With only three more episodes left, a viewer should’ve long discerned that this kdrama isn’t “House M.D.”, “The Pitt”, or even its namesake, “Doctor X”. This kdrama isn’t a medical procedural show where the focus of each episode is a challenging medical case that the doctors have to treat.

No, sirree.

This is a soapbox medical kdrama (just like “The West Wing” is a soapbox leftwing political drama) where the characters deliver in a monologue what the screenwriter and director consider the:

a. ethical practice of medicine,
b. humanist approach to patient care, and
c. moral issues in the current healthcare system.

This kdrama is about advocacy. It isn’t neutral at all. That’s why from the very beginning, I told readers of this blog to diligently look out for the social commentaries on “bad doctors”. I even gave examples of them in Episode 1 because it was obvious to me that the creators of this Korean version of “Doctor X” have decidedly strong opinions on certain issues.

So, if a viewer is going to rant that it’s impossible/unethical/unrealistic of SuJeong (SJ) to perform an “ex vivo multivisceral resection, followed by an orthotropic autotransplant”, then he/she is missing the forest for the trees.

Because the surgery is NEVER the point of the show. It’s only a narrative setup – or tool – in which the show will explore a much deeper philosophical or social issue.

Pass that on.

In my opinion, the issue being discussed in this episode is whether a doctor is a superhero or mere mortal. That is, should a doctor:

Struggle to become a superhero, and be metaphorically placed on a pedestal like that Hippocrates statue that Director Bu was fixated on,

or

Reject this superhero label and admit to struggling with work stress, exhaustion, workload, financial worries, failure/fear of failure, disillusion, and malpractice lawsuits. Note: These worldly struggles are the reason the doctors, resident doctors and interns are striking. They have real-world grievances that they feel both the government and public are ignoring, trivializing, and monetarily under-compensating. And they demand to be treated fairly like human beings.

We know which SIDE the screenwriter supports because the winner of the “longest monologue” award in this episode is Ms. Jang, SJ’s manager or “auntie”. Remember: I said that the long monologue is the voice of the screenwriter/creator.

Bu: I can’t help but wonder, who is Gye SuJeong exactly? Are Gye SuJeong and Dr. X the same person.
Jang: Well, I applaud you. She is Dr. X. It’s the same person.
Bu: Ah, in that circumstance, well… in that circumstance, the result of this operation –
Jang: If Dr. X is someone that puts their patients’ lives above all else in the world, then yes. Gye SuJeong is Dr. X. Make no mistake. If Dr. X is someone who never leaves the patient’s side and stands by them, Gye SuJeong is Dr. X, that’s clear. If Dr. X is someone who gives their all to the surgery entrusted to them, then Gye SuJeong is Dr. X. Absolutely. If Dr. X is what you call a doctor who doesn’t fail, then it’s certain, Gye SuJeong would Dr. X more than anyone.
Bu: Ms. Jang, that is enough.

Clearly for Ms. Jang, Dr. X is a superhero. Her ideal doctor is a heroic doctor. And as SJ’s mentor, she shaped and formed her to go over and beyond the demands of the Hippocratic oath. The Hippocratic oath is for mere mortals. In contracts, Ms. Jang’s standards are meant for those capable of extraordinary acts of service, endurance, bravery, life-saving skills, and sacrifice.

1. Who’s the real Dr. X?

I think Ms. Jang is the original Dr. X.

a. She was the primary surgeon in that “en bloc resection with an SMA reconstruction” in Lagota.

I’m not surprised that she turns out to be a surgeon herself. By the way she observes SJ’s surgeries and knows exactly when SJ has accomplished the objective, it should be obvious that she has surgical expertise.

b. She looked defensive when Director Bu questioned her about Director X.

I think she overreacted when she delivered her monologue.

Sidenote: I even recognized those rhetorical devices she used: verbal irony and sarcastic repetition. She sounded like Mark Antony in Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” who droned on and on about “honorable men.” But in Ms. Jang’s case, she was emphasizing that it’s honorable to be suspected/accused of being Doctor X. For her, there’s no shame in being Doctor X because Doctor X is synonymous to heroism.

c. Back in Episode 3, the Three Stooges (Drs. Do, Bae and Ma) reported to Director Bu that the name of the lead surgeon in the ground-breaking operation wasn’t revealed, but the alias written on the chart was Doctor X.

From that bit of information, Director Bu and the Three Stooges jumped to conclusions that SJ was Dr. X.

However, they failed to calculate SJ’s age at that time. She would have been seven years younger back then. She may be a genius, but she wouldn’t have been allowed to be a primary physician when other senior physicians in the picture could have been called upon to lead the team.

Also, SJ was standing a couple of steps away from the group, which indicated to me that she was a junior colleague at that time. Otherwise, she would have been front and center in the photograph.

Note: there’s a bit of confusion here. According to the report, “the gastrointestinal surgery team at the Cubanacan University Hospital in Cuba successfully performed….” [I’m typing this as it’s shown] but the photograph shows a picture of the team standing in front of the “White Wings Medical Corps” building, which I thought was located in Lagota in some African country. So…was the surgery performed in Cuba or Lagota? They’re in two different continents. I’ll just assume that there’s a mistranslation, and that Cuba sent a team of doctors to Lagota on a volunteer mission.

d. Re. the ground-breaking surgery

Drs. Bae and Ma assumed SJ was Doctor X because she was the only Korean in the photo released to the media. They failed to notice Ms. Jang who was on the far left-hand side of the photo. She was running to join the group. However, she wasn’t dressed in white, just casual clothes.

Moreover, Drs. Bae and Ma assumed that the patient’s death was due to the surgery.

The news article specifically stated that the patient survived the surgery but died two months later for unknown reason. If the patient committed suicide, was murdered, or was in a fatal catastrophe after the surgery, then the death couldn’t be attributed to failure of the surgery.

Similarly, if Mr. Oh SangBeom in Episode 7 commits suicide after his return to Gwangju, his cause of death isn’t the operation.

Incidentally, the Three Stoogies reported to Director Bu that the family of the bereaved declined to comment when asked if a malpractice suit would be filed.

2. Director Bu’s response

Jang: What could you possibly stand to gain here creating suspicion and paranoia around a doctor who’s treating patients at your hospital, which is rapidly declining?
Bu: Just four weeks after the surgery the patient fell dead.
Jang: Mr. Park GwangCheol is alive I might add. And doing great in his recover, Director. (approaching him) Have you forgotten who actually pulled the strings to secure your snazzy new position here? So what I shared with you, was it of good use to you?
Bu: Is this what you’re expecting to get in return for that?

Meaning, if Director Bu plans to blackmail her with the Dr. X issue, then she has something equally damaging to blackmail him with. I like that Ms. Jang isn’t afraid to play hardball with him. This shows where SJ learned her forceful and uncompromising ways: from her former teacher and mentor.

I find it interesting that when it comes to mentorship, the proverbial apple doesn’t fall from the tree.” If SJ’s strong-willed character is due to Ms. Jang, then Dr. Do’s weak-willed and wishy-washy character mirrors his mentor, Director Bu.

Jang: That’s the trump card. I couldn’t possibly waste my hand on a careless unfounded rumor, could I?
Bu: On an unfounded rumor, huh? Now, if I were to start digging into Dr. Gye SJ’s history…
Jang: You’re struggling with glaucoma, aren’t you?
Bu: (startled)
Jang: It doesn’t seem you’ve lost your sight completely. Why didn’t you handle Yeo JeongSun’s surgery then, Director? Ah. It’s not that your eyesight is closing in. It’s that your macular vision is going first.

See that? This should tell us that she’s a trained physician, too. She can diagnose his illness by sight, like SJ did in Episode 1 when the man in the billiards room or the cleaning woman.

Bu: How does that pertain to this, Ms. Jang?
Jang: Director, surely you must be curious about how I found that out. I have to say I was curious myself.

Meaning, she’s one step ahead of him. He’s just beginning to dig up dirt on SJ. She’s already done her homework on him.

Jang: How is it that a surgeon once labeled the hand of God put down his precious scalpel to come wrestle with everyone in the muddy swamp?

I think Dir Bu realized that he could no longer performed surgery, so his new goal in this late stage of his professional career is to “save” the hospital where it all began for him. It’s his public “service”.

It wouldn’t surprise me, however, if he has some sort of terminal disease, and ensuring that the hospital continues to serve the community is his way of legacy- building. It’s common for people approaching their retirement or end-of-life to worry about legacy and posterity.

Jang: You have too much time on your hands. Surely, you have better things to do.

Her comment touches a raw nerve. If he didn’t have long to live, then yes, her comment about having “too much time” is triggering.

Bu: Ms. Jang HuiSuk.
Jang: This is what you’d call poetic justice of the highest order, Director.

Hmmm… I don’t know what she means exactly by that. But Director X understands her well because he hits her hard, too.

He knows that Ms. Jang’s weak spot is her protégé SJ, so he aims for her.

Bu: Gye SuJeong is Doctor X, beyond a shadow of a doubt. A doctor that takes risky cases for which absolutely no surgical techniques exist. Or an arrogant hand of God who takes pleasure in weighing human life against the sharpness of her own skills. A name that carries with it both respect and derision. I think that is what the name Doctor X truly stands to represent. And therefore, Gye SuJeong is Doctor X, there’s no mistake about that.

Meaning, in his eyes, Doctor X is no superhero, but a deeply, morally flawed mortal. Instead of admiring SJ’s extraordinary effort to save a patient, he believes that she actually endangers her patients with her unorthodox methods. He blames her arrogance, i.e., her belief that she’s a superhero who can’t fail, for her actions.

Note: if Director Bu was Greek, he would call this hubris.

He foresees that someday, SJ will crash and burn due to her reckless overconfidence and excessive quest to save lives.

Of course, his words sting Ms. Jang because she’s the original Doctor X. I’m guessing that this is how her career was terminated and erased. No one in the medical profession knew she was a doctor. Everybody in the operating room except SJ was shocked to learn that she had been a surgeon.

I guess even superheroes can fly too close to the sun and burn their capes.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

I have to run now. Happy weekend!