KDrama Review: Doctor Stranger

Doctor Stranger was aired in 2014, but I only got to watch it a few weeks ago after all the “pressure” I got from my office mates. Although I love Lee Jong-Suk to bits, I wasn’t in the mood to watch old Korean dramas. Wala lang, ayoko lang. Hahaha!

I wanted to stop watching after I finished the first episode not because it was bad but because it was too intense! Nanikip ang dibdib ko sa ending ng first episode! But I decided to give it another shot after my KDrama addict office mates assured me that it gets lighter on the succeeding episodes. I’m glad that I actually caved in to peer pressure! If you ask me what my favorite Korean drama is, I would answer W - Two Worlds without thinking twice. But after watching Doctor Stranger, I have to say that this Korean drama almost beat W! Almost lang naman. :p

The story starts with Hoon (Lee Jong-Suk) as a child being “trapped” in North Korea as a result of some people tricking and conspiring against his father to operate on the North Korean’s leader. Hoon met his greatest love in North Korea, and they later on became doctors. Things got complicated when they attempted to escape. Tapos start na ng napakaraming conspiracies, cover-ups, gantihan at sandamakdak na dugo at internal organs! Hihi!

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Image taken from asianwiki.com

There was a time years ago when I got so addicted to watching medical dramas. I stopped after everybody seems to start dying in Grey’s Anatomy. I remember watching and falling in love with the plot of the Korean drama The Good Doctor years ago. But Doctor Stranger is more than a medical drama. It’s a medical drama with hints of romance, politics, action, espionage, suspense and even comedy! I felt like riding a roller coaster while watching Doctor Stranger! I don’t know why Lee Jong-Suk keeps on making dramas that make me really think hard. Bawal ang slow sa W at sa Doctor Stranger. Some may say that Doctor Stranger has a lot of things going on in a single episode, but I felt that the storytelling was so seamless. I didn’t really mind that I’m laughing at one moment, and then I’m already on the verge of crying at the next moment. Stretched na stretched and brain cells at heart muscles ko sa drama na ‘to!

I think I may be biased when I say that LJS is awesome in Doctor Stranger. His versatility was evident as he transitions from one emotion to another. Although his character was too good to be true, I really felt his vulnerability as he struggles between doing what is right and avenging against those who caused him pain. His bubbly attitude was also very refreshing. (May halong harot ang pagkaka-describe ko sa last sentence. Wahaha!)

I read a lot of mixed reviews with the lead actress, Jin Se-Yun. Some say that she doesn’t have good chemistry with LJS. I’m actually torn whether I like her or not. Sa’kin lang kasi si LJS. Cheret! But seriously, I believe that the chemistry was there. It’s just that the dual characters she portrayed were so heavy that it somehow overpowered the chemistry that others were looking for. I actually liked her portrayal. ‘Yung poker face slash forever galit aura niya, gets na gets ko.

Park Hae-Jin who plays Dr. Han was also incredible. I love that he had his fair share of being the protagonist and the antagonist at the same time. His transition from being vengeful to soft was flawless. Iba din manlisik ng mata si Kuya e. Haha!

I also liked Kang So-Ra who plays Dr. Oh. I believe she was the primary reason why a lot of viewers didn’t buy that Hoon and Jae-Hae tandem. Galing ka-love triangle ni Ate Girl e. You know that you have an effective love triangle when you get the viewers confused who they really want Dr. Park to end up with. She gave the kilig that was somehow missing between the two lead characters.

The rest of the supporting cast was awesome! ‘Yung mga kontrabida dito, kabwiset e! Hahahaha! Affected na affected ako. But what I really like about Doctor Stranger is how they presented the varying degrees of wickedness of the antagonists. There was the sagad-sa-buto-ang-sarap-patayin na kontrabida aka The Prime Minister. There was the crazy antagonist aka ‘yung North Korean na si Jin-Soo na tingin pa lang nakakagigil na. There was Dr. Han who was turned into a bad guy because of his personal circumstances. I loved how his history was well-presented to let the viewers understand where he was coming from. There was someone disguised as an antagonist, and then there were a couple of really bad guys who later on made life-changing decisions to become better people.

More than the heart-stopping scenes, I was more attached to the parent-child angles of the story. Ang sakit panoorin bilang nanay. Akala ko kikiligin lang ako kay LJS, pero wasak na wasak ‘yung puso ko! I felt the father’s pain as he sacrificed his life for his child. I felt the mother’s agony after waiting for years for her child. I felt the child’s despair and hunger for vengeance while watching him throw away everything he has just to avenge his parents. I would probably be not as invested as I was had I watched this years ago before I had a child.

There were a lot of moments which made me feel that it was too good to be true. And then there were also a lot of times when I felt really scared with thoughts like, “OMG! Wait, do these things happen in real life?” We’ve heard of unprofessional medical practitioners and medical malpractice cases, but watching Doctor Stranger made me wonder what are the chances that it may actually happen in real life. I guess those kinds of thoughts made this Korean drama more interesting and engaging. The plot makes the viewers think. The twists and turns make the viewers feel all kinds of emotions. Although some may say that the plot and the characters may be unbelievable, one cannot argue the fact that Doctor Stranger somehow exposes the vulnerabilities of human nature. It knocks on your conscience and gives your moral fiber some sort of a wake-up call. Just like what I said, a lot of scenes felt too good to be true, but it made me think what would I do had I been in the character’s place. Naisip ko talaga at one point, “Shet! Kung ako, baka pinatay ko na lang siguro siya para happy ending na!” I guess it adds to the beauty of the story. Ganun nga kasi talaga ‘yung mga drama ni LJS e! Requirement ang mag-isip. Hahaha!

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