Doctor Cha season 1 episode 2 recap & review

Open Go TV / April 17, 2023 / Reviews

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In Doctor Cha episode 2, Jeong-Suk begins a new chapter of life, one that sees her in a new avatar that’s not burdened by her self-imposed responsibilities and servitude to her indifferent family.

Recap

Doctor Cha episode 2 opens with Jeong-Suk thinking back on how her husband backed out at the last minute on donating and undergoing the surgery. He was stopped by his mother and Seung-Hi and caved in to their demands after growing cold feet himself.

Luckily, one of the doctors suggested Roy Kim that a brain-dead patient might be a viable option for the donation, and Jeong-Suk’s surgey is eventually performed with great success.

The post-op phase of Jeong-Suk begins with the same old housewife routine, but once she sees how indifferent the family members are to her presence, the realization dawns on her hard. Jeong-Suk can’t continue with the same rut, and her first act of rebellion is to go on a shopping spree that costs more than a car’s worth of money.

Later, she suggests I-Rang to prepare her own food, mother-in-law to prepare her own juice, and In-Ho to prepare his own coffee. In-Ho signs to his mother, asking her to not protest this new behavior of Jeong-Suk, as she slapped him out of sleep the previous night, venting her frustrations for his backing out on the surgery.

In-Ho chalks it up as the aftereffects of her near-death experience. Jeong-Suk continues to relish the privilege she always prevented herself from enjoying, much to the shock and chagrin of her mother-in-law, who’s suprised to see that Jeong-Suk even bought the same expensive bag as her.

Later, Jeong-Suk reminisces with Mi-Hee on how she came to conceive Jung-Min with his father when she was but a young medical resident. They talk about how it was out of the blue and how In-Ho cheated on Seung-Hi and had sex with Jeong-Suk, following which he stepped up to marry her and take responsibility of the kid, to the protests of his mother.

In the present, Jeong-Suk asks In-Ho that their house be jointly owned by him and her, a request that her mother-in-law denies vehemently, also taking her to dinner and offering her year-old car to get her to stop asking In-Ho for this unfair demand.

Jeong-Suk stops asking for it, for she now wishes to resume her studies that she left midway to start a married life. When her mother asks her to pick up studies again, something she talks about being the one thing she always liked most and excelled at, Jeong-Suk is convinced.

In-Ho laughs it off and discourages Jeong-Suk from this ridiculous notion. However, she follows on it and gets on the studious grind, eventually scoring 49 out of 50 on her medical resident exams. The committee at the University Hospital looks at her application and the scores, including Seung-Hi, who’s shocked and terrified at what may unfold if she actually gets selected.

Luckily for her, the other members are opposed to the idea of someone so old pursuing the medical profession now, and Seung-Hi is quick to remind them that Jeong-Suk is also a recovering liver patient. All of these roadblocks present themselves during her interview, and later, Jeong-Suk learns that she’s been rejected.

Seung-Hi and In-Ho are relieved to learn about Jeong-Suk’s rejection but when In-Ho goes to the hospital the next day, he suffers quite a visceral and hilarious jumpscare to see that his wife is donning one of the doctor labcoats, being guided by none other than an uneasy Seung-Hi. Before an explanation on this unprecedented development can be given, Doctor Cha episode 2 rolls the credits.

Review

Episode 2 of Doctor Cha fares far better than its predecessor in many ways. From the hilarity to the catharsis that Jeong-Suk’s vengeance offers, the show delivers several satisfying moments.
The episode also delves into the backstory of Jeong-Suk and In-Ho’s marriage, explaining how it came about as a result of a steamy encounter and how In-Ho couldn’t stay loyal to his partner and can’t do it even now.
Seung-Hi comes across as quite an evil being as she’s shown to literally root for Jeong-Suk’s departure from life, in hopes of the psychic babble that she was fed by a con man.
The “funny” sound effects still persist but the amount used is not enough to make it all overbearing, which makes the affair somewhat tolerable. However, it seems that Doctor Cha would be sticking to the gags and punchlines being delivered with a cartoonish background sound effect throughout its run.