Kill me, Heal me킬미, 힐미(2015) Mid-Run Review: Stop with the Female Comedy!
#킬미힐미 #Kdrama #KillMeHealMe #JiSung #HwangJungEum #ParkSeoJoon #KimYooRi #OhMinSeok #KoreanDrama
Introduction
Considering
that most Korean drama writers are females, sometimes I wonder why it is the
women who come off as idiots in these shows. Sometimes this is intentional but
sometimes it does not seem so.
What am I talking about?
I
am referring to the female characters who are stupid, unprofessional, or just irritating
as hell for no good reason. And this is the
most serious hurdle to getting into “Kill
me, Heal me” (2015)
At this point, I am only
talking up to episode 8.
The Plot
If
you are intending to go for an overall 3
act show, “Kill me, Heal me” (2015)
could be viewed as being pretty well paced for a Korean Drama since the
episodes up to episode 8 feels like the first act in which most of the characters
are introduced and the situation is set for further development.
In
this show, Cha Do-Hyun is the
rich heir who suffers from the multiple personality syndrome.
Just saying that is on old
hat!
That fad has died out like
15 years ago as most cases had been debunked.
Slow to the game Korea dramas!
The
reason he has this originates from the trauma over a fire when he was just a
kid. Now he is an adult who is trying to fight his illness and also, for some reason,
get involved with the power struggle within his family’s economic dynasty.
I personally do not get that
point!
There is an obvious out for
the character if he wants out.
And,
up to episode 8, we see about 4 of his 7 personalities to varying degrees of
interest.
The
other lead is Oh Ri-Jin who is
a psychologist in her first year of residency. One day she bumps into both Cha Do-Hyun and his main alternate
personality.
And what a surprise!
This is a Korean drama which
means that they cannot be just strangers meeting for the first time.
There
is a mysterious unknown past between them when they were young. Only the main
alternate personality seems to know about it and that personality has a crush
on her. This all leads to a conflict between the Cha Do-Hyun and his main alternate personality.
All
of the events up to episode 8 is meant to setup Cha Do-Hyun and Oh Ri-Jin
living together in a more believable manner than “It's Ok, This is Love” (2014). That show also had the psychologist
bunk up with a crazy person for them to fall in love! The setup is stupid but “Kill me, Heal me” (2015) puts more
effort in developing a situation comparted to “It's Ok, This is Love” (2014)
which just shoves them together after 2 episodes. Thus I just dropped the show
after that.
That is the main plot of “Kill
me, Heal me” (2015).
What is “Kill me, Heal me” (2015)?
At
its core, “Kill me, Heal me” (2015)
is a hybrid between a very soapy mystery and a rom-com. The main plot ties these two quite closely
together since you just know that, at least, the romance is essential in how
the mystery is going to unravel.
I have issues with the
comedy!
Beyond
the main plot, there are many subplots that twist around the main mystery to
varying degrees. The “writer” sub plot is closer while the “second female lead”
plot line is more on the peripheral. With these tangled mess of plots. I will have to give “Kill me, Heal me” (2015) credit for relatively keeping the mess
from suffocating itself with the vines of convolution.
It
ends up juggling stuff in the air without dropping them up to this point. We
know what is going on with Cha Do-Hyun’s family
infighting. We know what is going on with some of the alternate personalities.
We know how Oh Ri-Jin fits into the
whole web of mysteries as the key to
everything.
This ability to keep
everything in check up to this point is a huge boon for the show.
Why Comedy and Women?
One
of the main problems with “Kill me, Heal
me” (2015) is the comedy. If you examine the show, the comedy aspect is
very separate from the other parts of the show. More accurately, the comedy
aspect is delegated to Oh Ri-Jin ,
the female, and her subplots which include being a psychologist.
What does this mean?
It
means that Oh Ri-Jin is joke comedic relief of the show. This
is in contradiction to the more important role she plays in the overall scope
of the show. As a result, the show could feel uneven at times with Oh Ri-Jin’s subplots acting as filler to
pad the show out. I do not even know why the show needs an overt comedic aspect
to it. The multiple personality aspect is humorous enough for the show on its own.
If Oh Ri-Jin was portrayed as a less over
the top character initially, it would be less of a problem. However, she is Meg Ryan turned up by a factor of 11. When
standing side by side with a multiple personality patient, she seems more like
the crazy one at points.
To
be frank, the character of Oh Ri-Jin was
the main hurdle to get into the show initially. All her actions and decisions
were just stupid that she just irked my like hell. Considering I do not mind
the actress, Hwang Jung-Eum, this
reaction was not expected.
Her
character is a good example of the comedy school that equates “screeching” as
being comedic. For example, most of the stuff “Chris Tucker” did! This is palatable in small doses but poison in
large ones.
The
really sad thing is that this did not have to be this way. In the later episodes
of the current 8 episode run, you can just feel that the creators of the show
are toning her down a lot to great results. Hwang
Jung-Eum is a good enough actress that you do not need to have her bumbling
around like “Jar Jar Binks”.
Another
thing that really bothered me about her character was that this so called “comedic”
character was a psychologist. Over the last few years, the profession of psychologists
has been seriously blackened by Korean dramas. “Kill me, Heal me” (2015) is nothing new in this aspect. The person
who gave Oh Ri-Jin a license to practice
should be kicked out of the profession. She is just terrible at her job which
is not surprising since she is the comedic relief. However, none of the psychologists
in this show are actually good at their jobs.
So what can you say more?
Strength & Weaknesses of the cast
What
kept me going with the show is the two lead actors. I have to say that Ji Sung and Hwang Jung-Eum do work pretty well off each other. At the same
time, I am not that enamored with Ji Sung’s
portrayal of the multiple personalities as some are. In a lot of ways, those personalities
feels more like he is doing dress up rather than playing multiple roles. It is
not terrible but not exceptional also. The fact that, expect for the main alternate
personality, the other ones are there as filler and to be humorous does not
help also.
 |
| Kim Na-Woon |
On
the lackluster aspect of the cast, Kim
Na-Woon is miss cast as one of the competing relatives of the male protagonist.
She simply is not suited for that type of role. While better, most of the other
supporting cast are just okay. No one is doing exceptional work in their roles.
I
am exceptionally disappointed in Kim
Yoo-Ri who plays the second female lead. I had high expectations for her as
one of those actresses stuck in the second female lead roles. She has been in “Beyond the Clouds” ( 2014) and “Master's Sun” (2013). However, in “Kill me, Heal me” (2015), it feels like
she is just coasting. This is troublesome as her role in the show has more meat
to it as it is more complex. I am worried that I over estimated her and she is
just a pretty face who will never be a lead.
Conclusion
Even
though I had issues with fully getting into the show, “Kill me, Heal me” (2015) is a strong enough show that I stayed with
it. I still hate the psychology angle of the show that seem unwarranted and
tacked on. But, the chemistry between the leads is strong enough to keep me
coming back.
Now
we have thing setup with the two leads staying in the same place. Since Oh Ri-Jin has temporarily divorced herself
from her past, I expect the stuff that irks me will get toned down.
Will it be smooth sailing
for the next 12 episodes?
That
is an interesting question. I think the current pacing is decent enough in
terms of the overall plot. It has enough content to fill the remaining episodes
if they are careful. Thus, I will have
to say probably…?
I
will keep watching the show. However, I do wish the show was more focused.
Score: B- or 6/10
Thank you for reading this article!
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Kill me, Heal me(2015) Mid-Run Review [link] |
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Interesting point of view. I just finished this show and while I had a very similar feeling like you, it wasn't as well explained like that. For me, I thought many of the little stories immature and the setting with the school caste a bit too much. I still ended up watching it all! haha.
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