Doctor Stranger: Episode 16
by HeadsNo2
Now that the show keeps sitting its characters down to talk about what’s going on, I finally understand why they were holding out on giving explanations for so long: They didn’t have any. As much as I wish I was making that up, this episode jumps the scalpel and then some by giving old evidence new meanings and introducing exposition that actually makes a negative amount of sense.
That’s right, we’re now running in the red when it comes to logic, and the worst part is that our supposedly geeenius hero buys into all this nonsense. Which begs the question of what Hoon really wants, since his wants fluctuate by the minute—does he want to be a good doctor, a good boyfriend, a good son, or good for nothing?
SONG OF THE DAY
Maniakuz – “가슴이 아프다 (My Heart Hurts)” [ Download ]
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EPISODE 16 RECAP
Hoon seems to know exactly what Soo-hyun was looking at (even if we don’t) when he enters the clinic holding Seung-hee’s hand, all while the silent moment of shock between the three of them drags on.
After Soo-hyun watches him pull his hand out of Seung-hee’s, she does her best to hold back her tears as she claims she only came to apologize to Hoon for what her father did.
When she attempts to leave in a hurry, Hoon tries to stop her with a hand on her wrist. She looks like she’s about devolve into hysterics as she claims she’ll hear him out later, but when she rushes out, Hoon gives Seung-hee a look before he goes after Soo-hyun anyway.
“Why didn’t you tell me Doctor Han was Jae-hee?” Soo-hyun asks accusingly the moment they’re alone. Ah, so that’s what the scans showed? That Seung-hee is definitively Jae-hee? Is that canon now?
Hoon explains that he had reasons for not telling her, but that doesn’t help Soo-hyun from feeling betrayed that he never told her when he should have. Confused, Hoon asks why it was so important that he tell her.
“Are you asking because you really don’t know?” Soo-hyun asks. Hoon’s expression remains unchanging as he replies, “How would I know?” Soo-hyun’s eyes grow wide with disbelief as she whispers, more to herself than anyone, that Hoon is a jerk.
Even Seung-hee seems sympathetic toward Soo-hyun when Hoon isn’t, but her advice that he apologize to Soo-hyun for deceiving her goes unheeded. Hoon stands by his position that they have nothing to apologize for.
Soo-hyun rushes out of a possible confrontation with Seung-hee at their home, her shaky voice betraying her true feelings even as she struggles to be polite. She even feels sorry about liking Hoon now that she knows Seung-hee is Jae-hee. (Call me crazy, but weren’t the kidney scans proof that Seung-hee wasn’t Jae-hee initially?)
In order to stay away from any Seung-hee/Hoon situations, Soo-hyun takes the night shift at the hospital with doctors who actually look like they’re doing their jobs. She even ignores Hoon when he calls.
After the fact, Hoon acts concerned for Soo-hyun as he asks Seung-hee for updates on her emotional state. But suddenly he’s become just as heartless as Jae-joon, since it wasn’t even her feelings he was worried about, but the fact that she could go to the police and report them.
Seung-hee has to be the one to tell him that it’s Soo-hyun’s emotional state he should be concerned with, but again, Hoon thinks that he’s done no wrong. Still, he seems to feel somewhat bad as he tries and fails to write Soo-hyun a text.
A gangster with a boo-boo raises a stink in the ER before he proceeds to slap Soo-hyun for speaking in banmal to him. She slaps him right back, but before the fight can escalate, Hoon comes to the rescue and uses his gangster connections to get the thugs to leave peacefully.
Soo-hyun acts awkward at first when Hoon claims he just came to talk to her as she fails to hold back her true feelings when Hoon asks her if she’s hurting from the slap. She returns by asking him if he wouldn’t be hurt if he were in her shoes—of course, she’s talking about not being told about the whole Jae-hee thing.
“Why did you do that to me?” Soo-hyun asks desperately. “Why did you turn me into a fool?” She breaks down into pitiful, body-wracking sobs, which is when Hoon finally offers her something-like-but-not-necessarily a consoling embrace. “I’m sorry,” he says, though it seems like he’s just saying what he thinks she needs to hear rather than what he truly feels.
Seung-hee calls Hoon to ask whether he’s talked to Soo-hyun, and he lies that he hasn’t. Unfortunately, Hoon seems to have forgotten the cardinal rule that every interaction with a second lead must be witnessed by a third party, since Seung-hee has seen the whole exchange and knows the truth.
Even though Seung-hee wanted Hoon to console Soo-hyun, she spends some time being upset that he did as she flashes back to various memories of him with her and Soo-hyun.
She then begins to go through her phone and systematically delete photos of her and Hoon together as she cries. There’s only one she can’t bring herself to delete.
Seung-hee then meets with Prime Minister Jang, who’s going old school by popping pills for his unknown, lingering condition. He’s very upset to learn that Seung-hee told Hoon the truth about the president being the actual recipient of the surgery, since he believed that killing Hoon’s mother would have resulted in Hoon killing the president on the operating table… somehow.
His face grows red as he argues the perfectness of his plan, which is so good he has to yell the specifics so that the multiple people outside (including a nonaffiliated cleaning lady) can hear. ’Cause why care about your political career in a universe where nothing is true and everything is permitted?
Seung-hee argues that Prime Minister Jang’s plan would’ve never worked, since Hoon sees all his patients as patients and nothing more. He wouldn’t ever forsake his duty to hurt someone intentionally. But Jang laughs her silly notions off, since he knows that the real reason she hid Hoon’s mother is because she loves Hoon.
She doesn’t deny that, and when Prime Minister Jang claims he can find Hoon’s mother easily if he sets his mind to it, she replies that he’d have to give up his dream of becoming president then.
He calls her threat “cute” but seems unfazed since the election is only a few years away, though his expression falters when Seung-hee reminds him that in order to win that election, he’d need to make a strong showing at the upcoming North-South Summit. And to do that, he needs her to ensure the DPRK’s backing.
So Seung-hee’s request is that he use Jae-joon for the surgery instead, and that she’ll move over to Jae-joon’s team. The surgery will go smoothly then, even though that seemed to be the opposite of what Prime Minister Jang wanted to use Hoon for, and she’ll do her job by keeping the president in a comatose state just like Jang wanted.
However, Seung-hee has one ultimatum: That Prime Minister Jang will ensure Hoon and his mother’s safety in return. Jang all but waves her off, claiming he doesn’t like Hoon and has no reason to listen to her… until she gives him a reason to listen to her by reminding him that he can’t keep the president in a coma without her help. Why is he acting like she didn’t just recite this threat two lines ago?
Nightshade has to explain Prime Minister Jang’s plan to him, since no one understands: If the president were to just stay in a coma after his surgery, Jang would only have sixty days to be the acting president, which wouldn’t be enough time to make the North-South summit happen.
But, if the president alternates in and out of a comatose state, all power will be given to Prime Minister Jang indefinitely. The problem is that they’re stuck with giving into Seung-hee’s condition about Hoon and his mom, since they don’t have time to find an anesthesiologist they trust as much as her.
There’s a reason Prime Minister Jang doesn’t want to do that, and that’s because he’s now of the mind that he doesn’t like Hoon being, y’know, alive anymore. Why? (No seriously, why?)
Prime Minister Jang gets Jae-joon to visit his complex by calling him by his secret (but real!) name, Lee Seung-hoon. He tells Jae-joon that he wants him to do the operation, competition be damned—Hoon won’t be showing up to work for a while anyway. And if he doesn’t show, Jae-joon wins.
He asks Jae-joon what he thinks about that, and adds that Chairman Oh will be happy if Jae-joon wins. “Isn’t this what you call irony?” Prime Minister Jang laughs. Actually, that isn’t what you call irony. You know what’s really ironic? This show’s existence.
Prime Minister Jang adds his condition, along with the subtle threat that he’ll reveal Jae-joon’s identity should he choose to say no: Seung-hee has to be part of Jae-joon’s team, and she’ll be the one appointed to care for him post-surgery.
To sweeten the pot, if Jae-joon goes along with his request, he’ll give him an envelope filled with everything he’d ever need to take Chairman Oh down—if Jae-joon does something else for him first.
Agent Cha crawls out of his hidey-hole, along with Nightshade, to take Hoon to a scenic spot for a long overdue chat about why he hates him so much and why he’s been so hell bent on revenge. Something about Hoon ruining his life and such, y’all know the drill by now.
He tells Hoon that he has his chance now that Prime Minister Jang has removed Hoon from The Plan, and doesn’t give Hoon any answers when our young doc demands to know why the mission is continuing without him.
Instead, Agent Cha aims that gun he’s been saving up at Hoon’s forehead as he smiles with devilish glee now that he’ll finally be able to have his revenge. “Goodbye,” he says as his finger tightens on the trigger…
…Only for a shot to ring out that’s not from his gun. As Agent Cha’s shoulder explodes before he falls into the water, we find Nightshade holding the smoking gun. He’s saved the day again, and Hoon’s life twice now.
“I never expected us to meet again like this,” Nightshade tells Hoon as he holds out the same kind of lollipop a mini-Hoon had once offered him. I love how no one bothers to even look toward the water, and Hoon is just like, It’s a little early in the day to be shooting people, don’t you think?
Nightshade explains his actions as being due to Seung-hee/Jae-hee (wasn’t he threatening to kill her with a gun to her head only a few episodes ago?), since she made a deal for Hoon and his mom’s safety when she removed him from The Plan.
Hoon doesn’t believe it when Nightshade says Seung-hee will join Jae-joon’s team, since he thought they agreed to be in on this together. But a PPL voicemail left from Seung-hee explains her feelings better, as she tells Hoon not to worry because his mom will be protected.
She tells him how happy she was to spend the past month with him, and how her heart soared when he first embraced her in the staff room (when he was checking their heartbeats, and she was still a different person for whatever reason they’ll never explain).
After explaining that she’s doing everything for Hoon and Mom, the Artist Formerly Known as Jae-hee adds that she’ll find him when she finishes the mission, since he’s got to lay low for a little while. “Please take care of yourself until then. You must. I’m sorry, Hoon-ah. I… don’t want to be a burden to you anymore.”
Hoon initially doesn’t want to believe Nightshade when he says he can guarantee Hoon’s safety as well as Mom’s, because he thinks Nightshade cared for his mother only to use her against him. Nightshade doesn’t deny that he’s partially right, but reminds him that he took care of Mom even when Hoon was in the North.
“Have you ever thought about it?” Nightshade asks. “About who saved you from Cha Jin-soo on the bridge in Budapest? About who took care of your mother for the past twenty years?” Hoon realizes that Nightshade was his savior back then, so he listens when Nightshade tells him that he needn’t worry about Seung-hee/Jae-hee—she’s a lot stronger than he thinks.
And right now, Hoon will do her more good if he’s the safe place she can return to after completing her mission. “The choice is yours,” Nightshade adds. “Will you come with me, or will you defy the prime minister’s will and place yourself, your mother, and Song Jae-hee in danger?”
While Chi-gyu’s attempt to give Chang-yi a pair of couple’s sneakers gets interrupted by the arrival his younger sister, Jae-joon finds a good opportunity to insert Seung-hee into his team when his former anesthesiologist, Min-se, announces that she’ll be too busy marrying Doctor Geum to do her job. That was easy.
Chairman Oh orders a reluctant Soo-hyun to that branch hospital no one ever goes to as a means of separating her from Hoon, as well as to give her time to sort herself out. She is not having it.
But then Jae-joon arrives at her father’s request, and the two men presume to talk about Soo-hyun like she isn’t there in the room. Chairman Oh asks Jae-joon what he’s been doing for Soo-hyun’s feelings to wander (never mind that he used to be on his daughter’s side and once rejected Jae-joon because he yelled at her), and what he plans to do about it.
Jae-joon takes Chairman Oh’s biting words, and saves(?) Soo-hyun from her father’s wrath by asking that Chairman Oh leave his daughter to him. Like he’ll sort her out, or something. I can’t quite tell if Chairman Oh is implying that marriage will sort out their problems, but this is a case of “Hush, the men are talking!”
Soo-hyun tears herself from Jae-joon’s grasp at the first opportunity to remind him that she was very clear about her lack of feelings for him. Jae-joon understands her completely, but has to get his feelings off his chest too.
“Listen carefully. For whatever I do in the future… please forgive me. And never forget that I sincerely loved you. No, you can forget that, so I can accept the fact that you love someone else. But it just can’t be Park Hoon, do you understand?” Jae-joon’s romantic interlude is interrupted when he’s called to the ER. Ohhh right, they’re supposed to be doctors, aren’t they?
And wouldn’t you know it, the patient in the ER has identical symptoms to the patient Jae-joon was already scheduled to operate on. (Funny how that keeps happening—it’s almost as if there’s someone organizing all these coincidental occurrences.) He orders the patient to the operating room anyway, even though he can’t physically perform both surgeries himself.
He tells as much to Chairman Oh, explaining that he was told by the prime minister’s office that Hoon wouldn’t be coming into work for a while, and that they wanted the competition to end. Since there are only two surgeons in Seoul and Hoon is unavailable, Chairman Oh wonders whether this means the second patient could die.
“I think it’s more important to decide on the winner first,” Jae-joon replies. Chairman Oh’s face breaks into a sly grin as he catches onto Jae-joon’s sinister implications and all but rubs his hands together in delight. You people are the worst.
Even though there’s already been three too many “final rounds,” Chairman Oh tells an oblivious Doctor Moon that these dual patients will be the guinea pigs for the real final finale end conclusion round. Also, Doctor Moon’s suspension will finally be lifted so he can practice medicine again. God help the patients.
Since the surgical procedure needed is one Hoon’s performed for Myungwoo before, Doctor Moon thinks that they’ve got this competition in the bag… until he can’t get a hold of Hoon, that is. Whoops.
While Seung-hee talks Chang-yi down when she grows suspicious of her part in Hoon’s sudden disappearance, Soo-hyun finds out very belatedly that everyone’s prepping for an emergency surgery—only no one seems to have thought to find out if Hoon was available first.
Doctor Moon and Soo-hyun rush to Hoon’s clinic in the hope of finding him there only to come up empty. Meanwhile, Jae-joon preps his patient for surgery and introduces Seung-hee as the team’s replacement anesthesiologist.
But since the second patient has no one to help them, Soo-hyun convinces Doctor Moon to perform the surgery himself.
In the operating theater, Jae-joon casually asks Seung-hee how she knows Prime Minister Jang. He doesn’t seem to believe her when she feigns ignorance however, because the prime minister sure seemed to know her very well.
As Doctor Moon preps for surgery in Hoon’s absence, Soo-hyun confronts Seung-hee over her suddenly switching teams. “Are you really Jae-hee?” she asks. “I’m doing this because I am Jae-hee,” Seung-hee/Jae-hee (pick your poison) replies.
The rest of the conversation literally just entails Soo-hyun asking for clarification or asking if what she’s hearing makes any sense as Seung-hee cryptically addresses Soo-hyun’s fear that Hoon will be kicked out of the hospital if he loses this round by saying that no matter what happens or what seems at all logical, Hoon will be back.
While scrubbing up, Jae-joon enlists Doctor Yang’s help, except this time not as a saboteur—he has to help Doctor Moon in any capacity he can, since the hospital can’t risk a table death before Prime Minister Jang’s surgery. I can’t tell if he means it because they seemed pretty okay with the idea of the second patient dying as long as it meant Hoon losing, but any further questions are cut off when Jae-joon dramatically drops his scrubbing soap like he just dropped a pair of drumsticks.
Before the surgery begins, Nurse Min warns Doctor Yang against pulling any of his usual tricks. Doctor Moon is so nervous his hands start to shake even before he makes the first incision, which isn’t a reassuring sign.
Things start to look bad for Doctor Moon mid-surgery, but he manages to save the patient by manually massaging the heart into beating again… only for a sudden blood spurt to cause massive uncontrolled bleeding in the patient. Uh oh.
Prime Minister Jang watches the surgery and chuckles to himself that Chairman Oh doesn’t know what’s in store for Jae-joon should he win the competition, while Chairman Oh sends an order for Jae-joon to treat the second patient after he’s done with the first—not out of that thing you and I call human compassion, but because it’d look bad for the hospital if someone died.
Doctor Moon panics while waiting for Jae-joon to arrive, but when the door to the operating theater opens…
…It’s Hoon who arrives, ready for surgery.
COMMENTS
Good grief, does that unlocked and unmonitored door lead to the hospital parking lot? How is it that the people who matter (and many who don’t) have eyes everywhere except where it counts? Why am I even bothering with Hoon’s sudden reappearance when there’s a laundry list of issues waiting to be discussed?
Look, I had hope for this show. And maybe, just maybe, that hope was based not on any merit of the production itself, but on my foolish wish that this wouldn’t go crazy in the final act and solidify itself as an unfocused mess. If one could will a show into being good, then Doctor Stranger would be the best show of the year. But alas, only a decent writer could save this show from itself, and whoever we’ve got has seemingly stopped trying. We got an hour where everyone talked about the big conspiracies without saying anything about them, like they were all in on a secret someone forgot to let us in on.
I’m still a little wary about trusting the Seung-hee = Jae-hee reveal, if only because it felt way too underwhelming a solution to all the mystery piled onto her existence. We spent so many episodes on the “Is she or isn’t she?” question that this answer is like receiving a text message breakup—you want to care more about the content, but you’ve got to get over the infuriating way it was delivered first. Surely the solution to the big mystery can’t be that easy, can it? If the end result was that Seung-hee was the girl Hoon hoped she’d be and thought she was this entire time, then any prayer this show had for keeping up a semblance of dramatic tension just became dead in the water (after flailing inexplicably over the railing).
What’s also confusing is the way Soo-hyun apparently found out about Seung-hee’s true identity, using the kidney scans that had been used to disprove the idea that Seung-hee was Jae-hee as proof that Seung-hee really IS Jae-hee. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say the show used our general inability to decipher scans as a way to make what Soo-hyun saw mean something completely different than we were initially led to believe it did, even if our notion of what those scans spelled out wasn’t just some abstract guess considering that Doctor Moon, who knew that Jae-hee had once had a kidney transplant, looked at the scans and declared that Seung-hee couldn’t be Jae-hee.
Even if Jae-hee could’ve gotten enough surgery to fool the scans, Soo-hyun had the same information regarding Jae-hee’s kidney transplant as Doctor Moon did before she looked at them. So how is it that she could look at the same exact scans as Doctor Moon and arrive at a totally different and eerily convenient conclusion? Did I miss a vital step, or is this yet another black hole where plausible explanations go to die?
If I weren’t actively recapping the show, I’d be really tempted to fast forward through any scenes with Prime Minister Jang in them, because the end result would still be the same. I never got him, but this week put a cherry on top of the shit sundae that has been his character so far when he decided to do away with Hoon just because he stopped liking him. Never mind the hours (and decades, on his end) spent getting everything just right so that the one and only Hoon could perform a magical surgery that his nemesis can now do just as well and just as easily, or so we’ve been led to believe. It’s probably good that Prime Minister Jang has no shame, because I’d be feeling pretty stupid if I spent twenty years on something that a spy with two years of experience could talk me out of in one conversation—but hey, maybe there’s a reason I’m not the leader of a country. Yet.
RELATED POSTS
- Doctor Stranger: Episode 15
- Doctor Stranger: Episode 14
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- Doctor Stranger: Episode 12
- Doctor Stranger: Episode 11
- Doctor Stranger: Episode 10
- Doctor Stranger: Episode 9
- Doctor Stranger: Episode 8
- Doctor Stranger: Episode 7
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- Doctor Stranger: Episode 5
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- Doctor Stranger: Episode 2
- Doctor Stranger: Episode 1
Tags: Doctor Stranger, featured, Jin Se-yeon, Lee Jong-seok
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1 Bravo
June 26, 2014 at 4:06 AM
Yikes! Glad to see Comrade Cha dead? I hope Hoon's thought this through rather than impulsively messing up everything. Seems like Jaejoon's suspicious of Jae Hee. Finally some of the old Soohyun is back, heck yeah! :) Please don't kill of Jae Hee.
Also, was there a preview for next week?
First ...
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cubedwalrus
June 26, 2014 at 4:52 AM
:insert jumping the shark image:
that's what the show has become, smh.
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secretlyaddicted
June 26, 2014 at 6:38 AM
Exactly how I feel. I want to cry like Soo-hyun.
What happened, show???!?!!??
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Chups
June 26, 2014 at 6:00 AM
I don't think comrade cha is dead.
If jae hee can survive a gun shot, and deep fall into the river, why not comrade cha.
this show is not making much sense. though lee jong suk is as cute as ever.
Do the writer think we are idiots? As important as a surgical competition can be, what happens in the surgery room is always supposed to be private.
How can there be so many viewing teams. Fine that the president and prime minister can get access to watch the competition.
But nurses? Even Bora? (forgot her character name)
Many things just don't add up, including what HeadsNo2 mentioned about the kidney scans.
Are they not following their own script, or are we suppose to be stupid enough to buy that 1+1 = 3?
it just seem like the writer want to drag out a 16 episode drama into a 20episode one. With more and more ties in the competition, until a grand finale actually happens.
I'm so disappointed, that the awesome drama casts from I hear your voice. Both Lee bo young and lee jong suk took on such bad dramas following. God's gift was a disaster, and from where doctor stranger is going, it surely is following closely behind.
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glowry
June 26, 2014 at 6:50 AM
well for me God's Gift is a masterpiece, only the ending is such a disaster..
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Athena
June 26, 2014 at 8:30 AM
I agree! Sure the ending was a downer but man was that show good till then or what?
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twubble
June 26, 2014 at 10:29 AM
I agree too. God's Gift was well written and I did not mind the ending (you know, hero's judgement immensely impaired due to alcohol.....hence alcohol-induced suicide....difficult to swallow, but at least there was an explanation, of sorts!).
DS is just poorly written and I stopped watching for several weeks and am only reading the recaps here because they are snarky and entertaining. The writer/s of the show really expected too much suspension of disbelief. The plot has been stagnant for several episodes and heaven-forbid that such doctors and hospital administrators exist! The show has a tremendous identity crisis - it does not know whether it wants to be a spy drama, a romance, a medical drama, a human drama or whatever.
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codeblue
June 26, 2014 at 9:14 AM
Doctor Stranger is not a disaster, this drama is number 1 in Korea :-), and I love every episode. Cannot even wait for the next one. You and HeadsNo2 are both critics & definitely do not like Lee Jong Suk & Doctor Stranger..anyways whatever negative feedback or comments we still love watching Doctor Stranger, we are hooked up in this drama. Just enjoy the show and stop being bias. The viewers, writers & the fans are not dumb we know how the story goes but we still enjoying it because of the effort of the artists & the whole cast especially Lee Jong Suk, his acting is exceptional here, he gives his best. Thanks for Recap & nice photos, I only visit your site because of Lee Jong Suk.
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alua
June 26, 2014 at 10:55 AM
It might be a ratings hit, but it's a dark, dark and oh-so-unfathomable abyss in terms of narrative logic and character consistency.
Some of the actors are certainly doing their best though. I would have long gone bonkers if I were them!
Just IMO.
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skelly
June 26, 2014 at 10:59 AM
Thank goodness, I guess, for the fans who can overlook bad writing:
logic fails,
bipolar characterization,
dropped story threads,
twisted motivations,
dangling conflicts
and focus on Lee Jong Suk's twee little smile.
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bjharm
June 26, 2014 at 6:36 PM
The value of a pretty face, you no longer even need writers, save money and hire a room full of monekys for script writers!
Ow and of course if rating drop there always the never fail meaningless shower scene or any other way of getting your pretty face taking off his shirt lol. What the heck as long as people enjoy it then it doing its job, as I said before TV shows are made for the bottom line ie to make money, not to make 'good' drama.
move3e
June 27, 2014 at 12:56 PM
amen sister/brother
Chups
June 26, 2014 at 11:27 AM
nobody is criticising lee jong suk if you realised.
the problem is with the writer. every good actor needs a good writer, just unfortunately, for this drama, it's almost as if the writer ignored human logic.
same for god's gift, lee bo young acted so well, but the ending was so horrible that it's hard to actually remember what you enjoyed about that drama.
for both lee jong suk and lee bo young, perhaps i was really anticipating something really good, following their excellent performance, chemistry, and good screen play in 'i hear your voice'
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Chups
June 26, 2014 at 11:37 AM
nobody is criticising lee jong suk if you realise.
it's just the writer's problem. every good actor needs a good writer. just that for ds, the writer is far from one.
same for god's gift, the ending was so horrible that it's difficult for viewers to remember what's really good about it. thrilling as it may be in the process, it's too hard to swallow that the male lead had to die in the way that he did.
i was expecting lee jong suk and lee bo young to take on much better drama, considering their excellent performance, chemistry and great screenplay in 'i hear your voice'
anyway it's just 2 more weeks and we're done.
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Minny
June 26, 2014 at 12:19 PM
I'm sorry, but leading in the ratings means nothing when it's the only drama with young popular actors with romance as a forefront in its timeslot. And yet, it gets 12-14% at most, which is decent: but it's not an indisputable hit like e.g. Lee Jong Suk's own I Hear your Voice or You Who Came From The Stars in which Park Hae Jin was a supporting actor.
Is this drama going to further any of these young actors' careers? Especially, Park Hae Jin's and Kang So Ra's careers, who are trying establish themselves and prove their worth to get the lead roles? This is a big step down for Lee Jong Suk after IHYV's critical success and popularity: it doesn't strengthen his position at all. Will it show Jin Se Yeon to be a better actress? No, in fact due to the writer's awful plot timing, her character suffered and she got undue criticism.
Are many people going to remember this drama fondly six months-- even three months from now? No, but it's going to go as the worst/most ridiculous drama in many people's end of the year list.
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hely
June 26, 2014 at 1:49 PM
its okay to have a stepback not all kdrama actors have hit drama, lets face it just like Lee Min Ho, personal taste and faith didn't live up expectations. And the drama is being praise in Korea because of good acting well good acting from Lee Jong Suk...
Sue
June 26, 2014 at 12:54 PM
My personal opinion is that this show is a disaster. The story makes no sense. It's boring. But I agree with you on one thing: I enjoy watching Lee Jong Suk. That it the only reason why I'm still watching. Plus I'm curious about how this mess is going to end.
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Dr. Hwata
June 27, 2014 at 3:08 AM
So, HeadsNo2 and virtually everyone, except you, Codeblue, is biased? Only because you do not agree with their observations and remarks?
Are you being accurate and truthful when you say that Dr. Stranger is No. 1 in ratings in Korea? Maybe HeadsNo2 should look into it and advise us. Until then, I am not believing you.
On the other hand, if your ratings claim is really true, then I should seriously worry about South Korean viewers. It's one thing to be addicted to makjang, but it is totally another to propel Dr. Stranger to No. 1 in ratings ...
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Jill
June 27, 2014 at 6:14 AM
Doctor Stranger has kept me entertained throughout. I absolutely have cried at some scenes and laughed my head off at others. I LOVE that it has a nice combination of humor and pathos, after all that is what made Charlie Chaplin a genius!!! And who expects human beings to act in a straight line their entire lives??? REALLY? You must have an unrealistic view of life if you expect characters never to grow, then fall back, then grow again, then fall back, then grow again .. that is LIFE! The only objection I have with Doctor Stranger is the continued contests operating on patients. That is just so unprofessional. I can't even see one being allowed to take place, much less multiple contests. Wish the writers had scrubbed that unrealistic take on the medical profession. But overall I like its anti-communist stance ("Master" even states "I hate communists!" At that line I cried out, 'WOW!!!!'). LOL.
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katasu1996
June 27, 2014 at 7:27 AM
Effort matters very little when plots and storylines become nonsensical. Lets face it, the ratings are only at the top for them because of the crazy. It's so stupid, it makes certain people want to tune in to see what's next. As for me, it makes me want to change my channel. This can't go on for long, not with actual good dramas like Trot Lovers and Joseon Gunman and High School King on the loose.
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Kaybee
June 26, 2014 at 1:38 PM
God's Gift a disaster?!!! Blasphemy!!! It is certainly one of the the BEST dramas of the year!
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Jill
June 27, 2014 at 6:19 AM
I cut out at episode 8 of God's Gift. The main reason I did so was because I couldn't take Lee Bo Young's hysteria after seeing her play a much more admirable, cool, calm and collected professional in I Hear Your Voice. That character's life was also on the line, as well as the boy she loved, but she never freaked, instead looking danger right in the face and refusing to be cowered by it. The whole idea of "if you react the same way as the criminal then you become a criminal too" was such a POWERFUL theme for a K-drama script that I am not surprised it's practically impossible to top I Hear Your Voice. Those two actors will probably go YEARS before ever having a script like that to work from again.
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eunice
June 26, 2014 at 6:57 PM
Hi, regarding the kidney scans, it is actually Hoon whom swap Jaehee's real CD to a fake CD that is opened up in Doctor Moon's office. Then Hoon keeps the real CD in his drawer, he swap it because at that time he already knows Seunghee is Jaehee and wants to protect/help her to keep identity secret. If not Doctor Moon would think she is a spy if he found out..
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Airyn
June 26, 2014 at 10:57 PM
Yes, this is how I understood what happened with the CDs of the scans as well. Hoon has the real CD, and Moon saw the fake one.
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Airyn
June 26, 2014 at 11:03 PM
Agent Cha is not dead and he's gonna be back to kill Jae-hee in the end. XD
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alua
June 26, 2014 at 6:08 AM
Not likely that Comrade Cha is dead.
He just fell into the water with an injured shoulder.
If Jae Hee can survive a fall of a high bridge right after a transplant surgery, then Comrade Cha can easily survive this.
It's crazy-drama after all.
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Chaerin
June 26, 2014 at 6:59 AM
He won't be dead, he'll miraculously survive somehow, lol
In the case of the kidney scans, could it be that the copy Soo Hyun saw is the correct scan, and the one Dr Moon had was a false one Hoon gave him?
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Yupper
June 26, 2014 at 9:24 AM
This is correct, they showed Hoon having a CD and putting it into his coat while the CD and scan that Doctor Moon was looking at was still in the laptop.
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reeyah
June 26, 2014 at 2:51 PM
Thanks for the clarification.
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Mb
June 26, 2014 at 10:13 AM
No one dies in this drama: agent cha will come back from the dead I think.
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2 fanwho
June 26, 2014 at 4:06 AM
Thanks for the recap!
Good grief, indeed..
WTH with more competition!
Yeah agent Cha died!!!!..?
KSR/SH's shoes PPL?
Hoon's heart is wavering?
Who are you JaHee, really?
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3 ...
June 26, 2014 at 4:08 AM
I'm getting tragic vibes from Jae Hee. I hope she doesn't die. After everything, Hoon and her deserve a happily ever after. Jae Joon and Soo hyun also need to have a happy ending. <3
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4 .
June 26, 2014 at 4:24 AM
I'm so confused with this drama.
Everything is just poorly executed.
It has a facade of being a good drama with all the mellowness, but underneath the whole thing is all over the place and it seems like the writers just want to hurry and finish the drama off, hoping the viewers won't notice.
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5 J
June 26, 2014 at 4:35 AM
If I hadn't already invested so much time into this show, I would stop watching. Everything is so confusing and aggravating.
At least it's almost over. Yeah?!
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icy
June 26, 2014 at 6:10 AM
Same here. Watching this drama is like waiting one of Myungwoo's patients die of stage 4 cancer. I just have to wait and see.
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6 pyromaniac
June 26, 2014 at 4:40 AM
how many dramas is it now that they have killed off Jin Se-yeon?? see if she survives this one...
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pyromaniac
June 26, 2014 at 4:42 AM
actually I wasn't shocked when they killed/tried to kill her off in the second episode.
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7 klmeri
June 26, 2014 at 4:44 AM
I skipped Episode 15 and it made no difference as to whether or not I could decipher what was happening in the next episode. I feel like if I had watched 15, I would actually be more confused in watching 16 because the writer is suddenly trying to make Jae Hee the heroine she could have been all along, Hoon is hardly Hoon any more, and everybody else is flip-flopping around so much in their do-I's or don't-I's that I give up on any steady character development. I had such hopes for Jae Joon, actually, and it upsets me to see he's petty again. SH maybe has been the only one with a somewhat consistent storyline in that she is playing second lead who falls in love with someone she can't have. Other than that... I don't know.
Oh and Dr. Moon? How could someone who has been doing heart surgeries for years act that unprofessional in operating room? I agree that he made the right decision to bring another surgeon in to save the patient but he acted like he had the skills of a monkey. Perhaps I am supposed to forgive him because he may not be confident about himself as a surgeon anymore but I really can't.
At this point I only watch the drama while I am waiting for the Wed-Th dramas to air. Even then, I might opt to forgo drama all together because frankly this show has been a big disappointment. I did try to will it to be better too, but you just have to know when to give up on a lost cause. :/
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8 Mar
June 26, 2014 at 4:56 AM
Is it possible Jaejoon is the one calling Hoon to the surgery? maybe they have started working together? since this show sometimes shows us some flashbacks what weren't there before, maybe Jaejoon found out Hoon's dad story, maybe they have a conversation, yeah just a lot of "maybe" since there is no "exactly" in this show
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9 oozzeee
June 26, 2014 at 4:58 AM
,aww, Heads, is it official? You ended up with the short end of the stick again?..
Just 4 more eps and ur free.. Fighting!
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10 A
June 26, 2014 at 5:01 AM
Is it just me or are we kind of going back and forth?
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11 glowry
June 26, 2014 at 5:06 AM
Gosh,this drama is so messed up,by everyyy episode..somehow i just dont even care and root for any character anymore..what a waste,this drama is solid in the beginning..and now there's no more excitement..
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12 Scientia
June 26, 2014 at 5:12 AM
Plot Twist: Both the president and PM Jang suffer an MI at the same time and BOTH Hoon and Jaejoon has to do the surgery now. The final test would be who of the two would wake up first, hence, would take power of the presidency. Per usual, something ‘worse’ happens with Hoon’s patient (another plot twist: PM Jang is the patient) as he’s forced into a moral dilemma of saving the one man who he has deeply despised. In any case PM Jang survives the surgery and lives, but not soon after his plans being exposed to the president, is stripped of his title and goes to jail.
Enter epilogue: Hoon and Jaehee are happily chatting and planning for the future of their new found freedom. Jaehee receives a cryptic text from her phone and skittishly excused herself from the conversation. Meanwhile Soohyun sees Hoon and decides to talk to him. Then from a some nondescript corner a shadow lurks, then we see Comrade Cha! He pulls out his gun as always and readies to shoot Hoon–however Jaehee who has been running sees this and screamed Hoon’s name. Both Soohyun and Hoon gets alerted of what is happening, but Comrade Cha wastes no further time and aims the gun at Hoon. Both Jaehee and Soohyun leaps into action. Gunshot is fired.
Fade to black.
:D
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reeyah
June 26, 2014 at 3:07 PM
Lol. It would be karmic justice for PM and President to be the final surgery (competition).
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13 Pollywood
June 26, 2014 at 5:38 AM
Didn't Hoon exchange the medical CDs? He got the newly made one in his drawer at home and the hospital still has the one that JH gave them when she applied to be a doctor there. At least that's how I remember it.
Falling in water after being shot does not constitute dying on this show, so be ready for a grand finale with Comerade Cha miraculously reappearing to save the day (because that would be totally out of character, ergo totally in tune with the show)
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Curioser and Curiosor
June 26, 2014 at 5:51 AM
Yes, Pollywood, he did switch the CDs, I remember that too. I remember noticing that he insisted on popping the one he had in his hands it into the disk drive in Moon’s office in order to disspell Moon’s fears that she was a spy since this would have landed her in bad straits. He already knew it was Jae Hee from the heartbeat hug and I guess he was game with helping her maintain her identity secret in front of others…
The heart knows what the heart knows and truth be told, this show is clearly all about the heart, not the mind. What’s not to love?
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Midori
June 26, 2014 at 9:03 AM
The switched scan of Jae Hee would show three or four kidneys (show never said how many of kidneys Hoon transplanted into Jae Hee). I stopped watching the show about 6 episodes ago when it went from don't really get it to crazy town.
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the cd
June 26, 2014 at 10:24 AM
I went to check Ep7 after Hoon "knew" (but didn't say out loud that he did) who Seung-hee truly was and saw that Doctor Moon was given the CD of Seung-hee's results and then we cut away and then we saw a CD come out of Hoon's coat pocket. So if there was a switch, we didn't see it explicitly and we would have had to infer based on Hoon's reactions that he gave Moon a different one.
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14 Curioser and Curiosor
June 26, 2014 at 5:41 AM
Before this show, I would have told anyone who asked that I was a dyed-in-the-wool rationalist with no patience for inconsistent/incoherent narratives. I would have been proud of my "give me reason and common sense or give me death" intolerance for awkward storytelling. But that was before this show.
Through this show - which I am clearly STILL voluntarily watching - I can say that I have discovered a greater tolerance for spitball plotting and that everything-but-the-kitchen-sink jambalaya that passes for genre identity in "Dr. Stranger."
Maybe this is because I have a 4-year old niece who excels at this sort of adhoc, improvisational, transformational storytelling where the only narrative rule is that there are no rules and anything goes and so when some new story element pops up out of nowhere or maybe some random thing gets restated exactly the same way but opposite, you don't ask questions... you just GO with it and enjoy the ride.
And I tell you, the pre-schooler's adhoc, improvisational, transformational storytelling can be a real blast it you just let go and let it carry you...
- A Newly Self-Liberated Rationalist
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skelly
June 26, 2014 at 11:03 AM
And then the elephant came in and smashed things! And there were flowers!
Yes, this show's logic has all of the free-form quality of a preschooler's tale, but unfortunately not nearly as much of the charm.
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Curioser and Curiosor
June 26, 2014 at 11:27 AM
:-D :-D :-D
Speaking of which, maybe the writer's of Dr. Stranger could pick up a pointer or two from little Capucha who really knows how to tell a story! Once upon a time... Dr. Stranger, take notes!
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15 Curioser and Curiosor
June 26, 2014 at 5:49 AM
Yes, he did switch the CDs, I remember that too. I remember noticing that he insisted on popping the one he had in his hands it into the disk drive in Moon's office in order to disspell Moon's fears that she was a spy since this would have landed her in bad straits. He already knew it was Jae Hee from the heartbeat hug and I guess he was game with helping her maintain her identity secret in front of others...
The heart knows what the heart knows and truth be told, this show is clearly all about the heart, not the mind. What's not to love?
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16 Anduril
June 26, 2014 at 5:54 AM
At least we can see PM's convoluted plan now.
Plan 1: use NK to keep the president in and out of a coma.
Plan 2: oh this guy who hates my guts is a doctor, lets get him to the hospital, get him to hate me even more, then let him think he is operating on me. He even planned to kill his mother, probably shortly before the surgery, to get him super angry. Since the President's surgery was supposed to be a secrete, the patients face would be covered and no one would know that they weren't operating on the PM, or at least Definitely not Hoon. Then Hoon would hate him so much, kill what he thinks is PM but really is President. If this plan fails we have plan 1 as backup?
Now PM is forced to Plan 1 (problematic but at least you only need to use one person who has already agreed to it (or has she?)). Since he can't use Hoon, he want that political land mine dead. Only if he is dead Plan 1 falls apart. Poor PM, nothing goes according to plans.
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Quiet Thought
June 26, 2014 at 6:16 AM
Plan 4: All of this is a distraction to allow the Hobbits to drop the One Ring into Mount Doom, which, as I recall, is a volcano up along North Korea's border with China and is sacred to the Joseon people's tradition.
Pretty clever, really. Since we now know that Hobbits are Indonesian--you can look it up--and it is not easy for them to get up there.
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Quiet Thought
June 26, 2014 at 6:19 AM
The only thing that would save any part of this drama would be if they set up Jang-See to throw herself between Hoon and a bullet in the last scene and, just as she's making the move, she spins around and drills the assassin between the eyes with a hidden gun.
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17 Quiet Thought
June 26, 2014 at 6:19 AM
The only thing that would save any part of this drama would be if they set up Jang-See to throw herself between Hoon and a bullet in the last scene and, just as she’s making the move, she spins around and drills the assassin between the eyes with a hidden gun.
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18 mizzy
June 26, 2014 at 6:24 AM
I hate the writer super hate them forever I hate them.. The actors is really stellar I couldn't believe this, without the leads especially Lee Jong Suk this drama will hit 2% ratings SBS should thank him.... He owns all the credit and some to our beloved supporting actors. But still I will finish this until the last credit of episode 20
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19 MO
June 26, 2014 at 6:29 AM
One thing about really WTF DS:
They seemed to bring a blotch of comments in DB.
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20 Andromeda
June 26, 2014 at 6:38 AM
DS really needs to come up with creative ways to end an episode. Can we please not end it with another surgery yet again! I feel like this competition has been going on forever!
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21 divyrus
June 26, 2014 at 6:45 AM
Heads, I read your intro and skipped right to comments !
I gave up couple of episodes ago but now I wanna see this mess just to have a laugh on how bad this is !
Is it worth the laugh ? :P or just the recaps ?
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RenaLoh
June 26, 2014 at 6:53 AM
neither. Watching the show will just make you think WTF is going on here?!
and reading the recap will make you think WTF is going on here?!
My suggestion is to read the personal comments that Heads added, it's funny how she commented on the absurdity of the show haha
Thanks Heads for making Doctor Stranger a little less frustrating for us.
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22 Giegie
June 26, 2014 at 6:46 AM
I wonder how influential SeungHee is for her to threaten the prime minister, and where are her bosses by the way? The show is almost over and nobody from the North Korean side showed up. And I wouldn't be surprised if Agent Cha ends up in Budafest next episode, nursing his shoulder and planning his revenge against Nightshade this time, for double crossing him. His body was never found after all, I didn't even see it float from the water. And Hoon, ha! I totally don't understand him now.
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Giegie
June 26, 2014 at 7:04 AM
Budapest* ~ At least because of DS, I get to read hilariously (& sarcastically) funny recaps. All thanks to gummimochi and HeadsNo2. :)
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23 Waiting
June 26, 2014 at 6:49 AM
I didn't watch this drama or follow the recaps as my plate is so full. But I was considering watching this in the future. It seems I made the right choice initially and it is best not to bother. A shame because the cast has some solid actors that I have enjoyed watching in the past.
Ah Heads...I was hoping your pick-o-meter was finally fixed and you wouldn't have to recap through a sub par show. So sorry, again! Thanks for sticking it out for all of us. :)
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Anduril
June 26, 2014 at 12:37 PM
I'm thinking I'm going to see what Heads2No decides to recap next and then run, run far far away, it the polar opposite direction.
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HeadsNo2
June 26, 2014 at 12:50 PM
:(
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Waiting
June 26, 2014 at 6:41 PM
Maybe let JB or GF pick for you?
I'm worried that you have seen so many poor shows that it will become normal and then your crap-o-meter will be the next to break.
I have a bottle of soju chilling for you. :)
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Cynthia
June 26, 2014 at 8:42 PM
Lol!!! Awwwww, poor HeadsNo2!
No matter what you recap, be it gold or crap, I am (and always will be) a faithful, devoted reader of your recaps. You bring the snark like few others!
I ♥you!!
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pigsnout
June 27, 2014 at 1:56 AM
At least Triangle is good....
Have strength, Heads!
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24 RenaLoh
June 26, 2014 at 6:49 AM
What. did. I. just. watch.
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25 Nat
June 26, 2014 at 6:59 AM
Im so confused by this show xD
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Andromeda
June 26, 2014 at 7:46 AM
I think we all are.
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26 Nat
June 26, 2014 at 7:05 AM
I'm actually only watching this show because the story is so screwed up and confusing and chaotic that it's fascinating. (Does that even make sense????)
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windsun33
June 26, 2014 at 9:18 AM
Kind of like watching a train wreck, but then you realize that there are no tracks, so you wonder how did the train ever get this far enough to wreck.
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Mayil
June 26, 2014 at 7:29 PM
Worse. It's watching the train getting wrecked in slllllowwwww motion and in a looooooooopppp.
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Amell
June 26, 2014 at 9:23 AM
Same. The drama's oddly compelling despite not making any sense.
I will be relieved when it's over though.
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27 Nat
June 26, 2014 at 7:07 AM
I'm actually watching this show only because it's so screwed up and chaotic that it's fascinating.
(Does this even make sense???)
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28 Misty
June 26, 2014 at 7:16 AM
This serial needs a cardiac arrest and stop at ep 16! Writers, please, please don't drag out the misery for the rest of us by putting this serial on life support. The plot is getting brain dead already!
We need to transplant this stellar and good looking cast to another more worthy serial with a better screen writer who doesn't think that the only way to engage the audience is to throw one red herring after another until we're too confused to care.
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windsun33
June 26, 2014 at 9:20 AM
Bottle Girl could become the Best Hero Ever in this show. All she has to do is lace all the water with Blowfish Toxin and end it all right now.
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29 unicorn
June 26, 2014 at 7:30 AM
You said when hoon take hyun to the roof with a hand on her wrist well actually he take with a hand in her palm XD u should rewatch that scene ok lol dunno is this some sign or nope.
What if han seunghee actually jaehee but hoon cant love her again? it doesnt mean if she is jaehee he will really love her. Thats not a guarentee people. It does make sense eh?
And why hoon put the cd of seunghee ct scan im the trash? Why? Is he feel bad to hyun? Hmmm..... and the scene that he lied to seunghee not bcs he wont hurt her. Seunghee even told hoon earlier to comfort hyun but infrontof seunghee he said like he didnt care. Sooooooooooo hoon? Is there something? And compare to changyi & hyun i think hoon have something different towards hyun... even theyre both hoon friends... Soooooooo hoon-a? *wink wink* XD LOL cmon ppl dont take this seriously ok!
Fighting DOCTOR STRANGER!
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30 Rossi
June 26, 2014 at 8:36 AM
"Even though Seung-hee wanted Hoon to console Soo-hyun, she spends some time being upset that he did as she flashes back to various memories of him with her and Soo-hyun.
She then begins to go through her phone and systematically delete photos of her and Hoon together as she cries. "....what in the actual eff?!?! I gave up on this show having any coherency in term of plot and yet I still get managed to be surprised by characters' actions.
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August
June 26, 2014 at 9:26 AM
Did anyone else notice that none of Han Seung-Hee's flashbacks in that moment were of Park Hoon and her as Song Jae-Hee in North Korea or Budapest together?
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mrchuckles
June 26, 2014 at 11:00 AM
So you think Seung-Hee is, in fact, not Jae-Hee? Nice. Not sure it matters much in this craziness.
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Amell
June 26, 2014 at 9:36 AM
The plan Seung/Jae Hee comes up with pretty much guarantees her return to NK, being their spy, and going back means they might kill her for going so off book. Deleting the pictures is symbolically saying goodbye to any hope of a future with Hoon.
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reeyah
June 26, 2014 at 3:52 PM
Flashbacks were scenes of Hoon and Soo-Hyun being chummy while she's of course in the same room to see. I think she might have been sad because they were closer than she had thought. It was right after the scene where she saw him consoling Soo Hyun, while lying to Seung Hee over the phone. So maybe she's jealous.
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31 Sajen
June 26, 2014 at 9:06 AM
Okay show, you win, Kang So-ra and Lee Jong-suk are no longer enough to keep me on your crazy train. Especially since it now appears impossible for Hoon and Soo-hyun to be together. Watching it as if it was a Monty Python skit doesn't work anymore either.
You know show despite the suspension of disbelief I really like you at first you were cute, then you hopped on your crazy train and decided to see how crazy you can get before the only people watching are Lee Jong-suk's sasaeng fans are watching, do non idols have sasaeng fans?
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mrchuckles
June 26, 2014 at 10:59 AM
The funny thing is, this episode actually made it possible for them to be together. It hinted that Hoon may have feelings for Soo-hyun. And just like Soo-hyun lied to Jae-Joon at the drinking place when with Hoon, Hoon lied to Seung-hee about being with Soo-hyun.
Hoon and Soo-hyun have all the chemistry moments in this drama, Hoon and Seung-hee/Jae-hee have precisely zero. Even their picture-taking date was really forced and flat.
Right now, Hoon and Soo-hyun is the only reason I still watch. That and this odd compulsive behavior I have to finish what I start no matter how big a waste of time it is.
Btw, where did the term "shipping" a couple come from?
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Anduril
June 26, 2014 at 12:41 PM
Not sure exactly where it started, but here is my favorite explanation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCDgJiPBxfI
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mrchuckles
June 26, 2014 at 1:03 PM
Thanks. Pretty funny vid.
I didn't realize that term was used outside of K/J Dramas (I'm so old).
Reading the comments answered my other question, "What does OTP stand for?"
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Misty
June 27, 2014 at 4:15 AM
Yes I agree that the chemistry between Hoon and Soo-Hyun is much more obvious. Even though she looks older than him, but they make a more believable couple! Jae-Hee just looks anaemic with him, not like a girl in love.
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32 pogo
June 26, 2014 at 10:01 AM
So basically the only member of the Myung-woo medical staff who actually remembers to behave like a professional is.....Nurse Min.
Poor Lee Jong-seok, he must be waiting to wrap this mess up.
(and can someone please tell me if the writers of this drama have ever written anything before, I would like to avoid it and d-addicts doesn't have pages on them)
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August
June 26, 2014 at 11:07 AM
Writer: Park Jin-Woo
Lee Soon-Shin's Unauthorized Biography | Leesoonshin Oejun (SBS / TBA)
Doctor Stranger | Dakteo Yibangin (SBS / 2014)
The Land of the Wind | Baramui Nara (KBS2 / 2008-2009)
Snow Flower | Nun Ggot (SBS / 2006-2007)
Temptation | Yoohog (KBS2 / 1996-1997)
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pogo
June 26, 2014 at 1:03 PM
Thank you! (I did see there were two writers, maybe the mess is also partially the result of the proverbial too many cooks?)
Now to stay far, far away from the above named dramas...
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atz
June 26, 2014 at 1:24 PM
DS could be the last drama that this writer worked on. After that, the writer should check into the DS's hospital for bipolar disorder. What ever the treatment this writer get from this awful hospital would be less pain than the pain that this writer inflicted on the viewers and actors/actresses.
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33 Soyoung
June 26, 2014 at 10:57 AM
As an MRI and X-ray technologist I can tell you that the scans only show one kidney. LOL if that helps at all with the logic.
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reeyah
June 26, 2014 at 4:01 PM
hahaha. Thanks for the professional input.
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34 booboop
June 26, 2014 at 11:01 AM
Now, i am only watching this drama hoping Soo-hyun and Hoon would end up together.
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35 Soyoung
June 26, 2014 at 11:11 AM
I know I commented before but I just compared the two scans from episode 6 and episode 15 (I actually just read the recaps and don't bother trying to watch the show). As a diagnostic imaging technologist I can verify that she has 2 kidneys in episode 6 and magically one in episode 15. So I guess now we have to hope that the show can explain how Hoon obtained her real scans... apparently off-screen. Which might I add is a whole other bag of legal violations that he still has it in his drawer and not well, back at the hospital. I guess this is why I have so much trouble watching medical dramas.
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mrchuckles
June 26, 2014 at 1:39 PM
I thought he swapped the real one in ep6 with the old fake one when he pushed aside Dr Moon. Then he put the real one in his desk drawer at his clinic. He swapped the real one once he realized from the unique heartbeat test that it was Jae Hee and didn't want her to be discovered as a spy.
So it makes sense (for whatever that is worth) that the ep15 scan that Soo-hyun found shows 1 kidney.
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Airyn
June 26, 2014 at 11:18 PM
So if the "real" scan from 15 shows only one kidney, then the surgery was not a transplant--Hoon actually took out one (presumably diseased) kidney? All along I thought it was a transplant--that Hoon took out Jae-hee's father's functioning kidney and put it in Jae-hee. o_O
I don't even know why I'm asking. Hahaha! It probably wouldn't matter in the story.
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36 KeyLimeCheesecake
June 26, 2014 at 11:11 AM
Like many people, I am ONLY watching this show for Lee Jong Suk, but I have to say, I am proud of this episode. Yes, the plot is confusing and the writers need to get slapped, but this episode gave explanations to most the the questions askeds by viewers. Rather thin explanations and too little to late, but at least they were there. DS Cast, HWAITING! You need it cause your writers suck.
Also can I get some love for QuackCouple?!
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Unholy
June 26, 2014 at 12:38 PM
I actually love to make fun of that particular amphibious avian and its ship, but yes I'll upvote you because you can see past the fandom and can identify the real suspect here--the writing.
Cheers. Though I'm rooting that your ship won't succeed.
:D
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37 mmeuh
June 26, 2014 at 3:14 PM
I stopped reading when the recap got the first scene all wrong. Isnt it clear that it was JH who tried to tug her hand away and H was the one who didnt let go but held her hand even more tightly. How can anyone see this scene differently as they like? If the movement confused u somehow, H expression showed it all.
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Andromeda
June 26, 2014 at 8:55 PM
I know right! It's clearly Seung Hee who tried to pull away from Hoon's grip but Hoon wouldn't let her until Soo Hyun stormed out.
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luna
June 26, 2014 at 9:35 PM
I know right. I watched the drama and it was clearly Jae Hee who tried to pull her hand away and Hoon would not let go and then she gave a nod for Hoon to go check up on Soo Hyun.
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38 Stenotrophomonas
June 26, 2014 at 5:49 PM
This drama is not only poorly written but the medical aspect part is not well-researched.
Jae-hee had a kidney transplant in North Korea. That means, she should have 3 kidneys instead of 1.
They never remove the recipient's kidneys. Instead, you transplant the donor's kidney (the 3rd kidney) and put it in the iliac fossa.
Jae hee never had a nephrectomy (removal of the kidney) in the story but a kidney transplant. However, the Ct scan that Soo Hyun saw had only 1 left kidney. It doesn't make sense!!!
How can a patient who is supposed to have a kidney transplant ended up with 1 kidney instead of 3?
(The writers should have checked, wikipedia...it's free, you know!)
That's a major boo boo. Jae-hee's father had the nephrectomy and donated his kidney to her.
And the CT scan in Dr. Moon's office had 2 kidneys...so someone switched it, maybe Hoon?
I know how to read CT scans because I'm a Doctor here in the US...the Medical society of South Korea should ban this korean drama because it degrades the medical profession in their country...this competition is so unethical.
The bottomline... if Jae-hee had a kidney transplant in N Korea, and if Seung-hee has only 1 kidney based from the CT scan....then Jae-hee is definitely NOT Seung-hee. That's a Medical fact!
But Doctor Stranger DEFIES any Logic and Reason.
This is how it must be inside a schizophrenic mind.
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windsun33
June 26, 2014 at 7:34 PM
I don't think ethics in that hospital has any meaning, but the writers gross errors go far beyond just the medical stuff. They were/are wrong about laws, politics, history, North Korea, and almost any other subject you can name.
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Jacqueline
June 26, 2014 at 8:58 PM
Thanks Heads for another great recap!!
And yes I agree with you Windsun33 (actually, I've agreed on all your comments - yes, I particularly look for yours! lol). You'd think if it's going to be centred on medicine, they'd get some parts right... :P But ya. Just in it now for Lee Jong Suk and Bora who's doing a superb job in delivering water and providing comic relief as well as sanity to this show.
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luna
June 26, 2014 at 9:38 PM
In the flashback Soo Hyun had Hoon told her that Jae Hee had two bad kidneys and had to have a kidney transplant. I'm thinking they took the bad kidneys out and added one good one.
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39 Marie
June 26, 2014 at 9:06 PM
When Dr Moon got the scans, Hoon pocketed the real disc and put the faked one into the player and showed it to Moon. The one in Hoon's clinic was always the real scan of JH/SH's 1 kidney that proves that she is the one Hoon did the surgery on in NK. That is why Quack knew who she was as soon as she saw that scan.
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Mr Chuckles
June 26, 2014 at 10:34 PM
Actually, I don't think Hoon ever saw the scans. He already knew what it would show because of his unique-heartbeat-test thingo that he administered to Seung-Hee in the staff room.
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yamapisukii
June 27, 2014 at 12:15 AM
I still call bull shit on that hug theory lol
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40 del
June 27, 2014 at 12:00 AM
http://www.soompi.com/2014/06/26/movie-version-of-doctor-stranger-set-for-release-in-china/
movie version too much it should be a movie in the first place
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41 daktari34
June 27, 2014 at 12:36 AM
Some dramas deserve to be only 8 episodes long. At least the story would have some focus then rather than the meandering mess we have currently.
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42 RozaLia
June 27, 2014 at 12:55 AM
Guys, could anyone please help me to figure out whether this song - Maniakuz – “가슴이 아프다 (My Heart Hurts)” - from drama OST or just the random one? I didn't hear it in the drama, and now can't let go of this thought.
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43 haebaragi
June 27, 2014 at 6:30 AM
I'm only honestly hoping Cha Jinsoo is really dead. That guy scares me every time he shows up. I mean, that was shallow waters and any soldier his caliber would definitely live through that. He went through more than that.
"...this answer is like receiving a text message breakup—you want to care more about the content, but you’ve got to get over the infuriating way it was delivered first."
This is how I feel about the whole drama itself. We still have four episodes to go and as much as I want to lose hope, maybe I couldn't help it. I really hate how all the conspiracies and shit are all piled up and the supposedly revelations are all underwhelming. "Huh, so that's it? Your supposed to be bomb?" I just thought of a similar thing: an extravagant cake I thought was real because the design and icing looked so intricate, it makes me wonder about the contents, but when I cut the cake... there's nothing but styrofoam. (I'm hungry I know hahaha) This show is a mess, sorry writernim. I have a couple of scenarios in my head about how it would end up but I hope it wouldn't happen because it would be too cliche and I would never want to watch this show ever again. The only thing I want to happen is for Jaejoon and Hoon to team up and bring down Myungwoo. Prime Minister be damned.
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44 anon
June 27, 2014 at 10:24 AM
See, this is exactly the reason why I stopped watching this show at Episode 4. I already sensed the smell of the shit to come in this show. I kept following recaps though, because I still held some tiny little hope for the writer to be sane. Think hope can be shattered now.
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45 thefreak
June 27, 2014 at 2:21 PM
"If I weren’t actively recapping the show, I’d be really tempted to fast forward through any scenes with Prime Minister Jang in them,(...)"
That's exactly what I'm doing since episode 8! XD I'm sooo thankful for your recaps!
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46 Blkasian
June 27, 2014 at 6:03 PM
I find this drama to be interesting. Like it was mentioned in the recap I too thought the x-ray showed two kidneys. I don't know why but I really am not convinced she is his love. Crazy as it may seem I would really like him to end up with the Quack. Thanks for the great recap.
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47 Camilia
June 27, 2014 at 7:40 PM
The recap is wrong here...it is Hoon that hold Seung-hee's hand tightly while she struggle to let go... And not he let go.. Anyway, Soo Hyun is so irritating, popping up in scene that doesn't require her and we have to have 3 eps just centre on her being rejected by Hoon and still dragging.. Also can't everyone see how mismatch Soohyun and Hoon are together.. One with mature look and expensive bag next to one who wear singlet, jeans and sneakers...
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48 mika-chan
June 27, 2014 at 10:28 PM
can soohyun just be happy? like honestly she is the only sane ( most of the time ) and likable character in this awful disaster of a drama. i only read the recaps and i can already tell what a hot mess it is. i applaud headsno2 for having the patience to recap this series coz i sure couldnt. the actors are doing their best ( dont really feel jsy but thats just my opinion ) but that cant save this. ive lost so much respect for hoon and jae joon's characters and jaehee/seunghee thing is just plain fucking annoying like I DONT CARE anymore they dragged it out for almost the entire drama and then end it with this ? bullshit. i dont even think hoon is in love with jaehee, hes more in love with the thought of her and tbh i dont see them working out in the future. i shippid hoonhyun before but hes such an ass now idek. jaejoon too even if he says he loves her, his actions are too questionable and with all the shit both boys have done, they dont deserve her. this is a biased opinion but its also very true if u actually read it without a subjective mind so dont go hating on me.
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49 Nanako
June 28, 2014 at 8:14 AM
Somebody. Please. Kill. The. Writers.
The drama has unashamedly exploited Lee Jong Suk and ride on his acting abilities. I'm totally so upset with the writer and PD. How can they let the drama go to waste? I still remember how good it was in the first 2 episodes! And they have wasted my dear, dear Jong Suk's tremendous talent and obvious hard work. Sinful, I'll say.
Did they pluck just anybody from the street to write this story?
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50 vshaaaa
June 28, 2014 at 9:36 PM
ugh this drama started off so nicely. Lee jong suk should choose jae hee over soo hyun any given day like in the beginning he struggled so hard to find her and wanted to give up his life for her, and then when she does come into his life, suddenly he's disinterested and doesn't care about her existence. Like all of the emotions don't match up anywhere. And soohyun should seriously back up:( lol trot lovers and hotel king are awesome so i'm not going to expect anything from this drama:(( too bad i thought it was going to be amazing since it was the same director of city hunter (that's why a lot of the case members are the same).
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