The Urban Lily Talks Tropes

0:31 absoluteM out of the block with a review of Lovely Runner a well-received K drama that ended recently. 10:08 After mentioning Marry My Husband briefly, we turn our attention to Will Love in Spring? We comment on the performances and the characters. Read my review here . We go deep about the final act and the actions of the female lead. 21:50 We critique Go Go Squid , another Li Xian drama tha...

1:16 The Legend of Shen Li — We opine about the show overall, characters and the resolution. 23:41 Queen of Tears discussion. We also go into length about Park Sung-hoon and fans’s response to his role as the interloper; Our response to Kim Ji-won not being nominated for a Baeksang this time round. 50:21 A brief tangent discussing the Baeksang nominations and acting awards 53:08 absoluteM gives he...

This recording was made on the 25 March 2024. 4:43 A conversation about Doctor Slump starring Park Hyun-sik and Park Shin-hye. We talk about the rise in clinical depression, burn out and taking time out of the rat race. 15:15 An extended discussion of Queen of Tears in which we talk about the leads, characters, plot points and themes. We also praise the writer and the script. The drama boasts a st...

1:05 We discuss Amidst a Snowstorm of Love and our problems with low conflict dramas. 27:54 Wang Xingyue from the Scent of Time and the Story of Kunning Palace . Beware of spoilers. We go off on various tangents about rebirth dramas, Wang Xingyue, pairings we prefer and even Lin Gengxin. 59:07 absoluteM talks about what she’s watching. A Shop for Killers and the controversial ending? A Killer Para...

This recorded was made on 9 February 2024. 1:17 Welcome to Samdal-ri (2023-24) discussion. 18:37 Death’s Game (2023-24) discussion. 31:46 Song of the Bandits (2023) 35:10 Big Bet (2023) 39:35 A Shop for Killers (2024) 45:05 Dr Slump (2024) 49:52 Twinkling Watermelons (2023) first impressions 53:15 Amidst a Snowstorm of Love (2023) and low conflict dramas 1:01:18 The importance of conflict in stori...

0:00 - Intro, Lee Sun-kyun obituary and trial by media 10:20 - The “Best Of 2023” Lists: Are they reliable? 13:30 - We opine about the current state of K dramas more generally — “Too many dramas” and the streaming wars 20:30 - Moon in the Day as an example of what’s wrong with the streaming war 22:52 - Sequelitis 24:32 - MDL ratings 28:42 - My relationship with low conflict dramas and I go into my...

In this episode we natter about current offerings and completed watches. So nothing new. :D As far as drama titles are concerned, we will also be talking about drama contract marriages, reincarnation and second chance stories. I apologize for the blocked nose but I’ve been suffering some really bad hay fever in the last month or so. 0:00 Introduction 0:57 Contract marriages and a little bit of mak...

0:37 The Worst of Evil discussion. ***Beware of major spoilers *** Last three episodes and ending 24:59 Critique of The Kidnapping Day 35:43 My Dearest — Episode 15-16 *** Some spoilers*** 1:12:42 Evillive — Starring Shin Ha-kyun, Kim Young-kwang, Shin Jae-ha Get full access to The Urban Lily Talks Tropes at 40somethingahjumma.substack.com/subscribe

I’m thankful to absoluteM for making herself available for this episode. 0:00 Introduction 2:10 We begin our long discussion of My Dearest 38:47 Our conversation about The Worst of Evil begin here 1:04:56 Brief mention of The Kidnapping Day Get full access to The Urban Lily Talks Tropes at 40somethingahjumma.substack.com/subscribe

0:00 Greetings and a lament (again!) about the numerous dramas on offer. 6:47 absoluteM talks about The Kidnapping Day currently airing on Prime featuring Yoon Kye Sang and Park Sung-hoon 11:00 Our really long discussion of My Dearest begins here 44:40 We launch into our review of Fake It Till You Make It. 51:00 Johnny Huang and Wang Ziqi’s latest drama, Brightest Eyes in the Dark . 52:43 I do a q...

In this recording we talk about: 0:20 Not Others 25:20 absoluteM recommends My Dearest 44:00 absoluteM talks about Moving 46:29 We chat about the strengths and weaknesses of Miraculous Brothers 55:08 I mention that we watched Oppenheimer 58:06 I rave about Lost You Forever and Tan Jianci (Spoilers alert) If you enjoyed this podcast, please like, share or leave a comment. Get full access to The Urb...

This podcast episode was recorded on the 4 July 2023. 0:55 absoluteM opines on the current state of romance and the popular King the Land 12:18 The relationship dynamics in Not Others and the actors 31:26 Raving about Park Sung-hoon — Upcoming and past projects 37:40 My Dearest plug 38:42 We wander our way into Shadow Detective 41:19 I bring up Revenant and recommend it 48:56 Miraculous Brothers 5...

In this meandering conversation we go into multiple dramas. At some point we go into some length over See You in My 19th Life which I’m currently watching. 2:37 I mention Gaus Electronics 3:48 I launch into a quick review of My Perfect Stranger 8:58 We start our discussion on The Good Bad Mother 15:21 absoluteM cautiously makes reference to Miraculous Brothers , a newish crime drama. 16:27 I menti...

Introduction Drama endings 0:35 Bo Ra! Deborah / True to Love : The good, bad and incomprehensible 2:37 Stealer: The Treasure Keeper . The ending and the villain. 18:39 Family: The Unbreakable Bond. absoluteM recommends it. 20:50 Rant about Disney Plus. 28:36 Race . absoluteM recommends it highly. Office drama. 31:52 Teaser’s out for Ji Chang Wook and Wi Ha-joon’s drama The Worst of Evil . 34:59 T...

Audio Notes 0:00 Introduction 0:59 Taiwanese dramas 1:54 My relationship with the recently aired Duty After School and we rant about splitting dramas 2:53 I talk about Decoy and make special mention of Heo Seung-tae. Splitting this drama hurt its visibility and continuity. 4:27 We move on to Duty After School and why I watched it. 6:42 absoluteM talks about her latest watches — the C drama rom com...

In this conversation we have chin-wag about * Decoy Parts 1 and 2 . A decent noir detective series starring Jang Geun-suk, Seo Heung-tae and Lee Elijah about individuals related to a pyramid scheme. * 8:45 : Our Blooming Youth . An unengaging sageuk. Comparisons with Warm on a Cold Night . Imperial Coroner gets a mention. * 16:43 : What fictional “strong” female leads look like… apparently. A stud...

This is the third of three parts in a conversation that I had with absoluteM from Janghaven Forums where we discussed Taxi Driver S2 for the first 10 minutes or so. From there we went on to discuss other shows that we’ve been watching. * Taxi Driver S2 ’s themes and attractions * Shin Jae-ha’s role in Taxi Driver S2 . * Shows with multiple leads and their own romances. I mistitle A Gentleman’s Dig...

This is Part 2 of a 3 part conversation between absoluteM and myself about recent K dramas. This segment mainly covers Crash Course in Romance up to Episode 14. We discuss our views on the recent controversies about what the show’s primary genre should be. There be spoilers. * the crime angle of the show * the chemistry between the leads and the purpose of the romance * performances especially Shi...

In this segment, the first of three parts in my latest drama chat with absoluteM, we critique Strangers Again ’s resolution and finale. We go into the weeds of the show’s narrative and inevitably drop spoiler bombs. The words “disappointing”, “cynical” and “pessimistic” escape my lips repeatedly. * Why we don’t like the finale * Where’s Eun-beom’s character development? * Is this show really “real...

Daughter Liz and I had a conversation yesterday about Episodes 3 and 4 broadcast last weekend. We start by giving a short synopsis of the second arc of the season — the villain(s) and their modus operandi. We also discuss the obvious differences between the two seasons. We also speculate over whether romance is in the air for two of the characters and if Shin Jae-ha’s new addition is worthy of sus...

My daughter Liz and I recorded this podcast episode on Tuesday, 21 February 2023. We discussed * bits and bobs from Season 1 (contains some spoilers from the “Maria” story) * ratings * the first couple of episodes from Season 2 with some spoilers * Liz’s fangirling over Lee Je-hoon Please let us know what you think. Get full access to The Urban Lily Talks Tropes at 40somethingahjumma.substack.com/...

In this third and final segment of my monthly conversation with absoluteM we yak a bit about the mainland Chinese hit Meet Yourself, critiquing the horror fantasy Island and what else we’re looking forward to coming down the pike. Get full access to The Urban Lily Talks Tropes at 40somethingahjumma.substack.com/subscribe

absoluteM gives her perspective on this apparently controversial new K drama starring Kang So-ra and Jang Seung-jo about a divorced couple who are lawyers specializing in divorce. I chime in to give my two cents on this compelling drama and pontificate more broadly about marriage. We also speculate briefly about Jang Seung-jo’s script choices. Post-script As mentioned, I had only partially seen Ep...

In this half hour segment of a three-part episode, absoluteM and I discuss Jang Kyung-ho and Jeon Do-yeon’s latest tv outing, Crash Course in Romance . We go into the weeds of Episodes 1-6 and delve into after-school tutoring, education, helicopter parenting and a smidge about the romance. Further Comments on Episodes 5 and 6 The death of the seventh student in the All-Care programme casts a shado...

This is the third part of a conversation I had with absoluteM about what’s on offer from K dramaland down the track. We talk about * Trolley * Crash Course in Romance * Can We Be Strangers? * Flight to You * Tan Songyun and her leading men * Road Home * Big Bet * The Glory * Chernobyl (2019) — excellent US mini-series Get full access to The Urban Lily Talks Tropes at 40somethingahjumma.substack.co...