D-Day (2015) 디데이
Directed by Jang Yong-woo, starring Kim Young-kwang, Jung So-min and Ha Seok-jin.
Watched 11 September - 5 October 2024 — 20 episodes (VIKI PASS)
*Finished this disaster series recently and really enjoyed it. I like the main characters and the relationships between them. Love how the writers fitted some romance into the drama which never took center stage. The focus stays on the rescue missions and medical cases.
*The lead actors Kim Young-kwang and Jung So-min have great chemistry and are very cute together. I like Kim Young-kwang's passionate doctor character and how he puts the patients first, above all. Some of the emergency operations he performs are very risky and dangerous. Though he may be reckless, he never makes decisions for personal gain, always trying to rescue the patient. I also liked the female lead, Jung So-min's character, but I didn't like the way she occasionally treats her subordinates, how she smacks them on the head, almost bullies them. It's probably meant to be funny but I found it off-putting.
*Ha Seok-jin's character is not really likeable at first (and not supposed to be), but I like how they handled his redemption arc. Sometimes these redemptions happen overnight (like with other characters) but here it was credible and it happened gradually. I love his relationship with nurse Park/the boss's daughter (I like the actress Yoon Joo-hee, never seen her before) and I was glad she stood by him and that they got their happy ending.
*My fave side character is the Chief of the fire department, wonderfully portrayed by Kim Sang-ho. I also love his interactions with Kim Hye-eun (as Chief Kang of ER).
*The higher-ups are the villains: the hospital director Chief Park and Chief Kang's ambitious politician boyfriend. Both men suffer from delusions of grandeur.
*I really hated Ko Kyu-pil's character, a lazy and incompetent doctor. This is a testament to Ko Kyu-pil's acting skills because I've seen him mostly in likeable roles.
*Around the 16 episode mark, when most shows end or when longer shows tend to drag, this series was still engaging and well-paced.
*Yet the last episode was very disappointing. There were hardly any scenes between our main couple. Even though I'm fine with just a touch of romance and not going all the way (since this is not that kind of show), I would have liked for Kim Young-kwang and Jung So-min to have expressed their feelings for each other, or at least share a kiss. There's too much of hospital director Chief Park in the final episode.
*I think the villains of the series (Chief Park and Chief Kang's politician boyfriend) come out looking way better in the last episodes than I would have liked. They deserve some comeuppance, but instead they are redeemed too abruptly. Ko Kyu-pil's character also came out fine, unfortunately.
*Overall a recommendable show with some nice special effects.
(Screenshot taken by me from the last episode.)