Early Access: Resident Playbook Episodes 1-2 – The Fangirl Verdict
Hi everyone!
Today I’m sharing my episode 1-2 notes on Resident Playbook, because I am enjoying it very nicely, and I was wondering if you’d like to join me? 🤗
These are my episode 1-2 notes, exactly as they appear on Patreon, ie, without screenshots (I’m saving those for the actual review).
I hope you all enjoy, and I hope you’ll consider joining us over on Patreon, for the rest of the discussions! ❤️
Episode notes:
E1-2. My friends, I’ve been looking forward to this show for so long, thanks to this being a spin-off of the wonderful Hospital Playlist, that I was almost scared to start this, y’know?
I think that in itself should give us a clue, in terms of why reactions to this show, so far, have been rather mixed.
I personally feel that a lot of it has to do with the high expectations that many of us have, which come from all the feels that we got from watching Hospital Playlist.
While this comes from the same team, I do think that the different characters make a huge difference.
For one thing, instead of having a core crew that’s super experienced and confident, we have a bunch of newbies.
This means that the comfort that we’d had, from knowing that our core crew knew what they were doing, and would be able to handle just about any emergency, and also, from the existing bond that they’d had even from the start of the story, is not here.
I described the dynamic to MC, and she said that this sounds like Misaeng, but in a hospital, and that is brilliantly on-point! Thanks, MC!
So yes, when we start our story, our core crew of four, is not a bonded unit, and neither do they have the skill and experience that the Fab Five wore with such a comforting ease.
I have to confess that I liked episode 1 less than episode 2, meaning that this took a little while to grow on me.
In episode 1, we’re just meeting our core crew for the first time, and they are meeting each other for the first time, and they’ve all got their own hang-ups and struggles, and it’s not a good time.
Also, because each of our core crew members has lots of room to grow, they can come across as frustratingly clueless sometimes.
On that note, I will say that I thought Show could have made them each a little more lovable right off the bat; that would have made it a little easier to get on board with these characters.
Having said that, I also realize that this isn’t always the way this team rolls; there’ve definitely been times in the past when they’ve introduced a really prickly character, only to get us to love that character anyway, with a bit of time and context.
I feel like this is the intent here as well, which means that we do need to have a bit of patience, going into episode 1.
At the same time, given this team’s habit of serving up long episodes, I do think that that’s another area where we’ll need to exercise our patience, particularly in the beginning, when we’re still getting to know our core crew, and largely haven’t made up our minds on whether we like them yet. 😅
Another thing that I thought I wanted to mention, is that Show’s got a tendency to.. well, exaggerate.
I do recall this to be part of this team’s way of doing things, but it definitely takes away from the realism of our characters, somewhat.
Let’s talk about the characterization of our core crew, because I think this is where it becomes a lot clearer.
So far, each member of the core crew has a key characteristic that’s holding them back, and there is a general lack of nuance in how this is written into each character.
For example, Sa Bi is very book smart, and the top of her class, but completely lacks social skills and the ability to show empathy to patients.
I saw someone comment on MDL that this is very autism coded, and that’s perhaps why she is so completely unable to empathize with others.
I would agree that this could be the case – if hers was the only character who was written in such plain extremes.
The fact that the other members of the core crew are also completely lacking in their prescribed area of weakness or lack, makes me think that this is more a general writing style thing, rather than a deliberate attempt to convey that a character might be on the spectrum.
There’s also Jae Il, who’s an eager beaver, and has a tendency to overthink everything.
His behavior is presented as being very extreme, where he simply does not learn, from repeated experience, that he’s likely making a mountain out of a molehill, and over-reaching in his desire to diagnose a patient.
And then we have Yi Young, who feels like our key protagonist, given that we start the story from her perspective.
We don’t know what she’s been through, but there’s been an incident in her past that makes her want to quit working at the hospital, and the only reason she drags herself back there, is because she’s in debt and has no other source of income.
We’re told that she’s basically repeating her first year of residency, and here’s where things don’t really add up for me, with a logical lens on.
Yi Young’s shown to not know a lot of very basic things, like where to throw a suture in the operating theater.
This makes zero sense, since she’s already done at least part of her first year of residency in the past, and is now redoing it.
She doesn’t seem to suffer from amnesia or anything, so this kind of thing, where she’s shown to not know a lot of basic stuff, is definitely writer-nim playing fast and loose with logic.
At the same time Yi Young’s shown to be very honest and blunt, and I get the idea that she doesn’t plan to stay for long anyway, and perhaps that’s why she’s not even trying to be tactful about things with other people, particularly her seniors at the hospital.
Maybe your mileage may vary; it feels to me like her lack of filter is being played up for entertainment purposes, ie, I think that most people would be more tactful than she’s being, even if they’re planning on leaving at some point – but I could be wrong, of course.
And then there’s Nam Kyung, who’s got a bit of a chip on her shoulder from having been Yi Young’s rival back in school, and yet Yi Young doesn’t even remember her.
Because of this, Nam Kyung’s keen to outshine Yi Young at every opportunity.
At the same time, Nam Kyung’s vain streak also extends to wanting to look pretty and fashionable, so that she can keep up with her friends – and she absolutely is unable to do this, while doing her residency.
All in all, I’m happy to roll with the slightly exaggerated characterization; it’s not a big deal for me, and I think a bit of a lens adjustment is all that’s needed here.
Mainly, it’s clear that our core crew members each has a lot of growing to do, and a big piece of that, will be how they learn to truly care for their patients.
And because they’re not there yet, it can be a bit perplexing to watch, particularly at first.
The other thing that makes it rather frustrating, I’m thinking, is the fact that our powerless newbies are being taken advantage of and bullied, by various senior people, like Myeong Eun Won, who’s a snake in sheep’s clothing, with her syrupy voice and smile being her regular trump card.
Even though Myeong Eun Won is a crossover character from Hospital Playlist, I have to confess that I have zero memory of her being in Hospital Playlist; I think I only really had eyes for the Fab Five, oops. 😅
I must say, though, that I am super pleased to see Lee Bong Ryun playing a key professor here; I think Lee Bong Ryun is great, and that we don’t see her enough, in key roles.
And here, she’s an important professor to our core crew, so I’m loving that already. 🤩
I love that she’s tough, but has a good heart; I can already feel that she’s going to be a great influence on our core crew. 🥲
Another person that I find myself growing very fond of, is 4th year resident Do Won, who’s not only in charge of the 1st years, but also living in the same apartment as Yi Young, because he’s the younger brother of her brother-in-law.
He’s got a very warm presence that I like, and I also really like that he’s understanding and empathetic towards the 1st years, while also having expectations of them.
My favorite scene of his, hands down, is the one in episode, where he speaks up when the anesthesiologist is coming down hard on Yi Young, and basically protects her, while remaining very reasonable and polite.
The way he does it, makes me feel like he’s like a mother hen shielding his chicks from harm, and saying that all complaints should come to him directly in the future, because he would like to discipline his own chicks.
Aw. I love that. That’s leadership in action, and I love that it comes from him, so naturally, without need for any angry outburst. That calm warmth is still firmly in place, and yet, he’s effectively changed everything, for Yi Young.
I like him. 🥲
On that note, I’m now curious to see if there will be a loveline between him and Yi Young, because there have been a few moments in these two episodes, that have felt like possible hints – but that also could be brushed off as friendly banter.
Like the way he kind of gives Yi Young that amused look through the glass panel in the door, after the first day briefing.
Or the way he sometimes leans in close to whisper something to her – mostly in the vein of her not being able to leave like she wants, because she’s 50 million won in debt.
We’ve had a few moments already, where we can see that he’s gently amused by Yi Young, and y’know, I would not mind at all, if Show turns this into a loveline – just sayin’. 😁
By the time we get through episode 2, each of our core crew members has experienced a bit of a breakthrough in their various journeys, and with these small initial wins, I also found episode 2 more enjoyable and gratifying to watch.
We’ve got Sa Bi saving her patient, and then bonding with her, and finally apologizing as well, and I thought this was pretty wholesome.
We’ve also got Nam Kyung realizing that she cares about her fussy patient who asks for her dressings to be changed four times a day, which leads to them bonding a little bit too, over slightly teary conversation.
I really liked finding out that the patient had insisted on Nam Kyung changing her dressing, not because she was trying to bully Nam Kyung, but because the professor had said that Nam Kyung was the best at changing dressings.
I found this scene quite touching, honestly, particularly with the difficult context of Nam Kyung struggling so hard, with this particular patient.
And we’ve also got Yi Young caring enough about her transfer patient, that she doesn’t leave until she is certain that the patient is alright.
Of course, this isn’t the only turning point for Yi Young; we’ve also got other incidents, like how Yi Young couldn’t turn away from a Code Blue situation, despite having made the decision to leave.
But this incident is the one that cements it more, I think.
AND, it was SUCH a thrill, to see Ahn Eun Jin make a guest appearance, reprising her role as Chu Min Ha, and showing us that she’s all married now, and very much in love with her hubs. 🥰
I really liked how Show weaved in Min Ha’s appearance, by having her be the neutral yet empathetic party, to encourage Yi Young to keep going, and tell her that everyone starts out in a similar place. 🥲
As we close out episode 2, I’m happy that the 1st years are finally exempt from giving that ridiculous report to Eun Won (the snake!), and that it’s all thanks to Do Won negotiating it for them, with his knowledge of Eun Won’s lies as leverage.
I would have preferred that Eun Won be dealt with in a more permanent manner, but hey, it’s early days yet, so I’m sure there’ll be time enough for that, later.
For now, I’m glad that our 1st years have made it to the end of their first month, and are now a little more emotionally settled, than when we’d first met them.
Overall, I’m pretty happy with these first two episodes, and am looking forward to more wins and more growth for our characters, as they forge forward.
*This show is being covered on the VVIP Early Access (US$20) Tier on Patreon*
To view episode 1-2 notes in Patreon, along with everyone’s comments, you can go here!
You can find my Patreon page here, and for all future episode notes for this show you can click here.
Episodes 5-6 notes will be out soon! I hope you’ll consider joining us!
It’ll be a way to have fun, and support me at the same time? 🥲❤️
PS: For more information on what the Patreon experience is like, you might like to check out my Patreon update post for April, which you can find here!
