Year in Review: TV Watched (2022)
Dec. 27th, 2022 06:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
enter_remigesOh boy, let's see if my memory is good enough for this! This should be in vaguely chronological order (? possibly ?).
Unless otherwise stated, I enjoyed all of these shows. Stars are awarded on the basis of how much I liked each show + how well I remember it + if I would watch it again + general Vibes at the time of posting. The language is in parenthesis (K=Korean, E=English, C=Chinese).
Shows Watched
**** Beyond Evil (K)
GREAT mystery + atmosphere. The soundtrack? Banging. The tension between the two main leads? On point. My desire to do unspeakable things to Han Joo-won? Unmatched. Did this show have a bit of a fridging problem? Yes. Was it written and directed by women? Also yes. Did it make me want to chew glass? You bet.
** Our Beloved Summer (K)
Lots of emotions! I remember thinking parts of this show (when it wasn't ripping my heart out) felt exactly like being in love in the summer, but I don't actually remember it all that well. /o\
***** Twenty-Five Twenty-One (K)
SO GOOD!!!! Makes me want to EAT CEMENT and SCREAM. Did the show ultimately stick the landing? no! Do I still love it? yes! Just. The combination of the fencing storyline + the hero-worship to enemies to friends (to lovers in my heart) + the romance? the humor? the friendship? the way you can feel the impact of the years as the characters grow and change? AGAIN: eating cement in the corner. Kim Tae-ri absolutely killed it, highly recommend.
** Our Flag Means Death (E)
On the one hand, this is very fun! On the other, my ability to watchStede Bonnet people with lots of money be ill-prepared and incompetent is just. incredibly low. YES I get that it's a story about finding yourself etc. etc. don't @ me.
Blorbo acquired: Izzy Hands
** The Witcher (E)
The only thing I remember about this season is how much I want Jaskier and Yennifer to bang alksdjfalkf
** Squid Game (K)
Time for Violence and Social Allegories.
**** Kingdom (K)
ZOMBIES!!! Okay, the Joseon take on the genre was fantastic. 10/10 would watch again (which is good because I think there's a third season coming out?) If you like zombies + kdramas + horror + people to root for, this is for you.
** Kingdom: Ashin of the North (K)
The sequel (aka prequel) to Kingdom. I didn't enjoy it as much, but it was still good.
* Reset (C)
I can't actually recommend this, though I do like time loops + I wanted to see how it ended. Which... I'm pretty sure we never find out why there's a time loop in the first place, or why the main characters are stuck in it? This felt like cop propaganda lite, wrapped up in a fantasy situation + Bai Jingting's beautiful face.
* Tomorrow (K)
Gifs on tumblr got me to watch this, though the episodes felt a bit heavy-handed at times. I don't think I'd watch it again.
*** All of Us are Dead (K)
More zombies! LOVE zombie shows. LOVE action/survival shows. LOVE high schoolers trapped in said shows. Did I think the antagonist hung around too long? Yeah! Did I enjoy the carnage + twists and turns? Also yes!
*** Cobra Kai (E)
I thought the season before this was pretty weak and reused a lot of beats, but the latest season absolutely nailed what I wanted out of this show. Best season so far.
***** Little Women (the kdrama) (K)
BACK TO CHEWING CEMENT! TAKING OFF MY GOURD! FLINGING IT LIKE I'M A TIGER IN A CAGE! This show has EVERYTHING I could possibly want: INCREDIBLE female-driven cast (Kim Go-eun ilu) + social commentary on poverty/wealth (which is something kdramas do so well) + murder mystery + cinematography??? hello??? + That One Scene that was literally just me eating my heart in the marketplace, FUCK. Loved it, went insane, top marks.
*** Stranger Things (E)
I'd seen the first two seasons before, but pukner posted a Stranger Things fic and I wanted to be able to read it alksdjfalksdjf. I'm excited to see how it ends!
*** (currently watching) New Life Begins (C)
Bai Jingting's beautiful face makes another appearance! Really enjoying this so far, especially the female-driven plot / experiences. It's the kind of show where bad things happen, but you know it's all going to turn out alright in the end. Tian Xiwei is so cute, and I like that it's an ensemble cast + seeing the growing relationships between all the pairings.
DNF
** Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha (K) This was actually good + the romcom / life lessons bits worked well. Stalled out on the last episode when the grandma-type lady dies and people are grieving, Can't Do It, The Stars Aren't Aligned, Not Today, Etc. but I might come back and finish it some day.
- Happiness (K) It's another zombie show + people trapped inside an apartment building together, so I WANTED to like it. I just... didn't. :/
- Flower of Evil (K) WAY too much melodrama, and if I had to see the female lead cry one more time, I was going to start the (not fun) kind of screaming.
* The Sandman (E) I'm SORRY, I know people liked it, I just had a hard time getting into it without characters to love / root for. I did like the later episodes with the girl who's the vortex thingy, and the guy with the teeth-eyes was fun, but I didn't finish the last episode(s).
I think that's all the TV I've watched this year! Unless I'm forgetting something (highly likely) or I put a show from 2021 here instead. Shows I'm looking forward to next year:
* Good Omens (!!!!!!! Feeling Normal About It)
* The return of Ted Lasso
* :forlornly rattles the bars of my cage: The 2ha live adaptation ;___;
If you have any recs / want to share a show you loved this year, drop me a comment! \0/
Unless otherwise stated, I enjoyed all of these shows. Stars are awarded on the basis of how much I liked each show + how well I remember it + if I would watch it again + general Vibes at the time of posting. The language is in parenthesis (K=Korean, E=English, C=Chinese).
Shows Watched
**** Beyond Evil (K)
GREAT mystery + atmosphere. The soundtrack? Banging. The tension between the two main leads? On point. My desire to do unspeakable things to Han Joo-won? Unmatched. Did this show have a bit of a fridging problem? Yes. Was it written and directed by women? Also yes. Did it make me want to chew glass? You bet.
** Our Beloved Summer (K)
Lots of emotions! I remember thinking parts of this show (when it wasn't ripping my heart out) felt exactly like being in love in the summer, but I don't actually remember it all that well. /o\
***** Twenty-Five Twenty-One (K)
SO GOOD!!!! Makes me want to EAT CEMENT and SCREAM. Did the show ultimately stick the landing? no! Do I still love it? yes! Just. The combination of the fencing storyline + the hero-worship to enemies to friends (to lovers in my heart) + the romance? the humor? the friendship? the way you can feel the impact of the years as the characters grow and change? AGAIN: eating cement in the corner. Kim Tae-ri absolutely killed it, highly recommend.
** Our Flag Means Death (E)
On the one hand, this is very fun! On the other, my ability to watch
Blorbo acquired: Izzy Hands
** The Witcher (E)
The only thing I remember about this season is how much I want Jaskier and Yennifer to bang alksdjfalkf
** Squid Game (K)
Time for Violence and Social Allegories.
**** Kingdom (K)
ZOMBIES!!! Okay, the Joseon take on the genre was fantastic. 10/10 would watch again (which is good because I think there's a third season coming out?) If you like zombies + kdramas + horror + people to root for, this is for you.
** Kingdom: Ashin of the North (K)
The sequel (aka prequel) to Kingdom. I didn't enjoy it as much, but it was still good.
* Reset (C)
I can't actually recommend this, though I do like time loops + I wanted to see how it ended. Which... I'm pretty sure we never find out why there's a time loop in the first place, or why the main characters are stuck in it? This felt like cop propaganda lite, wrapped up in a fantasy situation + Bai Jingting's beautiful face.
* Tomorrow (K)
Gifs on tumblr got me to watch this, though the episodes felt a bit heavy-handed at times. I don't think I'd watch it again.
*** All of Us are Dead (K)
More zombies! LOVE zombie shows. LOVE action/survival shows. LOVE high schoolers trapped in said shows. Did I think the antagonist hung around too long? Yeah! Did I enjoy the carnage + twists and turns? Also yes!
*** Cobra Kai (E)
I thought the season before this was pretty weak and reused a lot of beats, but the latest season absolutely nailed what I wanted out of this show. Best season so far.
***** Little Women (the kdrama) (K)
BACK TO CHEWING CEMENT! TAKING OFF MY GOURD! FLINGING IT LIKE I'M A TIGER IN A CAGE! This show has EVERYTHING I could possibly want: INCREDIBLE female-driven cast (Kim Go-eun ilu) + social commentary on poverty/wealth (which is something kdramas do so well) + murder mystery + cinematography??? hello??? + That One Scene that was literally just me eating my heart in the marketplace, FUCK. Loved it, went insane, top marks.
*** Stranger Things (E)
I'd seen the first two seasons before, but pukner posted a Stranger Things fic and I wanted to be able to read it alksdjfalksdjf. I'm excited to see how it ends!
*** (currently watching) New Life Begins (C)
Bai Jingting's beautiful face makes another appearance! Really enjoying this so far, especially the female-driven plot / experiences. It's the kind of show where bad things happen, but you know it's all going to turn out alright in the end. Tian Xiwei is so cute, and I like that it's an ensemble cast + seeing the growing relationships between all the pairings.
DNF
** Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha (K) This was actually good + the romcom / life lessons bits worked well. Stalled out on the last episode when the grandma-type lady dies and people are grieving, Can't Do It, The Stars Aren't Aligned, Not Today, Etc. but I might come back and finish it some day.
- Happiness (K) It's another zombie show + people trapped inside an apartment building together, so I WANTED to like it. I just... didn't. :/
- Flower of Evil (K) WAY too much melodrama, and if I had to see the female lead cry one more time, I was going to start the (not fun) kind of screaming.
* The Sandman (E) I'm SORRY, I know people liked it, I just had a hard time getting into it without characters to love / root for. I did like the later episodes with the girl who's the vortex thingy, and the guy with the teeth-eyes was fun, but I didn't finish the last episode(s).
I think that's all the TV I've watched this year! Unless I'm forgetting something (highly likely) or I put a show from 2021 here instead. Shows I'm looking forward to next year:
* Good Omens (!!!!!!! Feeling Normal About It)
* The return of Ted Lasso
* :forlornly rattles the bars of my cage: The 2ha live adaptation ;___;
If you have any recs / want to share a show you loved this year, drop me a comment! \0/
no subject
Date: 2022-12-28 07:23 am (UTC)ahem. YOU WATCHED SO MUCH TV maybe one day i'll watch like. any of these lol.
eyes emoji what is Twenty-Five Twenty-One about?
i have nothing to recommend to you because i watched So Little TV lmao. pls allow me the indulgence of trying to figure out what the fuck i DID watch this year in this comment. i know i rewatched SHL, i watched kinnporsche (giant eyeroll emoji), i watched like six episodes of love between fairy and devil, i did watch sandman tho i'd forgotten that was this year, and... is that it??? i think maybe the end of the latest episode of young justice came out this year, i watched that. oh TECHNICALLY legend of vox machina came out this year i think! that barely counts. OKAY after poring over my tumblr, i've determined that i also watched hawkeye last january. thank you for your time lmao.
no subject
Date: 2022-12-28 08:06 pm (UTC)I DID watch so much TV! I think it helps that I watch TV when I'm eating dinner sometimes. ^_^; In CONTRAST I think I watched. four movies this year alkjflaksjfl and three of those were the lotr movies last week. (The other one should have been Train to Busan (another zombie movie) unless that was actually last year /o\).
HELLO I'm so glad you asked! SO Twenty-Five Twenty-One is set in Korea after the financial crisis in the 90s, and it follows Na Hee-Do as she tries to continue her fencing dreams after her high school shuts down their fencing team. The show spans four years (from the time Na Hee-Do is in high school onward) and also jumps 20-ish years into the future, where Na Hee-Do's daughter is trying to learn about her mother's life. NORMALLY I Dislike time jumps, but most of the story stays in the "past" and is delightful. The show contains:
* The full spectrum of emotions! Humor? Struggle? Lighthearted romance? Big Romance? Sports? (yes, sports is an emotion) Difficult mother-daughter relationship? Big Friendship? *pats the show* It's Got Everything.
* SPEAKING OF FRIENDSHIP
* The hero-worship to enemies to friends is EXCEPTIONAL, LOVED IT, would be my favorite femslash pairing of the year (in my heart) except for Little Women
* ENSAMBLE!!!
* In Conclusion: 10/10 (except for my quibbles with ending-related things), you should let me know if you ever watch it! (it's on Netflix) \0/
TV watching catalogue! I was thinking about putting Love Between Fairy and Devil on my watchlist since I'd seen lots of tumblr gifs, but maybe I won't if you don't recommend it. I hope you had a good shl rewatch!
no subject
Date: 2022-12-30 05:00 am (UTC)For me this year: I also, like sky, did not watch much new. Also SHL rewatch, watched Love Like the Galaxy in 1 week and feel completely normal about it, and squeaked in finishing Legend of Fei which was honestly a fantastic time.
no subject
Date: 2022-12-30 09:03 pm (UTC)*waves back* Hello, I know you! (Not directly, just from Sky. :) ) Tumblr gifs of New Life Begins is also what got me to start watching! I can't... remember what gifs at the moment, but I know they existed, haha. It feels like a very gentle (? probably not the right word) show, in that the level of True Peril the characters are in feels non-existent, and the bonds of friendship are A+. The show also leans more heavily into the struggle for gender equality / feminism later on (I'm about halfway through), which I'm enjoying. If you decide to watch, you should let me know what you think!
I have Love Like the Galaxy on my viki watchlist! I'll have to check it out this year, I love feeling Normal about things.
no subject
Date: 2023-01-06 03:07 am (UTC)OKAY Twenty-Five Twenty-One sounds very cool, maybe i will actually check it out sometime this year. i'll get back to you [tears of joy emoji]
i was enjoying LBFaD!!! i just. stopped watching for too many days and then my inertia all ran away and i haven't gone back to it yet :(((( i'd say give it a try and give up after a couple episodes if you're not into it? but also i didn't get far enough to know HAHAH