430. Flower of Evil 악의 꽃 (2020) Korean

Lee Joon Ki, Moon Chae Won, Jang Hee Jin, Seo Hyun Woo, Kim Ji Hoon

Drama Rating: 8/10     Neck Score: A+

The premise was too good to pass, the cast was too good to pass, I was super excited to start this show. But still I waited to start it. Then I binged it until I caught up with it. It was so good and intense, I had a hard time not being able to just start the next episode. But sadly, it was my one drama I loved while I was being stressed out from everything, but having to stop and wait in the middle of a  hugely dramatic climax made the stress of anticipation overwhelm me, and with everything else I suddenly was too stressed to watch it. Which is so interesting because if I had the ability at the time, I would have just binged watched it to the end. However, though it took several weeks of getting to a place where I could watch anything besides We Bare Bears, I finished it and it remained good until the end. Even though the last episode was an extreme change of pace. It was still good. And then I still too even longer to write this review because that is what last year did to me. Apologies.

329. Mama Fairy and the Woodcutter 계룡선녀전 (2018) Korean

Moon Chae Won, Ko Du Shim, Yoon Hyun Min, Seo Ji Hoon, Jeon Soo Jin

Drama Rating: 6/10     Neck Score: A+

This one surprised me with how it went many times. The first two episodes were supremely cheesy and everyone was overacting and it was borderline stupid. I wasn't sure if I could take Fish Bangs (Yoon Hyun Min) acting like he couldn't act for 16 episodes. I wasn't sure I was okay enough with the fairy tale when the "Woodcutter" was such a jerk. But I guess that could be true to life, IDK. Then the next few episodes completely changed my mind and I was decently hooked. It wasn't my favorite drama, but I certainly appreciated it more. I especially loved the bromance between Fish Bangs and that cute little TA. But then the genre or direction or whatever changed again....

It really started spinning our heads with the who is who and completely complicated backstory around the fairy tale. It obviously wasn't the classic retelling when the woodcutter died before she could get her wings back and go to heaven. Then it went to a bunch of celestial beings backstory drama that I wasn't expecting at first. I liked it... at first.

Women Who Make Me Watch Dramas Against My Will: Second Leads and "Bitcas" Edition

I am so glad that as I was deciding to do this list, that there were so many wonderful women that I love that I could produce just as many of these lists for the actresses I would watch anything for, as for the actors.  I thought I would start with the ones that I fell in love with as they played the second female leads, the bitcas, if you will.  I love girls who play strong women, who play jerks, or even crazies, and are still so lovable and even the best thing ever.

They have such acting chops that even if I hate their character, I have to also grudgingly like them because they make them so sympathetic and real all the same.  You hate them, but also hate that you hate them because you love them too.  Or you hate that you love them, since they are being so evil... It all comes down to really loving them because they are awesome and play those evil or annoying roles like a boss.  So here are some of my favorite bad girls, who aren't your sweet young things, although they could play them like a boss too, because they are amazing.

76. The Innocent Man 세상 어디에도 없는 착한 남자 (2012) Korean

Song Joong Ki, Moon Chae Won, Park Si Yeon, Lee Kwang Soo

Drama Rating: 7/10     Neck Score: A

This is a heavy show.  Lots of hard things, but also lots of great actors and eye candy.  Song Joong Ki never ceases to amaze me, and neither does Moon Chae Won.  But seriously, this show is about a bunch of not nice people.  The point is that there is no such thing as a nice guy/innocent man.  Kang Ma Ru (Song Joong Ki) goes to prison for six years to cover up the manslaughter of his girlfriend Han Jae Jee (Park Si Yeon), only to get out and find that she's married a rich older man and had his child.  So, after becoming a bartender and gigolo, he decides to get revenge by seducing the older man's daughter Seo Eun Ji (Moon Chae Won).  Things of course get super messy.  Even with the whole brain surgery and memory loss type deals that get thrown in, this show is super well done.  Like I said, Moon Chae Won is on of my favorite actresses, and she is super great in this one.  However, its a very heavy drama and hard to watch because of the themes and all the depressing type things that are happening.  In fact the only bright spot of the show most of the time is Lee Kwang Soo, who plays Kang Ma Ru's best friend, and Lee Yu Bi, Ma Ru's little sister, who are probably the funniest part of the whole show.  But I think the show ended fairly well for how messed up everything gets, and it gets pretty messed up.  Still, it is a very good show, well written and executed.  Basically all these actors are pretty amazing.  Especially Song Joong Ki.

54. Good Doctor 굿 닥터 (2013) Korean

Moon Chae Won, Joo Won, Joo Sang Wook, Kim Min Seo, Cheon Ho Jin

Drama Rating: 5/10     Neck Score: A

I know a lot of people had a hard time finishing this one.  Some because it was too intense because it was about an autistic pediatric surgeon who is being used for hospital politics crap, some because having an autistic man, who acts more like an eight year old sometimes, as the romantic lead was too much for them.  I know that for me watching kids who were sick, dying, or needing surgery was hard.  But it got much better once you get passed episode 6.  Medical dramas are not my favorite, but this one wasn't too bad.  I thought Joo Won did an amazing job of acting autistic, and personally I liked the Joo Won/Moon Chae Won couple.  They were both so awkward in different ways.  Once again, Moon Chae Won is great.  She was so crude and awkward in this one, such a different character from The Princess's Man.  Yep, one of my faves.  I did like how there were really no love triangles, they toyed with the idea, but nothing annoying or anything.

50. The Princess's Man 공주의 남자 (2011) Korean

Park Shi Hoo, Moon Chae Won, Song Jong Ho, Hong Soo Hyun

Drama Rating: 8/10     Neck Score: A

Best cinematography, best soundtrack, this is the best sageuk I have ever seen!  It's pretty much Romeo and Juliet meets Richard III because it's got the two lovers caught up in the political rivalry of the parents, but the rivalry includes evil uncles killing their nephews and brothers to take the crown.  It is based off the fact that the usurper king Sejo had a mysterious daughter mentioned in only one of the records but none of the others.  Using this they wrote a complex story of love, betrayal and revenge into the classic history of a struggle over the crown.  So much blood.  Literally half the episodes all of the characters are covered in blood.  Also Park Shi Hoo is hot.  He is one of the few that really works the Joseon get up.  As in seriously working it.  He looks sexy in those pastels and net hats.  Then when he goes all revengy bad-a on us, he has the warrior outfits with the long hair and head bands.  Rawr!  Moon Chae Won is my favorite actress ever... probably.  I admit that I didn't like her character in Shining Inheritance, but that's the beauty of her talent.  I swear she is a different character in every show and she rocks all of them.  I really loved her in this one, and then by the time Innocent Man and Good Doctor came around, that was just the confirming proof that this girl is awesome.  This is a very emotional roller coaster type show.  So much death that it's very heavy and you need to keep the watching pace slow, but at the same time it's so exciting you want to keep watching.  But it is so good.  Very fitting for my 50th drama.  It's just well made and classy.  I did have problems with the other dude.  He's dumb.  Also, it made me project his dumbness on his character in Answer me 1997, which I happened to be watching at the same time.  Oops.

42. Shining Inheritance 찬란한 유산 (2009) Korean

Lee Seung Gi, Han Hyo Joo, Bae Soo Bin, Moon Chae Won

Drama Rating: 6/10     Neck Score: B

Note:  Please watch City Hunter first so you can like his mom.  She is cray cray evil in this one and it will sour you for a while.  Also, this show has crying in it like every episode, as my friend pointed out while I was watching it.  "Is she crying again?"  Well, yeah.  Wouldn't you when your step-mom is like the devil, your autistic little brother is lost and you have to work with a hot butt head?  I guess it's justifiable crying, but it's still a lot of crying.  But boy does Seung Gi manage to steal the show.  He does the butt head to sweetheart character development so good.  I actually thought the nice other dude was annoying and really just liked watching Seung Gi's character develop.  I thought granny was a little weird.  Ok, you can just do weird things with your inheritance to teach your family a lesson... I guess... you should have thought of teaching them better earlier, when they were still being raised and all.  Also, Moon Chae Won is annoying with her "Oppa.... whine whine whine" business all the time.  I love her as an actress, but her character sucked in this one.  She had a cray cray mom though, so I guess her being her own kind of cray cray makes sense.  Watch it for Seung Gi, if you can take a bit of crying and cray cray... and have already seen City Hunter.

29. My Fair Lady 아가씨를 부탁해 (2009) Korean

Yoon Eun Hye, Yoon Sang Hyun, Jung Il Woo, Moon Chae Won

Drama Rating: 5/10      Neck Score: B+

Probably the role that I liked Yoon Eun Hye best in, because she wasn't a "Spazcakes."  But I watched this one for Oska (Yoon Sang Hyun) who will forever be Oska to me.  This is also an interesting mix up from the traditional format as it's the girl who is the rich jerky chaebol and the dude who is poor.  That gives a totally different set of problems since it is a way bigger deal when it comes to a relationship.  Oska is Eun Hye's personal butler, since he is in deep debt and needs a job to keep the loan sharks off his tail.  He used to be a gigolo too, as he needed to pay his mother's hospital bills.  So he manages to get the butler job and keep it for way longer than anyone else, since Eun Hye's character is a jerk.  Moon Chae Won is the little sister type character (not related) who has a crush on her oppa.  I love her, she's one of my favorite actresses.  The part that worked for me least in this show what why Jung Il Woo's character ever liked Eun Hye's character.  I guess it was just a case of liking her against his better judgement, because he's a rich boy who cast off all to be a righteous lawyer and she represents everything he hates.  Oh well.  It is refreshingly different, especially with the role reversals, and pretty funny.  Oska's neck isn't as good in this one as in Secret Garden, but still good.  Also there are a bunch of random other butlers in their lovely butler suits to add to the nice neck count.