The final episode of the TV drama "The Travel Nurse" (TV Asahi, Thursdays 9pm), starring actor Masaki Okada, was broadcast on December 19th, and the final scene became a hot topic.
◇The following contains spoilers.
The drama is a sequel to the same-titled series that aired in October 2022. A duo consisting of Nasuda Ayumu (Okada), a qualified nurse practitioner who can perform certain medical procedures, and "super nurse" Kuki Shizuka (Kiichi Nakai) will reform the medical field by putting patients first.
Nishitokyo General Hospital is in chaos after being attacked by ransomware. Ayumu struggles to protect the lives of his patients. Meanwhile, Shizuka works at a Omusubi shop and begins to deal with outpatients who are unable to receive medical treatment and are left homeless. The two seem to have had a falling out, but Shizuka had entrusted the hospital's patients to Ayumu.
With the "reform" of the hospital director Yakushimaru (Yamazaki Ikusaburo) and the help of Abe (Jun Shison), an acquaintance of Shizu's from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the hospital's chaos is resolved. Ayumu then receives an offer from a hospital in the Philippines that is short on manpower, and once again crosses the ocean. Just when it seems he and Shizu will be parting ways again, he finds out that she is already in the Philippines. At the end, while Ayumu and Shizu are engaged in a lively argument, they hear the voice of a mother whose child has collapsed and is crying out for help, and the two head off to the hospital.
The episode ended with a familiar exchange that showed just how close the two are, and this final scene led to a flood of comments from viewers on social media, such as "It seemed like it was ad-libbed at the end," "Was it ad-libbed? lol," "The conversation between the two at the end seemed like it was really ad-libbed," "It ended like a manzai comedy routine," "That was an absolutely great ending...!!," "The exchange between the two at the end was just too good," and "I hope we can see Ayumu and Shizuka's manzai-like exchange again someday."
