REVIEW: ‘Doctor Cha,’ Episodes 3-4

With her residency beginning, Jeong-suk enters a new chapter of her life. Surprising no one, however, it looks like this new phase is going to get vastly more complicated thanks to her husband and his decision to keep their relationship a secret from the other hospital staff in Doctor Cha Episodes 3-4. And of course, there are others at the hospital with a history with the family that isn’t widely known.

The layers of hidden interactions and how these concealed connections come to complicate everyone’s lives are the core narrative component for this newest pair of episodes. With enough on her plate, simply trying to get back into the swing of being a doctor, having to pretend she doesn’t know her son and husband put even more strain on her.

While it doesn’t shy away from driving home how much all this tension burdens Jeong-suk, Doctor Cha Episodes 3-4 also softens much of the potential stress of the series through some wonderful injections of humor. The best of these moments comes when the head of their department decides to take everyone out for dinner, drinks, and karaoke in order to celebrate the arrival of their new first-year residents, as well as the recently transferred Dr. Kim. And yes, that’s the same Dr. Kim who performed Jeong-suk’s liver operation.

The timing and delivery of this sequence are comic gold. As the alcohol flows, lips loosen, and feelings are inevitably hurt. As Jeong-suk is new at the hospital, questions get asked about her personal life that she must come up with answers on the fly. These moments are wonderfully funny as both the delivery of her answers and the reactions from the various people in attendance who know the truth are wonderful. It is especially fun to watch her husband squirm, given the whole situation happens due to his inconsiderate attitude towards her. It also manages to strengthen both episodes as one ends and the other begins halfway through this wonderful scene.

Even with the core elements of Doctor Cha Episodes 3-4 delivering tons of entertainment, I can see some potential bumps for the series beginning in these episodes. Several new plot threads are introduced in these stories that revolve around people keeping secrets from everyone else. While I appreciate a show wanting to reinforce its core concept with similarly themed sub-plots, I can see all these secrets easily becoming a headache to keep track of as the show progresses. Hopefully, some won’t linger around too long so that the show’s promising energy doesn’t get overburdened by too much secondary confusion.

Despite these concerns, Doctor Cha Episodes 3-4 bring a ton of humor and a fair measure of heart to its narrative. Jeong-suk is a lovable protagonist who shines, even when she stumbles in her new job. Her passion, consideration, and determination to do right by those she is tasked to help, as well as herself, continue to provide this series with the best foundation it could ask for.

Doctor Cha Episodes 3-4 are streaming now on Netflix, with new episodes airing Saturday and Sunday.