Beautiful Mind: Episode 6
by HappilyEverAfter
Our hero has always been confident and assertive in everything he does at the hospital, but just because he usually gets the right diagnosis doesn’t mean he’s exempt from hitting new lows. Young-oh takes a thorough emotional beating from hospital politics this week, and while we learn a lot more about the mechanics behind the murders, we’re still left wondering who the puppet master really is.
EPISODE 6 RECAP
We rewind to a scene of Young-oh and his girlfriend Min-jae during happier days, where Min-jae is being as optimistic as possible about her transfer to a countryside branch of the hospital. She rushes over when she sees Young-oh picking up the files on her desk, and despite her attempts to hide what’s beneath her papers, Young-oh easily pokes her away to uncover an embarrassingly lovey-dovey collage of their pictures.
Young-oh reassures her that he’ll visit every weekend, and touched, Min-jae gives him a light peck on the cheek. She explains that she was worried he’d want to break up, and Young-oh takes her wrist in his hand.
Min-jae is momentarily confused when Young-oh tells her that he feels the same way, but when he explains that her wrist is saying, “I love you,” she realizes that he just took her pulse. She’s a little stunned, but when Young-oh declares that he’ll never let go of her hand first, and she nods happily.
In the countryside, Min-jae hurriedly searches through library books when she incidentally comes across an article with a picture of Young-oh as a child and his adoptive father, Dr. Lee. She digs through the archives for more information and she’s shocked to learn about Young-oh’s inability to empathize.
She also finds out that Young-oh’s been trained to imitate human emotions, and previously romantic moments take on a different hue when she realizes that Young-oh was only pretending to have feelings her.
Late that night, she makes a call to him and asks why he’s dating her. His response pains her, but hiding her true reaction, she simply tells him that she loves him too.
In the present, Min-jae reveals that Young-oh has antisocial disorder to everyone at the mortality conference, and explains that he shouldn’t be a doctor. Jin-sung overhears everything from the back of the auditorium, and watches as Young-oh stares at Min-jae in shock.
In the research lab, Suk-joo confronts Assistant Manager Chae about being the motorcyclist’s primary doctor and asks if he knew about the missing heart from the very beginning.
Everything starts to click for Suk-joo, as he realizes that the strange heart lesions were an adverse side-effect of their research. He concludes that Chief Director Shin must’ve discovered the same thing and collapsed after meeting with Assistant Manager Chae.
A flashback shows an out-of-breath Director Shin arriving at the office of Assistant Manager Chae. Offering Director Shin some water, Assistant Manager Chae had poured a substance into a cup before handing it over, and Director Shin had subsequently gulped down the water.
In the present, Assistant Manager Chae tells Suk-joo that Director Shin died because of this very reason, and nothing will change by digging into the past. With a veiled threat, Assistant Manager Chae says that he doesn’t want Suk-joo to die for the same reason — after all, Suk-joo is an important part of their research lab.
Disturbed, Suk-joo asks, “Wasn’t our research meant to save more lives?” He throws the incriminating file down on the desk in frustration and starts to walk out when Assistant Manager Chae calls out after him. Assistant Manager Chae tells him that they’re dealing with a 200 billion dollar market, and Suk-joo is disgusted, wondering if Assistant Manager Chae expects him to keep quiet just for the money.
Assistant Manager Chae smirks and responds that it’s not that Suk-joo will keep quiet for the money, but rather, that the money will shut him up. Assistant Manager Chae notes that so far it’s been the motorcyclist, Director Shin, and Dr. Shim to die. He asks Suk-joo threateningly who he thinks will be next.
Back at the mortality conference, Director Kang makes a show of revealing that he knows Dr. Shim died after Young-oh injected her with medicine, but Young-oh is only focused on Min-jae’s betrayal. He doesn’t even notice that he knocks over the podium as he walks over to her, asking what she’s trying to protect by doing this.
Min-jae looks distraught as she faces him and Director Kang answers for her, suggesting that she’s worried for the safety of Hyunsung’s patients. Min-jae avoids Young-oh’s gaze as officers come in and put him in handcuffs, leading him away to the police station.
The other doctors gossip about Young-oh, wondering how Dr. Lee is reacting to this situation, when one doctor mentions that Min-jae and Young-oh were supposed to get married. They wonder what she could’ve possibly been thinking.
The woman herself is in Director Kang’s office, noting that Hyunsung’s scapegoat might as well be a devil-like person like Young-oh. Director Kang congratulates Min-jae on becoming a professor thanks to her betrayal, and offers a handshake, but she merely bows to him as she leaves.
Min-jae meets Dr. Lee in the hallway, and he asks her if she only became close to his son in order to betray him like this. She smiles bitterly as she tells Dr. Lee that she couldn’t even tell something was wrong with Young-oh at first, because he had been so well-trained.
Dr. Lee asks Min-jae if she really thinks Young-oh committed the murders, but Min-jae evades the question, answering that this was for the safety of Hyunsung’s patients. She asks Dr. Lee what he thinks, commenting that he must know more because of his special relationship with Young-oh.
At the police station, Young-oh is currently hooked up to a polygraph test, and the leading officer warns him not to try anything funny. The officers ask him about Dr. Shim’s death, noting that she went into cardiac arrest not too long after he left her room. Young-oh sits there silently, but the polygraph test begins moving erratically.
At the hospital, Suk-joo confronts Dr. Kim, demanding to know why she didn’t tell him that her daughter was involved in their research. He asks Dr. Kim if she killed the motorcyclist and Chief Director Shin, and her lower lip begins to tremble.
She walks away but Suk-joo grabs her, and he notices the needle marks on her arms. Horrified, he asks Dr. Kim if she’s gone crazy, but she indignantly tells Suk-joo that he has no right to judge her.
She snaps that Suk-joo always acts so righteous, but he can’t even do anything to save her daughter. Her voice turning high-pitched, Dr. Kim tells him that she didn’t do anything, and she stifles back sobs as she says that she’s only lived as a mother.
In the hallway, another doctor stops Dr. Kim to let her know about Young-oh’s arrest. Dazed, Dr. Kim makes her way to the storage room, where she weakly injects herself with some medicine. She takes out her phone and collapses; a tear trickles down her face and we see that her phone-screen wallpaper is a picture of her and her daughter.
Suk-joo is in the locker room, looking thoughtfully at his phone. When he steps out though, he’s startled to find an unconscious Dr. Kim being wheeled through the hospital.
In the interrogation room, Young-oh quietly confesses that he killed everyone – Dr. Shim, Chief Director Shin, and the motorcyclist. The polygraph reads his confession as the truth, and the leading officer asks Young-oh how he could’ve done something so gruesome as a doctor.
When Young-oh is asked to confirm his previous statements, his facial expression suddenly turns to one of anguish, and he says emphatically that he didn’t kill anyone. He then begins to give conflicting statements, oscillating between them like a madman as the needle on the polygraph test goes wild.
“I am a killer. I’m not a killer. I’m a man. Or am I a woman? I am a human. I’m not a human. I’m alive. No, I’m dead.” With the polygraph unable to differentiate between truth and lies, the situation escalates to such a degree that the leading officer has to yell at him to stop.
The officer working on the polygraph test leaves the room, and Young-oh asks the leading officer if this is the kind of thing that he wanted to see from him. Enraged, the leading officer throws a glass cup against the wall, and it shatters across the room as Jin-sung steps inside.
Young-oh takes off the polygraph test and asks the leading officer if he’s capable of feeling how deep someone else’s pain is because he’s not a monster like him. Picking up a shard of glass from the floor, Young-oh scrapes it across his bare chest, and asks the leading officer if he can feel his pain.
Young-oh leans forward and tells the leading officer that just because he won’t tell lies about how he feels someone’s pain, that doesn’t mean he’s killed anyone. The leading officer curses and stalks out of the room.
Jin-sung walks over to Young-oh and tells him that she may not be able to feel his pain exactly, but she can guess what it must feel like. Handing him a handkerchief, she urges him to return to the hospital.
Jin-sung talks to the leading officer and tells him that Young-oh is innocent. She hands over a bag containing a vial of potassium, and explains that this was the weapon used in the murder of the motorcyclist and Chief Director Shin.
She reveals that Dr. Kim had administered potassium to both victims during the surgeries, and administered it to herself while in the storage room out of guilt. Jin-sung tells the leading officer that Dr. Kim had confessed, and in a flashback, we see Suk-joo reading her text message, telling him that she planned to turn herself in.
Director Kang discusses Dr. Kim’s situation with Assistant Manager Chae, and comments that she’s rather irresponsible for leaving her child alone. The reporter who had previously threatened to dig into Chief Director Shin’s death is now sitting with them, and Director Kang bribes him with a position on Hyunsung’s newspaper.
At home, Young-oh greets his father, who tells him that Director Kang has filed for Young-oh to be fired. Young-oh insists that he’s innocent, but Dr. Lee doesn’t seem to care, and just wonders where he went wrong with Young-oh. Dr. Lee leaves the room and Young-oh stitches his chest wound himself, notably leaving Jin-sung’s handkerchief on the table.
The JCI-accredited flag hangs proudly on the Hyunsung hospital building, and Young-oh gazes at a replica of it inside Director Kang’s office. Young-oh demands that Director Kang take back the request to fire him, arguing that Director Kang knows he’s completely innocent.
Young-oh asks if Director Kang is worried that Young-oh will figure out his and Assistant Manager Chae’s secret, and Director Kang remarks that no one would listen to a psychopath dismissed from the hospital because of a murder charge anyway.
Young-oh asks if that’s why Director Kang needed Min-jae, and Director Kang laughs, saying that Min-jae was the one who approached him with her thesis on antisocial personality disorder first.
Finding Min-jae at the hospital counter, Young-oh confronts her, and they relocate to a private room to talk. Tenderly, he asks why she didn’t tell him, and she retorts that that’s the question she’s wanted to ask him all these years. She looks at Young-oh coldly, telling him that he was the one who used her first — he needed her to pretend like he was a normal person.
Young-oh is still stunned, telling Min-jae that she’s never lied to him — not even once. He reaches out to cup her face, but she moves away from his touch as Young-oh asks her to confirm that she loved him.
Young-oh begins to analyze her facial expression, but Min-jae gets to it before he does. “Raised eyebrows, wrinkled nose, withdrawn feet. These show contempt and fear,” she says with tears in her eyes.
He’s shocked that she knows about him analyzing body signals, but she doesn’t stop there, and demands to know what body signals express the emotion of love. She notes that love encompasses all emotions while being none of them, and tells Young-oh that he’ll never be able to read it because he never learned what love is.
She says that this is probably why it was so easy to fool him, and comments that this kind of thing shouldn’t really hurt someone like him. Young-oh’s hand suddenly reaches for her neck and he grabs Min-jae close, choking her.
Young-oh whispers that he did his best for her, but Min-jae responds that he only did his best to imitate his best for her. Stepping back, he releases her and stands there lifelessly.
Meanwhile, Jin-sung is dropping the motorcyclist’s son off at school and scolds him for being late again. Sergeant Park jokingly asks if she’s going to transfer to the Female and Youth division this time, and she unabashedly explains that helping a traffic accident victim’s family member is part of her job as a traffic officer.
Later, she gets some ramen at an outside stand, and adds a bottle of soju to her order. She looks longingly at the soju bottle cap and to her surprise, Suk-joo turns out to be sitting a few tables across, at the very same stand.
They share a drink and reflect nostalgically on Chief Director Shin and his love for alcohol. Jin-sung comments that she used to think the police pursued a murder case to catch the criminal, but now, she realizes that it’s really for the people who have been left behind.
At the hospital, Suk-joo watches over Dr. Kim’s daughter, and thinks back to the first time he met Dr. Kim. She had been kneeling by a patient’s bedside, examining his urine drainage bag. A young Dr. Kim had practically burst with excitement when she realized that the drainage bag had reached 130cc, which meant the patient — her first patient ever — was going to live.
She had kissed the bag (ew!), and introduced herself to Suk-joo, and though he had been reluctant to shake her hand (since she had been holding the urine bag just moments before) back then, it’s a fond memory that Suk-joo sheds a tear over now.
Dr. Lee and Assistant Manager Chae watch Director Kang golf with Assemblyman Kim, who asks when the regenerative medicine they’ve been working on will be available for commercialization. The assemblyman wants it ready as soon as possible so he can get votes for next year’s presidential election, but Director Kang just tells him that it’s not the treatment that’s important — it’s the fact that there’s research going on that’s important.
Dr. Lee tells Director Kang that the hospital director spot can no longer be left open, and just as Assistant Manager Chae voices his agreement, Dr. Lee says he’ll be applying for the spot. Dr. Lee takes his leave, and Director Kang notes that Assistant Manager Chae now has a strong competitor for the position.
Assistant Manager Chae catches up to Dr. Lee and remarks that he didn’t think Dr. Lee would be interested in the position because he was so close to Chief Director Shin. Dr. Lee tells Assistant Manager Chae that it is precisely because he was so close to Director Shin that he won’t let the regenerative medical treatment center turn into a tool for the stock market or the political arena.
Dr. Lee explains that there needs to be someone to keep the hospital chairman in check, and that is the role of the hospital director. Throwing out a few barbed comments of his own, Assistant Manager Chae wonders if Dr. Lee can get the position considering everything that’s happened to his son, Young-oh.
In the bathroom, Young-oh practices his facial expressions in the mirror and splashes his face with water to clear his head. As he walks through the hospital, all the other doctors and nurses avoid him, wondering how he could be so oblivious to what everyone thinks about him.
Suddenly, a patient comes through on a stretcher, and the nurses report that he had fallen down the stairs. Young-oh walks over and calmly inspects the patient, saying that it is highly likely the patient has glioblastoma, a rare type of brain tumor.
The other doctor looks distrustfully at Young-oh, and asks the patient if he has any existing illnesses, but the patient only asks for his wife. The wife comes up behind them, and answers that it’s true — her husband has glioblastoma.
She talks soothingly to her husband and tells him everything will be over soon. She asks Young-oh to discharge her husband, showing him the legal papers that her husband had signed. The patient had stated that he did not want to be resuscitated and had given his wife power over all of his medical decisions.
Young-oh asks the patient directly, and the patient simply asks for him to do as his wife says. Young-oh repeats to the patient that he may die if he is discharged now, and reads the patient’s body signals — his eyes especially tell Young-oh that he’s under excessive fear and stress, hiding his true desires.
Young-oh tells the patient not to worry, assuring him that he will definitely save him. The wife pleads for Young-oh to stop saving her husband, and the other doctors have to forcibly drag her away when the patient goes into cardiac arrest.
Young-oh manages to successfully save him after a complicated procedure (of drilling into his head and releasing fluid), and he announces as much to the wife. The wife walks over to her husband and begins sobbing as she watches his pitiful state.
In the CT room, another doctor criticizes Young-oh for forcing the patient to live when the man had already previously signed the papers, and Young-oh just tells the doctor that he’s certain the patient wanted to live.
Suddenly, an announcement over the speakers calls for Young-oh, and he rushes to the room of his patient. He finds the wife holding an unattached life support cord, and she screams that Young-oh was the one who made her do this.
She cries that she had pleaded with Young-oh so desperately to let her husband go, and asks if all she has to do now is go to the police. Young-oh yells in fury at this unbelievable situation and as he makes his way out. The doctors watching the scene quickly back away from him.
Dr. Lee steps in front of Young-oh, and tells him he has been fired from Hyunsung Hospital. Confused, Young-oh asks what he’s done wrong when all he did was save a patient. Dr. Lee rebukes him, telling him he’s forced a patient’s guardian to end the life of a beloved family member. What’s even worse, Dr. Lee says, is that Young-oh doesn’t even realize that what he did was wrong.
Dr. Lee leans in closer to Young-oh and grabs his shoulder, whispering that this is why he was opposed to a monster like Young-oh becoming a doctor. Glaring, Dr. Lee announces again that the ethics committee has dismissed Young-oh.
In a daze, Young-oh looks at the doctors around him, who all avoid his gaze. He listlessly stumbles out of the hospital as he thinks back to the wife pleading for him not to save her husband, to Min-jae telling him that he won’t ever understand love, to the childhood spent on being trained to read emotions, and to his father’s harsh words just now.
Young-oh nearly wanders into traffic, and when a kind pedestrian tries to pull Young-oh back, Young-oh just punches him in the face. Young-oh repeatedly beats him, flashing back to the ruined birthday party of his teenage days. Just as he did back then, he comes to the realization that he’s doing something wrong, and staggers away from the crowd.
He walks into oncoming traffic, when Jin-sung comes up behind him and asks if he’s okay. She reassures him that it’s all right, that it was nothing, and grabs his hand to go. Young-oh pulls her back, and leaning heavily on her, begs her to help him before collapsing onto her.
COMMENTS
Jang Hyuk is doing an incredible job as Young-oh, but I’m getting the feeling that the show wants me to accept his violent moments as just another quirk that’s part of his antisocial disorder, even though they’re starting to become rather disturbing. While I feel sorry for him because he’s not only been wrongfully accused of murder, but also betrayed by all his loved ones (all two of them, I guess), I can’t help thinking that everyone’s not wrong to distrust him if he has a tendency to react violently when things are going downhill.
It’s completely unfair to accuse Young-oh of being a murderer based on nothing but his disorder; however, choking people when he’s angry or hitting people because he instinctively imagines them to be dangerous even when they’re just trying to be helpful — those are not hallmarks of a good doctor. For the most part, the other doctors and Director Kang haven’t seen these violent tendencies yet, so their assumption that Young-oh is unfit to be a doctor is baseless (he hasn’t even been fully investigated for being a murderer and most of them are still jumping to conclusions), but if they do witness these violent moments, then I actually think that their assumption that he deserves to be fired becomes a little more valid.
Nevertheless, Young-oh is surely at his most pitiful state in this episode, which began with Min-jae’s betrayal and ended with Dr. Lee calling him a monster (again). This time around, the insult hits a lot harder because it seems that all Young-oh ever really wanted was his father’s approval, but now that he’s lost his job as a doctor, he’ll never be acknowledged by his father as a successful, “normal” person.
I’m sure there must be something more with the glioblastoma patient and his wife, and there has to be a reason that Young-oh read fear in his eyes. It would be an interesting twist if the only person who lacks empathy also ended up being the one who most accurately understood someone’s feelings. I want Young-oh to bounce back and to have been right all along, to overcome the hospital politics and his violent tendencies, but he’s not going to do it without Jin-sung.
My opinion of Jin-sung softened a bit this week, and I’m glad that she’s repented for her impulsive actions. She definitely got off easy for the scale of the mistakes she made, but because she jumped to the wrong conclusion about Young-oh’s personality first, before everyone else did, she also gets to realize that Young-oh’s not that terrible of a guy before everyone else (hopefully) realizes the same. Jin-sung didn’t really have a major role in this episode, but now that she’s the only one left on Young-oh’s side, I can’t wait for her to step it up and help him restore his reputation.
On a side note, I’m also wondering how accurate this drama’s depiction of antisocial personality disorder is. According to the drama, it seems that the major symptom is just an inability to empathize, but people in real life with antisocial personality disorder lack morals, and actively exploit and manipulate others to get their way. To me, Young-oh doesn’t seem to really fit the other symptoms of someone with antisocial personality disorder. In fact, he seems a lot more morally principled than most of the other doctors at Hyunsung Medical Center, which just strikes me as rather ironic.
Speaking of doctors and morals though, I really hope Suk-joo doesn’t fall prey to Assistant Manager Chae’s threats. Like Dr. Kim said, Suk-joo has always been principled and righteous, so it’ll be interesting to see how (or if) he tries to fight the hospital conspiracy. Jin-sung has been wrong about many things, but I’m hoping that her steadfast belief in the goodness of Suk-joo is not one of them.
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Tags: Beautiful Mind, Episode 6, featured, Jang Hyuk, Park Se-young, Park So-dam, Yoon Hyun-min
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1 Cafe
July 9, 2016 at 8:13 PM
Thanks for the recap!! JH is owning this role.
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prettysup
July 9, 2016 at 11:57 PM
Yes, I cannot imagine anyone else in this role. As HeadsNo2 said earlier, it’s the kind of role that could’ve only been played by him, humanized by him, and subsequently owned by him. Kudos!
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junny
July 10, 2016 at 5:02 AM
Jang Hyuk is totally killing it and I find that the time passes by slower when he's not on screen. He's got such a magnetic presence and makes Young-oh so compelling to watch. I am loving his performance.
I wonder, though, whether someone like Jung Kyung-ho might be able to do this role?
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Pam
July 11, 2016 at 10:32 PM
Agree
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2 Prettysup
July 9, 2016 at 8:16 PM
This show is getting better and better, ep 6 is so heart-wrenching, especially the last scene. JH's acting is nothing short of stellar. I wonder who is the real monster here?
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3 sardines
July 9, 2016 at 8:18 PM
YES, YES, YES!! Thank you! I've been waiting all day:) Now off to read?
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4 Prettysup
July 9, 2016 at 8:40 PM
On your thoughts, you mentioned that the show only depicts ASD as the inability to empathize, and not the other symptoms. But yet you feel disturbed watching YO's violent behavior. Isn't violent behavior part of ASD's symptoms as well?
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nAEE
July 9, 2016 at 9:52 PM
" but people in real life with antisocial personality disorder lack morals, and actively exploit and manipulate others to get their way"
I guess the term "morals" itself is kind of abstract and ambiguous. For example, what Young Oh did during the case of the girl with haemophilia displays a different set of moral values. From other people's viewpoint, forcing the mom to reveal the truth on her real father is cruel as the girl might end up losing her father figure. And I do agree that Young Oh was a bit overboard in this matter. But what Young Oh said after that makes me ponder - he values the girl's live more. With moral values, it's a grey area where people uphold different sets of moral values. I might value justice and truth more but in doing so, I might end up hurting other people's feeling.
And I do see a lot of manipulation from Young Oh. He was manipulating Suk Joo to confirm his suspicion whether he was the murderer or not. The same goes with Dr Kim when he promised to treat her daughter but she needs to convince Dr Lee first to allow him into operating room. And the time when he actually used Jin Sung in order to spread suspicion on Suk Joo, so that he can find the real murderer. He's a good manipulator as he used the desire of others - be it to save the patient (Suk Joo), save a daughter (Dr Kim) or find the murderer (Jin Sung).
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TM
July 10, 2016 at 3:07 AM
I guess we don't mind his manipulative ways because in the end he did not do anything considered as "evil" like killing, stealing and so on. I think he acted this way because of his morals which include saving people's life.
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WH
July 14, 2016 at 10:08 PM
He was taught to respect lives by his father, but he doesn't emotionally value life the same way we do. He operates on an MO, he didn't care about the people he operated on, but he cared that he successfully completed his tasks and goals.
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5 plumwine
July 9, 2016 at 8:51 PM
In my book Min Jae is a monster. While Young Oh may not be able to feel love, I think his willingness to try for her sake is admirable. Should he have told her about his problem, yes. However, there are more people in this world who feel emotions but do not care how those around them feel. He at least tried to behave in a loving manner, which is a lot more than I can say for her.
Loved the lie detector scene!
Thanks for the recap HappilyEverAfter! I believe those without ethics HyunSung Hospital are the true monsters. He's surrounded!
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August
July 9, 2016 at 9:07 PM
I believe those without ethics HyunSung Hospital are the true monsters. He’s surrounded!
Yes indeed. I think we'll find out that in a Beautiful Mind, the so-called 'normal' people at Hyunsung Hospital are the true 'monsters' and Young-oh is surrounded by them.
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mary
July 9, 2016 at 10:18 PM
Agree about Min-jae.
If she didn't want a man who doesn't truly love her, she should've just broken it up with him. But to turn him into an experiment as if he's just a lab rat... :'(
I'm fascinated by twisted relationship though. When she said she was pretending to love him and he couldn't see that because he was unable to observe real unconditional love previously, I'm like "Woah... that's true"
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HK
July 9, 2016 at 11:49 PM
About Min jae
Everyone thinks she should have broke up with him but i think it was his mistake that he hide such a big thing about him from her .
If you propose some one means u have lot of trust in them but he didnt told her and go on pretending to love her.
Any woman will feel hurt when she knows that the man is pretending and never actually love her.
If you see Young oh said love you to her bcoz he knows that she loves him not bcoz he feel anything for her.
I think in process to become normal he used her and I know her pay back was bad but he used her first.
Keep in mind he may be respected her but never loved her.
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HK
July 9, 2016 at 11:55 PM
About Min Jae
I dont think she is bad bcoz he did lots of things wrong for her.
He should have told her about his condition. When you propose some one at least she deserve to know this.
She thinks he used her in process to become normal and have relationship in his life. Any woman will feel hurt when she knows that the person she love the most never felt love for her and keep on pretending to feel normal for him self.
Her pay back was wrong but he keep breaking her heart for long time for his own securities.
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gerry13
July 10, 2016 at 4:00 AM
Kmj didn't experiment with him, just observe him for her thesis. I am sure a lot of doctors do that with their patients. She was hurt cos she felt used. Anyway the writer make her be the betrayer so that is an excuse for dr Lee to go with jinsung
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extracheeseplease
July 10, 2016 at 8:59 AM
That kind of observation does constitute "research with human subjects." This class of research requires the researcher to go through certain hurdles in order to make sure that the project is ethical. At the very least, she should've 1) made Young-Oh aware that the research was being conducted; 2) received his consent to conduct the research; and 3) received his permission to publish the results of the study.
(To know why these three things are necessary, Google things like the Stanford prison experiment, the Tuskegee syphilis experiment, or the experiments that came to light as part of the Nuremberg war trials.)
Min-Jae doing this project without following this basic ethical protocol isn't just morally corrupt; it also places her in a vulnerable legal position. In the real world, she could lose her medical license and her right to practice medical research.
Of course, I doubt that the show is going to actually have her face consequences for doing something like this. It's just something to be aware of.
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Barbrey
July 11, 2016 at 3:54 PM
Good point. Any thesis or article about Young-Oh in Canada would need an ethics review and his consent would be formally required before publication. I don't know about in Korea but I would think it was the same.
Pam
July 11, 2016 at 10:36 PM
Good point agree
jessanno
July 10, 2016 at 12:12 AM
Min-jae is petty and spiteful. While I do think Young Oh can be arrogant, how could he open up to her about his issues when his "father" is constantly telling him to be normal and don't show your true face. He has made that man feel like a monster all these years and I totally understand why he never told anyone the truth.
This is why I didn't feel as bad when she found out he was just mimicking her emotions because a normal woman would have dumped his ass but she decided to study this man and write a thesis?! That's cold and calculating.
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civilsecret
July 10, 2016 at 1:14 AM
i do understand KMJ, she must have felt betrayed by finding out YO had anti social disorder, i expected the normal response of getting angry, screaming at him and then breaking up, understandable but instead she used him for her research and exploited him, then stepped on him get her new position because she see's him as sub human, like he has anti social disorder so her cant feel pain therefore im gonna hurt him. she didnt treat him like a human being. at least with YO he was trying in his own way to make her happy, he did care for her and he wasnt using her, he should have told her but KMJ really crossed the line in what she did to him. the look on his face when she revealed to everyone about his condition was quite sad, betrayed by the person he trusted the most
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6 Prettysup
July 9, 2016 at 9:08 PM
About the patient with glioblastoma, initially I also thought that the wife was trying to hide something. But after several analysis with other viewers, I think that she was just battling with her inner self to allow her husband to leave as he wished. And the fear in the patient's eyes, it may be fear of living in agony, otherwise he won't keep asking for his wife right? So YO's interpretation may be wrong this time since he only learnt how to read superficial expressions and neglect those more complicated inner desires.
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icy
July 9, 2016 at 9:56 PM
I also think that YO had a wrong interpretation there. I think the couple loved each other and YO failed to recognize it as love because he never felt or learned it (like what Min-jae said). And maybe that's what he asked Jin-sung to help him with.
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civilsecret
July 10, 2016 at 1:23 AM
that's what i thought to initially, but then after watching the ep again and seeing others discuss it i also came to the same conclusion as you. human emotions arent as straightforward as he learnt them to be, its quite complicated
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DramaDevourer
July 10, 2016 at 2:05 AM
This scene was actually the most out of character for YoungOh, or a ASD person, and I wonder what we were supposed to make of it. A person ruled by logic and self-interest would have thought like such: the paperwork says not to intervene, the wife says not to intervene, intervening is illegal/against policy, I have nothing to gain from saving this man's life --> I won't interfere.
Instead, YoungOh went against all of that in hopes that -- what? The patient would be grateful since he wanted to live? The other doctors would think he was compassionate? He was desperate to prove that he actually understood people's emotions? This is all less about self-interest and more about trying to show something intangible.
I think this was all part of YoungOh's breakdown after MinJae's betrayal and exposure of his fallability when it came to reading emotions.
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junny
July 10, 2016 at 4:08 AM
I think he also had a certain "block" where the cardiac arrest bit was concerned. I agree Min-jae's betrayal and fallout definitely had an effect on Young-oh's decision to save that glioblastoma patient - he probably wanted to show that he could understand emotions and deserved to be a doctor in spite of his condition. When the man went into cardiac arrest and Young-oh managed to avert that, it was like he'd overcome another personal hurdle and not let cardiac arrest "beat" him after what happened to Dr Shin. Just my 0.02.
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prettysup
July 10, 2016 at 4:47 PM
Yes, he met that patient after the talk with KMJ. He was eager to prove to the world that he knows emotions, he is not a monster that she makes him out to be.
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michykdrama
July 10, 2016 at 7:03 AM
I love it that his show has scenes which are so emotionally complicated that no one knows what is going on.
It could be that the wife was hoping the husband would die and she benefit like from some insurance pay out (so cliché though I know but just an example), or it could be that she is the dutiful wife and caregiver, wanting her husband to end his misery of being chronically ill.
No one knows unless they show us more. It's awesome, I love it.
Regarding YO- I think to him, it's very simple- he wants to do what the patient wants. He only values his own personal opinion, and disregards everyone else. So in the case, he deduced that the patient did not want to die. So he did everything he could to get to that goal, regardless of the consequences. Which of course blew up in his face.
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kbaswithneko
July 10, 2016 at 1:48 PM
I agree that Young-oh made the wrong call with the terminal patient because of the complexity of mixed emotions in these types of situations are beyond his capacity. When a couple faces facts and decides rationally on a Do Not Recessitate order that rationality will fly out the window at the curcial moment. Even if the husband understood that he only faced continued pain he still could have been fearful of death/never seeing loved ones again. Even if the wife didn't want her husband to continue suffering it still meant choosing death for him and having to live with her decision.
Young Oh has believed his lack of emotions makes him a better Doctor as he can focus on the rational decisions needed. In this case he focused on the one emotion he could identify and failed to comprehend the mixture of emotions involved in a loved one dying.
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7 midflower
July 9, 2016 at 9:09 PM
The consequences for his violence will probably be shown in later episodes... I wonder if Jin Sung will help assuage those tendencies.
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8 Goo Ma Ri
July 9, 2016 at 9:09 PM
I think Young Oh does have the ASD .. he's just well trained ..
The thing that bothered me the most in this ep is when YO injured himself .. because, people with frontal lobe injury can feel, it's just that they can't understand these emotions, their brains can't understand it .. i think it was really painful for him too ..
Now I'm pretty sure that the romance - if there's any - is centered around JS/YO .. after what MJ did to him .. he felt really betrayed, we can see it in his eyes ( and JH is doing an amazing job ! )
Thank you for your recap <3
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9 verzaholicbee
July 9, 2016 at 9:10 PM
Hi! I finished reading episode 5 recap when I found this ready, thanks so much!
Just a couple of things: I think the polygraph was not going wild at all once he started saying contradictory sentences. Quiet the opposite, it was working very peacefully identifying everything as truths. I am quite convinced this is what I saw, I replayed the scene a few times (it was so good!).
Also, about your comment "I’m sure there must be something more with the glioblastoma patient and his wife, and there has to be a reason that Young-oh read fear in his eyes."
Well of course there was! He had signed the paper and accepted his fate, because he had gone through a lot already and he probably considered it was better to end it all that to continue suffering and making his family suffer.
But even if he had taken the decision that doesn't mean he accepted his imminent death happily. He knew he was about to die, he had decided that was for the best, but he was scared, his life was coming to and end, he would never meet again his family, or keep his memories, those are just human emotions that we can't control easily in extreme situations like this, because he didn't really want to die (as in, had he been healthy or been able to become healthy, he would have never chosen that path.)
* In the case he was religious, I think that it takes a huge amount of faith to not be afraid of the unknown, and being scared wouldn't make him less religious, since, like I said, it's human nature.
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prettysup
July 9, 2016 at 11:48 PM
Yes I agree that the polygraph did not go wild, it was identifying everything as truths, which the police knew was impossible by YO's contradicting statements.
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civilsecret
July 10, 2016 at 1:26 AM
i agree with you, just because you sign it doesnt mean you wont feel fearful and sad that you are going to die.
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10 August
July 9, 2016 at 9:35 PM
Thanks for the recap HappilyEverAfter. And I appreciate you addressing and not overlooking some of Young-oh's violent tendencies. A round of applause for Jang Hyuk. Totally riveted and engrossed by his acting in a Beautiful Mind.
Ever since the 1st episode that's sort of the twist I was expecting with a BM to deliver.
Young-oh being the more morally principled vs. the other doctors. Don't doubt it. A Beautiful Mind might just end up being a modern morality tale on the widespread corruption and insatiable greed for profits that afflicts the healthcare & pharmaceutical industry from top to bottom as well as the medical profession.
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11 TJ
July 9, 2016 at 10:01 PM
This drama's understanding of anti social personality disorder is about as knowledgeable as their CPR techniques. This guy is clearly suffering from some form of autism spectrum disorder rather than a character disorder. You can't use a brain scan to diagnose either anyway. It's not accurate. There's a checklist of symptoms and behaviors that have to be observed in order to diagnose either disorder. This character does not display quite a few important traits of a sociopath. He does however display quite a few symptoms of autism. I hope that's where they're going with this, he's misdiagnosed. Otherwise boo Beautiful Mind screen writers there's such a thing as google you know.
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Nightstar
July 10, 2016 at 4:42 AM
Hello TJ
I usually don't comment at all and just read through these comments but as I read quite a few times that the portrayal of this ASPD is inaccurate I also searched on google to find out more about this disorder and found that there are certain types of this ASPD and LYO seems to fit one of them quite well. It's the reputation-defending type where the affected person needs to be thought of as infallible (as was shown in the scene with the wife and the husband), unbreakable, invincible, indomitable; formidable, inviolable (his general behavior fits these character traits); intransigent when status is questioned (until now his status was never really questioned by anyone else but his father whom he wants to prove his worth to an KMJ where his immediate reaction was shock but other than that we have yet to see how he will treat her in the future); overreactive to slights (the scenes where he turns aggressive)
While these types of ASPD are nor medically recognized they do seem to have some credibility as I found them on quite a few internet-sites.
PS: English is not my mother-tongue so I apologize in advance if there are mistakes in this comment ^^
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TJ
July 10, 2016 at 5:32 AM
Ok I might concede he could be sociopath. Still doesn't explain why they're giving people CPR so high upon their chest it almost strangles them. Your english is pretty good really. Kdrama gets a lot of things wrong about medical things. They just change the symptoms around to suit their narrative. I hope Koreans don't actually think they're trying to be accurate.
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michykdrama
July 10, 2016 at 7:15 AM
Hi TJ- I've stopped trying to rationalize every medical thing in this show, because it's not really about the psychiatry or the medicine. Yes, it's definitely inaccurate like crazy for lots of the medical parts (I could write you a list so darn long...) but as to the psychiatric part- I actually think the amazing thing about it is that these conditions aren't the kind that can be easily diagnosed just because a few things fit or don't fit the criteria.
So don't think about the medicine- just watch it for the amazing acting, murder mystery and fascinating look at the human psyche and what it means to be human. That's what I'm doing at least :)
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Nightstar
July 10, 2016 at 9:57 AM
Yeah that's true but in this specific case of ASPD the portrayal seems to be at least mostly correct. I sometimes find myself wondering if the people responsible for the medical scenes actually know anything about medicine or if there maybe is a reason behind these so obviously wrong treatment methods. For example doing CPR on a higher location makes it possible to do it with the actual actor (if you understand what I mean^^). Other than that I really have no other explanation than being absolutely clueless about medical procedures.
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Lana
July 10, 2016 at 9:09 AM
Which is ironic, because in my psychology class, we talked about the frontal lobe and amygdala, which this drama talks about in the first episode or two. Thus, this is the basis that serves the foundation of this drama. So it makes sense about this drama using these as foundation.
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12 Stranger
July 9, 2016 at 10:20 PM
Jang Hyuk is doing a magnificent job in portraying Young Oh, a genius doctor who can't be emphatic or emotive, but can read people emotion more accurately than anyone else! I believe his acting is the best I have ever seen in kdrama/kmovie industry...
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13 gerry13
July 9, 2016 at 10:33 PM
Loving this show, every episode ending with a twist, never boring. All the actors are so good even the villains
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14 Sammy
July 9, 2016 at 11:15 PM
Am I the only one who is more excited about the genius doc's love story. Because I guess that's what is going to change him and bring his humanity and emotions back. I wonder how will our leading lady help him empathise and feel the pain (though in my eyes he does feel the pain)
Also Jang Hyuk is killing it. What a brilliant actor!
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civilsecret
July 10, 2016 at 1:32 AM
no your not im also excited to see how their romance will develop, it should be quite interesting to see given his condition. it might be a bit different from how we've seen other romance done in drama's.
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15 Minaminami
July 9, 2016 at 11:26 PM
I've been waiting for this recap for days! Thanks heaps!
YO might have asperger or mild autism since he seems to have one minded interest and tend to be obsess with neurosurgery. These people can also be quite genius but unable to socialize. One of my students has autism and he tend to be violent too when we change some routines as he can't read the situation. Plus, once he bit off his friend's hand when the poor boy just took his rubber. Well, Just assuming here. YO shows some symptoms. Plus, when this people love somebody, their loyalty is just beyond this world.
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jessanno
July 9, 2016 at 11:46 PM
Especially with the word arrest! When he heard the word arrest both with Director Shin's surgery and that cancer patient in episode 6, it's like something took a hold of him.
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16 jessanno
July 9, 2016 at 11:44 PM
I can't even find fault with Jang Hyuk's acting in Beautiful Mind. He is killing it! And I normally dislike watching him because he tends to be over the top to me.
This episode had me feeling bad for Young Oh but I really think he needed to be knocked down a peg or two. That whole superior doctor comment really ticked me off. There's confidence and arrogance. He is always leaning towards the latter.
At first I could not see the loveline between Jin-sung and Young Oh but after episode 6, I can see it. I think she would be good for him. He really needs a lesson in humility and Jin-sung has had that in abundance lately. I'm really glad it seems like she is changing. I hope it sticks Writers.
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prettysup
July 9, 2016 at 11:50 PM
Same here, I wasnt going for any loveline in this drama initially, but after watching ep6 I changed my mind.
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civilsecret
July 10, 2016 at 1:36 AM
same, i think a lot for of people are feeling the same from what i've read. i was wondering how they would do their loveline and how it would actually come about.
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TM
July 10, 2016 at 3:21 AM
I wonder how they will portray the romance bits too. It's exciting because it's kind of hard to imagine how the romance will unfold.
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hallyumint
July 10, 2016 at 1:56 AM
I agree he deserves to be knocked down a peg or two but not this way
Being stripped of his dignity and feared and labeled as a monster
Nobody deserves that.
For a moment it felt as if the hospital was transported back to the medieval ages where mob violence broke out and docs would come out with pitchorks and fire to banish the monster
The amount of superstitious fear they displayed .
One thing this episode highlights that docs despite having medical knowledge are no different from us regular people. They susceptible to the same human frailties as us.
I mean if anyone should have a better understanding of anti social disorder they should Yet when he comes they shrink back in fear as if he is going to attack them any second now
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Ralisa
July 10, 2016 at 12:17 PM
This is the thing that annoys me, because they have medical knowledge in real life doctors wouldn't treat a person with YO condition as a monster or shirinking in fear.
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jessanno
July 10, 2016 at 2:48 PM
I don't agree with the name calling or being shunned but he did need to be fired. He is a doctor and a great one at that but he lets his arrogance get in his way. I think he read the signs wrong regarding the cancer patient and his spouse. He feels he did no wrong and he needs to understand he was WRONG.
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17 prettysup
July 9, 2016 at 11:52 PM
Did you guys noticed how innocent KMJ (the fiancee) and Dr Kim (the anaesthetist) were in the flashbacks? But now they have turned into monsters.
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Nabi
July 10, 2016 at 3:42 AM
I think KMJ is doing a great job in this drama too...very expressive yet subtly evil...have I seen her in dramas before? I love the support cast aswell...those nurses n doctors...i can totally see them in an actual hospital
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mary
July 10, 2016 at 4:20 AM
School 2013 and Faith were the dramas I remember her for.
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prettysup
July 11, 2016 at 3:56 AM
I didnt really like her in Faith though
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michykdrama
July 10, 2016 at 7:54 AM
Ah.. But are they really evil? I think what I love about this show is that they paint things in so many shades of grey.
Dr Kim did something because of her daughter- she also knew it was wrong and could not live with being a murderer, or someone else being wrongly accused as one.
KMJ is even more complicated. Clearly she didn't feel proud of what she did because she didn't shake the hand of the horrible Director Kang, and I cannot believe she didn't feel anything for YO at all and it was all for her research. I'm interested to see if the writer will flesh out her character more or not.
So I think the flashbacks were deliberately to show that they are people with good intentions but life got complicated along the way. And I really do love the fact that not just the leads have such fascinating layers to them.
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Jazzy
July 10, 2016 at 8:57 AM
I agree...it's so easy to just love sukjoo and hate minjae...but i prefer to understand what leads them here...it's fascinating as a journey to really know young oh...and i m glad other characters are given layers too...now that sukjoo is conflicted he's more human...now that minjae made this choice she is no longer a bland back story...
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18 prettysup
July 10, 2016 at 12:00 AM
And the ending, together with the OST : Where is your smile?
I am not able to smile without you, When you smile at me
I can feel the difference in me.... So sad!
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19 HK
July 10, 2016 at 12:02 AM
I like Young oh character who doesn't feel bad about hospital politics and keep going on and bcoz of that I feel very relax when watching him rather that crying buckets.
I like how he doesn't get bother by what people think about him and this is when i think if everyone can have little bit of that so our life will be not that complicated.
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20 hallyumint
July 10, 2016 at 1:04 AM
My heart literally broke when the last scene played out
In that moment never have I so strongly emphatised with another character as Dr Lee
I wanted to reach out and give a bear hug to Dr lee telling him everything is going to be ok
Credit for this goes to jang huk who channelized his heartbreak so realistic ally
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21 hallyumint
July 10, 2016 at 1:16 AM
Someone at the Soompi forum discussed that the symptoms of young-oh doesn't read as anti social disorder more like ALEXITHTYMIA
Here's the wiki description
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22 hallyumint
July 10, 2016 at 1:20 AM
Alexithymia /ˌeɪlɛksəˈθaɪmiə/ is a personality construct characterized by the sub-clinical inability to identify and describe emotions in the self. It is distinct from the psychiatric personality disorders, such as antisocial personality disorder or borderline personality disorder, with which it shares some characteristics, and is likewise distinct from the abnormal conditions of sociopathy or psychopathy.[1] The core characteristics of alexithymia are marked dysfunction in emotional awareness, social attachment, and interpersonal relating.[2] Furthermore, individuals suffering from alexithymia also have difficulty in distinguishing and appreciating the emotions of others, which is thought to lead to unempathic and ineffective emotional responding.
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23 hallyumint
July 10, 2016 at 1:23 AM
The term "alexithymia" was coined by psychotherapist Peter Sifneos in 1973.[4][5] According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word comes from the Greek words λέξω, that means words, modified by an alpha privative, and θυμός (thymos, "soul, as the seat of emotion, feeling, and thought"), literally meaning "no words for emotions".
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24 hallyumint
July 10, 2016 at 1:30 AM
Typical deficiencies may include problems identifying, describing, and working with one's own feelings, often marked by a lack of understanding of the feelings of others; difficulty distinguishing between feelings and the bodily sensations of emotional arousal;[4] confusion of physical sensations often associated with emotions; few dreams or fantasies due to restricted imagination; and concrete, realistic, logical thinking, often to the exclusion of emotional responses to problems.
Some alexithymic individuals may appear to contradict the above-mentioned characteristics because they can experience chronic dysphoria or manifest outbursts of crying or rage.[18][19][20] However, questioning usually reveals that they are quite incapable of describing their feelings or appear confused by questions inquiring about specifics of feelings.[9]
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25 hallyumint
July 10, 2016 at 1:36 AM
Sorry for the long description
but this does describe some of the symptoms that Dr lee has
ie his inability to understand others emotions lack of empathy for others emotions confusion identifying body sensations such as when he misinterpreted the birthday scene
not understanding his own emotions
It read more like emotional blindness than psychopathy
What do u think ??
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civilsecret
July 10, 2016 at 1:52 AM
really interesting, it does fit in with what we've seen, it could be very possible he was misdiagnosed given how symptoms of certain disorders are very similar and can be hard to diagnose without proper observation over a period of time. especially as he was diagnosed when he was a child and im not sure if the father brought him back to the psychologist/psychiatrist again either. instead coming up with his own method to help his son and told his son to hide it and and be normal. we will just have to wait and see cause if professional can misdiagnose
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civilsecret
July 10, 2016 at 1:53 AM
even professionals*
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Prettysup
July 10, 2016 at 2:21 AM
Yes he may have alexithymia but to many general Kdrama viewers, anti-social disorder is much easier to remember than alexithymia.
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TM
July 10, 2016 at 3:27 AM
Definitely easier to remember. I didn't know this "sickness". But it doesn't explain his manipulative tendencies?
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prettysup
July 11, 2016 at 3:54 AM
At this point I have decided not to be too over-analytical of what ailment he is suffering from and just enjoy the drama as it is. After all Kdramas are not known to be medically correct all the time but I must say this drama is not doing that bad in this aspect so far.
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webby
July 10, 2016 at 5:23 AM
plus the violence? and manipulation, and disregard of rules? Unable to "feel" is one part of the equation.
I agree there's a possibility of a misdiagnosis, but taking in his behaviour so far, it's more likely an ASPD.
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fab
July 10, 2016 at 6:05 AM
What he has is definitely more along the lines of emotional blindness. The fact that he tries his hardest to understand what people feel and actually act on it as a doctor proves that. And in his relationships with his father and KMJ he was sincere, although limited, in gaining their trust and acceptance. He appears to be extremely intelligent but emotionally challenged.
A psychopath has no regard for other people's feelings and only has the tendency to hurt them rather than to make them feel better.
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webby
July 10, 2016 at 9:46 AM
I finally understand the need/urge to overturn the "psychopathy" diagnosis so that our hero stays a simply misunderstood hero.
I don't have a problem even if Lee Young Oh is a psychopath, having a psychopathic brain. Psychopathy is a spectrum. There are "a lot" of high-functioning psychopaths and they have normal lives. Only very small portions of them ends up serial killers and murderer.
There's a book by James Fallon, "The Psychopath Inside". He himself is a happily married man who discovers he has psychopathic brain (there's an article on smithsonianmag.com titled "The Neuroscientist Who Discovered He Was a Psychopath") and... from the article:
... in addition to genetics and environment: free will. “Since finding all this out and looking into it, I’ve made an effort to try to change my behavior,” Fallon says. “I’ve more consciously been doing things that are considered ‘the right thing to do,’ and thinking more about other people’s feelings.”
Something I can see Lee Young Oh has been trying to do best all his life. I am fine with that and I hope he succeeds.
And Chairman Kang is definitely another psychopath (and there are a lot of psychopathic executives) who chose a different path from Lee Young Oh.
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loveblossom🌸
July 10, 2016 at 7:22 AM
@Alisha, interesting. Thanks for sharing this info. I haven't even heard of Alexithymia before.
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26 doctordrama
July 10, 2016 at 2:46 AM
“Because you are not a monster like me, are you capable of feeling the depth of pain that is not yours but someone else’s?”--LYO
I love that interrogation scene and have seen it too many times. On one level, it's bringing into question how our own prejudices and "normative" ideas limit and even cut off our ability to empathize and truly understand others. Just how the interrogator expects LYO to behave like a monster because of his medical condition. LYO exposes the hypocrisy of the interrogator.
But on another level, the line "are you capable of feeling the depth of pain that is not yours but someone else's?" makes me think about the following questions: Can anyone really feel someone’s pain? Isn’t it presumptuous for any of us to assume we really know what another person is going through and know exactly how he or she feels? Each one of us is a unique individual, facing specific circumstances, and reacting to them differently.
And I just love Jin Sung’s answer to his question: “I’m moved to at least do something.” That it is about how one responds to someone’s pain, not necessarily about fully understanding it. It is really about what would you do knowing that someone is in pain even if you cannot understand it. And that’s a beautiful and powerful statement right there.
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Scarlet
July 12, 2016 at 7:59 PM
reading your comments makes me teary-eyed. i don't even understand that dialogue before. thank you for helping me to see a very beautiful and powerful statement. beautiful mind is indeed beautiful.
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27 fab
July 10, 2016 at 5:25 AM
I agree with others that Young-oh was misdiagnosed. A proper diagnosis would lead him to understand his inner person and his surroundings much better. His father treated him like some kind of abnormal person that needs to be sheltered and locked up but by becoming a renowned doctor, Young-oh has proved to him that he can survive among other people. The real monster is the father for not caring enough for his son to get him proper help, and only relying on his own verdict that that boy is born an empathetic freak. He's adopted an experimental case, not a son. Min-jae isn't a hell of a lot better; she basically copied that diagnosis and went with it.
Thanks for the recap, I can't wait for next week!
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prettysup
July 10, 2016 at 4:55 PM
It is not easy to diagnose ASD, as with other psychotic disorders, even for a professional. It is interesting that different viewers have different opinions as to whether LYO is indeed misdiagnosed or not, adding to the reality of the complexicity of psychology.
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28 loophole
July 10, 2016 at 5:42 AM
I clearly understand Min-jae. But outing him like that is a b%tch move. Put in her situation, I'd be mad as hell. But outing him out like that is just so-so. And its not like she's a saint herself, when she found out, she started studying him like a lab rat. Well, broke up and got a professorship out of it. Good for her! She should just not come back with the whole "oh-I-regret-ever-leaving-you-nonsense". She should just not
Dr Lee is a character I don't quite understand yet. I know he's not also emotional stable like his son. I just don't understand him when he's at the hospital. I keep asking, is he bad? Is he good? Is he going to kill someone with those laser eyes?? Will he turn into a vampire? Okay, I'm going off topic.
Okay, I need 6hrs nap to come back to the topic
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fab
July 10, 2016 at 6:24 AM
The worst thing is that she used Young-oh's condition as a backup plan to get to her dream position. Maybe she wouldn't have outed him in such an extreme way if she didn't experience the ultimate betrayal from her superior who basically stole her hard work and credited it to someone else for personal gain. I'm actually glad she turned out to have a lot more to her personality than a mere second lead who'd be so devoted to her big ol' that she would endure abuse from him.
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29 bips99
July 10, 2016 at 6:56 AM
I would have understood MJ had she yelled and screamed at him when she found out . I would have understood her had she revealed his secret at the time she found out.
but she pretended for years. she used him for her research. then kept silent in case she needed marriage as a backup in an influential medical family (I'm assuming this) ... and then revealed his secret at the worst possible moment and manner.
I have zero empathy for the betrayal she faced.
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30 hallyumint
July 10, 2016 at 7:01 AM
Kim Minjae ?
As a character I like her
She was so in love with Young-oh
that she waited for him for 5 years
But smart enough not to cling to that relationship when he showed signs that he was over her.
What was that line she said Fine I was the one who asked you out .....
but I don't have time for this Lets end it
(I'm referring to that scene when he told her she had no right to touch his things because he wanted to hide the ring)
Bold enough to initiate the relationship and show her upset when he didn't respond.
? Innocent sweet gentle KMJ who was supportive and concerned about
Young oh in a way judgemental and baised Jinsung never was.
For me she was never a second lead even though her story arc was never connected to the main plot .She was pretty much in the baground.
So I never understood how could there be a love story between Jin sung and young oh. She seemed a much better fit for sun Jae.
KMJ was much more suited for Young oh They had chemistry she was much more sympathetic and supportive to him.
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Runa
July 10, 2016 at 10:26 PM
But I don't think he ever showed signs he was over he, did he? I like KMJ and I can understand why she got angry, though I can't get behind her using LYH as research material instead of just breaking up with him. That's the part which strikes me as problematic. Even in that waiting for 5 year bit, she did this knowing that she was basically using him to write her research.
That is not to say that she still didn't like him, I think her reaction after 'outing' him made that abundantly clear that she didn't feel indifferent to him and only felt deeply hurt. And I think Young Oh's reaction to her shows that he wasn't indifferent to her either. I think he was genuinely looking forward to marrying her, for the sake of looking 'normal' and for her sake as well. I hope they show how difficult it is for a woman to gain ground in a male dominated structure, it's a big part of her characterization.
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31 hallyumint
July 10, 2016 at 7:22 AM
The only negative to that relationship is young - oh never revealed his true self to her.
Cause when you love someone you show your real self.
In that sense KMJ could not win Young oh trust .
While high stung fearless Jinsung got to him (emotionally) in a way KMJ never could.
She made him feel (strongly), react forcing him to reveal himself .
And when he did she did not shrink back in fear like KMJ. But fearlessly charged on.
I still didn't think jinsung was the right fit for young oh as much KMJ.
Specially epi 5 when she arrested him without evidence.
I was curious to see how writers would bring about a love story between these two unsuited people
a) Would they turn KMJ into a vamp.
b) Make her find out the truth about Young-oh condition and dump him feeling betrayed.
c) Make Young-oh fall in love with jinsung
When they went with option A I thought great they had to make her a villain to justify this love story.
But kudos to the writer to make KMJ convincing.
So it doesn't feel like a plot contrivance so much she was like this all along only we the viewers now see her clearly. Clever to put her in the background seemingly unconnected then
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TM
July 10, 2016 at 4:49 PM
Jin Sung didn't arrest Young Oh without evidence. She found him self injecting some medicine and wrongly thought he was doing drugs. Anybody would have jumped to this conclusion. Whether you're a doctor or not, it never looks good when someone sees you self injecting anything...
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32 owl 🦉 🫰
July 10, 2016 at 7:31 AM
I can't understand the father who seemingly helped train his son to be able to somewhat cope in life. Where, along the way, did it become an unfinished process and end up something like an experiment gone awry? i don't mean on Young Oh's part, I mean with the father's outlook and interaction with his adult son and this view that he is a monster. It's so wrong. The father is using Young Oh's disabilities as well as his talents against him. How confusing for Young Oh, it is very sad.
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hallyumint
July 10, 2016 at 7:42 AM
As the epis come they will shed more light on his character.
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33 hallyumint
July 10, 2016 at 7:38 AM
turning everything on its head making us reasses everything we knew so far and come to believe of these characters - KMJ .... Young oh...
Jinsung
The last scene highlighted to me how jinsung would be a love interest
Frankenstein's monster after running from the mob searching for refuge for acceptance found a bright light welcoming him A blind man gave him shelter uncaring for his grotesque face. Treated him as a human being
Jinsung is that light.
Note the parallel between the hospital scene and last scene where jis sung offers him comfort.
Their love could be that of showing humanity than of a romantic nature.
It could be that of empathy.
I don't normally write so much generally a silent reader but was provoked/ compelled to express myself.
I don't feel sorry for young- oh I get him !
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Eman
July 10, 2016 at 10:57 AM
Great comment !!! I read most of the most comments and I rarely write but I like your analysis, therefore, I decided to complement you :)
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hallyumint
July 10, 2016 at 9:43 PM
? Thanks
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gerry13
July 10, 2016 at 10:34 PM
I also like your comments, at least someone sees kmj differently rather than bashing her
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34 michykdrama
July 10, 2016 at 7:43 AM
Yay! Recap for this awesome show.
I'm liking it more and more each week and seriously it's so fascinating- this is one show where EVERYONE is not as they originally seemed. Except YO who is the only one who has been consistent throughout. (Ironic, but I love it!)
I'm not going to analyze the medical/psychiatric part of this show because that's definitely not where its strengths lie. (The list of inaccurate medical stuff would be so long...)
I think the biggest strength in it is the amazing acting, especially for YO and his dad. The subtlest movements in their facial expressions convey so much more than words. I'm really fascinated in both YO as a person, and his relationship with his dad.
I also love how they are looking at what makes us human- is it emotions and empathy- can you be considered human without them? And how we tend to fear things we do not understand.
I love it that ironically we empathize so much with YO- the one who is supposed to be the least human- kudos to Jang Hyuk for his amazing portrayal!
So to my huge surprise I'm enjoying this show much more than I first expected. Cannot Wait for the new episodes.
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junny
July 10, 2016 at 9:00 AM
Heh, I actually got a good giggle from your previous posts on the medical inaccuracies. Thanks for pointing them out, I wish the drama had paid greater attention to getting details accurate (or as close to accurate as possible), since it'd really help in giving the show a lift.
I also agree that the show is asking a lot of good questions about human relationships and interactions, especially now that Jin-sung is less of a reckless fool. I'm curious about the relationship between Young-oh and dad - so twisted, so chilling in a lot of ways, and yet Young-oh still wants dad's love and approval.
Jang Hyuk is giving such a dominant performance that I think this outranks his Chuno one. And I'm glad the acting is consistently solid across the board.
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michykdrama
July 11, 2016 at 4:21 AM
Haha thanks! Glad at least my medical rambling isn't annoying ?
To be fair to them, there is quite a bit of realism, but they over dramatized a lot of it to make it more intense/exciting.
I don't know why they can't get a proper medical consult for their shows tho. I'd do it in a heartbeat, and for free! Except I don't speak Korean... ?
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35 extracheeseplease
July 10, 2016 at 8:50 AM
I know there's a lot of hate for Min-Jae right now--and rightfully so. Outing Young-Oh's disorder, blaming him for a murder she knows that he didn't commit, and then using him as fodder for a medical article without his permission* is the very definition of a b!tch move.
However, I think Young-Oh's father is an even worse person than Min-Jae is.
For one thing: he has the nerve to constantly nag Young-Oh about keeping his disorder a secret...yet published articles about Young-Oh's condition (which, btw, is the only reason Min-Jae was able to figure out that Young-Oh was a trauma-induced psychopath.) He criticized Young-Oh as a monster and (metaphorically, if not literally) cast Young-Oh out of his life...despite knowing that having a strong social support system is incredibly important for people with these kinds of disorders.
Honestly, if Young-Oh did go out next episode and start acting like the monster his father thinks he is, Young-Oh's father would have to take the largest share of the blame.
* Seriously, if I were Young-Oh, I'd turn Min-Jae over to the medical ethics board. You can't conduct medical studies without your research participants giving you informed consent. If this were real life and not a drama, Min-Jae could lose her license.
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36 August
July 10, 2016 at 4:09 PM
Beautiful Mind is more than just a medical drama mystery, it's a fascinating look into the human psyche (emotions, perception/reality of normal vs. monster, character motivations and behavior, exploration of man's inhumanity to man, etc.)
Excellent performances by both Jang Hyuk & Park Se-Young from the flashback scenes we see of them together to the intensity of the scenes we witnessed in this episode. Too bad, they weren’t cast as the OTP of the story because we got a glimpse of what could have been - they spark when onscreen together and have really good charged chemistry.
As I watched episodes 5 & 6 the following quote popped in mind:
To justify and make way for YO & JS to get together, the writer decided to have Min-Jae betray him thereby becoming a morally bad person. :)
The following is a comment posted by mcdc on Soompi.com:
This is what I was hoping a Beautiful Mind would explore...alas simply not meant to be. I've let go of the above hopeful feelings and wishes and have resigned myself to the fact it will occur and be (refer...
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August
July 10, 2016 at 4:18 PM
Continued...
I've let go of the above hopeful feelings and wishes and have resigned myself to the fact it will occur and be (refer to the BM poster). Even with the ending scene of Young-oh & Jin-Sung, still not really looking forward to their romance that is 100% certain to develop. With the strength of Jang Hyuk's acting and the hospital/research storyline gradually being revealed, a Beautiful Mind could stand on its own without the upcoming loveline them.
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junny
July 10, 2016 at 5:20 PM
I think Min-jae is made more interesting with her betrayal. She totally could have been the caring, understanding girlfriend, or screamed and shouted at Young-oh when she discovered the truth, but she did neither. She didn't even seek him out to ask him about his condition. She can't have written that thesis on him in such a short time, and she clearly didn't have his consent to be used as a subject of study. Professionally now, she's on shaky (legal) ground, ironic considering what she's given up to reach that position, and I hope she's wrestling with her conscience. I think Min-jae, knowing Young-oh's condition and struggling to accept the fact that he doesn't love her the way she wants to, would find it difficult to go to Young-oh without baggage even if she didn't stab him in the back. It'd be interesting to see how the writer develops her from now on. I wouldn't mind seeing Min-jae realise the error of her ways and use her medical knowledge to help Jin-sung with Young-oh.
Oddly enough, after going back to see the stills of Jang Hyuk and Park So-dam shooting the drama poster, I found they actually looked quite compatible, although I don't deny the chemistry between Jang Hyuk and Park Se-young. I don't want to see a romance along the lines of "love conquers all", but while Jin-sung is on her "think before you leap" arc and reaching out to Young-oh after her initial misunderstanding of him, I'm inclined to cut her a bit more slack.
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hallyumint
July 10, 2016 at 9:55 PM
I had the same sentiment but have to agree with Michykdrama
Without mutual trust she couldn't have helped him
In that sense jinsung is a better fit
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civilsecret
July 11, 2016 at 4:39 AM
tbh, i was never into KMJ and YO pairing in the first place even when i was annoyed by jin sung. and i think her character is a bit more interesting with the twist revelation. i dont see it in that they had to make her a bad guy to clear the path for jin sung cause their relationship was built on extremely shakey foundation already and even if she didnt know and found out, that relationship probably couldnt happen anyways. she still wouldnt have been the person that could help YO even if they never did that twist. they made her more morally corrupt but not straight out evil which i find interesting and it still continues to be an interesting look into the human psyche, her point of view and reaction did make sense from feeling betrayed, to bitterness and anger thinking he used her without ever trying to understand him, she justified what she did to him based on his condition of not being able to feel emotions like everyone else and felt pressure of losing her job. im sure she will struggle as a character and the decisions she has made and will come to realize the errors of her way. all the character in the show are flawed.so personally i dont think they had to justify her betraying YO cause it seemed more like a natural progression.
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Gwen
July 18, 2016 at 10:37 AM
I thought so at first - that MJ and YO made a better couple - until the traffic scene. That scene is metaphorically rich, with YO literally dazed by and running afoul of signals, and JS - the traffic cop! - rescuing him.
JS's identity as a traffic cop poses some complex questions about how so many emotions that we take for granted to be "human" and "universally understood" are constructed for navigating through a social contract, no less learned than traffic signs.
MJ makes a great foil (contrast). She assumes that YO's effort to perform love makes it less authentic (a pretense), but doesn't consider how love and human emotions in general are frequently performative. K-drama romance is performative, too - there's probably some tongue-in-cheek meta-criticism here.
Frankly, MJ as a psychologist-rehabilitator makes better common sense, but less poetic justice... I'm such a convert after that traffic scene.
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37 michykdrama
July 10, 2016 at 8:21 PM
I agree with you about feeling disappointed that MJ didn't end up with YO, because their chemistry was great. But I think she could never really help him because of the way their relationship developed.
She fell in love with him and chased him (fairly desperately in my opinion) and they had her heart broken when she realised his diagnosis. Their relationship is based on lies and deception- on both sides. Also, her interactions with him have been limited to her observing how he "pretended" to have feelings for her. They also have no mutual trust- YO doesn't trust her with his diagnosis, she automatically assumed (based on his diagnosis) he was a psychopath. How can a relationship start from that? I think her being a psychiatrist is actually more a hindrance than a help. In order to be impartial and not have a biased opinion of someone, you either need to be very level headed and intelligent, or you have to be super naive. She can't be the former because of her profession and also because she loved him.
So I think Jin Sung's character may have been written as such because she is very naive and although her opinion is easily swayed, she doesn't hold long term grudges and she has seen more sides of YO than MJ as well. So she will empathize and not have preformed expectations on how he should behave. So I'm pretty on board for the development of their friendship, and maybe if it's written well, their romance next time.
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michykdrama
July 10, 2016 at 8:23 PM
Sorry this was reply to @August and got put at the end for some reason!
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hallyumint
July 10, 2016 at 9:41 PM
Well put I agree with your analysis on KMJ and Young oh
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junny
July 11, 2016 at 2:56 AM
Agree with your analysis. The lack of trust is a killer. And as a doctor, she should have been more in tune with such conditions and be more accepting or understanding. But she turned on him.
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38 aram7
July 12, 2016 at 12:34 AM
very beautiful , drama Beautiful Mind ,and i love very much
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39 Barbrey
July 12, 2016 at 2:03 AM
If either woman was my friend, and told me the man she liked was a diagnosed sociopath, I would be strongly urging her to steer well clear. KMJ wasn't just fooled as a woman, she was fooled as a psychiatrist - no psychiatrist would ever knowingly date a sociopath, and she must have felt deep professional humiliation in addition to a sense of personal betrayal. You just have to go on those websites of spouses or girlfriends/boyfriends of sociopaths to find out how horrible those relationships can be. I'd be interested to read her report on him - though a report like hers would never in real life be allowed to be published because it wouldn't have passed an ethics review - he gave her no permission to use him as an experimental subject.
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40 Tha
July 15, 2016 at 9:57 PM
Suk-joo please be the one that proves goodness is real for Young Oh's sake. I think you might be the light at the end of the tunnel for him:)
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41 anibebe
June 4, 2017 at 10:03 AM
I don't get it. So was it the reaction between insulin & pseudoephedrine or the vial of potassium that killed Chief Director Shin?
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