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Doctors: Episode 18

Setting up proper revenge requires a whole lot of patience and hatred. It’s not easy to let go of resentment, though it is quite easy to let that resentment overwhelm your life. While Ji-hong can’t instill into Hye-jung the wisdom that only time can teach, he embraces her faults and her imperative to seek fair punishment. And through his support, he’s reminded of the natural course of justice and karma.

 

 
EPISODE 18 RECAP

Young Ji-hong waits outside a bank to confront his uncle about selling his house. The house belonged to Ji-hong’s parents, but Uncle justifies the sale by telling Ji-hong that it’s just compensation for him providing as Ji-hong’s guardian for the past year. Uncle has no remorse and says that he’s done enough.

Years later, Uncle finds Ji-hong working in the hospital as an intern. He found Ji-hong’s information through the orphanage and says that he’s at the hospital for dialysis treatment. With a regretful tone in his voice, he tells Ji-hong that his father would be proud and that he knew Ji-hong would be fortunate. As Uncle walks away, Ji-hong watches him silently with tears welling up in his eyes. He narrates: “I had once dreamt of revenge — killing everyone and myself. But there is such a thing as karmic justice, and at the center of that is not me, but the world.”

We return to Hye-jung and Ji-hong’s tense disagreement about revenge and living in the present. They’re stuck at an impasse, so they decide to stop arguing. Ji-hong notes that they’re arguing about their different perspectives and leaves for the night.

At the hospital, the residents nervously wait for Kang-soo to wake up. Tae-ho joins them just as Kang-soo wakes up, so he checks his vision. At first, Kang-soo only comments on Kyung-joon’s voice, but he soon follows up with a compliment about Tae-ho’s tie. Everyone breathes a sigh of relief, knowing that Kang-soo’s vision was not impaired from the surgery, and Tae-ho leaves their maknae with a wink.

Hye-jung looks over Grandma’s medical records and thinks back to her discouraging encounters with the lawyers, Myung-hoon, and Ji-hong. She rips up the records and cries with an intensity in her gaze.

The next morning, Director Jin and Myung-hoon discuss their game plan to convince enough board members to support their geriatric center project. Director Jin seems unsure of how to enfeeble Ji-hong’s authority, but Myung-hoon assures him that he’s got something to bring Ji-hong down. As he’s plotting against his rivals, Myung-hoon receives a call from Hye-jung, who asks to meet again with new developments.

Pa-ran needs a new buddy to commute with and bothers Yoon-do because Ji-hong is busy with Hye-jung’s business. He explains to Yoon-do that Hye-jung has found pivotal evidence about Grandma’s table death but warns him not to get involved, since Myung-hoon was the surgeon. Neutrality is best, considering their families’ close relations, Pa-ran says, but that’s not stopping Yoon-do.

Yoon-do meets with Myung-hoon and asks if the board position is still available, to which Myung-hoon responds positively. He plans to add Yoon-do to the board, assuming he will vote in favor of the geriatric center. Yoon-do then calls Hye-jung, and they agree to meet at the hospital since she plans to visit Kang-soo anyway.

Ji-hong checks on Kang-soo and asks him to give a progress report on his own condition. Kang-soo seems to be responding well and seems so happy to hear that he’ll be able to pursue surgery again. But his mood dips when Ji-hong tells him to take a break before returning to working. Kyung-joon later explains to Ji-hong that Kang-soo has no place to stay, since he’s lived at the hospital while his brother has been serving in the military.

Ji-hong finds Tae-ho waiting outside his office with updates about the forces behind the audit. Through a reporter, Tae-ho found that Director Jin and Myung-hoon had initiated the audit, risking the hospital for their personal gain. Ji-hong suspected this, but he’s still shocked that they would act so selfishly. He then shares his suspicions about Director Jin’s involvement in his father’s death, showing Tae-ho the security camera recordings of Director Jin entering the hospital room. He wonders what could’ve happened in their twenty-minute interaction.

They deduce that Director Jin and Myung-hoon must have felt threatened by Director Hong’s findings, so they decide to target what they perceive as the most harmful weakness: embezzlement of hospital funds. On a different note, Ji-hong tells Tae-ho that Kang-soo has no place to stay outside the hospital. They can’t leave lil’ puppy homeless, can they?

After his time at the ICU, Kang-soo returns to a regular hospital room, where Younger Bro is literally waiting with open arms. Kang-soo gives his brother a faux-reluctant hug, and they bromantically reunite.

Hye-jung meets with Myung-hoon, and he starts his pen recorder as she walks in. She cuts right to the chase as she reveals her strategy: She’s going to kill him. She won’t kill him directly but vows to watch his every move, waiting to pounce when he slips. She promises to stay at the hospital to watch him slowly deteriorate. Myung-hoon looks unshaken by her menacing promise and asks if she’s threatening him. She confirms that it’s a threat and tells him to look forward to his demise.

Hye-jung leaves, and Ji-hong spots her walking down the hall. He tries to catch up to her, but the elevator doors close just as he arrives. Then, his chase is cut short by a call from a board member.

The nurses gossip about Seo-woo benefiting from her father’s favoritism, since only Hye-jung suffered the consequences of the VIP patient hand-off. They walk into the bathroom, where Seo-woo finishes washing her hands and acts like she didn’t hear anything. But as Seo-woo walks through the hospital, she notices the uncomfortable glances that her colleagues give her. She pulls Young-kook aside to ask if the staff doesn’t like her, and he says that they’re just gossiping because of unfair treatment. Young-kook then asks why Myung-hoon punished Hye-jung — didn’t he like her?

Seo-woo meets with her father to ask why he ordered a disciplinary hearing for Hye-jung. He claims to have simply followed the policies, but Seo-woo knows that there’s something more. He refuses to tell her the truth, but he seems happy that she’s showing interest in hospital politics. Seo-woo then receives a call from her mother about a blind date, and though Seo-woo isn’t interested, her mother is having her way. Parents are taking over once more.

Seo-woo finds Hye-jung in the fellows’ office and asks her why she dropped by. Hye-jung says that she met with Myung-hoon, but she doesn’t explain any further and feels no obligation to.

Hye-jung visits a sleeping Kang-soo with Yoon-do and Kyung-joon, but Kang-soo surprises them by bursting awake in their company. The jokester maknae keeps his spirits high, saying that he hurts as much as a post-op patient would and joking about looking for a new job since he’s recently unemployed. As Yoon-do and Hye-jung leave the hospital room, Yoon-do asks for some of her time to talk.

They end up at our favorite PPL location of all time, and Yoon-do tells Hye-jung that he’s joining the hospital executive board to help her. He’s figured out Hye-jung’s reason to be at this hospital, and Hye-jung asks if he thinks she’s acting too recklessly. He says that her recklessness is her charm, and Hye-jung looks encouraged.

Ji-hong meets with a board member and directly asks for his support in the hospital welfare reform. They shake hands in agreement, and Myung-hoon’s assistant watches this interaction.

Myung-hoon summons Ji-hong by baiting him about Hye-jung, and it works. When they meet, Myung-hoon plays the recording of Hye-jung’s threat and says that he’ll take legal action against her. Though mere words won’t have legal consequences, he claims that Hye-jung’s past will put more weight to her threat — revealing her high school expulsion history could lead to a chain of events that would ruin her career as a doctor. Myung-hoon negotiates that Ji-hong focus on his deep brain stimulation project as a researcher and take a break from being a doctor; or Hye-jung’s career will be put on the line.

Ji-hong waits for Hye-jung at her house and seems a little disappointed at her distanced greeting. She asks if he’s still mad at her because she’s sure still mad at him, but he says that he’s not mad anymore, “Just because,” he says. Hye-jung knows the complexities behind that phrase and asks for an explanation. He says that he knows that she met with Myung-hoon earlier that day and gives her a hug, but she’s still not ready to give in. To make her laugh, Ji-hong jokes about her hair smelling (good), which makes Hye-jung more suspicious about what’s really going on.

Ji-hong tells her that he’s focusing all his efforts on the deep brain stimulation research project, which means that he won’t be able to see patients. She doesn’t like that and he doesn’t either, but he says that he really wants to do it. That’s too complicated for straightforward Hye-jung, and she decides to head in for the night. Realizing that she hasn’t softened up yet, Ji-hong follows her and pulls her into a back hug. He admits, “If I didn’t come to see you by today, I thought that you wouldn’t see me again.”

Hye-jung and Ji-hong end up on the playground swings, and she apologizes for not treating him well. Ji-hong shakes his head and reminds her of his father’s words that just being by his side is enough. Hye-jung says that she misses Director Hong, and Ji-hong corrects her to call him “father-in-law.” He says that’s the one thing she did wrong, and Hye-jung comes right back by criticizing Ji-hong for calling Grandma “granny.” He reminds her of her apology just a moment ago, which makes them laugh about her competitiveness.

Ji-hong also apologizes, saying that he can’t make her happy even though he confessed his love for her. She says that it’s her fault — for being unfamiliar with happiness and for her tendency to find misfortune. Ji-hong wonders how she can overcome that, and she presumes that she’ll find out when she finishes her homework. He reminds her that he’s by her side, and she says that she can’t forget because he’s the support in her life. Ji-hong reaches out to hold her hand, finally reconciled.

We check in with the dedicated husband, who watches over his unconscious pregnant wife in the ICU and notices that her body temperature has increased. He notifies the doctors, and Seo-woo orders a cooling pad to lower her temperature back to normal. Soon after, Hye-jung receives a call from Kyung-joon that Husband wants to speak with her. On the phone, Husband tells her that he wants to take his wife off of the ventilator.

Hye-jung arrives at the hospital, where Husband is in turmoil about his decision. He loves his wife more than anyone, but he says he’s causing her pain by trying to keep her alive. He admits that he can’t recognize his wife’s face anymore and calls himself selfish for wanting to escape this turmoil. Hye-jung persuades him to endure for the sake of his wife and child, saying that his wife could only survive this long out of love. Husband decides to endure since his wife is enduring, and administers the cooling pads himself.

Younger Bro Kyung-soo gives his brother a bank book with his savings and tells Kang-soo that he wants to help pay for his hospital bills. He saved up his earnings from the military to do something for his brother. But Kang-soo returns it to him, telling him to use the money productively for himself. He reminds his younger brother that he’s a well-off doctor — he pays only half the rate for his surgery and receives a solid salary. Kyung-soo worries about his brother’s unemployment and living situation during his recovery, but Kang-soo sends him off with a salute, telling him not to worry.

When Kang-soo returns to his room, he runs into Tae-ho, who was just looking for him. Tae-ho offers Kang-soo a position in the neurosurgery department as an administrative assistant for about a year until he fully recovers and returns to his residency. Overwhelmed with gratitude, Kang-soo accepts the position and gives Tae-ho a hug. Aww, puppy is excited!

Tae-ho finds Ji-hong in his office and asks why he decided to take a break from surgery to take on the research. Tae-ho can’t believe that Ji-hong could live without attending to patients, but Ji-hong says that he’ll be on a very brief hiatus. Regarding Director Jin’s embezzlement funds, Tae-ho has put together the pieces and presumes that evidence of over ten years of embezzlement discovered by Director Hong would have definitely threatened Director Jin. They decide to move forward with the investigation and head over to the board meeting together, eager to watch the board vote against the geriatric center proposal.

Director Jin assures Myung-hoon that he’s secured enough votes, and they confidently greet the board members as they enter. Tae-ho and Ji-hong arrive, as does Yoon-do. The meeting begins, and Myung-hoon rushes the vote soon after Tae-ho’s introduction. Voting commences, but we’re not shown the outcome.

Three weeks later. Hye-jung has returned to her position after her suspension and orders a surgery for Yoon-do, since Ji-hong isn’t doing surgeries for now. We jump to Ji-hong, who greets Director Jin and Myung-hoon as they enter the hospital. The board member who initially agreed to support Ji-hong stands behind Director Jin and avoids eye contact with Ji-hong.

Ji-hong heads off to meet with Tae-ho after his curt greeting, and Director Jin discusses the geriatric center construction funding with Myung-hoon. Tae-ho comments on the father-son pair’s confidence, and Ji-hong says that it’s because they won. Tae-ho has collected the evidence against Director Jin, but the suspected embezzlement amount from the hospital trust funds of five hundred million won isn’t enough to indict Director Jin.

Meanwhile, Director Jin and Myung-hoon discuss the grant for Ji-hong’s deep brain stimulation research. It’s ten billion won, and Director Jin seems surprised at the grand scale of the research. He asks Myung-hoon why he restricted Ji-hong to research, and Myung-hoon explains that surgeons don’t like management. Thus, the restriction from surgery is inconvenient for Ji-hong. Director Jin then proposes that they reallocate some of Ji-hong’s research investment money for their geriatric center construction.

And that’s just what Tae-ho is suspecting them of. Tae-ho and Ji-hong reconsider the timeline of events that led up Director Hong’s death. They suspect that Director Jin somehow found the embezzlement evidence collected by Director Hong and then retaliated. Tae-ho reminds Ji-hong that they know Director Hong well, and they both say at the same time, “There’s more.” By that, they mean that Director Hong made more copies of the evidence he collected. There are probably some copies around them, and they both decide to carefully seek them out.

Yoon-do meets with Myung-hoon separately, and Myung-hoon reminds him that he voted on Ji-hong’s side at the last meeting. Yoon-do stands his ground and says that he believes in expressing his own opinions, and Myung-hoon doesn’t seem too upset because he won anyway. Then, Yoon-do presents him with documents regarding the hospital’s trust funds, which don’t add up correctly. He knows that these documents are not a major hindrance yet, but he figures that they’re enough of a threat, and warns Myung-hoon to get off of Hye-jung’s case. Myung-hoon looks infuriated by the betrayal.

Kang-soo takes on his new role as the assistant at the neurosurgery department bearing snacks, making him the popular kid at the department. Hye-jung comes to greet the staff on her first day back, and they welcome her back with excitement. Seo-woo watches the staff bond with Hye-jung with a silent tinge of jealousy.

In the fellows’ office, Seo-woo greets Hye-jung, but they don’t hold any conversation. Seo-woo receives a call from her father about eating lunch together with Director Jin, but she rejects the offer. Before Hye-jung leaves, Seo-woo asks about the relationship between her father and Hye-jung. Seo-woo can sense something is off and asks Hye-jung to tell her because her father won’t. Hye-jung asks if hurting Seo-woo will inflict pain on her parents and considers telling Seo-woo just to cause Myung-hoon pain. Seo-woo doesn’t seem to mind or care and continues to ask for the truth.

Hye-jung says that whenever she sees Seo-woo, she’s reminded of the time they played together after their midterm in high school. At the time, Hye-jung couldn’t even imagine herself as a doctor. With that, Hye-jung leaves the office, and Seo-woo thinks back to their high school days. While Soon-hee had dreams about marriage and kids, Seo-woo had dreams to become a doctor like her father. When they asked Hye-jung, she said that she wanted to run a restaurant with Grandma to make her happy, and the girls wanted to join the restaurant chain with her.

After the surgery, Seo-woo asks Young-kook if people at the hospital dislike her father. He acknowledges that some people don’t like him but others do. It doesn’t matter to her if people like him, and all she says is, “I’m going to end it now.”

Yoon-do asks about Hye-jung’s progress in her revenge and invites her out to lunch as friends. As they head out, they run into Director Jin and Myung-hoon. Yoon-do and Hye-jung are polite and friendly with Director Jin but share tense glances with Myung-hoon. After they leave, Director Jin compliments Hye-jung on her resilience while Myung-hoon stresses about Yoon-do’s behavior. Director Jin notices Myung-hoon’s anxious behavior and reminds him that the world now belongs to him.

Ji-hong looks through his father’s belongings in search of any copies of the collected evidence, but he doesn’t find anything. It’s not going to be that easy. Seo-woo also searches for answers, but it’s not easy for her either. She calls Soon-hee and asks her to tell her the truth, reminding her that they were once close friends.

Hye-jung meets with Myung-hoon in his office, and he expresses surprise at her return. She says that she keeps her word, unlike Myung-hoon, who holds different values. He asks if she wants to work under a person with different values, and she explains a story from her youth. She points out that Myung-hoon will probably know about that time in her life, since she knows he investigated her past.

She tells him of the time that Grandma forced her to eat in jail, saying that as long as you’re breathing, you deserve to eat. And her point: “I work my fingers to the bone to earn my meals. I don’t believe that someone earns my meals for me. My values for my work ethic are important; your values have no influence on me.”

Myung-hoon acknowledges that she’s not ordinary but reminds her that he’s not letting her off because she’s so great. He reveals that Ji-hong took on the DBS research because of her past and present actions. He says that Ji-hong took responsibility for her actions and suggests that she leave the hospital before she burdens others with her hindrances. Despite her shock, she keeps her act together and says that she won’t leave the hospital because Myung-hoon wants her to leave. But as soon as she leaves Myung-hoon’s office, Hye-jung looks shaken by the news.

Hye-jung drives to Ji-hong’s place, and meanwhile, Ji-hong looks through all of his father’s boxes in search of any copies of the collected evidence against Director Jin. He lies on the floor after a long search and mindlessly pulls up one of his father’s fishing rods. And right at the end, a USB dangles from a string. He’s hit the jackpot.

Ji-hong looks through the file and shows off a slight smile of victory as he reads the thorough evidence gathered by his father. Just in time to celebrate his findings, Hye-jung arrives at his apartment. She tells him that he played against the rules by not letting her be helpful. She demands to know why he was sent to the research center, but Ji-hong is all smiles. Hye-jung’s disappointed and embarrassed that she’s not of any help to Ji-hong, but Ji-hong doesn’t acknowledge or seem to mind his sacrifices.

He reminds her that she taught him what to do in these situations and takes her arms to wrap around his waist. He strokes a strand of her hair and swoops in for the kiss. And they smooch and smooch and smooch the night away. Ji-hong narrates: “Justice flows like a river out of sight. You just can’t see it.”

 
COMMENTS

Well, that’s one way to celebrate forthcoming justice. I’ve come to enjoy and appreciate the romance between Hye-jung and Ji-hong because of the growth that has happened on both sides. I don’t think the growth happened equally, but there were definitely defining moments of growth for both of them. The relationship dynamic did change to become more appropriate, but Ji-hong is clearly the older and wiser one in the relationship. There is a level of maturity and wisdom that Ji-hong gained through time, and that’s just not something that Hye-jung can absorb without personal experience. I think this was the core of my frustrations with Hye-jung in these recent episodes — she stubbornly stuck to her own rationale for revenge. She wasn’t willing to give or sacrifice any part of her revenge. Frustrating… yet charming, as Yoon-do pointed out so aptly.

There’s something about obstinate and reckless Hye-jung that makes her so charming and attractive as a character. She never strives for complacency and remains persistent in her fight against those who wronged her and Grandma. Her tenacity is something very characteristic of Hye-jung — something we’ve seen since her earlier high school days — and that quality makes her the heroine we root for despite her pitfalls.

This episode was full of set-up for the sweet retributive justice coming our way, and I’m ready to let karma do its job. Driven by greed and inferiority, Myung-hoon and Director Jin have sure dug themselves into a deep hole without any method to escape. The more I see their father-son dynamic, the more I feel for Seo-woo, who grew up watching her father as her idol. Hye-jung may have had small and humble dreams, but what she inherited from Grandma is not something Myung-hoon could ever buy. Slightly unfortunate that money can’t resolve everything for him, since a bit of self-esteem and moral values would do wonders for that family.

As this show is wrapping up, I can sense that it’s kind of floundering to tie up all its loose ends. There are plenty more loose ends that need to be taken care of, and I’m sad that we’ve gotten to that point in the show where side characters are simply used as props to wrap up the story. Yoon-do would have been a great character to explore in more depth, to understand why he rejects his ties to money and power. Sure, the show characterized him as a simple guy with a clear sense of self, but it would have been more interesting to understand his motivations a bit better. He was what we needed when we needed him — stern, comedic, adorably swoony, Siberian husky, expert surgeon — and I’m sad that we won’t have enough time to learn more about his character as an individual.

I have many more questions for the show regarding side characters as we approach the end. Like where the hell is In-joo? What happened to Soo-chul? You can try to distract me with puppy Kang-soo and his generous hugs, show, but I’m keeping track and watchin… oh look — Yoon-do eating Subway!

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I would like to commend those who are still watching this show. Aja! Aja! Fighting! ?

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You are right about the side characters! I thought we could see some scenes with one of the Doctors with Soon Hee or Paran with In Joo.

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I keep coming back every week to see if anything happens and every week ... Nothing really happens. Why do I keep watching? And I don't even really like shin hye's character anymore. I liked her so much as gangster surgeon. Where did that person go?

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yes me too. i was really caught up as Shin hye's character being a badass doctor but after watching the whole episodes the badass doctor was gone. i stop watching the episodes but keep on reading recaps to hope there is something but none so i was really disappointed.

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It pretty much totally evaporated along with the rest of the plot, which is why I quit watching it.

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I'm literally here just to support Park Shin Hye, because this drama is such a drag, I just come back to read the recaps to see if anything interesting will happen, and nothing does!!
I don't understand at all those who believe this is the best drama ever, and that they think it their best performances yet.. Like HOW?!
Why does she always do this? Most of her dramas begin with her character being so cool, and as it goes on, it's like that character never existed. Maybe it's a good thing she is nicer, but that badass gangster was what interested me in the first place.. What happened?! I don't want her completely tamed.. Bring the badass back!!
But, fighting for those who are sticking around!

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agree!

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The drama is about her growth. She is still badass, competitive and cool even now even she is no longer beating people up.
Her stubbornness in the revenge is what frustrated everyone
But that's the whole point to see her growth

No one said this is the best drama ever. But it's a great and meaningful drama that make you care to every characters even supporting ones

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And for those complained I don't know how many time I have repeated
This show is characters driven there wasn't really a plot

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Honestly, this drama was not plot driven at all. I continued watching because I fell in love with the characters and their relationships/interactions with each other.

I personally think PSH is still badass, just that she's more mature now and doesn't always need to use her fists to showcase how "gangster" she is. And honestly, there weren't many scenes in the last few episodes to truly showcase her badass-ness anyway.

Either way, I loved Hye Jung as a character because she is stubborn, yet persistent, making her character realistic. She is flawed, but strong willed and fights for what she believes in. And I can really relate to her character.

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And here I'm thinking, who is Soo Chul?

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Lol, same. @kitkat helped us out.

Personally, I love uri Jisoo. But other than a discharge onscreen I don't really care what happened to him. He was simply one of the patients by that point, not a side character.

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We got a lot more of him than I expected, considering Ji-soo's role was described as a cameo. I was so sure he was going to die in the first two eps lol.

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I'm not sure if i like this drama but i keep on reding te recaps.maybe if i watch the scene where they smooch and smooch and smooch the night away i'll like it

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ji soo puppy. ;)

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oops. I wanted to reply nas at #4.

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ha, he's SUCH a puppy. It's like he appeals to the 'let me pet him' instincts in literally everyone here.

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That kiss... *sigh*

Yes, I'm still here just for KRW, the romance, YD and the beagles. I love watching the friendship among the residences but ff'd the hospital politics and other scenes.

Thanks for the recap, Dramallama~!

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Omo~ I've just started watching a few episodes... I hope this will end well...

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Say what you will about Doctors having a wafer thin plot, but I think this drama has a lot of good points and I'm not surprised at the ratings. If you think of this drama as a slice of life drama instead of a romantic comedy, then most of the plot actually makes sense. Some of what I think made the ratings so high were:

1) A strong and sympathetic second female lead Actually, the second female lead's arc was very interesting to watch. She was human and very flawed, but grew and learned from her mistakes. She also had her strong points, she was able to stand up to her parents when she disagreed with them and was able to correct them when they did wrong, she is a competent professional in her own right and she's also someone who is very honest about her feelings.

2) Honesty in the characters interactions. I love this drama because, unlike another melodrama I could name (here's looking at you, UF), the characters are basically honest and truthful. When they make mistakes they own up to it. When they like someone they say so, when they don't, they admit it as well. They don't hide the truth and they don't conceal important facts from each other just to serve as plot devices. Characters which are honest and mature are just A ++ in my book. Kudos to the writer for making the characters real and relate-able.

3)Maturity in their Relationships. Love this drama where the wrist grab was kept to the minimum and they mostly treated each other with respect. When they couldn't return the affection, they were honest and mature about the way they handled it. Love PSH and KRW because of the mature way they handled their relationship. Even when they disagreed and fought because of their conflicting views, they did so respectfully and maturely. Kdrama writers please take note. The first and second male leads don't have to be jerks. And the 2nd female lead doesn't need to be a witch.

4) Strong Cast - what's not to love? There really wasn't a weak link in the acting department. They were natural and all pulled their weight. Rather than focus on the four leads, this drama allowed many of the secondary cast members to have their moments in the spotlight and shine (like my honey Kim Min Suk) which leads me to my next point...

5) Cameos or Guest Appearances by my favorite actors. Never underestimate the advantage of a well timed cameo in boosting the ratings. This drama was able to employ this technique well. In fact, some of the best plot and performances were done by the guest actors. Raising my glass to Namgoong Min and Lee Sang Yeob!

So all in all, it was a satisfying drama to watch. Was I disappointed? Yes, I confess this drama did lose me in the middle when my focus was on the gem Beautiful Mind and in comparing their plots, Doctors did end up feeling a little thin. But after finishing the series and looking back at it, I could see its positive points and I understand why it resonated very well with...

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I agree with you on points 1, 3 and 4.

2) They have hide important things but are usually pretty open.
5) I wasn't awed by the cameos. I think the stories were needed to support the hospital department angle. But regardless of my love for NGM he wasn't bringing me back to the episodes. He was just there. That's just my opinion, the cameos seemed to mean a lot to other people.

I'm perfectly happy with the drama I've watched. Still have 1.5 eps so my overall score may chance, especially based on the ending but I liked it.

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I'm not watching this, but I REALLY wish more dramas would take note of 1.

I feel like a lot of dramas make the female second lead hateful or pathetic because they think that it'll take away from the female lead otherwise. But the second female lead being a sympathetic or complex character does not take away from the female lead, especially if both are played by good actresses. (honestly, I feel like a lot of the lazy writing for second leads is motivated by writers/PDs who know the second lead is the better actress).

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Great points. I loved that there was no idol actor! Unless I missed someone. I watched until the end because of #3 as well.

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It's funny to think that literally all the greatest ratings hits of the last 3 years for the Big 3 have been those with no idol actors either in lead or second lead - Master's Sun, Heirs, You From Another Star, Yong-pal, DotS, even Pinocchio back in 2014. And now Doctors.

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Which I think makes COMPLETE sense and Directors should take a hint. YES, casting an idol actor/actress may raise initial response and excitement. But once the drama starts and they don't meet expectations, it's Game Over.

Personally, for me, there's only a few idols that can actually pull their own weight and shine in dramas whereas the rest just distract me from enjoying the show (worst case scenario) or blend into the background (better scenario). But, to each their own!

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Oh wait, I forgot Producer - IU was the second lead there.

But then that was an exception because

1) IU could act, and went way beyond generating facial expressions on cue

2) The drama itself didn't really stick to the traditional kdrama structure where the biggest names get the most screentime and development, and the second female lead must be either pathetic or hateful.

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This. So much this. Yes, the plot might not be as strong as some other kdramas, but the characters were well done in that they cut to the chase and didn't wait the entire series to confess or take action. Even if the show might be forgettable, the people in it are definitely memorable and refreshing.

But hey - I guess the people who think it's boring and question those who like it (I'm looking at you, 1st comment) just prefer things out of the ordinary/real life. Makjang, I think it was called?

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Koreans love it because it's refreshing and mature- not cliche and makjang that usually get high rating
But it's a slice of life drama and it's definitely not for everyone
I love all the characters so much, not just the leads.
They are so human who have flaws and heart just like everyone of us

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Agree with you on these points. Particularly liked how second male lead remained professional, sensible and likable throughout.

I do wish his character was explored better independently too though

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Good, charming, Cute, Funny, Adorable...... is YoonDo.... He is all a girl wants in a man....

But this episode showed why Yoon Do and Hye Jung is not supposed to be together..... YoonDo does anything for Hye Jung blindly.... If they were to be together, he would not have tried to stop her like JiHong did(even though it wasn't successful)... The maturity and patience that JiHong has is exactly what Hye Jung needs.. Someone who could guide her when she becomes reckless unlike YoonDo........

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I like your comment and i agreewith you

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Hyejung and Jihong are definitely a perfect match and they need each other

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This drama had its good points which others have noted but just too long and too much hospital politics. I found myself skipping quite a bit through the last 3 episodes just to finish it. And I don't think that's what it was going for....

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And here i am, waiting for the recaps everyweek just for puppy Kang Soo ㅋㅋㅋ

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You can watch this show, while surfing the net...glance up, then surf again. I'm really just watching it to see Park Shin Hye's clothes & bags.

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Yup, sometimes the site I'm watching it on doesn't have all the subs and I'm just like, meh. At this point it's not offensively bad that I'll stop watching, but it's certainly not anything I really care about.

Especially since lately I'm not quite on board with the otp. Instead of finding ji Hong wise, I find him annoying and slightly condescending. Even if he's right in telling her to let it go, poking fun at her "I'm going to kill him" was not the way to go. It diminishes and invalidates her feelings. Accepting the research position to "protect" her without consulting her is also not appropriate in a mature relationship, and silencing her valid doubts and misgivings when she found out with a kiss was anything but romantic to me.

I like reading people's comments though to see how others interpret these scenes. Although sometimes I feel like a bad person for siding with Hye jeong and not seeing ji Hong as "wiser".

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But I'm glad you said that about Ji-hong because I was secretly thinking same (re: hiding Myung-hoon's threat from Hye-jung).

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Umm...I vote for a Siberian Husky and Gangster Hye Jung reunion (in another drama) and they actually get to be together. That's all.

Kthanxbai.

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Me too! Shinhye + kyun sang next drama please!

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+1000

Yes! I really want to see them in a drama together. *wishful thinking*

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+1

My dream pairing. Hehehe.

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+1, sign me up please!

I'm actually good with him having a reunion with either of the female leads, he's adorable.

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I'm totally down for a reunion with him and Sung Kyung myself. The stuff they post on Instagram is so funny and play off each other well! Might take a while though unless he gets a cameo in that Weightlifting Fairy drama...

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I find Lee Sung-kyung really intriguing, as an actress - she's a staggering beauty who really does not suit the usual sweet-demure-candy roles, but shines in anything that requires more screen presence. She's not perfect, but she plays off her costars pretty well and goes all-in to roles.

Not just YKS, I'm really curious to see how she'd play off Kim Woo-bin. I think the clash of auras would be epic.

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If we wish a little harder, this might just happen! Psh and yonghwa got a drama after you're beautiful because their pairing was also popular even if it wasn't end game in YB

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Did the congressman died? How his story ended?

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Burst out laughing at the last screencap. Well spotted, dramallama :D

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That kiss though.
People can finally shut up about PSH kissing. I hope

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Probably too much to hope for, considering even Pinocchio didn't do it.

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This is the first show that got me so upset with the female lead. I thought PSH's portrayer of HJ is remarkable and really great. It's just the way the character is written. Somehow HJ is just really unlikable to me. Might be a good thing though. At least it's some kind of emotions. A lot better than a boring character.

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Am nt gonna comment on dis show, just wanna appreciate u guys postin dis recaps. Its awesome! Realy it is. Actually, dis is d 1st tym of me commenting on dis site bt av been following virtually all ur recaps. Its as all been great with all d comments u add. Seriously i appreciate ur efforts. *Aja* luv u guyz...!

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THAT KISS (or rather, THOSE KISSES) AT THE END OMG

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