EMERGENCY COUPLE EPISODE 20
We're down to the wire, folks. Only two episodes left (including this one), and then Emergency Couple will be over :( Chang Min and Jin Hee and Dr. Guk and all the characters we've come to know and love will appear no more - except when we replay an old episode. This show, being as near to the end as it is, has accelerated to critical mass.
In the last episode, we saw Jin Hee and Chang Min wake up together in the same bed after drinking heavily the night before. They have actually become super comfortable with each other. And that's a good thing. Chang Min acting out of desperation and Jin Hee sporting that deer-in-the-headlights look was getting a bit stale. Here they sleep together and not much is said about it. They tease each other and grin as they do so. This is what I like to see: two people in love, happy, smiling, not constantly worrying about what the future will hold.
We also get treated to an exchange between Jin Hee and Sung Sook. The grieving widow invites Jin Hee to an impromptu cup of tea, interrupting her and Chang Min's plans to see a movie. Sung Sook tells her she won't get in the way anymore, but she still refuses to apologize for what she's done in the past -- "that's just how I am." That made me uncomfortable, since I always believe people can change and should own up to their behavior, do what they can to make it right. Fortunately, Jin Hee understands. She appears to have reached a state of grace and has forgiven the ahjumma, who should have apologized in my opinion.
This installment also raises some interesting questions through one of their patients. A patient is brought in, an apparent survivor of a suicide attempt through overdose. He is a patient who suffered laryngitis in the last episode. The procedure to cure it and get him breathing robbed him of his most prized possession: his voice. He was a singer and now, he considers himself nothing. The incident brought to mind some disturbing questions: What would you do if you were suddenly robbed of some capability you thought essential to who you were? What if you loved listening to music and you were eventually a victim of hearing loss? Or if you enjoyed reading and you were suddenly bereft of sight? What if your livelihood was taken from you and, with it, everything you knew yourself to be? The answers the show provides are less than satisfying. Chang Min skirts the issue, Dr. Guk says to take an interest in other things? But what if it's your identity that is suddenly gone? The answer to that is a great deal more complicated than "do something else."
Yong Gyu ponders his future in music and Ah Reum asks him out on a date. Finally! As funny as it was to see him make a fool of himself out of love, it's even better when his efforts pay off. Chang Min has already noted that she seems really nice, so what better pairing for her than ultra-sensitive, ultra-nice-guy Yong Gyu? I always thought they'd make a great couple. He loves her for her, not just her political connections or wealth. Now that Chang Min is taken and the arranged marriage is off, she is at liberty to date as she wishes. It's a sweet thing and I hope the series shows us where it leads before it ends.
Ji Hye and Dr. Guk have a reckoning here, too. Ji Hye goes off on Guk, telling him to step up or step off and stop hiding behind their relationship. Never mind the fact that their relationship has been over for 6 years. Pushing him toward Jin Hee was not what I was hoping for. Ji Hye and Dr. Guk look great together, they get each other, and they obviously care. She brings out some of his best qualities and she would create a large void in his life if she were to leave. If she's truly headed for America (thanks to hospital politics), then I hope he goes with her.
Chang Min and Jin Hee give Jin Ae and Kwang Soo marriage advice separately. They're fighting, and our emergency couple don't want to see them end up divorced. So Jin Hee talks to Jin Ae while Chang Min counsels Kwang Soo. All of this is done over drinks. Thankfully, they manage to talk them down. It's highly amusing to see this, not simply because of the snippets of advice but also because it puts our hero and heroine in an interesting position. Because they've been there, they've fought, spent time hating each other and then reconciled, they're in a unique position to give the newlyweds advice. As I've said before, I like Kwang Soo and I've warmed up to Jin Ae some, as well. I don't like some of the things she does, but who's perfect?
What are your hopes for the series? Chang Min and Jin Hee are a given, but what else do you want to see? Who would you pair up with whom and why? Let us know in the comments below!
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