217. Age of Youth 청춘시대 (2016) Korean

Han Ye Ri, Han Seung Yeon, Park Eun Bin, Ryu Hwa Young, Park Hye Soo

Drama Rating: 8/10     Neck Score: A

Can I just say: yes, please?  A drama about five strong women going through their own problems and dealing with crap and making mistakes?  Yes, please.  Sisterhood, womance, and not needing men to make everything better?  Yes, please.  Talking about real issues without glossing things over or wrapping everything up in a big bow?  Yes, please.  Five amazing female characters who are fully fleshed out, relatable, and lovable?  Heck yes, please!  A full range of different types of male characters from the scum of the earth to the most adorable thing on earth?  Yes!  I absolutely loved everything about this drama, including the fact that I hated that sseuregi seakki, that michinnom, because that was one of the many real life issues that needed to be addressed.  I especially loved all the relationships, between the roommates, between the cutie boys and the girls they liked.  I loved that it was not about romance, but about relationships, the good and bad, the love and friendship, and all the ups and downs.  That being said, I do wish there was a little more of the romance relationships, especially at the end.  I just wanted a little more, because it was cute and I wanted to see lots of cute at the end, not just a little cute.  More Ji Won and her club friend!  More Freckle Nose and Senior Yoon!  If there was just a tiny bit more of that at the end, I would have loved it, not a lot, just a little indulgence... but that also was what made it so good.  Even in the end, all the relationships were real.  The lack of confidence, wondering what the other person is thinking and feeling, the missed opportunities, lack of communication, and everything.  It was so good.  There were some many moments and little details that made it so real.  Like taking a bra off in the middle of a conversation (because who actually wears those death traps at home?) or Eun Jae and her senior talking and thinking about two different things at once... like all the time.  So much cute, so much pain, so much perfect.  I loved all those girls, even though they were all so frustrating.  So realistically frustrating that you had to love them all the more.  Why is it over?  Why was it only 12 episodes?  Give me more!  I already miss my girls!

220. Bad Guys 나쁜 녀석들 (2014) Korean

Kim Sang Joong, Park Hae Jin, Ma Dong Seok, Jo Dong Hyuk, Kang Ye Won

Drama Rating: 8/10     Neck Score: A

I finally got to watch this, I'm a little upset it took me 2 years, because it was amazing.  It was my jam.  I mean, bad guys who are really kind of good guys (I have such a thing for bad guys), fighting crime, and bromance.  So much freaking bromance!  I absolutely loved all of them.  Teddy Bear (Ma Dong Seok) who was just my fave.  Psycho (I was already totally in love with Park Hae Jin) was just perfect.  Sexy (Jo Dong Hyuk) has the best neck, and he was so cool too.  Mad Dog (Kim Sang Joong) and his amazing way of saying "saekki."  I loved how well rounded and complex all the characters were.  They all had their reasons, and problems, and you could see their growth from being animals to becoming human again.  There were some plot holes.  Mostly because it was so short and the main plot had to get rushed a bit at the end.  I would have been fine with it being 16+ episodes.  I loved it.  I mostly hated how annoying they made the girl at times.  She was cool too, until they made her do stupid things without enough reason just to move the plot along.  That was too rushed.  But the fighting.  Whoooo.  Sexy.  It made so much sense.  It was nice and classy.  Brutal and street fighty.  Oh yeah.  Season 2, please.

214. Squad 38 38사기동대 (2016) Korean

Ma Dong Seok, Seo In Guk, Sooyoung, Song Ok Suk, Heo Jae Ho, Ko Kyu Pil, Lee Sun Bin

Drama Rating: 8/10     Neck Score: A

As a heisty type drama, this was pretty good.  I think that might have been like 75% because of Seo In Guk and Ma Dong Seok, who are both amazing.  It had some slow parts and the habit of you being super angry at the villains because they were the scum of the earth, but I guess that made it super satisfying at the end when they were gotten.  I was really busy when I finished this, so it's actually been too long since I've watched it for me to actually remember my impressions of it.  But it was so good that Curdy had to watch it with us.  That is saying a lot.  But she was hooked from the start and made more excited noises while watching than I did.  I loved all of the main characters.  Literally I only hated the villains, and each villain was worst than the last.  Then there were the lukewarm villains, the lackeys who did all the dirty work.  I loved how you hated them, but it was also complicated.  You could be sympathetic to them occasionally.  That's good writing.  I liked most of the twists they had, and the "surprise, you've been hustled" moments for the most part made sense, which is important.  I do need to write a post about the nicknames for this show, because everyone had one.  That's how endearing the characters were.  Loved it.

208. Beautiful Gong Shim 미녀 공심이 (2016) Korean

Namgoong Min, Bang Minah, Oh Joo Wan, Seo Hyo Rim

Drama Rating: 5/10     Neck Score: A

You know, for a title character, Gong Shim wasn't in the show very much at the end.  It was such a delightful show, until they decided to make it a melodrama instead of a romcom.  Then it slowly decided to suck more and more.  It all happened when Ahn Dan Tae found out he was Joon Pyo.  A cursed name to ruin everything.  He suddenly had to become serious and hide things from from Gong Shim, and Ahn Dan Tae's ridiculousness and Gong Shim's awkward cuteness were the two things that made this show work. Really, this show was ruined because it was 20 episodes.  I think if it had been 16 it would have been a great show.  But the last two episodes were so ridiculous that I was clutching my head and moaning, especially since they threw in all the worst ending tropes.  Time jumps, magical american medicine, not keeping in contact because they would "miss them too much," all the worst shiz.  Really, the first 12 episodes were delightful.  Namgoong Min as Ahn Dan Tae was the cutest.  Those goofy faces of pure delight as he looked at food, and Gong Shim, were just beautiful.  Gong Shim thinking he was a beggar/pyeontae, even calling him the pervert lawyer.  I also loved the bromance between him and Joon Soo, which was adorable.  All of that was ruined when the drama decided to take itself serious.  It was never great writing, but when it was lighthearted and cute, that was acceptable, but once it became a drama, it was dumb.  I kept just whining "I miss the old, happy Dan Tae!"  I hated the grandma, I hated Gong Mi (she was a serious bitca for no reason.  I never could stand her).  I hated how ridiculous the villains of the show became.  I hated how draggy the drama got from 12-20, and I hated how at the end Gong Shim was barely ever in it.  But I did love Gong Shim, and how with the wig she looked just like G-Dragon.  I loved Dan Tae when he wasn't being mopey and serious.  I loved the bromance.  I loved the romance, and if those things hadn't been in the show even at the end, I would have dropped it.  So the end was horrible, but the beginning was very fun, so it's all the more sad that the ending just sucked.  It got so ridiculous with it's exaggerated plots to get confessions, time jumps, and forced reconciliations for everyone that it was on the level of cheesy lameness of an old or bad Taiwanese drama.  The type that gets cheesy and preachy. Just head shake.

@lizabr3ff: this ending wrap up is at the level of a bad Taiwanese drama. Way too drawn out and stupid. #BeautifulGongShim

— MarlubsGD (@MarlubsGD) July 19, 2016

Nooooo! Run away, Joon Soo! Run away from Gong Mi! She's eeeeeeevil! #BeautifulGongShim

— MarlubsGD (@MarlubsGD) July 19, 2016

207. Mirror of the Witch 마녀보감 (2016) Korean

Yoon Si Yoon, Kim Sae Ron, Lee Sung Jae, Yum Jung Ah, Kwak Si Yang

Drama Rating: 6/10     Neck Score: A

Most of the time this show made me say: "What the heck?!" because it was seriously crazy.  The plot was so complex and it seemed like there were no rules.  People kept dying, but not really dying.  Dying multiple times.  I guess with black magic anything goes.  So it was super unpredictable, which was good and bad I guess.  But it was also super annoying how even when she didn't have her black magic powers, the villain was always one step in ahead of everyone.  She was so "clever" and evil that people would fall into her traps every time.  Even when it meant that they would be making the exact same mistake multiple times in a row.  The weakened the other character believablity and really just the quality of the show.  It got to the point that I didn't care who else died as long as that evil bitca died.  So, really it was just the actors who held it for me, because the plot was too predictable and ridiculously unpredictable and crazy at the same time for me to actually care about it fully.  But I did care about Yoon Si Yoon, especially since he looks very good in Joseon.  Also, I could watch that man cry all day.  He is the most beautifullest crier in the world.  He goes for it.  It's like he's ugly crying, but it somehow ends up beautiful instead.  Unfair!  I'm glad that the age difference didn't turn out creepy.  I was excited about Cordon (Kwak Si Yang) being in it... at first.  Then his character turned into a poobutt with an annoying facial expression that made me want to punch him in the face.  However, the only part of the ending that made me ball like a baby (I guess I love Lee Sung Jae more than I thought) was when the dad and the bitca finally died.  That smirk when he turned and looked at Cordon.  Yep, that's what done it.  I guess I cried at the rest too, but I predicted it.  My favorite was Jjang Jjang Monk (Lee Yi Kyung) and Min Do Hee.  Second couple ftw!!!

209. Lucky Romance 운빨로맨스 (2016) Korean

Hwang Jung Eum, Ryu Jun Yeol, Lee Soo Hyuk, Lee Chung Ah

Drama Rating: 7/10     Neck Score: A++

All the points in this drama go to Ryu Jun Yeol for being flipping adorable.  Without that adorableness, this show might have fallen flat on its face.  I love Hwang Jung Eum, but her character was of a person who had an overactive guilt complex which made her think everything was her fault, making her a self-sacrificing coward.  That makes for a frustrating plot.  However, she and Ryu Jun Yeol had excellent chemistry and we totally adorable when the plot wasn't being frustrating.  He just made his typical genius with issues character so lovable and real that you couldn't help but love him.  Also, all the other characters in the show were pretty likable.  I especially had to love Chicken Ahjussi.  How could Jung In Gi play such a cute ahjussi in this one and such an evil detective in Squad 38?  At the same time!?!  He's amazing, that's how.  Hyun Bin's name, haha.  Amy's (Lee Chung Ah) bad jokes.  Lee Soo Hyuk just looking way too hot even when we were screaming out: "Go away, Gary!"  Seriously, those 2nd lead peeps were as annoying as heck sometimes, because that girl was already ready to run like a scared rabbit, and then they tried their darndest to mess them up when they never had a chance.  That's what made it all the better, they literally never had a chance.  Even though she kept trying to run and hide thinking she'd ruin everyone's life, she consistently loved him and would be adorable around him too.  So really it was pretty consistently good until the end, because our couple was in love like the whole time and being adorable all the time.  Then the second to last episode was super draggy so it was boring, but not bad.  Then they solved everything really quickly, which made it unbelievable, but whatever, it was a happy and good ending, so I'll forgive it, because it was adorable.  I couldn't help but grin stupidly.  He said "yay!" which is the most adorable thing in the universe.  Like I said, Ryu Jun Yeol makes everything better.  Also, we got to see that stupid shaman dude get some comeuppance.  He's probably one of the only peeps we really hated.  Him, and how she wore pants under all her maxi skirts.  What the heck was that fashion choice?  That was a nothing choice.  Her poor legs must have been so hot.

Monster Fail: When Characters "Grow Up" Badly

I guess this is going to be the closest I get to reviewing Monster, because I couldn't take it and dropped it, which is rare for me because I am a finisher.  But unlike all the other stupid shows that I finished when I should have just dropped them (like My Barfable Girl and Boorim School) I knew when to quit with this one.

Escape! There are 30 more episodes!!

Maybe because it is 50 episodes long and I couldn't even force myself to watch episode 20... That might seem like too long already, but I did want to give a chance, because Park Ki Woong, but it wasn't enough.  One of the biggest reasons I couldn't muscle through was that I couldn't like the main couple.  Well, I honestly didn't like the main dude.  He just wasn't right for that role, and the biggest reason was because he was too old and nothing like his younger self.  For the first time, the younger selves were better and everything was ruined when the show time jumped our OTP (and I use that term loosely) into a pair of less likable peeps.