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 All Of Us Are Dead (12/12): A high school becomes ground zero for a zombie virus outbreak. Trapped students must fight their way out — or turn into one of the rabid infected.

Korea is literally obsessed with zombie movies and shows recently and that is not a complaint cause tbh I'm lined up right at the door for each one that comes out! This newest one is similar to all of it's predecessors in that it follows pretty much the same formula though I'd say it's somewhere closer to Happiness and Sweet Home than something like Train To Busan just based on the fact that we have different types of zombies and that willpower plays a small part in whether someone who is bit will become a senseless killer or not. On the whole I did enjoy this show a lot cause almost all of our characters were good people and it was easy to root for them to survive and I adored the romance between Soo Hyuk and Nam Ra even if we were just given small moments unlike the main leads who were plastered to each other's sides though Soo Hyuk and Nam Ra ended up surviving so I can't say I mind. On that note I do wish that more had been done with Nam Ra but I wonder if the show was saving all that for a season 2 cause even in the few moments we got at the very end she seemed more sure of herself than before! I also really liked the way the government was portrayed and how it tried to humanize almost everyone. I had a blast with this show so I'd give it 9.5 / 10!

FINISHED Our Beloved Summer (16/16): Years after filming a viral documentary in high school, two bickering ex-lovers get pulled back in front of the camera — and into each other's lives. Choi Woong seems naive and a free-spirited man, but he wants to have something for the first time in his life. For that, he shows what he holds in his mind. Kook Yeon Soo aimed to become the top student at her school, but she is now an adult who lives fiercely, adapting to her reality.

I don't think I started this drama with any expectations negative or positive and left it stunned by how much I adored this show. The thing you have to know going in is that it's more of a melo than a rom com and that the focus is on the characters rather than the plot. Like don't get me wrong there is stuff that happens but mostly we are meant to focus on the relationship of Ung and Yeon Su as they come back together. I know a lot of people have been complaining about both of these things but I honestly think your enjoyment of the show depends on how much you emotionally connect with the leads cause I can definitely see myself tuning out if I hadn't fallen in love early on. It's also important to note that we are following Ung more than Yeon Su especially at the start so you are on his side from the start until you slowly get layers peeled off of Yeon Su later on. By the end of the show I really just wanted to wrap everyone in a warm blanket cause they all had so much trauma to unpack. I really adored the ending as well and for once a time skip didn't bother me! 10 / 10!

CDRAMA

FINISHED Nirvana In Fire (54/54): In sixth-century China, Emperor Xiaoxuan of Southern Liang orders the unjust execution of his brother-in-law General Lin Xie, alongside the Lin family, his 70,000 army soldiers, and Crown Prince Qi. Secretly surviving the massacre is Lin Xie's son, Lin Shu, who undergoes medical treatment that changes his appearance entirely and leaves him in a weakened state, unable to perform martial arts again. Lin Shu changes his name to Mei Chang Su and later becomes the chief of the pugilist world and establishes the Jiangzuo Alliance. Twelve years later, Lin Shu returns to the capital with a secret plan after being sought after by Prince Yu and Prince Xian during their fight for the throne. He decides to covertly assist Prince Jing, the unfavoured son of the Emperor, and wisely rids the court of all scheming officials.

Despite the fact that my favorite kinds of cdramas are not modern day ones, I usually tend to lean towards the wuxia side rather than the political given that I end up either overwhelmed by the politics in court dramas or pissed off at how naive our leads are. I do have to admit that maybe I just haven't been checking out the right kinds of political dramas cause between this and Joy Of Life I think I might have found a new love for them. The thing that this drama (and Joy Of Life) did right was that it gave us a lead who was just as intelligent if not more so than his opponents so rather than watching a drama where I have to fight not to bang my head on the table as I see our leads be defeated left and right, I got to watch Xiao Su be the puppetmaster. This drama was a lot darker than Joy Of Life cause it was honestly a story of revenge as well as politics and the ending felt so much grimmer just cause Joy Of Life ended on such a cliffhanger rather than us experiencing the real end to the story. In terms of the romance while I thought the one in Joy Of Life was a bit more overtly romantic, the female lead in this one played a bigger role even if she too was sidelined a lot. I definitely will be back to check out the second season which I know is not only more family focused rather than plot (which I'm not against) but also centered on a new cast of characters. 10 / 10!

xoxo Allie