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

Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol (6/16): "Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol” is a romantic comedy about a pianist named Goo Ra Ra who hits rock bottom after her family’s sudden downfall. After she finds her way to La La Land, a piano academy in a small village, she ends up crossing paths and falling in love with the tough and mysterious Sun Woo Joon, who seems to be hiding a lot of secrets. Goo Ra Ra is an immature and mischievous pianist. With her bright laughter and sunny disposition, she’s a simple, confident, and lovable person, having the charm of making anyone laugh no matter how difficult the situation. Goo Ra Ra also enjoys making jokes and acting unpredictably even during serious moments as she has lived a life without fear, being able to gain whatever she wanted with money. Something happened that caused her to become bankrupt. She doesn't have anything now, and she is frustrated with her situation. Sun Woo Joon doesn't care what other people think about him, but he has a warm heart. He is free-spirited and doesn't have a specific dream or goal for his life. He makes ends meet by working part-time jobs. Goo Ra Ra and Sun Woo Joon meet at the small private piano academy LaLa Land in a country village.

Well we finally learned who Joon was and though I was right in guessing that he's a chaebol, the bigger twist was in the fact that he lied about his age. Honestly what in the hell were the writers of this show thinking when they decided to make Joon a high schooler? Like he supposedly ran away when he was in his second year of high school which should make him 18 or 19 (since his friend died on his birthday and isn't that horrible) and I'm thinking that it must have been less than a year since he's been on the run cause otherwise his mom would not be able to hide his disappearance so he's probs coming up on 19 or 20. That would make Ra Ra about 4 or 5 years older than him which normally isn't a big deal but there's something so squicky about the fact that he's still a minor cause in Korea the legal age is 20. This show couldn't have had the two meet once Joon turned 20?? I'm trying to hold off on too much judgment as of yet cause as long as this show does the Itaewon Class thing where the romance doesn't happen until after Joon is an adult, I can let this annoyance slide but what's worse is that Ra Ra doesn't know that Joon's not 24 so if she falls for him (which she already is) it's not with all the facts! Even creepier is the fact that Dr Cha knows the truth and he's low key blackmailing a child by being like I'm going to tattle to your parents if you get in the way of my seducing Ra Ra. It just adds levels to how creepy I find him cause we still don't know why he's so obsessed with Ra Ra and how weird it is that he and her ex husband-to-be are friends and yet he hasn't told that guy or Ra Ra that he knows both of them. I do have a feeling that Cha has some sort of terminal illness cause the show made a joke about it before but we saw him needing to see a doctor. 

FINISHED Do You Like Brahms? (16/16): “Do You Like Brahms?” is a drama about students at a prestigious music school and the people in their lives. It will tell the stories of the students experiencing lessons, practicing, performing, and competitions since a very young age along with their parents and teachers who obsess over these processes. Park Joon Young, started playing piano when he was six years old. He won prominent competitions in the country before going on to win competitions across the world. Chae Song Ah, a college senior majoring in violin performance. After graduating previously as a business major, she entered the same university again to go to the music school after four attempts and is seven years older than her classmates.

The finale for this show aired this week and I'm really sad to say goodbye. I know a lot of people have fallen out of love with this show in the last two or three weeks cause of how melo it got but honestly I didn't mind a single second of it. I mean yes of course I was upset with the way Song Ah and Joon Young's relationship went from super cute to totally heart wrenching to watch but honestly that's life. Their breakup was seriously needed in order for both to really look at their lives and what made them happy. Song Ah was already halfway there last week when she left the chamber orchestra and broke up with Joon Young and this week she decided to give up the violin and join the Foundation as an employee which is kinda what I thought would happen from the start. She can still love music but from a different angle. Joon Young on the other hand realized that he hadn't been playing music with his heart for a while now and decided to quit the competitions cause they never made him happy as well as reconciling with his mom and telling her to get a divorce cause she wasn't happy. I think losing Song Ah really showed him how he was just drifting and opening up to his mom was the first step to becoming the man he knew that Song Ah needed. My favorite thing about Song Ah and Joon Young's reconciliation was that there was no time skip involved. Instead like a lot of relationships, they found their way back to each other cause they never really left. I do think the abrupt character shift for Jung Kyung was irritating cause I always felt like this week's version of her should have been the version that we saw all along and I think that her realization that she didn't love Joon Young and actually missed Hyeon Ho should actually have come after her grandma died but I am glad though that she and Hyeon Ho didn't get back together cause she really burned bridges there and I wouldn't feel like it would have been realistic if Hyeon Ho ignored all that. I loved the way this show arced as a whole and I definitely want to highlight that in a world of dramas whose endings fall flat, this show's ending really sealed the deal for me in terms of how I felt about this show. The fact that it made me tear up at the drop of a hat really proved why this show is definitely going down as one of my favorite kdramas and so I'd give it a 9.5 / 10! 

Private Lives (6/16): Swindlers come across a secret of the nation and try to reveal the secret. They must go up against a large company by using all of their skills. Lee Jung-Hwan is a team leader for the major corporation. He looks like an ordinary company employee, but he is a mysterious figure. Cha Joo-Eun is a swindler, who has the looks of a sweet & innocent woman. She supports herself with her crimes. Jung Bok-Ki is a professional swindler. She often targets other swindlers. She is elegant and also charismatic. Kim Jae-Wook is Jung Bok-Ki’s partner in crime.

This week really cemented for me the fact that I think this show is a masterpiece. I love the plot and the way things are revealed in pieces so that a lot of questions I had can be answered and yet more are brought up which seems to be par for the course with this show. Years ago it seems like Jae Wook intercepted GK's actual hired killer and snuck in to steal the ledger for himself and saved Bok Ki for reasons unknown which is why they became partners for a while but he left her after they conned Joo Eun into going to jail a year and a half ago. GK has been hunting for the ledger since then and after they accidentally stumbled on Bok Ki being alive, they thought she had it but as we know Jae Wook actually has it. At first I thought it was GK who tried to kill Jung Hwan probs cause they figured out that he helped Bok Ki get away but the way Mr Kim reacted to him still being alive didn't really make me think that they planned it. Of course it's possible Mr Kim decided to go with the flow and see if he could still keep using Jung Hwan like the way he met up with Jae Wook on friendly terms even though Jae Wook clearly did some things for his own interest rather than GK's. The struggle is that all our main characters only know pieces of the puzzle and if they only got together, they'd see the whole board! As it turned out UI was never involved in this whole thing as GK told Jung Hwan. He handed the files over to Joo Eun who gave them to Han Son who gave them back to GK in a big elaborate lie. The person who died in that accident was actually the twin of Yoon Seok and Jung Hwan switched his DNA with the twin's so everyone would think he's dead. On the plus side we also found out that Jung Hwan really did love Joo Eun and he never was planning on conning her and he never knew that she was lying either which is why he thinks that she would quietly mourn rather than fight to figure out the truth. Either way I need them to meet again cause I adore them so much! What are the odds this show is building up to a four-way team up with all four of our main leads as they take down GK??

Record Of You (14/16): Youth Record follows the lives of young people in the world of modeling. Sa Hye-Joon is smart and handsome. He is a nice guy and a popular model, but what he really wants is to become an actor. He has auditioned for many acting roles, but hasn't found success yet. Unfortunately, Sa Hye-Joon doesn't have much presence as an actor. Meanwhile, An Jung-Ha works as a make-up artist.

At this point I’m really just watching this show so that I can say that I didn't drop it cause there’s nothing in this show that makes me interested and since about last week I tend to watch the episodes mostly just waiting for the end. I should have seen this coming ages ago cause if a show’s entire cast of characters other than the main leads and a few other people are hateful then of course once the relationship problems start growing then you would lose interest in the show. Jung Ha is spending all her free time with Hae Hyo which is bad enough cause like what kind of girl hangs out alone with her boyfriend’s best friend?? Jung Ha is upset cause I think she's low key jealous of his fame like Hae Hyo and is also pissed that he can’t be with her all the time like damn girl what did you think a rising celeb’s schedule would be like? He already calls her every free minute he has so he’s clearly thinking of her so can she really blame his busy schedule? I hate that her biggest compliant was that she likes to give love rather than receive it like then maybe you should get a dog and never date again. Having said all that I do blame Hye Joon a tiny bit for the breakup too cause he’s also hiding everything from Jung Ha and I’m really not looking forward to next week when he spirals. Hae Hyo meanwhile is going around being all woe is me cause no one likes my acting and my followers were all fake and it’s like yeah that’s a bit of a hard pill to swallow but also why is it totally okay for him if he’s the one doing well but the minute Hye Joon does better he seethes with jealously. Clearly there’s more here in that Hae Hyo thinks that he’s better than Hye Joon so I’m high key pissed that the show didn’t focus on this instead of the love triangle no one likes. By the by Hye Joon’s dad apologized for how he treated Hye Joon in the past this week but I can’t help but wonder if it was a day late and a dollar too short. He’s only saying all this cause he sees how Hye Joon is doing well as a celeb but Hye Joon needed his support when he was struggling! 

Search (2/10): Yong Dong Jin is a conscript sergeant in the South Korean armed forces. He is also the military’s leading sniffer dog handler and is just one month away from receiving his long-awaited discharge. But with just weeks to go until he can rejoin the civilian world, a mysterious case threatens to suck him into a long, troublesome intrigue. In the demilitarized zone (DMZ), the area between North and South Korea, a suspected murder in bizarre circumstances piques the army’s attention. The army leaders decide to form an elite search party to scour the DMZ for clues, enlisting Yong Dong Jin and his keen-nosed dogs. Also joining the team will be Son Ye Rim, a relatively green but highly promising soldier who received much of her training in the United States. However, as the party begins to investigate, its members quickly begin to realize that whatever it is they are hunting does not appear to be human…

I went into this not really knowing what it would be about. I mean yeah obviously the main characters were soldiers and with a name like Search I assumed it would follow a search-and-rescue military squad but I was seriously surprised when I started watching this show to find that maybe there are some supernatural elements to it. First of all I want to shout out how beautifully the show is filmed. It seriously looks like I'm watching a ten hour long movie! Now let's get into the plot. As I mentioned up top there seems to be a supernatural element to this show in terms of how at first I thought there were zombies but now I think it's actually werewolves but rather than actual supernatural werewolves, I'm fairly certain that we're meant to believe that back in 1997 the North Koreans created some sort of killer virus that acts like rabies and turns people into wolves. The man and woman who created this virus tried to defect to South Korea but while the woman was killed, the man stayed hidden in the DMZ as the werewolf that's infecting others, and their daughter ended up adopted by one of the surviving soldiers and grew up to be Ye Rim. In turn I'm sure Dong Jin will probs end up being Cho Min Guk's child cause we saw a picture of his wife and child. In current day, Ye Rim is hunting this werewolf virus though I'm sure she doesn't know what it really is and I'm really into the whole plot and every soldier we've met so far is pretty cool except for Min Gyu who's kinda such an asshole but I mean the squad needed one person to be in the pocket of the sketchy higher ups so I don't entirely mind. I am a little disappointed that there's going to be some evil higher up antics cause we've only actually got like 10 episodes so we really couldn't have skipped that nonsense and streamlined the show?? I am curious to know what happened back then cause clearly Hyeok, the man who shot first and caused the massacre of '97, and some of the other surviving soldiers are hiding what really happened and at some point they did bring Ye Rim back but like was Cho Min Guk really okay with pretending like the others when he seemed to the morally upright one??

Start Up (2/16): “Startup” is set in South Korea’s fictional Silicon Valley, called Sandbox, and tells the story of people in the world of startup companies. Seo Dal Mi dreams of becoming Korea’s Steve Jobs. She’s an adventurer who doesn’t own much, but has a grand plan for herself. She also has experience in a wide range of part-time jobs and is a person of great vitality. Nam Do San is the founder of Samsan Tech. He was once the pride of his family as a math genius, but for the past two years, he’s been going nowhere with his company’s investments. It turns out that Seo Dal Mi remembers him as her ‘cool first love’, and he decides to begin a startup in the hope of turning Seo Dal Mi’s misunderstanding into reality. Han Ji Pyung begins a startup company to pay off his debt. A team leader at SH Venture Capital, his astonishing investment skills and sharp tongue earn him the nickname, “the Gordan Ramsay of investments”. Though he’s prickly to most others, he’s softer than anyone to one special person who granted him a great favor in the past. Lastly, CEO Won In Jae has everything society respects: the educational background, beautiful appearance, and money. She considers her background as a second generation chaebol a weakness and does everything she can to create success on her own and be acknowledged for her skills. However, she ends up being used and thrown away by her father, and in order to stop being a disposable piece on her father’s chess board, she throws herself into a startup.

I was pretty excited to check this drama out cause I adore all three of the main leads but the synopsis really left the plot up in the air cause other than knowing that this show would follow characters who are tech savvy, we didn't really know anything else and for that I'm kinda glad cause when a synopsis gives away the whole store, I tend to be less interested in the story. It was super unique of the show to start with giving us the backstory for the female lead and the second male lead to the degree that the male lead didn't even show up until the second episode and while it did worry me a little that I would end up with SLS, fortunately I had no problem cause as soon as the male lead showed up I was like nope this is my ship! Of course being a Netflix kdrama, the production quality is top-notch and I really enjoyed meeting all of our main characters (even In Jae who I keep going back and forth on cause she's obviously a bit of a snob but I don't know if she actually looks down on Dal Mi or if Dal Mi is the insecure one.) Dal Mi is so adorable and fun while Do San is seriously such an angel and I can't wait to see the two fall in love. I'm hoping the two actually become a team and work to make Samsan into a big hit more in the line of Itaewon Class where we follow the leads on an upward trend rather than something like Record Of Youth where we peak too early and then watch a downward spiral. I don't love that Do San is lying to her about being the person she's looking for but I'm hoping that she'll figure out the truth next week like the promos are hinting. It does remind me a lot of the setup of What Happens To My Family with Dal Mi actually coming to find the second lead who she knows from when she was younger but then ends up falling for the male lead instead. In other news I can't even decide what I think of Ji Pyung cause while I would have thought he was a good guy, he was SUCH an asshole to Do San about whether Samsan could ever hit it big. I do wonder if he's going to end up with In Jae cause it doesn't exactly feel like Ji Pyung is into Dal Mi yet but it's also possible that he will later on.

FINISHED Stranger/Secret Forest Season 1 (16/16): Hwang Shi Mok had brain surgery when he was a child, which caused him to lack emotion. Now, Hwang Shi Mok works as a prosecutor. He is rational, but cold and lonely. He is also one of the only prosecutors not involved in corruption. One day, a dead body is thrown in front of him. He meets Police Lieutenant Han Yeo Jin at a murder crime scene. They work together to eradicate corruption at the prosecutor's office and solve a serial murder case.

If you've been following me for a while all over my blog you should know that I've pretty much spent the last 6 months or so slowly making my way through 15 seasons of the American show Criminal Minds. Now you're probably wondering what that has to do with anything but it does actually matter cause I just finished it back at the start of October and so I was left with this weird gaping hole where I wanted to watch a detective/thriller/investigation drama that was actually well crafted unlike most kdramas about murder. I saw nothing but positive reviews about this one so I dived right in hoping it would give me what I wanted. Right off the bat it was exactly what the doctor ordered even though it honestly felt more like the kdrama Chief Of Staff than Criminal Minds and I consumed this show like someone was chasing after me. The beginning was very strong and fascinating and though I did start to feel like the show dragged a bit in the middle, it picked up towards the end again. I loved our mains, Shi Mok and Yeo Jin, cause they were such a dynamic duo: competent and logical in their own ways. The mystery played out beautifully cause the second you thought you had all the pieces of the puzzle, another one was thrown in and you realized that you weren't even close to finishing it! I loved the twist of Chang Joon being behind everything in this long game that he was playing and how from start to finish you were unable to read what kind of person he was. It was really sweet though how much he loved his wife. Speaking of love, I'm usually not a fan of when women are murdered to motivate their male love interests, but Eun Soo dying really picked up the pace once the show started dragging and my head canon is low key that Shi Mok and Eun Soo really did love each other though I'm not sure either one realized it yet cause they were tragically ended too soon but her death brought out emotions in him that even he thought were long gone. All this to say I really really did love this show and I can't wait to continue onto season 2. I'd give it a 9 / 10. 

Tale Of The Nine-Tailed (6/16): The story features the mythical nine-tailed fox, or gumiho, Lee Yeon who has just settled in the city. Able to transform into human form, he goes about cleansing human spirits, all the while creating havoc. Enter the talented television producer Nam Ji Ah whose current show features urban myths. With nerves of steel, she will stop at nothing to secure unusual, if not dangerous, subject matter to showcase. She sets her sights on Lee Yeon who appears just too good to be true; irresistibly handsome, intelligent, fit; in fact the ideal guest. But his heartlessness will render doubt in her that he is indeed of this world. Step-brother to Lee Yeon is the captivating Lee Rang, reputed to be the most dangerous of all gumihos living among humans. Despite being half-human himself, he harbors a deep-seated contempt for all people. For sport, he will unleash his seductive prowess upon his human-du-jour, by promising to grant them their wishes, only to trick them into paying a hefty price for their earthly desires. 

After this week I think that Yeon's memories were definitely either wiped or altered by the head of the Underworld as some sort of punishment so he can't actually remember what happened with Ah Eum's death. I think she went to kill her father who was possessed by the Imoogi and somehow it jumped into her body either after she killed her father or while she was trying. Yeon was heartbroken but he had to kill her in order to kill the Imoogi though as we know now, it survived. When the Imoogi realized that Ah Eum was being reincarnated, it pulled her parents to the island where it could reattach part of itself into the baby Ji Ah in some sort of revenge fantasy to get back at Yeon who almost killed it. While inside Ji Ah it and the fox bead were probs fighting which is why Yeon couldn't sense the fox bead and why she wasn't born like the other half of the Imoogi baby all half possessed and stuff. Meanwhile it tried to kill her parents and take over their lives in order to raise her through the help of the CEO but Yeon killed those beings that were posing as her parents and I'm assuming the real souls of her parents entered those fireflies like in Hotel Del Luna. The other major theory I can think of which is the one I'm not sure if it would come true is the fact that I think Rang is actually the child of Ah Eum and Yeon and memories were changed to make everyone think that Rang and Yeon are brothers. Rang is half fox half human right but we know that foxes and humans can't be together without there being tragedy so I can't imagine that Yeon would grow up knowing that his parents were cursed only to fall in love with a human. It's also important to note that we've never actually seen Yeon and Rang's parents. As a sidebar I'm still kinda shipping Ji Ah and Yeon but I do think it kinda sucks that with the whole reincarnation reveal that we're skipping past most of the cute I have feelings stage to basically married. I really love Yoo Ri and Shin Joo though and I really wish more screen time was given to them!

The Spies Who Loved Me (2/16): Kang Ah Reum is a wedding dress designer who has been married twice. Her two husbands harbor many secrets and Ah Reum gets swept up in them. Jun Ji Hoon disguises himself as a travel writer, but he is actually a secret agent for Interpol. His job as a secret agent is a way for Jun Ji Hoon to support himself financially. He is currently divorced. He was married to Kang Ah Reum, but they divorced without Kang Ah Reum learning about his secret life as a spy. Kang Ah Reum now works as a wedding dress designer. She met Derek Hyun after her divorce and they eventually married. Her current husband works as a diplomatic official and seems gentle and warm. His secret is that he is actually a cold-blooded industrial spy. Derek Hyun treats his wife sweetly, but, for his job as an industrial spy, he will do anything. He loves Kang Ah Reum sincerely, but he also hides his true self from her.

Here's the thing with this drama. I always low key get so excited to watch dramas with Eric Mun cause of how much I absolutely loved him in Another Miss Oh but his last drama really was terrible so I was a little hesitant going in cause though all the posters looked amazing, the synopsis didn't leave me all that excited either. After having seen the first two episodes, I have like one foot on board cause I'm not entirely sure what this show will end up giving me. The production for this show looks top notch and I'm always a fan of spies and spy work cause it's basically the same thing as being a conman only you're doing it for the greater good but I'm not sure how I feel about the love line in this. Like I'm not always a fan of exes getting back together cause I end up thinking that they're exes for a reason but I'm not entirely against the whole thing cause a part of me can find it romantic as well similar to the idea of reincarnated lovers falling in love all over again though I defs prefer when they do so unknowingly like in Chicago Typewriter over something like Tale Of The Nine-Tailed. It's clear that Ah Reum and Ji Hoon are still in love and that the two only broke up cause Ji Hoon probs had to rush away at random times to do his work and Ah Reum didn't understand cause he's a travel writer and I definitely don't think he actually cheated on her but I am super surprised though that Ji Hoon would have picked a divorce over telling her the truth. On another note I'm almost 100% sure that Derek was the one to kill Sophie and I wonder if Sophie told Ah Reum everything about what happened and at what point Ah Reum will put together the fact that Sophie was looking for a Sheriff and that was what Ji Hoon was wearing. By the by I also want to highlight how sexy Eric Mun is in this show especially in his stripper sheriff outfit!! Like I don't know if it's his biceps or his abs but I practically have to wipe up my drool as I watch this show every five seconds.

CDRAMA

FINISHED Dating In The Kitchen (24/24): Working as an assistant chef at the Zijing Hotel, Gu Sheng Nan was a woman well on her way to making her dreams come true. Well situated, in a job that she loved, she was free to express herself through her food, as she sharpened her skills as a chef. In addition to having a great job, she was happily settled in her secret relationship with the hotel’s head chef. Convinced they were destined to build a beautiful life together, Sheng Nan was devastated the day she caught her boyfriend cheating. As if breaking up with her boyfriend wasn’t bad enough, Sheng Nan soon learns that she may soon be out of a job, thanks to the hotel’s impending acquisition. To make matters worse, an unfortunate misunderstanding lands her on the wrong side of her soon-to-be boss, the sharp-tongued CEO, Lu Jin. As a business prodigy, Lu Jin isn’t afraid to make the tough decisions. Ready to condemn the Zijing Hotel, Lu Jin changes his mind after a happy accident brings one of Sheng Nan’s dishes his way. A hardcore foodie, Lu Jin is impressed with Sheng Nan’s skill as a chef and readily recognizes her talent. Sharing a love of food, this unlikely pair begins to form an unexpected bond that leads them to a place neither of them ever expected to be.

Wow this finale really took this show from it's okay status to dude what the hell did I just watch?? This finale was absolutely ridiculous and I will literally never understand why female leads have to be sooooo stupid. Like I get the idea of not liking it when a man tells you not to see another person but that only counts when the person you're not supposed to see is someone you really know. Shengnan barely knew Lu Zheng and she barely understands what's going on in Lu Jin's family life so why in the hell did she decide not only to meddle in someone else's family life but also keep seeing him when she knows that Lu Jin doesn't like his half-brother!! And she knew the whole time that her interactions with him were a little sketchy cause she lied about them. If she has the brain capacity to lie, then some part of her knows that it's wrong! I was hands down furious about the whole thing and if this was real life, it would be the thing to show Lu Jin why Shengnan was too young and naive for him no matter how much he loved her. I hated that he was the one to apologize when she literally came home drunk in some other man's arms. Can you imagine if that was him in Li Man's arms?? Because of how sour this was, I couldn't even enjoy their happy ending or the fact that Lu Jin and Lu Zheng reconciled in a sense after he beat him at his own game. Honestly it soured me on the whole show in general. I guess if I have to I'd give this show a 6.5 / 10 which sucks cause I was so excited to check this show out when I first heard about it but at least I found out that I'm low key in love with what a man Lin Yushen is!

Oh! My Sweet Liar (23/29): Xiong Xi Ruo is a young female painter who infiltrates the family home of the powerful Li family to paint a copy of a precious item. However, her escape from the Li home goes horribly wrong and she finds her fate at the mercy of Li family heir Li Hong Bin.On the verge of arrest, Li Hong Bin and Xiong Xi Ruo hatch a lie – they pretend that she is pregnant with his child. This arrangement suits Li Hong Bin fine, as a marriage with Xiong Xi Ruo will help him escape an arranged marriage with the daughter of the Song family – a union he is particularly keen to avoid. The Li family grants its consent for Li Hong Bin and Xiong Xi Ruo to get married, but it is not long before some relatives – and the plotting Song family – begin to suspect that the pregnancy is a fake. Meanwhile, as Li Hong Bin and Xiong Xi Ruo spend more time in each other's company, they begin to develop a growing fondness for one another. Could love bloom between the pair? And can they survive – or even thwart – the schemes at court?

Just when I thought that we'd be moving past the lying, I realized that I totally forgot about Xiruo supposedly working with the bad guys to paint a picture of something and we're two steps forward one step back with this show. I wish that Xiruo would for once trust her husband and tell Hong Bin the truth about why she came to the Li house in the first place and that now this woman is threatening her and she doesn't understand what's going on cause the man would be 110% on her side. I also really don't understand what all this posturing with the Song family is. Why do the Li's need to constantly bow to their wishes? The man is literally flirting with Hong Bin's wife (whether he means to or not isn't the important part cause it matters more what society thinks) and Hong Bin was in his full right to not only punch Song Zhi but he has the grounds to duel him or kill him too! I also really wonder if we're going to end up seeing the Li's travel to court or not cause I'm still waiting to find out who Xiruo's real parents are. I was worried for a second that she might be a Song with the way he recognized the jade but I can't imagine that he would still flirt if he knew that was his sister. Maybe she'll end up being a royal though I think that she'll end up being the daughter of a disgraced clan who was murdered on the Song's evil antics cause duh that's the usual way these things go. I did really enjoy how cute Xiruo and Hong Bin were this week now that they've both accepted that they love one another and I'm just low key waiting for a baby to really be conceived! 

The Blooms At Ruyi Pavilion (10/40): Fu Rong who's the second daughter of the Fu family unexpectedly had the ability of "foreseeing dreams" after a serious illness. She predicted that she would marry to Prince Su, Xu Jin, and finally suffered the fate of being buried. However, Xu Jin also has the ability of foreseeing dreams. Although Xu Jin also predicted the same tragedy, he doesn't want to avoid it but try his utmost to change the destiny. These two people begin the sweet game of "framing one another."

This show seriously shocked me when I saw it appear on my drama feed cause Ju Jing Yi and Zhang Zhe Han were both the leads in Legend Of Yun Xi! I always thought they had a ton of chemistry and I loved both in their roles and acting style but that show's writing was a hot mess around halfway through so I ended up dropping it to my chagrin which is why when I saw that this show would have the same leads, I got excited. So far I'm not entirely sure how I feel cause though I'm super excited that of course our leads are together and still have that chemistry I adored, I'm not sure about the plot of this show! It feels like every single person in this show has their own political agenda and I feel like I need a giant red string conspiracy map to figure it out! Let's start with the basics. I really adore Rong'er cause she's silly but not naive cause she knows right from wrong and I love that she has visions of the future and keeps trying to change things. Though I'm a little tired of female leads thinking that their male love interests are the bad guys for half the show before they realize oops I had it all wrong, Xu Jin is already entirely charmed by her and the synopsis claims that he sees the future too which we actually haven't seen any of so I'll be curious to know if his dreams show up soon and if the two become a team to save everyone. I also love her relationship with her family and especially with Xuan'er. I even adore the romance being set up between Xuan'er and Bai Qi who I totally expected to be the man that Xuan'er has the bad future with but is actually turning out to not only be a good guy but also Xu Jin's right hand man. Now that all of that is out of the way, I guess we should try to ferret out the politics. Xu Jin was stolen from his mom and raised by the Empress as her child only to be sent to a Temple and then to the border as punishment. The second lead Xu Ping thinks that Xu Jin was the person who killed his mom the Empress Dowager though I have a feeling that the Emperor was actually behind it and only used Xu Jin as the patsy. Meanwhile Xu Mao and Marquis Xindu are embezzling money from the Emperor and trying to assassinate Xu Jin while Xu Hao who's Xu Jin's little brother hates Xu Jin for how much his mom misses him even though none of what happened in the past was his fault. Even the leader of Ruyi Pavilion is sketchy which is the worst cause she and Rong'er are so close so I'm hoping that Ru Yi has her own revenge plan that's not evil!

The Moon Brightens For You (28/36): Quirky and unconventional, Zhan Qinghong grew up well enough, but she never shared the dreams most treasured by her peers. While other girls dreamed of marrying well, Qinghong dreams of only one thing: to become a great martial arts master. Ready to turn her dreams into reality, Qinghong entered the martial arts world with wide-eyed innocence and insatiable curiosity. Unfortunately, it didn’t take long for her to realize that the world which she had so long believed to be a world of righteousness and honor, was actually controlled by wicked traitors. Determined to reform the fighting world, Qinghong relies on her intelligence and tenacity to bring about change; but the work proves to be both difficult and dangerous. Realizing the path she has chosen may be too treacherous to travel alone, Qinghong never suspected that Junan City’s notorious playboy would be the one to come alongside her on her quest. Yet, when fate brings them together, that is exactly what Lin Fang does. Using his reputation as a sickly aristocrat with a penchant for wooing women to hide much darker motives, Lin Fang has but one goal in life: to exact revenge for his clan. After meeting Qinghong, Lin Fang’s hardened heart begins to soften and he finds himself drawn to her unexpected charms. Unwilling to let Qinghong fight her battles alone, Lin Fang takes up her cause and together, they take on the daunting task of reforming and rebuilding the world of martial arts from the ground up.

Part of me feels like Qinghong moved on from Wen You a little too quickly cause it feels like her love for Lin Fang came out of nowhere but the rest of me was like twenty-ish episodes is enough time to watch Qinghong love someone who wasn't the male lead! I still am beyond irritated that Wen You never found the balls to tell Qinghong that he was married to her face and that she had to find out from some random other person. I was honestly so furious though so so thankful that she didn't take it out on Lin Fang cause she saw his actions for what they were cause in most dramas the female leads end up taking out their anger on their male love interest simply since they know they can. The only person who deserved her anger was Wen You and he got off too easily in my mind but then again the opposite of love isn't hate but indifference so Wen You probs feels the burn from that. I do hope that the story isn't intending on giving Wen You and the Princess a happy ending cause the fact that she forced him to marry her should mean that she should live unhappily ever after. Part of me felt like Lin Fang's confession was a little too soon as well cause it's like Qinghong was still heartbroken over Wen You and here comes Lin Fang like marry me instead but the rest of me that ships the two is like yesssss swoop in and steal that girl. Their wedding was cute and all and we got a few kisses but nothing as passionate as I would have liked. We also found out that Lin Fang's poison actually can't be cured which will definitely come back but in my opinion I think that Ghost Three is going to attack during this rally after which Lin Fang will step down as director and he and Qinghong will end up retiring to her home like her parents did and the men from the army will come back and join her clan and Qiu An will end up taking over as director.

TWDRAMA

FINISHED Lost Romance (20/20): 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?

What a sweet ending to a totally sweet drama. Part of me does feel like this show peaked as soon as Aoran and Xiao'en got together in the novel and everything after that was just meh but the rest of me really enjoyed seeing Marcus Chang stretch his acting muscles and show us just how different Tianxing was compared to Aoran. I seriously was amazed how how they felt like two different people being played by two different actors! I also really liked the explanation of how Aoran was actually the compilation all of Tianxing's emotions that he tried to hide from the world and it was oddly poetic that he commented on how Xiao'en fell in love with him at his worst as that's all the measure of a person cause it's always easy to be around people when they're at their best. I was proud of Xiao'en though for not believing Tianxing right away when he showed up and was like I'm Aoran now cause of course a normal person would be like are you acting but I high key adored that his way of proving himself was to whisper something about what happened when they slept together the first time and Marcus's smirk really slayed me right then and there. Everything after their marriage registration was super cheesy but I'm glad that we got to see Qingfeng's happy ending too and part of wondered if Chuntian would end up with the editor because I got some vibes from them at the end but the girl does deserve better! Overall I think though this still isn't my favorite entering a comic book story out there (Extraordinary You and W: Two Worlds take that prize) and the idea of this show was more exciting than the execution (it's what I wanted that Reincarnated Villainess anime to be tbh), I still had a blast so I'd give it a 8.5 / 10.

xoxo Allie