Four things I learnt starting Descendants Of Sun at the final episode

What happens when you decide to watch only the final episode of a series that millions across Asia have fallen in love with?

With only an inkling of the plot — what I managed to glean from friends was "something, something... army captain... doctor... fall in love... fictional war-torn country" - I set out to see why there was such fuss over the heart-conquering K-Drama Descendants Of The Sun.

Here's what I got from it:

1) The timing of one scene is PERFECT

Rui En has been receiving a lot of flak after uttering the now-infamous sentence: "Do you know who I am?" This was to the owner of the motorbike she had over with her car on April 12.

In the finale, Song Hye Kyo's character Kang Mo Yeon says the phrase.

She appears to be a famous doctor — rather than a regular polyclinic medic — and makes regular TV appearances and appears in adverts.

As she begins to conduct a lecture, Kang says: "Do you all know who I am?"

Sadly, the similarities with Rui En's situtation stop there.

No one was left aghast by the question.

And she certainly didn't have to wrack her brain coming up with an eyebrow raising explanation.

 

 

2) Corny but ultimately enjoyable

My brain says that the banter between the two Songs (Song Hye Kyo as the lovely doctor, Song Joong Ki as the lovely special forces captain Yoo Si Jin) is lame, corny and cheesy.

But my body says otherwise.

My heart beats faster whenever Yoo looks at Kang lovingly and my stomach is invaded by butterflies whenever they flirt - which is a lot.

My insides feel like a lepidopterist convention.

A prime example of this is during a scene at the beach where they are looking up at stars.

Kang Mo Yeon: "Come on, why are you sitting around? Go and get me one of those stars!"

Yoo Si Jin: "I've already got one. It's sitting right next to me. And it's shining brightly."

Very corny but the actors totally sell these lines.

I wouldn't be surprised if girls all over are breaking up with their boyfriends to find someone like Si Jin. Though I'm telling you now to settle. He doesn't exist.

 

3) Why do women 'attack' their presumed-dead lovers when they turn up *spoiler alert* ALIVE?

That the main characters survive shouldn't be a spoiler.

With the popularity of the show, the writer probably (rightfully) realised that lives are at stake (potentially literally) if the show had anything but a happy ending.

For those of you even more new to this than I am, and may be hoping this section hints at zombies, I'll dash your hopes and explain.

There are two main couples in Descendants of the Sun.

The men from both pairs end up alive after they were assumed to have died during a mission one year before.

They both turn up alive (woot!) and what follows is an emotional reunion with their girlfriends (Awwww!).

What puzzles me is why both girls kept (lightly) punching their men?

They had just come back after a year at the hands of the enemy where they have been tortured. Waterboarding was involved.

The last thing I would want to do is to inflict more harm!

Who gave these girls the right to be angry at these men. They were tortured!

 

4) Love will keep them alive (and mentally healthy)

 

 

Of course. The mean return looking as lovely as ever.

After a year at the hands of the enemy, both Yoo Si Jin and Seo Dae Young do not appear to have suffered any trauma whatsoever.

All of their attention is focused on reuniting with their girlfriends. Fair enough.

I may not have much first-hand knowledge of being captured and tortured but I have watched four seasons of Homeland. And let me tell you the Korean leads should be showing a lot more trauma.

They brought up waterboarding very casually, almost like people mention if their hotel had a so-so pool.

And when they are tasked to write a report about what happened to them, they suggest taking inspiration from the Jason Bourne movies.

Si Jin said: "What we need is a perfect balance of reality and drama".

If only the show itself took that advice.

There's too much drama and not enough reality. After all, how can an army captain look so young?

 

CONCLUSION

Am I tempted to watch the series from the start? Hell, yes. Don't get me wrong.

It's cheesy and it has many logical issues. (Glossing over a kidnap and torture storyline is not cool).

But despite all of that, the stars of the show sell it so well.

Now, I'm desperate for a man to do nothing but look pretty in army fatigues and melt my heart with hopelessly cheesy lines.

That's not going to happen anytime soon but it's okay. I have got 15 more episodes of Descendants of the Sun to catch up over the weekend.