[Drama Review] 'Doctors' - Episode 14

AKP STAFF

Park Shin Hye, Lee Sung Kyung, Kim Rae Won

DOCTORS -- EPISODE 14

"What are they doing in there?"
"I don't wanna know!"

Hye Jung is angry with Ji Hong for going to her father's shop to get rice soup. Meanwhile, Joong Dae has been missing for two days and is crashing at Soon Hee's, much to her consternation. He doesn't want to go back to the hospital� and endure the abuse heaped on him by coworker Kyung Joon. The children Hae and Dal are left in the care of the doctors while dad tries to earn money and dodges calls about debts. Ji Hong questions Chairman Jin about being the last one to see his dad alive and doesn't like his answers. Our heroine gets a visit from her dad, who gives her a photo of her mother, but she still blows him off. Hye Jung interrogates another O-R attendant present at Grandma's surgery. Young Guk, who has been Seo Woo's friend since Yoon Do dumped her, surprises her with a hug. Ji Hong sets up a hospital welfare system to help those who can't pay, using the funds from investors for a patent. Hae and Dal's dad (cameo by Nam Goong Min)�tries to commit suicide, seeing that orphans can have all their medical expenses paid. Hye Jung talks him down, asking how his kids would feel if they knew...

The suicide attempt was fairly exciting. I figured he'd maybe hide and they'd have to go find him. A fairly poignant moment was at the end when we hear Yoon Do's voice, explaining to Seo Woo why he's attracted to a girl with a past, that those who have healed their own scars can often heal others. I wonder if we'll see the resolution to all this or if we're supposed to know that everything will turn out all right.

Wow, what a subplot involving Joong Dae! I'm glad they did something with him. For the longest time he was comic relief. True, he's even funnier here, with this face that lends itself to exaggeration. But he's been the butt of Kyung Joon's abuse from day 1, always getting hit for something. He would always mock his prodigious appetite, as well. I'd be looking to get away from a toxic situation like that too.

Ji Hong is shaking things up, just like I hoped. Not only is he looking into the circumstances of hid dad's death but he's also wrestling with Myeong Hoon. I was waiting for that. He talks of payment reform, realizing that not everyone is rich enough to pay their medical bills. Ji Hong tells the corrupt director that he'll bring it up at the next board meeting and use his father's allies on the board to get it approved, flustering Myeong Hoon. I laughed out loud at that. He's learning the game!

"Th-thirty more seconds and I can rest before the next exercise..."

I haven't really touched on Kyung Joon yet, but he's a thoroughly dislikable character. I can't find any redeeming qualities in him at all. He's still an apprentice, yet he lords it over the other hoobaes. He's a tin-plated dictator who runs rather less than a tight ship. His outbursts do little more than annoy me. I'm hoping the Joong Dae incident teaches him a lesson.

They really packed this episode with plots and subplots. It's nice to see a tightly plotted drama. This whole drama was filmed in advance, and it shows. This episode in particular was full of intrigue, drama, even some suspense with the suicide attempt. The nice thing is they kept it from being too dark with Joong Dae's antics. That guy should be in comedy. Again, this drama's getting high marks from me.