Resurrecting Dramas - Second Chance Project

by Kate, June 17, 2021

Hi, guys! I'm Kate, and I have dropped 114 dramas so far. Now, I'm trying to bring them back to life.

On July 25, 2020, I wrote an article about my habit of dropping dramas (Stages of Dropping Dramas). It ended with the hopeful note that one day, I might pick up some of my dropped dramas. So here I am, ready to elaborate on the topic a little bit more.

For quite some time, I stopped putting dramas on hold. I accepted the fact I will most likely never finish these titles and moved them to the dropped list.

Now, "on hold" is reserved for the dramas that have already finished airing, but that I am watching right now, and variety shows. This way, I can either watch a show or drop it -- nothing in between.

^{Me saying goodbye to the drama I am dropping.}

I have many reasons to drop shows. Sometimes, I'm simply not in the right mood. Or, the plot goes in directions I hate. Other times, I might just have too many shows to watch and start to feel overwhelmed.

This new system of either watching or dropping increased the number of shows I am giving up on quite badly. Since I am an impulsive dropper (dropping shows after the first episode is not a foreign concept to me), I know for a fact I gave up on some true gems simply because it was not the right time for me to watch them. With that in mind, I have decided to give my dropped dramas a fair second chance and pick them back up from the graveyard.

To make sure this whole project makes sense and will do what it was designed to do (make sure I find the hidden gems in my dropped list), I had to set some strict rules on how I will proceed with it.

Start with dramas that did not air in the current year. Ever since I started this project in 2020, I found it pointless to try picking up dramas I just recently dropped. The negative feelings were still there, lingering and ready to ruin the viewing experience. With that in mind, I started with dramas that aired prior to 2020. Enough time has passed for me to take the chance and try watching them again.
Use a random number generator. Let's get real; no one is excited to start a drama they once dropped. I was well aware it would take me hours to pick the titles if I could even do that. Instead, I decided to leave it to luck: Let Uncle Google make all the decisions. I set the order according to the airing date, check the number of the last drama release prior to 2021, and get a random number from that group of shows. Simple yet extremely effective method.
Rewatch the last seen episode and two new ones. I had to decide on how many episodes I should watch for this to work. Rewatching the last episode I have seen is a good way to get back into the story and remember what was happening plot-wise. After that, I give the drama two more episodes to convince me against dropping it again.
Give a verdict: Is it nay or yay? The decision has to be made. Will it go back to the dropped list, or am I going to continue watching?
Keep track of the shows you dropped again. For me, I just simply add a note to the drama, "second chance project: [date]." This way, I don't pick up a drama for a third time by accident. If I feel especially annoyed with the show, I might add an additional sentence or two explaining my current mental state after dropping it.

Of course, even if I do decide to keep watching, I can still drop a drama at any given time. But, I give myself a minimum number of episodes I have to watch, even if I struggle a lot. A big warning: you cannot bend the rules! You cannot decide to watch only one episode of a show because you don't enjoy it at all. Or skip a show because you are 100% sure you won't like it. This would lead to, at some point, not watching anything from your dropped list at all. There will always be a good reason to tweak the rules you set yourself.

^{me questioning my choices when I really dislike the drama I picked up again}

The most important rule that you need to follow no matter what, even if you start to think maybe this was not such a good idea:

The process applies to every dropped drama. Do not pick and choose.

No matter how annoying or frustrating the choice of the title might be.

RESURRECTED GEM I ENDED UP LOVING

Project S: Skate Our Souls

Why I dropped it

Quite honestly, I don't remember. It might have been too dark and raw for me when I first started watching it. Chances are, I was not able to handle it. You know how there are movies and shows you need to be emotionally prepared for? This was it. What can I say? I'm an emotional potato. I cry because of pretty clouds.

Thoughts after finishing

I was truly amazed. Once I started watching it again, I could not stop. It was, at times, emotionally exhausting but so worth it. It's not often that we get a realistic representation of mental health problems with a hopeful but not ridiculously Disney ending.

Final rating: 10/10

HALVED BAKED ZOMBIE THAT BARELY SURVIVED THE PROCESS

Why I dropped it

Another example of a drama I did not remember why I dropped. But when I rewatched Episode 12, the anger hit me again. Without getting into spoilers, I was truly furious about the plot progression and found it to be simply ridiculous.

I rarely ever drop dramas so close to the end, but this one made me just go (┛ಠ_ಠ)┛彡┻━┻.

Thoughts after finishing

What a waste of time. It had one of my least favorite plot devices that, for me, just ruins 99.9% of shows/movies when included. Realistically speaking, there was no real plot progression nor character development.

Final rating: 4.5/10

Priest

BACK TO THE DROPPED CEMETERY

Nirvana in Fire

Why I dropped it

I just truly could not stand the directing. Everything was told, and close to nothing was shown. Nirvana in Fire could easily be a podcast if you ask me, and it would not change much. What's more, I quite disliked Chang Su and how his character was written. It's hard to watch the show when you don't even root for the protagonist.

Thoughts after dropping

Believe me when I say I truly tried to like this show. I was making long reaction posts on feeds after every episode, asking questions if I was unsure about certain characters or plot points. Never have I ever put in more effort into watching a show than with this. Sadly, at the end of the day, I was bored to death. Hence, I decided to put this show to rest. Currently, it's chilling between My Roommate Is a Detective and Nobody Knows in my drama cemetery.

Progress: 20/54

How about you guys?

Do you ever pick up dropped dramas? How do you decide which drama deserves the second chance? Have you ever ended up liking a drama you once dropped?

Share your thoughts in the comments. I will be more than happy to hear different perspectives on the topic of giving dramas second chances. :)

Gifs credit: TheSwoon

_{Edited b}_{y: YW (1st editor)}