El Sanador (2014)

This drama is absolutely mind blowing. It made me laugh, cry, bite my nails in anticipation, fall in love, everything in a single drama. I love the way it progresses and the character development. The chemistry between the leads is perfect and the story line keeps you hooked throughout. I almost wouldn't have watched this drama if my friend hadn't urged me to watch it. When I first heard about there being 3 leads, I was wary of it being another love triangle drama, but thankfully it isn't that. If you love a good romance mixed with mystery and action, this is the perfect drama for you.

1. Cast and Acting:
We have Ji Chang Wook playing the male lead, Healer (Park Bong Soo /Seo Jung Hoo) and Park Min Young playing the female lead, Chae Young Shin. The chemistry between the two is sure to make you soft. I have always loved Ji Chang Wook's works and this one didn't let me down either. Park Min Young's acting has improved by folds in this drama. The way both of them portray their characters have you falling in love with them and their relationship every second of the drama. I love the cute, clingy moments they share and especially how Bong Soo gets jealous of Moon Ho. The innocent romance between the main leads develops over time into something more intense and passionate, bound to make you feel a rollercoaster of emotions. Yoo Ji Tae has a central role in the drama as well, acting as Young Shin's role model and long lost 'uncle' (more like an elder brother) Kim Moon Ho. The three leads have a very good harmony amongst them. The casting for the other roles are also very fitting. My favourite characters are 'Ahjumma' and Young Shin's dad.

2. Plot:
Every episode has a new turn of events and always keeps you on your toes. Every episode has a cliffhanger and honestly, I love how the present story is connected to the past. The intricate web of interconnections between the characters' stories is very well depicted. There is a perfect balance of romance and action and mystery. I loved the action scenes and how JCW never fails to deliver them perfectly.
The best thing about this drama, apart from the amazing smoking chemistry of the leads, is that the writer has written it thoroughly, leaving no loose ends. There are many clues throughout the plot and everything has been thought out from the beginning. The end is a tad bit rushed, but overall, hats off to Song Ji Na.

3. Music:
The OSTs for this drama are so beautiful! They are in perfect sync with the mood of the drama. My personal favourites are 'Eternal Love' and 'You'. Eternal Love is the main OST for this drama and honestly, it will make you feel such deep emotions with its lyrics and beautiful singing, you'll be left in tears. I have it downloaded and its one of my go to songs, its so good.

4. Rewatch value:
VERY HIGH. I have watched this drama twice and I'm definitely going to watch it in the future!

All in all, I highly recommend you to watch this drama. Trust me, you won't regret it. ;)

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Something isn’t instinctually right about this drama.

I will admit : I’m the oddball because I do not like this drama at all .

To put context - I must also make it clear that I was really excited to watch this show. I thought the genre was rejuvenating and that Healer was going to make for a stimulating watch. I had also previously watched Park Min Young and found her to be a pleasant actress plus this show enjoys nearly perfect ratings on MDL . A stunning overall of 9.2 out of 10 to be specific. Suffice to say - I was quite rapt to watch this drama.

But dear lawd.

For its type - it’s required to be more gripping which it isn’t. What are the intentions of this drama ? They are not clear at all. Is it romantic ? Political ? Fate ?Thriller ? Socially charged?Action ? And if it’s all these : why is it flat ?

The past informing the present wasn’t so satisfactorily done .. It affected the dramatic unfolding of characters in the present and the things they would say as well.The emotional core of the story was also set up to be socially relevant which was quite undermined by the childish direction of the main protagonists.The cartoonish action scenes with that twangy instrumental didn’t make much sense to me . There was so much to work with on a emotive angle which missed the plot. I did however like how warm and vulnerable the protagonists were but in retrospect that was just an accidental good consequence of puerile directing.

The character portraits of the supporting cast could have been more thought provoking and more intentional with the social relevance their were gunning for . That media side of the story line was so powerful and socially provoking and timeless as it’s relavance is quite apt in the 21st century but like I said before - puerile. The whole puppet master that you don’t really see but controls the politicians and corporations was quite intriguing but this show still managed to watch like a Coca Cola that’s been open and all the carbon is gone.

With such powerful themes - powerful character portraits battling ethics and morality is absolutely called for but all the characters proved severely wearisome.

For a while - I knew something wasn’t instinctually right about a certain component of the cast . I thought maybe it was that tenebrous , god forsaken picture they kept prancing around with no resolve. I seriously couldn’t quite put my finger on it until ep 7 and I realised that the main actor is not the most consistent. The way he handled his three personas could have been far better handled with another actor in my view. Especially when you are with the illustrious Lee Moon Shik who is superbly showing all his different personas of greedy business man, brother , husband , killer and loyal servant of the boss.

Ep 7 was a monumental episode for a number of reasons: it proved to me that this show has a really good plot but poor screenplay . It also showed that dramatic tension amongst the whole cast is very weak. I couldn’t carry on . Watching a thriller that’s not thrilling ? No thank you.

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If you know the cast, you'll know it's a great watch

Just considering the fact that Healer was released in the year 2014 amazes me considering how far ahead of time it was and how much of a trend-setter this drama became for many future releases in the same sort of genre. Acting and casting was perfect - if you are familiar with the cast you'll know this is a great watch anyway - OST was surprisingly superb too! I wasn't too sure on the 20 episode length at first but Healer was never boring so the 20 episode length was a success!

I did get K2 and Vagabond vibes from this however since Healer was released first, I should say the opposite now! I am not surprised that Healer is in the top #10 most popular K-Dramas on MDL right now. Simply amazing!

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Just finished watching this amazing drama that is highly recommended by most viewers of Kdrama. It is really good, full of action and complicated back story that keeps things interesting to watch and at the edge of your seats until the very end. It's pretty much like City Hunter in my opinion, maybe because Park Min Young is here. The male lead, Ji Chang Wook is so handsome so that is a plus in this show. One thing that was just not good on this show is that, you have to endure the maybe 4-5 episodes at the start that I found boring and had to endure. It's because they are still establishing the back story on those episodes and as I've said, its quite deep and complicated. But good, because its just not some shallow plot. The sweet moments of the male and female lead were also just right, not too mushy or overdone. Just enough light moments to rest from the serious moments of the drama. Action scenes, fight scenes were awesome. I give this a HIGHLY RECOMMENDED rate and its not just because everyone says so. Almost everything in this drama was done perfectly.

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Healer has a special place in my heart. It was the second drama I ever saw and it opened the door for me to explore the world of kdramas. It has everything and plenty of it - well developed story, amazing cast, great music and a unique charm that will keep you coming back for more to notice those little hints you did not register during the first viewing.

The only negative thing that I can say about Healer is that it takes the first two-three episodes for it to find the proper groove. At the beginning it feels quite off because the story is very comprehensive and you just need to pay attention to grasp it. On the other hand, the plot is well intertwined with flashbacks and emotionally rewarding.

The cast is just excellent. Ji Chang Wook and Park Min Young are out of this world. What a great match of acting ability and chemistry. They both suit their roles so well. I loved Yoo Ji Tae as well, he was a joy to watch. The secondary characters are not lacking at all. Kim Mi Kyung was particularly amazing and her comedic ability took the drama up a notch.

I return to Healer regularly, and I think that I will for a long time. It really is that good.

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How do I describe Healer? It's an action/romance/career oriented (the focus on journalism) drama that succeeds on all those counts. The male lead Seo Jung Ho (aka Healer) is a superhero with no superpowers, who comes complete with a cowardly public identity and a secret life as a kick ass "night errand boy." Female lead Chae Young Shin is a spirited journalist who struggles to do what is right and eventually gets caught up in a scandal involving corrupt individuals. Second male lead Kim Moon Ho is an older news anchor, whose longevity in the business hasn't hampered his drive to fight for justice and for the oppressed, and who early on finds a connection between himself and both Jung Ho and Young Shin- a connection that starts more than a decade ago, which involves their parents, who were also employed as journalists fighting for a just cause.



While this drama delt with serious issues such as the corruption of high ranking officials, a master puppeteer behind it all and a mystery/tragedy regarding Jung Ho and Young Shin's parents, it never felt like a heavy watch. This really worked for me, even if I am a fan of heavier melodramas. The fight scenes reminded me a bit of the Bourne series but they were graceful and acrobatic as opposed to brutal/gritty. The romance is what I'd call squeal inducing and the chemistry between the actor and actress playing Jung Ho and Young Shin is one of the best I 've seen. I really enjoyed watching him slowly fall for her. Initially, he'd thought her strange and annoying but once he got to know her it all changes and fans of the romance genre will enjoy the sweetness of their moments together.



Side characters such as master hacker Jo Mina and Young Shin's (adoptive) lawyer father Chae Chi Soo were also a delight to watch- their interactions with the main leads added a lot to the lightness of the series. Another thing I liked about Healer is that the main characters aren't always overwhelmed by the villains' actions. I've watched a handful of kdramas now and I've noticed that in the heavier ones I've seen they often write it in such a way that the villains seem to always be one step ahead of the heroes. I guess they do that to make the story more suspensful and aggravating for the viewers but this has always been a hit or miss for me. I'm glad they took a different approach with Healer. I wouldn't say that the villains didn't give the leads substantial difficulties to overcome- they certainly did. But the leads always came back fighting and then we'd get another round of challenges. This didn't make it any less exciting.



Overall, this was a fun, fast paced (romantic! action filled! hilarious!) watch and I can easily see myself rewatching this, even over many of my other favorites :)

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My point of view might be totally subjective , but i watched a lot of dramas , and this one is still my favorite .
It is a perfect mix of what i enjoy the most : action, love , "broken but still trying-hard in life" characters, sweetness, suspense, and even funny moments.

The plot is interesting in itself but also mainstream among dramas, the journalistic aspect brought an original side to the other shows mainly related to politics and business.
But to me, what really made this drama a total hit is the acting.

The characters were great, funny, appealing , struggling with life but mainly very well acted, even second leads were amazing (special mention to Kim Mi-Kyung who totally stole the show)!
The love story totally worked out with the suspense/action side of the show, and was overloaded with chemistry and cuteness, but also hardship for those two main characters who both had a very rough life.
I think it played a perfect role of balance ( in addition to funny moments) in this dramatic plot.

The action part was thrilling to me , and unlike lots of other dramas, it didn't get too long or boring towards the end. (which is extremely rare)
The OSTs were great (and stuck in my head for a month).
I really went through all different types of emotions watching this drama, and was so devastated when i finished it, i even wish i was able to erase it from my memory and discover it again!

Anyway, to me , it was an excellant show, who gave me a very bittersweet kind of feeling and i strongly recommend it.

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Healer was a drama I have avoided for a long time. I finally came to watch it due to my friend's insistence and I have never felt a drama was so perfectly composed. The drama is spunky, romantic and at the same time takes a deep dive into the minds of people who have little to no redeeming qualities. All the cast acts fantastically and even if one did act badly they were there too short to remember.

The acting itself was phenomenal and so evened out. Every single member in the cast seems to fully absorb their character. There are very few dramas where you can say everyone did well. There was no cartoonish villain, overly naive female lead and a cold hard to get male lead. The female lead was naive in some sense however she was comfortable with herself. She was quirky yet serious and obviously cared about her job. Very few dramas have a female lead that is well written yet Healer is one of these amazing dramas. You always understand her intentions and generally just come to like her. The male lead is also not a typical ice-cold lead that somehow changes into this fluffy boy in the last episode. Instead, he is lonely and longs for company yet doesn't know it. Him being courageous or brave is shown as a bad thing sometimes as it ruins certain parts of the story yet sometimes save him. Him actively pursuing the female lead is also something that makes the story so much better. All the other members of the cast also acted perfectly like Kim Mun Ho as a passionate reporter who's struggling to undo his past faults, Kim Mun Sik the almost obsessively attached husband who'll do anything to stay with his wife and Boss who actually believes he's doing good to the world.

The story of this drama was extremely interesting as we don't learn the full story in one go rather in bits and pieces. The unravelling of a case in 1992 which was a betrayal of friendship and a devastating event that changed many lives was interesting as you can see how each person is affected by the "farmers". I personally loved how they kept on showing how each person was affected by the case as it was refreshing to not only just see shock or anger. The case was well written and engaging throughout. How they connected all the dots felt natural and though there might've been a few inconsistencies it was mostly perfect.

Healer is a very interesting drama with lots of positives that will make it hard for you to not enjoy it. Its entertaining, thrilling and just makes you happy while you watch it. The drama is consistent throughout and you will be spoilt for taste after watching this.

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My expectations may have been too high because I was underwhelmed by this drama. I think that the ending focused too much on the charming, but very predictable romance, at the expense of the other story lines. The “surprise” was not a surprise because the happily-ever-after ending was such a foregone conclusion that I assumed immediately that the shooting was a setup. What I liked instead throughout the drama were the flashes of humor, such as when Moon Ho pushed Jung Hoo’s “dying” face down. Or when Min Ja paused during her escape from her lair to stare longingly at all of her knitting projects.

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