Eleison

This list is hilarious! You're so right. Seeing the tropes and cliches lined up does reveal how often they're used. 😅

How about going to the beach as a couple? 😅 Did they miss that one? That's staple romance Kdrama stuff right there. 😏 It's been too long since I saw this so I can't remember.

Yes, seems fitting. I was actually really impressed with the way they managed to write the one night stand in Fated To Love You in such a way that both the ML and FL felt like innocent parties. I was intrigued to know if they could do it without making it seem like the leads had had a "moment of weakness" because I couldn't see a drama from that era allowing main leads (second leads, for sure, but main leads?) to actually go there with a complete stranger. It delivered! 😅 Wild getting there, but they managed it. 😉

This page is one of the mysteries of MDL. 😅

Heard all the theories. No one seems to be able to make heads or tails of the vitriol some feel for this drama and how to reconcile it with the way others are beyond smitten with it.

It's apparently because (these are the reasons I've heard over the years on both sides): the site (and therefore the rating) is rigged, there are just an obscene number of trolls, bots have been unleashed by the thousands, many snobby reviewers have irrational jealousy and hate seeing fluffy rom-coms get 9/10 on MDL, droves of the MDL "taste police" couldn't let people watch "bad dramas," the site was overtaken by teenage fangirls who have no concept of good writing and who have highly superficial taste and whose rating is dependent on the extent to which they are thirsting over Byeon Woo Seok, the site is filled with crazies who can't hear a negative word spoken about BWS or the drama as a whole, etc.

I guess it's not possible that some people just really hated it, and more people enjoyed it and some even loved it? 🤷‍♀️

W Two Worlds?

Oh my gosh, you're right! He was the 2ML in that one. 😅

It reminds me a little bit of the premise of Fated To Love You.

Over the years MDL has had more traffic and so there are more people rating dramas as they air than in the past which I think contributes to the overly inflated ratings out of the gate (or super low ratings very quickly), but high ratings inevitably fall over time if the drama is poorly executed or weak (or maintained if they're solid).

I find dramas below an 8 tend to have some serious flaws/frustrations or bad writing, though there are a few I like and sometimes there are genres that just run a bit low on MDL (certain types of slice of life, for instance) due to the type of people frequenting the site.

If many, many people like it or something is rated very high I don't jump to assume the majority is "wrong" or that the rating is not deserved; instead I assume my own taste does not suit the majority's, which is why I don't like it as much as others do. That assumption usually reveals itself to be a good metric.

I usually take several things into account when curating choices on here that really help me consistently nail a drama I am confident I'll like (if I'm not just watching an airing drama which of course is a complete wild card 😅):

1. What is the rating? (Then, how many people rated it this way, and is it a recent drama, or an old one? If it's old, and it has a decent to high rating (an 8 to an 8.5 or above) and a decent number of watchers, my interest is piqued; I proceed with caution and check out the comment section. Honestly, I always read the comment section when in doubt 😅)
2. How popular is it? (The two things I consider for this is the popularity rating as well as the number of watchers. If both are high (popularity is in the double or single digits, and number of watchers is above 100,000), I almost always like the drama; this is easiest to calculate for older dramas, as new dramas don't have as many people rating it yet, so the rating tends to be less accurate)
3. Does the drama have popular actors? (If so, then I take into account that it might affect the score to some extent).
4. Who's the screenwriter/director? (I have screenwriters (and to some extent directors) I like, and the screenwriters I pay attention to are those who more consistently deliver other decent to high scoring dramas; if they have very obscure screenwriters or writers with a poor track record, I usually don't pursue it unless it scores high in rating and watchers and popularity)
5. Is it a genre I have liked historically? (Some genres I don't care for as much as others, which means some people might go bonkers over a drama I won't probably love as much due to tropes or cliches or types of things I dislike that will inevitably be in it (e.g. I don't tend to enjoy sad endings, dramas with ghosts/an afterlife or reincarnation theme, office dramas, really intense revenge dramas, protagonists I can't root for, etc. I calibrate accordingly knowing these things about my taste.))
6. Does a user whose reviews I tend to align with give the drama a decent to high rating? (If so, I'll most likely enjoy it, too).

My own ratings are built primarily on the "how much did I enjoy this?" end of things. If I thoroughly enjoyed it without thinking it was terribly written or had major flaws or things that REALLY frustrated me, it will get at least an 8. If I enjoyed it AND it was well-executed, it will get a 9 or above. If I thought it was mindblowing and/or incredibly fun and memorable and/or perfect and/or I could watch it over and over, a 10. If it was well-executed but it wasn't really enjoyable or fun, then I usually avoid those dramas entirely or hold them in the 8s. Enjoyment is my biggest metric, but as someone who appreciates good scripts as well, I can't usually assign good concepts/stories/scripts irrationally low scores.

This is such a cute concept!

Loved him in At A Distance Spring Is Green and in Under The Queen's Umbrella. ☺️

Oh my gosh, that baby is deliciously adorable. He's a cherub! 😅

Just have to remember it's dramaland, not reality. Still kind of weird, though!

Definitely more mysterious!!

I would suggest mostly the same, except I watched The Beginning before the The Final and loved that order because it ends on a happier note and builds on what we learn in The Beginning. It also makes the emotional impact of his fight with the villain in The Final more meaningful (and it technically comes after The Beginning in chronology anyway). Just my two cents!

It's the stylized, anime fighting (it crops up in many other places during the fight scenes).

It gave me comic book vibes througbout even though it was set in a "realistic" historical setting.

They could have solved the weird Mandarin AND the weird English with dubbing by people who can actually speak English/good Mandarin. Don't they dub with voice actors all the time anyway? Not sure why they had to have her terrible English in there. 😅

Now I'm curious what the original poster looked like. This one kind of spoils that he's a god (due to the sword).

And especially after her scandal with a married man, you think she'd be a bit more... careful.

It's not the boys I'm worried, or what any of them would do, but about what would happen if people found out. 😬

You just don't put yourself in these positions as a teacher unless you want to go to jail. 🤦‍♀️

I know it was played as a gag here, but hard to not 😬 while watching...

I already think they have great chemistry. The bickering about her "other half," and their interactions at the vet. Very cute.

Bo Hyun's character is just very endearing already. @Ivy's description of him adding the himbo to the Kdrama ML archetype as a new addition was so accurate. He's handling the comedy really well, too.

Quite fun! KSH is great in it, and it's very cozy. The end gets a bit angsty, and some cringy aegyo when the leads start dating, but besides that it's solid.

I'm sorry. But a teacher staying in the same hotel room as their opposite gender student is a total NO GO. Even if his uncle is there, too! 😅🤦‍♀️ (If anything, it makes things even worse!)

Just find another hotel!!

The scenario gives me the shivers just thinking about it. 🫣