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 reviews, click here and if you want to see a list of my Favorite Asian OTPs and Ships, click here!
KDRAMA
Find Me In Your Memory (4/32): The story revolves around a man with hyperthymesia, a condition that gives people the ability to remember an abnormally vast amount of their life experiences in vivid detail, and a woman who has forgotten the most important moments of her life. The two people with similar scars fatefully cross paths one day and come to love each other. Jeong Hoon is an anchor of a news show which has the highest ratings. Jeong Hoon’s handsome face and perfect body figure make him look good in a suit. Unlike his gentle appearances, he becomes a tyrant all of a sudden and starts asking aggressive questions to whoever it is. Because of hyperthymesia, he remembers every single thing happening in 365 days a year ever since his childhood. He can’t forget the memory of the woman he loved, Seo Yeon, who disappeared 8 years ago. A rising star who attracts everyone’s attention, Ha Jin, appears in front of Jeong Hoon at that moment. Despite all the attention, Ha Jin doesn’t waver and keeps her confidence. However, she has a secret that her memory is fading away. The man who cannot forget and the woman whose memory is fading away. Will they be able to overcome their difficulties, understand each other, and fall in love at the end?
You know I had next to no expectations going into this show with how I didn't feel too strongly about either the plot of this show or the actors behind it but oddly enough sometimes that's the best way to start a new show cause then you end up enjoying it a lot more than you expected it to. I do think the idea of hyperthymesia is a little cheesy and I have the feeling that there's more magical medical kdrama nonsense to be had in this show in the future but overall I think the story's pretty cute. The age gap doesn't bother me here and I can already seen the chemistry between our leads! Jung Hoon isn't the cold male lead I thought he would be and I low key love how he teases those he cares about and how good he is at his job. I love that he has such a good relationship with all the people around him including his bosses so there won't be any tension there. Ha Jin is adorable and I love how cheery she is and how little she cares about how people criticize her. As we found out, Seo Yun and Ha Jin were best friends when they were younger but it looks like Ha Jin has completely forgotten about her past cause though the show hasn't outright said it yet, the synopsis of this show tells us that Ha Jin has memory problems. Jung Hoon is already seeing Ha Jin as an echo of Seo Yun and I have a feeling that instead of it being because the two were friends and shared the same interests, it'll end up being because of something like Seo Yun giving Ha Jin her heart after she died which is why Ha Jin fell for Jung Hoon after seeing him once. If this is true I'll be able to excuse the whole insta-love thing cause it was the one part of this show that I was really like this is too much. It's also kinda fun that we've also got a fake relationship plot line in this show cause I'm always down for more of that!
Hospital Playlist Season 1 (2/12): A drama depicting the stories of people going through their days that seemingly ordinary but actually special, at the hospital, a place known as the microcosm of life - where someone is being born and someone's life meets their ending. The five doctors are long time friends of 20 years who started their undergrad in 1999 in the same medical school, and now they are colleagues in the same hospital. The drama will also deal with a story of a band formed by the group of doctors.
There's something just so nice and calming about this show in the way that I wish I'll Go To You When The Weather Is Fine was for other people. I've actually never seen a medical drama like this where the focus is on our characters and their lives and their patients with no major hospital politics! I love that our five main characters are so close but I also love that they're all in different departments and that we have minor characters who work with them so the hospital feels real and not just like there's one doctor who does everything while everyone else watches or is busy with politics. I also really like that it feels like every week we'll be focusing on a different of the main characters and giving them a little spotlight cause last week we spent time with Jung Won and this week we were with Song Hwa. Part of me already ships Song Hwa and Jun Wan cause they're so alike but another part of me likes the idea that these people just have awesome male/female friendships without the hidden romance especially after Song Hwa's ex asked Jun Wan if he liked her cause otherwise there would be no reason for him to butt into their problems and I loved Jun Wan's answer of you have no friends right cause it drives me mad when shows do this! If my friend's boyfriend was cheating I sure as hell would be telling my friend! Jung Won is still my favorite but I have a feeling that the show is setting up a romance with Dr Jang and it's strange we still haven't met Ik Jun's wife yet!
Itaewon Class (14/16): On the first day of attending his new high school, Park Sae Ro Yi punches his classmate Jang Geun Won, who was bullying another classmate. The bully is the son of CEO Jang Dae Hee. The bully's father runs restaurant business Jangga where Park Sae Ro Yi’s own father works. CEO Jang Dae Hee demands to Park Sae Ro Yi that he apologizes to his son, but Park Sae Ro Yi refuses. Because of his refusal, Park Sae Ro Yi gets expelled from school and his father gets fired from his job. Soon, an accident takes place. Park Sae Ro Yi’s father dies in a motorcycle accident caused by his ex-classmate Jang Geun Won. Burning with anger, Park Sae Ro Yi viciously beats Jang Geun Won. He is soon arrested and receives prison time for violent assault. Park Sae Ro Yi decides to destroy the Jangga company and take revenge upon CEO Jang Dae Hee and his son Jang Geun Won. Once Park Sae Ro Yi is released from prison, he opens a restaurant in Itaewon, Seoul. Jo Yi Seo, who is popular on social media, joins Park Sae Ro Yi’s restaurant and works there as a manager. She has feelings for Park Sae Ro Yi.
So much happened this week with the show's last episodes before the finale that I don't even know where to begin! I was honestly really surprised that the show did everything I said last week with Hyun Yi and that she ended up winning the competition which led to Danbam being able to be franchised so when we jumped forward 4 years, Saeroyi and all the others were basically living their best lives although they were still only the number 2 food company in Korea. I do have to admit that I think these episodes may have focused a bit too much on Jangga cause I was sitting here like show me more Danbam and what changes have happened! I don't care about CEO Jang and how he's dying from cancer now or Geun Soo and how he came back from studying abroad in America to become the successor. Actually, speaking of Geun Soo, I was honestly really surprised that after Yi Seo found out that it was him who outed Hyun Yi that she didn't tell the others cause even after 4 years the others still thought of Geun Soo as a friend. The more interesting part of all this was how Geun Woo got out of prison and I totally knew it from the beginning that he would target Yi Seo to get to Saeroyi! On that note it's really funny how the entire cast knew that Saeroyi loved Yi Seo before he did cause the poor man is an open book and it had been building for a while now. Soo Ah actually might have been the first to take note of his changing feelings all those years ago and it made her anxious but until Saeroyi left her to chase after Yi Seo, she didn't know officially. As a sidebar I low key loved when Yi Seo read her for filth about being selfish enough to take and take from Saeroyi and never give back and yet still want him to love her. I also want to shout out what might have been the best moment of the week when Saeroyi admitted to Geun Soo that it would be a betrayal to love the woman that a friend does but that he was going to do it anyway. I actually squealed out loud guys! How smooth of him!
Memorist (4/16): Dong Baek has an extraordinary ability. He can peer into the memories of whoever he touches. With his supernatural power, get it done attitude, and eye-pleasing looks, he is fervently revered worldwide as a superstar detective. However, when his punches meet with suspects before words, he can be a bit of a headache to his comrades. Starting from the age of twenty, Han Sun Mi is the youngest to have passed the bar exam, obtain a doctorate in criminal psychology, and become a senior superintendent in the police force. Having solved five cold cases that even a detective with supernatural powers couldn't do, she is a genius profiler. She has a secret that drives her to do what she does. These two highly-skilled professionals meet their match—a serial killer with abilities that transcend theirs combined. It's going to be a fight worth watching.
So this show as it turns out isn't exactly what I thought it was last week and I can't decide if it's a good thing or not. Instead of having a corrupt police chief and higher ups, it looks like most of the antagonists for our heroes will end up being the media and the common people themselves who keep acting as a thorn in the side of our crew. Every time Baek or Sun Mi try to do something, Baek gets arrested for this thing or that and I'm really really hoping that this is the end of it. I mean it's creative and all that I don't have to sit through more politics and coverups but at the same time it's making me furious that he's so looked down on for trying to help. Baek isn't running around looking for people to arrest willy nilly and it's like if you haven't committed a serious crime, why would you care if he touches you?? I'm also hoping that we get more weekly cases cause if the show focuses entirely on this one criminal, I'm afraid it'll run out of steam like a lot of other investigation dramas. Speaking of, it's totally silly that the new criminal we're hunting down can erase memories but I suppose it's possible cause if Baek can read memories, who's to say someone with the opposite ability doesn't exist? I'm really enjoying all the characters in this show though and I really like watching Baek and Sun Mi work together cause they make the most badass team. Also Yoo Seung Ho is seriously dazzling in this role cause I can't look away from his beautiful face.
FINISHED Reply 1988 (20/20): Five childhood friends, who all live in the same Ssangmundong neighborhood of Seoul, lean on each other to survive their challenging teen years and set a path for their futures. Sung Deok Sun struggles for attention as the middle child in her poor family while also carrying the burden of her 989th ranking in school. Kim Jung Hwan only has a one-track mind for soccer, even after his family becomes rich overnight. Sung Sun Woo is the perfect student, student council president and a caring and dependable son in his family. Ryu Dong Ryong is a geek who knows more about girls and life than the rest of his friends, but his poor academic score prevents him from being able to go to college. Choi Taek is a genius baduk player who dropped out of school to go professional. As the group of friends gets into and out of mischief around the neighborhood, what experiences from these memorable times together will they carry with them into their future lives?
Omg I finally found one of the Reply series shows that I actually adored! This is hands down my favorite of the three and that's cause of so many reasons! I loved that this one felt more like a family drama than the last two cause it made the world feel so much more lived in! Every character felt so closely tied to each other and low key I've always loved the idea of a neighborhood where the neighbors are all close and pop in and out of each other's houses like it's nothing. By giving each of the main characters a family with their own lives and problems and stories, the characters felt more real. The shifting of focus also helped with the thing I hated most about these series aka the guess the husband thing cause it actually left me wondering who would actually end up with Deok Sun. In the other two Reply series it was obvious who the male lead was but here I was actually really confused until like halfway through the drama and I loved that! Taek was an absolute angel played by Park Bo Gum and there's something about him that made you want to wrap him up in a blanket and protect him but I loved that he was so sincere with his feelings for Deok Sun when it mattered so he was also manly at times and I was swooning! I adored Deok Sun cause giving her siblings made her even more mature than the last two Reply leads even though she was younger than both of them. She was so kind and I thought it was hilarious how she kept falling for other guys cause her friends told her that they liked her. On that note, I wasn't the biggest fan of the secondary couples but I didn't hate them either. Overall I really had a blast with this one and I'd give it a 8.5 / 10!
Tell Me What You Saw (14/16): "Tell Me What You Saw" is a suspense thriller about a genius profiler named Oh Hyun Jae who has lost everything, and a detective with photographic memory named Cha Soo Young who work together to track down a serial killer. Other members include, team leader Hwang Ha Young who sets the plan, ambitious investigation team member Choi Hyung Pil, and veteran detective Yang Man Soo.
Why do I suddenly feel like the writing for this show has gone a little off the rails? Until the very last moments of this week I was super into everything that was happening and how Dong Sik was being discovered by Hyun Jae and even Ha Young but the fact that he killed Detective Yang and then confessed to Soo Young about who he was just felt like the showrunners being like dudes we need to find an easy way to have Dong Sik outed as the bad guy. I mean after living so long in this double life why would Dong Sik all of a sudden be like I can't hide it anymore?? Like fine play around with Hyun Jae more and maybe even Ha Young but is the plan to kill Soo Young now that she knows the truth? I was wondering last week how he felt about her but it seems like the truth is that he doesn't really care which brings me back to all the weird asides he did about how much he liked her and it's like why keep acting so close when you don't have to? Ha Young's descent into being corrupt felt so natural tbh cause she'd been straddling the line of good and bad for a while now and it was her fear and desperation that finally pushed her over the edge but it was funny that despite everything everyone else believed in her enough to know that she's probably doing this for a reason. I'm also really curious to know whether Hyun Jae will try to kill Ha Young now cause though I'd like to imagine that he can tell that it's not entirely her fault that Isu died, he's on this one track mind for so long that he might just forget everything but the fact that she gave up Isu's name.
CDRAMA
FINISHED Eternal Love Of Dreams/Three Lives, Three Worlds, The Pillow Book (56/56): Two thousand years of enduring love and obsession between the female monarch of Qing Qiu and the ancient god of the Heavenly Kingdom.When Feng Jiu was practicing immortal cultivation alone in the wilderness, she was attacked by a beast and rescued by Dong Hua Di Jun of the Heavenly Kingdom. The encounter becomes deeply ingrained in Feng Jiu's heart and to repay her debts, she decides to follow Dong Hua into battle. She soon realizes that her good feelings towards him have evolved into love, but Dong Hua is a god who has forgotten what love means. In order to protect Feng Jiu, Dong Hua sends her to the human realm which results in the death of a friend. Feng Jiu enters the Winged Tribe Princess Ah Lan Ruo's dream sequence in search of a sacred fruit that can bring the dead back to life but gets trapped to relive Ah Lan Ruo's life for eternity. Dong Hua finds a way to save Feng Jiu and realizes that he already reciprocates her love for him, but another hurdle crosses their path.
Despite knowing how terribly the story in this show was going to end after having read the summary of the book, it still didn't help me not watch the final chunk of episodes so bitterly. I still cannot understand why Dong Hua hid literally everything from Fengjiu cause all it did was make Fengjiu look like such an asshole for constantly misunderstanding Dong Hua's good intentions and seriously I would have right there alongside Dong Hua's friends in blaming Fengjiu for being so cold when in fact it's partially Dong Hua's fault for never explaining Fengjiu why he did what he did. I don't love that they stayed apart for so many years while Dong Hua fought Muao Luo and Fengjiu gave birth to their child. I hate that their wedding was interrupted and that Ji Heng was so evil enough to even try to force Dong Hua to leave Fengjiu and that he let Fengjiu think that's what happened in order to "protect her" or whatever. I did think Gungun was super cute though and I'm going to assume that though the show didn't actually explain it to us that Fengjiu would wake up after a few hundred years and since Dong Hua gave up being Emperor that she would rule Qingqu with him being the Prince Consort and eventually Gungun would be the next ruler. I'm low key annoyed that Yan ended up with Ji Heng cause she was consistently the worst and that we didn't get a more overt Chu Yan and Lian Song love story! Overall I can't help but feel that the actors endeared me more than the story so I don't entirely know what to give this show but I guess maybe I'll go with an 8 / 10!
xoxo Allie
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