JTBC’s new Korean drama series titled Doctor Cha (닥터 차정숙) stars Uhm Jung-hwa, Kim Byung-chul, Min Wook-hyuk, Myung Se-bin, Song Ji-ho, Jo A-ram, Baek Joo-hee, Park Jun-Keum, Kim Mi-kyung, Lee Seo-yoon, So A-rin, Park Chul-min, Kimg Byung-choon, Lim Hyoung-soo and Kim Yea-eun, alongside other cast members.
This Korean Drama series is directed by Kim Dae-Jin and written by Jung Yeo-Rang. Doctor Cha Episode 3 runs for 62 minutes. This show shows the protagonist making a lifestyle choice. After putting a pause on her medical resident career to become a homemaker, Cha Jeong-suk decides to start her training all over again when her husband, a chief surgeon at the university hospital, cheats on her. In this episode, we see her take the reins of residency in her hands and try her best to survive the long hours.
Doctor Cha Episode 3 Recap
Last episode, we saw Doctor Cha with Choi Seung-hi, taking notes on her first day of residency and causing general chaos for her husband. However, in this episode, we see how this came to be in the first place. Jeong-suk was absolutely convinced that she wouldn’t be getting the job, and the dejection was enough for her to take her husband’s advice and go on a vacation. With her friend, Min-hee, the duo make their way to the airport.
At the airport, the two talk about how things have been so annoying because all she wants to do is get a job, but it’s difficult at her age and the kind of health complication she had. But her luck strikes up because one of the newly assigned residents left just before starting his 3 years to join the mandatory military service. Now that she is in family medicine, her Chief Advisor is Choi Seung-hi, who is absolutely mortified by this development.
Conversely, In-ho has been hyperventilating after seeing her and decides to get an IV drip before he can have a full conversation with Seung-hi about this. Turns out, they were all in the dark about this development and weren’t informed at any stage. Jeong-suk has no qualms about this and is happily making her way through the day. When Seung-hi talks to the department head about this, they receive news that another resident dropped out of the Surgery department.
Taking this as her unique opportunity, Seung-hi sends Jeong-suk to In-ho’s Surgery department. The duo meet each other for the first time there and are surprised by how things are transpiring in this place. To add more spice to the drama, Roy Kim has just joined the hospital as one of the professors and is looking at a full-time job with the rest of the professors. Roy Kim and In-ho meet for the first time, and the two have a strained discussion about Jeong-suk’s decision to be a resident.
Since the former is no help in deterring the amateur resident, In-ho asks to keep their relationship as husband and wife on the down low. Funnily enough, Roy and Jeong-suk have the same conversation the same day after a long stint of working. The former, though, also asks her why she didn’t get divorced from her husband, and she goes into detail to explain that breaking a relationship is much harder than marrying someone.
When the couple is home, In-ho decides to set some ground rules. He mentions that he will not be giving her any special treatment. He will not be taking any dereliction of duty from her or giving any kind of help to her. Jung-min also creates similar boundaries but is not so mean about them. He just wants their connection to be on the down low. But one of the other employees has started looking at Jung-min and Jeong-suk’s dynamic very suspiciously.
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Coming back to In-ho’s declaration, the next morning is absolute hell for Jeong-suk. She is almost late and nearly misses the lift, but Roy Kim, the man of the hour, holds a spot for her and the two converse jovially in the lift while In-ho seethes on the side. In a way that makes this whole thing worse, In-ho puts Jung-min and Jeong-suk on the spot and humiliates them, which thankfully doesn’t deter them from their jobs.
Since Roy Kim is new and the new residents are also here, the head of the hospital decides to host a dinner for all the new people and the department heads. This place also serves drinks, and Jung-min announces that one of the residents makes a mean drink, and she exhibits that skill for everyone. Roy Kim only watches Jeong-suk through all this and sees that she is quite good at drinking. After telling her this, she delves into how she was always good at drinking and can still do that, but she may be out of practice, not having done it for so long.
Amidst all this, In-ho starts coming under some kind of scrutiny because he isn’t drinking. Still, the whole restaurant immediately starts swooning after they realise that he limits his drinking to be responsible. The head of the hospital then asks him about how his wife is doing and tells him he was so brave for giving his liver. Instead of correcting any of them, he decides to go along with the story. Roy Kim is watching all this with rapt attention and is surprised at the trajectory of this event. On the other side of the table, his wife laughs the crowd to silence.
When they come to Jeong-suk, they ask her about her husband, and she replies, without any hesitation, that he is dead. In-ho spits out his drink wildly, and Jung-min burns his hand on the grill. Seeing this, Jeong-suk’s maternal instincts take over, and she exclaims in concern, alerting the whole restaurant. The episode ends here, leaving us questioning what will happen to her once people start asking some probing questions.
Doctor Cha Episode 3 Review
This episode truly took the story to another level because none of the players in the game was given any control over their circumstances. Seeing their reactions being contrastingly different from each other is what makes the trajectory of the events in this episode so exciting. Even though the episode starts out a little slow, the pace picks up extremely well, letting us know that it was all just the exposition that was taking a while.
It has to be noted that the humour truly does not take a rest in this show. Every episode till now has been on point with the humour. The character arcs are fantastic, and the conflict is also very real. Every obstacle put in her path seems realistic to their circumstances and also highlights the way sexism works in the workplace translating from the public to the private. Props to the creators who have managed to create something good with this show.
Doctor Cha Episode 3 is currently streaming on Netflix. What did you think of Roy Kim’s energy in this episode? Let us know in the comments, and read our previous reviews of the show below.
Also Read: Our Previous Reviews of Doctor Cha