If you enjoy underdog stories, I do think that there’s quite a bit to enjoy in this little show.
This one is a little rough around the edges, in that the characterization leans OTT, particularly when it comes to the villains in our story, but Show more than makes up for it with how much heart it has, and also, in how easy it is, to watch.
I grew really fond of our resident underdogs over the course of my watch, and I was sincerely sorry to say goodbye. 🥲
When Show is at its best, it’s frothy, irreverent, cheeky fun, all self-aware and blithely poking fun at drama tropes.
However, when Show is not at its best, it’s slow and laborious, like it’s putting all of its effort towards achieving its secret dream of being the best traditional sageuk it can be. 😅
The watch experience is understandably quite uneven, and sometimes, even a little whiplashy.
As a silver lining, Show does manage to serve up a pretty solid ending, despite its missteps along the way.
The long-awaited spin-off to the beloved Hospital Playlist series (Season 1 and Season 2 reviews here and here!), this show brings back a lot of the same feels, just from a different angle, and with a new set of characters.
We get a nice balance of screen and story time between individual journeys, the development of our core four as an intact group, the various patient cases, and even an adorable little loveline.
And, to add a bit of spice and excitement to it all, we also get regular cameos from various Hospital Playlist alumni.
Very enjoyable and worthwhile, in my opinion.
Show is, in my opinion, a solid and worthy follow-up to Season 1, which I had found fresh and wonderful in all the right ways.
This second season, the animation and live-action mash-up still works really well, and our actors do a great job of mirroring what’s going on in their respective cell towns, with their micro-expressions.
The thing that strikes me the most, is that Show really is quite remarkable, in how relatable it is, and at the same time, how fresh it feels, too.
Through my entire watch, I felt like I could relate to so much of what Show was serving up, AND YET, at the same time, I felt like I still couldn’t quite predict where Show was going to go.
That’s the coolest thing, honestly. 🤩