Rants and Weekly Raves #314 (RAWR)

JoAnne: I am sorry to report that I watched absolutely nothing this week besides the new anthology series Monsterland on Hulu, and rewatched Blade, Blade II, and part of Blade: Trinity which I will finish tonight. The sun is shining, my new overlords are out of the house sometimes because they are working, and the tiniest bean dog still glues himself to my side, which does not displease me at all.

Trotwood: I feel like I'm holding my breath waiting for the next bad thing to happen. Watched a mismash of stuff. Everyone is tense as flu season starts and wondering how we are going to handle the combo. Reading a LOT of fanfiction these days.

kakashi: I guess I'm holding my breath too, Trot. I also want to watch something I can fall in love with fully. 

P.S.: I'm still amazed about the amount of BL shows out there :D

Panda: I am still reading and watching British shows. I am now watching Scott & Bailey and I am thoroughly enjoying the drama. I am so burned out from this year. 

P.S. Such a cute fox!

KOREA

Mom Has an Affair

Kept looking for more eps this week until I remembered that it was Chuseok, and so the dailies were probably not airing Thursday and Friday. I caught up on both this and My Wonderful life while waiting for our weekly random asymptomatic test results to come in, which is always a nail biter. I'm trying to get over my annoyance that they are trying to redeem Pil-Jung's dad just because he gave part of his liver to the chairman. This and his concern over his son's hospital bills don't make up for his slimey ways.  Also, although I'm enjoying the way Tae Woo is finding a way to support Soon-Jung, I really want all of his mother's nastiness to be revealed but am afraid there aren't enough episodes left to make her as miserable as I believe she deserves to be.

My Wonderful Life

I know we are only half way through the drama, but I would be happy to watch Song Ah spend the next 60 episodes living the way Bok Hee had to live her entire life. She has the least reason to be a bitter character than almost any daily villain I've seen. She's received chance after chance to make a better choice and continue to have the easy life she's always had. Thus, it was so delicious to watch her adopted father finally have enough and have her on her knees begging. I will rewatch the last two minutes of episode 65 when she gets kicked out whenever I'm feeling sad.

Mr. Heart (final)

This show was clearly not long enough!! So much fluff, and I'm not just talking about the fact that everyone wanted to adopt Sang Ha, pay for his tuition, make sure he ate, and ruffle his hair. Anytime, you have loan sharks crying with relief that one of their targets has been able to pay of their debt, you know you have a fluff drama. I also like the message about wanting the person who loves you to follow their own dreams and not just yours.

The School Nurse Files (final)

I finished watching this drama, and I feel like I am too dense to "get it," so I'm looking forward to hearing from people who watched it about their theories. I liked the detail of her childhood friend coming back, but I'm not sure I completely got the significance of his death and her seeing it in her dream. What was Mackenzie doing there? What happened to Hye Min eventually? I feel like the end wasn't really an end but that we were back at the beginning with the only change is that now she knows she can recharge with In Pyo.

CHINA/TAIWAN

Falling Into You

I love how Jiro Wang's character, Zhi Sheng keeps wanting to get rid of Puff's Zi Tong and  then just keeps relying on her by accident. He's able to keep up his public persona merely because she not only keeps saving the day (Literally--falling off buildings, attacking a knife wielding robber) but because she really does NOT want any recognition. Even his PA is like dude, why do you hate her so much. (He's played by Yan Yu Lin who played the psychiatrist in Some Day or One Day, and he's soo different here that I had to look up the cast list to tell me why I knew his face). This show isn't anything new, but I like the hardened stoic female with the brash hero who needs to learn a life lesson trope. I'm in.

Love in Time

Thanks to one of our readers, curelover, I started this show. Just as breezy as she said. If you like contract marriages, this is one for you. Our couple knew each other as kids. Jia Nan was a chubby kid in middle school who teased about her weight and because her dad headed a lingerie empire. She grew up being embarrased about being the lingerie queen and wanting nothing to do with it; instead she wants to write books. Bo Yan also teased her as a kid but was also one of her strongest advocates. He was the boy who teased her because he liked her, and their contract marriage helps her but really helps him because its clear from the beginning that he really wants to be married to her. She tries hard not to fall because she thinks this is all just a farce. Eps are really only about 40 minutes, faster if you fastforward through the shenanigans of the secondary couple.

With You

I started this drama because despite my need to use drama as an escape from real life trials, it's been bothering me a bit at how much of an escape that is. What I mean by this is that other than the Filipino dramas I've been watching and one Thai web drama (the fantastic hand sanitizer foodie fantastic Ingredients on YT), dramas show a world completely untouched by COVID. No mask wearing. No hand sanitizer stations. No social distancing. Nothing. SO when I heard that China was pulling out all the stops and a sky full of stars to tell its COVID story I was intrigued. I watched three episodes and cried a lot. I may not finish all 20 episodes, not because it isn't high quality, but because it touched on so many fears and frustrations about being responsible for COVID response and that emotional toil on families and workers. Some might say that it is "too soon" to do such a show, but it does do a good job in thanking people essential workers who are risking their lives every day so that we can all live on.

JAPAN

Rental Nan Mo Shinai Hito/Rent a Person Who Does Nothing (final)

We finally come to the end of the road for this mild drama, which I had forgotten is based on a real person. At first, I was a bit frustrated by the end because Shota finally did what he should have doing all along, but then I realized that the point of the show was just as much about the need he was filling in the lives of his clients than about his desire to really not do anything. It was good to see him finally recognize the start in his life that his wife was. To me, she was my favorite character out of all of them. Her quiet support and love really wrapped him up allowing him to be who he was.

THAILAND

Deja Vu

I was only going to watch a couple of episodes and do some work, but I ended up watching 8 episodes (thank goodness these are less than an hour!) because I was just amazed at the juxtaposition of crazy beside anti-lakorn tropes. Of course, what is a wedding in a lakorn without someone pulling a gun, but then we have villain characters feeling genuine sorrow and wanting to change their ways. We get the stereotypical  murder attempts, but then we get forgiveness and redemption. But through it all, we have this goddess who needs to be taken out because she keeps changing the rules every time the heroine passes her test. I'm waiting for a reason to know why she is so bitter, but I have a feeling that they are never going to tell us that.

Oxygen

This show is working on being the anti angst show. I am going to quote here my warning tweet when I saw this week's episode: " Warning all my friends who have yet to watch this week's ep of Oxygen. Be careful, if you blink, you will miss the resolution of last week's cliff hanger." The show finished up an drugged kidnapping and attempted sexual assault in 57 seconds. I know. I checked because I went back to see if I had missed something.  It really is like the cup of warm milk Guitar gave solo during their first meeting. I know there will be angst and sadness to come, but I'm comforted because the show makes it very clear that nothing is going to come in between Guitar and Solo, and they'll fight all of these things together--a trope not used enough in drama in my opinion.

I'm Tee, Me Too

My theory about this show is that it puts three very very popular BL couples all together in one show in one house to give fan service but also to get fans more used to seeing them not coupled together but paired with other people and in other roles. However, that is not the plot. This story is the story of Watee who needs to be able to keep his house after his mother's dies. He eventually rents out rooms to five other university students all with a variation of "tee" in their names (hence title) who all have different real if rare emotional problems. For example, one guy keeps having to break up with girls because he gets physically angry hearing people chew. Another gets physically ill when he sees a pretty girl because he's afraid of them. The housemates help each other through their phobias all while trying to abide by Watee's very strict rules. It's like a 70s sitcom. Fun if you're a fan. I also absolutely love the house.

PHILIPPINES

The Four Bad Boys and Me

Who thought Tiffany being left on the stage alone at the pageant was one of Stacy's tricks? (raising my hand). I was not surprised that Jeydon came to the rescue, but I was surprised that all the bad boys showed up to be her "band" while she sang the show's themes song. I did crack up at watch them pretend to paly instruments with the cartoon pics of said instruments in front of them, but that's the design of the show. I also finally got the why she wants to to find her father and why her mother and brother kept information from her, but if I were her, I'd still be mad. 

Quaranthing

Lockdown occurs and Judah and Rocky end up stuck together. Initially not really liking or understanding each other at all. Rocky has no patience for Judah who he sees as a spoiled rich kid who ran away from home in a fit of pique. Judah thinks Rocky is a male prostitute playing around with people for money. They bond when they find out each other's secret. Rocky is just a person who takes a lot of part time jobs because he's helping to provide for his sick father and siblings and moved out so they'd have less people to feed. Judah ran away because when his grandmother found out he was gay, she signed him up for a conversion camp. Of course, they end up falling for each other, but Rocky is afraid of indulging in a forbidden love when the world is a dumpster fire. Acting is on point. Production value is 70s betamax. 20 minute eps.

Gaya sa Pelikula/Like in the Movies

The tradition in Karl's family is that when you turn 19 you go live on your own. He gets to stay in his uncle's apartment, but he has to figure out how to pay his own way. In a meet up that only happens in dramas, he happens to get an unplanned roommate in Jose who also happens to be in charge of the club that he wants to join. He's an architecture major who wants to change to film. The problem is that he's clearly not sure of his own sexuality while Jose is out and seems to be a player. Of course, we all know they are going to be friends and may be more, but both of these characters are refreshing in their discussion of their conflicts with family over what they want to do with their lives. I post a lot on twitter about the actor who plays Karl's eyelashes because they are sooo long-like almost scary long. The fans have had a field day because the actors have the same last name--Pangilinan-- and they aren't related. 20 minute eps.