It’s my turn for Throwback Thursday and I decided to toss this one back out there. Sometimes we start dramas that we end up dropping for whatever reason, but then we start wondering if we need to give a drama a second chance. I went back and watched The Last Empress, and it was totally worth revisiting. Now I want to know, should I give Touch Your Heart a second chance? Tell me what you think in the comments and I’ll tell you all about it later.
As many of our fans know, I’m a full-time student so my drama time is limited during the school year. Because I’ve had to be very selective, I’ve started and dropped several dramas these past few months. I’m trying to decide what to catch up on, and my choices are The Last Empress, or Touch Your Heart.
Why I dropped them and why I added these back to the list:
I struggled with The Last Empress because I’m not a big Jang Na Ra fan. I don’t like dramas with a weak and whiny female lead, and I felt like that’s what this was going to be. I’ve heard that she gets a spine and that it’s absolutely cracktastic, but at the time, I wasn’t willing to spend my precious drama time waiting for the drama to get good. The Fangirls all say I HAVE to watch this one. I’m a HUGE Shin Sung Rok fan, so I’m willing to rethink my original stance on this one.
Touch Your Heart is one I can’t even remember why I dropped! So it has to be that it fell off my radar for some mundane reason like lack of time or it was boring. I remember that I thought it was fun, but I fell behind and maybe the chatter was that it wasn’t good? All I know, is I’ve added this one back to my list for a second chance. I think I need to give it a second try at least for the Goblin couple.
Honorable Mention/Backup
I was totally underwhelmed by Romance is a Bonus Book. Should I consider adding that back into the mix?
Comment below and tell me what I should watch and I’ll report back in a future post about what happened when I gave one of these dramas a second chance.
Decisions, Decisions,
Clkytta
Dramas With a Side of Kimchi
Oh, yes, I encourage you to revisit Touch Your Heart and Romance Is a Bonus Book! Those are two of my favorites.
TYH is adorable, one of the sweetest dramas. Yoo In-Na’s character is sharper than she seems initially, and in interesting ways; and Lee Dong-Wook’s character is dry and offbeat, not just a typical tsundere. The actors have great chemistry (as we know from Goblin), but also the contrast in their two personalities is handled cleverly. It’s funny, but it’s also really kind.
RIaBB is so thoughtful and well-crafted. I think you objected to the female lead’s personality, but the point of the story is that, at the beginning, she’s been beaten down by experience to a lesser version of herself, and has to rebuild. Lee Na-Young and Lee Jong-Suk are wonderful and believable as lifelong friends, and the theme that people are like books that we live with and may think we know, but which can change as we revisit them, is lovely.
These are two of the earliest dramas that I watched, and having seen scores more since then, now I notice upon rewatching that neither of these shows rely on tired old tropes and melo tactics; they take a fresh approach. They are well-written, with tight plotting and good pacing; neither has the usual shaggy midsection. Both dramas have good co-worker ensembles–and their stories aren’t just thrown in to pad the episodes, but are nicely developed, particularly in RIaBB. Also they both have good soundtracks that subtly bolster, rather than distract from, the narrative. (*pauses for breath*) 🙂
I’ll be giving Touch Your Heart a second chance. I’ll let you know how it goes!
Hurrah! Cross fingers you like it! It’s definitely fluffy, but sometimes that’s what one needs…
I dropped Touch Your Heart too. It was very predictable and saccharine sweet. I have thought about trying again but not been enthusiastic about it … yet. I put off Romance is a Bonus book for awhile but when I finally watched it I liked it.
I’m going to try Touch Your Heart again. Predictable is just what I need right now!
I have dropped, The Last Empress and forgot about it. Maybe I should revisit it?
Touch Your Heart, I dropped and went back to it. Yes, it is slow moving, it builds on the characters, rather than 70 million storylines. I ended up loving it. For me it is slow like I’ll Come To You When the Weather is Nice,6 slow. The difference is TYC, is a rom/com.
It is much better than Romance Book. Which I started and dropped, started and dropped.
I am 2 episodes from finishing and just can’t bring myself to do it. It seem to have a good flow and then somewhere along the line, the writer jumped the track and never got back on.
Go back to Last Empress. It is crazy and funny.
I loved Romance Is A Bonus Book and have watched it twice. It’s my sister’s fave. It’s gentle and understated and maybe it’s a life stage thing: one for people who know what it’s like to fail hard. (Likewise Hello Me.) We also love that the male lead is not the predictable cold arrogant tosser who needs healing from trauma. He’s a genuinely caring, loyal, reliable.
I started watching Touch Your Heart yesterday. Female lead is a clever comic turn. That male lead actor does nothing at all for me. If I keep watching, it’ll be for her. If I switch off, it’ll be because of him.
Same. Found Romance is a Bonus Book pretty mundane and couldn’t bear the way the male lead was treating Jang Na Ra in the Last Empress.
Great to know you are watching Touch Your Heart! It has so many funny and cute scenes..I enjoyed it😍
Casting an encouraging vote for returning to Romance is a Bonus Book. It was my gateway Kdrama so I have a special fondness for all the tropes employed. You may find them to be a little overdone. However, I suggested it to a co-worker who loved it and passed it on to several other friends. We agreed that the key elements were the well written minor characters and, most importantly, a through going love of books. My co-worker related a funny conversation between a couple she overheard at her kid’s soccer practice. They were tired and deciding what to do for dinner that night and then what to watch after. The wife wanted take-out, the husband wanted to re-watch episode 8 of Bonus Book!
I appreciate so many wanting me to rewatch. I didn’t like the female lead character at all. Her choices were frustrating for me to watch. I never even made it to the romance part.
Agree about some of her choices but returning to work for a divorced mom in SK has to be a difficult situation. Loved a line from ep 1 where she says that all women enjoy a good Cinderella story, but don’t really believe in the fairy tale part. Maybe it isn’t the right set of experiences for you to enjoy right now.