2019 In Review – Series – Best to Worst
This year I scored each series by averaging the score for the episodes. Here are the empirical results:
Do I agree with the scores? Would I rank the dramas differently now that I’ve got the advantage of time and comparison?
I’d bump up Arthdal Chronicles and take down Smile Has Left Your Eyes a notch. Otherwise, I agree with the hard numbers.
What did I love about each series?
My Country: The New Age – Superb historical with gripping episodes, top notch production, excellent ensemble acting, a villain that everyone worked to defeat, a male friendship that had it downs, lower downs, then ups and Jang Hyuk as the shining star character Bang Won, the man that would be King but had a hard road to get there.
Touch Your Heart – Sweet, smart, and steadfast romance between an actress and lawyer. Yoo In Na and Lee Dong Wook demonstrated once again they have the chemistry to create a memorable couple.
Smile Has Left Your Eyes – The mystery caught me and wouldn’t let me go until I knew the truth. The reason I watched the drama, Seo In Guk’s acting, didn’t disappoint. He transformed his character from a user into a person I rooted for.
Welcome 2 Life – Rain as a cocky selfish lawyer gets thrust into a parallel universe and learns what really matters in life.
Arthdal Chronicles – Ancient times historical that dealt with the quest for power, suppression and discrimination of races, with an ensemble cast that delivered. The series ended on a cliffhanger. Will there be a second season?
Haechi – Writer Kim Yi Young crafted a series chock full of events, surprises and cliffhangers that kept you coming back episode after episode. This was Jung Il Woo’s “comeback drama” after his military service. He still has “it”.
Kill It – The first half of the series was murky, then Writers Son and Choi focused on the key questions – what is the mystery of the leading man’s past, why were there numbered children, was history repeating itself, etc. yielding an excellent second half of the series.
Romance is a Bonus Book – An easy enjoyable watch with a couple you wanted to work and individual characters you’d want to be friends with. This drama was quiet but said important things about the power of the written word, perseverance, honoring your promises, etc.
Melting Me Softly – Romance with different challenges from most series. The chemistry between the lead actors Ji Chang Wook and Won Jin Ah made the couple likable. The sci-fi aspect of the story was uneven.
Level Up – Writer Kim Dong Kyu didn’t pen a compelling drama. The initial episodes were just okay. Thankfully the series improved as it went.
Blogging timeline of each series in 2019:
Asian drama fan. I watch and blog dramas on https://kjtamusings.wordpress.com/.
amusings 
You got in a great group of dramas this year 🙂 My faves off this list would be My Country, Melting Me Softly, and The Smile Has Left Your Eyes. I also really enjoyed Touch Your Heart. Just started watching Kill It. I hope your 2020 is a good one! 🙂
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You got in a great group of dramas this year…hope your 2020 is a good one!
Agree 2019 was a good year…may we be fortunate to watch dramas that are worth our time in 2020!
My faves off this list would be My Country, Melting Me Softly, and The Smile Has Left Your Eyes
All good ones!
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Yay for My Country! I definitely need to watch Haechi.
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Haechi’s leading man Yeoninggun Lee Geum had to navigate the political minefield to gain the throne. 👑
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I watched Dong Yi recently. It told the story of Prince Yeoning’s mother. I love adventure and political intrigue mixed together, and if there is a cool character development, I am all in! Haechi sounds like my kind of drama.
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I’ll add Dong Yi to my watch list. This year I really enjoyed the historical dramas.
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I enjoyed Dong Yi, although they could have trimmed down the 60 episodes to 50 without losing the integrity of th story (it was a bit long with some fluff). I felt Dong Yi gave a bit more context to Haechi, setting up background of the social status
of Yeoningun Lee Geum’s mother. Haechi was excellent as a stand alone drama. Jackpot AKA Daebak is another drama about young (teens/early twenties) Lee Geum, played by the delightful Yeo Jin Goo.
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Jackpot AKA Daebak is another drama about young (teens/early twenties) Lee Geum, played by the delightful Yeo Jin Goo.
Are you referring to The Royal Jackpot?
https://mydramalist.com/16475-the-royal-gambler
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Yes, The Royal Gambler or Royal Jackpot are other names for the drama. It does get confusing when the different watching venues call dramas by other names.
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I 💗 that you are keeping track of the episode ratings KJT and that they are overall consistent with your personal thoughts of the dramas as a whole.
I agree with your top and bottom stats, but I would rank my personal preferences a little different in between.
MY COUNTRY: I wholeheartedly agree this was the BEST drama you recapped and probably that aired.
ARTHDAL CHRONICLES – LOVED IT, but HATED the open ending. Would have liked to have a few more plot points resolved and /or a reunion of the OTP.
HAECHI – EXCELLENT drama. Jung Il Woo. .. what else is left to be said❓⁉️
TOUCH YOUR HEART – TERRIFIC rom com
WELCOME 2 LIFE – GREAT drama with Rain’s character being introspective about his life choices, finding himself lacking and then working to “make it right”.
MELTING ME SOFTLY- I concur the sci-fi aspects of the story were lacking, but the Romance 💗 and chemistry were nice.
ROMANCE IS A BONUS BOOK – Good drama, it felt like something was missing.
SMILE HAS LEFT YOUR EYES – The mystery was fascinating and acting was excellent. The dIsTuRbiNg aspects turned me off, which lowered it in my ratings.
KILL IT – The murky storyline combined with the disturbing nature of turning a child into a contract killer and the other horrific things done to the numbered children was troublesome for me.
LEVEL UP – SUNG HOON … how could it possibly lack chemistry❓⁉️ … but it did 🚫⚗
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Appreciate your rankings and thoughts.
Jung Il Woo. .. what else is left to be said❓⁉️
Nothing, absolutely nothing.
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I came to this site after watching HAECHI. I can’t get over how much I love this drama, and Jung Il Woo. Now I want to watch My Country (I used to adore Jang Hyuk). Should I watch DONG YI? But it’s sooooo long…
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You need to get back to adoring Jang Hyuk. 😉
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