Rants and Weekly Raves #315 (RAWR)

Panda: Hullo!! I just popped in to say hope everyone's doing great. I am trucking along with my crime shows. I just binged Scott & Bailey and my gosh, it was EXCELLENT. I absolutely loved Gill and it was such a rush and pleasure seeing these smart women on my screen. Highly recommended.

kakashi: Hullo! I'm spending time with my mother and it snowed overnight. The mountains are all white, it's beautiful! In other news, I'm making Königsberger Klopse tonight.

Trotwood: Such a pretty picture. It's getting cold at night here as well. Stocked up on supplies with the feeling foreboding as if the other shoe that was about to drop was a big heavy steel shoe. Wil vote early and walk my ballot to a fire station to put in an official box. Feeling paranoid. Perhaps listening to the When Diplomacy Fails podcast isn't a good idea. I alternate it with the Revolution podcast. I'm rewatching a lot of the ends of dailies because I need to see bad guys taken down.

P.S.--Kakashi said last week that she's surprised at how many BL shows there are coming out. I'm not, especially with how cheaply many of them are made and how much money companies can make. They know how to sell. Several of them have even invited reaction Youtubers to do videos with cast members. I start a lot, but only watch some, and only comment on about half of the number I watch. Also, the Philippines regularly subs its BL webdrama content for free, but hardly ever subs it regular drama content for free, so . . .

JoAnne: I wrote a whole thing, even put my name on the post. But it's gone now...anyway, not watching much but Gumiho and Zombie. Pretty soon I'm gonna put my foot up Brahm's girl's BUTT and tell her to get a clue, but whatever. Do you, Sad Sack. Do you.

KOREA

Mom Has an Affair

We are in my favorite section of dailies--the last twenty episodes. This is where the bad guys think they are going to win and the good guys start making some gains and the momentum starts to switch in their favor. I'm resigned to the fact that they're redeeming Pil-Joong's dad and making him besties with the chairman because I'm completely delighted that everyone started finally asking why she hates Pil-Joong so much--even the other people who don't like her can't figure it out. Of course, all is revealed when a mystery person sends her old hospital record to her husband. Her whole history with the married man comes out, and we end the week with her on her knees and begging. I think her husband still has a soft spot for her, but her MiL has always hated her. She better hope she finds something good in that safe.

My Wonderful Life

My Wonderful Life is making me nervous because we are not near the end at all, but they are making the evil person suffer now. As I said before, I'd be happy to watch her have to learn how to live the way Bok Hee had to, but I'm sure there is going to be more than this. I think Choi Sung Jae's Jang Si Kyung has the potential to join Lee Si Kyang's Hyung Joo's perfect boyfriend (from 2017 Happy Sisters which also had the same female lead) if he keep steadfast against his obnoxious mom. She's got a lot of nerve coming back and acting like she should have a say in his life after all these years. And it's always great to see Bok Hee tell off Sang Ah.

My Dangerous Wife

I was going to start this because it seemed no one else was watching this of the three Kdramas that premiered this week, and I liked the idea of watching another show with older leads, but I didn't have time. Did anyone else watch? What did you think?

CHINA/TAIWAN

Falling Into You

Subs are so slow for this. Started, but am missing a bunch of meaning even though it's at 90%. Don't think it will be ready for me to comment for this week's post.

Love in Time

The pacing sometimes seems off, and a lot of the music was muted on the official site, but I'm still in with this drama, who's clearly the poor cousin C-grade cousin to eh very popular Dating in the Kitchen and Love is Sweet. I'm really liking how the two are getting together. Bo Yuan is pulling out all the stops to be as supportive of his wife as he can w/o really having a clue. He even watches videos, but I love it when he finally realizes that Jia Nan wants and needs to be not just his wife, but her own person with her writing admired on its own merits. We all knew that she was going to get that job working as scriptwriter on the rival's film. I don't even care that her friend just happened to get her first gig on that film either, but let's talk about the real love rival the show gave us in ep 13. I hope they don't make him evil too soon.

Sparkle Love

I started this because people talked about it. It's light and airy, but now I really want to know what happened in high school and why she stopped running track. I also already like the second lead and feel sorry for him and do not feel sorry for our male lead at all--despite him falling for her because of her powers. I just want her to get out of this awkward scenario. I probably won't continue because the subs don't look regular. But I would love to live in their dorm. SHow has another AMAZING dorm room style.

JAPAN

30sai made Dotei dato Mahoutsukai ni Narerorashii/Cherry Magic! 30 Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard

This might be officially the longest title of any show I've watched and it's equally adorable, and much more genuine and heartfelt than I expected. Based on a popular manga of the same name, this show focuses on Adachi, and begins at work the day before his 30th birthday. Legend has it (I never heard of this legend, but let's just go with it), that if a person reaches their 30th birthday and are still a virgin, they will get a magical power. Adachi wakes up the next day with the ability to read the minds of people he touches, and not just touches but accidentally bumps into on the subway, etc. You already get to spend a lot of time in his mind already, and we know that he is just a quiet, shy, kind guy who really doesn't think that much of himself. This would be enough, but what he learns very quickly is that the very popular and successful colleague of his has a genuine crush on him. Adachi thought he was invisible, but Kurosawa seems to notice all sorts of things about him that he just thought were ordinary.

THAILAND

Deja Vu

The water goddess really has it in for our couple!! Like I said, to save Wynn's life, Jane did everything she could to stay out of love with Win. She even agreed to marry the 2nd lead, which I'm embarassed to say took me forever to realize that the reason I thought he was familiar is because he is Golf Nitipasisalkul. Yes that Golf as in brother of Mike from the Golf and Mike. Potuppers will know Mike as lead in Thai Full House. However, in saving Wynn, she dies and now it's his turn to save her. Goddess agrees but only if he exchanges his life for hers AND gives up something. Of course he agrees, but now we are on the arc of Jane is alive but has completely forgotten him while he only has 100 days to love her before he, too, dies. And now Jane has to go through all the trauma f realizing she will never dance again AGAIN! Pfft. What is with her? Why is she making this so hard. Spite? .

Oxygen

We continue with our anti-angst show. It's not that there aren't struggles; it's just that we never actually think our main couple will break up. Gui has to figure out that he needs to show his care more, and Solo figures out that he can't disappear and think everything will be fine. I'd be fine with them, but we have to deal with a character who I just call coffee creeper who is going to keep trying to hang on to Gui even thought EVERYONE knows he isn't interested, and we've got the annoying side story (which I don't remember being in the novel at all) of the fujoshi girl who has a serious lung disease but her brother just spends his money on video games and shoes. 

PHILIPPINES

The Four Bad Boys and Me

This week set up a challenge between Candace and Stacy because Stacy knows about Candace's scheme to get enough money for her trip to Australia. Of course, nothing comes of it despite the danger that Candace could get expelled. But if this were a regular drama rather than Thai Afterschool Special lite, I might think the real secret that everyone had been hiding from Candace about her father could really break her relationship with her mom and brother but also her relationship with her friends.  Why do they all know everything but her?

Quaranthing

This whole episode was one of pain and ended with pain. We all knew that Rocky would stay if Judah was sick if for no other reason than because they needed to know if he had COVID, and Rocky couldn't risk infecting the rest of his family. The care given clearly Rocky to rethink his stance about a relationship with Judah; however, unfortunately, that care makes Judah feel guilty about how he had relentlessly pursued Judah and made him feel uncomfortable. He pulls back, setting clear boundaries to get his friendship back--a friendship that he doesn't realize he hadn't lost. And who is this new guy?!?! Judah, Rocky and I want to know.

Gaya sa Pelikula/Like in the Movies

While everyone else was fawning over Vlad's voice, I was still busy trying to ignore not only Karl's eyelashes but also the freakin' mess Vlad left in that apartment. Of course, Karl is upset. You should only be that much of a slob if you live alone. I know that Vlad is feeling horrible because he once again didn't get into his dream program, but  that was no excuse. I'm glad the sister Judit is supportive, but I'm tired of fujoshi characters pushing their fantasy BL agenda on random guys. It's really not okay, and it's not funny. I feel about them the same way I feel about the pushy mom/aunties who show up with pictures of people for blind dates. Stay out of people's bedrooms!