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Miss Ripley: Episode 16 (Final)

Last episode! I wasn’t sure whether Miss Ripley would wrap up in a surge of melodrama or in unearned happy endings, but it delivers a dose of peace and resolution, with a smattering of bittersweetness. It’s somewhat satisfying, though a little pat for my tastes, but most importantly it gives each of our characters an ending that I think is fitting. (Ish.)

This started out a drama about one desperate woman’s lie to save herself from a miserable fate, and became an interesting study on the power of love (and the devastation wrought by a lack thereof). The mother-daughter conflict was a late entry, but emerges as the core of Miri’s conflict, both internal and external.

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FINAL EPISODE RECAP

Yoo-hyun jumps into the water to save Miri after she falls from the dock, and the accident renders her unconscious with a head injury.

Lee Hwa makes a recovery and returns home in time to hear of Miri’s trip to the hospital, but she can’t bring herself to see the daughter she abandoned.

Yoo-hyun explains to the prosecutor that Miri had been resisting Hirayama when she’d sustained the injury, which mitigates the situation, since she wasn’t running away of her own will.

As with Lee Hwa’s bout with unconsciousness, Miri conjures the same dream of meeting her mother in the park. She starts out as an adult, but the image of Adult Miri blends with Young Miri racing toward her mother, which is a little heartbreaking — after all this trauma and angst, these two women really want the same thing. And yet, because of the lives they’ve lived in the interim, they can’t have this simple, pure reunion.

Yoo-hyun sits at Miri’s bedside, and entreats:

Yoo-hyun: “Wake up. I still have so many things I haven’t said to you. I haven’t told you I hated you for lying to me, or asked why you had to be Mother’s daughter. There are things I haven’t done, too. I wanted to go to the movie theater with you and fight over popcorn, and walk down the street and argue about why you were looking at another man. I haven’t been able to do those things yet, or go to those places — so how can you be like this? This is going too far, Miri-sshi.”

He hadn’t been able to express his feelings before, being as conflicted and confused as he was, but now with Miri’s health hovering in the balance, he finds the words. He tells Myung-hoon that he doesn’t know what he’ll do about the future, and that all he can think of right now is wishing Miri would wake up.

Miri continues to dream of her mother, in a mix of past and present. She imagines herself as a child, but her mother’s return after a long absence corresponds to their real-life, 20-year rift. Miri worries that she’ll disappear again, but Mom promises that she won’t go away, and that she missed her like crazy.

There’s something so tragic about these dreams, which is the only state in which both Miri and Lee Hwa can show their love for each other without the bitterness and hate getting in the way. At least on Miri’s end, because now Lee Hwa is wracked with regrets, particularly upon recalling her cruel treatment of the adult Miri.

Yoo-hyun maintains a constant presence by Miri’s bedside, not letting go of his conviction that she’ll wake up despite her worsening condition.

While Yoo-hyun is out, Hirayama makes his own visit, noting ruefully that Miri’s insistence on staying in Korea to pay for her crimes is proof of her feelings for Yoo-hyun. He tells her in a resigned tone that it wasn’t the day she asked him to let her sell cigarettes that they ought to lament, but the day he’d first heard her playing the flute. It’s then that he was first captivated with her, and as he tells her not to remember him too horribly, Hirayama pulls out the wooden flute to play one last song.

His words have a note of finality to them, and sure enough, he tells her he’ll let her go now, so she should wake up now and live as she likes. Nothing like a near-death experience to knock some sense into everybody, huh?

Yoo-hyun hears the sound of the flute from the hallway and sees Hirayama leaving, and races to catch up with him. Offended and upset to see him here, Yoo-hyun demands that Hirayama save Miri, as though it’s a thing he could do.

Hirayama tells to convey a message for him upon Miri’s revival: that he’s letting go of her. That eases some tension from Yoo-hyun’s expression, especially when Hirayama assures him that he means it, and that he’s giving up the idea that Miri is his woman: “I envy you.” Hirayama hands over the flute in a literal baton pass, which I suppose might be more romantic if it didn’t suggest that Miri’s significance is as an object to be passed from man to man…

Lee Hwa musters the courage to visit Miri’s room, tearfully telling her daughter she ought to return to the world so she can take her revenge on her mother. It’s interesting to note that these people appeal to Miri’s hate and bitterness, preferring to have that rather than losing her to death, which is a backwards way of expressing their love.

Lee Hwa:: “If you hate me, wake up. As much as you resent me, as much as you hate me — use that strength to wake up. Wake up and fight with me, dummy, and ask why I left you. Why I left you to live as you did. Argue and swear at me. If you don’t, I’m going to disappear. So wake up. Miri-ya.”

Myung-hoon is arrested, while Miri’s is pending, to be drawn up after she recovers consciousness.

Yoo-hyun asks his father what is to be done, loath leave Miri all alone and damaged. President Song says that there’s no way for her to escape prison time, and advises his son to go his own way and give up on his feelings for her. Dad philosophizes that there’s such a thing as fate between people, and that if it’s not meant to be, you can’t force someone to be that fate: “I don’t think she’s your fate.”

Yoo-hyun says no matter what others do, he and Dad really don’t have the right to cast stones at her: “You should never have let her be abandoned — no, even if she was, you should have taken responsibility for it.” He says that they have to find a solution and give her life back to her.

And then, Miri awakens. She appears to be fine, although the doctor cautions that the extent of her injury requires monitoring and checkups.

Hee-joo tends to Miri while Lee Hwa stands by, both afraid to approach and afraid not to. She tries to tend to Miri as well, but Miri shoves away her hand: “You don’t have that right.” She uses the word dangshin, a thoroughly distancing word she’d use on a stranger — and one she doesn’t like, to boot.

Mom gets down on her knees in that ultimate gesture of supplication, sobbing as she admits that she behaved wrongly, and asks, “What would you like me to do?”

Yoo-hyun and his father arrive at the doorway, and overhear Miri telling her mother she doesn’t want her to do a thing, and that it’s been twenty years that she’s lived as an abandoned orphan.

To get across just how deep the betrayal runs, Miri describes her childhood self looking for her mother every day, and when Mom’s face and voice grew hazy in her memory, she would draw pictures and sing songs. Miri starts to sing now, a folk song Mom used to sing (Island Baby) about a baby left in the house with the sound of the waves while Mom dives for oysters in the sea. We get a lovely chilling effect as Miri’s glaring eyes clash with the lullaby that goes, “The baby is left in the house, alone…” which is when Lee Hwa begs her to stop.

Mom says she’s sorry again, which angers Miri anew. She asks if Lee Hwa enjoyed the riches and nice new house she’d gained while her abandoned child was suffering at the hands of drunk adopted parents, filling her belly with tap water.

Lee Hwa pleads, “Can’t you understand me just a little bit?” She hadn’t known the extent of Miri’s misery, and says, “If I’d known it would be like that—”

Miri cuts her off, ruthlessly laying bare her whole wretched youth, longing for one lousy taste of a dumpling, and why she chose to work in the bars. And then to know that it was Mom who spread those photos of her shameful past far and wide.

Yoo-hyun steps in and tells Miri to stop, but Miri continues, screaming, “How can I forgive you?!”

Yoo-hyun reminds her that this is her mother, and that can’t change just because you want it to. Miri declares that it’s because she’s her mother that she can’t forgive her.

Mom wearily admits she was only thinking of herself and gets up with difficulty, leaving the room. Miri asks Yoo-hyun how she’s supposed to forgive the mother who went on to live happily without her, and breaks down. Aw, I’m actually shedding tears for Miri. It’s hard not to, until you remember how nasty she was to other people, but in this raw, unvarnished state, picking at that rather feels like kicking someone when they’re down.

Now it’s Miri’s turn to face arrest. Dully, she acknowledges everything, telling the prosecutor that she did it all: She forged the diploma and sent the confirmation fax, and her entire persona was a forgery.

He asks why she did it, incredulous at the extent of her actions, saying that she didn’t have to go as far as she did. She answers, “I didn’t know of any other way.” Under her own identity, nobody wanted anything to do with her. All her life, she’d found that being an orphan brought her mistreatment, and being a single woman got her sexually harassed. So she learned that being honest only got her hurt.

Even as she worked in bars, she posed as a university student, created a mother she didn’t have, and fabricated lies of an elegant family background: “But the world is funny that way. When I did that, people approached me more — I got more regular customers, and the tips they gave me increased.”

That’s why she created her fake school credentials: “That one thing is all I needed. With that one thing, the world changed, and I changed.” People started treating her differently, and even love came to her.

Next, Yoo-hyun visits her in the interrogation room, at a loss for words. He starts by apologizing, now that he knows that he’s connected to the source of all her unhappiness. True, he’s done nothing to her to be sorry for, but it’s the whole issue of transferred sins, from father to son. Or at least shared culpability.

When he asks if she had to do what she did, if she couldn’t think of any other methods, she answers that she hadn’t known at the start what a good person he was:

Miri: “But the more time we spent together, I understood, ‘Ah, this is a really good man. When people speak of good people, they must mean someone like him.’ And I started to dream, ‘If I’m with this person, perhaps my shameful and terrible past could be erased. If this person were with me, maybe my crimes would be forgiven and I could be protected.'”

Yoo-hyun says that she should have still come clean with the truth. Miri: “I wanted to, but I couldn’t. I was afraid I’d lose you.”

Yoo-hyun: Yoo-hyun: “That’s not love, that’s greed.”
Miri: Miri: “Yes. I must really have lived not knowing what love is.”
Yoo-hyun: “If we hadn’t met like this, could things have been different?”

A moot question. Miri is transported to prison, and as Yoo-hyun thinks back on all their happier times, the memories bring him to tears.

Then, we jump: One year later.

Myung-hoon is back to practicing medicine, working at a small clinic in the countryside, which sort of cracks me up: He’s discredited from the business world for forgery and fraud, but able to practice medicine? Oh well, I want him to have a happy life, so let’s go with it.

Inmates are released from prison, many of them greeted by family members. Miri steps out of the gates, having served her time, and looks up at the sky a free woman.

President Song wants to send Lee Hwa and Miri to the States together, thinking it may be the most they can do for both women. The tricky part is convincing Miri along with it, but Dad wants them to both work to re-create that family tie, of making Miri into Lee Hwa’s daughter again. To that end, President has agreed to correct the family registry, to make their familial relationship official, which would take her out of theirs. But that, he says, is just a formality — he won’t consider them any less connected than they were.

A bit of jumpy editing takes us to the airport, where Lee Hwa waits for Miri, who has (apparently, in the intervening time) agreed to go with her to the States. Mom waits nervously, while Dad assures her to wait, that Miri is probably just running late.

But no, she’s not. Miri boards a train to the countryside, while Lee Hwa reads a letter left for her:

Miri’s letter: “Mom…It’s taken twenty years to call you that. I still don’t believe it — that I can call you Mom at any time, and that you’ll come quickly if I call you. I’m sorry for not keeping my promise. But I want to stay here. I want to stand up from the start. I want to overcome the painful, shameful days of the past when I’d felt longing but endured it. I’m really sorry I can’t go with you. And I thank you. Because…just as you’d said you’d come if I played with your necklace, just like those words, you did really come. I love you. I love you, Mom.”

It’s with a bittersweet smile that Lee Hwa boards her plan alone.

Meanwhile, Miri travels to her old orphanage, where Hee-joo greets her with a wide smile.

Mondo Group establishes a child welfare center, and Yoo-hyun gives the opening speech. Chul-jin worries that Yoo-hyun’s overworking, and wonders if he’s busying himself because of Miri.

Walking along that night, Yoo-hyun pauses at the sight of a lit sign, which reads, “Knowing how to love yourself is the greatest love of all.” A short distance away, Miri also stops to read the sign, not seeing Yoo-hyun standing just on the other side of the tree that separates them, looking up at the same sign.

She continues on her way, passing behind him, and he walks along. Missed connection. Perhaps for the best, if this is a relationship best left unkindled, so as not to controvert Fate.

Meanwhile, life putters along for our characters, each of them healing in their own ways, some together and some apart. Lee Hwa works at a food bank, with President Song by her side again. Perhaps there was no reason for her to remain abroad, with Miri’s simultaneous acceptance and declining of her mother (acceptance of her identity and relationship, but declining her presence).

Miri and Hee-joo seem to be on the road to a proper friendship this time, which makes me happy for Hee-joo’s benefit at least — perhaps she’ll finally get the friend in Miri that she deserves, unclouded by all that bitter jealousy and resentment.

And Yoo-hyun lives on, though we can’t quite say he’s over Miri, or recovered from the heartbreak. As he runs, he thinks those words that opened the series back in Episode 1:

Yoo-hyun: “On one spring day, I met her. I recognized it at first sight — the woman with eyes like my long departed mother. Her smiling face was beautiful. I’d grown weary of the world, and she taught me the joy of life. She was like my heart. I loved her. I really…loved her.”

 
COMMENTS

What, no Myung-hoon counterpart to the ending? That really says a lot about how the drama changed direction, didn’t it? I suppose you might call this one of the more favorable examples of live-shoot drama production, in that the writing clearly catered to aspects that were resonating with audiences (Hirayama, Lee Hwa), and ditching those that weren’t quite landing as well. Well, favorable for the audiences, though not for the actors who got shunted off to the sidelines, like the wonderful Kim Seung-woo and Kang Hye-jung.

Meanwhile, Lee Da-hae finally has a solid, passionate performance after a few years of seeming half-asleep. I knew she had this in her, and part of what frustrated me so much about her in recent years was the fact that she didn’t seem to be trying. She does have a tendency to overact (gasping, glaring, shuddering), but for the most part she was intense and dialed in to her character, to a degree that was surely exhausting.

Yoochun actually was a pleasant surprise for me, because while I liked him in Sungkyunkwan Scandal, I wasn’t moved by his acting in it. It was cute, he was fine, but he didn’t stir me. In Miss Ripley, he had a few really nice moments where he felt in the moment, wracked with pain and conflict. I don’t just mean the crying (it’s easy to point to crying as an example of emotion), but also those conflicted scenes of him struggling with his conscience in the latter few episodes. His scene with Young Miri in Episode 14, when he realizes his role in Miri’s fate, remains one of my favorites.

I will say in defense of the drama, though, that I don’t think its direction changes were necessarily bad moves, even if it keeps the ending from having quite the thematic resonance that I feel it was set up to have in the first half of the drama. Myung-hoon, for instance, became a non-entity and plot device, while the mirroring image with Hee-joo in the end seemed just to highlight how much they totally dropped that ball, and how great that conflict could have been. I think they pulled waaaay back on Hirayama, because no matter how awesome the actor, it’s a bit much to give the sleazy, sexually harassing pimp/abuser a semi-hero edit in the end. On the Lee Hwa front, though, I am perfectly satisfied, because the tormented mother-daughter relationship is where I really felt this drama emotionally, particularly once the birth secret was out in the open. While it was still a secret, I was afraid it would just be another makjang cliche brought out to wring some melodrama, but it was written in nicely.

Part of me is a bit disappointed that the finale seems a little soft for a drama that was played with such fierceness all throughout its run. Everyone gets their bittersweet-but-uplifting ending, and wounds are on the road to recovery. It’s almost like Hurricane Miri has made their lives better for the revelations she’s left uncovered in her wake, even though she’s also the one who caused so much of that damage. I’m a little disappointed with how neat it all seems, but I do really like that the drama leaves everybody sort of open-ended in their own paths.

I wouldn’t have been happy if Yoo-hyun and Miri ended up together, for instance, no matter how sincere their love was, and if she’d been able to accept Lee Hwa after that traumatic abandonment, I would have felt it too easy a solution to their angst. But I didn’t necessarily want Miri to die, either. For one thing, death tends to put that weird sheen of glory onto a person’s existence, and that would have taught Miri nothing. Her acceptance of her sins, payment of penalty, and subsequent second chance at an honest life seem fitting.

Hopefully Miri’s new start will be a happier, more successful one, because although she embarks on this life without her mother, she has at least acknowledged her love. And I think that’s the crux of her complicated, twisted, anti-heroine characteristics — that she never knew love, as she tells Yoo-hyun even in this last episode. I don’t like Miri as a person, but I can sympathize with her plight. It’s the difference between living a life with the understanding of what unconditional love is, and living without awareness that such a concept even exists. How is anybody supposed to have a healthy idea of what romantic or even friendly love is when the one person who was supposed to be your wellspring of love burned you? It’s like a chick that imprints on an inanimate object instead of its mother; you can’t undo that action once it’s done, and it’ll affect you forever. Now that Miri understands, though, there’s hope.

 
GIRLFRIDAY’S COMMENTS

What really kills me about this drama is that nobody actually went to the dark side. People flirted with it, took little vacations there, but even Miri, who was supposed to be this hardcore unscrupulous anti-heroine, ended up totally watered down.

What’s it take for a show to just take a character down into hell and bring forth some horrifying consequences? By the time she chooses to turn herself in, the jail time isn’t really meaningful anymore, beyond just being her price to pay to society. She’s already learned her lesson, (which by the way, what’s with the conscience out of nowhere?) so it’s resolution, but there’s no drama there.

I did like Miri’s mother angst, and the fallout and resolution of that thread was definitely the most, if not only, satisfying thing. Basically I wanted the overall story to be darker, more tragic, more… something. I feel like it went too soft on everyone, because I guess I’m sadistic like that. I wanted suffering.

If Miri does get a second chance at life, I think this is the only way to do it in a satisfying way — to give her a fresh start without Yoo-hyun and without her mother, despite both those relationships being the core of what she wanted for her entire life. Because they’re also the source of what drove her close to the brink, and part of the version of herself she needed to let go.

Based on where they did choose to take Miri’s character (toward redemption), I’m good with the resolution that they gave her in the sense that what she’s found is peace, not necessarily happiness. Her character was all turmoil, no rest, and in that sense, I do feel relief for her to have finally found some peace.

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Assshhh.. Well we all expected that from the beginning.. but this is just heartbreaking..WHY?? so sad they are separated TT he is still not over her..

I am depressed now TT

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I only watched the first ep of this show, and I'm kinda of glad I just stopped there. I've read all the recaps and I didn't really find this drama interesting or enjoyable. If there was this darkness that erupted out of Miri's lies, then it would've been a fascinating run. The most interesting and symbolic scenes were the ones that revolved around the mother daughter angst and Yoochun's character meeting young Miri. Besides that I felt the drama wasn't as great as it could've been. The whole concept was great and the actors were all I were pretty satisfied with, but it didn't grasp me at all. It's pretty disappointing :/

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Thankss for the recaps... but... Urghhh! I hate the ending! *sobs*. Can anyone please make a pair of any for the ending? I don't like the main character to go solo. lol...

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On this episode, I cry so much for this drama from the beginning until it ended. To LDH, expect the award this year.

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OK, I'm pretty satisfied with the ending. There's resolution for most of the main characters.

Miri pays her dues to society by going to prison and gets a fresh start. Her prison term of one year is reasonable considering Shin Jeong-Ah served only 18 months for forged academic credentials AND embezzlement [Source: Wikipedia]. She also forgives her mother and is on the way to healing her soul. I'm also glad she doesn't end up with either of the guys, though I would like to know more about her new life.

Myung-Hoon looks happier practising medicine than being a businessman. He probably got off the hook
since Miri gave a full confession, or is Myung-Hoon serving community service?

Mondo's setup of a child welfare centre is a nice touch and a good form of redemption for Yoo-hyun's dad and stepmom.

Haha, I guess I'm not as sadistic as GF. Afterall, to err is human, to forgive divine.

What I didn't like about the ending is not enough Hee-Joo and the pimp getting off scot-free for all the harrassment and abuse!

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I agree completely with all that you said.

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Loved your recap a lot. However can't there just be one kiss between miri and yoo hyun in this movie, a peck perhaps... he is in love with her >< dissapointing :(

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i was hoping they'd end up together (for the sake of romantic me..0_o)

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i think it makes it all the more painful, really. miri will always be unattainable to yoohyun.

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it was a pretty timely drama, it was moving and i really felt for the actors..they were able to make me love them and pity them, it's what makes it great a great series..

the ending was good, there's just a little something that seems to be lacking..

i've had a great time reading your recaps msJB/GF..
they're wonderful..

lots o' love and thanks >.<

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still, i like this drama. i love yoochun with da hae. although they did not end up each other. Hope to hear another drama pairing them together. thanks drama beans. anna(philippines) sarangheyo miss ripley.

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so bittersweet T_T for some reason i felt like crying after i watched the ending. i suppose its right that yoohyun and miri dont end up together (but the happy-ending-lover in me wants them to)
yoochun's crying scene was so raw and heartbreaking. i felt like i was intruding on a personal moment there. gah T_T
great job ripley cast, staff, producers!! LDH was great!!!!!! i feel bad that the two second leads basically became plot devices. yoochun really improved a lot~ (my inner fangirl is proud ^^)
bittersweet.....

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How is it that week after week, I can not breathe just anticipating what's to come NEXT! Miss Ripley really had me on the edge of my seat from the beginning and almost to the very end. But no!!! The last two episodes just left me with a BLAH. And the thing is. It could have been so so good.

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Thanks for the recaps. I dropped the drama midway and just read your recaps.

I agree that Jang Miri just got a "conscience out of nowhere". Even now I still don't believe the redemption, her love for Yoo-hyun and her forgiveness for her mother.

The drama was ehhh...it was interesting and captivating at first but it went downhill for me. It had so many angles that would've been good to explore-Myung-hoon, Hee-joo...but didn't.

This is the second time I've seen LDH after My Girl and I was amazed at how she looked.

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Overall I tink this drama could be better if there is episode extension.

Basically, the ending looks lyk a hastily- concluded to me...
There is have been certain issues which could have been elaborated further..
1. Miri-mom relationship
Miri clearly stated dat she hated her mom so much for causing her life in a mess...but upon being released from jailed, she had easily forgave her mom and said Mom, I love you~~ (* I was lyk " What the heck?")

2. Yoo-hyun- Miri
Honestly, i dun mind if YOo-hyun patched things up w. Miri and starts their relationship anew. Afterall Miri had turn over a new leaf. They might ended up tgr if it wasnt the tree blocking their view (*I was lyk..Urghh...Some1 plz chop down dat damn tree~~haha)

3. Miri's new life
I wld b sweet if Miri could b accepted, to b part of the Song's family...well mayb as Yoo-hyun's stepsister or mayb Yoo-hyun can start their relationship anew, den as daugther-in-law...whatever... (sigh*, i guess v cn hv our own imagination on dat 2nite)

Overall Miss Ripley is an amazing dramas dat makes me lost interest on other dramas, but 2 stayed focus on this each week.

Lastly, Goodbye Miss ripley, who I loved. Upcoming weeks wld never b d same again w/out Miss Ripley (TT^TT)

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Thank you JB and team for all the hard work and timely issue of the recaps. Without your recaps many of us (loyal audience) will be left in the dark because we do not understand Korean language and watched the drama raw when new episodes were released.

I am really satisfied with all the characters, storyline and the excitement and this is one of the best K drama for me because it is different from the others. This will definitely be remembered for a long time especially Miri's character (LDH's fabulous acting and also JDB (young Miri) acting). The drama was so intense with Miri, Yoohyun, MH,Hirayama and Lee Hwa together putting in their powered acting that moved our emotions during the sad or tragic scenes. The scenes fall in place nicely according to sequence and the ending is open leaving the audience to interpret what they want it to be. Since the story did not mention the end of the engagement between Miri & Yoohyun , therefore I would like to believe that they will end up marrying after Miri has stabilized and sorted out her life. This is due to the fact that Yoohyun still loved her and Miri changed for the better after meeting Yoohyun and even made sacrifices like confessing to her lies and serving the prison sentence. With other guys she either act in retaliation or created more lies because non has managed to tame her. Heejoo deserves a big applause because she remained a true friend even though Miri has hurt her so much at the beginning of the drama.

Goodbye Miss Ripley......

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Monday will not be the same again without Ms Ripley. It would take sometime to acclimatize with the loss.

What should I focus then? Maybe Myung wol the Spy, because DB wrote a good recap and it looks interesting........

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This made me cry for many reasons.
1)It ended.
2)Our Yoo-Hyunnie didn't get his happy ending =[
3)IT ENDED!!! TT__T This drama is really different from others...and I really loved it. I really hope to see Yoo-chunnie in another drama very soon. I really like Lee Da Hae and Yoo-chun >_< Goodbye Miss Ripley. I really will miss you. =[ I wish we could've gotten the Happy Ending I wished for.

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acceptable ending , LDH dong well in this drama but i still don't like young lead man .

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so basically...she never loved yoo-hyun?

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She loved his money and status.

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"He’s discredited from the business world for forgery and fraud, but able to practice medicine?"

Isn't he cleared of it if Miri admits to the crime? He would just do time for "obstructing justice and lying to the police"

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i find it as a logical ending and all... but I would have rathered it ended either "happily" (like HAHA I got away with this ala Flames of Desire) or just in total tragedy. This wishy washy thing kind of made it more tragic for me.

I find YooHyun's character the most tragic at all. She still haunts him until this day. I think they were geared for a more macabre ending based on the prologue, and sort of chickened out.

I am raging though that the parents did not get their servings of Kdrama karma. It is unfortunate.

And I don't understand the confusion people have about Miri getting redemption or her turning more sympathetic. From the very start, they gave us her boohoo background and victimization, I feel like she was always written for redemption but I still wanted to see more impact in their BITTERSWEET ending instead of a safer route. It does not make her sins lesser but we always go through bouts of empathy with her. We always are like bipolar people when we deal with this antiheroine.

I also have a lot of problems with romantacizing Hirayama. The message leaves a bittertaste in my mouth, no matter how great of an actor Kim Jung Tae is (+1 Javabeans)

On the good things:

I like how YooHyun and Miri are portrayed as just lovers who will never be led by fate to each other again. Like, their initial hook up was their fate, so they can never be really together again. And it resonates. The debate if Miri really loved him is still on-going, I believe she did. She just knew her place by the end.

Miri and Lee Hwa's messed up mother-daughter relationship made a lot of the drama for me, it brought the most tension and I feel there wasn't enough of it.

Kim Jung Tae stole the damn show as charmer sleaze bag Hirayama. NO WONDER the audience wanted more of him.

Park Yoochun portrayed his heartbreak and his haunting affection for her SO WELL. Even in the end, where everyone found their peace... YooHyun never did. No questions asked YooHyun loved her. Loves her. I don't think he will ever get over her, really. So friggin' sad.

Lee Da Hae gave an amazing performance as Jang Miri, antiheroine to the core. We wanted to slap her when she glares, we wanted to hug her when she cries...such a pendelum of emotions. She really is like the unforgiving hurricane Miri, though yes, she tends to go OTT and may resort to lazy acting habits once in a while (I do believe Miri is a drama queen in the story anyway, so her gasps and que horror kind of work), but what she brought to Miri was a tour de force performance. Her best IMHO in her whole career.

I do like that the ending proved my initial feelings that it's HeeJoo and Miri who are meant to be. They're in lurve just in denial LOLOLOL

I will miss this drama, will be looking forward to Park Yoochun, Kang Hye Jung and Lee Da Hae's next dramas. This is a pretty solid drama, just wishing they pushed more envelopes. Overall an 8 out of 10.

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:) I agree with you.

I'm most happy that HJ and Miri are now real friends... :)

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I don't know about wanting to hug her when she cries. I still felt like slapping her and telling her to stop lying and live a proper life. Her sappy make up stories doesn't garner any sympathies from me. She had me for a bit when she told her friend her foster parents were treating her badly and she had to work at the bar to clear off their debts. --; After hearing Hirayama's explanation, it was all a lie after all. Other than her mom abandoning her and being adopted to Japan, I don't even believe any of her stories. Unless it's from a third party telling it.

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In Episode 1, HIRAYAMA did say she was sold off to pay debts by her adoptive dad. Hence, he said she will probably be lucky if she ended up with better parents.

Then, I guess that is why she ended up selling cigarettes (in Asia, a lot of the kids who work in bars sell cigarettes) and meeting Hirayama... blahblahblah. Hirayama just made her a bar girl instead of an unimportant kid who is just selling cigarretes in the sidelines. I do believe her adoptive parents probably asked her to work night and day, I don't think that was made up.

I meant hugging when like... she gets slapped by Hirayama or when Lee Hwa slammed all her bar girl pictures to the floor.

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In later episodes, Hirayama said she ran away from home. He came across her selling cigarettes or something and he took her in. In ep 14, Miri mentions she shouldn't have taken the shoes he bought for her. It seems like, she ran away from home and end up in the streets. Hirayama came across her and took her in.

I wasn't sad for her when she was slapped by Hirayama, but I don't think she deserves to be slapped by the likes of him. But when Lee Hwa threw her bar girl photos to the floor, I felt it was just. She told too many lies. This was her way of saying, I see through you and I know what are you.

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it's funny how the drama has one story for Miri and another... inconsistency much? THIS is what happens when you romanticize the pimp, writers.

Even in JB's recaps in Episode 1, it was stated that she was used to pay off her dad's debts. But who knows... maybe she was used to pay off her dad's debts and then she ran away before that could be done. Can be fanwanked really. Could be sold off somewhere else. Whatever.

Oh, I was speaking more about my feelings for her despite the use of "we".

I actually did not feel sorry for her when Lee Hwa slapped her, i was like OHHHYEAH but for some reason when those bar girl photos were dropped to the floor. It felt like she was stripped naked.

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agree. i know she had a tragic life before.. but the person i want to hug is Miri as she was an innocent CHILD. I never feel to hug Miri after all the sins she did. I still feel like slapping her.

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thanks for the recaps. This was definitely a very dramatic drama. And while reading i almost had tears in my eyes ... I've always been a fan of Lee Da Hae. From the recaps I could tell she did a great job portraying Miri.

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JB n GF, thanks so much for your recap...
I just feel glad that Miri serves her jail time
I was afraid she died because of the accident or got amnesia that erase all the things...
It was also too bad that Myunghoon and Heejoo's part decreases toward the end...
Anyway, I like the message behind; be honest and love yourself

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Thanks for the recap..

For me, it ended well although something's missing.
I really liked how it touches my heart in many ways and cry with the characters (LDH & mom & Yoochun). They are such great actresses/actor.

I am sure gonna miss this drama.

Congrats to the Ripley team!

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i really enjoyed the recaps, even though i'm not watching the drama. thank you as always, jb and gf!
the drama had a great set-up, but i don't they delivered. i wanted the story and the characters to go darker too, especially with how the drama set up hee-joo as a potential rival to miri. hj was wayyy too much of a pushover. she should've at least dabbled in the dark side! i also expected the ending to have more omph, more suffering for miri, more effort for her to get on the road to redemption. or rather, show us how much miri really wants to redeem herself. (is she forced to confess/turn back b/c she's reached the end of the road?)

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And so, it's over. Overall, I was very impressed with this drama. Although, I agree with girlfriday, that none of the characters really fully stepped onto the dark side, not even Miri. I was really hoping Yoo-hyun to! Bummer! Could've been a more fun ride.

I was impressed with Miri and Lee Hwa's confrontation! LDH was AMAZING! I felt her deep pain, tears, anger and everything all choked up! *clap clap*

I am disappointed with MyungHoon and Hee-Joo's character. For a character like MH who was so well written from the beginning fell so flat towards the end!

I'm satisfied with the ending regardless. YH and MR's love would not feel right or realistic if they ended up together.

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What exactly is korean culture? If this was a HK or Taiwan drama, Yoohyun and Miri would have gotten together no matter what. Arrghh.

Personally I dont see why not if they love each other.

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good ending.

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Not happy with the ending. The two most selfish persons ( the mother & the stepfather) did not receive any just deserts.
Yoo Hyun and Miri should be together and thumb their noses at society and their selfish parents.

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yeah i agree.. i also wanted a more intense and brutal ending.. the name 'ripley' for me should be more cunning, more hardcore, and a whole lot more.. love the drama, though.. i only watched this at first because of yoochun, of course but at the episode 1 i was so impressed by lee da hae and that kept me being interested in this drama. and i'm glad i stick to the end. though i'm disappointed a bit because i thought i can watch a drama with a more witty and cunning female character. y'know the type that can make me say "wow, nice!" just like the movie catch me if you can.. well i just wanted a more ruthless character that's all.. miss ripley just stick to the drama with the mother and child problem which is too dramatic for me, i wanted more action, more epic scenes.. but i must admit i cried at those scenes.. yoochun saranghae!!!! i'm so proud of you.. i hope miss ripley can be shown in my country because i want everyone to see how good you are in this drama..and i hope lee da hae wins some awards in this.. she's so great and i also didn't know she had that in her.. this drama will be included in my favorite kdramas, for sure...

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This is a good drama, I enjoyed watching it because it wasn't draggy, kept me in the edge, etc. My main problem is that I find that Miri had zero chemistry with Yoohyun. He was... idk waaay too good and naive for her. I guess the writers found it more convenient to go down the Miri/Yoohyun path because of the birth secret and stuff. But still, I feel Director Jang's character was unfairly pushed away, their relationship at the beginning was so intense and suddenly it dissapeared. Same for Hee Joo's character. They could have done so much with her and Miri's relationship. Sigh.

But overall... yeah, a good drama.

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hmm....still think this could have been much much better....such a pity,
1. why 2 head injuries? it felt repeated!
2. Yoochun is a really good actor! i felt his pain...T_T
3. Lee Da Hae shone in these last 2 episodes. And more controlled, less overacting compared to the earlier episodes.
4. I liked that the person she "ends up" with is Hee Joo in a way. Someone who can understand her, forgive her past, and be comfortable with =)

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I still don't understand why Miri and Yoohyun couldn't be together. He is not biologically related to Lee Hwa.
Is it forbidden in Korean culture to stand up to one's father and make your own life decisions?...or is it the ultimate respect?

Thank you for the subs. The drama started out with the subs, and then stopped. I read your summaries alongside the televised episodes.

Amazing job you undertook.

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I absolutely agree with you:)

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HATED the ending. What happened why they shoved poor Kim Seung-woo halfway out of the drama midway thru?

I only watched it because of Kim Seung-woo, then he took a backseat and ended up with a stupid ending.

Yuk! Terrible writing on this one, IMO.

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....the good thing was i loved the drama from 1-beginning of 16 but through the rest of the episode i just kept obsessing over how good YooChun/YooHyun (whatever you want to call him) looked in those ripped up pants while he was waiting for Miri to wake up. oh well i dont mind watching it again :) that was actually a pretty good episode in my opinion ^_^

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Do you think they have any hope?

I think there are

(yoohyun and Miri)

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Korean friends that are open, took part in two kinds of I loved her. I really ... loved her / love her. I really ... love her

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i didnt continue to watch the drama last year until yesterday....im a bit dissapointed on the ending since i have different in mind(ish...) ..i got teary eyed on the last few episodes...nevertheless the story is great!!

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I enjoyed the drama but was so unsatisfied with the ending that I began to make a little look around ..and found the real scandal in the newspapers..everything around Miri looked to be realistic for me except the standard clicheés..it was good acting and good story, basically. But the end...there was not any logics in the crownprince character,,he did not fullfill his role, he turned out to be a weak man. He should have just left this life, parents, company, wealth and grabbing Miri's hand at the end and beginning a new life in Japan or in America together.

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Hmm the ending would have been better if Miri died. Perhaps cruel but life isn't so prefect. For the two friends to get together, haha fat hope!

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Too sinful, Miri is punishable :p

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The ending is open! I was kinda like it coz at some point, they still have a chance to be together. I was totally amazed by Myung hoon who chose a peaceful life back on his real career.That was unexpected. And on count of Miri, many think she deserves more suffering but I think that's enough coz she'd been suffering throughout the drama. Yet she did make a lot of damage to others, she also had been suffering all the time. In fact, pitiest ever!

And one more reason for my fondess of this drama is that yoochun was acting perfect! He reflects the type of person he has to be. The calm and decent one. All of his unconditional love can be easily felt from his smile, his one hug, his one kiss to Miri! Nothing more.Nothing less. I like him.

This is my favourite drama! thz!

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I soooo love korean drama. It transports you to a different dimension. My eyes got swollen because of this drama. Im totally in love with love and despite everything that happened I still want Jang Miri and Yoochun to fall in love again and accept each other as if they were meeting again for the first time. Its like you and me against the world. How bittersweet it is for a man of power to fall in love with a woman of a different stature and background.

Yoochun here was so sweet, a charmer, dashing and so dreamy. Wishing all love relationships in reality transports you into meeting a man that will sweep you of your feet and who would totally love you for who you are.

I hope they can make another comedy love story for Lee Da Hae and Micky Yoochun. Super love them!

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I don't really like how it ended. . TOO BAD!

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Omg, from Philippines here, I was watching the episode where the blueprints duplicity were being investigated, and my, I couldnt help knowing how things will end for emily (miri), that's why I searched on how things will end for this korean drama. I am glad she managed to live till the end. Miri's character is very human, she was abused and si she tried to make life better for herself at the expense of other people, but who cares, she too was a victim and somehow learnt that life is a jungle, if you werent wise enough, other strong species will eat you alive. She's pretty tough, i just wished she was more careful and skipped the academe scam(pretending to be a teacher), but now i undersand the basis of the story goes somewhere w/ scholarly scam. Id love to see a 2nd season where yooyun and miri will finally meet and have a 2nd chance. Lol

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I Hate sad endings, period! :-(

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i really wish this drama to have a book 2

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