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Dispatch Translator: Hitoritabi
“Skipping Ahead” vs “Pitta-bird Jongsuk” — The Threat and Comfort of ‘Doctor Stranger’
The new Mon-Tue drama war has begun. After MBC’s ‘Empress Ki’ ended, new dramas like SBS’ ‘Doctor Stranger’. KBS2’s ‘Big Man’ and MBC’s ‘Triangle’ all fight to claim the vacated throne.
The initial skirmish has ended in a tie. The three dramas all clocked in with ratings within one percentage point, flickering between 8-9%. At this point, it is hard to predict which would be the final winner, but the key lies in who can capture its audience first.
One that has risen to attention is ‘Doctor Stranger’. Truthfully speaking, it has not been completely satisfactory in its cohesiveness. Since the topic revolves around the tumultuous life of a man who is impacted by North and South relations, the plot starts to become slightly scattered. Overall, the story did not meet expectations of tight plotting and detailed development.
However, this drama has one focal point of attention and that is Lee Jong Suk. His pitta-bird-like acting has overcome the weaknesses in the story. Against all odds, he was able to take the burden the first two episodes. His matured acting is now leading the whole drama.
Although there are shaky elements in ‘Doctor Stranger’, but there are also things to take comfort in.
◆ Jump-cuts without explanations… Speed↑ , Story↓
Recent dramas rely on speed to survive. The way to convey realism is to make the story spread out as quickly as possible. However, if speed is the only focus, then the story will start to fall apart, Right now, ‘Doctor Stranger’ is standing on the verge of that.
If you look only at plot, this could seem like a rather unfriendly drama to viewers. All the background of characters or explanations of events are skipped over, and replaced with ‘A few years later’-type of jump cuts. Using time to cover the space in the story.
After the ‘5 years later’ title card in the first episode, Park Chul (Kim Sang Joong) got killed, without much foreshadowing. The same thing happened in Episode 2, Park Hoon (Lee Jong Suk) is released from a prison after a ‘2 year later’ title card — meanwhile, it is unknown whether Song Jae Hee (Jin Se Yeon) is alive after getting shot at the bridge.
Of course, a lot of the elements — getting kidnapped to the North, life in the North and how he escaped from it — they are all very interesting. But only interesting. The sudden jump-cuts make it difficult to follow the flow of the story and weakens the natural progression of the plot. This ultimately affects how polished the final product is.
◆ Lee Jong Suk defies all odds… his pitta-bird acting skills engaging the audience
However, there is still much reason for comfort. Lee Jong Suk’s acting has covered up the weaknesses in the story. His acting choices that moves naturally from moment to moment has successfully captured the attention of the audience. He relieves himself of the boyish look and now displays a more mature level of acting.
His ability to understand his characters has left a strong impression. Lee Jong Suk used different styles of acting to depict Park Hoon’s tumultuous and distressing life. The tragedy when losing his father, the gentleness in front of his lover, the cold and calculated manner in front of North Korean officials and the sly cheekiness when he returns to South Korea.
In every scene, his rich emotional acting is undeniable. Sadness, anger, hatred, anxiety, longing… these were all expressed fully in his eyes. Even when he doesn’t have a lot of dialogue, one can feel his deep connection to the character. This allows the audience to place themselves into the drama and immerse themselves in it.
Lee Jong Suk’s potential has now been prove.This is the first time he took the role as “one-top” — the actor that leads the whole drama. Although there were lots of expectations on him, there were also quite a lot of worries. However, judging from his initial performance, he should have no problem bring the drama together; his prowess as a lead actor is also improving every day. And this is ‘Doctor Stranger”s weapon in their battle for the throne of Mon-Tue dramas.
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Top Comments (216 total):
(+750, -59) Really, Lee Jong Suk performed to this level… I thought he was a star who only rode on popular dramas… He’s got what it takes to be a star.
(+584, -43) The speedy development does make the story a little weaker, but I enjoyed the speed in which the story progressedㅋ ㅋ It’s a unique drama that has a special charm that makes people fall right in
(+581, -46) At this level, Lee Jong Suk is really an actor nowㅋ ㅋ Perhaps he is born for the job, he is so good at it…
(+488, -34) ㅋ ㅋ ㅋ ㅋ For me, the Karibong clinic part was sooo entertainingㅋ ㅋ ㅋ So cute
(+453, -41) So good ᆿ ㅋ ㅋ ㅋ Lee Jong Suk’s acting has that flavour to it, now that the story’s returned to Korea, it’s going to be so interesting
(+162, -21) Lee Jong Suk’s acting has improved so much, he must have prepared so hard for this role… When to use Seoul dialect, when to use North Korean dialect, he really thought about it and worked on it, goosebumps… the chase scene on the motorcycles. his facial expressions are on point even when he is riding the bike. When he came to Korea, it immediately became so funny, daebak ㅋ ㅋ ㅋ
(+151, -14) Lee Jong Suk’s acting is really so good, it makes me want to ask, “What happened to you?!” He must has worked very hard to be able to shine now
(+141, -13) The scene in the Kalibong clinicㅋ ㅋ ㅋ ㅋ ㅋ ㅋ ㅋ ㅋ ㅋ ㅋ ㅋ It was so funny, the directing and the script were good
(+132, -13) Starting from the Korean hospital scenes, the director and the writer should tighten the story, work hard! In the chase scene yesterday and his last scene with his dad and when he screamed on the bridge, he did well. Lee Jong Suk is so cool, now I look forward to the emergence of other veteran actors in the story.
