deuramahunt:

“sowoo, life is filled with limitless possibilities you cannot label. it’s with endless twists and turns, with countless moments of joy and sadness. that’s how everyone lives. sometimes you curl up and sometimes you reach out. sometimes you wish to remain a lonely island, but you also wait for loud crashes of waves. it feels imperfect. you got the wrong answer and left this world. you just turned off the most beautiful piece of music at its intro. you walked past a pretty flower in the rain. your life that you were so certain that was only with darkness, it was just your room that you hadn’t flickered the switch on. it could’ve changed, it could’ve been better, that’s why you were wrong. i really wanted to tell you this. even if it’s in this world, i decided i will not give up with this life.”

Dramaland Forecast: February 2017

Previously – 2016 – Jan

I started out the year all gung-ho about actually completing the dramas I start and keeping up with each week’s episodes. Yeah. It didn’t last very long before I realized I really can’t watch many dramas at once and when I lose momentum in a show, it’s a goner.

Completed:

  • Naked Fireman – I don’t know if I can really be disappointed by something that I didn’t have very high expectations for in the first place, but I think Baek Hee Has Returned must have instilled some unspoken expectations of the quality of KBS’s drama specials because this one felt like it missed the mark in so many ways. It wasn’t terrible, it just wasn’t very good. I blame the director for most of my bafflement with the show. It was an odd mix of rom-com cuteness and SUPER SRZ melodrama with a hint of mystery/thriller thrown in just for funsies. Now, this mix can totally work (Incarnation of Money is my go-to genre salad that goes to extremes – but does it all well). Naked Fireman, on the other hand… is just a mess that gave me genre whiplash and I’m not convinced I understand the motivations of the characters even still. Also there was a severe lack of nekkidness, which is probably the biggest complaint of them all.
  • Night Light – this is not the greatest drama ever – I get bored easily with business shenanigans, especially when it’s a bunch of people talking to each other. But Lee Yo Won and UEE had some magical chemistry, and Lee Yo Won is just incredible in the first place, that it managed to keep my attention through until the end (although I admit I watched some it as background noise, tuning in mostly when my ladies were on screen). Also I love Tak and I want one of my own. 
  • Solomon’s Perjury all in all, I really loved this drama. It had a wonderfully bleak style feel that captured the “mid-winter” feel as well as the harsh noir-esque truths the students were dealing with (or at least debating). It never really felt like these were adults pretending to be teenagers, as so many teen dramas seem to me, and the teenagers always felt true to life in their struggles, big or small, personal or broadcast to the entire world. This was less of a whodunnit, as the plot followed a simple theme that has been seen many times before. It was more of a character study, watching these students learn that what they believe about people may not always be the truth.

Currently Watching:

  • Voice
  • Hwarang

Skipping/Dropping:

  • Legend of the Blue Sea – I love Jeon Ji Hyun to pieces but because I was watching TOO MANY dramas at once something had to fall to the bottom of the pile, and eventually it was three weeks later and I hadn’t touched an ep and new premieres were starting and and and… Also my interest in a show takes a dive when the happy romance stuff starts, especially when I know there’s angst ahead.
  • Reaper Goblin – the slow middle episodes were just too slow (and too loooooooooooong) and I don’t care if it gets more exciting or if tvN releases a “viewer’s cut” version where all the eps are one-hour or less (although tbh that would be pretty awesome), I just can’t muster up any enthusiasm to see this one out, despite how charmed I am by the adorable Reaper.

Upcoming dramas of interest:

  • Super Family 2017 – I have no shame in admitting that the only reason this has caught my attention is because it has my beloved Hoya (hey, a fangirl’s gotta fangirl). I might check it out since it’s supposed to be a sitcom and I’m curious to know if Hobaby can do comedy, but it doesn’t seem like something I’ll properly watch, and I’m already anticipating it won’t be showing up on any “completed” list of mine.
  • Strong Woman Do Bong Soon I’m still really eager about this one, even though I haven’t paid any attention to the promotional material (though I’ve heard it’s cute!). I just really hope that it lives up to my expectations. It’s been ages since I’ve enjoyed (and actually finished) a rom-com. 
  • My Sassy Girl – Joo Won is one of those actors that hold little appeal for me, but I love Oh Yeon Seo and think she’ll be brilliant in this role. The drama surrounded the drama has me a little cautious, but knowing it’s preproduced makes me slightly more confident it should at least be okay. I hope.
  • Secret Forest – I love me some cable mystery-crime-procedurals, especially one with an incredible cast (Lee Joon Hyuk! Jo Seung Woo!). Plus there has to be something pretty awesome about it that drew Bae Doona back to dramaland, right? I don’t know much about the production team, but I’m definitely keeping an eye on this one.
  • While You Were Sleeping – I know, I know, I know… you’d think the last drama I’d be interested in is the next Suzy/Lee Jong Suk vehicle, but my new crush Jung Hae In is listed as a second lead, so I’m intrigued, even though I don’t think I’ll likely stick with it since this writer is also hit-or-miss with me.

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.

Hi. Why do you think Joon Young’s mum is mentally ill?

The way she manipulates her family by playing the victim and then bullying them, and how father and son have had to tiptoe around her to avoid her breaking out into one of her moods. Joon Young found the body in the first place because he’d rather go to school early than listen to his parents fight, and their fight (at least what we heard of it) was mostly her making herself into the victim (”I want a divorce” and “maybe I should just die then”) while Dad tried to get her to calm down. She blames all her troubles on her son. Her response to the news that Joon Young was going to be in the trial was to try and destroy his things, and it didn’t look like it was the first time (which is backed up by the fact you could hear her destroying something breakable in one of her previous fights). It wasn’t exactly a healthy reaction (anger, yes – the destructive way she went about expressing it, no). Maybe she has a good reason for treating her son like dirt beneath her shoe, and maybe she is genuinely sick with a physical ailment, but I feel like she must have some sort of personality disorder, perhaps on the borderline spectrum.

Dramaland Forecast: January 2017

Previously – 2016

Happy New Year! Time to look ahead and make new drama plans! Or wallow in the reality that I will never keep up with any sort of resolutions I might attempt. Either way, it’s an exciting new year that promises some very welcome drama come backs.

Completed:

  • None yet! All the shows I’m currently watching are still airing, and I’ve been juggling too many shows to try and squeeze in an old drama to binge.

Currently Watching:

  • Night Light
  • Legend of the Blue Sea
  • Reaper Goblin
  • Hwarang
  • Solomon’s Perjury

Skipping/Dropping:

  • Romantic Teacher Doctor Kim – this is only a temporary drop because it just fell to the bottom of the pile of many dramas I’ve been watching. I’ve stalled out on ep 10, which means I’m weeks behind so I’m setting it aside for a later binge. (Of course, who knows when that “later” might be).

Upcoming dramas of interest:

  • Naked Fireman – I don’t really know much about this four-episode drama special beyond the name and the fact that Lee Joon Hyuk (aka my beloved Prosecutor from City Hunter) plays the titular character, but honestly I think that’s all I really need to know. 
  • Missing 9 – I’m still super excited about this one, from the concept to the cast to just about everything. My only concern is that it’s on MBC, so it might not get as dark as I’m hoping.
  • Voice – yeah I’m gonna shamelessly watch anything that promises me a Kim Jae Wook cameo. Thankfully the teasers look awesome (even though I know better than to trust teasers), and I think this could be another solidly satisfying OCN procedural.
  • Defendant – Ji Sung! Uhm Ki Joon! In a drama about… lawyers… and amnesia… ah, hmm… not exactly my cup of tea. The production team could go either way, so I’m keeping a vague eye on it but not really expecting anything.
  • Sensitive Boss – I’m actually more excited by the teasers which seem to promise more of an office-drama ensemble than straight-up rom-com, because I’m always more of a sucker for ensembles than anything else. I don’t know if I’ll stick with it, since I couldn’t get into the production team’s previous drama Marriage Not Dating, but I’ll at least give it a chance, at least as a fellow introvert.
  • Chief Kim – I like Namgoong Min, and I generally enjoy quirky office dramas, but there’s been nothing about this yet that’s really drawn me in. I might listen to the buzz about it and decide if it’s something that might be worth adding to the “watch” (or at least the “watch eventually”) list.
  • Rebel: Thief Who Stole The People – part of me wonders if we really need another retelling of the Hong Gil Dong story, but then I also think this sounds like a fun cast, and if we can have a million stories that follow the same chaebol-Candy plot, why not some more fun historical stories? I don’t think this drama will reel me in, but I’m not counting it out just yet.
  • Strong Woman Do Bong Soon – I still want to know more about the general plot about this drama, but right now everything points to it being fun and cute.
  • Tomorrow With You – I adore Shin Min Ah and I really like this director, but I’m iffy on the concept and the writer.
  • Tunnel – a time-traveling detective? Hmm, I feel like I’ve heard something like this before. If it’s true that Choi Jin Hyuk has signed on, then it will be a welcome return. But tbh I’m more excited about Yoon Hyun Min because I will always be excited about Yoon Hyun Min.
  • The Package – I love ensemble casts; I love stories about groups of people who are unwillingly thrown together and have to learn to tolerate (and maybe even love) each other; I adore France. So this seems like it will hit all the right notes for me, especially since it’s coming from jtbc so my expectations for a lovely and quiet character drama may not be too far off the mark. The writer makes me nervous, though, but perhaps the debacle of his last drama means he’s willing to try something new.

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.