Welcome to my Saturday blog post, where I give thoughts on dramas I’m watching, whether at the beginning, middle, or end. Whatever I want, because I’m petty that way.
This week, I recapped the final episodes 9-10 of Reset. I think Tada needs therapy more than Armin, but I’m very happy with the ending. I’ve got a review of the full series with no spoilers below.
I also started recapping I’m The Most Beautiful Count with episodes 1-2. I’m watching this series because I wanted to see our lead actor, Nut, in high heels and our lead actor, Ping, without his shirt on. So far, I have nothing to complain about.
What did I watch this week? Strangers on the internet were upset about a potential age-gap romance with a power imbalance, so I had to check out:
Beyond the Bar – 에스콰이어: 변호사를 꿈꾸는 변호사들 – 2025
Currently airing Korean Legal Drama (with romance?), I’ve watched 4 of 12 episodes.
A brilliant but unconventional young woman is hired to work at a law firm under a brilliant, cold, older man. Will I get the romance I want?
The show had me from the setup. Our female lead arrives late for the interview and is too honest about the reason: she was reading a book. Our male lead immediately notices runs in her stockings and a poorly covered stain on her shirt. He thinks she’s gross and disrespectful.
Of course, she gets hired, and of course, she joins his team. Thankfully, it doesn’t take too long for him to realize that she’s one of those messy geniuses.
Legal Dramas Gonna Legal Drama
After that, we get to people suing people, moral/ethical/legal questions, and people in impossible situations. It’s the kind of legal show where the cases are designed to set you up with one assumption, then show you the opposite is actually true.
The show is not without light moments, but issues at the heart of the cases are Serious with a capital S. This is a dramatic version of the courtroom, not a light and quirky one.
All is not well within the firm either, as we get to know the other lawyers in power and which of them are toxic masculinity nepo-babies. Our male lead already has enemies, and our female lead quickly picks up some.
Then there’s their personal lives. They’re complicated. Our female lead’s boyfriend works for another firm. Our male lead has a dog. Cases sometimes have underlying themes that tie into and reveal their personal lives and histories. As they should.
But will I get romance?
Hard to say. There has been enough time spent on both their romantic histories to give me hope. On the other hand, this is the director of Revenant and Flex X Cop, which teased romance but didn’t feel like delivering.
But they were also good shows, and I’ve already been convinced by these first four episodes that it’ll be worth my time to watch the rest, even if I don’t get any age-gap power imbalance romance.
I hate that poster, though.
As I mentioned, I also finished:
Reset – การเกิดใหม่ของดวงดาว – 2025
Recently aired Thai Time Travel BL with 10 episodes.
A hard-working actor finally makes it to the top, only to be betrayed and fall to his death. Then he goes back in time 26 years.
This set-up is pretty familiar if you’ve watched Marry My Husband, Marry My Husband Japan, or Perfect Marriage Revenge. But Reset is different in more ways than just the genders of our leads.
It’s more of a mystery, less of a revenge thriller
Because it’s not clear whose actions led to our poor lead’s death. Armin spent years fighting his way to success in the film industry because everyone wanted to sabotage and destroy him. Maybe only one person caused his death, but a lot of people contributed to destroying his life.
And Armin spends a lot of time questioning why he’s been sent back in time. He talks to god a few times, as I think anyone should when sent back in time, but it’s ultimately an existential universe. No obvious mechanisms or clues appear to give him a direction. He’s just back in time, trying to figure out why that happened and what to do next.
And it was refreshing how honest he was about the situation with those close to him. He didn’t concern himself with the ramifications of changing the future and told his friends that he had traveled through time. Honestly, being sent back in time made him a little crazy on top of the emotional damage of being betrayed and treated so poorly for so long.
His friends reacted in a way that made sense, with confusion, concern, and a little disinterest.
So there were two mysteries: Who killed him? And why did he go back in time?
But it’s still very much a romance, and a swoony one at that
One thing I’ve noticed about these time travel romances: the not-time traveler has been silently in love and waiting and is the perfect lover. This is because our time traveler has been horribly betrayed and has earned The Best Lover Ever.
I mean, no one wants to have to go back in time AND deal with a lover with commitment issues, right?
Tada is no exception. He’s rich, he’s handsome, he’s hopelessly in love, and all he wants to do is constantly set off fireworks for Armin. (Literally, this show has a lot of fireworks. Luckily, Armin likes them more than me. They’re so loud.)
Tada is also extremely swoony. But he is not entirely without flaws, and Armin has bad trauma from his recent betrayal and murder. There is some conflict, but not a lot.
But since everyone else is trying to betray Armin, he needs someone firmly in his corner. Our actors did a great job at selling their relationship. Tada is obsessed with Armin, and Armin is okay with a lover who wants to give him everything. It doesn’t need to be complicated.
In case you can’t tell, I recommend this show
Like Tada, it’s not without a few flaws. The overall tone of the show is over-the-top soap opera, which I like, but the villains were cartoony-evil. I would have liked more depth to them. But with only ten episodes, they worked fine.
And the show also has Wenai and Janine. You should watch just to meet my two new favorite side characters. But if, for some reason, you really don’t want to watch, you can always read my recaps.
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