There needs to be more shows as simplistic and straightforward as this!
If you're deciding whether to watch this show, here's the breakdown:Ep 1 - 6
Girl chases after Boy
Ep 6 - 18ish
Boy chases after Girl, Boy tries to make amendments for his wrongs seen in the first few episodes. Girl struggles and through different obstacles relents slowly.
Ep 18-Ending
They become a couple and forgive each other once they both come into an equal understanding.
This is a slow-burn romance. Though the story is pretty fast moving per episode. Some may be put off by how the Boy treats the girl in the first 6+ episodes, and yes I agree he was really mean in at least one occasion which was unfortunate to the girl, but stick with this story for at least 13 episodes, and the rest of the episodes gets better as we see the Boy desperately and genuinely express remorse and seek forgiveness from the girl. And yes, what he did wasn't something against the law and the girl was not hurt physically in anyway. So, in this regard, it was really up to the girl if she wanted to forgive him or not.
BUT DO KEEP IN MIND, I don't mean to say the first 6 episodes are poor, in fact, the later episodes BUILDS and RELIES on the first 6 episodes. The first 6 episodes serves as a "marination" for what's to come in the future episodes, so I wouldn't be skipping or sleeping through them, additionally they are not boring, and the show has a decent fast-moving pace from start to end. YES, it will HURT to see the girl being treated in an unpleasant way, but that gives the reasonings behind the Boy's desperate attempts to set things right and make amendments to the girl in the future episodes. If you sleep through the first 6 episodes you wouldn't feel that intense regret the Boy's feeling in the later episodes.
There are quite a number of subplots related to Game Development as the boy is a Game Developer and runs a business in a parent company. These sub plots could have been shorter especially in the final 4-5 episodes, though we still get to enjoy the main couple's chemistry during these episodes.
The script aside from some over the top misunderstandings, is above average and enjoyable. Though slightly cringe at times, it manages to display a good amount of fluffy, vibrant and bright romance, something rare to find these days!
The OST (Soundtracks / Music) of this show is surprisingly addictive, especially the main one by Huang Xiaoyun! It's catchy and her voice is a gem to listen to. (This is something difficult to say with most dramas these days having boring uninspiring songs)
To summarize, this show was a delightful treat to watch despite some of the shortcomings (fact is, no show is perfect). It has a slow-burn romance, decently paced script from start to finish with only some draggy but short subplots (those business-related side-story). About nearly every episode has strong romantic scenes between the main couple (especially before they got together). Both Main Actor (Lin Yi) and Main Actress (Zhou Ye) were brilliant in their roles! This is currently my favorite Zhou Ye show! If you're looking for a show with a huge dose of slow-burn romance and a satisfactory ending, this is one of the few shows out there to not miss out on!
I've watched Zhou Ye's Legend of the Female General but not a fan of the slow-paced script in that one.
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Extremely shocked at the terrible production quality
So I've finally decided to complete this show after so many years since it aired, since currently the incoming influx of C-Drama and K-Drama shows have been stale in quality. Not sure if it has anything to do with streaming services cutting down on the typical production budget.But anyway, I'm going to keep this review short and simple. Healer is a show with a very good choice of Main Actor and Actress. Park Min Young was hot at that time, and all the girls seem to be crazy for Ji Chang Wook (this is likely the reason for the high ratings). The choice of actors alone, carried this show.
The script was nothing special though not as bad (I've seen worse in the plethora of 2024-2025 c-dramas being released with boring AF draggy episodes). Comparing healer's script to these latest productions, it can be treated as a "decent" script. In the first few episodes, the main character gets toss aside and the side/antagonists characters with their boring past consumes most of the screen time. A good script should introduce the main characters first or at least give them a decent amount of screen time, this doesn't happen in healer, so we pretty much did not care if the main character lived or die since there's no attachment.
Now on to the bad. (If you don't wish to read anything negative about this show, skip this portion you're done reading this review)
The camera work gave the nauseating feeling. Action scenes seem as if they were shot while there was a 9.1 magnitude earthquake hitting South Korea. It's as if the crew had forgotten to turn on their camera stabilizers or a camera gimbal and were simply running around with their camera. The footage was unbearably shaky in several scenes.
The OST, especially when the main character whoops the bad guys, is shared across multiple other non-action scenes, happy scenes, stress scenes, fighting scenes etc, somehow the production team decided to use this 1 corny tune on all these scenes. Ruining the mood of these scenes. This tune seemed as though it belongs to a game like Maplestory where cute characters fight against cute monsters. Imagine taking one of this game's background music and inserting it in multiple different scenes in this supposedly action thriller crime drama.
To summarize without spoilers, I'm confused as to how this show got such high ratings. But as stated earlier, it is likely due to the choice of actor and actress, especially the main leads. If you're a diehard fan of either, by all means watch this show and enjoy it. But if you're in the mood for a well-produced show and couldn't care less of the casting choices, the shaky camera work and surprisingly TERRIBLE background music choice will sting both your eyes and ears to oblivion in the first few episodes. This is the first time I've been turned off solely by shaky cam and terrible music. Now I can appreciate the importance of music and how it influences mood in dramas.
If you're looking for a great Ji Chang Wook action-romance drama, check out the K2 which doesn't suffer from the same complains as this show. It has better ost music that matches each scene, the plot focuses on the main characters from the start with little draggy scenes, and the camera work is free from healer's shaky nightmare.
If you're looking for some of the top action romance show and don't really care about the casting choice, check out City Hunter, Bridal Mask, and Heavenly Sword and Dragon Slaying Sabre. These shows, especially City Hunter, have top of the line production quality. Camera work, action choreography, music choices are of a high and acceptable standard (for a TV show it is impressive, just don't compare them to top budget movies from jackie chan / donnie yen or the MCU). Of course each of these shows have their own sets of flaws (no dramas are perfect), but at least they've definitely surpassed many shows which rightfully makes them some of the best in the Action Romance genre.
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This review may contain spoilers
Horribly written Characters.
I'll start with the positives.Directing & Pacing: 7/10
This drama has a 7/10 speed rating when it comes to the pacing. The story is constantly moving with only a few draggy scenes.
Original Soundtracks: 6/10
The OSTs though not the most catchiest, includes melodies which are towards the cute and charming side.
Acting: 6.5/10
The acting is passable though the male lead doesn't seem to be able to express sadness adequately. The female lead UEE does a better job.
The villains like the lead's stepmother and sister-in-law also manages to act like selfish brainless despicable brats, hence the actresses behind those characters did a great job.
The actor of Doran's Father also shows a skillful level of emotions.
Now for the negatives:
Story & Script: 0/10
The step-mother's hatred for Doran (UEE) was at least logical. The Sister-in-Law's (Daya) hatred for Doran (UEE) was illogical.
Daya marries into the family in the first few episodes, instead of wishing to live alone with her husband, she chooses to live with her in-laws. (Unusual)
Throughout the series, her main goal is to be the "Woman of the House" and to be the successor to her "Mother-in-Law". (Illogical)
Daya is hellbent at giving Doran a bad time, constantly stomping over her because of the above illogical reason. It is as if her character was written for the sole purpose of being a hate machine. The reason for that hatred is poorly planned and written.
Doran also gets stomped by her step mother and step sister throughout the series, and repeatedly forgives them? Spineless, brainless. (Illogical)
Overall Summary:
After 37 episodes, we'll start to wonder what exactly is the writer trying to convey? At this point the message is that it is "Okay to be a Door Mat and get taken advantage off". The series attempts to fuel the viewer's addiction and attention by drawing out sympathy towards Doran. This only achieves annoyance and frustration as we see Doran constantly forgiving those who constantly hurts her. There is no karma towards the villains. All it takes for the villains to be forgiven of their wrongdoings are further scheming and/or apologies at the end.
If you choose to experience this series, be warned of the above. This series is not a short one, hence it will be time-consuming to complete.
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The boring politics and narrative killed this show!
During the first 10 episodes, all I cared about was the main couple, especially the female lead. Usually for this type of wuxia / costume political show, the story if written and directed well would be interesting to watch. Sadly the script was so sloppy that it took us way longer to familiarize with all the characters and their names. I think the main issue here is the "Tell" more than "Show". They need to show us what's happening instead of simply mentioning a character's name and telling us what's going on.Decent leads, boring political story. We've no clue how it got such a high rating, could it be the main casts have a high cult fan base? Anyway, this show is not worth it and is mediocre compared to shows like Heavenly Sword and Dragon Slaying Sabre and Love between fairy and devil. Those are worth of high praise, this drama (Blossom) is just NOT IT!
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Decent looking main casts, letdown with a WEIRD story and script!
The ML and FL look decent and seems to have slight chemistry. The script and plot though, seems to be going nowhere throughout the first few episodes and their script and dialogues between each of the characters were some sort of "weird". All the characters kept smiling at each other when they talk, and the context of their conversation is weirdly nonsensical. Their behaviors are so weird that it feels more like a parody drama than some serious fantasy drama.The only thing great about this show thus far are the production, costume, environment/props and the graphics. I don't think I'll be continuing with this show at least for now, it's a drop for me.
It's weird that this show actually has an 8.6 rating? Probably because the actor and actress's fan club simply spam 10/10. This show is a huge waste of time. They'd have to pay me to complete it.
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I picked up this drama because of Park Min Young
Park Min Young's Character "Lee In Ah" seems to serve no purpose in this show. She glues herself to the main Character "Seo Jin Woo" played by Yoo Seung Ho, from episode 1 and seems to sympathize with him and his father just because her father thought that they are innocent and might have been framed.In the real world, there is 0% chance such a person would risk their well-being for someone they've just met, not to mention, side with someone who's parent has been accused of murder.
Her character has been rushed into the plot with no build up. They should have written a more believable way for her to understand Seo Jin Woo's side of the story, before risking herself for his sake.
I'm still a fan of Park Min Young, as when she is casted right like in City Hunter and Dr Jin, she is an amazing actress, her cuteness is the icing on the cake. This show is decent but not the best, if you turn off a portion of your brain, you might enjoy it. The pacing is alright.
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