Presentation
Korean Title: 슬기로운 의사생활 2
Aired in: 2021 (12 episodes)
Channel: tvN
Grade: 10/10
Actors: Cho Jung Seok, Jang Kyung Ho, Yoo Yeon Seok, Jeon Mi Do and Kim Dae Myung
Previous review Season 1
Analysis
My Opinion (No Spoiler)
Nothing unexpected here, the second and last season of Hospital Playlist is definitely as good as Season 1. However, this time the ending brings us closure! To be honest, I was as overwhelmed by this second season as I was in the previous one. I still rode this rollercoaster of emotions, while new side stories took place at the hospital.
Although the episodes were longer than any other drama I have seen before (about 1h30 – 2h), I didn’t feel bored, nor felt like the intrigue was stagnating (some viewers criticized the show for it). I can only recommend one more time that you watch this great drama, you won’t regret it!
Analysis (Spoiler Alert)
Well, I don’t feel like I have a lot to analyze in this season. Many back stories tend to use the same dynamics and/or themes as those told in season 1, which reinforces the realism of the show. Therefore, I will only comment on a few elements from this season that stood out and added value to that already really reliable and truthful show.
While doing so, I will also answer most of the question marks from the previous season that needed some development in season 2 (especially those related to the main characters’ relationships).
The happy ending: Even if it seems incongruous to start with the ending, I truly believe that this part is the most important one of season 2. Indeed, by the last episode of S1 most of the love stories were either on stand-by or non-existent. Seeing how well it ended for everyone, I guess there is a satisfying taste to the ending.
Let’s dive into those relationships:
Jeon Won and Gyeo Ul: After a series of ups and downs/will they-will they not, these two finally managed to get together in the last episode of Season 1. Throughout Season 2, Jeong Won and Gyeo Ul embody that solid couple, in which each one compromises and supports the other. Even if the road ahead is not easy (Gyeo Ul has a family secret), the trust and faith they have in each other enable them to overcome just anything. Their kindness, care and constant love is admirable, as none forces the other to talk or act. Plus, the fact that they try to keep their relationship a secret brings some serious laughter to the table. At the end, they leave for a year together to the States. Away yes, but together and probably on the road to marriage, as mentioned by Jeong Won to his mother.
Min Ah and Seok Hyung: If season 1 put me through a serious amount of stress with Jeong Won and Gyeo Ul’s relationship, the focus on Season 2 has shifted towards ChuChu’s struggle to win Dr. Yang’s heart over. After a series of brave confessions, she finally manages to steal his heart for good. Their romance was slow and blossoming, with a lot of push-and-pulls (especially push from Min Ah’s part), but her determination eventually paid off. I can’t tell you how happy I was to see them go on their first date and then kiss in the next episode. Such a lovey-dovey couple. I guess on this one, Min Ah’s resilience really deserves some applause.
Ik Sun and Jun Hwan: Although I thought this couple would hold on until the end without a bump, they unfortunately broke up mid-drama. The reason had nothing to do with their feelings nor the distance between them (Ik Sun was in the UK), but is related to Ik Sun’s liver condition and sickness. Afraid to hurt Jun Hwan and to have to put him through constant anxiety, she chose to let him go to protect him. She didn’t tell the truth and pretended to have found someone else, leaving Jun Hwan on the sideline, completely destroyed. Thank God, Ik Jun was there to help them mend their relationship and eventually get back together. The older brother rapidly noticed the couple’s difficulties and decided to put his nose in it, with a lot of tact and subtlety. Thanks to him, his sister and his best friend overcame that phase and became stronger than ever.
Ik Jun and Song Hwa: If Ik Sun and Jun Hwan went from a couple to “strangers”, it is the opposite for Ik Jun and Song Hwa. After having left Ik Jun without a proper answer, Song Hwa gradually goes back to Yulje in Seoul and realizes her feelings for him. Punctuated by a series of eye-opening elements and emphasized by their 1999 story line, both characters’ affection for one another turns into love and proper confession at the end.
Out of these love stories, I think there are some important elements that need to be remembered:
– First, details are important: whether it’d be a nice gesture, a comforting word or a constant assertion of love, every little aspect of a person matters and can definitely make you realize how much you care for him/her. For instance, Ik Jun is the only one who can make Song Hwa laugh the way she does; Min Ah asserts her love with confidence; Seok Hyung runs to the hospital to take care of Min Ah; Ik Sun is willing to let go of Jun Hwan if he doesn’t want to see her; Jeong Won waits for Gyeo Ul to open up about her familial problems….
– Second, there is no winning without trying: If being a doctor requires skills, practice and training, it is the same with life and relationships. The only reason why each character deserves his/her happy ending is because they didn’t give up nor renounce and fought hard for their love. A determination that surely has its place in our constant life.
– Third, life is made up of a lot of ups and downs: The beauty of Hospital Playlist comes from the fact that every little story, every aspect of the plot, sounds true and totally reliable. As individuals, there is a possibility that we end up in a long-distance relationship, fall in love with a colleague or a best friend, have a sick parent or child, etc…. This is just how life is. The best part of it is that the drama is never dark nor negative. Even though patients and doctors go through tough times, they always see the positive side. The message is simply heartwarming and hopeful.
New themes tackled, diving into characters’ personal lives: If this second season didn’t bore me at all, I believe that it is because the screenwriter perfectly succeeded in continuing the story, while introducing new serious themes related to characters’ personal lives.
I won’t go too much into details here, but let me give you some examples:
– Song Hwa is very busy all the time and rarely talks to her mother, until she discovers that her mother is sick.
Themes: Taking care of your parents, learning that they are becoming patients and getting old
– Ik Jun has to take care of his little sister Ik Sun, whose liver sickness has relapsed. He also becomes a patient at some point, after he has been attacked by a pickpocket.
Themes: Having a sick person in the family, assault in the street
– Rosa (Jeong Won’s mother) keeps getting more and more forgetful and has a feeling that she has dementia. She is afraid of losing her own self because of that.
Themes: Getting older, dementia
– Seok Hyung meets his ex-wife again coincidentally at the beginning of the second season. Their relationship was good, but Seok Hyung’s mother was too much for her daughter-in-law, which led to a lot of an anxiety, a depression and inevitably a divorce.
Themes: controlling parents, divorce
– Gyeo Ul comes from an abusive home, what she reveals to Jeong Won, after her mother has ended up at the hospital with fractured ribs and almost dead. Although Jeong Won sees no problem in that, considering that Gyeo Ul is not to be blamed, the story is different for her brother, who had to break off his engagement because of it.
Themes: Domestic violence, prejudice from the in-laws because of someone’s background
– Do Jae Hak, Jun Hwan’s favorite colleague, and his wife are put through a lot in this season, when they learn that they are going to have a long-awaited baby, but the wife has breast cancer. However, he recovers all his money from the scam in S1 (which is pretty good news!).
Themes: infertility, cancer, scam
A lot of other stories, in relation with the patients can be mentioned too, like the story of the two mothers, whose children are sick. The second mother is luckier than the first one, as her son gets to have a transplant sooner than the other. And the list of themes goes on.
A real slice-of-life drama: All of this brings me to that point. Hospital Playlist IS a slice-of-life drama through and through. When Season 1 worked on establishing all the main relationships, Season 2 delved deeper into other departments (Radiology, the E.R. e.g. the Ping-Pong championship…), other doctors (newbies, residents, many were considered in that second season) and of course patients.
I really appreciated the fact that the drama extended the number of characters and focused a lot more on these second leads, no matter how many they were. This emphasized the realism of the drama and gave more credibility to it, as each character had his/her own problems to take care of (giving up on the profession, getting more self-confident, working around a schedule, being confronted with difficult patients, having a crush…).
Cameos: Season 1 provided us with a lot of different cameos, but the best one of Season 2 is probably Na Young Seok (a.k.a. Na PD, the real producer of the drama!) as Mo Ne’s father.
The Playlist: If Season 1 was excellent in terms of OSTs, I sincerely think that S2 was even better: Loveholics “Butterfly”; “It’s My Life”; “I Like You”, so many iconic songs!
Once Upon a Drama 