kakashi: I have a lot going on right now and we're going back into home office next week - cases are surging here. Fuck this shit, I'm exhausted. It happened so damn fast... one day we had only a handful of cases, then within 3-4 days, we're in the thousands. Oh no :/
Trotwood: Sorry to hear that. There doesn't seem to be any respite soon. I spend way too much time looking at these charts COVID Dan's COVID charts or the one put out by Johns Hopkins that does the global numbers as part of my job. I had a whole conversation with my daughter about what supplies we should be stocking up on for the winter and spent far too much on my car in case we are on lockdown, and I can't get new brakes in December. And you all know we've got a scary US election coming up. Dramas, fanfiction, and you guys are really the things keeping me sane at the moment.
Panda: Sorry to pile on the gloom but I lost a younger cousin yesterday to kidney failure. I still can't believe it. 28 years old! Please do your annual physical check people. Love to everyone.
Love and kisses to my sweet friends here who are struggling right now. I mean... everyone is struggling. This pandemic is just going on and on and on and I don't want to listen to that baboon's bright orange ass anymore, either, but it's just too harsh to have shit on TOP of all that. I send you my love. My job is still busy as FFFFFFFFFF but my parents are settled in Tennessee now and the bosses have settled into a routine that works for all of us, so the house is - if not exactly quiet - peaceful again. I'm really not watching much. Nine-Tailed, of course, and Zombie Detective, but am behind on everything else. I need to get back into that groove, seriously, for reasons. REASONS.
KOREA
Mom Has an Affair
The cliffhanger for last week was spot on, making me almost wish I hadn't watched and waited to just marathon the last two weeks together. The pregnancy is going to be revealed soon and Suk Joon know that his mom and brother had something to do with getting framed for murder all those years ago. I'm still not sure why his mom and brother are so against him being with Pil-Joon when they hate him anyway, but whatever. To me the hero of the week is Dong Seok, who has got to be the BEST second lead ever. He had already given up on Pil Joong and stopped Suk Joon from marrying someone else so our OTP can be together, but last week, he stepped up to save Dong Seok one again by revealing to the press important info about the autopsy which cleared him from suspicion. This man deserves to be happy. How he has remained so kind with such a horrible sister is beyond me. My Wonderful Life
I knew that things were too good to be true with this show. As much as I would have liked to see Sang-A suffer for another 20 eps, that was not to be. Why do the good people have to suffer for long in these shows while the bad people don't? Anyway, she's back to her scheming lying self with the Chairman and his wife kicked out of their own house. We all knew that Si Kyung's mom was Chairman Kim, right? But it's interesting that she's she is so hell bent on revenge now. Why now? She had the shares before. Anyway, the one reason why I'm not doing the drop now and pick up later is because I do like how before all this happened Bok Hee finally stood her ground about being forced to become "educated" like her new mom wants her to be and that she and her kids have gone back to their lives. I'm also glad that our OTP are keeping to their "let's be honest with each other" promise. Search
Tried first ep but couldn't get past Kyrstal's lip gloss as a KCST commander. The show seems uneven with goofy trying to combine with horror and suspense, but I'm not buying it. It could be good going forward since OCN is good at dark suspense, but the only people I liked from this first episode are already dead, so . . .
CHINA/TAIWAN
Falling Into You
I watched both episodes 3 and 4 even though episode 4 was only at 94%. I really wanted to see the fall out from Zhi Seng's hasty decision and everyone's assumption about Zi Tong. Who could possibly have thought she would be the person who leaked the news when she looked at that reporter like she was a cretin? Anyway, I liked how everyone groveled, and I hope that Zhi Seng finally starts to recognize that he actually likes her and stops being so much of an ass. Frankly, what's really keeping me watching this show (because I am not really that behind the OTP yet--think Zi Tong deserves better to be honest) is the whole story of her brother and Zhi Seng's aunt. What happened? He clearly has always longed for her. Love in Time
Ruo Xi needs to go away, but I don't think she will any time soon. Who is surprised that her plan to have Jia Nan locked out on the rook to get Rui Cheng to rescue her was going to back fire? (a gazillion people raise their hands). But two great things happened: Our OTP made up and also promised to talk things through and Rui Cheng saw the two of them together and seemed happy for her. Could we possibly have another nice 2nd male lead? I'm hoping though that our OTP can focus on addressing Buoyan's trauma and what really happened on the day all those years ago that they were supposed to meet. JAPAN
30sai made Dotei dato Mahoutsukai ni Narerorashii/Cherry Magic! 30 Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard
This show is an absolute gem and is my favorite thing that I'm watching right now. What warms the heart here is that Adachi is this very nice guy with low self esteem and he gets to hear the thoughts of the person at work who has a crush on him and really is such a love. What would that to to your self esteem if you could hear all the lovely things a person you've admired for awhile think such lovely things about you. The squeals are being heard around the world. I'm just hoping that this will help Adachi see himself as someone with potential and to stand up for himself if nothing else. We all could use a Kurosawa in our corner. Kiken na Venus/Dangerous Venus
I started this show because I was thrilled to see a Dean Fujioka drama with an actual episode subbed (you have all seen the Dean curse--where his shows are subbed slowly even by Japanese subbing standards). He isn't the lead, but I didn't mind because one of the leads is Yoshita Yuriko, and I've liked her and her characters in the last three dramas I watched her in, two of which I reviewed here in RAWR (No Need to Know and Will Not Work Overtime). However, I did not really enjoy this first episode or the person I know I'm supposed to support. She plays the wife of the lead's brother. Her husband has disappeared right before a major inheritance announcement is to be made. She goes to the lead for help, but he's not interested because he hates the family--as the stepson he was treated horribly. I'm not sure she's any more trustworthy than the creaky Scooby-doo character family. THAILAND
Deja Vu
This show makes me think of our beloved Belinda because it's exactly the kind of show she would have taken out the cat toys for. I mean really, this water goddess is just so spiteful. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE is getting a chance at redemption, but she just wants to see our couple for no reason. So may lakorn tropes and then so many turned on their head. I've got two episodes left, but I probably won't watch them until next weekend because I will need to monitor my blood pressure. Look at these two, for example, both of them have tried to kill people and ruin the lives of our OTP, and the show is even making them route for our OTP now. That's how awful the water goddess is. Oxygen
I fastforward through the subplot about the fujoshi girl and her doctor, which is getting even worse. People are worried that now her brother is going to have a crush on the doc because of her shenanigans and I'm done. But our fluffy couple and even the secondary couple are doing well. It's like the show felt it had to add some drama because everything is pretty calm, but really that was why the books are popular; the couples get together and fight obstacles together. I mean that's what real couples do. Why can't dramas figure that out?
PHILIPPINES
The Four Bad Boys and Me
Candace is a better person than me. I would have been far angrier than she is to find out all those dark secrets about my father that had been kept from me for years and to know my own brother flunked a year of school because he was busy working to help save to send me to visit said father. But in After School Special fashion, we get a breakthrough not only for our couple, but also for the evil girl, and with her mom. Show was interesting really just to see how they would manage filming an entire production without having any of actors together and without a real set. Quaranthing
If you thought last week was painful . . . well hello salt meet wound. We all knew Glenn was a scumbag as soon as we saw him, so I'm glad we dodged that, but this doesn't bring Rocky and Judah back together even as friends. Judah is still so broken from being abandoned. At least him mother now knows about the conversion therapy that his grandmother was trying to force on him. Still don't eel sorry about her guilt or her story about Judah's grandfather. Rocky was feeling pushed by Judah to accept his feelings faster than he was ready. The timing is just so off with these two. Gaya sa Pelikula/Like in the Movies
Christmas is here, but Karl doesn't realize that it is going to trigger Vlad's feelings of estrangement from his own family and fear of failure. Vlad doesn't want to like Karl, but he's clearly not immune to his eyelashes nor his general open kindness. Even his friend recognizes the potential in this relationship, he's going to be careful. I feel like he's already gone through what Judah from Quaranthing is--the pain of loving someone who isn't even sure about their own sexuality. The difference though here is that Karl isn't confused (yet), I just don't think he's thought about it at all.
WESTERN SHOWS
Emily in Paris
After reading about how upset the French were about this series, I had to watch it. Now I understand why they're angry :D what a cliche-fest. Even though some of the things said about the people in Paris ring true to me, haha. I ffwarded a lot but enjoyed parts of it. I also got really homesick for Paris. Haven't been in too long and would like to go right now. Fuck Covid.
