Healer is an amalgamation of action, romance, melodrama and comedy and is a highly entertaining drama that deftly handles its various moods. It has a drama-making trifecta—acting, directing and heart-pounding writing to perfectly complete the picture. Although the event garnered the lowest ratings among its competitors, international and online mania tell a different story. This drama captured the hearts of many viewers who loved it to pieces. I admit that I was never a part of that crazy fangirling, but I really liked the drama.
The plot relates past events to the present. Jung Hoo is a night errand boy who works under the code name Healer. Moon Ho is a famous reporter while Young Shin is a reporter from a third-rate gossip site. Their paths meet when Moon Ho assigns the Healer the task of finding a girl he knew in the past. What follows is a tale of romance, impossible bonds, secrets of the past, and of course, action.
With today's incessant number of stories linking leads to their childhoods, I tire of them like worn out shoes. But luckily Healer has a solid reason to connect everyone because they would never have met and connected if not for their childhood connection. Also this piece helps in developing the plot and it is one of the rare instances where I can handle this finish-to-die trope. The drama maintains a fast tempo and there's a fine balance of dark and light moments, sprinkled with the cuteness that oozes from the main couple's relationship.
One of the show's main draws is its central partner, who has a gentle, funny, caring, and cute hero. The heroine has an incredible mix of courage, confidence, and vulnerability. It's a show where you see an OTP makeover, or a phone conversation that makes you swoon and wants it to last forever, or a holding hand that makes you ashamed of her prowess, or a heroine telling the hero she's about to do it. protect him. Plus the fact that they leave no room for misunderstanding and always try to fight together, all this makes them the perfect couple. I love how they work together on all their plans. Ji Chang Wook and Park Min Young have a soft and warm romantic chemistry.
He always had good intentions but he was too afraid to take any steps based on the hunch he had about his brother. Part of her worry stems from the fact that she cares deeply for her brother-in-law Myung Hee and doesn't want to take any steps that would put her down. Yoo Ji Tae did an excellent job of adding depth and gravity to this role. The way he shows Moon-ho's concern and weakness is really interesting to watch.
No discussion of Healer is complete without talking about the most interesting and fun character — Min Ja, who is an ajumma hacker. She is very professional in her work and a no-nonsense woman when it comes to work. She just loves her job, knitting and her kimbap. But then we also see that he has a lot of affection in him even if he prefers to hide it. I just love everything about him.
Last but not least, our hero, the Healer. I love the way her character goes — she's getting lonely and just wants to go to some islands and live alone. But when he hooks up with this girl and gets love bugs, he begins to realize the importance of affection. And he suddenly didn't want to be alone anymore. Both he and Young Shin had suffered from childhood trauma and it felt really good to see them helping each other in every possible way. I love Young Shin's family and his sweet relationship with his father. I love that this show has such a great ensemble cast and characters that stand out on their own. Myung Hee is another tragic character and Do Ji Won plays her with such grace and confidence.
