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
Backstreet Rookie (2/16): Jung Saet Byul is a 22-year-old four-dimensional girl with amazing fighting skills who loves her friends, family, and retro fashion. She has the boys lined up but only has one person who keeps her distracted, Choi Dae Hyun. He became imprinted on her as an unforgettable person after a cigarette errand three years ago. Three years later, Jung Saet Byul meets Choi Dae Hyun again at his convenience store that he now manages and becomes a part-time worker. Here, Saet Byul and Dae Hyun’s love story begins as they heal the wounds of the heart, gain love, and become adults dreaming of the future. Their stories unfold into a pleasant comedy within the familiar sensibility of a convenience store.
Well this show had a ton of terrible press before it began and a part of me totally understood why but then the rest of me was high key fascinated by the idea that the main couple in this show are normal people and not world famous or chaebols and you know how much I love shows like that. After watching these first two episodes, I totally understand the backlash it got cause man oh man was it definitely creepy that the female lead was in high school when she kissed the clearly adult male lead but most of the show is taking place after she's grown up so I can't help but wonder why the show bothered to have that strange kiss at all cause so much backlash would have gone away if it wasn't there. Having said that, I have to admit the age gap is still freaking me out a little cause 22 is just a baby compared to 32 but unlike a lot of other age gap dramas, a major problem in this one is the way the show is sexualizing Saet Byul. It also doesn't help that Dae Hyun's friend is not only super creepy but is low key a caricature with the dreads and the fact that he was pulling flies out of his hair as if black people have dirty hair and seriously with everything that's going on in the real world right now, why would anyone think this is okay? Despite all this I can't help but see this show as the wreck that it is and like a car crash I don't know if I can look away!
Dinner Mate (20/32): 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.
Last week I thought that everyone who was complaining about the amount of screen time the exes got was a little exaggerated but this week I can't help but agree with them. Not only am I not the hugest fan of stories where exes get back together (cause duh an ex is an ex for a reason) but it's made even worse when the exes are straight up bat shit insane! I don't even know who's worse: No Eul who can't read the damn room or Jae Hyuk who's obsessed and ready to commit murder to get what he wants. I despised watching No Eul pretend like spending time with Hae Kyung's mom would endear him to her cause it's like seriously he's got the most fraught relationship with her so what makes her think that's the way to go but seeing Jae Hyuk stalk Do Hee and be violent and terrifying was worse. He straight up frightens me and I'm a little freaked out that Do Hee never realized how sketch he was in the 8 years they dated. We also found out this week that Jae Hyuk was actually one of Keanu's patients and that he had a severe obsessive disorder that he focused on Do Hee and I'm guessing the reason he vanished was cause he was hospitalized. Having said all that I did like that Do Hee and Hae Kyung finally got together this week but it was overshadowed with the ex drama and I'm just really hoping that going forward that we can dial them all back.
It's Okay To Not Be Okay (2/16): The story of a community health worker at a psychiatric ward who lives on 1.8 million won (approximately $1,520) a month and a storybook writer suffering from an antisocial personality disorder. A man who denies love and a woman who doesn’t know love defy fate and fall in love, finding their souls and identities in the process. Moon Kang Tae is a community health worker at a psychiatric ward who was blessed with everything including a great body, smarts, ability to sympathize with others, patience, ability to react quickly, stamina, and more. Meanwhile, Ko Moon Young is a popular writer of children’s literature, but she is extremely selfish, arrogant, and rude.
There are some shows out there that take a few episodes to hook you but there are others that have you from the moment it begins and this drama is without a doubt firmly in the second category. I mean seriously it could have straight up won me over with just it's absolutely stunning cinematography and creative opening but then it threw in fantastic actors and a mysterious plot and I could not look away. Honestly I had no idea what I was getting into when I started this show other than the fact that I adored the main leads in other shows and I still really don't know what this show is supposed to be but I am mesmerized anyway. For a second it reminded me of Soul Mechanic/Fix You in that Moon Young was suffering from a personality disorder and I wondered if Kang Tae would be the nurse to her patient but then the show shifted gears by giving us a childhood backstory for our leads that fit with the story we heard at the start of the drama. It seems like Moon Young was severely abused as a child whether that was emotional (from her mom who called her a monster) or physical (like her dad who tried to kill her) and that at some point Kang Tae fell in love with her but then he was scared off because of her antisocial tendencies. In the meantime Kang Tae's mom was murdered and Sang Tae claimed it was a butterfly who did it and that this person claimed that they would kill him too if he talked about what happened. Since the murderer is obviously not a real butterfly, I'm sure it was someone wearing a butterfly on their clothes and I have a feeling it would be Moon Young's mom cause that's the way dramas like to play.
FINISHED Mystic Pop Up Bar (12/12): “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.
Wow I did not expect this show to make me cry so hard during this finale and I suppose just in that regard that made this show better than Hotel Del Luna in the end! I'm honestly such a sucker for doomed romances and lovers finding each other again in another life so Weol Joo and Gwi's whole love story really broke my heart but more than that I was so into Kang Bae being their son. I loved how they broke down when they realized that he was their son and just how good he was despite everything he had been through and how he didn't love them any less even after finding out that they were the cause of his suffering. I am also glad that for once the Afterlife bosses were fair and saw that Gwi and Weol Joo made up for their so called sins and neither sent them to Hell or punished them and gave them the chance to stay with Kang Bae like they wanted. The only thing I could have wished for was a more clear resolution on Weol Joo and Gwi and where they stood. I know she forgave him for what happened and they were clearly happy to see each other at the end but with no kiss, are we supposed to believe they're just friends now or still in love? Overall I'd give this show a 8 / 10!
My Unfamiliar Family (8/16): 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?
We're about halfway through this drama now and I can't believe there's so much story left cause it feels like the show is both flying through material and dragging it's feet!! On the one hand it's crazy that the dad has gotten his memories back but on the other we're still mulling around with Eun Hee and Geon Joo! I'm so tired of Eun Hee constantly acting like the victim in this cheating thing cause she's really not. She decided with a clear mind that she wanted to be the other woman and now she's horrified cause his girlfriend is judging her and in the way? Oh please. The more important thing is the reveal that both Eun Hee and Chan Hyuk liked each other 9 years ago and like each other again now but are hiding it cause they think the other doesn't feel the same way. I kinda just want to knock their heads together and make them confess. It was really uncomfortable when Ji Woo came all the way to Eun Hee's apartment just to warn her off cause it's like really none of his business what happens between the two. Over with Eun Joo, I keep going back and forth in terms of whether I want her to make Tae Hyung suffer or not cause it's like part of me pities him but the rest of me is furious that he knew that he was gay from the start of their marriage and used her as a beard on purpose especially when his mom comes in and is all condescending. How dare the mom claim that her poor baby son shouldn't pay Eun Joo alimony or that she doesn't deserve the apartment that they live in? It was extra annoying cause Eun Joo sat their quietly and listened to it all when she has no problem biting everyone else's heads off.
Oh My Baby (14/16): 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?
This week was a really hard one if I'm being honest cause I can't help but feel like while Yi Sang loves and adores Ha Ri with his entire being, Ha Ri is only as attached to him as the idea of being the father to her child and it was driving me mad! I mean seriously he spent so much of this week thinking about proposing, worrying about what makes her happy, thinking about her relationship with her dad, taking fertility pills and being fearful of her being in pain cause of the endometriosis. Meanwhile she spent it hiding anything that's tough from him, and seeming really uninterested in being married to the man. I mean could her reaction to the thought of a proposal and the actual proposal itself be any less blah??? I was almost sobbing buckets at how he looked like he was about to burst into tears looking at her tears and she feels practically nothing in return! I still don't know why they've thrown adoption away without even considering it other than some low brow idea of thinking that a child is only your child if you birth it when there's so many lovely children out there waiting for someone to love them!! Jae Young was still a pain in the ass and sticking his nose where it didn't belong but at least he realized that Ha Ri wasn't going to love him the way he loves her so he backed off and the best thing he did all season was to call Yi Sang to comfort Ha Ri after she saw her dad. I also want to shout out Ha Ri's mom for being the absolute best and I'm really hoping that she loves Yi Sang anyway after finding out he's infertile and not able to give Ha Ri the baby she wants.
FINISHED Soul Mechanic/Fix You (32/32): 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?
This finale honestly felt a little meh if I think back on this show and how much it made me feel before. I'm not entirely sure what it was but somehow I low key checked out emotionally as the finale went on though objectively I could see what good things were happening. Of course it's amazing that Woo Joo started to love herself and see that she wasn't bad luck or a calamity on other people but her whole relationship with Si Joon felt like an afterthought despite the heavy emphasis on it previously. She asked him what their future would hold and he gave the vaguest answer like I don't need a marriage proposal but a little more of a concrete answer would have been great! It's also awesome that he because the center head of the new psych department and that In got to go to John Hopkins and focus on the research side of psychiatry like he always enjoyed but the way the show tried to abruptly redeem the Vice Director was a little too much. I also hated that we never actually got a look at Woo Joo's birth mom. What on earth happened to her? And though we spent this whole week seeing Woo Joo want to be a theatrical therapist suddenly in the flash forward we see her auditioning for a musical again? I don't mind either option being her career but it feels a little wishy-washy. Overall I think this show had a great premise and a solid start but it fell apart as it went on. If you're looking for a better mental health show, check out That's Okay It's Love or if you want a better patient/doctor show, check out Kill Me Heal Me or Heart To Heart. Overall I'd give this show a 7.5 / 10.
The thing I'm most disappointed about in this show is the fact that all our main characters aren't actually a team but just team up in the off chance they need each other. I find myself much more interested in the antics of Moo Young and her group than I do with Kang Ho and his police work mostly cause her side is more comedic while Kang Ho literally does the same thing every week. He comes up with a theory, his team leader tries to shut him down only for Kang Ho to keep going until he catches the criminal. This week's case has to do with a serial killer from 10 years ago and from what I'm gathering it seems like the killer from 10 years ago might be Dr Do and that the current killer is the old guy and his son that Kang Ho has been stalking but I don't know if that's the case cause Kang Ho found evidence from 10 years ago that had the old guy's son in it and if Dr Do was the killer then why was the son caught? Next week is the finale for this show so that's probs why this case is going longer than the normal ones and we'll probs end up wrapping it up next week after Moo Young's side brings Kang Ho in for help.
CDRAMA
Fake Princess (18/27): 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 really can't help but feel like there are two separate stories happening in this show with Changle and Li Che on one side and Li Heng and Zhu Yan on the other. The only way that works is if the two intermingle more and I don't know if the little we're getting so far is enough. I mean yeah Yan'er and Yu Yao were friends growing up but we barely see them together and it's not like the princes spend any time together either. We're so far into this show and we still don't know if the princes are enemies or if they barely think about each other. It was smart of the Lius to pin finding Heng'er and Yan'er on Li Che cause of course they want the anger pointed in that direction though I feel like it would be too easy to resolve cause it's not like Li Che or Changle knew that the other two were in love. They've got their own problems to deal with between needing to get Changle's people out of Liu's dungeon and the Third Princess of the Night Kingdom running around and Sunmo's fatal illness! Speaking of, I really didn't understand why that Rong medicine man was so evil and why the Third Princess is such a dolt. Like I get that she thought that Li Che and her were going to get married some day but now he's married to Changle and unless the Princess wants to become a concubine, I can't see why she's still trying to seduce him or get between him and Changle!
xoxo Allie
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