Overanalyzing The Romance in Hospital Playlist 2

met XingBack, november 16, 2021

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First of all I need to say I am a huge fan of Hospital Playlist 2, so I'm not a hater, but I do hate how every romance is going in S2 and I want to rant about it. I've watched 8 episodes, so expect lots of spoilers. ;p

Though I have to say I wrote this around June, so now things may sound out of date and awkward. xD

This drama is the perfect slice of life and doctor genre, but as a romance it's a big fail. First of, I'm gonna start with my biggest rant couple:

*Before I start, the actors are all in their mid/late 30s (so yey for age appropriate cast), but their characters are in their 40s?! And they act like THIS in their relationships?! WHAT! So like Ik Soon is also not in her late 20s? Wow..

This can be the start of a new "thing", either called "Overanalyzing with Xingback" or "If I Were The Writer".

Kim Jun Wan (Jung Kyung Ho) x Lee Ik Soon (Kwak Sun Young)

When Lee Ik Jun told his sister how Jun Wan was stressed because of his girlfriend, I, for one, thought he knows everything and he's trying to subtly tell/support them by advising her that she needs to ask about his life and stress as well.

I would've been happy if he just knew. Ik Jun has been like a cupid throughout the drama, he always sensed the romantic tensions and he loved to meddle, so how does he not know! Especially when Ik Soon first asked him about how Jun Wan was doing, it was so obvious.

BUT it even gets worse, when she does tell him, he doesn't knock some sense into her! He didn't tell her what she was doing was wrong!

And what she's doing is wrong on so many levels. 1- she doesn't let her boyfriend talk and only wants him to listen to her struggles. 2- her brother tells her that's making the boyfriend stressed. 3- instead of taking the mature step and asking him "how was your day today" she breaks his heart!

Now talking about the writer, she goes and makes Ik Soon sick so the "breakup" has a valid reason, but unless they actually continue the breakup and mature from this, I will not forgive this writer! Because at the end of the ep 5 her sickness was not a burden. She was going through treatment, she went back to the army, and she'd go out with her brother once in a while.

I just want to think Jun Wan was burdened by the relationship so he took the excuse to break up. Because even though he loved her, he realized how immature and naive she was. He needs someone his age or even older that'd be mature yet playful. I won't say Chae Song Hwa herself, but someone in that mindset (the actress is "older" but again this proves, this is 1000% the characters not the actresses/actors), I wish she was a "noona". xD

Otherwise it'd also be out of character for his easy-going personality to not trust his girlfriend just because she had 1 close male friend, when she actually lives/works in the army surrounded by men and he also has a female bff that he never had a crush on just because she was a woman.

Ik Soon as a female character felt fresh, she was a no nonsense confident type, but the relationship also ruined her as a person. THEY ONLY NEEDED TO TALK.

If I was the writer:

Fist off, I wouldn't have added a breakup, it was an ugly move that showed major flows in both characters but if one "ruins/ends" something I prefer to move on, especially if it's not the usual boring last 2 ep breakup move.

In ep 7 I saw this new character and I couldn't help but ship her more with Jun Wan. xD She looks good for him, she's mature, calm and mysterious (Ignore her real character's purpose).

A new beginning would've added so much more flavor to the realness of Hospital Playlist.

Lee Ik Jun (Jo Jung Suk) x Chae Song Hwa (Jeon Mi Do)

Now idk if I shipped Song Hwa with Ik Jun since s1, or maybe I was shipping her with that other guy, but things were going well when suddenly ep 2 happens and Ik Jun just says "let's stay friends". Why are they all full of random reasons they can't let themselves find new love? Only Jun Wan started his new relationship with confidence, the rest all find reasons why they can't be together.

No need for anyone to say "they don't want to ruin their friendship". 99% of dramas do that, but also most of the time people say the risk was worth it. So again it's just an excuse for the writer because they are already practically dating - they're just denying themselves.

I also feel like Jeon Mi Do gained confidence as an actress and that reflected so well on her character❣

If I was the writer:

For this there are 2 simple answers: make them take a risk and confess, or just decide to stay friends and move on (like how Yang Suk Hyung's treated his feelings with Jeon Mi Do), but like done faster.

Ahn Jung Won (Yoo Yeon Seok) x Jang Gyeo Wool (Shin Hyun Bin)

I was really happy that even though it took a long time for them to confess (to each other and themselves) that they liked each other, when the romance started it all went downhill again.

Gyeo Wool as a character matured on her own, she gained more confidence in her career and I loved that, but after that ep where Jung Won told her "stop calling me professor when we're alone" and she didn't, while he calls her Gyeo Woolie, I feel a messed up power-balance between them. She's too serious and he's too loose (the opposite of s1), and he already wants to propose. She needs to let loose and he needs to calm down...

Ep 7 made everything worse. The writer strikes again with the lack of communication and the guys go around sulking instead of saying "just tell me what's going on".

If I was the writer:

I don't really know what was the point of ep7/8's miscommunication. Jung Won acted so insecure but at least I'm glad Gyeo Wool said what I wanted her to say and better yet, she came back because she dealt with her issues - not because a woman must drop everything for the man.

Yang Suk Hyung (Kim Dae Myung) x Chu Min Ha (Ahn Eun Jin)

Just like the other guys in this drama, he can't open his heart for new love because he thinks everything is his fault and he doesn't deserve love.

I admire her journey and I'm glad she only got driven when he showed signs of interest in her as a person. But how driven can a one-sided crush be before it turns awkward? (kinda like the winter couple, the FLs show all the interest while the guys act cold and suddenly they fall in love just because she was pushy not because of her as a person).

If I was the writer:

I wouldn't have added the crying scene in ep 8. I get Min Ha having a pure simple mindset but she wasn't even sedated enough to just cry over a guy visiting her. I'd also have added less confession attempts because they didn't even show the 2nd confession but better yet I'd have made Suk Hyung confess before her 3rd attempt as apposed to making him finally accept the 3rd time (if he did).

Again and again, there's no need to say "it happens in real life". A lot of diverse and repetitive things happen in life but in dramaland they happen for 1 reason and 1 reason only: the drama. Writers can't write a normal happy relationship. If makjang relationships are normal so they can exist in dramaland, why can't at least 1 couple be happy too? Happy couples exist as well, even if no one is always happy and stress-free, good balanced relationships exist. Lol, even Jung Ro Sa and Ju Jong Su are going through that dance "we love each other but we can never be in love because of blah blah reason".

For now the only normal relationship is Do Je Hak and his wife, even when he had issues with the load and house, his wife was always by his side. For now I won't be surprised if he turns out to be delusional and he's not really married. xD

In some ways, with Ahn Jung Won x Jang Gyeo Wool and with Yang Suk Hyung x Chu Min Ha, the women are falling for the rare professional side of these doctors. Both guys are kinda labeled as cold and hard to approach, sometimes even emotionless, but the women get to see the actual behind the scenes soft and caring side of them, and I do think that's beautiful. In return the guys also get to see the women grow and stand on their own feet which is admirable and great for solidifying a romance, though I also wonder what would happen if they stand on opposing sides as the women grow professionally. I think that kind of tension beats the "do I deserve love" nonsense this writer is making.