Kim Ji-won’s character in Dr. X: The Age of the White Mafia has finally demonstrated successful teamwork with her colleagues. Once a lone wolf who pushed ahead fearlessly according to her own convictions, the brilliant doctor has begun working alongside others, delivering a thrilling transformation.

Episodes 9 and 10 of the SBS Friday-Saturday drama Dr. X: The Age of the White Mafia, which aired on the 6th and 7th, followed Gye Su-jeong, played by Kim Ji-won, as she relentlessly pursued a way to save her patient.

With a medical staffing shortage creating tension throughout the hospital, Su-jeong tried to persuade her colleagues that pediatric patient Lee Hyun-a, played by Lee Chae-yu, urgently needed surgery. When the professors insisted the operation was impossible, Su-jeong bowed her head for the first time and pleaded, “I need a team.” It was the first time she had asked her colleagues for help, having always refused to compromise on her own decisions.

Su-jeong eventually proceeded with the surgery without approval. Only three people were in the operating room: Su-jeong, anesthesiologist Jo Won-jin, played by Lee Jin-hee, and intern Park Tae-kyung, played by Kim Woo-seok. As Su-jeong performed the highly complex operation, Do Yun-sik, played by Kim Young-min; Bae Heung-gon, played by Lee Sung-wook; and Bu Seung-kwon, played by Son Hyun-joo, joined the team. Even Director Jang Hee-sook, played by Lee Jung-eun, whose role had remained shrouded in mystery, entered the operating room.

Throughout these scenes, Kim Ji-won portrayed Gye Su-jeong’s transformation from a doctor who had fought alone to protect her patients, capturing the character’s changing emotions in subtle detail. From the moment she bowed to ask her colleagues for help to the way she coordinated with the medical team in the operating room, Kim convincingly conveyed a new side of Su-jeong.

In particular, the operating-room scenes conveyed Su-jeong’s desperation to save her patient through little more than her eyes above her mask and the rhythm of her breathing. With just two episodes remaining before the finale, viewers are also watching closely to see how Su-jeong and her colleagues will bring the story to a close.

Meanwhile, Dr. X premiered with a nationwide rating of 11.4%, according to Nielsen Korea, and set a new personal best of 19.5% with its sixth episode. The latest episodes, 9 and 10, recorded ratings of 15.3% and 17.7%, respectively. Attention is now turning to whether the remaining two episodes can push the drama past the 20% mark.

Episode 11 of Dr. X will air on the 13th at 7:50 a.m. EST

Kim Ji-won’s character in Dr. X: The Age of the White Mafia has finally demonstrated succe …

Teamwork Never Fails: Kim Ji-won’s Dr. X Evolves From Lone Wolf to Team Player