Lee Bo-young delivers death in Mary Kills People
by solstices
Another teaser is ramping up the tension in MBC’s upcoming medical thriller Mary Kills People, a remake of the Canadian series of the same name. By day, our titular heroine is a respectable doctor who saves lives; by night, she puts ailing patients out of their misery.
“All I can do as a doctor for patients with low odds of recovery,” says Lee Bo-young (Hide) as our protagonist Woo So-jung, “is to ease their pain.” As if to prove So-jung’s point, a patient writhes in agony on her hospital bed, while a taciturn Lee Min-ki (Face Me) observes the scene as the detective Jo Hyun-woo. In the hallway, a different patient clasps his hands over his ears as he wails in anguish, and So-jung can only watch on helplessly. “If the only way to do that is to kill them, then I want to offer them that treatment, Father.”
Said Father is Priest Yang, played by Kwon Hae-hyo (Our Movie), who calls out what I’m assuming is So-jung’s baptismal name: “Maria.” Past a glimpse of Kim Tae-woo (Love Song For Illusion) looking contemplative, So-jung fills a syringe from a vial of benponarbital sodium, which she then mixes into a patient’s glass of white wine. To those with nothing but ineffectual treatment and endless suffering ahead of them, So-jung has only one question: “Do you wish to end it all?”
Punctuated by enigmatic smiles from Seo Young-hee (Way Back Love) and Kwak Sun-young (Crash), the music swells as the authorities close in on So-jung’s modus operandi. “What you’re doing now is murder,” accuses Hyun-woo. But to So-jung, death is a gift for people with no other path save for agony. So-jung doesn’t aim to turn any profit, nor does she revel in killing. In fact, it’s much the opposite – So-jung ekes out a pained apology as she smothers a patient with a pillow. Behind her, Kang Ki-young (Queen of Divorce) keeps watch as So-jung’s longtime friend, the former doctor Choi Dae-hyun.
The chase is on, and So-jung finds herself backed into a corner. Her voice turning frantic, So-jung insists, “I’ll take responsibility. I can do it.” But her balance falters as she grips the gun in her hands, as if hinting she may soon hit her limit – and a split-second scene shows someone dead from a rooftop fall, and another person standing on the ledge. Looks like things are about to turn even darker. The drama’s title flashes by upon shots of our three leads, closing upon So-jung as she looks straight into the camera, her gaze weary but resolute. So-jung may swear by her unwavering principles, but to the rest of the world, the question remains – is she a mercy killer, or a plain old murderer?
Helmed by PD Park Joon-woo (Crash, Taxi Driver), with scripts penned by Lee Soo-ah (Inseparable Bros), Mary Kills People is slated for an August 1 premiere.
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