25 in 2025 Part Two: July — August
My Drama viewing got underway in real earnest in mid-winter , starting with
JULY
After School Doctor (2024) 10/10
This drama was a reminder of why I love J-Dramas. The premise was straightforward: A grumpy, blunt, tactless pediatrician gets reassigned from the hospital to fill in at an elementary school infirmary after a patient's parent complains about his handling of a case. The basic arc was predictable, but the nature of the journey was still remarkable. Especially in the first six episodes of the drama, the uncompromising, unsentimental and clear-eyed approach to serious health issues faced by the children was outstanding. From a first grader dealing with a congenital heart defect to a sixth grader having self-harm issues, this drama did not flinch. It did not talk down to the children, or about them, and the doctor's blunt honesty didn't change, even as he learned to broaden his perspective on what it took to look after children.
The final third of the drama was heart-warming, and the final episode of the drama pulled on so many heartstrings my lacrimal glands were dry by the end. The drama basically did everything right. A male and female lead who both grew from their interactions with each other without a single trace or hint of any kind of romantic interest. And not for the first time, this was a J-Drama in which the really heavy emotional lifting in terms of acting performances was done by children. I knew after about episode three that this drama was going to be at least a nine, but in the end its balance of clear-eyed honesty and teary-eyed heartfelt sentiment made it a 10.
Doubt (2024) 9.5/10
I started this one full of doubt. I like thrillers, but only if they're not bloody. I can't handle watching bloody scenes, whether violent of surgical, and given the plot summary I wasn't sure how this one would go. IT WAS AWESOME, exactly my cup of noir.
The English title was a perfect fit, too. I almost always prefer a literal translation of the original Korean title (e.g. Forest of Secrets, Dae Jang Geum, Goong, etc.) but the English title for this one was MUCH better than the original. The original translates as "The Intimate Traitor" apparently, and that suggests the outcome is already known. The English title captures the truth – that the Drama is all about doubt. Did she do it? Or is she innocent?
That the Drama worked so well is down largely to the actor playing the "she" in those questions: It was the first time I'd seen Chae Won Bin in anything, and she blew me away: Is she a psychopath? A sociopath? On the spectrum and misunderstood? All of the above? Her stellar performance kept me guessing right to the end.
I love the poster for this Drama too because it highlights that 80% of the Drama was down to just two characters - Daughter and Dad. Han Seok Gyu was very good in Tree With Deep Roots, but that one was very much the Jang Hyuk show. In this one, Han Seok Gyu's performance was critical to the success of the show. He had to live that "doubt", and his portrayal of a father wracked by doubt and conflict as the Dad in him wrestled with the cop in him, complicated by guilt over sins of commission and (mostly) omission was superb. Kudos to both lead actors and to those who cast them!
Marry My Husband (JPN) (2025) 9.25/10
I've written at length about this one here, so just a couple of important takeaways from this outstanding success
(1) Getting revenge is good, but getting personal growth and character development while also getting revenge is even better.
(2) Japan and South Korea should do more co-productions
AUGUST
The Accidental Influencer (2024) 9/10
A lifetime ago, I watched Office Girls, a VERY long Taiwanese Drama built around a lead pairing of (Alice) Ko Chia Yen and (Roy) Chiu Tse . They were awesome, but there was also a sweet secondary romance involving the FL's BFF. That character was played by Kuo Shu Yao, and I've been waiting more than a decade to find another of her works that really clicked with me. That this one did was something of a surprise.
The premise – dumped fiancée gets revenge on her ex by skewering him and his type anonymously on social media—seemed a bit limited. I also had my doubts that Taiwanese comedy would click with me, as it often has not. Happily, I laughed out loud a lot.
Happily the development and implementation of both story and humour were great. As with Marry My Husband JPN, the story went beyond JUST revenge into personal growth for the lead. If the moral of the story was "the best revenge is living well", the backup refrain was "I get by with a little (or a lot of) help from my friends". This one ended up really being a paean to friendship. Very, very funny, surprisingly moving and emotional, and I'm looking forward to season 2 in 2026
Money Flower (2017) 9.5/10
Magnificent! Methodically Machiavellian, morally murky Makjang madness - a masterpiece! Possibly my new favourite Jang Hyuk role.
I have to be in just the right head space for makjang, and this one one found me there. Corporate politics, revenge, birth secrets, you name it, it was here. Jang Hyuk's sheer presence was the magnetic core, as depicted in the poster, but none of the cast disappointed, ESPECIALLY the outstanding Lee Mi Sook. Her portrayal of the FL, whose relationship with Jang Hyuk's ML exemplifies "it's complicated" in the best spirit of makjang.
If you're madly masochistic enough to want more, click below.
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PART 1
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PART 3
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PART 4
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PART 5
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