This episode reminded me of that famous line from Charles Dickens’ work.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way—in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.”

Do you see how? I’ll give you 10 examples.

1. SH and Minha vs patient’s mother-in-law and husband

Mother-in-law: They say babies who are born vaginally are smarter. Can’t we wait just a little longer? Back in my day, women gave birth naturally without any problems even after being in labor for three days.
SH: I guess your goal is to have a natural delivery, but ours is to ensure that the delivery is safe for both the mother and the baby. It’s already late. Ms. Choi YeRim needs surgery, and she has already given her consent. We’ll go into surgery now.

We know where the writer’s sentiments lie in this case. The mother-in-law represents the “age of foolishness.” lol.

2. IkJun the good hygienist vs IkJun the bad hygienist

He washed his hands well but at the last second, just when his patient entered, he touched his eye. He should have washed his hands again.

The writer was making a joke here. Another one for the “age of foolishness.”

3. JW’s cutie patient, Hayul vs IkSun’s son Uju

The little girl had three candies to brag about: strawberry, orange, and toasted rice. And she didn’t want her mother telling the doctor about her fever because she might be treated for illness again. The little girl’s behavior indicates normal socialization for her age.

In stark contrast, Uju’s growing up too fast, too soon.

IJ: Is everything going well with Mone and Mane?
Uju: Mane and Mone always go camping with their dad.
IJ: Camping?
Uju: Yes. They brag every day about going camping with their dad. They go every weekend.
IJ: Do you want to go camping too?
Uju: Yes.
IJ: We can go too. Let’s go camping.
Uju: (excited) Really?
IJ: Yes. (he receives a phone call and immediately gets ready to leave)
Uju: (bows his head and speaks in a subdued voice) See you later, Dad. It’s okay. I’m used to it.
IJ: Dad’s sorry, sweetie.
Uju: No, Dad. You don’t need to be sorry. You’re doing good deeds. You want to spend time with me, your universe. But you’re busy saving the bigger universe out there.
IJ: Who said that?
Uju: Auntie IkSun.
IJ: (rubs his face) I’ll be quick.

Although many viewers might find this conversation cute, in reality, it exposes problems. There’s a role reversal going on in this household. To attract attention, both father and son don’t behave their age. IkJun acts like a goofy kid in front of Songhwa while Uju acts like a mature adult in front of Ikjun. Take for instance when IJ was called away on an emergency as they were discussing a camping trip together. What did Uju do? He internalized the words that his aunt had told him, and excused his father’s hasty departure.

This is sad, actually.

At a tender age, Uju has learned that he must not be clingy or demanding of his father’s time and that he must be emotionally strong. His awareness of his secondary role in his father’s life, although it might sound mature, actually imposes unrealistic demand on a young child. He’s required to disconnect himself from his father, and to ignore his loneliness and separation anxiety.

IJ’s workaholism has a detrimental effect on his son. It’s robbing Uju of his childhood and innocence.

4. Prof Cheong vs JWan

Prof Cheong is another foil in this kdrama. His lack of empathy and interaction highlights JWan’s relationship with his patient.

Cheong: (gets off his phone) Have a seat. (sighs) Everything looks good. It looks fine.
Husband: I’m relieved to hear that. I couldn’t sleep a wink last night.
Wife: Does the Xray look okay too?
Cheong: Yes.
Husband: What about the blood test and the electrocardiogram results?
Cheong: (getting impatient) I just told you everything’s fine.
Wife: Doctor. My husband has been getting leg cramps at night.
Cheong: That has nothing to do with the heart. No other questions, right?
Wife: No.
Cheong: Then I’ll see you next time.

He sucks big time. In contrast, here’s JWan’s patient.

Wife: Hello.
JWan: Hello, please have a seat here. (starts looking at chart)
Nurse: You had your surgery over two months ago, right?
Wife: (nervously) Yes. I had my surgery over two months ago.
JWan: (suddenly sparing the patient a glance) You got a haircut.

This was a good icebreaker. It meant that he noticed small personal details about his patient.

Wife: (smiling) Yes. I looked like a crazy person before. Professor Kim, did my condition get worse?
JWan: No, everything looks fine. I reviewed everything starting with your pre-surgery Xray. Your Xray and blood test results from today look good. And your electrocardiogram is normal too.

Unlike Cheong, JWan began explaining what tests he was looking at on his computer. He didn’t leave his patient in the dark. He gave them the details they needed. Showing them the Xray and sharing information allayed the fears of the patient that he was just lying to them.

JWan: (showing them the xray) This one was taken before the surgery, and the one on the right is from today. The lungs show up as black and the heart is white. Your right atrium an dvenetricle were enlarged before the surgery. You don’t have to be a doctor to see the difference. Your hearts seems smaller.
Patient: Yes, I can see the improvement.
JWan: Yes, everything looks good. Did you experience any other symptoms after your appointment last month?
Patient: No. Oh right. Everything’s been good, but when I get up suddenly, I feel lightheaded.
JWan: Does it happen often?
Patient: No, just once in a while. Is it common after surgery?

As I’ve said elsewhere (probably the thread on Jang’s lack of empathy?), a doctor can make a difference just by the way he/she communicates with them. Consulting a doctor is not only a medical event, but also a psychological experience. Sometimes, the patient just wants to hear reassurance that what she’s feeling (like the leg cramps or the lightheadedness) is common, harmless, or won’t get worse.

JWan did a good job here.

JWan: Yes, it can happen after the surgery. I’ve seen it in some cases, but it’ll go away in time. As I’ve explained before, your heart is at the same level as your brain when you’re lying down. But when you get up, your brain is suddenly higher than your heart. So your blood vessels must contract the moment it happens. Squeezing the tip of your hose makes the water shoot out farther, right? It’s the same thing. The vessels must contract to pump blood to the brain. If that doesn’t happen right away, you can experience lightheadedness.
Husband: I see. I totally get it now.
Jwan: You were given diuretics and antihypertensives after the surgery which can throw you off balance temporarily. Rather than testing yourself to see whether your condition is improving, I suggest you try to get into the habit of getting up slowly.
Husband: She’s awfully impatient. She always gets up quickly. She doesn’t have the patience.
Patient: I’ll be careful from now on.
JWan: Any other questions?
Patient: No.

The difference between the two doctor is night and day. It’s clear which one of the two the writer favors. The writer is using Prof Cheon as foil for JWan, just like she did with the little girl and Uju.

5. The two marathoning moms

To be honest, I wasn’t surprised when the patient MinChan received the heart transplant before Eunji. I suspected that the writer would want to convey the message that life is unfair at times. This reminds me of the Jang’s marathon in the hospital after a child abuser, only to have Songhwa coolly knock him down in the last second.

EunJi had been staying in the hospital for months. Her mom was a “veteran,” and she gave all sorts of helpful tips to Minchan’s mom, like adding calorie boosters to Minchan’s to help him grow faster so it would be easier to find him a heart donor. Minchan was older than EunJi but was smaller.

But as it turned out, Minchan found the right heart donor without all that.

EunJi’s mom said she believed in miracles, but after Minchan jumped ahead of her own daughter, and received a heart donor first, I’m sure her belief in miracles and fairness was sorely tested.

The marathon metaphor is apt as long as the waiting mothers remember that there’s a season for everything under the sun (or the dark skies)

6. Songhwa’s gift of her old car vs JW’s bestowal of the DDL project

Songhwa’s gift reminded me of Taek’s gift to Deoksun in Ep 13. Deoksun asked him to bring her anything from the tournament and he gave her a pot which her mom wanted to use for kimchi-making. As it turned out, the pot was the trophy he won from the tournament.

Same thing here. Songhwa gave him her vehicle and what did he do? He drove Jang home with it.  (Hmmm…I don’t know which scenario is more ludicrous? Jang riding in Songhwa’s car or kimchi fermenting in Taec’s trophy??)

7. Director Ju’s sons vs Rosa’s JW

Self-explanatory.

8. IkJun and his rival that he never knew

Which one is better-situated? IkJun’s a professor at an elite hospital in Seoul, while his friend is a director at a provincial hospital. Obviously, IkJun.

Songhwa: Your rival.
IJ: Rival? Please. What are you talking about?
SongHwa: He thought of you as his rival for six years. That’s why he hated your guts.
IJ: Me? How can anyone hate me?
SongHwa: This is probably why he hated you.

Songhwa meant that IJ’s narcissistic belief that he was such a likeable guy made him an unlikeable guy.

Songhwa: Anyway, it turns out that he’s actually the director of the hospital in Mokpo.
IJ: My, I’m impressed. Performing transplants there…it can’t be easy.
SongHwa: He said it wasn’t easy. I played dumb and asked a bunch of questions. He said they’re short-staffed, and the medical office is small. But he’s doing his best out of a sense of duty so that the people there wouldn’t have to go all the way to Seoul.
IJ: I have huge respect for him. I should give him a call if I end up taking the patient.

Two things here:

One, IkJun’s lack of self-awareness is a running joke in this kdrama. When it comes to everybody else’s private affairs, IkJun’s world-class at snooping. But with anything pertaining to his private life, he’s always the last to know. He didn’t know that his college rival had given him tickets to his uncle’s club in order to distract him from the exams. He couldn’t believe that his rival’s uncle was actually a monk.

(This is why I don’t believe he’s onto his sister and JWan dating.)

Two, just like JW’s “Oliver 1” sweatshirt was significant,

IkJun’s sweatshirt during the band practice was notable. It said, “For People Living in the City.” It would make an interesting plot twist if IkJun left Seoul to practice in an underserved region like his former classmate.

9. Songhwa’s candidates of boyfriends

Songhwa: Why would I go on a blind date with my patient’s brother? (shakes her head) I told her I’m not comfortable with it.
SB: Nevertheless, she probably won’t give up. Just tell her that you have a boyfriend.
Songhwa: Do I have to lie? I don’t care.
SB: But it’s annoying. Just pick one of your friends and say he’s your boyfriend. Tell her you’re getting married soon.
Songhwa: (smiling)
SB: Otherwise, she really won’t give up. (gets a bright idea) What about him? The owner of Yulje Medical Center. A rich heir.

With fanfare, JW burst into her room to ask about the name of the song. She said, “I like you.” He left the room after griping that IJ would kill them all.

Songhwa: (correcting SB) Jeongwon doesn’t own this hospital. This hospital doesn’t have an owner. Look here. I’ll take care of it, okay?
SB: Then, what about him? If it’s him, they’ll believe you. Your best friend who always makes you laugh.
Songhwa: (looking confused)
SB: Professor Lee Ikjun.
Songhwa: Ahhh.
SB: If you ask him, he’ll totally do it for you.
Songhwa: He’s busy, and so am I.

As I said in my “Red Herring” thread, she didn’t reject the idea of JW as a boyfriend.

10. Songhwa vs the longtime friend of Violinist’s Brother

Violin’s brother: (talking about his GF) We were friends long before we started dating. My mother knows her very well, too. We became friends in college.
Songhwa: My gosh. Then how did you suddenly start seeing each other?
VB: She professed her feelings for me out of the blue one day. Last year. She told me that she liked me. I rejected her at first. We were best friends, so I didn’t want things to get awkward. I told her, “I want us to stay best friends.” That night, I came home and mulled over what I said to her. Then I realized I hadn’t really answered her question. She told me she liked me, but I told her I didn’t want our relationship to get awkward. My answer didn’t make sense. So I started seeing our relationship in a different light. As a man and a woman, not just two friends.

Songhwa has been friend-zoned by JW, and she doesn’t know how to get out of it. Should she risk a confession like the longtime friend of the brother? Her hints and jokes aren’t getting through to him.

Listening to him about his longtime friend’s confession, Songhwa got the idea to step up her game (or her villainy).

There you go: ten different ways that the writer used comparisons and contrasts to make a point in this episode. I’ll throw in a bonus.

Bonus: The weather vs Jang’s hair

From Episode 1

From Episode 3

lol. It’s a running joke. Even the weather doesn’t want to cooperate with her.