Mark your calendars for Saturday, May 8th.
After the “Start-Up” rewatch ends on Saturday, May 1, we’re beginning our series of Flower Garden’s rewatch for “Hospital Playlist” in preparation for season 2 premier on Thursday, June 17. The time of our HP rewatch is still to be determined, but most likely we’ll take over the time slot of the “Start-Up” rewatches.
A couple of notes:
1. My first priority here is to protect our current existing Flower Gardeners. As you know, they’ve been harassed online by the fans of the Jang actress, and the shippers of the Winter Garden couples. This blog is one of the few remaining sites open to the Flower Gardeners, and I intend to keep it that way.
2. To ensure that the Flower Gardeners have a safe space to have a rewatch, the Rewatch sessions will have a NEW password.
3. While waiting for the rewatch sessions to begin, I’m rolling out my old reviews in sequential order as part of my “Throwback Thursday” series. The original posts will remain locked to new readers to shield the posters who commented on them. But the latecomers to this blog and the kdrama will now have their own opportunity to read what I’ve written and to post their comment.
4. I highly recommend that newbies and lurkers post their thoughts on the “Throwback Thursday” posts. I’m not holding a boot camp, and posters aren’t graded for class participation. However, your willingness to engage in the discussion in the “Throwback Thursday” posts will determine your inclusion in the Rewatch sessions.
Remember: the Rewatch sessions are geared for Flower Gardeners. If you don’t feel comfortable being with us, kindly recuse yourself. There’s no sense in stressing yourself out and berating us for having a difference of opinions. Just move on and discuss another kdrama show.
5. Re. the new password.
The old and regular “Hospital Playlist” posters will be given the new password by @nrllee and @miracle23. If you forget yours, just email them at bodflowergarden@gmail.com.
The newcomers and lurkers of HP thread should consider the “Throwback Thursday” posts as an audition to become a Flower Gardener. It takes a lot of guts to be one of us since we’ve been cancelled by many. But hey! It’s always more fun to be part of the minority. We’re not selling out our belief that Songhwa is the best match for JW.
This is the first installment of the “Throwback Thursday.”
🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸
Hospital Playlist: First Impressions
I almost didn’t continue with this first episode because I detested how disorganized and disjointed the story was. It didn’t take me long to figure out what the editing team was trying to do. It was jettisoning clarity in order to prolong the mystery of the chairman’s third son.
It was gimmicky.
Because clarity was sacrificed for his secret identity, there were many things that the viewers might have missed.
For instance, who was this guy? And what was he doing here?
He was Professor Kwon who rushing to do the liver transplant until he was involved in the big collision. He was wheeled in here.
Although the ambulance people didn’t recognize him, the ER doctor did. But you could barely hear her surprised squeak because of the editing.
It was only on my second watch that I figured out how he entered into the plot. Ugh!
Also, I wouldn’t be surprised if some viewers missed the fact that, of the five friends, only two of them worked together in the same hospital: Ahn JeonWon (JW) and Kim Junwan (Jwan). They both worked at the Kangwoon University Medical Center, KWMC.
Only Chae Songhwa worked at JW’s family-owned hospital, YulJe Medical Center.
JW’s best friend Yang SeokHyeong (SH) was unemployed because he’d been for three or four years on an oby-gyn fellowship abroad (that’s why the dusty house). He was in no hurry to find work.
And Darth Vader Lee IkJung (IJ) went to YulJe Medical Center because:
one, he was too embarrassed to be seen by his colleagues at the hospital he worked at and
two, he was probably counting on his friend, Dr Chae who was a “head” surgeon to help him out. lol.
But YulJe Medical Center wasn’t IJ’s regular hospital. That’s why he asked the nurse if operating on the liver transplant patient was okay.
IJ: What if the director finds out? Are we going to be okay?
Nurse: Dr. Chae said she sorted everything out.
IJ: But we need to get his mother’s consent and explain everything to her.
Nurse: Dr. Chae knows her well, so she got her to sign it in five minutes.
IJ: Still, wouldn’t this upset his doctor? I mean, I would be.
Nurse: Dr. Chae already talked to him and got him on board.
IJ: What the heck! She should get this off my head if she has all that time.
From this dialogue, we were given insight into the lone female of the squad, Songhwa. She was a smart, efficient, decisive, and well-respected surgeon in the hospital.
Now let me go through my notes and share what I learned about these four guys and one girl. Their group composition reminded me of Reply 1988 — not only because two of JW’s older brothers were the fathers in Reply 1988,
but because the characters themselves in this new drama seems to be recycled from the old cast.
One-to-one correspondence:
1. Darth Vader IkJun (IJ)
Here’s what I know about him —
a. He wasn’t married. He wasn’t wearing a ring. That’s also why his son slept with Songhwa that night. The boy had no mommy at home.
b. The lady here must be U-ju’s nanny.
c. Also, according to SH, he declined to join the band.
Songhwa: You just need Ik-jun. You don’t need me.
SH: He said no.
Songhwa: Seriously? He won’t? Then I won’t, too. I don’t have time anyway. I need to help my guys with their thesis.
But when SH made the formation of the band, his precondition to joining the VIP wards, Ikjun was the first one to say, “Call! I’m in!”
d. He didn’t agree to JW’s method of recruiting Songhwa to the VIP wards.
IJ: Why are you taking a negative approach like finding people’s weaknesses? Try to think of what Songhwa would want or want to do. Take that approach.
SH: I know a way.
IJ: What is it? (lol. He’s in.)
JW: What?
SH: She’ll do it if she’s the vocalist.
IJ: You lunatic.
JW: A vocalist? Is she still hung up on that?
SH: I told her first. She said she’d be in it if she’s the vocalist. (he was lying here)
IJ: I can’t believe this. Songhwa is tone-deaf and has no sense of rhythm. It took her five years to learn to play the bass guitar.
Both SH and JW had ulterior motives for wanting Songhwa in the bad. IJ didn’t want her in the band.
JW: I thought that Songhwa had an attractive voice. (He was deluding himself because he wanted her in his VIP ward. He made a sign of the cross to ask forgiveness from God for his colossal lie.)
IJ: My gosh, you’re awful.
SH: She has a unique voice. (He was being sentimental and wanted all of them together.)
IJ: (agitated) My goodness. You’re all going nuts! Don’t be so mean to her. You ought to bring her to the right path. If you care about her, you can’t do this to her. (Meaning, don’t subject her to ridicule and embarrassment. They should respect her limitation.)
JW: Ikjun, you’re truly looking out for her. Which means you should be okay with this.
JW liked that IkJun was a loyal friend and had Songhwa’s back. To him, as long as IkJun was there to watch out for her, Songhwa wouldn’t be totally humiliating herself.
It’s sweet that Ikjun cared about Songhwa’s reputation. He and Songhwa both looked out for each other. I bet he went to Songhwa’s hospital because he knew Songhwa would keep this incident confidential. Songhwa could be trusted.
At JW’s father’s funeral, JWan asked where Ikjun was.
Songhwa: He’s still in surgery. He’s probably finishing up right now. It’s a difficult one. It’ll take him some time.
JWan: What do you mean? Why would he do surgery here?
Songhwa: Things just happened that way. We needed him to do surgery.
Jwan: He knew about this. (I took this to mean that Jwan suspected that IJ knew about JW’s chaebol family.)
Songhwa: No, he didn’t.
She didn’t blabber about IJ’s misadventure with the Darth Vader helmet and the emergency that required him operating at her hospital.
Question: Is IJ going to end up as Songhwa’s true love at the end of this drama? No, I don’t think so. IkJun reminds me of Sunwoo in Reply 1988 who was caring, dependable, and affectionate with his sister. But he wasn’t the guy for Deoksun.
2. Momma’s boy SeokHyeong (SH)
He was the pure-hearted one in this story.
JW: Seokhyeong, do you want our band to win a Grammy Award?
SH: What? (Of course, he wasn’t looking to form a band to win awards)
JW: Do you want to perform at Wembley?
SH: I don’t want to. (Wembley is a big stadium in London. SH had no illusions of filling of performing for a large audience.)
JW: Then…let Songhwa sing.
SH: I don’t care. I just want to do something together with my friends.
He didn’t aspire to have a legit band, but simply a band where the gang could be together for fun. It didn’t matter to him that Songhwa sang awfully. And he kept their band instruments in the hope that they’d play together again. Songhwa was surprised to see their instruments.
I called him the mommy’s boy because he depended on his mother to fix his problems, and didn’t mind Songhwa’s sarcasm.
SH: Mom, the power went out again. Can you get a technician quickly? I see. He’ll be here shortly then. Okay.
Songhwa: Why didn’t you also ask her if it’s okay for you to drink coffee?
SH: She said one cup a day is okay.
It was obvious to Songhwa that his mom had already lectured on his coffee intake but he didn’t mind it like a grown adult would. In fact, he was following his mom’s “one cup a day” rule.
Furthermore, he told JW that he wanted more time off and that he wasn’t looking for job because he wanted to spend time with his mom. IJ was surprised because he was still jobless two months after his return to Korea.
Personally, I was surprised too, considering he was the same age as JW (around 40 years old). Unless he or his mom was terminally ill, this kind of dependence and closeness on his mother would be a red flag to me.
I was incredulous that he had a girl named Jieun for whom he bought food and a Bluetooth speaker.
But I liked that he showed a bit of temper. He was touchy when JWan made a casual remark about losing a baby. It was during the funeral. JW’s phone rang with a loud blare of alarm, startling the gang.
Jwan: I thought I lost my unborn child!
SH: My heart already exploded. (I thought he was retaliating here.)
Jwan: (telling off Jeonwon) We all know you’re a doctor. Why that ringtone?
JW: Well…
Jwan: (scolding SeokHyeong next) Heart explosions are scary. How can you say that so casually?
Remember, Junwan was a cardiothoracic surgeon.
SH: Do you know how sad it is to lose an unborn child? How can you say that? You know what? You don’t have any paternal love.
And remember, SeokHyeong was an obstetrician.
JW: Hey, guys. Stop arguing. My head is about to crack!
Songhwa: Your head is about to crack? Then you’ll die.
lol. She was a neurosurgeon. The writer exhausted the medical jokes here.
This scene plus that scene when he threatened to scuttle JW’s plan for a VIP ward, told me not to underestimate SeokHyeong. He might be a mother’s boy, but he could be forceful when he wanted something.
Question: Is SH going to end up as Songhwa’s true love at the end of this drama? No, I don’t think so. I don’t think she sees him as a man…in the romantic sense. He reminded me of Dong Ryong in Reply 1988 who was the “counselor” of the group and considered harmless by Deoksun.
3. Playboy Ahn JunWan (Jwan)
This was an interesting fellow. He was dating a girl who showed up drunk. They were supposed to go on a date to a romantic place in Busan (he even dressed up for it) but he returned back to the hospital.
He seemed to be a serial dater. Songhwa noticed that his relationship with this one was lasting longer than usual. “Is Junwan still dating that girl?? This one is lasting a long time.”
But he broke up with the girlfriend after she showed up drunk again.
I thought it was interesting coincidence that, on the same day that he broke up with his girlfriend because she’d been driving drunk, he saw Songhwa’s boyfriend, Professor Park, in the elevator kissing another girl.
He probably guessed that Professor Park had spent the night at the Hotel J with the other girl because he saw Prof Park’s car in the garage on his way to the symposium.
He could be observant here but I thought it amusing that, for years, he had no clue that his friend JW was the Daddy-Long-Legs whom he contacted whenever he needed financial assistance for an emergency surgery for his patient.
For instance, he had been on the phone following up such emergency situation when JW walked in the room. JW hung up his doctor’s coat, leaving his phone was in his coat pocket.
JW: What did you order? Did you order tteobokki again?
Jwan: (on the phone) When can we find out (about the approval of the surgery)? Go ahead and eat (telling JW).
JW: Hey, why didn’t you order burgers instead?
Jwan: (whispering) I got level one (meaning, mild) so it won’t be spicy. Just eat, will you? (then speaking on the phone) You haven’t text them yet?
Representative from the Daddy-Long-Legs Organization: We had to do some final checks. We’ll text the now. If everything looks good, you’ll get the money in a couple of days.
Jwan: I see. Please let me know as soon as you hear from them. Thank you.
Then, as soon as he hung up, JW’s phone rang.
JW knew where that sound was coming — from his coat pocket. It was the ringtone for his second cellphone which was reserved for his Daddy-Long-Legs program. As promised, the Representative texted Jwan’s request for financial aid to JW.
Jwan however didn’t know JW was Daddy-Long-Legs. He looked at the window and thought the sound came from outside. He assumed a real ambulance was arriving and his services would be called on shortly.
See here? They heard one ambulance sound but they were looking at two different places. 
Jwan: I’ll probably get a call soon. (Then his phone rang) See? Tteokbokki was a good call.
JW: Just answer that phone, prick.
It was call from his drunk girlfriend, and that call distracted him. He didn’t realize that the siren was actually coming from inside the room. JW stood up to escape and get his call.
Question: Is Junwon going to be Songhwa’s true love at the end of this drama? Right now, I don’ t think so. She scoffed at him.
Songhwa: Oh! Here’s the director of the hospital. (they all stood up except SH.)
Jwan: Hello, sir.
Director: What brings you here? (to his wife) Say hello. He’d been a student of mine long ago.
Wife: I see. Hello.
Jwan: Hello, ma’am.
Director: Do you know the chairman’s son, Professor Ahn?
Jwan: Yes, he’s my closest friend.
From afar, she snorted. She didn’t like him claiming to be besties with JW. And her reaction indicated to me where her loyalties lie.
Unless Jwan has a more compelling story than what I’m seeing right now, I doubt he’ll be Songhwa’s love interest.
4. Vocalist Songhwa (Songhwa)
She’s a deep one.
I think she and JW communicated more often than not. JW believed in her skills and competence so he contacted her to discuss something he’d been working on. My guess is he was referring to his “Daddy-Long-Legs” program.
At 12:19.
JW: Where are you?
Songhwa: Where do you think?
JW: What are you doing this weekend?
Songhwa: Professor Jang is free this weekend.
JW: Everyone’s going on a date.
Songhwa: Is Junwan still dating that girl?? This one is lasting a long time. Why did you call? I bet it’s about Seok-hyeong. I already said no.
JW: No. As for that fool, we can just ignore him. I’ve a favor to ask.
To me, they sounded conspiratorial.
Songhwa: Is everything fine?
JW: There’s something I’ve been working on. You know what? Let’s talk in person. You should go home. I’m going home early for a change.
But he spoke too soon and there was an emergency case needing his attention. At her end, she knew he wasn’t going home early that night.
She then read news about her hospital chairman’s coma. She searched the internet until she found the article, “Will His Third Son Take Over YulJe Medical Center?” She looked concerned. She was told by her director that everybody was getting ready for the worst-case scenario, meaning the Chairman’s death.
To me, she had an inkling that JW was the 3rd son of the hospital’s chairman because she scrolled through the news report until she found one that was pertinent to JW.
Later, when she received word that the Chairman died, she looked pensive again.
I wouldn’t be surprised if she had known of JW’s secret all along but feigned ignorance. Since her job wasn’t at risk of termination by the death of the Chairman, I thought she was worrying about the impact of the Chairman’s death on JW as the heir apparent of the foundation.
I also thought that the song SH chose for her to sing had a special significance to her, apart from being the song sung at their Pre-Med social event in 1999, on the night that they all met for the first time. I’m keeping the song here for future reference.
Lonely Night
I miss you more at times like this
When I’m left all alone
I know that you have already left me
But I keep thinking of you
I wonder why you left me back then
You said you were having a hard time
That might have been the reason
But I don’t know why
Lonely night. Lonely night
Because I remember you leaving me
Lonely night. Lonely night
Because you remain in my memories.
This is how the song should have sounded when sang properly.
5. Crybaby Chaebol JeonWon (JW)
Since this episode revolved around him, we learned a lot about him. He’s the maknae of the family. His Catholic name is Andrea which means bold and brave. According to his mom he was the most reasonable of all.
Mr. Pyeong: It would be good to call him now (meaning Chairman Hwang). I know it’s late but he’ll answer because he’s a businessman.
Mother: I told him (JW) to call right away. He’s the only one who actually listens to my advice. He’s the most reasonable of them all.
JW had called up Chairman Hwang to say not to fight his decision. He wanted to step down and he wanted Chairman Ju Jongsu to become the head of the foundation.
The only pre-condition that JW had on his resignation was to be able to control the money from the VIP wards. JW possessed the Robin Hood mentality, that is, it is justified to rob the rich by charging them exorbitant medical fees, in order to give to the poor. To me, this mindset poses an ethical issue which JW will have to confront in the future.
Question: Is JW then Songhwa’s true love at the end of this drama? Most likely.
Reply series fans would know that the actor who plays JW, Yoo YoonSeok, was one of the rejected husbands in the earlier Reply series, Reply 1994. I know fans of Chilbongie would like to see him in his happy-ever-after.
My two cents.
Thanks for starting a rewatch with original reviews for us @pkml3. I found myself floundering in the first few episodes and was wondering when I’d get my bearings.
I’ve only ever watched one of the Reply Series, (1988) and so I would not have known the allusions or meta to the other shows in the Reply series. However that single Reply series that I watched gave me an idea of what to expect here.
Between the 2, I feel I find Reply easier to get into than HP, however it’s early days yet, and I’ve got lots more to watch, and now to read, and to think about.
Yes a replacement of the Start-Up rewatch slot with HP’s would work best, I believe. I hope so anyway.
Catch ya later!
Yay!! I was totally confused with Ep1 as well. In fact Ep2 and 3 too. It took me quite a whilst to finally get into the series. 😂. And because there were just so many characters…with similar names? What I have learnt about this writer/PD combo is that you need to watch the full series for clarity and context (and to make the links). JiEun (we later find out) is SHyeong’s now deceased sister. And it was the date of her death/birthday? Hence the gift of the Bluetooth speaker and food posthumously.
And Prof Kwon who had the accident? Who was injured? It was Fate. His accident meant IJ had to step in to perform surgery and he has his chance fated meeting with a certain GS resident in YulJe. 😂. Love at first sight 😂. I made the links later because of Go Ara’s cameo and when IJ randomly talked about her later to IS/JWan and how she fell in love with him after watching him on Good Doctors.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aiJadSNOcACgUMn-QLRiZ9ZM9dJn3bPpX7rS9qX95_0/
JWon’s father’s death could be construed to be Fate as well. It brought JWon back to YulJe where SHwa was. Meaning their interactions on a daily basis would be increased.
@nrllee Hi there! Glad to know that I’m not the only one finding it hard to get engaged in this series. So much is just stated as if in a middle of a conversation, without context or introduction.
Thanks for the information on the links provided by Fate. I LoLed so hard over Darth Vader. How anyone could have kept a straight face with that surgical cap on top of Darth Vader’s helmet is beyond me. 😂
@packmule3, Thanks for giving us Flowere Gardeners a safe place to discuss HPL2. Guven last seasons vitriol from the Winter Gardeners and their allies,it’s good that the nastiness and downright major bullying won’t have a place here.
For the newbies and lurkers, you know that shipping wars can get very ugly. I saw it when the actor who plays the hero in Outlander had his friends, girl friends and family doxxed. And for thevflower gardeners here there were very threatening situations. When you thinkabout the fact that this is a discussionabout a tv drama, the anger and hostility doesnit make sense, especially given the fact thstbee’re all living through a worldwide pandemic.
BOD is a wonderful place to discuss dramas and as a bonus we learnso much. There are poets,musicians,composers,cooks, crafters, humorists, earthy people who find their way here. When I see a BOD post on my feed, I jump at it. It has made thebpandemicso much easier to get through.And it’s easy to follow the rules. For me, it’s a happy place.
Thank you @packmule3!
My first impression of the first episode was also hard to understand. There were pieces of stories that was collaged to be an episode. I couldn’t be that focused 😂
But this is a great post that put it together so newbies can comfortably understand the plot.
This is an everyday drama but well with so many hidden clues 🤫
Anyway, it was Maggot who answered IJ’s question whether it’s okay to do the surgery. I remember the headlamp moment, their first encounter
And it is JWan’s surname is Kim, Ahn is JW’s 😁
I’m so happy with this Thursday Throwback! See you on rewatch session!
Thank you always pm3 for giving us a safe space. I also gained friends and learned a lot in the discussions here.
Most of us flower gardeners on blue bird app have gone private because of the bullies who loves doing screenshots of our tweets. They’re like loitering on search/hashtag of songhwa and jeongwon and if our comments were not in favor with them, they’ll twist our words. Then the doxxing happened and it’s really traumatizing. Can we not express our opinions about the drama and characters? Also some of them are still saying to delete BOD if wg endgame. Haven’t they got the “kiss” on ep12? And they are saying that they “sailed”. Ooh it’s because they also knew that kiss was wrong but they won’t admit it. Heh! Funny how they are still threatened with this blog. HP is not the only kdrama that are being discussed here. The immaturity of these snowflakes.
Thank you for the “Throwback Thursday” posts. The memories come flooding back haha and i felt warm and contented in shipping flowergarden, they have a healthy relationship and i couldn’t ask for more. 🌸🌱
They are in promo mode now so I would take whatever they say with a grain of salt. YS is harping so much about GyeoUl-ie it is obviously fake 😂. It’s cringey. I will wait to see if he calls her that on script. The character description says she’s waiting for him to call her GyeoUl-ah, something which his script has failed to give us every time – even during the kiss, it was IJ who called her GyeoUl-ah in the voiceover 😂. Let’s see what LeeShin have to offer us in S2. What clues to find? There will be backstories. Blanks to fill in. I also want to know if this is it for this series. I am hoping that it will be revealed in PressCon.
Looking forward to rewatch and Throwback Thursday articles to rejig my memory.
@nrllee even JKH in the promotion video responded to YYS “not that again!” lol 😂
From their answers, they truly promoted the S1 couples, wondering what will happen to SHwa-IJ, SH-MinHa. No spoiler till S2 aired 😂
A big cliffhanger from last season centered on Songhwa’s health and move out of the main hospital and whether IJ’s sort of confession was a red herring. Does SHwa become a damsel in distress.If so I wonder who would be ber knight or does she save herself.
And why is it in all of these dramas that there is one FL but lots of MLs,?????
😂 You’re age is showing, Old American Lady!! It’s the “in” thing nowadays to have one FL and lots of MLs. It’s called the “reverse harem” trope. 👍
@nrllee,
In addition to the various problems I’ve already mentioned, yes, it’s hard to connect the various characters. However, one scene that helps is when they are brought together to become the VIP doctors. This is one of the few moments where I could feel a plot.
I won’t discuss the drama further, I’ve pretty much said it all.
This problem of confusion is common to dramas with a lot of characters and having chosen to do a classic exposition. It is even more difficult if there are no main characters. Because it’s easier to acquire the secondary characters when a main character is involved in the scene.
I encountered the problem in the drama SKY Castle. This drama was very difficult in the first episode. Fortunately, by the second episode, everything becomes clear.
In the drama The Penthouse, on the other hand, it is very well done during the first episode. There are as many characters as in HP or SKY Castle. I don’t know why or how, but it’s easy to get to know everyone. I would like to know the secret of the writer.
I didn’t realize that the battle between fans was of such proportions. It’s hardly imaginable. All this to say which character should be in a relationship with another?
If these people watch the drama King of Baking, they would die of a heart attack. 🙂
Where I saw a great twist… 😉
The general state of mind is worrying. We also see it with the affairs concerning actors or actresses. People have a need to make sweeping judgments, to moralize, to hate, or to put their own faults on others, to escape their inner view. Even without clear and definitive information, when it’s probably media manipulations.
It must grind hard in their heads. They should try peace of mind, it’s much less tiring!
I’m gonna join you all here yay! I was thinking if I should rewatch HP episodes so that I can remember what happened in preparation for season 2. It seems so far away. I honestly found the beginning of first episode confusing, the part where Songhwa met with SH, there was the sister, and then parent and then more names later!! took me a while to grapple with so many characters!
Thank you for the safe space nonetheless, I have rarely met a Flower Gardener outside of here
@WEnchanteur The fun in this writer/PD duo is that they write a “guess the husband/couples” amid the other story they tell. The other story isn’t anything dramatic. It’s mundane, slice of life. Everyday stories. But they have cleverly weaved in the “guess the couples” in the process. Which results in fan wars. Because there are always 2 sides. This time they have upped the ante and outdone themselves and thrown in 2 major ships and our little canoe. For the 2 major ships to sail, the canoe has to sink the 2 Titanics. Hence we sustain even more fire. But therein lies the fun. They have hidden Easter eggs for us to find. Which makes the process fun. And that’s the mystery to solve in all their Reply dramas. It’s just fun to find these clues. It’s taken them 4 years to get HP off to air. So the clues are there. Woven in. There are bookends. Metaphors galore. It’s a matter of looking hard. With the right cipher. It’s addictive 😂. But it does take patience to get going. I admit it took me quite a while to get used to it and finally get on board to figure out what they were trying to do. And once I boarded it, every episode then became a test to figure out what the theme was, how that episode fitted in with the collective whole, and how they’ve stitched it all together. It just keeps getting bigger the longer and harder you dig because they don’t just create the existing drama in isolation. They incorporate metaphors from their past dramas into the present drama. And the clue finding suddenly then extends beyond the present into the past dramas. It’s a rabbit hole 😂
wow i’m planning to rewatch hosplay to welcome the second season in june. (the problem of watching seasonal series is I do forget many parts of previous season.)
it will be good if we could do the rewatch together. like when we’re doing rewatch for startup.. it was a fun experience.. catching up to read all of your comments and noticing other part from the scenes we watched and write them up.
oh, and @nrllee I also noticed in the video of first script reading of season two where YYS said he miss Gyeoul the most out of all the casts.. I was like.. where did I see this kind of vibe before.. Oh.. when I saw the interview of Vincenzo casts where Taecyon so much telling the interviewer about how he adores his Sunbae and how every reason of his story would be his Sunbae, Hong Cha Yong (which makes Song Jong Ki so cringed). Lol.
It was too “intentional” in a way made it look fake at the same time..
@OldAmericanLady: I think that the last scene of the season 1 might be become the turning point of Shwa later. I don’t know but, i get that Shwa hasn’t been confessing her feelings to the one she love. She might show it very subtle on her own way and making it hard to see. Maybe because she’s not sure of her own feeling too, should she said it out loud or should she leave it as it is for the sake of the friendship. But the confession of IJ will be one of the moments where she has to push herself to answer the question of her own feeling “What does she want?”. (what I remembered that when IJ confess, Shwa keep silent.. like her minds wandering to the other places..)
I do hope that the next season will be much safer to watch, free from fanwar whatsoever. I remember how exhausting it is watching dramas with the fanwar (like HP season 1 and start up). haahaha..
I mean please.. can we just watch this peacefully.. 🙂
“ oh, and @nrllee I also noticed in the video of first script reading of season two where YYS said he miss Gyeoul the most out of all the casts.. I was like.. where did I see this kind of vibe before.. Oh.. when I saw the interview of Vincenzo casts where Taecyon so much telling the interviewer about how he adores his Sunbae and how every reason of his story would be his Sunbae, Hong Cha Yong (which makes Song Jong Ki so cringed). Lol.
It was too “intentional” in a way made it look fake at the same time..”
Exactly. 😂. He was using his teasing cutesy voice. Did you notice how uncomfortable KDM looked with YS hyped WG? DM is unfailingly kind. He is uncomfortable with the idea of viewers being led astray and being disappointed. Which is probably why he’s NOT giving the viewers anything regarding Bear couple. So he would rather not say. The 2 relationships that you would think they would hype were strangely silent. Bear couple and Bidulgi. I didn’t see either men speak about them. 😂. And that’s saying something. YS on the other hand loves trolling. He and PD Shin get along like a house on fire.
Although I usually steer clear of medical dramas, at my sister’s urging I am about to watch Hospital Playlist for the first time, in preparation for Series 2. I’ll see what I can get out of it on my own. So I will meet everyone on the Series 2 thread when it’s time. All the best.
Hi @Juriel, you and me both. I’m also watching it so that it will be a re-watch for me in a couple of weeks and so that I can understand what’s going on in S2.
I’m slowly coming to grips with stuff in Ep 4. Wow, there’s sure a lot of talking about someone else that goes on in this show.
@WEnchanteur…. I understand totally about that kind of ‘boring’ dialogue. Too much of it!!!
Hello everyone,
Although, I haven’t see HP or the Reply series, I don’t know if I will manage to (re)watch it with all you.
So far, my programme is hectic and Easter is next week for us.
So, I just wanted to say a Kalimera and have a nice day ahead.
Kalimera to you too @Cleo! So nice of you to drop by.
I know what you mean about a hectic programme. I guess we just manage what we can and hope to carve out time for our fave pastime like drama watching and analysis/commenting.
It’s a bit early to wish you, but better early than not. Wishing you a good, happy and holy Easter way in advance. I hope you’ll have more time to join us after the Easter celebrations. 😃
@GB I suggest watch it alongside @packmule3’S Throwback Thursday posts. It makes the viewing a lot better. Because she links up a lot of the scenes. It’s all in the dialogue exchange. The underlying themes and metaphors. The songs the band plays each ep. One of the main running themes is the Princess theme. Jang is referred to as the Princess by everyone because she is the only GS resident and therefore treated as royalty. So everything that relates to her is Princess related. Think Disney Princesses. I will leave you to find the clues. 😂.
Hey my lovely @GB!
Thank you for your wishes. This week I will be with on the Start Up rewatch but next week it is Holy Week, so I don’t think I will watch Episode 16 with you.
That is so true. These days I am trying to rest as much as I can. I cannot keep up with a drama watching schedule with the exception of the ongoing “Taxi Driver” all the other series I am watching I do so in a bizarre and irregular manner.
So, I will relax a bit and I will show up here and there…
If any of you want to find me though, check @WEnchanteur’s friends on mydramalist, I am there somewhere!
@nrllee,
A big thank you, because you made me understand better why this drama is appreciated.
A kind of cluedo for sentimental stories. 🙂
But in this game, on all the dramas, BOD is usually ahead 😉
It seems that some people are bad losers. 🙂 🙂 🙂
Maybe this has a positive effect?
It forces them to look at the drama more deeply?
I doubt it a bit. If they went into analytical mode, they would have less reason to obsess to the point of assaulting other viewers.
@GB,
I’m only familiar with episode 1. There’s dialogue that’s incomprehensible because it refers to other characters’ names, or tells unknown situations. It’s possible to list them, but I don’t have the patience to review the episode. I gave a timecode on the other article. One of many. This kind of thing is more understandable in later episodes when you know the characters and situations well. This happens in dramas that don’t have much money, and can’t put expensive montages, at best flashbacks. But even there, often what a character is talking about is a situation that has just happened for example. So it is easy to understand. But HP look like have a good budget.
Thinking about this is very useful, it just gave me an idea for a visual insert in one of my too long dialogues, to help understand. I’m making a list of all the dialogues where I also have this flaw during the exposition. So I will have more stuff on my endless corrections list. 😉
There are also the dialogues which are rather boring and sound false. Or don’t tell anything exciting. But that’s another thing. Sure, PM3 have probably detected some information into this, but it don’t hit me as a good scene. I don’t know if the tone of the drama continues like this.
Hello Flower Gardeners … so happy to meet everyone here again 🌸🌸🌿🌿. Thank you @packmule3 for this and Thursday Throwback.
I have a couple more posts to re-release today. It’s still Thursday where I am. 🙂 I have to stagger my posts so the blog doesn’t get overwhelmed.
But I wonder where the newbies and lurkers are? They were the ones who clamored for these locked threads and now they out of sight again. They should speak now or forever hold their peace. I’ve seriously considering LOCKING the rewatches AND Season 2 posts to non-FGrs.
Hello again my dear FGrs! How wonderful it is to see new posts coming under Hospital Playlist thread – thank packmule3 for this safe space! Can’t believe 1 year passed since my first encounter with this drama and the FG community. Honestly, analyses from packmule3, miracle23 and nrllee never fail to amaze me. I will on and off join you guys for the rewatches as I have an online class every fortnight on Saturday evening. I’ll try to drop my comments more often!
@Nrllee – ah, thanks for the insight on the writers and their MO. I can see how fun is the deciphering and unlocking of clues for the discerning eyes and surgical precision of the BoD community!
HP was my first show with them and what pulled me in was the music and friendship. I also look for a different spin to regular stories that make the watching more interesting like medical backdrop of HP but with angle of a group of friends in a band who happen to be doctors; or like Start Up with business backdrop for a youth love story. And lastly, I love karaoke and I’m in a band/choir with friends so I was hooked.
I’m looking forward to join the HP rewatch and looking at this show in a different “eye”. Reading BoD has certainly changed my kdrama-watching immensely.
I’m a lurker! 🙋🏼♀️🙋🏼♀️🙋🏼♀️ Just wanted to say a quick word since I saw your comment about lurkers requesting password but then being silent.
I would say I enjoyed the first season but I definitely didn’t form any type of major attachments. I haven’t rewatched any of the episodes since my first viewing binge but your throw back post helped jog my memory. I remember how annoyed I was by all the characters getting jumbled and wondering why a doctor was performing a surgery at a hospital where he wasn’t employed.
Mostly I enjoyed the OBGYN cases and I hope he has a good, well developed relationship with his junior this season.
I never did feel invested the Jang/JW storyline and for some reason I always enjoyed her interactions with IJ more. I want to see his son humanize her.
As far as SW, I love her as a character. I see her relationship with IJ as more sibling-ish. If she ends up with JW that’s fine with me but honestly, all the Easter eggs that have been pointed out haven’t been wholly convincing. Maybe once I read more of your throwback posts I’ll be more understanding.
Hmm…what else do I remember about this show? I will have to do more thinking
@nrllee yess.. KDM were thinking hard finding the best answer when the others tease her to say that he should say he miss minha too..!! And look at YYS “teasing smile” when he said that he miss Gyeoul.. (i bet the wintergardeners were jumping when saw this happened)
Anyway for me, the most anticipated scene beside FG in season 2 is the Bear Couple moment. I like them so much.. 🐻x🐻
@Cleo happy early easter for you.. hope you could join us watching HP after easter 🙂🙂
Hello flower gardener! 🥰
I hope you stay health
Can’t wait to join rewatch. So excited to know what songhwa decision in season 2 and how jwon met songhwa first.
Endgame = songhwa choice, yes, our coffee princess!☕
@packmule3 here is one lurker 😀 I read all the open posts of HP and Reply and check if there is a new comment every day 😂
BOD and SP (FG thread – already subscribed for every new comment lol) are my most visited websites actually. But I usually don’t comment because I don’t know what to say. I don’t have valuable knowledge about HP.
Also, I am really surprised how you guys can see the small things and the connections. It is like an AH HA effect. So It took also a lot of bravery to comment. This is my 3rd one actually.
Thank you for all again for the linkage and infos. Maybe one day I can give a better comment too. 🌷🪴
@nrllee Thanks so much for helping me to readjust my perspective with this show. I did know from reviews, how these writers ‘bait’ us poor viewers, but the obscurity of what was going on while being baited was starting to get on my nerves. However with Ep 4, the series feels better, we are getting to know more about the people we have been puzzling about, and the prospect of Easter egg hunting is egg-citing.
I’ve not watched enough dramas to know the metas that will pop up, however, I fancy there’s enough within the show itself to keep me busy, without trying to know what external extras the clues refer to!
Yes, I’ll be reading posts here (and elsewhere) while watching … some shows are hard work!! LOL. Thanks for the advice.
@WEnchanteur. I know which dialogue you referred to and I agree. I began to see that there were several others like it and wondered if I had to pay close attention to all those words. Now, after reading @nrllee, it seems, ‘Yes’ I probably do!
I’m glad you’ve got a ‘light bulb on’ moment to help you in your work. Reading about your struggles helps me appreciate the woes and effort of scriptwriters. 😁
@Janey, I look forward to continuing with another rewatch with you!
@packmule3, Thanks 😊 and where can I sign up!
PS-I am old-a year younger than Youn Yuh-jung. But in my mind I’m in my thirties.😉😉
@WEnchanteur, These fans forget it:d a tv show
They treat it as real life. And all the actors become their avatars
@GB – always a pleasure to rewatch and/or synch-watch with you!!! ❤️ Looks like we will traverse the HP land with a similar footing. Cheers!!!
Hi everyone, thanks to this blog and the references links from nrllee I had something to read during the day this last few days while waiting for my other ongoing drama at night 🙂
All the readings made me paid more attention when I rewatch the HP episodes and also today’s BTS like JW very attentive to SHwa during dinner (utensils etc) and the elevator scene.. aww mister that’s not how you look at a friend. Pleaseee FG be real.
And I also think that YS keep mentioning “G” name is too much.
Hey @moonstar512!
If I manage to finish Dr. Romantic, I will dive into Hospital Playlist!
Don’t worry I will be around somewhere!
I will try to join you at least once on an HP rewatch!
Thank you for your wishes! 🙂
@Cleopatra! You gotta finish RDTK 1🤣🤣🤣🤣 that is the medical drama of my cup of tea🤭🤭🤭 vast different from HP in the depth department i.e. technicality and of course the lessons – are you a good doctor or the best doctor? It makes me think along with them.
I am writing something. I will post in the next hour, hopefully🤭
P/S: Welcome everyone, old and new! It feels like meeting friends in new semester!🤣🤣🤣🤣
Hey @Miracle23!
I am really enjoying Doctor Romantic! It is one of the best medical dramas I have seen so far and I have seen plenty!
Kim Sabu is amazing! and Dr. Kang is swoony and Dr. Yoon is great, but I guess you know that too! Ha!
I agree with you: That question is the best question uttered in the dramaworld!
I love RMDK. I also loved My Papparoti, wherebour Dr. Kim was a great teacher. And for the OMV folks, So Ji Sub is greatbin Cain and Abel, Master’s Sun, Always. He’s ina movie with Son Ye-jin, where she plays his dead wife who comes back to life. He has some resume. He also is a rapper. And he managed to get married quietly without the crazy “keep them single” fans going nuts.
I also like Shin Min-a. She was so good in OMV butalso in Chief of Staff(showsher versatility). And she’s anotherbone who has managed to be scandal free. Her relationship with Kim Woo-bin that has been so publicized has been heart warming.
The actors described above have managed to do quality work and have managed their public perception well.
Cleopatra, ShinLee have the avengers theme for HP posters lol. And they put in romantic doctor and kim sabu in thr script. The power of Doldam Avengers is acknowledged! 🤣🤣🤣🤣
@OldAmericanLadies, my go to actors are mostly seasoned actors like Kim Sabu, Jang Hyuk, Jisung, Ji Jin Hee, Kim Myung Min, Lee Byung Hun. They give me quality acting, which is a priority for me😅. All of them currently have upcoming dramas/films. I am really looking forward to those. KMM is currently in Law School. I am hooked. Seeing a law professor having no qualm about being taken into custody, all in his mind is I need to mark my students’ test papers🤣🤣🤣 and he actually made his ex-prosecutor colleague and his lawyer teaming up to make sure he can finish marking🤣🤣🤣🤣
@Miracle, You have good taste in actors. I, too am watching Law School-very slowly-just saw the first episode but like it a lot. Ji-Sung blows me away as does his wife. I also like Kim Hye-soo. I loved Hyena. And she plays tough women very well. And I love Lee Jung-Eun. She seems to be everywhere. She was even Okja’s voice. And Oh Jung-se-wow! We have so many great actors to enjoy. A verutable feast!
I am not a morning person, unless I just haven’t gone to bed by sunrise, but I will try to join you for the HP rewatch despite it being at 5am in my time zone. I look forward to reconnecting in BoD with old friends, and making new ones. Gotta do some exercise in order to stay strong paddling our FlowerGarden canoe!
Where are you, Welmaris? California? It’s going to be at 6am PST. We here in the US adjusted time because of Daylight Savings. 👍
@Miracle23
I have to check the poster then!
@OldAmericanLady Thank you for the information about the actors! I will check Mr. Paparotti.
@OldAmericanLady, Hyena is just superb! How can I forgot Ju Ji Hoon! And Kim Hye Soo! Their partnership was so good that I can’t help comparing with Viscenzo. I dropped the latter after Ep 1🤭🤭🤭🤭
KHS will have another drama coming up, as well as JJH. What a fest 2021 has in store for us🥰
@Mitacle, I sometimes have a hard time thinking JJH is the same person in Princess Diaries )Going). He really grew up well see and became very sophisticated. I hope my. Jiri is good.
I just saw this interview posted on April 23. Our HP cast seem to be so happy to be back, and their camaraderie is real.
https://www.soompi.com/article/1465526wpp/watch-hospital-playlist-cast-gather-to-discuss-differences-between-season-1-and-2
Yup, I am also one of those newbies who requested for password before, and am still your ardent reader.
Not sure if I can join you guys in the rewatch, but no worries, I will rewatch hp S1 again. N together with your insights & throwback posts hopefully will clear my confusion in ep 1 & 12, and help me to understand all the linkages, dialogues, etc better.
I haven’t watched any of the Reply series yet so can’t provide any valuable inputs. Find your parallels post between reply and hp series insightful esp after knowing tat’s Shinlee production style.
Noted in the 1 to 1 photo correspondence, PG standing position is exactly the same as Taek position, what does tis imply ? endgame for sure is our FG, never winter garden. Kkkk
I enjoyed all my watch on Dr Romantic series twice, liked their storylines and skilled superb acting.
Welcome @sni75! Yes join us in Throwback Thursday posts. These posts by Packmule are very helpful in getting links and gaining insights.
Agree and thanks nirlee. 🤗
Hello again my fellow FGers.. So glad that I can meet everyone here again. Thanks @packmule3 for providing this Throwback Thursday! Can’t wait to discuss deeper and maybe find new crumbs before Season 2. In past a year while waiting for Season 2, I’m on hiatus because my workload is insane in this pandemic. I found BOD is locked and I’m looking for crumbs on another platform to be enjoyed, found nrllee and miracle23 on Soompi and asked for access password.. Tbh, I already watched HP more than 5 times maybe :)) because seems i cannot move on especially on episode 10 – 12 where SHwa and JWon scene are getting intense.. Until everyday I am searching for a news about Season 2 updates. From what I found from the official photos of script reading, seems JMD and YYS had thicker script (Season 2 Eps 1) than others (CMIIW). Hope that FG scene are more intense and will reveal the things we may ask on Season 2. Fingers crossed!
Since the world is in its process of healing from this COVID-19. I wish everyone stay healthy and keep spirit in this kinda situation..
Hey, there, raininthefall.
I hope you can drop by during the Throwback Thursday posts because this is our way of separating the wheat from the chaff, so to speak, when we do the rewatch with a new password.
Hi raininthefall, please check your email. Thank you.
is it possible to take without giving…
other than appreciation
for the opinions/takes/views
it made watching the show all the more enjoyable
as long as they don’t betray who the character was presented to be – can follow, understand, ACCEPT their decision/thinking i will take the ride…
LOVE songhwa to bits,
don’t have a thing for chilbong,
yet HATE maggot
(initially was willing to listen/entertain why she wasn’t OUT!
[when jin kang told moo young “you’re out” in the smile has left your eyes])
LIVE for their interactions with each other as a group
& TOTALLY looked forward to reading everyone’s take, which is why i was heartbroken when it became password protected – not that i didn’t understand
rambling over
Work has been keeping me so busy, I haven’t had a chance to check for awhile but so excited to see a rewatch in the works. I confess I stopped watch HP after the first two episodes because it was too confusing, gimmicky, boring etc. Then my friends convinced me to skip to ep. 5 and gave me a synopsis of the first four. It clicked then. Loved it all until the end with the kiss that made no sense whatsoever, as commented somewhere else. Then, went back and watched it all over again and loved it more, except the kiss.
I look forward to rewatching it all again to lead up to season 2!