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Doctor John korean drama review
Completed
Doctor John
0 people found this review helpful
by ltspada
Jun 28, 2021
32 of 32 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 8.0
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 8.5
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 7.0
This review may contain spoilers

Great medical drama with a really disappointing plot element at the end

8/10 is my rating. This is a South Korean medical romantic drama with 32, 22 minute, episodes.

When they first meet, Kang Si-young (Lee Se-young) is working as a doctor to inmates but has no confidence as she quit medical school after a tragic accident left her guilt ridden and convinced she is flawed as a doctor. Cha Yo-han (Ji Sung) was a famous pain doctor but a career altering decision landed him in prison for three years. In prison he is known as the man with all the medical answers since the doctors that work in the prison tend to shy away from diagnosis and perform medical triage. Si-young is not sure about this mysterious doctor at first but quickly decides he knows what he is talking about. With just a little mentoring from him, Si-young regains some confidence and decides to return to residency only to discover Dr. Cha was released and reinstated at the same hospital she returned to. As they work closely together he as her professor and mentor and she as the mentee and resident, they find many similarities in the circumstances of the past as well as in their approach to medicine.

spoilers* This had such a great start and was intriguing the whole way through. The ending really ruined it a bit for me. I love both the Male Lead and Female Lead characters. Both are doctors who suffer emotional wounds from patients who were terminal and where they had to make a determination between life and death. Their experience in that regard is what draws them together. They are both brilliant, dedicated doctors who do not play politics but do whatever is best for their patients. Because they are so much alike, it is easy to understand how they would like each other as deeply as they do. The series deeply explored the ethics around euthanasia. Where it fell apart for me was toward the end when they have confessed their love for each other and he disappears from her life for three years. He comes back with some lame excuse about needing to take care of his health but, to me, that is exactly the time when you should be drawing the person you love closer not pushing them away. He watches her from afar for nearly a year when she doesn't even know he is back in South Korea. She is so heart broken during that whole time that it is hard to imagine her ever forgiving him for trampling on her heart. But she does forgive him, and actually quite easily, which made me disappointed in both the male and female lead characters. This is worth the watch but just expect that the ending will sour it a bit as he acts in total disregard to her feelings and she forgives far too easily
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