Doctor John

Doctor John (Available on Viki) 

Content Warning: Language, Images of wounded, Blood, and Medical "violence" 

Rating: A 

Character Glossary: 

Cha Yo Han: Main Dude/ Doctor

Kang Si Young: Main Girl/ Doctor

Kang Mi Rae: Doctor/Main Girl's sister

Lee Yoo Joon: Doctor 

Son Seok Ki: Prosecutor

Others: Other People (surprise!) 

Doctor John is a medical drama that follows a group of doctors that are hunting for the cause of their patients pain. This show explores the definition of pain and all that goes with it. 

HOLY CRAP YOU GUYS I AM GOING THROUGH SERIOUS SHOW WITHDRAWALS. After Find Yourself it was amazing to be able to start this drama that was fast paced and only took me 3 days to finish.... I could not put this show down. The characters are all so well written and the show itself does very well at tackling some of the more sensitive topics. I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a fantastic medical drama with a good romance and characters you love and support.

SPOILERS AHEAD READ AT YOUR OWN RISK

OVERALL STORY: I have wanted to watch this for a while and I almost didn't buy it because of the sensitive topic it discussed. For the majority of the show it is focused on the idea of euthenasia. (Basically assisted suicide if you are not familiar with the term.) I was nervous at how the topic would be presented but I shouldn't have been because they did FANTASTIC. I can't explain it half as well as the show does so I recommend you watch the show to get the full explanation of that. It took a very senstive topic and really delved into that. It was actually one of my favorite parts of the show because it made me question my own opinions on the subject. But the euthenasia played a bigger part than I originally thought it would when I started the show. THAT PLOT TWIST WITH THE DRUG THAT WAS ILLEGALLY DEVELOPED for example. I did not see that coming and was completely shocked with how it was shown..... the betrayal that came with it as well as the horror. (Cha Yo Han's reaction to it is my reaction so look forward to watching that.) The big plot aside I loved the different medical problems that the team ran into and how they handled it. Each patient taught them something and it really brought the show to life. As someone who finds medical stuff fascinating I just got sucked right in. I feel like my thoughts are all over the place so bear with me. This show is absolutely amazing and I cried nearly as much as the main girl. (No criticism honestly I would have cried all the time if I were her.) This show touches your heart and really makes you think. I highly recommend you start this now or add it to your to watch list. It is that good. 

MAIN ROMANCE: Words cannot describe how much I love this couple. And I loved how the show handled them considering it could have gone wrong if not handled the way it had been. For example, they met while he was in prison. (For euthenasia) That could have been really weird if not for the way it was handled. But their growth together was great and I loved the lack of stupid drama. The main couple added to the story itself instead of taking away from it with drama like miscommunication or anything else like that. (Which I am not saying is a bad thing in all cases but it would have made me not enjoy this drama as much.) I loved their development and him slowly learning to trust her and rely on her. And she relied on him as well. Their relationship was seriously one of my favorite parts of this show and I am so glad they got their happy ending. (Also thank the heavens we had no love triangle because at the beginning I was a little worried.) 

SECONDARY ROMANCE: I won't go into this one too much because of the fact that we didn't see a whole lot of it. But from what we did see this couple is super cute. This is between Kang Mi Rae and Lee Yoo Joon. I liked their relationship because of how...innocent it was. They became friends first and then they were dating. Mi Rae had been going through a tough time and I felt like this relationship helped her both as a character and me as a viewer in liking her better. Although they don't get as much screentime as the main couple they are definitely worth looking forward too. 

CHA YO HAN: I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS GUY. He is such a unique character and I just adore him. The actor Ji Sung was in Kill Me Heal Me (which I loved). I really wanted to see him in another role because of how good of an actor he is and he really did well in this drama. Cha Yo Han was a really deep and conflicted character. He had a disease called CIPA which is basically the inability to feel pain or temperature. Which is extremely dangerous because if he has a fever he wouldn't know and if he got seriously injured it could get infected and he still wouldn't feel anything. So because of this he is constantly monitering himself to make sure he isn't sick and he closes himself off from others because he knows something could go wrong at anytime. The funny thing is he really isn't a "cold" character like you'd expect but a freaking ray of sunshine. Ji Sung did an absolute amazing job at portraying this character. I want to briefly talk about what got him into prison in the first place. He euthanized a terminal patient who was in a lot of pain. I didn't know how I felt about it at first because at my core I believe it is wrong. But that patient...was in so much pain and as a human being.... I can't fault Cha Yo Han for his actions. He paid for them--like he should--and instead of wanting to legalize it he is actually against it. Like I mentioned above I can't explain this topic as well as the show did but they explained his actions and his beliefs in a satisfactory way to me. 

KANG SI YOUNG: Like Cha Yo Han at the beginning of the show she is suffering because of something she did. Her father was seriously injured in an accident and they were alone on the mountains and help wasn't going to arrive in time. Her father asked her to let him go essentially to stop putting pressure on his wound and letting him die. Which she did but then continues to blame herself for his catatonic condition. Her character had to go through a lot to accept what had happened and to move on. She was such a great character because of how much she really cared about others. A lot of people in the show thought she was too empathetic with the characters but I feel like others aren't empathetic enough. She was such a blessing in this show and I was grateful that she was also there for Cha Yo Han through everything because he really needed someone who cared like her. 

KANG MI RAE: Honestly, I didn't like her for the first part of the show. But I loved her by the end which is kind of a trend in this show. She was angry at Kang Si Young for what happened with their dad and that really affected her. And I felt like at the beginning she was really selfish. But then I grew to understand her more and loved her character. There were times when she was too outspoken and I wanted to strangle her but she was such a great character to watch grow and change. 

LEE YOO JOON: This guy was hilarious. And like Kang Mi Rae, I really didn't like him. But he quickly became one of my absolute favorite characters. He was the one who brightened up any situation and was just the ultimate friend. This show could be incredibly sad and I was grateful that his character was there to remind everyone to stay happy. He went through a ton of growth since we first saw him and he became such an amazing doctor and person. 

SON SEOK KI: I bitterly hated this man for the majority of the show. And I wish that the show had really fleshed him out earlier so I could have better understood him. Once it did that then I loved him as a character and rooted for him. But before that I was all for Cha Yo Han getting a restraining order against him. The scenes with him in the beginning seem out of place and pretty annoying. But then it all connects back and all I could do was sit there gaping at the TV screen. This guy was pretty misguided but was willing to admit when he was wrong and go after the people who were actually doing awful things. Also with his disease (stage 3 stomach cancer) I was worried he wouldn't survive to the end of the show. But--HE DID. 

OTHERS: There are a couple of people I want to mention briefly just because I liked or disliked them in the show but either way they made an impact. Firstly, there were two other doctors who work with our main group who were fantastic and even got their own plot lines that break your heart. They were funny and really made an impact on the show. Another person was this nurse that I really hated and

even at the end I was annoyed by her. She was trying to ruin Cha Yo Han's life because of what he did. But not for the reasons you think. The patient in question was a criminal who had murder her daughter. Which is just awful and I cried when we learned about that. But she directed all that anger towards Cha Yo Han which I felt was unfair and cruel. Which she does admit by the end so that's why I feel eh towards her right now. Lastly, Kang Si Young/ Kang Mi Rae's mom was fantastic in this show and one of my favorite characters. I was so thrilled with her ending and everything she did throughout the show. 

QUOTE:

SHIP VIDEO: (MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETcANpSy3M4