Juelin
United States
This review may contain spoilers
Oppa!
There is a whole lot to like and a whole lot to dislike about this show. If you are looking for a medical drama about curing mental illness and showcasing good medical ethics, look elsewhere. The show rather focuses on over-the top characterization of mental disorders and a love-conquers-all plot.
Watching Ji Sung act is pure delight. He effortlessly switches from comedy to tragedy and skillfully changes tone and characterization between personalities. One moment, he is a cunning, eyeliner-wearing bad boy, the next, he is a teenage girl screaming "OPPAAAAA!". His acting truly shines where the plot fails, making the drama very performance driven and flat on storytelling.
The worst thing about the show is Oh Ri Jin. I know that a dorky and messy female was a popular stereotype at the time the drama was filmed. But, Ri Jin is frustrating and mostly annoying. She is loud, sloppy, and unintelligent. And, she screams all the damn time. The writers build her up as an empathetic doctor, but they make no attempt to show her medical skills or have her treat patients. Instead, she is always between jobs while being praised for the skills she does not seem to have. Her character lacks depth and goes through very little development. While childhood abuse is the source of Do Hyun's torment, Ri Jin happily bee-bops through life with amnesia. When she finally regains her memories, it does not seem to sway her or have any impact on her at all.
Secondary characters don't do anything relevant, but hijack a lot of screen time. I like Park Seo Joon, but Oh Ri On is an eyesore. He has no purpose and the writers constantly insert him between Do Hyun and Ri Jin with no push-back from her, making the show often a frustrating watch. He is meddling and manipulative, but the writers never address it and portray him as an overprotective brother with one-sided incestual love for a woman raised as his sister. Instead of creating a deep brother/sister bond, the writers follow a cliche formula where multiple males must fall in love with a weak heroine without her actually deserving it.
The storytelling is very inconsistent with too many tonal switches. In one episode, Do Hyun's teen girl alter ego is chasing after Ri On. In another, Do Hyun is tearing up for multiple scenes trying to deal with his never-ending trauma. While I enjoy good comedy, it is out-of-place here because the show's focus is on past abuse and mental illness, which are anything but funny. Some of Do Hyun's personalities have no depth and only serve as comic relief. But, the personalities that are the most impactful disappear for episodes at a time. The writers try to do too many things at once by sporadically flip flopping between hilarity and tragedy and thus creating a very choppy story.
Overall, the drama has consistently good pacing and Ji Sung's versatile performance makes it entertaining. But, it would've been much better with 16, instead of 20, episodes. Too much time is spent on the secondary characters and flashbacks. Editing needs work as episodes haphazardly jump between scenes before finishing them. The final showdown between Do Hyun and his relatives for the control of the company is very anticlimactic. And, the writers drag Han Chae Yun's obsession with Do Hyun for way longer than necessary.
Watching Ji Sung act is pure delight. He effortlessly switches from comedy to tragedy and skillfully changes tone and characterization between personalities. One moment, he is a cunning, eyeliner-wearing bad boy, the next, he is a teenage girl screaming "OPPAAAAA!". His acting truly shines where the plot fails, making the drama very performance driven and flat on storytelling.
The worst thing about the show is Oh Ri Jin. I know that a dorky and messy female was a popular stereotype at the time the drama was filmed. But, Ri Jin is frustrating and mostly annoying. She is loud, sloppy, and unintelligent. And, she screams all the damn time. The writers build her up as an empathetic doctor, but they make no attempt to show her medical skills or have her treat patients. Instead, she is always between jobs while being praised for the skills she does not seem to have. Her character lacks depth and goes through very little development. While childhood abuse is the source of Do Hyun's torment, Ri Jin happily bee-bops through life with amnesia. When she finally regains her memories, it does not seem to sway her or have any impact on her at all.
Secondary characters don't do anything relevant, but hijack a lot of screen time. I like Park Seo Joon, but Oh Ri On is an eyesore. He has no purpose and the writers constantly insert him between Do Hyun and Ri Jin with no push-back from her, making the show often a frustrating watch. He is meddling and manipulative, but the writers never address it and portray him as an overprotective brother with one-sided incestual love for a woman raised as his sister. Instead of creating a deep brother/sister bond, the writers follow a cliche formula where multiple males must fall in love with a weak heroine without her actually deserving it.
The storytelling is very inconsistent with too many tonal switches. In one episode, Do Hyun's teen girl alter ego is chasing after Ri On. In another, Do Hyun is tearing up for multiple scenes trying to deal with his never-ending trauma. While I enjoy good comedy, it is out-of-place here because the show's focus is on past abuse and mental illness, which are anything but funny. Some of Do Hyun's personalities have no depth and only serve as comic relief. But, the personalities that are the most impactful disappear for episodes at a time. The writers try to do too many things at once by sporadically flip flopping between hilarity and tragedy and thus creating a very choppy story.
Overall, the drama has consistently good pacing and Ji Sung's versatile performance makes it entertaining. But, it would've been much better with 16, instead of 20, episodes. Too much time is spent on the secondary characters and flashbacks. Editing needs work as episodes haphazardly jump between scenes before finishing them. The final showdown between Do Hyun and his relatives for the control of the company is very anticlimactic. And, the writers drag Han Chae Yun's obsession with Do Hyun for way longer than necessary.
Was this review helpful to you?
