Summary
Doctor Slump reaches its midpoint in a dramatic episode that finally sees things take a bad turn for the central couple – and so soon after they made things official!
With Episode 8, Doctor Slump has reached the halfway point of its Season 1 run, so now seems as good a time as any for things to take a much more miserable turn. We’ve had plenty of charm and burgeoning romance thus far, and you can have too much of a good thing, so as tough as it is to see Ha-neul and Jeong-woo struggling in the moment, we know they’ll get back together eventually, so it’ll probably be good for them both in the long run.
Doctor Slump Season 1 Episode 8 Recap
After the events of Episode 7, Ha-neul starts out this episode understandably confused about whether she and Jeong-woo are dating. They held hands, after all, though to be fair so do schoolchildren. Either way, Ha-neul isn’t used to dating, and her family is no real help since they all tell her slightly different things about what constitutes a relationship.
None the wiser, Ha-neul decides to ask Jeong-woo outright. However, she’s sidelined by the arrival of her younger brother, who asks Jeong-woo to date his sister in order to make her “less pathetic”, and Jeong-woo says he thought he already was. So, that clears that up then.
First Dates
With this now established, Jeong-woo and Ha-neul plan to go on their first date. While it is initially derailed by the sudden arrival of Jeong-woo’s friend Dae-yeong, who is full of apologies for not having called him during the difficult time he has been going through, they eventually get together for their first romantic escapade – writing dissertations together!
This is Ha-neul’s idea, anyway. Jeong-woo smartly decides to go to the movies instead. Of course, movies are also something Ha-neul has little experience in since she has spent her entire life studying. The date is a success, though.
Ha-neul and Kyung-min have history
What’s not a success, though, is Ha-neul’s history with Kyung-min. When she worked at the hospital he was her senior; she even wrote a dissertation with him. However, he shafted her by removing her name from it and taking all the credit, having manipulated her all the while.
Jeong-woo had previously asked Ha-neul what her breaking point at the hospital was, and this was it, but given his relationship with Kyung-min she keeps it to herself. However, she lets the mask slip a little when she learns that Kyung-min is getting married. Not only did he steal everything from her professionally, but he also seems to have succeeded personally as well.
Not able to let this go without a bit of revenge, Ha-neul shows up at Kyung-min’s leaving do and throws beer in his face.
How does Doctor Slump Season 1 Episode 8 end?
This all, however, doesn’t leave Ha-neul in the best headspace, feeling very self-pitying, so when she hears from her friend Ho-rang that Jeong-woo turned down a new job with his friend Dae-yeong so as not to upset her while she’s unemployed, she takes it very badly and ends up breaking up with Jeong-woo.
On one level this is quite the overly dramatic turn, but Doctor Slump does very well at couching it in relatable character development. So, while we don’t think for a moment that any of this will stick, we can at least see how Ha-neul has arrived at this decision – though it doesn’t make it any easier watching her sob in the rain in the meantime.
What did you think of Doctor Slump Season 1 Episode 8? Let us know in the comments.
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