D.P. – Season 2 Episode 2 “Dirty Play” Recap & Review

Dirty Play

Episode 2 of D.P. Season 2 starts with Ho-yeol recalling the time he saved Ru-ri from his seniors that were bullying him. Present-day Ho-yeol is in his hospital room, shocked to see Ru-ri on the news merely four months after their last interaction.

Jun-ho joins Ji-seop and Beom-gu at a press conference where Lieutenant Colonel Seo Eun addresses the reporters and the nation about the soldier who has gone rogue after attacking his roommates. The female soldier shares details about Ru-ri, including his photo and his address, with the media.

Eun also shares disturbing photos from the scene of the crime to instigate the public. She tells the reporter that Ru-ri was armed and a threat to society, prompting masses to attack his family home and harass his mother.

Eun promises to catch Ru-ri, dead or alive, and Beom-gu tells Jun-ho that it’s up to him to make sure they get to Ru-ri first. Jun-ho watches the mother of Ru-ri’s victim get into a physical altercation with Ru-ri’s mother when the latter claims that Ru-ri was a victim of bullying. She believes that Ru-ri had a very hard time in the military and apologises for her son’s actions.

The cops try their best to protect Ru-ri’s mother from the raging public. Ho-yeol shows up at the scene and Jun-ho is shocked by the fact that the tragedy has rendered him mute.

At the military base, Jin-seop barges into a room where Eun and Min-u are having a private discussion. Beom-ju follows along. There, he learns that Eun was Jin-seop’s ex-wife and the former couple shared joint custody of their children.

Eun puts Jin-seop in his place as her junior. She talks to Beom-ju, stating that Ru-ri was a high-risk candidate considering his liking for violent video games. Ji-seop and Eun have an argument where both parties bring up their kids before Eun dismisses her ex-husband without listening to him.

At the same time, Ru-ri reaches out to the media and gives his statement on the issue, revealing the nature of bullying that was prevalent in the military. Ru-ri’s mother faints after watching her son in pain. She begs Jun-ho and Ho-yeol to save him and bring him back alive.

Meanwhile, Beom-ju and Jin-seop follow Min-u to his cabin and try to look through his computer. However, Min-u finds them trying to get into his device and Min-u beats them up. Min-u leaves with the wallets and phones of both soldiers and locks them in his cabin.

During their meeting, Eun stops the soldiers from telling the media that Ru-ri was unarmed. She claims that keeping the narrative that Ru-ri was a threat to society is essential for them. She gets a call from her daughter during the meeting claiming that Jin-seop needs her to save him.

Eun shows up at Min-u’s cabin to get Jin-seop and Beom-ju out where she asks the two men to stop chasing after Ru-ri because she’s sure he’ll turn himself in soon. Ru-ri is at a supermarket where he watches his mother being attacked by the public and is enraged.

Eun claims that Ru-ri would go look for his mother to ensure she was safe. Beom-ju tells Eun that Ru-ri was not the monster she was making him to be. Eun ignores the two and leaves them locked in the room. However, on their drive to Ru-ri’s house, Eun is having second thoughts about her decision to have Ru-ri killed on sight.

The military officers show up at the restaurant to attack Ru-ri. However, Ho-yeol experiences a panic attack due to the intensity of the situation. Jun-ho asks him to calm down and rest. Ru-ri shows up and the cops are ready to attack him but he threatens to set the bomb off.

Ru-ri’s mother is taken out while he holds a soldier hostage. The soldiers circle around Ru-ri and hold up their guns, asking him to drop his weapon. Eun deliberates between letting the soldiers kill Ru-ri or waiting for Jin-seop and Beom-ju to show up to take care of a deserter.

Jun-ho tries to talk to Ru-ri but this only further sets him off. Ho-yeol is having a hard time trying to calm himself down when Beom-ju calls him and asks to try and hold things off until they arrive. Ho-yeol musters the courage to go out and starts live-streaming.

He promises Ru-ri that none of the soldiers will harm him on camera and asks him to calm down. Jun-ho stops the soldiers from getting Ho-yeol to turn off the live stream. Eun claims that they should hold off shooting Ru-ri since the scene is being streamed for millions of people to watch.

The military cuts off the internet connection at the scene and Ho-yeol’s livestream is disrupted. Ru-ri feels helpless as the snipers point at him to shoot him down while Jun-ho and Ho-yeol are held back from saving him. Just as Eun is about to call for Ru-ri to be shot, his mother shows up and walks towards Ru-ri.

She stops him from setting the bomb off and Ru-ri cries in her arms. Ja-woon promises to give Ru-ri a fair trial for his actions. Later, Ja-woon is furious at Min-u for letting Ru-ri get away alive. He believes that the issue has gotten out of hand and the public is demanding answers about the incident.

Ja-woon blames Min-u for all of this, and as the episode ends, Suk-bong watches the news about Ru-ri’s incident from his hospital room.

The Episode Review

This season looks a little more intense than the last and it certainly seems to be because Ho-yeol is still trying to process his trauma. I am sure he will bounce back and the comedy aspect of this really emotional drama will return in the episodes to come. 

From the looks of it, Ru-ri’s case could have been handled a lot differently and it was the soldiers who are to blame for leaking too much information to the media. What was Min-u trying to hide? It’s troubling to think that this could further damage the D.P. team.