momo

Woah, what a great episode this week. I feel like Winter Garden didn't get as much time as in ep 3 overall, but I like the shorter scenes sprinkled around the episode a lot more than just 1 long scene of their dates. I loved to see them in the hospital - Andrea's entrance during lunch scene was hilarious, and so was his sulky reaction to Geoul's formal "good morning". I am also finally getting more into IkSong ship, I wasn't their fan in season 1, but I have to admit that their chemistry is getting better and better. On the other hand, my heart breaks for Jun Wan. I feel that it's in character for Ik Sun to break up with him, as she was always speaking about her doubts around the long-distance relationship, but it doesn't hurt any less to see them end up like this. Jun Wan didn't deserve such an abrupt break-up through the phone. I teared up so bad during flashback scenes of them both during the 99's song performance, I really hope that's not the end for them... Overall, I liked ep 4 waay better than ep 3, the plot was a lot more engaging for me.

But I have 2 questions - first one, did Suk Min change jobs? I thought that he just left Yulje after his exams to work in another hospital, but it seems that he completly changed careers? Can anybody tell me more about what he's up to, cause I feel like I missed it?

Second one - so what do you guys think, did Ik Jun know all along about Jun Wan and Ik Sun? When Ik Jun called her, I was 100% sure he knew, but at the end of the episode when she told him not to mention her state to Jun Wan he seemed surprised? I don't know anymore, what are your thoughts on it?

To be honest, I think that she just didn't have the time, as it was a very short conversation. In ep 2, when she told Jun Wan about the racist encounter, she interrupted him, but after she finished, she asked him about what he was saying, and he told that that was nothing. So it's not that she's not interested in him. I actually think that it's a very common situation in a relationship and neither is at fault - they are both adults and should feel free to communicate their needs with each other. I believe that if Jun Wan told Ik Sun that he feels that she isn't interested enough, she would listen and try her best to be better to him.

Also, the argument of "write your own screenplay" is just so bad... People want to say what they like and what they don't like about the series. I don't have to be a screenwriter to do that. Are any reviews, except for the good ones, unnecessary for you? Then why even bother reading comment section?

Nah, it's not that Ik Jun is too perfect of a surgeon, but he's too perfect of a human being. He doesn't have any character flaws really and because of that I don't feel like there's any development in his character, or that there are any challenges for him in the series. It did work somehow in S1, but at the same time cause of that Ik Jun has never been my favourite character. I enjoy stories of residents who sometimes fail way more, like Gyeoul - nobody can say that she's incompetent, but she can lack compassion sometimes, and it's interesting to see her fight that. Minha on the other hand is struggling with being overworked, feeling that she maybe chose the wrong path in life, and with her anger and lack of patience in certain situations. That's what is interesting for me to see.

And I'm not complaining about Ik Jun only, Song Hwa is similar in that way for me. I'm just wondering why does Ik Jun get so much screentime (especially in ep 3), when he doesn't really get any interesting plots, and when there are other characters which have much more to work through right now (like Suk Hyung). I want to see something interesting with Ik Jun, but last episode I was a bit bored, and I wasn't feeling that the liver transplant was any challenge to him...

Yup, the behaviour around eah other depends on personalities. I actually don't have anything against their cute scenes, just wish there were more "normal" ones for a balance, like in ep 1 with them working together, and for them to be more sprinkled around the episodes. And as for their cuteness, sometimes people need just a little bit of alcohol to show their cute side, two glasses of wine and I turn into cute monster as well (my boyfriend not as much, but it can happen). If Andrea already has that cute side of him present every day, he doesn't need the extra encouragement haha

I'm actually pretty surprised that Ik Sun didn't discuss it with Jun Wan. I mean, in S1, when she got a friendly message from a male coworker, she explained herself right away to not leave any doubt in Jun Wan's mind. She also told him to check her phone if he wanted. So I'm not sure why she would not discuss it with Jun Wan openly beforehand.

I wouldn't go as far as to say that it's immoral, but I wouldn't blame anybody for being jealous and not feeling comfortable with their other half living with someone of opposite gender for 3 years in a different country. But right now I wouldn't even say it's their biggest problem, considering how Jun Wan is backing out from sharing his feelings and worries with Ik Sun in the first place...

@hahhahaag
I agree, I want to skip some bits but they still feel so precious after the 1 year wait! And I invite you to discussion, it's hard to admit but I'm in on MDL and Hospital Playlist 2 comment section way more than I should haha

I agree, but is this something we didn't know before? When you work on a movie, you should take out the scenes that even though are good, do not add anything to the plot/don't show us something more about the character. I guess it is different with a series (one that has such long episodes at that), but it disrupted the pacing for me, and they felt boring and unnecessary. I'd say the same about the beginning of the episode, when dr Cheon, Ik Jun, Jun Wan and Andrea see their outpatients - it's nothing we haven't seen before. We know that dr Cheon is cold to his patients, and the others care a lot more. And I get that it's a slice of life, but if the scenes don't add anything new, they should at least be funny or moving, and all of those just weren't (maybe for the kid visiting Andrea, she was freaking adorable, I did enjoy that one the most).

I liked their conversation (Lee Kyu Hyung is such a charismatic actor! shame he doesn't get a bigger role), but honestly, it was so blunt XD Like she just accidentaly met somebody that's in the exact same situations as her. I don't know, I found it rather awkward and a bit too straightforward to my liking...

I honestly hope that he will be able to talk to somebody about his relationship and share his concerns. I think it can be hard for him to open up, especially that he's been secretive about it for so long, but he will really need support.

Ok... So I watched the latest episode, and though I seriously love this show, but I have some thoughts.

1. I already noteced it in S1, but Ik Jun is a near-perfect human being. And it kinda worked in S1. But I don't feel like any of his plots right now are interesting at all. He is getting a lot of time each episode, and I'm sorry, but it's pretty tiring to watch him operate on yet another patient, and even though the surgery is near impossible to do, he manages to do it. I get it, he's one of the best in his field, he's kind, he's thoughtful, he loves helping people, but I'm honestly getting bored. And the patient's story in ep 3 did not make it any more interesting to me. In ep 2, when Ik Jun refused to treat a drinking man after a liver transplant, that was something interesting - I want to see more of that, explore all kinds of stories. I want him talking with U-Ju more. Honestly, give me something...
2. I feel that the patient's stories are very uneven. I loved the story of the mother from ep 1 visiting Gyeul, it was really touching, and the pregnant woman's story in ep 2 was engaging as well. But this episode, I enjoyed the girl visiting Andrea at the beginning of the episode, I also really liked the one who was 'smiling with eyes', and that's pretty much it. As I said, the liver transplant did not move me, somehow the two mothers of kids with heart diseases were also pretty bland... It was supposed to be touching, but it was a bit boring to me, I'm sorry...
3. Due to the patient's stories being disappointing, they drag for me and I feel like they take too much time in an episode. Like, the episodes are 1,5h long. Why do we get a Winter Garden moment every other episode, and when it comes, it's just once in an episode? Like - there you have it a kiss/hug, now moving on to another character. I want more simple interactions, them treating a patient together, talking about life, just like in ep 1. And where did Min Ha go, do they still want to develop her relationship with Suk Hyung? Because it hasn't really changed for the last 3 episodes, and at this rate I feel like they should just give up on it, him having a sudden change of heart after 15 episodes of no doubts about wanting to be single just won't be believable. And not even the romance, I lack more interactions between the characters (Andrea and his mother was gold, but I want more!). Maybe I'm wrong but last season I felt that there's a better balance between medical and personal stuff.
4. This is minor, but I am pretty disappointed with the music. I thought that we will get a lot more new songs, but right now it's pretty repetetive and using mainly S1 music. I guess that we will get more along the way, but I expected more.

Overall, I still enjoy it, don't get me wrong. But S1 felt way fresher, and S2 seems to have lost just a bit of its spark. Sorry for the rant, I hope nobody feels like I'm attacking anybody, I'm still a fan, it's just that for the first time, today I felt like I want to skip some parts of Hospital Playlist, and I've never felt like that before. Maybe I'm overreacting, it's possible, we still have a lot of episodes left.

I wanted to recommend watching "Into the Ring", but I see that you have already watched it, a true man of culture!

I don't think we know a lot. From what I remember, we were told that the marriage lasted only 1 month, and Suk Hyung feels sorry for his ex-wife. I also think that it was an arranged marriage, but I'm not sure, and it was his decision to end it (but I'm not 100% sure, someone can correct me if I'm wrong).

I feel the same... Don't get the hype at all. When I stop watching in the middle of the episode and then pick it up some other day, I had no idea what point of time it was. The characters are not my cup of tea at all. I tried for 5 episodes, I think it's time for me to drop it.

Nah, they always give us tense trailers, and then it turns out that it's nothing really important XD

I feel you... This could have been one of my favourite dramas, if not for the ending. After almost half a year I still wasn't able to give it a score...

I'm kinda surprised at myself, because I hate watching airing shows (I still remember that I watched Mr Queen while it aired because I thought it would be 16 eps not 20, oh how I suffered between the episodes...) but with this one it's more of a nice feeling of anticipation instead of losing sleep. But I guess that's because I already got my Winter Garden in episode 1 and I couldn't be happier haha

Yeah, I found ep 13 pretty strange as well... Like why make them go back together 2 times in span of like 10 mins (first time in the hospital, second when he run after the truck) when nothing really changed to give FL a reason to break up with ML once again? Also the scene when ML cought the criminal from the photo was so weird, why did he try to make FL feel bad by shouting about beating people up, was that supposed to be a joke? What if the criminal didn't show up, wouldn't this scene end so painfully? The more I think about it the more problems I find with this episode, these are only the most frustrating from the top of my mind... I love that they stayed together, as I enjoyed the romance part enormously, but overall, the characters actions in ep 13 were totally inconsistent with other parts of the show...

I agree completely. There was a similar situation with Winter Garden in S1, but I feel that it was handled way better - when Andrea refused to go on a date with Gyeoul and it was a clear rejection - but the difference was that she was actually considering to give up on her feelings. It's just that at that point, she started to get encouragement from Andrea's mother and Andrea himself started warming up to her, and that way it made sense for her to continue fighting for this relationship and confess.
With Ik Jun and Songhwa I also feel that the development will be way more natural - Ikjun might step out for a bit, and Songhwa will have time to decide on her feelings, based on their relationship.
But on the other hand, Minha confessed and nothing happened - she just kept getting rejected. I think she and Suk Hyung are more suitable to be friends not lovers, seeing their development. Would love to see a new love interest for her.

No problem, happy to help!