407. Triad Princess 極道千金 (2019) Taiwanese

Eugenie Liu, Jasper Liu, Chang Zhang Xing, Hung Yan Siang

Drama Rating: 7/10     Neck Score: A+

I don't know whether to appreciate or loath this Netflix entry into Asian dramas. I like that more are being produced and the better accessibility of it, but they keep trying to Westernize the format too much, which I hate. The thing I like the most about Asian dramas is that they are short, one season shows with a well structured arc that then ends. Triad Princess suffered from this new short seasons crap that is being pulled where they give the drama a 6 episode season and then waffle about there being a next season, so that the drama has to be completely wrapped up, in case there is no second season, but still open ended enough for there to be naturally another season should they decide it was popular enough? I've already had the struggle of waiting what seems like a full year for the next 6 episodes of Kingdom, but that one didn't end so much as pause. This one seems like they hopes to get a second season, but it doesn't look like that's the case, so I am reviewing it now.

406. Well Intended Love 奈何BOSS要娶我 (2019) Chinese

Wang Shuang, Xu Kaicheng, Ian Yi, Liu Jia Xi, Huang Qian Shuo, Yang Hao Ming, Sun Jia Qi

Drama Rating: 4/10     Neck Score: A+

Sometimes, my morbid curiosity gets the best of me. In this case, I was in a bad mood (partially because I realized I had to wait another week for the next Pillow Book episodes) and was bored and I just wanted to watch something terrible. I had seen enough spoilers on the T-list to know exactly what I was getting into, but that really only scratched the surface. This might have been the most ridiculous piece of makjang I have ever seen. It was a terrible show about terrible people (with maybe one or two good ones) and you just have to sit back and let the terrible happen. Or just not watch it, which is probably what I should have done, but I guess sometimes I'm a glutton for punishment [insert some cat meme here].

Warning, serious spoilers. I guess I watched this so you all could satisfy morbid curiosity too, if that's a thing:

402. Crash Landing on You 사랑의 불시착 (2019-2020) Korean

Hyun Bin, Son Ye Jin, Kim Jung Hyun, Seo Ji Hye

Drama Rating: 7/10     Neck Score: A+

I'm trying to not be bitter, but apparently I was way too angry with what happened in the last episode to do that, so I'm not sure how fair to the rest of the show this review will be. I have a bad habit (in all dramas) of investing too much into the secondary couples who always get shafted and never get enough screen time and then if there must be a tragedy it happens to them, because that way people will still view the entire show favorably because the main couple still gets a happy ending... well that's crap. Like I said, I'm bitter. Is this too many spoilers in the first paragraph? Oops. Well, honestly, besides the fact that my favorite couple got ruined, this show was fun. It wasn't super well written or even really realistic, but it was very enjoyable and addictive. It had that squee factor, I guess. It did the ensemble super well as well, which means that we cared about everyone in the show and not just the main couple, which is probably why it hurt so much. One thing the show could have more of though was editing. The episodes were just too long. I like my hour long shows please. Why we had to sit through an almost 2 hour final episode when all the joy was sucked out of it in the first 15 mins in beyond me. I was bored and disinterested for most of it. Probably because it was also draggy and I was in a bad mood by that point. But really, the rest of the show was fun to watch. Like I said, I'm obviously still too bitter.

404. Live Up to Your Name 명불허전 (2017) Korean

Kim Nam Gil, Kim Ah Joong, Yoon Joo Sang, Yoo Min Kyu, Um Hyo Sup

Drama Rating: 9.5/10     Neck Score: A+

I've wanted to watch this show since it first came out, but didn't for two reasons. One, it wasn't subbed legally anywhere, and two, it's a doctor drama and I usually struggle with those. I mean, everything is life or death and always about surgery, and that gets old for me pretty darn fast. At one point I was thinking: How many people are they going to kill off! Just learn your doctor lesson already!!! But, then it was subbed on Netflix, and I just had to get over the medical stuff and just watch it. It helped that I absolutely love Kim Nam Gil (especially after Fiery Priest). The premise just looked too good from the previews, as did the chemistry between the main actors. It's a time travel drama, where a famous Joseon doctor, Heo Im, travels to modern times and meets a resident who is already a super talented heart surgeon. It is past vs present and oriental medicine vs western. However, that really is just the super basic premise. The time travelling reminded me 100% of the time travelling of Queen In Hyun's Man, which is not a bad thing at all, since that drama was also amazing. But the only similarities are how our Joseon man travels back and forth, those mechanics of time travel, and not the plot or anything else. So yeah, it blatantly takes that concept, but why not? In Queen In Hyun's Man it was a talisman that transported him every time he "died" but in this one it was a magical needle box, since Heo Im was an acupuncturist. So I said, it could be boiled down to that same form of time travel with the past vs present in both customs and medical knowledge, but what it's really about is what it means to be a true doctor and what that looks like in both the past and the present.