You know, this drama has an amazing knack for driving me insane. Every time I think there’s going to be a moment of sweetness, something frustrating happens and all my wishes for some happy OTP time get thrown right out the window! I guess that keeps things interesting but really, with only 4 episodes left, how much more excitement do we really need?
After the way things were left at the end of episode 32, I knew this new set of episodes wasn’t going to be all that fun but I had no idea they’d be as infuriating as they were. I mean, between the corporate meddling, the unjustified attack on Eun Jae, the closing of the hospital ship and almost zero cute OTP time, there just wasn’t a lot for me to be happy about. Now I understand that a lot of my frustration with these 4 episodes stems from the fact that I’ve been sick for the past 4 weeks and that’s made me awfully cranky. Being this cranky, I found that too darn much of these next 4 episodes hit some very sensitive nerves on my part so really, it all kind of snowballed into a whole bunch of me being far too picky and critical as I watched. As such, I’m aware that my reaction to things is a lot more exaggerated that it might have otherwise been but what is a sick Zombie to do? Having experiences so much of what’s going on in these episodes, I just can’t sit back and let things go without saying something. Can I?
So where do I begin with my list of frustrations? How about I start with the absolutely ridiculous and unjustified attack on Eun Jae? No matter how I think about it, I just can’t understand why a medical company so wholly unconnected with Eun Jae, would decide to launch an all-out attack her in such a vicious manner. Of all the doctors in all of South Korea, why on earth would this outside company decide they needed to single out Eun Jae as the sole recipient of their corporate fury? I understand that the medical company in question is tied up in all sorts of politics and as such, they’re allying themselves with the local politicians and even Jae Gul’s father’s hospital, but why unleash such an unjustified attack on a single person? What is it they’re hoping to gain by ruining Eun Jae’s life?
I know the answer to this question is simple: they want to shut down the hospital ship. But my question is, why ruin the career or a highly skilled and immensely popular surgeon? This company has ties to the local government and has already proven how influential they are in swaying the local politicians, so why not use those ties to close down the ship? Obviously the governor wants to get rid of the ship and reallocate those funds anyway, so why not just do it? Don’t politicians do whatever the heck they want anyway? So why support this ridiculous attack on Eun Jae? What the heck did she ever do to deserve any of this? It just seems like such an awfully slimy way of getting what you want and letting this big business come in and run the show is just asking for trouble. It’s like that old line, “Give ’em an inch and they’ll take a mile.” I can’t see how letting this corporation step in and handle the shutting down of the hospital ship is going to work out in the long run. This CEO is the type of man who seems pretty used to taking whatever the heck he wants so letting him step so freely into the local political circle just opens a wider door for whatever shenanigans he may try to pull in the future.
Beyond the political nonsense going on in these 4 episodes, there’s a whole lot of general stupidity, particularly on the part of the new mother we met at the end of the last 4 episodes. Having had my own emergency c-section at 35 weeks, I know exactly what it’s like, being in this new mother’s shoes. I know there are a lot of wildly rampaging emotions, and the whole postpartum hormones are insane and that just makes everything worse, so I can understand the emotional instability of this new mom. I can understand the anger and frustration that comes with having your new, tiny, precious little one spend their first few weeks of life in the NICU. I know first-hand, the horror that comes with the news that your baby’s health is deteriorating and the feelings of utter helplessness that come as you watch your new little love fighting with all she’s got, just to take her next breath. I know exactly what it’s like, going to visit your sweet little baby in the NICU and thinking that she looks more like a cyborg than a human, with all those tubes and wires running in and out of her and all those machines humming around her. I’ve been there, I’ve experienced it all and I can totally understand the pain this new mom feels. However, I can’t, for the life of me, understand why she would be so willing to file a lawsuit against Eun Jae when Eun Jae is the only reason both mom and baby are alive.
Having been in this mom’s shoes, I can understand a lot but I can’t understand this mother’s lack of commonsense nor can I condone her greed. Which, let’s face it, we all know that this whole ridiculous lawsuit is motivated by greed. I have no idea what offer this corporate lawyer made on behalf of his employer but you know it had to be good if a mother who has just walked through hell is willing to sue the people responsible for keeping her and her new baby alive. What I can’t understand is why this new mom is willing to turn her back on Eun Jae like this. I wanted to kiss the people who fought to keep my little one alive, not sue them. They were doing everything in their power to keep my baby alive and they did a very good job of it. The same can be said of both Eun Jae and Hyun so why did things have to get so messy? Again I have to ask, why is this corporation getting out of ruining Eun Jae’s life? Why did they have to make this whole ordeal so personal?
As much as I don’t understand all of this corporate messing and political nonsense, I can at least understand and appreciate the way Hyun is trying to handle all of this. I love that he had a very rational and valid argument as to why he needed to be at the police station during Eun Jae’s interrogation. With him being the doctor in charge of caring for this new baby, once it was born, it only makes sense that he would share some of the responsibility during this whole legal proceeding. I understand why Eun Jae refused to acknowledge that and I suppose it’s a noble gesture on her part, being willing to take all the blame, but it really doesn’t make sense for her to carry this burden on her own. Which is why I’m so darn happy Hyun stepped in when he did. Sure, having 2 doctors involved in this case will spell certain doom for the hospital ship but the ship was never safe to begin with and both the captain and the manager know that. I think that’s why everyone eventually gave into Hyun’s plan, because they all know that it’s the only right way to handle things. Unfortunately that means we have to say goodbye to the hospital ship for now.
Lucky for us (and everyone employed on the ship) this whole telemedicine idea is an absolutely horrible thing and it’s not going to take long for everyone in the world to know it. I don’t know who thought providing remote healthcare would be a good idea but clearly, that person doesn’t understand the way healthcare works. You can’t make a phone call (or even a video call) and accurately diagnose and treat a person, this should be common sense. But when have politicians and/or businessmen ever demonstrated an ounce of common sense? All I can say is, this is what happens when too many outside powers stick their noses in places they don’t belong. Things get all sorts of messed up and it’s always the little people who end up getting hurt the most. Just look at that poor grandma suffering from a horrible case of pneumonia. If she’s been able to see an actual doctor and been treated right away, she wouldn’t be in such a dire position now. At it is, she could end up dying and for what? Just so some dang CEO can add a few more zeros to his already overflowing bank account? Arugh! This makes me angrier than anything else. The very idea of devaluing other people’s lives all for the sake of money makes me so mad I could flip tables!
Not only is this issue of money over life causing problems for this poor grandma, it’s also causing some tremendous problems for the ship’s manager, Kim Kwang Kyu. Why in the world is this poor man being forced to suffer so much when there’s a perfectly capable doctor willing to operate on his critically ill wife? There’s absolutely no reason why Eun Jae shouldn’t be allowed to operate, other than the fact that her very presence in the hospital is a direct defiance of this stupid corporations monetary donation stipulations. In short, if Eun Jae works at the hospital, the hospital loses the funding it needs to keep the ER open. With this being the case, the most qualified and capable person around can’t do a dang thing because the politics of the healthcare system are preventing her from getting involved. Yup, this whole scenario is way too close to real life for me. I guess that’s why it makes me so upset. I just can’t understand how politics can take precedence over people’s lives. Is money really so important people have to die because of it? Sadly the entire history of the world seems to answer that question with a resounding “yes.” *sigh*
Of course we all know things will all work out in the end, mostly because it’s Drama Land law. I’m sure Manager Kim’s wife will get this life-saving surgery (and how saintly is Nurse Pyo for willingly giving up her liver as a donation??? The woman deserves a medal!) and Eun Jae will probably even be the one to perform the operation. Along those same lines, I’m sure that poor grandma with pneumonia will get the treatment she needs but it will be a very dramatic process. Naturally, that dramatic process will be the catalyst that stirs up the people who will eventually demand the end of telemedicine and the return of the hospital ship. The ship will return, the crew and staff will get back together and things will all end rosy-posy wonderful. We just have to make it through 4 more episodes to get there. I say, bring it on! *cough sniffle wheeze cough* Just let me go down a bottle of cold medicine and take a nap first…
I know the last 4 episodes of this drama have already aired but that doesn’t mean I can’t ask what you thought of these particular episodes. How did you feel about all of these political/business shenanigans? Why do you think Eun Jae has been made the target in all of this? Things have been left a mess everywhere, do you think they’ll all work out in the end? You know I always love hearing from you so be sure to let me know what you’re thinking in the comments below!
You can catch up on all my Hospital Ship reviews here: