Korean Drama D-Day

[dark]

Review:

The first few episodes of this drama are dedicated to character introductions, and laying the foundation for later plots. I think this was a really good choice, as it set up the stakes of the drama before the earthquake ever hit. Once the disaster begins, you care a lot more about the characters and what happens to them.
The remaining episodes focus mostly on the characters and their development. Outside forces like depleting supplies and the Director of Mirae Hospital wanting to shut its doors to the public also add more tension beyond the after shocks that continue to run through the city. An example of this ever-present tension post earthquake is when Hae-Sung is sent to retrieve more blood for the hospital and is then attacked by a stranger wanting to steal his motorbike. Alongside this, Mirae's Director is doing his best to make Hae-Sung's life miserable.

The thing I appreciated the most though was how you can actually see each character develop. The most obvious being Jung Ddol-mi's growth from naive and useless to capable and helpful, and Ahn Dae-Gil's (Sungyeol) transition from a rich, self centred resident to a proper part of the D-Day team. Even showing Hae-Sung dealing with insomnia and PTSD provided a real feeling to the character that had me rooting for his idealism to succeed in the end.

Themes:

The main themes are morality, death and if the ends justify the means. These are shown through various character arcs like the hospital president's son and Hae-Sung's little brother Woo Sung. Just because these heavy themes are present though, tonally the show switches a lot between existential breakdown scenes and comedic moments, though neither ever feel out of place. I bawled like a baby throughout certain episodes and also laughed out loud during others.

Cons:

If I had to fault it for one thing it would be the near excessively evil antagonist, Director Gun (Lee Kyoung-Young). There's only so much unchecked bad things someone can do before I begin to question how no one's reported him and why he still holds such an important position.

Another fault that is more opinion based than logical was the resolution of the character Goo Ja Hyuk (Cha In-Pyo). He's a politician who is dating Mirae Hospital's Chief Kang (Kim Hye-Eun) and the figurehead of the rescue efforts post earthquake. His actions to not help the immediate people around him in favour of his wish to rebuild Seoul from nothing result in a lot of loss and even death, but in the end Chief Kang seems content with it and marries him. It was hard for me to accept especially considering that the only reason her son is alive was probably due to the kindness of strangers helping him.

Conclusion:

All in all, this drama was a really good watch, although it did have its short comings in some storylines feeling unnecessary. This may have come about due it being 20 episodes instead of 16. I highly recommend it though if you want to get your feelings on, or just want to appreciate the beauty that is Kim Young Kwang.