So, what are we all watching this week?
What kept you reaching for more (or agonizing when there was no more), and what made you want to throw your remote through the screen? Time to weigh in…
javabeans
Lovely Runner: As much as I hate the wait for new episodes (years of live-watching dramas has cultivated not an ounce of patience within me), knowing I had two new hours to look forward to got me through a fair bit of work-induced Sturm und Drang this week. (Aside: It makes me think wistfully upon the days of being here full-time, which was still the best and most rewarding job I’ve ever had, and while I have no regrets about the paths my life has taken me on, it makes that time even more precious in my memories. *tear*) The first two episodes already had me hooked, but I particularly loved the direction the story took this week in deepening the characters’ connection and up-leveling Sol’s struggles when trying to change the past. I was willing to accept what initially was presented as a coincidental, fateful meet-sad (aka the radio call) because dramaland stories are full of those and some amount of implausibly convenient connections is standard fare, but the new developments fit the plot pieces together into something much less happenstance and a lot more heartbreaking. I feel so much for Sun-jae that I’m retroactively a bit sorry for finding Byun Woo-seok so thoroughly unremarkable in Record of Youth, although to be fair that was really a writing fail more than an acting one. And isn’t what really matters that I see the appeal now?
Blood Free: I’m intrigued by the everybody-is-a-suspect setup and the slight sci-fi bent, though so far it’s a bit of a dry and detached watch for me. The plot reminds me of Okja, but tonally it’s completely on the other end of the seriousness spectrum and while I expect this to be engaging as a cerebral form of entertainment, I find myself wishing there were more personality or style. Or something to grasp onto — it’s a bit cold for my taste. A matter of personal preference, I’m sure. I interpret Han Hyo-joo’s portrayal as intentionally off-putting, but even if it’s the point her aloof and calculating nature keeps me at arm’s length and I prefer to care about my characters. Will keep watching, but hoping the intrigue ramps up soon.
Queen of Tears: I do enjoy this, but it’s not the addictive and/or emotional and/or exuberant romance drama I’ve come to expect of this writer. It’s amusing at points and occasionally poignant and brimming with quirky characters, but there’s something about this show that feels overly deliberate and constructed (as opposed to organic) and thus doesn’t hit a genuine chord for me, so it remains surface-level fun. Everyone outside the main couple feels like caricatures filling a role in a wacky sitcom character lineup, like a collection of quirky billionaire NPCs. And boy do I find the villainous mother-son duo tiresome as ho-hum baddies whose scenes I occasionally fast-forward through. Still, at the core of the drama is our couple and I do hope for them to conquer their obstacles: I want Kim Ji-won to find a way to survive, and for Kim Soo-hyun to find happiness with her. Both actors are putting in top-notch performances, which is doing a lot of the heavy lifting — Kim Soo-hyun is a master at drawing you into his pain, so much so that it makes me want to linger and revel in it, which is not really the thing you want to do with pain. But he just cries so pretty!
missvictrix
Lovely Runner: What a great second week for this drama. I was slack-jawed when the story sent Sol back to the present day again — it just changed the whole scope of the story that I was expecting, and I love the upped ante and the fact that Sol is basically fighting against her past self to keep Sun-jae safe in the future. Because, keep Sun-jae safe! I love this boy.
mistyisles
Currently covering: The Midnight Studio
Lovely Runner: This show makes me all kinds of happy, even as it puts my heart through the wringer with Sun-jae’s life-changing injury and Sol’s feelings of helplessness when all her efforts to save him seem to fall short. It’s got the perfect balance of silly sweetness and serious depth, where the darker themes don’t weigh the whole thing down, and likewise the comedy doesn’t weaken the emotional impact (in fact, sometimes it enhances it!). Waiting for new episodes is torture, but unlike some shows it’s not so much because I’m impatient to find out how it ends — it’s because I want to savor every second of the journey towards (what I desperately hope will be) that happy ending.