When we last left off, Sung Sook slapped Jin Hee, in full view of both Chang Min and Dr. Guk. She demands that Jin Hee be replaced by Ah Reum as her intern. Dr. Guk refuses, and she responds by calling in a favor to have the switch made above his head. Then she dismisses Chief Guk as if he were her foot-servant. It's obvious from his expression that he is not amused by this.
Ah Reum comes into the VIP room, and informs Dr. Guk that the Director told her to come there, so obviously it was no bluff; Sung Sook has some serious influence. Dr. Guk is again dismissed by Sung Sook. He tells Ah Reum to meet him in his office later. After Dr. Guk leaves, she butters up Ah Reum with meaningless flattery.
Dr. Guk has a true fight on his hands. Not only has the ER been blamed for the tracheotomy patient, but it is trying to fire Jin Hee while Sung Sook is causing no end of trouble. And she can, apparently, as a VIP with connections. As much as I look at the amounts on medical bills and think, "I'm in the wrong business," I would not want to be inChief Guk's shoes. I do admire the way he handles Sung Sook. I would have at least flicked her on the forehead by now.
Chief Guk and the Director talk about Jin Hee's dismissal notice. Dr. Guk asks for a little more time to deal with it. After a morning briefing, Jin Hee heads to Chief Guk's office; she hands him a letter of resignation. Dr. Guk is called away, and so has to deal with it later.
Dr. Guk and Chang Min discuss Jin Hee's situation, and Dr. Guk tells him about the dismissal notice. Chang Min gets indignant and argues that the Jin Hee should not be the only one fired. Dr. Guk implies it's because of his connections that he's not being fired.
This news seemed to have a profound effect on Chang Min. It seems he wants to prove himself on his own merits, not dodge bullets simply because he has influence. This might bring him closer to Ah Reum, who has the same hangup: she's a minister's daughter, but wants to make it under her own auspices and not have strings pulled for her. It also impresses me that Chang Min doesn't seem to like having powerful relatives. A lesser man might be tempted to wield that power; he certainly has a rotten example in the form of his mother.
The Chief also appears to have lightened up on Chang Min. For awhile it seemed like everything he did was wrong, and Jin Hee caught more breaks than he did. I realize karma is a harsh mistress, but there's a limit. It created some interesting conflicts in the beginning, but now I just feel sorry for the guy.
In the hallway, Jin Hee sees a recently-released patient collapse, and rushes to help. The patient refuses treatment; her boyfriend explains the bill would be too much. Jin Hee sets the couple up in an exam room, and covertly wheels an ultrasound machine into the room, treating the woman for free. When she finds a gallstone, she alerts Dr. Gook, who confronts her about doing this secretly, but agrees to help anyway, and wheels the patient to the OR.
This is really good development for Jin Hee's character. It shows she cares enough to even risk losing her job to make sure a patient gets proper care. She cares far more about saving lives than who gets the bill, who gets blamed. What was even more fascinating was that Dr. Guk agreed to operate. He's been accused of being hard-hearted before, even in this episode. Now it looks like he just wants to do the right thing.
After the operation, Chief Guk chides Jin Hee for her behavior. He explains to her that being a doctor is important to her, if her behavior at the bar was any indication, and tears up her resignation letter. "I'll fire you when I feel like it," he tells her. He further expounds that a doctor is someone who tries their hardest to save lives. He then tells her to go out and see one more patient.
Sung Sook loses consciousness due to a heart problem. After a battle to revive her, Professor Ahn learns that Jin Hee was the one who had the forethought to hook her up to an EKG. Chief Guk praises her for her actions but wants to know why. She answers and it is a good, solid answer, well-grounded in medical know-how. With any luck the higher-ups are impressed enough to take her seriously, and stop belittling her intelligence.
Sung Sook refuses to thank Jin Hee when prompted by Dr. Guk. Chang Min even chastises her for it. Dr. Guk later asks why she saved Sung Sook after all that humiliation. Jin Hee replies she does not know, and he says that's why she is still an intern.
Chang Min goes to his father, and castigates him for not taking proper care of Sung Sook, or even caring at all.
It's interesting to see the relationship between him, Chang Min, and Jin Hee. He seems not to care at all for Sung Sook, and refuses to cave to her or play her games. He dismisses Chang Min in the same manner, hardly the attitude a father should have towards his son. Perhaps he feels that Chang Min has too much of his mother in him to be worth his time? I'm hoping the show will shed more light on this in the future. He certainly seems to regard Jin Hee as the daughter he never had, and even helped her study for medical school.
At a nightclub, Dr. Guk and Ji Hye are enjoying a drink, and taking in a local band. Jin Hee heads there to relax, and sees her sister performing onstage. With a bloodcurdling yell, she lunges for the stage.
I said in my last review I wanted to see more of Jin Ae, and now it looks like we will. This should be an interesting showdown. We know very little of Jin Ae other than she appears to be a carefree spirit, very much at odds with Jin Hee and her mother. Jin Hee has even said that her sister is rebellious because their mother favors Jin Hee and not Jin Ae. I can't wait to see how this turns out.
The way I see it, Chang Min owes Jin Hee for two lives: his own, and his mother's. It's nice to see Chang Min softening his attitude toward his ex. Despite wanting her fired before, now he has a problem with it. When his mom is unspeakably rude to her, he chides her repeatedly. I'm glad he finally seems to accept that she's a doctor, and the abuse is now limited to 10 second segments. I'm not sure I could take non-stop hate episode after episode. That's not funny to me, that's sad.
I do wonder how the dead patient story arc is going to pan out. They've handwaved it in this episode more than anything. The main point appeared to be Jin Hee's dismissal, which appears is in limbo now? If she's not let go, does that set up a subplot for someone else to be fired? I like a show that leaves you wondering. It's only a cheat if these questions go unanswered.
One thing amusing to me is that they seem to be ending with a lot of cliffhangers. I like that -- it increases the tension waiting for the next episode. They do it well here. At least we only need to wait a week not months (as in a season-ender) or years (like Star Wars).
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