I actually happened upon this show on accident. Dramafever was glitching out on me, and instead of playing the next episode of Warrior Baek Dong Soo (great historical drama by the way) it played the first episode of Healer. Man, did I get sucked in. After finishing the first episode I had to force myself to finish WBDS before eagerly starting the second episode.
Now, before you get all judgey judgey with me and skip this review because I gave it all 10's, you should finish reading my review :) I don't just toss out 10's whenever a drama slightly moves me. Although I may not be that much of an experienced watcher, my personality in general is just very picky. Therefore, no I did not just randomly decide to be nice and give all 10's on a whim. This drama is truly amazing. KBS, you deserve a pat on the back. I think just by looking at the ranking of this drama, it's safe to say it's one of the best dramas of the past decade. Hell, it even broke the 9.0 mark. Kudos to all the writers, actors, PD, etc etc who made this amazing drama happen.
I actually found the story to be quite intriguing. It starts off as just a story about a night courier and people he's somehow connected to, but it branches out. You would think that the entire drama would just be about Healer and his love life with the female lead, but no. The supporting cast got just as good of a story. There was the main storyline, and then there was the story about the previous generation that was slowly unveiled throughout the series. The one fatal weakness of writers these days, is one way or another there are always parts that drag on. But not with this one. This drama always keeps you on your toes, and problems are never left open and unsolved. I find that a lot of writers tend to forget about the problems they created early on, and then towards the end of the drama they go "Oh right! Better write that one back in. Darn, should've used that for the middle episodes." Thus, the dragging middles and the rushed endings. So, if you're worried about it dragging, don't even fret my friend. KBS got yo back.
The cast was PER. FECT. EVERYONE was amazing, not even joking. A good writer can't create a great drama without great actors, and that's exactly what this drama had. First let's start off with Park Min Young. She's actually been getting a lot of hate lately because of how she looked in the drama, but let's just take a moment to let that sink in. How she looked. How she looked?! Yo, just because someone does not look like a Victoria's Secret model does not make them a bad actress. I don't see Behati Prinsloo getting Oscars. Why? Because she's not. an. actress. The character of Chae (Choi?) Young Shin is an anti-social girl who is not the least bit concerned about her appearance. Her only friends are her father and ex-convicts. You think she would be buying Naked palettes and Coach bags? I really hate how people automatically start judging actresses and actors based on their looks. Like hello? What's their job again? Oh right. TO ACT. If their job was to look pretty they would be models but guess what? They're actors. So stop judging Park Min Young just because her character wore loose clothing and applied minimal makeup. She wasn't even ugly in the drama. Honestly, I think she's a great actress and beautiful one at that. Now onto Ji Chang Wook (swoon). I might be just a liiiiittle biased but he really is an exceptional actor, one of my favorites. He's portrayed both hero and villain, and I think that really helped him improve his acting. I've never watched any of Yoo Ji Tae's dramas, but now I'm definitely a fan. I absolutely LOVE Park Mi Kyung. Like LOVE. By far the best ahjumma actress ever. She's played elegant and rich, poor and mute, and now hacker and essential hobo. I love her so much, she's just so dynamic. It also seems as though she's never embarrassed, because some of her outfits in this drama....WHEW. Ji Won To did a really great job too, I bet seizures are hard to fake haha.
Nothing really stood out to me music wise, but the reason I'm giving it a 10 is because the music was just so appropriate. Whoever did music selection and editing really has taste, because the music came right on time, and fit perfectly. It made you feel happy when needed, made you feel sad when needed, and most of all gave you so much feels you feel like your heart is going to explode.
Overall, watch watch watch watch watch make SURE to watch this drama. I don't care what lengths you have to go to, but this is a must. One cannot call oneself a dedicated watcher if you have not watched this. However, like many people have previously stated, don't let this be your first drama. As a first drama, it's exceptional and great and amazing...but other dramas can't compare. After finishing this, many dramas will fall short of your expectations. Therefore, you have to watch something that's inferior so you can both appreciate this drama and later dramas. I know, I know, my amazing review has you on your toes wanting to watch this drama, but endure it. If you're just starting out, I recommend My Lovely Girl, Monstar, and Heirs. Not that these dramas were necessarily bad, they just started out good and got slaughtered by the writers. Oh and one more word of advice, if you're just starting out don't watch a melodrama. There will be too much crying and angst for you to handle. Plus since you're just starting out you'll most likely be too confused to even be emotionally impacted. Happy watching!
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