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

Flower Of Evil (10/16): Baek Hee Sung seems the ideal husband. A hard-working craftsman, his metal-working studio has met with its fair share of success. Able to provide a good life for his wife and daughter, he’s a good example of what a husband should be. But this perfect façade hides some very dark secrets that even his wife, Cha Ji Won remains unaware of. Unfortunately, secrets have a way of coming out and as a hard-hitting homicide detective, it’s Cha Ji Won’s job to uncover as many as she can, in her never-ending quest for the truth. While investigating a particularly cruel case, she finds herself on a dark path that could crumble the very foundations of her happy life. But she is determined to bring this psychopath to justice. Delving deeper into the case, she realizes that he may have been close by all along.

Just when I was starting to believe that Ji Won might be able to accept Hyun Soo as he is, this show hit us with Sang Pil figuring out the truth cause he is the last person able to give Hyun Soo a fair shake. The struggle is that there's no way for Hyun Soo to prove his innocence cause even if Hae Soo confesses, people will just believe that she's protecting her brother when it's the other way round. What's really interesting though is the possible reveal that the accomplice might be Hee Sung's dad and though I had wondered for a second if that could be possible cause of his burner phone, I'm not sure if he would have treated Hyun Soo the way he did if he idolized his father. The real Hee Sung waking up didn't mean anything this week though but it's interesting to note that he acts a little more childish than expected but then again if he fell into a coma at least 14 years ago, mentally he might still be in his early 20s. I still haven't picked up his personality yet and whether he'll be a good or bad addition to this show. Meanwhile in terms of Ji Won and Hyun Soo's relationship, my heart was breaking cause if I looked at it from Ji Won's POV Hyun Soo acting like Hee Sung would be absolutely sickening but if I looked at it from Hyun Soo's POV Ji Won wanting to leave him was soul crushing which is why when Ji Won started to forgive him, I was grinning from ear to ear. This show should really be called Secrets & Lies at this point cause I'm getting twisted up in knots trying to remember who knows what! I do think that Hyun Soo realized that Ji Won knows who he is now but Hae Soo is also hiding the fact that she remembered that green bracelet on the accomplice and she's probs going to go to Hee Sung's house now and like what if she gets hurt??

Lonely Enough To Love (3/10): A story of young people residing at a co-living house. They do want to date, but they don't want to be serious. They prefer being free, but they also don't want to be lonely. Cha Kang Woo is a single man in his 30's and he works as a psychiatrist. He is full of curiosity about human beings. Even though he is an attractive man, he is afraid of having a romantic relationships due to trauma from his past. A woman appears in front of him and he begins to have feelings for her. Lee Na Eun is a freelancer copy editor. She is generous to good people, but she does not tolerate injustice. She hopes to become a novelist one day. Due to her situation, she has not had a boyfriend in 4 years. She begins to stay at the co-living house and develops romantic feelings.

You know what a seriously hate in shows like these? Na Eun and Hyun Jin are best friends but everyone around them keeps talking about how they can't just be friends and at first the two are like nope we're just friends only for one to fall for the other. It drives me mad cause I'm low key a vindictive bitch so the fact that everyone keeps talking about a guy and a girl can't just be friends makes me want the characters to be like suck it everyone who's way too interested in other people's lives we're just friends but instead we have the characters falling the exact pattern people around them comment on and it makes me sad. Like seriously I don't mind if friends turn into lovers, in fact I love those types of stories, but it's like if you're going down that route, why make it so meta?? It's also sucky cause I really am not finding myself liking any of the characters in this show other than Kang Woo and Na Eun cause of all the intense love hexagons this show is building. Kyung Won likes Kang Woo and Bo Ra likes Jung Hoon while Kang Woo, Hyun Jin and now possibly Jung Hoon all like Na Eun while it looks like Na Eun is going to like Kang Woo and I'm just sitting here like well everyone's going to hate Na Eun huh. In other news we did learn a little more about Kang Woo's backstory in that it looks like he might be a secret chaebol though whether he's the bastard or the legitimate son is to be seen and he's estranged from this family cause he blames his father for the death of his mother. I also think that he's childhood friends with Kyung Won or it's that her family is friends with his family cause of the way they interact with each other and I also think her mom is in the hospital not Paris.

CDRAMA

FINISHED Crossfire (36/36): Despite living in different years, Lu Xiao Bei and Xiao Feng transcend space and time as they chance upon each other within the same game. From a position of mutual distrust to that of camaraderie, they form their own teams, map out their tactics to help each other grow. Captain Xiao Feng sends a message via radio signal through Lu Xiao Bei. In the year 2008, Xiao Feng is a downcast e-sports captain who is barely keeping his team together. It was a time when e-sports has yet to reach its peak. Xiao Feng's team is looked down on and ridiculed, yet they insist on fighting for their dreams. In the year 2019, Lu Xiao Bei is a genius in battle when it comes to the gaming world. In reality, he is a young man in a wheelchair. He vowed to continue his brother's legacy to become a professional e-sports player, yet loses his chance to join a professional team because of an accident.

So I didn't realize this last week but since I took a million years to finally watch this show, the finale actually aired this week and it was bittersweet as hell. I was still disappointed with the time travel antics of this show cause even with Xiaobei finding out about Xiao Feng's death, other than having one conversation with An Lan, we still didn't dive into the time travel enough. I suppose this show really needs a warning sign like even if time travel is the concept for this show, there really isn't much to look forward to in that aspect. The bittersweet part of this final chunk of episodes was the fact that Xiao Feng ended up in a coma for 11 years and it always breaks my heart when characters lose that much time cause the world changes so much. I did love that he and An Lan almost immediately got back together and man oh man their kiss was exactly as hot and heavy as I would have wanted. His reunion with his friends also made me cry and of course he ended up being Continue's coach cause it's like what else does he know but e-sports?? The craziest part of all that is how Luhan is actually 30 and Xiao Feng was supposed to be like 34 or something but he straight up looked younger than 20 year old Xiaobei played by 20 year old Leo Wu! Talk about a brain-melter! Continue meanwhile ended up winning the Chinese national game but losing their first international before going on to winning 11 competitions and the international championship in the next 3 years. Xiaobei and Chuge didn't kiss but I wonder if that's cause they're both in their early 20s so they were like nah no makeout scenes for us. Overall I had a blast with this show and even though I'd recommend King's Avatar over Crossfire if you could only watch one e-sports show, I'd still give this show a 9 / 10!

Dance Of The Phoenix (24/30): Once hailed as a genius girl, Feng Wu is discarded after falling victim to a plot against her. A modern-day girl enters the world of cultivation in the body of Feng Wu and falls in love with Jun Linyuan. Because of the machinations of her rival Zuo Qing Yu, Feng Wu loses the true blood of the phoenix. Her teacher expends all energy to save Feng Wu and falls into a state of slumber. In the 21st century, Meng Yuan is a homebody and a student of traditional Chinese medicine. She accidentally enters the world of cultivation to become Feng Wu. Meanwhile, Feng Wu has a seemingly non-existent marriage arrangement with Jun Lin Yuan. Meng Yuan living as Feng Wu uses her knowledge of Chinese medicine to protect those who are dear to her.

The thing that drives me most crazy in cdramas is how they all have these magical powers but damn if they can't ever have a private conversation without the villains listening in. I do think it's hilarious that Qing Yu didn't wait a second to go and tell everyone she knows what she knows and I'm just sitting here like how did the Queen even believe her? It sounds super fantastical that a person would become another person! At the very least I'm just glad that Linyuan knows the truth now cause Feng Wu won't have to keep pushing him away and they can face the future together which is all I want in dramas! I also can't wait until Feng Wu gets her Phoenix Blood back especially now that she knows that Qing Yu has it but Qing Yu is really making a mistake by turning to the Dark Court to learn their magic cause for so long she cultivated this persona that she's a good person and the dark magic is totally going to ruin that and I will be cackling when it happens cause the bitch deserves it. The whole sidestory of Wu wanting to destroy the Academy cause he blamed it for killing his lady love was high key ridiculous cause it ultimately led to nothing and Feng Wu found the Star Shard on her own but I suppose it's also good that Linyuan knows that Feng Wu is trying to wake up her master cause he can also help there.

Go Ahead (26/40): The story revolves around three troubled youths who find solace in their common experiences to become the best family that they can be for each other. Growing up in dysfunctional households, three individuals who are unrelated by blood treat each other like family as they yearn for the love that they cannot find at home. Eldest brother Ling Xiao, second brother He Ziqiu, and youngest sister Li Jianjian grow up together, experiencing life’s joy and strife as they support each other’s chosen paths. As Ling Xiao and He Ziqiu graduate from high school, they return to their original families. Five years later, the three are reunited, but the heartaches from their complicated family past becomes a shadow that constantly lingers. Can they finally fix their personal issues to become better versions of themselves?

We're now a little over halfway through this show and I really do feel like I'm living this show alongside Jianjian cause almost every emotion she feels so do I! Last week and at the start of this week I was right there with her that her brothers were coming on too strong and that she felt like they were strangers only for my heart to thaw as soon as her's did. I still didn't love the idea that Ziqiu was into Jianjian this week cause as we know Ling Xiao has clearly loved Jianjian forever but Ziqiu treated Jianjian as a sister all this time so thankfully that was nipped in the bud as soon as it was brought up. Ziqiu just doesn't realize it yet but the fact that he was like ew why would I kiss you is exactly it. He wants Jianjian to be in his life forever and everyone around him convinced him that the only way to do that is through marrying Jianjian. Hopefully now that they've had this conversation, Jianjian and Ziqiu can get back to normal though it'll be awkward explaining to Jianjian's dad that she turned me down. I wonder if he'd be less shocked when Ling Xiao and Jianjian come to him and are like we're in love cause it's only a matter of time! Their kiss was so cute this week and I loved every moment between them from his confession to her nervousness around him (compared to how completely she shut down Ziqiu) and I'm also glad that Mingyue's fight with Jianjian has also moved on. I agree with Ling Xiao in that I don't think she ever really liked him but she liked the idea of liking someone. I just really hope that they don't pair her with Ziqiu cause I think Ziqiu deserves better. I kind of hope they put Ziqiu with Tang Can and Mingyue with that neighborhood friend that has a crush on her cause personally I thought the short scene we saw between Ziqiu and Tang Can was super cute but I have a feeling the show won't go with that pairing which is unfortunate. In other news I have a feeling that Ling Xiao's mom and sister are going to move here from Singapore cause like the others I refuse to believe that his mom would ever just let him go like that when she has a free caretaker out of him. Meanwhile I didn't think there would be anyone worse than Ling Xiao's mom but then here comes Ziqiu's mom who definitely didn't regret how she abandoned her son all those years ago but at least it doesn't seem like she would be stupid enough to ask him to take care of her after everything like Ling Xiao's mom did.

Love Yourself / Love In Shanghai (18/36): A story that follows four women in their thirties during a glorious chapter in their lives. In the city of Shanghai at the age when they are most beautiful, they continuously strive for growth, independence and ultimately find friendship and love. As four friends step into their thirties, their lives which seemed to be on the right track start to go off the rails. TV producer Sun Yihe may be bold and fearless at work, but she is at a loss when it comes to love. Wang Xinyi is a fitness coach and single mom. As she hesitates before a relationship, she discovers something about herself. Dingding is an aspiring manager who wishes to help her trainees become the best boy band in China. Corporate executive Renran has always been rational and on top of things, but she craves for love and finds that the harder she holds onto it, the faster it fades.

Just when I was starting to wonder if I read the atmosphere of this show wrong, Chen Nan finally started to show some interest in Yi Hye and it's kinda cute how comfortable he is around her now and how cute their low key bickering is. I feel like Yi Hye's cheerful outlook is pulling out Chen Nan's softer more playful side while he can see right through her wall to the insecure girl she is behind it. This is the perfect cold male lead/warm female lead that most shows go for but don't nail. It's fascinating to compare the Yi Hye who's with him with the Yi Hye who's with Sam cause Chen Nan hit it on the head that Yi Hye will bend over backwards to please Sam cause she's worried that he's too good for her and I am really not a fan of that Yi Hye. Meanwhile I thought that Ren Ran's love triangle was nipped in the bud with her engagement but as we saw You Ting came back into the picture though I have a feeling that unlike Yi Hye, Ren Ran will stick with Lu Hao cause she was straight up glowing this week out of happiness so though part of me worries for her, I want to believe that she knows best. Unlike the Yi Hye and Chen Nan situation where I feel like Chen Nan's feelings appeared at the right time, it does feel like Si Rui's interest in Ding Ding came out of straight nowhere. Five minutes ago he was like teasing her and judging her and saying things like don't fall in love and now he's clumsily trying to follow her around? I wonder if this disconnect is cause Ding Ding gets the least screentime. This sucks cause I adore relationships where the playboy falls in love! Xingyi didn't get much this week other than the fact that her mom is getting worse though I still think her relationship with her son is super cute.

TWDRAMA

Lost Romance (12/20): Zheng Xiao En works as an editor of romance novels at a publishing company, and secretly dreams about falling in love with a CEO. When she isn’t working, she spends her days daydreaming about He Tian Xing, the handsome chief executive of the company that occupies the building opposite her company’s offices. One day, Zheng Xiao En magically finds herself transported into the pages of a romance novel – and comes face-to-face with her crush He Tian Xing. However, she soon discovers that in this fictional universe, his name is Si Tu Ao Ran – and his personality is very different. She hopes to use all the tips and tricks she has learned from the romance novels she has edited to help snare his heart. But she soon discovers that in this fictional world, she isn’t the heroic female lead – and instead is an evil side character! Can she flip the story on its head – and end up with the man of her dreams?

This show is slowly but surely killing me with it's one episode a week release schedule!! I mean seriously how am I supposed to live after how hot and heavy Xiao'en and Aoran got?? Just when I thought Crossfire killed it with Xiao Feng and An Lan's kiss, Xiao'en and Aoran walked up like step aside and let us show you what a real sex scene looks like. It's funny cause at the top of the episode I was low key pissed at Aoran for not believing Xiao'en right away which was a first cause I don't know if I've ever seen a male lead not believe the female lead but I wonder if part of it was cause he's a book character and like Xiao'en's two friends who were struck with this need to hate her just cause that's what the book says Aoran's girl should be treated like. I thought the whole jealously thing was funny but I can't help but wonder how terrible it was that Xiao'en had to actually pick between Aoran and Tianxing cause though part of me still thinks that they're the same person and that as soon as Tianxing wakes up so will Xiao'en and they both will remember being in the book, it still feels weird for Xiao'en to have to pick cause Aoran isn't exactly real and once they wake up will she have to tell Tianxing that he's the replacement or what? Chuchu's sudden villain turn really took me by surprise but in the end she did the right thing but I wonder if it was just that she didn't want to go as far as Motan wanted but since we still have 8 episodes to go if she'll continue being second lead evil. I just hope she doesn't drag Qingfeng in.

xoxo Allie