Wake Up 2 () is a 2017 Taiwanese television series and sequel to Wake Up, with the story set 5 years after the prequel, starring the original cast with the addition of Lego Lee and Summer Meng. This is also Lee and Meng's third collaboration after 2013 film 27°C - Loaf Rocks and 2014 television series Aim High. Wake Up 2 is the first Taiwanese television series to film in a Middle Eastern country, where filming took place in refugee camps in the Northern Borders Region of the Jordan River and Syria, to depict the selflessness and heroism of humanitarian rescue. The main storylines involve the humanitarian rescue in Middle East, a subway bombing incident in Kaohsiung (filmed in Taoyuan HSR station), the continuation of Human Meatball Controversy from series one, and the restructuring of National Public Healthcare in 2016. Wake Up 2'''s tag-line is "Never Give Up", which serves not only as a line of encouragement, but also as a question on when they should or have to give up (e.g. abandon operation, stop resuscitation to a deceased patient, etc.)
With a total of thirteen episodes, Wake Up 2's production budget was five times more than the first installment in the series, up to NT$60 million, with majority of the budget spent on hiring cameos, medical consultants and making false cadavers from animal innards. Filming in Taiwan began on August 19, 2016, in Kaohsiung and ended on January 17, 2017, in Taipei. The crew then headed for Jordan to film the war scenes as Jordan is relatively safer than Syria. Filming was completed on February 14, 2017, and entered post production for another 6 to 7 months before release.
At the end of each episode, Before Waking Up, Outside the Storm is a mini aftershow which shows behind-the-scenes interviews. Similar to Wake Up'', each week in the premiere is shown in two episodes, with the final episode being a single finale plus a one-hour feature length behind-the-scenes episode, where the entire makings of most props and logics behind the storylines are revealed. The show did not air on week of September 30 for the live broadcast of the 52nd Golden Bell Awards.
Following the release of Wake Up 2, the creative team decided not to move forward with a third season onward, as they thought 2 had a perfect ending that wrapped up the story. Despite there were talks/ideas of a potential continuation during writing stages, producers have noted this would be up to the decision for the studios to make the decision.
Cast
Main CastRoleDescriptionJag HuangHsiao Cheng-hsun41, Former anaesthesiologist of Ren Xin Hospital, became a Doctors Without Borders member in Jordan 5 years later (2016), he also learnt surgical skills in Jordan, Yeman and Sudan. He initially was to continue working in Switzerland, but was forced to return to Taiwan after the hospital he worked in was bombed. He also was involved in subway explosion case when he returns to Taiwan, so he was recruited by Kang Lian Hospital as Head of Trauma Unit because he was also an ACLS instructor, but was mainly used as an anaesthetist. Has post-traumatic stress disorder, but it was because of Yang Wei-yu's miscarriage. He kept a goatee after returning to Taiwan as it was a Middle-Eastern custom. Using his prior knowledge and experience, he slowly regained his self-worth and value. He was medically stood down due to the blood bruise in his basal ganglia (traumatic basal ganglial haematoma) after the Jordanian bombing doubled in size from when he was in Switzerland. When he had the craniotomy to remove the haematoma, he could no longer breathe and maintain a heart rate unassisted, and was diagnosed as brain dead hours later, and his organs were donated as per his wishes. After he died, the Trauma Unit fell apart with him due to system reform. Hsu Wei-ningYang Wei-yuFormer psychiatrist and psychologist. She became a vice-CEO of Kang Lian hospital. Also the founder of Trauma Unit. Has speech and language impairments, so she cannot respond verbally in time. In an on-and-off relationship with Dr. Hsiao, who was her psychiatry patient in the prequel. She once miscarried before Hsiao Cheng-hsun left overseas, then later married Hsao Cheng-hsun after realizing his life-threatening haematoma.
Yang's birth mother suffered from severe depression after her husband died; she was an alcoholic before she ended her own life. Lego LeeXiong Sen (Xiong Zai)A gifted surgeon known for his speed, instinctiveness and efficiency. Chief Resident grade, but had no time to sit Department Head qualifications exams. He often commits the cardinal sin of making promises to patients' family, and not following standard operating procedures (SOP) and treats DRG system with disdain, he also has poor emotional and budgetary and resource management,Taiwanese Health System is based on insurance cost coverage from Nation Health Board, as paid for credits from the public, and set point values for all patients and regardless of age or seriousness, it also has no regard for speciality (high-risk surgery and vs. low-risk general practice) for tighter budgetary control. Anything over budget is directly taken out of the salary. which is why Hsiao Cheng-hsun later merely considered him as a technician, and initially didn't want him to be in the Trauma Unit. Xiong Sen is a thoracic surgeon and member of Trauma Unit by day, and also a rapper who uses his songs to criticise the medical system, but is still on call 24/7. Given his impulsive personality, often a burden to Kang Lian Hospital. Dr. Peng's junior and Zoe's senior in university. He later found out that his father died because he was rejected admission in Li De Hospital in 2003 when he was still in high school, as such, he was also a victim in the Human Meatball Scandal, where patients were unnecessarily turned down by multiple hospitals due to overpopulation, under-staffing and underfunding. Due to this, he also strongly opposes euthanasia, and Never Give Up becomes his mantra. Despite his hatred towards Chen Hsien-jung, he still saved him from being a victim of the same crime he committed to Xiong Sen's father.
Xiong Sen later became depressed after he was sued by the lighting technician's family, and also losing his first patients under his care, and another in front of the Medical Standards Authority Personnel. He was later stood down for 2 weeks, partly due to the impending investigations from the mishandling of the car crash women's case as a precaution, but also an excuse for the hospital to force him to take wellness leave, but it also affected his performances as a rapper as he suffered traumatic nausea. He was forced to return to work after Zoe was injured in the suicidal bomb blast where Qiu Chun killed himself and was unable to put Wan Da Qi down with him.
After returning, he backed off and let Peng Bo En become the head surgeon to treat Dr. Hsiao's haematoma. However, after he died he saved Wan Da Chi, the same person who indirectly killed his father, but Xiong Sen was discovered to have written rap lyrics on the back of official toxicology and post mortem reports.Summer MengZoe ShenA medical journalist with a degree in pharmacy, Xiong Sen's junior in university. Strives for accurate and in-depth investigative journalism, but it goes against every other colleague including his boss in Wake Up Times. She was severely premature as a newborn.Wu Kang-jenYeh Chien-te39, A surgeon turned insurance agent, but was jailed in the prequel for Hospital Embroilment as a physician. A born-again Christian due to Chen Hsien-jung's influence. He was released from jail 5 years later. Rehabilitating. A lot more diplomatic and stocky than 5 years ago, but still very well connected to everyone in the medical community. He was also a subject of interest to Zoe's developing story about the problems with the medical system. He also found out that Xiong Sen's father was also involved in the AM2 scandal as well, tying both controversies together for Zoe. Zoe invited him to become a special field reporter to interview AM2 Self Help Committee. When he found out the true culprit was Wan Da Qi, he set out to legally bring him to justice as many assassination attempts by the suicide bombers failed.
Supporting