Month: January 2023

Work Later Drink Now S2 (2023)

by maandoe

Profile

Plot

Main cast

Review
“I don’t know if we’re better than before. We don’t know if our future is better or not but we are the best to enjoy this moment.’

The above statement summarizes the 2 seasons of this drama. There was no big resolution at the end, it’s just about going through life and enjoying it with your friends, family and partner.

At first, I thought this drama lost its magic in the first 2 episodes. It was so odd and didn’t like their time at the mountains and how Jiyeon’s cancer was miraculously cured. Was the time spent there supposed to mean something because they didn’t really grow up when they went back to the city. Maybe it was just to wrap up Jiyeon’s cancer story. Should she be drinking so much?? I’m so glad they went back to the city and the story went back to how it was in season 1. I watch this because of the 3 girls and their relationships with each other, their memories about their parents, and the guys. They didn’t drink as much as in S1 though.

I always look forward to Sohee’s story and her weird romantic vibes with Director Kang. They always show him as gross and dirty but she oddly feels attracted to him, esp when he does those little things to support her. We also get to hear Kang’s story and why he is that way. He also has a lot of trauma (Siwon in fatsuit is too cute!!) And Sohee loves helping pitiful men. I think they are a match or complements each other well. But wow to Jiyeon for taking care of Kang and his dad instead of running away.

Jiyeon is the friend that I also love. She is too noisy most of the time but she shines when you need her the most. I thought the story with the siblings were boring but end up liking them too. They should bring Seonjung to their trio. She is also crazy. I also thought pairing loud Jiyeon with a guy with hyperacusis is interesting. But wait Jiyeon and So Hojun (funny cameo!) also works!! Alas she is still single by S2 end (but with 3 men) lol. Just a note that she told the siblings that communication is best, but when she fought with Jigoo, there was also a lack of communication.

Jigoo is the most silent and boring (for me) but she is the most thoughtful. I love that she found someone who really likes her. Yoon Si Yoon fits right in with his lovely artsy vibe. And Jiyeon is right, when the time comes, Jigoo will be the first one to leave and never look back. I wish Jiyeon told this to Jigoo, so that Jigoo can reassure her that they will be friends no matter what.

I dont know if there’s a possibility of S3 because I’m going to miss the girls!! They can actually stop at S2 but the ending just begged for a new season!! Would love to see the girls evolve since they’re now in relationships. They’ll prolly continue to be crazy.

Rating: 8.5/10

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Alchemy of Souls Part 2 (2023)

by maandoe

Profile:
Drama: Alchemy of Souls: Light and Shadow (환혼: 빛과 그림자)
Network: tvN
Episodes: 10
Release Date: December 10, 2022 – January 8, 2023
Runtime: Sat. & Sun. 21:10

Plot:
Three years after Mudeok dies, Jang Uk has been on a mission to kill all soul shifters as ordered by the King. Lady Jin has been hiding the fact that she retrieved Mudeok’s body, and revived her daughter, Jin Bu Yeon’s soul, but taking on the face of Naksu. Jin Bu Yeon, who doesn’t remember anything about her past, is arranged to be married to Seo Yul’s uncle, but she got away and met Jang Uk. Will they be able to find their way back to each other and can they fight the evil forces of Jinmu once and for all?

Main Cast

Review
I liked the chemistry between Jaewook and Youn Jung more than with Jung Somin. Maybe that’s why I liked part 2 more than part 1 (although I admit without the love story in part 1, part 2 wouldn’t work that well). Mudeok and Jang Uk to me felt like Master-Student while Buyeon-Jang Uk felt like the real thing.

I missed the original Naksu shadow assassin (GYJ looked soooo different as Jin Bu Yeon – the hair, light eyebrows etc) so sometimes I had to stop and think if this was really the same actress or not. Cho Yeong’s evolution from the young girl, the teenager that Seo Yul met, to Mudeok, Jin Buyeon and back to Yeong was amazing. I’m still a little bit confused how this all happened, though it somehow made sense, but I love that she will spend the rest of her life as Cho Yeong. She may never take up the sword again, but with her powers, she and Jang Uk can fight together for good.

I also love how much Jang Uk has grown since part 1 episode 1, esp now that he is the most powerful mage in Daeho. You dont need to be the king to be the most powerful, as long as you do your job and your passion well. I hated that Go Won was always threatened by Jang Uk when he never made any intention known that he wanted to be king.

I didn’t however, like that there were a lot of flashbacks that could have been skipped. I also didnt like that Go Won had many scenes that were unnecessary and the turtle squad, trying make their scenes funny like in part 1. Good thing the turtle actually had a purpose in the story.

Park Jin and Kim Dojoo are too funny!! I miss Danggu’s blonde hair and he didnt get a lot of cute scenes with Choyeon. Of course Master Lee is always all knowing.

I also never liked Seo Yul and Soi’s “relationship” from the very start. Soi has caused so much pain to Seo Yul and almost died because of her. and Soi dying trying to save him doesn’t justify her actions or make her a better person. Even she didn’t give him the blood parasite, none of this would have happened in the first place. Plus Seo Yul is so nice and virtuous, how can the writers pair him up with Soi, plus his one sided love with Naksu! how cruel! I was hoping he gets his own love interest at the end, but i guess, his heart is with the mages. I also was so annoyed with Yun Ok. Why is she even in this drama? She was catty for no reason, and put her nose in every place she didn’t have to be.

It’s always hard to write a great ending for fantasy dramas so was very happy that this show ended with quite well!!

Overall part 1 and part 2 could have actually fit in 20 episodes if they removed some of the draggy parts at the start, but also ok that they separated part 2 to give time for people to get used to the new actress/character and the 3 yrs later part of the story.

Rating: 8.5/10

She And Her Perfect Husband (2022)

by maandoe

Profile:
Drama: She and Her Perfect Husband (爱的二八定律)
Country: China
Episodes: 40
Aired: Nov 14, 2022 – Dec 11, 2022
Aired On: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday
Original Network: Tencent Video
Duration: 45 min.

Plot: To get a shot at promotion, a female lawyer lied that she is already married to a guy she has never met. By some twist of fate, they meet at a party and her boss and colleagues thinks that he is her real husband. She makes a deal with the guy to pretend to be her husband for 3 months in exchange for a place to live and to help him stop his mother from setting up blind dates. Will their fake marriage turn into a real marriage?

Main Cast:
Yang Mi – Qin Shi
Xu Kai – Yang Hua
Li Ze Feng – Tao Junhui
Wang Zi Xuan – Wu Feifei
Baby Zhang – Yao Yao

Review:

First completed drama for 2023! My third jiedi lian romance. I don’t know why I gravitate towards this kind of romance. Most likely it’s because the actor is cute 🙂

I love the relationship between Qin Shi and Yang Hua. They may have started with a fake relationship, but they supported and complemented each other that the age gap wasn’t even an issue. And the guy wasn’t “lower” than her, he was a genius and helpful to her career, it’s just that he had some previous career issues he had to work with, and meeting Qin Shi gave him the courage to face his issues and find support where his parents/friends/ex gf couldn’t give him. Where can I find my own Yang Hua? He was almost perfect! Good thing Qin Shi found the perfect fake husband. What if she randomly found another stranger who was a jerk? It will be a very different story! I wished they also showed how successful Yang Hua was to get back at all those who looked down on him for being jobless.

Every fake marriage trope needs to end before their real relationship begins. That’s why I didn’t mind that they broke up on eps 36-40. Qin Si mostly had the upperhand in the relationship, so it was just right that she should be the one who realizes what she lost. Although I liked that that they got back together, I wish it was Qin Shi who made the grand gesture to bring him back. And even at the end, they never said “i love you” to each other and they didn’t remarry. But that’s alright. Just like what Yang Hua said, they don’t need to get married, as long as they can be together forever and ever. Not being a pessimist here, but nowadays, marriage doesn’t guarantee forever.

I was expecting to hate Tao Junhui but I actually liked him too. It’s just that he wasn’t able to protect Qin Shi that time, and she disappeared from his life that he couldn’t even make amends. And now he missed his timing since Yang Hua is already in Qin Shi’s life. Although I don’t know if Yang Hua wasn’t there, will Qin Shi take him back? She probably still wouldn’t. I can’t believe that he would like a spoiled and spiteful girl like Wu Fei, I thought he deserved better. I thought Wu Fei was cute and sweet, but she so the opposite of Qin Shi, who was sexy, mature and intelligent. I didn’t want Junhui to end up with Wu Fei, but the ending looks like Wu Fei also grew up a little and is now ready to be more mature and work earnestly and not just rely on her daddy’s money. I hope that’s true!!

What I didn’t like is that it took too long for Qin Shi to resign from Cheng & Hui and realize how toxic their culture was. Junhui already warned her that she was being used, but she didn’t listen since she had stubbornly set her sights on partnership. I almost thought she was going to accept the partner offer after all the humiliation she went through. I’m so happy she didn’t!! Particularly Madam Tang who I always thought looked so fake, trying to dangle the carrot in front of Qin Shi and throw it away again and again.

I thought Li Dai was going to be the b.tchy villain but I also liked her a lot! She is the funny, sassy friend that Qin Shi needed. Wished that they just opened their own female lawyer studio. Their combo will be lethal!

Let’s not forget Yang Hua’s best friend who is funny and great help to the couple. I love their dates with him tagging along. Too bad we didn’t get to see his wife.

The whole side story about the brother Wenyu and Meimei was boring so I skipped all those parts. They just keep fighting and fighting it was so toxic.

Lastly, I loved the ost but couldn’t find the songs on Spotify.

Rating: 8.5/10

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Money Heist Korea Part 2 (2022)

by maandoe

Profile:
Drama: Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area Part II (종이의 집: 공동경제구역)
Network: Netflix
Episodes: 6
Release Date: December 9, 2022
Language: Korean

Plot: Continuation of Part 1 where Professor and his gang tries to escape the Mint.

Main Cast:
Yoo Ji Tae – Professor
Kim Yun Jin – Seon Woojin
Park Hae Soo – Berlin
Jun Jong Seo – Tokyo
Lee Hyun Woo – Rio
Lee Won Jong – Moscow
Kim Ji Hoon – Denver
Jang Yoon Ju – Nairobi
Lee Kyu Ho – Oslo
Kim Ji Hoon – Helsinki
Lim Ji Yeon – Seoul
Lee Joo Bin – Yoon Misun
Park Myoung Hoon – Director Young Min
Jang Hyun Sung – Kim Sang Man

Review:
Part 2 picks up right when Part 1 ended (Money Heist Korea Part 1 (2022)) and every episode was thrilling and non-stop as they race against time to print the money and escape without injuring the hostages, the members, and getting captured by the police. I wanted them to get away without getting caught!! So sad some of them had to die, esp Moscow who I liked.

I love the Professor, even at the last minute he can think of a plan! Not so much keen on Inspector although I admit she and Cha Mmo Hyuk are smart enough tofigure out the plan, but those politicians are really terrible! But that ending looks like she decided to join team heist after getting disappointed with the police and government.

I also love Berlin, i thought he was going to die (whew!!) and Seoul for not leaving Berlin behind!! I also love Denver and Misun. Tokyo and Rio.

Loved the scene in the picture, where they were fighting for their lives. You can see their crazy eyes esp Tokyo, Berlin and Nairobi.

Looking forward to the next season (will there be any??)