The First Responders Season 2 (2023)

Brilliant from start to finish

I understand that a lot of people dropped/disliked and rated down this show due to [spoiler]. But I for one have to say that I'm very very glad I didn't stop watching then because every single minute of the show blew my mind.

Contrary to what the ratings might tell you, I actually felt that season 2 was superior to season 1 in terms of everything, cases, plot, new characters that were extremely fun and old characters that continued to be extremely fun. The leads did a fabulous job, and so did all the supporting characters. Admittedly the main antagonist was the typical psycho type that seems to be rather common in KDrama, but even their interactions with other characters was interesting to watch, and the final showdown was well done regardless so I couldn't even feel disappointed about it. But still, I'm someone who enjoys it more when the villain is well written, not just in IQ (which is true in this case) but also in EQ (which is unfortunately not true in this case), which is something impossible to do when it's a psychotic thrill seeker with no real motive for doing all the horrible things that they do, which is why I'm rating the plot slightly down. (The only show with a psychopath that I liked for the bad guy despite being a psycho is Hello Monster, which managed to pull off the psycho character quite well.)

(All that said and done though, I still teared up in the last episode's ending credit's last shot when they showed [spoiler]. So forgive me for ducking rewatch value as well.)

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Police + Firefighters + Forensic teamwork!

Season 1 left viewers with a cliffhanger and had me wondering if Dojin and Hogae died....until....the news of Season 2 came out and I knew they didn't die cos main characters don't die right?!

Only for the writers to kill off Dojin in Ep 3.. Very heartbreaking to witness Dojin's death but at least, they gave him a proper goodbye that speaks highly of his loyalty and pride as a firefighter. Dojin's death actually let side characters from Taewon Fire Station shine even more.

Season 2 cases are more entertaining because of the introduction of bombs + new characters (Kang Do Ha, Woo Sam Soon, Han Se Jin). Not to mention, the funny scenes between Dojin-Hogae, Myungpil-Hogae and Doha-Hogae. Their bickering moments are what made the drama a little less serious.

Conclusion is: You have to watch it yourself to feel the thrill throughout the 12 episodes.

I would have given this a 10/10 rating but I still can't get over Dojin's death thus an overall 9.5 rating.

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S1 >>>> S2.

I totally understand why would some people give this season a perfect 10 even though this season disappointed a bit. If u act based on ur sentiments then obviously u would give every damn drama a freaking 10 ??.
But as a veteran I m quite serious about stories nd stuff and tbh, this season the story screwed a bit.
Firstly, how in the hell u can kill the most important character of the drama.
2. Adding unnecessary love triangles just bcuz u wanted viewers to literally beg for the actual love relationship.
There were other things but these 2 were the main ones.
Now coming to the relationship thing. I believe it all started to feel sh*t from S1 when they tried to shove dojin nd soel relationship in our brains. It was pretty obvious who's going to be with soel but still choosing the BFF to be the lover was a bit too much. Then in s2, deluding viewers with random guys with Soel was again pretty bad. It felt the writers were so desperate to create a love triangle and make Jin jealous af.

Story wise, it was just as S1 no big change. But I would say, if u really want to make perfect s2 then at least try to be the tip of Taxi Driver s2. Cuz that drama was a complete blast with its s2.

There were definitely some good things happened in the s2 though. But I would rather want people to check that out on their own than mentioning them here ?

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why is this one of the best drama

first of all, i just wanna say that i consider this season way better than season 1. i think some people will give a whole different review because of dojin’s death and some of them even dropped this, but i think this death didn’t changed the drama. Why is that?

So i really liked dojin’s character and even knowing that his death was unnecessary, i think it brought a whole lot more interesting plot to this drama. because if this was only about the first responders taking some risks and nothing happening to them, it would be a lot more repetitive and kinda boring. but they decided to change everything and killed a main character, it really changed our perspective and kept us interested in the outcome of his death. i really liked the new characters, especially Do-Ha. i feel like after this season i can really feel what’s the meaning of family to them (firefighters, paramedics, police and nfs). all of them are willing to risk their lives by trusting each other.

I don’t think i have any words to explain how much i love hogae, that man is a jindo dog indeed. nothing will spot him, he will do everything to protect his close ones and his look speaks louder than actions. his chemistry with Seol was out of this world and this season made me feel like a child about to get rewarded for something.

i love first responders season 1 and 2 and i cannot wait to see more seasons of this. see y’all soon ! ?

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Watch without regrets....

Ho Gae and Seol ended up together passed the hardest situations and the time together.

"The first responders" compare to two seasons Dex is the most underrated villian in this arc, he is powerful and manipulative committed more murders in Korea and USA.

Ho Gae and Seol romance moments in the final episode is good their chemistry and their love and care between the even in the hardest situations they care for each other, not giving up their love for silly reasons and they pass together in that situations. Compare to some other k drama couples, this couple is different.Ho Gae and Seol relationship progression in S1 & S2 slowly and steadily without rushing things compare to Do Jin.It's not a romance based drama but leads value their relationship in hardest time and not giving each other and give strength eachother.

Overall, drama has unpredictable twist and turns, writer killed even one of the main lead Do jin. It's worth to watch and invest time.

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Season 2 was amazing as season 1.

Story: It starts off continuing off of season 1 with the serial arsonist case and the cliff hanger of whether Hogae and/or Dojin survived the fire blast in the garage. The first couple of episodes of season 2 is wrapping up a case from season 1 so it doesn't feel like a new season yet. The big moment that happened was Dojin ended up dying early on. It's a big deal when the writers kill of a main character only couple episodes into a new season. I think these first 4 episodes could have been fit into the first season and having both seasons be 16 episodes like how most Kdramas are.

It doesn't feel like season 2 yet until after episode 4. They introduce two new characters to replace Dojin and Anna(I don't know why Anna had to be replaced). Doha filled in for Dojins spot in the drama as a member of the NFS team. Woo Sam Soon replaced Anna's role in the detectives team. Both showed more lively personalities that I was unsure of but later on I was fine with their additions to the drama. Another difference is more focus on the NFS team and much less screen time for the firefighters. When they killed off Dojin, they also killed off a lot of focus on the firefighters too. Instead of replacing Dojin with a new character in the firefighters team, they replaced him with a new NFS character and focused more on that team. It still had great suspense as I was on the edge of my seat in these cases. A lot of more bomb/explosion scenes than fires.

I was impressed by the teases and twists from the writers. The ones that stood out to me was the character of Doha(Dojin's childhood friend). They made him look very suspicious as the arsonist. He was in a hotel room by himself calling Dojin, he wore black clothes, was at the scene of the crime where Dojin died and he left, and was the childhood friend of Dojin that wanted him to help take out the fire. I thought he was the arsonist because of that reason. I was fooled by the writers and Doha turned out to be a good guy. I loved how in depth they also went at making us believe the MC Hogae did die at the end. Him being in the caravan as it exploded? The bodies found in it looked like it could be him. Hogae dying together with his father from a bomb at the rooftop of a building. They even showed us a autopsy of Hogae to make it look real. Even the characters that loved him showed real emotion of his death. Of course he was alive at the end and it was a heck of a plan to trick the main villain he died to finally catch him.

This drama is not a focus or heavy focus on romance but they did tease it early on and delivered. I adored the relationship between Seol and Hogae throughout the drama. Great moments between them that didn't feel forced. The romantic subplot was a perfect touch to the drama. It probably hooked viewers to stay and watch even if someone as beloved as Dojin died.

Acting/characters: The acting and characters have to be my favorite part of the drama from both seasons. The police team had the best chemistry between the teams. Everyone was so likable.

Music: The soundtrack was good. My favorite song was "Hold my breath". It has a sad tone and fit well into the sad moments of the drama.

Overall/rewatch: If they ever decided on a season 3, I will be ready to watch it. I can see why there wouldn't need to be as this one wrapped up everything well. Great cast, great plot, and best of what I like a subplot of romance with a happy satisfying ending. A amazing journey I'd love to watch again.

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So I ended up doing three no-no's which made me nervous about watching sequels to several dramas that I watched previously.

First: DP 1 & 2. I didn't watch the first season over because I didn't think I needed to but there were scenes that they recapped that I completely forgot about. If I had watched the first season over then I would've better understood what the recap was about.

Taxi Driver 1 & 2. I got this one right because season 2 picked up where season 1 left off.

Uncanny Counter 1 & 2. This one was a big mistake. If I had known season 2 was going to go in a different direction I wouldn't have watched season 1 over.

This one...I knew I should've watched the first season over but didn't!!

I remember from my first review how I stated that this drama was like the US Chicago franchise all-in-one! The second season is a continuation with newer characters.
They capitalized on the autopsy scenes a lot more and I gotta say I was impressed with the way they did those silicone bodies. I don't know how the actors who had death scenes felt about watching a recap of their bodies being cut open on a autopsy table (don't know the correct term for that) but I gotta tell ya, Kim Rae Won who played as Jin Ho Gae looked uncomfortable and who wouldn't blame him.

The main plot that the second season dealt with was arson and bombs but there were other small plots throughout in order not to be monotonous which worked for me.

I loved the cast choices. Sometimes a casting director can get it right. I loved the Bull dozer and Jin Ho dog chemistry but I also loved the bomb tech guy and the Jin Ho dog's chemistry as well. But my favorite character was Woo Sam Soon the female character with the two daughters. She was my favorite because she was tough, smart, and hilarious. I love female Korean actresses like this. Not Song Seol...She got clocked in the head so many times I was hoping she would've been written off but they had to add that sappy romance that I seriously hate which is why my overall score is low. It's also low because the way the last episode happened. The bad guy revealing himself out of the blue when the last few episodes he tried to hide his identity left me with a 'WTF' moment! Then he had to kidnap a girl and the male hero comes to save her and they fall in love....eye roll with a barf bag please!!! Can they not put that kind of romance in a drama??? It's so cliche and stale!!!

I would like for there to be a third season but after seeing Uncanny Counter 2 I've learned my lesson and will be satisfied with the 2 seasons we were given.

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I enjoyed it just as much as season 1, for different reasons

I have to say, I think I liked the stories in season 1, there seemed to be more variety. In season 2, the whole time was spent looking for the evil "man behind the curtain". I found it somewhat unbelievable that the main bad guy could have absolute control over everything, including all surveillance, CCTV, etc. And then at the end, he just gave away that he was the killer.

My favorite character was still Myung Pil. I loved his relationship with Ho Gae. This was even more spotlighting Ho Gae being the smartest person in the room, which is a little tiresome.

I still can't believe that they killed off Do Jin. I was hoping we would see more bonding between him and Ho Gae.

This would have been much better without the romance. It felt rushed, forced, and I didn't feel any chemistry between them. Seol actually seemed to have more conversations with Se Jin than she did with Ho Gae! I think the drama would have been at least as good without the romance.

Jeon Sung Woo as Han Se Jin was excellent...enough said.

I also loved Oh Eui Shik as Do Ha. With his behaviors and mannerisms, I was never quite sure if he was one of the bad guys or not. I really enjoyed the collaborations he had with Ho Gae.

I know that a lot of people complained about Baek Eun Hye as Sam Soon, the scientific investigator, but I really enjoyed her. She had a different sort of energy than the rest of the cast, and that added a beat of comedy that allowed you to take a breath from all the action.

I think the highest praise I can give this drama is that I didn't need to fast forward through anything. There was a ton going on and it was practically nonstop.

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Season 3 please!?

Althou I doubt there'll be S3, I'll gladly be open to that possibility!

Personally, I'm disappointed that DoJin died. Although I am happy at how they wrap up his death, I watch this show because of him! So, this is the one disappointnment I have. I also feel that the romance could be better. I am not very excited about the romance between ML and FL. I usually am the one who ship the couple, but not this one. I guess, I must have been on team Dojin lol...But, this is just my personal preference

Despite this, I'm still rating it 10, because objectively the drama is actually very well done

I actually enjoy Do Ha's role a lot. I find his role very interesting. It's first time I've seen someone who knows how to make and denote bomb and do autopsy at same time. That's dope! Samsoon is also a dope one!

Even Dex is a really well developed character, very cool and talented, of course I disagree and dislike his malicious intent, but at least he is good at being evil.

I suspected that the ML didn't die but then I got fooled when I saw the autopsy being carried out, but who knows that its a fake too! That, totally got me. What a plot twist.

Overall, I really love how well balanced this drama is. Solid teamwork within and across team. It's not a drama that focuses only one main characters, but truly everyone plays a part.

I really enjoy this drama. Thank you!

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