Friday, June 28, 2019

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 Abyss (16/16): Go Se Yeon was a tough, accomplished, and an unrivaled beautiful female prosecutor who worked in the Seoul District public Office but gets into a fatal accident and dies. However, due to the mysterious magical marble—Abyss—Go Se Yeon is revived, but now in a totally different appearance. Go Se Yeon now possesses a common appearance based off of how “good” her spirit was in her previous life. Cha Min was the highly intelligent heir to Korea’s top cosmetics company but was also a smart, humble, and a kind-hearted man. Although he has both the brains and an astounding amount of wealth, he considers himself unattractive and is insecure about his looks. Like Go Se Yeon, Cha Min gets into an accident and dies. Due to the mysterious magical marble—Abyss—he comes back to life with a different appearance as an exceedingly handsome man just as bright as his spirit he had in his previous life. Go Se Yeon and Cha Min begin to work as a lawyer and an administrator at a private law firm and decide to investigate the magical incident. Romance blooms in the office as the two intertwine together to accept their same fate.

Raise your hand if you're confused about the ending for this drama cause I definitely am. I don't know what is about about dramas that make writers feel like a love story is only complete if there's a prolonged absence of one of the main leads whether it's through a breakup or long distance or some sort of magical death. Most of the times I don't mind a magical death separation but this one made no sense and honestly there was no need for one anyway! If there was supposed to be a limited number of uses for the Abyss, then we should have learned that in like the first episode so that every time Abyss was used in the back of our minds we'd be worried. The fact that we just learned about the limited usage this week took the wind right out of the sails. And let's not even talk about how Min's return made no sense. Like what brought him back? A forgiving Abyss? Whatever god spirit things usually hold the Abyss? And then what it disappears at the end cause Se Yeon is pregnant? Does their baby now own it? Ugh. Despite that I was glad with how we wrapped up the Ji Seok story with him ending up in jail and I especially liked how they caught him by planting the evidence they stole from him in the first place back in his apartment and that his fake father was the one to do him in at the end. I also loved that Mi Do and Dong Cheol got married cause I low key started to ship them more than Min and Se Yeon as the show went on. Like I said before, something about the main couple just never worked for me and I don't know what it was for the life of me. Overall I'd give this show a 7.5 / 10 cause it was meh pretty much all the way around. 
Angel's Last Mission: Love (24/32): People just fall in love and devote their lives for love. Sometimes, they take the other one’s life away for their love. A cold-hearted woman meets an immature angel and they get to confront unexpected tragedy and crucial moment. Lee Yeon Seo is a cynical and arrogant ballerina. She becomes the heiress because of her parent’s sudden death. She doesn’t believe anyone since there are a lot of people around her who want her inherited money. Her distrust and arrogance make herself unable to love. She becomes the best ballerina, but she gets into an accident and has to give up her dream. Kim Dan is a mischievous angel. When he ends his duty as an angel on the earth, he gets to cause trouble and has only one last chance to overcome his critical situation to be extinct. And that last chance is to be a Cupid for Yeon Seo, but he despairs that he has to look after such an arrogant Yeon Seo.

Every single week I feel like I end up writing the same thing over and over but I just can't help it! This show makes me cry at the end of every episode and my heart aches for these two which I just can't help but love cause shows that make you feel something are so so much better than those where you just watch mindlessly. I'm glad that Yeon Seo figured out everything this week cause it sucked that she was the only one who didn't know the truth when everyone else did. I thought the show might actually go the mind wipe route but luckily she remembered everything and accepted it almost immediately which was what I wish more drama leads would do though of course her anger was destroyed cause Dan was just too cute and earnest running around her that she couldn't help but forgive him anyway. Kang Woo is still annoying as hell and acting like he's got the moral high-ground for some reason and it's like excuse you dumbass but humans are the ones trying to kill her almost every week and Dan's the reason that she's survived every time. I also loved the way that he kept trying to throw a wrench in Yeon Seo and Dan's love first by trying to scare Dan and then Yeon Seo but both keep showing him how pure their love is which is pretty much the difference between him and them. While he chose to become bitter after everything, Dan and Yeon Seo choose to look at the positives and embrace what they have. Dan put him in his place by telling him that he knew Yeon Seo as a human child and that like I thought last week there might be a chance that God brought the two together again which really made Kang Woo seethe with anger and jealously enough to tell Yeon Seo about Dan's imminent death but unfortunately for him she not only shot him down entirely by saying that even if Dan wasn't around she still wouldn't be into him but that it's not much different than loving a human who will die soon. I was pretty sure that she wouldn't end up going the noble sacrifice route cause Yeon Seo is more the type of person who would fight God face-to-face rather than hide and like I was so happy about that cause it's like even if Yeon Seo tried to back away from Dan, it was too damn late anyway cause he loves her already and even if she pretended like she was over him, that wouldn't make his feelings go away. I'm also low key confused about Ni Na and what's going on with ballet teacher and whether or not Ru Na is like possessed cause that whispering noise that goes off every time she talks is a little strange but at least the aunt is taken care of now that her wrongdoings have been outed.
Arthdal Chronicles Season 2 (2/6): Eun Som was born with a fate to bring disaster to Arthdal. Due to his mother's struggles to save him, he goes through hardships and grows up. He appears again in Arthdal. Ta Gon is a war hero of Arthdal. He has paved the way for Arthdal to become a prosperous city nation and he is the most powerful person in Arthdal. He dreams of becoming the first king of Arthdal. Tan Ya was born with the same fate as Eun Som. She is the successor of the Wahan Tribe. Going through hardships, she realized her mission. She lives under the highest honor and her ambition is to become a politician

I'm hardcore struggling with this show which sucks cause I felt so positively about the start of season 1 but there's so much Arthdal politics that I'm starting to get bored. I really expected this show to be more of a fantasy and I was here to watch Eunseom fight for his people and fall in love with Tanya but it's been episodes upon episodes where the two are apart with no sign of reconnecting and we get like 80% Tagon and like 20% Eunseom. As fascinating as Tagon is, I don't care about him taking over Arthdal as much as the show does cause I'm waiting for Eunseom and Tanya to burn the whole place down! I'm also low key pissed that Eunseom already lost his upper hand to Tagon and now Tagon and his whole crew know that Eunseom is an Igutu but I'm not sure if this will mean anything for real cause it's not like Tagon can admit it without fear of Eunseom doing the same. I did like the reveal that Moobaek was in love with Asa Hon when they were younger cause it might give him a reason to join Eunseom's side. I was super pissed when those Wahan people betrayed Eunseom cause like seriously in this scenario, who the hell cares about whether someone ran away or not?? Like damn it's better to run and regroup and find a way to attack than to stay and suffer. I also found Saya really interesting cause last week I really thought that Chae Eun and him had a thing based on how she was speaking to Eunseom about Igutus but it seems like Saya was in love with someone else though I suppose that might not stop Chae Eun from loving him anyway. At first I thought Saya might be a bit boring with how cowardly he seemed but his abrupt switch when he destroyed Taealha's plans was diabolic and maybe I was supposed to be a bit scared of how ruthless he was in killing Tagon's brother just to further his own plot but honestly as long as he's killing Arthdal people, I don't mind. I have a feeling he's going to fall in love with Tanya tbh and I just really hope she is able to harden her heart against him despite him looking like Eunseom especially now that she thinks he's dead cause I don't want them together!
My Absolute Boyfriend (28/40): Da Da, is a woman who works as a special effects make-up artist but has a very cold-heart. She then, unexpectedly, falls in love with Yeong Goo, a humanoid robot programmed to be a perfect boyfriend. Yeong Goo begins to develop human emotions, and they end up in a love triangle with her famous actor childhood friend, Ma Wang Joon, who also falls for her.

Can we take a moment to talk about how weird In Hyuk is as a character? I completely understand where Diana is coming from as a villain but In Hyuk who works at Kronos Heaven just makes no sense! Like at first him going against his bosses worked cause he was worried that Diana would do something terrible to him or them but now that the head office has agreed to keep Young Goo with Da Da, why in the hell is he still helping Diana scheme? Does he despise Young Goo that much? Or is it the fact that Bo Won got what he wanted? Officially Da Da owns Young Goo so he has no right to try to separate them or tell Diana that he's on her side. I mean he's literally aiding and abetting in a kidnapping. On the other hand I want to feel bad for Wang Joon but he's been such the absolute worst for so long that I'm a little thrilled that he's suffering now. Let's not kid ourselves, he's not "worried" about Da Da's safety dating a robot cause long before he found out, he was pissed that Da Da dared to move on from him. It drove me mad that he keeps forcing himself on Da Da from moving into her house without her permission to guilt tripping her into letting him stay to lecturing her like a child to ransacking Young Goo's room to find evidence of him being evil. Like that actual hell? And I had this problem over on Perfume but low and behold I get to deal with this again but goddamn it public confessions are not romantic unless both parties are okay with it and Da Da is literally dating someone else and has told Wang Joon over and over that she doesn't want to be with him. Now she'll face all sorts of pressure from the public and I kind of hope when reporters attack her she'll be like sorry but I have a boyfriend and I don't know why Wang Joon decided to confess like this. 
Partners For Justice Season 2 (16/32): In crime and in life, all contact leaves a trace. There is no perfect crime and our hero and heroine have the ultimate cooperation. This drama continues the tale of a forensic scientist and a prosecutor who make the best of teams.

Ahh did I or didn't I call it last week when I said that Jang Cheol probs has some sort of multiple personality?? I was almost swayed away from that theory with the whole red spot thing on his neck and face and I still really don't know how one personality can have it while another cannot but either way Cheol talked about "him" doing something bad as he cried reading a journal that depicted everything Dr K did during the last case so now I'm almost certain. I do think his mom is sketch too especially with how weirdly jealous she got when Cheol mentioned that he had an appointment with a woman and how she seemed completely out of it during his birthday flashback. I still want to like him as a character especially now that he's like sort of paired up with Soo Yeon and part of me still hopes for a twin plot reveal but I feel like this story might have worked a little better if Cheol was a better guy or more charming when he's a normal guy cause it's like other than being handsome, who knows why Soo Yeon is into him and wasn't it super weird that he didn't attempt to comfort her as she broke down in the ER? I totally thought that the kidnapping had something to do with Dr K because the kidnapper caught sight of Soo Yeon's daughter during the Cheol date and it was right after the prosecutors talked about getting rid of Dr K so even though the kidnapper is dead, I don't know if that theory is completely finished yet. It was an interesting twist to have the murderer from last week be Oh Man Sang who was a villain from season 1 but honestly all I got out of that case was that thank goodness Dr K isn't murdering people. It gives me hope for the future cause I'm an idiot like that.
Perfume (16/32): Seo Yi Do is a top designer. Although he appears to be the perfect man on the outside, his personality leaves something to be desired. On top of that, he has about 52 phobias and 35 allergies. Min Jae Hee is a middle-aged housewife, who has devoted her life to her family only to see it fall apart before her eyes. She discovers a miracle perfume that makes her look young again. After recovering her youth, she ends up walking the runway in one of Seo Yi Do’s fashion shows and signs with a top modeling agency to become a celebrity. Both of them get a second chance at romance in what is described as a fantasy romantic comedy.

I have a feeling I will be watching the rest of this show through my fingers at this rate. I want to say I want to drop this show but like I live for the five minutes every episode where Jae Hee gets to model and those five minutes every four episodes keep me sated amongst all the rest. Okay I have to admit Yi Do's love for Jae Hee ever since she saved his life as a child was sweet but I blame him entirely for losing her. Okay so she doesn't recognize you. What's stopping you from reminding her every time you bump into each other especially before she was married? Aside from that I just can't find the comedy in this show funny! I didn't particularly like Shin Sung Rok funny in Last Empress and I don't find him funny here. The over-exaggerated moments are just too much and the jealous moments where we're supposed to laugh just creep me the hell out. On what planet is it romantic to steal a gift for someone else out of jealously and then steal their phone to send mean texts to their boyfriend? I don't care that's it's not real. Yi Do didn't know it at the time and his horrifying creepy possessiveness was giving me chills. IT'S NOT ROMANTIC OR CUTE OR WHATEVER THE SHOW IS TRYING TO PRETEND IT IS. God can you imagine dating a man like that? He'd be texting you every hour on the hour and asking for physical proof to prove where you are just to make sure that you wouldn't leave him. I also hate that he basically ruined all chances of fixing the situation with Jae Hee and Min Seok at the press conference cause again he's trying to be possessive of her. Why do guys continuously think that confessing in public is romantic? It's not! And like all he did was make poor Jae Hee look like she's dating two men and like no one in the public is going to be on her side! The worst is that you know she's too much of a nice person to be like Yi Do was lying so of course she's going to be like yeah that's me seducing two men.
Search: WWW (8/16): Bae Ta Mi works as a director for a big web portal company. She is in her late 30's and is quite competitive. With her competitiveness, Ta Mi enjoys success. The methods she uses to win has her wondering if she is doing the right thing with her life. Has she sacrificed too much of her personal life for success? Park Mo Geon is a man in his 20's and is a gifted composer. He creates music for video games. Mo Geon meets Ta Mi at an arcade. He falls in love with her due to her competitive spirit.

The one thing I'm not loving about this drama is the weird back-and-forth thing the show keeps doing with Ta Mi and Mo Geon. I know the romance isn't supposed to be the main plot of this drama (it's the badass females and their relationship with each other) but seriously one episode they're happy and the next they're fighting again. Ta Mi is like weirdly terrified of commitment and it was bad enough when she just couldn't decide to date him but now there's the marriage question coming up. Not only is it weird that Mo Geon who is in his 20s should have marriage on his mind but then Ta Mi's reasoning for why she doesn't want to get married is that she likes her single life so it's not like she's opposed to marriage for any real personal reasons like I expected so the whole argument was strange. I'm hoping since we've literally touched on any and all relationship breakup topics that other dramas would use in their final third of a show that from now on it'll be smooth sailing for our couple cause I do adore their interactions and how the roles have reversed in their relationship with Mo Geon being the one who's worried about Ta Mi not texting him back and making sure he looks good in the morning. I'm also loving the relationship that's budding between Scarlett and Ji Hwan cause he's also a precious puppy and I want to adopt him. I'm curious where this will go cause he's clearly into her but I think he might be afraid to keep reaching out in case she's not interested. Maybe Barro will make a celebrity management division after all? But more than that, I'm loving the friendship that's blooming between Scarlett and Ta Mi cause they've got each other's backs when it counts and Ta Mi even likes Scarlett enough to listen to her opinion in important matters. I am also low key in love with Ga Gyeong and Jin Woo cause yeah yeah she's not a good person and yeah yeah their relationship is for show but he's just so handsome and tbh his protective instinct just makes my heart flutter cause he's not doing any of this for a reward. He just wants her to be happy like with being okay with her dating someone else and with the photos at the racetrack not needing to be public.
FINISHED The Secret Life Of My Secretary (32/32): Do Min Ik is an intelligent man and the executive of a leading telecommunications company who always relies on his secretary, the loyal Jung Gal Hee. When Jung Gal Hee gets fired from her job she winds up assuming a double life as a famous movie industry figure, Veronica Park, after Do Min Ik gets into an accident that leaves him with face blindness (prosopagnosia).

What a cute end to a cute show! I want to start the final review of this show by shouting out Kim Young Kwang's mind blowing acting in this drama. In my opinion, KYK held this show up on his broad shoulders and heartwarming smile. I fell for him almost immediately after meeting and I will never not praise this show for writing him as a sweetheart boss who cared for his secretary from almost the first moment unlike every other show out there with a cold male boss which not only grows stale after awhile but I can never truly wrap my head around how the female leads fall for them when their male leads are just so mean to them. I also adored the amazing chemistry between Gal Hee and Min Ik here cause they were just so cute and I was so thankful we skipped the stage where Gal Hee hated Min Ik. I could, of course, have gone without the fake Veronica stuff but it all worked out so I'm happy. I'm glad the show ended with them being engaged and though a part of me wishes that Min Ik could have just gotten bumped on the head again in the final moments of this episode and got his sight back, I don't mind that he never got better either. At least it wasn't a terminal illness amirite? I also adored that Veronica and Dae Joo got their own happy ending and that Dae Joo is going to be CEO until Min Ik is ready and that his mom accepted him for who he is. The only other thing I would have changed in this finale was the stuff with the secretaries cause like on one level I understand them being upset with the terrible hiring process in the company but like on the other they literally stole things and embezzled money from their bosses and that's illegal no matter how you slice it. Thank god the driver ended up in jail cause I would have been majorly pissed if Min Ik just forgave him after everything just cause drama leads always end up forgiving those that harmed them! Overall I'd give this show a 8.5 / 10!

xoxo Allie

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