EMERGENCY COUPLE, EPISODE 3

Emergency Couple is a drama about two ex-spouses who are forced to work side-by-side when they intern at the same hospital. There will be spoilers here; you know the drill.

When we last left our insipid intrepid couple, Chang Min lay unconscious from the shock delivered by a defibrillator wielded by his ex-wife, in an attempt to stop a gunman in the ER. When chest compression fails, his ex gets him breathing again with artificial respiration. His first thought when he wakes up is hatred towards his ex for knocking him unconscious, even as she is beating herself up for doing the same. Why did she jump in and save him?  I'm sure she feels responsible for his condition, but is there more there? There must have been something that brought them together 6 years ago. Perhaps it's still there?

When Jin Hee reappears at his bedside, he takes her into the office and yells at her, which quickly escalates to a screaming match. The look on his face when his teammates tell him that she alone is responsible for saving his life is priceless. Something tells me that his attitude will soften over time.

Meanwhile Jin Hee's family is trying to stop government officials from confiscating medical equipment for the massage business. Afterwards she gets a massage from her mother and goes home to go over the events of the day in her head. She wonders why she even saved Chang Min. Which is exactly what's on the rest of our minds. Even if he was her husband, he comes off in this drama as a first class a-hole.

The next day,  Jin Hee is interrogated by Ji Hye about the results of a blood test. Ji Hye asks her what her diagnosis is, and asks if it's the doctor's job to memorize blood test results. She delivers a comprehensive diagnosis, and Ji Hye dismisses her, saying, "I'll keep an eye on you." I couldn't quite figure out if Ji Hye was chiding her, or impressed with her. Over time, it seems like she's proving herself to the higher-ups, quite the opposite of what Chang Min is accomplishing. Her encounter with Ji Hye leaves Jin Hee stressed, and while she gathers some equipment, she ends up near Chang Min, who can't get the idea she saved him out of his head. They end up yelling at each other as they head to their stations.

Jin Hee ends up treating a patient with Ah Reum, who flirts with him, and advises Jin Hee on the best way to say "unavailable." A patient with a head wound fights Jin Hee when she prepares to suture a cut on his forehead. Chang Min assists her and they find a larger head wound than just a cut.

At lunch Chang Min leaves the hospital to meet his blind date, and she is not who she claims; she is instead a close friend of the woman he was supposed to date. Ah Reum is very interested when the blind date turns out to be Chang Min. Chang Min's mother is very angry at this development, and confronts the people responsible. She is very interested to find out that the actual person is a doctor.  Park Joon Geum's character is very calculating here, but in a different way than in 'Heirs.' She seems almost weasel or snake-like, slithering into a conversation and infusing her venom. It's not hard to see where Chang Min got his attitude from.  

The rest of the interns respond to an emergency in the middle of lunch. The emergency is a drill, to see how quickly they respond, and they are given a test dummy to operate on. In 30 mins, he dies, so they need to be quick. Separating into teams, everyone else pairs up while Jin Hee is alone, in part because Chang Min left the hospital. Dr. Gook is not happy about this at all; he rips Chang Min a new one for it.

Jin Hee and Chang Min get assigned to transport an esophageal cancer patient to the ER, when a power outage stops the elevator and he stops breathing, blood filling his mouth. Chang Min calls the Chief and  is directed to perform an emergency tracheotomy. His confidence wavers, but Jin Hee puts her hand on his to reassure him. Maybe a reconciliation is in the works?

This is an interesting drama. Viewership is up, and around the net the consensus seems to be the second episode is better than the first, and the third is even more gripping. It bills itself as a romantic comedy, but I'm not seeing much of either. What I am seeing is heart-stopping suspense, and a medical drama. The closeups of scalpels cutting and the amount of time spent on patients here are not just fluff or background material; rather, they seem like some of the central themes here.

I like the way Jin Hee is shaping up; her character has transformed herself completely from a hopeless girl to determined professional woman. I'm really enjoying that; I like strong characters as opposed to weak ones. The great thing about it is that it's still self-referential, the writers don't forget who she is and try to make her Wonder Woman -- she still has foibles, moments of doubt and failure. But overcoming her fears makes her a very likeable character.

Emergency Couple airs Fridays and Saturdays on tvN, and DramaFever/Hulu has the exclusive license for the first month.

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