Review notes were previously posted on Letterboxd, on a private list with watched K-dramas. I deleted the list so will publish the notes here.
Descendants of the Sun (2016)
Watched 14 June 2022 - ? — 19 episodes (DRAMACOOL) — ON HOLD AFTER EPISODE 3!
*Thoughts after watching the first two episodes: I didn’t really like it and the story is not very compelling. It’s not well written, tonally uneven and the mix between the military aspects and the hospital drama feels unbalanced. My biggest complaint is that I just don’t really like the main couple Song Joong-ki and Song Hye-kyo. Their characters aren’t appealing nor is their developing love story. Song Joong-ki looks too young, even though he was about thirty years at the time. He has this Tom Cruise boyish look but does not convince in the battle scenes where he is supposed to be the strong leader. I also think Song Hye-kyo isn’t credible in her role as a surgeon. In the second episode there’s an awful scene where she gets in a catfight with a rival female surgeon. Song Hye-kyo is beautiful and I do like her, but there’s also something about her that annoys me. In That Winter, the Wind Blows, she benefits from a strong leading man Jo In-sung (such a good actor) and a compelling story. I came to like her character and wished her a happy ending with Jo In-sung. But here after two episodes I don’t really care about the main leads’ love story. Their meeting and scenes together are a bit cheesy. Still … I like the second couple a lot, Kim Ji-won (from My Liberation Notes) and Jin Goo (I really like him), and I know a lot of other people also like them better than the main couple. It would be the sole reason to continue watching this series.
EDIT:
*Trying one more episode but ep. 3 wasn’t any better, actually it only made things worse. This show really lacks credibility and authenticity, and Song Hye-kyo’s female lead character gets more annoying and unlikeable. There were some scenes with the second couple which made me want to find out what happens to them, but I’m not really eager to watch the rest of this show and follow the love story between the leads. Also, the behaviour of the doctors towards the local people is pretty appalling.
*ON HOLD AFTER EPISODE 3! I seriously don’t understand the hype and why this show has so many high ratings and raving reviews. Really wanted to like this, but better not to waste my time since there are so many other great shows to see. Might continue watching this at a later date but only to fastforward to the scenes with the second couple.