Recap Korean Drama "Poong the Joseon Psychiatrist Season 2" Episode 4

Episode 4 of Poong The Joseon Psychiatrist season 2 starts off with Gwang-il asking if Poong can perform acupuncture. He cannot and Gwang-il says it’s enough reason to investigate him. The Princess then visits Poong and asks him to come with him to the palace. He refuses as he does not want to marry her and also wants to look into So-cheon’s matter. The Princess doesn’t look discouraged as she wishes him good luck and leaves.

Poong is allowed to leave the next day and he checks up on So-cheon. Gye looks after him but acts like it is no big deal when Poong is touched. Meanwhile, Eun-woo gets Chil-sung to give her the suicide note and she checks it with So-cheon’s books and notices that the handwriting is similar.

The Princess too looks into So-cheon’s case so that she can win Poong over. She goes to Gyesoo and tells him that she can help with the suicide note. In return, she confesses her feelings but Eun-woo interrupts and everyone is flustered. Before Poong can follow Eun-woo, the Princess shows him the book ‘The Tale of Hong-soon’ by So-cheon.

In the meantime, the Gyesoo staff bet on who Poong will end up with. They are divided with Jang-goon being the tie-breaker but he can’t decide between Eun-woo and the Princess. Poong approaches Eun-woo and shows her the book the Princess gave him and that the suicide note is a paragraph cut from the book. He takes it to Gwang-il and tells him that if he doesn’t listen even now he is the incompetent one.

Eun-woo goes to the riverbank and talks to So-cheon’s friends who tell her that she was loved. Jung-soon was also the one who found the suicide note and recalled how So-cheon would talk about wanting to bathe in the cold river to ease her itching.

The Princess hangs out with Gyesoo and bonds with Jang-goon as she gives him her copy of So-cheon’s romance novel. Nam-hae offers her and Court Lady Jung rice cakes and she begrudgingly admits that it’s delicious. Meanwhile, Eun-woo wonders why So-cheon painted over her words and realises that it is a diary. She shows it to Poong and before they can look into it, they hear Jang-goon crying. They run to him and he is upset over the book the Princess gave him. They realise that it is another version of So-cheon’s diary.

Eun-woo goes to meet the Princess regarding the place she got the diary from and asks for her help so that it can help Poong as well. The Princess asks her for a favour in return and she agrees. Eun-woo and Poong rush to the bookseller who tells them that he accidentally got the diary while searching for So-cheon’s latest novel.

So-cheon wakes up and when they ask her about the diary, she remembers the people who bullied her. She is afraid to tell Gyesoo but they comfort her. At the governor’s office, the Princess barges in and orders Gwang-il to go back as she can finally get Poong with the favour she curried from Eun-woo. He refuses and she is furious.

He goes to Gyesoo on hearing So-cheon is awake and wishes to interrogate her. Poong tells him that she did not commit suicide but he will not allow him to take So-cheon away as her psychiatrist. He asks if Poong has quit being a physician while the rest of Gyesoo are shocked. So-cheon is touched and starts writing her story.

The next day, Nam-hae is busy cooking a feast and wonders why Poong told her to do so. Turns out it is for a Storyteller Choi and they ask for a performance in return. Everyone turns up at the market place including the Princess and Gwang-il. Choi arrives in a mask and invites So-cheon’s friend Jung-soon to read with him. The story ends up being about Jung-soon and her friends bullying So-cheon, painting over her books and throwing them in the river.

The audience starts berating Jung-soon who starts crying and tearing the book out of guilt. So-cheon comes on stage and tells everyone that the story is real and Jung-soon pushed her into the river and disguised it as a suicide. The guards arrest her. Storyteller Choi takes off his mask and it turns out to be Poong who hugs So-cheon and tells her her ordeal is over.

Gwang-il is still sceptical that So-cheon is cured but Gye tells him to back off. At that moment, the medical inspector is ordered back to Hanyang. Gyesoo rejoice and walk back to the clinic where Jang-goon gives his betting stick to Eun-woo and declares he likes her.

At Hanyang, the Chief Royal Physician is annoyed with the way Gwang-il handled the whole situation and gives him one last chance to destroy Poong.

The Princess, Poong and Eun-woo help So-cheon copy her books and sell them nationwide. Meanwhile, the King sticks to his promise and sends over the funds for Gyesoo. But the Princess notices that Poong and Eun-woo are smiling at each other and she is jealous.

When they are alone, Poong brings Eun-woo So-cheon’s romance novels and asks her to read them to him. She reveals that he might be weirded out as one of the characters is called Poong. He jokes that it’s even better and they laugh. They spend the whole day reading her books.

Meanwhile, the Princess barges in at the governor’s office and orders him to control everyone including the widows as she does not like Eun-woo breaking protocol and flirting with men. She then tries to sleep but cannot get the image of Poong and Eun-woo being all lovey-dovey. She storms out and goes to meet Eun-woo. She tells her she wants to use her favour and that she wants Poong’s heart. He appears and overhears her.

The Episode Review

Since season 1 we have been waiting and we finally get the ‘psychiatrist’ part of Poong The Joseon Psychiatrist in season 2 episode 4. Instead of constantly focusing on his lost acupuncture skills, our male lead moves on and finds other ways to cure his patients, even if that means helping them with their mental state.

As for that one underlying plot that will keep us hooked along with the episodic cases, it seems that season 2 has finally established that the bad guys (who don’t really seem like the bad guys) will be the Chief Royal Physician, Gwang-il and the Princess. Though, we do hope that Gwang-il and the Princess resolve their squabbles and join hands with Gyesoo.