that everything's out in the open, Seok Joo doesn't seem to be angry or sad or upset about the news that Sunday destroyed his reporting career and also kept pushing his daughter's heart transplant back and that's fascinating. I wonder if it's cause he expected Sunday to have done all this and so he's mostly just like ah so that's what happened. Of course it helps that he hasn't met Soo Hyun face-to-face and there was plenty of other stuff to worry about so he hasn't had the time to wallow in his feelings. I'm sure he feels betrayed but I hope that after he overheard the conversation between CEO Jo and Soo Hyun that he knows that she wanted what's best for his daughter while Jo was the one who was behind all the nefarious deeds. So much happened but at the same time nothing happened in these episodes cause though Sunday was all tossed around in the end they're still on top and the police and prosecutors are unable to do anything. The only difference is that Seok Joo is on top while Jo and Soo Hyun have been ousted. We also seemed to have met the actual power behind Sunday aka the people who Jo was so afraid of and it's hilarious cause it seems the chain of power is never ending. It's interesting to see how much Seok Joo has changed from the start of this show cause back then he turned down Dr Kim's offer to save his daughter due to his morals and now he's like who cares about morals as long as I get what I want. The finale is going to air next week and I'm really not sure how this all is going to end. Best case scenario is that we do like Soo Hyun wanted and destroy everything in the photo archive and start new possibly as a real reporting newspaper. 

Eulachacha Waikiki 2 (10/16): Lee Joon Ki is an unpopular actor who runs the Waikiki guesthouse. However, business is bad and the guesthouse is facing bankruptcy. In order to revive the guesthouse, Lee Joon Ki asks his friends Cha Woo Shik and Kook Ki Bong to invest their savings in it. Cha Woo Shik is a picky person who dreams of becoming a singer. Kook Ki Bong used to be a promising baseball player, but instead is now stuck playing in the minor leagues. After Lee Joon Ki's request, they all put their money into Waikiki Guesthouse and start living there together. 

I wasn't a huge fan of the first episode that aired this week cause it was all about Joon Ki and Jung Eun and you know that I'm not the hugest fan of them though I did like Jung Eun complete disgust at herself for liking a guy like Joon Ki and how in the end Joon Ki thought that Jung Eun was telling him over and over that she hated him. I was proud of Soo Yeon for getting a job as a reporter though it does seem a little easy how quickly she got it compared to Joon Ki and Jung Eun who are constantly fighting to get tiny acting roles. I also think she's falling for Woo Shik just a little or at the very least seeing him as the same guy back in high school who was really nice and did everything for her. Of course Ki Bong and Yoo Ri were my favorite parts of these episodes from how she tried to help him writer a cover letter to win a gameshow to him being the sweetest and buying her a food truck. I loved watching how irritated Yoo Ri would get with Ki Bong being unable to do anything and I was living for how he ended up almost winning a gameshow by pure luck. The best moment though was how sweet he was for spending his last paycheck on a food truck for her and I can't wait to see their romance grow for real cause they're precious.

FINISHED Five Enough (54/54): After losing his wife five years ago, Lee Sang Ta is left with his two children. Since that time, he lives with his two kids and parents-in-law, who treat him like their own son. He works as a marketing team leader for a fashion brand and never expects to find someone who will make his heart beat again. Ahn Mi Jeong works as an assistant manager at the same fashion company. 3 years ago, her husband had an affair with her friend and left her. She couldn't tell her 3 children the truth about their father and lied that he went to work in America. To this day, the children still believe that their father is in America. She has numbed herself from the struggles of raising her children alone while working. As these two begin to find love again, a tempest is brewing as three sets of in-laws and five children learn to become one family.

I have such a love/hate relationship with family dramas cause I'm not the biggest fan of kdramas with more than 24 episodes. In my opinion in order to fill up all this time, the drama tends to have the most annoying twists and turns and most of the time I end up dropping the drama due to my irritation with it. Family dramas especially tend to have really annoying adults from scheming mothers to screeching mother in laws. I also really dislike when in family dramas the siblings don't get along. I totally understand fighting with your siblings but when they hate each other to the point of ruining each other's lives, I tune out cause I have siblings so I don't love watching that. My Father Is Strange is the only long family drama that I thought did a really good job with balancing everything I wanted from a family drama and to my surprise I found that this show did a pretty good job as well. There was a lot I disliked at the start of the drama like the crazy ex-in-laws but eventually I found myself growing used to them and their version of love. I wasn't the hugest fan of Sang Tae and Mi Jeong's romance but once they got married, I started to enjoy watching them work at blending their families. But if I'm honest what really kept me around was the adorable relationship between Yeon Tae and Sang Min which I loved from start to finish. I loved how much Sang Min loved Yeon Tae and how he would do literally anything for her and how she grew to be less cowardly with him by her side. I really hated the reasoning behind why they broke up in the middle of the drama but I was glad that they were able to get their happily ever after in the end. Overall I'd give this show a 8 / 10!

He Is Psychometric (14/16): A boy who is able to read the secrets of those whose skin comes into contact with him, and a girl who does everything she can to hide her pain. In the drama, the boy and girl will meet and try to fix, heal, grow, and love from the small and big occurrences that happen in their lives.

I hardcore don't even know what to think anymore! I don't think I see Seung Mo as an out-and-out villain per say but it's definitely clear that he's not a hero anymore especially after he spent this entire time hunting down and torturing Geun Taek who I feel no pity for but it sucks that Seung Mo is breaking so many laws. It also sucks that he seems to be behind a lot of crimes but since he hasn't actually done anything, he can't be charged for it. It's seriously heartbreaking cause Ahn and Seung Mo's relationship was the sweetest in this show and I hate that it feels like Seung Mo doesn't love Ahn as much as he loved Seung Mo. On the one hand I want to scream at Ahn to trust his brother but on the other hand, Seung Mo's callus remarks about Ahn needing to reach his anger and his coldness in the face of Ahn who's begging him to tell the truth make me struggle to trust him myself. I don't think it's as simple as Seung Mo using Ahn to his advantage like Geun Taek told Ahn but it's possible that since Seung Mo struggles with emotions that maybe he started using Ahn but then found himself caring for him more than he expected to. A similar thing probably happened with poor Ji Soo who loved Seung Mo with all her heart but he never seemed to care about her until the very end. I cried and cried every time she popped up on screen this week cause I knew last week that she was going to die by Geun Taek's hands especially after her own father cut the legs out from under her by refusing to let her have backup anytime she went out in the field. Honestly I blame him more than anyone else for her death. I do like that we have seemed to gotten all the puzzle pieces to fit except for one and that's who actually set the fire and I have a feeling it was Seung Mo who did it cause he wanted the police to capture Geun Taek but to his disappointment, Ji Soo's dad took a bribe.

Her Private Life (6/16): A romantic comedy about a talented gallery curator named Sung Duk Mi, who is an idol fangirl underneath her professional veneer. Meanwhile, her boss Ryan becomes a passionate fanboy of her. Sung Duk Mi lives a double life as both a gallery curator and a home master for a fansite about Si An, an idol group member. She’s a pro in both aspects of her life, and because of her fangirl dedication, Duk Mi has had to break up with several boyfriends, deciding instead to go all in for her fangirl activities instead of dating. Ryan is a new director at the gallery where Duk Mi works. Once a painter, Ryan was a sensation in the art world from his debut to his retirement, and is now seeing career success as a director. An individualist through and through, Ryan comes to find out about Duk Mi’s double life.

Anyone else shocked at how fast everything is moving? It's worrying me a little cause usually when shows move this quickly they run out of steam early and then end up puttering to a weak end like What's Wrong With Secretary Kim! I'm hoping that since the writing for this show seems so well constructed so far that it'll continue being so well done. I was shocked to find out that Ryan already figured out that Deok Mi was the fangirl that he ran into before but I also kind of loved it cause it shows that he's smart enough to put pieces together. It was also pretty sweet that he doesn't seem to think any less of Deok Mi now that he found out and in fact he's kind of enjoying watching her fangirl and giving her opportunities for it. I look forward to seeing Deok Mi struggle with the idea that she's lying to him only to find out that he already knew and liked her anyway. It does feel a little early for the two to be in love but even more shocking was that Ryan and Deok Mi kissed this week! These two have such intense chemistry that you can feel it oozing off the screen even when they do something as simple as look at each other. I love the way this show uses musical cues cause instead of throwing music behind every scene, they let the characters and the tension and the chemistry between our leads lead the way. Sometimes complete silence like the bathroom scene is so much more powerful.

FINISHED Madame Antoine (16/16): Soo Hyun is a psychologist based in America who has famous celebrities as his patients. But he suddenly returns to Korea and opens a psychotherapy center. A fraud fortune-teller named Hye Rim steals all of Soo Hyun's clients with her uncanny ability to read people’s minds seconds after meeting them. With his pride wounded, Soo Hyun decides to come up with a psychological experiment to perform on Hye Rim for his own research and revenge for the loss of his clients. As part of this experiment, three attractive men, including Soo Hyun, use all their charms to seduce Hye Rim and make her fall in love with them. Soo Hyun believes that he cuts a dashing figure and is quite accomplished professionally compared to the other two men; Seung Chan, Soo Hyun’s brother, wins over women’s hearts by treating them like queens; Ji Ho is an attractive and eccentric young genius. Hye Rim hadn’t believed in love until she becomes the lover of three different men. As she is caught up in the whirlwind of a romance that follows, her cynicism towards love crumbles. Will Hye Rim remain in love with Soo Hyun even after she realizes that she was just a participant in his psychological love experiment?

I have been enjoying Han Ye Seul in Big Issue recently so I wanted to check out another project with her and that's how I found this show and I went in without too many expectations but I found myself really enjoying myself. I loved that this show took a well used trope of getting someone to fall in love with them while the seducer falls in love along the way and turned it on it's head. The idea of the whole thing being an experiment (rather than a bet in most shows) was fun even if the scientist in me was cringing the whole time cause what a monstrous experiment. Soo Hyun was really the absolute worst from top to bottom and I really couldn't understand how Hye Rim fell for him at all cause he was not a good actor but I didn't really mind that much cause it's a rom com and I was down for all the cute moments. I adored Hye Rim as a character cause she was super funny and adorable and I loved that when she found out about the experiment for real that her first instinct was to play along and get revenge on him while also trying to discover how he really felt rather than just getting angry and leaving which is why when she finally left in anger, I wasn't as on board cause it didn't really make sense. I also wasn't a fan of how Hye Rim came back because everyone basically convinced her that she increased Soo Hyun's abandonment issues when the only reason she left was cause of him being an asshole. We did not a single apology out of Soo Hyun's mouth for what he did and really that's all she had wanted cause the minute he did, she would have come back and this would have felt better. My other real problem with this show was the pacing cause it felt like we did the same plot circle every few episodes with Hye Rim finding out it's an experiment only for Soo Hyun to lie out of it so a lot of plot was just shoved into the last four episodes. We finally touched on Soo Hyun's underlying abandonment issues and his struggle with his father and Hye Rim's insecurity and all of this felt so underdeveloped that I really didn't like how the show wrapped it all up. Despite all this, I did think that this drama was pretty cute so overall I'd give it a 8.5 / 10.

xoxo Allie

What Dramas Am I Watching This Week?

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

KDRAMA

Big Issue (24/32): Set within the frenzy world of the paparazzi media. Due to a photograph, Han Seok Joo loses everything, including his job as a photographer for a top newspaper and his family. Ji Soo Hyun is the notorious chief editor of a paparazzi group. She hires the man to become a paparazzi photographer.

Everything seems to be crashing around our leads. Soo Hyun is being threatened by CEO Jo because he's afraid to lose her which is a little funny cause why the hell is he CEO if he can't do anything without her. I mean he went as far as to attack Seok Joo so that he'd get hurt enough that Soo Hyun wouldn't try anything. Honestly it gets to a point where I wonder why in that type of scenario that the leads can't just be honest. If I were Soo Hyun, I would take the wind right out of Jo's sails and tell Seok Joo everything from Dr Kim all the way to current day. I know that it might make Seok Joo hate Soo Hyun but honestly it's not like Jo is going to let Seok Joo and Soo Hyun date anyway so why not really throw him under the bus? Despite everything I didn't really expect our leads to get together this week but it totally makes sense cause not only are we getting to the end of this drama, in the show Soo Hyun went through something terrifying and Seok Joo was pretty much the only one to stay by her side through it all. I did like the twist though that the photo Jo sent to the prosecutor was useless in the end cause I was super pissed that Jo ending up breaking at the end cause if only the asshole had a smidgen more faith in Soo Hyun then we wouldn't have had to watch the stupid prosecutor walk around all smug that he won in separating the two. I still don't know why Sunday can't pressure the higher ups to fire the prosecutor cause that'd fix all the problems! Now the prosecutor is going to be riling up all the others and it's just going to suck for Sunday. It does make me wonder how this show is going to end cause I think there's like two weeks left. Maybe they'll take down Jo and then our leads can go off happy in the end? Or maybe Soo Hyun will take over Sunday and Seok Joo will leave cause he can't forgive her transgressions.

Eulachacha Waikiki 2 (8/16): Lee Joon Ki is an unpopular actor who runs the Waikiki guesthouse. However, business is bad and the guesthouse is facing bankruptcy. In order to revive the guesthouse, Lee Joon Ki asks his friends Cha Woo Shik and Kook Ki Bong to invest their savings in it. Cha Woo Shik is a picky person who dreams of becoming a singer. Kook Ki Bong used to be a promising baseball player, but instead is now stuck playing in the minor leagues. After Lee Joon Ki's request, they all put their money into Waikiki Guesthouse and start living there together. 

It's really funny cause I started out thinking that Ki Bong was mostly just annoying when I first started this show but now he might actually be my favorite character on this show especially after I realized that he's played by the same actor from Age of Youth that I loved. I was almost crying right there alongside him when he realized that he had hurt his shoulder again and would never be able to play baseball again. It's heartbreaking cause that's all he knew how to do and I'm right there with him with wondering what he could do now since it doesn't seem like he can do anything else. I wonder if he'll join Yoo Ri in her restaurant. Like maybe he could be a waiter or something. I also love how Yoo Ri stood up for him against his teammate who was really being such an ass about him and I'm super into their romance. Woo Shik I still like enough especially when he's singing and I thought his whole thing with that gang leader was really funny but I'm still mostly meh about his relationship with Soo Yeon. At the very least I enjoy it more than Joon Ki and Jung Eun which seems to be getting set up this week with Joon Ki being jealous of Jung Eun going away with some other guy and her getting all flustered after he saved her. I know I'm being a little unfair because I know my problem with them is literally that I liked him with Seo Jin last season but I guess that's the struggle with having another season of a show I loved.

He Is Psychometric (12/16): A boy who is able to read the secrets of those whose skin comes into contact with him, and a girl who does everything she can to hide her pain. In the drama, the boy and girl will meet and try to fix, heal, grow, and love from the small and big occurrences that happen in their lives.

I never would have guessed that the whole plot of this show would end up following Seung Mo and his evil father when this show started but that's where we are now. I'm so glad we got so many answers this week and tbh I'm also glad that Jae In's kidnapping didn't go on for more than a few minutes this week cause everything that followed was much more interesting. So like I guessed weeks ago, the creepy dude is Seung Mo's dad and Seung Mo like his dad has problems understanding his emotions. It was just as horrible as I expected with the culprit having kidnapped Seung Mo's mom when she was a child and then grooming her for years and years. It makes a little more sense now why the mom would stay away from Seung Mo cause she probably thought that if the creeper only "loved" her then staying away from Seung Mo would keep the culprit away from him and that way he could live his own life. I still don't love the idea that Seung Mo's one person that he loves is Jae In cause it feels like they barely know each other and I would have preferred that Seung Mo's one person he could feel affection for was Ahn cause I think of all the people in Seung Mo's life, Ahn was the one who showered him with the most love. It's especially weird cause everyone knows that Seung Mo likes Jae In after this week but no one but Ji Soo are shocked. Jae In and Ahn are still going on with their lives like nothing changed and maybe it's just me who expected them to be a little more surprised or worried... We also learned that like I expected Ji Soo's dad covered everything up and honestly what this week showed us was that the police are terrible. He's still trying to pretend like nothing's happening even when the culprit is clearly targeting people in Seung Mo's life and Ji Soo's dad is super going to regret it when Ji Soo gets kidnapped.

Her Private Life (4/16): A romantic comedy about a talented gallery curator named Sung Duk Mi, who is an idol fangirl underneath her professional veneer. Meanwhile, her boss Ryan becomes a passionate fanboy of her. Sung Duk Mi lives a double life as both a gallery curator and a home master for a fansite about Si An, an idol group member. She’s a pro in both aspects of her life, and because of her fangirl dedication, Duk Mi has had to break up with several boyfriends, deciding instead to go all in for her fangirl activities instead of dating. Ryan is a new director at the gallery where Duk Mi works. Once a painter, Ryan was a sensation in the art world from his debut to his retirement, and is now seeing career success as a director. An individualist through and through, Ryan comes to find out about Duk Mi’s double life.

Ahh I was totally not expecting a fake dating situation in this show but I'm super down cause I love fake relationships where the love becomes real. It's extra fun cause Ryan seems to be head over heels for Deok Mi already and even if he isn't and I'm reading it wrong, then he's actually just a really good guy despite the cold front he tries to put out. I thought it was super sweet how worried he was for Deok Mi and her safety and how he got so angry on her behalf. But then again he's not the only one cause after that fake date, Deok Mi was all giggly and I'm like girl get it. When they did that photoshoot in the art gallery alleyway, we all went rawr when Ryan grabbed Deok Mi and dude it was so hot. There's no way she can not fall for how manly he was. It was sweet that they're opening up to one another and that everyone's making fun of him and being a lion. I also love the idea that we're seeing a difference between Deok Mi's version of fangirling and then the insane version who will go out and try to kill the girlfriend of the idol they love. Once again there's a disconnect cause I don't understand loving a celebrity at this level cause no part of me actually believes that I'll marry them someday so when I hear of celebs dating I'm usually just like oh cute or I give zero shits. It's insane what the fans in this show will do from throwing themselves in front of cars to getting a job in the gallery. I assume that next week Deok Mi is going to have to explain to Ryan how she knows that Cindy is one of those fansite people and it's going to be funny. We also met the second lead this week for real who is already the worst cause I can tell he's going to be the obnoxious type of second lead who will try to ruin things for the female lead cause he can't get a clue. Deok Mi clearly sees him as a brother and damn the boy met Ryan once and decided to get all grrr alpha male on him and it's like dude this is your friend's boss, back the hell off. It was even funnier that Ryan had no idea what was happening cause he still thinks Deok Mi has a girlfriend.

CDRAMA

The Brightest Star In The Sky (13/44): As singer-songwriter C-POP star, Huang Zitao plays a role of a recalcitrant idol who debuted and become famous since he was young. He deeply likes music and keeps persistent, that is similar with Huang Zi Tao. This time Yang Zhen Zhen is a newbie manager who just starts the work. Being a newbie staff, she faces various obstacles but she never gives up her music dreams.

I guess one of the struggles of having a 44 episode season is that I really want poor Baixu to be able to play the music he wants and for everyone to stop dissing him about how he can't sing but since we need to stretch the story out, we have to do other stuff first. Forget that rude music critic, even his manager was talking shit this week! It makes me all the more excited for when he gets to do CPOP for real and shove it in everyone's face that he's amazing. On the plus side, such a large episode count allows us to really watch the relationship build between Baixu and Zhen Zhen and I love how they're slowly warming to each other though I did think Zhen Zhen was a bit of an ass when she refused to go see Baixu. In a lot of jobs there is no such thing as a day off and if Baixu was more of an asshole, girl could have been fired! I also don't understand exactly what's happening with this company. It feels like we're supposed to think that they're the bad guys since it seems to give zero shits about Baixu as a person or a singer. I understand the idea of wanting him to apologize for his fans beating up someone but to blame the entire thing on him seems unreasonable. They barely give him any time to play music or try what he wants and then run around being like he's an arrogant asshole. I can't see where this show is going and seriously as the episodes go on, I'm wondering what the writer is even thinking cause there seems to be no plot and I'm really just sticking around for the cast and the small bits of music we get.

xoxo Allie

Game Of Thrones Season 8 Predictions

Hey all! So unless you've been living under a rock then you know that it's Game of Thrones season again and with the first episode of the final season airing tomorrow night, I figured it might be fun to do a post on my predictions for the season and who I think will die! Let's dive right in.

So first of all let's start with the idea that the Starks and the North are going to be really against Dany coming up North and Jon bending the knee. We knew last season that Sansa was unhappy with Jon for doing this but I think that unlike what most people think, she will not be alone in this. Just last season we were told that The North will never follow a Targaryen after what happened with the Mad King and how he murdered Rickard and Brandon Stark. On top of that, so many men died during Robb's bid for Northern Independence and I doubt Arya who's only goal since she left the Faceless Men was to avenge the Stark name will take kindly to Jon bending the knee no matter how much she loved Jon. In fact based on interviews Maisie did, I'm pretty much certain that Arya will take Sansa's side. Of course I doubt Sansa or Arya will take this stance publicly cause as Sansa always said, courtesy is a lady's armor and so they will welcome Dany but in private rip Jon apart for what he's done. I'm sure he'll say something about how the White Walkers are more important but I'm sure the Stark sisters will remind him that eventually the war will be over and what then?

I also doubt Dany will be pregnant as many other predict cause that just seems like a pointless arc with so much other stuff happening. In turn, I also think that Jaime will come up North and end up pledging himself to Sansa and House Stark the way Brienne did in order to keep his promise to Catelyn Stark.

Another prediction of mine is that the war against the Night King will happen earlier in the season because I personally think that there are more political battles to be had which I'll talk about later. I think the battle will take at least an episode or maybe two and in the end, they'll be defeated but Dany will have lost Viserion and Rhaegal. I also think Grey Worm, Gendry, Davos, and maybe Brienne will die during the battle. It's also possible Bran dies while warging into Viserion to stop him or while doing some other mystical Three Eyed Raven thing.

After this battle, we'll return to the political mess we have which I personally find more interesting than a bunch of zombies. Cersei I think will end up kidnapping Sansa possibly through the Golden Company while the battle is raging because I really do think these two need to meet up one last time cause they have been such large parts of each other's lives. Cersei will be expecting the little dove from before but Sansa will now be a wolf again. It's possible that Arya ends up saving her by being a faceless man and killing her with either Tyrion or Jaime's face or Jaime through a sort of murder suicide situation allowing the whole your little brother will kill you part of the prophecy to happen.

While this is happening, I think Dany will find out about Jon's parentage and she will not be happy about it. Jon and the other Starks will probably find out earlier in the season like in the first two episodes or so but hide it until later. I don't personally think Dany will be happy with Jon being a Targaryen cause her identity as the last Targaryen and her destiny to sit on the Iron Throne will be ruined with Jon being Rhaegar's legitimate heir. According to Westrosi inheritance laws, Jon will have more right than Dany to sit on the Throne and I don't think that will be okay with her especially if she loses two of her dragons.

This will cause her to go kind of dark and I think she will end the season dying by Jon's hand as a villain but not before burning Kings Landing to the ground. I do think the interviews with Emilia where she talks about how she's thinks it's unfortunate and sad that this will be everyone's last taste of Dany and that personally doesn't sound like she wins the Iron Throne or dies a hero.

As I mentioned with Kings Landing burning in dragonfire and wildfire, I think that the Iron Throne will be destroyed and the 7 kingdoms will go back to 7 kingdoms with maybe the North, Vale and Riverlands being one through Sansa and her Stark/Tully blood. I also think that Jon and Sansa will end up getting married and being King and Queen in the North with Jon taking the Stark name á la War of Roses style with Jon being Henry Tudor and Sansa being Elizabeth of York since I know Game of Thrones was based on the War of Roses. Not only does it make sense politically and allow for the Stark name to be passed on to future generations but I think there's romantic precedent to this.

As a final count, here's who lives and dies.

Lives

• Sansa
• Jon
• Arya
• Sam
• Gilly
• Tyrion
• Theon
• Missandei
• Jorah
• Hound

Dies

• Dany
• Cersei
• Jaime
• Grey Worm
• Varys
• Brienne
• Bran
• Davos
• Melisandre
• Varys
• Euron

And that wraps up my predictions for the season. Watch them all be wrong lol. What are yours??

xoxo Allie

What Dramas Am I Watching This Week?

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

KDRAMA

Big Issue (20/32): Set within the frenzy world of the paparazzi media. Due to a photograph, Han Seok Joo loses everything, including his job as a photographer for a top newspaper and his family. Ji Soo Hyun is the notorious chief editor of a paparazzi group. She hires the man to become a paparazzi photographer.

To my surprise, I actually missed this show when it didn't air last week cause sometimes you just need your unique shows in a vast pool of similar shows out there. I've tried and dropped so many dramas cause they have the same boring plot of a rich cold lead who feels like a wooden board rather than cold on the outside and warm on the inside and a poor spunky girl with one specific quality that makes her look/feel insane instead of quirky. That's why this one is such a breath of fresh air cause everyone in this show is a shade of terrible with some being less and some being more. I love the cases of the week and watching our Sunday crew try to work and I was really curious about the turn this week with the prosecutors seemingly hunting down Sunday cause it makes me wonder what their stance is on the whole. As I expected Sunday made a deal with the prosecutors in that they wouldn't publish or target any of them as long as they protected Sunday in turn which makes what's happening so confusing tbh. This prosecutor is going rogue not because he's good and refuses to be bought or that after what happened two weeks ago with that one prosecutor, the prosecutors have turned on Sunday but because it seems like he's pissed that he's about to be fired with the new regime change now that Nam is in jail. It seems as though he wants to know who Sunday can buy and then possibly use that to stay in power? Either way he makes my skin crawl and I'm furious that he's targeting our people and I can't wait until he's taken down! It is also an interesting twist to shine more light on CEO Cha cause it seemed like he might be the real big bad behind the curtain with how he puppeteers Soo Hyun and Seok Joo in turn but after this week there feels like there's a person behind him too who wants to toss Soo Hyun aside and dudes that's such a terrible idea that even CEO Cha can see. I also liked how much Soo Hyun and Seok Joo are warming to each other but I'm a little afraid Seok Joo is going to run off half-cocked and ruin something in his anger/fear.

FINISHED Cheese In The Trap (16/16): Having returned to college after a year long break, due to her family's poor background, Hong Sul, a hard-working over-achiever, inadvertently got on the wrong side of Yoo Jung, her senior who is athletic, good looking, gets good grades and has a kind personality, but also a hidden dark side. From then on her life took a turn for the worse and Sul was almost certain it was all Yoo Jung's doing. So why is he suddenly acting so friendly a year later?

What an emotionally exhausting show to watch. I had heard vague murmurs across the internet that this show had a terrible romance and that pretty much everyone had second lead syndrome but that was all I heard so I went in with pretty much no expectations and found myself enjoying myself a lot at the start only for the show to fall apart as it went on. There's a funny line that dramas have to walk where leads in a lot of these shows aren't good people who you'd want to date or even meet in real life but the fact that they're dramas makes it okay cause the more morally corrupt a lead is, the more interesting he/she is. Because of that I fell and fell hard for Yoo Jung and his crazy manipulative dark character. He reminded me a lot of Chuck Bass from Gossip Girl who to this day is one of my favorite characters and I was living for every scheme Jung concocted. I sympathized with him so much as a character and I understood where his anger towards the Baek siblings came from and part of this might have been my bias towards him but also can you even imagine finding out the two people you thought were your best friends actually pitied you and were just using you? Maybe I'm just a terrible person myself. So because of this love for Jung, I was so exhausted by the amount of In Ho we got and how around midway through the drama it started to feel like the writers preferred him to Jung and he got so much more screen time. It also didn't help that I never felt the romance between Jung and Seol was well done cause though I thought they were cute and loved all their couple moments, they just had problem after problem in their relationship and I hated how the show ended with them in limbo. Jung was wrong with continuing his manipulations despite knowing Seol hated them but Seol was just as judgmental as he was and it was exhausting to see them go through the same fights over and over again. In Ha was an insane gold digger and it infuriates me that she got such a happy ending cause despite her circumstances, she never once showed any good qualities. Overall I'd give this show a 8.5 / 10 cause it did interest me though it infuriated me just as much.

Eulachacha Waikiki 2 (6/16): Lee Joon Ki is an unpopular actor who runs the Waikiki guesthouse. However, business is bad and the guesthouse is facing bankruptcy. In order to revive the guesthouse, Lee Joon Ki asks his friends Cha Woo Shik and Kook Ki Bong to invest their savings in it. Cha Woo Shik is a picky person who dreams of becoming a singer. Kook Ki Bong used to be a promising baseball player, but instead is now stuck playing in the minor leagues. After Lee Joon Ki's request, they all put their money into Waikiki Guesthouse and start living there together. 

Ugh I don't know what it is about this show that just isn't working for me! It's the struggle cause based on reviews and comments I've read, I seem to be the only one. I do think the show needs to dial back the romance between Woo Shik and Soo Yeon a bit cause I'm getting a little tired of every episode being about them cause they remind me a bit of Doo Shik and Soo Ah in the way that Soo Yeon is kind of a hot mess in everything and think she's amazing and Woo Shik is trying to help her but struggles with her insanity. This kind of couple is fun but more on a lowkey side while this show is pumping them up to be the main couple. Part of this might also be that Woo Shik realized his feelings too quickly and now we're going through episode after episode of watching him try to hide them while also being jealous cause I prefer the leading up to romance stages like with Ki Bong and Yoo Ri who I'm really starting to warm up to. I thought Ki Bong was really annoying at first but now I find him kinda sweet and I love that Yoo Ri clearly has a soft spot for him and I can't wait to see this build. I still don't love Joon Ki and Jung Eun as a couple but I like them as friends and I'm glad we're getting a little more from her as a character though she really does feel like a female version of Jung Eun which is why when I keep getting hints of their possible romance, I'm not about it. It was really funny when Joon Ki thought that Woo Shik was into him and I did love Woo Shik struggling to teach Soo Yeon how to sing.

He Is Psychometric (10/16): A boy who is able to read the secrets of those whose skin comes into contact with him, and a girl who does everything she can to hide her pain. In the drama, the boy and girl will meet and try to fix, heal, grow, and love from the small and big occurrences that happen in their lives.

What an intense two episodes that had my emotions all over the place! I was so excited to see Ahn and Jae In's relationship grow after last week that I completely forgot about the elephant in the room that is Jae In's dad being the culprit of the apartment fire Ahn's parents died in. Of course we know that it's not actually him who did it but Ahn doesn't and that was the main thrust of the heartbreak of this week. I totally and completely understood the pain and panic Ahn went through cause on an intellectual level he knows that Jae In isn't to blame for her father's crimes whether he did them or not but emotionally it's hard to separate the two. I cried right alongside him when he was screaming at that bridge about why this happens to him and then later when he got drunk at his parents' grave. It's so hard for him to find someone who accepts his psychometric powers and the one woman who did and still wanted to be around him ended up hurting him and I also loved that despite this, he also couldn't destroy his love for Jae In and that he took a moment amongst all his pain to think about the pain she must be going through as well. Of course now that Jae In has been kidnapped Ahn will probably accept what's happening faster but I think regardless of that like Ji Soo said, he would have come back to her eventually after taking some time to think. I thought this week played this heartbreak better than it did in Come And Hug Me even if in that the murderer actually was the main lead's father so props to that. Speaking of, I would have been perfectly content if these episodes were all about Ahn and Jae In and their heartbreak but we did learn more about the case that we're following. That creepy dude is definitely for sure Seung Mo's dad cause the show has all but announced it with the clues we've been getting and as it turns out, Seung Mo's mom is alive as well though apparently she never reached out to her son which is strange cause it's not like the creepy dude doesn't know where Seung Mo is. She clearly cares more about her own safety than anything else.

Her Private Life (2/16): A romantic comedy about a talented gallery curator named Sung Duk Mi, who is an idol fangirl underneath her professional veneer. Meanwhile, her boss Ryan becomes a passionate fanboy of her. Sung Duk Mi lives a double life as both a gallery curator and a home master for a fansite about Si An, an idol group member. She’s a pro in both aspects of her life, and because of her fangirl dedication, Duk Mi has had to break up with several boyfriends, deciding instead to go all in for her fangirl activities instead of dating. Ryan is a new director at the gallery where Duk Mi works. Once a painter, Ryan was a sensation in the art world from his debut to his retirement, and is now seeing career success as a director. An individualist through and through, Ryan comes to find out about Duk Mi’s double life.

Talk about love at first sight! I adore when I start a new show and fall head over heels for it and that's what happened to me with this show. I loved Park Min Young in What's Wrong With Secretary Kim even if I didn't love that show as much as everyone else did and she was fine in Healer and so far I'm loving her character here. I love when female leads are competent at their jobs cause it's so rare to find one that isn't bumbling around and doesn't know what she's doing until her male lead swoops in to help. I also love that this show revolves around art and art galleries and I love the abrupt difference between Duk Mi as this hurricane at work and her crazy fangirl life on the side. Despite how funny the fangirl moments are, honestly I prefer the art gallery stuff but that's mostly cause I've never been a fangirl like that before so most of the stuff the show portrays that fangirls do is a still much for me to wrap my head around personally. I also love Ryan so far as this mysterious ex-artist and my goodness but how I fell in love with Kim Jae Wook's cheekbones. I also really like their dynamic and I'm glad we're throwing the enemies trope out the window by the end of episode 2 (or at least I hope so) cause I want to see them be a badass team. I wonder if Duk Mi will end up painting again at some point cause the show mentioned that she was an artist but her family couldn't afford it anymore so she stopped. I really thought for a while that the mysterious artist Ryan was looking for would end up being Duk Mi but she's see the art he's into so many times that it can't be. I also wonder why this one specific art piece destroyed Ryan's ability to create art and I hope he gets back to it at some point too. The side characters all seem fun and I kind of find it hilarious that Ryan thinks that Duk Mi is dating Seon Joo but I really thought Eun Gi was Duk Mi's brother (cause why else would he be living in her house with her parents) only for the cast list to tell me that they're just friends.

FINISHED Sweet Stranger And Me/The Man Living In Our House (16/16): Hong Na Ri is a proud flight attendant who suffers a series of misfortunes after her mother passes away and then she discovers that her longtime fiancee, Jo Dong Jin, is cheating on her with fellow flight attendant Do Yeo Joo. To get her mind off her troubles, Na Ri returns to her mother’s home, only to find a handsome young man, Go Nan Gil, living in Na Ri’s mother’s house and running her mother’s dumpling restaurant. Incredulously, Nan Gil tells Na Ri that he is her father, having married Na Ri’s mother before she passed away! Meanwhile, Kwon Duk Bong is a wealthy businessman who wants to help Na Ri reclaim her mother’s property so that he can develop the land. Can he help Na Ri prove that Nan Gil is a lying swindler?

This was such a strange show to watch and honestly I expected that going in cause how many shows do you think are out there were the male lead is married to the female lead's mom? I'm usually not a fan of stories like this where someone dies causing the leads to fall for each other when the person who died was a relative cause it's super cheesy but I figured that there was some sort of secret behind the marriage here so it didn't bother me too much. I really enjoyed the start of this drama cause the humor was so spot on and I loved Na Ri as a character cause she was so straightforward and refused to feel sorry for herself like so many female leads who got cheated on. I adored that she would say whatever she felt and actually was willing to apologize when she was wrong and think things through before acting on them. I also adored Nan Gil for being the sweetest little puppy and it was so romantic knowing how much he loved Na Ri and how he spent his whole life loving her without wanting anything in return. I loved their back-and-forth dynamic and the bickering/teasing they would do and their first kiss was one of the best I've seen in a drama though the rest weren't so great. Despite all this, I don't think this drama was all that well written cause I really could give no shits about the whole land debate and thought it was kind of silly reason for our leads to break up. There were too many villains and none of them were really well developed though I loved Wan Shik and where the show ended with him. Overall I'd give this show a 8 / 10. 

FINISHED That Winter, The Wind Blows (16/16): "The Winter, The Wind Blows" is a story about a man who is known to be the best gambler in Cheongdam neighborhood. He lives a meaningless life after being abandoned by his parents and failed to protect his first love . In order to repay his debt to a gangster, he plans to scam a blind girl who is the heir to a large corporation by acting as her long lost brother. However, he falls in love with the girl, who is also as lonely as him with no one to trust and being surrounded by people who wants a piece of her wealth.

This was such a heartbreaking show for me to watch cause I started out super in love with it but then the writing went all over the place and fizzled to a terrible end! I did love the set up of this show with a blind lead and a con man and a love story where one or both of the leads think they're siblings cause it adds such delicious angst. The cinematography was absolute stunning and I loved Soo as a character cause I thought he played the confident con man and the brokenhearted lover perfectly. Watching him struggle with his love for Young was everything and the two had this insane chemistry which made everything they did so cute. I loved that she was the one to help him move on from Hee Joo's death and it was so interesting to watch a male lead who actually felt like an adult and reacted to situations like he should. I was also super into Young at first cause though she was blind, she was smart as a whip and refused to be pushed around making her very distrustful of everyone around her (for good reason) and I enjoyed watching her slowly open up to Soo but as the show went on, the writing for her started to make no sense. I couldn't decide if she was suicidal or not (and neither could she tbh) and I really assumed that a part of her knew that Soo wasn't really her brother and that she was just in denial but to everyone's shock, she literally had to have it spelled out for her in neon lights. I also really hated what the show did with Secretary Wang cause I understand that dramas usually like to redeem their villains but straight up Wang caused Young to go blind, murdered her father and paid people to spy on her and somehow the show wanted us to believe that Wang did it all out of love and that she was the best person to take care of Young? Gag me with a spoon. And don't even get me started on that terrible ending! Soo got stabbed by his best friend for no real reason and then disappeared for like 6 months cause suddenly he was insecure about Young's love even though before the stabbing he had planned on being by her side for the surgery? Ugh. Overall I'd give this show a 7.5 / 10 cause it started out great but ended poorly. 

CDRAMA

The Brightest Star In The Sky (10/44): As singer-songwriter C-POP star, Huang Zitao plays a role of a recalcitrant idol who debuted and become famous since he was young. He deeply likes music and keeps persistent, that is similar with Huang Zi Tao. This time Yang Zhen Zhen is a newbie manager who just starts the work. Being a newbie staff, she faces various obstacles but she never gives up her music dreams.

I saw this drama pop up on my drama feed and I was kinda meh about the description but the second I turned it on, I was shocked to find that Z. Tao and Janice Wu were the leads cause I adore both actors and I was like dude if I'd known who was in this drama, I would have jumped all over it episodes ago! Dramas set around music are some of my favorites and I especially love when they're set in the entertainment industry and after watching 10 episodes of this show, I'm fascinated! I love the way this show is filmed and how much time is spent on music cause it feels so unique compared to a lot of kdramas set around music. I love love love Baixu as a character because he's this fun mix of arrogant but kind and Z. Tao plays him so perfectly that you can feel the charm oozing from his every pore. It's fascinating cause Baixu is written to be the kind of character that would normally be the second lead or even the villain of a show cause while I personally think everything Baixu sang and did in the drama was great, the show wants me to believe that he's not very good at singing and all he has is a pretty face and money to back him. Meanwhile the second lead is the guy with all the singing talents but no luck in getting signed and that's fascinating. I do think the whole point is that Baixu is a good performer but he's not being directed correctly by the company cause they're making him sing terrible songs and not allowing him to do CPop like he wants to and I feel like that'll probs be the arc for the show and that eventually he'll be able to do it and become number 1 for real. It also helps that Baixu doesn't seem to have any sort of real complex the way a second lead or villain would cause he believes in himself more than anyone else tbh. I also really like Janice Wu's character of Zhenzhen cause she's no doormat and can stand up for herself when needed but also knows when she's wrong and to back off. I don't know if I see much romantic chemistry between our leads yet but we also haven't had any romantic moments so I'm holding off judgement on that.

xoxo Allie