I’m caught up with the latest episode of City Hunter. The drama continues to be nail-bitingly good, which makes it hard to wait for the next episode because darn it, those cliffhangers always leave me wanting more, more, MORE! After finishing episode 14, I was thinking that maybe City Hunter is a drama that is best watched marathon-style rather than weekly episodes. But then, I thought about how I marathoned 9 episodes of this baby in one day and also the fact that I have very little self-control when it comes to K-dramas, if all 20 episodes with English subtitles were available, I might just watch the whole thing in one go. Sleep? What sleep?
I recently checked out the newly aired K-drama Heartstrings and after watching episodes 1-2, I think that between this and City Hunter, July has unexpectedly became the K-drama month for me, which was what I anticipated May to be but it fell short of expectations. You know, after my high with Sungkyunkwan Scandal last year and current liking of Heartstrings, not to mention there’s also my immensely enjoyment of Nobuta wo Produce, I’m starting to think that youth dramas might be my thing, more so than the traditional romcom.
I dunno why but I keep thinking that Romance Town is a Monday-Tuesday drama, so when I was done with watching this episode on Monday, same thing with episode 6, I’d rushed off to download the next episode. I guess my insatiable craving for Romance Town overrides the little fact that the show airs on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Anyway, episode 8… Lots of happenings in this one, plus several laugh-out-loud moments and squee-worthy interactions. Except for the ending, I like this episode a lot.
Granted, Romance Town might not be the best romcom ever written or even the most popular drama out of the May Madness batch. However, I adore its quirky vibe, unique setting and set of characters, and endearing heroine. But I still don’t feel like those qualities encompass entirely why it’s my favorite romcom at the moment. I guess rather than trying to analyze further why I like it, I’m just gonna say that it’s one of those shows that hits the right emotional spots for me.
Note: This is not really a recap of episode 7, but more like a captioned summary of sorts mixed in with random thoughts that came to mind while watching this episode. For detailed recaps of Romance Town, you can read them at Dramabeans, written by the lovely kaedejun.
I almost always watch the preview of the next episodes because I’m not much of a spoilerphobe, but perhaps watching the preview for Episode 21 wasn’t such a good idea because it made me really nervous about the final episode. I mean, there’s a reason for why Hong Gil Dong has the distinction of being the only Hong Sisters drama that I did not finish. I read dramabeans’ recap of its last episode and then didn’t want to watch it anymore. Hong Gil Dong, like Tamra, was a fusion sageuk whose storyline had a mix of light and dark elements and look how it ended. So, when I saw the preview for Tamra‘s last episode, my imagination went into overdrive and I was fearing for the worst. Seriously, if Tamra pulls an ending similar to Hong Gil Dong, I’m gonna @#$%^&*! (Spoiler alert)
My ride on the Tamra boat had been smooth sailing, for the most part, until it docked at Hanyang, the Capital of Angst. Although while on Tamra, there was plotting and other dark stuff going on in addition to all the fun and games, I was really enjoying the interactions between the characters because of the nice balance of the serious and the humor. So, when our main characters arrived at Hanyang and they were angsting and crying in what seemed like every episode, it took me some time to get used to all that drama. I like angst, don’t get me wrong, but not when character consistency is sacrificed for the sake of angst.
And the crying. Beo Jin cried. William (looked like he was straining to) shed tears. And Park Kyu… In the Progress Update post, I talked about how I felt whenever Park Kyu smile or cry. So, imagine how it was like for me to watch him doing more of the latter than the former. It wasn’t pretty (on my part), I’ll say that much.
Anyway, I finished the show a couple days ago, and since then have been thinking about how to write up my thoughts on the finale. Aside from being frustrated with my laptop’s hard drive going kaput on me all of a sudden (data backup? what is this “foreign concept” that you speak of?), I was also hit with that dreaded block, the writer’s block. (Seems like it’s going around the blogosphere as several of my blogging buddies have caught it as well.) So, with creative juices running low, I’ve decided to take the straightforward approach and am going to organize my thoughts on the finale in the form of recap/commentary on major events in episodes 20 and 21. (Spoiler alert)
Originally, I was going to check out Athena: Goddess of War after all of its episodes have aired and wasn’t planning on blogging about the show at all. However, while waiting for the next episodes of Tamra to finish downloading, I was in an action-adventure mood and thought, “hey, why not?” I went in, expecting only eye candy and to be entertained. Thankfully, episode 1 of Athena satisfied both criteria. So yay!
Note: This is not a detailed recap but a commentary of sorts. It’s mostly my thoughts and reactions as I watched the episode. For well-written, cohesive (read: higher quality) recaps of the drama, you know where to find them.
The first episode of The Devil (Mawang) aired a couple of weeks ago, on the same day as Witch Amusement and Thank you. However, I haven’t gotten around to watching it because I was immediately hooked to Witch Amusement. Sadly for The Devil, it’s been trailing behind its competitions in the ratings battle. But… that is not to say that the drama isn’t good. As it’s from the people who brought us Ressurection, I have high expectations for it. And after completing the first episode, I’m interested in seeing more of it.
I finally was able to download the first episode and finished watching it last night. As previously mentioned, I was planning to do an episodic summary for Hello! Miss (H!M). However, ripgal (Jo), a wonderful Mukgu-er @ soompi, will take on this project instead. I’ll just write about my thoughts on the drama and you can check out the details in Jo’s summaries. The summary for episode 1 is already posted. You can read it by clicking here. Please drop her a thank you note to show your support for her effort if you do visit the soompi thread. Jo did an amazing job with the summary, so I was surprised to learn that this is her first time writing one. Thank you, Jo!
Since Hyeong Joong injured his hand while trying to catch Eun Ho’s stalker in the previous episode, he’s going around the gym telling everyone that she is his girlfriend. The boss gathers all the employees at the gym together to scold at them about the rumors about a gym personnel dating a member. He misunderstands one of Eun Ho’s co-workers as the subject of the rumors. Eun Ho is troubled about this whole Hyeong Joon matter and asks him to stop bothering her. However, it does not work out as he still shamelessly flirts with Eun Ho.
Eun Ho’s friend Kim Mi Yeon discovered from Eun Ho that it was Dong Jin who introduced her to Hyeong Joong. Mi Yeon decides to take revenge on Dong Jin for doing that to Eun Ho. She visits his bookstore and tells him that Eun Ho wants to match-make the two of them to return the favor. In actuality, she wants to get Dong Jin drunk, seduce him, and record the whole thing to humiliate him. However, her plan doesn’t work because although he’s shallow like most men, he’s still a considerate gentleman. Instead of falling for Mi Yeon’s trap in her car, he puts a coat on her and leaves the car. As Mi Yeon watches Dong Jin, viewers get the sense that she’s starting to like him. However, she drives off leaving Dong Jin stranded in a place with no access to public transportation.
The next morning, Eun Ho is worried about Dong Jin because she heard about what happened from Mi Yeon. They meet at their usual donut shop and begin to quarrel, Eun Ho about how her work and personal life is messed up after he introduced her to Hyeong Joong and Dong Jin argues about Eun Ho and Mi Yeon’s revenge plot. They stop arguing when two pairs of mother and child sit down at the next table and the mothers are scolding their kids for always fighting with each other.
At home, Eun Ho seeks the advice of Ji Ho as to how to get rid of Hyeong Joong. Ji Ho suggests that Eun Ho shows her real personality to Hyeong Joong to make him give up because in his mind, the image that he has of Eun Ho from five years ago is probably vague and unrealistic. Eun Ho decides to meet up with Hyeong Joong to put Ji Ho’s advice into action. Hyeong Joong takes Eun Ho to a park and tells her about his original plan to woo her. It is here that we find out when Hyeong Joong met Eun Ho and why he likes her. The flashback shows that on the night before Eun Ho’s wedding, Hyeong Joong was very angry and fed up with his life; he wanted to commit suicide. He fell asleep, however, on the park bench probably because he was too drunk. In the morning, he was woken up by a woman’s voice and as he opened his eyes in the sunlight, he saw a very happy Eun Ho. He asked her whether she was happy and when she answered “yes,” he asked her why. Eun Ho replied, “I’m happy because I’m alive.” Seeing that Hyeong Joong was depressed upon leaving the park, Eun Ho asked him to place his hand on the left side of his chest to feel his heart beating. She told him that since her happiness index was high today, she would share some of her happiness with him. Eun Ho’s optimism and encouragement lifted his spirit and saved his life. Now, Hyeong Joong asks Eun Ho whether her marriage was unhappy because he took some of her happiness. He says that he’ll take responsibility for that and Eun Ho laughs.
In the meantime, Dr. Gong is still trying to get Dong Jin and Eun Ho back together again. He even got Ji Ho to stalk Hyeong Joon with him by bribing her, this time not with food but with money.
In this episode, we also discover that Yu Ri (“Demon in Black”) is also Dong Jin’s friend. She goes to Dong Jin’s bookstore to sell tickets for her upcoming wrestling match and greets him with a painful headlock, her way of saying “hi.” Everyone attends the match, which, by the way, is very violent. The “Demon in Black” is winning in the beginning but loses to the “Angel” at the end. When Yu Ri is laying in the ring after she is knocked down, we can see that she is starting to feel tired of this hobby because it is taking too much of her energy and stamina.
After the wrestling competition, they meet up at the usual bar. It is here that the drunk Mi Yeon brings up the awkward and uncomfortable question about why did Dong Jin and Eun Ho break up. No clear answer is given. Also, Hyeong Joon declares here that he wants to date Eun Ho as a prelude to marriage.
Hilarious/Quirky Moments
1. At the bar in the beginning of the episode, Dr. Gong is telling Dong Jin that Eun Ho might fall for Hyeong Joon because since ancient times, women have always fell for the heroic men that saved them from danger. Dr. Gong references the example of how Jane fell for Tarzan and Dong Jin replies, “Of course. Would you like her to fall for the cheetah?!”
Then Dong Jin asks Dr. Gong about why he’s single and always seems to have plenty of free time. Dong Jin asks whether he is gay. At this moment, the bar’s chef who has been busy with his work perks up at the suggestion. However, when Dr. Gong replies that he loves women more than anything, the chef looks disappointed. Aw.. This scene is fast, only lasting around a minute or so but I find it funny. Watch it and you’ll know what I’m talking about.
2. Any scene with Ji Ho. Have I mention enough how much I like this character? Well, here goes one more time. I love this character!
Doozy's Porch 