Go Back Spouses: Severe second lead syndrome as of episode 9

I've been enjoying Go Back Spouses a surprising amount, and it's one of the only shows I'm watching among the current pool on-air. It started off because I enjoyed the sense of humor and wanted to see the relationship rekindle between our time-traveling couple, played very fittingly by Jang Nara and Sohn Ho Joon. But the more I watch, the less enamored I am with the romantic story behind our main leads and the more I'm watching purely for the heartfelt family moments. In fact, despite the title of this post, I'm really not in it for any of the romance (especially given the high likelihood of my current ship not winding up anywhere). What I want to see more of is the tragic past between Jang Nara's Jin Joo and her mother, whose storyline never fails to bring me to tears, as well as any of the many thoughtful family relationships depicted.

The Bride of the Water God: Episode 1 First Impressions

This wasn't a show I was even remotely interested in watching, until I learned that it comes from the director of Nine and Queen In Hyun's Man, which are two of my favorite shows ever. With that said, episode 1 completely won me over, and really made me believe in the power of a good director in making a show go from middling to grand. I love the combination of quirky yet majestic that Bride has managed to seamlessly combine, and I even find myself surprisingly won over to both lead characters. They're not actors I would ever pick to watch, but Shin Se Kyung and Nam Joo Hyuk seem to really be putting their weight into their roles here and are a winning pair so far. All in all, a very solid first outing for Bride, which has me excited and eagerly anticipating what's to come.

Queen for Seven Days: Halfway Review

The only recent drama that I'm live-watching right now is the tragic sageuk Queen for Seven Days. A large part of why I initially watched was because I'm still trying to find a romantic sageuk that can top The Princess's Man. So far, I give credit to Queen for having a similarly fast-moving pace, a strong heroine and some epic lovers-separation and reunion scenes, but ultimately for me it doesn't even come close to matching TPM. I'm just not on board the OTP ship, and my sole reason for continuing to watch is the riveting Yeonsangun, whose character and performance have me completely swept up and wishing against history that he could face a better ending.

This Week My Wife Will Have an Affair: Series Review

It's rare to find a show that balances a likable and intriguing set of leads with an equally interesting and surprising plot. But that's what This Week My Wife Will Have an Affair artfully achieved, which explains the fair amount of positive reviews it's garnered. This Week hooked us with the did-she/ didn't-she humor-filled premise, but then pulled out something more meaningful, which was a balanced look at marriage and human relationships. As someone who went in with zero expectations, I was very pleasantly surprised by what I got, and this stands as one of the few shows I completed in 2016 and enjoyed all the way through.