It's Beginning to Feel a Little Like Christmas

I'm on break now, which would make you think that I should have a lot of time to relax now. That's a joke because I've been spending that past week making gifts for people and catching up on work I couldn't get done throughout the semester. I'm getting a lot done! I was also strangely affected by Shinee's Johghyun's death for a couple days. I'm not a big fan of kpop, let alone Shinee, but there was something really shocking about the whole situation. I couldn't stop crying for a while, but I really want to focus on brighter things now.

Temperature of Love

I made it to episode 26! I was secretly really happy when Hyun Soo's mom gave Jung Sun's mom side eye. First of all, she was basically wearing a disco ball in sweater form. Second of all, she's really obnoxious. She's always lying, hiding her true emotions (which she also lies about), and pretending that her life is perfect when it so obviously isn't. There seems to be no end for her need of material goods and she has no shame in asking everyone she knows to fund this. I felt guilty for my dislike of her character, however, when Jung Sun became violent towards her. She's been abused before by someone who was supposed to love and care for her and maybe she feels like she needs more control of her life. It's interesting that up until now, Jung Sun has also tried to be perfect and tends to try to ignore difficult conversations. In reality, he has also experienced abuse and has unexplored anger within himself. I still don't understand why Hyun Soo, as an older woman and a writer, doesn't see this pattern within Jung Sun and his mother.

Meloholic

This one was 2 episodes longer than I thought it was going to be, but I finished it. I did like in the last couple episodes how the drama itself seemed to be an analysis of dramas. Sun Ho, a character in the drama, wrote the love story between the 2 leads. As he said it himself, he manipulated events to make Eun Ho fall in love with Ye Ri. As he was writing his next novel, he was writing the drama. I like how they played with that. I still don't fully understand how Ju Ri came to be, but I loved her interaction with Ye Ri. I really wanted them to come into contact with each other and wondered if they had done so before. Obviously Ye Ri knows that Ju Ri exists, knows her name, and knows how she works, but I wonder how she learned all of this. Also, I thought Ye Ri was already in college haha.

Nothing to Lose

It always amazes me how Korean drama writers manage to infuse romance into the smallest moments of everyday life. This kind of subtlety, making the most minute movements carry immense weight, is something I think is sadly absent from Western television. Sometimes it's cheesy and sometimes it's beautiful, but it's always creative. This drama is chock full of that. I'm thinking of when Eui Hyun is holding up Jung Joo's wet bangs while she's looking though his files, or when she needs to change her shoes and lean on him, and other moments that I can't remember right now. These moments clearly mean more to him than her currently. But now that I know that Han Joon didn't rape and murder Ga Eun, and secretly tries to do the right thing, I'm sad that he's the second lead. He won't end up with Jung Joo. He's one of those tragic second leads that doesn't get a single win in life, between his family and his love life. Also, something feels off about his mom, professor Yoo, but I can't place my finger on it. And I love all the drama with the older judges.

I'm Not a Robot

Cute!! I found my dramacrack replacement for Because This Is My First Life. The absurdity of the plot, the set design, and the characters vaguely reminds me of a Disney channel movie. It's the Santa Maria lab that really puts it over the the top. I'm so happy that Yoo Seung Ho has been given such a lovable role. I still feel betrayed by how Ruler turned out. Normally I'm very much against human/ android love stories. Movies like "Her" not only make me feel uncomfortable, but also full of rage for a number of reasons. The first being that these romances nearly always involve a human  man and a "female" droid. He can vent to her without having to deal with any of her emotional baggage, have her obey all of his wishes and fulfill all of his desires. And she, of course, has no desires because she's not a living being. At the very least, this is insanely misogynistic. It also troubles me that anyone could find more empathy in a machine masked behind a human voice than a living being that isn't human, but still deserves compassion, such as a domestic dog. But I think what draws Min Gyu to "Aji 3" are the parts of her that are truly human and could never be emulated or replicated by an actual robot. I think he is actually falling in love with Ji Ah, not Aji 3.

And normally, I want the male lead to fall in love with the female lead first, but I actually want it to be the other way around in this drama. The idea of friendship is so novel to Min Gyu, it feels as if he would fall in love to the first person to approach him as a companion. Everyone has appeared as a monster to him before now. I don't want him to fall in love with Ji Ah just because he's the first "person" to care for him. I want him to fall in love with her because she is who she is. And I see glimmers of that sometimes. But mostly, he sees her as his "treasure" because of what she can do for him. Meanwhile, Ji Ah is starting to fall for Min Gyu as he becomes vulnerable to her and because he has his own unique qualities. I love that so much more. And honestly, how could you not fall for him when every other sentence that comes out of his mouth is designed to melt you?