Tanya: So… can we all hop on this “just go away Jae Hee” train that I’ve been on for weeks? I’ll stop and pick up passengers at any time.
Zombie: I am so on that train with you! I’ve been wishing for her disappearance (or demise) for weeks and weeks now so anytime the writers want to make that happen, I’m good!
Tanya: What’s with the backtracking? How did this girl even become a spy if you can’t stick to one story? I don’t get it, but I harped on this during the first post, so let’s move on?
Zombie: Works for me. So, how about we just jump right in and talk about Jae Joon’s sudden transformation into Mr. Nasty? I mean sure, he’s had his moments of annoying semi-bad guy but for the most part, he’s been alright but now, all of a sudden, he’s developed this incredibly dark side and almost laughed as he watched Oh Joon Gyu keel over in front of him. It get the desire for revenge but I think this is a bit too far, especially for someone we were hoping would become partners with Hoon.
Tanya: I get wanting revenge. So take everything that’s important to him away from him… don’t kill the guy. He could have completely destroyed that hospital while he was the acting Chairman and had the same effect without putting dude in a hospital bed. Honestly.
Zombie: Yeah, I don’t really get why Jae Joon had to go off the deep end all of a sudden. Makes me think that no matter what happens, he really never deserved Soo Hyun, his position as acting Chairman, or Hoon’s friendship and/or respect. The guy has simply gone crazy and I think something needs to happen to take him out of the picture too. Though really, I’m not sure how he’s going to be able to just walk out of Oh Joon Gyu’s office when the dude is lying on the floor dead. Not unless he can pretend like he’s trying to save him when everyone comes bursting in… Not that anyone would buy that anyway. Jae Joon’s too skilled of a doctor to not be able to save someone suffering from a sudden heart attack, which is, what I’m assuming was wrong with Oh Joon Gyu. Most people don’t just suddenly die from a shocking bit of bad news, do they?
Tanya: Well, he was appointed acting Chairman because Oh Joon Gyu is in bad health. No, you can’t just ignore someone on the floor, but he knew of his health problems, which is pretty shady even for a bad guy. I guess the fact that he pretended to be good for so long ruined the view of how he should be evil. Either shoot the man or destroy everything he hold dear. Don’t make him so emotional he drops to the floor. It’s pretty weak.
Zombie: At the same time, it’s also impossible to link Jae Joon to the death because dying from a heart attack would be considered “natural causes.” Most people are put in jail because they gave someone a heart attack. How is that even possible? Ugh! This is one of those moments when I just have to sit back and scratch my head and eventually just accept what’s going on for what it is, a means to an end. Jae Joon has to get his revenge somehow and Soo Hyun has to see that he’s not the man she thought he was and Hoon has to realize that he’s going to have to step up and be the man Soo Hyun needs as he lets Jae Hee go her own way. At least that’s where I see all of this going though I admit, I could be totally wrong about all of this.
Tanya: If Hoon even gets there! Poor Soo Hyun. I have honest sympathy for her at this point. I wasn’t so sure for a long time, but girl has been through enough! I hope the last two episodes do right by her because I might just be flipping tables.
Zombie: Seriously! Soo Hyun has demonstrated her strength from the very beginning but she’s also shown us a lot of weaknesses, not in her character really, just in her emotions. She can put up a good front and be strong when she has to be but deep down, she’s just a lonely, heartbroken girl who wants nothing more than to be sincerely loved by someone. On the upside (if you can call this an upside), with Soo Hyun’s dad out of the picture, there’s nothing keeping her from getting together with Hoon by the end. (And I really want to do a girly-squeally thing here but for your sake, I’ll refrain. Just know that the idea of Hoon and Soo Hyun getting together really, really, really, really, really makes me happy!)
Tanya: She falls into my “badass” category. She’s fully and completely capable of taking care of and defending herself, as we saw in the scene where she smashed the car windshield because her brother is an ass. She is, however, human and because of that she tends to get emotional. While she’s sad about this Hoon thing, she accepted it and is trying to move on. I admire that.
Zombie: I do too. Soo Hyun is one of those rare female characters who isn’t beaten down by her circumstances, she isn’t clingy to the point of annoyance, she’s intelligent, independent and just plain awesome and I really like her. I think that’s why I’m wishing so much for her and Hoon to be together, because she deserves someone as amazing as Hoon and quite frankly, she’s the only character in this entire drama who does. Oh, and speaking of Soo Hyun’s brother… Am I the only one wishing that punk would just rot in jail? I’m pretty sure he deserves to be there for the rest of forever.
Tanya: I laughed out loud for real when he panicked as they took him away because, honestly, serves him right. It does. However, he is a product of his mother and environment. I don’t think he’s nearly as awful as he portrays himself to be if that makes sense. Yes, he’s been terrible to his sister, but his mom is. That doesn’t make it right, but you hardly have their father telling him to knock it off either. Maybe he’ll have a moment of realization and apologize. He owes us all an apology for that yellow jacket.
Zombie: I’m not holding my breath on that one and you’re far more benevolent than I. If Oh Sang Jin doesn’t stay in jail, I would feel much satisfaction if I could see Soo Hyun haul off and punch him in the nose, just once. I think she’s earned the right and I’m pretty sure he deserves it. (I know, I’m terrible but you love me anyway.)
Tanya: Didn’t she already? Or was that hitting him with a door? I can’t remember. Either way, I think that they will settle their differences before this is over. So, let’s talk about the President changing his decision although Jae Joon won and the resulting kidnapping of Hoon’s mother because, really? That’s all I’ve got. Really?
Zombie: I’m not even sure where to start. I knew the Prime Minister was going to try to whack Hoon eventually and I was pretty sure that when his lackey showed up with tickets for Hoon and his mother to Switzerland, the time was drawing nigh. I also had a feeling something would happen that would make the Prime Minister change his mind because, well, you can’t have your main character dying before the end. I’m glad Hoon and his mom survived but I’m not sure why we have to have his mother kidnapped this late in the game. It’s just a bit too much, really.
Tanya: The poor woman is already so emotionally damaged from everything they have already done to her. Can’t we just leave her alone? She was starting to recover a little bit. She was starting to recognize Hoon had grown up. She was making great progress…. and then this. I mean, there had to be a better way to keep Hoon around. Have a gun trained on Jae Hee during the surgery to force him to stay or something.
Zombie: Anything would have been better than messing with Hoon’s mom but really, didn’t we all know that this was going to happen sooner or later? It’s amazing it was put off this long but, at least to me, it seemed inevitable. I just hope Hoon can find a way to rescue her before things get worse. I wouldn’t put anything past the Prime Minister. He’s just a nasty piece of work and I’m really hoping he doesn’t survive the final episode. (Geeze! What is it with me wanting all these characters to go the way of the dodo? I sound horrible!)
Tanya: Well, we can be certain that everyone will probably get theirs in the end, but how is the question. This drama has thrown me some curveballs when I think my theories are about to become real. What do you anticipate happening to our characters as we go into our final episodes?
Zombie: Hmmm… Are you sure you want to ask me that question or should we leave it to our readers to answer? You know how long-winded I get sometimes…
Tanya: I choose both. Give me the cliffnotes. Here’s mine: Dad doesn’t die, but is taken down for financials with the brother. Brother apologizes and Soo Hyun manages to forgive because she’s awesome. Jae Joon up and disappears out of nowhere. Jae Hee does the same… or she dies. Either way she’s gone. Mom is rescued! Prime Minister is taken down by Sunglasses. And, in what will be a very unpopular opinion, Hoon and Soo Hyun do NOT end up together, but are definitely set on the path to be in the near future. (Or they give a flash to years down the road and they are. I mean, I won’t complain.) Bam!
Zombie: Sounds reasonable enough. So here’s mine: Dad dies. Jae Joon goes to jail. Brother is released because of the Prime Minister’s meddlings but then has to deal with the mess Jae Joon made and ends up back in jail anyway. (Maybe they can be cell mates and torture each other for the next twenty years or so…) I also think the Prime Minister will be taken down by Sunglasses but I also see Sunglasses being the one who rescues Hoon’s mom. (He is that awesome, after all.) Jae Hee disappears (or dies) and Hoon is left heartbroken but he’s not alone because, coincidentally, Soo Hyun is also heartbroken and the two find a way to mend each other’s wounds and as time passes, they find the true love they’ve both been so desperately searching for, in each other. The End.
Okay readers, your turn! We want to know your thoughts and theories as we head into the final episodes of Doctor Stranger. Are ships going to sail? What will happen to all of our bad guys? Who will Hoon end up with? Tell us all of it in the comments below or start a conversation with us on Twitter because Tanya seriously loves Twitter. Seriously. We mean it. Okay, Zombie loves Twitter too, but Tanya really, REALLY misses T-conversations.
You can tweet at us @Hallyu_Tanya and @TheZombieMamma or find us talking about all manner of Hallyu goodness on our blogs: HallyuKnow and ZombieMamma Catch up on all of our previous Doctor Stranger reviews here:
Episodes 1-2: [Part 1] [Part 2]
Episodes 3-4: [Part 1] [Part 2]
Episodes 5-6: [Part 1] [Part 2]
Episodes 7-8: [Part 1] [Part 2]
Episodes 9-10: [Part 1] [Part 2]
Episodes 11-12: [Part 1] [Part 2]
Episodes 13-14: [Part 1] [Part 2]
Episodes 15-16: [Part 1] [Part 2]
Episodes 17-18: [Part 1] [Part 2]
I don’t like Jae Hee simply because she’s a shady character. I really hope Hoon and Jae Hee don’t end up together. It’s really odd of me to think that since the whole reason for this story is because Hoon wanted to save Jae Hee. I am shocked that as a doctor, Jae Joon just stood there to watch the chairman die. Yes, there are people out there who will never apologize for anything, but to kill the chairman when Jae Joon is a doctor himself, is really wrong. Furthermore, he is the father of the woman he loved. Soo Hyun is one strong woman. Even if she doesn’t end up with Hoon, I’m sure she’ll do fine in life. I’ll never forget how Soo Hyun took a gangster slap in the face. That was a really awesome moment because she went to slap him right back afterwards (if my memory is correct? Or did Hoon do that?). She is my hero! She even slapped Hoon a few times, haha…BUT, at the same time, Soo Hyun has so many moments of femininity. I have never seen her so pretty on screen since I think Lee So Ra seems to play tomboy characters. I would think, as a spy, Jae Hee would have more actions scenes of some sort, but the only person she beat up was Cha Jin Soo. Well, she just threw him down.
During this whole drama, I have no idea why the Prime Minister would want to harm Hoon so badly. If anything, he had a problem with Hoon’s father, not Hoon, but he won’t even give Hoon a path to live. It just seems weird to me that he would hate a person so badly who has no direct relationship with him. Hoon’s mom was also suspicious to me. She was in the U.S. until Hoon’s disappearance. From the phone conversation, she was supposed to marry another person and basically can’t take care of Hoon. All of a sudden, she shows up in Korea to and tries to act like a caring mom. It really doesn’t make sense to me. People can always have a change of heart, but that’s really odd to me.
Predictions: I go with Tanya: Hoon and Soo Hyun will not end up together immediately. I’m waiting for Hoon to make a move on Soo Hyun at least. At the very least, he should tell her that he likes her to jumpstart their future relationship. Jae Hee should go to Japan and live a quiet life there after being friends with Hoon. I’m not sure if Jae Joon will go to jail, but he would at least leave his job profession to contemplate his life. He should think about what he should really do with his life besides revenge, which is such a waste of time, honestly. It’s best he moves on. I hope the hospital dissolves, but perhaps, under new management, a new hospital can rise again and maybe Hoon can lead the hospital to glory and integrity along with Soo Hyun. Soo Hyun’s dad is too ruthless. He values the hospital more than anybody’s life. I don’t care about Soo Hyun’s brother at all. He’s a useless character. The Prime Minister will be exposed somehow of his crimes. Maybe the president will realize the Prime Minister’s evilness and expose him. Hoon’s mother will recover hopefully.
I really want to comment but I’m afraid of spoiling things so I’ll just have to keep my mouth shut. I just wanted you to know that I did read your comments and I’d love to respond, I’m just trying to be good and save it until you’ve watched the end. Once you’ve finished the series, then we’ll talk. I have a feeling we’ll have no shortage of points to discuss. 😉
Ugh, I finished the series and I am not happy. In fact, I’m not sure how I will sleep tonight.