Rants and Weekly Raves #199 (RAWR)
SakiVI: Such a tease: YoYo TV on YouTube got the first two episodes of Shahai, the next in The Lost Tomb series of shows, and they only put up 2 episodes. I was all prepared to watch raw too. And that is my drama issue of the week.
JoAnne: I have no drama issues this week, other than that people should probably do an intervention for me. But no, you're all enablers...
Trotwood: You got that right. I mean who else is going to help us make decisions about what to watch when there are six (SIX) new Korean dramas coming out this week. I have no idea how many countless others are populating our screens, and with some being subbed at different rates there might be old ones that will also be available in the next coming weeks. I feel like I need to hide from the onslaught, but then I keep seeing clips of Jo Sueng Woo from Life, and I get all starry-eyed. Not as starry-eyed as when I met Takumi Saito in the flesh this weekend, but almost. (yup that was a shameless plug for the upcoming BG recap)
How did you not touch his hair, I will never understand this.
Panda: Life starts today!!!! I am so hyped you have no idea; that cast is stellar. And Jo Seung Woo my Love (heart eyes). Now if only Netflix can release the subs in a timely manner, I will be a happy camper.
kakashi: I may as well admit here that even though everybody is going craaaazy over Life, I have absolutely no idea what it is about, hahaha.
It's not at the top of my list, for sure.
I am going to be devastated because I don't have Netflix and will not get Netflix until I retire, so I will not see Jo Seung Woo and Panda will continue to torment me with stills.
I wasn't going to watch this, and I'm mad at all of you who got me to start because I don't know how sweet robot Shin is going to survive this and I wish I had waited to hear about the end and then marathoned. What have they done with the mother character? What kind of statement do you think they are trying to make? Did they not know what to do when they didn't make the 2nd female lead as hateful as they usually are? They needed to have a female character who was bad. What about the reporter friend of So-Bong's. Can someone explain to me why they are friends?
I think Mom was lying to herself about how connected she felt with RoboShin once she was faced with ShittyShin, that's what I think, and since we now know she wouldn't actually be able to activate the kill switch, moot point anyway. She doesn't know that Grandpa knows, either. If he did, maybe she'd opt for a way to keep them both in her life. I don't know that ShittyShin would go for that, though.
And besides...in my heart of hearts? If I have to choose between saving my kid's life and saving a perfect copy of her...I'm saving my kid. Does that make me evil? Hell, if I have to choose between saving my kid and saving YOUR kid, I'm saving my kid. In all fairness though, if the choice was me or your kid, I'd save your kid. I think, anyway. I love you Jo.
I get that part, but I'm not sure why she has to get rid of robotShin. The show hasn't convinced me yet that she couldn't just say "Look how brilliant I am. I made a robot that looked like my son and successfully ran a company for . . . and you guys might fire me. I might even go to jail for fraud for a time, but there will be some tech company who will hire me later because I am a genius and now I have two sons instead of one. @)*#@*& you all!" I love you, Trot.
I'm glad, too, that Nak Won showed us her strength. She was rock solid certain about Na Moo and that belief gave her the courage to do what she needed to do; I think it also helped keep Na Moo on a path that wouldn't end in psychosis, really. She reminded him of his humanity every step of the way.
Does he wash his hands now? I should go back to this. I didn't know it came with hamsters.
JoAnne: I have no drama issues this week, other than that people should probably do an intervention for me. But no, you're all enablers...
Trotwood: You got that right. I mean who else is going to help us make decisions about what to watch when there are six (SIX) new Korean dramas coming out this week. I have no idea how many countless others are populating our screens, and with some being subbed at different rates there might be old ones that will also be available in the next coming weeks. I feel like I need to hide from the onslaught, but then I keep seeing clips of Jo Sueng Woo from Life, and I get all starry-eyed. Not as starry-eyed as when I met Takumi Saito in the flesh this weekend, but almost. (yup that was a shameless plug for the upcoming BG recap)
How did you not touch his hair, I will never understand this.
Panda: Life starts today!!!! I am so hyped you have no idea; that cast is stellar. And Jo Seung Woo my Love (heart eyes). Now if only Netflix can release the subs in a timely manner, I will be a happy camper.
kakashi: I may as well admit here that even though everybody is going craaaazy over Life, I have absolutely no idea what it is about, hahaha.
It's not at the top of my list, for sure.
I am going to be devastated because I don't have Netflix and will not get Netflix until I retire, so I will not see Jo Seung Woo and Panda will continue to torment me with stills.
KOREA
Ms. Hammurabi (Finale)
The only false note was that flashback where they all met in the past. We definitely didn't need that show. Apart from that, what a warm lovely gem. I enjoyed this so much. That last scene in particular when Sung Dong-il said his goodbyes actually made me cry- it was so touching. I really enjoyed our squad and Do Yeon-shi was just flawless from beginning to end.
I honestly thought I wrote about the end of this last week.but no, the beginning of last was just so long ago I thought it was TWO weeks ago. I agree with Panda here. The ending kind of flubbed a bit, first with the mom dramatically not being mentally absent (for how long?) and then with the flashback to them all actually being present in a scene we'd seen earlier in the drama where 3 out of 5 were NOT present. If it was just a cute gift, okay, fine, not my cup of tea. But if they really meant it as part of the story, that was stupid.
Don't let that stop you from watching, though! This was a truly wonderful show from beginning (well, maybe from 2d episode) to 10-minutes-before-the-end. For the core story, the characterizations, etc - no complaints at all. Watch it! You'll be pleased.
I'm glad you guys said this, so I don't seem cranky already. I'm just pretending that whole scene in library doesn't exist. It was a lovely end. I was really surprised that he retired, the preview really tricked us all with making us think it was her who was leaving. I love how everyone stood up not just for her but for what she stood for and the fact that that . . .(I can't even think of what to call the horror that was the "other" boss judge) was cretin that there was a mile long list of people he offended and abused. Great way to take them down. I also liked how they played with our expectations of the jurors, making us (at least me) wrong about our assumptions half the time.
I honestly thought I wrote about the end of this last week.but no, the beginning of last was just so long ago I thought it was TWO weeks ago. I agree with Panda here. The ending kind of flubbed a bit, first with the mom dramatically not being mentally absent (for how long?) and then with the flashback to them all actually being present in a scene we'd seen earlier in the drama where 3 out of 5 were NOT present. If it was just a cute gift, okay, fine, not my cup of tea. But if they really meant it as part of the story, that was stupid.
Don't let that stop you from watching, though! This was a truly wonderful show from beginning (well, maybe from 2d episode) to 10-minutes-before-the-end. For the core story, the characterizations, etc - no complaints at all. Watch it! You'll be pleased.
I'm glad you guys said this, so I don't seem cranky already. I'm just pretending that whole scene in library doesn't exist. It was a lovely end. I was really surprised that he retired, the preview really tricked us all with making us think it was her who was leaving. I love how everyone stood up not just for her but for what she stood for and the fact that that . . .(I can't even think of what to call the horror that was the "other" boss judge) was cretin that there was a mile long list of people he offended and abused. Great way to take them down. I also liked how they played with our expectations of the jurors, making us (at least me) wrong about our assumptions half the time.
Are You Human Too?
So ComaShin is back awake and we should really just call him ShittyShin because he's not nice. Like, at all. I get he's feeling jealous but still. Meanwhile, RoboShin, SweetShin, BestShin...what is going to happen with this boy, really? He can't really have feelings, can he? They made us LOVE him and want her to live happily ever after with him in our place but...we know that can't really happen, right? How can they make this work for us? We need to KNOW.
I think Mom was lying to herself about how connected she felt with RoboShin once she was faced with ShittyShin, that's what I think, and since we now know she wouldn't actually be able to activate the kill switch, moot point anyway. She doesn't know that Grandpa knows, either. If he did, maybe she'd opt for a way to keep them both in her life. I don't know that ShittyShin would go for that, though.
And besides...in my heart of hearts? If I have to choose between saving my kid's life and saving a perfect copy of her...I'm saving my kid. Does that make me evil? Hell, if I have to choose between saving my kid and saving YOUR kid, I'm saving my kid. In all fairness though, if the choice was me or your kid, I'd save your kid. I think, anyway. I love you Jo.
I get that part, but I'm not sure why she has to get rid of robotShin. The show hasn't convinced me yet that she couldn't just say "Look how brilliant I am. I made a robot that looked like my son and successfully ran a company for . . . and you guys might fire me. I might even go to jail for fraud for a time, but there will be some tech company who will hire me later because I am a genius and now I have two sons instead of one. @)*#@*& you all!" I love you, Trot.
Let's Eat 3 (New)
I'm still laughing at the image of these petty writer/producer people all pissed off because everyone bitched about the new love interest in Season 2 so in Season 3 they FIXED our asses and killed her deader than a doornail. That'll teach US, huh? Except I never much cared one way or the other because I'm just here for Doo Joon, baby, so I guess that's why I could laugh about it. I know a whole bunch of people who won't even watch because of that, though. So far, not too bad. We're going back to the past to see how he became the foodie he is, thanks to College Girlfriend - meeting her again in the present is what sparks the reminiscing. We'll see. I like his doofy college friends. One of 'em is pretty cute.
Come and Hug Me (Finale)
I'm good with the resolution. At first I thought I wanted more drama from the drama, you know, for Na Moo to really hulk out or something, but I'm actually glad it went the way it did and that throughout the drama, the power of love and support were shown to be stronger than fear and evil.
I'm happy that Hyun Moo turned out to be what I thought he was and that he finally accepted the love of his brother, stepmom, and step sister. I'm glad that Nak Won's brother the prosecutor didn't go down the weird path they hinted at, and genuinely was just a brother who loved and worried about his sister; one who recognized that Na Moo and Nak Won loved each other and took care of each other, despite the shared horrors of their past. When the time came, he was able to let go and allow Na Moo to take on that primary role for Nak Won, and he was able to work with him - and Hyun Moo - to bring down Yoon Hui Jae once and for all.
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| Kakashi, who posts the pictures, has a sick sense of humor |
I'm glad, too, that Nak Won showed us her strength. She was rock solid certain about Na Moo and that belief gave her the courage to do what she needed to do; I think it also helped keep Na Moo on a path that wouldn't end in psychosis, really. She reminded him of his humanity every step of the way.
And in the end, I was so glad that Yoon Hui Jae didn't die a monster with one last big spree. Instead, he was bested by the son he hoped to corrupt, and will spend the rest of his life in prison with the knowledge that everyone knows he's not a superhuman at all, but someone to be disgusted by rather than feared.
What's Wrong with Secretary Kim
Not a DAMN thing, on that we can all agree. But what will happen with the rest of this drama,really? What is left to do?
Fill time?
Show more shirtless scenes? I am not complaining about lack of plot cos there was really none in this drama to begin with. I think the good/bad thing is they are really following the source material (webtoon) and that lacks much conflict too. The thing saving this are the side characters. I love Sec Yang and I am now so invested in making sure Yoo Shik gets his happy ending. I ship him equally with either his ditzy sec and ex-wife but spoiled myself with the webtoon so now I know who he ends up with :) Anyway, 2 more eps of pure fluff coming up, just include more of that chest PDnim cos WOAH *salivates*
I'm glad someone said this. I thought I would be the cranky person bringing this up. I feel as though they are just coming up with issues now. I'm more annoyed by the father arc in this. Really show? We have to spend time with this guy and his horrid wig to do what? You chose this rather than have any real closure to the whole kidnapping story? Am I the only one bothered that with ALL the trauma those horrible parents caused, they just say sorry to older brother and all is forgiven? He's going to the mall with mom and dad is reading his book and that's it?!?!?! As much as I want to be pacified by Yoon-Joong's vests (and pants) and Mi-So's luminous skin (and why has not talked about the perfection of that ponytail--WHY?), I've written numerous poems about the ponytail Trot! It's flawless. I can't get past the ludicrous narrative choices. I'd rather spend more time with the secondary OTP's than with this dad who literally said the exact same thing as the sisters. Does no one talk in this family? Isn't dad just pretending though? I feel like it's definitely not a real conflict on his part.
He told Mi So he was pretending.
Yes, I know he's pretending but it's just dumb.
Fill time?
Show more shirtless scenes? I am not complaining about lack of plot cos there was really none in this drama to begin with. I think the good/bad thing is they are really following the source material (webtoon) and that lacks much conflict too. The thing saving this are the side characters. I love Sec Yang and I am now so invested in making sure Yoo Shik gets his happy ending. I ship him equally with either his ditzy sec and ex-wife but spoiled myself with the webtoon so now I know who he ends up with :) Anyway, 2 more eps of pure fluff coming up, just include more of that chest PDnim cos WOAH *salivates*
I'm glad someone said this. I thought I would be the cranky person bringing this up. I feel as though they are just coming up with issues now. I'm more annoyed by the father arc in this. Really show? We have to spend time with this guy and his horrid wig to do what? You chose this rather than have any real closure to the whole kidnapping story? Am I the only one bothered that with ALL the trauma those horrible parents caused, they just say sorry to older brother and all is forgiven? He's going to the mall with mom and dad is reading his book and that's it?!?!?! As much as I want to be pacified by Yoon-Joong's vests (and pants) and Mi-So's luminous skin (and why has not talked about the perfection of that ponytail--WHY?), I've written numerous poems about the ponytail Trot! It's flawless. I can't get past the ludicrous narrative choices. I'd rather spend more time with the secondary OTP's than with this dad who literally said the exact same thing as the sisters. Does no one talk in this family? Isn't dad just pretending though? I feel like it's definitely not a real conflict on his part.
He told Mi So he was pretending.
Yes, I know he's pretending but it's just dumb.
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| This gesture is very close to one that I was told is VERY rude. HA!! |
Life on Mars
Just started this literally on ep1 but I already know it's gonna be good.
Mr. Sunshine
I like this drama. I'm not crazy about Lee Byung Hun but I like everything else. There's a lot of humor even though the dramatic stuff is SUPER dramatic and the lines can be...well...a bit much. I particularly like Huda Kino, the owner of the Glory Hotel, and Byunnie seems to be filming a Disney movie or something so he always makes me laugh with his skipping down the lane or peaking around corners, and I really like our heroine, and I am very intrigued by YYS's glowering thug.
Sunny Again Tomorrow
I feel as though I should probably only write about this once every other week. I watched a whole week of shows and nothing much happens. I mean, the frenemy finds out that her rival is really the long lost cousin that she conveniently lost when they were 8 and her mom finds out. The older couple gets together. But the misunderstandings about the fake dating remain and the weird rivalry not rivalry between the home shopping networks remain. I feel as though I could check in again at ep 90, and we would still be talking about the same things. Sigh.
CHINA/TAIWAN
Meteor Garden 2018
From episode 12, FYI
I think that gif might be my favorite scene so far. I'm loving this Disney version of what was really a pretty violent, ugly story to begin with, no? This Dao Ming Se starts out spoiled rotten but not truly vicious, and he flips to (still spoiled but) very supportive boyfriend pretty quickly. It helps that the actor has the best half smile going these days, and deep brown eyes you want to stare into forever. Let's face it, that helps us forget he's a skinny, barely pubescent boychild barely out of diapers. Right? The other 3 are barely worth noticing, for me. Sorry about that. But I could watch Dylan Wang and Shen Yue as Dao Ming Se and Dong Shan Cai for a long time to come.
The only problem I have with this drama is that I cannot stop watching, so however many episodes there are on Friday night (when they all drop on Netflix) - I'm up until they're watched. And then I kinda want to go back and watch them again. But I don't because I'm a grown up.
Sure.
Did you see what else I watched this week? I am not RoboJo, I am nearly ComaJo. But man, I'm so tempted to do it. As our friend Jilly said on the TList, 'He looks at her with so much love in his stupid puppy eyes.' It's irresistible to anyone who is not you.
I think that gif might be my favorite scene so far. I'm loving this Disney version of what was really a pretty violent, ugly story to begin with, no? This Dao Ming Se starts out spoiled rotten but not truly vicious, and he flips to (still spoiled but) very supportive boyfriend pretty quickly. It helps that the actor has the best half smile going these days, and deep brown eyes you want to stare into forever. Let's face it, that helps us forget he's a skinny, barely pubescent boychild barely out of diapers. Right? The other 3 are barely worth noticing, for me. Sorry about that. But I could watch Dylan Wang and Shen Yue as Dao Ming Se and Dong Shan Cai for a long time to come.
The only problem I have with this drama is that I cannot stop watching, so however many episodes there are on Friday night (when they all drop on Netflix) - I'm up until they're watched. And then I kinda want to go back and watch them again. But I don't because I'm a grown up.
Sure.
Did you see what else I watched this week? I am not RoboJo, I am nearly ComaJo. But man, I'm so tempted to do it. As our friend Jilly said on the TList, 'He looks at her with so much love in his stupid puppy eyes.' It's irresistible to anyone who is not you.
Legend of Fuyao
Finally had time to start this! Watching with my kid who LOVES it, which helps me to love it too. We're only up to episode 6 at the moment. Horrible CGI, as expected from C-Drama, the HAMSTER aka "stupid mouse"... ahahahahahaaaa. Lots and lots of evil old men and stupid young men and brave young girls. Definitely enjoyable. I'm just not sure about Ethan. Saki knows why.Does he wash his hands now? I should go back to this. I didn't know it came with hamsters.
A Love So Beautiful (Complete)
I forgot to mention this last week, but I watched all 24 episodes in three days with no fast forwarding and I was really happy (and really tired) the whole time. It's not clear to me whether this is officially part of the Itazura na Kiss franchise but unofficially it totally IS a Kiss drama and it's crack just like its older siblings. PLUS it gets rid of a lot of the problematic parts and keeps all the good stuff so you can watch without feeling conflicted.
Cheng Kai and Xiao Xi are cute as friends and even cuter as lovers, and Wu Bo Song is right there to provide competition when Cheng Kai needs something to kick him in the behind. Lu Yang and Lin JingXiao were an adorable secondary couple, too. We had no evil parents or teachers, only moderately annoying 'other students' and over all...a nicely paced and decently acted story, perhaps especially so for Kiss fans. In particular I liked Shen Yue is as cute as a bunny without being at all saccharine. Glad I watched!
JAPAN
Miss Devil
I was only going to write about ep 8 because I was only going to watch ep 8 and leave the last ep for next weekend, but the cliffhanger including a murder, the involvement of the mom of our hero (who saw THAT coming?), and the possible take over plot and the heart attack of the chairman made me put in another load of laundry and settle down with the rest. Yes, the plot was kind of clunky, but this was an enjoyable ride the whole way to the point that I'd watch another season. I hope Miss Devil finds her dad. This was a finale and closure that I did not expect but which satisfied me completely. How many drama finales can you describe in this way?
WESTERN
Younger
Enzo the sexy plumber has a very, very nice house on Staten Island. Or should I say he lives in a very, very nice house on Staten Island? Cuz it's his MAMA's house and yes, hotness lives with his mama. How's that gonna fly with Diana? Maybe okay because Diana speaks italian and gives as good as she gets from Mama.
In the meantime, who knows what's going on with Liza and Charles...but at least Liza is calling Charles' bullshit for what it is, and she seems to be gaining back some of her confidence along with it. And then there's Kelsey, sleeping with Zane AND Jake, and that's not going to end badly at all, is it.
Insecure Season 1 and 2
Fast watch because there are only 8 episodes in a season. I like Issa Rae and I'll watch season 3 but I think it was a bit much to marathon the first 16 episodes, just because it's really in your face with the sex and all. Lotta men with really nice asses, though, I will say that.
Reverie
This week introduced a bit of evil government, when Mara discovers a Syrian boy kept prisoner in a section of Paul's reverie -not by him - and the team rallies to the rescue. Turns out they only even found him because of Monica's plotting, so I guess she really IS a good guy despite working for the Defense Department.
Sharp Objects
Some people are just really messed up...At this point, I would almost be willing to think that Adora is the one killing these girls, but I really don't think the show is going there.
Succession
Inhaled. INHALED. I love a good show about a really dysfunctional family and if they're richer than Croesus, all to the better. I started out two months behind and have now seen all episodes aired to date and will be staying current. Right now most of my sympathy is with Kendall, who I actually liked the least when it started. He's a try hard who fucks everything up, but man, he sincerely wants to do well. It's just that with a father like Logan, who could? My least favorite person is Tom, fiance of Shiv. He is slimy and disgusting and I don't get how she likes him at all.