Beautiful Mind Episode 7 Recap

Characters learn about or display empathy during this episode.

Beautiful Mind Episode 7 Recap 

Flashback…

Youthful Young O watches new parents cooing at their baby in the hospital. His father tells him that’s what a family is. He tells Young O that he must live like that one day. Young O stares at the family and says to his father “you always tell me if I follow your directions I can live a normal life. But one day can I feel? Not faking it but really feeling”. His father sidesteps giving him an answer. Young O stares at the family then walks away with his father. Nice opening scene, it was short but had an emotional punch. The young actor that plays Young O is doing a lovely job. Young O just wants to be normal and feel. Sometimes I’m wondering if the writer is interchanges not feeling empathy and not feeling emotions. Young O feels emotions but cannot feel empathy. 

Present Day…

The chairman watches the news report that says the hospital was reorganizing and he will be stepping down to help with reorganization. He tells his assistant he needs to see Mr. Kim (the politician) straightaway. Ask me if I care if the chairman loses his job. The chairman asks Mr. Kim to speed along the stem cell treatment approval. Even with Dr. Chae’s assurance that the trials are going well, Mr. Kim asked the obvious question, what’s the rush? The chairman responds in the only way that matters to him…this is big money. Mr. Kim responds as any politician would to the lure of cash…he promises approval within the week. Dr. Chae assures the chairman everything will go well. The chairman says it has to, Young O is gone, there are no more obstacles to our research. That’s a revealing statement that Young O was considered an obstacle to their money making secret research.

Dr. Hyun Suk Joo (Yoon Hyun Min) is concerned that the research is wrong and asks his colleague what he would think of lesions and tumors as a side effect of their research. They both think the same thing…this is a side effect of stem cell research. Their unease must be because the stem cell research is not yet illegal. Dr. Hyun’s colleague refuses to believe this. He’s given his life for this job. He leaves. Dr. Chae enters the room and tells Dr. Hyun that what he needs to lock in his brain is that the second stage research was perfect. The third stage research accomplished something amazing. Dr. Hyun is not as stoked as Dr. Chae is. Dr. Chae says he’s okay with Dr. Hyun’s doubts, because he will never be able to prove them. Dr. Hyun glares at Dr. Chae then leaves.

Dr. Hyun thinks about Young O’s revelation that the two hearts had lesions.

The other doctors including Kim Min Jae (Park Se Young) overhear Dr. Hyun ask for Young O’s contact information. Min Jae says that doesn’t matter he will never practice medicine in this hospital or any other. Dr. Hyun asks what she’s talking about. With a smirk Min Jae informs him that Young O has been banned from practicing medicine. His faith in his perfection is shattered. The nurse said it well; Min Jae is cruel. I can think of some other words to add but will not at this time.

Dr. Hyun catches up with Min Jae asking for the information. As she walks into her new office with the plaque declaring her assistant professor she tells him the hospital was the best place Young O could hide. She’s sorry, but she can’t help Dr. Hyun.

Dr. Lee Young O (Jang Hyuk) wakes in a strange room. Outside Officer Gye Jin Sung (Park So Dam), her mother and brother are doing laundry on the patio. Jin Sung’s Brother asks if she’s dating the doctor she brought home. She tells him they are not dating. Her brother teases her that she’s never been kissed, held the guy’s hand, so it’s obvious why she still single. Playfully Jin Sung sprays her brother with the hose. Her brother runs around the patio to avoid the water and Young O gets a blast of cold water when he walks onto the patio. Jin Sung apologizes and hands him a towel. Jin Sung placates her mother. Jin Sung’s brother spots a lady in a wheelchair by the water. Jin Sung’s mother assumes that Jin Sung and Young O have slept together and therefore will be getting married. Jin Sung is horrified by this incorrect assumption. Her brother brings the lady in the wheelchair and asks Young O to examine her. Young O recalls his father’s cruel words about him never wanting his son to become a doctor because he was a monster. Young O reads the lady’s nonverbals while Jin Sung’s mother and brother wait with baited breath. Young O walks away without saying anything.

The neighbor stops by to pick up the lady in the wheelchair. She does not treat the lady in the wheelchair kindly. Jin Sung’s brother tells the neighbor he’s going to call the police on her she doesn’t treat the lady in the wheelchair nicely. The neighbor says it’s none of his business and wheels the lady away.

Jin Sung apologizes to ask for what his brother asked of him. She explains that they just wanted to help their neighbor. Young O asks if she brought him to this seaside village to show him how loving and caring people treat each other. Jin Sung tells him that she wanted to bring him to a place where he could rest and everyone would see him as a normal guy. She only wanted to help him. Young O doesn’t see it that way. He thinks that she is proving that she is superior to him by what she’s doing. He says she’s taking pride in the fact that she has normal emotions. Jin Sung calmly says you must be really angry with yourself right? She says that he’s angry that he was afraid and ran away from a patient. He chuckles and says this is why people can never really help each other. Someone’s weakness becomes something to attack by another person. He looks at the lady in the wheelchair and says or some people are burdens that others would throw away if they had the chance to do it without anyone seeing it. He tells her to take back the request for help. Oh no,the lady in the wheelchair plunges into the ocean. He calmly says the lady made her choice. Jin Sung runs to her and shouts at him you want to make a bet? She jumps into the ocean she pulls the lady in the wheelchair out of the ocean. Young O brings her a towel and asked why she risked her life. Jin Sung says she wanted to show him that in her world the neighbor isn’t a bad person, so bad that she’d kill the lady in the wheelchair. Jin Sung asks why he didn’t treat her if he wasn’t afraid?

The ambulance with the heart for a transplant is stuck in traffic. Dr. Yang is unconcerned until he learns the surgeon is a pretty female doctor. With that he grabs the cooler with the heart and runs through the streets to get it to the hospital on time.

The patient that is receiving the heart transplant talks to the doctors in route to the surgery and confides that while riding a roller coaster would be fun,today is about getting the heart transplant and having to stop worrying about whether the transplant is the dream would come true. The doctor assures her the surgery will go well and she’ll be able to ride a roller coaster 100 times.

Outside the oprrating room Dr. Yang tells the female doctor that it’s because of him that she even has a heart to do the transplant with. He tells her she owes him a meal or a drink. She’s unimpressed and says her patient has suffered four years waiting for that heart and now he wants to take credit? She tells him shame on you. Dr. Yang is not happy. That that didn’t go the way he wanted.

Dr. Hyun asks Young O’s father for the contact information. Young O’s father asks if his son did anything wrong. Dr. Hyun says that Young O made him feel ashamed. Young O’s father wants the details. Dr. Hyun says he can only discuss it with Young O. His father claims he’s looking for his son just like Dr. Hyun is. He promises to tell Dr. Hyun when Young O returns. But he presses for the reason why Dr. Hyun is looking for Young O. Dr. Hyun thanks him for his help. As he leaves Dr. Hyun turns and asks Young O’s father if has regrets, regrets that he threw away his son to be true to his principles. Ouch that is a major slam! Dr. Hyun, you just went up a notch! Young O’s father tells Dr. Hyun he must be very concerned indeed. Dr. Hyun leaves. Young O’s father calls somebody and asks if he’s located Young O yet.

Young O goes to the hospital to see how the lady in the wheelchair is doing. The doctor assumes Young O is there as her guardian. Instead Young O begins to examine the lady.

Jin Sung’s mother and brother wonder if the neighbor tried to kill the lady in the wheelchair.

Jin Sung goes to the neighbor’s home. She enters without permission. She finds that the home is a bit of a mess. She finds a box of money.

Back to the hospital where Young O examines the woman. He notices she has thin hair, dry skin, and recent weight gain. He notices paralysis and loss of mobility. He asked the lady of her mother-in-law pushed her in the water. The lady’s eyes get big. She can’t seem to answer. Young O remembers Min Jae telling him the classic signs of fear. He turns and sees Jin Sung. Jin Sung’s mother calls her and says the neighbor is at the police station admitting to pushing the lady into the ocean. Jin Sung tells Young O that the neighbor just turned herself into the police. Young O says he was correct. He won their bet. Just like he thought he would. He chuckles. The doctor comes in to start the patient on an IV. Young O looks at the medical chart. He tells the doctor the patient did not suffer a stroke. He tells the doctor she is suffering from a specific disease I’ve never heard of. He advises the doctor about the treatment that is needed. He notes the patient is going to recover slowly. The doctor asks Young O who he is. Young O tells the doctor that how he spoke to him thinking that he was a guardian, was incorrect. The lady goes into some kind of shock and starts shaking. The doctor is startled but Young O remains calm. Jin Sung is concerned, the doctor freaks out and says he’s just graduated and he doesn’t know what to do. He runs away looking for an ambulance. Young O stares at the woman…he knows there’s something else. He searches his brain. He backs away. He leaves the room.

The heart transplant is underway. Oh rats, the new heart has issues. They can’t insert it in the patient. That’s a bummer. The surgeon suggests that they put the new heart in and treat the infection that it has after the surgery. Dr. Hyun yells at the surgeon that won’t work and you know it. The surgeon tells her that without this heart the patient may die waiting for the next one. Dr. Hyun counters with the obvious if you pull the working heart she shall definitely die. With tears in her eyes the surgeon aborts the heart transplant. The patient wakes up after surgery. She thanks the surgeon for a successful surgery. The surgeon runs out crying. She passes by the parents who are crying as Dr. Hyun has given them the news. It was actually quite a touching scene when the patient woke up and thanked the doctor. My heart went out to the patient, I certainly had empathy for her.

Dr. Hyun finds the upset surgeon. She cries, how can I go on fighting this fight that I may never win? Dr. Hyun tells her it’s better to fight the fight to the end. Dr. Yang sees the surgeon crying. He borrows a handkerchief. He sees her sobbing. He wants to go forward to comfort her, but he is afraid. He stands there, and watches her cry, paralyzed by fear.

Dr. Yang is in Doctor Kim’s daughter’s hospital room. He tells Dr. Hyun that he feels terrible that the surgery didn’t work out. Dr. Hyun tells him everybody knew that you would get the professorship. Dr. Yang says he can’t release energy and anger over this situation. He gets tears in his eyes. He says he misses Dr. Kim. He leaves the room. Is Dr. Hyun the priest for everybody’s confessions this episode? Dr. Chae finds Dr. Hyun and says he heard about the unsuccessful heart transplant. He offers somewhat comforting words. Dr. Hyun stands and says how much more this do I have to listen to? Dr. Chae asks him if he really needs to find Young O. Dr. Chae tells him once they get the approval, everyone will be able to succeed in regenerative medicine. At that point heart transplants will no longer be needed, because they’ll just be able to regenerate the heart. Dr. Hyun tells Dr. Chae that he’s a scumbag. Ouch, what is it with the slams from Dr. Hyun this episode? I’m enjoying them!

Jin Sung finds Young O looking out at the sea. She asked if he’s okay. He tells her he really lost the bet this time. He said he couldn’t diagnose the patient properly. I couldn’t read the patient’s mind. He asks if Jin Sung is satisfied. Jin Sung says it wasn’t the neighbor that pushed the lady into the sea. Jin Sung presses a flyer for new wheelchairs into Young O’s hand. The neighbor was working hard to make the money to get a new wheelchair. She says she wasn’t trying to rid of her daughter-in-law she was trying to give her a better life. Jin Sung asks if Young O ever had a moment when he needed somebody even if they wouldn’t have been any help to you? Young O stares at her. He turns and walks away definitely thinking about what she said.

He goes back to the hospital and looks at the still shaking patient. Young O says it wasn’t the neighbor that pushed her into the sea. The new attending doctor says it looks like the patient is suffering from cerebral hemorrhage. He asks Young O if he’s the guardian. Young O says it’s not a stroke, it’s not cerebral hemorrhage, but rather the patient needs immunosuppressants. The doctor asks who he is. The doctor counters all her same symptoms are indicators of stroke. Young O argues that she fell into the sea, so it’s not a cerebral problem. He says she jumped into the sea by herself, it was her choice. By looking at the woman’s toes he’s able to tell that she launched herself while she was hallucinating that she was on fire. The doctor asks the right question, how do you know she was hallucinating that she was on fire, she can’t even speak. Young O says it wasn’t about the symptoms, I tried to read the patient’s mind. I tried to see her as a human being. Jin Sung smiles when he utters those words. Young O says these are similar symptoms to stroke, but she was hallucinating. That prove she doesn’t have a stroke. He names the disease she has. The doctor asks are you saying my diagnosis was incorrect? I believe we all know the answer is yes doctor, your diagnosis was incorrect. Also is an interesting that this is the very thing that Young O can’t stand, to be wrong. And he is belittled for it. But here’s the local doctor not wanting to hear that his diagnosis is incorrect. What we just learned is nobody wants to be wrong, the pursuit for a perception of perfection is important. Young O asked the other doctor where the immunosuppressants are. He asks do you want to kill her? The attending doctor tells the newbie doctor that if he helps Young O and the patient dies, it’s off to military camp for him. Jin Sung intervenes and says she’s a police officer. She quotes the law that says that you cannot interfere with an emergency medical team treating a patient. She declares to both attending doctors this is an emergency situation and Young O has the right to treat her. Young O again demands to know where the immunosuppressants are. Newbie doctor glances at the cabinet with the immunosuppressants. The other doctor gets upset as Young O fills a vial and injects the patient. The other doctor can’t believe he did that. He yells, you know what you just did? The woman stops shaking. Newbie doctor is stunned, attending doctor is stunned, and the lady regains consciousness. She speaks and asks for her mother-in-law. Jin Sung is stunned. Young O leans over the woman and says I was right, I was right. He looks at Jin Sung, to the patient, and to the heavens. He’s got tears in his eyes.

Jin Sung’s mother asked the neighbor why she turned herself in. The woman admits she was afraid her daughter-in-law did run away from her. She said if she goes away then the government will have to look after her. She asks if her daughter-in-law really asked for her when she woke up.

The lady asked the newbie doctor who was that doctor that saved me? Her mother-in-law comes to the hospital room. She sits up and stares at her mother-in-law. She clasps her hand. They clasp each other’s hands. They both smile and cry. Gosh that’s really touching and such a simple scene. Even the newbie doctor has some tears.

Jin Sung tells Young O she won the bet. But she says you also believed in the neighbor’s sincerity. So your diagnosis was accurate. Young O asks if she brought him there to tell him that. Young O tells her the human body never lies. He tells her the world of medicine he resides in his perfect logic is unmarred by emotions. He says that’s why he loves medicine. She steps close to him and says really? Young O says you asked me earlier if there was ever somebody that I needed desperately, although they wouldn’t be any help to me. He says yes there was. He says but it wasn’t as bad as I expected. And he looks at her pointedly and walks away. She gets a smile on her face. Newbie doctor runs up and says the patient is asking for him. Newbie doctor asks if he’s a real doctor and which hospital Young O works for. Young O looks at him and says he is Dr. Lee Young O. He smiles a little smile.  Awesome way to end the episode! Nothing better than Jang Hyuk smiling. That puts a smile on my face.

My Thoughts

It was refreshing to get out of the hospital this episode. The whole tenor of this episode was different, and I really enjoyed the difference. Young O found a moment where his identity of a doctor was tested, he failed, then he persevered, and succeeded. Jin Sung quietly supported him without getting preachy. She did gently nudge him to see more than he was seeing. There was pretty good action at the main hospital too. Dr. Hyun really turned into the moral compass this episode. Besides that we learned that legal approval for the stem cell research was the goal of the chairman by asking Mr. Kim to legalize the research the hospital was already doing. Then there was the case of the heart transplant surgery that failed because the heart was not viable. That was touching and allowed for the argument to be made that the stem cell regenerative research would eliminate the need for organ transplant. I can certainly see where that would be a great advancement. This episode felt like everyone was getting schooled in empathy for others.

Jang Hyuk’s portrayal of Young O delved into questioning his abilities as a doctor. One of the things that has been consistent about Young O throughout the series is his need to be right. Min Jae  had a great line when she said that Young O’s image of his perfection got shattered. We saw that played out this episode. Jang Hyuk did not give us a cocky confident doctor. Instead he gave us a man that was afraid to engage. But with the encouragement of Jin Sung, he did engage. My hats off to the writer for making this interesting. In a simple kdrama Young O would engage and save the day. But not this episode. Young O engaged, and failed, and got up, engaged again, and succeeded, all the while re-branding his identity as a doctor, not a monster. It certainly was telling that Young O recalled his father’s words calling him a monster when he doubted himself. How about that interaction between Jin Sung and Young O? It was gentle, her interactions with him. Young did not 100% trust in her motivation. And why would Young O completely trust her at this point? Who hasn’t used and abused him in this series? Even Jin Sung did when she wrongly arrested him based on his father’s machinations. So that makes it even more interesting doesn’t it? Now he has to trust somebody that did him wrong. I have to end with the fabulous semi smile Jang Hyuk gifted us with at the end of the episode. Love it!

Park So Dam as Jin Sung had her best episode of the series. She didn’t cower when Young O didn’t agree with her, didn’t believe in her, and refused to engage per her recommendations. Instead she consistently nudged him to engage with the lady in the wheelchair. I liked how she investigated the neighbor’s house and found the money and realized that she was trying to get a new wheelchair for her daughter. Even the explanation of why the neighbor confessed to the police was believable because she knew that if she went to prison, the government would have to take care of her daughter-in-law and she would not be left destitute. I liked the interchange between Park So Dam and Jang Hyuk. Their interactions were subtle. The whole plot point where each claimed to have won the bet several times, that was not done with overt ego but with subtly and in the last round with humor from Young O! There’s still no romance between these two, and that is the appropriate place to be. I don’t think that Young O could develop romantic feelings for a woman that he did not implicitly trust. Whether or not this series takes this twosome into romance, depends on trust. This series can work without romance but I wouldn’t mind some.

Yoon Hyun Min as Doctor Hyun Suk became the moral compass in the hospital. Frankly his interactions with Young O’s father and Dr. Chae were surprising. He got excellent slams on each of these doctors, I loved that. Dr. Hyun has been nebulous until this episode. This was the first episode that you believed he was a good guy. He’s been doing this secret research just like everybody else. Nonetheless, it’s like the murky part of Dr. Hyung got stripped away and what was exposed was a good person. Is that really who Dr. Hyun is?

Heo Jun Ho’s portrayal of Young O’s father, Lee Gun Myung, is starting to make it clear that he is a foe not friend to Young O. I could replay Dr. Hyun’s slam on him in a repetitive loop, it was that good. As I said last episode since he called Young O a monster, this character has really bothered me. Will he have the chance to evolve and see his son with an open mind?

Recaps/Reviews:
Episode 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Series | A.D.DO! Review | Prettysup Review | Jane Tilly Review | Beez Review

About KJT (aka kjtamuser)

Asian drama fan. I watch and blog dramas on https://kjtamusings.wordpress.com/.

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Tagged with: 2016, Beautiful Mind, Byutipul Maindeu, Dr. Frankenstein, Drama, episode 7, 뷰티풀 마인드, Jang Hyuk, Korean, Park Se Young, Park So Dam, recap, summary, Yoon Hyun Min
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