No. of episodes: 20 (each episode approx. 1 hour long)
It is one of the best Medical drama I have seen in years, irrespective of the language and the industry. Park Shin-hye as always has made her character believable to the fans. She walks and talks like a doctor with total conviction and has great chemistry with the other actors in terms of being a surgeon, a supervisor, a junior, a lover and a student. It is surprising how she makes every role her own and makes the fans believe in the character. An actress who has performed in so many popular dramas, it is difficult to make the fans believe in a completely different character everytime but anyhow she does it with so much ease.
The other cast members also helped in making the series a success. Kim Rae-won, won our hearts with his charismatic portrayal of Dr. Hong. The way he carries himself throughout the show is brilliant. From being a respectable neurosurgeon to a childish lover, he brings the character to life.
Lee Sung-kyung plays the girl who creates havoc in Dr. Yoo’s personal and professional life. But she grows in the audience’s heart as someone who we cannot hate. Her character shows maturity throughout the series as in the last couple of episodes she expresses her regret of letting her emotions take over her judgement when she was still a student and makes amends with Dr. Yoo in the end.
Yoon Kyun-sang plays Dr. Jung, who has a ‘cool’ personality and a killer smile but can make anyone’s day bad with his shrewd comments and nitpicking his juniors. He claims to like Dr. Yoo but respects her choices and even looks up to Dr. Hong. He openly accepts the fact that he lost to someone like him as he never had any chance to beat such a personality.
The series also shows the constant clash between the two groups of doctors. The ones who believe that a hospital is ‘not a profit-making business and should focus only on the patient’s welfare’ and the other half who believe that ‘in order to survive in the future and to incur all the expenses, the hospital should try and increase their profit’.
What makes the show even unique is the fact that not only did they focus on the medical aspect of the show but they also displayed visual content during the surgeries and consultations. This made the content more believable to the audience and for the ones who are not familiar with medical terms, they gave small descriptions about the diseases for better understanding. The scenes shot in the operation theaters were so convincing that one could easily belief that the actor was actually undergoing the surgery.
The show also brought about the patient’s viewpoints and their sufferings, whether be it a stalker who cannot let go of their obsession or a father who decides to commit suicide in order to let his children get free medical treatment. Even the doctors also had to go through life-threatening surgeries or see their loved ones die in front of them, despise doing their best. Such scenarios throw the light on the fact that even doctors becomes helpless at times like this, even after gathering years of knowledge and expertise.
I started watching the show because it had Park Shin-hye in it and I am her big fan but this K-drama is so much more than just one person. Kudos to the whole team for creating such a spectacular show which covers every aspect of a doctor’s life.
