September Watched

September was a month for me to finish all my background dramas, and some that I genuinely enjoyed... At first. You will find a few dramas that surprised me in a good way, but be ready for disappointment.

Do you agree with my ratings? Is there something we disagree on?

First impression: The storyline seems interesting. I'm curious how it will go.

Last impression: Why does every drama become so bad by the end?

Synopsis: There are almost zero gun crime cases in the country. Things change quickly; illegal guns, from unknown sources, are brought into South Korea. Lee Do is a righteous detective who struggles to stop gun incidents and chases after the source of the illegal firearms. Moon Baek is his mysterious partner whose true motives remain hidden. These two men hold a gun for their own reasons. (Mydramalist)

The first story is about a man living in a gosiwon, where he encounters people who bother him. He goes to a therapist and tries to deal with the thoughts, as the viewers are left wondering if he will pull out the gun or not.

This has set a good premise for the drama, making me believe there will be interesting storylines in every episode, with a different look at people who get the gun.

However, as much as some of them were intriguing, I couldn't believe some of them. Anyone can get angry at society, one person, but how is everyone so casual about pulling the trigger?

The last two episodes threw me off a bit, too. It still talked about how some people want guns and some don't, but the whole fight seemed so exaggerated. I could barely care what was happening in the last episode.

Lee Do and Moon Baek together are great. A friendship/alliance I had fun watching in the show, but I don't think their characters as individuals were fleshed out well. They're very one-dimensional.

Kim Young Kwang as Moon Baek was great, though.

The drama is 10 episodes long, and around 40 minutes, but everything was rushed. It seemed that they were trying to grasp too many things.

It sadly becomes yet another drama with a good start, but nothing further than that. I wanted to see more thoughts behind Lee Do's mind, better police work. A new partner is introduced for Lee Do, whom we barely got to see. I'm not even sure why he was there.

So many touch-ups should have happened before this became a drama.

5/10

First impression: It seems promising

Last impression: It did end up as a heartwarming drama

Synopsis: Ju Ga Ram used to be a rugby player. He had talent and star potential, but a drug scandal ruined everything. 3 years later, he returns as a contract coach for the weakest team in the high school league. As a coach, Ju Ga-Ram shows unrivalled charisma and an uncompromising leadership ability. He also reunites with his ex-girlfriend Bae I Ji, who is a shooting coach at the same high school. (Asianwiki)

I didn't have many expectations going into the drama, and it was easy to predict what would happen. Cartoonish villains, politics, and a team that everyone wants to disband.

However, I still found the characters endearing. The goofiness of Ju Ga Ram was addicting, and the way he handled the boys was interesting.

I'm not a sports fan, especially not a rugby fan, so I'm kind of glad they didn't show much of it. (Very unpopular opinion) But what I would have loved to see more of was the relationships of all the people.

Yes, we get bits of how the team becomes one and stronger, but outside of that, we barely get to see anything.

Other team members, except for the captain, don't really have any background story. I can't say I know any of them well, except maybe for Ung, who joined recently. After he was done with his challenges, he was off to the sidelines.

There is also a girl who is crushing on the rugby captain, but her feelings are never revealed. There is no jealousy that he likes someone else, just glances towards him. I'm not even sure why the director would imply that she wants something more out of him. Did they even talk in the drama? Why does she like him?

In the end, this was a fun and heartwarming drama. If you watched other sports kdramas, this is nothing different except that they play rugby. I did surprisingly enjoy it quite a bit.

7.5/10

First impression: Seems quite simple but cute

Last impression: THIS WAS EXTREMELY BORING

Synopsis: Depicts the story of Park Seok Cheol, the eldest grandson of a third-generation gangster family with an unexpectedly pure heart, and his first love Kang Mi Yeong, who dreams of becoming a singer. Seok Cheol faces the tumultuous ups and downs of life with tears and laughter to protect his family, career, and love. (Mydramalist)

The start of the drama is still somewhat fun. Seok Cheol is looking out for his sisters, meeting his lover after some time and a bit of gang stuff.

I imagined this drama quite differently from what it was; maybe that's why I didn't like it that much.

For some reason, I thought that Seok Cheol had already left the gang and it would show his life without it, but it was all just words. He kept talking about wanting to leave, but we had to wait a long time for it to happen.

So, all of that gang politics was not interesting. The only time I cared about it was when Tae Hoon was involved and showed his sister.

The romance wasn't good either. Lee Dong Wook and Lee Sung Kyung barely have any chemistry together, and I was more interested in other couples. Also, Tae Hoon was horrible to Kang Mi Young. I don't get why he never got called out about it by Seok Cheol.

His family was the strength of the drama. I enjoyed seeing the older sister's story with her son, and still finding love. The younger sister storyline was quite funny, too, except for the confusing part.

Spoilers: She talks about wanting to go to the USA, regardless of what her boyfriend thinks. Things happen, and she ends up not going, so her boyfriend suggests that they still go, but now she's talking about how her family wouldn't let her.

Where was this energy when you were thinking of going alone? They did end up going, but again, there was no conversation about it.

Before the drama started, I saw that the director and screenwriter hadn't worked in the industry for a long time (at least they hadn't created any dramas or movies). I was curious how it would turn out, and it was disappointing.

The shots were nice, but the constant reminder of what happened an episode or even less ago got annoying. I noticed that "Winter Sonata", a 2003 drama, does the same thing, where it doesn't trust the viewer to remember anything, but it gets to the point where I'm skipping parts.

I needed a better plot or main character development, rather than a break-up trope

3/10

First impression: I can't stop looking at Gong Seung Yeon's eyes and Kim Jae Young's smile. They're so pretty!

Last impression: It turned out to be boring...

Synopsis: It depicts the story of Kang Yeo Reum, a former idol who has never been a centre in her life, and her journey to find true success and the meaning of life as a travel reporter who goes on trips on behalf of others. The drama captures beautiful sceneries of various travel destinations and provides heartwarming stories and healing for viewers. (Mydramalist)

I didn't have many expectations coming to watch the drama, so I can't really say I was disappointed. It is all about healing and finding yourself, which it delivered perfectly, but the other aspects were lacking...

The reason why Yeo Reum is travelling is a bit weird. I don't know a person who would ask a stranger to travel for them, but they dealt with it nicely. It was logical in some ridiculous drama way.

My favourite story was with the dog, and after that, I lost my interest.

The Japan trip made me laugh sometimes, especially when people spoke Japanese, and the other person would speak Korean. Yet everyone would understand one another. Yeo Reum didn't even try to speak English and hoped they would understand her in Korean.

She used a translator at times, but not always.

For the characters, I can't say I connected with them. Yeo Reum experienced a notable development, but others remained unchanged.

I enjoyed the father-daughter relationship between the company owner and Yeo Reum. He alone or with any other character wasn't that interesting.

The male lead is just a puppy running around Yeo Reum and having his one-sided crush. I can understand his crush as he was editing her previous show videos, but she's not giving him any hints of romance or anything.

They didn't even have that much screen time together...

If you're looking for a simple drama to watch, this is a good choice. It has no darker side to it, just a few stories getting a bit sad. Watch it for the healing journey only.

Before the drama came out, it said that it would have 2 seasons, but I'm not sure if I'll tune in.

6.5/10

First impression: I don't understand the motivation behind these characters.

Last impression: It feels like it was too long but also too short.

Synopsis: Woo So Jeong is a doctor. Even though it is illegal, she helps terminally ill patients with euthanasia. She does this with Dr Choi Dae Hyun while Detective Ban Ji Hoon works to track them down. (Asianwiki)

Before watching the first episode, I had already noticed a review criticising it. To get someone this mad on your first try is quite hard, if it's not a troll.

But it wasn't that bad. Yes, the drama could've left some of the things a mystery, but I didn't mind. It's always fun to see how they would make it interesting with everything already revealed.

The drama did great in telling stories of people who want euthanasia. I feel like even if you're against it, there might be some aspects we can all sympathise with. The drama does well talking about the subject, how it affects the people around them and the person who decides it's the best option for them.

If this drama had focused on that, it would've had a better rating.

However, "Mary Kills People" wanted to go somewhere where nothing makes sense. We get a police team trying to catch the doctor, but it's all boring because they also know everything; they just don't have evidence.

At first, I was also curious about the drug dealer, but that also turned into a mess.

The characters were nothing special. Woo So Jeong makes a lot of dumb decisions that will make everyone frustrated, while the detective and another doctor are just there.

Choi Dae Hyeon has a bit more personality, but it's not developed enough. I'm sorry, but it will need something more than just "after 3 years" to show that there was growth in the character somewhere.

Cho Hyeon U is even less impressive. Sometimes I questioned why he was even there, and the whole romantic feeling between him and So Jeong didn't work.

Even with all the flaws, I tried to find things that I enjoyed. I questioned why I continued watching it, but the last two episodes made me hate the drama.

The 11th episode was an okay conclusion. It should have stopped sooner, but sure. On the other hand, the 12th episode was so unnecessary. It felt like the start of season two, but I was so detached from the characters that it did nothing.

This is just another disappointment: characters are underdeveloped, while the writer and director are trying to do too many things without picking what they want to focus on.

3.5

First impression: I'm not sure how I feel about the characters, but it's fun in a weird way

Last impression: This was a very girlboss drama

Synopsis: In the 1980s and along Chungmuro in Seoul, a street that serves as the hub of the Korean film industry, Jeong Hee-Ran reigns as the top actress in the country. She has a fiery temper, which allows her to go off on anyone and speak out whenever she senses something is wrong. She is then cast in the movie "Madame Aema". Shin Ju-Ae wants to become an actress, but she currently works as a nightclub dancer. Jeong Hee-Ran is extremely peeved at the current situation. Meanwhile, Kwak In-U is a rookie director who is full of dreams, but feeble in temperament. (Asianwiki)

The drama was surprisingly vulgar, but as I read more about the time the film was released, it was pretty accurate to what was shown here. The eroticism was shocking at some points, but some of it had interesting commentary, which sold out cinemas at the time.

If you want to know more about the history of Madame Aema and erotic films in Korean cinema, have a look at my blog, The Real Aema.

I enjoyed the bits of historical facts thrown into the drama, for example, the lifting of the curfew right before the film was released.

For me, this was the best aspect of the drama, but at some point it turned too fictional. You can shoot a gun and nobody will bat an eye, you can almost kill a person, but there is no scene of them being hurt. There were no consequences for their actions.

The character of Sin Ju Ae was more realistic than that of Jung Hui Ran. We saw Ju Ae's struggles, friendships, and how she grew as an actress and a person. However, Hui Ran, a top actress, turned into a manic pixie dream girl created for women.

She was very mysterious, but reckless at times. Knows how to stand up for herself and tries to do that for other actresses.

Hui Ran is a woman who, in some ways, we should admire, but also that made a bit over-the-top.

This drama needed more episodes. To properly talk about the issues that actresses faced during that time. To elaborate on the characters and their motivations.

It has a lot of potential to be great, but it lacked a lot of things...

7/10