The Trauma Code – K-drama Episode 4 Recap & Review

Closer Than You Think

Episode 4 of The Trauma Code begins with Kang-hyuk urged to attend the upcoming Budget Meeting. The Hospital Director is going to be there and Jae-won is very quick to point out that he can’t be blowing this off right now. He’s the Head of Trauma Surgery after all so his attendance – as we found out in episode 3 – is mandatory.

While Kang-hyuk is a whizz when it comes to patients, he’s less enamoured when it comes to the bureaucracy of it all. Yu-rim is leading the charge alongside Jae-hun and they intend to bury Kang-hyuk alive in this formal setting. Jae-won warns that they could well have their budget cut further and he won’t be able to get a word in. He’s also reminded that this is a war-zone in its own right and he needs to be careful

In fact, within this setting, the group all share round of applauses when they announce that the hospital has made record profits this year. Furthermore, the Funeral Hall continues to be a big money maker for the hospital.

By contrast, those departments that have lost the hospital money are reprimanded, especially Kang-hyuk for going way into the red. However, he bites back and brings up the ten billion won investment that the trauma center received, putting them back in the black. However, Jae-hun mentions that this has been distributed to the whole department.

Kang-hyun is told to reduce spending immediately but he laughs in the face of the Board Director and the Hospital Director, bringing up the absurdity of levelling all of this on their department when the funding has been distributed around. However, it’s like talking to a brick wall.

Down in Trauma, Jae-won is called to a traffic accident that’s been called in as a big emergency. Unfortunately, it’s someone that Jae-won knows quite well – Ji-yeong. She’s not only a bright-eyed student but also, as we find out later on, Yu-rim’s daughter. It’s all-hands-on deck and given how serious this is, Jae-won wants Kang-hyuk down with him. Yu-rim also charges down when he finds out.

Yu-rim pleads with Kang-hyuk to save her life and while he’s frantic outside, Jang-mi is forced to calm him down while Jae-won and Kang-hyuk try to work their magic in the ER. Thankfully, Ji-yeong survives but Kang-hyuk can clearly see that his protégé is nervous. However, he agrees to work through this, while Ji-yeong is rushed to surgery.

Despite time being of the essence, Yu-rim wants to wait for cardiology to arrive before they go any further. However, given he’s so frantic, Kang-hyun and Jae-won overrule him and start surgery. It’s incredibly unprofessional though, especially as Yu-rim heads inside the surgery room and starts ranting and raving.

There’s a lot of blood but thankfully the gang remain fixed on the job at hand while Yu-rim passes out at the sight of blood. As we soon learn, Ji-yeong actually has a heart rupture. Kang-hyuk buys them a bit of time by stitching with a surgical glove, but that only gives them 10 minutes of reinforcement. However, that 10 minutes is invaluable as it gives enough time for Kang-hyuk to do his job and finish up the surgery.

Seeing all of this in action gives Yu-rim a newfound sense of just how traumatic and serious this can be and how important their department funding is. After all, serious trauma can happen to anyone.

Yu-rim agrees to put in a good word but there are also rumours floating around that Kang-hyuk is a killer, given he was part of some sort of group called the Black Wings. The details around this are still unknown but the general consensus is that he’s killed patients as well as saving them. “What you don’t know… can’t hurt you.” Kang-hyuk says, and walks away, leaving Yu-rim shocked. Whether he’s messing with him or not, remains to be seen.

Working at the Trauma Unit is obviously a stressful role but there is some good news. It turns out Organ Donation falls under the jurisdiction of the Minister, and she’s agreed to foot the entire bill for this in exchange for Kang-hyuk making a TV appearance and doing some PR work.

Unfortunately, that immediately backfires when all the reporters start chattering noisily outside and Kang-hyuk gets a new call come in. He tells all the reporters to shut up and heads out for another case, cutting short his PR time. This is another call for the helicopter to come in, and as Jae-won joins his mentor, he realizes that the tattoo on Kang-hyuk’s arm seems to refer to these Black Wings. What is his connection here, I wonder?


The Episode Review

So The Trauma Code continues to deliver enticing drama, this time seeing the absurdity of these board meetings. Cheering loudly and applauding the funeral hall making a ton of profit is pretty dark, even for a doctor. Sure, the budgets are important but given the hospital is making record profits, you’d think that some of that wealth could be redirected to the trauma unit right? After all, saving more lives is better PR for the hospital, but there we go.

However, this does work to show how important their roles are, especially as Yu-rim gets a big slice of humble pie when his own daughter is rushed into surgery and he’s forced to make a tough decision and sit by to let them work. The fact that he’d think Kang-hyuk would intentionally kill his daughter just because of their grudge is indicative enough of his behaviour and mindset, and it’s pretty shocking to be fair.

The ending definitely leaves things open for more though, including what connection Kang-hyuk has to these Black Wings.

Previous Episode

Next Episode

You can read our full season review for The Trauma Code here!

 

  • Episode Rating
    (4)
4

Leave a comment