168. Yong Pal 용팔이 (2015) Korean

Joo Won, Kim Tae Hee, Jo Hyun Jae, Chae Jung Ah, Jung Woong In, Stephanie Lee

Drama Rating: 3/10     Neck Score: A-

Hmm, what can I say about this drama.  It's nonsense.  There was a time in the middle where I was at least enjoying the crazy mess of revenge.  People were being killed right and left, and the main girl was bat shiz crazy.  That was kind of fun to watch.  But the rest was a little boring.  Then it was extended.  Two whole episodes of nothing.  Absolutely boring and lame, and the whole time I was just hoping that she would die, only I knew she wouldn't, because I had heard it had a "happy" ending.  Well, it did have Stephanie Lee coming back, playing the deus ex machina to force a "happy" ending down our throats.  There are some very interesting dynamics that kept this show from just being a series of painfully obvious tropes strung together with a whole lot of crazy.  Joo Won's character really doesn't do anything but cry the whole second half of the show.  Basically he is a male "Candy" while Kim Tae Hee is the evil chaebol.  He does about as much as Candy and has zero power the entire time.  He rarely gets to act and have it be meaningful, he's just acted on and being pushed around (but he was one of the only actors who could act, there is at least that).  The role reversal was a bit interesting.  The amount of moral ambiguity and justification is ridiculous.  Literally everyone gets away with murder.  Is anyone actually punished in this show?  Not that we see.  Revenge is taken, people are killed, that's about all the justice that is served and there is no justice there.  I loved that the girl went bad guy and killed everyone (except the evil brother's death was lame).  It was so ridiculous how literally everyone died halfway through the show.  But then redeeming her?  No.  Forgiving her?  No.  Him going back to her?  No, no, no, no.  What lame sauce crap was that?  All I wanted was for her to die and him to move on and get together with Stephanie Lee like a year later.  Instead we got two episodes of boring and a lame-a ending.  What utter nonsense.  Boo!

77. The Prime Minister and I 총리와 나 (2013-2014) Korean

Lee Beom Soo, Im Yoona, Yoon Si Yoon, Chae Jung Ah

Drama Rating: 5/10     Neck Score: B

I watched this for Yoon Si Yoon.  I've basically watched every show he's been in, despite everything.  This one, however, wasn't so bad.  I was actually looking for something really lighthearted since I just went through a couple of heavy types.  This one certainly is that way... at first.  Also it helped recover my impression of Yoona after the Love Rain disaster to I'd be fine with her dating Lee Seung Gi.  She definitely had more chemistry with Lee Beom Soo than Jang Geun Suk, but still more with Yoon Si Yoon (after all, Lee Beom Soo is almost old enough to be her father... almost but not quite).  However, this show really isn't written that well.  The basic plot is silly at best.  Contract marriage to stop a scandal for a newly elected prime minister?  Please.  That's just dumb.  It's actually got a bit of a Sound of Music type deal going on with it, with the grumpy/stern prime minister being a Captain Von Trapp type deal and the reporter being our Maria.  There are three adorable kids and the mystery of the dead wife.  Yoon Si Yoon may or may not be a good guy, he seems to have his own agenda, but he's darn cute either way.  So it starts off good, but then gets a little lame and stupidly dramatic, and the ending was super lame.  Still, it wasn't the worst drama, and it did lead me to appreciate Lee Beom Soo.  Most of the stupid drama resolved itself well, so that is something.