It’s been a particularly mentally exhausting week as a K-drama watcher following along with the current offerings. A few Wed-Thurs dramas got preempted for elections coverage thereby halving the drama fix, and then Dr. Stranger was the talk of the town in the Mon-Tues slot with its spectacular nose dive in logic, execution, plot, and continued fandom sniping behind-the-scenes. If I didn’t like it so much in the beginning, I would drop this one like a hot potato because it’s hella annoying to deal with fans of one ship continually saying the same complaints over-and-over, attributing every ratings uptick to their ship getting more screen time, and drops to the other ship pulling down the show. If drama viewers leave DS because of the last two episodes, it’s because those two episodes sucked and there is no emotional grip on the central narrative anymore, not because one leading lady got way more screen time than the other. None of the characters make any sense on top of the story making no sense to begin with, and two wrongs together do not make a right.
There are a bajillion more interesting things in this drama than the romance element, which currently remains unequivocally two people who love each other (Jae Hee-Hoon) with nary a love triangle or any semblance of one in sight. Maybe a lopsided three-legged stool, but if I were a fan of Soo Hyun’s character I wouldn’t want her to fall for a guy like Hoon who is single-minded in loving one woman for the greater part of his entire existence. But I wonder if the writer will indeed try to amp up that pointless angle judging by the just released new stills from episode 11 showing Hoon goofing around with Soo Hyun at the hospital. I liked her character a lot early on but if she turns into someone who seeks out Park Hoon for reassurance, support, and guidance all the time because Jae Joon is a dickwad, then she’ll turn into someone as hard to stomach as the opaque Seung Hee/Jae Hee hybrid that feels bipolar and without an understandable purpose. Right now none of the characters are likable so if I was the writer then resurrecting their characters would be the top priority since there is no way to make this insane drama suddenly make sense.
The word on the street is that the production has decided to quickly revise the script for episodes 11-12 this week (hence no previews yet) in order to right a sinking ship. I hope to god it’s not to switch up the OTP because who ends up with Park Hoon is the lamest discussion worthy issue in this drama by far. I want to know definitively who the hell Jae Hee/Seung Hee is? What is the very important plan around PM Jang’s heart surgery? What is Jae Joon’s revenge plan other than convincing Chairman Oh to hand over the hospital to him? What does Park Hoon see for his life beyond living happily ever after with Jae Hee down the road? What does Soo Hyun really want, to be a good surgeon or to run the hospital and develop her talents behind the scenes? Will anyone ever stop Comrade Cha from openly lurking everywhere? When will the President of South Korea get a clue that his PM is plotting behind his back? Will Park Hoon’s MIA mom make her reappearance? Will this drama ever be fun to watch again?
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I am really curious, why is nobody recapping Big Man? I watched one episode and was completely hooked. Can't wait for next week's episode.
I am also hooked on Big Man. Although it is a thoroughly recycled plot, the execution is excellent.
i like how you tell the problem because its true!!! ep. 11 i'm ready for another tornado.
If they revise the plot and decides that killing Jin Se Yeon's character for the laughs again then........I will laugh.......
Well, at least SBS realized that story took the wrong alley, plot wise. I agree with Mrs K on that one & frankly I couldn't care less about who the puppy will end up with. The show lacks consistency & coherence & Sora being the female lead wouldn't change anything. I googled the writer & was surprised at the poor CV: How did he get the job? Really,if LJS wasn't in this show, I would have dropped it too. Now that's unrequited love for you.
On the list of things wrong with this drama the romance is at the bottom of the list. I really hope the script revisions have to do with explaining SH/JH or at least trying to make the whole surgery thing make some sort of sense.
I really hope so :(
LOL…i want answers to all those questions too! Will we get them in the next episodes??? *sigh* that remains to be seen. I really used to look forward to this fast-paced drama, but now, i'm caring less if it's Monday already or not…but i'm hoping that things will turn around soon…
wise comments Koala unni^^
I think the majority of people who watch this show will still watch it for the romance since that is the biggest espect for them when it comes to dramas. I wanted romance too in the beginning but now I'm just like, "kill the bad guys already!."
I completely agree that switching up the OTP at this point would hardly do anything, but perhaps just add more inconsistency on top of another inconsistency and will only serve to topple the show down to deepest realm of drama hell. Answers is what the viewers need, so drama better giveth or audience shall taketh their time somewhere else that's worthwhile. Having said that though, I just cannot help but pity both actors (LJS & JSY) for carrying the burden of the romance of this show, as they're the only functioning couple left in the show anyway... So pardon me koala but I just needed to get this out of my chest. Long post incoming in 3... 2... 1...
I just want to post here what I've posted over at soompi to which I pointed out how the show has done a great disservice to its primary loveline that it has done the near impossible--have its viewers become desensitized to it. To a point that the actors had to be unfairly besmirched when they've been doing everything they can to make it work, chemistry or none. I sincerely believe that the public sentiment has been swayed unwittingly by the show to not like the OTP, and ultimately set themselves up to their own failing.
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In any case, as far as romance goes I’m truly disappointed with how the show has handled their OTP’s loveline. They have just about permanently damaged what could have been a great romance set-up, now they’re stuck into redoing the script which I largely suspect is because all of a sudden the OTP became marginalized, to a point, that not even a kiss could resuscitate the flat lining romance. Subsequently, resulting to the drop in the ratings, among many other things, which they have done to their own detriment.
The set-up of Hoon's and Jaehee's love in itself isn't faulty, but the writers have made a crucial mistake by purposely hurting themselves when they suddenly cut off Hoon's and Jaehee's romance and throwing Jaehee into the bridge without even giving the decency of fleshing her out. Then Seunghee comes along, and the show continued to deter her development by keeping her identity under the wraps. They have created a scenario where the audience becomes reluctant and confused whether they should root for Seunghee or not, and this continued for like what, 7 episodes? There is a detachment to their romance because the show has sabotaged itself by dousing it with cold water before it could even grow hot. They were mistaken if they expected that the first 2 episodes would have been enough to carry that narrative, especially when they kept interjecting it with convoluted spy plot in between, which only further confused the audience. What could have been dedicated as a buildup leading to the climax of Jaehee's kiss-reveal by episode 9, the show wasted it all towards muddling Seunghee’s intentions instead. Hence, by the time the reveal and kiss happened, it just fell flat. It was supposed to be a high point which culminates what could have been a romantic build up in the previous episodes, instead, the show just laid the kiss like it was some random encounter. It's like that awkward moment of prematurely going into climax before you've even made penetration. I could hardly even call it as a pay-off because I was too busy figuring out if it’s Jaehee or not, I was like: “She kissed him! So she’s Jaehee after all, oh wait, she disappeared? It was just a dream? Oh it was real!” Without even realizing, they already kissed, and instead of me being drawn and immersed to the emotions of the kiss, I’m left dangling because show just kept teasing me like the deplorable harlot that it was. Until. The. Very. Last. Scene.
Seriously, show.
agree, they messed up the loveline...i've stopped watching it