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 our earlier posts, you can check them out as follows: Ele, Natalia, JJ, Sean, j3ffc.

Today, I’m pleased to announce that Uyen is sharing her drama year.

Uyen hasn’t been around as much this year, due to very important real-life things (like grad school – congrats Uyen! 🥳), so I’m really touched that she’s making time to share her drama year with us, nonetheless (thanks Uyen! 😘).

Of course, I’m always glad when Uyen does manage to come hang out with us, coz she’s a Junho-loving fangirl, just like me. 🥰😁

Uyen also writes about dramas on her own blog, which you can visit here.

I hope you guys enjoy!

~ KFG ❤️

Hi! It’s Uyen, here again for another year’s end post.

I’ve loved reading everyone’s posts, so glad to have a chance to chime in too.

I first started watching Hana Yori Dango years ago and then got back into dramas with Second 20s and Goblin.

Some of my favorites are My Mister, Just Between Lovers, Move To Heaven, Thirty But Seventeen, Because This Is My First Life, Be Melodramatic.

I have noticed with this year though that I’ve leaned more into angst a fair bit rather than slow and introspective – perhaps I need to blame my first cdrama last year, Love Like the Galaxy, for that haha!

I feel like I haven’t watched as many shows this year, and the shows I did watch were compressed into the first half of this year. I had to go back and scour Dramalist / Twitter / Patreon to figure out what I watched and when.

I don’t feel like there was one standout drama this year that completely grabbed my heart and consumed me.

In fact, I was a bit worried that I wouldn’t have anything to write about, but thankfully once I started listing out some titles for this post, I do have some thoughts after all.

My list really leans cdrama-heavy this year, and there’s some dramas that I dropped after one or a few episodes. Particularly in the past few months, I have to say that my attention span is incredibly short.

But without further ado, here we go (and yes I do add songs that I like below because OSTs are so important to me *high five, JJ*

Bright spots:

Hit The Spot

A short and scandalous series that impressed me with how far k-ent was willing to go.

We follow two women who host a podcast on sex and relationships, while they navigate their own dating lives. There was something refreshing about seeing frank depictions and challenges around sex and sexual health.

While the plot itself was nothing to write home about, I liked the idea they were going for.

The Story of Minglan

I knew it was by the same writer as Love Like The Galaxy (yes, I finished my third rewatch of it earlier this year), which was my fav drama last year, and so I had high hopes.

It’s quite different though – sprawling in terms of cast, more subdued in tone. But the politicking, the politicking! The scheming was top notch, especially in the way it talked about waging war in the household sphere.

The ladies were admirably scary in the way they exercised power within the roles they were confined to.

The slow buildup and characterization really pay off in the later episodes, but the trick is having the patience to wait for the rewards.

I really enjoyed watching Minglan’s growth throughout the drama.

The romance was ok to me, but it grew on me by the end (largely for my love of Minglan and therefore appreciation of people who valued her).

A Dream of Splendor

OH MY GOODNESS.

Sorry. I swooned a little bit thinking of the beginning half and the OTP here. It’s been months and I still feel it.

There haven’t been as many dramas lately that hook me in from the first ep like this one did. It petered out at the end for me [mild spoiler?] because of blasted noble idiocy and miscommunication [was that really a spoiler though bc this is the downfall of so many dramas by now], but I truly loved the three ladies’ bond and seeing them build their lives the way they wanted.

Go Ahead

The beginning episodes were everything to me, when our trio were younger.

I think it’s so beautiful how family relationships were explored here, and I go back to Li Jianjian’s words summing it up perfectly:

“I’ve always thought that just because people are related by blood, it doesn’t mean they’ll be one family, but people who love and cherish each other definitely can.”

I’m interested to see what the Korean adaptation will look like.

On the one hand, I could’ve skipped over some of the side character arcs, but on the other, I didn’t love the romance here so I’m curious to see how that’ll be addressed in the remake.

Flower of Evil

I LOVED THEM.

Yeah, this duo rewired my brain chemistry.

I’m so used to seeing couples get together, but it was very interesting to see a couple who have been together for years navigate layers in their relationship and learn to look past the secrets.

It helps that Lee Joon Gi and Moon Chae Won are such excellent actors.

I actually have not watched the last two episodes yet because my nerves were completely fried – I did read the spoilers but I’m pretty content with where I’m at because it was a really great show to me.

Also the daughter was the cutest.

^^This was one of the THE scenes to remember for me

Healer

This has been on my list for some time, and I’m happy to say that it quickly hooked me in.

Sometimes I wonder whether I like to be a contrarian and don’t like fan favorites, but this was one that I had high expectations for that I was pleased by.

It was very easy to get invested in the 1980s arc and try to piece things together.

We had some grief, guilt, wistfulness, love with some light moments mixed together in a combination that worked well. And the OTP had a great relationship!!

It ran just an ep or so long for me, but overall it was a great watch.

Hidden Love

Yes, I do think skipping the first eps until ep 7 or so helps since it’s a bit meh with her being so young in the beginning. However, it’s pure cotton candy fluff after, for me.

I love both Zhao Lusi and Chen Zheyuan, and it was so nice to see them in a show that had no unnecessary side characters or angst.

Not too much depth, but so appealing in its lightness. I still think fondly on the scene when they’re in the snow and make a wish for each other.

It felt like a fever dream but was so much fun:

I feel like I can’t completely recommend these because I had some serious qualms with the romance and/or plot (namely that I did not feel they were romances to aspire to), but they were SO much fun watching. Seriously.

I thoroughly enjoyed shaking my fists and yelling at the antagonists on screen (Bing Chang and Su Jin, I’m looking right at you).

There were some moments where I seriously questioned the characters’ actions. But at the end of the day, I got truly invested.

Til The End of the Moon

I cannot even describe to you what it was like watching this live and waiting on the ending eps. I didn’t even love the ending arc, but the rollercoaster of Tantai Jin and Susu’s relationship was very Wuthering Heights-coded.

A bit toxic? Sure. Also emotionally gripping? Yep.

I watched this when I was sick and truly, it consumed me and provided a very nice distraction.

Ten Miles of Peach Blossom

My first xianxia was one to remember.

I was confused at first, but thankfully I remember Ele walking me through some of the lore.

I fell headfirst into the mortal arc, which kept me invested through the agonizing heavenly arc.

I got so angry at times, but it was all in good fun (and isn’t that a good marker for a show sometimes? When it invokes all sorts of reactions from ya).

I definitely feel like this was a show that is fun to watch as a group, or at least have group reactions (thank you, phl1rxd, for always appreciating my rants hehe).

This song is seriously so epic, like it sounds *sweeping* *three lifetimes* *eternal love, you could say* to me:

I loved parts of it but wanted to love it more:

Call It Love

Melancholy, wistful, hopeful, and quotable – this show is exactly my type in certain ways.

The cinematography in certain scenes was exquisite –  I remember a scene where the way they were framed through doorways mirrored their character relationships.

I also really liked the OST and instrumental music.

The only thing is that towards the end I felt like the plot dragged a bit for me, and I remember rushing to finish the end without completely loving it.

But shoutout to the siblings (the sisters’ relationship was the best) and Sung Joon’s character for being highlights for me.

Twinkling Watermelon

I am a sucker for youth dramas, and the first two episodes started off very strong for me.

I cried at our lead’s relationship with his family and father (So beautiful. So relatable in the parent-child angst and struggle to understand each other).

By now, I thoroughly enjoy seeing Choi Hyun Wook on my screen, and he excels at these sort of charming characters.

Where this show fell off for me was its greater focus on the romance (specifically the younger pair though, I didn’t mind at all the parents’ arc) than on the family relationships.

I wanted to see more of the family/friendship aspect towards the end, and I don’t feel that it tied together as well for me as I’d like.

That said, it did make me smile, and I loved the music.

Road Home

A strange one, this one.

After watching it, I felt a bit dissatisfied.

Second chance stories are my kryptonite, but I felt that this one never wrung out my emotions quite the way I wanted to. Also, yes, it does run slow.

The thing is though, once I finished watching it, I felt compelled to rewatch it a second time. With the handy use of the fast forward button and some lens adjustments, I really enjoyed my second watch.

This could also be colored by my bias for both Jing Boran and Tan Songyun.

Once we got past some of the beginning angst, I loved watching them together. I still replay some scenes sometimes because I really liked their younger scenes together.

A League of Nobleman

Jing Boran bias coming through here. This is actually the first drama I saw him in, and something about his elegant Lan Jue stood out.

In terms of the actual story (an investigative duo solving mysteries, with a supernatural bent) – I felt like the idea was interesting, but the execution fell flat for me at times.

But hey in the end, I did have a soft spot for those boys, and my takeaway is that OTP was Lan Jue and Mowen.

A Familiar Stranger (rewatch)

Sean mentioned this in his EOY post, and I do enjoy this enough to rewatch parts of it.

I’m such a sucker for the aloof husband falling for his wife trope, and watching the leads fall for each other was great.

The only thing is that I felt the explanation behind the supernatural aspect wasn’t as well laid out, and the ending felt more anticlimactic for me.

However, I also think this is due to the limitations of it being a short series – both the blessing is that it zipped through, but the curse is that it didn’t have the room for everything to be fleshed out. But overall, a good watch for me.

Dropped:

Crash Course in Romance: My most anticipated 2023 drama at the end of last year, but alas, while Jung Kyung Ho and Jeon Do Yeon are my loves, the story just did not grab me past the first few eps.

The Interest of Love: It started off fascinating for me on how it explored class and character dynamics.

There have definitely been times when more unlikeable characters are still interesting to me, however, this was not the case. I never got invested enough in our leads to keep going (and I actually shipped our leads with the respective second leads).

Nothing But You: I know, I know, Wu Lei – but no. Not necessarily anything bad, but I just didn’t feel compelled to continue.

Hold My Hand At Twilight: JJ, it’s so funny because I brought this one up, but I didn’t get past ep 3.

I completely think it’s a personal thing where seeing a few eps of two friends dancing around each other with their chemistry but also not getting together right away seemed a little too agonizing at the time to continue. Someday I will come back!!

Love Between Fairy and Devil: I’ve tried a few times and I keep getting stalled, so unfortunately it’s an indefinite pause for me, even though I know it was one of the favs of 2022.

Shining For One Thing: I know! I think it’s like Someday or One Day for me, where in theory I think I’d like it, but something didn’t quite work.

Kokdu: Quickly dropped after the first ep. My fav cast members from Mr. Queen could not save it for me.

Taxi Driver 2: I made it through a few eps and enjoyed seeing the crew again, but the overarching plot/antagonist was less interesting to me than the episodic stories that made me invested in the first half of the first season.

King The Land: I know, I know, JUNHO MY LOVE – but I couldn’t take the helicopter landing seriously (I did make an effort and watched through ep 2 but then there were other things to watch, so goodbye, Junho)

Movies:

I had to throw in these two movies because I feel like I was more excited and emotionally wrung out from these movies than any dramas I watched this year.

Soulmate (both Chinese and Korean versions)

I loved this and have a soft spot for the Chinese version, largely because I watched it first and Zhou Dongyu and Ma Sichun were just excellent together.

I enjoyed the Korean version too, and felt that while the general storyline stayed the same, there were some nuances in the story and character relationships that made it interesting to compare the two.

Ultimately, I felt that the Chinese version felt grittier, more vulnerable, more open to exposing the sharp edges in a friendship.

Us & Them

This movie knocked me over when I least expected it (as the good ones usually do).

I watched it for Jing Boran and was amazed by Zhou Dongyu. I watched this movie and rewatched it the weekend after, that’s how much I loved it.

The thing is, it tells a story that we’ve seen before – boy meets girl, boy falls in love, they reconnect years later.

We’ve seen multiple versions of this even in the past year. But it’s the acting and the writing that pulls it together for me.

Zhou Dongyu’s character has a lovely relationship with Jing Boran’s father, and there’s some social commentary here on the restlessness of youth, the allure of cities, and the chase of dreams that felt particularly enticing to watch.

I saw that there’s a Korean adaptation in the works, which makes me both excited and nervous because I loved the original so much.

Currently watching:

The Story of Park’s Marriage Contract: I love Lee Se Young. I loved the first two eps with the Joseon background and the fun of seeing LSY adjust to modern life. Unfortunately the last few eps dragged a bit more for me, but I’m still in it for her.

A Journey to Love: I am…two eps in. So perhaps not the best judge yet, but I do have to say I enjoy what I see, and our female lead is particularly badass.

Quick awards:

Most Likely To Give You Cavities: Hidden Love (I also consider this the “Best Fantasy Come To Life” because who wouldn’t want your years long crush to notice you and like you back, absolutely the stuff of dreams)

Fav Female Character: Moon Chae Won’s Cha Ji Won from Flower of Evil (absolutely badass yet still having a huge heart, scared me from ep 1 with her boldness)

Fav Male Character: Luo Yunxi’s Tantai Jin from Til The End of the Moon (a walking red flag never looked so good in historical costume)

Fav OTP: Chen Xiao’s Gu Qianfan and Liu Yifei’s Zhao Pan’er from A Dream of Splendor had me absolutely squealing with their flirting and will-they-won’t-they banter, it was very bad

Fav Work of Art of The Year (in lieu of fav drama): Us & Them, for reasons mentioned above

In conclusion

Here’s to another year of drama watching!

I very much appreciate the community here. Even though I feel like I haven’t had a chance to watch as many dramas and engage as much this year, it’s always fun to pop in and see what’s going on.

Happy holidays, everyone!

~Uyen