I simply LOVED the 1st episode of Prison Playbook, but I’m in a moment of my life in which I can’t spend circa 1 hour and 42 minutes watching one drama episode :( I’m so sad because I was also surprised that I could like something with so few women on it + I really like the story. Main lead gives all the possible Sseureki vibes and I can even say he is good looking in his own way? I guess it’s because he seems to be a really good man, I don’t know, maybe I’m just blabbering right now!

…are you my secret twin, Anon? Because I, too, balk at the long episode lengths (it literally takes me two days to watch one episode), and also can’t believe I’ve fallen in love with a show that has so few women. I love the story, though, especially the natural Shin PD way of interweaving the expectations we have of the characters based on our first introductions to them with the stories of their pasts and what they’re really like.

Just like Je Hyuk, I keep forgetting that everyone in the prison is there for a reason, and just because I’m delighted by their quirky personalities, doesn’t mean that they haven’t done something truly horrible to end up there. But I love that each character continues to defy expectations (like Warden Paeng – omg if you haven’t seen ep 4 yet, then I’m sorry, but he’s now one of my favorites).

I also really love Joon Ho and the way he protects his clueless friend without trying to make it look like that’s what he’s doing. It makes me wonder if he ever regrets his choice to not go through rehab after the car accident, since he was the better ball player and had the best chance of making a full recovery. (Also I’d forgotten how much I like Jung Kyung Ho as an actor because it’s been so long since I’ve watched him in anything.)

But then it makes Je Hyuk’s issue all the more heartbreaking, because he’s obviously the type who will stubbornly and patiently work through any obstacle, even returning to baseball despite the odds against his surgery being successful. But now, thanks to prison, his hope is gone. The one thing he’s worked so hard for all his life is taken from him. He has nothing to return to after he gets out of prison, which breaks my heart and is why I teared up (and also wanted to cheer, if that makes sense) when he was like “no, I’ll go to the church service” because he wanted to scream. Unnhhhhh, my heart.

Those first four episodes were super long and told us so much, but I feel like we’re only just getting started on his story.

(Hey, look, I can babble, too!)

(ALSO NO ONE SPOIL ME ON ANYTHING PAST EPISODE 4 YET OR I WILL SHANK YOU!)