Team Dramabeans: What we’re watching (February 11, 2023)

I’m very ashamed, because I spent from 4:00 P.M. yesterday binge watching Love to Hate You. Such behavior with such a light rom-com is unseemly for a senior citizen who desperately needs beauty sleep. Was it worth it? The answer is no, but except for a groggy morning it was painless, and its feminist message is pretty hard to disagree with—although like the show itself, its too obvious and simple. Still, the message was consistent through to the happy ending, which when you see it around midnight at least ensures there will be no tossing, turning, and muttering “white truck,no!…watch out for the white truck” in your sleep.

Speaking of being sleepy, I am surprised to find myself watching a sageuk past a couple of episodes, and am looking forward to next weeks Our Blooming Youth. I want to apologize to sageuk fans for generally finding them all to be snoozefests, since I am bored by the endless permutations of court politics. (You can dismiss my opinions easily just by remembering that I sacrifice sleep for simple-minded rom coms.). Both my wife and I like detective shows, though, and even though I know the whole concept of the “detective” dates from the 1800s, I have no problem watching shows that make medieval monks detectives, so a sword-wielding, cross-dressing, crown-prince love interest is not too big a jump. This one is pretty funny in that its treating detective agencies as something that were so commonplace in the Joseon era that there is one in every province. Also, like @jls943 , after having seen the premiere episodes, I have no clue, and will have to investigate, the mystery of the title. The actors aren’t particularly young and their circumstances certainly aren’t blooming. Did they have sarcasm and irony way back in the Joseon era?

Finally, talk of mysterious titles leads me to the show I’m finding most interesting right now, known as Bait, or is it Decoy?. The fact that it carries two titles isn’t at all unusual–Strangers again or Can’t we be Strangers, or Kokdu, or KKoKKdu. But baiting a trap is not the same thing as using a decoy to lure someone to a trap, and it could have dire consequences when dealing with the murderous con-man at the center of the story. Still, I could recommend it for Jang Keun-Suk as the charismatic detective alone.

Like @lordcobol though, I am mad that it will be April before part 2 airs, and I’m not sure if Part 1 will bait me into looking it up a couple of months from now. Also, the biggest mystery of this show is why they felt they had to film it using a cyan filter, so that every scene is dark with a bluish tinge. Even this morning, when thanks to binge watching, I’m not so bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, I can see that the world also contains reds and yellows!

Team Dramabeans: What we’re watching (February 11, 2023)
Source: Buzz Pinay Daily