Healer

Oh My God, I am speechless, this series made me hooked from the first episode. The story is brilliant and unexpected. I won't even mention on how handsome Ji Chang Wook is, but the acting is superb, the action is also good! This series is really one of a kind, comparable with Signal.

I don't know why i only watch it now.. haha silly me. Luckily i decided to watch this, coz i read the rating is not good so i judge it, but now i watch it and omg, i dunno what's the heck is wrong with the rating? The story is good! I laughed, i cried, i worried, etc. It has a good plot, haiz! I am gonna miss this drama! I have binge watched it for two days hahaha, I am gonna watch it again, yes! it's that good! Very recommended!

I LOVE ALL THE ACTORS HERE! They have their own story and backgrounds, THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS THERE IS NO STUPID FLASHBACKS hahaha! I just hate flashbacks just to fill airtime, but this one doesn't have it and I LIKE IT!

Yes, i am gonna edit my other drama's review coz this one is perfect and not comparable to other drama! Thank you healer, u have kept me entertained!!

PERFECT SCORE 100/100!!!

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There was never a dull moment in any episode. I think I even watched 6 episodes in one sitting. That is how good it was. I never knew who Ji Chang Wook was until I watched this drama, I was impressed with his acting and I love how he becomes the confident Healer. How the story unfolded was just right. It did not drag at all. The romance factor was realistic, none of this rich and poor girl/guy thing. It is a breath of fresh air from the other Korean dramas that I have seen. Now, this is worth watching, compared to that dumb Heirs that I just watched (yep I am still mad!).

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A Good Crime Thriller Ruined by Romance and Cringey Sentimentalism

The actors might be decent, but the second they open their mouths to deliver some overly sentimental, family related drivel, it turns into a cringe fest. It's like watching a crime thriller slowly dissolve into a poorly written soap opera.

This series had potential if it had stuck to solving actual mysteries and crimes. Instead, it throws that all out the window and chases after poorly baked romance plots that feel completely detached from the tone and promise of the first part.

I forced myself to finish it, hoping it would redeem itself. It didn’t. The negatives bulldoze over any good the series might have had.

Hard pass. Thumbs way down.

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Parkour guy gets revenge on everyone for missing out on the olympic gymnastics team.

I tried. I really tried.

Through 9 episodes, I was praying this show would pick up. Surely, I thought, "it must pick up, I'm missing something here; I've pushed through mediocre beginnings before. It seems like a well rated and popular show. Show me something, anything, even one likeable character to hang on to". I waited patiently, but nothing materialized through nearly the 50% mark of this show; close to 10 hours of development. That's simply not acceptable for me - to have zero positive elements to experience or look forward to. I can accept a blend of bad and good, but an absence of any good is a complete turnoff.

First off, the music was noticeably bad and corny. Music, at worst , should be neutral, unmemorable, and not distracting. It's a sin if it stands out as bad. At that point, I'd rather there be no music. Just cut it out.

Second, in most shows, I can usually criticize the plot/writing more than acting or directing. In this show, the plot was actually the 'best' element, and it was still mediocre (5/10). Picture this: a young man parkours his way across building rooftops while chasing a vehicle through the city, he dives through people's windows into their living rooms while they're watching TV; he's being aided by a 50s tech hacker wizard with frizzy wild hair who can hack any computer, CCTV, etc., in real time, and bark directions to parkour guy on where the car is going; by the way, the hacker and parkour guy don't know each other's true identities but work together in this risky way with high trust; they must sense each other's age through voice because parkour guy speaks formally to hacker wizard; parkour guy is able to keep up with the car and doesn't even seem out of breath, never trips or loses his footing - oh and it is nighttime, too; he gets into fights with thugs, does gymnastics high bar routines while politely hitting thugs; no one knows parkour guy's identity because he wears shaded glasses and dark clothing with the top of his face covered; he has no morals and gets paid to do a variety of sh*t for mostly privileged and immoral men; without a doubt, parkour guy is just venting, displacing his anger for missing out on the Olympic gymnastics team; do you want me to keep explaining this further or do you get the picture?

There are long scenes with corny music and implied plot development. For example, check out episode 9, 27:00-29:00; it is two minutes where character A is thinking about character B wistfully, while character B is watching character A secretively. Guess where Character B is? They are parkouring their way across rooftops following Character A through random parts of the city 'protectively watching them'. 2 whole minutes. This scene isn't a sole transgression, there's quite a bit of this. Again, let me remind you, the plot is the strength in this show.

Third -and this is the first show for me in about 80 shows -I felt the acting across the board was, at best, mediocre. I cannot believe how average to bad some of the acting is in this show. I'm not even talking about I didn't connect with 'characters'. I'm talking straight up mediocre acting performance. Sadly, most 'characters' didn't even have a chance to shine even if the design was decent, because the acting was corny, unnatural, forced. Joo Yeon Hee? Intellectually, we are supposed to feel bad for this character's circumstances; instead I felt bad they were written and acted the way they were. I've enjoyed Park Min Young in a few shows, perhaps not super impressed, but enjoyable enough. I could not stand the character of Chae Yeong Shin and the acting was off. Awkward singing, overacted do-gooder, ridiculously naive, and lacking tact, Yeong Shin was difficult to watch and root for. Her romance with Seo Jung Hoo or "Healer" was plain awkward. The first kiss they share while they cannot see each other, is uninspiring; in some reverse alternative universe, the girl now, not Healer, has the upper part of her face covered. She was not skeeved out at all getting kissed on a rooftop by someone she can't see and doesn't know; maybe all the viewers that rated this show 10/10 like that kind of romance. Aigoo, I've had better kisses with pillows. Serious!

Sometimes, a show is not that high quality, but I understand what's happening in the plot well enough to skip the less interesting bits so I can enjoy the parts or characters that are enjoyable. In Healer, there wasn't anything for me to enjoy. Healer is the first show I wanted to fast forward, but couldn't because the plot was complex enough, that to fast forward scenes would impact comprehension. To comprehend, I had to watch. Ultimately, I could not justify doing that for another 10 hours.

I'm genuinely confused at what the high raters experienced.

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If you know the cast, you'll know it's a great watch

Just considering the fact that Healer was released in the year 2014 amazes me considering how far ahead of time it was and how much of a trend-setter this drama became for many future releases in the same sort of genre. Acting and casting was perfect - if you are familiar with the cast you'll know this is a great watch anyway - OST was surprisingly superb too! I wasn't too sure on the 20 episode length at first but Healer was never boring so the 20 episode length was a success!

I did get K2 and Vagabond vibes from this however since Healer was released first, I should say the opposite now! I am not surprised that Healer is in the top #10 most popular K-Dramas on MDL right now. Simply amazing!

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