Recap
The Stalker asks Suzu if she’s killed anyone lately. We see flashbacks again, he was told his wife would be fine. When Suzu tells him what happened, he immediately decided she killed his wife. He loses the trial, gets stuck with the bill, and screams about her being a murderer while holding his baby.
Suzu is crying and silent. He says he couldn’t be a father and work, got fired, ran out of savings. Sasaki walks in and realizes what’s going on, pulling Suzu away. The Stalker explains Suzu is the bad guy, leaves and walks off with his daughter.
Issei shows up in a suit outside her work to get her. The director, still thinking Suzu and Sasaki are a thing, watches in horror. He runs to Sasaki, who affirms his feelings for Suzu but won’t give them a name.
Issei and Suzu to a fancy restaurant Sasaki recommended. It’s a bit much for them, but they sexy-flirt via sign. Suzu tells Issei about the Stalker, and that she’s haunted by his voice. Issei covers her ears.
Issei feels that people make assumptions and don’t see people’s invisible burdens, implying that is what the Stalker is doing with her. He encourages her to drink.
Sasaki goes to Chiaki and Sakura’s to kill a bug and stays for dinner. Sasaki has sympathy for the Stalker and compares himself, but Chiaki disagrees. She thinks he’s become a doctor to prevent deaths like his wife’s. He says he did it because of Suzu’s crying. Chiaki asks about his relationship with Suzu, and they agree some relationships don’t need names.
Issei gets drunk Suzu home. Outside he sees the little girl from outside Suzu’s, the Stalker’s daughter. He teaches her the sign for ‘star’ since it’s part of his name, but when he calls for help she vanishes.
One of the nurses, Marina, is pregnant. She’s embarrassed because it was an accident and she’d been so hard on patients for being in that situation. Also, her boyfriend sees her as their wallet and won’t be happy. Almost the entire clinic heads out to confront him, sporting sunglasses and attitude.
Haru and Issei have been cleaning up a bloody crime scene, and Chiaki gets them blood-stain-red kimchi ramen for lunch. She thinks it’s funny. They don’t.
Despite everyone’s bravado, Suzu is the one stuck talking to the boyfriend. He’s furious at the implication he only sees Marina as a wallet, thrilled she’s pregnant and proposes. Marina cries. The other nurse, Hachisuka, relates passionately to her in terms of bias. Everyone feels closer, except Suzu thinks they’re all unhinged.
The Stalker shows up at the clinic waiting room, sits real close to Uta and Haru, and calls Suzu a killer. He claims he’s there to warn people, but then starts throwing things and getting physical with everyone. He goes to shove Marina and stops when Suzu warns him she’s pregnant.
The little girl shows up and calls for him, and he goes with her. Suzu apologizes to everyone.
Issei takes her and Sasaki camping and gets them to dance awkwardly with him. Later they do fireworks and Suzu cries. Issei indicates for Sasaki to leave her alone while she sobs.
Issei brings Suzu over to the fire, and she hugs him close. Part of her wishes the Stalker were there.
The Stalker is out with his kid, staring at the night sky.
Suzu, Issei and Sasaki enjoy looking at the fire together.
Thoughts
The show continues to illustrate different opposing attitudes and contradictions that are so human. Chiaki is afraid of roaches but can handle blood stains and clean up deceased people’s homes. Sasaki lost his wife and child and decided to become a doctor, while the Stalker is out to destroy Suzu. Sasaki and Suzu’s relationship is close and deep, but it’s not romantic love.
It’s great that Sasaki loves Suzu, but is not in love with Suzu. I’m with Chiaki, who points out that people want to define relationships and name them when they don’t need to. Dramas do this too, try to make things clear when real life is more nebulous. I get it, the vagueness of life is great and terrible.
To help keep us from falling too in love with Sasaki though, he sends Issei and Suzu on that date that doesn’t suit them. This gives Issei the chance to shine later, taking Suzu out to really heal under the stars.
The Stalker subplot is still my least favorite part of this show, but this second watch I’m better seeing what the writers were trying to do. Issei signs about the invisible burdens people carry, and the assumptions people make. We’ve seen that illustrated throughout with various characters (in this episode we see Marina realizing the assumptions she’d been making about patients), and we also see it with the Stalker.
The initial doctors gave him an unreasonably hopeful outlook so that his wife’s death was a profound shock. The trial then contradicted those first doctors and punished him. In his mind, a great injustice occurred, he doesn’t understand why no one did anything about it and he’s trying to stop it from happening again. He’s got his invisible burden and is blind to others.
Did I agree with his actions or love this subplot? No, but I see how they’re trying to tie it all together.