The Great Shaman Ga Doo Shim (2021)

Teen Spirit With A Shaman Twist…

Let’s be honest. The Great Shaman Ga Doo Shim’ is a verbatim title. ( As there’s not a lot left to the imagination to work out what this drama is about.) Admittedly Park Ho Jin’s drama doesn’t try to brand itself as “ the next Goblin ” or a “ new fantasy phenomenon”. It is a teen “ cutesy” fantasy tale about the supernatural, but often leans more into the realm of “teen angst” with main leads Ga Doo Shim ( Kim Sae Ron) and fellow classmate Na Woo Soo( Nam Da Reum) ‘s journey through high school also. (At the time of writing director Park’s wish for a sequel season to explore more about the characters was confirmed also .)

As a consequence the drama featured an array of intriguing characters. However their ultimate contribution to the storyline and depth admittedly does vary dependent on screen time and the screenwriting also. Kim Sae Ron was fairly dynamic as quiet and mysterious high-schooler Ga Doo Shim. The former child actress carried an ambience of perfect angst, suaveness and longing which was perfectly matched for her role . As a character it was evident that Doo Shim could’ve gone down two possible routes; one-dimensional and unlikeable by being egotistical , or a more well-rounded heroine who has a likeable charm by struggling with her emotions and carrying empathy. ( Fortunately with our female lead it was the former case. )

Doo Shim’s character development was arguably the most pivotal from begrudgingly accepting that she can see ghosts and trying to be “ normal” , to opening up to new friends ( particularly Na Woo Soo) , feelings and understanding that she can use her powers for the greater good. Yet whilst her setbacks do help to make her feel realistically flawed, there are moments surrounding Doo Shim which felt like more of an excuse to “ heighten dramatic tension ” rather develop her character gradually or focus more time upon making Doo Shim feel realistic.

For example whilst Doo Shim’s relationship with her mother Hyo Shim( Bae Hae Seon) did see the typical rocky road between a parent and a daughter, there was a lot of missed opportunities to explore more about their complex bond . It was evident how much Hyo Shim genuinely cared for her daughter, however, Doo Shim and Hyo Shim rarely had opportunities outside of necessary plot to talk about their shared bereavement , feelings or emotions without queuing into comic relief or angst. Perhaps with a sequel season it is wrong to condemn a final verdict over this relationship as “ poorly-written” overall, however, hopefully season two will give more chances to covering this relationship rather than putting it on the back burner.

Then of course there’s our main male lead Na Woo Soo. Nam Da Reum did a great job as the plucky prodigy with a heart of gold . Initially starting off as a plot device in order to awaken Doo Shim’s “ character growth and feelings”, it was refreshing to see Woo Soo leave the realm as the prosaic potential “love interest” and the “ sidekick who is new to this world” to having more complex depth . One particular focal point to exploring Da Reum’s greater sense of altruism as a character came through his unusual friendship with underdog and best friend Kim Il Nam ( Yoon Jung Hoon). However this is also where we hit a major rut with Woo Soo as a character; he displays emotions, but he rarely acts out upon them unless they’re necessary to the storyline.

There was brimming potential to explore a lot more about Woo Soo’s darker side which he did display at points in the drama such as his silent threat to Jo Soo Jung ( Lee Ji Won) after her potential blackmail, as well as his anger at Kim II Nam during the main events of the storyline. When the story covered the major events surrounding Kim II Nam it seemed odd the drama switched Woo Soo’s personality towards being “ mopey yet calm” rather than using this as a golden opportunity to explore more about Woo Soo’s own negative feelings or hero complex, as well as heal the wound between Woo Soo and Doo Shim helping one another through these events.

Yoo Sun Ho’s performance as witty dead high schooler Hyun Soo was pretty delightful. As a character Hyun Soo serves both as an example of surprising comical foil as well as wasted potential also. On one side whilst Hyun Soo does have his more brief yet bittersweet moments surrounding his death and his search for his mother, he did often cool down more heavy scenes with deadpan expressions or annoying Doo Shim. However there was a lot of unexplored ground with Hyun Soo’s sentience in the series such as being a ghost, never being able to physically age( unlike Doo Shim or Woo Soo), his search for his mother as well as a lack of deep connection between himself and Doo Shim ( who she seems to have grown up with pretty much ) which were never explored and left anticlimactic with the way the drama abruptly ended l his character arc early on .

This moves us onto the antagonistic force of the drama. Now officially there are two antagonists in the drama; the malevolent sprit, and of course an “ unforeseen” antagonist ( until they were revealed after a major incident). Positively this did present more multi-layered complexity than the entity merely being the “ big bad”, as well as pointing out a clear sociocultural criticism towards the cruel “ dog eat dog” hierarchy in the South-Korean education system . On the other whilst their motive was clear and had the potential to be realistically intriguing , their actual reason covered textbook moustache-villainy rather than being given more intrinsic depth. The ending was ( unsurprisingly) fairly anti climatic- not bad per say and certainly helping to add a more conclusive ending for our antagonists, as well as a. interpretative finale for our main leads but nevertheless slightly rushed with the climax coming to a halt early on, rather than being built up or allowing time for rising tension.

So is ‘ The Great Shaman Ga Doo Shim’ actually worth watching? Park Ho Jin does a good job at building up our main characters as endearing and likeable leads which are further sold by dynamic performances with Kim Sae Ron and of course Hyun Soo, as well as the mystical and supernatural lore of the drama. On the other hand whilst Ho Jin’s potential sequel season could give room for tying up loose ends and problems ( including exploring character depth and relationships which sometimes felt disregarded), there were several inconclusive screenwriting moments which often felt rushed, cliche, one-dimensional or anticlimactic . Overall ‘ The Great Shaman Ga Doo Shim’ certainly remains one of the stronger fantasy drama contenders for 2021 - it is not flawless from a screenwriting perspective and there’s a lot of ground that Ho Jin needs to cover going on forward, but a fairly easygoing watch.

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Ghosts can’t match humans even when it comes down to being evil !!

So great shaman Ga Doo Shim ...presents you a ride in the world of a teenager shaman...set in a highschool ( free of serious bullies ….and full of ghosts) is a decent attempt at being a horror drama …okay if you are in for scary stuff ...then pls expect disappointment ….but if you get scared even at the slightest ...well then why in the world choose to watch this ….

A perfect binge watch material with 12 eps and 20 mins run time ...compact writing and great cast ...this show is all in to be a worth watch which I can say it is .
Few illogical stuff scattered here and there ( I am gonna mention at the end for people who finished cuz it could be a potential spoiler ...but I got to rant for sake of my mental peace)

The story in a nutshell ...is about a high school student Doo Shim with shaman abilities but no interest in shamanism and her potential husband or love interest at present Woo Soo (this romance angle I tell you ...they got to drop it everywhere as if dramas can’t exist on friendship ..but it’s not the time to complain) and their fight against evil.

Character development was given quite less time overall and most of it was just about the FL ….which I appreciate ...at least someone got it to an extent ...than having all of them failing together just for the sake of equal division ( good decision)

ML was just a typical romance driven character (in my opinion)...he did not have much character depth or development ...but to be honest that does dwell well with the drama because it was obviously supposed to be more about FL.

The side characters were just doing their jobs without being out of the place …(much appreciated)

The small but important roles like that of grandmother, mother, principal, good ghost(Hyun Soo) all were really good ofcourse the respective actors nailed it ...as expected from them.

The whole point of grades and pressure on the students even after being the main point sadly felt underdeveloped ...and that’s what I assume is the result of less runtime. Can’t really blame anyone for that cuz they did do the best possible with what was given.

Overall the things presented were worth it ...no plot holes, great pacing ...an okay reason for a villain to be evil ( if you need me to play a critic here ...then it wasn’t really creative but then the rest of the thing put together makes it work. )

With moments that make your heart flutter ( you saw me complaining about romance now what’s with this ...I wish romance wasn’t there but who said I did not enjoy it), this one definitely makes a mark because of the leads.

As always ...time for my fav dialogues …(this time it’s -meaningful lines with reference to the drama and life in general)

I had forgotten that, I have to deal with more than just evil spirits. (told yaa humans are more scary)
I had forgotten that there's someone on my side.
I can’t see the future no shaman can ..if they claim they do it’s a lie but I trust you ...I believe you, will live a long and happy life.
Don’t worry, all is well ...everything will be fine. (repeat it for yourself every time there's trouble)

if you are wondering whether to try it or not....then I'd say go for it ...it's worth your time !!


Here spoiler and rant alert …
ref to ep 10 ......
come on seriously she worked hard to get the lowest score and failed in doing that ....like if you want to get the lowest score then you don't make guesses that are likely to be right ...you make guesses that are sure to be wrong ....it's a simple option elimination game ....
dramaland problems ...they are failing in failing ....wow ....and here we are ...working our ass off to pass but still fail
now that's actually something I can't get over ...dropping the rating by half star for this illogical stuff ...that's written just to make things work and they call it a twist ...sorry but that’s quite impractical and something to laugh at !!

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