Uyen's Year In Dramas! (Patreon)

Hiiii all! I’ve been lurking around on diff reviews but haven’t officially joined until now and am excited to be part of this community!

My very very first drama ever was a Jdrama, Hana Yori Dango, and from there I watched some of the typical teen ones like Goong, Boys Over Flowers, Shut Up Flower Boy Band (actually still love this). I stopped for a while and just last year decided to try this kdrama called Second 20s and totally loved it. My next one was Goblin -- and I was hooked from there! I spent a good chunk of time watching some older kdramas more so than just 2021 dramas, but watched just enough from 2021 to make this list.

Ten for 2021:

10) She Would Never Know

Honestly I had reservations about the first few episodes, but I had seen some good reviews, and I also wanted to support Won Jin Ah who I had seen in JBL. I ended up being very surprised at how much I enjoyed it, particularly some of the secondary storylines. In fact, at times I liked the secondary characters more than the main loveline! In general the show was pretty light and had some skippable plot arcs to me. However, I felt very invested in the characters, some of whom were very fun and cute, and for the main relationship, appreciated that I understood both of their perspectives and it made sense for me (particularly the obligatory drama angst, even with all that trope I felt it was in line with their characters and relationship). I liked that they had very honest conversations with each other, and Rowoon and Won Jin Ah were SO stinkin’ cute when they were together. It’s hard not to swoon when you have a male lead who’s head over heels for the very badass and put together female lead from the beginning, and who both is unashamedly a whipped puppy for her and also respects her boundaries and feelings. A very cute rom com, a bit frustrating at the beginning, but in the end worth it when the main couple actually get together and I was invested in seeing the cute couple have really good cute and crackly chemistry.

Also I couldn’t find a pic with just the women, but the women in this drama!! Were often more interesting than the men to me lol

9) Taxi Driver

Different from my usual drama, much more action and crime-procedural focused. I watched it because of Lee Je Hoon and he did not disappoint (he is always fine, but he’s extra fine wearing shades and fighting for justice lol). The story revolves around a taxi service that carries out revenge for people when the law fails them. I really liked reading The Count of Monte Cristo when I was younger, and since then the morally grey area of taking revenge has always interested me. Taxi Driver dives into that, into the corruption, the failings of the criminal justice system, what good people do when their hands are tied, and breaks apart the good/bad binary. What I appreciated about the show were the different stories that were brought to light of those who are impacted by abuse and crime -- this show made me realize how angry and bloodthirsty I can get. I prefer character driven shows, so there were points I wished we got some more of this, but like I said, I appreciated the character stories we did get. Apparently there was a screenwriter change in the middle, which led to some shifts and my less favorite parts of the series, but overall I enjoyed it. I loved the little found family aspect and think this could have been built on a lot more!

8) Hellbound

I don’t totally know where to put this on my list because it’s so different from other shows I’ve watched. I haven’t watched Squid Games because I said it’s too stressful and then I really turned around and watched Hellbound lol (but I gotta support some of my favs and that cast was good). The premise is that sinners get decrees of when they’ll go to hell and then when the time comes, these monster-demons come to destroy them. Yeah, not really fun and fluffy. Surprisingly, it was less jump-scary than I expected and instead was creepy because you watched a cult come into power, mob mentality and what organized religion can warp into due to fear. It was both fascinating and disturbing and worth a watch if you’re into something that explores justice, sin, free will, faith and the good/evil binary.

Honestly the background picture freaks me out a little more than the foreground.

7) Hospital Playlist Season 2

This was actually the first drama I watched while it was on-air, as most of the ones I’ve watched have been binge watches after their run. A very special gem that made me laugh and cry in basically every episode. I will say that Season 1 was excellent for me, and Season 2 meandered a bit. I realized that I don’t love slice of life stories *that* much, and I’m afraid I wasn’t able to grasp the intricate storytelling of how different storylines culminated in a certain theme for each episode. But my favorite moments were that I truly loved each of our 99ers, and they brought a smile to my face with their music, their banter, their genuine love for each other. The patient cases were a hit or miss for me, some of them really hitting home, and others less so, but overall I thought it was an excellent depiction of just, well life in the hospital and the stress and the bonds that are formed in medicine. Sometimes you try your best and sometimes it might not work out, but what matters is having the heart and caring.

7) Lost/Human Disqualification

I feel that in a different frame of mind, I wouldn’t have been able to watch this. It captures loneliness, depression and restlessness in a way that is both, a bit affirming in the sense that I can understand the feelings the characters have, but also makes it extremely difficult to watch at times. It’s very slice of life — I think I saw one person comment that it was “glacially slow” — and that’s so true. But its strength is developing the characters and character interactions. There’s a lot said in the silences and motions, even if not explicitly voiced as dialogue. There’s a risk that with these heavy topics, the show becomes trauma porn, but I didn’t feel like it was sensationalizing issues. I felt the show was respectful in handling these topics. Its strength really was in the silences and the way characters interacted with each other. I know this makes it less appealing for viewers who prefer fast-paced plots, but I enjoy character driven shows, so I really liked this.

There’s a lot to think about, and I don’t feel I can do it justice after just one watch. I didn’t love all the storylines of the secondary characters, but I do think that unlike in some other shows, the writing pulled together how the different characters foiled or paralleled each other, which would really make it good for a rewatch to go into depth.

5) Navillera

Such a tender show, so so heartwarming. I don’t think a blurb could do it justice, but it was really a very human show about hope, following your heart, family in all forms, healing wounds and relationships. You do have to go in knowing it’s not so plot driven and therefore is slower paced, but it is so worth the watch. I’m reflecting on the ballerino aspect and how ballet is seen as a very feminine passion, but I love that this bashes both those gender and ageist stereotypes. I love that the show explores men having emotions that are non-romantic and being vulnerable!! Also, I don’t often see older actors in main roles (granted I usually watch romance that’s why) but love the grace and opportunity to shine for Park In-Hwan -- OUR HALABEOJI <3. I even liked the side stories of the family, which often is a hit or miss for me. I have some small gripes, namely my difficulty in truly feeling for Song Kang’s character, but I’m fine with it because of the focus on Park In-Hwan’s character. Overall, a truly lovely show. AND MAY I JUST APPRECIATE HOW IT’S 12 EPISODES, like there are just too many shows that drag out to 16 and I get that maybe it’s a matter of money and popularity for the hardworking folks who made the show happen but also, I believe if you can wrap it up in 12, no need to prolong it for a shoddily written last episode or two, and I appreciate Navillera for not falling into this trap.

*If you don’t want to watch a whole drama but like the vibe of a grandparent-younger person relationship and the earnestness of a grandparent learning something new, the movie I Can Speak is excellent, starring my favs Na Moon Hee and Lee Je Hoon. Content warning: fim discusses comfort women

4) Mr. Queen

So fun, came at the perfect time for me. I didn’t expect to like it so much since I gravitate to more serious shows. You have to suspend belief at multiple points, but if you’re okay with that, you’re in for a good ride. There was just enough politics to keep me interested, but because it’s Mr. Queen, it also was balanced by some comedy and it never got too much for me and I liked the blend of genres. At 20 eps, there were the usual filler scenes at times, but generally the pace was good for me. My main qualms are points that I think a lot of people will have and the whole gender binary being used for comedy, but looking back on the whole show, if I don’t think too critically about it, it didn’t take away from the gem of everything else, for me personally, and I also felt just practically it made sense why the team decided to make that choice. Shin Hye Sun and Kim Jung Hyun are a STELLAR pairing, I loved their scenes together, and I want them to be in another drama together with their crackly chemistry. Overall, I felt the range of feels for this show and don’t have much more to ask for -- I rewatched it right after I watched it the first time and still thoroughly enjoyed it and am feeling like another rewatch is coming, so this feels like a comfort show to me.

3) Racket Boys

Such a wholesome show. I’ve realized I don’t totally love big ensemble casts like Reply 1988 and Hospital Playlist, and prefer when there’s a “central” character like Prison Playbook or here in Racket Boys -- with the caveat that there are still strong supporting characters. Racket Boys follows Hae-Kang, a baseball turned badminton player when his family moves to the countryside. What follows are very sweet friendships and loving relationships in the village. It’s just so feel good, and I wholeheartedly rooted for the Haenam crew and am going to miss my lovely characters. For a show that seemed so simple, there was a lot of unconditional love, life lessons of not underestimating youth, don’t rely on first impressions, and the importance of small acts of kindness. The cameos from Prison Playbook were also *chef’s kiss*. Overall, a really heartwarming show that I will miss a lot.

2) Move to Heaven

There are few shows that catch my interest from its premise, not from the hype, and that stick with me throughout its entire run, but Move to Heaven did that. I never really thought much of trauma cleaning and am fascinated to learn that the drama was based on an actual essay by a trauma cleaner. The episodes ran similar to procedural dramas, and there’s a risk with that of feeling disjointed to me or preventing me from feeling attached to the central characters, as I’ve experienced in some other dramas like Hotel Del Luna. However, Move to Heaven successfully moved through the different stories of the dead AND kept me invested in the crew behind Move to Heaven as well. Tang Joon Sang and Lee Je Hoon are excellent here, and literally every story made me emotional in some way. I felt death and grief were very respectfully portrayed here in each story they highlighted, and it has that heartwarming + sad vibe that fits with my favs . Big plus too for being 10 episodes of reasonable length. It does seem open-ended enough to pave the way for a second season, which I don’t love, but the major points I cared about were wrapped up, so we’ll see.

Fave of 2021: D.P.

A very hard watch, but so so solid. It’s only 6 episodes, which is its strength for me. Sure, we don’t delve into the main characters’ stories as much as the standard 16 episoder, but we still get the impact of the very important stories centering soldiers who desert the military. I actually thought this would be a pro-military sort of comedy when I first saw the trailer, but its message is actually very critical of the military and the blind eye towards abuses. D.P.’s ending message is how insidious silence and the brushing over of issues is. Unfortunately I don’t think this is unique to the Korean military and is very much still ongoing. Also I’m uncertain whether even with the attention the show’s gotten, whether substantial changes will happen because uh, corruption and power are real and big forces. I’m sure there are people capable of changing policies and systems who are at fault themselves and harbor some guilt and wish for some silence. There’s also commentary on being a bystander — why did you stand by and do nothing? In every case that we saw, what if everyone had not followed the crowd? What is so tempting and deadly about having power over someone else? There’s more there related to toxic masculinity and the idea of making others feel small to feel big yourself. There is also a larger essay to be written here about someone else other than me on the linkage of military and neocolonialism/imperialism, and indoctrination and politicization of youth. Oof, heavy stuff.

Now normally I skip over title sequences and don’t think of them much, but for D.P., I honestly waited for the title sequence because the music and the scenes just fit the theme of the drama so well. This one has got to be my favorite just in its poignancy and storytelling just within those several seconds itself.

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Fave Female Lead of 2021: Shin Hye Sun from Mr. Queen

The way she pulled off 2, at one point 3 characters, in a distinct way with both impeccable comedic timing and bringing on the serious moods, was incredible to me.

Fave Male Lead of 2021: I think both Lee Je Hoon in Taxi Driver and Move To Heaven and Tang Joon Sang in Racket Boys and Move To Heaven stand out to me. They both played 2 very different characters in their respective dramas (and for Lee Je Hoon in Taxi Driver like 5 different ones), but still managed to make them distinct to me.

Fave OTP: Not romantic, but Grandpa and Chae Rok in Navillera are my favorite pairing. The way that they look at each other with tenderness and pride is just, ugh.

Fave female supporting actor: Listen, listen…True Beauty made me wring out my hair at times because of the high school drama, but it was also really fun. Im Se Mi as Unni played a big role in that. She was hilarious, one of my favorite characters, and I really need to see her in another drama!

Fave male supporting actor: Cho Hyun Chul in D.P. was so dfferent from in Hotel Del Luna that I had to search it up to make sure my memory was right. I don’t really know what else to say except that he really made me feel. I also did love Koo Kyo Hwan too, so let me just sneak him in here too.

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Because I watched more non-2021 dramas, I’m including them here for some categories.

In terms of non-2021 dramas, my favorites so far would have to be: My Mister, Just Between Lovers/Rain or Shine, Thirty But Seventeen, Be Melodramatic, Because This Is My First Life, Prison Playbook. I have a soft spot for found family, slow burn, and heartwarming with a touch of bittersweet/melancholy.

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Hidden Gem: I would have said before Just Between Lovers, but with Junho’s popularity now with The Red Sleeve(adore him so thrilled), I think more and more people are finding it (yay). I will say I also have a soft spot for Second 20s -- looking back it has flaws but I couldn’t help but root for Choi Ji Woo’s character. I loved the fresh take on an older female lead and I loved seeing her become independent and at peace with herself.

Razzie Award: I feel like Razzie Award for me has to go to something I felt was particularly bad, and I tend to drop dramas more than follow through with them. The show that came to mind though that I was particularly disappointed in was probably Chicago Typewriter.

I wanted to love it so much more than I actually did. I have a soft spot for stories about past lives, and add in a writer, history, and independence fighters? My Kryptonite. But sadly, I think I built expectations too high. This is not to say it was awful -- I still loved it in many ways. In fact, I think this is one of the rare dramas that I will probably enjoy more rewatching than watching it the first time. It took a narrative gamble in that we start off, like the characters, having no idea what the heck is going on for the first few episodes. This is in contrast to other dramas, where there can be too much time jumping. And this would have succeeded, if alas, I cared as much about the present timeline as I did the past. So I found myself craving for scenes that did not exist. The ways that things tied together and when we did find out more about the past were wonderful though. I will say that narratively I loved the parallels and weaving together of all the relationships, and there were certain scenes that were pretty lovely to me, just in mood and music and how it made sense (ending episodes were excellent). However, there was also just plenty that either bored me or did not make sense to me, so I’m both bummed at the missed potential. I’ll just end up rewatching it to see if I pick things up and to go to my favorite scenes (shout out to Yoo Ah In for playing both a character I hated and swooned over). When it did make me feel though ooooh boy it made me feEEEeEEEl, because it was so poetic and lovely and I just wanted to scream, “if you were more consistent I would have definitely given you all my love!!!!” Also bonus points for great use of OSTs.

Favorite Score: I’m fresh off a rewatch of Just Between Lovers/Rain or Shine and I really adore how unassuming the instruments and music are to complement the story. So this is my way to sneak this one in, muahaha.

Favorite OST of the year for me is “Consolation” by Kwon Jin Ah from Be Melodramatic: It has just the right amount of emotion and slight melancholy I’d expect from a show centered around finding yourself in your thirties. There’s one scene in particular where this song and the scene hit me right in the heart and gut.

Shows I dropped this year:

● Doom At Your Service: I loved Park Bo Young in Oh My Ghost, but was just not feeling it here with the murky mythology.

● Strong Woman Do Bong Soon: Again, love PBY but for some reason this did not land for me. I guess I don’t really love the power dynamics in boss-employee relationships too.

● Crash Landing On You: I know! Blasphemy! To be fair, there wasn’t anything I particularly disliked, but I think the whole hiding in North Korea/secrecy/manipulation that makes for a good show for most people just makes me anxious. And because it’s so popular I’ve seen spoilers of the ending, so that makes it low on my watch list.

● Angel’s Last Mission: Love: Love Shin Hye Sun and L, but just couldn’t get into the storyline.

● Youth of May: I did love the first 2 eps, but the historical context just felt very weighty and I haven’t been able to follow through yet.

● Love In the Moonlight: I watched this right after Mr. Queen and just couldn’t get into it, but since I’m liking The Red Sleeveand am curious about more light-hearted sagueks, might pick this up again.

~uyen