Early Access: Dr. Romantic 3 E1, E2

E1. Even though I've very recently finished Dr. Romantic 2, and therefore haven't been waiting for several years for Season 3 like the rest of Show's fans, I still feel a thrill, that Season 3 is actually here.

Honestly, this might be the only drama that I can remember actually eagerly anticipating Season 3. I generally prefer my dramas to be single-season one-and-done deals.

The fact that this is a medical drama - a genre that I've never had a natural interest in - is just incredible, to me, and, I think, demonstrates just how special the Doldam world is. 🥰

On that note, can I just say that even though I'm currently just 2 episodes in, and therefore have 14 more to go, I'm already feeling wistful that this is most likely going to be the final season of Dr. Romantic to ever be produced. Say it ain't so! 😭

I have to admit, coming into episode 1, I felt a little disoriented, because we open in an environment that's so far off from Doldam Hospital. I literally had to double check that I got the right show. 😅

But, the amped up drama of this opening episode feels like it not only does justice to a tradition where Dr. Romantic opening episodes tend to be full of action-packed drama - but even takes it up a notch.

I mean, North Korean defectors that need to be kept secret? Surgery in a makeshift operating room on board a floating vessel?!? Wow. (And also, how do you even keep a steady hand, considering that you're likely bobbing up and down with the waves?)

This all had me wide-eyed and breathless, watching as our trusty Doldam team boards the Coast Guard vessel to save the wounded rescues.

I honestly did a silent squee, seeing Woo Jin, Eun Tak and Dr. Jung make their slo-mo entrance, complete with that rousing Dr. Romantic signature track - and wind blowing in their hair. 🤩🤩🤩

I just love when folks are in awe of our Doldam team, so I immediately got a good deal of satisfaction when our team's calm sense of professionalism, paired with their agility in thinking out of the box, has that medic in awe. 😁

And then of course, there's the second wave of amped-up coolness, when Master Kim arrives, along with Eun Jae and new resident Jang Dong Hwa.

One of the things that I especially love about watching Master Kim, is that he's unfailingly calm, even in the most stressful situations.

And so, Master Kim's unflappable composure, as he gives unusual orders to the team, and the team's quick and unquestioning responses, has that medic all discombobulated - which I love.

I love how he's all, "Do they.. all understand what he's saying..?" 😁

This tells me that he's not only in awe of Master Kim, he's in awe of the entire Doldam team, because this means that this is an indication of how they always work. I do love that.

That's our Doldam team: they're radical and they're rogue, and they're remarkable at what they do. 🤩

I also very much love how persuasive Master Kim is, in convincing the Captain of the Coast Guard vessel, that the patients need to be moved to Doldam Hospital, despite the political implications at play.

This quickly reminds us of the "romantic" part of Master Kim's moniker - he cares about saving lives, and he doesn't care about politics.

And, in reminding the Captain that this is also his priority as Coast Guard, he manages to reach an agreement with the Captain.

It might be a little clichéd, but it rings true to me: appealing to people's deeper values is oftentimes the only way to get them to reconsider their decisions, in situations like this.

After that, it's exactly in Show's DNA, to have the team open the Trauma Center for the treatment of these patients, even though it's not formally approved for operation yet.

Didn't I say our team is rogue? 😁

I didn't care so much for all the blustering that we get from Manager Jang, but it feels par for the course, that he would get all flustered by the goings-on, compared to Dr. Nam and Nurse Oh, who take it evenly in their stride.

Doesn't this feel like such a fitting way for the Doldam Trauma Center to be inaugurated, though?

All that spanking new equipment, put to good use, but in a rogue manner, because saving lives is more important than administrative protocol. 😁

As for our characters, I'm not taking to the new resident, Jang Dong Hwa, very well.

I get that he's tired, but the way he sneaks off when he's expected in surgery, is just very alarming.

If he's irresponsible enough to abandon a surgery, what other irresponsible acts would he be capable of, right?

It looks like Ah Reum's not in Korea, and hasn't been in Korea for a while, judging from the way Eun Tak's quietly pining for her.

I'm curious to know why they haven't been texting, at least, but I'm glad to see that Ah Reum's on a flight back.

I'm pretty sure that shot of her sleeping on Dr. Bae's shoulder, is just a red herring. She wouldn't dump Eun Tak for Dr. Bae, I'm sure. 😁

ALSO. I got a bit of a thrill from learning that Eun Jae and Woo Jin have moved in together, because when we'd left them at the end of Season 2, they'd just become a couple.

Eun Jae's still all coy and stuff, but Woo Jin definitely seems comfortable in his shirtless, smoldery glory. 🔥

(How unusual, isn't it, to have a shirtless scene this early in our drama? Not that I'm complaining, because Ahn Hyo Seop's lookin' all, uh, strong and healthy, heh. 😁)

In terms of where we are, in relation to Season 2, I'm really pleased that Park Min Guk and Master Kim are still working together towards the trauma center, which is an agreement they'd come to, at the end of Season 2.

I really like the idea of them working on the same side, after we spent all of Season 2 with Park Min Guk as our antagonist.

That said, it's realistic that things aren't that smooth sailing between Park Min Guk and Master Kim, because of their different priorities. That adds a nice level of frisson  and spark between them, that I think spices up our story.

The introduction of Dr. Cha looks set to take over the antagonistic side of things that Park Min Guk took care of, in Season 2.

I mean, first of all, he and Master Kim were rivals of sorts, back in medical school? That's already a legit source of tension.

But, on top of that, he's Eun Jae's father too? Eep. I definitely hadn't seen that coming. 😅

E2. This episode, we open with a bunch of cameos from the Extraordinary Attorney Woo cast, which I found to be pretty random, until I looked it up, and realized that Extraordinary Attorney Woo was directed by the same PD.

Ahhh. That makes a lot more sense, then.

We also get a bit of context around Eun Jae's family situation, and it looks like relations are strained, and have been strained for a while, because Eun Jae had refused to cover for her brother, like we saw in Season 2.

In fact, it sounds like Eun Jae hasn't really seen her dad in the last several years since this event took place, where before, I get that sense that she had been a bit of a Daddy's girl?

That's pretty harsh, and I feel bad for Eun Jae that her family's treating her coldly, for making a stand in favor of her principles.

This episode is helpfully titled "Between Ethics and Reality," and that seems to be the main theme running through our narrative, from Eun Jae's situation with her family, to Master Kim's challenge, in wanting to keep the patients in South Korea for treatment, when orders are to repatriate them to North Korea.

It feels like, in showing us Jang Dong Hwa going AWOL and spending all his time playing computer games, juxtaposed with everyone who's at the Trauma Center, working hard to save lives, Show is posing the question, of who the true warriors are, in our drama world.

And of course, my heart's with our Doldam warriors, who are always unhesitating and focused, when it comes to saving lives.

As with episode 1, the medic's wide-eyed wonder at everything that goes on in at the Trauma Center, lends a delicious layer of satisfaction, to the watch.

It's somehow really nice to see our Doldam team being appreciated by those who have eyes to see, yes?

I have to wonder whether it's the right thing to NOT fire Jang Dong Hwa, because his behavior this episode is even more atrocious than in episode 1.

First, he goes AWOL and refuses to respond to calls, in favor of playing computer games. (Not even spending the time on sleep, mind you, after complaining that he was working too many hours!)

And then, after he gets reprimanded by Woo Jin, and assigned to watch over a critical patient, and told that the patient could go into arrest at any time, he sneaks off to the washroom, to play more computer games?

Gah. I wanted him fired, immediately.

But, I think Show has other ideas, because he gets that big scare this episode, where he almost gets stabbed by that patient, and Woo Jin saves him.

I still have my doubts as to whether this will actually turn him around, especially since, in the moment, he was of absolutely no help to Woo Jin, even when Woo Jin was the one with that sharp instrument being held to his neck.

But, I am guessing that Show is going to have him turn around at some point, if not now, and if that's true, then yes, our Doldam doctors are made of better stuff than I am, because I just want him fired, NOW. 😅

As for Woo Jin, I'm so glad that he doesn't get stabbed (big phew on that 😅), and I'm actually quite impressed that he stays pretty calm afterwards, despite almost getting stabbed.

Clearly, his time at Doldam, with all its colorful array of patients, has toughened him up, yes?

I'm very appreciative of how gentle and empathetic Woo Jin is towards Eun Jae, when talking with her about her father.

It's less in what he says, and more in his tone, I feel, because his tone is very tender, as he asks Eun Jae is her father is still upset about what had happened with her brother. It's like.. a gentle hug, but with the timber of his voice, if that makes sense. 🥰

As for Dr. Cha, I'm glad that when he talks with Woo Jin in that rest area, he remains dignified and restrained.

As in, he doesn't say, "I want you to stay away from my daughter," or anything like that.

This gives me hope that he will be an interesting and layered antagonist this season, like Park Min Guk was our interesting and layered antagonist, last season.

I personally feel that Dr. Cha's being rather shortsighted in saying that there had been no problems in his family until Woo Jin had come along.

Because, the issue at hand, is that, when it comes down to it, Eun Jae's values are different from the rest of her family's, and if not when Woo Jin showed up, it would've shown up at some other point.

However, I do think that it feels rather meaningful, that Dr. Cha's parting shot to Woo Jin, is that Eun Jae is very precious to him.

(And I'm glad that Woo Jin returns the exact same sentiment to him, later in the episode. That felt quite perfect, I must say. 🤩)

The whole power outage was very dramatic, but again, given that this is Show's premiere week, I shouldn't be surprised.

I love that when the power goes out and Manager Jang's running around like a headless chicken on steroids, Master Kim is completely calm and unflappable, even though they are in the midst of a difficult surgery.

He doesn't even speak faster, and simply asks the team to shine their mobile phone flashlights into the body cavity, so that he can continue with the surgery.

SO. BADASS. 🤩🤩

I do love that Park Min Guk actually tells Dr. Cha that watching Master Kim in surgery, he only has respect for him, and nothing else matters.

And, I'd had hope that Dr. Cha would have a similar response, watching Master Kim in surgery - particularly in an emergency situation with no power.

But.. that would've been too easy, eh? We can't have our antagonist turning around as early as episode 2, I suppose.

..Which is why Show has Dr. Cha tell Park Min Guk that he'll consider joining the Trauma Center, if Master Kim isn't there.

I'm not sure how Show's going to handle that, since I'm pretty sure Dr. Cha is going to feature in our antagonist space this season, even though Master Kim is most definitely not going anywhere, but I'm curious to find out.

I do appreciate that conversation that Master Kim has with Woo Jin, where he talks about ethics and reality, because that addresses this episode's theme directly.

"Woo Jin-ah, it's enough that we did what we could. Oftentimes, between ethics and reality... what is right and what the solution is is hard to balance. It's just better for us to do our best as doctors."

That's true, and it's good advice - but it does look like Master Kim has made a deal with former Defense Minister Ryu Woongil, whom the Doldam team had previously saved, judging from the snippet where we see Master Kim and Ryu Woongil each deleting text messages from each other.

The media report, that only one engineer survived, seems to be a cover up, particularly with the way Show zooms in on the lollipop that I'm guessing the little boy had left for Woo Jin, and I'm hoping that we'll eventually get to hear that these patients successfully defected, and are living well somewhere in South Korea.

It's good to see Ah Reum and Dr. Bae back at Doldam Hospital at the end of the episode,  and Ah Reum and Eun Tak exchange shy smiles across the ER, aww! 🥰

But I have to say, I'm even more intrigued by the fact that the medic's back in Doldam, and is one of the interviewees, from the top of the episode.

And, I have to confess that it's really only at this point in my watch, that I registered that the medic, Lee Seon Wung, is played by Lee Hong Nae, whom I found completely arresting in The Uncanny Counter.

Woah. That was a mindblown moment for me, because I could not recognize him at all, with his whole nervous medic persona. 🙈

With Lee Hong Nae potentially becoming part of the Doldam team, I'm even more excited to see what else Show has in store, in our coming episodes. 🤩

Next episode notes will be out on: Monday, 12 June 2023!

* This show will be covered on the Early Access (US$5) Tier *