Doctor Cha (2023) Episode 4

Episode 4 of Doctor Cha begins with that fantastic ending to the previous chapter repeating again. But it’s so funny it’s absolutely fine to see again. Thankfully, the raucous inside the restaurant is so extreme, that the Chief apologizes for asking a rude question and asks when Jeong-suk’s husband died. She tells the Chief that it’s been a long time since he passed and can’t remember when they got married either, solidifying the lack of love in their relationship.

After the drinking, it’s onto karaoke. In-ho is naturally a stuck in the mud and on his phone the whole time, while Roy does a solo, followed by Jeong-suk who does one too. He encourages everyone else to get up and join her, dancing. The only people who don’t, include In-ho and a very drunk Chief, the latter eventually passing out and carted into a taxi.

Our resident heartthrob, Roy, drops by on his bike but Jeong-suk wants a lift back and is encouraged to get on with her. He didn’t drink the whole night, as it turns out, and she holds onto him as they drive off. In-ho notices and flicks his lighter outside, angry and determined to get revenge. Well, Jeong-suk is overcome with emotion and ends up crying on the ride back. With tears in her eyes, she tells Roy that she’s feeling nauseous and needs to stop.

Meanwhile, Doctor Jeon ends up hooking up with Jung-min, taking control and kissing in private. This explains her attitude toward him and Jeong-suk at the hospital. Anyway, back with Jeong-suk for now, she points out hw amazing her first motorcycle ride was and tells Roy Kim it feels great to have freedom and a life of her own. This explains her tears – they’re tears of joy. She thanks Roy for helping her out but he shrugs it off, claiming that he’s just building rapport in their doctor/patient relationship.

Jeong-suk shrugs off the lack of love in their relationship but Roy speaks up and reveals how he should still have respect for her. After they part ways, Jeong-suk heads back home and has a glass of water in the kitchen alone, while In-ho is in his bed sulking.

I-rang is at school and notices a letter in her bag. It’s written by Jeong-suk and she writes out exactly as she feels, claiming that she’s doing her best to live for her own dreams and although she fully supports I-rang, she wants to try and live for herself for once. I-rang folds up the letter and sighs, putting it in her bag.

Meanwhile, at the hospital the next day, Dr Jeon helps herself to Jung-min’s food, much to the disdain of Jeong-suk. Jung-min tries to dissuade his mum without giving away what’s happening between them all, but he’s stuck in the middle.

After lunch, Dr Jeon chews out Jeong-suk for making the wrong prescription for a patient, overdosing the amount and telling her she needs to be more careful. Jung-min overhears and tries to get involved, but Jeon claims that her touching him is likened to sexual harassments. Getting nowhere, Jung-min tells his mum to keep her chin up, pointing out that Dr Jeon is ruthless and that’s just how she is. Jeong-suk is not happy and as she starts stressing, her muscles begin to tense so Jung-min helps her out and gives her a massage.

Meanwhile, Ae-sim continues to fuss around the house but when she heads out for her treatment, she bumps into Deok-rye, who’s similarly getting some Botox shots. This is, of course, quite the irony given what she said about natural beauty last episode. She also claims that Jeong-suk is paying for this too, which causes Ae-sim to begin stressing, sulking that she’d never do this for her. However, on the way out she notices Ae-sim get into someone’s car, and she wonders if they’re dating.

Back at the hospital, Doctor Roy helps out Seung-hi when she almost slips and spills all her food, managing to save her and catch all the food at the same time. It definitely woos her….until Roy and Jeong-suk sit and eat lunch together, laughing and having a good time. In-ho heads in and decides to eat at his desk instead, avoiding the pair, while Seung-hi is shocked.

After eating, Jeong-suk leans on her son constantly, asking him for help and harassing him all day. In fact, it gets to the point where Jung-min confronts his mum outside, telling her that she’s interfering with his schedule. He also questions her lack of knowledge.

Although things don’t go to plan, Jung-min sends over some videos afterwards to help her out, showing how much he really does care about her.

Remember the Chairman Oh from the last episode? The one Jeong-suk misspoke to? Well, he’s enraged and in a crazed state as he has to carry around a colostomy bag with him from now on if he goes ahead with the surgery. His anger turns to sorrow, and he begins sobbing on the floor. It’s tough for Jeong-suk to witness, and even more so when he decides not to take the surgery, eating junk food and listening to music.

No sooner has she dealt with this, she’s off dealing with a whole array of other tasks. One of these includes needing In-ho’s help with inserting a chest tube. He refuses, so it falls to Dr Jeon, who’s actually in the shower at the time. Time passes and she’s left on her own, so she re-rings In-ho and he manages to help her… but not before she calls him honey!

And funnily enough, Dr Jeon shows up as scheduled too, prompting awkwardness to ensue. That is, until Jeon effortlessly finishes everything up, with In-ho overseeing.

That “honey” greeting passes to the receptionists, who begin to gossip and wonder what In-ho’s relationship is with Jeong-suk. Through all of this though, Roy helps give Jeong-suk some encouragement, telling her to speak to different patients and see if she can try and help them, believing in her ability to change their minds.

As for Roy, he has a history which has been kept secret up until now. Many wonder just what he’s been through, but off-shift, he drives up to an orphanage where a nun is there to greet him. He wants information on Kim U-hyeon, which seems to be Roy’s name. He was found, rather than abandoned, and he’s desperate to find out what happened in his past.

Back home, Jeong-suk spends time with her family and ends up cooking for I-rang and her new friend, Eun-seo. Jeong-suk is curious over who her mum is but beyond working at the hospital, she doesn’t know much else. Eun-seo does point out that indoor golfing centers are the “hottest places for an affair”, which throws Jeong-suk off her game. It’s also clear, given Eun-seo looked at the family portraits in their house, that she knows In-ho is a cheater.

Jeong-suk finds a receipt for a bracelet, and Ae-sim claims she doesn’t know what this is. Unfortunately, it only compounds Jeong-suk’s feelings further that In-ho is having an affair. In-ho is also shady about the whole thing too, and then eventually claims that it was all for Jeong-suk’s birthday, which is two months away. Given he hasn’t got it on him, he’s stuck in a bit of a pickle.

When In-ho has a bath, Jeong-suk speaks to her husband about Seung-hi and how their relationship is. In-ho claims that they don’t really talk beyond passing glances, and he even pays Jeong-suk a compliment too, telling her she doesn’t look too bad compared to Seung-hi.

At the hospital, Jeong-suk apologizes to Seung-hi. She’s really sorry for what happened between them and speaks openly about how amazing Seung-hi is and how what she did was thoughtless. She didn’t have the guts to apologize back then. Seung-hi shrugs the whole thing off and claims it was ages ago.

Meanwhile, Jeong-suk heads back to the ward and learns that Chairman Oh has passed out on his way out the building. With his condition critical, Dr Jeon and Jeong-suk work together to try and save his life. It’s touch and go for a while and unfortunately, he looks on the verge of passing away. Jeong-suk looks up and out the room, where she notices In-ho and Seung-hi together. Even worse, she notices Seung-hi is actually wearing that pesky bracelet. As she puts her hand down, right in the way of the defibrillator, Jeong-suk passes out.

The Episode Review

Following on from the excellent episode yesterday, Doctor Cha keeps the momentum going with a great blend of comedy and drama.

Now that Jeong-suk is aware of In-ho’s affair, it’s anyone’s guess over what’s going to happen next. I would assume that Eun-Seo is going to play a part in this, given her inclusion in the storyline with I-rang, and confirm Jeong-suk’s suspicions, while the mother-in-laws bickering with one another makes for an amusing subplot alongside all this.

There’s a great balance of influences in this now and it would seem like the next few episodes might actually swing back toward drama rather than outright comedy, especially if Jeong-suk confronts her husband about his affair.

Either way though, everything is left wide open for next week’s follow-up.