The first of the three network drama awards was the 2021 MBC Drama Awards which was less about the depth and breadth of offerings (slim pickings this year) but about the veteran versus the youngster for Daesang. It was a genuine competition with two very compelling acting performances that were nevertheless a comparison of a great orange with a great apple. The winner was the more likely choice in Namgoong Min for The Veil (Black Sun), which he hard carried and was basically a drama written for him to carry the load both with physicality and plenty of emotional acting range. The big winner in terms of number of awards won was The Red Sleeve Cuff, which took home best screenplay for the writer and leads Lee Se Young and Junho won Top Excellence Acting Awards for a Mini Series. Junho may have lost out on Daesang but he’s definitely going to ride this momentum to great things to come. The two also won Best Couple which was the biggest lock of the night lol. Veteran Lee Deok Hwa got a Lifetime Achievement Award made even more special because he played a very impressive role as the Daddy King in Red Sleeve. The fashion was still predominately black but when I toggled the pictures for the night so no black outfit was followed by another I realized it was around 50% including the men in tuxes so not as bad as it looked. Everyone seemed to be having fun and Namgoong Min getting teary eyed at his Daesang speech was just lovely. This is his second Daesang of the year after winning the 2020 SBS Drama Award Daesang for Stove League so next year he should aim for a Triple Crown over at KBS.