burhaa aadmi

This drama was a reminder of why I love J dramas. The premise was straightforward: A grumpy, blunt, tactless paediatrician gets reassigned from the hospital to fill in at an elementary school infirmary after a patient's parent complains about his handling of a case. The basic arc was predictable, but the nature of the journey was still remarkable. Especially in the first six episodes of the drama, the uncompromising, unsentimental and clear-eyed approach to serious health issues faced by the children was outstanding. From a first grader dealing with a congenital heart defect to a sixth grader having self-harm issues, this drama did not flinch. It did not talk down to the children, or about them, and the doctor's blunt honesty didn't change, even as he learned to broaden his perspective on what it took to look after children.

The final third of the drama was heart-warming, in the final episode of the drama pulled on so many heartstrings my lacrimal glands were dry by the end. The drama basically did everything right. A male and female lead who both grew from their interactions with each other without a single trace or hint of any kind of romantic interest. And not for the first time, this was a J drama in which the really heavy emotional lifting in terms of acting performances was done by children. I knew after about episode three that this drama was going to be at least a nine, but in the end its balance of clear-eyed honesty and teary-eyed heartfelt sentiment made it a 10.