Season 1 of D.P. had guaranteed a Season 2, with a promise to elaborate on the topics it had only touched upon in its narrative. But Season 2 followed in the footsteps of Season 1 and did the same thing, just with more force. We don’t want to be overly critical here, but though the series discusses the institutional failure that ends up pushing people like Suk Bong and Ru Ri over the edge, we believe that there are still a lot of gaps that need to be addressed. In a certain way, we would have preferred that the story end with Season 1, if the series wanted to play it safe and not address the real issues by simply relying on emotion. What we mean is that the series did not stop to make us think. Once the issue of bullying was brought up, it was instantly clear to the audience that it must be systemic. Most bullying is enabled, either by society or the institution that one is a part of. Therefore, when Season 2 of D.P. simply elaborated on this, we were not blown away.
To be honest, we are not expecting Season 3 to happen. Han Ho Yeol has been discharged from the army, and Park Beom Gu is in military prison, which means that the D.P. unit is as good as dismantled. A third season has not been announced yet, but considering the massive popularity of the series and Netflix’s growing focus on international content, it is not too far-fetched to imagine that it will happen. We will certainly be watching it without fail because, at the end of the day, the heart of the series is in the right place, and it is an entertaining watch. However, what we expect from D.P. Season 3 and what we want it to do are two completely different streams of expectations.
The first thing that D.P. Season 3 would need to address is Park Beom Gu. He was arrested for leaking “classified military information,” but that was essentially the evidence of their misdeeds. He may have been arrested for now, but once the court starts hearing the petitions of the bullying victims, Park Beom Gu’s case will be brought up once again for consideration, and he might be released. There may be a slight conspiracy with the video of him taking the money in the toy shop, and if that were to be debunked, it would mean taking the names of some very high-ranking officers instead of vaguely blaming the system. However, if the makers decide on the latter route, that would mean that Jun Ho would have to unearth some personal secrets of the officers to stop them from releasing the video. These secrets could once again be cases where they were the bullies, and this would create a moral quandary for Jun Ho.
Basically, proving Park Beom Gu’s innocence and getting him out of jail would involve a careful game of politics that would dominate a few episodes. This also makes us question who Jun Ho’s partner will be this time around. While he had Han Ho Yeol staunchly by his side in season 1, the second season saw him with Lim Ji Seop for a while before he started acting alone. This might mean that he continues to be a lone wolf or that he partners with Lim Ji Seop. Han Ho Yeol was the more unhinged person between him and Jun Ho, but if he were to partner with Ji Seop, the latter would be the more emotional one, needing Jun Ho to try and find a way to manage him without bruising his ego.
But all this concerns the narrative. The series took a realistic route by showing that absolute justice was not possible in the case. However, if we were to venture into a bit of fantasy, we can speculate that as the court keeps hearing each individual case and starts dispensing justice accordingly, that would put the fear of God in the seniors in the army, and they would start cleaning up their act. This could also mean a few scuffles where the seniors are annoyed at not being able to run with their power and not being able to do to their juniors what their seniors had done to them. This might also mean some juniors are trying to take advantage of the situation by claiming bullying for every strict order. Maybe the court will be forced to order a new set of rules and legislation to be made to take care of such cases. What would be the result of all this for Jun Ho? Park Beom Gu may have taken the fall for it in court, but everyone in the army must know that Jun Ho is behind this. Will they not try to act up or take revenge?
Also, since Season 3 of D.P. will be released in 2024–2025, can we get a glimpse of how idols are treated in the army? We say this because BTS is going to complete its military service by 2025, and their enlistment has sparked an international debate about this particular South Korean law and the need for it in modern times. We are curious to see whether D.P. would be able to address the moral controversy of compulsory enlistment itself and its larger effect on society, along with the resentment it breeds in men, towards the system, and towards the women who are seen as getting a free pass due to not having to go to the army. We saw in Season 2 of D.P. that there were women in the Korean army. Would D.P. give us a look at how they are treated and the struggles they have to face to ascend to higher positions in the military?
We believe that even Cho Suk Bong will have a greater role to play in Season 3 of D.P. In Season 1, he was the victim, and in Season 2, he was absent. Season 3 may see him resolving his trauma and facing his charges, along with helping Jun Ho with his fight. That tells us that Jun Ho will have a proper reconciliation with his mother instead of the occasional soft gesture. We are looking forward to D.P. season 3, and we would like to watch it be braver than what it has been so far.
