[2024 Year in Review] Bean of Squee » Dramabeans Kdrama

[2024 Year in Review] Bean of Squee

by DB Employees

The facility of squee — outlined as a phrase used to precise nice delight or pleasure — can’t be denied in dramaland. Whereas a drama can’t float for 16 episodes on squee alone (or can it?), a hearty dose of squee positive helps you get by means of a number of the extra sloggy bits of your drama. Principally saved for these OTP moments that make you go, “Eeeee!” at a frequency solely canines can hear, what drama introduced you essentially the most squee this 12 months?

missvictrix: Pretty Runner is my apparent selection right here, however I believe Marry My Husband wins as a substitute for my Bean of Squee simply because I used to be not anticipating such a heart-stopping romance. The deeply in love however restrained male lead is my tremendous duper catnip, and Na In-woo was only a dream right here. The excessive melodrama degree on this drama wanted a romance that grounded it, and this one actually did it for me.

tccolb: I don’t know if there’s a lot to say that hasn’t already been stated by others about expensive Pretty Runner, however it’s with none doubt in my thoughts, my one true Bean of Squee. I used to be fearful when first moving into, considering the promos had made me overly hyped. However by Episode 2, I used to be hooked and suckered by our leads, and it’s virtually embarrassing to suppose again on the variety of weeks I spent guffawing as I watched (and re-watched… and re-watched…) this present. The directing, writing, and appearing simply got here collectively – flaws and all – to create that drama magic and I must rank Pretty Runner as considered one of my all-time favourite rom-coms.

mistyisles: My first intuition was to present this bean to Pretty Runner, though I already selected that one for my Bean of Greatness. However within the curiosity of praising as many enjoyable Ok-dramas as doable, my Bean of Squee goes as a substitute to Participant 2! Whereas it was in fact lighter on the romance, it swept me off my toes with its bickering group of found-family con artists, intelligent capers, and — most of all — the extraordinarily charming Kang Ha-ri. In brief, I had an absolute blast with this present. And for those who, like me, missed the primary season that aired a number of years in the past, I extremely advocate going again and checking that one out too!

DaebakGrits: There have been two 2024 dramas that broke my squee decibel meter this 12 months: Marry My Husband and Pretty Runner. Nonetheless, between the 2, I give Pretty Runner my Bean of Squee as a result of it made me squeal like a barnyard animal extra persistently, because the OTP wasn’t preventing for display time towards a dastardly trio of villains just like the OTP in Marry My Husband. Positive, there was a serial killer on the free, however he was unobtrusive — very demure, very conscious of the viewers’s lack of curiosity in him. As a substitute of turning right into a thriller or melodrama, Pretty Runner stayed true to its rom-com premise and served up a number of moments that may go down in Ok-drama historical past, such because the mixed shirt rip and condom toss, Sol and Solar-jae’s varied umbrella scenes, the gorgeously shot reunion between Sol and Solar-jae on the steps on the awards present, and the post-ferris wheel princess carry. Reality be informed, I’m a sucker for tales the place the person falls first, more durable, and loves from (respectfully) afar, so each time Solar-jae checked out Sol along with his adoring pet eyes, I squeed.

solstices: I knew I might love Knight Flower from the second I watched the very first teaser, and I used to be proper. I’m positive nobody is shocked that my Bean of Squee goes to Lee Jong-won (I imply, I powered by means of the entire of Dangerous Reminiscence Eraser for him), whose righteous coronary heart, flustered smiles, and adorably smitten pet crush had me guffawing in glee. However I additionally owe my squees to the superb Honey Lee, who was an absolute whirlwind and a half because the moonlighting widow Yeo-hwa. Fast considering and even faster fists? A hilariously overactive creativeness? Artistic revenge plots like a cute cat doodle? Think about me offered. With such pleasant supporting characters (Yoon-hak and Yeon-seon’s bashful courtship! Yo-seob’s random English phrases!), Knight Flower was a beautiful journey from starting to finish.

Unit: If the whole lot of Pretty Runner was Sol calling for “Solar-jae-ah,” and Solar-jae folding like three-day-old laundry, it will nonetheless have been sufficient to squee over. However this drama was greater than a story of loserism in love. It was a bit of ball of magic stuffed with fluff, affection, and heartbreaking sacrifices borne out of the real love that made Sol and Solar-jae selflessly select one another over themselves in each timeline. Their love was tacky, but it surely was true. It was heart-wrenching, however I may perceive why they made the sacrifices they did. And whereas I understood and will get behind the noble self-sacrifices, I by no means stopped rooting for them to be collectively as a result of there was no happiness within the instances they spent aside. For them, and for me. Pretty Runner made me stay up for Mondays, blush, giggle, kick my toes, really feel all of the feels, lament the arrival of psychopathic killers in rom-coms, and cheer for a freaking Truck of Doom! Not two of dramaland’s most pointless evils cancelling one another out. Lol. This present had 5 {dollars}, one Solar-jae, and a dream, and boy did they make it work!

Dramaddictally: If I had been being fully trustworthy, this award would go to Pretty Runner. However since I already gave that drama my Bean of Greatness (and it’s been racking up beans in every single place), I’m going with my second selection: the underrated Dreaming of a Freaking Fairy Story. I had a unbelievable time watching this present every week, laughing, squeeing, squealing, feeling lighthearted, and getting a number of classes on self-love and life. The enjoyable of this drama got here from it taking the tried-and-true Cinderella trope, after which upsetting all of the phases of the story alongside the way in which. Our Prince Cha-min is without doubt one of the most common guys you may think about, and our heroine comes to comprehend she’s the primary character of her personal life. These two handled one another like equals from the get-go — with candidness and chemistry aplenty — resulting in an cute courtship on their half, and plenty of squees on mine.

starrygazer: My Candy Mobster is my Bean of Squee this 12 months — I used to be not anticipating this rom-com to be pretty much as good because it was. The solid was good, the humor didn’t really feel pressured, and Uhm Tae-gu was the fitting stability of gooey with a tough “gangster” streak (aka the dangerous boy all of us secretly wish to date no less than as soon as in our lives). The household dynamic between his males and Han Solar-hwa once they settle for her into their home was magic. I actually beloved this drama, and subsequent time I would like a rom-com cleanse I may break My Candy Mobster again out.

 
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