Women Who Make Me Watch Dramas Against My Will: Ahjumma Edition

So, it was recently international women's day, and I was busy all day. Oh well. But I thought that I could at least celebrate it late with the next installment of Women Who Make Me Watch Dramas Against My Will, and no better edition than the one dedicated to the ahjumma.

Whether they play the moms (evil or good), the aunties, the neighborhood ahjumma, or the bad-a mentors, these ahjumma are like the backbone of the drama world. A show is always going to be better with a well placed ahjumma. I realized going into this that it is an infinite list, because there are so many wonderful ahjumma in the world. So I had to try really hard to narrow it down and put my personal top favorites. The cream of the crop in my opinion.

267. Sound of Your Heart 마음의 소리 (2016) Korean

Lee Kwang Soo, Kim Dae Myung, Jung So Min, Kim Byung Ok, Kim Mi Kyung

Drama Rating: 9/10     Neck Score: A

I was so sad when I couldn't find this anywhere, because you all know how much I love Kwang Soo.  He is my #1 actor who rivals even GD in my heart.  I had to watch him be Cho Seok, because I also am 100% in love with Sound of Your Heart and have read everything that has been translated on Line Webtoon.  Sadly that is just a fraction of what there actually is, sniff.  Basically, there is a certain laugh that I have reserved just for Sound of Your Heart.  Lizabreff knows only one thing can make me laugh like that, so she knows what I'm reading.  This show was the same.  I laughed so hard!  I think it did a good job capturing the right feeling.  Their actor choice was perfect for all of them.  Every new person introduced I was like "Yeah!  They're perfect for it!"  It was delightful.  Even before we found it on Netflix and were just watching random clips on YouTube, I was just laughing.  They did a good job.  It's a slightly different experience when the naked/bathroom humor comes in, cuz it's live action vs just the drawings.  You realize just how tall and skinny Kwang Soo is when he's streaking through the city with his bare legs and censored blur.  It was hilarious.  I loved it.  I also like how they managed to keep the webtoon feel to it, while also connecting them into a somewhat cohesive story, with some character growth and some tied in themes.  It brought it all back in for a good ending to the series, so we didn't get left hanging.  It was well done.  Highly recommended.  I want there to be more seasons.  All the seasons in the world!  More Sound of Your Heart!  More Kwang Soo!  Hurray!

Momance: Sometimes the Mom-Drama is actually the best part of the drama

When we think of Kdrama mothers, we usually think of those evil moms, like in Boys Over Flowers or Secret Garden who will stop at nothing to get rid of our heroine by whatever means.  We think of those moms that are just another plot device to tear the couple apart.  Or we might think of the mom drama moms.  The ones who throw a spanner in the works while trying to protect our protagonists, or themselves, or just make everything overly dramatic.  When the drama becomes a battle between the moms or the mom and children for what is best.  Like You're the Best, Lee Soon Shin, which I watched for Jo Jung Suk who was barely in it, which isn't really about Lee Soon Shin but her mothers.  Every single mother in the entire show was annoying and made me want to scream.

Moms are an important part of dramas, because moms are super important in real life.  But what I love and want to celebrate now is those mothers who actually made the dramas better.  Sometimes, they are the best part of the dramas, or at least so enjoyable to watch that they made it better.

Healer: The Best Drama We've Seen in a Really Long Time

Those feels!  No!  I'm going to miss this drama like I've never missed a drama before.  Why?  Because it was pretty much the perfect drama.  It was so good!

Not that I need to give any more reasons why, but because I'm going to miss it so much, I thought I would relive all the glorious moments that made Lizabreff cry and made this my new favorite drama.

Healer: Abs in the First Episode, Sign Me On!

Why did I start this one right away?  Now I'm really struggling with the whole waiting thing.  This one had me hooked from episode one, and not because of this:

Although I am totes ok with him showing off his abs in the first couple of minutes.  What really grabbed me was the premise, with his Night Courier and his whole spy mercenary type deal and this messy web of relationships.  Super cool and fun.

129. Healer 힐러 (2014) Korean

Ji Chang Wook, Park Min Young, Yoo Ji Tae, Kim Mi Kyung

Drama Rating: 9/10     Neck Score: A/B-

Okay, so there were so many turtlenecks in this, but this drama was so good that I didn't really have time to complain about them that often.  That is a clear sign of a good drama.  I think it did a really good job of balancing everything out.  It had the perfect amount of action, great chemistry between not only our OTP but everyone in the show- seriously we just loved everyone in the show!- and plot twists that actually made sense.  Its overarching theme about humanity was so beautiful and made the ending so much more satisfying.  Also, it actually had a pretty good ending, unlike at least 85% of dramas that go pthbt in the last episode or two.  It had me hooked from episode one, and kept me hooked every week until it was too hard for me to wait.  It was so hard to wait every week.  I've never been so invested and I usually get fairly invested in the good dramas.  I could go on for forever about this one.  It was pretty amazing.  I feel weird about giving a perfect score to it, but I would feel weirder giving a not perfect score.  Seriously.  Awesome.  More praisey type words.  For more details (and some spoilers) I wrote two posts about it.  The spoilers are all in this one, so if you are looking to watch it for the first time just read this one for now.