Kolorful Palette: Making hearts [Kill Me, Heal Me]

by Fanderay

Well, I actually managed to complete another drama this year so I must have liked it! I can think of plenty to criticize about Kill Me, Heal Me, but ultimately it was a unique experience chock full of enjoyable moments, and I didn’t want those moments to end. Instead of just saying goodbye to our leads we had to say goodbye to an entire host of personalities and it might be those personalities that I’ll miss the most.

Of course I still couldn’t get enough of the main OTP, as evidenced by my drawing choice which is from the brief but adorable scene at the start of Episode 19. There wasn’t anything particularly meaningful or deep about this particular interaction, but I think that’s why I liked it. There were no flashbacks or bittersweet exchanges of shared tragedy. In this moment Do-hyun and Ri-jin were simply happy and unburdened, and of course that’s what I’ve wanted for them all along.

I decided to have a little extra fun with the drawing this week so I chose chalk as my medium. It picks up all the texture on the paper which makes the whole process a little more interesting (and potentially frustrating I suppose) but I always love textured artwork in real life so I figure I should be making an effort to incorporate more of it myself. Of course at the end I was extremely tempted to smear everything around a bit to get rid of the textured canvas showing through, but I resisted the urge since it would have defeated my original goal.

In real life I actually despise using chalk and pastels since it always starts out great and full of promise but goes south quickly when I start inadvertently smudging everything and muddying the details. I also always seem to end up filthier than if I had been finger painting, which would be worth it if I got anything out if it, but I’ve literally never ended up with a piece of artwork I was happy with! Thankfully digital chalk is a lot more forgiving, although I still find it a lot tougher to use than paint. I can’t really go back over an area without muddying the texture or colors, but I think that’s awesome for me personally since it forces me to leave well enough alone (something I have a hard time with).

I also chose to eliminate most of the background since it seemed unnecessary, and because I wanted to enhance the heart shape the two of them are creating with their heads. I reinforced that shape with grey to keep the effect subtle and more subconscious than, “HEY, look at this big heart!” I don’t know if it worked though, and I guess I never will now that I’ve told you all about it. Or maybe I’m crazy and no one else even sees it?

Despite some brief and pretty half-hearted separations, I love that this couple followed the Healer prescription for happiness and stayed strong and supportive throughout the entire drama without any serious love triangles or misunderstandings. Could this mean that the official K-drama formula is finally changing? I think Kill Me, Heal Me really did an excellent job showcasing so many of the ingredients that go into cooking up a great show, and it was only the execution of the recipe that faltered at times.

The first half the drama was certainly the strongest, but the pacing thereafter became a little confusing and abrupt. Instead of intermixed elements we instead got endless flashbacks, or long stints of a single persona, or sometimes just brooding. Then at the end it suddenly felt like a crazy mad dash to wrap up the remaining mystery and fit in every personality one last time within a very small amount of time. Somehow every flashback possible got crammed in there too. Part of the issue was certainly my expectation, since I expected the amalgamation of characters to happen more gradually throughout the drama’s run and I thought the climax of the company politics would be a little more…well, climactic after all the build up and secrecy. Instead Daddy woke up at the exact perfect time after a couple decades in a coma, just so he could wrap everything up all pretty in a bow. Don’t get me wrong; I’d much rather have the focus on Do-hyun and Ri-jin, but I strongly believe that deus ex machina should be reserved for the beginning of a story and avoided at the end.

In the end though, none of those details really mattered since I so loved watching Ji Sung in all his multiple-personalitied glory. Have I mentioned how much I adored Perry Park? I was actually borderline angry that he left so early. Sure, it made sense story-wise, but that dude seriously cracked me up. Despite Ji Sung’s greatness, I think what really made each persona extra-special was their individual interactions with Ri-jin. She had a unique but special relationship with each of them that brought all of them out of their shells, and I really believed that she was sad to see each of them go. I guess that makes sense though, since I was sad too!

Finally, I love the theme that this drama closed on, which is essentially that going through life with someone you care about can make all the difference. I’m lucky enough to be someone who gets to experience that every day, but there really isn’t much in life I value more and it was a joy to see a TV show focus on such a sweet truth.

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