Light-hearted and straight forward.

Unlike most 10-minute episode cdramas I’ve seen, I actually enjoyed The Little Wife of the General. The FL’s personality is quite lovable and for once the ML isn’t a forceful (and lowkey creepy) jerk. I found the dynamic of the two leads to be reasonable and realistic given that they are practically strangers who only met after their marriage was done and over with. The longer they know each other, the more involved they become, and the more they think of one another. The romance isn’t out of this world, but its sweet and simple.

I have to mention that the very best part about this drama is that it doesn’t take itself too seriously. You can almost tell that the cast and crew had fun with it instead of actually overplaying into those all too well-known, classic cliches. Even if the plot was nothing particularly new, I never thought of it as cheesy because of the comedic elements and professional acting.

If you have time on your hands and are looking for a short little romance to enjoy, I say go for it!

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Stereotypical? Yes. Cheesy? Yes. Likable? Yes.

I’m not one to shy away from a stereotypical and cheesy romance drama… if it’s done tastefully. A contractual relationship involving a cold capable ML and a clumsy bubbly FL is certainly nothing new. Us webtoon readers and cdrama watchers are well acquainted with this sort of plot by now. But even without an original and exciting script, Perfect and Casual (2020) does everything it needs to do right to pass the test.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that the ML is NOT a complete jerk for once. With an exception for some moments in the first two episodes, he is overall a very caring and considerate person. This is probably why they were able to jam-pack this drama full of sickly sweet and fluffy romance between the two leads. Which I’m all for! The chemistry was just right for a first love/youthful romance. And I also appreciate that the age difference (probably something like 28 vs 21 years old) didn’t make me think twice at all. In fact, if anything the FL felt like the more romantically experienced/ emotionally mature one in the relationship; in the best way possible. And speaking of the FL, she was perfectly likable and adorable as well… especially so when she was showcased with her two good friends. They made a great trio.

There wasn’t much of a storyline besides the romantic progression between the three or so couples in the drama. And it’s for this reason that I’m not giving this drama a higher rating. But all in all, I enjoyed Perfect and Casual for its cute moments and happy endings. It was a nice way to keep my boredom at bay. 7.7/10 stars.

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It’s hidden in the writing…

**** WORK IN PROGRESS****

Run On completely surprised me. I was expecting a generic but sweet romance with an emphasis on athleticism/competition and the ML’s journey to finding new dreams and accomplishing his goals… type of thing. This isn’t what Run On is about at all, and in the very best way possible. In fact, if you asked me to describe what the plot of this drama is, I would find it very difficult to put together the right words. Because this drama isn’t about the actual plot so much as it is about the underlying messages hidden in the writing.

I don’t even feel like I have to check the credits to know its a woman who wrote the script; it’s clear as day. The female lead characters have more depth and grit to them than the usual in dramas, and not just in the stereotypical strong/dominating way that tends to be depicted in dramas. (You know… FLs who portray masculine behavior to almost over-compensate for the fact that they aren’t the stereotypical “feminine” character. Although there isn’t anything particularly wrong with that if done right!) Even though they can be emotional, experience self-doubt, rely on others, be made to feel weak, they are consistent in one thing: sticking to their values. And although less uncommon, the male lead characters also display this behavior of placing an importance on their values. In fact, a majority of the dialogue

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Nothing wrong about it, nothing great

In the end I still enjoyed this drama enough to finish it to the last episode, and although I don’t think I’ll find myself rewatching it in the future I also wouldn’t dissuade someone from giving it a chance. Sh**ting Stars might be for you even if it isn’t quite for me.

I’m a big sucker for romance so I don’t particularly mind if there’s a lack in plot so long as the characters and chemistry make up for it, but unfortunately this drama didn’t reach that standard. I didn’t find the main characters to be complex or likable enough to win me over, and if anything I actually preferred the side characters more. Especially the newbie actress who was a hardcore stan for the ML, she was a great representation for all fangirls across the world lol. I wouldn’t say there was a complete lack of chemistry between the ML and FL but I also didn’t feel any sparks or passion. The two managers who got together (+the triangle with the new actor that was scouted) and the lawyer/reporter pair were more interesting to me. And felt more natural.

It’s also important to note that I didn’t really dislike any characters either, with maybe an exception for the mother and housekeeper bit. I didn’t think they were necessary to the storyline at all. And speaking of the storyline, I barely felt there was one at all. Nothing exciting besides the progression of the main characters which again is OK, so long as there’s other factors that make the drama shine.

The actors did a pretty good job, and the final episode left me as satisfied as I could be with the script we were given. There were some cute moments, some amusing, some funny, and others sweet. I don’t feel like I wasted my time watching this, but I might feel differently if I was to watch a second time. 6.8/10

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My Favorite E-Sports Chinese Drama

Even though I grew up playing video games, Chinese dramas involving competitive gaming are almost always a miss for me. I liked some aspects of LoveO2O, Go Go Squid, You Are My Glory, Gank My Heart etc… But I basically skipped all scenes that involved gaming. So yeah, basically the entire drama. I can’t help it, it’s just a sub-genre that is not made for me.

Falling Into Your Smile is different. I found myself actually being invested in the storyline. Who will win this match? Will they win the championship? How will they overcome their competition? And if there’s anything to attribute this difference to it would be the amazing characters. I found all of them quite lovable, but especially the FL; which I’m over the moon about, because I love it when the women of ‘dramaland’ shine more than their counterparts. The ML and the rest of the team members are also pretty great. I found myself wanting to root for them, and it was enjoyable to watch the whole team dynamic throughout the show. I always appreciate it when it feels like I’m watching multiple people’s stories instead of just the two main characters.

But speaking of the two mains, their romance was darn cute and the chemistry was convincing. Even though I don’t think I’ll be rushing to rewatch this anytime soon, I’m happy to have watched it once!

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Mediocre, not memorable, but hey I sill liked it!

I’ll just lay it out straight, if I were to subjectively give this drama a rating it would be somewhere within 6-7/10 stars. I was occasionally uninterested, the product placement was PAINFULLY obvious, and half (if not more) of the drama’s screen time was basically just the two leads’ pretty faces.

But I’m a sucker for pretty faces lmao. All the characters were generally likable, and the rabid romance fan in me loved all the sickly sweet moments. The best aspect of the script is probably the honest and open communication between ML and FL, and I must say it was refreshing to see them both acknowledge their mistakes and quickly apologize within the same half hour of screen time. Also, I’m not gonna lie Mr. Ryan Gold is an absolute dream boat.

There were some moments where I genuinely laughed, and others when my heart fluttered a bit. Because I overall enjoyed watching it, I’m giving it an 8/10.

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Thrilling, brilliant, loved it, but still left me wanting a little more…

I’ll start off by saying that I absolutely loved Mouse and I can confidently say that it’s one of the best murder mystery/thriller dramas I’ve seen. Even though I picked up on the clues very early on in the second episode, I was still completely left in the dark as to how the story would unfold and what would happen to our main characters down the road. The writers and director consistently kept me engaged and anticipating throughout the entire show, and I never really felt that the plot line was being “dragged” as is unfortunately the case with so many dramas. And of course, Lee SeunGi and Lee HeeJoon were excellent in their roles, and by the end I was completely in love with both of their characters.

Mouse is DEFINITELY worth the watch. And that’s why I’m giving it a 9.5/10.

But that being said… there are a few things that I felt were lacking, or had more potential than was actually realized. I’ve managed to narrow it down to two factors. One*, there were certain characters that I felt were too one-dimensional and could’ve benefited from more complexity and character development. And two**, I would’ve loved to see the social, political, and particularly ethical themes surrounding the treatment of psychopaths explored with more depth.

* In the end, Mouse presented us with as close of a “good ending” we could have for the victims/bereaved families as possible, but I still wasn’t quite left satisfied. More specifically, I didn’t feel there was the right amount of closure for the side characters’ stories; NOT because things were left unanswered but because their story was never properly explained in the first place. I was constantly wanting to get an inside look into the psyche of characters like BongYi… what thoughts were going through her head, how did she work through her internal struggles? We were given her backstory and an explanation of how her trauma affected her in the present day, but not much beyond that. She had so much more potential for character development towards the end but instead she became a helpless little girl, for lack of a better term. And what about characters like Detective Park DuSeok? He was just a dude who lost his kids to the Head Hunter, but I felt there could’ve been more insight on how he struggled to reconcile his desire for revenge with his own moral compass. And Choi HongJoo - who became a key character - I felt like I only ever got a stranger’s perspective on her life, rather than being persuaded of her conviction. I guess you could say that besides the two MCs everyone else felt like a prop to the storyline. Even if I liked them, and even if they served their purpose.

** I understand that the main objective of Mouse is to thrill you, keep you on the edge of your seat, maybe creep you out a little lol. And this objective was well accomplished. But for all the talk of the psychopath gene and the introduction of the “abort psychopathic fetuses” bill / debate between the two political parties that was shown in the beginning, there was hardly any dialogue that truly laid the topic out in full. In the end it was just an agenda that provided a motivation for the puppeteers in the story; one that really only came into play within the last episode or so too. Just imagine if the script also played with this theme? How psychopaths affect society, how society affects psychopaths… The ethical issue of preventing a life that also has a 1% chance of being a genius. I’m also surprised that there was never a mention about sociopaths vs psychopaths. Or the possibility of psychopaths existing without causing physical harm to anyone. Especially since they kept mentioning how a “trigger” was necessary to start a psychopath’s killing spree… What if that trigger never occurred?

Again, I just wanted more dimension beyond ‘catch the killer and make him pay’. As entertaining as it was without it, I believe Mouse could’ve reached an even higher class if the two things I mentioned were included. But oh well! The cast and crew still deserve plenty of praise!

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