After episode 13 Dr. Stranger is officially one of the stinkiest piece of shit dramas that ever got crapped out of the ass of someone wearing the moniker of a screenwriter. If I can blackball someone then the screenwriter of DS is on the top of the list. This is worse than fan-fiction with every other word misspelled. This drama is turning into a grotesque monstrosity of servicing certain fan sentiments and doing so by completely shanking whatever was left of character motivational consistency as well as internal narrative logic. I was left quaking with anger after this episode, wondering if I should just cut my losses now even though I hate to drop recaps so late in the game. Plus I want to be there for folks who actually watched for a oddball drama that started off strangely mesmerizing even if it was ridiculous and rather all-over-the-place. There were so many mysteries but too many fans just wanted to talk about who would end up with whom, and now the drama appears to head down that path.
The Park Hoon I adored and fell for in the beginning of the drama died in this episode for me. Unless in future episodes we discover that he’s actually acting this way to combat the threat against him and Jae Hee, otherwise his behavior in this episode was nothing short of brain-addled revolting. I wanted to retch when Hoon lectured Seung Hee about her urging him not to perform a surgery as if she was such a bad doctor while conveniently forgetting the looming threat against their lives with one false move.Jae Joon continues his rise to the sole leading man in this drama I can root for, same with Seung Hee/Jae Hee, who got the best scene in this episode when she manhandled Comrade Cha and told him to halt the fuck up and wait his ass down. Good for you, girl! If Hoon’s feelings for you are that easily changed, then I suggest girlfriend finish her mission and screw Hoon’s welfare in the process. Apparently he doesn’t have any appreciation for a girl who sacrifices all for him.
Episode 13 recap:
Dr. Keom is so nervous with Chairman Oh breathing down everyone’s neck that he accidentally cuts into the patient’s heart. The surgery is about to go South real fast until a scrubbed in Park Hoon walks into the OR ready to join Team Good Guys Who Operate to Save Lives. He tells the head lowered surgical team to buck up because no one here did anything wrong. The people who are wrong are up there in the viewing room. The folks in the OR all pause dramatically to look up at the team of weeny doctors looking down from above. Hoon tells Team Good Guys that they are the ONLY real doctors in this hospital.
Everyone looks back up AGAIN and then Hoon gets everyone back to business by saying enough with the looking (you think?) and his neck hurts. Jae Joon tells Hoon to repair the cut first but it’s in the middle of surgery so they can’t do an X-ray to find the rupture. Super doctor Park Hoon to the rescue, of course, as he promptly sticks his whole hand in the exposed bloody chest cavity and closes his eyes to feel around for the incision point. He senses it and orders a suction of the blood and gets ready to suture. Dr. Yang notes that there doesn’t appear to be a surgery that Dr. Park can’t do. But that’s no consolation to Dr. Moon since Dr. Park is about to be fired (again).
Soo Hyun worries about the patient’s vitals and Dr. Eun assures the team that the patient is stable now. Hoon teases that Jae Joon has a great surgical assistant (namely him) so of course there is nothing to worry about. Chairman Oh snaps at Dr. Moon to go schedule an internal disciplinary meeting as well as prepare the lawsuit against Dr. Han. Dr. Moon tells the HR director about this turn of events which upsets the guy and he wonders if maybe the internal medicine department can be persuaded to admit their fault and not escalate the matter. Dr. Moon wishes that could work but he’s never known a doctor to willingly admit to being wrong.
The surgery successfully wraps up and everyone looks around in resignation. Jae Joon looks up and sees Chairman Oh glaring at him before storming off. Jae Joon leaves the OR and Chairman Oh is waiting to remind him that his career here is done. Apologize to the patient and beg for forgiveness? Chairman Oh will wait to see if Jae Joon’s method works and avoids a lawsuit for the hospital.
Jae Joon walks out to the waiting area to inform the family that the surgery was a success and apologizes on behalf of the hospital. The father knows Jae Joon did nothing wrong, the ones who messed up were the internal medicine docs. Jae Joon asks the father if he intends to sue and the father doesn’t know. Jae Joon offers to help if the father needs anything.
The doctors are pushing the patient back to her hospital room and wondering what can be done to save them all. Dr. Eun doesn’t think anything can allay the furious Chairman Oh and they are all screwed, except for one person and she shoots at look at Chairman Oh’s daughter Soo Hyun. Dr. Keom storms off and Dr. Eun follows and finds him letting out his frustration against a wall.
Dr. Keom is angry at himself for not doing his job during this surgery and the surgery for the twins. Dr. Eun is surprised to see him lose his temper for once and suggests that this is a good thing as he’s just learning through mistakes as kids do. What? I’m sorry Dr. Eun, a surgeon should not be allowed to make mistakes on LIVE PATIENTS as a learning experience. Just….no. Dr. Eun takes umbrage to her calling him a kid and then decides to exert his manliness by pulling her in for a forced kiss. It’s majorly awkward as he scrunches up her cheeks and makes his way to her lips before pressing on it. That earns him a slap from Dr. Eun after the kiss but he demands that she never see him as a kid from now on. Dr. Eun agrees and then it’s her turn to push him in the closet as she announces that from now on she’ll see him as a man. Sheesh, I can’t even.
Soo Hyun and Hoon are pushing the patient back to her room when they pass by the father-son. Hoon assures the family the patient will be fine and Dr. Oh will watch over her. Soo Hyun takes note that he called her Dr. Oh for once in front of the patients. After they’ve put the patient back in her room, Soo Hyun brings up Hoon calling her Dr. Oh instead of Quack and lumped her into the group he considers real doctors.
Hoon tells Soo Hyun not to overthink it and suggests she’s losing hair because of it. Soo Hyun points out Hoon’s messy hairstyle is the problem and patients can’t take him seriously. She tells him to clean himself up because patients like doctors who are tidy. Hoon is in no mood to pal around with her and assigns her the task to talk to her dad about what’s going to happen to everyone who did in the surgery. Hoon especially wants her to help out Jae Joon because after today he can tell that Jae Joon is a good guy. I can’t believe Soo Hyun needs Hoon to remind her to help her own boyfriend. Ugh.
Jae Joon sits in his office and stares at the old lawsuit and apologizes to his dead dad. Soo Hyun comes in and reassures him that the patient is doing fine and he was so cool today. She doesn’t want him to worry about what her dad will do but Jae Joon cuts her off and reveals he wants to go back to the US after leaving the hospital. But he doesn’t want to leave alone, he wants her to come with him and he’ll find her a position at Harvard as well. Oh Jae Joon, you sane man, what the hell are you doing in this crazy drama? Go back to the US and save yourself.
Jae Joon takes Soo Hyun’s hand but she quickly pulls it away and says it won’t come to that. She will convince her dad not to fire everyone. She awkwardly tells him to hang in there before scampering away. Jae Joon looks down at his empty hand and then sits down sadly. Damn I so want to slap some sense into Soo Hyun it’s not even funny. Soo Hyun pauses outside his office and seems to realize what she’s doing but then shakes her head and leaves.
Hoon found time to get a haircut, apparently one word from Soo Hyun was all it took. *rolls eyes* He finds Seung Hee waiting outside demanding why he did that surgery? Hoon will talk at a later time and walks past her and goes inside to wash his face. Seung Hee offers him a towel and he doesn’t take it and tells her to leave because he wants to be alone. Da fuck is wrong with you, Park Hoon?
Seung Hee angrily reminds Hoon that he was the one who didn’t want to use a patient as a bargaining chip. She thought it would all end after this surgery but…..Hoon cuts her off and asks if she wanted him to ignore a dying patient. Oh I don’t know, Hoon, it’s not Seung Hee who wants you to do it. It’s someone called Comrade Cha holding a big gun that demanded you pass on the surgery. Have you conveniently forgotten? Seung Hee points out there were lots of surgeons in the OR at that time and Hoon is near tears in yelling that the Jae Chul’s mom was going to die and the other surgeons all needed his help.
Hoon turns and sees the prison Jae Hee video staring back at him and he talks to the video sad Jae Hee, telling her not to be like this. At times like this his heart is so jumbled. When he first saw Jae Hee here, he was really ashamed to see her because he did so many bad things during the time he lost her. But he got up the courage because he found her and found his dreams again. He wanted to become the Hoon who bandaged Jae Hee up. He asks how Jae Hee can do this to him? How can she tell him to ignore a dying patient? Are you shaming her, Park Hoon? Are you accusing the girl who is doing everything in her power to keep you ALIVE? Are you making her feel bad for the things that are beyond her control? OH YOU FUCKER!
Seung Hee walks out of the hospital and finds Comrade Cha pulling up in his car. He gets out of his car and whips out his handy dandy gun with silencer and strides off to kill Park Hoon that bastard. Seung Hee stops him with fierce determination and tells him to stop. Comrade Cha orders her to move and wake up. Seung Hee manages to overpower Comrade Cha and takes his gun. She fires all the bullets around his head into the ground and sends the final bullet into the street lamp.
Comrade Cha laughs maniacally while Seung Hee tells him they have time to wait. They can wait jut a bit longer. Seung Hee turns around crying and then composes herself to turn back around and tell Comrade Cha to stop using his point of view to assess whether Seung Hee’s decision is right or wrong. Comrade Cha just stares at her.
Soo Hyun tries to convince her dad to not fire all the surgeons in that surgery. Chairman Oh compares a lawsuit to a fast spreading disease and it will destroy the hospital if not stopped. Soo Hyun wants to know if her dad will change his mind if the family doesn’t sue? Dad wants to know why she’s trying to change his mind, is it because of Han Jae Joon? Soo Hyun claims she only has Jae Joon in her heart and wants him to change his mind. Chairman Oh changes his mind just like that but tells Soo Hyun that there will definitely be a lawsuit. There are no such families like Han Jae Joon believes who won’t sue the hospital. Soo Hyun grabs his hand and assures him that she’ll resolve that problem.
Hoon sits down to curry rice in the morning but he pauses and looks at the empty chair across from him before digging in. Soo Hyun arrives and finds him eating such simple food and then sits down in the empty chair across from Hoon. Soo Hyun explains that if the family can be persuaded not to sue then Chairman Oh will forgive everyone. Hoon doesn’t care about him losing his job but Soo Hyun asks if he doesn’t care about the others. Hoon wonders why he has to help and suggests that taking off the white coat is no big deal. Excuse me? Didn’t you yell at the woman you supposedly love with your entire heart and soul last night about your holy calling as a doctor to save lives? Now you don’t think doctors losing their job is a big deal? Hoon asks what the first step is and Soo Hyun wants to convince the family to let it go. Hoon wonders if that’s the best approach and Soo Hyun slams her hand on the desk and tells him to do as she orders.
Hoon and Soo Hyun predictably meet with resistance as the father wants to sue because he doesn’t want to let the doctors who made the mistake get away with it. He wants to find who made the mistake and also get an apology from the doctor. Hoon mutters that the doctor won’t apologize but agrees to try. Hoon and Soo Hyun meet a brick wall with the head of internal medicine refusing to apologize and declaring that the family can bring on the lawsuit and he won’t even blink and eye. Hoon decides to look for the missing third year doctor who did the original surgery and made the mistake.
Hoon makes a call and Soo Hyun and Hoon return to the little clinic to find gangsters waiting inside. Soo Hyun gasps and Hoon puts his arm around her before the gangsters part and allow them to go inside. Hoon has asked the gangster dude from earlier to help him find the missing doctor. The gangster is happy to help but wants payment so Hoon has Soo Hyn cough up the money. Soo Hyun takes out money but the gangster wants more like the way Hoon extorted him earlier to sew up his boss. Soo Hyun takes out more money and the gangster teases that she’s like a human ATM.
The patient’s son talks to the internal medicine doctor but the man feels up the patient first to see if he’s wired to record their conversation for the lawsuit. What the hell? The doctor can’t find any wire but declares that the family can file the lawsuit because he did nothing wrong. The son agrees, he thinks his father is wrong in suing the hospital and he doesn’t agree with it. The doctor tells the son to go convince his dad to not sue and then pushes the kid off in his wheelchair. Other doctors witness this scene and confront him for treating a kid this way.
Hoon and Soo Hyun come back with the third year doctor and there is almost a tussle in the hallway as the internal medicine department want to squirrel him away. Hoon manages to bring everyone to the conference room where Sang Jin is meeting with the father to strong arm him in not suing the hospital. Hoon pushes Sang Jin away and all the doctors walks in to bow their head low for their mistake in the surgery. It should have been done by an attending but they let a third year handle it and they are so sorry.
The father tearfully asks if it was so hard to apologize? He wants to sue everyone here but his son takes his father’s hand and tells him to let it go. They made mistakes but they also saved his mom. They are also healing him as well, and one day if the father gets sick they will treat him. The father cries but is clearly that easily convinced to let it go.
Soo Hyun and Hoon are leaving the hospital and she thanks him for helping. He tells her to treat him to a meal as thanks but their attention is diverted by a child carrying a big teddy bear. The mom makes him put it down where he found it and Hoon goes over to pick it up. Suddenly Hoon’s mother calls “son” and walks over to Hoon but then it’s to take the teddy bear and hug it. Hoon asks if the bear is her son but before she can answer the nurse comes to take her away. Hoon’s mom stops and turns back around to look at Hoon one more time. Soo Hyun points out the nurse is taking the patient back to the psychiatry ward. She wonders why Hoon keep staring at that patient but Hoon doesn’t know either.
Chairman Oh and Sang Jin watch PM Jang holding a press conference to annoy which hospital he selected to do his surgery. He didn’t pick Myung Woo Hospital and instead picked First Hospital. Chairman Oh is so angry he tosses his remote control at the TV. The President watches this press conference and smirks evilly.
Park Hoon watches the press conference with Dr. Kim and Dr. Keom and the other two doctors lament the hospital not getting chosen.
Chairman Oh informs Jae Joon that he gets to stay and this matter is now behind them. Soo Hyun wants to know if her dad is forgiving all the doctors who did the surgery and he is forgiving everyone other than Park Hoon. Soo Hyun tries to speak up for Hoon but the Chairman isn’t budging.
Hoon says goodbye to Dr. Moon and thanks him for their time together. Dr. Moon wants his money back and Hoon hands it back all torn up. Dr. Moon gives him a hug and then kisses his money that didn’t get spent.
Hoon is walking away and pauses to stare at Soo Hyun through the mirror. He walks in to get his stuff and Soo Hyun apologizes for not being able to help him stay. Hoon takes out his stethescope and hands it to her before taking his stuff out to leave for good. He pauses to take off his white coat and hands it to Soo Hyun to dispose off. Soo Hyun stares at it and Hoon tells her to keep doing what she’s doing now and she’ll become a good doctor. Soo Hyun wants to convince her dad to let him stay and Hoon says it’s not necessary. Her dad will never let him stay after knowing who he is. Soo Hyun’s confused but Hoon doesn’t elaborate further and leaves.
Hoon runs into Seung Hee in the elevator and his smile disappears. He gets in and presses the button to go down and keeps his back to Seung Hee. He’ll wait for her to tell him what to do next and she agrees. Soo Hyun catches up to Hoon in the lobby and hands him back his white coat to hold because who knows what will happen later. Hoon takes it with a smile and then tosses it into the trash. Soo Hyun picks it back up from the trash and takes it back to her office.
Soo Hyun tries to study but all she can think about is Park Hoon. She imagines seeing him around her and we get multiple minutes of wasted screen time involving Soo Hyun moping about missing Park Hoon. Somebody shoot me. Where’s Comrade Cha when I need him. A bullet to the brain is really appreciated right about now. Soo Hyun is so missing Hoon that she started crying while standing at the nurses station and zoning out. Lovely way to be professional at work, girlie. All that crying and unbridled feelings for a dude you just met a few weeks ago? When over in the other corner is Hoon and Jae Hee having cried over life and death separations of true love.
Soo Hyun walks off and when she sees Jae Joon she runs into HIS ARMS and asks him to hold her for a minute while she cries over Park Hoon. I NOW FUCKING HATE her and her shitty emotional inconsistency.
PM Jang has dinner with Chairman Oh who is not happy that his hospital didn’t get picked. PM Jang assures Chairman Oh that he’s playing the President. He knows the President would have axed his choice so he purposely picked First Hospital but who knew that was also the President’s choice. He tells Chairman Oh not to worry about this, shouldn’t he be more concerned about the other matter? He hands Chairman Oh a file and says their project is going as planned.
Jae Joon visits Hoon at the little clinic and remarks that it’s quite a nice set up. Hoon serves him coffee in a chipped cup and Jae Joon doesn’t mind the lousy cup if the coffee is good. He takes a sip and says this is the worst coffee he’s ever drank. Hoon doesn’t believe him and takes a sip only to spit it out because it’s swill. Jae Joon teases that Hoon’s coffee making skills are clearly not on par with his surgical skills. Hoon cuts to the chase and asks why he’s here?
Jae Joon wants to know why Hoon helped him in the surgery? Hoon asks if Jae Joon stepped in because of the patient? Hoon should have done the surgery to begin with and apologizes for Jae Joon even needing to step in. Jae Joon thanks Hoon for helping and then asks if Hoon helped resolve the lawsuit because of wanting to help him? Hoon did but Jae Joon doesn’t know why since they aren’t very close or anything. Hoon is forced to admit that he helped because he thinks Jae Joon is a good doctor. Jae Joon smiles and invites Hoon out for a drink.
Seung Hee and Soo Hyun are cooking curry and end up with a giant pot. Soo Hyun stares at the giant pot of curry and wonders aloud how far it is to Hoon’s place. Seung Hee asks why and Soo Hyun knows he likes it so wants to share since they made too much. Seung Hee asks if she made so much because she wants to give some to Hoon but Soo Hyun quickly makes the excuse that she saw him eating instant curry the other day and it’s not good for him. She runs off to call Park Hoon while Seung Hee sits there looking really sad.
Jae Joon and Hoon are drinking about how hilarious it is that they are fighting for the right to do PM Jang’s surgery except now Myung Woo has been eliminated from contention just like that. Jae Joon has been curious about how Hoon can be so young and from North Korea yet possesses such great surgical skills. Hoon explains his dad is also a doctor but when Jae Joon asks about his mom Hoon doesn’t want to talk about it. He gets up to go take a leak which is when his phone rings from Soo Hyun calling.
Jae Joon picks up Hoon’s phone and doesn’t have a chance to say anything because Soo Hyun just launches into a tirade about why he took so long to answer and telling him to come over because she made a lot of curry. She asks why he’s not answering? When he left just like that she felt bad so can he come over because she has something to say to him. Jae Joon finally speaks and tells Soo Hyun that he’s out drinking with Hoon who stepped aside. Soo Hyun quickly makes all sorts of excuses and Jae Joon tells Soo Hyun that he’ll pass her call on to Hoon. After Soo Hyun hangs up, Seung Hee asks why she’s so flustered and hears that Jae Joon is out with Hoon. She suggests inviting both guys over to have dinner.
After Hoon gets back, Jae Joon asks what he thinks about Soo Hyun? Hoon laughs and says she’s working hard to become a good doctor. She’s rather cute and when he stares at her sometimes she reminds him of Jae Hee? OH WHAT THE HELL IS THIS SHIT! Jae Joon wonders if Soo Hyun looks like Jae Hee? Hoon says no, he just wishes Jae Hee would be more Soo Hyun when it comes to being a doctor. Park Hoon, maybe if Jae Hee wasn’t dealing with the imminent threat of death ALL THE TIME then she can be a happy little doctor like Soo Hyun. Have you forgotten? Jae Joon asks if Hoon likes Soo Hyun which makes Hoon laugh. Jae Joon wonders about the reverse and Hoon laughs even more about the thought that Soo Hyun likes him.
Hoon keeps laughing about Jae Joon thinking either he or Soo Hyun could like the other. Seung Hee glares at him because it’s clearly not funny. Soo Hyun asks why Jae Joon answered Hoon’s phone and Jae Joon curtly points out that it could be an emergency. Seung Hee tells Hoon to eat up but Hoon is still laughing about how it’s impossible between him and Soo Hyun. He apologizes for dissing her in front of her boyfriend but she’s got violent tendencies and is full of herself. Soo Hyun is not amused and yells at him for assuming she even likes him. She just felt sorry that he got kicked out of the hospital.
Jae Joon tells Soo Hyun that she’s the one acting out now but she just storms off to her room. Seung Hee wants to go talk with her but Jae Joon says he’ll do it. Seung Hee wonders what’s going on since Soo Hyun and Hoon get along at the hospital. Hoon’s face immediately goes cold when they are alone and asks how she knows he likes curry? She wants to know how Soo Hyun knew he likes curry? Seung Hee sighs and tells him to just eat up and looks down sadly.
Soo Hyun is moping in her room upset about how Hoon can just tease her like that. Jae Joon calmly points out that Hoon is always like that and her overreaction is the strange anomaly. Does Soo Hyun like Hoon? Jae Joon suggests Soo Hyun calm down alone and to come downstairs later. After he leaves Soo Hyun gets on her bed and smashes pillows while calling Hoon a bastard and cries. I’m so sorry for Soo Hyun’s character assassination that has turned her into a two-timing whiny bitch.
Jae Joon comes downstairs and notices Seung Hee’s family picture. Talk turns to how their parents aren’t around and Jae Joon wonders if Hoon’s parents are both still in North Korea. Jae Joon asks the name of Hoon’s dad since he must be a well-known surgeon to raise a son like Park Hoon. Jae Joon’s eyes widen to hear that Hoon’s dad is Park Chul. Hoon gets a call from Chang Yi and heads out.
Seung Hee also heads out and meets up with Secretary Kim at the hospital right outside the room Hoon’s mom is being kept in. Seung Hee’s eyes widen to find Hoon’s mother here. Secretary Kim reveals that PM Jang’s orders are for Park Hoon to meet his mother soon.
Jae Joon calls his Chinese buddy to ask him for a favor. He wants Dr. Park Chul located even though the man has been missing for a long time. Jae Joon wonders if maybe he went to North Korea and the friend agrees to help find him.
Jae Joon flashes back to the day of the hearing for the lawsuit. He waits outside the courthouse with his mom but hears that the hearing has been cancelled because Park Chul didn’t show up. They go to Park Chul’s house but no one comes to the door. Jae Joon’s mom collapses right outside the Park residence and dies.
Hoon goes back to his little clinic and he thinks about running into the patient with the big bear outside the hospital waiting for her son. He takes the patient’s mom to bring her back to his room.
Hoon can’t sleep so goes back to his old house. He opens the door and walks inside to find everything completely the same 20 some years later. Riiiight, the magic of preservation at work. Hoon walks into his room and finds a notebook with his mother’s phone number on it. He dials the same number and a woman answers asking if he’s Hoon?
Thoughts of Mine:
I am genuinely sad to see Dr. Stranger heading down the path of complete obliteration. What’s the point of telling a story when nothing matters anymore. The leads are gutted of their personality and motivations and the audience is left splintered by an attempt to cater to fanservice. I don’t care who Hoon ends up with, never really did and definitely don’t anymore. I just wanted to see the story of a strange North Korean doctor who loved one woman to the ends of the world because she was the sole ray of light in his painfully manipulated world. If Jae Hee died in the end, at least Hoon tried to save her, had a chance to love her when she was still alive, did everything he could for his love. What makes Hoon’s entire about turn in this episode towards Seung Hee utterly unpalatable was the reasoning behind it. He blames her for wanting him not to do the surgery?
It’s not Seung Hee who decides whether he can or can’t do the surgery. It’s the powerful people manipulating them, it’s demonic Comrade Cha with a gun lurking behind them. Seung Hee is merely trying to keep Hoon alive, and now I wish she just let him do whatever he wants and deal with the consequences. Hoon’s situation is not the fault of Seung Hee, she is NOT the one keeping him from being a doctor. The powerful North and South Koreans concocting whatever plan are the masterminds, anyone who blames Seung Hee is deluded in thinking she has any agency. She is merely a tool just like Hoon is. If Seung Hee didn’t exist, the powers would still find another way to get Hoon to do their bidding. Seung Hee’s presence is Hoon’s only hope, she is the only thing standing between him and a bullet to the head. She’s actually saved him so many times from Comrade Cha’s gun, and did it again in this episode. What more does this girl have to do to get some love? She’s currently my favorite character for being so badass.
Too bad she loves Hoon too much to call him on his bullshit when he was giving her the guilt trip. Hoon, the man who in earlier episodes also didn’t want to operate on patients and was willing to let them die, is making Seung Hee feel bad about trying to save his life over a dying patient. I DON’T THINK SO ASSHOLE. This Hoon is anathema to me and Soo Hyun can have him for all I care. Seung Hee/Jae Hee deserves better. I feel just as sorry for Jae Joon, a character who didn’t get any character development until the last episode but skyrocketed up the charts in awesomeness. Suddenly he’s calm and the voice of reason and perceptiveness. Soo Hyun is a moron to gloss over Jae Joon for Hoon simply because they goofed around at the hospital and Hoon’s encouraged her before. I’ve always felt Jae Joon’s middle episodes assholery seemed very at odds with the warmth he treated Soo Hyun in the very beginning so it’s a relief to see his character go back to interacting with her with sense and sensibility.
Soo Hyun’s crying fest at the hospital because Park Hoon left was ridiculous and so pathetic. Really? He left the hospital, doesn’t mean he left the country or died. If you miss him that much so see him every day after work. Ugh. And the way she exploded at him after he teased her is totally gormless. I miss the Soo Hyun with a spine and a reason for her temper. Now she’s the epitome of the self-absorbed second female lead. Even Jae Joon tells her to take some time to get a grip on herself. It’s such a shame to see precious screen time wasted on Soo Hyun’s conflicted feelings when there are major mysteries still left unexplained. There is still no movement on the PM Jang heart surgery conspiracy or on whether Seung Hee is confirmed to be Jae Hee. At this point she has to be otherwise why would she care if Hoon lives or dies if she’s just a doppleganger. I think she’s a trained spy and always have been since she met Hoon as a kid but then she really fell in love with him hence all this conflicted identity conundrum.
This episode’s heart surgery voodoo was just as hilarious as all earlier such Hoon magic hands moment. When he reached into the patient’s chest cavity I was rolling on the floor laughing. Next time he can just do a Jedi mind trick and repair the heart without even needing to cut into it. I was surprised at how easily the Chairman changed his mind about firing all those doctors who did the surgery, which goes to show this drama really has no stakes. Like a revolving door at Myung Woo Hospital, no one will ever get fired and people who do get fired come back in the next episode. The patient’s family deciding not to sue was no surprise but then none of the lousy doctors got called to task for their medical misconduct and that’s pretty depressing. Which makes Hoon raking Seung Hee over the coals all the more hissworthy that he takes out his frustrations on her and then toddles off to hang around Soo Hyun. This story keeps acting with zero consistency from good guys to bad guys.
Chairman Oh threatens to fire everyone after the surgery and one convo with Soo Hyun and he’s persuaded to change his mind. Seung Hee’s choice to keep Hoon alive at all costs is evidently so disappointing to Hoon that he’s ready to give the woman he supposedly loves with his entire being the cold shoulder. And don’t even get me started about the unending Soo Hyun-Hoon scenes that have no importance to this story, though it’s at least less nauseating than the scenes with Soo Hyun reminiscing, pining, and moping over Hoon. What happened to her character? Why does she have no emotional urgency other than to spend her time falling for one guy while still leading another on? I used to like her but she’s tanking as much as Hoon is. Watching this episode left me with this lump of coal in my stomach feeling of watching a train derail in slow motion while I just want to save a few good passengers (Seung Hee, Jae Joon, Chang Yi) while I still can. If the screenwriter insists on sticking Hoon with Soo Hyun against all rhyme and reason, then can Seung Hee/Jae Hee please end up with Jae Joon. Pretty please! They can go to the US together and be doctors at Harvard and leave all the cray cray behind.
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I AGREE WITH ALLL THE THINGS YOU WROTE!
Damn I hate Soo Hyun so much, how’s on earth she’s cheating on the nicest guy ever and get caught????
Please don’t give up on recapping, I count on you koala
i can understand why soo hyun hv a feeling for hoon, because for the first time jae joon only want to take over the hospital and beside his revenge, he is falling in love with soo hyun but he try to ignore it… and for soohyun, she try to find some1 who really love her because her mother abandoned her for her good to her cold father. she found it from hoon who’is really caring person. i hope both of soohyun-jaejoon, hoon-jae hee can hv happy ending
same here!!! am just happy to have a person think like me instead of people supporting that idiot soo hyun and hoon and totally ignoring or hating jae hee just because she is in bad situation (irrespective that that situation arised solely due to hoon… dono why many dont get this point…) will really hold that writer in question for wasting my time if he sets up hoon and soo hyun
Miss Koala ,what happened? You must be in a terrible mood from the use of such strong words consistently.
all sane viewers will be like that after watching episode 13. It’s totally sane.
I’m with miss ockoala 🙂
Amber your right, she is overreacting. We don’t even know if that’s really jae hee especially since she is role playing being in danger so that hoon cooperates. Remember when that guy roughed her up in front of hoon and then later you find out she was just acting.
And lets not pretend quacks boyfriend was always the best.
The fact that she’s super angry that jae hee is falsely sacrificing all over and hoon decides instead to be a decent human being. Means that she’s in love with the first love story and can’t see past it.
What if the real jae hee is crying from the grave wishing that hoon would notice its not her?
I’m just curious so humor me. IF Seung Hee is in fact Jae Hee, would folks who ship Soo Hyun with Hoon back off? I’m being sincere and not snarky. If Jae Hee has been in mission mode as Seung Hee to save Hoon’s life this entire time, risking life for her man, would viewers who like Soo Hyun be willing to back off on the shipping and let the couple who love and fight for each other be together? Or would that not matter at all. I just want to know if the whole “maybe Seung Hee is not Jae Hee” argument is merely superfluous and fans of Soo Hyun would ship her with Hoon no matter what is happening in the story.
Lol @ockoala…you must be a fan of jaehee/seung hee..but yes, i 90% think that it is jae hee..but with it being her, i still wouldn’t ship her with hoon..i know that that’s hoon’s first love and all, but genuinely i find soohyun his true love..just think about it “you’re first love may not alway be your,true love..but it will be ok if he ends up with seung hee..but i will always root for soohyun and if not her, i hope hoon and her will be good friends 🙂
@ kk : agree with u…even though seunghee is jaehee, she still not 1st love anymore…well as we can see, she’s not in danger, she just “pretend” to be in danger to keep Hoon in…(Not the opposite, she’s a trained spy anyway) as we can see, she’s not DEAD yet, n she’s really mastered in using guns (so all there is with her is lies)…but she accused Hoon to blame..n using Hoon as her own golden ticket (not the opposite)…so forget her tears, it’s her own problem to solve (owhh Gosh! I’m sick of her play)…n yeah I won’t ship Hoon with Jaehee, I still want Hoon to find his true love with Soohyun, coz Soohyun is his golden ticket to Fly
APPLAUSE! APPLAUSE! I don’t get how people supports Soo Hyun where she’s basically two timing Jae Joon. And Jae Joon genuinely likes her to the point that he’ll give up his revenge(i.e to the point where he’s somewhat doubting himself if he can get through with his revenge plan). And Hoon. What the hell happened to you? Are you blind or just plain dumb to not see how much Jae Hee literally had to bend herself backwards to keep you alive. I’ll just say that PH’s love must not be THAT deep for JH if he thinks it’s all JH’s fault. What a nutcase.
If that’s really jae hee then I’m more than willing
to admit that my hypothesis was wrong but with that said. . . . I STILL DON’T LIKE JAE HEE AFTER SHE GOT OUT OF PRISON!! 😀 lol
She’s so boring to watch, bad acting, fake emotion, blank face.
She seemed so sweet before and now the only thing she does is lie and frown a lot.
When it comes to soo hyen i just want her to chill out and make a choice. I really didn’t like her at first and wanted hoon to stay away from her but then she ended up being a sweetheart and interesting to watch (well. . .except recently) and then jae hee came back and i was happy but the girl has a big problem with telling the truth and thinks secrets are the way to build a loving relationship. Plus we don’t know if it’s really her just yet. I want concrete evidence and even if i get it it won’t matter because released from prison jae hee stanks!
I’m getting a headache from reading this alone.
Koala, I feel exactly the same about this drama.
I dropped this drama some 3 eps ago and only following recaps, but watched Ep 12 cos I read that Jae Joon had a sudden turnabout and becase all kinds of awesome.
I’m also following Baidu thread on this drama and boy is that forum all sorts batshit crazy with stupid CP fanwars and what not.
I’m dropping this drama for good and may FF and ony watch scenes of Jae Joon if he continues to be awesome. I concluded that the writer(s) is probably secretly a PHJ fan cos Jae Joon is just about the only likeable character at this point. Seung Hee/Jae Hee remains too undeveloped for me to form any opinion about her, other than her supposed motivations to protect herself and Hoon.
Oh, and I want to add that the writers of this drama should go watch TK2H to understand how to develop drama characters and a central storyine with genuine stakes.
Thank you so much for expressing exactly how we “sane kdrama viewers” feel, Koala! The episodes seems to get crappier and crappier each time. I think it’s time to throw in the tower. I no longer respect Hoon for the way he treated JH or the crazy writer anymore for his continued fan service. Seung Hee/Jae Hee, don’t finish your mission. Let the lovestruck fool protect Hoon since she’s in his face all the time. I suggest you cuddle up to Jae Joon and leave with him for America. Hoon can rot in SK with the time timer for all I care. So fed up with it.
I meant “Hoon can rot in SK with the two timer for all I call.”
koala don’t worry hoon may look like he is wavering but he is not.
thumb up for you koala… agreed for everythings you said about last night episode..
Thank you, Koala. If you gave up recapping at this point, no one would blame you.
If seunghee can manhandle comrade cha like that, why didn’t she just kill him off. And when comrade cha took her by the neck the previous episodes, she very well could’ve just retaliated.
I don’t care about who hoon ends up with, but I need him to start taking charge of things and the very first thing he has to do is to get jaehee out of the way – we all know she’s obstructing his growth. Probably very badly written, but I guess it was necessary that he finally gets annoyed and pissed off.
We can’t blame soohyun though, it was only until the last few episodes that we know jaejoon really liked her. Same way, soohyun also actually dropped Signs that she didn’t know how jaejoon really felt about her. Though it’s bad of her to be liking hoon (which she doesn’t admit) while she’s technically still with jaejoon, i guess her relationship with jaejoon would never have worked out.
I don’t think this drama is all that bad. Some of the inconsistencies are understandable – if only the writers spent some time developing those, or if it happened way earlier in the show. The constant script revisions and live shooting probably also attributed to the messy. But this almost always happens to kdramas, they get worse towards the end of the drama. I wished they’d do away with this live shooting culture urgh it’s unhealthy.
Gosh, after she got shot and fell to Danube Lake you say she’s obstructing Hoon’s growth????
What’s wrong with you? Why don’t you just for a second think about her position.
Soo Hyun doesn’t know Jae Joon’s feeling? Then? She is his fiancé for God’s sake.
She is cheating, and worse, she even got caught!
I hope one day you will feel the taste of being cheated with someone you love genuinely. Han Jae Joon deserves someone better than that two timing to faced Oh Soo Hyun.
I ship Jae Joon with Jae Hee!
Just let unfaithful Hoon and So Hyun together, hope later they will cheat again like karma. Lol
Fighting Han Jae Joon! Don’t let that girl make you sad! You deserve someone better like Jae Hee, I love you Han Jae Joon!
Aigoo @papryca,,its just waste to argue with the person u can totally absorb with soo hyun quack quack,,don’t waste ur time with these people,,im all for jae hee/seung hee,,she is not crappy & cheating/two timing with other guys,,n my main point is whatever we said,,the other party(soo hyun quack quack like a duck) still blame our jae hee/seung hee for whatever happening to hoon ,,so we should just support our jae hee/seung hee & abandon this quack quack fans,,
Soohyun was never jaejoon’s fiance. Sure, they were in a relationship, but the only time marriage comes up is when her dad tells them they need to get married.
i probably need to clarify this, I’m not a hoon/hyun shipper. I don’t even want hoon to end up with anyone. I want him to move on with his life and I really don’t care about what happens to his love life.
Jaehee getting shot for hoon doesn’t mean that her presence isn’t obstructing his growth as a doctor. While she probably doesn’t mean to hinder him, the fact that she’s there /does/ make him falter, whether we like it or not.
Thank you!! For a second i thought i was the only one who had there eyes open when watching this drama. There is definitely something off with jae hee. Why can’t people see that? It’s probably not even her when you really think about it.
Just watch, all these angry people are gonna feel pretty stupid for not realizing it’s not the same girl. *Not a spoiler, it’s just my rational mind at work and it says that’s not jae hee.
With that said i also like the idea of the quack staying with her boyfriend now that we know he cares.
Any rational person would by now assume that she IS Jaehee. Yea, because it makes plenty sense that a spy cares for Hoon so much that she would put her life on the line to save his ass EVERY SINGLE TIME.
There is definitely something OFF if you could believe that.
If Seung Hee is not Jae Hee, of course she would not kill comrade Cha since he is her spy partner.
But if Seung Hee is Jae Hee, then she can’t kill Comrade Cha either because that would blow her cover as a double agent to the NK. She pretended to be a spy in front of Comrade Cha in order to protect Hoon. If she killed him, another NK agent will gladly took Comrade Cha’s place.
That is true, and since there seems to be an underground subway running directly from the Hospital of Doom to the North Korean spy HQ, it would probably only take a couple of hours to find a replacement for Cha…
so its all abou thoonhyun now…come on dude they still need to get over their first love…how bout jae joon and seung hee ended up together??isnt it better n closer to reality… eventhough the recap is full of hatred towars hoon and soo hyun…im so happy though….seem like i’ll be smiling watching this ep…hoonhyun fighting
Haha, I have yet to watch this episode. I guess I will have to finish it now, I cant wait to see what absurdities the writer has in store for us in order to try and wrap things up.
Whatever u said about hoon-hyun i still ship them together. I actually don’t like the fact that hyun cheating on jae joon like that, but still, rather than seeing crappy acting by jin se yeon as han seung hee, i’d rather choose hoon to end up with soo hyun.
I hate female lead who can’t even lead the drama.
@ sashihara I totally agree.
Look, even if you don’t like the actress, at least have the decency to respect her and don’t bash about how much you hate her. Miss Koala has asked time and time again for the posters here to stop with the actress bashing. I guess you didn’t get the memo or just don’t plain care about following common courtesy.
Puh-lease. Koala herself always bash actors/actresses whom are not her favorites and whom she thinks are bad in acting. So, don’t go all fair objective kind of comment. Bet if today she isn’t fond of Jin Se Yeon (and feel free to say otherwise, koala :P). If today the one who acted is different actress whom she is not favor with, her comments might even worse than what her commentors did and can go on and on.
It’s ridiculous to me that people rather watch a drama ruin itself with bad writing just because of an actress they hate.. OOOKAY there…
@ anon – it is ridiculous, but people do it all the time, just take Heirs for example. And if you read the comments on some sites, like Drama Fever, this is “the best drama ever” – often said by people that admit they are not following the plot but are in it for the eye candy.
@ sashihara : agree with u…me too…I still ship soohyun with Hoon…but for now I can’t consider soohyun being two timing…even though Jaejoon is her fiancee, they were arranged by Hyun’s father…n Jaejoon’s feeling for her is not completely genuine, he approached her coz her own ambition,…actually, Hoon n Soohyun are both in the same position: being fooled, played, swayed, n as bad guys target (using love as an excuse)
After watching JSY take down Xomrade Cha in that scene you can’t call her acting crappy. There was a spark there that showed she can become better.
Look, i’m sorry for everyone if u think i’m bash ur favorite actress 🙂
it’s not pure bash, though. It’s more like criticsm to Jin Se Yeon acting. I critic her because she’s the female lead, unfortunately with bad acting. If she’s only supporting actress, i wouldn’t mind to her bad acting.
everyone can have their opinion, right?
@olive
yep, it’s actually make sense 🙂
@luna
Forgive me, but that scene didn’t really capture my eyes. Yes, she looks better but still bland imo.
ugh – this drama needs a miracle to turn it around.
I like Soo Hyun with Hoon. Clearly Hoon has NO future with spy girl who is helping to hide his mother. No matter how many times she save Hoon, she is still also responsible for bringing danger to his door step!
Jae Joon clearly took too long to express any real affection for Soo Hyun. By the time he figured it out, she had already moved her heart to the light hearted Hoon.
I’m also not a fan of the crying Soo Hyun did in this segment. However, there are people in the world that can be very spot on when it comes to business and falls apart when they have to deal with their emotions. That being said, the only strong woman figure in this drama is now Chang Yi.
All the doctors kissing and making out in every part of the hospital is winning NO AWARDS! All the contest to save patients is also NOT winning any points. Why is this hospital and political areas bleeding with N-Korean spy’s. Why should we find this interesting? Who the heck are the good guys?
Writer figure it out. Stop wasting excellent talent with a half baked storyline.
Show us the good guys. Show us why we want to watch this drama to the end.
AND most importantly – – – DO NOT make Ms Koala angry.
May I need to remind you that JH DIDN’T KNOW that they were keeping PH’s mom locked up. She just KNEW it in this ep. I’m not sorry to say this but did you see how MANY TIMES “spy girl” saved PH’s weak ass? Fine, I say JH to leave him and to finally lets Agent Cha shoot PH. I NEVER SAW ONCE THAT SOO HYUN TRIES TO SAVE PH.
JH is TOO good for PH anyway.
AGREEEEE!!!!
Jae Hee is too good for Hoon, too good for real.
Just let him be with that poker face Soo Hyun the master of cheating and get caught all the time.
then let agent cha shoots both of them, yes! Just let Agent Cha shoots Soo Hyun and Hoon.
So Jae Joon and Jae Hee can move on and live their lives. After that?
Maybe they move to US just like koala said, be doctor on Harvard.
Happy ending!
Danger was “coming to his doorstep” whether SH-JJ was involved or not.
She’s a spy but she’s also LEVERAGE and not the only one the dark side has to use on Hoon (see his mother).
Jang’s surgery thing doesn’t make sense but NONE of what’s happen is Seung Hee’s fault.
LOL – I don’t comment much, but I have to say that this is the first time I have seen our Cuddly Koala go totally berserk on a drama. 😀
The sad thing is, I think she was being kind to it with the “piece of shit” comment… 😛
Dropped this drama 2 eps ago and boy so glad I did. I am still reading Ms Koala’s recap though, just to find out how bad it will go.
Wow, your seriously frustrated and regardless of what you say about the shipping you’ve obviously chosen a side. . .Hoon and jae hee and that’s cool but did you ever consider that it might not even be her.
I think she died in the north like the old lady said. Your one of those people who get stuck in that first love kinda story and ignore rational., park hoon wouldn’t be a decent person if he aloud that woman to die for the sake of his maybe girlfriend.
I for one like the drama and I’m glad they’re starting to tie up loose ends now instead of later. I’ve watched tons of dramas so i expect never to be 100% pleased so if you really can’t stand it then you should give it up especially since its causing you So much anguish. Jae hee is probably gonna end up the enemy and also not being his girlfriend from the past.
He’ll fall in love with the quack, which i totally applaud. I didn’t like that idea at first but she’s adorable and fake jae hee always has an attitude problem unless she wants hoon to do her bidding. (Meaning the norths bidding)
I understand, there’s nothing wrong with dropping a drama because your ship doesn’t look like it’s gonna sail all the way. You’ll just suffer if your not open minded. The realism really jumped out the window when that north Korean spy guy was walking around the hospital like it’s no big deal. It’s really not worth being mad over and you don’t want to regret not stopping when you had the chance.
The real jae hee was a sweetheart, if this imposter is not her that would mean she’s really a conniving bad word.
I think jae hee told him not to forget her for a reason. . . Possibly because she had a feeling or knowledge that she would get switched out or get brain washed.
This is all just my opinion based on what I’ve seen so far. Who agrees? 🙂
Let me politely disagree with you. If Seung Hee was indeed a fake then why the HELL would she waste her PRECIOUS ENERGY trying to save Park Hoon’s pointless life? TIME and TIME again, she shows that she truly cares for PH. And it’s not like she’s enjoying being bossed around by NK and Agent Cha. She obviously didn’t want to do Agent Cha’s order and she’s desperately trying to buy some time to keep PH alive. And for some reason, PH is blind to all of JH’s work.
@ lorda i think jae hee is working on him, not for or with him. You totally ignored my theory that its probably Not the real jae hee. I think she keeps hoon alive so that they can complete their mission.
What about her pretending to be held hostage? Maybe she has a reason or maybe she just isn’t the genuine article. I think poor jae hee died in the north but we’ll see.
I loved hoon and jae hee but if this chick isn’t her then that couple no longer exist and fake jae hee is a bad guy. Right?
Open your mind Quad. . . Lol
I’m joking, that’s a quote from total recall and thanks for being nice about it.
If it’s the real jae hee then she has some explaining to do for me to trust her and then i can come back on board that ship. If not then its hoon and quack all the way but i don’t want any cheating. Even though she is kinda already emotionally cheating :-\
Hoon will never leave jae hee as long as its the real one.
I disagree.
There is no MORE mission to complete, in fact their mission failed, TWICE already. Yet, every single time Jaehee keeps stopping Comrade Cha from getting rid of Hoon. For what? The mission is OVER. CAPUT.
Lol, I don’t even know what their mission was. This is how DS is a crazy train heading to nowhere. They chose to air pointless fanservices episodes instead of fleshing out their characters especially JH/Seung Hee and revealing some much needed info. They dragged “is she or is she not” plot to the point where it’s simply annoying. I’d say let Agent Cha shoot Park Hoon so it can knock some sense into that thick skull of his.
Lol i bet you anything the missions not over.
😀
We don’t even know what the mission is but we do know fake jae hee desperately wants to complete it. Wouldn’t it make more sense to kill NK guy instead of firing warning shots? If that doesn’t scream accomplice or fake jae hee then i don’t know what does. I’m rarely wrong when it comes to drama except empress ki.
Either 1. this isn’t jae hee 2. she’s now or always has been a north Korean spy.
If anything everybody fell in love with hoons devotion to jae hee and not necessarily them as a couple. Old Jae hee said maybe 15 words all together. I hope she died sweet and innocent rather than being this manipulative secretive person who always looks and acts sheisty.
Separate or together I’m rooting for hoon and quack. They just have the better personalities.
Yeah kill COmrade Cha so that the entire NK will get on their ass and drop them to the deepest end of the Pacific.
You cannot even give a single good rationale why she is protecting Hoon, to complete the mission? Yeah, kay. I would save the pseudo-clairvoyance for something else.
@riel I can’t argue with you since you’re obviously a quack. It’s pointless and waste of my energy and no matter what I say or point out some evidence, it’s not going to change your perception. It’s true; all you guys do is QUACK.
Aww. . . That’s mean 🙁 but all i can say is we’ll see what happens. I know it looks like she saved him but if you want to ride a horse to get to where your going you would save it wouldn’t you? Especially if its the only horse that can get you there.
Being a quack sounds kinda cute. 🙂
Let’s enjoy the show and debate the nonsense til the end. Cheers. 😉
Everyone see things different. I just can’t see JH doing all the things just for Hoon. It don’t quite add up to me. What’s with all the attack on SH? Feelings are something that one can’t control..also, not like JJ dated her at first b/c he loves her. Get a grip people!
lmao feelings in a drama are manufactured by the writer. And this one is doing a 180 in the most crappy and unbelievable way possible!
I cannot seriously see her doing all of this just because of a mission. She’s got to be the most insolent agent if ever there is one, to keep disobeying her direct superior for her faux-patriotism.
I like you Koala so don’t stress yourself too much! You might not make it alive before this drama ends, so take it easy. 😀
Annnnyyyywayyy, I’m actually surprised that I’m not as incensed as you are Koala, I completely understand your sentiments, but perhaps I’ve lost so much interest for this show for it to even generate any strong response from me, be it despise or ecstasy. I’ve lost faith for it to ever make sense again. This has been reduced to all about fan pandering, and might as well make fun of it as much as possible as we can; at least we’re going to enjoy ourselves some more that way.
Among the other shortcomings such as plot ambiguity and inconsistency, what strikes me the most though is the lack of stakes, as you mentioned Koala, that everything just seem so trivial that it’s impossible to take this drama seriously. For that, I just wish that Comrade Cha would have just drilled a bullet or two into Hoon just to make him FEEL the gravity of the situation that he is in. From Jaejoon disobeying every order that Chairman Oh gave, only to get a slap in the wrist, and from Hoon disobeying Comrade Cha’s orders, and him only end up with, I don’t know, his LIFE still intact, there is completely zero accountability that anyone can just do anything that they please. I’m just like you Koala, so sick of Seunghee saving Hoon’s skull from the receiving end of Comrade Cha’s barrel, one, two, three times now from my counting, that it has become a recurring theme of Hoon’s impenetrable plot armor, that it becomes laughable for him to even threaten him. In effect that makes both villains (Comrade Cha and PM Jang) as rather toothless and they end up becoming a comic relief instead.
As for the character assassination of Soo Hyun. Hahahaha, goodbye rootable second female lead, you were good while you lasted.
I can’t help it, recapping requires I invest my attention to details and when every single detail DOES NOT FUCKING MAKE SENSE in this episode, how am I supposed to remain nonchalant?
I also want Hoon shot by Comrade Cha. Not a dying wound, mind you, but a real consequence of his continuing to disobey commands. Seung Hee is trying to keep Hoon from the receiving end of a silencer and all she gets is “I’m so disappointed in you blah blah blah” morality lecture that makes no sense since Hoon himself has patently chosen before to let patients die before conveniently changing his mind.
I hate to call my once-beloved Hoon a hypocrite, but he’s currently the biggest hypocrite in North and South Korea combined. Add him to emotionally cheating Soo Hyun and I say that ship can sail for all I care.
I really hate to say this, but alot of this would have never become an issue if Seung Hee had just told Hoon what was going on right at the start. He knows how to keep his mouth shut and then they could have worked together. She didn’t even have to admit who she really is or isn’t as the case may be. It still would have worked as a drama and maybe a little better than what they are trying to shove down our throats at this point.
I love your recap & insight about this drama koala-san! Such a waste for this drama. It started so strong in episode 1 & 2 then until now its all over place. Hoon that I love before, right now is such a bratty child and Soo Hyun that can kick ass is such a whiney one that only cares about her own happiness (Ouch actually it started in long long episode when she asked herself and jealous Hoon’s the type of love and then turn out to be like this eww). Such a downgrade & inconsistency development from both party. Hoon & Soo Hyun right now is not deserve both JH/HSH and Jae Joon. How I wish after this episode both JH/HSH or JJ will have a better partner (and they can together run away to US, leaving bratty one behind lol). But I guess love is something you should fight for, no? Still seven episode to go and I’m already tired and not expect a good thing for this lousy and loony drama. I’ll see today episode tho to see how the show will go forward. A writer that follow majority of fan’s wishes is not a good resume in my book and his integrity as a writer should be questioned.
The writer of Marry Him If You Dare (Mirae’s Choice) pulled the same shit stunt bc some fans liked the second male lead. I can’t even blame KBS or SBS or MBC because all the networks did it at some point or another. Writing integrity does not exist in live-filmed dramas that cave to ratings pressure. It’s like a choose your own ending chapter book and at the end of each chapter there is a new twist to see what works.
Thank you, i hated that drama but not for the same reason. That’s why i just asked my sister’s how it ends. I stopped completely, i felt so relieved. That’s why it’s good to stop watching when you get that beyond angry feeling. I’m still not happy about miraes choice but i did want her to get with the second male lead but only watched til episode 8. I hated her future husband, i wish i could go back in time and warn myself about my ex. How dare she waste that opportunity even though she doesn’t actually make a choice from what i heard. And here i am today thankful i didn’t continue.
Let me ask you this, what if that’s not jae hee? The synopsis says that the actress plays two different characters.
I loved the original couple too but if that’s not really her and they explain why without gaps what will you think then? I’m actually rooting for jae joon and quack or hoon and quack. Don’t like new fake jae hee.
Plus can you explain new jae hee to me. She looks an accomplice not a victim. Thanks for the recap, it’s my first time checking it out.
Miss ockoala, I love your objective recal.
please don’t stop, and just don’t take anything seriously..
I mean don’t with Voldemort and her follower around you, they might eat you alive like they do to script writer and JSY.
And I’m a fan of Han Jae Joon. So like yoj, I hope he can leave that 2 timing You-Know-Who and live a happy life with Jae Hee
Then agent cha can kill Hoon, oh and You-Know-Who jumps from hospital and dies because both guys leave her
Sorry for not sorry being evil,
I just can’t stand it lol..
Sad , because the same writer of Mi-Rae’s Choice wrote the awesome K2H.
so much anger in one post hahaha~ this drama is officially in crazy land but I still like it. didn’t like Soo Hyun moping around but I still like her, even better with Hoon. I’ve come to realize that I’ll still ship them even if it makes no sense. it is what it is.
I haven’t even watched this episode yet and I feel just like you about every thing you just wrote, Koala. I find it funny with the replies that are in favor of Soo-Hoon ship aren’t even realizing or caring how the writers took a strong & confident Soo Hyun and made her a pitiful and over emotional Soo Hyun for the sake of Park Hoon. Instead they are focusing on the strong language and emotions of your article, they missed your important points of they are no longer concentrating on the original storyline and the character development is shot to hell. This drama no longer makes sense as if really did after episode 4.
It’s not much of a story anymore when it seems the show is now just invested in who Hoon “ships”. I could careless who he ends up with. I want completed story lines that make sense. We are no closer to finding out what the heck is going between N.Korea and Premire Jang, why is it necessary that Hoon does Jang’s surgery, why was Park Hoon’s dad responsible for the lawsuit when it seems that he didn’t do Jae Joon’s father surgery, is Seung Hee really Jae Hee, where is Jae Hee if Seung Hee isn’t Jae Hee, what was the real reason why Soo Hyun was given to her dad and why couldn’t she stay in contact with her mother? So many story lines but all the noise has been about a “shipping war”
Well duh, it’s all about building a love story lol jk. This drama left reality a long time and i don’t think it’s coming back but like you i actually do care about the story and want everything to make sense by the end.
Lol Voldemort and Death Eaters are every where…
Just let it be, take your Hoon so he can be with that cheating Hyun.
And let my faithful Jae Joon happy with faithful Jae Hee.
That’s all…
I love Han Jae Joon and dislike his situation being cheated with that poker face girl who must not be named. LOL
Lol umm I’m not voldemort right?
Come on we don’t have teams or anything. I just like debating the drama.
I come here to talk about our thoughts, feelings and speculations. We can disagree, that makes it interesting and opens us up to new ideas and possibilities.
So let’s continue in a cool way. 🙂
I’m thankful koala tolerates my opinion and has also given me things to think about while making me laugh at the same time.
I am jumping on the new but small ship: Chang Yi & Hoon.. LOL. At least that is one female that seems to still have some sense and strength.
Totally agree with you Koala! Soo angry with this episode!! Jae hee is carrying the world at her shoulders to get scolded by Hoon in the end. So unfair!!! Come on writers!! Dropping this shit. first time commenting. sorry for my poor english.
It’s all because Voldemort and friends have taken control the writer lol…
Just let it be
Now my only hope is Jae Joon be happy with JH.
And Hoon can die (maybe being shot by agent Cha), Soo… eh Voldemort is so sad because both guys leave her, so she jumps from hospital and die
Although Hoon and Voldi die, at least Jae Joon and Jae Hee are happy.
Yess I’m so into Jae Joon right now.
ep. 14 seung hee is jae hee and she will kidnapped hoons mother life of park hoon is so fuck up give him a break… and seung hee is being a douch for making hoon the stupid follower of her. the hell tell him what’s happening include him in this conspiracy. i’m looking forward for episode 14
I wish you have a LIKE or AWESOME button that I can just click. You have written everything that I want to say, only better and more expressively. Please do continue with recaps for this insane drama as I need someone (like you) to talk about the drama the way it should be viewed and criticised, the good and the bad. Thank You,ockoala.
I needed that encouragement, so thank you. Recapping this drama is an exercise in making sense out of nonsense.
Wow! I’ve been an avid reader of your recaps but I feel you’re just too obsessed with the first-love thing, Koala. Seunghee is not saving Hoon. Her arrival in Hoon’s life in episode 3 makes his life more difficult as a doctor. Even at this point of the story, the writers haven’t fully confirmed yet if indeed she is Jae-hee. Thus, it is presumptuous to conclude that she’s taking the bullet for Hoon and he is a heroine.
I’ve been watching her character since episode 1 but there’s no instance that she and Hoon had accomplished something together. Jae-hee or Seunghee’s character is badly written. That’s the very reason why a lot of people are not shipping her tandem with Hoon.
Soo hyun is too selfish in my eyes..she already has jae joon who loves her faithfully and she still chases hoon..it’s unfathomable how can SOME people say that her actions are all right…and what’s with those unnecessary crying scenes and throwing tantrum like a 5 year old who didn’t get her candies..seriously annoying like HELL…i pity kang so ra. Her character as soo hyun was fine beford but then now since QUACKERS only care to see more of their Quack couple on the screen rather than watching the story as a whole..and keep on asking for their screentime pathetically..her character has gone down the drain. The independent soo hyun before is now just a useless moppy whiny damsel in distress…what a waste..thanks to those fans that want too much of fans service..soo hyun is just another useless bimbo ish character…
Ugh, exactly. People keep coming up with excuses, but I just feel like people only care about the people they think are cute together ending up together, and not the logicality of how the mutual romance is developed.
I won’t comment on Soo Hyun’s character herself, because I won’t blame her for falling for Hoon although she’s in a relationship with Jae Joon, since sometimes it really just does happen. But Hoon?? Sorry I can’t buy it as a logical development. But I just think the development of this Hoon-Soo Hyun romance doesn’t work and the writers are just simply forcing it right now.
It’s just really disappointing too when a lot of us were anticipating this show before its broadcast.
You always say you don’t care about shipping in the drama and all. I am with you when you say the director to develop the other parts but through reading your recaps you sound like you want to “force” (maybe the word is too strong) people not to ship Soo Hyun and Hoon. Sorry but each time I read your review I feel that deep down you care for ship and you chose yours. Till now we have no serious confirmation she is Jae Hee and even though she is maybe people shipping SooHyun and Hoon feel that the former can give Hoon new thing and heal his heart by showing her world and a less stressed life and Hoon can show a lot of things to SooHyun. I understand why SooHyun loves Hoon now and why people ship them (in this case one can blame the screenwriter for too many ambiguous scenesbesides Hoon gave her what she was lacking with JJ). Attraction does not take necessarly time
You just hit the nail.
This is absolutely what I mean when it’s frustrating to see people encourage the pairing of Hoon and Soo Hyun. Like at what is happening to the quality of this drama. Absolutely makes no sense and just a huge mess. I agree, MIGHT AS WELL JUST SWAP PAIRINGS and Jae Hee can end up with Jae Joon!
I am not picking this drama back up ever again if this drama doesn’t fall back into place, which I’m seriously doubting.
Good job drama, good job….
People need to stop bringing up that it’s not confirmed whether Seung Hee isn’t Jae Hee or not. IT DOESN’T MATTER. Because to Hoon, it’s CONFIRMED TO HIM. Jesus christ.
Yeah okay, Jae Hee hasn’t accomplished anything with Hoon? What has Soo Hyun really done with him? And Jae Hee and Hoon have a history that the audience doesn’t get to see. Keep in mind they’ve been together for YEARS since they were kids, and NOT LITERALLY just TWO EPISODES… -___-
Regardless, I think it’s way obvious the writing of this drama is going downhill and lacks logic. Doesn’t matter who you ship, Koala is right in regards to Hoon being angry at Seung Hee/Jae Hee for something not in her control…
Yeah, sure, attraction can happen anytime, but SooHyun-Hoon shippers just choose to forget that the history is too deep to just RANDOMLY throw away…
But you can’t force people not to ship SH and Hoon (maybe blame the screenwriter for this) because there were too many scenes which lead to SH falling for Hoon and people seeing chemistry between them first Love or not !! People will like the couple let’s accept it like that.
I am not FORCING anyone to do anything. I’m simply stating my opinion that I think shipping this couple = supporting bad writing. They can ship whoever they want. I just don’t agree with it. Because I am not one to watch a drama and just care about who ends up with who. I care about how the drama/love line is developed, and right now, it’s not making any sense.
And I never said that the shippers don’t want to see other parts make sense, I’m solely complaining about the love line, since the basis of this story is LARGELY involved with the love story… =_=
And let’s stop assuming that people who ship the other couple don’t want to see the other parts of the storyline, namely the discovery of the mission and everything else, develop and making sense. Sorry but I find this way of think a lil bit pretentious.
If I didn’t think the current writing was nothing more than fan pandering on a show that lacks even internal logic. If the drama was better written overall there might be some interesting character stuff in Hoon lashing out at Seung Hee about the kind of doctor he is.
His love for her lead him to do some really horrible things (his choices, his fault not hers btw) and now he’s in another situation where he has do something morally wrong but finds he just can’t.
But that’s not what this drama’s doing this is all about how Seung Hee is wrong trying to keep them alive and how once upon time she was just like Soo Hyun.
None of the ships have pulled me in so I’m stuck being really confused by recent developments.
i can’t say anything more than you do.
I totally like Seung hee’s character after the female in all the drama in Korea these days always ‘damsel in distress’. I like how Seung hee work her ass so hard for Hoon. But this guy aka Hoon really really stupid and unsensitive man in this drama.
When i watched this drama, i thought it will have many twists and i really don’t care about the romance in this drama.
But many fans just care about who will be Hoon’s girlfriend.
I really get confused how could the scriptwriter mess this story????
I was rooting for Hoon and Jae Hee at the start of the series because it was touching to see the length Hoon would go to save her. And I only watched that 2 episodes and relied on recaps the rest of the series. But right now at episode 13 recap, I honestly don’t feel anything for this pairing. Moreover, if we are to look at this pairing logically we know how they simply don’t work. Hoon was a teen when he was madly in love with Jae Hee. At the time, he only had eyes for her and when she was taken away from him so suddenly, it only intensified his feelings. After the death of his father and the things Hoon had to do at the North to survive, we can really see that he has nothing to live for other than the thought of seeing Jae Hee again. Hence she became his source of obsession and his direction in life. Clearly, by the time Hoon is in South, his motive of finding Jae Hee isn’t really love anymore but obsession. And he was only in love with the idea of Jae Hee as visible when Soo Hyun asked why he liked Jae Hee and his answer was ‘because it’s Jae Hee’, that’s why Seung Hee doesn’t fit into his painted image of Jae Hee. This is where the crack is visible. Seung Hee may be the real Jae Hee, operating on secret mission to save Hoon but she failed to salvage this relationship. Seung Hee, unlike Jae Hee in Hoon’s eyes is secretive and willing to use anyone (despite her conscience) to achieve her goal. That’s why I can understand his change of attitude towards Seung Hee. And let’s be honest people, the only time they seemed like a couple was back in episode 1 & 2.
Hoon and Soo Hyun on the other hand, I see how this pairing develop their chemistry over the course of this series. I don’t get why everyone is so work up simply when Hoon is interacting more with Soo Hyun. How long can we rely on flashback to assure us of Hoon’s feeling for Jae Hee? I think it’s perfectly normal that Hoon now starting to realize there’s more to life than Jae Hee and he can save lives instead of putting them to danger for the sake of one woman, who doesn’t even seem like the woman he used to love. I think one poignant scene in this episode was the reflection of Seung Hee and the image of Jae Hee in Hoon’s laptop, it was as if to strengthen the fact that the two girls may be the same girl but not in his eyes, at least not anymore. That’s why this pairing is really over and paved way for Hoon and Soo Hyun instead. I think Soo Hyun, instead of being bitchy and two timing is more honest with her feelings. I think that’s why Hoon reacted that way in this episode. I think he realized her pull and he wanted to stop it knowing she has Jae Joon and he has Seung Hee. Now I can’t wait to see Hoon and Soo Hyun end up together. This is my only reason sticking to this drama.
touché! nicely said. kekeke~
Wow 🙂 That’s what i call breaking it down. That’s very perceptive and you pointed out things i haven’t thought of.
Makes me curious if you have a degree in psychology.
@ mary : u’ve read my thoughts..hehehehehe….that’s what I’ve been trying to say too…Hoon can’t just hanging with the lovely 1st love for the rest of his life, but he needs to move on with another free life..(Admit it, North n South are different…different mind set, different lifestyle..etc) Hoon belongs to South since he was born (look how appealing n different he was when he still in North)…Jaehee’s mission is to make Hoon “North”…but that mission was falling apart after Hoon took his foot back in South, n Hoon grows…Hoon realized there is more to life then just his image of Jaehee…Hoon’s eyes now try to open wide…Soohyun too, she’s now trying to find her own streght n her worth…arrhhhkkk, common!!Jaejoon was just using her!…for me, Seunghee is the bitch for making everything is a game of death for her
I totally agree with you 110%. A lot of airtime wasted on Dr Oh. Let’s get Park Hoon, Jae Hee plot back on track!
I’m continuing to follow this just to see how this hot mess gets cleared up. Or not.
But yeah, this recap raised all my questions and confusions and irritations.
I quit watching this about 5 episodes ago, but the recaps are getting funner and funner. What is also fun is to watch or read the recaps for the first couple of episodes and compare it to the plot now. Just for example, the mom that lived in America and did not care what happened to him or his dad, but she had a nervous breakdown, dementia, and probably acid reflux over him missing, and she is now in the same hospital. Yeah, that all makes sense. 😛
The only sane person in this whole show is Bottle Girl. If the show had a dog, it would be schizo.
And dead. Don’t forget dead.
Koala I love you!!! This drama is crazy and I’m truing to hold on but Hoon just pissed me off this episode and Soo Hyun has become more annoyig I feel like all she does in cry and mope. Applause to Seunghee/JaeHee’s badassery and JaeHoon for stepping up to become a real doc.
Let’s not root for anybody for now. I believe the script has turned more interesting. How I would deconstruct the story plot:
a). The Test of Character
It’s like superheroes. Before they could be, they need to sacrifice something despite having to be the superhero. In this episode, we can see the sacrifices made by different heroes. Jae Joon sacrificing his dream of revenge which is a moving and touching aspect since he could have turned down the case and yet because of his past, he went ahead. Because of that, instead of just wanting to win (as in the 1st part) he has stepped into being the real doctor he was supposed to be, unlike Chairman Oh and their predecessors who are just interested in money making.
As for Dr Park Hoon, it is also an interesting sacrifice. Despite all the stakes on hand, being the “superhero” he is supposed to be, he could just watch as the surgery goes awfully wrong (bearing in mind they did an On Pump, not Off Pump – On Pump CABG reduces the risk of complications after a surgical error unlike Off Pump since Off Pump might cause stroke, etc. Besides when a there is a cardiac tamponade due to iatrogenic trauma, you need the heart beating to ensure that suturing on the leaking stent is properly done up). Instead, he became the superhero once again to save the patient. It is like watching Dark Knight and how there was only an option to save the woman he loves or Harley (two face) and eventually, Batman had to choose to save Harvey instead of the woman he loves. A sacrifice “Super hero” makes. Dr Park Hoon was ready to make that move, knowing that as a doctor he is called to do so.
b). The consequences of decisions
When Seung Hee decided not to assist, Park Hoon could understand her decision given Comrade Cha’s threat. Nevertheless, it was the aftermath of Park Hoon saving the patient and how Seung Hee reacted that was pivotal in his major disappointment with her. Which explains why Park Hoon decides to swing over to Dr Oh, seeing that Dr Oh is a more real doctor than who Seung Hee is. In fact, he even pointed out that he doesnt know her anymore and wished it was the “old” her because the old her would have wanted him to be a real doctor. Remember a few episodes ago, she complimented Park Hoon on being a real doctor and that was a touching move for him. Now, suddenly she was flipping the other way, knowing that he didnt volunteer at first but had to do so, when the patient was dying. His disappointed with her was clear.
Now, let’s examine Seung Hee’s response. Was there a sacrifice on her side? Yes there is. We might not see it, we might take her to court and be angry with her, but she has also ultimately sacrificed. So, her ultimate sacrifice here was not about making things right anymore (fact that she told Comrade Cha not to question her decision), but the fact that she had to be a different Jae Hee than who she was. That sacrifice was a “heroic” sacrifice in a “dark manner”, where she tries to protect Park Hoon, only to slowly lose him in the process, which led to her anger against Comrade Cha.
c). The cunning aspect of characters
So, the plot thickens but it gets clearer as well. Each party is putting in their safety deposit. Premier chooses the hospital he wants, knowing President will choose the other hospital which Premier knows he has bad records of the hospital. The NightShade Kim starts to bring the mother into the hospital, to “reunite” the mother and son, as a safety deposit in case Park Hoon wants to make stupid decision. North Koreans are putting their safety deposit in when they decide they are going to operate on the premier, but based on Episode 14 recap (I’ve not seen it yet, just read it-since the sub version is not out yet as of now) of what Seung Hee shares with Park Hoon, their interest is to operate on the President, which in not many words, they want to indirectly control South Korea either by making friend with the president or either disposing off the president to promote the Premier who is more friendly to the North Koreans in giving money. Either way, they are controlling South Korea indirectly, but I believe it is more likely the latter situation, as you can see that Premier is also power hungry and can’t wait to rise up to the highest position. If it is an earlier situation, North Koreans are just preparing for the worst case if Premier decides not to honor his part of the deal?
Just some script errors which I believe is illogical:
a). Please shoot that crap bad ass off.
Seung Hee could just do that with Comrade Cha but instead what did she do? Shoot around him? WTF?? They could be free after that, unless Premier Jang who is part of this deal, could also be helping North Koreans which means that as long as both Seung Hee and Park Hoon are in the region (North/South Korea, China, Russia, etc) they are not safe from the “communist” hands.
b). Medical Ethic Errors
Most doctors dont behave the same way as the doctors in this show. Doctors are required to save lives (above competition and personal issues) but in this series here, doctors are running around like cowboys, which makes an unnecessary negative impression on doctors.
So I was reading the above comments. If we are all into K-fans, love fans and etc, I believe this story line is not all about that. Gotta read in between the lines.
I believe that this is like a “superhero” show and I wont be surprised if further sacrifices will be made soon. Between Seung Hee and Dr Oh, the sacrifice is gonna be a 50-50 % for now. Seung Hee could have died saving the whole pack, in return for other people’s happiness, especially Dr Park Hoon and Dr Oh. That would be a very meaningful sacrifice. Jae Hee might “pass” Dr Park Hoon to Dr Oh.
Retrospectively, Dr Oh could also sacrifice, considering that she is falling for Dr Park Hoon. Besides, her father is one of the evil guy and the reason why we came to this part of the show. So, her sacrifice could be important to turn the table against her father and assist Dr Park Hoon. In return, Dr Park Hoon gets to be with Seung Hee.
Which leads to Jae Hoon. What would his role be? I believe it is to take down the Chairman Oh and hospital eventually.
@ockoala:i agree with you..when she was choosen to do a mission..that means she was trained to use a gun…i think it was jae hee..because if you ‘re stil remember the schene when soo hyun asked about how hoon met jae hee and hoon’s answer was quite harsh actually.look at seung hee’s reaction.it shows that SHE’S JAE HEE…and also..seung hee’s sacrifies is just like a piece of trash to hoon…btw i won’t never ship soo hyun with hoon…i just hate her character..mopping around hoon??WHATT??i hate hoon’s character that not stick just for one person..he changes his heart quite easily..anyway..hoon and soo hyun is suck in this ep..now..i’m frustated with hoon..
i miss the first ep and hoon’s hairstyle when he was a successful doctor in north korea…so manly
Everyone, in reality we must all accept that “First love is not always your true love” . I for one can attest that. My husband is not my first love buy definitely he is my one best and true love. Anything can happen as life rolls along. The things of the youth tends to change as there is nothing constant in this world.