Rants and Weekly Raves #183 (RAWR)

kakashi: Happy Easter!
JoAnne: Happy Easter to you, too!
Trotwood:  I'm here. The bunny brought orange muffins! (Okay. I made them myself and pretended that the bunny brought them)
SakiVI: I ordered in chocolate.
I love Easter desserts. We had ricotta cake AND rice pie, plus chocolate silk, lemon meringue, and coconut custard! And that was after lamb, ham, new potatoes, glazed carrots, green beans almondine...delicious! 
Exhausted from anemia and I still made roast beef and a chocolate layer cake. Easter means food!!

KOREA

Laughter in Waikiki 

They're all funny, but Lee Yi Kyung is a class apart. 

Should We Kiss First? 

Jesus. Now we see the full story: her daughter died because she got some kind of candy powder in her lungs and it caused a seizure. She was en route to Paris and it took 30 hours to get a flight back, and the child died when she arrived. She sued the candy company and the advertising agency, which of course was his. They blew her off, because that's what you do. It cost her her marriage. In the mean time, his marriage ends and he gets cancer. Everything is fine, he's in remission, but then he runs into her and sees how her life has been ruined. He tries to avoid it but can't help himself. His cancer comes back and he's going to die very soon, but stumbles on an opportunity to give her at least some relief, by marrying her and leaving her all his wealth and property. Also by submitting evidence to support her appeal of the earlier lawsuit, although she doesn't know that yet. The unexpected bit for them both, but not for us savvy viewers, is that of course they've fallen in love just at the moment when everybody and their brother is finding out that he's got a month left to live. Her goal is to care for him in his final days and mend his relationship with his daughter...but oops, she has figured out that he's the advertiser. What next?

This is super convoluted and contrived but the acting is very good and the characters are compelling so it's easy to suspend your disbelief about the particulars of the world-making and just wallow in the relationships.

The Great Seducer 

Listen...Woo Do Hwan can't be a puppy because he's too sexy, I'm sorry. He's a puppy who looks like naked desire and smells like cinnamon rolls and you can't decide whether you want to eat him or...good Lord, he's hot.
I'm not watching this show, but I stumble across snippets on YT all the time. I don't know how anyone watching can stand the hotness. "Naked Desire and Cinnamon rolls" yup. Pretty much sums it up.

A Poem a Day (New) 

Lee Yoo Bi! We love her! I don't normally like hospital dramas all that much but physical therapists are a new one, and I'm enjoying the set up and the ensemble. Watching a grown man roll around on the floor having an actual temper tantrum was a new one, though...

 

Mystery Queen 2 

I'm wondering now what I will put up with for this couple because I just love them to pieces and feel sorry that they are getting the story they deserve. Once again, there seems to be far too much time spent on the forensic pathologist and her friend. Why? Why do we spend so much time on them when they never move the plot forward? I love the bromance handshake thingy that he does with Inspector Woo, but we didn't need any of the other stuff for that to be funny. I love his brother, and I feel like he's going to be a pawn in the crazy baker's game and I'm going to be pissed. How could anyone hurt this face?

Blah Blah Blah Sunset (New) 

Haven't seen it anywhere.
Aka: Hold Me Tight, Let's Look at the Sunset Holding Hands, Let's Watch the Sunset

Switch (New) 

Oh, this is FUN. I like this. JGS playing both an uptight star prosecutor annnnnnd a genius con-man pretending to BE that prosecutor while the poor guy is in a coma in a secret hospital. And it's not like he's fooling the good guys, either - they're making him do it, so while he's fooling the bad guys they need to catch, he's also twisting it around to fool the prosecutors, too. At last so far... Oh, and of course, there's a bigger mystery dating back to childhood and probably involving the two look-alikes.
I want to start this, but I haven't had time. Sounds even more interesting now.

My Ahjussi 

I like this, and am glad to see that only the first episode was extra long. Things are becoming more clear about Ji An - she really did kill someone while still in middle school. A loan shark first beat her, and then attacked her grandmother when she came to Ji An's defense. Ji An killed the man by stabbing him. He turns out to have been the father of the loan shark who is currently tormenting her, of course. She keeps provoking him to the point of beating her, and although she fights back I almost think she wants him to do it. She shouldn't feel guilty about what happened - I hope that's not why.

I'm still on the fence about Dong Hoon's brothers, although mostly it's the older one. Actually Dong Hoon is a kind of person I don't like to spend time around either, really, but it's not that he's unlikable, he's just such a depressive type, someone who is always gloomy.

My one quibble with the show thus far is that they really need to explain to me how this girl is such a mastermind at - what would you even call it?  She's got skills to rival a private detective and a career con man, and they never show us ANY of the planning being worked out.

My Husband Oh Jak Doo

I'm a week behind, and honestly, was thinking of dropping it as I never feel particularly compelled to keep up - but then I watch a little and am just so charmed by their moments of connection that I keep watching. Seong Joo appears to be 'cured' and so Jak Doo will be going home, as per their contract - but first the halmeonis show up to delay his departure, and then her witch of a mother complicates things even further.

In the mean time, everyone I know is falling for the pompous cousin, Eric Cho, and his secret and despairing love for Seong Joo.  Poor guy - he's really ridiculous and yet, I somehow really like him and feel bad that he's in pain. Apparently a lot of people feel the same, too.

Marry Me Now? 

I may need to drop this. First, the acting (or maybe directing) is just OFF...very over the top. Second, the plot with the adopted daughter is too ridiculous. Rich family wants to follow tradition and send tiny child overseas to be educated but first wants DNA test which is what they always do. Mother doesn't want to send child away and decides to stand her ground (ie, divorce.) Note: This doesn't solve the DNA problem, but whatever. 

Rich family still wants DNA test, even more so now because it involves her inheritance. Mom's in a panic because of course, kid is adopted. Hateful sister-in-law is about to find out the truth and Dad freaks OUT because OMG everyone will know he's infertile, and he demands Mom fix things, even to the point of confessing to an affair that never happened. When she balks, he threatens to take the child from her. And that's where I start thinking, 'OK, dude, how will you manage that when the whole reason you're in a pickle is because people will know she's not yours?' I never like the characters this actor plays, but being stupid AND using a child as a pawn? Kinda too much.

This is mean, but funny!   I'm sad because despite his generally boring performances, THIS time around he's lively and pretty much the only nice one in the drama, and I can't bring myself to watch any more of the mean/stupid ones. He is clearly intended to end up with Divorcing Daughter.  They already had their meet cute.

Third reason: that cool rich lady with the obnoxious son? He's really, really obnoxious...but she may not be so nice herself. I'm fine with her using her wealth to put crappy people who do crap things to her in their place, but she appears to be about to take advantage of people who are in difficult financial situations due to having been scammed a year ago. Not cool. Since she's clearly going to end up married to Cobbler Dad I'm assuming she does end up nice, but I don't feel like tagging along for the journey if she's the 'good one' in a village full of nasties.

Fourth reason: the middle of the road family with Hacker Ahjumma for a mother? I like them less and less as the hours go on. I can only stomach a try-hard if they're funny, and she's not. Latest strike against her is using photos of her formerly-fat daughter in her fat stage as a method to control the girl.

Fifth reason: While I definitely do not consider divorcing daughter a victim (at least not of anything except her own poor choices) I find it difficult to drum up sympathy for her plight since she is doing that Kdrama thing where she doesn't explain anything, and I don't really like her siblings.
Main reason why I dropped it, but I agree with all the others.

Sixth reason: Cobbler Dad's beard is ONLY ON HIS THROAT. Yeah, I'm out. Dropped.

PRETTY NOONA WHO BRINGS ME FOOD OMG FINALLY I THOUGHT IT WOULD NEVER GET HERE THE TRAILERS WERE TORTURE YOU BETTER BE GOOD, SHOW

Did the Kraken snatch it from us? I'm saying "us", even though I felt quite bored when I watched the first episode raw... likely because there was a lot of dialogue and a lot of staring and smiling. Yes, it's a horrible kind of drama.
I guess we'll just have to wait for Netflix...dammit.
I was trying to make you guys feel better. It didn't help? Netflix is really changing KDrama viewing and even though I view so little, I don't like it.
By the way, the writer said that this couple was born from a Song-Song couple quote, the one where Joong Ki described Hye Go as a pretty noona who feeds him well, back in the days when they were insisting they were just friends.
Sigh. This just makes me want it even more. We spend so much time on twitter coming up with outlandish (but true drama trope) ways in which this show can/will disappoint us so that we do not get our hopes up since the teasers have been so delicious.

Children of a Lesser God

There are ten episodes of this out but only two are subbed, and I think this is a shame. Yes, the first episode seemed to be inconsistent in tone, but the story and characters were compelling. The second episode, which was subbed this week just made me want more. There is the religious group from which our heroine and her "dad" have escaped, and she doesn't remember. They are going to be behind the overall plot point and then there is the serial killer that they had to let go and who subsequently killed our lead's sister out of revenge. He still doesn't believe the heroine has the power that we know she has (to see moments of death), but I think that happens soon. I want the next episode now. If I didn't have so many other dramas to check, I'd watch it raw, but I actually am starting to think this is the best of the evening Korean shows on right now--even from the first two eps.

Happy Sisters

This show is still cracktastic even at episode 81. We even watched it together while commenting on twitter. I even went to a meeting late because of it. Worth it. There are so many secret reveals but also I like the hero because he directly confronts things without letting misunderstandings get out of hand. I even felt a bit sorry for our villain this week because her accomplices are so dumb. I mean if you drug a man to take incriminating pictures of him in bed with you, do you stop to eat snacks first? Character had that huge cream blob on her mouth and she couldn't even feel it because she's so filthy and stupid.   
Yup. This happened on this show. No surprise he finds out. He was on to her even before. When Se Ran faked a faint, he just stepped right over her. Our heroine's ex-family deserves all the pain HoeJo forces on them. But now that Hyun Joo realizes that he really is in love, he's going to have laser focus.
For me to have full satisfaction with this show, HoeJo needs to drive the Lee Vampires out into the street, penniless, and then lose to Hyun Joo and Ye Eun because the Lee Vampires were that bad as in-laws.  Ye Eun even described how Jisup freaking targeted her to be his family's slave. He made her think he was in love with her, when in reality, he needed someone to deal with his two moms, dad, and sister and help him also set up a business.

CHINA-TAIWAN

See You in Time 

Mr Lovely is so lovely that I swear that I saw a unicorn go by my treadmill while I was catching up with this week's and last week's shows. Our lovelies are as cute and adorable together as the twisted are dysfunctional together.

But as Jo warned Mr. Twisted goes really dark when he finds out the only person he has ever really loved is in love with his hated brother. I feel sorry for him because he has such potential when he's with her, and his story is compelling. His dad has set up this rivalry because of such poor business and parenting choices. And Ms. Twisted is a sick and twistedly desperate enabler. I loved it when Mr. Lovely called her out on this when she begged him to give up Zi Qi for him. Pfft.

My Dear Boy 

This show is so beautiful to look at, and I fall in love with Ruby Lin more and more even when I don't like how she is behaving, so I can completely understand why these men love her. I'm done with her sister who berates her for breaking up with Xaoi Lai though. He is a very nice man. He is good. He is funny. He is sweet. He is thoughtful and responsible and good to old people. I admitted on twitter that I would date him and probably be very happy.

However, I also admitted that I'm kind of boring, and so is he. He knows and she knows that no matter how much he loves our Xiao Fei that they would never be happy. Her sister needs to take a step back. I know I put a picture of him here, but that's because I think this is really the end for him. This whole episode was about our boy confessing his love, getting excited because she said she loved him, too, only to have her talk about him being her younger brother. He doesn't let this go though. He makes sure she knows that he isn't buying it until she cruelly makes him face the facts of the differences in their ages but also in their skill set. He's so broken hearted that he doesn't mind getting beat up. I'm really curious how the show is going to handle this because they have clearly set them up to be soul mates, but also they are very good at setting up why this relationship shouldn't work.

Side by Side With You

William is here! William is here! I've never seen him in a contemporary drama - I'm glad his cheeky grin gets more screen time!
OMG William's HOT!
I know this is not news to you, Saki.
This is my repeat reaction throughout each episode, though.
Right there with you, plus I say it whenever I see Li Xian, too, and if they're in scenes together I just sit there and grin like a fool. Oh, by the way, the drama is fun, too. 

William happens upon a woman who works on drone technology, something he was very interested in during school.  He got kicked out because of what is clearly a false accusation that comes out of something his rival/friend did - who turns out to be the childhood sweetheart of the woman in question.  Now they're playing cat and mouse on two levels, but I think we'll end up with bromance AND romance.
I am not super-keen on this storyline (at most, I'd like William's revenge), to be honest, so I'll just dip back in when I need an "OMG, William's HOT" fix, and I'm out of Untouchable Lovers episodes.

Untouchable Lovers 

Okay, we are getting into Nirvana In Fire numbers of new characters now that the action has moved to Northern Wei. Rong Zhi is acting less confident and more sweet as well, which I don't like. I'm only on episode 17 because I let William distract me for a bit, so perhaps Rong Zhi's devious, cold side will come through soon?

Meet @1006

My first time with Lego Lee - I like him!  I also like this drama, so far - Trot's explanation last week intrigued me and I thought I'd check it out.  I'm happy I did!  But I'm sorry to see the 'ghost' part go away, I think. Update:  NOT SORRY, since it's replaced by them rapidly falling for each other but trying to keep it a secret from each other (for now.)
I love watching Jo getting to meet Lego Lee, and I'm thankful that she chose this show instead of some of his other more recent but less than stellar shows/roles. I'm very happy to let that "you must be a ghost thing" go, so we can start getting more of this story. I was surprised that the fiance was the old judo coach because the feeling I got about him from Zhen Yu's perspective was completely different from what I saw of him directly through Jia Le's. I really want to know what happened now because the stories are so conflicting. I love how they are already missing each other.

JAPAN

BG: Personal Bodyguard

Once upon a time, I decided that I should add more cardio to my workout so I can be ready for an OCR race in May. Not only could I do distance on the weekends, but I should do an hour on bike or treadmill hills during the week on alternate strength training days. I figured BG was a good show to download and watch, and episode 7 rewarded me. We had great strides in character development of our hero, finding out about his ex-wife and some of why she divorced him as well as why his son might actually feel sorry for him. We get great secondary character development with bromance all over the place--between our hero and his colleague and our hero and his boss, which even includes gorgeous Saito hair. I planned to go to work and take screenshots for this post I was so in love with the progression. I mean I wasn't even mad about having to spend time on that horrid lady politician (I will not use her name; she doesn't deserve it, but Yuriko Ishida is doing a good job of making me hate her character even though I know I should feel sorry for her). And then the last 15 seconds of the episode occurred. I'm a little embarrassed to say that I gave my laptop the finger and scared the woman on the treadmill next to me.

WESTERN

The Magicians 

The Fairy Queen holds the only key our magic-less magicians still need, and she won't give it up because the key is what created and maintains their realm.  They have no safe place without it.  She agrees to give it to them if they come back with proof that they have a kingdom where the fae will be safe, and so with a couple twists and turns, they force Tick to run elections for King on Fillory.  Because Fillory is so backward, Elliot says, it must be a King only, this time around.  No Margo.  She's crushed but acquiesces.  The last laugh is hers, though:  neither Tick nor Elliot will become King of Fillory.  Margo is a landslide winner by write-in.  Turns out her live and let live attitude towards the talking animals was a good thing, because they vastly outnumber the humans (1 million vs 50 thousan) 

The Fairy Queen apparently admires Margo, and gives her a fairy eye as well as the key.  So now they have all the keys!  Now they must go to the Castle at the End of the World and retrieve magic.  What's in that castle,  you ask?  According to Renard, who's now working as a pizza delivery guy but is still somehow just as snide and arrogant as ever - the castle holds everything the gods created before this, which means:  the mistakes.  Should be interesting!

The Walking Dead

Negan is changing, and it's mostly because of what Simon did to the Garbage Pail Kids.  Rick and Morgan tricked and then slaughtered all of the Saviors that escaped the hilltop on Night of Zombies, and more and more I look at him and think he could be the leader of any of the groups they fought against in the early years - it's just a matter of perspective, at this point.  Will finally reading Karl's letter stop him from this path?  Will reading Karl's letter be the final push Negan needs?  One more episode this season, I think, and then we're right into Fear the Walking Dead, and Morgan will be a new character there.