Hyper Knife

Presentation

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Overview

Synopsis

Choi Deok Hee is the best neurosurgeon in the world. He has a gifted pupil named Jeong Se Ok, but he has mixed feelings about her. One day, he kicks her out of his operating room. After that, Se Ok’s life spirals down. She is working as a shadow doctor in an illegal operating room when teacher and student meet again.

My Opinion (No Spoiler)

First of all, I need to salute the acting performance of both leads, especially Park Eun Bin’s. It was fantastic! They portrayed their characters with a lot of nuances and made them credible. Now, if I move on to the plot itself, I really loved it. The drama is an original thriller that adopts the perspective of a sociopath who’s also a genius doctor. She’s not afraid of killing. Worse, she does it every time someone is in her way. The bond she has with her teacher is also quite interesting to watch. Choi Deok Hee sees himself in Se Ok (his alter ego), while Se Ok sees him as a role model. Hence the difficulty for both characters to either love or hate each other. The way the show subtly navigates the grey zone is quite catching too. It makes characters walk a fine line between good and evil, especially when it comes to illegal surgeries. My only point is that I would’ve liked to learn more about the side characters like Se Ok’s ‘lackey’ and the anesthesiologist who work with her. We didn’t have enough back story which was a shame considering that they are representing the ‘human’ in human being. All in all, Hyper Knife is an excellent drama to watch. Hopefully, they will give us a second season.

Analysis

• The 2 faces of the same coin
  A similar craving
  An alter ego
  2 sociopaths
• The tense teacher-student relationship
  Love-hate dynamic
  The promise
• The investigation
• The helpers
• The ending
  Se Ok’s tattoo
• The acting performance

The 2 faces of the same coin: Jung Se Ok (Park Eun Bin) and Choi Deok Hee (Seol Kyung Gu) seem to be totally different at first sight. Se Ok appears to be a genius psychopath obsessed with surgeries and unafraid of killing. Meanwhile, Choi Deok Hee is the respected and skilled doctor, who forged the reputation of the hospital through his many successful surgeries. He doesn’t share Se Ok’s lack of humanity, or so it seems. Turns out both characters are actually similar. Choi Deok is just more experienced in hiding his true face behind a mask. Se Ok and her teacher are just the two faces of the same coin.

A similar craving: The first common point between the leads is their craving and obsession for surgery and the human brain. In one particular episode, Jung Se Ok writes a letter to Choi Deok Hee in order to convince him to become her mentor. In a rush of emotions, she describes her tough upbringing, while explaining that she’s always felt as if a bug was crawling in her brain. She was unable to rest nor turn off her brain stimulation. She was a prisoner of her condition, not really understanding how to live with it, until she fell in love with the human brain. Surgery was a way for her to tame the bug in her head and satisfy her cravings. Interestingly, the drama draws a clever parallel between Se Ok’s story and Deok Hee’s. Indeed, the one we see on screen is the veteran doctor, not his pupil. Yet, it’s Se Ok’s voice in the background. This creates a unique bond between characters, as we understand they are made of the same steel. They have decided to bet their life on medicine and will not stop until they actually die in the operating room. This craving is what keeps them both alive. Choi Deok Hee would rather let his tumor kill him than to be done with surgeries, while Se Ok keeps on operating on patients, even illegally.

An alter ego: As I was watching the drama, I started to wonder if Choi Deok Hee was not seeing his alter ego in Se Ok. Hence, his desire to see her operate on him. It’s as if he’s seeing himself in the mirror. He taught Se Ok everything he knew, he turned her into a skilled doctor. In a way, he created a better version of himself that he can shape and improve however he wants. Choi Deok Hee even refers to Se Ok as an “investment“. And that’s pretty true. He poured his heart, sweat and soul into making her as good as him and pushed her above and beyond. Considering all that time and energy spent on Se Ok, the veteran doctor can’t stand to see her or anyone else other than him ruin her. She’s his most prized possession and his best accomplishment. That’s also the reason why he renews the relationship when he discovers he’s got a brain tumor. In his head, Se Ok is the only doctor worthy of operating on him, because he knows she’ll make no mistake. That’s how he raised her. As a god watching over his creation, Deok Hee can’t bear the thought of seeing Se Ok taken away from him. He’d rather prevent her from operating than seeing her potential used someplace else, far from him. A master with his toy, a god with his creation, a teacher with his student, or just a narcissist and his reflection: that’s the kind of relationship Se Ok and Deok Hee have.

2 sociopaths: If craving for surgery is one common point between the leads, there’s another undeniable one that binds them together. They are sociopaths. The only difference here is that Choi Deok Hee is older and more experienced, so he’s learned how to control himself and be more calm. This doesn’t change the fact that he may act on impulse based on the severity of the situation, but he’s usually a calculating man. Whereas Se Ok is impulsive, she can snap in a second and doesn’t care about the consequences of her actions. She’s fine with killing others if they stand in her way. Hurting, killing, showing indifference, being emotional is what defines Se Ok. She follows her gut and instinct. Same for Choi Deok Hee in a way. He can kill without blinking and doesn’t care about consequences that he has generally already predicted.

The tense teacher-student relationship: The most interesting aspect of the plot, which also turns out to be at the core of the drama, is the complex relationship between Se Ok and Deok Hee.

Love-hate dynamic: When Jung Se Ok first meets professor Choi Deok Hee, it’s as if she has found her mentor in life. He’s brilliant, confident, and bold. He shares her passion and obsession for surgery, but also her dark tendencies. When Deok Hee see Se Ok for the first time, it’s as if he’s found the perfect successor. She’s driven, skilled and fearless. When they finally recognize each other’s value, they form an intense bond. Se Ok respects and admires Deok Hee, while the latter is proud of his creation. However, Choi Deok Hee doesn’t fully open up to Se Ok. He keeps his distance and establishes a limit with his student. Later on, Jung Se Ok discovers that she shares yet another strong similarity with her mentor. Both are killers, especially when circumstances call for it. And in their case, they did call for the death of Deok Hee’s older friend. Indeed, the professor found out that his friend wanted to steal Se Ok away from him by offering her a position in his hospital. The veteran doctor couldn’t bear the thought of seeing his pupil get away, so he eventually disposed of his friend. But the possibility of Se Ok going away didn’t fade. So, he chose to ruin her, destroy her career and deprive her of her craving for surgery as punishment. He rejected and abandoned her without really explaining why he was behaving as such. This sudden shift marks the beginning of their hate relationship. Years later, Jung Se Ok bears resentment towards the one she used to admire and respect. She wants to make him suffer as much as he made her. So when the opportunity presents itself, she doesn’t hesitate. She refuses to give in and operate on his brain tumor to save his life. That is until she’s finally told the reasons at the root of her hatred. Interestingly, the drama doesn’t show a linear relationship that goes from love to hate. On the contrary, the show focuses on the grey area. Se Ok and Deok Hee oscillate between respect, admiration, and anger, resentment. Hence, their impulsive reactions to either hurt or help the other.

The promise: As part of the conflictual relationship between the teacher and his student, there is one crucial element. Shortly after their encounter, Choi Deok Hee made a promise to Jung Se Ok to teach her everything he has in his brain, to give her all his knowledge until the very last bit. But there’s also one part of his teaching that he didn’t reveal straight away. Instead, he chose to leverage on his brain tumor to complete Se Ok’s education. Jung Se Ok has never failed. She’s never known the pain, hurt and despair of not succeeding as a doctor. So, when Choi Deok Hee learns that he needs a surgery to keep on living, he decides to use it as a way to convey his final lesson to his pupil. By delaying his surgery as much as possible, he intends on breaking Se Ok. He wants her to lose the other part of herself, to cry and feel the immense pain of losing someone you want to save by dying in the operating room on her watch. If he breaks her, he believes that only then will she be able to fly even higher. Of course, this is unimaginable for Jung Se Ok who surpasses her master by saving his life though they are way past the golden time. In the end, Choi Deok Hee kept his promise and taught her well. This promise binds the leads in life and in death, for better and for worse.

The investigation: Time is of the essence in the drama. On the one hand, Choi Deok Hee doesn’t have much time before his brain tumor kills him. On the other hand, Se Ok is pressured by detectives investigating her murders. As if it were not enough, Se Ok illegally practices surgeries, causing the police to look into the case. Having detectives on her back is an excellent way for Deok Hee to force Se Ok to operate on him, while it’s a great leverage for the young killer to threaten her mentor. In the end, there are 3 sides fighting against each other. Jung Se Ok vs. Choi Deok Hee, the police vs. Jung Se Ok and Choi Deok Hee vs the police when Se Ok needs help to cover her trails. The investigation pushes the leads to make a fragile alliance. It accelerates their reconciliation because it forces them to unite against a common enemy. To me, it was also the perfect way to see Se Ok and Deok Hee’s darkest side. It gave them a lot of depth, as it showed how ruthless and cruel they can be with other human beings unworthy of their consideration.

The helpers: Although Deok Hee and Se Ok are sociopaths and kill, they have still managed to surround themselves with trusted allies. On Se Ok’s side, there’s anesthesiologist Han Hyeon Ho (Park Byun Eun) who runs the illegal surgery team and her ‘lackey’ Seo Young Joo (Yoon Chan Young) whose life she saved through illegal surgeries. On Deok Hee’s side, you have private investigator Mrs. Ra (Kang Ji Eun) who blindly follows his lead and Alan Kim (Han Joon Woo) who’s only interested in talented people – even if their behavior is questionable. These characters embody humanity. They stand at the fringe between good and evil, especially because they support morally wrong actions while remaining well-intended. For example, Seo Young Joo has a debt to pay towards Se Ok. She saved him when everyone else turned their back on him. Therefore, he’s willing to accept her killings and cover for her. He also wishes to see her happy and to save her from her dark tendencies. The anesthesiologist has been betrayed by the system, so he uses illegal surgeries as a way to right the wrongs. He doesn’t know exactly what Se Ok is capable of, but she’s a crucial piece of his plan. That’s why he protects her. As for Alan Kim, he’s aware that Deok Hee is not as clean and benevolent as he looks. Nevertheless, he’s a talented genius surgeon. If he vouches on someone, you can be sure that this person is worth it. What Deok Hee does outside of surgery doesn’t interest him. As long as he can find the rare gem he needs.

All of these helpers force viewers to reflect on good and bad. Se Ok and Deok Hee are sociopaths, so you associate them with ‘bad’. However, the situation is different for others. They are ‘normal’ people. They know the difference between good and bad, and yet they support the ‘dark’ side. This eventually triggers a reflection on morality. Where do you put your moral compass? What is acceptable for you which may not be for others? Are you willing to let go of some values for the sake of a beloved, trusted, admired other? Are your interests more important than morality? That’s indeed a question worth asking, especially if you analyze the character named Ha U Yeong (Lee Jung Sik). He’s always been second. Jung Se Ok has always proven to be better than him. His parents have also greatly contributed to his career advancements. Yet, he’s never complained. On the contrary, he leveraged his connection and wealth to get his seat. Even if he never showed off, he never proved that he wanted to succeed on his own either. Instead, he openly and willingly accepted external influences. Was it bad or good from him? Depends on where you stand morally!

The ending: The ending of Hyper Knife is satisfying, but still leaves me with hopes for a second season. There are a lot of pending questions regarding the investigation, but also the future of both characters. Indeed, the drama ends with Se Ok doing an illegal surgery. A few minutes before the end, she’s joined by another doctor whom we guess is Choi Deok Hee. We don’t see his face, so we can only suppose that she has saved her mentor’s life in the end. However, there’s one clue that convinced me Choi Deok Hee was still alive. That one clue embodies perfectly the relationship between the leads.

Se Ok’s tattoo: There’s no better way to show that Se Ok has saved her mentor than by using her tattoo. Indeed, the young doctor has 2 brains tattooed at the back of her neck. Throughout the show, we can see that one of the two brains is colored while the other one remains blank. However, there’s a focus on her tattoo in the last scenes that display both brains colored. The theory is that one brain symbolizes her and the other is Deok Hee. She tattooed both brains after their encounter to show that she had found her missing piece. When they eventually fell apart, Se Ok colored one of the brains to express that she and Deok Hee were not on the same wavelength anymore. So when she arrives with two colored brains at the end, it can only mean one thing. Choi Deok Hee is alive and she’s finally complete again. They operate illegally together and have grown even closer than before. Even better, Choi Deok Hee’s brain surgery didn’t diminish his medical skills. He can still use his hands and share these special moments with his student. Jung Se Ok has won her bet and her tattoo proves that.

Acting performance: The acting performance in this drama blew me away! It was absolutely fantastic, especially Park Eun Bin’s ambivalent portrayal of Jung Se Ok. Sometimes, I had empathy for her, sometimes I was terrified by her, but most of the time I rooted for her although she’s a killer. This boggled me, which proves how convincing and credible Park Eun Bin was. Seol Kyung Gu also did an amazing job at playing a cold character, capable of the worst, but also the better for his student. They definitely deserve awards for what they’ve done in Hyper Knife!