Doctor X – Episode 3 (Review)

Reviews TV/Film

Doctor X – Gekai Daimon Michiko
Episode 3

Review by David Cirone

Ryoko Yonekura Doctor X

SUMMARY
Teito University Hospital is holding a special seminar on patient feelings, guiding its surgeons through polite small talk to avoid lawsuits and monster patients. A better bedside manner is encouraged for all, especially Michiko Daimon.

The bureaucratic nature of the hospital is in overdrive, the staff is busy reading patient comments from suggestion boxes as cooking expert and popular blogger Hanayama visits the hospital for treatment. Hanayama has esophageal cancer, and she’s worried about losing her appetite if she undergoes surgery.

Daimon rejects Hanayama’s home-cooked gifts, disgusted by the taste. The fact that the patient’s recipes are good but her cooking is bad makes Daimon suspicious.

Hara (Kosuke Suzuki) is assigned as lead surgeon for the procedure, but Hanayama still hasn’t given her consent. Hanayame brings her lawyer to the consultation, and Hara brings Daimon as his assistant.

Hara is on his best behavior (he took great notes at the seminar), but he’s not getting any closer to the consent they need to move forward. Frustrated by Hanayama’s complaints and worries, Daimon tells her directly that the surgery is urgent. Shocked and offended, Hanayama’s lawyer threatens a lawsuit and demands apology.

Daimon doesn’t back down, and when Hanayama suddenly takes a turn for the worse, Daimon speeeds her into surgery without the necessary consent forms. Torii wants it stopped, but director Busujima sees the situation as a win-win. Since Daimon’s not officially a hospital employee, she’ll take the blame alone if the surgery fails. But if it’s a success, the hospital’s fame will increase.

Hara believes in Michiko, and volunteers to be first assistant in the emergency procedure. Anesthesiologist Hiromi Jonouchi (Yuki Uchida) even leaves her daughter’s sports competition to stand by Daimon’s side, but warns her to not call her on weekends again.

Even though the surgery was a success, Hanayama still sues the hospital, claiming the surgery permanently damaged her sense of taste, but Daimon identifies a second tumor that other doctors overlooked. Hanayama agrees to the second surgery in Daimon’s hands.

NO SMALL TALK
Daimon seems to be the only one paying attention, and she’s the only one who pieces together the clues about Hanayama’s second tumor. Teito University Hospital may have a lot of old-school surgeons, but they can’t all be idiots. Daimon continually refuses small talk with her peers, but in this episode she doesn’t even talk medicine with them.

WITH A DASH OF COMEDY
The secret video of Daimon played during the seminar is a pretty funny, as are some of the anonymous complaints pulled from the suggestion box: “The staff is too ugly. Please hire better-looking people.”