Rants and Weekly Raves (RAWR) #340

Trotwood: COVID cases are rising in my state and around the US. We saw the largest numbers of positives last week that we have had since the pandemic began. I'm guessing we will see even more in the next two weeks because people went home for the holidays (the week before Passover and this past weekend Easter). I'm exhausted--being leader of testing logistics team, public relations, and community education was pretty tough last week. The reviews are going to be sparse.

Is anyone watching the Chinese dramas Love is Science or Unusual Idol Love or Dilraba's new one, The Long Ballad? I even heard that Ivy Chen has one out, but I don't think it's subbed. Is anyone still watching Mouse and/or Beyond Evil? Which one is the better choice for thriller/suspense fans? I'm going to keep up with the new tradition of posting posters from dramas that I will probably never get to watch here unless someone has a better idea for a photo.

The Long Ballad

KOREA

How to Be Thirty?/Not Yet Thirty

I still really like these friends, but I'm still confused by the push and pull of our lead couple. However, I'm not sure that is a bad thing. Much more realistic I guess. I know some people want her to fight for her first love, but dude needs to deal with his past baggage, and I don't blame her for walking away when his "ex" refuses to go away and he's too "nice" to tell her to back up. She's got too good of a life for that. I do like the friend who talks about alone and how she likes it except for certain moments. But is it worth all the hassle just not to feel lonely in those moments? 

Oh My Ladylord/Oh! Master/Oh My Master!

I was only able to watch one episode last week, but I'm not sure I'm going to keep watching. The show isn't bad, but I don't like it enough to try to make time for. Especially since it isn't providing what I need. I want to really get to know them and see how they work together to pull off this project, but it seems like we are going to have to also suffer with him dealing with a mother who is dying and her dealing with a crazed stalker. I'm tired of romantic-comedies forgetting about the comedy part or thinking one funny side character makes it a comedy.

Miss Monte Cristo (daily)

This show will be the one I can still fit. The subs are always out in time for me to have something to walk while I'm eating dinner. The plotting of revenge helps me get my dinner down. I was getting impatient when it seemed like Eun Joo wasn't paying enough attention to get revenge against the guy who stole her father's mall , kicked out all the working-class tenants, and now is getting far too handsy with her mother. But now that she's working with the son of one her father's friends on that plot, so I feel better. However, is it bad of me to hope that her ex-fiancé dies if they are not supposed to get back together? Or moves away or at least leaves the country? I feel sorry for him. He's the one who will suffer the most and doesn't deserve it just because he was weak and decided to take responsibility. However, all of the others just worse and worse. You think they can't after the murders, but then they do and they still feel like they are victims, which makes the drawn out revenge so sweet. 

CHINA/TAIWAN

Word of Honor

Episodes 18-21: I am going to put the episodes I have been able to watch at the beginning of this entry and the beginning of Killer and Healer because Too many people are ahead and are posting spoilers without warning. Some of us need English subs and only have access to the official Youku release videos. Also, many of us don't have access to the book either, so please be respectful of that and warn people in your discussions about spoilers. I'm happy that people are enjoying the show, but not everyone is at the same spot in watching. This is going to sound odd, but I found the Scorpion King scenes restful in the sense that I am not conflicted at all about how I feel about him and his scary evil ways and want him to figure out how disgusting Zhao Jing is. The flashback that explains Wen Ke Zing's history was very painfully sad and just added more complicated questions about loyalties and how to respond to see justice that the fairly straightforward easily identifiable villainy of Zhao Jing was a respite.

Killer and Healer

Episodes 27-30: Here is another show that people are all over the place in watching depending on where they are and if they need subs, so once again, I ask people to shout "Spoiler!" if they are going to talk about something ahead of everyone else. I am watching on MGTV's YouTube channel, and these are the eps that are out. I see they have already scheduled it through the end as well. Yue Lou's plan is crazy, so we shouldn't surprised that it takes him to a mental hospital in disguise. I'm not sure that if I were the chief I would have gone along with this scheme no matter how much I believed in his skill. I was nervous the entire time because there are so many potential spies checking to see if this is all true. But I don't feel any better knowing that he now knows who is behind everything. It's like he's in even more danger. Jun Bai. Jun Bai. Jun Bai. If power is really all you want, why are you keeping Boss Yu alive? What are you going to do when you realize that his death really isn't in your hands?

HIStory 4: Close to You

I don't know why I'm still watching this show, and I actually ask myself this question while I'm watching. The friendship here is show strong, and thank goodness because it seems as if the show wants to pile on the types of triggers it wants to include with the post trauma of rape being topped with self blame, and we have to add another example of sexual assault and guilt and self blame and trauma. How is mom okay with her son's behavior? Are they so sure it is okay just because the victims are male? Does no one recognize that he needs serious mental health counseling?

JAPAN

Zettai BL ni Naru Sekai vs. Zettai BL ni Naritajunai Otoko

This is the only show I'm watching that is just plain fun and fluff. The tropes keep piling on now that Mobe's brother is involved. Is that a love triangle or a square or a circle? It's hilarious because the whole chain of crushes is such a BL trope as is the large group of friends that just has such laughs together. They even suck Mobe into their games. I love how we an identify the real leads and their connections based on the flowers around their heads and their glow. I love how Mobe is so bored and tired of their brightness. 

THAILAND

A Tale of a Thousand Stars (finale)

Lovely, lovely, lovely. All the way through. Did I wish I got to spend more time with them happy? Did I need to be sad for 90% of the drama? No. Was I relieved that overall the finale was satisfying? Yes. What I did like was the fact that Tian did go away and finish his degree. I'm not sure why his mom wanted to send him abroad. It would have made more sense if she knew about the Chief, but we see at the airport that she is surprised by his presence when no one else is, we know it can't be that. I'm pleased that we see that Tian is actually going to get a degree in teaching and come back to be a better teacher for those kids because of it and that time brings the two closer together. What they need now is a bed that doesn't squeak so much! I'm going to miss this lush scenery and the village very much.