Hey everyone!

Like what we did for the past couple of years, we’re having guest posts from the lovely folks on Patreon, to help us take stock of our drama years, yay! 🥳

We’ll be seeing about 2 guest posts per week, and this will unfold into January 2023, and that’s perfectly ok.

My annual year-in-review, which usually comes out in December, will also come out in January (or thereabouts 😅), after all the guest posts have been published.

If you missed Ele’s post, you can check it out here!

Today, I’m pleased to announce that Natalia is sharing her drama year, YAY Natalia!

I feel like one of the things that I can always count on Natalia for, is forthright honesty. If she doesn’t like a drama, she’ll tell you without sugarcoating it, and that’s the kind of drama bestie you need, right – coz we need to save on drama hours whenever we can, yes? 😁

If you like Natalia’s style and want to know what she thought about dramas last year, you can check out her post here!

I hope you guys enjoy!

~ KFG ❤️

My year in Dramaland – 2023

Hello, friends! 2023 has almost come to an end.

And with it, my fourth year in Dramaland (the occasional – mostly Japanese- shows I have watched before 2020 don’t really count, I only watched them in a wild attempt to learn Japanese, so = homework=hate. Oh, I had also watched Boys Over Flowers back in the day and I am still traumatized by it).

In addition, I think it was my third (?) year as a guest of our lovely kfangurl, the world’s sweetest, kindest blogger.

For those of you who are new around here, TheFangirlVerdict and K’s Patreon is the place to go when one wants to have some tv-related fun without all the toxicity that goes around on the web.

A place where all opinions, if expressed respectfully, are well taken.

This is thanks to K, but also thanks to the lovely community she has given roof to. People who really know how to listen to others with respect, even if they disagree. I love you guys.

So, I am actually counting on your good vibes, K community, because 2023 was a strange year for me, drama-wise.

Compared to 2022, I tried to watch so much more shows! Also compared to 2022, I dropped so many!

I tried to imitate our drama gurus over at Patreon (you know who you are…) and watch a large number of shows at the same time. And you know what? It didn’t work!!

I found myself dropping shows right and left and being quite happy about it, honestly.

Like a student who at the end of the year throws her books out of the window (I don’t know if that was a thing for you in your countries, it was definitely a thing for us back in my school years!)

So, my list for 2023 will mainly be a list of SHOWS I DROPPED OR ALMOST.

Still, please take note that this is not a list of razzies (well, for the most part).

Meaning, these aren’t bad shows per se (except from those who are). It is just that they didn’t click with me. So please, if among them is a show you loved to bits, please don’t take what I write here to heart.

Also, forgive me if my English is not 100% (or even 90%, maybe 80%?) on point…

So, without further ado:

SHOWS IT WAS A PLEASURE TO DROP

1. Only for Love (China, watched 3 episodes)

Only for Love is a show about two young Chinese actors named Bai Lu and Wang Hedi, who get kidnapped by evil time-travelling aliens that take them back to 1993 and force them to star in an office rom-com set in this period (minus the cell phones and the bogus IT dialogue).

They both try desperately to get out in any way they can: Lulu hopes the audience will understand her distress and come to her rescue if she pretends that a competent financial reporter is finding out her interviewee’s ventures only at the moment she’s actually interviewing him.

Dylan, bless his soul, puts on his best 13-year-old-in-a-suit show, voice included, aiming at the audience’s motherly instincts.

Their abductors, however, manage to subdue them with blinding lights throughout the drama, so poor Lulu and Didi stoically await the end to their torment.

I heard it had a happy ending, so I guess they managed to come back to 2023 and move on to their next projects.

2. The Princess and the Werewolf (China, 3 episodes)

I am not going to say a lot about this one; it was obvious how bad it was just by its trailer.

I just wanted to confirm it, and I did. I actually felt embarrassed for the actors in it. I am not going to name them, I know they just want this show to be forgotten.

3. The Love that You Give Me (China, maybe 6-7 episodes?)

I actually blame this on you, kfangurl. I only watched this because of the decent review you gave it.

Not only did I not like it, the male lead character was the first male lead I felt the urge to actually physically assault since Lee Minho in every single one of his dramas.

I dropped the show at about the point where the male lead moves in with the female lead and her kid, without her agreeing to it or even wanting it. And I almost threw the remote to my TV screen while doing it.

SHOWS I CASUALLY DROPPED

Namely, the shows I didn’t drop because I hated them, but because I didn’t find them interesting enough for me. So I am going to be brief about them:

Good day to be a dog (Korea, 3 episodes): I love Cha Eunwoo. But. Total miscast. Also, let’s admit it, the story was weird to begin with.

Heavenly Idol (Korea, watched about half of it): It was fun for a few episodes, then its potential run out.

Destined (China, I watched maybe ten episodes): It got too angsty too soon and I wasn’t in the mood for it.

Lies hidden in my garden (Korea, 2 episodes): The Gloom.

My Lovely Liar (Korea, about 11 episodes): No more killers, please.

Heartbeat (Korea, 4-5 episodes):  Well, it seems that my soft spot for Taecyeon is not soft enough.

Tale of the nine tailed, 1938 (Korea, 2 episodes): I actually blame this on the platform broadcasting it for international viewers.

It took them so long to release the show in Europe, I just hyped myself out of watching it. I am not averse to going back to it, at some point, though.

Doona! (Korea): I watched 1 episode and never felt like going back.

Exclusive Fairytale (China, 2 episodes to go!): I actually meant to watch “When I Fly Towards You”. Same female lead (Zhang Miao Yi), I was confused, it was rather cute in spite of the very green male lead (Wen Junhui), 2 episodes from the end I found myself wondering “why on earth am I watching this”.

Love to Hate You (Korea, dropped it towards the end): I thought that the title should have been Hate to love you instead.

SHOWS I WAS UNFAIR TO

Meaning I dropped them but I still acknowledge they had a lot going for them.

1. Moving (Korea, I think I have 2 more episodes to go)

Honestly, this is a good drama by all accounts.

The only reason I dropped this, was because I loved the teenagers’ plot and I got annoyed we forgot about them and focused on their parents.

Still, I intend to go back and watch the ending at some point, and I would nominate Ryu Seung Ryong for best actor of the year.

2. The Glory (Korea – maybe episode 9?)

I know so many people loved The Glory. It didn’t work for me though.

It was The Gloom (with a touch of torture porn), the inconsistencies, and mostly that I did not manage to find ONE character that I could (sort of) like.

Still, I may go back to watching the rest if someday I feel I am in the mood for a revenge drama with an unlikable lead.

3. The Legend of Zhuohua (China – 10 episodes, I think)

I was very optimistic when I started this because the female lead character (Jin Tian) plays a very competent young lady and the male lead (Feng Shao Feng) is not young enough to be my son (he actually sounds as if he’s old enough to be my dad).

However, shinier shows came along and I just dropped poor Zhuohua, even though I am not averse to picking it up at some point, if let’s say we get Covid-24 and go into lockdown again.

4. Celebrity (Korea – 10 episodes)

I was so close to the end!

I found the premise interesting, and Park Gyu-Young is a favourite. But once the original shine wore off and I was done tsk-tsking at the emptiness of the world of influencers, it was just another corruption-themed Kdrama, full of characters I wouldn’t want to even share an elevator ride with, an unnecessary (and underwhelming) love interest for our female lead and a really annoying (to me) Mary Sue friend (Lee Chung-ah).

SHOWS I WOULD HAVE DROPPED, IF NOT FOR *REASONS*

1. The Longest Promise (China)

This drama has it strong points, but the script and the cast are not among them.

The script is meandering, the cast is miscast. Normally I would have dropped it by episode 10 max, but stayed until the end for Xiao Zhan.

Nevertheless, even I cannot forgive him spending the first 6-7 episodes or so repeating how his 18^th birthday is coming up, la la la, where’s my birthday cake.

2. Sunshine by my side (China)

Who wants to guess the reason I finished this one?

Seriously, the show was not bad and Xiao Zhan in my fangirl eyes was perfect in it; with a good female lead too (Baihe Bai).

BUT: as it usually happens with dramas featuring a romance where the FL is older (here she’s supposed to be ten years older than him and a divorcee, oh the shock), once the leads *ATTENTION SPOILER* finally get together, all romantic chemistry disappears, bear hugs make their unwelcome appearance and the audience gets stuck with Xiao Zhan giving massages to his father-in-law.

3. Our Blooming Youth (Korea)

Yes, I admit it, I watched it for Park Hyung Sik. Who was not even particularly good in it. So, let’s move on.

4. Unchained Love (China)

Oh, I loved this one, in a guilty way. It felt like getting a kick out of watching a train derail.

I mean, the show did have potential.

The premise was actually good: a -very good looking- man wants to avenge his brother, pretends he’s an imperial eunuch and actually makes it to be top dog. Even the romance (with a neglected imperial consort) had potential.

But: the eunuch forgets the revenge and focuses on doing all sorts of silly stuff aided by an evidently older Passepartout type of character who insists on calling him “Godfather”, while the consort doesn’t focus on anything and her goal in life is playing ancient Chinese poker with the other consorts and fiddling with an -ahem- dild0 looking pendant.

SHOWS I REGRET NOT DROPPING

Meaning I watched them but now I sort of want my time back.

1. Till the End of the Moon (China)

I loved approximately three quarters of this show.

But it had so many flaws (make-up? Lighting? Corny costumes? Campy acting? Constant blood-spitting?) it managed to exhaust me.

I couldn’t take any more misunderstandings and it was painful to watch Li Susu, the female lead (played by Bai Lu), to be attributed the value of a prop for the male lead’s character growth.

Nevertheless, I admit that Luo Yunxi was wonderful as Tantai Jin and gave me some real WTF moments, like when he leads a crow attack on a wedding or when he merrily bestows his beloved(?) wife with his idea of the best romantic gift (here, sweetie, a lovely imperial tomb for you next to mine, so that you can pass eternity with me) or when I thought that he was really considering necrophilia (there was just this glitter in Luo Yunxi’s eye that really scared me for a moment).

Fan fact: I read somewhere that Tantai Jin spits blood sixty times throughout the 40 episodes of the drama. It seems that was a new record.

2. Crash Course in Romance (Korea)

Personally, I would have cut this drama in half, of course removing the serial killer plotline. I really don’t know why I didn’t drop it. I guess it was the beginning of the year and I was still fresh.

3. Hidden Love (China)

I spent the first few episodes slightly icked by some bad, in my view, choices made by the director, in particular the choice of the too young child actress (although she was cute as a button and a Zhao Lusi lookalike).

Then the drama got ok, even cute, and boy do I love Lusi. And then, after Sang Zhi and Duan Jiaxu get together, gege gets a little bit too overbearing for me. I mean chill man, you’re 26, not 56.

Overall, I felt I should have dropped it at some point.

SHOWS I FINISHED AND ACTUALLY LIKED, MORE OR LESS

(in random order)

1. Anna (Korea)

I watched this by mistake: my husband and I were trying to watch something else and pressed play on Anna instead. And we loved it.

It was a very good telling of how an innocent lie can totally change your life. And Bae Suzy was so great in this. I never thought she could act that well.

To me, it was the best performance by a female actor this year.

2. Nothing But You (China)

Have I mentioned that I am a Wu Lei fangirl? Or maybe fanmom, I don’t know. Anyway, no one else could get me to watch a sports drama and pretty much enjoy it.

It did get draggy towards the end (like so many modern dramas), but still I found it a solid watch.

And may I say that Wu Lei did a great job out of portraying an athlete. He was really convincing.

The plot had this flaw in that we were supposed to believe that a badminton player could turn professional tennis player in 6 months, at the age of 23, but ok, even I, who have played tennis all my life, was prepared to let it roll because, well, fanmom.

3. Romance on the Farm (China)

I am not sure why I watched this one, but I think it was the first drama in a long while where I didn’t skip any scene.

It was light (most of the time), fun (most of the time, though pretty horrible things do happen even if the show kind of brushes them off), and I enjoyed the cast, including the leads (Tian Xiwei and Joseph Zeng) but also the ensemble cast and especially the obnoxious grandma (Ms Ai Li Ya, you are a gem).

I also found it refreshing to watch a drama taking place on a farm rather than in the imperial palace.

If you haven’t watched it, give it a try.

And listen to this song:

4. My Journey to You (China)

Now, all of you who are on Patreon know that I loved this show, to the point I wrote longer episode notes than K herself.

Still, I struggled to decide whether I should put it in this category or the “should have dropped” one.

This is how much the constant twist plots got to me after all, and actually I am convinced that I should have dropped it 5 minutes from the end.

Anyway, I decided to keep it in this category because of the top cinematography (best cinematography for me), the magnificent costumes (best costumes for me), the OST (best OST for me) and the unbelievably attractive cast, from Zhang Linghe in his best Victorian damsel stint (male crush of the year for me), to the unbearably smug Cheng Lei, to the beautiful viper that was Lu Yu Xiao.

I will be most willing to watch anything these guys and gals do in the future, and for Zhang Linghe I already did, with number 5 below.

For those interested, the OST:

5. The Story of Kunning Palace (China)

Did I love it to bits? Yes. Would I easily recommend it? Not really.

The show features two rather grey lead characters, and in the case of the ML (so, Zhang Linghe) he is mentally unstable (I mean, for real) with no therapist around, and he gets obsessed with the FL (Bai Lu) who is terrified of him but also drawn to him and eventually ends up with him.

Now, I don’t mind grey characters in dramas, it is just that in this one we don’t really spend too much time on Jiang Xuening overcoming her fear for Xie Wei and falling in love with him, so it kind of felt to me as if *ATTENTION SPOILER* she just got tired of trying to get away from him and thought «oh screw it, he’s paranoid, obsessive and homicidal but I will make him a better man». Generally speaking, not a good life principle, girls (as is proven in the last episode, where Xie Wei consistently bullies his kid).

Having said that, I still loved it.

And, last but not least, shows I am still watching:

The first one, I think I will eventually drop: Mysterious Lotus Casebook (China).

I love the premise of an ancient Chinese Sherlock Holmes and his Dr. Watson (Cheng Yi and Joseph Zeng) but I don’t like their «origin» story and certainly don’t care who killed Li Lianhua’s friend.

I only keep watching it for all the WTF moments relating to the mysteries they solve (my favourite so far, *ATTENTION SPOILER* that dancer’s plan to cover a murder by cutting off his own hand and replacing it by a wooden one), but I feel like I may have had enough.

The second one is A Journey to Love (China).

I am watching it as it goes so I am at episode 21 as I write this and won’t finish before this get posted. But. I love it. I LOVE IT.

If nothing goes wrong in the second part of the show, it will be my best show for 2023 (for now it is only my best half show).

Amazing leads (Liu Shishi – my girl crush for 2023- and Liu Yuning), excellent ensemble cast (best ensemble cast for me), filled with mature characters that do not challenge the audience’s patience or intelligence, good fighting scenes.

Very good job, so far.

In closing

That’s all from me, friends! Enjoy the holidays and may 2024 bring you the best of the best.

~Natalia