We specialize in favorite scenes here. This week we have lots of our main characters and some plot, but mostly we have some really great favorite scenes!

Saying it like it is

We finally find out why Seok Hyeong’s marriage failed! It was his mom. She admits to Rosa (Jeong Won’s mom) that she argued with her daughter-in-law, called her dozens of times a day, and accused her of stealing a diamond ring. Rosa doesn’t mince words: “Don’t meddle; that’s enough. It will start to look ugly.” You tell her, Rosa!

Seok Hyeong has a similar moment with Song Hwa. She brings dinner to him in his very cluttered office. (Does it look like a suitable habitat for him?) He tells her that some of his patients have made him realize that marriage isn’t always a bad thing, but he can’t marry again because his mother won’t change. Song Hwa makes him admit that it was partly his own fault, because he didn’t do anything to protect his wife from his mother. She gives him an assignment to talk more to the people he is closest to and is most comfortable with.

Telzeytalks: Wow, this was a surprise. Last season I had the impression that his dad was the biggest problem, but that his parents argued a lot. His mom says she wants him to remarry, but she actually is enjoying having his attention all to herself.

Karie the Maknae: I really think that Seok Hyeong’s marriage was …. not very well thought out. He didn’t marry for love, he didn’t protect her from his mother, his mother didn’t trust her, and his dad was a hot mess. Had he married for love and had a solid relationship with his wife, maybe they could have worked through it together. I have hope that he’s learning a lot of life lessons and realizing that he can do better the second time around.

Drama Geek: In the first season we all thought Seok Hyeong was a mama’s boy and then we found out about her illness and his dad, and we realized we were wrong. But were we? His marriage failed and any future marriage will also fail because he did not stand up for his wife. Now, maybe he never loved her and therefore didn’t feel the need to step up. He also might have been super busy with becoming a doctor and just didn’t put the effort into his marriage that he should have. But we’ve seen those moments of his amazing humanity and understanding. He’s a wonderful person when he has that coat on. He listens to his patients and he cares about him. The scene where the dad was supposed to film the birth but instead was so overjoyed with his wife that he went to her instead of the baby, was a good example of how life can change us. I believe that Seok Hyeong can be just as amazing of a husband, but he’ll have to put in the work and keep his mom out of it.

The best one-liners

Seok Hyeong is giving Ik Joon a run for his money at being the comedian this week! Min Ha has started asking questions to get him to talk more, and he has resorted to limiting her to one question a day. She finds him at the nurses’ station, and offers to buy him coffee so she can ask something. “Just ask me here,” he replies. She counters, “Do you really want me to ask you here?” Noticing the nurse avidly eyeing them, he chooses the lesser of two evils. “All right, let’s go for coffee.”

Heading down the hall, Min Ha asks one too many questions. He objects, and she claims he agreed to one non-work related question a day. “Ask me only work related questions,” he insists. “As of today that is the rule!”

So now we come to the point where Song Hwa has told Seok Hyeong to talk more. Min Ha calls him about a collection for a wedding gift. He asks her all kinds of questions about it, which encourages her a lot. She wants to ask him out, and he agrees to her asking five times. However, the day she suggests turns out to be a day he is going somewhere with his mom. He gets up and walks out, leaving her with, “You have four attempts left.”

Telzeytalks: Poor Min Ha. I would have taken Seok Hyeong’s behavior as a hint to leave him alone. He is doing fine being single, but we have spent so much time on this couple that now I want to see something big happen.

Karie the Maknae: I believe in Min Ha’s tenacity. Any woman who takes herself on a date when she’s stood up has the gumption to go after what she wants. Seok Hyeong is definitely softening towards her now that he’s getting a new perspective on how marriage should be handled.

Drama Geek: It said a lot when Song Hwa told him to start asking more questions only of those closest to him. He hasn’t admitted to himself that Min Ha is more than a resident to him. She may just be a friend, like those in the band, but she is More. I do hope that soon we’ll start seeing more evenness in the doctor/resident relationships. They can’t always be the power and authority if they really are going to move forward.

The heart-warmers

Since we didn’t talk about the sweet kiss between Jeong Won and Gyeo Wool a couple of weeks ago, let’s enjoy the one we get this week. He wants her to promise to tell him if anything bad happens, so he can help her through it. She doesn’t ask him to tell her if he has problems. She just asks him to show her every day that he loves her. That’s when we get a couple of quick pecks on the cheek and then this sweet kiss.

Gyeo Wool is sent to Busan to procure a donor liver for a transplant. There is a question about the suitability of this liver, and since they have to do extra tests, she misses her train coming back. The hospital arranges for an ambulance driver to bring her back, and warns her he has not had a chance to rest. She has to keep him awake. We get to watch her talking to him, feeding him, and doing her best to keep him going!

Eun Ji’s mom comes in with treats for all the PICU nurses. She is so happy, and different from the worried person we are used to. She had seen a news article about an eleven year old boy who died. His organs saved the lives of five other children, and she realizes he must be the donor of Eun Ji’s heart. She writes a letter to the family and gives it to Jun Wan to deliver. She and her husband are also giving a donation to the hospital every year in that child’s name to show how thankful they are and always will be.

Uju tells his dad that he likes his friend at school, but he likes his dad just as much. He makes finger hearts and the two of them go at it, making heart symbols for each other. They go faster and faster until they fall apart into giggles. Aww. We never get enough of Uju.

Telzeytalks: In my family, there is a general rule that the person riding shotgun is always responsible for keeping the driver awake. The scene in the ambulance brought up memories for me, and I loved it. In the United States it is a standard thing to let recipients write letters to donor families. The hospital keeps all the identities a secret, but sends the letters on.

Karie the Maknae: Uju and Ik Jun continue to be completely adorable and I am HERE for it. They are a ray of sunshine all by themselves. I liked that Eun Ji’s mom got a chance to show her gratitude, but at the same time, her monologue went on too long. Nevertheless, I’m glad her Eun Ji gets a second chance at life and that the family is showing what gratitude they can towards the child who made it possible.

Drama Geek: Here is where I think my earlier complaint shows that our couples are growing toward a more even relationship. At least two are. Gyeo Wool has something in her past — my gut tells her parents — that she doesn’t talk about or open up about. Not even to her cute boyfriend. The show has done a pretty good job showing that as a resident you have very little time for relationships. So even though these two have now been dating for over a year after the time jump, it’s reasonable to assume they still don’t know each other as well as other couples might. Also, the kiss made me shudder. Most of the people I know with shellfish allergies would get a closed up throat even touching her lips. Still, I love their sweet kisses and I’m happy they have each other.

The time skip

Song Hwa calls the guys in for an announcement. She confides to Ik Joon that she is tired and will be taking a break so her neck can heal. He responds with typical silliness by plugging a phone charger in her ear and sticking the other end of it in his nose. When the others arrive he asks if she feels recharged and she says yes, but doesn’t really look it. We don’t see her say anything to the others about taking a break.

Song Hwa and Seon Bin run across Min Ha at the bank. It must be right next to the hospital, because all the staff go there. Min Ha has one of those stuffed animals that Jeong Won gave Gyeo Wool. Seon Bin already knows that Song Hwa won’t be around for a while because she’s going to stay at Sokcho. She complains, but Song Hwa just says to forget her for a while.

Ik Joon picks up Ik Soon from the airport and takes her to the hospital for tests. She tells him not to wait around outside the door and he promises, but he totally waits around. Then she is sent home to live with her folks while she gets better. The time skip in this episode is mostly shown by the vignettes of them eating together at different places. In this picture, she is ordering him to give back the cherry tomato he had filched from her and hidden in his noodles.

Telzeytalks: I wanted to see more of Song Hwa in Sokcho, since they made such a fuss of her going there. And did Ik Soon go a whole year without talking to Jun Wan? Even more unbelievable than that, did she go a whole year without Uju?

Karie the Maknae: As time skips go, this one was pretty smooth. I’m looking forward to catching up with our doctors a year later and seeing what progress they’ve made. I also love that we got this focus on Ik Jun and Ik Sun’s relationship — Ik Jun mentioned more than once last season that they weren’t close, and it’s nice to see them becoming closer now.

Drama Geek: A few things. We’ve seen it happen many times that someone who is terminally ill will keep it from their loved ones. It’s not a scenario I like or even understand, but it does seem to be more prevalent in Korean dramas. Whatever Ik Soon’s reasoning, she’s seen what her family has gone through with her health in the past, and she felt this was the best for Jun Wan. I hope when everything is said and done, she is okay with her decision and he can forgive her. That’s all that really matters. One quick side note: I think the bank is a product placement and we’ve been lulled into not realizing it. Besides, everyone loves stuffed animals — they aren’t just for kids! (Hugs my son’s Shooky doll, then places it back on his bed.)

Thoughts and feelings

Song Hwa is back. We know that the time skip was about a year, because there are two songs with lyrics about a year going by. What do we think about skipping over Song Hwa’s whole time in Sokcho? What’s our opinion of Ik Soon’s noble idiocy? Jun Wan almost sees her in the parking lot, and she sheds tears about it, so we know she still likes him.

Telzeytalks: I enjoyed having so many scenes with our main characters this week, but a little peeved at Ik Soon and her secrets. I actually wonder, since Ik Joon has told the parents already, if he has told Jun Wan too.

Karie the Maknae: It must be so hard to have a chronic illness and not be sure if you’re going to be around to form a long-term relationship. My heart goes out to Ik Sun, even if I don’t think she handled things very well. As for the rest of the episode, I LOVED IT! It was so nice to get some focus on our doctors and their lives, and to see them ribbing each other during band practice again. Song Hwa’s pleas to be the lead singer and the boys’ reactions made me laugh and laugh and laugh.

Drama Geek: We needed the time jump. They said Song Hwa needed time off for her neck, then she didn’t get it because her absence would have been majorly felt if they kept her away too much. We also needed our residents to level up and make room for new interns. I’m a casual Grey’s Anatomy watcher, and one thing I learned from that show is that doctor dynamics are constantly shifting and for a show to have multiple seasons in a teaching hospital, you need time to pass and fresh meat to arrive. It’ll be fun seeing Min Ha and Gyeo Wool as senior residents who have interns helping them. It will also change the dynamic with the ones they like/love. For Grey’s, it always meant new members in the supply closet. 🙂

Until the next set of rounds, we remain —

The Fangirls

Dramas with a Side of Kimchi