sindrandi_

Sang Yi going into full fanboy mode around Rain was so endearing. And seeing him get choked up about getting attached to the villagers is already setting us up for an emotional final episode. I’m increasingly charmed by Park Bo Gum’s gentle, thoughtful way of interacting with his clients, so this might be my cue to give When Life Gives You Tangerines a try. It’s been nice seeing Dong Yeon get more screen time and seeing more of his interactions with everyone. He's become my favorite cast member.

The show reminds me a lot of Unexpected Business season 1. One of the biggest strengths of both shows is how the locals gradually end up outshining the cast. Nothing much really happens, but you still find yourself getting invested in their daily lives and looking forward to seeing them again.

It’ll be great to finally see some female representation among the guest appearances.

Wow, that takes me back. Maybe it’s time for a rewatch. Thanks for the reminder.

That "my wife is a big fan" Kdrama customer in ep. 4 was living his best life. Talk about hitting the jackpot. 😂

Good start. I haven’t seen Oh My Ghost Clients or Ghost Doctor, so maybe that’s a plus. I loved the adjacent-ish From Now On, Showtime!, so hopefully this one will be just as solid. Esom and Kim Mi Kyung are always a pleasure, and I’ve been looking forward to seeing Kim Kyung Nam in a drama again, though it looks like he might be the resident douche with unfortunate hair.

According to the synopsis, the possession element will be a recurring gag, and I’m not entirely sold on that yet. It requires toptier physical comedy, and based on the first episode, Yoo Yeon Seok doesn’t quite have it. I’m happy to be proven wrong, though, because it’ll probably be crucial to my enjoyment of the series. Side note: Clowny Heo Sung Tae was very cute, but the drastic personality change once he started possessing people felt a little odd.

It’s so charming how invested and nervous Tae Ri is about doing a great job for the kids, painfully shy Ha Yun is just ridiculously adorable, and Hyun Wook's connection with the kids is both wholesome and moving!! Aside from the long walk to the bathroom, I wouldn’t mind living in the mushroom house.

This is so wholesome! The way they scramble whenever a new customer arrives, trying their best to make them happy, and then basically pass out from being overwhelmed at the end of the day is very sweet. I really hope they start scheduling appointments instead of accepting drop-ins, for the sake of the busy barber, though. What a great watch. I’m completely charmed by all of them.

The stakes of this show are already incredibly low: call someone you’re drawn to, choose someone you’d like to meet after the show. That’s it. It’s baffling to me that people still manage to get so worked up that they end up outright hating on cast members, especially when the season’s main dramatic arc has already exited the stage.

There’s really only one couple with noticeable crackling chemistry, and I’m bummed that, as usual, my favorite cast members are getting either no attention, or don’t get to see their feelings reciprocated, but sometimes that’s just how the cookie crumbles.

Re-shooting with most of the same cast wasn’t the best call, especially when some connections were already broken for good, while we didn't get to see why. But I also don’t think it ruined the season. If anything, starting with some built-in familiarity was kinda nice, and some cast members seemed to have become more proactive the second time around.

The eliminations is hands down the worst new feature they could've come up with. Watching someone who already wasn’t getting calls or dates then get completely removed was just brutal. It also took away the possibility of seeing one couple reach a kind of closure. On the flip side, that gave another couple more space to develop their feelings. The anonymous chat sessions could easily be dropped too. And the split housing situation isn't great, but that one at least seemed like a reshoot necessity. Bring back the phonebooth, because what was this big, cold, ugly room? More than anything, I wish the show would drop the one week format, or at least give everyone more chances to go on dates. I don’t care if it’s with someone they’re not particularly attracted to, just get them out doing something together. Please get these people out of their damn beds!

Worst part of this season (like season 3) has been the viewers. There’s a whole cast on screen not even close to being in any conflict, and for the most part being pretty adult and considerate about their feelings (or lack of them). Doing something stupid or messy in a high-pressure, time-constricted situation doesn’t make you a toxic person. You can criticize someone’s behavior without turning it into a full character assassination. And how is Yunjae the one generating such intense online discourse when his trajectory with his crush has been pretty clear from the start? He’s adorable, and it sucks seeing someone so pure struggle, but little Hyeok Jin was just as adorable and had an even harder time. Yunjae will be fine, and so will everyone else. Parts of the "fandom" are really missing the importance, the point, and yes, the fun of this show. Please do some self-reflecting and bring better stages in the future.

Minsung is my MVP of the season. He came in with a different mindset, way more game, and he's been consistently entertaining to watch. Well done, Minsung!

I’m starting to realize that anything on here with a rating hovering just above a 7 (and often even a 6) is usually a pretty solid watch.

Some of the Black Spoon chefs should’ve competed as White Spoons. I found it especially odd that Culinary Innovator was allowed to sign up as a Black Spoon. Brewmaster Yun, on the other hand, was peak Black Spoon casting.

If we get another season, aside from better planning of the challenges (!!!), I’d really like to see a change in the main judges. I enjoy Anh Sung Jae as a judge a lot, but I don’t think Baek Jong Won should return. That’s probably not going to happen, so at the very least they should add a third judge and preferably a woman. Maybe someone like Chef Kim Hee-eun, or hey, bring back Brewmaster Yun.

Great suggestion! Besides having the dual match, I wish they'd done the all of nothing battle differently, since it wiped out most of the black spoons. I really wanted to see more from Rebellious Genius. But yeah, having Culinary Monster and Son Jong-won go against each other too early was really not it.

Now that Adventure by Accident has wrapped up, this show has been such a perfect substitute. It’s an entertaining and genuinely funny way to spotlight a travel destination. They definitely sold me on Mexican food and the locals.

I especially loved the restaurant visit where everyone kept sharing their food with them; that felt so wholesome. The three travelers have fantastic chemistry: Kwang-soo and Kyung-soo could not be more different, with Woo-bin being somewhere in the middle.

I'm probably most like Kyung-soo when travelling, minus the food obsession, so when Kwang-soo would not let those masks go and almost made them miss the wrestling match, I felt that frustration. The man is hilarious, but he would drive me insane. Also, Kyung-soo literally has one of the best smiles/laughs in Kdrama/Kpop.

Highly recommended. Here’s hoping we get another season or at least a spin-off.

A finale with two chefs who couldn’t be more different in their cooking styles and personalities. Even though I think this season was overall weaker than the first (eliminating most of one category of chefs in a single challenge was a major mistake!), I still ended up getting attached to a lot of the contestants. The food was incredible as always, and the scale of the production was impressive.

I loved the theme of the final challenge, and hearing their personal stories added so much. Having them prepare three dishes to sit and eat at the table with the judges was a nice touch. The chef I was rooting for ended up winning, and his speech was very touching. Also, Chef Son Jong-won was looking so fine in his suit and glasses. I'd be down for another season.

If they hadn’t put him up against Culinary Monster, I think Son Jong-won would’ve been the White Spoon finalist instead of Choi Kang-rok. I’m absolutely thrilled Kang-rok made it though. 🔥

Hou Deok-juk has been a total class act throughout the show. Huge respect not just for his cooking, but for how he’s carried himself and treated the other contestants during these challenges.

Tofu beats carrots by a mile in the cooking-hell challenge.

This is the second finale in a row where I’m rooting for a White Spoon, but I’ll be shocked if Culinary Monster doesn’t take the win. His drive, quick thinking and creativity is so impressive.

Now that was some peak clownery from Lee Je Hoon in eps 3–4, and I genuinely didn’t recognize Yoon Shi Yoon at first. It’s been a while since I watched the earlier seasons, but Kim Do Gi feels a lot more ruthless this time around. I snuck a peek at the cast list and already can’t wait to get to Kim Sung Kyu’s episodes.

When the Weather is Fine. I recommend checking it out.

Making the teams go head-to-head right after they’d just survived was straight-up evil. Especially the Son Jong-won and Culinary Monster battle was so annoying!!! Extremely happy that Brewmaster Yun made it, though.

Culinary Monster is this season’s Mafia Napoli, and he seriously needs to stop handing the show so much ammo for cocky talking head-edits. They overpower the more humble things he actually says on the floor during challenges.

It looked like Ahn Sung-jae wasn’t pleased at all about losing the judges’ discussion and having to eliminate Kim Sung-woon, but I'm thrilled, that Choi Kang-rok survived. He's hands down the funniest constestant on the show, and I love his whole vibe.

Overall, this season doesn’t quite hit like the first one; it could use an unhinged tofu challenge.

This was cute. The main couple did well, and really made those 7 minutes feel like an hour. Peak height difference too. Whoever cast Choi Jae Hyeok deserves a bonus. I enjoyed the comedic bickering between the two teammates, and pouty, loud, empty-headed friend with big arms and fluffy hair was really hitting for me in the final 20 minutes. I’d watch a spin-off special.

“Then let me use the legal reasoning that the defendant’s counsel loves.” This line from Da Wit combined with Myeong Hun's general "wth?" face pretty much sums up how I feel about the court scenes. I like the social issues covered in these cases, but the melo-theatrics and nice & shiny wrap-ups pull me out of being fully absorbed. But I get that this is how the show chooses to mix genres.

I’m not fully clicking with the team either. Gi Ppeum leans a bit too wide-eyed, and Nan Hui's temper schtick is my least favourite. I loved One Dollar Lawyer, and since these shows move in similar lanes, I should eat this one right up. Maybe I just vibe more with One Dollar Lawyer’s brand of ridiculous goofiness. I also can’t tell whether Jung Kyung Ho reminds me of Namkoong Min or vice versa, but the way they portray this type of ML feels very similar to me.

I’m still entertained, and I’ve cried in most of these episodes, but there’s something holding the show back from moving beyond okay into a truly great watch. If you like Pro Bono and haven’t seen One Dollar Lawyer, add it to your watchlist immediately.

Anyway, the drama has different plans, but Yeong Sil’s small, thoughtful gestures are so melty!!

That episode 7 cliffhanger is straight-up villain behavior.

Just rewatched it on GagaOOLala, and it was just as good, if not better, than I remembered. I wish I could wipe my memory and experience the thrill and emotions of that ending all over again. Highly recommend going in completely blind.