Summary
Snow crabs and karaoke! Episode 5 leans away from patient-specific storylines and focuses on the lead characters and their personal issues.
This recap of the Netflix K-Drama series Hospital Playlist season 2, episode 5 contains major spoilers.
Read the recap of the previous episode.
Welcome back to our Hospital Playlist coverage. It’s our favorite part of the week. Let’s recap!
Ik-sun tells her brother Ik-jun that she and Jun-wan have broken up
Well, the last chapter ended with a bombshell, and episode 5 opens up rehashing the same scene; Ik-sun tells her brother Ik-jun not to tell Jun-wan about her medical issues. The ball has dropped to what this means. She apologizes to her brother for not telling him about her relationship with his friend but states that they have broken up anyway. Episode 5 is certainly a chapter that focuses less on the patients and more on the personal issues of the characters.
It’s “one question a day” for Min-ha to Seok-hyeong
Min-ha’s romantic frustrations continue in episode 5 — will she ever make any progress? Min-ha wants to take Seok-hyeong for a coffee so she can ask him a question. She asks what kind of movies he likes, but he reminds her she has one question a day, and they have to be work-related. As they walk, they bump into the ex-wife Sin-hye, stopping Seok-hyeong in his tracks, and they enjoy small talk.
Song-hwa has found a place that sells snow crabs
Perhaps the funniest part of episode 5 is when Song-hwa has a serious yet not-so-serious proposition for her friends. Song-hwa tells Ik-jun that she needs to recharge herself, so he comically puts a charger in her ear. The rest of the friends join Song-hwa in her office as she has an announcement to make. Song-hwa tells them about a place that sells snow crabs, and they are all excited. They want to make an order, and she reveals she has ordered ten already. Ahn Jeong-won is allergic, so it’s 2.5 x crabs each. She tells them all to fast beforehand to make room in their stomachs. So the group of friends indulge in the crabs and make an evening out of it.
Song-hwa wants to sing, so the group offer her a deal
Song-hwa tells the group that she has improved her singing, but they all brush her off. Seok-hyeong suggests they should let her sing, and it causes some commotion. Eventually, the group tells Song-hwa that she can sing on her birthday next year, and then it will be every two years. However, Song-hwa suggests they go to karaoke immediately. The group heads to a bar and sings together. Well… Song-hwa’s singing has not improved.
Ahn Jeong-won wants a trip with Gyeo-ul and wants her to promise something
Ahn Jeong-won tells Gyeo-ul that they should go for a trip together for a few days sometime in the future. He then asks her to promise him that no matter how big or small, she will tell him if something happens to her. She agrees and affectionately kisses Ahn Jeong-won on the cheek. Despite Gyeo-ul eating leftover crab, Ahn Jeong-won kisses her on the lips, despite his allergies. It’s wonderful watching this relationship grow.
Relive the moment Jun-wan tries to forget his worries with a song:
Ik-jun deals with a cancer patient with a bile duct issue
Ik-jun meets Choi Eun-suk, who is suffering from jaundice. Her fever is caused by inflammation in the bile duct. He thinks a liver ultrasound will be necessary as they’ve recently put in a tube to drain the bile. The husband wants to be there for the scan, but Ik-jun questions whether she’s trusted. At this stage of the episode, Ik-jun senses something is off about the husband.
Seok-hyeong allows a live recording of a birth
While Seok-hyeong helps deliver a baby, the father of the child wants to record the moment the child enters the world. He comes in with a camera on his head. It’s a baby girl. The father is emotional and focuses on his wife instead of his newborn child — he tells her he is proud of her. There’s a lot of emotion in the room, and it even gets to Seok-hyeong.
Seok-hyeong learns that marriage doesn’t have to be bad and brings up his hardships with Sin-hye to Song-hwa
So, the whole delivery of the baby and the father recording moment has provided clarity for Seok-hyeong. Late in the evening, Song-hwa drops food off for Seok-hyeong. And then Seok-hyeong says that for the first time since the divorce, he’s just realized that marriage isn’t always a bad thing after witnessing that beautiful moment between husband and wife in the delivery room. Song-hwa tells Seok-hyeong that he can get married too, but he disputes that because his family will ruin that hypothetical person. He describes what his ex-wife Sin-hye went through by being married to him. He realized Sin-hye got quieter and quieter as they edged closer to their divorce. Song-hwa notes how Seok-hyeong made various efforts to help her despite the stresses.
He then says near the end, Sin-hye went to visit his mother, and he saw her take his [1] mother’s diamond — he thought it would be best never to bring it up. Seok-hyeong is fully aware that it’s all his fault, and he should have done more. Song-hwa raises how knowing the problem is half the solution; she feels he needs to say more, even if he thinks it’s useless to the people close to him. Min-ha then rings him about a birthday collection for a colleague. Seok-hyeong asks what kind of gift they are getting and brings up a range of questions; he’s trying Song-hwa’s advice — “to say more.” What is beautiful about this scene is how Song-hwa listens; she has really perfected it.
Eun-ji’s mother is thankful for the treatment and heart transplant
Eun-ji’s mother visits the hospital with gifts and thanks all the staff for what they did for her child Eun-ji. She recognizes how hard Jun-wan worked to help her child. She’s also provided gifts and a letter for the donor’s family and asks Jun-wan to deliver it to them. He tells her it’s illegal to contact the donor family. Eun-ji’s mother has worked out the family as only a few pediatric transplants are done a year, and despite the miracle, she knows the donor family must be devastated. Inside the gift is a yearly donation for the family. Jun-wan agrees to pass it on. What a wonderful moment to tie up this story.
An aggressive visitor hurts Gyeo-ul
Ik-jun suspected that Choi Eun-suk’s husband was off earlier, and he was right. When Ahn Jeong-won gets to the hospital, Gyeo-ul deals with Choi Eun-suk’s husband, who is extremely aggressive. Gyeo-ul is thrown to the floor. Ahn Jeong-won helps her to her feet. She is chastised by Gwang–hyeon for being too brave and that she should have waited for help. Later on, Ik-jun admits to Ahn Jeong-won that he could sense that Choi Eun-suk’s husband was abusive as his wife always flinched near him. In-juk asks Choi Eun-suk about it directly, but she tells them they have the wrong idea. Suddenly, she apologizes, but Ik-jun tells her she doesn’t need to, as she’s the victim. Choi Eun-suk asks for some time alone. To stop her husband from moving Choi Eun-suk to another hospital, Ik-jun puts the patient in the ICU.
Ik-sun has tests on her liver and has an unlikely encounter with Jun-wan
Ik-jun takes his sister to the hospital so she can take some tests on her liver. He promises not to be present for the actual test and that he will wait outside. They learn that hepatocirrhosis could pose her a greater risk. Also, the inflammation in her bile duct hasn’t got better. Ik-jun is upbeat and says the sooner the treatment, the better. It’s nice to see how much Ik-jun cares for his sister. Later on, Ik-jun has forgotten something, so he leaves Ik-sun in the car outside the hospital. Jun-wan sees her, and she begins to sob uncontrollably. He walks towards the car, and it’s clear love is not lost between them, but Jun-wan is distracted and has to go inside.
Min-ha wants to ask Seok-hyeong out five times
Maybe a romance is starting to brew between these two characters, but Seok-hyeong is making it painful. Min-ha asks Seok-hyeong if she can ask him out “five times.” Seok-hyeong says he isn’t feeling uncomfortable, but the answer will be no. Min-ha is shocked as she hasn’t even asked him yet, and she’s already rejected. She admits that she really likes him and asks him out to the cinemas; Seok-hyeong laughs and states she has four attempts left.
The ending of Hospital Playlist season 2, episode 5
Ik-sun joins the military. Ik-jun keeps meeting up with her and asks how her unit is doing. He wants to make sure she’s still seeing a doctor. Ik-sun wonders why he keeps visiting her, but he states he was seeing their parents in his latest visit. She tells him to stop bugging her and date someone. Jun-wan calls Ik-jun, which causes some awkwardness. To end the episode, Song-hwa returns from a break, so Ahn Jeong-won greets her with a new office plant for her. Ik-jun asks her to join him for food.
Medical records
- [1] Seok-hyeong’s mother’s last wish is for her son to get remarried. She believes Sin-hye stole a diamond ring. She sees Sin-hye in the same cafe and believes the diamond on the necklace is hers.
What did you think of Hospital Playlist season 2, episode 5? Comment below.
