Reasons to Cheer: a Drama Round-up!

[UnniSara]

Prompt 3 

Love Twist , Under the Queen’s Umbrella 

[joccu__]

prompt #3 

the guest  and king of the pigs

 

 

@Tofu 

Spoiler

lot of thai bl lakorns novel have huge problem.  they like to write about rape. which I don´t get. And the bigger problem is that all those novel are huge success.  And weirdly people don´t get offended. they like those kind of stories. 

 

the lakorns I normally watch the main story is always bout cheating, lying, manipulating etc. And they are always big hits. 

 

[stroppyse]

7 hours ago, LaLa said:

Uhm by the way, has the third question been revealed? Or did I miss that? 

 

Sorry. I delayed it by a day because I thought perhaps we were revealing too fast since we still had good number of posts for the first 2 prompts? Posting it now, though just saw that @Tofu has already posted it.

 

Mea culpa. I won't delay any of the prompts any more.

 

Prompt #3

 

A drama you lost sleep from staying up to watch it

 

 

Have not lost sleep over a drama in 2022... err, nope. Actually, I ended up binge watching Model Detective Season 2 because I didn't get to watch it until it showed up on Netflix with all the episodes rather than during its original broadcast run. I do love the Violent Crimes Team 2, even if the plot itself wasn't as good as Season 1.

[LaLa]

7 hours ago, Tofu said:

What drama(s) did you lose sleeping staying up late to watch it? It could be binging it through the night or the drama airs late into the night and you stayed up late to watch it.

 

Hmm I don't know whether I lose any sleep for dramas this year.. I really have a short span memories as I'm getting older.. 

But I guess there were times when I was hype about the drama and couldn't wait or stop looking for updates about it. These old dramas are just a few that I remember I sacrificed my sleep on :

- 49 days 

Quite an old one.. 2011 I believed? When I was still in school and I only chose to watch drama that have ended airing, not the on going one. This drama actually a sad one and a lil bit kind of that revenge drama. However during the end when the soul is back after 49 days wandering and in danger of passing, she finally fulfilled her mission and go back to her body. Innocent me then think it will only a happy end after this. But noo they have to reveal she can still see the grim reaper. That only means she will die again. It already way past midnight and to find out about the end, I binge till the end and staying up probably until 3 am? Crying a lot as well I think.. and since it's still a school days, I have to woke at 5 to get ready. Hahaha I might have become a zombie with puffed eyes at school.. But I guess since it's probably end of term and before school holidays I dared to do that 

 

- Hospital Playlist season 1 and 2

By this time I already changed my watching preference to an on going drama. I mostly staying up because of the discussion rather than watching the drama itself. I streamed live the drama when I could (I really worked hard at the office to clear off my workload every Thursday and went home as soon as I could). And that's how I meet and interacted with several of founding and original members here 

 

- Mr Queen

When k drama on Netflix is on the rise, it's rather difficult to find a series that didn't have an immediate English sub released just 30 to 60 minutes after it premiered in SK.. Mr Queen just one of those. I rather enjoyed the live watching and kind of sharing a live tweet about that. And I ended up sharing several rough translation as well while waiting for the sub to be released in the next few hours. I didn't know if actually it's needed or not, but because some asked and I wanted to help, I stayed up and racked my limited knowledge in the languages and with the help of dictionary to share the rough translation for several clips... I felt satisfied with myself tough :)

 

3 hours ago, stroppyse said:

Sorry. I delayed it by a day because I thought perhaps we were revealing too fast since we still had good number of posts for the first 2 prompts? Posting it now, though just saw that @Tofu has already posted it.

 

Mea culpa. I won't delay any of the prompts any more.

 

It's alright really.. probably because of the time difference as well. By the time I posted my question, Dec 3 was almost ending on my part of the world. That's why I started to wonder.  Part of it because of my lack of sleep for staying up late watching football match between SK and Portugal the day before lol

[Tofu]

Prompt #3: I stayed up all night watching Nice Flight. The couple was so adorable and unproblematic!  

 

@LaLa

Spoiler

I'm glad you're still watching it! I was telling @SilverMoonTea that I think I failed at selling the drama to others because everyone ask me what it's about, but no one really watched it. Hahaha!

 

I think if Nana and the JSL teacher does not end up together, I would like them to rekindle their friendship too. She gave him a purpose when he was lost. They said a lot of hurtful things to each other, but they were still young and insecure. The opinions of others mattered to them at the time where I don't think they care too much about that anymore. 

 

I also agreed that the next episode is going to be about the ML returning home and mending the relationships there. The last episode will probably be about him gaining more confidence and truly accepting himself. 

 

Japanese dramas are a bit different from others. They only air one episode a week and they are still subbed by fansubbers. They do not have huge online streaming platforms subbing their dramas in English for international viewers. Majority are done by fans still. 

 

 

@joccu__

Spoiler

Ugh, I know! I really do not understand why they promote toxicity like that. Their BL lakorns are so popular but I'm always hesitate to watch. Rape is not ok and I really do not like that they treat it like it's no big deal. I hope more fans speak up about it; however, sometimes I wonder if people just shrug it off because Thai lakorns are known to be crazy and over-the-top. 

 

I did watch a Korean BL drama this year, two of them. I don't remember what one was about anymore (must not have been really good if I forgot all about it, LOL!), but I did enjoy Semantic Error. It was eight episodes long and each episode was roughly around 20-30 minutes. It's very mild compared to KinnPorsche. Haha! Here's a FMV in the off chance that you're interested -- a college romance drama. 

 

 

[40somethingahjumma]

Since I got the call... I will answer.

 

Completed so far: 40 (C and K dramas half and half)

Definitively Dropped: 3

Still to finish: 6

 

C dramas as a whole were better for me. Fewer disappointments. The quality of K drama scripts this year were not consistent.

 

Seems like I powered through most shows. I even managed one J drama The Journalist and one Taiwanese drama Shards of Her. Both good. Shards of Her I would say is excellent. Both on Netflix.

 

Lee Sung-min would most likely to be nominated for the Baeksang next year and win it. With three excellent dramas under his belt for 2022, he really should. 

 

As for losing sleep over a drama. None that I can think of. I did lose sleep over the ending of Little Women though. I'd pick that show for having the most disappointing finale this year. How can we have a hot and sizzling Wi Ha-joon not kiss the girl and just say goodbye? What did I watch that show for? Not for the little women. Or the money.

 

 

Edited December 4, 2022 by 40somethingahjumma

[Tofu]

1 hour ago, 40somethingahjumma said:

How can we have a hot and sizzling Wi Ha-joon not kiss the girl and just say goodbye? What did I watch that show for? Not for the little women. Or the money.

Oh no, really?! I never read the ending of Little Women so I didn't know this happened. That's so disappointing. Even his Bad and Crazy ending was more satisfying. 

 

[mademoiselle]

A drama you lost sleep from staying up to watch it

 

LOL, next time you guys should let us know this question will come up end of the year coz now I don't quite remember accurately which dramas I lose sleep over. So vaguely, maybe the the following:

1. Under the Queen's Umbrella - finale tonight; need to know uri Seong Nam's shotgun baby is well-protected!
2. Love Like the Galaxy
3. Tomorrow
4. 2521 - this is definite. I remember staying up.
5. Yumi's Cells 2

[stroppyse]

Question #4

 

A drama that disappointed you

 

Hmm, so many options with this one this year. There were a number of ambiguous endings for one thing...

[liddi]

Oh - missed so many questions already! Clearly, with my poor 2022 drama watching track record, I don't believe I could really answer most of them solely on 2022 dramas. Anyway, in the spirit of participation, I will just answer based on whatever I have watched before...

 

 

2. A couple you wished ended up together

    Jeong Guyeong & Lee Yangsun (Jirisan)

- While technically they were a couple until they were torn apart by her death, JGY's continued vigil for her years after her death is  heartbreakingly poignant and makes me wish fate had been kinder to them

 

3. A drama you lost sleep from staying up to watch it

    Tree with Deep Roots (2011), Nine (2013)

- I binge watched both dramas in the early days of my kdrama-watching, gripped by the plot, and shattered by the fates of those I fervently rooted for. And I still revisit and cry over pertinent scenes every now and again.

 

4. A drama that disappointed you

   民国大侦探 Checkmate (2022)

- Strictly speaking, this is an unfair choice since I have only watched the first case of the official adaptation of Agatha Christie works, but thus far, the narrative and acting feels stilted, which is particularly disappointing since I love Agatha Christie.

[mademoiselle]

A drama that disappointed you

1. Who Rules the World
2. Blind
3. Grid
4. Little Women
5. Love is for Suckers
6. The Golden Spoon
7. Adamas
8. Again My Life
9. Cafe Minamdang
10. Link: Eat, Love, Kill
11. Love All Play
12. Small & Mighty
13. Why Her?
14. May I Help You

 

Er oops... I notice all the question, "drama" is singular. Does it really have to be just one? 😅

3 hours ago, 40somethingahjumma said:

Lee Sung-min would most likely to be nominated for the Baeksang next year and win it. With three excellent dramas under his belt for 2022, he really should. 

Not sure what the odds are for him to win two Daesang (drama and movie) because his performance in Remember was really good too.

Edited December 4, 2022 by mademoiselle

[UnniSara]

Promt #4

1. Who Rule the World

2. Blind

3 WHy Her

4. Adamas

5. Again My Life 

6. Little Woman 

[40somethingahjumma]

1 hour ago, stroppyse said:

Question #4

 

A drama that disappointed you

 

 

Most K dramas that I watched this year would fit into that category. They start out strong but fizzle out at the end. Or the second half isn't quite as  good as the first. Or there's no payoff for all the investment that fans put into watching the show. Even a good show like Extraordinary Attorney Woo with all its strengths faltered towards the end. Most of the recurring/core characters were also very underdeveloped which is problematic for an episodic style drama. Too much spotlight was put on the guest/cameos to the detriment of the primary characters. Compare that with The First Responders which is also an episodic drama -- and the core characters are so much better written even within the first few episodes. They are much more fleshed out as a whole and the banter is good. I chalk that up to experience.

 

Blind is another example of a drama with a good premise but the need to make it a convoluted puzzle box and play games with the audience takes away from the message. The last half of the final episode is actually good. Better than the four episodes leading up to it. Which tells me in part that the show was just too long for what it really wanted to say.

 

I liked Little Women even with all its implausibilities until a certain character was brought back. I didn't want that character to be brought back. And I was justified in thinking that the character shouldn't be brought back because what happened was that the entire narrative had to make something of a seismic shift to accommodate her. And one of the results was that the relationship between In-joo and Do-il had to be put on the backburner. This is clearly the case because for most of the show right from Episode 1, most of In-joo's time is spent with Do-il not with her sisters. So audiences were right to expect some resolution in that regard. 

 

I agree with @Tofuthat even the ending for Bad and Crazy was good because it was the most logical one for the story we had seen. It's the right ending to Su-yeol's journey and character arc.

 

The only K dramas that I think are good from start to finish this year (SO FAR) are Juvenile Justice, Through the Darkness, My Liberation Notes and Shadow Detective. Because they respect the audience and more or less achieve what they set out to do. Obviously I don't watch as many as some here but there seems to be some consensus that some of these shows didn't make it to the finishing line unscathed.

 

1 hour ago, mademoiselle said:

Not sure what the odds are for him to win two Daesang (drama and movie) because his performance in Remember was really good too.

 

I haven't seen that movie but wow, Lee Sung-min has been a busy fellow indeed. To be honest, I have no idea how these award things work. I certainly hope he wins something.

[Lynne]

Sadly the drama's I'd watch this year is too small, and perhaps can be counted with 10 fingers hahahah...

 

[mademoiselle]

41 minutes ago, 40somethingahjumma said:

I haven't seen that movie but wow, Lee Sung-min has been a busy fellow indeed. To be honest, I have no idea how these award things work. I certainly hope he wins something.

Nah. Remember was completed in 2020 and release was postponed to 2022 due to COVID.

[joccu__]

#prompt 4

 

Blind. the drama was good but the ending was disappointing.

[JenL]

On 12/4/2022 at 4:51 AM, Tofu said:

What drama(s) did you lose sleeping staying up late to watch it? It could be binging it through the night or the drama airs late into the night and you stayed up late to watch it. 

 

Hahahaha, I lost sleep over Extraordinary Attorney Woo Young Woo - I think because I was live watching and Netflix drops the episodes at 1am in Aus time. Also I don't tend to rewatch dramas, but I do replay cute moments and that one was full of cute moments 

 

14 hours ago, stroppyse said:

Question #4

 

A drama that disappointed you

 

Hmm, so many options with this one this year. There were a number of ambiguous endings for one thing...

 

HAHAHA. I think I answered that in one of my previous questions, but yeahh, this year's selection of dramas was surpriisingly underwhelming. Like there were so many series that looked promising or interesting and fell so flat or dragged intensely. 

 

For me, these were the most disappointing things I watched and why. The opinions may sound harsh, but I guess I've had time to reflect on them and these are my feelings now. But to be fair, it's not like I hated these shows since I finished them all without dropping - I just thought they had potential which was not utilised well at all and it was very disappointing.

 

1. Link: Eat, Love, Kill - The story did not make sense from start to finish (the lead character spends almost 16 episodes preparing to open a restaurant and almost doesn't do it. The body in the fridge goes from being scary to just stupid etc) and honestly the strongest episode was the ending because it was oddly happy and tied up this whole mess, thereby putting all viewers out of the misery of having to watch any more episodes of this series 

2. Going to You at the Speed of 493km / Love All Play - Ugh I wanted to like this one because Chae Jong Hyeop is a massive cutie and it would have been fun to see him in a good romance. Butttt there was no chemistry between the leads, but plenty of mushy moments so it was like forced chemistry that didn't flow naturally in the story. The female lead character was very annoying/ selfish at certain moments. The sports storyline was not explained clearly, nor was the playing of the sports shot or edited well and the team spirit and sportsmanship was lacking- it's like they bullied the female lead for 10-12 episodes and then everyone decided they were friends in the last few episodes. Honestly, one of the most disappointing sports dramas I've ever watched, 

3. Cafe Minamdang - Started strong with the fun humour and I loved the sleeze of con-artist shaman Seo In Guk. BUT I became irritated with the female lead character beause she didn't seem to have smarts or flexibility in solving the case and even hindered process several times. The bad guy was obvious from the start. They also revealed the bad guy too early anyway and the last half of the series reallllllly dragged. It was sad 

4. Little Women - In a weird way I don't know if I'm disappointed in this drama so much as I didn't have as high expectations for it and then it actually delivered not much so it met my low expectation? I think it was a fun watch, but also just wayyy too makjang and silly, but trying to be serious? I was also put off by the main character's attitudes towards money 

Edited December 4, 2022 by JenL

[stroppyse]

9 hours ago, mademoiselle said:

Er oops... I notice all the question, "drama" is singular. Does it really have to be just one? 😅

 

I feel as if there were too many disappointments to be limited to an artificial number for this question, so everyone should go ahead and vent all you want about the disappointments for this year.

 

I'm not sure why it was such a disappointing year for k-dramas. Perhaps they have run out of plots, and in trying to do something "different" they lose sight of what makes for satisfying stories? Plus, they keep casting actors for popularity sake rather than because they can actually act.

[UnniSara]

13 hours ago, 40somethingahjumma said:

The only K dramas that I think are good from start to finish this year (SO FAR) are Juvenile Justice, Through the Darkness, My Liberation Notes and Shadow Detective. Because they respect the audience and more or less achieve what they set out to do. Obviously I don't watch as many as some here but there seems to be some consensus that some of these shows didn't make it to the finishing line unscathed.

 

 

Well said chingu Juvenile Justice was well done, so was Through the Darkness.  I think these drama the ending was done right because each of the cases that was investigated was done logically and with no emotional attachment but with the evidence. 

I recommend Under the Queen's Umbrella, the ending to this drama was perfect because it matched the TItle of the drama also. THis drama was based on a mother's love and desire to protect their children. What they were willing to go through to achieve their goals. 

[Alice Wonderland]

On 12/4/2022 at 12:51 AM, Tofu said:

What drama(s) did you lose sleeping staying up late to watch it?

It includes the past or the one that we watch currently? As far as I remember, I dont really recall which drama that losing me sleep lately, if there it's not a drama but it is a varshow? Does that count? 😁

 

Spoiler

House On Wheel 4, episode 7-8

 

And if binged watch also considered as losing sleep factor

 

Spoiler

All Of Us Are Dead

 

I will add more when I remember another one

Edited December 4, 2022 by Alice Wonderland

[40somethingahjumma]

57 minutes ago, UnniSara said:

 

 

I recommend Under the Queen's Umbrella, the ending to this drama was perfect because it matched the TItle of the drama also. THis drama was based on a mother's love and desire to protect their children. What they were willing to go through to achieve their goals. 

 

I am behind everyone on Queen's Umbrella but I am definitely watching this. Glad to hear that the ending is good because these days a good ending is rarer than a 3000 carat diamond.

[40somethingahjumma]

6 hours ago, stroppyse said:

 

I'm not sure why it was such a disappointing year for k-dramas. Perhaps they have run out of plots, and in trying to do something "different" they lose sight of what makes for satisfying stories? Plus, they keep casting actors for popularity sake rather than because they can actually act.

 

Certainly trying a little too hard to be different is what I see to be the problem with ambiguous endings.

 

I hate to keep bringing up Little Women but it is one of the bigger disappointments this year. (Quite interesting that it's in almost everyone's list so far) But the problem too with that show was also how it was trying to blend genres and not doing a satisfactory job of it. It was trying to be a police procedural without the police. A family drama without family bonding. A heist show without much of a heist. A morality where the messaging is off. It had some of the story beats but not all them and they were put together awkwardly.

[stroppyse]

Discussion item #5

 

A new actor/actress you came to love in 2022

 

So, this doesn't have to be a newbie actor/actress as long as it's someone who you grew to love in 2022. For instance, the one who instantly comes to my mind for me is Son Seok Gu from 'My Liberation Diary'. I didn't even realize that I had watched him in a few other roles before, but for some reason, his character of Mr. Gu stayed with me for a long, long time, and I attribute that to how SSG handled his anti-hero role with such ease and finesse.

[UnniSara]

Prompt #5 
 

 

 

Moon Sang-Min - -> Prince Seongnam Under the Queen’s Umbrella 

[mademoiselle]

A new actor/actress you came to love in 2022

 

"Love" is a strong word, so I'll just tone it down to "like"

 

Wu Lei - for his outstanding performance as Ling Bu Yi.

 

Moon Sang Min - I dunno, he just suddenly stood out from all the princes in Under the Queen's Umbrella I guess it really helps he's the tallest amongst them all, standing at 190 cm. Plus I just love quiet character... and both Ling Bu Yi and Moon Sang Min share that similarities.

 

Now this question I'm interested to see @Chocolate's and @SilverMoonTea's answers. You can't say none, Choco, that'd be a lie!

Edited December 5, 2022 by mademoiselle