I started watching Ashes to Crown just to sort of see if I could find something to sustain myself on in between the weekdays leading up to My Royal Nemesis episodes airing but nah, three episodes in and I just can't with just the oddness of the editing and pacing. It kinda just makes everything feel like everyone involved is just phoning it in.
I guess I will just continue on going through Filing for Love (which feels grounded and mature and nice but not brilliant) and then idk maybe I will just finish season 5 of The Boys or start The Law ccording to Lidia Poët or something.
Am I watching My Royal Nemesis simply because I noticed it was color-coded?
NO! I started watching it because I noticed the almost $4,000 red leather Gucci purse.
And that's how I realized the purse (along with everything else) was color relevant.
So now I am watching it because it's color coded.
But that's not the only reason I'm watching it! I'm also watching it because it's sun and moon coded/light x dark dynamic, which is why an eclipse happened in both timelines.
But also, there's a whole thing about red flowers, specifically peonies, "the king of flowers," and how they are the most beautiful flower in a garden full of beautiful flowers.
(The flowers are her)
Because she was the most beautiful flower blooming in the royal garden before she was plucked and crushed.
But she wasn't always the red flower and her love interest wasn't always the dark cloud.
He was blue. Loyal. Smart. Kind (to her).
And she was pink, even in the current timeline.
So I think the past and the present Shin Seo-Ri are the same person since the grandmother mentioned an accident occurred and Shin Seo-Ri forgot who she was then, so maybe she had an accident at work again and woke up with full memories of her past life . . . but that's not what this post is about. It's about the colors, and how slowly, these two are getting back to their softer colors.
Instead of always being red and black, they are gradually moving to pink and blue one color step at a time.
And it's probably because they found each other again in the midst of an eclipse with a shining red comet included.
Or maybe it's because love (mixed with this bokeh effect) reveals everyone's true color.
Me, every time I look at the previews for the next episode of My Royal Nemesis and see all the buffet the tried and true kdrama tropes it is going to serve me on a silver platter:
also. dare i say my royal nemesis is a great absolutely fantastic example of how to write a strong female lead AND a strong male lead who each stand on their own. they both at first glance are rude, arrogant, "evil". but they actually have legit arcs and reasons to be? and even when he falls for her, he still remains the same way to everyone else cause he is who he is? AND that is why he fell for her because he knows she's the exact same way as him? and we understand fully why she won't jump into his feelings because of the burdens she has? and it is all actual burdens not goofy excuses, like she's from the PAST and was USED by her parents and rose as a concubine only to get betrayed by the king and got poisoned to literal death!
yes the couple pairing is fantastic amazing chemistry, but segye and seori/danshim on their own are phenomenal characters that i am not even upset when the couple aren't together on my screen cause their individual plots are that good.
thee wrist kiss™ causing this much of a mass psych ward escapee situation amongst every aspect of viewers (korean, international, probably some aliens in space), is proof that the girls just yearn for subtle, timeless displays of affection that kdramas romances used to deliver consistently but have reduced in recent years. yes, a kiss scene and a bed scene are fun whatever but a WRIST KISS? a hand wrapped around the back of your head in a hug? that is what gets us to lose our collective shit. that is the undoing of us all.
The male lead was all sorts of pathetic and cliché and stupid... and dare I say yearnful (but also we can do more) in ep 3 and 4 and I simply found it delightful. I do enjoy chuckling at cheesy kdrama romcom clichés, it must be said.
Never knew I was going to see Kim Bum walk in slo mo to the tune of 🎵 Almooooost paradisssssse 🎵 again but Sold Out on You did just that and I found it absolutely hilarious.
Perfect Crown is unfortunetly becoming one of those dramas where I watch it with one eye while I ether clean or do some doodling, because my god that drama is just big moments that the writer thought was cool that are strung together haphazardly by a rather meandering loose idea for a plot and it also has absolutely no stakes. This is the sort of writing Kim Eun Sook does a LOT and I detest it because big moments don't make a good story. You have to work for them and they have to add meaning and stuff to the story. And yet I persevere because I am an IU stan.
But like what is it all leading to? why should I care? what are the stakes? because they are already together and it just sort of happened. Is the drama trying to talk about the corruption of the elite and the curse of the crown? Like it could be a decent mystery but you have to layer it and add some FUCKING STAKES to your story. The story has to be leading somewhere, but this one just... isn't. Things are just happening and it's sort of... just because.
Romcoms about people magically being transported to the past or the present is something that I do tend to enjoy quite a lot and are often very excellent sources for some silly fun time and lightheartedness when the people behind them manage to just not take itself too seriously, so of course when I heard about My Royal Nemesis it immediately got put on my to-be-watched list on mydramalist (the only reason why I kinda use that site if for my lists). And to my delight it is kinda not talking itself too seriously, which is always fun.
And there is just the added bonus that our main characters are these quote on quote villains, one from modern day and one from the past, which is a really interesting premise. But of course it was always going to be a bit more nuanced than that and they are these villains because they have had to become vicious and ruthless (or people frame them as such) in order to survive. Because while they are villains, you also have to have your main leads to be likeable. They can't just straight up be horrid people.
And I do think they are somewhat achieving that, but more so with Sin Seo Ri than Cha Se Gye who is very much a boring and slightly mean modern-day chaebol with some melodramatic, cutthroat chaebol family problems that have made him untrusting and ruthless that you sort of expect from this sort of romcom. He serves a purpose for sure, but I am also not like super intrigued by it.
I enjoy Seo Ri a lot and she intrigues me and I enjoy all the little nods to her being from the past, like her putting her shoes down after exiting a car and then stepping into them, just the way she talks and speaks and carries herself and even her little flashbacks from her past at the palace, even if sometimes it is done a bit hastily and over the top.
The drama is also going reincarnation route that a lot of those dramas tend to do, at least in a sense, and talking how your past and present is connected and it's quite evident that the drama is really going with that angle, because it does lay it on a little thick. Like, you could sort of sense some of the things that the story plows it's way through in this premise from a mile away like the people behind the show are in a hurry to get through the setup and into the good bits but are a bit too worried about the viewers just don't get it there.
Like I get it. You don't have to put all this emphasis and expositions onto things, like I get what is going on. I can read into the story on my own. But the storytelling is kinda too fast paced and expositional (in these two episodes at least) which sort of makes it loose a bit of warmth of feeling for me or immersion. It's like being told things than experiencing it or ruminating on things on your own.
Like I was enjoying myself, but the hour that passed by while watching each episode didn't feel like it just sailed by.
It does feel formulaic and kitschy, but that doesn't always have to be bad. Because like I said before, if the people making the show pour some heart into it and sort of embrace the innate silliness of the premise everything can turn into a very endearing show. It' can be a stupid show, but a fun and heartfelt stupid show. Like some of those dramas with the same kitschy premise told our former queen once she has somewhat oriented herself in the present. Like Rooftop Prince. That was a stupidly silly show but with a lot of heart and it made me soooob at the end.
Sure, Rooftop Prince had way more episodes to truly build up that story but hey, anything can happen.
I had my issues with Sold Out on You after the first two episodes but I can safely say that I am quite enjoying it now. Sometimes a drama does take a bit, like two or three episodes to truly land on it's feet and it sure did feel like My Royal Nemesis was power-walking through the setup to get to the good bits later on (and starting a story and ending a story is a notoriously hard thing to do and get 100% right) so I will be giving this drama some grace.
Because I did enjoy it, even if it wasn't love at a first viewing sort of thing.
Vegur Allrar Veraldar - Sigríður Hagalín Björnsdóttir: ★★★
The story has it's moments and is at times very informative and thrilling when the story goes back to the 15th century history of Iceland and that part of the story. But on the other hand, we are also have an incredibly boring man as a main protagonist who stumbles and faulters his way through the narrative and constantly kills the mood of the otherwise interesting story.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms - George R.R. Martin: ★★★★
It was a bit of an experience to go back into the world of Westeros after a long absence, but this world is so tangible and well-crafted that it sucks you right back in. There is a little more hope here than in the Song of Ice and Fire books, and dare I say that the characters are as whimsical, but just as complex as one might expect of Martin. The descriptions are lush and there is a good mix of myths and legends of Westeros to keep you entertained and the morality tale of a what knight should be works well here. I often struggle with shorter stories due to their fast-paced narrative style and sometimes lack of overarching plot, but there was enough here to keep me happy, even if I wanted to get a little more.
Heiðmyrkur - Ingi Markússon: ★★★★
Despite the long absence between volumes, it is incredibly easy to get back into this world. It is extremely complex and ambitious story that continues to be an exciting mix of fantasy and science fiction. Many fantasy trilogies or series start well and then fade into the shadows of the great ideas presented in the first volume, stumble and fail to properly build to the end, but here the author succeeds and the story becomes clearer and stronger with each volume. Many lingering questions about the world and why it has become the way it is are answered and the ending is satisfying enough without seeming too easy or clichéd.
Witch Hat Atelier, Vol. 1 - 13 - Kamome Shirahama: ★★★★★
The art within these pages is stunning and the worldbuilding is neat and effective. All the characters feel grounded and tangible, and the pace of the story is quite steady, which makes the reading fun and engaging. At times the story does go a little overboard with its side plots, which can feel distracting, but they usually serve a specific purpose for the story or world building. There is a sweetness to the story that can also be serious that works well and often makes it feel like an old-school, tried and true fantasy, which takes inspiration from both former witchcraft school stories and hero’s journeys about finding yourself and the friendship you find all while searching for the truth and the magnitude of your powers and your place in the world. Still, the series manages to stand on its own two feet and make some fantasy tropes work into something fresh and new as it uses the conventions of fantasy for its own whimsy within the story. And that is something a lot of fantasy stories today lack. The story is quite cheerful, sweet and emotional, but also thrilling, deep and gloomy when the story needs it. And it manages that all while delving deeper into the moral ambiguity of the world and the characters.
The Memory of the Ogisi - Moses Ose Utomi: ★★★★
The mythos of the world allows the story to ground itself so that it can play with the truth of history and how it shapes people's memories. The pace of the narrative makes it difficult to truly get to know the characters, but I think it is akin to the folkloric tone that the story is meant to emulate. The author focuses more on communicating the theme, describing human behavior or certain moral lessons to the reader rather than character development as it is a story to make you think. And for that reason, it works well.
His Majesty's Dragon, Throne of Jade, Black Powder War - Naomi Novik: ★★★★, ★★★★, ★★★
The series starts off strong, with an exciting plot before it slows down quite drastically and the narrative’s focus shifts more towards character development and the expansive worldview that Novik has managed to create. This sudden slowness is a bit uncomfortable at first, and it put me off the series a little when I read it a few years ago. Now that I'm older, I can better appreciate the travelogue nature of the narrative. There is a certain part within each book that are much more interesting than others, but it does help that the story is easy to read, and the characters are engaging and feel very realistic for this setting. Novik is particularly good at weaving together real history and fantasy, and there is a good main plot that runs through all the books that ties it all together. But you can see that this is a very character-focused narrative and almost like a world-building atlas for Novik.
To Ride a Rising Storm - Moniquill Blackgoose: ★★★
This story is a little too slow for my taste. Often very pleasantly introspective and it talks a lot about our main character, her relationships with the world and in academia and manages to be a pretty good critique of the excesses of Western culture and the subtle ways of colonization’s that seep through every crevice’s. But this sequel felt like a huge repeat of the first book. It gets really boring in the middle and that lull doesn’t get sorted until the very end. The story has serious pacing problems that makes it a hard read.
Too Like the Lighting, Seven Surrenders - Ada Palmer: ★★★★
There is a lot going on in this very dense story, with its enormous number of characters that can give one a headache to keep up with and to remember who is who. The story deals with so much, everything from gender to politics, national consciousness and religion, but at the same time, none of those things is explored in a too broad way that it loses its place within the story. The story is so complex, and one can certainly tell that Palmer is a scholar through and through, and a great thinker. That tone is not for everyone, but I think it works within this story. The text is often long, tends to be rather dry and everything is a little indulgent towards the fields of study that Ada Palmer is interested in and teaches. But the ambition and scope of this story is so strong, strange, breathtaking and brutal, all while you can't help but marvel at it. This is not an easy read at all, and at times so brutally realistic that you must take a break between chapters. But I admire the boldness of it all. It is very introspective and very interesting science fiction world that is very deeply realistic and human.
Álfareiðin - Gunnar Theodór Eggertsson: ★★★
The story was generally quite gripping, and the escalating horror was well executed, although towards the end the story seems to change gears too quickly and lose its footing a bit. At times I found the folklore that the story weaves into the narrative little too predictable and sometimes the story tends to rush things too much. The English slangs and such, which I thought would annoy me, worked well within the narrative bringing the dialogue to life and making the characters sound like actual teenagers. My problem, however, lies mainly with the characters, whom I had a hard time warming up to. And there was a certain incident that occurred between them, which made me rather uncomfortable.
Saltswept - Katalina Watt: ★★
The story was very fast paced, but slow at the same time. A lot of things happen, but at the same time it feels like nothing important is going on. Lots of events going on, but the plot was barely moving since three different perspectives hog the narrative and none of them work that well together or apart. The plot dwells too much on unnecessary things, and all these different characters, and I often felt like my time was being wastes on worldbuilding aspects and side plots then lead to nothing special. By the time the story finally gets going it's little too late as you don't really care about anything.
Travel Light - Naomi Mitchison: ★★★
Yes, the style was whimsical and humorous, which I quite liked, the pacing of the story wasn’t for me, and it may be because story intentionally kept the characters distant to accommodate for the dreamlike, fairytale style of the story. So, while I appreciated the story, I wasn’t ever that into it or enthralled by it.
Huldukonan - Fríða Ísberg: ★★★★
There was a pleasant aura of mysticism over the story, which is written in a very stylish way but not in a why where the style does overshadow the content or hinder the reading. The narrative is told in an interestingly fragmented style of the characters' memories which suits the tale and makes the story very easy to read. The character development here is intriguing, but from time to time I had a hard time keeping track of all of them, which was an aspect to the story could perhaps have been more concise. This is not a long book, but it has big ideas that were fun to explore and the story and there is a good buildup and the pacing is good and the folklore is nicely presented within the narrative.
The Legend of Lady Byeoksa - Esther Park: ★★★
The setting of the story and the mythology it used was the most interesting part of this whole book. The story itself felt too cliché, with tropey but fun character that just go through the motions. I had a lot of trouble with the pacing and the long chapters, while decently focused, were longwinded and not that gripping. The story often falls into the trap of telling us things rather than letting the reader figure things out for themselves, things happen too quickly and become repetitive. It sometimes felt like the repetition was there to hold your hand and guide you through the narrative, but it just makes it quite uneventful and predictable, simplistic and drawn out. It's an easy read, it's fun at times but not too gripping.
The Poet Empress - Shen Tao: ★★★★★
A story full of enticing, cruel and believable court politics and characters that play their games of power while the people of the country suffer. The path to a better future involves difficult and painful decisions and that is a fact that the story never backs away from. The story is framed by realistic worldbuilding and a simple but still very effective magic system. The very poetically written narrative makes the story flow very well without becoming too decorative, making this very easy to read and the pace precise so that the story stays sharp throughout. Despite the cruelness of the world the story never becomes too heavy thanks to the inner strength, resilience, and the hope that our main character brings into the story. The author uses the characters' backstories and actions to show the effects of power and greed within the narrative but also to show their complexity so that you both pity them and hate them at the same time. And it's that layered and subtle characterization that makes you unable to stop reading and very attached to the characters.
Taiwan Travelogue - Yáng Shuāng-zǐ: ★★★★
Cheerful and yet bittersweet, heartwarming yet wistful story frames it point effortlessly yet subtly. The story is quite slow-paced, and character driven which makes it hits a bit of a lull towards the middle that feels a bit too repetitive in the middle and the ostentations main character becomes increasingly tiresome at a certain point. But it is all done to underline the characters' state of mind and the subtle balance of power between the two women, to reflect on colonial thinking in a very effective way.
Among the Burning Flowers - Samantha Shannon: ★★★
It felt a little too much like a fantasy world-building atlas rather than a fully fleshed out story. And while the poetic yet ornate style of the writing makes this story beautiful and the intimate character moments, exciting plot and fun fantastical moments and really well-written love interest are all there for the reader to enjoy, I felt the pace of the story never quite worked properly and made the story lack a bit of depth.
Irpa - Hildur Knútsdóttir: ★★★
Despite a decent hook at the beginning and the characters being interesting and the relationship between the main couple pleasantly mundane without being boring, the plot wasn't really there. The pacing slowed down a bit too much as we got further into the story and with that tension just faded until the hook wasn't there anymore. In fact, I felt like the story needed more suspense and gloom and ghosts that actually lead to somewhere. Although it was certainly easy to read and had fun moments like all of Hildur's books it wasn't something that will stick with me long after I am done reading.
I am watching quite a lot of things atm (even if I am kinda debating on putting Yumi's Cells 3 on hold because the male lead bores me... but I will finish it for Kim Go Eun) so I don't need to add Sold Out on You on to my busy tv schedule (one only has so much free time after work). But I did check it out... for the second lead.
The people of kdramaland need Kim Bum to get over his fear of leading a romcom (or just any main character role really) as he is too good to be a second lead.
This drama feels breezy and relatively hallmark-movie-like with it's predictable and paint-by-numbers romcom where a career woman from the city goes to the countryside to the prickly but good natured farmer (that is at it's core a burned out city boy trying to escape something). But I am not sure if this is going to end up in a career change for her by the end or just a much needed life-lessons to getting over some trauma (that the drama does lay on just a tad too thick) and acquire some work-life-balance.
I am not sure if this is quite a slice-of-life, even if it's described as a healing romantic comedy, and when it comes to this hallmark-like plot I am doubtful it will get anywhere close to Hometown Cha Cha Cha (which is the STANDARD) since this one just has 12 episode to hash out the character-journeys and the development that is needed for everything to work out. So it needs to become quick, earnest and efficient.
And a lot of kdramas these days are getting the quick and efficient part somewhat correctly, they tick the boxes they need but they don't sit enough with the stories they are telling for them to become truly earnest and lived in and emotionally there. Now, it can be done… I have seen it happen on occasion, but it is rare. Overall kdramas still have not quite found the rhythm that they need for more fast-paced storytelling that 12 episodes require.
I do think the contrast between the two main leads are nice, even if some of those characteristics and traumas and backstories that they have are laid on a bit thick (and efficiently to get the plot moving) and paint-by-numbers but I don't mind it. This is a cute, romcom to heal the sole that they are aiming for here so I went in kinda expecting that.
I do think the montages of Ye Jin's insomnia and her intense dedication to her work (in order to prove herself and to keep herself too busy to think) and how it's contracts with Matthew slow life on the farm (when he is not too busy helping the elderly in the village as the seemingly only young man there) is very well done and I do think they seem likeable enough as character.
That being said, I did find myself annoyed a bit in the second episodes because it felt like they were being kinda rude and bickering with each other just for the sake of it. And sure, that is often how things are in romcoms and such to build tension and aid the humor but I actually felt like it wasn't justified enough here. Because while Ye Jin felt driven and determined in her professional life in ep 1 she never was really rude to anyone, but for some reason she was to a stranger in this village when there is just no reason for such annoyance when they first met.
Like, you are here on business and you don't know who the owner of the farm is that you are visiting so why not just be nice to anyone because you never know who it might end up as. It just felt like bickering for bickering sake just to shoehorn some tension and this 'enemies to lovers' trope (even they are not enemies) type stuff in there because it often makes for an entertaining story.
But you have to work for it so it becomes good and satisfying. It can't just be there just because or for arbitrary reasons. But that dynamic did start to grow on me, despite how manufactured it felt, as the episode went on.
Also, why are on in a village in the countryside in HEALS and a white mini dress. It's just a disaster waiting to happen. I was full on expecting her to fall into a mudflat or something.
There isn't too much spark yet, but it could happen as we get more into the story. I am not totally intrigued by it or super into it from the get go... but it's nice. It's easy to watch and sometimes that is all you truly need to just tune in and enjoy a show just to unwind and not turn on your brain too much.
Kim Bum is cute, but kinda just there… but I expected that much from the second lead in the first two episodes. And I just kinda need him to be cute, idk. I don't get second lead syndrome usually, but I guess with him as the ever so nice and almost fanboying over Ye Jin (all because she stood him up on a date yeeears ago... and it was probably because this was the day that the news broke out about that cosmetic cream she has been selling giving people rashes and such, mark my word).
Oh, the second leads are often very kind and very much there for some yearning and pining but they often times ether become straight up villains about it or just kinda blah because they don't do anything about anything and just become really sad and often pathetic because the girl that they like doesn't like them even if they are somewhat there for them. A pathetic nice guy is a boring character to me, I am sorry. I can't tell what sort of second lead Kim Bum is going to be, but I am hoping he will be serving up something a little bit interesting considering it's Kim Bum that they got for that role.
But in the meantime he is being very pleasing to my eyes while he is on screen that I won't be bored by the second lead.
Now, as someone who has IU as her fav within the Korean entertainment industry (I have seen her in concert and everything) I can safely say that Perfect Crown is one of my most anticipated kdramas of 2026 and has been on the top of my to be watched list since the casting was announced.
It also has modern monarchy (which I enjoy) and the arranged marriage trope (which I adore) going for it, so there is that. Although when it comes to those trope I am not sure that anyone can actually beat Goong (my first ever kdrama love) but then again Goong has 24 episodes (which was kinda 4 episodes too many, but oh well) but this one only has 12 to build up a very sleek, stylish and modern Cinderella story about a 'commoner' and a prince getting into an arranged marriage.
And sleek and stylish is sure is, but modern? I does feel delightfully old school at times. It is pretty to look at tho. I like the sets, I enjoy watching IU strutting around in colorful designer outfits (although I did enjoy her fits more in Hotel Del Luna) and I enjoy the hints of some Joseon era (or just saeguk) politics within this very modern court.
I do think that the pacing is brisk, and sometimes a bit too hasty as it moved from scene the scene and sometimes I do wish it would linger just a tad bit more and bring out some emotions. But the setup was nicely done, it does introduce us to a lot of things and people without being overbearing or disorientating sort of way. It uses flashbacks quite effectively as well.
The characters are doing something to move the plot forward, even if I sometimes feel myself struggling with some of the motives for why the characters are doing what they are doing. Like the whole 'oh my overbearing chaebol family is trying to arrange a marriage for me, I guess I will choose the grand prince that I went to school for myself even if I find him obnoxious' wasn't really interesting to me. Because it almost felt… to easy? I can't find the correct words to describe it.
But I did enjoy them coming to terms with this arranged marriage thing after the scandal of them being seen together at a hotel came out in the news much more. Because I think them almost going into this unwillingly, but tactical just ups the stakes a bit.
I do think Seong Hui Ju is a very similar characters to what IU has given us before in terms of Cindy and Jang Man Wol. It's like you put those two haughty, cold characters who have had to put on a strong, high wall in order to protect themselves and disguise their loneliness, and out walked Seong Hui Ju.
It might be my bias talking but I do think that IU is a competent actress (probably one of the strongest idol turned actresses of 2nd gen kpop) and I usually end up finding her very enjoyable and likeable in her roles as she feels quite natural in front of the camera. But I do think her performance does tends to be elevated, or even hindered, by her co-stars. And IU has been very lucky in that regards in her past projects.
Byeon Woo Seok certainly does hit his marks and looks good doing things that he required of him both here and in Lovely Runners but he also has this tendency to be just sort of there.
And in essence his character is also just sort of… there. Like I keep wishing he had something more going on. Some bite to him.
A character that does have some bit tho is the queen. She is by far the most interesting character to me, because oh she so wants to be queen. And she wants to be running the show. It's so obvious that she wants to be regent and she wants the power that comes with the monarchy and what she probably considers to be her birthright as a decedent of a noble family that has produced four queens. But she also has to deal with the rigid patriarchal structure and the hierarchy of the court.
And she most definitely killed her husband and she just always looks so haunted and intense. Gong Seung Yeon is eating up that role and I am very glad to see her in something interesting, because I like her.
And her character at least has some motivations for what she is doing.
So far I do think Perfect Crown is enjoyable, it's brisk and I do find tidbits of interest here and there within the plot and characters. But I also find it a bit… avoid of feelings or heart. It might just be early stages and that will come later but I wasn't really overly moved by anything that happened. I wasn't bored while watching it and the hour passed by fast, it just didn't stir up anything within me. And I am not really seeing a huge chemistry from IU and Byeon Woo Seok.
