My Drama-Viewing Journey

Hey everyone,

Long time, no see. It has been a long four+ years. Covid happened and is, in fact, still around, infecting people. I lost my mom (unrelated to Covid). But even so, life went on and still goes on. There have been encounters with grief, but also joy.

Although I am still viewing dramas and enjoying the craziness and love I see in them, I haven’t been moved to really write anything about them.

Thus, I thought I’d share a piece I wrote for another website, but ended up not submitting. It details my drama viewing journey from the early 2000s to the past few years.

Feel free to share what brought you to dramas, as well. 😀

(Lovers in Paris)

Romance is a Bonus Book

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I recently finished watching a Korean drama called Romance is a Bonus Book. The drama aired from January to March, 2019. It starred Lee Na Young as Kang Dan Yi, our down on her luck heroine. Lee Jong Suk played Cha Eun Ho, Kang Dan Yi’s dongseng from childhood and our male lead. They were ably supported by a variety of cast members that rounded out the professional and personal world these two inhabited. We had Jung Eugene playing Song Hae-Rin, the second female lead. Wi Ha Joon played Ji Seo Jun, the second male lead.

Romance is a Bonus Book started off being about a woman who is in the worst place in her life and her journey to someplace better. And while it continued being that for the most part, we also got stories about the different people at the publishing house where Kang Dan Yi ends up working. Overall, the drama was a satisfying watch, and I would recommend it for those who are in the right mindset.

The Story of Minglan

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I recently finished a historical 73-epsiode Chinese drama titled The Story of Minglan. The drama starred Zhao Liying as our titular Minglan. Feng Shaofeng played Gu Tingye, the eventual hero to our heroine. Zhu Yilong played one of the side characters, Qi Heng. And we had an assortment of other actors who played the family members around these three characters. The three families, mainly Minglan’s and Gu Tingye’s families, make up the central conflicts of this story.

While describing this drama to others, I have described it as an Austen-type of story, focusing on both the domestic and worldly concerns, set in olden times, and centered around our heroine, who traverses the dangers of life back then and obtains her own happily ever after. Not that I’m comparing these two, but this truly felt like a historical that focused more on the domestic than the political aspect of things, and I really appreciated that.

The Zoya Factor

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I recently watched the Indian movie The Zoya Factor, starring Sonam Kapoor Ahuja as the titular Zoya. The movie also starred Dulquer Salmaan as Nikhil Khoda, the male lead of the film.

Reminder, that this review is chock full of my opinions, which are shaped by my biases. Feel free to disagree. Spoilers abound.

Zoya is a hapless young woman, who is failing both at love and work. Her dream is to own her own small ad agency one day. She also hopes to be married. Instead, she is dumped by her boyfriend for being middle class when she was expecting a proposal. And her boss at work derides her for her mistakes daily.

Nikhil Khoda is the current captain of the Indian Cricket team. He is a believer in hard work and dedication getting the job done. He has no room in his life for superstition and luck. Instead, he spends his days practicing and encouraging his teams members to improve themselves, all to ensure that victory in the field will be his.

Suddenly This Summer

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I just finished watching the Chinese drama Suddenly This Summer. The drama aired 30 half hour episodes between April 19 and June 7, 2018. It starred Bai Yu as Zhang Yuan (the main lead male), Bu Guan Jin as He Luo (main lead female), Lu Peng as Feng Xiao (second lead male), and Yang Yue as Zhang Weirui (second lead female).

The drama also starred Zhang Shu Ya as Li Yunwei, Liu Lin as Chang Feng, Hou Qing Zi Xi as Tian Xi, and Fang Wen Qiang as Zhao Chengjie.

Source for actor names (DramaWiki and MyDramaList)

Suddenly this Summer was about the innocent times the characters live through during high school, struggling to be good students, building their futures and planning for the rest of their lives. It is about these characters falling in love and navigating through the pitfalls of long distance relationships. The two main leads meet, fall in love and ultimately break up when they are unable to deal with the realities of what it means to be together yet apart.

The story then covers how they grow as people, ultimately finding their way back to each other with the hope of reconciliation at the end of the drama.

Domestic Violence Portrayal in two Pakistani Dramas

My parents love watching Pakistani dramas, more so because my mom can only fully understand Urdu and is able to enjoy these dramas on her own versus watching American television/movies, where she would need help to understand most of the dialogue.

Two of the dramas they recently finished watching, and I chanced to see most of were Bund Khirkiyan (Closed Windows) and Rishtay Kuch Adhoorey Se (Incomplete Relationships).

When watching these dramas, whether actively or passively, I was shocked and disgusted by their endings and felt like I needed to write this blog post to work through the feelings these dramas evoked in me as a female audience member.

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Bund Khirkiyan (Closed Windows)

Bund Khirkiyan aired from 20 July 2018 – 22 February 2019 on HumTV. The story centered around Saboohi (pictured above) and her husband, Zain (also pictured above). The two are married, but Zain has this obsessive need for Saboohi’s attention to be on him 100% of the time. Any time other obligations call her away, he has a tantrum.

I Have a Lover

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I Have a Lover is a 50-episode Korean Drama that aired between 8/22/2015 and 2/28/2016 on SBS. The drama starred Kim Hyun Joo in the double role of twins, Do Hae Kang (the cheated on wife) and Dokgo Yong Ki (twin sister). Ji Jin Hee played Choi Jin Eon, Hae Kang’s husband, and the person who “ha[s] a lover” in the drama. Park Han Byul played Kang Seol Ri as the “lover”.

The drama is about Do Hae Kang’s journey from the cold, ambitious woman she used to be at the beginning of the series to the loving, caring humanitarian woman she ends up becoming after living through the trials and tribulations of being a K-drama heroine. At the beginning of the drama, Do Hae Kang had a strong sense of character, and she was using her powers for bad. It is only once she learns about loss and love while living with her adopted family does she change and become a better human being. 

HIStory 2 – Crossing the Line AKA Boundary Crossing

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The third and final Taiwanese BL series I recently watched was the second story in the HIStory 2 series, Crossing the Line. It was an 8-episode BL drama that aired from 3/6/2018 to 3/28/2018, with each episode coming in at 22 minutes long. The drama starred Fandy Fan as Xia Yu Hao, our main character. Zach Lu was Qiu Zi Xuan, the object of Xia Yu Hao’s affections. Nick Yang played Wang Zhen Wen, Xia Yu Hao’s friend and the younger brother of Wang Zhen Wu. Patrick Shih played Wang Zhen Wu, Zhen Wen’s older brother.

The BL drama had two basic BL story lines, one of the delinquent and the volleyball geek and the other of the two step-siblings, with many other characters that added depth to a story that we had only 8 episodes to view and enjoy.  I highly recommend this series as one that is a must watch for all BL drama viewers out there.

The drama is about Xia Yu Hao, a rebel on the surface, and a loving and caring son deep underneath. It is about Qiu Zi Xuan, a high school senior who has had setbacks in his life, and about how he has persevered despite them. It is about Zhen Wen and Zhen Wu, step-siblings who are learning to redefine their relationship in a new way. And it is about their friends and family, who are living their lives one day at a time, working at the things they are passionate about and supporting the main characters.

HIStory 2: Right or Wrong

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Right or Wrong was the first 8-episode Taiwanese drama in the second season of the HIStory series, which is a series that focuses on men falling in love and are in the boys love genre. The drama aired between 1/30/2018 to 2/21/2018 on Choco TV.  Each episode was about 22 minutes long.

This story is about Shi Yi Jie (Jiang Chang Hui), an anthropologist and a professor, who meets Fei Sheng Zhe (Zhang Hang), a student who becomes a nanny for Shi Yi Jie’s young daughter, Yoyo.

Dark Blue and Moonlight

So, in my continuing journey to watch more BL dramas out there, I recently watched Dark Blue and Moonlight from Taiwan. I thought I’d share my views on it in this post.

I think I am liking Taiwanese BL dramas the best thus far, although some Thai BL dramas are a close second. They are both generous with their kissing, but story wise, the only Thai dramas I’ve seen are coming of age/falling in love series, so those seem a bit juvenile to me. There might be other more mature Thai BL out there, but I haven’t looked into it too deeply and I always need my dramas to have a happy ending, so there is that added limitation. Chinese dramas are still censoring the L part of BL, leading us to lackluster bromances that leave most fans disappointed (Advanced Bravely anyone?).

Other reviews to follow. 🙂

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Dark Blue and Moonlight was a 12-episode Taiwanese BL series that aired from 11/21/2017 to 12/27/2017. Each episode was about 22 minutes long. The series was about Su Hai Qing (Aric Chen)  and his aspirations to becoming an artist. It was about Yan Fei (Wang Ting Yun), a high level employee in a media company, and his live-in lover, Jimmy (Lin Charles); the two have been together for years, but Yan Fei still hides this relationship from his mother and the two seem to be on the brink of breaking up. It was about Chen Ping Jun (Tim Huang), who meets and falls in love with Hai Qing, but ends up losing him.

Ultimately, this story was about how Hai Qing and Yan Fei met, fell in love and achieved their happily ever after at the cost of hurting their respective partners immensely.

Suspicious Partner

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I just finished watching Korean Drama Suspicious Partner, which aired from May 10 to July 13, 2017. The drama starred Ji Chang Wook as No Ji Wook and Nam Ji Hyun as Eun Bong Hee. Choi Tae Joon starred as Ji Eun Hyuk, Ji Wook’s former friend, and Nara starred as Cha Yoo Jung, Ji Wook’s ex-girlfriend. Dong Ha plays Jung Hyun Soo, the serial killer.

Suspicious Partner was about the law and the people that help to make sure that it is upheld, that the guilty pay for their crime and the innocent are freed. It also sets out to show the damage that can occur when the law is not properly upheld.

Eun Bong Hee, our heroine, is a bright law student that has a great future in front of her. Currently interning at the Prosecutor’s Office, she recently lost her boyfriend to another woman and was ‘outed’ as a cheater. Not letting any of it keep her down, Bong Hee mildly harasses her ex-boyfriend and his new girlfriend, and works hard at her internship.

Attention, Love!

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Attention, Love! was a Taiwanese drama that aired from July 30, 2017 to November 05, 2017. The drama starred Wang Zi as Yan Li Zheng, our hero, and Joanne Tseng as Zhong Shao Xi, our heroine. Riley Wang played Wang Jin Li, the second lead that spends half the drama in love with Shao Xi. Guo Shu Yao played An Xiao Qiao/Angelina, the heroine’s reluctant friend who loved Jin Li.

Attention, Love! is a story about Li Zheng and Shao Xi who have been linked from birth. The two are named by the same person, almost immediately engaged at birth, and meet again when they are in high school, when Li Zheng comes to live with Shao Xi’s family.  This drama is about how the two fall in love, grow to accept that love, and grow as persons through knowing each other.

Tomorrow with You

I just finished watching time traveler drama Tomorrow With You, which aired on tvN between February 3, 2017 and March 25, 2017. The drama starred Lee Je Hoon as Yoo So Joon, our time traveler, and Shin Min Ah as Song Ma Rin, the time traveler’s wife. The two were surrounded by friends and, in Ma Rin’s case, a mother, but the story is mainly about how a time traveler, even knowing the future, is still surprised by life and can lose to fate.