What have I been doing this week? I’m glad you asked! Here’s what’s been on my watchlist this week:
*Note: My reviews usually contain spoilers. You have been warned. Proceed at your own risk.*
TV
D.P. (2021)
Netflix has been putting out some incredible content when it comes to their Korean mini-series so far. Move to Heaven has become one of my favourite shows of the year, and D.P. follows close behind. While both deal with deeply personal topics, they are incomparable in all other aspects.
D.P. opens with a rather brutal look at Private Ahn Jun-ho (Jung Hae-in) being mistreated by his superior officer. It’s a very jarring scene, and is difficult to watch but it definitely sets the tone for the remainder of the six episodes. We get a small glimpse into Jun-ho’s life just before he enlisted, and learn of his general emotional detachment and lack of significant relationships. However, behind that cold demeanor is a brilliant mind, and the fates work in his favour landing him a position in the elite D.P. unit – even if no one knows what the hell it stands for – headed by the surly but well-meaning Park Beom-gu (Kim Sung-kyun).
Aside from getting to grow out their hair and leave the military base in civilian clothing, they are responsible for tracking down soldiers who have deserted and bring them back. It’s fitting that the show opens with Jun-ho being bullied, because that it the crux of why his first target deserted in the first place. Partnered up with a senior D.P. soldier (cameo by Ko Kyung-pyo), Jun-ho is ordered around to drink and party rather than spend his time looking for the deserter. In a cruel twist of fate, Jun-ho lends the deserter the very means to commit suicide, the only solution he sees to escape his trauma.
Jun-ho reaches a breaking point when his partner on the case seems to show little remorse, but in a rather poignant scene, we realize that Jun-ho blames himself as much as he does his partner. This ultimately gives him the conviction he needs and when he’s finally paired up with the more upstanding (but infinitely stranger) Han Ho-yeol (Goo Gyo-hwan) he’s determined to do his best.
The show deals with a few more varieties of deserter before the final two episodes, which is when we really get into the rampant bullying that seems almost systematic at this point. One of Jun-ho’s closest friends deserts and as we unpack the reasoning behind it, we find more and more reasons for despising the horrifying acts and the people committing them.
While Suk-bong’s (Cho Hyun-chul) kidnapping and torture of his bully is unforgivable, it is also understandable considering the torture he underwent. It was unfortunate that he felt that his own death was the only thing that would change the circumstances, but even in that D.P. gives little hope. We are shown another base where the same conditions still exist and while Suk-bong chose not to commit murder, others weren’t as forgiving in their actions towards their perpetrators.
Overall, D.P. leaves you with a rather bleak outlook. While there are good people, there seem to be so many more that are horrible, and others that merely stand-by and do nothing so as not to make themselves targets as well. However, I was hooked on every minute of the show, and was captivated by the universe that we were thrust into. It’s not often that we get to see the gritty underbelly in Korean media, and D.P. feels like just the change of pace I was looking for.
Rick and Morty (2013) – Season 5
I finally got around to finishing this season and it has been a strange ride. After thoroughly disliking Season 4, I found myself once again enjoying the show this season (aside from the completely unnecessary sperm episode). It felt like the show had gone back to its original high-concept themes and was less focused on mocking its viewers’ intelligence.
Rick (Justin Roiland) had a particularly contradictory arc this season, actively distancing himself from his family while yearning for a deeper emotional connection. The loss of his wife, Birdperson (Dan Harmon) and anyone who used to be significant to him from when he was young seem to have taken their toll on him. But rather than deal with it in a healthy manner, Rick deals with it in the only way he seems to know how: Being petty and rude to those around him and trying to resurrect fragments of his past rather than looking to his future.
The season left off at quite the cliffhanger, and it’s anyone’s guess where the show might pick up. Rick is now surrounded by several versions of the one person he can’t stand and yet is always on his side: Morty. Beth, Summer and Jerry (Sarah Chalke, Spencer Grammer and Chris Parnell respectively) all had their moments this season, but ultimately it’s their pairing that truly matters, and with more Mortys than Ricks in the mix, I wonder if the power balance will fall in the Mortys’ favour in the future
Colourful Granny 