The TV Roundup #2

The other day I found out that I may be going back to physical internship, meaning I have to actually be in the hospital, as early as February 1st. It's not yet final as we're still waiting for the official memo from the Commission on Higher Education, but my hospital wants us ready to go as soon as we get that memo.

I spent a good part of that day with a lump in the pit of stomach and went to bed anxiety-ridden. The next day wasn't much better, so I distracted myself with chores and cooking. Between studying, cooking, chores, virtual internship activities, and trying to keep my anxiety at bay, it's been a slow week TV-wise. Last week's "up next" list is laughably optimistic in hindsight.

Currently Watching

Mr. Queen (South Korea) | E14

Plot advancement huzzah! King Cheoljong has successfully maneuvered himself into a position of power. He is no longer a weak puppet at other people's mercy. For how long is anyone's guess at this point and we see that his newfound power is already being challenged. This time, the one caught in the crosshairs is a 5-year-old girl. Damnitall. Kid's pure love for the Queen, and the Queen's doting affection for Kid had me ugly crying.

T____T

Identity crisis aside, I am loving the developments between SoBong and Cheoljong. They already crossed each other's physical boundaries, now they just need to be on the same page emotionally. And they need more hanky-panky! This time with both of them sober participants. They deserve the stress release and we deserve more than that short and deeply unsatisfying fade out we got. XD

More moving than that bed scene amiright? <3<3<3

True Beauty (South Korea) | E12

I'm glad the boys are slowly mending their friendship. That was long overdue. Both of them don't have many bosom friends -- ones they can rely on for the heavy stuff -- so I'm glad they have each other. But what I feared about the girl friendships came true. Hell hath no fury like Kang Soo-jin scorned. She basically ignited a bomb on her friendships and Joo-kyung's reputation. This week's episodes (13 and 14) will be rough and I don't have the mental fortitude to suffer through that right now. Real life is distressing enough. I think I'll just wait for all remaining episodes to come out and see how it goes.

The Uncanny Counter (South Korea) | E16 Finale

After episode 11, the show started to lose steam and I started to lose interest. Episodes 12 and 13 went by and didn't make much of an impact. There were big stakes in the plot, but it wasn't connecting. This continued until the very meh finale.

I'm glad the good guys won in the end, but Mayor just wasn't compelling nor interesting enough as a bad guy. I would've immensely preferred the previous murderer host to be the final Big Bad, since he was a fleshed out and much more nuanced character. And IMO this 16-episode show would've been served better by a 12-episode length. I remember watching episode 6 and being so surprised to find it was only episode 6. It felt more like it was already at the half-way point of a tightly plotted show.  I feared the show was going to lose steam or didn't have any more story to tell. Not for 16 episodes anyway. I was right.

I hear there's going to be season 2? I hope they have an explanation for So Mun's souped up counter powers. One of my dissatisfactions was the Deus Ex Machina-like power-ups he keeps getting. He's like Super Saiyan on speed. He keeps leveling up within a short period of time and no one knows why.

Overall though, this was a really good show and I'm glad I watched it. My favorite thing about it is the deep, unconditional affection of the various kinds of families - So Mun and his besties, So Mun and his grandparents, and the Counter Team. Onwards to Season 2!

Fate: The Winx Saga | E01

Tried watching it while having dinner. I couldn't even get past a third of the first episode. It's too cringy.

My face as I watched the cringe-fest going on in Winx.

Run On (South Korea) | E14

Surprise, surprise! Asshole Abeoji is even scummier than I thought. Seo Dan-ah's "elder" brother isn't just an idiot, he's also a dicknuts waste of space. The only reason he's in the running to inherit controlling interest in their family business is good old-fashioned patriarchy and having the luck to be born legitimate. What an ass. I hit FF over both of them.

I'm just glad both OTP romances and individual friendships are progressing nicely. We're even getting a double date scene in the next episode. That said there isn't really much story left to mine. The final two episodes are more than enough time to tie up loose ends.