Drama review of Good Doctor Ep 3

The 3rd episode resumes where the chief doctor from another department accuses the Pediatric Department from taking his patient.  Park Shi On admits that he is the one who told the baby's parents that their child can be saved by the pediatric department's Dr Kim Do Han.

Yoon Seo asks Shi On why he thinks that they can save the premature baby.  Shi On gets scolded by Yoon Seo for causing trouble after Shi On replied that if the other department cannot perform the operation, then the Pediatric department can perform it.

The baby's parents come looking for Kim Do Han but the latter tells them that he believes that his judgement will not vary from the other doctor's judgement concerning the condition of the premature baby.  The baby's parents are devastated as their last hope is destroyed by Kim Do Han's words.

Yoon Seo notices that Shi On who has been staring at the premature baby for quite a while.  The other doctors tell him not to stir trouble again and to leave the baby's ward.

Parents also complain to the reception to reassign their kids to other doctors rather than Park Shi On.
Shi On feels depressed after hearing the parents complaining that he is not normal.

Seeing Shi On brooding all alone, the Director comes to console him.  However, Shi On tells him that everybody seems to hate him again but he is not sad because it has always been the case.  Later Shi On tears up while thinking back to his older brother again who was always there to play with him and encourage him when he was feeling down.  (Me: In fact, since episode 1 we have been seeing Shi On's brother during the flashbacks to his childhood.  I think Shi On's brother has an important role in shaping his will to be a good doctor)

On the other hand, Kim Do Han has gone for a drink with the Director and in his drunk condition he tells the Director not to give up his position and that he will do his utmost so that he doesn't lose his position.

Yoon Seo meets up with the Director and Kim Do Han who is completely drunk.  She takes the responsibility to take Kim Do Han back home.  After dragging Kim Do Han to his bed, Yoon Seo thinks back to the time when she nearly confessed that she likes him.  (Me: I wonder if she still likes him...??  I think Kim Do Han is starting to like her though... ^^)

Yoon Seo scolds Shi On for wanting to save the premature baby again and tells him that he is only acting like a robot without really caring for the patient.  Shi On replies back that he does have feelings for the patient, in fact he believes that the baby really wants to live.

The other doctors try to trick Kim Do Han to perform the surgery on the premature baby because they know that there are high chances that the surgery fails.  They create a false rumor that Kim Do Han refused to do the surgery because he does not have any confidence that he will succeed.  With his arrogance, Kim Do Han does not take it well and decides to examine the premature baby's condition.  Finally, Kim Do Han's pride cannot take it anymore and he decides to take charge of the premature baby as his patient.

Consequently, Kim Do Han gathers his team to prepare for the surgery.  However, he still remains realist and warns them that the success rate of this surgery is less than 20% (Me: Oh my gosh...this is critical...)
Shi On detects something strange on the sonography image of the baby's abdomen and points it out to his colleagues but the latter don't take him seriously and think that he is mistaken.

Kim Do Han still chooses to carry out the surgery despite the penalty placed on him of 3 months suspension and pay cut.

Kim Do Han's team get ready for the tiny baby's surgery.  However, the anesthesiologist and scrub team refuse to cooperate because it is a highly risky operation and they have not received approval from their head of department.  Fortunately, the Director comes in and convince the anesthesiologist and nurses to cooperate.

They proceed with the surgery very smoothly and are almost finished but Shi On interrupts them saying that he saw something in the liver area.  Yoon Seo doubts Shi On and wants to complete the surgery rapidly because the baby cannot hold on in this condition for too long.  However, Kim Do Han tells her to wait and checks the liver area.  Effectively, there is an issue with the baby's liver.  Yoon Seo immediately thinks about performing a certain surgical method to save the baby but Shi On tells her that they cannot perform this type of surgery.  Kim Do Han even agrees with Shi On on this point.  Yoon Seo then asks Kim Do Han if he has another alternative.  Kim Do Han merely reply that he has no other alternative.
The episode ends with this cliffhanger...
(Me: Will they be able to save the baby? Can Shi On come up with an alternative to save the baby?)

Drama review of Good Doctor Ep 2

The second episode of Good Doctor begins with Moon Chae Won waking up and screaming from seeing Shi On standing half naked in front of her.  While throwing things at Shi On, she grabs hold of the TV remote control and incidentally turns on the TV which was currently broadcasting news about rapists tricking their victims to enter their house.

Shi On tells her that she is in his house.  Moon Chae Won retorts back that it is her house, then she realizes that she has entered the wrong apartment.







She later apologizes to Shi On for the misunderstanding.  Shi On tells her that he is the new resident in the pediatrics section of Sung Won University hospital.  Finally, Moon Chae Won introduces herself as Cha Yoon Seo from the pediatric team as well.  

She is later told by her colleagues about Shi On's handicap.

The first day of work for Shi On, begins with visits to the patients along with his colleagues.  One of his colleagues ask him why he hasn't taken any notes.  Shi On replies that he has been taking notes in his head and even tells them about the diagnosis on all the patients they have visited so far.

While Shi On does not keep up with the team, his attention gets piqued by a young boy (Seung Ho) who starts vomiting.  Shi On examines the child and keeps repeating to his colleagues that the patient is in danger.  Shi On explains his diagnosis despite his stumbling words but the other doctors do not really believe him.

Kim Do Han tells Park Shi On not to say or do anything.
The team leave the patient to prepare for the surgery they have been assigned to for the day.
However, just before the surgery, Park Shi On is nowhere in sight.  He has gone to see Seung Ho again, anxious that he might be in danger.  Shi On cannot wait anymore after seeing the anxiety that the child's mother is going through.  With the help of nurse Jo, Shi On rushes the patient to the surgery room although permission wasn't granted yet.  Effectively, the apparatus show that Seung Ho's vitals are dropping precariously.  In this situation, Shi On is panicked too and moves with clumsiness, knocking down the equipment around him.
(Me: This is bad. Really bad.  If Shi On doesn't calm down, he will not be in a condition to conduct the surgery)

Kim Do Han comes in just then to scold Shi On and perform the surgery himself.  (Me: Right now, this is for the better that Kim Do Han performs the surgery.  Shi On is too nervous right now to do anything right)
Shi On wants to participate in the surgery as well, but Kim Do Han shouts at him to get out.

Shi On has no choice but to observe the surgery from upstairs.  (Me: I noticed that their surgeries are not shown in as much details as in 'Doctor Stranger')

Shi On tries to give his opinion concerning the surgery but Kim Do Han tells him to shut up.
During the surgery, the other doctor admit that if they hadn't done the surgery it would have been too late for the patient.  Still the surgery goes wrong as there is internal bleeding.  Kim Do Han doesn't understand the cause of the bleeding but Shi On has already detected the cause which is the drugs administered to the child that cause hemorrhage (Me: Lol I think Shi On would excel as a medical consultant instead of a medical practitioner)
Effectively thanks to Shi On's guidance, Kim Do Han find the source of the problem rapidly and completes the surgery successfully.

However, after the surgery, Kim Do Han punches Shi On angrily.  Yoon Seo rushes to protect Shi On from being beaten again by Kim Do Han.  Kim Do Han scolds Shi On for his irresponsible act which could have cost the lives of both children undergoing surgery.

(Me: Seriously in all three medical dramas that I've seen, there seems to be a scarcity of competent doctors.  There's always this issue of having only one doctor capable enough to head the surgery, or else the patient is doomed.)

Yoon Seo dresses Shi On's wound and tells him what he has done wrong and why he should apologize.  According to Yoon Seo, Shi On should have waited for the chief doctor before initiating the operation on Seung Ho because another doctor would not know the complete medical condition of a patient who was not assigned to him.  Secondly Shi On's inability to focus for the surgery proved to be a big failure for a doctor.

Kim Do Han scolds Yoon Seo for being more concerned about Shi On than the patients.
Still Yoon Seo decides to comfort Shi On and even proposes to cook dinner for him.  But before cooking Yoon Seo clears out the kitchen counter and accidentally throws away Shi On's toy scalpel that his older brother had given to him.  Fortunately Shi On was able to find in by searching in the thrash bin but he is still mad with Yoon Seo and does not want to speak to her.

The next day Shi On accompanies a colleague to the babies ward and comes across a doctor who was telling a couple that their newborn baby did not have much time to live and even surgery would not be able to save it.

Later the same doctor charges angrily at Kim Do Han for taking away his patient.  But Kim Do Han does not understand what he is talking about.
(Me: I wonder if Shi On said something to the baby's parents...)
The episode ends like that.

Drama review of Good Doctor Ep 1

This is bad...I have been watching medical drama after medical drama recently...
After finishing to watch 'Emergency Couple', I watched 'Doctor Stranger' and now even after telling myself 'not another medical drama...', I've started watching 'Good Doctor'.

Joo Won is the lead actor in Good Doctor.  I've seen him in the drama 'Baker King Kim Tak Goo' and I really disliked his character in that drama....he played a really despicable character there...

But it appears like he'll be acting as the nice character in Good Doctor...so I'll check it out.
The story line sounds interesting too.  It's about a boy who suffers from autism and has a difficult childhood because of his violent father and his illness which makes him difficult for others to understand.

Darn I can't believe that the actor who played the evil Prime Minister Jang Suk Joo in 'Doctor Stranger' is acting as a nice doctor in 'Good Doctor' ^^''
It'll take some time for me to adjust to seeing 'Jang Suk Joo' act as the nice doctor in this drama... ^^''
Good actors indeed, to be able to switch from good to evil roles and vice-versa from drama to drama.

There are several actors in this drama whom I've seen in other dramas...for instance there is the actress who plays Cheon Song Yi's mother in 'My love from another star', there's the actor who plays the second male lead in 'Paradise ranch' and there's Moon Chae Won from the drama 'Nice Guy' and 'Mackerel run'.

Looks like Korean dramas have a limited circle of actors since I keep seeing the same faces in various dramas ^^''

This medical drama is told in a different way compared to the other two medical dramas I've seen.  Starting from the first episode itself, the main character Shi On proceeds with explaining the medical procedures and examinations in a very detailed and descriptive way.  It's almost as if he is giving a lecture and demonstration of medical techniques.

In Emergency Couple, it was all about emergency treatments to save the patients.  While in Doctor stranger it was all about lengthy and complicated heart surgeries.  In Good Doctor, it'll be mostly about pediatric medicine.

The 1st episode begins with introducing the main character i.e. Shi On who suffers from autism.  We see him as a child who grew up differently compared to other children.  I think that as a child, Shi On and his older brother went into a mine and the latter lost his life there in the collapsed mine.

Shi On who doesn't express any emotions somehow learnt medicine through medical books since a very young age (7 years old) to become a doctor.

Although as an adult, Shi On can be very childish, he is very skilled as a pediatric doctor.  We see him in action as he applies all his medical know how to save a child who has been pierced by glass shards.  The mother of the child later asks Park Shi On to accompany them to the hospital.  He realizes that he is actually heading towards Sung Won University hospital where he originally planned to go.  

At the hospital, the doctors are holding a meeting whereby a doctor is explaining why they should hire Park Shi On.  He tells the congregation that although Park Shi On suffers from autism, he has the savant syndrome which makes him excel in specific areas which in his case are memory and spatial intelligence.  His intellgence made him develop prodigious skills in understanding the functions and locations of the organs in the human body.

However, as Shi On reaches the hospital, the child's pulse rate is suddenly falling drastically.  Shi On tells the doctor in charge to perform a certain test, but the latter ignores him and takes the child away.

Kim Do Han is the doctor who will head the child's surgery.  Park Shi On interrupts the surgeons before they begin the surgery to tell them that an echo test has to be performed, but his words get muffled by the guards who drag him away.  

While Park Shi On is thinking of a way to prevent something bad from happening to the child; the meeting with the doctors is ongoing as they keep on debating as to whether Park Shi On is a good candidate or not despite his autism which causes him to lack social and communication skills.

Just like Park Shi On had predicted, the surgeons encounter a problem during the surgery as the child's pulse rate drops alarmingly again.  Park Do Han then realises that the child might have heart problems and asks whether an echo was done.   The other surgeons inform Park Do Han that an echo didn't seem necessary since the child did not appear to have heart issues. But they were wrong as Park Do Han remembers that Shi On was trying to tell them to perform an echocardiography.

Outside the surgery room, Park Shi On is visualizing the surgery scene as if he was the one operating the patient (reminds me of 'Doctor stranger' when Park Hoon and his image training before undertaking complex surgeries)

Meanwhile at the conference, the majority of the doctors vote for not hiring Park Shi On even as a temporary doctor.

Inside the operation room, the child's heart beat has stopped, and the doctors are using the defibrillator to try to reanimate the patient.  Fortunately the child's heart is reanimated as it starts beating again. (I've seen a lot of these open heart surgery scenes in 'Doctor Stranger' already ^^ the heart looks different in this drama though; it looks darker as compared to the heart in Doctor Stranger.)
The surgeons finally find the internal wound and sew it up.  Looks like Park Do Han is a really skilled doctor as well but not a genius like Park Shi On. (those two remind me of the rivalry between Han Jae Joon and Park Hoon in Doctor Stranger)

Relieved to hear that the child was saved, Shi On leaves to go to the conference room where only his mentor is left.  His mentor is disappointed that Shi On was not hired.

Later, a group of journalist are at Sung Won university hospital looking for the doctor who performed 1st aid to save the child.

The video of Shi On performing first aid to save the child was even posted on the internet and broadcasted on the TV news.  After learning how skilled of a doctor Shi On is, the chairwoman of the hospital decides to call back the decision made previously by the board of doctors.  Shi On's mentor who is in fact the hospital's director requests that they hire Shi On for 6 months to see how he performs.  The Director even proposes to step down from his position as Director if there is any trouble during Shi On's probation (The Director must really care for Shi On, just like a father would)
Just then Shi On comes into the conference room and makes a bow to salute the audience.
The chairwoman asks Shi On why he wants to become a doctor.  Shi On replies that it is because of the bunny and his older brother who both went to the sky without having the chance to become adults.
Shi On continues with his reasons and naively adds that he wants to become a doctor because he wants to earn a lot of money so he can buy a 3D TV for the kids at the orphanage... (that would be a typical answer from an young child ^^'')

Looks like Shi On's speech has touched some doctors and made others feel doubtful.  However, the chairwoman was touched and has decided to hire Shi On temporarily as a resident doctor.

The chairwoman later tells the Director in private that what he said is risky because many of them are looking forward to kicking him out of the Director position.  However the Director simply replies that he would still be a doctor even if he is no longer the Director.

Effectively, just like the chairwoman predicted, the other doctors are already betting that Shi On won't last long at Sung Won university hospital and that the director will eventually resign.

Shi On is later introduced to the team of resident doctors to which he has been assigned.  As soon as the director leaves Shi On with them, the team leader starts scolding him harshly because Shi On speaks like a child.  Kim Do Han even goes to complain to the Director that the issue is not that Shi On has the savant syndrome but that he has the character of a child.  But the director tells Kim Do Han that he is sure that Shi On will succeed.  He also requests Kim Do Han to help Shi On.

Kim Do Han interviews Shi On privately and tells him that he has to find the reasons why he can't be a surgeon and shouts at Shi On for not paying attention  (Me:  I think that's a pretty harsh judgement...Kim Do Han should at least give Shi On a chance since it is Shi On who gave him the hints to save the child previously.  I'm also getting the impression that the other doctors are all treating Shi On like a child by scolding him constantly when he has done nothing wrong)

Kim Do Han asks Shi On whether he has ever performed a surgery before apart from first aid care.  Shi On tells him that he has never done a surgery.  Kim Do Han then asks him how he knew what that child was suffering from.  Kim Do Han looks a little in disbelief after hearing Shi On's explanation.    

Shi On returns home and thinks back to his childhood days when his older brother encouraged him to be a doctor.  (Me: Shi On's older brother reminds me of Kim Tak Goo ^^ their characters appear quite similar)

Just then, Moon Chae Won (that's what I'll call her for now since I don't know her name in this drama) comes into the apartment and starts stripping without noticing Shi On standing behind her.
Shi On tries to tell her that he is there but she is too drunk to notice his presence and just goes to sleep.
The next morning Moon Chae Won wakes up in shock to find Shi On standing half naked in front of her.