Alaskan

This drama is for those interested in a romantic comedy with plenty of heart. The drama leans more comical than romantic for most of the episodes (with some very funny scenes) but then morphs into more of a romance towards the end. Some viewers may be disappointed that the drama does not sustain the comedy all the way. I think, however, that the writer wanted to lean thoughtful towards the end to emphasize some serious messages. Chief of those was the point that appearances and accomplishments should not matter as much as they do when it comes to love and romance. The drama does a good job of making that point. The biggest problem is that we’re all supposed to believe that the female lead is unattractive but she is played by Sandy Li and, well, if she’s supposed to be homely, then the rest of us are in trouble. Sandy Li did a great job with a sometimes unsympathetic character. The best part of the drama, however, was Tan Jian Ci, who played the nerdy male lead, and was amazing. He has perfect comedic timing with an expressive face and body but he’s also able to convey sadness and pathos without spilling over into sentimentality.

Watch this drama if you need to escape all of the bad news in the world right now.

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I just finished this drama. I liked the scenery but I had problems with some of the characters.

First, I could not fathom how the ML character fell for the FL as quickly as he did, or at all, to be honest. Maybe it was her super cute dimples. Or that she seemed to be the only young, single woman (other than her friend) in the entire town. Or that they had the mysterious Korean childhood connection that makes a later pairing inevitable. (Poor Yi Jun will be stuck with shouty Bora for the rest of his life.) But the FL was also kind of a judgmental snob, who seemed to decide that the ML was good enough for her only after she found out that he graduated from Seoul University. She routinely underestimated him, so much so that she turned her back when he needed her the most. I assume that we were supposed to appreciate her character growth but she disappointed me over and over again. He, on the other hand, was smart, kind, and funny, although he had a tendency to overestimate his power over other people’s lives (hence his sense of overwhelming guilt). And he also was an amazing physical specimen with broad shoulders, a megawatt smile, and the ability to cry prettily. Which he demonstrated often. I did enjoy his interactions with Gam Ri and Director Ji but I felt that he deserved better than the FL.

I also wish that the writer and actors could have shown more nuance when contrasting the villagers to the supposedly sophisticated city folks. With the exception of Gam Ri, Hwa Jeong, and, of course, the ML, the villagers were stereotyped as uncouth and somewhat dim innocents with hearts of gold.

Finally, Domino’s Pizza must taste a lot better in Korea than it does in the US.

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Poong, the Joseon Psychiatrist, has a lot going for it. The female lead, ably acted by Kim Hyang Gi, is intelligent and competent. The male lead, played by Kim Minjae, is compassionate and sweet, with a nice story arc and real character development. The respect with which the ML treats the FL and her work is refreshing for a historical Korean drama. The romantic rival actually backs off gracefully, which makes him quite swoony. The king is smart and conscientious. What are all of these nice people doing in a Korean drama?

There are some repetitive subplots and cartoonish elements but I think that this drama’s positives outweigh the negatives.

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Knight Flower was an entertaining watch, due primarily to Hanee (Honey?) Lee, whose comic timing and dimples are always spot on. Her loyal sidekick, played by Park Sehyun, was very funny, too. I heard some people criticize the choice of Lee Jongwon as the main love interest due to the age difference between him and Hanee but that did not bother me. It was his relatively green acting rather than his age that struck me at first. BUT his acting really grew on me as the drama developed and by the end I was completely Team Sooho. Or should I say Team Jongwon. Plus I think that Lee Jongwon did a better job of portraying love smitten than Hanee Lee did.

I was most disappointed by the antagonists, who were just straight up bad guys. I like dramas where the bad guys are more nuanced and complex, a mix of good and evil, whose morals are more ambiguous than in this straightforward, but admittedly enjoyable, drama.

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I like dramas that offer up something original while including some clever twists and turns. Thus, I enjoyed The Golden Spoon a lot. The drama attempts to illustrate how helpless and powerless the poor can feel and the lengths some might go through to claw their way up to become rich and powerful. There was a lot of good acting in this drama but the biggest revelation to me was Lee Jongwon, who played Hwang Taeyoung. He managed not only to switch convincingly between his rich and poor iterations but also made me care about a character who started off as seemingly entitled, shallow and flawed. I think Lee Jongwon stole the show from Yook Sungjae, who is no acting slouch himself.

I recognize that the Hwang Hyeondo character was one-dimensional and that his apparent omnipotence was not believable. Plus, as another reviewer also noted, there seemed to be an excess of golden spoons floating around towards the end. But the drama was so much fun that I didn’t really care.

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I Liked: 1) The funny parts, such as game day in the Afterlife and Manager Gwi talking to the chicken. I think Korean dramas often shine when it comes to comedy. 2) The actor Choi Won Young. He’s such a versatile actor, funny in one drama and sinister in another. 3) The little vignettes of people and how they were helped by the Mystic Pop-up Bar characters.

I was not crazy about the following: 1) It was difficult to connect the present-day characters emotionally with their characters 500 years ago. It’s possible for one’s personality to change a lot over the years, particularly over the course of 500 (!) years, but because the characters seemed like completely different people, the past felt detached and less like a 500-year tragedy. 2)The ending. I am sometimes disappointed with Korean drama endings due to many writers' penchant for ending dramas happily, regardless of logic or consistency. I don’t have a problem with happy endings per se but too often the ending feels tacked on and added just for the sake of a happy ending. I felt that way here.

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Death’s Game has an interesting and thought-provoking premise. There is also fun to be had from spotting famous Korean actors in cameos or supporting roles. The amount of blood is not too surprising since death is the main topic but it gets very very gory several episodes in -- the type that curls your toes and feels gratuitous after awhile. On the plus side Seo In Guk does a great acting job, as do most of the other actors. But I wish that Park So Dam as Death had showed a little more nuance or range towards the end. Her acting seemed monotonous after awhile. There are also some logic gaps in the story that one has to ignore.

Mild spoiler: This is a drama where nothing changes but at the same time everything changes. And it is pretty powerful as an anti-suicide argument. I give it points for that.

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I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, party because of Han Hyo Joo and Park Hyung Sik. They both play likeable and relatable characters whose friendship to lovers story is natural, despite the unnatural setting of the story. I've always enjoyed Han Hyo Joo's dramas. Park Hyung Sik is more hit and miss for me but this one is a hit for me. The drama raises interesting questions about how a government might respond to a frightening and highly contagious epidemic, how infected people are treated not just by the government but also by each other, and what people might do to fight for survival. It can be ugly -- people can behave pretty badly when they're frightened -- but this drama shows that people can also be surprisingly generous and self-sacrificing. I suspect that the inspiration for this drama comes from the first major COVID epidemic before vaccines were developed and the world was terrified.

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This drama is a welcome antidote to all of the revenge dramas out there. Watching revenge dramas such as "The Glory" or "Vincenzo" is vastly entertaining and satisfying. "Call It Love," on the other hand, shows the emotional costs to one’s humanity and to innocent bystanders when one seeks revenge. Refraining from seeking revenge after one has been deeply wronged can be a sign of strength, not cowardice or weakness, and choosing to forego revenge can paradoxically leave one satisfied and more at peace with oneself. I’m glad that this drama shows the other side of revenge.

Shim Woojoo’s and Han Dongjin’s stories and their developing attraction to each other are beautifully told. I was impressed with Kim Young Kwan’s acting, which nails the still waters run deep-personality of Han Dongjin. Too often such attempts result in wooden acting (like Bo Hyun Ahn in "See You In My 19th Life"), but Kim Young Kwan is excellent. Even his back does a great acting job (you’ll understand if you watch this drama).

I watched this on Hulu but the subtitles were pretty bad and too often unintentionally funny. For example, when a tall, broad-shouldered, deep-voiced guy would laugh the subtitle would show, “Giggles.” Someone would cry and the subtitle would say, “Sniffles.” Big sigh. Or, as the subtitle would say, instead of sigh, “Snort.”

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The drama is decent, although not my favorite Jung Kyung Ho drama. I think that he did a great acting job as usual, along with the always terrific Park Sung Woong and Lee El. I think that Lee Seol suffered by comparison, particularly her one-note portrayal of Girl Gone Bad. But it was the script and story arc that I had the most problems with. The drama took on the topics of free will and divine guidance and made kind of a mess, which isn’t that surprising considering that theologists and philosophers have wrestled with those topics for centuries. I appreciate the fact that this drama made the attempt. I’ve noticed a lot of recent dramas dealing with the subject of free will and a character’s struggle to act independently of an omnipotent being, whether it’s a god or gods, manga writer, or game creator. It’s an interesting subject and deserves a better drama.

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This is a sweet and heartwarming story about young love. Watching the drama does require a large amount of suspension of belief because none of the characters look like athletes, particularly the so-called weightlifters. The swimmers also don't have the proper physique or form. (Why couldn't they have used a body double for the swimming scenes?) But the friends to lovers story is charming and well done, not least because Nam Joohyuk's acting is natural, relaxed, and believable. I could have done without the birth mother story line but luckily it didn't take up too much time.

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This is my second watch and I was much more disturbed by the violence and grisly deaths than I was my first time around. It was fun the first time rooting for the underdogs in a satisfying revenge fantasy. I know he was supposed to be a monster but Vincenzo looked suave and cool as he matter-of-factly disposed of thugs left and right. Unfortunately, the rest of the building gang were over the top, bordering on slapstick. I loved the Hong Cha Young character.

But this time I also noticed all of the bodyguards--evidently the world’s most incompetent--that Vincenzo maimed or killed. (Plus that one character whose innocent wife and young daughter Vincenzo met.) The writer attempted to justify the tortures and deaths of certain villains (1) because of the murders they committed or had arranged and (2) because they were psychopaths and so, the drama seems to say, should be treated as less than human. Making us cheer for their torture and murder makes monsters of us, too. I assume that that was what the drama was trying to say.

And don’t hate me but I kept thinking that Jung Kyung Ho would have played a more nuanced and dangerous Vincenzo with lots more sexy smolder.

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