Winter ’17, Part 2

Some thoughtssssss:

Tomorrow With You / I don’t think this drama is getting a lot of buzz, but I was actually hooked from the first episode. I like the low key vibe, time travel, and the leads. And who am I to turn down a drama with Shin Mina? Something I really love about Tomorrow With You is that it explores the relationship between two people who married each other very quickly. Oftentimes dramas have main characters that fall in love like they’ve met THE ONE and everything is good and sweet. Aside from crazy in-laws and persistent rivals, they never really face any other obstacles in the face of their love. It’s not an overwhelmingly charming romantic comedy, but I love and respect TWY for what it is — a drama about two adults trying to make a relationship work.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a variety of reasons: one being that I hope Sojoon realizes he has got to stop being to fixated on the future at the expense of their marriage, and focus on fixing the problems of the present (e.g. hiding things from Marin because he doesn’t think it’s a big deal… spoiler: IT IS). This week’s episodes have me very optimistic, but we’re only halfway through the series and I know this isn’t even the tip of the iceberg. They’re not quite there YET, but I’m eager to see all the steps they take to happiness, together. I also know TWY isn’t very popular and I honestly don’t care (ratings are not indicative of quality!) but I hope tvN leaves this drama alone. I’m still not over what they did to Surplus Princess. — Episode 8

Okaasan, Musume wo Yamete Ii desu ka? / This drama makes me mad only because we’ve got a helicopter mom from hell and a very, very ineffectual dad. What is he even doing??? your wife is trying to pull a single white female on your daughter! — Episode 3

Totsuzen desu ga… / Nishiuchi Mariya is so cute and I fell hard for the flumpool guy, haha. I think it’s nice that they both know where the other person stands. With dramas of this nature, the main guy is usually such a jerk to the main girl but in this drama that is not the case. It’s cute! I’m just bummed that Yamazaki Ikusaburo is relegated to a second lead role that because he was one of my favorite “new” actors last year. OH WELL. — Episode 3

Quartet / I’ve watched enough Sakamoto Yuji dramas now to know that having great cast is not enough to make a drama great. Fortunately, Quartet is a return to form after some pretty lackluster showings (I dropped Itsuka Kono Koi wo Omoidashite Kitto Naite Shimau and never finished Woman). Mitsushima Hikari remains INCREDIBLE. Best idol turned actor ever, y/y? — Episode 5

Strong Woman Do Bongsoon / I’ve been putting off this post since the beginning of February JUST so I could squeeze this drama in. It’s very cute and funny, Park Bo-young was well cast, but I think it’s having a bit of an identity crisis. You can have comedic and thriller elements all in one drama, but it’s a little slapdash. Hopefully it’s executed a little better in the coming episodes and Jisoo’s character becomes less of a hard ass. — Episode 2

Onna Joushu Naotora / I’ll be honest, the youth portions of historical dramas are the hardest parts for me to get through (sorry kids, but I didn’t tune in for you!), so skipped a big chunk of the first episode. I’m also not one for historical dramas, but I’m watching this because it’s by the same person who wrote JIN. — Episode 1