Descendants of the Sun Episode 4 Recap

Our couples get closer, then pull away or get separated. Will our four leads ever be in the same place at the same time?

Descendants of the Sun Episode 4 Recap

Yoo Shi Jin (Song Joong Ki) asks Doctor Kang Mo Yeon (Song Hye Kyo) if she can save the Arab President. She hedges. He demands an absolute answer. She stares at him and declares she can save him. Shi Jin turns off his communication device. He stares at Dae Young (Jin Goo) and without words they agree. He tells her to save the man. Everyone draw their guns. It’s a standoff. Shi Jin places himself and his men around the President. He gives his team permission to shoot. The medical team takes the President to surgery. Mo Yeon is impressed with the bravery of Shi Jin and he’s impressed with her willingness to save the man’s life.

Lieutenant General Yoon (Kang Shin Il) et all freak out at the political situation created by operating on the President. Shi Jin’s team stays poised to shoot as the President’s men keep their guns trained. In the operating room, it’s the all or nothing moment for Mo Yeon and the medical team. Mo Yeon won’t back down from saving the man’s life. Let the surgery begin! The medical team work through the surgical issues. The Arab doctor arrives and tells Mo Yeon the surgery seemed fine but until the President wakes, nothing is for certain. Mo Yeon and the medical team hope the President wakes.

Lieutenant General Yoon et all worry about the fallout. Lieutenant General Yoon has himself patched directly to Shi Jin’s team. He orders Dae Young to take over for Shi Jin and jail him., who disobeyed direct orders. Shi Jin hands over his gun to Dae Young who takes over for him. Shi Jin tells Dae Young to take care of things. Dae Young detains Shi Jin in the food locker. The commander arrives and dismisses Dae Young. He kicks Shi Jin and calls him crazy. Careers are at risk. Shi Jin owns the decision and takes responsibility.

Mo Yeon asks Dae Young to see Shi Jin. When the commander leaves Shi Jin he asks Mo Yeon the question. Will the President wake and survive the surgery? Mo Yeon is confident the surgery went well. The commander smiles amazed that she’s so confident and unconcerned that Shi Jin’s career was just ruined because of her. The commander says the President better wake up. Their careers and Shi Jin’s life depends on it.

Dae Young assures the commander he’ll report on the President’s condition every hour. The commander snaps Dae Young has been transferred and he must head to the airport. When Dae Young protests the commander asks if he wants disciplinary action just like his buddy Shi Jin. Dae Young agrees to return to Korea. The commander demands that Dae Young state that Shi Jin acted alone.

Dae Young tells Shi Jin he is leaving. Dae Young is sorry to leave. He tells Shi Jin that he agreed with the honorable intent of all Shi Jin’s orders. Nice moment! Dae Young official states he’s transfer order. They salute each other.

Dae Young tells Mo Yeon she will get 10 minutes with Shi Jin.  Trhough the door Mo Yeon apologizes. She reports the President hasn’t woken yet. Shi Jin jokes she only need worry about him. He calls her sexy in surgery. She asks why she supported her. He tells her he helps the beautiful and the old, and she’s both. He calls her brave. She cries. He hears her crying. She asks what he needs. He asks for a bomb. She can’t believe he can joke in these circumstances. Mo Yoen has to leave. She slips an opener through the door. He’s grateful. As the music swells, they think about things and each other. Mo Yeon can’t deny Shi Jin is brave and hot being brave.

Good news, the President wakes up! The medical team is relieved. The President is wisked away via helicopter. The President’s henchman gives Mo Yeon a nod.

Dae Young gets the call that the President is well. The  thief,  Kim Ki Bum, from episode 1, whines to Dae Young that he left him alone. Dae Young tells him to continuing studying. Dae Young approaches the plane and sees his ex-girlfriend Officer Yoon Myeong Joo (Kim Ji Won). They stare at each other.

 She approaches. She tells him she was looking for him. She asks why he is leaving. He reports he was order back to Korea. She slaps him, hits him, and cries. Dae Young tells her the mosquitoes are bad here. As he passes she grabs him. He spins her into a hug. He tells her to take care of herself. He salutes and leaves. She yells he can’t just hug her a leave all the while crying.

 Flashback to the wedding they attended…Dae Young tells Myeong Joo that people can’t be happy with lingering feelings. She’s surprised to realize he’s there to make sure the bride is happy. When he walks into the bride’s room, she’s stunned to see him. Myeong Joo enters and loops her arm through Dae Young’s. She congratulates the bride. She thanks the bride for releasing Dae Young into the world. Myeong Joo declares herself Dae Young’s girlfriend. The bride asks Dae Young if this is true. He takes Myeong Joo’s hand and tells the bridge that he won’t be thinking about her because of Myeong Joo. I like the way it looked like Dae Young was pushing Myeong Joo’s hand away but it was really pushing it down into his own hand. Nicely done director! Myeong Joo is surprised by his statement. He wishes the bride well. Dae Young admits to Myeong Joo that coming made him feel better. She says she felt weird and reminds him to tell Shi Jin they are dating. Fast forward…Myeong Joo is angry the base is talking about them dating (and gossiping they’ve slept together). Dae Young calmly states he only said what she requested, that they were dating. Everyone else is making the assumptions.  Fast forward…Myeong Joo is angry the base is talking about them dating (and gossiping they’ve slept together). Dae Young calmly states everyone is making assumptions with no facts. He suggests they can put the rumors to rest…if they make it factual by sleeping together. She hits him with her purse.  They are cute in these flashbacks!

Lieutenant General Yoon learns his daughter arrives in Urk and Dae Young has left Urk. Lieutenant General Yoon is told no one is to ever know about the Arab President’s surgery per the wishes of the Arabs. Lieutenant General Yoon order the medical team dispersed and Shi Jin released and brought to a disciplinary hearing.

Shi Jin has his “get out of jail” tofu courtesy of Ki Bum. Cute! Shi Jin thanks his men and they eat. Mo Yeon arrives and Shi Jin walks away to talk to her. Shi Jin and Mo Yeon banter about their attitudes concerning the surgery. Mo Yeon thanks him for trusting in her abilities. She admits the situation was scary. He apologizes for his crack about her being only a TV doctor. She accepts the apology.

The Arab Henchman arrives. They meet the President who thanks them for their efforts to save his life. Everyone smiles and compliments each other. Mo Yeon receives a gold business card that will save her if she’s ever in trouble in an Arab country. Sweetly she asks for another since Shi Jin is with her and the first card may get wet. The makes the President laugh. Cute moment! As they leave with the two cards, Shi Jin turns his card in to take a car and drive Mo Yeon.

She can’t believe he wasted the card on a car. He tells her this car will allow them to frolic for 2 hours before they return to the base. He declares they are on a date for the next 2 hours. Over tea and a nice vista, Mo Yeon wonders what to do with her card. She admits she likes money. She changed since he left her but she doesn’t think he changed at all. He counters he’s gotten better looking. Touche! He says she’s prettier. He gets a call that ends their date. She notes their dates always end because of phone calls from the military. He admits his job doesn’t help their relationship. She asks if she can go with him to where he’s been summoned to.

It’s the airport funeral/farewell ceremony for a fallen UN worker. In flashback we see that Shi Jin and Mr. Bad Guy know each other from when Mr. Bad Guy was UN. Mr. Bad Guy watches Shi Jin at the airport funeral ceremony.  Mo Yeon watches Shi Jin too. Mr. Bad Guy leaves and declares they need to get to work. The director pulls out his slow roll by technique as Mr. Bad Guy drive by Shi Jin and Mo Yeon (they don’t see him). 

Back at the base Mo Yeon asks Shi Jin if the fall UN worker was a co-worker. Shi Jin confirms this. He says the solider died keeping the peace. Mo Yeon recognizes Shi Jin could die in a similar manner. He tells her that his job doesn’t help their relationship.

The next day Mo Yeon sees the shirtless jogging soldiers and asks where Shi Jin is. She’s informed he’s at his disciplinary hearing. That gets Mo Yeon’s attention.

At the disciplinary hearing the committee tells Shi Jin his punishment loss of wages for 3 months, and no promotion consideration. LIke a kid on a playground, Myeong Joo trips Shi Jin as he walks away. She jokes about his troubles. She claims she’ll become a general one day. She says she saw Dae Young leave. He sees Mo Yeon looking for him. She rushes into the tent and yells at the commander. To his credit, the commander keeps his cool until she won’t stop. He tells her Shi Jin’s punishment. Shi Jin rushes in the tent, apologizes, and drags Mo Yeon away.

He drives her to a beach. He asks why she interfered. She felt responsible. Shi Jin says he didn’t just make the choice for her and her alone. He tells her that a solider can die anywhere and anytime, so honor and the uniform are important every day. He tells her he made the choice with that in mind. He’s firm that he ignored orders and punishment is merited. He tells her to leave it alone. Tears fill her eyes. She apologizes and gets into the car. She drives away. He watches her go. Will they every have a moment where they are sync?

Dae Young calls and Shi Jin says he walking back to the barracks. Dae Young asks about Myeong Joo. Shi Jin whines that Dae Young should care about his punishment first. Dae Young counters the punishment was merited. Dae Young says Shi Jin made those choices for a pretty girl. Shi Jin asks why his friend called if he was going to not be sympathetic.  Dae Young asks again about Myeong Joo. Shi Jin asks how much money Dae Young is wasting on an international call to find out about a pretty girl. Shi Jin hangs up. Yes, they are my favorite couple!

Shi Jin arrives at the base and finds the booze Dae Young hid for him. Mo Yeon enters he room. He suggests they have a drink. She drinks from the bottle. He chuckles and says he can’t drink becuase she is his witness. She apologizes for her actions. He says let bygones be bygones. They make each other smile with their banter. Shi Jin tells her their movie date could have been perfect. Mo Yeon admits she never watched that movie. She felt she could only watch it with him. That touches his heart. She offers the drink. He counters with a kiss!

My Thoughts
* This show teases us with moments for our couples. What the show does well is the fun banter between all the characters. I adore that writer’s quips, sly jokes, the characters spout. The characters have a sense of humor. I like that. It makes the show light and fun. There are serious moments and more serious characters but the core characters all get to have some fun. The bromance between Shi Jin and Dae Young is my favorite relationship of the show though the ladies are making their presence known.
* Song Joong Ki makes Shi Jin appealing. His stares, his smiles, his quips, etc. all make an attractive package. He doesn’t hold grudges and he sees his own errors. I loved it when Dae Young told Shi Jin he put his faith in Mo Yeon because she was pretty and Shi Jin is interested in her. I also like that Shi Jin clearly sees his job is an issue for Mo Yeon. He doesn’t cajole her to accept it. He allows her to make the choice that’s right for her. He clearly wants her to choose him, but he’s not begging. Finally I like how the writer set up that kiss. Mo Yeon admitted their first date was special. Shi Jin has held a torch for Mo Yeon since that moment in time. To find out it was a special moment for her too…he had to kiss her, it touched him.
* Mo Yeon felt responsible for Shi Jin’s problems. She wanted the commander to wipe the slate clean but Shi Jin correctly pulled her away and said he deserved punishment for disobeying an order. She wanted to pull him close, push him away, walk next to him and walk away from him, all of that in this episode. Shi Jin makes her wants him then she gets mad at herself for wanting him. I thought the banter between Shi Jin and Mo Yeon was good the episode. I loved it when she bartered for an extra gold card from the Arab President. She’s got moxy!
* Dae Young got sent back to Korea. What a bummer that he is separated from his bromance with Shi Jin and his potential rekindled romance with Myeong Joo.  I enjoyed learning more of the backstory with Myeong Joo. I loved it when he pulled her into a hug at the airport. He can’t always hide it, he care for Myeon Joo.
* Myeon Joo got more screen time this episode. She got chemistry with Dae Young, that we knew. But her chemistry with Shi Jin is good as well. I’m warming to this character. She caught between a rock and a hard place. She wants a military career and she wants Dae Young. Can she have both? So far, the answer has been no.
* The third song of the OST has been released. “This Love” by Davikchi is a ballad. Check it out via the link or the embedded video below:

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About KJT (aka kjtamuser)

Asian drama fan. I watch and blog dramas on https://kjtamusings.wordpress.com/.