Boys Before Flowers: Episode 25 (Final)

629 March 31, 2009January 24, 2016

by javabeans

Last episode!

I was pretty satisfied with this finale. It didn’t feel rushed, but it wasn’t too dragged out either — it wrapped up everything much as you’d expect, but managed to insert enough details to keep it interesting (because I was fearing that the ending would go down too predictably and therefore be lame). Oh, and you know the part that they kept saying would deviate from the Hana Yori Dango original? I LOVED IT.

(First) SONG OF THE DAY

Toy – “Bon Voyage” with Jo Wan-sun of Roller Coaster. [ Download ]

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Oh my god, this recap is so long. Sorry, guys! You are forewarned.

EPISODE 25 RECAP (FINAL)

Jan-di visits the hospital in the early morning, while Jun-pyo is still sleeping. She makes a joking comment trying to magic back his memory (“abra cadabra, make Gu Jun-pyo remember Geum Jan-di”), then drops off her dosirak lunchbox at his bedside.

Later that morning, Yumi comes by. I want to give her the benefit of the doubt (so far she’s annoying, but not evil), but really, she’s got boundary issues to be slipping into a sleeping patient’s room and applying a skincare device to his face while he sleeps. That wakes him up.

Glancing over at the side table, he wonders what the lunchbox is doing there. Yumi opens the containers, and as she pulls out the Jun-pyo Face Rice tray and the egg roll-up snacks, Jun-pyo furrows his brow, a thought niggling at the back of his mind.

He tries one of the egg rolls, and the taste jogs his memory — it gives him a vague (good) feeling. Jun-pyo asks if she made the food, and for a brief moment Yumi hesitates, as though wondering how to answer, then nods. He says, “I remember. The thing I forgot — it was you, right?”

Although you get the sense she hadn’t intended to lie at first, this is too good for her to pass up, so she goes with it.

F2 arrive at the restaurant for some lunch, while the girls watch in puzzlement, wondering why they’re here. Finally, when they’re done eating, they announce the good news: Jun-pyo’s been released from the hospital.

Jan-di perks up. The guys encourage her to go to him, and she rushes off excitedly.

Yi-jung remains behind, because he has something to say to Ga-eul. They watch clay baking in a kiln as Ga-eul muses, “They look happy, those plates inside. For some reason, rather than thinking they’re hurting in that heat, it feels like they’re happy. They’re full of hope that if they endure this, they can come out and receive love.”

Yi-jung has two things to tell her, and starts with the bad news first, the way she likes it: He’s leaving. He adds, “I guess that may not be bad news to you.” He plans to remain abroad for four or five years.

Ga-eul tries to be optimistic, saying it’s actually good news because he’ll be sure to return an even better potter. She asks for the second part, so he tells her, “When I come back, I’ll come find you first.”

That’s even more startling than the first, but makes her much happier. Perhaps Yi-jung is a little uncomfortable to have opened up, because he adds, “I mean, if you can’t find your soulmate by then.” But that’s enough of a confession for Ga-eul, who breaks into a smile.

Eager to see Jun-pyo, Jan-di rushes into his room, calling out a welcome greeting, then stops short: Yumi is already there. Jun-pyo just tells her that Ji-hoo’s not here, and that she should take care of her boyfriend before rushing to check up on him.

At his ungracious non-welcome, Jan-di figures this was a mistake, and turns to go. Yumi steps in to admonish Jun-pyo for being mean, and urges Jan-di to stay for tea. It’s an odd dynamic, because Yumi has usurped Jan-di’s position as hostess, and I’m not the only one who thinks she’s an upstart: the maids also direct dirty looks at Yumi.

Jun-pyo acts pretty friendly and relaxed with Yumi, which is hard for Jan-di to watch, so she gets up to leave. Jun-pyo tosses out casually, “Don’t come by again.” (He doesn’t say so in a mean tone, but maybe it’s all the more hurtful that he’s so blasé about something that means so much.) He adds, “When I see you, I feel really bad. It bothers me.”

Jan-di retorts, “Fine. I’m sorry! I won’t come by anymore!”

Yumi reads the tension and follows Jan-di outside to ask, “Are you the person Jun-pyo oppa is supposed to remember?” She sees that Jan-di is, and takes a tone of concern as she says, “But as you can tell, I think it’s worse for him to see you. If he sees you, I think his condition will deteriorate. So for now, I think it’ll be better if you don’t drop by. Don’t worry, I’ll do my best to bring back his memories of you naturally.”

Yumi’s words are reassuring, but Jan-di is also a little doubtful; after Yumi rejoins Jun-pyo, Jan-di peers inside. Jun-pyo asks Yumi to make the lunchbox again — proof that Yumi had taken credit for her lunch, which probably means she’s lying about the rest, too.

Upset, Jan-di rushes down the stairs on the way out and bumps into Ji-hoo, who tells her firmly, “Don’t run away.”

Jan-di tries to escape, but Ji-hoo says, “You can’t be pushed aside like this.” Pulling Jan-di behind him, he heads for Jun-pyo’s room. Unfortunately, they find Jun-pyo and Yumi napping cozily on the couch together.

That hurts. Jan-di rebuffs Ji-hoo’s attempts to reason with her (and persuade her to fight for Jun-pyo), telling him that it’s over, she’s done: “Even if he lost his memory, even if we started over from the beginning, I had faith he would recognize me. But I was wrong.”

Ji-hoo starts to protest, but Jan-di isn’t swayed:

Jan-di: “No, it may be upsetting and unfair, but I have to acknowledge the truth. The Gu Jun-pyo I loved is gone now.”
Ji-hoo: “I told you that you couldn’t be the little mermaid. I can’t let you two break up over such a ridiculous thing.”
Jan-di: “This isn’t because of Yumi. In the end, Geum Jan-di and Gu Jun-pyo could only make it this far.”

Yumi presents her lunchbox to Jun-pyo, who eats an egg roll with anticipation. However, the moment he registers the taste, he frowns: “This isn’t it. The taste is different from before. Did you really make it that time?”

Yumi stutters, “O-of course! Who else could have made it? That’s just because every time I make it, the taste is a little different. I’ll make it right next time.”

But something’s not right, and the taste of the food just enhances his bad feeling. He says, frustrated, “That girl. That Jan-di weed girl — I can’t forget her expression.”

Yumi: “That’s too mean! How could you say that? I’m the one who was with you, from the hospital up till now, but you feel so bothered by a girl who just dropped by and bugged you a few times? Your friends all treat me badly and take her side, and her boyfriend totally ignores me. But still, I put up with it because of you. If you act like this too, what is Yumi supposed to do?”

For us who know the truth, she’s obviously way over the line with this speech — but if she really WAS Jun-pyo’s girlfriend, I suppose this is how she would react, and she’s acting her part to the hilt. She cries, and makes Jun-pyo feel uncomfortable.

The guilt trip works, because the next thing we know, Yumi and Jun-pyo are jointly hosting a “surprise pool party.” (I’m wondering what the surprise is, if they’re handing out formal invitations.) The setting is absolutely gorgeous. In fact, this entire episode is pretty visually stunning, on the whole.

Yumi wastes some screentime with a harp performance — and seriously, Mr. Jeon PD, do you really have to pay tribute to yourself (again!) by using a My Girl theme song here?

Feeling pretty low, Jan-di steps aside to be alone. Yumi finds her by the pool and keeps up the ruse that she’s been working to “help” Jan-di. She has news to report, but it’s not good: “He doesn’t remember you.”

Yumi speaks obnoxiously about herself in the third person (because we don’t already hate her enough?): “I’m sorry to tell you, but Yumi likes Jun-pyo. I didn’t try to deliberately, but I ended up falling for him, so much that I can’t break up with him. Oppa feels the same as Yumi. But you can understand, can’t you? We can’t control our hearts.”

Yumi draws everyone’s attention to make a big announcement: She and Jun-pyo are going to study abroad together to the States. They will leave in one month.

F3 marvel in a sort of disgusted fascination at Yumi’s fast maneuvering. Ji-hoo leads Jan-di away from the crowd to the pool, where he leaves her while for a moment to get her a drink.

Alone, Jan-di takes out her star-moon necklace, just as Jun-pyo walks by. As soon as he sees her, Jun-pyo turns to leave, but Jan-di asks if he remembers the necklace she’s holding, or the names engraved on it. Jun-pyo takes a look at the “JJ” and says irritably, “How would I know that?”

Jan-di holds it out to him: “I’m giving it back. Take it.” None of this makes sense for Jun-pyo, and he retorts, “Why would I take something like this? If you want to get rid of it, do it yourself.”

He hands it back. Jan-di says, almost defiantly, “Fine.” She throws the necklace into the pool, where it settles on the bottom. But she’s not quite done:

Jan-di: “Gu Jun-pyo. I’ll ask just one more thing. Do you know how to swim?”
Jun-pyo: “Swim? I don’t swim.”
Jan-di: “You don’t, or you can’t?”
Jun-pyo: “I have a bad childhood memory, so I don’t swim. I’ve never learned.”
Jan-di: “No. You did know how.”

Jun-pyo bristles at the way Jan-di is talking about him so familiarly, but her words start to unnerve him, particularly as she tells him what kind of person he truly is (including a few of the sayings he’d messed up previously):

Jan-di: “You’re hardly afraid of anything in this world, yet you shake in fear over a bug. You’re an idiot who thinks it’s better to get all your ribs bashed in than see one of your girl’s fingers break. You’re a dummy who can’t tell the difference between the words privacy and pride, who insists like a train that swallowed its heart that the 38th Strategy [of ancient China] is running away [it’s the 36th]. You say you hate kids, but you want to be a devoted father who watches the stars with your son. You’re a lonely person with a lot of love.”

Uneasily, Jun-pyo demands, “What are you really after?”

Jan-di tells him, “Say my name,” then starts to step backward, slowly, purposefully. At the edge of the pool, Jan-di pauses… and then lets herself fall backward into the pool.

It’s an eerily beautiful image as she hits the water, stiff as a board.

In the pool, Jan-di picks up the necklace, but doesn’t come back up to the surface. Clutching the necklace, she remains submerged.

The rest of the party rushes to the water’s edge, alarmed. Jun-pyo stands frozen in shock… and then, memories come flooding back.

In quick succession, he flashes to all the other water-related emergencies earlier in the drama (if I didn’t love this moment so much it would be funny that they have enough of those to compile a montage).

He whispers, “Jan-di.” Then, jolted out of his stupor, Jun-pyo shouts her name again, and dives in.

Memory now back in full force, Jun-pyo pulls her to safety, where he tries to revive her. In a panic, he administers CPR and calls her name repeatedly, until Jan-di sputters awake.

She looks up and asks weakly, “Do you remember now?” He tells her he’s sorry, and she asks him to say her name again.

He clutches her to him and obliges.

(Yumi walks off, petulant. Good riddance!)

And then, it’s back to everyday life, kinda.

Jan-di and her family are back at their old place in Seoul, and she’s about to graduate. She doesn’t intend on going to her graduation party, although her mother urges her to.

Jun-pyo calls her out to congratulate her on her upcoming graduation. He also asks if she’s really serious about medical school, teasing about how she’s not smart enough.

He’s also here to request a date. Echoing an early scene, Jun-pyo traps Jan-di against his car, leans in closely, and says: “Tomorrow, ___.”

Naturally, just as he relays that crucial bit of information, a passing motorcycle drowns out his words. Jun-pyo thinks his message is clear and warns Jan-di that if she’s late this time, she’s really dead.

True to her word, Jan-di doesn’t plan on showing up to her graduation party, but a stretch limo pulls up (presumably from Jun-pyo) to take her — so when she arrives at the formal party, she’s still wearing her school uniform. (Let’s ignore the horrid dancing and the familiar set, shall we?)

F3 greet her warmly, and Woo-bin steps up first to ask her to dance. This allows each person a send-off as each gets his moment with Jan-di. As she dances with Woo-bin, she thinks, “Song Woo-bin, he’s always reliable and caring, as though he was the eldest in F4. I know now that he understands better than anyone how to comfort a person’s feelings, while standing one step behind.”

With Yi-jung, she thinks: “He acts cold and like a bad boy, but in reality he’s warm and innocent. Thanks to Yi-jung sunbae, I think Ga-eul has really become a lovable woman.”

Ji-hoo’s last:

“I was like Alice dropped into Wonderland. Could he know what a huge solace he was to me, that I was able to meet him whenever I went to that emergency door? He’s like a ‘bonus’ given to me from heaven. I won’t ever forget him. My soulmate Ji-hoo sunbae, thank you.”

When Jun-pyo doesn’t make his appearance, the guys wonder what’s keeping him. Jan-di thinks back to his drowned-out words, and now realizes what this reminds her of — and rushes off to Namsan Tower.

Sure enough, Jun-pyo’s waiting for her and asks, “Didn’t I say you were dead if you were late?” But he’s not upset, and with a snap of his fingers, lights fill the courtyard.

Jun-pyo comments, “It’s nothing magical. Stuff like this is really easy — compared to tending to the Jan-di-baht.” (Literally, “maintaining the grass.”)

Since this is a reenactment of their first date (albeit upgraded), Jun-pyo buys her coffee, then leads her to the viewing deck. In a cute moment, Jun-pyo brings her to the cable car, intending on pointing out the graffiti he’d written on their first date, but Jan-di’s embarrassed and blocks his view.

She complains, “Why’d you write this, and make it impossible for me to get married?” (This means that it makes her look promiscuous and would therefore be a stain on her character.)

Jun-pyo doesn’t see the problem: “Then just marry me — who else are you thinking of marrying?” In contrast to her grimace, Jun-pyo looks at the scrawled words proudly, announcing, “Now you can’t get married.” (To anyone else.)

But now it’s time for them to get down to some serious talk. Jan-di tenses nervously when Jun-pyo’s tone turns solemn: “Let’s marry.”

Jan-di doesn’t know whether he’s joking — he isn’t — and is completely taken aback, since she just graduated from high school. Jun-pyo explains, “I have to go to America. This time it’s not because of my mother, or the company. I decided this.”

He’s decided to take his future into his own hands: “I’m going to do my best. If I can save the company, that’s good. If I can’t, I’ll shut it down with my own hands.”

Jan-di’s dismayed when he says that he’ll be back in four years at best, asking, “That long?” Jun-pyo: “So come with me.”

But that’s not the magic solution, and it’s Jan-di’s turn to grow (more) solemn. She can’t go with him: “When you went to Macau, I made a decision too, regarding my dream, my work, what I want to be. Like you, I have something I want to devote myself to, and it’s here.”

It’s not a rejection, it’s reality butting in. Jan-di says with a hint of a smile, “Go, and come back. In four years, if you come back as a really impressive man, I’ll think about it again then.”

At this, the mood lightens. Maybe it’s not an ideal solution, but the compromise will work for them. Jun-pyo asks, half-jokingly, “Do you mean that? If you lose me, you’ll really regret it.” She teases back, “Hey, if you lose me, you’re the one who’ll regret it.”

Jun-pyo has no problems admitting, “I know that if I lose you, I’ll regret it till I die.”

Once again repeating some words she’d formerly told him, Jan-di says, “Gu Jun-pyo. You may not be a complete idiot.”

And now, we’re four years later.

Jun-pyo has made significant progress as a managing director with the company, and is being interviewed on television. While it starts with his business successes, the interview segues into personal questions. Naturally, as a rich, young, handsome chaebol, Jun-pyo’s the target of a lot of crushes and romance speculation.

When asked whether there’s anybody in his life to help him through the hard times, Jun-pyo responds, “It would be a lie to say I haven’t had tough times or been lonely. But because of a promise I made with somebody, I drew upon that as support and was able to endure.”

Watching proudly are Jun-pyo’s family — Mama Kang actually shows warmth as she watches alongside her husband, showing him affection that we’d never seen from her. It looks like she’s finally showing the personality that the others have hinted at — the kinder version of herself before she’d become Shinhwa chair.

And maybe the biggest surprise in this epilogue is that Jun-hee has now taken over from her mother’s position — she’s the new Shinhwa chair.

Next up: Yi-jung, who arrives at the airport with dark shades and a swagger. (I’m sorry, Yi-jung being badass just makes me giggle.) True to his word, he heads first to Ga-eul, who is now a teacher. He watches as she leads her young students in a pottery session, then steps in.

It’s adorable how one of the little girls looks at Yi-jung and asks, “Ajusshi, did you come from abroad?” He’s surprised that she guessed right, and she follows up, “Did you come from Sweden?” Is he their teacher’s boyfriend? ‘Cause, y’see, Teacher Lady mentioned something about someone in Sweden… A little embarrassed, Ga-eul moves to shut the girl up, but Yi-jung enjoys this proof that she’s been talking about him to her kids. (SO CUTE.)

Now, for Jan-di. And, somewhat surprisingly, also Ji-hoo.

She is a student at Shinhwa University’s medical school, as is Ji-hoo. As we might expect, Jan-di’s sorta struggling along, klutzy and bumbling as ever, while Ji-hoo is doing very well and about to graduate.

Today, they’re on a sort of medical outreach trip. During a break, Jan-di sighs to Ji-hoo about her tough time, and he teases her about failing.

A sudden disturbance interrupts their conversation — a helicopter hovers above, and a familiar voice comes over the loudspeaker. Just like a prior scene when Jun-pyo crashed Jan-di’s working vacation on the fishing boat, he now announces, “Oy, commoner! Can you hear me? Geum Jan-di!”

He instructs her meet him at the beach and zooms away.

When she arrives at the beach, well, now THIS really is almost paradise! (Yes, I’ll admit it — despite making my ears bleed earlier, I was glad to hear the return of “Almost Paradise” after its extended vacation.)

Jan-di approaches with gladness, but a little disbelief to see Jun-pyo here in the flesh .

Indicating her white coat, he teases that she looks like “an ugly duckling playing at being the white egret” — another callback to a previous Jun-pyo-ism (he means swan). At that, Jan-di laughs, “It really is you.”

Pulling her to him in a hug, Jun-pyo says, “I missed you to death. I’m not letting go again.”

He reminds her that she’d agreed to marry him when he came back. Jan-di returns, “Look here, Dummy Gu Jun-pyo. If you want to get technical, I said when you came back in four years, I’d think about it.”

Jun-pyo drops down to one knee, pulls out a ring box, and makes it official: “Geum Jan-di. Marry me.”

And of course, at that moment a voice calls out:

Ji-hoo: “I have an objection to that proposal!”
Yi-jung: “I do, too!”
Woo-bin: “Me too! You two can’t agree without our approval!”

THE END (finally)

And, okay, another Song of the Day, just because:

Rumble Fish – “사랑해 마지막 그날까지” (I’ll Love You Till My Last Day). If this were a movie, this would be the point halfway through the ending credits where the main song ends and a second song starts up. [ Download ]

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I’m going to start off with the criticism, because ultimately I was happy with the ending and would prefer to end on an upbeat note. So I’ll pull a “Ga-eul” here and start with the bad:

WEAKNESSES (aka, Stuff I Just Let Slide):

(1) Madam Kang’s witchy opposition. Poof, gone now? To be fair, I don’t really think it’s a logic flaw, because after Jun-pyo recovers his memory, I take it we are to assume Mama Kang gave up her opposition. It actually does make sense — there’s nothing like contributing to your son’s near-death to give you a wake-up call. But on the other hand, we didn’t see that explicitly, which might give the impression that the Jun-di reconciliation happened too easily, when goodness knows it came anything but “easily.” Not after all those episodes of separation and angst.

(2) Dr. Ji-hoo. Uh, but what about The Music? Where did his doctorly pursuits come in? I get that this probably has as much to do with his grandfather as Jan-di, but it felt random. Like it was conjured just to prove again that Ji-hoo is Jan-di’s soulmate, only now it emphasizes that they’re platonic soulmates, since they’ve remained friends even though Jun-pyo’s been away.

This leads me to:

(3) Soulmates (not to be confused with Soeulmates). I’ve never been a big fan of the “Ji-hoo is Jan-di’s soulmate” aspect. Maybe we’re all conditioned to think that soulmates are a romantic thing, and maybe I resent how much time was overwhelmingly given to the soulmate and not the actual love interest. I think Kim Hyun-joong has improved a lot over the course of the drama, but I still don’t really feel the chemistry between Ji-hoo and Jan-di. The fact that they had SO many sweet, intimate moments throughout the series and I still never jumped ship indicates just how lacking their pairing was for me.

(Intellectually, I thought Ji-hoo was better for Jan-di, but I never felt their emotional connection on a gut level, and their interactions never got me excited or giddy or otherwise invested.)

On the other hand:

STUFF I LIKED:

(1) Callbacks, yay! I enjoyed all the revisited past moments and bits of dialogue that were injected into the finale. I’ve seen dramas do this in the past, but a lot of times they feel forced in. Boys Before Flowers surprised me by doing a good job of incorporating past lines or interactions to build the action here. It didn’t feel like a mere rehash but a natural use of these characters’ personalities.

For instance, I liked how all of Jun-pyo’s misstated sayings came back and were worked into dialogue — both in really serious scenes (the pool) and lighter, more upbeat scenes (the cable car, the beach). In some dramas, it feels like characters are suddenly altered/forced into making the ending work, but I like that this was an example of continuity done right. Done wrong, we get blatant fanservice, but done right, it’s pretty emotionally satisfying.

(2) The epilogue. The time-skip epilogue is a risky device and is sort of an easy out. Epilogues can be problematic in that they provide a “perfect” wrap-up for characters, kinda like sticking a band-aid over a more serious problem. BUT, in an over-the-top, feel-good romantic comedy like this, I’m all for it. I know there’s no such thing as a true-life Happily Ever After, but this is what I want from a giddy, lovey romance drama. The perfecter the better!

An epilogue gives us a little more time to deal with goodbyes, so we avoid the let-down feeling of a resolution that comes too quickly. I would have been sorely disappointed if we ended after the cable-car kiss — and for a few dreaded seconds, I actually thought they’d ended the drama there — but the “four years later” gave us (okay, me) that needed buffer to let myself down gradually. LOL.

(3) Soeulmates. I expressed my ambivalence about how they would wrap up, but I was pleased with their ending. I don’t think they really needed a huge finish — that would’ve taken time away from the other romance — but I like that we have hope for their future without necessarily seeing it.

The time skip works for them because they, perhaps more than Jan-di and Jun-pyo, needed to grow up and live their lives and mature some more before getting together. As much as it might have been romantic for Yi-jung to have made a big gesture at the age of 20, I wouldn’t have the hope for their future that a time skip sorta automatically takes care of.

(4) The amnesia fix. Just as I was pleasantly surprised about how the amnesia plot came about, I was pleased at how it played out.

Example: The taste thing was one part that was well tied in, because Jan-di made those foods for him in the past, and when she did, they had some significance. The first time Jun-pyo asked for those egg rollups, it was after the snowstorm. It also symbolizes something of their class differences — or rather, emphasizes the “Hey, maybe we’re not so far apart” aspect of their statuses, since Jun-pyo loves this commoner food for what it is, even though he has gourmet stuff all around. (Hey, metaphor!)

But I was glad that the taste issue alone wasn’t enough to get Jun-pyo’s memory back. Here’s where the plot diverges from Hanadan, and I was really happy with it — and frankly wished they’d diverged more often. The taste was enough to remind Jun-pyo of his newer, warm-n-fuzzy feelings, but not enough to identify all the details (like, for instance, WHO those warm-n-fuzzies were directed at).

That leads Jun-pyo to be chummy with Yumi (grrr), because he’s correlating his memory of Jan-di’s warmth (evoked by her food) with Yumi. I doubt he feels anything for Yumi specifically; it’s more like his wires got crossed so the affection he feels for Jan-di is being misdirected at Yumi.

(5) The pool. OH, the awesomeness of the pool!

Here’s why I love that Jan-di fell into the water:

(a) It proves that despite what she tells Ji-hoo, she still does have faith in Jun-pyo. At first I thought she would merely fake being in “trouble” underwater till he jumped in to save her, but she committed to her last-ditch effort so much that she was really in danger. Was it foolish? Perhaps. But it’s also evidence of how much she believed that he would come around, because even if his conscious memory can’t recall her, she believed in their other connection — that intangible, indestructible love they feel, that connection that’s so strong that forces much stronger than plain ol’ amnesia weren’t able to sever them. (Namely, Madam Kang.)

(b) I love Jan-di’s speech to Jun-pyo, because it appears that his selective amnesia (as evidenced by his belief that he can’t swim) has blocked out the past year or so. Any feelings that resemble the Newer Jun-pyo (post-Jan-di) are mostly expressed subconsciously; everything he knows and does consciously is from pre-Jan-di times. So in her speech, Jan-di speaks to the Jun-pyo who changed for/because of her. The things she tells him may not even be things he realizes concretely — they’re things he’s forgotten as well — but as she talks, he feels them resonate. He can try to deny that he knows her, but he can’t deny the truth of her insight into his character, and that scares the bejeebus out of him.

(c) And most importantly, Jan-di’s jump into the pool forces Jun-pyo’s subconscious to act. Sure, all throughout the episode, Jan-di (or F3) could have told Jun-pyo the truth of their relationship, but it would’ve done little good to merely announce, “Hey, I’m your girlfriend, you idiot!” Maybe it would have helped, but it wouldn’t have provided the jolt that would return the rest of his memory — not like a good ol’ scare to the subconscious could, anyway.

OVERALL THOUGHTS

Was Boys Before Flowers a GOOD drama?

Well, no.

In all honesty, I can’t really call it good — insofar as a “good” drama requires strong acting, masterful directing, tight storytelling, and overall high quality. And it can’t just have one of those elements, but most or all of them, expressed in skillful balance.

On the other hand, it depends on how you define the word “good” for yourself. “Good” might not mean “artistic” to you; it might not mean “eloquent” or “insightful.” Good might mean entertaining, or emotionally provocative. Excitement-inducing. Enjoyable to watch and rewatch and participate in fan culture. And in those measures, I’d say BBF delivered.

Because sure, an Academy Award-winning film deserves its praise, but to be frank, they’re not always entertaining. Or they may be beautiful and meaningful, but not move the heart.

Boys Before Flowers was kind of a glorious mess — the acting was sometimes very good, sometimes horribly bad. The music was decent, but applied carelessly in messy spurts like a five-year-old who’s sneaked her way into mommy’s makeup stash for the first time. The writing had its moments, but more often than not was poorly paced, and as we know you can’t build an entire drama upon random nice moments.

But it also had its weird brand of narcotic magic. If you stuck around till the end, you know what I’m talkin’ about. If you didn’t, well, you may still know what I’m talking about, even if you were never under the influence. A film snob may sniff at “the masses” — and I’ve been that person too — but so what? Let the snob enjoy his lofty solitude while we masses can commune with each other and laugh and cry together.

I was actually reading a book somewhere around the middle of BBF’s run, and a paragraph leapt off the page and just about smacked me in the face with its aptness. And who can argue with the words of the (late, great) awesome David Foster Wallace?

“At root, vulgar just means popular on a mass scale. It is the semantic opposite of pretentious or snobby. It is humility with a comb-over. It is Nielsen ratings and Barnum’s axiom and the real bottom line. It is big, big business.”

Truer words, y’all.

Okay, okay, I’m done! Finally!

I’ve had SO MUCH FUN, you guys! I think the drama has reached its time to go, so I’m not sad that the series is over, but I will miss the insanity of this drama. All the discussion, the fangirling (myself included), the plot dissection, future predictions, kvetching about story insanity, snarking about ridiculosity, and yes, even bitching about everything that drove us crazy.

Honestly, I haven’t been this entertained following a drama in a while. True, in a vacuum, this product itself is far from perfect — but thankfully, I don’t consume my entertainment in a vacuum, but out here in the wilds of the internet as part of an enthusiastic community.

THANKS FOR ALL THE FUN TIMES!

629

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101 selenoliber

April 1, 2009 at 12:12 AM

I really enjoyed this episode, especially the pool scene when Jan Di chose to fall in. I was so happy that she was finally willing to fight for Jun Pyo and come out openly about her love.

Several points I liked about the scene:

First, the speech was awesome. I felt mostly what you said, about how she reminds him of the parts of himself that has been suppressed by memory-loss and how he cannot deny how true her words are and it scares him she knows so much about his deeper, true self, all his goals, aspirations and weaknesses. I loved that Jan Di finally confronts him about her feelings and what she loves about him. All season I didn't feel much of Jan Di's love for Jun Pyo but this speech was awesome because we get to see him through her eyes.

Second, I loved that she threw the necklace in the pool and then went down to get it, emphasizing what she's been telling Ji Hoo all along, that she cannot give up or forget Jun Pyo even if she tried. Also, the way she did it. I LOVED that she threw off Ji Hoo's jacket before she jumped in the pool, as though she no longer needs his protection and will take things into her own hands. Jan Di's been getting a lot of help from Ji Hoo all season and he helps her cope with all the drama, but her throwing the jacket to the ground before she falls into the pool shows that finally Jan Di is willing to step forward and fight.

Third, I loved that she forced herself to remain inside the pool almost to the point of danger. It shows that she's willing to die for her love, willing to go to any extent to get him back and this was what I felt was missing the entire drama, Jan Di's confirmation to Jun Pyo's feelings and her reciprocation. We see all throughout the lengths Jun Pyo goes to for Jan Di's safety, and it's nice to see she loves him just as deeply as he does her.

Overall, it was an entertaining drama and definitely one that's easily addictive. Lots of flaws but if you don't mind the logical inconsistency it was very enjoyable. All the absurdly good looking people help, of course. I don't think I've ever seen so many hot boys in one drama, ever. Male harem, much? Also, the setting and scenery were absolutely gorgeous.

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102

April 1, 2009 at 12:13 AM

Thank you, dramabeans!! (I like this sitename ^^~hehe)

Well, It's over.
It makes me felt vacuum. ㅜㅜ
I'll miss it. well, i have to find another drama...
Maybe 'wifequeen'?
I heard it's gorgeous!!

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103 Anythingcute

April 1, 2009 at 12:13 AM

The best part of the ending for me was the come back of "ALMOST PARADISE "
yeah the song that previously almost made me bang my head on any hard surface that I see, the one that penetrate deep inside my holly hole (ear drum ^^ ). The moment I heard the song, I seriously start clapping and just satisfied.
I'm content. okey with the ending and all of the drama. It's time for the drama to wrapped up.However, I don't mind if "they" decided to do the Movie seqquel than that will be super awesome. ^^

Thank's Javabean another nicely done recapped for a sweet drama. Good Job ^_^

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104 MK

April 1, 2009 at 12:15 AM

Awww!! I feel so weird now that everything has ended.
Every week I'd always look forward to visiting your site and checking up on BBF summaries. And now it's all finished!
It was a really nice ending. I agree with what you said, Javabeans. I especially loved the pool too! Whenever I get the chance I'm going to watch this episode.
I was really satisfied with the SoEulmate ending as well!!
The ending was great, overall.
Thank you SO MUCH JAVABEANS for recapping this series!!
I don't know how I found your awesome site. But I'm sure GLAD I DID!
Can't wait for your next recaps, whatever drama it may be.

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105 So Lin

April 1, 2009 at 12:20 AM

Thank you so much for writing the summaries for this drama all the way through. I wait every monday and tuesday for them to come out and they are a life saver as I don't have the time to watch the drama at this time. (I stopped around episode 12) But even as I watched the drama I like reading the things you noticed and your thoughts.

I agree that this drama was not a good drama, but yet somehow satisfying. From your summaries, I would say this will probably be a favorite drama ending for me. I admit that when I was watching it, it was painful because of the acting and PD decisions, but I like to think of a few good scenes that I will always remember. The reason I will keep this drama is the ideas behind the storyline that were not necessarily scripted or carried out well, but I am still able to appreciate.

Also another thank you for your Coffee Prince summaries which helped get through not being able to watch them when they were airing over a year ago. I think I thanked you for them before, but I can't remember.

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106 Kris

April 1, 2009 at 12:22 AM

"but applied carelessly in messy spurts like a five-year-old who’s sneaked her way into mommy’s makeup stash for the first time."

You're such an entertaining writer, Dramabeans!
Journalism, by any chance?

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107 JD

April 1, 2009 at 12:23 AM

Hail javabeans for another well-written recap of the drama!

Another question would be "is it a unique interpretation of the manga?" Yes, the Koreans definitely nailed it. I'll miss the boys and Jan Di but I am excited on watching them in a another drama with a different story. This drama has definitely zoomed them to stardom, which definitely expanded the options available to them. Would we see them in a comedy again?

Wondering which next drama would tickle your fancy, thus, encouraging you to write its recap.

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108 vjah

April 1, 2009 at 12:24 AM

@101
Wow u touch on why that scene was very poignant to me. From taking the coat off to standing at the very edge of the pool and finally falling and clutching the necklace. My thoughts were the same :D

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109 cute

April 1, 2009 at 12:29 AM

Seriously, THANK YOU!!! Your recaps were amazing and I love your writing! I'm sad and happy that this drama is over and I will miss reading about it on your website.

ALMOST PARADIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISE!

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110 sophie

April 1, 2009 at 12:30 AM

thank you very much for recapping this series. i thoroughly enjoyed reading your recaps at the beginning of the past weeks.

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111 Nea

April 1, 2009 at 12:31 AM

Thank you so much! I have been waiting all night to say goodbye to this drama with you. I am going to miss "this" the talks, the summaries, the laughs, but not the drama. I wave goodbye happily and very pleased.

There are many scenes that made me love this last ep but by far, the one that I will always remember, rave about and watch again, has to be the pool scene! I have a tendency to give out random awards and Gu Hye Sun received the Best Captured Essence Award in this ep. That scene to me was the third best scene she's done(her best scene overall). I liked her throughout the drama, but I loved her in that scene. I believed every word, every expression, her motivation and reasoning. Most of all, I respected her character's daring and decisiveness. She was marvelous.

As I was thinking what I thought of the show overall, I concluded that first and foremost I want to be entertained. I am pretty easygoing so I try to go where the drama takes me. If you want me to suspend reality, I will, but if you demand reality, I insist upon it. Ultimately, I have to love the characters, and I will say that each of the main characters and even some of the minors, had a moment or moments that made me love them up until the very end.

Concerning this show, every week, I watched. Whether it was lips pressed against a bong or teeth tickling a grenade pin, I showed up each time ready and prepared to love or hate each episode. This drama made me high, for never have I laughed, giggled, chuckled, cheered, howled, sobbed, cursed or threatened for 13 weeks straight! That to me catapults this drama to "Good" status.

Thank you to everyone who has made this drama a pleasure to view and this blog a refuge. Its been more than fun, its been a blessing!
Hope we do it all again sometime.

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112 tera

April 1, 2009 at 12:33 AM

thank you .. thank you.. dramabeans..
what a a great.. great.. recaps.. love you..
and can not wait to read your other drama recaps...

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113 mariouma

April 1, 2009 at 12:35 AM

ah , finally , it is done

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114 herwithg

April 1, 2009 at 12:35 AM

I think it's gonna be a long time before I can really bid this drama goodbye. All those times I watched even though there was critical exam or presentation that was going to happen the next day, I'm gonna missed those. Anyway, I can't say I'm disappointed with the ending. I think it handled all those loose ends just fine, not perfectly, but enough to make me say, "okay, that was nice." Of course deep inside I was clamoring for a big ending like a wedding perhaps or just something big with flourish (did that sound right? haha I can't think of the right description right now) BUT perhaps to handle this drama's ending in such a simple, (for me) and somewhat a lackluster way is I guess a good enough way to end something that brought plenty of shock, oohs and aahs (by this I'm talking about the major emotional frustration that we, the viewers, and the characters had to deal with as the story progressed) in its run.

Hmm... I also especially loved the as-you-say-it callbacks. I liked that they reworked/revisited past scenarios into the ending, it really made me feel nostalgic about how far this dramas had already gone. I especially liked the beach scene when Jan Di was walking towards Jun Pyo then Jun Pyo turns around to face her. It kind of reminded me of the scene in the earlier episodes, where Jan Di was kidnapped and "pretty-fied" to be presented to Jun Pyo. I think this is the first official scene where Jun Pyo made his intentions to her known and as we all know, as loyal viewers, Jan Di refuses Jun Pyo. It's just nice that at this last scene, Jun Pyo offers himself again to her, but this time a changed person different from the person in that episode who blurted out that there isn't anything that can be bought by money. I would have wanted for that scene to have been stretched out a bit, and it would have been nice to see Jan Di accepting to his proposal as a resolution to that earlier scene and of course to the whole series. As a side note, didn't Jan Di have long curly hair also in that scene? Hmm... parallelisms, I love it more and more. Though honestly, I didn't dig Jan Di's hair all that much.

Wow, this was a fun ride! I kind of regret that I didn't discover this site sooner. Haha, but anyways, love the recaps and the comments you put up for this series, plus the screen captures. Got to love that of course. Thank you for such a great site, hopefully, you'll also be recapping my next drama obsession, whatever that is! :)

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115 BOFfan

April 1, 2009 at 12:36 AM

Thank you Javabeans for your great recaps. Without it, I wouldn't have been as entertained as I have been, and also really enjoyed reading everyone's comments (minus a few annoying ones). It was a glorious mess indeed, but still.. glorious. I really enjoyed the scene with Jandi dancing with each member of F4. As she described each F3 member so succinctly, it really showed how she came to know and appreciate each one of them and how they all had grown from enemies to friends. I don't know why, but it made me almost teary eyed. It was also nice to see Chairwoman Kang in a warm light. For once, she didn't look like the evil witch and showed the possibility that she had a change of heart regarding Jandi. Of course, even though I love JiHoo, I was happy to see JunPyo proposing to Jandi. Now, I will be going through Boys Before Flowers withdrawal.

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116 all4movies

April 1, 2009 at 12:37 AM

dramabeans,

what a ride it was, full of ups and downs, but mostly filled with your delightful, thoughtful and always entertaining commentaries.

now, that it's over, i won't know what to do with myself on Mondays and Tuesdays for awhile, until I can get my hands on the dvds, that is.

what's next? I think it'll be awhile before another crazy drama comes along and gets everyone so worked up again.

see ya until the next drama "sensation".

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117 Court

April 1, 2009 at 12:37 AM

@ #6 AnGel and #42 jo_ajero: I was DYING every time they showed Ji Hoo running (the first time being when Jun Pyo fell into the pool and the last time when Jan Di fell into the pool). I think his run alone is the reason I could never get on the Ji Hoo-Jan Di bandwagon. :D

@ Javabeans: Seriously, your recaps are the ONLY reason I started watching this drama. The last drama I watched was Coffee Prince, which I LOVED. I stopped watching dramas after that and revisited your site for the first time in awhile 3 weeks ago. I came across a little blurb you wrote about BBF (after half the episodes had already aired) and clicked on your Episode 1 recap. The show seemed decent, but I wasn't entirely sold, so I clicked the Episode 2 recap. Okay, getting better, clicked Episode 3, Episode 4, and then I was totally hooked and started downloading the series from Episode 1. I think I watched 18 episodes in like 3 days. So THANK YOU for introducing me to the crazy and totally addicting BBF world. You're like the Frank Rich of KDramas - you totally can make or break a series for me. I'm so glad I started watching BBF...Gu Jun Pyo...*Sigh* Thank you for all your hard work. I loved watching an episode and then coming to the site to read your recap and review. Keep up all the amazing work. It is SOOO appreciated and you are bringing KDramas to people who would never otherwise watch!

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118 snoopyvkd

April 1, 2009 at 12:45 AM

Thank you javabeans for this nice long round-up recap!
Your description "weird brand of narcotic magic" is just perfect! I never got into these high-school stories. It is indeed magic cos somehow I get hooked up around epi 5 when Jun Pyo the knight came to save his princess. After that all the fangirlling, anticiapting mondays and tuesdays, made me feel like a 15year old girl all again. And I say that's not too bad a feeling. :)

#94 - Bérénice, you're french?! Me too, I'm so sad that Kpop culture is still so unknown here, don't have much people to chat with and share this craiziness.

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119 hikari-makino

April 1, 2009 at 12:48 AM

Thank you for your wonderful BOF recaps and reviews! If it wasn't for your blog, I would have given up on BOF a long time ago!

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120 LEEMINHOLOVER

April 1, 2009 at 12:49 AM

um... whatever happened to JOONPYO'S DAD?

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121 byul1232

April 1, 2009 at 12:53 AM

the pool scene seems beautiful in your words and how you described it, but when i watched it, it was such a lame scene, because the writer copied it right out of Lovers in Paris when Tae Young falls into the pool to get Ki Joo to admit his feelings for her. Like everything about it was the same.

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122 ruha

April 1, 2009 at 12:58 AM

this is my second comment after coffee price . thank you for your review , every tuesday and wednesday morning i can't wait to read you review same like coffee prince.. hope next time i wil read your review again.sayonara(sory broken english)

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123 cheonsa

April 1, 2009 at 1:03 AM

THANKS FOR THE RECAPS!!!! ;)
And this was one awesome finale recap to sum it all up! When you forewarned about its length, I was actually hoping it would be much longer while reading it. Alas, all good things must come to an end.

It was really great fun chasing this drama with your recaps, other BOF bloggers and fanatics. My first time having so much fun with a drama too. It was a heady mix. I'll be nursing a bad hangover, for sure. My mons and tues will now be so empty...sigh.

I hope there will be a future show soon to get all of us back together here and our adrenaline pumping again.

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124 ibako777

April 1, 2009 at 1:11 AM

"Now, I’m going to check into rehab for BBF addiction!!!" Who's going with me?!

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125 glow

April 1, 2009 at 1:24 AM

FINALLY!
I am glad that it is over! What will I miss?
the re-caps and comments hahahha
Thank you for making my Tuesday and Wednesday something to look forward to.

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126 mashimaro

April 1, 2009 at 1:25 AM

Thanks, Javabeans. Your re-caps were fantastic and very entertaining.

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127 lady

April 1, 2009 at 1:51 AM

i love the ending!!! so cute and so sweet!!!
thanks javabeans for all the effort/recap youve post !!!
you did a very good job!!!

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128 lady

April 1, 2009 at 1:53 AM

thanks again javabeans, eventhough im not updated watching (its because ive waited for the sub) im always updated because of Y-O-U!!!
thank you and thank a lot....
im looking forward for the new drama that you will recap....

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129 estelle

April 1, 2009 at 1:59 AM

THANK YOU SO MUCH Javabeans! Thank you for all your awesome Boys Before Flowers recaps... They are even better than the drama itself!

What an exhilarating ride it has been... Thank you so much once again! =)

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130 ivan

April 1, 2009 at 2:02 AM

i thought the ending was good enough. not WOW, but enjoyable

ps.
i love ur geniousness with the whole rumblefish movie ending credits thing. lol

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131 Ve

April 1, 2009 at 2:06 AM

Thanks so much for the recaps! Javabeans. All were fabs!

Finally we bid farewell to BBF. It's relief a happy ending one! though I was expecting the characters would have been more stronger and mature.
Wholly, the story was ok and nice ending! but it's dissapointed me ;
- when in the pool scene, JP took time too long to recall his memory, that it should have cost JD's life! before he realised and drag out JD from the pool.
-Another thing is, it ws not JP personality that he was easily fall for a girl, how come he was just agreed to go abroad with a girl he barely knew despite few days staying in the hospital?
-JD was not a bright student, as what we gather from her performance at school and she admitted as well, but how come she took Medical school?" it was not an easy subject!
-JP should have asked his F4 gang who Jandi was to him? before the accident...despite been so rude...to JD in time of his partial lost memory...

I tried to gather all the episode into a complete story , sorry to tell that there's none any strong message rather than just an entertaining drama! (Compared with F COffee Prince, it was perfect all have strong growing characters, ,,,ex : understanding mom,a prejudish grand ma turned to be supportive and kind after seeing the change of her grandson habit into mature and more serious into persuing his future,rekindling dad-son relationship after all tense and distance,etc), and also have all sad,happy,funny scene! And on top of all the plot were tailed sensibly and consistent one to another episode.

YEs, Lee Min Ho cs has done their great role,perfect acting, All I can say that it looks like the producers of BBF were just too rush to finish the story that could not even make more sensible plots,(cos some episode was wierd and doesnt make sense to me)..

But still I love the F4 though!! I Will miss JD's cute smile, JD&JP fights,kissing and romantic moments, Ga-eul and Yijung sights for each others, JiHo ( I felt sorry for him, i though at the end his sunbae from Paris would be home for him!)and Wo Bin! the nicest and calming personality sorry for him that such a waste and plain character!!

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132 ...

April 1, 2009 at 2:15 AM

thnx for the recap!!!
i thought the way it ended was PERFECT! they tied everything up without being too vague or too mushy/sweet/romantic and it was entertaining! You could also see that the acting had improved significantly. what am i going to do now with my monday and tuesday nights?!?!?

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133 ginko

April 1, 2009 at 2:24 AM

Such a brilliant recap, as always.
Thank you so much, Javabean.
I haven't watched the final episode, but read some spoilers at Soompi. Many were disappointed with ending, I said, wait until I read Javabean's recaps. And oh, totally enjoy this episode. I've skipped many episodes coz they were mess, but this episode was surprisingly well-done.
Just reading your writing about the pool scene was enough to evoke the emotion, it was beautiful and poignant. And the time-skip epilogue is essential here, they need time to grow-up, in a positive way.

I so love the way you define a "GOOD" drama. Agree that BOF was a "glorious mess" but it was entertaining. I had so much fun every Tuesday and Wednesday morning refreshing your blog, eager to see hundreds of users online and loads of comments. Thanks again Javabean, and all the commenters :)
See you all again in another drama fever. I really hope for 2009 drama season as successful as 2007.

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134 cosmopolite

April 1, 2009 at 2:27 AM

I'm afraid my comment could reach your recap length so I'll make it short and sweet:

Thank you so much! The recapping, the thoughts, the sharing....thanks for everything!

(If this drama were a drug, consider me high right now!) :D

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135 Lemon

April 1, 2009 at 2:32 AM

Hey Dramabeans, I just wanted to thank you so much for making my experience with BOF even greater! It is the first time I had so much fun watching (and reading, most of the time) episode by episode of BOF with you and the rest of this community!

I just wanna say I loved all your comments and insight on the story.

Although I am totallaye on the Jihoo-Jandi ship :) But who cares now? hahaha

I completely loved this episode. One thing I diddnt like though: Yi Jung's new style. It looked bad when he came back, haha.

LOVE YOU GUYS ALWAYS!!!

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136 atiras

April 1, 2009 at 2:40 AM

thank javabeans!!
and goodbye you all!!

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137 heyhey

April 1, 2009 at 2:45 AM

Javabeans, I completely agree with you when you say it wasn't a good drama overall, but I guess that didn't stop me from coming back every week to watch it lol.
I liked the way the drama ended it makes me feel like 'why did they not have this great acting and directing from the beginning'.............in any case....woot woot, bbf is oficialy over and I have my monday and tuesday nights back;)

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138 djeedjes

April 1, 2009 at 2:47 AM

THANK YOU Javabeans, for all things about BBF!

BBF is indeed not a flawless drama, but I do enjoy it, and like u said, the insanity.

BBF has made me getting closer again with my old friend who lives abroad, we chat and ranting about it via email and messenger.

I love the ending. I mean, of course we want more, we want wedding, little curly Jundi, etc, but I just satisfied how this wrapped up.

Anyway, I'm looking forward for your next drama recaps!

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139 goldlilys

April 1, 2009 at 2:57 AM

THanks for that long recap of the final episode of BOF. I loved the way it ended ... it wrapped up mostly everything nicely without being too overdramatic. The pool scene was the best and very unpredictable. Goo Hye Sun and Lee Min Ho did such an awesome job portraying their characters until the very end.

This is one of the rarest Korean dramas that gets a satisfying ending (comparing to another addiction of Coffee Prince ending where I got sort of bored) .. this drama's ending had me at the edge of my seat the whole way.

All the characters got their closures and each one was given importance for the entire drama. More awesomeness is that Ga-eul and Yi Jung got together unlike the previous adaptations.

Good thing you continued watching BOF and judged it fairly for what it is and avoided comparing it to the previous versions. Sure this version had so many logical flaws, yet it's addiction is apparent.

Will be reading more of your comments for future dramas and hopefully another one like BOF or Coffee Prince that entertains its viewers and will even drive some to insanity for the weekly waiting time.

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140 HanaDan

April 1, 2009 at 3:13 AM

The pool scene will always be playing in my mind from now on. And may be whenever I see a swimming pool, I'll remember BOF definitely. No other version can top that! Its an originally breathtaking scene. From the way she fell stiffly to the way she was like waiting for him to come and save her was shot beautifully and with that music playing in the background.. She really believed in him. I really don't know how to describe this feeling... Shiver down to my spine. I kept playing that scene over and over again... and yes I still get that shiver feeling... GOOD JOB! Excellent! BRAVO! What an awesome way to bring those couple back together. And to me I've reach my satisfaction already... even that crappy CPR thing won't draw the awesomeness of this pool scene... Just amazing.

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141 jeans_

April 1, 2009 at 3:20 AM

That was some DEEP insights, JAVABEANS!!! :D
Thanks alot for all the recaps for this drama.
I really enjoyed reading it all. Especially your thoughts on each episodes.

And you were right, I haven't been entertained following a drama in a while.
And I'm glad this is the drama that gave me the emotional insanity. :D

Thank you, thank you, and thank you again!!

God bless!! ^_^

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142 Peeps!

April 1, 2009 at 3:20 AM

WEH!!!!!!!!!! WEH WEH WEH WEH WEH!!!!!! *SOB!* *SOB!* *SNIFF* *SNIFF* *COUGH* *COUGH* *COUGH* *sniff* *sniff*.... WEH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm sorry *cough* for the overcrying...* sniff* But that's how I really felt *gasp* *cough* after I read finish the last *cough cough cough* *sniff* word in your recap...*sob* *sob* *sob*
Bye BBF... *SOB!!*

I feel so emotional...

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143 flooooo

April 1, 2009 at 3:22 AM

I was really frustrated about the ending after having spending one hour watching it live that I just didn t want to watch it again (in HD format ;))

But your comments made me realize that I was overly angry about some aspect and I just might give it another chance ....so yeah I am going to watch it again.

The conclusion of these 3 months of BOF :
-At my age (adult and mature) I can still enjoy and fangirling over this flowers's Boys
-The drama could have been better filmed but well everything is over. Still give me a taste of bitterness that all the potential of actors, story haven t been fully used and have been wasted cos of products markketing obviously it was a big field of stuff promotion: mobile, hollydays places, food, sports, clothes, shoes...
-I really dislike how PD and the scriptwriter made me hate JH! the other version, i fully respected and was charmed by JH/rui character but here I cringed my teeth when I watched him! Stalker and Soulmates begins with a S so I really pity JH for not having his own life while he was so skillfull and instead stalking at JD.
....
I have tons to say ..;

OVERALL I want to THANK YOU. Your blog kept and will keep me entertained.

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144 ozchick

April 1, 2009 at 3:23 AM

Ahhhhh, the rollercoaster ride is finally over! I'm pretty sad that this drama is over actually, I think I need to check into a BBF anonymous or something. It'll take me a while to get over it lol. I thought the ending was satisfying if not fantastic. I thought it tied all the loose ends together well, but I would loved to have seen how the whole GJP's dad and Madam Kang situation was resolved. Still, very satisfying and it wasn't a cliched ending which is even better (although in my head I wished they did get married and have little curly haired GJP kids running around!) Perhaps if they had just extended it for one more episode I would've been completely happy.

Also, I KNEW THEY WERE GOING TO PLAY ALMOST PARADIIIIIIIISE IN THE FINAL EPISODE! I was hoping for it actually because I was kind of missing it myself! I'm glad they did because in a way the song just completes the ending. Argh, what am I going to do on Mondays and Tuesdays now? Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou dramabeans for your wonderfully insightful and entertaining recaps and thankyou to all the people who have written here as well. I have truly enjoyed reading all your comments and will miss fangirling and complaining with all of you. I just can't believe it's over!!!!!!!!!! You've been one HELL of a rollercoaster ride BBF and despite your many flaws, i've enjoyed every minute of you and will definitely add you to my DVD collection. Until next time!

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145 Peeps!

April 1, 2009 at 3:25 AM

Thank you, Javabeans, for all of your recaps and BBF related posts. Thank you for entertaining me these last 3 months. Thank you for your sarcasm. Thank you for all your insights. Thank you for making me laugh. Thank you for your songs. Thank you. Thank you. And thank you x 100. You will forever be the best blogger I will ever know.

(And I'll still come back your your Iljimae recaps.)

All in all, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you so much!
Kamsahamnida, Unnie!

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146 ozchick

April 1, 2009 at 3:32 AM

Oh, and the pool scene was BLOODY FANTASTIC.
I felt a swirl of emotions just watching it and I think it must be the best scene throughout the entire series. GHS and LMH performed wonderfully and beautifully. It was just so damn acted and I cried a bucket when GJD was telling GJP about the man he was when they were together. One of my favourite scenes EVER. Just beautiful.

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147 Agnes

April 1, 2009 at 3:32 AM

I have been one of the silent followers of your blog. But I am really thankful for all your digressions and insights. I took a class in Cinematic Arts in college under Humanities 101. Aside from dissecting, critiquing, watching film after film and making reports, the thing that stuck to me is our professor's instruction that the first time you watch a film, just enjoy it for what it is. Next time, watch it and dissect it. I've done the first part - enjoying it. Now, I dunno if I still want to dissect it. But who knows, maybe after a month or two...after the BBF withdrawal syndrome has subsided. Maybe not, when there's another fun film to enjoy. And BBF is a fun film with a very big plus - ogling those hot F4 boys and discovering (new) talents to watch out for!

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148 ozchick

April 1, 2009 at 3:33 AM

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149 Resa

April 1, 2009 at 3:35 AM

Thank you so very much for your brillant reviews.
I've looked forward to them just as much as I anticipated the episodes. In contrast to some of the eps, however, you never failed to impress. Kudos!

I'm aready looking forward to your next project ;-)

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150 Nona

April 1, 2009 at 3:39 AM

i'm so so so disappointed in the end of this drama!
i thought reAlly really big things gonna happen
but,
actually NOTHING happened
same with other NORMAL dramas.
so, i recon that this was not that good drama as i thought.
okok
anyway,
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!
:))

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