Welcome to Kdrama and Ramen

A brilliant neuro-scientist has spent years researching the human brain and how to transfer memories between two brains using electric stimuli.  Impatient for progress, he decides to experiment on himself, using a dead person as the second participant.  But the process reveals unexpected results when the dead person’s memories involve his own family and uncover a surprising piece of information.  Now the doctor is motivated not only by the scientific breakthroughs he has strived for, but also to solve a family mystery that could have a profound impact on his life.

Lee Yoo Young as Jung Jae Yi

Se Won’s wife, Jae Yi, is sure that their son is still alive, even though everyone says he was killed in a fire.  It turns out that she is right, and Dr. Myung and his gang decide to kill her to keep her quiet.  They stage her suicide, but she ends up in a coma instead of dead.  Se Won has her in the basement, where she is hooked up to machines and has a personal nurse.  When she becomes the only person who can lead him to the truth about their son’s whereabouts, Se Won decides to try a brain sync with her, even though, up until this point, it has only been successful on people who are already dead.

Jung Jae Yi is a really interesting character because she is either in a coma or dead through the entire series.  And yet, through a series of brain syncs, we learn a lot about her character.  We find out she had made a connection with another man through their kids, and they have been spending a lot of time together.  And this leads us to learn that she has struggled with being lonely and having a husband who she loves dearly but who is emotionally unavailable.  We also find out that her death was not a suicide, but murder.  Although Lee Yoo Young has most of her scenes in small, random pieces, she played the role with an earnest sincerity.  Sadly, in the end, I didn’t really feel like I understood Jung Jae Yi or what motivated her as well as I would have like to.

Park Hee Soon as Lee Kang Moo

Lee Kang Moo is a former detective.  He is the first dead person that Se Won syncs with.  When he shows up at Se Won’s door later, Se Won has no idea who he is or that he is really just a figment inside his own mind.  Kang Moo continues to guide and goad Se Won along the path to finding out the truth.  

♥ Cinematography

Apple put a lot into the production quality of this drama.  There is no denying that it looked great.  The colors, camera work and effects were all first class.  All of it came together to create a smooth and enjoyable watching experience.  

♥ Opening Scene

The way this opening scene sets up the rest of the drama is really well done.  It was interesting getting to see how, even as a child, Se Won understood and processed things from a very scientific and factual way.  His need to know how something worked was fascinating.  It also shows how reckless he tends to be when he is in search of answers.  This will play out again when he uses himself instead of mice to further test his experiment.  And of course, the trauma of seeing his mother’s death will further isolate him emotionally and make him easy prey for Dr. Myung.  It was much more interesting to show this scene than trying to explain it all in the process of the story.

Lack of Secondary Stories

I understand that 6 episodes don’t leave a lot of room for anything outside of the main story, but it left me feeling a bit disappointed.  They introduced some interesting secondary characters, but we never find out anything about them that doesn’t somehow tie into the main story.  These side characters and their own individual stories are one of the things that make kdramas so interesting, so I missed having them.  

Lim Jun Ki

Again, I know there wasn’t much time for secondary character development but Lim Jun Ki’s character was a total mystery to me.  At first, it seemed like he and Jae Yi were having an affair, but later that seemed to be a bit overstated.  He seemed interested in her, to be sure, but it didn’t seem like anything romantic had actually happened between them.  I thought he, like Nam Il, might be a plant used to lure her in.  But that also didn’t prove to be true.  So I just don’t really see the importance of his relationship with Jae Yi, outside of the clue his daughter helps provide.  

“Dr. Brain” ends in a final showdown between Dr. Myung and Se Won.  Dr. Myung’s evil plan to implant himself into the brain of Do Yoon is finally exposed and Se Won rushes to stop it.  Se Won gets there after the process is started and has to put himself into the middle of their sync and persuade Do Yoon to come home with him.  It’s all very dramatic but Se Won succeeds.  The police, led by Lieutenant Cho, show up to clean everything up.  Dr. Myung is still alive but obviously very sick and probably near death.  A brief time jump shows Se Won and Do Yoon at Jae Yi’s gravesite but as they sit together on a nearby bench we see that Se Won can see her much like he saw Kang Moo during the other episodes.  So she is still present in his mind and he seems happy to have her there.  The final scene has Se Won putting Do Yoon to bed in their house.  When he comes out of the bedroom, he comes face to face with Dr. Myung who looks just like he did when Se Won last saw him in their sync, complete with some serious superpowers. It seems to be getting very crowded inside Se Won’s mind!  An open door for season 2 perhaps, but probably just a fun cliffhanger! And there you have it.  The end.