don't put Hot Stove League on the back burner

I seem to be on a Namkoong Min binge lately, as i just finished Chief Kim and watched his episode on I Live Alone not too long time ago. I can't help but to compare his character in Chief Kim and our GM Baek Seung Soo, who can't be anymore different but at the same time gives off those heartwarming vibes.

As a non baseball fan, i literally know nothing about baseball and simply put my trust in Namkoong Min and decided to give Hot Stove League a shot, which I am definitely glad I did. There is a lot of baseball terminology thrown around but you don't really need to pay too much detail into it (i did google some out of pure curiosity though). The story follows the ups and downs of the back office of the worst pro baseball team in Korea, ironically called Dreams. Our new GM BSS has a golden thumb, who is able to bring various sports teams to first place, just to fall to their demise and disband. For this peculiar skill, he is hired by the parent company of Dreams, who has been wanting to dismantle this failing investment of theirs. For his tragic past and his peculiar career record, BSS believes his actions or simply, he, himself is the reason for the demise of everything he touches, whether it be personal or work related.

Going from Chief Kim to BSS, I just want to give BSS a giant hug. He carries the responsibility for everyone and everything on his shoulders, all alone. His time at Dreams, our lonely GM learns the importance of forgiveness, letting go, and second chances, and of course, the importance of a team. In our stove league world, i only hope BSS would be able to smile more going forward.

At the beginning, our strong minded operations manager, Lee Se Young, seemed to be the sole survivor that continues to work at Dreams with a burning passion. I love how she does not take any smack from anyone who reminds her that she is a female in this male concentrated workplace. Her fond childhood memories of spending time with her father watching the Dreams play is what keeps her going. To me, this was no surprise at all but for some reason was unspoken until the very last episode in the last 15 mins. There were many mother daughter scenes that I actually thought did not hold any importance. To me LSY did not have much of a character arc or story because from the very beginning, she was always very well rounded.

I think the character that had it a little too easy was the Head Coach. He is a man of very little words and if i may dare say, a coward. His inability to lead his very divided team of coaches was a major reason for the team's downfall from their glory days. Deep down I know the Head Coach is wise and has very good intensions, which you can see from how he was willing to blow the practice game in order to help Minho get over his slump. However that time at the police station and the trade situation, he chooses to simply keep quiet time and time again. At the same time, I understand very well that in life, the path less traveled by is definitely easier said than done but I hope he learns that there are many people who care and are willing to listen with open ears. Of course explaining your situation does not excuse your actions but it gives someone the chance to understand and possibly even forgive.

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for those who liked triumph in the skies but don't get too excited

i was excited to start this because i loved triumph in the skies and i love airports and airplanes but it's honestly very underwhelming... i know this was filmed in 2017 and aired in 2021 so i don't know if this was planned to be longer and then edited to cut out scenes because there are a lot of super random unnecessary scenes and important scenes are pretty brief and kinda brushed off. storyline is iffy and leaves us with a lot of questions. first off with xia yu's moms accident on the plane, it was clearly an unfortunate situation and i understand his grief but to say that xiao mo caused his mom's death is a bit of exaggeration. xia yu's character acts like a three year old and is very unlikable. throughout their time in flight school and until xiao mo and wu di got together, i was able to look past xia yu's annoying character and enjoyed watching but then the storyline just got worse... i didn't even mind xiao mo and wu di's bland relationship but when wu di starts being very irrational her character became very unlikeable as well. xiao mo was literally in a coma and the first thing wu di says to him is about him being a traitor???? with kang kang's death, they circle back to the question, 'what if you were just brave enough to pierce through the clouds?' excuse me no its not about being rigid and always following the rules as wu di calls it but its about keeping all the passengers and crew on board safe and as a pilot herself that should not be her mentality. for her to start going out with xia yu was super unnecessary but at least it made xia yu realize that to be in a relationship with someone who does not reciprocate the same feelings is not the relationship that he wanted. in the end, no one ends up with anyone and all of them are magically captains except for xia yu who took time away from flying to run the company. i can't grasp the timeline of this story but its got to be max only two years and i sure hope the captain of my flight has more than just two years of experience...

side note. there was the story about one of the pilot classmates who was looking for his brother. they showed the brother at the airport but they were never even reunited??? like why was this side story even necessary?

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Go Ahead and give it a try

Seeing so many positive reviews and comparisons to the Reply series, I was very intrigued but also very hesitate to start because I already knew about the sibling love triangle, which i will touch upon the in a little bit because that is not the main story. This is both a heart warming and heart wrenching story of how those who we call family show their love and how they can also hurt us the most.

If this world had more people like Li Ba (LJJ's dad), oh how this world would be such a better place. He is the glue that holds this family together and the epitome of the perfect parent that one can only hope to have. We have our two brothers, who at a very young age must face many hardships that will forever shape them. HZQ who is abandoned by his single mother who made the difficult but cruel decision to do what was best for her child. LX who is abandoned by his mother who suffers mentally from their family's tragic history. At the center of their universe is LJJ, who Li Ba describes as a 'oddly optimistic child'. We see LJJ go from an unruly teenager to a young adult. They talked about the light bulb moment when you realize you are an adult and I know both LX and LJJ specially mentioned their moment. Oddly enough, I can't seem to remember how or when that moment was for LJJ maybe because I did not think moment was that impactful but maybe also thats just how life is. Slowly but surely, even without you realizing, one day you find that you are no longer the kid you used to be.

The first 10 episodes, who many believe including me, is the best part of the drama. We slowly learn the story of how this little family is created and the dynamics of this family. Ep 5, Li Ba's drunken monologue sealed the deal for me to continue watching. The next 10 episodes we see how the brothers go separate ways, each for their own justifiable [but sad] reasons and eventually come back 9 years later, bringing us to the point where our beloved trio must learn to be siblings once again... and also something beyond sibling love. I truly believe the story could've been just fine without the love line but i'll let it slide. I really liked the way that they handled the HZQ and LJJ love line because we have a fragile HZQ who is cutely mistaken and believed that only love love is the way to make this little family of theirs a real legal family. However like Li Ba and LJJ have said time and time again, the definition of a family is not restricted to blood ties nor legal titles. The LX and LJJ love line, I can understand how that could happen but at the same time also not too convinced. I am honestly not too sure at what point they even officially became a thing but it somehow happened...

The remainder of the drama, we start to dive into the stories of our side characters... maybe even a little too much. I love the dynamic that LJJ has going on with her girlfriends but spending too much time on the side stories, we lost precious time on how to deal with the main issue, which is the relationship between LX and his mentally unstable mother. We are literally at the very last episode, waiting for the point in which the mom will finally own up to her mistakes and try to make amends but to me, the mom still has not reached that point yet. Her choice was once again avoidance and the abandonment of yet another one of her children but somehow it was portrayed as her redefining moment worthy of forgiveness.... I don't know what the perfect storyline should've been but i only wish both she and LX truly seek the medical attention that they need.

There is one character that I have yet to mention because he is important and at the same time, sadly not. We have Ling Ba (LX's dad) who almost always shows up to all important events but leaves quickly for work reasons again and again. I was truly hoping we got to learn more about his character because he is still an important figure in this little family. He mentions the police station so many times that I was expecting that we would get a little glimpse into his life at work (not that it is justifiable for him to simply push off his parental duties to Li Ba) but we never do.

Overall, despite the few hiccups, it is definitely a solid drama and if i were to give you just one reason to watch this, it would be Li Ba.

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I now need liberation from this drama

I started this without any expectations but this slow burn quickly burned its way through my heart. This show is definitely not for everyone but I plead you to give it a try. Some say that it's depressing but I would argue that that would not be an accurate description of this show because it brought me so much laughter and I felt so much hope. The slightest sliver of light, the slightest smile, is more than enough to light up everything and makes things feel like it'll all be okay in the end.

We have 3 siblings living in the outskirts of Seoul, who are living a rather mundane life, tired of their 1.5hr one way commute into Seoul everyday. Just like we all do, they question their life goals, career goals, and love life. I believe everyone will be able to relate to bits and parts of each sibling. Gi Jeong is the eldest daughter, a hopeless romanist that lives with her heart on her sleeve. Chang Hee is the middle child who constantly feels like he is always down on his luck and nothing ever works out to plan. Lastly, our Mi Jeong who is silently but ever so bravely treading through her lukewarm life. In this small town, where people only ever leave, we have Gu, a visitor that mysteriously shows up and is welcomed into their little family and changes their lives forever.

Gu lives next door and is hired by the sibling's father to help out in his cabinetry/sinks factory. He is a man of very little words and literally does not say a single one word in the whole first episode but he is essentially the functioning town drunk, who you can find every night walking back and forth from the convenience store buying 2 bottles of soju at a time. One day, Mi Jeong reaches out to Gu for a favor and this is the start of our unconventional love story, a story so full of love and yet the word love never to be heard. When Mi Jeong tells Gu to worship her, i thought to myself maybe thats a mistranslation, but the more i watched their interactions, I do think worship is what they had. The words like to cherish or revere all seemed not enough anymore.

I feel like I can go on and on about all the good things about this show and my love for all the characters. Every word, every little detail was meticulously thought out yet effortlessly portrayed. I have been watching dramas for 15 years and it is very rare to actually love every single character. Don't get me wrong, every single character has their flaws, in fact, I thought Chang Hee was kinda annoying for the few few episodes, but to take his own words, he is like a drizzle. You think it isn't raining much but before you know it, you are already drenched. Slowly but surely, you start to see Chang Hee in a different light and you are just so proud of how far he has come. I have decided to be like Mi Jeong, to love and to accept everyone, flaws and all.

I am very hopeful that somewhere out there, all our characters are striving to be a happier and better version of themselves, taking one step at a time. In contrast, I will be in a kdrama slump for a while, as I am sad that MLN has come to an end. Time for me to find my own liberation.

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my favorite modern cdrama to date

I am so glad I randomly stumbled upon this hidden gem. It is short and sweet and heart wrenching and real and relatable and honestly just perfection.

The story follows the life of 3 friends and their life after the death of one of their own and how they all cope with grief and guilt. The raw emotion of the first episode is so heart wrenching and yet so beautifully portrayed. This show shines a light on depression and shows just how dangerous and sad it can be, for the person themselves and those around them. It may seem like a very serious show and it is but it also the perfect mixture of romance and light hearted ness.

It touches upon important and relatable topics like the definition of success, suicide, the aging of our parents, the definition of a home, and relationships with such ease almost as if it didn’t even mean to make the viewer cry or relate. My heart aches and relates to each perfectly flawed character in different ways.

This is a must watch for everyone, especially those who may be going through quarter life/midlife crisis or those who act as the happy-go-lucky friend like Jing Jing. Just remember, as Jing Jing said, no matter how long the night, the sun will rise again, no matter how far the journey, your destination will arrive. This is definitely one of those shows that will linger in my mind for a long time.

Rest In Peace Jing Jing

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Perfect Little Mini Makjang / Wattpad Story

If you are familiar with the makjang drama, you would know that there are times when makjang can get so ridiculous that it get hard to watch but this really is the perfect little mini makjang. It's makjang so there has to be batsh*t crazy villians but thankful no conflicts or misunderstandings get dragged out. For every conflict there is a quick resolution and it is oh so satisfying. I also say this is like a wattpad story because our ML is the biggest walking green flag who is always at the right place at the right time as if it were a fan fic written by a romance daydreaming teenage girl in a goodest way possible. Truly the epitome of the early 2000s kdrama era vibe condensed into 12 episodes so that it is a palatable drama-filled feel good mini makjang.

Don't expect any substance and don't expect any thinking!

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