D.P. – Season 1 Episode 5 “Military Dog” Recap & Review

Military Dog

Episode 5 of D.P. begins with Suk-Bong lashing out and losing his temper. After such relentless abuse, Suk-Bong completely snaps and beats down an antagonizing soldier, smashing him repeatedly with a helmet and leaving the kid a bloody mess. After this, he walks away.

We’re 540 days before discharge time and this incident causes shockwaves across the barracks. The commander intends to do a full-scale search but demands this be done as quietly as possible. He’s desperate to keep the press in the dark with this, so it falls to Captain Lim and Beom-Gu to once again rely on our D.P. duo to bring the kid back.

While Jun-Ho stays behind to question the boy Suk-Bong beat up, Beom-Gu and Han head out to question Suk-Bong’s friends and family. Well, that’s certain to take a turn for the worst though when Suk-Bong uploads a new webtoon file online. It’s pretty grim and a foreshadowed glimpse of exactly what this boy has planned.

Armed with a knife, rope and a deep desire for revenge, Suk-Bong intends to make his discharged Sergeant – the one who hazed him so badly – pay. It’s a race against time, something that sees the Busan D.P. guys helping out to try and track the boy down and stop a potential murder.

Although Jun-Ho manages to catch up with him, the ensuing skirmish outside the bus sees Seong-Gon – one of the Busan guys – hit by a bus. As Han chases after Suk-Bong to a movie theatre, he pulls a knife on the corporal and forces the man to freeze.

With the whole situation resting precariously on a knife-edge (no pun intended) Jun-Ho finds Hwang and tries to convince him to leave. He warns of Suk-Bong’s threat but he scoffs at the notion and shuts the door in his face. After Suk-Bong tasers Jun-Ho and leaves him handcuffed to the railing, this deserter looks set to get revenge on Hwang.

Although Hwang manages to get the best of Suk-Bong, he’s visibly shaken. Suk-Bong notices and after slashing him with a knife, rushes away laughing hysterically. Jun-Ho and Han find him downstairs and apprehend the man, putting Suk-Bong in handcuffs. It’s tough to witness how far he’s fallen.

As he’s taken back in handcuffs, Beom-Gu speaks to Suk-Bong about the nature of revenge. His words certainly stir something within Suk-Bong, lashing out at the others for their indifference to then abuse and bullying going on in the dorm. He’s absolutely livid that he’s being punished for this and manages to break free from his cuffs.

The Episode Review

Wow, what an episode. The penultimate chapter to D.P. is an absolute thrill ride from start to finish. Seeing the devastating effect this hazing has had on Suk-Bong is really tough to watch but also something that feels very real and could well be happening right now.

As someone who doesn’t take well to authority figures and being told what to do (hence why I’m self employed and running this site!) seeing the apathy from the others and turning a blind eye to the abuse is really tough to watch.

We’ve seen hazing in American colleges too and I’d imagine the effect in Korea must be pretty bad, especially given how prevalent bullying is in both media and establishments as a whole.

D.P. offers up an unflinching look at this and each of these chapters have done well to show a different side to deserters and how simple black and white can be blurred into shades of grey. The character development for these guys has been brilliant and some of the camera work is absolutely exemplary.

This chapter in particular is just a stunning reflection of societal pressure and how it can cause people to snap in the worst ways possible. Can the finale top this? We’ll have to wait and see!