Netflix’s latest medical drama, Doctor Cha, just premiered its second episode! Directed by Kim Dae-Jin and Kim Jung-Wook, Doctor Cha takes us on a wild ride to Cha Jung-Sook’s life journey. Premiering on weekends, Doctor Cha is a humour-filled K-drama that is as compelling as they come. It follows a simple, selfless housewife, Jung-Sook, who has been living in a love-less marriage for over 10 years. To her, every day is the same with her mother-in-law dominating her and her husband treating Jung-Sook as if she is a servant.
In the last episode, we witnessed how broken Jung-Sook and In-Ho’s marriage was. Moreover, we saw how Jung-Sook was on the verge of being buried in a casket. In Doctor Cha Episode 2, however, things have changed dramatically. This episode is a whirlwind with Jung-Sook’s transformation being the highlight here. In this Doctor Cha Episode 2 recap and ending explained, let me introduce you to Jung-Sook’s refined personality!
Doctor Cha Episode 2: Jung-Sook’s New Persona Is Commendable
The episode commences with Jung-Sook feeling bitter towards her husband, Seo In-Ho, and curses him in front of several doctors. However, she falls unconscious then and In-Ho chalks her absurd behaviour to the aftermath of morphine and other medicines. When Jung-Sook wakes up at her place, she is the same person as we saw in Doctor Cha episode 1. She is cooking for her family who keeps demanding detox juices and croissants as if Jung-Sook did not go through a liver transplant but a fever.
Upon witnessing her family’s behaviour towards her, Jung-Sook suddenly realizes how empty her life has been. She starts to mull over the past and how she has surrounded herself with people who hardly care about her. This prophecy leads to the reformation of Jung-Sook. When her mother-in-law, Ae-Sim, sends Jung-Sook to pick up a lavish handbag for her, something inside her shifts. She realizes how Jung-Sook has never spent a cent on herself and always used the clothes and accessories her mother-in-law gave her.
Jung-Sook doesn’t even have a credit card to her name, nothing but a phone and a so-called family. As Jung-Sook goes to pick up the handbag, she starts to shop for herself, too. On her shopping spree, Jung-Sook buys everything she could from a new outfit to a handbag–the same one Ae-Sim has brought for herself. Though In-Ho chalks Jung-Sook’s weird behaviour as an aftermath of her surgery, he cannot help but feel uneasy.
MORE: Doctor Cha Episode 1 Recap And Ending Explained: Jung-Sook Stands At The Threshold Of Death!
Returning To Jung-Sook And In-Ho’s Past
The now-transformed Jung-Sook goes on to have brunch with her best friend, Mi-Hee, leaving her family to fend for themselves for the first time in her life. She starts to ponder over her past and Mi-Hee uses this opportunity to ask Jung-Sook about the reason she married In-Ho. As the duo starts to feel nostalgic, the screenplay shifts to Jung-Sook’s past when she was on a trip with her classmates. Jung-Sook tripped and hit her ankles. In-Ho stepped up and helped Jung-Sook back to her place where the duo felt a charismatic energy bubbling in the room.
Though In-Ho was in a relationship with Seung-Hee at the time, he gave in to the attraction and later married Jung-Sook because of the unexpected pregnancy. It was a marriage of convenience but now it is a forced relationship for both of them. It is evident in the way In-Ho and Jung-Sook reside in two different rooms and the manner in which In-Ho belittles her at every chance she gets.
Doctor Cha Episode 2 Ending: Does Jung-Sook Pass The Residency Exam?
When Jung-Sook demands a share in the house by visiting In-Ho at the hospital he works, Jung-Sook’s bubbling energy feels contagious. But then, as always, In-Ho puts a dent in her mood. As she starts to walk out of the hospital, Jung-Sook witnesses her son, Jung-Min, being treated harshly by his senior. Also, she comes across Doctor Roy Kim, the surgeon who performed her surgery, who suddenly asks for Jung-Sook’s number. Though Kim backs up his statement by using Jung-Sook’s photos as an excuse, the slight blush on his cheeks betrays his cool persona. The two start to converse casually when Kim asks Jung-Sook whether she is planning to rejoin a hospital.
Jung-Sook initially laughs at him, but she starts to mull over his words with Deok-Rye’s statement looming over her head. Deok-Rye, Jung-Sook’s mother, has asked Jung-Sook to pursue her happiness. When Jung-Sook questioned Deok-Rye about the happiness she is talking about, Deok-Rye tells Jung-Sook that she should start studying once again. While everyone else believes her, Jung-Sook’s husband mocks her when she decides to pursue her medical career back.
In-Ho challenges Jung-Sook to try and clear the residency exam and goes on to have lunch with Seung-Hee. Meanwhile, Jung-Sook does her best and scores 49 on 50 on the exam. But, when she applies for an internship, Jung-Sook has to go through a lot of rejections. However, at the end of Doctor Cha Episode 2, Jung-Sook has been accepted to the hospital where In-Ho and Seung-Hee work. The series leaves us on this cliffhanger and leaves the anticipation running high!