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
FINISHED 365: Repeat The Year (24/24): A story where ten people get the chance to go back in time by one year, but unexpectedly mysterious situations start to arise when their fates are changed and twisted in the process. Ji Hyung Joo is a detective in the violent crimes division. He used to be part of the traffic police but was promoted when he arrested a wanted criminal. It's been seven years since the change, and he's a talented individual who always knows how to relax. Though he is happy at first to have the chance to go back in time by one year and "reset" his life, he begins to search for the truth when a series of mysterious events befall on the group of people he goes back in time with.
This absolutely wonderful written, acted, and directed drama came to an end this week and though I'm sad to see it go, I want to shout out how incredible it was from the first episode to the last! From the mystery which played out perfectly, the plot twists that actually shook you but were also totally obvious in hindsight, and the character dynamic, the writing in this show was everything. I was utterly shocked to find out that No Sub was the Big Bad behind the resets which again I totally should have seen coming cause no one in the reset group except for Hyung Jo and Ga Hyun were the people they said they were! I had mentioned last week that things with Lee Shin weren't clicking the way they should and with the reveal that it was No Sub all along, suddenly everything came into focus. He was the sociopath who marveled in the idea of watching others suffer when he knew how everything was going to play out and he was the one to even kill Shin's daughter every time in order to keep her playing with him. I don't actually mind that there was no secret behind the reset cause it really allows us to feel like we won more than if there was a lab with the technology. I do have to say that it was absolutely heartbreaking to watch Ga Hyun die in order to save Hyung Jo but it went full circle when he went back in time to save her like she had mentioned that she didn't think anyone would do for her. The only thing I can complain about is the fact that Hyung Jo and Ga Hyun never got together when I shipped them so hard but even that I can ignore and head-canon that maybe just maybe the two will fall in love in this new timeline! We know that they've got serious chemistry and that Hyung Jo is already half in love so without serial killers on their mind romance might pop up! But seriously I can't hype this show up enough if you're into thrillers so if you haven't checked it out yet what are you waiting for??? I'd definitely give it a 10 / 10!
FINISHED A Piece Of Your Mind (12/12): An innovator in the world of artificial intelligence programming, Moon Ha Won has made quite a name for himself in the AI industry. The founder and brain behind the popular portal site, M&H, Ha Won is a man everyone knows. A man devoted to his work, everyone knows he doesn’t take what he does lightly and expects his employees to follow suit, but he’s also known as a kindhearted, rational thinker, who never gets angry and never loses his cool. An ideal man, with a soft heart, Ha Won believes that when it comes to love, having even a small fraction of his love’s heart is enough to sustain him. But that theory is put to the test when Han Seo Woo wanders into his world. A classical music recording engineer, Seo Woo hasn’t had the easiest life. With no family to support her, and no place to call home, Seo Woo has spent the majority of her life wandering and alone. Despite her difficulties, Seo Woo has managed to keep an open and optimistic mindset, believing that all things happen for a reason. Wandering down the path life has laid before her, Seo Woo soon finds herself crossing paths with Ha Won. As the two begin a journey together, they come to find that sometimes two different halves really can make a whole.
I have to admit that I wasn't the biggest fan of the finale for this show and I can't help but feel it's cause of the pacing problems with this show after it cut four episodes out of it's original line-up. Ironically me the girl who hates breakups and time skips in dramas actually didn't have a problem with Seo Woo leaving Ha Won for a bit cause she realized she was too wrapped up in Ha Won and Ji Soo's pain that she didn't know not only if Ha Won loved her for her but also where her love for him began and where it was sympathy. The problem was in the fact that the show decided to have them breakup and then get back together within like ten minutes. Like why even bother to breakup at all? I know we're supposed to assume that there was a time skip but the show itself doesn't even tell you how long the time skip is so it's even more annoying. I do have to admit that despite how much I hated In Wook last week that his final goodbye to Ji Soo did make me sob like a baby and dude Ha Won is a much better person than I would ever be because he even managed to squash his own feelings in order to give In Wook the closure Ji Soo wanted to give him. I would have burned that damn letter and punched In Wook in the face for trying to pull Seo Woo down with him. Soon Ho's whole arc makes no sense either and not only am I left wondering why a big actress like Lee Ha Na would want to play her but also in terms of character why we even bothered to have that whole thing where she fell in love with In Wook and chose him over her own uncle when it was clear that In Wook would never love her since he's still mourning Ji Soo and so she just ended up alone. Having said all that there was still something sweet about this show overall and I did love Seo Woo and Ha Won's relationship before this finale so I'd have to give this show a 9 / 10 anyway.
FINISHED Dal Ja's Spring (22/22): Dalja's Spring is the story of Dalja, a 33-year old single at a crossroad of whether to remain single or get married before she gets older. The drama aims to comically and candidly portray the reality and undying pursuit of romance of a thirty something single woman. The love triangle of Dalja, Taebong and Gijoong brews conflicts over love versus marriage. Taebong, a hunk six years younger than Dalja, works as substitute dates and becomes Dalja's fake boyfriend. Gijoong is the type who dreams of an ideal and rational courtship. The drama also highlights the life and work of women in their thirties through Dalja who is a talented managing director at a home shopping channel.
I decided to check this drama out cause I had heard it was amazing in a review for a show I didn't particularly like so I went in without any expectations and was honestly blown away with how good this show was. I mean yeah the whole emphasis on age was a little ridiculous at points (the girl was 33 not 60!) and yeah I hated the time skip at the end but overall I loved the way this show told it's story. Dal Ja and Tae Bong had crazy chemistry and I loved how realistic their relationship felt. Tae Bong started this show playing what might be my favorite kind of male lead aka the mischievous flirt and became so sweet and romantic as the show went on. I loved that though at first I was a little worried about how childish Dal Ja was acting in terms of touching Tae Bong that the show quickly not only explained why she was hesitant but allowed us to see her get more comfortable before it became second nature for the two to snuggle up together. The second male lead practically disappeared after Dal Ja picked Tae Bong unlike other dramas where he sticks around too long and it really felt like our main couple were one team. It was also so creative of the show to make us think that we were going to deal with monster-in-law problems (on both ends) but then ended up flipping the script and changed it so that within a few episodes the mothers changed their minds over opposing the main couple and even went as far as pushing the two together once they broke up. I didn't even mind the breakup honestly cause I totally understood Dal Ja and how insecure she felt when Tae Bong wouldn't even once say that he loved her but after he finally did, I think it was weird of the show to have sent her off for 2 years cause it made no sense in terms of character development or plot other than to follow the trend of all old dramas and their obnoxious time skips. Honestly though this show might have been what Mary Stayed Out All Night should have been if it didn't focus so hard on the obnoxious love triangle cause I found Dal Ja and Tae Bong just as cute as Mae Ri and Moo Gyul minus the fact that I have such a soft spot for musicians. I'd definitely give this show a 8.5 / 10!
Find Me In Your Memory (26/32): 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. Jung Hoon is an anchor of a news show which has the highest ratings. Jung 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 Jung 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?
Every time I finish watching this show for the week I'm always left wishing there was more! Ha Jin and Jung Hoon are just so magical together and I can't get enough of them whether they're being cute together or angsty! Things finally hit the fan this week with Ha Jin's memories of Seo Yeon returning and with it a large dose of guilt and pain. Doctor Yoo the asshole has been running around since he found out that Jung Hoon's love for Ha Jin will ruin his big book plans so when his attempt to force Ha Jin to leave Jung Hoon didn't work (which dudes I was so proud of our girl for being like as long as Jung Hoon says he's happy and wants me, I don't care about his past!) he turned to Sung Ho and basically helped him escape after which Sung Ho made a beeline to Ha Jin and awoke her memories. As it turns out the reason she was so messed up after Seo Yeon's death went beyond the fact that Seo Yeon was her best friend but that Ha Jin blamed herself for Seo Yeon's death cause Sung Ho convinced her that he was Seo Yeon's boyfriend so she gave him the passcode to Seo Yeon's apartment. It was absolutely heartbreaking to see Ha Jin go through the cycle of grief but I loved that Jung Hoon tried to stay by her side through it all. He told her that didn't blame her for anything and that it wasn't her fault and that he loved her and that he would wait for however long she needed and in the end it does feel like Ha Jin came back to herself and him. I don't know if she's forgiven herself but at least this is the first step. I had wondered if maybe Sung Ho would end up stabbing Jung Hoon or something and that would be what would cause Ha Jin to come back but I like this way a lot more cause it's important that it was an internal decision for Ha Jin rather than an external one.
Good Casting (2/16): Baek Chan Mi is a legendary agent for the National Intelligence Service. However, due to an excessive operation, one of her subordinates passes away. After this incident, she takes back all hope of returning to the field when she gets an order to go undercover. She begins working as a secretary for Ilkwang Hitech under the name, Baek Jang Mi. She is joined by a single mother, Im Ye Eun, who has the beauty of a girl group member, and Hwang Mi Soon, a housewife of 18 years whose family believes her to be an insurance salesperson. These three women begin to work together. Meanwhile, Ilkwang Hitech’s CEO, Yoon Seok Ho, knew Chan Mi as his tutor and had a crush on her. He can’t help but think that his new secretary, who looks exactly like his first love but has a different name and age, is a bit suspicious.
Okay seriously this show is good. I went into it not really knowing anything or expecting much cause I've been burned by too many investigation dramas recently but having seen these first two episodes I have high hopes for this show and I'm low key worried about that cause a lot of the dramas I've watched recently have done nothing but let me down. This show is honestly so high budget from it's beautiful shots to it's incredible editing. The fight scenes all look great too and I'm seriously all about how Chan Mi isn't the typical naive rookie cop! She's able to fight, smart as a whip, and sees things as more than black and white. The show is much more of a comedy than I expected tbh and though at first I thought that might be a good thing, as the second episode went on and we reverted to diaper jokes, I was suddenly a bit more hesitant. I also really hope that this show doesn't end up trying to undermine our leading ladies in order to make the villains seem stronger cause we were told these women are really good NIS agents and I don't need bumbling antics except from maybe Ye Eun who we've been told is a desk agent more than a field one. I do enjoy that so far this doesn't seem like it'll be wrapped up in NIS internal politics like something similar to Vagabond but of course this is a kdrama so I'm sure that someone will be a mole for the Big Bad aka Michael and I have a feeling that not only will Min Seok end up being more than who he says he is but also maybe even Director Seo cause he's the one who stopped Chan Mi from shooting the suspect 3 years ago and he just seems sketchy. In terms of a spy in Ilkwang Hitech, we already kind of know that Gwan Soo is going to be good so my eyes go towards Managing Director Myeong over the Hallyu star but then I'm also left wondering if it's too obviously him and if the show would want to mix things up and make it someone else. As a side note I'm totally shipping Chan Mi and Gwan Soo already which sucks cause I know that if there is any romance in this show it'll be between Chan Mi and Suk Ho since they're the top billed but I'm always such a sucker for two exes getting back together and a romance between two cops or secret agents in this case.
Hospital Playlist Season 1 (8/12): 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.
This week was actually a lot of fun cause one of the major focuses was on Min Ha who has been slowly moving to the top of my favorite characters list despite not even being one of the main characters. There's just something so interesting about her and I love how she's not afraid to be herself and if she does get with Seok Hyung at some point, I'll be all for that! Last week I mentioned how I was looking forward to her fighting with Eun Won and how it sucked when nothing happened but this week we got a little more of them though Min Ha is clearly too much of a good person to actually fight with another resident. Eun Won is clearly not a fan of hard work and keeps putting off what she needs to do to Min Ha while acting like the victim and I was so furious at first when it looked like no one was going to step in and I can't decide if I like the hands off approach from Seok Hyung or not. He knows exactly what's happening but is like this is just a resident problem and I'm sitting here like dude no it's not. Eun Won and Min Ha are both your residents so you should be able to scold them especially if one isn't doing the work you've assigned her! In other news Jung Won got his priesthood application accepted so he's got about a month or so until he can join the church and I still pretty much hate everything that's happening romantically with Gyeo Wool but this week she decided to move on from him cause he's not interested though if you ask me, that probs won't happen and they'll probs hook up soon enough. Je Hak went through the ringer this week between loosing his money to that real estate scam and that horrible patient's guardian but Jun Wan stepped up and it never ceases to amuse me how almost every week all the residents are shocked at how sweet our leads all are and it's like at this point you should know that they're all mean cause they care!
FINISHED Memorist (16/16): 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.
I wish that I loved this drama more than I did cause now that it's over, looking back I'm just sad. Now that I have every piece of the puzzle with me, I can see that the mystery was actually a really good one and I loved how it played with the idea of what's good and bad. The Eraser is supposed to be the sociopath in this show cause duh she's a serial killer and she even targeted the innocent rather than the guilty but in actuality it was the people she was hunting that were the true sociopaths. The degrees they would go to in order to hide their own misdoings were astronomical and my blood was boiling during each flashback and reveal this week and it leaves you wondering if maybe The Eraser's been doing the right thing all along. The problem though is in the approach the show took in revealing the pieces of the mystery. Rather than introducing important characters earlier in the show's run, they introduced new characters as our heroes learned of them. In that way though it gave the show a bit of a realistic feel (cause in real life that's how an investigation would go) it left me feeling as if the writers were flying by the seat of their pants which after watching this finale was the wrong thought cause in actuality it seems the story had a tight line it was following but we just didn't know it. I also really hated that everyone from the prosecution to the cops to the damn media was corrupt cause there were just too many people to hate! We spent half of our airtime running away to keep Baek alive rather than towards the problem and I still don't understand why Baek was so hated! It got to the point that by the end I was like Baek you should just leave Korea and go to a country that would actually appreciate your hard work! In the end it was hard to figure out what I would give this show but I guess an 7.5 / 10 will do.
FINISHED Meow, The Secret Boy/Welcome (24/24): A graphic designer in her mid-twenties, Sol Ah harbors dreams of becoming a web-based comic author and has always had a love-hate relationship with cats. But Sol Ah’s life changes fast when she brings home a friendly feline. It turns out, however, that this is not any old cat. Named Hong Jo, he can take human form. Hong Jo becomes exceptionally fond of So Ah, and goes to great pains to hide his human identity from her. He soon proves that he will do anything that is required in order to stay near her. Will Hong Jo manage to keep his identity a secret? And what could be in store for this remarkable feline-human duo as their relationship deepens?
This show is finally over and honestly I'm mostly just disappointed in not only the plot of this show but the fact that I was really excited to see L and Shin Ye Eun act together and this is what we got from them. Of course I think both actors did a fantastic job with what they were given especially L who played the role of a cat perfectly in his mannerisms but this show was just not for me and I know that there are probs some people out there who enjoyed it so at least there's that. Hong Jo found out that he only had a certain given time to be human that really had nothing to do with his age and this addition felt like a totally lame retcon attempt to make everything hard on our leads cause we didn't learn anything like that before! He tried to hide it from Sol Ah so she spent a large chunk of this week living her life and telling Hong Jo that he shouldn't wait around for her cause it makes her feel bad only to freak out when she found out that Hong Jo didn't have long as a human left. The ending was what I expected with a magical happily ever after with Hong Jo becoming a human again after 2 years of being a cat and there was no rhyme or reason to it other than the show probs just wanting to leave the audience with a semblance of a happy ending. Like I said last week, the romance shouldn't have been between Hong Jo and Sol Ah but Sol Ah and Jae Sun with Hong Jo really just being a bridge in all of our humans' lives like a fairy godmother or we should have gone a Fruits Basket route where Hong Jo was born a human and had a human life but turned into a cat sometimes and that's how Sol Ah met him. Overall I think this show was fine and tbh I think I enjoyed just watching Hong Jo the cat be absolutely adorable on screen most of all. I'd give this show a 6 / 10.
FINISHED Miss Korea (20/20): An "inelegant" young woman who works as an elevator operator at a department store that lays off workers in the worst 1997 financial crisis ever to hit the nation crosses paths with macho Mr. Kim, a cosmetics firm CEO, whose company is on the brink of bankruptcy. With nothing to lose, these two people decide to join together to win the Miss Korea contest.
After checking out Coffee Prince last week and low key having SLS for the longest time, I thought I'd check out a different Lee Sun Kyun drama and maybe try to get past that. This one caught my eye cause it sounded so unique in it's concept and wondered if it would give me a Miss Congeniality vibe and honestly after checking this drama out, I have to say it vastly outdid my expectations and I had a blast. I was worried at first cause Hyung Joon seemed like such an asshole as did his friends and ViVi Cosmetics coworkers but very quickly I warmed to them and found the leads not only had so much chemistry but I adored their relationship. It's rare to find a drama where the leads don't go through any misunderstandings or break up over silly things that you wish that they would just talk about but that's exactly what you got here! Ji Young and Hyung Joon trusted in each other and their love so much so that they didn't let anything from bankruptcy to evil men rip them apart. They would have given up their lives for each other and if that's just not the cutest I don't know what is. I loved all the beauty pageant parts of this drama but I also loved how lighthearted and low stakes this show was. I do wish that the other beauty pageant girls had more of an impact for me in terms of their characters cause I literally could not care less about any of them including Jae Hee who was the one who got the most story and was Ji Young's rival but I was super surprised at how much I loved President Ma and how she wasn't the villain like I expected her to be. Overall I really had a blast with this show and I can't recommend it enough if you're looking for a sweet romance in a low stakes show so I'd give it a 8 / 10!
DROPPED Rugal (8/16): Kang Ki Beom is an elite police officer whose attempt to bring down Argos, a nationwide criminal organization, results in a group of masked assailants from Argos killing his beloved wife and child and cutting out both of his eyes. Kang wakes up in a hospital only to find himself accused of murdering his family members. The NIS then approaches him with an offer to become a member of Rugal, a special team organized by the NIS. He receives two artificial eyes with Rugal's biotechnology built into them and with them gains unique new abilities with which to take down criminal organizations. Kang Ki Beom and Rugal set out on a mission to wipe out Argos.
I really tried to like this show but there's only so many times that the cool action scenes in this drama can be literally the only thing to pull me back to watch the next chunk of episodes. I've mentioned before that I was hoping that this show would be a Player/Leverage/38 Task Force style of show with our four spies infiltrating different Argos ops and ruining things but instead we got this weird show in which no one knows what they're doing and Argos has no ultimate goal. Argos was constantly five steps ahead of Rugal and it got to the point where I was like I wish this was an American cop drama cause the villains would be dead ten times over by now! I love Choi Jin Hyuk but even his beautiful muscles weren't enough to get me to watch this week's episodes so I think that means that I have to drop this show....
xoxo Allie
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