It’s August, and for me, that means it’s Back to School time. I’m a full-time student and a mom, so I’m currently caught up in finding obscure sizes of paper and lamenting the end of my free time when school starts next week. Every school year starts with the same question: What did you do over the summer? Let’s talk about what I watched this summer and what fell by the wayside.
What kept me glued to the screen all summer long
Life on Mars
In June, I agreed to recap Life on Mars with Kmuse. I watched this one with Kmuse and with Karie the Maknae. I was unprepared for how much I would love this drama. I’m a huge mystery fan and this drama gave us a great mystery to solve. Every week I fell deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole as Tae Joo tried to figure out why he was transported to 1988. I need some good suggestions for dramas like Life on Mars to help me get over my lost feeling since this drama ended.
Come and Hug Me or as we call it, Come and Hug a Psycho
Come and Hug Me was one of those dramas that wasn’t even on my radar. The other fangirls wouldn’t stop talking about it and I came onboard about episode 4. I watched this drama every week with Kdrama Jen. I hope all of you have a good friend to watch dramas with because it really makes the whole experience so much better. As Na Moo and Nak Won reunited and the world kept crashing down around them, Kdrama Jen and I would cheer and groan and scream in terror. This drama had so many opportunities to go in the direction of all the typical revenge tropes, but every week our OTP stood strong. I think all the Fangirls were satisfied with the ending of this drama. I’m really hoping this writer has something new for us soon.
What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim?
I can’t gush about What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim? enough. I also watched this one with Kdrama Jen. Every week I coveted Secretary Kim’s clothes and her perfect ponytail (even though I’m pretty sure those fabulous locks were half extensions). I liked the side stories and I cheered so hard for Secretary Yang and Chief Bong. Our narcissistic leading man is what really sold me on this drama though. He wasn’t mean, he was just the most confident person I’ve ever seen on my screen.
Legend of Fuyao
As you probably know, we have a great Chatty Recap of Legend of Fuyao going on where all the Fangirls talk about each week’s episodes. Y’all, eight episodes a week for an ongoing drama has been exhausting! That said, this is the first ever Chinese drama that has more than 20 episodes that I have ever stuck with. I now consider Fuyao to be one of us, and my girl crush on Yang Mi is as strong as ever. I’m INVESTED in what happens to her and this drama had better end well with Fuyao and Smirky Wuji riding off into the sunset. If you read our recaps I’ll tell you a secret, we message back and forth all week long as we watch as a group, those chatty posts are how we really are.
Dramas that I finished, but I kind of want those hours of my life back
Something in the Rain
This drama ended in May, but it still counts for summer. I want those hours of my life back after about episode 12. I stuck with this drama all the way through and felt completely betrayed. It was the best drama up until all the angst kicked in. It had everything, a great cast, great plot, toe-curling love scenes… And then the angst kicked in and ruined all of it. I’m not sure I trust this writer anymore, to be honest.
Are You Human Too?
I stuck with this drama till the end, but it started to fizzle out for me when Human Shin woke up. I won’t say too much about this one because my fellow fangirl, Telzytalks, is doing her final recap.
Dramas that fell to the wayside
About Time
I started this drama with all the excitement that a girl who loves a fantasy twist could have. Actors I liked, check. Interesting concept, check. Strong storyline….. oh hey, where did the strong storyline go? I ended up losing interest in this drama around episode 6 and never went back. I just couldn’t stay interested in this drama.
Sweet Dreams
I started this drama without realizing it was going to be a million episodes. I liked it and I may go back to it, but it was abandoned several weeks ago. The plot started to recycle and I just wasn’t feeling the leading man. I want to like him, but after about twenty episodes I moved on to other shows. This is my viewing pattern with most Chinese dramas though, I hit about episode twenty and get deja vu from a recycled plotline and I wander off to find something new and fresh.
There you have it, my summer in review. These are the high and low points of my drama watching. Let me know what you thought about these dramas, do you agree with me or am I way off? I love to hear different views and perspectives.
Wishing summer was beginning instead of ending,
Clkytta
Dramas with a Side of Kimchi
???? Are You Human Too was my favorite drama (tied with Come Hug Me) of this summer – I totally loved it, and I don’t understand why you found it problematic.
Something in the Rain – OMG what a travesty that ended up being! It was SO good until Mom found out, & then I kept hoping our girl would grow a spine. What a F!%#^@^ coward she really turned out to be! OMG I was screaming at my TV the 2nd to last episode – could NOT believe it! I finished it only for my puppy boy, and that lame ending just, no, he deserves so much more than that woman. She seemed to get a clue finally, but it would have been SO much better if she’d done it withouth that senseless time skip!
I felt like this drama got really draggy after Human Shin woke up. They spent so much time making us not like Human Shin and they never really redeemed him.
wow. I’m pretty much the same on every drama we’ve mutually watched (although I’m behind on Fuyao because of vacation).
I sort of instinctively stopped watching Something In the Rain where the angst started to kick in. I keep thinking of going back to it because the first half was so good (it actually got me out of a long-term drama slump), but then … not…. This seems to confirm that instinct!
Have you seen the American Life On Mars? I didn’t watch it mostly because I feel like I know what the mystery is and I’m not super keen on shows with only one female character (even though I *loved* the American version)… I’ve been sort of waiting for someone whose taste I trust to advise on whether it’s worth the watch anyway 😀
I think it’s funny, too…. I had the exact same reaction to About Time. I liked it a lot except it sort of petered out for me. I think it would have been great with six or eight episodes, but there just isn’t enough to keep the story going for the whole thing.
I have not watched any other versions of Life on Mars. You should try to watch the Korean version again. While Officer Yoon is the only female at the station, Tae Joo’s mom and aunt are recurring characters. It’s period correct but we see glimpses of how women gain more rights and respect.
I think I’m safe to assume that I was one of VERY few people who watched Secretary Kim while loathing the male lead to the point of finding him unwatchable. I watched only for the side stories, featuring three actors I have a soft spot for, Pyo Ye Jin, Hwang Bo Ra and Seo Hyo Rim, and never would have made it through if I’d been unable to FF every time the vile narcissist came on screen.
For something COMPLETELY different, a gem that disappeared under the radar, if you ever find the time, DO try “Goodbye to Goodbye”. It was really quite astonishing, not least for the frequency and ease with which it repeatedly aced the Bechdel Test. Not many K Dramas pull THAT off. Its two central leads were my OTP of the year, but they aren’t going to figure on any polls as such being (eventually mother-uin-law and daughter-in-law)
I understand that not everyone will like what I like. I felt like his character was different than your usual puffed up chaebol. He was very confident and she fed into that. It actually traced all the way back to when they were kids and it was a coping method for him. He was never mean about it so I found it quirky and not irritating. I will take a look at the drama you recommended. Thanks for the comment!