stroppyse

A more literal translation of the Korean title is "Model Detective" rather than "Good Detective", as in an example of what a detective should or could be, an exemplar, if you will. I like your two explanations of what the title could refer. I personally thought the title referenced the pathways that a detective might have to undergo in order to achieve being a truly admired detective, including all the pitfalls and temptations it entails, especially with respect to wanting to progress and achieve in the field. Thank you for an excellent review!

Django Unchained

It's cute how with Dynamite being sung in English, BTS is promoting it as a sing-a-long song! So, fits right in with Havenites' love of karaoke. :D Also, new BTS emoijis!

It was mentioned that IJ's wife had chased IJ until he married her. I assume IJ felt something for his wife, but curious whether it was more thinking that he should get married and here was a beautiful woman who kept chasing him, and he couldn't have the woman he really loved anyway. I don't know. The whole thing just felt sad. Even though, the marriage produced WJ, so it was worth it on that point. I don't think that IJ ever said anything to SHwa about liking her after he could out that SHyeong had confessed to SHwa. And, I really doubt that SHwa would have said anything to IJ first. So, IJ's semi-confession at the team dinner was probably the first time SHwa had any idea that IJ had ever liked her. And, she was taken aback by IJ's response to her her question of "what do you do for yourself" when IJ had answered that he had dinner with her. Such a sweet moment actually.

I created a bug report for the fact that you can't report a bug. 🙂 And, I also created bug reports for the two items you were trying to report. It's all good. Thanks for tagging me so I could get the bug reports where the Developers need to see them.

I assume that this ship will be explored in S2. My fear is that it won't completely resolve one way or the other until S3! And, I do not like to wait that long with for my dramas! Heck, isn't it enough to be patient in RL and just perhaps get some faster gratification in the dramas?? 😄 But seriously, there is a lot to like about this ship, but also some really big questions. Regardless, I am glad that IJ finally got up the nerve to confess how he felt to SHwa. I keep thinking about the fact that IJ suppressed his feelings to the point where he married another woman! As cute as I find the three of them (IJ, WJ, and SHwa) together, it also kind of bothers me that IJ had married someone else when he knew he had feelings for SHwa, even if he was in denial by then.

I'm still expecting YJ and SM to get together to solve the cases and also reach an agreement on proper sharing of duties, plus possibly a civilian watchdog over both. 🙂 Surely the writer and production team understood that it was the chemistry between SM and YJ as well as their strengths bolstering each other's weaknesses that kept us so engrossed. It's definitely coming, YJ and SM working together. 🙂

When the Camellia Blooms 동백꽃 필 무렵 Director: Cha Yeong Hoon Writer: Lim Sang Choon Original Broadcast: Sept 18 - Nov 21, 2019 Original Broadcast station: KBS2 Genre: Romantic Comedy, Thriller Main Cast: Gong Hyo Jin - Oh Dong Baek Kang Ha Neul - Hwang Yong Shik Kim Ji Seok - Kang Jong Ryul Kim Kang Hoon - Kang Pil Gu Notable Supporting Cast: Son Dam Bi - Choi Hyang Mi/ Choi Go Eun Oh Jung Se - No Gyu Tae Yeon Hye Ran - Hong Ja Young Some background: Anticipation was high for this drama since it was Kang Ha Neul’s first drama on returning from his military service. Kang Ha Neul’s return was eagerly anticipated as one of the leading men of his generation, truly comfortable on stage, musical theater, screen, and film, having both an exquisite timing for comedy as well as the acting gravitas to draw you into the darkness of a pained or flawed character, and an amazing singing voice. Gong Hyo Jin is a veteran actress who has been playing female leads for quite some time now, and is famous for having amazing chemistry with her leads and helping them shine in their roles. Kim Ji Seok has been steadily building his resume in a number of supporting roles as well as a few leading roles, going from strength to strength. The true revelation in this drama, however, may be the young actor Kim Kang Hoon who plays Kang Pil Gu. While having acted in quite a number of projects, this drama turned KKH into a star, and for a child actor, he receives significant screen time with all three leads as well as having solo scenes in this drama. The set up and review: Oh Dong Baek (Gong Hyo Jin) is the attractive single mother of Kang Pil Gu (Kim Kang Hoon) who is in elementary school and shows talent as a young baseball player. DB had PG with her first love/serious boyfriend, a professional baseball player Kang Jong Ryul (Kim Ji Seok), but had left him before he was even aware that she was pregnant. JR went on to marry another woman much later after DB had left him, but has never been able to forget her. Hwang Yong Shik (Kang Ha Neul) is a police officer who had grown up in the town that DB and PG now live in, and had moved to Seoul to work, but was recently transferred back t his home town. YS falls for DB as soon as he sees her. DB and PG live in the fictional small coastal town of Ongsan where DB runs a bar, which leads to the other townswomen’s disapproval as both an unmarried mother of a child who also runs a bar. She is shown as being very nice and has an inferiority complex about herself, accepting most disapprobation directed at her, though she’s not spineless when it comes to the people she cares about. This leads her young son PG, though, to fight on her behalf with his friends and coming to her defense whenever he hears of his mother being under attack, having a fiery temper of his own. There is a rather heartbreaking scene in the second act where PG demands of his mother why he, a first grader, should be protecting his mother when his mother should be the one to protect him. When his flabbergasted mother asks him why he does that, he responds that it’s because he’s the only one in the world who likes his mother, and everyone else dislikes her. This scene speaks to the relative isolation and loneliness of DB which is also affecting her young son, though she wasn’t quite aware of that before. PG also has no interest in knowing about his father, because as he says, it’s better to not ever have one than to have one and then get him taken away from him. Back during their first love days, DB and JR had been crazy in love with each other. They had been planning on getting married until DB left JR with a note and no way for JR to find her. The drama shows us the details of why they separated throughout the drama to explain how this passionately in love couple ended up separating, and it’s really a question of immaturity and a lack of self confidence with both DB and JR. Their relationship is such that it left its marks on both of them, though in different ways. JR has gone on to marry a young woman who married him for his popularity than anything else. The wife is shown as being very immature and narcissistic rather than truly evil. JR and his wife have an infant daughter whom JR takes on a popular variety program modeled after Return of Superman which is about dads taking care of the children. So, due to JR being a popular professional ball player as well as on a variety program, DB is aware of how JR seems to be doing and where he is, but has no plans to contact him. However, DB, when she left JR, had run to a town that JR had lived in as a child, and it’s JR’s elementary school that PG now attends and one of JR’s old school buddies who is now the coach of the elementary baseball team. JR comes back to the elementary school to film his segment for the show and meets PG and reconnects with DB. YS is the most straightforward person ever. And, he admits that thinking is not his strong point, that rather he prefers to go with his instincts. Thus, when YS sees a crime in progress, he can’t help but tackle the criminals without thoughts of any costs or damages to himself. It was a nightmare for the police to have YS as a private citizen capturing criminals in the act, but when YS finally became a policeman, it turned out to be a mixed blessing since YS has no idea about politics and being accommodating to his superiors, nor can he restrain himself from teaching perpetrators “lessons” in having manners. It’s his straightforward nature that causes him to recognize that he’s fallen for DB as soon as he sees her, and then being extremely obvious that he likes her to everyone in town. Unfortunately, that also includes his mother who had been hoping that her son will settle down and get married to a nice woman, but her relatively progressive attitudes are put to the test when she realizes that YS likes DB who has a son by another man. Especially since previous to YS falling for DB, YS' mother had taken both DB and her son PG under her wing. YS is also the son of a single mother, albeit a widow who had a total of 3 sons. YS had also spent his formative years defending his mother, so he’s quick to recognize a kindred spirit in PG. YS demonstrates a special affinity with PG even before YS finds out that PG is DB’s son. However, PG is highly suspicious of any man who comes sniffing around his mother. So, some massive spoilers from the first couple of episodes, but the beauty of this drama is in the story of how these characters interact and how their interactions lead to growth and development not just between the main characters, but also their various neighbors and relatives. At heart, this is a family drama which explores various couple and family dynamics as it follows the relationship course of the three main leads plus PG. There are some notable side stories. The most engaging is actually the relationship progression of the relatively not smart optometrist and momma’s boy No Gyu Tae (Oh Jung Se in a very different role to his role in IOTNBO) and the razor sharp lawyer Hong Ja Young (Yeon Hye Ran). No Gyu Tae obviously feels intimidated by his smart wife and has an inferiority complex which leads to some interesting behaviors from him. Because he comes from a wealthy family and is a landowner, GT does like to swan around being the Big Fish in the little pond. The townspeople let GT get away with his puffery because GT is an easy touch when someone needs money and is actually very generous. JY is no nonsense and has become fed up with her husband’s silliness as well as his mother’s attempts to put her, JY, down. It’s not until JY becomes suspicious that GT might be cheating on her that she starts doing something about it, though. GT, for his part, is irritated that DB doesn’t give him the respect and preferential treatment that he feels he deserves, but that causes him to give even more attention to DB and demonstrate suspicious behaviors to his wife. GT is acted by the talented Oh Jung Se who most recently played the intellectually challenged brother in It's Okay To Not Be Okay, and is a bit of a scene stealer. Then there is the issue of the townspeople of Ongsan who are initially shown as almost caricatures of small town people with their pecking orders and narrow points of view, but eventually are shown with a more realistic light of having both good and bad traits. There are also a number of mysteries in this drama. It opens with a serial killer, dubbed the Joker because he leaves notes saying that the victim shouldn’t have joked with him, who has been uncaught for many years, and now seems to have set his sights on DB. Plus, Hyang Mi who helps DB in the bar is rather mysterious though we eventually find out about her tragic past. This drama was a lot of fun to watch, with very few weak points. (A subplot regarding JR’s marriage to his wife being one of them.) The plot itself isn’t the main thrust of this drama either since it’s a rather straightforward rom-com with a bit of crime suspense twist to drive the story. Rather, it’s the various relationships that are formed, broken, strained, but are made resilient that is at the heart of this story. With characters who have flaws and only 1 true villain (the serial killer), it was fun watching their interactions evolve over the course of this drama. And Pil Gu is just adorable in his fierceness and love for his mother, fighting with his instincts to just be a kid. One other note: K-dramas like to title their dramas after their lead characters. So, the Camellia in the title is not only the name of the bar that Dong Baek runs, it also refers to Dong Baek herself since a "dong baek" is a camellia, and this drama is about Dong Baek blooming and finding love, but also claiming her own sense of self. Ratings: Plot/story 8 Cast/acting 10 Production Value 8 Rewatch Value 8 Overall 9

I'm hoping that the local drive-in movie theater will show Mulan. Even if it's on Disney+ already, I would like to see it on a big screen. Especially since I don't have a tv, so I would be watching it on my laptop which has a much smaller screen than a movie theater screen. From the teasers, it seems that there was quite a lot of care done with the cinematography including some sweeping scenery shots. Anyway, it should be good! I know what you mean. Highlight of my week. Though if I get to the store and see too many people, I get a bit freaked out. Too many people still not taking masks or social distancing seriously.

Yes, but it was a real motivational high point for the rest of us staff! Definitely hoping for encore performances from you! Pleeeeaaase! A real revelation for me from our karaoke parties has been @abs-oluteM singing Put Your Records On by Corinne Bailey Rae. I've really come to love this song. Hmm. @CamelKnight, would you be willing to give this song a try? Three little birds sat on my window And they told me I don't need to worry Summer came like cinnamon So sweet Little girls double-dutch on the concrete Maybe sometimes, we've got it wrong, but it's alright The more things seem to change, the more they stay the same Oh, don't you hesitate Girl, put your records on, tell me your favorite song You go ahead, let your hair down Sapphire and faded jeans, I hope you get your dreams Just go ahead, let your hair down You're gonna find yourself somewhere, somehow Blue as the sky, sunburnt and lonely Sipping tea in a bar by the roadside (just relax, just relax) Don't you let those other boys fool you Got to love that afro hairdo Maybe sometimes, we feel afraid, but it's alright The more you stay the same, the more they seem to change Don't you think it's strange? Girl, put your records on, tell me your favorite song You go ahead, let your hair down Sapphire and faded jeans, I hope you get your dreams Just go ahead, let your hair down You're gonna find yourself somewhere, somehow 'Twas more than I could take, pity for pity's sake Some nights kept me awake, I thought that I was stronger When you gonna realize that you don't even have to try any longer? Do what you want to Girl, put your records on, tell me your favorite song You go ahead, let your hair down Sapphire and faded jeans, I hope you get your dreams Just go ahead, let your hair down Girl, put your records on, tell me your favorite song You go ahead, let your hair down Sapphire and faded jeans, I hope you get your dreams Just go ahead, let your hair down Oh, you're gonna find yourself somewhere, somehow

This is BTS reacting to their own Dynamite MV, and it's too funny. Their interactions are light-hearted and teasing as always, but it's also clear how much affection they have for each other and for their song. I do love their reaction videos, and they've progressively become more fun over the years. One thing that I've always admired, they speak very respectfully to each other, even as they demonstrate their fondness. The respectful way they speak to each other seems a natural part of their characters. Even JK, who usually messes about and tries to get away with speaking informally to his hyungs tones it down for this reaction MV. BTS reacting to their Dynamite MV.

Dynamite captures that disco beat with its insistent melody line that makes it feel familiar with disco grooves from that era, and yet the unexpectedness of its lyrics as well as the vocal stylings, with voice modulators and all, makes it new music, unmistakeably BTS. It's as if it's a song that you should know from your memories and dance to out of some nostalgia. JK talking drinking milk in the mornings before he rock and rolls still cracks me up. Seriously, has there been any pop star who even admits to drinking milk much less sing about it in a song. The best part of this group has always been their sincere love and appreciation for each other and for their fans. Even when the members may be in disagreement about something, it's clear that they feel bad about it and have to try to make it better for their own sakes as well as the group's sake. And, their consistent and profound love and appreciation for their fans make us seem as if they really get us in some way, even if they might not know us individually. To this, I love, love, love JK acting up around JM, and then for JM to jump on JK's back. It's fun and rowdy and what good friends do, especially when they don't have macho hangups. 🙂 But also all the other interaction scenes, whether it's RM and Jin having a little fun with Suga between them or V and JK dancing with their arms around each other. Anyway, I find myself humming this song almost every day. And, I'm amazed at the records that this song is breaking thus far. 101.1 million views on YT in its first 24 hours Over 3 million ocncurrent viewers on live when the single actually dropped Looking forward to their performance of this song on the MTV Video Music Awards on August 30. BTS manages to make their live performances, even when it's online, even more fun and compelling than their videos through their adlibs and interactions. I can't even imagine how much more fun this video can get!

Summertime

Ep 4 thoughts I’m suffering from a lack of SM/YJin scenes in general, though I love everything else about this drama right now. Every character feels like a fleshed out, complex character with various motivations for why they act the way they do and for what they think. The most straightforward character may be the other junior prosecutor who is on the prosecutor team of the police-prosecutor negotiations. He is just straight out defending his corner, pouncing on every advantage that he can, both for himself and for the prosecutorial tradition. My favorite scene was probably the scene at the negotiation table where SM is quick to take everything in, though he doesn’t say very much nor even acknowledge what he’s noticed. When SM finally does speak, it’s to point out some very reasonable points. It’s actually not a matter of who is able to ask for and get the warrants from the judge. It’s a question of having a system which prevents abuses of power. If they’re going to change the system, then the new system should be noticeably better. As usual, though, the prosecutors try to use that to shore up their assertion that it shouldn’t be changed, and that the prosecutors, especially since it is headed by a high level political position should be the ones to guard the process still. The police, unfortunately, take SM’s words as a defense of leaving the status quo. The case of the policeman who committed suicide or was murdered is interesting in its own right. I don’t think his colleagues killed him, but it’s good that the bullying and the corruption that had been going on are coming to the fore. It’s an example of SM’s earlier thoughts that even if people ultimately win at the trial, just going through the process itself will cause them to reflect, whereas by sidestepping everything, they will probably cause similar if not worse accidents since they now have proof that they do not have to pay for their misdeeds. Anyway, not all policemen bind themselves to what they should do versus protecting their own interests or their power, either, so, the deeper conversation of how you check those in power still remains. I’m always in awe of how much JSW brings to a character who is so reticent to speak. While it is hard to know what SM is actually thinking, of course, the satisfaction from Season 1, which extends to Season 2 is that SM will do the right thing as he sees it without any fuss or fanfare, unswayed by emotional pleas or fear for this job or anything like that. BDN's YJ is as feisty and as smart as ever. I enjoy her character so much, especially as she brings new beats of coming to awareness of how much she had enjoyed being on her old squad before. While what she's doing now is a promotion and more exposure, it's not a job that she is doing because she enjoys it, but because she believes in it. At heart, she's a crime fighter rather than a paper pusher politician, and while she can thoroughly prepare herself in her current role to tackle what may come, we feel for her as she staves off the loneliness of her current position. Seo Dong Jae is still a wheeler-dealer, and while we don't know exactly what he may be up to as yet, he's pretty darn funny as well as clever in his scheming. LJH was able to make me despise DJ for most of Season 1 with his seemingly backstabbing ways, but still brought him back from the brink of being an unpalatable character. In Season 2, perhaps because I still have some affection for him, I don't think he's completely backslid, regardless of what seems to be going on with his running around trying to position himself. As @jeijei mentions above, however, DJ's shamelessness is pure entertainment for both Season 1 and now Season 2.

Fair points. I haven't managed any historical Chinese dramas yet. Even with the coronavirus, I'm still working full time, though lately I feel as if I'm skiving quite a bit at work. (Shhh. Don't tell my boss.) Thanks for your comments. Now I'm thinking that perhaps I'll try starting this drama later today. Also, is there any actual romance? I know from the descrip that Lucifer ends up helping a human female detective, but was wondering if a love line develops or not. Wait! That would be a spoiler, if you told me, right? Just after asking for not too many spoilers. LOL Okay, will be back to comment after I actually watch some episodes.

I have to admit that I'm curious about this ship. On the one hand, so many signals that it's going to happen. On the other hand, we still don't know how SHwa feels at all! Is it 2021 yet so that we can find out what happened when IJ came back from Barcelona???

I admit that I actually quite love this premise. It really seems to explore the character of Lucifer and has him working against his own mythology. I think I'm scared by the fact that there are already 5 seasons! At this moment, I'm barely able to keep up with kdramas which only have 1 season! Though, I know that there are kdramas which are now going to be multi-season affairs, but meaning 2 or 3, rather than 6 or 13. So, to those of you who have watched it thus far, how does Lucifer evolve as a character across the 5 seasons thus far? If you can comment without spoiling it too much since I am likely to start watching this at some point.

I agree with @SnowBlob that I'm also loving Season 2, having finally caught up. As with Season 1, there is a lot more than meets the eyes. With regards to the first case of the boys drowning, it felt both simple and complicated, and I think there may be more coming up with respect to that case, given that SM still wants to be updated on the progress of that case. Even though that case may already have served it's primary purpose of showing the issues with influence within the prosecutorial service. The events surrounding the decision not to prosecute the couple highlights demonstrates that influence as well as the issue of prosecutors and other public officials going from their jobs to private/commercial jobs where they can use their knowledge, connections, and influence from their public servant jobs to get the outcomes that they want. Despite a law which apparently prohibits public figures from taking on certain corporate jobs within 3 years of leaving their public posts, Yeon Jae said it best: Who would want them 3 years after their retirements when they no longer have the connections or the influence. I'm actually finding the maneuvering between the Prosecutors and the Police interesting despite it being a bit heavy. Neither side are laden with pure angels, especially in the higher ups. Rather, it is a combination of self-interest, self-preservation, as well as an attitude of knowing what's best for everyone that seems to compel them to clash again and again. As for SM and Yeo Jin, while they may not have met, they seemed to have stayed in contact since they are still at ease with each other. Even though, they are now representing different sides at the negotiations, I trust that they will continue to work with each other, given their respect and affection for each other. And, yes, while SM may not be able to express feelings or even be able to feel most emotions, he does seem to have developed a partiality towards Yeo Jin which to me seems very much like affection. What's going to be interesting is that SM is still not inclined to any more verbiage than necessary, though he is so perceptive, while YJ is the one who seems to feel a new reticence/reserve around SM since they are on opposite sides of the negotiating table. Anyway, I'm still hoping for progress on their personal relationship front. I mean, YJ is the only friend that SM has really! As for Lee Joon Hyuk, I'm in such total awe at his acting abilities. Seo Dong Jae comes across as far more complex a character than in Season 1, so I'm hoping that he'll get a bigger role this season. SDJ is still smarmy and slimy it's true, and I wouldn't have expected his base character to have changed that much. It's hard for people to change. However, Season 1 did make him face up to some hard truths, so I'm not expecting Season 2 SDJ to just reprise his self from Season 1. There are hints that he is evolving, so looking forward to more from him as he and SM work together on the case in hand. Still haven't watched ep 4, so I just need to make time to do so. Can't wait. Yes, I agree that it started with the politics very quickly. I'm not sure that this series can stand on its own without having watched Season 1.

Park Bo Gum's new drama Record of Youth is going to be premiering September 7, 2020! Link to the drama thread: Record of Youth for all the details of the new drama. Until then, he's dropped a new single! Here is PBG singing the English version of his new song. He has the softest voice.

New rule. If anyone wants another reaction, they have to identify a reaction that can go away. So many reactions as it is. 😄 And, all these kisses! I'm not sure it's possible to even glance into this thread without blushing from the steaminess.

Abs... as far as the eyes can read... Thanks so much for inviting me to this bounty of abs!