“Ghost Doctor,” the first official kdrama of 2022, is here, how did the premiere turn out to be?
Note: this is a subjective review.
Here are my thoughts on the premiere of the drama.
I was not particularly excited or worried about the drama. The synopsis sounded fun but sort of expected too, such medical dramas come with their own set of cliches screenwriters can’t help but use, however, I must say I am so surprised by how fun the premiere turned out to be. I enjoyed it more than I expected.
First, the “Ghost Doctor” was well-paced. I liked how each character was introduced. On a couple of occasions, the “Ghost Doctor” subverted my expectations in a good way.
The first being how no one was aware of the ghost. Typically, in such kdramas, the ‘host’ of the ghost can see the ghost, but in this case, thus far, that doesn’t appear to be what we’re dealing with. I found that refreshing to be honest with you, it adds another layer of complexity to the drama and is more challenging because the two main characters of the drama cannot communicate.
I am also loving the fact that each male lead has their own love interest, I’d hate to see a love triangle in this drama. I also liked how the rich chaebol Go Seung-Tak played by Kim Bum wasn’t insufferable but super cute and friendly, a bit stuck up but not in a malicious way. I suspect Rain’s character Cha Young-Min to evolve across the course of the drama’s run time and realize the errors of his ways.
Added to that I am a fan of Naeun’s and Kim Bum’s chemistry. Also, I forgot to mention this talking about “Lost” last year but Naeun has improved sooooooo much and I am so happy to see her taking acting so seriously. For the longest time, she was one of the idol-turned-actors who seemed to show the least progress from project to project, in “Lost,” she truly emerged as a changed person in my opinion, I am so glad she improved her acting. I can tell by her gaze and energy that she’s taking this seriously and I like her attitude.
Of course, with such a setting for the drama we have to have our obligatory evil CEO or chef of the hospital. It’ll be interesting to see whether the screenwriter surprises me with the way she tackles that specific part. I don’t have the highest expectations in that regard but at the same time, I won’t dislike it either unless it becomes way too typical for my taste.
The “Ghost Doctor” has 16 episodes which is, again, a source of concern to me. I wonder whether the drama will be able to keep up with its pace throughout its run. tvN hasn’t shied away from the 12-episode format, so I am wondering why this particular drama with this particular setting has 16 episodes, even “Hospital Playlist” which was immensely popular had only 12 episodes, which still felt long at times despite the interesting characters.
Having said this, thus far, the “Ghost Doctor” is promising and I can’t wait to see where the drama is headed.
So these are my thoughts on Ghost Doctor, so what about you guys? did you like the episodes? let me know what you thought in the comment section below.
I am watching this drama and I have to say – I did not know, I did not even imagine how good Rain was as an actor!!! Everything – the way he speaks, his tone, body moves, the way he looks, turns his head, how he feels and whatnot – this is what is called “acting” in my book. He is simply very very good. And I am always glad to see the veteran Sung Dong-il in any drama and I also love the medical dramas so this alone is enough for me, however, I am also a bit concerned by the 16th episodes. Do they have enough material to maintain the suspense at a high level? I think the next 2-3 episodes will show.
As for the participation of Na Eun – I will be ranting here, I am sorry in advance. I am not at all fan of idols-turned-actors. There are some gems from time to time (Junho comes to mind)) but it is rare. And nowadays they all seem to go to the acting industry. Producers take them into their projects because of their celebrity status and millions of fans hoping that it will bring popularity (and money!!) to their dramas. This is wrong in my view. Very often these idols lack acting skills and acting talent and their presence dilute the quality of the drama. Not to mention that it creates unfair competition to the truly good young actors who went through the drama schools but who do not have such support behind them to directly propel them into the cast. This kind of situation would have been impossible elsewhere. I feel that in The Ghost Doctor, the role of Dr Oh could have been brilliantly played by a professional actress which would have cemented the quality of The Ghost Doctor drama. In any case, I do not think Na Eun is ready to play a main role yet.