Here is my review of the korean drama Healer. WARNINGS: SPOILERS AHEAD!
Before I jump into my review of it, I want to share a little bit of history I have with this kdrama. I had seen a trailer of Healer like 2 or 3 years ago. Although the kdrama had solid reviews, I thought the female lead wasn’t that cute so I didn’t watch it.
Fast forward to 2 weeks ago, I’m struggling to find a kdrama I like. I wanted something fast paced and with action. At first I was only looking at kdramas after 2019, but I eventually found myself searching for “best action kdramas of all time” on Google. As a result, I found Healer again and decided to give it a shot.
I should note that I started watching kdramas back in 2018 so I’m used to watching them with only 16 episodes. Healer was 20 episodes. Was I at all disappointed on how long it was? Not at all. I also got City Hunter kdrama vibes from it. I remember after finishing the 3rd episode, I had to check if the main female lead in Healer was the same in City Hunter. Turns out she was. Did that stop me from watching the korean drama? Not at all.
I’m glad I came along for the ride. I feel like Healer might have healed my kdrama drought that I was feeling the last couple of months. My bit ends here…let’s hop into the review!
For starters, the quick synopsis (w/o spoilers)
Healer is a kdrama about a night courier. He wants to make money so that he can buy some uninhabited island and live there forever. He’ll take any job as long as there’s money and no killing involved. He ends up taking a job that gets him involved with a tabloid writer; however, this tabloid writer and him share a common mysterious past. He begins to develop an interest in this writer and focuses his task on uncovering this mysterious past, which includes uncovering the truth behind some family murders.
Healer is so incredibly well balanced
Comedy. Romance. Action. Thriller. Mystery. Suspense. I felt like everything was thrown in and what came out was a well balanced kdrama. The kdrama is known for its action and the action was fantastic. They didn’t need guns to make it intense like John Wick; everything was pretty much hand to hand combat. The kdrama kinda just took you right into the fight scenes. I think the biggest plus is that the action didn’t make Healer a superman with OP qualities. Yes he had the most silent landings and footsteps but there were scenes where he did lose or he was overwhelmed. Really added that human element to the protagonist.
The comedy was there to sooth down the intense action. The romance was there to drive the plot; plus, I really liked the “I will not give up on you” type romance. The thriller and suspense kept me up for those late night binges despite my repeated promises hours before to not watch more than 1 episode. Overall, I’d say everything just meshed well. There wasn’t one specific episode where I was getting bored.
The Healer music was indeed healing
You got the emotional music for the romantic and death scenes, the mysterious music for the undercover scenes, and then the playful music for the comedy. Take your pick. For me, it was the main song – Healer. I liked it because it can fit for many occasions. You can play it in the morning, on your way to work, or on late night drives.
I wished Healer showed more of…
First, the ending for Chae Yeong Shin and Choi Myung Hee. I felt like the mother and daughter relationship was super well written. It was heading toward the finish line but they stopped right before the line by just showing Myung Hee looking at pictures of Yeong Shin in her Dad’s office. I sorta wished they showed some scene of them face to face with the final confirmation that they both acknowledged their rediscovered relationship.
Second, the fall of Elder and Kim Moon Shik (the elder brother of Kim Moon Ho). The korean drama spent quite a bit of time building up the history and the evil personalities of Elder and Kim Moon Shik. The drama showed more scenes of both of them trying to hurt Healer, Yeong Shin, and Moon Ho than them being hurt back. The korean drama sorta just ended with the thugs the Elder hired in handcuffs, Moon Shik in a deplorable mental state, and the Elder being prosecuted. I wished there was some more air time showing the revenge.
Scoring
This is just based on gut feel, but I’d give Healer a solid 8.5/10. Totally worth watching.
Hope you enjoyed my review of the korean drama Healer!
Let me know your thoughts on this wonderful gem 🙂
