I can honestly say I really haven't had the time or patience in the past year to watch many dramas as they aire aside from a few Japanese dramas and Lakorns. I use to watch most of my favorite kdramas in the past as they aired and only watched a few older dramas or filler type dramas in between. But with so many streaming services doing whole series dumps and my super busy schedule I really haven't taken the time to sit down and invest in a weekly kdrama for some time. Now Chinese dramas I never watch until it's completely subbed because I need subtitles and most are so long it can take weeks for subtitles. I watch Japanese and Lakorn as they aire because honestly you never know how long you will find a lot of them online afterwards. So I just started watching my kdramas for the most part after the last episode is completed. But I've also noticed I really haven't enjoyed a lot of dramas as much as I think I would if I had seen it airing.
I'm not saying that I have enjoyed every series I've ever seen as aired because I obviously haven't if you scope out my watch list. I'm just wondering if maybe there are some dramas that just lose some allure without the weekly anticipation of what is going to happen next? And maybe there are some dramas that improve vastly by being binge watched? If so how do you think that affects ratings and recommendations?
I started to wonder pretty seriously after I binged Crash Landing On You this week. It has a pretty high review and recommendations but after I watched it just felt mediocre to me. Then I started to wonder why I really don't like it when I have loved simular dramas in the past. It sort of occurred to me that this drama would probably have been more exciting/suspenseful/romantic if you watched it with space and anticipation. Because honestly when you binge episodes can easily lose impact and muddle together. Also you don't have time to sit and contemplate the story. So it made me wonder if I would have loved the characters and story more if I had time to savor it?
I have been wondering for awhile if maybe I had just become burnt out on kdramas or maybe they were beginning to lose a magic/appeal I had felt watching in the past. But then after a recent conversation with a friend about Because This Is My First Life I started to wonder about how binge watching vs watching while airing can make a drama less or more appealing. My friend totally didn't understand the hype of BTIMFL. She kind of thought it was pretty cliched and mediocre. We talked about why she felt that way because I am a huge fan of the series and we actually have similar tastes in shows. After muddling out the details I came to understand she really hadn't spent much time investing in the characters and because she was so quick to move through the main storyline she didn't really take time to appreciate certain story development nuances that just came across as brilliant while it was airing and I had time to contemplate it. I hadn't had much time to think on it much more until binge watching Crash Landing and then I literally did nothing but think about it because I just really couldn't get over my weird apathy for a show I really feel like I normally would love.
So then I started looking at my watch list and wondering how many shows I hated while airing but enjoyed on binge. I'm going to put Korean Odessy at the top of that list. It felt like such a frustrating disaster every week and though I loved the Rom and com I thought it was such a waste of talent. But I'll admit I went back and rewatched it as a fun quick binge and it really was more appealing to me. On the flip side I adored Goblin when it was airing live and still like it a lot. But on the rewatch it felt a little more repetitive and boring in parts, not from knowing what will happen just more like with episodes back to back it dragged on referencing the same scenes over and over.
So then I started to question on some dramas why I disliked some and made another odd realization, that some dramas I disliked horribly live before because of the ending upon rewatch really didn't think it was as bad as I first thought. Maybe it was just being able to seperate the predjudice of how you hope it will end vs reality, but on some I wonder if it's just that because of the time invested a drama can feel unsatisfying/mediocre/generic/rushed or if you are binge watching maybe it feels like its being dragged out to long?
I suppose my point is that as a review and recommendations forum I wonder if it worthwhile to note that watching some dramas live vs binge can change how it is perceived by the majority. Like now I am more mindful to recommend that certain shows be watched slowly or just mindlessly. That when we are having discussions about rating and appeal of a series that we have consideration on how the story was consumed? Lol okay I'll stop now on my musings. This is week two of a three week 80 hr shift (home health lols) so over thinking some points is a complete possibility. Honestly, it was this or the frustration of being a fan of older dramas and watching ratings of them plummet because there is a lot of controversial or unattractive themes that newer generations find unappealing or just plain despicable. Nostalgia vs social sensitivity?
