Rants and Weekly Raves #177 (RAWR)
JoAnne: I have no hope of other voices this week, readers...Saki is in faraway lands eating delicious things, and Trot is in fly-over country but also eating delicious things. Kakashi is home and always eats delicious things (I do?), but will probably only talk about Mozart in the Jungle, which is back, yay! - so my one hope is Panda, may she have watched many shows this week. And now I'm hungry.
Trotwood: (running from the airport bus) I'm here! I'm here! Not caught up but here.
Panda: I am here with my trio of jdoramas :))
You guys, I missed you! Group hug!
We have confirmation that Sam Jang is the sacrifice, by the way, but Oh Gong is refusing to play along with that. Patriarch comments that he'll have to put his life on the line if he won't kill her with this very important sword that Grandma Peddler went to retrieve, so my theory on that was correct - he'll risk his life to save hers at the big moment, and it will probably fix everything for them.
Priestess has connected with Kang Dae Sang and when Sam Jang walked past him she had another vision of the world ending, so let's hope our gang manage to take her down permanently before he gets too far in his political campaign - so far she's managed to weasel her way out of things by playing on the emotions of General Winter, or PK, and now even Ma Wang. I miss Bu Ja a lot, sigh.
You should watch the clip of Michael B. Jordan talking about his secret skill, which is ironing. It might change your mind completely. It might make you want to go buy a very expensive iron, unless you can teach your iron some fancy tricks.
Trotwood: (running from the airport bus) I'm here! I'm here! Not caught up but here.
Panda: I am here with my trio of jdoramas :))
You guys, I missed you! Group hug!
KOREA
Radio Romance
This week things took a real turn - we get a lot more insight into Soo Ho's feelings, we maybe get a reveal that Giddy Doc is not as benign as he seems, and our radio show begins to find its footing with the audience as the tv show begins to find its footing with us. I look forward to seeing if Geu Rim responds positively or not to Soo Ho's kiss - it would certainly take her by surprise but she could hardly have forgotten what he's trying to remind her of, right?
This show answered both of my two requests: 1)Give us something more besides Soo-Ho being an ass 2) Give us more about why Soo-ho seems obsessed with Geu Rim. Jo already talked about the OTP, but I want to talk about the live radio show they did. That was wonderful and showed us why Geu Rim has the heart and talent to become a good writer for live radio even if she isn't one yet. I love how they showed everyone listening and all of them understanding that this was quality. Even the rival PD was tearing up (that actor is good in everything). I have a question for everyone. Do you think we are being trolled by that ending? Is his friend as creepy as the end suggests? Could he be the one sending the notes or is it someone else? I think it'd be bad enough that he's using Soo Ho as his case study.
I know everyone says it's his case study but the version I saw didn't have anything to make me think that - he was just talking to someone off camera. I kind of want him to be crazy now, since it was such an awesome twist. That actor is always nice, and seeing him so jolly just seemed right, even if it was a little over the top. Now I desperately want to see him be scary evil crazy.
This show answered both of my two requests: 1)Give us something more besides Soo-Ho being an ass 2) Give us more about why Soo-ho seems obsessed with Geu Rim. Jo already talked about the OTP, but I want to talk about the live radio show they did. That was wonderful and showed us why Geu Rim has the heart and talent to become a good writer for live radio even if she isn't one yet. I love how they showed everyone listening and all of them understanding that this was quality. Even the rival PD was tearing up (that actor is good in everything). I have a question for everyone. Do you think we are being trolled by that ending? Is his friend as creepy as the end suggests? Could he be the one sending the notes or is it someone else? I think it'd be bad enough that he's using Soo Ho as his case study.
I know everyone says it's his case study but the version I saw didn't have anything to make me think that - he was just talking to someone off camera. I kind of want him to be crazy now, since it was such an awesome twist. That actor is always nice, and seeing him so jolly just seemed right, even if it was a little over the top. Now I desperately want to see him be scary evil crazy.
Laughter in Waikiki
When they don't take gross jokes too far ( like nosepicking) this drama is funny and has likable main characters. But come on, do we need diarrhea and vomit and nose picking? I'll answer myself: we do not. And in case anyone was wondering, none of those things come from this adorable baby.
Mother
I don't know about you, but the scene when we finally learn Granny Finger's story...I was weeping for them both. We could have a whole show about whether Soo Jin can find a way to have a life with both of her loving mothers, and watch Yoon Bok grow up just surrounded by a family that mostly works, one that treasures its children. Even the aunt and cousin who are jealous of her and wary of her arrival in their lives can treat her with kindness, it seems.
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| This is Heo Yool's FIRST ACTING JOB |
This show is doing such a good job of making us forget that something terrible is coming, and then doing something to remind us: oh yeah, that boyfriend/child murderer is still out there, and he's hunting. We go along marveling at the love that a mother can have for her child, at the pain that families can hold, at the kindness of relative strangers - for hours, it seems - and then there he is, lurking in the corner, creeping closer. It's so well done.
I am waiting for this to be done before I binge on it. Stories involving kids and abuse kill me. I want to know how it ends before I start.
I am waiting for this to be done before I binge on it. Stories involving kids and abuse kill me. I want to know how it ends before I start.
Return
The Freaky Four is mostly down to the Seriously Fucking Awful Two, I guess. In Ho wants to solve the mystery, which means he's becoming their enemy - and Druggie is still confined to bed. That scene where they hover over him like grim reapers was morbidly funny, I thought.
That creeped me out but was also funny. How do they do this? I'm still wondering how the remaining two remained friends. they don't seem to like each other and they are horrible to each other. Is it that they are so horrible that no one else would be their friends? I wish Good wife would move out of that house or at least ask him to move out. I can't believe that he thinks they can go back to the way they were before. She is finding out so much about how this group is just plain horrid that her life keeps swirling about.
That creeped me out but was also funny. How do they do this? I'm still wondering how the remaining two remained friends. they don't seem to like each other and they are horrible to each other. Is it that they are so horrible that no one else would be their friends? I wish Good wife would move out of that house or at least ask him to move out. I can't believe that he thinks they can go back to the way they were before. She is finding out so much about how this group is just plain horrid that her life keeps swirling about.
We meet the new lady, but I'm not clear if she's a new character or just a new look for the established character, because all that happened is we watched her cut her hair off in the bathroom, and we got a peek at her stalker wall.
That was weird not because of how she came in but because I thought they'd give us more, so we'd know.
That was weird not because of how she came in but because I thought they'd give us more, so we'd know.
Hwayugi
Meet baby Sam Jang. Yes, that's right, Jin Seon Mi was ALWAYS going to be Sam Jang, it wasn't Son Oh Gong's 'fault' after all. It's starting to look a lot like everyone has been duped for some greater purpose starting a thousand years ago, actually. I wouldn't be surprised if the Heavens didn't know that Oh Gong and Seon Mi would fall in love, and put the Geumganggo into the mix just to confuse things and make them think it wasn't real.We have confirmation that Sam Jang is the sacrifice, by the way, but Oh Gong is refusing to play along with that. Patriarch comments that he'll have to put his life on the line if he won't kill her with this very important sword that Grandma Peddler went to retrieve, so my theory on that was correct - he'll risk his life to save hers at the big moment, and it will probably fix everything for them.
Priestess has connected with Kang Dae Sang and when Sam Jang walked past him she had another vision of the world ending, so let's hope our gang manage to take her down permanently before he gets too far in his political campaign - so far she's managed to weasel her way out of things by playing on the emotions of General Winter, or PK, and now even Ma Wang. I miss Bu Ja a lot, sigh.
Money Flower (complete)
Finished! I thought the end was a bit anticlimatic, somehow, but that's not to say I didn't like it. Were you all surprised to find out that Jeong Mal Ran poisoned her husband? I never even wondered why he was in that hospital bed, somehow. I loved how Pil Joo just kept tightening the noose around every neck and was really happy that they got jail time. I also loved the moment when Mo Hyun acknowledged their feelings for each other to Pil Joo, and said that even though she wished he would approach her, she knew he never would and that she understood why.
In the end, I think the person I felt worst for was Boo Cheon. From beginning to end, his life was destroyed. He wasn't who he thought he was, his mother wasn't the woman he thought she was, his friend wasn't the person he thought he was, he loses the wife he does genuinely love - and all this after being forced onto a path he never even wanted. I'm not saying he didn't do stupid things but if ever there was one pawn in this story from beginning to end, it was him.
Didn't catch up. Probably won't watch the last four eps until Spring Break or even summer.
Didn't catch up. Probably won't watch the last four eps until Spring Break or even summer.
Misty
I had an interesting conversation with a couple friends the other day - after we got the additional scenes of Hye Ran and Kevin in the car, I felt very convinced that she was lying about not loving her husband, and that her kisses with Kevin were not something she welcomed. I felt like she was trying to placate him to prevent him from causing more trouble for her, especially while she was in the running for the Blue House job. They didn't necessarily feel that way - how about you guys?
Don't know. She has been having these steamy dreams/memories of their time together. I think she does still love her husband, but wonder about her being in love with him now that they have the lost child in between them. They resent each other so much for that. The only memory she has of Kevin is of his unconditional love and passion from those days--although his creepy self now would pour cold water on any heat I felt.
I think she was having those fantasies because girlfriend has been PARCHED for the past 6 years with her husband sleeping in the study.
Don't know. She has been having these steamy dreams/memories of their time together. I think she does still love her husband, but wonder about her being in love with him now that they have the lost child in between them. They resent each other so much for that. The only memory she has of Kevin is of his unconditional love and passion from those days--although his creepy self now would pour cold water on any heat I felt.
I think she was having those fantasies because girlfriend has been PARCHED for the past 6 years with her husband sleeping in the study.
My take on this drama is that she's lying to everyone, but she's lying about different things to each of them. (I would also include lying to herself on this one--especially concerning her feelings about her husband) I'm not sure of all the reasons, but I think it would be safe to say that she's trying to control her image. As for the prisoner guy, after episode 8 I feel pretty certain that he killed someone who was bothering Hye Ran, back when she was a nobody, and that they were in love or at least close to each other. I don't think it was done at her request, and I don't think he's pretending he did it to protect her as the actual killer.
Also waiting for this to finish airing before I start.
Also waiting for this to finish airing before I start.
Happy Sisters
For some reason, I'm not in the mood for this show, and it's starting to heat up because HoeJo knows that Mr. Jobless who is clearly falling for the woman she wants miserable (because she seems happy that she stole her husband) is not jobless at all but a chaebol.
NOT-KOREA
Mozart in the Jungle Season 4
kakashi: I love this show. It's so well written with so many feels. I love all the characters, even the side-side-side ones. At only 30 minutes per episode, every season is over MUCH too quickly. And then....a whole year!! Dammit, that is mean.Lucifer
Only one ep has aired since I last gushed and it was VERY boring. This show is really something to have on in the background while you iron. Which I never do. I HATE ironing.You should watch the clip of Michael B. Jordan talking about his secret skill, which is ironing. It might change your mind completely. It might make you want to go buy a very expensive iron, unless you can teach your iron some fancy tricks.
The Magicians
PENNY DIES. Fortunately, just before that moment he happened to project himself astrally so now he's wandering an alternate plane, but without a body to return to, he might as well be dead. And then, he finds ways to communicate with the gang so maybe not? I watched episodes 3-6 to catch up - am enjoying the quest, enjoying Margo's efforts to win against the Fairy Queen, enjoying all of it. As usual.
See You in Time
Episode 9: Mostly the Lovelies being sad because they're apart, with a little bit of the grocery store robber coming back to try and kill them. Next week it seems history changes again, though, and Feng Ying, at least, thinks they can be together.
Thank goodness because that car explosion at the wedding gave me a heart attack. Yup folks, you read that correctly and this is NOT a lakorn, but a Taiwanese drama.
Funny, I immediately thought of Michael's first marriage in The Godfather.
Thank goodness because that car explosion at the wedding gave me a heart attack. Yup folks, you read that correctly and this is NOT a lakorn, but a Taiwanese drama.
Funny, I immediately thought of Michael's first marriage in The Godfather.
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| thanks, viki This man is too attractive to be real |
A Seven-Faced Man
I'm in the mood to fastforward through shows I know and read fanfiction about shows (anybody have links to fanfiction that not Peachblossom, send them to me), and this is a good one for this especially since it is doing what Pretty Lui Hui Zhen (the Chinese version of She Was Pretty) did, keep the same plot but stretch it into many more episodes. Zhang Yi Shan is quite good and is very good with female lead, Cai Wen Jing (she looks luminous in this--skin/makeup not hair), but it still seems Kill Me, Heal me light.
Iron Ladies
Well, we're getting into the nitty-gritty of the love lives, now. Puppy Su Tsan has a big thing for Kai Ting, who's engaged to marry Tse Shan. Tse Shan is nice enough but apparently had a drunken night with his assistant six months ago - shame! - she spends all her time crying to him about how their friendship will change once he marries. Literally, she cries all the time. I want to punch her no-pride having face. I can't figure out if he has feelings for her or feels guilty but either way, bad news, and Kai Ting breaks up with him but he keeps trying. Li Sha was married early on and it didn't end well, so now she's more of a player. There's a young guy she meets up with regularly that I think must be either her son or step-son, and her love interest-to-be is a business rival with an equally cavalier attitude toward romance. Qing Qing is outwardly very happily married, but we see first that she's pretending in front of her friends and isn't very happy at all - and then we find out WHY. Her husband brings his girlfriend into the house to live with them!
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| Kai-Tang with her soon-to-be ex-fiance, Tse-Shan. He's handsome but in a weird way. |
BG: Personal Bodyguard
Saito's character is back on the team with a super chip on his shoulder because he knows our lead guy has been lying about his background as a bodyguard. That politician lady is shady, and I hate how she's using our bodyguard gang to manipulate the police, especially the special agent whom I think she has interest. She seems more like a spoiled mean girl who wants complete devotion rather than a serious politician who needs protection. However, I also thinks she wants to keep Shimazaki close because she knows that she lied and covered for her. I'm looking forward to his ex-wife showing up just to get some of that context. I wonder if she left him when he hit rock bottom or she left him because he seemed to accept hitting rock bottom or if she never liked the bodyguarding business. Bonus is that she is going to be played by Yamaguchi Tomoko, the actress that played opposite Kimura in Long Vacation. Oh the feels!
I binged 3 episodes of this in one sitting, I really liked it. The politician woman is so annoying, you definitely read her correctly. The SP guy has feeling for her and I think she knows and uses it to her advantage. What I don't understand though is why she's bugging Shimazaki. He's bound to never tell anyone about the details of her case. Saito is back! Yayyy! Now, I need him to get off his high horse and form a bromance with our guy.
I get the feeling she is this way because she's the kind of woman that most men cave to, and he really doesn't seem to see her for anything more than what she is. I don't think she understands that he isn't even thinking about her enough to judge her let alone bargain for her secret.
I binged 3 episodes of this in one sitting, I really liked it. The politician woman is so annoying, you definitely read her correctly. The SP guy has feeling for her and I think she knows and uses it to her advantage. What I don't understand though is why she's bugging Shimazaki. He's bound to never tell anyone about the details of her case. Saito is back! Yayyy! Now, I need him to get off his high horse and form a bromance with our guy.
I get the feeling she is this way because she's the kind of woman that most men cave to, and he really doesn't seem to see her for anything more than what she is. I don't think she understands that he isn't even thinking about her enough to judge her let alone bargain for her secret.
Unnatural
This is the jdrama I am enjoying most this season. Misumi (Ishihara Satomi), a pathologist with a very troubled past, works in the the UDI - Unnatural Death Investigation department and they investigate suspicious deaths. Nakado also works there. He has a huge trauma being that he not only autopsied his girlfriend at his old job, he was also arrested for destroying evidence. However, he believes his girlfriend was killed by a serial killer and has undertakers on his payroll to look for similar clues (like the one he found on her). Other main characters are- Kube who unknown to them works for a local newspaper; Shoji (a female technologist) and their nice boss Kamikura. Misumi's adopted family is also very cool. The episodes are really well done and I like that they are mostly crime of the week with Nakado's serial killer being a slow burner. By episode 4, there are also stirrings of a potential love triangle between our girl and the two male leads.
I just started this, so I sort of wished I hadn't read Panda's comments although I think now I can enjoy it more. I was worried that Kube was trying to undermine them in some way rather than just being a journalist. I did wonder about how come he was questioning the people the way he was but also why they were letting him when he was new. I don't understand what exactly (or why) Misumi kept from her ex-boyfriend. This is a win for me. Exactly the kind of show I'm in the mood for now.
I just started this, so I sort of wished I hadn't read Panda's comments although I think now I can enjoy it more. I was worried that Kube was trying to undermine them in some way rather than just being a journalist. I did wonder about how come he was questioning the people the way he was but also why they were letting him when he was new. I don't understand what exactly (or why) Misumi kept from her ex-boyfriend. This is a win for me. Exactly the kind of show I'm in the mood for now.
Repeat
Okay, so this I have only seen 1 episode of but I am very intrigued. What would you do if a stranger rang you up, predicted an earthquake a week in advance and then offered you the opportunity to go back 10 months. Would you take it? This is what this drama is about. Episode 1 introduced 2 main characters who both had reasons to want to do over the last 10 months of their life. The lady, Ayumi, because her boyfriend missed his chance to propose; the guy, Keisuke, so as not to commence an abusive relationship. These 2 and 6 others jumped at the chance offered by Kazama who is realllly creepy btw. Anyway, things seemed to have gone perfect but then the episode ended with them learning one of the group had died. Uh Oh... The premise is a very rich one and I am sure they're all soon going to learn there's no such thing as cheating fate.
I've watched two episodes now, and this is great, too. I immediately tried to decide what I would change if I could back 10 months. I even went into my calendar to see what was going on, especially since the stranger told them that they couldn't change their lifestyle (i.e.--no point in winning Mega millions just small lottery wins). We learn that going back in time might seem to provide an opportunity, but there is lots of new mysterious tragedies that occur instead and more than one death. I'm wondering if someone is going to die in every episode. Is this like the time traveling version of the Hunger Games?
oooooooh...
I've watched two episodes now, and this is great, too. I immediately tried to decide what I would change if I could back 10 months. I even went into my calendar to see what was going on, especially since the stranger told them that they couldn't change their lifestyle (i.e.--no point in winning Mega millions just small lottery wins). We learn that going back in time might seem to provide an opportunity, but there is lots of new mysterious tragedies that occur instead and more than one death. I'm wondering if someone is going to die in every episode. Is this like the time traveling version of the Hunger Games?
oooooooh...