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.

Best and Worst Couples of 2014

Let's have a little throwback in remembrance of 2014 dramas, specifically the couples of 2014.  Why not celebrate our favorite OTPs, I'm going to miss them.

But we can't leave out the worst couples as well, those ones that were just so lame or squirrely that we could barely watch (or couldn't watch) the shows they were in.  So here are my votes for the best and worse, and what I love (or hate) about them.

A Perfect Couple of Episodes, Until it Suddenly Undergoes a Genre Change

So we start watching a Romantic Comedy Korean Drama, and we all know now that after episode 12ish that all the sudden the crap will hit the fan and no matter how funny the drama started out, it will suddenly be a melodrama (just think how Emergency Couple was supposed to be a RomCom, but the whole second half was complete melodrama... which was actually so much better than the comedy was).  I don't know if this is a case of the dramas being "Anthony'd" (King of Dramas reference) or if the basic plot has to do that to complete itself, but seriously.  When I start a RomCom, I'm looking for comedy and romance, not melodrama.  Not sad stuff.  Funny.  With kissing and couple cuteness.  Fluffiness.

I don't know what it is about Chinese/Taiwanese Dramas, but they seem to take the genre changing even more extreme than is typical for Korean Dramas. It's not even funny how all romantic comedies start out cute and funny and by the second half of the show they are suddenly melodramatic.  I've come to just accept that fact, but recently, there has been too many over the top genre changes for my taste.

111. Marriage, Not Dating 연애 말고 결혼 (2014) Korean

Han Groo, Yeon Woo Jin, Jinwoon, Han Sun Hwa, Heo Jeong Min, Yoon So Hee

Drama Rating: 8/10     Neck Score: A

Finally, a cute little drama that stays consistently awesome the whole time. I don't know if it was better that I waited to start it until it was almost over or not.  On one hand it's so awesome I wished I had learned that sooner, on the other hand waiting meant that I could marathon it... which I did, but that is not the best thing health wise to do.  Seriously, once I started watching it I couldn't stop, until I had watched it all.  What's better than a contract marriage?  A contract engagement with the purpose of getting the family to object and refuse the marriage.  Apart from the obvious hating of the other girl, who was weird, I loved everyone in it (well the cheating dad is obviously not included as well).  The main couple has to be one of the cutest and funniest couples ever.  I also like how its somewhat realistic, as in the pace and the problems as things that might actually need to be dealt with and not completely over the top.  Naturally it still is, but this is a drama.  Even when things were bad it stayed cute and funny and it was never draggy and lame.  Seriously, it was a romcom that stayed a romcom the entire time.  How often does that happen?  It usually is good until episode 12/13 and then all the sudden it's a melodrama.  Nope.  This was romcom gold the entire time.  Loved it.