"Let's See This Through to the End": Lee Jin-hee's Anesthesiologist Steals Scenes in Doctor X

In an emergency craniotomy scene, actor Lee Jin-hee's character said, "There's no part of this hospital this person hasn't touched. Let's see this through to the end." Lee plays Jo Won-jin, an anesthesiology professor at Guseo University Hospital, in the SBS Friday-Saturday drama Doctor X.

The drama, whose full title is Doctor X, is written by Pyeon Seong-geun and directed by Lee Jeong-rim. In the aired episodes 3 and 4, Lee Jin-hee worked alongside Kim Ji-won, who plays Gye Su-jeong, and Kim Woo-seok, who plays Park Tae-gyeong, to carry the main scenes. The episodes aired on the 16th and 17th. They showed Jo Won-jin standing up to unfair treatment inside the hospital, making a decision about a patient, and advising a junior while looking after him behind the scenes. Lee covered everything from casual conversation to tense surgery.

Blunt advice, quiet care for a junior

The relationship between Jo Won-jin and his junior Park Tae-gyeong added to the drama's appeal through their conversations. Jo gave Park realistic advice in a sharp, firm manner. The dialogue stressed his direct way of speaking and gruff attitude, and Lee gave the advice weight through his tone. These scenes had a different texture from Jo's teamwork with Gye Su-jeong and his conduct in the operating room.

Jo was written as someone who advises coldly in words yet looks after his junior behind the scenes. With the junior, Lee took a more relaxed manner than when delivering sharp advice, combining blunt speech with subtle consideration. According to the report, Lee brought out Jo's "tsundere" side through the contrast between his firm tone and his caring attitude. The exchanges with Park, paced differently from the tense surgery, were presented as showing both Jo's gruffness and his warm consideration.

A lukewarm partnership built on trust

The relationship between Jo Won-jin and Gye Su-jeong was portrayed through mutual trust rather than visible closeness. According to the report, Lee used a detached manner of speaking and a firm gaze to show Jo's attitude, drawing a partnership with Gye that was "lukewarm in temperature but solid in trust."

When Gye Su-jeong was treated unfairly, Jo did not let it pass and delivered a cutting rebuke. Lee showed an unshaken attitude and a firm tone in the scene. Jo's response to Gye turned into a clear statement, unlike his usual gruffness. Through such scenes, episodes 3 and 4 showed two characters with different manners of speaking and behaving who nonetheless move together. Lee conveyed his trust in the other person through lines and gaze rather than big emotional displays.

Composure in the operating room

In the tense surgical setting, Jo took part as an anesthesiology professor. Lee expressed the character's professionalism through calm delivery and practised timing. The report said Lee offered pacing and restrained expression suited to the urgency.

The emergency craniotomy scene dealt with how a decision about the patient is made. Jo moved from caution to resolve, showing his judgment in words and gaze. The line was presented as showing his sense of responsibility toward the patient and his leadership in leading the operating room. Rather than showing big emotion, Lee conveyed Jo's conviction through subtle shifts in tone and attitude. The dialogue and actions in the operating room showed Jo as someone who shoulders the situation together with his colleagues.

Before Doctor X, Lee Jin-hee appeared in To My Beloved Thief, As You Stood By, Genie, Make a Wish, My Youth and Ms. Incognito. In this drama Lee plays Jo with gruff charisma, trust in colleagues and care for a junior. Jo's portrayal in episodes 3 and 4 was divided among his teamwork with Gye Su-jeong, the emergency craniotomy and his talks with Park Tae-gyeong. Lee varied the character's tone and attitude in each scene to express conviction-driven decisiveness and consideration.

Doctor X airs on SBS every Friday and Saturday at 9:50 p.m.

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