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 (4/16): 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.
So this week did a lot to make me feel better about watching this show. I still don't know if I ship the main characters together or even if I think they've got any romantic chemistry and if I'm being honest this show does remind me a little too much of Melting Me Softly in it's low brow humor to become a favorite but it's fun enough and I definitely like that the show is focusing on it's main leads rather than the side characters. I mean seriously this week I had to deal with waaaay too much secondary character screen time in other kdramas I've watched so ten points to Gryffindor and all that. As I mentioned up top I don't know if I feel like the leads have romantic chemistry yet but maybe that's cause Dae Hyun treats her like a troublemaking kid sister and she likened him to her dad this week but the way that Dae Hyun's girlfriend views her makes me definitely feel like there's no way that their relationship won't go romantic and maybe once it does, I'll see more sparks. It helps that the girlfriend is a horrible person in her own right cause not only was she jealous enough to manipulate Dae Hyun into thinking that Saet Byul was bullying her but also she really seems to be embarrassed of Dae Hyun as a person cause she's hiding him from her parents. The show definitely wants us to believe that there's more to why Dae Hyun quit his cushy office job and is running a connivence store now and I'm sure there is but I also just love that if he gets with Saet Byul then he won't have to deal with judge-y rich parents. Half of the time I watch a rich guy/poor girl show I end up exhausted and wondering why the girl doesn't just drop anchor and run cause no man is worth being treated like garbage.
DROPPED Dinner Mate (24/32): 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.
I seriously cannot watch this show anymore cause it makes me so furious. I feel kinda bad about it cause we're so damn close to the end but I just can't watch these horrible characters anymore. If it was just the exes that were ruining my enjoyment of this show it'd be one thing but I can't stand Do Hee any longer either. We were told she's this confident woman who knows what she wants but all I've seen of her is a coward who's too afraid of getting hurt and will literally bend over backwards to understand and take care of her ex when he's a monster. Hae Kyung had to cajole her into a relationship and he treats her so well and he's so clear about where he stands with No Eul but Do Hee keeps waffling back and forth between Hae Kyung and Jae Hyuk! I was beyond furious when not only did she not call the cops on Jae Hyuk breaking into her apartment and destroying it but also she lied to Hae Kyung about it. At what point are you going to draw the line? After he physically harms you? It's especially ironic when she calls out No Eul for her terrible behavior and is like so what you're going to follow Hae Kyung around and prevent him from ever dating or getting married when Jae Hyuk is doing the exact same thing! I debated staying with this show just to see if Do Hee would take Hae Kyung's side after the fight but then the previews for next week showed us that she breaks up with Hae Kyung in what most likely is an attempt to keep him safe from Jae Hyuk and that was it. I'm done.
It's Okay To Not Be Okay (4/16): 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.
Every week I'm like actually upset when this show comes to an end and I'm constantly hoping that there's more to come cause I can't get enough of this world or it's characters! I keep going back and forth about whether it would be better to just wait to binge it all in one sitting once it fully airs but then the new episodes roll around and I seriously have no self control. I'm just fascinated by the chemistry between Kang Tae and Moon Young and the way they set fire to the screen when they look at each other and I swear I will spontaneously combust when the two actually kiss! Kang Tae looks at Moon Young as though she's got the answers to life itself and it fascinates me that despite Moon Young having an antisocial disorder, she can read him perfectly when no one else can. She can see past his outer shell and see the lonely child inside who wants nothing more than to be loved but has spent his whole life hiding his emotions in order to take care of Sang Tae and pretends like everything just slides off his back. Dude the way my heart fluttered straight out of my chest when Moon Young ruffled Kang Tae's hair and then when it sank when he cried was everything and the fact that this show can make me feel so much is insane. I'm also really fascinated by Moon Young's childhood and the reveal that maybe her mother wasn't all that sane herself and I have a feeling that her father hates her so much cause he thinks that she's the cause of her mother's suffering. I really hated that everyone kept judging her for not wanting to spend time with her father like what do you even know about their relationship?
My Unfamiliar Family (10/16): 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?
Ugh I'm high key pissed that this week ended without a kiss between Chan Hyuk and Eun Hee cause you know that when we get back to them next week that something will cause the two to separate and my blood pressure will go up cause this slow burn is going to kill me! God I almost cried during that final scene where Eun Hee basically confessed to having loved Chan Hyuk and that he'll always be one of her most treasured memories and you could see it in his face that he wanted to be nothing more than her present and future instead of her past. I absolutely adored Eun Hee for finally dumping her creepy boss but I adored Chan Hyuk more. I loved that he shut down Ji Woo by telling him that he has no part in Chan Hyuk and Eun Hee's relationship and told Eun Hee that since she is the one he cares about, Ji Woo and Eun Joo are just extensions of her. I also loved that we saw some of their college friends and that she reminded Ji Woo and Seo Young that Chan Hyuk and Eun Hee are real adults who had lives without them and that there's more than a sibling bond there. Meanwhile Eun Joo seriously went through the wringer this week with trying to juggle her possible divorce with the realization that she's not her father's daughter after all. I still find it hard to connect with her cause of her cold fury and how she always seems to take it out on Eun Hee or people not actually involved in the problem she has and I really don't understand why she called Chan Hyuk but in the end I do pity her. I'm still a little angry with Ji Woo trying to lay claim on Chan Hyuk as if Chan Hyuk was his friend and not Eun Hee's first but I did pity him when you find out how little time his dad spent with him cause he was busy with his other family. The parents I really don't know what I'm thinking of other than smh they really went through a lifetime of pain just cause they couldn't talk to each other like adults. The dad never cheated but I don't know if what he did was any better cause he really used Yeong Shik as his safe harbor and I pity his entire family for how he basically raised two families so of course they never had enough money.
FINISHED Oh My Baby (16/16): 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 show came to an end this week and honestly I'm just overall sad. Not because this show's finale aired but because the way it limped to an end. When I first got into this show I wasn't all that into the concept but I fell in love with Go Joon's portrayal of Yi Sang and Jang Nara's portrayal of Ha Ri. As the show went on it started to go from fun and kooky to totally depressing and like I complained about last week, it felt less and less like Ha Ri was in love with Yi Sang but more like she just needed him to have a baby and I started to emotionally distance myself from this show. I don't love tragic shows and this show started to go into torture porn territory cause it was just a constant slew of misery and I truly hated the amount of screen time the second male lead got. Why are kdramas obsessed with second leads? Dinner Mate even spent so much time with them that I ended up dropping it! I suppose I should at least give credit where credit is due though and shout out Yi Sang's ex for keeping it classy. Honestly I should have also been upset with the breakup in the finale troupe that this show threw out but like Yi Sang I was tired of how tired and sad Ha Ri was every time she was around him and I was like yeah you should go cause the girl only sees you as a baby machine and even her mom wanted you to break up cause you can't give her that. The whole arc where he came back and they magically had a baby was too much for me and I'm high key pissed that this show went that way cause if they wanted to magically give our couple a baby, they should have before last week and before we had to watch the two realize that they might not be right for each other. The ending should have shown us an alternate route like adoption! Overall I guess I'd give this show a 8.5 / 10 cause I just can't bring myself to give this show even a 9 which sucks cause two weeks ago it would have been a 10!
The finale for this show aired this week and it wrapped up the story that started last week. As it turns out the reason I was so confused was because I didn't realize that there were two serial killers out there with one being the Boxcutter Killer and the other being the Locked Room Killer. The guy that Moo Young's team found was the Locked Room Killer but the guy that Kang Ho was hunting was actually the Boxcutter Killer. As it turned out in one of the craziest reveals, the old man and his wife were working together and in fact it was the old woman who was in charge. They had a legion of orphans that worshipped them and followed their every command one of which was the mentally ill kid that the police arrested. The police which I was so proud of a few weeks ago for doing the right thing decided that they wanted to place their reputation over the truth so they refused to believe Kang Ho when he said that the kid couldn't have killed on his own and so Kang Ho turned back to our crew of misfits. It was honestly so rewarding when he discovered the truth and slapped everyone's faces with it cause it's like if they had just believed him 10 years ago, so many people would still be alive. Overall I think I did have fun with this show for what it was worth but it felt very much like a middle of the road type of show. I do think a few more investigation kdramas should follow this recipe of less politics and corruption and focus more on cases and personal relationships. I'd give this show a solid 8 / 10.
CDRAMA
Fake Princess (24/27): 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.
So I still don't entirely understand why the 5th Prince hated Li Che so much before everything that happened this week but the idiot is dumb enough to fall for Liu Sheng and the Empress's evil plans so I totally get why he's blaming Li Che for the woman he loves being imprisoned. My favorite thing about scenarios like this is how the villains always blame the heroes for thwarting their evil schemes. Like dude if you and your mother didn't plot to overthrow Li Che then the woman you love wouldn't have been punished like she was! I really loved the plot with the Third Princess though I wish that it had lasted longer but I low key love how everyone's plotting and scheming around the Emperor so that they play nice in public and do all sorts of stuff behind the scenes so he really is the least informed in this show. Chang Le's identity can never be revealed cause then Liu Sheng and his whole family would be killed so I can see the show ending with Liu Sheng and his brood dead and Chang Le would remain Yu Yao for the rest of her life. As a matter of fact, Chang Le's master who's the last of the Duans reappeared this week and she found out that Liu Sheng was the cause of her family's death so you know his days are definitely numbered.
Symphony's Romance (12/40): A talented musician, Li Zhen Yi, had the world at his feet. With invitations to study abroad, under some of the greatest musical masters of the modern world, pouring in, Zhen Yi should have had no reservations about stepping out into a wider world. But the ghosts of his past refuse to let him go. Suffering from severe childhood trauma, Zhen Yi is trapped in a world of demons from which there is no escape. At least not until he meets Fang Xiao Wo. An extraordinarily gifted pianist, Xiao Wo possesses more talent than even Zhen Yi, but her odd behavior and weird personality don’t exactly endear her to those around her. Despite her being such an oddity, Zhen Yi can’t help but be a little intrigued by Xiao Wo, especially not when they share an unwavering passion for music. The two eventually begin to spend more time together and Zhen Yi slowly starts to find the courage to continue pursuing his own dreams. With Xiao Wo by his side, the wounds from Zhen Yi’s past begin to heal, allowing him to dream like he’s never dreamed before. Finally free from the ghosts of his past, Zhen Yi and Xiao Wo step bravely into a bright new future, together.
The thing about this drama is that it's actually an adaptation of a Japanese manga that was also adapted into both a Korean and a Japanese drama but honestly I only ever watched an episode of both versions and dropped them cause the male lead was too cold in the kdrama and the acting was too over-the-top in the jdrama so I wasn't all that sure that I would check out this version. In the end though Jelly Lin was cast as the female lead and I adored her in Fights Break Sphere so I thought maybe I should give this story another chance and I was curious how this show would adapt the material into more of a cdrama style. To my surprise the show didn't actually do that much to change the material and our female lead is still extremely maniac but it's nowhere near as insane as the other versions and I found that our male lead was actually a lot kinder than I expected though not as handsome as the previous versions. From almost the first episode Zhen Yi is basically dating Xiao Wo and is seriously the kindest boyfriend to her and I can't help but feel like these two just straight up skipped over the early stages of dating and jumped straight to practically being married. I do have a feeling that some of the cdrama troupe staples might show up later in this season like disapproving parents and the like but so far I'm really into this show. All the side characters are fun and the music is amazing to listen to even if classical isn't usually my jam. The one thing I would change though is the fact that Xiao Wo spends all her time chasing Zhen Yi like a puppy and being his girlfriend and it really doesn't help that this show follows two competing orchestras which as a pianist Xiao Wo has no part in. I wish the show would give the girl her own storylines or motivations beyond being the light in Zhen Yi's life.
xoxo Allie
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