Healer was a good drama. Admittedly though, it did not grip me as much as other people. It took me until Episode 13 to get really interested because it started out really slow. It was initially very confusing, what with very tiny bits of information being revealed in the first 10 episodes. The narrative is such that the story cannot be figured out easily because of how seemingly disparate everything was early on. But I persevered and I'm satisfied the drama was able to entertain me in the second half nonetheless. I was more interested in the mystery surrounding the parents of the main characters so I didn't really care if the romance got pushed to the side once in a while. I mean, Healer strikes me as somewhat of a crime thriller series with a love story on the side. It tackled corruption of big corporations and injustices done to journalists because of dangerous exposes. This plot actually engaged me more than the romance. Don't get me wrong though. Ji Chang Wook and Park Min Young were beautiful together. The way their love story was presented felt superhero-ish. I can't help but think that the writer must've been a fan of Superman, given the many allusions to Superman/Clark Kent-Lois Lane in the drama. Their first kiss even reminded me of a scene in the first Spiderman movie too.
Characters I loved were Healer's Teacher Yeong Jae (he broke my heart), Kim Min Hoo (I totally ship him with his female boss!), Yeong Shin's caring father and the cool ahjumma hacker Min Ja. Ji Chang Wook was awesome as always. Loved him.
I'm impressed at how versatile Park Min Young has become as an actress. She's improved so much since City Hunter. And OMG, Kim Mi Kyung? Is that the same old woman who played the housemaid mother of Park Shin Hye in The Heirs? Being able to camouflage into different personalities, leaving no trace of previous acting performances...that's what you call REAL acting, yo.
Oh and I LOVED the soundtrack they used: Eternal Love by Michael Learns to Rock. Now I can't get it out of my head. Ha.
My main complaint is the ending. Sure, I'm happy because I got the blissful ending I wanted for the main couple. However, I was also dissatisfied because I never got to see a more detailed narration of the downfall of the villains, particularly the Elder and the other members of The Farmers. They have been building up this noble motive of obtaining justice against these evil, greedy people since the beginning. Only to end it like that. It seemed to me that the ending was solely made for the OTP's benefit (i.e. so Healer and Chae Young Shin can live a happy and free life together, etc.) and not to Team Healer's overall cause. A pity because it could've made a big impact on a societal level. They already touched dangers to public safety and all that. They should've gone all the way. Hence, the 8 in my scores.
Despite not making it to my top favorite dramas, I gave it some high marks because I think it's a pretty intelligent show and the writing is solid. Moreover, it has enough sweet, heartwarming and funny scenes to balance the otherwise serious and socially relevant themes in the story, qualities which other crime thriller romance dramas (e.g. My Beautiful Bride) failed to deliver.
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