Dr Champ episodes 9&10

At the beginning, Dr. Champ was a pleasant surprise. I hadn't expected much and found the first two episodes fresh, interesting and cute. After watching them, I thought I'd finally found another drama that just might capture my heart. But I guess I was wrong.

I don't know but something is missing for me. It's well acted, well directed and the plot is mellow (for the most part) which is what I like. It's not exactly a rom-com but it's lighthearted (for the most part) which I enjoy. But I think what's lacking for me is the romance. Or to be more specific, I don't enjoy the execution of the romance.

Okay, so Dr. Champ is clearly a romantic drama as we have two parallel romantic storylines in it. We have the "fresh and fun couple" and the "stale (lol) and angsty couple."

Ji Heon and Yeon Woo are the main couple. We were introduced to them in the first episode, watched their meet-cute and their so-called romance is in my opinion, the main plot of the drama.

Well, perhaps I am slightly biased against the couple since I don't really like Ji Heon. He's tall and handsome enough so that's definitely not my problem. But I don't like the clingy, pouty, annoying, pestering type. He's also a kind person but for me, the bad outweighs the good. I just don't like his childishness and would never date a guy like him even if he's tall and has a hot bod. So maybe that's part of the problem for me. When I watch a romance, I like to get swept up in the story and even in the fantasy of the lead male. Not to say that I always fall for the lead male.

For example, in MNIKSS, the only reason I liked Jin Heon was because Sam Soon liked him. If I had my way, I'd have had her dump him and date that cute guy she kept being set up with. But on the other hand, I didn't dislike him completely and could understand why she fell for him and under the right (or wrong) circumstances, I could date someone like him. Same with My Girl. I would have picked Lee Jun Ki's character over Lee Dong Wook's but I could get why Lee Da Hae's character fell for him and thought he was a worthy man. So it's not necessary for me to fall for the lead male. However, I have to like him as a boyfriend or spouse for somebody in some capacity and that's not the case with Ji Heon for me.

Then it doesn't help that their love story, IMO, is boring. Now, it's entirely realistic with their little flirty friendship thing that they have going on now. If I thought they had amazing chemistry and just loved the characters, I would love it. I would squeal when he looks at her wet chest (lol) or rushes over to her place just to hear her say, "Do well." But since I don't really like them that much, I'm detached from all their supposedly touching moments. They are enjoyable but I feel no emotional connection to them so I need some more action. A fabulously entertaining plot starring a male lead I don't really like just might work for me.

Now, onto the stale and angsty couple.

I LOVE angsty couples. My favorite part of a drama is when they are giving each other forlorn looks and struggling with their feelings. So I was hoping that this couple who apparently haven't been able to get over each other after 14 years of separation (!!!!!) would provide loads and loads of that to me. What I was hoping around the episode 4 mark when it became clear that there would be two couples in the drama was that Ji Heon and Yeon Woo would provide the more fun, young love story while these folk would be the passionate, mature love story. So where's the passion, peeps? Squeezing your faces and looking constipated doesn't make you passionate. I know that as the secondary couple, not much time can be dedicated to them especially as we also have stories about friendship and the sports world in general but still, their story could be a lot more compelling. I think part of the problem is that they just don't have enough chemistry for the couple they are pretending to be. I should see more life in the characters, especially Hee Young, who have 14 year old feelings they haven't been able to truly shake off.

So does that mean I don't enjoy Dr. Champ? No. I don't know if the word "interesting" would truly describe it but perhaps entertaining. I also like some of the non-romantic plot lines like the friendship between Ji Heon and Sang Bong and also his relationship with his brother's family. But I also dislike all the scenes we have to watch involving the toupee-d Vice President. Mr. VP, please take that rodent off your head!

Right now, we're at the point where Ji Heon & Sang Bong's friendship and relationship will be put through the ringer. Just like Do Wook said, while SB might not hold a grudge and want to see Ji Heon, the former might be too guilty to maintain a friendship with someone he paralyzed. Why this drama has to go this route is anyone's guess but perhaps they needed to inject some more drama into the plot.

So as of episode 10, while Dr. Champ doesn't touch me the way I'd hoped, it'll still enjoyable enough for me to watch till the end. But I hope they speed up the romance in the next 6 episodes. I don't know if it's possible for me to squeal about anything that happens between these couples, but I'll still like to see some über romantic scenes that can only be constructed in a brilliant writer's imagination. Too much to ask?

Photos were taken from soompi & dramabeans.