Resident Playbook Episode 2 Review: The Surprise Cameo Brought Back Beautiful Memories

In the premiere of Resident Playbook, former doctor Oh Yi-young, burdened by debt and haunted by a traumatic past, reluctantly returns to Yulje Medical Center’s OB-GYN department. Reunited with her supportive senior Ku Do-won and joined by three eccentric first-year residents—timid Nam-kyung, ex-idol Jae-il, and stoic Sa-bi—Yi-young struggles to find her footing under the watchful eye of the fearsome Professor Seo.

From freezing in surgery to delivering a baby in the hallway, Yi-young’s rocky start is met with quiet admiration, subtle growth from her peers, and a mysterious professor who seems to know more about Yi-young than she lets on.

– Contains Spoilers –

Resident Playbook Episode 2 Recap

The episode opens with our fabulous four first-year residents—Yi-young, Jae-il, Sa-bi, and Nam-kyung—dragging their tired souls into the reporting room, facing the fire-breathing dragon of the day: Dr. Myeong Eun-won. She’s livid, but her rage has a clear target—Yi-young. Apparently, Yi-young refused to place the final suture in a procedure after being told to do so by a senior. And since Yi-young is more of a “silent-doer” than a “talk-it-out” type, her refusal comes across as rebellion, not caution.

Dr. Eun-won isn’t having it. She tears into Yi-young and shuts down the entire report session, leaving the first-years rattled and even more stressed than usual. Still, duty calls, and our rookies are thrown into the deep end with their daily assignments. Naturally, chaos follows—because what’s a hospital without a little rookie havoc?

Also read: Kowloon Generic Romance Episode 2 Review: Trip Down Memory Lane

Jae-il kicks things off with an epic blunder. He examines a patient and, in a truly unforgettable moment, mistakes a bloated abdomen from cancer for… a pregnancy. The patient is offended, naturally, and asks to never see Jae-il again. Poor guy.

Meanwhile, Sa-bi, our logic-over-emotion queen, manages to upset a new mother by rattling off cold medical facts like she’s reading a textbook. The patient bursts into tears, and Sa-bi, utterly bewildered by the reaction, is forced into a corner by her supervising doctor. She’s told to apologize. But Sa-bi, sincerely confused, can’t understand why stating facts requires an apology. Her superior doesn’t want to hear it and tells her bluntly to “act like a human.” Oof. It’s the first time Sa-bi’s ever been scolded like this, and it hits her hard.

Back to Jae-il—his mess-up gets him unofficially benched. He’s ghosted by Da-hye and left out of all assignments. He starts wandering the hospital like a lost soul, eventually slipping away unnoticed, longing for something—anything—to do.

Nam-kyung, ever the responsible one, inherits Jae-il’s reassigned patient: the same grumpy cancer patient who requested a new doctor. Unfortunately for Nam-kyung, the patient is demanding, stubborn, and obsessed with immaculate dressings. She insists her bandages be changed four times a day with absolute precision. Nam-kyung tries to endure it, but the sheer pressure and constant scrutiny start to break her down.

Meanwhile, back on the Eun-won revenge train, the senior doctor has made Yi-young her personal punching bag. She snaps at her, undermines her, and even sets her up. In one cruel prank, Eun-won lies about a patient’s emergency, forcing Yi-young to scramble to find an operating room. When the patient is brought in late, Eun-won makes it look like Yi-young fabricated the emergency just to get ahead. The anesthesia team is not amused, and Yi-young is painted as selfish and dishonest. She says nothing, quietly absorbing the misunderstanding.

Things start spiraling. Jae-il, still MIA, stews in his own feelings of uselessness. Sa-bi tries, and fails, repeatedly to apologize to her patient. Her superior keeps berating her for her emotional ineptitude. After one particularly sharp jab—that maybe she isn’t fit to be a doctor—Sa-bi considers quitting. But something inside her refuses to give up. She’s shaken, but not broken.

Nam-kyung has her own meltdown. After a long day, she runs into an old schoolmate—dressed to the nines—who expresses pity at Nam-kyung’s exhausted, disheveled appearance. That does it. Enraged and overwhelmed, Nam-kyung storms out of the hospital and ignores repeated calls from a nurse who’s trying to get her back for the cancer patient’s dressing.

Then comes the text that changes everything: “Clear lines.” Panicked, Nam-kyung rushes back, terrified the patient has died. She breaks into tears when she sees the body—only to realize it’s not her patient. Her own patient is fine. Relieved, she goes to change the dressing and apologizes sincerely. To her surprise, the patient also apologizes, explaining that she had specifically asked for Nam-kyung because her senior doctor praised her precision. They patch things up, and Nam-kyung is finally at peace knowing the patient is healing and being discharged.

Across the hospital, Sa-bi finally manages to speak to her patient and realizes something is off. Drawing from her deep well of medical knowledge, she picks up on a hidden complication and acts quickly. Thanks to her, the patient’s condition is stabilized, and the misunderstanding is cleared. They reconcile. Sa-bi finds a little spark of confidence again.

As for Yi-young, she’s assigned the seemingly impossible task of transporting a pregnant woman to another Yulje branch. Typically, first-years are nowhere near such responsibilities, but Yi-young keeps her cool. She calmly handles the mother-to-be and ensures she reaches the delivery center safely. And guess who greets her at the other branch? None other than Chu Min-ha from Hospital Playlist! Fans rejoice. During their chat, viewers learn that Min-ha is now married to Yang Seok-hyung, her former OB-GYN professor and longtime crush. It’s a sweet nod to nostalgia, and it fills the moment with warmth.

Back at Jongno Yulje, Yi-young joins a delivery for twins but gets yelled at by the senior anesthesia doctor for missing documentation. Before the junior anesthesiologist can even speak, Yi-young’s already taking the heat. But just then—hero moment alert—Do-won steps in. He calmly corrects the senior, stating that the terminology was never wrong and that Yi-young did everything by the book.

The doctor, clearly flustered, snidely references the earlier “lie” about the operating room incident. Do-won doesn’t let it slide. In his classic cool manner, he brings Eun-won into the spotlight and gently pressures her into admitting that there was a “mix-up.” The junior anesthesiologists back this up, confirming it was Eun-won who called it an emergency. With her name finally cleared, Yi-young exhales for what feels like the first time all day. Do-won’s subtle support restores a bit of her faith in the system.

Later, Nam-kyung reaches out to Jae-il and tells him to come back to the hospital—he’s needed. For the first time in days, he feels useful again. He rushes over, ready to rejoin the others for the group report. But surprise! Eun-won announces that group reports are now canceled. The four first-years exchange a stunned look… and then cheer. Their suffering has paid off.

As the sun sets, the four residents walk out of the hospital together, finally smiling. Meanwhile, the senior crew—Do-won, Da-hye, and Eun-mi—have a casual chat about Eun-won. It turns out Do-won may have taken some subtle but significant steps to curb her bullying behavior. Da-hye happily mentions she can finally assign work to Jae-il again. It becomes clear: the seniors have been watching, and they’ve been quietly protecting their juniors all along.

The episode wraps up with Jae-il joining Da-hye and the rest of the seniors for a cozy dinner. He’s no longer invisible, and the first-years are a little stronger than they were at the start.

Resident Playbook Episode 2 Review

This episode delivered an emotional rollercoaster packed with character growth, heartfelt reconciliations, and a satisfying dose of workplace drama. The first-year residents continue to fumble and flail through their rotations, but each of their personal breakdowns ultimately leads to a breakthrough. Whether it’s Yi-young finally being defended after endless mistreatment, Nam-kyung confronting her limits and rebuilding trust with a difficult patient, or Sa-bi learning that empathy is just as vital as knowledge—every moment was raw, relatable, and rewarding. The balance between tough lessons and small victories made this episode feel especially cathartic.

And let’s talk about that delightful cameo—Ahn Eun-jin reprising her role as Chu Min-ha from Hospital Playlist was the cherry on top. Her brief appearance didn’t just bring a wave of nostalgia; it beautifully bridged the universes of Hospital Playlist and this series. The reveal that she married Yang Seok-hyung felt like a sweet love letter to longtime fans, offering closure and warmth in the midst of the chaos. It was a perfect moment of calm and joy that reminded viewers why they fell in love with Yulje’s world in the first place.

Resident Playbook is streaming on Netflix.

Also read: All Reviews and Recaps of Resident Playbook

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