Rants and Weekly Raves (RAWR) #214
JoAnne: How's everybody? You finding your dramas okay? Have your viewing hours changed? You finding anything better in this new, post-DF landscape? I recognize that DF itself didn't affect many countries, but the resultant shifts can have a broader impact.
kakashi: I am going to meet with Emily next week in The Hague! It's always great when blogging, fanfic writing and Asian drama watching leads to meeting new people in real life...
Trotwood: Recovering from a cold and weekend retreat with student government. Great students. Singing karaoke to all this music I listened to in high school. Me: 'How do you know these songs?" Them: "Our parents made us listen to these songs when we were growing up." Feeling so old.
Panda: Jo, my drama viewing has indeed changed, the wound is still fresh :)) How's everyone doing? Kakashi, that's so exciting,I hope you had a great trip, say hi to Emily.
Look at them! I'm already voting for them to be my favorite team of 2018. I already miss them. The last ep seemed to end the series in the first ten minutes and then allow for us to have some recovery time to begin set up for the movie version. I'm not complaining since I needed time to mourn. This show was really quality throughout although I know people are fighting about the ending. Acting was stellar and the relationships between everyone seemed real. The visuals were lovely (mad props to the lighting director). This show turned out to be what The Ghost Detective promised, but they went darker and darker making us second guess things each ep. I know people found the show scary, but I actually was surprised that I wasn't that scared; I was more worried and anxious because I was so invested in the saving of Park Il Do's victims. When you're on a mission, you don't have time to be scared.
What I enjoyed was how WELL they manipulated us, and the guessing game of who was really Park Il Do. They kept that going right up until the end, and how they handled Yang and Grandpa and even Hwa Pyung was particularly well-done. Is there really going to be a movie?
kakashi: I am going to meet with Emily next week in The Hague! It's always great when blogging, fanfic writing and Asian drama watching leads to meeting new people in real life...
Trotwood: Recovering from a cold and weekend retreat with student government. Great students. Singing karaoke to all this music I listened to in high school. Me: 'How do you know these songs?" Them: "Our parents made us listen to these songs when we were growing up." Feeling so old.
Panda: Jo, my drama viewing has indeed changed, the wound is still fresh :)) How's everyone doing? Kakashi, that's so exciting,I hope you had a great trip, say hi to Emily.
KOREA
100 Days My Prince (Finale)
I just can't seem to watch the last 2 eps. Can't explain why but I just have absolutely no urgent pull to do so. A main part of that could have been the reveal of the Princess baby-daddy, had no idea that I would be so meh/disappointed in knowing who.
I haven't watched them either. I haven't actually seen anywhere they're showing, but I haven't exactly looked hard.
I haven't watched them either. I haven't actually seen anywhere they're showing, but I haven't exactly looked hard.
The Beauty Inside
This week brought home to me the reality that she lives, and everything she has lost, and how much it could mean, having someone who sees HER no matter what she looks like. It also made me see clearly how much he struggles in the world, and how unworthy, how damaged he thinks he is. We've seen it all along but they were coping, and they were living their lives, so I don't think it registered with quite the weight it should have. And that was by intention, so that in the hands of these strong, skilled actors, we would be forced to look at it and really feel it, and I did. The scenes with her mother, in particular, were so difficult to watch. Were they for you?
I cried at the mom scenes. I started having weird tinges when I saw all the screen time she had but I dispelled it. It hurt, it still hurts. These two, they have been dealt shitty hands by fate haven't they? You could literally see the sucker punch he felt when she told him she was the one in the billboard. And poor her. OMG, poor her. Ep 10 was hard to watch. Kudos to everyone but please could we get happier scenes this week? And I am so uninterested in the would-be priest and sis. That entire story-line always seems to shock me when it pops up LOL.
Oh, the billboard! He was so confident in his ability to know her, it really gave him the boost he needed. Poor baby :(
I cried at the mom scenes. I started having weird tinges when I saw all the screen time she had but I dispelled it. It hurt, it still hurts. These two, they have been dealt shitty hands by fate haven't they? You could literally see the sucker punch he felt when she told him she was the one in the billboard. And poor her. OMG, poor her. Ep 10 was hard to watch. Kudos to everyone but please could we get happier scenes this week? And I am so uninterested in the would-be priest and sis. That entire story-line always seems to shock me when it pops up LOL.
Oh, the billboard! He was so confident in his ability to know her, it really gave him the boost he needed. Poor baby :(
Bad Papa
Oh thank god, everyone pretty much took a swing at Min Woo. I'm back to wondering about the promoter but now I'm also wondering about the huge guy. I'm not entirely sure he's on the side of his little prick of a boss.
Where Stars Land/Fox Bride
Wow, Soo Yeon's hyung just really makes himself more of an ass every week, doesn't he? I'm thinking my early hunch is right, that their boss might have been married to the head of security at one point. Speaking of security - all my heart belongs to the puppy. I'm so happy to see his sad puppy eyes in a good guy role! The annoying woman got dealt a big blow by her cheating husband - how ballsy was that, for him to fly out of the airport she WORKS at with his mistress? I don't like her but I hope she gets a chance to rake him over the coals.
Matrimonial Chaos/The Best Divorce
I suppose I could have seen the friend's implosion coming but the intensity of her rage was still something that caught me by surprise. I'm really glad to see Lee El in such a challenging role - she always plays these cool, reserved women and she does it so well but I like knowing she can do other things.
The Ghost Detective (Finale)
Well that kind of fizzled, huh? I'd watch a second season because I like the particular group of people and would enjoy watching them solve cases together, choosing to highlight each's unique skills in turn. But as for the central mystery here, no real answers yet. And the mechanics of what the hell Lee Da Il is, no clue. But I do have a question, asking for a friend: can a ghost get you pregnant?
I know we spent a lot of time on Daniel Choi (and you know I love him), but kudos should be given to all the actors in this show who played everything with conviction until the end even when the end wasn't worthy of them or the beginning of the show. I loved this team, and as much as I wanted Da Il to have a happy ending, I was sort of disappointed that they gave him one. I also think Lee Ji Ah needs to start playing more villains.
I don't think I've ever seen her play NOT a villain.
I've only seen her in Beethoven Virus, Me, Too Flower, and Thrice Married Woman. No villains. Wasn't she also a good guy in Athena?
Oh, that was her Me Too, Flower? Okay, she wasn't a villain there. I haven't seen the other shows. I thought she was the bad vampire in that Vampire Detective drama but apparently not, I got her confused with Lee Chung Ah. The only other thing I saw her in was My Ahjussi. So that's 2 not villain and 1 villain but when I saw her as the villain here I thought, 'oh, her - she's always a bad guy.' Interesting. I do like her.
I know we spent a lot of time on Daniel Choi (and you know I love him), but kudos should be given to all the actors in this show who played everything with conviction until the end even when the end wasn't worthy of them or the beginning of the show. I loved this team, and as much as I wanted Da Il to have a happy ending, I was sort of disappointed that they gave him one. I also think Lee Ji Ah needs to start playing more villains.
I don't think I've ever seen her play NOT a villain.
I've only seen her in Beethoven Virus, Me, Too Flower, and Thrice Married Woman. No villains. Wasn't she also a good guy in Athena?
Oh, that was her Me Too, Flower? Okay, she wasn't a villain there. I haven't seen the other shows. I thought she was the bad vampire in that Vampire Detective drama but apparently not, I got her confused with Lee Chung Ah. The only other thing I saw her in was My Ahjussi. So that's 2 not villain and 1 villain but when I saw her as the villain here I thought, 'oh, her - she's always a bad guy.' Interesting. I do like her.
Terius Behind Me (Finale)
Another I haven't seemed to return to...maybe this weekend.
A Hundred Million Stars/The Smile Has Left Your Eyes
I don't want to hear any more talk about how Seo In Guk doesn't know what to do with this role, because he sure as hell does.
Hand: The Guest (Finale)
Look at them! I'm already voting for them to be my favorite team of 2018. I already miss them. The last ep seemed to end the series in the first ten minutes and then allow for us to have some recovery time to begin set up for the movie version. I'm not complaining since I needed time to mourn. This show was really quality throughout although I know people are fighting about the ending. Acting was stellar and the relationships between everyone seemed real. The visuals were lovely (mad props to the lighting director). This show turned out to be what The Ghost Detective promised, but they went darker and darker making us second guess things each ep. I know people found the show scary, but I actually was surprised that I wasn't that scared; I was more worried and anxious because I was so invested in the saving of Park Il Do's victims. When you're on a mission, you don't have time to be scared.
What I enjoyed was how WELL they manipulated us, and the guessing game of who was really Park Il Do. They kept that going right up until the end, and how they handled Yang and Grandpa and even Hwa Pyung was particularly well-done. Is there really going to be a movie?
That Time When Time Stopped
Still like it well enough. Still curious about the reapers. Now we know at least one of them knows about him and isn't doing anything about it, and we also know that there's something about him/his life that he probably does not know. Apart from reapers, that is.
The Third Charm
These fools just cannot get out of their own way. Oh, and I massively dislike Ho Chul. She knows you like her, dude. You told her several times already. She's turned you down every time. At this point your confessions aren't 'doing right by yourself' they're just intrusive and rude. Edited to add: Okay, now I've caught up. Wow, they put these kids through a lot, huh? I still don't like Ho Chul even if she married him and even if he genuinely cared about her. I just want to smash his face. Did we really need the dead child back story? Come on, they're piling it on pretty thick at this point.
Room No. 9
I watched last week and this week all in a row this weekend. It was a lot. I cycled through cancer, tears, body switches, MULTIPLE discoveries about various people, and then Hwa Sa's ultimate 'fuck you' to Chu Young Bae with very little time to process any of it, but I am thrilled that Yoo Jin is on his way to figuring out the truth about his family and I sincerely hope that he dumps his bitch of a girlfriend, Hae Yi. I honestly don't think she's any better than Chu Young Bae.
Ms. Ma, Nemesis
Right when I think this show is in a predictable (not necessarily bad) rhythm, I get tricked by more relationship surprises. I knew there was going to be more birth secrets, but I was on the completely wrong road at least for now. The new death this week should've provided some answers, but for every answer we got, we have more questions and new characters. Now we get another look alike? What? Who is everyone? More importantly, with my favorite gangster no the difference? And look at this face. Ms. Ma, just adopt him already!!
That Sunny Thing Trot Watches (finale week)
I love Jo's title so much that I'm not even going to correct it. This week was the end of the road for this daily and it began with a bang and ended on a fizzle. I really loved how the older sister finally exposed her lying sister and all the horrible things she had done including embezzlement, hring blackmailer and gangsters to cause harm, and attempted kidnapping and murder. I like how the heroine refused to let her rival commit suicide not because she was being the traditional goody goody but because she wanted her to live so she could receive her punishment. We even got a proposal (but no wedding!!) for Mr. Steadfast. However, we get a time jump with only jail time for about a year and then everyone gets back together for grandma's birthday and all is forgiven. WHAT?!! I'm just pretending that the last ten minutes of the last episode didn't happen and people are still in jail. Goodbye Mr. Steadfast. We will miss you and your thumbprint dimples.
WESTERN
The Walking Dead
Whoa. WHOA. First of all, hats off to the most bad ass Rick Grimes we ever saw. He unimpaled himself and then, gushing blood the whole way, led both hordes of zombies to their fiery ruin in order to save his loved ones - and now they all think he died in that explosion at the bridge.
He's not dead, but who the hell knows where he is, off in that mystery helicopter with those people Jadis knows? Years have passed, because Judith isn't a cute little toddler anymore, she's a little girl who saves people. Did they ever find Rick again? Do they even know he's alive? It's been no secret that Andrew Jackson was leaving the show, and it's not like anyone could blame him for that. Nine years of a physically grueling show is a lot for anyone, and he's been a key figure with no breaks in any of those seasons. I assume he'll do some guest appearances at some point, maybe not this season - lots of other people come back to do stuff.
The Good Place
Eleanor has a reunion with her mom, who seems to have found her way to the right path all on her own. Eleanor has to struggle with the jealousy that brings, since she wanted the life her mother is now giving some other little girl, but in the end she rises above, because that's who Eleanor is now.
Tejani had a break through with her sister and now they're (mostly) on the same team, and last week was Jason's time with his dad...so next week must be Chidi. How come the guys get a whole episode to themselves but the girls had to share?
Midnight, Texas
This week seems to have been about healthy relationships and boundaries, set against a back drop of jealous ghosts and people trying to take charge of their lives. I'm very curious about the new residents of Midnight. Kai seems nice but he's got that monstrous head in a secret vault, what's up with that. His wife also seems nice but she also seems like she might come on to Manfred at some point. And her lipstick is SO red. That's never on a good girl, you know. And that painting, is it really from her family? Does she know about the monster head her husband is hiding behind it?
The Haunting of Hill House
Finished this. I was never particularly frightened, not for long anyway, but there were a couple good jump scares and an effective use of tension through out. My memory of this will actually be of its sadness, not its scariness. When you get a bad place and sensitive people, the fall out is tragic. I'm glad I watched it but it's not something I'd rewatch.