[Drama 2016] Descendants of the Sun 태양의 후예

[Guest]

While I agree with most of what you said, I don't agree that if they had gotten together in the first place it would just be a fling. They broke up after two botched dates the first time and he still wasn't over her after 8 months, nor was she completely over him. You don't stand on the rooftop thinking about a guy if you're over him. It could have just been regret over what might have been but that's a long time for someone you just met and were only slightly interested in. 

I also don't think that SJ took everything she said as a rejection, except the obvious ones where she flat out says "no." The timing just didn't work out at those point for him to do anything more than just accept it until when/if they meet again. The first time they broke up, he was days from being deployed to Urk for 8 months. The second time, he was going back to Korea the next day. He's a soldier. Country, comrades, family; in that order. It's not like he could defy orders just for a woman he's interested in. 

There was another poster a few pages ago who said that they don't think SJ would have continued pursuing MY if he took her rejections seriously and I agree with them. On some level, he knew she was interested and that his job was the obstacle but he didn't try to force anything either. Even with his wrist grabs he only did them for a minute to get her attention/get her to listen to him and when she had, he let go.

In the end, it was mostly him waiting and loving her from the sidelines until the confession broadcast where he finally gets to know her true feelings. Yes, he tried to change her mind but if she had said something other than "I need to get my feelings straightened out" I believe he would have backed off completely. That's pretty much what he does when she shows up in front of him again in Episode 2/3. He watched her from afar [or in mirrors...] but he didn't really pursue her at first. She showed interest in him, that he happened to overhear while watching her in the mirror, before he started pursuing her again.

I do love that MY worked with SJ and laid out what he needed to do in order for her to be comfortable being with him because she's right; you can't live your life worrying everytime someone you love is gone on a job like that. It would be exhausting. MY's willing to be with him and she understands that he can't share specifics because of protocol but just letting her know that he's going to be gone on a mission is fine. It's enough for her that SJ gives her the right to know and worry about him. The last mission that we see, he even tells her the time frame for when he's supposed to be back. That's a huge thing and might even be something he could be reprimanded for since his missions are secret enough that the men have to forfeit their dogtags.  

About the letter: Yes! That's exactly how I felt about it. Not everyone knows what getting those letters means and we didn't see Sergeant Choi telling her that he's KIA [killed in action], we just see him apologizing. For all MY knows, it's a letter from SJ saying that he got hurt in another country and will be late. Of course she's going to read it right away! 

[melleri]

Oh yeah, I agree with you!  I think fling in that it wouldn't have lasted despite their deep feelings for each other.  Not as in a fling as in, they would forget each other and moved on. They obviously wouldn't have.  Even she remembered him so many months later like you said.   I couldn't think of a better word to use.  Relationship that never works out despite the fact that they love each other, but because of their lack of communication it ends up in bitterness and hurt feelings anyway?  Idk, that's long lol 

Rejection... well, he said she rejected them three times, and I really only count two lol.  The one when she broke up the first time and when she said to apologize. I also totally agree if she had decided to end after his sincere confession about missing her, then he wouldn't have bothered her anymore.  Every time she pushed him away he accepted it even if he still liked her.  He always gave into her in that regard and didn't push her. He knows he really can't do so.  Even when she said she now had the chance to leave him this time, he didn't go follow her.  He let her go.  He does obviously see that she likes him at least somewhat, and that gives him some hope to try again.  He never makes a move without seeing that she's interested even if he knows she won't give in.  That's what I love about him.  He does pursue her, but she holds the power in the relationship.  

Both times he was rejected are sad in many ways because he was pretty much destined to get dumped.  The first time, even if he hadn't asked her out suddenly and had to bail on her (and ride the helicopter) and then had to do it again at the movies, he still would have had to leave soon.  And it's not like he could ask her to wait for him when he barely knew her.  It also doesn't help that I think half of the reason she broke up with him then was she was in a seriously bad mood about the things going on in her life.  It was bad timing and she'd just been blown off twice by him, and it was just too much.  The second time, again bad timing and again there is the threat that he's again leaving.  And despite being very rational, she does tend to do things first and then regret it when dealing with him. She regretted ending it like she did the first time, and she also regretted it the second time almost instantly. 

MY knows he'll never be too open about his work, but just that fact that he's more honest about when his life is on the line is enough for her.  He always thought he was protecting her by not saying anything, but it's just the opposite.  I really love that she told him and he understood since that's the only way he'd change, is if he actually knew lol.  That hug scene and his nod when she told him what to do is still one of my favorite scene.  You don't see open communication like that too often in dramas. 

[Guest]

When I think fling, I think minimal feelings/just for fun scenario but I see what you mean now. We're on the same wavelength then but I can't think of a better word for it either. Also, I think this is one of the few drama relationships where I'm willing to accept that fate plays a big part. Usually, I just roll my eyes whenever a drama couple says that it was fate that they got together. Really? Fate that you met maybe but it's not like you weren't in the same area/could never work for that relationship. With this couple though, they're literally brought together by fate multiple times as well as working hard to make their relationship work. There was no way of knowing that MY would be sent off to Urk, let alone to the same base that SJ is stationed in. None. If she hadn't been sent off to Urk though, do you think SJ would have looked her up and tried to connect with her again once he was back in Korea?

So I'm not the only one who is still looking for the 3rd rejection! I only counted two also and I've re-watched the entire series from start to finish 3 times now. What other rejection could SJ be talking about? Maybe when they first meet in the hospital and he tries to flirt [in the hallway when they're waiting to see the CCTV footage]? She shuts him down almost immediately there.

SJ's way of pursuing MY is what I love about him too. It's really refreshing for a drama Alpha male to allow the woman he's pursuing to keep the power in the relationship. Dramas are usually all about the wrist grabs/dragging and forced intimacy. Bleh. I was rooting for SJ & MY from the beginning but the wine kiss sealed the deal. She accepted the first kiss but when she shows the slightest amount of hesitation about the second one, he backed off immediately. SJ instantly gained all my respect in that moment. 

For someone who is considered to be so rational, it's amusing to see MY's approach with SJ. The fact that she makes the most irrational decisions when it comes to him just proves her feelings about him to me. SJ may not have known her very well at first but he pays enough attention to know her usual personality is very rational and take charge. So when MY gets passionate about not wanting to be involved with him because he keeps leaving, he had to have known that she was hiding feelings for him. Even if she refused to admit it. 

Yep! The open communication is amazing to watch because it's how a real relationship would be. I like that the writer took the typical noble idiocy [SJ lying about when he's in danger to "spare" MY] and made MY confront SJ about it/fix it right away instead of letting it drag on for multiple episodes and misunderstandings. The lack of misunderstandings between them was great too because most issues were resolved with a true human response; jealousy or anger.

I was thinking earlier that not only are the male/female pairings perfect for each other but the friendship between both the men and their women are perfect too. The relationship square is complementary to each other in a way that is true to life but not something we get to see often in dramaland. 

TL;DR: DotS has joined the list of few dramas that cause me to post essays. Lol!

[winterbubbletea]

12 hours ago, CatWhiskers said:

@JackieOnTheRocks Yes. It is the same. Catwhiskers. Though I haven't put up my fic up in Asian Fanfic yet. My lappie died on me and I can't copy and paste whatever I wrote here over there. Somehow it doesn't work. I'll put it up soon. Toying with a chapter 2 to First Meeting.   Hopefully it will materialize. Lol!!!! 

@melissala Oh...what a great idea. Her finding out she is pregnant when she and YSJ are not yet married? Love it! Now can someone take this and write a fanfic.  Lol!!!!! @themarchioness @gilaswan @winterbubbletea  Am I missing anyone else? 

 

*blinks* I think Mother Kang wishes they do...haha

[gilaswan]

Annyeong, chingu-deul! I tend to try my best to stay away from my computer on the weekends and have been only doing quick scans and fast posts off my mobile, so I'm now doing a "proper" catch up on my laptop. Well, as proper as can be. 

Group hugs for our support group!  I lurve, lurve, luuuuurve how this group is still so alive and that now we're not just spazzing, but we're really discussing the show following closer analysis with our re-watches. 

Am loving @phikyl's analyses - please don't take it into a PM group so that all of us can come back to it again, including newcomers who are starting to pop in because I know many people who avoided the show during its super-hyped up period now feel they *have* to watch it - good on them! Hahaha...

I'm enjoying the long posts on when and how much SJ and MY fell in love/love each other, etc. About the 3 rejections, I think everyone agrees that the first was the clear expression of her inability to accept his line of work in the cafe before he was deployed to Urk. The second again was that clear request for him to apologise for the kiss before he was to return to Korea - how his face fell ever so slightly at that point, my heart broke for him (SJK is really good with subtle changes to his facial expressions that speak so much). I reckon the third was actually when she was stitching him up after a day of rescue work at the power plant, and he told her about his feelings again - that was his full confession to her which she had not accepted just (likely to be) a week before, and he asked her to think on it. She kept silent, but then asked if she could go with him to corp command to make the call to the site supervisor's wife. At corp command when she cried, SiJin tells her that if she does not say it (i.e. accept his confession), he cannot wipe her tears for her. She did not say it, and hence I thought that to be her 3rd rejection of him. 

SDY seemed to believe MY was the right person for SJ and saw the signs immediately of SJ's attraction to her at the hospital; he was the one who pointed her out on the name list in Urk and pretty much suggested to SJ that perhaps they do have more than a passing acquaintanceship with each other. This likely means that in the 8mos in Urk, SJ must have spoken about her a few times. I always thought it sweet but sad though when SJ's response to SDY was, "I think we're just bumping into each other while passing by." So poetic. And speaks volumes of the hurt he did feel when she rejected him the first time - the hurt that comes from having to tussle between the love for his job and the potential love for a person he wants desperately for the chance to develop. 

Are they madly, passionately in love? I like it that they are without being intense. They're deeply in love with each other but not to the point of controlling each other. That's what I like about the love story in this drama. In so many other dramas you see this inequality going on, manipulation, control. Gawsh. I hate such "love" stories. I really love it that in DOTS, it's all about mutual respect for each other. Ah... how to move on like this?

Aside - I am still watching SS and SJK really can do the mischievous-yet-serious personality very well. I see that similarity between his SS and DOTS characters and can only conclude - that must also be in part SJK's personality. Hahaha...

 

[Guest]

@gilaswan Haha! Don’t worry, I have no plans to move my part of the discussion into a PM group. Not as long as I have any other people willing to talk about the show with me here in the thread anyways. Glad you enjoy my essays! I tend to talk a show to pieces whenever I find one I really love [just look at my activity feed. Lol!] so guaranteed there will be a few more long posts from me when we do the group re-watch. Plus I happen to be one of those newcomers who missed the hyped up period. 

That’s a possibility. I completely overlooked that exchange because MY didn’t say anything so to me it was neither acceptance nor rejection. It’s possible that SJ could have taken her silence as rejection though.

Such is the dilemma of a single, active duty soldier. I hear horror stories from my active duty military friends about some of the women the soldiers encounter too. From those that pretend to love said soldier until they get married so that she can get the benefits to those that like to falsely claim rape.  I’m not sure if that holds true in Korea as well but even if it doesn’t, the chances of SJ meeting another woman like MY are very low. That poised, confident, “I won’t take anything sitting down” attitude is quite attractive to a guy like SJ in my opinion. 

I’m not sure if SJ and DY would actively discuss their love lives [or lack of] while deployed but I bet DY probably noticed a few times where SJ was brooding in silence or another indication that he was missing “his” pretty doctor.

I agree. I love this type of story where the love displayed is muted. It’s more realistic so it pulls me into the story more. The dramas that have such over the top declarations with unrealistic love stories are likely to cause my eyes to get stuck one of these days [from all the eye rolling I do.]

Moving on from DotS is a myth! You can never leave! ./cue maniacal laughter.

[melleri]

1 hour ago, gilaswan said:

I'm enjoying the long posts on when and how much SJ and MY fell in love/love each other, etc. About the 3 rejections, I think everyone agrees that the first was the clear expression of her inability to accept his line of work in the cafe before he was deployed to Urk. The second again was that clear request for him to apologise for the kiss before he was to return to Korea - how his face fell ever so slightly at that point, my heart broke for him (SJK is really good with subtle changes to his facial expressions that speak so much). I reckon the third was actually when she was stitching him up after a day of rescue work at the power plant, and he told her about his feelings again - that was his full confession to her which she had not accepted just (likely to be) a week before, and he asked her to think on it. She kept silent, but then asked if she could go with him to corp command to make the call to the site supervisor's wife. At corp command when she cried, SiJin tells her that if she does not say it (i.e. accept his confession), he cannot wipe her tears for her. She did not say it, and hence I thought that to be her 3rd rejection of him. 

I agree, that's what he might think but I disagree that was a rejection.  She did not say yes, but she did not say no.  He also told her to think about it, and was actually the one to walk away from her after she gave him first aid.  She also eventually did accept him after that, without fully rejecting him before hand.  I do see your point in that he again basically asked her to confess and she didn't say anything, so maybe technically she rejected him, but I don't think that's fair to say she did right then.  It also wasn't really the right time moment to focus on their romance considering what she just had to do. 

Though then the next day he mentioned the three rejections, and that she's probably upset she didn't accept him and was worried about her.  So, while I can see his POV, I don't think it's fair to call that a rejection. I'll give him two rejections of course though.   It's like him saying she wrecked three cars, she didn't.  He can't count.  There's was only two and the third he was the one driving. 

[Guest]

14 minutes ago, melissala said:

He can't count.

I second this though I'm not sure if he's purposely miscounting or if it's a habit he picked up from DY [Ep. 6 "Retreat on 3. 1....3!"]. There was also the purposeful miscount of laps when the SJ, DY and Sergeant Choi were ordered to run 100 laps as punishment for getting in a fight with a civilian. 

Bulking up my gif library and I noticed something: is it just me or is the ending of episode 2 straight out of Top Gun? I could have sworn I've seen Tom Cruise do the exact same thing, right down to the aviators and the flying clothing article...

I shouldn't be surprised if they threw a scene straight out of Top Gun in there should I? After all, SJK is the Korean Tom Cruise, right? 

[Ahpheng]

 

[winterbubbletea]

Title: Blood Type
Chapter [1]
Author: WinterBubbleTea
Genre: Romance
Rating: PG-13
Drama: Descendant of the Sun
Pairing: Kang Mo Yeon/Yoo Shi Jin

Gif Credit:kristy86
Summary:After One trip into unknown terrain the thought of having a moment of peace and staying in Korea would be allow, well tell that to greedy old men.

WinterBubbleTea: I feel so sleepy...if there is mistakes sorry was writing in experiment and got lazy at the end...it happens frequently for me...sorry Also I feel embarrassed my family members ended up reading my stories.

[winterbubbletea]

1 hour ago, phikyl said:

I second this though I'm not sure if he's purposely miscounting or if it's a habit he picked up from DY [Ep. 6 "Retreat on 3. 1....3!"]. There was also the purposeful miscount of laps when the SJ, DY and Sergeant Choi were ordered to run 100 laps as punishment for getting in a fight with a civilian. 

Bulking up my gif library and I noticed something: is it just me or is the ending of episode 2 straight out of Top Gun? I could have sworn I've seen Tom Cruise do the exact same thing, right down to the aviators and the flying clothing article...

I shouldn't be surprised if they threw a scene straight out of Top Gun in there should I? After all, SJK is the Korean Tom Cruise, right? 

It is top gun..the running and mission impossible..

[kristy86]

Woah, I need to backread few pages today, awesome! Please keep the discussion coming @melissala @phikyl @gilaswan I love reading them, no matter how long your posts are I'd def read them  Even though I can't join the discussion bcos I can't really express my feelings and ideas with my limited vocab and messy grammar, lol. So yeah...  Just wanted to add I also can't say the third one is a rejection since she didn't give him an answer. Maybe he's just bad in Math that's why he said three, just kidding. So many things I love from their relationship just like what you guys have described, he respect her, never ever he pushed her. When she reject him he just accepted it even tho he knows she has feelings for him too. 

@melissala @JackieOnTheRocks @CatWhiskers So agree, his eyes tell us everything even when he didn't say it. Not only in lovey dovey scenes, but also in an intense scenes their eyes speaks everything. 

I just love the light right behind him in this scene, it makes me think that he's the light in MY's life, who will guide her and be with her through the hard time during the earthquake or anytime in her future. I remember what she said after she called Mr. Ko's wife, she said if it wasn't for him she would have ran that day, or something along the line. She needs him in her life even when she has yet to realize how much he means for her at that time. 

 

 

[tiarasetiawan]

 

[Guest]

10 minutes ago, kristy86 said:

I just love the light right behind him in this scene, it makes me think that he's the light in MY's life, who will guide her and be with her through the hard time during the earthquake or anytime in her future. I remember what she said after she called Mr. Ko's wife, she said if it weren't for him she would have ran that day, or something along the line. She needs him in her life even when she has yet to realize how much he means for her at that time. 

Think I can count this as another parallel scene? It's very similar to how SJ says that MY is the reason his life "became brighter". [I'm totally not making a list of parallel scenes here...] This is after the cliff scene so I'm sure she knows exactly how much he means to her at this point, she's just still in denial because of her fear for what might happen to him. 

This is actually one of my favorite examples of the "eyes meet across a crowded room" trope. Both actors did such a fantastic job of conveying all the underlying emotions through their eyes. I could feel the relief rolling off SJ as well as I could feel that for MY, it was like a weight was lifted off of her shoulders now that SJ had come back. 

Even when MY has to turn away to tend to a patient, SJ keeps watching her until he can't anymore.

I can't even imagine how nerve wracking the plane ride back to Urk was for both DY and SJ. There's no communication lines working after the quake so they don't even know if their women are safe or one of the many trapped in the rubble. Both men must have been worried sick but neither showed it other than unobtrusively scanning the make-shift camp until they found who they were looking for. 

[CatWhiskers]

@phikyl Yupe. We did discussed this in earlier pages. Some people forgot that this is essentially a love story. And the helicopter, earthquake, virus outbreak, kidnapping etc. is suppose to bring two individual closer to each other (Even SJK himself said that). I think the main idea of this whole drama...what it is trying to bring to us viewers is that LOVE is a choice. After the whole physical attraction thing die down, you make a choice if you want to stay and take things deeper with that person. Can you make things work now that you know each other better? Not just character wise but beliefs as well. 

We all agree DotS has set quite a benchmark for Kdrama out there. It has risen above the cliché and pose reality out to viewers and in anything else, given us a whole new respect to love ones who has their love ones in the army. 

It has also given us, one of the best well written and developed female lead ever. A first that took reign of a relationship and is extremely realistic, financial-wise and relationship-wise (Cuz seriously, if I am in KMY shoes. I don't think I have it in me to accept a soldier bf. It's really not for anyone to do that. I am sorry I don't have the courage.)

@winterbubbleteaI know right. But I am dying for a fanfic. Lol. KMY has the coolest mum ever! I mentioned earlier in my post she must be desperate to have grandchildren seeing her daughter is over 30 and sleeping in the hospital, I can't help but felt KMY's mum is quite worried. 

[kristy86]

1 hour ago, winterbubbletea said:

Title: Blood Type
Chapter [1]
Author: WinterBubbleTea
Genre: Romance
Rating: PG-13
Drama: Descendant of the Sun
Pairing: Kang Mo Yeon/Yoo Shi Jin

Gif Credit:kristy86
Summary:After One trip into unknown terrain the thought of having a moment of peace and staying in Korea would be allow, well tell that to greedy old men.

WinterBubbleTea: I feel so sleepy...if there is mistakes sorry was writing in experiment and got lazy at the end...it happens frequently for me...sorry Also I feel embarrassed my family members ended up reading my stories.

Will he finally got the change to watch her in the bathtub? LOL 

Loving the fic, I can feel the emotion from SJ and I kinda want to smack that director. Off to read the other stories  

@phikyl Yeah, agree I think she's in denial. SJ also said in his letter whenever she is it will be brighter for him. 

46 minutes ago, phikyl said:

I can't even imagine how nerve wracking the plane ride back to Urk was for both DY and SJ. There's no communication lines working after the quake so they don't even know if their women are safe or one of the many trapped in the rubble. Both men must have been worried sick but neither showed it other than unobtrusively scanning the make-shift camp until they found who they were looking for. 

Actually I thought they'd go all tense or panic, but on the plane I can see both of them are so calm and they can even smile a little discussing how SJ gave up his vacation. But soon after they finish the discussion SJ's face become solemn and at the end I can see he's sighing, and everytime he did it I will sigh with him, dunno why, lol. 

 

 

[Guest]

13 minutes ago, kristy86 said:

Actually I thought they'd go all tense or panic, but on the plane I can see both of them are so calm and they can even smile a little discussing how SJ gave up his vacation. But soon after they finish the discussion SJ's face become solemn and at the end I can see he's sighing, and everytime he did it I will sigh with him, dunno why, lol

I think this is just their M.O. Both of them are extremely worried and in a situation where there is absolutely nothing they can do except wait to be on the ground. SJ says in a later episode that being serious in a serious situation only makes things worse so I think the jokes are just a way for them to cover up how worried they actually are. Especially since those two are probably the highest ranking soldiers on that aircraft. They can't show their fear/worry because the rest of the soldiers are looking to them to see how to act and if they see their superiors breaking down, they might start to panic or lose all respect for them. It's similar to how DY tells KB that he shouldn't shed tears in front of the men he's in charge of. 

@CatWhiskersI'm still slowly working my way through all the previous pages. Only up to page 138 so I might just be re-hashing things that have already been discussed. I love your statement that love is a choice. It's also hard work, which is something people seem to forget when they get caught up in dramaland. True love takes time, effort and lots and lots of compromise! I really hope that some dramas pick up not only the pre-produced format [because honestly, I prefer it. I don't like knowing that directors and scriptwriters might change their vision to appease the audience nor do I like seeing the actors become gaunt and haggard towards the end of the drama] but also that not every love story has to be filled with completely unrealistic obstacles that the main couple has to overcome. Sure the outside events are probably not realistic but since they're not the main story, I can let those slide. 

DotS just proves that the public is not only okay with watching a realistic, adult relationship but that they can actually achieve records with it.  

.

[Hermie Garcia-Bitong]

3 hours ago, melissala said:

I agree, that's what he might think but I disagree that was a rejection.  She did not say yes, but she did not say no.  He also told her to think about it, and was actually the one to walk away from her after she gave him first aid.  She also eventually did accept him after that, without fully rejecting him before hand.  I do see your point in that he again basically asked her to confess and she didn't say anything, so maybe technically she rejected him, but I don't think that's fair to say she did right then.  It also wasn't really the right time moment to focus on their romance considering what she just had to do. 

Though then the next day he mentioned the three rejections, and that she's probably upset she didn't accept him and was worried about her.  So, while I can see his POV, I don't think it's fair to call that a rejection. I'll give him two rejections of course though.   It's like him saying she wrecked three cars, she didn't.  He can't count.  There's was only two and the third he was the one driving. 

i thought the third one was at the shipwreck 

[kristy86]

OMO, this is all bcos @winterbubbletea only now I realized what she meant by Ramen sexiness... errr this is not r rated guys   Are we the only byeontae ones here winter? Or it's only me and I just misunderstood your message, lol

 

 

 

[CatWhiskers]

@phikyl On point! 

Can I start something new here? I have been quite curious.

1. WHAT MAKES YOU WATCH DOTS?

2. WHAT MAKES YOU TOTALLY LOVE IT AND GOT SO HOOKED?

For me:-

1. The 1st ever trailer. The one that was shown in the KBS Awards. I saw it sometime in January and was mind-blown (Other than the fact that it's SHK and because she doesn't do Kdrama all the time). I was asking myself (frm the trailer I just watched), is that a movie or a drama? The awesome cinematography was THE selling point for me & the "confession scene" makes me ponder what happen and the fact that everything looks so pretty. I kept rewatching the trailer and had then been forever waiting for its premiere. 

2. After rewatching, I think Episode 2. When YSJ & KMY broke things off. I was completely SOLD first, by how heartbroken and disappointed YSJ looked. And I was like, my god....the eyes...the feels!!!! 

And I was also thinking...THIS drama is the most fast-paced drama ever. Leads go out on Ep 1, and Ep 2 end things. Wow. Aside frm that, I was utterly satisfied and taken with KMY's character. My thoughts were somewhere between..Damn that girl knows what she wants. She doesn't just go for his charms & handsome face. Atta girl!!  and  Did I just watch a damn realistic decision scene? In Kdrama? Like Jinja?! The character actually uses her brains instead of following her heart?

 

@kristy86 Omo. What about the Ramen? Are we gonna have another byuntae discussion again?  I'm in! We could reach another milestone in this thread. Last time we had one, we hit 1000. Lol.