‘D.P.’ season two review: a harrowing, hard-hitting sequel
The first season of Netflix K-drama D.P. followed the journey of Private Ahn Jun-ho (Jung Hae-in) and Corporal Han Ho-yeol (Koo Kyo-hwan), partners in the Military Police’s Deserter Pursuit unit. Under the supervision of Captain Im Ji-sup (Son Suk-ku) and Sergeant Park Beom-gu (Kim Sung-kyun), they’re tasked with tracking and arresting soldiers who’ve gone AWOL. What started as a fun buddy cop procedural, eventually turned very dark when our protagonists understand why most of these boys serving their mandatory duty have deserted. The majority of these fugitives aren’t slackers shirking their patriotic responsibility, they’re desperate people broken by the cruel hazing they’ve endured.
Season one climaxed with the disturbing case of Suk-bong (Cho Hyun-chul), a soldier so traumatised by the physical and mental torture of his comrades that he snaps – leading to a hostage situation and his attempted suicide. The fallout of this harrowing ordeal plays a huge part in this second season, as we pick up with a shaken Jun-ho reconsidering the morality of returning deserters to an institution without compassion, while the chatty and carefree Ho-yeol is so distressed by the tragedy that he’s lost his voice while convalescing in hospital. Even Ji-sup and Beom-gu are in trouble when they refuse to whitewash last season’s finale. However, our heroes are forced back into action when a shocking mass shooting occurs.
The perpetrator is Kim Ru-ri (Moon Sang-hoon), a friend of Suk-bong who has been similarly hazed by his platoon mates. After he cracks and goes Full Metal Jacket on his abusers in the barracks, Ru-ri runs off with his rifle and some grenades. That’s when we’re introduced to this season’s villain, the smarmy General Gu Ja-woon (Ji Jin-hee) and his cronies, who are intent on maintaining the military’s reputation by burying every scandal, in case human rights groups start meddling. To that end, Ja-woon decides that portraying Ru-ri as a deranged murderer to the press, and ordering his men to kill rather than capture him, would offer a neat resolution. On the other hand, our protagonists are determined to save Ru-ri’s life by apprehending him unharmed.
Notably, season two of D.P. is far more serialised, with four of its six episodes dealing with Ru-ri’s case and its aftermath – alongside an antagonist that personifies the corruption and lack of accountability within the South Korean army power structure. This all builds to our heroes going rogue in order to expose the culture of bullying and malfeasance in the military. Tired of obeying orders, Jun-ho in particular goes above and beyond. He deserts himself and steals an incriminating USB drive containing classified information that proves the General’s history cover-ups. The evidence is crucial in an upcoming class-action civil suit brought against the state by the families of hazing victims, but in order to blow the whistle, Jun-ho must first evade his own Deserter Pursuit unit.
Ru-ri’s case, the chase for Jun-ho and its A Few Good Men-esque courtroom drama are all compelling, but season two’s best episodes are actually its standalone cases. ‘Curtain Call’, which follows a cross-dressing actor who deserts when he’s bullied for his lifestyle choices, is a distinctly entertaining yet heartbreaking highlight. Meanwhile, ‘The Charred Remains’, which concerns a suspicious death in a Guard Post along the DMZ, feels like a claustrophobic horror movie, emphasising that the tense conditions and stakes on the North Korean border inflict a far more severe psychological toll on the soldiers stationed there.
While season two of D.P. does repeat many of the arguments it already made last season – watching our brave heroes disobey unethical orders and finally take a stand after witnessing recurring cycles of abuse is the point. In fact, this is an overall stronger six-episode stretch thanks to its thematic focus on unpacking the normalisation of humiliation, degradation and misconduct that pervades South Korea’s military. Overhauling a broken system might be impossible, but it’s inspiring to see Jun-ho’s crew at least try. Aided by uniformly good performances, dynamic action and painful yet important stories – D.P. does well to avoid a sophomore slump.
D.P. Season 2 is out now exclusively on Netflix
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Hidzir Junaini
NME
