Resident Playbook review: A heartwarming spin-off that keeps the Hospital Playlist charm alive!

The excitement for this K-drama was high up even before its release and after 12 episodes, we can safely say that it was worth the hype. Here’s why!

Resident Playbook review: As an avid Hospital Playlist fan I can affirm that the wait for another season has felt like yearning for a lover. The hope of just seeing the cast one last time has been real. So it goes without saying that when a spin off show was announced instead, I looked at it as an opportunity to sink my teeth into the Hospital Playlist universe again. Directed by Lee Min-Soo, Resident Playbook focuses only on the OB-GYN department at the Jogno branch of Yulje Medical centre. It revolves around four first year residents, their journey of hospital mishaps, to being reliable residents and finding love in the midst of all the chaos.

Oh Yi-Young (Go Youn-Jung), a bright resident who has zero interest in working, finds herself coming to Yulje everyday because of her credit card debt. She has to push through work everyday despite the toxic environment and pressure just to pay off her debt. Pyo Nam Kyung (Shin Si-Ah), Oh Yi-Young’s school nemesis finds herself working in the same department as her. She is confident but her clumsiness gets in the way of her work sometimes. Um Jae-Il (Kang You-Seok) is a K-pop idol turned resident as his career as a singer never took off. He might not be academically as smart as the other residents but his social skills and high EQ gets him brownie points amongst all the patients and nurses. On the other hand, Kim Sa-Bi (Han Ye-Ji) almost feels like a robot because of her lack of empathy towards anyone. She only lives by logic, reasoning and what’s written in her textbook and finds it difficult to maintain a relationship with her patients. Lastly, mentoring all of them is Ku Do-Won (Jung Jun-Won), he is the one everyone relies on for anything and everything. He is an ace at what he does and even though he barely has any time for himself, he makes sure he is there for every single one of his residents when the time comes.

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As the show progresses, we see each of them learn and grow into becoming a better version of themselves through life changing experiences at the hospital. A non-empathetic Kim Sa-Bi learns to comfort someone. Um Jae-Il, who constantly made mistakes during his first few months, practices the smallest things way more than he should. Pyo Nam-Kyung faces her fears and takes on tasks she would otherwise avoid. And Oh Yi-Young goes from being the least interested to loving what she does. It poignantly portrays that life isn’t all that bad if we allow ourselves time to get out of our comfort zone. It highlights how chaotic the life of a doctor can be. How always being on call, not sleeping for days and saving someone’s life at any given time takes a toll on them. But it also sheds light on the fact that hospital life is way beyond just science and books. Understanding human nature is a big part of being a doctor and we see how these characters put in that extra effort to make their patients feel safe. 

Ironically, the show is set in the OB-GYN department when South Korea’s birth rate is at an all time low. This isn’t once mentioned in the series and babies just seem to be popping out in every episode. Whether this was a conscious decision or a smart move to encourage the public to have more kids is something only the makers will be able to tell, but as a viewer it sure did feel that way. Coming to the romance, the series definitely had lots of it to offer us. Just like Hospital Playlist, Resident Playbook too blossoms love in the middle of chaos. There are quite a lot of scenes that’ll make your heart flutter and so many unexpected romantic arcs that’ll come your way but the story finds a good balance between the love stories and the core slice of life essence of the show. Ultimately, it reminds you that while the romance is swoonworthy, it isn’t the main focus of the series. 

Lastly, let’s address the elephant in the room - the Hospital Playlist cameos! Every single member from the main and recurring cast had cameos up until the last episode. Even though we knew these cameos would happen at some point or the other, they still managed to surprise us every week by showing up at the right time. None of them felt forced or done just for the heck of it. They blended seamlessly into the story as if it was written just for them and no matter how prepared you are, nothing can beat the happiness of seeing Song-Hwa and Ik-Jun together after so long! The four main characters of the show bring a lot of nuance to their characters. Be it their silly banters, their love for food or trauma bonding, they make everything feel super real and relatable. We see veterans like Seo Joeng-Min also bring their A game to the table but the core four are what really keep the show going!

Unlike Hospital Playlist, its spin off does give us a definitive ending with no ties on the loose. But I do hope that just like Hospital Playlist we get a season 2 for this one as well!

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