Descendants of the Sun Episode 14 Recap

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This felt like a boilerplate episode for Descendants of the Sun, confirming that the action moving back to Seoul has led to an odd sense of choppiness. Urk life was filled with disaster situation one after another but a confident narrative pace. The dangers lurking in Seoul for the intrepid leads are drama cookie cutter fare despite the big OMG moment to end episode 13. I wish Shi Jin’s life hanging in the balance had a better payoff but conjuring up North-South Korean political intrigue is stuff recent year dramas like The King 2 Hearts and Spy did more adroitly. At least the intense North Korean commander is back on screen, I knew his too brief scene in episode 1 was setting the stage for something bigger to come.

Sadly Mo Yeon and Myung Joo take major backseats in this episode 14, playing the role of girlfriend and/or doctor as if going through the motions. Not much character or relationship development happened as the personal aspect moved aside for the conspiracy that arrived abruptly and was resolved even more abruptly. Who has time for DTR (defining the relationship) when dangers lurks around every corner. All I got out of this was Shi Jin’s superhuman powers now include withstanding multiple gunshot wounds and being able to gallivant around shortly thereafter. Mo Yeon really doesn’t need to worry, her boyfriend is clearly the Korean equivalent of Captain America.

Episode 14 recap:

Following behind the ambulance carrying the injured North Korean commander, an unconscious and bloody Shi Jin is brought to Hae Sung hospital and wheeled into the ER by a shocked Mo Yeon. She tearfully pleads for him to wake up as she takes him to the OR.

Flashback shows the North Korean commander not there to attack Shi Jin and Dae Young, instead asking to talk to them because he doesn’t trust his own side. He’s shot from behind and a van with commandos pull up guns blazing. The gunmen force Dae Young and Shi Jin to hide behind cars for cover and the gunmen take the injured North Korean commander into the van.

Mo Yeon is trying to resuscitate Shi Jin as he codes in the ER. She continues to work on him feverishly with chest compresses, begging him to come back to her.

Continue flashbacks show Shi Jin chasing behind the van as it’s making a getaway from the parking garage. Shi Jin has to get close to the van to shoot at a fire extinguisher which blows smoke in front of the van which crashes into another car, but in the process Shi Jin gets shot multiple times by a gunman in the van. Before Shi Jin passes out he sees Dae Young running towards him.

Mo Yeon is crying thinking Shi Jin died when he says that it hurts so much. He asks about the other shooting victim who came in with him, asking if he’s still alive? Mo Yeon is upset at Shi Jin asking about someone else’s health when he was so close to dying, if his heart stopped for another minute longer then he would be dead. Shi Jin tries to sit up when Min Ji runs in to say that the patient has gone crazy.

The North Korean commander has Nurse Ha with a knife to the throat demanding to be released. Nurse Ha keeps her cool, telling him that he will die if he doesn’t get treatment. Shi Jin tries to talk him down to accept treatment but he doesn’t trust South Korean doctors. He passes out and is wheeled into the OR. Shi Jin asks Mo Yeon to operate on him and she agrees but is very pissed at Shi Jin, brushing his hand aside as she storms off.

Dr. Song and Mo Yeon operate on the North Korean commander and discover that he has something implanted in his arm.

Colonel Park and Dae Young discuss the North Korean Commander Ahn Jung Joon who was supposed to be on furlough but instead ended up in South Korea in a gun fight. The gunmen in the van are apprehended and appear to be Eastern Europeans. The Embassy of fictional country of Maldonia has admitted that the gunmen are their armed forces and was chasing Commander Ahn because he used a fake passport from Maldonia. Everyone knows it’s a lame excuse but there is nothing they can do further to investigate.

Mo Yeon tells Shi Jin that Commander Ahn is stabilized for the time being and is upset at Shi Jin for being worried about the commander but not about Mo Yeon who saw her boyfriend wheeled in all bloody and nearly died. Shi Jin is contrite but Mo Yeon threatens to kill him herself if he worries her like this again.

Commander Ahn is wheeled into the same hospital room as Shi Jin while Dae Young’s team arrives to guard the premises. Mo Yeon hands the sim card she dug out from Commander Ahn’s arm to Dae Young.

Chi Hoon and Dr. Kim discuss the North Korean patient arriving all bloody with gunshot wounds, with Chi Hoon being nonchalant since he’s seen so much action in Urk already but Dr. Kim doesn’t believe him.

Dr. Song is fretting over Nurse Ha being taken hostage and checks her out to make sure she’s alright. He demands to know who did it and is told that it was the patient he just operated on which makes him regret doing his doctorly duty.

Dr. Kim asks Mo Yeon what her boyfriend really does since he was in the gun fight with the North Korean and there are now swarms of men in black in the hospital. This time Mo Yeon doesn’t even sass back, agreeing that it’s all so unbelievable, much to the shock of Dr. Kim.

The medical team rifles through Commander Ahn’s belongings marveling at the items from North Korea. They find the special ballpoint pen used to commit suicide and notices that it doesn’t write. Dr. Song is about to lick it to make the ink flow when Dae Young snatches it from him and whispers the intended purpose in his ear. Dr. Song faints knowing how close he was to death as the ink inside the suicide pen is poison.

The hospital Managing Director wants to enter the patient’s hospital room but is kept outside by the guards. He asks Mo Yeon what her boyfriend really does and if the two men inside got in a fight. He wonders who won and thinks Mo Yeon’s boyfriend must’ve lost and lied about being a good fighter.

Shi Jin sits with Commander Ahn being recorded by Colonel Park as he asks questions about why Commander Ahn is in South Korea and what mission he’s doing. Commander Ahn refuses to answer any questions, even when Shi Jin asks if he wants to request asylum.

Colonel Park knows it’s serious because Commander Park did not travel through China or Russia and instead took the harder route through South Korea. If he cooperates then he will be taken care of in South Korea. Commander Ahn continues to not say a word.

The chip removed from Commander Ahn is handed off by Colonel Park to the National Security Agency to decode. He places a call to the Blue House aide to discuss tomorrow’s second meeting between North and South Korea. He wants Commander Ahn talking before the meeting otherwise it’s going to take place as planned.

Alpha team discusses how Commander Ahn may be a murder suspect which is why he’s running away. They wonder who the murder victims are and Shi Jin recognizes the men as in the same unit as Commander Ahn, the unit that crossed the DMZ in episode one to spar with Shi Jin and Dae Young.

Shi Jin and Dae Young believe the truth must be in the sim card that was taken from Commander Ahn. Luckily Dae Young was smart and switched it before handing it over to the government.

Mo Yeon is treating Commander Ahn and chiding him for being so roughed up, especially with a bullet near his spine that can cause paralysis complications and some old injuries that were not fully treated. She tells him not to waste the chance he got after being brought back to life.

Mo Yeon turns to Shi Jin still mad at him and says the same to him. She brings up the superior officer in Urk who chewed her out for doing surgery on the VIP and then punished Shi Jin for assisting her. Colonel Park is listening in since the hospital room is wired so Shi Jin covers her mouth and writes for her to not say anything because the room is bugged. Sargent Choi is listening in and stifles at laugh to hear Colonel Park being yelled at.

Mo Yeon quickly switches to praising Colonel Park and Shi Jin makes small talk about how her mother is doing. He asks to see her but writes on a piece of paper that he needs a private place to talk with Commander Ahn. She’s reluctant but he promises that nothing will happen that worries her. Mo Yeon tells Commander Ahn to come to the CT room for scans in 30 minutes and not to be late. Mo Yeon runs into Colonel Park in the hallway and acts super excited and giddy to see him. He wonders why he only sees her when there is a problem for the government to clean up.

Mo Yeon begs her radiologist bestie Ji Soo to borrow her CT scan room for an important meeting. Ji Soo is not happy but accedes to Mo Yeon.

Commander Ahn and Shi Jin are in the CT room which can’t be bugged. Shi Jin gives Commander Ahn ten minutes to say what he needs to say, and starts off by asking why Commander Ahn killed the other soldier. Commander Ahn wants his things back first and Shi Jin hands back the sim card. He asks what’s in the sim card?

Commander Ahn explains that top trained North Korean soldiers are asked to do mercenary work to kill defected North Koreans. Shi Jin asks who the mastermind is? Commander Ahn knows Shi Jin already saw the information in the sim card but Shi Jin says he didn’t, joking about how the encryption is too difficult to crack. Commander Ahn swallows the sim card and tells Shi Jin to butt out and let him handle the internal North Korean business. Shi Jin knows who the mastermind is – the high ranking North Korean Minister Choi who is representing their side in the cross-border talks. He moved up his arrival in South Korea clearly to take Commander Ahn into custody.

Mo Yeon and Shi Jin find some alone time in the stairwell and she makes sure this area is not bugged. She asks if Commander Ahn told Shi Jin what he needed to know and Shi Jin tells Mo Yeon that Commander Ahn’s name is Ahn Jung Joon and he wants someone to remember his name.

Commander Ahn expertly escapes his hospital room after being brought back, breaking the window to climb down to another room. He’s stopped by Shi Jin holding a gun to his head. Commander Ahn tells Shi Jin to move as he has a mission to finish. Shi Jin knows Commander Ahn came to him because they have the same enemy – if North Korea betrayed Commander Ahn or vice-versa. Commander Ahn says a warrior never betrays his country.

We see Commander Ahn answering the phone of his head comrade and hearing Minister Choi on the other line asking who is alive? Commander Ahn asks if he’s the betrayer but Minister Choi has set him up already as the scapegoat. Commander Ahn begs Shi Jin to let him go, he has a mission he must finish and even if he dies he will die in North Korea. Shi Jin is also a warrior to his country and cannot betray it so he cannot let Commander Ahn go. He’s already paid him back for the lunch in Pyeongyang by the gunfight earlier today.

Commander Ahn is being transported in the back of a car and we see that Shi Jin handed him some snacks to eat before he was taken away, telling him it’s very tasty so don’t forget to eat it.

Mo Yeon is grilling Shi Jin on the broken windows and mess left behind in two hospital rooms and he blames it all on Commander Ahn. Shi Jin tries to act like his wound hurts but Mo Yeon has no sympathy for him. She asks who will be paying the repair fee – the friend or Shi Jin? He’s upset that the Managing Director is giving her a hard time but she says it’s his fault for getting admitted to the hospital with a North Korean.

Ji Soo is talking with Chi Hoon’s fiancée who is due next week. They are marveling over Mo Yeon’s handsome and dangerous soldier boyfriend. Dr. Kim arrives to be a bitch as usual and is mean to Ji Soo. Chi Hoon’s fiancée grabs Dr. Kim’s hair to stand up for Ji Soo, which is when her water breaks and she goes into labor.

The hospital Managing Director sends a minion to ask Mo Yeon to pay for the repairs since it’s caused by Shi Jin and she’s his guardian. Chi Hoon gets a call that his fiancée is in labor and rushes off. Mo Yeon also uses that excuse to run off.

Commander Ahn is brought to see Minister Choi and Commander Ahn reports on the status of his mission. Minister Choi wants the sim card and asks where it is? He figures the South Koreans don’t have it yet since it’s quiet from their side. He knows Commander Ahn has it in his body somewhere safe and plans to bury it with him then.

Minister Choi asks for any final wishes and Commander Ahn wants to be given a bowl of the famous Pyeongyang naengmyun when he’s dead. Commander Ahn is finished with his last words and will now finish his final mission, which is to execute North Korean betrayer Minister Choi. He rushes Minister Choi with a broken glass but is shot dead before he can kill him.

Minister Choi meets with the Blue House aide to deliver a list of demands before continuing with the talks to allow North and South Korean families to meet. Minister Choi wants to leave but the aide hands over a spreadsheet with the US dollars that Minister Choi has been buying up. He’s arrested by North Koreans as he leaves the meeting and is told that he will be taken back to North Korea along with Commander Ahn.

Turns out Shi Jin was the sharpshooter on the roof and when he hears the code word of the naengmyun then he shoots Commander Ahn who derides the skills of South Korean soldiers for poor shooting skills. Commander Ahn is arrested but pauses to eat the snack that Shi Jin gave him, thanking him for giving him the chance to return to North Korea as a warrior.

Shi Jin picks up the snack bag in the hotel room and inside is the sim card that Commander Ahn left behind after he ate the cookie inside.

The Blue House Aide is ready for his press conference discussing this new breakthrough with North Korean relations.

Shi Jin gets out of bed but his wingman Dae Young hears Mo Yeon coming and hurries him to lay back down. Mo Yeon walks into the hospital room and hears that Shi Jin is asleep.

After Mo Yeon leaves Shi Jin gets out of bed so that Dae Young can help him undress when Mo Yeon walks back in. Dae Young dives into bed while Shi Jin pretends to read a book. Mo Yeon thanks Dae Young for taking care of Shi Jin before shooting her boyfriend a piercing glare.

Shi Jin wants Dae Young to be a man and help him split the repair costs for the destruction but Dae Young tucks his hair behind his ears and says he’s not a man, lol.

Mo Yeon sees Myung Joo in the hospital lobby and the two girls sit down to chat. Mo Yeon sighs that her life is like a drama, laughing that Shi Jin is fine but will soon die in her hands. She’s shocked to hear from Myung Joo that she’s broken up with Dae Young. Myung Joo can’t help but ask if Dae Young is okay. She heads off and Mo Yeon sighs over Myung Joo’s tough road.

Myung Joo and Dae Young are awkwardly standing around Shi Jin’s bed and not talking to each other. She hands off a present before declaring that she’s leaving, Shi Jin teases Dae Young for acting all silly earlier but Myung Joo just leaves. Dae Young explains to Shi Jin that he is quitting the military and Shi Jin is upset to just hear this. Shi Jin tells Dae Young to go get Myung Joo since he’s staked his life on her, don’t just give let her go.

Dae Young walks through the hospital and sees Myung Joo’s shadow on the ground where she is standing around the corner. He stands there not going to talk to her. Dr. Song and Nurse Ha are observing this situation and discussing how they broke up with each other because they love each other too much. Nurse Ha provides a perfect analysis of the situation between Dae Young and Myung Joo.

Dr. Song invites Nurse Ha to go car shopping with her, reminding her that he wanted a new car after he got back to Korea because he doesn’t want to make all that money and die without being able to take it she he die abruptly. Nurse Ha picks out the car she likes and asks if she’s getting involved because she likes it. Nurse Ha answers yes for the first time.

Mo Yeon watches on the news coverage about the North and South Korean families meeting. Shi Jin is watching the same news report before turning it off when Mo Yeon comes in.

Mo Yeon is ready to discharge him but he wants to stay for another week because here he sees her every two hours. Mo Yeon asks if Shi Jin snuck out of the hospital already to go to the department store, and was it with his friend? If so why did he come back alone? Shi Jin says his path diverges with his friend but he’s doing this for the peace of the peninsula. Mo Yeon reminds him that he has people who love and care about him.

Shi Jin asks Mo Yeon to lay on the hospital bed with him but she chooses to sleep in the cot. She shares with Shi Jin news that Chi Hoon became a dad today to a little boy and Shi Jin offers his congratulations. He apologizes for worrying Mo Yeon and thanks her for saving his life. Mo Yeon wonders why they are constantly thanking each other every day, when normal couples only thank each other for big moments.

Mo Yeon says she knows now what type of peace Shi Jin is protecting, she saw it on the news. If he feels bad towards her then he needs to not ever show up before her all injured and bloody. Shi Jin promises to do that before asking her to finish watching their movie because the VIP hospital rooms have movies on demand.

Shi Jin and Mo Yeon sit down on his bed to watch the movie until they both fall asleep snuggling in bed. She voice overs that she still doesn’t know what the ending of that movie was – a happy ending or a sad ending?

Thoughts of Mine:

I thought Shi Jin’s injury at the end of episode 13 was a feint and actually would have preferred that to seeing that it was real injuries with such little consequences. Shi Jin is not a human target with unlimited regeneration abilities but my interest in the story line was hijacked trying to accept how he went from coding to sitting up seconds later. I know it’s just a drama but this was yet another too far out medical moments that interrupted the general flow of accepting the narrative’s sillier details. But once I recalibrated my expectation the rest of the episode flowed nicely albeit on the duller side than previous outings. I felt like both couples were just rehashing the same issues or standing in the same place moving their feet from side-to-side. When I should be getting even more swept up in the romance just in time for next week’s big finale, instead this penultimate week muffled the connection. There was no buildup unless the big movie date in the hospital room was just the foreshadowing that the movie they wanted to watch was a sad ending that would be mirrored for the OTP, for which I say bah humbug. Secret Garden, as flawed as it was, had the most amazing ending to episode 18 that kept viewers tensely on edge until the following week’s finale episodes, here there’s passivity when the feelings should be further drawn out.

The whole political conspiracy with the North Korean side came across as forcibly shoehorned in, there was no real reason for Commander Ahn to come down to South Korea to expose his side’s own misdeeds. He had a few encounters and some grudging mutual respect with Shi Jin, it’s hard to see where the level of trust and faith would come from that Shi Jin could help him. I liked seeing more of him but it wasn’t fleshed out well. He also doesn’t represent the types of challenges Shi Jin would encounter as a special forces soldier in South Korea, at most the two men are extreme types that live, breath, and die for their duty but most of the time Shi Jin is doing missions he seems equipped and capable of succeeding at. I felt bad for Mo Yeon when she saw her boyfriend laying there all bloodied but then Shi Jin really tried her patience with how everything he does continues to be dangerous and secretive. If she were a military doctor like Myung Joo then she would subscribe to the same service ethos but as a regular civilian it’s clearly jarring to force her to accept the most extreme version of a military man. At least she once again came around at the end, but one wonders if at a certain point she’ll be numb to Shi Jin’s job and with it goes her love for him.

The last two episodes have been interesting in ways both good and bad. I enjoyed the lighthearted moments in Seoul, with call outs to early drama scenes that show continuity, but the insane PPL which was overly annoying in the last episode and continued into this one has really intruded on the visual touches. I’m always noticing why a character is eating or drinking something, and when new technology is shown clearly it’s tied to new features on brand name products. It shouldn’t have to be this obtrusive, and makes me wish K-dramas had commercial times to sell so that the drama itself could avoid obvious insertions of everyday items reminding me to buy it. Dae Young and Myung Joo’s big breakup ended up feeling as pointless in this episode as it did when I watched it happened, I know they are getting back together and just wonder why it can’t have happened already so their upcoming screen time is just flirting happy scenes. Shi Jin and Mo Yeon have bigger issues to overcome still but he’s painted so larger than life by this point I don’t feel tied to Mo Yeon’s legitimate worries about his safety. I do still want to see happy endings for all but the return to Seoul sorta took the wind out of DotS, though a return to form for the final two episodes are still a high possibility.

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Comments

Descendants of the Sun Episode 14 Recap — 69 Comments

  1. The romance
    The bromance
    The SJK car slide.
    I am satisfied.
    The North Korea drama still confuses me. I’m going to have to rewatch.
    I’m also interested to hear people’s theories on how YSJ went into cardiac rest but was able to walk to the NK soldier in the next scene?

    • Yes to Song Joong-ki car slide. Woops that’s my man! So cool. I won’t complaint about anything else. Dots time is time for fangirling.

    • Oh yeah!.. You noticed the car slide too? Wow..! I went double wow no matter how many times I rewind that scene. I wish the production will show us how that particular scene was made. SJK seemed like he was flying through instead of jumping… so agile… so deftly done!

      And the bromance. Urghhhh…. Dae Young with his stoic facial expression… hahahaaa… I wonder if he is like that in real life 😀
      And that fingers-sliding behind the ears.. even SJK couldn’t imitate 😀

      I agree with you about how difficult for us to accept logic behind Yoo Jin able to get up seconds after experiencing a flatline. My first thought was, could it be because of Special Forces’ training?
      Nawhhh…. it couldn’t be, right? Special Forces soldiers are still humans. I think Yoo Jin had flat line not because of multiple gun shot wounds (because he was not operated, which means he didn’t have any bullets stuck in his vital inner organs). Maybe because he wore bullet proof vest (as that is the SOP). I think he was unconscious due to loss of blood as he was bleeding a lot. If bullets pass through your body or come in contact with your skin, if not treated fast enough you can die due to massive blood loss. Shock from massive blood loss can trigger cardiac arrest. But…. to be able to get up and walk about? hmm…. Yoo Jin must be something like Rambo + Batman 😀

      • as in other movies or drama, usually when someone under mission they will take full precaution, ‘safety first’. maybe the bullet hit somewhere else but not directly go to his vital inner organs. like he said before in previous episodes, he is an expert soldiers and he will not get himself kill. i think in episode 15, Dae Young will get shot this time. while Yoo Jin being capture as a hostage. Dae Young receive a message from they leader for mission. here, they need to rescue a few members and headed home. but something happen, suddenly, Dae Young being shot from back and Yoo Jin is able to catch him. if i’m not mistaken, there are few scenes come from a preview. someone being shot that time, same like when someone shot his captain during a rescue mission. but, that scene that i saw, seem like, Yoo Jin is sitting inside the helicopter when suddenly someone shot one of his comrade and he collapse. i think that person is Dae Young. Yoo Jin feel sad once again, because he had to face it once again. losing one of his comrades during a duty.

  2. I don’t know how a feint would have worked, but I kind of wish all the potential spoilers that Chinese netizens came up with before were actually applicable, like YSJ getting shot in the heart but living because his organs were flipped or whatever the medical term for that was. I might’ve been more engaged with that storyline. While I still love his character, I’ve never really been concerned for him because through 14 episodes he’s been indestructible, and I’ve never even really considered the fact that he might die.

    Of course, next week might turn that all on its head…

  3. Few things. I think that card was a memory card, not a sim card. Also I believe he left a bug or something allowing the South Koreans to here what was going on. And I think the last monologue was by Doctor Kang. Also I think it’s illegal to reveal state secrets to anyone, even if it’s your wife, let alone girlfriend. His job is that highly dangerous and classified, he really can’t tell her much. Also that soldier had to go to South Korea because he can’t go back into North Korea through Russia or CHina. Ports are apparently closed. And its not like you can walk right back in especially if a high level commander is trying to frame you.

    • I actually thought it was a bug that’d allow the South Koreans to listen in. Shi Jin gave him the cookie containing the bug while in the hospital so that they’d be able to conduct the operation and crack the code on the SD card, resulting in the South Korean side having the upper hand in the negotiations. And maybe he ate the cookie then and there and left behind the bug so that he wouldn’t be accused of spying for the South when he returned to the North?

      • Yes, that is correct. It is a listening device. That’s how Yoo Jin was able to get the password for the memory card. Remember, during their conversation in the CT scan room, YJ told that North Korean soldier that his side has not being able to crack the code.

      • If you review the scene where SJK pulled the trigger, he was wearing listening device. The device and the gun were taken from the men the Alpha Team caught in the rooftop who were supposed to kill the North Korean.

  4. I agree with Song Joong Ki’s summary about DotS in his interview.

    “This is about a love story.”

    That simple statement brilliantly sums up what DotS is all about. It’s not about what the heck has been going on between countries and countries, consistent political schemes from the beginning to the end, unexpected accidents after accidents, or disaster and battles as advertised by promotion. It’s not even about soldiers and doctors’ values, ethics, and morals or any grandiose life philosophy. It’s not about bromance of Alpha team either. Of course all the preceding elements are tactically meshed into the storyline here and there but it doesn’t appear strictly organized or cohesive from episode to episode. Nevertheless, I don’t think these piecemeal plot ingredients are the central theme of the screenplay in the writers’ mind. These chopped subplots are merely woven into the narration of the story mainly to portray how volatile, how precarious, and how dramatic that the OTP are facing through their courtship. To critics, DotS appear to running short of a solid and coherent plot throughout the entire series. For me, the plot is all evolving around love between Shi Jin and Mo Yeon. Everything else by the story design is just dazzling decoration to highlight their love and eventually dimmed out at some point of the series.

    So is there a plot? Obviously yes to me. The plot is very simple – His and her love story. The writers just created random events to make their love story thrilling and interesting to watch.

    • The love story is definitely why this drama is so appealing, and honestly I could happily watch our OTP banter and bicker for 16 episodes. That’s where this show really thrives, so I wish that this episode had had a bit more of that 😛

    • Agree!!!!I was annoyed and disappointed at first because of DoTS’logic, but i am enjoying the loveline of this drama now. It is about love story and it is a melodrama, not a blockbuster. The other things besides, the bromance, the patriotism and the military narratives, are spices. But i love all those spices, because they make such complicated things become so simple and beautiful to watch and understand

      For an Asian viewer like me, there is a lot of precious Asian philosophy that i find in DoTS, and somehow those things seem to be unfamiliar with other culture. But still, i like all opinions and reviews we are sharing here, so different but so interesting to think about. Thanks a lot

  5. The ending of ep 15 preview though. I hope it’s just to troll us again with fake ominous cliffhanger. The ending won’t be satisfying as Jin Goo hinted in his interview if my hero perishes at the end.

  6. The success of a love story turns on the acceptability of the obviously artificial obstacles that the story puts in their way. Or rather, love in a romance *is nothing more* than obstacles creating deeply wanted things. Here, the acceptability is faltering, just as koala discerns, and it does so counterintuitive lily because the product placement seems to make you look too closely at why things happen. Obstacles so quickly removed (MY & SJ) and so intractable to just good ol’ reasoning (the other pair) would still be overlooked if only there wasn’t this other mechanism– PPL– that made you over-scrutinize

  7. If I had to rewrite the episode, injured SJ and the NK soldier would be taken first to some army hospital, where MJ would have tended to them. SJ’s injuries would have been serious enough to warrant a transfer to state of the art Haesang hospital (cue the scene of MY wheeling him from the helipad). MJ and SDY could have worked together to unravel the mystery of the NK soldier and his memory chip, while MY and her medical team would have pooled in their collective experience to pull SJ back from the brink of death.
    I really want the second leads to do something more than mope over each other. Plus it could have linked back to SDY filing for discharge, by showing how good he was at his job and what he was about to sacrifice to be with MJ.

  8. While the issue of the hospital scene was very impossible as a paramedic/nurse I myself have attended to unconcious and drowning patients who recovered well, and having a military uncle from the western country it is true that there is a pill given to special forces which keeps them awake and fit for as long as 72 hrs. Call it superhuman their bodies are trained to hold pain at some untoleravle situations.

    But of course this is still a fictional drama and if we adhere to its storyline its written to make the viewers go gaga over our lead actors. Anyways its still wntertaining and Im in awe with the smooth flow of the characters’ chemistry? still fun to watch and I deeply appreciate how SJK sacrificed himself to shoot the scenes which led his right arm in a cast. Dedication and love for work. All in all it is still a LOVE STORY?

  9. thanks for the recap, its very refreshing. So far the drama have been very unpredictable. One minute we have the two main lead flirting and the next they were facing death. In this episode I just didn’t understand big boss fast recovery mode. A person who just went to cardiac arrest and got more three 3-4 bullets shot couldn’t have been able to just sit up. It’s so unrealistic, even though I was so relieved that he was indeed fine. However there’s a lot of rumors and picture going around Facebook indicating that captain yoo ji sin did die towards the end of the drama. And at this moment I’m on the urge of screaming and pulling my hair lol !! It can’t be, I mean, with a drama being this popular and on top of that its a love story. Fate can’t be that cruel, having them break up once and separating them forever. I have always have this hope and positive energy thinking that the drama will have a happy ending even though it may seem unrealistic as we have seen repetitively soldiers die one after another indicating that soldiers life aren’t stable. But I still to a certain degree, I still hope that we can have a happy ending. Kdrama haven’t had the main lead died for quiet a while now so can’t we just stick to it in this drama. Seeing the picture to the last episode and preview on episode 15 just crushed my hope for happy ending. Do you guys think we will get a happy ending or sad ending in this drama?

  10. Also I know honor and country is important but as dr kang mention, shouldn’t he have comforted her just a bit. I mean his girlfriend is shedding tears and feeling afraid seeing her boyfriend cover in blood. And so far, to me it just felt that for big boss, he is more invested to his work than his girlfriend.
    I guess that what the director want to show us, pride, honorable alpha male putting his life and everything at stake for the sake of his country.

    • I thought that too! I was hoping he would console her a bit more because he just put her through the most traumatic situation ever.

      Regarding happy/sad ending… timing-wise, if they’re showing us in a preview for episode 15 implying YSJ is injured/dead, then what would happen in episode 16 or the epilogue? Because they’ve got to know that no viewer wants to go even 5 minutes w/o YSJ on screen.

      I think it’ll be a sufficiently happy ending. Jin Goo said so – I have to believe him or I’ll dread the ending of this amazing drama.

      • Let’s put our trust in Jin GOD and believe there’s one and only one truth, i.e., our perfect OTP will live happily forever and ever. THE END!

      • You know what? I think when Sergeant Choi went to see Dr Kang, he was going to tell her that SYJ has been held captive somewhere (by IS? Taliban? ) and the army will do everything they can to rescue him.

        I think episode 15 will be about the rescue mission – saving Captain SYJ.

  11. The only reason I believe YSJ won’t die is because if that happens, there will be an actual revolt all throughout China and Korea, buildings will fall, cars will burn, and KES will be blacklisted from the entertainment industry forever.

    • Buhahahahaha…I read a news report that Taiwanese fans already pleaded a happy ending long ago just after a few episodes on air.

    • I laughed so hard when I read your comment particularly the statement “KES will be blacklisted from the entertainment industry forever”. Thanks for the laughter.

  12. Reading all the comments about possible ending of DotS, my imagination went wild. Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps that Alpha teammate of Captain Yoo just reported Shi Jin went missing in next episode and then Shi Jin and Mo Yeon ended up miraculously reuniting again on that beautiful beach in URK…What the heck am I dreaming of? I just can’t take it Jin Goo sorta assured us a happy ending but Captain Yoo will die.

  13. Are you sure that while Shi Jin and Ahn were in the CT scan room, Shi Jin had already cracked the encrypted memory card?

    • No it was not yet decided. They were only able to get the password after listening to the conversation between Ahn and the the North Korean Officer

  14. Thanks for the recap Koala. Yeah I can see some flaws in this episode but the cuteness, romance,lightheartedness and snuggles make up for it. I love this drama, I am very entertained!:)

  15. I was trying to ignore the flaws of this drama how many times but this? Ghaaad! Make my eyes rolled. I was realy so excited to watch this ep but got me pissed at the moment where SJ return to life after his “split second death” Oh man,could you comfort your worrying Girlfriend first by saying simple words like “Im ok,dont worry?”b4 asking someones condition? Com’ on Dr. Kang give him a wake up slap he deserve it!
    And also,both of them are critical right?have gunshot and loss a lot of blood,are they super human?how can they walk and do some hostage drama
    and break some window glasses?(Incredable Hawk are u there?)**rolling eyes**
    I cant handle to watch the final ep of this drama to avoid any heartaches,MY’s voice over make me feel the “Titanic Ending” Poor Dr.Kang.

  16. I too wish for a happy ending but the previews make us now be afraid.

    All the comments about today episode about SJK injury,and recovery is on point, the problem here is the director and writer didn’t know how to deal with SJK real life injuries he suffered during filming. Some scenes where shot prior his accident and that is why all feels so weird.

  17. I just tried to swallow the whole thing about the cardiac arrest scene…even if I am an ER Nurse and I haven’t seen any patient suffered from multiple gunshot wounds and coded and then standing in a few minutes…wahhh..daebak! Captain Yoo is truly indeed a Korean version of Captain America..a drama is still a drama I can’t argue with that…I will let it slide since the rest of the episode was awesome and well delivered for me. I really love Dr. Song and Nurse Ha…for me they’re my new OTP…kudos to DOTS cast and I’m looking forward to the last two episodes…no matter what happen to Capt. Yoo he is still one hell of a Captain in K-drama.

  18. Feel bad for mo yeon. I think I might have slapped him a little at the hospital bed. That face he made when he took of his IV right after mo yeon left him was pure rebellion, he didn’t even look guilty.

    I have come to terms with his super human ability. I am more worried about how the writer can convince me that they are legitly in love. May be it’s a story about love and not a love story like many fans swears on. Then they are gonna cry.

    • He’s a much better at being a soldier than at being a boyfriend. He’s not perfect but Moyeon love him just the same. so do we. Isn’t that love? Caring for that someone despite his imperfections.

      • May be it’s just me but their attraction hasn’t actually surpass the physical point, I can’t see anything behind the cute aegyo and banter. If they ended up breaking up in the end, I wouldn’t really be surprised or too emotional about it. It still would seem natural.

    • Yup, I do feel like that too…it is just a story about love, a slightly different type of melodrama. I guess words uttered by Agus before “one day he’s gone and never come back” do have a strong meaning on YSJ’s career itself. She might be emotional for one night and that’s it. She will continue to live on after worst tragedy that might happen in future. I’m also wouldn’t be much suprised if YSJ character is gonna die or anyone in this drama die soon. It would be natural and fits the drama (I guess)… I’m hoping a strong ending and makes this drama a truly gems in kdrama history.

    • Remember Shi Jin said to his future mom-in-law, “I’m conservative.” Buhahahaha….Perhaps that’s why this man is not so touchy feely like usual K drama male leads. LOL.

    • I don’t think of YSJ’s expression when he took off his IV as “rebellion” – more of a “I’ll do what I have to do” determined look, including disobeying doc’s instruction

  19. ahaha.. i love super shi jin!
    no matter what , i really enjoy this drama so im very happy for what it shown to us.. they did their best so we should just appreciate it..
    thanks for the recap! #DOTS

  20. sigh i guess the SJK pro in us will let his almost obscene ability to heal (as fast as Wolverine) to slide. the talking and walking aft cardiac arrest… man i really nearly fast forwarded that scene. i guess the romantic side of me was at least hoping that the moment he was at death’s door i thought memories of him and moyeon will flash by. i also thought this north korean issue resolved too abruptly.

    only positive was the ending scenes between shijin n MoYeon. and dr song and his nurse relationship, other than that quite a forgettable episode for me. more intriqued with preview for next news. shijin underling seeming to deliver bad news..

  21. For certain, SHK would live since she seems to be the narrator of the story, and she still has the stone from the shipwreck. She would still go back to Urk to return that stone, the question is would SJK be able to go with her?

  22. I’ve given up guessing on the ending of this drama. I’m just gonna enjoy the last two episodes and take it as it comes.

  23. This is not a drama to overthink on. Pop the popcorn and put your feet up and just go with the flow, flaws and all. Most women are in for the romance, most guys for whatever cool action scenes are around.(Ok, I like the action scenes as well.) I actually thought there was a lot of wheel spinning in the Urk scenes so I do appreciate they are trying to show what normality might be back home. I get it; I just don’t think they are doing it all that well but, again, I’m just going with the flow. And, if I may say, that actor who plays the N. Korean solider is seriously smexy.

  24. did anyone else catch that Maldonia is the fictional Eurasian country the Prince was from in Princess and the Frog? 😀

  25. This eps was reali like watchin king 2 hearts. Was the right hand cast sjk had in this eps his cast after getting injured for real while filming? Anyone else noticed that while he n the north korean guy were talking in the CT room, his cast on the right hand was not there?

    • And the cast was there last ep after he brought the drunk Dr. Kang home, but it wasn’t there during the 3 Days 0 Nights drinking binge. 😉

      As I don’t want to open another comment, let me just add my shallow two cents: How effin’ hot is Jin Goo in black and esp. this jacket and well-fitting pants?!

  26. Still have positive thinking about the end of Dots… Yoo Si Jin will still alive no matter how the story goes. He is descendants of the sun right? He always seems to struggle even he is in critical conditions. I don’t believe previews episodes again. Such as in ep 14 preview Yoo Si Jin ended with bloody coverage and in comma, when we saw full eps 14 he came back from cardiac arrest ( that’s amazing ? and I kept thinking where are all his wounds exactly? His chest or his hand? ). I just come to conclusion that the story seems to be hard for doctor kang and capt Yoo ‘s love story. Only 2 episodes left and still so many lacks about their love story. Hope with 2 last episodes the story become better and give the audience and fans so many chances to see capt. Yoo fight for his love not just his country…

  27. I like cool guys but at this point Shi Jin is too laid back for me. He’s too cool… But not in a nice way anymore. I want to see him show a little bit more emotions.

  28. episode 16 – YSJ and KMY go back to the island together to return the rock, and live there happily ever after… the end 🙂 (this is my wish)

  29. Just conveying a possible drama ending I’d read somewhere – that YSJ’s death was fake, he’d gone off on some top-secret mission and MIA for two years, then retired from army and he came back to KMY.

    That’s a good acceptable ending.

  30. i Think now viewer will furious, it will be HAPPY ENDING or BAD ENDING
    did the writer will make one of the character DIE in the end or not

  31. Well, I have to admit that this last 2 episodes where kind of a bucket of cold water to me.

    Let’s start with the returning to Seoul… YSJ and KMY seemed to have lost a little bit of that glow that people in love have, the one that attracted us so much in Urk. I didn’t feel that the progress of their relationship was a natural one for 2 persons that are in love. I mean, YSJ came back, he choses to spend 3 days drinking (???) instead of being with his girlfriend? Ok that was a promise that he made to his friend, but even though… And wow 2 adults don’t even kiss or have some physical contact? Ok, is a K-Drama, but even though, they seemed more like to friends having a good time, than boyfriend and girlfriend. There were some funny moments, and some sweet moments, but it seems so little for a couple that spent 8 episodes going back and forward to finally assume that they like each other.

    Besides that, as I already read in some comment above, YSJ seems to be great doing is job, and really passionate, but as a boyfriend… is lacking something. In the last episode (14), first he almost died, then miraculously he is back to life, even though his heart stopped and he was shot with 3 or 4 gunshots. Seriously? That’s the best that you can do with a full pre-produced drama? More: he wasn’t even operated, and the bullets just…disappeared? And then, he wakes up, ok, her girlfriend is there, sobbing, thinking that he would died, and…he asked for the one who came with him? Not even a word to comfort her? Honestly? If I was KMY, after all that happened until the second half of ep 14, I’ve just give up on a relationship that seems that only me is truly committed to it.

    I’m sorry, but I really don’t understand how YSJ could act like that, after pursuing her as his love interest, for now this? I was so in love with this drama, more for the main couple and second couple, but the last episodes were such a disappointment…

    About the main OTP, honestly, I really don’t believe on them if the say “I love you” to each other. It just, they don’t convince me as a couple right now. It seems that they are never in the same tune, in terms of commitment to their feelings to each other. First was YSJ that seemed so in love, and KMY was running away from her feelings, and I actually get why. No is YSJ that seems a bit cold and committed to other issues (ok, he is good at his job, but even though…), and KMY is the one in love, wanting their relationship to work.

    I still like Descendants of Sun, but is such a pitty that it was such a fantastic drama until the 12th episode, and then 2 episodes so…I even don’t know how to call it! I really hope that the 2 final episodes give us much more, to surpass the last 2 ones that aired. I really hope that YSJ doesn’t die, it will be such a bad final for me and, honestly, would make me to want to forget the whole drama. I really hope that the last two episodes where not the beginning of a very bad finale, but a way of creating low expectations on the funs, so we can be surprised with a wonderful finale!!

  32. I love this episode. it’s so thrilling but at the same time it makes you curious. i love how Si Jin and Ahn could make a chemistry here eventho we know they’re not friends as in ‘friends’ like, you know.

    by the way, kindly visit my blog too josephinethea.blogspot.co.id
    it’s a blog about kdramas too.
    but i’m still newbie and have a lot to learn. i’ll appreciate your kindness to teach me by leaving comments there.

    thankyou so much!

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