Descendants of the Sun: Thoughts

Descendants of the Sun was, so far, the only Korean Drama that made my heart pitter-patter like hell! I swear, every single episode, I was either crying a puddle of tears, rolling on the floor while laughing, or hugging a pillow so tight because I couldn’t contain the kilig-ness that I was feeling.  If I could write this essay or whatsoever with an exclamation point for every single sentence, I’ll definitely would! 

Unfortunately, with my short span of memory, I could not write a review per episode. I am not the type of person who would rewatch stuff. Sometimes, watching it once make the feeling more irreplaceable, even lasting. Anyway, moving forward, in the first episode (Okay, I could recall this pretty well), when I first saw Captain Yoo Si Jin (Song Joon-Ki) on screen, gosh, I fell in love, especially with his smile and his baby face. When he met Doctor Kang Mo Yeon (Song Hye-Kyo) in the hospital, I instantaneously realized that they were a match made in heaven. Kudos to the director for pairing them up!

The Korean drama, Descendants of the Sun, was a great recipe. It was a mixture of drama (as a genre), comedy and romance, and the star-studded cast made it even more prominent to the taste of the viewers. The plot too, was unique and at the same time, heartwarming. A doctor and a soldier, who would have thought, that some sparks could be ignited between them? To be honest, at first, I felt irritated with the fact that they were hesitant to fall for each other due to the uncertainty and hindrances along their way (especially Kang Mo Yeon! I mean, if that was me, I’d definitely say yes to date Captain Yoo Si Jin without second guessing). As time (or shall I say episodes) went by, I started to realize that the uncertainty lies in the aspect of what if, Yoo Si Jin, with his extremely dangerous job, suddenly dies? Indeed, it would hurt her terribly, and no woman would that. Other than that, their jobs were contradictory to each other. A soldier kills (the bad guys), while a doctor does her best to keep someone alive.  But thank God for the right timing, they realized at the latter part of the episodes that they actually couldn’t leave without each other. In one way or another, destiny would bring them back together (insert the time when Kang Mo Yeon was tasked to travel to Urk for a medical mission not knowing that Yoo Si Jin was in charge of that place too). 

Other lessons I’ve taken from the DOTS: 

 There are two kinds of doctors: Those who are stuck in their comfort zones (in the VIP wards), and those who are willing to get off of them (in medical missions). Since I was young, I’ve always dreamt of becoming a medical doctor (it was also my mother’s dream for me), but unfortunately, I couldn’t even look at blood or a surgical operation without feeling nauseant. If I happened to pursue a medicine career in the future (who knows?), I’d definitely choose to be part of the latter, someone who’s out of her comfort zone for the real world is not merely confined in a white four-walled room.

 When they said bullets hurt, I beg to disagree. Memories hurt more. Physical pain doesn’t last forever, but emotional pain, it damn does. One of the scenes that probably struck was when Angus was shot by Yoo Si Jin. In that scene, I felt like crying. Big Boss saved Angus’ (whom he considered as Private Ryan) life and in exchange, he lost one of his friends. It was such a dramatic scene to watch, killing the one you saved for the sake of saving the life of the one you came to love. What pains the most – when Captain covered Kang Mo Yeon’s eyes in order for her not to get a glimpse of what he was about to do – shoot Angus.  Indeed, it was an act of saying that Kang Mo Yeon should not have memories of such tragic thing for it would cause her further trauma. Having been kidnapped was already traumatic enough.

 Love will find a way. I’m a sucker for a thing called ‘destiny’. Captain Si Jin and Doctor Kang kept bumping into each other most especially in drastic situations. Not just that, they kept saving each other’s lives! Gosh, if I could literally be in one television series, I swear, I wished I was part of DOTs! 

#MorePostsAboutDOTSSoon

USTv Awards 2016

Last April 21, 2016, I was one of the lucky students who happened to receive a pass for the UST Awards held at the Plaza Mayor. It was never in my intention to attend since the day after the said event, I had some quizzes and mind you, studies happened to be on top of my priority ever since I entered the university (insert the cost of tuition in here). It just so happened that I left school around 8 in the evening and some of my classmates were there, talking about getting tickets from the SOCC (if you’re a Thomasian, you know what SOCC means). One of them asked me if I wanted to watch, and without even thinking, I bobbed my head up and down, eager to have one of those golden tickets, all so sudden. Frankly speaking, I hated missing opportunities. However, upon reaching the SOCC office, I knew, I had to get tickets for my best friends. Unfortunately, one ticket per person was allowed, and only those who were at the office were allowed to receive one. It did slip my mind that my friends might be disappointed with the fact that I would be able to watch but not with them. Well, fast forward to the main event… I got in, and my friends did too (Thank God, or else, I’d definitely regret it for the rest of my existence). 

Highlights of the night (Okay, I’m going to make this as a list since I do not want to bore my readers with this one) / seeing my favorites on stage: 

 Chris Tiu – Gosh, I swear, it was my first time to get a glimpse of his face! Just like Japoy Lizardo, he was also among my first athlete crushes (insert Kiefer Ravena and Jeron Teng).

 Gretchen Fullido and Dayan Castillejo – These two reporters were not just beautiful. They’re also good when it comes to delivering news. I kind of envied them with their ability to interview other celebrities. They looked stunning, just like in the television screens. 

 Alex Gonzaga – My goodness, who would have thought that Alex Gonzaga would be so crazy in front of the Thomasian crowd? Lol, I swear, I couldn’t stop watching her. She performed “Problem” by Ariana Grande, and damn, she hit the high notes well, and it made me realize that she could be a good singer (insert possible album title here). She’s one hell of a performer! She even joked, “uy may mga pari pala dito” (non-verbatim) while she was doing some sexy dance performance while singing. Her energy kept the crowd hyped for the rest of the night!

 Anne Curtis – This was a surprise. I’ve seen Anne Curtis before, but not on stage, performing. Just like Alex, she was energetic. The difference was, Alex was somehow good in singing, and Anne, let’s not talk about it. Don’t get me wrong, Anne Curtis was a goddess. She was exceptionally beautiful. And even though her voice was exceptionally awful, who cares? She’s the Anne Curtis and we shouldn’t question that. She sang “Basang Basa sa Ulan” and how I wished, I had my earphones with me the whole time (just kidding). She made the whole Thomasian community sing with her to help her with some of the notes. She’s Anne, and you shouldn’t Annederstimate her abilities!

 Atom Araullo – Okay, so initially, I was disappointed because when his name was called out for his award for the night, he did not show up. I sank in my seat -- at some point, I attended the event because I wanted to see him live. I’ve seen him a couple of times on the television screen and with that, I started to develop a slight crush on him. When his name was called out again, I did not anticipate that he would appear right before my eyes. He was bubbly that I expected, but still, extremely cute. Gosh, in an instant, I began wondering how it must have felt to work with him. I couldn’t stop staring! When he left the stage, I was still smiling like an idiot. 

 Lola Nidora and Lola Tinidora – Don’t ever tell me that they’re Jose Manalo or Wally Bayola! I couldn’t even see them who they really are anymore. Lol. Whenever I watch KalyeSerye, I would clutch my stomach for laughing real hard. All because of them! They were the dynamic duo and without them, I doubt if the KalyeSerye would even be a big hit. In their speech, they were goofy but at the same time, they left some learnings for the Thomasian community. And did I mention, the Rogelios were there to accompany them! Lol, it made me feel like I was in the KalyeSerye as well. When will I ever get a break in the acting industry? (Lol, assuming, but who knows? I’ve been a president of the Drama Guild, that dream ain’t that too far to reach). 

 Maine Mendoza – I’m probably fangirling, screaming at the top of my lungs to the highest level. It felt surreal! It was really the crazy Dubsmash queen, Maine Mendoza! Thank God, my phone’s battery was drained already or else I would be tempted to record everything instead of actually looking at her through my bare eyes. That’s the thing about seeing through one’s eyes, it’s much alive than it will ever be.  I admit, I wasn’t really an avid fan of #AlDub, but seeing Maine, made me more interested in their love team. #theMAINEevent

RATING:

4/5 since I almost lost my friends and Alden was not present