A serious drama turns light and fluffy in a blink
To be honest, this show does tick a lot of boxes if you are looking for a sweet rom com/healing drama. It also have a nice looking OTP that can work magic when the condition is right. However, this is also where things can get a little awkward.Let's backtrack a bit. Both leads have suffer major setbacks in their career and their lives are spiralling ever downwards. It is into this maelstrom that they rediscovered each other and supported each other through thick and thin. Once a bit of historical misunderstanding is cleared up, they realised that they are each other's first love in high school. Yes, very tropey.
Nevertheless, these are solid foundations so let's roll with it. I do appreciate that the show put some mental conditions front and centre. Bullying, overwork and PTSD are just some of the challenges our leads have to face. They are serious conditions but the show doesn't do a deep dive into them. It is a little light on diagnosis and treatment. Cough, the self assessment questionnaire is ... interesting. I suppose we should be thankful that at least those conditions are acknowledged rather than just sweep under the carpet.
This light touch extends to the main plot as well. While the initial set up and execution was very impactful, once the major hurdle has been cleared, the plot took the easy way out. The main plot literally died. What is left is your standard rom com trope.
There is nothing wrong with a good rom com. The problem here is the interaction between the leads. On paper, they are well matched and look lovely together. While the FL has a mature/straight-laced demeanor, the ML is prone to exaggeration once he is in love. He goes full aegyo to get her attention. It is cute and sweet but it can feel like a noona romance at times. This is awkward because they are the same age and both are doctors.
How much you'll enjoy this show will depend on how well you can handle sugar hits. It gets sweeter and sweeter as the show progress until it is pretty much sugar overload by the end of the show.
Acting is fine from the ensemble. There is a fair amount of overacting from the support cast. There are heartfelt and emotional scenes which showcase our leads' talent.
The series ran through a number of serious societal issues but none of them are given in-depth treatments. It is better than nothing but you can sense that nothing is going to get in the way of a HEA ending. Once you get past the confronting plot, it is angst lite and sweet but it can also give you a toothache.
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Yay!, OK, Meh, and Boo
My theory, based on doctors I have known: medical students spend so much time in school and internships that they miss normal adult social interactions, and consequently suffer from arrested emotional development. I submit "Doctor Slump" as a case study. The maturity of the main characters wasn't what one would expect of people their age.This series suffers from trying to be too many things: drama, romance, and comedy; the first two worked well, if inconsistently, but the third came off as juvenile and misplaced. Whether the attempted comedy was a script choice or a directing choice, it was so off pitch and over-acted that it made me want to throw things at my TV, and is primarily why I didn't rate the show higher.
A couple of things I found baffling:
1) Ha Neul's wardrobe seemed chosen to have her fade into the wallpaper - neutral on neutral. For a while I thought it was a visual reflection of the character and would perk up as her personality evolved, but nope, stayed boring and unflattering throughout.
2) How did these characters last 16 episodes without dying of cirrhosis? I'm honestly worried about the health of the script writer if she thinks this level of consumption is normal or healthy.
On the pro side: based on my personal experience, the script's treatment of depression, its manifestations, effects, and recovery hit all the right notes, particularly in presenting Ha Neul's unresolved anger from the violence and mistreatment at work as manifesting as helplessness, defeat, and demoralization. The development of her character and behavioral responses during treatment was also realistic and well handled. The development and clarity of Yeo Jeong Woo's character was a little more murky to me, but I did like that solving his business problem didn't magically solve his personal problems.
In contrast to other viewers, I thought the story was sluggish in the beginning but really picked up in the last eight episodes. The plot lines and character arcs set up in the first half of the series began playing out and resolving and that was a lot more satisfying for me than the build up. I also liked that we finally got to see a more holistic picture of Nam Ha Neul after eight episodes of more than I ever wanted to know about Yeo Jeong Woo.
I loved the gradual reveal of the family dynamics and IMO the characters were perfectly cast. Park Shin Hye is compelling in everything she does, Jang Hye Jin was the perfect Mom for this story, Yoon Sang Hyeon really grew on me as the series progressed, and I want Hyun Bong Sik's Tae Seon as my real life uncle and Kong Seong Ha's Lee Hong Ran as my real life best friend.
I won't rewatch it, but I mostly enjoyed it the first time around.
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Slowburn wannabe
I usually love slow burns but this one was one i didnt really like for being a slow burn wannabe. It didnt have the slow speed all throighout and keep you engaged like they usually do. I liked the concept and the story, I just felt like the flow and speed was hit or miss and i wish they made him manlier.Was this review helpful to you?
I solely watched this for the leads, if you also like the leads then you can too!
Overall entertaining drama with overall good feel. So many kdrama cliches but thankfully no love triangle. I thoroughly enjoyed watching park hyung sik and park shin hyes acting. They did their part well.nothing very remarkable about this drama tbh…just a normal story about two people who are tired of life and found comfort in each other, but that perspective also the drama didnt dwell well. It touched romance,friendship,comfort,comedy everything a little and ended with the same note.Was this review helpful to you?
Enjoyable
Park Shin-Hye's return to the screen in this captivating Kdrama is nothing short of a triumphant comeback. Paired alongside the esteemed Park Hyun-sik, the chemistry between the two actors is palpable, adding depth and authenticity to the storyline. With just two episodes in, it's evident that this series has the potential to etch its name in the annals of Kdrama history as one of the finest. For those on the fence about giving it a chance, fear not; the magnetic performances and engrossing plot make it a must-watch. So, without further hesitation, dive into this mesmerizing tale and witness the magic unfold!Was this review helpful to you?
A warm hug. My comfort couple.
where to start? I have been watching kdramas for a long long time. so, now, the people who just started watching kdramas during pandemic don’t come at me. I have watched these two from the heirs, I watched them grow, oh it was lovely. Fans like me knew what these two used to be. PHS? he was always like this. charming, funny. Though I wasn’t his huge fan, I watched his dramas. He was this cute since he was in ZE:A band. He is sweet to his all leading ladies. Lots of people complained that he lost weight, he looked better when he gained weight. it’s annoying yk. I mean can’t we let them do whatever they want? I am used to seeing him like how he is now, slim. but I liked him when he gained some weight too. Since he joined the industry, he has been always like this. now let’s talk about PSH? Hands down. She is a queen. she was the first one who made me love kdramas. She was cute in he is beautiful and then the heirs, she made me fall in love with LMH. It’s funny these actors get hates these days. Seriously kids these days don’t know them properly. Literally these people took kdramas to the international level. -,- anyways back to the drama, I won’t say that it has the best plot. but the dialogues? you will love it. it calms your heart. few years back, even when the story wasn’t good, the actors’ acting was something that hooked the audiences like me. this one is literally like that to me. even if they just bicker and do nothing, it will excite me. this is how Rom-com used to be in kdramas. If you are not looking for something too serious, I swear you will love it. life doesn’t go as planned. it gets messed up when you least expected it to. this drama isn’t perfect and that’s what it makes it perfect to me. you will notice little details such as I watched today that Ha neul has her charger charging her phone while talking to Jeong Woo. I immediately got flashbacks of those days. I mean, we shouldn’t do it but we still do it, right? It’s so relatable and so funny at the same time. And I said this before too that if this drama has anything that’s top notch it’s their chemistry. I seriously never thought that Myungsoo (PHS’s character in the heirs) and she will be in romcom and they will have so much chemistry that will made giggle like a mad. Anyways, I have been here for a while, I mean in Mdl. It’s really sad to see people hating others for no reasons. My humble request is that, if you can’t say something good, don’t say something bad either. Your opinion matters, of course give opinions but stop with the unnecessary hate.Was this review helpful to you?
A Healing Journey
I loved the main point that this drama sends to its viewers...It’s okay to fall down, it’s okay to take time and heal, it’s okay not to be okay, but it’s also important to know when it’s time to start again and to accept that starting again means starting slow and starting from within.
The romance was a great added bonus to the storyline, especially because the leads have great chemistry. But even without the added romance, they were able to portray and send the message properly- it was still a win.
I would say that everything about this drama was well executed. The support system of fmc is just top notch. I think that the mother and uncles role in this drama should also be given a proper salute. The way they tried is enough to help a person. It’s enough to let the fmc know she’s not alone and she has her family to help her through.
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Good beginning but then...
I wonder if there had been another female protagonist if the series would have been different and better.I don't particularly like the actress Park Shin Hye because in every series I've seen (for example The Heirs or Memories of Alhambra), in which she stars, she weighs down the story. Monothematic in her sadness, with this idiotic look with his mouth ajar, in the long run she makes me nervous.
On the other hand, I liked Park Hyung Sik. Always elegant and gentleman, I especially like to remember the scene in which he looks in the mirror.
While the scenes in which they pretend to be drunk I found them not very credible.
But I was a super fan of the couple of their friends. So cute.
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This review may contain spoilers
Doctor Slump is giving me many butterflies while watching it
It's a very normal story about two people who share pain and disappointment about their life and the unexpected path it took.After long years of hard work to be a doctor Ha Neul (Park Shin Hye) requit her job after knowing that she is depressed to take a break to think and take care of herself. In the other hand we have Yeo Jeong Woo (Park Hyung Sik) who is a very popular Plastic surgeon, but loses everything after a terrible surgery. So he moves on the roof in the house of Neul.
Then we got to know that were classmates in the high school, not a normal classmates but a very competitive ones, so we got to see many and many funny moments between them and also flashbacks when they were just students and believe me they competit about everything like : "let's find out who has the worst life !?" Hehe .
And i loved how they support each other when they're at their worst, and how she believed he was innocent from the first moment.
i loved the chemistry between Shin Hye & Hyung Sik ( something i wanted to watch since the Heirs).
And how warm and cozy is the dialogue in the drama! I cried in many scenes with them ㅠㅠ
I loved many supporting characters too like Nam Ba Da ( God, the sister brother interactions are so natural and funny),
And i liked Dae Young ( a true friend trusts in you even when everyone claims you are guilty).
I never wrote a review before watching the whole drama BUT this one is special!!! Can't wait to see more :)
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This review may contain spoilers
Cringey romance. ….. and nothing else
This drama - is it the Netflix USA watered down version for the American audience?It is tepid'
, tasteless, cringey, pointless. Like old dramas made in the 70s.
Over the top mother and jobless son are supposed to be the comic relief when in reality they make you want to cry.
The mean and absurd doctors who steal dissertations - yikes'
The whole criminality behind the Macau murder - was it meant as a child’s play?
And finally the romance- seriously if you are married and uncomfortable kissing other men in your chosen career then do the audience a favor and stop accepting romantic roles.
The FL has the expression of Atlas carrying the burden of the earth - sad, sorrowful- and this has nothing to do with her depression.
The ML struggles thhhrough the romantic scenes. His antics in other scenes bring some oxygen to this claustrophobia.
I really wish they would display the meds which the psychiatrist prescribed for the FL because by the end of the 7th episode I’ll be needing the same.
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interesting plotline, bad execution
When I saw this on Netflix I was elated. I mean, two academic rivals meeting each other again at the lowest point of their lives resulting in them finding solace in each other? AND falling in love in the process? That's literally my cup of tea. Unfortunately, I ended up being disappointed.First and foremost, I disliked the romance. I barely felt anything between the leads. Their chemistry was nonexistent. I could tell they were going for a slow-burn romance. But where were the subtleties that makes a slow-burn a GOOD slow-burn? Instead we have Jeong Woo ignoring his own feelings towards Ha Neul, knowing deep down he likes her. Girl, the whole world knows you like her. I'm tired of those clichés.
The theme surrounding mental health was well explained. However, the comedic aspect ruined it all; it felt off-putting. Though, maybe that's just a preference considering I love mature dramas without comedy more than whatever-this-is.
Ending my review as I've only watched 5 out of 16 episodes
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Simply not good
I think the whole idea of this drama was better on the creator's head. Good idea to bring some awareness about mental health issues and many other factors that a doctor might have to go through their career.Sadly, very bad executed.
I really love fun and cheesy dramas, don't get me wrong. This one was just cringey and sometimes fun (barely). The acting was not good, many scenes felt forced and rushed, the romance evolved in a way that doesn't catch you kicking your feet because of how cheesy it is.
Watching it felt like they were going in one direction and then suddenly make this rough change when you are starting to "connect" with what's going on, if it was more organized, maybe I could have been better, but it was really messy and hard to watch. I was forcing myself to watch it just because I wanted to know more about how was he sabotaged in his surgery, but it is not worth watching the whole thing.
Boring, pretty female lead, male lead feels like a cheap copy of the male lead of our beloved summer back to school, good OST.
Simply, not good.
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