I really really wanted to like this show.

I was initially pretty invested because I just came off watching Namjoong Min in The Veil and thought he had a powerhouse performance. He transformed everything about himself: his voice, his physique, his expressions, and even his gait. I was mesmerized by his charismatic performance and yearned for more of his work since he easily carried The Veil on his gorgeous shoulders.

This series began pretty promisingly. I really liked the introduction of his character, Na Ji Ye, and his unwavering empathy toward those less fortunate. I was especially drawn to his character because, while he had the brains and the heart to care for his patients, he also had the balls to step up to those trying to use him as a pawn. He didn't flinch at adversity and I admired that about him. The issues began around the 7th or 8th episode when Sun Min Shik had much more prominent screen time.

I've had an issue with Kim Byung Chul in the past when I saw his character in Goblin. His character, Park Joong Hun, when he'd been found out in the later episodes as a bad spirit, was ultra campy in both appearance and behavior. I assumed it was due to poor writing (which came as a surprise, because I *loved* Goblin up until those last few episodes), but he struck me again as ultra campy in Dr. Prisoner. His cheesy behavior kept bringing up images of those villains in old-school cartoons twiddling their mustaches while the tied-up damsel cries for help. His body language was over the top and his conniving plans were always barely hidden in his facial expressions which really gave me Soap Opera vibes.

Speaking of soap operas, the OST was also a huge issue for me. One minute it swells with tension and over-the-top strings, the next I'm being beaten over the head with cacophonous drums and symbols crashing. I personally felt like it hindered the scenes because I'd catch myself drawn out of the scene and going, "WTF is up with this music." It also had the unfortunate ability to change an otherwise tense and well-performed scene into a comedy.

I was also running into issues with Na Ji Ye by episode 9. I didn't like that everything he did was somehow 10 steps ahead of everyone else. Like he's magically got enough foresight and street smarts through his comfortable IVY-league education to outsmart and outwit everyone, all the time. Even scenes of distress were fabricated for some type of gain. I wanted to see him more conflicted. More angst. More human. Less "I'm sad, but really I'm not because I knew this would happen way before you did and already formulated and perfected my counterattack before you had your morning breakfast."

I might come back to it again later, but for a 32-episode series where I found myself skipping through episodes before even hitting episode 10, it doesn't seem very promising. On the other hand, I'm reading reports that another season has been greenlit, and for a KDRAMA to have a season renewal, that's pretty rare, so maybe I'm totally wrong about the whole thing.