NotMuch
This review may contain spoilers
Violence begets violence. Bullying begets bullying. And inflict enough torment, you can make a murderer out of a saint.
That theme is integral to D.P., which - unlike what the synopsis led me to believe - is critical of the inner workings of the military, a system of hierarchy that nurtures power imbalance inherent to abuse. It doesn't shy away from the subtle to the more explicit forms of harassment that every rank experiences. And that, most of the time, pushes the enlisted into deserting.
It ties neatly into Jun-Ho's life. Through each case of a deserter, he becomes more disillusioned with himself, and, finally, the military he's serving. And his last decision makes the story come full circle - how? I will leave that for the viewer. Then there's Ho-Yeol, who drew attention to himself as soon as he was introduced - his eccentricities made him a good D.P. officer (and a comic relief). However, the story was not theirs for long; the last deserter made it his, whose case was the consequence of continuous abuse, an impending tragedy borne of the deliberate ignorance of bystanders. His case was a warning, a question mark to the inaction of the spectating system which never countered the root of most desertions, a mishandling of a situation that could have been prevented.
The drama would not have been half as impactful if the acting was lukewarm. Hae In understands characters such as Jun-Ho, outwardly passive but drowning in emotion. Kyo Hwan brought Ho-Yeol to life without the crutch of a solid background story. And the supporting cast was remarkable, particularly the last deserter.
My one complaint would be the OST / music choice when the heavier scenes occurred in episode 6 (and one or two earlier episodes). It made the scenes rather self-indulgent and overdid the emotion which was already prominent, and better off, without it. However, I did enjoy the OST intro, mellow compared to the action, but a good way to break out of and into the topic of the episode.
Overall, the storytelling was pleasing, though the story itself was heavy (and disturbing at some points). It is one of the stronger productions in 2021. Watch it.
That theme is integral to D.P., which - unlike what the synopsis led me to believe - is critical of the inner workings of the military, a system of hierarchy that nurtures power imbalance inherent to abuse. It doesn't shy away from the subtle to the more explicit forms of harassment that every rank experiences. And that, most of the time, pushes the enlisted into deserting.
It ties neatly into Jun-Ho's life. Through each case of a deserter, he becomes more disillusioned with himself, and, finally, the military he's serving. And his last decision makes the story come full circle - how? I will leave that for the viewer. Then there's Ho-Yeol, who drew attention to himself as soon as he was introduced - his eccentricities made him a good D.P. officer (and a comic relief). However, the story was not theirs for long; the last deserter made it his, whose case was the consequence of continuous abuse, an impending tragedy borne of the deliberate ignorance of bystanders. His case was a warning, a question mark to the inaction of the spectating system which never countered the root of most desertions, a mishandling of a situation that could have been prevented.
The drama would not have been half as impactful if the acting was lukewarm. Hae In understands characters such as Jun-Ho, outwardly passive but drowning in emotion. Kyo Hwan brought Ho-Yeol to life without the crutch of a solid background story. And the supporting cast was remarkable, particularly the last deserter.
My one complaint would be the OST / music choice when the heavier scenes occurred in episode 6 (and one or two earlier episodes). It made the scenes rather self-indulgent and overdid the emotion which was already prominent, and better off, without it. However, I did enjoy the OST intro, mellow compared to the action, but a good way to break out of and into the topic of the episode.
Overall, the storytelling was pleasing, though the story itself was heavy (and disturbing at some points). It is one of the stronger productions in 2021. Watch it.
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