This review may contain spoilers
Fun premise that kind of loses its way
TLDR: Super fun concept that carries some of the subpar moments in the show
Overall: In terms of medical dramas this is definitely one that doesn't lean too much into the hard medicine which suits it well. The character relationships and schemes are the main driver of the show and for the most part they do a pretty decent job at staying interesting. I think noteworthy performances are Rain as Cha Young Min, Uee as Jang Se Jin and Sung Dong Il as Tess. The rest of the cast fill their roles but aren't asked to do much. The exception being Kim Bum's character who I thought lacked the screen presence and emotional weight to carry his half of the show.
Story: This is the reason to watch the show full stop. It's makes for fun dynamics and comedic situations while also allowing for exploration of deeper themes. I do think the novelty of it wears off after a bit after the first few episodes but there are enough ups and downs to carry it over the finish line. Not going to spoil too much but has a very solid start that hooks you with a slow taper off til the end when you realize that it peaked in the first few episodes.
Characters: The main cast is overall great with one exception. Rain carries a lot of the show with his performance and charisma. He starts off as the aloof and domineering attending but thankfully the script doesn't force him off the deep end in terms of likeability like some dramas do. His transformation is believable and a treat to watch. I am always rooting for him despite the ups and downs he has. He is easily the stronger half of the main duo and is thankfully enough to carry most of this dynamic. He hits all the emotional beats the show needs from him and I think he gives a great portrayal of both the desperation and joy his character experiences.
Onto Kim Bum as Dr. Seung Tak. I'm not sure what happened with his character but either the actor was horribly miscast or the script just did him dirty. I don't think he displayed much emotional range outside of class clown that doesn't care. His character jumps around quite a bit as well. Spoilers, but there was one scene where his character says something along the lines of "I can't stand watching anyone die" and I was like ???? Are we watching the same show? This is the same guy that blew off work, avoided picking up patients, and sat sipping a coffee while people were actively dying during the first 5-6 episodes. I think this was intended to show how much he grew by the end but the negligence+class clown vibe of the character just made him quite difficult to empathize with in any capacity. Even after the 'big reveal' of his back story I'm still left wondering how any of that is an excuse for his earlier behavior. The characters actions and attitudes also seem to change on a whim as the story needs which does no favors to the already poor characterization.
Uee is great as the supporting FL. She isn't given a whole lot of screen time but when she is she consistently knocks it out of the park. Sung Dong's character is fun as the mentor figure and it feels like he's been wandering around with too much time on his hands. The rest of the side characters are just kind of there. All other doctors outside of the main 3 are made one dimensional and incompetent by the script which is kind of a let down since there was quite a bit of potential to make them complex. The only real glimpse of 2D any of them get is when Dr. Ban gets like 5 seconds of showing he cares about his patients then after that nothing else.
The romance in this show ranges from fine to bad. Dr. Cha and Dr. Jang's relationship is fine, but outside of the flashbacks they aren't given a whole lot to work with since one of them is unconscious for 90% of the show. Seung Tak and Soo Jung's relationship made no sense to me. I didn't really get any sense of chemistry other than maybe a one sided crush. I think the actress does a reasonable job but her screen time is so limited already that she has like 5 min total in the show to make us believe in a relationship that is already weak to begin with. It's also not a great sign when I was far more invested in the ghost relationship and kind of speaks to the weakness of the second lead dynamic. That one scene at the door packed more emotional weight than every scene between the second leads put together.
The brother is suitably goofy and does lean into the heavy handed Kdrama cliches a bit but overall nothing too egregious. Dr. Han is a fine obstacle for the leads to overcome and the actor does a good job but wasn't asked to flex his acting muscles much so can't really knock him for anything. Dr. Ahn's character I thought was probably the most interesting villain. He gets at least a reasonable motivation and despite how scummy his character is I thought the actor put in a good performance from overworked fellow to desperate criminal who's in too deep.
Music: fine, nothing great and nothing bad.
Rewatch: I'd say pretty low. The novelty of the premise wore off during my first watch of the show so any repeat viewing is likely going to make that worse.
Overall: In terms of medical dramas this is definitely one that doesn't lean too much into the hard medicine which suits it well. The character relationships and schemes are the main driver of the show and for the most part they do a pretty decent job at staying interesting. I think noteworthy performances are Rain as Cha Young Min, Uee as Jang Se Jin and Sung Dong Il as Tess. The rest of the cast fill their roles but aren't asked to do much. The exception being Kim Bum's character who I thought lacked the screen presence and emotional weight to carry his half of the show.
Story: This is the reason to watch the show full stop. It's makes for fun dynamics and comedic situations while also allowing for exploration of deeper themes. I do think the novelty of it wears off after a bit after the first few episodes but there are enough ups and downs to carry it over the finish line. Not going to spoil too much but has a very solid start that hooks you with a slow taper off til the end when you realize that it peaked in the first few episodes.
Characters: The main cast is overall great with one exception. Rain carries a lot of the show with his performance and charisma. He starts off as the aloof and domineering attending but thankfully the script doesn't force him off the deep end in terms of likeability like some dramas do. His transformation is believable and a treat to watch. I am always rooting for him despite the ups and downs he has. He is easily the stronger half of the main duo and is thankfully enough to carry most of this dynamic. He hits all the emotional beats the show needs from him and I think he gives a great portrayal of both the desperation and joy his character experiences.
Onto Kim Bum as Dr. Seung Tak. I'm not sure what happened with his character but either the actor was horribly miscast or the script just did him dirty. I don't think he displayed much emotional range outside of class clown that doesn't care. His character jumps around quite a bit as well. Spoilers, but there was one scene where his character says something along the lines of "I can't stand watching anyone die" and I was like ???? Are we watching the same show? This is the same guy that blew off work, avoided picking up patients, and sat sipping a coffee while people were actively dying during the first 5-6 episodes. I think this was intended to show how much he grew by the end but the negligence+class clown vibe of the character just made him quite difficult to empathize with in any capacity. Even after the 'big reveal' of his back story I'm still left wondering how any of that is an excuse for his earlier behavior. The characters actions and attitudes also seem to change on a whim as the story needs which does no favors to the already poor characterization.
Uee is great as the supporting FL. She isn't given a whole lot of screen time but when she is she consistently knocks it out of the park. Sung Dong's character is fun as the mentor figure and it feels like he's been wandering around with too much time on his hands. The rest of the side characters are just kind of there. All other doctors outside of the main 3 are made one dimensional and incompetent by the script which is kind of a let down since there was quite a bit of potential to make them complex. The only real glimpse of 2D any of them get is when Dr. Ban gets like 5 seconds of showing he cares about his patients then after that nothing else.
The romance in this show ranges from fine to bad. Dr. Cha and Dr. Jang's relationship is fine, but outside of the flashbacks they aren't given a whole lot to work with since one of them is unconscious for 90% of the show. Seung Tak and Soo Jung's relationship made no sense to me. I didn't really get any sense of chemistry other than maybe a one sided crush. I think the actress does a reasonable job but her screen time is so limited already that she has like 5 min total in the show to make us believe in a relationship that is already weak to begin with. It's also not a great sign when I was far more invested in the ghost relationship and kind of speaks to the weakness of the second lead dynamic. That one scene at the door packed more emotional weight than every scene between the second leads put together.
The brother is suitably goofy and does lean into the heavy handed Kdrama cliches a bit but overall nothing too egregious. Dr. Han is a fine obstacle for the leads to overcome and the actor does a good job but wasn't asked to flex his acting muscles much so can't really knock him for anything. Dr. Ahn's character I thought was probably the most interesting villain. He gets at least a reasonable motivation and despite how scummy his character is I thought the actor put in a good performance from overworked fellow to desperate criminal who's in too deep.
Music: fine, nothing great and nothing bad.
Rewatch: I'd say pretty low. The novelty of the premise wore off during my first watch of the show so any repeat viewing is likely going to make that worse.
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