Admit it. Most of us watched this series just because it stars Song Joong Ki and/or Song Hye Kyo. In my case, it’s more of an “and”. I both love them, individually. I watched most of their dramas that I can’t just miss this one.
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| Descendants of the Sun (Courtesy of KBS) |
I was looking forward to this drama since last year, September, I think, when the first script reading took place. At first, I actually thought Descendants of the Sun was a period drama. You know, celestial bodies like sun and moon are writer’s favorite for their saeguk dramas’ titles. Hahaha.
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| Song Hye Kyo as Dr. Kang Mo Yeon (left) and Song Jong Ki as Captain Yoo Si Jin (right) |
That was until I read the plot in dramabeans that it’s about a soldier and a doctor deployed in a war at a fictional country. The moment I read that I was like “Ohhh….okay. That doesn’t sound like Kdrama-ish (whether it’s my all time favorite rom-com or the traditional melodrama).” I would have drop it if not for the two lead stars.
The impact of the first three episodes wasn’t that great on me. That time, I started seeing the series as a bit overrated. Simple scenes were glamorized by slow motion, repetition effect forcing the viewers to give them more attention.
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| Dr. Kang Mo Yeon and her team |
I actually didn’t plan to watch the succeeding episodes until the series finish airing in Korea but I felt so left out with all the DOTS memes popping out on my newsfeed. Didn’t expect it to be this popular in the Philippines even before a local TV channel could air it. I would surely get spoiled if I don’t watch it sooner than them so I started watching Episode 4 onwards.
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| Seo Dae Young & Yoon Myeong Ju (top) and Kang Mo Yeon & Yoo Si Jin (bottom) |
This series has a much different tone from other Kdramas. I think it’s because they want to mimic Hollywood action films. DOTS is like a Filipino telenovela, given that kind of plot. You just know it’s a Korean drama due to the fact that the story focused more on the relationships between the four leads rather than them fighting an ultimate villain who’s behind all the evil (I actually thought it was Argus but apparently, it’s him only for a short period of time).
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| Argus (left) and Captain Yoo Si Jin (right) |
Both Jong Ki and Hye Kyo did a great job in this drama. Well, that’s aside from the scenes where they have to speak English. Lol. Sorry but every time they speak English, it totally ruins both the mood and their acting skills. No matter how they deliver the lines, it seems they’re only reciting it.
Also a big clap to the supporting leads, especially Kim Ji Won. At first, I was surprised that she had already been given a role this big but she proved she can pull it off. I really like her character in DOTS. I think even more than Dr. Kang.
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| Kim Ji Won as Yoon Myeong Ju |
The drama, I can say, is good. It’s quite worth the hype and that skyrocketed production cost, but still not something I’ll spaz about for weeks. Also, I did think Jong Ki’s injury caused a dramatic change in the story. It’s pretty obvious how they tried their hardest to either put his injured arm as part of the plot or hide it inside his thick winter clothes. Given that the series was filmed way ahead the airing date, I can’t see why they just can’t wait for his arm to fully heal and resume the taping then.
Anyway, it still felt nice to see my two favorites (out of many, to clarify) back on screen again. Descendants of the Sun may have some minor flaws but still didn’t disappoint.
P.S.
Who else were amazed by this cute little Yoo Si Jin emoji when you tweeted using the hashtag #descendantsofthesun while the series airs?
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| Yoo Si Jin Twitter Emoji |
P.P.S.
Oops! Yoo Ah In spotted!
