By Mimansa Shekhar

Copyright timesnownews

Imagine an angelic doctor at the operating table and a Greek God soldier on duty guarding the borders. Both have one commonality – they both save lives. Descendants of the Sun gave us the dreamiest pairing of what K-land fans lovingly call the “Song couple”. Song Joong-Ki and Song Hye-Kyo became such a rage that when this show released in 2016, people started shipping for them to the extent that it became a reality! And even after a decade, everything about this K-drama remains…classic! Descendants of the Sun (DOTS) was the second Korean series I watched as a beginner (first one being an obvious name. Guess?). It had a taste of everything: action, drama, comedy, romance and thrill. Amid exploding bombs, collapsing buildings and people dying, a romance was budding – both on and off screen. The basic premise of this show was fresh. DOTS is different from other romance K-dramas Centred around Yoo Si-Jin, a captain in the Korean Special Forces, and Dr Kang Mo-Yeon, a beautiful and successful surgeon who meet under hilarious circumstances, begin dating but part ways due to philosophical differences and professional challenges. While Si-Jin kills to protect lives, Mo-Yeon saves lives without exception. They eventually reunite during a peacekeeping mission in the fictional war-torn country of Uruk where they are forced to confront, confide and see love in a new light. Then, there’s Jin Goo as Master Sergeant Seo Dae-Young (Wolf) and Kim Ji-Won as First Lieutenant Yoon Myung-Ju playing parallel second leads with their own strong track of relationship hardships. Come, fall in love with the feeling of love! Trust me when I say, even if you’re not a K-drama fan, DOTS takes about 20 minutes to turn you into a hopeless romantic. The lead pair is insane. Their sparks fly at stolen glances. Talk about love at first sight, here it’s both ways. Every time Si-Jin looks into Mo-Yeon’s eyes a hundred candles melt. When they argue over who to rescue, or war strategy, or looking out for each other, it’s all rhythmic. The second leads work at equal flair. Myung Joo, a tough and assertive military surgeon, gives in to her stoic love interest, Dae Young. Every time she yearns for him, crackling subplots happen, because when love hurts, it digs deeper. Mistakes? But nobody cares Ofcourse, there are glaring mistakes in getting the military and medical (quarantine) nuances right. Yes, the show at times gets lost between genres. It tries to be everything: from romance to war to medical. That’s also an issue. There are points where the plot has no direction. But, all suspensions of disbelief are set aside. It’s cheesy, clichéd in portions, but you won’t mind. Uruk, where are you? Descendants of the Sun is aesthetically gorgeous with some interesting war scenes, cinematography for the keeps and characters that remain etched in our memories. It’s message of futility of war runs on the sides, but that’s not important here. The heart tugging storyline takes the cake. You’ll be forced to save its OST in your playlist. Everytime and Always are echoing in my ears as I type this! I’m still dreaming of the fictional Uruk to take a trip to, hoping that some Si-Jin will come to rescue if things go wrong. Cringe? I mean, why not! Epitome of love, looking for Song in every face! On a serious note, DOTS might not be your perfect meal, but it definitely is that perfect dessert. Song Joong-Ki and Song Hye-Kyo tying the knot in real life was possibly the biggest gift for fans. Even though they ended up on an unpleasant note, they set the romance bar so high, very few have managed to come at par. DOTS, the phenomenon Crash Landing on You, It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, Business Proposal, Something In The Rain… all followed, trying to be a little bit of DOTS in everything. But, they were only following the trail. It’s impact runs so deep that when Joong-Ki’s latest release My Youth premiered, many refused to accept anyone else but Hye-Kyo opposite him. Its lead actress Chun Woo-Hee quickly got noticed for allegedly resembling Hallyu star Hye-Kyo (for Indian fans, it’s a case of Salman Khan-Aishwarya Rai-Sneha Ullal, IYKYK!). Even though the Song couple do not see eye to eye today, they gave as an epitome of romance in DOTS that’s enough to last for years. It still does. No two leads can look at each other the way they did. Was it acting, or was it real? As if DOTS translated their real emotions onscreen, or vice versa…we’re still invested! Descendants of the Sun is streaming on Netflix, Prime Video, JioHotstar and Viki in India. (KDrama Kollection is our weekly series where we dissect and look back at a fan-favourite Korean show, decoding what makes it a hit even after a considerable time after release.)