Tanya: This drama was a little more serious than I was expecting actually, but I like it!
Zombie: Oh my goodness, yes! I really wasn’t sure what to expect, going into Doctor Stranger but I can guarantee you I wasn’t expecting something as fantastic as this! I spent the entire two hours I was watching this week going, “Wow! I feel like I’m watching Mission Impossible!” (Or something along those lines.) Needless to say, I was impressed.
Tanya: Lee Jong Suk is doing so well. He’s always been good, but the range of emotions we have seen in his character so far is amazing. The dynamics are great and I hope they keep it at this level! The pace has been good as well, at least in my opinion.
Zombie: I totally agree with you! The pacing, the tension, the plot and the character development have all been incredible so far. My only fear is that after starting out so strong, this drama could start to fall flat as the story progresses. I’m not saying this is going to happen because I’m really hoping it won’t but there’s always that possibility. Too many dramas start out strong and kind of fizzle out by the end but I’m crossing my fingers that Doctor Stranger won’t be one of them.
Tanya: I think that there is enough of an actual plot line in this drama that we won’t run into that problem, although I’m not going to lie…. the searching for the girl so many different times for so long was getting obnoxious. I think once she’s out of the North and they move on to the next plot point, which is obviously him becoming a successful (and hopefully ethical) doctor, it will be good. I also like that there is some actual “medical” in this medical drama.
Zombie: Yes! It’s nice to watch a medical drama with that actually involves practicing medicine. I am curious to see how the medical part of this story is going to continue because Park Hoon has a long way to go if he’s going to get from back-alley doctor to major hot-shot in this big fancy hospital. This is going to be an interesting progression for Park Hoon and I’m excited to watch it!
Speaking of excited… I did a fangirl fist-pump when Park Hae Jin showed up in the hospital in Seoul. For whatever reason, I didn’t realize he was in this drama and I’m so excited to see him in another drama. He was such a perfect bad-guy in My Love From Another Star and I can’t wait to see him in this new role! I think Han Jae Joon is going to be the perfect rival for Park Hoon
Tanya: Yes! The return of another favorite. I’m actually intrigued by Jin Se Yun who plays Jae Hee. She’s been able to show many different sides in one character. I want to see how she manages throughout the show. I don’t recall seeing her in anything before, unless I’m drawing a total blank today.
Zombie: I know she was in Inspiring Generation and Five Fingers but that’s all I’ve got. As for Jae Hee herself, I’m really curious to know what happened to her after she fell off that bridge. Yes, we see her in a camp at the end of episode two but I have a feeling she’s not going to be such an easy person to find. I think there’s a lot more to her than we’ve been shown so far.
Tanya: I think she’s doing a lot of things intentionally… but we’ll have to see how that theory pans out. There is definitely more to her character than just being in love with Park Hoon. And he’s totally played by it.
Zombie: I’m really afraid that once Park Hoon finds her again, he’s going to be heartbroken when he realizes she’s not the sweet and innocent flower he has always believed her to be.
Tanya: At the same time, stop thinking with the other brain and then you wouldn’t end up there? Maybe? No? Okay…
Zombie: I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what happens next.
Tanya: I was a little disappointed that they killed off his father so early in the series. I would have thought he would have had a greater role to play in all of this.
Zombie: I’m really sad about that too but I suppose that to have the greatest impact on Park Hoon, he had to die. I think Park Hoon is one of those people who only learn lessons when he’s forced to and the lessons he’s learned from his dad are only going to stick now that his father is gone. I mean, isn’t that why his dad decided to step out into the open in the first place? Because he knew his son would never even consider leaving North Korea if he were still alive he had to go and get himself killed.
Tanya: His father had a lot of inner conflict and guilt that his son ended up the way he did, and I can totally understand why. I don’t think he’s intentions of stepping out were completely innocent. I know there was a lot more at play in a selfish way then just trying to help his son. We witnessed that in the beginning before they even ended up in North Korea in the first place. He was highly ignored unless it suited his father. I think even after ending up in the North, his dad only softened because of environmental reasons, not necessarily father-of-the-year qualities. I’m not saying he didn’t love Hoon, because he obviously did, but his father worked very much for himself.
Zombie: While it’s true that Park Cheol had a lot of inner demons, I still believe he really did make that ultimate sacrifice in order for his son to have a chance at living a life of freedom. Maybe that was his way of making up for being such a stand-offish and uncaring dad at times but whatever the reason, he’s left a lasting impression on his son that I’m sure is going to come into play later on in this story.
Tanya: Totally acknowledge that and that his father did take the time to teach him to care for himself and others before taking that step out. I just want to say that I thought it was rather convenient of Hoon’s mother to look for him after her ex saved the country. I have a feeling the now Prime Minister’s minion actually let her go, just like he did for Park Hoon and his father though.
Zombie: I kind of got that impression too. For the record, I really like Sunglasses (sorry but I can’t remember his name). I think he’s going to end up playing a pivotal role in this drama (even more so than he already has) and I would really love nothing more than to watch him step out from under the Prime Ministers thumb and be the good guy we all know he is.
Tanya: Yay for Sunglasses! Hopefully we’ll see more of him in the next few episodes.
So now it’s your turn to join us in our discussion of Doctor Stranger. We want to know what you’re thinking so be sure to leave us a comment below.
You can also tweet at us @Hallyu_Tanya and @TheZombieMamma or find us talking about all manner of Hallyu goodness on our blogs: HallyuKnow and ZombieMamma
Catch up on all of our previous Doctor Stranger reviews here:
Episodes 1-2 [Part 1] [Part 2]