Healer - Kim Moon Shik's Evolution to the Dark Side.

The problem with watching a drama like Healer is that it spoils you for all other dramas. You start having expectations so high that from there on only a handful of dramas are able to fulfll them. I started watching Healer seeing its similarity to City Hunter but expect for a few details, Healer is more satisfying a drama and much better scripted keeping the suspense and the fun till the end. All characters are well written, but the most interesting of them is Kim Moon Shik (KMS).

When starting out this drama, I was certain that KMS was the villain. The PD did the awesome job of maintaining the mystery of the 1992 incident up until episode 18 which was primarily the reason it took me this long to actually figure out KMS's motive. We all know he did not start off as the bad guy but somewhere down the lane, lost his path. 

Up until episode 17, we see flashes of the past that gives us hints of Moon Shik's love for his friend's girlfriend. We were lead to assume that jealousy and ambition made him what he is. Surprisingly, This was not the case.

In episode 17 and 18 we get more of a glimpse into the 1992 incident. As we put together all the pieces of the puzzle, we realise that Moon Shik became the person he is because of his love for MY. Till he met the Elder, he never betrayed his friend. He knew his limits where Myung Yee was concerned. We can see it in episode 3, where the friends have gathered for a dinner. He is comfortably sitting with everyone laughing and joking around. We also know that he tried saving his friends, unlike what we were led to assume. 

It was only when he felt that Myung Yee would need help that he decided to turn over to the bad side. And this was not instantaneous. Mainly cause an act done out of love can never be thought to be wrong, even if it it. The first time we see him giving the false statement to the police, his hands are shaking. Maybe some part of him believed that things wouldn't end this badly. Since he knew his friend was innocent maybe he assumed that the cops would find out the truth someday. It was possible that the death of his friend pushed him over the edge, which is why he is seen giving his statement for the second time in a zombie state (This is my assumption. No time frame was mentioned in the episode).

Kim Moon Ho describes his brother as someone who is more in denial than aware of what he has been doing all the while. This is all thanks to the Elder and Secretary Oh. Which is probably why while giving his statement to the police for the third time, he din't seem to be lying. He almost looked  like he truly believed the fabricated story. Even at present, he does not want to cause harm, Yes, he may want to manipulate everyone around him to do his bidding, but killing is not his style. He could have had Chae Young Shin and Seo Jung Hoo killed. The elder would have loved that. But that goes against his true instinct.  While Secretary Oh has been nagging him on about his wife's intrusion, he doesn't seem too bothered about it because he still truly loves her. Even with all the wrong doings, his feelings for his wife and younger brother have not changed just altered. Before what would have been true love for Myung Yee, is now mixed with fear of loosing her and guilt of his past. 

I applaud both Park Sang-won and Son Seung-won (Young Monn Shik) for showing KMS's pain and longing and his helplessness.He has portrayed the character to perfection. The Angst, the guilt and the ambition. It will be interesting to see where the finale of healer is going to land him.