Descendants of the Sun

The Captain & The Car Wrecker ♡ A Pretty One & A Favorite Son °8.3° excellent

DOTS is a romance in which the two leads have an immediate attraction & the balance of the show is logistics & obstacle courses. Kang Mo-yeon is a doctor. Capt Yoo Si-jin is special forces. Dr. Kang Mo-yeon is businesslike. Capt Yoo Si-jin is always joking to deflect the heavy weight of his occupation; fallen comrades being one stressor. They each take their deadly-serious professions seriously.

They smeet in Seoul. In the opening sorties, they aren't able to get a full drill (date) in, as one of them is liable to get an emergency call (usually him). Capt Yoo gets a pick-up from one of these emergencies - in a, HELLO, helicopter on the 🏥 rooftop. But for all that, inexplicably, Mo-yeon declares she can't live like this & places Si-jin on leave. Permanently. She thinks. She will ultimately reject him 3 times. He never loses focus of his mission. Her heart wasn't really in that third rejection, anyway.

While all of this is getting off the ground, Mo-yeon is being disrespected at work. Though best qualified, she's passed over for a fellowship in favor of a less competent Dr. W/ a much better catalogue of connections (& the empathy of a human trafficker). Mo-yeon had her💓 set on that gig. Reeling from disappointment, Mo-yeon is summoned to t/t the hospital director. Expecting an apology, or at least an explanation of the indignity foisted upon her, she enters the top corner office. Here's the jist: She can have the position & benefits she wants via a strategic benefits-for-benefits (🛏) exchange. Her immediate rejection of him lands her the position of director,,,, of the hospital's humanitarian mission to the (ficticious) Balkan state of Uruk.

Of all the UN relief joints in all of the globe, why did HE have to be assigned to her base of operations? Never retreating, their attraction continues from the prior engagement jump-off point.

The next wave is philosophical differences. Mo-yeon struggles, particularly when it comes to their occupations. Everything about her work is saving lives, while Capt Yoo kills for a living, or so she perceives. Mo-yeon tells the Capt that it just can't work, so they each go on w/ their lives. Sort of.

Oddly, this UN hot button zone is a place that affords them much more quality time than Seoul ever did. Quality time includes: An incident w/ a Saudi Royal that escalates to an international relations crisis that puts both the Blue & White Houses on alert, harrowing skirmishes w/ arms dealers, human traffickers, minefields, earthquakes, & diamond smugglers. No thing in the show suffers more abuse than any wheeled transportation w/ which Mo-yeon comes into contact. She left 3 or 4 cars & 1 wheelchair totaled in her wake. Not every life is safe around Mo-yeon.

In the same arena are members of the medical team along w/ military forces & medical. Capt. Si-jin's best friend, MSG (Master Sergeant) Seo Dae-yeong, is part of his unit. His love interest is 1st Lt Yoon Meong-joo, a military surgeon. Her father happens to be Special Forces CDR (Commander) & he does not approve of their relationship. Therefore, the ever dutiful MSG Seo has been evading Lt. Yoon. Their story is every bit as touching as the primary duo's. Yoon Meong-joo doesn't care what her father thinks. Like she'd let /him/ choose her spouse, anyway. Despite her cool & professional demeanor, she is always tracking Seo to express her love. He is her prisoner & she refuses to let him escape. When not deployed, MSG Seo earned renown as the toughest drill instructor in the military. Yet, as a non-commissioned officer, he doesn't think he's worthy of Lt Yoon. He certainly doesn't want to mess w/ the CDR either. So, he retreats while she advances. Besides all that, the CDR does /his/ best to keep them apart. Somehow, they manage (or blunder, depending on perspective) to snag overlapping assignments to the compound in Uruk. It only took an earthquake.

This show has the feel of a 20th Century romance in the best way. The men are manly, which not only means that they are strong, responsible, protective, & respectful, but they also love their women completely. The women, on the other hand, are both doctors. They are smart, tough & brave. These women don't feel the need to surpass the men, & visa-versa. Viva la difference; This is how classic M/F romances are made, & SK cranks out more of them in 1 yr, than Hollywood has in years & years. Si-jin, ends up rescuing Mo-yeon from several varied perils. Meanwhile, she rocks the OR, even at gunpoint, even when the OR is rocking,rollin,shaking,quaking. She starts to see Si-jin for what he is: A protector, not a killer.

DOTS is the complete package w/ love, laughter, lots of thrills, & a decent amount of food. There's a particularly cute dynamic between the 4 of them, including crissXcross comparing of notes & furtive calls. Rounding it out are a solid soundtrack, beautiful filming, & frequent stops to watch the soldiers on their daily, often shirtless, runs. Thus its rating.

Since MSG Seo is the toughest grader of the bunch, here's what he might nitpick at:

Song Hye-kyo, who plays Mo-yeon, is too wooden in much of the show. I'd only seen her in That Winter The Wind Blows-7 as Oh Young, a blind, emotionally stunted woman. She was excellent in that role. However, she's playing Dr. Kang the same way, which is seriously out of sorts. There's only small flashes of a personality, until the 2nd half, when she livens up. It's not clear why the director had her acting that way. Perhaps she went from down, suspicious, & self-protective, to resolved, confident, & loved? Good concept, bad execution.

They drag out a political/medical drama for too long. There are unnecessary delays. In fact, quite a few scenes are too drawn out, w/ overly-sappy sap. Part of the problem is the editing. While the tempo is off, a handful of times, most of the series has a good cadence.

We're all used to our onscreen heroes who, though getting shot, knifed, & beaten, keep fighting. That trend has been so out of control for so long that anything else would feel amiss (What a nancy-pants: There's not a scratch on him!). DOTS takes it to a new height, (or a new low, maybe?) when Si-jin shuffles the length of the hospital to diffuse a hostage crisis, a mere 30 seconds after being shocked back to life from cardiac arrest - due to blood loss from gun shots wounds, already! My health then became compromised due to a hypertension spike. Fortunately, moments like that were brief and scattered, like landmines shifted by an earthquake.

In view of this, your assignment is to give DOTS a view & a shake. The leads are all beautiful people, but one cannot help but note that the 2 male leads… well, they represent their country well.

IMHO〰🖍

🎬7.6 🎭7.7 🤔 6 💓9 🦋7 🌞8 💤4 🎨8 🔚8

Age 14+

Post Script Screed ~Optional~

Racism is depicted in DOTS. This is not the first Kdrama to incorporate some callous treatment ala Caucasians vs Asians. Before you reflexively think: They are too sensitive. I'm sure it's not that bad. They are excelling, so why do they care? Consider the following:

°They didn't pull it out from nowhere. Sincere hurts lead to these portrayals.

°Asians put a high premium on manners & respect.

°As is always the case, people forgive their own tribe before they'll forgive a foreigner. No one wants to👂what their /own/ did.

°Our duty to be polite & respectful transcends any inconsistent reactions on others' parts. To think otherwise is juvenile.

°USA citizens have one of the world's worst reputations for bad manners.

°If you received such treatment. How would /you/ feel? Go ahead, clutch those pearls and gasp. Why does it always seem that the worst offenders are the most offended when their behavior is turned back on them? (Psst: b/c they think they are so special).

°Racism can be either proactive (aggressively initiated) or RE-active (defensive). Proactive is exponentially worse. Think about it.

°Know that if you reject all such claims reflexively, there's a likelihood that you're subconsciously presuming your own superiority. It's connected to pride, which is insidiously sneaky.

°If you think you are superior based on what you've been given, such as good looks, physical ability, that lucky promotion, or wealth, you are delusional. More is expected of you, not less. (Btw: the $tandard of living for USA citizens often reaches the top 5% globally. We /are/ rich).

°Things don't change overnight. The offender always thinks the aggrieved should move on in the time it takes to pour milk on cocoa puffs, however, tell us, please, where that's ever happened in the history of the wide world? There's ethnic groups that have been slaughtering each other for millennia, tit-for-tat. We expect those we offend to be angels. Frankly, that's downright offensive.

°Common courtesy is free, & not trading tit-for-tat is mature (you know, 2 wrongs, an'all).

Look, this is not about hating-on anyone who's made mistakes. From personal experience, I can report that once one begins a journey of internal honesty, which is often a byproduct of hitting the bottom, the internal horrors never ceasefire. Just because we tell ourselves we're good ~nothing to see here~ doesn't make it actually true. Turning the light to that dusty cobwebbed thinking in the back corner is what's needed to clean house to spec. These issues are complex, not simple. Take time to consider & think it all through. Then, suddenly, it's quite simple.

In the meantime, please learn the basic please-&-thank-yous of the countries you may visit. Be polite, even if others aren't in return. Be the adult, and refuse to tit-for-tat, which only escalates situations. Scientists and theologians agree that we all descended from a single woman. We are all family, indeed, and there's nothing as bitter as a family squabble. Let it go.

TTFN.

I love You All To Uruk And Back 😘

Recommendations

Crash Landing On You 9.1,
My Mister 9.5,

🎎 -
My Only Love Song 8.7 ~ excellent comedy,
Mr. Queen 8.5,
My Sassy Girl 8.5,
Saimdang 8.5,
The King's Affection 8.3,
Mr. Sunshine 9

⚡/🚀 -
K2 8,
Private Lives 8.1,
Sisyphus 8,
Tunnel 8.5,
Signal 8.6,
The Cursed 8.3,
Flower of Evil 8.9,
The Man from Nowhere 8.9,
Black 9,
Squid Game 8.4,
Kingdom 8.3,
Sweet Home 8.4

Romance junkies only -
My Secret Romance-7 (if you ff thru overdone flashbacks),
Boys Over Flowers-8 ~ melodrama to the max,
The Bride of Habaek-7,
Heirs-7.3,
That Winter, The Wind Blows-7,
Something in them Rain-9,
C🇨🇳: Well-Intended Love-7.5 Rom-porn - extra points for the dopamine,
When I Fly Towards You-7.8,
Wait, My Youth-8.4,
A Little Thing Called First Love-8.5,
Find Yourself-8.9, Hidden Love-7.8


Consider a Chinese 🎎/🔮 romcom: The Romance of Tiger and Rose 9.8, Love Between Fairy and Devil 8.9, Love and Redemption 10 or Japanese romcoms: Maid Sama 10, Mischievous Kiss Love in Tokyo 7.8, Love, Chunibyo And Other Delusions 8.4, or Toradora 8.5

Originally 〰️🖊 February 2022

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Safe to watch

This was my first drama I watched 4 years ago and guys, I came a long way by that time. I rewatched some of the episodes and decided to do a review.
You know, this is the drama that has it all, probsbly more than should. It was my first one and back than I really liked it because it delivered something I am not used to watch. Lot of people I know or on an internet say this was their first drama. So I get it everyone gives higher rarings. Even I am giving higher points comparing to other dramas.
The PLOT: has it everything, action, romance, cheesy romance and great sideline stories but. Big but. It is too much. I wont give you any spoilers but somethimes it was more like soap opera than drama. For me. It should have ended in 12 episode.
Music was great, even the acting.
It is drama you should watch at least once. It is not something that is too cheesy to watch (it is cheesy but not as cheesy as Heirs, Boys over flowers and so on) so you should give it a go ❤️ there is really high possibility you will like it.

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What a great, wonderful gorgeous gorgeous. The series is complete in the sense of the word in the terms of acting directing and story dialogue. I didn't get bored for a second. The series reached me with the important role of the doctor and the army officer in any country. The love stories in the series are like comfort in the midst of grief and tragedy in the events. I was crying with tears coming down and i didn't know how to control the grieve of my heart from the scenes of sadness in the series at the same time a comedy stand gets and I laugh while I cry. Really the amount of feelings so intense that I felt exhausted all my feelings in this series tears and laughter of sadness and joy and fun and depression. Greetings for the hero and the heroine and all the cast.

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This was my first ever Kdrama I watched and it led me to the world of Kdramas!

I watched it twice; the second time, I'll admit, it was a bit boring.
The leads chemistry begins as love in first sight, which I find unrealistic. I felt like the chemistry between the second couples were better. This drama doesn't contain strong love triangles like in most kdramas.
The storyline felt realistic and interesting through out the series, but the last two episode ruined it. There was so many obvious advertisements of their sponsors and I felt like the last 2 episodes were absolutely useless. The part when ShiJin and DaeYoung come back to life made me feel like I was watching another drama, it just didn't make sense... Overall if you ignore all of the unrealistic things in this drama I would highly recommend watching!

The cast is perfect. I'm so happy that Song JongKi and Song HyeKyo got married in real life, if goes to show how much effort and emotion they put into their characters!

My favorite thing about this drama is their OST. All of their sound tracks are beautiful, it was the reason I decided to watch this drama again. Descendants of the Sun, Goblin and Scarlet Heart Ryeo has my favorite OSTs.

I would definitely re watch!!! 10/10 One of my favorite Kdramas ever!

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Holds up well with repeated viewings

This was a show that had it all: romance, action, drama, comedy, eye candy, bromance. This is one of the few shows that I can watch repeatedly, and catch something new every time.

STORY/WRITING: I was so impressed with how this show was written. There were some seriously swoon-worthy lines, but I think what I loved the most was the comedy aspects of it. In the midst of a show with serious stuff going on, there were many refreshing moments of humor. The writer was able to continuously change gears so we, as the viewers, were never actually able to settle in comfortably. The action was interspersed throughout all the episodes, so there were no draggy periods, and just when you think you can't handle the stress, something funny would happen. The four main characters were written so well and they meshed together, playing off one another in a real way. The bromance between the two male leads was very engaging, as was the relationship between the female leads that resulted from a bad situation in their past. And the conversations when the women took sides against the men were a hoot.

ACTORS/CHARACTERS: Song Joong Ki as Yoo Shi Jin. He fit the mold of romantic lead perfectly, and when I found out he had just been released from the military three months before working on this show, I could understand why he seemed so comfortable in the role of a soldier. His character was very principled, loyal, and dedicated. He loved his country and he loved Kang Mo Yeon. He was fiercely protective of her. There were many, many moments of intense staring by him as he looked at her, and when you couple that with his boyish good looks and charm, and you've got the whole package. He was just so likeable.
Song Hye Kyo as Kang Mo Yeon - this was a difficult character for me. She's a wonderful actress but I often didn't like her character. She was a doctor and strong because of that, but in relation to Yoo Shi Jin, I felt that she was too wishy washy. She would tell him things that sounded like she didn't want to get involved, yet she flirted. She wanted everything to be black and white, when often life is shades of gray.
Jin Goo as Seo Dae Young - at the outset, you might be tempted to think that this character is cold and unemotional. He, also, was very protective of the woman he loved. Jin Goo was excellent at showing such depths of emotion with just the expression in his eyes.
Kim Ji Won as Yoon Myeong Ju - I've seen this actress in a couple of things and she plays the bitchy woman well. She is, to a certain degree, the same in this role. She's strong and knows what she wants, and does what she can to achieve things, while bucking up against circumstances trying to hold her back.

CHEMISTRY - I cannot say enough about how good the chemistry was between the couples themselves and the friendships they had with one another and the people that they worked with, both the soldiers and the medical staff. I was not overly surprised that the main leads had gotten married in real life following making DOTS. Sadly, they divorced last year.

OST - though there were a few times that I felt that the music was overly dramatic, for the most part it was terrific. Some of the same artists did excellent music in Crash Landing on You as well. There was one part in the show when the main song, rather than using vocals, was played on the cello and it brought such beautiful emotion to the scene.

I do have to say I didn't like the ending, the feel completely broke from the rest of the show and was just silly. Also, I know they have medical advisors for these shows, so why is the medical stuff always so inaccurate? How they do CPR, what they do to save someone after drowning, how when a patient pulls out their own IV it never hurts and it never bleeds. This is certainly not the only drama guilty of this.

I watched his show when I first started watching Asian dramas, and it's still as good after having seen it numerous times.

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Perfect combinations!

Where should I even start from?
The skilled action scenes that are just perfect enough to create tension without being too draggy, the natural comedy that is much needed after intense scenes, especially when it appears in least expected scenarios, the medical aspect that is flawlessly intertwined with the military portion of the drama, or should I start from the love story itself?

Many dramas have a mixture of genres, but fusing them together so beautifully is what matters, and this drama not only succeeded at it, but you may say it mastered it even!
There really were no dull moments across the whole drama, which is quite rare honestly. Usually, somewhere in the middle, dramas seem to lose their charm, making the audience wish to just finish it off as quickly as possible, just to get to the end, and this is definitely not the case here at all. In fact, not sure if it is a plot driven or character driven story but it seems to be a mixture of them both as well, so there's always something that is developing whether it is the story line or the characters themselves.

So let me summarise the things I appreciated and loved the most about the drama...

~STORY pace
Its relatively fast pace is very easy to follow without getting bored at any time, especially since there's always something happening, almost as if there's no time to breathe. Having said that, even withing its action pack plot involving natural disaster for instance, it has its own moments of peace and tranquil, where characters are seen, reflecting, regretting, laughing, crying, mourning...growing really, keeping it very balanced and realistic.
Talking about the love story in particular, I'm quite surprised how though their professions are the polar opposite, there's still some sort of commonality which acts as the base upon which their relationships develops. The secondary couple's love story is worth mentioning too, just like each and every other characters's story as well.
It is truly admirable how it manages to keep a high quality from the very first episode till the last one.

~CHARACTERS, every single one of them!
It is very rare to find a drama where every character is loved, and this is one of those dramas for sure. In fact every character in this drama seems to be a scene stealer, whether they appear for one or many scenes, it feels like they've always been part of the story! Be it the medical or military team, the way each one of them showed their courage, vulnerability, sincerity and humanity is really commendable!
Not only the chemistry between the leads is heart touching, heart flattering or even heart wrenching, the chemistry between every other characters in general is what keeps the drama tied up together till the very end. So every emotion comes across very sincere and heartfelt.
Special mention to the acting of the lead couple, the way their eyes conveyed so much throughout the drama, maybe even words couldn't do justice in those scenes, so very well done to both Song Joong Ki and Song Hye Kyo. Also the secondary couples' chemistry was top notch too, as most of the time they were parted, still their love and passion towards each other was very evident.

If you are wondering if it is a 'over-hyped' drama, then let me tell you that that's what I thought too, and then decided to give it a go after all these years. Eventually I was surprised myself realising how it didn't disappoint me at all! So I would of course recommend this drama if you want to experience an adventure of sincere love, team work at best and honest portrayal of vulnerable emotions.

PS. The cinematography is wonderful, whether it is how beautiful locations were shot or even how the disastrous settings were created and filmed very realistically! The OST also was very adequate, which helped enhance emotions and create unique atmosphere.

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Descendants of the Sun is unique in its storyline

This drama has a combination of amazing music, fabulous scenaries, great cast, each and everyone of the characters are built in great detail, both main couples have an extraordinary chemistry, there is constant action, is not boring, has rommance and comedy, but I think the storyline is the most important of all. Setting the controvery bewteen the different missions of doctors and the miltary, by saving lives or killing to protect people, opens up the different perspectives the characters have to face, learn and then accept that is what happens in real life.

Furthermore, the drama brings up moral values, patriotism, love for the country, love for their professions, fulfilling duties, honorable actions, all of that so devaluated these days.

There are two scenes worth mentioned, whe they are standing facing the flag every morning and the honor to those hurt in the earthquake. The main character said he always protects "the beautiful women, the elderly and the children." There was no one moment I didn't enjoy this drama. The part of the "speakers on" were everyone heard her message is hilarious. Also worth mention is the Private Kim Ki Bum character, it starts as a supporting cast but for me he became part of the main cast, that relevant was his performance.

I have watch Asian dramas for many years now, and I can say this is at the top of my favorite Korean dramas.

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Wonderful wonderful wonderful. I loved Song Joong Ki before and I was looking forward to his return in drama land, but I most certainly did not expect for his return to be so good! This was simply a splendid drama. At first, I doubted the main actress Song Hye Kyo and her ability in connecting with Joong Ki, but I was just painfully wrong. They had an amazing chemistry, they completed each other's acting and made this drama into one of my favorite dramas ever! Ji Go and Kim Ji Won are outstanding also and could just as well be the main couple. The cast, in general, was nicely chosen, from the good guys to villains. This was a fantastic return for Joong Ki and made him an even bigger star than he already was. I always hate when drama couple gets together in real life but I simply can not help but be happy for Joong Ki and Hye Kyo. They truly are perfect for each other and deserve happiness. The OST was enchanting, especially Yoon Mirae's Always. The story was nicely written and shot and not one episode was boring.  On the contrary, I wanted for this drama to be longer than it actually was. This drama is on my forever watchlist. I could see myself watching this drama once every year. I love it and you are crazy if you don't go and watch it right now!

Saruman thrillingly approves!

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