Doctor Stranger – Final Review and 14 Episodes of Quack Couple Moments Plus HoonHyun Alternative Ending

I need to close this bitter-sweet chapter of my Kdrama viewing experience by ending it with a more “balanced” review.  I’ve already ranted my disappointment last week and that’s the end of it.  I’m promoting good vibes as I bid farewell to my two favorite characters (Oh Soo Hyun and Park Hoon). Warning: Don’t continue reading below if you hate spoilers.

Final Review and Rating

Doctor Stranger

Of all the Kdrama series that I’ve watched, Doctor Stranger is the only one where I have a love and “more” hate relationship.  Story-wise this series is a big let down, plot-wise the worst, and OTP-wise, the worst of the worst.  There are a lot of questions that never got an answer until the end, sloppy character development of the main female lead (Jae Hee), illogical plots (especially the North Korean spy angle), bad writing, and a very lousy acting performance from one of the main female actresses – Jin Se Yeon.

On the positive side, Doctor Stranger is redeemed by the stellar acting performances of the other 3 main leads (Lee Jong Suk, Kang So Ra, and Park Hae Jin).  Also, the cinematography is quite great and the medical story plot is not that bad.  I’m also thankful to this series because I discovered Kang So Ra, a very talented and dynamic actress who instantly captured my interest when she was introduced in episode 3.  Lastly, though the screen writer failed a lot in providing logical consistency to the overall plot of the story, I still thanked him for giving my favorite protagonist (Oh Soo Hyun) a very good back-story,  character development, and making her the real heroine at the end of the series.

My final rating for this series is 6/10.

Would I Recommend Doctor Stranger to Other Kdrama Viewers?

In a heart beat, my answer is always a big NO.  Save your 20 hours by watching other worth while dramas such as I Can Hear Your Voice, Dong Yi, Bad Love, Rooftop Prince, Secret Garden, or you can just watch the re-run of Cosmos in National Geographic Channel.  Avoid this drama if you don’t want to be disappointed.  But, if you want to torture yourself, then go on, watch and get yourself annihilated.  LOLS!

Top HoonHyun aka Quack Couple Moments in “14 out of 20 episodes”

I would like to bid farewell to Doctor Stranger with only good memories in my mind.  Thus, I will only reminisce HoonHyun in the throwback screenshots below. These sets of photos can fully explain why their pairing is more realistic and is larger than life compared to the first OTP.

Episode 3

Episode 4

Episode 5

Episode 6

Episode 7

Episode 8

Episode 9

Episode 10

Episode 11

Episode 13

 

Episode 14

Episode 15

Episode 16

Episode 17

Fourteen bloody episodes of sweet trolling.  Thanks writer-nim, I’ve just listed you in my Top Writers to Avoid List.  Nevertheless, I’m quite happy that before the final bomb, our fellow Soompier had already written an alternative ending for our favorite couple.

HoonHyun Alternative Ending

In literary fiction, there’s no such thing as an absolute ending.  In the original book, Soo Hyun and Hoon end up together.  In the drama series, they didn’t end up but in @kiyasnow mini-manga series, Oh Soo Hyun and Park Hoon meet each other after two years and ended up living together for the rest of their lives.  This is the beauty of fictional stories.  (:

This semi one-shot manga starts two years after Park Hoon and Oh Soo Hyun got separated due to the unavoidable consequences brought by South/North conspiracy and the scandals that happened to Mweongwoo Hospital.

Park Hoon and Soo Hyun Happy Ending - Doctor Stranger Page 1

Park Hoon and Soo Hyun Happy Ending - Doctor Stranger Page 2

Park Hoon and Soo Hyun Happy Ending - Doctor Stranger Page 3

 

Park Hoon and Soo Hyun Happy Ending - Doctor Stranger Page 4

 

Park Hoon and Soo Hyun Happy Ending - Doctor Stranger Page 5

Thank you so much @kiyasnow for this very sweet ending.  For those who are still interested to watch despite all the warnings, feel free to visit the official HoonHyun aka Quack Couple Thread in Soompi.  There you can read some fun and interesting opinions from the viewers who rooted for Hoon and Hyun.  Good luck!

The fan art I used as a featured photo in this blog post is created by @Kiyasnow.

About Empress

Empress is a tech enthusiast who loves to read and write. She founded Empress Content Writing & Digital Marketing Services to help small entrepreneurs grow their business.

2 thoughts on “Doctor Stranger – Final Review and 14 Episodes of Quack Couple Moments Plus HoonHyun Alternative Ending

  1. I loved seeing all the pics from Hoon and Soo Hyun moments that I missed. I stopped watching after episode 9, I believe, because I knew there was the chance that they wouldn’t get together since Jae Hee had decided to reveal that she was really who Hoon believed he’d to be. I’d decided to spoil myself, and was sorely disappointed to find out that the couple I had been rooting for did not get together in the end.
    That being said, I loved the manga clip you had at the end. That would’ve been a great ending, and I really hope the alternative ending they come up with is something along these lines.
    Quack couple forever! (Or Lee Jong Suk and Kang So Ra can just have another drama together in which their characters actually end up together.)

  2. Hi,

    Just started reading your reviews. They are awesome.

    Was wondering where can I find the original book? I can’t seem to find it 🙁

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