The first big-budget prime time drama of 2015 has wrapped up its run in MBC‘s Kill Me Heal Me, ending on a heartwarming note that was equal parts hopeful and sincere if one doesn’t read too much into all the details. That basically sums up this drama – looks great from a viewing distance, probably a mess up close if one was to slice and dice into the minutiae. Do I think it’s the K-drama version of a Monet? Could be, but that’s no diss since everyone appreciates a pretty Monet.
KMHM is without a doubt my favorite K-drama of the year so far, and there is neither snark nor faint praise in that opinion despite the competition around KMHM being so utterly crappy. This drama stands on its own for all-around quality – the directing was phenomenal and my favorite aspect of the watch, the script was well thought out and tight despite the suspension of disbelief here and there, and the acting was moving and cohesive with Ji Sung naturally the centerpiece of the entire hardworking cast.
Ji Sung was awesome playing every one of the seven personalities, the only debate is which one was the most memorable or your personal fave. It’s a toss up of Shin Se Ki and Ahn Yo Na for me, but at the end of the day it was his original personality of Cha Do Hyun who stood out for his strong sense of justice, empathy, and kindness. His character was amazingly rendered by the scriptwriter and even more amazingly brought to life by Ji Sung. A meeting of kindred spirits, if you may.
All the side and supporting characters in this drama deserve a shout out. The writer did her job in writing characters who served specific purposes in the story and followed through with it no matter how critical or ancillary. It was a collective effort to bring this story to life in such a complete way, and without the full cast neither leads Ji Sung or Hwang Jung Eum could have shone so brightly because the story around them wouldn’t have felt so compelling.
I’m not a fan of Hwang Jung Eum, still not one even after this drama, but she was lovely to watch in the way she ran the full gamut of emotions through the incredibly intense narrative development for her character. She was the ray of sunshine and portrayed it perfectly. Even better was her pitch perfect chemistry with Ji Sung no matter which personality he was playing at any given moment. One could ask for nothing more from a leading lady.
By all accounts this drama should never have worked, with such a fantastical premise of a male lead with 7 different personalities and his romance with his secret psychiatrist girlfriend. In the end it exceeded all expectation, and that is really what elevates KMHM beyond just a very good drama. It aims high and succeeds, how awesome and rare is that? The cast attended a much deserved drama wrap party, always a treat to see the celebratory drinks fly, and made even better with the drama garnering critical and popular acclaim commensurate with its quality output. I hesitated to recommend KMHM since the drama could go off the rails in the second half but now can recommend it wholeheartedly, this drama is wonderful and entertaining, just what the doctor ordered to cleanse away the bad taste from other recent disappointments!
Once KMHM airs abroad in countries with popular Hallyu waves like China or Japan, it’s most likely going to continue the success the drama already netted domestically. The story is creative, different, and really addicting to marathon watch, all the makings of another Hallyu hit. The OST is also a bestseller in Korea, selling at a volume three times what the typical drama OST sales numbers would be. I loved all the tracks when watching the drama but don’t quite love it enough to add to my playlist rotation.
Like the entirety that is KMHM, I walk away feeling appreciation for a cohesive work and acknowledgment of how much I enjoyed watching it, but KMHM doesn’t quite vault to the next level where it becomes super sticky with me. Even if this drama doesn’t linger too long after finishing, the residual affection will always remain as a work of art that has its share flaws and limitations yet never detracted from the bigger picture of visually telling a well-written story. I laughed, I cried, I gasped, I swooned, this drama hit me in all the right ways as I watched, and for that I thank thee Kill Me Heal Me. Thank you for being so satisfying through and through.
Click here to watch Kill Me Heal Me.
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I CAN'T AGREE MORE... I super duper loveeeee this drama!!!!
You're right about other drama crappiness has indeed made KMHL shined more.
Everything from beginning is so well written, I'm looking forward for this writer to do another good drama.
And Ji Sung... oh yeah!!! Wasn't a fan till this show, that I had to rewatch Protect the Boss in between episodes...... :):):)
This was Ji Sung's second coming out, a resurgence so to speak, an introduction to another generation, that this "ahjussi" isn't done yet. He played the character to perfection and watching the BTS, and seeing the subtle ways he ad-libbed and added more nuances to the various identities, shows a man who knows his craft. I am so happy for him, and can't wait for him to become an even bigger star in other countries.
Hwang Jung Eum is hit or miss, I have to say she is slowly converting me and I think age has mellowed her a bit. Or maybe it's maturity or her move to a new agency (CJeS, home of some of the biggest actors in Korea and the JYJ boys). Whatever it is, I hope she continues this upward trajectory in positivity, her personality and acting.
I have to say both JS and HJE have crazy chemistry, I wonder how each of their respective partners feel. They are so comfortable with each other, they don't have the typical, sunbae/junior stiff relationship, and even off camera, she calls him oppa, and he is comfortable with her enough to fix her hair, adjusting each other, etc. I am not shipping them or suggesting anything, just pointing out that their excellent portrayal on camera, is because they are not stiff or distant and it shines brilliantly in their portrayal and characters.
Unlike say Taiwanese dramas or Thai lakorns that cast acting pairs over and over again, Korean dramas don't usually work that way, but Ji Sung and HJE could become the first pair to start such a trend.
The second lead characters ended up being downplayed as the story took a life of his own. At least Ori On got to do something, but that rich girl, ended up being sidelined for most of the drama, as did Cha Do Hyun's cousin/rival.
The drama addressed a not usually covered topic in Kdramas - abuse and families/parents not always being the paragon of goodness, or worthy of the respect and honor that is so commonly advocated in many Kdramas. I am surprised they didn't get backlash for daring to depict SK in such a not perfect light, perhaps that explains the inexplicable humdrum ratings.
Finally, the writer and director deserve high praise. Despite some flaws, one cannot deny that KMHM is one of the best written Korean dramas ever. It knew from the very beginning where it was going and what it wanted to do, it maintained its consistency throughout, no lagging episodes, no crazy, wth antics, no unnecessary add-ons just to play gotcha with the audience - each twist, each reveal was carefully orchestrated and was in sync with the story (Bravo writer, bravo). Same with the directing - there was no crazy, over the top stylistic elements (Cough*I Heard It through the Grapevine*Cough). It did not have filming mishaps, time overruns that led to sloppy editing, etc. The whole production and team was top notch, worked well together and delivered a solid product.
*OMG, sorry did not expect to write this much. I just wanted to praise the hardworking team and cast of KMHM :)
Hwang Jeung Um has too much work, that's why she is either hit or miss but then I acknowledge her as great actress, she didn't look like typical lead lady, her face is not so cute in aegyo but she always can represent her character, even if I hate the character, I still have admiration on her
she has her own beauty
but she and jisung chemistry was so different than any other, despite they already have each partner
I once heard that she never asked her co-star because she thinks whoever him, I have to fall for him in the drama but he is not my type
I have to accept him as great person and try to show the chemistry as best as I can, learn from him and reciprocate his acting
cause the success is from us, then I remember she stated this role will make ji sung shine and I was like...okay you are great
Jisung also fun because he said he moves in his wife act and get sad on sad scene
but JS and LBY kind of have boundary in work, like they knew it all act and they shared experience and if have time watch their drama together
PSJ is funny, since he said his role had twist but it's good, not much when I think he completed The big brother role as one memorable character
don't care on sec. character, because they have to be there, so we can see how 1st love get dump and lead man that understand CY is playing with him
they can't be fully developed yet needed at certain aspect since we have 5 JS persona+ RJ +RO +oh family +backstory
still I don't think HJE and JS will pair as OTP again, maybe as mom and dad, as brother and sister,
JS is pretty diverse on role and she works a lot, the timing match this time and I don't have any leading lady better than her for RJ,
hmmm but I love them as OTP...
I hope HJE get married already...
oh no long comment - sorry -_-
@magpie i love your review!
And I also admire Jisung and Jung Eum's working relationship. Seeing them looking at each other with love written on their faces, and then switching to friendly smiles after the cut is so amazing to watch. Maybe it's a matter of having enough trust and respect for your working partner, to act knowing he or she will not misunderstand whatever you do during filming. I also like how Jisung would pat Jung Eum's back after shooting a romantic scene. No abrupt aloofness, or rude turning away, but a gentle reassurance that they're good. I've seen some method actors who would take on their characters's emotions offscreen, and although there's nothing wrong with that, it can certainly lead to misunderstandings.
KMHM is also my favoirite drama of 2015 this year and Ji Sung's performance is easily the best that I have watched in the k-drama sphere in the last 2 years. Truly bravo.
Truly bravo!!! Ji Sung is amazing here. And I've watched his previous works in between waiting for episodes of KMHM and I'm amazed at his progression as an actor. Well done for him!!! I'm now a fan and I hope to see him in another project soon. I agree with you, Koala that the story of our leads wouldn't have been so alive if not for the surrounding characters. Everyone did so well here, the chemistry between the two leads is amplified by their chemistry to the rest of the characters. Awesome. This is a gold mine indeed. I'm sure the producers are sitting back with a smug hand very satisfied smile on their faces now after having to go through all the doubts thrown it's way during the drama's early days into creation.
*smug and very satisfied smile...
If anyone didn't watch it, I RECOMMEND it!
The first week was slightly iffy, but then the rest zips past... There's stuff happening, I'm swooning, crying, laughing. The personalities will just be different characters you'll come to love and get attached to.
Ji Sung is phenomenal. There're not enough adjectives to describe his performance. Hwang Jung Eum was genuine (a little loud at times). Their chemistry was very beautiful!
Have to add: the theme song is LOVE!
Koala, I was so surprised you didn't recap KMHM but chose to recap HJM instead... So painful
I am glad she is recapping HJM instead, I am getting some honest feedback. The writer sucks, ha Ji min as as much personality as a free, robin as a character sucks balls. This is honesty that people need to hear specially people who love hyn bin so much they are in a daze. And it brought traffic. There are more comments here than at DB on HJM thread.
She is letting people vent their frustration.
i think it's bcoz Koala is a fan of Hyun Bin. :)
I think recapped HJM is not a bad idea since the drama turn to the least expectation story and performance route
and there's not so much place people can criticize it without labelled as hater and being ask to stop watching
Ji Sung oppa!!! :) Yes, I very much enjoyed his characters :) I will rewatch it again soon.
I can't stand HJE but I wanted to watch Ji Sung and his 7 personalities. Still debating...
Watch it, the first few episodes are a wee bit screechy but that ends quickly. Trust me as you go on, you're going to really love it :)
best drama in 2015. hope this drama win lot of award. only ji sung can pull these kind of acting. he really nail all his different ersonality. he and HJE make such a great onscreen couple. hope they both win best couple of the year.
They would win hands down!
I'm quite sad it ended with only 20 eps because i love all 7 character and personalities and feel it's a pity that we can't see them more. I think this is a kind of premise that work well for US series since all characters can be develop more so each characters can have their moment. I keep imagining how good it will be if each episode we have different personalities as focus just like in us series set up.
It's been done in the U.S. - United States of Tara.
there's do no harm and United States of Tara
but the plot is diff, the same is about DID
This drama is wonderful! Kept me engaged from beginning to end, and made me a fan of Ji Sung and Hwang Jung-eum. I will definitely look out for their projects in future.