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