D.P. – Season 2 Episode 1 “The Rains” Recap & Review

The Rains

Episode 1 of D.P. Season 2 picks up after Suk-bong’s death where Beom-gu is asked to take responsibility for the many failures of the D.P. (Deserter Pursuit) team. He is asked to sign the petition letter which states that Suk-bong was mentally ill, which led to his suicide instead of revealing the real reason for his death.

Beom-gu then narrates the history of his own hazing and systemic abuse from his superiors. Outside, Ji-seop asks Beom-gu to keep the issue around Suk-bong concealed and asks him to sign the papers without creating a fuss. He wonders what Jun-ho and Ho-yeol were up to.

413 days before Jun-ho’s discharge, Du-gwan asks him to visit the military base. Jun-ho’s seniors are still hazing him and clearly nothing has changed after so many deaths in the military due to hazing and bullying of juniors. Jun-ho is asked to head the D.P. team in Ho-yeol’s absence because he’s in the hospital again.

Jun-ho hesitates since he was not a corporal yet but Du-gwan asks Jun-ho to lead the team and take Se-ung under his wing. On their mission to look for more deserters, Jun-ho learns that Se-ung doesn’t respect the job but only wants to be on the team to be able to roam freely while on military duty.

Se-ung’s ignorance about the importance of looking for deserters shocks Jun-ho. Se-ung claims that catching deserters is a risky job and he doesn’t want to endanger his life for anything. Jun-ho overhears Se-ung talking over the phone where the latter badmouths Jun-ho, calling him naïve.

The group of seniors start hazing Corporal Heo Gi-yeong and call him out for hiding behind the D.P. team. Jun-ho watches the men beat Gi-yeong and is reminded of Suk-bong. He goes outside to call the seniors out.

The soldiers are furious with Jun-ho over his attitude and try to attack him but Jun-ho fights back, warning them off hazing the juniors. Meanwhile, Warrant Officer Min-u wears Beom-gu down into signing the petition, but just as he is about to sign the papers, the alarms start blaring at the base camp.

It is revealed that Kim Ru-ri, a friend of Suk-bong, has shot down all of his seniors after being bullied by them. Jun-ho completes his punishment for attacking his seniors and goes back to his dorm room where he meets Se-ung. Se-ung apologises to Jun-ho for belittling their job as the D.P. team.

Just then, Gi-yeong tells the duo that Ru-ri has deserted the base camp and gone rogue with a weapon he used in the barracks. Gi-yeong warns Jun-ho in private and asks him to be wary of Ru-ri. He thanks Jun-ho for helping and Jun-ho is touched.

Jun-ho is also shocked to see Beom-gu back in his old office. He learns that Se-ung was too scared to go on the mission to find Ru-ri and adds that Ho-yeol will be joining him on the next mission. Meanwhile, Ho-yeol is in the hospital and non-verbal following the incident involving Suk-bong.

The episode ends with Ho-yeol watching the news in shock when he learns that Ru-ri, Suk-bong’s friend, has gone rogue.

The Episode Review

The show picks up right where it left off in the previous season and does a good job of capturing how serious matters involving the death of innocent soldiers are pushed under the rug in order to maintain the public image of the Korean military.

It is evident that revealing the truth about Suk-bong’s death and exposing the truth about bullying in the military would be like opening a can of worms which won’t be good for anyone involved. I really missed Ho-yeol in this episode and to see him at the end of this one had me so pumped for the next!

There is certainly a lack of clarity about what Jun-ho was up to when Du-gwan called him back in though. Was he on a solo mission looking for Ho-yeol or was he following the taxi driver of the cab for other reasons? We will only know as the show progresses!