Another year, another year end review. For me the year end review contextualizes the dramas watched on three levels – its own merits, how it stacks up against its compatriots, and how the year measures up against previous years. If I wanted to add an additional intangible factor, then it would be how happy or frustrating it was for me … Continue reading →
I was wondering if I should do this post next month but I know I’ll get too busy with year end work crunch plus the holiday prep not to mention this year I’m traveling again back to Asia the last two weeks of December. It’s better to start now and I’m sure this will be fun for everyone. I always … Continue reading →
You win some, you lose some, and that saying applies much too aptly to dramas. A drama starring a favorite actor is no guarantee it’ll be good, and I’m way too busy in life to waste time with stuff that just doesn’t resonate with me. With that said, having to drop Arang and the Magistrate is truly one of my … Continue reading →
This might be my last recap for Arang and the Magistrate, depending on how next week’s episodes go and whether Nice Guy completely owns me from the get go. I hate dropping recapping projects, but sometimes it has to be done if my heart isn’t in it anymore. I still enjoy watching Arang, but my enthusiasm doesn’t rise to the … Continue reading →
Let me start off by revealing that Episode 7 of Arang and the Magistrate has an extended scene set in a cave. The last time I watched a sageuk drama with a scene set in a cave, it was the perfection of Damo and the scene in question left me reeling with emotion. My mental flashback to Damo feels quite … Continue reading →
Arang and the Magistrate is really a pleasure to watch from a fresh creative standpoint. It’s not groundbreaking but really transports the viewer into a world that doesn’t feel like a stale retread of many folk tales and ghost stories of yore, even if a closer look reveals that it does liberally borrow from many other such supernatural tales of … Continue reading →
For whatever reason, episode 5 of Arang and the Magistrate dropped a pretty significant amount in ratings (over 2%), and I’m not sure if this fantasy-detective sageuk is simply not the viewer’s cup of tea after they realize the tone and subject matter of the drama, or because Gaksital’s second-to-last week is hooking all the viewers. I wish I could … Continue reading →
Oh holy moly, my heart might not be cut out for this. Episode 5 of Arang and the Magistrate went from a sedate and rather boring first half to hells-on-wheels crazy “I can’t believe I’m seeing this” second half. This drama continues to pluck me right out of my mundane everyday life and deposit me squarely in its fantasy mystical … Continue reading →
Arang and the Magistrate is adorable and crazily ambitious. It pulled a huge game changer in episode 4 that reset the OTP and raised the stakes to astronomical levels for all the main characters involved, even the omnipotent ones. This is no longer just about the mystery of Arang’s death, this drama now is about the curiously unbalanced state between … Continue reading →
Another solid episode of Arang and the Magistrate, confirming for me its stellar start was no fluke and the drama has got its act together. The story is moving along so fast, yet time is spent developing Arang and Eun Oh’s relationship and character reveals that helps ground this fantasy tale in stakes that we care about. Arang is a … Continue reading →
Do you feel your heart thumping? That is an indication that one is alive. My heart thumps, pumps, and freaking goes berserk when I watch Arang and the Magistrate. This drama is perfectly amazing, so funny and thrilling that I find myself holding my breath at times. I’m invested in both the overarching narrative (the mystery of Arang’s identity plus … Continue reading →
How should I describe Arang and the Magistrate after one episode? Give it a better name? It can be called Run, Arang, Run! with how much Arang has been running in one episode alone. Or maybe The Ghost and I? Or how about I Love You Drama, Marry Me? If there was such a thing as love at first sight … Continue reading →
Perfection, thy name is Arang and the Magistrate – also known as “When Lee Jun Ki met Shin Mina and fireworks exploded.” If the long trailer for Faith was like a 7/10 in terms of generating excitement (for the story, not necessarily the splotchy acting I saw), then the long ten-minute trailer for Arang is like a 11/10 in knocking … Continue reading →