Hospital Playlist Season 2 (2021) Episode 12 (1)
After a series of preemptions and movie length episodes, Hospital Playlist S2 is done. I managed to get to it yesterday my time and I’m still wondering how to put words into how I feel. It had all the elements of a heartfelt swansong and yet it leaves room for another season. A part of me is happy for the show to conclude on a high while another part of me thinks that another season might be needed because I can’t believe that Shin-Lee are quite done with the franchise.
I suppose I could start by ranting about all the things I had hoped to see in the finale and didn’t but I won’t. Instead I’d like to start off by saying how much I did like the final episode. No matter how annoyed I am prepared to be, I can never dislike Hospital Playlist because it always manages to put a smile on my face or melt my stoic heart. A second season was always going to be a mammoth undertaking considering the weight of expectations that had to be met. For the most part they’ve acquitted themselves nicely… even if I wasn’t always comfortable with the direction in which the storytelling was leading to.
Although I was desperately hoping wedding bells would ring for the WinterGarden pair at the 11th hour, the two intimate moments we got between them were really good. Plus I was able to buy into the assurance that things are stronger than ever between them while they interacted on the stairwell. For the first time I felt that they had reached a new high in their relationship — a newfound equal footing that wasn’t there before. I don’t know about anyone else but I needed it — to see Gyeo-ul act as a sounding board and emotional ballast for the more experienced and usually more confident Ahn Jeong-won. I’d almost forgotten how emotional and anxiety-prone Jeong-won used to be. What we saw in this instance was a glimpse of how much this relationship has brought equilibrium to his life. While he’s second-guessing himself, she’s there to affirm the choice that he has already made and hold his hand with armed with impeccable logic. In her conversation with the GS residents she demonstrates just how well she understands the procedure and Jeong-won’s dilemma. As she confidently prattles off his history with pediatric bowel transplantation, I am struck by how lively she appears to be and later on how in tune she is with his state of mind. When they’re having dinner together leaving the cares of work aside, we get another confession (backhanded though it was) and more hints of the prospects of matrimony in the offering.
On hindsight my impression is that Shin-Lee were in a hurry to wrap up all the love lines before the season’s end… arguably at some cost to other aspects of the storytelling. Perhaps they weren’t sure if a season three would see the light of day so in one final act of fan servicing, they wanted to make it all happen in season two. That said I’m not a person who prioritizes the romance over the patient stories. For me the patient stories have always come first but even I have to admit to the fact that the effort in trying to get the gom gom and Ik-Song show on the road before the final curtain call, meant that other aspects of the show had to take a backseat which undoubtedly includes other love lines. It’s not meant to be a competition I’m sure because it means everyone gets their happily-ever-after but it’s still inevitably a scramble for development time. There’s no denying that it’s a juggling act of monumental proportions… for good or for ill. Obviously the show cannot do romance the conventional way with the kind of depth we’ve all come to expect so it’s left to individual members of the audience to decide if this approach works for them and give their verdict. I daresay it is impossible for a drama that showcases the inner workings of the hospital care system in so much detail to completely satisfy the viewer’s itch for romance. And as a nod to critics, I’d agree that there was probably no urgent need for romance in the first place. Or the complexity of multiple romances for that matter. But that said, people do watch Korean dramas in large part for the romance and the showrunners have to factor it in to grab a bigger audience. The thinking might be that a little is better than none at all. At the very least it’s a hook. Since I’ve also made the observation myself on some occasions that romance is also a slice-of-life, I can’t be too critical with this approach. Nor would I want to be.
I’ve concluded now that I’ve seen everything the season has to offer that this is the transactional relationship that viewers inevitably have to have with the storytelling. The show can’t please everyone. Either I have to lower my expectations regarding how the romance plays out or I reject the premise of the show in its entirety. At this point I’m more inclined to say the former because I wouldn’t want the show to do away with the focus on the inner workings of the hospital as seen through the eyes of the Five. As a WinterGarden fan though, I can’t help that sneaky feeling that I’ve missed out what could have been if their romance had been given more primacy for instance.
The decision to expedite the bear coupling and Ik-Song no doubt played a part in why bidulgi went down the route it did and took a back seat for as long as it did. On the whole it’s not been a bad deal because I love the Jun-wan that I see in Episode 12. His development has been truly one of the highlights of the season. Because of the misery and heartache he went through, he came out the other end, a gentler and more compassionate physician. That’s certainly exemplified in the latest case with the boy with a complex heart condition. Jun-wan is so much better at communicating with his patients than when first we saw him. Moreover his relationship with offsider Jae-hak has only gone from strength to strength. It moves me just thinking about how much of a support he has been to Jae-hak throughout his wife’s pregnancy and cancer scare. In this journey Jun-wan has been with him every step of the way. The reprimanding, accusatory tone that marked their early dynamic is all but gone. Do I miss it? It made for great humour but I like the new Jun-wan far too much to lament the change. I’m reminded once again of how wonderful an actor Jang Kyung-ho is when I contrast his most recent visit to Ik-Sun’s base camp compared to when he first went. It is devoid of cockiness and there’s a palpable softening in his demeanour. He cracks a rare joke. Ik-sun loses it and the tears come streaming down. Then they embrace. It signals a new era. They’re both now a little older… and a little wiser.
This… ladies and gentleman (if there are any out there)… is why I watch Hospital Playlist. Warts and all. Because where others see pointless patient arcs or unwanted romance, I see inspiring stories of underdogs overcoming impossible odds and character triumphs.
More later… I have a queue of posts to complete and need for a rewatch.
Thank you once again for sorting out my own thoughts and impressions with your calm, composed, and overall brilliant writing. I'm so lucky to have stumbled upon your blog. <3<3
When your concept is “Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue”, you can get away with a lot of things.
You can get away (albeit barely) with not giving the audience the much-hinted marriage, proposal, or secret relationship reveal.
You can give them another non-flashy confession, this time a kiss-less one (because the unspoken quota of one kiss per episode has already been spent on the excellent GomGom couple), and that confession would basically serve the same purpose. (Of giving more hints, lol).
Everyone was hoping for a big bang in the finale, but we got a poetic sunset instead, alluding to “Me to You, You to Me” lyrics. And Jeong-won’s story went back to its genesis, only with him embracing his true vocation and setting out to become even a better doctor with a helper by his side.
I always spoke about how I love HP’s “showing, not telling” principle. After this episode, I realized that ShinLee mastered “telling, not showing” too. There were so many things we haven’t been shown (i.e. the ocean), though TV production would make it beautiful and memorable. But the dialogue was just as effective, if not more effective, in its simplicity, it was never too expository. Each episode is like a Polaroid photo - at first, it’s just bits, and pieces, and spots,
but the more you wait and observe, the fuller the picture is.
I am in absolute awe of this show. It’s one of the kind on every level. It is perfect even in its imperfection - you could guess that the production of the last episode was a tad bit rushed, and a lot of material (around 20 to 30 minutes of screen time) ended up on the cutting room floor.
The scenes are very trimmed, they barely have “air” around them, and some of them felt like surgical replacements of some other ideas (the dinner-confession and the Jeong-won's sudden decision to go to the US for a year); and the team definitely had to choose what to put into their patchwork script and what to take out, so they left only the essential plot vehicles (the staircase hug, the double date, closure for patients’ stories) and crème de la crème entertainment (the joint performance of the Lee siblings a special highlight among them). Even the throwbacks (something old) were used to show the growth of the character - same people, same situation, but Seok-hyeong is somehow chill about riding crowded elevators, and Jun-wan may skip the quiz and offer the exhausted interns a ride home.
I am mostly stunned with how intricately (though imperfectly) everything was done in this episode. Also melancholic, because I don't want it to end, and rewatching my favorite parts would only make the longing worse. But I'm here today with a grateful heart and a sincere hope for another season in a couple of years.
It’s been a pleasure and an honor watching Hospital Playlist 2. And sharing this pleasure with you, wonderful ladies, tripled my weekly joy. <3<3<3
Thank you for this post... I have been having the same struggle after E12 on how to put my feeling into words. I have been waiting for your post as your words always help me process better and present the same feelings I share in ways I could never do. And you certainly did it again with E12.
To start with the positive, I have to say that as long as E12 was, I enjoyed almost every second of it. I loved seeing Seokmin's and Gyeoul's growths in their skills and confidence handling challenging surgeries, the doctor-patient-family dynamics and the difficult dilemmas, the interactions between the 5 (esp. the conversation between SW and SK in the courtyard), and it was so nice to hear the two talented musical drama ladies sing in the karaoke. The challenge for me was feeling that there is still a void even after all those wonderful 120+ mins. To use some of your words, I did not "dislike" the episode as I laughed and cried with it just like the other ones, but I just wish there could be even more, esp knowing this could be the end and there are no more episode in sight to help tie up the loose ends / present finalities in the storylines that they have spent the last 23 episodes to develop.
I totally agree with you that they appeared to be in a hurry wrapping up all the storylines with a somewhat happy endings, maybe to please all the shippers now there is no definite S3, and it cost some necessary details in storytelling to more deeply touch and impact the viewers. It is almost like the Chinese term 隔靴搔癢 （trying to scratch your itch from outside your boots). Take WinterGarden for example, I, too, totally love their two scenes together, but I also wish they could have taken some more time to deal with the development a little deeper (and I wish the same for all the other couples). I am very aware of the fact that this is not a rom com, but if they have set up all these love lines and esp GW with all those hints on marriages, I somehow feel that we were robbed at the end with nothing more than these two scenes together and the news that they'd leave for the US together for a year.
I personally actually love the ending of JW leaving Yulje for a year to enhance his skills in small bowel transplantation. Like SW said, he is the person that is most happy when seeing others enjoy food, so the choosing of this specific specialty is very matching with his character, as it is the only way to help some of his little patients enjoy food like others. Even though it was just a one-year program, his mind probably was on something else (e.g. his earlier life plan) to give it a thought prior to this season, and his uneasiness shows he still needs more experience to help more kids. GU is the person that knew how difficult the procedure is, how JW is the best Yulje could offer, but at the same time how anxious he could be w/ only 1:2 success rate so far, and how she can help him focus. I have no doubt she was fully supportive of, probably even encouraged him to pursue the one-year stint. So as a contrast to S1 when he wanted to leave Yulje for good to run away from suffering patients and attraction towards GU, him leaving Yulje now just temporarily to fully embrace his calling to heal more children, and to have GU by his side, in my opinion, is a wonderful twist and ending message. However, all these wonderful and logical developments got rushed in the presentation, and I was first left wondering how did they go from him not even having met GU's mom, and not even thinking about this specialty, and within a 2-3 weeks span, to the point that he is already set for studying in the US and she is coming alone? It was not until later I got to appreciate the meaning behind this ending.. but how about GU? Surely he would not be that inconsiderate to her career to ask her to just take a break and follow him. And it is already not logical for him to get a study arrangement so quickly, let alone having another one arranged for her. And whether she is there to study or not, surely JW would not have her come with him without first making very serious commitment, with the only fitting one being, in my opinion, marriage, right? Then how did he manage to meet the mom (who has just recovered from DV), propose, and ask her to follow him all in that short span? And why did ShinLee not even give us any hints about all?
I think I was torn between what to expect... I expect this to be slice-of-life so I did not expect all happy fairy tale endings, but also because it is supposed to present somewhat realistic, "ordinary" life or doctors, I cannot reconcile all the quick / rushed developments with the lack of details 😣. And while I appreciate how this drama is not for lazy viewers and requires more detailed digestion to connect dots and comprehend the underlying message, I am noticing myself having to do a lot of interpretation and "extra scenes" in my mind this time - to the point I wondered if I was watching a detective show 🤣.
But having said all the above, I echo that I love this show, warts and all. The positive impact the show has brought to its viewers, me included, has been amazing. I will miss the weekly routine of waiting for content anxiously on Thursday, and looking forward to reading comments here the days after. I personally truly hope there will be a S3 or at least some special episodes to tie a even better bow on it, but with or without it, it is still one of the shows that touched me the most emotionally and helped many of us go through a challenging time with inspiring stories and positive energy.
Thank you again!