A beautiful continuation of Hospital Playlist 1. Hospital Playlist 2 brings a bigger cast, longer episodes, more romance and emotional tugs, and different angles and themes of family and death to really continue its momentum of storytelling about life.
Here’s my Hospital Playlist 2 review.
For those who haven’t watched it
The same splurge I gave in my Hospital Playlist 1 review 🙂
Should you watch this?
If you’re looking for something fast paced and intense, this drama most likely isn’t for you. Aside from emergency surgeries, there’s really nothing else intense about the drama.
If you don’t like slice-of-life dramas, then this drama most likely isn’t for you because this drama is literally slice-of-life.
If you’re looking for a medical drama, you should definitely watch this drama.
Aside from that, I’d highly recommend this drama to everybody else.
What is Hospital Playlist about?
For those who have watched it
The good
Let’s start with the music…
Music and the band! Again…no surprise!
The music was awesome this season. The first couple of songs were a bit slow and on the sadder side but they gradually became more positive and upbeat.
They definitely stepped up the band’s practices and performances. They went full rock mode in episode 10. Song-Hwa made a comeback with her terrible singing in episode 9. And then Momma Rosa coming in hot on the keyboard in episode 8.
My favorite song is definitely the one with Momma Rosa playing on the keyboard. Her playing after her big health scare combined with Ik-Jun’s voice really made this song stand out.
This was my favorite instrumental – it’s usually played when things go well in the operating room. I’m starting to play it when I code or journal.
Clearer Paths for Our Five Doctors
I felt like season one brought us to the starting line for each of our five doctors’ individual journeys. In this season, we get to seem truly embark on their own paths. In a way, the season gave us more defined subplots. I thought the season did a great job balancing each doctor’s personal growth while keeping them interwoven in each other’s lives. Here are my thoughts on each of their journeys:
Song-Hwa’s journey was finding her way back to Ik-jun.
Ik-Jun’s journey was the same – finding his way back to Song-Hwa.
Seok-Hyeong’s journey was learning to accept love again, despite having a complicated family history.
Jun-Wan’s journey was learning how to deal with heart break and be more emotionally expressive.
Jeong-won’s journey was navigating his newfound romantic relationship and learning what it takes to make it work.
Family, death, and romance themes playing a bigger role
While family and death themes were in season one, they became way more prominent in this season, adding more emotional depth and resonance for viewers.
Patients weren’t the only ones who were facing issues with family and confronting death – our five doctors ended up facing them as well. I mean…the biggest one of all was Ik-Jun. Getting bashed in the head?? If he died, I would’ve lost my head. Then there was Song-Hwa’s mom being diagnosed with Parkinson’s – that was heartbreaking. And then Momma Rosa getting depressed and suffering some brain issue…like how can one of the brightest and most positive characters be hit with such a health issue?? Thank God she survived.
Seeing how our five doctors react in the same way as their patients would when dealing with sick family members made them feel even more human and relatable.
Favorite couple
I’m so glad there was more romance in this season. It wasn’t just about hearts and feelings flying everywhere. It was also about break ups as well as struggles of maintaining relationships. We get to see the whole spectrum of love, and I loved it!
This might be the only time I will include this ‘favorite couple’ section because there are so many couples that formed by the end of the drama. You have Ik-Jun/Song Hwa, Min Ha/Seok-Hyeong, Jun-Wan/Ik-Sun, and Jeong-Won/Gyeo-Wool (i know the last two formed already in the first season, but we saw much more growth in their relationships).
My favorite couple is Min-Ha & Seok-Hyeong. These two were just too cute. Min-Ha absolutely nailed her acting and facial expressions. She lost many battles, but in the end, she won the war. I felt like their relationship had a twist on traditional relationships where instead of the guy chasing the girl, Min-Ha does more of chasing.
Fantastic storytelling through juxtaposition of medical cases
Juxtaposing medical cases – both between individual doctors and amongst the doctors themselves – added a very powerful layer to the storytelling in this season.
What makes this interesting is that almost every medical case in the show is unique to each patient. So you can’t really compare one illness to another, let alone one condition in one department to another. Like you can’t say an elder suffering from a heart problem has it worse than an elder suffering from a brain tumor.
Yet, the show uses this juxtaposition to enhance its storytelling because they focus more so on the patient than the illness itself. The show highlights the patient’s and family’s reactions to hearing their dreadful health issue, which deepens the emotional resonance during the show.
My favorite shot and scene in the entire drama was when the two families visited their loved ones in the ICU. Both patients were under Song-Hwa’s care, but one patient died while the other survived. The contrast between one family celebrating life and another mourning death creates this deeply emotional moment. We see a powerful contrast between the joy and sorrows of life – feelings that anybody can relate to.
Our residents/fellows getting more plot!
Giving our residents and residents turned fellows some of their subplots was a great decision for Hospital Playlist 2! It gives a little bit more depth to their characters, showing that they’re just more than doctors that work under our five main doctors. This season did a great job exploring new and different aspects of our their lives. For example, we get to see Jae-Hak’s wife in this season and be a part of their short and tough journey of discovering their baby.
I have to say – my favorite resident has to be Dr. CHU CHU. Ahn Eun-Jin absolutely killed her role. The way she carried herself with her crazy antics, facial expressions, body expressions, struggles, thoughts, and quirky personality really just made her the most lovable resident for me. I knew she was one of the weirder residents in season one, but she took that weirdness and really made her character shine in the second season.
Jong-Su and Rosa’s legendary friendship
I’m glad that Jong-Su and Rosa were back in the second season.
Their friendship was one of my favorite parts in the first season. They brought comedic relief and a breath of fresh air to the drama because everything about the drama mainly took place in the hospital. Their world and time together existed mostly outside the hospital.
They continued to do the same in this second season.
The second season went even further for Jong-Su and Rosa by testing their friendship with Rosa’s health scare. It showed that their friendship was more than just their shared walks, meal times, and banter. When faced with hardship, they would be there for each other. I’m glad that the health scare ended with Rosa playing piano during the band’s practice!
A banger ending to the drama
The ending to this drama was intense and satisfying. We got to see some major surgeries take place and all of our characters received a happy ending. Everyone either falls in love or reconciled after a break up. Even Jae-Hak also gets his money back! Most of the intense surgeries had positive outcomes. I loved that the last episode was 2 hours. Jam-packed!
Having longer medical cases
This was a key element made the second season stand out from the first because there weren’t any medical cases that spanned multiple episodes in the first season. Having longer medical cases made it feel like the patients were more part of the story and our doctor’s lives. Seeing the build up of emotions and struggle between the doctors and patients really upped the storytelling in this season.
The long medical case (really more like cases) that stood out for me was the two mothers racing to find a heart for their kids. That was just rough for Eun-Ji’s mom, but thankfully, Eun-Ji was able to find a heart donor. We even see Jun-Wan break his own rule with making promises before surgery. Instead of always saying “I will do my best” – he said “I will save Eun-Ji”. I don’t think he would’ve said that if Eun-Ji had found a heart sooner.
More themed episodes
I thought having episodes centered around a specific theme was great! It made the episodes more than just a day in the life for our five doctors. There was something to focus on and everything in the episode was dedicated to it.
Episode 6 was about mistakes and failures.
Episode 2 was about surgery difficulties.
Episode 8 was about family and the inevitability of age and death.
The bad
I honestly didn’t find anything bad with the drama.
I didn’t dislike anything either.
What I thought could’ve been better
Having more scenes in the ER or least Kwang-Hyeon airtime
We get to see some more emergency surgeries in this drama, which was awesome. It definitely added pace and intensity to the drama. It would’ve been even better if we saw more of that but in the emergency room. It was super cool to see Kwang-Heyon take on a case with Ik-Jun and Jun-Wan in episode 9. It felt like a Avengers medical team was being formed in that episode.
Having some deaths in the operating room
In both seasons of Hospital Playlist, we’ve seen deaths happen out of the operating room like the death of a baby right after it’s born or the death of a patient after our doctors finish surgery, but it would’ve been interesting to see how our doctors react when they lose a patient during surgery. It’s a different feeling to have somebody die on the operating table versus in a bed in the ICU. It’s like dying during the action or dying after the action.
More reactions to Ik-Jun’s head injury
I wished we could’ve seen the other three doctors’ reaction to Ik-Jun getting hurt. We see Song-Hwa’s reaction, which was the most important one, but the drama sort of skips directly to all of them gathering in the ICU room. I mean…we all pretty much expect them to rush over, but it would’ve been nice to see their individual reactions…
Life themes in this drama
Life is a marathon
Life is a long race that requires endurance, patience, and perseverance. Just like a marathon, life isn’t about sprinting to quick success but pacing yourself. It’s taking things a day at a time while staying committed to your long term goals. So just because things get hard or you hit an obstacle, it doesn’t mean that your life is over.
Eun-Ji and Min-Chan’s mothers were the perfect example of this. Both of them really went through that long journey of trying to get a heart transplant for their own kids. Eun-Ji’s mom reminds Min-Chan that they are marathoners in this race for a heart transplant.
Try your best is the best promise you can make
This theme was very prominent in season 1, but I think what makes this theme stand out more in this season is the fact that some of our doctors couldn’t save their patients despite doing their best in the operating room. While we see the pain of loss in our doctor’s eyes, we don’t see regret because they knew they did everything they could to save their patient.
So doing your best is the best promise you can make to yourself and others.
Fight for your belief and opinions
Your belief and opinion make up who you are, so fight for what you believe in! Otherwise, people will take advantage of you. They may lose trust in your ability to make a decision when things matters.
This is especially important in the medical field where you have to make tough decisions that can mean the difference between life or death. This theme was beautifully portrayed in episode 4 when Seon-Bin didn’t fight hard enough for her opinion that the patient needed a second surgery. While she was able to help save the patient when he went into an emergency situation, her hesitation almost costed the patient’s life.
Death is one of life’s greatest teachers
Death shows us not just our mortality but also what matters most in our life. It teaches us to focus on what’s important and to not take certain things in life for granted.
There are so many deaths in this second season, but if I had to choose one that really stood out with this life theme, it has to be Song Hwa’s medical case where the two kids were debating on whether to have their mom undergo brain tumor surgery. The son essentially said not to do it because he was focused more on money than family. Later in the episode, we learn that the guy’s best friend dies suddenly, and that changes the son’s perspective on life and he encourages his mom to get the surgery.
On a somewhat related note, when somebody is grieving over loss, sometimes the best thing to do for them is just to listen. Your presence can mean more to them than words of encouragement.
Have empathy in the face of frustration
It’s easy to judge somebody when you’re frustrated with them because they negatively against you or doesn’t listen to you. But there may be a good reason behind their behavior. If we could understand their perspective, our feelings of judgement can transform into a willingness to help.
I love how Ik-Jun demonstrates this with Yun-Bok. Yun-Bok complains about the brother who was giving the medical staff attitude about taking better care of his sister. Even though they did everything they could, he still gives an attitude that rubs Yun-Bok the wrong way. Ik-Jun responds by saying that he would’ve done the same if he were in the brother’s shoes. This ended up reminding Yun-Bok that she did the same thing as the brother did when her mom was at the hospital. Yun-Bok breaks down and cries out of guilt.
We are imperfect people
We make mistakes, and we fail. We won’t understand everything that goes on in life. So don’t judge yourself harshly for those things. Instead, learn from your mistakes so you can become stronger and wiser to guide those walk behind you.
Love is patient
Love takes a long time. Real love isn’t rushed. It means giving people time to grow and change so that they may see you in a better light or understand you.
We see that in all our five main doctors. Jeong-Won waited patiently for Gyeo-Wool to open up about her abusive father. Ik-Jun waited patiently for Song-Hwa to fall for him. Jun-Wan waited for Ik-Sun to open up her true feelings. Dr. Chu wasn’t exactly patient in confessing her feelings but she was patient in a way that she never gave up on her feelings for Seok-Hyeong. Seok-Hyeong was definitely patient with Dr. Chu and her confession of love.
Life can be a real b**** sometimes
And you won’t know why life treats you this way. You can be celebrating or just chilling in life, and then all of a sudden, your father has to get heart surgery or your wife gets diagnosed with breast cancer. Life can be so incredibly tough and painful in those moments. So what do you do? Do what you think is best – just like what the doctors do in Hospital Playlist.
Hospital Playlist 2 Quotes
Episode 1
“No one keeps visiting forever. She, too, will stop eventually. Because we all have to forget and move on” – Jeong-won to Gyeo-Wool
“We have to try our best. That’s all I can think about” – Seok-Hyeong to Min-Ha
Episode 2
“We’re like marathoners. It has only just begun. Come on. You’re a mother. You can’t break down so soon.” – Eun-Ji’s mother to Lee Min-Chan’s mother
“Bad things at times do happen to good people.” – Seok Hyeong narrating what he told his patient who lost her baby
Episode 3
“No, Dad. You don’t need to be sorry. You’re doing good deeds. You want to spend time with me, your universe. But you’re busy saving the bigger universe out there.” – Woo-Joo (U-Ju) to Ik-Jun
Episode 4
“But there’s something I learned naturally with age. As long as you both want to make it work and aren’t too far apart, just wait and see. Then something will come along. So many things can happen in the span of a day, you know. Things happen, whether they’re good or bad. And sometimes, you have to call and meet up of because something that happens.” – Song-Hwa to Seon-Bin
“His condition worsened because you wasted time being hesitant and indecisive. You’ve been working hard to study the case and monitor him so fight hard. That is the only way you can save your patients.” – Song-Hwa to Seon-Bin
Episode 5
Episode 6
“Doctors are humans too. It’s okay. You can cry. It’s natural to want to cry in situations like that.” – Jun-Wan to Chang-Min
Episode 7
“And I had no memories of calling her “mom”. But suddenly, I became her guardian and was told to decide whether or not I wanted to donate her organs. This situation itself…I was confused. And it’s not easy for me to accept that I have such a right.” – Security guard to Ik-Jun
Episode 8
“Even if I have a day left to live, I want to live like everybody else does for once.” – Elderly patient man to Jun-Wan
Episode 9
Episode 10
Episode 11
Re-watchability
What I watched before this?
Overall Rating
Beautifully shot scenes. Great music. Fantastic storytelling. Again, I’d really recommend it to anybody to watch.
I hope you enjoyed this Hospital Playlist 2 review! Let me know what you thought of it in the comments below. I pray pray pray that Shin Won-Ho and the rest of the cast can make a third season happen!
