Another drama that I found started off with me hooked, but as it went on started losing me more and more. Lots of plot holes and things that are skipped over for the sake of the plot. Plus you know we have to have the stalker mystery that doesn't fit in at all! I think this would've been a perfect drama to make 12 episodes and have it finish on the happy end it did without all of the messy in between.

It veers away from the magic box/spells of it all and starts on a love triangle story line for most of the drama. I do not find these tropes interesting and it's not in this one. It really took away from the story in places where we could've been getting more background on Hong Jo and Shin Yu instead of shoving it all in towards the end of the series.

A lot of tropes, but the romance scenes are worth it at some points. I love Rowoon's acting and he definitely keeps you watching for the chemistry he brings. I loved his character and the charming side that he brought out in this drama. The other characters fell flat for me and the side stories weren't enough to keep me interested.

Romance scenes almost make it worth it, especially the few episodes towards the end (12-14) where their backstories are finally revealed. The rest not so much.

Read More

While this show is good, I found most of the extra stories incredibly boring. I honestly just was interested in the main couple and how their story was going to play out. The murder mystery aspect in this drama was actually interesting and went with the plot of the show. Most others are just there for the sake of drama, but this one helped with keeping you watching to figure it out. Although at some point, it was pretty easy to guess the overall twist and mystery of the show. So after the answer was given, the show got a little boring to me. I did finish, but with a lot of skipping to get to the overall resolution.

The ML is the main actor that caught my attention. The way he portrayed the turmoil Do-Ha was going through was really great. The character development he shows with him is also what helped keep me interested. Seeing how his entire life was being shaped and mended due to meeting a person he had in the past. I felt for his character the most. Definitely want to check out more of what he's going to be in and has been in.

The "power" part of the show was interesting and the cases that came along with it. I wish we could've gotten a little more of that part too. Especially the workers in her tarot cafe, that was so interesting to me and I felt like we hardly got to see it. I wasn't interested in any of the storyline with her mom or her ex-boyfriend. It was honestly just boring and predictable with how it was going to go, especially after watching so many dramas like this one. The neighborhood and all of their storylines were interesting and I could've appreciated seeing more of them too. By the time you get more of it, the show was already ending and you're just wanting to see how the main plotline is going to conclude.

It's not the greatest drama ever, but it was a pretty good watch for the main couple and story.

Read More

Blown Away. Those were my only words I can think of as the last few episodes played out. While it was a drama about a demon possession, I found myself deeply thinking about the messages they were portraying throughout. A huge one being: live life for yourself and not be envious of what others have and get. It spent a large portion of the drama speaking on the weaknesses we humans have, usually being that we want wealth, good jobs, and how some people will do anything to obtain those.

Another message that was given that I really loved was how often we start feeling complete despair and how much we might not want to exist anymore, but those are just dark thoughts at that moment. We always deep down want to live and survive for ourselves.

The mystery is amazing and does a great job at keeping the flow with how all of the secrets unravel. It feels like you're also trying to solve the mystery alongside the 3 leads. I'm sure it's not an original ghost story, but I felt that it was interesting and every episode had me glued to the screen.

Another reason for that is the acting. Especially the FL. She does an incredible job of switching between the evil spirit and herself. The way you can tell with just her eyes when the spirit has taken over is amazing. I also loved seeing Oh Jung Se again. I loved him in It's Okay, and I loved his character in this drama as well. Hong Kyung also does an amazing job. I do wish we could've gotten his character doing more actual investigating or profiling. There is one scene towards the end when he joins their side and his character is so good at profiling and detecting how people are. I wish we could've gotten more of that throughout the story.

Definitely a favorite that has come out this year.

Read More

I loved the first season, but the second season blew me away. It brought everything that I loved from the first and more. It introduced a ton of new characters and new people to be found. I felt their stories were even more heartbreaking from the first too. It also gave us 2 new lead characters in the village that I just fell in love with.

Once again though, I skipped past all of the fraud/scam story in the beginning. I never really cared for all of that in the first one either and once you move past it, the drama is way more interesting in my opinion.

The leads all do such a great job at tugging at your heartstrings, but I especially loved Pan Seok even more in this season. You can tell that he is still raw from finding his daughter but not being able to find her in their previous village. It really adds a layer to his character where you can tell he is really effected by everyone he meets at the new industrial park. It made some of the missions super emotional and their reactions made me cry even more.

One character that kept my interest the whole time was Il Young. The curiosity of his abilities and all of his story as it unravels throughout kept me on my toes with trying to guess where it was headed. The actor does such a good job with playing his character and bringing all of his ups and downs to life. His character development was amazing too. Another lead was Captain Kang. She is basically the "Thomas" of this village, helping the newcomers adjust to their new "lives" inside. Her character was easy to fall in love with and I couldn't get enough of her energy. Every scene with her has you laughing, smiling and eventually crying with her.

The ending was so open ended though. I hope we possibly get a third!

Read More

This drama grabbed me from the very first episode and I couldn't stop watching until the very end. There are some bleak moments and moments where you already know the answer but still watch. I could guess where the drama was going until the very end and they pulled a lot of twists that kept me wondering what they were going to do next.

I loved the cinematography in this show. It is beautifully shot and helps give some of the scenes that eerie feeling it needed. I loved the contrast between the to FL's as well. You have one rich, beautiful housewife who has a doctor husband and can get anything she wants. While on the other you have a struggling pregnant housewife who is being abused by her husband daily. The acting between both Kim Tae-Hee and Im Ji-Yeon is incredible. Especially Ji-Yeon. She does such a great job of playing a woman at the end of her rope and will do anything to better her life for her baby. There were so many moments that her acting just blew me away.

I wish that we could've gotten a little more of Joo-Ran's backstory before they moved. Her entire past was so interesting and we only really got to see bits and pieces from it and most of it was warped by her husband spoiling her memories. I felt so bad for her and what she went through with both her sister and Seung-Jae's teacher. I just wanted more for my own personal interest.

A good quick watch if you want a mystery, but also if you want something that gets you thinking about how you want to live your life for YOU and not others around you.

Read More

If you're a fan of the supernatural dramas then this one will be a good watch. I love the dramas Tomorrow and Mystic Pop-Up and this felt pretty similar to those two. A group that turns into a found family fighting evil spirits. It's not a new concept, but I did love the way that Uncanny Counter went about it.

To start, you know when Yeom Hye Ran is in a drama she is going to play the hell out of her part. I love her so much with every one of her characters, but Ms. Chu has such a special place in my heart. A bad-ass mother figure who would do anything for her family. I loved every scene we got with her and her son and most of her scenes got me choked up. Honestly, every actor did such a great job. The other one that stood out for me was Kim Se Jeong. Ha Na's character was incredible and she did such a great job at capturing her emotions and portraying them. I loved the character development she went through throughout the series.

This show does a really good job with the effects of their powers, evil spirits, etc. Most can come off pretty cheesy, but this one was done in a nice way to where it looked actually pretty real. The action scenes were good but obviously exaggerated to play off their strength they gain as counters. I especially loved the fight scenes towards the middle and end of the series. Especially when So Mun is trying to learn how to use and control his territory power. I do wish we could've seen more of his other power of being a gateway. I feel like it got mentioned one time after Wi Gen discovers that's what he has. It's not really mentioned again after that.. and that seems like a pretty important and intense power.

I think one thing I really enjoyed about this drama was that everyone went through huge character developments and came out on the other side better. They each are dealing with their own issues and trauma, but together work through it and overcome their grief to become better people. It was really nice seeing each of them settle with that it wasn't their fault the awful things happened to them and that they should live on for their families that weren't able to. I wish we could've gotten more scenes with Ha-Na and her family, but especially Mo Tak and Jung Young. Their story had just started again and was cut so short.

I love found family dramas especially of the supernatural kind and this one was a perfect fit for that. It can get a little slow and repetitive towards the middle and I even found myself about to drop it at some point, but it quickly picks back up and gets over the hump it has.

Read More

Every day teen life and trying to figure out life with parents, teachers, and classmates. This is one of the BEST portrayals of teenage-dom in a kdrama I have seen yet. It portrays all the emotions and things teens go through throughout high school... bullying, parents being strict over grades, friendships, break ups, finding love and finding yourself and your dream.

I really loved the side characters in this drama and they really help bring everything together. I started watching this before the passing of Moon Bin, so it took me a minute to start to get back into watching, but watching his character that he plays, Oh Je, was really refreshing. He plays such a good character and I loved Oh Je's entire story arc. Him and Mr. Oh definitely stole the show in my eyes and I loved watching every scene that had them both in it. Moon Bin's smile can light up a room and I'm so glad that's permanently in this show forever.

Mr. Oh, played by Kang Ki Young, killed it! The character itself is everything and anything you would ever want in a dream teacher. That adult that you can go to with anything and everything and they will help with no judgement or questions asked. He really believed in the kids and their dreams and it was such an important aspect of the show for me. When I was in high school, there were no teachers like him, and just seeing the portrayal of what a good one should be like, was super emotional. His story tugs at your heart strings and had me rooting for him the whole time. I had watched Kang Ki-Young in Attorney Woo and loved him in that too, so I was glad to see more of his bubbly personality in another show.

While the ending almost had me give this a lower rating because I'm not one for sad, they switched up on me and gave me a realistic one and because of that I gave this a 9.5. While it's not an original plot whatsoever, it was such an interesting one and I loved watching all of the actors play their characters. It felt like I was going to school with them again and getting stressed out myself. Just a really good slice of life about high school.

Read More

Honestly, I was kind of sad to give this drama such a low rating (for me, at least) because at first I really did enjoy it and its story. I loved watching the characters and them try to figure out life as things are thrown at them, but I had to force myself to finish the show, and I only did because of the side characters and their storylines. I was going to drop it at episode 12-13.

I, personally, could not stand Oh Mi-Joo's character. I can't pinpoint exactly when I stopped liking her, but it was a slow decline for her throughout the show to me. By the end, I was just ready for it to be over and I honestly didn't really care if they had stayed together or not. I skipped most of the scenes with them together after where I wanted to drop it at.

On the positive side, I loved the side characters even though their relationship was beyond messy and kind of toxic. I loved seeing the paintings Lee Yeong-Hwa did and I loved watching Seo Dan-Ah slowly drop her walls. Soo-Young and Tae-Oh have incredible chemistry together and I loved pretty much every scene that they were in. They really do such a good job with their characters and bringing them to life. The goofiness of Yeong-Hwa constantly had me laughing.

I want to also point out that once again Yim Si-Wan does such a good job at the role he is given. Although I missed out on a lot of scenes towards the end, I loved the scenes of him coaching the kids or coaching his old teammates. Even the scenes with him and Yeong-Hwa are so funny and lighthearted. They had such a good bromance.

Read More

If You Wish Upon Me took a couple of tries and about 3 episodes for me to fully get interested in it. While it is a slow burn and full of heavy emotions, I found myself really enjoying seeing all of the people within the hospice and the two leads figuring out their feelings. As always with melodramas, you have a mystery plot playing alongside the regular one and I honestly didn't care for it at all. I found myself skipping most of those scenes to get back to the hospital storylines.

I wish that we would've gotten more stories of the people within the hospice as well because I felt those were the most grabbing stories. I loved getting to know them and their wishes and watching them be happy for a final time. I needed more of those even if they were heavy and emotional to get through. I felt that they spent more time on the mystery plot than they did with the genie program itself and that's what I was really here for.

The romance is super slow burn, enemies to lovers, unexpected love.. It can be a little cheesy and tropey, but it was worth it for the relationship scenes you do get. They do add in a few things that annoy me like "ex comes back to ruin everything" trope which isn't my thing, especially when it's done towards the end of the series.

Overall, a good watch if you're looking for something similar to Move to Heaven, Chocolate or May I Help You.

Read More

Revenge of Others started off as a great murder mystery and towards the end drifted a little. Lots of plots and small storylines going on and even little things that were added in that had me genuinely thrown for a loop. The acting and overall revenge stories are what hooked me in and it's a good watch if you're looking for revenge with a happy ending.

While the main plot is "Who killed Chan-Mi's twin brother?", there are a ton of smaller plots playing out as well. Bullying, jealousy, gaslighting, murder mystery, secret stalker, a lot of suspects, and a lot of things left in the wind for others. What they added in at the end with Gi Osung and his sister is what let my rating slip a good bit. I felt that it wasn't really necessary to the storyline AT ALL. Especially when we know what we do about how the bullying started. It was just a really weird shock factor thing thrown in? It wasn't even needed to explain why he did because the reason was: they were investigating things that he was involved in and getting close to the truth. My other problem was one of the main plot points is that Ji Soo-Heon is suffering from a brain tumor and this causes his behavior, nose bleeds, etc.. but it's never resolved or explained further after the doctor's visit? He just goes and lives his life and we just pretend that isn't a thing? I wish that the ending and their futures were given more time for better explanations, especially Soo-Heon's. I feel that they spent a lot of time on other things that weren't too important to the main plot. One whole episode was dedicated to something that could've been resolved and shown in 30 minutes of an episode. Just really weird pacing overall with the main plot line, you don't figure out who REALLY did it until the very last episode.

The ending itself is really weird and random. The person who actually did it and how that's revealed didn't make a lot of sense to me and seemed super random. I felt that they needed someone else because it was obvious that Gi Osung was involved somehow pretty early on into the drama. This is another reason why I gave it an 8.5. It just felt messy and rushed towards the end.

Overall, it's a good watch if you're wanting something short but has action to keep you interested.

Read More

Life, Love, Death and Chocolate

I passed on chocolate so many times and I'm glad I stopped and actually gave it a try. The first few episodes are hard to get into and through, but once you make it past the overall setup for the drama then it gets pretty good. Chocolate is about hospice care and the people living out the rest of their lives in them. The romance itself is EXTREMELY slow burn and is a back burner story to the several other plot lines going on.

Cha-Young has been through a great deal of trauma in her life and finds herself becoming a chef after coming across Lee Kang when they were younger who is now a neurosurgeon. He also has childhood trauma and is very cold and distant as a result. Their paths always seem to cross at different stages of their lives and they always seem to find each other even when Cha-Young left South Korea. As the drama goes on, they both begin to open up and Kang becomes more open and caring.

The huge piece that kept me coming back to this drama were the people inside of the hospice and the food. They each have beautiful stories that play out and are each given the last dish they want to taste by Cha-Young. So many episodes had me crying and mourning with everyone. It feels like you are a part of their last few months as well and really helps drive home that they are people who live there and aren't just in the hospital. They are cherishing their every moment and everything in it.

As well as all of the hospice patients, the director of hospice and Ms. Han, were such incredible characters that pulled at my heart strings every moment they got. It really hit home for me personally and just had me feeling for the both of them. Life gets in the way so much and sometimes you only have the moments before it's too late. They were such a beautiful story in the world of chocolate. I felt the same way about Cha-Young's brother Tae-Hyun and the woman he meets while in hospice. So many beautiful people and stories linked together through food and love.

--Spoilers in this paragraph! --
I rated this drama an 8.5 because of their relationship mostly. I was rooting for them from the beginning and even more so towards the middle of the show and the burn is very slow. I could appreciate this entirely because it made it even more worth it when they finally did get together, but the ending made it fall flat for me. It felt as though the writer felt they had to keep going when they could've just stopped. We didn't need to see Cha-Young meeting her mom again after 20 years... It was really unnecessary in the story and only added to the weird ending that we got. We spend almost 14-15 episodes waiting for them to get together and when they finally do, Cha-Young just dips again to Greece? Leaving behind Kang AGAIN after waiting for him to love her back... right after they were talking about running away together and eloping. It just didn't give me the conclusion I felt was good enough for the love story I had watched. The show could've been so much better had it just ended with a cheesy marriage scene. Sometimes the happy ending is the better one versus trying to tie in more of this "We always find each other" stuff. It really ruined the overall vibe of the last episode for me. Episode 15 would of been a perfect ending point.

Read More

Have you ever wanted to quit your job, take only a few of your possessions, and leave behind everyone/everything you've ever known? That's exactly what this drama is about. Yeo Reum finds herself miserable in her every day life. Constantly comparing herself to everyone else and being held to a higher standard that seems unachievable. She decides to leave the corporate life behind, packs a small bag and heads off for a small beach town: Angok.

There we begin the most comforting story of learning to find little things to enjoy in your life. It's a story about finding people who get you with no judgements and finding the true path to what you want to do in life without anyone's expectations getting in the way. I loved everyone in the small town, though it starts out rough at first with Yeo Reum and the villagers. As the show goes on, the town opens up in every way possible... even showing some of the darker cracks that are hiding in the shadows of Angok.

Finding herself in the library quite often, Yeo Reum and the quiet librarian, Dae Beom, become interested in each other slowly. Their chemistry and relationship slowly blooming was one of my favorite parts of this drama and I loved seeing everyone's relationship with each other get better and better as the show went on. Towards the end, it feels like everyone is a huge family that loves and cares for each other. Dae Beom has a tragic past that is the talk of the small village. This is my one flaw with the show.. I understand needing some form of drama after everyone in the town begins to like Yeo Reum, but I felt it could've gone just fine without it. Towards the last few episodes, the darker side jumps out more than the other side stories and it unravels the big mystery in the small village: who killed Dae Beom's sister Sun-Ah? I will say the twist was not one that I could've guessed because the show does a good job of keeping you preoccupied on the obvious suspects. I'm glad that Dae Beom got the closure he needed and could move on with that chapter knowing that he didn't do anything wrong. The last episode spent quite a long time laying out the answer and solving the mystery that I felt it left behind what I was actually wanting to see in the end which was all of the other relationships and how they are now that it's the end of the summer.

I did have a hard time getting through most of the scenes with Dae Beom's close friend and fellow librarian, Ji Young. It's very obvious from the start that she holds their relationship in a different light than Dae Beom views them. She goes out of her way to be rude and hateful towards Yeo Reum without any reason for doing so other than she has a crush on Dae Beom and he doesn't reciprocate. She goes to Sung Min quite often and begs him to kick her out several times and even goes behind everyone's back to talk to Yeo Reum privately about how she gave up on life and doesn't get to push how she lives on everyone (Bom and Dae Beom) all the while doing exactly that to the both of them. She becomes more tolerable too late and I wish that they would've wrapped up her feelings a little earlier than they did.. especially when her relationship with Sung Min was much more interesting and unexpected. I wanted to see more of the 2 of them with Joon.

I did read a few reviews before watching that mentioned that Yeo Reum is too nice and finds herself being walked over many times, but I had to keep in mind during this drama that it's about finding yourself and finding how you want to live your life. Bom's choices drove me crazy, but when you keep in mind that she's a teenager with a rough upbringing and it's her first life with mistakes and all, it makes it feel more realistic. Yeo Reum is kind and giving and will give even when knowing that she is being taken advantage of. She knows the feeling of pressure and judgement and does her best to not push her opinions on others. I found myself relating to her character a lot more than I thought and I loved seeing her become more and more happy than at the start.

Summer Strike quickly became one of my favorites and definitely a comfort show. I found myself laughing and giggling with Yeo Reum and Bom during their sleepovers.. crying with them during their hard times and kicking my feet with them as they began to realize their feelings and crushes. It feels like you become a part of the small village and I loved every minute of it.

Read More

The World of the Married is a train-wreck that you can't look away from. A show all about how society views women in all aspects, especially divorced women, and how far a woman will go to protect her life, family, and pride. How much does one have to give until they are fully loved? Some men cheat and once a cheater, always a cheater.

A lot of characters in this show are not likable at all. The only person I found rooting for was Ji Sun Woo, who is played by the incredible Kim Hee Ae. She does a fantastic job of portraying all the emotions of a woman who had been betrayed. She gave her life, money, and love to a man who discarded her and she will do anything to keep his choices from ruining her and her son's life. I only found myself drawn to 2 other characters: Go Ye Rim and Min Hyun So. I felt that they were some of the most real characters in an ocean of sharks that are out to backstab, lie, and do anything to ruin each other.

Most of the episodes and most of the plot will have your blood-boiling and screaming at most of the characters. They are selfish, fake, and will do anything for themselves which kept most of my interest. They will do anything to get ahead of you, even if that means tearing you down while you're already at your worst. Set in a town where everyone knows everyone, it's easy for your business to spread like wildfire amongst the high class.

The one complaint I did have with the show is I felt a lot of the moments drug on a little too long for the effect or just to fill in the space of the episode and I found myself skipping a lot to get to the dialogue. Towards the middle of the show, it gets a little predictable and towards the end I felt that it had went on too far. The whole last episode was making up for time missed and you get the actual plot for not even the last half.

It's dramatic and nobody comes out unharmed in any way. They all hurt each other in wild ways all while calling each other "friends."

Read More

A drama that has a little of everything from found families, slight romance, court proceedings, murder mystery, and comedy. The beginning starts out light and towards the middle gets dark with the plot, but I would recommend this to anyone that likes procedural dramas or anything to do with being a lawyer. The main plots are murder mystery and a lot of flashbacks, so definitely keep that in mind when beginning to watch. The cast were perfectly chosen and I loved the chemistry between the three leads a ton.

-- Spoilers Below --

Chun Ji Hoon is a charismatic lawyer who provides his services for only 1$ to anyone for anything. The drama delves deep into his past and what took place before the timeline of the show. His past heavily involves a woman named Lee Joo Young. She was a light in his life that helped him open up as he fell in love. She was also a lawyer who began the practice and the 1$ amount. Joo Young wanted to provide her services to anyone regardless of how much she would get paid and that stuck with Ji Hoon. This all comes to a crashing halt when Ji Hoon finds Joo Young stabbed on the train and she ends up dying. He is devastated by this and begins his own practice in the same office hers was in to continue her dream. This backstory explains his eccentric personality and also tells that he wears his sunglasses to hide the pain in his eyes. During the drama, he once again opens up to Ma Ri, his new student attorney. I loved watching their relationship build and how much they genuinely cared for each other. Towards the end as the drama comes to a close, Ji Hoon realizes that he harbors a deep anger and hatred within himself and needed to get away and realize why he actually became a lawyer and started his practice the way he did. This is the one part in the show that I did have a problem with... He leaves without saying a word, going to France for a year. He leaves Ma Ri and Mu Jang with short letters giving no good explanation. When he comes back they are obviously angry, but ready to help him with anything and everything as always.

Ma Ri was my favorite character in the drama. Her confident and sassy attitude made her character stand out amongst the cast of men, and I loved watching every scene that she was in. Her actress does such a great job of captivating you. She begins working as a lawyer at her grandfather's firm, but has her interest peaked and joins Ji Hoon's practice. There she is struck by his personality and confused by the overall purpose of the 1$ practice, but learns and absorbs everything she can. She finds Joo Young's picture in the office, hidden behind files, and puts everything together. Her and Mu Jang want to help Ji Hoon find her killer and get her justice. They always have his back and would do anything to help him be happy. After everything comes to a close and Ji Hoon leaves, Ma Ri is heartbroken. She hides this herself with the glasses he gave her before he disappeared, and begins working and becoming a great lawyer at her grandfather's firm. The scene with her and Na Ye Jin at the bar and her reading his actual letter to her had me in tears and I wish that we could've gotten a more meaningful moment between just the two of them after. (I really kinda shipped them even though he is older and they were going through the whole Joo young thing, oops)

-- End of Spoilers --

Aside from him leaving unexpectedly, I loved this drama even though it was short. It fit in a lot of amazing characters and just enough to get you to love each of them. One thing I loved especially was that a lot of the side characters were also my favorites or I just wanted to see more of.. i.e. Na Ye Jin. I marked it an 8.5 for those reasons and just that I don't think it would be that rewatchable after knowing the huge mystery.

Read More