neo

my initial thoughts after watching ep 4... i thought people were exaggerating about mina sue but damn, girl is moving crazy and not in a good way lmao... i sure hope subin stops wasting time on her now.

i also really want things to look up for heesun, hyunjae and hyunwoo and that they find connections in here too, since they're my other favs at the moment alongside girlboss minjee who deserves better (seungil i'm disappointed smh). sungmin continues to irk me too for whatever reason i don't know exactly why, i've been getting off vibes from the start from his personality and the preview with him intervening like that didn't do him any favours either.

the preview... you can already tell she's going to add the new guy who they bring in next ep to make the list of guys she wants 5 instead of the 4 she's hopping between already 😭

i can't lie i think i find myself skipping or fast watching a lot of the paradise scenes and in particular jaejin and sungmin kinda irritate and bore me idk what it is lmao just personality-wise... inferno is a lot more entertaining to me as i find myself not really rooting for any of the couples. i did want subin and mina sue at first but then after being spoiled at her mistreating him i hope he jumps ship too.

hyunjae and hyunwoo keep getting the short end of the stick for sure... i was rooting for those two the most from the start too so i hope they both find someone. and with the girls, heesun as well as minjee and jooyoung charmed me the most.

that's why it shocked me more when the women voted him lmao i was like "seriously?"

hyunwoo and him both to me stood out, alongside seungil so far. which is wild that none of them were picked (as of ep 1). jaejin's attitude irked me from off the bat bc he seemed like he thought he was better than everyone else so i was so shocked when they voted him.

his attitude instantly put me off, from the way he entered to that behaviour during lunchtime... as the hosts said even if he was allergic (idek if i buy that excuse) then he could've help set the table. it was like he was just like "you all do it for me".

teaser looks so promising... can't wait to see this duo in action and watch the thriller plot unfold too.

very different vibes in terms of premise and mood but tempest is the only other kdrama i've seen that i feel is possibly even more steamy/adult in that regard (but it occurs in a later episode, not the very first one)

i first came to know him through moon lovers way back... he did great playing a manipulative, villainous role there so it's fun to see him play such a different role here lmao

it was just shown at the end of ep2 for me but i believe it's been posted on youtube too

really feels like cjh hasn't aged since i first watched him in tunnel lmao. after watching ep2 it's definitely one of those "just enjoy the ride and don't think into it too deeply" kind of dramas reminiscent of 2010s era ones.

from ep3 preview it seems like it may be the case, especially with his scheming sister in law....

enjoyed ep 1! hope that the future eps continue to be great too. disclaimer that i have not read the original so i can't speak on how it compares but it's enjoyable nonetheless.

i really need these two as the leads for another project again... even if it isn't a s2 for this series. on another note, having finished it now, i do wonder why they decided to change the title. i feel polaris is such a stronger, more emotively fitting title due to the symbolism for our leads.

i've been eagerly awaiting hajoon's next project (and have wanted him to star in more crime/mystery since worst of evil) and re: the director, i also loved chicago typewriter so i have high hopes for this.

i feel like the themes and setup for the challenges were much more enjoyable in s1 despite the higher production value for s2 but i found myself rooting for more of the contestants this time round, the white spoon team in particular (chef son, chef hou, venerable sunjae and chef choi were my favs). my main gripe is that a lot of the black spoons were cut too early and it didn't really allow us to see their full potential, putting a lot of pressure and emphasis on the 2 that did make it to later stages. huge congrats to the winner though, much deserved!

just finished this week's episodes... rooting for an all white spoon final for the twist. but i feel like culinary monster will get through to make it another black spoon vs white spoon final repeat like last season even if i overall found myself rooting for more of the white spoons this season. i think their main flaw was eliminating so many of the black spoons in one go like that. i may be biased as i grew up on chinese cuisine personally but every one of chef hou's dishes i really wanted to try, the fact that he managed to make those steamed carrot noodles perfectly shows how his skill and experience is top notch for a reason. i think this challenge really showed his creativity.

aw man, i really wanted son jong won in the final... hoping for either choi kang rok, brewmaster yun or venerable sunjae to win. i did like culinary monster at first purely on a talent level... but as more time went on i feel like his ego and arrogance got too much (it was refreshing to see him work in a team with son jong won for this reason as he toned it back for that) and now without chef son, this has only made it worse i fear.

culinary monster doesn't make it?