Doctors (Korean Drama) I am a couple episodes behind on this one...and sadly I am having a hard time mustering up the interest to catch up. I like the lead characters well enough but the whole revenge plot - the boring part to me, is taking too much of the show's time.
Ice Fantasy (Chinese Drama, New) Some good C-fantasy choices out right now. Ice Fantasy is set in the time of an epic battle between the ice gods and the fire gods. The story follows the two exile princes of the fire gods and their path to reclaim their nation. The first episode was a bit cheesy, but once I got over the special affects then the show was quite enthralling. I especially like the crown prince's budding romance with the heroine who is a human tasked with the difficult job of keeping him safe.
Novoland The Castle In The Sky (Chinese Drama, New) First Impression: HERE I guess we can't have fantasy dramas without epic battles. This one doesn't begin with an epic battle but the leads are trying to stop one from happening. Just a warning though, the hero doesn't start off very likable...the you think he should be the villain kind of unlikable but fortunately by episode five I am already swooning every time he shows up.
Whirlwind Girl 2/Tornado Girl 2 (Chinese Drama, New) OPPA!!! I guess with Healer so popular among the Chinese, Ji Jang Wook decided to strike while the iron is still hot. For those who were a fan of the first season of Whirlwind Girl, the sequel might be a disappointment since the producers weren't able to get the same actress to play the heroine and the hero will be MIA for most of the time. As someone who gave up on the original Whirlwind Girl after the first couple episodes I was willing to give this one a chance just because Ji Jang Wook is in it but I quickly lost interest once I realized Ji Jang Wook's character will just be a temporary hero until the real OTP is reunited.
Gu Ra Me (Japanese Drama, New) This one kinda reminds me of a modern version of Nobunaga No Chef where the protagonist uses amazing food to defuse political tensions. The plot is kinda predicable but the food looks awesome of course!
Koe Koi (Japanese Drama) I mentioned this one a couple weeks ago and really didn't think I would be following it but after watching four episodes thus far of this unlikely story of a girl falling in love with a boy with a paper bag on his head, I am pleasantly surprised by how much emotional depth it has.
Baby Steps (Japanese Drama, New) I was hoping this one would be one of those exciting sports drama...unfortunately it was not. Maybe episode 2 would be better but episode one was so boring that I lost all desire to keep watching.
W (Korean Drama) SO addicting!!! I am loving everything about this show except the tiny fear about the extremely fast pacing of the plot. Secrets I thought was going to be hidden until the bitter end is already revealed by episode four so where do we go from here? This is going to be one long week until the next episode. New Show Preview:
Drama: Love by Design Airs: Saturdays (Starts July 31st) Synopsis: Fired from her job and buckling under the weight of a maxed up credit card, our 34 year old heroine resorts to pretending to be a young 25 year old in order to get a job as a newbie at a fashion design company. If the synopsis sounds familiar, that's because this show is based on the K-drama Baby Face Beauty starting Jang Na Ra. Preview:
Drama: Novoland The Castle In The Sky (?????) Airs: Wednesdays & Thursdays Ninja's Novoland The Castle Synopsis:
Set in a world where the humans are co-existing in an uneasy peace with the Yu Clan, a group of faerie like people that possess the ability to fly. Her birth accompanied by omens that signifies her identity as the flower goddess reincarnated, our heroine, Yi Fu Ling is clueless of the powers inside her. Weak physically but quite spirited by nature, Fu Ling decides to surprise her long time crush Bai Ting Jun by sneaking into the prestigious training academy he is at.
The crown prince of the human race, Ting Jun was saved by Fu Ling as a young child and loves her deeply even though a vow/curse voluntarily taken by him years ago forces him to ignore Yu Ling's feelings.
The emperor of the Yu Clan, Feng Tian Yi is constantly at odds with Ting Jun and sees the perfect opportunity to have some fun when he bumps into our heroine by accident. Trusting Tian Yi naively, Fu Ling gets into big trouble when she listens to his advise and sneaks into the academy to see Ting Jun. Realizing that Tain Yi has been using her all along to hurt Ting Jun, Fu Ling accuses him of being a devil and swears to protect her crush from him. Extremely smart and skilled at using those around him, Tian Yi regards Fu Ling as an amusing toy...that is until he finds himself starting to do things for her that he has never done before. Ninja's First Impression:
I am just going to be honest that watching Chinese fantasy always makes me a bit weary since they tend to be over the top. However, Novoland turned out to be a pleasant surprise! It took me a while to get used to the idea that Tian Yi (the Yu Clan emperor) is actually the hero since he really came off like the evil second lead in the first two episodes. Still, kudos to the writer, by episode five I was completely on board to have our heroine paired off with Tian Yi...even if I do feel terrible for the crown prince.
The show is extremely pretty to look at. The color contacts on the actors/actress were kind of hit and miss depending on who they were on so that was a bit distracting at first but easily ignored once the story got interesting. The chemistry between the leads seems very promising and the character development well done as well. My watch list is a bit skimpy lately so I am planning to follow this one for a bit and hope that the story don't go weepy on me.
Mi Soon's Story: Racing all the way to stop Mi Soon from putting up her restaurant for lease, Chul Soo vehemently refuses to listen to Mi Soon's protest that since she lost her bet with Daddy Bong then she needs to suffer the consequences. Seething with jealousy as he watches Mi Soon and Chul Soo arguing with one another, Man Ho finally jumps out to tell Mi Soon that Daddy Bong only won because his friends cheated.
Fuming as she walks back to her restaurant, Mi Soon calms down the moment she finds Daddy Bong standing in front of her place. Inviting Daddy Bong in to try her seafood noodle dish personally, Mi Soon hides her surprised expression as Daddy Bong finishes the whole bowl and declares that he approves of the taste. Agreeing readily to Daddy Bong's challenge for another match up later that month since the result of their previous one didn't count, Mi Soon is pleasantly surprised again when Daddy Bong gives her his verbal consent to officially sell her seafood dish. (It was a point of confrontation before if Mi Soon had the right to sell that particular dish since it was technically the Bong family restaurant's recipe...even if it was developed mostly by Mi Soon.) With that little crisis averted, Mi Soon's life is starting to be smooth sailing again...until Man Ho starts to show up constantly...much to Chul Soo's frustration.
Impatient with Man Ho's constantly effort to make her suspicious of Chul Soo, Mi Soon walks into her restaurant shaking her head but stops dead when she overs hears Chul Soo talking on the phone in English "Absolutely not, even if I go back it will be no longer than one year. Can't be longer than that. I don't usually tell other people my name but it's Kang Jun Young." Dismayed to realize Mi Soon was within earshot of his phone conversation, Chul Soo tries to carry on as normal but his expression pales when Mi Soon says "Wanting to make sure I have some common ground with my kids I put a lot of work on learning English. What is your real name Chul Soo? No, actually, who are you?"
Hae Won's Story: Stunned to wake up and find Kang Min at their house, Daddy and Mama Bong stare at their daughter in disbelief when they are informed of the marriage. Despite being surprised by the marriage, Hae Won's parents nonetheless quickly accept it since their daughter is after all pregnant with Kang Min's baby. Not so accepting as the Bong parents, Madam Lee storms into Hae Won's work yelling her son's name angrily when she finds out that Kang Min had announced his marriage to the press. Swallowing her angry words once she realizes that a reporter is standing right there, Madam Lee quickly paste on a smile to act like the world's greatest mother-in-law to Hae Won.
Hae Ryung's Story: Flustered by Hyun Ki's tearful pleading to save his life, a very conflicted Ji Gun mutters "I can't..." then quickly drives away with Hae Ryung.
Looking at Hae Ryung who seems to have every strength pulled out of her body, Ji Gun takes her to a quiet place for dinner and even jumps into the pool to get a smile out of her. Pretending to be angry when Ji Gun pulls her into the pool, Hae Ryung suddenly breaks out into a laugh and tells a worried Ji Gun that as one who had swam competitively all through out school she is not someone who is intimidated by water. Her mood lifted considerably, Hae Ryung softly admits to Ji Gun "To someone who is dying, I had told him to go and die somewhere I can't see. Am I not despicable?" Once again assured when Ji Gun expresses his gratitude to have her as she is, Hae Ryung asks "After we get married...can we take Young Woo and stay at America for couple years?" Looking down guiltily the moment the words are out of her mouth, Hae Ryung mutters "I guess we can't."
Quickly replying "Yes, let's do. No matter where, let's go." Ji Gun pulls Hae Ryung to him and kisses her.
Holding a simple wedding with only the local kids to throw flower peddles for them, Ji Gun looks into Hae Ryung's eyes and promises "No matter if you are happy or sad, blissful or angry, I will always be by your side with my hand extended it so you could grasp it anytime." Presenting themselves as a newly wed in front of Hae Ryung's family, the Bong family gets another shock after the bomb Hae Won dropped just that morning. Knowing full well that his daughter needs all the support she can get to deal with Hyun Ki's impending death, Daddy Bong surprises everyone by expressing his approval of our leads' quick marriage. Clueless of Hyun Ki's illness, Mama Bong is not so happy as her husband to have her daughter married off so without fanfare and was only somewhat appeased after Ji Gun personally apologizes to her.
Thinking it must be her bumbling twin coming home when she hears a loud crash, Hae Ryung goes outside only to see Hyun Ki coughing uncontrollably. Keeping her expression blank when Hyun Ki hands her a resignation to give to Daddy Bong, Hae Ryung tells Hyun Ki that as Ji Gun's wife she will no longer involve herself in his affair but judging by the tears on Hae Ryung's face after Hyun Ki stumbles away, our heroine is obviously not as unaffected as she appears.
Mildly surprised when Ji Gun walks out of her house to inform her that he needs to leave immediately, Hae Ryung doesn't press Ji Gun for answers but becomes worried when her little sister remarked how pale Ji Gun's expression was after receiving a mysterious phone call. Getting on a taxi to go check on Ji Gun personally, Hae Ryung stops the car when she happens to see Ji Gun being slapped by Madam Jung in front of Hyun Ki's house. Sneering bitterly when she sees the furious Hae Ryung coming to Ji Gun's defense, Madam Jung tells her cryptically "If you know what Seo Ji Gun did to our family then it's going to be one spectacular show." Despite being puzzled by Madam Jang's words, Hae Ryung nonetheless allows herself to be pulled away.
Knowing that there is no way Madam Jang would let him live blissfully with Hae Ryung now that she is convinced he killed her grandson, Ji Gun desperately hugs Hae Ryung like every second with her would be his last.
The big moment finally arrives and our heroine finds out the truth by accident when she overhears Ji Gun's nurses gossiping about Madam Jang's accusation that Ji Gun killed her grandson. Hae Ryung shows up at Hyun Ki's house to confront Madam Jang but we are not shown what happened between them.
Walking into the house to find his son making a scrapbook of his wedding photos with an anxious desperation, Daddy Seo tries to convince Ji Gun to tell Hae Ryung the truth before she finds out herself but ends up walking away dejected when Ji Gun refuses to take his eyes off the pictures. Staring at the smiling pictures of Hae Ryung, Ji Gun mutters "I don't have the courage to tell her. How can I tell her? How do I dare? What can I say? No, I won't say it."
Unable to look up even when Hye Ryung's voice suddenly answers his self mutterings "What to do...I must hear it." Ji Gun remains silent even as Hae Ryung asks the question he has been dreading "You...did you kill...my son?"
Frantic to hold onto a last stitch of hope, Hae Ryung pleads with Ji Gun "Tell me it's not true. I will only believe your words. You have never even met Seo Jin (her son). You have never operated on him!" Taking Ji Gun's face and forcing him to look up, Hae Ryung's heart sinks as she looks into Ji Gun's tear filled eyes. Dropping her hands like they've been burned as Ji Gun whispers "I am sorry, I am sorry." Hae Ryung screams in horror. Yelling as she vents her anger on her wedding pictures, Hae Ryung wipes all of the emotions from her face and declares "I have never met you and never loved you."
Left to sit among the last reminders of his impossible dream, Ji Gun cries as he gently caress his wedding picture with Hae Ryung. Stumbling into her house as the past memories flooded her mind to confirm Ji Gun had known all along she was Seo Jin's mother, Hae Ryung cries bitterly as she holds her son's picture and mutters "I am sorry, I am sorry Seo Jin."
Dismayed when he gets a phone call from Ji Gun with the simple words of "I have been found out. Take care of her. You are the only one that can do that now." Hyun Ki rushes to Hae Ryung's house. Looking up in anger as Hyun Ki tries to explain Ji Gun did the best he could to save their son, Hae Ryung cuddles Seo Jin's picture and refuses to listen. Frustrated by Hae Ryung's reaction, Hyun Ki looks at her with disappointment and says "You haven't changed a bit. You are still immersed in your own pain. You can't see or hear anyone else around you. Do you know how tiresome that is? Fine, just keep being your tiresome self. Maybe that will make Seo Jin happy in heaven." Ninja's Thoughts
Whew! TWO big secrets out this week. I guess Chul Soo's secret is not quite out yet but I am really curious to hear what he will say to Mi Soon in the next episode. My personal guess is that he is a mysterious food critic or... food writer perhaps?? Yaah... I got nothing.
This is going to sound kinda mean, but Hae Ryung's reaction actually was better then I expected. Granted, she is still in shock so she might have more choice words for Ji Gun once her anger has time to build. I had hoped that Hyun Ki might speak up for Ji Gun but I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly he explained the whole thing to Hae Ryung and really gained quite a bit of respect for his willingness to tell the truth even though it would've been so easy to use this perfect opportunity to separate our two leads for good.
Based on the previews it looks like Hae Ryung is going to go back to Hyun Ki's house soon. While I personally don't want our heroine to have anything to do with Hyun Ki's household anymore I am hoping whatever happens will help Hae Ryung to learn to look past her own pain. I think only when Hae Ryung can learn to grief properly with Hyun Ki can she learn to see past her own sorrow and see the pain Ji Gun has been been carrying.
Speaking of our hero... as much as I feel bad for the guy, he does need to suffer a bit for burying his head in the sand and letting things get so out of hand with Hae Ryung. It really was a very cowardly thing for Ji Gun to marry Hae Ryung without telling her the truth. I understand that the guy was madly in love but still, it was pretty selfish of him to go through with the marriage when it is obvious that Hae Ryung is going to find out the truth VERY soon.
My FAVORITE scene this week! Fed up with Daddy Bong's cheapskate personality, Mama Bong packs her bags to leave home. Stunned by how much his wife is "over reacting", Daddy Bong yells Mama Bong's name and tells her to not come back if she steps out the door. Pushed over the edge by Daddy Bong's words, Mama Bong screams her husband's name as she delivers a much practiced boxing punch to his face. SO AWESOME!
