bloomingtide

Yeah but the quality of picture (sharpness colors etc) has rather milk glass character tbh. All looks a bit washed out and a bit "blurry" for the lack of other words. That is what I mean with "HD seemed broken heh

Thirty but Seventeen (not childhood but trauma in teenage years (bus accident), very good/accurate portrayal of PTSD and what it takes to move on, wholesome too)
If You Wish Upon Me (ML is emotional/domestic abuse survivor trying to find his place in the world)
When The Weather Is Fine (both leads have varying degrees of childhood trauma and find solace in each other)
Tomorrow With You (Moving on from a traumatic experience in the past and changing a doomed future, with a time travel/sci fi backdrop plot. Leads are a married couple by circumstances and learning to love each other in time.)

that would explain why it looks like being filmed on a 2008 camcorder, lmao. I already thought viki's hd feature was broken 🤣

I suppose so yeah, but it is understandable, given how many people have lost their life in a tragic, needless way. Kdrama is really very unimportant in times like this, but you can always watch older shows in the meanwhile.

Would take a stab at translating it, but i find the hangul text really hard to read due to font/resolution in the picture uploaded here, tbh

Given the preview i have the impression that he starts distancing himself from her starting next episode, but we will see. It is high time YR shows some initiative or at least more of her pov, since it all feels too one-sided and muddy (regarding her reasons/motivations) right now.

From this year i love Crazy Love and From Now On, Showtime! best and to bits, while also liking Link Eat Love Kill, Tomorrow, Gaus Electronics, If You Wish Upon Me, The Law Cafe and Good Job quite a lot. Everything else was rather meh (and some i have yet to watch tbh)

Never enjoyed the uberpopular 2125, MLN or AoS much tbh and while fun for the most part, BP is very overrated. The only popular (as in trending etc) drama i gelled with was EAW, but also only till the halfway point or so, since the writing/plot really fell apart later on and the chars outside of FL were too one-dimensional to begin with.

Aww, yeah i get that. Sometimes you need a wholesome healing drama to get you out of a slump, had been the same for me, but with "When the Weather Is Fine" in my case. I am good as long it does not get too melo/sad/depressing as too many currently airing kdramas are quite serious atm. So balance is key here, and i have been eyeing this drama for a while now. Guess it is time to give it a try :D

Btw, i have seen you liked MPUB, so if you need something more lighter than this give From Now On Showtime a go. Same writer, similar quirky, supernatural character/situations in her (writer's) style but with more comedy and romance. ML is basically the male version of Wol Joo in a way there (reluctant helper, tsundere with heart of gold, elaborate backstory etc) Pretty underrated drama too and one of the few i really enjoyed from start to finish this year tbh. Excellent if you are in a drama slump, because it is light but also wholesome and while the plot/tropes are similar to MPUB and nothing new, tis still very interesting, heh.

Only watched 1 1/2 eps and it is really heavy/gloomy in atmosphere and direction. Story is serious too with a lot of politics/scheming, so don't expect comedy here like in mr. queen. Not my cuppa, personally, at least not now with so many airing shows being so damn serious/sad atm.

a lot if not all sageuk are filmed in the same locations as there are not that many historical buildings left anymore in modern SK heh

i think this was due to the misleading trailer, which was more lighthearted and comedic in nature

i put it on hold for now for that reason as i am really not in the mood for a serious politicky sageuk atm. Or in general. Not the drama's fault, i am sure it is good watch if you are in the mood for it but i don't want to watch tragic/sad dramas atm, especially not with old corrupt people scheming in the background.

Mr. Queen, From Now On Showtime, Hotel Del Luna (same writers)

aww thanks <3 Basically they have always been married and not just on the paper, but in the way of them being a comfort for each other, pretty much from the start. Especially with the knowledge now that Jiho viewed marrying Sangeun as a sort of protection, since it was him registering the marriage first in order to save her from more divorces and thus (unfair) scrutiny. I think that they didn't grow closer quicker was only due to his contractual requirement of not talking/asking about each other during their dinner dates, and thus not knowing anything about each other.

Which is something that happens now where their feelings for each other are confirmed and they are committed to each other (and still married, but now with all that entails :D) Ngl, i loved Jiho's nearly 500 questions he planned to ask to learn more about her so much, because it is so very much in character, so very Jiho 🤣 (not him thinking about having kids with her and how to raise them best, hahaha) That part of the drama (their scenes, falling in love, their development/healing together) is such a joy to watch and so so well done, writing-wise that it is a pity how the rest just.... doesn't gel together.

Heh, nice. Happy to hear you ended up enjoying it. As said before, it does have a bit of a slower start on the first watch (when i rewatched i discovered so many little character details in the first few episodes, i missed before tho) but overall this drama is a very complete package in everything, imo.

Given that Jiho was left alone at home by his ex all the time (never kept her dinner promises to him) and Sangeun's turbulent life and occupation in general their contract and meetings were mutually beneficial. Jiho got the dinner company he always wanted (+ using his exes alimony to pay Sangeun as a little revenge) without strings attached or need for conversations/socializing, and Sangeun got a quiet safe haven at his place where she could simply be (more) herself without expectations or pressure being put on her for once, for a couple of hours a week.

Hence i am not surprised she grew fond of him rather quickly (the yummy food he cooked certainly helped too haha.) Jung Jiho meant and still means stability in her chaotic life and i think at some point the contract wasn't *that* important anymore. Not to the degree their dinner dates and "getting a break from the world" 3x the week had become along the way.

It is a good watch for the leads, their (back)story and their relationship as well as the development of each. (ML is one of the best i have seen in a long time in a kdrama), but a skip-happy finger on the 10 seconds ffw button is required for almost everything else. Gwangnam, her bff, is the other bright spot in this drama tho.

I, for my part, don't like Chae Ri, like at all. Her lack of empathy for people around her is on sociopath level and that girlboss routine really grating. A realistic portrayal of a reality show producer stopping at nothing for good tv ratings maybe, but fully unsympathetic. I acknowledge that we rarely get career driven, ruthless female characters like that in a drama, sure, but an unfeeling asshole remains an asshole, independent of gender. I really hope there will be development that shows us her humanity, if she possesses any, that is.

Also Jung Jiho is the greenest ML flag in kdramaland. I love a man who is aware and works through his issues with professional help instead to load them onto their partner, who is respectful of his partner's needs and boundaries, intelligent, gentle, well-mannered but ready to throw down if you hurt the people he cares about. Also mature, observant and caring/devoted, steady as a rock, supportive exactly when and how it is needed. Plus adorable as heck with a quiet (often unintentional) sense of humor stemming from his straightforwardness/awkwardness. And he cooks and cleans on top of that and you have never to worry about drunken nights out with him (since one or two whiskey chocolate knocks him out cold🤣) Such husband material. No wonder the crazy ex regrets her life decisions and wants him back, lmao.

I have such a love/hate relationship with this drama. Like every character outside the leads and Gwangnam (+ jiho's colleagues somewhat) annoy me, the plot is a mess and annoys me but as soon the leads appear together on screen and Jiho being Jiho, I am like "My crops are watered and my skin has cleared and i love them to bits. Sadly despite the fact they are both the leads, we see them all too rarely and the annoying parts of the drama is predominant. Thus my finger on the ffw-button is always very busy.

But yeah, this is definitely a drama where i stick around because i like both leads and their relationship (development) tho everything else is skippable imo.