Watch it now! Thank me later
Finished Healer in 4 days. Why did I wait so long to watch this amazing drama ?! Every single thing about it is 10 stars - story, acting, music ... Still fighting the urge to watch it again right away :)It has everything - action, drama, thriller and romance, and all of that is packed perfectly into 20 episodes. No dull moment at all.
Most important thing is that the ending is not rushed and you don't have to wait until the end to see the love relationship forming. The timing is just right so you'll have a lot of time to enjoy it.
Also, I would like to add that I don't pay attention about the year of release. It was 2014 but it looks like it was filmed this year. It will never get old :)
This is now my No1 kdrama I would recommend people to watch first.
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My Favorite Drama Of All Time
It's hard to put my finger on just what made this drama so special. The writing, directing, and acting were all good, but it shouldn't have been revolutionary. I just finished my third rewatch of this show and have found that there is just something electric about it, from the chemistry between the leads to the fight scenes, there was always something to be endeared to. No other drama has connected with me the way this one does. I cannot recommend it enough, particularly if you like action, mystery and a little melodrama, its absolutely perfect.Was this review helpful to you?
Hot Mess
This is the only TV Series that made me write a review. Everything is just perfect. The actors did their part very well. The OST omg, I've replayed it over and over and over again. And most of the JCW! I'm hooked! If you're here reading reviews to see if this is worth the while, go..Though I wished they'd expand more on the ending but still everything's really really good. If the productions planning for Season 2, please go ahead!! See the reviews and I'm sure you won't miss a dime for this.
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Call me biased but yeah I admit I'm slightly obsessed with this show. There's just something about it, the chemistry, the leads, the acting, the story, the romantic tension. I feel like in lots of ways dramas were better back in 2011-2015ish, they may look outdated now but their stories were more unique and gripping with every single episode and the chemistry was fire. And this one is the best of the best. It's my top "comfort drama" that I know I can always go back to for good feelings and romance, I could seriously re-watch it again and again.
If you haven't gotten the hint yet yeah you definitely NEED to watch it. Do give it a few episodes to get started. I actually didn't like the first episode the first time I watched, but I was definitely hooked by episode 5.
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This review may contain spoilers
Addictive and fun classic
When people talk about action/romance dramas Healer is often mentioned along with others like City Hunter and Descendants of the Sun. The difficulty of blending romance and action is that it seems like inevitably one or both parts feel underdeveloped, unrealistic or boring. City Hunter - which is the drama probably the most similar to Healer, given that it's about a vigilante, centres around getting revenge for a wrong committed in the past, and has the same actress in a lead role - has a lot of invigorating, well choreographed action sequences (and a weak plot) but the romance was lifeless, repetitive and full of cringe-inducing moments. Descendants of the Sun, while deeply flawed, had I think a more compelling romance which felt more central to the plot, and completely ridiculous and laughable action sequences. It's a tricky genre. How much screen time do you give the romance vs. the action? How do you incorporate them both into the main story and make both satisfying? How do you achieve a cohesive ending without sacrificing either the action or the romance in the final episodes?Healer is one of the few dramas that I think nails both the romance and the action and is able to blend them together to create a pretty seamless whole. All the independent parts of this drama - the settings, groups of characters, flashbacks, main leads, action sequences, emotional beats - they all work very well together to create a very tight, fast-paced and comforting watch. I wouldn't say it's the most emotionally moving drama and it does have cheesy moments, but the characters are great and everything zips along so deftly that you're always entertained.
I think earlier in my drama watching days I would have ranked this one higher in my list of favourite dramas, but I still love it. I have seen more things and my taste has changed, but this will always have a place in my heart. It is still one of the dramas that I love to recommend to people (I think a lot of people feel this way, given the amount that it appears on lists of favourite dramas) because I think it's a very accessible and enjoyable watch. There are dramas that I like more, or think are greater technical achievements, but they're not as easy to digest as Healer is. This is really one of those charming dramas that is greater than the sum of its parts, and which shows off the greatest qualities of that era of dramas.
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This review may contain spoilers
Definitely Good but Still Has It's Faults
I really liked this drama but maybe compared to the other ratings on here, it looks like I didn't hahaha. I definitely think it deserves a high rating but I personally don't think it was an overall 10/10.The Story:
This was really good and jam-packed with drama! I loved every second of the 'Healer' scenes and found everyone's backstory really fascinating. I definitely think there were a couple unclosed plot points and that they ended up sacrificing a satisfying end with a whoooole lot of build up. Plus, I don't know if I just wasn't paying attention but I swear Yeong-Sin's mother found out that Yeong-Sin is Ji-An really suddenly and, again, it was so anticlimactic for all the build up that was there. Also, I'm curious as to what exactly happened from when Kim Mun-Sik found Yeong-Sin and when he decided to abandon her again? ALSO - what was that scene where she was hiding in a closet and someone came up to her with like a bat or something??? There was just so much story that I think the writers forgot to clear everything up. As I got to the last 10 minutes of Ep20 I had to double check it was the last episode because it just didn't feel like it.
The Characters:
Absolutely love love love the characters and everyone played such an important part in making this show the hit that it is. I definitely think the writers can thank the actors for the high ratings!
Again, overall I the enjoyability of the show deserves an 8.5 but there were a lot of points which I would have liked more clarification on and a lot of points that I don't think were necessary for the development of the main plot.
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One thing that attracted me to this was the Arrow vibe this drama gave. (If someone has watched Arrow Season 1, then they will know what I am talking about, the vibe is similar in both).
This drama has everything- edgy thriller, exciting music, interesting characters, mind-blowing gripping plot, believable romance, suspense, action & comic relief. It's a package in short.
Story is great but I gave it 8.5 because I felt the ending rushed. I could have easily used 2-3 episodes more to give it a proper closure & cover all plot holes. I liked how the show wasn't draggy at any point. Somethings that could have added to make it the best-
1. A little more focus on backstory of the villains.
2. On 5 friends journey of being pirate reporters. This could have made the villains more layered.
4. MoonHo's relationship with his colleague & a little focus on his "First love thing".
5. Female lead's story along with her mother.
6. Childhood of the leads since it had some troubling things & Healer-Ajhumma arc.
7. Some other little inconsistencies- like the one with Moon Ho's minion who was working as a double agent.
Acting is great. Ji Cang Wook transforms smoothly from being sassy, bad-ass man to socially awkward, stammering BongSu while still showing glimpse of Healer in his behavior.
Park Min Young is cute, brave & beautiful. I loved how she breaks the mold of typical kdrama lead & is everything I love about female leads. She is brave, vulnerable, yet positive. I love her portrayal of PTSD & her way to deal with it by singing songs and dancing. She takes things at face value and is willing to show empathy & courage whenever it is needed. She chooses to show empathy for other instead of drowning herself in self-pity about her troubled past.
Moon Ho is one complex characters. He keeps you conflicted for a long time. He has a dark side but also a caring one. And the actor portrays him so brilliantly. His acting does half the job to reflect complexity of Moon Ho.
Ajhumma is brilliant. The fact that a middle-aged lady with superb hacking skills & knack for knitting is so good to see. The characters elevate half the story because they break the stereotypes of K-dramas.
Rest of the cast is just fluid in its acting be it teacher, Healer's minion, Jian's mother, Jian's adopted father. Even villains are great enough to literally make you hate them- be it creepy secretary, Moon-Shik (He isn't absolute villain throughout the show & I wanted to see more grey shaded in this villain), Boss.
I loved the music. Especially the suspense filled music. It creates the perfect environment to keep you in toes. Actions scenes are nicely shot & I officially became a fan of Chang Wook with his action scenes. The portrayal of romance is so nice. I liked for the fact that they didn't have any 2nd lead thing here even though there was a confusion about Moon Ho being second lead. The love story is believable from interest to curiosity to protective feeling to romance & did I mention the jealousy of BongSu with Moon Ho & his alter-ego & the also the chemistry which was evident from their first scene together (Wook's intensity of gazing, sly smiles and that handsome face, GOSH). Even though Jian falls for Healer, I loved how it's BongSu who fell for Jian first.
I can re-watch this show every once in a while just like I can watch Arrow Season 1-3 countless times. Such shows are rare & it's rating is definitely well-deserved.
I am willing to overlook the plot-holes because the good simply outweighs the flaws in this drama. If you want my recommendation for this show-
JUST WATCH IT ALREADY.
Show like this is rarely made & I will keeping an eye on Wook's work from now on.
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This review may contain spoilers
This is a great show. The first half reminded me of the american TV-show Lois&Clark, for obvious reasons. I loved that show as a kid, Healer's take on this theme was good enough to keep me entertained as an adult. The second male lead was also a bit similar to Lex Luthor early on. The second half is not as good, but it is still head and shoulders above the average Korean action/thriller flick. I always felt that Hallyu cannot compare to american thriller shows like The Americans, or Person of Interest. The action/thriller part of Healer doesn't quite match up to them either, but it's certainly interesting enough. Thanks to some kdrama tropes & the pretty romance this can be considered a different genre though, something the American shows cannot really match either. It's certainly lightyears ahead of Descendants of the Sun, to the point that all the action/thriller scenes in DoTs can be considered a joke in comparison. It's nice that there was no triangle, or other relationship shapes, that was a pleasant surprise. The main actors were all very good, there is some surprisingly good acting from Park Min-young, this is probably her peak as an actress. I loved her in Secretary Kim, but she is MUCH MUCH better here. This is the first time I've seen Ji Chang-wook on screen, but he seems like a very good actor too, he did very well with his fake personality and everything. Obviously there was sizzling chemistry, no surprise there. To mention some negatives, I really did not like the "tense music track" that was playing all the time, it's a pretty bad earworm too. Also there were some cartoon-ish villains that we could've done without, there were some moments that felt pretty fake too. Also the last episode felt pretty rushed.
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I didn’t expect this
How do I start this? I think I watched it too late?I’m not very much into Action genre so I was very hesitant about starting this drama. I like the main actors in it, most of their work at least, so I just went ahead and started watching it out of boredom. The thoughts “WHY DID I NOT WATCH IT FOR THIS LONG” and “HOW CAN THIS DRAMA BE SO GREAT” ran through my mind while watching it too many times.
The Action there added so much excitement. I never expected that.
The leads have great chemistry and a beautiful connection. They sometimes held back from saying things but it didn’t take too long. Misunderstandings were often cleared quickly. (This doesn’t happen often in kdramas; they mostly drag it for too long).
The FL has a wonderful soul and most importantly is NOT annoying. I don’t know if it’s worded correctly but she isn’t the type to have you roll your eyes out thinking “ah, here we go again”.
The whole plot and story will keep you captivated, wanting to know what happens next. I never got bored.
Plenty of funny scenes as well.
Overall, I’ll give it a 10/10. Definitely worth 20 hours of my life spent on it and probably will be 40 hours since I plan on rewatching.
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VERY SHORT REVIEW
The thing that struck me most about this drama, and that I will always remember, was that it was the 1st one that I noticed had ALL women playing very important non-conventional roles, had multi-dimensional personalities and kicked ass in their own way. For this alone I was thankful. It showed the often very undervalued progress of the korean industry (and society) when it comes to women, their roles and their worth. Ji Chang Wook won my as a fan with this very drama, and actor Yoo Ji Tae was beyond phenomenal. Watch. Re-watch and Re-Re-watch!! Definitely recommend.Was this review helpful to you?
but then I recently came across this again and saw the really good reviews and decided to give this a shot. So glad I did!
The first two episodes might be a bit slow/confusing because we don't know what's going on. But once the character backgrounds are setup, the story is good to go. And boy does the story go quick! It might be 20 episodes but I went through them in a breeze. There's no slow/draggy plot as the main characters are all smart and reasonable human beings, and they don't dwell on the standard melodrama tropes. They will be put in some awkward/dangerous situations, but the drama cuts the scenes such that the audience will see the behind-the-scenes of the main characters' plot later.
It's a really thrilling and refreshing watch. The main characters' chemistry is also super real.
First time watching Yoo Ji Tae and Ji Chang Wook act; will be back for more!
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The chemistry of the main actors is beautiful. They go so well together and are genuinely cute together. This drama was incredibly funny and interesting to watch.
The whole plot is good as well i never once lost interest. The plot was straight to the point and no dragging of the story which was also good. I think this drama is interesting because its about a spy who slowly falls in love. It is amazing because the way they fall in love is so cliche but cute
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