What Shows Am I Watching This Week?

Hello everyone and welcome back! Because of my new schedule I've decided that these posts will be moving to Sundays! Now let's dive right in shall we?

Horimiya Season 1 Episode 11 & 12

I really should stop being surprised at the fact that this show has gone from the life and times of Hori and Miyamura to an ensemble show in recent weeks. I do enjoy getting to know all the side characters but I do miss seeing Hori and Miyamura be cute together. Both episodes actually felt more like vignettes rather than one story cause we caught up with a lot of characters. Akane struggles with talking to people casually except with Yuki a thing that both Hori and Toru noted in different ways and the shipper in me was thriving over the crumbs we got of Toru liking Yuki. He admitted that he liked her but he also likes their relationship right now so I don't think he's planning on confessing anytime soon not to mention the fact that the kids will be graduating in a semester. Honoka is getting better at being around guys though she finds Shu the scariest though I have a feeling that if this were a long running show that these two would end up together and maybe that's still true in the manga? We also met Shu's younger sister and I'm totally fascinated by Shu and which side of him is the real him cause we know that he's super loud and boisterous in school but at home he's quiet and brooding. I wonder if he's naturally quiet and has forced himself to be this over-the-top character cause it's easier to make friends that way? Miyamura also proposed to Hori this week which totally stunned me but I suppose in Japan it's much more common to get married young than it is here in the states so I mean good for them?

Superman & Lois Season 1 Episode 5

This week wasn't my favorite of the chunk of episodes we've had so far cause something about the whole plot of the episode was kinda boring and idk why exactly. Smallville was having their Harvest Festival which was ruined because one of Morgan Edge's experiments accidentally shot up the place with his heat vision. Jonathan got dumped by his girlfriend over the phone and it was the catalyst to him finally exploding and telling his family about his feelings over the move and his life. I was honestly really disappointed in how the show dealt with this cause up to this point Jonathan has been a perfect son and brother and I wish the others would see that he's struggling and help him too alongside Jordan. Giving him a family heirloom and asking him to give Smallville more time isn't exactly helpful mom and dad! We also saw that Sarah and Jordan were supposed to have their first date this week but in the end Sarah asked Jordan if they could just be friends cause between her mental health and her family she doesn't think that she has the capacity to date on top of everything else. I suppose it's also important to know that Captain Luthor is definitely from a Flashpoint world cause he reveals that he was married to Lois in his world and she usually is married to Lex in Flashpoint where Superman is evil.

Hmm okay so it looks like we're actually taking time off until May cause of pandemic production problems during which time Supergirl will air it's final season which tbh I will not be watching but all the more power to those who will so I'll see you all back then!

The Flash Season 7 Episode 4

On the whole this episode wasn't a half bad episode of The Flash but the problem is that it was technically meant to be the season premiere and instead of setting up the villain for the season or even a bigger problem, we spent most of it dealing with leftover drama making me think that I was probs the problem for thinking that we'd get a clear divide between the old and the new. I did like that the episode touched on grief and trauma though of course having just watched Wandavision and currently watching The Falcon & The Winter Soldier I do have to say that it wasn't the best done version of trauma. Iris and Barry were both struggling with the aftermath of Iris being in the Mirrorverse. Barry cause he felt guilty for not realizing that Mirror!Iris was a fake and Iris for having missed out on 3 months of her life. I do kinda wish that Barry had been the one to go with Iris to the group therapy meeting rather than Allegra but I did really like the speech she gave. We also saw the return of Abracadabra which was fun but he died in the end by the hands of some giant purple monster thing. I honestly have no idea who she's supposed to be and cause the season has been so wonky we never actually learned who the villain would be before starting the show. The other thing I want to mention is that Caitlin and Frost have finally split apart like I wanted for a while now which means that we finally get Caitlin back while also having the meta Team Flash needs though poor Danielle Panabaker will be pulling double duty! Also I wanted to cry at the Oliver shout-out the show gave and I will never not be bitter over the shit this universe pulled in taking away Oliver's happily ever after.

Still no appearance of a Big Bad but we do get another meta of the week in some sort of Nightmare monster which should be fun.

FINISHED Jujutsu Kaisen Season 1 Episodes 24

I'm honestly so sad to say goodbye to this season of Jujutsu Kaisen cause it's been a true highlight to watch every week! I am thrilled that a movie was announced already though and I'm sure a second season will be coming soon given how popular this show was while it was airing! We wrapped up the mission from this week by defeating the cursed brothers though we learned that they were half human half spirit. Once again one of my favorite things about Itadori was showcased this week when he realized that these two weren't spirits and yet killed them anyway. Most shounen protags would be like no let's stop them with the power of love and friendship and work around what normal people would do just cause they're the protag but Itadori does what he has to and quietly mourns later. The trio are honestly such badasses and I was glad we ended this season showing us that exact thing. It also looks like they will be promoted to first grade jujutsu sorcerers after this given that they proved that they're not unranked novices and I'm curious as to what Gojou was doing at the end by calling in backup.

The Falcon And The Winter Soldier Episode 2

Hmm I'm not sure how I felt about this episode cause on the whole it was acting as a setup episode more than anything else though I was thrilled to see that Sam and Bucky were already together. I really expected Bucky's beef with Sam to be about how he was jealous that Steve didn't give him the shield so I actually really adored that the show took it the route of if Steve was wrong about you being ready to be Cap maybe he was wrong about me having good inside. It really was so hard to watch John Walker strut around acting like he really was Cap and calling Bucky and Sam Cap's wingmen and though Sam says he doesn't care and that there are more important things I bet deep down it's killing him and I bet he knows exactly why the government chose John Walker over him especially after meeting Isaiah. I don't love the idea that we have more super soldiers out there though cause I thought the whole thing that makes Steve special is the fact that he was one-of-a-kind and that Bruce became Hulk cause no one could reproduce the serum. Instead we find that not only did Hydra not make a whole bunch but also the US government with Isaiah? I did like the shout out to the Power Broker cause I have heard that he's supposed to be the one who created all these super soldiers so at least this isn't another Mefisto in Wandavision type of scenario! 

My Hero Academia Season 5 Episode 1

We're finally back with a new season of My Hero Academia and I'm honestly so excited even if this first week was really meant to remind us of where we left off rather than really set up the season. Endeavor was in the hospital after his fight though we did learn that Dabi was involved in what happened and that Hawks met up with him which I know was meant to make us question whether or not Hawks is a spy or a double agent but I just can't see this show going that route. What I can imagine is that Dabi was like meet me here and I'll do x y or z for you. We also didn't get much from Deku cause last we saw he was reaching out to the previous heroes that had One For All like in the Avatar State but it looks like that will be something touched on next week. Instead we spent most of the episode watching Class 1A do a drill in which they had to stop a fire, rescue hostages, and fight two of the Big Three who were pretending to be villains. I do know that this season is supposed to be focusing a bit more on Class 1B especially given how they featured so prominently in the OP but I do hope that doesn't mean that we ignore 1A.

xoxo Allie

What Dramas Am I Watching This Week?

Hey guys so I've decided that cause of my new schedule that I'll be releasing these posts on Saturdays now. Now let's get to it. 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

How To Be Thirty/Not Yet Thirty (8/15): Follows the lives of three friends in their thirties. Seo Ji Won is a budding web-based cartoon author who decides to devote her undivided attention to her craft – forsaking love in favor of her career. And her decision pays off. By the time she is 25, she is a published author. Now, aged 30, she has become a well-recognized writer with scores of devoted readers. But turning her back on romance turns out to be harder than she first thought when Lee Seung Yoo, her first love from her middle school days, returns to the scene to turn her world upside down. And things get more complicated when the film director Cha Do Hoon – who has been charged with adapting Seo Ji Won’s web-based series for the screen – confides in her and appears keen to strike up a close friendship. At the same time, her friends Lee Ran Joo, who works as a radio announcer, and Hong Ah Young, who runs a cafe, are also facing hard times. One day, Hong Ah Young's ex-boyfriend who hurt her in the past appears in front of her once again. Meanwhile, Hyeong Joon Young, who had a one-night stand with Lee Ran Joo and now has feelings for her, works part-time at Hong Ah Young's cafe.

I still don't think that Seung Yoo and Hye Ryeong are dating but I am 110% on Ji Won's side regardless. The point isn't whether Seung Yoo has done something wrong but the way he's making Ji Won feel. Whether Hye Ryeong is an ex or she's one of those second female leads that refuse to give up when the male lead turns her down, either way Seung Yoo should have told Ji Won especially after the phone call that she saw. It's getting to the point where I want Ji Won to wash her hands of him and date the cute film director instead! I have heard that in the webtoon that this drama is based on Seung Yoo was a two-timer and Ji Won ended up with Do Hoon but I can't imagine that the show will follow that given that this is one of Kang Min Hyuk's first projects that he took now that he's back from his military service. Meanwhile Joon Young and Ran Joo are super cute and we found out this week that they actually didn't sleep together in the premiere cause Ran Joo was super drunk but they did sleep together this week and they're honestly so precious! 

Navillera (2/12): Shim Deok Chool has had a life long dreaming of performing ballet. He is 70-years-old and retired from his job as a post office employee. Due to life situations, he put aside his dream of becoming a ballet dancer and worked a normal job to support his family. Now, Shim Deok Chool makes the decision to pursue his dream again. His family, including his wife and adult children, are not happy with his decision, but Shim Deok Chool does not waver in pursuing his life long dream. He joins a ballet company to learn ballet. There, he meets Lee Chae Rok. Lee Chae Rok is a 23-year-old man. While growing up, he played different sports like baseball, swimming, and soccer, but he wasn't talented in any of those activities. He then became interested in ballet. His mother was a ballet dancer, but she died from a disease when Lee Chae Rok was young. His father later went bankrupt. Lee Chae Rok learned that he has a talent for ballet, but, after pursuing ballet, he barely has contact with his father and he has a hard time supporting himself financially. Going through hard times, his desire for ballet fades away. At this time, Sim Deok Chool appears in front of him.

I was really very excited to check this show out not only cause I like the idea of a show about ballet but also cause Song Kang was starring in it! Having checked out these first two episodes I have to say that this show is absolutely lovely and definitely one that I can see will break my heart. It's one of those shows that make you think about how you should follow your dreams and how you should always do what you want so you don't have regrets. I always adore the trope of someone who's good at something but losing the desire to do it meeting someone who's not so good but super passionate and that's exactly what we have here. I mean usually this is a romance trope but I think it works here too. Chae Rok is drowning in depression after having lost his mom and his dad and he's struggling to find meaning in ballet while Deok Chool has always wanted to do ballet but never had the courage to pursue his dreams first cause of his father and then cause of his family. I can already see that everyone in Deok Chool's life will oppose him trying to do ballet when they should just support him cause it has nothing to do with them! I do wish that there was more of Deok Chool and Eun Ho interacting though cause it's clear that she's going to be Chae Rok's love interest which means that she has to be a better person than most of her family but we don't even know what kind of relationship she has with her grandfather. What I am curious about is whether she has a dream of her own and whether she'll be chasing it in this show cause it feels like she's working so hard cause of her dad.

Oh My Ladylord (2/16): In one corner we have a drama screenwriter and in the other, a rom-com actress. While the writer chooses not to date, the actress cannot seem to date. The story unfolds as they find themselves sharing the same living quarters. Oh Joo In, is a top rom-com actress who is a favorite with all audiences, young and old, male and female. In real life, however, it’s not that she chooses not to date but that she can’t date. Although she appears to live a flashy life on the outside, she is a down-to-earth woman with her own secret depths. Han Bi Soo, a man with a prickly side who shows a different side of himself when he’s in love. He has a scar that no one else knows, so he stimulates maternal instinct that makes it unable for anyone to look away from him.

Okay so this show was much cuter than I expected it to be and I have to say that this is my first drama with Nana starring and before this I didn't exactly understand the hype around her but watching these first two episodes I literally couldn't take my eyes off of her! I was also a little disappointed in the fact that Lee Min Ki is playing another stoic cold male lead cause that's really my least favorite type of male lead but beyond that I know that he can play more of a bubbly playboy type from Dal Ja's Spring so I wish that he would spread his wings a little and play a different sort of character. Having said all that I did really enjoy this episode and part of that might be cause this is the first rom com to air in forever given that we've only been getting crime dramas and saeguks recently. I could have done without the supernatural you only have a few months to live thing but I'm hoping that it was just in Bi Soo's head as a way to motivate him to change his life after a near death experience. Bi Soo is the typical cold male lead in which he only cares about himself and hates his dad cause he saw him cheating when he was younger. Joo In on the other hand is actually everything. She's sweet and kind and loves her mother so much and I want everything for her! I could have done without the cohabitation hijinks (and isn't that a shock!) but I do like the idea of the two spending time together cause of this show that they're going to be filming. The other crazy thing is that we haven't actually met the second male lead yet either and I already know I'm going to have SLS just based on the fact that it's Kang Min Hyuk playing him!

Sisyphus: The Myth (12/16): Han Tae Sul, a co-founder of Quantum and Time, is a genius engineer with the highest level of coding skills and outstanding looks that outweighs his engineer fashion sense. Due to his innovative achievements, Quantum and Time is a world-class company, dubbed as "The Miracle of South Korea's Engineering Industry". In reality, Tae Sul has caused his company's stocks to constantly fluctuate after the death of his brother ten years ago. One day, after witnessing the unbelievable truth of his brother's death, he sets off on a dangerous journey. Kang Seo Hae is a soldier who could zipline from building to building, fight big built men with her bare hands, shoot guns, and install explosives. With the survival skills that she's learned from living amongst gangsters and warlords, she sets off a dangerous path of finding Han Tae Sul.

One of my favorite things about the way Jo Seung Woo plays Tae Sul is how utterly and completely soft he gets around Seo Hae. I mean the kiss was everything this week but what really gets me feeling all sorts of ways is how he gently touches her and the way he's always so in awe of her presence! The man didn't wait a second to risk his life for the second and third time this week to save Seo Hae but I do have to say that part of me wonders whether we're still in the same timeline that all these people have lived or if things are changing. It super sucks that Tae Sul officially lost Tae Sun this week though but I'm glad they at least got some closure. I still think the timeline of events in terms of 101 and Seo Jin and Tae Sun are really confusing but at least we got some answers on Sigma and how apparently as a child he could see the future and he was obsessed with Tae Sul. He apparently causes a nuclear war for funsies and we're apparently 72 hours out. It's like every other character in this show has a reason for the way they are but Sigma seems to be evil just to be evil? I suppose the best thing this show did was reveal that Sigma and the Control Bureau are actually working together cause it finally gives the Bureau a reason for existing. 

Times (10/12): A passionate reporter with exceptional talent, Lee Jin Woo has dedicated his entire career to pursuing nothing but the truth. Committed to telling the whole story, Jin Woo will do whatever it takes to find and report the hard facts. A hard-working man with a nose for news, Jin Woo’s life takes an unexpected turn when a mysterious phone call connects him with Seo Jung In, a woman who claims to be living five years in the future. A hard-nosed reporter with a burning passion for her work, Seo Jung In has a knack for finding the best stories. But sometimes digging deep uncovers some nasty truths. Following a string of leads, Jung In uncovers a dark plot that could shake the very foundations of the country. With the life of her father, South Korea’s President, Seo Ki Tae on the line, Jung In finds herself in a deadly race against time. But she’s not in this race alone. Mysteriously connected by phone to Lee Jin Woo, the two agree to join forces to save the president. Living and working in two completely different times, Jin Woo and Jung In set out on a dangerous quest for the truth. But will they be able to stop the villainous masterminds plotting this heinous crime before it’s too late?

It really does feel like this show has flown by given that this week was the penultimate one but I guess that's what happens when a show has 12 episodes instead of the usual 16 or even 20 that's popular now. Last week turned this show into the political sphere but this week we have returned to the reporting side and though I'm not entirely sure that I love where we're going, I do have to say that it's more exciting than seeing Jin Woo try to become President. It does super suck though that the Jung In we've been following all season is gone now given that she died and it was future Jin Woo that contacted past Jin Woo and reset the timeline but I'm still left wondering where that Jung In's consciousness is cause she still called Jin Woo to save her father as we're told that he's still Ki Tae's savior twice over. I also wonder if we're done completely with the phone calls given that Jung In's phone had reached 1% which means that it must have died and so far we haven't seen it in the current timeline. I also don't know if I love that the aftermath of what we spent this entire season building to with Geon Woo, the old President and Assemblywoman Kim happened offscreen. It was low key so obvious how Geon Woo died ages ago but the more shocking thing is what Ki Tae became. Also sidebar but the shipper in me was living for that scene where Jin Woo cried over Jung In's body and that side of me wishes that their relationship would go past friendship though I'm not sure the 30 year age gap would allow for it to be anything other than a mentor/mentee relationship.

Vincenzo (10/20): At the age of 8, Park Joo Hyeong went to Italy after he was adopted. He is now an adult and has the name of Vincenzo Cassano. He is a lawyer, who works for the Mafia as a consigliere. Because of a war between mafia groups, he flees to South Korea. In South Korea, he gets involved with Lawyer Hong Cha Young. She is the type of attorney who will do anything to win a case.

I can't believe that we're only halfway through this show when it feels like we've been in this world for ages and ages! Maybe that's cause of the fact that episodes are longer than the normal amount or maybe it's cause the story in this show is so evenly paced that nothing ever drags or feels like we're treading water and really the show deserves awards just for that! I've really gotta go and watch Fiery Priest after this cause if this is the standard for most of this show's screenwriter's dramas then I'm sure I'll adore that show too. I love that Vincenzo's actions totally shocked and confused our Babel villains at the start which is why he and Cha Young kept winning but once they adjusted it was Vincenzo and Cha Young that had to adjust. I love that the two are so clearly such a team and I really adore the way they low key adore each other. I love that they finally figured out that Joon Woo is the real Chairman of Babel and that Vincenzo wasn't scared in the slightest at the idea that the others figured out his mafia ties. I keep wondering if any of the Italian mafia will show back up as a last minute deus ex machina whether that be on Vincenzo or Babel's side but maybe this is the extent they'll appear? I'm also starting to think that Vincenzo's partner in stealing the gold is going to turn on Vincenzo cause even to him it's starting to be clear that Vincenzo's goals have shifted.

CDRAMA

The Sword And The Brocade (36/45): Set during the Ming Dynasty, the story revolves around the romance between General Xu Lingyi and the concubine's daughter Shiyiniang that starts from an arranged marriage. Despite being born with a low status, Luo Shiyiniang is extremely assertive and believes that a woman's vision should not be limited to the household. She hopes to rely on her embroidery skills as a ticket to freedom. However, the once esteemed Luo family is in a state of decline. Hoping to save the clan through a marriage alliance, Shiyiniang is selected to become the wife of Yongping Duke and great general Xu Lingyi. Things were not easy for Shiyiniang due to the Xu family's biases towards her. Nonetheless, she manages to win over their trust through her optimism and sincerity. Xu Lingyi also becomes attracted to Shiyiniang's various beautiful qualities such that husband and wife manage to find love after marriage.Through Xu Lingyi's support, Shiyiniang opens Xian Ling Pavilion to have her own embroidery workshop. Meanwhile, Xu Lingyi experiences many setbacks as he tries to protect his homeland and improve the livelihood of the people by supporting the lifting of a maritime ban. As they face a crisis that could spell the end for the Xu family, Xu Lingyi and Shiyiniang continue to support each other through thick and thin.

I have a feeling that the reason this show doesn't give me joy like Story Of Minglan did is cause I really soured on the whole Shiyi suspects Lingyi of killing her mom thing cause even if Lingyi forgave her and Shiyi admitted she loves him, part of me is just like over the whole situation. I also don't think the scenarios that Shiyi has to deal with are all that exciting or hard to solve and I really can't find it in me to care about the side characters. I did like that the two finally slept together and now I'm really just counting down until Shiyi is pregnant though with the way this show goes it won't be until the end! I'm also a tiny bit disappointed that Concubine Wen has decided to become a villain when I wanted a reveal that it was the other quiet Concubine who was the one to look out for cause I always felt that the whole quiet but deadly thing could apply to her. Other than that both Wang Yu, Lady Lu, and Concubine Yang died this week in a flurry of sadness and I'm kinda left wondering how much time has passed not only just in this week but throughout the whole marriage.

JDRAMA

FINISHED Oh! My Boss! Koi wa Bessatsu (10/10): Nami Suzuki was born and raised in a small rural town. She doesn't have a specific dream to pursue and she is an easy going person. As an ordinary woman, she desires to be happy with an ordinary life. She follows Kenya, who is her childhood friend and her unrequited love, and applies for a job in the supply management department of a large publishing company in Tokyo. Nami gets hired by the company, but she is assigned to work in the editorial department of a fashion magazine. There, Nami Suzuki works with chief editor Reiko Horai. She is a devil like boss, who makes spiteful remarks and has a cold personality. Reiko Horai treats Nami, who doesn’t take her job seriously, in a callous manner. But, as Nami Suzuki watches her boss deal with her job, Nami begins to change her attitude toward her work.

So the finale for this show aired this week and though I probs should have been soured on this show cause of the way Nami and Jun broke up last week, the warmth of this show just seeped in anyway. I did think that the two should have fought more to stay together and their breakup reason was silly but I like the overall message the show was portraying in saying that whatever you choose in life has to be right for you. If you have dreams chase them and if you don't have them you don't need them! It was super sweet of the father to accept that Jun also didn't want to run the company and you can see how much he grew since Reiko first left. I also really love the idea of Reiko leaving Miyavi and making her own magazine with the help of the ex-Vice President and Nami cause that was probs always a dream of hers to make and run a magazine however she wanted it and without anyone breathing down her neck over it. Jun and Nami getting back together was expected as was the annoying time skip but that didn't take away from their cuteness anyway. I'd give this show a solid 7 / 10!

xoxo Allie

What Shows Am I Watching This Week?

 Hello everyone and welcome back! Let's dive right in shall we?

Horimiya Season 1 Episode 10

Yo who else is shooketh this week to find out that Toru actually likes Yuki back?? We didn't actually spend any time with Hori and Miyamura this week cause the focus was on Yuki and how she's been struggling with her feelings for a while now. She and Toru have been fake dating at school since they pretended to be a couple a few episodes ago and during that time she accidentally told Sakura that she really is dating Toru and was super ashamed about it. I'm fairly certain that she meant to come clean by the end of this week's episode after finding out that Sakura confessed to Toru but after Toru said that he wasn't interested in Sakura, she stayed quiet. I'd like to imagine that she picked up on the hints he gave her but in actuality I'm sure that she needs him to outright confess before she realizes that he might like her too. Honestly I'm not sure that he realized it until she disappeared for like a week and he must have realized that his life felt empty and it made my heart smile every time he bashfully lit up looking at her. 

Superman & Lois Season 1 Episode 4

Every week I'm more and more in awe of what a solid show this is. It will never replace the love I had for Arrow or the love I have for Legends but no one can watch this show and not think that it's literally a Superman comic brought to life. Every aspect of Superman, Clark Kent, and Lois Lane are written to perfection but I think my struggle is definitely in the fact that I enjoy watching beginnings so the fact that Clark and Lois have been married for 16 years already takes all the excitement out of their romance. There's no swoon worthy romantic moments for me to gravitate towards and neither Jordan or Jonathan are enough to fill the void especially since I'm not a fan of Jordan/Sarah either. Having said all that this week was interesting cause we saw more of the struggle that Clark has with balancing being Superman with Clark. I really like that he's not hiding that he's Clark from General Lane cause it gives us a dynamic that I always think is fun. It was pretty terrible of him to tell the boys not to go to their dad for help but I did like that it went full circle as to why Lois and the General have never been on great terms. I do wonder if there's a Lucy Lane in this world and whether we'll ever see her. Oh and also Morgan Edge is apparently in town cause there is a wide supply of Kryptonite in the mines of Smallville and can you just hear my eyes rolling into the back of my head??

Ahh to my pleasure it looks like Jonathan really will be talking about his feelings next week and in a very not Jordan blow up sort of way which is lovely. It also looks like Captain Luthor will be stalking Lois cause he knows that Superman came to help her which makes me worry for Clark's secret identity.

The Flash Season 7 Episode 3

It was truly rough with a capital R watching this show after Superman & Lois. Of the two even though Flash gives me the feels, Superman & Lois has the better writing and it's never been more clear than during this finale. I don't know if it's cause the Flash writers were like let's tie up loose ends as fast as possible or if they really just gave up with the sci fi explanations already but everything felt super rushed. At this point I wonder if I even care if it makes sense though or if I'm just like meh superheroes. Barry woke up the old Speedforce by using love cause apparently Iris has had a bit of the Speedforce inside of her and that spark was enough to revive it making me low key wonder if Wally got his back too. Iris and Barry had the lamest reunion ever and I'm still over here like do the two actors hate each other or what cause they haven't had chemistry since like season 1! Earth 1 OG Harrison Wells popped up and had no purpose other than telling the team that he's a time traveler and leaving to go spend his life with Tess the wife that Eobard killed and I died at how the show didn't even bother to explain how he came back and was just like we totally explained off screen don't worry about it. I guess this does officially mean that Tom Cavanagh is leaving the show along with Sue and Ralph who returned this week in a hilarious way in order to wrap up Ralph without having to recast him. Love even saved Eva who decided that no she was a good person after all and returned everything back to normal and returned to the Mirrorverse. 

I was curious to know whether the show would reveal the new villain for the season next week given that it should be the actual Season 7 premiere but it looks like we'll be getting a villain of the week instead though I have a feeling that some seeds will be planted to give us the season long villain. I can't imagine that they would ignore the fact that some people might only watch this episode if they hated season 6 and want to see if season 7 is worth a shot!

Jujutsu Kaisen Season 1 Episodes 23

Raise your hand if you're also super depressed at the fact that next week is the finale for the first season of Jujutsu Kaisen!! I've seriously been having a blast with this show as you all know and I kinda adore that the final arc for this season was Megumi's! We saw that his sister is actually his stepsister and his dad and her mom got married and then ran away by selling Megumi back to the Zenin Clan that the dad escaped. Gojo stepped in though and stopped the sale by claiming Megumi as a Jujutsu Sorcerer but Megumi still grew up bitterly. He was pissed at the world for what he went through and saw both good and bad people as terrible and it wasn't until his sister got cursed into a coma that he realized how wrong he was. I also really adore that he might be a Gojo in training in terms of sheer power or at least so we've been hinted towards cause though Itadori is a badass and the most powerful right now, it's only cause of Sakuna. We did manage to find a new finger and that finger did end up being the reason that the curse of the bridge struck so now we just have to defeat the two cursed brothers and then eat the finger and all will be good!

The Falcon And The Winter Soldier Episode 1

So the first episode of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier hit this week and I can already tell what a gem this show is going to be. Whereas Wandavision was clearly a mystery, The Falcon And The Winter Soldier feels more like an actual Marvel movie. I love that this show feels like an extended action movie with a lot of character depth thrown in and that's one of the biggest highlights of these Marvel Disney+ shows. We already adore these characters from the movies but now we get to really sink into the nitty gritty. We follow Sam as he mourns the loss of Steve and we're clearly going to follow him on his journey to become Captain America like Steve wanted. We follow Bucky as he tries to figure out who he is in the present day and how to amend for all the wrongs he's committed. I was a little surprised that the duo weren't together at the start but it's obvious that this new Captain America will bring the two back together again. I'm guessing this hooded thief is going to be the main villain we chase and eventually we'll have a Sam v new Captain America fight but also low key I have to say that I knew that the plot of this show had the government get a random white guy to be the new Cap but the visceral hatred I had towards him was a surprising rush.

xoxo Allie

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

How To Be Thirty/Not Yet Thirty (7/15): Follows the lives of three friends in their thirties. Seo Ji Won is a budding web-based cartoon author who decides to devote her undivided attention to her craft – forsaking love in favor of her career. And her decision pays off. By the time she is 25, she is a published author. Now, aged 30, she has become a well-recognized writer with scores of devoted readers. But turning her back on romance turns out to be harder than she first thought when Lee Seung Yoo, her first love from her middle school days, returns to the scene to turn her world upside down. And things get more complicated when the film director Cha Do Hoon – who has been charged with adapting Seo Ji Won’s web-based series for the screen – confides in her and appears keen to strike up a close friendship. At the same time, her friends Lee Ran Joo, who works as a radio announcer, and Hong Ah Young, who runs a cafe, are also facing hard times. One day, Hong Ah Young's ex-boyfriend who hurt her in the past appears in front of her once again. Meanwhile, Hyeong Joon Young, who had a one-night stand with Lee Ran Joo and now has feelings for her, works part-time at Hong Ah Young's cafe.

So I really doubt that Hye Ryeong is a girlfriend or even an ex based on how Seung Yoo greeted her this week but it really sucks that he's not telling Ji Won about it or even drawing a better line in the sand with Hye Ryeong. I will never not think back to Temperature Of Love where the male lead clearly told the second female lead that no one would be as important to him as the female lead and want other male leads to follow that trend. Ji Won meanwhile is struggling on her own over how to act in a relationship cause her ex treated her so poorly that she's trying to do the opposite here without even thinking about the fact that Seung Yoo is a different person. I'm still really curious about the second male lead though cause it's already kinda clear that he's interested in her but she is still uncomfortable so what's the point of him existing in a show with such a short episode length and count? Ran Joo on the other hand we're finding out is being pushed out of her job cause she's no longer young anymore and that sucks super hardcore but I wonder if this is the point where the whole office job part of the synopsis kicks in for her. I do think that she's accepted her feelings for the younger guy now and I like that her friends are totally for it.

DROPPED Mouse (6/20): A suspenseful story that asks the key question, “What if we could identify psychopaths in advance?” A crazed serial killer’s ruthless murders have left the entire nation gripped with fear, and chaos reigns. Justice-seeking rookie police officer, Jung Ba Reum, comes face to face with the killer. While he survives his dangerous encounter with the psychopath, Jung Ba Reum finds his life completely changing before his eyes.

The irony of all ironies is the fact that we really all went off last week on our theories due to what looked like Ba Reum having kidnapped Han Kook but this week we find out that the whole thing was an act that Ba Reum put on with Moo Chi in order to trick the killer and we all look like clowns. The thing is that I can't help but feel like though Ba Reum is technically supposed to be the male lead, it's actually Moo Chi that gets all the screen time and meaty storylines. It isn't even like The Good Detective where both the the older and younger detectives work together to solve cases cause Ba Reum mostly just does what Moo Chi tells him to do and yet I keep waiting to either see the two actually work together or for Ba Reum to go evil and for Moo Chi to have to hunt him down. Every week we're left on a cliffhanger that's like teasing us that maybe Ba Reum is the bad guy after all but this week I'm left wondering if we're supposed to believe that the beating Ba Reum got was what "turned on" his psychopath genes (which isn't a thing seriously!!) or if we're finally seeing that the fake persona Ba Reum created has cracks in it. I also really don't get the deal with Yo Han cause it's like way too early in the season for things to line up so easily. I'm starting to wonder if Ba Reum really is Han Seo Joon's kid and that the mom switched him with Yo Han which is why Yo Han is stalking Ba Reum and why she seemed horrified to meet Ba Reum this week. I kinda regret watching this show week to week cause I really don't know if I want to watch this show if Ba Reum is the killer which is why in the end I'm going to drop this show and maybe I'll come back and finish it once I know how it ends.

DROPPED River Where The Moon Rises (10/20): Born a princess and raised a soldier, Pyeong Gang is a woman with big dreams and limitless ambition. Determined to become the first Empress of Goguryeo, Pyeong Gang will stop at nothing to make her dream come true. Clever and level-headed, Pyeong Gang is well aware of the obstacles that stand in her way, but she’s more than capable of taking them on. However, things take an unexpected turn, the day she meets On Dal, a peace-loving man, whose sole goal in life is to live in harmony with those around him. On Dal is the exact opposite of the ambitious princess. He is a oasis of calm amid the turbulent storms in Pyeong Gang’s life. The warrior princess soon finds herself falling for gentle On Dal. He's equally in love with the princess, whose heart he now possesses. He finds himself forsaking his principles in order to keep her safe, an endeavor proving to be increasingly difficult, as warring factions lethally vie for the throne. Forced to match both wits and strength against some of the most powerful people in Goguryeo, Pyeong Gang’s quest for power could very well cost her everything. Does she have what it takes to realize her goals, or will the price prove to be too much to pay?

Yikes guys so this week marks the halfway point of this show and was also the official debut of Na In Woo as On Dal cause last week he had like three scenes so I didn't count it towards my feelings but this week we got a prolonged look at him and it wasn't good. I can't help but compare him to Ji Soo who I thought this role was made for (even though ironically it was actually made for the actor who played his dad) and I stand by my criticism from last week that Na In Woo cannot do comedy. You can imagine that if I one of the few people who enjoyed Na In Woo in Mr Queen and went into this recast with an open mind feel this way then imagine what those who hated this change feel like! He and Kim Soo Hyun have like no chemistry and it really feels like he's overacting and I don't know if there's a way to fix it. I wanna keep watching this show just cause I like the world and the politics and I'm curious to see how it all ends but I don't know if I can which is why in the end I'm going to drop this drama.

Sisyphus: The Myth (10/16): Han Tae Sul, a co-founder of Quantum and Time, is a genius engineer with the highest level of coding skills and outstanding looks that outweighs his engineer fashion sense. Due to his innovative achievements, Quantum and Time is a world-class company, dubbed as "The Miracle of South Korea's Engineering Industry". In reality, Tae Sul has caused his company's stocks to constantly fluctuate after the death of his brother ten years ago. One day, after witnessing the unbelievable truth of his brother's death, he sets off on a dangerous journey. Kang Seo Hae is a soldier who could zipline from building to building, fight big built men with her bare hands, shoot guns, and install explosives. With the survival skills that she's learned from living amongst gangsters and warlords, she sets off a dangerous path of finding Han Tae Sul.

The one thing that I'll be most curious about when this show ends is whether or not the timeline works for me. Last week we had a bombshell dropped on us with the reveal that a Seo Hae from another timeline sent our Seo Hae to the current timeline we're watching and it feels as though we are in a time loop. Seo Hae's dad knew about the nuclear war and the shelter and Seo Hae and Tae Sul cause our Tae Sul told him. I do have to say that he's quietly such a badass though cause while we were following our leads in this time travel mess, he was figuring out what's going in the background and hunted down the Control Bureau all on his own. Meanwhile Seo Hae was captured by the Control Bureau and once again I'm confused over why they're even in this show. Like our big bad is clearly Sigma and there's also something happening with missiles and nuclear war but instead we're spending all this time with the Bureau who's both completely in the dark and also really knowledgeable. I'm also still waiting to find out who the brokers are working for but the bigger question is Sigma's motives and I really hope we get answers next week when Tae Sul and him finally meet face to face. In terms of the romance I'm more and more on board this ship cause there's just something so fun about how ride or die Seo Hae and Tae Sul are. I love that he chose her over the world and his brother and that she was so utterly calm when the power went out knowing without a doubt that he came for her. 

Times (8/12): A passionate reporter with exceptional talent, Lee Jin Woo has dedicated his entire career to pursuing nothing but the truth. Committed to telling the whole story, Jin Woo will do whatever it takes to find and report the hard facts. A hard-working man with a nose for news, Jin Woo’s life takes an unexpected turn when a mysterious phone call connects him with Seo Jung In, a woman who claims to be living five years in the future. A hard-nosed reporter with a burning passion for her work, Seo Jung In has a knack for finding the best stories. But sometimes digging deep uncovers some nasty truths. Following a string of leads, Jung In uncovers a dark plot that could shake the very foundations of the country. With the life of her father, South Korea’s President, Seo Ki Tae on the line, Jung In finds herself in a deadly race against time. But she’s not in this race alone. Mysteriously connected by phone to Lee Jin Woo, the two agree to join forces to save the president. Living and working in two completely different times, Jin Woo and Jung In set out on a dangerous quest for the truth. But will they be able to stop the villainous masterminds plotting this heinous crime before it’s too late?

I spent most of this week continuously being surprised at how this show went from a Kairos/Signal style to Chief Of Staff with it's abrupt shift into the political sphere. Look I know politics was the backbone of this show from the start but it was always taking a backseat to the detective work that Jin Woo and Jung In did. It was honestly sad seeing what kind of monster Jin Woo had become in these five years, the kind of monster that he and more importantly Geon Woo would have despised. We still have no evidence that Ki Tae killed Geon Woo but it does look like everyone and their mother took bribes from CEO Park and like maybe it's cause I've watched so many of these shows that I'm like oh bribes that's nothing. Watching Jung In be torn between her father and Jin Woo the man that she's trusted and respected was fun to watch too cause it really does feel like both sides don't trust her and want to lie to her before telling her the truth out of either a belief that she can't handle it or arrogance. I also really liked the idea that it was Jin Woo himself that stole Jung In's phone cause duh who else would have known that she could ruin things than Jin Woo? I'm wondering where the rest of this season will go tbh but I assume that at some point somehow Jung In has to steal her phone back and contact Jin Woo of the past and fix all this or maybe she'll need to find evidence of who really killed Geon Woo. Either way President Jin Woo cannot be the ending of this story!

Vincenzo (8/20): At the age of 8, Park Joo Hyeong went to Italy after he was adopted. He is now an adult and has the name of Vincenzo Cassano. He is a lawyer, who works for the Mafia as a consigliere. Because of a war between mafia groups, he flees to South Korea. In South Korea, he gets involved with Lawyer Hong Cha Young. She is the type of attorney who will do anything to win a case.

Good god this show is giving me everything I could ever want from a show with Song Joong Ki in it. It's like the writers of this show were like well shit of course every person in Korea will fall for his charm so let's not even pretend otherwise. I'm living for how much fun every person in this show is having as they act and though part of me agrees with the criticism that Jun Woo isn't the best villain cause he's not really scary, the rest of me feels like this show has more of a comic book or anime feel so his over-the-top insanity just works. I do wonder at what point Vincenzo and Cha Young will pick up on the fact that Jun Woo is more than he seems and part of me still thinks that the nail in Babel's coffin will end up being Han Seo. In other news I'm still not into all of the Plaza residents as more than Vincenzo's lackeys and I wish that Cha Young got to do a bit more besides being Vincenzo's underling but I had a ton of fun watching the two beat Babel twice in a row which is why I was kinda thrilled when they lost the third round cause it keeps us from constantly losing but also not constantly winning either. I also want to shout the fact that the show had the most natural gay character appear this week and the show neither ridiculed him or made him the butt of the joke beyond the fact that he was a villain. Watching Vincenzo seduce him (and Cha Young on the side) was everything and I can't wait to see where this show goes next.

CDRAMA

The Sword And The Brocade (30/45): Set during the Ming Dynasty, the story revolves around the romance between General Xu Lingyi and the concubine's daughter Shiyiniang that starts from an arranged marriage. Despite being born with a low status, Luo Shiyiniang is extremely assertive and believes that a woman's vision should not be limited to the household. She hopes to rely on her embroidery skills as a ticket to freedom. However, the once esteemed Luo family is in a state of decline. Hoping to save the clan through a marriage alliance, Shiyiniang is selected to become the wife of Yongping Duke and great general Xu Lingyi. Things were not easy for Shiyiniang due to the Xu family's biases towards her. Nonetheless, she manages to win over their trust through her optimism and sincerity. Xu Lingyi also becomes attracted to Shiyiniang's various beautiful qualities such that husband and wife manage to find love after marriage.Through Xu Lingyi's support, Shiyiniang opens Xian Ling Pavilion to have her own embroidery workshop. Meanwhile, Xu Lingyi experiences many setbacks as he tries to protect his homeland and improve the livelihood of the people by supporting the lifting of a maritime ban. As they face a crisis that could spell the end for the Xu family, Xu Lingyi and Shiyiniang continue to support each other through thick and thin.

I kinda really hate how in shows like this how different the response to anything the female lead and the second female leads do wrong is so vastly skewed. Shiyi was thought to be ruining the Xu family reputation and was about to be divorced and sent back home while when it came out that Concubine Xiao was a monster she was sent to the country and told to become a nun. No divorce? No shaving of the hair? No prison? No death? How utterly lame. It was satisfying to watch her finally be taken down a peg though and I have to admit that I never once doubted that Lingyi believed Shiyi cause as much as I don't think of him as a ride-or-die like someone like Tingye from Story Of Ming Lan, I knew that there was no way that he would think Shiyi full of so much evil so I kinda felt like the deep fake the show tried to pull actually took away from my enjoyment. I'd rather see the two plot together! It was also nice to see the whole mother's death bomb explode this week with Shiyi suspecting Lingyi and him finding out the truth in like 2 episodes cause besides the delicious angst now we don't have to worry about that knife falling on our heads every time something cute happens like their first kiss! I really can't imagine what will bring the two together again cause unlike in fantasy cdramas Shiyi can't go out and save Lingyi from danger cause she's not supposed to be in public but in my mind really only a sweeping romantic gesture would be enough for Lingyi to trust her again! 

JDRAMA

FINISHED 3B no Koibito (10/10): Kobayashi Haruka fell in love before finding out that her boyfriend was actually a married man. At that time, a regular customer predicts that she will wind up meeting 3 different men. She begins encountering them just as predicted. There's the hairdresser Shintaro, the band vocalist Yu, and the bartender Yoshi. What will come of these fateful encounters?

I'm honestly disappointed in this ending cause it did the thing that every other reverse harem anime likes to do and that's not have our heroine pick a guy at the end in order to keep anyone from being upset though all it ends up doing is making every person watching the show pissed rather than just the part of the audience that was cheering for her to pick someone else in the reverse harem! I'd like to imagine that in the future it still will be Yu that Haruka chooses cause she was still the one to run to him at the end and his song clearly moved her but at the same time she never really pulled away from Yoshi either. Poor Shintaro was the only one that she full and clear turned down. As I suspected Yu did end up getting another shot at debuting and as it turned out the President of the music company was the same woman that comes to Haruka's pet grooming shop all the time which I'd imagine is a part of the reason why they got another shot. Yoshi's bar seemed popular enough after it changed to his hands, Shintaro started to gain loyal customers and Haruka's grandmother ended up extending her trip so the foursome doesn't have to separate for now. 6.5 / 10

TWDRAMA

FINISHED Wacko At Law (15/15): Mai Daqi is a genius in the legal profession, but because of his dissatisfaction with the profitism of the law firm, he shelved his lawyer's license. It wasn't until an air crash that suddenly took the lives of his parents and his fiancee four years ago. In order to get justice for his family, Daqi regained his legal profession and overthrew American Airlines' first-class lawyers.

The finale for this show aired this week and it was a solid wrap up for the season on the whole. Da Qi ended up figuring out that Dr Liao was the one who created L365 in the first place and warned the doctor against trusting him so the two alongside Prosecutor Xu laid a trap to catch Dr Liao and subsequently Ji Ping. We learned that back then Mr Mo was actually hit by Ji Ping in a rage but when Ji Ping went to help him, Mrs Mo stopped him realizing that they would benefit more without Mr Mo. She then got rid of all the evidence and framed Wan Ting's dad as well as killing him and Yu Xin's dad later to cover it up. Luckily the truth can't be hidden forever and we were able to catch Ji Ping, Mrs Mo turned herself in and we even grabbed Chairman Luo with the help of Yun Yun. Ji Ping pissed that Chairman Luo cut him off gave Da Qi the evidence he needed to nail the rich men and the show ended on a bit of an open ending though there's no doubt in my mind that they will win. I'd also like to imagine that Jing Tao ends up joining our law firm cause I can't imagine that many other firms would accept him after seeing how he screwed his own client no matter the morality of it. All in all this show was fun with a cute romance and solid law practices so I'd give it a 7 / 10.

xoxo Allie

What Shows Am I Watching This Week?

Hello everyone and welcome back! Let's dive right in shall we?

Horimiya Season 1 Episode 9

I will never stop laughing over Hori constantly needing Miyamura to look down on her and him being like should I be more worried that this is her kink only for him to fall in love with her all over again when she beams at him all happy!! It's totally precious how he does everything and anything for her but that she never misuses this power. It's cute that he lets her braid his hair and put it into pigtails and the way she fought with Miyamura's bullies just cause she loved him was everything. My heart grows three sizes everytime Miyamura looks at Hori just so content that she adores him as much as he adores her especially cause of his past. We got a little look at one of Miyamura's bullies who were the worst to him and I liked it well enough though his reasonings for bullying Miyamura were a little shallow but that makes sense cause bullies usually only target someone cause their victim has something that's missing in the bully's life. I do have to say the way Miyamura forgave him immediately was a little hard to watch cause it's not like Miyamura was unaffected by everything that happened. When he saw them this week he had a PTSD flashback and even back then he contemplated suicide and hurt himself so I wanted a real apology before the two became friends cause Miyamura deserves that much.

Superman & Lois Season 1 Episode 3

This week found us continuing with the Kent family struggling to adjust to Smallville and there was less Superman than weeks past with the focus being on the family. Jordan ended up joining the football team too and fell in love with it even though he only joined at first out of spite towards Sarah's now ex-boyfriend. I always think it's so funny how guys can go from enemies to best friends after one big fight and that's what happened with the ex and Jordan after they played football together. Clark found out and while at first he was upset with Jordan in the end Jonathan helped him see that football might be good for Jordan. The thing is that I keep expecting Jonathan to be more pissed or honestly any real emotion at all other than supportive cause there's no way that he's not upset over the fact that not only does he not have any powers but now Jordan is even trying to take over the one thing that Jonathan is good at but then the show keeps showing us that no he's fine so now I think it'll all boil over later in one big outburst. Lois meanwhile discovered that Morgan Edge seems to hiring metas or people with super strength as his muscle and I'm still waiting to see where this story goes. The other big thing that happened this week was that we spent a little more time with Lana and Sarah and their struggle to find the new normal after Sarah tried to kill herself. The more I see of Lana's life the more I honestly pity her and it's like I've never actually watched Smallville but I imagine that Lana fans must be more upset than I am over her depiction though I have to say that she's definitely the most accurate depiction of a small town character on a show that I've seen!

General Lane is back next week and that's fun cause apparently he guilt trips the boys into thinking that they can't call for Clark when they need him cause Superman is more important. It also looks like Jordan might accidentally hurt someone which will be interesting!

The Flash Season 7 Episode 2

Well I guess I'm really glad that the show decided to answer our Harrison Wells question sooner rather than later even if I'm not entirely sure what it meant or how! It looks like while the multiverse of Harrison Wells are dead, the original Harrison Wells of our timeline that was killed by Eobard Thawne has come back to life in the present day and I'll be really curious to see what this version of Harrison is like and what the fake science reason for what happened was. Also are we sure this is Harrison and not Eobard again?? Meanwhile the main plot of this episode followed Barry as he discovered that the Artificial Speed Force they created last week not only gave him super speed thinking but also zapped him of his emotions due to a slight miscalculation. I do wonder if it's easy now to turn on and off this Speed Force cause Cisco and Barry's solution to the problem was to turn off the Speed Force but we know there's no more Nash Wells to be the organic receptor so I imagine that it doesn't need him more than once otherwise we're screwed and honestly we've had enough episodes of Barry will low Speed for it to play out again! He saved Iris after hurting Cisco, Caitlin, and Allegra but it looks like pulling Iris against her will hurt her somehow. Eva was also exposed as a Mirror copy and it looked like it is causing her to go full villain rather than the benevolent Eva she was trying to be.

Ha I guess I spoke too soon cause it looks like turning off the Speed Force really did zap Barry of his powers again but since this should be the final episode that was planned to be in last season then however it happens Eva must be defeated. 

Jujutsu Kaisen Season 1 Episodes 22

Low key you guys you probs don't know how excited I was to find out that we're returning to smaller weekly cases this week since it feels like forever since we last saw our heroes fight cursed spirits that aren't top tier! It makes sense to spend the last three episodes in the season winding down from the craziness we experienced and lower the scales to give ourselves a win even if there's obviously more going on behind the scenes that our trio doesn't know yet. I also really loved the way the comedy played out this week and it really only works so much cause we've known our heroes for so long now! Fushiguro is always so stoic and quiet about his feelings and emotions but by now Itadori and Kugisaki can practically read him like an open book so they don't need him to say anything before they're there to help. I don't know if we knew that Fushiguro had a sister or whether we've known she was in a coma for a while but either way that's new and interesting information!

xoxo Allie 

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

FINISHED Homemade Love Story (100/100): Three families live under one roof at a boarding house called Samgwang Villa. Sun Jeong's family lives a pure and simple life and doesn't have a lot of money. Jung Hoo's family is rich but is far from peaceful. Jung Won's family looks perfect from the outside but is actually quite rocky. Others join these families at Samgwang Villa, each with their own stories. What is the meaning of family in this day and age, with so many single-person households and people choosing not to get married? Let's meet the people who open their hearts to one another to live and love as a family in Homemade Love Story.

So the finale for this show aired this week and I think it managed to wrap everything up really nicely honestly for everyone except Na Ro and Seo Ah. Jun Ah and Hae Deun got exposed for having registered their marriage and at first it was rough but in the end the families had to accept them. I still wish I knew a real reason why the parents were against them cause it's not like either family hated each other or either Jun Ah or Hae Deun were bad kids so the whole thing felt like it was just taking up screen time for no reason. Chae Woon and Jae Hee ended up having a son, and Jae Hee's parents got back together which was sweet. Pil Hong was forgiven by the others and Professor Kim was caught and arrested alongside Na Ro who turned himself in out of his own free will. Hwak Se and Man Jung apparently got married as well and are also having twins while Jae Hee's dad bought the Villa building so no one has to move anymore which was a storyline that we had at the very beginning of this show that I totally and completely forgot about! We also found out that Eun Ji really was Ra Hoon's birth mom and I just wish that I had liked Ra Hoon's story more during the actual season but I never liked the way Ba Reun was introduced and I never really warmed to her. Overall this show was fun enough and I enjoyed myself so I'd give it a 9 / 10.

How To Be Thirty/Not Yet Thirty (4/15): Follows the lives of three friends in their thirties. Seo Ji Won is a budding web-based cartoon author who decides to devote her undivided attention to her craft – forsaking love in favor of her career. And her decision pays off. By the time she is 25, she is a published author. Now, aged 30, she has become a well-recognized writer with scores of devoted readers. But turning her back on romance turns out to be harder than she first thought when Lee Seung Yoo, her first love from her middle school days, returns to the scene to turn her world upside down. And things get more complicated when the film director Cha Do Hoon – who has been charged with adapting Seo Ji Won’s web-based series for the screen – confides in her and appears keen to strike up a close friendship. At the same time, her friends Lee Ran Joo, who works as a radio announcer, and Hong Ah Young, who runs a cafe, are also facing hard times. One day, Hong Ah Young's ex-boyfriend who hurt her in the past appears in front of her once again. Meanwhile, Hyeong Joon Young, who had a one-night stand with Lee Ran Joo and now has feelings for her, works part-time at Hong Ah Young's cafe.

I think it's honestly refreshing how our characters don't beat around the bush. If they like someone they say it and if they don't then they also say it. Ji Won and Seung Yoo have been flirting for a bit now and they've been sending hints to each other that they would like more but I expected like in most dramas that they wouldn't actually do anything about it until much much later so I was honestly shocked when Ji Won asked Seung Yoo if he liked her and then if he wanted to sleep with her. I'm also low key still waiting for the other shoe to drop cause he's just too good of a person to be exactly who he is. On the other hand it seems like Do Hoon isn't the asshole he appeared to be but might be more of someone who struggles with social interaction given the cute scene we got of him in the laundromat. Meanwhile Ran Joo found out that Joon Young ended up getting a job at the restaurant that Ah Young owns and I'm still left wondering who he is?? Is it really not a lawyer as well?

FINISHED L.U.C.A: The Beginning (12/12): “LUCA" is based on Charles Darwin’s proposition that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestors. (LUCA stands for "last universal common ancestor.") Ji Oh, who rarely reveals his emotions to others, has a special power and a secret but doesn't know who he really is. He is chased by mysterious figures while he tries to find answers to numerous questions that surround him. Gu Reum is a detective whose parents disappeared when she was a young child. When she decides on a course of action, she won't change no matter what. Gu Reum chases after the truth behind her parents' disappearance. She meets Ji Oh and her life changes.

Wow what a crazy weird finale that really feels like we just watched both an extended backstory for the real story that is to come and the villain origin story for Ji Oh! Like I wonder if the plan is to have another season of this show following Ji Oh and Gu Reum's daughter as she learns about her powers and her parents and helps Ji Oh realize that he's not right. It's funny though cause part of me is like who cares about what's right or wrong when the people in power always win so why not join them in the darkness and live a happy life rather than struggle in the light. Gu Reum found out that Ji Oh didn't actually kill her parents but after how she pushed Ji Oh away last week he ended up finding solace in his insane father and was convinced that the only way to survive was to create a world full of clones like him so the two ended up on separate sides anyway. All the other bad guys were culled as were the heroes so the only ones to survive were Ji Oh, his dad, and the lady from the government along with the baby who was adopted by what looks like a sweet older couple. Maybe she'll be lucky and her parents will adore her anyway like the Kents in Superman lore cause I can't imagine that Ji Oh's Darth Vader status is healthy for a child. I'm honestly not even sure what to rate this show but I guess I'd give it a 6 / 10.

Mouse (4/20): A suspenseful story that asks the key question, “What if we could identify psychopaths in advance?” A crazed serial killer’s ruthless murders have left the entire nation gripped with fear, and chaos reigns. Justice-seeking rookie police officer, Jung Ba Reum, comes face to face with the killer. While he survives his dangerous encounter with the psychopath, Jung Ba Reum finds his life completely changing before his eyes.

I adore detective/mystery shows but I always feel too dumb to watch them cause I can never solve them with the small hints the show gives. Here's what we know as facts so far. Yo Han is Han Seo Jun's son and Ba Reum looks to have kidnapped Han Kook. Here's what I'm thinking is going on. I'm fairly certain that Yo Han is the killer which is why he killed Bong Yi's grandma for finding his murder room and his friend for recognizing the grandma as being Yo Han's cleaning lady and why he kept trying to see Ba Reum to make sure that he didn't recognize him. On that same note while I think that he's the one in the voiceovers, I don't think he's the kid from the flashbacks we saw. I think that the young kid was Ba Reum though I don't think that he actually killed his family back then and I don't think that he's killing now. I have a feeling that he recognized like as like and figured out how the killer is picking his prey and so he kidnapped Han Kook in order to push Moo Chi to figure it out too and it's his psychopathic genes that are convincing him this is normal behavior and not super weird. Idk maybe I'm just reaching cause I don't want Ba Reum to be the bad guy but either way his whole puppy persona cannot be fully real. I'm sure that he learned as a child to fake emotions like Hyun Soo from Flower Of Evil so I'm also low key hoping that like Hyun Soo, Ba Reum also finds that he catches feelings for Bong Yi. 

River Where The Moon Rises (8/20): Born a princess and raised a soldier, Pyeong Gang is a woman with big dreams and limitless ambition. Determined to become the first Empress of Goguryeo, Pyeong Gang will stop at nothing to make her dream come true. Clever and level-headed, Pyeong Gang is well aware of the obstacles that stand in her way, but she’s more than capable of taking them on. However, things take an unexpected turn, the day she meets On Dal, a peace-loving man, whose sole goal in life is to live in harmony with those around him. On Dal is the exact opposite of the ambitious princess. He is a oasis of calm amid the turbulent storms in Pyeong Gang’s life. The warrior princess soon finds herself falling for gentle On Dal. He's equally in love with the princess, whose heart he now possesses. He finds himself forsaking his principles in order to keep her safe, an endeavor proving to be increasingly difficult, as warring factions lethally vie for the throne. Forced to match both wits and strength against some of the most powerful people in Goguryeo, Pyeong Gang’s quest for power could very well cost her everything. Does she have what it takes to realize her goals, or will the price prove to be too much to pay?

So unless you've been living under a rock then you know that some shit went down behind the scenes between last week and this one which made me really curious to see how the show would change. I wasn't one of those people that decided to drop this drama cause of casting changes especially since I actually liked In Woo in Mr Queen but part of me still wished that the show would have rather just changed the male lead to Geon rather than recasting On Dal. After having watched these first two episodes I have to say that yes it is jarring seeing In Woo as Dal especially since it's clear that he doesn't do the bumbling fool act well and clearly thrives in being the more suave male lead so maybe it's good that he was recast at this point cause I can see Dal becoming more serious after this point in the show so the transition might work. I also see why it's important for Pyeonggang to convince her dad to pardon Dal's tribe cause it'll give him a reason to be in the palace more especially given the fact that this week really highlighted that Dal is useless right now. Pyeonggang and Geon are the ones working side by side to fix the court and though it seems like we've reached the point in the story where Geon turns bad cause all he wants is Pyeonggang's love, I still can't stop my SLS! Also I guess we really are pretending like the King didn't slaughter his wife and make his daughter a bastard out of jealousy and the fact that no one has brought it up since means that we really are pretending like Pyeonggang was gone for a bit and now she's back. I do like the parallels in that she and her mom were the only people in this world that could support the King and make him feel like he's got the power to fight the other Tribes.

FINISHED She Would Never Know/Sunbae Don't Put That Lipstick On (16/16): Yoon Song Ah works as a marketer for a cosmetic brand. She enjoys her job and does it with vigor. Her dream is to start her own cosmetic brand. Meanwhile, Chae Hyun Seung works with Yoon Song Ah as a marketer. He becomes attracted to Yoon Song Ah and tries to develop a romantic relationship with her. However, Yoon Song Ah rebuffs his advances, because she does not see younger guys as dating partners.

Okay this was a super cute ending to an annoying final arc. As I suspected it was Song Ah who did the breaking up cause she felt guilty for how little time she had to give to Hyun Seung while they were dating long distance. I totally got where she was coming from but at the same time if Hyun Seung had a problem then he should have said something so she should have known based on his personality that he wouldn't just resent her for her lack of time. What was selfish was the fact that she came back to get him back when she must have known how much she broke his heart though it was nice seeing her try to chase him this time around. Naturally it didn't take much cause Hyun Seung also never fell out of love with her and I thought it was sweet that Ji Seung supported them too rather than telling Song Ah to stay away from him. Speaking of Ji Seung and Jae Woon got engaged over this time skip and they're still the absolute cutest and I kinda loved that we saw that Jae Woon and Hyun Seung are close enough to hang out outside of work and talk cause they are going to be family. I guess this means that Jae Woon's father never had a problem with Ji Seung like he hated Jae Shin? I still wish these two had more screen time through the show. Yoon Seung and her husband officially got divorced and it broke my heart cause it seemed like ever since he came out they were more in sync than ever and it broke my heart even more cause of how sad Ha Eun was over it but I loved once again that Hyun Seung's family came together to love and support one another. All in all this was a cute show that had a rough start and a rough end but still enjoyable. 8 / 10!

Sisyphus: The Myth (8/16): Han Tae Sul, a co-founder of Quantum and Time, is a genius engineer with the highest level of coding skills and outstanding looks that outweighs his engineer fashion sense. Due to his innovative achievements, Quantum and Time is a world-class company, dubbed as "The Miracle of South Korea's Engineering Industry". In reality, Tae Sul has caused his company's stocks to constantly fluctuate after the death of his brother ten years ago. One day, after witnessing the unbelievable truth of his brother's death, he sets off on a dangerous journey. Kang Seo Hae is a soldier who could zipline from building to building, fight big built men with her bare hands, shoot guns, and install explosives. With the survival skills that she's learned from living amongst gangsters and warlords, she sets off a dangerous path of finding Han Tae Sul.

Having reached the halfway point in this show I still can't entirely say that I think the writing in this show isn't a mess but at least there's some sort of enjoyment to be had from it and as the weeks go by the mystery is getting clearer and clearer. I fairly certain that Seo Hae is basically living in a time loop. In the first go around she must have ended up in the present day and lived a life in which she fell in love with Tae Sul and was killed by Sigma so she left the diary that Tae Sul bought her with instructions to the future Seo Hae about what to do and that's the Seo Hae we're watching currently. I'm pretty sure she's got all the memories from her first life though I'm not sure if she's got the emotions too and it really leaves me questioning everything she's done this whole time and low key Tae Sul is going to be pissed that she knows and yet isn't doing anything to help him other than physically protecting him. We also learned more about Sigma's backstory but I still don't know what he wants or why he's doing all this. We also learned that the reason everyone was trying to kill Tae Sul despite the fact that he was the one to invent the uploader in the first place was cause they thought the blueprints were in the present day somewhere but Tae San was smart and stole them so now no one can kill Tae Sul unless they want to destroy the uploader. The thing I don't get though is how his death is related to the world ending. 

Times (6/12): A passionate reporter with exceptional talent, Lee Jin Woo has dedicated his entire career to pursuing nothing but the truth. Committed to telling the whole story, Jin Woo will do whatever it takes to find and report the hard facts. A hard-working man with a nose for news, Jin Woo’s life takes an unexpected turn when a mysterious phone call connects him with Seo Jung In, a woman who claims to be living five years in the future. A hard-nosed reporter with a burning passion for her work, Seo Jung In has a knack for finding the best stories. But sometimes digging deep uncovers some nasty truths. Following a string of leads, Jung In uncovers a dark plot that could shake the very foundations of the country. With the life of her father, South Korea’s President, Seo Ki Tae on the line, Jung In finds herself in a deadly race against time. But she’s not in this race alone. Mysteriously connected by phone to Lee Jin Woo, the two agree to join forces to save the president. Living and working in two completely different times, Jin Woo and Jung In set out on a dangerous quest for the truth. But will they be able to stop the villainous masterminds plotting this heinous crime before it’s too late?

We're halfway through the drama now and wow do I feel totally stupid! I was all in on the theory that Ki Tae was a bad guy and the one to kill Geon Woo just like Jin Woo so I never even thought about the fact that he might be framed when I should have known cause duh Ki Tae wouldn't have called a hit out on himself. I also love the idea that Jung In isn't the only one with the ability to reach into the past but also that Young Joo and Sung Beom have used up their power so we're the only ones that can use the advantage right now despite the others having the knowledge too. I wonder if every time the past changes that Young Joo and Sung Beom feel it in the present day too or if they stopped noticing once their phones died? The story is a little confusing but it seems like Geon Woo stumbled onto the fact that Baek was shady and he was killed for it and Baek and his crew are trying to frame it on Ki Tae cause they can't control him through the normal means. Honestly this has to be one of the absolute smartest moves I think I've seen a villain pull and like props to the show. I still don't know if this means that Ki Tae is full and clear of any and all sketchiness but at least he's not a killer yeah? I also love that Jung In and Jin Woo have finally met in the present day cause there's only so many times that you can prevent Jin Woo's murder right? I hope that we see the two work together now!

Vincenzo (6/20): At the age of 8, Park Joo Hyeong went to Italy after he was adopted. He is now an adult and has the name of Vincenzo Cassano. He is a lawyer, who works for the Mafia as a consigliere. Because of a war between mafia groups, he flees to South Korea. In South Korea, he gets involved with Lawyer Hong Cha Young. She is the type of attorney who will do anything to win a case.

The fun of this show is hands down the fact that everything is so dramatic and over-the-top. Like what's the plot? Who even knows. Is it logical and easy to follow? Not even a bit. But the fact that the show is so beautiful to look at and I live for how we spend half the airtime having our leads pose or do dramatic walks down the hallway is enough to keep me coming back for more. Okay so honestly there is a plot to this show and the bare bones is that Cha Young and Vincenzo are working together to take down Babel but more specifically Babel Chemicals this week through the law though I'm not sure that anything that's happening is actually logical. The first trial was blown up by Cha Young and Vincenzo getting it postponed a week and the second one started off rough because all the witnesses were ruined by Wusang through sketchy means but apparently Vincenzo is going to try to be a special witness and I'm a little torn about it. I was hoping when they talked about the enemy of my enemy being my friend that they would find another chaebol group that is on power with Babel or close enough and use some of their bribed doctors or whatever to help. What even can Vincenzo bring to the table? In other news I'm fairly certain that the Plaza residents just found out that there's gold under their building cause that homeless guy was super sketch.

CDRAMA

FINISHED The Rebel Princess/Monarch Industry (68/68): Wang Xuan and Xiao Qi strike a deal for the sake of power. They marry first before falling in love and join hands to protect their homeland. She is a woman who is no less than any man while he rose from humble beginnings. The imperial family has become rotten to the core. The nobles are lavish with no regard for the people. Princess Wang Xuan and her childhood sweetheart, the third prince, become pawns of a prophecy that states, "to acquire thee is to obtain the world." Being pulled into the matters of the court, Wang Xuan is married off by her father to Xiao Qi who comes from a poor family. On the night of their wedding, Xiao Qi is forced to leave the capital. Wang Xuan is shamed and discouraged. The Helan Prince kidnaps Wang Xuan in order to seek revenge on Xiao Qi. The crisis they face becomes a blessing in disguise for the couple. Wang Xuan is moved and inspired by Xiao Qi's wish to bring peace and prosperity to the nation and they fall in love. However, circumstances threaten to destroy them. The Wang and Xie clans are fighting for power, the Empress Dowager schemes to separate husband and wife, the military has committed treason while the Helan clan has raised their flags in rebellion. Wang Xuan puts her life on the line to escort the third prince to safety. She leads an army of men to defend the last stronghold in hopes that Xiao Qi can arrive in time with reinforcements.

The finale for this show aired this week and I'm a little sad about how my enjoyment of this show declined as it went on which makes me probs the only person watching this show that felt that way. I do agree that Awu and Xiao Qi are a great ride-or-die couple and I loved that Awu only spent five seconds before accepting that she is a married woman and in this time period she needs to be happy in the only circumstances she's got. I liked the overall plot and story but I just wasn't thrilled with the way the romance played out on screen. I was glad that Awu and Xiao Qi worked together in the end to draw out Wang Lin who was the real power behind everything though they didn't actually know it at the time. Awu's brother switched sides like I thought he would cause he's too kind to be another Wang Lin and so he deserves to be regent for Jin'er cause I can see him stepping down when it's right rather than craving power like another regent would have. I didn't love the random switch Zitan had when suddenly he regretted everything he did and wanted to give up the throne cause it's like he did all this full consciously though idiotically. General Song never did switch sides which made me sad cause I adored him at the start of this show and the real loser was poor Yixiu who killed herself out of the shame of his rebellion and need to get him to realize his wrongs. The poor girl never knew that he never loved her though a part of him must have felt something for him to react to her death the way he did. In the end I'd give this show a 9 / 10.

The Sword And The Brocade (24/45): Set during the Ming Dynasty, the story revolves around the romance between General Xu Lingyi and the concubine's daughter Shiyiniang that starts from an arranged marriage. Despite being born with a low status, Luo Shiyiniang is extremely assertive and believes that a woman's vision should not be limited to the household. She hopes to rely on her embroidery skills as a ticket to freedom. However, the once esteemed Luo family is in a state of decline. Hoping to save the clan through a marriage alliance, Shiyiniang is selected to become the wife of Yongping Duke and great general Xu Lingyi. Things were not easy for Shiyiniang due to the Xu family's biases towards her. Nonetheless, she manages to win over their trust through her optimism and sincerity. Xu Lingyi also becomes attracted to Shiyiniang's various beautiful qualities such that husband and wife manage to find love after marriage.Through Xu Lingyi's support, Shiyiniang opens Xian Ling Pavilion to have her own embroidery workshop. Meanwhile, Xu Lingyi experiences many setbacks as he tries to protect his homeland and improve the livelihood of the people by supporting the lifting of a maritime ban. As they face a crisis that could spell the end for the Xu family, Xu Lingyi and Shiyiniang continue to support each other through thick and thin.

Shiyi and Lingyi are seriously carrying this show with how cute and awkward they are together. Neither one has been in a situation like this before with Shiyi being too young and Lingyi having had closed his heart to love before this. I know some people have a problem with Lingyi having multiple concubines but honestly I'm not bothered by it partially cause they existed before Shiyi came into the picture and partially cause Lingyi doesn't care about any of them other than Shiyi. I do have to say that as much as I'm adoring everything I'm starting to see the cracks in the foundation of where things could go wrong in the future. Everyone in this show likes to keep things to themselves rather than discuss them from Amber who almost had to seduce Lingyi just cause she couldn't trust Shiyi to find her sister and Shiyi herself who can't tell Lingyi the truth of where she goes and what she's looking for. I also don't love that she's lying about the pregnancy and that she told her second sister that she was planning on running away that day in the temple cause that sister is not good and I can see her using this against Shiyi not to mention the fact that she's been friends with the Ou family's second son. It's also curious that Amber has such a clear crush on him when he likes Shiyi and I'm just hoping that this doesn't turn into a Jin'er and Zitao from Rebel Princess situation. 

JDRAMA

3B no Koibito (9/10): Kobayashi Haruka fell in love before finding out that her boyfriend was actually a married man. At that time, a regular customer predicts that she will wind up meeting 3 different men. She begins encountering them just as predicted. There's the hairdresser Shintaro, the band vocalist Yu, and the bartender Yoshi. What will come of these fateful encounters?

Ha poor Shintaro was turned down flat by Haruka this week which I saw coming a mile away since he was never actually in the running for winning Haruka's heart. I still think she'll pick Yu given how much she thought of him all episode and how she turned away at the sight of him being kissed by another girl but then again she also didn't pull away from Yoshi when he hugged her either so it could really go either way. The important thing that happened this week was Haruka finding out that Yu ended up skipping an important meeting with his band to help her and I was honestly surprised that she didn't do more about this. Like whether or not he was on a date I would have expected her to go up to him and be like you idiot why didn't you tell your friends what happened?? It did make me feel better that the bandmates were more upset that he didn't tell them the truth than they were that they missed out on a debut and it also helps that he texted them ahead of time so it wasn't like the CEO sat there waiting and Yu never arrived. I still think it'll be possible for them to get another shot next week!

Oh! My Boss! Koi wa Bessatsu (9/10): Nami Suzuki was born and raised in a small rural town. She doesn't have a specific dream to pursue and she is an easy going person. As an ordinary woman, she desires to be happy with an ordinary life. She follows Kenya, who is her childhood friend and her unrequited love, and applies for a job in the supply management department of a large publishing company in Tokyo. Nami gets hired by the company, but she is assigned to work in the editorial department of a fashion magazine. There, Nami Suzuki works with chief editor Reiko Horai. She is a devil like boss, who makes spiteful remarks and has a cold personality. Reiko Horai treats Nami, who doesn’t take her job seriously, in a callous manner. But, as Nami Suzuki watches her boss deal with her job, Nami begins to change her attitude toward her work.

This week was so strange and it can be entirely chalked up to the fact that I don't understand why it has to be all or nothing for Suzuki and Jun. Like Jun proposed to Suzuki and she said yes at first only to eventually give the ring back cause she wants to keep working and chasing after her newly discovered dream of working in editing rather than quitting and moving to Jun's hometown to be his wife. The crazy thing is that this is a modern jdrama so I'm really confused over the fact that his family is so traditional that they're like the wife has to stay at home. I'd get it a little if they have kids but why can't Suzuki work until then? What is she going to do sitting around at home waiting for Jun anyway?? I also really don't love that Jun didn't even bring up the idea of long distance for a bit or a long engagement as options and it breaks my heart a little that he has to sacrifice his dreams while Reiko chases hers and it really makes me wonder if the show will end without Jun's dad changing his mind. I mean he and Reiko already reconciled!

TWDRAMA

Wacko At Law (14/15): Mai Daqi is a genius in the legal profession, but because of his dissatisfaction with the profitism of the law firm, he shelved his lawyer's license. It wasn't until an air crash that suddenly took the lives of his parents and his fiancee four years ago. In order to get justice for his family, Daqi regained his legal profession and overthrew American Airlines' first-class lawyers.

Wow can you believe that we're already up to the penultimate episode of this show? I can't exactly say that this show flew by cause we have been watching it for 14 weeks now but that still doesn't take away from the fact that we've spent so much time in this world that it's going to be sad to say goodbye! This week we found out that Jing Tao had been working with Da Qi behind the scenes in order to take down all the big CEOs which like no one was surprised about cause the rich men all seem to forget that even though Jing Tao is poor, he's got pride too. They blackmailed him into defending someone he didn't want to and then Ji Peng kept rubbing his face in it like at what point do you think enough is enough? I also find it outright laughable that the show is trying the whole Da Qi is dead thing cause there's no chance in hell that he actually is. I'm sure that his doctor realized that something was wrong with the L365 cure that Dr Liao gave her and so she and Da Qi put on a show that Xiao Ke is probs in on. It is a little hateful of them to see it from Yu Xin cause she is breaking down but maybe they thought that she's strong enough to make it through. On another note I did like everything with Yun Yun and the Wang family and it makes me think that maybe this whole arc should have started out earlier especially given that Chairman He is our biggest bad.

xoxo Allie