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

Law School (6/16): When a grim incident occurs at their prestigious school, justice through law is put to a test by a tough law professor and his ambitious students. Yang Jong Hoon is a criminal law professor and a former elite prosecutor, whose harsh words make him the professor to steer clear of. At the same time, there’s something compelling about his strict teaching methods and his refusal to accept less than the best from his future juniors in the legal profession. Han Joon Hwi, a first-year law student, is at the top of his class. He’s a natural leader whose good looks and easy charm make him the perfect man - on paper. However, there’s an unexpected side to him that remains well-hidden. Kang Sol is another first-year law student who overcame childhood poverty and hardships by gaining special admission to the school. She walks a path of thorns due to her constant sense of deprivation and shame amidst the wealth and talent that surrounds her. Eventually, her passion will enlighten her on what it truly takes to be a good lawyer. Kim Eun Sook is a civil law professor who was once the head of the law school’s free legal clinic. Her natural air of authority and freewheeling personality earned her the reputation for being a master in court. Known for being a highly-relatable professor, she is the sole colleague Yang Jong Hoon dares to confide in.

Low key I keep feeling like I'm missing big chunks of the plot and I don't know if it's cause I haven't been paying close enough attention or if it's cause the show is purposefully trying to reveal things in pieces to confuse us. Like did we know that Sol A had a twin sister who's been MIA for 5 years and that she knew the rapist that keeps getting screen time? I still don't understand the point of him but we also found out that he's apparently looking for his son who's connected to Dan. Maybe they were dating back then or even now? Either way she also knows Professor Yang. Honestly everyone's connected to everyone in a fun twisty web and it's so interesting to detangle. I had guessed last week that Sol B would end up being the Vice Dean's daughter but apparently her mom had also dated Seo back in the day and now is insane and caused her daughter to be low key insane too. They apparently plagiarized a paper that Seo wrote in order to win Sol B an award and the Vice Dean thought that Sol B killed Seo to keep the secret from coming out while Sol B thought that her dad did it to protect her but in the end they were both innocent. I honestly still vote on it being Seung Jae cause he's always around but never in the forefront and I think that's vital. We did find out that he's apparently married which was shocking. What wasn't shocking was the reveal that Ye Seul's boyfriend might be abusive cause I had a feeling after how she was always lying to him and didn't seem to want to see him but also when she was wearing sunglasses last week to hide a so-called stye. Ji Ho also got some screen time and it's hilarious to me how everyone in our main cast is so well connected. Like Joon Hwi was Seo's nephew, Sol B is the Vice Dean's daughter and now Ji Ho might be a chaebol?

FINISHED Navillera (12/12): 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.

So the finale for this show aired this week and interestingly enough I didn't cry through the whole thing cause I think honestly all the big emotional beats were hit last week and in the weeks before! Deok Chool was able to dance in Swan Lake on stage with Chae Rok and his whole family was able to watch which was all very sweet and heartwarming. I never really worried that he wouldn't be able to with his sudden bout of memory loss earlier in the day cause despite everything this drama was more heartwarming than anything else so naturally Deok Chool was able to do the one thing that he dreamed of his whole life. I'm not usually a fan of time skips but I also didn't mind this one cause it made sense that we should see where all our characters ended up. Chae Rok made it big abroad, Ho Beom and Chae Rok's friend ended up joining the same soccer team and are working to become first string players while Eun Oh is thriving in her radio producer job. Her mom is a big shot at the company, her dad joined a baseball management team and her uncle ended up going back to the hospital which actually was the most surprising thing. I also have to say that I was really surprised that the show stuck with a platonic relationship with Eun Oh and Chae Rok and it really makes me wonder if that was going to be the case then why did they make it so weird between the two of them when they both worked for that restaurant? All in all this was a sweet show and I'd give it a 9.5 / 10!

Sell Your Haunted House (6/16): Ji Ah, a woman who has inherited exorcism abilities from her mother, is the owner of Daebak Realty, a company that specializes in selling haunted houses. Ji Ah looks perfect and is also brilliant, but her hot temper makes her fists fly before her words. One day, Ji Ah encounters a conman named In Beom who specializes in exorcism fraud. Late at night when Daebak Realty operates, In Beom visits Ji Ah to make an offer. He suggests that they team up to exclusively sell houses that are haunted by vengeful spirits and lingering ghosts. Can the two get along well and deal with house prices, ghosts, and their sorrowful stories?

I still really think all the secrets between In Beom and Ji Ah are a little too contrived and I wish that the two would just talk to each other about their dead loved ones but the more we see these flashbacks, the more I think something else went on back then that we don't know about and it's definitely connected to Hwa Jung. She and that missing persons detective clearly know each other but more than that he said something about how she's a fraud after everything not to mention the fact that she's hiding the fact that In Beom was the nephew of Ji Ah's mom's last client. I think we're also going to see that the CEO told In Beom's uncle to set fire to that building and the ones who died followed him home and possessed In Beom so the uncle went to Ji Ah's mom to save him and then maybe Hwa Jung stepped in to clean things up only to feel guilty and get attached to Ji Ah. On another note I'm still loving the dynamic between Ji Ah and In Beom and the way he's pulling her out of her shell and she's making him act like a slightly better person. 

Taxi Driver (6/16): Do Gi has lived more honestly than anyone else as an officer in the Special Forces. Yet, when a serial killer murders his mother, he spends his days in agony. While feeling wronged and broken, Do Gi meets Jang Sung Chul, who recruits Do Gi to work for his company, Rainbow Taxi. Far from an ordinary taxi service, Rainbow Taxi is a secret organization that avenges victims whom the law didn’t protect. Here, Do Gi becomes a star driver who delivers satisfying revenge. Meanwhile, Ha Na is a prosecutor who investigates Rainbow Taxi. She is furious with their lawless behavior, but at the same time, she feels confused to see them solve cases that the law cannot. Between those who believe that revenge embodies true justice and those who pursue the outlaws, Do Gi seeks what justice truly means.

We're six episodes in and I'm definitely of the mind that this show is going to be more procedural than serialized and I'm perfectly fine with that cause all the cases we've followed have been interesting and I'd rather see our heroes win every week or every few weeks rather than losing for 7 weeks only to squeak by with a win in the finale like other revenge dramas. I also kinda like the way that we're slowly learning about our main characters cause last week it was Do Gi and Sung Chul but this week we learned a tiny bit about Go Eun. The person she lost was her sister and she blames herself for it but we don't actually know how the sister died though we did find out at the end that the sister had a sex tape that was leaked though based on the thumbnail it didn't entirely look consensual. The case we're following is one of workplace abuse though the CEO in this company is kinda too much to feel like anything but a drama villain so my blood doesn't boil watching it like I did with other cases. This is the first time that Ha Na's case has intersected with the Rainbow Taxi team but I still have to say that she really feels like a character who was shoehorned in this show for no reason cause if she wasn't around nothing in the show would change so I'll be curious if this is the case that will make her part of the team. On another note I really like Go Eun's dynamic with Do Gi but I can't decide if the two have romantic tension or sibling vibes but I guess I'm open either way.

Vincenzo (18/20): 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.

Wow I didn't realize how much I missed the antics in this show until I was watching it again this week. My favorite thing about this show is how Vincenzo is always on top even when it looks like he's losing and I live for it cause he really is the cat playing with his Babel mice. I totally believe him when he says that before they killed her birth mom that he was just meh about the Babel crew and just wanted to stop them in order to help Cha Young but now it's personal. I was honestly so relieved that Han Seo didn't switch sides and it was all an elaborate plan on the part of Vincenzo and him cause part of me does think that he's adorable and honestly every bad thing he did wasn't half as bad as what Vincenzo has done so like in this world where murder is chill why not redeem him? I also loved the fact that he cleared out the basement a long time ago cause duh why wait when you know the bad guys know about it and I have a feeling it was the monks who helped. We heard Vincenzo tell them that they need to move and that the monks are going begging a lot so maybe he sent them on a mission to slowly move the gold. The last minute addition of the future President was interesting though and I have to say that he definitely feels like more of a villain than the Babel crew though I don't know why they think that Vincenzo doesn't have the Guillotine file yet cause the second they find out, they'll have to stand down. The finale is going to air next week and I'm going to be really curious to see how everything wraps up!

xoxo Allie