This is a hard one to review, considering the fact that I am not a hospital drama fan, but I am so surprised that this drama was cut short. Of all the hospital dramas I have seen, this one was one of the most interesting. I was also intrigued by the idea of a love story with a sociopath as the main lead, but I have a feeling that's exactly what turned people away.
The most impressive part of this show is Jang Hyuk as Dr. Lee Yeong Oh. I've only seen him in Fated to Love You (which I LOVED), but he is completely unrecognizable compared to that role. His portrayal of a doctor who lacks empathy surprisingly tugged at my emotions. He was so good that it was impossible not to sympathize with his character. His approach to each case sometimes was reminiscent of the show "House", but I did find his character to be very unique. His performance alone would make me recommend this drama.
He is matched with Park So Dam as Gye Jin Sung. She was very cute, and played her role well, but I wasn't that impressed to be honest. In the beginning her character is written to be annoying, but that eventually turns into an awkwardness that is endearing. She also has pretty good chemistry with Jang Hyuk, and some really cute scenes, but there's no strong spark between them. Part of me wonders if a more mature actress would have made a better match for a strong character like Dr. Lee. It also may be too hard for some romance fans to root for the way the male lead uses Jin Sung. It didn't bother me, but I can see how some viewers may not like how gullible, and easy she is.
The supporting cast is also strong, especially the main hospital staff. Some of the "bad guys" are a little too cliché for me, or not interesting enough to mention. Still, I think the cast is the strongest part of this show, they just didn't have a good enough story to support them.
The story was interesting at first, but I think it honestly became too complicated. The amount of betrayal, and corruption kept increasing, and I stopped being able to completely follow who was bad, and why. There was also a major personality change for one of the main characters which made that character less interesting to me. Then there was the complicated father son relationship, which was one of the most interesting parts of the show for me, but that story, and the romance story, were too often overshadowed by the hospital corruption plot which bored me. In spite my feelings about hospital dramas, I liked how the patient stories served to reveal new things about Dr. Lee, and I thought those stories were done well. I wish the overall drama focused more on that, and Dr. Lee, then maybe I would have liked it more.
The writers did do a good job of ending the show early without it feeling too rushed. I don't even think that having 2 extra episodes would have necessarily been any better. I prefer that a show be cut short rather than dragged out with nothing new to add.
Overall I liked this show, but the start was much stronger than the finish. I don't really see myself watching it again, but I certainly don't regret watching. Like I said before, the main character is interesting enough that I would recommend watching this, but don't expect an epic romance, or an amazing thriller. In spite of my moderate review, I do agree that this show is underrated. I've seen much worse shows have much more popularity, so don't let the fact that it's unpopular fool you!
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