Friday, May 22, 2020

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 reviews, click here and if you want to see a list of my Favorite Asian OTPs and Ships, click here!

KDRAMA


Good Casting (8/16): 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.

Well we're halfway through this show now and really and we got a lot more answers this week though I'm still struggling to enjoy how much our agents keep losing. As it turned out Director Seo is Michael himself and I totally didn't see that coming though in hindsight of course he was Michael as well as the mole. I think he's been working for Seok Ho's ex wife Sim Hwa Rang who's also pissed that Seok Ho is striking out on his own after meeting Chan Mi again and remembering his first love. Meanwhile Tak is starting to wonder if he's on the wrong side cause Myung seriously tossed him away without any help but the interesting thing is how Ok is doing so well despite me thinking that he was nothing but a grunt at first. He managed a backtrace on Ye Eun's hack and now knows all five of our agents' faces which exasperated me but at this point I should just assume that anytime our agents have a chance of failing they will. Another point to note is that apparently this whole web ended up killing Seok Ho's father and that Seok Ho's secretary is also a bad guy. At this point everyone but Seok Ho, Woo Won and our five NIS agents are evil! The best part of this week was when Chan Mi and Seok Ho were out and Chan Mi was kicking butt while Seok Ho was walking around like la-di-dah and when Chan Mi pretended like that guy was beating her up instead of her hurting him to save face. I wonder if now that Chan Mi knows that a NIS agent was sent to kill her that she'll buckle down on hunting down who the mole in the NIS is especially if Seo cancels their mission.
Hospital Playlist Season 1 (11/12): 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's episode is the penultimate for the season and I can't help but feel so meh about the whole thing. My struggle is that I'm not into any of the romances in this show as more than a passing fancy so I can't really get emotionally attached to the drama! I mean who really cares if Ik Jun had a crush on Song Hwa when they were in college? Though maybe that's the wrong question cause it's obvious that Song Hwa was really uncomfortable by the whole thing and it makes me compare this reaction to  her reaction to Chi Yong's confession and how she was much calmer then. It's possible that she was upset more cause she doesn't like the idea of one of her best friends being interested in her romantically but it's also possible that she was meh about Chi Yong's confession cause she really felt nothing then. Either way the pressure from both of them has clearly caused her to want to run away from the city and this hospital cause I don't believe for a second that she's transferring just cause of her herniated disc. In other news Seok Hyung's dad died and he left a will and I'm almost completely certain that the money is going to go to the mistress as a final middle finger towards Seok Hyung and his mom. Jung Won's mom noticed Jung Won and Gyeo Wool laughing together and she decided that Gyeo Wool is the way she's going to stop Jung Won from becoming a priest but hardcore I was so uncomfortable by her asking Gyeo Wool to stop him cause it's like she really has no idea who Gyeo Wool is and her relationship with her son so it was crossing so many lines. Jun Wan and Ik Sun are still the cutest couple and I love how Jun Wan is just so accepting of everything Ik Sun does. I'm still waiting for them to tell Ik Jun that they're in love cause it's like are they planning on hiding it until the wedding?
Mystic Pop Up Bar (2/12): “Mystic Pop-Up Bar” is based on a popular webtoon of the same name and tells the story of a mysterious pojangmacha (outdoor drinking establishment) run by a prickly woman and an innocent part-timer who visit customers in their dreams to help resolve their problems.

I had been super looking forward to this drama since I first heard about it and though I was slightly hesitant cause I'm not a fan of Hwang Jung Eum's over-the-top acting style, the synopsis for this show and the whole aesthetic pulled me in. After having seen the first two episodes, I do have to say that this show feels very similar to Hotel Del Luna only instead of a spirit having to atone by taking care of ghosts, our female lead has to atone by taking care of human grudges. It's hilarious though cause I really don't understand why Weol Joo is being punished cause if anything she was the victim of her human life and lost her mother all cause of selfish jealous people and just because she knocked over some offerings at a Sacred Tree suddenly she's the reason for the kingdom being invaded and 100, 000 people dying? Yeah right. I'm also really curious about the Prince that she saved back in the day and whether he has something to do with her accepting her atonement. I would love if he reappeared in the human world or something and Weol Joo got a second chance at love cause unlike Hotel Del Luna, I don't think there will be any romance between Weol Joo and Kang Bae. I do have to admit though that I prefer IU's take on this type of character than Jung Eum's who once again feels too over the top but I wanna give this show a shot anyway cause I wasn't the hugest fan of Hotel Del Luna so I'm open to loving this one!
Oh My Baby (4/16): Aged 39, Jang Ha Ri is the ultimate workaholic. She hasn’t even had a boyfriend in the past decade, long ago decided to forget about looking for love, and instead has thrown her energy into her career.However, as she works as a senior reporter for a parenting magazine named “The Baby,” she is constantly reminded of the one thing she wants most in life – to have a baby of her own. She decides to cut to the chase and try for a baby but wants to skip one key stage – and resolves not to marry. But as she turns her mind to single parenthood, she suddenly realizes that she is surrounded by admirers: freelance photographer Han Yi Sang, super-smart pediatrician Yoon Jae Young, and the office newbie, the doting Choi Kang Eu Ddeum. Could any of these three love candidates help Jang Ha Ri in her quest to become a mother? And could her quest inadvertently send her on the path to true love?

Here's the thing with this drama. I adore Ha Ri and Yi Sang to pieces and I always want more of the two of them being cute together but this show's writing makes me cringe so hard as I watch! Apparently artificial insemination is not a thing in Korea and neither is adoption cause Ha Ri jumped straight to buying sperm from a random guy when she decided that getting married and having a kid was too hard and it was completely ridiculous to watch especially after she got filmed by reporters and literally everyone knew it was her. At least it doesn't look like the embarrassment gets to Ha Ri too much like it would have if it were me and we seem to be moving on from this storyline after having suspended her for a month. Part of me also wonders whether this show will go the cliche route and have Ha Ri marry Yi Sang and have a baby or whether it'll be more unique and have Ha Ri and Yi Sang get together but also realize that she doesn't need a baby in order to be happy cause there are plenty of women out there who can't have kids. Either way Ha Ri and Yi Sang belong together!! Yi Sang is an amazing male lead cause he clearly drives her up a wall with his teasing but he's also there to help her get back on her feet and tries not to judge her for her actions. Like she mentioned, he's the first person to ever ask her why she wants to be a mom and I kind of liked her realization that she's been thinking of a kid as a way to make herself happy and has never once thought about the kid and the life she would give it. It was also interesting to learn more about Yi Sang as a character and how he has his own issues and how Ha Ri is knocking down all his walls. I loved his expression when he realized that despite how little he wanted to fall in love again, he's got feelings for this girl! Jae Young is starting to get jealous of Yi Sang despite never having cared about who Ha Ri dates probs cause he's realizing that this guy might be the only one that Ha Ri actually falls for and he's scared to lose her while Eu Ddeum is kinda just there and honestly I find him super irritating.
Soul Mechanic/Fix You (12/32): How do you deal with anger? Where does happiness actually come from? These questions are at the heart of Fix You, a touching drama about a quirky psychiatrist on a mission to help people heal, and a rising star whose emotional wounds run deep. Lee Si Joon is an eccentric but passionate psychiatrist working in a hospital. He cares deeply for his patients, whom he tries to help through valiant, yet often unorthodox efforts. Han Woo Joo is an up and coming musical actress. Honest and principled, her efforts on the stage seem to be paying off, but she struggles with anger issues and recurring mental breakdowns that threaten to derail her career. With compassion as his tool, can Lee Si Joon help mend her soul and let the healing begin?

Okay I'm officially on board the Woo Joo and Si Joon ship this week especially now that Woo Joo returned to being Young Won's patient. As we learned this week, Si Joon had a patient 8 years ago that had BPD and he fell in love with her and once they started dating I think she switched to being Young Won's patient. At one point her BPD started to get worse and Young Won instead of warning Si Joon of this decline in mental stability kept it a secret cause she was jealous that the man she liked was with someone else. The patient ended up killing herself in order to keep Si Joon from ever forgetting her and it broke him into pieces. Once he realized that Woo Joo was also a BPD patient, he started to see shades of this previous patient in Woo Joo and because of that ran from her or at least tried to cause Woo Joo managed to crawl into his heart without him knowing. I know the show wants me to think that Si Joon did wrong by turning Woo Joo away cause he's supposed to be a doctor but I ship the two together so I'd prefer if he worked on his trauma as her friend or boyfriend rather than doctor! Yes she still needs a lot of treatment but she can get it from Young Won and a little from Si Joon as long as they're just not officially doctor/patient. We also learned that Si Joon was reported last week by his own father and it was truly horrible to watch as Si Joon just wanted his father's approval and instead was stepped on every chance. I do wish that the show would stop treating Dong Hyuk as a terrible doctor cause I know that he disagrees with Si Joon's approach to patients but that doesn't mean he's incompetent but I feel like the show doesn't want him to do well to show us that Si Joon is right. 

CDRAMA


The Romance Of Tiger And Rose (10/24): Since birth, a screenwriter finds herself becoming a character in the script of her own creation. However, she is not meant to live past three episodes! Chen Xiaoqian is a writer who poured blood, sweat and tears into creating a big female-centric drama. What could have started filming smoothly quickly turned south because of actor Han Mingxing's reservations about the script. Feeling wronged, Chen Xiaoqian vows to prove herself yet she accidentally gets stuck in a parallel world where her story has come to life. Now known as the 3rd princess Chen Qianqian, she is an insignificant side character with a horrid reputation that is not meant to live long in the story. In order to live, she starts on a road to reverse her fate. She also gets caught in between the arrogant and black-bellied prince Han Shao and the practically perfect Pei Heng.

I was hesitant to check this drama out at first cause the last Zhao Lu Si drama I checked out made me super sad cause her character acted like an idiot from start to finish but I low key adore these types of cdramas so in the end I tried it anyway and seriously I'm so glad I did cause I'm having a blast! Of course Qianqian is the typical type of cdrama lead in this kind of show but I'm just so in love with her relationship with Han Shao that I don't mind the silliness. At first I was worried that I mind end up having SLS with Pei Heng cause Han Shao was just so awful to Qianqian but as the show went on and Han Shao softened, I fell in love with the way he is head over heels for Qianqian but she has no idea cause he's such a tsundere. They've got great chemistry and I love the way they bicker though I do hope that at some point they'll share a real kiss and not those awkward lip press by accident ones that they've had so far. I also hope that Qianqian figures out sooner rather than later that Han Shao is in love with her cause I won't love if this show forces me to wait until almost the end for her to stop misjudging Han Shao's actions but that brings me to wonder how this show will end. Han Shao wants to take over city which would be terrible for us but also will Xiaoqian end up back in the real world again? As a sidenote I think it's so creative that the show has switched the typical gender roles so in this world it's the women that lead while it's the men that are supposed to be delicate and submissive cause it leads to so many hilarious antics. 

    xoxo Allie

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