This was indeed a difficult drama to categorize, as you said. When I watched the first episodes I was wondering why I continued watching, but being a woman so close to JeungSuk age, made it clear, even if I don't have kids and I've never been a housewife, I can totally relate to how she felt, and how she fought so hard to gain her life back and be the woman behind the wife and mother.

Both UJH and KBC gave impressive performances, and delivered their characters with a perfect balance between comedy and drama. The drama success is mainly theirs.

I don't think JS became a MD, I think she became a medical specialist, which is the equivalent of a nurse practioner here in the US. The certificates on her wall showed that.

To put it nicely, I'm disappointed with Dr. Cha's ending. Did I like it, yes? Did it stop my disappointment? No.

I actually liked what they did with some of their characters. Like In-ho signing the divorce papers before the surgery, now that's how you start to get into my good books.

I do not suddenly understand why MIL began crying after Jung-seok's last visit to the house prior to her surgery. When has she never being good to you that you're crying over this one 😒.

I could see the unsatisfying ending a mile away. As if my intuition was right, I delayed watching the finale episode. And my intuition was right after all. I just hope they get their landing right next time. JTBC I mean. They got away with My Liberation Notes. They're not getting away with this one.

Episode 15 had so many shots of Jeong sook walking sadly and slowly everywhere I almost walked away myself.

I was so happy with Jeong Sook when she said she is keeping the building and asked him to sell the house.
AeSim going to JeongSook’s mom drunk and pretending to be worried about Jeong Sook, when she had treated her like crap all this time!! UGH. But... “I can’t tell her to live in that house just because you’re uncomfortable “ ha.

When InHo heard that his wife might need another transplant and he finally started showing some remorse, it was good to see the growth, but all I could think was, you left the drivers side door open in the middle of traffic 😂 I may be gullible but I found his apology in the hospital genuine.

The two men fighting over who will donate their liver to her and the way the men looked hopeful as she made the decision and that the show decided this was the kick ass moment was surreal.

What seong jook said to Eun so was so touching. Perfect thing to say at the perfect time.

Ae Sim remained rotten and manipulative to the end. Watching her wash dishes was delightful.

The moment where you realize that InHo is imagining his family applauding his promotion was poignant. It drove home that he lost a lot as a consequence of his actions.

“You have to try and cling to my mother at least once to make it fair”? What? Wtf?

Jeong Sook ending up with Dr Kim wouldve been weird since there was no buildup of romance. She clearly didnt "like" him, so if she had said yes, it wouldve been very odd. I actually liked the end. No neat pairing off, just mess that you deal with as much as you can, just like life.

In the end, I'm a bit ambivalent because I'm not entirely satisfied with the finale. On the one hand, I am relieved that the divorce actually took place and that there wasn't a reconciliation. On the other hand, I think In-ho and his mother got off too easy.
But somehow the ending fits the second half of the series. I loved the first episodes because In-ho was so delightfully despicable and constantly getting his comeuppance, later these scenes became less and more harmless. For me the show was always at its best when In-ho was the caricature of a pathetic cheater/loser.

It's okay that Dr. Cha didn't get together with Dr. Roy, even though I had the feeling that this was originally planned differently, but then the writers didn't dare to let a divorced woman start a relationship with a younger man (though the age difference isn't that big at all). I find it sad that the two of them don't even seem to be friends any more, at most acquaintances and former colleagues.

This is the ending I needed!

I was a little disappointed with Ep 15.. the recurring liver issue, her putting others before her health etc. But the finale was so well done..
Finding your own happiness is the greatest of all!!

Overall, I liked how the characters were written and acted. It was a great casting. Almost impossible to truly hate anyone. They all were flawed beings.

Overall, a very good drama with the right dose of drama and comedy.

I liked this drama. I liked the ending. I liked the themes. I liked the execution. I liked the characters in all shapes and sizes. It’s one of the first dramas that I have ever unreservedly recommended to my colleagues.

And, I could not agree more, @dramaddictally, about wanting more closure for Eun-so and Yi-rang, but I can forgive that.

What I find it harder to forgive is that our Dr. Cha had to paint that last kitchen cabinet door for her frickin’ self. C’mon people!! I know she was needing/wanting closure in those scenes…she made you banchan and all. Those are perishable, though. You could have finished the remodeling before she had to flippin’ do it herself. Sigh.

I thought the ending was the best that it could be! Poetic even. Her being healthy and happy and doing all the things she is good at - making food and treating patients. I loved the fact that she chose In Ho’s liver because she damn well deserved it for all of her devotion to his family for 20 years!

I never wanted her to end up with Dr Roy either because true happiness does not mean a guy needs to be involved. I am sure with time she will find someone though. But for now her life felt blissfully happy to me.

I LOVED the ending. The look of joy and contentment on her face is the happy ending. Happy endings are not limited to being in a romantic relationship. Especially when you’ve just gotten out of a toxic one where you lost yourself. And I like how the divorce didn’t break up the family, but instead brought them closer. Now they’re honest, open, and finally doing things together. Good things by the looks of it. So, our dear Dr. Cha got everything she wanted: a career she’s passionate about and the restoration of her health and family. Who could ask for anything more? No wonder she looked so happy.

I loved this show from start to finish and I am going to miss it. Drama writers, more like this, please.

This drama started a bit cartoonish with an unrealistically angelic wife and her absolutely horrible husband. Yet, the drama became more and more nuanced as it went forward culminating in a really excellent and touching last episode. I enjoyed this watch and I was glad to have mature characters take center stage.

I binge-watched the second half of the series last week after live watching the first half. And that difference colored my perception a bit. It seemed the later episodes were weaker after Dr Cha’s oomph of a start.

As far as these two episodes go, I think they got the right ending for Dr Cha. I didn’t mind her not ending up Dr McDreamy at all. It was never a rom-com for me, but an inspo-com. And despite its faults, overall I found Dr Cha an inspiring story.

I wouldn’t have minded a comedic downfall for her husband tho instead of a redemption arc. (He was just that funny.) But oh well.

Overall, a very good watch.

Thats the best ending I can think of.

I like that she reject Roy Kim, because throughout the series she never think about him that way seriously . I would think if it were me too nearing 50s, with kids grown up and a career I love ongoing , I do not want to restart a family again. And Roy Kim deserves to go through the steps of starting a family and I think she can see that. Maybe better if she would not voice it out loud to him, but I think its just for the viewers to go ... but WHY NOT.

And I love all the characters development and including In Ho. Its a bit unbelievable lol, but I like it.

It was a fun watch. Is it deep? Not really. But I had fun and it does touch upon things I relate to like going back to work after a long time and the struggle in thinking did I made the right choice.

I liked the show and I thought the ending was fine. I agree with a lot of points that posters have mentioned already.

I do wonder why the reviews here have been generally positive while the reviews on MyDramaList have been so bad.

Also want to add that I expected Dr. Cha to not end up with Dr. Roy as she just got divorced and needs time for herself. But since she's never experienced true love before, it would have been nice to see a hint of a possible relationship with Dr. Roy after the 3 year time jump.

The only thing that made me sad about the ending was the weird Korean message of sublimation of sexuality. The reason Dr. Cha is happy with no boyfriend at the end of the story is that she has such an awesome life of adventure and service. I know some people are really like this, but she missed out on having a sex life with her husband when she was married. I mean, I also didn't want her to wind up with her transplant surgeon. For someone who enjoyed being a parent as much as she did, it would have been weird to agree to something that would stop her partner from having kids if he wanted them. I always admired people who could sublimate or seem not to care whether they had a sex life, but it's hard to accept here. She said when she caught her son making out with his girlfriend that she feared he took after her. On the other hand, her post-surgical career and adventures were exceedingly cool.

I am pleased with the ending of this show. during the show, I wholeheartedly thought they were going to do a grand gesture and redemption with the husband. So happy they went entirely another way. She didn't have to end up with Roy, but happy and fulfilled.

My wife and I really enjoyed this show and are not at all disappointed in the final two episodes. I thought that everything was well done.

I particularly love the way that I Dr. Cha set Dr. Kim free and the fact that our Dr. Roy Kimberly now really appreciates his adoptive parents- a break from the usual K-drama tropes. Having him donate his bone marrow to his execrable birth father was such a good way of reminding us what a lovely man he is- but I am glad it was just mentioned, and the show did not waste time on it. It is a pity that we did not get a better look at his girlfriend.

The ending couldn't have been better. As it is exactly how Jong-suk envisioned her life to be. She's always catered to others, but actually helping cure people is where heart lies. I don't agree about Jung-min and So-ra, they've been together long enough to progress their relationship. The way they resolved their problems was neat, it shows that they're solid unlike Jung-min's parents.
It seems like Inho got rewarded instead of the opposite, but honestly losing both women and coming to the realisation that he was a bad person/man/father is the best resolution he can get. I guess we just have to believe that he is a brilliant doctor who deserves the promotion. And knowing how the other directors are, he fits right in.
The only thing missing is Jong-suk's friend getting a happier ending too! Good on Dr. Kim, but I feel like she deserves it more. And I-rang and Eun-soo reconciling. 💔

The ending is totally unacceptable to me for many reasons. She had been badly mistreated during her marriage and husband's refusal to donate his liver is despicable and at the time his wife is very ill he went for a vacation with his mistress and mind you he has never gone for a vacation since they were married. Would anyone agree that saying sorry and being a better person than he was is a satisfactory ending?

What about Roy? He is willing to donate his liver to a friend not his wife or GF. He was always there for her and even worry after knowing she was being cheated by her scummy hubby. All he received in return was a gentle goodbye and wishing him the best. Just a few minutes of them meeting to end any hopes of a future together. Why did the show lead us into thinking there is something happening between Dr Cha and Roy and how close they are, so close that he got into altercations with her husband. So it was all for nothing, a handshake, thanks and goodbye. How would one classify this drama as certainly it is not a romcom?

I'm actually really disappointed by the ending and getting angrier the more I think about it. I think that Jeong-suk not ending up with Roy made ZERO sense. As someone on Reddit said, it had this vibe of "go breed with a younger woman." Do we even know that he wanted kids? If that was a significant goal of his, wouldn't he have settled down by now? Dude is 42, if he married a woman his own age they might not even be able to have children at this point. The drama acted like he's significantly younger than Jeong-suk when it's only by a few years, he's in the SAME developmental stage.

And I wanted Jeong-suk to finally experience a real love, and an equal partnership, which Roy would have given her. This false dichotomy of independence vs. love infuriates me and is one of the big reasons I don't watch western media anymore. No one EVER says a male character is less independent or strong because he ends up in a relationship at the end. NOT TO MENTION, Jeong-suk and Roy don't even seem to stay friends. She's closer to In-ho at the end! Roy finds happiness off screen, what the hell? In-ho had a happier ending than Roy. I also really didn't want an ending where Jeong-suk ends up alone and In-ho ends up with Seung-hi, but based on what the drama was hinting at it seems like that's what I got. Couldn't they have at least left Roy and Jeong-suk open ended? If they weren't gonna do justice to their relationship then they shouldn't have made him a love interest. At this point it seems like the romance was just there to make In-ho jealous, which is so unfair (is this how most people feel about second male leads? lol). If they REALLY had to go this route, I think they should have made him go back to the US because his staying in Korea makes zero sense at this point.

Overall, I got this vibe of "Jeong-suk's already lived her life and should just relax at this point" which feels counter to the idea of starting over at her age. Finally, I feel like this was marketed as a romance drama when it shouldn't have been.

Things I liked: Roy realizing his adoptive parents were his real family and not ditching them for his bio family like in other dramas, So-ra's test turning out to be negative.

I loved it and I'm gonna miss it. The actors were awesome.

The series ended as expected but got mixed reviews. There were many main story plots to answer in the last 2 hours: Cha’s serious health condition; her marriage/divorce; I-Rang’s college; Jung-min’s romance with Jeon; Jung-min’s career crisis; the mortgage fraud on her by her MIL; Choi’s decision to give up on Seo and live a new life with her daughter; and Roy’s donation of marrow. Many of the secondary ones were answered in a mere sentence or two. Seo ended up alone with neither Cha or Choi by his side which was a fitting conclusion for a very selfish, arrogant and self-centered person. The parallel that Cha and Choi both chose their careers over a husband was OK. Overall, I liked the show. But there were parts of the show I did not like.

Never liked Roy’s advances on Cha. He knew she was going through a rough time. She could vulnerable in a rebound relationship. It was best he found someone else.
Never liked the MIL’s obsession with money; perhaps she constantly berated Seo for marrying Cha instead of the rich heiress Choi..
Never liked the massive alcohol drinking by doctors and hospital staff the night before work. It seemed irresponsible.
Never liked Choi’s stubbornness and fantasy that Seo belonged to her because they were a campus couple.
Never liked Seo’s inability to change. He was still his manipulative, narcissistic self even when his marriage had fallen a part.
Never liked that even after the time skip the show did not show in real detail Jung-min and Jeon’s budding relationship coming to a serious point. That couple could have mirrored or contrasted the vague backstories of Cha and Seo’s beginning.

I did like that Cha did not collapse under the pressure of a divorce, a career and serious health condition. It was fitting that she would up as a neighborhood solo family practice doctor and healthy cafe owner because of her great rapport with patients.

There's another element that I really like about this drama in general. Or the lack of. No hospital politics! The lives of the patients weren't brought in jeopardy because of sudden underfunding of greedy higher-ups. The fights in the ER were ridiculous but I'll take those over poor people dying in favor of affluent clients. And the hints of oppressive power were minimum.

I liked the ending. I think it was right for all the characters and it was still light. One thing I had mixed feelings about was Dr. Roy donoting his bone marrow to his biological father but whatever. I guess it was to show how nice of a person he is and he doesn't hold animosity or grudges and it made him appreciate the parents who raised him so okay.
It's cool Dr. Cha was able to have a business that was satisfying and flexible so she could take it easier but still fulfill her needs.

I don't have much to say because I wasn't affected as I see other people were and the ending did just wrap up everything pretty neatly.

The ending annoyed me to no end.

Dr Cha ended where she began: as the saintly, motherly woman without a love life, only that she cares for even more people now and obviously takes better care of herself.

It amazed me to no end, how an all-leather outfit with stilettos can be frumpified by a stupid haircut alone.

As other commenters stated, happiness does not necessarily have to include a partner. However, turning someone down because you cannot give them children is incredibly backwards and reduces women to mere childbearers. As if a 42 year old man(!) cannot make a decision about his future. Instead, he is educated in a very condescending manner by his his love interest that he should get married and have children instead. (On the upside, after being crestfallen, he might realise that he is indeed better off without Saint Halmeoni.)

Finally, a show that landed it's ending well. It may have slowed down a bit but still a good wrap-up. I am glad that the divorce went through. I also liked that she turned down Dr. Roy. She is on a journey to find and love her own self first. She needs to live her life how she chooses it to be and be happy before jumping again into a new relationship and be defined again because of that. I also never got the vibe that she liked Dr. Roy back the same way.

In-ho actually got a harsh punishment.. ending up alone and forever regretting what he has lost. This is not a revenge drama, so, no one needs to be sent to jail or end up dirt-poor (lol).

Anyway, kudos to Kim Byung Chul, such a versatile actor. He does comedy really well (Dr. Cha and Mr. Sunshine) and he can be very scary too (Goblin). But first time I had seem cry and he did that very well too.

I think this show was well-acted overall.

Good show, not perfect but well done.

I absolutely loved the ending. Was the show perfect? – No but it showed growth. Everyone moved to better, healthier place at the end of the show.
I am fine with Dr. Cha not ending up with Dr. Kim. Not everything has to be picture perfect. She started as overworked, underappreciated, and unhappy house wife and ended up as happy and healthy. She fulfilled her dreams and became much appreciated pillar of the community.

I wasn't in love with the ending either. But what really bummed me out was reading about the bad reception in south Korea to the little mermaid because the mermaid was black. I support K-dramas, but why should I if south Koreans have such a poor opinion of people who look like me? South Koreans would have gotten nowhere is America without black people. They were able to come to America and thrive on the backs of black people who fought for racial equality. They purchased businesses in black communities and relied on their commerce. They opened haircare stores featuring black products and relied on their commerce. They have BTS because they adopted a black at form. We were also a great allies during the Korean war. We gave Korea fried chicken. The Koreans did not invent it, African Americans did and brought it to their country. I'm so sad about this ugly news from a culture I formerly thought was lovely. They keep talking about Asian hate. Asian hate happens because Asians hate other cultures. No more K·dramas for me. Sadly.

I have mixed feelings about the ending. On the one hand, I liked where the characters ended up — if I had just read a bullet-point list of where everyone was, I would have been perfectly fine with the ending.

Watching it portrayed, though, left me feeling sad. I guess the show was going for a reflective or introspective feel, and I was hoping for an ending with some oomph.

I'm on board with her not ending up with Dr. Roy. IMHO, having her jump into another relationship after ending a two-decade marriage would have felt untrue to her character development. For the first time in her adult life, she was finally free to explore who she was as an individual, unencumbered by any claims other people may have had on her time and energy. Going into a new relationship at that point would have again clipped her wings and kept her from exploring her own passions.

I think that was a beautiful end to an overall good drama. I loved that this story through the end remained a story about Jeong-Suk, her journey to self-dsicovery and happiness. I thought the bickering between In-Ho ans Dr. Roy toward the ned was unnecessary. I also was disppointed to not see any growth with Eun-Seo. That girl did not even once apologized to anyone, especially to i-rang. Also, Jeong-Suk's mother in law was another one I didn't see that much growth in. But I was overall happy about Jeong Suk, how she got to pursue what she wanted and how in the end she seemed content. Good lesson here on the importance of finding ourselves besides our different roles. In that sense, I was glad she did not end up with Dr. Roy. I thought that was a very smart choice by the writers.

I enjoyed Doctor Cha, and I recommend it to others to watch.

The last two episodes were good with the last episode being the strongest one and a great ending to the series.

I agree with Doctor Cha being honest w/ Doctor Roy. Doctor Cha let him know she’s been married, she’s had two children, she’s been divorced, etc. She’s been there. She’s done that. As she said… I experienced the noise and now I want the quiet. Doctor Cha is at a different point in her journey through life than Doctor Roy is on his. Doctor Cha is removing herself from the picture so Doctor Roy may go through these same experiences, but it needs to be w/ someone else preferably with less baggage. This was very admirable of Doctor Cha.

In fact, I’m aware of the above scene being played out in real-life.

Some have commented about Doctor Cha not knowing what Doctor Roy wanted. The actions of Doctor Roy moving on with someone else indicates he got the message and my take is he wanted the marriage and the family.

Jung-min + So-ra. I loved this couple. Nice ending for them. My take is they can have a beautiful life together.

I-Rang + Eun-Seo. I’m OK with it ending where it did with I-Rang apologizing to Eun-Seo, and the two of them going their separate ways. It could have been different, but Eun-Seo is bitter and destructive. Eun-Seo doesn’t have I-Rang’s best interest at heart, and I-Rang wouldn’t be able to trust Eun-Seo. Eun-Seo has lashed out at I-Rang already once and I don’t see this changing. I-Rang is a sweet young lady. I-Rang deserves better than Eun-Seo as a friend.

Final scene. Anyone know the location? It was very beautiful.

I really enjoyed this one. The various relationship wrap-ups were realistic. My wife is gaga over Min Woo-hyuk. Now following all over Youtube. But I digress. One thing left open are the 2 half-sisters. From what I have witnessed personally (in real life) is they will not have anything to do with each other through no fault of their own.

The ending was very well done regarding the relationship between the 4 main characters.
Kim Byung chul showed great acting skills from drama to comedy. I was hooked on this series.