My 2021 Drama List

Pros:

• Acting is top-notch.
• Made me fall for the leads, who I was watching for the first time.
• Oh Jung Se is the best part for me.
• Characters all felt human and flawed.
• Really highlighted Seo Ye Ji's beauty with the iconic fashion.
• High production and quality.
• Character growth is a guarantee.

Cons:

• Didn't like Ko Moon Young.
• Wasn't as great as I thought it would be (which is my fault for having high expectations).
• Last few episodes felt out of place.

Pros:

• Has me guessing each episode.
• Killer cast (pun not intended?).
• Beautiful friendship between leads.

Cons:

• Some parts are forgettable after a while.

Pros:

• Objectively well-made and superior to so many dramas.
• Emotional in a touching way.
• IU's best performance.
• Lee Sun Kyun nails his role.
• The plot with the brothers is the best thing.

Cons:

• Took me 4 episodes to get into it. It's veeery slow burn.

Pros:

• Entertaining and fun.
• The found family is cute.
• Hooked me in immediately.
• The main characters' backstory is touching.
• Great and sympathetic villain.

Cons:

• Director change ruined the story. It became less entertaining.
• Villain was done dirty.

Pros:

• Directing style hooked me from the beginning.
• Dramatic turn of events was excitement.
• Characters are interesting and flawed. Almost everyone is gray.

Cons:

• Blood-boiling most times.
• Does not feel like a Korean drama.

Pros:

• Murder mystery with great twists.
• Feels like a character study where everyone is intriguing.
• Everyone has a role to play, and it makes the guessing of the murder cases so much more interesting.
• Easy to get attached to the characters after you get to know them.
• The best Yeo Jin Goo performance I've seen.
• Bromance is great.

Cons:

• Could use less episodes.

Pros:

• Beginning sequence was thrilling and promised an exciting time.
• 2ML romantic plot line is good, and so is the romance of a side character.
• Good chemistry between leads. Angst-filled bromance is the best.
• Woo Do Hwan is gorgeous in this role, especially as he plays a gray character who sways between good and bad. His best role, and it shows his emotional range.
• Jang Hyuk is a scene stealer.
• Actors in general give you V I S U A L S.
• Yang Se Jong gave it all he could and it shows despite the writing of the character.
• Choreography is beautiful but also engaging. It has beats and emotions and purpose.
• The ending was fitting in my opinion.
• Beautiful OST that's exciting and sad.

Cons:

• First episode did not hook me.
• Main romance didn't matter to me or to the plot.
• ML is bland.
• The last 4 or 5 episodes were disappointing since it felt like the writers didn't know what else to do with the characters.

Pros:

• A beautifully told story of an unconventional friendship.
• Emotionally beautiful and sad.

Cons:

• Wasn't completely interested in the story.

Pros:

• Made me cry the most. Needs a box of tissues and a trash can beside you for easy access.
• Managed to put a case every one-to-two episodes, but the main storyline is present and looming over your head in a sad and hopeful way.

Cons:

• Some stories were less interesting than others.

Pros:

• Episode 2 through 6 were great.
• Exciting at times.
• Lee Hee Joon's character was easy to root for.

Cons:

• Episode 1 was ridiculous for me despite it being well-loved.
• Episode 2 made the main reveal too obvious for me.
• For episode 7 onward, it didn't help that I'd go to episode discussions to see what people theorized, and I'd end up thinking "well, that would be stupid if it happened", and sure enough, it did.
• Convoluted twists, and they were too much. Both in quantity and quality.

Would not recommend.

Pros:

• A lovely, light story, two leads who each have their own stories and each one learns something in the drama that helps them grow as a person.
• Great chemistry across all characters.
• Unexpectedly made me emotional.
• Made me root for everyone.
• There is no villain here. Just characters trying to do their best.
• One of the best love triangles. The 2ML, who is the adorable Ahn Hyo Seop, is the sweetest thing ever.
• Both MLs have a great relationship not only with the FL, but with each other, and it's heartwarming.
• Lots of heartwarming scenes that live in my head rent-free.
• You can tell the creators love the characters, and I felt the same way.
• Shin Hye Sun shone in this role. Her acting is entertaining.

Cons:

• The humor of the first four-ish episodes felt ridiculous and childish, but I know that was a reflection of the characters themselves in retrospect. 

Pros:

• A thrilling case-of-the-week style drama.
• Gives the satisfaction of revenge and getting back at evil people.
• Lee Je Hoon is funny and badass.
• Found family kind of friendship that makes you root for the characters.

Cons:

• Director change killed the fun of the drama.

Pros:

• The first episode or two were good.
• The ML and FL were also solid actors.

Cons:

• Promising start, but let me down quite fast.
• Ruined Save Me for me (spoiled one part and didn't feel connected). I deny its existence in the same universe.

Would not recommend, especially if you loved Save Me.

Pros:

• Sad and tragic love story.
• Go Min Si and Lee Do Hyun are great on screen and they both look pretty.
• Gave me a chance to read up on Korean history.

Cons:

• Some frustrating plot lines.

Pros:

• Entertaining fun.
• The two leads are good-looking people who are nice to look at.
• Nice friendship between the major characters.
• Mystery of their past really brings that bond to the test, especially since they need each other. It makes the plot interesting.

Cons:

• Average and forgettable. Nothing too special.
• They keep teasing at a romance, but there is none. (I don't need romance, but I hate the teasing.)

Pros:

• Well-written and beautiful drama.
• Great chemistry between the leads.
• Junho's acting is top-notch.
• Chill and slightly sad.

Cons:

• I would say I wasn't too attached, but if I do a re-watch, I'll probably like it more. 

Pros:

• Promising first 2 episodes.
• Beautiful visuals.
• Interesting premise.
• Gorgeous cast.

Cons:

• Huge disappointment after the first two episodes.
• Nothing happens. The plot keeps going in circles.
• Love triangle does not involve the leads, and it adds nothing to the plot. Could've been a separate drama.

Would not recommend unless you really want to look at the lead actors.

Pros:

• It's about so much more than a story about badminton. It's about friendship, family, and acceptance.
• All main characters, whether students, adults, or elderly feel like humans and have their stories.
• Characters are flawed, but they grow with the story.
• The village has some really charming characters that make the show feel more alive.

Cons:

• Romance was unnecessary.

Pros:

• Slapstick funny drama that made me laugh out loud.
• There are six characters, each with their own story and funny antics.
• There's romance, but it doesn't take away from the story.
• Episodes contain two stories, each half an hour long. Makes episodes more digestible.

Cons:

• Not a drama I got too attached to.

Pros:

• Thrilling and shocking story.
• Managed to get discussions going. It's thought-provoking if you have something to relate to.
• Jung Hae In transformed into his character well.
• Ramps up in excitement.

Cons:

• Didn't like the 2ML.

Pros:

• Entertaining watch.

Cons:

• Felt stupid at times.

Don't have much to say because I don't feel strongly about it, and I think most people have seen it.

Pros:

• Good character setup.
• Funny antics.
• Chemistry is great between the leads.
• Jin Moo Hak is an adorable character, and what he lacks in book smarts, he makes up for it in other ways.
• Has one of the most healthy relationships where they actually communicate with each other.

Cons:

•  Dull plot line that involves the 2ML that takes over the story after a while.
• The drama also treats the FL with no respect, throwing her in misery after every breath she takes.

Pros:

• The character intros are badass.
• Exciting story after you go through enough of it.
• Makes you question your morals.
• Hurt and betrayal is painful because of how attached I was.
• Moo Hyool is a ray of sunshine.
• Is about the characters' journey.
• If you'd like to learn more about history, too, it's a good watch, and a good supplement to that is reading the episodic historical accuracy notes by Bodashiri on Tumblr. "The List of SFD Historical Info".

Cons:

• A portion in the middle was dull and boring for me

Pros:

• I liked the second half quite a bit.

Cons:

• It's a mess of a drama that is basically divided by half into two different but loosely related stories.
• I was not as much of a fan of the first half.

Would not really recommend unless you don't mind narrative messes.

Pros:

• Liked the first episode.
• Leads are great actors.
• Han Tae Seok was a character I loved, and that's because he was a little mysterious and he was trying his best with the situation they had.
• Genuinely frightening at times.

Cons:

• This was a well-liked drama, but I wasn't into it. 
• Didn't really care for it much. 
• Most of the characters are unlikable.
• ML and FL weren't great characters for me. They did a lot of mistakes, yet they were still painted as complete heroes to the viewers. Not once did they acknowledge their behavior.
•  I was rooting for no one, and that's the worst feeling.

Would not recommend.

Pros:

• Good acting.

Cons:

• Did not care for the story at all.

Would not recommend.

Pros:

• A scary, thrilling drama, but not in the typical sense. There are no monsters or ghosts. Just humans.
• The 4 boys are a highlight in the drama. The boys' friendship pulls the show together. 
• Seo Ye Ji is great.
• While there was a hint of romance in there, it wasn't really present. Nothing happens, and I think it was a good decision. The focus of the story is where it should be.
• Badass FL in her own way.
• My favorites were Seo Ye Ji, Woo Do Hwan, and Lee David.
• Yoon Yoo Sun as the mother was phenomenal with her subtle expressions.
• The villains of the drama were great, too, to the point where they sent shivers down my spine.

Cons:

• I wasn't into the ML even though I love Taecyeon.

Pros:

• A light and funny watch.

Cons:

• It's not solid throughout. The beginning was better, and it didn't grow on me after that. 

Wouldn't exactly recommend it. I mean, unless you want something not too serious to play.