Eleison

Yeah, loving it so far!

Not quite done but still wondering how she got his sword, then? I'll keep watching, though, so don't tell me, but I was afraid that flashback did indeed show her brother dying. 😭 Poor Yeo Hwa!!!

Isn't it cute the way Seok Jeong calls Ggot Nim "sunbae" (aka "senior Ggot")? 😂 I don't know if Koreans would find it endearing, but I do.

I believe it's the 2ML who's gay, the character played by Kim Do Wan. Sang Min will be the ML/endgame love interest for the FL.

Yes, that's a good point. I hope it's true! They can't end it worse than it starts, anyway. :)

I hope so! :) If they start out fighting than that's the only way to satisfyingly end it, right?

Yes, that's why I said it wasn't a happy ending, but whenever I rewatch it or think of CLOY, I don't think of it as a drama with an open/kind of sad ending, for some reason.

Yes, this screenwriter's other dramas all had a hokey premise, so I'm curious to see what she does with a more or less normal setting and characters without the fantasy/fantastical element. I never saw Producers, but it seems that one wasn't fantastical in anyway?

Hopefully more of a Legend of the Blue Sea ending than a CLOY or My Love From The Star ending... I sometimes forget that CLOY doesn't really have a happy ending because the last scene is so idyllic and it leaves room for our imagination to finish the story the way we want. But hopefully this one will be more clearly happy!

I thought you might, based in your list! I'm pretty easy to please so I usually like the majority of Kdramas I select after reading comments and reviews if I spend time looking rather than just trying the next, new thing (like right now, I'm personally loving Knight Flower, but waited until it ended to start).

I had fun getting introduced to the Busan accent in Reply 1994. That was the first time I heard it, and I vividly remember puzzling, "Why do the actors sound so different when they talk in this drama?" 😂 I can now hear the different accents pretty quickly and obviously, though the North Korean accent is still subtler than some of the southern SK accents (which I find interesting) and I can't always hear it except on the endings. Anyway, it's fun, and that made Reply 1994 special and unique for me. It, ironically, gives similar vibes to our southern accent in the U.S. as well!

Also, I see you're from the U.K., so I'll just add that I grew up on English literature, folk music and BBC period films/shows so I'm a big anglophile, too. 😆 Been to the U.K. over half a dozen times and studied there for a semester. One of my family's favorite places to go when we travel out of the U.S. We stay in National Trust cottages and use them as a base camp to explore all the historical sites nearby. Particularly loved Devon and the Dales (and the Brecon Beacons!). 😏 Does your exposure to many accents in the U.K. give you a better ear for picking up on the accents in Korean? American English does have some accents but they are extremely region specific and some are quite subtle and only show themselves with certain words.

I became a big fan of Sang Min in Under The Queen's Umbrella, so I want to watch it for him, but I'm gonna wait until I hear what people say about it.

I kinda think Wu Lei would do a good job as Su Ho, too. :) He can do sweet and stoic/stiff at the same time, like Su Ho.

I agree with @OliviaW. My assessment would be similar. Liked the leads in TB better, and thought they were cuter together and had better chemistry. They are also more likable and easier to relate to. The FL in Gangnam does a lot of repeat expressions and I got a lot of secondhand embarrassment from the talk about plastic surgery and bullying; it felt very personal and painful. I remember wondering a lot about how the actors felt about the script since I'm sure all of them do some kind of plastic surgery. Probably felt very close to home, and just thinking about it made me uncomfortable. 😂

I wonder if it's because of the love triangle? And for many of us fans watching it as it aired, the last two episodes were a noticeable drop in quality/enjoyment (they pulled the separation trope which messed up the momentum of the drama). At the time, I remember they didn't live up to the hype. 🤷‍♀️

You can't argue with the popularity of it, though; you rarely come across dramas (and ones so recent), with this many watchers. This alone (with it still in the almost mid 8s after so many people rated it) speaks volumes.

P.S. I also liked TB better than Business Proposal. Don't know what the hype was for BP. It was fine, but it felt low budget to me. And I loved the leads in School 2017 and Dr. Romantic 2, but their acting in BP felt cringey to me...

Yes, I know of a few couples personally, and their situations were... rough. For different reasons, but yeah, it caused a lot of issues that wouldn't have existed but for the age gap factor. Marriage is already hard, but age gaps make it harder.

Loved AADSIG, and I Hear Your Voice is also great. Have you tried any of the Replys? Similar in vibe/tone to Prison Playbook (a mix of friendship and nostalgia and cozy and bittersweet and funny). 1988 is the best (though I found the beginning agonizingly slow. Took a long break, and when I revisited it, managed to push just far enough to get hooked (around Episode 5 of 18)). Like Flowers In Sand is new and while it has a very gentle pace, it feels similarly people-driven, like in Prison Playbook.

I'm sure someone already made this comparison, but the FL's like a female, Joseon Batman (i.e. her Bruce Wayne persona is widow Cho Yeo Hwa and her Batman persona who saves people in Gotham is the masked champion of the victimized of Hanyang; Su Ho combines Alfred, Robin and Gordon and (plus he's an added love interest... so)... Catwoman? 😅). Love the dynamic duo. (Also, the title is "Knight Flower" ... hey, "Dark Knight" sounds similar and still applies to her, too. 😏)

Only a few episodes in but already enjoying it! can't wait to see how things unfold.

Yep, enjoy! Things get intense near the end, but it ends happily for our leads and their group of friends. :) (Even Gil Dong's nemesis, Mo Ri, gets a fun arc!)

She does, and they're so cute (Chae Soo Bin is adorable). She becomes integral to some big decisions he makes near the end (and don't worry, she doesn't die). Some people might not think they had enough time together, but I loved them. I think they tie the knot in Episode 18.

Makes sense since their accents sound like Busan accents I've heard.

I think you're looking for a sub-genre of a sub-genre if you're hoping for polyamory. 😂