Episode 1
Episode 1 of Face Me opens with KSH Cosmetics, a renowned cosmetic brand, announcing their new beauty center with their top plastic surgeon, Dr. Cha Jeong-woo, in charge. We meet Dr. Cha as he refuses to perform reconstructive surgery on a patient, despite objections from the patient’s guardian.
The scene shifts to Dr. Jeong-woo performing a contouring surgery when the police, accompanied by the guardian, burst in, demanding the surgery stop. Jeong-woo refuses, coming across as an uncompromising doctor focused solely on his work.
Meanwhile, we’re introduced to Lee Min-hyung, a bold, determined police officer who has just apprehended a woman using her plastic surgery-enhanced looks to scam men.
At the same time, a patient named Kim Da-hye consults Jeong-woo, wanting to alter her face to the point of being unrecognizable. Sensing something off, Jeong-woo advises her to reconsider. However, on her way to the parking lot, Da-hye encounters her abusive boyfriend, who assaults her with a broken glass bottle, injuring her face.
Jeong-woo is called in for emergency reconstructive surgery, while Officer Min-hyung investigates the case. The boyfriend claims self-defense, citing CCTV footage that shows him falling, as he attempts to frame the incident as mutual assault.
After Da-hye’s discharge, Min-hyung asks Jeong-woo to use his expertise to help prove the boyfriend’s intent during the attack, based on Da-hye’s injuries. However, Jeong-woo insists she bring a warrant, citing patient confidentiality.
Later, as Min-hyung leaves the hospital, Da-hye is kidnapped by her boyfriend. Min-hyung immediately requests backup and pursues him in Jeong-woo’s car. In the car, Da-hye secretly records the boyfriend admitting to his abuse, empowered by Jeong-woo’s earlier encouragement to stand up for herself. Jeong-woo eventually catches up, and Min-hyung arrests the boyfriend on multiple charges, including assault and stalking.
In a series of flashbacks, we see hints of Jeong-woo’s own trauma involving his late fiancée, whom he was on his way to meet when he got into an accident, though the details are still unclear.
Additionally, we learn that the patient whose mother objected to surgery had recently lost her twin sister and was seeking surgery as a way to help her mother and herself move on.
The episode concludes tragically, with the father of a previous patient whom Jeong-woo refused to operate on taking his own life, just as Jeong-woo prepares for an interview about Da-hye’s case.
The Episode Review
The first episode sets the tone by exploring the evolution of South Korea’s beauty standards, laying a foundation for the show’s themes. However, beyond showcasing beauty trends, the episode highlights how plastic surgery can offer people a fresh start, help them regain self-confidence, and move past trauma.
Currently, the show seems to follow an episodic structure, focusing on individual cases against the backdrop of Jeong-woo’s mysterious, likely painful past, interwoven with the strong-willed energy of Officer Min-hyung.
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Episode Rating
(3)
“Face Me” is both well-written and well-directed. The first two episodes definitely deserve five glowing stars. This series can potentially become one of the best KDramas on television. It features an intriguing story, and the director and screenwriter have selected an excellent cast to bring the characters to life. The soundtrack is perfect, and the pacing is exceptional. I wish this series is available on all streaming platforms so I could watch it on Netflix USA.
Quite possible actually especially from the events in the second episode. And totally, the cinematography reminds me of the 2015 era crime kdramas!
here we go again…there is no way Lee Yi Kyung is a supporting role… probably another villain
also why does this show look so… “old”… i think it is the cinematography, or maybe the production design, or how they use tele lenses and hardly never wide lenses… it is quite interesting