Wed-Thurs battle heats up as ratings numbers rise

Two weeks have given our new Wednesday-Thursday dramas a chance to get settled and establish their stories, and today’s (Wednesday) fifth episode offered the series something of a new direction as they kicked off major storylines. (This isn’t very spoilery if you’ve seen the episodes from last week, but if you don’t want to know a single thing about the episodes’ content, skip to the next paragraph.) For instance, Cinderella’s Sister wrapped up the teenage years and sped forward to eight years later, and also marked the drama debut of Taecyeon. And Personal Taste got going in earnest when Lee Min-ho’s character begins to make over Sohn Ye-jin’s unkempt character.

Accordingly, ratings rose for both those dramas. Cinderella’s Sister stands poised to break 20% soon, as its Episode 5 drew a 19.7% (TNS Media, or 19.1% via AGB Nielsen), widening its lead and solidifying its first-place standing. With each episode’s numbers creeping upward, it’s on its way to being a bona fide hit, both ratings-wise and critically. (And deservedly so, in my opinion.) The news was also good for Personal Taste, which dipped a bit in its second week but came back up to a 13% TNS (14.3% AGB). You can probably credit that to Sohn’s prettified appearance (her messy looks were a common complaint of fans used to seeing her more polished), which frankly kinda bums me out a little. (I know Kae-in’s a slob, but she’s so adorable! It’s refreshing to have a heroine who isn’t always dressed in thousand-dollar designer threads.)

Prosecutor Princess, on the other hand, remained stable in third place as its story delved into a child sexual assault case. Its numbers have hardly budged since Episode 1, and in fact the latest 10.8% (or 10.4% AGB) was a repeat of its premiere rating. While ratings can always change, it looks like the rankings have been firmly established and will likely remain in this order. What I’m most curious about is seeing how far Cinderella’s Sister can rise.