Commentary – Page 2 – Audrey's KDrama Blog

Save Me, Episode 2

Posted on August 13, 2017 by Audrey

TL;DR: I figured you weren’t going to make it through the whole show based on the opening, but I really thought you’d last longer than episode two.

So this is an upsetting, distressing episode. We’ve got multiple sexual harassment scenes, bullying scenes, a hero fumbling his test of character, and ultimately a death from suicide. It took me about four hours to get through this episode because I kept getting angry for characters and/or wanting to chase the cult members off. Just so you know before you dive in. Continue reading “Save Me, Episode 2” →

Save Me, Episode 1

Posted on August 10, 2017 by Audrey

TL;DR: You’re all way too old to be playing high school students.

But I’m okay with that. You know why? Because the actress playing our heroine is also too old. The showrunners didn’t cast an adult male as the hero and a teenage girl as the heroine—Seo Ye-ji (the actress playing Sang-mi) is 27 to Ok Taecyeon’s 28. Two of the heroic quartet are even younger (can’t find a birth year for the third), and the actor playing Sang-mi’s twin brother is 26. The actors are all pretty close in age, so not only do I get to avoid behind-the-scenes age-squick, but I’m also way less distracted because they look like they could have been peers in an actual high school.

(Just, you know, a decade ago.) Continue reading “Save Me, Episode 1” →

Queen In-hyun’s Man, Episode 4

Posted on July 27, 2017July 26, 2017 by Audrey

TL;DR: I can’t believe I had forgotten so many tiny moments that make this romance one of my favorites.

It has been years since I’ve seen the first half of this drama, and this episode reminded me exactly why I fell in love with it. Hee-jin and Boong-do were my very first kdrama OTP (for me, there are only three couples worthy of that title), and it is in no small part because of how things played out this episode. Continue reading “Queen In-hyun’s Man, Episode 4” →

Queen In-hyun’s Man, Episode 3

Posted on July 26, 2017July 23, 2017 by Audrey

TL;DR: Boong-do can recite Confucius but doesn’t know what to do with seatbelts.

I had forgotten how quickly Hee-jin begins doubting her own memories. In hindsight, this is some pretty damned good foreshadowing. I like how she latches onto a fact that proves she wasn’t just dreaming after fainting (that poor horse) and immediately zooms off to go find her phone and the nobleman with a sword. That’s one of my favorite parts of Hee-jin’s personality: how she blazes forward in search of whatever she wants. Sure, hiding out in her hospital room is the most strategic thing to do, but that won’t get her what she wants now, so she makes the leap. Continue reading “Queen In-hyun’s Man, Episode 3” →

The King Loves, Episode 1 [DROPPED]

Posted on July 19, 2017July 19, 2017 by Audrey

TL;DR: You should be impressed that I actually finished this episode.

I could have saved myself an hour’s annoyance if I had just bailed on the show when Won’s condescending sexism reared its ugly head, but I was willing to give him an episode to see if there was any hint of the start of a character arc. Unfortunately, the bulk of an episode was actually a flashback, and it turns out that present-day him is actually worse than little-kid him. Continue reading “The King Loves, Episode 1 [DROPPED]” →

Naked Fireman, Episode 4 [END]

Posted on July 11, 2017 by Audrey

TL;DR: Awww, that was cute. Good job, everyone.

It’s just so refreshing when a show doesn’t fail you in the finale. This episode kept its focus squarely on the two most important things: taking down the bad guy and getting Cheol-soo and Jin-ah together. Everything else—Seong-jin and Song-ja’s relationship, Kwang-ho’s cancer—all took a back seat. There were more important things to tackle, and the episode was all the better for it (while also giving us just enough to be content with its happy ending). Continue reading “Naked Fireman, Episode 4 [END]” →

Naked Fireman, Episode 3

Posted on July 10, 2017July 10, 2017 by Audrey

TL;DR: Who said you were allowed to almost make me cry twice?

Look, two of my absolute favorite character-related things are loyalty and found family, and Naked Fireman just delivered both of those things to me when I was not expecting them. This episode had some of the best bromance and surrogate father scenes I’ve seen in ages, and I’m both astonished that it happened and upset that I don’t see this quality of relationships in shows that are four to five times as long as this one. Continue reading “Naked Fireman, Episode 3” →

Naked Fireman, Episode 2

Posted on July 6, 2017 by Audrey

TL;DR: Turns out there was enough time for a red-herring!

But first off, this show is doing a great job of convincing me that Cheol-soo and Jin-ah ought to be a thing. There’s no time for dilly-dallying about building a relationship when there are only four episodes, and the two of them got to have several charged moments in this hour. Continue reading “Naked Fireman, Episode 2” →

Naked Fireman, Episode 1

Posted on July 5, 2017July 4, 2017 by Audrey

TL;DR: This drama special is definitely trying to live up to its name.

With two weeks to go until the next drama I want to watch, I decided now would be the perfect time to try tackling the drama specials and movies on my to-watch list. I decided to go for Naked Fireman first because I still giggle whenever I see its name. And honestly? The first episode is pretty damned good for what is essentially the awkward mating of a screwball comedy and a murder mystery. Not only did it make me laugh, but it also made me care about the mystery that needs to be solved. Continue reading “Naked Fireman, Episode 1” →

Seven Day Queen, Episode 5 [DROPPED]

Posted on July 4, 2017July 12, 2017 by Audrey

TL;DR: We have a fundamental incompatibility in regards to what can and cannot be considered romantic.

I’m going to make this short and quick: wow, did I hate this episode. Enough that, coupled with the warning that even more forced kisses will be showing up later on, I am dropping the show immediately. Show, you only had one job: convince me that Chae-gyeong and Jinseong/Yeok/Nak-cheon were the romance for the ages and then tragically separate them. Instead, I spent this entire episode being bitter about all the emotional labor Chae-gyeong was preforming for Yeonsangun and then wanting to claw out Yeok’s eyes for the historical equivalent of sex-shaming Chae-gyeong and then force kissing (AKA SEXUALLY ASSAULTING) her as a punishment.

And the damned music director decided that would be the best moment to play one of the romantic songs. NOPE. Continue reading “Seven Day Queen, Episode 5 [DROPPED]” →