I just watched
Doctor John, which was recommended as one of the best dramas of 2019 in an article. (that's probably just the author's ranking?) Anyway Ji Sung is the lead character! (I previously wrote about his role in
Kill Me, Heal Me)
After watching it, I can see why it was recommended...but I can't really say that I like it very very much.
The backstory is about euthanasia. Jodi Picoult's
Lone Wolf touched on a similar topic too. The topic is well done in this drama, which is I think its strongest point. The discussions of what a doctor's role is, what terminally-ill patients want, and so on are very powerful.
The characters in the medical team are very well fleshed out, which is another strong point.
But there is something I really don't like, which is how there are some
glaring inconsistencies in the personality on the main character. (and
also the lead female character was too emotional and weepy. But she was
consistent...I just didn't like her :P )
(
and from here onwards there might be some spoilers...)
The main character has CIPA, which is
chronic insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis. Basically it means that he can't feel pain and is insensitive to temperature change. And so, he doesn't sweat.
CIPA patients generally die young because of their inability to know when they are sick or injured. I had read about this condition before, in Lisa Gardner's
Fear Nothing. (It's better than this drama, in my opinion :P ) In the drama, the lead character monitors his health every day just to ensure that nothing is wrong with his body. But, a very inconsistent fact is that he does not worry about cuts or broken bones when he falls down.
At one point, he experiences dizzy spells and keeps falling down, hitting his head, and so on. But he always insists that he is fine, without checking anything. He can't feel pain, so how can he be so sure that he's fine just because he can get up? (In Lisa Gardner's book, there is a scene where the character with CIPA
gets told that she is bleeding, and she does a full inventory of her
body to find the part that is bleeding. Am I biased by that?) After he gets a proper health checkup and knows that he is definitely ill and will constantly experience dizzy spells, he
still does not take care of himself properly. He takes the stairs without even holding the handrail, for goodness' sake!
Another inconsistency in the drama is that they keep saying that it was so difficult for the lead character to keep himself alive till now... But his father, who suffered from the same condition, was alive till he (the main character) was eight years old (or around that). How did the father stay alive? That was something that was never questioned.
The main character is a doctor who keeps his CIPA a secret. When it is found out, lots of people say, "How can someone who can't feel pain treat other people's pain?" Of course, it is a question that you would expect from naysayers, but why did the good guys never think to retort, "You felt he was doing fine before you knew he had CIPA, right?" It's like saying you have to be a cancer patient to treat cancer (and I could come up with so many other analogies, but somehow they didn't think of it). It was the hospital lawyer who said that CIPA was not something that would prevent him from carrying out his duties, so the hospital couldn't sack him for having that condition.
At the time that his CIPA was discovered, there was a CIPA patient admitted in the hospital. With the excuse of "How can you treat patients' pain when you can't feel pain?", they stopped him from treating patients. He said okay, but he wanted to treat the CIPA patient. But I am disappointed that he (or someone else) did not use the counter-argument of "How can you treat a patient who cannot feel pain when you don't have the same condition?"
Another thing that I didn't like was the female lead's being out of character for a while (I said above that she was consistently weepy and emotional...except for this!) The male lead disappeared for a few years, and after that we saw that she had become a senior (they call it a "fellow", after "graduating" from being a "resident". I don't know those terms that well, so I'll use senior and junior here), and she was scolding the junior doctors just like how the male lead had scolded her in the past. But the thing is, the male lead's character is an arrogant one, so that rude scolding made sense. The female lead is supposed to be a very compassionate person, so how could she act that way? We could say that she changed after her love interest (aka male lead) disappeared, but after that she didn't display any more of that kind of rudeness. So I felt it was just put in to be funny. But it would have been better for her to say the same things, but in a nicer way, staying true to her character.
And, the worst part, is how the male lead drops out of contact when he falls sick (almost dying), and decides not to tell his love interest (aka female lead) about it, and then after he recovers, he still refuses to contact her, waiting until he is "fully well" and sure he's not going to die. Before that, he had told her that he would try his best not to make her worry (and she
is a worrywart...weepy and emotional, remember?). But then he makes her worry for three years?! What a jerk! But of course, compassionate female lead understands very well after he explains his reasons to her, and accepts him back. Yeah, made for each other indeed!
By the way, right before this drama, I watched Partners for Justice 2 (I wrote about the
first season before). That one ended with a case on Fabry's disease. And Doctor John
started with a case of Fabry's disease! I guess there are a few mysterious diseases (Fabry's, CIPA, DID (that was in
Kill Me, Heal Me and
Partners for Justice 2)) that are good drama fodder!
However I wasn't so happy when Partners for Justice 2 revealed the DID plot twist. I would have preferred that they keep the character as one character with complicated motivations (good in some things, but willing to break the law sometimes?), instead of taking the easy way out with two separate personalities.
Anyway Partners for Justice 2 was pretty much the same kind as its first season. It was very enjoyable, though without being extremely good. I do look forward to the third season!
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