The Problematic of the Unproblematic

When this drama is not about a love so deep it is both beautiful and scary (see Part I of our review !), it is about the eternal struggle between good and evil, cops and criminals. Fastfood lovers and vegans. Also, we discuss what worked and what did not work ... and spend quite some time on the ending. I am still not sure how I feel about it. I'm feeling some kind of way about this GIF... Yes, so it's not only what worked and what did not but also who worked out and who did not . 

kakashi: Very often, I experience KDramland as stressful. It’s because it keeps pumping out show after show. It never stops, it commands constant attention and a LOT of time. And as shows become shittier and shittier (or I become more demanding - or both), watching the endless parade of beautiful oppas and puppies becomes less and less enjoyable, like too much fastfood. You kinda want it, because it gives you some pleasure, but it has no nutritional value and the more you eat, the more bloated and ultimately sick you feel. JoAnne: I think perhaps after a while you've just had enough, and need to 'taste' something different - plus, as a thinking adult you're very conscious of those times that what you 'feed' yourself is mostly of low nutritional value, and you begin to crave more substantial stuff. Okay, I think you get it. I never saw this morphing GIF before. I didn't even notice it changing at first! I saw his pretty face, and then I looked up and saw...

IRIS2 is one of the crappiest shows I've ever seen and definitely the crappiest show I've ever watched from beginning to end without any fastforwarding. No, I am not a masochist. But I made a bet. I seriously don't remember what was at stake if I had stopped watching, but I'm sure it would have been something horrible. At least I hope so... 20+ hours later and at least 1000 tweets wiser, my co-sufferers and I barely have any sanity left to congratulate ourselves. But you know what? It was worth it. Yes, cause now, we have a galactic nebula named after ourselves! Wow, just WOW. Oh, but not only that! There is also a weed. Probably one that can be smoked. Orijelika Persistica is its name. And it grows in many backyards. Be aware (you may click to enlarge). That said, let's sit down and think about a proper farewell post. They are a tradition on this blog. Every show I master gets one. They are not proper review posts (others do them much better), but more ...

Will this do instead of a review? ^.^ Dear friends, I am too lazy (or should I say unmotivated?) to write a long farewell post for this show. So many bloggers have already written reviews, good and excellent ones, so you don't need me to write another good one. I'll just do a bad, lazy one then, ok?  The + Let me just say that I enjoyed the show, mostly, for its quietness and its portrayal of normal, everyday people. I also liked it because its episodes were only 45 minutes long. Seriously, KDrama in general would hugely profit from shorter episodes. I liked the way it was shot (especially the subdued colors) and I really liked making gifs, because there were so many funny and cute scenes. It was a veritable gif-fest every Monday and Tuesday! I liked Park Shin-hye's natural beauty and her acting. Though I am nothing like her character, I appreciated the way it was written, and the way she was allowed to change and get over the hurts of her past. I also liked lov...

Here I am, feeling really bad about my vicious rant last night. Yes: Cheongdamdong Alice still feels like a huge let-down - but I know how hard it is to write, act, edit, and all-in-all produce good shows (my uncle owns a production company and about 40% of all my friends are actors, directors, or authors). And I also know that in this case, as in probably all cases of good or bad Korean drama, a lot of people gave their very best, in fact, worked their asses off with little to no sleep, while I just sit there on my bed with my laptop, consume their hard work like fast-food and then judge it harshly. All in all, I still think they look really good together. Not that this makes the show any better. It truly was a let-down. But I am, and forever remain, grateful to those who make this little miracle called KDrama happen. So, when I found these wonderful pictures of Cheongdamdong Alice 's Wrap-up Party (Monnie seems to have been absent), I felt like an ungrateful prick (can a ...

Another one has ended. And we wipe some tears as we sing ....  (don't ask me who this Helene Fischer woman is) King of Dramas . What a great drama you've been! See, we're all in love with you, because you showed us the behind the scenes of our beloved KDramas in such a witty, smart way. And your cast! To die for. Kim Myung-min has become everywoman's favorite ahjussi. Jung Ryu-won? I want to marry her. Siwon is the funniest idol turned actor I've ever seen and I'm so going to make gifs out of the funniest Hyun-min moments when I have the time. Oh Ji-eun is so pretty I could stare at her all day. Good eye make-up. Etc. Etc. Etc... Not a single character out of the extended cast was underused or badly written. You could have been a A++++ drama, really. If the irony of your existence had not turned you into a victim of the world you were so skillfully portraying. You were much, much loved by drama-watching foreigners like me. But you were far less lucky...

"Ah, this ending is giving me such a headache!"  And once again, it's: ♪ *Time tooooooooooo, say goodbye* ♪ lalalalalaaaaa You're thinking I am a bit late with this farewell post? Yes, I am. I lost a whole week of my tightly scheduled KDrama-watching-life stalking Lee Jun-ki across Switzerland (in vain, as you most certainly know if you have been following this blog) and then being heart-broken for days over not seeing him and his porcelain-white, perfect skin (as I imagine it) and these amazing, fantagorastic eyes. In any case, I have now finished Nice Guy and it has made my already sour mood go even more sour. I can't get over the fact that, once again!, they managed to mess up another perfectly fine drama. You simply cannot show misery and heartache and bitter revenge for 19.5 hours and then, suddenly, switch to a happy, light-hearted, and cute mode, where every single storyline gets wrapped-up in the fluffiest, but also the most unlikely and ...

Lee Jun-ki is no longer here. It was confirmed by his tweet this morning (after landing): "여러분의 응원덕분에 무사히 촬영잘마치고 막 도착했습니다~ 감사합니다~~~!공항까지 마중나와주신 가족들께도 감사드려요 ~^^" ( Thanks to your support, I finished shooting without trouble and have just arrived here. ~Thank you~~! Thank you my fans who came to see me at the airport as well~^^ (trans by Elly)) . Arriving in Seoul

And so it ends, it seems. Another farewell pic this morning, this time from Joongi's own twitter account. This is a rather impressive entourage. And there is product placement! Well done, Joongi. Helibernina does Helicopter flights for VIPs and other people with money from the heliport in Samedan (a village in the Engadin) to ... anywhere you want to go. They could also have flown Joongi and crew to Mailand for a few hours. No wonder he was so hard to track... I was thinking slow ground-travel with about 3 small buses for all the equipment and staff - but no, this boy was all over this country so quickly, he seemed to have sprouted wings. He probably did. This morning, another (fan made) pic went viral on the net - it's Joongi playing the Alphorn in Lucerne. At least he had fun in Lucerne. He could have had more fun in Zurich, but he probably did not know that. Or he did and he deliberately did not come to Zurich. Or he probably is here right now. Or he is ... already on ...

Okay, I definitely need to go back to stalking school. At 9pm local time, Lee Jun-ki's photographer Steve Tak tweeted a group picture (thanks, Cheryl, from JGFamily for pointing this out!), announcing the end of the photo shoot. Standing in a snow field. Somewhere in the Bernese alps - or not.  I am NOT going to identify this mountain for you! I will not! I may be a bit tempted, but I've had it! Yes, I'm going back to loving Park Shi-hoo now, much more than you Joongi! (even though I fear his new drama will be a bit bleh). Joongi has been here 4 days, they are done shooting, and they promised us TWO WEEKS in Switzerland. Did they put a 1 before the 4 by accident? He may now very well go back tomorrow already or Thursday. Well, I hope he'll enjoy one or two days of holidays here at least. Wherever he may be. DUH!

In the absence of another tweet (but he will not keep us waiting much longer, will he?), I am writing about stalking more generally. That's a topic I've grown very fond of. There are several levels of proficiency in the ancient trade of stalking. At the beginner's level (the Tin League), the stalker is clumsy, too obvious, and will at the most get to see the object of admiration from a far distance. The results of stalking - I am assuming here that stalking is a means to an end and not an end in itself - get better in the Silver and the Gold League (where you may get an autograph or may be able to even touch the object of admiration). is this what he saw today? We will soon know. Maybe! Where you want to get, however, is the Diamond League. This Grade A stalking is no longer reactive - but proactive. The hunter does no longer simply follow her prey, but reads her prey's mind like an open book. Not a step behind, but always already there (You may know th...

 Now that Nice Guy is over, I have a big, Song Joong Ki shaped whole in my heart. For ten weeks, I cringed, I cried, I sat on the edge of my seat, all in anticipation of the last episode.   And then - OK, wait, WHAT?   I have to say this last episode left me kind of embarrassed at my own stupidity. (I later realized I wasn’t alone.) What I thought it was, it wasn’t.   Or so SJK later said in an interview.   I still loved this drama, but m y mind needed to fill in the blanks. So who better to give me what I want, then me!   Here are two endings I’d be happier with.  credits: DramaFeverBlog Sad but Satisfying – MaRu Dies Previously the bionic man, having been beat up, jailed, and in tip top shape cardiovascularly from climbing all those stairs to his place all those years, MaRu realizes he will never have the strength to get the love confession to Eun Gi out of his mouth. Desperate to stop himself from running to the police station t...

This is one of the shows I watch(ed) raw. Why? Because it's so damn good I can't even wait for subs. The problem: My Korean is so basic I understand about 2% of the entire dialogue. Sure, there's a lot of action, so I get the gist of what's going on ... but the details, the wretched details, they allude me. Tonight finale was incredibly gripping. It kept me on the edge of my seat (though I'm lying down with my laptop on my knees) and I might not be able to go to sleep easily. Too much adrenaline. Granted, I don't have a clue what actually happened but I know that much: I am going to MISS THIS SHOW! And I now also know what I don't like about it; the American format of several seasons. Who is it that Min Tae-yeon sees in this last shot? I will not know until September 2013! Did *SPOILER* survive? I will not know until September 2013! It is pure torture. How will I survive a whole year before I can see more of Min Tae-yeon? If you do it the American w...

Faith , now that you are over, a new era starts ... a faithless one, obviously, but also one that is less stressful, I hope. This summer was truly drama-crazy, and it is taking its toll on me: I am so far behind on all the KDramas I'm watching, it's not funny. Or, put differently, real life is constantly interfering with my drama-watching, which is even less funny. To be frank, Faith was a mediocre drama at best. The directing, that is well established and acknowledged by quasi everybody now (even by vicious die-hard Lee Min-ho fans), was bordering on criminal, the editing was often choppy and felt rushed, the story was going in circles or even backwards more than forwards, and many of the characters were just plain redundant. And, would you believe it, this show has done it again : simply removed one of the central characters in the most anticlimactic way possible, this time major bad-add-for-some-episodes Deok-heung . So he just went to Yuan in episode 22 and that'...