The allure of the new high school music K-drama Monstar is strong indeed. If I started watching when just one episode aired I would be as hooked as I am right now having watched the first three episodes. This is a drama that has its bearings and knows how to package the product nicely. There is the music theme woven … Continue reading →
Verdict – I love this drama, but holy god is it a hot mess. I am a relentless critic when I watch dramas, because otherwise why write about it? I’m pretty certain that I’ve made so many drama friends and foes here at the Playground because I speak my mind, whether its to call a spade a spade (i.e. this … Continue reading →
King Flower ended today and I feel a sense of relief and nostalgia already. I really do need a crazy crack drama at least once a year or it’s like a itch I can’t scratch. KF has fit that bill completely, making me crazy addicted and totally at its mercy. Episode 21 pissed me off to no end when I … Continue reading →
With the recent sageuk glut, a passel of melodramas one-after-another, and even the last so-called rom-com Flower Boy Next Door really not fitting the bill in either tone or narrative, it’s with an appreciative heart that I embrace the delicious wonder that is Cyrano Dating Agency. It’s not groundbreaking or even all that original (which is hardly a knock against … Continue reading →
This is me crying tears of happy here as I write this. Initially I ignored the upcoming tvN drama Cyrano Dating Agency (formerly with the Flower Boy in its name) because I’ve been thrice burned by members of SNSD acting in dramas (Yoona in Love Rain and others, Jessica in Wild Romance, and Yuri in Fashion King) that I figured … Continue reading →
It was the best of episodes, it was the worst of episodes. King Flower might be the stupidest drama ever to merit borrowing the iconic line from A Tale of Two Cities, because really, this drama has all been a tale of two writing extremes. On one end there is Terry, amazingly nuanced and brilliantly acted Terry, and on the … Continue reading →
As King Flower winds down, I’m trying to reach a state of zen whereby however this baby ends isn’t going to leave me a mess. I’m talking angry mess if Lin Guan Jun somehow gets a girl not named Hu Xiao Fei (because, let’s face it, even if he doesn’t get Da Hua, I hesitate to sic him on any … Continue reading →
Just when I thought Jang Ok Jung, Live in Love was hopelessly lost forever in a sea of makjang, stupid posturing, and painfully childish plotting, somehow this drama found a glimmer of its former thoughtfulness and glory in episode 14. It didn’t resurrect it completely, but the moments of sensibility here and there felt like a refreshing drink of water … Continue reading →
This might be the penultimate episode of King Flower but I have no clue because SETTV hasn’t confirmed if next week’s episode 20 will be the finale though it sure looks like it. I can’t believe it’s been almost 6 months since this drama premiered. Initially I watched casually and almost stopped around episode 5. Then the final 10 minutes … Continue reading →
Jang Ok Jung, Live in Love has gone cray cray and doesn’t look to be returning to sanity anytime soon. But you know what? Episode 13 (and to some extent bits of episode 12) contained genuine allusions to the former awesomeness of this drama. A scene here, a dialogue there, a throwaway look in passing – all of that is … Continue reading →
With episode 12 of Jang Ok Jung, Live in Love, the rumblings of the last few episodes are finally complete in its transformation. This drama has jumped the shark, people! It is now no longer a fusion sageuk romance with thoughtful political intrigue and subtle power plays. It’s now a full blown daily makjang drama wearing pretty hanboks and produced … Continue reading →
I had an epiphany today when watching episode 18 of King Flower. It was an amazing moment of clarity made all the funnier because of how crazy this drama is. This episode confirmed for me that it no longer matters how it ends and which guy Da Hua picks. I finally realized there is some method to the writer’s madness … Continue reading →
I’m feeling a teensy bit of disjointedness for Jang Ok Jung, Live in Love. It mostly comes from the feeling that the delicate details, heady aura, and thoughtful political battle of wits is being pushed aside for more heavy-handed doses of everything. Now that Ok Jung and Lee Soon are romancing out in the open, suddenly everyone around them ratchets … Continue reading →