Friday, March 21, 2014

Emergency Couple - Ana's thoughts on the drama






It’s a story about a once married couple who after being divorced for 6 years met again as Interns in the emergency department of a hospital. The show stars Song jiHyo as Oh Jin Hee and Choi Jin Hyuk as Oh Chang Min as the once married couple. 



I was in the “I can’t get over My Love From Another Star (MLFAS) phase” when I said to myself a fan girl has to help oneself cope and so after re-watching over and over again my favorite parts of MLFAS (pathetic eh J) I tried Emergency Couple.



Emergency Couple (EC) started with showing how in love Jin Hee and Chang Min were 6 years ago to rush into marriage. Life for them started turning sour when finances got so low, self esteem for both started going down too and even health was affected. It was when all these things piled up that both of them exploded like a bomb and decided to separate and file for a divorce.







Six years later, on their first day of internship they found out that they have to work together in the emergency department of a hospital. They kept their past relationship a secret to everyone at first. They pretended not to know each other and tried to avoid any chance of working together which was hard as they are working in the same department making most of their efforts to avoid amusing if not annoying. Eventually several situations arise to stir something in them. Those situations must have been shaken them so much to make all the locked up love and care resurface once more considering how they avoided each other and bicker with one another.The thing is, after feelings of affection between Chang Min and Jin Hee resurfaced they also realized that they divorced for a reason and that reason is still the reason why they can’t be together (or can they? ).



The Characters 

Oh Jin Hee (Song Ji Hyo) 


At first I do not like her character (well both the leads at first), watching her is sort of annoying. If the director’s goal was to make the audience have the impression that she suffered so much in their marriage then they succeeded in their goal because she definitely was looking pathetic in the first episode. It’s a good thing she evolved six years later into a better person, she may not be looking very confident but she has this quiet resolve to be someone better. Her journey to being better is not immediately shown; rather, it was gradual making her character more relatable, more real.



Oh Chang Min ( Choi Jin Hyuk)

I already mentioned that his character was so hateful at first, he was full of arrogance I can’t believe Oh Jin Hee fell head over heels with a man like him. But just like Jin Hee, Chang Min also evolved slowly as the show progressed. Episode after episode the soft side and more lovable Chang Min slowly emerges such that little by little you will hope with him, one, that his mom will stop meddling with his life and two, that Jin Hee will take him back.




Gook Cheon-soo (Lee Pil Mo)
 He is the head doctor in the Emergency Department of the hospital where our two leads are interns. He is a man with so much passion towards work that he expects everyone else to just be as passionate. In spite him being such a strict leader, I think he is doing great in mentoring the interns. Watching how dedicated he is to his job, will make you wonder what his motivation is. Dr. Gook is such a committed character but he looks so unhappy that I was hoping someone will come to cheer him up. Then Jin Hee suddenly made his heart flutter that he started acting cute, he is so cute I thought I will be so happy but no I felt sad for him. I felt sad for him not because I am so sure she will end up with Chang Min but because in spite of him being cute, smart and a great doctor I am still hoping for a Chang Min - Jin Hee reunion. …..so sorry Cheon Soo L.


Shim Ji-hye (Choi Yeo Jin)

She is an accomplished surgeon who has experience working abroad but surprisingly still opted to come back to the hospital where she spent her internship and at its emergency department, the one department most doctors dread to be assigned in. The first time she appeared on the show it’s obvious that she had a past with Cheon Soo and she wants another take on their relationship. What I like most about her character is that in spite her wanting a second chance with Cheon Soo, she does not chase him around instead she continues to be just a friend and a very supportive one at that. I hope at the end of the show she gets to have her happy ending too because she really deserves it.



Han Ah-reum  (Clara)


The pretty and smart intern being pursued by Chang Min’s mom to be his future wife. She exudes the beauty, brains and even wealthy persona usually seen in bitchy second leads in a drama. But don’t get me wrong, Ah Reum is actually not hateful ( oh well at least so far she isn’t) she is actually nice, independent, knows what she likes and stands up for what she thinks is right (just a teensy bit of bitchy at times but it’s not annoying yet). I am not worried that Chang Min will like her too in spite her openly liking him and even encouraging Chang Min’s mom to continue to set her up with Chang Min. Rather, I am afraid that she will stop being nice once her heart breaks big time.



Where it is right now?


As of this writing, EC released until ep 15 and the show will run until ep 20. The last 5 episodes will probably be the acceptance journey of the couple. Acceptance of what, we have to find out together, right?! The show can end with the couple accepting that feelings may still be there but outside forces will always bring them down or they can accept each other again, forgive their past faults, learn from it and be happy ever after(of course this is the ending that I am hoping for, me thinks all fan girls do

Five episodes is still a long way to go. Actually I am rooting for Jin Hee here; she will be the one to call the shots eventually because Chang Min is still all over her and is more hopeful that they can make it work while Jin Hee was probably the one who suffered more in their marriage making her more cautious not to jump in the relationship again.








At the start of the story I hated Chang Min’s overbearing ways and found Jin Hee to be so weak but later on you will see them have sort of a reverse in their character and find Chang Min to be weaker and a little more humble than the over confident self he projected. Later on Chang Min will surface as someone who uses his heart more than his mind while Jin Hee will prove to be stronger, more in touch with reality, very cautious and more inclined to use her mind more than her heart.


No comments:

Post a Comment