The Problematic of the Unproblematic

trotwood: I initially wanted to call this episode “Stay Away from Soo Bin, Puppy!” but then I realized really that I needn’t worry. I do think things are a bit clarified in this episode, and some of this has to do with the high stakes of the tournament and how that often forces us to see outside of ourselves and what is important to others. Kakashi: I think this episode should be called "Sweaty Boys in Shorts". The one making these titles really has no clue! JoAnne: If we name it 'No Sweaty Boy Shorts' will someone remove them?

This episode introduces JoAnne's favorite Ice Fantasy character: The Tiger Demon! Sadly, it's only a very short appearance. But never fear! There is tons of excitement again while the first of the ice crystal leaves is found ... and lost again. Oh well, don't be sad. There will be other chances. SakiVI: This Tiger Demon was  very Doctor Who. The old Doctor Who where Daleks were clearly made of tin foil. Okay, maybe it was a little bit better quality than that. Actually, looking at it again, I rather like the eye makeup . JoAnne: I mean, come on. They didn't even try. Some producer's theater-major kid wanted a summer job and here you go: Cats, WAY off-Broadway!

kakashi: Real life's a biatch. And is Korea crazy? too many dramas. JoAnne: Ain't it the truth? I came home last night, queued up Moonlight. Before it even started, I was asleep. I woke up at midnight, watched it (loved it) then went to bed. Jaehyus: Three 50 episode dramas are starting this weekend. Too much, too much. Okay, one of them has Rim, but it's the one about tailors that's caught my eye. Three? I know two of them...Rim and the tailor one. What's the other? Jaehyus: it's called Blow Breeze. Anyway, no subtitles, no care. Trotwood: Not watching much and already feeling a loss because I know I will get to watch less with the students coming back to school for fall term. Anyway, welcome to another very red RAWR!

Hellooooo people ! Remember me ? No ? Well, I don’t blame ya. So allow me: my name is Mila, and more than a year ago, I wrote two posts (that, considering the length of them, you probably finished reading right about now, so it all works out in the end, yay) on this website, talking about older dramas, from 2001, and from 2002. Though I only wrote part1 of the 2002 post. Because then life got in the way, I also fell in a drama hiatus that lasted a long, LONG, OMGTHATWASSOLONG time. But I’m back, and being back, I’ve been wanting to write in English again, abusing Kakashi’s and all the good people of PotUp’s hospitality, because I was poorly brought up that way, I guess (no, I kid, my parents were great, I just failed them a lot). But while I wanted to write, I needed a theme, and I wasn’t quite ready to start on 2002 again since I needed to rewatch quite a few dramas before I was able to tell you about them. “Okay” I thought “you could just jump ahead, and go to a year that’s fr...

Shuk: It has taken two episodes to get everyone in the same location. How many episodes will it take for everyone's attitude adjustment? And I still want to know what Maleficent has in store for everyone.

Get ready for the final episode. Yes, you will need tissues. Of course you will need tissues. Did you think we'd get a happy ending? I'm beginning to suspect Chinese dramas never have happy endings. Damn you, drama. I'm getting all dry from crying... less because I'm stricken with grief though and more because I don't like this ending at all. JoAnne: On a certain level, I think it's a good ending. But as far as feeling satisfied for people I cared about, no - not a good ending at all, because it's not an ending at all. Eleanor: I don't think we could have had a good ending without something like this though. I think they sort of went with the least sad ending that they could have. 

kakashi: Healer Boy Huang Tuo finds his twu wuv, Kasuo finds Shi, and then, everybody goes chasing the ice crystal, which - surprise!! - isn't as lost as Healer Boss wanted everybody to believe. I love how Kasuo and Li Luo totally ship Healer Boy and his twu wuv, even though she doesn't even know she is the twu wuv. Everybody is so awwwwww. SakiVI: Yay for Twu Wuv!  Looks like it might be on the cards for Yan Da and Shi, too, though not in such an emotionally healthy way. JoAnne: This guy looks like Siwon-light. It was very distracting.

This penultimate episode is Ah Cheng's episode ... and Liang's. Ah Cheng keeps cleaning up mess after mess and finds a rather unexpected helper in Liang. More danger is averted and more people die, but the Mings are never safe. Should we be glad all three brothers are still alive at this point - or does that mean we should fear the end of this show? JoAnne: I keep waiting for one of them to die! Not that I want them to...but could it really happen? Could they all survive? Eleanor: Maybe they will all die. Noooooooooooo!!!!

The quest for the ice crystal begins! First up, the Healer Tribe. As their name says, they're all healers. There is human tragedy too, because the young son of the Healer Boss is about to be forced into a marriage with a woman he does not want. Oh, and Prince Shi surprises us all by ... well, turning into a hot namja. SakiVI: A lot of Prince Shi's existence is a mystereeeeeeeee! The hot namja part doesn't hurt, though. JoAnne: Both brothers are attractive but yeah, Shi... yum.  

Ming Tai is in for a surprise on a grey rooftop - a surprise and a tearful goodbye. There seem to be a lot of goodbyes recently, but we're still not sure who is going to walk out of this intact. As we all suspected, that tape recorder survived the fire (*note to self: hide valuable things inside a big clock in case of raging fire*) and of course, it means the Mings still won't get their well-deserved peace and quiet. JoAnne: Plus, either I misunderstood something or my mind is genuinely blown. But no biggie. Eleanor: Well hopefully things get sorted out for all of us but especially for the Mings. *sigh* I think I am going to need to get some tissues soon. 

SakiVI: So many shenanigans! Fo Ye and Ba Ye are crafty, our Miss is thirsty , and the servants at Xin Yue Hotel are interestingly scary. We focus on the hotel and the characters within it in this episode, which gives some much-loved variety. kakashi: I think I used to be an auctioneer in one of my previous lives. Why else would I love auction-action that much?

Kasuo and Li Luo finally meet face-to-face in this episode and it's very, very cute. He should be grateful for such a bodyguard, because without her, he'd be a bit lost in the mortal realm. Oh, he also gets a different hair color, I don't like it, it doesn't go well with his skin. And can we at least get the side-braids back? SakiVI: Actually, I like his new look. I found the white hair rather gloomy. Or maybe that was his mildly emo personality? JoAnne: I was watching, he had white hair; I looked away for a second, he had black hair. I don't much care either way but I don't think he looks bad with the dark hair. And no to side braids, since they show off the glue to his wig so well .

kakashi: Sadly, I haven't picked anything up. I'm KDramaless. I don't care much about it though, I am confident I will get back on the wagon. JoAnne: Drinking Alone starts soon, you might like that. Or Fantastic . (That one has Joo Sang Wook!) Yeah, well ....... TEN, anyone? I really don't want to see him in another of his funny-funny roles. Anyway, I'm too busy recapping Chinese shows with an insane amount of episodes, so I don't have time to watch Korean drama . Trotwood: I was wondering how you could miss anything now that you are caught in the Ice Fantasy world with little Miss A. What worries me more is that I wrote that sentence above last Tuesday, and now (Sunday), I'm all caught up with Ice Fantasy. What happened? Did I get sucked into an ice hole of infinite time?   Shuk: I'm just happy with W and Cin And The Boys as my SoKor dramas.  cherkell: What is this thing you call Drama Watching, hm?

JoAnne: Re-entering society can be painful. So can re-watching Pain in the Ass Zi Zi and Pouty Mi Mi. It's not hard to watch Wolfie though, and Wolf Dad can throw major shade. I take my pleasures where I can. kakashi: Zizi and Mimi, seriously?! These people don't speak French, that much is clear, or you wouldn't call someone Zizi. Even though I know someone who would totally love flashing his Zizi, as we learn in this great episode. 

Fire beats Ice in this episode. Actually, I don't see how the Ice Tribe ever got the upper hand. Their asses are whooped so badly! It takes a bit of convincing, but in the end, Kasuo realizes that he really has to go look for those leaves. SakiVI: Plus, Fire found out Ice's secrets so easily. Makes you wonder why they didn't do that before. JoAnne: No one was filming them before. I like the Fire King's nose. He reminds me of Godfrey Gao somehow.

Shuk:  It's no great secret that I don't have a lot of patience for Kang Ji-woon / Han Ji-woon / Crybaby Emo Biker. It only gets worse I'm afraid. But this episode isn't solely focused on him. Our heroine gets a few arrows to the heart, too. Trotwood: I feel sorry for her. I also feel sorry for him because the writer has made him so unlikable and not sympathetic at all. Being an orphan does not excuse self pitying behavior or sarcastic condescension.  Jaehyus: What I'm finding weird is how our heroine is just out of school, and looks like she should still be in 7th grade, by which I mean 7th grade back in the 1970s, and our Emo Hero looks 30, but is also the same age since they use first names, right?  I don't know, I'm confused. JoAnne:  I think he has a chip on his shoulder but I in no way think he's as bad as you guys make him out to be. And to make things more fun, we are bringing in a Guest Squeer! DramaNoona has agreed to come on in and join! ...

The Fire King is looking for a reason to start a new war with the Ice Tribe - and he gets one. He wants to be ruler of all the three realms: the gods, the mortals and the spirits and he wants to live somewhere nicer than in that "barren place" the Fire People have been forced to live after the last war. I don't know, but why does it have to be a place full of ice and snow of all places? SakiVI: and he seems to like things hot, so why an ice castle? Plus, the ice and snow all look pretty barren to me. This is all about his hair. I'm sure of it. JoAnne: Do you think the hair comes off when the headpiece does?

Trotwood: This episode confirms what I’ve been thinking for a while: Climbing Tree Puppy has the absolute worse timing ever. Poor thing. Why must he see and hear things that will only drag his heart through the wringer? kakashi: You know, timing is everything in KDrama . JoAnne: Do you think he will always be a second lead/supporting character actor? (I do, a little bit.)

kakashi: Some shows just have to be recapped - this is one of them. I feel lucky that I have just finished a major recapping project ( Nirvana in Fire ) and will very soon finish a second ( Disguiser ) because it means: I can pick this up. 62 episodes in total, which is insane... and this show isn't even good. I mean, if you take Nirvana and it's on 95 points (out of 100), then this is ... 40? Or less? But it does not matter. I have to date seen 18 episodes and I'm an addict.  SakiVI: It's so bad, it's good! And, I'm going to repeat myself: I told you so! JoAnne: I just... *glares at Saki* Ice Fantasy (幻城) is based on a bestselling novel by Guo Jing Ming (郭敬明), a somewhat controversial literary superstar and movie director. If you want to read the novel, here is a page with the translation . Beware of spoilers. Haha. You found it! I love you! I do not love either one of you. It was one of our readers who left it in the comments of one of the RAWRs, just...

This is Fo Ye. I like the work you ladies do. *winks hotly* kakashi: Fo YEEEEEE!  *blows french kiss* *French kisses back* SakiVI: Then let's talk keys and access code to the palace, QiShan dearest. But, it looks like we have some competition, and one that even a diehard fangirl can't resist, Xin Yue! Hello, Ya Tou Antidote! Lubbyu, lubbyu, and lubbyu some more, and a good part of that is for not being Ya Tou. kakashi: She is the cutest of the cute and she spices everything up like delicious chili. We are getting to my favorite episodes now! Her in connection with the auction-action: a dream come true.    

Wang Manchun continues her rampage and she threatens to unravel everything the Mings have fought for for so long. Who will live and who will die?! What a nailbiter so close towards the end! You would think we would be starting to tie up loose ends, but there are so many, I can't stop worrying. JoAnne: Can we possibly make it to the end with not one Ming dying? Eleanor: YAAAAAASSSSS!!!!!! This episode!!!!!! Oh my heart!!!!  王凯‬ boom!!!!

Of all the characters remaining alive in this drama at this point, Wang Manchun is by far the craziest one  - having her loose in the streets, out for blood, is a damn scary thing. But YAY for some excitement, the previous episode was just too boring. JoAnne: I was just thinking how this was actually one of the most exciting episodes for me of the whole series -I would actually love an entire drama about Wang Man Chun. Eleanor: Ooh yes! She is such an interesting and fascinating character! And it certainly ups the ante to have her roaming around about to cause havoc. 

Shuk:  After telling myself I would never ever ever have anything to do with the tiniest infinitesimal link with that execrable Blood, along comes Park So-dam, and all that flies out the window. Never mind that The Scheduler is in it, she's so adorable I had to watch the first one. And that, as they say, is that. Jaehyus: is this a remake of a Japanese drama? The story seems familiar. Trotwood: It reminds me of that story as well. I never remember it's name but I remember being angry. Maybe that's why I don't remember the name. JoAnne:  I have no idea what either of you are talking about, but I'm here to be fluffed.

I’m sort of afraid to post this, knowing of Kakashi’s growing distaste for this show when she’s sober. But I feel like I need to keep going until the end since I started. kakashi: Duh. Don't mind me. And no, I don't hate this show. It does not move me much at all . JoAnne: It's like potato chips. Pringles. Not that great, but at least no grease on your fingers.  

JoAnne: I am a bit sad. I think we used to be a bit wilder in our youth, and we've gotten more sedate now that we are OLD. kakashi: It's a fact.   becca: *wonders what it's like to be young* Wait until you get old(er), you'll know then.   Jaehyus: you mean the blog was wilder in its youth? cherkell: I was so much older then; I'm younger than that now. Amazing. Shuk: Wow. It really has been a long time. We may be less wild, but we have a lot more Subtle Snark Skills. mary: I like re-discovering your old crazy posts.

Pretty much absolutely nothing happens in this episode, except for an extended farewell scene between Big Sis and Ming Tai, which includes the washing of some hair. There are also some Manchun scenes in which she has her hair down (that happens when she is in prison, normally), and some utterance of truths between Big Bro and Big Sis at the end. I'm going to have a hard time getting back into this, maybe, because I'll keep seeing their past lives... Eleanor: Oh man, yeah, it's a total adjustment. It almost feels strange to be back. haha. 

SakiVI: Crikey, this episode is exciting! The Gates we know so far team up on a mission to save Ya Tou from whatever it is she thinks she has, and boy oh boy is it exciting! For one thing, Er Ye comes alive. For another, Ba Ye takes a risk. Two risks, in fact. For a third thing, Fo Ye beats up thugs. And let's not forget our gorgeous Visual Zhang. Of his many, many talents, his best one is looking pretty, and he did that a lot today. Finally, we are getting a sassy new crossdressing heroine. Oh yes, I almost forgot because he was a bit of a bore: there is a new villain. Hopefully we'll kick him to the curb soon. kakashi: The best episode yet. I'm so excited, I'm squeeing inside!!! And outside! And above and below!

SakiVI: We get Ya Tou and Er Ye's love story's background in this. Their story isn't just Twu Wuv, it's Heroism and Fate and a Maiden Saved. Also, Ya Tou and Er Ye do couple fist clenches. They must be Meant To Be.  kakashi: I'm a bit anti-maiden, I had to realize during this episode. But I'm very much pro auction!! I'm already very excited about the upcoming episodes!!!!! T-action and auction-action! I'm also pro 9th Gate.

kakashi: Tissues ready, my friends? Loads and loads and loads? We are at the end of this show, the end of our recaps of this show, and to top this, we also get an episode that shreds out heart to pieces. It is bitter-sweet, because Lin Shu gets to live his life to the fullest at the end, but the loss is almost unbearable. Never forgotten. Almost remembered. It is hard to forget someone who has given you so much. JoAnne: I don't think I can share my tissues this time, Eleanor. Eleanor: Don't worry Jo, I brought loads of my own T_________T

JoAnne: Wow, the week after you come back from vacation can really, really suck.  I barely watched anything during the week, so I spent my weekend trying to at least get semi-caught up.  For YOU, readers. For YOU. kakashi: I'm BAAAAACK! From vacation in Scotland. I dread my first day back at work. And I haven't watched a single second of Kdrama for two weeks. Oh wait, that's a lie. I watched Thumping Spike for the Squeecaps. But that's it. I watched Fo Ye though. .... you know what I realize? I have to pick something up that is airing or I will be senza Kdrama.   becca: We missed you, Fearless Leader!

Everyone’s favorite character is baaaaaack! I know everyone missed Soo Bin, aka Crazy Dog, right? What? There isn’t cheering in the stands? kakashi: Oh no, why is this called "misunderstand". I don't like misunderstandings. Go away, misunderstandings. And no, I'm not drunk currently (though still in Scotland). JoAnne: How can we trust you to know? You're in Scotland, ergo you are drinking whiskey.  You've been in Scotland a while so you've been drinking a while, ergo, you're probably more drunk than you were the last time we checked this space. It's okay though, because it works for us! Look at Rimbutt! He's been drinking too!

SakiVI: Lots of Ba Ye being useful, a bromance scene for people who like that sort of thing with Fo Ye and Ba Ye, and two villains, both horrid. But I'll forgive one, Lu Jian Xun, a bit, just because there's less of him dominating scenes than the other villain, Hendry Cox. We also get two prescriptions: one seems fake, although it's given by a man in a white coat via injection, but the other seems oh, so real, despite only telling someone to change their behavior. kakashi: Oh, I hate the "new colleague" so much! Of course, I hate Hendry Cox even more. I think I'm getting allergies from just seeing his stupid face and from the way he's screwing it up.

kakashi: The penultimate episode is slow, slow and absolutely excellent. It contains of basically two extended scenes - the first in which the people of the court, one by one, unite to force the Emperor's hand. The second in which a defeated man is made to look, to truly look at what he has done. Those two are connected through a middle part, in which the Emperor looks at a game of Go and realizes that the world around him has fundamentally changed and that he has lost a game he never knew he played. It's the victory episode. We waited a long time for it! JoAnne: It is glorious and very, very sad. For everyone.   Eleanor: This drama in many ways is like a long, mournful, and tragic dance, all leading up to this grand finale. It's so beautiful, it hurts. 

kakashi: The biggest victory of them all is won in this episode, but there is so much sadness ... with Lin Shu's time running out quickly, he is tying up loose ends and says his goodbyes quietly. It is very satisfactory, but also very sad. JoAnne: Watching Lin Chen prepare Fei Liu was hard. Eleanor: I'm not sure if I can handle the sadness *takes deep breath*

SakiVI: We start with Chen Pi and Ryouko Tanaka showing off martial arts skills where Chen Pi is winner by a hair. Then Er Ye and Ya Tou go on a date because they live dangerously like that. But then, a Tomb Action! A T-Action! In fact, we see two Tomb Actions, one present and one past. However, this tomb is a dangerous place, and even our amazing Fo Ye can suffer there. kakashi: Loved this episode! Because we get T-Action. And because Fo Ye is so damn hot, especially when he is swining his torch.

kakashi is not currently watching anything, hello goodbye! Jaehyus: I may be able to write more this weekend. I hope to start Ice Fantasy then. Uncontrollably Fond will have to wait for a holiday weekend. JoAnne: Ice Fantasy is never going to happen in my world. Never ever ever. Ever. There is one that I'd like to watch, but no subs - Wanderer at the Edge or something like that. Sigh. Update: It's now called Border Town Prodigal - it's on Viki, but not subbed yet. They're looking for people, so if you like Wuxia with at least one pretty, pretty man - they want you ! Trotwood: I'm only watching Beautiful Mind and W. Trying to catch up with Old Mystic Nine, but I'm excited about the new Kim Hee-ae and Ji Jin Hee in 2nd Last Love. I really (really) need to be able to watch a show with 40somethings having a life at least once a year (Do you hear me drama gods--we don't go from sweet 20 to sassy 60s with nothing in between!) becca: Choi Ji-woo and Joo J...