A drama that deserves more respect and love.
This drama was full of fantastic stories and great actors, but the romance was not the focus here and that's probably why some viewers felt disappointed - they were expecting a light medical romance. Instead, they got some heart warming family dramas, gritty medical dilemmas and a surprisingly sharp critical insight into the highs and lows of the Chinese medical system.Everything here was expertly done. All the guest actors did an excellent job and the medical cases kept me glued to the screen. The romance wasn't the focus but it was good and left me with a smile on my face. I loved how we got to see the lives of the medical staff, but not to the point that it became a medical soap opera.
If you are looking for a good drama that is full of strong storytelling, this drama is for you.
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Be prepared for your heart to ache but also to be disappointed
Medical-themed C-dramas are pretty much the same: solving complex cases, doctors with different philosophies getting into conflicts but ultimately making the right decisions, and romance bubbling between people in white coats. "Thank you, Doctor" also had the "arrogant but brilliant doctor" trope, but unlike other shows, the drama added the back stories of the main leads to freshen the storyline.This show was a lot better than I expected. The writer's ability to write a touching story for each medical case that truly tugged at one's heartstrings and the excellent acting by the main leads were the combination that saved this drama from becoming yet another run-of-the-mill medical show.
The cases were the usual amalgam of challenging ones that medical shows always feature, and not surprisingly, the doctors miraculously were able to solve most of them. However, the show provided a good balance. Instead of only celebrating idealized superhuman doctors, it also observed societal prejudices and problems, as well as the unpredictable nature of humans. All of which forced the doctors to attempt superhuman feats. I appreciate the show's acknowledgment that for doctors coping with impossible pressures, being good at one's job was not always enough to win the battle of life and death.
There were light moments to temper some of the heaviness of the medical stories, and the slow-burn romance added extra flavor for me. It was a slow burn done well, with lingering longing gazes, little selfless gestures, and secret unconcious smiles.
In the first few episodes, Bai Shu was an arrogant ass, undermining Xiao Yan, but she was always able to stand her ground. She was not scared of his gruffness or intimidated by his medical brilliance. This sequence repeated for a while, but they learned more about each other through the implicit rivalry between them. Along with Xiao Yan, the viewers saw more depth to Bai Shu, which made us appreciate him more.
Overall, Bai Shu underwent character development that made Xiao Yan like him and found him more charming over time. At the same time, the more they worked together, the more Xiao Yan impressed Bai Shu, ultimately earning his respect and admiration, professionally and personally.
Bai Shu was more assertive once he realized his feelings, but Xiao Yan had her inner demons to overcome, causing the relationship to stall for the whole show until the very end.
Yang Mi and Bai Yu were compelling to watch, individually and together. With their great chemistry and good writing, "Thank you, Doctor" rose slightly above the other medical dramas. Sadly, the other relationships and characters did not evolve well enough for me to deem this show a masterpiece. Certain characters were poorly written and not only were they one-dimensional, they were annoying too.
"Thank you, Doctor" had much to recommend it, but the disappointment of most viewers about the romance should be acknowledged. Framed as a romantic drama, it should have been more accurately described as a medical drama with some romance in the background. Additionally, this drama's ending did not deliver at all. It was clearly a rushed ending, too abrupt, and it felt like the details were cut out. It was frustrating when the show did not even feature both leads in the ending scenes.
Despite the unsatisfactory ending, I still rated this show highly because it kept me entertained and engaged throughout the 40 episodes. It was an enjoyable emotional roller coaster ride, and I stressed, cried, and rejoiced so much with the characters. Last but not least, no matter how secondary the romance was to the overall story, the dynamics between Xiao Yan and Bai Shu were the focal point for me. Watching the romantic tension and build-up between them was achingly good.
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Warm-hearted story of First Chinese medical drama I watch!
The story start with FL background of loosing her fiancé abroad and return back to china. She work at new division along with ML, and they are portrayed to have very different point of view in medicine even though both are having good skill. Our ML is kind of arrogance and smug but lovable character, despite it he is a loving dad.The relationship between FL and ML begin from trust and later, they are more understanding each other. The nature of the two is very similar, how they want to do the best for the patient.
Cases that our protagonist have in this drama also show in a good balance, not too deep or not to shallow, I enjoy watching it.
Bai Yu play Bai Zhu role very good, he and his kid is also so adorable. Yang Mi as Xiao Yan so beautiful, cool but caring. This is medical human drama that easy to follow. The show is worth to watch!
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Good Medical Stories, But Lacks Romance Aspect
Not gonna lie I watched this for the romance value, so it was a bit lacking for me but if you're here for the medical aspect then this is a really good show to watch. But i dont study medical stuff so idk if its realistic or not, at least it seemed real to me lolWhat makes this different than most medical dramas is that this one shows the audience that not every doctor have the same beliefs, and in dramaland you'll see that doctors come in agreement pretty quickly but this drama shows the disputes behind it and its quite refreshing to see this kind of aspect in doctors. But then the medical stories feel kinda repetitive for me, literally 90% of the patients that the show introduces either dies or almost dies like are you being fr rn??? But then its an ICU so I guess I understand but I got bored halfway
In terms of romance aspect its kinda lacking. I mean I get that its not really the main genre but its REALLY lacking. But I guess thats realistic when it comes to real life. But in the later episodes the romance gets better, at least we get to see the "mouth to mouth resuscitation" action iykwim *wink wonk* BUT i must say ML is literally so cute in chasing FL and it seemed very realistic and sweet to me IT MADE ME WISHED I EXPERIENCED THIS IRL
Oh and also the ending, I would say its a happy ending but it was kinda random like it got me like "HUH" but at least we know they're both alive and together AHAHAH
IMO i think its 50/50 in worth watching but its a good show to watch if you got nothing else to watch like me so yeah its not really the actors fault its the story. Kudos to the actors tho I'm a big fan of the main leads.
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A review for myself or others who may read it,
This drama may gets boring at first but gets better and boring again from time to time and oh before you watch this drama i'd like to remind you that this drama is a push and pull slowburn with a wasted potential story. I think her relationship development with Bai Zhu along with her dilemma is realistic although i find the ending (Ep 40) seems to be rushed and abruptly done. We could've at least see the development between the two of them since they drag the story but abruptly rush the ending. It'd be less draggy if they remove Tang Hua's unnecessary story that didn't get anywhere and adds nothing to the plot.i'd like to pin one or a two points :
1. This drama isn't like any other Medical Series (or at least the ones that i've watched before) where they focuses on showing the detailed process of how surgery/operation is like so don't expect to see them.
2. Bai Zhu (Male Lead) is a self-absorbed, arrogant & perfectionist person which makes his behaviour and character frustrating and annoying most of the time but he gets a lil character development after the never ending arguments & debate with Xiao Yan (Female Lead).
Overall this drama could've done so much better especially the potential i feel they could explore with, It could've been LESS draggy. What a wasted actors & story potential
I actually wrote this for myself as a reminder so if anyone come across this, Pardon me for my messy writing
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On another note, whoever tagged this romance was stretching very far. There were no real doctor couples, no romance only an interest and it took 39 episodes and that seemed to last 30 seconds.
I would recommend this to anyone who likes medical dramas but don’t go into this hoping for romance or dating of any kind. It’s not there.
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There is NO Romance!!
Gosh, I love this cast. Also, I feel that the medical scenes have been portrayed very nicely, though I wouldn't judge on how accurate they are.I change all my previous views on this drama. This drama has no elements of romance in it and it also ends on a cliff hanger. Like no sweet moments, no nothing.
I feel that Yang Mi and Bai Yu have chemistry together and this would be very successful if they added romance elements into the drama.
But they didn't so this was a very disappointing drama
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Cultural Ignorance of the introduction
I dont normally post reviews but I felt like I had to say something about the cultural ignorant intro into the story. I have not actually watched the rest of the show, because it is a medical drama, and while something about doctors' noble profession and their day to day lives is fascinating, I cannot stomach the scenes of a medical drama. I dont have an iron stomach. Yet I start medical dramas only to end up quitting quickly.It starts of with the FL and her fiancee, as Doctors Without Borders. They drive in a Landrover like car towards an isolated, mountaneous region. The indigineous people there seem to be muslim, from several shots of the women's headscarfs. I was guessing 'Where is this?' It looked for me a bit more like more central Asia, rather then really dry sandy countries like Yemen or Jordan.
The international doctors, including the female lead help a heavily pregnant woman with an impartum (?). The men wear ethnic clothing (Afghanistan?) but the pregnant woman being helped wore a Western t-shirt and sweatpants. In the operating scene, the fiancee advises the FL to remove the women's womb, that that is the safety thing to do and to protect the women's lufe. The FL doesn't listen to his advice. After the operating scene, the fiancee asks why she didn't listen to him, doesn't she knows that that was the best option, and the FL responds that she knew that removing the womb was the safety option, but that before operation the heavily pregnant woman (with a hijab on, representing Muslim faith) was holding a "talisman of scriptures" (Quran?) and according to the FL, was CURSING anyone who would take her womb away (!!!). The FL goes on that even in poverty and war, that "here" in this clan, the worth of a woman is defined but birthing as much babies as possible until they could they anymore, even if it threatens their life. I don't know if they were in a fictional place, or if was really representing an existing country (war and poverty: Yemen or Afghanistan?) but I just really didn't like that. I felt like that was a really stereotypical primitive view of poberished uneducated Muslims. I know that in some Muslim faith cultures, more people have bigger families because they are very family oriented and see children as blessings. Even if some majority Muslim countries have bigger families, and in war and or poverty, not everyone has access to birth control but I know no country that where women's ONLY value is to constantly get pregnant and pop out tons of babies.
I dont like that. After I dropped this drama, I saw another drama highlighting racism from a white antagonist towards the Asian fl, calling her 'black haired yellow skinned'. If you don't like people being racist towards yourself, then why portray woman in another culture in this drama in such a primitive stereotypical way?
Just my two cents here ^
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Could have been brilliant, ended up a mess
This drama had the potential - a slice of life story showing different problems and even controversies through the stories of patients of the hospital and through the eyes of the doctors, seems like a very good premise to say something valuable and to touch upon certain topics that are currently of concern for the modern world and contemporary China most of all.And for a while, the drama does it - hoax medicine, overworking, corruption in the medical field: all appear in the series, there is also an interesting message of 'don't judge someone's choices without knowing their circumstances' that echoes throughout the episodes and seems to be the lesson that both patients and the doctors have to learn. So far so good. These arcs make the cast shine and many of the side-stories are compelling and thought-provoking, without offering easy solutions and dictating morally correct answers, which is where the 'brilliance' in the title of the review comes from.
Unfortunately, what the drama does not deliver, is consistency. It seems that the idea was to balance out the heavy topics with some light-heartedness stemming from the romantic sub-plot, but this is where the script simply loses itself. The romance is done poorely, to the point that neither people who like it and want to see it, nor people who would prefer to go without (like me) can be satisfied with it. The romantic tension between Bai Zhu and Xiao Yan is practically non-existent, which is all the more surprising considering how good chemistry they have when acting as supportive colleagues, presenting a united front in their fight for the patients' well-being. To make up for that, the script forces them into a number of romantic tropes that do not fit the story at all and what's worse, make the otherwise interesting and well-thought of characters seem unlike themselves and childish in ways that are absolutely not charming. Making a bet over a diagnosis? Taking someone for a motorbike ride to prove your point? Eavesdropping and making unwelcome grand gestures to impress the other? Both Xiao Yan and Bai Zhu do a lot of things that are simply bizarre for their personalities, just to make some basis for their future romance and they do it at very odd times as well, non-organically at all.
The worst part about it is, for me personally, the treatment of Bai Jinguang, Bai Zhu's son, who after his very nicely done and heart-warming arc centered on his illness, is demoted to an annoying match-maker whose only role in the later episodes is to meddle in his father's relationship and to give lectures to both BZ and XY on why they should get together. It also undermines BZ's character, who at the beginning is stated to be a workaholic that only loves his son, and later is shown rejecting his kid's pleas for time and attention to help out or meet up with XY, even if she doesn't want it or need it. Him getting drunk in front of BJG and making the kid worried enough to call other adults is played up for laughs, but considering the way their relationship is shown prior to that, only furthers the feeling that BZ is getting his character arc turned around and is getting progressively less likeable, just to make room for romantic cliches, erasing BJG's character and the father-son relationship almost completely.
It is all the more upsetting, because this is already what the rest of the cast suffers from when a Romantic Moment happens - all of these intelligent young doctors and nurses change into gossipy teenagers who have nothing better to do with their lives than to push two colleagues together, even after Xiao Yan openly states that she does not wish them to - here the script does its job because her reasons for rejecting BZ are well set up and the entire scene gives hopes for them to evolve into something more mature (especially her point about being uncomfortable with gossip about her love life in the workplace), but this idea is quickly abandoned for more unnecessary romantic tropes.
The biggest flaw of these sudden genre switches is making BZ into a man-child who needs care and who is less mature than his own son, which considering the fact that he is arrogant and uncompromising from the very beginning, doesn't endear him to the viewer at all. In fact, with all of my admiration and affection for Bai Yu as an actor, it's a relief when XY rejects him, because he is absolutely an atrocious romantic partner and gets even worse as the drama goes on - his pursuit of XY despite her refusal is probably supposed to be cute, but it does play into 'if you bother her enough, she has to like you' which is an idea that is actually discussed in the series in another subplot, and proven to be a harmful way of thinking. His absolute disregard for her grief, her goals and needs doesn't help at all.
There is also a worrying 'he's been so good to you, you have to accept him' message that reappears in all three romantic sub-plots the show offers, which is not entirely consistent with what the rest of the stories - think for yourself, your life is more important than anyone else's expectations, take care of your health but you are the one who decides what to do with your body and no one else - tries to say. Out of the three, the Director/Nurse Jiang relationship is the most interesting and nuanced one, but it doesn't escape this notion of 'owning affection' either.
Overall, it's almost like some changes were added at the last minute, to make the drama more marketable. Which is a shame because the conflict between 'a hospital is here to help people' and 'it has to make money and be accountable by the public' is engaging enough and would possibly suffice to garner audiences, if it got more time and attention. Here episode 39, with Director Lu giving an interview about media coverage of difficult operations shines in particular - if only there were more episodes like this, dealing with both positive and negative results of difficult calls being publicised and how the media shapes opinions and prejudices of people regarding their own health. The topic of 'what makes a good doctor' is also something that gradually disappears to be replaced by romantic shenanigans.
As it is, 'Thank You Doctor' is not enough of a romance to attract audiences who want to see Xiao Yan and Bai Zhu believably grow into a couple, and it is definitely not committed enough to its serious themes and messages to be something more, without achieving a satisfying balance between the two approaches. The result is a drama with a very good cast that has moments of brilliant social commentary, that are quickly muddled up by frustrating amounts of unfitting tropes.
Not enough to hate it, but too many to love it.
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Basically current medical issues
I like CL (Yang Mi & Bai Yu) but they have not enough interaction (drama not focused on romance). It also relate (a little) how the FL gently mourns her fiancé.The actors are excellent, especially the child (Fu Bo Han, 10-year-old actor, promised to a great future)...
The plot mainly revolves around different medical cases, in a realistic context, with a medical environment & appropriate equipment, and many ethical issues are addressed, with accuracy.
But 40 episodes on this is too long!!! => Lots of zskipping (and an unsatisfactory ending).
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J'aime le CL (Yang Mi & Bai Yu) mais ils ont peu d'interactions (drama non focus sur la romance). Il relate aussi (un peu) la façon dont la FL fait doucement le deuil de son fiancé.
Les acteurs sont excellents, particulièrement l'enfant (Fu Bo Han, acteur de 10 ans, promis à un grand avenir)...
Le plot tourne surtout sur les différents cas médicaux, dans un contexte réaliste, avec un environnement médical & des équipements appropriés, et beaucoup de problèmes éthiques sont abordés, avec justesse.
Mais 40 épisodes là-dessus, c'est trop long !!! => Beaucoup de zapping (et une fin décevante).
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Keep rewatching this series
I absolutely love this series. I keep rewatching it.I do feel like it had an abrupt ending in the last episode. I would have liked to see them as a couple after his recovery. But other than that I was hooked and still am. I love the slow burn of this couple. I love that she is an intelligent woman who rides a motorcycle. I love the xian debates with bai. Some of the the Chinese dramas I have watched is all about the macho male lead and the female lead giving in right away. Or the female lead acts all cutesy like a little girl who needs help desperately. This female lead goes toe to toe with her colleagues and patients and their families like a boss. There needs to be more female characters like her in dramas.
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