Doctor Cha doesn’t let us down, ending just as strong as it started. It’s been a journey of big growth for everyone involved and we get to send our characters off happier, healthier, and a heck of a long way from where they began. While not every side story gets a neat bow, the main conflicts are resolved with the same mix of humor, heart, and humility we’ve come to expect from this drama.
EPISODES 15-16
In a show that likes to take the stuff of everyday life and then crank it up eleven notches, our grand finale includes another liver transplant for Jung-sook. All the resolutions are organized around this event as both In-ho and Dr. Kim offer their hearts (and livers) up for the taking.
When Jung-sook first learns that her liver is failing again, she doesn’t share the news with In-ho and the two carry on with their divorce talks, angry, yelling, and calling names whenever they see each other. Jung-sook keeps a stiff upper lip as she woefully requests a leave of absence from her residency and breaks the news to her mom and kids, who are devastated.
In the meanwhile, Dr. Kim learns that he’s eligible to donate his liver to Jung-sook and gallantly requests that she let him save her life. It’s clear Jung-sook is uncomfortable with the idea from the first time he mentions it, and she wonders how he can make such an offer when it was difficult for her husband of 20 years. But Dr. Kim doesn’t think it’s a hard decision.
The thing is, Jung-sook is torn about the prospect of having another surgery. If she takes a transplant from a living donor, and it fails a second time, she could wind up right back in the same spot while also causing someone else to suffer. Before she leaves her position at the hospital, the last patient she treats is over 100 years old and Jung-sook witnesses what it’s like to be ready for death when the patient says, “Living a long time is punishment too.” Jung-sook questions her own fight to stay alive, stares death in the face, and starts to feel immensely grateful for everything she’s experienced in her life.
Jung-sook isn’t the only one facing inner demons. When In-ho finally learns his wife is severely ill again, he breaks down into breathless tears, thinking about all the horrible things he’s said and done to her. (Although, I wonder if he’s crying for her or for himself when he realizes what a crappy person he’s been.)
In-ho decides he wants to donate his liver to Jung-sook this time, no backsies. But she’s tired and worn out and says she doesn’t need his liver. If he’s doing it so she’ll be thankful afterward and change her mind about the divorce, forget it. In-ho yells that she always makes him out to be the bad guy, and then he gets on his knees and asks her to let him make up for all the hurt he’s caused. He pleads for one last chance to help her, but she’s got adamantium resolve, and refuses to complicate things now that they’re about to separate.
The intensity continues with both parties crying and letting their vulnerabilities show. Jung-sook says that if she dies then it’s fate. But In-ho believes it’s more about fault — his fault to be exact. Jung-sook yells through her tears that it’s not his fault she couldn’t maintain her health, and we see her character growth skyrocket as she takes responsibility for her own life. What a phenomenal turnaround for these two compared to that first episode when we met them.
In finding all this gratitude, Jung-sook and Seung-hee are finally able to offer a little compassion to each other. Seung-hee apologizes and Jung-sook admits they’ve both been through a lot. She says all she wants is to be at peace — and she wishes Seung-hee the same. And it seems her wish comes true when Seung-hee and In-ho amicably split, and Seung-hee moves on to another hospital.
Before Jung-sook is too sick to leave her hospital bed, she decides the last thing she wants to do is ride Dr. Kim’s motorcycle again. Haha. So, they go to a bike shop and get her outfitted in all leather, just as In-ho comes in to demand she make a choice about which liver to accept (man, that sounds nuts when you put it in writing). At the moment, Jung-sook doesn’t want any liver, she just wants to hop on the back of that bike with a childlike squeal and head off on what could be her last adventure.
To dig deep in her soul and decide about the surgery, Jung-sook goes home to the family house and starts taking care of household tasks, almost like she’s leaving little farewells. When In-ho sees all that Jung-sook did around the house, it moves him to sign the divorce papers. In the first entirely serious moment we’ve seen between these two, he tells her he understands her. She won’t accept his liver because she doesn’t want to be in debt if he asks for forgiveness later. So, he’s agreeing to the divorce — she should get the surgery and consider it his repentance. He’s terrified of never seeing her again and wants her to survive.
And so it’s settled. Jung-sook accepts In-ho’s liver and Dr. Kim successfully performs the surgeries. Once they’re up and about, the first thing they do is sit themselves in front of a judge and finalize their divorce. The moments that follow are my absolute favorite in the whole drama, as they walk out of the courthouse, comment on how anticlimactic it is, and decide to go have a meal together just the two of them. Beautifully done. Before they shake hands and go their separate ways, they exchange some much-needed apologies, appreciation, and forgiveness.
From here, it’s all about resolution and reconciliation. In-ho becomes the new hospital director but finds it’s bittersweet without his family around to savor it with him. Jung-sook returns to her residency — and rejects Dr. Kim when he finally gets the nerve to confess. This scene feels so brutal, not because I think these two are the greatest match, but because she tries to convince him — with a big smile on her face — that he should find someone to marry and have kids with. That’s just cold, Jung-sook! It’s okay to not want to be with him, but don’t patronize the man by telling him what he should want.
After a three-year time skip, happier resolutions are underway. Dr. Cha gets her motorcycle license (at the age of 50, if my calculations are correct). She’s also opened her own family medicine clinic that includes a healthy lifestyle café where she grows her own vegetables. This business is possible because In-ho’s mother had illegally purchased a building in Jung-sook’s name some years ago, and during the divorce In-ho let her keep it, since technically it’s hers. It just goes to show that you never know how things will turn out, and sometimes what seems awful right now can set you on a better path down the road.
As doctors and co-parents, Jung-sook and In-ho still see each other from time to time and seem to have a much more relaxed relationship. They joke and stroll and for the first time it’s pleasant to watch them together on screen. In-ho and Seung-hee are also getting along, running a partnership between the two hospitals they’re directing.
Jung-min and So-ra get a quick wrap-up as they discuss marriage and kids, now that he’ll be finishing his military service and rejoining the surgery department. And the best news is that So-ra and Jung-sook seem to have a close relationship now, too. Oh, and Dr. Kim gets a new girlfriend tossed in at the end so we don’t have to feel too bad for him.
In the final shots, we say goodbye to our now-single heroine as she lives the life she was meant to live. She has nothing but gratitude for everything she’s been through because it all turned out just fine. She’s a doctor, a mom, and an advocate in her community, and she feels truly happy right now. Could we ask for anything more?
What a journey this has been! I’ve had trouble even categorizing this drama because it opened like a classic, tropey comedy with organ transplants, an over-the-top mother-in-law, and the promise of lots of old-school hijinks. And on one hand, it delivered. But it also gave us something very edgy and current that stuck close to a kind of reality. When I thought about the plot movement each week, I realized that the painful, heartfelt truths were pushing this story forward — and all the antics were just padding to help make it more palatable. There’s really solid writing here amidst the tropey jumble, and they stuck it through to the end, which already puts it a cut above.
In fact, the ending is my favorite part. It’s not only our heroine who thrives but all three of our leads. They can only grow up once they grow apart, and it’s a beautifully realistic take on relationships. The only scene I really would have liked to see added to this finale is a reconciliation between Yi-rang and Eun-seo, where they could find some level of sisterly friendship. And of course I could always deal with more of So-ra and Jung-min, but I was a little put off by their last conversation. What is the message we’re supposed to take away when they’re talking about diving headfirst into marriage and kids, just like their parents did?
There were quite a few moving moments in these last episodes but another of my favorites is when Jung-sook approaches Eun-seo and tells her that the adults are to blame for everything and it’s not her fault. Then she adds, “Don’t hate your mom too much.” And it’s so clear that her sense of compassion is coming from being a mother herself. In the end, after all the breakups occur, our leads are left with their roles as parents and it’s lovely to watch them embrace those roles in spite of everything.
Ultimately, there was no later-in-life romance (which I was down for), but we arrived at something that’s even better. Rather than a happily-ever-after pairing, we get a heroine who’s truly happy. And isn’t that the only real way to define a happy ending anyway?