singsfromthesoul

I like many things about this show but it really does feel kinda lacking in the medical aspects. Which would be fine if only its two leads weren't literally doctors. It's not even outright wrong in many cases, just feels poorly researched or like they did the research but just decided to handwave it away whenever it was inconvenient to what they wanted to do with the plot anyway. Mental illnesses approached with the outlook of physical ailments (I know psychology and psychiatry aren't the same, but they feel weirdly blended here), two doctors drinking copious amounts of alcohol while being on meds with zero side effects in sight, hella fast recoveries for everyone. I liked the approach to mental illness in the first few episodes (felt more realistic imo), but it later started to feel a bit like 'my partner is my cure' vibes (ML literally says he feels as though FL is a sort of cure for him), which is fine until it isn't because you shouldn't pin your mental stability on a person, but I digress.

Idk, I have mixed feelings about a lot of it. I have more Thoughts™️ (including some on authorial intent!), so I plan on doing a full write-up on my blog after the show ends next week, lol.

Preach! Being a professor is all fine and dandy and I get that it was one of her goals, but if she's changed more than her environment has, it might be easy to fall back on old patterns. I know she said she wouldn't but you never know. The work environment at the clinic was much more easygoing. Good pay, less patients, good relationships between boss and employees and everyone gets to go home on time. Lowkey dream job! 😂

Oh yeah no, kdrama levels of drinking should not be attempted irl if you're planning on having a working liver past the age of 50!

But I think it could've been a cool opportunity to come up with other ways for them to hang out, as I feel writing with certain limitations could force you to come up with unorthodox solutions. There's a lot of other things I like about the show though, so I'll def keep watching!

Waterloo but *not* in the context of the ABBA song, either! 😂

Please don't misunderstand me! My criticism is simply that I believe that having the leads regularly drink and/or get drunk while being on meds in a story that has a lot to do with battling mental health crises is, at best, lazy writing and at worst, irresponsible. I was giving the writers the benefit of doubt up to this point, but what bothered me about the Ambien thing is that it shows the writers *know* mixing alcohol and meds can have really bad consequences but it feels like they're not applying that knowledge to the leads and their behavior. Proceeding with this mentality makes it feel (imo!) like the mental health struggles present in the story are almost a gimmick, since the writers are either unable or unwilling to engage with some of the consequences of character traits/struggles they themselves wrote into the story. I just don't think you should have medicated characters repeatedly getting drunk and have that go unquestioned by the narrative in any way if the journey of said characters is largely in moving away from unhealthy behaviors. And also, the characters in question are both doctors, which means you can't even claim they wouldn't know any better.

I don't have an actual problem with the Ambien storyline itself, and am very much looking forward to that dude getting some jailtime bc wtfffff.

I find it absolutely insane that they're making such a big deal that the asshole superior spiked ML's drink with Ambien because "omg! it's SO dangerous to mix alcohol and Ambien!" but both leads repeatedly getting drunk or drinking casually while still being on meds is treated as a non-issue (pretty sure they have this convo while drinking whiskey at a bar, jfc). As they say in my country, "o te pintas, o te haces rolos". You can't have it both ways!!!

I enjoy the show, truly, but this element keeps bothering me and the spiked drink plotline made it worse bc it shows the writers *know*, they just ignore important info when it's convenient to the plot.

This show kinda has it all?? It has kind of a zany concept that it executes well, is funny, plenty romantic and just a bit angsty but with a lovely happy ending. Acting is solid, production looks good, length is perfect so it doesn't drag. I started this show on a whim and basically binged it. Loved it!

Also, the OST is actually really good?? I feel like so many kdramas just have ambient/background music and three tracks, which are usually:
-Quirky/playful/comedic track
-Tense/'bad stuff happening' track
-Love track
BUT, this show seems to have gotten an actual composer and as a movie/tv soundtrack fan, I was so happy. The main couple has an actual lemotif/theme that you can hear in different versions, or woven into other pieces. The music is allowed to linger and resolve across scene transitions, something I only bring up bc I've seen several shows just cut the music abruptly once the scene ends and it bothers me every damn time. Far from being ambient music, here you can make out individual instruments in the tracks (flutes, drums, violins, bells, etc) and it really does a lot for the show, since it makes the world of the story feel more alive and engaging, rather than flat or distant from us as an audience.

Just had to give the OST a shoutout, because I feel music is an element severely underutilized in a lot of kdramas so I was excited to see one done well. Anyway, if you're considering whether to watch this drama, I say it's a worthwhile (and dare I say, underrated?) show!

Yeah, alcohol is literally a depressant so it's like, babes?? Stop it??? I think a more creative writer would've found a way to make the 'no alcohol bc the leads are on meds' thing work for the story. Make it a limitation/frustration within the story, but it could've worked bc if they're both sober, they could've found other ways to spend time together that didn't involve getting drunk. Or write it into the story that side effects happen bc of the drinking, which could've been a plot point about finding different ways to cope. It just frustrates me that this is a thing bc there's other aspects that the show is actually getting right about mental health struggles. I wish they hadn't ignored this!

Yeah, I think it's weird that they edited it that way bc it loses the momentum of the original scene, which had the lead up of their conversation. I suppose that they wanted to keep the mystery of whether they were back together during the team dinner scene, but I think it would've worked still if the audience knows they kissed but nobody else does, bc it brings the audience into the loop with information only the leads know. They could still have the conversation they had later as a way to formalize things but I just think they shouldn't have cut it the way they did!

That's actually a really good question! I also can't help but wonder if their recovery is taking any longer due to the drinking bc, correct me if I'm wrong, doesn't alcohol nullify the effect of medicine? Honestly, the meds thing is the only gripe I have with the show bc they're literally doctors, they should know better!

That's genuinely my only gripe with the show. Like, you're both doctors!! You should know better!!!

Absolutely wild to me that ppl are mad that Jian wasn't acting like a perfectly trained cold-blooded mercenary when half the people around her are like twice her age and have the training to back it up. Let's be fair here, she's reeling from the loss of the only family she has left, not to mention having her perception of reality altered (by processing insane information about her uncle in the midst of fighting for her life). It's pretty clear to me that this is her 'origin story', so to speak. She's not supposed to have it together, she only starts coming into her own at the end of the story. I really don't understand the criticism and I don't know why people expected something else from her. Were there to be a second season, you would expect her arc to be different but for the story told in these 8 episodes, it's fine! Also, don't forget this story basically takes place over a day for Jian. How much character change can you expect in 24 hours? Some people on this site need to get a grip, pay closer attention to the shows they watch, and stop hating on FLs for no good reason.

She did amazing but some of the descriptions of her approach sound pretty unhealthy, so I'm glad she realized that and changed tactics over the course of the experience. As someone who's studied theatre, I understand the desire to immerse yourself in a role but torturing yourself is just not worth it! Hope to see her in more complex roles in the future!

I wouldn't go so far as to say it's *misrepresented*, but if they were going for some form of advocacy, it's a huge oversight. Especially bc it feels like it was overlooked in order to do the usual kdrama trope of casually getting absolutely wasted. The only way I could buy them getting out of it would be to reveal that she stopped taking her meds at some point or for it to have reprecussions later on, but I kinda doubt they would go so in depth with it. Still, I'm actually enjoying the show so far!

Literally the only thing that concerns me about this show is how much Ha Neul seems to be drinking, considering that she's supposed to be on meds. Like, I don't usually care about character's drinking habits but that's actually dangerous and you'd think a doctor, of all people, would give a damn about that sort of thing. It's a small detail but it bothered me. Other than that, love the show! I think it'll make me cry further down the line!

It's incredibly messy of them to show up and I LOVE them for that

No bc in the case of the FL, she believes she can transfer her fate to the best friend. In the case of the ML, he died in a car crash (solitary death, a result of his actions, nobody to blame) so he probably believes there isn't a way to get out of it. As far as he (and we) know, there's nobody to transfer the fate onto.

I know, right?! I want to throw hands SO badly whenever she's onscreen, she genuninely drives me insane 💀

Genuinely so sad on Jihyuk's behalf bc he feels his death is inevitable (due to the idea that you can't change your fate, only transfer it and how could he possibly do that) so he's acting like a man condemmed to the noose. He'll do anything to help Jiwon, but he doesn't believe he has a chance to make it out of this loop.

Right?! The actress is giving it her all bc I absolutely despise her, lol! I have an actual
physical reaction whenever she's onscreen!

Right? When the 2005 flashback happened I was surprised to find I actually bought it, especially the ML, who nailed that slightly earnest but awkward vibe of someone in their early 20s