Current hit drama Descendants of the Sun just finished
airing last Thursday. Just like its title, it has become a light in the middle
of declining Korean Drama industry. Descendants of the Sun is the first drama
that break 30% rating in television after four years. The last episode even has
38.8% rating. This is a fantastic achievement if we see current condition where
people prefer watching drama online than watching it on television. It is hard for
one drama to reach 10% rating in television nowadays, but Descendants of the
Sun manages to change this perception.
The craze for this
sixteen-episode drama continues. People search for brands that seen in this
drama, go for place just like in the drama setting, and listen for the
soundtracks. The casts popularity rise and they were invited to various events
overseas. It’s a similar craze with You
Who Came From Another Star three years ago. In other words, it’s Hallyu
fever all over again!
Amidst all of its hype, a
question popped out. Does the drama itself really lives up its hype? Check out
my review of Descendants of the Sun below…………………..
Descendants of the Sun
tells a love story between a soldier, Yoo
Si Jin (Song Joong Ki), and a
doctor, Kang Mo Yeon (Song Hye Gyo). They dated briefly, but decided
to separate because of their job nature and opposite principal. “Soldier kills
people while doctor saves people”, that’s what Kang Mo Yeon said to Yoo Si Jin.
Who knows that fate brought them together again in the middle of deserted
place, Urk. Fate also brought Yoo Si Jin comrade, Seo Dae Young (Jin Goo) to
reconcile his romance with army surgeon, Yoon
Myeong Joo (Kim Ji Won).
Together all of them try to work out their relationship while fight to save
people’s lives in the middle of disaster.
The story actually pretty
simple and doesn’t really groundbreaking. We have seen several dramas that deal
with nation issue and action or medical element such as The King 2 Hearts and Doctor
Stranger. Disaster theme just recently covered by D-Day. However, Descendants of the Sun offers a new perspective to
this theme.
It deals with how does
your profession affect your way of life and relationship with other people.
This drama shows Si Jin and Mo Yeon dedication to their profession. To them,
soldier and doctor aren’t just a job. Being a soldier and doctor means that
they carry its principal in everyday life. That is why it’s hard for them to
date each other in the beginning because they have opposite moral value (You
kill, I save). We see Si Jin several times questioned Mo Yeon action, which he
thought was dangerous, but she thought it was a common sense action for her. We
also see Mo Yeon wish to tell Si Jin her simple worry like lunch menu, but she
couldn’t because she knew he has bigger things to worry about. It’s a new angle
of story and it makes us able to relate more with the character. We understand
their concern and want to see them overcome it.
The story flows smoothly
during its Urk setting. We see how Si Jin and Mo Yeon overcome their obstacles,
how doctors always have to be prepared to cure people, and how soldiers must
ready with the worst option. This drama does a good job in highlighting each
element of this story. We see that behind doctors and soldiers readiness, they
feel scared and panicked too. It feels real and it makes me respect their
profession more. Unfortunately, the story gets lost once they move its setting
to South Korea. The writer seems confused on how to fill up the remaining
episodes. It’s a pity because this drama starts nicely.
As for the casts, the
main leads of Descendants of the Sun don’t have a complex character. However, they
need someone who has strong screen presence because both Si Jin and Mo Yeon are
figure of authority in the middle of disaster zone. That is why I can see why
they choose Song Joong Ki and Song Hye Gyo as the leads.
Song Joong Ki’s army
experience and great acting take a big part in making Si Jin’s character
believable as a captain. If you see his appearance, he actually doesn’t have an
army look. Plus, he’s really charismatic. His eyes speak different feelings and
his gaze pulls you in. His partner, Song Hye Gyo also has the same charisma
like Joong Ki. She’s basically glowing in this drama from her appearance to her
aura. Song Hye Gyo showcases her natural acting as Kang Mo Yeon where I feel
that every dialogue is like a daily conversation. But, she displays enough
emotions whenever needed. Together they make a sizzling chemistry. You can’t
help but smile whenever they start bantering and flirting.
Beside Si Jin and Mo
Yeon, Descendants of the Sun also has another couple, Seo Dae Young and Yoon
Myeong Joo. Their love story is more intense and heartbreaking because it against
Myeong Joo’s father approval. It makes us sympathize more to their
relationship, even I root for their happiness more than for the main couple. Both
Jin Goo and Kim Ji Won present great emotional acting and chemistry. Seo Dae
Young tough and stiff personality can balance Yoon Myeong Joo childish and
stubborn personality. Also, they did an amazing job in balancing the big names
acting and shine on their own. I was particularly impressed with Kim Ji Won who
didn’t overshadow by Song Hye Gyo whenever they have scene together despite
coming from different actress generation.
Descendants of the Sun
also excel other dramas in term of production. We can see that the pre-production
process gives a lot of benefit to this drama. It has beautiful cinematography
that really emphasizes the beauty of Greece, the actual setting of this drama,
and the good-looking appearance of the casts. The editing is slick, which makes
1 hour-duration flies fast when we watch it. The music complements the
beautiful scene well although it becomes repetitive at some parts. The other
minus points would be some shots are too dramatic, which feels like the writer
wants us to feel something, and the massive amount of product placement at
several last episodes.
Descendants of the Sun is
not a perfect drama, but it’s entertaining to watch. Everything is beautiful
from the cinematography, casts to settings. In term of story, it provides a
different angle of love and disaster theme although it falls flat at the end.
So, does it live up its hype? I have to say yes and I recommend all of you to
watch it just to experience this one of a kind Hallyu fever J
Rating: 3.5/5
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