Welcome to the Open Thread, everyone! I loved this scene on the rooftop, and so I had to have this screenshot headline our post, to commemorate it. 😍😍

SOME IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS, before we begin:

ZERO SPOILER POLICY

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 😅).

This includes, but is not limited to, how characters &/or relationships develop, later in the show.

We need to protect the innocent! 😉

SPOILER ZONE

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! ❤️

Healer OST Album

The OST’s hitting me harder this set of episodes, and I thought you guys might like to listen to it, as you revisit this set of episodes. Please enjoy.

My heart’s aflame.. And it’s burning in your name.. ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

My thoughts

Episode 9

Ahhhh!! This is the point of the show where I find myself involuntarily grinning goofy grins at my screen. The crack has arrived, my friends, and I am slurping it up with a spoon. 😍😋

I love that we get to revisit the rooftop kiss, and get to see the pinkness of Jung Hoo’s ears (like, is he cold? Self-conscious? Blushing? Whatever, it’s cute. 🤩).

And then, we have that moment when Young Shin reaches out to touch him, and Jung Hoo instinctively backs away. This feels like such a defining moment of their relationship right now, honestly.

Young Shin now wants to know Healer, and quite desperately too, and yet, Jung Hoo can’t reveal himself to her, even though she clearly means the world to him.

The resulting angst is bittersweet – with the emphasis on sweet right now, because, gosh, how can you not drown in the feels, right? 🥰

There’s so much yearning between these two, more so right now than ever before, and I love it, so much.

Also, this has been brewing for a while, but it’s only really clicked in my head now, that even though Young Shin had first confided in Bong Soo, that she has two crushes, one on Moon Ho, and one on Healer, right now, she really only has eyes for Healer – well, in a manner of speaking, since she hasn’t exactly seen him yet.

When Moon Ho rushes to her, and fusses over her, and does caring things like touch her on the forehead, and hug her to himself, it’s very significant that Young Shin doesn’t seem to even really respond at all, even though she’d once had serious stars in her eyes for Moon Ho.

Things have definitely shifted for Young Shin, and that realization thrills me, no lie.

We’ve known for a while now, that Jung Hoo’s personally invested and interested in Young Shin, but it becomes even clearer now, in the wake of the elevator incident.

The moment Young Shin’s safe with Moon Ho, Jung Hoo busies himself with getting Ahjumma to trace the perpetrator and retrieving Young Shin’s phone for her.

PLUS. There’s that beat where Jung Hoo tries to walk, and kinda goes soft in the knees. We’re not told explicitly what that’s about, but it’s safe to conclude that Jung Hoo’s probably more in shock than he’d realized, from Young Shin’s close brush with death.

Ahhh. He cares. I melt and flail at any and every indication that Jung Hoo cares about Young Shin. I can’t help myself. 🤩

Of course, knowing what we know about Young Shin and her PTSD from having been abused in the past, it’s not surprising that she’s quite affected by this recent attack.

What I love about her, though, is how she refuses to succumb to it.

Even though she does have an instinctive aversion to taking the elevator after the attack, she doesn’t crumple in the face of it. Instead, she reminds herself of how she’d learned to trust again, thanks to Dad, and finds a different, more acceptable way to leave the building – via the stairs.

There are two things I want to say right now.

1, What an amazing flashback we get, to how Dad had so patiently waited on Young Shin at the orphanage, and had sat with her, and sung to her, until she’d felt comfortable enough to come out of her shell and actually interact with him.

That was utterly beautiful, and I love Dad even more, knowing how sweet, understanding and patient he’d been, to love an abandoned and abused little girl. It makes my heart so full to think about it. Gurgle. 😭❤️

2, I love that Healer’s never far from Young Shin, in the wake of the attack.

That shot of him smiling down at her in the stairwell, in spite of himself, is so cute.

And then I love that as Young Shin makes her way home, the camera often has both of them in the shot – even as Young Shin’s oblivious to Jung Hoo’s carefully concealed companionship and protection.

I love it even more, when Young Shin calls Bong Soo from the payphone, and Jung Hoo talks with Young Shin, while watching over her, all the while.

I don’t know what it is; this thing of him silently watching over her without her knowledge, to protect her, just melts my knees. 😍

And, of course, I love how easily Young Shin confides in Bong Soo, and basically tells him everything.

I love to watch Jung Hoo’s face, as he hears things from Young Shin like this, like how the cell phone that she’d lost, had been her mother’s, and how it had literally been her heat pack, to keep her warm on cold days.

And also, even more significantly, when she tells him that she’s actually waiting and hoping for Healer to show himself to her.

The way his face falls into this very sober expression, makes me feel like reality is hitting home more clearly now, that Young Shin’s in love with him, but he can’t reveal himself to her.

Ack. Like I said, the sweet angst of it all.

But what is this thing, though, that Sabu and Ahjumma talk about, that Jung Hoo’s dad had been convicted of killing Young Shin’s dad? But.. they were friends, right? That’s why Young Shin and Jung Hoo had played together as kids?

My gut tells me that this must be fake.

As in, Jung Hoo’s dad may have been convicted of it, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that he actually did it. After all, there are many shady people in our drama world, who are more than happy to frame someone else for their dark deeds.

Speaking of whom, what an interesting reveal, that Moon Sik hadn’t been aware that Ji An is alive. Does this mean that he hadn’t been the one to abandon her, then?

Could it have been Secretary Oh back then as well, I wonder? And had it been at the orders of the Elder then, too?

I do find it intriguing that Moon Sik, whom, from what we’ve seen, has been habitually accommodating of the Elder, actually kinda threatens the Elder right back, in his own way.

He’s basically saying that he will be destroyed, if the Elder messes with his weaknesses, and so, to best leave his weaknesses – Myung Hee, Moon Ho and Ji An – alone.

Innnteresting. Perhaps Moon Sik isn’t as bad as I’d originally thought?

ALSO. I am so displeased with Moon Ho right now, for basically reminding Healer in that stairwell, of their longstanding relationship – and then turning right around, and selling Healer out to Detective Yoon, by tipping off Detective Yoon to Healer’s assignment, and thus upping the chances of Detective Yoon actually apprehending Healer.

That’s so.. amoral, isn’t it? To appeal to Healer’s sense of relationship, to protect himself, and then throwing that relationship out the window, for his own gain?

Gah. This is why I remember feeling conflicted about Moon Ho as a character.

In this case, I seriously doubt that Moon Ho’s counting on Healer’s impressive abilities, to save himself. That aggressive glint in his eyes tells me that he’s ready to throw Healer away, if it will get him the outcome that he wants.

Ugh. I can see why Moon Ho would do this, but still. UGH.

Poor Jung Hoo. The fact that Sabu doesn’t show himself to him, really does seem to put him in a funk. I mean, he sleeps in and doesn’t go to work on time. And he doesn’t even answer his phone, even though he can see that it’s Young Shin calling him.

I really think Sabu affects Jung Hoo more than he’d like to admit. And for good reason too, since Sabu had been the key adult figure in his life for so long.

I just wish Sabu wouldn’t be so withholding with Jung Hoo.

However, I’m guessing that at least part of the reason Sabu ups and disappears, is because of his realization that Jung Hoo’s father had supposedly killed Young Shin’s father. Maybe he’s off to investigate that..?

I’m grasping at straws, I know. I just hate the idea of Sabu toying with Jung Hoo’s feelings, y’know?

I do love where we end off the episode, with Young Shin and Jung Hoo getting glammed up for their undercover assignment.

I mean, it’s low-key amusing to see Jung Hoo being all jumpy as the fashion assistants try to measure and dress him, but really, that closing shot of him and Young Shin walking arm in arm outta there, is fit for the Oscars, no?

It makes me suuper excited, to see how this undercover assignment goes down, for our newly sparkling pair of reporters. 🤩

Episode 10

Augh. What a great episode. I’m suddenly so wistful that we’re already at the halfway point of our watch, because I already don’t want to say goodbye to this show. 🥲

There’s a heist-like flavor to how our Some Day guys infiltrate that press conference, but that’s completely in line with the comic book flavor of how superhero-esque Healer is, so it fits seamlessly into our drama world, I feel.

And while I hadn’t loved the lesson on interviewing that Moon Ho had given Young Shin in an earlier episode, I do really like the callback this episode, when Young Shin uses the same principle, to get Kim Eui Chan’s attention, after being roundly ignored after her first attempt.

It’s quite perfect that her version now, of throwing a shoe to get the interviewee’s attention, is to stand out in that killer red dress, while putting herself in the center of the room. In a sea of everyday reporters, you just can’t ignore the glamorous lady in the fire-engine red dress.

I kinda love how the makeover comes in useful in an actual practical way.

After the team successfully pulls off Moon Ho’s live broadcast, it feels quite momentous, that every single person involved, literally needs to just stop and soak in the wonder, for a long minute.

It’s not just the Some Day folks too; even Moon Ho and Jong Soo, who’d worked together at the news network, need a moment. It feels like they are all struck by the purity of a true journalistic spirit, and simply can’t focus on anything else, but the awe of what they’ve just been a part of.

Really nice.

It’s interesting to me that Elder is more amused than anything, at the heist that Moon Ho and Some Day manage to pull off. I guess when you’re an all-powerful gazillionaire, you don’t ever end up losing much, and that’s why you’re able to laugh at things like this?

The way he simply laughs it off, declares that they need to abandon Kim Eui Chan, and asks Moon Sik if he’s interested in the position, says a lot about how powerful Elder is, I think.

To Kim Eui Chan, this whole thing is a career ending development. To Elder, it appears to be not much more than a small bump in the road.

Also, how interesting, that we finally get some backstory in terms of how Moon Sik came to work for Elder.

Context really is everything. Now that we see that he’d basically been practically forced into it, for the sake of getting Myung Hee the best medical help possible, I can see why he’d agree to it. We’ve known since the beginning, that he’s loved Myung Hee for a long time.

I can believe that he’d forsake his moral compass, if it meant that he could do something to save Myung Hee.

It does make me wonder how Moon Sik feels about everything now. Does he regret having said yes to Elder?

When Moon Ho calls Young Shin to commend her for a job well done, and Jong Soo adds to it by telling Jung Hoo that he’d like to court Young Shin, if she’s not in a man-woman sort of relationship with Moon Ho, it feels like Jung Hoo’s becoming cognizant of jealous feelings, perhaps for the first time.

In fact, during this stretch of time, as Jung Hoo becomes more personally involved in Young Shin’s affairs, it feels like he’s coming across a whole spectrum of feelings that he might not have been exposed to before.

Even that moment, when Young Shin and Jong Soo had both needed a moment to just sit with what they’d just done at the press conference, Jung Hoo had been all bemused and perplexed at why they were being weird like that.

Clearly, he’s never encountered similar emotions before, either on his own, or in the people around him.

In that way, it feels like Jung Hoo is actually in the process of acclimatizing himself to what it really means, to be human and live among humans.

Which, really, is one of the big reasons I love Jung Hoo’s confession to Young Shin on the rooftop.

Before I talk about that, though, I just wanted to pause to have stars in my eyes a little bit, for the stealth badassery of Jung Hoo getting Young Shin to safety, and then backpedaling and telling her that he just wanted to have a “hoesik” (ie, work gathering) with her.

Well, ok, fine. It’s not very stealth at all, really, in the sense that Jung Hoo’s actually not very much in Bong Soo mode at all, when he pulls that stunt of getting Jong Soo to turn the corner, then drags Young Shin out of the car like that.

Thankfully for him, both Young Shin and Jong Soo appear to still be enough of a daze after their heist, to not notice his change in personality too much.

It says so much about Young Shin, that even though she’s still terrified of taking elevators, she’d close her eyes and face her fears, because Jung Hoo tells her that he wants to show her his secret place.

She could have said no, and insisted that they go elsewhere, but for Jung Hoo’s sake, she just gets in that elevator, even though she has no idea how she’s going to get through the ride.

I love that about her.

And I have to admit, that moment when she grabs Jung Hoo’s hand, is so great. His startled reaction, followed by his instinctive desire to lean in towards her, made me hold my breath with fangirl anticipation.

Jung Hoo’s so instinctual, when it comes to Young Shin, I feel.

He may never have felt any of these feelings before, but he’s so clearly led by those feelings, when they have to do with Young Shin. 😍

I do love that moment when Jung Soo watches Young Shin pick the lock, because the way his eyes bug out of his head in surprise and awe at Young Shin’s lock-picking skills, is so great.

I love that.

Most of all, though, I love how he gets serious in that little nook, and asks Young Shin if he won’t do, rather than someone who might never show up.

The fact that he tells her, that he’s willing to live the way she wants, if she’d allow it, is so profound to me.

I mean, he’s literally telling her that he’s willing to forsake his entire life as he knows it, and live as a regular person, if she’d be willing to accept his feelings for her.

That’s huge, particularly for Jung Hoo, who lives in a man-cave and whose goal is to move to an island where he can keep a leopard as a pet.

He’s saying that he’d give up everything, if only she’d accept his heart. Guh. That is so, so swoony, seriously.

Flail. Puddle. 

Of course, it’s so ironic and sad-funny, that Young Shin basically turns him down, because she’s already in love with Healer.

Jung Hoo’s basically in a love triangle with himself, and it’s such a ruefully funny moment really, because Young Shin apologizes that his competition is just too fierce and too amazing.

HA. If only she knew. 😂

In the meantime, it looks like Elder (or maybe Moon Sik) has had President Hwang killed, to offer up a culprit for Go Sung Chul’s murder within the time frame demanded by Ahjumma. Well. I guess that at least means that Healer’s no longer a suspect?

However, Detective Yoon is suitably suspicious at how neatly President Hwang’s suicide is explained, with supporting evidence and everything.

While he’s on the right track, I don’t actually want him going back to targeting Healer as a suspect.

Also, Detective Yoon might be distracted for now, with President Hwang’s death, but it’s only going to be a matter of time, before he sees that information, that Some Day’s Park Bong Soo absolutely doesn’t look like the Park Bong Soo in the identity papers that have been pulled up.

Unless.. Ahjumma’s able to hack into the system and replace the real Park Bong Soo’s face with Jung Hoo’s picture..? Maybe..?

ALSO. We finally get the backstory between Sabu and Jung Hoo, and, it’s.. complicated.

Now we see that Sabu had taken Jung Hoo under his wing, more as a good deed to help out a boy with nowhere to go, than anything else.

In that sense, it’s pretty admirable that Sabu dedicated so many years of his life to make sure that Jung Hoo would be able to fend for himself, before going off to live his own life.

At the same time, the fact that he just takes off like that, the minute Jung Hoo’s officially an adult – on Jung Hoo’s birthday, no less – is pretty heartless, I hafta say.

I mean, this is when Jung Hoo’s happiest, and it’s also when Jung Hoo’s finally settled into an affectionate sort of relationship with Sabu, and Sabu just takes off, without a second glance.

For Jung Hoo, this is abandonment, all over again, and it’s gotta hurt.

It’s no wonder he’s held a grudge against Sabu, all these years.

And now that Sabu’s finally back to provide answers to Jung Hoo’s questions, it feels like a kick to the gut, for Jung Hoo to hear that his father had been labeled a murderer.

Gah. Poor Jung Hoo. It feels like he’s been through so much, his whole life, and he’s receiving fresh wounds, even now, despite his father having died so many years ago. 😭

What’s even more heartbreaking, is that moment when Jung Hoo admits that he’s afraid that he’ll just kill himself one day, like his father had done, because he can’t find a reason to live.

Sob. That’s the saddest thing I’ve heard Jung Soo say, honestly. 😭😭

It breaks my heart that our superhero-esque, gloriously badass Healer, is actually so lost that he is afraid that he’ll commit suicide one day. 💔

Now that Sabu tells Jung Hoo to find out who killed his father, though, perhaps that will be part of Jung Hoo’s reason to live, at least for now?

Eep. It feels like everyone’s closing in on the truth, as we close out our episode.

We’ve got Moon Ho finding Young Shin’s broken cell phone in Jung Hoo’s coat pocket (does he know what this means?!?), and we’ve got Young Shin reaching out and asking Healer for a meeting (will he say yes?!?).

And, we’ve got Jung Hoo himself, finding those tapes and those Healer papers, at Moon Ho’s apartment, too. That’s certainly going to ping his interest more than ever before. HE’s Healer, after all.

Who’s going to find out what first, and how? Ahhh. TENTERHOOKS, y’all.