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
This week was the penultimate one before the finale next week and things are wrapping up nicely. Chae Woon and Jae Hee are happily married and trying to set up Jae Hee's parents again who are clearly still in love and matter what they say are clearly uncomfortable at the thought of moving on from each other. Jung Hoo likes the idea of dating a younger guy who's into her but his son wants her to be his new mom and that's clearly a step too far for her. There was also some more stuff from Hae Deun and Jun Ah who actually registered their marriage secretly but want the permission from their parents to get married so they haven't actually said anything. I still wonder if this is too similar to the entire story between Seo Ah and Na Ro cause Jung Won really shouldn't have a reason to dislike Hae Deun like she does Na Ro. I mean Na Ro is a full on criminal while Hae Deun is just a child who's a little silly so of all the partners Jung Won should approve of, Hae Deun should have been much higher on her list! Speaking of Na Ro and Seo Ah, their story was the main meat of this week. I still can't tell if Na Ro loves Seo Ah or if he's still just into her money but I'd say it's a little bit of both at this point cause he did seem really worried about Seo Ah's safety even after Jung Won kicked him out. I do think the whole plot with Professor Kim is a little much but it'll clearly give Chae Woon a reason to forgive her father completely after he saves her life. Ra Hoon also found out that Eun Ji might be his mom but then it was revealed that she actually wasn't and my heart broke for how Ra Hoon broke down.
After having watched this week's episodes I have to say that this show doesn't feel like it's going to click with me that strongly. Like don't get me wrong there's nothing wrong with it but there's also nothing that's wowing me either. Ji Won and Seung Yoo were able to talk this week and Seung Yoo really didn't give an explanation as to why he was acting like he didn't know who she was before this. I was starting to wonder if there was a bit of a darker side to him cause not only is it strange that he's only sweet to her when they're alone but it also really did feel like he was playing hard-to-get with Ji Won but I think that it was just meant to stir up drama. We also met the second male lead and he's already such an ass so it's obvious why Ji Won will pick the puppy Seung Yoo and not the grouchy Do Hoon. Meanwhile Ran Joo also seems to have met her love interest in a younger man though we don't really know anything about him. All we know is that he's 24 to her 30 which tbh isn't the worst age gap but is he a lawyer too? Why did he pretend like he was her blind date when he could have easily been like I'm subbing cause your actual date couldn't make it. They really did go from 0 to 60 quickly though cause one second she wasn't even sure if she liked him and the next they sleep together!
This show's subbing has been a mess but I was finally able to watch the final two stories of this omnibus with 29 year old Ha Ram and 35 year old Ban Ya and honestly after all was said and done I'm not sure that I actually enjoyed this omnibus in general cause it made me more sad than anything else. Doo Ah's story was the first that I watched and it actually ended up being the one I actually enjoyed the most. Ha Ram's story was hard to watch in a different way than Chung Kyung cause she was the kind of person who bottled every hurt up until it exploded. She had a bit of a mom complex honestly but more than that I felt terribly for poor Jung Seok who really did get the short end of the stick with Ha Ram running away on their wedding day and then again after they sort of made up. It just goes to show you what an angel he was that he took her back at the end without any complaints. Ban Ya's story on the other hand was so outlandish that it felt like it belonged in a different show. She fell in love with this author not knowing that he was separated from his wife who ended up being the female author we saw in every story and there was suicide and revenge and attempted murder. The ending did feel a little patched on but at that point I was over this story so I didn't even care that much. On the whole I think this show deserves a 8 / 10.
Raise your hand if you're also disappointed in how quickly Gu Reum believed in the lies that the bad guys told about Ji Oh. By now she should know that the only time they say anything is if it helps them so I'd like to think that she's been playing the long game and knew that she had to pretend they won even when Ji Oh arrived. The crazy thing is that the group did officially splinter which must be so awkward for the underlings cause it's like who do I listen to? I was also really annoyed that Ji Oh didn't just kill that assassin dude after all of this. It'd be one thing if he was against killing but he killed Yoo Na just fine so why not the dude who literally told him that I will kill everyone you love? With the finale airing next week it does look like things will be wrapped up well with Ji Oh sort of stealing the Church Followers. I'm not entirely whether this was part of their plan cause they looked too happy for the Church bowing to Ji Oh when it's like if Ji Oh replaced the Church then what's to say he can't be like the previous management doesn't have my support! I was glad though that the Captain got some comeuppance though quitting his job cause he's been the worst for so long!
Wow this show is so good you guys! I do adore criminal/investigation dramas of the large chunk that are airing right now only this one and Beyond Evil are really detective shows where a serial killer is hunted down but Beyond Evil wasn't my jam so I was curious if this one would be given that Lee Seung Gi is in it! I really enjoyed that the first episode was entirely set in the past and that we didn't even see our main characters until the second though the way it played out was totally fascinating cause it left us wondering who was who especially given the fact that people can change their names! So far there seems like there should be at least 2 people with psychopath genes running around. The first is going to be Jae Hoon who's the doctor we met at the hospital and the second is going to be Ba Reum. I have to say though that while I'm not entirely certain which of the two is the actual psychopath and killer what I do think is that Ba Reum is going to be Seo Jun's kid rather than Jae Hoon. The reasons for this is cause I could see Ba Reum forming his overly caring and kind personality in order to appease his mom who probably spent their entire lives studying him for any psychopathic signs. There's no way that he's as bumbling as he seems and really I just hope the show doesn't break my heart by making him the killer too. I also wonder if the show really will set up a romance between Ba Reum and Bong Yi but if they did, I wouldn't entirely be against it! Meanwhile Moo Chi and his brother are both survivors of the camp massacre and while Moo Chi has gone off the rails in terms of wanting revenge his brother has chosen to forgive at least as much as he can.
I was a little confused this week cause are we meant to just be okay with the King acting like not only didn't he command the Queen to be killed but also that he thought that Pyeonggang was a bastard? Like when he was talking about giving the Queen a grand funeral I was like um what. Honestly I have such a hard time reading him in general cause at first I thought that he was excited to have Pyeonggang back but it feels a bit more like fear now. This fear is shared by Go Won Pyo who is the only one in the council who recognizes that Pyeonggang is a tiger in the making with how she's always been smart and now she's a trained killer too. Then again I can't tell what the Chunjubang want either so maybe that's the point of this show to make everything ambivalent so when people choose sides we're shocked. The only man in the capital who is stern with his convictions is Geon and guys I still can't help but ship him with Pyeonggang cause you know I'm a sucker for star-crossed lovers even if part of me also finds Ga Jin's scenes with Dal interesting. I was glad that Dal didn't hate Ga Jin for too long even though it really wasn't her fault and in fact she lost just as much as everyone else that day.
Why oh why show did you decide to take the cliche route and separate our leads from each other for a period of time during which they broke up off screen only to come back together when they reunite? I think the thing that is worse is the fact that we already did the whole Song Ah debates going to Europe earlier this season so the fact that she accepted it this time feels like a retread of territory we've already seen! I can't even be mad at Song Ah for her decision cause as important as love and relationships are, dreams and ambitions are as well and like her coworker put it, it's important to know what will leave you with bigger regrets. I guess I am curious as to what ended up being the straw that broke the camel's back but I guess it just has to do with lack of time and seeing on another especially on Song Ah's part cause she was the one who looked scared while he mostly just looked angry when they ran into each other on the street. I also will never stop lamenting the fact that Ji Seung and Jae Woon were such background characters though their lunch with Hyun Seung was hilarious. I do wonder if the show will touch on anything with Jae Woon's grandfather and whether he likes Ji Seung. I mean I think the Chae family is fairly rich but will he oppose her like he did with Jae Shin? Speaking of Jae Shin, he was able to officially cut ties with Jae Woon and Hyo Joo but the strangest thing was how Hyo Joo just gave up on him cause it's like this is the girl that tried to commit suicide to keep him by her side and now she's just like I'm worth more so bite me? Also important is that Yoon Seung struggled with whether she should get a divorce cause she saw that her husband was struggling with who he was but in the end she did submit the paperwork.
I know part of me is supposed to think that Tae Sul and Seo Hae got emotionally attached way too quickly but honestly I'm all for ride or die couples so I'm just thrilled. There's just something about being on the run or in heightened situations that make you forget that you've only known this person for like a month or so. It also doesn't help that Tae Sul saw a photo of them married so in his mind she might already have been of interest. I also want to say that I should be disappointed in Tae Sul's friends for turning on him but I kinda knew it was coming though I was surprised it was Seo Jin that was the bad guy rather than Eddy who's kinda just being dragged along for the ride and I think he'll step up soon enough cause he's gotta know by now that something's not right! As it turns out Seo Jin's father who is on the board of Quantum And Time is working with Sigma alongside his daughter in order to get some sort of medicine that Sigma has that Seo Jin's mom needs. Everyone is after this key which opens the safe to the uploader but I just wish this show would explain why so many people are after it and how that relates to the future cause there's really no way that all this is happening and yet it's a bomb from North Korea that destroys the world. It was also nice to see the Chinese delivery guy backed cause I totally expected him cameo to just be in the premiere but it looks like he managed to win the lottery after all but I'm surprised neither the Control Bureau or Sigma went after him knowing that he was connected to Seo Hae.
Ah did I or did I not call it last week when I said there was absolutely no way that Ki Tae was as perfect as he seemed?? Of course he was related to the death of Jin Woo's brother cause where would all the drama be without it? I did wonder what the bigger mystery in this show would end up being cause there was no way that it could continuously use Ki Tae's death as the thing that connects Jin Woo and Jung In without it feeling repetitive or boring so I did wonder if maybe finding the person behind Ki Tae's death would be the mystery we have to solve but now it looks like finding proof of Ki Tae's wrongdoings will be what we focus on. Part of me does wonder if Do Kyung is playing Jin Woo cause there was definitely someone much stronger behind him but at the same time the way that Ki Tae reacted to Jin Woo being Geon Woo's older brother was super sketchy so there's definitely something there. It does suck a little that Jung In's phone broke cause you know that Jin Woo is going to be trying to contact her and when she doesn't answer he might think that she was manipulating him like Do Kyung told him she was. I also have to say that I still think this show is unbalanced in terms of the future/past cause it feels like all Jung In can do is tell Jin Woo what should happen rather than investigate herself.
This week was actually a lot better than last week and that's heavily due to the fact that Vincenzo was able to let loose and be the mafia badass that he is. We've also started to get an image of the big picture this week in that this show is definitely going to be a revenge drama and Babel will be the bad guys. Their big plan had been to create these narcotic painkillers that were super addictive and basically build a drug cartel in which they could basically rule the world. Lawyer Hong was getting in their way not only because of the trial but also cause he knew too much so he was killed on the orders of Lawyer Choi with the permission of Babel I'm assuming. This caused Vincenzo and Cha Young to team up in order to get the revenge they seeked and it was everything cause like I said I live for when Vincenzo is intelligent and ruthless. Cha Young is still too over-the-top for me and I wish that she would dial everything down but on the whole the fact that she's basically listening to Vincenzo helps me like her more. The biggest reveal of the week though goes to the fact that the real power behind Babel isn't Chairman Jang like we thought but Jun Woo. I already knew that he couldn't just be Cha Young's little intern for this whole show cause Taecyeon is too big of an actor to have such a small role but I didn't expect him to be the mastermind behind all the murders either! I wonder why he decided to act like an intern in the Wusang offices and why Cha Young in particular.
CDRAMA
I have to say that honestly I was a little disappointed in the reunion of Awu and Xiao Qi. I was worried last week that the show would gloss over it in order to get to the politics and that's exactly what happened. We kinda saw them in the aftermath having pillow talk which should be sweet and all but one of the best parts of seeing two lovers reunite is when they actually throw themselves into each other's arms! Maybe I'm overreacting cause neither Awu or Xiao Qi are the sort to break society's rules like that including the two or three other times they reunited after an event before but I would have thought the fact that they thought each other dead would have made things different. Other that that I did really enjoy watching the entire noble class and Zitan himself have to bend over backwards and do what Xiao Qi wanted despite how much they didn't want to! I mean when Xiao Qi strolls up with a hundred thousand of the best soldiers in Cheng and with no one else who's strong enough to fight him, how can you not do everything in your power to give him what you want. I also think it's hilarious that all these noblemen who are desperate for power don't understand what he could possibly want cause it's like despite all the power he has and the unanimous support of the people, he didn't take the throne so they're just wallowing in confusion when Xiao Qi has made it clear over and over again that all he wants is to clear the name of his fallen soldiers and get the truth. In one day he managed to uncover the fact that it was the Empress Dowager who originally came up with the plan only someone else swooped in and took it over and Awu was the one who discovered it though it seems like she might keep it a secret in order to keep the peace. Meanwhile as it turns out the child that Jin'er was carrying wasn't Zitan's after all and was in fact out of rape by one of Helan Zhen's men so we ran the whole gambit from finding out about it to getting rid of Jin'er which was crazy. I also wonder if Awu's brother is starting to want to switch sides cause between the death of Aunt Xu and his dad telling him not to marry Caiwei who he loves, I wonder how long he'll support his dad.
So I was actually pretty excited to watch this drama cause the whole thing reminded me so much of The Story Of Ming Lan which is seriously one of my favorite cdramas of all time but I was also worried cause what if this show wasn't as good?? After having watched this first chunk of episodes, it's been a fun ride so far. I mean is it what Ming Lan is yet? No but it's still early! I really like that Shiyi is the perfect mix of docile and yet super intelligent. She plays by society's rules but also gives a little more leeway to her actions than Ming Lan did but I think that has to do with the fact that she grew up with her mother and only recently lost her. I also really like that she's not really hiding her real personality in front of Lingyi cause it's clear that her casual indifference to him is what attracted him to her since she's not fawning over him like his concubines though now he's gotta learn how to seduce someone which he's clearly never done cause all his concubines have been given to him and want nothing more than for him to love them. I also understand the idea of playing with harem politics and I think it's mostly fun but I do wish the show would spare some of that time on Shiyi and Lingyi being together. It's ironic cause I know some people complained that this show has no stakes or is boring but tbh I'm not even interested in any of the court politics or which minister is doing what or even Shiyi's revenge. Like straight up give me 45 episodes of watching Shiyi and the family and I'd be content! I also think I should note that we haven't seen any of the royal court yet from the Emperor to his family and maybe that's cause a lot of the other cdramas I've been watching take place in the royal court so I noticed the lack of it.
The finale for this show aired this week and though I was happy to see that Liuli and Xingjian finally got their happy ending the random story about the Pei family struggles seemed to have come out of nowhere and was really confusing in all honesty. The Emperor finally realized that he was an ass for keeping the two apart for 5 years and though that time can never be returned to them, it's probs better to have the Emperor's blessing than not. It was kinda strange how many times this finale wanted to remind Liuli that now that she left the palace she's on her own even though in all actuality Xingjian is still a trusted official and I'm sure that Liuli will be allowed into the palace to visit Lady Wu who will become Empress soon enough. In terms of the randomly tacked on plot with Duke Of Hedong and the Grand Princess who's in charge I guess the story is that Xingjian's father and brother were killed for trying to rebel and so most of the property went to a different branch of the family only to be returned to Xingjian once he married though through shenanigans the Grand Princess wanted to keep everything for herself. Now this would be a totally normal plot in most dramas but it was the fact that we had never heard of this problem or even solved it before the show ended that I found weird. Like was it only brought up in case this show wants a season 2? Or was it meant to be like jokes on you cause Liuli and Xingjian won't actually be living happily ever after! Either way this show was a hot mess and I can't even say it was a good romance with how it barely focused on Liuli and Xingjian being together so in the end I'd give it a 5.5 / 10.
JDRAMA
As I expected last week Makato wasn't a good guy but then again it wasn't exactly that much of a shocker given that there's no way that Haruka chooses a guy outside of the trio. I mean yes maybe she'll be like guys I just wanna be friends with all of you but I'd hope given that this is a romance that she'd pick one. My heart did break a little for Yuu this week given that he lost out on a chance to debut as a band cause he picked to go help Haruka with Makato but maybe they'd be given a second chance if he explains what happened! Makato was really confusing cause it's like I don't think that he's a bad person and he clearly wasn't looking to use Haruka for money at first but then again he didn't use the money she gave him on the venue and spent it doing dumb things like buying his troupe drinks. Yoshi and Shintaro both confessed this week to Haruka and I'm still on the Yoshi train but it's ironic cause every other week I'm like okay the foreshadowing is for Yoshi and the next I'm like it's Yu! All I know is that Shintaro really doesn't have a shot!
TWDRAMA
This week we finally learned what happened back then and just as I suspected it was Mrs Mo all along! She killed her husband for reasons that I'm sure we'll discover later, burned the evidence like the clothes she was wearing, and then framed Wan Ting's father for it. The sketchy thing is that she left the burnt evidence in the field and Yu Xin's dad found it so I'm thinking what if he confronted Mrs Mo who hired the family contract killer to kill him after killing Wan Ting's dad in order to cover everything up. What a monster honestly cause who even decides the one person she wants to frame for murder is the one who's taking care of the daughter she abandoned?? Like pick some other scapegoat! This also doesn't exactly mean that Ji Ping is innocent since he was still the one to hire the contract killer recently and he's still money hungry cause he even went as far to propose to Wan Ting in order to keep the painting in the family. I still wonder if there's merit to the idea that it's forged but either way Wan Ting said yes to marry him and Mrs Mo is not happy about it. Wan Ting clearly wants to marry him for his secrets and the L365 formula which he kinda gave as an engagement present but I wonder if Mrs Mo is worried that Wan Ting will oust her position?
xoxo Allie
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