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…
stroopwafel
River Where the Moon Rises: I was most curious about what Na In-woo would be like as the new On Dal while watching this week and the verdict is still out. The edits were smoother than I’d expected but something felt a little unnatural about his scenes. Maybe it’s because On Dal’s scenes are a mix of Ji-soo from behind and close-ups of Na In-woo’s face, or maybe my brain is still registering him as Mr. Queen’s Byeong-in in commoner’s clothes. He was on screen for such a short amount of time that it’s hard to gauge how he’ll do yet so he may find his groove soon. I do feel for him, it has to be tough to join a drama mid-production in these circumstances. As for how this relates to the plot, I half-wish that the show had taken a leap and re-written the story with an even bigger focus on Pyeonggang. Kim So-hyun is brilliant here and I’m more invested in her story than I am the romance. And if we’re going to talk about romance, I’d also say that I’m also more invested in the Geon-Pyeonggang angle since I am a sucker for unrequited love stories. We’re talking about a centuries-old OTP here so I know it can never be, but I find myself drawn in whenever Geon is on the screen. I’ll probably say this a million times between now and the end of the show, but I can’t believe how good Lee Ji-hoon is–he’s so moving and tortured and slightly evil.
Mouse: I was pretty meh about the whole psychopath gene angle in the premiere week but I found this week’s episodes more interesting since the focus felt less about genetic theories and more about who the heinous culprit in the present-day could be. I thought I had a good grasp of what was happening but the reveal at the end threw me for a loop and I’m so excited at the thought we might be seeing a new side of Lee Seung-gi. (P.S. I love my little Zombie Detective reunion between Park Joo-hyun and Kwon Hwa-woon.)
Unexpected Business: Bird PD, Jo In-sung, and Cha Tae-hyun together? The names were enough to reel me in…but not enough to keep me interested. I normally like Bird PD’s work but it feels like there’s something missing this time. There are fun and sweet moments of course, but the episodes feel pretty long and I don’t think I’ll be keeping up with this one.
missvictrix
Sisyphus: I’m still here, and actually really enjoying how convoluted this plot is getting. It might not all check out under a microscope, but from the level I’m watching it, I really like the layers — particularly in Episode 7, where we backtracked and saw what happened to Seo-hae and Tae-sool in between where we left them in our cliffhangers last week. The backtracking and fleshing out of the story we have already seen makes things more complex, as much as it does explain what happened. The return of Jae-sun seemed a little random to me, after we forgot him for so long, but he is cute and his car is hot (or he is hot and is car is cute?) so I’m willing to roll with this. As for Episode 8, the plot didn’t advance much, but I enjoyed seeing the back/future story of Seo-hae getting her mission from herself via the diary — and all the insane action! Sure, the CGI isn’t awesome, but letting go of that, I’m really enjoying these fight scenes of hers. Seo-hae is so cool, and cool-headed under pressure, shooting up bad guys and jumping through windows. I kinda want to be her when I grow up.
mary
Hello? It’s Me: Every time I watch this show, I want to yeet the young Ha-ni into the sun. It’s not her actions that annoy me (though they’re pretty enraging already), but the fact that the show flip-flops between making her selfishly stupid when it’s convenient for the plot, to portraying her as a righteous defender of the weak. How can someone who saves random kids against bullies not know that stealing from your own sister is wrong? Especially when you know that your older self was already in trouble because of you? I can *feel* the show trying to convince me that there’s good in the young Ha-ni, but they’re doing such a bad job balancing it with her selfish side that I’m actively resisting liking her. Strangely enough, as soon as the episode ends, I want to watch the next one. The show has elements I like: the guy is in love and supportive from the start, downtrodden Ha-ni learns to get back up, a chance to mend a cute, broken friendship (btw, we must protect Oh Ji-eun and her husband at all costs ), and the not-so-top-star-with-ego falls for someone “below” his standards–although I wish this role was portrayed by a more likeable ajusshi like Park Byung-eun. The good news is, the show will teach young Ha-ni a few lessons anyway, so the parts I dislike will disappear and be replaced with more feel-good scenes as the show goes on. *crossing my fingers that we see more of the girl friends and not the random, extended dance scenes*
Vincenzo: Did anyone else feel the drag in last weekend’s episodes? 160 minutes is just too long of a setup while waiting for the show’s next legal skirmish. Yes, the hornet is funny, but it’s not as satisfying as blackmailing your enemy with a Truck of Doom. I’m not wanting darkness for darkness’s sake. The show went dark first when they killed and besmirched Hong Yoo-chan’s name. Now I want fire and hell! I want to raid Vincenzo’s secret lighter stash and burn all the Babel factories. *cough*just saying*cough* I think Vincenzo is at its best when our hero is dark and devious while the people around him act like doofuses. Case in point: who doesn’t love the NIS agent who goes heart-eyed at everything Vincenzo does? When the show is trying to make Vincenzo goofy with the rest of them, I can’t help but compare it to Park Jae-bum’s previous work, Chief Kim, and that show had a different charm. Chief Kim (the character) was meant to be the clown leading the circus. Vincenzo should stick to its own strengths. TL;DR Leave the outlandish accountant role to Namgoong Min and give us more of Song Joong-ki brewing revenge in hand-sewn Italian suits.
Sisyphus: This show is a mix of things I like: physics, time travel shenanigans, apocalypse, badass Park Shin-hye, and all brains-no-brawn Jo Seung-woo. Perhaps too many of the things I like all at once that it leaves me unsatisfied. It feels like there’s never enough time to enjoy each of them before we jump to the next plot point. It’s like you’re on a car on the way to your favorite place, but you’re in such a hurry to get there that you see awesome things whizzing by and regret that you can’t stop to enjoy those things too. What I’m saying is, I want more McGuyver moments, Seo-hae saving Tae-sool’s ass, and freaky time-traveling man-blobs appearing out of nowhere. Oh, and if Tae-sool doesn’t take Seo-hae to a BTS concert, I will be so disappointed in you, Show!
Love Alarm 2: (WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD. Though if you’ve been online the past 24 hours without muting things, you probably know the following already…) I was on Team Hye-young back in season 1 when we thought he was just the nice, loyal second lead so I’m surprised that I wasn’t happy with the show’s conclusion. I think it’s because Jo-jo and Hye-young make a good couple in theory but the show failed to expand their story. Or rather, they didn’t flesh it out enough to make you forget about the whole tragic, unresolved loveline in the first half of the show. I wish the time jump didn’t happen because we never saw how Jo-jo moved on from Sun-ho. It makes it difficult to appreciate how she developed a more mature relationship with Hye-young. This sounds like blasphemy from a drama fan, but I don’t just want my ships to sail, I want to know why they sailed. I’m not boarding a ship just because it works in theory! That could be dangerous, actually..