So I gotta be honest here and admit that yes, I can imagine a world where Mystery Queen doesn't get a season two. When I read something online - before people knew about the second season - about how the ending was so awful because there's no guarantee of a second season, I thought the drama would end with someone on the floor bleeding out from a gunshot wound or something. That didn't happen: season one of the drama actually finishes off quite nicely. I guess I do see what people mean though, especially after that huge reveal about a minute before season one of the drama ended. I'm used to those endings because it's the same kind of thing American shows do at the end of the season, hoping that they get renewed, but with know way to be one hundred percent sure about it. I haven't seen anything similar in a drama yet, however, so I suppose I can comprehend the hysteria that must have overtaken fans.

Luckily for me, I literally only just finished season one of Mystery Queen, and I enjoyed every bit of banter it offered. I'm a huge Sherlock Holmes fan, so this show with the main character reminiscent of him and her wonderful, wonderful partner has been really great, not to mention refreshing thanks to the lack of romance. Or I suppose it's a perceived lack of romance, because there's tons of chemistry between the two - I guess we'll see if it goes any further in the next season. I love the two the way they are now, and honestly, I can't easily imagine a romance between them, but...we'll find out in the next couple of weeks. Personally, I'm up for anything, but hopefully whatever the writers choose to do doesn't take away from the pair's beautiful partnership.

Season two premieres this Wednesday, February 28.

Edit: What in the world was I thinking, saying that I couldn't imagine a romance between the two leads within the confines of this drama? I'm one episode away from finishing the second season and the romance is the only way to go following season one. Writers, actors, I applaud you.

Me describing this book to people: It's about a married couple that finds out that they're both super healthy and have a good sixty-eight years ahead of them. Instead of being happy about their long life expectancies, they begin freaking out about how they're going to make their marriage work for that long, because apparently when people make marriage vows and claim they'll love each other forever, they don't actually mean forever.

I was pretty hesitant going into this book, both when adding it to my tbr as well as when I actually picked it up and began reading. I've read a couple Sophie Kinsella novels before, and loved quite a few of them, but this would be the first one I've read that features a married couple, and I wasn't sure I'd be into that. And taking that further, a married couple story always leaves a window open for affairs and whatnot, and I'm certainly not here for something as depressing as that. Nevertheless, I figured I'd give the book a chance, because the only Sophie Kinsella I've read that bored me to tears was The Undomestic Goddess, and what are the chances of that happening again? (And you'll be happy to note that thankfully, this is not a married couple story that revolves around that open window.)

As I continued reading Surprise Me, I grew convinced that an alternate title for the book could be "Marriage: You Should Know What You're Getting Into". Things went so horribly wrong - sometimes hilariously - with the two partners, Sylvie and Dan, and at times, the stress of their marriage made we want to forswear marriage completely in favor of a happy and healthy mental state. Which begs the question the title of this post poses.

Luckily, I kept reading, because oh, this book so has that Kinsella British romance thing that her other books have. Also, apparently I was really in need of some British love and humor because this book totally did it for me despite my hesitancy in picking it up. The characters grow on the reader fairly quickly, and you really see the effort both Sylvie and Dan make to make each other happy, and wow, that's the kind of love you want, y'all. There's also an interesting bit about Sylvie's family that adds an extra oomph to the story; you don't exactly see it coming, but at the same time, you knew there was something off. I don't know how Kinsella writes such likable, well-rounded stories - that sounds so boring but I swear it's perfect - but there it is.

Additionally, I just adore the idea of poking your marriage with a stick. It's exactly as scary as it sounds.

Note: Perhaps don't read this post if you're not caught up on the sixteen episodes of Hwayugi that are currently out.

If you keep up with my twitter, then you know that for the past few weeks, the highlight of my kdrama watching has been binging Hwayugi episodes and temporarily messing up my eight hour sleep schedule. As soon as I watched the first episode, I was blown away; I absolutely could not stop myself from needing the next episode, and needing it then and there. I still feel that way, but at the same time, I think it's definitely time to publicly address the elephant in the room: Son Oh-gong is too smart for the drama's own good.

One of the things we learn in our screenwriting class is that if the stakes in your story aren't high enough, then nobody is going to be glued to the screen. That's what's happening with Hwayugi. I mean, I'm definitely sticking around, but my frustration grows as every single character continually fails to get the best of Son Oh-gong.

There's the evil priestess with her plans to marry Son Oh-gong and/or switch bodies with Sam Jang, i.e. Jin Seon-mi. She's got him under her spell - but oh wait, that's not the real Son Oh-gong, but one of the replicas. Oh dang, she took the geumganggo off him -- just kidding, same problem. The evil fairytale librarian trapped Sam Jang's child soul in a book and theoretically, she's the new owner of Son Oh-gong's love; but then right after, it's revealed that no, Oh-gong definitely does not love her, and Sam Jang is still the owner of the geumganggo. This happens over and over again, and just when it seems like things are going to get interesting, the beginning of the next episode reveals that nope, Son Oh-gong has figured out what's wrong. He doesn't fall for anything or anyone that tries to get the best of him, and thanks to that, the plot of Hwayugi is rather repetitive.

And while I'm on a roll complaining about the drama - I love it, but hey, it has its flaws - when is Son Oh-gong going to be free from the dang geumganggo? I've been as patient as the next person, but that thing went on in like episode three or something, and it's episode sixteen and it's still stuck on Son Oh-gong's wrist! We get it, he loves her because of the bracelet. Now can we please get it off of him so that we can see the dynamic between him and Sam Jang change to something other than "I love you and you're beautiful because you stuck this bracelet on me"?

Despite all of that, would I still recommend that you watch Hwayugi? Yes, of course, without a doubt. It has a super fun cast of characters, the beginning is reminiscent of Goblin, and I love the whole feel of the drama. There's a hilarious bromance, and this show is just a ton of fun to tune into each week. Granted, the lead female doesn't do much, but I guess I'm watching more for the demons, and of course, to keep my fingers crossed in favor of a positive fate for everyone's favorite zombie. The gorgeous soundtrack doesn't hurt either.