Dr Romantic – Season 3 Episode 16 Recap & Review

Dreamers

Episode 16 of Dr Romantic 3 opens with the doctors from Doldam Hospital and Doldam Trauma Centre evacuating patients from the two medical institutions. A-reum is worried about Eun-tak making it out safely when Dong-hwa asks to help her by staying back. A-reum asks Dong-hwa to leave as Doldam Hospital is her responsibility and goes out to look for Eun-tak.

What happened to Kim Sa-bu?

Just then, Eun-tak, who is back at Doldam Hospital learns from Nurse Oh that Teacher Kim is nowhere to be found. Eun-tak claims that Teacher Kim was the first one to leave the operation room from the Trauma Centre while Nurse Oh admits she had no recollection of seeing him. Eun-tak sends out an alert to all the doctors, asking them to look for Teacher Kim.

Dong-ju, Woo-jin, Eun-jae, Min-guk, In-soo and everyone else scurry around the two medical institutions in order to find Teacher Kim so that they can evacuate the hospitals due to the fire. Eun-tak gets a call from A-reum and spots her pacing around the hallway, fearing Eun-tak’s wellbeing during the disaster situation.

At the same time, Nurse Oh finds Teacher Kim in one of the operation rooms and alerts the staff that they can start evacuating, claiming she would bring Teacher Kim out soon. Teacher Kim talks about how he was always holed up at the hospital all the time. Nurse Oh tells Teacher Kim that the hospital as well as the Trauma Centre were his legacy.

She adds that Teacher Kim has a gravitational pull that forces people to be attracted to him and work at the hospital. He is touched by Nurse Oh’s comments as she gives Teacher Kim a candy to increase his blood sugar levels. Just as Nurse Oh and Teacher Kim converse, thunder booms outside Doldam Hospital.

Does Doldam Hospital burn in the forest fire?

The medical staff learn from Ki-tae that it has suddenly started raining which naturally calms the forest fire. The medical staff are relieved when they see the forest fire calming down as it starts pouring. Teacher Kim is shocked to hear that it’s raining, while Dong-hwa enjoys the showers before leaving to go back to his dorm to rest for the night.

Do Eun-tak and A-reum make up?

A-reum finds Eun-tak in the passageway between the Trauma Centre and Doldam Hospital. She tries to make a normal conversation with him about being able to go back home for the night as the forest fire alert allows them to rest for the night.

Eun-tak tells  A-reum that he finally realises how worried she had been when he was trapped in the building. He apologises for not validating her worries and promises to be a better boyfriend. A-reum claims that she actually did not want to break up with him and actually regrets the decision. Eun-tak begs for A-reum to stay with him as the two finally reconcile and make out.

What happens at Doldam after the forest fire has subsided?

At the same time, Dong-ju gets a call from Yoon Seo-jeong they discuss his present responsibilities as the head of the Trauma Centre and the ongoing situation at Doldam. Just then, an injured Assemblywoman Ko drives to the Trauma Centre bringing in two critical case patients. She tells the doctors that when she was on a health check during the forest fires when the aides got injured.

One of the two male patients has a tree branch lodged in his chest which makes things complicated for the patients. Meanwhile, in their room, Dong-hwa wonders what his next move should be considering the fact that his residency tenure was almost coming to an end. Seon-ung tells Dong-hwa that Doldam was a place at which he learned a lot and adds that he was willing to stay back forever.

What does Teacher Kim tell Assemblywoman Ko?

Since there weren’t any patients at the two medical institutions, all doctors got together to work on the two patients. In-soo tells Teacher Kim that they were short on staff and all the main doctors and nurses were the only staff available. Teacher Kim helps In-soo, Eun-tak and Dong-ju treat one patient while Woo-jin and Eun-jae treat that patient that had a branch lodged in his chest.

A-reum asks Assemblywoman Ko to go to the observation area but the politician is overwhelmed due to the scene in front of her. Things are much calmer the morning after the incident as Dong-hwa wakes up and finds himself pacing around Teacher Kim’s cabin. There he finds the playlist Hyun-joo had made for the teacher.

At the Trauma Centre, Assemblywoman Ko wakes up and starts looking for her aides. In-soo tells her that the two patients are still in surgery and adds that the doctors have been working nonstop to save the two patients. Meanwhile, Teacher Kim is winding up the surgery using his skilful hands to administer the stitches.

Dong-ju thanks Teacher Kim for showing him how to stitch so well but Teacher Kim praises Dong-ju instead. Teacher Kim looks at his doctors performing the surgery and recalls how all the different doctors started working for him.

A flashback takes the episode to the night before where Nurse Oh asks if Teacher Kim has any other dreams at present. He tells her that he had some secret plans for what the future of Doldam Hospital should look like. Back to the present day, Teacher Kim leaves the surgery room and runs into Assemblywoman Ko.

She asks Teacher Kim why wasn’t mocking her for rushing to the Trauma centre when she was in need. Teacher Kim claims that her dream of building an eco-city is futile if there are no doctors left to treat the people around it. He claims that there are things much worse than a forest fire that could happen to the country, threatening the lives of patients. He mocks the politician for being inconsiderate about the budget for the medical institution, leaving her embarrassed.

Teacher Kim gets back to Doldam Hospital and chats with Nurse Oh, Ki-tae and Do-il. The veteran staff chat and joke around when Teacher Kim unleashes the jinx by saying how awfully free they are. Just like clockwork, the phone rings with an emergency patient making their way into the hospital.

The staff curses Teacher Kim for taking the jinx so lightly as they all get back to work. Eun-jae rushes to the admin office to look for a delivery for something she has ordered. Min-guk though is stressed as he waits on another delivery item. Nurse Oh asks Min-guk if he’s still worked up about the budget for the Trauma Centre but he claims that he was hopeful for something to come through.

Meanwhile, Eun-jae is excited about the weekend as she opens up her present for Woo-jin’s birthday. Woo-jin though, has a present of his own for Eun-jae.

Who is Jang Hyun-jo?

Seon-ung tells Woo-jin that Dong-hwa has completed his term at Doldam and is leaving the hospital. He asks if Seon-ung will be available for Dong-hwa’s farewell party that weekend. Since Dong-hwa was Woo-jin’s patient, he tells Seon-ung that he will be there. Seon-ung asks Eun-jae if she’s coming to the party since Woo-jin is going to be there. She is initially shocked that Woo-jin’s attending a party that weekend but agrees to make an appearance for Dong-hwa.

Dong-hwa meets Teacher Kim one last time, telling him that he’s going to leave Doldam Hospital. Teacher Kim gives Dong-hwa the scalpel he had first given to Jang Hyun-jo, his older sister and Teacher Kim’s first pupil. Dong-hwa tells Teacher Kim that he became a doctor because of his now-deceased sister. Teacher Kim supports Dong-hwa’s decision and asks him to live a life that he enjoys and do something that he is really passionate about.

Meanwhile, the doctors and nurses talk about the fact that Woo-jin and Eun-jae owe them a housewarming party for moving in together. The couple is shocked that their colleagues were aware of the fact that they had moved in together. A-reum scolds Eun-tak and the rest of the staff for putting the couple on the spot since they were keeping their ‘live-in’ relationship a secret. Woo-jin and Eun-jae argue a bit but eventually decide to throw a farewell party for Dong-hwa, at the same time as their housewarming party.

Does Dong-hwa leave Doldam Hospital?

On the night of the housewarming party, Eun-tak and A-reum are out picking up food for the group when they start having a conversation about the kind of house they would like to live in. A-reum suggests that she needs one with a yard to watch her pets and child grow up in. There is some awkward tension but Eun-tak eventually retorts that he would like to raise a family in a well-built house as well.

The couple arrives at the party. They raise a toast for Dong-hwa but Dong-hwa finally comes to realize what makes him happy. He tells the group that he’s going to extend his tenure at Doldam by 4 more weeks following the advice from his mentors- Woo-jin and Teacher Kim.

The group celebrates the decision while In-soo rushes outside Doldam Hospital to meet his daughter Beol as well as his wife. In-soo thanks his wife for finally visiting over the weekends and holds her tight, finally reconciling their differences for good.

Do Eun-jae and Woo-jin get married?

Later that night, Woo-jin gets his birthday present from Eun-jae and decides to give her a return present. Eun-jae is asleep when Woo-jin gets dressed for work, leaving her with an engagement ring. Eun-jae wakes up shocked and asks what the ring is for. Woo-jin claims it’s meant for her and as a result, the couple kiss.

How does Dr Romantic Season 3 end?

The next morning, Teacher Kim and Min-guk celebrate how they have finally received the budget for the Trauma Centre. The medical health staff members give Min-guk and Dong-ju lectures asking them to never use the resources from the Trauma Centre for non-trauma patients. Dong-ju tells Woo-jin to trust his vision – to make Doldam Trauma Centre the No. 1 medical institute in the city.

He asks Woo-jin to join the Trauma Centre as a permanent staff and Woo-jin finally makes the decision to do so. Assemblywoman Ko meets Teacher Kim one last time, putting an end to their clash now that the Trauma Centre had received its budget. Just then, Teacher Kim gets a call about a 5-car collision with 11 injured patients and rushes to Doldam Hospital where his doctors are waiting, ready for the patients that come their way.

The Trauma Centre is also ready to treat the patients with Woo-jin and Dong-ju taking the lead, with the other doctors doing what they do best. A small epilogue shows Yoon Seo-jeong making her way back into Doldam Hospital as the season comes to an end.

The Episode Review

I wish we could have seen Yoon Seo-jeong’s face but efven beyond that, I am not sure what to make of this ending. It is definitely possible that the show is coming back for another season. Seeing how Teacher Kim saw a vision of Hyun-joo working at Doldam Hospital, this will probably be an emotional moment for fans who have been following this K-drama right from its first season.

I hope that if/when there is a fourth season for the show, the doctors have a much more stable personal life with Dong-ju dating Seo-jeong, Woo-jin and Eun-jae married, A-reum and Eun-tak moving into their house with a yard and pet as well as some romance for the eternally Dr Romantic – Teacher Kim!

While I dearly miss Seo Hye-jin from the finale, this episode brings the season to an amazing end with a hope for another season soon. We’ll have lots more thoughts on this one in our full season review. In the meantime though, let us know your thoughts on the final episode in the comments below!