Team Dramabeans: What we’re watching

by DB Staff

More new shows! Did any of this week’s premieres grab anyone’s attention and take over a coveted spot on the watch list? There’s still another week of premieres left to go, after which I’ll probably have to drop a few shows just to keep sane. But… how to choose? Stress! –girlfriday

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Father, I’ll Take Care of You: I’m in a bit of a drama-watching funk these days—or should I say a drama-starting funk, to be more accurate—and can’t quite muster the energy to engage in all the new premieres, even though there are a couple shows in there I think I’ll end up enjoying. I actually find it a relief to have a show like this available at the moment, because it’s familiar, comfortable, and easy. The cute romance feels like it’s taking a mid-show breather, so right now it’s the Kim Jae-won storyline that’s got more of my interest—I still think it’s overly dramatic and wrought, but I totally felt for him when he wrestled with his rage over hating his enemies and feeling so pained to watch them being so loving to each other. Thanks to the flashbacks I want him to get his revenge, although in the current storyline I just want him to make up with his little brother and be happy.

Hwarang: I like this show, but it’s a little too light to get its claws into me, and I often take days to finish an episode because it’s so very pausable. I checked back in with my old-sageuk-loving dad about it, and it was funny-sad to hear how disappointed he was with the show, now that he’d seen it and realized it wasn’t the awesome historical epic he was hoping for in his mind. (“But it’s such a great story! It’s all true! Hwarang was so awesome and cool! This story… what did they do it?”)

Introverted Boss: Yeon Woo-jin is so perfect for this, and I’m right there with him, rooting for him. Unfortunately, I don’t love the heroine so much even though I really wished I did, though I think the concept works. I think they were trying so hard to contrast them and make their symbolic differences extra-stark that they went overboard in making her pushy in an off-putting way. I’ll still watch this, though, and hope I warm to her.

girlfriday

Legend of the Blue Sea: I was happy with the ending to the show, though I wished more had happened in the finale, which felt more like an extended epilogue than a full episode. Overall I wanted the mythology to be twistier, and for the past to influence the future more intricately (and vice versa), so I was disappointed that the show followed such a straight path all the way to the finish line. It wasn’t an epic romance despite the legend, but it was a sweet, satisfying rom-com that gave me warm fuzzy feelings and made me laugh out loud quite a lot.

Defendant: Oh, this one’s going to be good. It’s got a rock-solid premise, good execution that makes the thriller actually thrilling, and a great cast headlining. Ji Sung is dependably good as the prosecutor who wakes up in prison with no memory of the murder he supposedly committed, and Eom Ki-joon sends chills down my spine as the chaebol twins. Of all the new shows so far, this is the one I’m most interested in following. Someone has to bring that villain down!

Introverted Boss: This show still seems wobbly on its feet, even though there are elements that interest me enough to keep watching. The directorial style is so similar to Oh Hae-young Again that I like the show most when it deviates in any way and does something new—my favorite parts are the horror fakeouts every time someone suspects the hero of being a serial killer, or his stream of consciousness what-if interludes. The whole coffee fiasco where he couldn’t figure out how to alter his triple-shot espresso without hurting his secretary’s feelings was priceless. I guess I like the secretary more than the heroine, because all of my favorite scenes are with her.

Hwarang: But… the bromance can’t be broken already! It just started! On the upside, I really like that the focus is turning to the main bromance, which is by far the most interesting relationship in this show.

Chief Kim: I didn’t think Namgoong Min could top the weirdness and hilarity of his character in Beautiful Gong Shim, but he just might do it as Chief Kim. What a fun character and a funny drama, full of clever cuts and cheeky writing, and a totally zany sense of humor. I burst out laughing when he came to a brawl armed with helium gas and turned the mobsters into Alvin and the Chipmunks. What a nut!

Solomon’s Perjury: I’m super excited to watch the final two episodes this weekend. I hope I’m not getting my expectations too high for the resolution to all the mysteries on this show, but you can’t call a whodunit good unless it goes out with a bang, right?

tineybeanie

Naked Fireman: The title is a trap — the promised scenes of six-pack abs and shirtless hotties were few and far between. That being said, I actually enjoyed this short four-episode drama, although it definitely could have used more episodes to flesh out the main plot arcs, which had numerous interesting twists that could have been more fully exploited in a longer show. I was initially curious because it starred the girl who had been in the running to be SBS’s My Sassy Girl’s leading lady, Jung In-sun, and I thought that she did a pretty admirable job for her first main role. But the entire time, I was a little distracted because I thought that Jung In-sun with long hair looked exactly like Choi Jung-won… but maybe that’s just me. Overall, it was a good tide-over drama until I find my next TV addiction.

SailorJumun

Currently recapping: Solomon’s Perjury

Legend of the Blue Sea: You know, Blue Sea was good. It was the first thing I watched every Wednesday and Thursday, and I was always content with the characters and where the story was going. But it was never the kind of show that I would find myself thinking about hours after an episode ended. I’d actually forget about it until the next week, which is pretty unusual for me. Though the show contained plenty of goodness — a cute romance, a gripping backstory, etc. — it felt like that’s all it was trying to be: good. Not great. And it makes me sad to say that, since the drama was so hyped up. I’ll miss you for a little while, Joon-jae and Chung, but I don’t see your legend sticking with me for too long.

Hwarang: My new crack. Because there are so many colorful characters, there’s not a moment where I feel too bored. It’s just a lot of good ol’ fun, which was exactly what I asked for. I do have one complaint though and, unfortunately, it’s the romance. I’m totally Park Seo-joon biased, so I shipped Ah Ro with Sun-woo since the very beginning. The connection they had with Mak Mun was simultaneously sad and sweet, and I loved the idea that they could bond from that terrible loss. But now that they’re actually together, they seem a bit… awkward? And not the cute kind of awkward. I don’t know, is it just me?

Introverted Boss: I’m on the fence with this one. All the cute, vibrant promos got me excited for the Marriage Not Dating team’s latest rom-com, but I surprised myself by being completely turned off by our extroverted heroine. I can’t figure out if it’s because of the character or the actress. Or maybe even both. It could be that Park Hye-soo is still quiet little Eun-jae from Age of Youth in my eyes and it’s messing with my head. I want to keep watching since I love Yeon Woo-jin as the title introvert (he’s just wonderful), but I might need to step away for now and marathon later.

 
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