Summary
Episode 6 allows Jeong-woo and Ha-neul’s circumstances to keep them apart even as their feelings for each other grow stronger, and it all builds to a cliffhanger that’s a bit more dramatic than usual.
In Episode 6 of Doctor Slump, the swirling problems in Jeong-woo and Ha-neul’s lives – the former’s scandal, the latter’s unemployment, both of their mental states – threaten to get in the way of their burgeoning relationship. This, though, is exactly what should be happening at this stage in Season 1. The audience is already rooting for the pair, so it makes sense to keep them apart, to keep their feelings contradictory and their confessions unspoken, at least for the time being.
What continues to matter most is the characterization, the chemistry between the leads, and the sensible, grounded portrayal of mental health issues and how they can define our private, personal, and professional lives.
After the hug in Episode 5, the leads settle into the morning after the night before. It was awkward, sure, but justified. Jeong-woo is happy to write it off as a spur-of-the-moment thing, but Ha-neul doubles down about having hugged him because she wanted to.
Ha-neul also asks Jeong-woo outright if he suffers from PTSD, which he obviously does based on the symptoms she reels off. He continues to blame himself for losing the patient, even though there’s clearly a conspiracy afoot (though the police are having difficulty pulling prints off the spy cam, so the evidence is a non-starter.) As we saw a lot in the previous episode, Ha-neul knows to help by just being there for Jeong-woo, and being with him, taking him out shopping and to run errands. However, the tone of these scenes becomes slightly different when Ha-neul says outright that she thinks she has feelings for Jeong-woo.
Jeong-woo delays his confession
Of course, she’s not sure. It might be circumstantial. It might be simple infatuation, not anything deeper than that. She also acknowledges that neither of them is in the right place to deal with it right now, which is correct since both of them need to see therapists and work through their own problems. Jeong-woo does suggest that he feels the same, though, but is holding off on his confession for now.
This pending confession looms over the episode, allowing for jokes and a bit of tension and crossed wires – that sort of thing. Jeong-woo eventually comes around to the psychiatrist idea and Ha-neul accompanies him, and they bond after over taking their medication almost in a state of disbelief over how their lives and relationship have turned out.
What also looms is the confusion stemming from the unclear dynamic. Ha-neul keeps assuming that Jeong-woo is stealthily trying to confess his feelings for her when he isn’t. When they encounter an old classmate, Ha-neul finds herself becoming jealous. This, she confesses to Jeong-woo, who recognizes some of the emotional turmoil she’s experiencing in himself. However, he does double down on this not being the right time to share the things that he wants to tell her. All he gives away is that he likes Ha-neul and that she has been the one keeping him going through this difficult time.
Episode 6 ends with a bit of non-relationship drama. The police discover footage of a man leaving Jeong-woo’s house on the day someone broke in, and Ha-neul notices all of Jeong-woo’s windows and doors open, which is weird. Her attention is drawn to a pen.
Meanwhile, Jeong-woo realizes he’s being followed. When he challenges the man, he drops one of those spy camera pens, but his identity remains obscured. He hits Jeong-woo in the head with a bottle, causing him to abandon the chase.
What did you think of Doctor Slump Season 1, Episode 6? Let us know in the comments.
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