I write this review with a heavy heart because I know what this show means to a lot of my friends who I love. But please allow me to explain in detail why Healer didn't quite hit the spot for me. If I could sum up Healer in one word it would be anti-climactic. Here's why: Three genres are featured prominently in this drama: action, drama, romance. None were explored to their full potential. Plus, where the cliches of one genre were challenged, they ran amok in others. The action scenes were well choreographed and exciting to watch, but were often pulled up short and were too far in between to have full effect. Just when my adrenaline started to flow and I'm about ready to forgive less involving aspects of the show, they were over. Which brings me to the weakest, but most prominent, link ... the drama. I spent a good portion of this show, from ca ep 6 to at least the 3rd quarter of ep 14, being bored. These episodes were mostly dedicated to the back story of the parents, for which I never developed an interest. I never became invested in any of these characters enough to care about their story. I cared about the characters in the present and wanted more of the focus on their individual & common journeys, independent of what happened to their parents in the past. There's a reason why they urge you to keep flashbacks as a driver of story to a bare minimum in screenwriting 101. Flashbacks are intrusive and passive, and should only be used as a function of character (for eg, recalling a memory), not story. An entire story hinged on flashback yanks us out of the present action and keeps the plot from moving forward, which is exactly what happened in Healer (and many other K-dramas. Why some Korean writers can't seem to grasp this very basic rule of screenwriting, I don't know.). What's more, characters were inexplicably killed off or shipped off when they no longer suited the writer's purpose. This was glaringly obvious. There was no cohesion in how one plot line flowed into the other. Just '(s)he is getting in the way of where I want to take this story so bang! you're dead!' When the sex scandal case concluded, I was like 'Wait, what just happened? That's it?!!' And have you ever noticed how women in K-dramas are *never* killed off? No matter who they are or what situation they find themselves in. Oh, the men are fair game, but the women always manage to escape with their lives. ::eyeroll:: ... because this is such a cliche of the genre. Finally the romance, it was nice. I agree with other viewers who commended the absence of the usual unpalatable cliches as well as the relatively good characterisations. I really applaud this evolution the romance genre seems to be having in recent K-dramas. They're finally starting to acknowledge their characters as sexual beings, rather than strip them bare of human desire. My only complaint? People will make bold statements ... about kissing, holding one another, making love and what have you, but words aren't followed up enough with actions. It's all just big talk. There's still that air of fakeness and lack of emotional depth in romantic relations. That lack of natural, comfortable, spontaneous intimacy (one drama which came close to what I'm looking for is It's Okay, That's Love). Oh there were some fine moments, by all means, but they often felt ... stilted. Staged. Contrived. Awkward. And even if this were only a minor complaint (it's not, not for me), the romance itself took off too late, almost in the last quarter of the drama, and stayed around for exactly two episodes and change, before focus was returned to less involving narrative arcs. Romance has always been a 'back-up' genre for me. When all else fails, it tends to keep me going, until hopefully things pick up again in other departments. That didn't happen here. Basically, every aspect of the drama that could've and should've kept my interest, short-circuited. There's no doubt the romance was cute, there's no doubt the characters had chemistry, but it wasn't executed to satisfaction. A more worthy drama to me is Nine, in which the same combination of genres were better executed. I can't remember being bored watching Nine. I was on full alert, wondering what would happen next, how will the characters react? The plot wasn't without its holes, but the pacing maintained its momentum almost from beginning to end. The romance was evenly spread, so that when it wasn't being featured I didn't miss it, but just when you started to crave it, it appeared. I was able to enjoy Nine in spite of its faults whilst Healer became untenable because of them. In closing, I would be remiss not to mention the 'villains' (with the exception of Secretary Oh). I've never seen a more pathetic lot. All these imbeciles knew to do was snare. Imagine a whole barrage of goons not able to break down a door being blocked by one man ... and other absurdities. In terms of moronic villains, Healer could be Cruel City's cousin, the drama in which a pair of slight 100 lbs women in 6 inch heels, who couldn't fight, outran & outfought seasoned criminals. To say these bumbling idiots were cartoonish would be an understatement. And as per usual dramas give the South Korean police a very bad name. If I were a police officer watching this show I would be offended. Neither one nor the other presented any real threat or challenge to the good guys, which only served to discredit whatever battles they won against the Farmer and his farmhands. It's really hard to suspend belief when they make it sooo easy for the good guys to win. By the time Healer drew to a close I didn't even care that the ending was rushed, because the show had already gone downhill for me long before that. There were things I DID like: the score and the soundtrack. The characters and the acting. Yoo Ji Tæ can do no wrong for me, an incredibly charismatic actor. I didn't think Park Min Young was that bad. Ji Chang Wook is one to watch. And I liked the mild-mannered, unassuming, but creepy Secretary Oh. That little smirk of his, with his hand raised to his mouth. It was a nice flair. I appreciate these little quirks and habits that make a character stand out. And it was rather effective too. I wouldn't want to be trapped alone in a room with that guy. So kudos to the actor. While I liked these things, if sloppy storytelling keeps pulling me out of the narrative and have me asking too many questions, instead of sucking me in with the action and the drama and the romance, then something is wrong. Healer, in some ways, is quite different from the average K-drama, but in other ways it's all pretty much the same.