[HanCinema's Drama Preview] "Kill Me, Heal Me"

Do you remember the good "old" days when a simple painful past or angst-producing trauma used to be enough to satisfy the "man-pain" quota in series? Well say goodbye to that this season, because one man's pain cannot compare to that of several, especially when conveniently packed for easy consumption. 'Kill Me, Heal Me' is another in the recent line or mental disorder dramas and it has a pretty ambitious story with a lot going on.

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Premise

Cha Do-hyeon (Ji Sung) is a man suffering from dissociative identity disorder, otherwise known as multiple personality disorder. Struggling with seven other selves, he is secretly treated by Oh Ri-jin (Hwang Jung-eum), a first year resident of psychiatry suffering from bipolar disorder.

The Worrying

Casting Troubles

Dramas often go through many casting changes before landing their leads, but it is never a pleasant process, especially when it happens one too many times and with a lot of real life drama. 'Kill Me, Heal Me' had quite the casting problem for a while. Given it has very little time to work with and one pretty demanding premise to explore through a very unfavorable for quality system, it will need nothing short of a miracle to really impress.

Convoluted Premise

Handling a man with seven personalities would not be easy on any writer or actor. Handling two main characters with disorders at the same time is even harder. Add a not blood related twin brother who has a crush on his sister and will be the rival to the male lead for her affections and you have one mess of a premise. Finish it off with casting delays and the Korean drama filming system and you get very little to feel hopeful about.

The Reassuring

Main Couple Chemistry

Ji Sung and Hwang Jung-eum's chemistry in the drama "Secrets" has been noted by many. Having worked together means they already have a rapport and a feel for each other's way of work. This is always a good thing for pairings, even though not necessarily something which will repeat itself, since not everything depends on the actors. It is however an encouraging sign for the main couple.

Entertainment Value

Perhaps it is mean to say that even if this fails miserably, it will at least likely be entertaining, but it is true of such outrageous plots, that they are far less likely to be boring. Even if not presented in a very interesting manner, there is so much going on that it would take pretty big lack of skill to drive viewers away from such an amalgamation of odd elements. If the series is at least self-aware, it might even be intentionally light in its approach of its own tropes.

Final Thoughts

Some shows make it really difficult to see solid potential in and at the moment, 'Kill Me, Heal Me' has more worrying things about it than reassuring. It frankly looks like a wreck waiting to happen, but in an industry which sometimes manages to make the simplest of plots ridiculous and the most silly-sounding ones good, everything is possible.

'Kill Me, Heal Me' begins its run on January 7th and will air every Wednesday and Thursday at 21:55, on MBC.

Written by: Orion from 'Orion's Ramblings'

Follow @OrionsRamblings