Resident Playbook Review: Raw, Chaotic, Messy, But an Honest Glimpse into A Side of Medicine We Rarely See

Resident Playbook Review

Director: Lee Min-soo

Date Created: 2025-05-18 23:43

Editor's Rating:
3.5

Resident Playbook Review: This is a 12-episode Korean medical drama (언젠가는 슬기로울 전공의 생활) that aired on Netflix from April 12 to May 18, 2025. Directed by Lee Min-soo and written by Kim Song-hee, the main cast includes Go Youn-jung as Oh Yi-young, Shin Si-ah as Pyo Nam-kyung, Kang You-seok as Um Jae-il, Han Ye-ji as Kim Sa-bi, Jung Joon-won as Goo Do-won and others.

This series is a spin-off of the popular drama Hospital Playlist. But this time, rather than following seasoned doctors, the focus is on the new group of residents, young doctors still cutting their teeth. This series is based in an Obstetrics and Gynaecology (OBGYN) department, and tells the stories of four first-year residents as they encounter the problems, trials and adventures that come their way in the hospital.

Resident Playbook Review

It’s never easy for a spin-off to live up to a beloved original, and that’s exactly the challenge Netflix’s Resident Playbook faces. As a die-hard Hospital Playlist fan for its comforting vibe and friendship dynamics and those epic band sessions, I was hoping this kdrama would be more of the same. What I ended up with instead was a much more intense, realistic and much grittier depiction of what life in a hospital is actually like — and I’ll be real with you, I’m not even mad about it.

Right from the start, Resident Playbook on Netflix presents us with a far more sensible and realistic story. Resident life ain’t easy, they have long hours, emotional drain, constant self-deprecation. This series does not sugarcoat that. And so, truthfully, I did like that honesty. Each episode depicts the physical and emotional toll the job takes on these young doctors. They’re not that too-eager intern class or very expert specialists — they’re the middle people, just hoping to live through another day. Personally, I think this made the characters seem so credible and so relatable to me.

One of the strongest aspects of the show is its cast of fresh residents. They’re not immediately lovable, and I think that’s great. They are rusty, emotionally bankrupt and frequently doing the wrong thing. However, as time goes on, their battles begin to add up. Oh Yi-young, played by Go Youn-jung, is one of the most shocking leads I’ve come across. She’s funny and sharp, but she’s cynical, and she’s detached, and seems to be doing this job out of obligation, not passion. It took me a few episodes to warm up to her, but in the end, I liked that she was honest. She doesn’t fake her way into caring more than she does, and her journey feels earned.

Kim Sa-bi, played by Han Ye-ji, the genius of the group, is all brains and very little emotional intelligence. Yet she tries. Seeing her learn to empathise with patients beyond their pathologies lent a quiet charm to her arc. I thought Pyo Nam-kyung played by Shin Si-ah was slightly underwritten for me. She’s strong and confident at first, but then I kind of lose her motivation in the process. I always wanted a big moment of clarity with her, and I never got one.

Uhm Jae-il played by Kang You-seok, however, totally won me over. He’s bright, empathetic profoundly human — the sort of doctor you’d want at your bedside. On the verge of being responsible for everything himself, he still never stopped caring. He really, in many ways, is sort of the emotional ballast for the show form.

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Resident Playbook Kdrama doesn’t focus much on romance, and honestly, I was okay with that. However, since there was a romantic undertone, I wish it was portrayed differently. Yi-young and Do-won did nothing for me as a pair. Both played it too staid, and their chemistry never really popped on the screen.

Personally, I would have loved to see Yi-young paired with someone like Jae-il. The opposing characters could’ve made for an emotional dynamic too. But anyway, I really liked the few, sweet moments between Jae-il and Sa-bi, which were also subtle and came late in the story, yet felt right and made me wish there were more.

And there were also moments when the pacing lagged. The narrative did not always move so seamlessly, and a few threads could have been developed more fully, especially with the character of Nam-kyung.

Finally, Resident Playbook Episode 12 has a neat payoff, concluding character arcs and giving an ultimate resolution. The episode demonstrates how every one of the residents has evolved personally and professionally. The romantic relationship, particularly between Yi-young and Do-won, makes viewers feel warm. And this finale doubles down on the series’ central message: finding hope and connection in a time of adversity.

Kdrama Resident Playbook Review: Summing Up

Overall, what Kdrama Resident Playbook does succeed at, for the most part, is capture that loneliness and self-doubt that you may have being a young doctor. These aren’t superheroes. They are people who sob in empty hallways and wonder whether they should quit (or those of us, rather). And that’s what makes the show excitingly human, even if it’s not always fun.

If you’re in search of a calming, feel-good medical drama, Resident Playbook is probably not the show for you. But if you’re in the mood for something grounded, emotionally real and gently powerful, this show may shock you — as it did me. So yes, Resident Playbook is not perfect, but I think it’s worth seeing.

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