I went into Flower of Evil not knowing a ton about it, not really knowing the main leads, and expecting a typical action or mystery drama. FoE so far surpassed my expectations and it might be the first drama that I had to keep binging and stayed up into the early morning hours on a weeknight to keep watching.

What I really did not expect from this show was to get such a beautiful epic relationship from the main couple. Part of it is definitely due to the amazing performances from the lead actors, especially Lee Joon Gi who poured every ounce of himself into this performance, but the characters were also so well written. It was a really interesting dynamic that the woman was the cop and she was the one investigating her husband and constantly protecting him. The character Ji won was so strong and she trusted her own instincts about her husband and their relationship, while still making sure to verify, in the face of so much doubt. I have seen criticism of her character, but I can’t say that I agree. All the scenes of her rescuing him were so nerve wracking but beautiful to watch because of their connection. I didn’t know what to make of the male lead for the beginning of the show, which is obviously by design. His character is so obviously showing his love and affection for his family throughout the show, but there are seeds of doubt, and his belief that he is incapable of those emotions was heartbreaking to watch.

One of the highlights of the show is when Lee Joon Gi’s character realizes that his wife knows everything and is still there, always protecting him. The emotion in that scene has me going back to watch edits of it every so often. Ji won’s belief in the good in her husband brought both him and me to tears. The little girl who plays their daughter was absolutely precious and her relationship with her dad made it so that I could never believe he was truly evil because no one who loves their child like that could ever be all bad.

I’m a sucker for a good sibling story and I really liked getting to see the relationship with his sister, and it would have been great to get even more of it. Her character felt so broken in a lot of ways but she was also willing to give everything for those she loved. This show did a really great job with their female characters and they all felt so complex.

The action and mystery in the show always kept me guessing, as there were a lot of times I wasn’t sure how things were going to go for the leads. The plot line with the cops looking into his past was anxiety-inducing because you never knew when he might get caught. The part of the story with the male lead’s parents started with a lot of tension because their relationship felt so off but you don’t know why. By the end of the show, that part felt a little frustrating because their decisions were really bizarre and there were a lot of plot holes around their story. The serial killer did end up being extremely creepy and I think the actor did a great job pulling off the character.

I think what kept this drama from being one of my very top favorites was mainly the ending. If they had added on another couple minutes to the penultimate episode, it could’ve ended there and probably been more enjoyable.

Watching Flower of Evil for the first time was such a great experience and I still would highly recommend the show. The acting performances and relationship between the leads was done so well that it makes me overlook any small issues I might have had with the plot. This show is the first one that put Lee Joon Gi on my radar, and I will absolutely be watching more of his work!

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I am a sucker for a good meet cute and it was really fun to see these two leads have such electric chemistry from the very beginning. Their chemistry was definitely the strongest part of the show.

Moo-hak ended up as a very sweet character that I enjoyed, but it was hard to watch the way he yelled at her so much in the beginning. Da-li on the other hand was so passive that it was very frustrating. The show explains it away as her being just kind of rich and naive, but she seemed to lack any survival or basic life skills altogether, which felt odd when she’s a thirty-something woman who has lived on different continents. The dynamic between the two of them was a little rough towards the beginning when Moo-hak was acting so hostile, but it was enjoyable after he softened a little. At the end of the show he was so obsessed with her and sweet to her, so he did have a good evolution of his character.

A lot of what didn’t work in this show was all of the scheming subplots. Everything to do with the different companies illegal maneuvers was so boring to watch and it really took away from the rest of the show. The plot could have been much stronger if they focused on the romance and Da-li struggling with losing her father and having to grow up, but instead they threw in all of these random real estate crimes, drug trafficking, and other crime plots that made things really convoluted.

The second male lead is probably the worst one I’ve ever seen, he was like a cartoon villain. It was infuriating to watch the scenes he was in. Moo-hak’s family also really seemed like terrible people and it did not feel like they deserved a redemption arc at all. I know Korea has a very different culture, but the adoption plot line was baffling. I have no idea if the way the show made it so scandalous is at all accurate, but it felt way over the top.

The final episode was such a huge letdown that it really bothered me. It felt like the show was trying so hard to pull one over on the audience that it was willing to have a terrible final episode as long as they could do that.

The art museum as a backdrop for the show was a cool idea and some of the installations and exhibits were very visually interesting. Da-li’s dad was also very endearing and it would’ve been great to see more of him, even if just in flashbacks.

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There were really great things about Tale of the Nine-Tailed and there were really bad things. Unfortunately, the show chose to focus on the things that didn’t work more often than not.

Lee Rang is hands down the best part of the show. He was such a complex character and it made him fascinating to watch. His backstory broke my heart and the actor was able to show the deep emotional wounds that even adult Rang still had. His found family with the other foxes and the little kid was so sweet, and I really wish we had gotten more of them. The problem was that Rang was more interesting than the main characters or the romance.

I have never seen Jo Bo Ah before, so maybe it was the character, but her performance fell really flat. There also was very little chemistry between her and Lee Dong Wook. After seeing Lee Dong Wook in other things, I don’t think they gave him enough to do here. The past lives romance really didn’t work and it was completely overshadowed by the terrible wigs and costumes. Lee Dong Wook is such a beautiful man and the long wig they put him in is a crime.

It was hard to get through this show and the last couple episodes were such a slog to get through. The ending of the show was very disappointing and felt like an insult to a lot of the character development.

Even though this show was a letdown, I do still want to watch 1938 because I did grow very attached to quite a few of the characters

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Style Over Substance

This drama was so promising at the beginning. The dark fairytale aesthetic was so beautiful and it had me under the impression that there might be some magical realism or even fantasy aspects to the story, which it really didn't have.

The Good:
Mun-young's wardrobe was iconic and really added to the fairytale aesthetic. The dark fairytale vibe and the incorporation of the storybooks was very visually interesting to watch.

All three lead actors had great performances and chemistry with each other. I liked how they became a little found family and she developed her own friendship with his brother. All of them staying together in this huge, gothic mansion was also a cool dynamic.

There are funny parts of the show, especially when Mun-young just has no filter.

The Bad:
The portrayal of mental health is terrible. At certain points the show tried to display empathy for people who had committed terrible crimes because of their supposed mental illness when truly mentally ill people are rarely violent to others.

The relationship between the leads just did not work for me most of the time. They did have some good chemistry, but they did not show how he developed feelings for her or why. He seemed to go from feeling disdain for her to loving her very quickly and it was a struggle to understand why his feelings had changed, especially when she did act so over-the-top towards him.

The character's backstories were so traumatic and it seemed like that was never handled with care or dealt with. Based on the title, I thought this drama would have a lot more healing in it, but that was almost never seen. I was taken aback a couple times by how little empathy was displayed towards characters experiencing trauma. Spoiler: there is one scene where Mun-young's father tries to strangle her at the psychiatric hospital and the other characters just left her on the ground and no one seemed to comfort her or make sure she was okay? Parts of Mun-young's backstory also felt so impossible that I wondered if the show really was going to have a fantasy element to it. I really wish that mental illness and trauma had been handled better in this show, as it felt a little bit like a joke.

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Yes, it's yet another show about addressing generational trauma through time travel. And I eat it up every time.

My Perfect Stranger was a little bit different because it was also trying to tie in a serial killer murder mystery. I found myself bingewatching My Perfect Stranger because I had to know what happened. The plot moved really fast and all the twists kept me intriguing. Even though I had a good time with the murder mystery aspect, I felt like there were a lot of plot holes that were not addressed and the ending didn't feel particularly satisfying. I gave it up a bit of a pass because the lead up was very fun.

The character dynamics I think worked much better than the murder mystery plot. Seeing Yoon-yeong's relationships with the young versions of her parents was a highlight. I loved seeing the friendship that she built with the young version of her mother and the way she was driven to protect her at all costs after what had happened in the future. Her antagonistic relationship with her young dad was super entertaining to watch and vacillated between being hilarious and heartbreaking. While it's not a new idea, having a character realize they'd gotten their parents wrong their whole lives is always something that gets me.

I really liked the relationship that developed between the two time travelers. I thought it developed nicely from strangers to partners in crime to friends to lovers. I do wish that we had gotten to see more of the romance, as I thought the actors had really great chemistry.

Even though I was definitely with some questions that weren't answered, My Perfect Stranger was a great watch. It balanced humor, heartbreak. romance, and intrigue very well.

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Jung Hae-in, the Actor You Are

I have been watching Love Next Door and wanted more Jung Hae-in in my life while I waited for new episodes. Weird choice, I know, but now I want to watch even more of his work. His performance in DP was truly fantastic.

The main character, Jun-ho, had me interested from the beginning because even though he comes off as very restrained, it was clear that he was suppressing so much anger and hurt, which you see explode out of him several times. The partnership that he had with the other DP soldier was kind of a classic buddy cop dynamic and it really saved the show from just being completely bleak. The humor that the DP team dynamic brought kept me watching because it allowed for some balance to the very tragic and horrifying elements of the story.

I didn't expect this show to take such an empathetic approach to telling the stories of deserters, so that was such a pleasant surprise. Knowing nothing about the South Korean military, the show made it so clear how systemic issues could cause people to desert.

The depictions of bullying and violence were pretty severe, but it did show how far a lot of these characters have been pushed past their breaking point. I did not expect that the show would take one of the nicest characters and have them take such a turn, but it worked so well. The last few episodes had my anxiety through the roof because I had to know what happened and I had no idea how things were going to go. Jung Hae-in's performance in the final episode gave me chills with the raw emotion that he portrayed.

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A Shop For Killers was everything that I wanted and more from an action thriller. The fight sequences in this show were great and I appreciated how many different styles of fighting it showed, so the scenes never got boring. The way the show switched back and forth between timelines was very effective and I did not mind at all that they would show scenes more than once but with added context or a new perspective.

Lee Dong Wook as Jeong Jinman was definitely the highlight of the show. I had only ever seen him in Tale of the Nine-Tailed before and that show really wasn't for me, so I did not realize how captivating he could be on screen. Even though his character is pretty morally grey, I couldn't help but root for him and I really ended up loving him. The relationship he had with his niece was very complex and interesting. The scenes of her trying to hit him were very funny and some of my favorite in the whole show. While I don't feel like all of the characters worked, I did love quite a few of the side characters, especially Min-hye, who really stole the show.

The main issue that I had with the show is that it felt like half a show. I think the choice to do 8 episodes and very clearly set it up for a needed second season instead of just doing a 16 episode season was a mistake. What they showed in the finale could have been a great place to stop for a mid-season break if they wanted to split it into two parts. I was left with so many unanswered questions at the end of the finale and it felt very unsatisfying. While I didn't hate the last episode, it just felt very rushed. I will be so sad if there isn't a season 2!

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Not to be a hater, but I’m honestly shocked this show is so positively reviewed. I didn’t know much about the plot going in, but I knew the romance was really hyped. I did not expect so much of the storyline to revolve around a ridiculous weight loss plot. The show did not handle this issue in a meaningful way at all and seemed to also ignore a lot of the disordered eating behaviors throughout the show.

Even though I did not love Bok Joo, my biggest issue was the side characters. I hated almost every character in this show. There were multiple characters depicted as being severely physically abusive but the show chose to try and make those characters sympathetic. The depiction of her coaches and teammates also felt disturbing to me, especially the way they would basically force feed her. I did not understand for a second why she continued with weightlifting, as it seemed like actual torture for her during the majority of the show.

The only reason that I kept watching the show was because of Joon Hyeong. I found this character to be so adorable and the acting performance was really good. His relationship with Bok Joo developing from friendship into something more felt organic. There were a lot of times that I felt his character was too good for Bok Joo. I had to remind myself many times that this show is meant to take place in college and not high school, because Bok Joo acted so immature. The kissing scenes felt extremely awkward as well.

Even with the sweet male lead, I don’t think I would recommend this show to anyone. I ended up needing to skip so much. If anyone has struggled with disordered eating or body image, I think this show handles all of that so poorly and I would steer clear.

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Huge Letdown

I loved season one of the uncanny counter and season two felt like a completely different show. A huge problem with this season is that they tried to make the stakes personal like they were in the first season, but it just didn’t work at all. In season one, the plot really revolved around So Mun and I was so invested in his character that it really worked. This season, they made everything revolve around side characters that were not at all compelling and that I was not attached to at all. If they wanted to do that, they should have made an existing character that we already cared about go dark, instead of trying to add on someone new.

The addition of the new counter was a huge misstep. While the plot has always been a little goofy, I feel like this character made the whole show feel really silly and changed the found family dynamics.

Maybe it’s because I did not care about Mr. Ma even a little bit, but I feel like this season did not have the emotional impact that the first one did. This season did not balance darker and lighter elements, but seemed to rotate between slapstick and action, with no real emotional weight behind any of it. I think the actor for Mr. Ma just felt like he was really not pulling off being a villain, so even those scenes felt very silly. I wish they had just made the main trio of demons be the villains of the season, as they were way more compelling and scary than Mr. Ma.

If they were going to give Ha Na a romance storyline, I wish it had been with So Mun. The introduction of so many new characters this season made it so that it was really hard to feel invested in any of them.

I skipped so much of this season and I really considered just not finishing it, but in the end I did watch all of it. This season did do a great job with a lot of the action sequences and I think those were some of the most interesting to watch. The heightened powers for the counters made for a lot of really intense fight scenes. Even though the group dynamics did feel really different, I still love a lot of these characters and feel attached to them. I do think that the show would’ve been a lot better off sticking to one season.

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I’m sure I won’t say anything that hasn’t already been said, but I had a blast watching Twinkling Watermelon. Between this show and Weak Hero Class, Choi Hyun-wook has become a must-watch actor for me and I think his character is the highlight of this show.

The time travel plot is nothing new, but what really made this show work were the characters. Eun-gyeol is possibly the least chill time traveller there has ever been but it was hilarious to just see him calling other high schoolers mom and dad immediately. His dynamic with both of his young parents was so good. The relationship between his young parents was my favorite part and I wanted so many more scenes of young Yi-Chan and Chung-ah. The friendships between all of the characters were so much fun and I loved the nineties setting.

This drama almost made it into my top five ranking, but I did have some issues with the plot. The first couple of episodes were hard for me to get into and I think all the scenes taking place in 2023 just were so much less interesting than the ones in the past. While the adult versions of his parents were fine, they were not the beloved young versions that we got from the past. Especially for his dad, I think it was very hard to see him as the same person as young Yi-Chan, even after everything he had been through. The pacing also felt pretty off, with a lot of the mysteries or secrets being drawn out really far and then the show not really having time to resolve them effectively. The show could’ve either tried to make some of the plot points less drawn out or it could’ve used a couple extra episodes. The last episode felt way too rushed as the show tried to wrap up all of the loose ends.

The characters in Twinkling Watermelon became so dear to me by the end of the show that it really did make up for most of my issues with the plot. The show is worth watching for Choi Hyun-wook’s performance alone.

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Fangirling Over Ryan Gold

I had gotten very tired of hyped rom-coms that had leads in their late twenties or thirties acting like teens and dead fish kissing scenes. I heard this was a more mature romance and I was not disappointed.
Park Min-Young seems to have amazing chemistry with every actor she’s paired with, but her chemistry with Kim Jae-wook was really next level. The chemistry between the two of them paired with a fake dating trope? Forget it, I’m in.
The absolute main reason to watch this show is because of the male lead, Ryan Gold. Ryan was such a green flag and he was written in a way that went against so many drama stereotypes. There were many times where I expected him to get angry about a situation, and if it had been any other kdrama, it would have led to a miscommunication that lasted multiple episodes and probably also an unnecessary breakup. Instead, Ryan and Deok-mi communicated so beautifully with each other. The fights they did have were portrayed in such a healthy way and ended with them laughing and/or kissing. I think miscommunication is such an overplayed and boring trope a lot of the time and I loved seeing this show do things so differently.
I loved Kim Jae-wook’s portrayal as Ryan. He was so attractive and I loved that from the very beginning he was protective of Deok-mi, even if he had a completely wrong read of the situation. The way he was delighted by her fangirling and impressed by pretty much everything about her was so cute. The real first kiss scene was one of the best I have seen and they had many others that were just as good! I loved that the main couple was so playful and affectionate. I think the show did a great job portraying a realistic relationship for people in their thirties.
I think Shi-Ahn was actually adorable. I saw the twist coming, but I do wish that they had built it up a little better.
This show was well on its way to being in my top ten based on the main couple, but I did end up having a couple of gripes with it. I think basically everything with Eun-gi was poorly done. I hate a love triangle where one person has just no shot but tries to force it anyway. I think it was weird that he had those feelings in the first place, but I think that he definitely should’ve kept them to himself. I did really appreciate how unbothered Ryan was by their relationship and fully trusted Deok-mi, but I just think that whole plot was not needed. The big reveal at the end of what had happened to Ryan and his connection to Deok-mi was also a major weak spot in the series. It didn’t make much sense and also added a layer of drama and mystery that this show really didn’t need. The show also really took it easy on some of the darker aspects of fan culture. Deok-mi being so understanding of the people who stalked, assaulted, and doxxed her felt really unrealistic.
All that being said, I had so much fun with this drama. The leads had me giggling and kicking my feet. I want to see Kim Jae-wook in more rom coms for sure.

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