Adventures & What’s Up December 2023 Year-End Wrap-Up

Welcome to the final post of Adventures & What’s Up. Past years I would usually just split the post but with an 18 month toddler running around, I can only find time to do things in very small naptime and bedtime windows so splitting it seems like an ambitious feat. I haven’t done opening paragraphs for these posts in a while but I felt this one deserved a little “warning”. Sit tight, this is going to be a long one as we dive into some little December Adventures, What’s Up and straight into all kinds of year-end wrap-ups!

ADVENTURES

Toddler Update

Triple V reached his 18 month milestone. This milestone was pretty great because he also achieved a lot including the wonderful teething of his first molar which took a while but also brought on some rough nights. Pair that with his 18 month vaccinations and its been quite a wild ride in emotions. We’re definitely seeing him understand more and repeat a few more words so that he can express himself better. His second Christmas was also a quiet one where we changed up our original Christmas plans especially since our snowstorm hit us early in the month and there wasn’t a lot of snow (even as this post goes up). Its been rainy more than anything. Triple V is starting to find his security toys with an attachment to a plush monkey. Other than the general worry of whether he is eating enough since he’s running around all the time, Triple V seems to be doing alright.

Holidays + Boxing Day Haul (not really)

December was pretty crazy overall. Between kitchen renovations and Christmas set-up, its really been hectic and tiring with a little toddler running all over the place and starting to pull tantrums. I can feel those terrible twos approaching every single day. This month has a snowstorm that knocked out power for a little bit and broke a third of our tree, hangout with my friends and tried out a restaurant and then there’s the holidays which I talked a bit about before. The main star was Triple V who got most of the gifts as we gifted ourselves the kitchen renovations and my mom got all of us something. Triple V came out with something to read, play and clothes.

As for Boxing Day Haul (which I honestly forgot about until I reviewed my last year’s post), there wasn’t a whole lot:

• Amazon: Diapers and Lotion
• Steam: The Great Attorney Chronicles, Underground Blossom, Crime O Clock
• Uniqlo: 2 pairs of pants

WHAT’S UP

Books

• Mon Amour Pour Toujour
• Joyeux Noel, mon tout-petit!
• The Kissing Hand
• Where The Wild Things Are

Currently reading: Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain

I tried so hard to finish Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain before the new year but I’m about 100 pages away at the second short story included in the novel. The actual story itself is finished though which is pretty fun. As you can see, my reading still consists a lot of reading to my toddler. We picked up a few little books here and there which were fun to read. He’s a big fan of the Caroline Jayne Church illustrations especially for I Love You Through and Through and Ten Tiny Toes which we’ve been reading over and over again and learning body parts, etc.

Movies

• The Great Mouse Detective (rewatch 1986)
• Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)
• Onward (2020)
• Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)
• The Grand Budapest Hotel (rewatch 2014)
• The French Dispatch (2021)
• Soul (2020)
• Luca (2021)
• Ciao Alberto (short 2021)
• Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)
• Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)
• Dune (2021)
• Krampus (2015 rewatch, Review)
• How The Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966 rewatch, Review)
• Disney Classic Holiday Stories (2005 rewatch)
• Gremlins (1984 rewatch)
• Spontaneous (2020)
• Sorcerer (1977)
• Bullet Train (2022)
• Aguirre, The Wrath of God (1972)
• Reptile (2023)

Its been a pretty great month of movie watching even if its been a relatively bad month (make that a year) of writing up reviews. I am thinking up a new structure to keep myself more motivated but honestly, motivation has nothing to do with it. I’ll talk more about that in the upcoming plans in the next few days. If I were to put in recommendations for this month, I would honestly recommend everything except Aguirre, the Wrath of God, because its just not my genre of film. I watched it for a Movies and Tea podcast related episode which should be going up very soon. Reptile was decent but was a little predictable as it seemed to give some hints that gave away what they were trying to build up to for the finale reveal, however it reminded me how great of an actor Benicio del Toro is and how I should really be watching more of his films.

With that said, there were some great films here like Bullet Train which was just the ultimate joyride and probably the most fun I’ve had watching a film this year much like Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness and Thor: Love and Thunder which reminded me how this new phase might be an excuse to bring together a bunch of characters and properties but is also a lot of fun, something I haven’t really felt for MCU films for a long time. Then there’s some underrate Pixar films released during the pandemic that I felt was overlooked like Onward and Luca. Finally, we can’t end this year without at least talking a little bit about the new Indiana Jones film, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny which was a fantastic ride back into Indiana Jones thrills. At the same time, catching up with Spontaneous really puts Brian Duffield on my map as a director to look out for since he is basically 2 for 2 in his directed films (and that’s not even talking about the film he has written that I’m also a fan of).

TV

• Light Chaser Rescue (追光者, 2022)
• My Life With The Walter Boys (Season 1, 2023)
• Here We Meet Again (三分野, 2023)
• Time Flies and You Are Here (雁归西窗月, 2021)
• Sweet Home (Season 2, 2023)

Currently watching: Singing With Legends S5, Asia Super Young, A Date With the Future

I’m currently in a mad dash to finish A Date With the Future before my WeTV sub ends in 2 days or something. I wish the TV series was less soapy so it would be more bingeable but I chose to watch it over something else so the completionist in me wants to see if it can redeem itself. In the currently watching though, I’m really enjoying Asia Super Young since I honestly missed these idol competition shows. Its like a one stop shop to see the potential of the young talent in the industry and see what type of international boy group they put together. Its still the beginning so there’s still a lot of time before any opinions are form. I do say that the break its taken over the last 3 years or so has given time for some talented young men to pop up. As usual, Yuehua’s trainees are wiping the floor and rightfully so but there’s always some dark horse that pops up during the season so I’m interested to see what will happen.

With that said, I finished a few series this month trying to catch up on some series. Light Chaser Rescue and Here We Meet Again (yes, I’m a fan of Janice Wu) was really great. The former is exceptional because its more unique but Here We Meet Again has some great chemistry and comedy. Sweet Home Season 2 also landed and the review will go up soon but while I started out slightly disappointed at the beginning 2 episodes or so, it really does find its footing when the scope of the film turns back to what its so good at building, the world and the people. They already have Season 3 greenlit so it does end on a cliffhanger.

Games

Currently playing: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, Geometry Dash, Crime O Clock

I’ve been replaying Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney on the PC remake in the trilogy and almost done the first game as I’m in the middle of the last case. Its always such a joy to play especially since its been a few years since I’ve revisited it. I guess its a month of revisiting games as I dove back into Geometry Dash also to get some fun music. I actually went back because I remembered seeing that there would be a 2.0 update in November but it didn’t seem to happen yet. The game is still a ton of fun and the music is great so I’m honestly pretty happy about finding the reason to jump back in even if I have 500 games in backlog to play instead of replaying games but I guess that’s how life works. On that same point, I also ended up checking out a demo of Crime O Clock which has a great concept as they add a little story and time mechanics to the hidden objects genre in a clever way.

2023 YEAR- END WRAP-UP

There’s no doubt that 2023 was kind of ridiculous. There’s been a lot of changes in many ways. A great portion is a growing toddler demands a whole new routine every few months, if not more frequent, making it hard to really commit to a lot other than sleeping since I guess I’ve only got myself to blame for setting his sleep schedule so that he constantly wakes up early and rarely sleeps in (sleeping in means until 7am instead of 6 or earlier). I honestly didn’t achieve a whole lot of my goals but a lot of the set-up work is all done and just waiting for the perfect timing to get things moving along. As usual, no blog stats this year but still, the normal breakdown of totals.

Total Films Watched: 158 films
– 33 rewatches
– 9 short films

Total Books Read: 41 books (majority children’s books)

Total TV series: 75 seasons binged (13 rewatches)
The breakdown:
– Hong Kong: 2
– Taiwan: 2
– Documentary: 3
– Korean + Korean Reality: 6
– Chinese Variety Shows: 8
– Mainland China: 14
– American Reality (consider English language): 15
– American/English-Language: 25

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Top 10 Film Discoveries

1. Moonrise Kingdom (2012)
2. Hidden Blade (2023)
3. 10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
4. Perfect Blue (1997)
5. The Witch Part 1: The Subversion (2018)
6. Ride On (2023)
7. The Handmaiden (2016)
8. No One Will Save You (2023)
9. Nine to Five (1980)
10. White Ant (2016)

Top 10 TV Series Discoveries

1. Copycat Killer (2023)
2. Love Like the Galaxy (2022)
3. You Are Desire (2023)
4. Hidden Love (2023)
5. The Last of Us (Season 1, 2023)
6. The Glory (2023)
7. Light Chaser Rescue (2022)
8. The Fall of the House of Usher (2023)
9. Black Knight (Season 1, 2023)
10. National Treasure: Edge of History (Season 1, 2022)

Top 10 Video Game Discoveries

1. Jusant
2. Cocoon
3. Oxenfree II: Lost Signals
4. Far: Lone Sails
5. Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly
6. Chinatown Detective Agency
7. The Gunk
8. Alt-Frequencies
9. Venba
10. Agent A: A Puzzle in Disguise

While I should’ve put the video game discoveries over on Game Warp, I feel like it fits the general recap here as well so here we are. Overall, this year was pretty clear-cut for everything as there were a lot of really great films and movies but also a lot of pretty average ones which divided itself well. I’ve been gradually cutting a lot of things out so there are certain decreases and changes over the past year that caused a lot of the shifts. It all dials down to lesser time to do everything. I am slowly getting back to delegating time for reading, gaming, films and TV in the last month or so and that makes it feel promising for the coming year!

A quick look before we wrap up 2023 as I always set some goals at the beginning of the year in my Upcoming Plans post (2024’s is right around the corner):

1. Goodreads Reading Challenge: 30 books surpassed at 41 books which had a mix of children’s storybooks and novels as well as one or two normal novels. However, part of my goal wasn’t reached as I had wanted to read through Hercule Poirot novels and did not read even one.
2. Tranquil Dreams Podcast launch: Did not happen! (but…I’m all officially set)
3. Personal Goals: partially achieved as I did start doing more lengthy walks in the summer and recently did a little bit of bodyweight training. Its pretty sporadic so still work in progress. Streaming did not happen but I’m officially set up again to start that off once I can get some evenings without sporadic toddler wake-ups then it will be ready to go.

I missed New Year’s Eve launch for this post so Happy New Year everyone!
Remember to come back for the Upcoming Plans in a day or two! Have fun!

Reality TV Roundup – October & November 2023

Michelle Wolf: It’s Great To Be Here (2023)

Follows comedian Michelle Wolf as she covers a wide range of subjects, including relationships, sexual harassment, racial issues, and adjusting to a new culture. – IMDB

I’m not sure how many people still remember The Break with Michelle Wolf but I was a big fan of it so I’m always there when Michelle Wolf gets a stand-up comedy gig. The latest one released a few months ago was a three episode show which basically angled around a few sets as she tours which covers a wide variety of social issues.

Much like any form of comedy, its pretty subjective. This show was overall pretty good where a lot of the jokes landed well for me as she does address a lot of funny observations. The first episode works the best as she talks about her life in Barcelona but there are a lot of other relevant issues that she tackles here which does have a nice effect.

Michelle Wolf is a rather unique comedian. Her voice is very distinctive but at the same time, the material she talks about also has a sharp edge to it that works well.

American Ninja Warrior (Season 13, 2021)

Netflix acquired one season of American Ninja Warrior. I’m not exactly why its one season and specifically this season but as someone who doesn’t have cable and I never used to watch American Ninja Warrior but I do love shows like Ultimate Beastmaster, its a pretty fun outing to watch all these different athletes from different walks of life challenging themselves to the many obstacles. The structure of these shows are pretty basic but its nice to see all the stories and this one specifically started featuring a lot of younger ninja warriors. The obstacle courses were pretty fun in each stage and had enough variation between the different groups at the start to stay refreshing and fun.

There’s not a lot to say about these shows. I’m sure that they have their own audience since its been going on for so long. For myself, while I can’t do any of this but I always find it motivating to watch these and get myself back into training.

Call Me By Fire 披荆斩棘 (Season 3, 2023)

“Call Me by Fire Season 3” takes “overcoming obstacles and striving for China” as the core, through the stories of 32 male guests who are constantly challenging, exploring, and striving to forge ahead, showing the fighting spirit of men. The program still adopts the panoramic competition variety show mode similar to the previous seasons. After the first stage, 5 song competitions and the cooperation and competition of the family birth night, the third generation of the hot singing family was finally established. – MyDramaList

I’m a big fan of Call Me By Fire. I finished pretty much all the previous two seasons. While I think that the first two seasons really had some heavy hitters with the renowned household names from the 90s and 2000s in Asia, this season fell a little bit short. Some of them were celebrities that I personally liked but felt like they had a bit of the one hit wonder or even just had more success in smaller TV series or did their thing and stayed in recent years out of the spotlight so it made it more challenging for them to garner audience interest right from the start. But, the great things about these shows are that they dig up some unseen potential from what we already know or even introduce some other unfamiliar faces.

This season, I learned about Thai singer Jeff Satur who has a fantastic voice and talent. At the same time, seeing as I just finished Hidden Love, I really continue to enjoy watching Victor Ma because he always seems so down to earth and hilarious. One of the actors I like watching also joined the show who was Zhe Ming Wei and while he didn’t seem to have a ton of popularity, it was a lot of fun to learn a bit about his background and see the different performances. Of course, there’s always some fun people who join making this season probably the one filled with the most laughs as you gather Tiger Hu, Jimmy Lin, Nicholas Teo, GEM, Nicky Lee and most importantly, David Wang.

I honestly don’t really care too much who ends up at the big finale but this season was hands down one of the most fun. Previous seasons dug deep into the nostalgia but this season had less of that and just a lot of laughter and creativity.

Let’s Fall In Love (Season 5, 2023)

Hosts: Annie Yi, Victor Qin, Yang Qing Zhou, Cici Wang, Zhen Yu Jiang, Hua Sen Chang

There’s probably one romance dating variety show on each popular streaming channels in China like Heart Signal in WeTV/Tencent or Yes I Do on IQiyi. Youku produces two of these. The first one is for its youthful romance set as a university graduation trip which I’ve talked about before HERE called Twinkle Love. Let’s Fall In Love or RelationShip is the normal romance dating one featuring people who have already established their career to a certain level. They always set different parameters of similarities in the group. This time its for people who are a little older nearing their 30s. Its interesting because this show started up right before the pandemic and was called Relation Ship because it was set on a cruise ship in two different legs where halfway through the contestants could choose to stay or leave for the second part where they’d get new contestants in. Post-pandemic, its no longer on a cruise ship but feels more normal but still structures around a trip and experience in a new location.

Season 5 actually starts with a pre-reunion which has the ladies having to choose who they invite to the house and after their initial meeting, they can all decide whether they decide to continue or not. Its an interesting twist on it. Let’s Fall In Love has become one of my favorite types of these kind of shows because they try hard to add in a refreshing twist to change things up from the previous season. While some people do say that these things could be scripted, I choose to view this as normal people interacting. There has to be a certain of control here seeing as your life is surrounded by cameras at every angle and at times cameramen following you on dates and such even if you are in control and are free to make a good part of your own decisions on how you react. This season was mainly dramatic because of two of the contestants which created most of the debate on how guys and girls should react and such.

In the end, these shows are sold not only for their contestants finding romance but also as a means of observation for those watching to learn a little something through the hosts’ discussions. This season’s hosts are great. I’m honestly becoming a big fan of Victor Qin because he is absolutely hilarious but the banter between him and Yang Qing Zhou is another level of funny. Either way, it achieved what I was looking for in some good entertainment.

TV Binge: The Midnight Club (Season 1, 2022)

The Midnight Club (Season 1, 2022)

Creators: Mike Flanagan & Leah Fong

Cast: Iman Benson, Igby Rigney, Ruth Codd, Annarah Cymone, William Chris Sumpter, Adia, Aya Furukawa, Sauriyan Sapkota, Matt Biedel, Samantha Sloyan, Zach Gilford, Heather Langenkamp

The Midnight Club follows an octet of terminally-ill teenage patients at Brightcliffe Hospice as they gather at midnight to share scary stories. – IMDB

Based primarily on the 1994 novel of the same name by Christopher Pike as well as adapting some of his short stories of various other books, The Midnight Club is a horror mystery thriller directed by Mike Flanagan which takes place in a hospice and the eight terminally-ill young adults who form The Midnight Club, following a long line of patients who are part of this club that get together at midnight to share scary stories and have a pact that whoever dies first will find a way to reach out if they can. The admission of their latest member, Ilonka (Iman Benson) stirs up the group as she tries to find the truth behind a story about a past patient who disappeared from the hospice and came back completely healed.

While I haven’t read the source material, The Midnight Club has an appealing execution and series structure. There’s a sense of watching an anthology as each episode focuses around a story told by one of the young adults which seemingly reveals a part of their own story with a twist. At the same time, the main storyline also strings through their conflicts and realities that they need to face with family that struggles to accept their illness or simply their own personal issues. This structure does have similar anthology genre issues where some stories are stronger than others and the scary element varies from some that push the outwardly unnerving but others are more subtle psychological horror. While it might have a little of something for everyone, it might not hit everyone the same. The central storyline follows each of them but Ilonka is a central focus as she starts to encounter odd things in the establishment itself as well as discovering more about the area that the hospice resides as well, which gives character to the location as well (something that I’m personally a big fan of).

Running at ten episodes, The Midnight Club manages to its rhythm well. While the scares aren’t like its previous shows and its set as a limited series instead of a mini-series, the series sets up the foundation for its characters and creates a mysteriously sinister location with Brightcliffe Hospice as it explores both the supernatural, cultist and historical elements. The characters also have their own uniqueness whether its their terminal illness or their personality, which creates a good balance between the harmony and friction to better understand these characters.

Mike Flanagan’s creations usually bring back familiar faces from previous projects that fit into this one. In this case, a good portion of his previous project Midnight Mass is here while adding in some new faces from its main leads like Ilonka played by Iman Benson or Anya played by Ruth Codd in her debut role to veteran cast like Heather Langenkamp who takes on the role as the doctor who runs the hospice. The Midnight Club truly shines in its characters because its them who tells the different stories and also shines the light on their struggles with their respective terminal illnesses as they experience loss, friendship and acceptance as well as all the unknown creepy things happening around them. While Ilonka’s character feels the most fleshed out in the group and she even has her own little mission, investigation and even romance along the way, Ruth Codd in her debut role here as Anya truly does steal the show. Despite its young cast being the focal point, most of the characters are well-written and believably portrayed.

Overall, The Midnight Club isn’t exactly what Mike Flanagan has done before on Netflix but at the same time, it still sticks a lot to the atmospheric execution that he is very good at. While it might not be as strong as its previous Netflix offerings from Mike Flanagan (which is pretty high bar that he set for himself), The Midnight Club still offered a lot of fun moments and the concept itself is unique as it explores so much more than just death. With a slated limited run of two seasons, it feels like a silly thing to just cancel it with just one more season to do especially since the first season set up the foundation of the series and its character incredibly well and had quite a few mysteries left to explore. Pity that we won’t get to see what happens.

TV Binge: National Treasure: Edge of History (Season 1, 2022)

National Treasure: Edge of History (Season 1, 2022)

Cast: Lisette Olivera, Zuri Reed, Antonio Cipriano, Jordan Rodrigues, Jake Austin Walker, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Breeda Wool, Lyndon Smith, Armando Riesco, Darri Ingolfsson, Tommy Savas, Jacob Vargas

Jess Valenzuela, a 20-year-old Dreamer, sets off on an exploration to discover the mystery of her family history, and, with the help of her friends, seeks to recover historical lost treasure. – IMDB

After many years of developmental hell to green-light the third National Treasure, what came instead was a TV series 15 years after its 2007 sequel with a young strong female lead heading the treasure hunt with the help of her friends as she learns about her own history while trying to follow in the footsteps to protect a treasure that has been tasked for generations. While the film focuses mostly around this new trail of clues and has its own dangers and villains, it does write a story that involves a few of the characters of the film series and gives them some extra purpose as in the case of an retired FBI agent Sadusky reprised by Harvey Keitel as a guest appearance and Ben Gates’ friend and computer expert Riley Poole now moving up into the podcast world still talking about treasures and cryptography.

These two guest appearances help boost the appearance of initially smaller characters like the current FBI boss Agent Hendricks reprised by Armando Riesco but this time, becoming the main FBI on the case as he guides a newly transferred agent Agent Ross adapt to her surroundings and respond to what feels like an unbelievable report. Navigating between young romance and friendship, family and history, the 10 episode TV series manages to offer up more than just an elaborate treasure hunt.

While National Treasure mostly has mixed reviews, I’ve always been rather fond of whole deal: the treasure hunt, the clues and cryptography, the comedic duo of Riley and Ben Gates and Nicolas Cage as Ben Gates truly brings out that character really well. The sequel didn’t offer a lot of differences but it had the same fun element which was really what watching a treasure hunting film should be. However, revisiting something revived always brings some mixed feelings especially when it changes format to a TV series format because the flow and pacing is completely different, not to mention the majority of the young cast is fairly new in the acting business. While they are surrounded by some seasoned actors like Catherine Zeta-Jones as the main villain Billie, it will always have some doubts.

With all that said, despite all my doubts and carrying some skeptical optimism into this viewing, National Treasure: Edge of History was a fun time. I honestly could care less about the whole young romance and who likes who and the attempt to make a love triangle but never fully committing to it. All that isn’t so important because the treasure hunting elements and the tricks and clues at every corner between the group of friends and Billie’s team truly brings on some fun encounters and also keeps it grounded that these are some newbies to the business and having the talent of solving clues might not be enough to navigate some of the schemes of the seasoned treasure hunters which leads them to having some losses.

Overall, National Treasure: Edge of History is pretty fun. It keeps up with the entertaining treasure hunting tone from its films. The tv series format also allows for the hunt to be more detailed and takes the crew to a few different places. The ideas and heart is where it should be. Its a pity that its suffered the reality of streaming platforms and didn’t get renewed. It would have been nice to see a new season however, while it left space for a new series direction, it still ended the series well wrapped up enough to feel complete. There’s nothing worse than the feeling of a series being cut off incomplete, at least this one managed to keep itself self-contained.

Reality TV Roundup – September 2023

Great Escape Season 5 (2023)

Cast: Yang Mi, Justin, Wowkie Zhang, Xu Kai, Guo Wei Zhang, Evonne Xie

Great Escape is one of the Chinese TV variety shows that I catch all the time and follow closely. Its pretty incredible to see how the staging for these elaborate escape rooms have developed. The puzzles themselves are sometimes unique as well. For those who don’t know what this is, its basically a big escape room puzzle in a big setting with an elaborate story where 5 celebrity cast works together to solve the puzzles to escape. I actually reviewed the first version of this before it became Great Escape called The Chamber of Secrets Escape. What Great Escape has become is truly something both scary but comedic. Part of the fun is watching the many settings scaring and challenging its cast.

Season 5 takes Great Escape in a different direction where it brings in a quests mode where every setting has 3 quests. Some of these are individual and some are team quests and this will give them all their own ranking. For those familiar with Mango TV shows, its taking a direction similar to that of Who’s The Murderer. It isn’t surprising since Mango TV is trying to cross-promote its different shows lately. Even Great Escape has a spin-off IP Encounter where celebrities from their other original shows like Call Me By Fire and Sisters Makes Waves, shows up for escape room setting. Not to mention the VIP blocked Master version which puts a bunch of young celebrities, a few of them with strong academic background, joining together to solve the escape rooms which sometimes are changed up or if the same, it shows a different approach. I haven’t watched the spinoffs for Season 5 so I won’t comment on it here.

This season, Great Escape also welcomes back season 1 regular Evonne Xie who has been joining into a few more Mango TV shows. The last one was in Run On Time 2023 which I talked about last roundup. She’s always a fun addition and a member that I missed from the first season because she always adds a bubbly happy vibe to the group. This season, the normal regulars like Yang Mi and Wowkie Zhang all seem less scared and this development makes it more comedic as now they aren’t afraid to interact with the jumpscare NPCs. However, the scaredy-cat role gets taken over by Xu Kai after his guest appearance in Season 4 as he challenges himself at the start of the season that he will be able to be more brave by the end, which he somewhat achieves.

Great Escape Season 5 keeps up its fun elements. This time, the settings are more elaborate and meticulous in its creation. The background story they have to navigate is also well structured and unique. As usual, it always has some kind of message to ponder. There is a central element of time travel in this season which adds the sci-fi element of the show which was always there since previous seasons always had the blue-blooded aliens story in between. This time, it builds up a deeper world full of different dimensions which brings them to different time periods. If there was something that I felt was lacking in this season, it probably is the lessened amount of physical obstacles. Still, its a great time and I’m looking forward to the next season next year.

The Next 2023

Mentor: Charlie Zhou, Ella Chen, Qishan Huang, Jay Park, Ningning, Amber Liu, Wowkie Zhang, Jackson Wang (Creative Director)

Contestants: Ziwei Xu, Weize Cai, Oscar Wang, Veegee, Caelan Moriarty, Jinxin Cai, Lok Tung Tsang, Meiqi Meng, Babymonster An, Wonderframe, Leezi, Yubo Huang, Weier Bao, Jeryl Lee, B3Rich, Yuzi Zhang, Wanlin Chen, Yu Pu, Tianze Li, Sunny Lukas, Wang OK, Yaotao Wu, Deying Dai, Lyly, Zheyu Lin, Haofan Shao, Muye Qiu, Haibai Mei

26 performers, who are at different stages in their music careers as well as in life, step up on stage to perform as their authentic selves. Through different challenges, they compete against the others to earn a spot in the top 5. – MyDramaList

Its been a while since I’ve watched music competitions especially after the boy and girl group shows got put on the backburner after what happened after the last season of Youth With You which got cut right before its final performance. This show is not one of those shows but it is Tencent’s way to promote young singers, some of which are completely new to the industry while a few have been there for a while. Its understandable to have some more popular young celebrities mostly because it helps to pull in the viewers at the very least if the mentors don’t pull some weight either especially since Jackson Wang is present but is doing background work as creative director.

Since we’re talking about Jackson Wang, its a good starting point to talk about the mentors for the show. If you look at the list above, the mentors are really well-rounded. All of them has their own background and experience from being the music industry and entertainment business. They also all have their individual musical styles which helps the contestants. Charlie Zhou is multilingual and has a background in opera and pop music and is known for his wide vocal range especially his soprano voice. Ella Chen who found her fame as part of the Taiwanese girl group S.H.E. also brings her knowledge from her exceptional vocal abilities. Jay Park is the international mentor who is the most objective in his opinions and has his own hip-hop background while the rock music representative who got her fame from being part of a band is Qishan Huang. Its a well-rounded group of mentors who all have their expertise to share and a pretty good dynamic as they double as the host of the show.

The contestants are a decent selection. There are a lot of 18 year old musicians who is still studying in music or independently making their own music while some others are more in the indie music scene in different musical styles and then there are the few who have a big following mostly because of other shows like Produce Camp, The Coming One, Youth With You, etc. What is unique about this show is that it doesn’t have to be individual singers but rather they could also join as a duo where there were 2 groups that were bands. There’s not a whole lot to say about the contestants since its all in their performances and you can find all of that on Youtube on The Next channel but in a nutshell, my faves were teamed up for a performance which also happens to be my favorite performance of the whole show.

The Next 2023 had a lot of discussion from its viewers and while I think the winner is pretty good but it was a pretty predictable and safe choice for a music show, the show did achieve its purpose for this cast of contestants by helping them gain popularity by having all these stages to share their talent. I do hope that this show gets another season.

TV Binge: The Uncanny Counter 2: Counterpunch (2023)

The Uncanny Counter 2: Counterpunch (2023)

Director: Yoo Seon Dong

Cast: Cho Byeong-Kyu, Yu Jun-sang, Kim Se-Jeong, Yeom Hye-ran, Ahn Seok-hwan, Jin Sun-kyu, Kang Ki-young, Kim Hieora, Yoo In-Soo, Moon Sook, Choi Yoon-young, Lee Hong-nae

Evil spirits from the afterlife arrive on Earth in search of an immortal existence. The story follows a group of counters who are tasked with catching these malevolent entities. – MyDramaList

Based on the webtoon Amazing Rumor by Jang Yi, The Uncanny Counter 2: Counterpunch continues from its first season’s adventures as the team now has moved forward from the past events for the most part, except for the “main lead” So Mun (Cho Byeong-Ku) who has now grown a few years, no longer a student and made a few new encounters which play a big part in this season’s story. The team is basically the same core members but this season makes rich older gentleman Counter Jang-mul (Ahn Seok-hwan) back on the field and as a main player for the team especially while they try to look for the next Counter to join their efforts which ends up being a country bumpkin Na Jeok Bong (Yoo In-Soo) who takes a while to assimilate into the Counter business but also ends up discovering a rather peculiar and ridiculous ability.

One of the best elements of The Uncanny Counter from the beginning is its cast and characters. The ragtag team of Counters is where all the dialogue balance comes in from their second family connection to their humorous moments together in banter and actions, it strikes a good balance to help facilitate the more serious moments in the series. The now older So Mun is almost like the leader of the group mostly because of his telekinesis and territory summoning powers which gives the team a big advantage when fighting against evil spirits. His character is still a little naive in his thoughts which leads to some unfavorable decision-making but at the same time, he almost is more burdened than in the first one. It does add complexity to the character itself.

The rest of the team Do Ha-Na (Kim Se-Jeong), Ga Mo-tak (Yu Jun-sang), Mrs. Chu (Yeom Hye-ran), aka the key players from season one also have their own developments. This series spends more time with Ga Mo-tak in his everyday work at the police department while Do Ha-Na’s back story now comes forward in a more romantic direction and Mrs. Chu’s backstory as a Counter gets added a little more as well but still remains the glue of the team. Having seen Kim Se-Jeong in a romantic drama Business Proposal before, it still is nice to see her back in the Counter outfit as her character has such a strong attitude but this season, her bond with the team adds a certain warmth as well. The same goes for Yeom Hye-ran who has been busy after the Counter role popping up in The Glory. The addition of Jang-Mul (Ahn Suk-hwan) and Na Jeok-Bong (Yoo In Soo) adds the comedic elements. The former is an elderly gentleman that is trying to win the affections of Mrs. Chu and is willing to sacrifice himself for the team in many situations while Na Jeok-Bong is a country bumpkin who is easily manipulated, very naive and gets caught up in the oddest situations especially since his ability is to smell out the evil spirits who smell like different intensity levels of poop. I know, its weird but adds in a lot of hilarious moments as he hones his ability. Not to mention, it makes me wonder whether Yoo In Soo is quite an actor since he can pull off this silly character but also did a splendid job prior in All of Us Are Dead as the villain. The Uncanny Counter 2 has the team’s ability to keep its charm and quirkiness from its first season to thank for a lot of the enjoyable moments.

Looking at the baddies, its a whole new lens to what the supernatural world of evil spirits has to offer right from that start from the cause and effects of consuming Counters and Level 3 spirits so how certain spirits and host relationships are maintained and the power struggle. By the end, its a deeper inner literal soul searching and the introduction of the biggest evil entity, the complete evil spirit. The villains start off with a trio of Level 3 evil spirits who return to South Korea after their refuge in China and soon reveal their involvement in the housing scam which drives a righteous firefighter to his eventual demise. The villain trio are a little predictable in personality and don’t possess a whole lot of uniqueness but the leader himself in the body of Hwang Pil Gwang, played by Kang Ki-Young is pretty decent and genuinely ends up creating a sense of despise even if he has an odd appearance and some weird facial expressions. The main part of the villains are the focus on the evil spirit themselves as they thrive in the body of their hosts and focus on the struggle. The new host which gets used ends up having many scenes with the spirit which is one of the more annoying elements of the series.

The Uncanny Counter 2: Counterpunch manages to keep a lot of its charisma and comedic elements well-balanced. What suffers in the second season is mildly because the villains aren’t quite as impressive as the first time around, perhaps because the first season introduced a lot of unknowns and it made them more thrilling and unique. It also had some pacing issues which made the series feel like it was longer than it needed to be, even though it was trying to throw in a lot of the extra elements of this world between the evil spirits and the Counters. The intention is good but at times, it felt like it could’ve benefited from a little bit more editing. Despite all that, it is still a fun series to watch and binge. The characters truly make The Uncanny Counter world an entertaining and unique one well worth returning to, even though it does feel like the two seasons has already accomplished what it needed to.

Reality TV Round-up – August 2023

The Big Nailed It Baking Challenge

Host: Nicole Byer, Jacques Torres, Robert Lucas, Amirah Kassem

Follows 10 inexperienced, yet motivated bakers who will compete against one another with assistance and instruction from well-known pastry chefs. The person who crosses the finish line as the greatest baker will be awarded a cash prize. – IMDB

Nailed it is probably one of the best baking shows that Netflix has offered and they’ve offered a lot of cooking and baking competition shows. Most of the reason is that its just a fun show that doesn’t take itself very seriously and celebrates the best of the worst and has a great host to top it off. Nicole Byer is the heart and soul of the show right from the start. While seeing the failed attempts at some epic cake structures have its funny moments, its always the interactions between the hosts that make it entertaining. The Big Nailed It Baking Challenge morphs its simple show into a full-on baking competition structure with the added element of using beginner bakers learning different skills to build up their baking knowledge and hone them in the many challenges as they proceed further. The result ends up being impressively successful as an experiment.

Nailed It Baking Challenge uses the basic Netflix baking competition structure and turns it into an educational experience for the general viewer but also keeps the fun elements of a baking competition by bringing in two assistants who help guide and advise the bakers on what they’ve learned. It makes the environment feel more friendly. Its fun to watch the progress of the bakers from the start to the big finale. There’s also a big part of this show that benefits from having new faces in front of the cameras for the most part which sets up the initial challenge of showing the judge’s what they learned before heading off to do the fancy cake.

Straightforward, fun and educational plus Nicole Byer, Jacque Torres and of course, Wes makes this show feel a lot like Nailed It but the new structure breathes new life into the show and definitely also has potential for more seasons.

Depp v. Heard

Cast: Nick Viall, Johnny Depp, Amber Heard

Showing both testimonies side-by-side for the first time, this series explores the trial that set Hollywood ablaze and the online fallout that ensued. – IMDB

Split in a 3 episode limited series, Depp V. Heard is a look at the social media hog of a trial that happened last year, right in time for its one year anniversary. To be fair, I was in the midst of taking care of a newborn and dying of fatigue so the lack of hanging out on social media meant that I was probably the most clueless person about this whole thing. Sure, I like Johnny Depp because of multiple films and I did enjoy Amber Heard’s performance in Everybody Loves Mandy Lane but I never followed their own romance to begin with so this didn’t have such a big appeal. Of course, the documentary had the appeal because it was a nutshell version of the situation.

The documentary delivers what it needs to. The trial isn’t portrayed in totality but it looks at the start of their romance to the breakup and divorce and what each side did during the trial. It did add a few social media snippets of influencers that was following the trials and sharing their own thoughts. In some ways, the documentary takes a look at the opinions in today’s society whether its on women and abuse or whether men and abuse is neglected but should also be talked about.

There are some interesting breakdowns of this trial and it gave me a much clearer idea of what the big deal was. However, with any documentary and trial, sometimes and very much so in this case, its mostly a he said she said situation and really boils down to who delivered a more believable truth. Plus, lets not forget these two are actor/actress. I honestly can’t bring myself to think that the side that won is completely innocent and the side that lost is absolutely in the wrong. My point is really that Depp v. Heard is a decent documentary but at the same time, keep an objective mind.

Run On Time 2023

Cast: William Chan, Han Yu Gao, Dany Lee, Xin Qiao, Mengjia Jin, Junlin He, Zhenyuan Zhang, Zhenyu Qiao, Longfei Fu, Ouyang Nana, Yaxuan Song, Dajing Wu, Yaowen Liu, Chengxin Ding, Haoxiang Yan, Jiaqi Ma, Yan Sun, Jian Li

As a street survival game, the “player” must evade the “hunter” within a certain time limit in the venue delineated by the production unit, and successfully evade the pursuit to obtain all the victory coins, while the arrested only keep one-tenth of the victory coins earned at that time. Therefore, the limited time will become the only “life-saving straw” for the guests, and only non-stop and non-giving steps can create more “self-help” and “survival” for them. – MyDramaList

Run On Time 2023 is the third season of this series of street survival game. It takes place in different significant tourist/historical locations to set out different missions and storyline of the cyber and real world overlapping. The group basically needs to evade the hunters as much as possible while completing certain tasks that require both group and individual work. One of the missions usually include a full VR aspect implementing the walking/running element as a part of the game to make it more realistic. Between the many NPCs which are sometimes played by recognizable actors and actresses, they also set the story specific to that location and era.

Run On Time 2023 is a fun reality show mostly because the time limit and hunter element makes it all the more entertaining. It adds the extra tension to make it feel interactive. There are little puzzles to solve and certain tasks that also need to be deciphered. Some of it is based on strategy and others is based on physical skills aka running really fast. Between rounding up some popular faces like William Chan and the young boy group TNT who are known for their exceptional physical capabilities, they also have some to balance it out who tend to be more leisurely but still manage to make the best of the game which is why the flexibility of how to play the game, run the clock and achieve the missions is a big part of what makes this enjoyable. Not to mention, the show is called Run On Time so everything is constant movement and there never is time to just sit back and relax because there’s always something happening and a lot of unpredictable and unexpected factors.

Run On Time 2023 is definitely one of the more fun reality shows that I’ve watched this year. If I manage to find the previous two seasons, I will definitely go check it out. Of course, with fun shows, I look forward to see if it returns for another season next year.

TV Binge: XO, Kitty (Season 1, 2023)

XO, Kitty (Season 1, 2023)

Creator: Jenny Han

Cast: Anna Cathcart, Gia Kim, Sang Heon Lee, Minyeong Choi, Anthony Keyvan, Jocelyn Shelfo, Théo Augier Bonaventure, Peter Thurnwald, Yunjin Kim, Sung-wook Lee, Regan Aliyah, John Corbett

Kitty, the youngest of the Covey sisters, on her quest to find true love. – IMDB

XO, Kitty is the spinoff of To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before which was based on the Jenny Han book trilogy of the same name however this show is not based on the book series but a separate story crafted for the spinoff. Whether its the movie adaptations or the books, they both hold a dear spot in my heart. Kitty’s character especially from the first film truly has some charming lines that flaunt her big personality from the film and it makes her character become fresh, fun and grounded person in her sisters’ life. She’s much more free-spirited and at the end of the third movie, it builds up the foundation for this series.

For those unfamiliar with what XO, Kitty is: XO, Kitty is Katherine Song Covey aka Kitty, the youngest of the sisters who finally gets her own adventure as she not only goes to South Korea for boarding school to follow her mother’s footsteps and try to connect with her Korean roots and culture by experiencing it first hand since she never really got to experience it before her mother passed away but also to finally have time to be with her long-distance boyfriend Dae. Her adventure in this first season only incorporates half of her supposed year that she’s meant to spend at KISS but it involves a lot of self-discovery already from finding great friends to discovering a new side of herself.

Kitty is a underused character in the To All The Boys film series. She has a great quirky personality however, the script in XO, Kitty loses a lot of her fun personality that she had as a supporting character in the film series. Her adventure to South Korea became more about the friendships and the “boyfriend” issue more than it was about reconnecting to her mother and exploring the South Korean traditions. If the two were melded better, the story potentially could have been a much better experience. Between the adopted baby storyline and the romantic situation, XO, Kitty becomes a little too focused on these elements and it ends up losing a lot of character depth despite its ten episode run. Perhaps its due to a myriad of different writers for each episode instead of Jenny Han penning these characters herself or that the concept itself wasn’t as focused, all these things ended hurting the series more than helping it.  Her character while still rather downplayed for the her fun personality definitely did have some spur of the moment and development. There’s still somewhat of a wild child in there but one that’s also been a tad sheltered because she is the youngest and still discovering things about herself and how to face certain situations in a foreign environment.

While the characters themselves weren’t fleshed out a lot, there are some fun characters that potentially deserve more time to grow. Unfortunately that wasn’t Dae (Minyeong Choi) who is partially the reason Kitty is in South Korea but has a very thin character. There is a little bit of background on his family but it still feels a character that lacks charisma on the whole. On the other hand, his best friends/roommates Minho and Q end up having a lot more fun moments. Q (Anthony Keyvan) becomes Kitty’s loyal best friend and the person that calls her out on some of her shortcomings while Minho is something of second male lead character which creates the love-hate friendship/relationship foundation. Season 1 deals primarily with Kitty navigating two main storylines while suddenly struggling with school as the requirements in the South Korean school system is more demanding which puts Minho as the cliffhanger potential love interest at the season finale. However, there are a few set-up moments which feel more one-sided. What ties these two main plots together is Yuri, the frenemy of Kitty and becomes flourishing into an interesting friendship. In some ways, the adult characters like Professor Lee, one of the stricter teachers become a more fun character as there is a moment specifically where he starts singing Everybody Wants To Rule The World which was a nice silly moment.

Overall, XO Kitty is a weaker addition to the primary trilogy of the To All The Boys films. While Kitty was a small but fun supporting character in the main films, choosing her to be the main character of her own series seemed like a good choice but somehow what we got in the first season of XO Kitty was disappointing. Sure, there are some cute moments, a slight Korean drama vibe, and the soundtrack is one of the strengths of the film and they even add in a little Korean girl group dance segment but the cultural investigation despite the whole Chusok celebration part is rather lacking. With the announcement of the second season (which I hope is the final season since that should round off her year in South Korea), the series will use the first season’s set up to add more depth to the characters and give Kitty more space to grow and discover herself but also add in more South Korean discoveries to truly achieve the connection she wanted with her mom. I’m not really shipping anybody right now for the show so I’ll be interested to see whether she will have an endgame relationship at the end.

TV Binge: Business Proposal (2022)

Business Proposal (2022)

Creators: Seon-ho Park, Sul-hee Han, Bo-hui Hong

Cast: Hyo-seop Ahn, Se-jeong Kim, Min-kyu Kim, In-ah Seor, Duck-hwa Lee

In disguise as her friend, Ha-ri shows up to a blind date to scare him away. But plans go awry when he turns out to be her CEO – and makes a proposal. – IMDB

Despite the fact that I’m incredibly behind on most Chinese drama reviews, something everyone should know here is that I’ve pretty much been swimming in the world of Asian dramas specifically about romance or romantic comedy. Lately, its been a bit of a break to just take a breather and wait for something better to come along. I’m not going to lie that Korean romance dramas are not my first choice since I never got into that hype. However, when my friend recommended Business Proposal, it did sound like a fun time.

The foundation for the story of Business Proposal is quite simple and straight forward. It doesn’t deal with anything different from the basic romantic comedy-drama series. Fake relationships, rich boss-type perfectionist male lead, simple normal female lead: its all been there done that. In fact, there’s quite a big hype of this type of thing (fake relationships/marriages) in the past few years. However, where Business Proposal does stand out is in its comedy. Its story grabs right away with the over the top blind date experience right from the get-go. Nothing goes quite as planned and despite all this, the entire attempt to hide her identity as his employee makes for some even funnier moments. Of course, there’s also a question of how different can someone look with and without the makeup and fancy clothes that can make them unrecognizable apparently.

Running at a 12 episodes, its one of the great elements of Netflix series that keeps things concise and well-paced. Despite that, Business Proposal’s usual plot does still at times make the flow feel slow and predictable but the overall pacing and progression of events is relatively good. The series runs on a parallel focusing mostly on Ha-ri and Tae-moo’s relationship as the focal point with the secondary relationship between Ha-ri’s best friend, Young-seo who was supposed to be paired with Tae-moo but ends up being attracted to Tae-moo’s secretary, Sung-hoon. Between them and the lies that are trying to stay hidden for Ha-ri and then Tae-moo’s grandfather’s constant desire for the marriage to be sealed regardless of the girl as well as the company politics and work colleagues itself, the show already has a lot of elements to work around.

Looking at the casting choices, everyone feels well-casted. While Korean series has been on a new level of hype because of various past successes, the faces do tend to be revolve a lot of new ones rather than a lot of repeat views. However, Ha-ri is played by Se-jeong Kim, who was previously in Uncanny Counter (review) in a different style of role but also was fairly comedic in a different way. It was nice to see how she was able to fit into this romantic comedy role. Ha-ri’s character is the equivalent of a Cinderella-type role which in Asian dramas in general just means that its always lots of barriers to marry rich. It is fun that she does choose to make that comparison with an over-dramatized tv series that is playing throughout the series to add that extra bit of humor that makes fun of these types of soapy dramas. Tae-moo, played by Hyo-seop Ahn is a pretty generic male role. He is a good-looking guy and there’s a good contrast from pre-romance discovery to post-romance. The other familiar face here is Secretary Cha, played by Min-kyu Kim who plays as the secondary male lead and was previously in The Battle of Jangsari (review). In some ways, his role, much like the secondary female lead, Young-seo played by In-ah Seor are much more vibrant roles, especially the latter.

Overall, Business Proposal doesn’t change a lot of the formulaic story. The best way to compare it would probably be to Chinese dramas like Love O2O which featured a relationship that had a supportive male lead despite the challenges that would hit especially after the relationship commenced, it was a level of trust that wasn’t easily waivered which is usually one of the frustrating elements of other shows. Faking relationships is a rather over-used back story at this point but there is a fresh and fun take here that makes this one well worth a watch. Plus, Se-jeong Kim in the female lead is truly an extra fun time.

TV Binge: Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story (Mini-Series, 2023)

Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story (2023)

Creator: Shonda Rhimes

Cast: India Amarteifio, Adjoa Andoh, Michelle Fairley, Ruth Gemmell, Corey Mylchreest, Golda Rosheuvel, Arsema Thomas, Sam Clemmett, Freddie Dennis, Hugh Sachs, Julie Andrews (voice), Tunji Kasim

Betrothed against her will to King George, young Charlotte arrives in London on her wedding day and faces scrutiny from the monarch’s cunning mother. – IMDB

Queen Charlotte is a spin-off mini-series for the Bridgerton TV series which is adapted from the book series by Julia Quinn. While the main series focused on the ton of the society and the romances of the Bridgerton children, Queen Charlotte is a prequel and bridge to the next season about how Queen Charlotte and the palace became the way it is as well a glimpse of the origin story of Lady Danbury and the connection to Violet Bridgerton. It even adds a side story of the Queen’s secretary Brimsley and his little romance with the King’s man, Reynolds.

Its a great angle to take because the world of Bridgerton is not only fascinating for the steamy and attractive romances that the two Bridgerton children that we’ve witnessed so far but one of the things that I personally love are the characters of Lady Danbury and Queen Charlotte who are incredibly dynamic characters in their mature years in the present and now their origin story helps craft their characters further, not only giving some substance to the inner workings of the characters of the palace, answering those questions about why King George is the way he is and what his affliction is but also how Queen Charlotte has taken over with much of the ruling and responsibilities of the palace while also sharing how Lady Danbury got her title and her respect in the society. There’s some secrets and scandals along the way but intertwined it also reminds us that the present world is more than the Bridgerton children and the Palace also has its own issues with a much welcome Lady Whistledown narrating that bit as well.

Running at six episodes, Queen Charlotte is well-paced and in the heart of period films, provides wonderful outfits and hairstyles. Queen Charlotte herself sporting some of the truly beautiful ones as they are much less extravagant in her younger years but in the present, still having some creative ones in the mix. While this Bridgerton story is primarily drama and romance, there is a good deal of comedy in there. The present day scenes focus around Queen Charlotte trying to get her fifteen kids to finally settle down and give her another royal heir when Princess Charlotte unfortunately dies. The conversations she has in her encounters with her offsprings are done in a serious manner but harness a lot of comedic elements. Its probably one of the more entertaining parts of the mini-series especially when paired with Lady Danbury and Violet Bridgerton’s blooming friendship as Violet starts having new desires in her life that she isn’t quite sure what to do about.

The cast is relatively well selected. Queen Charlotte played by India Amarteifio in her younger days and still Golda Rosheuvel in the present day is a wonderful fit for the character. There is a true development in the character of a princess from Germany who ends up marrying to another country and trying to find her footing especially with a husband that sells her a beautiful relationship at the start but ends up leaving her alone. What happens to her soon crafts the Queen she chooses to become in order to hold up the responsibilities of the palace but still protect her husband when his delusions set in. From the start to the finish, its mostly about her merge into the status of Queen but also how she gained her respect and how her friendship with Lady Danbury solidifies. The young Lady Danbury also has a similar origin story but on a less fortunate spectrum and played very well by Arsema Thomas who essentially has her story show that she is the one that chooses to be alone because of her past.

Looking at the male cast, its sad to say that the romance of this one is rather well done and unique but King George’s character, despite his ailments is not quite as immersive. Its probably just the writing bit more female-centric that his character progresses in struggle and therapy for most of the series. Corey Mylchreest is a handsome and charming choice for the role. However, its definitely the Queen’s secretary Brimsley that truly stands out played rather well by Sam Clemmett. Brimsley may be the subordinate of the Queen but despite the initial rejection, he does remain very loyal and honest to her.

Overall, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story is a decent mini-series. There does seem like a little bit of a perpetuity issue when looking at the present day since this Queen Charlotte isn’t what it seems but then, it feels like its deliberate to give her a different side because this time, most affairs of dealt with behind the palace doors as family matters which makes her re-evaluate herself as a mother. The series itself is rather binge-worthy but the whole series truly culminates for the touching final moments in the present which reflects the relationship through the years between her and King George despite how it always seems like she is waiting for her husband to pass away. It gives the audience a little bit extra to consider that maybe those emotions are much more complex. Its a welcome fun entry to bridge the wait until Season 3 of the series itself.