Episode 12 of Doctor Stranger was another enjoyable episode, focusing in on the second round of competition between Hoon and Jae Joon. We finally see another side to Jae Joon’s character when his long standing revenge plot is threatened by his own desire to save a life. This episode made me very excited to see Jae Joon and Hoon start working toward the same goal. Is it too much to hope for more some bromance between these two in the future? The surgery competition may be ridiculous, but at least it’s getting our team of doctors to unite against the nonexistent morals in Myung Woo Hospital.

Jae Joon Agrees to Hoon’s Patient for the Second Competition

The initial rules for the second round of Hoon and Jae Joon’s competition are simple. If Jae Joon can save the patient, he’ll be the winner. Hoon remains focused on allowing the patient to live since a win for Jae Joon will only settle the score at 1:1. Hoon reasons that he will still be able to win in the final round.

Hoon Promises the Patient’s Son that She’ll Have the Surgery

Even though Hoon’s attempt to perform the operation was stopped, he promises to the mom’s son that she will have the surgery. He does warn him though that Jae Joon may be the one to do it. To paraphrase Hoon, his personality may be crap but he is very skillful!

Hoon feels a special connection to this family. Watching the mom and son interact stands in sharp contrast to Hoon’s own painful memories of his absent mother.

Hoon’s Mom Is Alive, But in a Mental Institution

We get our first look at Hoon’s missing mom in this episode. She’s alive, but clearly not in her right mind. Secretary Kim is seen visiting her, with a giant teddy bear in tow. Her room is completely filled with identical stuffed bears. She hugs the bear tightly asking “Hoon, is that you?”

Not only am I very interested to see how Hoon’s mom ended up in this state, I’m also really looking forward to Hoon’s reunion with his mom. However, I have a feeling she’s going to be used as a tool in the Prime Minister’s master plan.

 President Oh Changes the Rules of the Competition

The hospital president is not at all pleased that Jae Joon wants to operate on Hoon’s chosen patient. It turns out it was a third year resident that performed the surgery, not an experienced doctor. As a result, the hospital could face a crippling lawsuit if the family finds out and decides to sue.

Long story short, whoever performs the surgery will be the loser.

Doctor Moon then tries to literally drag Hoon out of the hospital so that he won’t purposely lose. He knows Hoon will easily sacrifice the win if it means he can save a life.

I love these two! They make quite the hilarious pair.

 Agent Cha Ruins Hoon’s Plans

Agent Cha shows up at the hospital and demands to talk with Hoon. He explains that losing this round is not an option. Hoon is there to win, not play games. He goes on to tease Hoon with the possibility of living a happy, carefree life with Jae Hee. According to Agent Cha, he can set them free, but Hoon must succeed in this mission.

Agent Cha sure knows what to say to entice Hoon…

Jae Joon Sees Himself in the Patient’s Son 

Jae Joon has also been pressured by President Oh not to do the surgery. According to him, a hospital director “needs to be more than a doctor”.  At the same Jae Joon is tormented by the similarities between the son’s situation and his own experience with the death of his father.

The more Jae Joon talks with the son, the more he feels the desire to help.

It’s refreshing to see Jae Joon finally have feelings other than those of cold hearted revenge.

However, performing the surgery against President Oh’s wishes will ruin Jae Joon’s long standing plan to take over the castle. Can he truly sacrifice all he’s worked toward for the sake of one family?

Soo Hyun’s Feelings for Hoon Are Developing

Soo Hyun and Jae Hee spend some time chatting as roommates. Soo Hyun can’t help but bring up Hoon, remarking that he is both a child and an adult at the same time. She may try and deny it, but her feelings are very clear, especially to Jae Hee.

Chi Gyu Get Rejected by Chang Yi

Chi Gyu tris his best to win over Chang Yi by presenting her a rose and asking her on a date.

Chang Yi doesn’t fall for his smooth talk and instead kicks him in square in the groin. Ouch.

Buddy, Chang Yi probably isn’t the type of girl you should be pursuing. This may be more trouble than it’s worth!

Agent Cha Strikes Again

Agent Cha once again steps in to remind Hoon that he won’t tolerate disobedience.

If Hoon wants a chance at a happy future, he better obey his orders.

He grabs Jae Hee and holds her in a head lock until Hoon admits defeat by repeating “I will do what Cha Jin Soo tells me to do” over and over again.

Hoon has finally made up his mind. For the sake of Jae Hee, he will not perform the surgery.

Of course, his conscience still screams at him to help. When the son continues to ask for help, Hoon can’t do anything other than run away. But let’s be honest, Hoon could have at least helped the fallen boy back into his wheelchair…

Jae Joon’s Not the Only One With a Troubled Conscience

The son goes to Jae Joon’s office, begging for his help now that Hoon has backed out.

Jae Joon continues to refuse, but his resistance is wearing very thin.

Jae Joon Confronts Hoon

Jae Joon rushes to see Hoon, demanding to know why he backed out from the surgery. “I thought you were a doctor” he yells at Hoon, expressing his disappointment.

He even throws a punch, trying to bring Hoon back his senses.

Hoon can’t do anything but admit he was only imitating a doctor. He listlessly lets Jae Joon throw insults at him.

Instead, Jae Joon finally decides to take action and perform the surgery himself with his team.

Jae Joon and Soo Hyun Share a Heart-to-Heart Moment

With Jae Joon’s decision, his future at Myung Woo Hospital is uncertain. When he sees Soo Hyun before the surgery, he let’s her know that his heart was sincere for her, pulling her in for a reassuring hug. This was a sweet moment, especially since 90% of the time we see them together, they are fighting. There’s more life left in this couple than I previously thought!

Hoon Watches from the Sidelines

Bound by his promise to Agent Cha, Hoon watches while Jae Joon and his team begin the surgery.

President Oh and the swarm of opposing doctors invade the observatory, demanding that the operation is stopped.

Needless to say, the team gets distracted having the big boss breathing down their necks.

Jae Joon remains strong, refusing to back down. He claims that he can’t just ignore the family for the sake of a potential lawsuit. He is going to finish this surgery and ask for their forgiveness as soon as it’s done.

The President is furious and promises that the doctors in the operating room will no longer be working at his hospital. All the blame will be put squarely on Jae Joon.

Problems Arise

Just after Jae Joon finishes his dramatic speech, the other doctor makes a mistake and the patient’s heart starts bleeding.

Hoon can’t take it anymore and he finally leaves the observation room.

Meanwhile, President Oh is already preparing for the lawsuit against Jae Joon and his team.

Hoon Steps in to Help

Just as it looks like the patient will die, Hoon walks into the operating room ready to help. Jae Joon acknowledges his presence and Hoon takes his place across from Jae Joon at the operating table.

Hoon gives the team a pep talk, encouraging them to raise their heads in confidence. They must remember that they are the only real doctors left in this hospital. There is nothing for them to be ashamed of.

Episode 12 closes with the team of surgeons staring up at President Oh and his evil minion doctors.

They are not going to back down. I can’t wait to see how this plays out!

In Conclusion

Yes! Jae Joon and Hoon are finally on the same team and I can’t wait for some potential bromance to occur. These two are have been pitted against each other from the beginning and I’m happy to see the walls coming down between them. Once Hoon and Jae Joon realize their haunted back stories are connected to the same series of misdeeds, I predict they are going to be unstoppable!

I was very glad to see Jae Joon’s character finally develop beyond his revenge centric plot line. It turns out he does actually have a heart buried deep underneath his cold and calculating exterior. I hope this change will not go away anytime soon!

Hoon had a tough episode struggling between his desire to save lives and his commitment to protecting Jae Hee. Agent Cha knows exactly how to get Hoon to comply with his wishes and it’s rather painful to see Hoon swallow his pride and morals for the good of completing this mysterious mission. I really, really hope we get some concrete answers soon.

While I loved the ending, I did have to suspend reality during the whole “let’s stare up at our oppressors while our patient bleeds out on the table”. No. Big. Deal. I have no doubt that Hoon will swoop in and make everything OK with his awesome doctor skills, but it still didn’t seem like it was a good time to pause their actions to save the patient’s life.

Oh dramas and their drama…

Overall, I enjoyed the new direction that episodes 11 and 12 took this week. The spy conspiracies remained more in the background, giving us a chance to see more character development and medical story lines. The added humor really helped to keep me engaged in this show. The plot is certainly far from perfect, but the show is succeeding in getting me to root for our lead Hoon. Let’s hope he keeps his backbone and doesn’t revert back to the whiney boy who cries out Jae Hee’s name every other sentence.

What was your favorite part of the episode? Are you also rooting for some Hoon and Jae Joon bromance?

What do you think will happen to our favorite doctors for disobeying President Oh’s demands?

Please share your thoughts below!

Thanks for reading,

Rachel