Descendants of the Sun Episode 16 Recap

momo

I feel light as a feather writing this recap for the final episode 16 of Descendants of the Sun, a journey that has been equal parts fun and frustrating. It’s nice that both aspects were in play in this last episode but neither side dominated the other, with DotS heading off into the sunset with a soft touch akin to the glide of smooth satin on skin. I commented that this episode couldn’t be worse than episode 15 came true, and in a way that all the little nits were fine to let slide once the general mood reached contentment.

I’m happy to have watched and recapped an event drama for once since my selections are normally the odd and ratings obscure dramas. More meaningful was the unmitigated pleasure to chronicle Song Joong Ki’s rise to mega stardom in real time thanks to a star making performance. It’s nowhere near his best acting, but plenty awesome to warrant his dizzying rise to top Hallyu star. The actual drama ending was a mixed bag if you ask me, some will like the obsessive focus on romantic bows festooned on every couple while others are so distracted by the unholy amounts of PPL to want to move to a forest with no brand products. I found he final 60 minutes just fine, nothing to write home about but enough to bring a satisfied smile to my face.

Episode 16 recap:

Shi Jin miraculously shows up alive on the day of his death anniversary when Mo Yeon is tearfully laying flowers and their rock on his memorial. The lovers reunite in the sun dappled desert amid apologies, tears of disbelief and stunned happiness. Shi Jin verbalizes the obvious which is that he always manages to do incredible feats as he’s yet again survived a sure brush with death.

Shi Jin and Mo Yeon tightly embrace before she snaps and pushes him away to go cry in the corner over how upsetting it is that she’s suffered thinking he died. She even considered being a nun and that would have been such a waste. Shi Jin placates annoyed girlfriend by embracing Mo Yeon again and the couple get around to saying their long overdue I Love Yous.

Myung Joo and Ki Bum are having ramyun when it starts snowing softly outside which is a shock since it never snows in Urk. Just like how so many things in this drama never happen in real life, yes. Myung Joo is outside in the snow when Dae Young walks towards her with his arm in a sling and looking like he crawled out of a North Korean camp. Myung Joo stares in shock as Dae Young stops before her and the two tearfully drink in each other.

Dae Young is sorry for his late response but his answer is – he’s not breaking up with her, he will never break up with her until he dies. Myung Joo smacks him angrily and then Dae Young tries to pull her in for a kiss but she’s so distraught she keeps pummeling.

Eventually Dae Young gets his smexy bruised kiss on and Myung Joo stops hitting her poor suffering returned from the dead boyfriend and kisses him back.

Ki Bum is now a superior officer and ordering the new soldiers on getting ready for their daily mission. As the soldiers head out Dae Young walks into the barracks and smiles at Ki Bum. Poor Ki Bum breaks into sobbing tears and gosh he’s so adorable and heartfelt. Dae Young pulls him in for a hug and asks for the results of the exam. Ki Bum says he passed and is now a high school graduate. Dae Young hugs him again.

Myung Joo takes off Dae Young’s dog tag and places it around his neck. She shaves him, and maybe that’s not needed because scruffy Dae Young is surprisingly even hotter. Dae Young says he couldn’t die even when he was supposed to and Myung Joo believes that because she saw a snow that couldn’t have happened. She thought she used up a lifetime’s luck already but clearly there was more.

Myung Joo asks about Shi Jin and heard that the men reported their return to the superior officers and got the whereabouts of Myung Joo and Mo Yeon. He came to Urk while Shi Jin went to Albania to look for Mo Yeon. She asks how they survived and hears that the enemy forces captured them before the explosion.

Shi Jin and Dae Young were tortured and jailed for a hundred and fifty days in an unknown location. Then masked men came to execute them in jail but were killed by the arriving North Korean Commander Ahn. We see a flashback of Commander Ahn vowing to repaying Shi Jin for the cookie, i.e. helping him. Awwww, I like his involvement in saving the men even if it’s yet another far fetched likelihood. Continuity over plausibility is high in these recent episodes.

Shi Jin tells Mo Yeon the story as well, ending with his rescue by a far away friend. Shi Jin teases that his doctor girlfriend pushed him on a bed and he got all excited but Mo Yeon just hugs him knowing the ordeal he went through. We see all the torture and getting shot scenes from earlier in this drama and Shi Jin really has been through a lot. Shi Jin promises this is it, there will be no more of this going forward, but Mo Yeon doesn’t believe him. I don’t either – sexy flirt and constantly in danger comes as a package with him.

Shi Jin asks about the food laying around and hears that today is his death anniversary. Mo Yeon wonders if maybe…..and asks a volunteer colleague if he sees Shi Jin, clearly checking if he’s a ghost and is relieved that another person can see Shi Jin. He asks if she’s trying to kill him a second time by turning him into a ghost. She wheels the memorial altar food over for Shi Jin to eat his own offering lol, telling him to enjoy regardless of whether he’s human or a ghost since it’s for him. He’s impressed she’s prepared such a spread, even including red wine.

Mo Yeon gets a video call from back home in Hae Sung hospital with everyone gathered around to greet her. They ask Mo Yeon to change her angle for better lighting and she turns the camera so that inadvertently everyone can see Shi Jin in the background eating.

Everyone is shocked and wondering if they are seeing things, especially with Shi Jin eating his own altar food on his death anniversary. This is so hilarious and poor Dr. Song even faints from the horror as everyone back at Hae Sung freaks out.

Mo Yeon is having a laugh while Shi Jin can’t believe she’s killing him for the third time playing this joke. Mo Yeon thinks her team is super adorable. Chi Hoon gets back on the video feed and fearfully tells Mo Yeon to just say how much she misses and loves Shi Jin ghost and tell him not to have any lingering regrets and leave to a brighter place. They tell Mo Yeon that Shi Jin’s ghost is right behind her and she needs to send him to heaven.

Mo Yeon brings the video to Shi Jin and he greets the Hae Sung team cheerfully and confirms he’s alive. Mo Yeon promises to explain fully when she gets back to Seoul.

Shi Jin and Dae Young return to Korea and walk up to salute General Yoon who breaks protocol and hugs them both, thanking them for coming back alive. Colonel Park tries to act gruff but also holds back tears before he starts crying by himself as everyone has walked off.

Dae Young and Shi Jin are welcomed happily by the rest of Alpha Team and Colonel Park calls out that they’re temporary assignment is to write a report on their captivity thicker than the bible which gets the guys to stop their cheerful celebration which excludes him.

Shi Jin and Dae Young are sitting in the army office writing reports, going through their recollection of the men who captured them and who did what torture on them. Shi Jin thinks whatever they write will be believed so they need to make it believable and dramatic. It’s too embarrassing to write that they got beat up daily so they should mention trying to fight back once a week and trying to escape once a month.

Shi Jin takes off leaving the writing to Dae Young, explaining that it is better for one person to write it otherwise the details might not match up. Not to mention Myung Joo is still in Urk while Shi Jin’s girlfriend is in Seoul so he’ll leave the report in Dae Young’s capable hands.

Shi Jin meets up with Mo Yeon at the coffee shop where she broke things off with him and both remember that night. Mo Yeon adds that she might break up with him here today. He hopes she’s joking and mentions his psychological trauma. Mo Yeon asks seriously what he’s going to do about his job of going to the department store. Does he still want to be a hero? Shi Jin explains that no soldier goes into a mission thinking of becoming a hero. He was just trying to keep the peace.

Mo Yeon confirms he wants to keep doing it and doesn’t intend to object, she just needs to accept that one day he may not come back. She doesn’t like it but will support him because she also supports keeping the peace. He thanks her and then apologizes, he can only keep apologizing. Mo Yeon suggests going fishing tomorrow to help him heal, she’ll aegyo and be super supportive and he’ll feel like the luckiest guy alive to have a girlfriend like him.

Mo Yeon and Shi Jin are sitting by the lake and she’s already impatient that not a fish has nibbled in two hours. Mo Yeon plays with her super cool smart watch to find another fishing spot nearby using their GPS coordinates. Shi Jin just wants to relax and doesn’t want to move around, suggesting another activity when it’s so cold out, such as finding a spot to lay around.

Mo Yeon agrees but insists that he doesn’t get too close to her, but then Mo Yeon is distracted when a fish bites. After catching the fish she puts on gloves to clean it, muttering about how a special forces guy can’t clean and gut a fish. Mo Yeon laughs at how cute squeamish Shi Jin is about killing fish.

Later that night in the tent Mo Yeon is checking for hotels on Hotels Combined, and since it’s the second PPL in that many episodes I’ll refer to it. Shi Jin mentions big comfy beds but Mo Yeon wants as small a bed as possible which upsets Shi Jin wondering who gave Mo Yeon such naughty ideas while he was gone. Mo Yeon takes out their Urk rock and wants to put it back, while he was gone she made plans to go back but always cancelled.

Mo Yeon wants to go back now with Shi Jin but tells him to wait, she’ll just tell him “now” when she’s ready to go. She wants him to endure the waiting without an end in sight. Shi Jin snuggles closer claiming he doesn’t know the delineation line between them. He puckers up for a kiss and is rejected by Mo Yeon who pats him on the head.

Dae Young takes a call from Myung Joo during a break from tying up the report, happy to hear her voice. Myung Joo asks Ki Bum every morning when she wakes up whether it was a dream that Dae Young came back, and she needs to hear his voice to feel reassured. Dae Young is happy to talk to him but tomorrow he can’t because there is a celebration ceremony. Myung Joo looks upset and asks who it is?

Shi Jin and Alpha Team prepare for the arrival, looking like intense special forces soldiers. Except the arrival is of pop group Red Velvet, lol, and the girls head into the auditorium to perform for the gathered soldiers.

The soldiers cheer wildly as Red Velvet performs. Shi Jin hands a balloon to Dae Young who waves it like a mad man while Shi Jin takes a placard and raises it high over his head. The soldiers sing and dance along with the girls and then Shi Jin and Dae Young take a selfie with the girls behind them on the stage.

The video of their raucous concert hits the internet and reaches Mo Yeon who watches his eyes narrowed at how her man is certainly protecting the peace right now before she clenches her fist on the crumpled water bottle in her hand.

Mo Yeon gets made up for her television appearance and asks the host to pose a question today about whether she has a boyfriend. As the show wraps up, the host asks whether Mo Yeon has a boyfriend and she laughs coyly before saying she’s too busy to have a boyfriend.

Shi Jin watches the program on Mo Yeon’s sofa and calls her out on saying she has no boyfriend. Mo Yeon thinks she’s being in sync with Shi Jin who partied like he had no girlfriend at the idol concert.

Myung Joo is shoveling food in her mouth in Urk while calling Dae Young to remark on how good of a dancer he is. Dae Young claims it was just editing and Shi Jin uses the same excuse. They claim that all the cheering was when their commanding officer appeared. Neither Myung Joo nor Mo Yeon buy the lame excuse, and Myung Joo warns Dae Young that she has another 157 days before she returns to Seoul and will use it to think of ways to kill him when she gets back.

Shi Jin tries to take the offensive by claiming he didn’t commit a crime and it’s just stupid guy reaction. He wants Mo Yeon to be rational now and admits that he did it all because of Red Velvet. Mo Yeon wants to smack her Captain only to hear that he’s not a Captain anymore and just got a promotion to Major which makes her smile.

Major Yoo Shi Jin receives his promotion as new insignias are pinned on his uniform by General Yoon. Shi Jin thinks that he lives in the only nation in the world that is still fractured by war and his goal is to help the children, woman, and elderly. We see Shi Jin helping random people and time passes as he spends time in Seoul while Mo Yeon remains hard at work as a doctor.

Myung Joo returns to Seoul months later and in her first dinner with Dae Young turns all aegyo and admits she missed him so much. Dae Young plans to visit the General tomorrow with her holding her hand. He won’t take off his army uniform unless she wants him to and will tell her dad as much. Myung Joo is ecstatic and wants to drink more and Dae Young relents because she hasn’t imbibed in two seasons.

Dae Young and Myung Joo stand before General Yoon to have two cups of tea. He orders tea and then stares at their joined hands. Myung Joo is surprised he wants to report first rather than do, shouldn’t they do first and then report?

Dae Young tells General Yoon that he never regretted being a soldier even when he was a POW and the army shouldn’t lose a soldier like him. He asks General Yoon to accept that. General Yoon says it’s not his acceptance, the country has already accepted Dae Young and he’s proud to have him as a son-in-law. He’s very happy with Dae Young’s choice to stay in the military and sorry for his earlier objection. Myung Joo tearfully hugs her dad who then glares at Dae Young with a warning that he’s entrusting his daughter to him.

Myung Joo visits Mo Yeon in the hospital and the two smile at each other, with Mo Yeon teasing that they are always meeting because of a guy. Mo Yeon is thrilled to hear from Myung Joo that her war is over, she got approval from her dad.

Myung Joo hands over a Christmas card from the little teen girl that Mo Yeon helped in Urk. The little girl writes that she’s learning Korean and wants to be a doctor one day like Mo Yeon. She smiles that the money spent was worth it.

Chi Hoon gathers Nurse Ha and Min Ji to watch the latest news from Urk, including the little boy who finally got his goat. The little boy is about to give his name when the boat bleats and cuts him off so Chi Hoon changes it to his headphones to try and hear it but he can’t catch it over the audio.

Nurse Ha asks Chi Hoon not to turn off the computer which belongs to Dr. Song and afterwards she opens the file on the computer that Dr. Song asked her to delete if he died. She sees in shock that it’s all childhood pictures of her growing up until she’s an adult.

Nurse Ha wanders the airport in a daze and is bumped by another guy. Dr. Song runs up to help her but she claims to be just tired. Dr. Song asks if she looked at his file and then moved it to trash. He explains that he’s loved her from when she was 10 to 30 years old. She thinks it’s just sympathy but he really loves her. Nurse Ha says she should be the one confessing before running off with Dr. Song chasing.

Mo Yeon has Shi Jin driving her new car Big Boss and he asks if she likes him so much that she named her car after him code name. Mo Yeon wants him to drive her Big Boss because she’ll ruin it if she drives and her Big Boss can’t get banged up.

They park at a car wash and Shi Jin gets out to wash the metal Big Boss while muttering about his romantic plans for today getting scuttled. Mo Yeon gets out to join him and Shi Jin hands her the hose which she promptly sprays ice cold water on him. Mo Yeon drapes her coat over Shi Jin with a smile and he compliments her on looking sexiest when she’s smiling. Nice random car commercial, drama.

Dae Young stares at his food in the commissary and tells Myung Joo that it’s harassment as we see her legs stroking his under the table. He just wants to eat his food in peace but she’s happy to be right beside him finally.

Myung Joo hands over a wedding invitation for Daniel and Ye Hwa who are getting married in Vancouver. Everyone in the medical team gets an invitation which includes airfare and a paid stay at the hotel. The team discuss how Ye Hwa’s father was a North Korean Oriental medicine doctor who treated everyone included rebel soldiers and the whole family except for Ye Hwa got killed by the Russian government. Daniel saved Ye Hwa and escaped to an embassy in Canada. But there was no way to ask for asylum because she had no statehood so Ye Hwa married Daniel on paper, but now they are getting married for real.

Dae Young brings up his last letter to Myung Joo and hears that she didn’t read it. He reads it to her now, explaining that he loves her whether he’s dead or alive. She takes out the letter and reads it, confirming that Dae Young really did memorize the whole letter because he’s written it so many times.

Dae Young calls all the soldiers in the commissary to order, telling everyone lower ranked than him to close their eyes before standing up to kiss Myung Joo on the forehead. Myung Joo also orders everyone lower ranked than her to close their eyes before walking over to kiss Dae Young as all the soldiers cheer.

Shi Jin and Mo Yeon discuss who to give wedding presents to and since most are being sent to Daniel Mo Yeon wants to send her to Ye Hwa. He asks if she’s forgotten ruining Daniels’ car and she barks back that she’s paying for it still monthly.

Shi Jin notices the picture on the fridge of Mo Yeon speaking at her graduation and asks why her? Mo Yeon is going to her hoobae’s graduation to support them because she’s a sunbae who brought honor to the school. She asks if Shi Jin is going home and he’s got no plans to leave anytime soon.

A new class of doctors is graduating as well as a new class of army soldiers. Mo Yeon and Shi Jin attend the ceremonies and think of all they’ve done as a doctor and soldier, respectively.

Mo Yeon feels rejuvenated with the graduating pledges of the doctors in promising to save lives. She walks to work and places a call saying “now”.

Shi Jin and Mo Yeon fly back to Urk and return to the island with the beach wrecked ship. They return the rock and she teases him for ruining her chance to come here with another guy. Mo Yeon snaps a picture of Shi Jin standing there explaining that she only had his x-ray and is tired of looking at it. Shi Jin chases after Mo Yeon as they run around the beach. She asks when they are leaving and he points to their little boat and says when the boat turns into the same as the stranded ship.

It’s nightfall as Shi Jin and Mo Yeon sit on the ship. She takes a swig of red wine and asks if he really isn’t going to drink since it’s so delicious. He really wants to drink red wine but can’t since he’s steering the ship. Mo Yeon takes a drink and turns to him with a smirk, asking him that there is a way for him to drink it. She laughs before admitting that her heart was beating so much when he kissed her that time. Shi Jin admits his heart is beating wildly right now sitting here with her.

They see a shooting star streak by and Mo Yeon is wowed by her first shooting star sighting as Shi Jin asks if she made a wish? Mo Yeon already made a wish and tells him to pluck a star for her. Shi Jin already plucked a star and it’s sitting beside him. Mo Yeon wants him to say more and Shi Jin says the star is super bright and made his life even brighter. He doesn’t know how a woman like this came into his life? She asks if he was an officer in his last life and in this life his job is to keep the country safe. He thinks it’s only by doing this tough job did he have a chance to meet a woman like her.

Shi Jin wants to know what Mo Yeon’s wish is and her wish is for this man beside her to kiss her? Can he make her wish come true? Shi Jin leans in to kiss Mo Yeon as they lovers finally get their happy ending.

Shi Jin and Mo Yeon end their kiss and Shi Jin says “I love you” while Mo Yeon replies “Me, too.” She then adds “I love you, this is my answer.”

Shi Jin and Mo Yeon continue their kissing.

Mo Yeon takes out money from the ATM using her cell phone as she heads off to Daniel and Ye Hwa’s wedding, while Min Ji wires the money to the couple directly on her phone app. Thanks phone PPL!

Everyone is sitting down to the wedding reception and the ladies are all begrudging Dae Young for catching the wedding bouquet which he has a death grip on. Shi Jin wants Dae Young to get rid of the bouquet while Myung Joo brings up how Dae Young has fond memories of weddings.

Chi Hoon walks up to address the camera on what a great ending this is for everyone to use hard work and perseverance to get their happy ending.


Suddenly there is a blackout and after the lights come back up people scream that there is a volcano explosion. Everyone readies to get back to disaster relief effort mode. Mo Yeon looks at her high heels ready to snap it off while Shi Jin gripes about the big report he’s going to have to write before he gets up to head into action.

The final scene is of the doctors and soldiers striding purposefully towards helping those in need.

Thoughts of Mine:

To the relief of some and the sadness of others, Descendants of the Sun ended at a short and sweet 16 episodes as planned and promised. That it never tried to drag a good thing on was much appreciated, but then the final four episodes already felt like it was appended on like an awkward accessory to what was a nicely assembled outfit. I enjoyed the final episode for 60 minutes worth of wrap up without another death fake out, an entire episode worth of epilogue if you will for those who love extra goodies. If I was the drama editor the series would have ended at the end of 12, or even at the end of 15 with a better explanation for Shi Jin’s survival return. Petering out on a low energy note sucks the momentum from this buzzy drama, but even noticing and feeling the slowing crawl didn’t ruin the enjoyment for me as I said goodbye. I liked episode 16 despite finding it fairly unnecessary, it didn’t hurt my intelligence, the PPLs were so gratuitous as to be amusing, and the pretty people and scenery remained at high decibels. With everyone getting happy endings it’s hard to be grumpy, and this time I’ll dice and slice with analysis while happily chowing down on the bowl of contentment.

Shi Jin and Dae Young’s survival was way better explained than the abrupt ridiculous set up of their supposed death. Being hidden POWs and even bringing back awesome Commander Ahn to bust them out gave me the answers I needed, but doesn’t wash away the stench of lazy writing in reusing a main lead death fake out two times in a row. The resolution of Shi Jin and Dae Young’s future as special forces soldiers remained like a leaf fluttering in the wind – they will continue to serve and protect while Myung Joo and Mo Yeon just accept it, like accepting an particularly uncomfortable physical condition like psoriasis or irritable bowel syndrome. It’s not life threatening but always looming for an outbreak. The pragmatic in me sees that Shi Jin’s promotion, as well as the men aging out of top Rambo form, will eventually move them off the front lines. So here’s to hoping that they are not in peril during any mission until they are the one directing from the safety of the commander’s chair. Mo Yeon and Myung Joo’s professional arc didn’t wrap up beyond they continue to be capable doctors, which is all that’s needed to what has been a decent focus on successful women with their own career achievements. I like the time spent showing us their medical skills and competency under duress, and it’s something Shi Jin and Dae Young recognize and appreciate that their ladies are just as awesome, if not more, than they are.

The best parts of DotS were the Urk section in the middle, especially the earthquake and its aftermath. There was a humanistic element that did come through despite simplistic storytelling, with the cast working seamlessly within the story to focus on the medical and rescue efforts without just selling the romance in a disaster zone. The blips like Chi Hoon’s overly intense self-flagellation and Angus with his band of cartoonish mercenary brothers never overwhelmed the overall premise to show soldiers who are righteous and courage and the medical personnel who rise to the challenge even if they are coddled city types. The overseas shoot was maximized to full advantage and every penny delivered in visual impression. I liked the camaraderie within the medical team and the brotherhood of the soldiers, and the ways both sides meshed or butted heads were all developed well. The return to Seoul in the final four episodes messed up the flow as scenes felt written about PPL or with said PPL inserted to a distracting degree. The dialogue remained standard Kim Eun Sook fare and the acting continued to lift scenes up from sinking below the weight of too much manufactured artifice. Too bad the background music throughout the drama remained too obtrusive and too much of it, restraint would have benefited to dial down the excess cheesy and allow the sincere heart to shine through. In the end it took watching on mute at times to better appreciate the connection just from the fantastic acting of all four leads.

Drama picking may be a fine art rather than a scientific endeavor with formulas to follow, but if ever there was a safe bet project it’s Kim Eun Sook and very few other K-drama scriptwriters can claim as much. Song Joong Ki elevated DotS the most for me, and judging from his insane popularity in Chinese speaking countries the sentiment is shared, he mitigated the overly corny and smoothed out the narrative bumps of absurdity. Song Hye Kyo delivered everything she needed to do as the leading lady, I really liked her performance here and don’t recall ever seeing her prettier than in many scenes in this drama. Jin Goo and Kim Ji Won were twin pillars of solid connection, they had chemistry and acting cohesion, too bad their characters didn’t quite soar beyond their father-blocked romance aspect. For a more satisfying romantic meal it would have to be Shi Jin and Mo Yeon, taking us from dramatic first attraction all the way to a conscious choice to be with each other. It wasn’t particularly angsty as they communicated like adults, and I never bought Shi Jin’s brushes with death so didn’t worry about that possibility however much it was force fed to audiences. At least Myung Joo and Dae Young’s arc got real closure as daddy dearest openly accepted his military son-in-law even if he wasn’t officer trained.

My favorite two scenes in this episode were when the medical team in Seoul thought Shi Jin’s ghost was haunting her, followed by the soldiers attending the Red Velvet concert going from commando to fanboy mode. I know the romance should be satisfying but honestly I was emotionally detached from both couples after three episodes of emotional manipulation. I’m still happy with the endings and the final scene of Shi Jin and Mo Yeon back on the stranded ship island was too beautiful for words, but it was like observing and appreciating a painting from an objective distance. Kim Eun Sook likes to add a teeny twist to her drama endings, not all the time but often enough that the way DotS ended with the volcano eruption in Vancouver was goofy enough to work as self-aware parody. When Chi Hoon broke the fourth wall and talked to the camera that was the only time I was surprised in the final episode, and he’s the perfect cutie pie character to sell this scene. For those who overlooked many instances of shoddy situational writing in this drama by claiming it’s just a love story, that’s not really valid because the drama ending was all about the duties of doctors and soldiers to heal and serve. The romance was within the context of all that healing and serving and not the end all be all, in which case Kim Eun Sook is pretty bad at writing serious stuff and should count her lucky stars that the leads sold the romance aspect so well it could be used as an excuse for the failing elsewhere. All in all, DotS is an indisputable success and leaves with a positive impression in my mind and a mostly warm and fuzzy feeling in my heart.

Click here to watch Descendants of the Sun.


Comments

Descendants of the Sun Episode 16 Recap — 120 Comments

    • “My operation was always about running away. You, who’s more courageous than anyone, loved me very much, who is more cowardly than anyone. I want to thank you and apologise to you. If… you are reading this will, I, the cowardly one, will remain as a painful memory until the end. Do not forgive me. And, as much as I always thought of you, I hope you will live a happy love. I love you with all my heart Yoon Myeong Joo. That will never change, whether I live or die.”

  1. So no proper explanation about their whereabouts! How did shi jin and dae young survive the explosion?? what were they doing for a whole year?? how come they were full of scars and the next scene they are clean and pretty?? the last episode didn’t bring much new to the table except giving the couples a fluffy happy ending.

    • I thought they already explain about how they survive from the explotion and what they doing in one year. Both dae yong & si jin has expalin it. Dae yong has explain it to Myeong joo that they survived from the explosion due to the militan ( i think the militan is the enemy) has dragged them into the bunker and they become the hostage, i think it takes more than a month. Then si jin explained to mo yeon that lieutenant Ahn has saved them from the militan to pay them back for saved him before. Then for the rest of month, i think they try to recover them self from the injured before back to korea, as they don’t want to make other worries.

  2. I’m too lazy at this wee hour so I just copy pasted my comment from another thread.

    LOL @ all the ending spoilers. The finale is totally fluffy. Now I can safely say for sure that DotS is 60% rom com + 30% action + 10% Rambo/Iron Man. I think the first 12 episode could have been a complete mini series and wish they could have extended to either 18 or 20 eps. I wish there was more extension to fill out the backstory of missing storyline such as how seriously injured (if not critical with gun shot wounds) Si Jin and Dae Young survived the ordeal of being captured and got healed. The N. Korean special forces captain came to rescue seemed a bit of out of blue and it would have been better if they had given an explanation in the drama. I feel that it’s a bit running out of air time so that may have just edited out many scenes since they also need to squeeze in product placement in appropriate scenes that have to take place in non combat zones. LOL

    What I love this drama most is all the banter and farce. My favorite part is Si Jin’s feast on ceremonial food behind Mo Yeon through Ji Hoon’s webcam. The shot was epic and so LOLable. hahahaha

    Although there’re noticeable flaws in the last few episodes, DotS is still my favorite drama in the latest years. Kudos to the hard work and talents of the production team and the cast.

  3. I tend to avoid commenting on this particular drama thread so far because while I have loved this drama, my love for it was on moderate level. So, I’ve been silently watching and reading all the stuff out there but my response was always like lukewarm water running compared to the flood of excitement in each thread. I break silence finally but will keep it short and on point. They get captured, are kept as hostage, tortured and are rescued with minimum physical damage and no PTSD. These are not soldiers, these are demi-gods sired by The Sun God himself hence the name of the drama. Too bad they forgot to add that part as an epilogue. I am disappointed. Fluff works but extreme fluff is not okay. For me, this show ended 4 episodes ago. Goodbye drama, it was fun watching you until you went cray cray on me.

  4. Till its very (lackluster and unimaginative) end this show remains true to its unorganically, sloppy, even bad writing which left too many questions unanswered. (How come the North Korean guy of all people finds those two, when their own country gave up on them? Is there no backlash in the Korean media?! A vulcano? Really? What about PTSD? Does it really take only 30 seconds to overcome a year of mourning?)

    Only good scene in this ep was the ghostly return via face talk. The rest were plotless scenes written around PPL, labored references to earlier episodes, and a prolonged waiting for *gasp* THE last kiss.

    Song Joong Ki made me watch this show and it will take a long time to recover.

    Song Hye Kyo, I don’t know what to make of you. Looking good while crying is not acting. I tried many of your shows, but you are like a wall to me. I feel nothing watching you, I don’t like your unmodulated voice and your whole acting feels flat to me, delivering many scenes in a wrong way. You are the reason why I didn’t feel the OTP, only SJK’s part, although even he lacked some depth this time.

    Oh well, it’s finally over.

    • i think its more the character that turn you off.her character was a way too much annoying,brat,and childish airhead for a doctor.she was the most of the time just a crying damsel-in-distress.also some expressions of her that was really irritating for me was the way she open her eyes and her mouth like a fish all the time..same expression.it is the first time i see her acting and i didn’t like it…maybe i should watch some other works of her..

    • Well, you must have suffered a lot watching all the 16 episodes. LOL…I’m a bit amused by how you’ve tortured yourself. If I were you, I’d have dropped DotS long ago as what I did with Come Back Mister. I think you’re very different from me and perhaps many others. I won’t give any dang sh*t attention to a drama if I dislike that female lead so much, as I did with the female lead of CBM (forgot her name and nor do I bother).

    • @andi – the character is only the icing on the cake. She is like this in every part I saw her in.

      @Drama2016 – as I see it there are some dramas you just have to watch, to know how the fandom works and thinks. Consider it a job to be done. But rest assured I skipped most from the horrible ep 3 till they returned to Seoul as it was pretty much unwatchable to me. The ff-button was my friend. But the last eps I skipped nothing as I wanted to understand how this writer ticks and why so many people adored this show, because there is just no consecutive plot line. It must be the pretty faces, as I am guilty, too, watching this show only for SJK’s scenes, only wasn’t he pretty enough to make me love him so much that I could overlook the gaping holes.

    • Ditto. Especially song hye kyo’s acting. After a certain point, if your best attribute is ‘you’re pretty’ you gotta rise above it.

      • I also sufferered watching this drama, and skipped scenes since ep 5 and read recaps to tell me off I needed to watch the episode at all. The last 4 episodes I FF entirely. But once I started it, I had to know how it ended in case the show ever redeemed itself. Plus I’m in a dry spell as most of the dramas airing aren’t captivating me either so I just picked the worst of three evils.

    • SHK had by far the best acting in the show, both emotional and the range of her acting. It’s amazing to be me that people deny that and feel nothing. MY was also the character with the most growth and depth throughout the whole drama. SJK is cute and very charming, but his character was about as deep as a puddle.

      • Amen on SJK character. He did not have any character development, ANY. I guess he was supposed to have started off as the perfect human being therefore there isnt a need for him to improve, but it only makes YSJ a very predictable and boringly perfect character. He went through mission after mission with the same ethics and values and also superpower and spot on decision makings, everytime. And at the end of each mission, he was still the same guy as he was before. Not that I dont like the aegyos and his jokes, but there should have been more.
        And in comparison, MY grew and changed, albeit for the benefit of the soldier, into a more understanding and mature woman. And these cant be done without her great acting.

    • @Newbie you took words out of my mouth lol.She is exactly like a wall as you said.I really wanted to watch this drama considering the rating and all,but phew the girl can’t act.She has this monotonous tone and almost gives no facial expressions.If only this was someone else I would have loved it maybe,given how many times I Wanted to watch a SJK drama.Hmm.Glad that finally it’s over.

      • Ditto on that. I enjoy SJK, he’s a solid actor. SHK on the other hand is undeniably beautiful but her acting makes me think of ‘talking wallpaper’.

  5. Ms. Koala, I agree or disagree with you regarding “..the drama ending was all about the duties of doctors and soldiers to heal and serve. The romance was within the context of all that healing and serving and not the end all be all,…” It may appear that way incorporating valedictories of both military and med school in the finale. But I rarely (perhaps sometimes) felt that the storyline is focused on those high values. I think the highlight of these professional ethics and moral standards at certain points of the narratives is mainly to portray the characters of the OTP. For me, this is almost 100% romance , a love story between Si Jin and Mo Yeon. It’s a rom com with a lot of unexpected twists to make it more fun to watch and root for the OTP. For that purpose, it would be hard to elaborate any serious life lessons.

    • see while i agree with you that the drama wasn’t more than a romance, i do think the writer Kim Eun Sook was trying to make it the former like what Koala said, which just shows how much of a failure as a writer she is on the serious, meaningful, elevated parts to tie it all together more cohesively. she may be no better than a fan fic writer, but she’s certainly a genius in how she’s been able to capitalize on it hugely.

  6. Thank you for recapping this drama Ms. Koala. I have read all 16 of your recaps and I have truly enjoyed each one of them. I am with you in saying that Joong Ki elevated this drama to the next level. The guy is very charismatic and I am very much drawn to his characters whether it be Kang Maru,Wolf Boy or SJ. SJ and MY are my favorite OTP ever!
    I also love the part about SJ’s ghost eating the ceremonial meal. The medical team was hilarious. The Urk boy with no name is also a good touch. This show is fluffy, romantic and with a little bit of that human touch, favorite part is the earthquake scene. All in all it really has entertained me and I don’t mind bingeing on it again. I can just fast forward the PPL part. 🙂

  7. We should get a wedding ceremony scene in this final episode at least for one of the two couples there, not just a mere kiss scene haha

  8. I feel betrayed. I really really like the ending. For me it was the best.
    But I’m only asking this. Where is the bed scene from the preview of episode 15. I’ve watched twice episode 16 and 15 and didn’t find this one?
    Anyone can help?;P

  9. KSE definitely learned a lot from her previous dramas. This ending was all fun which is not a bad thing. I think they could have eliminated the filler stuff in episodes 13-15 and focused more on how DY/SJ escaped and what they were doing all this time in between escaping and returning to their loved ones. This series is definitely a woman’s show. Women have all the power.
    A few comments about the finale:
    -Snow reunion between DY and MJ and DY & KB had more impact than SJ and MY’s reunion.
    -Why is DY the only one who looks like hell after escaping death? SJ looked like he was barely conscious before being bombed by the enemies but yet no signs of serious injury when he reunites with MY.
    -DY and SJ fanboy was hilarious. A totally different side of DY.
    -MJ drinking out of a bigger glass than DY and telling her dad that she was pregnant. Later not satisfied with the forehead kiss and plants a big one on DY. This girl is awesome.
    -Second OTP was on fire this episode. Took a bit of thunder from the main OTP.
    -So much PPL that you can probably drown from it.
    -Alpha team is love. Would love to see them again.

  10. I’m happy that this drama has ended, and with no lingering feeling after. I mean, after all KES’s drama, I learn to not expect too much.
    Here are the best of this drama(for me):

    Best Actor among: Jin Goo (Joong Ki doesn’t do his full potential here)
    Best aspect: brotherhood (KiBum-DaeYong, ShiJin-DaeYong, ShiJin-Officer Ahn)
    Directing: Very Good
    Visual: Very Pleasant
    Writing: …don’t expect logic for the non logical…
    Soundtrack: Xia Junsu (whose voice has been lingering ever since 8th episode, but no OST released until recently),
    Music: …I don’t remember unless the thriller music…
    Lingering Memories: Jin Goo dancing to Dumb Dumb

  11. All I have to say is it didnt get worse than ep 15.
    I really believe the writer wanted it to be more than a love story, but failed. Not just because of the ending, but the title!! ‘Descendents of the sun’ is such a patriotic title, I was already anticipating it to be focusing on people serving their nations, before episode 1 even aired. And then I got confused as I watch because it kinda derailed.
    You have said most of my thoughts so I will end it here. While this drama make it to my top 10 bc of Song-song, it will stay either at no. 10 or 9 and will never rise any higher. It’s a real example of how good casting, good acting, good script and good production have been wasted on terribly and lazily written story.

  12. This drama could have ended in ep. 12-16, any of the episodes.

    I would have liked a *tiny* bit more closure for SJ/MY (engagement please??) but they really have come full circle from the beginning. SJ is on the path of advancement, and won’t die and will soon be off the fields…so I’m not too worried about him. He is what he is and will always help people. I still feel rather bad that MY has to endure such a life, but I also think she’s capable and will be fine even if he does happen to die. She’s done it once before, she’ll do it again. She’ll live happily with the time she has with him, and if he dies then so be it. She’ll carry on in his memory making his proud.

    I felt like this episode was a series of cute events more than an episode, but I still really enjoyed the ending and how it brought everything together.

  13. Yeah too many flaw in this drama but I think lot from u forget,with so huge budget for this drama and some body throw and reject this drama before,that is the reason why (I think) the maker from this drama have lost they confident for this drama.
    they could made this drama become 20 or even more than that but it more like gambling and so fatal if it lost. At list no one death is ok for me. I still can’t stop laugh if I remain song joong ki and ji goo dance and That concert
    LOL

  14. I’ve been reading your recaps for some time now but this is my first time commenting on one. I think that after all this time, I should at least leave one comment, as I’ve always more or less agreed with you. It was such a pleasure finding there is (are, as I also read the comments) another person out there who at times thought just like me while watching some particular scenes of DOTS.

    To be honest, after watching the last episode yesterday night, I had mixed feelings. I wasn’t totally satisfied, nor was I completely disappointed. I think it had a lot to do with some of the funniest scenes in last night’s episode. Although the ceremonial food eating scene was funny, the fact that the whole scene was played off purposefully to BE funny put a damper on the fun for me. I really can’t wrap my head around the fact that the medical team would have a reaction like that. I mean, Mo Yeon suffered for a whole year because of her supposedly dead boyfriend. They certainly should have reacted way more dramatically (and definitely more seriously) than that.

    The funniest part for me was definitely the Red Velvet concert, with Si Jin fanboying hard and Dae Young dancing enthusiastically… all with a straight face! LOL now that was pure genius. As for the subsequent jealous girlfriends’ tongue lashings and petty vengeance on TV… that felt terribly repetitive to me, and not that original (and let’s not get started on that video that Chi Hoon saw on the internet. I can’t believe that it’s okay for soldiers to be so casual and post videos of themselves having fun in their UNIFORMS no less).
    Actually most of the scenes felt contrived and lacking originality.

    Shall I also mention that the writing seems to have gotten a lot worse? Plotwise, it was just a disaster, with all the gaping holes and terrible lack of context for when YSJ and SDY got shot and then emprisoned and beaten to a pulp for 100 days or whatnot… and then saved by the NK guy. I could go on and on about this, but I think you get my drift. Honestly, after the Uruk arc, I was expecting another arc of (maybe less) epic proportions, but not this hot mess and near death situations that never seem to come to an end. Really, I almost wished the theory about YSJ’s heart or flipped organs was true at this point, because even that would’ve been better.

    Even the corny dialogues were not the same anymore. While before they would feel self-conscious and bold and have that feel of ‘yes I know I sound cheesy af but you like and I like it and let’s have fun with it’, now they’re taking themselves too seriously (like the ‘I wished you’d kiss me’… gosh kill me now), this becomes frustrating when it is simultaneously put with the part where MY says ‘this is usually the part where the guy chases the girl on the beach’ which is a much better and self-deprecating line than the cheesy last part about past lives and future lives and whatnot. Which is many of the reasons why this episode gave me an overall more ambivalent and conflicted feeling than most people. The writer seemed to be trying too hard and being too lazy to care at the same time, going in loops over too many things rather than coming full circle (or just let it go altogether). It was just too confusing.

    At this point it seems that I hate this episode more than I like it, but I think that I hate the fact that I can’t decide on whether to be disappointed or to just shut off my brain and pretend that I’m stupid and that I didn’t notice the huge drop in quality as compared to the Uruk arc.
    But oh, well, we can’t get exactly what we want in dramaland, huh. It was a nice drama overall, SJK made it infinitely better ofc.

    • I know exactly what u mean, about the writing getting worse. the ‘I wished you would kiss me’ was unbelivable, not something 2 grown ass people dating for a year would say. I just cringed sooo bad. Idk, you put my feelings into words so well. For me, I was expecting a more epic arc after uruk but did learn to lower my standards a mile below. Like i really don’t know if i should go along with those people who notice none of these bullshit or just cry in a corner out of disappointment. I don’t hate this episode but I feel like it’s such a complete waste that it pains me.

      • Ikr! When they came back to Seoul I too thought that I should seriously lower my expectations. Actually the moment they were shown to be back to Seoul I couldn’t help feeling terribly nostalgic of Uruk already. And I wished the characters had stayed there for the remainder of the episodes, although I knew deep down that there was no way it could’ve lasted longer. It had been perfect the way it was and it needed a closure.

        The thing about these last four episodes, though, was that the writers knew that leaving Uruk and its dangers would make the drama lose its momentum and that humanitarian touch that made it so unique, and that they would have to make the story interesting with some new tropes (or artfully recycled ones). But I think that the female writer did a disastrous job. There were so many other things that she could’ve shed light on in episode 16 alone, like YSJ’s family (and about that, am I the only one who had been expecting some background story about YSJ’s mom? Like, how and when she died? Or the incentive that made YSJ go for the military?), Mo Yeon’s mom during her mourning, etc. Or they could’ve thought about a 4 episode arc where, let’s say, a member of the Alpha team would have been killed, and YSJ being the captain would have to deal with that (and we would’ve seen some nice character growth there), etc. I could thing of so many things that would’ve made these four episodes more enjoyable and realistic, without necessarily having to put YSJ and SDY in life threatening situations and making them come back unscathed every time just to have some legit cliffhanger material. It’s a complete waste indeed.

        I don’t know about you, but I’ll always keep fond memories of the first 12 episodes… and maybe pretend that the 4 last were a bad dream; with the exception of a few scenes here and there. Hopefully SJK’s upcoming movie will not disappoint.

      • @InfinityOfEsen, while I agree there’re many flaws in the last 4 episodes of DotS screenplay,I also have to be blunt with you. What you suggested to modify the storyline would not look brilliant on the series either. I don’t want to watch a family drama with a lot of predictable tidbits involving OTP’s parents. LOL…I already felt terrible that they seemed to try very hard to squeeze in product placement as fillers after ep 12 and these PPL apparently disrupted the plot flow. I guess it was an awkward situation for the DotS writers/PD/editors to come up with a good scheme in the last 4 episodes that can accommodate these PPL at the same time since they had to have that happen in Korea not in a war torn country. Apparently, PPL wasn’t done too successfully and they might also have traded off some plot details that could have made the narratives of the last 4 eps more legit.

  15. Yeah too many flaw in this drama but I think lot from u forget,with so huge budget for this drama and some body throw and reject this drama before,that is the reason why (I think) the maker from this drama have lost they confident for this drama.
    they could made this drama become 20 or even more than that but it more like gambling and so fatal if it lost.
    At list no one death is ok for me. I still can’t stop laugh if I remain song joong ki and ji goo dance and That concert
    LOL

  16. Yeah too many flaw in this drama but I think lot from u forget,with so huge budget for this drama and some body throw and reject this drama before,that is the reason why (I think) the maker from this drama have lost they confident for this drama.
    they could made this drama become 20 or even more than that but it more like gambling and so fatal if it lost.
    At list no one death is ok for me. I still can’t stop laugh if I remain song joong ki and ji goo dance and That concert
    LOL koplak sekali

  17. Disappointed. I said it before, SHK did not deliver. Flat and unfeeling. It may be her character but there has to be a better way to convey the scenes. I did not feel her conflicted feelings earlier of the show, and her many dialogues at the later part was mostly annoying. The 2 other couple delivered better. SJK carried the drama, but who kept me waiting for more are the two secondary couple.

    • No one cares whether you are disappointed. There are so many people who love the drama despite its flaws and your opinion won’t make them love it less.Shk did not deliver?don’t worry honey,it’s so obvious that you are a hater of shk.you watched only for the second leads?I can’t believe people can watch dramas for second leads who barely appear in an episode.since my history of watching kdramas,I dropped more dramas compared to ones I watched.if you don’t like a drama,why torture yourself with it?just drop it and watch other dramas you like.no one is forcing you to watch.I don’t think I can put myself through that torture.I tend to ignore what I hate.not even the second leads can make me watch a drama if I hate seeing the female’s lead face.

      • You talk about hate so much you are actually literally hateful in your comments to my comments. I don’t hate her, if if makes you sleep better tonight, I just did not feel the delivery. My opinion. If you don’t like my comment, why read? Take a pill, it will calm you down. We important word to ponder here: OPINION.

      • Also who said about me hating to see her face? You are seriously hateful you are interpreting everything I said in the most negative way. I also did not say I watched the drama for the second lead, I said their delivery is much stronger and felt.

      • Also, I care that I was disappointed. But for you I am no one? I’m sure you have some dramas you did not feel strongly about. I won’t say I don’t care though, because it doesn’t matter to my everyday life in the first place. I love, I don’t love. I like, I don’t like. Just like you, Im sure. Doesn’t mean I should be banned from speaking my thoughts in this open blog. Freedom of speech, you heard of it? Or do you live somewhere where everyone is bumptious and therefore everyone else is irrelevant? Because if you do, then I feel sorry for you. Being shallow through and through must be tiring.

      • No one’s actually hating her,it’s just her acting is not up to the mark,or mostly expressionless.I have tried to watch her in TWTWB too,but one can’t tell if she’s acting different for a doctor or a blind heiress,maybe this is annoying to you because you are her fan,but as most of the time the thing that makes me connect to an actor/actress most is how they deliver.And SHK sadly did not.This is just a preference point which would vary person to person.No need to take it personally though.

      • Deranged means insane, crazy, disturbed, etc. I don’t know about you but I know that having opinion on an actor’s acting is just that, OPINION. if you consider me deranged with that, what would I call you?

      • @limbo

        lol please. Even knetz who hated her and cursed her name for her tax scandal and costar dating basically have said she’s the saving grace of the drama towards the end. And daesang worthy. That people actually come here and say she’s the reason it sucks is beyond ridiculous.

        @Mindy
        It’s a wrong opinion though.

  18. Haters are gonna hate! some people can’t accept the fact that this drama is so popular and had high ratings.Difference of opinions but your opinions are stupid.I’m curious to know what your favourite dramas are.Go watch Hollywood movie instead if you are looking for realism because I haven’t seen any Korean drama that made sense to me.They are all similar,rich guy Fall for poor girl,piggy back ride,annoying mother-in-law,annoying second female lead etc.At least this drama had none of them.you guys are just plain hating.Once again,tell me your a drama that you feel is perfect and I will point out millions of flaws in it.

    • Seriously throwing tantrums here, I see. Do you feel better now? So everyone who does not agree with you is stupid? What are you, Korean-drama god? Maybe you should seriously calm down. Energy is precious and you’re wasting it.

      • @Mindy, let me challenge you with a question. What’s exactly the selling point of DotS to you since you seemed to have watched it even you have many axes to grind about this drama. LOL…Why did you watch it? I don’t give dang f*cking sh*t to a drama which has a very annoying or bland female lead. Most likely I just dropped that drama after finding her unbearable even I like the male lead and other cast. You dislike SHK A LOT but you watched all 16 eps and got on a forum just to diss her up? Well, you very interesting personality! LOL…BTW, I’m not a fan of SHK but I do think she nailed the role of Dr. MY in DotS.

      • @Drama2016 Grow up everyone is entitled to their own opinion and should be able to voice it. You don’t have to be so butthurt & reply to every comment on here just because others may not see the same thing as you geez.

      • @Drama2016 You and @mercy86 are on the same wavelenght so at least you comment with LOLs so it’s good. 🙂

        Why did I watched it through the end? Simply, I am one of the millions that got caught with the hype. It was absolutely an easy watch despite the war zone theme on some of the episodes. There were certainly several indications that the drama would end up with a happy ending, instead of a crazy one like Cheese In the Trap (my opinion, you don’t have to agree). So it was an anticipated relief for me. SJK is absolutely eye-candy, whi I hope is okay for me to say here without having to me called deranged that I watched the drama despite my being disaapointed of SHK delivery. I also did not say I dislike SHK A LOT (where did I say that???????). I don’t dislike her at all. @mercy86 asked why I watched it through when I hate to see her face so much (roll my eyes because I did not say that). If anything, SHK is a pleasure to watch visually. She’s so dang pretty, every angle, every moment she is on screen. Sometimes it could be a distraction even for what she is trying to convey at certain given moment. But I won’t go there deeply because I think @mercy86 will climb the wall this time 🙂

        I invested my time on it and decided not to miss the hype, through the end. Kind of like watching a movie and realized there’s one actor that is off but you watched it through the end anyway because either you paid for it already and does not want to waste your money and effort going to the movie, or overall the movie was good and watchable despite the little flaw. Like that. Should @mercy86 bite my head off because I did? I’d say anyone THAT upset I made my opinion known on SHK delivery and call it hating is seriously emotionally messed-up.

        How is that for a reason? Satisfied, not satisfied? Good, not good? What ever your opinion is of my opinion is simply still an opinion, which you are entitled to.That should apply the same to me. No opinion is stupid as it is based on personal preference and we are all different.

      • @Irene. I always LOL at people’s logic and contradictory points. You said “everyone is entitled to their own opinion and should be able to voice it” while told me not to have replay to every comment on here. LOL..You obviously have double standards. I never stopped ppl from trash talking but it’s my freedom of speech to voice my opinions against them. You grow up kiddo!

  19. From Captain Korea, to Wolverine then becoming the Avengers…hahaha????
    What an ending…apart from comedic scenes, none of it are special anymore. I guess many will happy in such ending but it does not left me with a powerful impact after all. A good love story drama, indeed but I will rate this 8 out of 10. I think I’m the only one who is so happy when 2 characters were died before they reveal the normal twist come back. Therefore, I will conclude this drama and move on.
    Those who haven’t start the marathon, don’t get too hype and excited for this drama. Don’t put much thinking about the logic and everything that went off/unrealistic appears in this project. Take it as it is ( pure lalaland lovedrama), no more nor less. To the crews and everyone in this drama, I salute for putting much effort and money to bring this project, getting loved internationally. As for me, this drama will not be in my forever favourite of all time kdramas although I do admit that this drama is ok (rating 8 was pretty high, I guess).
    Good bye DoTS, you will be remembered by many but I am already rest my case.

  20. Thank you! Honestly, with all the budget they had, you would think they could take a real shot of Vancouver. And volcano? Earthquake would have been more realistic for my city.

    As for the flow, I would have preferred for episodes 15 and 16 to be reversed. Have episode 15 have all the cute moments in Seoul ending with the guys leaving for their mission. Then, having episode 15 as 16. That would have much more impactful for a finale.

    • I agree. For a split second i got excited that they mentioned my city, Vancouver (604 represent!!). It was so embarrassing that they didnt have a real shot of Vancouver. And for the record, we do not have volcanoes here. Lol

      • Why did you have to feel embarrassed? Uruk is not even a real country. It’s all fictitious including bulletproof Captain Yoo. So why couldn’t they make up volcanoes in Vancouver or desert in Washington DC? LOL I don’t mind all these illogical narratives in a drama. We’re not watching National Geographic or documentaries on History channel anyway.

  21. fluffy to the fullest.. goodbye SJK & SHK .. see u on another better project.
    well, I came with one conclusion though, KSE’s drama wasnt my cup of tea and never will… no depth in her story..

  22. Lol, what happened to the comments section? Trolls? Anyways, this wasn’t a perfect drama by any means but it was fully entertaining (for me, of course) from start to finish. So much so that I kept on rewatching my fave scenes. I was surprised that it wasn’t the hardcore melodrama that I was expecting it to be when they announced this project and given the theme. And this finale was such a treat as a fan. It ended on a happy feel-good note. Lol at Onew breaking the 4th wall and announcing the end of the drama. Hahahaha!! That made me giggle! Thankful for the cast and crew. It was a solid 8 weeks of pure fun. Can’t wait for next week’s special!

    • +10000. Ikr. LOL @ all the trash talking on this drama, specifically those grinding axes on “lack of depth”. I watch a drama to be entertained rather than strain my brain again off work. DotS really served me pretty well with all the quips, banter, farce, and fluffy romance. It would be luck if a drama we watch happens to be as exquisite as An Lee’s films. But again we actually don’t need Life of Pi all the time b/c that would take our life too seriously and it might not necessarily do good to our health with overthinking all the time.

  23. i thought the funniest part was when the volcano erupted in vancouver.

    I LIVE IN VANCOUVER. i can guarantee there is no volcano here. LOL!!!!

    • LOL. I was sitting in Vancouver watching that scene. At first, when they show the night shot, I was like… what? That’s not Vancouver! When the volcano thing came up, I flipped. I was screaming THERE’S NO VOLCANO here! Haha!
      Ever since Captain came back to life talking and walking after death, I went overboard from the DotS ship… only still attached because of the life donut but when the whole Vancouver thing came up, I detached myself and start swimming the opposite way… to Vancouver? LOL!
      It’s been a fun ride – DotS was so good… up to Ep 12! >_<

      • If u guys need more awesome acting or the cute face of SJK, go watch him in Innocent Man/Nice Guy! To me, it’s 100x better than DotS! At least, everything make more sense!

      • Why Vancouver?? There’s Indonesia right around the corner with active eruptions not to mention Japan sitting perfectly on pacific ring of fire. Geographical areas closer to Korea and perfectly suitable due to tectonic reasons to fit the fictional scenario. I still can’t make any sense of it other than its a typo they forgot to correct or writer was high.

    • agree on Indonesia or Japan comment.
      why don’t they pick bali or hawaii? It’s popular wedding spot and has real active volcano.
      or if they went with massive fantasy eruption, vesuvius is quite reasonable, they can even get real footage while shot in Greece.
      if they insist on north america, why not washington? a lot volcano there.
      even if we pretend it was massive volcano in hawaii which cause huge tsunami (and whole pasific countries will be screwed), it won’t hit vancouver directly.
      or if they can change Canada, why don’t they go to someplace around the mountain and instead of eruption, make it snow avalance or bad storm, that’s also life threatening, btw.
      at least in mr.black, there was real tsunami in Thailand.

      not that i hate it, but i had expectation. i love SHK, especially world within. and it’s pre-produce, so they should have time to do some research. forget about PPL, unlike urk which not real, vancouver is real place and now some people think that there’s volcano there.

    • Do you guys think DotS production team are really too stupid to come up with something that makes more sense? I don’t think so. The writers were teasing you and me who got hooked from episode 1. The message was in the Chi Hoon’s epic narration at the end. LOL…I felt that KES was mocking us. So funny!

  24. Wow! the hate is strong on this post. Its just soo funny that some of you people spent your precious time watching something you did not like. I mean whats the point of watching something that pisses you off, i guess people are different like that. I wouldnt waste my time on a show that i think is ridiculous. I must suck to see all the attention DotS has gotten through out its run for y’all. At the end of the day, what matters is that the majority loved it and an pretty sure its gonna get plenty awards later this year. In the end DotS wins!!! i for one loved this show and thought it brought something unique and different to the kdrama world. It wasnt just about Joong Ki, everyone played their parts right and that was what made this drama strong. And the stronger parts out did the weak parts. At the end of the day, millions of fans will remember those parts and thats what matters! Congrats to everyone that made this show a success including all y’all haters who watched it to the very end. Cheers!!

    • @Ginny ikr??? Haters gon’ hate, potatoes gon potate. Lol and facts will be facts! DOTS WAS AWESOME! PERIOD! THE FACTS GIVE EVIDENCE. POPULARITY GIVES EVIDENCE AND HECK RATINGS GIVE EVIDENCE! I just look at some of these comments and laugh also I shed tears for them haters ,bucket loads!! But I mean they are just adding to its popularity and putting DOTS HIGH UP till it reaches the sky!

    • +1. Second your opinions. So well said. DotS still handed out many groundbreaking records in K drama industry. Drama exists mainly to entertain audience. DotS sells to the majority watching it because it’s very entertaining and atypical. I so feel sorry for those who suffered from watching 16 episodes and had to get on forums to bleat about their ass pain. LOL

    • There’s a lot of bitter people out there sadly. I don’t know why they are bitter, but they are. Fans of former costars of SJK seem to be the worst tbh.

      • That just doesn’t make sense to me. I’m also a fan of both leading ladies of SJK in Nice Guy and the Werewolf Boy since both of them are good actresses. I’m so happy my boy SJK is always smart knowing how to pick good scripts with good cast including DotS. I didn’t know SHK much. Therefore my idea of her was almost blank. She really impressed me as Dr. MY. Now I started to watch her (really really) old dramas such as well-known melo Autumn in My Heart. LOL

  25. Come on with all the hype ep 16 couldn’t have been done any better there was too many expectations too many writers analysing. I’m just glad it’s over and done with. Still love the drama it had a perfect score

  26. Hi guys! Do you remember the preview in the end of episode 13? Where KMY was worried for YSJ. I was waiting for that scene but I didn’t see it or did I miss it?

  27. Im very happy that ive been able to watch this show.. My 16 hours of watching is really worth it! 🙂
    Im so contented in the ending ,it really suits about the title “descendants of the sun” in which telling us that there are still people that are ready to help and sacrifice for the sake of others. The graduation ceremony is also nice done. All in all, its a great journey and even it has flaws we should more be thankful to what good things it brought to us 🙂 we should more appreciate those people who are maintaining peace of our country that sometimes being forgotten.. Thank you fo the recap! #DOTSfinale

  28. I have yet to watch the full drama. I have watched the first half an hour of the first episode but the following points stuck with me.
    1. SJK looks way too skinny and young to be a captain. He doesn’t have authority on his face. He looks like a boy in junior high school.
    2. SHK looks like SJK big sis. Can’t stand it
    3. The first scene of them meeting put me right off cause it is typical KES – the male lead falls head over heels over a girl but doesn’t even know the girl! In reality relationships that start like this are bound to fail. If you believe in KES fantasy love then good luck!!
    I will definitely try to give this drama a go again but FF button will be needed. Good luck to me!

    • Oh I thought you’d watched them all since you talked as if you did with a lot of comments, opinions, and axes to grind at each recap. LOL..So you actually only watched 1/2 episode that’s equivalently 1/32 of the drama content. Hahahahahaha….Such a funny confession. Then your points about DotS so far were not valid and can be ignored.

    • You should maybe try watching it. SHK doesn’t look like his sister either…

      And the main couple’s relationship started out like a normal relationship does? Two people an attraction meet up and go on a date? Seems normal to me! The love part only came later.

  29. Seriously? you noticed all these flaws and you are still planning to keep watching?No need of abusing the ff button,just drop it and move on.Why torture yourself?it amuses me that people continue watching DOTS while bashing it.Thank goodness you guys are not knetz.Believe it or not,whether you bash this drama from now till thy kingdom come,it doesn’t change the fact that it’s popular and loved by many.SJK and other cast are banking in cash and you’re here filling this place with your useless and hateful comments.No one cares about your opinion. I pray you won’t get heart attack while watching the remaining episodes.I don’t get why people like watching what they hate.

    • Please don’t pray. Gon doesn’t listen to prayers laced with hate. I argued about one point and onlyrics and that is SHK delivery. You keep saying I hate it. I never ever said I hate it. Read, woman! Your rebuttal does not pan out because you are too emotional. The drama being popular is completely beside the point because I never ever said it isn’t. The fact that I watched it through means I like it based on many other aspects. You putting words in my mouth is basically a hateful thing to do. No matter what you say, your point will never ever come across as reasonable because they are all based on emotions. You are unraveling. I don’t know if you realize that. Just calm down and read and be an adult. It’s easy. Step back, breath. Now, begin.. sending you flowers mentally also because, boy, you need it.

    • I don’t hate the drama, and wishing someone has a heart attack just because of my truthful comments is immature and spiteful. This drama is popular in Korea so I just want to watch it and ‘try’ to understand why? That is not for you to decide but me.

      • Bless you. Somebody light-hearted finally saw the light. @mercy86 is way too serious for some opinion-sharing exercises. She’s ready to bite my head off if that was possible.

        It’s okay that my opinion is wrong. It’s just a personal observation and preferences. That’s all.

      • Somebody obviously criticizes for the purpose of criticizing. LOL…I saw you have your ax to grind almost at each recap but then realized you only watched 1/32 of the drama. LMAO. This is more comical than bulletproof Captain Yoo’s dead-man-walking after cardiac arrest. hahahahahaha

    • Also, criticism is not hatred. You need to separate the two. Learn to take criticism on the chin.

      The one thing I do want to know is the sex, age distribution of the K-audience that watched this show and brought it 38.8% viewership. Were they ajumma fans with their boring daily lives that just wanted a fantasy romance to make them dream or young girls day-dreaming about their good-looking Oppa because let’s be truthful it really wasn’t the storyline which was captivating.

  30. Nope,I’m not kdrama god and I wasn’t wasting my energy either.You are the one wasting your energy,writing an essay about a drama you dislike.A wise person would have dropped the drama earlier, but no,you watched it to the end and came here whining like a child.Let me give you a piece of advice..just steer clear of dramas you dislike.Just don’t torture yourself with them.life is too short to be wasted on things you dislike.instead,watch the dramas you like and be happy.

    • Yeah i dun know why they condem dis drama alot..actually it is more to mo yeon love story soldier n doc relationship..and the action is only the spice to make their love story more meaningful..some scene left us some question how about they survived.i think the haters more focus on that scene..it not showed detailed but i realized that all the action happend start from ep 1,tje writer not elaborated too much and being secretly like big boss said.

      • And i dun know why they condemm about shk acting..really disappointed to this people..shk,sjk already do excelent job..this drama also diffrent with others,we can see the final ep with only happy scene.forget the unlogical scene how they able to survived.lets it become the secret..hehe

    • @mercy86 You have no MERCY on me (pun absolutely intended. I’ll borrow @Drama2016’s signature giggle: LOL 🙂 I promise you my responses are not considered essay in the real world. In your own Urk world it is, and since you seemed peeved that not all jive with your thoughts and is about ready to declare war on them (me included), Id let you. Contrary to your Urk-like mentality, I wish you to calm down. Don’t worry about my choices and decisions, they are mine to make and mine alone. I would have taken some of your advise until I realize I don’t live in Urk-like world! Drama2016 would have told you LOL. No torturing involved, I pinky-promise you. On the other hand, I’m tempting to tease you with your emotional outbursts until Urk-like world becomes your reality, but I am a nice person. 🙂 SHK is truly pretty, don’t you think also?

      But where are you mercy86? Life is precious and energy is infinite. Please come back and be friends with me. 🙂

      • hahahaha…You know part of the entertainment being a Kdrama fan is reading all the comments by worked-up people. I’m not peeved but entertained very much reading all the whining here. LOL…Yup the only thing I agree with you is that I like to giggle, ALWAYS…hahahahaha…You really need to calm down and don’t take offense different points from other Kdrama fans. I do like your analogy of Urk-like world though. LOL..that crazy fictitious territory is full of challenges to humanity and imagination of intriguing emotions.

        I don’t worry about anything but just give you my two cents. You really need to chill.

      • @Drama2016 on your response on my Urk-like world comments. But, but those comments are not for you, but for @mercy86! 🙂 Why were you responding as if you are dear @mercy86? Don’t tell me you are her! O-M-G. Hahaha!

        Also, I’m a little selfish when it comes to ideas. The chill, relaxing, calming down thingy are my lines. Why are you copying me! I don’t like! 🙂 🙂 🙂

        So, @mercy86 aka @Drama2016, you did came back! We are friends now, yah? Since we are friends, can you tell me what are the imagination of intriguing emotions found in Urk? You lost me there. 🙂 And because you told me I’m stupid, my opinion is stupid, I think you should take reaponsibility. Hahaha!

        I’m truly having fun… 🙂 thanks to you, two-name Urk citizen.

      • @Mindy
        Aw hahahah that’s even funnier. It must have been your grammatical glitch since you inserted @ in front of my name…I thought you were addressing to me. LOL.

        I don’t mind playing word game with you though b/c I’m very active on Koala’s blog and what else is more interesting than being tongue in cheek when I have time to goof around? LMAO.

      • @Drama2016 Does Urk allow you to assume the person that agrees with you? Because read again. You did not tell me I was writing an essay. @mercy86 did. I referenced her with my pun coz her name is Mercy. YOU are supposed to be NOT mercy86. She advised me to steer away from dramas I hate (unwelcome advise from someone emotionally unraveling). Did you? Where is the confusion? Unless you are HER, that is.

        I was having fun until your last response. How can I have a friendly banter with someone that is,not the one I’m supposed to be having conversation with?

        I only ever referenced you because of your LOLs. Because it looked funny to read so many LOLs in between sentences. That’s how I noticed you.

        So have fun with your confusing fun. Wishing you more LOLs to come. 🙂 But I have to sign off with you, because now you are just wasting my time. That my dear is my serious stand on your confusion.

      • @Drama2016. Sorry one last thing. Grammatical glitch excuse is truly a thing to LOL.

        However, since you did not respond to my question about what imagination of intriguing emotions means, I’ll just say they are Drama 2016 aka mercy86’s special grammatical glitch. 🙂

  31. I’ve tried to write how I felt about this drama and it’s been difficult. So, I’ll just say, Well Done Descendants of the Sun. You made me laugh, cry and kept me interested. I loved the action and also the quiet times. Each episode had something special that I’m sure I’ll go back to and rewatch or read in recaps again. Dae Young has been my favorite character. Kudos to Jin Goo for a terrific job.

  32. Hmm where do I start. Like koala says it’s really a mixed bag.

    I jumped on the DoDs bandwagon when it was showing the 7th episode. So literally I marathon 6episodes the first night and boy was I happy. For me that was a great feat as I was absent from kdrama land for quite some time.

    With all 16 episodes combined, weird that my favorite romantic scene is when they first met and when their fingers touched at the hospital. For me the romance is believable. And they never said it’s love at first sight. I call it intrigued at first sight. She was very beautiful in YSJ’s eyes and he wants to get to know her. She was intrigued by this man who was unabashedly starring at her. In most cases what woman wouldn’t swoon at that attention and the attention of a man with YSJ’s face. My favorite non romantic scene is the earthquake parts in Urk. Rarely have I come across a kdrama that deals with this in a poignant and silent way. My super great appreciation that there’s no love triangle or rectangle in this drama. We even had a scene where Shi Jin told DY they won’t fight over a girl and if there’s any fighting they are fighting at the same side together.

    I love the closeness of the hospital team. I love Dr song and nurse Ha. I love the bromance between SJ n DY. I love the unity of alpha team. I appreciate that MY and MJ from dislike to good friends through their relationships with their men. So in terms of character closeness DoDs did it right

    Then I do have my dislikes. Not out of hate, rather a critique in what just interferes with my overall enjoyment of the series and the acting. I did not appreciate over inflating onew ‘s angsty scenes, too much too long. I did not enjoy Argus and his loony gang. Was too happy to see him die. I did not enjoy the earlier parts of Dr Kang who seem tad childish but I accepted it as part of her character development. I did not enjoy SJ super human ability although I’m still glad he didn’t die. I did not enjoy the choppy scenes of their deaths and then survive in episode 15. I did not enjoy SJ getting shot at being revived by MY only to escape to go shoot bad guys at some rooftop. For me DY could have helped him without needing him to be the one to pull the trigger. I find that although he knows danger comes with his job n expects MY to roll with it.. It was somehow not romantic enough that after he came back from death he was all mission and saving some one. It would have been nice that with his brush with death he would take the time to tell MY how important she is to him. I thought of the same thing too when he reunited with MY in the desert. After 1year of her grieving for him, I wanted some extra depth in SJ’s love for MY. Especially since MY changed for him. From accepting his job, supporting him to becoming a better doctor the type of doctor he would be proud of. So the scriptwriter should have inserted more heartfelt lines instead of SJ just apologizing. Something along the lines of thinking about coming back to you makes me able to stay alive. While I appreciate the scene of MY hitting him and hugging him. It was too short to be realistic. And while I enjoy the wrap up of Daniel getting married for real, volcano in Vancouver is really too nonsense to stomach. And it’s not even funny to be funny.

    Overall I enjoyed the drama. I just felt that since it’s pre produced that it could have been a superb over the moon excellent drama if it was better scripted the last 4 episodes. Instead it has to settle with Very Good. The flufiness of episode 16 usually that’s the dream of most viewers. In this case while I enjoyed it including kissing n lovey dovey conversations, I wanted more weight on their love. Going back to Urk and putting the pebble back really wraps up nicely and brings it full circle. Put instead of saying wishing he would Kiss which to me was a waste. What man wouldn’t Kiss his beautiful girlfriend under a night of stars in a beautiful land. He should have proposed and tell MY to gamble on a soldier like him, professed that it’s his life mission to stay alive for her women. Something like that would make me happier and more swoon worthy to make full use of the shipwreck night sky scene.

  33. The ending was kind of flat for me. I was expecting something a bit more epic especially since it was pre-produced but the ending was just ok. I loved the chemistry & all the cute moments but the drama could have been so much better.

  34. I wonder what the writer was thinking of when she foisted those logic-defying scenes on the viewers. Shouldn’t she have, at the very least, checked whether Vancouver indeed has a volcano? One google query would have prevented this parting insult to our intelligence. Lazy of her.

    I agree with those who find the main female lead’s performance so-so (for me, her portrayal lacked depth; whatever the scene, her basic facial expressions never changed that much; she had about 4-5 expressions she used interchangeably). I, too, found myself rooting for and enjoying the second leads’ romance more; I found their story more touching and credibly performed.

  35. And before somebody bashes me for not loving this show to kingdom come and just putting the logical side of my brain on mute all throughout this series, please be reminded that everyone has a right to his/her own opinion, but no one has a right to be wrong with his facts.

    I am merely expressing my honest opinion, just as you, who loves this show to the moon and back, are. I am not forcing you to think as I do, please don’t force me to think as you do as well. And whether I continue to watch till the end a show I find flawed is my choice, the time spent and the faculties employed being mine alone. The last time I checked, this board still is democratic. If you cannot endure seeing posts not agreeing with yours, it would be best if you find an exclusive “DOTS-shippers’ only” board. Thanks.

  36. OMG! Some of the comments here are HILARIOUS. Especially, that Mindy person ROFL. Seriously? A Volcano in Vancouver???? How come no one told me? ‘Scuse me while I pack my bags!!!

  37. I’ve read almost all the comments here and personally I loved the show. It was great at making scenes that took the breath out of me and even keeping scenes light and fluffy. Although I did look forward to the secondary couple more, I didn’t feel like the SongSong couple lacked anything either.

    And to those guys who are stressing themselves out assessing the characters one by one and just criticizing the main lead and all, I understand that maybe you guys did have high standards and expectations, but can some of you just please create constructive criticism instead of just blatantly making them look terrible? I mean I’ve read comments and I can tell some were here just because they plainly hated the people in the cast.

    And I would congratulate this Kdrama. I don’t really watch dramas to be able to point out flaws or anything. I watch to just be plainly entertained. My hopes don’t go very high anymore for stuff like this. I guess you can sasy I went passive? lol but anyways good drama, I appreciate the way people are actually making a fuss about this. It was all-around great for me to be honest.

    Oh well. Ciao.

  38. I actually really enjoyed the show , and in contrast to those saying SHK acting is bland , I think SJK is not better , I think they are just the same level

    I think SHK did very good job portraying KMY characters especially in episode 15 , I felt her pain , and felt her loss , make s me wonder and feel so sorry for the family who indeed lost their husband/ son during wars
    Nowadays most actor/ actress either overact or just simply bland and boring , I see SHK acting is very well balanced ,
    A lot of people are bias when giving a lot of credits to SJK (maybe because of his look) while talking down on SHK performance ,I think that is really unfair

  39. I’m quite confuse why they’re only imprisoned for 156 days yet they’re already missing for about a year already. Where were they for the other 209 days?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.