Last week I forced myself to finish Lady Ok. I ff’ed through some eps, then Chu Young Woo came back into the story and I slowed down and only ff’ed through scenes missing him, and then the last 3 or 4 eps became so boring that I finished by skipping ten minutes and watching 10 seconds. Did the job.
Final verdict: I don’t normally stick with a drama I’m not enjoying this long. But I love Im Ji Yeon and Chu Young Woo, and they were both great in their roles, consistent and captivating. I enjoyed watching those two, despite the mediocre writing.
And I’m saying it again. Writer-nims, a seven-year time jump at the height of an emotional situation kills your story. We had already had a few time jumps in the initial eps, and then again 7 years?? In Joseon times?? That choice ruined the story, honestly.
This week I watched 4 eps of Can This Love Be Translated, 2 eps of You and Everything Else, 2 eps of Worst of Evil, 2 eps of Motel California, 1 ep of Study Group, half an ep of Spirit Fingers, half an ep of Idol I, and dropped them all. Couldn’t get into any of them.
Decided on a rewatch because rewatches never let me down, but unfortunately chose the wrong one. Trauma Code was amazing on first watch, I still LOVE all the main actors, their characters, and their interactions. But on rewatch, the gory scenes were too much for me, and the illogical office struggles became maddening. I watched 5 or 6 eps on ff, and finally gave up.
At this point the sheer pressure of the real world forces you to just choose a drama. So although I have never been a particular fan of Ahn Bo Hyun, and although I approach Korean comedies with caution, I started Spring Fever, and would you believe it! I fell in love with this drama, its characters, it’s brand of comedy, and its cinematography immediately. I watched 2 eps back to back, another 2 very quickly afterwards, and I hope I will love it till the end.
Fun fact: The comedy style of this drama felt so familiar to me that I checked the director’s filmography. Special Labour Inspector Jo?? NOW I get it! 🤩 Ahn Bo Hyun’s pseudo-gangster style, simple transparency, kindness and earnestness is very similar to Kim Kyung Nam’s character in SLIJ.
Then in a scramble to find another drama to watch alternately, because at this rate I will hit live-watching, I came upon a 2016 web drama Touching You, with Taec and Song Ha Yoon. Twelve 15-minute episodes, fast and cute, and didn’t serve the alternating purpose at all! 😂 But it was a quick fun watch, very reminiscent of The Game: Towards Zero and Please Don’t Date Him.
Finally, I pressed play on 2021 The Veil, which I had already started twice before and every time stopped after ep 2 for some reason not because of disinterest. Is the third time the charm? And more importantly, why did I start a spy crime thriller when I couldn’t stomach the gore in…