The premise of this drama was really appealing to me, a doctor working illegally on the side to provide for his sick sister. Unfortunately, what we got out of this show wasn't exactly what was promised. In the first few episodes (and a little bit later on), we see the titular 'Yong Pal' in action, tending to wounded criminals, but after the initial episodes it feels like this is cast to the side for a loosely-related political revenge plot.
Let me make this clear, I enjoyed the show for what it was, I just wish they had actually expanded on 'Yong Pal' as a character more than they did.

As for the 'real' story of this show, it was actually quite good for the most part. I was really drawn into the politics and revenge plotting for the majority of the show, enough for me to marathon it in a couple of days. The casting and acting was superb overall, with Joo Won providing an especially engaging performance as Kim Tae Hyun. The relationship between his character and Han Yeo Jin was really a delight to see unfold.  The rest of the main cast did a really good job as well, to the point where I can't think of a performance that stands out as being particularly poor.

While the show maintains a solid pace throughout the main body of its runtime, the last few episodes the plot really begins to unravel. Apparently, (not sure if this is true), the show proved so popular that it was spontaneously extended by two episodes, and this really shows. The last two episodes are easily the most confused and underwhelming of the entire show. While there are good scenes here, it ends up feeling like the writers throwing characters and conflict at the audience for no real reason. This culminates in what I can only describe as an abrupt, disappointing ending, with several notable plot points left largely unresolved.

Despite this, i'd say this show is worth the watch, as it provided a really good viewing experience for the most part, with lots of likeable characters (and some easy-to-hate antagonists), and really solid performances by the cast.

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