Will It Snow For Christmas: Episode 16 (Final)
by javabeans
Finally, the end! The angst is over! Phew.
Although I didn’t really have specific predictions for how the story would end, I was fairly certain about the tone that would characterize the finale. The result was pretty close to my expectation, so more than anything, I’m relieved. Did I like the ending? Generally speaking, I was satisfied. Did I like HOW we got there? Um… I’m still working that out. There were things I liked, and things I didn’t.
SONG OF THE DAY
Kim Yeon-woo – “다시 한번 사랑하자” (Let’s Love One More Time) [ Download ]
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EPISODE 16 RECAP
Kang-jin says he’ll take care of Young-sook, but Ji-wan challenges her mother, “You’ll come with me, won’t you?”
A bit uncomfortably, Young-sook answers, “I’m going to stay here with your brother.” At this, Kang-jin shoots her a look, as though he was testing her response and is surprised she went along with it.
Ji-wan persists: “If you keep doing this, I’m not going to come here again. I won’t see you anymore! Will you come with me, or not?” And still Young-sook answers, “I’m going to stay here.”
Turning to Kang-jin, Ji-wan asks in a pleading tone, “Oppa, you cut the tie. You do it. Convince Mom, okay?” But he doesn’t speak up, and she realizes he’s not going to. Frustrated, she storms out of the house.
Kang-jin follows her outside, where Ji-wan tells him firmly that she’s going to bring movers by over the weekend. She’ll carry her mother out of the house if necessary.
Woo-jung has been working all night, so she gets up from a nap in a side alcove by the office area. She wanders out and asks Young-sook groggily where Cha Kang-jin is. Without any reaction, Young-sook answers that he’s probably outside. Woo-jung thanks her, but as she turns away, the implication hits her — so Young-sook knows who Kang-jin is?
She finds Kang-jin still outside and says that she has just witnessed something astonishing that he should know. She relates how Young-sook had referred to him as Kang-jin and not reacted at all. Woo-jung’s bafflement grows at Kang-jin’s lack of reaction — does this mean he knew that her memory had returned?
It seems that Young-sook belatedly realizes her slip, but she continues acting as normal. When she burns her fingers on a hot lid, Kang-jin hurries to get the first aid kit and tend to her fingers. She’s uncomfortable at his continued kindness, and her behavior, while less forced than yesterday, is still strained around him.
However, she’s still committed to her act. When Kang-jin advises her to give Ji-wan a call to soothe her hurt feelings, Young-sook asks, as though hurt, “Are you tired of me?” Kang-jin assures her that he just wishes she would pay Ji-wan more attention.
Coldly, Young-sook blurts, “I’ll handle my child myself.” It’s not an outright admission but it makes Kang-jin and Woo-jung both freeze; it’s something you’d say to a stranger, so it’s telling. Young-sook retreats to her room, but adds, “Ji-yong, you’re my son. Whatever happens, you have to stay with me, okay? Don’t go anywhere, or to anyone — stay with me, okay?”
Young-sook must suspect that Kang-jin has a clue, which is supported by a follow-up call from the Sancheong charnel house. The man explains that he discussed the matter of Ji-yong’s vault with her “younger son.”
I’m very relieved that Woo-jung is made aware of this, because unlike our leads, she’s definitely NOT too noble to keep out of it. Sure enough, she meets with Ji-wan at the hospital and gives it to her straight: Young-sook seems to have her memory back, but she’s lying for some reason. Woo-jung is here to ask Ji-wan why because Young-sook’s reaction is so incomprehensible, but she sees that Ji-wan is just as stunned.
Even more puzzling, Woo-jung adds, is how Kang-jin is playing along. He knows Young-sook is faking, and yet he goes along with it. Woo-jung figures, “In my opinion, it was like she was tormenting him on purpose. Doesn’t somebody have to stop her? Don’t you have to stop her?”
Ji-wan thinks back to her mother’s odd behavior in light of this news. Now when she recalls the lunch conversation, she realizes that her mother was purposely hurting Chun-hee.
When Ji-wan arrives at the atelier, she walks into an argument between Jae-hyun and Kang-jin. Jae-hyun is angry with Kang-jin for turning down yet another fantastic business opportunity and calls him wrong in the head. He says that one year working in China would open up their business’s entire future — why can’t he consider it? Is it because of his sick mother, for whom he’s already thrown away countless great opportunities?
Kang-jin snaps that Jae-hyun should go if he’s so keen on the idea, but Jae-hyun argues that the business associates are only interested in Kang-jin. Angrily, Kang-jin retorts that Jae-hyun can split up the business if he’s so upset, and a fed-up Jae-hyun agrees.
After Jae-hyun storms out, Ji-wan repeats some of his words to Kang-jin, saying that he should take this opportunity and that he’d be foolish to pass it up.
Knowing that her mother is the reason for his decision, she says that she’s going to take her mother tomorrow, rather than waiting for the weekend: “She’s MY mother! I’ll take care of it! Why are you living like this, like an idiot? What did you do that was so wrong? What huge sin have you committed? How long will you suffer from that damned guilty conscience? ”
Kang-jin tells her to be quiet, aware that Young-sook is in the house. She continues anyway: “If you do this, do you think my mother will thank you? If you endure this and lie for her, do you think she’ll feel better? Do you think her hate will go away? You should have told me first that her memory had returned!” Her voice grows louder and more impassioned as she demands to know why he is taking this on alone: “Why do you live like this!?!”
His answer is so startling it momentarily stuns her into silence: “Because I can’t give you up.”
Slowly, he takes her in his arms and hugs her. They stand there for a few moments, Ji-wan crying, until a shocked Young-sook demands to know what they’re doing. Guiltily, they break apart, and Young-sook marches up to Kang-jin and grabs his shirt, all pretenses about her memory loss flying out the window as she rages: “What are you doing to my daughter?! You act like the good son in front of me, but what the hell are you doing to my daughter?”
Ji-wan begs her mother to stop:
Ji-wan: “Don’t do this to Kang-jin oppa anymore. You can’t do this. And he took such care of you. You don’t have that right, Mom.”
Young-sook: “What?”
Ji-wan: “Forgive him now.’
Young-sook: “How can I forgive him? How can I forgive this bastard? His mother killed your father, and he killed your brother. How can I forgive him?!”
Ji-wan: “That’s not Kang-jin oppa’s fault, and it’s not his mother’s fault either. It’s not my fault, or yours, or Dad’s. It was just an accident. Mom, stop now. Stop.”
Young-sook: “Shut up! You awful girl.”
Young-sook storms off to her room, and Ji-wan starts to follow. Kang-jin stops her, saying he’ll go.
Kang-jin kneels before Young-sook, who continues to spew hatred at him, scornful of his dutiful son act. How long has he known she was back to normal? Why didn’t he say anything? “Were you waiting to see how I would act? What is your motive?”
Kang-jin keeps his head bowed humbly. His voice is contrite and halting, like he’s trying to figure things out as he explains:
Kang-jin: “I was waiting for you to tell me first. I wasn’t sure why you were lying, why you kept fooling us, what you were planning, whether you were still upset, or still angry, whether you were still unable to forgive. I was waiting. I was trying to figure out if I should go now, if I should give up and step aside, if this was a road that should end or something I shouldn’t have done from the start. I was despairing whether this was something that shouldn’t continue, something that would be pointless no matter how hard I tried, something that would never change even if I poured all my energy into it. But Mother, I don’t want to give up here. I don’t want to leave things here.”
Ji-wan listens quietly at the door, and Kang-jin now finally looks up at Young-sook with tears in his eyes.
Kang-jin: “Please give up that hate now. If there’s something more I must do, I’ll do it. Whatever it is, I’ll do it. Please forgive me. It must be hard for you, but please forgive me.”
Young-sook is not in a generous mood. She jeers, “How can I forgive you? What can I do for you to think you’ve been forgiven? What were you thinking the past three years while you stayed with me? Was it for mere forgiveness? Is that it?”
He answers, “Yes. That was all.” But she’s half-incredulous that a person could be so noble, unwilling to give him that credit: “That wasn’t all. You did it because couldn’t get over your feelings for Ji-wan!”
Kang-jin:”I did. I believed I could, and I put those feelings aside. I thought I could live having rid myself of those feelings, and that’s how I lived on. But…”
Here the tears fall, and Kang-jin’s voice breaks in anguish.
Kang-jin: “…but the feelings won’t go away. They weren’t feelings that could be given up. It took me three years to realize that. I asked myself a hundred, a thousand times a day, ‘You crazy fool, why do you live like this? If you live as Han Ji-yong, you have to give up Ji-wan. Why do you live like such an idiot? Why are you atoning for your mother’s sin? Only crazy people live like you. Just run away, like my mother, like Ji-wan’s father. If I could stop fooling myself, if I could just think of myself and devote myself to my own feelings, and look only at Ji-wan…’ I told myself that countless times every day, to grab Ji-wan’s hand and run away. I really wanted to run away. If not for that hurt — if only I didn’t know the hurt of being abandoned — I really would have run away. If the voice of the mother clinging to me had been just a little less warm, if the food you prepared for me had been just a little less warm, I would have gladly run away. I don’t know what the past three years were to you, but to me they were warm and happy. Because of you, it was sometimes painful, but I could endure it. Because of you. That’s what it was like for me.”
Against her will, Young-sook is moved by Kang-jin’s sincerity, and sheds a few tears. In a low, weak voice, she agrees:
Young-sook: “Okay. I’ll forgive you. I’ll forgive everything — so let go of Ji-wan. Just let go of her, and leave. Then I’ll forgive you and your mother.”
The hopeful looks that had dawned on Kang-jin’s and Ji-wan’s faces now fall in dread. Ji-wan drops to the ground and Young-sook breaks down, insisting, “I said I’d forgive you, so just let go of Ji-wan!” Kang-jin protests — this is asking too much.
Kang-jin: “I can’t do that now. I can’t let go of Ji-wan — that’s the only thing I can’t do, Mother. I can’t do that, no matter what. Without Ji-wan, I can’t live.”
Young-sook: “Then I can’t forgive you. If you could only let go of her, it would all end. That miserable bad fortune between your family and mine would all end! I’ll forgive every single thing, so just give Ji-wan up and disappear from my sight, I beg you!”
Kang-jin pleads, but this time Young-sook isn’t doing this to be vindictive. Her argument makes a sort of sense, that as long as there are loose ends and dangling threads between their families, she can’t get over her resentment. But if they could cleanly cut all the strings, she’d be able to move on. Now, Young-sook’s voice takes on a pleading tone as she entreats:
Young-sook: “Life doesn’t end because your love does. You can live on without that. Everyone lives like that. I’ll forget everything cleanly and forgive you. I won’t even think of it in the future, or remember it. So Kang-jin, please go.”
For a few long beats, nobody moves. And then, slowly, Kang-jin gets to his feet. He makes his way numbly to the door, where he sees Ji-wan sitting slumped, but passes without a word. Ji-wan starts to follow him, but Young-sook orders her, “Don’t go. It’s all over now, Ji-wan. Don’t go.”
Listlessly, Kang-jin leaves the house and wanders the street. He falls to his knees, the world blurring around him.
Ji-wan shows up at Chun-hee’s door with soju, suggesting a drink together. She’s already had one bottle on her own, so she’s already drunk. She’s here to ask Chun-hee how she continued living after she had left Jun-su the first time. Was she able to survive?
Chun-hee: “I must have survived because I’m here.”
Ji-wan: “That’s good, then I’ll survive too.”
She asks why Chun-hee returned to Sancheong, then, to see her father again. Chun-hee replies, “Because I missed him. Because I couldn’t forget him. Because I thought I’d die.” This answer is less reassuring than the last, and Ji-wan sighs, “I’m in trouble. That means I’ll go looking for Kang-jin oppa someday.”
She asks why Chun-hee clung and dragged out her feelings, but Chun-hee counters, “Do you think it’s something you can end easily? Those feelings won’t end until I die.”
Ji-wan: “Then what am I supposed to do? I’m supposed to live feeling like this until I die? It would be better to die! How can I live like this?”
Chun-hee: “You’re different from me. I ran a tearoom to earn my living, but you’re a doctor. Meet a better man than Kang-jin and live proudly.”
Ji-wan: “But still — if I can’t forget him, what do I do?”
Chun-hee: “Forget anyway. Otherwise, you’ll become a bad woman like me, hurting others and bruising the hearts of your children.”
Ji-wan: “Do you regret it? If you could have that moment again, do you feel confident you wouldn’t run away with my father?”
Chun-hee would rather not answer that, and drinks instead. Ji-wan asks, “If that moment came back to you, could you please resist? Think of me and Kang-jin, and hold back just once.”
Kang-jin arrives at his mother’s place, surprised to find Ji-wan asleep on the ground. He asks what she talked about with Ji-wan. Chun-hee says that Ji-wan and asked if life went on after love, and that she had answered yes.
The next morning, Ji-wan awakens to find herself in Kang-jin’s car, parked at the road by the river in Sancheong. Kang-jin is outside, looking out at the water, thinking back to their teenage years here.
Ji-wan joins him by the water, where he asks gently if she’s sober now, and if they should start heading home. He starts to give her general instructions, advising her to get along with her mother, not to get angry, to check her medicine, to be sure to take her to the hospital. There’s a finality to his words, like he’s passing along the baton since he won’t be around anymore.
After each part, Ji-wan listens quietly and nods. Kang-jin turns to leave, but she stops him with her question: “Then does this mean we can’t see each other anymore?”
He gives a rueful nod. She adds, “And we can’t call each other?” Again he nods, saying hoarsely, “Yeah.”
“Or eat together? Or hold hands?”
The finality of this moment stretches between them. Kang-jin steps forward and gathers Ji-wan in a hug. Looking over his shoulder, she cries and continues, “And you can’t hold me like this either.” Slowly, he pulls back and looks at her. She adds, “Then I won’t be able to say these words again either. I love you. I love you, Cha Kang-jin.”
He holds her face in his hands and kisses her.
When he lets go, he says with difficulty, “Let’s live happily.”
She nods and repeats those words, understanding that he means they’ll be living separately.
And then… ANOTHER YEAR LATER.
(OM*%^!#$%arg*!@&($^@+^*%)
The architecture business is now Lee & Seo, the Lee being Woo-jung. Kang-jin has moved out of the house but the firm has remained, and so has Young-sook. However, Lee & Seo will soon be moving out, and Jae-hyun thanks Young-sook for putting up with them all this time. She has grown fond of them and will miss them when they’re gone.
Woo-jung is late to work this morning, so Jae-hyun gives her a call — and is confused when a man answers, sounding sleepy. It’s Tae-joon, who has mistakenly answered her cell phone. Granted, they slept in separate beds and are both fully clothed.
Tae-joon’s not sure why he’s here, so Woo-jung tells him that she had gotten a call from the bar last night, where he’d fallen asleep drunk. This means she’s #1 in his phone, and she asks why. He answers, “It’s out of habit.” Woo-jung says that that’s going overboard; people will misunderstand.
Tae-joon asks teasingly whether she seduced him — “Did you kiss me while I was sleeping? I’m really sexy when I sleep.”
Looking around, he muses that he likes her cozy apartment. If she’d invited him to live with her, rather than the fancy apartment she had set up for them, he could have been happy. And then, he adds that he’s still open to it, then concedes that he knows this is also excessive.
Surprisingly, Woo-jung tells him that this last part isn’t going overboard.
Tying up a few more loose ends, we check in on Bu-san and Jin-kyung. She tells him that she went to see the doctor, who confirmed that she’s pregnant. Anxious and scared, she barks at him to take responsibility — and Bu-san breaks into a wide smile, only too happy to oblige. He promises, “I won’t abandon you or hurt you. I’ll even name the baby and fuss over it and be a really good father.”
Chun-hee now works for Miss Shin, and the two women look over in bemusement.
Kang-jin is still an architecture teacher at the university, where he wraps up a lecture, then heads out of the hall.
Ji-wan has finished her intern year and now scolds a new intern for falling asleep while on his shift. Her supervisor watches with satisfaction at this reversal (Ji-wan is now responsible and mature!), but when he walks off, Ji-wan leans in close and tells the intern that if he’s going to sleep, he’d better pick a better spot. She knows this great place.
She heads to the university library, and in the lobby, she spots Kang-jin at about the same time he catches sight of her. They both stop in their tracks, staring at each other for a long moment, the world blurring past them.
Then they both start moving again, and pass each other without saying a word.
The encounter scrapes at old wounds, and that night, Ji-wan cries at the desk where Kang-jin used to work. Kang-jin sobs in his car.
It’s a sight that tugs at the hearts of both mothers, who watch their children from a distance.
And so, Chun-hee calls Young-sook for a talk at the cafe. Chun-hee inquires after Ji-wan, and gets back the polite response that she’s fine. Chun-hee replies that Kang-jin is fine, too. Then she gets to the point, asking bluntly whether Ji-wan smiles these days. “My Kang-jin doesn’t. Is Ji-wan happy? My Kang-jin is unhappy. It seems like he’s trying his best, but he doesn’t look happy. Does Ji-wan cry?”
Young-sook hurriedly speaks up, but Chun-hee goes on: “My Kang-jin cries sometimes.” She informs Young-sook that he will be leaving Korea in a week for work, and will be gone for three years. However, she and Bu-san are both pretty sure he’s actually planning to stay away a lot longer than that.
Young-sook tries to maintain her calm, but her hands shake. When she gets home that day and sees the bare kitchen table, she’s reminded of all the happy times she spent there with Kang-jin, back when she believed he was her son.
As a last goodbye, Kang-jin revisits his mother’s old tearoom in Sancheong, then the river. Standing on the bridge, he looks at the pendant in his hand and remembers all the teenage scenes that occurred as a result of the pendant — how he’d lost it, how Ji-wan had tried to retrieve it for him, how he had confessed his feelings for her.
I appreciate that these recollections are captured in stills, rather than in motion, because it strengthens the feel that these are old memories, to be kept in the past like photographs to allow one’s current life to continue. To underscore that point, Kang-jin opens his hand and lets the pendant fall. As it drops into the water, he breathes, as though in relief.
Then, as he walks on, he comes face to face with Ji-wan.
They haven’t spoken in a year; he looks intently at her, and lets her establish the mood. Ji-wan smiles pleasantly, phrasing her question as a stranger would: “Are you a resident here?” Playing along, Kang-jin answers, “Not anymore. I used to live here.”
Ji-wan replies, “I see. I used to live here, too. Then do you know a man who lives here named Cha Kang-jin?” Still polite, he says, “I do. What is it about?”
Ji-wan says, “My mother asked me to convey her greetings to him. Before he leaves the country, she asked him to come eat dinner at our house.”
The significance of this is clear: Ji-wan waits for his response, both hopeful and nervous. The longer his silence stretches, the more her confidence flags, and she adds, “If you don’t have anything to say, I’ll go…” She waits a little more, hesitantly repeating, “Do you have anything to say?”
Keeping his gaze fixed on her, Kang-jin thinks to himself:
Kang-jin’s voiceover: “How have you been? I missed you. I’m glad to see you looking healthy. I’m really glad.”
Disappointed, Ji-wan says, “Since it seems you don’t have a response, I’ll go now…”
She starts walking away slowly, but she can’t quite believe that he won’t say something or come after her, and steals a glance backward.
Kang-jin watches her walking away, and thinks:
Kang-jin’s voiceover: “Ji-wan once asked me: If time turned back to let us make our choices again, which road would we choose? I told her, if time turned back, I would choose the same path. If I just have her — if I just have the woman walking in front of me — I would willingly, gladly choose that path again.”
And now, he starts to follow after her, walking (literally) into the light. The camera pulls back, and in the distance, he catches up to her.
COMMENTS
I’m still not sure how I feel about this finale. On one hand, just the fact that nobody died and our leads ended up together should be cause for relief, if not outright celebration. We even got a few extraneous happy endings to add to the glow, such as with Woo-jung and Tae-joon, and Bu-san and Jin-kyung. I never really cared about the latter coupling, but the former surely deserves their second chance, now that both have mellowed out a bit, matured, and learned to appreciate what a good thing they had going. If anything, watching star-crossed lovers struggle so mightily to love each other must have taught them not to take their relationship for granted.
The ending isn’t quite bittersweet — it’s actually pretty positive, so I think it’s too happy to be bittersweet — but it still leaves me wanting a little more, so I’m not perfectly satisfied.
I think I am of two (disparate, opposing) minds about our finale. (1) On an intellectual level, I understand why the writer chose to do things this way, but (2) as a viewer who has laughed and (okay, mostly) cried with these characters for weeks, I wanted more.
For example, I understand Young-sook’s plea for Kang-jin to cut ties with her family. I did not like it, but I could see that it wasn’t her being a villain determined to ruin his happiness. So I won’t complain that it’s a plot contrivance, but I will complain that it made the ending somewhat anticlimactic.
I loved that Chun-hee went to Young-sook to inform her about Kang-jin and remind her that the kids aren’t happy. I understand why the writer chose to keep this moment small, rather than going big and emotional like in the previous episode when Chun-hee begged for Young-sook to let go. Young-sook needs to come to the decision on her own, so pushing her won’t achieve the desired effect. She has to make that step on her own. But still, I wanted more of a compelling reason for Young-sook to change her mind. She goes home and remembers Kang-jin acting like her loving son, and that’s it? I wanted a bigger epiphany for Young-sook — like a scene of her talking to Ji-yong, maybe of him urging her to let go, or something to really convey that she is healed.
And I also understand why the writer framed the ending this way — this is teh first time these kids have had a completely clean slate, so now they get their second chance. No guilt, since Young-sook has forgiven the Cha family, and no opposition, since Young-sook has now extended her olive branch. It’s like Kang-jin’s ending narration — if they had the chance to make their choices over again, he’d choose the same way as long as he had Ji-wan. This is their second chance to make that choice, and now he has Ji-wan with him, so no matter what happens, there will be no regrets.
So I understand that the writer opted for an understated, quiet ending — she’s already given us the melodramatic big gestures, so this would be a refreshing contrast. I understand it, but dammit, I’m Korean and I’ve got a love for melodrama running in my veins — gimme that grand, definitive gesture already!
As for the drama as a whole…
Despite the melodrama tag, this drama was actually infused with a refreshingly light, enjoyable atmosphere. That’s particularly true of the early episodes, and had the drama ended with Episode 10, I’d have been firmly in love with it.
There was a lot of goodness after Episode 10, but that’s where my feelings start to grow conflicted. I understood why things happened the way they did, but I wasn’t enjoying the angst as much. The angst in the first ten episodes was actually a lot of fun (in my opinion), because we always had a payoff and relationship growth accompanying it. In the drama’s latter third, it started feeling like angst for the sake of angst. Poor Go Soo and Han Ye-seul! Did they even realize what they were getting into?
Of course, I say that in jest because both leads have certainly benefited from this drama, despite its middling ratings (it ended today with a 10.9%). I read a few complaints that Go Soo’s tortured acting became tiring to watch, but I think those are in the minority; this drama has been touted as the “Rebirth of Go Soo.” He’s had successful roles in the past, but this and Into the White Night have really established him as not only a pretty face but a pretty strong, intense actor as well.
The responses to Han Ye-seul have been more tempered, and I’ve run across a lot of articles and reviews that qualify her performance, saying, “Even though she has vastly improved her acting here, it’s still lacking…” I agree with that, but on the whole I think Han has acquitted herself pretty well. She could have done more with her role, for sure (and I wish…!), but her efforts to improve are evident; in some of the recent episodes, I thought she showed even more range of expression than Go Soo. She’s still an actress who has difficulty fully immersing herself in character, and she’ll have to choose carefully in the future, but she’s made a lot of strides to distance herself from her old image as a pretty face with marginal acting skill.
And we can’t leave out Jo Min-soo, who played a character who could have been merely irritating and brash, yet instead gave Chun-hee a lot of depth. I could see a number of other middle-aged actresses attempting this role and making Chun-hee hateful, but Jo hit upon that tricky balance of assertive, immature, and vulnerable. Her scenes with Go Soo were simply wonderful.
So I have to conclude that while the ending didn’t leave quite the strong impression I wanted it to, I am glad I went counter to my impulse to avoid all things melodramatic and gave this drama a whirl. I doubt anyone would call it one of Lee Kyung-hee’s best works (not when she has I’m Sorry, I Love You and Thank You to live up to) but it’s not her worst and I wouldn’t dismiss it entirely, either. In between the copious angst and tears, there were a lot of delightful moments.
Will It Snow For Christmas is pretty much a straight, standard melodrama, and some have said that it feels a bit out of step with current trends, or dated. I agree, and the ever-so-slightly-faded color palette and melodic score enhances that feel. However, I look at it in a glass-half-full way; it’s reminiscent of earlier melo fare, but with better acting, music, and overall production quality, making it a “classic” kdrama romance.
RELATED POSTS
- Will It Snow For Christmas: Episode 15
- Will It Snow For Christmas: Episode 14
- Will It Snow For Christmas: Episode 13
- Will It Snow For Christmas: Episode 12
- Will It Snow For Christmas: Episode 11
- Go Soo: “I didn’t know this role would be this painful”
- Will It Snow For Christmas: Episode 10
- Will It Snow For Christmas: Episode 9
- Will It Snow For Christmas: Episode 8
- Will It Snow For Christmas: Episode 7
- Will It Snow For Christmas: Episode 6
- Will It Snow For Christmas: Episode 5
- Will It Snow For Christmas: Episode 4
- Will It Snow For Christmas: Episode 3
- Will It Snow For Christmas: Episodes 1-2
Interview with Kim Yoo-jung
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51 ellen
January 29, 2010 at 7:18 AM
Thank you. I'm happy with the ending.Young sook has decided to forgive & accept Kang Jin. So the relationship for Kang & Ji wan is now free of emotional garbage baggage. The can now go on with their love life free & fresh. Its an ending full of hope ( yes, it will snow FOR Christmas) & at last peace & happiness for KJ & JW. Ending with KJ following JW full of hope for their love strikes me as the opposite emotion when they separated ways when they were teens.
Won't it be nice if we see them get married & have their six kids around the house 10 years later?
I'm Sorry I love you is still in my system. The ending shocked me so much I felt down for a few days. Watched it again to make myself better because I was aware of the ending. SO I CAN'T COMPLAIN ABOUT THE ENDING OF WISFC. A DECENT ENDING.
GO Soo's performance is as good as ever. His facial expression never fails to move me. Thank you Go Soo for your good looks & ability to act well. HAN YE SEUL is impressive. I expected her/JW to be subdued while carrying that burden for 8 yrs. Then she delivered without overacting as she recovers from her stunned state.
THANK YOU!
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52 mean
January 29, 2010 at 7:18 AM
thanks JB! for hanging there with the recaps...i think i will take a break from watching more of this kind of dramas. :) If not for Go Soo, i woundnt reach the end.
I hope JB will let us know if any new project will come for the writer.. :)
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53 serendipity
January 29, 2010 at 8:00 AM
Wow. I am quite possibly the only person on the planet who feels that the ending was TOO happy. I mean, I dunno, I feel as if the drama betrayed its essence. After all the angst and ill-fate, suffering and all... that's it? Suddenly Ji Wan's mum feels sorry, and all is well? Huh? For the way this drama put us through the wringer, I thought that at least one character had to die, sacrificed on the altar of emotional excess. I mean, I went along with the drama by Embracing the Tragedy; and then the tragedy was wrested away from me. What?!
I like the artistry of the ending, how it circled back to the start of everything and eschewed the grand gesture. The long-distance pull-back shot of the bridge right at the end was particularly nice. But as plot it leaves a lot to be desired.
This drama was a slow-motion train-wreck-in-the-making, at its heart. And I feel as if at the last minute they just got cold feet and thought "Eeks, everything loves Go Soo, we'd better let him live happy or everyone will hate us forever." And they chickened out and plumped for the happy ending. And tried (pathetically) to disguise the U-turn by giving us an *ambiguously* happy ending. And by making their actors make the most of the (short-lived) Tragedy by crying their heads off -- please pass them each an award and an aspirin, and as for Kang Jin, just go ahead and hand him the sainthood on a platter.
Verdict on series:- Not bad for its genre, not bad at all. You need to go with the flow and the crazy. But don't get *too* sucked in, or you'll likely feel frustrated.
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54 anjell
January 29, 2010 at 8:02 AM
excellent writing JB! love your comments ;)
i personally didn't like the ending....but i don't regret watching the drama... seeing go soo again after a long time was worth my time ;)
i am kinda getting tired of stories wherein the parents' unfortunate past gets in the way of the happiness of the main characters...
i will be staying away from melodramas for a while... i need something funny and romantic! ^^
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55 anjell
January 29, 2010 at 8:05 AM
@48 RandomTouristX
WOAH!!! exactly! like you got the words out of my mouth!
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56 Lan
January 29, 2010 at 8:51 AM
Javabeans, I'm still so confused about this drama. I still don't know what exactly happened between Chun Hee, Yoong Sook and Jun Su in the past. It looked like you could have seen it both ways - CH taking YS's things away, or YS taking CH's life away... Also, what happened to Jun Su (I know he died, but no one cared beyond that)? Also, it looks like Kang Jin's real father plays no significance, it's just another of Chun Hee's random encounters? And so Ji Wan is really YS's daughter, no "mystery" there, only YS didn't treat her nicely and fairly???
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57 Firewife
January 29, 2010 at 8:57 AM
Okay..I didn't hate the ending, but I didn't love it either. It needed to be about 30 seconds longer. Just enough time for us to see KJ catch up to JW and maybe clasp her hand or something. Pulling back to the aerial shot where we can barely see their figures on the bridge just put us viewers at a distance, physically and emotionally, too soon to get the kind of emotional payoff I was hoping for. For me watching this drama was like playing the stockmarket... a lot of investment, but not enough return.
I'm going to go rewatch some of my favorite Smile You moments and cheer myself up.
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58 Sissy
January 29, 2010 at 9:34 AM
I totally agree. The ending was good but it just didn't satisfy me fully. It is a happy ending but there's so many questions! Does Young-Sook finally allow the two to date? Will he change his mind about staying wherever it is that he's going for more than 3 years? Does the neighbor's son finally get to go on a successful blind date? (jk)
But it was a good show overall ... I really enjoyed reading the recaps. Thanks so much javabeans!
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59 cans
January 29, 2010 at 9:38 AM
@56 Lan,
From what I understand, Chun Hee and Jun Su were in love and Yong Sook, who was Chun Hee's friend, stole him away. Even using the Oriental Medicine practice that Yong Sook's father owned to lure Jun Su away. Jun Su chose financial stability over love. Heartbroken Chun Hee decided to leave but asked Jun Su to run away with her, but Jun Su never showed up at the bus stop -- which is why Jun Su showing up at the bus stop the 2nd time around was so significant.
For Kang Jin's father, my take is because he's such a mystery and plays no significance in Kang Jin's life, the pendant is more symbolic. That pendant was the only connection Kang Jin had with his father, proof that Kang Jin was acknowledged by his father.
I did wonder why Ji Wan never asks Chun Hee about her father. Maybe when he left with Chun Hee and destroyed Ji Wan's chances with Kang Jin, she wrote him out of life.
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60 Zuru
January 29, 2010 at 9:52 AM
Another good drama has come to an end =)
Thank you all for watching this drama and sharing your feelings, together, like this
I really enjoy the drama, because there's a slice of reality in it: Love is sth you need to nuture, not a fate. As our Asian elders say, meeting sb is sth you are blessed with - but you have to go a long way to develop your relationship in whatever direction you want it to be - The outcome is truly in your hands.
That's it. - KJ and JW might be anyone else out there that you come across on the street - but they are special to one another in their very own waya. What is so great about this couple is how they do really strive for their love, with dignity. Such a mighty struggle, as Javabean says, even stretch out its effect onto other couples, other lovers, other ones.
Love alone is not enough, however. With their conciousness, they endure a painful journey to the end, but that's how they can love each other with their best - no regrets, no guilty, no hurt anymore.
Or else, there would be always this hauting question: "KJ, JW - what is so great about your love that you abandon other people, that you ignore others' lives, that you can cover your ears to just go with that love???"
You see the result reflected in their parents' story - JW's dad and KJ's mom did leave everything else behind to go with their love, you cannot argue that if their love is not as great as their children's love or not because there's no criteria for you to do so.
Just as KJ's mom says to JW, just as WJ once said to TJ, yes, you can live without love though there'll be a hole in your heart that you know you can never fill it up... that's why they still live their lives, separately, like that, for one year, for more than one years...
I guess after a while, when negative feelings of people like hatred had time to fade away little by little, when people had time to reflect on themselves - they would realize that: Yes, I have my pains, you have your pain, everyone has their pains - so what? To live on, with pain, or moving it to the side and give love to their lives instead?
Yes, you owe me, I owe you, people out there owe to one another and I think that you haven't paid your debt much enough, so what? - I will wait there until I feel satisfied with your paying debt or just move forward, be the first to release this tension between me and you - to give us a clean start and thus give smile to both my life and your life? - That's it. The art of tolerance.
I understand why KJ and JW respect JW's mom's decision - you know, when the other party is so aggressive, you need to be in your right mind and don't let yourself go away with that craziness - you need to lay low, if you really really want to retain your relationship with that person...
Maybe both KJ and JW cannot be sure that a happy ending will come to them at the end of the tunnel, but they still do it in with righteousness - I respect their love for that :)
---------------
Haiz, yeah, however, despite all said and done, the end is inadequate for me :(( in the sense that I don't have that *phew* feeling at the end of the day - no, I want more, more for KJ and JW for the sake of wanting-to-phew!!! :(( poor me, fangirl! T_T
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61 Sonam
January 29, 2010 at 9:55 AM
Angst for the sake of angst perfectly sums up this drama. You are far too kind to HYS. As far as I am concerned she shouldn't go near a melodrama ever again.
@24 Agree! It did end for me there. I stopped watching and just read the recaps here.
@48 Great comment!
GS......I felt your pain!
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62 D
January 29, 2010 at 10:41 AM
so this is the end.
as a rule i do not analyze my dramas (esp a melo), i just take it as it is and move on tho sometimes it's hard to do..
it's a decent ending and i'm ok with it. (cos it doesent make me go WHATTTTT?)
thanks JB for all your speedy recaps...
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63 ockoala
January 29, 2010 at 11:03 AM
JB, thank you for the recaps, I really enjoyed reading them and keeping up with the drama even though I stopped watched awhile ago. Hhmm, I have nothing substantive to add with respect to the story, only that I think Go Soo has returned from the army in awesome acting form. Can't wait to see more of him onscreen.
@ Sonam
"she shouldn’t go near a melodrama ever again"
Unless it's to do her patented OPW that looks like she's having an epileptic attack, or to call out "Princess, where are you, Princess?" :-) I like HYS, but melodramas are not suited for her.
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64 diane
January 29, 2010 at 11:16 AM
Overall, I liked this drama. At times it was painful to watch.
I'm still mulling over the ending. I would have loved to have seen them hug or have one of those wonderful Go Soo kisses. Thinking about it, maybe this was the perfect ending. KJ following JW into a new life together, at long last.
After watching ep 15 and parts of this episode, I found myself almost hating the parents. Regardless of what they did to their own lives, they had to inflict their baggage onto their children. It was painful to see the terrible guilt these young people carried and felt they had to atone for. At least Chun-hee could see what this mess was doing to them and got involved. Maybe this drama should be shown in Psych 101-Don't do this to your kids.
I did like the acting. Go Soo was intense (love those eyes) Han Ye-seul did get better as time went on. I read that her acting was wooden in the beginning. I thought she was like a ghost of a person considering the trauma she was carrying around. Loved it when she finally made peace with the past and moved on. She became the voice of reason as time went on.
After a while, I might watch this again. This one will be hard to forget.
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65 eiko
January 29, 2010 at 11:56 AM
I just watched the final episode and I am still going by what I felt earlier...and I will also say that the ending left it all up in the air and just because the conversation with himself said he loved her, etc. doesn't mean anything until he actually commits himself to the relationship. Looking at his track record I definitely wouldn't hang in there and be hopeful the way Ji Wan was.
Also....I had made a comment several episodes ago about the mother's being more concerned about their own selfish motives....I didn't believe Young Sook had amnesia.
I'm glad this is over....if anyone wants to watch a delightful melodrama Stars Falling From the Sky is fun! The children are great! Just really a nice break from WISFC!
Have a peaceful weekend everyone!
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66 Bogoshipda
January 29, 2010 at 12:00 PM
thanks javabeans for the reviews.. as for me, this is a reasonable melodrama.. have seen better ones and seen some worse ones.. so the score is mediocre for me..
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67 Sha21
January 29, 2010 at 12:52 PM
First time commenting here but have been lurking for a month now...I really enjoyed reading your recaps on this drama. you have a wonderful site and your reviews are delightful and spot on.
This drama had so much promise but the plot just got totally haywired after ep 10. But I kept on watching just to see how it would turn out. I'm really sad that they weren't able to pick up the story line. What a drama this would've been if only.. !
While watching the final episode, I was thinking that I wasn't exactly feeling it. It had some moments but overall it was lacking. It must have been because of the exhausting plot. Every scene felt like a "filler," which is why (I'm guessing) I loved the ending! The quiet way that they chose to end it seem to have had an impact on me. The simplicity definitely put an end to the scenes that were going nowhere. I loved their reunion on the bridge, which held so many memories for them. I also loved what Kang Jin said on the voice over that he would choose the same path again if it means that he can have Ji Wan. All the crazy things that he did, he did so he can be with Ji Wan. The ending was just so perfect for these characters. And a welcome relief that it's over.
I love Kang Jin but his character should've been developed more. I was expecting that during the last few episodes to my dismay.Oh well. I hope to see Go Soo again in a better drama.
Thanks, Javabeans. I truly appreciate what you're doing here and for an opportunity to rant. All the best!!
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68 yumi-chan
January 29, 2010 at 1:28 PM
I actually loved this drama.
It was the drama fest that most drama carry these days.
It was slow tempered and pulled you along in a light way.
I love the fact that a car didn't blow up and that someone didn't get shot. :D
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69 su-pah
January 29, 2010 at 1:37 PM
64 diane - I'm totally re-watching this now... from the start. Just going to skip the part where she wees in her pants --- hahahah!!
I mean, do you see the look on KJ's face? Aiiiiissh!! Thank God it's just a drama.
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70 Bobo
January 29, 2010 at 3:37 PM
I feel like I have come out of mourning for this couple, haha. I think the ending was the best it could have been given a plot that went awry after episode 10. I can't say I enjoyed watching this series, but somehow I am glad I did. I think I am more in love with the overall dark atmosphere show (especially in the first episodes) than the actual show itself. The concept of guilt and forgiveness was interesting on paper, but didn't translate well during execution. Thanks so much for the recaps and explanations Javabeans! I don't think I would have made it through the show sane without them!
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71 andygal86
January 29, 2010 at 4:03 PM
Thank you for your wonderful recaps Javabeans! I have been watching and following this series after reading your insightful recaps! I, like the others, was not satisfied with the ending, but thank God the writer didn't give Kang Jin a terminal illness or the usual melodrama tragedies! I thought Go Soo did such a wonderful job with Kang Jin. Anytime he turned on the waterworks, I was faithfully following along with him with my own! Han Ye Seul also portrayed her character quite well, except for maybe a few of the beginning episodes. This show was such a rollercoaster of emotions, and like Kang Jin said, if I had a chance to do again, I would watch this show again. My favorite scene will always be when Kang Jin proposed to Ji Wan, and they are sitting in front of the fireplace drawing the floor plan to their house! Once again, thank you for your lovely recaps!
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72 21today
January 29, 2010 at 4:13 PM
i want Jiwan's beige jacket!!!!!!!
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73 Molly
January 29, 2010 at 4:17 PM
Oh wow. I can't believe this is the end; I got to the last scene in your recap and became so anxious, impatient, and expectant that he'd go back to her, hug her, kiss her, and the like. The ending is consistent with the drama, but I can't help wishing for more. They're healed, but not cured of their previous conflicts, and I believe that a grand, dramatic scene would cure them somewhat.
My complaints: I'm still very curious about what happened to Jun-su's body. It would have been unfair for Chun-hee to deal with it alone and have his family absent, yet at the same time, it would have been awkward for her to call them. And I'm still very curious about Chun-hee's history with Jun-su too. :(
Now I'm going to have to watch this myself. It seems like a sadder finale, but at least there's hope right? It reminds me of Gone With the Wind, my favorite novel of all time. I won't give away the ending here (because if you haven't read it, you are simply missing out on waaaay too much) but they're similar in tone.
Thanks so much, Dramabeans, for this wonderful recap series. I am now in love with Go Soo, and he beats Hyun Bin on my list...which is quite impressive actually. :) I enjoyed reading your recaps every week, and while I couldn't read the finale immediately after it was posted like I did with the other recaps, waiting a day made reading it all the more enjoyable and worthwhile. I appreciate all you do!
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74 mimi
January 29, 2010 at 4:47 PM
What dramas like this always make me wonder is: Are there really people (like Young Sook) out there? She was so bitter about the way her life had turned out that she blamed others for everything.
1. Her son's death - Yes, he did go looking for Kang Jin's necklace but... Umm... One very important fact is that he never asked him to. If she really needed to find fault, she should have blamed her own son who, it seems, was not a very good swimmer to begin with (and that river looked like it was 2 ft deep...)
2. Her husband dying - Umm, does she know science? Madame Cha nor KangJin could have caused his brain tumor. He either had a hereditary disposition to it or it was environmental factors. Namely, her cooking.
3. Her husband "leaving" with Madame Cha - I really don't like it when the truth doesn't come out. The story came out all twisted: Madame Cha was actually on her way out of town when her husband begged her to leave w/ him. And the important part: SHE NEVER LEFT WITH HIM BECAUSE HE DIED IN THE CAR!
Young Sook's hatred ran so deep that when Ji-Wan said they should live together and that she should move out, she said a firm 'no'. In essence, she denied her daughter again all because of her anger. She chose a stranger, KangJin, to live with in order to get revenge.
But one before I leave:
Why did Young Sook get KangJin's house?? Didn't make sense.
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75 diane
January 29, 2010 at 4:56 PM
@69 su-pah, I thought I was going to try and find a light hearted comedy. Well, I'm watching a very dark Jdrama, Journey into the Midnight Sun.
I guess I must be in one of those moods right now. Weather is freezing and the skies are gray, adds to the atmosphere.
I agree with you, when I watch it again, I fast forward through some of the parts too.
Also wanted to say thank you to JB for your thoughtful recaps of this drama. I loved reading each one.
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76 giddygirl108
January 29, 2010 at 5:00 PM
Although I haven't watched this one yet for my personal opinion, I'd have to agree with you (based solely on the stills you've provided) on Jo Min-Soo's acting. I find that in a lot of Kdramas, these characters end up being so annoying and inhibiting to the plot line, that you're constantly thinking, "wtf already, let your kid be happy!! Arrggghhh!!!" But her scenes have been very conflicted and show that her decisions are not so simple and wholly selfish.
As for the lead up to the end, the handling of the last few episodes have been pretty ugh for me. I mean, I definitely understand Young-sook's reasons for wanting the two to stay apart and yes, it'd be quite a miracle if things were suddenly ok after her sickness but garsh, the use of Young-sook's angst was just gawd-awful. It's not compelling at all to me; it just ended up feeling so contrived.
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77 august
January 29, 2010 at 5:01 PM
l loved the kids in the early episodes, best and most believable parts acted.
i enjoyed thisdrama to begin with but it steadily became irritating and frustratiing to watch and the ending was lacking.
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78 Madita
January 29, 2010 at 5:22 PM
@mimi -74
I totally agree with you.
Maybe they will make WISFC-2 (just kidding) but this time a romcom, with a happy - more talkative KangJin. Would like to see GS in a comedy now. While HYS is always good in comedies. She created even the only funny and loughable scene in this whole drama with her fake injury in the univ.library.
An maybe they will answer all left open questions in this drama, I give us the desired happy moments, LOVE-lly scenes, KJ and JW rarely had. Wasn't this a lovestory?
At least I am greatfull that the scriptwriter has not killed either KangJin nor JiWan...so I try to be satisfied with this strange Happy-End.
Byebye WISFC and thanks a lot to JB for recapping so beautifully and good (I cried today at work while a read your heartbreaking recap - thank good I was alone in the office - you should write a novel JB, you have a ability for capturing your readers)
Thanks also to all commenters, I enjoyed your comments a lot (despite the harsh critics about HYS acting - for me, I really liked her acting)
Well, whats next to watch....?
No City Hallers, Tamna Islanders and now Christmas snowflakes available so far. Who will be our next favourite couple on the screen?
Smile and Stars Falling from the Sky are definetly not enough :P
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79 RD
January 29, 2010 at 5:30 PM
Finally caught the last episode and I had the same feelings about the ending: satisfied but no perfectly because I wanted more.
Thanks for the recaps javabeans and WISFC will stay with me as a great drama
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80 Jasmin
January 29, 2010 at 6:19 PM
I was somewhat satisfied with the ending. There were a few things that I would have liked to have seen\happen before the end of the series.
1) The audience is left to believe that Kang-jin and Ji-wan will eventually have the "happy ending" but as a viewer and being a woman, I would have loved to see them have that happy ending moment. I.E - Ji-wan and Kang-jin living in the atelier as a happy married couple with their 2-6 kids running around; Ji-wan and Kang-jin happily eating dinner with Young-sook; or even Ji-wan and Kang-jin visiting the grave sites of Ji-wan's brother and father and telling them everything eventually turned out OK. Is it too much to ask to that big gesture. If the writer is going to pluck at your heart strings throughout the series at least give us that big happy ending moment. Geesh! (lol)
2) Having Ji-wan invite him for dinner was a gesture of forgiveness, I would have preferred if we actually would have seen it happen. As a viewer, I hoped that we were given the opportunity to see Young-sook finally put closer to her resentment with Kang-jin, especially everything he had endured the three years he pretended to be her son.
3) I really was wanting to know the full spectrum of Young-sooks issues with her daughter. Throughout the whole series we witnessed her treat Ji-wan second rate compared to her son. I was really curious as to why she was like that as a mother. I don't think it was just because he was the eldest son. Something must have happened for her to treat her daughter that way. I just can't buy the whole Ji-wan was not as smart as talented as her brother bit.
4) Continuation from the previous point.....Ji-wan and Young-sook's relationship. We see that Ji-wan sticks to her mothers side but was their relationship any better. Do they eventually form a bond other than Ji-wan being a good daughter byt taking care of her frail mother. Was all the emotional problems from the past and present resolved? I wanted to hear all the answers Ji-wan had asked Young-sook at the end of Ep. 15 andswered
Ji-wan to Young-sook: "Then why did you have me? You should have just given birth to him, then. Am I not your child if I’m a bad student? Am I not your child if I’m not first place? Am I not your child if I’m dumb and immature? Remember that you have me in your life too, not just oppa! I may be foolish and inadequate, but remember that I’m your child!”
Overall, I was pleasantly satisfied from the series. It brought on the heartache and some happy moments. I was overjoyed about the fact that 2 main characters suffered or died from a major illness.
Once again, thanks Javabeans for the recaps and your wonderful insight of the series. When I first tuned into korean dramas, I mainly watched them for the hot guys. But after reading your recaps I started learning how to dissect the plots and maybe get more of an insight into the drama. Great work and I always look forward to your recaps. Now I just need the motivation to watch Wish Upon a Star.
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81 lc
January 29, 2010 at 10:41 PM
嗯
喜歡你的博客
對於聖誕的結局 我跟你的想法很相似
說不上很滿意 卻是預料之中
SORRY...i should po English....forgive me
anyway, i like ur blog and...i keep visiting it...
have a grest day ....
PS it snowed here in my hometown~~
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82 Atsirk
January 30, 2010 at 1:05 AM
Oh, Go Soo...Oh, Go Soo...
It's an OK ending, but it should've
been better :)
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83 Suzy
January 30, 2010 at 9:12 AM
Thanks Javabeans! for the faithful 16 recaps! i do agree with you that i too felt that the ending wasnt satisfying, i was expecting more :/ but oh well, at least i am relieved that it is a Good ending, considering the fact that the writer had a tendency to move to a sadder ending for her previous drama...Maybe they are going to have a second part...haha my wish -_-, but yea a better ending would be great. To me, this was a drama worth watching, there were parts that both actors portrayed brilliantly, you can see they really put in a 110%, :), so im very hesitant when i come across comments on how poor their "acting" was...but nevertheless thats their opinion, anyway Go Soo is the next best thing to watch!!! Totally in love with him man!!! hahaha, once again, thanks for the interesting insights!
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84 lei
January 30, 2010 at 9:16 AM
@74 mimi -- LOL at the environmental factors that could have caused jun su's illness - his wife's cooking! but i agree with all you said. i also wondered about the house. wasn't that KJ's
i wish the ending would have gone something like this --- KJ was in fact waiting for YS to just acknowledge that she's gotten her memory back rather than him coaxing it out of her. i guess that's the respectable thing to do. but when she finally admits it, he should have just said, ok, now you know what's going on. he and JW will go ahead and date/get married. YS can choose whether to accept them or not, but they're not gonna go on wallowing in guilt for things that weren't their fault. (or better yet, he can say that ok, you know the truth now so i'm having madam cha stay in the house too as she's my real mother. you two can duke it out as you please :)) that would have been torture for YS :)
i guess that's my main issue with this story. i would have completely loved the drama if they had addressed that guilt issue. KJ and JW were forever making amends for sins they did not commit. JW had been able to snap out of it and i find it quite uncharacteristic for KJ not to.
he'd been portrayed as a strong character. he overcame a difficult childhood to become a successful architect. he willingly threw away his career if it meant setting things right. sure, he did it for JW, but how he confronted WJ about the construction accident in ep2 shows that he's one willing to take on anyone if he sees something wrong. why do they need to have YS "forgive" KJ. it should have been the other way around.
this is my first korean melodrama. i had high hopes for a satisfying ending from ep 1 to 15. the last was such a let down. i think i'll stay away from the genre in the foreseeable future. is it monday yet? i need my WUAS fix :)
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85 jen
January 30, 2010 at 9:19 AM
i'm so sad that it's over.. but I'm disappointed about the ending. I can understand why the writer decided to do that, but still not satisfied...
I thought Han Ye Seul really improved in her acting and succeeded in changing her image.
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86 myeong jang
January 30, 2010 at 9:45 AM
Argh. I don't know. The ending disappointed me. I like that they finally get a clean start, but meh. I really didn't like how heavily they focused on Young Sook in the later episodes. The drama was doing so well in the beginnning with the conflicts carefully tying into each other, and then suddenly it fell into the trap of one evil villain messing everything up for everyone.
I'm also not very happy with the let's-tie-everyone's-ends-up-nicely. I cringed so much during the Tae Joon/Woo Jung scene. Don't get me wrong, Tae Joon has become more likeable, but I don't think he should be getting back with Woo Jung. It's too perfect and coincidental. (However, I thought Boo San's expression when he realises Jin Kyung is pregnant was adoooorable! ^^)
What I did like about this drama though, was that I did eventually grow to like all the characters. I love Woo Jung a lot more than I do Ji Wan, I adore Boo San and Miss Shin, and of course all the other secondary characters, even the old generation, and the little extras like Ji Wan's supervisor. Heck, I even liked Young Sook - at least when she was suffering from memory loss, because she was actually a genuinely sweet lady then. It's just a shame she went all crazy bitch when she regained her memory, since that kinda spoiled the effect of 'aww, she's actually human!'.
The little moments in the drama were overall pretty cute, but the ones that drove me absolutely INSANE were Kang Jin's soppy lectures. The lecture hall is not a place for preaching about love!
Oh, and I have one complaint. What happens to Jae Hyun? No sweet romantic ending for him? Aw, Jae Hyun was my favourite character :(
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87 more
January 30, 2010 at 9:50 AM
The ending was dumb they wasted 13 years for nothing. I honestly would not watch this again it started off great but ended terrible.
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88 whatsupalisa
January 30, 2010 at 9:57 AM
i really loved this drama in the beginning because it was so sweet and it moved quickly. i dont know when it all started to slow down and the plot started focusing on the moms and i got bored and i didn't really like it as much as i did anymore.
i also felt bad for the supporting actor (song kang ho) and actress (sun woo sun) because they just didn't have a big part in this drama anymore and i thought they would try to pursue kangjin and ji wan but they kind of gave up.
i dont really know what happened.
i also really didn't like the ending. i know that we expect that it ended happily but i wish we didn't have to assume it and they wouldve shown it to us.
oh well. maybe it's cuz im such a girl!
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89 ar
January 30, 2010 at 10:13 AM
Thanks for the recap!!! I don't know how I feel abt the ending. I mean it implies that Ji wan's mother has given in and decide to let Ji wan and Kang jin to finally be together after like a bajillion years. But what if he goes to that dinner and Ji Wan's mother tells them both to stop crying over each other making their respective mothers feel like crap? After over a decade of heartbreak, I wish we'd get to see them have some real couple time at the end. maybe i'm focusing on the trivial....I KNOW what Kangjin's pendant represents..but I nearly had a heart attack that he tossed it away after what it took to get it back.
I don't really get why Youngsook believes that preventing JiWan and Kangjin together will end this thing between their families and allow her to let go of her resentment. But isn't it obvious that she was forcing history to repeat by doing this? That she was forcing JiWan to be in Chunhee's position? Wouldn't her resentment increase when she sees that JiWan's love for Chunhee's son force her into this sort of unfulfilled life?
I think Youngsook's change of mind is easier to accept knowing that there is that bajillionth timejump. I think there were probably times in the past year when she has thought abt letting go. After all, Kang-jin was the perfect son, even though he wasn't hers and she probably unwillingly missed those times and she has probably seen JiWan cry over him. I don't think she was ever EVIL, but she was just hurt.
Anyways the Taejoon and Woojung scene is really cute!!
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90 rl
January 30, 2010 at 11:55 AM
I loved that he tossed the pendant back into the river. It signified to me the end of the what ever grudges were held in the past.
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91 su-pah
January 30, 2010 at 12:39 PM
90 rl -
At first the pendant symbolised his missing father (which now we can assume was just one of his mother's flings), but when it's returned to him and he learns that Ji Yong died trying to retrieve it, it changed meaning, it reminded him of the debt he owes Ji Yong's family. I think when he tosses it back into the river - he's finally acknowledged that 'he's paid up his debt'.
As far as next dramas go, I'm hooked on WUAS going to watch God of Study and OM-GYN - for SJK.
Hey, he has the same initials as me, same horoscope and he's only a *little* bit younger than me. ;)
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92 linhdtu
January 30, 2010 at 1:54 PM
I like the quiet ending just fine. They have suffered much and I with them ; so I am glad they are together in the end.
Much of the disappointment is because people try too much to juxtapose the events in a kdrama with reality. I understand the desire to bring some sanity into the fantasy of kdrama. I don't bear that burden ; I admit up front I'm here for the heart throbbing, tugging, squeezing as long as the end is what I expect.
In real life people don't get into this kind of situation and if they do, they would realize real fast like JW did after 14 episodes too late ("It was just an accident and nobody fault") and not drag out the self flagellation for so many years.
Thank you for the wonderful recaps, again and again. A fan and an addict of this web site.
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93 su-pah
January 30, 2010 at 4:28 PM
75 diane -
Sorry, the 'next drama to watch' comment was directed at you.
ooh.. Jdramas! Not heard of the one you mentioned but LOVE anything starring Oguri Shun, especially Hana Kimi and Tokyo Dogs.
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94 D33
January 31, 2010 at 1:25 PM
I liked this drama in the beginning. I really did. I also love the chemistry between Han Ji Wan and Kang-jin. It was quite strong in the beginning with the other costars Tae Joon and Woo Jung. I swear, I thought these 2 were goin to fight for Han Ji Wan and Kang Jin until they were black and blue but their characters just slowly died out. Towards the end, it was all about the mothers being selfish and not letting their kids be together because of the bad family history. hmmm,,, Another thing was, Han Ji Wan never knew her father passed away from cancer.....they never really took the time to figure out why he left and his purpose other then they just thought he wanted to be with Kang Jin's mom. I really wish they would have added more drama with Tae Joon and Woo Jung. Woo Jung was soo bitchy in the beginning and then her character just became this sweet girl...would have loved to see the wrath of her come out until the end. ahahha.... I don't know. This drama left me kinda unsure at the end... neither loved it or hate it.... just the feeling like "OH hmm, okie, it's done,,,welllllllll..hmmmm"....ahhaha ggeeesh....
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95 Phyllis
February 1, 2010 at 1:48 AM
Thank you so much for writing the recaps! I have enjoyed your site for about a year.Last fall I was looking forward to watching this drama because I really love "Thank You." There are many things I do not understand about Korean culture. I have noticed that there is a blend of Buddhism and Christianity. I look for spirituality and values in everything I watch. There are many moral lessons in Korean dramas which is one reason I love them.
I feel that you are very generous in your evaluation of this drama. I suppose if I had the opportunity to interview the main character I would do the same! The beginning was very good. I have not watched the last two episodes which really surprises me. I wanted to read your recaps first. I may or may not finish viewing it. The last half of the tale is so morose! I have to say that instead of being a melodrama it seems more like a horror story. I do not believe it is entertainment. It is just too painful and unbelievably melancholy. Watching people cry is getting really really OLD!!!
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96 makcik
February 1, 2010 at 4:35 PM
why can't korean melodrama have a happy + grand ending?.. why?...
why.. after torturering us for soooo many episodes, why can't you guys give them/us a break?
and so.. the cycles continue... i will have a break of watching melodrama for a while... see the romantic comedy drama for a while... and unfortunate months watch melodrama again. you Koreans do know how to make dramas... hahha.
Nevertheless, I'll still gonna watch Koreans drama. I don't know why I'm so attached to you guys.
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97 dikdikju
February 1, 2010 at 11:20 PM
I have just finished watching this drama in two days. I read the recap everytime i finish an episode. There are just something losted in translation. These recaps really helps me fill in the blanks and makes an already awesome tear boosting drama even more melodramatic. I really enjoy it, both the drama and the recaps. Thanks javabeans.
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98 CrimemasterGogo
February 2, 2010 at 10:54 AM
Loved it, the drama was made really well, well acted, well paced and just incredibly moving. Unfortunately the whole mother's memory loss brought it down, it was great up till then, I still give them credit for making such a ridiculous ending quite relatable.
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99 CrimemasterGogo
February 2, 2010 at 11:02 AM
And so Que Sera Sera still stays atop of the best Korean melodrama of them all.
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100 Cindy Le
February 2, 2010 at 6:37 PM
I have to totally agree with you. I actually watched it up to Episode 10, and was loving it! I read your recaps for Episodes 11-16. It saved me all the angst and "wanting to throw the remote at the TV" moments. I've been a silent stalker on your site, but I love your blog!
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