[2020]

A frustrating, yet somewhat enjoyable watch. Jung Yu Mi was a joy to watch, as always, even if she played such a flawed character. I usually avoid love triangles but in this case, I thought the writer managed to bring in fresh, realistic elements to that trope. I particularly liked the supporting characters who brought a much more lighthearted and entertaining aspect to this drama and who were such a nice change from the otherwise frustrating main leads. 

Tragic. Oh so tragic. After finishing Comrades, I'm quite literally speechless. It took me a few episodes (and months -because of the drama's depressing nature) to get invested in it. But once I did, there was no turning back. I wouldn't say I was particularly attached to each character individually because there were too many of them to really get to know them enough. But their bond, their brotherhood and the length they were ready to go to protect each other is what truly got me. I was also pleasantly surprised by the depiction of NK as the drama never felt manichean despite having been created to commemorate the 60 years anniversary of the Korean War. Truly an underrated drama that deserves more attention.

A pretty cute watch with decent writing when it came to the romance. I definitely could not take it seriously as a law drama, though. The noble idiocy trope towards the end also was incredibly frustrating and unnecessary (as it often is).

A solid law drama. It was not innovative by any means, but the acting was commendable and the writing was pretty consistent for the most part. It was a tad too plot-driven for my liking and I wish we learned more about the main characters (outside of what was necessary for solving the case). But overall, it was a pleasant watch.

Such a good surprise! As someone who rarely ever watch Taiwanese dramas, I really did not expect to enjoy it as much as I did. The acting from both main leads was great and despite being a fairly conventional time-slip drama, Someday or One Day did manage to surprise me with the way the plot evolved in the second half, after the first big reveal. It's one of those rare dramas which stayed on my mind even after having finished it. And even if I had a little issue with the way the whole mystery/crime aspect of the show was handled, the rest (and the vast majority) of the time, the drama was so emotionally spot-on that I can easily forgive that.

This drama was quite complicated to rate. There are many things I enjoyed about it and others which I found incredibly frustrating. The acting, the chemistry and the directing were all absolutely on point. The writing, however, was less consistent. The middle part, particularly, was hard to go through and felt incredibly draggy. The drama did have its moments, though and I found its resolution to be quite satisfying. I believe 12 or 13 episodes would have been more than enough for the story this drama had to tell.

A very compelling second season. I really am happy that we actually got answers (and not only even more questions), but the plot evolution  also felt very convoluted at times.  I definitely would have enjoyed it more if I wasn't struggling to remember who was linked to who and how half of the time, though. A little reminder of what happened in S1 at the beginning of this one would have been very welcomed. I'm not sure I'm happy S2 wasn't the end, but I also can't say I hate the idea of a third season, especially when we got such a cameo in the very last scene.

Dear my Friends is one of those dramas that had been sitting in my plan-to-watch list for years. For some odd reason, I never felt like it was 'a good time' to watch it because I thought it would most probably leave me crying and sad. However, while I did cry and while there were emotional moments, Dear my Friends was not a depressing watch. It was a heartwarming one. I got attached to these characters and enjoyed learning more about them as episodes passed by. I cried with them, sure, but I also laughed with them and got annoyed towards some. This drama did a wonderful job at proving that elderly people are, well... people.  And yet, it never felt moralizing. Truly a one-of-a-kind watch.

An okay watch overall. I wouldn't particularly recommend it, except if you don't have any other sageuk to watch. I didn't feel attached to the characters and neither did I find any of them to be particularly memorable. Moreover, the romance wasn't exceptional either and  the drama wouldn't have lost anything if it was written out. As for the writing, nothing really set Haechi apart from other sageuks. The last 8 episodes or so also felt incrediby draggy as the political struggle lost its steam. I did enjoy Jung Il Woo's performance as Prince Yeoning/King Yeongjo, though, and the middle-part of the drama was enjoyable for the most part.

This was a really entertaining drama. I expected it to be a lot more character-driven, though. It had a somewhat episodic nature with new issues rising up and being solved in each episode and, while it gave the opportunity for many characters to be given a backstory, it also didn't allow them to grow beyond that. Moreover, I believe that this is one of those few dramas which I would have probably enjoyed more if I watched it while it was airing. As I was watching it, anticipation didn't really build up and issues felt like they were solved a bit too easily, sometimes. But I think that given the cliffhangers and the many plot-twists, I probably would not have felt that way if I had to wait a week for new episodes. The drama was cheesy  at times, but it was overall very fun to watch.

I started the King in Love fully knowing that it isn't something I usually would enjoy which is why I had no expectations whatsoever. And yet, despite that, I still ended up feeling extremely frustrated watching it. The drama started out quite okay. Even if it was bit too cheesy for my liking, it was pretty and entertaining enough for me to not feel like I was completely wasting my time watching it. Then, as the episodes went on, both the characters and the plot development felt more and more frustrating. Neither the political schemes nor the romance was well done enough for me to care about either. The love triangle dragged on and, as it often is the case with this  trope, the FL ended up feeling very passive at some point. The villains somehow felt very cartoonish and the whole drama as a whole somehow felt "surreal" in the sense that nothing about it seemed grounded in reality.  There simply was nothing gripping enough about this drama for me to really care about whatever was going on screen. 

This was a very nice watch which delved into darker topics than I expected it to. It was a very quiet, contemplative watch for the most part, especially during its first half. I'm kind of sad this drama followed the usual kdrama rules of the confession taking place in the 6th episode and the first kiss in the 8th. I feel like it would have benefitted from a more unusual structure, especially given the introverted personalities of the two main leads and their traumas. I started watching it feeling a bit sceptical about it, especially after the first week, but the characters and the whole rural-city setting slowly grew on me. Special shoutout to Im Hwi which started out as an overly noisy kid and whom I ended up absolutely loving by the end of the drama.

Despite a confusing start, A Piece of Your Mind grew on me more and more with each passing week and I'm sure I would have ended up liking this even more if not for the episodes cut. Some character interactions and happenings felt very odd and unrealistic, especially at the beginning. But I'm glad I sticked through it all. I was particularly fond of the main couple and their relationship. As Ha Won rightfully said himself in the last episode, they just "can't be separated". I loved how supportive they were of one another and how their relationship felt so well-balanced. Neither of them felt like they were on the giving or the receiving end. They both were so honest and so open about their feelings. There was just something very warm, soothing and healing about their relationship. I however had a harder time connecting with the second leads and their plotline, but I partly blame the episodes cut for that. It was especially obvious in the later  episodes that their characterization got butchered because of it. All in all, APOYM was a warm, unusual story about healing, forgiveness and grief. It may not have become a favorite, but it definitely is one of the most memorabe dramas I've seen to date.

I'm so glad I finally decided to watch this drama. It definitely is not an "easy" watch and I would advise you to read about the drama before starting it given its subject. But it also was wonderfully crafted from start to finish. Children of Nobody indeed never lost its focus and  kept its quality all-throughout. The characterization was especially impressive for a crime drama even if I do wish we had gotten to know more about our two detectives. And each case was as gripping and emotional as the last one. I also particularly appreciated that the drama did not rely on shock-value and kept its plot-twists to a minimum. 

This, alongside Children of Nobody, reconciled me with crime dramas. This was a great watch with wonderful, memorable characters for whom I couldn't help but root. Cha Young Jin was a great protagonist and her friendship with Eun Ho was precious. The last few episodes did feel a bit draggy, but I came to care so much about the characers that I easily forgave that. Plus the ending may very well be one of the best endings to a crime show ever.

If I only had to rate how tear-inducing this was, I would probably give this an even higher rating, but that's not the case. Hi Bye Mama was an enjoyable (but tearful) watch. I simply wish the drama didn't focus so much on side ghost stories (about whom and which I didn't care at all) and used that airtime to develop further its main characters, especially Gang Hwa. I was also very frustrated about the way reveals were made and how long it took for them to happen. The acting was great, though, and I really appreciate how there were no genuinely evil characters in this drama.

I loved the first half of the drama, but the magic somehow wore off after episode 8 for me. Like many, I was especially disappointed by the way the 'Do Hui Jae arc' was handled and felt quite annoyed by it. Her re-appearance felt absolutely unnecessary and didn't make any sense plot-wise. But even before the introduction of that plot point,I thought the episodes started to drag a bit passing the midway through. What I did like pretty much until the end, though, was the main trio and I'll mainly remember this drama for them and the wonderful way they each were acted. Lastly, I expected the drama to delve a bit more into Mun Yeong's ASPD, so I was a bit disappointed when it didn't. I guess I somewhat forgot it was first and foremost a romcom.

Do You Like Brahms is one of those dramas that would have benefitted from a shorter episode count. I loved this drama until episode 10. After that, watching it felt emotionally-tiring. The last quarter felt very draggy and the conflict felt repetitive. I held on because the main couple had wonderful chemistry and because I loved their characters. But anything and anyone other than them was very frustrating to watch. I loved how warm the first half felt, as the two leads got to know each other and learned to find comfort in each other. But even that disappeared in the latter half as they struggled to communicate.

It was overly cheesy at times and even fairytale-ish in the way some conflicts got resolved. But it had a lot of heart and most characters were pretty lovable. It was a nice, easy watch with touching scenes sprinkled in every episodes. 

A very frustrating watch, but the main couple's chemistry was adorable.