Duty after School: Part 2

a failure compared to the first part

Let's just start off by saying that my rating was strongly influenced by the ending, because honestly, what the hell was that? Never had I seen something so unnecessary and out of context with the actual plot. But I'll get to it later.

I really liked the first half of Duty After School. The idea was so good with the same feeling of anxiety you get from zombie dramas, but with completely different creatures. I wouldn't say scary but rather interesting, curious. There was drama, terror, anxiety, funny and cute moments. It had practically everything. There was a whole plot that grabbed me from the very first episode, which made want to continue watching, feeling excited. The sixth and final episode left me with even higher expectations for the second part, however those expectations were far from achieved. As it only had 4 episodes I was already afraid that everything would feel rushed and incomplete, which I unfortunately was right about.

Part 2 wasn't bad but it wasn't good. I thought it started well, seeing the students with more maturity and more experience after a month has passed since Mr. Lee's death, but it all went downhill from there. 4 episodes where the main focus wasn't the spheres but more “mundane” things, if I can put it that way. The criminals, the deaths motivated by humans, etc. I thought it got away from the main idea, and I don't know if I didn't notice or didn't pay attention, but Wonbin simply evaporated after episode 6, along with those who were rescued. Maybe the latter I didn't notice, but as for Wonbin, there's no sign that he died which left me confused.

As for the ending, the best way to put it it's that it was one of those endings where you wonder if that's what you've been watching an entire k-drama for. Only 4 people survived, 4 of whom were, let's say, the “driest” characters. Don't get me wrong, because I like Kimchi and Nara, and I don't mind the other two. But they literally killed every single character that was once very important for the story to keep going, in seconds, not having any impact as individual deaths at all in the viewers except for the shock part. It was literally pointless.

2 years later, Kimchi appears doing the CSAT, explaining that they've supposedly created a tool to solve the problem and blah blah blah. What tool? How did they end the problem? We need more then just knowing that they somehow created something that helped. How did you get out that bloodied classroom? It's all made of loose ends. What were the spheres anyway? Where did they come from? Why did they attack people, because I'm certain that the reason behind that wasn't just like one of the criminals said, to wipe humanity as they are trash. We also can't know that for a fact of course since he only suggests. It deserved a third part, if it wasn't for that ending. The plot, the characters, everything was so good and it was capable of so much more.

I would like to say that I recommend it, however I would be lying. It's unnecessary to watch 10 episodes that give you expectation after expectation only to end up heartbroken and more confused than you were at the beginning. Sometimes, ignorance is indeed bliss.

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Unfortunately this one misfired

I really was excited to watch this part because the first part was so good. Then watching this I came to realize why I liked the first part better, and what exactly this one lacks that makes it hard to watch.

I haven’t read the source material so this is just a review of the drama that I’ve seen.

With the absence of Lee Chun Ho it’s a HUGE misfortune to this drama. He balanced out all the chaos and irresponsible things the kids did. Honestly he was the reason I stayed for the first part. The kids in the drama are really dumb, and I know they are high school kids- but life and death scenarios I can’t help myself but get annoyed at times. I don’t hate all the students, I have a few favorites.

I was hoping the bully Kwon Il Ha would get a redemption. The first part onto this it was like they forgot how traumatized the guy is watching a classmate die infront of him. And that goes for most of the students, they see the carnage but just have it all together?

The living together, fighting together.. it’s uninteresting because to me it’s so much of a stretch for some of these kids to not be dead yet. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to have dead teenagers- but I can’t help but thinking of other kids.. how come there class they all get some sort of guardian angel that saves them .. that is what it feels like to me in all honesty.

The character development with the students I wasn’t enjoying. There are a few that get development, but for the most part the gags and the annoying ones send me so high up the wall. They are too much and it’s beyond me how they are still annoying even with all this death and fighting.. most of the girls are horrible- except Ana Ra, the President, and some of their friends. Pigtails is horrible, glasses is horrible, the boys are better but still.. I have to skip dumb scenes because it isn’t adding to the overall story really. It makes me feel like it’s dragging and I don’t want that. I want to like this drama.

Now why don’t I like it?

Because Chun Ho is dead. The one redemption for this show was him. He could tell the kids to shut up and they would, he was a figure they respected. Without him I honestly think realistically most of them would be dead with all the dumb thoughts and things they do. The whole idea of them staying together.. I don’t get it? If I were then I’d leave my dumb classmates. Chun Ho should not have died, he was the redeemer for me. What else is worse is that Kim Won Bin the other leader they had is just not there? Last time I remembered he didn’t die?

When kids do start dying it’s right before they are about to make progress with what development they are exploring. That is so so wrong to me- why start something without finishing it? For shock factor ?

The whole prison plot thing I skipped. I don’t know these men in there and I don’t care.. there is only four episodes so why are they adding in more people? It’s just for fluff

It’s really a waste of time and so much so that it’s insulting. Anything from part one, anything I liked isn’t touched upon or brought up. The scene from episode 7 with them killing the spheres was the peak for this season. It’s a shame because I knew it couldn’t be any good with Chun Ho being dead. I knew there was nothing they could do and they didn’t prove me wrong either. The ending is so god awful and so dumb that it doesn’t even hurt me. It’s just what it is I guess. What does hurt is remembering the first part was so good, I wish that Chun Ho didn’t die and they sort of liberate other towns and find their families- but instead they did the worst thing they could’ve possibly do. And that is to not advance the story, even with what they could.

The demise of these teenagers is so bad. I skimmed through and had to ask myself is this the same show. The shooting that the college crazy character does is so distasteful. It’s horrible and sickening.. and this topic in a drama like this- there should have been a trigger warning. It wasn’t fun anymore. That whole scene as a climax for this drama was insulting. Because right after that there was a time jump.. so what purpose did it serve other than a getaway to skip time and forget all these kids you spent your time with for the drama.

So the kids have no direction. Have no leader. And so many things are unexplained. Time skips are so bad if they are like this. This jump to this part just is off- how did they find this abandoned place. How could they barely take on one sphere in the last season but now are aces? Where are they getting ammunition? It’s little things like this that bother me and slowly add up to truly irritate me.

So.. my thoughts. Not good. Nothing happens this part. I don’t know how- nothing happens.

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Duty after school 2

The ending was so depressing. I really can't just accept it or don't want to accept it. How can it end like it 😭 I wanted to see them all together after the war and how can someone be so selfish and care so much about themselves only? I'm feeling dead after watching the last episode and didn't expect an ending like this though it makes the drama more thrilling and interesting. The moment the csat psycho started killing everyone water dropped from my eyes but still, there was hope that everyone may stand back and fight back. The hope of seeing them together doing everything they wanted to do after escaping from that he'll only remain a dream 😭

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honestly why that approach? the ending made me fell like I wasted my time.

It didn't make sense. Why did they have to go through all that shit? okay if we take a logical approach to some extent it's imaginable but so many plot holes with lazy and inattentive coverups. honestly, if they never gave a second season that pain might have been better than this.

Yes, it had an emotional impact but at what cost? I loved many scenes, I loved the acting, and I loved that staked were high but it was all ruined for me. This drama made other survival dramas shine.

spoiler:
starting off the season itself was weird. Where was Mr. Kim? If they were planning to remove a whole character at least give some explanation!! They constantly bought up Mr. Lee so what happened to the other dude?!
And okay other things were satisfying in the first eps. The kids were adjusting well and got used to the new reality.
class pres decision made so much sense but communication was the problem .
But Do soo chul's death made no sense!!! if there were spheres why didn't the detector go off? And since the spheres go hunt for humans they should have gone for the group downstairs rather than him alone since that was the whole point of Season 1.
Also, regarding the science school students who died, why weren't there any spheres around?
The amusement park scene where Kwon Il han dies and did gook really have enough time to drown him with stones? They hear a gunshot and others come so quickly, where did he get heavy stones in the middle of a beach? like a gunshot, drag the body, heavy rocks did kook really have that much time?
The second thing was now that they know what is happening isn't it common sense that CSAT was impossible? even if they were stupid enough gook yeoung soo's madness arc felt forced and dumb especially since he was supposed to be smart. I really hated this. it was foreshadowed in weird ways BUT was it really necessary?
And the 4 chars who survived Kook... how did they survive the approaching spheres? there were hundreds !!

I should have said this in the first season itself but the plot about sending students to war and putting adults in shelters made no freaking sense. And the shelters would have obviously been attacked since so many people gathered. No decision taken by the authorities made any sense.
I don't mean to hate on this but it is so frustrating when writers pull this mass destruction thing where all chars die at least why they died should have had some meaning! if they all died fighting spheres it would have made more sense but Kook? really?
He was disgusting and I hate him but what about the bond they all had suddenly ruined for the plot?

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The airs of grandeur that ruined story

This is the best example of how a pretentious writer can ruin his own story, by wanting to do a more 'intellectual' work.

I would summarize the problems of this second part in three causes: wanting to make the story darker, the claims to make it more philosophical and transcendent, and wanting to emphasize social criticism a lot.

Regarding the first, it is obvious that the writer wanted to make the story much darker than in the first part, and for this he wanted to resort to all means, even playing the sexual violence card, as occurred in the plot of the prison and in Young Soo's attempted sexual assault on his female comrade in arms. Making a dark story is something that I usually like, but it is necessary to do it with creativity, good taste, and a sense of timing, so that it does not undermine the fundamental purpose of the plot, and here those conditions were not met.

The second was made clear by emphasizing the message that human beings are worse than any alien monster, that there is no worse predator for human beings than human beings themselves. An otherwise irrelevant message, because all adult and moderately intelligent human beings know that sad reality, and if not, there are all the series and movies about zombies to remember it.

And the third is obvious when highlighting the criticism against the South Korean education system and the excessive social pressure on adolescents to succeed in such a demanding and relentless system, and also the criticism against social inequality that multiplies the pressure on someone who comes from a poor family and seeks an escape from poverty in the educational system.

The problem is that by wanting to make those three objectives the main motivation of the second part, the writer forgot that this was basically a fun and exciting science fiction story about an alien invasion and a group of high school teenagers turned, despite themselves, warriors. Everything exciting and interesting from the first part went to waste in the last two episodes, especially the last one, and we were left with a story with airs of greatness that we didn't ask for and that we didn't like.

It's a pity because I liked the first part a lot, and I would give it (in general) a rating of 8 out of 10. Even to the first episode of the second part I would give a rating of 7, and until the penultimate episode I wanted to be lenient, and even the prison plot didn't seem bad at all, although I didn't like the ending very much.

But the last episode ruined everything, I found it to be the worst final episode out of all the hundreds of Korean dramas I've watched. After most of our teenagers managed to survive hard, seeing almost every character we empathize with getting killed by a fellow idiot who suddenly went berserk is so disappointing. Obviously, I would have preferred most of them to have survived the war, but if they had to die, I would have preferred to see them die in battle against the alien monsters, and not killed by surprise by a deranged comrade, something that was done just to send a pretentious message and supposedly transcendent.

I don't want to value the scene of the massacre too much (because it still annoys me) but just to say that after so many battles as veteran soldiers I am surprised that there were not several of them who had the reflexes to quickly repel the attack with their weapons, it seems hardly credible.

After that disastrous ending, having a pre-graduation scene (flashback or alternate fantasy?) thrown in the last few minutes and then a disconcerting post-credits music scene, makes the final episode even worse.

In conclusion, the final episode has been a fiasco, which only deserves a rating of 1 (and that's because the amusement park scenes gave us a little joy). I agree with all the critics, this second part is an annoying waste that ruined a pretty good story in the first part.

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This might be controversial but I really liked this show so much

I watched this show as a whole serie with a 10 episodes. I already read people's negative reviews about the second part so I was not planning on watching it. Until I realized later that I already watched the second half. I was surprised at how good the whole show was.
The show definitely made me frustrated with the characters decision but they it always stayed true to their nature. They are teenagers who are facing monsters with only 1 month of military training what did we really expect them to be. OPss??. mentally strong characters??. we really need to start normalizing flawed characters. and people going into panic in unreal and unexpected situations. Not everyone is perfect. The ending was shocking, but totally understandable. Humans will always stays more scarier than monsters.

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This show has severe commitment issues and lacks a brain too

Why make a second part when you clearly have nothing to add? This show seemed at the start to be about the spheres which was the only compelling part but just annoyingly left that story unfinished. Who they are and where they came from, I never had faith would be told, but at least how they are dealt with would have been great to know. Instead this part 2 decided to change the focus on humans being trash and incorporating a useless prisoner drama just to show how humans can be worse than the mindlessly killing aliens. Then it becomes a story about how the exam stress is so severe and how unfair society is because poor people only get this one chance to succeed. This pressure is so bad it makes one of the students become a school shooter and then most of them die just like that. This show has the most idiotic and inconsistent reasoning by so many different characters and it is honestly baffling because you would assume that there would be people quality checking these shows before release. This second part really should not even have existed. Everything that happened just happened because some of the students just had to act out in the most nonsensical way just so the show can forcefully give this or that lesson. I think part 1 showed enough of the ways people can act irrationally during such times but this part went so above and beyond that it didn't even make sense any more. No amount of stress would make anyone this stupid. Either the whole production crew all had really low opinions of people's intellect or then they were all so profoundly lacking it themselves. Maybe both.

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Warning for US Viewers

**Episode 9 deals with S.A. against one of the girls.
**The ending of episode 10 involves situations that U.S. students and family deal with all too often... 😰

Overall, these last four episodes veer away from the previous six and not for the better. This feels like a completely different drama that rushed itself and didn't know how to end.

If I could, I wouldn't have watched these episodes at all. It had so much potential but fell flat. The resolution to the Alien problem gets resolved in a voice over. So, all these kids trauma & deaths were pointless in retrospect.

If you want to feel better - jump to the end of episode 10 for the happy stuff.

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AVOID WATCHING!!!

i think we all expected a really nice happy ,conclusitory ending but spoiler alert that never happened. This story didn't deserve this. We all expected the answers to our curiosities like "what were really the spheres", "where did they come from", "what do they want" etc. Season 1 was fantastic it was too good, i expected atleast a happy ending where atleast 5-7 of them survive, but that didn't happen.

The sad thing is they could've made it better but didn't even try. The cast was too perfect and we all loved it. The ending was illogical and it was unsatisfying at most. I wish i never saw it because now i have a shitty mindset towards this amazing show. I wish they atleast showed how the cleanup process or where the parents were. If you really loved season 1 i would never recommend season 2 . I wish someone told me this.

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Characters We Loved, Ending We Didn’t!

I never thought I’d be writing a review, but I need to vent about the ending—it was so infuriating! After seeing all the characters grow and develop, it felt like a total betrayal to have them all get taken out by a psycho obsessed with CSAT. Part 1 started off so strong, and now I’m just confused about why the writers went such a dark route.

I heard that in the novel, a lot of students survived, but in the series, only four made it out alive. I’m relieved that my two favorite characters made it, but it was totally unexpected and left me feeling mixed about everything.

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