* This review contains spoilers for Episode 3 of Daily Dose of Sunshine
The new K-drama series Daily Dose of Sunshine shines a light on the often-misunderstood world of psychiatric care. The Netflix drama is based on a webtoon by former nurse Lee Ra-Ha, and follows the story of Jung Da-Eun, a nurse who transitions from internal medicine to the psychiatric ward. Through her experiences, viewers are taken on a journey filled with empathy, humor and the raw realities of mental illnesses.
READ | Daily Dose of Sunshine Ep 2 Recap & Review
Episode 3: Safety Net
The episode begins with Yu-Chan (Jang Dong-Yoon) having recovered from his panic attack. Go-Yun (Yeon Woo-Jin) asks what happened, and Yu-Chan dismisses the incident as “indigestion”. Go-Yun suggests he practice acupressure to ease the symptoms, which leads to a brief struggle as he tries to demonstrate. Da-Eun (Park Bo-Young) walks in on them, and finds the situation amusing.
Da-Eun and Yu-Chan later take a walk and discuss Go-Yun. Yu-Chan remarks that he admires Go-Yun’s skill and dedication as a doctor, saying that he would not rest until his patient was cured. We then see Go-Yun researching anxiety disorders at his home, possibly to help Yu-Chan in the future.
At the hospital, Da-Eun is tasked with looking after some trainee nurses who are visiting the ward. She introduces them to one of her patients, Kim Seo-Wan (Roh Jae-Won), who acts as though he is a character in a video game. Seung-Jae, one of the trainees, asks Seo-Wan if he has ever played a video game named Lost Valhalla. This agitates Seo-Wan, and he begins casting ‘attacks’ at Seung-Jae, before Da-Eun finally calms him down.
Hiding a secret
The trainees continue their orientation, and we learn more about the daily tasks that nurses perform on the ward. Seung-Jae takes frequent breaks during the training session. The other nurses think he is slacking, but Da-Eun feels that something else is going on.
Later, the ward holds a conference to discuss common diseases, and they hold an exercise to simulate a panic attack. Da-Eun realizes that Seung-Jae is experiencing common symptoms of the condition. She resolves to try to help him.
Go-Yun later speaks to Yu-Chan, and we learn that Yu-Chan suddenly quit his dream job to work at his family’s chicken restaurant. Go-Yun tells Yu-Chan that everyone is waiting for him to explain his reason for doing so, and leaves Yu-Chan to think it over.
Eventually, after Da-Eun and Go-Yun give them heart-to-heart talks, Seung-Jae and Yu-Chan make appointments to speak to a therapist about their conditions. Yu-Chan begins his treatment, but is soon presented with a new problem when Go-Yun reveals his attraction towards Da-Eun.
Bad romance
In the secondary romance of the series, Hwang Yeo-Hwan (Jang Ryul) refuses to give up on nurse Min Deul-Re (Lee Yi-Dam). He asks her to give him a good reason why he they can’t be together, and Deul-Re pretends that she sees spirits around him. This leads to several hilarious scenes where Yeo-Hwan believes that he is being haunted.
He later confronts Deul-Re, and demands a proper answer as to why she cannot return his feelings. She asks him if he has ever “lived in a place without hot water”. Frustrated, he questions where he would find such a place, and she tells him his reaction is why they can never be together. She walks away, leaving Yeo-Hwan to ponder their different social statuses.
What we thought
This episode felt a lot more personal for our characters. This time, it was one of their friends who was experiencing a mental health crisis. A panic attack was likened to drowning, and Jang Dong-Yoon really gave it his all in a tense underwater scene that depicted his character’s condition.
The four actors involved in the scene did an excellent job at showing the care and concern needed to encourage people to seek help for the condition. This episode also showed Go-Yun as a credible lead character, far from his initial comedic introduction in the series.
Daily Dose of Sunshine continues to explore mental health with sensitivity and depth, while setting the stage for potential romances and personal growth among its characters. We can’t wait to see what the next episode will bring.
READ | Daily Dose of Sunshine Ep 4 Recap & Review
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