D-Day: Episode 11

by dramallama

We knew we couldn’t leave Ddol-mi out for too long, and she couldn’t have come at a better time. But Ddol-mi’s return is marked by a dose of reality for our officially established DMAT ensemble. Saving lives, as noble and rewarding as it is, is not an everyday reality. The powers of this unfair world have no mercy, and sometimes determination and skill are simply not enough. Not the most uplifting of episodes, but a necessary one to remind us of the fleeting moments that feel like a lifetime.

 
EPISODE 11 RECAP

As the firefighters dig through the collapsed swimming pool building, the buried father (Director Park’s brother-in-law) calls out to his unconscious son under the rubble. His son is unresponsive, and he calls out desperately for the retreating firefighters to help him. But they can’t hear him underneath the piles of debris and prepare to move onto their next rescue site.

Captain Choi asks Hye-sung to join them to their next rescue site, to which Hye-sung eagerly agrees. The captain orders Woo-sung to help the DMAT team pack their tent, and he asks Hye-sung to excuse Woo-sung’s grumpiness. Hye-sung smiles knowingly.

Just as the team prepares to leave for the next site, Woo-sung runs over with news that their next destination is lacking water. Since they’re right by the swimming pool, they decide to tap in their reserves.

The father continues to call out to his son, pushing him to stay awake. He grabs a pole and starts banging on the ladder, loud enough to catch the attention of the firefighters. While digging through the building wreckage, the firefighters hear the banging and the faint sound of a man crying for help.

They recruit Hye-sung and his team to assess the victims’ injuries. Before dropping into the rubble, Hye-sung looks down to analyze the situation. He sees the father reaching out towards him, and that sparks a flashback to the Han River Mirae Hospital collapse — back to the desperation and guilt of losing lives.

Hye-sung tries to shake off the anxiety and enters the hole. While Hye-sung takes care of the boy, Dae-gil helps the man and ensures him that his son is being taken care of by Hye-sung. But when Dae-gil walks over to Hye-sung, he’s a mess. Shaking and sweating, Hye-sung can’t properly handle any equipment or treatment. He asks Dae-gil to check on the boy’s vitals, which are looking quite grim. Dae-gil looks troubled by Hye-sung’s uncharacteristic discomposure.

Handing off his responsibilities to Dae-gil, Hye-sung walks over to check on the father. The man recognizes him as the doctor from Mirae Hospital, and we see that he was the patient Hye-sung saved from diabetic shock when Dae-gil misdiagnosed him.

The man pleads to Hye-sung to save his son first, but Hye-sung says that he can’t right now due to the high risk of crush syndrome. He tells Dae-gil to treat the patients and exits the hole, hyperventilating.

As soon as he gets out, he updates Captain Choi about the situation and immediately runs toward their medical tent. Everyone seems to notice something off with Hye-sung. He digs through the medical supply bags as Ji-na and Sister look upon him with concern. He’s looking for benzodiazepines to treat his anxiety, but they don’t have any. He resorts to the Ambu bag to self-regulate his breathing.

Sister looks alarmed, telling Ji-na that she’s never seen Brother this way. Ji-na presumes that Hye-sung must have post-traumatic stress disorder.

Hye-sung enters an empty building and crouches down, hiding from the disaster right outside the wall. Sitting back against the concrete, he finally catches his breath. Suddenly, he hears Ddol-mi’s voice, scolding him for his inaction while patients need his help. She kicks him, and when he looks back up, she’s gone. Just a figment of his imagination, but imaginary Ddol-mi’s pep talk mobilizes him to get back to work.

Hye-sung returns to the site, and Dae-gil updates him that the boy has regained consciousness. He’s determined but still physically weak from the panic attack. That’s when a hand reaches out to help him up the rubble — it’s Woo-sung. It’s a small gesture, but it speaks volumes considering his animosity towards hyung.

When Hye-sung checks on the boy, he’s immediately recognized as the fortuneteller doctor. Flashback to before the earthquake. The boy roams around the hospital in his wheelchair, and Hye-sung approaches him, assuming he’s lost. The boy clarifies that he’s looking for the place where he can sign up to be an organ donor, since his eyes will be the only functional organ once his body becomes paralyzed from his muscle atrophy disease. His mother scolded him when he shared this idea, so he’s looking for the place on his own.

Hye-sung tells the boy that his mother was right, saying that you don’t do these things until you’re really dying. Closing his eyes, Hye-sung pretends to predict the boy’s future and concludes that the boy will live a long life. Amused by the fortunetelling doctor, the boy tells Hye-sung that his uncle told him not to trust such doctors.

Back in the rubble, Hye-sung makes the best of the situation with an I-told-you-so moment, since the boy survived even after this big disaster. The boy responds, “But I’m sleepy, this is painful, and this is difficult. Ahjussi, isn’t it about time I die? Don’t tell my dad, it’s a secret…”

Hye-sung’s hands begin to shake as he unconvincingly tells the boy that he’ll live long. The boy notices Hye-sung’s hands and calls him a scaredy-cat. He’s afraid, isn’t he? Trying to comfort Hye-sung, the boy offers to hold his hand, but he can’t move. He asks Hye-sung to take his hand, and once he does, the boy assures him that everything will be alright. Ji-na checks if Hye-sung wants to switch out, but he refuses. He’ll stay.

At the shelter, So-yul attends to a boy who stopped speaking ever since witnessing his father die. The little boy comes over to So-yul and pulls at her gown. He runs outside and points at the picture of Dong-ha. When So-yul asks if he’s seen Dong-ha, the boy nods. Looks like they’ve got a lead!

Once the man is rescued from the swimming pool rubble, Ji-na recognizes him as her uncle and realizes that the boy is her little cousin, Ji-won. While the firefighters carefully lift Ji-won out, another aftershock hits. Captain Choi runs up the pile of concrete to help support Ji-won’s rescue effort, but the shock is too strong. They lose their grip, and the stretcher falls back into the hole.

After the shaking stops, they rush Ji-won to the medical tent. A huge piece of glass sticks out his neck, and Hye-sung begins to panic again. His breathing becomes irregular, and his hands begin to shake. Ji-na looks to him for emergency treatment, but he doesn’t respond. Dae-gil refuses to perform the procedure, so Ji-na takes matters into her own hands. She grabs the scalpel, but a weakened Hye-sung stops her before she can start. This isn’t something Ji-na can do.

Then from behind, we hear Ddol-mi’s accusing voice. Their patient is dying — what are they doing? Ji-na explains that Hye-sung isn’t in the right state to perform surgery, and Ddol-mi mutters that something’s always going wrong when she’s in Seoul. She tells Hye-sung to give her orders as she performs the surgery by proxy. Yes, she’s back!

Step by step, Hye-sung instructs Ddol-mi on finding the carotid artery. She works calmly and efficiently as Hye-sung encourages her with each step.

So-yul bursts into Chief Kang’s office with news about Dong-ha. He’s been spotted at a nearby hospital and most likely has been transferring hospitals as they’ve been closing. She runs out to search with this lead.

The team separates into two ambulances: Ddol-mi and Hye-sung with Ji-won, and the rest with his father. Ji-na tries to assure her uncle that Hye-sung is a trustworthy doctor, but Dae-gil obliviously inserts his comments about Hye-sung’s PTSD, like that’ll surely calm down the patient.

Meanwhile in the other ambulance, Hye-sung finally gets a chance to ask how Ddol-mi returned. She’s crazy for coming back to Seoul when everyone’s trying to escape. She explains that she took a flight back with the shipment of disaster supplies — after she’d showered, of course. She claims that she’s completely sane and came back because she wanted to live like a doctor. Hye-sung calls her crazy but doesn’t seem to upset about her return.

Noticing Hye-sung’s unstable condition, Ddol-mi tells Hye-sung to seek treatment. She reaches her hand out to make him promise that he’ll meet with So-yul when they return to the hospital.

Ji-won regains consciousness, and this time, he asks Hye-sung to hold his hand. He’s scared, and he wants to live. Hye-sung promises to save him and holds Ji-won’s hand tight.

Once they arrive at the hospital, Ji-won’s father tells his son that they can live now. The doctors at the hospital will save his life. But Hye-sung takes one look at Mirae Hospital and steps back, remembering the threats to transfer his mother. He admits that he cannot perform surgery in Mirae hospital because he was fired, and the firefighters follow-up with another rejection from the hospital.

But Ji-won’s father — the real owner of this hospital — takes the radio and orders Director Park to permit the surgery. If Hye-sung has been fired, he’ll reinstate him. With that, they prepare the surgery room and wheel Ji-won inside for the surgery.

Ji-won regrets that he’ll die without seeing the world or the ocean. He apologizes to his father for being born with a disease and asks Hye-sung to save his eyes for donation. Chocking up, Hye-sung tells Ji-won to cut the nonsense — he’ll come out alive. Before they enter the OR, Ji-won’s mother rushes to his side and asks Hye-sung to save her son. Even Director Park is pro-surgery on this one. Ji-won needs to live.

In the OR, Myung-hyun and his colleague discuss how risky this surgery is. They’re afraid to get on Director Park’s bad side, and with Hye-sung leading this surgery, they’re even more reluctant. So when Hye-sung enters, Myung-hyun makes the excuse that he’s been having uncontrollable diarrhea and runs out, quickly followed by his colleague. Cowards.

Now 64 hours after the earthquake, So-yul asks Ddol-mi how she ended up in Seoul again. Ddol-mi shrugs that for some reason, she enjoyed the struggle. Their conversation is cut short by Hye-sung, who sprints into the ER to recruit Ddol-mi and Dae-gil for the surgery and to order Sister to call a cardiothoracic surgeon. They don’t ask too many questions and run back to do their job.

On the way to the OR, they pass Woo-jin, who scolds Hye-sung for coming back to the hospital. If Director Park finds out, his mother is out for good. But Hye-sung justifies his presence, explaining that a higher power than Director Park allowed him to stay. With that, he rushes back into surgery.

Woo-jin wheels a patient into the ER and asks Ji-na about Hye-sung’s surgery. She doesn’t know much, and she’s interrupted by Sister who anxiously asks what to do. All the cardiothoracic surgeons are busy. The wheels turn in Woo-jin’s head, and he asks Ji-na to take care of his patient before he takes off.

Back in the OR, Sister updates Hye-sung: no cardiothoracic surgeon available. Hye-sung prepares to start the surgery with an alternative plan, but as usual, he’s stopped by Woo-jin. They argue about how much this patient can handle, and the nurse hesitates to give him the scalpel. Their tension is cut by Ji-na, who enters the OR and suggests to the nurse that they switch. Whoever isn’t involved in his surgery should leave. Woo-jin asks why Ji-na’s stepping in, and she states very clearly that she’s on Hye-sung’s team.

Woo-jin watches the surgery commence from outside the OR, and he walks out to the lobby where Ji-won’s patients desperately ask about their son’s prospect of survival. He answers vaguely to await the results, which prompts the question of whether it’s actually hard to say or whether it’s a suggestion to give up hope. Woo-jin looks down and clarifies it as the latter.

Woo-jin warns Ji-won’s parents to prepare for the worst, but his father keeps his hopes up. Hye-sung will save his son. Director Park tries to dissuade his hopes, but he believes in Hye-sung’s ability and promise.

In the surgery, Hye-sung struggles to treat Ji-won without a cardiothoracic surgeon. It seems that the delayed treatment on Ji-won’s chest has resulted in the accumulation of blood around his heart, a cardiac tamponade. They have to target his chest.

Outside the hospital, Captain Choi is summoned on the radio. Apparently his wife is at the station, and he seems dubious until he hears her cry over the radio about their daughter. Uh-oh.

Back in the surgery, Ji-won’s blood pressure continues to drop, with still no cardiothoracic surgeon available. Hye-sung looks at Ddol-mi and tells her they have to open Jiwon’s chest. Ddol-mi protests, along with the rest of the team, but there’s no other way for Ji-won to live. Ji-na tells Hye-sung that he’s done enough for her little cousin, but he insists that they do all they can.

Hye-sung puts out his hand demanding the scalpel, and Ji-na hesitates. Time almost seems to stop as she decides how to proceed. Then she puts the scalpel in Hye-sung’s hand, and the surgery continues.

Hye-sung opens Ji-won’s chest, but a sudden cardiac malfunction causes Hye-sung to resort to desperate measures. He performs a cardiac massage and assigns Ddol-mi to find the bleeding site. But after a moment, the line goes flat, and the operation room rings with the sound of no heartbeat. Ddol-mi takes her hands off, and Hye-sung eventually releases his grip, breaking down at the realization of Ji-won’s death.

A frazzled Chief Kang runs into another hospital and asks for Dong-ha. The nurse leads her to the bed, and she slowly approaches the young boy. It is indeed Dong-ha with a bandage on his head, and Chief Kang urges her son to open his eyes.

Our team cleans up the surgery while Hye-sung sits hunched over in defeat. Ji-na drops surgery tools, and we can tell that she’s grieving. Ddol-mi and Dae-gil cover Ji-won and wheel him out of the OR with Ji-na. Hye-sung lingers in the OR for a bit longer, alone in his misery.

When they bring Ji-won out, Director Park demands to know what happened. Ddol-mi briefs him on the procedure, and he immediately blames Hye-sung for his rash behavior, making baseless assumptions about kicking out the assigned doctors and bringing in his own team. Ji-na corrects him, but it’s no use.

Hye-sung appears, and Ji-won’s mother hits him for giving them false hope. She regrets not spending his last moments together and blames Hye-sung for taking their son’s life. Hye-sung has no response to her hysterical anger and sadness. He drops his head, accepting whatever he’s accused of.

Captain Choi rushes into the hospital and finds his wife. Crying, she hits him and resentfully asks if he’s qualified to be a father. He’s clearly shaken, and he enters the ER looking around for his daughter. His wife leads him to the bed, and he finds his daughter attached to a ventilator. Then he looks at her legs to find her left leg amputated at the knee. Shocked, he falls to the ground as his wife continues to cry by their daughter’s side.

 
COMMENTS

What a rough day. It seems like the whole world was against our team today, as the worst possible realities came crashing in. My heart just dropped in that last scene. With the track record of his episode, I was expecting the absolute worst, but I can’t say that I was relieved to see a horribly injured daughter. After working so hard to save lives, it seems like the world betrayed Captain Choi’s trust that the good would come back around to his family. Is this how karma works? I know I was slightly annoyed with how convenient and safe everyone was after this disastrous earthquake, but boy, I was not ready for this sense of betrayal. You get me believing that everything will work out, and then you give me a plot twist. Way to start the second half of the series.

I did find some solace in Chief Kang finding her lost son. It was the one hopeful element of this episode, a small piece of evidence that sometimes, karma works. Tracking down Dong-ha did seem fairly simple, especially through the connections that So-yul made with the people. The civilians, the real victims of this earthquake, know more about this earthquake than the higher ups making the calls. They’re the ones suffering, but they’re also the ones with the connections. Of course, we don’t know if Ja-hyuk was actually making any moves to find Dong-ha, but I doubt that he would have been the one to find him either way. Ja-hyuk doesn’t have connections with the people; rather he has connections with powers. And powers don’t find people; people do.

I am completely heartbroken over Ji-won’s death. Such a beautiful soul taken way too early, and I’m sure Hye-sung won’t be recovering from that loss anytime soon. I’m impressed at how this show makes transient moments so meaningful. We’ve only known Ji-won for this one episode, but I felt such a big loss when he died. Through Hye-sung, the show has created a more humanistic perspective of medical treatment, an ideal to strive for especially in the face of disaster. And when that hopeful ideal gets beaten by reality, the loss seems even larger.

Frankly, I find Hye-sung’s approach and rationale too naïve, but I can’t complain when he’s the one actually saving lives. It’s my source of inspiration and frustration, and I’m sure his team feels the same. I wonder if his PTSD will become a larger obstacle in his practice, if this obstacle will change how he can treat patients outside the hospital. It’ll be an interesting facet of this disaster’s impact to illuminate, and while I don’t wish any harm, I’m a fan of humanizing our superhero doctor. The higher you aim, the harder you fall, and you’ll need the support of your team to help you get back on your feet. Thankfully our team’s back together and coming together as a separate entity, hopefully more detached from the hospital politics and growing more attached to each other.

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