well, i contemplated a lot before scoring, and finally decided on a 10, considering i have a tendency to rate upwards rather than downwards of other more critical reviewers.

i feel like i am in a slight advantage watching this years later, especially after TKEM because that was such a trainwreck and i have definitely lowered my expectations a lot before jumping into this. i also saw some of the highly upvoted reviews saying that this show was too cheesy, which became the reason i avoided this for the longest time. boy, do i find it exactly the opposite.

i must say the first episode was really cheesy, and if all the other episodes that follow it have had the temperament and mood of that, i really wouldn't like this drama that much. but especially starting from ep. 2-12 especially all of the time when they were in Urk from one situation to the other, i was thrown under the bus constantly for not knowing where the story will take me. i enjoyed the serious military parts which are substantial, tactical, looks high budgeted and so well-done, and also the complicated budding romance by the leading couple. then from ep. 13 until the conclusion after they have moved back to Korea, things started to become normal again (from the military part point of view) and focused more on the romance with some side action scenes with the comeback of the North Korean guy who had unfinished business with him in episode 1. i still enjoyed these last episodes because this drama shows you very realistically how difficult it is to have a relationship/family with an active-duty soldier.

i think what really saved the drama for me is the fact i thoroughly enjoyed all the military-medical parts, i found them to be intense and really well done. all the romance provided a good balance of lightheartedness and heaviness to the drama which to me didn't steer the story away from it, rather enrich it and make the really badass elite soldier characters more relatable and human. the score for someone else would obviously be the opposite of mine if they find this to be a romantic drama with military-medical themes on the side. I AM SO GLAD FOR ME IT WAS NOT.

all the actors are great in their roles, especially Song Joong Ki as Captain Yoo Shi Jin and Song Hye Kyo as Dr. Kang Moo Yeon. i have been enchanted by SJK since The Innocent Man and i'm so happy to find this drama showing a cooler side of him as an actor. he's charismatic AF.

i loved the songs, in particular the OST by Gummy. i have loved the song long before watching this considering how popular it is, LOL.

well it must be hard now for any fans to re-watch this drama especially after the news of their divorce just two years into the marriage. i just hope that both leading actors move on well from their personal lives and come back with even better projects. i will be waiting, fighting! ^^