[Drama 2016] Descendants of the Sun 태양의 후예

[Chellsee]

'Descendants of the Sun 2' news: KBS in talks with writer, cast for a second season; Song Hye-kyo shares thoughts about drama's popularity

Shortly after "Descendants of Sun" finished following the three-part special which aired last week, it looks like KBS has finally responded to the ongoing clamor from fans for a follow-up installment.

"We are creating the second 'Descendants of the Sun,'" KBS's drama department head Jung Sung-hyo revealed. An internal negotiation is still in the process and nothing yet is set in stone. However, the cable drama is trying to get everyone back together for a sequel including writer Kim Eun-sook and the main cast.

"We can't say they are in for certain because actors don't make such decisions until they read the script," Jung further said, referring to ongoing talks with the actors who have risen to mega-stardom after appearing in the military-medical show.

What is unclear as of now is whether KBS is trying to pull a continuation of the story or a different show which just takes "Descendant of the Sun's" theme core. The cable channel has a history of doing a supposedly second season to their other hit dramas but with a different cast throughout the years with "IRIS" and "Dream High."

Whichever it is, Jung has high hopes that it will also amass the same success as its original iteration saying, "'Descendants of the Sun' rewrote history by rekindling 'hallyu,' so I'm sure our upcoming project will receive critical acclaim domestically and internationally, too."

Meanwhile, Song Hye-kyo who plays Kang Mo-yeon in the series is no stranger to chart-topping dramas. Being a member of the first batch of Korean stars which started the Hallyu Wave in the early 2000s, Song has tackled numerous characters all throughout her illustrious career.

Despite a slew of hits under her belt, Song admitted that she did not realize just how popular "Descendants of the Sun" is until she stepped out of Korea to promote the show.

"I did read news about the series' popularity, but the Hong Kong visit stunned me. That was the first time I realised how immense the popularity was. Especially, some female fans in their school uniform followed Song Joong-ki around. That reminded me of the old days," the 34-year-old actress shared during a press interview in Seoul. The event was geared more towards the international following of Song and the drama which is why the questions came from global readers who submitted their queries.

http://www.vinereport.com/article/descendants-of-the-sun-2-news-kbs-in-talks-with-writer-cast-for-a-second-season-song-hye-kyo-shares-thoughts-about-dramas-popularity/10298.htm

[annettegatuslao]

So KBS really does want a second season for DOTS and are currently contacting KES and the entire cast  If this pushes through and everyone is back, oh my goodness. We are all dead lol.

--

Hi, guys! I was just wondering if there's any of you who knows how to do a roleplay on Tumblr? I'm planning to put up one for DOTS, and I just wanted to see if there are any of you who are willing to participate.

[Jalhanda]

3 hours ago, Meowth07 said:

I'm suffering the worst withdrawal symptom ever! Couldn't watch anything else. So I thank DotS' god for Ep Special #3, which kept me from dying, for now (means next week I'll be dead for real TT_TT). This ep special is actually the reason I write this post.

I need to confess this first, I love DotS not because of its love story, of SongSong couple's skinship and kissing scenes, which seems everyone is so drawn into. I like the loveline, like all the lovey dovey stuff, but I don't go crazy over it. Strange huh. Perhaps as it's clear to me that DotS plotline is a compromise. 

 

Writer Kim Won Seok's original script was about doctors and war. It's apparently a great story, proven by winning first place in a national contest. But years after winning, it was still left on papers, not made into a movie/drama. Because clearly, that story wouldn't sell. Kdrama viewers want loveline, couples, shipping etc... not a "boring" slice-of-life story, no matter how meaningful. It's a fact. It's the charm and also the downfall of Kdramas all these years anyway. So what to do? The production team invited KES to turn it into a love story - that would definitely sell. Simply speaking, they wanted to tell a deeper story, they got to spend more than half of screen time telling a love one first. (I'm not criticizing, it's a very good love story anw). Still it resulted in much less time for the original one. So people who complaint about the "shallow" plotline of DotS, see that it's the audiences' "fault", not the writers' they had to compromise it this way. If anything, the writers did a daebak job conveying tons of meaningful stuff with less than 8 episode screen time (less than half of 16eps). The way they did it with so little time (and more importantly to not shift the focus from the love scenes which was for ratings) was leaving underlying hidden messages, under-telling those stories, behind every line, every scene and every character. It was brilliant imo as who's interested will be able to think more about it and have their own interpretation.

 

The four main characters' lines conveyed a lot of messages: soldiers-doctors, their oaths, idealism and sacrifices. I think it's clear enough. Yet the under-told stories of minor characters is another layer. They all got one behind some very few lines.

 

- The soldiers.

 

Sgt. Choi: "Why would a pretty and well-paid woman go out with a soldier?... You never know when she'll change her mind. Thinks of when she finds out what we do. Isn't it obvious she'll tell him to transfer or to leave the army?"

Wasn't that what he was told by his wife or her family? As if being a soldier wasn't hard enough, they have to deal with their family's opposition too. Or wasn't that what he felt towards his wife, felt sorry for her for marrying a mere soldier?

 

That leads to Si Jin's dad's line that I found so true: "You should have become a judge or a doctor. No one appreciates a soldier these days". Who to fully understand that rather than the man who reached his career's retirement day, lived all and heard all.

 

Private Kim Ki Bum: "I tried getting beat up, even paying them. How did you... get out?"

He's not the first nor just in a few the army has "saved" that way. It's a fact many men with a broken life go into military. It mostly depends on them of course as the army isn't God almighty. But it gives them a chance to turn their life over, and sometimes that means everything. "It turns out the army is perfect for me." Beautiful isn't it?

 

Col. Park: "I'm saying we should avoid what we can. ... Hand in a detailed report."

Col.Park isn't an easy one to love, and I see lots of people aren't fond of him. When in fact he's the type of "good" soldiers, more, a good commanding officer. He did what needed to be done, not what he wanted to, he obeyed the army's important rule: "follow commands and don't create troubles". He didn't ignore problems, no, he just knew to collect info and wait for a better time. He kicked his men's butts all the time, yet protected them from outsiders (when Mr.Jin threatened to sue them). The army consists of C.Os like him, not the "arrogant" type like Si Jin. And that's a good thing.

I just love his scene with Mo Yeon after Si Jin's death. His replies to her were everything a C.O could say, could feel under those circumstances.

"I ask for your cooperation."

"Was his death for our country?"

"Yes. It was."

"Even then his country makes me sign this document?"

"I apologise."

Few words said, with sincerity, with proud, and with regret. Acknowledging something unfair is hard, acknowledging that unfairness and having to accept it, to work with it, more than one time (probably not the first time one of his subordinates died right), is just beyond difficult. People could think being a commander is easier than being a field soldier, working on a desk, giving orders.. But the responsibilites and burdens they carry are the heaviest, cause it can't be worded, can't be showed. 

 

Gen. Yoon: "I know, that you did a right thing as my guys. I appreciate it. But the order remains unchanged."

He said this re the Arab VIP ops. Since the beginning he's a good general who knows what's right and what's for politics. Same as Col.Park, his core isn't often showed, but disguided by the rigidity. The two of them made me think hard about what under the surface of some "scary", "hateful" in-charge people, and what they'd have to lose if their subordinates did something wrong. Not easy at all isn't it.

Not wanna talk about his opposition towards MJ-DY relationship though, cause if one thing I know for sure, is that army dads are always overprotective of their daughters, even controlling. It's hard to blame him since it comes from love.

 

Argus: Aww, the biggest "plothole" lots of people complaint about, as they need more details about his changing side. But what's so surprising about it really? Si Jin said: "It's just another one of those stories of a man following money after leaving Special Forces. Either being a mercenary or a villain." Yea, being a soldier is difficult, quitting it is not easy either. And war is cruel enough to change anyone. The fact that Argus wasn't that special of a story, he was only special to Si Jin, because he was Si Jin's idol from his earlier military days. So sad wasn't it. Argus represented the group of soldiers who lost their beliefs, for various reasons. There were sadly a number of them.

 

- The doctors.

 

Chi Hoon: "You've become a real doctor, Lee Chi Hoon". This line was said to him more than once, it's his character's story - becoming a true doctor. I think it's kind of familiar to people who have watched medical shows such as Grey's Anatomy, House M.D. ... Easy to say, but not easy to get, that's why it needed abnormal circumstances like an earthquake for him to truly comprehend.

 

Dr. Song: well many things to say about him. A "normal" guy by all standards, yet dependable, trustworthy, at the same time easygoing and not trying hard to be on top of anything. Life often strucks him down, as it to nice people. Yet he stays stable, decent. He's the type of sunbae, of colleague, that Mo Yeon's very lucky to have.

 

- The Doctors Without Borders characters.

 

They are probably the core characters from the original script. Perhaps that's why they got the most tale-telling fragments with their scenes. Such a shame their stories couldn't be told with more details, still it's so touching.

 

Chen Kang: He's a peripheral character, yet his one scene was worth thousands words. His coffin was next to a soldier's, they got the same type of funeral. A doctor in warzone was no less than a soldier, as he fought the war, protected the people too. Has anyone ever thought of what kind of brave soul to become a DWB? Medical training, promising career, easy lifepath, yet they chose to go to some godforsaken land. Soldiers do it due to their job and training, DWBs do it due to their choice and their heart. And just like soldiers, they passed away to keep their beliefs alive.

 

Ye Hwa: Realizing Chen Kang's dead, she didn't go hysterical, didn't cry asking "what? how? why?", just silently accepted. That scene spoke volumes. Their acknowledgement. They know they'll probably die doing this job.

Ye Hwa's background is another touching story. She's half-blooded, doesn't really think she's Korean. "All people who speak Korean are Koreans?". She lost her family, had no where to go, not Russia, not Korea, she had to go to Canada where they rejected her too. Sadly, it's a common story of many people born in warzone.  

 

Daniel: Somehow I think Si Jin character was adapted from the original script's Daniel, as they're both the image of an ideal hero (I'll write about Si Jin the hero below). Daniel is like Schweitzer, like Nelson Mandela, the role model of all DWBs. Hence his role and his lines are actually to convey their messages: about medicines, producing and patents, about pharmaceutical companies, the thousands of people who die everyday due to those issues. It's just something we normal people are often ignorant of.

 

Daniel's airport interview, parallel with Mo Yeon's lines in ep15, was the ultimate message from the doctors' side in this story: "Life over profit. No profit is greater than a person's life." It sounded so simple. Yet not everyone truly got it.

 

- The workers.

 

Manager Ko: "I've worked hard to send my children to college, so they can live the life they want now. And my wife... There isn't much to say really. We spent more times looking at pictures than being with each other."

Isn't that the story of many manual labourers? Working long hours, far away from home, almost all their lives in order to give their family a better chance. It's not just Manager Ko, I believe many workers at that construction site shared the same story.

 

Kang Min Jae: "Ahh I can't be bothered. I'll just die". I laughed at that scene.  He's an immature kid apparently. Just that he didn't have many good things to look forward to. He had no family, and he's Korean but never been to Korea. Probably his parents were oversea workers like Manager Ko. He didn't get an easy life for sure. Another story of some normal people which we can easily overlook.

 

- The Urk people.

 

Valentine: "We sell everything here, but women and information."

She's really cool. In war-torn countries, where there's lack of men, it's often a woman has to step up being the community leader. A fierce and strong one like her is to protect their other women. She reminds me of Melanie Hamilton in Gone With The Wind, the way they're mentally strong dealing with the aftermath of war.

 

Fatima: "You want me to trust soldiers? Have you experienced a war? Have you seen a soldier in a war?"

Yes, soldiers are heroes to their country, and they're monsters to the other side, especially to civillians, to kids. It's not pretty, it's the ugly truth. People said DotS propagandizing army and patriotism, with this one line I say it just told the truth, from both points of view. How often do we have that?

Mo Yeon said a kid like Fatima should have been able to learn the right thing, like cheap medicines are the ones that could save lives, not to know the narcotics are good for making money. That plus what Fatima said, is the image of kids in war-torn countries. They've seen, 've known the things no kids should have seen and known. 

 

The other Urk little kids supplement to the picture. They were hungry, uneducated, played around dangerous sites, they just didn't know better. Not an uncommon story you could hear in some war-torn countries, when children found an old mine or grenade, they played with it, they died or crippled. It's heartbreaking indeed. If there weren't enough reasons to be against war, the children alone would suffice. 

 

- Last but not least, the "divided nation" with Sr.Lt.Ahn.

 

I put this alone in one category because I believe it's the deepest point the original script wanted to touch. DotS started with this North-South plot at the very beginning, and one of Si Jin's line which I found amusing: "... yet I don't want to meet you once every year". The nuance was that NK and SK have one day every year that family members living in the two sides can meet each other. Well... The final ep16 repeated it: "The man I love is a soldier of the ROK, the only divided nation in the whole world." It's kind of strange-placed in a love confession line, but makes perfect sense to the other meaning. My country was divided once, enough for me to be moved deeply by this subplot. I can only imagine what it meant to Korean viewers. The comradeship between Si Yin and Sr.Lt.Ahn on screen absolutely carried a deeper longing on their hearts.

 

 

... Wow... How many life stories were there? All in less than 8 ep screen time... If I could have one wish about DotS, I'd wish to read Kim Won Seok's original script. I really want to get everything about those stories. In reality, I couldn't ask for more, seeing it as a compromise with limited screen time like I said. Surely to me, DotS plotline is far from being shallow. People who say it's shallow actually are the ones who don't, or can't, see deep enough.

 

I've always wondered why I was more drawn into those "side stories" (let's temporarily call it that) than into the loveline unlike most ppl. After watching ep special #3 I got my answer. It's because that was not only what the writers really wanted to tell, but also what the actors really wanted to act out, under the "mask" of a love story. It unbelievably warmed my heart knowing SHK's favourite scene was when Col.Park came to her after Si Jin's death, and SJK's was his crying scene after killing Argus. They - SHK and SJK - got that too, the deeper stories of DotS. They were not just here for a romance, no matter how lovely. They are great actors who truly understood the script and their characters. No wonder why their portrayal of all the "side stories" always crushed my heart, and left the strongest mark on me. I think I'll have to respect the hell out of them after this:)) They are not the type of "mere actors", they are the type of Leo DiCaprio actors who'd want a truly meaningful story to work on. If it wasn't for SHK and SJK, wasn't for their understanding of the story, but other actors who only got and were only good at the loveline, I don't think I'd love DotS this much.

 

**

 

By no means I'm undervaluing the love story of DotS. As said, it's a very good one, as expected from KES. Say what you want about her but until now she's still the queen of romance in Kdramaland. Ok, first, Heirs wasn't her fault, or at least not solely. SBS asked KES for it: a romance between and chaebol teenage guy and a poor teenage girl. So what did viewers expect really:)) SBS favors the chaebol-theme so much, cause it means adorsements, PPLs, high ratings, guaranteed success; don't forget they rejected DotS due to the lack of those. KES managed to make Heirs watchable, even enjoyable, so point to her. Second, KES really loves her characters, always stays true to this, never "betrays" one character for the sake of another - which sadly can't be said for other Kwriters, esp for the arrogant tvN with their game of indulging/provoking ships war (that is just beyond disrespectful to viewers). Anw, what I mean is KES's a good writer and deserves her reputation. She created a beautiful love story in DotS. I can't really complaint even when it's too beautiful it pretty much overshadowed my favourite "side stories".

 

Everyone has already said what's so great about the relationship between Si Jin and Mo Yeon, mature, respectful, no bs push-and-pull or misunderstandings... Some people said it was not so great due to the lack of character development of Si Yin. But to me it's fine. Actually in most books and movies, it's a common formula, when one of the two main characters staying the same while the other developing; cause two character development could be confusing. The one staying the same is the moral compass, the touchstone of the story; every story needs one to maintain its unification. It's difficult for Si Jin to develop, as he's kind of ideal since the beginning - a soldier who puts his patriotism first, above himself, above his personal life. I don't mean he's an ideal soldier, as someone said he's selfish to do what he thinks is right, not what the army needs him to do. No, he's an ideal hero,  the selfless one goes above the rules, above the greater good to save the little people. Doesn't everyone dream to be a hero like that? So it's ok for him to stay the same, to always appear to save the day. After all, without a bit of fantasy and idealism, human life can't be bigger than its mundaneness. Si Jin character serves this purpose. On the other hand, Mo Yeon is the human part of the story. She had some unstable moral issue, she fell, she overcame it and became a better doctor. She had reasons for rejecting him, understandable reasons, then after witnessing everything, she put her common sense all aside to accept that man, even if it crushed her heart every day. Eventually, she's the one I saw as the most beautiful character of DotS, more than Si Jin, because of those two development. A great real human being is better than a great fictional hero. Hence it's all fine by me. I don't need her to become a heroine to save him instead, since it'd just make her be similar to him, not different, not better. For all, he was the one who said he must have done something great in his previous life to deserve her now. With that, the writers made it clear that Mo Yeon character is "the sun" of DotS after all.

 

( @gilaswan @smiletall  @happyfruit @... This is my overdue discussion re the character development in ep14. Sorry I had to abort it cause of the absurb amount of ending speculating posts at that time. I love all your posts very much )

 

**

 

I wrote too much... Thanks anyone who read till this line! I agree with you all that DotS is by no means flawless. Yet I hope everyone could consider it under the light of all its obstacles: the first big pre-produced Kdrama, about soldiers (how absurb! lol), almost everyone against the idea since the start; and under the light of a compromise: the real stories that the original script wanted to tell. They managed to make it through, financial problems, personnel problems, to create two very deep layers of stories in only 16 episodes. It's just applause-worthy. So for "all of DotS, all its curves and all its edges, all its perfect imperfections" I just love and appreciate every one bit.

 

@Meowth07...this is beautiful, nice read and posts on DOTS. Thanks for sharing.

[putri gyuu]

i cant imagine if DOTS 2 without our DOTS 1 main casts.. i hope the cast will be the same.. why can not, Hollywood movies series always use the same cast for season 1 2 3 and so on hahaha pardon me i know its extremelly difficult directornim but still..please..bring songsong back in season 2

[viyra]

.... and the never-ending re=watching of DOTS continue on - which is great because I get to focus on what made this drama (and probably every drama) worth watching.  In the making of the wine kiss, SJK commented on his confusion on why the director was telling him 'to focus his gaze on Mo Yeon' before he execute the kiss.  He said he didn't understand the director's intention.  But when he did, he understood why.  He didn't actually say the reason but I am guessing the director wanted him 'to focus so he'll be able to feel and properly deliver the kiss'.  So the beauty of the first kiss (wine kiss) came not only from SJK's execution but also with the help from the director's good imagination.   Now I'm thinking - without the director's explanation,  would SJK just go for the kiss without any emotions?  I'm sure SJK appreciated all the help he got from the director on all the scenes he felt he needed to put more emotions in to.

In the episode where KMY broadcasted her confession, during the 'making of' the phone grabbing scene, SHK was told by the director she has to turn her head towards YSJ with a surprised look - because KMY didn't know YSJ was there.  With this scenario, just like my question above, hadn't the director told SHK to turn sideways (to look at YSJ), would she just grab the phone (I think that's what she did on the first take) and run?

Watching the BTS makes me appreciate the director more - true the story was nicely written - but how to give life to the story all depends on the director.  SJK and SHK are both good actors and it is always easy for them to act on what the story asks for.  But the proper emotions on each action makes every scene more beautiful.

[gilaswan]

@Meowth07 I loved reading your series review. You're right: the entire drama had flaws. It wasn't perfect. But I applaud the efforts at the drama for raising many interesting social issues that surround us today. I like how Kdrama writers are beginning to attempt to raise issues which I believe need to brought to the forefront of conversations today. So many little gems in DOTS, other than our OTPs. heh... to heck with all the judgment my lousy male friends are giving me for watching the show. hahaha... I say BAH to them! Kekekeke...

Meanwhile, this chapter I'm writing is starting to get too hot and heavy for me. I should stop.

[themarchioness]

Rewatching Episode 15 and I'm at the coffee shop flashback scene where we see YSJ and KMY say "I love you" for the first time.  Every time I watch this scene, the background music catches my ear.  I finally looked up the full lyrics.  They couldn't be more perfect for our OTP and I wanted to share it with you all here.

 

Lyrics:

How long will I love you
As long as stars are above you
And longer if I can
How long will I need you
As long as the seasons need to
Follow their plan

How long will I be with you
As long as the sea is bound to
Wash up on the sand

How long will I want you
As long as you want me to
And longer by far
How long will I hold you
As long as your father told you
As long as you can

How long will I give to you
As long as I live through you
However long you say

How long will I love you
As long as stars are above you
And longer if I may

How long will I love you
As long as stars are above you

[faidaris]

I would like to personally thank @Meowth07 for that very insightful sharing. That was such a beautiful writing. I shall re-watch DotS again while remembering your points here. I have always felt something so special about DotS not just for what has been shown, deep down inside I can also feel there's depth to every story told that I am yet to focus on because I am still enjoying the love lines between YSJ-KMY... still haven't had enough of them yet because I am such a hopeless romantic like that. But after reading your post I realized that of course YSJ-KMY is not the only thing I enjoy. Yes I am craving for romance from K-drama but it's not the only thing and if it is, I might have already moved on from DotS. There's really something about DotS that's keeping me from moving on and YSJ-KMY is not the only thing. So thank you, for that sharing. I appreciate it. 

 

[pumpkin_pie]

Argus,  SDY and YMJ on Running Man

http://news.asiaone.com/news/showbiz/descendants-sun-couple-star-running-man

[CatWhiskers]

What a beautiful insight @Meowth07. 

I was just rewatching Ep 16. (Halfway). And it occurs to me during the scene when he was in KMY's tent after their reunion at the desert, and he questioned the altar offerings (which was for him).

Did anyone notice he did looked quite pleased? After KMY explained it was for him, he said something along the lines of , "Still you prepared a lot...in a foreign land."

It spoke volumes to me that small little scene. I think YSJ was really really touched. After being missing for a year and leaving the "will"/letter to KMY and asking her to forget him, one can only think what goes through his mind when he was locked up. He must be thinking she would try to move on and probably forget him. 

I think he was really relieved and touched that she could not forget him and thus even prepare an altar offering for him. And to prepare so much and a bottle of wine to that in a foreign land (because it is a little inconvenient to do that), really tells him how much she loves him. 

[gilaswan]

Alrighty friends... @rainbowbrite, @melissala, @Jalhanda, @thepixies, @Ahpheng, @annettegatuslaoand @whoeverelse who might want to read the fics...here you go. Chapter 5.

http://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/1114759/5

There's a NSFW warning on this one...

 

[kristy86]

28 minutes ago, gilaswan said:

Alrighty friends... @rainbowbrite, @melissala, @Jalhanda, @thepixies, @Ahpheng, @annettegatuslaoand @whoeverelse who might want to read the fics...here you go. Chapter 5.

http://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/1114759/5

There's a NSFW warning on this one...

 

I don't know what's wrong, lately it's so difficult for me to enter your page @gilaswan everytime I click on the link it will direct me to some other link/page and it will change again to another link/page, it happened repeatedly. Am I not allowed to read your fic? I'm missing SJ and MY so much... 

PS: I am using my mobile to access the link, anyone have the same problem as me? 

  

[annettegatuslao]

40 minutes ago, gilaswan said:

Alrighty friends... @rainbowbrite, @melissala, @Jalhanda, @thepixies, @Ahpheng, @annettegatuslaoand @whoeverelse who might want to read the fics...here you go. Chapter 5.

http://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/1114759/5

There's a NSFW warning on this one...

 

Omg I'm so excited, unnie! Reading it now  

[gilaswan]

30 minutes ago, kristy86 said:

 

I don't know what's wrong, lately it's so difficult for me to enter your page @gilaswan everytime I click on the link it will direct me to some other link/page and it will change again to another link/page, it happened repeatedly. Am I not allowed to read your fic? I'm missing SJ and MY so much... 

PS: I am using my mobile to access the link, anyone have the same problem as me? 

  

Oh dear.. I'm able to access the page on my mobile though. Try clearing your cache?

[viyra]

Because I'm nosy, I tried to look deeper into the 'tower kiss' scene.  Too bad I don't know how to do and post a gif -

--- the first move was YSJ pulling KMY towards him with his right hand going through her neck for the kiss; KMY hands not moving; camera turns around, we see YSJ hand going towards KMY back and to me it seemed like he used his left hand to lead KMY - he kind of locked his arm into hers.  That move was so different from the other 'kiss while hugging' scenes they had.

As long as I continue watching - I don't think I'll ever gonna stop coming here.

[tiarasetiawan]

 

[kristy86]

1 hour ago, gilaswan said:

Oh dear.. I'm able to access the page on my mobile though. Try clearing your cache?

I don't know how, I am such a noob when it comes to tech. Let me try again, thank you for always updating the tread with your fanfic, it does ease the pain of missing uri Big Boss and Beauty  

[smiletall]

@Meowth07

Ah, I really appreciated your thoughts about the drama! You made really good points and your tribute to all the various characters with quotes were really insightful. 

I think your observation about Daniel's character was really interesting. I never considered him that way, but I can see him being drawn from the original screenplay as the story was first based on two doctors. If they had kept the storyline as two doctors, I wonder if the conflict still would have come from a clash in ideal.  A doctor who works to build a career (realism) vs. a doctor who works for the sake of the people (idealism). This would have been interesting too, though possibly less action filled. (And Daniel's character is still pretty hot). OR now I also wonder if YeHwa and Daniel could have been the basis of the original storyline in a way as well. If only I could just ask the writers these questions. My speculations could be way off too.. hahaha which is nothing new. 

To be honest, I still think Argus' character arc is probably one of the more wasted opportunities of DOTS. He has such a great foundation for a GOOD big bad (if that makes sense). I think it would have been great if they had explored his history a bit more and gone further with the question: what makes a good soldier go bad? How GREAT would it have been if YSJ had been presented with a similar predicament? Argus could have been made as a solid antithesis to YSJ as a character. To have YSJ face his past mentor and hero in a way that would make him question his own ideals and his duties as a soldier would have made for awesome character development that I believe YSJ as a character desperately needed and SJK as an actor really deserved. I still also think they could have extended Argus's role beyond ep 12. They still could have utilized the NK soldier. The capture and rescue of YSJ and JG would have felt much more impactful and meaningful. Ep 13-15 would also have felt more consistent with the Urk story arc if Argus had been kept in play. 

And I agree. YSJ is an ideal hero. PERIOD. He is the fantasy portion of DOTS. Because no guy like this exists. Not just because he is so romantic and smooth... no guy can come back to life so immediately and nonchalantly like YSJ does. And so I definitely agree with your comment that KMY represents a more human aspect of the drama. YSJ was the fantasy viewers pined over. KMY was the character viewers could relate to and cried with. Not sure if the writers were fully aware of this aspect as they wrote the story, but it's true, KMY really is the only one of the two who goes through change and growth in terms of her belief as a doctor and her ability to accept YSJ and his staunch nationality and beliefs. Either way, I was impressed and grateful with the way KES wrote the character of KMY. It was so refreshing that both protagonists were also so straightforward. 

And this is a random thought.. But occurred to me as I was rewatching some episodes. There was that past speculation/rumor based on YSJ's x-ray which showed that his heart was on the right side of his body, instead of the usual left side. As it turns out, this was probably just a fluke by the props staff and never was mentioned in the drama. BUT if I was KES, and saw that, I would be kicking myself. Because that is the exact type of twist that would have made his first "almost death" worth it even if it didn't really have any lasting meaning or worth other than spectacle in the larger scheme of the show. 

Also I don't think the original cast will ever return for DOTS season 2, even if it gets off the ground. At least none of the major characters. That's just how it is. Plus both SHK and SJK are adamant in their recent interviews about trying a variety of characters and roles. I don't think that they would seriously consider reprising the same role unless the script was too good to refuse. But again, as the writer mentioned, he's pretty much done with YSJ's story--he wished YSJ a happy life. And I'm pretty much satisfied with that. 

It would be best for KBS just to leave DOTS for what it is. DOTS 2 would be a new cast entirely. And pretty much sure, like IRIS 2, Dream High 2, etc. it would never live up to the hype of the original, even if the story was fairly solid. Of course the key exception is the Reply series.. but this too is a slightly different case since a large part of the Reply series is to consistently using the same writer and director (who are both talented), along with a strong play on nostalgia of the represented era. With DOTS2, I doubt they could get the same director and writers. They already seem uninterested. And the chemistry of the main OTP was just beyond expectation.  It's hard to recreate that kind of chemistry.  It really hooked viewers and covered for a lot of other shortcomings/plot holes to be honest. lol. So yeah, it's kind of sad to say, but I hope they don't do a second season. 

 

Anyways, it's true this thread has slowed down a lot. But keep in mind, there is still awards season in the future haha. I really hope DOTS gets a lot of recognition, because despite its shortcomings, it still deserves a lot of credit in other aspects  

[Chellsee]

BIG BOSS is the CUTEST! 

[gilaswan]

1 hour ago, kristy86 said:

I don't know how, I am such a noob when it comes to tech. Let me try again, thank you for always updating the tread with your fanfic, it does ease the pain of missing uri Big Boss and Beauty  

Well, let me know if you are still unable to access it, and I can PM you the story. I just don't want to put it here on the open forum cos there's an M rating on it.