Eleison

See my comment above in reply to @stranger. :)

In order to have a better understanding of Master Kim (aka Kim Sa Bu), and some of the other hopsital staff, Season 1 is helpful (and a few things might confuse you or be less poignant without seeing Season 1). It really showcases how unique and special Master Kim is, and Season 2 does less to show off his skills since they already established them in Season 1. That said, Season 1 is not strictly necessary to watch Season 2. Season 2 is my favorite, but the main couple in Season is also fantastic (their chemistry is very good) the ML just takes a while to become likable cause he's a first class jerk for the first half. :) (Don't worry, he DOES become likable; his arc is great, it just takes a while to kick in).

Did Kim Bum have a cameo?! Love him.

He does subtle expressions really well. His faces does a lot of the talking for him.

Same! Way too soon to rate this. The second half is the part that will determine how quality this is, as the last half is where most dramas go downhill.

Yes, they very intentionally placed "miraculous" in promotional materials. They can't be unaware of the strong message that sends the audience. Cause what would be a miracle in this situation? 1) That Hae In wouldn't die from an incurable disease and 2) that HI and HW could remain together and in love despite all the challenges they've faced. What else could miraculous refer to? Any figurative, symbolic sense of this word used will be deeply disliked.

TvN has to be ready for the fallout. People will howl to high heaven about a sad ending that people expected to be happy just because of that one word...

It's also a made up illness, which is significant, I think. It means the writer can more easily make up a cure. 😁

And IOTNBO. :)

Yes, I must miss your posts in the huge influx of comments! It definitely is a bit soapy, but then there will be moments that feel very different from a makjang. Maybe it's largely the production quality, which is usually lower for the soapy dramas, yes? I haven't seen anything prior to My Love From The Star by Park Ji Eun, so I don't have anything to compare this to outside of her more recent dramas. I do still think she's setting some trends with how she's doing things. She manages to take cliches and tropes and repurpose them in ways you don't usually see. While this still feels different from a makjang to me, it definitely leans heavily into that genre's tropes and cliches (and I get why people are saying it's more makjang-esque). And I agree that CLOY was more of a classic, just based on what I've seen so far. This has the potential for a better 2nd half (since the good stuff hasn't really happened yet), whereas CLOY had a stronger first half to me. I also feel like CLOY had more likeable characters than QoTs has. Thanks for sharing! :)

At this moment, or of all time?

And what are your thoughts? I was curious what you thought but haven't seen your comments in the thread recently. You seemed tentative at the beginning. I have a few episodes to catch up on, but it's very different from CLOY and Legend Of The Blue Sea so far. The screenwriter does indeed seem to be doing something different with this drama.

And he was perfect for this role, too!

I know, such a bummer! They were so great in Season 1! I haven't had the heart to try Season 2 cause I'm afraid I'll be disappointed.

I think people also say that because the dark dramas you're talking about tend to do better OUTSIDE of Korea (from what I've heard, though that's probably not ALWAYS true), which could mean they're becoming kind of an export of Korean entertainment and not targeting Korean audiences but instead trying to reach non-Korean audiences (kind of like what's happening with Kpop).

This could also mean that the target audience for Kdramas in Korea does not find these types of shows to their taste, as Netflix is trying to reach a "wider" audience with their dark dramas. It seems they've succeeded, but I think the "purists" have tastes more aligned with the target Korean audience.

Also, I think the "purists" like Kdramas over other types of entertainment because of the predictable formula. So when shows experiment significantly with the formula, tropes and cliches (I've heard this is why many who like Kdramas don't like Jdramas), they don't care for it, because they didn't sign up for an experiment. Netflix will do whatever they think will make them money, so while they call a 16 episodes series that's completely different from a traditional Kdrama a "Kdrama," I think "purists" would say it's really just a TV series that happens to have 12 to 16 episodes like a Kdrama series would. These TV series are spoken in Korean with Korean actors in them and are almost always set up for a 2nd or 3rd season (unlike with Kdramas, but just like all of Netflix's other series, and just like in America (aka a country in the West). Ever heard of a popular American TV series that had only one season?), and that's largely where the "Kdrama" resemblance to experimental Korean Netflix shows ends.

I also don't think "dark dramas" are outside Korean audiences or "purists" tastes (Flower Of Evil, Signal and Tunnel are all good examples of dark dramas that did well in Korea and on MDL, I believe), but rarher the dark dramas that break the Kdrama formula (like those you listed).

That's my theory!

If it does have a sad ending, people will riot about the phrasing in all the promotional materials, blurbs and trailers that talked about how this married couple overcomes a crisis "miraculously." That word is too misleading if it's a sad ending. 🤨

The only way they could say the word "miraculous" applies to a couple overcoming a crisis AS A COUPLE is if: 1) Hae In survives and 2) our MC can be happily free from Hae In's family mess and get rid of the baddies.

Any other endings cannot be called "miraculous" in any accurate sense.

I saw someone said that, though I haven't seen My Liberation Notes so I probably would've missed it. ☺️

I also really liked that we didn't know for two whole episodes that Seung Tak could hear and see Cha. I loved the reveal, too, as it makes you want to rewatch all their previous scenes to interpret them with what you know AFTER the reveal.

I enjoyed this on my first watch and was quite satisfied, but I watched it again recently now that it's on Netflix in the U.S., and it held up really well under a rewatch. It's such an enjoyable drama!

Rain and Kim Bum absolutely steal the show. I also always enjoy veteran actor Sung Dong Il, and the FLs are sweet, too.

Seung Tak (Kim Bum) has to be one of the most endearing MLs ever (he's just SO CUTE), as he is just brimming with compassion, tenderness, selflessness, resilience and pluckiness. When he gets squashed he just bounces back and comes back for more because of his natural love and compassion for those experiencing hardship. He reminded me of a puppy. Dogs never hold grudges, and neither does Seung Tak. He just loves to bring joy to the people around him, and delights in helping them. I can't tell you how many times he rushes to a patient's side who wakes up from surgery or a coma (a big part of the plot) with a huge grin of expectant excitement for them to be "back." He always welcomes them with, "Hi!" (in English) and the adds, "Welcome back to the real world!" (And Kim Bum is perfect for Seung Tak because he has the most adorable smile of all time; I remember it even from BOFs 😭).

Dr. Cha's arc is also a pleasure to watch and Rain plays him with aplomb (though he does shout a lot 😅).

The MLs' friendship is what makes this a must see. I couldn't bring myself to like any other ghost dramas besides this one, even the famously fantastic ones, so if you're like me and don't usually jive with that genre, never fear, Ghost Doctor is very light on the after-life and ghost elements. They don't look ghost-y one bit (nothing like the ghosts in Hotel De Luna, and more like Missing: The Other Side).

For any religious folks wary of the "possession" element, don't be. These ghosts feel like guardian angels and/or characters that live life like normal humans in a dimension the real world just can't see, and it feels completely not-spiritual (kind of like magic in Harry Potter, how it's a part of the way the natural world works in that fantasy universe, and doesn't operate like spiritual "magic" in the real world). This "posession" is more like the stuff of folk tales, where fairies make mischief with humans.

If you like the trope of mentorship than you'll probably also like this, as it reminded me at times of Dr. Romantic, but goofier with a more flawed mentor. :)

There were definitely some slower parts, but I actually thought the pacing was pretty decent considering how simple the plot was. Rain and Kim Bum hands down stole the show. My only complaint was that they didn't have more time to develop Dr. Cha mentoring Seung Tak in his surgical skills. But I still was happy with how they ended everything. Episode 16 was so cozy.

Same! For me, it's the only ghost drama I can say I love.

How far did you get? When they toned her down in later episodes she grew on me.