Best Descendants of the Sun Episodes, Ranked
All 16 episodes of Descendants of the Sun scored and sorted — from the 8.8/10 high of S1E6 to the 8.1/10 of S1E1.
Our rating: 8.56/10 average across 16 episode reviews (best 8.8, lowest 8.1).
Descendants of the Sun runs hot and tight: sixteen episodes, none below 8.1, none above 8.8. There’s no bad stretch here, just a clear shape. The show takes a while to find its footing and then never wants to leave Uruk.
The premiere, S1E1 “A Soldier Meets a Doctor at Haesung,” and S1E2 “A First Date Runs Into Military Orders” are the low points (both 8.1) — charming but busy, splitting time between Seoul meet-cute and military setup before Si-jin and Mo-yeon have anything real to push against. Once they’re both stranded in Uruk, the show locks in.
The middle is where it’s untouchable. S1E6 “The Earth Moves Under Everyone” turns the earthquake into a mass-casualty pressure cooker, and the run straight through S1E7 “Mo-yeon Makes the Choice” and S1E8 “Mo-yeon’s Confession Escapes the Broken Phone” — all 8.8 — is the romance and the crisis fused into one thing. S1E10 and S1E11 hold that ceiling.
The dip comes after they leave the war zone. S1E13 “Seoul Welcomes Them Back With New Wounds” and the finale S1E16 “Snow, Stars, and Second Chances” both slide to 8.3, the lowest the back half gets — domesticity and tidy resolution can’t match the stakes Uruk handed it for free. Watch it for the middle eight; everything before and after is setup and landing.
| Rank | Ep | Episode | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| T-1 | S1E6 | The Earth Moves Under Everyone | 8.8 |
| T-1 | S1E7 | Mo-yeon Makes the Choice | 8.8 |
| T-1 | S1E8 | Mo-yeon's Confession Escapes the Broken Phone | 8.8 |
| T-1 | S1E10 | Blood Diamonds Bring the Fever Home | 8.8 |
| T-1 | S1E11 | A Virus, a Rescue, and a Line Crossed | 8.8 |
| T-6 | S1E4 | A Surgery Becomes a Love Confession | 8.7 |
| T-6 | S1E5 | Mo-yeon Hangs Between Fear and Want | 8.7 |
| T-8 | S1E9 | Mo-yeon Stops Running | 8.6 |
| T-8 | S1E12 | Mo-yeon Asks for the Right to Worry | 8.6 |
| T-8 | S1E14 | Si-jin Bleeds, An Returns Home | 8.6 |
| T-8 | S1E15 | Si-jin Comes Back From the Dead | 8.6 |
| 12 | S1E3 | Uruk Tests Every Promise | 8.4 |
| T-13 | S1E13 | Seoul Welcomes Them Back With New Wounds | 8.3 |
| T-13 | S1E16 | Snow, Stars, and Second Chances | 8.3 |
| T-15 | S1E1 | A Soldier Meets a Doctor at Haesung | 8.1 |
| T-15 | S1E2 | A First Date Runs Into Military Orders | 8.1 |
Scores reflect our episode reviews. Tap any episode to read the full review, or browse the whole Descendants of the Sun season recap from the top.