EMERGENCY COUPLE EPISODE 18

This episode shows the main characters going through a period of reflection and understanding. Dr. Guk, Jin Hee, and Chang Min all go through some life-changing realizations that enable them to grow and be at least more content, if not happier.

We start with Jin Hee confronting Chang Min with her wedding ring that he bought from the pawn shop after her sister stole it from Jin Hee and pawned it. He turns the question around and asks her why she kept it in the first place. She admits that the divorce was not the end for them, that she wants to start again. Usually keeping a memento of a loved one that is no longer around can be a painful thing. In this case, it seems to be an item that reminds them of good times spent together. Each of them keeps the ring because they have never given up hope.

Chang Min's attitude is one of skepticism. He remembers Jin Hee's earlier words: she said she didn't want him back, that she detested him. So he tells her it's all in her head, that it's actually pity because she sees him going through a rough patch after his father's death. He is convinced that what she feels for him is not real love. I think her words really hurt him; she was angry that he took her words at face value and left her alone. The connection he tried to forge failed -- when she injured her arm and he took care of her, when he spent time with her to remind her of the past. It all appeared to fail, and he simply let her go.

We find however, that Jin Hee did not despise him. Rather, I think, she despised who they became when they were together. They always fought, there was rarely a kind word or glance between them. We saw where their love led: He was always angry and domineering and she shrank before him until she felt cornered and lashed out herself. She finally realizes what her role was in the destruction of their relationship, that she was too wrapped up in herself to see anything from his point of view. She rebuffed his advances this time around simply because she was afraid of falling for him again.

Jin Hee is not discouraged by Chang Min. She knows what she wants, and when he pushes her away she uses another tactic, a sweet tactic: fortune cookies. What's more, these fortune cookies have custom fortunes. Some of them address what she wants to say to him. One fortune directs him to meet her at a coffee shop. The fortune cookies are probably the highlight of this episode, it's very sweet and touching. Is there anything better than having fortune cookies with messages inside them from the one you love? Maybe, but I'm hard-pressed to think of something better at the moment.

Dr. Guk's suspension has given him time to think, to ponder about the relationship between Chang Min and Jin Hee. He also ponders being alone. He finds a postcard in the book he's reading, and decides to pen a note to his father. It was a sad thing, watching Dr. Guk try to fill his time.� The hospital, it seems, was his life, and any time spent away from the hospital is time ill-spent, to him at any rate. Seeing him write to his father was interesting. It's a terse note and a bit uncertain. I was touched, watching him quietly slip the note into the mailbox and walk along the road to his house. When he discusses what he did with Ji Hye, a rare smile crosses his face. I want to see him smile more.

The other characters also have their time in this episode, though not for long. We have a teasing vignette where Ah Reum and Yong Gyu almost kiss as their faces are close, both of them concentrating on picking up the mess caused by his careening into her. Sang Hyuk and his wife continue to argue about a baby. While the scenes between Ah Reum and Yong Gyu are elegant, Sang Hyuk and his wife are getting a bit stale. We get it: a baby is more important to him than to her. But why not do more than talk about it?� Maybe he could do something creative to convince her as Chang Min and Jin Hee have done? It almost seems like they need something to justify the actors' time in front of the camera.

The final scene has Jin Hee outfitting Chang Min with a stethoscope and pressing the other end to her heart. She wants him to listen to her heart beating for him (of course, she's been running up flights of stairs so any increase in pulse rate could just be from exertion). She wants him to know that she loves him, that her heart flutters when she's with him. I thought the stethoscope was a nice touch, one of the iconic symbols of their profession utilized to tell Chang Min exactly how she feels about him.

We're only a few short episodes from the end. I think we all knew where the show was heading, but wow, what a journey!� I know it was meant to be layered, each new episode revealing a bit more about each character in turn.� It's a great show, and I'll be sorry to see it go. Anyone have any thoughts about the series? Love it? Hate it? Write 'em below!

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