Welcome to the Open Thread, everyone! Thank you for joining me on this group watch of Healer! đĽ°
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT, before we begin:
1. We will be adopting a ZERO SPOILER POLICY for this Open Thread, except for events that have happened in the show, up to this point.
We don’t want to spoil anyone’s watch experience with spoilers. The spoiler tags don’t work in email notifications, therefore, please take note that WE WILL NOT BE USING SPOILER TAGS FOR THIS OPEN THREAD. ANY AND ALL SPOILERS WILL BE REDACTED to protect first-time viewers in our midst (although, I’d appreciate it if you would save me the trouble of having to redact spoilers, heh đ ).
This includes, but is not limited to, how characters &/or relationships develop, later in the show.
We need to protect the innocent! đ
2. HOWEVER!! If you’d like to discuss spoilers from a rewatcher’s point of view, I’ve created a SPOILER ZONE for you, where you can discuss all the spoilers you’d like, without the need for spoiler warnings. You can find it here!
Without further ado, here are my reactions to this set of episodes; have fun in the Open Thread, everyone! â¤ď¸
Eternal Love – Healer OST
When it comes to this show, this is the song that brings on all the feels, for me. So great to already hear the strains of Eternal Love, in these first two episodes. đĽ°
To listen on repeat, just right-click on the video and select “Loop.”
My thoughts
Episode 1
Ahhh. I love it. Even though this is my third time watching this show, I am loving this, right away.
Full disclosure, it’s been quite a few years since my last watch, so a lot of details are pretty hazy in my memory. Which, honestly, is the best sort of condition, for a rewatch. You want everything to be as fresh as possible, to recreate that precious wonder of the first watch, amiright? đ
Show does a very solid job of providing introductions to our main characters, in this first episode.
Right away, we learn that Healer – or Jung Hoo, as he’s listed – is a loner, whose biggest wish, is to buy a remote island and live there, with maybe a leopard as a pet. He definitely doesn’t crave human company, that’s for sure.
I find Jung Hoo fascinating, from the way he lives in that very industrial yet quite fancy man-cave, and bristles at any sort of interruption to his alone time, to the way he is so fast and sharp on his feet, while doing all these night courier jobs, for which he’s legendary.
I am also loving the deadpan banter between Jung Hoo and Ahjumma, while he does his thing, and she does hers, while constantly connected virtually. They make a great team – except when Ahjumma loses her touch and opens the wrong train door for him, ha. I am loving Ahjumma already. đ
Also, I hadn’t picked up on this before, but now, the whole superhero-esque flavor of Healer and his amazing exploits, is landing with a touch of cheesy flair to my eyes.
Meaning, where before, I’d only had stars in my eyes for all of Healer’s coolness, I now also feel as if Show is giving me a nod and a wink as well, because it knows that it’s indulging itself by swanning in the spotlight, for a bit. I am rather amused by this.
At the same time, I’m still rather thrilled by the sight of Healer’s slick fight moves. Yes, it’s rather superhero-esque that he’d be able to take out so many guys on his own like that, and it does require some suspension of disbelief, but y’know, I like the idea of a protagonist who’s got superhero-like abilities. It’s like a bit of kryptonite, for me. đđ¤Š
I am also liking Young Shin a lot, right away. A lot of that has to do with Park Min Young’s personal charm, in the way that she inhabits the role.
I love this fresh, sparky, slightly tousled look on her, A LOT more than her more recent uber-polished look. Young Shin feels fresh, and disheveled, and very real.
I love her energy and her passion. She is gutsy and determined, just like she describes herself. The way she snags that picture of Healer out of the backseat of that car, when the opportunity presents itself, is pretty impressive, I thought.
I mean, it’s true that this is technically stealing, but I’m willing to look past this, because, well, the shouty guy she’s stealing from is clearly not meant to be taken seriously, and also, I just like Young Shin. đ
I am rather amused at how Young Shin’s a paparazzi reporter, who’s so determined to out a supposed celebrity dating scandal, that she pretends to be a delivery person, and then fakes a heart episode, in order to gain entry to the celeb’s apartment.
Pfft. She’s definitely not quite the amazing reporter she wishes to be, just yet, that’s for sure.
I already love Young Shin’s relationship with her father; the two of them have such an easy, cozy sort of relationship. I love that Dad remembers that she’s waiting for the news to come on, so that she’ll get to see her idol, Moon Ho, in action, and reminds her, while they’re in the midst of making kimchi.
Speaking of Moon Ho, it’s Yoo Ji Tae!!! Eee!! Smirky rogue. đđ¤Š
Things are definitely kind of complicated for Moon Ho. From what Show lays out this hour, Moon Ho and his brother Moon Sik are on opposing sides of Something. Healer’s services had been procured by Moon Sik, and WS Guard, the guys who had been trying to get whatever item it was that Healer was escorting, had been engaged by Moon Ho.
And yet, on the surface, the brothers are at least trying to act civil towards each other – even though Moon Ho is definitely extremely frustrated by how things have panned out.
I’m guessing that that has something to do with Moon Ho’s sister-in-law, Moon Sik’s wife, who’s listed as Myung Hee.
Show gives us a good chunk of fragmented backstory this hour, and the one thing that seems to tie our main characters together, is that group photo that Moon Ho had taken, as a little boy.
It’s easy to miss on a first watch, but for those who are rewatching, or those with a keen eye for detail, it’s clear that all our main characters are somehow related to that photo. Myung Hee has it; Moon Sik looks displeased at the sight of it; Moon Ho has it; even Jung Hoo himself has a copy, in his industrial man-cave.
We’ve seen that Myung Hee and Moon Sik are in the photo, and we know that Moon Ho himself had taken the photo. But.. how is Jung Hoo connected to that photo? Very intriguing.
It’s pretty clear that the person whom Myung Hee had been close to (or perhaps dating?), at the time, hadn’t been Moon Sik her husband, but someone else. Perhaps that’s why Myung Sik doesn’t like that photo; because he doesn’t like to be reminded of this?
Also, Moon Ho’s actively looking for “that child,” and by the end of the episode, it seems that Young Shin is possibly the person whom he’s looking for.
How curious, that among the old tapes that Moon Ho keeps in that briefcase, is a document with the word “Healer” printed on it in big bold letters. What’s that about? Does that have anything to do with Jung Hoo..?
Who is the “child” that Moon Ho’s looking for, and does it have anything to do with Myung Hee’s daughter Ji An, whom we’re told is dead?
On that note, I find it a poignant reveal, that Dad isn’t Young Shin’s biological father, and that she’d been adopted.
Their relationship is so warm, cozy and familial, that I would’ve never guessed that they weren’t actually blood related. I do love that idea, that blood ties don’t determine the strength of a relationship.
Not gonna lie; I’m kinda thrilled by the idea that Jung Hoo’s and Young Shin’s paths are crossing in such a deliberate manner, by the end of this first episode. Healer’s slick moves, pit against Young Shin’s scrappy-quick ways? Yes, please! đ¤Š
Episode 2
Muahaha. I love that Young Shin’s so suspicious of Healer right away, and I LOVE that we get that backstory, that she’d grown up among all these ex-convicts, who’ve taught her all kinds of unusual skills, like picking locks, picking pockets and the like.
That gives us a very plausible reason for Young Shin’s quick-thinking, scrappy ways, while giving us a really wholesome picture of Dad as well. I love that.
Of course, all of this makes Young Shin a slippery target, which creates a sticky sort of challenge for Healer.
I don’t love that he has to use a measure of force and intimidation to get the DNA sample from Young Shin, but it does help to take some of the edge off, to know that he really doesn’t intend to hurt her, and is, in fact, careful to handle her in a way that ensures she doesn’t actually get hurt in the process.
I find that a comic book lens also helps, with helping to smooth over these types of uncomfortable edges.
Additionally, I think it helps to admit that Healer is an anti-hero, rather than a hero. After all, as he explains, he doesn’t care about the morality of the work that he does; he just does it, as long as he isn’t required to kill anyone.
Also, can’t lie; I find it rather thrilling, that Healer can’t be easily contained. Even though Young Shin uses that mop to bar the door, he opens it easily, and gets what he needs, and gets out of there smoothly as well. He really is very good at what he does.
I find it rather intriguing to watch Moon Ho interact with Myung Hee. First of all, he refuses to address her as “Hyungsu-nim” (sister-in-law), preferring to stick with the term “Noona.” Does this imply that he doesn’t acknowledge Moon Sik’s marriage to Myung Hee..?
Second of all, I can’t help but notice that Myung Hee’s much more relaxed with Moon Ho, and comes alive when talking with him, compared to when she’s interacting with Moon Sik, who’s her husband. That’s.. interesting? It makes me wonder what had led her to marry Moon Sik in the first place, and if she’d liked him to begin with, at all.
How interesting, that beneath the pleasantries, Moon Ho’s literally spying on Moon Sik, going as far as to install a hidden camera in Moon Sik’s study. I’m still not clear on exactly what Moon Ho is after, in spying on Moon Sik, but I’m sure we’ll find out soonish.
Show isn’t conclusive about whether the person Moon Ho’s searching for is actually Myung Hee’s daughter, but circumstantially, it seems to be the case? After all, she’s the only person that we’ve seen in his orbit, who’s lost a daughter.
But then again, it could be someone else completely, and have nothing to do with Myung Hee. I guess we’ll just have to wait for Show to give us more information on that.
What’s more key, to my eyes, is the fact that this revelation, that Young Shin the person whom Moon Ho has been searching for, leads Moon Ho to commission Healer to find out more about Young Shin – which leads to Jung Hoo spending more time dabbling in Young Shin’s world. YES.
I mean, I know, this means that, for this episode at least, Jung Hoo’s kinda stalking Young Shin, but the comic book lens helps!
Also, I find it rather entertaining to see Jung Hoo put on a disguise, in order to go scope out the coffee shop that Young Shin’s dad runs, and gape at the quirkiness that he comes across.
I love the detail, that when Young Shin tells Dad that she’s in a bad mood because of her encounter with Jung Hoo, Dad doesn’t say anything, but simply puts on some music and has this ridiculously liberating dance-off with her.
Guh. I LUFF him, so much. đ¤Š
Also, knowing what we know, from what Young Shin shares on the roof with the suicidal woman, her words, about having nightmares all night because of her run-in with Jung Hoo, really hit differently. She probably isn’t even exaggerating; poor girl.
And yet, that dance-off is enough to put the spring back in her step, and we soon see her energetically trying to trace Lee Joon Bin’s car in that carpark, and it isn’t long after that, that we see her extend a helping hand, to that suicidal woman on the roof.
I find it very touching, that Young Shin’s clearly still got emotional wounds that haven’t completely healed, and yet, she’s got so much zest for life, and so much compassion for others, that she would unveil her wounds, in order to save someone else. I love her already. â¤ď¸đĽ˛
The details that Young Shin shares about her broken childhood are really heartbreaking. To think that she’d been abandoned, and then abused. It’s really quite disturbing to think that she’d been suicidal at the age of 7.
Augh. Dad’s done such a fine job of loving her towards wholeness. I love him even more now.
I find it interesting, that Jung Hoo refuses to record the final moments of Young Shin’s interaction with the woman on the roof. He gruffly tells Ahjumma that the footage he’s gotten is more than enough, then abruptly cuts her off by pulling the earpiece out of his ear.
I could be wrong, but I feel like this could be his way of demonstrating some respect, by giving the two women some privacy.
As Moon Ho angsts over the heartbreaking footage, we get a little more insight via flashback, into how things were, between Moon Sik and Myung Hee.
It definitely looks like Moon Sik had nursed a crush on Myung Hee, but Myung Hee had had her attention elsewhere, much to Moon Sik’s angst. That definitely makes me wonder how Moon Sik had eventually convinced Myung Hee to marry him. Did he win her heart, after all..?
How very inconvenient, that Healer’s named a murder suspect, because Go Sung Chul is dead, and there are CCTV screen grabs showing Healer with Go Sung Chul, before his death. Yikes. That’s not good. Healer may be a lot of things, but he’s not a murderer, for sure.
Yet, he refuses to get out of Young Shin’s room and drop the job, because of course he’s spotted his picture, on Young Shin’s wall – thanks to her nicking it off Shouty Guy from earlier. I would be verrryy interested to know how she’d gotten his picture too, if I were in his shoes.
How exciting, that as a result of this, Jung Hoo states that he’s going to have to stick very close to Young Shin, in order to finish the job of finding out her real dream.
More of Healer’s slick moves vs. Young Shin’s sharp scrappy wits? YES PLEASE! đ¤Š
WHERE TO WATCH:
Available for free on iQIYI and on Viu. Also available on Viki with Viki Pass, or for free on Kocowa.
GETTING AROUND GEO-RESTRICTIONS
If youâre geo-restricted, a VPN service would help you get around that. Not only does it provide online safety, it also gives you access to lots of great geo-restricted content.
I personally use NordVPN. You can find my review of NordVPN here.
You can use my affiliate link (here!) to enjoy up to 60% * off, with prices starting as low as US$3.29 per month.
* This used to say 73%, but because NordVPN’s changed the way it calculates the discount, it now says 60%. BUT, it’s the same great price, starting from US$3.29 a month!
An article on why itâs not illegal to use a VPN to access legal streaming content can be found here.
