Beautiful Mind Episode 11 Recap

Young O decides if he has faith in his own evolution.

Beautiful Mind Episode 11 Recap 

Flashback…

Youthful Young O sits in the classroom watching his classmates cry over the end of the school year. Young O thinks about the makeup of tears, what parts of the brain control sadness, and his father’s words to laugh/cry when others do so he can fit in. He tries to put his face into the correct cry look but he can’t force the tears to come. His teacher thanks him for being brave and fighting back the tears as she hugs him. Young O thinks “I never learned how to cry.”

Present Day…

Dr. Lee Young O (Jang Hyuk) tells Officer Gye Jin Sung (Park So Dam) that he wants to make an effort. He knows it may be tough but he really wants to make an effort. Jin Sung thinks that he’s showing love for a patient. Young O corrects her. He tells her the person he’s feeling love for is her. She asks him to repeat it. He says “like you said I started to love. I’ve begun to love you. I’m not familiar with this feeling, but I believe it’s your turn to say something”. She asked what he wants her to say. He says “tell me what you feel”. She hesitates, a bit stunned by where she’s at in a conversation with him. She says “I don’t know”. He stares at her, then looks away, surprised at her response. He takes the ball from her hands throws it away. Young O asks “how could you not know”? He circles her, “I know because I’ve got a disorder. But you… You are my Wi-Fi… You explained love to me… But you don’t know”? Jin Sung says she will give him an answer. Young O takes a break to call the ER and ask if there’s any emergency surgeries. He learns there are surgeries and he says he’ll take them. He tells Jin Sung that the emergency room called him in for emergency surgery. Knowing exactly what she saw, Jin Sung tells him you called the ER. Young O claims who made the call is irrelevant. Ha! He says what matters are they waiting emergency surgeries, so he must go. He says I’ve got no other option now; I’ll have to hear your response to me another time. He starts to walk away and she calls wait, wait! He turns and asks “how could you have an answer for me? You said you didn’t know”. He wants her to carefully consider her answer. He walks away. She laughs. It was darling that he was nervous that the answer that she would give him would not be the answer he wanted. What’s the “in love” person to do when it appears the object of your affection may not feel the same? That’s right; run away and avoid the response.

In the emergency room there’s a pregnant patient with a brain hemorrhage. Young O tells her that she needs surgery. She says anesthesia will be bad for the baby. Oh no it looks like her water broke. Nope, the fluids are a result of diabetes. Young O tells Dr. Yang to get obstetrics. After they’re done with their surgery, Young O will do his. The mother rejects this idea. She’s only 29 weeks along. She doesn’t want to have a premature baby. The woman’s mother and two other children arrive. Young O tells the guardian they must do surgery. The guardian can’t get past the idea of premature labor. Young O says the patient already has two children and at this point her life is the priority. The guardian tells Young O this is not her baby. Is she a surrogate?

Dr. Yang is startled when an old classmate recognizes him in the elevator. It takes him a minute but he remembers Han Mo. The classmate passes out in the elevator and falls to the floor hitting his head. Blood gushes from his head. Dr. Yang realizes they have a situation on their hands. He brings his classmate into the emergency room.

Yes, as we guessed the woman is a surrogate. So the guardian is not the woman’s mother but the woman that arranged for the surrogacy. The surrogate POC urges the pregnant woman to just hang on for another week. It’s clear where her priorities lie. It’s the baby, not the mother. The pregnant woman tells Young O that she will not give birth. Young O bluntly tells her “your brain is bleeding and I can’t guarantee what will happen”. Young O continues that the baby may not reach 30 weeks, it may die. Young O says without surgery, the baby may die. The woman says without the baby, my children and I will die. The woman must need the money pretty badly. The woman says the baby’s parents are taking care of her expenses. The surrogate guardian claims she’s only helping this woman who is in need. I’m sure her cut of the fees are important to her. The pregnant woman cries she can’t have the baby, not now. Young O says asks her to officially tell him her decision. The nurse objects to him placing the decision in the distraught woman’s hands.

In the hallway the nurse asks Young O if he’s trying to force the woman to decide or scare her. The nurse says you need to give her time to think and give her understanding. The nurse says that’s the obvious path. She asks is this how you treat your girlfriends? Young O says I gave her plenty of time. Is Young O referring to Jin Sung or the pregnant woman? Young O tells the nurse you take on the baby. You get her to decide what to do. Young O walks away leaving the nurse surprised.

In his office Young O stares at his phone and then decides to call Jin Sung. You got a laugh that in her contacts list she has Young O named “Wi-Fi”. Jin Sung hesitates on whether or not to answer the phone. Her brother sees the contact name and misunderstands who is calling. Unbeknownst to Jin Sung the answer call button was selected. Young O can hear Jin Sung tell her brother she’ll cut off his Wi-Fi. Young O asks Jin Sung, is that her answer? Jin Sung realizes Young O is on the other side of the phone. Young O tells her he’s not going to accept an answer until it is given to him at the proper time and place. Confused, Jin Sung asks if he’s angry. Young O confirms he’s angry. He tells her it’s all her fault. He’s also foolish waiting for a patient to make a bad decision. This annoys and frustrates him. He’s not used to these feelings. Even worse, when he thinks about her, he says stupid things. Isn’t that just darling? He tells her ever since she jumped into the water but then he catches himself and doesn’t complete his thought. He does say “this side of me doesn’t frighten me”. That puts tears in Jin Sung’s eyes.

Min Jae asks about the pregnant patient but Young O just walks past her. Min Jae says “you may hate me, but this is not about me”. Young O surprises her stating if the patient approves of the operation, he will operate. Min Jae is surprised he’s waiting for the patient’s decision. Min Jae is further surprised when Young O tells her he’s waiting for the nurse to convince the patient. Min Jae asks who made you this way? She says he’s changed. Young O asked what she means. Min Jae suggests that they scan his brain. Young O asks if she is still his doctor. She invites him to see her anytime. The vibe of that interaction between Young O in Min Jae was the most civil we’ve seen in a while. She was rightly surprised by Young O’s tact in this situation of waiting for the patient to make this decision about the surgery and asking for the nurse to help. If Min Jae scans his brain, will she see frontal lobe renewal? Has Young O taken any of the regenerative stem cells? Is his frontal lobe being regenerated as part of an un-authorized research?

The chairman tells Dr. Chae he left the hospital meeting early because everyone was patting themselves on the back about their profits and as the least profitable part of the hospital he didn’t want to stay. Dr. Chae says once the regenerative research hits the market it will start to make the money and the hospital leaders will notice. The chairman says his brother certainly has taken notice. If the regenerative research is a success, then his brother will have a harder time getting rid of him so he can claim the regenerative research for his own. The chairman needs to bring the department into the black, meaning it is not losing money. The chairman says the easiest way…downsizing. The chairman tells Dr. Chae he needs to convert expensive workers to contract workers.

The nurse tries to talk to the pregnant patient but she’s not interested. She’s firm, this baby is her financial future. The nurse tells her if things go wrong, your children could be orphans. Oh my goodness, the surrogate POC is a vulture! The surrogate POC asks even if the woman is brain-dead can we keep her body alive so the baby can live and be born? The surrogate POC urges the woman just to tough it out for another week. The nurse tells the doctor to remove the surrogate POC. Atta girl! The doctor flips the woman over her shoulder and exits the room. Atta boy! Even better the doctor and nurse high-five each other. The nurse takes the patient’s hand and urges her not to lose to users like that. She tells the mother not to be swayed by money. She says her children need a mother. She urges the woman to choose the path that will give her a healthy life.

Outside the patient’s hospital room Young O asked the nurse how things went. The nurse solemnly tells Young O that when she gets involved, the patient will have surgery. Then she chuckles at herself. Young O just stares. The nurse says she’ll let him know once the patient has made the decision. Young O asked the nurse to be part of his surgery team. He mirrors the nurse’s words when he solemnly tells her that when he wants a certain person as part of his surgery team, that person will join him in the OR. That was cute! The nurse starts to repeat what she said before, Young O cuts her off and says once was enough. That was even cuter! He walks away and the nurse giggles.

When the nurse thanks the doctor that took the surrogate POC out, he’s not in a happy mood. It looks like he and the nurse are part of a reassignment or reduction in force list.

The nurse interrupts a meeting between Dr. Hyun, Dr. Chae, and Dr. Lee. With tears in her eyes she asks Young O’s father what she did wrong. Young O’s father asks what is the matter? The nurse starts to detail the sacrifices she’s made but Dr. Chae cuts her off and tells her if she has a problem she needs to go through the process. She asks Young O’s father why she’s been transferred to manage a medical Museum. Ouch, that’s a downgrade. Dr. Chae claims the hospital is doing it to protect her health. The nurse thinks they are trying to force her out so the hospital doesn’t have to pay for her maternity leave. Young O’s father confirms they did plan transfers, but not to get rid of an experienced nurse. He promises to look into the matter.

Young O’s father tells Dr. Chang he needs to talk to the chairman about cutting experienced nurses. Dr. Hyun tells him not to get involved. Dr. Hyun says making the unit profitable is the priority. He says without cash, the regenerative research cannot evolve without being controlled by outside funds. Dr. Hyun says if outside money funds the research, the direction of the research will be compromised for profit. Dr. Chae agrees with Dr. Hyun’s assessment. Dr. Chae says Young O’s father will have to choose between the lesser of two evils.

The nurse goes to Young O’s office. He does the watch shake thing as he waits for her to tell him why she’s there. The nurse tells him another nurse will assist him in the surgery. Young O says I want you. The nurse tries to convince Young O the other nurses better than she is. Young O says that the nurse is the best person to support the patient. The nurse says it’s humiliating. Young O asks what’s humiliating? The nurse says she thought that having a baby would invoke society support. But now she sees that she’s only a tool the hospital will use to cut costs. She says she can no longer tell the woman to be strong. She leaves. Young O considers what she says.

The nurse hears everyone talking about her but puts on a happy face. Dr. Yang tells her about his old schoolmate that he met in the elevator and subsequently had to stitch up. They laugh. The nurse thanks him for being nice to her in her time of need and making her laugh. Dr. Yang gets embarrassed and leaves.

The nurse gives the old schoolmate an antibiotic. They joke about Dr. Yang. When Dr. Yang comes into the room he tells the patient that he is suffering from malnutrition. Dr. Yang recommends that he take a week off to focus on his health. The man says he can not take a week off from work. Dr. Yang says his working conditions all aren’t all that great either. The schoolmate notes that Dr. Yang is a doctor, and they live in different worlds. But the schoolmate apologizes for not being nice to Dr. Yang when they were young. Then man keels over.

Dr. Yang comes out of the patient’s room asking for the nurse. He says the nurse gave him an antibiotic that put him in shock. The nurse says you told me to give him that particular kind of antibiotic. Dr. Yang think she did not do an allergy test. The nurse says she didn’t make a mistake. Dr. Yang doesn’t understand what the issue is then.

The other surgeons don’t think the nurse did anything with malice. The doctors discuss the hospital reassigning her to the medical Museum and feel like the nurses’ union will intercede on her behalf. Young O startles the surgeons when he enters the room and the conversation. Young O is straightforward in his thinking. The patient is in shock because of what the nurse did.

Dr. Yang watches his old schoolmate. Young O enters the room and asks how the patient is. Dr. Yang explains that the patient was there for malnutrition but now is in antibiotic shock. He explains the patient is poor. He explains the patient is a former schoolmate. Dr. Yang explains the patient has joint pain. He sees the patient is worn sneakers. That brings tears to his eyes. Young O asks if Dr. Yang is crying because pities his friend or because his friend is poor. Young O says emotions can cloud judgment which will block him from finding the reason why his friend is in antibiotic shock. Young O asks if Dr. Yang accused the nurse of not doing the allergy test. Dr. Yang confirms this.

The nurse tells Dr. Chae that she’s being falsely accused. Dr. Chae tells her she’s not in a position to argue. The nurse asks for time. Dr. Chae says a patient is in antibiotic shock. What can I say? If you stay, then things get worse because the hospital could be sued for malpractice. Young O comes forward and says the nurse made no mistakes. He says the patient’s state was not created by the nurse or any kind of medical malpractice. Young O says the patient has lupus. The nurse realizes that if the patient has lupus then the particular antibody Dr. Yang told her to give the patient was incorrect. Young O further states that the inexperienced nurses in the OR should have caught this and done a drug allergy test to determine his medical history. Young O is blunt and says it is the chairman’s cost-cutting plan to put this patient at risk. Young O says that the nurse is not the reason for profit loss in the department. He states she is part of his surgical team. Young O asked the nurse if she can assist him in his upcoming surgery. The nurse states with conviction that she will book an OR. What I really liked about that scene is the difference between Young O of the early episodes in the Young O we see today. He said similar things but he said it in a nicer way. He made his point and was sensitive to the nurse. It’s lovely to see. His evolution is gratifying.

The pregnant woman tells her children that she’ll soon be out of surgery and okay. The nurse gives the boy suckers while they wait for their mother’s surgery. The obstetrics portion of the surgery goes well and the baby is born. Now Young O starts the brain hemorrhage surgery.

Dr. Yang’s schoolmate patient is stunned that the redness on his face is gone. Dr. Yang asks why he’s smiling at the reflection of himself. Both of them laugh. I’m enjoying the soft sweet emotional vibe of this episode. The early episodes were strident. But this episode is gentle.

The chairman isn’t happy that Young O’s father is disagreeing with him on the manpower changes Young O’s father says swapping in inexperienced nurses for experienced nurses are causing malpractice issues. Young O’s father says malpractice will cost the hospital money, more money than it saves by hiring cheaper workers. He presents a report to the chairman that backs up his statements. The chairman tells Young O’s father that he’s learned quickly. Young O’s father surprises the chairman when he says yes I have and your father is viewing this report right now. That gets the chairman’s attention as well as Dr. Chae. I am stoked to say for two consecutive episodes I’ve been pleased with something that Young O’s father has done.

As Young O’s father walks the hallway he remembers Young O telling him that the hospital values profit over patients. Young O told his father that as director of the hospital he had the opportunity to make things balance. Young O asked him who’s the real monster? Young O’s father passes his former colleague in the wheelchair but doesn’t see him. The former colleague watches Dr. Lee walk away with a smile on his face. That’s not a good smile, it doesn’t bode well for Dr. Lee.

Dr. Yang’s old schoolmate patient is leaving and offers Dr. Yang a present of thanks. Dr. Yang smiles. Schoolmate says the sneakers may not be up to your quality standards, but good to wear at work. Dr. Yang sees his schoolmate wearing old sneakers while he just received new sneakers. But it’s a point of pride, and he accepts the gift and tells his schoolmate though have to get together for a drink someday. His schoolmate realizes they move in different circles and tells Dr. Yang not to make promises he can’t keep. He wishes Dr. Yang well and leaves. Dr. Yang stops him and offers medical advice admonishing him to take care of himself. Schoolmate sees it for what it is, genuine concern, and thinks him. Dr. Yang turns and sees Young O watching him. Dr. Yang thanks Young O for helping him be a good doctor to his friend. Young O says he should be thanking the nurse not me. Admonished but not in a mean way Dr. Yang does thank the nurse. They both smile the bump in their relationship has been smoothed over.

Young O stares at the new baby in the nursery. The nurse tells Young O that the mother decided to give away this baby because she can’t afford it. Young O says this baby was wanted by everyone, but in the end needed by no one. The nurse tells the baby that sometimes in life unexpectedly people help you. The nurse says she saw something happen like that today. The nurse welcomes the baby and the world. Nice scene!

Young O and Jin Sung are walking outside with drinks in their hands. Jin Sung is struggling to say what she wants to say. She asks Young O if he’s ready for her answer. Young O asks if the street is the right place for her answer. As they watch a group of boys play basketball Jin Sung asks Young O if he’s ready for her answer. She tells him she thought about it, and about him, and about her, and about them. She says I’ve decided, but Young O cuts her off. He says it’s such a lovely evening.  He asks Jin Sung to give him her hand. He checks her pulse. He says she’s too nervous. Wouldn’t it be better to tell him when she’s more relaxed? He suggests a game to help relieve her stress. They play one-on-one basketball. Jin Sung is a decent shooter. They have fun playing basketball. I have fun watching them play basketball. When Young O wants to continue playing Jin Sung says she’s too tired. Young O says she’s tired they should call it a night, will save the discussion for tomorrow. Jin Sung tries to stop him. Young O asks “don’t you know why I’m acting this way”? He says he’s never been afraid, but right now he’s afraid of the answer she’s going to give him. He’s also afraid of how he’ll react to whatever she is going to say. He tells her they should talk tomorrow. Jin Sung takes matters into her own hands and kisses him. Young O is stunned. Jin Sung pulls away stunned at her actions. My opinion…Yes! Jin Sung says that’s my answer. Young O is still stunned and does not speak. She smiles and laughs. Jin Sung says “I know I’m not ready for this, but because it’s you I want to give it a shot”. She smiles. He still stares. She turns and walks away flustered. He puts his hand to the lips she just kissed. He watches her get her stuff and walk back to him. She thanks him for the drink and walks away. Young O puts his hand to his heart. That touches my heart. That was a beautiful scene by both actors. It was completely in line with the vibe of this episode which is sweet, gentle, and positive.

Young O tells Min Jae that she was right. He’s changing. He looks so happy. He asks her to administer an MRI. As he goes into the MRI machine he holds his heart. Later she shows him the results. She says the cryptic words “it’s just as I expected”. It’s hard to gauge the news from Young O’s reaction.

Dr. Hyun tells Young O’s father the worst thing has happened. There is a massive influx of foreign investments into the regenerative research.

Young O’s father goes to see the chairman and asks if it’s true, that foreign investors have poured in money into the regenerative research. His former colleague in the wheelchair is there but he doesn’t see him yet. He speaks, now Young O’s father sees him. He doesn’t look that happy to see his former colleague.

Oh no, Dr. Yang’s schoolmate is brought back into the emergency room. The man fell while installing air-conditioners. The nurse helps while Young O administer CPR. Dr. Yang runs into the ER and sees his friend on the bed fighting for his life. He stares at those worn sneakers. The paramedic tells him that his friend fell while installing an air conditioner. Dr. Yang cries “I just saved him an hour ago”. The scene is getting me. Oh no, the patient dies. Dr. Yang cries “this doesn’t make any sense, how could he die”? Dr. Yang’s yells “we did everything we could to save him”. He pleads with Young O that his friend can’t die like this. This is gut wrenching. Young O watches Dr. Yang engulfed in pain. Everybody in the room is crying. Young O looks around and walks away. It’s the mirror image of the beginning flashback of this episode. Young O thinks to himself “I never learned how to cry”. It would have been perfect if Young O had looked directly into the camera when he thought that like the youthful Young O did in the initial flashback.

Min Jae tell Young O there’s no change in his frontal lobe. Young O’s reaction is stony. Mine is one of disbelief because I’m seen change. I believe there’s change. Medical results be damned.

Jin Sung has a smile on her face as she meets Young O. She playfully asks if he needs her Wi-Fi. With the stony face Young O says no. He tells her the signal was never there. Not even once. He says he’s been fooled this whole time. He says I don’t want to deceive you. Jin Sung asks what’s happened. Young O tells her he’s never changed. He is as he has always been. He tells her it is over. He tells her it’s the end of transmission. He walks away. That’s killing me, the emotionless way he just delivers the news so matter of fact. Jin Sung stares stunned while Young O walks away.

My Thoughts 

Quiet, gentle, mostly positive episode. I like the way that the writer has crafted these last several episodes. The last episode was superb and this episode followed in its footsteps but in a quiet gentle way. The writer focuses the episode around a theme and pushes it from the flashback all the way through the end of the episode which gives the viewer a jacked in feeling as things unfold in the episode. No we don’t know what will happen but the tone is set and the writer delivers a consistent story throughout the episode. The other reason these episodes click is the ensemble cast’s excellent work. I can’t believe how each one of these characters has risen to be more than just support characters to Young O. These characters matter to me. Their pain, I feel. Their joy, I feel. Bravo!

Young O’s MRI yielded no change. I don’t care. Young O shouldn’t care either. Here’s where a smart man stumbles by listening to empirical results versus his new reality. Young O is feeling. And you can’t tell me otherwise. He just has to get out of his own way. And I really don’t have much to say about Min Jae or any kind of glee she made a felt with unchanged test results. She doesn’t have his best interests at heart but she didn’t see malicious this episode like she has in previous episodes.

The regenerative research has taken a back seat to Young O’s evolution. I’m good with this shift. In the original two episodes I really thought the series would focus on the regenerative research being maliciously misrepresented and patients dying left and right from the clinical trials. That hasn’t happened. And that’s not the show that I wanted to watch. I wanted to see the series focus on Young O and that’s where the writer has taken us.

Jang Hyuk’s portrayal of Young O gets me every time. What he can do with his eyes, his body stance, the inflection of his voice, bring his characters to life in subtle yet powerful ways. So many good moments for Young O this episode. I’ll only mentioned two. First his interactions with the nurse were sweet and supportive. He went to bat for her when everyone else step back from her. Their banter about if I want something, I’ll get it, was darling. His quiet support of the nurse when everyone else had stepped away from her was powerful. It cannot be overstated that giving someone dignity is impactful. The actor that plays the nurse (Ha Jae Suk) has a wonderful way of being tough but sweet. Second was Young O’s fear that Jin Sung would reject him. He was like a boxer dodging the expected rejection. But she gave him the answer that he wanted and it surprised him. Irregardless of age, profession, these two have a connection that I enjoy watching. Frankly I love watching them unnerve each other. There’s nothing better than that new phase of a relationship when everything is hyper sensitive. As I said above Young O just needs to get out of his way and have faith that what he believes is happening, his evolution, is happening, no matter what an empirical test like an MRI states.

Park So Dam as Jin Sung surprised Young O when she admitted she cared for him. I love how she was unsure but yet had a sense of determination when it comes to Young O. This guy makes her feel unbalanced. Young O admits himself he doesn’t know what he’s going to do in certain situations. And you can tell that Jin Sung knows that and it makes her uneasy, yet it is exciting. I thought their basketball game together was just darling. Her joy of being a decent basketball player seemed genuine. When he tried to shut her down from telling him what she thought. She had to take the bull by the horns. And she kissed him. No it wasn’t a great kiss. But this wasn’t the time for that. It was a kiss that said shut up, I like you, don’t be afraid.

Yoon Hyun Min as Doctor Hyun Suk was afraid that external funds would alter the focus of the research. With the research being Dr. Hyun’s priority, his humanity certainly has lessened. He wasn’t wrong when he stated that the external funding would change the prioritization of the outcome of the research. You know he’s right about that. But asking Young O’s father to choose research over treating employees correctly, proved yet again that Dr. Hyun has taken a position that is against his own personal ethics. One day he’s going to break down from this.

Heo Jun Ho’s portrayal of Young O’s father, Lee Gun Myung, had another positive moment. When he told the chairman that swapping inexperienced nurses for experienced nurses would actually cost the hospital more money due to medical malpractice, he surprises the chairman and pleased me. Bonus point when he said the chairman’s father was also looking at this report at the same time. Good manipulation. Even the chairman had to admire his moxy. I like the way that when he walked away from that confrontation with the chairman that he remembered Young O telling him that he had the power as director to do what was right. It was good to see this character overtly do something that was right. For so much of the series he has seemed like a monster. It’s good to see that he does have kindness in him. I do wonder what his former colleague hopes to gain now that he is revealed himself to Dr. Lee. Obviously Dr. Lee was not immediately happy to see his former colleague. What mischief will this man cause?

Finally the series has been shortened from 16 episodes to 14 due to poor ratings (see article). It is disheartening when a network won’t even fulfill their obligation to a series that is only 16 episodes long. Of course, it impacts all of us that are enjoying this series. The writing makes me think. The acting makes me feel. The network makes me disappointed.

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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Beautiful Mind Episode 12 Recap ›

Tagged with: 2016, Beautiful Mind, Byutipul Maindeu, Dr. Frankenstein, Drama, ep 11, Episode 11, 뷰티풀 마인드, Jang Hyuk, Korean, Park Se Young, Park So Dam, recap, summary, Yoon Hyun Min
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