Author: odilettante

Previously: Jan – Feb – Mar – Apr – May – June – July

Completed:

• Greasy Melo/Wok of Love – it was cute and had lots of delicious food and the chemistry between the main trio was Off The Charts, but it was disappointed to see an odd, quirky, bizarre little drama suddenly become a rambling mess of a rom-com. I still enjoyed the drama and it genuinely brought me a lot of joy while I was watching it, but if it weren’t for the insane charisma between Jang Hyuk, Jung Ryeo Won, and Junho, I’m not sure if I would have enjoyed it as much as I did.
• To.Jenny – SO adorable! I loved the indie music vibe (will I ever get “Tiramisu Cake” out of my head before I die?), the sassy little sister, the socially anxious adorkable loser who is able to finally screw up the confidence to show the world who he truly he is, and, of course, Kim Sung Chul, my new noona pet (who I could listen to sing forever and ever and what no I didn’t get lost in a youtube blackhole for hours while tracking down every video of his musical performances, how dare you insinuate such a thing?!?).

Currently Watching:

• Life on Mars – sorta, kinda. I’m halfway through, so I’ve got a backlog that I plan to binge, but it’s the kind of show that requires my full attention and I just haven’t had the time for that yet.
• Your House Helper – I love it so muuuuuuuuuuuuuuuch!
• Let’s Eat 3 – this is actually a pleasant surprise! I was planning to watch it anyway because I can’t resist Goo Dae Young and his passionate love of food, but I kinda hated Season 2 and therefore had low expectations for this except to be mildly entertained by my favorite foodie chatterbox. But I love it! It has those Let’s Eat elements that I love (fooooood!) but it also feels like a casual take on a Reply 2004, which is definitely welcome. It’s hilarious and poignant and much better than I could have ever anticipated.
• Meteor Garden – I don’t normally list non-Korean shows here because, well, I just don’t watch as many of them as I used to. But I’ve been willingly sucked into this cracktastic trainwreck and I’ve never been happier. This one has the potential to become my favorite Hanadan version (shhhhh, don’t tell Oguri Shun!). The only catch is there are six(!) new episodes a week so I’m struggling to find the time to watch All The Things since I always end up binging this show instead.

Dropping/Skipping:

• Life – I knooooooooow. But I was one of the few who merely liked Secret Forest, and honestly I’ve got too many other dramas on my plate to add in another that would actually require me to, y’know, pay attention to it. (Plus the PTSD from D-Day makes me instinctively balk at medical dramas about idealistic doctors going against potentially corrupt hospital directors).
• Handsome Guy and Jung-eum – I actually would have finished this if I hadn’t been trying to watch a gazillion other shows all at once. I enjoyed it for what it was, and even though I keep thinking one day I’ll go back and finish it, the reality is that the show is predictable enough that I don’t feel I’m missing anything by stopping ten episodes from the end.
• Mr. Sunshine – I watched the first episode and half of the second, and I was surprised that I liked it more than I thought I would (although I did get an itchy fast-forward finger with the battle scenes, like I did with Goblin). I haven’t actively dropped it but I’m not actively watching it, either. If that makes sense. Honestly, the saving grace for this drama is that it’s on Netflix (which isn’t a phrase I’d ever thought I’d say) because then it’s super easy to access it whenever I want, perfect for those lazy “eh I need something to watch but don’t want to put any effort into it” days.

Upcoming dramas of interest:

• Lovely Horribly – I’m so annoyed, because this stars Song Ji Hyo and has an interesting premise, but it also stars Park Shi Hoo, so, y’know.
• Today’s Detective – Daniel Choooooiiiiiiiiiiii! Who is a detective! That solves crimes with his fearless assistant Park Eun Bin! And there are ghosts! Hells yeah, sign me up!
• Voice 2 – I genuinely enjoyed the first one. It was a chilling thriller with a charismatic cast and it made for an enjoyable (albeit horrifying) watching experience. But… I’m not sure how I feel about a sequel. I do believe that this kind of set-up easily allows for a procedural storyline, and I did regret that some of the minor characters were severely underused in the first season, but can any Big Bad Villain compare to Handsome Oppa and his kettlebells? I’ll probably check it out but I won’t cry if I miss it or decide it’s not worth my time.
• Familiar Wife – it sounds like the kind of standard tvN drama that has a lot of potential and which people will probably love, but there isn’t anything about it that particularly draws me in. I won’t be surprised if it’s a hit, though.

As always, any drama not listed means I have nothing new to add since the last mention and/or it’s not something I care about enough to add to the list.