Korean dramas & movies |OT1| Attack of the dimples

doagrl · Jan 6, 2019

Happy New Year drama watchers! I had an incredible drama binging vacation at the end of the year and then paid for it with three extremely long work days to catch up.

Watched

Six Flying Dragons was just amazing from beginning to end. It never once dragged, which is an accomplishment considering the amount of political shenanigans crammed into every episode. And while it had tons of palace intrigue, murderous plots and grandiose speeches from real historical figures it also had some of the best action scenes I've ever watched in a sageuk. I absolutely loved it and I'm already planning on watching it again later this summer and following it up with the more somber Tree With Deep Roots. If I'm feeling really ambitious, I will start off with Queen Seondeok and go all the way to Tree With Deep Roots for a full 136ish hours of historical goodness.

Mr. Sunshine was my followup to Six Flying Dragons, as it seemed appropriate to watch the end of Joseon right after looking at the founding of Joseon. This was such a beautiful drama to watch, it just looked like a movie on the screen, a really big-budget movie. This was easily one of the best casts ever assembled for a drama and they just sold me on a time period that I know little about, to the point where I was super invested in a drama that I started watching with very lukewarm interest. Of course as soon as I fall in love with these characters, well no spoilers, but it was a brutal end with a huge amount crying. I'm glad I watched Mr. Sunshine for the characters, especially the amazing badass women (Kudo Hina!!!), but after it was over I really needed a pick me up.

Matrimonial Chaos was very good and I regretted that I didn't weekly watch this one. Bae Doona picks really good drama projects.

Mama Fairy ended well and I enjoyed it for the generally fluffy show that it was even though it dragged a bit in the middle.

Love Alert ended and that is the best I can say about that one.

Just Dance was good but as a short series it left me a bit unfulfilled. I wanted to get to know these characters and really have the plot expanded and explained better which is always my complaint with short drama specials.

Still Watching

Children of Nobody is fantastic but so sad. The reveal of the murderer was in some ways expected once Woo Kyung was ruled out but was also super heartbreaking. To know that a child was severely abused and then to see that abuse carry over into adulthood makes it hard not to sympathize with the maniacal killer but at the same time knowing that he needs to be stopped. It was a very sad last few episodes and buckets of tears flowed this week. I can't believe that we only have three hours left in this show, I'm really going to miss it when it's over. I had no expectations at all for Children of Nobody when I started watching and yet it has leaped over My Ajusshi to become my #1 drama of 2018.

Encounter was my go to show over my break whenever I needed a brain cleanse from all the darkness that I was watching. I've rewatched most of the episodes at least three times because it's such a beautiful drama and every episode gets better and better. I didn't think anything could top episode 8's party scene and then they returned to Cuba! This is another one that I will be sad to see go in a few weeks but it has more than lived up to my expectations.

On Hold

Sky Castle & Clean With Passion for Now were causing me issues because I was spoiling myself every week before I could watch the shows on VIU. This is unfortunately the downside to jTBC shows since DramaFever ended. I will probably watch the rest of both dramas once they end and I have some free time.

Dropped

Memories of the Alhambra & My Strange Hero both turned out not to be for me. I've read that both have turned a corner and are better now than when they premiered so I may go back to them later, but with the new shows about to drop this week I don't have time to revisit either right now.

matmanx1 · Jan 6, 2019

doagrl said:
Happy New Year drama watchers! I had an incredible drama binging vacation at the end of the year and then paid for it with three extremely long work days to catch up.

Watched

Six Flying Dragons was just amazing from beginning to end. It never once dragged, which is an accomplishment considering the amount of political shenanigans crammed into every episode. And while it had tons of palace intrigue, murderous plots and grandiose speeches from real historical figures it also had some of the best action scenes I've ever watched in a sageuk. I absolutely loved it and I'm already planning on watching it again later this summer and following it up with the more somber Tree With Deep Roots. If I'm feeling really ambitious, I will start off with Queen Seondeok and go all the way to Tree With Deep Roots for a full 136ish hours of historical goodness.

Mr. Sunshine was my followup to Six Flying Dragons, as it seemed appropriate to watch the end of Joseon right after looking at the founding of Joseon. This was such a beautiful drama to watch, it just looked like a movie on the screen, a really big-budget movie. This was easily one of the best casts ever assembled for a drama and they just sold me on a time period that I know little about, to the point where I was super invested in a drama that I started watching with very lukewarm interest. Of course as soon as I fall in love with these characters, well no spoilers, but it was a brutal end with a huge amount crying. I'm glad I watched Mr. Sunshine for the characters, especially the amazing badass women (Kudo Hina!!!), but after it was over I really needed a pick me up.

Matrimonial Chaos was very good and I regretted that I didn't weekly watch this one. Bae Doona picks really good drama projects.

Mama Fairy ended well and I enjoyed it for the generally fluffy show that it was even though it dragged a bit in the middle.

Love Alert ended and that is the best I can say about that one.

Just Dance was good but as a short series it left me a bit unfulfilled. I wanted to get to know these characters and really have the plot expanded and explained better which is always my complaint with short drama specials.

Still Watching

Children of Nobody is fantastic but so sad. The reveal of the murderer was in some ways expected once Woo Kyung was ruled out but was also super heartbreaking. To know that a child was severely abused and then to see that abuse carry over into adulthood makes it hard not to sympathize with the maniacal killer but at the same time knowing that he needs to be stopped. It was a very sad last few episodes and buckets of tears flowed this week. I can't believe that we only have three hours left in this show, I'm really going to miss it when it's over. I had no expectations at all for Children of Nobody when I started watching and yet it has leaped over My Ajusshi to become my #1 drama of 2018.

Encounter was my go to show over my break whenever I needed a brain cleanse from all the darkness that I was watching. I've rewatched most of the episodes at least three times because it's such a beautiful drama and every episode gets better and better. I didn't think anything could top episode 8's party scene and then they returned to Cuba! This is another one that I will be sad to see go in a few weeks but it has more than lived up to my expectations.

On Hold

Sky Castle & Clean With Passion for Now were causing me issues because I was spoiling myself every week before I could watch the shows on VIU. This is unfortunately the downside to jTBC shows since DramaFever ended. I will probably watch the rest of both dramas once they end and I have some free time.

Dropped

Memories of the Alhambra & My Strange Hero both turned out not to be for me. I've read that both have turned a corner and are better now than when they premiered so I may go back to them later, but with the new shows about to drop this week I don't have time to revisit either right now.

I just got caught up on Children of Nobody today. Episode 26 was incredibly sad but the whole show has been so good and so well-executed that I am glad that you recommended it and that I started watching it. It's one of my favorites of the year as well.

Encounter continues to be a favorite and I have already gushed a ton about it. Memories of the Alhambra has my interest but I am very curious about how they are going to conclude it. There's been a few sparks flying between Hyun Bin's character and Park Shin Hye's character up to the point where I have watched but that relationship is very much a backdrop to the much larger problem of real death taking place because of a VR game. It could turn out to be really cool or it could still turn out to be really lame.

doagrl · Jan 7, 2019

matmanx1 said:
I just got caught up on Children of Nobody today. Episode 26 was incredibly sad but the whole show has been so good and so well-executed that I am glad that you recommended it and that I started watching it. It's one of my favorites of the year as well.

Encounter continues to be a favorite and I have already gushed a ton about it. Memories of the Alhambra has my interest but I am very curious about how they are going to conclude it. There's been a few sparks flying between Hyun Bin's character and Park Shin Hye's character up to the point where I have watched but that relationship is very much a backdrop to the much larger problem of real death taking place because of a VR game. It could turn out to be really cool or it could still turn out to be really lame.

My main problem with Memories of the Alhambra is that while the setup and mystery of how the game works is cool, it just never held my attention for very long and I couldn't see where they were taking the plot. I'm glad to hear that it improved after I dropped it, so hopefully it will turn out to be a really deep & awesome show by the end. If it ends well then I'll definitely go back and finish it.

The Crowned Clown premieres today and is being subbed by Viki. I don't know if there are a lot of sageuk fans on this board but Yeo Jin Goo is always great in a historical, so I'm looking forward to it.

matmanx1 · Jan 7, 2019

doagrl said:
The Crowned Clown premieres today and is being subbed by Viki. I don't know if there are a lot of sageuk fans on this board but Yeo Jin Goo is always great in a historical, so I'm looking forward to it.

Thanks for the recommendation. I will give it a look. Historical dramas aren't my favorite genre but I do enjoy the really good ones.

matmanx1 · Jan 7, 2019

I'm not quite caught up on Memories of the Alhambra but I did catch episode 10 and part of episode 11 today. Episode 10 was especially dramatic and tense and did a good job of refocusing MoA as a character focused drama instead of an action or scenario based one. And that's what is making the show work for me. As I mentioned in a previous post all of a sudden I came to a point (I think it was around episode 6) where I was starting to care about these people and their struggles and that has only intensified as the show has progressed.

Park Shin Hye's character I find especially sympathetic because we are alike in several ways. The way she pursues Hyun-bin's character with her heart on her sleeve the whole time and is completely guileless about her dealings with him and with others is very easy for me to relate to. Had I more time this afternoon I would have watched more but maybe tomorrow.

matmanx1 · Jan 11, 2019

After catching up on Memories of the Alhambra I decided to start Just Between Lovers. 3 episodes down and I already want to binge watch the rest of it because I am immediately invested in the characters and their situations. It's an emotionally heavy show but there is, thus far, enough cuteness and warmth in the interactions between the characters to give it a nice balance and flow. So far, so good.

Dragoon · Jan 12, 2019

Encounter, up to episode 9

Catching up to this. Very sweet show, fun and enjoyable. Cinematography is on point and amazing to watch. The mother of the ex and her mother are seriously psychological fucking nutcases though.. I will be disappointed if they don't get put down in the worst of ways. The main guy is just so nice that it hurts to see him get shit on by people. Both leads are great, but I'm easily invested far more invested in the 2nd leads of the secretary Jan and Dae-Chan. Both should have a lot more screen time, esp together. Their intro of yelling at each other was incredible.. it's frustrating to see so little screen time in episode 8 or 9 in particular, as they should have had 25%+ of the episode catered to them (don't @ me denyers)

Two things. Manager Nam is the g.o.a.t

I love this guy, his actions, his words, his reactions. When he started dancing the first time, I laughed out loud. Also a certain someone is single mate. Get. on. it. Also, it is incredibly depressing to watch the second lead since he seems like a truly, legitimate great person. It's a shame he couldn't directly stand up to his mother when they were together, but damn do you feel bad for him. He's not even mean to Jin-Heyk when it would be understandable even if petty.

Kyoufu said:
Very good. One of the best dramas of 2018 imo. Son Ye Jin never lets me down.

Fucking love SITR. What an amazing show.

So I'm completely confused by Another Oh Hae Young's ending...

Was that a dream or real? Because if it's real, why the hell did they skip what happened to him? Like, the entire show was building up for that moment. I am kinda confused because my interpretation is her dream of what she wanted.

Kyoufu · Jan 12, 2019

Dragoon said:
So I'm completely confused by Another Oh Hae Young's ending...

Was that a dream or real? Because if it's real, why the hell did they skip what happened to him? Like, the entire show was building up for that moment. I am kinda confused because my interpretation is her dream of what she wanted.

Hmm it's been a while since I've seen it but from what I remember:

Didn't he survive and they got together? I forget lol. Kdrama endings are usually pretty bad so I dunno.

Dragoon · Jan 12, 2019

Kyoufu said:
Hmm it's been a while since I've seen it but from what I remember:

Didn't he survive and they got together? I forget lol. Kdrama endings are usually pretty bad so I dunno.

They didn't explain. They just showed the event. That's why I was wondering WTF.. real or not?

matmanx1 · Jan 13, 2019

8 episodes in to Just Between Lovers. The two leads are pretty incredible in terms of actually feeling like real people who are profoundly damaged by the same event and yet want to cheer each other on and protect each other. Of all the dramas I am currently watching these two are my favorite couple, even moreso than Park Bo Gum and Song Hye Kyo in Encounter, as good as they are.

Still getting caught up on other stuff. Just Between Lovers has grabbed my eyeballs and will not let go.

DPT120 · Jan 14, 2019

SKY Castle is now the highest rated Korean drama, surpassing Reply 1988 and has a few episodes left. May start watching it. Started watching Encounter and really enjoying it so far.

matmanx1 · Jan 14, 2019

DPT120 said:
SKY Castle is now the highest rated Korean drama, surpassing Reply 1988 and has a few episodes left. May start watching it. Started watching Encounter and really enjoying it so far.

Yeah I saw that. Viki.com started a petition / application to get the license so let's hope that comes through because right now there's no proper legal way for a lot of folks to watch it. There's always the VPN -> Viu.com route but if Viki can get the license then so much the better for us all.

doagrl · Jan 18, 2019

I finished Children of Nobody yesterday after spending the last week rewatching the first 30 episodes and I absolutely love this drama. I wish that it had better ratings, but with the dark storyline of abused children/adult victims of abuse, I was just pleased to see that the ratings stayed steady (low but steady) for the full 8 weeks. There was not one single episode that I could point to as being lacking. Characters were so wonderfully fleshed out and Kim Sun Ah was incredible as usual. I also really loved Lee Yi Kyung, who I doubted at first for being so young, but he was just fantastic. A great drama from the first episode to number 32.

Watching

Encounter is still so good but I absolutely hate every mother on this show! I'm on edge because I really want to see a happily ever after for our too beautiful to look at couple, but I'm worried. Only one more week to go!

The Crowned Clown has got me back in the sageuk mood in a big way. I always love seeing great child actors make the transition to great adult roles and Yeo Jin Goo is so good in this.

Starting Soon

Netflix' zombie drama, Kingdom, drops on January 25th. I hate zombies but I do love Bae Doo Na and Joe Ji Hoon so I plan on checking it out.

matmanx1 · Jan 19, 2019

doagrl said:
I finished Children of Nobody yesterday after spending the last week rewatching the first 30 episodes and I absolutely love this drama. I wish that it had better ratings, but with the dark storyline of abused children/adult victims of abuse, I was just pleased to see that the ratings stayed steady (low but steady) for the full 8 weeks. There was not one single episode that I could point to as being lacking. Characters were so wonderfully fleshed out and Kim Sun Ah was incredible as usual. I also really loved Lee Yi Kyung, who I doubted at first for being so young, but he was just fantastic. A great drama from the first episode to number 32.

I still have two episodes to go but even having not finished it I agree with everything that you've said. There really hasn't been any fall off or weak episodes or fluffy tangents. It's all been tightly paced, well acted and well executed. Hopefully I can finish it up this weekend.

Edit - Got to finish it over my lunch hour today. Fantastic show. Seriously. Definitely one of my favorites of the year and in a genre that I usually am not very interested in. Great acting, great music and I can't say enough good things about the pacing and the plot development. Two huge thumbs up.

Dragoon · Jan 19, 2019

Watching the K2 right now, cuz my dude JCW, whose a hell of an actor. I'm on episode 11. Gotta the writing is a bit wonky lol, definitely not the best. Also I don't really feel the chemistry romance bit between JCW and Anna.. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ What saves this show is far and away the MVP, Choi Yoo-Jin. This woman is wild. She's the villain of the story, but her acting is incredible. Also even though she is 15-20 years older than my dude.. and.. she's the villain, in a weird way it feels like they got way more sexual tension going than Anna. I know it's wrong, but they should get it going even though she's a crazy bitch. Also, this woman is beautiful. I know she's evil and crazy.. but, she is a wonder. For a guy in his 20s, this woman is something else.

7.5/10 because of the amazing and beautiful Choi Yoo-Jin. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Otherwise it would be a 6/10. She's that good. Will finish it though.

Encounter is fantastic but again.. I want to see more of the Secretary and the best business man in the business.

I still can't get Misaeng out of my head (a show with no romance unfortunately), also it's on Netflix. ;) What a fucking incredible show. If you have not seen it, please watch it. Such amazing characters, storylines, developments. One of the best shows (not just kdramas) I have ever seen. I will watch this beauty every year if I can. It also has one of the most killer ending OSTs.

Kyoufu · Jan 20, 2019

I can't get into Just Between Lovers at all. I've been on the same episode for weeks. :'(

Dragoon said:
What saves this show is far and away the MVP, Choi Yoo-Jin. This woman is wild. She's the villain of the story, but her acting is incredible.

Agreed, I enjoyed her performance a lot. The rest of the show was... bad. lol

matmanx1 · Jan 20, 2019

Kyoufu said:
I can't get into Just Between Lovers at all. I've been on the same episode for weeks. :'(

Really? What episode? I've just watched up to 12 (going kind of slowly as I fit in in between other things I am watching) and while I really like the leads some of the supporting cast don't do it for me. Overall though I think it's doing a nice job of portraying grief and what it does to people and to their relationships.

Kyoufu · Jan 20, 2019

matmanx1 said:
Really? What episode? I've just watched up to 12 (going kind of slowly as I fit in in between other things I am watching) and while I really like the leads some of the supporting cast don't do it for me. Overall though I think it's doing a nice job of portraying grief and what it does to people and to their relationships.

Episode 3. This drama is such a snoooooooooze.

matmanx1 · Jan 21, 2019

Kyoufu said:
Episode 3. This drama is such a snoooooooooze.

I don't remember being bored with any of the episodes but I might just have a high tolerance for slow moving plots and relationships in shows. As long as I like the leads and the premise then I am usually willing to give the show time to develop.

AgentChris · Jan 21, 2019

Are they ever making another season of Misaeng?

Kyoufu · Jan 21, 2019

AgentChris said:
Are they ever making another season of Misaeng?

Korean dramas rarely ever get more seasons or sequels. It happens, but it's not common, so don't hold your breath.

Dragoon · Jan 21, 2019

AgentChris said:
Are they ever making another season of Misaeng?

Cruel world, but it feels like it would have been made by now. I think one 3-4 years down the line would actually work a hell lot better for the show as well if it came out now (the show came out a few years back)

AgentChris · Jan 21, 2019

Dragoon said:
Cruel world, but it feels like it would have been made by now. I think one 3-4 years down the line would actually work a hell lot better for the show as well if it came out now (the show came out a few years back)

That sucks. Loved everything about this show. The cast, story, acting, atmosphere, locations and direction. Any dramas with similar vibes?

less · Jan 21, 2019

I love that most Korean dramas don't have multiple seasons. Easier for them to have a story that doesn't drag on and on and be filled with boring filter. It still happens, especially if a show gets extensions, but no multi-season plot-lines that pop in and out and sometimes just stall for a while.

Kyoufu · Jan 21, 2019

less said:
I love that most Korean dramas don't have multiple seasons. Easier for them to have a story that doesn't drag on and on and be filled with boring filter. It still happens, especially if a show gets extensions, but no multi-season plot-lines that pop in and out and sometimes just stall for a while.

Yeah, I like the closure.

Dragoon · Jan 21, 2019

AgentChris said:
That sucks. Loved everything about this show. The cast, story, acting, atmosphere, locations and direction. Any dramas with similar vibes?

Honestly from just some dude that's been binging since Aug-Sep of last year, there has been nothing like it.

less said:
I love that most Korean dramas don't have multiple seasons. Easier for them to have a story that doesn't drag on and on and be filled with boring filter. It still happens, especially if a show gets extensions, but no multi-season plot-lines that pop in and out and sometimes just stall for a while.

Generally I'm with you, but Misaeng for me is primed for multiple seasons. Even a second season showing progress for them in a few years would be amazing. A lot of shows end well but with this show, I wanted more.

Also, is this topic filled with just guys lol?

less · Jan 21, 2019

Dragoon said:
Honestly from just some dude that's been binging since Aug-Sep of last year, there has been nothing like it.

Generally I'm with you, but Misaeng for me is primed for multiple seasons. Even a second season showing progress for them in a few years would be amazing. A lot of shows end well but with this show, I wanted more.

Also, is this topic filled with just guys lol?

Having not seen Misaeng I can't say much about it but there is always a great risk of stuff declining the longer it goes on. But yeah, some stuff can do with more. I think that Iris was primed for more than one season at least but I raged hard at the end of season 1 and refused to watch the following ones. XD

Yeah...this topic might just be mostly men. I imagine that ERA is predominantly made up of men too.

matmanx1 · Jan 22, 2019

I'm a K-Drama loving guy and I'm proud of it. I've been working hard on getting my wife involved (just finished Healer, which she loved so much she is already watching it on her own a second time) by showing her some of my favorites and she seems to be taking to it. We're up to episode 7 in "My Love from the Star" and I think we'll probably watch Weightlifting Fairy next.

In my own watching since I just finished Children of Nobody and I am caught up on Encounter until the new episodes drop this week I went back and picked up Mama Fairy and the Woodcutter again. Currently on episode 12 and enjoying the fact that it is a fairly light-hearted drama that isn't afraid to be very silly at times.

Kyoufu · Jan 22, 2019

matmanx1 said:
I'm a K-Drama loving guy and I'm proud of it.

*high five*

I think I'm going to ditch Just Between Lovers and start Encounter.

matmanx1 · Jan 22, 2019

Kyoufu said:
*high five*

I think I'm going to ditch Just Between Lovers and start Encounter.

Encounter is a much, much easier recommendation. It's a salve for the eyes in terms of just being lavishly gorgeous all the way around (people, locales, cinematography, etc.). Enjoy it!

Dragoon · Jan 23, 2019

Anyone watch 12 Years Promise? I watched this last year but am still salty at the ending because it seemed rushed.. Literally everything else in that show, I absolutely loved. It's one of the shows that actually got me into kdramas. The big reveal didn't have the same weight that it should have had at the end. I also say Hakuna Matata at work with the team I work with.

Also just watched episode 14 of Mr Sunshine and considered dropping it out of one of the dumbest things happening

How the fuck did he survive? How? HOWWWW? Wow... Gets stabbed many times, somehow defeats like 15 Yakuza who are all sorrounding him. Gets cut, falls into the water, and nobody checks to make sure he is alive.

I'm legit pissed off.

matmanx1 · Jan 23, 2019

Dragoon said:
Also just watched episode 14 of Mr Sunshine and considered dropping it out of one of the dumbest things happening
Haha, yeah, doesnt seem likely does it? I liked Mr Sunshine but it certainly isn't perfect and that is one of several niggles I had with the show.

Kyoufu · Jan 23, 2019

Dragoon said:
Anyone watch 12 Years Promise?

I watched like 6 episodes of it. Is it worth sticking with it?

DPT120 · Jan 23, 2019

Finished W: Two Worlds. Interesting premise, but the latter half of the show becomes convoluted and falls flat. There was absolutely no no need for the second villain, and it felt like Kang Chul never really loved Yeong Joo after losing his memories

Encounter: Oh no, please tell me they end up back together

less · Jan 23, 2019

DPT120 said:
Finished W: Two Worlds. Interesting premise, but the latter half of the show becomes convoluted and falls flat. There was absolutely no no need for the second villain, and it felt like Kang Chul never really loved Yeong Joo after losing his memories

Encounter: Oh no, please tell me they end up back together

W: Two Worlds started off interesting but it lost me after just a few episodes. A shame since I liked the actors. :(

Encounter...oh god. I haven't even finished episode 3 yet and this spoils so much! Not that I mind anyways since spoilers are something I actively seek after Iris broke my heart and burned it alive.

matmanx1 · Jan 24, 2019

Let's talk about Memories of the Alhambra or, as I like to think of it, Great Unmet Expectations. Spoilers to follow but since the show is somewhat poor anyway you should probably read this instead of actually watching it. =P

One of the reasons I watch television/movies/dramas, etc. is wish fulfillment, plain and simple. And I'm not ashamed to admit it. I like seeing romances blossom, cute moments, good overcoming evil and interesting story beats that make sense. So when I hear that Hyun Bin and Park Shin Hye are going to be in a new drama together and that drama partially takes place in Granada in the shadow of the Alhambra castle and that something magical is going to take place I, right away, have certain expectations in mind.

I expect some K-Drama romance with a European flair ala Encounter with it's Cuban flair. I expect some actual magical fantasy like Dokkaebi (Goblin) or Gumiho (9 tailed fox) or even some European centric lore. I expect, because these are good and well-known actors with some great shows on their respective resumes , to have interesting characters that I want to root for and become invested in.

And finally, and maybe most critically, I expect that even if the creators aren't going to meet any of my above expectations that they are at least going to create a world and a framework that makes sense and keep their story within the boundaries of that framework. I have low tolerance for dumb story beats that seem to come out of nowhere, even less so if they don't make sense. And unfortunately, MotA pretty much missed all of my expectations and left me wondering who, exactly, is the intended audience.

Hyun's Bin's character is mostly a sociopathic A-hole. He's supposed to be based on Elon Musk so Mr Musk, if you ever read or find out about this, I'm sorry in advance. He seems to have a casual disregard for most other human beings and the couple of times he swoops in to make out with Park Shin Hye's character only to leave again like a thief in the night make it pretty clear she is an emotional crutch for him and nothing more. And then her character I possibly dislike even more because all she does is make cow eyes at him, moon over him and run to him to bail him out YET AGAIN only for him to recover a little bit from the current crises and leave her alone again. So the relationship angle leaves me feeling yucky and that's one major unmet expectation.

Then we have the scenario and the aforementioned "magic" which is nothing of the sort. No, it's a new VR game/experience contained in a contact lens that puts enemies based on real historical characters in your environment and lets you duel them in real time. It's Dark Souls hard and most of the first two episodes are just Hyun Bin getting his arse handed to him by the first one or two enemies over and over again as he learns to use his rusty sword to finally gain a level or two.

Except there is very quickly conflict between Hyun Bin's company who wants to buy this new tech and game and Hyun Bin's ex BFF's company who is in town to do the same. Ex-BFF and Hyun Bin end up dueling in the park in Granada, Hyun Bin wins and *SURPRISE* it actually kills ex BFF in real life due to some glitch in the system. This leads to perhaps the coolest part of the show as now that Hyun Bin has vanquished ex BFF the virtual "ghost" of ex BFF shows up looking exactly as he did when he died (bloody, cut up, holding the same sword and wearing the same suit) randomly throughout the day and tries to kill Hyun Bin and this occurs for the remainder of the series run. Every time this happens thunder rolls, the sky darkens, rain begins and the classical guitar song "Memories of the Alhambra" plays in the background while "An Enemy has Appeared" flash in front of Hyun Bin's eyes. Oh yeah, this happens even when he isn't wearing the contact lenses as he now appears to be stuck in the game forever and if he dies to any enemy he really dies!

So Hyun Bin is often seen virtually fighting a ghost only he can see and everyone but Park Shin Hye thinks he's crazy and has lost his mind and on yeah, he totally murdered his ex BFF in the park that day even though there's no physical evidence.

After that the entire rest of the show is Hyun Bin trying to level up enough to find the game's creator, the "Master" who is also Park Shin Hye's younger brother who has been missing ever since the first episode. Turns out he was hiding in an instanced dungeon that he created IRL to hide from the glitched enemies who were trying to murder him. That's right. Somehow he was able to create an instanced dungeon that hid him physically and bodily for a year while Hyun Bin figured out what was wrong with the game. Oh and during that time he didn't age, his clothes didn't wear out or change and his hair didn't grow. Why? I have no idea, you would have to ask the people who wrote this show.

And then, finally, Hyun Bin finds the Master Key which turns out to be a virtual item that breaks into two parts, 1 part being a handheld dagger that you have to stab the glitched enemies with in the heart to exterminate the bugs in the software. Wait, what? At this point I became totally irritated and did some fast forwarding. Just know that the game considered Hyun Bin's character to be one of those bugs so you know where it was going. Fast forward a year (I hate time skips in dramas. Hate, hate, hate. Lamest plot device ever!) and Park Shin Hye is still holding out hope that Hyun Bin will reappear so that she can make out with him again. Some other stuff happens which I can't be bothered to talk about and then in the last couple of minutes of the final episode she gets a report of an unknown, high level player of the game using guns to take out enemies (only players above level 50 can use guns and no one is above level 25 yet, or so they think) in a park near-by so of course off she goes. Closing scenes are of the shadow of someone who looks a lot like Hyun Bin expertly wielding his trusty Desert Eagle in the park but we never get to see any sort of reunion or closure.

So yeah, that's Memories of the Alhambra from my perspective. It isn't a good romantic melodrama. It isn't a good action drama. It doesn't do the Matrix/ Sword Art Online thing very well and it certainly does not deliver on any promises of a "magical" experience. Mostly I find it irritating with a few interesting bits thrown in.

matmanx1 · Jan 24, 2019

Encounter complete! Wow, what an experience! I'll have more to say about it once I have spent some more time processing it but it's easily one of the best (if not THE best) romantic K-Dramas that I have ever seen. Park Bo Gum outdid himself in the last couple of episodes and I don't think I've ever been as strongly inside a fictional character's head as I was his character in Encounter. It was poignant and powerful and I felt every moment of it. I am genuinely sad that it is over.

less · Jan 26, 2019

matmanx1 said:
Encounter complete! Wow, what an experience! I'll have more to say about it once I have spent some more time processing it but it's easily one of the best (if not THE best) romantic K-Dramas that I have ever seen. Park Bo Gum outdid himself in the last couple of episodes and I don't think I've ever been as strongly inside a fictional character's head as I was his character in Encounter. It was poignant and powerful and I felt every moment of it. I am genuinely sad that it is over.

Strong praise! Going to try finishing it all this weekend. Still on episode 3. D:

shadowkat · Jan 26, 2019

Still have a couple of episodes to go before I finish Encounter, but I have been enjoying it. I might start Sky Castle soon. The new Lee Jong Suk drama is starting and I want to watch that since I generally enjoy his dramas.

I watched the first episode of Kingdom and I think it's going to be a ride.

roosters93 · Jan 26, 2019

dont know if I can watch Encounter. dislike Park Bo Gum.

Watched all of Kingdom the night it came out. Season 2 hurry up!

One more episode of Sky Castle to go.

ep 19 killed off most of the tension and kinda resolved the main plot so it will be interesting to see what happens in the last episode.

DPT120 said:
SKY Castle is now the highest rated Korean drama, surpassing Reply 1988 and has a few episodes left. May start watching it. Started watching Encounter and really enjoying it so far.

highest rated cable drama. the highest rated dramas have crazy ratings like 50% but most of them were not this decade or this even post 2000. pretty much impossible to reach those ratings these days with the amount of entertainment options and mediums.

Dragoon said:
I still can't get Misaeng out of my head (a show with no romance unfortunately), also it's on Netflix. ;)

not having romance is one of the things that make Misaeng work so well though.

Dragoon · Jan 27, 2019

Kyoufu said:
I watched like 6 episodes of it. Is it worth sticking with it?

I mean, if you're not into it by 6 episodes, drop it brother. I don't think things are going to magically get so much better. It's interesting because halfway through the series, you get the adult variant of the story. I was reading the comments and several people on viki were disliking once they're older, but I loved that aspect. I just think the series needed 3-9 more episodes than what we got out of it. The big reveals towards the end and how it was handled looked kinda rushed which is a shame.

so as I say that show needed to be longer, there is one show on Netlix that definitely has no business being 20 episodes. Gentleman's Dignity. Ok, I need to get this off my chest. Are people supposed to like the cheating friend? The dude is clearly a scumbag and doesn't deserve his rich wife, I also hated that hacky ass line "I just go to coffee, I don't sleep with them" line.. there is no way in hell this is true and it would be obnoxious if that's the reveal later on. I also hate the fact that they are likely going to be together even though it makes no sense. It bothers the hell out of me. This show is fun to watch but has no business being more than 16 episodes. Enjoying it and will finish in a few eps though.

roosters93 said:
..

not having romance is one of the things that make Misaeng work so well though.

I don't agree. I think as long as it wasn't dominant or the 2nd most dominant aspect of the show, it would have been a great addition. The show is a 10/10 and I fucking love it either way though. I also wanted the main chick to get some, for the love of God has she had it rough in her life with so much bullshit.

Also, is Sky Castle worth starting? Gotta finish gentleman's dignity and maybe mr sunshine even though I'm still annoyed at that awful asspull at the end. Since my post has Mr Sunshine and Misaeng, I really wanna see Byun Yo-han starr in his own show. He's been top 1-2 most charismatic in both shows and steals the spotlight almost all the time. He has amazing comedic timing and is a hell of an actor. I gotta search and see what else he's been on.

matmanx1 · Jan 28, 2019

roosters93 said:
dont know if I can watch Encounter. dislike Park Bo Gum.

I'm not a big Park Bo Gum fan either as I found him annoying in Tomorrow's Cantabile and "just ok" in Moonlight Drawn by Clouds but for what it is worth he did a fantastic job in Encounter. It might be because he had such a strong lead (and a great supporting cast) to act against but yeah, I would still give it a try.

matmanx1 · Jan 28, 2019

I felt like I needed something a little bit lighter in terms of viewing material so I watched Splash Splash Love between yesterday and today. It's a 2 episode series based on a novel /webtoon about a modern day high school girl falling into a puddle and ending up in Joseon where she becomes an adviser and then love interest to the King.

It's quite funny, very sweet and almost completely happy. Unfortunately only the first episode is available on Viki.com so I ended up watching the 2nd one elsewhere but, like To.Jenny, it is well worth the time investment and will almost certainly put a smile on your face. Also, Kim Seul-gi (who is the female lead and also plays the Ghost girl in Oh My Ghost) has a laugh that is to die for.

roosters93 · Jan 29, 2019

to jenny was so good
might give splash splash love a try

matmanx1 said:
I'm not a big Park Bo Gum fan either as I found him annoying in Tomorrow's Cantabile and "just ok" in Moonlight Drawn by Clouds but for what it is worth he did a fantastic job in Encounter. It might be because he had such a strong lead (and a great supporting cast) to act against but yeah, I would still give it a try.

thanks! will do

matmanx1 · Jan 29, 2019

I saw on Soompi this morning that Park Min Young has signed on for a new romantic comedy on tvn called "Her Private Life". It's set to air at the conclusion of "Touch Your Heart" in the same time slot so here's hoping Viki can get it just like they are getting Touch Your Heart. I don't know if it will be able to match the lofty heights of What's Wrong with Secretary Kim but I certainly plan on finding out!

doagrl · Jan 30, 2019

I'm finally catching up with my dramas after having to deal with terrible work stuff followed by super fun 24in48 readathon stuff over the last couple of weeks.

I put off watching the end of Encounter until Monday evening (& miraculously stayed away from all spoilers) and now I'm suffering with the "after drama blues" that I get when a show I love ends. I was already down because of Children of Nobody but now with Encounter gone I don't know what I'm going to do with my Wednesday/Thursday nights.

The entire cast was crazy good but I was especially happy to see Park Bo Gum prove all the critics (including me) wrong over the last couple of weeks of the show. Song Hye Kyo was Cha Soo Hyun from the very first minute of Encounter but it took Park Bo Gum longer to really inhabit his role and it felt more obvious because he was playing opposite such an experienced, elegant actress who was perfect for the role. But the last three episodes really sold me on PBG as an actor and Encounter as one of my favorite romances ever!

I loved that from the first moment the couple met in Cuba to the last they never really deviated from the central story of how two people fall in love and build a relationship. Sure there was plenty of chaebol machinations and crazy mama drama going on but it still remained all about the romance and felt like a really mature story from the very beginning. Also, I don't think I've ever seen a more beautiful drama from the actors to the sets to the Cuban locations everything was just total eye candy.

I also started watching Kingdom on Monday night and finished it up during our "snow day" yesterday. I really am not the best person to critique a zombie show since I just absolutely hate all things zombie. I guess the most that I can say is that I didn't hate it but I also didn't like it very much either.

If it were a sageuk without zombies it would have definitely kept my attention longer but I still don't think I would be a big fan of what is currently on offer. The cast is large and the format is to disjointed & to action movie like to really get to know the characters at more than just a surface level. A six episode season really just doesn't make a whole lot of sense for me because you have to jump right in with the action to hook the viewers but you lose the narrative buildup that k dramas are known for and some huge high profile actors (Bae Doona!) were left on the sideline doing mostly nothing for 6 hours.

I think Kingdom was probably pitched as a standard length drama but Netflix wanted it cut down into short easily bingeable seasons. And for me this is not the type of drama that works well in a chopped up mini season where you need lots and lots of exposition to understand the politics and the motivations of the main characters. I watched it all (well I did skip most of the gore) but I doubt I will come back for the second season if it is in any way like the first.

I'm still behind on The Crowned Clown and haven't checked out any of the new Kocowa shows since I'm lacking a bit of motivation at the moment. But Lee Na Young is coming back so I will find some motivation by Saturday to watch Romance Is A Bonus Book on Netflix.

doagrl · Jan 30, 2019

matmanx1 said:
Let's talk about Memories of the Alhambra or, as I like to think of it, Great Unmet Expectations. Spoilers to follow but since the show is somewhat poor anyway you should probably read this instead of actually watching it. =P

Bless you for watching this so that I don't have to!!!

matmanx1 · Jan 31, 2019

doagrl said:
But Lee Na Young is coming back so I will find some motivation by Saturday to watch Romance Is A Bonus Book on Netflix.

Ooh, I had that one on my list also. Is it starting soon? Glad Netflix picked it up.

doagrl said:
Bless you for watching this so that I don't have to!!!

Haha, thank you. I still get a little irritated when I think about that one. It's one of the very few that left a bad taste in my mouth. Hopefully Park Shin Hye and Hyun Bin will be able to bounce back to better projects next time.

Dragoon · Feb 2, 2019

I finished Gentleman's Dignity since it was on Netflix. Fun show, enjoyed it.. BUT.. I still can't get over that they gloss over 1/4 main dudes cheating on his girl for the longest time and them just kinda needing to get together. It makes no sense. There's no sense of realism when they try to normalize it. Saying that, wow can the guy sing man. Seriously incredible. The song he sings at the mall for his woman, I can't believe he's not a singer. I wish he made a full song and had it on Spotify for me to put on repeat. It's seriously one of the most memorable sung songs I remember in a kdrama in some time.

Also, should I watch kdrama Suits? I ask because the main character in the Gentleman's Dignity is in it, I enjoyed the OG version (until it got pointlessly long...). Thoughts?

doagrl said:
Bless you for watching this so that I don't have to!!!

Literally thinking the same

matmanx1 · Feb 4, 2019

Romance is a Bonus Book - New tvn drama that Netflix picked up. It's by Studio Dragon which can be good or bad, depending on the year. They most recently completed Memories of the Alhambra and it was mostly bad. They've also done Goblin : The Great and Lonely God (good) as well as The K2 (bad) and My Mister (good) as well as a bunch of other things. Will this one be good? I certainly hope so!

Anyway. The first 4 episodes are up now and I really like what I've watched thus far. I wasn't familiar with Lee Na Young (the female lead) before now and just from these 4 episodes I already think that she is a very good actress. She seems like a real person rather than a prototypical K-drama trope infused leading lady and I'm interested to see more of her arc.

Our leading man is none other than Lee Jong Suk (Secret Garden, School 2013, I Can Hear Your Voice, While You Were Sleeping, etc.) and while I can confidently say that he has never been my favorite actor I am cautiously optimistic about his role this time around. He's still portraying a successful eye-candy type of guy but his affection for Lee Na Young's character and their vibe and chemistry is already fun to watch. Based on that, this could be a worthwhile romantic comedy if it keeps building on what it's done well over the first 4 episodes.

Finally, the whole thing is based around a love of reading, books and the publishing industry in general. Being in love with books myself and having worked for a bookstore in my younger days this kind of thing is right up my alley and this show gets bonus points for that reason alone.