365: Repeat the Year (2020) Episodes 9-10

*Spoilers ahead*

We've reached a point in the drama I think we can safely say that there's clarity and the confusion is no more. A relief indeed because my greatest fear was that this plot would spiral ridiculously out of control and make no or little sense. Even while there's no explanation (and I doubt we'll ever get one) of the temporal device, the cloud has lifted on the chaos and madness of the past few weeks. Yes, we do have a serial killer and we do have clarification of why Lee Shin reached out to all those individuals very specifically.

A bunch of people resetted to change their fate and but they died anyway. A fairly reductionist way to put it. But of course there is/was always more to it than that. Lee Shin, a psychiatrist who is desperately trying to cure her daughter of some multi-syllable incurable disease has been resetting that particular year of her life. How she came upon this temporal device... we don't know... While doing so, it came to her attention that a serial killer was running loose during the course of the year so decided after several times that she was to take matters into her own hands. She finds an opening and the potential killer is disposed of unceremoniously except that it leads to other problems. On the next reset... the present timeline... she invites all the individuals who fell prey to the serial killer to join her and change their "fate". She doesn't tell them about their deaths or the serial killer... but offers a panacea to their unhappiness. Little by little, this crew gets picked off by the killer.

Once the killer is identified a lot does make sense. The show seemed to be pointing that way in previous episodes. It had to be someone close by and aware of what was taking place. So the question is asked, by saving the killer early on has Hyeon Ju opened the door to a lot more people dying. The answer to that depends on one's worldview. This is why LS answers it with a cryptic: "Is that what it is?" For HJ it feels like awfully like a case of "damned if you don't, damned if you do." This isn't really so much a survivor game in as much as it is an ethical dilemma. Do you kill one person to save 11? Or do you save 1 person you care about and let 11 people die? I think that's the question that weighed heavily on LS. She had the foreknowledge. 

But of course it is far more complex than that. It isn't all on HJ. He's been presented as the quintessential likeable, simple-minded guy but he takes on too much responsibility for the evil that's being perpetrated. You can understand why LS kept mum. Because she wanted him to act freely without the burden of knowing that in the act of saving his senior, he indirectly causes a chain reaction. Now people aren't dominoes either. Nothing has to be inevitable. None of those people had to die during the designated time and place. I think that was what she believed. Even with a serial killer on the prowl, people given scraps of information and having an inherent fear of death may still be able to redirect their personal trajectory. She also believed, I think, that if she had a cop on board the reset, that there would be a possibility that the killer could be caught without having to kill him first and causing his loved ones heartache. 

The confusion for me lay in the fact that there were all these disparate forces at play. The killer doing his thing, LS doing her thing, the leads doing their thing and all the now-dead players doing their thing. I wouldn't call them "agendas" in the usual sense but each party in this narrative, due to fear and a lack of trust were acting on their own which exacerbated the chaos. 

Character is destiny is very much the thing that's driving this. That was always clear from the start. In every instance, LS is right in this regard. People had the opportunity to change course. But they didn't. Why was that... 1) Secrets that they were loath to share 2) Flaws in their personalities 3) Lack of trust 4) No interest in changing the status quo just outcomes. A cynic might say that people aren't really interested in changing until they're forced to. Just think of Se Rin for instance. She had the chance to leave town but her concern and obsession for the boyfriend overrode all her survival instincts. More than she was someone who invited trouble. Some of it was a lack of affection, some of it the Munchausen talking but she had some serious character flaws. As long as she was fixated with him, the danger was imminent. It wasn't about the time or the day, it's about what these people did to draw the notice of the killer. 

I'm not saying that any of these people "deserved" to die. That's what the killer thinks most likely. But these individuals were prone to making poor choices and even criminal ones. There's little doubt they made a lot of noise one way or another.

Therefore avoiding death here is not purely about dodging metaphorical bullets. Death can't be avoided in most cases unless a person's moral or aspirational compass changes. In a way it is inevitable. There are also things we cling to... friendship, love, family, trust etc that are normally good things but can be worked against us.

That's an important issue too with regards to HJ and SH. I can't imagine what he's going through right now. Never in his wildest dreams I'm sure did he believe that someone so close to home was behind all these deaths. That's why his mind never went in that direction. This is why he had to have help from GH to come to this place. She's more than his partner... she's someone who provides another set of eyes and keeps him honest.

Hospital Playlist (2020) Stage One

As expected, this drama was worth the wait. Ever since it was announced that the director of the much lauded Prison Playbook was helming this, some of us having been eagerly awaiting this. Plus they managed to score two of my Kdramaland favourites in the casting which was the cherry on top. 

As the title suggests it is a medical drama of sorts and yes, there's music. In fact there's a band. But the beauty of this drama is that the medical-music side of things is primarily a backdrop for a 20-year long friendship amongst 5 busy physicians who are really good at what they do. So far this is where the show really excels in its storytelling. I'm not a recapper by inclination so this post like all the others is a smattering of thoughts about the show.

Like many other medical dramas before it, this one does make use of the hospital backdrop to represent a microcosm of society. There are certain universal truths that seem to apply all across the board which make the hustle and bustle of medicos in their space relatable. Chief among them are the people who walk the corridors where life and death decisions are made routinely. The weight of what they do are felt by them acutely. But hospital wards are made up of a myriad individuals that play their role in a pre-existing pecking order. Every player in that world has his/her quirks and strengths. They might not be the top dog in their field... by definition there can only be one (or a handful) but they have their contribution to make. By their very presence they can influence decisions and outcomes. Not everyone goes into medicine for altruistic reasons. Many don't. Even so, they have a part to play. Some clinicians would do well to improve their EQ and yet, as the show demonstrates they have skills that can fill in other gaps within the system. It's not about trying to change people or even change their minds... if that's remotely possible. With various agendas, egos and personalities at play it is up to a wise team leader to make it all come together for the benefit of patients. 

Yulje Hospital is not one's usual Kdramaland hospital. There's no ongoing power play for the top job. In fact, the humorous part of this is that this family business is not run by any member of the family. In fact, there's no sibling rivalry aiming to wrestle power from factions. In fact, most of the siblings are deeply religious Catholic adherents who have chosen a life of celibacy. The youngest sibling is a pediatrician in the hospital waiting for his shot at the priesthood. This turns a number of K drama tropes on its head to good purpose. This also tells us that the show is a different beast, traversing a different trajectory. Rather than setting it up as a place of business like any other, it is a place where people do good or at least do the best they can under all kinds of conditions including the most trying ones. Hospitals still have to make money so that's where the VIP suites come in. Those who can pay top dollar do and apparently it's a win-win situation for them and the hospital. The CEO as far as we can tell is a kindly old friend of the family who apparently defies the Kdrama stereotype as well.

The Five Friends conveniently occupy various departments in the hospital so the camera gets around as do a couple of third year medical students. From top to bottom everyone's juggling their own personal issues as well as professional ones. For instance, Jung-wan, the cardiothoracic professor amongst them has a reputation for having a prickly personality and being a bit of a penny pincher. Yet there's another side to him. The man holding a scalpel may be brusque but he's skilled and he does have a soft spot for the people he cares for. Song-hwa, the only female amongst the besties, is a neurosurgeon who does it all at the hospital and still manages to get away on weekends to camp. She's hugely popular and immensely likeable. Already there are speculations about who she ends up with. :D Ik-jun who is a professor in General Surgery has been under the spotlight of late because of his family issues. Yet he has time to think about a former patient and consider that family's feelings. What enables these doctors to do what they do... Compassion? Sympathy? Empathy? They see patient care as something that goes beyond the condition or ailment that needs to be resolved. The investment they make in going the extra mile whether it's dealing with guardians or mentoring their subordinates belies a belief that what's best for the patient begins even before the patient enters the consult room.


Band practice or group karaoke is a guaranteed barrel of laughs. With this talented crew, bad singing is an art and a craft. Here music is firstly about memories, holding on to them and making new ones. It is also about friendship. That's what the band is about. Friends that play together stay together. 

365: Repeat the Year (2020) Episodes 3-4

This is shaping up to be an excellent drama. At least it can't be accused of being dull. The pacing is good and I'm usually on the edge of my seat. At times I feel like I'm being bombarded with information. Despite spewing out a whole heap of theories last week, I honestly have no idea what in blazers is going on. In a good sort of way. I've even started jotting down questions and notes just to keep up with things which I almost never do. This show is full of twists and turns so it's not really possible to be entirely sure about the mechanism that's at work here.

My general feeling is that we're only seeing the tip of the iceberg so far -- the show is still in setup mode. But after the last couple of episodes I think we are getting a glimpse of what's at stake. It does appear that everyone in the drama is operating as if they have been transported back in time. What's really fascinating, I think is that the assumption that a "reset"... another bite at the cherry as it were... is under serious attack here. There seems to be a tacit indication that it's a really bad idea in most instances. The crux of the matter it seems to me is that a second chance doesn't necessarily engender wisdom, growth or positive change of behaviour. That much is clear... for a show of this kind. It seems to be a consistent thread running through these early episodes. From the evidence presented, the show is saying that "reset" doesn't equal to "change for the better". For some a "reset" only means another chance to do the same thing while dodging the consequences. I don't think it needs to be overemphasized that human beings are self-centred creatures. We do what's best for us and those closest to us because there are immediate benefits to doing so. Few like change and few find change easy.

A peek into a mysterious "trophy room" on the other hand seems to suggest that there's an opposing force at work -- a serial killer perhaps on the prowl for unworthy candidates/recipients. My guess is that there's someone... at least one person who isn't keen on the whole "reset" idea because it is in essence a form of cheating fate. Take the lottery guy... formerly a security guard. He was prevented from bucking the system and enjoying his winnings. The stockbroker is stopped in his tracks before doing a runner. He doesn't get off scot free. He was going to continue with his double life and carry on the facade of being a family man. Someone is out to stop individuals from using "reset" in egregious lawless fashion apparently. So perhaps the Death Note reference made by the gamer lad last week is not beyond the pale. It is possible that the killer sees himself as a dispenser of vigilante justice. So who's sending the death blossoms?

Episode 3 in particular, with all its twists and turns led me to think of David Mamet's The Spanish Prisoner. The elaborate layers of deception in both the drama and the film leaves you wondering who can be trusted or if... it turns out... anybody can be trusted. Trust is an important foundation of our social interactions that it is often taken for granted. We don't assume people are lying to us when they tell us things about themselves. They could be, of course but that's not our default position. In an Agatha Christie whodunit... A Caribbean Mystery or Pocket Full of Rye... can't remember which... Miss Marple says something similar. These days particularly because there is generally much more movement around the world, long-term connections are not easily maintained. It's hard to be sure that what we see or here is the truth. We tend to give people the benefit of the doubt. Our institutions function for the most part in this way. 

In that vein, Hitchcock also came to mind. It's not surprising given the obvious psycho-thriller elements. "Who's going to be next?" has that kind of nerve wrecking buildup that the master of suspense was famous for. People are dying unexpectedly and now we have clear indications that there's at least one person behind the recent deaths. On the surface they look like natural causes or suicide but given the presence of death blossoms in each case, it's looking increasingly like foul play.

The Hidden Killer webtoon needs to be a consideration in all of this. Even if it isn't the key to why people are dropping off like flies, it should clue us in on why that particular cohort of participants came together in the first place.

Needless to say, the reset has a cost attached to it. The leads are feeling the brunt of it considering what they do for a living and their natural curiosity. It does feel like they were all sold a bill of goods. Their lives are now increasingly consumed by these mysteries. Not being able to tell people how and why you know things. Very awkward. Then the lies... one lie after the next. One lie to cover up another.

I like how the leads are written. They're hardly perfect as individuals but as a duo, they seem a good fit. The UST seems to be working. The perspective they provide on the entire mystery and their investigative partnership seems to be going from strength to strength. The lying was pretty clumsy at first but they're getting better at it. :P Romance is possible. I don't discount it entirely although murders are keeping them on their toes. Hyeong-Ju's colleagues are keen for him to be romancing his favourite graphic novelist. They keep needling him about spending so much time with her. I won't object if it means an overload of adorable LJH. I also noted that he was quick to pick her up for interrogation and I doubt it had anything to do with zeal for justice. ;) My opinion is that he did for himself because he was really worried that she could have done it so he needed to allay his own fanboy fears that his favourite webtoonist is guilty of murder.

As if there weren't enough guessing games to keep the viewer occupied for a while, the show throws a new element into the mix... "who is the person in the trophy room" :D