[Drama Review] 'Doctors' - Episode 20 (Finale)

AKP STAFF

Park Shin Hye, Lee Sung Kyung, Kim Rae Won

DOCTORS -- EPISODE 20 (FINALE)

There -- your moment of cuteness.

They prep for Myeong Hoon's surgery, and his family visits. Seo Woo calls Myeong Hoon's wife out for being rude to her friend, referring to Hye Jung. The doctors find out the surgery for the spinal tumor might damage the nerves. He may be paralyzed following surgery. Later, Hye Jung meets with her father to ask why he didn't do anything about Grandma's death and tells him healing their rift is unlikely. Young Guk begins dating Seo Woo. Kang Soo eagerly helps the doctors with their rounds. Ji Hong will not operate on Myeong Hoon without Hye Jung, but she is reluctant. Myeong Hoon's not crazy about the idea either, convinced that she will botch the operation intentionally and kill him. But the surgery is successful, and they go out for drinks to celebrate. Their fun is short-lived, as the brain-dead woman's water breaks, and they rush back to the hospital to deliver the baby by C-section. She flatlines shortly after. Later, Tae Ho is inaugurated as president of the hospital. Our gangster doctor meets with Myeong Hoon, who thanks her for saving him, and they even smile at each other. At the end, Ji Hong proposes to Hye Jung correctly, with loose rose petals and white suit.

The transformation of Myeong Hoon was perhaps a bit much. I've addressed character drift in another review, and this seems a bit like it. Although, maybe in his weakened state we got to see another side of him -- helpless, in pain, afraid to die. Plus you want to be nice to the doctors who are going to save your life! Although he was still a git for stating that Hye Jung wouldn't try her best, so there is that. I guess I wouldn't have liked it as much if he were hurling invectives at the end.

Sipping tea, and no longer smiling evilly.

I think one of the things that stopped it from being boring was the characters. We had some genuinely funny situations which stopped it from being too dark, and it all tied into the players and their personalities. One of the things I liked is everyone had their own quirks -- even the minor characters. Kyung Joon was abusive, Kang Soo was upbeat, Joong Dae was lacking in self-esteem, and so forth. And the writers highlighted these traits well. Far from complicating the drama, they added to it.

I wondered if we were going to see more of the pregnant patient. That was a powerful subplot from beginning to end, and I seriously started crying as well. It wasn't a senseless death, and we had a few episodes to prepare for it, but it still hit me hard. The husband's reaction was just sheer animal grief, which gave that much more punch to it. Babies get to me too, so I was dehydrated from all the waterworks. At least the little tyke lived.

Now for my next magic trick...

So I got the happy ending I wanted. Am I good? I think so. This drama had a way of plotting stories that really helped get a reaction out of you. It wasn't just quietly sitting by and idly watching -- it was a full-blown, nail-biting drama. The only thing I could have wished for was more action like we saw in the first few episodes, but I like the way it turned out. I've got a soft spot in my heart for this one. It's definitely worthy of a binge watch now that it's over. So let's bid farewell to a great drama. If it wasn't the best, it certainly ranked right up there with them.