A Stalker's Guide to Shin Ha Kyun
Good Doctor is the story of Park Shi On, an autistic man whose condition also entails the extraordinary (but poorly understood) savant syndrome. This allows him incredible spatial cognition and memory, but his overall development and social capabilities are painfully narrow. We meet him just as he’s entering special residency as a pediatric surgeon at Sung Won University Hospital, where conflict waits in the wings.
This episode opens the series with higher ratings than its predecessor’s own initiation, at 10.9%. With the second installment climbing up around three more percent, it looks like Good Doctor is catching fire.
Episode 1
Recap
Riiiing! An alarm clock sounds, tucked between a rabbit figurine and the childhood photograph of two young boys. It’s morning for Park Shi On.
He forsakes his bed, washes his hair, dresses. Sporting a messy suit and tie, he exits the house and locks the front door. I wonder where he’s heading with both a bag and wheeled suitcase though?
His destination remains unclear as he first travels down a street of empty storefronts then between railroad tracks at what appears to be an abandoned mining facility.
Here, Shi On suddenly stops. His memory is sparked and breathes life back into the place. Workers materialize and pass him by; the tracks creak and rush again with the promise of an oncoming train. Adjacent these, a group of children crowd the smaller boy depicted in that photo from Shi On’s room.
One of these kids is kicking him mercilessly. Bruised and bloodied, the boy lies almost motionless on the ground. He is alert yet strangely disconnected from the beating. Instead he stares intently into a nearby wooden cage – from which a young white rabbit peers back.
When the camera turns to Shi On, his distant expression makes it clear he was this poor battered child.
The flashback continues and fortunately the other boy from the photograph appears to ward off the bullies. This is Shi On’s brother, who clearly takes great interest in caring for his younger sibling. Big Brother takes him to a hillside to tend to his cuts and bruises. It’s clear (though he means well) he can’t entirely grasp Shi On’s condition as he urges the boy to continue to try fitting in with other kids.
That night at home, their father shows his own lack of understanding more violently. He chases the boys’ mother into the street as she shields the unresponsive Shi On. Apparently she had taken him for diagnosis and possible treatment; in father’s eyes though, it would be better to just lock this son up and forget about him.
Big Brother soon appears with a broom and hits his father repeatedly to stop the rampage. He is overpowered and instead moves to shield the rest of his family from blows.
When even this much can’t quell father’s rage, he slams the nearby rabbit cage onto the pavement. As during his previous beating, Shi On looks to his pet for comfort. The little guy didn’t survive the impact though, sadly.
The morning brings Shi On and his bunny to the local doctor, who examines it despite the obvious. He gently explains the rabbit’s death. This prompts Shi On to ask whether it went to heaven and if doctors can keep things from needing to go there. The doctor affirms…and Shi On begins dreaming of becoming a doctor himself.
He makes a mound for his poor bunny on the hillside where Big Brother tended his wounds. The wind rustles through the nearby trees and Shi On closes his eyes at the sensation.
Sometime later, Shi On is confronted by Big Brother when playing alone. He scolds him for that and for continuing to lug around the now empty cage. To put a stop to all of this, Big Brother drags Shi On to the other boys.
Why he’d want anything to do with all of these bullies is beyond me. Their leader agrees to let Shi On join their clique – but only if the brothers have the guts to bring something out from one of the abandoned mine shafts. As little boys will, Big Brother accepts with bravado and leads Shi On right in.
Unmaintained for so long, the mine collapses suddenly just as the two turn a corner.
Rescue workers find the boys much later that evening. The first one to come upon them is that kind doctor from the earlier rabbit scene. He calls his discovery out to the surface just as another cave-in shuts him in as well.
Despite being initially stunned, the doctor starts to tend the wounded boys. Wearing his rescuer’s oxygen mask, Shi On regains consciousness in time to see him give up the attempt to resuscitate Big Brother.
Time skips ahead slightly again. Child Shi On stands again on the hillside, twirling a green toy scalpel.
As he waits for the train in the present, Adult Shi On does the same.
During the ride, a mother and son catch his attention as they eat eggs. He tries not to stare but eventually the boy approaches Shi On with one still in its shell. He teaches him how to open it against the forehead and when Shi On tries it for himself, he ends up with no egg and a headache. He clutches the afflicted area as the boy laughs and laughs.
Meanwhile and elsewhere, the beautiful Doctor Cha Yoon Seo relates a ghost story to some denizens of the children’s ward. She gets a good scare out of them with the help of a male nurse, but they’re disappointed with the cheesy moral lesson: “Take your medicine!”
Kim Do Han, a dapper man in black, brings a bouquet to a certain memorial. Two strikingly similar photographs of a boy accompany the urn beneath it. He examines these angrily for a moment, loosens his tie, and then stalks off.
We leap again and drop in on a disagreement about hospital resources. The president of the board and an administrator, Yoon Chae Kyung, seem to disagree even from a moral standpoint. President Lee insists patient and employee well being is cardinal, while Chae Kyung cares more about the hospital itself. Because institutions are more important than people, right?
Shi On strides through the din at the platform, verbally gushing out his route in detail – from specific distance to bus fare. A 3-D television on display stops him in wonder; he quickly joins the crowd viewing it, glasses and all. The experience is mesmerizing to Shi On. He grasps at the images before him in wonder.
Choi Woo Suk (the local doctor, remember?) pensively stares out from the window of his current office. The sights outside suggest he’s moved on from his practice in the country. His desk also reveals a long history with Shi On, including a graduation photo and one together.
We enter Doctor Choi’s memories as he recalls treating Shi On’s father. He later returned to his office and found the boy reading aloud from an open medical text. Shi On returned time and again from that point, going through heaps more.
As Shi On stands transfixed by his 3-D experience at the station, a newly installed billboard crashes to the ground. Its glass casing shatters sickeningly.
Hyun Woo, the egg boy from the train, has the misfortune to be standing beneath it as it falls. The Impact knocks him unconscious and shards lodge in his neck and torso. Mother finally realizes they’ve been separated and, seeing what has happened, begins to shriek for help.
[Note: In this section, Shi On’s amazing ability is displayed; his every action is accompanied by perfectly remembered medical text and mental narration from it. He uses what he’s read and applies it with almost miraculous skill. Unfortunately it would be difficult to continually address this, so please keep it in mind.]
A doctor emerges to provide it once he and the workers remove Hyun Woo from the wreckage. He begins to apply pressure to the neck wound, assuring mother things will be fine if they stop the bleeding.
Shi On, still sporting the 3-D specs, parts the crowd and negates those words. A child is different from an adult and so the pressure must be adjusted as such. Once this has been done, he checks that Hyun Woo is breathing and gives interim orders to the doctor.
Back on the scene, he sterilizes his tools and makes an incision in Hyun Woo’s torso. He then inserts the pen casing into the lung, temporarily reopening it.
The paramedics arrive just as the process shows visible results. They also brought real equipment, yay! Shi On can now intubate the child with a specially made pediatric set.
He’s prompted to continue treatment en route to the hospital, but there’s no time. Because the child is in shock he’ll need an IV straight away. Unfortunately, due to his current state they’ll need a special needle – one they haven’t got on hand.
Shi On decides to utilize a procedure known as the IJ cut down – in which he incises the jugular vein in order to apply the injection directly.
Completing the procedure and apparently saving him, Shi On promises Hyun Woo directly that he’ll be all right now. The crowd goes wild for our new hero at these words.
He doesn’t react other than to ask the paramedics to hurry the boy to hospital and tries to part from the scene. Mother rushes after him to beg his presence in the ambulance though, and it seems he can’t refuse.
We see him next riding along despite the fact he’s being expected elsewhere. Luckily for him, his destination is Sung Won University Hospital and that’s where we’re headed.
The paramedic asks whether he’s employed there as a doctor. As if unsure of how to answer, Shi On responds with a reticent “yes.”
Apparently that question is more complicated than it sounds. We cut to Doctor Choi who is, at that very moment, trying to sell Shi On as a possible resident to the senior doctors and administrative staff.
An exposition scene follows. Doctor Choi explains savant syndrome and how, at a young age, Shi On could already memorize and grasp the workings of the human body. That graduation photo on his desk appears to be from when Shi On graduated university, having finished the medical course with fantastic grades. He’s also passed the national exam and completed an internship… so his qualifications are apparently pretty great.
Shi On realizes he left his bags at the station just as an issue arises with Hyun Woo. Our hero takes a direct listen of the chest cavity and seems to hear something Very Not Good.
As he rushes along with the emergency staff wheeling the boy in, our hero asks them to check his heart with an echocardiogram. The doctor on call is dismissive since the monitor doesn’t show a problem. Shi On insists, but is forbidden from following (or helping) further.
In another section of the hospital, Yoon Seo interacts with a frightened little girl about to undergo surgery. She promises her visit with a certain doctor (psychiatrist) on the following day will “make her brave.” They subsequently learn, however, that Doctor Kim Do Han cancelled the whole shebang and has moved her surgery to that time instead.
Yoon Seo automatically stomps off to confront him. Since he’s in charge of the residents, the throw down happens in their work/break room.
Do Han appears cool and collected, stating the girl needs surgery right away in order to guarantee her health. In response, Yoon Seo displays her anger and starts yelling about how the girl should have psychological treatment first.
When the residents give each other knowing looks and start sneaking out, it becomes clear this happens all the time. They escape just as their irritated boss takes Yoon Seo off the case – and tells her to become a kindergarten teacher instead if her only function as a doctor is to care about patients’ feelings. He won’t let a patient die because of something like that.
These harsh words end the conflict, though it would have been over anyway. Do Han is called to operate on the newly arrived Hyun Woo.
In the operating room, Do Han explains the procedure to his accompanying residents. He seems to go over every detail but has nothing to say about the heart. Before they can begin surgery we hear Shi On outside, fighting to be heard.
Our hero is unfortunately prevented from being heard when they can’t identify who he might be. Do Han orders him taken away and the guards prevent Shi On from conveying the need for an echocardiogram by covering his mouth. Who does that?
The surgery starts. Ironically, Do Han understands and praises the good work of the man he just kicked out of his operating room.
Meanwhile, the board still deliberates on whether to accept Shi On. We learn a law exists which prevents people with his degree of autism from even applying for the national test. The record further states he never passed. Apparently Shi On was declared high functioning at 17 and absolutely destroyed the exam. His subsequent failure only occurred once the past severity of his condition came to light.
All of this can be undone if a reputable hospital can vouch for him. What Doctor Choi suggests is allowing Shi On his one year residency in order to do so. Unfortunately when the board learns Shi On has underdeveloped social skills, they stop listening. Most of them remain doubtful, though more vocal members are downright insulting.
Nevertheless, cooler heads are willing to withhold judgment until they meet him. Things aren’t looking good though: Shi On is 30 minutes late, preoccupied with Hyun Woo, and doesn’t even have his cellphone. When Doctor Choi tries calling, it rings ineffectively in his bag at the train station.
They refuse to wait for long. Shi On is denied by an overwhelming majority.
Do Han runs into trouble during surgery and quickly recognizes it as a heart problem. When he asks for the results of the echocardiogram, he learns they never bothered to do one. Shi On basically told them everything they needed to do, which Do Han realizes and finally puts to good use.
Our hero panics outside the operating room. He imagines performing the surgery himself as a calming exercise, and it turns out it’s the same procedure being performed by Do Han. We see the entire sequence split between the two surgeons and the visual effect is fascinating.
The operation ultimately succeeds. Shi On leaves, finally released from his worries enough to head to his appointment. He thanks Hyun Woo out loud. Meanwhile, Do Han confers with the grateful mother and is told the person who performed the amazing first aid claimed to work at the hospital.
Doctor Choi lashes out at Shi On for being late, but quickly gentles. Shi On explains he stopped to help a hurt child at the train station. This fact is glossed over as the doctor tries to find the right words to explain his rejection by the board.
The residents munch on sandwiches as they chat about their coming newbie. They’re more concerned about going home to sleep than to meet him. In his office, Do Han fiddles with a pentagonal Rubix-style puzzle. Shi On weighs heavily on his mind.
Meanwhile, Doctor Choi attempts to find a way to cheer our hero. When he tries food, Shi On sullenly rejects the offer despite a growling stomach. The doctor wins in the end by teasing him with galbi stew. Nobody can resist that.
The board members go out for their own meal. However on the way through the lobby, they’re stopped by querying reporters. These want to interview the heroic doctor from the train station surgery.
News apparently travels fast: Doctor Choi sees the story on television at the restaurant. He’s shocked mute, realizing from cell phone camera footage on the news THIS was the accident Shi On mentioned. Our hero is blissfully unaware, downing galbi like it’s nobody’s business.
With this new development, the board rejoins to discuss the matter of Shi On once more. The president openly pushes for his acceptance, citing both his tremendous skills and the now-viral video depicting them. Resistance remains despite several others coming around.
Doctor Choi offers his career as collateral for even half the time originally requested. If anything should run amiss during a six month trial residency, he promises to resign as hospital director. He also goes on to say that though each condition differs, Shi On can give hope to others like him.
Our hero enters and bows meekly. When the president of the board asks him his reason for becoming a doctor, he offers the sweetest response. “The day the tree smelled like ice cream, my bunny went to heaven before my eyes. The day the mine smelled like rusted metal, my brother went to heaven before my eyes. Neither could become adults. I wanted to let them become adults — to love the children they’d eventually have.”
Oh, and he’d also like to earn a bunch of money to buy the kids at his old clinic a 3-D TV. We need to laugh a little after the tears that just flooded out after all. President Lee then invites him on formally as Doctor Park Shi On, a resident of their hospital.
After the meeting dissolves, the president approaches Doctor Choi separately. We learn from her warning that some votes came from forces seeking to remove him from his position. This matters little to the Choi, since it’s only a position; they can’t stop him from helping people as a doctor.
I wonder if these creepy jerks watching Shi On being interviewed are part of the enemy. Blatantly plotting away where anyone can hear them. Couldn’t be, right?
The residents are introduced to their unique new teammate, which interrupts Do Han’s quest to complete his crazy puzzle. They’re stunned to see Doctor Choi drop off the seeming maniac that appeared during yesterday’s surgery.
Shi On is prompted for an introduction and motors through all of the relevant information. When he also explains which characters up his name, one of the senior enemy doctors screeches that he should act like an adult.
Shi On gets the last laugh, sassing in the way only he can: “Coffee. Coffee! If you collect energy from the shouts of a person for eight years, you can brew exactly one cup of coffee.” He learns the doctor’s name and adds: “With Doctor Ko’s decibel levels, you could shorten that time.”
Doctor Ko blusters as the residents try to stifle their laughter. Shi On pouts about, but it’s Do Han’s clear irritation which leads to more. He goes directly to Doctor Choi with concerns about his new charge.
The savant syndrome bit doesn’t bother him; the problem is the poorly developed social skills Shi On possesses. How can someone like him effectively interact with patients and their families? Do Han refuses any part in the Shi On situation.
Doctor Choi asks him to relent, appealing to their bond as student and teacher. He explains that while he considers every student his precious child, Shi On means a bit more. Though Do Han asks to be heard in this matter as one of Doctor Choi’s “children,” he eventually softens.
Do Han calls Shi On to his office for some tough questioning. He drills him on what a surgeon is and what being one means. Despite being given clear, textbook answers, Do Han explains Shi On’s homework for the next six months isn’t to strengthen his “why” for being a surgeon. He wants him to answer why he cannot be one.
Do Han loses patience once he notices Shi On paying attention to the unsolved puzzle on his desk. He offers a sharp warning not to make mistakes or excuses while under his care. Just before he sends our hero home, Do Han finally has it explained to him just how he knew about the issue with Hyun Woo’s heart.
After a resident calls him out for a case, Do Han notices Shi On still hovering around his office. He demands to know why and intimidates him out…but when Do Han finally sits down, he discovers his difficult puzzle completely solved. I can’t tell if he’s more impressed or irritated by it, honestly.
Yoon Seo resurfaces at a hospital theme bar where she complains to the bartender about Do Han. In a funny turn, her “uncle” here is totally on Do Han’s side. He must hear about this all the time.
Speak of the devil, Do Han suddenly calls to cheer her up.
Psych! He wants her to reflect on this afternoon’s wrongs and head in early. She has a surgery in the morning after all. He then hangs up, leaving her in a tizzy.
Do Han goes home himself and finds administrator Chae Kyung coming from the shower. They have a conversation about the board meeting and Shi On. At least it’s clear Do Han cares about Doctor Choi — he’s genuinely unhappy about the bargain that bought Shi On’s residency.
Shi On arrives at his new dorm where he holds a solitary birthday party for himself. He examines his green scalpel after lighting the candle on his birthday cake: a makeshift mountain of chocolate snacks. We’re pulled into the memory of a birthday past, in which Big Brother created a similar cake for him.
We also see the origin of the green scalpel. It was part of a doctor’s playset he gave Shi On as a birthday present. With this great gift, Big Brother offers his loving encouragement and tells Shi On to become the best doctor despite what others might say.
In the present, our hero blows out his candle and starts to eat.
Suddenly an inebriated Yoon Seo stumbles right in. How did she get the door code? They’re not roommates…are they!?
She strips down to a comfortable level and basically throws herself into bed. When Shi On finally gets the courage to address her, she acts like he’s Do Han and tells him to shut up.
It’s morning. We see the outside of the dormitories as a scream pierces the otherwise peaceful day. Yoon Seo stares in terror at our half naked hero as he nonchalantly brushes his teeth.
