I'm trying here

                                

I've had an incredible load of work to do in a very short period of time these past few weeks. Consequently, I haven't been able to find a lot of drama watching time. And now I'm even behind on some shows, but I also managed to pick up a new one!

                               

Live

I love how this show doesn't hold back. Very rarely does it view the world through rose tinted lenses. The sets of homes and other spaces don't look like they belong in a magazine. The characters are rarely seen wearing trendy designer clothes. It represents life as it is. And characters are represented as true people, highly flawed. Characters who once earned merits, like Jeong Oh, make terrible mistakes and lie. Characters who do special handshakes with each other in one scene refuse to eat with each other in another. Characters are petty and selfish.

I've really enjoyed watching the strong bond develop between Yang Chon and Sang Soo. They clearly did not understand each other very well in the beginning, but they look out for each other now. It's clear through how Yang Chon reacted to Sang Soo getting slashed in the face that Yang Chon cares deeply for Sang Soo. He's a person that clearly cares deeply for a lot of people in his life, but cannot express it well. Perhaps he becomes too entwined with his emotions and that has given him both accomplishments and setbacks in his career. I've also enjoyed watching the bond develop between Hye Ri and her mentor, Sam Bo. These pairings have been the most rewarding and compelling part of the show.

                                 

The Great Seducer

I'm like one episode behind. I find it difficult to keep up with Si Kyung and Tae Hee's relationship. It seems like she is constantly shifting back and forth between following him like a puppy and not trusting him. I also find it difficult to ascertain whether Si Kyung is still in his bet with Soo Ji. Lastly, I also cannot tell when Si Kyung is being sincere with Tae Hee or not. Obviously there are moments when it's obvious that he can't stop staring at her and what not, but a lot of the time he seems uncharacteristically cute and sweet. I wonder if Soo Ji will interpret Tae Hee's mom and Si Kyung's father's relationship to assume that Tae Hee and Si kyung are actually half siblings. At this point she doesn't know that Si Kyung isn't actually biologically related to his father, right? From what I understand, he's been keeping that from both Soo Ji and Se Joo.

                               

Ruler

I managed to squeeze episode 31 in somewhere these past couple of weeks. Of course, now I don't remember everything that happened. I do remember that the real Lee Sun is survived, which I knew would happen. I also remember that the peasant Lee Sun revealed himself to his family. I pity them much more than I pity him. He's made some very poor decisions. Who knows what's going to happen now that he's revealed himself to Dae Mok's lackey. His torture methods may not have been as effective as he thought they would be and that guy is a rat. I think my biggest takeaway from watching this again is that L's acting is actually horrifyingly bad. And Kim So Hyun's acting isn't anywhere on the level of L's, but she was so much better in Radio Romance. I wonder if she was just able to better connect with her character in Radio Romance, or that she's just gotten more mature.

                                 

Waikiki

After the past couple of weeks' episodes I now ship Dong Gu with Hyun Joon more so than Yoon Ah. They were clearly meant to be. And it's taking too long for Dong Gu and Yoon Ah to have a real relationship. I was so happy that Seo Jin and Joon Ki finally got together, but I found the way she treated him in episode 14 to be very upsetting. How could she be so happy to suppress Joon Ki's true personality and joy like that? It especially bothered me that she was proud of herself for separating Joon Ki and Doo Sik. I believe she paid for this through the suffering she endured in the suitcase in episode 15. Also, I died when Joon Ki was hit by a car, got propelled into the air, and continued running! And now I'm excited for the Soo Ah/ Doo Sik ship. I think it'll be difficult for Doo Sik to develops feelings for Soo Ah at this point, as he still has feelings for Mal Geum.

                                   

Pretty Noona Who Buys Me Food

I'm so glad I found subs for this drama! It's unbelievably cute! I don't like relationships with big age gaps, but the two leads don't seem that different in age. The only thing that's a little weird is that Jin Ah is the same age as Joon Hee's older sister and Joon Hee is the same age as Jin Ah's younger brother. It feels a little like they're dating as siblings, which is just a twinge creepy. But it seems like this is being made into a key plot point, so at least they're not ignoring that? Based off of similar plots, I'm not surprised that Joon Hee is falling for Jin Ah right away. I was surprised by how quickly Jin Ah seems to be falling for Joon Hee. But I guess it's refreshing that Joon Hee won't have to fight to be seen as a man. I looked up the actor who plays Joon Hee and I can't believe he's 30!! He looks like he could be 10 years younger.