Maybe that’s what’s missing from the conclusion: the voice of Jin-woo. He embodied every part of it, and I would have believed anything his character said. I can’t imagine a better one, and I can’t even imagine anyone else in this role. Memories of the Alhambra: Rather than talk about the drama’s conclusion (or lack thereof), I would like to take this moment to fangirl over Hyun Bin’s performance. And that’s why I have check KBSWorld Jo Sung-ha regular schedule pencilled in on my weekly planner. “I must watch this and curse at the screen to support my Oppa,” I thought again. He works all day as a package delivery guy to feed his family and in-laws, then they scold him for making noises in the kitchen while cooking a late dinner for himself at night. King’s Family: I saw this on KBSWorld while channel surfing and there’s a squishy Jo Sung-ha (aka another ajusshi-crush). 50+ episodes (so far) of the stepmom getting away with tricking the whole family. My Healing Love: 50+ episodes (so far) of inappropriate fauxcest inspired by Yeon Jung-hoon’s dimples. She didn’t rip all those lips in high school for nuthin’. Also, someone needs to take Coach Kim down, because Soo-im’s repetitive “I’ll destroy you” threats just don’t have any weight. I can’t wait to see how my ajusshi-crush Jung Jun-ho deals with the knowledge that he killed his own daughter and not-a-robot Ye-seo (hopefully) fights Coach Kim’s programming to figure out that some things aren’t worth throwing away to get into SNU. I’ll have to cheat on them though as my eyes will be on the Kang family for the next episodes. I didn’t know throwing out a control-freak father in the middle of winter can be this funny, but once again, Seung-hye and the twins prove to me why they’re my favorites. SKY Castle: I know it must be killing the SKY Castle beanies to only have one episode this week, but I’m honestly grateful because I get to catch up.
But don’t ask me about gratitude tomorrow when I finish the rest of season one because I foresee cursing in my future while we wait months (years?) for season two. I’m really thankful to Kim Eun-hee and the Kingdom team for creating this gem. I never imagined that a K-drama would merge my past and present horror tastes together. And that’s assuming you even know what’s happening because it’s not uncommon for strange sicknesses to sweep over the land every now and then. If you’re trapped, you’ll have to find a way out yourself. Kingdom’s setting takes away that 0.001% gripe I have about zombie stories because here there are no machine guns to take down a mob of zombies and no radios to request helicopters to airlift you to safety.
But despite zombie fiction being one of my favorite genres, I’m still skeptical how these shuffling corpses can overpower modern civilizations when we have deadly, accurate weapons and almost-instant communication to fight them back. Maybe that’s why I turned to post-apocalyptic fiction in adulthood. Kingdom: I grew up on a diet of folk/horror stories and loved(?) that helplessness that comes with having so few resources at hand when the monsters come. What kept you reaching for more (or agonizing when there was no more), and what made you want to throw your remote through the screen? Time to weigh in…
288 JanuJanuTeam Dramabeans: What we’re watching by DB Staff