Weekly Review: Melting Me Softly premiere, The Tale of Nokdu premiere, My Country, and more

Happy Friday! Here is our weekly review of the dramas that we are watching which is inspired from The Kthree’s Weekly watchlist and is a way to stay up to date on the dramas we’re liking, loving, and leaving. We watch lots of shows over here, mostly Korean dramas, but we also dip into western shows, so we will cover both. Let’s get into it!

KOREAN DRAMAS

Vagabond (episode 4 and 5)

Still pumping! The party has been taken to Korea and none of the car chases or murder moments were left behind. In fact, I think they booked a ticket right with them because this episode is pumping. It started right when they landed and went all the way to a tow truck drop off stare down (Yes, lawd, really).

Episode 5 gave us a wild ambulance ride and chase through the Blue House grounds. How Dal-gun was not shot, or at least tasered, is beyond me. But he did get his message to the President (who doesn’t care) and the press (who cares a lot). So it was worth it! I am really only watching this for the action scenes, and I have not been disappointed.

Recaps: episode 4 and episode 5

My Country (episode 1)

L-u-U-u-U-u-v it! This opening episode have everything I need in an epic. It had the cinematography, the storyline, and the stakes! Good Lord, the stakes! Is everyones life relying on this exam, or does it just feel that way? I cannot wait until tomorrow for the next episode.

Recaps: episode 1

Melting Me Softly (episode 1 and 2 premiere)

This show is wackadoo. Though I am kind of going with it. Episode one introduced us to our happy and feisty college heroin who has a volcano about to erupt inside her at a moments notice and is in need of money (as all college students are). She doesn’t really want to do this frozen thing (no one does) but ends up doing it for her little brother who is autistic. I don’t really like the introduction of a little brother with a disability because I feel like it will be played for heartstrings, but I’ll go with it for now as it is her main driving force to do the frozen thing.

The entire first episode was backstory interspersed with flashbacks of how they ended up in this freezer as we wait for them to be de-thawed 24 hours later. That all goes completely wrong due to a thriller-esque conspiracy. I wasn’t too into the first episode but I also wasn’t reppeled by it. It was fine.

But good Lord, that second episode was so boring that it was melting me softly. Turn up the heat and end me already! Y’all, it was a full episode of backstory and flashbacks. A FULL episode. It was as if they collected all the flashbacks that would be in this drama and put them in episode 2. I was so bored. Everything picked back up in the last 5-10 minutes when they were finally yet suddenly de-thawed and somehow found all their clothes, put them on, and miraculously walked from high in the mountains to the streets of Seoul. The continuity logic in this show is…

Even so, we might continue with this one, but we might drop it. It all depends on how much effort My Country takes (and how much love I have for it) which premieres this weekend.

Recaps: episode 1 and episode 2

Strangers From Hell (episode 7)

Terrifying as always. This past episode revealed a couple tricks up its sleeve that I definitely could appreciate. I really like that we think people are dead but then we found out that they might not be and that might almost be worse than not being dead. It is just terrifying.

Recaps: episode 7

The Tale of Nokdu (episodes 1 and 2)

I love everything about this zippy fun show. It was pumping from the opening scene of Nokdu diving into the water for fish and led into an assassination attempt on his family followed by a hunt, by him, to find the assassin which led to him tripping over a conspiracy to kill the King that was botched by an old man who threw a rock at the procession. And that is our meet-cute of the couple y’all. But with Dongju dresses as a man in this case. It is fun to have the tables turn later on with Jokdu dressed as the woman as his hunt for the assassins leads him to the village.

I did not expect this type of show! It is so much fun and is so fast passed but with useful pauses to fill us in on the backstory in small flashes of time. We don’t get a flashback unless we are curious about what happened in the past, which I love. And, if you are watching along, then you know that Nokdu’s cover is blown at the end of episode 2 by Dongju, but it is blown is one of the most hilarious ways possible that is very much so worth watching. This show is absolutely worth checking out.

Recaps: episode 1 (1&2) and episode 2 (3&4)

Flower Crew Joseon Marriage Agency (episodes 5 and 6)

Still not really feeling this show. There is something about it that is pushing me through each episode instead of pulling me. It is a chore to pay attention. But there is nothing outright wrong with it, I bet a lot of people might love it, it is just not for me right now. I am still waiting for the plot to grip me, but as it stands, the episodes are rinse and repeat of basically the same set up (ie. Getting the scholar to marry his lover and Lee Soo looking pitiful in the castle).

Recaps: episode 5 and episode 6

When the Camellia Blooms (episodes 5 & 6)

I was a bit lost with episode 6 when they brought in her mother and had almost the entire episode dedicated to telling us how miserable Dong-baek’s life has been. But they pulled it back around at the end of the episode with BORN A BULL Dong-baek who was on a mission to save Yong-sik in her own way and show the world that she is no victim of circumstance. Their puddled pouty almost-crying cry at the police department was perfect.

Recaps: episode 5 (9&10) and episode 6 (11&12)

US TV SHOWS

Daredevil (Season 2)

Yes, I am still completely obsessed, I binged this in only a few days (like 13 episodes), and I am reading all the recaps and reviews written about it like I’m time traveling to 2016. Ah, what was I doing all this time to not have Daredevil in my life? On the plus side, I can actually binge every show without having to wait, and I heard that season 3 had a year and a half wait which would drive me momentarily insane.

I think season 2 starts a few months after the events of season one’s ending? Everything is going well in the world of Mathew Murdoch, the practice is going well and the Daredevil life is going well, but then a new villain shows up that steals their joy. I love it because this season brought in a few more characters from the comics while still keeping it slightly believable.

Though things went super comic booky at one point where I was all like, oh yeah, we’ve crossed into comic book land, I can understand it because managing a realistic noir look with flashy comic book characters is a bit tricky. I mean, ninjas and demons are flying all around this season. However, the intrigue in the characters is still there and made it worth it, and they did keep up the very intimate relationship that Daredevil has with his priest, which I love.

One thing I did miss this season was the homemade black suit. I lo-o-o-ved that suit in season one because it gave the show some grounding. The new bullet proof (and sometimes knife proof) red and black suit is cool looking and has context with the show, but I don’t really like it. It just looks stiff and hard to move in to me. Can they just put him in red spandex and call it a day already?

I already started season 3 and I already love it more than season 2, maybe even season 1? But I will save that post for next week!

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I really loved the My Country premier this week. It was wonderful. The opening two of The Tale of Nokdu were really good as well. I definitely recommend checking out those two. I am also still obsessed with Daredevil. I plan on talking about it in the next summary because I want to watch the entire thing over again. I also saw The Defenders which was fun, but not something that I have to watch again. It is definitely worth watching after you watch season two of Daredevil though because it picks up where season two left off. Also, season 3 was ah-mazing! As mentioned, I am going to rewatch it this week because I’m obsessed like that. No shame.

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