Welcome to my weekly blog post where I give thoughts on dramas I’m watching but not recapping.
This week I finished recapping Time and Him are Just Right and am about to hit the last quarter of Love Between Fairy and Devil. Utsukushii Kare/My Beautiful Man Season 2 is only 4 episodes long so we’re already 3/4 the way there.
One of my favorite Japanese shows that’s airing has appeared streaming internationally:
Hoshi Furu Yoru ni/On A Starry Night – 星降る夜に – Japan 2023
A currently airing Japanese romance drama, I’ve watched 6 of 9 episodes.
When last I reported on this show I’d only watched one episode with Japanese subs only, but now I’m all caught up and have watched with English subs as well.
This story of a burnt-out older gynecologist and a younger Deaf man who cleans out the houses of people who’ve passed away is hitting me in all the feels. Our doctor is an appealing mix of cute, funny, smart, and responsible. She picks up sign language super fast and is great at her job, mentoring the second male lead. Often time shows with an older woman/younger man romance depict the woman as a bit of a mess, as if trying to return the power dynamics to business as usual, so I enjoy seeing a strong, confident, capable older woman.
Our younger man can be a bit childish at times but he’s also growing up and still has plenty to offer our jaded doctor. Props to our second male lead. Japanese dramas have some of my least favorite second male leads, but our older male gynecologist is humble, sweet, optimistic, and willing to learn. I actually like him.
This week I started:
The Heirs/The Inheritors – 상속자들 – Korea 2013 (Pictured)
An older Korean melodrama, I’ve watched 4 of 20 episodes.
Lee Min Ho is a poor little rich boy exiled to the gorgeous sunny land of Southern California (more on that later). Park Shin Hye is a legit poor girl whose mother works as a maid for rich people. They meet, melodrama ensues.
This is an older drama so it’s got that fun, soap opera feel going strong along with delightfully extreme characters and a plot that feels like a series of events unmoored in time and space (more on that soon). It’s fun to see some popular actors I’m familiar with as they were ten years ago. I’m watching this as part of my ongoing Lee Min Ho marathon with my mother so it’ll be a slower watch.
Speaking of Southern California and being unmoored in time and space, if you’re familiar with the area then you’re familiar with the creative depiction it can get on screen. Even Hollywood will show characters going in the wrong direction on the freeway, magically teleporting across the city, and famous buildings trying to pass themselves off as other buildings. I’m not too precious about how my hometown area gets depicted.
But never have I seen such a creative reimagining of Southern California as in the first three episodes of this show. Park Hye Shin’s character seems to walk from LAX to Orange County to Hollywood, dragging her suitcase the entire way. They run from a Malibu driveway to directly in front of the Capitol Records building in Hollywood. They go north on the freeway with the ocean on their right and drive back south through some Joshua Trees. They go for a meal on Melrose that’s in San Diego across from the convention center. Filming in all those locations feels more inconvenient than anything, so I feel like they either wanted to showcase Southern California or an excuse to get around themselves. Either way, I am impressed by their disregard for geography.
Under the Microscope – 显微镜下的大明 – China 2023
A recently completed Chinese historical mystery drama, I’ve watched 4 of 14 episodes.
The show features a man who’s good at math and not much else getting caught up in a tax case that no one wants to deal with. Sounds thrilling, but I was intrigued by Avenue X’s review, where she explained this is a real case from the Ming dynasty.
It’s the kind of show where the thrill is from watching our underdog hero struggle against the system. I like how our lead is set up, except for when he’s doing math, he reacts very passively to what happens to him and doesn’t communicate much. His talents aren’t recognized and not only is he written off as a commoner, he’s treated as a fool. The injustices against him make me upset on his behalf and at times I’m burning with eagerness to see him take down the corrupt people in power and prove himself.
Besides that though, it gives him an intriguing mysterious character. There’s more going on in his brain than what he can communicate, and I want to discover more about him as much as I want to see him triumph.