Beautiful Mind third Teaser

Can I just write gibberish right now? hjfkladsahsdjkhfadjkshfjkasdhfuahuknfejsh!

Doctor Stranger – Final thoughts… Why did I keep watching?

First of all I want to apologize to anyone who really liked this drama. Everyone has their own opinion and that’s alright. We all have our own ideas of what we like and what we don’t like, so I don’t want anyone to feel attacked in any way, but I do want to vent a little bit.

First of all, when I started this drama I was really excited about it. I’ve always been a marathon watcher, so this was one of my very first live watching experiences. I should have been able to see the warning signs that the drama was not going to be fulfilling. A lot of other watchers I know dropped this early. I thought everything would work itself out… what was I thinking?

So, I can’t be completely negative, so I’ll try to throw in some positives by telling you what attracted me to this drama and why I chose to stick with it until the end. This will however, will be laced with negatives as well. I must honest.

Quick Synopsis: As a child, Park Hoon (played by Lee Jong-Suk) and his father get tricked into going to North Korea and cannot return. Park Hoon’s father is an amazing Doctor, and Park Hoon is trained to be amazing as well. Park Hoon falls in love in North Korea with Jae Hee (played by Jin Se-Yeon). He plans to escape with his love, but something terrible happens which separates them.

The North and South Dynamic

When I started watching this, I became very interested in the dynamic between North and South Korea. For a couple weeks, I read as much as I could on the history and watched many documentaries. I watched interviews from North Korean Defectors. The stories were extremely shocking. I don’t even like writing about it, because it makes me feel paranoid, so I won’t elaborate. The first few episodes I think painted an okay picture, but beyond that it fell flat and the focus was lost. The story became so stretched, I coudn’t buy into the nonsense anymore.

Hoon

I really liked Hoon at first. Really, he did okay all the way through, but he was so much more believable towards the beginning. I liked his quirkiness despite his pain. I also liked his talent until it became very exaggerated. At first it was cool that he could put his hand over someone’s heart and pinpoint the problem, but after a while I’d just shake my head. I’m glad this is not actually how they diagnose problems. Well, to their credit, this wasn’t the only way he diagnosed, but I feel he used his weird power a little too much.

Dr. Oh *spoilers*

I had great hopes for her character and really had hoped she could end up with Hoon. Their little flirtations were cute, but I guess in the end it was more of a sibling type of affection or really close friends. I also felt the writer could have written her character a little better. There was a time she was very likable, but then she became this love sick puppy who kept embarrassing herself and made some lousy decisions. Not what I had hoped for.

Jae Hee

Between Jae Hee and the writing, this is where my issues really lie with the drama. I couldn’t connect to Jae Hee. I tried, but couldn’t. I thought her character was fine until she showed up in South Korea. One she appeared there, I felt like she was vacant. Some people say it’s the writing, but I feel like a lot of it has to do with the acting as well. I feel like she could have appeared cold and distant, but still have been able to show true glimpses of affection which wouldn’t have allowed me to doubt her intentions so much. Basically, because I couldn’t buy into her acting it had a ricochet effect. I then couldn’t buy into her and Hoon and a couple and felt no connection to the love story.

I’m not saying this drama is terrible.. well for me it was, but there are many fans out there who liked it and I’m sure there reasons are very valid. For me, the writing felt sloppy and the medical competitions became so tiresome. It seemed like every time they would tie and need to do just one more competition to break the tie. Not only that, but I was disgusted at how some of the characters wanted Hoon to lose so badly that they didn’t care what happened to the patient. I don’t mind feeling uncomfortable from time to time watching a Kdrama, but it should be balanced. There shouldn’t be this overall constant feeling of disgust and disappointment.

I do like that they pulled everything together at the end, but it felt a little too late. It didn’t make up for how confusing it was in the middle and how much it dragged.

I do want to say though, that in the last few episodes I really appreciated Cheon Ho-Jin’s acting skills. He has a scene where he reveals everything and shows us just how evil he truly is. This scene was brilliant. I thought it was probably the best acting in the entire drama along with one of the earlier scenes when Hoon is crying when he’s behind bars. I really respect Cheon Ho-Jin’s acting skills and I’m so glad he had the opportunity in this drama to show us his talent. I equate the scene to a really awesome drum solo. The rest of the song might be mediocre, but then you get to hear the drummer, who normally has to blend in with the song, pour out everything he has.

My rating 2/5

Tell Me, Tell me, Tetetetete tell me.. what you think of Doctor Stranger Episode 7-10

Tell Me, Tell me Tetetetete tell me.. Dr. Park and Dr. Oh, how cute are we?

I wanted to write something about Doctor Stranger episodes 7-10 but it’s going to be brief. It’s not really going to be a recap at all, but rather a bit of rambling.

I have been enjoying the series, but it is going around in circles right now and still failing to answer some questions. Now, I don’t really mind the mystery, but some of the characters are started to annoy me. Well, I shouldn’t say they are annoying me, but rather they are difficult to relate to.

I’m not a big fan of Seung-Hee/Jae Hee (Jin Se-Yeon) as either character. In the first few episodes Jae Hee seemed very sweet, but the Seung-Hee Character appears emotionless. Even when she is acting as “Jae Hee” I’m not convinced it’s real. The way I see her, she has two facial expressions:

The Seung-Hee Expression

The Jae Hee Expression

I don’t really care for either expression. She really bugs me.. and yet I can understand why Hoon loves her. He has such fond memories of her, and of course he would want to protect her no matter what. They’ve been through a lot together.

We’ve learned more about Jae-Joon (Park Hae-Jin), but I’m still not a fan. His character also feels very distant.

I still love Dr. Oh (Kang So-Ra) and Park Hoon (Lee Jong-Suk). Hoon’s been distracted by Jae Hee, but I can understand why. His character to me and his reactions are believable. Same with Dr. Oh.

Anyway, I’m going to continue to watch to see what happens but I hope it starts to come together more because it feels a bit like sand slipping through my finger tips. Less Jae-Hee, more Doctor Oh please (sorry Jae Hee).

Anyone else feel Seung-Hee character isn’t very believable, relatable?

Episode 7-8: 3.5/5

Episode 8-9: 2.5/5

Doctor Stranger Episode 6 Review – The title is taking on a new meaning

**Read with Caution – Contains Spoilers**

Alright! We’ve reached episode 6, and still… Confusion! I have to say though, I’m loving it despite the unanswered questions I have. But what I really want to know (and I’m sure everyone else wants to know as well) is this really Jae Hee (Jin Se Yeon)? If it’s Jae Hee, is she working with the North Korean side to get close to Park Hoon (Lee Jong Suk) so she can protect him? Has she lost her memories? Is she a Doppleganger? Has she been brainwashed? Does she have a twin? Did she have a face transplant? Was she somehow not who he thought she was? Heck, does she have multiple personalities!!!! Yes, I know, that last one is perhaps a stretch. I think everyone was hoping for some answers this episode, but I think they’re going to stretch out this mystery for a while. It’s also possible that once we think we’ve truly figured her out they’ll throw another wrench at us and confuse us some more.

Great Episode Moments

Doctor Oh and Doctor Park Moments

So Dr. Oh (Kang So Ra) and Dr. Park (Lee Jong Suk) moments are continuing to prove to be my guilty pleasure with this Drama. Yes, yes, I know he’s in love with Jae Hee, but we still don’t know much about what has happened to her. In the meantime until we have more clarity, these moments have been really great. I feel like Dr. Oh is starting to feel a growing connection and attraction towards Park Hoon. I’m going to feel really bad if this ends up as a one-sided love for her.

Face Touching

I love the moment when he’s passed out from drinking and she reaches for his face. Dr. Han Jae Joon (Park Hae Jin) watches her from a distance as she does this and in his jealousy he calls her to see if she’ll be honest about her whereabouts. Some may wonder why she lies. Well, it seems obvious to me. Even though she didn’t really do anything wrong, she feels guilty and is starting to realize she likes him. 

Drunken Falling

Then they had a few sexy awkward moments. First there was him passing out drunk bringing her down with him and holding her tightly. Of course though, in this moment he says Jae Hee’s name. He really loves and misses her.

Awkward Out of the Shower Moment

Then he accidentally walks in on her just after she’s had a shower. Well, at least she was wrapped in a towel or I think she would have died from embarrassment.

Sweet but sad Dr. Oh looking nervous

Another really cute moment which shows us how Dr. Oh is feeling is when they are at her deceased mother’s house. As Dr. Park is leaving, we can see Dr. Oh’s nervousness in her hands. You can tell she’s anxious by how she keeps moving her hands and touching her arms. I think many women have nervous ticks when they are around someone they like. Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but I think it’s pretty adorable though, but at the end she looked somewhat sad. I wonder if it’s going to end up in heartbreak. I think it’s really too early to tell which direction this is going to go in. But I must say, I do like Dr. Oh’s character. Can Dr. Park ever love her the way he loves Jae Hee? That really depends on “Who is Jae Hee”. I thought the title Doctor Stranger was referring to Park Hoon, but now I think perhaps it’s referring to Jae Hee.

Comedy Relief

Now, in the mist of this ever so serious suspenseful plot, I’m glad to see we continue to still have some comedic relief. I find that really helps keeping this drama well balanced. Dr. Moon (Choi Jung Woo) is funny! I want to nickname him Doctor Goofball.

Additional Comments

I could barely watch the torture scene of the North Korean Cha Jin-Soo (Park Hae-Joon). I’m not a fan of his character, but that was just brutal *shiver*.

I feel so bad for Hoon right now. He sees the woman he loves right in front of him, but she claims that she’s not her. He doesn’t know what to believe, but he desperately needs to know.

Where were all the medical scenes in this episode? We didn’t get to see many but I forgive it, because it delivered in other ways. But I do want to see some more amazing Park Hoon saving people moments.

Final Thoughts

I want more!!! More Dr. Stranger please! I’m still enjoying this and it rocks. Dr. Stranger, Hwaiting!

So, I’m curious what everyone thinks about Jae Hee. Any theories out there that can be backed up from what we’ve seen so far? Personally, if I were to guess right now I would say it’s her, but she’s been brainwashed, or she’s pretending. If she’s pretending though, why did she look so clueless in the last episode when watching herself in the video? I’m not committed to any theory. Truth is I just don’t know.

Episode Rating: 4.7/5

Wow!! Doctor Stranger – Episode 1 Review

Okay, So I’m behind on this drama. I started watching Doctor Stranger last night. I’m done making assumptions about dramas. This wasn’t at all what I expected, but then again, I’m not sure what I expected. Usually the first episode of a drama kind of drags and isn’t all that interesting. A lot happens in Episode 1 of Doctor Stranger which makes it feel like watching a movie.

Synopsis (Based on episode 1): Young Park Hoon (child actor: Goo Seung Hyun) and his father (Kim Sang Joong) are from South Korea. Park Hoon’s mother left them and lives in America. Park Hoon’s father is a very talented heart surgeon who is brought to North Korea. Park Hoon and his Father are forced to stay in North Korea against their will. Park Hoon (Lee Jong Suk) grows up in North Korea and is trained and becomes a very talented doctor. His Father wants to see him flee North Korea.

Why was this episode was so good? 

Very good Acting

So here comes the Wow!! Honestly, I wasn’t a huge Lee Jong Suk fan but this acting is really growing on me!!! He can really act. I usually am a big ahjussi fan, and steer away from fangirling actors that look really young (because it feels odd) but I’m seriously impressed with his acting skills. Goo Seung Hyun also did very well as the child version of Park Hoon. Poor Park Hoon when he picks up the phone and here’s his mom say she doesn’t want anything to do with him. Park Hoon’s character is so heart wrenching! He goes through so much and yet so far, from what I can tell, he has a huge heart. At first, I didn’t think I cared much for the father played by Kim Sang Joong but he really has a challenging appearance. He starts out cold and distant towards his son, but very quickly we recognize the unconditional love he has for his him.

A little bit of Romance

So Park Hoon meets Song Jae-Hee as a child (later played by Jin Se-Yeon). They have a very sweet moment together when they are young and it blossoms into something special as they get older. I won’t elaborate beyond this because you have to watch to find out).

A lot of Shock

Ahhhhhhh! Craziness! So we hear stories about North Korea but I’ve never watched anything that depicted life in North Korea. I can’t even imagine the culture shock a child would go through growing up in South Korea and all the sudden being forced to remain in North Korea. I don’t know how accurate all the depictions are, but I couldn’t help but feel very uncomfortable with some of the scenes.

Heartbreak…

Oh Park Hoon, no…. Sigh… I won’t spoil.. I really feel for him. Too much tragedy.

Final comments: This drama started really strong and had a lot going on in the first episode. It had a little bit of everything for everyone. There was a little bit of romance, lots of sadness, some great (and somewhat gross) surgery scenes. This episode was very high impact and left a very strong impression on me.

My episode rating: 4.5/5