Alexei receives his first patient, a guy named Platonov... and makes a mistake of telling him that he's his first. Patient predictably rejects him, not trusting a doctor with no prior experience. Fortunately, Bykov assures him that he would control every Alexei's step, and wouldn't allow anything bad to happen — so Alexei can deal with his first patient by himself. But Bykov can't always keep around Platonov, so he tells him that Alexei would be under his control even when Bykov isn't physically presented, so he has nothing to fear about. Alexei comes up with a diagnosis, but it turns out to be completely wrong, while Bykov has a right one. When Lyosha accuses him of breaking his promise, Bykov states that he realised the diagnosis on the very first visit, by simply observing and putting the clues together into a bigger picture. When Alexei fails to give correct answer even when given all symptoms, Bykov considers his point being proven, and leaves — while Alexei realises that Bykov was right all along, and he has much to learn.
Sophia, tired of being an outcast, thinks that others hates for being "too perfect". So, by doing some "minor" screwups on purpose, she would show that she isn't "perfect", and hopefully earn some trust. She wants to start by going late on work. But when Bykov yells at her, she breaks into tears, realising that she's not ready to face Bykov's wrath. She tells her uncle about this, asking him for advice. Kupitman, seeing it as a way to get rid of her, lies to Bykov that Sophia was unimpressed by him chewing her out, and that he must press her more, or she would continue disrespecting him. Bykov tells Sophia everything he thinks of her stubborn resistance... and she faints right in front of him. This makes Bykov realise what's going on, and he tells Kupitman that if he hates his niece just that much, he should just tell her so, rather than manipulate the other people.
Bykov kicks his interns out of on-call room, stating that it belongs to him, and no intern would "defile" it ever again. Instead, they would work in a small, cold, dirty room clogged with old trash. Alexei believes that this is the only free room available, while Maxim thinks that this was a "subtle" way to show them their place, to humiliate them. Max has a plan how to make their small room more comfortable: they can st... borrow some furniture from Gynaecology department, they're undergoing a renovation, so they wouldn't question people moving furniture around. He and Lyosha, who helps him, choses a nice couch. They don't stop at just a couch, however, and tries to steal a table, at which they gets busted by Lyuba. She agrees to keep it hidden, on condition that they would steal something for her, too. But third stealing attempt ends in utter failure, as Max gets busted mid-act by one of the workers, who also recognises him as the guy who took the couch, and on the way out, Maxim dirties his shoes with blue paint and gets forced to abandon them. Lyuba agrees to hide him, but has only a pair of girly pink slippers to spare. However, Bykov already found the shoes, and when he sees Maxim in those slippers, he instantly realises who's the real culprit. By the end of the day, Maxim receives three night shifts (for slackening, for thieving and for stupidity)... and Sophia gets ordered to go home and rest, because the next time Bykov would yell at her, she must go and fix her mistake, not faint. Maxim, in the last desperate attempt to win back some points, fakes his own fainting. This fails to fool Bykov, but, for whatever reason, Bykov decides to show him where they can obtain the old (no longer required, and thus free to grab) furniture, legitimately. He wouldn't help with bringing it back to their "office", of course.
This episode provides examples of:
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: Maxim gets three night sifts as a punishment — one for slacking, one for stealing... and one for being a moron.
- Authority in Name Only: Invoked; Kupitman tells Bykov that Sophia doesn't respect his authority and requires more pressure to force her into compliance. Bykov realises that Kupitman lied to him when Sophia outright faints after being yelled at, because it completely disproves Kupitman's version of her being a "defiant rebel".
- Cassandra Truth: Sophia refuses to believe that Maxim stole all these furniture, because doing so from someone so close to you would be outright moronic. Then Bykov shows up and confirms Maxim's version.
- Didn't Think This Through: When Alexei tells his first patient about him, well, being his first patient, the patient immediately rejects him, not trusting Lyosha's competence — turns out, the patient who's already worrying about his health would only become even more worrying after hearing that his doctor is inexperienced.
- Do Well, But Not Perfect: Sophia is tired of being an outcast, and thinks that her looking as "too perfect" (never late to work, always deals with tasks perfectly, etc) only makes people hate her more. So, by doing some "minor" screwups on purpose, she would show that she isn't perfect, and hopefully earn some trust. But turns out that she's not prepared to face Bykov's wrath...
- Evil Uncle: This time, Kupitman exploits Bykov in attempt to cause Sophia's breakdown, so she would run away on her own. While still pretending to be her loving uncle.
- Failed a Spot Check: When Alexei complains that Bykov "stole" his first patient, Bykov explains that he examined him exactly when they visited Platonov for the first time. Bykov quickly learned what's really wrong with the guy, while Alexei missed every single clue. He then immediately states all of them (several of them being easily noticeable even for viewers). He then asks Alexei whether he can come up with a diagnosis, but he fails, proving Bykov's point that Lyosha isn't ready.
- Faint in Shock: Sophia was never yelled at in her entire life. When Bykov does yell at her for the first time, this drives her to tears (it would later take a half an hour to calm her down). When he yells at her again, this time even louder (following Kupitman's advice), she outright faints.
- Freud Was Right: Bykov compares Platonov's situation (the guy is Alexei's first patient, while Alexei is Platonov's first doctor) to first sexual experience, and states that both are just as sacred, and can't occur twice in a life. It fails to impress the patient. Alexei himself later makes the same allegory when accuses Bykov of "stealing" that patient.
- Imagine Spot: When Bykov effortlessly solves the medical case that took Alexei entire day without any success, Alexei looks at him like he is some kind of a saint — complete with a halo and church chorus.
- I Take Offense to That Last One: When Bykov chews them out for wasting time on moronic plan of stealing furniture from Gynaecology department, Maxim only has one objection: he doesn't consider his plan to be "moronic", since it had a small chance at success.
- Oblivious Mockery: Sophia refuses to believe that Maxim stole all these furniture, because doing so from someone so close to you would be outright moronic. Except, he just did, and then (very angry) Bykov shows up and mentions the stealing.
- Pet the Dog: Each intern gets some help from Bykov, even after all their screwups:
- Bykov solves Platonov's case on the first visit, but gives Alexei a whole day to come up with solution on his own, and when he fails, gives him all the clues he collected and a final chance to suggest the diagnosis. When Alexei still fails, he tells that this just proves that Alexei isn't ready, with which Lyosha agrees.
- Bykov actually comforts Sophia after learning that she's innocent and was harmed by his yelling that much, and (calmly) explains that it's just how he works. He also gives her a three days of leave, so she can recover.
- Bykov actually helps Maxim with his goal (obtaining the furniture for their "office"), despite all Maxim's previous screwups.
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit: After witnessing that Bykov showed compassion for Sophia after she fainted due to stress (caused by him shouting at her), Maxim fakes his own fainting in order to earn some points back after so many failures. Bykov doesn't fall for this, but agrees to help with obtaining new furniture for their "office" the legal way.
