Resident Playbook episodes 1-2 recap: Oh Yi-young's return and the struggles of first-year residents unfold in the ER

Resident Playbook, starring Go Youn-jung, Kang You-seok, and more, aired on April 12 and 13, 2025, on tvN and Netflix. The K-drama is about four first-year residents who make mistakes and face hindrances daily while preparing themselves to become wiser surgeons in the future.

In Resident Playbook episode 1, Oh Yi-young (Go Youn-jung) has a weird dream about being in an emergency room where they have to do surgery suddenly. However, she's unprepared, and the head surgeon reminds her that she had already quit. She then found herself in a massage parlor, lying on the table, where the masseuse explained to her that she had received a 100K won package.

Oh, Yi-young remembered that she had no money because her father's business went bankrupt last year. The scenario in Resident Playbook changed back to Oh Yi-young being tied up to an operation table where the head surgeon pulls out a saw to threaten her for being broke.

Oh Yi-young woke and went to the bank, where she learned she had maxed out her credit card and now had a 50 million won debt. However, she does not have an employment certificate, which may land her in trouble legally.

Previously, Oh Yi-young quit her residency a few years back. The next scene in Resident Playbook episode 1 shows Oh Yi-young being dragged to Jongno Yulje Medical Center to begin a residency again.

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Resident Playbook eps 1 & 2 recap: Oh Yi-young fights the urge to not quit her residentship

Oh Yi-young met Ku Do-won (Jung Joon-won), a 4th-year resident, at the hospital who greeted her, but she told him to act like he didn't know her. She met her fellow first-year residents, Pyo Nam-kyung (Shin Si-a), Kim Sa-bi (Han Ye-ji), and Um Jae-il (Kang You-seok).

Kim Sa-bi was a student who always came first, while Um Jae-il was an idol-turned-resident. Meanwhile, Pyo Nam-kyung was Oh Yi-young’s high schoolmate, but the latter doesn't remember Nam-kyung at all.

Oh Yi-young assisted professor Seo Jung-min (Lee Bong-ryun), aka the witch, and didn't do anything except stand there. Um Jae-il contacted 3rd-year senior Lee Da-hye to ask her questions about the patients and ended up giving the wrong diagnosis every time.

Oh Yi-young ended up in another of professor Seo Jung-min’s OR, where she was asked to get rid of the suture, but she was clueless as to where to throw it. Oh Yi-young was asked to stand in the corner for the rest of the surgery.

Meanwhile, in Resident Playbook, Kim Sa-bi explained to a patient with recurrent cancer that she needed to sign the consent form for the surgery. Kim Sa-bi didn't show any empathy, leaving the patient in shock. Meanwhile, Um Jae-il finally got the correct diagnosis and solution for it after being yelled at by Cha Da-hye for making a wrong report twice.

Kim Sa-bi saw that the patient didn't sign the consent form, and she cried in front of her as she felt it was unfair to live a good life yet be diagnosed with cancer. Kim Sa-bi was unable to empathize with her due to her personality.

Later, in Resident Playbook episode 1, Oh Yi-young ends up delivering a patient's baby in the hallway after making two major mistakes. She got scolded by Seo Jung-min again, but the professor was relieved that she knew exactly what mistake she had made. It is shown that Ku Do-won and Oh Yi-young lived in the same house, as Ku Do-won is Oh Yi-young’s brother-in-law's younger brother.

On the other hand, Ku Do-won spoke to the cancer patient who just needed some time. Kim Sa-bi told Ku Do-won that she wasted time on learning how to communicate with the patient, but Ku Do-won got it first.

Ku Do-won explained that her coming first was acknowledged in school and at home, but this was a hospital, and if coming first in terms of getting the consent form signed was her goal, then she actually just wasted her time.

In Resident Playbook episode 2, Um Jae-il transferred a cancer patient to Pyo Nam-kyung due to his continuous mistakes. Meanwhile, Kim Sa-bi got yelled at by Professor Kong Ki-sun for not apologizing to a patient who was uncomfortable when she did her dressing.

Senior resident Min Eun-won informed Oh Yi-young to prepare for an emergency surgery, but arrived at the OR 20 minutes later. This made other department residents believe that Oh Yi-young had lied to them. Later, Kim Sa-bi tried to muster up her courage and speak to the patient but could not do it.

Pyo Nam-kyung learned that the patient Um Jae-il transferred to her wanted dressing changed four times a day. Pyo Nam-kyung, swamped in work, ended up venting about the patient, saying she hated her. Unfortunately, the patient heard, and Pyo Nam-kyung was embarrassed by her behavior.

Oh Yi-young decided to quit again and packed her bag to leave but heard code blue and ran back to work. Seo Jung-min acknowledged her work. Min Eun-won, who was on call duty, arrived late, lied to Seo Jung-min, and got yelled at by her.

As the Resident Playbook episode 2 progressed, Pyo Nam-kyung decided to run away but rushed back thinking her patient had passed away. As she saw the patient walking in the hallway, she burst into tears.

Pyo Nam-kyung did her dressing again but kept weeping, and the patient apologized for putting her through trouble but said one of the professors told her Pyo Nam-kyung did the best dressing.

Chu Min-ah saw Oh Yi-young when she transferred a patient to the Songdo branch of Yulje Hospital. While Yi-young was worried about the patient's well-being, Chu Min-ah took her for a coffee break and told Yi-young about her first-year experience. Meanwhile, Seo Jung-min advised Kim Sa-bi not to beat herself up and to do what she could for the patient, and she followed her advice.

Later, in Resident Playbook episode 2 at an OR, one of the anesthesiologists tried schooling Oh Yi-young for making mistakes by allegedly lying. Ku Do-won sided with Oh Yi-young, saying she would not do it, and it was proved that she did not lie. When Ku Do-won took her side, Oh Yi-young started to see him in a different light.

Um Jae-il actually ran away, but no one noticed. Um Jae-il was instructed by Cha Da-hye to rest several times, and he believed he was not needed at the hospital. Um Jae-il received a call from Pyo Nam-kyung that they needed him urgently.

As he arrived, she reminded him that they couldn't do the group report without him, and his smile faded away. However, they learned that Min Eun-won wouldn't take any group reports from the 1st-year residents.

By the end of Resident Playbook episode 2, senior resident Ku Do-won met his third-year juniors, where Ki Eun-mi revealed buying food for the rookies to make them stay and not quit. Cha Da-hye said she did Um Jae-il’s work the entire day, allowing him to sleep and rest.

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Resident Playbook starring Go Youn-jung, airs every Saturday and Sunday on tvN and Netflix.