330. The Last Empress 황후의 품격 (2018) Korean

Jang Na Ra, Choi Jin Hyuk, Shin Sung Rok, Shin Eun Kyung, Lee Elijah

Drama Rating: 8/10     Neck Score: A+

Some of you might already know this, but I love makjang (aka overly melodramatic). But not just any makjang, I like the classy, but crazy kind that twists through through all the emotions and all the drama without making you want to chew your leg off to escape it. The kind that is so fantastic that you just eat it up and want more. The Last Empress was exactly what I like. Not only that, but all the craziness was fortified by a stellar cast that made everything worth it, even at the crazier times. I have always loved Jang Na Ra, so seeing her take down the rotten royal family was the best. Also, and you might have heard this a time or two but, I love Shin Sung Rok. As a super fangirl, this show just might have been a dream come true. He was really in his element with the complex character that was the emperor. One part villain, one part hero, at least two parts lover, and a whole lot of crazy. The chemistry between him and Jang Na Ra was nothing short of amazing and that really complicated things because even when he was being a supreme douche bag and you knew he was lying, you still wanted to believe his fake cuteness because the chemistry was there. Now that's messed up and perfect makjang right there.

So, yeah, I might have a problem to begin with.

Note: Reading on might contain mild spoilers, so be warned.

326. The Beauty Inside 뷰티 인사이드 (2018) Korean

Seo Hyun Jin, Lee Min Ki, Lee Da Hee, Ahn Jae Hyun, Lee Tae Ri, Moon Ji In

Drama Rating: 7/10     Neck Score: A+

This was one of the dramas I was the most upset about losing legal access to with the death of DF. But I wanted to finish it enough to find another way, it just took me a while to do it. You loose a lot of steam when you lose your streaming platform, apparently (fist shakes towards those responsible for throwing off my groove and ruining a lot of people's lives in many ways). Anyway, to the actual drama. I was interested in this, having watched the movie a while ago. There were obvious differences in the premise right away. The roles were switched. It was the female lead who had the body changing problem and had her change just once a month for a week instead of a different person every time they sleep. And instead of being a normal person who loved her, our male lead had face blindness on top of it. Well, face blindness seems to be the latest trend in weird problems, starting around the time of Girl Who Sees Smells? Sometime around then, I think. Well, since then I've seen everywhere as a replacement of amnesia almost. Anyway, this wasn't the only drama that had it during it's airing time. 100 Days My Prince also had a face blind character. But I digress.

331. Accidentally in Love 惹上冷殿下 (2018) Chinese

Sun Yi Ning, Guo Fiction, Ma Li, Zhao Yi Qin, Zhou Mo, Cheng Mu Xuan

Drama Rating: 7/10     Neck Score: A+

I was needing more dramas, and some of my T-List were talking about how much they liked this one, so I started it and then quickly burned through it. It was just what I needed to contrast the other dramas I was watching, which are full of crazy. Not that this one wasn't full of crazy in its own way. The fluffy, ridiculous way. But if I had to describe this drama in one word, it would be "cute." The OTP was adorable and I liked pretty much everyone in the show. There were some stupid people sure, like the bad behavior enabling noona who popped in to escalate the drama near the end. But on the whole everyone was pretty likable. That's not saying that I didn't have moments where I got stressed because people kept hurting my muffins and it took way too long for the muffins to finally get together, because that totally happened. But I also love the slow progression of the relationship from enemies, to frenemies, to friends, to best friends, to lovers. Isn't that the way its just supposed to happen. Especially when the characters are so consistent when it happens. Even when they were dating they treated each other like before. Teasing and bickering, but still having each other's back.

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.

327. Where Stars Land 여우각시별 (Korean) 2018

Lee Je Hoon, Chae Soo Bin, Lee Dong Gun, Kim Ji Soo, Kim Kyung Nam, Lee Soo Kyung, Ro Woon

Drama Rating: 5/10     Neck Score: A+

Despite loving all of the actors in this show, it wasn't as good as could be hoped. It either didn't have a plot, or there were too many loose ends in whatever plot it was about. I thought it was about a bunch of people working at an airport who all had some kind of issues, but apparently the real plot was Lee Dong Gun and Lee Je Hoon's issues? Or is it? Was it just the techno arm/he doesn't want to be handicapped deal? Was it really just about the relationship? There were too many little plots to say which was the main plot, but the one that suddenly ended it all was the thrown in at the last minute: hyung's got issues with the mafia and you're broken, son. I guess that sums up the plot. Because that was the one that got the biggest resolution... except there were too many things not explained, so actually there was no real resolution. Did that make me hate the show? Not really. The ending wasn't so much the problem. It was the middle stuff.

To Philly, To Philly, to See Our Day6

I know it's been weeks and I'm only  just getting around to writing about our trip, but in my defense it was Thanksgiving right after we got back and things have only just settled down for me. I even got snowed in last weekend so I couldn't get home from my brother's house. But that's whatever, and I really just want to talk about the trip.

Philadelphia was a bucket list destination for me, so when we decided to go to that concert, I was super stoked. I was a huge American Revolution nerd in high school, so I was super excited to see "the birthplace of the nation" as we liked to say when anyone asked us why we were travelling across the country to see a Korean rock concert. But it really was also just to see a Korean rock concert. I like this destination K-Pop thing we've got going on. I'm seeing more cities than I ever would. It's a nice excuse to travel.

325. The Smile Has Left Your Eyes 하늘에서 내리는 1억 개의 별 (2018) Korean

Seo In Guk, Jung So Min, Park Sung Woong, Go Min Si, Yoo Jae Myung

Drama Rating: 7/10     Neck Score: A+

I kind of loved the level of psychological thriller this had. With a mysterious man who is a sociopath or whatever, manipulating and not understanding emotions. Completely jaded to the good in the world because he can see human hypocrisy all too well. Seo In Guk did a great job being the "monster" in this one. You hated him and loved him all at once. He made you shiver all while being attracted to him. But then the developing relationship between him and Jung So Min was also really great. I loved her as well. Her innate ability to see through him, but still empathize. To see both the good and the bad and to call him out on his crap. It made the relationship worth watching, even though you had the sick feeling that everything was going to go wrong when we finally found out about the past that the oppa kept not telling everyone about, even when we were all sure that telling would save some mistakes from being made. Oh well.