Rants and Weekly Raves #224 (RAWR)

JoAnne: Did y'all have a good drama week?
Trotwood: Nope. So many blocked shows here and class is really intense so must study. Too stressed to watch anything much but Jollibee commercials. Really, you should check them out. Don't expect much from me until I leave South Korea.
kakashi: I'm getting ready to spend a week at the World Economic Forum and am equally excited and terrified about it, so don't expect anything from me in the next few weeks. All I've been doing is stare at Chen Kun to feel good. It's working.
Panda: I did!
Stare at Chen Kun? I did, too. I won't say he calmed me down, exactly, but I did feel less stressed, after.
SakiVI: I am obsessed with Story of Ming Lan. I can't bring myself to watch anything else. I even forgot about Fate and Fury this week. Oh, hello Chen Kun.

So pretty, I can chenge QAS's mind about patterns

KOREA

Less than Evil

All week I've been hearing Bae Wool's forlorn little 'oh, I thought we had become friends' in my head. I think about that, and I think about the fact that Tae Hee's trauma all these years is not what she saw, or fear that Jang would come after her - but what Bae Wool had to live with.

My Strange Hero

We've been singing the praises of Kwak Dong Yeon all week on my TList because let's face it - Yoo Seong Ho and Jo Bo Ah are perfectly matched limpid eyes and lush mouths and shiny, full heads of hair (ok they can act, yes) but Kwak.Dong.Yeon, people. Kwak Dong Yeon can ACT.

The Crowned Clown (New)

This felt like a movie. I mean each episode was at least 80 mins (tvN seriously, STOP) but this is in reference to the production values. Even though it's a Masquerade adaptation, a part of me thought it wouldn't be brutal. Chile.... It IS brutal and so much darker than I thought. I was transfixed for every second. It is sooo good. I sincerely pray this is Yeo Jin Go's successful adult project. He is amazing. I am also fascinated by the main side characters- the Queen, and the Royal Secretary. I love that in addition to the usual mustache twirling ahjussi Minister bad guy we have the intriguing side evil prince- Prince Yeom. He is a bad guy but I am curiously drawn to his character. Maybe its cos he is so soft-spoken and seems unfazed by surprise turn of events- they make the best villains.

Ohhh, this is starting out really well. Do not let people sway you with complaints about tvN's lengthy episodes because you ain't gonna notice that, folks. Yeo Jin Goo in a dual role, Lee Se Young (our beloved Zombie Girl!) at his side? Surrounded by allll the usual sageuk left and right ministers and eunachs? This is going to be a very enjoyable watch.

The Last Empress

The crazy continues and even tops itself each week. Some people have been complaining that Sunni is stupid. I don't find her stupid. i just think it's taken her awhile to realize how truly crazy this world she is in really is. I loved the moment with her sister trashing the Queen's room and then giving the bag full of weaponry and a heating blanket. I also liked how Sunni comforted Wang Ki at his mother's grave. Great cliffhanger, but I think he'll be able to play it off to the emperor saying that he needs to get Sunni's complete trust. We'll see. Looking forward to whatever the show throws at us.

I feel like this drama started out like a regular makjang and then took a left turn somewhere and the writer/director said 'fuck it, I'm all in' and the actors said 'oh, you think YOUR character is crazy? Hold my soju, hyung-nim.'

Children of Nobody

Remember last week when I asked what they would do with the rest of the show if Eun Ho was Red Cry? Yeah, he's not Red Cry. And all y'all who said the therapist was it, or the step mom was it, and I quietly thought to myself 'well how could they that make THAT work?' - I should have had more faith in you. It's not going to be the step mom for sure, but it seems so OBVIOUS that it's the therapist that I don't trust myself.

What's Wrong, Poong Sang? (New)

That first episode is the funniest 30 minutes about a tragic death and a horrible funeral that I have seen in a really long time. Certainly the funniest Korean drama about a tragic death and a horrible funeral that I have ever seen. It gets more serious after that but I still think we're going to get a lot of funny, and we have a big, skilled cast so...I'm looking forward to the next episodes.

Sky Castle

HOLY FUCKING SHIT
THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT I SAID. After BOTH episodes. What happens next week? Do all the residents of Sky Castle get on a bus driven by Teacher Kim that crashes off a cliff? I'm imagining a scene like in Almost Famous where they think the plane's going down and they all start confessing their darkest secrets: I bet Kang likes to wear his wife's dresses when no one's home.

Top Star Yoo Baek

Kim Ji Suk makes my heart skip a beat these days. When Yoo Baek and Kang Soon stare at each other and he whispers 'Confirmed'? Yeah, girl, that's the stuff alright.

CHINA/TAIWAN

The Story of Ming Lan

The theme song from this show runs through my head all day long and I cannot stop thinking about it. We are finally at a point where one villainess is about to be exposed by her own daughter's temper and shenanigans. The pacing is perfect: it seems like it is slow yet everything moves just right so that you feel completely absorbed and never feel overwhelmed nor bored. There are a lot of whiny commenters waiting for sexy times with Feng Shao Feng already but for the characters, Ming Lan and Gu Ting Ye, the build-up to their rock-solid marriage is just right. And am I starting to feel sorry for the villainess? I think I am. Concubinage is a terrible system.

I Will Never Let You Go (New)

Ariel Lin and Zhang Bin Bin? You know I'm there for it. I watched the first episode - the intro makes it seem like a comedy but then it opens with your usual rape and pillage of a nobleman's home, followed by the premature birth of the heroine in a stable, followed by the death of her parents, followed by the adorably plucky young child being raised by a kindly beggar...eventually followed by Ariel Lin and Zhang Bin Bin. Did I mention I'm there for it? Because I am. There for it.