[Feb 17] “Doctor Slump” Episode 7: Rating & Recap

JTBC’s “Doctor Slump” improved its ratings, scoring an average of 5.7% nationwide for its latest episode. 

“Doctor Slump” episode 7 recap

Jeong-woo’s childhood trauma and the mysterious man

We see a young Jeong-woo in his elementary school, where he is the only one whose kidney bean does not grow. He feels like a failure and tries to convince himself that it was not his fault, but he cannot shake off the feeling of helplessness and sadness.

He says, “Everything went wrong in an instant. And I was always alone when I failed.”

Our Latest Videos The flashback ends and we see Jeong-woo running after a mysterious man from the last episode, but he loses him. At the same time, Ha-neul finds a spy cam hidden under Jeong-woo’s bed. Her brother, Bada, recognizes it as a camera pen and not a normal pen. She calls Jeong-woo and asks him where he is.

Jeong-woo is at the police station, where the detective tells him that they could not catch the man. Jeong-woo realizes that the man and the burglar are the same person. Ha-neul comes to the police station and shows him the camera pen from his room. The pen is wet and the data is lost.

Ha-neul’s support and confession

Ha-neul and Jeong-woo leave the police station and Ha-neul notices that Jeong-woo is bleeding. They go to the hospital, where the doctors say that his injury is not serious. Ha-neul cries as she feels sorry for Jeong-woo’s misfortune and then blames her depression for her tears.

She suggests that they watch a movie together when things get better, because she would “like to enjoy some popcorn with the person I like”.

The next day, Bin Dae-young is having a coffee break on the rooftop and meets Hong-ran, who thanks him for helping her catch the dragonfly. Meanwhile, at Ha-neul’s house, Wol-seon cannot find the iron and some food and dishes are gone from the fridge. She accuses Bada of stealing them, as he had done before.

But the real thief is Ha-neul, who took the iron for Jeong-woo’s clothes and cooked him a nice breakfast. They agree to meet outside and go to the third court hearing together. When Wol-seon asks her about the missing items, Ha-neul denies any involvement and Bada gets the blame for her love affair. She later pays him off to keep quiet.

Jeong-woo’s trial and...

Meanwhile, Jeong-woo is waiting for Ha-neul outside, but when she gets there, he is gone. She sees his phone on the ground. She hurries to the court, where 30 minutes have passed and Jeong-woo’s lawyers cannot reach him. She is upset that he is not there. But just as the lawyers ask for a delay, Jeong-woo shows up with new evidence.

He reveals that the burglar was Kang Jin-suk, who was trying to give Jeong-woo an important proof. He also owned the hidden cameras. He explains that he used the cameras to defend himself from false accusations, as he was a victim of a medical error that killed a patient.

He had developed a habit of hiding cameras everywhere. In one of them, two unknown men are seen messing with the IV, adding anticoagulants to it.

The court also finds out that the killer was the uncle of the victim. She inherited all her father’s money and he was angry about it. He planned to murder his niece. He is arrested and Jeong-woo is cleared of all charges.

Jeong-woo’s recovery and family reunion

We see Jeong-woo gazing into the distance, as Ha-neul narrates, “Jeong-woo needed some time to heal. “He had gone through too much pain. He had faced too many failures and disappointments that he didn’t deserve. He was confused and lost, not knowing who to blame”. While Jeong-woo was struggling, everyone else was making money from his innocence – advertisers, product companies, journalists, his old high school friends and even his parents.

Jeong-woo isolates himself for 3 days, until Ha-neul makes up an excuse to water the cabbages on the roof and see how he is doing. When she gets to the roof, she finds her family having a barbecue with ginseng wine, hoping to lure Jeong-woo out of his room.

Bada manages to pull him out and they all have dinner together. Wol-seon shows a lot of affection for him, but she disguises it with various cute reasons.

At the same time, Bin Dae-young and Hong-ran run into each other at the convenience store. They end up drinking at a park, where Dae-young tells her about his daughter. He also tells her that he wants to delete his Neo-tube, which he created after being inspired by Jeong-woo’s success.

We learn that Dae-young and Jeong-woo used to be friends, but they had a falling out. That’s why Dae-young still cares about him. Hong-ran urges him to call Jeong-woo, but Wol-seon answers the phone. She scolds him, thinking that he is one of those who abandoned him when he needed them most. The whole conversation leads to Dae-young throwing a fit and blaming Hong-ran.

Meanwhile, Ha-neul’s family is drunk and messy, so she suggests going for a walk. Jeong-woo agrees and proposes to go drinking. He opens up to Ha-neul about how low and hopeless he feels about his unlucky and unfair fate. He also confesses his feelings to Ha-neul several times, telling her how she has been like a drug to him, keeping him alive.

The episode ends with Ha-neul’s thoughts, “That day, Jeong-woo declared his love many more times. And his words broke my heart, because they showed me how lonely he had been.”

Review

This episode surprised me in a good way. The court case ended quickly, which is rare in many K-drama romcoms and is welcome. It didn’t drag on and finished at the right moment. The whole episode was smooth and enjoyable to watch!

This one focused on Jeong-woo and his eternal loneliness. It also gave us a glimpse into his mind. He worked hard and was a top student, but he suffered a lot of misfortunes that were beyond his control, which made him feel powerless. He had no one who truly cared about him or for him.

Ha-neul and her family are the first ones to show him genuine care and love. Episode 7 also had some funny and sweet moments. Wol-seon is a lovely mother and her interactions are both dramatic and amusing.

Bin Dae-young and Hong-ran’s story is moving forward and with Dae-young’s history with Jeong-woo, he might become an unexpected friend and ally to him.

(Source: naver.com)