February, March and April Drama Reviews April 13, 2023

February, March, and April Drama Reviews 2023

Strangers Again

This drama is about Oh Ha-Ra (Kang So-Ra) who is a divorce lawyer but is also divorced herself. Her ex-husband Ku Eun-Beom (Jang Seung-Jo) wants to come and work at her law firm even though he was the one that cheated on her and why they got divorced. They are forced to work together and work through their past whether they want to or not. Things get very heated and also between the other lawyers in the office.

I think this drama had good acting and chemistry between the actors and I think the plot was interesting and the cases they work on are definitely unique. I think this drama had a lot of shock value and the problems they get themselves into was a fun ride to watch. I really liked watching the relationships and characters and just watch them work things out. I think it was a fun drama to watch and it felt somewhat different then the typical meet cute, fall in love scenario. Things are messy and emotions are conflicted and it just felt there was a lot that could have been done with growth of the characters. I feel like it had a realistic vibe where the characters have damage/trauma that they can’t really get over with the power of love. It also delved into the topics of having kids and what do you need to be fulfilled in this life. I think the drama had a lot of potential to be a really good one.

Unfortunately the biggest problem with the drama is the ending. I would say it is not a happy ending and feels somewhat rushed compared to the rest of the drama. I know that a lot of people were upset about the ending and it erred on the too realistic to how relationships end up. I just decided that I was going to leave it with an open ending and that they will likely end up together eventually but that was how I going to leave it in my mind. I didn’t find myself being as upset as other people as I still enjoyed the drama despite the ending. I think they should have had Eun-Beom get help earlier then he did in the drama and have them work through their problems instead of doing that easy way out ending. Other than the ending, I don’t really have anything that I disliked about it, it was entertaining and it felt a bit more unique vibe with their cases and themes in the drama. I really did enjoy it and would say check it out if you are interested but don’t be expecting too much out of the ending!

Poong, The Joseon Psychiatrist 2

This drama is a sequel to Poong, The Joseon Psychiatrist and I think it would be hard to watch the second series without having watched the first season. So it is the continuation of the story of Yoo Se-Poong (Kim Min Jae) who is a royal physician who can’t do acupuncture because of a traumatic experience he had and he continues to fix people especially those that need help with their heart and mind. It starts off with an unusual case in the royal palace and Poong has to fight against the royal physicians to figure out the case. Eun-Woo has been separated from the clinic living with her parents but she has continued to write letters to everyone and is going to come back to visit. They continue to solve cases and struggle with their feelings for each other as she is a widow and because of social customs it makes it hard for them to be together.

I think it was enjoyable drama even though it seemed to lack a bit of story with the main characters. The drama also doesn’t really explain why a widow isn’t allowed to marry and it would get frustrating because they focused a lot of time and energy on this problem in this drama. They just take turns self-sacrificing for each other trope. I didn’t mind the new and different cases that were done but it didn’t feel justified to do a second season. I really find it strange since there are many dramas that people have longed to have a second season for but I doubt anyone would have really demanded a second season of this show.

It was a decent heart warming tale but I didn’t really feel or were touched with some heart fluttering moments. I just didn’t feel the love between the two of the leads and it just felt somewhat forced. I found the side stories more interesting and the people that they met and their mysteries to be the reason to keep watching this drama. It is a decent drama with a happy ending that will leave you satisfied. There were interesting elements in this drama but as a whole it still felt like there was something missing.

I would say it is very similar to the first season and if you enjoyed that, I would definitely watch the second season.

Our Blooming Youth

Warning this may contain spoilers

This drama is about Min Jae-Yi (Jeon So-Nee) who is framed for the murders of her entire family and she finds her way to Crown Prince Lee Hwan (Park Hyung-Sik) who has been sent a ghost letter cursing him. Jae-Yi begs him to help her and he agrees after she tells him that she will help him with the mysterious letter as she is very smart and helps him solve some suspicious things going on around him.

I did enjoy this drama but I think I had high hopes for this drama and was a bit disappointed with the drama. It had a lot of episodes so I was also kinda sad the way that they wrapped up the ending so quickly, they had plenty of time they could have given us more than crumbs for the ending. I also am unhappy with how they just skipped over the whole Jae-Yi’s family murders and didn’t really flesh out well the reason for the murders. I don’t know if I am just confused about it, but the whole gravestone being such a great clue seemed silly to me. A gravestone of some names doesn’t really seem worthy of killing an entire family over, first of all people can change their names and how are you going to really prove it. Secondly, why not just get rid of the evidence instead of killing a whole family, I feel that will draw more attention to this problem then anything. So overall I found the reasons somewhat confusing and the ending felt rushed and things or rules just change so suddenly. Also they try to explain all the supernatural things but the whole hair turning white overnight because they got hypnotized was just so bizarre and the weird fish was a little bit over the top in ridiculousness. Of course with all palace dramas the old men trying to steal power from the king trope is been done to death in dramas.

I enjoyed the drama and characters and enjoyed the effort into trying to make a more interesting political palace drama. I found the romance to be cute and I wish there would have been more of love triangle with the Sargent and that he would have found her earlier but overall it was good. I also appreciate a happy ending and it was satisfying to win against evil. Overall it was a decent drama but I don’t feel it as anything really new or exciting that would make it an unique drama. It also really gave me love in the moonlight vibes with the Jae-Yi dressing as a eunuch for most of the drama. It felt like a mish mash of different historical type dramas but nothing really stand out for me. People also felt like it was a very slow-moving drama which I don’t always mind but it did seem slow at times. I still did enjoy it even if there was problems.

It was a decent drama and I would recommend if you love historical dramas!

Fanletter, Please

This drama is a short drama with only 4 episodes, I would say it felt more like a movie. It stars Han Gang-Hee (Sooyoung) who is a an actress and is facing a crisis because of rumors and her image plummets. It also stars Bang Jung-Seok (Yoon Park) who has a daughter who has cancer and is a huge fan of Gang-Hee and sends her a fan letter and it ends up helping Gang-Hee.

This is a cute drama and I can appreciate it more because it was fast-paced and they get right to the point because of time. The acting is good, the kids are cute and it was pretty decent for such a short drama. I enjoyed it, it was interesting and was a fun watch. The one complaint is they never explain what happened to the mother of the child. I don’t know why they don’t make it clear because I thought we would get an explanation at the end but it was never explained. The drama doesn’t go really that deep and kinda skim over the trauma that the characters face but I understand they don’t have time.

It was a cute short drama that is easy to watch!

Bad Prosecutor

I also decided to watch this drama it stars Jin Jung (Do Kyung-Soo) who has a strong sense of justice and has no problems doing what he thinks is right to solve the case as a prosecutor. This drama felt unique and felt somewhat refreshing for a law drama as I felt like there have been many in the last while. I liked how Jin Jung approached things differently and just tackled them head on even though it may not always the best method but he really got things done and was decisive. I thought I may get bored with the subject matter but yet the cases were always interesting and was always action packed. I was pretty impressed with this drama, I loved the twists and turns and shocking reveals. It really feels like it needs a second season but there has been no news released about that. I liked the side characters as well and how they get into trouble for Jin Jung.

At times it felt really unrealistic like Jin Jung being blamed for the murders and evading capture and then the next day it could all just disappear and the way he beat up people. I don’t think you have the authority for that even if you are a prosecutor. There isn’t any romance in this drama, not that it is needed but there was a bit of flirtation so that felt like a loose end. I think overall though this is a fun ride and pretty entertaining to watch Jin Jung go after the bad guys!

I would recommend this drama for anyone that loves the unconventional hero !

Catch Up My Prince

I watched this Chinese drama about Lu Ran Ran who is an intern doctor and is told to join this game by one of her patients and she gets trapped in the game. She has to finish one of the routes to be able to leave the game and her life could be in jeopardy if anything happens to her in the game. She is a laundry maid and has to find a way for one of the main characters which are princes to fall in love with her. She falls for one of the princes but can’t seem to get his love score up.

I thought it was a fun drama with many characters and just the rules of the game really made it interesting if she has to finish a different quest and it just felt more unique than a typical love story. I have to say it really sucked me into the story at times and found it to be refreshing and interesting way to approach a drama.

I did find the ending to be kinda of a let down since they don’t spend much time in the real life and how to move past the game. Also the reason for things going wrong is due to the “bad guy” and his reasoning is a bit silly and his motives are kinda convoluted. I think they could have a done a better job of building up the story and given it a stronger base and ending.

Overall it was a fun drama that was easy to watch and one I didn’t take too seriously.

Upcoming Dramas

Oasis

During the 1980’s in the Jeolla Province Lee doo Hak and Choi Cheol Woong are friends in high school that are looking for fun when they meet Oh Jung Shin who recently transferred and they both have a crush on her. A death causes the world to change for Doo-Hak and Cheol Woong and one of them is sent to prison.

The Secret Romantic Guesthouse

It is about a young woman running a guesthouse and she and the other renters try and figure out where a missing royal has been so she can save her home!