The Blatherings of Firthgal

one k-drama junkie's twisted story of late night binge watching and crying alone in the dark

[firthgal]

Until We Meet Again is so, so, so very good. The opening scene had me bawling and it really set the stage for this deep, dramatic, epic love between these two characters that we know absolutely nothing about other than the fact that they love each other against all odds. Forever and always. Gaaaaaaah, so freaking good. And when it switches to the present day characters, I am already feeling their love and epic sense of loss and longing even though they’ve never even met each other. Just... I can’t even explain how perfectly this show set everything up. It was beautiful. It helps that the main 4 actors have massive chemistry with their respective partners and so far are great at emoting (which is what made that opening scene so darn effective). LOVE LOVE LOVE IT. If ever you were curious about a boys love drama, this is definitely the one to check out. I mean, I’m sure it’s still going to have a lot of the goofy tropes that litter boys love dramas, especially with the side couples, but the main love story is so freaking beautifully done.

[firthgal]

Just checking in to say that I’m still alive. My dad died back in July and I just haven’t been able to find joy in many fandom things like I used to. Especially Korean dramas. I don’t know why Korean dramas had to go and fail me when I needed them most, but they did. I’m not sure if they just aren’t making content that I like anymore or if it was the nasty business of all the stars being exposed for the perverted criminals they are, but I just can’t get into it anymore. Or, well, maybe it’s just that when your life goes through a huge change you lose part of who you used to be.

Oddly though my love for cheesy Thai boys’ love dramas is still going strong. Well, not just Thai, I am loving the boys’ love content coming from China and Taiwan as well (though China’s is veiled as a strong feeling of brotherhood, but we all know what’s up). So, at least I have that.

[firthgal]

Just read the articles about Kang Ji Hwan. Never have I ever been so heartbroken by someone that I’ve fangirled. Sorry sir, but we’re done. It was brief, but I really did love your work and I thought that you had a good head on your shoulders. Apparently not.

[firthgal]

I did not expect Absolute Boyfriend to hurt this much. Oof.

[firthgal]

The Secret Life of my Secretary is just wacky enough for me to fall in instant love with it. If you are looking for a cohesive plot and quality writing, this show is not it. If you are looking for utterly ridiculous rom-com hijinx, then this is definitely it. One of the things that I usually hate about Korean dramas is ALL of that exposition in the first few episodes. Well, this show goes the complete opposite way and pretty much throws you into the action right away with little time spared for explanations, and... I LOVE IT.  It causes a little bit of whiplash with its lack of graceful transitions, but, that just added to its wackiness. I’m in. I just don’t know if the show can sustain its momentum with its one-trick pony of a premise, but hopefully by then I’ll be so in love with the show that I will refuse to quit it.

[firthgal]

Game of Thrones

So, I know that last week I said that Arya/Gendry was my only real GoT ship, but... that brought about an awkward shot of side boob that I never wanted to see. Apparently Arya is still a baby in my eyes. I feel bad about being grossed out by that scene because Arya is a WOMAN now and she has desires and she should be able to satisfy those desires. I just... didn’t want to see it so graphically. I guess I shipped them in an innocent way back in the day and that scene kind of ruined it for me. Especially since Arya just looked kind of meh about it afterwords. I am still not against them getting married though if they happen to be alive after the zombie apocalypse.

However, I am now 100% aboard the Jaime/Brienne ship. OMG, they are so adorable. In the past I always felt like Jaime would never be able to let go of Cersei and embrace his feelings for Brienne, so I just couldn’t fully ship them. Clearly Brienne admires him and is quite in love with him but in a very hopeless way. But now he is reciprocating FULL FORCE and it is the greatest thing to ever happen in the history of anything. He basically admitted that he chose her over Cersei and that he is a changed man because of her. Which he is, because I used to despise Jaime but he somehow became one of my favorites over the years. Just... he is so unabashed in his admiration of her. Granted, Tormund wins in the open admiration for her, but Tormund is super creepy, so... (hilarious for the audience, but so utterly creepy for poor Brienne). It just breaks my heart that they are finally sort of confirming their feelings for each other right before imminent death. And I fear that both of these characters are doomed. I just don’t see either of them surviving the zombies. Brienne has a chance, perhaps, but she gets really emotional and I feel like she’s going to die trying to save Jaime. Or vice versa. Or they’ll die together (but that would be too romantic for this show, so doubtful).

[firthgal]

So, the only real, legit ship that I have ever had for Game of Thrones is Arya/Gendry but I kind of thought it was a lost cause since Gendry was missing for a few seasons, but after tonight’s ep? OMG, IT IS ON, BABY. I mean, one of them will probably die before it comes to anything, but my poor heart will just keep right on shipping.

[firthgal]

OMFG I FUCKING LOVE LEGAL HIGH KOREA. It just keeps getting better and better and it never fails to make me laugh out loud. Why are all of my absolute favorite Korean shows the ones that nobody watches? WHYYYYYYY? Also, I ship Tae Rim/Jae In so very hard, and the very little talk that I’ve seen about this show is all about Jae In/Ki Suk. EPIC SADNESS. I mean, they’re cute and all, but Jae In is way more invested in Tae Rim's life than Ki Suk’s, but I also suspect that this drama will have no real romance aside from Min Joo Kyung and Yoon Sang Goo.

[firthgal]

The ending to The Last Empress just killed me. It was so hyperly dramatic that I couldn’t not love it. Just... no matter how ridiculous this show got it always made everything so epic. This drama may not have had the most cohesive storyline nor the most consistent characterizations, but it was pure entertainment through and through. I can’t say that there was ever a moment where I was bored while watching it.

[firthgal]

Also, regarding Schooled, when they have Lainey and Coach Mellor hug at the end of every episode and look at each other the way they look at each other it makes it really freaking hard for me to not ship them. Not that I’m trying to not ship them, they’re too cute.

[firthgal]

You know, much as I’ve enjoyed the crazy ride that is The Last Empress, I really wish the show would stop making the emperor have such extreme personality changes, quite often within a single scene. Like... is he an evil sociopathic murderer or is he a just a harmless goof looking for love? Speaking of which, when exactly did he start liking Sunny??? I marathoned the show a few weeks back and it seemed like it came out of nowhere, especially since he had tried to kill her so many times. I guess you could argue that he got used to her being around and she grew on him, but not to the point where he is way more devoted to her than he was his first wife who he supposedly was madly in love with from the get-go. I don’t know, I don’t know, I hand-wave a lot with this show because it is meant to be extra soapy, but in the earlier half of the show it always used the makjang stuff for comedy and high drama without sacrificing the characterization, but... yeah, it’s gone off the rails with the emperor. I get that Shin Sung Rok is doing such a great job with the character that the audience loves him and the show wanted to soften him up for that very reason, but it actually hurt the character, especially since he can’t seem to grow. He wants Sunny to love him and yet he can’t admit to his wrongdoings because he doesn’t see them as wrongdoings and he never will. How am I supposed to root for Sunny to end up with such a crazy bastard? His sudden loyalty to her is endearing, I just don’t understand where it came from and it caused a disconnect for me in these last few eps (and I guess I’m not alone since the ratings have dropped, but the show is way too addictive to give up on).

[firthgal]

Fiery Priest is really, really kickass. I freaking love it!

[firthgal]

So, a few weeks ago I decided to watch Schooled and... I think I really, really ship Lainey and Coach Mellor. Like, a lot. Obviously the show has no intention of ever making that a thing, but here I am, shipping the impossible (and highly inappropriate) ship. *sigh*

Also, I loved Schooled so much that I ended up marathoning The Goldbergs. I am currently in the middle of season 2 and I am in mad, mad love with this show. It is bringing back so many memories from my own childhood, and the show is so very wonderful at showing how much this family genuinely loves each other despite all the crappy things they do to each other. Pretty much anything even slightly emotional between Murray and any member of the family makes me cry like a baby. It’s just such a great portrayal of a stoic father who had a whole lot of love to give but didn’t know how to show it.

[firthgal]

Pretty sure that the Korean version of Legal High is going to be my newest obsession.

[firthgal]

I had a very love/hate relationship with Neighborhood Lawyer Jo Deul Ho, as in I adored the first half and despised the second half, so I am kind of baffled at myself for checking out the second season (I have a soft spot for Park Shin Yang). So far the show is entirely different from the first season. I’m still deciding if that’s a good thing or not. I really miss the fun, light-hearted tone of the first season, but the first season became so preachy that I just couldn’t take it. The first few eps of this season, however, are really dark and more of a psychological thriller than a case of the week set up, although that could change once the overarching plot gets fully introduced. I was ready to drop this one until it gave us a clearer picture of the villain, and now I want more. She is magnificent! OMG. It’s been a long freaking time since I’ve seen a villain this intriguing. I’ve always heard good things about this actress but I had never actually seen her in anything, but she is giving this role 100% and I’m pretty sure that she will be most people’s reason for tuning in. She is badass and psychotic and very, very intelligent. Definitely a good match for Jo Deul Ho.

[firthgal]

Just finished watching Children of a Lesser God and it was really freaking good. It was your typical OCN cop thriller but it grabbed me more emotionally than Voice did (and yet not quite as much as Black did, but Children of a Lesser God is definitely superior in terms of acting and the story that it was trying to tell). It was just a really thrilling watch, even if the twists weren’t all that surprising. This one was more of a character study than anything else, and the acting from everyone was superb, especially the actor that played Popeye, and of course my Kang Ji Hwan was amazing as always, but he kind of took a backseat in this one and was mainly the comic relief and the brains of the various operations. He was super sexy while doing so, though. I have never seen a cop have so many glamorous wardrobe changes in one show. It was a hilarious aspect of his character, but it also made him incredibly dreamy. I loved how Kim Dan was so unabashed in her appreciation of his handsomeness.

[firthgal]

Good gracious, he really knows how to make a nerdy girl melt.