Romantic Doctor Teacher Kim 3: Episodes 15-16 (Final)
by alathe
To those who thought I’d have run out of medical terminology right now, I say to you this: pass the vascular clamp and ready the nylon tape! With an uncontrollable forest fire wreaking havoc, our doctors must give everything they’ve got. Doldam is no stranger to threats to its existence… but this latest crisis is the most devastating yet.
EPISODES 15-16
As smoke paints the horizon, a woman keys Doldam’s address into her satnav and sighs. She’d so been looking forward to heading home. There’s only one character capable of such nonchalance in a crisis… the fabulous DR. SHIM HYE-JIN (Park Hyo-joo)! A woman who clearly chose anesthesiology due to her deep affinity for those who take long naps! It’s a good thing she’s back from sabbatical, because Doldam’s in sore need of numbers.
With most of his staff on walkout, Dong-joo refuses to budge; he’d sooner fight the fire singlehanded. But with crisis at their door, the Trauma Center medics are willing to table their grievances — temporarily. Don’t get the wrong idea, Woo-jin tells Dong-joo, as Eun-jae icily dons her scrubs. They came back for the patients’ sakes. Sure enough, when Doldam’s ER floods with chemical burn victims, Woo-jin opens the Trauma Center to those with minor injuries. Nurse Oh’s reaction? Amused pride. Dong-joo’s reaction to her reaction? A look that screams, hands off my mother figure! Nurse Oh assures Dong-joo that she’s every bit as proud of him too. But consider this: the situation calls for a unifying leader, not a lone hero.
The worst fire victims are the paramedics — two of whom our doctors know all too well. Despite Dr. Jung’s frantic CPR, one man dies, in full view of his heartbroken colleagues. The second, PARAMEDIC HEO (Im Jae-geun) has extensive injuries: massive hemothorax, and intraventricular hemorrhage. The latter means bleeding on the brain; it’ll require Teacher Kim’s expert attention. In the meantime, Eun-jae is instructed to do a combo surgery with her nemesis du jour, Kang “I stick tubes where I please” Dong-joo.
Neither is thrilled by this — but for once, it’s Dong-joo who attempts a peace offering. Sort of. This happens during the legally dubious matter of asking Paramedic Heo’s pint-sized son for surgical consent. (Okay, so they’re desperate.) Don’t worry, Dong-joo tells the child, with a glance at Eun-jae. Our best surgeon, will be operating. Eun-jae chuckles queasily. I just wanted to encourage you, chuckles Dong-joo, whose leadership style is evolving into what might best be termed “benevolent emotional blackmail.”
Still, all personal turbulence disappears when our heroes grab their scalpels. Instead, all is quiet professionalism and pinpoint concentration. With these talented surgeons in one place, Dr. Shim remarks, it seems Teacher Kim’s picture is complete. Perhaps. But not for long. Across the ER, Teacher Kim receives news worse than a death blow: the wildfire is hurtling toward them. They have forty, maybe fifty minutes before Doldam and the Trauma Center are engulfed in flame.
There’s nothing to do but run. Heart all but splitting in two, Teacher Kim calls Director Park. An organized retreat is announced. Trauma Center staff, plus any patients who can walk, will head to an evacuation site. Doldam doctors will go to the public health center. Meanwhile, Teacher Kim and Eun-tak will rush in to deal with Paramedic Heo. One last surgery, then, in the scant minutes that remain.
As smoke thickens around the building, our doctors operate, unaware. Eun-jae and Sun-woong tackle the pleural cavity, whilst Dong-joo sutures up a leaking liver. Woo-jin runs in to buy them time, attending to the damaged mesentery. Finally, Teacher Kim and Eun-tak wheel in the drill, to prep for brain surgery. In the silent dark of the OR, for a few glorious minutes, they work in perfect sync. There’s utter stillness as Teacher Kim inserts the catheter directly into the patient’s head. Blood drains. Wounds are taped. Paramedic Heo lives.
Only one impossible challenge remains: telling this room full of brilliant people that it’s time to let go. I need you to stay calm, says Teacher Kim. He explains that the fire is headed their way — that as soon as they finish, they must leave. You all worked well, he says. Then, with the air of a man unwillingly delivering a eulogy: we really were a perfect team.
Numb with shock, Eun-jae, Woo-jin, Dong-joo and Eun-tak emerge from the OR. They step into a dense wall of smoke. Sputtering, Woo-jin and Eun-jae head for the exit, flinching as they catch sight of the advancing fire. Dong-joo lingers in the office long enough to trail his hand against his new, unused desk. Teacher Kim turns to go — then pauses in the silent Trauma Center. He sinks down onto the stairs and simply — looks. Breathes. Then, he hears a woman — could it be Hyun-ju? — call his name. As the halls flare orange, he chases her voice deeper into the hospital.
Neither Doldam not the Trauma Center are, in fact, deserted. Each of our heroes have found an excuse to linger in the halls. Word spreads that Teacher Kim is missing — and soon, his students are frantically chasing through the smoke. Fittingly, it’s the very first person he brought to Doldam who resolves the emergency. When Nurse Oh walks into the OR, she finds Teacher Kim neither injured, nor desperate, nor broken — just pensive. Just sad.
They reminisce about how it all began. How Teacher Kim fled to Doldam as refuge from the world. How his pupils came to find him nonetheless. Dr. Cha and Dr. Kang are great surgeons, says Nurse Oh, but there’s a difference between skill… and gravity. This building could burn to cinders, but with you to pull us back into your orbit, the team itself is eternal. Teacher Kim gives that loving, now-habitual chuckle of his — which doubles in volume when she opens her hand to reveal a piece of candy. I figured your blood sugar might be low, she grins.
And just like that, there’s hope. Far from being apocalyptic, this new peril is nothing a bit of junk food — and a whole dollop of Kim-style charisma — can’t fix. Besides, three seasons’ worth of villains could hardly make a dent in our beloved, impossible, ivy-ridden miracle hospital. What hope could the measly forces of nature have? Soon, there’s a rumble of thunder. Dotted across Doldam, our heroes flock to the windows. A raindrop falls. Then, another. All at once, everyone is dancing, hugging, and getting soaked to the skin. Text notifications fly: the fire is receding; by morning, the evacuation order will be lifted.
Sighing in relief, Eun-tak turns to leave — only to come face to face with Ah-reum. This time, he collects himself quickly enough to stack one word in front of the other. The result? A long-overdue apology. During the evacuation, he’d watched her dial his number and sob in despair when he didn’t answer. Now, he knows how she must have felt during the building collapse. And so, having finally found his voice, he utters a series of very short, very important sentences. Let’s not break up. I love you. And, most significantly of all: I’ll do better.
What follows is a very enthusiastic kiss. You go, you crazy kids you! I can’t say I was rooting for you all the way, but Ah-reum deserves the world — and if what she wants instead is love crumbs from the most aloof man alive, then go figure! He’d better buy her an entire field of roses.
At the Trauma Center, Eun-jae and Woo-jin share an exhausted hug. They have approximately ten seconds to bask in the afterglow of Doldam’s latest not-destruction before a voice pierces the gloom. It’s a battered and bloodied Assemblywoman Ko. She’s driven here with her injured aides — one of whom has a tree branch plunged through his chest.
It’s all hands on deck — and all means minimal. Still, our heroes fall to work with zero hesitation. Assemblywoman Ko watches, tears in her eyes, whilst Teacher Kim and his pupils do what they do best: wrangle patients back from the brink of death. As Teacher Kim sutures away, Dong-joo remembers the first time he witnessed the speed of his hands. MS or not… he’s still got it. Afterwards, Assemblywoman Ko, asks if Teacher Kim plans to make one last pitch for the Trauma Center. Frankly, given the rate at which this woman gets injured, I’m surprised she needs convincing. Teacher Kim seems to feel the same. What’s the point of reconstruction, he says, if there’s no hospital? If people are left dying without aid? If this incident has caused her to feel shame… well, she shouldn’t ignore it. Gauntlet thoroughly thrown, he turns on his heel to leave.
A few weeks later, Doldam is coming back to life. In fact, there’s a joint celebration ahead: Dong-hwa’s farewell party, mixed with Eun-jae and Woo-jin’s housewarming! No, nobody is sure how this happened — least of all our OTP, who were certain they’d kept their living situation on the down low. (Alas, only Sun-woong was fooled.) (“They were dating?!” he exclaims. Please, nobody tell this poor innocent what they were doing in the office that one time.)
On his last day, Dong-hwa receives a gift from Teacher Kim. It’s a scalpel once meant for Hyun-ju: Teacher Kim’s first student… and Dong-hwa’s older sister. After her death, Dong-hwa confesses, I became a doctor in her stead. But I don’t have the courage to live like you. Teacher Kim shrugs. That’s fine! Find something that makes you happy, and do it — it’s as simple as that. And so, as our protagonists munch chicken, clink beers, and admire Eun-jae and Woo-jin’s lackadaisical approach to housekeeping, Dong-hwa clears his throat for an announcement. He’ll be staying at Doldam, with the people he’s grown to love — at least for now.
The next morning, Eun-jae blearily opens her eyes… to a ring on her finger. Yep, that sort of ring; when she interrogates Woo-jin, he’s quite clear on the matter! But he kisses her soundly just to get the message across. Meanwhile, Ah-reum and Eun-tak bashfully discuss dogs, children, and white picket fences — whilst, at Doldam, Dr. Jung reunites with his own wife and child.
There’s one question left on everyone’s lips: when will the mail arrive? No, really — are they getting government funding or not? Director Park is a man in constant torment. Even Nurse Oh takes pity, sharing some hard-won advice: there’s no such thing as wasted effort. What I mean, she adds, is thank you for all you’ve done. It takes him a moment to process that she just praised him, but when he does, his expression is priceless. It’s almost as good as the look on his face when the letter in question arrives. It’s not every day you get to tell Teacher Kim that his dreams have come true!
But fully-funded victories aside, some things never change. The sign on Doldam Hospital will always sputter on and off. Flawed doctors will join and metamorphose into great doctors. And there will always, without exception, be a new threat to the hospital’s very existence. That Ministry of Health official that everyone forgot about? He’s back, and he has a thing or two to say about the Trauma Center accepting non-trauma patients! (Dong-joo and Director Park give him twin, dead-eyed stares. Ah, the joys of management.)
Still, our heroes are prepared to weather any storm, with a song in their hearts and a scalpel in hand! Besides, Dong-joo won’t be short-staffed for long. For one thing, he’s finally won Woo-jin over: who wouldn’t get excited by his plans to make the Trauma Center the number one hospital in the area? For another… well. In the dark of evening, a woman steps out of a taxi. Yoon Seo-jung reads her suitcase. That’s right — as we come full circle, the Crazy Whale has returned to Doldam’s shore!
Where to begin? Sequels are a tricky business, and much like Teacher Kim himself, this show isn’t scared to chase newer, greater dreams. This latest installment was about holding onto what you love so hard it nearly breaks your heart — only to realize that love isn’t as fragile as you think. Did it tackle big waves in the form of an overly large cast? Sure. Were plot lines started, then abandoned? Alas. Were its female characters often neglected in favor of lauding male genius? Trust me, I could write a book on that one. And yet, despite — or perhaps because of — all its flaws and its messy ambition, this season was truly a joy to experience. Doldam’s larger-than-life characters will always cut to my emotions with scalpel precision!
Where this season really shone was in its development of Teacher Kim. I love how he was forced to tussle with the idea of succession, whilst doubting his own leadership. I love that he came so close to losing Doldam itself, only for it to stay impossibly, miraculously alive. I love that he, like his team, can be flawed, and difficult, and human. I wish we’d had more time to dwell on things like the rivalry between Eun-jae and Dong-joo (“two very proud geniuses,” anyone?), or the redemption of Dr. Cha — and there are plenty of characters I wish had gotten more screentime. But highs and lows aside, I still get shivers down my spine when our doctors race to the OR in determined slowmo! And so, against all better judgement, I’m invoking the jinx. It sure is quiet here without a Season 4, huh? (Somewhere, perhaps, a distant studio executive’s phone rings…)
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Tags: Ahn Hyo-seop, Han Seok-kyu, Im Won-hee, Jin Kyung, Kim Joo-hun, Kim Min-jae, Lee Shin-young, Lee Sung-kyung, Romantic Doctor Teacher Kim 3, Shin Dong-wook, So Joo-yeon, Yoo Yeon-seok, Yoon Na-moo
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1 Jezz
June 18, 2023 at 7:11 PM
I found the cassette tape of the compilation of foreign/non-K-pop hits of 2000 that found from season 3, ep. 16. So here are the completed tracklist:
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loveblossom🌸
June 18, 2023 at 8:44 PM
That's a good tracklist! I know all of the songs except like one. XD
Really surprised by the variety of artists too.
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2 Lord Cobol (Kdramas, like water, flow downhill)
June 18, 2023 at 8:35 PM
Where there's smoke there must be
firelong, meaningful conversations, because there's really no hurry, is there?Required fields are marked *
emsel
June 18, 2023 at 8:57 PM
What's a hug and a kiss without a beautiful and glowing
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SusanF
June 19, 2023 at 1:41 AM
That nearly drove me crazy! But, in our house, we have an explanation for those pauses - we call it ‘drama time’, when all action and time freeze for an emotional checkpoint. A dramatic timeout, so to speak. Some dramas use this more than others…
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Kafiyah Bello
June 19, 2023 at 4:06 AM
This drove me bananas, let's all stop and stare at the same time.
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3 loveblossom🌸
June 18, 2023 at 8:42 PM
First of all, thank you for your awesome, enthusiastic recaps alathe!
There were ups and downs, but overall, I still enjoyed this drama. The familiar cast overcoming their struggles and having feel-good moments warmed my heart and made me teary-eyed. I like the introduction of the new doctors and their different stories. Dong Hwa has mellowed out compared to his early crabby self. While Sun Woong is sticking with Doldam forever, Dong Hwa is navigating his path in life and isn't completely certain. And that's okay. He's still giving Doldam a chance too.
The villains could have been better. Can't believe we saw Assemblywoman Ko one more time in the finale with another emergency. The conflict between Eun Tak and Ah Reum was weak. They're better when they're smiling! All those dimples. The couple scenes (including Eun Jae & Woo Jin) in the finale were quite nice though.
I really felt for In Soo this season and appreciated him more. His little family reunion was sweet. He hugged his wife so fiercely. Their daughter is the cutest!
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mmmmm
June 20, 2023 at 10:58 AM
I laughed and cried a lot watching Romantic Doctor. I feel this series is made for people like me. And re Dr Jung In-su, I agree with you. I'm happy that he has a lot of screen time this season. He acted so well. His scenes aren't the easiest ones, but he nailed them all. I think he is a truly marvelous doctor, and I grew to appreciate him a lot this SS.
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4 emsel
June 18, 2023 at 9:24 PM
A drama that started out well and alive (good), but slowly started losing its (heart) beats that even a CPR (Yoo Yeon Seok's cameo) couldn't save it. Slapping a bandaid (sweet talks and smile in the last 30 minutes) on the failing heart is not going to cure the disease or heal it. It's like the writers/directors did not have a vision for this season and orchestrated nonsensical sub plot around a new building.
Also, rain wasn't the only miracle in the drama because a heartless Assemblywomen changed her mind after seeing two of her aides severely injured when a few episodes back the same women did not care about her secretaries and the strike never got spoken about because Seo Woo Jin, the saviour, communicated with Kang Dong Ju. Meh!
I am not tuning in for S4. The series should be rested!
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5 djf
June 18, 2023 at 9:55 PM
Enjoyed the series and the characters. Hope there is a season four.
I haven't seen the first two seasons of this series so I have a couple of questions...
- who was the female doctor in the emergency room that made her appearance in episode 16? Is she a live person or a ghost?
-who is Yoon Seo-jung?
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ys
June 19, 2023 at 8:54 PM
The doctor that Sabu was smiling at, I assumed it was him imagining his first student, Donghwa’s older and deceased sister. Would have made more sense to have her morph into Donghwa, as in, Sabu sees her in Donghwa.
Yoon Seojung was in season 1 with Kang Dongjoo, a surgeon with issues and Dongjoo’s love interest. Season 1 I feel was more about Seojung than Dongjoo. Though all my attention went to the prickly Do Inbum.
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mmmmm
June 20, 2023 at 11:02 AM
Yoon Seo-jung is the female doctor Kim Sabu saved in SS1 (you can see glimpses of her in ep 16 when someone (I'm not sure who, perhaps Kim Sabu himself) reminisces about when Kim Sabu called Nurse Oh because he needed to open a surgery room to operate on a woman whose wrist was in bandage. That is Yoon See-jung. She became a new student of him, together with Kang Dong-joo. Both develop a romantic relationship later on in SS1.
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6 TheOutsideJoke (@kmromrell)
June 18, 2023 at 10:38 PM
So many mixed feelings here. Against my own better judgment, I actually liked the conflict of this series better than the other two. I always struggled to take season 1/2 villain Do Yoon-wan seriously -- he felt a bit cartoonish and out for blood for often nonsensical reasons. In the past two seasons it sometimes felt like if you just erased Do Yoon-wan, there wouldn't be any issues at all. In this season, though, we saw believable internal medical conflicts exacerbated by external forces -- pressure for doctors to sacrifice (their personal lives, their comfort, their safety) for being a doctor, looking at how prioritizing the patient can de-prioritize the doctor, doctors at a miracle hospital clashing with different management, etc. It definitely wasn't perfect, but the conflicts were way more compelling to me than the evil-doctor-overlord villain -- even if we had to deal with some inconsistent evil-politician-overlord instead.
I agree with @alathe that Kim Sabu's arch was the best character arch of this season -- and really one of the best parts of this show overall. I feel like we often saw Kim Sabu forcing other people to question their morals and priorities in the last seasons. This season, we still got that while Kim Sabu went through an internal struggle of his own, and I loved that. That said, it did feel like some of the other characters felt a tad bland to me. While I loved Cha Eun-jae and Kim Woo-jin's comfortable romance, Eun-jae occasionally felt a bit watered down (*nods toward the male genius comment*) and Park Eun-tak and Yoon A-reum's story line did nothing for me whatsoever.
I don't know that I'm pushing for a season 4 -- the last 30 minutes of ep 16 really wrapped things up exactly as they should be -- but I would watch it if it came out. And that's an alright place to be.
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skelly
June 19, 2023 at 11:05 AM
Completely agree about the conflict! I actually liked that the focus shifted away from Evil Cackling Villain to more realistic conflicts: the struggle for funding, the clash of management styles, work/life balance, and current societal issues around hospital scarcity, an avalanche of litigation, and respect for the medical profession.
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Qingdao: likes scented candles
September 29, 2023 at 5:51 AM
Agree that the romance plotline for Nurse Eun-tak & Dr A-reum was underwhelming and non-characteristic. I did like the way Eun-tak's encounter with his past was handled by A-reum. I didn't care for A-reum's crying over her relationship at work.
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7 Minka
June 18, 2023 at 10:42 PM
All I can say is that I loved everything about this drama. The plot, dialogues, characters (old, new, cameos)… everything. It has lived up to the greatness of seasons 1 and 2, for me. I watched each episode with much anticipation and excitement, and it never disappoints. I end up satisfied and happy every episode finish.
Things that I especially loved:
1. Dr. Insu having a happy ending. (And Byeol is just the cutest!)
2. The show’s recognition of our other heroes - the Paramedics. Nurse Oh’s lecture about how they were put in danger while saving lives was very touching. RESPECT.
3. The flashback highlights (ep16) of how our doctors (old and new) started their journey in Doldam.
I will surely miss this show. I hope there will be Season 4.
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skelly
June 19, 2023 at 11:18 AM
Same, I loved this season if anything even more than 1 and 2 and I am sincerely hoping for a 4. I can add to your list the things I thought were handled especially well:
4. The return of Dong-joo. Yes, he arrived in a blaze of glory but reality set in quickly. And honestly, he wasn't wrong with what he did and why he wanted to do it. I like how they stayed true to his character, abrasiveness and all.
5. Doctors are people too, and even a 3-time board certified super-genius can make bad decisions and suffer from self-doubt. There were lots of human mistakes made by the Doldam dream team in this season, made from fear or pride or stubbornness.
6. Nurse Oh and her relationships with team members. Honestly, they gave her the most beautiful, wise words. Quite a contrast with the Shout of Doom!
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PYC
June 20, 2023 at 9:38 AM
I second that this is the best out of the three seasons - a mellowed Dr Kim looking to the future, devising and trialing schemes to realise what the future could and can be. Stage one (ie PlanB) obviously didn’t work out and then Stage two started rockily but by the team the whole lot was performing a surgery together. I was in my happy tears. Honestly, we don’t have this type of dramas anymore. I rather watch this than the villain plot in S1 and 2.
I will watch S4 for sure especially after my falling in love with the two new doctors.
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mmmmm
June 20, 2023 at 11:12 AM
I cried, laughed, or smiled almost all the time while I was watching this series. There is no one boring moment. This is the type of shows I wish were produced a lot more. We are in a great need of people like Kim Sabu and/or his kind of energy in the real world.
Please produce SS4, jaeballl.
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mmmmm
June 20, 2023 at 11:09 AM
My sentiments exactly. I really love this show. I really do.
I love watching micro facial expressions of Kim Sabu. You gotta give it to him. Han Suk-kyu is a great actor. All of the cast did so well, but for me he shines the brightest. Perhaps, as many have pointed out, it is because this season is more about Kim Sabu's growth, but I just appreciated his acting in every episode. Romantic Doctor is Kim Sabu. Without Han Suk-kyu, there is no RDTK.
If I can give this show 100 stars, I'll give it 1,000. Perhaps people are so flawed in reality, watching likable characters doing, and continue doing good deeds really consoles me. I can't help wanting to meet someone like him, and want to become someone like him: Someone who can help others, can exist with others, and can be a positive force in their life.
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8 faithwithme
June 18, 2023 at 11:23 PM
final ep!!
where should i start?
first, i love the conflict when Dong Ju arrive. i just dont like WJEJ turn immature about his return. especially EJ, who was wounded by Dong Ju reprimanding her during surgery anxiety day. why did she aim her anger on Dong Ju, since everyone in Geosan did the same like Dong Ju tho?
2nd, they need to at least respect him as leader. he took the leadership like barely a week. how can they decide whether he's capable when trauma center slapped with lawsuit from EJ's father 2 months stint? they dont even try to inform him that they have 2 trauma patients need treatment?!! they went looking for Kim Sabu like 20-30 mins before that? he's the interim leader for good sake?
at that last part, that MOH personnel personally came to inform them about his finding from inspecting the trauma center. he's highligting
their mistakes and reprimand them about the proper usage of trauma center? why can't they gather all boycotting staffs to hear that?
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mmmmm
June 20, 2023 at 11:14 AM
I do agree that I didn't like Cha Eun-jae's attitude towards Dong-joo. I know that she has reasons to dislike him, but respect needs to be there as he is her superior. He still has a lot to learn, and so has she.
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9 Kurama
June 18, 2023 at 11:54 PM
For me the episode 15 was very frustrating. The strike never made sense. They were talking about their rights? But Dong-Ju didn't make anything about their work conditions. He just gave the rules about the patients they will treat. If they disagreed, they could leave and let their place to someone else. I didn't like how they let Nurse Oh supported their "cause". She should have told them they were wrong. Eun-Jae was wrong and her behavior was the worst. So she wants to be in a trauma center that takes every patients and she wants to choose the dr with whom she operates. I don't think it was a good choice to make Woo-Jin taking the decision to accept the patients, again it should have been Dong-Ju's decision, like when they got Assemblywoman Ko's employees, they could call him...
The episode 16 was less frustrating because it was more about action.
Kim Sabu : He's really the heart of the story. I liked how he accepted to let the dream of his life to somebody else because he couldn't be the future. He supported Cha Jin-Man and Dong-Ju even if he didn't agree.
Woo-Jin and Eun-Jae : I never was a big fan of them. So this season didn't really change it.
A-Reum : I didn't like how they made her character in this season. Her growth as a doctor was barely showed and the last episodes it was just her thinking, being sad about Eun-Tak... Were they cryogenized during 3 years? Because their relationship didn't make sense at all. I think I would have prefered they broke up.
Dong-Hwa : he was one of my favourite. Of course, he was childish at the beginning, like the others. But his growth was nice and I really liked his connection with Kim Sabu.
Sun-Woong : he was the cutest! Just a big mashmallow.
Dong-Ju : I was so happy to see him back! With Seo-Jung return, it will be perfect.
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faithwithme
June 19, 2023 at 2:37 AM
You totally got my pov better. Especially when writers wrote WJEJ after the tantrum they throw. Just like kim sabu become softer, nicier in educating new doctors, the writer also act the same by making decision made by WJEJ after the boycott are acceptable. WJ in bypassing DJ roles as head of trauma center in accepting non trauma patient (even if there is explanation for that) and EJ with her refusal to do surgery with Dj . Both decision supported by Nurse Oh. It made me dissapointed with Kim Sabu n Nurse Oh, with their biasness to WJEJ.
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Kafiyah Bello
June 19, 2023 at 4:08 AM
All of THIS!!!! I will probably still watch a season 4 though, lol.
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Kurama
June 19, 2023 at 4:22 AM
Me too :p
How to say no to Kim Sabu?
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LaurenSophie
June 19, 2023 at 7:19 AM
Because I'm watching this drama on Hulu, which has only released about half of this season's episodes so far, I can't comment too excessively. But I wanted to chime in that I completely agree with your take on Ah-reum and Eun-Tak. As much as I like these two actors together, the characters don't seem like they have been dating for three years--more like three months. They don't seem to know basic things about each other (had Ah-reum truly never seen him without his shirt off and caught at least of glimpse of that scar on his back?), and there was an awkwardness between them that didn't make any sense considering how much they apparently loved each other. I also would have liked to see more of Ah-reum's growth as a doctor.
I'm glad you ended the show liking Dong-Hwa so much. I'm currently cringing at his immaturity and incompetence, but am pleased to know it will get better.
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mmmmm
June 20, 2023 at 10:51 AM
I used to hate Dong-hwa character, too. But I think there are some good reasons having such character put in this show, and you'll know it in the end.
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Kurama
June 20, 2023 at 10:59 AM
Hate? He's not so bad.
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mmmmm
June 20, 2023 at 11:17 AM
Let's say I really disliked him in the first episodes. He might not be so bad to you, but I personally don't know how to deal with such personality in reality. That's why I really disliked him. I did warm up to him more later, though he isn't really in my good book even by the end. ^^
10 Sifimoyo
June 19, 2023 at 6:55 AM
I think there were new writers for this season. I found myself watching the two episodes after the weekend, instead of rushing to them the moment they were out. There was a lot of irritating American twiddles we could have done without, but by and large I enjoyed it as much as the other two and I would definitely be one or another season.
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11 mmmmm
June 20, 2023 at 10:50 AM
Really, @alathe, I am not sure sometimes if you hate or love this show by the way you wrote your recap! 🤣🤣🤣 I chuckled reading many parts of your recaps. For this one, here they are:
"To those who thought I’d have run out of medical terminology right now, I say to you this: pass the vascular clamp and ready the nylon tape!" And I say to you the only word I've learnt so far: Suture! 😂
"In the meantime, Eun-jae is instructed to do a combo surgery with her nemesis du jour, Kang “I stick tubes where I please” Dong-joo"
"And just like that, there’s hope. Far from being apocalyptic, this new peril is nothing a bit of junk food — and a whole dollop of Kim-style charisma — can’t fix." And comes the rumbling of thunder.
"Afterwards, Assemblywoman Ko, asks if Teacher Kim plans to make one last pitch for the Trauma Center. Frankly, given the rate at which this woman gets injured, I’m surprised she needs convincing." LOL
"Director Park is a man in constant torment." Why did you say this? 😭 He's such a poor soul -trying to do the best he can. I grew to like him a lot. If I'm not mistaken, Director Park was happy because this is the first time Nurse Oh called him by his title "Director" instead of just "Dr."?
I’ve grown to love this series. I loved SS1, SS2 and this SS. It’s true I think this SS is a bit different than the previous two seasons, but it’s also so good. I love these characters so much that SS4 can’t come soon enough (I also think IT’S QUIET in here, Alathe). It’s such a joy to watch so many likable characters doing good deeds. And you nailed it by saying that this SS we saw our lovely Kim Sabu and his students and staff being so humane: They argue with one another, act childish, break up just to make the other party feel something, etc. But aren’t those something we humans also do sometimes?
I love that the show emphasizes the point that “No man is an island” almost all the time. We as individuals exist with other people, and not everyone is bad.
And I absolutely adored the final message from the cast and crew: We hope this show has given some comfort to those who have lost their way. I lose my way sometimes, and it is always good to know that, despite them not knowing me personally, the show has someone like me in mind.
So show, keep the ROMANCE coming! I’m ready, whenever you are, to watch SS4. <3
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mmmmm
June 20, 2023 at 11:19 AM
And I HELD MY BREATH seeing the back of Yoon Seo-jung at the end of ep 16. MY HEART. SS4 PLS COME FAST.
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12 neener ~ Inside the Magic Shop ~
June 20, 2023 at 11:51 AM
Thank you for the recaps! It's been fun reading the recaps!
I liked Kim Sabu's arc and the focus on his inner conflict about his successor.
I was alright with EJ and WJ last season but it definitely took a dive this season. Their actions were not professional and that last straw with Eun-jae saying she was uncomfortable, myohmy, does that mean you will not operate when you dislike your co-worker? how many doctors will not operate then... myohmy
Eun-tak and Ahreum's story was not needed at all, it was there because KMJ rose to stardom and he decided to still be part of the team but I wished they gave him more rather than this.
And Nurse Oh and Manager Jang turning into a shouting meme --- not a fan.
Anyways, if Seo-jung will come back for S4 and In-bum? I'm all set despite my not so good review for this season.
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13 Qingdao: likes scented candles
June 21, 2023 at 8:09 AM
Is there anyone who has disney+ in the USA and was able to watch this series?????
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Seon-ha
June 21, 2023 at 8:21 AM
It’s on Hulu.
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14 dkb
July 24, 2023 at 4:13 PM
I never watched the first season, and I was still on Dr. Dong-joo's side. Way to be unprofessional everyone else! I get that the whole show is about our wonderful doctors and that they will do anything to save patients but the strike thing was eye-roll worthy. Dr. Kang is right even if you don't like it. There needs to be a line between trauma patients and everyone else, and it should be up to the head of Doldum to have enough competent doctors to staff the hospital so you are not always pulling them from the trauma center.
I liked that the conflict this season was not a person but the bureaucracy.
I wonder if there is a season 4 they might do episodes like medical dramas do in the west, with focus episodes. I felt like this was the Eun-jae and Woo-jin show and I get they are the leads but then don't introduce so many other plot points with the other staff if it is only going to be conveniently solved in a rush at the end. Like the Euntak and Areum thing, maybe one episode focused on them and their communication problems and resolution would be better than stringing it along every week for 2 seconds of screentime on it.
Haven't watched Grey's Anatomy since like season 2 but if I remember correctly they did have certain episodes where the main focus was the supporting actors and the mains would just be in the background, still there but not the center of the episode.
I still really enjoyed this season and hope we get another but they need to figure out how to utilize all the characters they have in a better way.
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15 Tizzy
August 13, 2023 at 9:50 PM
Just finished this wonderful show. Just chiming in to say that I love Season 3 the best because the conflicts are more realistic. Can't wait for S4!
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16 Qingdao: likes scented candles
September 29, 2023 at 6:01 AM
Dr Kim and this show is fantastic! I'm looking forward to season 4! Was there a special episode after episode #16?
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17 Goyangi and the Camel Crickets
December 30, 2023 at 9:21 PM
Just finished this one, I signed on for a free month of Hulu for this show and Moving. I think of the 3 seasons I liked the 2nd one best, and then this one, but I've enjoyed them all. Only change I wish they'd do is if for some of the patients, have a brief follow up. How is the young woman who received a lung transplant? And the teacher who was saved by Woo Jin? Not all but a few of them, brief, as I know the focus is on the Doldam team. I enjoyed Master Kim's arc, the emotions this shows brought out in me means they did well, and I took look forward to S4. Too quiet indeed!
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Goyangi and the Camel Crickets
December 30, 2023 at 9:22 PM
Not took look, too look!
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