D.P. Season 2 (2023)

Nothing really changed, but at least they tried, and they are still trying to change the system.

I don't know where to start because right now I am experiencing all kinds of emotions. D.P.2 didn't disappoint, it was actually a level up from Season 1.

I didn't watch Season 1 when it aired as I was very hesitant to watch military style drama, but when I watched it in 2022, it instantly became my favorite. After that, I eagerly waited for Season 2, and finally, I can say Season 2 was actually worth the wait.

Season 2 picks up where Season 1 left off, showing the aftermath of the Suk Bong incident and its impact on the lead characters, especially Han Ho Yul, who is dealing with PTSD. The incidents in Season 2 escalate to the point where our D.P. Jun Ho hinself becomes a deserter to expose the harsh realities of the military.

Each and every story left a very, very deep impression on me. I can relate to the main victims in each story and feel their pain. None of them deserved what they went through, and they all deserved a happy ending, but unfortunately, they didn't get one.
The perpetrators totally ruined the victims lives, and the last scene itself showed the reality of it when Suk Bong was still hospitalized while his perpetrator Jang Soo, was enjoying his life. That scene totally broke me.

My favorite story in Season 2 has to be Jang Seong Min's story, who underwent an identity change to become Nina. The guy was a theatre artist who used to play female characters, which led his seniors to bully him in military and eventually run away from the military. He was on the run for years, living a difficult life, and when he finally got chance to make his career outside the country to escape this hell, D.P. started chasing him. He got injured and died due to excessive blood loss. This story has to be one of the most heartbreaking in the D.P. franchise after Suk Bong's story.

All the stories in this season felt like they were speaking to the world, showing the suffering they endured. Every story made me teary eyed.
I have no prior experience of military service, but I can totally, totally feel the pain of those who have gone through such pain after joining the military.

I love how South Korea never shies away from showing the realities of the military. If some other country had tried this concept, Im sure this show must have been banned long ago for insulting the military. But honestly, we need such shows to shed light on the harsher realities of the military.

In this season, Captain Im Ji Seop's character saw significant development, from a grey character in Season 1 to a totally positive character in Season 2. He came a long way. The way he and his wife Lieutenant Colonel Seo Eun tried to expose the realities of the military and prevent such incidents from happening was commendable. I really didn't think he would go to such lengths to help the D.P.s. His bromance with Sergeant Park Beom Goo was damn good, which was another new aspect from Season 2 that I enjoyed.

Jun Ho's character also underwent significant growth, from being unable to do anything for victim deserters to finally trying to help them. It was a really big growth for him character-wise. Jung Hae In's acting in the last two episodes was exceptional. He is totally born for this character.
Han Ho Yul is definitely my favorite. Every time he mostly shows his comic side, but the Suk Bong incident left a big scar on him as he was dealing with PTSD, which showed how sensitive he is. But even with such seriousness, he really never failed to make me laugh in various situations.

The victim characters of the various stories actually stole the show, from Kim RuRi to his mother to Jang Seong Min to Ah Wi; everyone's acting was just a chef's kiss. All of them deserve to win awards for their performances.

Even the villain characters Gu Ja Woon and Oh Min Woo made you hate them to the core, which proves how good actors they are.

In the end, neither the deserters' victims get full justice nor do their pleas remain unheard. The case is not solved and our D.P. will continue to fight for them until the end.

In the end, I will say nothing has really changed, but they tried, and they are still trying.

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Discipline, Punishment, Morality and Art

What do I even say cause I am left speechless by the brilliance behind season 2. While season 1's entire premise is moral chastatization of the individual and their place within a systemic cycle of abuse and revenge, season 2 does the brilliant thing of not brow beating it's audience into submission and cutting all that sanctimonious nonsense. It **BRILLIANTLY** highlights that the issue ***IS SYSTEMIC*** and not individual. Such an sentiment I'd like to say in retrospect was undergirding the brilliance of season 1 with season 2 bringing it forth and flourishing it into existence.
DP's artistic direction is another thing worth noting. Too often I feel like K-dramas are retreading old ground and it's easy to feel like you've seen every plot line and every trope and every character archetype but goddamn do I have an immense respect for the directors and writers direction with this. An actual critique of the pejorative system facilitating the our society and the military industrial complex. From the Anton Chekhov story line to the gothic horror of EP 4 every single thing is a breath of fresh air. Artistically wonderful with a narrative that is spiritually animating.
This isn't a shallow over exaggerated look at things. From the opening soundtrack and film that shows the gradual fall into disillusionment and nihilism of the world as Jun Ho looks at you dead inside to Nina's determination, hopes, and dreams being crushed by the system just like how a seagull is shot down in Anton Chekhov's play, it's all wonderful. An interplay of art, politics, love, morality, and responsibility.

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Although (Nothing) Changes, The Last Wind Breezes By

First, I'm grateful to catch up on every single thing in this sequel. 'Nothing Has Changed, Unless We Do Something' pinpoints out that they're not doing this for nothing. They did, for the betterment of all generations' future, even include the next as well. All I can say for sure is that they exceed my expectations, that I thought "oh, they're still not disbanding DP?" and I felt relief to watch. It's all good. And for the best

And definitely... I'm awaiting for the final season. It's gonna be a trilogy one, surely. And that wind (stands for wish and hope in Hangul), will passes to the rightful ones

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not as good as the first season, but still worth watching

This season of D.P. felt like a completely different show from the first season. Suddenly, we have a Big Bad and a looming conspiracy that the good guys are dealing with. Suddenly, Junho feels like a different person and is apparently Jason Bourne in the last two episodes. I still loved Junho (and the rest of the gang), but he just felt different in this season. It was like he had a ton of development that the audience didn't get to see and was more confidant than the last time we'd seen him. Though, I should mention I have only seen the first season once and it was when it first came out, so I might be forgetting things.
This season also seemed less grounded in reality than the first season, which felt gritty and very real and knew exactly what kind of story it wanted to tell. This season seemed a little more out there in terms of reality and like I said the whole train/Jason Bourne thing was kinda wild.
All of that to say: I still watched the whole thing and was interested to see how it would all turn out. Plus it was nice to see all of the characters back on my screen (all of the actors were fantastic). I just think this season was a little lazy and not quite up to par with the first season.

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A great follow up to season 1

I just binge watched the whole of season 2 in a day. The season was slow to begin with at the start and I thought maybe it could be a disappointment as some season 2's commonly are. However the brilliance of the case and of course the main character Jung Hae in shone as the season carried on. I personally loved how they showed different views and then showed the truth of what happened.

The last speech that the captain at court in episode 6 really gave me goosebumps. I believe the cast was really well picked out from season one and the additions of choi hyunwook and cameos from great actors such as go kyunpo and won ji an really helped the series to surpass my expectations and season 1.

Overall was a great watch and I would recommend to everyone the series to any kdrama lover!

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not again

I liked the first season of this show for several reasons. It was an important topic to show the partly awful circumstances in the Korean military. It's a topic that was still taboo and it was important to show the (for the show probably) worst sides of the system and what consequences it has on individuals who had to endure all of it, and what non-consequences it had on those responsible for it.
Also it had great acting from several actors, the soundtrack was good, the background story of Jung Hae-in's charcater made sense, it all climaxed in a horrible finale in the last episode of season one - great.

Soooo, as with so many formats, they smelled money when the first season was extremely successful and popular - and effed it up with the second season. Everything just goes on, the bullying starts again in the first minutes of the first epsiode of season 2, - sorry, I am not masochistic, I really do not want to watch another several episodes again seeing people being the nastiest and lowest of the low to each other - I got that message that this is an extreme problem in the Korean military, and the tragedy behind this IN FULL in the first season. I'm not into torture porn.

The story and script are getting weird and unlogical in sesaon two, time jumps back and forth, conspiracy stuff, some severe plot holes, oh, and as some icing on top at least Hae-in without a shirt - sorry, not enough.

It seems like (as in so many other cases where a first season of a show was great) that they just wanted to milk the success no matter what and the second season just lacks in every aspect.

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DP2- Disappointing Part2

I came for the issues, darkness and Jung Hae In (+ the rest of the cast) and well all the stuff that made season one great including it's PPL but all I got was confusion.

Season 2 is honestly the most confusing season I have ever watched, time hops, oddly cut and instead of great repetitiveness and PPL humour I got silly fights and conspiracies... Some kind of A few good Men ordeal without Jack Nicholson yelling "You cant handle the truth" but with some nice kicks and Jung Hae In´s naked upper body... but non of that could make up for the silliness and confusion in this so I am sorry to say this (I really am) as I gave season 1 a 10 this one barely makes it to a 7,5 saved from an even lower rate by it's cast, music, issues (it does touch a few issues, just not enough) and the slight feeling of desspair that I appreciated from season 1.

If you loved season one I would recommend you avoid this season as it may take away season ones magic and ruin a fond memory, and honestly this season is redundant as it ads nothing to the story at all...

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Bae Na Ra as Jang Seong Min/Nina >> His remarkable acting brings depth and emotion to the character

D.P. Season 2 continues to explore the important issue of military service abuse and bullying in South Korea, but it falls short compared to its predecessor. To truly understand the story, one must watch Season 1, which was more compelling and emotionally impactful. Season 2 feels like a mere wrap-up of the previous events rather than introducing new and captivating storylines.

The drama retains its focus on the "Deserter Pursuit" division and their mission to retrieve soldiers who have deserted. Although Season 2 introduces a few new characters, it spends too much time revisiting past events, leading to some unnecessary callbacks that make the plot feel bloated.

Despite this, the performances are commendable, and the production quality remains high. The actors deliver strong portrayals, but one standout performance comes from Bae Na Ra as Jang Seong Min/Nina. His remarkable acting brings depth and emotion to the character.

As a non-South Korean viewer, the series still offers valuable insights into the military service system. However, Season 2 lacks the impact and novelty of the first season. One might wonder if there will be more seasons since the male lead still has 364 days left before discharge. Overall, while D.P. Season 2 has its merits, it fails to match the brilliance of its predecessor.

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Even more intense than season 1

This was an excellent watch. I cannot believe they managed to make the second season even more intense and action packed than the previous one. As I was scrolling through the clock app the other day, I saw some people comment how they found Ho Yul's "iPad era" cute and I didn't understand what they meant by that. By the end of episode one though I could only ask myself how the fuck they could "cutiefy" and romanticize him. Due to the events at the end of season one (and all his previous trauma he clearly has), Ho Yul basically went non-verbal and used the iPad as a means to cummunicate. The only cute thing about this whole thing was the fact that he decorated his device with stickers. Other than that, his trauma response and PTSD are not "cute" and I'm honestly a little annoyed how some people either decided to miss the point or weren't able to fully understand the severity of his mental illness. Moving on to better things than people lacking comprehension skills: the acting and story were even better in season 2 than in season 1, which is crazy because both things were already amazing before. There were talks of a third season, and I would love to see Jun Ho get discharged and reunite with Ho Yul to be honest.... Overall, an amazing and intense show!

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If their duty is to serve, whose duty is it to protect the soldiers?

I am writing this after crying cause I am very much broken (in a good way).

If you've watched season 1, we continue forward with Junho holding the same resolve as he tracks down deserters, but with renewed vigor. He still very much carries the anger and guilt from his very 1st mission as D.P. It's an emotional journey, with many fists, blood, and tears involved as Junho (quite literally) single-handedly fights violence while standing his ground. But finally, the little cracks in the system have grown large enough to break its outer shell. This season is just as violent as before, and realistically, not much has changed at first.

Season 2 ties a lot of loose ends and cliffhangers from S1. We follow the trial of Kim Ruri (the mass shooting cliffhanger), which rightfully takes a majority of the storyline with its connection to Cho Seokbong's case. We also witnessed the major character development of Im Jiseop, the captain who became our sliver of hope for change from Season 1. And finally, the delivery of truth to the hurt families of the victims who try to change the system from the outside. It was done beautifully, with necessary flashbacks to remind us what still needs to be accomplished. Hoyeol also reunites with Junho after the traumatizing incident with Cho Seokbong. There is good news for that too.

I said this before, but Junho really is an imperfect hero that makes me love him so much. He wants an answer that no one seems to know. He wonders why they're here to serve and protect, YET no one ever protects them back. He is still pained and traumatized by his own mistakes.

"Who" will be there for the soldiers when they're injured? "Who" will be brave enough to tell the truth to the world? Junho vowed to never make the same mistake again. He saves another life this time--Kim Ruri--making up for past regrets. He has grown a lot since S1, becoming more calculated and sharp after building all that experience. Although we can't really say the system has changed much yet, enough damage was done to provoke it. As Ahn Junho said, he's ONLY getting started with this.

I think the cinematography outdid S1, because a lot of shots were improved beautifully and brings us an immersive watching experience. The pacing was better this season too. Nonstop praise to the cast....Jung Haein, why do you have to make me cry all the time...

As Beomgu said, "We'll win it next time." Prepare better, fight harder, stand taller. We have 364 days left in Junho's service, so buckle up everyone. See y'all in Season 3!

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Elite cast, starts off amazing, ending is a mixed bag

I haven't seen any of his other works except for Jewel in the Palace but Ji Jin Hee was an amazing addition to this cast. In fact the whole cast is littered with heavy hitters. Even Zico hype man, Go Kyung Po returns to leave his mark on this series. Every addition to the cast in season 2 was an excellent choice and is by far the best part of this season.

I really loved the first part of this series. It was heartbreaking, funny, real, etc. The GP episodes hit hard and ofc Choi Hyun Wook of Weak Hero and 25/21 just brings it as always.

But as some have mentioned in other reviews I think it loses it way a bit at the end. It's almost as if it was too influenced by US tv as they go full John Wick/Jason Bourne/Sons of Anarchy/Homeland, etc. Jun Ho is placed in an impossible situations and miraculously escapes. This show was never about that. Thank goodness it was only 6 episodes because once you go that route you are trapped and you have to continue down that road by having to raise the ante to ridiculous predicaments and last second saves. Just imagine if there were 6-10 more episodes of that, it would have gotten old very quick.

But still on the strength of the cast and some superb episodes I give it an 8.5. I can see why people love it as well as why some don't think it is as good as season 1. I still binged this in two days. Definitely a must watch.

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