ruminations
I will start with the acting. I initially was reluctant with watching this drama because of PMY. She is not a particularly great actress, but she wasn't bad at all in this drama and she has improved quite a bit since her City Hunter days. Still not anything exceptional but passable.
Ji Chang Wook is a whole different ball park. He is the prime example of inconsistent. When he was good he was so good. There were moments where I was amazed by his ability to transition through his multiple characters in seconds. Although some of his typical reactions, that the main three characters seemed to be victim too, of ridiculously widening their eyes to express shock just had me cringing. JCW biggest failing was his dramatic scenes. He has a tendency to overact and it completely pulled me out of the diegetic space due to the sheer ridiculousness of it.
That being said the supporting actors were amazing in this drama. So damn good. Ajumma, Kim Moon Shik, Myeong Hee, Secretary Oh. Perhaps the best performance for me was the young Moon Shik. Both actors managed to portray the nuances of such a multifaceted character so well.
The storyline was decent but at times unengaging, confusing and boring. It wasn't until the link between Jung Hoo's and the 1981'ers was made that I become truly interested in the overarching plot. I spent a lot of the drama confused about what was actually happening. Why Jung Hoo after a lifetime of not caring about anyone suddenly become interested in his father's past and clearing his name and some sense of newly found moral code because of some girl just didn't cut it. He had been dormant for too long. There was no natural progression. It was arbitrary and random it was much later on in the drama after him and CYS actually getting into a relationship that made it make sense. Heck I didn't even know Kim Moon Shik was part of the broadcast crew until reading the dramabeans review. Perhaps it was my own inattentiveness but there were too many instances where things were glossed over. The focus of the first half of the story just disappeared to never make a reappearance, albeit being linked to the latter half. One minute were talking about red lead the next about live bacteria. We never got a full explanation of what happened with Moon Shik, Omega Holdings. There was too much form- links-in-our-own-mind rather than explicitly showing, that I did not like about this story.
The romance tonally was inconsistent. I expected a lot more maturity for a action drama but sometimes it felt really immature. Especially initial chase of the relationship. Jung Hoo widening his eyes and being shocked because CYS grabbed his hand. I just don't get it. I agree with one part the lack of petty love triangles made this romance all the more enjoyable. Their understanding and trust for each other really made them a great couple (plus the cuddling /dies/). Ep 15 was amazing, rewatch worthy. Overall the romance was good, but could have been executed much better.
Finally the one thing that was consistent and amazing throughout the drama, was the action. The missions Healer went on, his action scenes, his lithe ability to navigate himself in any situation. It had me captivated throughout the drama. The action aspect of this drama was the highlight of it easily. The small subplots were much more interesting than the overall one.
Overall, a good drama, but definitely not worth the hype. Did not have me awed like City Hunter but worth a watch.
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