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sarea
I feel like I have been decent about my eating, and very good (for me) with my exercise, but I'm barely seeing any change in my weight. :///// My blood results keep coming back with a potential thyroid issue, so I'm like, AHA!!! THAT'S THE PROBLEM! Except the last endocrinologist I saw doesn't think I do have a thyroid issue, and also, if I did have an issue, I would have hyperthyroidism. Which means I'd see dramatic weight loss suddenly and for no reason. Which is my opposite problem. So SIGH, I don't know WTF is going on and it's frustrating.
I finished one of my dramas! Forest of Secrets aka Stranger. It's on Netflix and Drama Beans, and I think it might be on Viki too. Anyway, it was Drama Beans' 2017 Drama of the Year, and while I wouldn't say that I thought THAT highly of it, I ended up liking it a LOT. There's no romance -- well, if you squint hard, maybe you could find it -- but it's a tightly woven, riveting story that gets better as it goes along. Most of the characters have shades of gray (like Breaking Bad), which makes it even better. And the female lead is one of the best female leads from any drama -- she actually quietly epitomized what actual feminism is (rather than the gimmicky feminism that was used in This Is My First Life), and I hope I see a lot more of it in K-drama. I was satisfied with the ending, though like with any good drama, I did find myself wanting more. I could easily see how the show could have a season 2, but go by way of The Wire and make it completely different. :D
- I was really impressed by all the actors in the show, particularly the leads... Yoo Jae-myung as Lee Chang-joon, Bae Doo-na as Han Yeo-yin, Cho Seung-woo as Hwang Shi-mok, Shin Hye-sun as Young Eun-soo, and Lee Joon-hyuk as Seo Dong-jae. But honestly, everyone was really good, down to the supporting actors I didn't mention (there'd be too many!). Cho Seung-woo, Lee Joon-hyuk, and Bae Doo-na are new to me, but the others I've seen in some capacity in other dramas. And actually, I've also seen Bae Doo-na before; it just wasn't in a K-drama. She played one of the people tracking Channing Tatum in the terriawesome Jupiter Ascending, so it was a tiny role. Yoo Jae-myung I know from both Strong Woman Do Bong Soon (he played Bong-soon's henpecked father) and Reply 1988 (he was the dean), and he was apparently also in Hwarang though I don't recall what role he played there. Nothing about those roles, though, could have prepared me for how good he was in this. Shin Hye-sun I've seen all over the place, from Oh My Ghostess to High School King of Savvy to She Was Pretty, but they were all kind of fluffy roles... this time, she actually got something meaty to work with, which -- good for her! I hope I continue to see her more, maybe one day in a leading lady role.
- There really wasn't any romance, which made perfect sense for the characters, but if you wanted to see it, you could argue for something between Shi-mok and Yeo-jin, or Shi-mok and Eun-soo. I was definitely on the latter ship, but only in a really vague way, because they don't really give you much to work with -- and that's perfectly fine. The story didn't need it. What was between Shi-mok and Yeo-jin was definitely a very strong friendship, and I think is the more natural pairing to ship, if you're going to ship anything, but I just couldn't go there. I just loved them as friends and colleagues. Besides, with how Shi-mok is, and what happened to his brain, I just don't think a romance would have been believable. I could have forced myself to believe it re Eun-soo, but if he didn't go there with her, I'm glad he didn't go there with anyone. I'm really glad the show did not feel the need to "fix" that part of him by the end, despite the fact that it would have been pretty unbelievable, and been one more thing into a show that was already PACKED.
- I also could have shipped Eun-soo with Dong-jae, which I know is crazy because of the part where he choked her and all. But my feelings about Dong-jae are extremely complicated. :))) I feel like he's one of the most divisive characters in terms of how torn I am when I think about him. He started out being complete scum, and then at by the end, I had this inexplicable affection for him, even though he didn't actually change that much. I give accolades to Lee Joon-hyuk for his portrayal, because he somehow made this totally unsympathetic character, sympathetic. Hmm, apparently he was in City Hunter, but I don't remember him at all.
- My biggest problem with the ending, and why I didn't consider it completely satisfying, was the fact that Eun-soo's killer basically got away with it. In fact, while I didn't despise Chang-joon's actions as much as Shi-mok did, in the end he still ended up protecting his wife, didn't he? She was part of the problem, and I realllllly hated her. Chairman Lee never admitted culpability, his hired knife never gave him up, and thus I don't see how he was punished at all for what he did. His being in a wheelchair insisting he was sick was not enough -- the dude's scummy enough to have been faking it, and we also see Yeon-jae inherit the CEO position and immediately try to get her father's charges dismissed. So what exactly was "won"? Those in power stayed in power. I guess we have to just hope that gutting the prosecution system fixed something.
- I was really sad about Section Chief Yoon. The whole thing. Ugh.
- So my season 2 idea is centered around Dong-jae. I think he would make a really interesting hero in a show like this, because the dude is so messed up and self-involved, as we have seen in many dramas before. He's ripe to be made over into an asshole with a heart of gold. Just give him the right case and the right woman (in his case, there would have to be a romantic element, I think).
- As I mentioned earlier, Yeo-jin was a breath of fresh air when it comes to female protagonists. She embodies what feminism should be.
- I felt meh about Seung-woo/Shi-mok initially, but he really grew on me. I'd be happy to see him in another drama, though I don't know if I could handle him actually displaying emotions, lol.
In the Japanese drama I'm watching, Good Morning Call, the hero loves stuffed cabbage rolls. I made them last night, and I have to say, they were QUITE delicious. Thumbs up, Uehara-kun.
Quote: From Shopping King Louie, about SIG's character when he's found naked in the second lead's bed by the second lead's parents. Teehee.
I finished one of my dramas! Forest of Secrets aka Stranger. It's on Netflix and Drama Beans, and I think it might be on Viki too. Anyway, it was Drama Beans' 2017 Drama of the Year, and while I wouldn't say that I thought THAT highly of it, I ended up liking it a LOT. There's no romance -- well, if you squint hard, maybe you could find it -- but it's a tightly woven, riveting story that gets better as it goes along. Most of the characters have shades of gray (like Breaking Bad), which makes it even better. And the female lead is one of the best female leads from any drama -- she actually quietly epitomized what actual feminism is (rather than the gimmicky feminism that was used in This Is My First Life), and I hope I see a lot more of it in K-drama. I was satisfied with the ending, though like with any good drama, I did find myself wanting more. I could easily see how the show could have a season 2, but go by way of The Wire and make it completely different. :D
- I was really impressed by all the actors in the show, particularly the leads... Yoo Jae-myung as Lee Chang-joon, Bae Doo-na as Han Yeo-yin, Cho Seung-woo as Hwang Shi-mok, Shin Hye-sun as Young Eun-soo, and Lee Joon-hyuk as Seo Dong-jae. But honestly, everyone was really good, down to the supporting actors I didn't mention (there'd be too many!). Cho Seung-woo, Lee Joon-hyuk, and Bae Doo-na are new to me, but the others I've seen in some capacity in other dramas. And actually, I've also seen Bae Doo-na before; it just wasn't in a K-drama. She played one of the people tracking Channing Tatum in the terriawesome Jupiter Ascending, so it was a tiny role. Yoo Jae-myung I know from both Strong Woman Do Bong Soon (he played Bong-soon's henpecked father) and Reply 1988 (he was the dean), and he was apparently also in Hwarang though I don't recall what role he played there. Nothing about those roles, though, could have prepared me for how good he was in this. Shin Hye-sun I've seen all over the place, from Oh My Ghostess to High School King of Savvy to She Was Pretty, but they were all kind of fluffy roles... this time, she actually got something meaty to work with, which -- good for her! I hope I continue to see her more, maybe one day in a leading lady role.
- There really wasn't any romance, which made perfect sense for the characters, but if you wanted to see it, you could argue for something between Shi-mok and Yeo-jin, or Shi-mok and Eun-soo. I was definitely on the latter ship, but only in a really vague way, because they don't really give you much to work with -- and that's perfectly fine. The story didn't need it. What was between Shi-mok and Yeo-jin was definitely a very strong friendship, and I think is the more natural pairing to ship, if you're going to ship anything, but I just couldn't go there. I just loved them as friends and colleagues. Besides, with how Shi-mok is, and what happened to his brain, I just don't think a romance would have been believable. I could have forced myself to believe it re Eun-soo, but if he didn't go there with her, I'm glad he didn't go there with anyone. I'm really glad the show did not feel the need to "fix" that part of him by the end, despite the fact that it would have been pretty unbelievable, and been one more thing into a show that was already PACKED.
- I also could have shipped Eun-soo with Dong-jae, which I know is crazy because of the part where he choked her and all. But my feelings about Dong-jae are extremely complicated. :))) I feel like he's one of the most divisive characters in terms of how torn I am when I think about him. He started out being complete scum, and then at by the end, I had this inexplicable affection for him, even though he didn't actually change that much. I give accolades to Lee Joon-hyuk for his portrayal, because he somehow made this totally unsympathetic character, sympathetic. Hmm, apparently he was in City Hunter, but I don't remember him at all.
- My biggest problem with the ending, and why I didn't consider it completely satisfying, was the fact that Eun-soo's killer basically got away with it. In fact, while I didn't despise Chang-joon's actions as much as Shi-mok did, in the end he still ended up protecting his wife, didn't he? She was part of the problem, and I realllllly hated her. Chairman Lee never admitted culpability, his hired knife never gave him up, and thus I don't see how he was punished at all for what he did. His being in a wheelchair insisting he was sick was not enough -- the dude's scummy enough to have been faking it, and we also see Yeon-jae inherit the CEO position and immediately try to get her father's charges dismissed. So what exactly was "won"? Those in power stayed in power. I guess we have to just hope that gutting the prosecution system fixed something.
- I was really sad about Section Chief Yoon. The whole thing. Ugh.
- So my season 2 idea is centered around Dong-jae. I think he would make a really interesting hero in a show like this, because the dude is so messed up and self-involved, as we have seen in many dramas before. He's ripe to be made over into an asshole with a heart of gold. Just give him the right case and the right woman (in his case, there would have to be a romantic element, I think).
- As I mentioned earlier, Yeo-jin was a breath of fresh air when it comes to female protagonists. She embodies what feminism should be.
- I felt meh about Seung-woo/Shi-mok initially, but he really grew on me. I'd be happy to see him in another drama, though I don't know if I could handle him actually displaying emotions, lol.
In the Japanese drama I'm watching, Good Morning Call, the hero loves stuffed cabbage rolls. I made them last night, and I have to say, they were QUITE delicious. Thumbs up, Uehara-kun.
Quote: From Shopping King Louie, about SIG's character when he's found naked in the second lead's bed by the second lead's parents. Teehee.
