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 the amount of 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

Catch The Ghost (4/16): "Catch the Ghost” is a romantic investigative drama about a woman named Yoo Ryung who solves cases with her overflowing sense of justice and exceptional spatial perception but always gets herself into trouble because of her rash actions. She meets the Wangsimni station constabulary chief, a man who avoids cases and seeks stability. However, he always ends up cleaning up after the problems caused by Yoo Ryung and holds the key to solving the cases.

There really wasn't a particular reason why I decided to check this show out but seeing as how I was too busy to watch it when it first aired last week, it clearly wasn't that high on my to watch list and that's how I feel about the show now that I've checked out four episodes. I wanted to like this drama so much cause you know I love police/investigation dramas and I don't have one that I'm watching right now other than Running Mates but as I worried from reading the synopsis, the female lead is definitely not my cup of tea. One of my biggest pet peeves is when a female lead is rash and does things without a care for the rules and that's exactly the kind of character Yoo Ryung is. In real life if a person acted like this and broke a thousand rules in the two days they've been working, she'd be fired already and it drives me mad watching a drama be like well it all works out in the end except no it wouldn't! Ugh. All I can think as I watch is poor Ji Suk who has to wrangle her! And it's like I get how desperate she is about finding her missing sister but if she was smart she would play the long game and calmly investigate instead of throwing herself around any which way her emotions do. Kim Sun Ho is obviously charming his way across the screen as Ji Suk and I'm pretty interested in the two subway cases we're following, The Grasshopper and the Ghost so I think I will stick around. I don't have any real feelings for any of the side characters yet but I'm sure that the more we get to know them, the more I'll care!

Extraordinary You (20/32): What would you do if you found out that you were, in fact, a character in a comic? And an extra character on top of that? Change the course of the story, obviously! Eun Dan Oh is a 17-year-old high-school student from a wealthy family who suffers from a lifelong heart condition that inevitably means she will not live past her teenage years. However, when Dan Oh realizes she is experiencing long gaps in her memory as well, she comes into the unhappy inheritance of another fact in her life: she is a character in a Korean webtoon and all of her actions are predetermined by the artist who draws her. To make matters worse, she discovers she is only a supporting character in the cast. With her newfound understanding of the world she inhabits, she is determined to find true love in her own plot-line and circumvent the author’s plans for her character by utilizing the flashes of storyboard she alone is able to see.

You know for a hot second there I actually wondered if maybe Kyung isn't just a tsundere or antihero but the actual villain. His jealously honestly started to scare me a little this week and I'm worried that he was actually the one to ruin the last manga too. From what I can gather it looks like Kyung, Dan Oh and Ha Ru were the main love triangle in Trumpet Creeper which I definitely guessed but it looks like Ha Ru might have actually been the second lead though a lot of the scenes we've seen of Dan Oh and Ha Ru looked hella romantic so I truly don't know! Maybe they both woke up and decided that they loved each other and tried to change the story only for Kyung to get angry? Somehow or other Ha Ru definitely jumped through that green portal into this world which is why he had no character before. Squid Fairy also seems like less of a bad guy this week but I bet that the woman he loved in the previous manga shows up in this one cause that's just too much drama not to play with! Every moment we had with Ha Ru and Dan Oh was so sweet and so romantic! My heart practically leapt out of my damn chest when Ha Ru said that cute line about Dan Oh being extraordinary and I loved their kiss. I low key can't wait for next week cause it's going to be so awkward for Kyung who has to watch Dan Oh love him on stage and then date Ha Ru in the shadow. On another note I'm thinking that Ju Da is like a few seconds away from becoming aware of herself cause we saw more and more of her acting differently during the stage and getting that fade-y filter on her that the aware characters get when they're on stage. I also have a feeling that when she wakes up that her real self is going to love Do Hwa not Nam Ju based on her face when Do Hwa told Nam Ju that he's moving on. 

Flower Crew: Joseon Marriage Agency (14/16): Before Lee Soo became a king, he was an ordinary blacksmith in the countryside. He life suddenly changed at the age of 23. This was when Lee Soo became the King of Joseon. Meanwhile, Lee Soo’s first love is Gae Ddong. He loved her before he took the throne. King Lee Soo wants to marry Gae Ddong, but, because of her humble background, it is virtually impossible. To marry Gae Ddong, Lee Soo hires the Flower Crew Matchmaking Agency. The agency consists of 3 handsome men: Ma Hoon, Do Joon and Go Young Soo and they are the best matchmaking agency in Joseon. King Lee Soo asks the Flower Crew to make Gae Ddong a noblewoman.

Anyone else crying like me? Like damn I low key knew this was coming from the moment that Soo became King but it still didn't stop the tears from flowing! Soo is the worst for what he's putting Gae Ddong cause beyond the fact that both State Councillors are literally playing around him in circles, he truly does not give a single shit about what Gae Ddong wants. She's told him over and over that she doesn't love him and doesn't want to marry him but does he care? Nope! Honestly I don't think he sent his fake father aka the head of the palace guards to Gae Ddong to basically threaten her into marrying the king but clearly the head of the guards saw something in how desperate Soo is cause why else would he warn Gae Ddong that if she doesn't marry Soo that he'll kill the entire Flower Crew? I loved that despite everything Hoon knew that Gae Ddong was lying about why she's going to the palace and that at least takes some of the bite out of it cause he's smart enough to know what's going on even if it's breaking his heart. What are the chances that he storms the palace or something next week to stop Gae Ddong from marrying Soo? I mean tbh if he went to his father he'd probs help cause if Gae Ddong married Hoon then Soo could marry his cousin. I keep wondering at the palace politics cause it's not like one councillor is better than the other since the second councillor is blackmailing poor Young Soo but like his plan seems idiotic cause Kang isn't all there mentally so it's not like he's going to run to Lady Yun in the middle of whatever and be like Gae Ddong cause he sees his sister as a child but more importantly I doubt Young Soo will turn on his family like this. The finale is going to air next week and I'm totally going to miss this show so much!!

Leverage (6/16): "Leverage" will tell the story of Lee Tae Joon, an elite insurance investigator turned scam strategist who recruits the best "players" in order to catch the real criminals who think they’re above the law.

Previously I said that this show reminded me of Mad Dog and while that's still true, this week it reminded me more of Confidence Man JP that jdrama I watched about con artists who stole from the corrupt cause that looks to be how this show will be framing the narrative of the story as well cause it gives us a reason to root for a group of con artists even though tbh I would have been perfectly fine if the group were antiheroes and out just to make a quick buck! I was glad that the con from last week didn't take too long to wrap up cause more than two episodes for one con might have been too much but I didn't realize that the reason they chose 200 million rather than just the 2 million that Eui Sang lost was in order to give back the money others that Young Min conned lost. Of course everyone got a small cut and it was enough to create an awesome secret base! The next case we got was about the Police Commissioner and he is a part of the secret group that's trying to run everything though Tae Joon and co don't know that. He's got a mercenary for hire on the side and as it turns out that mercenary is a person from Roy's past and is just as badass as Roy making him an actual threat. I still adore the team but I'm still not on board with Eui Sang and Na Byul's romance though at least it's all on the down low and not in my face so I can ignore it most of the time. I love the dynamic in the group though and I can't wait to watch how the cuteness of Eui Sang, Na Byul and Soo Kyung melt Roy who's walking around pretending to be all tough and refusing to officially join the team but is actually a marshmallow inside.

Melting Me Softly (10/16): It’s a story about a man and a woman who participated in a project to be frozen for 24 hours, only to be waken up 20 years later due to a mysterious scheme. Once out of the freeze, the two experience a dangerous side effect from the project wherein they must maintain a core body temperature of 31.5 degrees Celsius (approximately 88.7 degrees Fahrenheit) to survive. Coupled with the warming of their hearts from romantic attraction, they find themselves in a sticky situation. Ma Dong Chan is a star variety show PD, who makes hits out of every show he creates. He decides to personally participate in his show called “Frozen Human Project,” but instead of waking up 24 hours later, 20 years have passed when he opens his eyes. Everyone he knows has aged 20 years, while he has maintained his perfect physique and youth from pre-freeze.

Holy hell that kiss guys! And this right here is why we all love and worship at the altar of Ji Chang Wook. I think everyone had to cool off after watching it! Okay but seriously is it sad that the only thing I loved about this week was that kiss? I still don't love the writing of this drama or the story and I can't really feel any sparks between Dong Chan and Mi Ran but their kiss really worked and I'm hoping that now I'll be more on board with the main couple cause before this I wasn't exactly having SLS but I wasn't exactly rooting for Dong Chan either despite being played by Wookie. I read a comment that someone posted and I realized that it was exactly what was keeping me from falling for Dong Chan. He's literally got no character to latch on to. I feel like he's meant to just be handsome and competent but like with nothing behind it, it's too empty. Where's his backstory? What does he struggle with? I really can't believe that the writers of this show are the same as Strong Woman Do Bong Soon cause in that I was attached to the main characters immediately and I can't understand where this show went so wrong. I did like the whole Mi Ran reveal though this week and the way it was handled so perfectly but I'm torn on who revealed it cause my first thought was that it was Dong Chan's ex but it might also be Mi Ran's friend who's jealous that both her husband and son like Mi Ran. It was strange of the friend to blame Mi Ran's return for losing her husband cause she should entirely blame his delusions cause Mi Ran has given him no indication that she feels anything but hatred towards him. I still don't care about the evil CEO who's trying to keep power but I don't entirely understand why the Professor can't just wake up the real CEO to combat the evil one cause as soon as the public finds out the truth, the evil one will be done for.

FINISHED The Running Mates: Human Rights Volunteer Team (14/14): "Running Investigator" shines light on the lives of those who have their human rights infringed upon from the perspective of an inspector for the Human Rights Commission, who has neither the right to investigate nor prosecute.

I hardcore didn't realize that this show lost two of it's episodes so the finale actually aired this week instead of next. I suppose this show really wasn't getting the ratings and tbh I'm perfectly fine with it not only ending this week but also understanding why the ratings were so low. The thing with investigation dramas that are procedurals is that the cases need to be interesting like the ones in Partners For Justice which means that they have to be kinda over-the-top but also related to our leads so we have some sort of emotional attachment to them. This show also hardcore struggled with fleshing out our characters cause other than Yoon Seo, I cannot tell you anything about any of the other characters or their backstories! Even Hong Tae was shortchanged in terms of character development so all we knew about him was that he was a prosecutor and that he was a bit violent. I wondered if maybe he would stick around at the HRC for a second this week cause he seemed a bit torn up about leaving but in the end stuck to be a prosecutor and I'm hoping a friend to Yoon Seo cause they had a great dynamic regardless of the lack of romance which I low key kept waiting for. I did like how philosophical it got this week with the death penalty and what kinds of rights a serial killer has and I'd imagine that though he was granted a stay of execution, his whole running away thing forced him back to prison cause clearly he's a flight risk. Overall I was pretty meh about this show and I suppose it's onto the next investigation drama for me: 7.5 / 10.

Vagabond (12/16): Cha Dal Gun becomes an awakened tiger in the face of his nephew’s death in a mysterious plane crash. As an orphan himself, he had raised his nephew singlehandedly in place of his brother who had passed on. Triggered by the large-scale cover-up of the incident, he sets off on a journey to discover the truth. Go Hae Ri is the eldest daughter of a marine who had died during an operation. She has always wanted to be a normal civil servant to support her family, but life had other plans and she ends up as a National Intelligence Service (NIS) agent. Their lives intertwine as they discover a tangled web of corruption behind the plane crash.

Ugh this show is the worst. Like with Melting Me Softly I wanted to adore this show so much cause I love Lee Seung Gi and Bae Suzy but I just can't get with this drama and unlike MMS the writing in this show is very well done but it's all just so very boring. I'm so sick and tired of the same thing happening every week and how corrupt literally every branch of power in this show is. Like we get it already but seriously I was so hoping that after last week when Edward stepped in to help that we would finally get the backup and support we needed but there was still more of the same. Magically the bad guys are always five steps ahead of the good guys and it's exhausting to experience. I'm also so over the politics of this show cause straight up if money is all that matters, why hasn't Edward paid off the President himself? Why go for the Secretary when the President is the highest up? We did manage to get Kim to court and he claims that he has video evidence of Michael and himself making the deal but I have no idea if he has it on him or anything like that so I'm not sure if it's all that helpful yet. I hope that if he does that Yun gets caught in the video too cause that asshole was the bridge and the reason everyone feels safe enough to do this nonsense. I did like that everyone got so desperate this week to stop Kim which should throw up red flags everywhere from the media to the citizens themselves cause why would the government be so against them getting Kim to court if they had nothing to hide. I don't want to get my hopes up though cause I do at the end of every week only to have them dashed the next.

V.I.P. (4/32): VIP is a drama that seeks to find an answer in the secretive relationships we hold in today’s society. Jung Sun is a competent and successful career woman who works as a deputy manager at Sung Woon Department Store. Her job as a member of the VIP Management Team is to satisfy their top one percent of customers who are the special VIPs and VVIPs. Not only is she professional at work, but she has a happy household with a wonderful husband, Sung Jun. However, one day she receives an anonymous text message. It says that her romantic husband is having an affair with someone at the office. Anxious to lose everything she has, she desperately studies the office and her co-workers to find out the woman Sung Jun is seeing. In the course of events, secrets behind each of the workers at the VIP Management Team are revealed. Will Jung Sun find out the truth behind the anonymous text message?

I'm as surprised as all of you that I'm checking this drama out but my girl Jang Nara is the lead and I low key needed to watch it for her. Having said that I'm not so sure that I am down with the plot of this show cause the only time I am okay with cheating in a drama is when the spouse gets to divorce the cheater's ass and find someone new. Based on the synopsis for this show, I'm afraid that Jung Sun will just be pissed at the woman who her husband is cheating with and then forgive the husband and I'm not about that cause there's pretty much no reason in my mind to get back with a cheater cause once a cheater, always a cheater. It's so strange the way this show is playing it cause it's low key like a mystery to figure out which of the three women is the one Sung Jun is seeing since the show is hiding who it is but making all three women sketchy but even weirder than that is how Sung Jun is acting about the cheating. It feels oddly like he's not really into the other woman but being forced to cheat the way he looks every time a text comes in from that person and it makes me wonder if something else is going on or if he's just one of those emotionless blob male leads which I despise. Honestly though I think it's between Hyun Ah and Mi Na and at first I would have guessed Hyun Ah cause she's the bitchy type but I feel like that might be too obvious and tbh I kind of adore her brand of bitchiness and we for sure know Mi Na is up to something with how she was doing the walk of shame at the top of the show and how she sneaks out to an empty apartment telling her sweet husband that she's going for groceries. Yoo Ri looks like she's having an affair with the VP of the mall so I want to say she's out of the running but who knows.

CDRAMA

Dive (5/30): A story that revolves around a diving team in the brink of disbandment. Coach Yu Feng grooms four athletes to represent the school and turn the tide for the diving team. He finds Jiang Bai Long, a former star of tomorrow in the diving world, Wei Te, an exchange student from Thailand, the newly-enrolled star athlete Lu Hao Ran and his partner Tian Lin.

Swimming with a hint of romance? Yes please! Okay but seriously you all know that I'm constantly looking for a cdrama I adore as much as My Mr Mermaid and so with the set up for this show being similar I was excited to check this drama out. Unfortunately it doesn't feel anywhere near close but there's enough to make me want to come back. Honestly I'm only interested in Wei Te and his possible romance with Caiti which is enough to keep me watching this drama since though he's not the main character, he gets enough screen time that he feels pretty close. Bai Long is pretty standard in terms of drama leads with his amazing ability to dive but fear of doing so because he failed once before so I'm meh about him and his romance felt like it went from 0 to 60 way too quickly. At the same time I can't tell if the girl he's into is the same as Haoran's cause they look too similar with long dark hair but if it is the same person, awkward love triangle alert! The swimming competition and what happened in episode 5 with Wei Te being locked into his home was seriously ridiculous on so many levels and made my blood boil cause what a selfish family. I mean who seriously finds out that their kid has a competition the next day but forces them to stay at home anyway and then doesn't bother to wake the kid up the next morning and even goes as far as to lock the damn door from the outside before they leave? I mean seriously.

No Secrets (12/45): A story about a young man who can read people's minds and a worthless lawyer who come to protect each other. A tragic case from the past revolving around a car accident connects the lives of Lin Xing Ran and Jiang Xia. After 10 years, the young man who can read minds and the impulsive public defender meet again. Meanwhile, Zhang Xiao Quan is Lin Xing Ran's boss who has a reputation for never having lost a single case while Gu Si Yu is a colleague who becomes a bitter rival.

So I originally wasn't going to check this drama out cause I already watched I Hear Your Voice and loved it but I didn't know if a cdrama remake would be any better since I personally do prefer the kdrama way of telling stories but in the end I figured why not check it out. I was surprised to find that the show is actually following the kdrama almost beat by beat while changing a few things here and there to make it more of a cdrama like the second male lead being handsome and rich unlike the second male lead in the kdrama who was scruffy and more poor than our female lead. The mom of the female lead is also more invasive in Xingran's love life the way a cdrama mom usually is and some of the cases have been shifted around but end in a similar manner. I do have to admit that I was surprised with how much the show kept the quirkiness of Xingran though Jiang Xia does look older than a college student to me but they've got great chemistry which I adore and the show kept the older woman/younger man thing that worked so well. So far the villain isn't as scary as the kdrama one but we're also pretty early in the story that I can let that go. The cases are all pretty fun and I like that they've been changed a little so I don't always know where the story is going to go!

xoxo Allie