Like so many other drama lovers out there, when I first sat down to watch this weekend’s drama, I was immediately hooked. There was just something about the chemistry between the leading characters that drew me in and I spent the next two months dying for the next episode to be released. Of course so was pretty much every other drama watcher in the world so writing this week’s review might be a bit pointless but I’m gonna write it anyway because who doesn’t want an excuse to squee over Song Joong Ki write about Descendants of the Sun?
Originally airing on KBS2, Descendants of the Sun ran from February 24 – April 14, 2016 and follows the lives of two elite special forces officers in the Korean army, Yoo Shi Jin (Song Joong Ki) and Seo Dae Young (Jin Goo), a military medical officer, Yoon Myeong Joo (Kim Ji Won), and an up-and-coming doctor, Kang Mo Yeon (Song Hye Gyo), whose stories all intertwine as the drama progresses.
Most of the story takes place in war-ravaged Uruk, where the military have been stationed to offer relief and a civilian medical team has been sent to provide much needed medical care to local residents. It’s a interesting backdrop for a love story and one that provides a lot of color to the story. We get to see our four main characters in various lights, due to the chaotic conditions of the country, which is nice, and the locations used during filming are quite stunning. With the majority of the story unfolding amidst so much chaos, we get to experience a lot of intense moments we wouldn’t otherwise get to experience in a drama. Of course, along with that, we’re asked to believe in quite a few incredibly unbelievable scenarios, which I was more than happy to do, just because I was so in love with the characters themselves.
I think Descendants is one of the best dramas I’ve watched in quite a while where I really fell in love with the characters and not just the main characters but the supporting ones as well. I loved watching Onew’s character, Lee Chi Hoon, grow. I loved the chemistry that sparked between Ha Ja Ae (Seo Jung Yeon) and Song Sang Hyun (Lee Seung Joon). I wanted to adopt Kim Gi Bum (Kim Min Suk) as my own son and bring him home and feed him cookies and make sure he got at least one warm hug a day for the rest of his life. I loved all the beautiful doves that made each and every morning in Uruk a wonderful one and, of course, I loved Shi Jin, Dae Young, Myeong Joo and Mo Yeon. There was just something about those four and their chemistry that worked so darn well, I was more than happy to overlook the fact that this drama didn’t actually have a plot.
And therein lies my only complaint with this drama… It didn’t actually have a plot. It had characters I loved. It had events, both major and minor, that added interest to the story as it moved along, but there was nothing in this story that actually happened. Characters didn’t grow or change because they were already the best at what they did, they all had incredibly good attitudes and surprisingly pleasant dispositions. In essence, the four main characters in this story were so perfect from the very beginning, there was nothing they could do to improve either themselves on a personal level or their position in life. As a result, we spent endless hours watching our main characters make googly eyes at each other as they tried to decide if they wanted to play hard to get or sneak off somewhere for a roll in the hay. (At least both options proved to be equally entertaining.)
Now don’t get me wrong, I absolutely loved this drama. I spent every week in agony as I waited for new episodes to be released and I devoured them as soon as they were out. I squeed with friends over every episode and swooned over Song Joong Ki so hard I kept falling over. I loved watching Mo Yeon try to decide if her morals as a doctor would allow her love a soldier whose job included killing people. I loved watching Dae Young try to deny his feelings for Myeong Joo as he had “I LOVE YOU” so clearly written in his eyes. I loved the setting and the intense moments that came as a result of being in such an exotic location. I loved the evilness of the villains. I loved the idea of a soldier loving someone even more fiercely than he loves his country. I loved the acting and the OST and pretty much everything else in this drama, so much so, I’m sitting here, writing this review just so I can tell you to go and watch it. I just had to warn you first that, as wonderful as this drama is, there just isn’t any place for this story to go and as such, you’re going to be asked to swallow some pretty ridiculous stuff, especially at the end.
While I’m sure most of the world has watched Descendants of the Sun by now, if you haven’t, I’m telling you now, you should; even if it’s for no other reason than the fact everyone in going to be talking about it every day from now until forever. Of course if you have watched it, I want to know what you thought of it. Did you find it lacking in any way or is it really as wonderful as the majority of the drama-watching world would have you believe? Be sure to let me know in the comments below!
I, too, loved this drama. From the very first scenes where Mo Yeon was excitedly watching the video tape of Shi Jin and Dae Young fighting the gang members to save a young man, you knew that he was going to be hard for her to forget. Shi Jin’s charm, confidence, and adorable smile…adorable smile…adorable smile…(oops! I was daydreaming there for a minute) had every woman watching fall for him hard at the same moment. He just continued to warm our hearts throughout the rest of the drama and we all wanted to date him. The chemistry between him and Mo Yeon was great. They were both strong, independent people who were leaders in their respective fields, but found that together they could relax and be themselves – in fact together they found a part of themselves that they hadn’t known was missing. They truly completed each other.
The second lead couple Dae Young and Myeong Joo held less charm for me. Don’t get me wrong, I loved Dae Young’s tough exterior and soft interior. I just never really warmed up to Myeong Joo. She regularly abused her power and put Dae Young in a very difficult position. She behaved like a spoiled brat with her dad and figured she could defy him and get away with it because she’d obviously been doing it for her entire life, but she jeopardized Dae Young’s career and made him the target of her dad’s displeasure over and over again. She should have had a grown up conversation with her dad and won him over BEFORE acting like a crazy stalker. It was obvious that Dae Young loved her, but his maturity didn’t match with her spoiled heiress image. I wished he had moved on and found someone else. She was a very selfish, spoiled woman.
Onew, my sweetheart (I can’t believe you’re getting to meet Shinee!!!), did a great job playing his character. I wished the writers had written a better character, though. They had him cry far too often – even though I usually cried right along with him – and the whole pregnant girlfriend back at home that he ignored while he was sorting through his PTSD/guilt issues was unnecessary. He even showed up at the final scene without her! (But at least he was smiling!) It was so great to see Onew spreading his wings and get the spotlight. With Jonghyun and Taemin’s solo debuts, Minho’s many acting roles and Key’s fashion editor debut, I am glad to see that Onew is also getting some positive press. He deserves it.
I loved the drama, in spite of its flaws. Song Joon Ki stole every scene he was in (just like he did in “Sungkyungkwan Scandal”), and I loved every minute of it. I think it was also a nice departure from the typical K-drama love triangle plot. There were strong men and women in this and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
this drama is one of the most popular Korean dramas in the world and me myself watched it many times and suggested it to my friend.
I believe this would be the most watched Korean drama in the world