“Hospital Playlist” (슬기로운 의사생활): Season 2

By Jae-Ha Kim
jaehakim.com
October 11, 2021

☆☆☆☆
Lee Ik-Joon (played by Jo Jung-Suk)
Ahn Jung-Won (played by Yoo Yeon-Seok)
Kim Jun-Wan (played by Jung Kyung-Ho)
Chae Song-Hwa (played by Jeon Mi-Do)
Yang Seok-Hyung (played by Kim Dae-Myung)

“Hospital Playlist” is a good series, where the core friendship (referenced above) is warm and engaging. They have the kind of relationship with each other that makes me envious … even though I don’t particularly feel a need for that many close friends in my real life. haha

At the end of season one, we saw Ik-Joon confessing his romantic feelings for Song-Hwa. This season, we see how the dynamics of their friendship changes after that revelation. But first, there’s a backstory. During their med school years, she had confessed that she liked him. But, he turned her down.

Meanwhile, Seok-Hyung is pursued by his ex wife. Their relationship failed not because of each other, but because of his overbearing mother who doesn’t think anyone is good enough for him. In that sense, you could say that he was at fault as well, for not being strong enough to defy his mother and support his wife.

He’s also the subject of a one-sided crush by a doctor. I did not care for this particular storyline, because I honestly couldn’t see why she was attracted to him. Yes, he’s a great doctor. And yes, he absolutely shows kindness to his underlings. But, he treats her like a child, giving her (unintentional ?) false hope by giving her an arbitrary number of chances to win him over. (Granted, she had issues as well. He had already turned her down, but she refused to take no for an answer.)

Much more interesting was some of his relationships with patients. One woman’s 18-week pregnancy has been deemed unfeasible by another OB/GYN. But after examining her and going over probability, he concludes that the fact that she could feel her baby kicking is a sign that he is fighting to survive. And he cautiously encourages her. In reality, the outcome for most pregnant women wouldn’t turn out the way it did in this fictional account. But it was still really heartwarming to see this story arc played out.

I had been looking forward to watching the progression of Jun-Wan’s romance with Ik-Joon’s sister, Ik-Soon (Kwak Sun-Young). Let’s just say I found their lack of communication to be really frustrating. (More in the spoilers below.)

The thing that I love the most about this series is that so much of what makes this quintet great doctors isn’t their skill (though they clearly are each experts in their respective fields). It’s how they teach the young doctors working under them bedside manner, which is something sorely lacking with some physicians. When nurses and other doctors complain about a mother (whose child had died at the hospital after a terminal illness), Jung-Won explains that the grieving woman is there not to bother them, but because her baby had spent his entire life there. The staff that tended to him knew him better than her extended family, many of whom suggest that she moves on. To a mother who has lost her child, keeping his memory alive is a way of keeping herself alive as well.

Airdates: Twelve episodes — ranging from 80- to 88-minutes long — aired on tvN from June 17 to September 2, 2021

Spoiler Alert: Ik-Soon moved to Europe to work on her post graduate work. She and Jun-Wan had a cute long distance relationship going, until Ik-Joon — not knowing the two are dating — tells his sister that Jun-Wan’s girlfriend seems to be stressing him out. When she gets sick (and might need a liver transplant), she makes up an excuse and breaks up with him. Oh come on! Really? Anyhow, Ik-Joon later pieces together what’s going on and plays matchmaker, reuniting the pair.

Jung-Won is leaving the hospital to work/study in the United States for a year. His girlfriend, Geyo-Ul (Shin Hyun-Been) — the reason he hadn’t joined the priesthood last season — is going with him.

And Song-Hwa finally admits to Ik-Joon that she wants to date him, too. There are a few funny moments when they tell their friends about the new dynamics of their relationship, but no one believes them, thinking they are no more than best friends.

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