Doctor Slump Episode 3 Recap and Review: Taking a Break At Rock Bottom

Doctor Slump Episode 3 brings Ha-neul and Jeong-woo closer as the latter decides to give her a break that she deserves, helps her make memories and teaches her how to have fun. However, danger looms over Jeong-woo while he tries to bring joy to Ha-neul.

Doctor Slump takes over jTBC’s Saturday-Sunday release Welcome to Samdal-ri, starring Ji Chang-wook and Shin Hye-sun. The plot follows Yeo Jeong-woo and Nam Ha-neul who have been living as two successful individuals, only for it to all come crashing down. Now, the two are forced to start afresh while sharing living quarters; reigniting a past rivalry that may lead to a possible romance.

-Doctor Slump Episode 3 Review Contains Spoilers-

Doctor Slump Episode 3 Recap

The episode opens up with Jeong-woo remembering how his hate for Ha-neul emerged from the bar she set for him after giving him his first defeat, which pushed him into working just as hard as her. Having been a prodigy since childhood and a favourite among people, Jeong-woo was living a happy life until her arrival which messed up everything for him.

However, now having spent a drunken evening crying alongside the person he hates, Jeong-woo is unable to digest this event and wonders how he would face her. Meanwhile, Ha-neul is also hesitant about the same but the two try to suppress the awkwardness and go their ways. Ha-neul finally faces her mother who tries to avoid the topic of her depression, unfortunately, her brother Ba-da appears and breaks the silent tension by mentioning the matter of her depression.

Ha-neul brushes it off with her unbothered attitude, however, her mother begins coming up with ways to help her recover soon, leaving Ha-neul more stressed than ever. While Ha-neul begins missing going to work, Jeong-woo meets his lawyers and finds out that Jin-suk is ready to be a witness in the upcoming trial. This news makes his lawyers happy, but Jeong-woo cannot help being suspicious about Jin-suk’s sudden decision.

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Later, someone breaks into Jeong-woo’s house which makes him scared even though nothing has been stolen from his house. Ha-neul invites him to stay at her place as his house is a mess due to the broken window and Jeong-woo agrees. Things get awkward during dinner as Wol-seong finds out that the two were schoolmates who didn’t have a good relationship.

But when he begins speaking about the way Ha-neul dedicated herself to her studies back in school, Wol-seong cannot stop her tears thinking about her daughter’s condition. Following the dinner, Jeong-woo offers to go out for some ice cream and Ha-neul agrees after seeing her mother knock on her door again.

There, Ha-neul gets agitated when she sees an ambulance pass by and Jeong-woo understands that she needs to learn how to have some fun in life. With this thought, he takes her to grab some tteokbeokki and heads to the arcade after that. Finally, Ha-neul begins to fulfil the fun she missed in school while Jeong-woo accompanies her through the evening.

On the way back, Ha-neul finds herself feeling pathetic for having done nothing but study in life only to hit rock bottom. Expecting him to tell her to stay strong during this time, she is surprised when Jeong-woo tells her to stay down for the time being and take a break for the time being. This leaves her shocked because while everyone is urging her to get back up, he tells her to take a break.

Later, Jeong-woo’s opinion of Ha-neul begins to change which makes him shocked while Ha-neul looks forward to having another fun-filled day like this one. The next day begins with Ha-neul receiving a message about her severance pay which has been cut down by half which makes her realise that the professor under whom she had been working was renewing her contract-worker status every year.

She decides to confront him but Jeong-woo stops her as this would affect her career if news of the same spread. She instead goes to meet her colleagues to raise awareness about the situation and get their help in fighting back but is shocked when they refuse to help and decide to keep quiet about the same.

Meanwhile, Jeong-woo overhears Ba-da informing Wil-seong about his trial and how it could affect Ha-neul which brings him back to reality. Ha-neul is surprised to see him suddenly acting distant upon her return and realises what has happened when she gets back home and her mother tells her to stay away from Jeong-woo.

Elsewhere, Joeng-woo finds out that Jin-suk has backed out from making a statement in court which brings him back to square one. As he once again faces disappointment, Ha-neul begins looking into the case and after much research finds another case similar to what happened during Jeong-woo’s surgery.

Having found this case study while Jeong-woo’s trial is ongoing, she only makes it at the final moment because of which the judges push discussing this evidence during the next trial. This leaves the two disappointed as reality is different from movies where we see such evidence changing the case right then and there.

Doctor Slump Episode 3 Ending

While Ha-neul feels saddened for having reached late, Jeong-woo is happy to see someone standing on his side while the world blames him. Later, he takes her to his clinic after seeing her wounded hand and Ha-neul tries to cheer him up by suggesting things to do to have fun. Jeong-woo goes along and asks to see the sunrise from the East Sea.

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The two leave for Sokcho and arrive at the beach where they are surprised to find out that they can’t see the sunrise due to the cloudy weather. As they laugh at the irony of how their situation is reflected in this unseen sunrise, the two finally become friends. As Han-neul sees the sadness behind his smile, she wishes for him to have someone beside him during this time.

However, the two are unaware that the break-in that happened in Jeong-woo’s house was just to plan cameras around his house. But who is behind this?

Doctor Slump Episode 3 Review

The story has finally set in and we can see the intensity of the plot slowly making its way up while setting in the mood for the protagonists to begin a new journey. This episode saw quite a few ups and downs, but it also showed the traits that make Jeong-woo the man that he is. And it isn’t just the viewers who are discovering Jeong-woo but also Ha-neul.

While Ha-neul is a child who hasn’t been able to grow up because of her dedication towards her studies, Jeong-woo is a person who has had to grow up a lot sooner than anyone else. While one is affected by the environment’s demands of her, the other is affected by the home that was created for him. And eventually, both of them have been left broken for this world.

If observed properly, we can see Kdrama around this time subtly focusing on mental health and this is another show that is doing the same. Not just in terms of depression, but also in other mental states that we see as normal until a label is given to them.

Altogether, this episode shows the relationship that Ha-neul and Jeong-woo share which can only be understood by them, making it special in its way.

Watch Doctor Slump on Netflix.

Also Read: All of Our Reviews Of Doctor Slump