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
Dinner Mate (12/32): This drama is about a young woman going through a rough breakup with a longtime boyfriend she’s still in love with, and a man who has had a painful first love. They both meet unexpectedly in Jeju and continue their acquaintance in Seoul as well. Life has its way of bringing them together as they find themselves meeting at unexpected situations. Both have a common love for food and will cherish eating together and trying new cuisines.
As it turns out everyone is much more related than I thought they were! I mean we already knew that Hae Kyung and Geon Woo are friends and Do Hee and Geon Woo are colleagues and that Jae Hyuk and No Eul are colleagues as well but now we learned that Jae Hyuk and Geon Woo are actually cousins and that Hae Kyung was actually Geon Woo's first love and I'm just sitting here like how do none of these people know about each other?? The thing is though the show seems to really tell us things more than it shows us! I would have never guessed that Geon Woo actually liked Hae Kyung at one point in the past cause he's honestly a terrible friend in the present day! He knows how much No Eul destroyed Hae Kyung and yet he keeps calling about her and setting them up? Why is he on No Eul's side more? At least Ah Young knows that Jae Hyuk is kinda an asshole and really only set them together to help Do Hee move on! Having said all that I'm still loving the chemistry between Do Hee and Hae Kyung and whenever they're on screen together, I'm so much more interested in everything that's going on! I kinda love how they tried to pretend like they're only friends when they were clearly both super interested in being more and that she was clear with him once she caught feelings cause it feels so mature instead of pretending like nothing's happening! I seriously can't wait until these two and their exes are finally on the screen together but I'm also low key waiting for the truth to come out about who they really are and whether they'll be able to act the same when they realize that they hated each other over the internet or if that anger will spill over.
Good Casting (14/16): 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.
I feel like we've been circling the same drain for weeks and weeks now cause it's not like our heroes have learned anything until now! I know this drama is meant to be a comedy so I'm trying not to focus on how light the mystery aspect is but even then this show is seriously just not for me and if I wasn't so close to the end I would have given up by now! Part of me is curious to know how this will all end so I'm still here. I really don't understand the point of Seok Ho and I don't care for how he was trying to control Chan Mi's life by telling her team leader to not talk to her like yo asshole you're not in charge of her life and you really don't know anything about what she's been through so you have no idea how much she cares about her cases. Part of this might be unfair cause you all know that I shipped her with Gwan Soo but the rest of me still doesn't see what Seok Ho's purpose is cause other than the fact that Director Myung works at Ilkwang Hitech, he's not related to anything else that's happening. On another note I was right in guessing that Ok Cheol is Michael but I don't know why he's still trying to help Myung after everything that he found out about how Myung was ready to throw him away. I would have thought he would join hands with Seo at the least cause you know that the NIS is off limits. I'm also not a fan of the romance between Ye Eun and Woo Won cause I hate how much power he has over her. Like commanding someone to come visit you because you can get them fired or you threaten to blackmail them is not how you flirt!
Mystic Pop Up Bar (8/12): “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.
Next week is the penultimate episode of this show and it feels like the right time cause I keep waiting to figure out who the Prince from back in the day was! I'm almost completely sure that it's Gwi cause I can't imagine the show would have Kang Bae be the reincarnation when he looks at Weol Joo and Gwi as his parental figures and not in a romantic sense while Gwi really seems to always be watching Weol Joo and trying to protect her. He also seemed to hold his breath when he asked her whether she resented the man she loved and whether he was someone she lived for in the past and just seems nostalgic in general whenever she talks about her past as if he completely relates. The problem though is that if he is the Prince's spirit and has his memories, then he really should have told her a while ago cause it's kinda an ass move to be there and listen to everything she says without her knowing who she's talking to! Having said that Kang Bae is an angel and my heart broke with him when Yeo Rin rejected him even though in actuality she likes him back so I'm not exactly sure why she's been fighting it so hard. One of my favorite things about this show is how it depicts the Afterlife so I was super down for everything we saw with the reincarnation panel and the doorway to Hell and everything! I also really loved the second case we dealt with and how heartbreaking it was.
My Unfamiliar Family (4/16): Is blood thicker than water? Kim Eun Hee, is about to find out. She is the middle child in a family that is slowly starting to drift apart. Her older sister is a former patent attorney, and her younger brother is a sensitive soul. And although her father is hard-working, he is often distant – an attitude that has her mother poised to begin a new chapter in her life. While she pines for intimacy, Kim Eun Hee keeps her feelings hidden from her family. Instead, she prefers to confide in her close male college friend Park Chan Hyuk – a man who has become more like a brother to her than any of her real siblings. And it is to him that she turns for love advice as she looks to return to the dating scene after a long absence. But what happens when events take a turn? Could the family pull together in time to weather the storm? And when the going gets tough, will it be Kim Eun Hee’s family or her friends who step up to the plate?
This show should really be called Secrets Upon Secrets! Last week I thought I had a pretty clear picture of what was going on in this world only for all of it to be completely flipped this week! So first of all, I'm seriously disappointed in Eun Hee cause of how she's so chill being the mistress. You would think that after everything she went through back-in-the-day that she would be so much more pissed at Geon Joo for making her into the other woman but honestly after he came clean with everything and what his expectations for them were, I'm no longer pissed at him but at Eun Hee cause seriously girl this is totally chill for you? I'm also seriously disappointed with the reveal that Chan Hyuk actually loves Eun Joo and not Eun Hee cause I totally shipped them though I guess with everything that's probs going to happen with Eun Joo from now on that Chan Hyuk might be her knight in shining armor after all. Speaking of, I knew something was going on with Tae Hyung but the reveal that he was gay and not just cheating on Eun Joo totally blew me away! Does that mean that Hyo Seok is also gay? He mentioned that his "girlfriend" recognized Tae Hyung from somewhere but he put a weird inflection on girlfriend making me think that he actually meant boyfriend and just didn't want to out Tae Hyung. I'm also totally fascinated by the parents and their broken marriage cause I have to admit that I (like Eun Joo) blamed the mom for the problems but now we find out that the dad actually cheated on her pretty early on in their relationship and that he might have a second family in his hometown which is totally insane but that he also was attempting to commit suicide when he got lost in the woods.
Oh My Baby (10/16): 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?
Well this week was definitely the calm before the storm and honestly I spent most of it either cringing about how cheesy Yi Sang was or waiting for the shoe to drop with Yi Sang telling Ha Ri the truth about him. Having said that I did really enjoy everything with Ha Ri becoming editor and Yi Sang and Ha Ri's mom becoming besties! I do wish that we had a better first kiss cause honestly it felt like two high schoolers kissing for the first time rather than two 40 year olds but I can let that slide cause I can imagine the two haven't dated in a long time so it's awkward but then I need the next one to be magical!! I'm not really worried about Ha Ri's reaction to the news cause I believe in her and I totally believe that she will need a minute to be angry and upset but in the end I think she'll understand that it was hard for Yi Sang to admit that about himself and that she loves him and that he might be all she needs to be happy. Kids are not an automatic happy meter. I mean look at Jae Young who's miserable even though he has a kid! Speaking of, I was super irritated with Jae Young this week cause he's turned into the second male lead that I despise who just interrupts dates and acts like an older brother but in actuality they just can't stand the idea of the woman they like liking someone else. He has no business judging Yi Sang or Ha Ri or their relationship and I was so worried that he would use Ha Ri's mom to force a relationship on Ha Ri this week. Eu Ddeum on the other hand broke my heart when he found out about Ha Ri and Yi Sang cause the poor thing was just too naive.
Soul Mechanic/Fix You (24/32): 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?
I keep waffling back and forth about whether I think Si Joon and Woo Joo's relationship is a good thing cause in episodes that don't focus on her mental health, I start thinking that the two are cute together and I like the way she heals him a little by just being herself but then when the show focuses on her mental health, I return to thinking that it's probs not a great idea for her to be dating when she should be focused on getting better. It also doesn't help that the show keeps highlighting the fact that Si Joon could be fired for dating a patient and it's getting to the point where I wonder if this coming out would blacklist him from other hospitals or from opening his own clinic cause after constantly fighting the Director and the Vice Director, I would be like let's go somewhere that I can date whoever I want and focus on work and not hospital politics. I still don't know why the Vice Director has his panties in a bunch over Si Joon anyway cause it's not like he's ambitious or fighting against him for power or prestige. The case this week with the nurse that committed suicide cause she was being bullied by other nurses was horrible to watch but even more horrible when you see that the nurses that bullied her had their own problems and that it all led back to the fact that the hospital isn't staffing enough nurses. Si Joon and Park were totally right in claiming that they should use this as a signal that things need to change but of course the Director and Vice Director were like nope let's just blame this whole thing on one person never mind the fact that doing so could totally cause another suicide.
Sweet Munchies (6/12): Park Jin Sung runs an odd little late-night restaurant where customers only choose which drinks they want and their appetizers are chosen by Park, who customizes the dishes to match their drinks. His goal is to provide diners with warmth and comfort through delicious food and excellent customer service. Seeing customers enjoy their food also gives him a great measure of happiness. At the urging of one of his regular customers, Park becomes the host of a new variety show called Midnight Snack Couple, which shoots him to popularity and fame. Regular customer Kim Ah Jin is a passionate PD. She usually has a smile on her face and always looks on the bright side. Her optimism is only matched by her love of food and drinking. After working hard as a crew member in production teams for many years, she finally gets her break as a PD when she convinces Park Jin Sung to become the host of her TV show. Kang Tae Wan is a successful fashion designer. He hosts his own fashion TV program and comes to know Park Jin Sung and Kim Ah Jin when he’s brought onto the Midnight Snack Couple variety show as a stylist for Park. As the three work together, they eventually become involved in an atypical love triangle.
With the fact that this show is actually only 12 episodes, we're halfway through the show already and I'm a little glad about that cause though I do enjoy the characters and the world, I am just waiting for it to come out that Jin Sung isn't gay cause shit will hit the fan. I don't know if the public will care all that much cause it's not exactly like they're that big of a presence in this show but Jin Sung's brother will definitely be pissed, Tae Wan's heart will be broken, and Ah Jin might be furious but also Ah Jin might low key be fired cause she's the PD for Sweet Munchies and everything that goes wrong is her fault. Having said all that I do hope it all comes out next week cause I'm just super uncomfortable about the lying even if I like this show in general. I do think it's kinda funny that Tae Wan likes Jin Sung who likes Ah Jin but that Jin Sung thinks that Ah Jin and Tae Wan like each other cause to me it feels super clear about who likes who cause no one is hiding it well but I guess if you're more personally involved in the whole thing then it's harder to actually figure out what's going on. I also low key keep waiting for someone or something to put PD Nam in his place cause he's actually the worst. Like Cha has her own problems and she's actually much meaner than I would have expected a character like her to be but at least she has some sort of line while Nam just does whatever he wants and no one likes him.
It feels so weird to say that we're about halfway through this show now cause it feels like we just jumped into this world and we're already here but the fact that there's 12 instead of 16 episodes helps that. I want to start by saying just how shocked I was this week about how badass and mature the Chief of Police ended up being! When Kang Ho found the real Butterfly Killer and inadvertently embarrassed the police for their terrible police work 7 years ago, the Chief stepped up and was like if we caught the wrong guy then we have to apologize and arrest the right one cause that's what it means to be a cop and I was like damn boy cause I really expected more corruption and politics so it was really nice that the Chief was a good guy. The new case we got seems interesting too and I can't stop shouting about how I love that this show doesn't have an overarching villain to fight like every other korean cop drama. We're now looking at street gangs but more specially one that you have to kill to get into and it helps that not only is the daughter of one of our mains involved but a friend of one of the cops too cause I have no doubt that the two cases are related. Whoever the school bully was back in the day is probs the Oni Hyung that is running the street gang now cause it makes sense that he wouldn't register his fingerprints if he's on the streets doing crime.
CDRAMA
Fake Princess (10/27): So what if she loves money, don't all mountain bandits love money? For a chest full of gold, the mountain bandit offers herself up to the black-bellied prince thus marking the start to a beautiful romance. Chang Le was once a free and untamable female bandit. However, she becomes a fake bride in marriage to crown prince Li Che. Stepping into the confines of the palace, Chang Le finds it difficult to adjust after being repeatedly humiliated. Despite her situation, she learns to adapt like a feral cat showing her true stripes. Li Che who has traced every step vigilantly finds himself gradually attracted by Chang Le's liveliness. Each wearing a mask to hide their own motives, the two people find comfort in each other.
I actually really didn't understand what was happening this week with Li Che's suspicions abut Chang Le and that's honestly probs cause I haven't been paying attention to any of the politics in this show. From what I can gather though, Chang Le found out that Li Che's grandfather told him to seduce Yu Yao so she decided to get revenge by stealing some things around the town and the others (who were already silently questioning her since she was a Liu) found it suspicious that she wasn't around when these robberies were happening so they attempted to assassinate her which, if you ask me, really felt like a step too far. Zhu claimed that it would be better to accidentally kill an innocent than let a spy slip by but not only is this a horrible policy, in what world was Prime Minister Liu going to believe her death was an accident let alone the Empress who no matter how little she liked Chang Le in private would support her in public cause of family ties. Chang Le's brother Qin then showed up at the last minute and saved her but disappeared making everyone suspect Chang Le as a spy even more and honestly the whole thing just feels like Sun Mo just connected apples and oranges and we're supposed to go with it cause in actuality he was right even though nothing in the show points that way. I do wonder if we're supposed to think that Chang Le is actually the last daughter of the Duan clan that Li Che's father destroyed though I'm not sure if it would matter all that much cause it's not like Chang Le reacted in any way when she heard the name Duan in her fake interrogation.
FINISHED Love Is All (26/26): Tang Ling Yin is the quirky daughter of a wealthy family whose life becomes entangled with county magistrate Tang Tian Yuan. He is sought after by many for being handsome, well-mannered and having an impressive family background. The two start off on the wrong foot yet eventually join hands to solve a case.
So the finale for this show aired this week and I have to say that the ending was a bit of a mess and I would like to chalk that up to the fact that we spent so much time dawdling at the start that the final confrontation felt crazy. Ling Yin was captured three times by the same villain to threaten Tian Yuan in one episode and I was like girl can you not do anything to avoid that? I also didn't love that we had another time skip at the end cause Tian Yuan was away for 7 months where I'm assuming he updated the Emperor on everything that went down, dealt with his fiance and her family, and broke his engagement. It's possible he also got permission to marry Ling Yin while her brother met up with the Empress again and got to know her. The thing that drives me crazy is the complete lack of contact which is slightly more understandable in this world where there are no phones but it's like send a bird! The show ended with everyone getting their happily ever afters which was nice but I feel like the first half of this show worked so much better for me than the back half where suddenly characters randomly did things to serve the plot. Overall I'd give this show a 7 / 10.
The Romance Of Tiger And Rose (22/24): 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'm honestly so sad that this show didn't release all of the remaining episodes at once cause now we'll have to wait until next week to get the rest! I do have to admit that I had no idea what we would do to end this drama cause Qianqian's written story came to a close when she stopped Han Shao from taking over Huayuan and faked her death though I suppose the fact that Chuchu didn't take the throne is probs the one thing stopping the end of the story. Speaking of, I was seriously pissed that Chuchu after everything she did ended up with everything she wanted (minus Han Shao but you know can't win them all) cause if anyone doesn't deserve being City Owner, it's her! She's arrogant and entitled and clearly hates men and even after Qianqian died wanted to destroy her body only to want to kill her again once she found out that she wasn't actually dead. Like she's straight up the villain and I'm just sitting here like why not give the Crown Princess title to Yuanyuan?? I do love the idea of Qianqian running Xuanhua though cause Han Shao is definitely her little murder kitty but low key Han Shao's dad is scared of his wife and I'm living for that too. I want the two wives to take over cause women know what's up and make a city that's somewhere between Xuanhua and Huayuan in terms of equality!
xoxo Allie
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