10 unexplained points about Descendants of the Sun ending that make me hate it instead

Last Updated on 2016-05-19 , 1:34 pm

Okay, before rotten eggs are thrown at me from Song Joong-ki fans or Alpha Team from the South Korea Special Forces raid my office, here’s one disclaimer that I need to highlight: it’s still a great show, if not I’ll not have watched all the episodes. Secondly, I do know that it’s, after all, a Korean drama, so what matters most is the love story and nothing else. Thirdly, I’m a Singaporean, so ranting online is extremely normal.

Before anything, here’s one more thing: there’re spoilers ahead, so read at your own risk.

Everything okay? No rotten eggs or snipers at me yet? Great. Now, let’s begin.

Whoever the hell pays for Big Boss’s phone bill for the year he was captured?
You see, everyone was convinced that Big Boss was dead. I’m pretty sure when one person has passed away, his phone line will be cut off—even if no one bothers to update the telecom, the phone line will be cut off automatically after a few months of non-payment. So when Dr Kang sees that the messages were “Read”, it just doesn’t make sense: he reconnects the line? With the same number?

How did Big Boss and Sergeant Major Seo get back their identity?
In the eyes of the public, law and authorities, they died from a training accident. So one year later, they just came back? With the same identity?

How would friends of Big Boss and Sergeant Major Seo tell their friends about their revival?
To them, they died from a training accident. In a training accident, bodies are surely found with a military funeral. I’m sure many friends attended their funeral—how are they going to tell the public about their sudden revival?

The North Korea soldier knows about Big Boss and Sergeant Major Seo…but not the military?
I’m pretty much sure the military, including those in South Korea and United States, would have lots of resources, be it intelligence gathering or having operatives all over the world. Yet it’s one North Korea soldier friend who knew about them? Won’t it be better just to tell the South Korea military about it? If he fails in his solo mission to save them, no one else would know about their capture.
But still, he’s a damn cool soldier and he should just enjoy his leave.

Were they locked up for 150 days or 365 days?
Sergeant Major Seo told his girlfriend that he was locked up for about 150 to 155 days. But one year has passed since their disappearance. Of course, there could be an explanation: they could not keep track of time, or they spent half a year recuperating.

Big Boss and Sergeant Major Seo has no Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) —are special forces soldiers so mentally strong?
They were both shot. They were locked up for almost half a year to one year. Any sane person would have gone insane, or at least, suffered some form of PTSD after that. Yet they’re still that romantic guy to their girlfriend. Yeah, they might have been POW-trained, but for one year? That’s really unbelievable.

Who held them?
Yeah, yeah, we know the operation is classified, but there must be a reason to keep them alive. They’re not exactly POWs since their nation was not notified. Or are they? Or are they kept alive for something else? They should have been treated as well since they were shot. Or no one knows where they were from, since their ID tags are not with them? So many questions, no answer. Yes, classified. It’s the best way to fill up that plot hole.

Why were the Red Velvet concert televised?
Firstly, these girl groups have concerts everywhere. Secondly, it’s a concert in a military setting, whereby every soldier is seen going apeshit over the girls. Thirdly, it’s the special forces—aren’t they supposed to keep their identity secret? Fourthly—why put this on TV?
*A reader has kindly pointed out that it might not be on TV, but instead on Facebook or YouTube, posted by one of the soldiers there. Okay, that sounds plausible. In fact, it was viewed on a tablet, so it’s very likely that it wasn’t televised.

Is the last episode all about advertisement or what?
The product placement here is ridiculously over the top: from drawing money with your smartphone to booking a hotel online. If anything, I just know that South Korea is way more advanced than Singapore.

Why hasn’t Sergeant Major Seo been promoted?
And yet, Big Boss was promoted, when he had the punishment of a delayed promotion?