To clarify some things I first watched s2 which I really enjoyed and that is why I went back for s1. I expected even with the different cast I would at least get the same quality of a show and I was interested in finding out the ways s1 was connected to s2. Maybe that made my expectations too high for what it was which is why I was left somewhat disappointed. This review tbh is mostly my rant (as a s2 fan) about things I didn’t like so bear with me…

Now if I were to list my problems with the show the biggest one would be the characters.
The protagonist dong Joo was especially the most grating to me. I don’t mind flawed characters buuuut that does not mean it was enjoyable watching him being swayed by the bad guys, being convinced by others to do right thing and own up to his mistakes and basically just be a good person for half the show… and the entitlement he had… you did the same thing as what got your father killed yet it took you so long to even admit it?? And when you found out about master Kim you became angry and demanded answers as if you didn’t do the same and even worse than him??? I’m afraid he was annoying to me most of the time.

I also didn’t know how to feel about Seo jung…. Sometimes I found her attitude unlikable, other times she was ok and one of the more likeable characters in the cast. I never truly warmed up to her though.

Do in bum was ok. I didn’t mind his cold and harsh personality, nor the wrong things he did. I knew he would learn and be better by the end … The problem I have with him is I do not feel we saw that development happen on screen enough , not really, he just kind of changed by the end... Still I liked him the most out of the s1 cast.

Even the characters that remained in s2 were worse in s1, especially master Kim. One of the things I was most looking forward to this season was his relationship with the younger doctors but I didn’t feel like that was developed properly. The only time he ever felt like a mentor was with seo jung. His harsh attitude and bad personality was too much to watch at times. I understand when dealing with characters like dong joo why… but it was still annoying. It was a shame cause I do like him as a character. At least his relationship with the chairman was nice…
The other side characters (with few exceptions) were just kind of there…. and didn’t do anything for me, for example nurse park which I liked in the second season.

Writing was also worse than I expected… didn’t feel on par with the second season. The medical drama scenes sometimes felt either too much or I did not care about like the hostage situation and the drunken driver realising what he did. The character drama I also did not like how they went about for example the daughter of the ml’s dead patient suddenly showing up in the hospital, the ml finding out about the doctor of his father being Kim etc.

And lastly the romance. I’ve seen some other people loving this couple and praising their chemistry. If I’m being honest I do not see it… Yes they did have good kissing scenes, I did like those. But other than that I don’t think there’s anything there. The times we show them actually connecting and getting closer were too thin and far between…they just liked each other from day 1 and that was it. Not liking the ml did not help either like I don’t get why Seo Jung even liked him??

Overall it was fine…I wouldn’t have enjoyed it as much nor be that invested if I hadn’t seen s2 beforehand and knew how much better it got