“Doctor Lawyer” Episode 1 And 2 Review- So Ji Sub Is Back!
“Doctor Lawyer” is finally here and it marks beloved actor So Ji Sub first drama in four years, its been so long and he’s been missed.
Note: this article is a first-impression review, it doesn’t mean this is the writer’s final thoughts on the drama. This is a spoiler review.
So how did “Doctor Lawyer” premiere turn out to be?
It was okay.
“Doctor Lawyer” tells the story of a doctor who loses everything after getting framed for killing a patient when he’s sure he never did that. His medical license is revoked as a result, he returns after five years to take revenge, he’s now a lawyer too.
For a premiere, I would say “Doctor Lawyer” did well and was average in terms of what you’d expect from a premiere. It was well-paced, it had characters you can easily connect to, and has a promising story so there is potential there. It wasn’t out of this world or disappointing either, it was okay.
There are some scenes that make little sense but we can suspend our disbelief a bit. I am talking about the scenes where Yi Han is getting set up. Considering how his character is described as ‘smart,’ you’d assume he would have caught on to the fact that something was wrong, it just seemed that he’s a calm talented doctor who just accepts whatever. I hope the screenwriter expands on that part and help explain what and why, it would be nice. We have 16 episodes, I am sure its doable.
For a story, I’d say “Doctor Lawyer” follows a familiar path to many medical/law dramas I’ve seen before, and we all know how the story goes with such types of scripts usually. All the characters I’ve seen thus far are what you can call the standard, they have no discerning qualities to them yet. Hope that changes in the future.
The screenwriter responsible for this drama only wrote another drama, so this is his second project overall. I can’t possibly reach a judgment based on only one prior project and a premiere. We’re yet to see how this goes and if it turns out to be better than expected or not.
For such types of stories, there is only so much you can do, not unless the screenwriter is planning on throwing in a surprise. I expect So Ji Sub to have picked a good project for his first comeback in four years.
I don’t personally find medical dramas that gripping, they’re always ok and since they always have a lot of medical information layered in and scenes of surgery, it can get dull easily. In this case, they’re integrating both law and medicine so it might bring an interesting outcome.
I was a bit sad we didn’t get to see Shin Sung Rok in the first two episodes. He’s taking on a villain character and when I say this is what I am most excited for, I am not joking. I AM SO EXCITED. He always delivers and watching him play the villain is always fun, he has so much fun with his characters. He’s also been away for two years, can’t wait to see him next week.
As for So Ji Sub, I love his acting but I sensed a bit of awkwardness in his acting in the premiere. I felt he was holding back especially in episode 1. I might be wrong here or seeing things but this is personally how I felt about the first two episodes. This is odd because I’ve never seen him like this. I’ve been following him for over 10 years. It could be he felt a bit awkward returning to the set four years later. I bet that awkwardness will ease as time goes by. He’s still a great actor in my opinion.
I’ve never been personally a fan of Lim Soo-Hyang’s acting, and I find her expressions in certain scenes either lackluster or lacking. Some might ask why are you watching then, and the answer is easy… Ji Sub and Shin Sung Rok.
In the scene where her brother dies, her expressions; especially at first; felt so odd as if she couldn’t communicate the necessary facial expressions easily to her face by the time the camera focused on her. It appeared as if she was thinking of what the proper facial expression would be, that pause was obvious to me and it took me out of the watching experience. I was invested.
I have nothing against her and I am not a hater either. This is how I’ve always felt about her acting. Something is missing and her acting can feel unnatural. I doubt much will change because I’ve been feeling this for some years now and whenever I stumbled upon a clip of her or watch a drama of her, this notion is reinforced.
While Soo Hyang and the type of script is a bit of a concern to me, I sincerely hope it delivers.
Regarding ratings, “Doctor Lawyer” has already experienced a decline in ratings which is odd because I didn’t think the second episode was bad in any way, but it might be because k-netizens weren’t impressed with the first episode. I hope it rises back up. Its competing with “Why Her?” which had a stellar start in my opinion, both integrate law proceedings into their formula so this shall be interesting to see.
I wish the best for So Ji Sub’s first drama in four years and I CAN’T WAIT to see Shin Sung Rok being a baddy. Imma binge his scenes when next week’s episodes come out.
So these are my thoughts on Doctor Lawyer, so what about you guys? did you like the episodes? let me know what you thought in the comment section below.
I sensed the awkwardness too, but I like the ML so much for years and was looking forward to this, am.also not feeling any chemistry between him and the FL.. I liked her in my ID is Gangnam beauty and Graceful Family but that’s just about it, her other dramas just fall flat her no matter how excited I am about them. Nothing against her was even looking forward to Yoori the virgin but had to drop it after second episode… Anyway am hopeful about this, but Why Her is winning too much. Hopeful is the word…
I’m not into the story…seen enough of such where an individual is so disadvantaged n the injustice ensues is so ridiculous. When I saw that older man who is the Director I knew Sjs was being set up. That director guy always plays such a role n I basically had enough. 1 episode is enough for me to walk away from that drama. However I do love Sjs very much so I may stick around for a bit. I detest in dramas where they depict how awful the Korean justice system is..or rather injustice system!