Rants and Weekly Raves #155 (RAWR)

JoAnne: it's Monday already and I'm just making my first entry into RAWR for the things I watched over the last week!
Trotwood: Freshmen and international students moved in this weekend. I didn't meet any parents crying and the students I lost I found again, so it's all good. This week's dramas showed me that watching people talk while pooping (and grunting so they can poop) is not interesting if they don't have something interesting to talk about or if they are acting dumb.
SakiVI: I've been traveling. Need to get back to work and recaps.
kakashi: No, watching people poop is definitely not interesting, I fully agree with Trotwood.

sneakily, JoAnne tried to remove the Mark Chao section from the RAWRs but I'm onto her and that is why I'm making him top-pic

KOREA

The King Loves 

I feel like I watched this a million years ago - I feel like we are barreling down a path that suddenly disappears into a chasm and we won't be able to stop in time. I really love our little trio and I am more and more convinced it cannot end well for any of them. If San runs away, won't the boys be able to forget her and keep their friendship? I really like her but I am totally willing for her to make that sacrifice.

School 2017 

One more week of these likable kids and then, no more. Sigh. I know that Grumpy will win over his dad because come on, he's the male lead and it's a KDrama - but right now, I'm on pins and needles to see how it works out even if I do know there's no question that it will work out. And i hope we get to see Hee Chan REALLY put in his place, too. Those two things, a reunited Dae Hwi and Nam Joo (IF she gets her head out of her ass), and a kiss for our cute leads, and I'm good. Oh, and a job for Eun Ho's brother. And Guitar Boy confessing to/being accepted by Sa Rang! Okay, that's enough.

 

Hospital Ship (New)

I'm watching because I like so many of the actors but man, this show takes itself very seriously.  
As Hospital Ships in general, are, serious. 

Reunited Worlds

Since Hae Sung is going to have to go back, and even though they pretend he's not he's still an 18-year-old boy, the end game I'm rooting for is Chef and Jung Won - so I pay a lot of attention to Chef. So now the sweet, lonely guy understands how everyone is connected but he still doesn't know that Song Hae Sung is the boy who was run over 12 years ago - I figure that's going to mess with him on many levels, poor thing. At least I think he doesn't know, I'm only up to about episode 25. I like this show but don't have any problem falling behind and then binging on 4 or 8 or 12 episodes...

 

Strongest Deliveryman 

Honestly, the two male leads together are capable of putting me into a diabetic coma. Those sweet faces! The big smiles! I'm relieved that they didn't let Jin Kyu go too far down that irredeemable track because that was just too disappointing for me; I'm fine with him being a rich kid who has to outgrow his selfishness but I don't want him to be hateful. I like all 4 leads, actually; only Kang Soo was entirely likable from the start, though. Like I could even imagine Go Kyung Po as someone unlikable. I didn't expect the connection between Kang Soo and Hyun Soo but I should have, once it was revealed my first thought was 'Well, DUH.' But honestly I'd forgotten why Kang Soo was moving around so much. My favorite scene this week was the delivery men strutting down the street in their suits - how about you?

Live Up to Your Name

Fine, fine, fine. I've seen 3-4 episodes now. They just woke up back in Joseon. I'm not finding it as funny as Saki does, but it's okay. I was surprised that Heo Im turned out to be such an ass, actually, but it's not like I can't see his reasoning.
I have a big Kim Nam Gil crush, so bear with.

 

Teacher Oh Soo Nam

This show was getting so bogged down with seemingly circular plotting and they made the heroine go beyond Goth to starting to be unsympathetic and I was done. No amount of Cheekos cute (especially since he was annoying me, too) was going to help me to keep watching. The plan was to wait for a couple of weeks and just watch the last five episodes (it is 120 eps after all). But then I saw a YT clip of someone I liked getting run over by a car. Then there was blindness, some comeuppance, an interesting shift in alliances, the heroine came back from the dark side, and a MIL got a taste of what she deserved and I went back. I'm not sure I'm back for good though despite minion sightings.

What happened to MIL?  I really hate her, possible the most out of anyone in this show.  I'm amazed she's not in jail for fraud and embezzlement.
Gangsters are after her and actually showed up at company looking for YM.

NOT-KOREA

First Half of My Life

I have been marathoning this! I originally didn't like it, but after giving it another chance, I have found myself completely hooked. I even cried at a couple of romantic moments!  I never do that!

CIT: The Weasel's Grave 

Every time I fart (yes, sadly, sometimes, I do), I think of weasels. 
But now we also have bromance through joint pooping conversations.
I hate both those characters now. Good thing the story itself is good.

pooping guys

Being Mary Jane

I started this because i like Gabrielle Union. I kept watching because it's got Richard Roundtree, Margaret Avery, Lisa Vidal, and a guest cast with serious weight to it. I loved the show immediately (and watched all 4 seasons in a week, now waiting impatiently for 5th) so it was a while before I realized I didn't much LIKE any of the main characters. No one is evil or anything like that - but they ARE so caught up in themselves that they inflict unnecessary pain on each other constantly. It barrels along until finally, selfishness kills someone. The pace changes after that and by season 4 we have Mary Jane in a new environment trying to learn new ways of being. She's always been driven, harder on herself than on anyone else, but so self-righteous, so rigid - now she's trying to find a better balance. It's interesting to watch. I'm still not sure I like her all that much even when I've had immense sympathy for her pain and fear. Likewise, I've had real struggles with her co-worker/buddy Kara, but in all honesty it's because (for me) she always makes the wrong choice: work over family. Still, I can't stop watching them.

Atypical

Has anyone else seen this? It's about a boy in high school, 18, with autism, plus his sister, mother, father - I've seen 2-3 episodes so far and it's quite good. I suppose you'd say he's got Aspergers Syndrome although I don't think they call it that, anymore. I really feel for these people: the mother who has let her son's survival consume her life, the sister who loves and resents her brother and the impact he makes on all of them, the father who loves his son but has never felt like there was room for him to be part of his child's life. Family dramas are something US TV can do very well, and this is a good one.