I know it’s Friday today, so this should have been a “Throwback Friday.”

But whatever. I get to make the rules up here anyway.

I’m posting a couple of my write-ups for Episode 2 today so I won’t inundate you with five next week. When the drama started last year, some people thought that it would be like “Prison Playbook” where I heard there was no need for the husband-guessing game. I didn’t watch “Prison Playbook.”

But here, as soon as I heard that the writer Lee Woojeong was teaming up again with Director Shin, I knew the hunt was on because this is her forte.

Enjoy!

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Welmaris wrote this:

I’m not seeing clear signals in the first two episodes that the husband game is integral to the plotline. Songhwa mentions eseveral times that it would be better for her to stay single because she’s so busy. She’s a career woman at the top of her game, and gets amazing emotional support from a group of long-time friends, so why should we think she must be married to be completed? There are also comments made about not roiling the waters of the friendship of the lead characters by introducing romance. The writers also seem to be taking two of the lead characters out of the running just out of the gate: Seok Hyeong, now divorced (from whom?), was shot down as a potential paramour by Songhwa when they were first year students. Ikjung, whom we’ve seen with his son, said that he’s married. We also saw him on the phone discussing childcare with someone (his wife?) who was currently in China.

No, he was talking to the nanny.

I  mentioned in my first post that the nanny accompanied them to the hospital when that Darth Vader accident happen. A wife wouldn’t call her husband, “Professor Lee” and say “thank you” for the plane ticket ON THE PHONE. These would be more *naughtily* done in the bedroom...if you know what I mean. 🙂

I’m going to try fighting the conditioning I got watching the Reply dramas and not get ahead of the writers.

Good for you!

For many veterans of Reply series here, this husband-hunting is a catnip. I’m with Lovebangwon, nearsea, and kokodos. We can’t resist this whole husband hunting.

Personally, it would be lazy of me to cover my eyes and ears and pretend that the love rivalry isn’t out there.

It’s not about getting ahead of the writers, Welmaris, 🙂 but about being ahead of the curve. People lurk here to see what I’ve to say about the contenders. And I’m sure they’re here because they remember the things I wrote in another forum during Reply 1988.

Anyway…

I gather from the interview of the writer and director duo (W&D) that “Hospital Playlist” was planned to be different from their other productions. The first season was going to have additional seasons contingent upon the success of the first season. I assume that the W&D planned to make “Hospital Playlist” like that zombie series on Netflix “Kingdom” or that teen-romance “Love Alarm” which is also showing on Netflix. The W&D jumped on the bandwagon.

Here’s the article from soompi.

Shin Won Ho explained why “Hospital Playlist” is planned to have multiple seasons. He said, “I wanted to create a drama that didn’t initially have a decided ending or an ending at all. However, the viewers have to give us love for there to be another season. Holding meetings and discussions while leaving the finale open-ended allowed for a lot of new ideas and directions.”

The drama will also only air one episode weekly. Shin Won Ho explained, “To put it simply, we planned it like that so we could survive. The concept of two episodes weekly was effective in the past, but after discussing the competitiveness, skyrocketing production fees, and the changing working environments of dramas, I wondered whether it would be possible. That’s why I considered doing one episode weekly. This is why this drama has to do well, so it can become a new model for the broadcasting industry.”

…

The group also discussed their goals for their premiere’s viewership ratings. Jung Kyung Ho revealed that he wanted 10.1 percent, while Kim Dae Myung and Jo Jung Suk said 11 and 12 percent respectively. However, Shin Won Ho shared, “I also would love for high ratings, but realistically, airing one episode a week has an inevitably lower impact. Also, the premiere overlaps with ‘Mister Trot.’ I think we overlap with that amazing program for about 20 minutes, so considering a lot of variables, I want to simply say 4 percent.”

Lastly, Shin Won Ho shared the message he wanted to convey through “Hospital Playlist.” He commented, “I have never once thought about that while working on a project. I’ve tried to let go of any ambition about preparing and conveying a certain message.”

He continued, “Rather than sharing a message, I worked hard to create a relatable story. Overall, I think comfort is knowing ‘You feel the way I feel.’ We prepared a story that will make many viewers cry, applaud, and feel touched.”

source: https://www.soompi.com/pd-shin-won-ho

In other words, the W&D are moving towards the American format of sitcoms like “How I Met Your Mother” and “Friends.”

Doesn’t everyone see now how Netflix’s arrival in Korean entertainment bastardized our beloved kdramas? Way to go, Netflix. 

Now, in order to have multiple seasons as the W&D envisioned, an open-ended season finale is convenient. This season can:

–finish with a cliffhanger, e.g., a proposal,
–close with nothing resolved, e.g., they play their band, or
–create an ambiguous last scene which could go in any direction and be interpreted in many ways, e.g., Songhwa walks home in the rain with a yellow umbrella.

The W&D hope that their kdrama will continue on to a Season 2. And to me, the only way they can ensure that viewers stay engrossed in this medical drama is to develop a very good love rivalry among the gentlemen.

Frankly, many viewers will NOT stay for another season simply to watch a folksy hospital drama about five friends. Why should they? There are plenty of medical dramas, legal dramas, melodramas, romcoms, sageuks, and fantasy shows with Lee MinHo competing for viewership. If there’s nothing to distinguish “Hospital Playlist” from other drama offerings, then it will have a short shelf life.

Fortunately, for this W&D duo, their husband hunt has always been their ace card.  They do it better than anybody else. All that mystery about the husband, that thrill from guessing the clues, and those virulent fanwars have been proven enormously successful in generating buzz, loyal followers like us here, and most importantly, revenue.

The cynic in me believes that the husband hunt is the WHOLE driving force of this kdrama. Season 2 depends on the success of selling this idea of a love triangle/quadrangle/pentagon to the viewers.

And so far, I think they’re succeeding. I disagree that there has been no signals about the husband game in these last two episodes. They are there, if you look carefully.  🙂

For instance, has anybody noticed that IJ conveniently comes out and surprises Songhwa whenever she’s looking for a man? hahaha.

Remember in Episode 1, when she was looking for a surgeon to do the liver transplant? He suddenly appeared as Darth Vader.

Then, in Episode 2, she was joking to her mom that she was going to get a new boyfriend, and voila! He startled her dressed up in skintight outfit, like a cyclist-ahhhh.

lol. So don’t count him out yet. He shows up when she needs a guy.

Seriously, though. I can put on my antenna and my tinfoil hat, and interpret the whole…yup, the WHOLE of Episode 2 as a prelude to the husband hunt.

If Episode 1 revolved around JW, then Episode 2 was preparing Songhwa to fall in love. I’ll give you three signs for now. I might toss the fourth one, too, if I’ve time this evening.

Let’s go.

One, Songhwa’s new boyfriend.

While Songhwa DID mention to her mom that it would be better for her to stay single, it’s incorrect to assume that she *wanted* to stay single. This is what she said:

Songhwa: … he said he was seeing someone else. Aigooo. I’m not in my 20s. Of course, I’m fine. I’m really busy these days. Maybe it’s better this way. I can live without him. Or I can get a new boyfriend. Mom, I’m going into surgery. Bye.

THERE! You see that?

You have to put this in context. In Episode 4, JW was said to be 40 years old in Episode 1. Since he would have taken two years off to serve the military, I’m guessing that Songhwa must be younger than him. She wasn’t in her 20s but she was in her late 30s. This was about the right time she would think of settling down.

But one thing she didn’t want to hear was her mom fussing over her breakup or, worse! pitying her. When she said that “It’s better this way. I can live without him,” it was to make light of her mom’s worries. It was too obvious that she wanted her mom to stop fussing because she lied that she was going into *surgery* while she was entering the hospital.

Moreover, she wasn’t a “career woman” in the sense that her career was all that she focused on. No. She was in a steady relationship. And she would have been happy to stay in a couple relationship hadn’t her ex-boyfriend cheated on her.

She seemed cheerful when her ex dropped off at her hospital in the morning

and she sounded almost bragging when she told JW that she had date plans with her then-boyfriend.

Her ex-boyfriend’s cheating was a temporary setback.

Second, her encounter with her old schoolfriend.

What do you think this side story was all about? What’s the point of this vignette?

To me, this sideplot wasn’t only to showcase Songhwa’s surgical skills. I thought it also subtly showed Songhwa’s evolving state of mind.

She knew that her friend needed brain surgery. According to medical records, her friend had breast cancer surgery but didn’t do chemotherapy afterwards. Her friend was also seen for depression.

Songhwa: Why didn’t you do chemotherapy? If you had, you could’ve stopped it from spreading.
Friend: It would have spread even if I did. I will die in the end no matter what. What’s the point?

Clearly, her friend was still suffering from depression. Songhwa said she could fit her surgery in that very weekend. Her friend thanked her.

Songhwa: You can thank me at our school reunion after you get discharged.
Friend: Will I live until then?
Songhwa: Yaaaah!!

In their next encounter (at 45:40), Songhwa asked her where her husband was. He was needed to sign the consent for the surgical procedure.

Songhwa: Where’s your husband?
Friend: I have my caregiver, so it’s fine. If he were here, he’d just get on my nerves, so this is better.
Songhwa: I get it. But he needs to sign the consent for your surgery. Did you email him?
Friend: Yes, I did. He read it, but hasn’t replied yet.
Songhwa: Who cares about a reply? He should come here right away.
Friend: It takes him two days to just get out of there. He’s in Indonesia. What’s the place called? I can never remember the name. He’s probably busy cutting down the trees.
Songhwa: Was he around during your breast cancer surgery?
Friend: I never told him. He has no idea.
Songhwa: Yaaah!
Friend: Nothing changes even if he knows. I don’t want to think about my husband and everything else. I’ll just suffer and die alone.

As viewers, we’ve come to learn how to read between the lines, and to hear the important things left unsaid. Here, we should have sensed that something else was going on with the patient. Her indifference and her claim that she’d “just suffer and die alone” could be just fake bravado.

As it turned out, she was keeping her illness all to herself because a) she didn’t want to burden her husband who was working hard for the money, and because b) after her breast cancer surgery, she felt that her body was imperfect. She didn’t want her husband to see her like that.

That’s why she was touchy and very sensitive when the older women looking at her. Her self-esteem and self-confidence were low after the breast cancer surgery. It was a good thing that old woman saw through her grumpiness.

Friend: But I only have one breast. I’m not pretty at all.
Old woman: You’re still pretty. Like a beautiful flower. Who cares if you only have one breast? You’re beautiful because you’re young.
Old woman2: She’s right. As for old people like us, even if we get surgery and walk out of here, feeling completely healthy, we’ll never look pretty.
Old woman: That’s right. I’ll gladly lose my two breasts, if I could go back to 20 years ago and look as young as you do.

The old women bantered about the pains of being old, making the Friend laugh.

Old woman: My gosh, you look even prettier when you smile. Everyone who is young looks so beautiful. When you’re than young, you just naturally radiate beauty.

BTW, that’s the “feel good” message of this episode. No matter your age, you radiate beauty whenever you smile. This old woman looked beautiful, because, despite her old age, she maintained a youthful spirit.

Then the Friend’s husband came rushing in. He dropped his bag at the door. He obviously flew back home from Indonesia as soon as he read her email. He rushed to the hospital from the airport. The friend and the husband called each other “yeobo” and cried in each other’s arms.

Friend: Honey, what do I do? What if I die? What do I do? I don’t want to die.
Husband: You won’t. You won’t die, honey. I will… I absolute won’t let that happen. I’m sorry, honey. I’m so sorry.

Songhwa witnessed this happy reunion from the door and smiled. Her chief resident joined her.

Yong: Are you envious? You should date.
Songhwa: (smile disappearing) No I don’t want to. I like being single. (turning away) Her husband is here, so we can have him sign the consent. (stopping him) Later, not now. Goodness!

She hadn’t moved a few steps when she received a notification for a funeral. Director Ju Jong-su’s wife died.

The next scene was at the funeral home.

Songhwa: We seem to go to funerals a lot these days.
JW: It means that we’re at that age now.
Songhwa: Mr. Ju… I mean Director Ju must be devastated. They had a happy marriage, right?

JW: Yes, a very happy one. I heard that he didn’t leave his wife alone even for a minute for two to three weeks before her death.

THERE! Do you see what I’m seeing? 🙂

To me, Songhwa’s feeling when she rebuffed the suggestion of dating again was similar to her friend’s feeling when she dismissed her husband’s presence because “he’d just get on his nerves.”  Both Songhwa and her friend were saying that having a guy in their lives is a nuisance. They were saying that they were better off without a guy.

But obviously, they were just in denial. Her friend was putting on a brave front during her difficult time, just like Songhwa was putting on a happy face and keeping busy after her breakup.

In reality, her friend was scared to be all alone for the surgery, and she needed her husband to be with her. Likewise, Songhwa’s breakup and the memory of cheating boyfriend were too fresh and raw for her to talk about. But she needed someone to vent on and to transfer her anger on — and that happened to be poor JWan. He was her easy target because he didn’t tell her that he’d seen her cheating ex. Thus, JWan became her “whipping boy.” She admitted later on that she’d been just messing with him. pwahahaha.

Most importantly, seeing her friend’s relief at her husband’s return made her realize that having a loved one at one’s side in times of suffering brought great comfort and peace.

That’s why I believe that Songhwa’s snappy answer, “No, I don’t want to, I like being single” was merely her reflex response to pain avoidance. She preferred being single now ONLY because of her bad experience with her cheating ex. She enjoyed being part of a couple prior to her breakup. Sooner or later,  the sight of her friend’s tearful reunion with her husband would remind her that not all relationships ended badly like hers.

To me, that was her reason she was curious about Director Ju’s married life. Her question was out-of-the-blue. “He had a happy marriage, right?” It seemed to me that she was trying to regain equilibrium.

On one hand, there was her ex who cheated on her. But on the other hand, there was her friend’s husband who came running home as soon as he heard his wife was sick. So, what about Director Ju then? Did he have a happy marriage?

Fortunately, JW gave her a reassuring answer. Director Ju had a happy marriage, and he never left his wife’s side even for a moment till she died. That was the kind of answer that would make Songhwa believe in love again.

Third and last, the shoes.

Here again is the conversation about the shoes.

Nurse Hwang: You’re known as the Ghost and yet your shoes are worn out. (Meaning, since a ghost floats in the air, it won’t need shoes. And if it did wear shoes, the shoes wouldn’t look worn out.)
Songhwa: I’m the Ghost?
Hwang: That’s your nickname.
Songhwa: Why?
Hwang: Because you can’t be human. (they talk business) By the way, your birthday is next week. I’ll buy you a pair of shoes.
Songhwa: This pair can last me ten more years.
Hwang: It’s been about 10 years since I first saw them. You got them when you wear a resident. You should bid farewell to your shoes.
Songhwa: Who was it? Who gave me that nickname?
Hwang: Yong Seokmin did.
Songhwa: I got it.
Then, on her birthday, Songhwa saw a box of shoes on her desk. The nurse bought her a brand-new pair of shoes as promised.

I wrote the nurse’s dialogue because it’s important. @Kokodus felt the the same way. She commented:

You think the shoes are from nurse Hwang?!? It can’t be as simple as that though. Maybe it is and I’m thinking too much, but I feel like it’s from someone else. Could be one of her four guy friends or Captain Ahn who seems to be having a crush on her as you pointed out. Idk. First of all why was she wearing that shoe for 10 years without replacing it even after it worn out so much? Maybe it’s a gift from someone special? Hmmm that shoe does not put my mind to peace. LOL.

In this episode, her shoes shouted at us to pay attention. They were constantly in the background. The nurse talked about Songhwa’s 10-year old shoes. Then, later the twins mentioned that shoes were the only thing they could remember about a resident neurosurgeon whose tears inspired them to become doctors.

We also caught glimpses of Songhwa’s feet in this the episode. We saw her massaging her tired feet, opening the door, stepping on the surgical chair, and putting on her crocs after the surgery.

I told @kokodus that I didn’t want to speculate about the identity of shoe giver and get ahead of myself, or the screenwriter. I said we can start guessing who gave Songhwa the shoes, ONLY if we see in the next episode, that she had received two pairs of shoes: one pair from the nurse who TOLD her she was buying her a new pair, and another pair from a “secret admirer.” For now, I want to keep it simple and to avoid crediting one of the men when there’s no supporting evidence that they were the gift-giver.

To me, the significance of the new shoes lies elsewhere. For me, the new shoes were a symbol of rebirth.

You see, she’d been a Ghost all these ten years. She worked tirelessly so she could fulfill the promise she gave the twins when their mother died. Back then, she apologized for not being able to save their mom and she vowed that she would become a better doctor. According to the twins, she was wearing a new pair of shoes back then.

Now, those same shoes were all worn out.

To me, it made sense that she didn’t buy a new pair. Those old shoes would have served as a reminder of the distance she had yet to walk in order to keep her promise. She couldn’t quit striving to become a better doctor before she reached her final goal.

BTW, it’s noteworthy to observe that Songhwa’s commitment to become a better doctor echoed JW’s advice to the ER resident surgeon.

JW: Dr. Jang, do you know why doctors only give vague answers such as “We can’t be sure yet,” “We don’t know yet,” and “We need to observe a bit more”? Doctors must take responsibility for their words. So we must be careful with our words. There’s only one thing we, doctors, can tell our patients with certainty. “We will do our best.” That’s the only thing.

Both he and Songhwa shared the same values. They took their responsibilities seriously. When they gave their promise to do something, they would take on the responsibilities and challenges of meeting that promise, because keeping their word is important for them.

Anyway, to continue…

Receiving a new pair of shoes therefore marked a turning point in Songhwa’s life. On one level, it meant she had kept her word. No other neurosurgeon in her hospital was more respected and admired than her. She devoted the past years and did her best to save people’s lives so much so that she became a ghost.

But on another level, the new shoes meant that it was time for her to move on, and rejoin the world of the living and be alive for herself. It was highly appropriate then that, on her birthday, she received a new pair of shoes because it would allude to her rebirth.

Worn-out shoes = promises kept
New shoes = new promises to keep

She had new shoes to begin her new journey.

4. Songs

Viewers have to see the drama from the eyes of the writer and director. The W&D won’t include songs without a reason. What’s the point of random songs? To waste minutes? To waste production time? Of course not.

The songs on the “Hospital Playlist” can’t be just extraneous details when the title of the kdrama specifically refers to them. 🙂  Certainly, the dialogues remain the chief driver of the plot, but the featured song of each episode also convey a topic that would unfold during the show.

Whoops. I’ll have to continue this later. Work calls. 🙂