Due to budget cut, Bykov can (and must) fire one intern (not Romanenko)... but whom to choose? He tries several possible ways to pick an intern to kick out, but none of them works the way Bykov wants. Meanwhile, interns are trying to protect themselves from being fired, since, if everything else fails, Bykov would simply fire that one who screws up most badly.
Gleb asks Kisegach to not fire Varya, without telling her that it was him asking, but Kisegach tells her anyway; also, turns out that not only she is not aware of their relationship, she doesn't believe that this is possible, since they are "too different". Meanwhile, Lobanov decides to backstab Levin and provoke his patient into rejecting him; Levin retaliates in kind. During their conflict, Varya realises that "difference" means little if people really loves each other; this is true for both Levin and Lyuba, and Semyon and Olya, so why should it be wrong for her and Gleb? And Gleb confronts his mother about this and their relationship, and tells her that if Varya would be fired, Gleb would leave as well.
Levin suggests to just try some kind of "Russian roulette", only with syringes: one is harmless, the other would make you act like drunkard, so you would be fired for certain. But before they can proceed with the plan, Semyon realises that Bykov just wants them to fight, and they apologise to each other. Meanwhile, Kupitman, tired of Bykov (who still can't come up with idea whom to fire), just outright tells him that Bykov can't decide whom to fire because he really doesn't want to fire anyone... which turns out to be exactly what Kisegach has tried to achieve all along.
This episode provides examples of:
- Blatant Lies: Both Lobanov and Levin tries to badmouth each other in front of the patients, not even bothering with coming with something plausible (and somehow still succeeding). Lobanov backstabs Levin by telling his patient (while impersonating mortician) that Levin would eventually kill him; Levin retaliates by telling Lobanov (in front of his patient) that Lobanov was "freed of charges of harassing his patients" because he "successfully blackmailed a prosecutor".
- Cassandra Truth: Kisegach doesn't believe that Gleb and Varya could possibly be together (Gleb is a known womaniser, while Varya is a bookworm). She thinks that this is a sign that they are not destined to be together.
- Corrupt Bureaucrat: In the second scenario, Lobanov became corrupt and greedy, and started exploiting his position to profit by selling the medicine for personal profit.
- The Ditz: In the first hypothetical scenario (where Lobanov has to treat Bykov), Semyon's incompetence is exaggerated into complete idiocy, which leads to him failing to save Bykov.
- Divided We Fall: In the end, Semyon comes to conclusion that Bykov just wants to provoke them into fighting each other, and apologises to Levin, whom he previously tried to backstab; Levin apologises in turn.
- Hysterical Woman: In two out of three hypothetical scenarios, Varya acts as hysterical and neurotic, to the point that she can't even do her job. In the first scenario, she's unable to treat Bykov, as she she can't concentrate, and in the second, where she's a Head of the Therapy, she's not only neurotic, but also antidepressant addict.
- Imagine Spot: During Bykov and Kupitman's discussion about whom of the three interns (Gleb is off-limits) to fire, Kupitman offers Bykov three theoretical scenarios about the possible future of one of interns if they either gets fired or stays on their job:
- In the first scenario (Bykov becomes their patient), Varya panics instead of doing her job, Levin overestimates his competence, with fatal consequences, and Lobanov... just acts like a moron.Bykov: They all have killed me...
- In the second scenario (one of interns succeeds Bykov), Varya is so neurotic, she becomes the antidepressants addict, Lobanov becomes corrupt and greedy, and Levin, overblown by his ego, just ruins everything.
- In the third and final scenario (who would suffer the most from being fired), Lobanov becomes terminally ill divorced hobo, Varya works as an orderly, and Levin... becomes a minister of medicine and fires everyone.
- In the first scenario (Bykov becomes their patient), Varya panics instead of doing her job, Levin overestimates his competence, with fatal consequences, and Lobanov... just acts like a moron.
- Incurable Cough of Death: In the third scenario, to show that Lobanov is terminally ill, he starts coughing, indicating tuberculosis.
- Manipulative Bastard: Kisegach, of all people. The whole story about Bykov being required to to fire one of interns was her way to tell Bykov that he really wanted his interns to stay. It works flawlessly.
- Mistaken for Gay: When Levin and Semyon, with their pants down, gets busted by a patient (they are trying to inject each other with syringes to decide who would be fired in the end), the patients assumes that they are gays. This becomes even worse when said patient returns with a nurse Galya, only to bust them hugging, still without pants for whatever reason.
- Opposites Attract: What Varya has learned from Levin dating Lyuba, and Lobanov being married to Olga, is that even though she and Gleb are different, this is not the reason why they can't be together, so she decides to stay with him (and continue her internship).
- Preemptive "Shut Up": Kisegach warns Bykov right away that while he may fire one intern of his choice, he can't choose Gleb, knowing that it's what he's gonna say.
- Rule of Three: During discussion with Kupitman about whom of the interns to fire, three possible methods of choosing one of them gets suggested, each with three Imagine Spots, representing possible consequences of certain interns either being fired or staying on their job.
- Sadistic Choice: Inverted: Bykov can fire exactly one intern (except Gleb), but can't choose just one, so he asks Kupitman.
- The first time, Kupitman suggests a hypothetical scenario where Bykov becomes the patients, and interns must treat him. Who would do the job the worst?
- The second time, Kupitman suggests a scenario where one of the interns succeeds Bykov; who would run the Therapy the worst?
- The third and last time, Kupitman suggests to just think who would be hit worst by losing their job.
- Russian Roulette: Levin suggest Lobanov a "Russian roulette" as a method to choose who would be fired, only with syringes instead of a gun. One syringe is harmless, another would make you act like a drunkard, ensuring that you would be fired.
- Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: Gleb tries to exploit the fact that Kisegach is his mother to protect Varya from possibly being fired by Bykov... without telling Varya, since she would be against this plan (she wants to stay because she is actually valued as specialist, not because she's Gleb's girlfriend).
- Too Clever by Half: In the hypothetical scenario where Levin has to treat Bykov, he overestimates his competence, which results in Bykov dying; when Bykov tries to advice him, he calls him out on arguing with his doctor.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Gleb gets angry by his mother not only telling Varya about his request (despite him specifically asking her not to), but also by her not believing that he and Varya can be in relationship, and threatens that if Varya gets fired, he would quit too.
