The Moon That Embraces the Sun: Episode 1

Premieres abound today, and heading the pack is The Moon That Embraces the Sun, aka soon to be MBC’s great white hope.
I had a feeling this drama would come out on top in the ratings, but I had no idea it would be such a clear-cut victory. The Moon That Embraces the Sun drew an impressive 18% premiere rating, while Take Care of Us, Captain brought home a 9.2% on SBS, and Wild Romance a 7.1% over on KBS.
SONG OF THE DAY
10cm – “Beautiful Moon” [ Download ]

EPISODE 1 RECAP

Flower Boy Ramyun Shop: Episode 9

The writing continues to pleasantly surprise me for this show, although it really shouldn’t at this point given the previous 8 solid episodes, and yet I always get more than I expect. Despite the fluff trappings, there’s a thematic cohesion to the drama that ties each episode together in a way that really works. Plus, I’m a huge fan of musical relevance to narrative motifs, and we get tons of that in this episode. Yay for music/word nerds!
SONG OF THE DAY
Jung Il-woo – “너란 사람” (Someone like you) from the Ramyun Shop soundtrack. I don’t know who thought that bridge was a good idea, though the rest of the ballad is okay. Not my favorite, but fine. [ Download ]

Flower Boy Ramyun Shop: Episode 8

I know I say this every time, but Best. Episode. Ever. Why so awesome, Show? Is it ’cause you’re made with love and garnished with hotties? Or because you’re filled with nutritious hearty goodness? Whatever it is, it rocks my world, and I’d like to order another helping, please.


EPISODE 8: “A Universal Song”

Eun-bi and Jae-ho sit down for a cup of coffee, and he asks why she didn’t call when her father passed away. She reminds him that they’re over, and he says that they’re over romantically, but not over as people. If you weren’t such a cheating bastard, that sentiment would be nice.

Flower Boy Ramyun Shop: Episode 7

Have I mentioned that I love this show? I’m not sure, I may not have mentioned it enough. There’s a surreal, almost manhwa-like sheen of farcical humor coating the surface, but then there are moments of real connection and emotion.
Jung Il-woo has been dramatically intense before (Return of Iljimae) as well as hilariously oddball (49 Days), but this drama gets him to use both extremes of his range. The humorous side gives Chi-soo this outlandish, comical brat side, but then he’ll turn on a switch and show the vulnerability underneath. I love that.
SONG OF THE DAY
J Rabbit – “aMorejo” [ Download ]

Vampire Prosecutor: Episode 8

Character development, pretty cameos (Lee Jong-hyuk!), and a bit of a complicated plot. All together, we’ve got a longer running time today, and I’ll try to do this without becoming totally tangled up and confused. I can’t promise it won’t be, but I’ll give it a shot.
SONG OF THE DAY
Rossy Punky Perfume – “어른아이” (Adult Child) [ Download ]


EPISODE 8: “Moon”

High-speed chase. Soon-bum speeds along after a silver SUV, his police siren blaring, while talking with a sobbing woman on the phone. She cries for help, saying that an intruder killed her aunt and kidnapped her boyfriend.

Man of Honor Episode 12

Hey! I’ve gotten very few entitled and whiny comments about why the Man of Honor episode 12 recap isn’t up yet. Probably cuz not many people are following this drama, but I like to think folks are getting more polite and thoughtful as a general rule. I was traveling all day, and then had to go dining and boozing (so hard, I know) after I landed, when really all I wanted to do was recap this episode. I kid a little. I did want to stay in, but recapping this episode wasn’t high on my to-do list. My patience is really starting to wear thin with this drama, so if it doesn’t get it’s

Man of Honor Episode 11

I’m feeling a tiny bit of Man of Honor plot fatigue setting in. I think the drama needs a game-changing moment right now to kick start which has been solid plot foundation that has been decreasing in intensity for me. We’re eleven episodes in and the gang is still trying to pass only the second stage of the test to enter Geodae? I continue to enjoy how the story remains tightly structured (albeit increasingly outlandish at times), but I want some major secrets to get revealed so we move on to the aftermath. Young Kwang’s mom is the next to find out Jae In’s real identity, and I hope she does the right thing and lets Jae In reunite with her mom,

Thousand Day Promise: Episode 10

Yay for people finding out and moving plot along. When a drama basically features a central character harboring a secret that we know from Day 1, and people left in the dark for ages, it can feel like you’re treading water indefinitely. Now that we have people outside the core characters finding out and reacting to the news, it starts to have a ripple effect in the rest of their world.
SONG OF THE DAY
4Men & Mi – “그 여자” (That Woman) [ Download ]


EPISODE 10 RECAP

Thousand Day Promise: Episode 9

Yay, we’re back to the core characters now that the wedding hullabaloo has died down. We focus on Seo-yeon and her oppa and dongseng who break my heart with their perfection, and her relationship with Ji-hyung, which continues to be a battle between Stubborn and Bull-Headed. I’m not even sure I know which side I’m rooting for, just that I’d like the winner to win now, please.


EPISODE 9 RECAP

Me Too, Flower: Episode 2

Hello! I’m orangy911 and I have the honor of writing recaps for Me Too, Flower on this wonderful site, which has been my virtual home for anything related to K-dramas for the past four years. I’m excited to finally be contributing something to this community and I look forward to discussing the good and the bad about this drama.
First things first, I think we can all agree that we’re going to have to engage in some suspension of disbelief. Now, I’m naturally a sarcastic, sardonic person who likes to make fun of things, but I will try to get over the fact that:

Thousand Day Promise: Episode 8

The scenarios aren’t amusing, but these characters crack me up. Who would’ve thought a wedding cancellation would be funny? At a certain point, you have to step back and marvel at the way the rich folks in this drama think; it’s like you’re watching people from another planet, I swear.
That said, could we please return the focus to Seo-yeon and her oppa and dongseng, please? They’re the heart of this drama, and without them front and center, the drama starts to feel distant and amusing rather than moving.
SONG OF THE DAY

Thousand Day Promise: Episode 7

Ji-hyung faces the firing squad for his decision, and some of the bullets veer left and hit Seo-yeon instead. But when my heart isn’t breaking for them, mostly I’m spending the episode laughing my ass off because of Hyang-gi’s parents and their bizarre ideas about what is and is not right. I’m pretty sure it’s one of the first dramas where I love watching the so-called villains of the piece as much as the good guys. I could watch Lee Mi-sook be her character all day, every day.


EPISODE 7 RECAP

Thousand Day Promise: Episode 6

Episode, meet your two guest stars, Fallout and Damage Control. It’s time to turn the focus onto the other side of this fractured love story, which means that we get some necessary development, although sadly less focus on my favorite characters (Seo-yeon and her two awesome men, aka oppa and dongseng). But at least we get more of the awesome Lee Mi-sook, who can turn the most dire situation darkly funny.
I’m relieved to have Flower Boy Ramyun Shop running concurrently with this one, because I’ll need all its fluffy cuteness to ease the heart-wrenching intensity of Thousand Day Promise. True, it makes me feel vaguely schizo to bounce from choked sobs to belly laughs, but I’ll take that tradeoff.

Thousand Day Promise: Episode 5

This episode just about killed me dead. It’s D-day, otherwise known as fan-hitting time for le shit. I love how quickly we get here, how raw the emotions are, and as always, I’m madly in love with Jae-min. He really ought to just dispense with that silly car and ride around on a white horse.


EPISODE 5 RECAP
Ji-hyung and Jae-min share a drink, and Ji-hyung confesses that he regrets it

Thousand Day Promise: Episode 4

It’s the brothers’ episode to shine, as some characters go hurtling towards the truth, while others stay firmly in the land of denial. Grab a hanky and settle in. Oh, and you’re also gonna want your phone handy, to call your brother when it’s over.
Ratings: Promise hits a new high with 17.5%; Kye Baek follows with 13.3%; and Poseidon brings in the rear with 7.3%.


EPISODE 4 RECAP

Thousand Day Promise: Episode 3

Ooh, I love how things are shaping up. I really appreciate that this drama can be emotionally stirring, but without the grand melodrama that usually accompanies this genre. It’s full of emotion, without wallowing in it or offering it up as some sort of glorious misery. At least not where it counts (mothers and aunts can be excitable, sure): namely Seo-yeon, who faces her crisis with such a realistic mix of feeling — coolness that turns to fear, calm that erupts in panic — that I’m just captivated by her struggle.

Thousand Day Promise: Episode 2

I didn’t love the first episode, but I did love the second. The first rattled me, because it began so unconventionally, in medias res (and not the kind where you get the quick 48 hours earlier orientation either). But this episode takes a step back, not in time, but in breathing room. I feel like I have some space to learn who the characters are, which draws me in. I don’t know that the first episode alone would’ve hooked me, but paired with the second, it makes the world feel lived in, and whole. I’ll discuss this further in the comments, along with a note on melodrama as a genre.

Thousand Day Promise: Episode 1

Thousand Day Promise premiered today, and has all the makings of a taut, angsty melodrama. To be perfectly honest, by the halfway point I wasn’t sure I was enjoying the episode, but I was captivated by the conflict, the emotion, and the acting.
One of the things that make the writing great about this episode is that what you see at first glance is not always what you get. A scene starts out a certain way, then develops and twists and ends up in a surprising place. I love that. There’s conflict all over the place, and tons of flawed characters.

Flower Boy Ramyun Shop: Episode 6

This drama is candy-coated crack laced with Tabasco. How can a drama be so many things? It’s cute, it’s hilarious, it’s witty, it’s addictive, and it’s HOT. What I love about this show is that it’s got oodles of heart, but it’s always better when that heart is couched in wit and sexual tension and lots and lots of toilet humor.


EPISODE 6: “A Secret That Cannot Be Told”

Flower Boy Ramyun Shop: Episode 5

I luff this show. So. Damn. Much. It makes me happy. It’s adorable and hilarious, but even better, it has thematic cohesiveness.
In fact, I can’t believe that a drama was marketed, promoted, positively hyped to be empty fluffery, and was harboring all this heart inside it. Why o why would you try to hide the best part of you? Do you really think we’re that shallow?