Hospital Playlist season 2, episode 9 recap – unspoken feelings

This recap of the Netflix K-Drama series Hospital Playlist season 2, episode 9 contains major spoilers.

Read the recap of the previous episode.

The thing I enjoy about these extra-long chapters is that plenty does not happen; you feel you are zoned in for everyday life in a busy hospital. In the last few weeks, Hospital Playlist has garnered pace on a few story arcs, and they are touched upon in season 2, episode 9, ever so lightly. Audiences will feel teased, but there’s already a sense that a season 3 needs to happen.

Hospital Playlist season 2, episode 9 recap

As we saw at the end of last week, Jun-wan and Ik-sun are on the same bus, which means plenty of unspoken feelings and a tinge of regret. Later on in the episode, Ik-sun gets sick and needs to go to the hospital. Interestingly, Ik-jun makes it known that he knows about the past relationship between his friend Jun-wan and his sister Ik-sun. There’s this sense that he knows that they care about each other, and not letting his friend know his sister is in hospital is cruel, which highlights how considerate he is.

Both Ik-sun and Jun-wan seem surprised when Ik-jun makes it known, but there’s little point in making it into a drama given the circumstances. Not able to help himself, Jun-wan visits Ik-sun in the hospital, and he finds out the truth — it appears Ik-sun did not break up with him due to a breakdown in their relationship, but more that she was concerned about being sick, and what it meant for them both. This presents a rekindled relationship, which I am sure Jun-wan will want to pursue, but will Ik-sun accept? It’s very complicated, with audiences making many assumptions up until this point.

Episode 9 of season 2 presents a hilarious table tennis tournament at the hospital. Some games are interrupted by urgent emergencies, but Ik-jun is ever-present in the tournament for doubles. There’s plenty of mishaps and comical misunderstanding of the rules. Despite the effort, Ik-jun and his doubles partner lose the finals to the Nuclear Medicine department — it’s made even more hilarious as you can tell he was trying to impress Song-hwa.

It’s frustrating to watch, but Ahn Jeong-won and Gyeo-ul are still at a crossroads in their relationship. Since Gyeo-ul had to tend to her mother in the hospital, their communication has not been great, which is sad to watch. This is a typical romantic story of a man needing to give his woman space, but is Ahn Jeong-won capable of giving that space? It’s a real test for the characters and the writers, and we are intrigued to see how this plays out.

Of course, there’s always surgery drama in Hospital Playlist — a patient urgently needs a blood transfusion and surgery due to a hematoma and a tear in his heart. Jun-wan and Ik-jun work on helping the patient together during surgery; it’s quite intense. Jun-wan takes on the patient as his own and liaises with the guardian. More drama follows as Ik-jun needs help for surgery from Professor Shin; he needs him to advise with the ultrasound equipment. The professor makes plenty of effort to get there for Ik-hun.

When you get sick or have a near-death experience, they say it brings much-needed perspective. That’s certainly the case for Jeong Rosa, who has felt perspective since her health scare. She has looked at regrets in her life and realized that before she was sick, she didn’t listen to people and saw life as boring and futile.

I’ve seen plenty of fans gush over this moment; while Song-hwa and Ik-jun enjoy coffee and a walk, it rains, and eventually, they hold hands to avoid a puddle together. It’s a little moment that has done rounds on social media, but we can detect a slight realization on Song-hwa’s face after their hands let go — is she reconsidering whether to pursue a romance with her best friend? At band practice, Song-hwa is giving the microphone, and she’s absolutely awful with the vocals, much to the amusement of the characters and the audience.

The ending

Band practice is an opportunity for the episode to give a flashback; we see a younger Song-hwa in her dormitory — she gets a text (presumably from Ik-jun) asking her if she’d like to meet, and she gets super excited. She waits patiently for a reply after she asks for a location. Devastatingly, a text finally arrives, and their plans are canceled. We get a glimpse of when Song-hwa crushed on Ik-jun, but it brought undesirable feelings of hurt.

Fans will be screaming, but the K-Drama series would rather play this romance out even more.

What did you think of Hospital Playlist season 2, episode 9? Comment below.