Recap Korean Drama "Poong the Joseon Psychiatrist Season 2" Episode 6

Episode 6 of Poong The Joseon Psychiatrist season 2 starts off with Gwang-il being taken to Gyesoo as he is beaten up. They wonder what he is doing back in Sorak and Gye thinks he has been kicked out of the royal clinic. Ip-boon, Nam-hae, Man-bok and Eun-woo are against letting Gwang-il stay at Gyesoo but Poong reminds them that he is a patient.

Gwang-il wakes up and tells Gye he has no money to pay for his injuries and Gye is annoyed. But he promises to pay back in any way possible. Later in the day, Governor Ahn visits Gyesoo on a patrol. Gye keeps deflecting Ahn’s questions and Nam-hae lets it slip that he has been working for 10 years since his daughter was born. Ahn gets suspicious and asks if he knows Gye who stays quiet. 

Poong is busy trying to deter a patient from having ginseng who is angry with him. Gwang-il steps in and gives the patient ginseng who is happy with him. Poong scolds him for interfering and Gwang-il tells him that he just gave the patient a placebo which would be more effective than arguing. Everyone is shocked that he lied and Eun-woo tells him that Gyesoo is uncomfortable in his presence. He laments at his misfortune and says he will leave soon.

Ahn tries to bribe the Second State Councillor’s uncle and asks for his favour. The old man refuses and instead asks if Ahn can help him get a concubine. The governor is upset that he has no daughters to offer the old man. While walking back, he spies on Gye and Ip-boon and remembers seeing Gye with an infant when Ip-boon’s mother had died. 

Gye is summoned by Ahn who toys with him as he brings up Ip-boon’s mother, Jang Kyung-sook. Gye had helped her escape from the Ahns and had declared that Kyung-sook’s daughter had been stillborn. Ahn tells him that he knows Ip-boon is his niece.

Gye is worried as he heads back to Gyesoo and grounds Ip-boon for going out. The rest of Gyesoo try to step in as Ip-boon tears up. That night, he starts crying over a nightmare of Ahn taking away Ip-boon and she hears him. She is worried and goes to the market to get him a tonic. Ahn spots her as she tries to buy an outfit but doesn’t because she doesn’t have the money.

The guard Chil-sung tries to warn Ip-boon as Ahn lures her with the promise of the finest silk in his office. He tells her that he knew her mother and tells her that Gye killed her. Ip-boon runs home and confronts Gye who is upset that she would believe Ahn over him and tells her to leave.

Gye sulks in his room and Poong brings him drinks. Gye goes to bring more drinks and we see Nam-hae, Eun-woo and Man-bok scheming so Poong only drinks water. But Gye mixes up the bottles and they are worried that Poong might end up being the drunk one.

Gye indeed does pour actual alcohol for Poong and he gets drunk in one glass. He starts dancing with Granny and Jang-goon and the rest of Gyesoo are worried. It gets worse as he calls Eun-woo the moon and holds her face. Gye turns to leave and Poong chases him. 

Meanwhile, Ip-boon is alone in her room and can’t help but think about her mother. Gye gets up from another nightmare and sees Poong sitting with him. He recalls Ahn trying to leave with baby Ip-boon and claiming that she was his daughter while Kyung-sook’s daughter had been stillborn.

The following day, Ip-boon heads to Ahn and asks if she is truly his niece. He sees that she has her mother’s wooden pin and she is flustered and tries to leave. Ahn grabs her for a second and she is afraid. Gye sees Ip-boon missing and storms to the governor’s office. He declares that Ahn killed Kyung-sook and to free Ip-boon. Ahn says that she came to him of her own free will and she is better off with him than the poor Gye.

He gives Gye money and makes him leave. Ahn then goes to Ip-boon who wants to go home. He tries to convince her and when she tries to leave, guards stop her way. At Gyesoo, Gye recalls his memories with Ip-boon and tears up. He tells the rest of Gyesoo who are upset that she has left them.

But Eun-woo and Poong find it strange that Ahn won’t let Gye see Ip-boon. Gye thinks that she is better off living with a noble family and that she probably hates him. At that moment, Chil-sung runs to Gyesoo and tells them that Ahn will marry off Ip-boon to the Second State Councillor’s uncle who is 70 years old.

Meanwhile, Ahn visits the old man and makes him promise in writing that he will marry Ip-boon and give Ahn a promotion. That night, a furious Gye sneaks into Ahn’s room with a sword. He threatens Ahn who tells him that Ip-boon is already on her way in the wedding palanquin. Poong approaches halfway and offers to help Gye find Ip-boon.

They spot the palanquin in the forest and confront the guards. Gye leads them away from the palanquin and they laughingly follow. Before they can take any step further, their stomachs start hurting and it is seen that Poong had poisoned their food with laxatives. Gye and Poong run to Ip-boon who tears up and hugs her father. At that moment, Ahn arrives with backup to arrest them.

Ahn and Gye duel and the latter is hurt. Eun-woo and Gwang-il run in and bring the written contract from the governor’s office which is enough proof of bribery, kidnapping and human trafficking. Ahn is not deterred as Gye can also be arrested for kidnapping a child who is not related to him. But Gyesoo remind him that the King is on their side and they leave.

At Gyesoo, everyone celebrates Ip-boon’s return. Gye is happy that he could keep his promise to Kyung-sook to keep Ip-boon safe. Ip-boon nurses his injury and she thanks him for rescuing her. Gye tells her that he always felt pathetic as he could only gift a wooden pin to Kyung-sook and how he loved her but she married another. Ip-boon is surprised that he was the one who gave the pin and tells him that she always kept it with her. She hugs him and he tears up.

Meanwhile, Eun-woo tells Poong how Gwang-il had helped her infiltrate the governor’s office and find the written contract. But Poong fixates on the fact that they were alone in the governor’s office and gets jealous. Eun-woo asks if he trusts her and he gets hyped up as he says he completely trusts her but does not like Gwang-il. Eun-woo is amused and holds his hand. She performs acupuncture to calm him but his heart just keeps racing and he hugs her.

At the palace, Ahn sends a petition to the King claiming that Poong keeps boasting about his friendship with the King and wants to make a widow a physician. We are then shown that it is Gwang-il who tells Ahn to write the petition. The royal clinic begs the King to not let his friendship blind him and strip Poong and Gyesoo off their license.

The Episode Review

Did it take anyone else almost 2 seasons of Poong The Joseon Psychiatrist to realise that Ip-boon is none other than the iconic child actress from Train To Busan? She finally gets a chance to flex her acting skills as we get an Ip-boon-centric storyline in season 2 episode 6. And while we always knew that the brash and callous Gye was always secretly kind-hearted, his willingness to do right by his daughter further solidifies him as one of the best K-drama fathers.

As for Gwang-il and his sad eyes, it seems that even Eun-woo fell for it. Viewers already found it suspicious that the man was trudging through Sorak’s forest minutes before he was found hurt. It seems that he indeed had an ulterior motive to lull Gyesoo into a false sense of security while still continuing his plotting with the royal clinic. But we are yet to find out what his actual grudge is.