What Dramas Did I Finish This Week?

Hello and welcome back! These are the dramas I finished this week. 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 Blue Birthday (16/16): A fantasy romance drama in which Oh Ha Rin will revisit the past through mysterious photos left by her first love, Ji Seo Jun, who died on her birthday 10 years ago. He had resolved to confess to his childhood friend since elementary school but he ended up taking his own life, much to her shock and horror. He was about to confess to her when he met his sudden death in the photography room.She currently works at an abandoned pet shelter, but on the 10th anniversary of the incident, she comes into possession of some photos that her first love left behind. Ha Rin, whose painful memories were relighted again, decides to burn all the pictures. When she was burning the pictures, she suddenly realized she was back to the day she took the picture 10 years ago. The camera only has 8 pictures, so Ha Rin only has 8 chances to go back in time.

This web drama had everything I would have wanted from a drama on paper but in actuality I think maybe it was a few episodes too long cause it felt like the story tread water in order to fill airtime towards the back half. I actually really liked the idea that Ha Rin went back to save the boy she loved from killing himself only to find out that it wasn't suicide but actually murder cause he still died after she fixed his emotional problems. The twist that it was his sister all along was even better but I have to save that once everyone started jumping around through time I was less on board with this show especially since it made the police in this show seem idiotic for how many times they lost Hye Min so that she could be a bigger and bigger threat. Despite all that I had fun with this show and it's cuteness so I'd give it a 7.5 / 10. 

 

FINISHED Check Out The Event (4/4): Cheerful and lovable Song Yi, who is frank about her feelings, believed in her mother’s words that the plants never betray you, unlike people, and became a botanical garden curator. However, as her boyfriend Do Kyum who was her everything dumps her, she couldn't live proudly anymore and becomes lethargic. Do Kyum who is feisty and self-respecting is a vocalist of an indie music band. As his crew was getting reputation, he suddenly announces its disband and asks song Yi for a breakup. When Song Yi continuously tries to win Do Kyum’s heart back but keeps failing, she wins a ticket to Jeju Island through a competitive rate 500:1 and decides to take Do Kyum with her. Will this trip make any difference between the two?

I went into this show thinking it'd be an Emergency Couple type of situation in which we'd see two people who broke up horribly in the past fall in love once again but instead we got this weird awkward situation in which we watched the couple break up in the first episode and then kinda stay broken the rest of the time until the last moments of the finale in which they magically got back together. It didn't help that the main lead reminded me of the second lead from Another Miss Oh and that one piece of dialogue from that show comes back to me. A guy will always want to protect his pride and convince the woman he loves that he's the bad guy rather than be vulnerable and there be a chance that he would be pitied. Like look there are plenty of girls out there that would dump a guy after he hits rock bottom but there are plenty who wouldn't and it's unfair of the guy to pick for them. I spent the show hoping that Song Yi would chose the second male lead but then I was content with the idea that at least she dumped Do Kyum only for the show to be like sike never mind which kinda ruined the whole thing for me. I also didn't care for the side couples of the show but what this show did was make me want to rewatch The Package which is a much much better version of this show. 7 / 10.

FINISHED DP (6/6): Private soldier Jun Ho is a confused youth who served in the military normally like other Koreans. One day, he suddenly becomes a member of the military defector arrest team. As such, he is tasked with capturing deserters and must grapple with the more troubling cases of why some soldiers feel they have no other choice but go absent without official leave.

I decided to check out this show mainly cause of Jung Hae In but also cause I've got a bit of a soft spot for military men but I have to say that I had no idea what this show would be going in and was smacked in the face so hard with how dark and horrible everything was! Like of course I know that bullying occurs and horrible people exist who live to showcase their seniority over others but this show seemed to want to relay the message that the military brought out the worst in people and like part of me applauds them for this unique take on the broken system but the rest of me truly can't even believe that a show like this would be allowed to air in Korea! Having said all that I did really enjoy this show and the dark tone of it. I loved the weekly cases that we saw our leads investigate and I loved the dark spiral of Seok Bong from this sweet patient man to an unhinged killer though the ending was abrupt enough that I wonder if a second season is coming. The acting was incredible as was the writing and the directing and everything else. Watch this show if you are like dark thrillers and aren't afraid to really dig into the slow cycle of failure on a systematic level that shows no sign of being fixed. 9.5 / 10

When The Camellia Blooms (40/40): Dong Baek is a single mother living in the small town of Ongsan. She runs the bar-restaurant Camellia, while also taking care of her son Pil Gu. The people of Ongsan frequently gossip about Dong Baek. She grew up as an orphan, is a single mother and runs a bar where many of the men in Ongsan frequent. Regardless of what the locals may whisper about Dong Baek, local police officer Hwang Yong Shik is deeply in love with her. Meanwhile, Dong Baek's ex-boyfriend Kang Jong Ryeol suddenly reappears in her life. He is a famous baseball player, that hid their relationship when they dated. While Dong Baek tries to find happiness, something truly sinister lurks in the background. A serial killer roams Ongsan and Dong Baek may be a target.

When this show first aired two years ago I read the description for it and judged it based on the whole concept of a single mom cause I've seen enough kdramas in my life to know exactly where that was going to go and I really didn't feel the need to watch like 40 episodes of the poor woman being shit on by everyone around her. It also didn't help that at the time I was obsessed with Kim Ji Suk and was worried I'd get SLS but recently I've been watching Hometown Cha Cha Cha and though not loving all of it, there was enough in that show that made me curious about this one having heard how similar the two were. I also just saw Kim Ji Suk in Monthly Magazine Home which heavily cooled my love for him so I was less afraid of SLS and thank goodness I finally got around to this show cause it really is a gem. I love the world it built in this small town which really did remind me a giant family in the way that you can fight with your family all the time but when an outsider steps in, you close ranks! The whole show had the loveliest story to tell about mothers and I enjoyed the detective side too cause it kept things fresh and unlike in something like You Are My Spring, the sweet romance and the killer actually connected. Speaking of I absolutely lived for the main romance cause I loved loved loved the way Yong Sik was so unapologetically in love with Dong Baek. 9.5 / 10

xoxo Allie