Flash Review: Doctors

If there’s one thing that Doctors has taught me, it’s that medical dramas are really not my thing.

I mean, I already knew, going in, that I’m generally not one to get at all excited about medical emergencies and the like.

Still, the positive buzz and high ratings got me curious enough to dive in (sometimes I am too curious for my own good, I think!) – and when I eventually became bored with Show at large, Kim Rae Won’s strong, leap-off-my-screen warmth persuaded me to stay.

His deep velvety voice and crinkly, cozy-toasty smile didn’t hurt either.

Specimen A: Said cozy-toasty smile.

OST ALBUM: FOR YOUR LISTENING PLEASURE

Here’s the OST album, in case you’d like to listen to it while reading the review.

THE PROMISING INITIAL STRETCH

I hafta say, in the initial stretch, I sincerely thought that Doctors would be the show to change my lackluster experience with medical dramas.

I really, really enjoyed episodes 1 through 7 (or.. thereabouts), and genuinely looked forward to the next episode every time I finished the one that I was watching.

Here’s a quick list of the stuff I liked in these initial episodes.

1. A strong, interesting heroine

Ok, so Hye Jung (Park Shin Hye) does start out as quite the crazy handful of a teenager, but once the character is allowed to settle a bit, we start to see how smart and strong she is, not only in the high school timeline, but in the present-day timeline too.

I love me a heroine who’s smart and strong, and I was thrilled that Hye Jung was proving to be not only book-smart, but also work-smart, and street-smart too.

To top it all off, she was honest, not easily intimidated, and she wasn’t nasty to people, even when she was saying no. In short, I found Hye Jung pretty darn awesome, and couldn’t help wanting good things for her.

2. Engaging story-building

Show starts out with a bang, with Hye Jung singlehandedly subduing a bunch of gangsters while on hospital duty, before delving into Hye Jung’s backstory via a long high-school flashback.

A cool, kickass heroine with a colorful backstory that overflowed with heart? I actually felt kinda hooked.

3. Relationships that I felt I could care about

Following Hye Jung’s journey through her turbulent teenage years, we get to witness the blossoming of some key relationships in her life. Show does a good job of bringing out the heart in these relationships, and I soon found myself caring for these characters and their relationships, especially Hye Jung’s growing bond with Gran (Kim Young Ae).

4. A warm hero

It’s true that I felt Show crossed the squicky line somewhat, serving up a bit of OTP hyper-proximity when Hye Jung was still in high-school. But, I did find Ji Hong a very attractive character, with a warm, steady sort of personality.

Of course, it didn’t hurt that Kim Rae Won plays Ji Hong, and gets to be all warm, smiley and crinkly-eyed.

After years of not understanding the Kim Rae Won appeal, I suddenly was all, “Ooh. I GEDDIT now.” *melt*

A quick tangent on the teacher-student attraction [MILD SPOILERS]

In episode 3, we hear Ji Hong in voice-over indicating that he was indeed attracted to Hye Jung while she was his student.

It’s uncomfortable to hear, but it’s honest. It’s easy to dismiss the teacher-student attraction as wrong, but in Ji Hong’s defense, he didn’t actually act on it.

And that makes a big difference. People have all kinds of attractions – often against their better judgment – and what separates the criminals / adulterers / insert other appropriate noun from the everyday folks, is that most people choose not to act on their inappropriate attractions.

Ji Hong did allow a camaraderie that was chummier than with his other students, and in that sense, that was a form of favoritism, but he never did allow his romantic attraction to Hye Jung to show, and that does count for quite a bit, in my books.

[END SPOILER]

5. Adorkable second male leads

In both timelines, we get pretty adorkable secondary male leads vying for Hye Jung’s attention, and I dig it very much.

Ji Soo is pitch-perfect as Soo Chul, the slightly dim bad boy from Hye Jung’s high-school years, and Yoon Kyun Sang is freaking adorable as prickly-proud-adorkable-inner-marshmallow Yoon Do, Hye Jung’s Neurosurgery sunbae.

These two added a nice spot of fun and cute to the watch experience, and altogether, I felt like Doctors was on a very positive trajectory indeed.

THE REST OF THE SHOW

Hospital stuff

Sadly, Show turns a corner, and once we settle into the hospital context, starts drifting more and more into hospital politics, and slowly but surely, loses its grip on the character stuff – which was the stuff that I found most engaging, unfortunately.

By episode 9, Show firmly establishes itself in a cycle of hospital politics sprinkled liberally with protracted surgery scenes.

Characters and their relationships start to feel like afterthoughts, almost, and instead, we spend a lot of time on multiple highly unnatural medical conversations.

I mean, I get that the medical conversations are necessarily expository for the sake of the audience, but watching it all, I couldn’t help thinking that doctors don’t explain things to each other, nor state the obvious to each other, the way these doctors do.

Hye Jung’s characterization [MODERATE SPOILERS] 

Overarching everything else is Hye Jung’s revenge mission, which felt overly long drawn-out. It felt like a niggling something that Show just couldn’t leave behind, and it would pop up every so often to add angst to Hye Jung’s life, before fading again into the background, still unresolved.

I personally felt like this entire revenge arc – or perhaps more specifically, the execution of it? – doesn’t sit well with the rest of Hye Jung’s characterization.

Hye Jung’s painted to be a particularly level-headed person, and this revengey part of her just doesn’t feel like it’s part of the same person. In my mind, a revengey person would be more hardened and bitter, and this bitterness would show up more in other relationships.

The other thing that niggled at me, with Hye Jung’s characterization, is how, despite her emotionally-scarred state, she’s able to demonstrate a surprising degree of understanding of relationships.

Like in episode 11, when Hye Jung requests Ji Hong to open up to her. On the one hand, she makes perfect sense and is completely reasonable in her ask.

On the other hand, how does she even know what to ask for in a healthy relationship, and why is she even at all upset about it, when she says that she doesn’t believe in relationships?

For someone who doesn’t believe in relationships and doesn’t seem to want to be in one, she sure is being assertive in pushing for one.

In this sense, Hye Jung’s characterization felt quite unnatural to me, and all the minor-ish mismatches eventually added up in my head, and ultimately made it hard for me to get on board with her character arc as a whole.

[END SPOILERS]

All in all, slowly but surely, I found myself feeling rather bored, as I progressed deeper into the show.

SILVER LININGS

I hafta admit, there were times when I considered dropping this show, since it mostly felt like not a lot happened with each passing episode.

Despite the lack of major plot movement, though, I found that there were juust enough silver linings in this one, to keep me hanging on till the end.

Here’s the quick list.

Likable supporting characters

Weirdly, there seemed to be an inverse relationship between my interest in the main arcs of the show, vs. my affection for the secondary characters.

The more I lost interest in the show’s main plot (or even most of the side-plots, if I’m being honest), the more my affection for the secondary characters came to the fore. This was one of the biggest things that kept me going, in spite of myself.

I liked Tae Ho (Jang Hyun Sung) for his solid, matter-of-fact, principled outlook. He doesn’t play politics, can see it clearly when it shows up, and firmly doesn’t bow to it. In a hospital riddled with political players, Tae Ho felt like a breath of fresh air.

Shout-out too, to Kyung Joon (Kim Kang Hyun) whose nervous mother hen-like way of bustling around is suitably hilarious. I also liked Young Kook (Baek Sung Hyun) for his understated steady vibe.

My favorite in the bunch, though, has to be Kang Soo (Kim Min Suk). His earnest outer cheer, combined with his inner struggles, made him more compelling than his colleagues.

[SPOILER ALERT]

In particular, I enjoyed how Show treated his brain tumor arc. I found it touching to watch Kang Soo work hard to figure out his best life and live it, even as he fought the pain and disappointment of being diagnosed with a brain tumor.

The touches of bromance between him and his younger brother (Yeo Hoe Hyun) were also cute. I also found it sweet how the entire department of neurology banded together in concern for their maknae. Aw.

[END SPOILER]

Adorkable Yoon Do

I know I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it again: Yoon Kye Sang is amusingly adorkable as Yoon Do.

Yoon Kye Sang’s got a great comic touch, and it’s put to fantastic use in this role. Even as I grew bored of show’s main plot, Yoon Kye Sang continued to make Yoon Do endearingly dorky, demonstrating some of the best reaction faces in the entire show.

His touch of sheepishness and general sense of discombobulation and skittishness around Hye Jung was also very funny.

[SPOILER ALERT]

Besides his crush on Hye Jung, Yoon Do also brings the laughs when he becomes the unfortunate, unwilling host for Pa Ran (Lee Sun Ho) and In Joo (Yoo Da In), who decide to camp out in Yoon Do’s apartment despite his protests.

From his hapless objections to his grudging acceptance, Yoon Do is good-natured and endearing through it all. I thought it was really sweet of him to buy cup ramyun just because In Joo has asked to eat it. Aw.

On another note, I had to admire Yoon Do for handling himself with class.

Like the time he refuses to take advantage of the time that Ji Hong is away in episode 12 to get close to Hye Jung, and the time he tells Seo Woo (Lee Sung Kyung) not to let him walk all over her, while encouraging her to basically live the life she wants, since she’s not 18 anymore and therefore not necessarily subject to her family’s whims.

In the light of his gigantic dorky streak, I found this touch of class all the more endearing. Double aw.

[END SPOILERS]

Warm hero’s still warm

Ji Hong continues to be the focused, warm hero all the way through, which I liked. One of my favorite Ji Hong qualities, is his steadiness, particularly as a surgeon.

We see it again and again throughout the show, in surgery after surgery. There’s just something about that calm, not easily ruffled steadiness that really appeals to me.

Romance-wise, I really liked the softness in Ji Hong’s gaze when he looks at Hye Jung. That did a lot for me, in adding subtext to a loveline that was written to be relatively muted compared to most lovelines in prime-time kdramas.

Of course, let the record show that Kim Rae Won is very capable of delivering the sensuous kisses, when the occasion calls for it. Ahem.

Small tangent on the OTP

You’ve probably noticed by now that I don’t actually list the OTP as either a plus or minus in this show, and that.. actually sums it up quite effectively, heh.

The OTP never felt like a driving plot point in our story, and never felt terribly exciting (to me, anyway) at any single juncture of this show.

Still, this OTP’s daily sort of interactions and progress had a muted sort of everyday appeal, and it was actually rather refreshing to have an OTP that talked things through with minimal angst.

Some engaging side-arcs

Show settles into a rhythm where there’s always a case or two of the week, and those cases may or may not help our doctors to learn about themselves and grow.

I will admit that I wasn’t always interested in the cases of the week, but there were several that did manage to genuinely engage and move me.

Specifically, I really liked the case involving Im Ji Yeon’s cameo as a national archer Lee Soo Sung in episodes 7 & 8.

[SPOILER ALERT]

I felt the awake surgery was well done, in that the scene of Soo Jung being able to draw a bow again brought tears to my eyes.

The execution of the scene was excellent, and really tapped effectively into my emotions.

[END SPOILER]

Special mention too, for Nam Goong Min, who was really good in his cameo as a single father. I fully believed his struggle as a dad who didn’t have the resources, but truly wanted to do his best for his kids.

The cases that managed to strike a chord with me really did add a nice touch of emotional resonance to my watch experience.

THOUGHTS ON THE ENDING

Show stays true to the majority of its run, and serves up more doctoring and more surgeries in its finale, with some romance and closure on the side.

It’s a pleasant enough hour, but when I ask myself if it was worth spending 20 hours of my life to get to this point, Past Me honestly feels a little sheepish towards Present Me for not being wiser about my drama time spendage.

I knew that Hye Jung exacting revenge on President Jin (Uhm Hyo Sup) wouldn’t be Show’s endgame, since Show was always more interested in being nice, and our heroine couldn’t end the show on a vengeful note.

So the sudden humanizing of President Jin wasn’t surprising, but it did feel staged and convenient.

The whole dilemma about whether or not Hye Jung should assist Ji Hong in the surgery also felt contrived, to me. If she’s as professional of a doctor as she’s been made out to be, she wouldn’t have refused to do it in the first place, is what I’m thinking.

I did rather like the truce that Hye Jung arrived at, though, with her father. That felt true to her character, and felt like a reasonable way forward for them, with a touch of acknowledgement.

I also liked the fact that we got glimpses of steps forward for other characters, like Seo Woo and Young Kook finally taking official steps into romantic territory, and glimmers of romance sprinkled among the other residents.

All in all, it was a pleasant if unexciting hour – which seemed a fitting end to a pleasant if unexciting show.

THE FINAL VERDICT:

Show gets off to a pretty strong start, but soon subsides into mostly just being pleasantly boring all around.

FINAL GRADE: C+

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czt
czt
5 years ago

Hi, I 100% agree with you. I like Park Shin Hye but this drama wasn´t what I expected. It was kind of boring. I liked the scenes where the residents where involved. I think this drama was super hyped. Definitely not one of the best medical dramas out there. Looking foward to read more reviews.

kfangurl
5 years ago
Reply to  czt

Hi5, czt! Sounds like we feel similarly about this show! Yes, Doctors really was overhyped, sigh. The beginning was pretty promising, so I was really disappointed when things became so boring later. :/

phl1rxd
6 years ago

I watched this out of curiosity. I did finish it but it was hard to do so. I agree that Nam Goong Min was great in his cameo.

kfangurl
6 years ago
Reply to  phl1rxd

Heh. High five, phl! I finished this one, but my heart wasn’t much into by the last stretch. I kept hoping that Show would get good again, but it just never happened. Oh well. I’ll make better decisions with my drama hours next time! 😛

Kat
Kat
6 years ago

Pretty much in agreement on this one. I actually think the story would have worked better if it had been 16 episodes because eventually it seemed like the writer had nothing much else to offer the lead couple. Also, when will writers figure out that hospital politics is boring…..I mean always! I did like that the KRW’s character acted like a normal mature male though I think it would have been nice not to have the instalove. He got off the helicopter, asked her if she was married and it was on…. I mean it’s been years.

I think one of my favorite things about this drama was the way they handled the 2nd male lead. He was upfront about going after the gal and Ji Hong was just so blase about it which is based on his confidence as a man and knowing how HJ felt about him. That was just very attractive to me especially given the jealous, wrist grabbing antics so often seen in k-dramas. What ended up being my least favorite thing was the revenge scenario specifically as it related to the legal standing of the case. A statute of limitations should not be a difficult concept for a brain surgeon to figure out. It drove me crazy. And then to have the director need surgery just seemed so makjang.

Generally with most k-dramas, I feel they are too long by an episode or two but occasionally there is one that needs more, and I want to rip the 4 hours from Doctors and give it to the other production. Having said that medical dramas aren’t going anywhere when Romantic Doctor is hitting it big now. Ironically, while Doctors was all easy going, Rom Dr is serious makjang….dropped after 4 episodes. Oh well.

kfangurl
6 years ago
Reply to  Kat

Haha! Your comment made me chuckle, Kat! 😆 Basically, yes to everything you said! The instalove made me blink a little bit, it felt so.. weird and random. And yes, Ji Hong being completely indifferent to Husky as a romantic rival was refreshing AND amusing. And OMG YES, the whole revenge thing and the statute of limitations was just too long-drawn-out, it took her forever to figure out that she couldn’t do anything legally. And then the whole thing got basically dropped. After all of that brooding and angst, that felt like quite the anticlimax, really. I dunno, maybe this show didn’t need to be 16 episodes, even. Maybe it would’ve been good at 10. 😁

I stayed away from Romantic Doctor Teacher Kim coz I have a very limited tolerance for medical dramas and Doctors kinda used that up. But, the positive comments and high ratings do make me a little curious. Just a tiny, tiny bit. Hearing that you dropped it after 4 eps, though, makes me feel a little relieved – maybe I don’t need to build up my medical drama tolerance for another show just yet! 😂

Kat
Kat
6 years ago
Reply to  kfangurl

I will NEVER understand the ratings for Rom Dr; however, like you said so many people have been raving all over the place that I have put Rom Dr back in my pending list. Maybe 2017 will offer less medical dramas and around July I’ll jump back in…

kfangurl
6 years ago
Reply to  Kat

Heh, we seem to feel very similarly about medical dramas, Kat!! 😂 I never find myself super interested in a medical drama, so Doctors took more out of me than the average viewer, I think. I didn’t get very far with Good Doctor either, despite the positive comments I’ve read about that one. But, to satisfy my curiosity, I might have to check out Romantic Doctor someday. Someday being the key word – after I’ve accumulated enough medical drama goodwill in my drama meter, lol.

t13ndoank
7 years ago

Once Hye Jung lost her badassness and just be ..well..pretty, I lost a huge chunk of my interest in her. I skipped a looooot of scenes (or basically skipped eerything but Yoon-Do’s scenes) and found myself more eager for Yoon-Do’s antics than the OTP. Get bored everytime the scenes showed President-nim with his entourage. And when I had to delete some folders coz other better dramas needed more spaces, I didn’t feel any regret targeting Doctor’s folder.

kfangurl
6 years ago
Reply to  t13ndoank

Hehehe! I feel ya! I got bored once Hye Jung stopped being badass too. The worst was when the focus was on the President all his political antics. Ugh. Like you, when I was making space in my external hard disk, I was actually even a little eager, when I deleted Doctors. 😂

dramalandloverj
dramalandloverj
7 years ago

Doctors is probably the most light-hearted medical kdrama I have ever seen – I never got hooked by it, but I guess it had some small moments that kept me entertained enough to stay till the end. It was a generally feel-good show, great for watching to relieve stress, ha. The cases they had every now and then were decent, with some really good cameos. Yes Hye Jung’s character could have been written better, and I loved KRW in it as Ji Hong too. He was a really lovable hero, and KRW’s portrayal mostly felt natural throughout which I personally think is unlike the usual kdrama hero. His relationship with his father Director Hong was nice too; it was one of the minor side relationships but I liked their interactions ^^ Thanks for the review, kfangurl <3 -HUGS- <3

kfangurl
6 years ago

Hugs back, Jas! Yes, it probably is one of the lightest medical dramas around. I guess perhaps that’s the appeal. I personally found it a little too thin on plot, but I guess with the right lens, it can fill a niche need. 😉 And yes, I did like Ji Hong’s relationship with his dad. That was very sweet. ❤

dramalandloverj
dramalandloverj
6 years ago
Reply to  kfangurl

Yup that was the appeal of it, although the plot was too weak (I agree with you!) The watching lens sure matter, because admittedly I did enjoy it enough to go through the end of it 🙂 Yes it was, I enjoyed their interactions <3

evezissi
7 years ago

I would like to be honest that this drama which started so vibrant with Park Shin Hye’s character as Hye Jung and a very lovable Kim Rae Won as Hong Ji Hong got me on hook big time for the first half of the drama.

The later parts became less penetrating and less enthusiastic with the story-line. With due respect to the the main characters, what kept me still with this drama till finale was the solid characterization played by KRW as Ji Hong and PSH as Hye Jung. I do love how Hong Ji Hong’s fondness over Hye Jung kept for years. He sweetly showed that during the early days when he still teach, yet he maintained his composure being a teacher and as a man who is blossoming a crush with his student.

As the drama progresses, my subconcious mind ask “wow, he waited that long”?…Hong Ji Hong suddenly turned as one of my favorite male lead characters! Why?…may I enumerate?..
*He brightly smiles
*He cares a lot
*He cooks
*He’s confident
*He’s calm
*He’s smart
*Ugghhhhh, he knows how to kiss!!!😁😉😘 hahahahaha!

With all those positive qualities that a male lead have what more can you ask? We can see those traits from a male lead in other drama but Kim Rae Won’s portrayal is worthy. Good enough to melt your heart with every episode he’s in.

We watch drama to be enjoyed with the otp’s romance and to be wowed with the profoundness of the story-line. Although this drama didn’t have so much with the latter and the romance part didn’t give me much “Kilig to the Bone” factor . I guess the solid characterization on Ji Hong and Hye Jung got me in till the end. 😉💓💋

evezissi
7 years ago
Reply to  evezissi

Ooopppsss!😝 i forgot! Hong Ji Hong is loyal too!😝😍😘

kfangurl
6 years ago
Reply to  evezissi

You are always so sweet to share your thoughts, evez! Indeed, Kim Rae Won was one of the reasons I stayed to the end. That strong, warm screen presence was lovely. The OTP was just ok for me, and the storyline was pretty lackluster too. But still, Kim Rae Won’s crinkly smiles warmed up my screen enough to get me to the finish line in spite of it all, so that says something! 😂

OchaNokcha
7 years ago

Your article is the exact echo of my chain of thoughts just after finishing this drama. Huuumm it was not so long ago that I watched it but I already do not remember what happened exactly. Some of your pictures in the article show some events that triggered the usual “ah … this happened?” Which is sad because it started very well with an interesting premise but after … And the kisses scenes … well no comment.

kfangurl
6 years ago
Reply to  OchaNokcha

Glad to know I’m not alone, Ocha! This show really wasn’t very memorable for me, and I was disappointed, since I really liked the early eps and was excited for the show to continue being awesome. It’s really too bad that it turned out to be so underwhelming for me – and you too!

OnColouredPens
7 years ago

Finally, a review for Doctors!
I admit, im a bit sad with your grade, :(. However, i understand that we have a different views with the drama. 🙂 I’ve watched the show religiously, because… #teaKimRaeWon.. tehehehe and the 2 adorkable second male lead, Ji Soo and Yoon Kyun Sang! 🙂 Aside from them, i find the drama interesting though. And oh, Park Shin Hye, i really love her! 🙂

kfangurl
6 years ago
Reply to  OnColouredPens

Aw, I’m sorry my grade made you sad, my dear! 😝 But I do understand that Doctors has its fans. Lots of people liked this one, and it did enjoy very healthy ratings too. It’s too bad that I just never got on board with the hospital stuff. I liked the early episodes a lot though!

raspBerry
raspBerry
7 years ago

Hello Fan girl!!!! Am really happy you finally reviewed doctors and you said most of it.
Yes show started with a bang which is why I watched it all even when it became slow I like to think of movies from different point which is why I kinda got a lil more invested when HJ had to drop her poorly planned revenge plot. I was really into Ji Hong’s character which very well portrayed by Rae Won who I’d just met and did fall for. It was really nice how disciplined he was mentally, how clearly he saw things and how he tried to think rather than let his emotions cloud his judgement( minus when he tried to save dad’s life of course) , I found his patience with HJ heart warming I also loved how he sympathised with Hye Jung about her Grandma’s death but refused to support her revenge mission but kept trying to encourage her to let it go and heal emotionally and help let herself find inner peace the writers made a strong point with making a character who genuinely wished the person he loved become better and grow as an individual.. though I found myself feeling like he was educating HJ and every one watching most of the time rather than been a Boo. PSH did a good job with Hye Jung too, HJ felt very mature a lot of times. I admit that I thought her revenge plot was Unnecessary and only caused her to be stagnant and bitter but then I rewatched her scenes with grandma and then I kinda got it then, like grandma was the one who was there for her even at her worst and grandma was one of the major reasons Hye Jung wanted to change and become a respectable person and so for the doctor and her family to treat her dying in surgery so lightly had to hurt. I liked that she knew how to genuinely feel gratitude be nice but be independent and badass. I admire their relationship with two very independent but different people. I felt Hye Jung’s desire to have Ji Hong open up to was because despite the fact that she cut ties with her family and hardly let people close to her she was falling for him and wanted to be close to him I mean she maintained a very strong friendship with Soon Hee for so long so she could handle a relationship but only with people she felt were real and wanted her the way she was. It was clearly frustrating for her that he was so involved in her life but was finding it difficult to let her also take on his problems and personal issues. it was nice how clear H J was about JH been the only one she would chose if given an option. Seo woo was however really very annoying and I literally put up with her because I was impressed with how LSK has projected her characters well in movies. JH & Yoon Do, Yoon Do, Pa Ran, In Joo scenes were fun….a lot of the hospital story lines were very good ( I however didn’t like HJ putting pressure on JH to do a surgery he wasn’t willing to do on the new bride who was pregnant) .Like everyone said show did start well but became draggy……
PS lol I know my thoughts are not orderly!!
PS JH’s proposal to HJ was cute
PS the kisses were……

kfangurl
7 years ago
Reply to  raspBerry

Aw, it definitely looks like you enjoyed Doctors way more than I did, raspberry! 😉 I think one of the reasons I stayed with Show till the end instead of dropping it, is because I did see the things you mentioned, like Ji Hong being so steady, Hye Jung generally being a good person, her bond with Gran and her friendship with Soon Hee. And yes, the kisses were definitely quite heady later the in show.

Somehow, though, the way Show presented everything didn’t land so well, for me. Instead of a story that felt people-centered and heartfelt, I felt like we were getting lost in hospital politics and long surgeries. Additionally, I didn’t feel enough care was taken to make Hye Jung’s character feel like a cohesive whole. Her good side and revengey side felt like they belonged to two different people in two different dramas, and as the show ramped up the revenge arc, I felt it more and more. The silver linings helped, thankfully. Especially Dorky Yoon Do, who is <3.

Elaine
Elaine
7 years ago

Hey kfangurl! I’m new to your blog. I agree with your take on this drama. The first episodes were good and I was really rooting for badass Hye Jung but it got pretty boring on the later parts. i just stayed till the end for adorkable Yoon Do. I really enjoyed reading your reviews! 😁😘 I’m currently watching School 2013 as I was inspired by your review on the show and I’m planning to watch Chuno next 😁

kfangurl
7 years ago
Reply to  Elaine

Hi there Elaine! Welcome to the blog – I’m happy that you’re enjoying the reviews! 🙂 It sounds like we respond to shows quite similarly, since your response to Doctors sounds just like mine. Which means I’m very hopeful that you’ll love School 2013 and Chuno as much as I did. Do let me know how those go, I’m always happy to hear more drama love about my faves 😉

Ahmed
Ahmed
7 years ago

Hey fangirl, been a while since my last comment, hope u r doing fine,always enjoying ur reviews as usual. I enjoyed this review but that grade though seemed abit harsh for such a peacefull no plot holes drama, maybe its fair and i just wished for a better grade :D, noticed u mentioning medical dramas are not your thing, have u still not watched good doctor? 😀

kfangurl
7 years ago
Reply to  Ahmed

Hi there Ahmed, it’s great to hear from you! 🙂 Yes, I’m doing great, and as you can see, sort of still drowning in review backlog, lol. The C+ mostly just means that I found it pretty meh overall since it became quite boring, but there were enough silver linings to warrant a plus. 😁 I guess I was hoping for more and better from this show, especially after its strong start. I did start on Good Doctor quite a while ago, actually. I liked it well enough, even though it got a little treacly-cheesy in spots. I got stalled on it when I got sidetracked by other newer shows, but I have good intentions about going back to it.. someday. 😁 I feel like I need a break from medical shows, after watching all of Doctors. 😝

ReikoMin218
7 years ago

I actually agree with you too on what you said on this drama. I, too, don’t care for watching medical dramas either. Just not my cup of tea for me. I’ll also find them boring as well. Oh well…to each their own I always say. Lol 😛

kfangurl
7 years ago
Reply to  ReikoMin218

Hi5, Reiko! Seems that we have similar feelings towards medical shows in general.. they aren’t quite my cup of tea either. But, I’m always looking for the one that might possibly prove me wrong. This show’s initial episodes made me think that this would be the one to prove me wrong, but then.. no. Lol. 😂

ReikoMin218
7 years ago
Reply to  kfangurl

About the only ‘sort-of/kind-of’ (lol) medical drama I liked or enjoyed watching was ‘Descendants of the Sun’ really. 😄👍 I guess it was more of a military/medical/romance type drama all in one.

awwww, still it was too bad this drama ended up to be that way for you. Yeah, sometimes maybe it’s just best to leave these dramas ‘alone’ for good already. 😓

kfangurl
7 years ago
Reply to  ReikoMin218

OMG, haha! I had to think about it for a second, when you mentioned DOTS as a sort-of medical drama! 😂 Which means that in my head, it was far, far from a medical drama, lol! But technically, you’re absolutely right, there was a fair bit of doctoring in there. Or efforts to look like doctoring, anyway – a lot of that was so unrealistic it was hard to take it seriously. 😅

Yes, I do tell myself that every time I attempt a medical drama, that I should just accept that it’s not my thing and just stop checking them out. But when enough time has passed to blur the memory, and a new and shiny drama gets enough buzz, I’ll get tempted all over again with the thought of “maybe this one will be different..?” 😂

ReikoMin0218
6 years ago
Reply to  kfangurl

LOL *hi-5* 😂 Yeah, DOTS was absolutely far from being a medical drama…you’re right on that. 😛
awwww lol Yup, temptation always gets me every single time…esp if Park Hyung Sik, Jang Hyuk, or Bogummy starts acting in it! hahaha *hi5 u again* 👍😅😂😛🤣😎

ReikoMin0218
6 years ago
Reply to  kfangurl

Btw, I haven’t told you, that after watching ‘Hwarang’ drama, I became HELL-SMITTEN over Hyungsik BIG TIME now!!!! *dies* 😍❤️😍❤️😘😱😎 And, during the car-scene to ‘High Society’, I was like ‘Dude…your shirt ripped (the car-scene) n’now I’m all @@@@@@ over you after that incident, dangit!’ LMAO Actually, right after I finished Hwarang, I wanted to immediately start watching High Society all because of HIM. *blushes* 😛 I SWEAR IT WAS HIIIIIM THAT MADE ME THIS WAY! *rolls on floor hysterically laughing* 😂🤣🙃🤡😛 He’s just ❤️TOO HOT❤️ for me. (literally)

crazyahjummahjo
crazyahjummahjo
7 years ago

I salute you, my wonderful friend, for finishing this show! You know I’m a huge PSH fan but even my love for her couldn’t sustain my interest in this one. I watched the finale as an afterthought, almost.

Thanks for this review!

kfangurl
7 years ago

Jo~! <3 Thanks for stopping by! I can't believe you dropped this one, considering how big of a PSH fan you are! But yes, this turned out to be way more boring than exciting, and I found myself zoning out often, especially during the surgery scenes. I guess my completist streak kicked in, dragging me to the end – in spite of my better judgment! 😂