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
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