Summary
Doctor Slump turns up the drama as we head into the final few episodes.
The more I watch it, the more I feel like Doctor Slump is a very good show. Season 1 has deftly moved between the drama and comedy genres, delivering earnest sentiment where you least expect it and effective humor to soften the blows. It has concerned itself with very real issues in a frank and honest way. And, as exemplified by Episode 12, it’s able to move unusually quickly through subplots because it always has something else waiting in the wings.
Doctor Slump Season 1 Episode 12 Recap
Most of this episode is devoted to the development of Jeong-woo and Ha-neul’s charming relationship. One could argue that most of the show has been this thus far, but the context is always slightly different, and this more open and “official” stage of their relationship remains quite new.
We can never quite forget, though, that both are nursing respective traumas. As we’ve been reminded multiple times, Ha-neul didn’t really have a typical childhood and missed out on most of the things younger people experience while growing up. This includes missing out on a field trip, so Jeong-woo tries to rectify this in the present day.
In the meantime, Hong-ran and Dae-yeong’s relationship continues to blossom, and the latter’s relationship with Jeong-woo comes to the fore. Openness and honesty are contagious. The happier Jeong-woo and Ha-neul become with each other, the more their healing seems to have a knock-on effect on everyone else.
Jeong-woo and Dae-yeong
So, Jeong-woo and Dae-yeong had a falling out because of pettiness, essentially. Jeong-woo gained nationwide fame and adoration thanks to a volunteering clip. However, this story was initially meant to be Dae-yeong’s, and missing out on it caused bitterness and resentment in him.
Dae-yeong was supposed to take the trip to Africa to volunteer but missed out on it after Jeong-woo accidentally sent him tumbling down the stairs. Their petty rivalry amounted to, essentially, a catfight. In the present day, Dae-yeong explains that he was going through a divorce at the time and his belittling in-laws had always treated him as a failure. That’s why Jeong-woo’s success made him bitter.
What is Kyung-min up to?
It is important amongst all this healing and positivity that we don’t forget about Kyung-min, though, since he’s clearly up to something. As we learned in Episode 11, he has taken up a new position as the head of a pharma company, working with the anaesthesiologist who bugged Jeong-woo’s clinic. He spiked Jeong-woo’s drink in the past and also stabbed Ha-neul in the back. What’s his problem?
Well, he’s using his position to try and profit from the development of a painkiller that has been approved illegally. He was intimately connected to everything that happened to Jeong-woo through his shady business connections, and he’s being leaned on by the anaesthesiologist who has proof of those connections. Ha-neul, feeling uneasy and unwilling to let sleeping dogs lie, digs into all this.
How does Doctor Slump Season 1 Episode 12 end?
At the end of Episode 12, Ha-neul decides to confront Kyung-min about what she has learned, which is quickly revealed to be a terrible idea.
Ha-neul gets in Kyung-min’s car while he drives, and during their conversation, he becomes distracted in his irritation. After a near-miss with one vehicle, another ploughs into the side of them, leaving Ha-neul badly injured and Jeong-woo with no idea where she is.
What did you think of Doctor Slump Season 1 Episode 12? Let us know in the comments.
