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Doctor Stranger: Episode 6

by HeadsNo2

Our doctoring stranger is set adrift in a convoluted power play as the mystery aspect of this show starts taking precedent, which means an hour filled with spies, politicians, and surgeons (oh, my). When faced with the actual face of his first and only love, poor Hoon seems to be no exception to the adage that love makes fools of us all, since he’s only capable of stitching up just about everything but his own broken heart.

SONG OF THE DAY

Lee Ki-chan – “Meet You Now (지금만나러가요)” from the OST. [ Download ]

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

 
EPISODE 6 RECAP

As Agent Cha watches Seung-hee approach Hoon from the security-less hospital interior, we flash back to the moment where he held a gun to her head, afraid that they might fail their mission.

But Seung-hee, unafraid, convinced Agent Cha to let her meet Hoon. “I’m Han Seung-hee,” she affirmed, to which Agent Cha replied, “Yes, Han Seung-hee! The Han Seung-hee that I created!”

Seung-hee didn’t argue that point, and instead reminded Agent Cha of their mission: “I’ll remain Han Seung-hee until the prime minister’s surgery team is created. After that, I’ll live as Song Jae-hee. That was our plan from the start. If you don’t believe me, shoot me.”

He didn’t, which brings us to another flashback of Agent Cha undergoing brutal torture in the DPRK as a result of Hoon’s escape. That’s how he lost his finger, which explains why he’s got a (missing) bone to pick with Hoon.

Agent Cha loads his gun and, unable to control himself, mutters “Long live the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea” before he shoots Hoon twice.

Only, that scenario is revealed to have been a figment of Agent Cha’s imagination, since Hoon’s quasi-reunion with Seung-hee goes on uninterrupted.

Hoon is sure that Seung-hee is Jae-hee, and seems lost in his own mind as he compliments her new hairstyle. But when she merely blinks confusingly, Hoon asks desperately, “Can’t you recognize me?”

Seung-hee looks to Soo-hyun for help as she pulls her wrist out of Hoon’s grasp, and at least Soo-hyun tries to diffuse the situation by asking Seung-hee whether she knows anyone named Song Jae-hee.

“Song Jae-hee? Who’s that?” Seung-hee replies, causing Hoon to pull out the red bracelet he took from Patient Kim. He asks her if she recognizes it, since it’s the same one he made for her when they first met—but his questions are answered with outrage, as Seung-hee accuses him of stealing what she gave to the patient.

She tries to take the bracelet back, but only ends up ripping it into two halves. Poor Hoon is so bewildered that his Jae-hee doesn’t recognize him, and Seung-hee ends up giving both halves of the bracelet to Soo-hyun before she heads into the hospital for work.

When Hoon tries to follow her, Soo-hyun has to physically hold him back. She tries to get him to listen to reason, since Seung-hee said she wasn’t Jae-hee, but he won’t, can’t, accept it. “She’s Jae-hee!” he says, tears welling in his eyes. “She’s Jae-hee.”

While Soo-hyun tries and fails to stop Hoon, Seung-hee tells Agent Cha that he made the right choice in letting her show herself. He’s not happy with the decision, and grudgingly claims he did it for the mission. “I hope you never forget that,” Seung-hee replies.

Hoon won’t listen when Soo-hyun says that Seung-hee is ignoring him because she doesn’t know him, and asks Soo-hyun how she can believe that when she saw the video of Jae-hee.

For a moment even Soo-hyun looks lost, as she remembers the uncanny resemblance between the two but can’t find a logical explanation as to what on earth is going on.

So Hoon pulls Seung-hee aside again, trying everything he can go get her to acknowledge him. It’s sad because he thinks that she’s only acting this way because he didn’t look for her, and he does everything but get on his knees to apologize.

But Seung-hee’s patience reaches its breaking point when Hoon tries to keep her with him at the expense of one of her patients, causing her to slap him back to reality—nothing should be as important to a doctor as their patient, she barks, which is something he should understand if he claims to be a doctor.

Soo-hyun is left with a devastated Hoon after Seung-hee leaves, and she gently coaxes him away as she promises to help him arrange another meeting with his maybe-love.

Meanwhile, a stone-faced Seung-hee tells Agent Cha that the whole act was devised so that Hoon would believe that Jae-hee is alive. And in that way she’ll get him back to Myungwoo Hospital, because if she goes, he’ll want to follow.

Agent Cha’s main concern is whether the stubborn Chairman Oh will let Hoon back into the fold, but Seung-hee is unconcerned—all they need to do is enlist the help of someone who can change the old man’s mind.

Prime Minister Jang runs into some issues in creating a committee without strict presidential oversight, with a fair number of assemblymen on his side. One of them even remarks on how asinine it is for the president to trouble the man (Prime Minister Jang) who put him in office with the inquiry about his campaign funds, in a clear show of support for Jang.

But the prime minister gets a visitor in the bathroom, and one he seems quite familiar with: Agent Cha. The conspiracy thickens.

The two of them have some sort of arrangement going on, and it involves getting Hoon to remain employed at Myungwoo Hospital. Because of that, Agent Cha asks Prime Minister Jang to use a little muscle to get Chairman Oh to accept Hoon back, otherwise their “plan” is over.

But Prime Minister Jang is being closely watched by the president’s spies, and knows that arranging a covert meeting with Chairman Oh will be risky. Luckily Nightshade knows what’s up, and has a plan to take care of business.

Soo-hyun accompanies Hoon for a drink, and tries to get him to see that Seung-hee isn’t the person he thinks she is by showing him her online profile.

There, Seung-hee poses for pictures with Not Jae-hee’s Parents, since Hoon distinctly remembers Jae-hee’s father as he asked him to save his daughter’s life. It’s cute how Soo-hyun tries to cheer him up by asking him about his life, only Hoon’s memories of his parents are unhappy ones—like his father getting shot, and his mother never caring.

Jae-joon’s calls to Soo-hyun go unanswered, as we find her and Hoon thoroughly trashed from one (or five) too many bottles of soju. Soo-hyun slurs that Hoon should just forget about Jae-hee, but Hoon just breaks outa silly smile as he slurs back, “I’m going to hold onto her until I die.”

Soo-hyun claims she’s jealous, and gets this faraway look in her eyes as she wonders how nice it must be for Jae-hee to have someone who cares about her so much. Hoon tries making her feel better by mentioning that she has Jae-joon (with a big nose, ha) to do the same for her.

However, Soo-hyun’s not so sure: “Do you think he’s thinking of me all the time?” Hoon thinks for a moment before replying that he’d be surprised if Jae-joon did, considering his prickly personality—not to mention hers. Soo-hyun agrees, but then makes the misstep of trying to toast to “Jae-hee, who’s in heaven.”

Hoon slams his glass down. “Why is Jae-hee in heaven? Why? Jae-hee is alive. She’s alive, damn it!” He stumbles to his feet, and Soo-hyun has to grab him before he falls. The close contact unsettles her, and while Hoon’s eyes are closed she reaches out to brush her fingers against his cheek.

Unbeknownst to her, Jae-joon is watching from a distance. (If a romantic moment happens and a second lead isn’t there to see it, does it make a sound?) He calls her to ask where she is like he doesn’t know, and she lies that she’s at her mother’s house and needs some time to think.

She seems disappointed in herself after hanging up, but doesn’t return to her seat by the time Hoon comes to. Instead he sees (imagines?) Jae-hee sitting across from, and muses that this must be why people drink: so they can see the people they miss.

He tells her how much he misses her as he reaches out to hold her hand. Only, when he nods off again, we see that Seung-hee really was sitting there, having been called by Soo-hyun.

Of course, Soo-hyun called her over so that he could apologize to her, only now he’s too drunk to do much of anything. Seung-hee ends up offering her home for Hoon to crash in, but while leading him to the bed, Soo-hyun trips and ends up wrapped in his arms. Hoon doesn’t realize, and keeps murmuring Jae-hee’s name.

Soo-hyun tells her father that she’s staying at Mom’s house tonight—which isn’t untrue, since Seung-hee’s house is Mom’s house. After offering Soo-hyun her mother’s old room, Seung-hee comments about how close Soo-hyun and Hoon seem to be, implying that their relationship is romantic.

Laughing awkwardly, Soo-hyun denies the claim, and explains that Hoon acted so strangely around Seung-hee because the dead woman he truly loves does look uncannily like her.

Seung-hee acts surprised to hear it, and expresses her desire to learn more about Hoon’s old flame while he continues to sleep it off.

In order to ask Chairman Oh to give Hoon another chance, Prime Minister Jang manages to sneak away from the president’s spy during the aftermath of a breakfast hosted for family members separated by the 38th parallel.

Speaking of, Hoon wakes up to find framed pictures of Seung-hee hanging on the walls, and immediately thinks of Jae-hee. He tears through the house looking for her, and ends up opening the door to the bathroom…

…Where Soo-hyun is wearing only a towel. Whoops. She throws things at him in response, and manages to knock him out cold with a flimsy plastic bowl.

When he comes to, Doctor Moon is there to take him to meet Chairman Oh. But Hoon isn’t interested in getting his job back and only wants to see Seung-hee, who started working at the main hospital as of today.

Soo-hyun stays behind while Doctor Moon takes him, looking disappointed to see him go. That’s where Chairman Oh finds her to tell her that he’s given Hoon another chance, even though he claims it was her who changed his mind and not the prime minister.

Chairman Oh reminisces about Soo-hyun’s mother fondly, claiming that, despite everything, his feelings for her mother were genuine. Soo-hyun calls him “Father” for the first time in a long time, and tells him that she’s sorry while thanking him for loving her mom.

Father and daughter share a moment as she sheds a few tears in his arms, and he’s sweet enough to even wipe away her tears. Aww.

After Prime Minister Jang has a good laugh at the president’s penchant for punctuality (this guy needs to get out more), he asks Nightshade about Seung-hee—he wants to see her skills firsthand.

While Doctor Moon likens Hoon’s Jae-hee Sightings to people who think they’ve seen aliens, Hoon calls Chang-yi’s mother to enlist her help in confirming whether Seung-hee is Jae-hee. Chang-yi all but pouts when she hears this, wishing more than anything that Hoon would just forget about Jae-hee.

Because Myungwoo Hospital’s just a thoroughfare for anyone wearing a white lab coat, Agent Cha sneaks in to deal with the loose end that is Chang-yi’s mother—only he’s just there to start things, since Prime Minister Jang wants to see Seung-hee’s doctoring skills.

Security is so lax that Agent Cha gets to just stand by in clear view and watch as Seung-hee accompanies Chang-yi’s suddenly-unconscious mother to the operating room. And since there’s a convenient shortage of anesthesiologists, Seung-hee steps up to the plate to help(?) Jae-joon in surgery.

After a successful surgery, Jae-joon updates Hoon and Chang-yi on her mother’s status only to be met with skepticism from Hoon, since he didn’t think her condition was serious enough to warrant a sudden heart surgery.

This gives Jae-joon another chance to butt heads with Hoon as he claims that anything could happen when a patient is as old as Chang-yi’s mother, though he credits the surgical success to the anesthesiologist’s excellent preparation. He’s impressed by Seung-hee.

Hoon’s eyes grow wide the second Seung-hee unmasks in front of him, but he manages to contain himself this time. Even though he’s flooded with memories of Jae-hee, he finally treats Seung-hee like a separate person in order to apologize for his drunkenness the night before.

However, as he later reveals to Chang-yi, he’s still not sure about who Seung-hee is. He hopes that he’ll be able to ask her mother when she wakes up.

Jae-joon pulls Hoon aside in order to tell him to get lost, making it a point to threaten him away from Soo-hyun. Hoon brushes him off with his usual cavalier attitude, and asks if Jae-joon means he has to steer clear of the “quack.”

That’s when Jae-joon grabs him by the lapels, all but growling into his face that he can’t call Soo-hyun a quack. “In my eyes, she is,” Hoon replies. Then he looks over Jae-joon’s shoulder: “What do you think, Quack?”

And there Soo-hyun is, staring at the two of them like the crazy men they are. I love how Jae-joon instantly tries to play it cool by smoothing out Hoon’s clothes, all, Sorry, I went overboard, while Hoon is just happy to leave the two of them to sort things out.

Jae-joon claims he was just protecting Soo-hyun’s doctorly honor against Hoon’s quack allegations, an excuse which has Soo-hyun raising her eyebrows: “That’s not like you.”

Regardless of Jae-joon’s defense, Soo-hyun asks him to take it easy on Hoon—after all, they work together now. Jae-joon was unaware that Chairman Oh changed his mind, and seems to switch gears from Jealous Boyfriend to Perfect Boyfriend as he asks Soo-hyun out for dinner. Unfortunately for him, she’s got other plans.

Doctor Moon intends to drag Hoon to the chairman to ask for forgiveness, only to be met by Hospital Director Choi, who Hoon instantly recognizes as the ajusshi who sent him to the DPRK as a child.

Director Choi tells the two that Chairman Oh has forgiven Hoon, but Hoon is less than enthused until Choi brings up his father—and that if Hoon wants to be as good a surgeon as his father was, he still has much to learn.

However, he only gets Hoon’s attention when he shows him a picture of Jae-hee and that sympathetic Hungarian doctor. He explains that his only way of apologizing for what he did to Hoon was to make him a doctor at the hospital, and that he plans to help him find Jae-hee.

Hoon slams his fist down and storms out, refusing to hear more. He further confuses Doctor Moon when he tells him that Jae-hee isn’t in the North—she’s here.

While Seung-hee sneaks something Kevorkian into Chang-yi’s mom’s IV, Agent Cha reports to Nightshade that Seung-hee was successful in the surgery. But Nightshade wants to see her “other” skills.

None of the doctors can figure out why Chang-yi’s mom keeps fading in and out of consciousness, and for once Hoon chooses to leave his Genius on the back burner so he can look just as confused as everyone else.

With Seung-hee standing right there, Hoon asks Chang-yi’s mom if she could still recognize Jae-hee if she saw her. But before she can even turn her head, she focuses instead on Director Choi as he enters, recognizing him as the man who got her out of the prison camp. Somehow.

Director Choi is confused by her condition, since he remembered her health to be fine when she came into the country. She falls unconscious again before she can answer, and Seung-hee takes over her care.

Hoon and Chang-yi ask Director Choi for some clarification, and we see in flashback how he was the contact in North Korea that made the deal to get Chang-yi’s mom out.

He claims he used Smuggler Im as a cover, since he didn’t want his involvement to be known until he found Jae-hee. And that he’d wanted to instill hope in Hoon by smuggling Chang-yi’s mom out—hope that, one day, he’d reunite with Jae-hee.

Chang-yi’s mom regains consciousness again, and notes that Seung-hee really does look like Jae-hee. But when they’re (mostly) alone, she tells Hoon that despite the similarities, Seung-hee isn’t Jae-hee, because she saw Jae-hee die with her own eyes.

That’s when Director Choi cuts in to say that it isn’t true—Jae-hee is alive, and he knows so from a reliable source. After giving Hoon his doctor’s coat, Choi tells him that he’ll be going back to the North after taking care of business here, but refuses to allow Hoon to risk going with him.

He leaves after telling Hoon that there’s something he has to give him before he leaves for the DPRK, which leaves just enough time for something bad to happen to him first. Especially since Seung-hee overhears the entire exchange.

When Agent Cha asks why she didn’t just kill Chang-yi’s mom, Seung-hee says it’s because her death wasn’t what Prime Minister Jang wanted.

But now that Hoon is back in the hospital and Chairman Oh is under Prime Minister Jang’s thumb, Seung-hee claims that everything is going to plan. Agent Cha hands Nightshade records of Chang-yi’s mom going in and out of a coma as proof of Seung-hee’s “skills.”

Doctor Moon wonders whether Seung-hee could be a North Korean spy, and asks Hoon if she had any other identifying markers. Hoon remembers her kidney transplant (that he performed), which would leave the real Jae-hee with only one kidney.

So Doctor Moon tries pulling some strings to get her medical records, but when he finds out just how illegal it is, he backs off. Hoon doesn’t, and forgoes the law to take a look…

…Only to see that Seung-hee does have two kidneys. Doctor Moon rejoices, since this means she can’t be a spy, while Hoon starts to accept what seems to be the truth: that Seung-hee isn’t Jae-hee.

“It’s fate,” Hoon thinks to himself. Each person has a different heartbeat. Just like how no two people have the same face.” He thinks back to when he held Jae-hee to his heart and said that their heartbeats were the same.

After Seung-hee officially introduces herself to the rest of the Cardiothoracic Crew, Hoon asks for a minute of her time—only he calls her formally as “Seung-hee” now.

She thinks he’s there to apologize and tells him he doesn’t need to, since she heard the story from Soo-hyun and understands what he’s going through. Hoon replies as if she said nothing, and tells her what he’d just been thinking about how everyone’s heartbeats are different.

So he asks for a favor, but doesn’t tell her what it is ahead of time. Instead he walks right up to her, wraps his arms around her, and listens. Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

Seung-hee balls her fist as Hoon listens to the steady sound of their hearts beating in perfect unison. When the realization hits, his eyes open wide.

 
COMMENTS

Three cheers for Hoon being proactive! I was really starting to worry watching Hoon spend most of the episode in a permanent state of reaction, which is understandable for someone like him but still not that fun to sit through. Watching Hoon wander through his scenes in a constant state of mental breakdown felt like watching someone go through a bad breakup—and in that way, those closest to Hoon treated him like he just hadn’t come to accept The Truth yet.

So the ending was actually more gratifying than it would’ve been just one episode ago, though I’m not big on admitting that after an hour that was sluggishly grounded at best and frustratingly convoluted at worst. On the one hand, I’m glad the show is presenting its mystery through Hoon’s point of view, since we literally only know as much as he does at any given moment. It beats the alternative of the audience knowing all the secrets way ahead of time—because spending episode after episode waiting for the hero to figure out what we already know is a formula that undoubtedly works, but one that’s also a lot like knowing who the winner is before the race even starts.

On the other hand, this show’s forte is not in dropping helpful hints, which means we got to be just as bewildered as Hoon was, too. Entire scenes were spent kind-of-maybe-not-really trying to paint a picture of the Big Conspiracy going on, and if the point was merely to show us that there is a conspiracy without revealing anything about said conspiracy, then mission accomplished: we’re still confused. Why, though? Why go through all this shadow puppetry with a political storyline that has absolutely zero likable characters in it?

As the world grew smaller and every man over the age of forty was revealed to be part of some nefarious plan involving Hoon, I was at least glad for the inclusion of Director Choi. Sure, he doesn’t make much sense—a hospital director who perfected his hand at smuggling refugees because he’s sorry—but since he’s literally the one guy who seems to have Hoon’s back, that instantly makes him better than most. If we can’t connect to any of the people in power who are out to get Hoon (because everyone is out to get Hoon), we need at least one person with higher knowledge who can act as Hoon’s guide to the world of political-turned-medical tomfoolery. That being said, if Director Choi turns out to be yet another bad guy in the next episode, just pretend like I never said anything.

Whether Hoon now has a definitive answer as to whether Seung-hee is Jae-hee is up for grabs, but for his sake and ours I hope that he’s made a decision. There are a lot of fun dramatic possibilities if Hoon starts operating on the basis that Seung-hee and Jae-hee are the same person, since he could start putting his brilliant mind to work in figuring out what happened to her and why—especially if he has to do his investigating while pretending to buy her disguise. Of course, that’s if the Seung-hee persona is a disguise.

Either way, Hoon just has to be himself and start taking decisive action about Seung-hee/Jae-hee/Who’s-she one way or the other. All I can hope for are more moments with Soo-hyun, because she’s one princess who’s going to need a white knight in her corner, Jae-joon’s Dungeons and Dragons metaphors be damned.

 
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Tags: Doctor Stranger, featured, Jin Se-yeon, Lee Jong-seok

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Translation for the first picture . . .

"Explain the @#$%^ plot to me RIGHT NOW or I am going to blow your !@#$% BRAINS out!"

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hehehehehehehheeh :D

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Hahahhahaha !
Am not too concerned, let the plot show its face when it shows its face! Till then, am gonna sit back, relax and just go along with the spectacle !
Its a good thing when you don't really care that much about the show with all your heart, that it doesn't matter much in which direction it goes, as long as its entertaining !

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i just wish they would stick to the plot of the love triangle between Hoon-Soohyun-Jae-joon. It is much more interesting. I would love to see stiff competition between Hoon and Jae-joon in the operating table too.

All the things around Jae-hee are just impossibility. way beyond what can happen to a normal person. Can't she be killed already? she's not a cat with nine lives, scriptwriter. let her die together with Agent Cha, thank you!

I'm sorry for being mean.

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Right! A lot of her facial expressions are inscrutable; I don't think it's because of the actress or anything, but she's probably given the same amount of information we are so she's not really able to express a hell of a lot, just in case the writer goes a different way~!

And honestly, I do feel some pity for PHJ's character, but they sure are piling on the second lead tropes. I mean, his girlfriend's mother just died and he's going to walk away from her just because some other guy was closer by virtue of actually having been involved? I mean, come on. Couldn't he put his jealousy aside?

And before I moved here I honestly thought Seoul was the size of maybe ten blocks or so because everybody's lurking behind bushes and watching everything.

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I have serious doubts that even the writer knows what the plot is, so how do you expect us to?

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That last picture though .... <3

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Sorry, watching 'The Man From Nowhere' last night to see what this whole "Won Bin" thing was about. The contrast between Kmovie dialogue and Kdrama dialogue is amazing.

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forgive my denseness but some what confused

“I’ll remain Han Seung-hee until the prime minister’s surgery team is created. After that, I’ll live as Song Jae-hee. That was our plan from the start."

as in so, she is really jae hee and she knows it?

the subs in the video i watched seemed to not have that line.

also. next monday is waaaay to far away. all these cliff hangers are taking its toll on me.

also thanks for the recaps ! (:
x

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My theory is: Seung-hee is really a spy and not Jae-hee at all. The reason she says she'll live as Jae-hee after the surgery is so that N. Korea can keep have an eye on Park Hoon and "threaten" him using fake Jae-hee whenever they need anything.

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My theory is opposite-so far: Hoon finds out she is Jae Jee when he listens to her heart (second kidney and all)-but with the revelation-realizes there's a reason she's pretending, especially since this all involves North Korea, so he decides to keep quiet and pretend she's not Jae Jee in order to protect her until he can find out what it's all about.

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Thanks for a lovely recap Head2no! XD
Loved the Soo-hyun and Hoon scenes in this, this is the first time I'm shipping the male lead with the 2nd female lead. Soo-hyun is just so much more likeable than Seung-hee/Jae-hee.
We never really got to know Jae-hee anyway, and Seung-hee is totally taking cold and calculating to another level, even playing with Chang-yi's mum's life just to do a mission for her country... *sigh*
Seung-hee better have a great reason, in my eyes she has loads of redemption to do.

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I think one big problem with the Hoon-Jae-Hee/ Seung-hee relationship is that we have not really see them interact. The North Korean scenes were nice but by far not enough considering what happened afterwards.

Maybe because of Jin Se-Yeon's overlapping filming schedules with "Age of Youth", the outline of serveral episodes was affected and to be written into the plot in a logical way.

I hope we get more interaction between the two of them and I'm actually interested how Seung-hee is trying to keep her mask up in front of Park Hoon (and everyone else). Regardless, if she is Jae-hee or not, she is still a spy which she has to hide.

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"I think one big problem with the Hoon-Jae-Hee/ Seung-hee relationship is that we have not really see them interact. The North Korean scenes were nice but by far not enough considering what happened afterwards."

I agree. The show is forcing us to believe in the Hoon-Jaehee relationship but not showing us enough about WHY we should believe in it. It'd have been nice if we had more of that, because the memories PH has of JH, from what we see, it's so limited. Those scenes in NK, they've been replaying so many times over it is though those were the /only/ memories they had together. I need more to feel more, but I doubt we'll get that since the show has obviously moved on from establishing that. What we get now is that PH is deeply in love with JH, and while that's not enough for me to want to care about their relationship, I'll just have to believe in it because that's what the show is centered about anyway.

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They knew each other since young. First 2 episodes basically focuses on the frantic pace of all that has happened. Do you want to see them on their first date, first kiss, first whatever before believing they are in a relationship? That'll require a 100 episodes.

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well, no i dont need that. i believe they're in a relationship, i just don't believe in their relationship. in the sense, yes, i acknowledge they're in a relationship; but no, i don't feel invested in their relationship.

the reason why a lot of people feel more for soohyun/hoon is because we see them interacting; we see their characters changing because of each other. we didn't get that from JH/PH. For JH/PH, we were just told that they're in a relationship and that hoon is madly in love with JH. (and well, i still think this feels like a one-sided love. everyone is saying that JH taking the bullet for PH is enough evidence that she loves him, i'm having doubts about that though - if she was a spy right from the start? and even if she wasn't, i'll acknowledge the fact that she loves him, but i don't feel it. to me, there's a difference between the two i'm not sure if it's the same for you)

The thing is, we're just thrown a lot of facts about them and we're supposed to just take it that they're madly in love with each other, without really feeling it. I don't need specific details, but I thought it'd be good if they could have included one or two more scenes of them together. Their NK scenes were cute, but i felt it wasn't enough.

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Just to clarify, I'm not pro-Sora. Just because I enjoy Soohyun's character more doesn't make me pro-Sora or anti-JSY. And please stop assuming that all the people who like Soohyun are pro-Sora/anti-JSY. I'm not even bashing the actresses or anything. It's the writing/directing/show I'm talking about. Urgh.

And when I said cute, I was referring to the PH/JH scenes. I liked the PH/Soohyun scenes because those felt real. I could feel their characters growing from those. The same way, I really do feel for PH/Dr. Moon because gosh, those two are hilarious. It just makes me want more of their scenes together. And even PH/Jaejoon. I want more of these scenes.

but nope, it doesn't mean I want a PH/Soohyun end game. Right now, I don't want PH to end up with Soohyun, but neither do I want him to end up with Jaehee. I'd pretty much want him to be left alone, to move on from his first love.

And the thing is, I don't require details for everything. But if the story is going to be centered around PH loving JH, shouldn't they at least try to convince us that he does? It feels like a missing building block right now. Taking your example of PH's parents having a bad relationship, it wasn't like the rest of the story was built on that.

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^Ditto. Whenever Seung-hee passes by Hoon there is this dramatic editing with slow motion and dramatic music that forces us to believe in their relationship. While Lee Jong-suk does an excellent job portraying his despair in wanting Jae-hee back, their relationship is not really believable.

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Reply to May too since the reply button is missing from her post.

May wrote, the show 'forces' one to accept their relationship. And 'we’re just thrown a lot of facts about them and we’re supposed to just take it that they’re madly in love with each other, without really feeling it'. How right. I didn't realize a drama is supposed to convince you of a relationship or anything else. Say if a couple is married right from the beginning of the drama, are they supposed to convince you that the couple is indeed in love before moving on to other parts of the story? Eg, why do you have to believe that Park Hoon's parents had a bad relationship. According to your conviction, the production team would have to convince you of that first.

And, it's really interesting to see pro Sora camp using the interaction excuse. Do I see lots of interaction? Sure I do. I happen to see lots of interaction between him and Dr Moon too. Maybe he should fall in love with Dr Moon instead? Back to Soo Hyun, the pro camp kept repeating that the couple is very cute together. Ha. Cute. So you think they should be together because they look cute together, since Hoon calling her 'quack' is cute, since she kicking Hoon is cute, since she slapping Hoon is cute. Sure. Convince me.

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im actually really annoyed by seung hee/jae hee. i know shes probably trying to protect him or whatever by being another person but shes annoying me. I like soo hyun. shes so cute with her dimples and cheeks and more endearing. i hope she doesnt lose that by becoming a biotch. Im actually hoping he falls in love with her but i mean thats 99.9% out of the question so ill just not hope in that. and yeah, all these people after hoon like wtf...calm the eff down. poor hoon just wants a simple life where he can be with his love, sheesh. also i cant figure out if jae joon is a good hearted person with problems or hes just a plain baddy with ill intentions.

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Omggg you read my mind! I want SH and Hoon together so bad!!! Lol but like u said that's 99.99% out of the question lol!!! If Hoon is happy I'll be happy and if SH is happy and doesn't change ( by the stupid 2nd lead curse) I'll totally be enjoying this Kdrama !!!

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The spy element is once again in full throttle with today’s episode, driving the plot in at a break neck pace towards an intriguing reveal, as we’re ever closer yet so darn one-kidney-short in finally finding out Seung Hee’s true identity. Though admittedly, I didn’t expect that Doctor will be making this particular plot point reveal before even reaching the halfway cour. That is not to say that there is already definite proof to confirm that Jae Hee is Seung Hee after all, not quite yet, nor do I believe that Park Hoon will be getting any concrete evidence this early on either. But whatever the results may be for Dr. Hoon’s supernatural heart-reading test, it’s bound to shake up and surely add more flavor to the already potent romantic concoction.

This episode continues the charade from yesterday’s already confounding show, as it raises still more questions. Though these questions surrounding Seung Hee’s identity is at the forefront of the show’s current plot point, what continues to intrigue me more is the equally confusing ‘Big Mission’ that must involve Hoon. And with that regard, I cannot help but rack my brain of any but one good reason why a North Korean doctor must be involved in anything politically related at all. Of course, I’d be eating my own words to just dismiss this one as mere contrived conflict when the show’s initial premise hinged upon the fact that stopping a nuclear annihilation rests upon a successful surgery.

But that is exactly the problem. What else more nefarious reasoning can topple an already over the top ‘avert nuclear havoc’ through heart surgery plot? PM Jang might be an important person, but I don’t think he has the same clout nor is he even remotely comparable to that of NK’s great leader, that his death will ignite yet another upheaval of nuclear proportions.

(1/2)

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And to that end, I’m equally worried that this entire circus of connivance would end up falling flat on its face, that it makes the entire reason for Jae Hee to join the fold of both Koreas villains’ and their conspiracy just factitious. I would definitely hate to see the OTP’s romance being foiled by some arbitrary mission that may or may not be just another form of ‘noble idiocy’. I love to see that identity conflict, but there better be a damn good reason behind it, most especially if Jae Hee is willing to shed everything that made Hoon (and I) love her character to become the glum Seung Hee that she is right now.

As for the other half of our leads, things are definitely shaping up romantically as far as Soo Hyun is concerned. Unfortunately, her designated guy pal Jae Joon is still seemingly lacking any worthwhile characterization and his motivations make him a rather odd one out of the love quadrangle. Interestingly, I initially thought that it was Soo Hyun who will end up being the outlier as she is stuck with the ‘normal girl’ status (strange how being ‘normal’ makes you the ‘stranger’ in this show). Surprisingly, the show has definitely done a great concession with their very favorable treatment to the secondary female lead. To further affirm that notion, give notice how SH falls under the ‘good girl’ archetype and Jae Joon ends up being the villainous and equally covetous boyfriend when normally it’s the other way around. It’s a rarity and definitely a fortunate turn of role casting for KSR. Conversely, it seems PHJ had to do a reverse of his previously charming and easily root-able performance. I still do hope to see Jae Joon make a turn around and be the proper lover to win back Soo Hyun’s heart which will inevitably only be broken by pining too much to our Dr Stranger.

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Just a little correction: Jae-hee was given an extra kidney by her father, so she has two. She did not donate one. Dr. Moon misunderstood that as Jae-hee/ Seung-hee has one because she donated not received!

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That was what I thought too! But apparently PH looked really disappointed when he found out that she had 2 kidneys - but shouldn't he know that she would have 2 since she was the one who did the transplant?

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And why in the preview did the how many kidneys thing come up yet again?

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Hoon was the one who did the transplant, so he should know how many kidneys (out of the two) he had to remove and how many he inserted.

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I think we get an answer to that in the next episode because in the preview for episode 7, it looks like Seung-hee has to undergo further medical examination for whatever reason!

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@ Lola:

My understanding was that both Jae Hee's kidneys were damaged and she was going to die. Her father still had one functioning kidney. She had to have her father's kidney transplanted into her to survive, so technically she has just one kidney.

If she still had two kidneys, there would have been no need for Hoon to "kill" her father by taking his one remaining kidney to give to his daughter.

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An excellent point! No one gets a kidney transplant if they've got one good kidney left. People get along just fine with one kidney and the medical dangers of a transplant are enormous.

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It's not Hoon's fault, it's the fault of the scriptwriter. Just look if there's a scar. Seduce her Hoon and open her skirt =)

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She should have 3 kidneys if she received a transplant... Diseased kidneys are usually left in place, and the new transplant usually stuck in the lower abdomen. But thats just a minor detail (admittedly one of many) that I can easily overlook as I'm loving this show so far!

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Ok, not to dispute the medical accuracy of the Show (sarcastically stated, of course), but 2 hearts that are going at the same rate, barring any murmur, arrhythmia or extra S3 or S4 sounds, will ALWAYS sound the same

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"I hope that’s metaphorical, because if he can recognize her by her heartbeat, I might have to laugh out loud."

AHAHA!

K-drama: anything can happen.

http://www.dramabeans.com/2014/04/doctor-stranger-gets-a-perm/

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That, or his superpower activated and he detected some sort of cardiac problem in SH necessitating a scan. Naturally Dr Park will insist that the kidneys get scanned too.

But then north korean superspy will become the radiographer and super swaps the resulting scan to leave Dr Park in the dark

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Thanks for the recap!

I didn't exactly enjoy this episode as much as the first 5, I felt that it was all over the place and too much of going back and forth with whether JH is alive or if JH is SH. I don't really know what they were planning to do with this, was it to make us confuse or if they were trying to drop hints about who SH really is. Either ways, I don't think it worked. It just felt like we were going round in circles about the same spot, looking at the same thing. This episode was an episode which just re-established what we already knew, and what we don't, we still don't.

If they were trying to show that PH is madly crazily in love with JH, fine, we get that. I liked how LJS looked so lost and helpless and in denial when SH insisted she isn't JH, but I thought an entire episode of that was too much. I certainly hope they do not spend the rest of the show just showing LJS trying to find JH. (But the preview of episode 7 looks promising with the premises moving back to the hospital and doctors and surgeries, so all is good for now)

I think it's about time for them to reveal at least a little what this entire conspiracy is about, because for now, it doesn't make much sense. And if they're just going to keep hiding everything under wraps, sorry but I don't have the patience like Hoon does, and I'll just lose interest with this conspiracy thing really soon (and I really don't want that to happen because there is so much potential for it to become something good). It's like there's a conspiracy but the conspiracy isn't there. I need some context to know who or what I should care about. They need PH in their big conspiracy, but for what? Are they going to kill him off after that or? Why must it be him?

I love LJS but if PH is going to spend the entire show running around just trying to find JH, it annoys me. I don't want him to be one-dimensional. I want to watch him get over that (with the help of soohyun or something) and start realizing what it means to be a doctor. I want to watch the tension between PH and JJ, not over Soohyun, but over what being a doctor means to both of them. I want PH to realize that he can live even if he doesn't have JH. I want to watch how PH is going to survive the conspiracy - whatever the conspiracy is.

For me it has always been more of the "Don't forget you're a doctor" part that I want more of, instead of "I NEED MY ONE TRUE LOVE". But yes, whatever, I'm here to stay. No matter how this ends up, we all know I'll be watching the entire series because urgh, LJS and his awesomeness - I can't resist that.

On a side note, I love soohyun. I love her character she feels like a real human with emotions and I love how she is starting to feel for PH. For now she's probably the only one who really empathizes with PH, and I love that. The same way, PH empathizes with her and they're just going to continue supporting each other that way, I hope. Soohyun is about my...

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...favourite character in this series. I hope the writers keep that up and not destroy her character!

And I love this OST it gives me so much feels.

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“Two hearts. One heartbeat… A love that even Fate cannot separate!” I hope that’s metaphorical, because if he can recognize her by her heartbeat, I might have to laugh out loud.

AHAHA!

K-dramas: anything can happen. Girlfriday, hope you had a good laugh because i certainly did when i stumbled onto this old postXD

http://www.dramabeans.com/2014/04/doctor-stranger-gets-a-perm/

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This show is strange. Probably the most entertaining one of the bunch airing right now but I can't say I love it. It just seems so over the top and borderline ridiculous at times.

I also don't get the hate JSY has been getting. It's not like the rest of the main cast have been stellar. PHJ's role is rather bland and he hasn't been exactly lighting up the screen like he did in Stars, but he not getting criticized much here in the comments.

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It's not really her fault so much as the roles she gets.

However. here, she's playing someone interesting, and I'm looking forward to seeing her (haven't watched yet).

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This might end up like rooftop prince. I mean, we thought that the heroine is good,but end up bad all along. All I can say, she might be the bad one,the spy from the very first scene. Her task probably to keep Park Hoon check on her watch.Remember when Park Hoon hug her in that hall(?), she hold her fist like she can't let her feeling own/rule her, and she did the same thing in this very current episode, ep 6.

Anyhow, I like Soohyun but I can't just dislike Jae Hee/Seung Hee yet..even if she end up as bad spy all along, I think I will still like her more. I mean, who wouldn't? A hot,sexy, badass spygirl~ahem

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she is neither hot nor sexy actually the other anesthesiologist in the drama actress Han Eun-Sun i think, she is the real hoty, infact she is the sexiest of them all :D

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The one who keep tease that glasses surgeon? Dr Moon if I'm not mistaken.. Hmm, she's a hotty alright,but I never seen her the scene in the less than 10 second, even if she have longer scene,half of her face was covered up with a mask~

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Yes, she appeared in few scenes in episode 6, maybe if they gave her more scenes she will steel the show from the girls :))

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someone finally mentioned her,,,,,,, cause even i noticed her and for me i think shes already stole the thunder considering how little she is on the screen.... she oozes out so much confidence and carefree attitude ........... she makes herself notice even in that macho crowd of actors and i think that it is one of heck of a job ,,,it is hard to get yourself noticed and to get it in done in a crowd filled with such incredible actors is one rare quaility and she has it......every time she is on the screen i don't know about the others but she is able to grab my attention..........

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I was enjoying bits and pieces of this show without really getting involved in the plot or understanding it but somehow it only registered today that heads no.2 is recapping this show and suddenly I'm scared both for her and me.

Is it me or does heads pick shows which are very unique and good in the beginning and lose their brains later?

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Unjinx! Unjinx! Unjinx!

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LOL! I'm knocking on wood on your behalf, Heads!

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Oops. Hopefully I didn't jinx you. I'll be praying on your behalf. You deserve an extraordinary show to recap after putting up splendidly with all this crazy ones .

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I'm stocking up Internet liquor just in case for you, Heads...=P

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Surprise me, Show, pls surprise me. Let there be a twist in the plot. Like, in the end, hoon and soo hyun will fall in love with each other and will actually end up together. That would be the most welcome surprise. C'mon.

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Seriously. Usually dramas reserve the opposites attract, random fall-over skinship, and the walk-in-to-the-bathroom tropes for the lead couple.

I would give this drama major kudos if Hoon and Soo-Hyun end up together.

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Loving the show so far but the plot can get pretty confusing (or maybe its just the subs).

I have a feeling that Jae-hee is truly dead and that they just transplanted her face into another north korean spy - aka Seung-hee. Although, I have no idea what's north korea group plan for Hoon...

Gotta agree with everyone that KSR and LJS acting is tremendously top notch in every episode.

Doctor Stranger is currently the only drama outta the current bunch thats got me hooked. I am trying really hard to stay on board with A New Leaf... but its slowly losing its touch.

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It's not the subs - the show *really* is crazy.

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I really want to like this because I started watching for LJS, and the chemistry b/n him and KSR is pretty intriguing.

But the plot is so frustrating I'm irritated.

Master's Sun script started out kinda promising and then it got so ridiculous towards the end. I wonder if the PD likes to twist things around justfor the sake of it. -_-

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I watched the 2 episodes confused and trying to find clues about the ruined"mission" Sunghee and Agent Cha were talking about, it's ruined and I haven't even figured it out. It's a good thing there were Dr. Quack & Hoon cute scenes to give my little brain a break, and just when I started feeling torn between Jaejoon and Hoon (for Sohyun), he showed his greedy side and that stopped me from liking him too for Sohyun. And although Hoon's undying love for Jaehee is killing me, I still want him with Dr. Quack. I love how he calls Sohyun that and her just letting him do it. Agree with HeadsNo2, more moments of them two please. ^^
Thanks for the recap HeadsNo2

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What I do like about Seung Hee is that her storyline, whether she's always been a spy, has been brainwashed or she's not Jae Hee at all, by its nature it has to be independent from Hoon’s. She can't be just the love interest, there has to be more going on with her or the whole plot doesn't work.

I understand people shipping Hoon/Soo Hyun she's easy to like and the actors have some nice chemistry (I don't see it as romantic chemistry myself Hoon's way too wrapped up in JH to even notice other women) but as this was Seung Hee's introduction week I'm not quite ready to abandon the Show's OTP. That almost never ends well.

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Wohoo! I am too invested in the show's otp since the 1st ep. Let's wait it out until we know JH/Seung hee's motives before we decide. ;)

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i loved this episode every bit of it ............. the pace has slowed down way too much...... thats probably because i am more a movie person rather than series.... i am not one of those who can take the anticipation......... thats probably the reason why i loved the first two episode where things happened quick and there were unexpected twist at every turn which only made it even more interesting for me and got me hooked on to the show permanently.... from ep 5 on the show has ceratinly slowed down... may be it is finally time to fit the zigsaw bit by bit.... and while doing so the drama now has caught on to the romantic side of it by bring in jae hee completely into the picture which i am loving so so much........... i was afraid that we would barely get to see her but am grateful that it is doesn't happen to be so... instead acc to the preview we will get to see more of hoon and jae hee which is super awesome dont' let me down show....
the virtual jae hee that dr park sketched on us and how much we love them together because of it,,,,, has made me really excited about actually seeing them on the screen,, would it be as wonderful as dr park had made us picture it to be or i don't want to jinx it so i don't even utter the otherwise ....i want to love them together on the screen please please ooze so much romance that our hearts keep pounding until the follow up episode...
that scene when park hoon is beggin her her to remember him and how he is sorry that that he couldn't find her sooner how he goes on to explain that he did so much to look for her that scene is so heart breaking... imagine you wait for some one you love so much and when you finally see them that person refuses to have ever known you let alone love you,,how much it would hurt and angry one would be....

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My take is Seung Hee is not Jae Hee. A very simple but revealing clue: When Seung Hee was watching the video of Jae Hee, she was seen practicing pronouncing Hoon name with Jae Hee's tone of voice.
If she's Jae Hee, why would she needs to copy her own gestures?

Anyway, that whole Seung Hee/Jae Hee story line is boring to me because I don't like Jin Se Yeon much as an actress. I find her bland and boring either way.

On the other hand, even though I'm not a Kang So Ra fan, I like her character here, and she has great chemistry with Lee Jong Suk.

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So many has mentioned that Seung Hee is practicing/copying JH in the laptop scene. But I seriously don't see it as such. Not even a little bit. Not at all. Practicing? The mood and tone at that shot is not meant to be that. And for a spy who should imitate after someone, wouldn't she have already seen that video and practiced all she needs even before coming over to SK?

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Not so sure about that - for one thing, where did the video come from? That little detail has never been explained.

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I think the video was brought by the smuggler to prove to Hoon that Jae Hee is alive.

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this probably sounds terrible, but i think SH/JH got into AMNESIA.........after that dreaded fall on the bridge and FORGOT about her past with Hoon. yes, that trope has been overused but i REFUSE to believe that Seung-hee is someone else who looks exactly like her (or fixed her face to look like JH) or is committed to being a NK spy knowing everything that had happened to Hoon. so, it only makes sense if she feels that dutiful to NK if she doesn't remember anything about Hoon to do what she is doing right now. (P.S. I have to say LJS is doing a superb job with his character. to see him improve with each roll he takes on is so impressive...)

i don't think SH/JH character isn't played as great as i hoped, but i can't NOT ship Hoon and Jae-hee knowing what kind of past they had. it just breaks my heart and, sorry to all the Soo-hyun/Hoon OTPs out there, but stop trying to make Soo-hyun/Hoon coupling happen, it's not going to happen. LOL, yes, Kang So-ra is playing her very well, i admit. but really, in all seriousness, Hoon better end up with Jae-hee.

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Just as a rebuttal (never mind that I'm a Hoon/Jae Hee supporter as well). I want to argue that Kdramas have a problem moving on to second loves. In almost all of the Kdramas I have watched (and I have watched a great many these past few years), I noticed that Kdramas seem to be stuck on first loves.

First loves seems to be a cure-all for all romantic inclinations. Never mind that multiple years have gone by and each partner has probably grown and matured in different directions due to different experiences. First Loves are supposed to be the purest, the most intense, the most passionate experiences, so much that people often give up partners they have been with for YEARS to go back to their first love (Angel Eyes), and suffer for decades because of a tragic first love (Moon Embracing the Sun, Missing You). In reality, how many of us have looked back to past boyfriends or old flames and asked ourselves (What did I see in him/her at the time?)

For once, I would really like to see a realistic kdrama where people actually move on from their first loves and form realistic relationships with people they have just met who they find they are compatible with. I think PM&I started off with that concept, but it was poorly executed in the end.

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very much agree with you there for first loves in kdramas. i know very few dramas where they move on from first loves (Twelve Men in a Year, I Need a Romance)...and they weren't executed in the best way. in fact, i didn't enjoy it because somehow it felt more unnatural. weird.

BUT, it's very strange how i didn't feel as inclined for the Angel Eyes pairing of first loves as much as Doctor Stranger. i think part of it is because Hoon was very much loyal to Jae-hee (while Jae-hee is still a question mark). the Angel Eyes pairing were endearing in the young years, but when they were adults, the Goo Hye-sun character had partially moved on with her fiancee and all so I didn't feel as emotionally invested on that pairing. idk how do you guys feel about that pairing. i only feel sad for the puppy fiancee.

additionally, soo-hyun better fits jae-joon. i can see the soft side of jae-joon and it's going to be an interesting character arc for him to choose the love of his life as opposed to his career/ambitions.

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Although they did get back together Miss Korea was pretty realistic about how the main couple weren't and couldn't be the same people they'd been in high school.

They'd even dated [i]gasp[/i] other people.

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I think it's both way though. The oldest cliche in kdrama is how the hero was in love with one girl first then meets the heroine. Most of time the 1st girl doesn't like him back but then gets jealous when he notices the heroine and she turns into a b*tch. Honestly every trope has its cliche, I'm in for it as long as the characters make me feel for them. Has anyone watched Coffee House? the fan war in that drama was quiet sthing too, but *warning: spoiler* despite all the misleading from the drama aka many scenes with the secretary that make people ship them. To me, the hero has always loved one person. People kept doubting, wishing he'd change because she's in the past, etc But heck you don't tell a person who they have to love or who deserve their affection. There's no logical reason to love someone in kdrama anyway. *
Okay, I'm way out of topic here. All to say, at this point I find it hard to ship anyone. Still I have a weakness for Hoon & Jae Hee story, I want them to be together so bad after everything they've gone through. and because Hoon appears so loyal to me that it's hard to imagine him to fall for someone else. and yes Seung Hee must be Jae Hee, otherwise there'd be no drama/angst. But she must have a reason to behave that way, did she turn her back to join force with the evil for revenge, is she trying desperately to protect Hoon in her way, either way I hope the writer will develop her story more in future eps.

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Oh "Coffee House" - my favorite ever!!! Yeah to me there was only one end game from the beginning in there but that's b/c the writing was good and set it up so logically and emotionally resonant that I appreciate the ride of getting there the entire time. I never understood the other ship because the male lead was always a "mentor" to the 2nd female lead in my eyes. The actor also played it that he always had a playful and a bit tyrannical vibe with his much put upon secretary while his interaction with his female lead was a lot more layered.

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YASSSSS! PH and JH/Seung Hee NEEDS to end up together because they've been through ALOT! what's the point of all the sacrifices they've made if PH just ends with another girl. Plus he's FIERCELY loyal to JH and it's so OOC for him to be falling for So Hyeon. I can just see So Hyeon and PH to be great buddies and THAT'S IT even though So Hyeon may be infatuated with PH. ;)

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But in the video scene, JH looked somewhat awake/conscious of her actions when she was saying "hoon ah" and holding out her hand. If she had amnesia (it has to be right after the bridge, isn't it?), I think she mutter his name when asleep/delirious but not consciously.

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I think it's a twin- like in the Master's Sun. She wanted to live as her real person after the plot is d

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I think it's a twin like Master's Sun

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Thanks for the recap, I was watching this drama and had high hopes for it, but I can't watch it anymore. It's going to be like all the others...Seung-hee is either going to leave or get killed and he will end up with Soo-Hyun. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure I'm close.

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oh god monday when will you come,,,it feels like i have been through years with weeks without mondays................. i am dying of anticipation...............another agony filled wait to see how things roll...... i cant even watch anything else cause right now dr park is the only one stuck on my mind.....

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I already wish this show will defy convention and make Soo Hyun the lead lady. I like Kang Sora so much more than Jin Seyeon, and Soo Hyun has been so well written and performed so far. It's nice to see the "good" 2nd lead in a K drama being the female one too--often if there's a "bad" and a "good" (rather than both bad or both good), it's the man that's good. YFAS. My Girl. Master's Sun. Full House. IHYV (2nd lead female turns good towards the end only). Only show I can recall with a bad 2nd male and good 2nd female is King of Baking, Kim Takgu. Any others?

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to be fair to YFAS, Master's Sun and I Hear Your Voice, especially the latter, the characters are written way more complex than just 'bad' or 'good'.

Three Days did not follow a conventional romance structure but its second female lead is solidly on the side of 'good'.

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My experience watching Doctor Stranger can best be described by a quote from The Birdcage(1996)

"How do you think I feel? Betrayed, bewildered... wrong response?" - Albert

Navigating through the nefarious plot is like mountain climbing with a 80 lb pack while being attacked by bees.

I'll keep watching because I am a glutton for punishment and I have hope that it will make sense soon. :)

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I must confess that I did not study science much while I was young.... is each heart beat of human being very characteristic that we cannot find an identical heart beat or similar heart beat of someone else as Hoon says? what about identical twins? I am ashamed myself to expose my ignorance here but I am dying to know!

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That whole heartbeat thing was total BS. And as for that, why did he have to hug her when he could have just used a stethoscope? Heartbeats are not like fingerprints.

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Thank you, windsun33. Seriously I thought this heart beat thing is something I did not learn from my boring biology class!! I cannot hear heartbeat properly when I hug my kids or husband tightly. Hoon has some impossible abilities( X ray eyes and hands and super hearing ability like dogs), just like Soo-ha's from IHYV. LJS might has a contract that he only plays roles with super abilities!

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I did like the hug though, his hand was actually in her hair! Messing it up! The stylist must have been horrified.

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Well i got curious about it and Google information related to it and surprisingly, the heartbeat is actually unique! In fact, there is upcoming technology trying to use the unique heartbeat ecg as a means to replace password to unlock things!
http://gizmodo.com/5884650/your-heartbeat-could-be-your-password

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This sentence in that article though is the killer "..You will never get the same exact timing of beats twice..."

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I kept getting SLS -_-
Here, I am hoping for Soo Hyun & Hoon come true. My OTP, please... don't break my heart like the last time with Chilbong team T_T
I remember that feeling clearly. *nostalgic to 'Reply 1994' era*

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Is it just me, or is the plot of this drama basically a giant plot hole? Leave aside the PM-Jang-and-comrade-Cha-are-bad, and that Hoon is somehow Super Important to them because of their guilty secrets......but how does it make any sense for Soo-hyun to be a part of Seung-hee's mission? She's just a doctor, not THE doctor stranger.

Observations this week: Lee Jong-seok needs to get himself back into white coats stat because that coordi is awful. Also, surgery masks are VERY good for showing off eye makeup! Not just Soo-hyun's but also pretty Doctor Moon. And the former Secretary Kim continues to be adorable and funny and thankfully not-evil.

Other plot holes: how'd Hoon get from Budapest post-shooting, to SK anyway? Did Bodyguard Lollipop shoot everyone else and then help him? Im betting Seung-hee is Jae-hee, since we know the stopped heart as death fakeout was already done so it's possible for a repeat. I guess we have a few more weeks of flat line deliveries to find this out.

Too bad Park Hae-jin gets so little screentime, but looking at his coldness here I start to see why he was initially cast as the villain in YFAS. He owns the part of Jae-joon with authority even if I don't like the character for being a user of Soo-hyun.

And Soo-hyun is awesome. If I didn't know better, based on all the skinship moments and her screentime I'd have said she was the female lead of the series. I love that she's a competent professional even if Hoon calls her a quack, and a concerned friend to him. Shippy or not, I hope they remain friends. *but the actors have such good chemistry omw)

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But you forgot that Soo-hyun kissed another guy! That's like drama speak of "you're never getting with the male lead, girl!" =/

And I can't see how Seung Hee is not Jae Hee. She probably survived the impossible fall cause this is Dr.Stranger land and the stranger the "death" the more chances you're alive. She probably woke up with amnesia, got brainwashed into the CAUSE (whatever that is), and her evil henchmen probably just told her there was a girl who looked like her that she should use as a study guide so she can manipulate this doctor with the perm for the CAUSE. Then of course his magical lurve will unlock the amnesia part of her noggin, then there will be tears, and noble idiocy and angst and possible more "death". Basically this drama is like a fanfiction to me right now.

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since this drama contains so many plot holes and impossible-things- could- happen in this drama, maybe,,, despite of a kiss with another man, Soo-hyun could end up with Hoon and Hoon and Soo-hyun can show more swoon worthy kisses. How about that!?

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I don't think so since characters coming back from the death is not as sacred as "a woman can only kiss one guy in her entire drama life" dogma of Kdrama plus we have to deal with "First Love" too which is like the TROPE to trump all other tropes. Thus while I can see this drama worming itself happily in all sort of plot holes, but I don't think it will give us what we want in term of Hoon and Soo-Hyun kisses.

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But you forgot that Soo-hyun kissed another guy! That’s like drama speak of “you’re never getting with the male lead, girl!” =/

I can name three dramas where the heroine (most definitely the heroine in that case) kissed someone who was not the other half of her OTP, but eventually got the boy anyway, and one of those dramas is sorta linked to both Kang Sora and Lee Jong-seok - she starred in the sequel, and the writer of that drama went on to write a drama he starred in that I think we all know ;).

Dream High, That Winter The Wind Blows, and Biscuit Teacher Star Candy, if anyone's interested in knowing.

But yeah, the fact that I can name only three probably means our Soo-hyun is to be consigned to the same fate as Chilbongie.

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It is like the black hole of plot holes. When the show first started, I was going to be ambitious and keep a list, but after ep3 I simply gave up. Partly because it involved so much going back to previous episodes to see what matched up (a lot did not).

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Like I've said before, not telling something that is not important or plain obvious is not equivalent to a plot hole. Plot holes are when something did not make sense (not the same as the audience not understanding) or did not gel up with an earlier scene.

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ok, but there's still this: how did Hoon even get from Budapest to South Korea, then, after the dropping-Jae-hee-off-the-bridge thing?

I'd say a plot hole is anything that doesn't make sense, but I'm only a plebe drama watcher, so....

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It is no wonder this is the worst hospital in Korea where people can just kill and steal patients at will, since about half the staff seems to be a NK spy or working with the North.

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with so much Soo Hyun and Hoon moments, I keep thinking that she's the main girl lead. not that I'm complaining, love her character to bits!. definitely need more of it.

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At this point I have little interest in what happens to Jae Hee.

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it's okay, I am not invested in her character at all either.

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I don't know how this writer can create a show based on nothing but plot holes and unbelievable stuff.....and yet here I am, happily taking it all in. There's truly no accounting for taste. Or does Lee Jong-seok count as excellent taste?

Anyways, I wish I could spend time writing all my thoughts about this episode but alas, off I go on a trip. There goes my weekly dose of Doctor Stranger and discussing it with all the wonderful people here. Have fun, ya lucky Beanies. :)

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At first-- I hear your voice. (and thoughts)

Now-- I hear your heartbeat.

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Just to correct some errors: (I have posted this on Koala Playground's site): http://koalasplayground.com/2014/05/20/dr-stranger-episode-6-recap/

a). In terms of the two (2) kidneys, I believe they were referring to kidney transplant patient. In real medical practice, when you are the receiving kidney transplant "recipient", you will have two (2) kidneys on one (1) side of the body.

b). Which in this case, from the horseshoe kidney imaging (or what we medically call it as Axial CT Scan since the picture has refreshing properties unlike X-Ray which is static), I can clearly see that there are two (2) kidneys on the right side from our angular view.

In not many words, she is a spy. SeungHee is JaeHee.

How do I know this? I am a medical specialist, watching this medical drama and noticing many medical errors.

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Nice to have some real expertise in that area. While a lot of us can spot the obvious stuff, that is something I doubt any of us knew.

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Well damn, koala just made a clarion call over at koalasplayground (more than once actually) to leave all the worthwhile discussions within the drama recap thread rather than inundating it with actress bashing. Foolishly, I was too happy to notice and just typed this along the way. So here it is anyways:

I actually find that Hoon being in love with Jae Hee as more potent and teeming of narrative possibilities, that there is more depth into it to be explored other than the superficial 'first love', if the show chooses to do so. For that I appreciate the fact that you're just as engrossed to that pairing koala.

I like both Hoon and Soo Hyun as characters and they are the easiest to root for in the show, by far. They have chemistry, and in a rom-com format, I might have shipped them together too. But them becoming a couple is just too convenient for me. These days, people are so quick to jump the bandwagon of "first love trope is so overused, why can't he end up with the second lead?", that sometimes I cannot help but wonder if they're just saying it because it's in vogue, or they have other deeper motivations above shipping? Of course don't get me wrong, shipping is totally fine, and I ship many drama couples too. However, just as much as people want to see the 'first love' trope be subverted, I myself want to see the "why can't guys and girls be just friends" and "no romance policy" be upheld more. I would definitely like to see Soo Hyun grow more as a person as she continues to interact with Hoon and also admire his devotion to both saving lives and Jae Hee. Sometimes, an inspiration is better left to be admired from a distance rather than to be possessed for yourself, doing so, only make it lose its meaning and significance.

Going back to Hoon and Jae Hee, I like for the fact that Hoon's love is more than just vanilla romance, that it has a dimension of dependency to it as well. Indeed, one of the many reasons to how Hoon became the person that he is now, is largely because of Jae Hee too. Outside of her, Hoon have virtually nobody left to care for. Arguably, she is one of the reasons that have kept Hoon in tact mentally and pushed him to keep going despite being imprisoned to NK's medical bootcamp from hell. And if I go further, the same can also be said of Hoon's current state in SK--he's a stranger both literally and metaphorically, as he lives in a world that he's long since forgotten, and his quest to finding Jae Hee is what anchors him back to his reality. For him to give up on her, is like giving up a part of what makes Hoon, Hoon.

I also like the fact that both Hoon and Seung Hee (if JH is indeed SH that is) are not pure hero or heroines, that they do have shadows beneath their seemingly brighter facades. Hoon is definitely no angel, as he himself have done countless immoral practices of medicine, which arguably fast-tracked his growth and in part made him the genius doctor that he is now. Seung Hee,...

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…Seung Hee, for the apparent nefarious plot that she’s got herself into which I could only imagine as the means that she’s willing to take to reach her end–emancipation from her NK trappings and eventually back to Hoon’s hands. There is that sense of mutuality not only in feelings but also identity to both that I like, and would want to be explored some more. For that I take the Park Hoon-Jae Hee/Seung Hee couple as the more worthwhile couple over the cute and sassy Hoon-Soo Hyun.

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...Seung Hee, for the apparent nefarious plot that she's got herself into which I could only imagine as the means that she's willing to take to reach her end--emancipation from her NK trappings and eventually back to Hoon's hands. There is that sense of mutuality not only in feelings but also identity to both that I like, and would want to be explored some more. For that I take the Park Hoon-Jae Hee/Seung Hee couple as the more worthwhile couple over the cute and sassy Hoon-Soo Hyun.

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As not to waste this double-post let me just post this link to the beautiful pics of Kang Sora and Jin Se Yeon:

http://koalasplayground.com/2014/05/22/jin-se-yeon-and-kang-sora-are-lovely-in-spring-magazine-spreads-as-shipping-wars-heats-up-dr-stranger/

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i dont know what to say i dont really like it how it progresses. how many people are there who are trying to achieve something. we dont know what exacatly and why. jae hee had to bad kidney so she got a new one so that means she isnt it right? boahh this draama is so confusing really awkward. i thought this drama was more how hoon get in a love traingle and how succeeds as doctor not about conspiracy about every old man that is in this drama.. and that thing with the heartbeat is also really how should i put it, dense?? i mean when they say in this drama everyone has a different heartbeat and when they test it and get it wrong in the end how dull would that be????

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The thing with Hoon-Jae Hee relationship is, we are told from day 1 that they're so in love with each other, while the portrayals of the actors indicate that Hoon does the loving part much more than Jae Hee. To be fair for JSY and her character(s), Jae Hee is more of a plot device than a fully realized character, and Seung Hee gets held back a lot for the sake of being mysterious.

With Hoon-Jae Hee, we see them going from being perfectly strangers to to sharing deeply hidden secrets/feelings. That makes the relationship more organic and less forced.

I don't really mind if Hoon ends up with either or neither. I just want the drama to explore more of Hoon as a person and a doctor, instead of having him wandering around all day, crying for his first love like he did in this episode. It lessens his character, one with unique background and dark history of being a doctor in the NK human lab. With supernatural power, no less.

The big conspiracy has reached the point of being ridiculous, so I'm just going to tune it out as I do with the lack of realistic possibilities in the drama.

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*I meant "With Hoon- Soo Hyun.."

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sad to say that "Mok Dan" (cuz I havent bothered to remember her real name) is continuing her streak of characters I hate. At this point, I cant help but blame the actress. Hopefully, she dies in this drama too.

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I feel the same. Do not like her either, not sure why. I cannot emphatize with her characters.
Now I'm thinking if I can follow this show, which will be him all the way running after her, basically.

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I am still trying to figure out a valid reason why there are so many people tied up with and helping North Korea here, and what they could possibly gain from it.

And Jae-Hee is still making no sense - aside from the fact that brainwashing is largely a myth, why is she pretending to be someone else? She could quite easily defect and bring the whole weird nest of plotters down, so what is holding her back? She has no family so I don't see what possible hold that North Korea could have on her.

http://www.skepdic.com/mindcont.html

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I'm starting to think that the writer seems so lost also.. Keep it up writer until the ratings drop....

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I don't think the writers are lost. But I do think it's probably about time for them to ease on the mystery a little. Afterall, not everyone enjoys or understands the mystery and plot. There is a huge range of audience maturity which could also be influenced by age, culture and exposure just to list some factors. So by a single scene one can have so many differing interpretations already. I suspect a certain segment of audience would appreciate being told what is going on rather than sit back and enjoy the mystery plot. So yeah, probably right time to bring on a huge revelation.

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I'm a big fan and of course lee jong suk but if this continues I will join the bandwagon so called "windsun33".. Let's see Monday, because the actors is too good in this drama to watch them suffer because of the bad writing... Please Director-nim scold him...

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Has anyone thought that maybe Jin Se Yeon's problem is burn out(extreme fatigue)? Actors take breaks for a reason. A great majority of them only do one or two dramas a year, using the time between those dramas to recharge, reaccess their performance and evaluate how they can improve themselves. I mean, conveying all those emotions and inhabiting all those characters must be exhausting.

With Jin Se Yeon, here's a girl who has literally done her dramas back to back, often starting one before the other ends. Nor is she a particularly strong or experienced actress. How much time has she given herself for self reflection? How much emotion can she really bring to the table? Even I, a mere office worker go on auto pilot when I have worked for too long without a break and my job isn't as emotionally draining as theirs. And considering the pace of the kdrama live shoot system, it's no wonder she's flat and emotionless when the role calls for more than the basics and requires a little extra in terms of nuances. My recommendation to her is to take a break and go on a long and nice holiday.

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LJS did 2 dramas and 3 movies last year, half of them overlapped, and the quality of his acting did not suffer. That is not counting various CFs, photo shoots, fanmeetings and God knows what else. He's not the only one with crazy schedule either. Many Korean actors/actress do drama while having concerts and/or variety shows at the same time.

JSY's issues start with the very basic like emoting. Forget about lead roles in major dramas, she needs to take it slow and develop her skills. I've watched her in 3 very different dramas: Gaksital, Age of Feeling, Doctor Stranger. Take away the names and the different settings of each drama, I see the same person with the same limited expressions. JaeHee/SeungHee is especially a very difficult role to play - the character is equally complicated and goes through a lot as much as the titular Dr Hoon - definitely not a role suitable for a novice. As of now Doctor Stranger is pretty much about Hoon's unyielding love for her. His quest to find her is what keeps the wheel turning, and JSY's flat portrayal more or less deflates that wheel.

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Thanks for the insight madhatter. I like JSY and I recognize her limitations too and I'm glad that someone else is able to give a constructive criticism that doesn't go beyond the superficial "oh I like the other actress more, why can't she be the lead" mantra. I like for the fact that you try to go for the possible root of the problem and not just spout catch-phrases as if it's going to change anything.

To build upon to what I said in the previous thread, the problems are twofold: 1) as you pointed out Seung Hee is not an easy character to play (especially as a Protagonist), it's so easy to fall into a mediocre one-dimensional monotony with it, because clearly there are less lines and less freedom for the actor to flesh out this character with, unlike say, Hoon or Soo Hyun, who are very dynamic and demands an array of emotions. Seung Hee is not like that, she's quiet, she's cold, she's non-chalant to the point that she's boring. It's acceptable if she's only playing a straight-up villain part, but she's not, the viewers need to be able to sympathize with her and we're unable to do so. Why? Because her character isn't expressive by design and it takes special talent to give the proper nuances to break that monotony. Take Vick (IRIS) who was played by TOP and Kim (Two Weeks) by Song Jae Rim or even Ryu Tae-oh (Gap Dong) by Lee Joon, these characters also fall under the same cold murderous villain archetypes, they too wear almost the same facade all the time. And viewers don't really care to see if they're crying, angry, sad, or happy, because Cold is their M.O. (Ofc, Tae-oh is more of an exception since he plays as the primary villain as opposed to TOP's or SJR's side-character parts, therefore we get to see him grow and display more emotions too, which Seung Hee should be given the chance as well). But what they lack for emotions, they make it up with Intensity.

Which leads me to the second point--2) JSY lacks intensity, hence she comes out FLAT. In both characters that I mentioned above, you can definitely see them focused on whatever murderous intent that they are trying to convey. JSY doesn't come out as menacing at all, she seems lethargic. To that end, I do believe that JSY lacks the gravitas to play out serious characters such as Seung Hee, she's just not at home to that entire demeanor of villainy. I've seen her do well in vibrant roles before, but being cold and monotonous only serves to compound on her weakness. My suggestion? Give Seung Hee more dimensions and have her display more emotions OTHER than trying to be Cold and Reserved. Fortunately however, the more that Hoon tries to prod and affront her, chances are we're going to see more of her Jae Hee side and the emotions underneath. Judging by the ep 7 preview, things do seem to bode for the better.

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what about her scene as Jae hee in Budabet at that bridge where she & park hoon were surrounded by men with guns wanted to kill them ?
this was her worst scene ever in DrStanger [at least for me] she stood there with 1 expression on her face and her mouth and eyes wide open , even when she was holding PH's hand and about to fall in the river her eyes and face expression were the same, empty, not like a person who is about to die, thanks God jong suk was there to save that scene he made me cry, he broke my heart he made me feel his loss and pain.

We reached episode 7 now, it is about time for the main actress to show some acting. although I strongly doubt she will become" Talented" in 1 week, you either have it or don't .

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The way you described it... eyes wide open, empty expression... is exactly what I would describe a person that is about to die would probably have. Especially a person who has accepted her fate. There is a solemnity in that scene. So I don't exactly know what your complaints are about, but sure, point taken.

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@Scientia are you kidding me?? LOL , good for you then, at least someone was convinced with her acting in that scene :D

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Okay I'm still skeptical about Dr. Choi.

- I'm trying to figure out how to fit the flashback into the history b/n him and Hon. Since on the day they were leaving for N. Korea, both father and son left home at the same time. Unless... dad told Hoon at some point he was targeted to go NKorea based on Dr Choi's recommendation?

- How is it that he's able to flit b/n N Korea and S Korea so easily? I don't really see how the old age is helpful.

- The whole "I don't want to admit I helped to find Chang Yi's mom until I find Seung Hee" explanation sounds dodgy.

- Didn't Choi advise Dr Moon (just after the committee had an uproar after finding out Hoon's from N Korea) that Hoon is valuable to the nasty Prime Minister? I doesn't sound like a case of "I think the Prime Minister wants to protect him since he owes Hoon a debt". He seems to also be orchestrating Hoon into the hospital for some other purpose.

Another gripe:
Right after the scene where Hoon gets knocked out by the flying basin at Soo Hyun's mom's house... Dr Moon showed up. With both SH and Hoon asking what Dr Moon is doing there. How on earth did he know to find Hoon here?!

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The whole SeungHee/JaeHee reminds me the Chinese movie Black Cat (similar to the well-known French's Nikita or American's Point of No Return) In Black Cat, the female lead was dead then was revived and a chip was inserted in her brain to make her a killer. To my understanding, JaeHee was dead or nearly dead, and the NK revived her and insert some kind of chip in her brain to wipe her memory and control her and sent her back to SK with a mission as SeungHee. SeungHee was briefed about JH relationship with PH so she awares of that in orde to make her mission succeed, but since her mind is control, she can't remember anything about the past, so she just has the SeungHee's mind in JaeHee's body. I suspect that her brain will awake when she interacts with Hoon and then her brain will try to fight the chip that controls her. This is a very complex character to play and casting JSY in it is not a good choice. JSY is too young, barely gets out of teenage, to have the experience needed for the complex character. Beside, she's just an ok actress not a genious young actress that is able to pull out the double roles. Therefore, JSY fails to deliver a complex role that can peak my interest

This drama has so many plot holes but it still can enjoyable if it jusr flows the way it is for the entertaining purpose only. Instead, it makes my head spins trying to wring out the suspense in every character (except Hoon, SooHyun and Dr Moon and that's why I enjoy them so much) The writer keeps trying to introduce character with huge mysterious plot line then plays the game that feeds me a tiny bit informati22on once a while. By doing that, the writer tries to build the suspension but instead, it goes backfire. It makes me see the plotholes getting bigger, see many ridiculous explanations and see many forced logics. So, instead of making me anticipated with the suspensions, the writer makes me frustrated and lose patience. Hopefully, Dr Weird and Dr Quack chemistry is still strong enough plus Dr Moons is still hilarious enough to keep me watching this drama.

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The answer is brainwashing.

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Hi, at 5.34minutes in this episode, Dr.Han Seung Hee is wearing a wristband. Can you tell me what it is and what brand? Thanks.

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