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Descended From the Sun: Episode 6

A lot happens in this episode, and everything changes as Shi-jin and Mo-yeon find themselves facing unfamiliar challenges. Any location can be a war zone given the right circumstances, and emotional war zones can be dangerous in unexpected ways. When disaster threatens and everyone is called on to help, they’ll be forced to adapt quickly, and learn things about themselves they never expected.

EPISODE 6 RECAP

The night before he’s scheduled to leave Uruk, Shi-jin finds Mo-yeon to ask her the question he’s been asking himself since they kissed… should he apologize, or should he confess? Mo-yeon says that he’s charming, but he’s also dangerous, and she doesn’t like that about him.

She admits that she’s drawn to him, and that she wishes they had more time so that she could figure out whether she could handle being the girlfriend of such a charming and dangerous man. But he always leaves so soon after they meet, and she can’t get angry or ask him to stay. So right now, all she knows is that she doesn’t like him, and she asks him to apologize.

Shi-jin listens and takes this all in, then apologizes sincerely. He wishes Mo-yeon well, salutes her, and leaves.

Mo-yeon wakes the next morning, but her usual serving of bare-torso’d men fails to cheer her like it usually does. Private Ki-bum tells her that Shi-jin left last night, and that his flight’s probably already departed. She doesn’t seem as certain of her decision today, as she mutters to herself that he didn’t even give it a second chance.

Back home, Shi-jin helps his father ready for his discharge ceremony, and the two seem quite close. His father grouses that Shi-jin’s refusal to follow orders caused him to lose his chance to be a general. But Shi-jin says that he raised him that way, and Dad admits that some things are more important than being promoted. They pose for a portrait with a picture of Shi-jin’s mother, who’s deceased.

Dae-young puts his newest crop of trainees through hell, where Shi-jin joins them by riding the zipline. He then rappels headfirst down to where Dae-young is literally sitting on the shoulders of one trainee. Best entrance ever.

They go out for drinks that night, and Dae-young cringes when a group of soldiers enter the bar — he was their “evil” instructor, and of course they recognize him right away. Apparently Dae-young talks big and offers to fight any of his trainees once they’re strong enough, and these three are ready now.

Dae-young plasters on his indignant face and says that that only counts outside, and right now they’re inside. Shi-jin tries to charm them out of their anger, but apparently that doesn’t work as well on men as it does on women. He murmurs to Dae-young to run on three, and starts to count… and Dae-young flees on one. HAHA.

Shi-jin follows him, but they only find themselves in hotter water when they realize that the whole place is filled with soldiers. They’re rushed, and it’s the best scene ever, because nobody is really being hurt — it’s just a lot of shoving and jumping around in slow motion. They finally break free and escape down the street, with an entire platoon of soldiers after them.

As soon as they shake their pursuers, Shi-jin starts to complain that Dae-young really sucks at math (“Does three come after one??”). Shi-jin says that Dae-young was hard on him as a cadet too, and Dae-young asks if he wants to fight… and Shi-jin backs down, saying that he only has happy memories. Hee.

As they catch their breath, Dae-young asks if Shi-jin drank that bottle of wine he left him back in Uruk. Shi-jin grumbles that he only got to taste it, and admits that he drank it with Mo-yeon but it didn’t go well. He says that he still misses her, but he’ll probably feel better soon.

Shi-jin pokes at Dae-young, saying that at least he tried with his girl, but Dae-young admits that he sabotaged himself. The friends agree that they’re both stupid.

Dae-young heads off home, and this time when Myung-joo calls, he answers. Myung-joo is thrilled even though he doesn’t speak — it’s enough that he picked up. She tells him that she’s doing well and that she misses him, and he remembers again when they were dating and happy. Poor guy looks like he’s barely hanging in there.

Mo-yeon texts with a friend, and when she asks about Shi-jin, she replies that he was wonderful, and that she regrets asking for an apology. She should have held onto him, and confessed her feelings. She missed her chance, and wonders how he could have liked her in the first place.

At the same time Shi-jin rides the bus home, and we see that he’s sitting just above a huge billboard of Mo-yeon’s face. Mo-yeon erases the text of her admission, not sending it after all.

Shi-jin and Dae-young meet to play pool, and OMG, they’re wearing the same shirt. Shi-jin immediately whips out his phone for a picture, and I’m dying here. Dae-young looks adorably embarrassed, so of course Shi-jin sends the pics right to Myung-joo.

Mo-yeon is busy taking care of the local children, and her little friend brings her a picture he drew of her and Shi-jin holding hands. We see that she’d addressed all the kids on the day they went to the village, and had Shi-jin translate while she told them that licking things they find laying around could make them very sick.

Shi-jin had translated that to “If you lick things like this, I’ll shoot you,” making the kids giggle. “Wash your hands before you eat,” becomes, “Wash your hands before you eat or I’ll shoot you,” and so on, but he’d played innocent when Mo-yeon got suspicious.

Shi-jin goes fishing and pretty much gets bored right away, so he calls Dae-young to join him. Heh, Dae-young just hangs up on him, and Shi-jin is left alone with his thoughts. He’s still carrying around that stone from the beach, and remembers how Mo-yeon told him that she’d be too busy rebuilding her career to come back there. But she’d said that he probably could come back, so left the stone with him.

And as it turns out, it’s Mo-yeon who makes it back to the beach first. She stand on the cliff overlooking the beautiful cove, remembering Shi-jin as longingly as he remembers her.

Daniel finds her there and she smiles to see his car almost as good as new. She’s leaving today, and she wants to pay him back for the cost of the repairs, but instead he asks her to donate monthly to a children’s charity.

Myung-joo complains when Mo-yeon takes her time finishing up inventory, not that it bothers Mo-yeon. But it gets her attention when Myung-joo asks if she likes Shi-jin, and though she doesn’t answer, Myung-joo can tell just by her face.

Shi-jin just so happens to call Myung-joo at that moment, and she needles Mo-yeon some more by asking Shi-jin if Mo-yeon likes him. Shi-jin plays spy as well, reporting that he’s having coffee with Dae-young right now, and it’s cute how Dae-young tries (and fails) to pretend he’s not interested.

Shi-jin also tries to act like he doesn’t care what Mo-yeon is doing, but that lasts about two seconds before he caves and asks anyway. He smiles to hear that Mo-yeon is angry, and hangs up.

Mo-yeon is called away for a photo of the medical team, since they’re heading home today. Mo-yeon is the only one not celebrating, but the rest of the team are thrilled to hear that they’re getting a helicopter ride to the airport. They have to go in two groups, and Mo-yeon’s group leaves first.

Young-soo greedily counts his next payment of diamonds for Argus, and soon after, the same worker who noticed the blood on Young-soo’s ankle reports for work. He’s read the riot act by the site manager for not wearing a safety helmet, and the manager slaps his own helmet on the kid’s head. And just in time, as everything starts to shake, and they realize that an earthquake has hit.

It’s a bad one – Private Ki-bum is knocked to the floor in the base kitchen, and the refrigerator falls on top of him. Everyone tries to run to safer areas outside, as the earthquake just goes on and on. The power plant location seems to be hit the hardest, and many people are injured, some even falling into huge cracks in the ground as the earth seems to open up to swallow them.

Mo-yeon, her half of the team, and the soldiers watch the disaster from above in disbelief, and back home, Shi-jin sees a news report stating that the earthquake was of 6.7 magnitude. He calls in for more information, while at the same time, the medical team’s colleagues (including Chi-hoon’s very pregnant fiancee) can only watch the news helplessly.

At the news, Lieutenant General Yoon reads a report of the plans to send men to Uruk to help with disaster relief. He tells his assistant to make sure Dae-young is included on that list.

Mo-yeon refuses to board the plane back home, insisting on going back with her team to the base to help with what must be a huge number of injured people. They’re needed back there… not to mention, she won’t leave half of her team to deal with this alone.

A meeting between the Special Forces and the Haesung bigwigs grows emotional, as they try to decide if sending the relief team would be a smart move. Director Han is nearly frantic, having heard nothing from his medical team since the earthquake. Lieutenant General Yoon promises him that they’ll send their best men to recover his people, and in return, Haesung Group offers to provide whatever funds are needed.

And so, Dae-young and Shi-jin find themselves on a plane, headed back to Uruk.

Mo-yeon wins and her half of the team are sent back to the base, where they find things in a shambles and everyone shaken up, but thankfully nobody’s been seriously injured. Even Private Ki-bum is okay, having suffered only a dislocated shoulder.

But things are much worse at the power plant, where the tower and main building have collapsed, and the medical team rushes to help. It’s bad… very bad. The place is pretty much leveled, and workers are still being pulled from the rubble by their coworkers.

Mo-yeon takes charge, and reminds everyone of protocol — they’re to triage everyone, and tag them with colors noting the urgency of their condition. Green for non-emergency, yellow for slight injuries, red for critical patients, and black for those who can’t be treated on-site. The patients marked black should be ignored, and their efforts focused on saving those who can be saved.

The soldiers help set up a tent and cots for the injured, and stop anyone going into the building while it’s still unstable. They can’t find the manager for a head count, and Young-soo is useless, but he figures that Manager Go must still be inside. He tries to talk a soldier into letting him in, saying that he left something “very important” in his office.

Manager Go is indeed still inside the destroyed building — he’s the man who gave his hard hat to the kid. He’s injured but still alive, though his lower body is trapped under a massive slab of concrete. He calls for help weakly, and hears another voice.

It’s another worker nearby, who’s been impaled through his ribcage by a piece of broken metal. Manager Go bangs a rock and yells as best he can, trying to make enough noise for someone to hear them.

Chi-hoon tries to revive a patient that’s gone into cardiac arrest, and Mo-yeon checks the man and changes his marker to black. She tells Chi-hoon to stop, but he’s determined to save the man’s life and refuses to give up. He grows emotional and tries to stop her from declaring time of death, saying that the man was fine — he gave him a yellow marker so he must be fine.

Sang-hyun has to slap Chi-hoon to snap him out of it, and tells him to start acting like a doctor. Chi-hoon wails that he’s no doctor if he can’t even triage a person correctly, and Sang-hyun tells him that he is a doctor, and he’s needed here, so pronounce this man dead and go help those he can save. Chi-hoon collapses, sobbing, but he gets himself together and does what he needs to do.

The doctors and soldiers work late into the night, cutting people out of the collapsed building and treating them as well as they can in the field. At one point, a worker gratefully gives Mo-yeon his boots — she’s been working all day in sandals with the heels knocked off of them, and her feet are filthy and bloody. Superimposed over it all is Mo-yeon’s voice as she gives her doctor’s oath, promising to devote her life to helping others.

Many are saved, and many are not. As the death count rises it takes an emotional and physical toll, so everyone is relieved to see a helicopter arrive with reinforcements. Mo-yeon is surprised to see Shi-jin again, and they lock eyes for a moment before she’s called away.

Shi-jin takes charge of the soldiers and the rescue efforts in the collapsed plant, and though they’ve been working nonstop and are filthy, exhausted, and injured themselves, not one soldier asks to be excused. Shi-jin tells them that their number one responsibility is not to get hurt, because they can’t help anyone if they’re taken out of commission themselves.

Myung-joo hears that Dae-young is here and comes running, and he tells her that he was worried about her, and he’s glad to see her safe. He’s still very formal and stiff, but it’s more than he’s admitted in a long time. She tells him as well, “Don’t get hurt. This is an order.” He salutes silently, and she returns his salute.

Mo-yeon stops to tie her loose boot laces, and another pair of hands take over — it’s Shi-jin. He doesn’t look at her or say a word as he kneels in front of her, but Mo-yeon can’t stop staring at his face. Finally Shi-jin says that he’s glad that she’s not hurt, and that he regrets leaving that day without saying goodbye.

Since he can’t be with her, he asks her to be careful, and Mo-yeon asks him to do the same. He walks away, and Mo-yeon walks on in the opposite direction.

COMMENTS

I was very impressed with Mo-yeon in this episode, because it felt like, for the first time, she really thought about her reactions to Shi-jin and made her feelings known clearly. Telling him that she finds him attractive, but that he’s also dangerous, was the most open she’s been with him since they met. And she’s absolutely right — the fact that he’s always leaving never gives her a chance to really like him, and I’m glad that she actually told him that. It was probably very hard for Shi-jin to hear, but she needed to say it. Attraction isn’t enough for a relationship, and it was impressively mature of Mo-yeon to recognize that and let him go, despite her feelings for him.

Usually in dramas that revolve around a central romance, I find forced separation to be a frustrating trope, even when necessary to the story. But in this case I actually appreciated seeing Shi-jin and Mo-yeon separated for a while, because it highlighted something that I really like about their budding relationship: Unlike many stories where it’s hammered home over and over that the main couple are Meant To Be, these two do not need each other. They are each a whole and strong person by themselves, with friends and lives and things to focus on besides love. Even Shi-jin said that yes, he misses Mo-yeon, but he’ll be okay given some time.

What that means is that instead of some force of fate or longtime childhood connection bringing these two people together, their attraction just comes down to one simple thing — they like each other. It sounds silly to even point that out, but in Dramaland where we’re taught that a couple only falls in love because it’s Fated, just simply liking someone and wanting to be together is very simple and freeing. Shi-jin and Mo-yeon are free to be together or go their own way, whichever they decide, without any outside forces manipulating their relationship. Even being thrown together in dangerous situations doesn’t really affect their feelings, because it’s in the calm moments that their growing romance really shines. I love the simplicity of that, that their future is really up to nothing more than their choice.

I have to mention the incredible scene in which Chi-hoon found himself facing death in a disaster — it was such a touching moment, to see a young man realize that just because he’s a doctor, it doesn’t mean he’s infallible or will always make the right decision. His incorrect triage may have cost the patient his life, but he did the best he could under terrible circumstances, and that’s all we can do. I’m actually a huge fan of Onew when it comes to music, but I haven’t had the chance to see him act in anything. I’ve been trying to be honest about his acting ability, and so far his character hasn’t had that much to do, getting by on charm and that megawatt smile. But that scene, particularly the moment when Chi-hoon let himself grieve for just a few seconds then pulled himself up and got himself together — that was good. Very good. I really felt the keen reality of a doctor losing his very first patient, yet not having the luxury of time to really come to grips with what that means, and having to just get one with it. Well done.

Now that all of our players are back in the same place, it feels like the story setup is done and we’ll finally get into the meat of the plot soon. One slight criticism of the show is that we really don’t know what the plot is beyond Shi-jin and Mo-yeon’s relationship, but a lot of pieces have been set up and backstory filled in, so I’m hoping that the main story is about to kick in. I’m sure that there’s a lot of ground to be covered, especially with Shi-jin’s past with Argus, and how that can create problems in the present. I do enjoy the love stories and find no fault there, but this is a war zone after all — I’m ready to see some real conflict.

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SJK is really shedding pretty boy image in this drama, right?
Love this side of his acting too.

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... continue
I never had a thing with ppl with uniform, but...

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right??? didn't know i had a uniform kink but man does he wear it well

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ME TOO. How about I never ever liked Song Jong Ki. Honestly but every time he appears on the screen in this show, my heart explodes and leave heart-shaped stains all over the wall. I don't even understand it myself. Neither did I have a thing for uniforms because let's face it, they probably smell like dirt and sweat all the time but since it is a drama we can imagine that they smell good on top of looking great ahhaah

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Me three!! I liked SJK since Sungkyungkwan Scandal. But never like this. he was always on the pretty side, I have never thought before that he could rock this uniform. O gosh he is so HOT. And his voice.. I am melting.

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IKR! That military uniform suits him well!!

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Yea.. He looks awsome in the uniform. The pretty boy image is still there but I can see that slowly fading away......

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I love it even more when he wears that communication device around his neck its small but feels like serious YSJ is turned on to kick some butt hehehe...

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IKR!! It looks sexy on him and making him look more "captain-ish"

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I have to admit... SJK looks amazing in uniform. I like him better in uniform than in civilian clothes (well, except for that one grey sweater with the white arm band... that was nice :) But I always knew he was a great actor but he is really shining in DOTS. And his voice is pretty damn awesome too.

Oh yeah, and can we say entrance?? Big Boss really knows how to make an entrance (and exit) doesn't he?? So heart-dropping... I'm with SHG, the man IS attractive...

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Love him too. He's in my head all the time now.

I am thinking of Hawkeye and the M.A.S.H. Drama.

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super good episode. i really began to love KMY after this episode she shined.

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I love this episode. That short montage in response to Shi Jin's question (who should really be nicknamed Korean McDreamy at this point) really highlighted the problems in their relationship, differences in their occupations and her hesitance. Every time he appears, he charms her off her sense then...leaves. She is the one who has to deal with loneliness , the worry and fear that the empty chair he left behind will always be empty or never knowing just when will he be back again. Sure what he does is very respectable and wonderful, but he doesn't have to deal with the emotional pain and the constant worry and wondering that plagues her. There is just so much unpredictability there. Apart from a handful of movies, the pain of those who are left being by these soldiers are not brought to light enough. It is the hardest for them because they have to stay put and worry and there is literally nothing they can do. Almost like watching someone navigate a mine field without a detector. Can you blame her for asking him to apologize instead? Side note, that scene where they took the family portrait really broke my heart and also made me a little frustrated: I don't need another reason for why Shi Jin deserve some love!

I have to say that Moyeon character is wonderful and incredibly rare in the k-dramaland. She is assertive, independent and a go-getter. She never wallows in self-pity even when the circumstances are against her. She is a fighter: when others who are undeserving are getting promoted, she decided to work harder and have her own place instead. Unlike many other female protagonist, she could cry, whine, act pitiful, have a chaebol help her out but she doesn't. Instead, she chose to build her career and venture out on her own. She let's Shi Jin knows her thoughts and is very straightforward with him: if she needs more time, she asks for it. She doesn't run head in without thinking or let her emotions take charge; she insist on having the time to assess the situation, prepare herself and be comfortable with the decision she made rationally with a clear mind. It is amazing that she has so much strength not to let herself for head over heels, regardless of how charming he is and be incredibly firm about it. She doesn't want to let a guy or her relationship define her. Her stubbornness is admirable because she stands firm on her feet and not let anyone sway her.

In this episode, she grow even more in character. It is almost as if she got reminded of why she wanted to be a doctor. In fact, I think Shi Jin knew that she had it in her somewhere before it got lost amidst those unfair promotions and hospital politics led her astray. He saw it in her in her dedication to save someone. I like that this episode as the couple are apart, we got to see more depth in Moyeon. And that ending scene tells us that they are true equals: one is the leader of her team and the other a leader of a squadron. They both take charge of the situation, are...

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(too long again! :\)

They both take charge of the situation, are very morally upright with strong values that they don't compromise on, straightforward and honest with each other. I really like the way Lollypip put it, that they don't really need each other, they are fine by themselves but they really like each other. Not some random childhood fate or destiny, long term friendship but they simply appreciate each other for the person they are - flaws and perfection alike.

What I am looking forward to is the next few episodes. Now that we have established they are equals where do we go from here? I am curious as to where the writer would take us from here. I totally agree with Lollypip that now is the time to get into the plot and story.

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+1000! You took the words right out of my mouth.

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I would have have to disagree with Shi Jin as McDreamy, I think his humour and cadence is more McSteamy, And Seo Dae Young can be McDreamy instead. :))

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?Missing Mc steamy, to this day i can't believe they actually killed him off. I heard Mc dreamy is not in the latest season, so i stopped watching, I'm done.

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They killed McDreamy too! I've stopped watching since Christina left.

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Yes they did kill Mcdreamy too, then there's this new intern who looks like Mcdreamy but is nowhere near Mcdreamy.

Good thing we have our new McDreamy and McSteamy korean version. Hahaha I think they'll win the bromance award at the end of the year if KBS decides to have a new category in their awards night.

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McSteamy indeed! I love SJK. His sexy smile, kind eyes, total charm and charisma added to some really wonderful acting draw me in and make the eyes and heart super happy. I love the bromance storyline the most. I know its not a popular opinion but the chemistry between the two male leads is more fun to watch than the main relationship. All of them are great actors and the writing is excellent, but the two Songs are missing a connection..... I hope it gets better and the attraction comes alive, but so far I wish the main female lead could convey more emotion. Not over the top stuff, just subtle attraction. So far not seeing it. If it wasn't blatantly written in the story, I wouldn't know that she actually likes him.

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Really??! I can see why but he is very McDreamy to me with the charming things he says especially the "he's very dreamy but he is not the sun, you are" line that comes up to me every time he says something impressionable and charmingly sweet. Plus, he doesn't flirt with everyone, just her.

Seo Dae Young is very dreamy too ahhah

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She's so awesome really. Strong and caring. And SJ is so freaking charming, and such a nice guy, but I can totally see her side of the story by not giving in to him. There are no bad guys in this relationship, and not playing hot or cold. It's two people who like each other, but things always get in the way of things going forward. Though fate has a way of bringing them together again to try one more.

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Thank you once again for the recap! I continue to love the bromance between SJ and DY, how well they know each other, how they know how to push each other’s buttons, and yet how they would be there for each other in times of need. I have noticed (in ep.1) that SJ calls DY “hyung” when they are not in the military, in missions or on the military grounds, so it is safe to assume that when they are serving (on duty) they each fall back into their respective ranks/positions, but when they are out as civilians, their roles are reversed, with DY being the oldest? (Though that doesn’t really seem to weigh in much in the way they treat each other, considering some of the things/pranks SJ pulls on DY). Did anyone notice that SJ and DY held their breath while the soldiers were looking for them, and were really close to their positions?

I also loved the phone conversation MJ had with DY, how full of emotions it was for (and was acted by) both. The way DY would clear his throat, so as not to cry, the way he shook his head “yes” when she asked if he was listening to her, and I loved it when MJ said, “why would I have any pride, when DY loves me so much?” She feels so secure in the love DY has for her.

They really went for a grand scale/epic earthquake in this ep., didn’t they? Some of the things that moved me where the quiet scenes, such as the guy who stopped MJ to give her his shoes (which would protect her feet better), and the older guy who had a bar in his chest, and kept trying to call for help, for him and for his colleague. As fun and as endearing LCH can be at times, he is going to need to grow up fast, and react faster as a doctor. The way he broke down, and needed comforting at an emergency scene was not helpful.

I appreciated that the shoe-tying lace did not have any background music, it made it more impactful. I also loved what SJ told MJ (during that scene), ever so the vulnerable and open one (well, as much as he can, given his situation). That whole scene was a very nice visual. Based on the ending of ep.6, I am really looking forward to next week’s episodes (both of them). I am also anticipating that after the earthquake, the clean-up and taking care of the casualties/wounded, the plot might move to showcasing the baddies? (based on some of the stills we have seen so far).

We have seen that SJ has a dad and lost his mom, I wonder if we will have the background story of MJ, regarding her family, for example. I am now curious about that.

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I couldn't agree more about the phone conversation between MJ and DY. Kuddos to the actors and their emotion-filled acting.

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@ yoyolara,

Hi! And thank you for your response. In my haste to write my comment, I noticed that I made some mistakes, and I apologize about that: I wrote, “the things that moved me where the quiet scenes,” when I meant to write, “the things that moved me were the quiet scenes.”

You know, you are right! That whole scene was so well acted, really! Kuddos (as you said) to both JG and KJW for doing so well in that scene. And their chemistry is really good as well. I also love the scenes between MJ and SJ, they are really adorable together. In ep.5, SJ seemed scared when MJ suggested that she should just marry him. Do you think that he was really scared? I thought he knew that she was kidding, no?

I have been loving SJ as a character since the beginning of the drama. I have started to rewatch the first episodes, and I want to see if there are some things that he has done that I have not liked or agreed with, hindsight being 20/20 and all (or sometimes, we just feel differently about a scene or a dialogue, when we rewatch them). Finding out that he had lost his mom made me feel bad for him. It made me appreciate more his sense of humor (more like his tendency to make jokes when things are not going well, or to make light of things), him being vulnerable and open with MY (well, at least about his feelings. As he has said, he can’t really talk about his job, though he has tried to say a few things, without breaking the rules [ep.2 conversation in the coffee shop]).

I loved the little that I saw of his relationship with his dad. The longing that I had sense in him for companionship since ep.1, seemed to be confirmed to me in this ep. SJ seems to have had wonderful parents, and at his age (34), it would make sense that deep down, he longs for something similar if the right girl came along. I feel that I understand him as a character, and the way SJK portrays him has everything to do with it. Seeing SJ with his dad and his mom (her picture) also made appreciate his deep friendship with DY, and how much he cares about his men. They probably are his (other) family. He really is a caring man, we could see that when he wanted the Arab prince to have a chance at being saved, by being operated on. He intervened not only to shoulder MY’s responsibility in the matter, but also so that the Arab dignitary would have a chance to live, should the surgery be successful in the end.

The last part of this ep. to me was intense, more so when I watched it with the subs (the part that started with the earthquake). And because of it, I appreciated the funny parts in the earlier scenes: the trainee 17 who poorly did what he was asked to do, and how DY and SJ held their breath while they were hiding. And when DY showed up with a similar shirt at the pool place, I thought that was some well done PPL.

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@ GB Unni,

I am going back to your earlier responses (to me) to comment on, since I didn’t do that earlier. WRT to your comment about rewatching ep.5 car rescue scene, yes, SJK is simply SOOOO VERY CUTE when he smiles (his whole face is), and his smiling eyes are just darling. I LOVED his whole body language during that scene, and I LOVED MY’s reaction to him as well. As he put it, if she could be (kind of) mad at him enough to hit him, she was OK.

Thank you so much for explaining what you thought about the shoe lace tying scene. As I said, I was not sure about what to make of it. I appreciated your and the other beanies’ thoughts on it. Thank you also for your additional comments on the threads (in many recaps). I have read them (on the additional pages), and they always make me think :-) My computer is acting up again, and so I don’t always get a chance to respond to all of your comments, even when I wish to.

WRT the famous question SJ asked MY (about the kiss), I was reading last Sat. the thread and the comments on that thread about the teaser, when it was released last year (I think). It was interesting to see that b/c Writer KES’ previous male leads had mostly been jerks and (somewhat) abusive towards the female leads, many of us had assumed that he had done something really bad and wrong for saying what he said (“should I apologize or confess?”) Only to find out that it was not the case, after seeing the scene in context this past week. I was happy to have been nicely surprised. Weren’t you?

GB Unni, now I am going to touch on some of what you said here: 3.2.1.1.3 Growingbeautifully March 13th, 2016 at 6:53 AM

1—This is WRT to your 3rd # under that post. I too appreciated that he let her go (when they were in the kitchen) when she didn’t want to talk to him, and turned away to leave. And I did love also how (as you put it), he straightened up to apologize, said his piece, and was sincere about it. He really is a gentleman, isn’t he? (well, at least most of the time). We say that, and then he turns around and makes sure she knows that HE knows what the color of her bra was (naughty SJ, tsk, tsk, tsk…) I rewatched (not long ago) that scene in the kitchen when he said her underwear was black, and then she said “no, it was navy,” and he said, “you think I didn’t know that?” SJ, SJ, SJ… Sometimes you want to smack him, but then he can be so charming and adorable *SMH* What is a woman to do? Oh BTW, I saw on one of the recaps of OMHE that you wrote that you needed a combination of SJ, the male lead of OMHE and another Kdrama male lead to be molded into one, and you would have the perfect “husband.” Could I please sign up for one as well? :-)

And I agree with you that his saluting her was also probably a goodbye gesture, with him thinking that they might not see each other again.

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I did not watch teasers/trailers therefore the Question and its context had no impact on me in terms of surprise.

About his underwear joke: Actually, I'm used to there being cheeky gentlemen who would be respectful in behavior, while at the same time teasing in a provocative way. It's usually taken with good humour in my society. Part of flirting and meant to shock and generate a few laughs, with no ill intent. The perpetrator knows he will get hit by the girl, often enough! :D

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@ GB Unni, PART 2:

1—In your 4th #, about this, “It was the father part of him that I liked. Also the subtle look in his eye when he was told that DY had already volunteered to go… I felt he approved of DY at that point.” See unni, you notice things as well. You have that eagle eye sometimes  I will have to rewatch that scene, to see that “subtle look in his eye” you speak of.

2—In your 5th #, I think that yes, it could be that comfortable at times for peace-keepers? I don’t really know. That has not bothered me, as I have always thought that the conflict filled episodes would be coming soon enough. As @ LollyPip pointed out, the characters have been established (even the 2dary and 3tiary ones), and so now we can move further into the plot. So I have just been patiently waiting for that. And while I have been waiting, I feel that I have been entertained, and given food for thought. So I am not complaining.

3-WRT your 6th #, I actually appreciated that the drama spent some time on the relationships. I actually enjoyed that part, a lot. And as you know, I didn’t mind the long looks either. And about your last 2 #s in that post, I agree with all that you said. Well said unni. Again, you made some astute observations :-) I did find it interesting that SJ did not try to talk to MY when he knew she was standing there (or was close by). I do think though (as you mentioned earlier) that he was just being a gentleman who respected her wishes. What else was he supposed to do, really?

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@ GB Unni, I am going to take a break for now. I did not sleep last night at all, and it is 7am my time. I will be back later.

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Thanks LollyPip!

Hi Ivoire!

What I liked about this episode:

- Shi Jin seriously following up on the kiss and apologizing
- Shi Jin's grand entrance... such a showoff! :D
- the bromance
- The soldier shove and chase scene

on a more serious note...
- Myung Ju's father wanted Dae Young to go to Urk
- The fact that the rescue was not all smooth sailing

What bothered me:

- Some scenes taking rather longer than necessary such as long pauses for thinking, long looks Shi Jin and Mo Yeon...
- editing where Myung Ju's telephone conversation was suddenly cut to Mo Yeon's texting.

I wondered about MY's stony faraway look all through the photography session... was that the reaction to Shi Jin calling Myung Ju and what Myung Ju had got her to acknowledge?

And I deplore the lack of right footwear in a 'war zone'! LOL.

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Hi GB Unni!!!!! ?

You have changed your screen name, wae? Any particular reason as to why? I have missed reading your posts, Unni. I kept looking for your post(s) in ep. 5 recap, and I looked, and looked, and looked ? Have you posted there yet?

I'm glad to see you here, b/c I have so many questions, wrt episodes 5 and 6. So I am hoping that you and the other commenters will help me with some of the things that are still unclear to me. For example (and this might sound silly, but I know you won't mind, so I'll ask): what do you think was the symbolism/significance of the boot lace-tying? I got the feeling that it was symbolic, but I'm not sure of what, and I'm curious about your thoughts on it. I have more to ask, but I'm having a headache, so I'll be back soon. So glad to have you back ?

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Hi Ivoire
Still using the same name "growingbeautifully"... the 88 was accidentally left in. LOL. I'm kinda tied up and am only free this week and next week on Saturday. I thought I'd only comment on the even numbered ep if I had nothing much to say on the odd numbered ones.

Symbolism? Taking over the tying of the shoes ... a gesture to show caring and wanting to serve and protect. He did say that he could not be with her so she had to be careful. At the car accident incident, he did say something like he could not even leave her alone... she did not know how to take care of herself and stuff like that.

BTW, I was just re-watching Ep 5 car rescue and I'm sooo amused by his continually smiling/being amused at her horror at what he just did to save them. Love his smiling eyes!

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@ GB Unni,

You probably won't read or see this answer any time soon, however I thought I would still post it. WRT your 1st post, @ LollyPip mentioned in ep.5 that one could see SJ’s eyes welling up, when he was asking MY what he should do. I am glad she saw that, because I saw that as well, and it showed me how sincere and how considerate SJ was of MY. I actually took it as SJ saying “WRT the kiss without your consent, [what do you] want me to do? (Though SJ said, “what should I do?) [Do you want me]/Should I apologize or [Do you want me]/Should I confess (my feelings) to you?”

I felt that it was a very important scene, because to me, his questions also implied two different things: 1--If SJ has to apologize for the kiss, then (to me) the fact that he kissed her was not OK, and she might have been offended or bothered by it (even though she didn’t push him away the 1st time he tried to kiss her). 2—If he has to confess his feelings (to her), then it was OK that he kissed her, and confessing would only confirm/cement all that he had been telling her all along, mainly that he liked her a lot (I personally think that he is already in love with her), and that he wanted to be with her (starting with dating her, and seeing where that would take them). I personally loved that SJ basically put the ball in MY’s court, and let her decide what action he should take. And when she did, he obliged, and then he left, after saluting her. I didn’t understand why he did the salute (he hadn’t in the past), did you?

I actually loved SJ’s grand entrance, b/c he and his men looked good doing it (yeah, I can be shallow at times :-) ), This is the 1st time I actually love SJK making grand entrances. It was also a reminder to me that the show, its writers, producers, PDs, staff and crew (and its actors) were going for grand, epic and dramatic with this drama, and we knew that going in, didn’t we? So I personally do not mind when they do stuff like that. So far, they have looked good doing it.
Also, I have mentioned it earlier, like you, I do LOVE the bromance in this show, I just LOVE IT.

So I was confused with this point: did you like that MJ’s dad wanted DY to go to Urk or not? And why was that important that he go, do you think? Maybe deep down, MJ’s dad knows how good a soldier DY is (after all, he trains the soldiers for the Special Forces Unit), and how much experience he has, so it would make sense that he would send him, along with SJ, and the others. I think that MJ’s dad was also worried about his daughter being safe, as well as the rest of the medical team, and the Haesung people. But I think he must have worried about his daughter for sure. So, did you also like the fact that the rescue was not smooth sailing? Why? B/c it showed that they were humans, and therefore fallible? I personally liked that aspect as well, tbh. I felt that it also added some drama (or melodrama) to the scenes, and some realism.

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@ GB Unni, Part 2:

I didn’t really mind the long looks between MY and SJ. As I said, this is also a melodrama, so I expect things like that, as I have seen them in other Korean melodramas. In real life, that would not happen (I would hope not), is my reasoning. I take those moments to let me know where the characters are at emotionally, and what they are feeling at the time. It really helps that so far, I have been able to read the characters in this drama. Also, when SJ 1st arrived, his men were lining up to salute him, and hear him address them, and I felt that they (the PDs) took that time to show SJ and MY making eye contact, and basically acknowledge that they were relieved to see each other, and SJ was relieved to see that MY was OK. I did feel that the tying the shoe lace scene was not necessary. Visually, it was a very beautiful scene, however considering the circumstances, that should not have happened, at least not when it did.

About this, “I wondered about MY’s stony faraway look all through the photography session… was that the reaction to Shi Jin calling Myung Ju and what Myung Ju had got her to acknowledge? And I deplore the lack of right footwear in a ‘war zone’! LOL.” Yes, I too deplore the lack of proper footwear in a war zone. And I wondered as well about MY’s face during the photo session. Maybe she was having mixed feelings about a lot of things: leaving Urk after having known people there for a short while (the children, the soldiers, Daniel and his wife, etc…), wondering if she might run into SJ in Seoul? Missing SJ, and wishing she could have said “goodbye?” Still feeling sad and disappointed that she had not held onto SJ and confessed to him? She looked somewhat sad, and withdrawn (for lack of better words), don’t you think? I think a lot was going through her mind at that moment.

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Hi Ivoire
I was thinking it's more likely that you won't have time to see this soon. I do come and take a look quite often but don't have time to respond.

What 1st post are you referring to? I did not post in Ep 5. You said, "WRT your 1st post, @ LollyPip mentioned in ep.5 that one could see SJ’s eyes welling up, when he was asking MY what he should do...."

Yes, I have the same interpretation to his asking whether he should apologise or confess. He had made the first moves to initiate a relationship that could move on to dating and he needed to know her response to this. I like that he's a real gentleman in how he let's her go when she turned away and how he straightened up to apologise sincerely, when he heard her response. The salute is a sign of respect, greeting and acknowledgement (as in officers also salute those under them as well as their equals and superiors) and is appropriate coming from a soldier to whomever he wishes to show that respect. Also it was a goodbye gesture since he thought they would probably part ways indefinitely.

I found it cute that MJ's father on the one hand told his assistant not to bother about a single Lieut Yoon, (his daughter) who was there on duty, and in the same breath asked to ensure that her boyfriend with a great stake in seeing to her welfare, should go to Urk. It was the father part of him that I liked. Also the subtle look in his eye when he was told that DY had already volunteered to go... I felt he approved of DY at that point.

I liked that the rescue was not too pat. It was definitely more realistic. I feel that we have not been (budget constraints?) shown much of the difficulties and realities of war where the Korean military were concerned. Although they were peace-keepers on 'holiday' it was still a bit too 'comfortable', but perhaps that is possible too.

I think because the focus was mainly on relationships without the other parts of the plot taking off yet, I was getting bored. And the long looks which I generally don't mind, started to bug me.

MY looking sad and withdrawn - Yes... what struck me about Moo Yeon when she was taking stock of the supplies was that she was reluctant to leave the room and go out for the photo-taking. On top of that, Myung Joo harrassed her and got an unspoken admission that she did like Shi Jin, plus she witnesses Shi Jin call MJ. I noted before that she takes a bit of time to come to terms with Shi Jin's dangerous life, now she is taking some minutes to figure out more about herself and him ... she is made aware that she had a chance with him and did not take it, ... that MJ (who had stolen her crush before) and SJ are pretty chummy, ... and SJ did not ask to speak to her when he knew she was there with MJ. (MJ noted that too). I said I wondered about her expression ... but what you say and what I've put here probably explains it.

She was probably feeling regrets, bits of jealousy, bits of resentment and she was not exactly...

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... She was probably feeling regrets, bits of jealousy, bits of resentment and she was not exactly raring to go home. It might have been the feeling that she had unfinished business since she had sort of changed her mind, but Shi Jin had left earlier than she expected, and she could not take back her request for an apology.

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@ GB Unni,

I am soooo glad you saw my message, thank you so much for responding quickly. You know Unni, you left two comments initially, this one: 1--3.2 Growingbeautifully88 March 11th, 2016 at 9:40 PM
And this one: 2--3.2.1.1 Growingbeautifully March 12th, 2016 at 12:06 AM

So by your 1st post, I meant your 1st post here, to me. I was not referring to any posts on ep.5 recap. I have not gone back to that yet. I am also sorry I didn't post my questions, I didn't know that you would see my response so quickly, otherwise I would have. I also apologize for not having posted on Sat. morning (my time) after I saw your 2nd response. I meant to do that, but then after having taken some ibuprofen for my headache, I went to bed for a few mns, with the hope of getting back up 30mns later, and continuing to write. Well, that didn't happen, and I wasted yesterday, bummer :-(

I am going to write and post my questions now, Unni. If you and other commenters see them, please feel free to share your thoughts. Thank you!

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@ivoire since we saw him putting aside his helmet before tying up her boot laces, i take the gesture meaning him putting aside his duties as a soldier for a moment to take care of her. and right afterwards we see his fingers clenching on his helmet, which to me signifies that he was itching to take her in his arms etc but alas, duty calls. in short, it's a symbolism of their entire relationship so far imo, quiet moments together before their respective duties coming inbetween them

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They were celebrating leaving and MY doesn't want to leave obviously.

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Based on the look on her face, I personally think that there was more than that going on for her, in her mind and in her heart.

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She's also missing her bae obviously. Well, I also think there is a lot more to MY than we know right now. I'm interested in her backstory for sure. There's other reasons why she's so opposed to dating SJ for one thing.

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@ lemondoodle,

By "bae," do you mean her friend in Seoul, the doctor? Yes she misses her, however I didn't get the sense that her friend was who she had in mind at that time. She knew she was going to see her very soon (before the earthquake hit), so I don't think that was where her mind was. I think GB Unni explained it well, she layed out a multitude of reasons why MY might have looked morose during the picture taking time. And those reasons made perfect sense to me. I also mentioned some reasons, and when you add those as well, one could see why MY would have a lot on her mind.

I have mentioned in an earlier comment that I am curious about MY's background, so there is no denying (on my part at least), that there is more to her. We have 10 more episodes to go, and the writers seem to be giving us the information they feel we need in spade, in every episode: case in point, DY and MJ's background history. We also didn't find out about SJ's dad until ep.6. So I'm hoping we will find out more about MY's background in the next episodes.

WRT MY's reasons for letting SJ go (or not starting a relationship with him), I felt that she explained well why she made the choice she made. I don't need her to tell me more, if she doesn't have any other reasons. I will leave it to the writers to let me know if there might be other reasons why MY did not want to be in a relationship with SJ. Just out of curiosity, what other reasons might MY have, for not wanting to date SJ? The reasons she gave were valid enough for me.

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Yeah I agree. I think she does not wanna leave yet, not that she also regrets letting SJ go. lol

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"Captain people are trapped under the building we have to help them"
YSJ:"wait she has an undone shoelace I have to help her first she might trip and fall.. oh ! We need it for poster too "

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Hahahaha tell me about it. Talk about priorities. it's a natural calamity and people are dying out there. It's pretty weird that scene IMO.

Also the scene where onew's character is crying his eye out cause of his carelessness and the docs are lecturing him on how to cope with it. It could have been written n edited better. It gave a feel they are wasting time in an emergency situation.

Quite a bad depiction of a disaster management imo.

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I actually disagree that the Onew characters part was unnecessarily long. I thought it was actually pretty necessary as a way to let viewers understand their struggle as a team of doctors and show casing their purpose for being there in Uruk. I know people were thinking in the past few episodes that the doctors were just goofing off or doing things that didn't seem to be useful. But this scene was able to show us viewers that these doctors also struggle as human beings in this third world country which they are not used to. It shines some light into the doctor team and how they move on past these tragedies, especially if it's your first one. So I thought it was beautifully done and would say that it gave me more reason to love the team of doctors and their purpose in Uruk.

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I actually didn't mind it, but only because I got the impression that time had passed since he first arrived and that both had been working for a few hours at that point. When that scene happens, it's much lighter out than when he first arrived. I definitely don't think tying her shoelaces was the first useful thing he did on the ground. I could be wrong though.

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Actually that scene was meant to highlight how on the field or in general as a doctor, you have to make snappy quick judgement and they can be wrong and lead to someone dying. That's the reality of being a doctor: you can't save everyone and sometimes, because you are human, you make errors that have huge consequences. It was a good and necessary scene since this a drama about occupations and relationships. The co-workers told him to become stronger and you need that. Of course in the real world, this scene would probably not have so many of the staff involved because there are others needing help all the time everywhere but it would have definitely happened. Just not for so long and with so many people.

Stopping to tie someone else's shoe laces and throw longing looks is technically not good disaster management.

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LOL!

That's good kdrama 'romance-creation' management! :)

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LOL! Good one GB Unni! I finally understood why that scene was inserted there: (I am hoping) it's because SJ and MY will not have time during the rescue to give each other longing long looks, and ever so slightly touch each other (like when SJ reached to take over tying her shoe laces).

So this being a romance melodrama and all (among its many genres), the writers inserted this scene now, so women across the world could swoon and go "Awwwwww..." and we could move on to the rescue endeavor (is what my hope is). GB Unni coined it right, and I guess this is one of those times when the writers took some creative license to make the drama more emotional and endearing to its viewers. And from some of the comments I have read here and on Soompi, many viewers did swoon, and loved the scene. SJK also said he loved the scene. I don't know if he meant it, or if he was just giving lip service. I guess I'll never know for sure?...

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Ah yes the time travelers phone call was such a tear-jerker. I liked that Daeyoung respected her father enough to follow his orders and said that he lost not because of rank but because he can't compete with a father's sincere love. That gained him so many brownie points that the dad wanted to sent him to her when something happened. It is clear that as much as he doesn't approve, he knows that Daeyoung's love for Moyeon is strong enough that he would give the rescue 200%. When he was informed that Daeyoung already volunteered himself, he had that same look of stunned but admiration look on his face when DAeyoung made the sincere heart comment.

Quite exciting that the girls will be put in the same position of worry next week. Praying against an earnest bot situation!

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I agree! I'm shipping Dae-young and Myung-joo so hard! No earnest bots! Only happily-ever-afters TOGETHER!

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I would like to add something to my comment about SJ asking MY what he should do about the kiss. I have just thought that (to me), he got teary-eyed b/c when he asked MY if her feelings were still complicated (viki’s translation), and she didn’t answer, he knew right then and there, that she would not accept him, they would not start to date. I felt that he wanted to cry (he got emotional), however he held it in. He wanted to cry (maybe not a “boo wooh” cry, but a silent one, with tears streaming down his face for a minute or two) b/c he REALLY wanted to hold on to her, however it does take two to tango, and if she is not ready (to date him), if she won’t accept him, he needs to respect that, and he did. So then he asked her what he should do, though I suspect that he knew she would not ask him to confess to her. That was also what made that scene poignant to me. And let’s not forget that it was her 2nd time rejecting him, that had to be hard, and that had to sting. That was why I felt for him during that scene, b/c he also managed not to crumble/break down in front of her, and he kept himself together.

I also now suspect that he might have left the night before (instead of the next morning, as scheduled) to get away from her, and the pain he would feel if he had to see her again. As he said, with time he would have been OK, but when she turned him down, that was painful for him, considering how much he really liked her. I found it interesting that MY did not seem to think about SJ’s feelings, and about how him liking her affected him as well. I felt that the writers and SJK made a point of showing how affected SJ was by MY. Most of the times when he paid her a compliment, he was dead serious and he meant it, and he wanted her to know it. He constantly let her know how he felt about her (since ep.1), and every single time he did that, he was being vulnerable. Yes he jokes often, and he also showed that he has self control, and he is good at his job, he is respected, etc… However I feel that it must not be easy to do what SJ did, not knowing if you will get the girl for sure or not. When she came to Urk, I would not have pursued her as aggressively as he had, maybe b/c I would not want to be as vulnerable as he was, without being sure of the outcome, but that might be just me.

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That 1st response was for @ GB Unni, and this is part 2:

One could tell he was trying to hold back his emotions as well, during that scene. I could hear the emotions in his voice. If you listen with headphones on, you can hear them. When he asked her that question, and when he apologized, told her to take care of herself, saluted her, and left, one could see that he was doing his best to let her go, in spite of what he really wanted. He had to hold on to the little bit of dignity he had left, to leave her in a decent manner (decent for him). Like you said, he also had to respect her decision and wishes, and he did.

So personally, I was irritated with MY when she said the next morning “he doesn’t give an inch/a chance,” upon finding that SJ had decided to leave the night before. I felt that he had to protect himself emotionally as well, and he had given as much as he possibly could, given the circumstances, and given how much he could give. Couldn’t she see that? B/c I could see that. SJ is not made of wood, he hurts emotionally as well (and he feels things). And we don’t see him running, trying to court the next woman he sees, which tells me that he really wanted to be with her (and not just any woman). I think that was why he tried to kiss her, when she indirectly confessed to him. He thought she was giving him the green light to make a move forward, but he tried to kiss her, she changed her mind, and gave him mixed signals, AGAIN.. One blogger wrote that SJ read MY right, that he knew she was attracted to him. However, when he tried to kiss her, she chickened out. I can see why she wrote that, and how she came to see it that way.

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Believe me when i say sometimes MY is tiring (emotionally) but she is still a woman. She say some of the things hoping that SJ will still come back and pursue her, that is why she said SJ did not give second chances. When it comes to their romance i have to say this again SJ is not willing to go all out for MY. remember when SJ wanted to tell MY about his departure to Seoul and MY ran without giving him a chance to say anything. I strongly feel that SJ should have run after MY just as she put it that 'if he is able to save Private Ryan he should have ran after her'. SJ knows very well that MY is having a problem with his job therefore he should be the one working hard for this relation to even materialise.

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Agree! He shouldn't have just left like that. She communicated very clearly that her reservations are related to his job specifically and not him. He ran because he was hurt, which is understandable, but she felt like he shouldn't have run off like that because she is asking for time to work it out. It is kind of like she was there trying to work it out (so they are in a relationship of some sort) but him running away sort of signals that he doesn't get that she was trying or he isn't willing to wait it out. It hurt her feelings and brought back the many times he ran off, leaving her to stew in her feelings. It was like taking 3 steps forward and 5 steps back. He is impatient to have a relationship with her because he knows his job is a a ticking time bomb and every second is precious but it is precisely this fact that have Moyeon hesitating.

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@ Ivoire
I rewatched the end of Ep 5 and the beginning of Ep 6 with headphones on, and I'm sad to say, I did not hear any extra emotion in SJ's voice or notice unshed tears in his eyes LOL. I did notice his sadness when she said that she 'did not like him'.

Although she might have been dithering before, this time, she was clear. Personally I'd have been tempted to compromise a bit like say, "I really like you, so I don't want this to end but I don't want to date you either." At least she (reluctantly) let go of the charming man without trying to keep a hook in him.

Interesting detail - This scene gives way to the one of MY lighting a candle, and it's beside the photo of her holding up her oath to save lives. This cuts to the scene of SJ's gun belt on the table. Pretty stark contrast, huh? Nice little detail that shows the differences in their perspectives.

We hear that he left at night on a civil aircraft. It might have been to avoid seeing her again.

It's true that he showed a great deal of courage in pursuing a woman who had pointedly rejected him once already. He was willing to be vulnerable and to take the risk again, which is so swoonworthy. But he knew, he had to take his chances as they came, because his life was unpredictable. He needed a quick response from her (twice already at least), which was tough for her since she's the kind who did not always grasp the full impact of matters and had to mull over events and her feelings.

I can't blame her for appearing to be in two minds about the relationship. I'd be the same and I know of friends of mine who had some similar experiences. It's extremely hard to make up one's mind and stick to it. Always the question comes up, "What if I made a mistake in letting him go?"

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I love that little interesting detail you notice <33333

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:)

Lol, I'm on the hunt for little details, just for the fun of it!

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LOL GB Unni!

And I thought I was the (only) one who paid attention to details, as a certain someone told me *wink, wink :-) * Is your dongsaeng rubbing off on you? :-)
All jokes aside, you do know that I always appreciate your comments, even when I don't see eye to eye with you. I really like how we make each other think, and how our different perspectives can open our minds to something (or some things) we had not considered. Same with reading the other commenters' perspectives, isn't it? I'm glad you are having fun while hunting for details :-)

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I think this time around MY had taking SJ's feeling into consideration. Why am I saying that? before she gave her response to the famous question, she paused for a while and looked into his eyes with pity. She even stated that she needed more time to think things through and decide whether she can be a girlfriend to this dangerous but charming man. However since SJ is pressurizing her to give him and answer, she had to give an answer. Please note how she concluded her answer. She said 'At the moment i just simply don't like you'. The key word is "AT THE MOMENT", that is why later on she regretted her answer.

It is true that SJ already knew the answer he will get from her. Remember when they were having lunch at the bar, he asked her that she is having difficulties in making up her mind about the kiss because he is a soldier. And also her not answering him when he asked if she is still have complicated thoughts sealed the answered he had been expecting from him. SJ was saluting her out of respect but his feelings were bruised very deeply.

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Yeah you're right @porschetapa :(
I feel bad for SJ at that and it's obvious he's badly hurt given that he's been rejected a few times already. I do understand MY's hesitations but she has to deal with what she's feeling at the moment. I also think that the scene in ep 8 when SJ nearly died after Chief Manager Jin selfishly dug up the site with an excavator is kind of a wake-up call to MY. It makes her see the possibility of losing SJ and all she can ever feel if it happens is REGRET. HA!

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I said I would mention my questions, here they are:

1--SJ’s dad told him, “In a soldier’s life, sometimes being in confinement is better than being promoted.” Do you think SJ’s dad meant that literally? (Since that was what SJ went through).
2—DY said, “but I think us being a set is creating some synergy?” After SJ told him that they were fools (WRT their women). What do you think DY meant? I was confused by that.
3—MJ told SJ, “Who did you call as, as my sunbae, or as my superior?” How are those terms different? (I thought they were the same? (This is 25mns in).
4-The little boy when he was in the tank, isn’t it metal he had in his mouth? (before the earthquake hit).
5—29mns in, did anyone spot the Urk flag, in the office? That’s what it was, right, next to the Korean flag?
6—Do you think Mr. Kang is going to die (the young one, who works for Haesung)?
7—What was that thing SJ had in his car, a tv? (He saw the news of what happened in Urk on it).
8—Minami is the capital (of Urk), and Mohuru the military base, or is it where the medical team is? I thought it was Taebaek (for the military base), or something like that.
9—They actually used “KBS” news, for the news report, when they
usually change at least one letter of the TV station in dramas.
10—DY asked SJ, “Did you hand in your vacation,” (when they were going back to Urk, I think), meaning?
11-SJ said that “He still needed to be respected,” to DY. Do you know why?
12—Does anyone know if the power plant is filmed in Korea, or in Greece? I have a feeling it might have been filmed in Korea. It was a big scope, the earthquake, though I know they used a lot of CGs.
13—I was confused, will MY open her clinic in Gangnam after all, or does she plan on mostly volunteering? (After she reminded us of her oath in the voice over).

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@ Ivoire
1 - Yes I think he meant it both literally and not... literally because being sent to the guard house or whatever the term was, was what the army did to soldiers literally for insubordination. He had been brought up to choose what was right over self advancement, which could be self-sacrifice in other forms as well.

2 - They talked about how they failed at love then the subs I had said "I think we are stupid. It creates a synergy effect when we are together." IE they seem to be stupid together when it comes to women or even apart from each other. LOL! One tries different strokes (to fell the oak) but failed and the other struck himself instead of the oak :D I wish I knew if real guys talked that way about themselves. I think most don't talk about it at all!

3 - My subs had it as, "What are you calling me as.. a friend or senior officer?" So it's clearer. Sunbae is a friendly term for one above oneself, Superior sounds more official like to do with work or rank.

4 - Yes, looked like he had a nail in his mouth.

5 - I saw it but don't know the flag.

6 - I'm not sure... you mean the one who was sleeping in the office?

7 - the big TV screen was on a building and SJ saw it while stopping for traffic.

8 - Mowuru (Mohuru?) is the name for the military unit/company not for the place.

9 - I missed that about KBS, do they?

10 - My subs said "Did you give up your vacation?" which sounds more accurate. Are you getting Viki subs? They don't sound right!!!

11 - The conversation was a banter, "Did you give up your vacation?" Shi Jin says "I did what I had to do. But you can still admire me." Long explanation: Meaning that he had actually done what he needed to do and cutting the vacation was not a big deal to him, he was even bored fishing. He probably preferred getting back to work, but since it was officially his vacation, yes he had cut short his vacation, so admire that!

12 - I'm told by a friend it was filmed in Korea or likely to have been, from the looks of it.

13 - Well, I don't know if she looked that far ahead. As of right then, she remembers that she is there to save everyone without prejudice. If and when she does go home, she'll have to consider what to do with herself.

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2 - Here he means they become even more stupid regarding women when they get together, that's what synergy means - "to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of separate parts.":)))))

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LOL! Yes I checked on 'synergy', that's what it means alright. They become more stupid when they're together!

But together or apart, I can't say that Shi Jin was actually stupid. He did his part, he was clear and sincere, but the woman he chose has a different ideology about saving lives from him.

As for Dae Young, even Myung Ju says that he's a real soldier. A soldier through and through and he had decided that her father was right, it was better for her future if it wasn't him, and the senior officer ought to be obeyed. There are many aspects of life to consider when two people join their lives together. I can't say his decision is stupid either. He had his reasons, chose for the best that he could see and he was willing to make a personal sacrifice.

So while from the angle of "just go with your heart and compromise, why suffer" the two guys together appear 'stupid', in fact their decisions were thought through and mature. But I like that they could admit to themselves that suffering as they were, they could also be seen as fools.

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9 - in every drama you watch, they will never use the true korean broadcast names, aka "kbs", "mbc". If you watched Lee Jong Suk & Park Hye Shin in "Pinocchio ", they both worked for MSC, and YGN as reporters. In real life, the closest tv stations with those initials would be MBC and YTN. It's probably copyrighted so they can't use the real station's name.

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1 - I think daddy was trying to praise him by saying that making a right decision is more important than being promoted (which is materialistic). It is actually very nice for us to see that since it explains why he is so down to earth. His dad sets a very good example. Also he expressed that his mother always said he (the dad) should have become police or prosecutor since there are less dangers involved. Right over there sounded very much like a tinge of regret and the scene after with the mother's portrait seemed to suggest that the regrets comes from not being able to spend more time with his wife because of the job. Now on hindsight, this scene seemed to foreshadow the possible future of Moyeon and Shi Jin and make their struggles even more real. Like her is a sample of their possible future.

13 - I think she initially wanted to set up the clinic because she got distracted by the hospital politics and promotions. She felt like it was unfair and also not a fair assessment of her abilities and capabilities but episode 6 have her questioning that. She realized that she had forgotten why she was a doctor . Shi Jin knew that her wanting to be a doctor was more than she led on by observing her in action. He knew she was driven by the need to save lives and not the material gains.

At this point, she realize there is more to her calling than all the materialism had blinded her. What her pans would be is still up in the air. But I think it is safe to say that even if she does open a clinic in Gangnam, there is lesser of that materialistic selfish gain in it than the original intention.

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@ Val

These are good points you've made. We can also think about how materialism vs a higher good, or how self-aggrandization vs self-sacrifice, plus playing by society's/higher authority's rules as expected vs sticking to one's principles play a part in how SJ and MY make their decisions.

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YESSSS TOTALLY. I love you already! Can we be friends hahaha

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@ GB Unni,

I have a few more questions for you:

1—To answer one of her questions (to me), yes, I am watching DotS on Viki. Where is she watching? Email me the link please. So when I ask questions about the subtitles I have read, I got them from Viki.com.
2—Why do you think SJ started taking pictures of DY when he saw that he wore a matching TShirt? I didn’t understand that. Was that to punish DY (when he sent the pix to MJ), for wearing a matching shirt?
3—In ep.5, why did SJ keep asking MY not to do anything funny when the lights went off for 30secs? (“If you do, I will shout,” was what SJ told her). What did he think she was going to try to do? I didn’t get that. Some said that he became aware of the two of them being alone in the dark, and of how much he might have been attracted to her. Some said that he blushed. I didn’t see him blush, did you?
4—Have you noticed that MY seems to speak in formal speech to SJ (ep.5, 37mns in, and then she uses the “Yo” form often when she addresses him) whereas SJ seems to speak informally to her. Why is that? And what do you think it says about how they see each other? Is SJ trying to feel/get close to her, while she is trying to keep her distances? I am very curious about that. If you watch the earlier episodes, you will see that she does that often (I think).

Thank you to anyone who chimes in.

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1— "Where is she watching?" - You are asking about a friend of mine? Various places. Try Dramanice, Dramagalaxy, Myasiantv, just anywhere they stream it.

2— "Why do you think SJ started taking pictures of DY when he saw that he wore a matching TShirt?" - honestly, your guess is as good as mine. Maybe he thought it was cute and yes wanted to torture him for accidentally imitating him. However, I don't think guys care about that so much. Or he was just teasing him over having a "couple" shirt. What would have made more sense to me would have been for both of them to take selfies of both of themselves together and to send those to the girls just for kicks.

3— "In ep.5, why did SJ keep asking MY not to do anything funny when the lights went off for 30secs?" - it was just him playing around. It might have been because he felt she might have had those kinds of thoughts in her mind and wanted to pre-empt her. He was pretending to be (like a girl) the one who would be offended if taken advantage of in the dark. It might have been the kind of thing she'd say to him, and just in case she was thinking of it, he said it first, to stop her from saying it to him (which might have offended him) and from having those 'anxieties'.

And no, there was no blushing. She was very amused by him. He had also succeeded in getting her total attention because she stared at him in the dark and although he said she was giving him a look that would make him blush, neither of them did.

4— "Have you noticed that MY seems to speak in formal speech to SJ (ep.5, 37mns in, and then she uses the “Yo” form often when she addresses him) whereas SJ seems to speak informally to her." - LOL,I did not notice. My guess is that he is actually older than her and she wants to keep a bit of distance in the relationship anyway. He, on the other hand, does not need to use the polite form with her, since he is older.

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3- Growingbeautifully is probably right. To add to that, he was trying to lighten the mood. I mentioned before that he use jokes as a protective facade to stop things from becoming too serious and emotionally involved. She was sitting there being really grateful towards him. And that level of gratitude was sort of embarrassing for him since he doesn't know what to do with it. Especially coming from a girl he likes and seemed to like him - very disarming. So in response, he jokes about it to put some distance. She speaks formally to put distance while he jokes. It is probably because he himself is thinking about it too. It is also a reversal of the typical expected convention when the guy would try something therefore his response is funny.

4 - the change in formality is probably because she is trying to keep her distance. Shi Jin wants to be close to her so he tends to talk informally to her.

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Now GB Unni, I am going to respond to this (reminds me of our Liar Game days :-) ): 3.5.2 Growingbeautifully March 13th, 2016 at 6:35 PM Part 1:

1-Your 1st #: GB Unni, after reading your comment, I too rewatched the end of ep.5, and the beginning of ep.6. And this (to me), is what I saw: when he talked to her, his right eye (for us, but his left eye for him), got red and moist, as if he had gotten a little emotional. He was quite solemn. I still agree with @ LollyPip, his eyes (mostly his right eye) welled up. I still stand by that. I actually think that both of his eyes welled up, but I could see it more on the right eye. I have also read comments on Soompi about his eyes welling up, and the tone of his voice changing, when he was talking to her in that scene. And when he said, “should I apologize or confess?” His voice (to my ears) changed a little, the tone was different, especially as he said, “or confess?” To me, it conveyed that sadness you mentioned (that he felt).

In the end, he did respect her wishes, but one could tell that he was hoping for a different outcome, so yeah, I still think that he was affected, very much so. I personally think that he wanted to hold on to her, yet he HAD to respect her wishes. She was clear about what she wanted at that moment, and I was glad to see him abide by it. Some of us had been complaining about KES’s male leads not respecting the female leads’ wishes, so I feel relieved (and I am personally glad) when I see SJ respect and do what MY is asking him to do, even if he wishes for something different at that time.

And as we know, he left the night before (instead of the next morning as planned), and we saw him reflecting (brooding maybe?) in his room that night, while MY was in hers, when she lit her candle. I might have been a little (melo)dramatic in my (1st) description of what happened, the drama is having an influence on me as well, LOL! But I still feel that SJ had strong feelings for MY, and that even though over time he might have been OK, he REALLY really liked her, and he REALLY really cared about her (and he really really wanted to be with her).

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@ GB Unni, Part 2:

2-WRT the 2nd part of your #: yes, I agree with you, although she had be dithering before, this time she was very clear, and I was very glad to see him respect her wishes, and do as she had asked. I am thinking that she might have still been emotional (strong in her emotions) when she asked him to apologize. She did tell him that she was angry with him, as he was the reason (and his circumstances were also the reasons) why she was confused, and felt that she was not having enough time to sort things out the way she wished to. The next morning however (hindsight being 20/20, and with him being gone), she realized that she had made a mistake (an important one), and her anger with him seemed to have lowered (or dare I say vanished? I wish that was what happened). Like you, I would have tried to negotiate with him: a relationship has to start somewhere, and even though they are the kind of people to get serious in a relationship (I think it is also an age thing), I don’t feel that they needed to be that serious at the beginning. She already knew enough about him to mull over what she wanted to do, I don’t feel that SJ needed to be by her side all the time.

If I were in her shoes, by that time, I would not need SJ to be around me all the time to process my thoughts and feelings. She knew how she felt about him, she also got some answers from him (even when he didn’t want to share much, she could guess what the answers were), and she talked to Daniel (which helped a lot). She could have worked on sorting out her feelings at that time. I would have said something like: “look, I really like you, however I can’t help but have some reservations because of the nature of your job. What you do, the situations you have to jump into are dangerous, and a lot of the time, you can’t share what they are. There is a lot of danger and a lot of secrecy that come with you. I am not sure how to handle that (at this point). I don’t know if I want that in my life (at this point), and I am honestly not sure what I want to do. So when we see each other, could we still please go on a few more dates, interact with each other more? That might help me in sorting out my thoughts and feelings, and that would give me more time. If things do not work out, and I feel that I can’t handle it, or I feel overwhelmed (or way in over my head), we might have to part ways, unfortunately. Maybe we should (tentatively) give us dating, a try? I can’t give you a clear cut answer right now as to whether I see a future with you or not.”

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@ GB Unni, Part 3:

GB Unni, your interesting detail is yes “interesting,” though I also thought that the scene in his room could have also been the angle that the PDs started out with when they started shooting SJ in his room, on his bed. Your perspective is an interesting one, I agree, though I do not see their perspectives to be that different, really. I feel that SJ still values life, very much so (he put his job and his career [and Col Park said “his life could go down the drain]) on the line, so that MY could operate on the Arab prince. He wanted to shoulder her responsibility yes, but he also wanted the Arab prince to have a chance at living. When the Arab bodyguard was threatening him, SJ said, “the Dr. is simply operating on a patient who needs surgery [to survive]” or sth along those lines. And when SJ gave his orders to his men, it was clear that yes, he wanted to protect MY, but he also wanted for the Arab prince to live, if it were possible. SJ also disarmed the bombs (in an earlier ep.), WHEN he saw the children close by. He also decided to go save Argus before they left, even though they were short on time. He was the one who insisted that they go and save him that day (and he questioned his decision in ep.6). So to me, MY’s and SJ’s means and ways might not always be the same, however I feel that they both value life, and they both (at times) might have to decide who lives and who dies (MY with the triage, after the earthquake, SJ by killing an enemy or “a bad guy”, so others might live). I have not seen their perspectives as complete opposites since ep.2 (the “break up” scene), and I still don’t now.

Yes SJ left earlier, and it could have been to avoid seeing her again, as you mentioned. But really, why would he have stayed? He had said his goodbye the night before (and he saluted her), and he had a dad who was waiting for him at home. I totally understood his decision. There was no reason for him to stay longer there. I will say more about this in my response to Val, so please also read there.

About your 5th # (the one before the last one), I have a different perspective on this. When SJ 1st kissed MY, I felt that he thought that she was giving him the go ahead to make a move forward (or at least that it would be OK with her), since it was the 1st time (I felt) since they had seen each other in Urk, that she was admitting having thought about him (a lot and often), and that was after an 8 months time. I can see why SJ did that. He had been open and vulnerable with her since seeing her again, and when it looked like she was reciprocating (finally), he started having hope.

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@ GB Unni, Part 4:

Only, she gave him mixed signals during that kiss scene b/c at 1st she didn’t push him away, and she even closed her eyes (to feel the kiss better) at 1st. It was only when he tried to kiss her again that she finally turned her face away, clearly rejecting the (attempted) kiss. I felt so bad for SJ, and I felt 2nd hand embarrassment as well (through SJ). That was kind of hard for me to watch.

The next day, per viki’s subs, SJ said, (to MY), “Please don’t feel attacked. I had to work some courage to kiss you. I had been thinking of doing it a thousand times.” And I personally loved that extra info, b/c it made me realize that SJ did not just want skinship with her, he had actually not always felt sure about whether it would be OK to kiss her or not. And he had wanted to do it for a long time (probably going back to 8 months ago). So to me, when he asked her at night, “are your feelings still complicated?” I felt that (and took it as) SJ wanting to know how she felt, and where she stood. I didn’t hear pressure in his voice (like he was trying to have her give him a clear cut answer right there, about them dating now). Sometimes you just want to know what someone is thinking, which direction s/he might be leaning towards. SJ already knew she was having a hard time making up her mind, he said so in the restaurant. He also asked her if he had not been a soldier, would it have been easier for them to be together. So SJ knew. And when (at night), she didn’t answer, he knew he had his answer, he had lost (her). So THEN, he asked her what she wanted: an apology or a confession (and you and I have agreed on the implications of both).

So to me, a (quick) answer was not the only thing SJ was looking for. As you and I have mentioned, she could have (maybe) negotiated something with him. We will never know if he would have agreed to it or not, b/c that kind of conversation never happened. I felt that SJ would have liked to hold on to her, and as such, he might have been willing to compromise/negotiate sth for a period of time.

About your last #, I think you might have read me wrong: I honestly do not have a problem with MY being of two minds about a possible relationship with SJ. I have had a problem with how she came across to me: not realizing that it was also hard for SJ, and sending mixed signals/doing push and pull, even if she might not have meant to do so. I felt that that was not fair to him, as he was hurting as well. We could tell by how sad he was, how teary eyed he got, and the way in which his voice changed, when he asked her what he should do. I was hoping (and I wanted) for MY to realize that SJ was having a hard time as well. Yes, he would flirt with her, and tell her often that he really liked her (in different ways). One has to realize though that in so doing, the one doing that is being vulnerable and open, time and time again.

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@ GB Unni, Part 5:

And as Val pointed out, joking for SJ is often a way of pulling his mask up, so he can retreat behind it. I can understand that. It is probably one of his coping mechanisms. I just wanted to see MY being more sensitive to the fact that SJ was affected by her, and by what they were going through. Yes, he admitted that he would (in time) be OK, however that does not preclude that he was also having a hard time. He was trying to gauge where she was at, while trying to understand her (and he did), while also trying not to (overly) cross her boundaries. I personally don’t think SJ is perfect, I would never say that. I do think he is human (and flawed), and that is one of the things I am interested in, when I think of him. I might say more about this in my other responses, so please look for them (above, I think).

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@ Ivoire
Just to let you know that I read you!

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Oh good! Thank you for letting me know, GB Unni.

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thanks fort the recap!!! i am seriosly in love with this drama and the main otp!!!

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i love this so much compared to heirs. like, first of all, no creepy stalkerish male lead, and second of all the female lead don't spend half of every episode tearing up. mo-yeon and myung-joo are both emotionally strong and i love their playful personalities. i also love how shi-jin actually apologized.

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Oh god, I agree exactly on your words! "No creepy stalkerish male lead and female lead don't spend half of every episode tearing up". That is what I love in the female character in Dots!! Eventhough all my friends watched Heirs, I am not interested at all.

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Thanks for your hardworking recap! Love it to the pieces!!

Shi jin gaze to Mo yeon at his arrival.. That means a thousand words for me. Song joong ki really nails it. Love love love.

You are my everythiiing~~~~~~

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??
+1

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SJK can really act through his eyes and subtle nuances reflected from his gaze.. I wonder if he act with his mind as well (ie like 'becoming' Shi Jin in his mind) that he can show his emotions through.

??? aarrgh, why is it so difficult to get the words out for all this wonderful feeling I have every time I see him (and MY) on the screen?

Can't wait for next week. Things might get more complicated, like Lollypip said all the background are set, we may now embark on a new plot. Please keep it up show, don't burn my heart my ?
please let it be my most favorite kdrama this year... Pretty please

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the wait is excruciating but when it comes it is worth every pain.

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+10000 I really loved that scene.

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It's a wonderfully written episode. A smooth flow of angst, humour and suspense. Keep it up!

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Talking about Onew, surprisingly I found his acting pretty decent and I am agree with Lollypip. I think his facial expression is quite good, both in comedic or heavy crying scene. At least, he is not annoying as a supporting actor.

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Props to Onew! I'm currently studying to become a doctor someday and I felt his sadness when he was not able to tell the correct status of the patient. Given that he was just new in the practice, it must be really painful to witness such death. I did not expect much from him but I was so touched and I cried. Great job!!

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Really enjoyed this episode. SJK is just so charming in this, it's a wonderful role for him. Love the two romances of course, but this episode was a great one for the bromance to shine. That training scene and the bar/running scene were just hilarious and pitch perfect. They were two of my favorite scenes of the episode. But back to the romance, that scene where Shi-Jin ties Mo-Yeon's shoelace was so laden with emotion it could cut a knife, THAT was definitely my favorite scene of the ep. I'm excited to see what comes next, so please continue being good DOTS!

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I like that we got more insight into the DY/SJ relationship - specifically that DY was SJ's instructor at one time. It both explains and complicates their relationship.

I wonder if MJ accidentally brought them together? When it became clear that they were absolutely not romantic rivals, they decided to team up instead? Though that sounds more like SJ would initiate that - thrilled that there's a way out of an arranged military marriage and happy to jump on the bandwagon of using DY as a stand-in. That feels like something he would find incredibly entertaining and not be able to stay away from.

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Super enjoyed the boys back together in Korea for a little while. That bromance :D

I honestly haven't noticed that the main plot of the story hasn't kicked in yet. This drama has been so visually aesthetic with some good acting so far which is overall refreshing.

Thanks for the recap!

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I totally agree that I didn't even notice that the main plot hasn't kicked in but it didn't bug me at all! I have just been so engulfed in the drama because it's been so fabulous. And I am actually not worried about where the plot could be going because it's been such a great 6 episodes. Now that I look back at Secret Garden, honestly, when I watch the first few episodes I didn't know where the drama was headed either but I watched it because it was able to captivate me and draw me in. And I ended up loving SG so I will definitely love DOTS.

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I actually finally understood Mo-yeon's fears in this episode, especially with the doctors grieving over a death. Mo-yeon knows how devastating and heartbreaking death is. Which is why she is hesitant to like Shi-jin.

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The Bromance in this episode as well as the development of the second lead relationship made me so happy! Thanks for the recap :)

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I really enjoyed the bromance scene

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Oof, you guys, the scene with the construction worker that was pierced with the metal spike(? sry idk what it is) was so painful to see. I think I recoiled a bit-- it was a bit more graphic than I was expecting.

I liked the pace of this episode a bit better than the last, and I actually liked seeing MY regret her words a bit. Watching her character be honest with herself about SJ feelings, I mean the true extent of them, is nice.

And ofc, watching the six of them descend from that helicopter was so epic lmao, this editing really knows that buttons to hit.

That being said, I hope we get further development about the baddies (Agus, the diamond dealing dude) and Daniel + his UN nurse wife next episode... still don't quite know what they're doing yet but I guess revelations come in due time?

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ALSO this is a small gripe but I still find it... a bit... off that she's wearing high heels in a war-torn country's peacekeeping base, like the country is 90% desert and rough terrain; I don't rly think anyone with doctors without borders would be wearing what she's wearing. But then again, some medical aspects of this drama aren't too realistic either, so I guess my point is moot in the context of this drama lmao.

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Lol I was getting annoyed at people asking about that. She wore heels because she was in her way to the airport, so I assume the luggage was already flown over. When the earthquake hit, that's when they decided to turn around to help; she didn't just walk there in heels. Then to walk properly, she broke them. I'm not annoyed at you but i get annoyed at people who don't focus on the time line.

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lmao i guess it can be explained that way then. but overall, her outfits are pretty like, ???? for a doctor working in some place like urk. the appropriateness of the skirts and etc, i feel like it's already been touched upon in the comments sections of previous episodes, and like i said, i feel like my point is pretty moot when looking at the context of the drama. cute wardrobe's like ppl-- it's a must in dramaland so i digress.

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and lmao not to start anything, but the last sentence was pretty unnecessary? you're annoyed at me because you think i didn't focus on the timeline. it's fine to admit you're annoyed at me, like you quite evidently grouped me into the "people asking about that" lmao... anyway you make a good point about the airport thing so yes, my bad for not catching it.

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Not sure why you would wear heels on a long-distance flight. All the seasoned travellers I know wear a) the heaviest pair of shoes (e.g. hiking boots) to not weigh down checked luggage and/or b) the most comfortable pair of shoes (comfy flats/trainers).

Here's what Doctor without Borders suggests as "field essentials packing list" (scroll down to page 8):

https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/sites/usa/files/attachments/alert_summer_2014.pdf

quote:
–"One pair closed-toe sandals, to protect
against scorpion stings and double as a "shoe” in more formal situations
–One pair moisture-wicking trail runners

Peace Corps suggestions (from one volunteer):
http://togo.peacecorps.acsitefactory.com/content/packing-list-1

–A good pair of Chacos, Tevas, Keens etc. for walking/traveling. (Birkenstocks are great, but do not hold up in rainy season. If you bring them, have a back up during those months)
–Running shoes
–Nice-looking comfortable dress shoes for men, nice sandals or closed-toed flats for women
–Don’t bring anything white or white-ish unless you like white turned brown

You can google for other NGOs...

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I always wear heels whenever I travel and still feel comfortable. I don't see why Kang Mo Yeon, or anybody else, cannot wear heels whenever, wherever they want. And inside the medical centre/operating room, she dresses appropriately.

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They were doctors there so set up a medical center, not to really do much. Notice they really treated nobody but some emergencies. I'll also cut her some slack since she was leaving and packed. If she wasn't I'm sure she would be wearing a skirt and heels.

Plus someone has to wear the sponsor clothes since nobody else can.

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*they never treated anyone

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yeah lmao i addressed that... i guessed it had to be sponsored clothing. also idk it's just a bit unrealistic? ive been on a few trips to central africa as a hospital volunteer and unless we were in hotels (first day and last day) everyone had the thought to dress for rough terrain, no heels etc. BUT ANYWAY yep, probably sponsored clothing.

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It is, but since all the other main characters wear army uniforms, so SHK will have to wear unrealistic outfits throughout the drama. I can deal with her outfits, but the heels are a bit much lol.

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Actually, more than the dress code, I'm more bothered on their infection control technique as doctors. Even in their fancy hospital back in Seoul, none of them wear goggles during a surgery??
I know I should never expect so much from a drama, but I wish they put more effort on the technicalities.

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Lol also how are none of them wearing gloves while they are treating people? I know a natural disaster just happened but none of them are wearing gloves!

I do love the drama though!

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Props to this writer for not being lazy. Even though it's extra work, they gave everybody their own separate (and surprisingly mature) love line. They avoided that poisonous love triangle/rectangle which makes me drop 90 % of the dramas I watch. Yay to no cock-blocking second leads or females that let themselves get constantly disrespected because they are just soooo in love with the douche male while nicer guy gets ignored.

They really should have casted a bad guy with the same level of english speaking. The currents actros flawless english makes everyone else sound more cringe.

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I just adore the friendship between SJ/MJ/DY so freaking much. And well, the angst between MJ/DY is killing me.

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I agree with you.

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I thought it was clear too, but I do like how she said it to him. I find him a bit unfair in his expectations in a lot of ways. Though I don't think he blames her for how she feels, but understands it.

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I feel like it's only realistic in incorporating those themes but the cheesy lines and characters are pretty fantasy I'd say.
Cause I can't imagine many real guys who'd be able to say all the lines SJK does and many girls who would continously follow a guy even being rejected so many times---but that's probably why they're both so appealing.

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i am only worrying about preview of next episode, it is super tensed.

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I'm absolutely adored Descendent of The Sun :) Shi Jin is just a perfection and Mo Yeon is completely charming. I loved Dae Young♡Myung Jo's loveline too. This drama is seriously like DAE to the BAK !!
I hope this show will continue nicely till the end..

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I adore the bromance ... one is glib and the other is stoic and they blend so well.

The secondary romance is just making me cringe now. Give the girl a break. If the genders were reversed, we would have been calling the guy a stalker by now

MY keeps going back and forth and makes my head hurt. Decide for once and move on. Its like the same arguments repeat over and over in every episode.

And i have no idea how the husband-wife store owners love story fits into this show. So random

More than the romances, i love the dynamics between SJ and MJ. They are like 2 siblings both in love with impossible people so they keep throwing a bone to each other to keep the ships afloat. Misery loves company!

Ughhh ... the 'you are my everything', makes me automatically reach for the mute button. Was it really necessary to play it when the soldiers reached the power plant ? Really ?

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Lol!!! I feel you! It'd be better when they just leave that scene with the sound of helicopter ?
besides, the moment the soldiers get down and walk with the dark night as their background is already epic enough (without the music).

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seconded! or is it thirded, lmao

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On the 'you are my everything' : yeah me too, finger slide the volume down straight away. Doh!

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Talking about Onew, I think he plays the character quite decent and I agree with Lollypip. His facial expression is pretty good, both in comedic atmosphere and crying scene. At least he is not bothering me as a supporting actor.

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From reading all the comments, I think its become clear that half the people who are irritated with Mo-yeon's character are not fully understanding her. I'm not particularly talking about here on dramabeans, but on other sites like Viki. Yes, the drama is made to be a cute romance, but when they get to the serious aspects about war and about being a doctor, the scenes resonate with me. People jumping down her throat for being wishy washy need to understand how love works. Like someone said, when you get to a certain age, love isn't just about what the heart wants and I finally understood her in this episode. Shi Jin lies to her because it is his job and those are the rules, that's fine; he disappears when he is called, so she can't fully rely on him; she likes him, but everytime he disappears, she'll most likely be wondering if he'll be coming back alive or getting his dog tag in a box ( que King 2 Heart feels). Her wishy washy-ness comes because she clearly has feelings for him, so while her brain is like "this probably wouldn't work because he is dangerous", her heart is like, "what if...?"

We all know the experiences of spouses who have someone serving, so its not all cupcakes and butterflies. I like that she was honest, because she admits she likes him, but she's not gonna tell him to stop doing his job and she can't tell him not to go. For Shi Jin, unless he has one night stands, this is what he has to experience when he wants a romantic relationship with a woman, yet because he is so great, people just see him as the perfect one in all this. I feel like he also has to understand her. She needs time and she needs to be mentally prepared to live with him, but also expect that she can lose him, in death or in time, at anytime.

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Also I feel like people should take the drama for what it is because if we look at the writer's past works, I'm not sure why people are expecting something above and beyond her style. I'll just say that in terms of her male and female characters, she's improved because both men are respectful and the women have backbone and think clearly about what they want. Let's leave it at that. I think it will make the drama easier to digest lol.

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Ah, finally!! Some sense!! Kudos for your objective stance. Felt it unfair that this drama was getting a lot of flack just because of the writer's previous works. The style is very much the same, but the execution and delivery makes all the difference. So far, the leads are doing incredibly well to portray their characters in a fresh light, and which goes against KES's usual, if not familiar typecasts. On paper, SJ could very well come across as arrogant, as could MY, but I like how grounded they're coming across.

And double thumbs up for your take on MY's perspective, and her reasons for rejecting SJ. Made a lot of sense even before she had vocalised in in this ep.

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They should. She has improved (or maybe it's the co-writer that helps). MY has been given more respect and choice in one episode than her previous female leads ever got.

You have a male lead who is respectful, and apologizes for kissing without permission and female lead who is headstrong and has a backbone. It's pretty amazing this is the same woman who wrote the mess that was Heirs or SeGa.

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Spot on @Valentina.

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Thank you! It's about time someone pointed that out. I was wondering why people are griping about the lack of storyline in this drama. I thought it was clear from the get-go that this drama is about the love story of a soldier and a volunteer doctor. So I came into the show expecting that central plot. Now, to expect the storyline to be something much more like 24 and Jack Bauer or war stories and a little bit of romance on the side is just asking for something that isn't there. I understand that there could be dozens more of potential plots they could use seeing that they have a gorgeous location set-up and enough backs story to fill the gaps but then that would take away the central theme.
I am not saying that this drama is gosh darn perfect. But can we just look at the writer's past experiences and just enjoy this one because it's so much better than HEIRS? After all, they really only promised us a love story. We are getting that, aren't we? Along with some pretty, I might add.

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I agree. It's way, way better than Heirs. Honestly, the only thing that kept me hooked about Heirs was the characterization of Choi Young Do and KIm Woo Bin played it damn so well. Anyway, I do notice that some people point out that this drama lacks storyline. I think this drama has a very rich and realistic storyline and it's the refreshing wave of plot scenes that sets it apart from some cliched Cinderella stories out there. I love how the writer blends the genres so well that it's never boring and the scenes just keep me on the edge of my seat watching out for the next scene. It's a page-turner if it were a book.

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But he is not asking to marry her ... They haven't been even dating. So date and see if it works out. No matter what your age, you just can't plot your whole life even before beginning a relationship.

And if you have so many doubts then don't even date him. Just say no. She just keeps going back and forth. She says no and then the next day she is upset that he left already. Strange!

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