Dorota (Krystyna Janda) is mean and nobody likes her. Actually, her husband likes her. He thinks they're having a baby. Her lover also likes her. He tells her so on the phone, but she's already put the phone down and doesn't hear him.
When I asked my Humanities students if they felt empathy or judgement for Dorota and the Doctor, it was unanimous. They all felt empathy for the Doctor, but they also felt judgement for Dorota. Maybe I shouldn't have presented the question as either/or. Maybe we can feel both at the same time, just as Dorota tells the Doctor that it's possible to love two men at the same time.
Actually, the class didn't have much time to discuss and think about the question. If they had had more time, I bet more students would start to feel empathetic. Dorota really wants to be a mother, for example. Anyone would be empathetic for that. She's even willing to sacrifice that want if her husband lives.
The judgement comes in, of course, because she's having an affair, and lying to her husband. But why no judgement on the Doctor? He finally tells Dorota that her husband will die. It's something he avoided telling her for multiple conversations. When he finally tells her, he doesn't say how long her husband has, just that he's dying. She makes him swear, though, because she's told him her golden secret, and she has suspicions that he is judging her and wants to protect the life of the unborn baby.
For this viewing, I was interested in who shares personal information, where, and when. The Doctor tells his housecleaner intimate details about his family and how his wife and kids were killed in the war (He never tells Dorota these details). After each conversation with her, though, he's more open in his conversations with Dorota. Dorota is also only able to tell the Doctor her secret when she enters his apartment. She doesn't open up to him in the apartment hallway or the hospital.
When she's with her husband in his patient's room, they're completely silent the first time, although he does open his eyes after she leaves. The second time. she says a few words and ends with "I love you." Are those the magic words he needed to hear to recover? We never hear them talk about the baby, but when he does recover and goes to thank the Doctor, he knows his wife is pregnant. My speculation is she must have just told her. It's possible he knew all along, but it doesn't seem likely. My guess is that she kept it a secret from him, but again, I could be wrong. Maybe he knew before he got sick, but in any event, he definitely thinks the baby is his. He has not a clue that she's been with another man and had even thought about leaving her husband for him.
Rating: 5/5 stars
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