The ninth episode of the TBS Sunday Theatre drama "The Royal Family" (Sundays at 9:00 PM), starring Satoshi Tsumabuki, aired on December 7th. The conversation between Koichi (Ren Meguro) and veterinarian Sawatari Yuki (Mikako Ichikawa) touched the hearts of viewers.
◇The following contains spoilers
It was discovered that a member of the royal family was suffering from a corneal stromal abscess in his right eye. In the worst case scenario, he could have gone blind. The disease causes pus to accumulate in the middle layer of the cornea, so a corneal transplant was considered. However, there were no veterinarians in Japan who could perform corneal transplants on horses. Koichi learned that there was a veterinarian in France named Sawatari who could perform corneal transplants, so he traveled to France to begin negotiations.
Sawatari was also acquainted with Koichi's father, Kozo (Koichi Sato). While dining with Sawatari, Koichi revealed, "It seems he desperately wanted to leave something to me, but I kept refusing. But my father never gave up, and before he passed away he entrusted me with the dream of winning the Arima Kinen."
Sawatari bluntly said, "Just as I imagined. Self-centered! I absolutely don't want to get involved with him." Koichi quoted Kozo telling him, "You know more about horses than I do," and "I'm sure you can do it," and said, "Maybe I just want to cling to that. If I can fulfill my father's dream of winning the Arima Kinen, then maybe my birth will have meaning."
Immediately after, Sawatari clapped his hands in front of Koichi's face and admonished him, "You are you. The fact that you were born has meaning." Koichi pursed his lips and said, "But I want to be proud and say that I'm his child. That we share the same blood."
On social media, people were excited, saying things like, "The conversation between Mikako Ichikawa and Meme was amazing!", "Those words from Sawatari-sensei really hit home," "It was great to see Ichikawa and Ren Meguro Ren acting together," and "I love Ichikawa, so it was great to see her acting with Meguro."
