Queen In-hyun's Man: Episode 16 (Final) » Dramabeans Korean drama recaps

580 June 12, 2012January 24, 2016

Queen In-hyun’s Man: Episode 16 (Final)

by HeadsNo2

This is a show unafraid to explore the darkest parts of itself, taking us down to the depths of separation and emotionally gutting us in the best and most frightening of ways, so that the payoff has never felt more earned or deserved. In short, this episode is like running through an emotional obstacle course backward and blind, and it’s AWESOME. But also terrifying. Yet poignant. But mostly terrifying. Queen In-hyun’s Man, what have you done to me?

FINAL EPISODE RECAP

One year has passed. Soo-kyung and Hee-jin are in the midst of a move, though Soo-kyung’s doing most of the heavy lifting while Hee-jin pesters her from the salon, getting dolled up for a poster shoot.

She gets a call from her director asking her to do some narration work for a documentary program entitled Untold Stories of History, and more specifically for a special segment called Queen In-hyun’s Man. Hee-jin is clueless as to the meaning, and is curious that the show will be exploring a rumor she’s never heard of – that Queen In-hyun had a secret lover.

The segment is being pushed forward because of new evidence discovered a month prior, which seems to wash over Hee-jin as unimportant even as she accepts. It seems safe to say that Hee-jin has lost her memories of Boong-do, and this evidence raises some red flags – could it be Boong-do’s letter?

Hee-jin gives the documentary notes a cursory read on the ride home, curious that none of this was mentioned in her drama script. It delves into the rumors surrounding the Queen and Boong-do, a name that prompts her to say aloud: “Kim Boong-do?” She doesn’t recognize it.

Soo-kyung comes home to find Hee-jin engrossed in the notes, eager to share the juicy story she’s reading. She tells what we all know – that Boong-do was thought to have an illicit affair with the Queen, was interrogated, and died – though not long after, he was cleared of his charges. In the Annals, his passing is noted as a wrongful death due to unfounded slander.

However, the documentary tackles what supposedly happened after, with a prime minister’s recently-discovered memorandum revealing a Boong-do sighting one year after he was considered deceased.

Flash back to 1695 and the minister in question, Nam Gu-man. An accidental brush with Boong-do sends our scholar running Minister Nam’s men chase him to the inn where he’s been staying, always packed and ready to flee. He evades capture but leaves behind a book, which they deliver to the minister.

The minister finds Boong-do’s letter to Hee-jin inside, recognizing it for certain as Boong-do’s handwriting, and puzzles over the mystery. Boong-do rides away to a fork in the road, and since the destination doesn’t matter to him, he lets his horse decide which way to go.

Minister Nam goes to tell Sukjong about his strange encounter, further stumped when Sukjong asks if Boong-do looked as though he’d been suffering, claiming, “I owe Boong-do a debt.” He reminds the befuddled minister not to tell anyone about what he saw – Boong-do is already a dead man.

And so Minister Nam took to his private journal, where he wrote what Hee-jin reads today – though he may not have been sure of what happened between the King and Boong-do, he was sure Boong-do lived on the run near the border regions, and was sympathetic to his plight because his existence would forever remain a secret. (Until now.)

Soo-kyung finds Hee-jin still poring over the notes hours later – are they that interesting? Hee-jin sighs that she feels sorry for Kim Boong-do, whose life was totally ruined because of a woman. Aww.

Back in Joseon, Boong-do just can’t seem to catch a break, since he’s even recognized by a man drawing water from a well. Uh oh.

A monk comes upon him in the forest and recognizes him as the one who came searching for the head monk one year ago. Boong-do sighs that he used to think the eight provinces of Joseon were large, but his travels have now changed that view.

The monk asks, “How long will you keep running away? Aren’t you tired?” Boong-do replies, “I am tired. But although it is laughable, this has become my reason for living.” The goal of running away has become his only goal at this point, he explains, and if he were to lose that, he’d lose a reason to keep going.

Not knowing the reason, the monk advises him to pay the price if he’s committed a crime, rather than running away. Boong-do: “I want to do that too. But to be caught and to pay the price would be an even greater crime.” The monk doesn’t understand, and Boong-do doesn’t have time to explain – the man who saw him earlier has brought guards with him, and they give chase.

Boong-do finds himself surrounded by armed men who call for his arrest on charges of murder. (For the gibang massacre that left Yoon-wol and Ja-soo dead.) He’s able to fight off as many as he can, but the numbers just aren’t on his side. He looks from the crowd of people gathered to the men, sizes up his odds, and drops his weapon to surrender. Nooo!

Back in the present, Hee-jin records her lines for the segment. She mentions the letter Boong-do wrote and adds that “In it, his deep affection toward a nameless person and the sadness of their parting is evident. Considering the circumstances at the time, scholars speculate that the letter was intended for Queen In-hyun.”

I’ll be honest, I teared up just hearing her recording partner read Boong-do’s letter. Hee-jin listens intently to the letter written to her, and it’s infinitely sad that what Boong-do prayed for – that even if she read the letter in the future, she wouldn’t know it was for her – has come true.

She narrates, “A man who wanted his love to forget him. It was probably because she was beyond his reach.” As for Boong-do, mentions of the woman in later documents reveal that he was able to keep his memories.

Break time. Hee-jin watches a bit of the dramatic reenactment before Dong-min sweeps her away for a chat. Eek, is she with Dong-min again in this reality?

Thankfully that doesn’t seem to be the case, though Dong-min would like it to be. He’s all excited that she’s up to date on his overseas activities while she deadpans, “I don’t want to say this because you’ll just act superior, but news about you is all over the internet. It’s impossible not to see it.” Dong-min: “It’s not acting superior. I am superior. Only you call it acting.” Ha.

He whines about how lonely he is and how they should start dating again, even when Hee-jin points out that he’s supposedly dating a girl group member ten years his junior. Dong-min fires back that she’s too immature: “No matter how much I think about it, there is no other woman like Choi Hee-jin.”

Well, he’s got one thing right. Hee-jin isn’t having it, and points out Na-jung walking nearby, saying that they’d be a perfect fit. Dong-min, being the child that he is, calls Na-jung over to ask if she wants him to do her the favor of dating her, “Because I’m so lonely now, I can’t afford to be picky.” Haha.

Na-jung gives him the universal symbol for “No”, and Hee-jin asks exasperatingly, “When will you grow up?” Dong-min: “I don’t want to grow up.” How I love thee, Character Consistency.

Dong-min’s manager comes to collect him, but not before sliding into the chair next to Hee-jin’s in order to ask if Soo-kyung’s seeing anyone. I can’t tell if Hee-jin genuinely doesn’t know what he’s getting at or doesn’t want to, but it’s adorable how she finally sizes him up and claims that though Soo-kyung hasn’t said anything, it seems like she might have someone. Ha.

I love that Soo-kyung acts all put-out upon hearing it from Hee-jin in the car, even going so far to call Dong-min’s manager an ajusshi, although she’s clearly preening from the attention. Of course, she can’t act like Hee-jin did wrong by telling him she had someone (or she’d blow her aloof cover), and so she can only bark at Hee-jin that the documentary was a bad idea the second Hee-jin points out they’re late.

The documentary filming has gone on location to the palace, and Hee-jin grows nostalgic over the place she used to see every day for filming, now that it’s been a year. The camera pans around her and smoothly transitions us to the Joseon period, where Boong-do was brought in after being arrested.

Like Hee-jin, the sight of the palace brings nostalgia with it. However, Minister Nam and a bunch of other ministers round the nearby corner, and Boong-do turns his face so as not to be recognized…

…Which segues us back to Hee-jin. She begins to describe the famous tale of the political strife and struggle to reinstate Queen In-hyun, which has formed the basis of many dramatizations. From within that upheaval, there are records of one man who died an innocent man – the subject of today’s documentary, Kim Boong-do, Queen In-hyun’s man.

As she talks we see Boong-do standing in her path, three hundred years ago. She passes through his image as though he’s a specter, both of them standing on the same ground in two totally different times. She’s separated visually only by color while Boong-do and his surroundings remain in black and white… only the colors start to fade in and out, blurring the separation of their realties, however briefly. And Hee-jin seems to sense it.

She continues on, sometimes standing alone, sometimes standing with her back to Boong-do. She tells his story as it’s written, only tears begin to fall and she doesn’t know why. This. Is. Heartbreaking.

In his time, Boong-do is finally taken away, just when it seems like Hee-jin would be able to see him if she’d only turn around… but the director calls for her attention and the moment is gone. Something in her tells her to turn around, but by the time she does, she’s just standing alone.

Boong-do is put in prison until his scheduled morning interrogation. He’s only concerned that he’ll be recognized since he made a promise to Sukjong that he would never appear in this world again, but for now, he’s out of options.

Soo-kyung calls Hee-jin on her drive home to ask about the crying incident, and Hee-jin replies honestly that even she doesn’t know why she cried, only that she suddenly felt sad without reason. The feeling still remains.

In prison, Boong-do opens his bag where he’s been keeping his modern suit and phone all this time. Aww. He focuses on the necktie specifically, and flashes back to Hee-jin showing him how to use it, replete with a kiss. And then… oh no.

He fashions it into a noose and prepares to hang himself. A storm begins as Hee-jin waits at a stop light and turns the radio volume up, playing a song that’s become their theme.

Tears form in Boong-do’s eyes as he slips the noose over his neck. Hee-jin begins to cry. (I can’t stop crying long enough to write.) So does he, and we flash back and forth between both their faces… until Boong-do kicks the stool out from under him and hangs himself.

Hee-jin feels it in the present and sobs. Boong-do’s feet hang inches off the ground. As she cries desperately without knowing why, a memory flashes of when she programmed Boong-do’s name in his phone as “Player,” only she doesn’t know who that is. A phone search reveals nothing, though she remembers his number and punches it in.

And in the room where Boong-do hangs, his phone rings. NO. Hee-jin begins crying so hard she hyperventilates and leaves her car, while all her memories of Boong-do come flooding back. The horror hits her even worse, if that’s at all possible, and she crumples to the ground.

She goes to the documentary director still drenched from the rain, demanding to see the footage from their segment. She’s left alone to watch, finally coming upon the letter Boong-do wrote. We hear his voice reading it as she sees his face on the screen, and the realization that this letter was for her comes crashing down.

“Will we forget each other?” The letter reads, as her phone begins to ring in her car… “Or will we live unable to forget, forever tormented?” Memories of Boong-do play on the projection screen like a movie as Hee-jin watches, grief-stricken. “In an aimless life, to not even have those memories would be hell. And you… and you… if you should happen to read this letter far into the future, I pray you will not realize for whom this letter is meant.”

Only now does Hee-jin realize what Boong-do did so that she would forget him, knowing that he lived with his memories. Dear god, this poor girl. What more can she go through? What more can we go through?

The door opens behind her. Boong-do’s voice calls out, “Why didn’t you answer the phone after calling me?” She turns around, and there he is, standing in the suit he carried with him all this time. How…?

Boong-do: “I had to search for you for so long. Didn’t you call me? One hour ago.” He holds up the phone, Hee-jin just stares in shock, and he smiles.

Flash back to Boong-do hanging from the ceiling. The sound of the phone ringing brings him back from the brink, and through blurry vision he can see the screen lit up on the floor in disbelief. Filled with new resolve he grasps the noose around his neck and pulls, slowly choking as he tries to free himself.

The knot from the rafter eventually gives way, sending Boong-do sprawling to the floor, coughing. He’s barely able to grab the phone, and the moment he answers it he disappears…

…And reappears in modern day Seoul. He’d answered the phone only moments too late, since Hee-jin left it inside her car when she scrambled out of it for breathing room.

He takes one look at his surroundings, and though his vision is still blurry he can recognize the lights and sounds, and laughs with joy once he realizes where he is. He’s still got the phone to his ear and says, barely able to contain his happiness and relief, “Hello? Hello? Are you listening? Hello? Answer me please, ‘Most Beautiful Woman Ever’.”

He laughs again. Oh Boong-do, I’d laugh with you if I weren’t still emotionally traumatized.

“Are you just going to stare dumbly like that?” he asks Hee-jin, back in the present. “If you summoned somebody who was living just fine, shouldn’t you take responsibility for it?” Hee-jin can barely stammer out: “Close the door.”

He does. Hee-jin asks him to come closer, and reaches out to touch his cheek as though she still can’t believe it. “You’re real…” she murmurs. “You’re alive.”

Boong-do is even in the mood for jokes, since he tells her in his usual deadpan delivery that the year passed speedily for him – he travelled around and left a lover in every province. She playfully calls him out on lying, saying that the evidence is right there, and points to his letter projected on the screen.

Hee-jin asks him how this all happened – what about the talisman?

Boong-do: “I burned it.”

Hee-jin: “Then how did you come here?”

Boong-do: “I came back because you called me.”

Hee-jin: “Me?”

Boong-do: “You.”

He cups her face in his hands and wipes away her tears, and they convey more with looks than words can do alone. He brings up the tie (Too. Soon.), claiming that he missed the use that she’d taught him, “So much so that I wanted to die.”

She tugs on the tie just slightly, the way she did when she first introduced it to him, only this time it’s Boong-do that swoops in for the kiss.

Hee-jin: [in voiceover] “A chance encounter that started with a gap in time… that meeting already ended a year ago. Our reunion now is not because of a mysterious talisman written by a monk, but because of a string of memories that belongs only to us both. Now begins our second encounter. Now, I am his lifesaver. The price to pay? All he has to do is stay forever by my side.”

And Boong-do interrupts his own makeout session to look at the screen curiously – how does his letter still exist? Ha, I love that he’s all upset that his private letter isn’t so private anymore. He’s all, I must destroy it! which gets a chuckle out of Hee-jin, because it’s going to stay in the museum, forever out of his reach.

More kisses. Lots more.

The projection screen plays an epilogue, as Soo-kyung sits Boong-do down to get the skinny on this boyfriend Hee-jin never mentioned before. She starts rattling off questions about what university he attended, where he lives, his parents… and Boong-do chuckles, because this will be the third time they’ve had this conversation.

HEADSNO2’S COMMENTS

Now that I’m left to stare at the pile of tissues amassed from this finale, I can only shake my head at how oblivious I was at the end of episode fourteen, thinking, “Well, what could possibly go wrong from here?” Answer: EVERYTHING.

I don’t mean that in a negative sense at all, because I remain completely floored by this writer’s ability to wring maximum emotional impact from her scenes by going above and beyond, without me feeling manipulated in the process. It’s something I’ve noticed throughout the series, but where it really started to kick in was Boong-do’s talisman fade-outs – him disappearing on Hee-jin once was bad enough, but to let him reappear just long enough for them to see each other before ripping them apart? That is tragic.

And again, with Boong-do’s hanging sequence – it’s something that would have been horrible any way it was presented, but using the necktie, with all its previous warm and fuzzy connotations, was just plain traumatizing. And yet, it was such a testament to how thought-out everything was in this series – nothing was wasted, and every moment had its purpose. A necktie gift with smooches can later turn into a noose to hang our hero, and an innocuous joke about an illicit royal affair can turn into the means in which our lovers reunite. I never felt like this show was unsure of where it was going, and yet that surety didn’t equal predictability. It’s one of the (many, numerous, countless) things I loved about this show.

This is one of those dramas that got me at a gut level all the way through, and on that same level, I’m satisfied with the talisman/conflict resolution. I kept second-guessing that feeling when it was all said and done, worried that I was all too eager for a fanservice offering. And maybe I was, because even though the critic in me would have acknowledged the completely logical and realistic end – with Boong-do hanging in prison and Hee-jin living forever with her memories and no way to reach him – my satisfaction would only ever remain on a mercenary-like cerebral level. I would have to grudgingly accept the cold logistics and move on.

And yet, while having fantasy elements in a story does not automatically preclude wholly realistic ends, the use of fantasy in the resolution stayed fairly organic to the world in which it was made. The talisman had its own logic, sure, but in the end it was still just a magical piece of paper written by a bald guy. It had a set of rules and stuck by them – something I feel is always a necessity with mystical elements – and rather than feeling like the hand of fate swept in to fix everything, it suited the way the magic has worked so far for Boong-do to finally pay his debt for cheating death, with death. Without any hope of being saved Boong-do was ready to give up everything, and only at that last crucial moment did the tide turn so that the phone, a recurring motif throughout this drama, could ring with what was literally a life-saving call. Or did it? It was hard to see through a veil of tears.

Queen In-hyun’s Man was a show unto itself, seamlessly blending time travel, mystical elements, comedy, action, intrigue, and romance all into one perfect sixteen-episode package. It managed to be all things while sacrificing nothing, creating the most wholly-engaging romance I’ve experienced since The Princess’ Man, while still sustaining a lively ensemble cast that didn’t just seem to exist in our lead couple’s love vacuum. That’s a feat that’s becoming rarer and rarer, and serves as a testament to the love and care put into creating the world of this drama, which is a care I could actually see from moment one, and one I could feel when the week between episodes seemed to span years. There are a million tangible things you can attribute to this drama’s sheer magnetism (stellar directing, writing, acting, ensemble, soundtrack, Ji Hyun-woo), but in the end, it’s just another kind of magic.

JAVABEANS’ COMMENTS

And you were almost perfect.

This drama ranks pretty high on my all-time list, and managed to meld together an impressive blend of intrigue, romance, and emotion with tons of style and a captivating ambiance to boot. I loved the leads, and even when the supporting characters got upsetting, I always understood where they were coming from. The tone was pitch-perfect and moody and dramatic, and the writing worked with the fantasy time-travel device in a sharp, smart way that never assumed we were dumb, and always aimed to be thoughtful and clever. It stayed a step ahead of us and delivered in multiple ways—the romantic crescendo, the political machinations, the mystical time element. Everything was so well-placed that I was convinced it would be perfect through and through.

It’s just… one little thing. Which isn’t such a little thing, in fact. Oh, the deus ex machina, the higher power that swoops onto the stage in the last act and cleans up the messes created by the humans.

I was all set to put on my best debater’s hat and reason out why the ending worked for me, and why the phone-transportation trick was a smart way to resolve the conflict and not, in fact, a letdown. But here’s the thing: If I have to work to convince myself that it made sense, then it didn’t quite make sense.

To be sure, there are a number of ways I could probably explain the ending. Some people may call it searching for meaning in an ambiguous moment. Others have coined the term fanwank.

I get the purpose of the ending: It was Hee-jin who “called” him back, in both senses of that word. Now that the talisman’s power has been broken, all that remains is love to tie them together. It’s a wonderful message, and one I’d been looking forward to. It addresses Hee-jin’s earlier question about what cause-and-effect would be if they began a relationship, and Boong-do’s response that while their initial meeting may have been coincidence, every subsequent encounter was driven by their decisions. What an awesome line for a romance drama to take, when so many times the two leads are painted as victims—of family, of interlopers, of Fate, of circumstance.

So I love that this drama gave our couple agency over their feelings. The writer seemed determined to avoid the cliche where Fate jerks people around purely because something was “meant” to be or not be. No, this couple got to decide. Imagine that! Kudos all around. Furthermore, the drama has shown all series long that the power of their love transcended the talisman’s pull—it was so strong that Boong-do and Hee-jin could recover their lost memories even when their talisman-connection was severed. So… love opens wormholes?

But the actual mechanism of the resolution? The cure-all phone call? I’m not on that train, sorry. To borrow the drama’s own terminology: The effect was awesome, but the cause… not so much.

I have no problem accepting the existence of magic in this world; the entire time-travel premise requires it, after all. But you need to establish it, explain it, make it a part of your world. The magic of the talisman was well-established; the mojo surrounding that phone call felt pulled out of Drama’s ass. If you don’t set up the resolution adequately, then it becomes a last-minute cheap trick. The reason it leaves people dissatisfied is because Drama presents one problem, makes you worry about it, then announces, “Ha, just kidding! It’s really something else.” It’s a cheat.

This is the difference between leading someone naturally to a conclusion, and pushing them there by force. So the cell phone summons becomes an act of force(d logic), and lovely intentions aside, the effect leaves me drooping a bit. I try not to let it get me down, but I can’t pretend it doesn’t just because I don’t want it to.

For a drama that brilliantly avoided falling back on the same old set of well-worn cliches running rampant through dramaland, it’s a bit disappointing that this show pulled one out in the eleventh hour, when it really mattered. It KILLS me that the one time it misstepped is the one really crucial moment, the big climactic revelation. I dearly wish I could brush it under the rug and say it doesn’t matter, but it does.

Oh well. Perfection was probably too lofty a goal. Queen In-hyun’s Man still trumps most dramas this year, and perhaps the past several. If only it didn’t feel like it left me hanging in the end. I’ll forgive you, drama, if you give me a Boong-do to compensate.

580

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101 Lulla

June 12, 2012 at 5:25 PM

I agree with Javabeans. I'm also not satisfied wjth the ending. I understand what the writer means, but if only they can deliver it in a better package in order to convince us, then it'll be okay. It's just..well..just sounds too easy, that's all.

Well, aside from everything, qim has become my favourite drama of all time, along with Prosecutor Princess..just becoz of the ending. If not, I will consider it perfect. Sill, qim is a wondeful drama. It makes sorrow so painful yet beautiful, and it doesn't feel 'cheesy' and flows naturally with the story *I have problems with secret garden, sorry for the fans..*. Depite the 'minus' ending, I really think that this drama is a real gem and one of a kind. I still feel sad that it has ended.

Thank you dramabeanz for the recaps!
Now, I can concentrate on Bridal Mask :)..

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merrygoround

June 13, 2012 at 1:16 AM

...but how is killing yourself to right wrongs "easy"?

its pretty hard actually.

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mia

June 25, 2012 at 9:54 AM

They thought the phonecall did all the work...that's why they thought it is 'too easy'...just a few tingles and off he went transported to the other world.

But without KBD taking his own life willingly, meaning willing to surrender his life, then he won't fulfil that ' to die is to live' theme. Oh, dying so young, in full good heath, by hanging, with the life choked out of your body, is NOT easy, not at all.

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102 pistachone

June 12, 2012 at 5:28 PM

I can't help myself!
If I'm not in a very difficult situation, I should have wailed by now. waaaaaaah.. just late reaction.

My students in the English class were like..You sounded like you're crying teacher.
Me: Am I? No! I'm not..HUHUHUHUHU

Yah! You both should be in a relationship for real! hehe

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103 jat

June 12, 2012 at 5:41 PM

finally , I understand that there's explanation for the phone call to get him back to her. the love, connection and all that, but if have to think a lot to accept it , doesn't it mean that I dont really accept it? i have no problem accepting whatever happened in ep 1-15 in fact i really loved ep 15 when he disappeared right in front of her, i call it reality. i think that scene was one of my favourite moment in that drama. or maybe we just wish we are not so close with phone as we with a talisman.

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104 Susan

June 12, 2012 at 5:43 PM

I loved this drama.
Thanks a lot for the recaps~ You guys are awesome.

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105 felixng

June 12, 2012 at 5:56 PM

The talisman, which helped save BD's life when he was near death, was given to him by Yoon Wol and was powered with her love for him. The talisman lost its power when Yoon Wol died. I think the phone Hee Jin gave BD also act like a talisman. When she remembered their love, the talisman power was activated, and it just happened in time to save BD's life. If we accept that there's a high power out there in play, then there's no doubt that we would accept that it was the one that powered the phone, not the battery.

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106 topper

June 12, 2012 at 6:10 PM

My summary for this drama, swoon and romance fest.
Perfect fanservice escape from reality. Though there's nothing much else if you try to scratch below that.
Production wise camera work is top notch.

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107 The Nutella-Filled-Doughnuts Jae Ha Loves

June 12, 2012 at 6:39 PM

Ooohhh I'm soo late.. damn real life >.<;; Without anymore ado, here's my two cents about why the phone worked for me:

Talisman was given with Yoon Wol’s feelings. Yoon Wol, the poor baby, passed away. Yoon Wol’s strongest feelings for Boong Do were for his safety. She was grounded enough to realise that living as Boong Do’s wife was not an ideal situation, as much as she would love him, and therefore all her energies went into wishing for Boong Do’s safety, something that the Talisman ensured.

Hee Jin had no barriers in her feelings to stop wanting a future with Boong Do. She loved him and wanted to live with him forever. So the phone was given by Hee Jin loaded with Hee Jin’s feelings of being able to constantly be in touch with Boong Do, never to lose contact with him, always know of his safety, always be with him, at least through a voice and a message if not there personally. The phone, acting in place of the Talisman, then, seems logical. Think about it: What does a handphone do? It bridges distances, helps you communicate with those you love, lets you know of their safety. Aren’t those all the things Hee Jin wanted for Boong Do?

The Talisman shall forever be Yoon Wol’s gift- and should be no other way because that beautiful person sacrificed so much- but it will forever be a sad reminder for Boong Do because of what came to pass. Thus, the handphone will be their start to a new future.

The Talisman would forever be unstable, a threat to the couple’s happiness, because, as Yoon Wol told Boong Do “The Talisman was given full of my feelings and the Monk’s who wrote it, but that does not mean that it will necessarily obey us, or you as it’s master.” The handphone, however, is from Hee Jin, filled with Hee Jin’s love, and unless Boong Do The Player cheats, no problems ought to arise.

And for those who think that the phone was random... it was actually not. It was a throwaway that came in to help at the last minute, just like how the affair-with-queen started off as throwaway and became on of the most important aspects. I was going to every appearance and importance of the phone myself, but someone beat me to it. You can read them all here http://malariamonsters.tumblr.com/post/24693323524/receipts-more-hmmm-i-was-debating-whether-or (and yes, I'm mentioned in there ^^)

I really want to write more, but I'm afraid I would just be repeating what everyone said. But I will say that this show was perfect for me. Flawless.

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108 shl71

June 12, 2012 at 7:01 PM

Thanks, Heads No2, Girlfriday and Javabeans, for recapping this seires. If it hadn't been for your recaps, I wouldn't have picked this up, and I wouldn't have been entranced by its magic. (My husband also wouldn't have been shaking his head at me on Wed/ Thurs nights as I waited for recaps and raw eps, but that's another story).

I loved this drama. QIHM is a wonderful package of a well-written and plausible story, great acting, lovely cinematography, haunting music, good pacing, plenty of romance and light-hearted moments interwoven with action and heart-stopping moments . . . and more. In this episode, that image of a weary Boong-do having spent a year wandering without purpose, hoping against hope, and then deciding to kill himself – that really hurt.

Like you, JB, I paused for a long while to think about the aptness of the use of the phone as the ‘new talisman’. There have been so many well thought-through and expressed theories, whether for or against, and I take my hat off to all the writers. Since the theories vary, but are all plausible, a conclusion I can draw from this is that the writer should have led up to or explained that phone more clearly! But obviously there wasn’t time.

I had no problems with the original talisman, because pieces of cloth are simple - they can be folded, inserted in pockets/ clothes, washed, written on; that’s it – so yeah, clearly it was ‘magic’, and, in addition, we had a good 10 – 12 episodes of seeing how it ‘worked’. Cell-phones have more ‘rules’ to abide by (battery power, transmission) so it was a little harder to suspend all that suddenly in the last 15 minutes. But after a week, and having watched the subbed eps and read recaps, I can live with the idea that it’s been their channel of communication/ connection all along; it’s the power of their love and memories which transcend time and space that activates the ‘warp’. Their agency now, not fate.

One thought I particularly liked was, that, since his escaping death was the initial ‘cause’ that led to the ‘effect’ of losing everything else, when BD finally decided to die (knowing this time there was no way he could ‘live’), that was the necessary action to address the imbalance in karma, and, in essence, reset that particular cause-and-effect equation so that BD and HJ could start afresh (as HJ said, it’s the end of the power of ‘fate’ over them). I am not Buddhist so I don’t know if this is bad theology but it sounded fair enough to me.

Heh, I got a little stuck on the idea that BD had to do more than die/ attempt death to get to HJ; he had to answer the phone. With the ‘old talisman’, he ‘dies’ – wham – we’re in 2012. This time around, he ‘dies’ – phone rings – he’s got to suspend death to answer the phone so he can warp. I guess this shows BD and HJ as active agents vs ‘fate’, but I kept envisioning the Scheduler trying to get him into the heavenly elevator while BD’s saying, ‘Wait, wait, I gotta answer this call first!’ (Interspersed with images from The Matrix, and The Man from UNCLE going ‘Open Channel D’).

I think, even with its 'flaws', this is one of the best dramas of 2012 (SUFBB is my choice for no.1 – good all the way through) and I’ve been persuading everyone I know to watch it.

And, for those looking for their own Boong-do – people like that do exist, you know! I married one 8-) Try looking in the library.

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109 aramint

June 12, 2012 at 7:17 PM

oh well, I'm still mourning over Shi Kyung-Jae Shin, so whatever it takes to get Boong Do-Hee Jin together, be it! I'm soooooo happy right now! ^_^

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110 Chaostea

June 12, 2012 at 7:42 PM

Wow what an ending. I think I used a whole box of tissues just watching ep 15 and 16 then reading the recaps just now still brought me to tears. Such a good drama

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111 Ning

June 12, 2012 at 7:46 PM

I'm in Heads camp! I love the ending and I thought the phone is just the medium and the thing that called him back is the string of memories and his final acceptance to death. Well, basically I'm just happy that after 1 year of suffering, he manage to come back to the future! I can't imagine how heart-wrenching it will be if he's left in the past until old age. In RTP at least Yi Gak has his kingdom, but BD has nothing!

When the phone starts to ring in Joseon, I wanna cry. It felt like a salvation.

When he laugh in the rain, I grinned and wanna jump around my room. That's how happy I am that he finally made it.

And when Hee Jin realise he's real and alive, ah...

And when Soo-Kyung interview him again... "PERFECT CONDITION, PERFECT MAN" LOOOOL, and now he came without arrows embedded in his body, even more perfect! But still without ID card though ^^'

How cheeky of him to make his suicide into a joke. ( I miss the tie's purpose so much I could die) Careful BD, lest it'll come back to haunt you in future! I'm so wary of jokes now since QIHM writer always manage to make the earlier joke into a gut-wrenching plot to kill BD. No more, no more! Luckily it ends at 16.

Overall, thank you recappers and commenters! I'll cherish this drama not just because of the story, plot, acting, directing etc but also because the journey it takes us together :D

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112 bibian

June 12, 2012 at 7:56 PM

Thanks for the great recap and contrasting comments. Initially I was also not very satisfied about the mobile ending but then again-there are always two sides to a coin and I choose to believe that it is still consistent till the end. :) THIS WILL BE MY FAV DRAMA OF 2012. I dunno how long the withdrawal symptoms will last. T.T

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113 wits

June 12, 2012 at 8:17 PM

I just finished watching episode 15. Regardless of, and despite, everything that's been said about Queen In Hyun's Man, all I can say is... it is SO.BEAUTIFUL. Hee Jin, Boong Do, their Love, their Story, their Memories, Boong Do's Sacrifice, Boong Do's Choice. I love it, I love it. I. LOVE. IT!!! And even if I have yet to watch episode 16, (since I have read whole story already) Queen In Hyun's Man is now officially the best k-drama of all time in my book. Sorry Coffee Prince, you have been dethroned.

My heartfelt gratitude to the writer, the PD, cinematographer, producer, all the crew, actors and actresses, Yoo In Na, and last, and most certainly the best, Ji Hyun Woo. Everything about the drama was topnotch, and all the little details become more significant with each re-watch.

There have also been a lot of intelligent discussions around the blog-o-sphere about QIHM, most noteworthy of which are those of javabeans and headsno2. I really appreciate how this blog has made this experience that much richer and endearing. Kamsahamnida!

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114 Jackeline

June 12, 2012 at 8:19 PM

I was a silent reader of all the QIHM recaps but I must say that I was honestly just a liiittle disappointed with ending.

First of all, as JB pointed out, the deus ex machina does not work. I was all looking forward to the beginning of episode 16, to see how our two leads would fare right after the talisman being burned, but what I got was a "one year later." So unsatisfying.

Second, I didn't see anyone commenting on this (might have missed it in my quick read-through) but did anyone else wonder why Boong-Do was allowed to keep his memories after the talisman was gone? Or was that explained in the drama and I just completely missed it?

Third, with all the conflict regarding the cellphone, that was one aspect that I didn't mind. I read this one person's explanation and thought that it was brilliant: The talisman was something that Yoon-Wol gave Boong-Do out of her love for him, for his own protection. Likewise, the cellphone was something that Hee-Jin prepared for Boong-Do, for his protection as well (only in the 21st century, since he can call her if he needs help). Therefore it makes sense for me that it would take on the talisman-esque role in the finale.

Finally I must point out that Boong-Do interrupting his own makeout session at the end = LOL forever.

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Recovering from QIHM aka MsB

June 13, 2012 at 5:12 AM

I think he was able to keep his memories as it was possibly a gift from the talisman. Remember, right before he burnt it, he wrote the letter and his last wish was for Hee Jin to forget but him to remember. Well that's what I hope!

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Jackeline

June 15, 2012 at 2:19 AM

I don't think that was it. :/ After all, as monk/Yoon-Wol said, the talisman obeys no-one. And it is just an inanimate object after all (even though mystical, it doesn't have conscious thought) so I can't wrap my mind around it "giving" Boong-Do a gift.

I do remember that little bit and wondered if that was it, but then dismissed it. Just by Boong-Do writing on paper that he'd like to keep his memories, doesn't mean he really will.

Thanks for answering anyways. ^^

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canxi

June 13, 2012 at 10:31 AM

I wrote about why Boong-Do probably kept his memories, my comment is on the second page.

#68 :)

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Jackeline

June 15, 2012 at 2:16 AM

Hm, I can accept that. Thanks for sharing! ^^

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115 Brenda

June 12, 2012 at 8:21 PM

I really enjoyed this drama but was honestly expecting a different ending. It's great that it ended happily and that the lead were finally reunited...however...I was kind of thinking the drama would bring the ending full circle to episode 1 where we saw him leap through time with his horse at the beginning of the episode.
Aside from the perfectly-wrapped-up-ending-that-came-too-early, there were almost no flaws in this drama in my opinion. Heck, it's probably one of my favorite for 2012 thus far.

Thank you guys so much for recapping the drama in its entirety.
Does anyone know the ratings throughout this show?

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Brenda

June 12, 2012 at 8:24 PM

I think the ending where she "called" him back would've made more sense if the connection between their phones had been made before.
When they tried to call each other with their phones before when he was forcibly taken back to his own time, their phones had no connection so it's feels out of place that it would work in the last episode when it didn't before.

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shl71

June 12, 2012 at 8:38 PM

If I'm understanding this correctly, the previous occasion when he was taken back to his own time, they were still living under the power and 'fate' of the old talisman, where his death is the primary 'cause', and losing everything else is the 'effect'. It was only when he chose to die (without thinking he would live), that the karmic (?) imbalance was addressed and the slate wiped clean so they could start over. He hangs himself, she remembers him, the phone 'connects'. Does that make any sense?

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shl71

June 12, 2012 at 8:34 PM

Hi Brenda,

The ratings for some of the earlier episodes are posted on the Soompi forum page; I believe they are all above 1%, which I understand is pretty good for a cable show 8-) Not sure about the later episodes.

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116 Aya

June 12, 2012 at 8:27 PM

Honestly, i dread reading the last recap.. I sense that its going to hv a tough review from DB's writers.. I love the show too much that i'm willing to be kept blinded on any mishape on the last episode.... It had been a very enjoyable ride for me.. Thank you for the recaps :)

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117 Tati

June 12, 2012 at 8:34 PM

Love is magical and simple. Magical that even two people from different times can be together (only in dramaland of course), and simple enough that the explanation "i came because you called" should not come as a surprise.

Thanks to all who defended the ending. Your insights would definitely come handy when i finally sit down and watch this drama.

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118 tehliimau

June 12, 2012 at 8:56 PM

Whoa! After three hundred comments and counting!!! And having read them all!!! (yes I am insanely obsessed with this show): here are my thoughts on the ending (drawn with a million Boong Do loves):

1) The phone is no longer a phone in Joseon times. It does not and will not work as it does in the present. It is a reminder to Boong Do of what he has lost, and a representation of Hee Jin's love. So forget about batteries and wireless transmission.
2) The phone is also NOT the new talisman. Because I am Sure! That Boong Do will not warp back again to the past just by calling the phone. Otherwise, how will the phone be less flimsy than the old talisman? Is our OTP going to become jumpy every time the phone rings? No, Boong Do's final time warp is permanent.
3) why?? Boong Do was meant to die in Joseon times. And he escaped death many times, thanks to the magical talisman. He thought he could wipe the slate clean by pretending to die in EP14, but you cannot cheat death/time/history this way, especially when Boong Do knew he would still live, and quite happily with Hee Jin.
4) by finally choosing to die WITH NO HOPE of living, Boong Do essentially repaid his debt, and time/history/death realigned. And the critical law of time travel that is throughout this show prevailed. "He lives when he dies." so when he is TRULY dying with no hope in living, he no longer belongs to Joseon era anymore, and he could truly start living permanently with Hee Jin in 2013.

The things I do for your Boong Do - you make me write thesis over this show, and I have already graduated so many years ago. QIHM, and Boong Do - you are TrUlY PERFECT!

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119 hottestjen

June 12, 2012 at 9:12 PM

the best drama ever, now i just need to buy the drama dvd and continue to pray that tvN releases an official OST for all the songs, instruments that's got me crying!

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120 Ree

June 12, 2012 at 9:22 PM

The whole cellphone-as-talisman concept didn't bother me too much. Boongdo and Heejin (and me!) went through so much that in the end all I wanted was for them to be together. I don't think it would've satisfied me if Heejin settled for a reincarnation of Boongdo. Also, I don't think it's about the cellphone as much as it was about Heejin finally remembering Boongdo and how much they love each other. Like Harry Potter and other great stories, Love ultimately conquers Death.

I love this show to bits and pieces! Thank you guys for recapping!

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121 crazykel

June 12, 2012 at 9:33 PM

So, I agree a little on both ends. While the cell phone is a nice touch which interplays the phone/pay phone motif throughout the drama, I did find that it was not as believable as it could have been.

However, I think in the whole scheme of things, I can overlook this slight on verisimilitude. It didn't ruin the drama for me, so I'm not going to worry about it.

For Romantic dramas, Queen In Hyun's Man is by far my favorite. It held me through the end, and it didn't lag too much (like so many dramas do).

Now if I could only find my own Kim Boong-Do, that would be a miracle!

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122 Roxanne

June 12, 2012 at 9:47 PM

I want to know why he isn't wet? Shouldn't he and his suit be soaking too?

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muhloy

June 13, 2012 at 5:30 PM

his hair was a little wet. but yeah, why wasn't he all drippy like heejin was....maybe it's because he spent an hour looking for her and his suit dried a bit.

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123 Naddie

June 12, 2012 at 10:22 PM

I pretty much agree with JB's comments on the ending - although I'm in no way dissatisfied with the resolution, I'm kind of "meh" about HOW it happened.

But well, I'm loving this happy ending, so <3 I was ready to jump off a building if they gave us RP's ending haha.

This series was pretty much perfect for me. I'm looking forward to tvN's next drama :D God, first SUFBB and then QIHM. The next one has some big shoes to fill!

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topper

June 12, 2012 at 10:32 PM

They have I Love Italy showing now, but the writing is bad.

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124 Mummy of 3

June 12, 2012 at 11:05 PM

Thank you dramabeans..becos I started watching this series after reading your recaps & thank you wanderlust, for all passionate comments about the ending. I really enjoyed reading what you wrote & your comments made it all the more meaningful:) Thank you everyone here for making this journey enjoyful:)

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125 AJ

June 12, 2012 at 11:11 PM

Ok, first I want to apologize if someone wrote a comment similar to this. I have not had the time to read all the comments.

I am one of (now I see) maybe only a few people who watched this show for pure entertainment value. I loved this show to pieces, but I did not spend time thinking about this shows deeper meanings and took everything at face value. There were so many unrealistic characteristics at the surface that I did not bother to look below to find anything else. To be honest, I did not know anyone else would be willing to look deeper, because it is a romcom tv show.

Yes, I was dissatisfied with the cell phone ending. Even after reading everyones arguments I am still not sure I am on board with it. BUT... after going through some of the comments on the first page and seeing how much controversy and debate not only the end but the last couple of episode have brought, I have to say the problems I have with the ending do not matter any more. Just the fact that the writers were able to stir a debate so intense, one that I have not seen seen my developmental psychology's class debate on Freuds psychosexual development theory, renders me speechless. Really, what more could I ask for?!

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126 panshel

June 12, 2012 at 11:20 PM

Will still love the drama but dissatisfied with the ending. His suicide attempt made me incredibly squeamish, and consequently, the tie had been tainted for me. So for Boong Do to wear the tie after recently hanging himself with it and to joke about misusing the tie for another purpose, then for Hee Jin to pull on the tie for a kiss, I was incapable of finding any romance in that moment.

I consider the cell phone to be the deus ex machina. Yoon Wol prayed day and night to receive the talisman from the head monk; Hee Jin bought the cell phone from the cell phone store. How is the cell phone infused with Hee Jin's love and sincerity? In the rules of the talisman, the talisman will only work in the hands of its master. Ja Soo tested the talisman on his minion, and the minion died. The cell phone will work in the hands of everyone. The cell phone is not exclusive to Boong Do. Therefore, how do we know the new time-warp mechanism is forever? How do we know Boong Do won't poof back to Joseon?

I love the opening scene of the first episode and wished it was incorporated in the final episode. As for the epilogue, I didn't know if I was watching an NG or if it was Boong Do living it for the third time. It was unbelievable that Boong Do's hair had not grown back in one year.

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starlight

June 12, 2012 at 11:58 PM

"Yoon wl prayed for it day and night, heejin brought it at a phonestall. How then is it imbrued with heejins love?"

just an analogy for you, if a poor man buys a 20 cent ring from the candy machine to propose to his honey and a rich man buys a custom made 24 carat gold diamond ring worth 2 million dollars to propose, does that mean that the love of the poor man is not as strong as the love of the the rich man? How does one compare love and affection and determines whose is stronger and more meaningful? I say nobody.

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Atiras

June 13, 2012 at 12:43 PM

panshel,

give it up! fallacies cannot be argued here. these are rabid fans ;)

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mia

June 25, 2012 at 10:45 AM

But aren't you the one who find no merits in this drama whatsoever.....declaring at one point that there's a complete lack of depth etc etc. So why are you wasting time here taking pot shots at these 'rabid fans' here as you choosed to label them ? You should be putting in your few cents worth in another deep profound drama out there somewhere, and not waste so much bile here for such 'a worthless' drama such as QIM ?

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Kiara

June 13, 2012 at 1:56 PM

One more thing..if I remember correctly Boong Do gave Hee-jin his money and said he may need a phone and something else (some clothes?) I forgot. It didnt feel like it was given to him as a gift from her or some kind of symbol of love other than a way for to communicate but thats just me.

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127 eternalfive

June 12, 2012 at 11:31 PM

*sob* Now there aren't even any QIHM recaps left to console me and fill this gaping hole in my heart. :( I haven't felt this way about a drama ending for aaages - this feeling of emptiness from having no more episodes to look forward to, and a complete disinterest in any other dramas airing, because I just can't think of anything else but QIHM. Still not over mourning the end. *siiigh*

Anyway, thank you so much Javabeans and HeadsNo2 (and Girlfriday!) for recapping this. If it weren't for you deciding to start and continue recapping QIHM Javabeans, even though it didn't fit neatly into your schedule, I would never have even known its existence, and I would have missed out on one of the most brilliant dramas and cutest couples EVAAAR. Just the thought makes me shudder. :P So really, I'm incredibly grateful to you for introducing this to us all, 'cause now QIHM has one of the top spots on my all-time favourites list of dramas. :)

Now about the episode itself...ugh. I have such mixed feelings about it. My first reaction was "wtf was the writer drinking when she wrote this", because after all those tears I shed during Boong-do's suicide scene (which was so well-done and heartbreaking and painful <3), as well as all those other tears I shed in the previous episodes, using a freaking PHONE as the means to get them back together just seemed so silly and nonsensical in comparison that I felt cheated. Not that it wasn't silly and nonsensical in the first place. I get that phones were immensely important in the development of our couple, and that they played a huge role in keeping them in contact, and that the fact that phones are used over distance and have an intangible connection makes them the perfect symbol for Hee-jin and Boong-do's relationship, but seriously?! I completely agree with JB - that there are definitely a number of ways that you could think up that would make the ending work, but the fact that you have to TRY and make the ending work in the first place just lessens the entire effect of it. If they wanted to use the phone resolution, then they should've built up to it nicely, like they did with everything else! I was completely expecting an ending where everything would come together, fall into place like puzzle pieces, and make me sigh in satisfaction (again) at the genius and perfect logic of the writing. In fact, I even went straight back to the beginning of the drama, mentally sifting through all the scenes in the hopes that I would find some missing clue that was the key to making it all work. But nope. Nothing.

But at the same time, I've somewhat accepted (or resigned) myself to the ending, so it doesn't annoy me as much as it did at first. I do wish that the drama kept up its perfection and logic right until the end so that I coul ACTUALLY call this drama perfect without any qualms, but my love for the previous 15 eps and the majority of Episode 16 outweighs that by far anyway, so ultimately, all I can say is: thank you drama, for taking me on this beautiful ride. I doubt I will ever completely get off it. ^^

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shl71

June 13, 2012 at 12:36 AM

'time heals all wounds' 8-)

yeah, felt the same way you did, but - it's been a week, so I've come round to accepting the ending. Looking at the bigger picture of the drama, and remembering everything else that was awesome with it, that 0.1% of a blip in the last few minutes can be let go of.

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128 Aquila

June 12, 2012 at 11:52 PM

I never cry in dramas - I may groan or roll my eyes at the repetitive use of cliche and stuff... But make me emotionally moved... this drama nailed it for me.

There was an accumulation of reasons why this drama held it... even right through the end... I love the use of the smart phone to call Boong Do back to the current time period. I love (though heart-crushing) the fact that Boong Do burnt the talisman to ease Hee Jin's broken heart. I love the fact that the two mains had such an electrifying chemistry.

I was squeeling when Ji Hyun Woo announced his genuine love to Yoo In Na... Make it happen!!!

This drama, hands down one of the most satisfying korean dramas... in a LONG time... I can not WAIT for the DVD to be released!

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129 cheddar

June 13, 2012 at 12:15 AM

this is definitely one of the best written shows, ever. i get the dissatisfaction towards the cellphone twist in the finale. but i honestly think that if the drama really did live up to our expectations, the most perfect and beautiful way to end it, being true to itself, is a tragic ending for our lovers. beautiful, yes, but i will literally die from the pain and the angst and i would rather take my happy ending any day. i just can't think of a way to end it happily without resorting to cheating especially that the drama only has 16 episodes. so in conclusion i am satisfied with the ending and am grateful that it did not tear me to pieces.

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130 jingelbells

June 13, 2012 at 12:44 AM

With everything been said and done, I just want to say that this drama has been the most perfect and most beautiful as of to date. Acting-wise, plot-wise, cinematography, from the lines to the music, everything is perfect. It really explored every what-if's.
I first saw the trailer and fell in love with it. I watched it from the very first time it was shown and never thought that it would hook me up this way. All I know is that it was Yoo In Na and some unknown guy. If I only know what kind of journey this will be! I loved the chemistry between Hyun Woo and In Na on screen and off the screen!♥ It made the drama more magical for me.
Though some people said that the confession ruined ep 15 and 16 for them, it made me feel exhilarated and thrilled! It was my first time that my OTP turned real from reel. SO right now, I am on my 3rd time marathoning ep 1-16 and watching them thinking that this might be a real love story unfolding. Now wishing that the love that they may have will be for keeps. :)

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131 queencircles

June 13, 2012 at 12:58 AM

I wasn't fully satisfied with that ending.

I was thinking on what a better way to end it would have been. Then I came up with this idea that it it would have been cute if they had her ask him earlier on in the show how he came across the talisman, and then she get pettily jealous of joseon Yoon-wol and seek to have her own talisman made for boong-do that said something about keeping lovers together or something. if he kept it with him and then had it when he was hanging himself, or spoke the words on the talisman while he was hanging dying, and that's what shifted him to the future. That woulda been cooler. sigh

Still. I enjoyed this show a lot.

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132 sesuatubanget

June 13, 2012 at 1:29 AM

if the talisman burned when yoon-wol died and boong-do back to the past, so what will happen with him when one day hee-jin dies,too?

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133 haneul.

June 13, 2012 at 2:39 AM

I thought the ending made perfect sense. They said that what made the talisman work, was the gisaengs strong feelings for Boong Do. So it makes sense that the two main characters own strong feelings could make some kind of magic, even without the talisman.

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134 Asiatic rock

June 13, 2012 at 3:36 AM

Thank you Java beans, Heads No2 and Girl Friday for the awesome recaps. These recaps along with the comments made the journey through QIHM so beautiful..

All in all A LOVELY DRAMA THROUGH AND THROUGH...

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135 Itoshi

June 13, 2012 at 3:43 AM

I admire QIHM because of its ability to pull off a world where talismans are magical and its believable characters. It's like LOTR, the way Tolkien effortlessly write as if Middle Earth really exists and therein lies the charm for me. As for the ending, at first I felt something was wrong but then I remembered that's how I first felt when I read the end of LOTR. Like what my teacher used to say, 'if you 'get' a poem the first time you read it, then, it's really not a good poem' Which is true.

I'm gonna miss EVERYTHING about QIHM.. :)

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136 Mina

June 13, 2012 at 3:45 AM

Caveat: I haven't watched any episode and have been only following the show through recaps here in Dramabeans/other blogs. Even before this recap (the only recap of the last episode that I've read), I already somewhat knew of the "phone-as-new-talisman" thing, and like many, I was disappointed by what it implied.

However, after reading this recap and giving it thought, I've decided that it's not really about the cellphone-as-a-new-talisman that brought Boong-do back to Hee-jin. It wasn't meant to replace the talisman, and it the call wasn't meant to be the primary reason that Boong-do came back.

The reason Boong-do came back was because Hee-jin remembered. His act of burning the talisman was meant to take care of everything, meaning, that Hee-jin would forget him and her life would go on unaffected by him. However, when she started remembering him (and their relationship) despite the supposed impossibility of doing so, she essentially broke the trappings of fate for them both. Her calling his phone number--remembering it by heart--is the final act and proof of her remembering. So it wasn't that the cellphone was the new talisman that became the deus ex machina that got them together again--it was Hee-jin's regaining of her memory. For me, that makes it infinitely more beautiful :)

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137 skinnymocha

June 13, 2012 at 5:07 AM

Last episode aside, I have to thank the drama for being an absolute gem. How many dramas have we seen - no matter how good or how much adoration we throw at it -losing steam around the mid-point? QIHM, however, has managed to maintain that excellency and produced some of the most compelling moments in ep 14 and 15. To be able to keep it up so late in the game is just... wow. Shame about the final slip up, but oh well. At least it was nothing like My Girlfriend is a Gumiho - yes, I expected sunshines and rainbows at the end, but to build it up as a life or death situation, then for them to be separated for only a few minutes (on screen)?! Way to take away all the tension...

For those who argue that time travel isn't realistic (in our world) anyway, so why shouldn't the phone be accepted? I absolutely disagree. Of course it's not real, time travel does not exist - as far as I'm aware of - but in this fictional world, the premise of time-travel/the talisman has been well established. For them to throw in the phone at the last moment - although in keeping with the earlier themes in this series - still leaves a bitter aftertaste. Perhaps the moment would have worked out better if I hadn't found the first half of the episode a dud. I was expecting higher tensions, more action - heck, even that dramatic opening from ep 1, but alas, it did not appear...

As for the attempted suicide, I was yet again sorely disappointed. (Not disappointed as in, "Why the heck did that happen?! You make absolutely no sense!", but more of a "I wish I'd never seen that.") Logically speaking, Boong Do is a man of his words and he did promise the King not to set foot on this land again. I understand he was trying to find an easy way out for the King, BUT what if he still had hopes of returning to Hee Jin one day? Would he given up so easily? Again, I do understand that Boong Do himself saw no way out of it since the talisman was destroyed and he'd wandered the lands alone for 1 year, but nonetheless, it still makes my heart ache to see such a broken man, all too willing to pass on his life. It's a stark contrast to the character earlier on - one of intelligence, capability and fighting spirit. In one of their earlier separations, I adored that moment (ep13/14?) where he promised Hee Jin he'd sort things out back in Joseon AND return to her. I had no clue as to how he'd go about with it, but I liked the fact he was so self-assured, so willing to take responsibilty.

At the end of the day - despite that final hiccup - I still love this show with all my heart. Put me on the waiting list for a Boong Do of my own!

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Geemekoon

June 24, 2012 at 1:37 PM

he's submission/surrender to his circumstances at the prison cell is what enables him to accept death. he doesn't know that HJ will regain her memories as he is slowing dying, he doesn't know he will get a faithful phone call, he doesn't know how all the time/space logic work... he just accepts that its his time to go.

It is interesting to note >>> his 1 year of traveling was critical, Sequencing of events and being in the right place at the right time" is significant. If he died any earlier then there would never be a possibility of meeting again.

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138 Emi

June 13, 2012 at 5:13 AM

This drama was so good it made my hubby(not a kdrama fan) to watch the whole 16 episode in 1 day. he even whined when I told him there were only 14 episodes and we have to wait a week for the other 2 episodes.heee..

There's 1 thing though.....HOW IN THE WORLD DID HE CHARGE HIS PHONE?! It has been a year.. even if he had the charger, the electricity isn't introduced yet, right?

JB is right, I Love the show but the ending is kind of...... hmmmnnnn.... nevertheless this drama will be kept in my all-time fave...

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Geemekoon

June 24, 2012 at 1:49 PM

yes.. logically, the phone would have no energy to run.. BUT even if the phone did have a charge, how does a phone get a signal from 300 years in the future before satellites exist?? obvious an impossible scenerio...

THEN the only plausible/implausible truth is that Fate can do things without any explanations

Fate used a talisman cloth as device for transporting KBD (a truly unscientific method) and it can also use another innate object such as making a "dead" phone awaken and transport KBD.

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139 erika

June 13, 2012 at 6:00 AM

long live the cellphones!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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140 merlyunho

June 13, 2012 at 6:32 AM

i'm sooo satisfied with this drama, yeah, that's the correct word. satisfied. it gives me what i hope for and some more. the ending might not have been the perfect, but when i think it through, i think i get it. if i was a person coming from around 3 centuries ago, i too would be amazed by a cellphone, even believing it as some sort of magic. it has so many features that one from Joseon won't even start to imagine and has the ability to connect people though time and space. what was in my era can only be sent in two weeks' time, can be done in a matter of seconds with this thing called cellphone. and it has been the main thing that connects them as well, in the earlier episodes, when heejin thought boong do died and later he was relieved to be in jeju. 2012, we were all assured by a phone call, and later after that, we knew boong do has traveled all the way to 2012 through a phone call. yep, that little thing does a lot to the couple.

it did seem a harsh way to end everything, the problem i have with the ending was not the matter of that magical phone call, but how fast it seemed to have resolved everything. i wish that the rewarding part was much longer and somehow more thoroughly explained, because heck, they give us almost near-death experiences and two episodes worth of crying buckets. shouldn't they at least give us more than half an episode just to reward all those tears? haha, just saying, though.

but this drama has been one of the very few good dramas in 2012, (if not the best, i just haven't met a drama that hooked me as bad as this one), and will continue to be one of my all time favorites.

thanks to QIHM, i will stay have faith in cable dramas.

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141 Kannitha

June 13, 2012 at 6:36 AM

okay...............is it juz de big ol' feeling we'd normally hv after de finales, OR is this last episode sort of REALLY REALLY short?? It feels lk all de plots together is juz 20mins long, o.O!!

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142 LT

June 13, 2012 at 9:06 AM

I really don't understand the ending! The "effect" was supposed to be Boong Do losing Hee Jin but they ended up together anyways. I would have preferred a meaningful ending that made sense (even if it were to be sad) then something totally out of the blue like this. But anyways, this drama is still one of my top faves!

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143 pot

June 13, 2012 at 9:28 AM

Come on people. This is a fantasy drama. The last thing you guys should be thinking about is reception and battery life.

Instead, think of how beautiful the symbolism is that HJ manages to reach BD 300 years into the past, not because of some amazing telco, but because of love. Because the memories that they shared connected them. Remember the narration HJ made at the end? The reason for their second meeting was no longer the talisman. It was their shared string of memories. The talisman gave BD his life. He had to return something, and to be honest, what can possibly match up to the worth of life? Isn't it life itself, in the end?

By being allowed to live, he has to give up his life - his name, family, friends, job... But he never really gave up everything. He was still holding on to his life as KBD. And that is why HJ wasn't able to reach him at first, that was why she didn't regain her memories.

But, in that jail cell, when BD decides to die to keep his promise to the King, that is when the debt of life is fully repaid, because KBD "died" then. And only then, will he obtain the "life" that the talisman is giving him! Because he died, essentially. And that, is why HJ we able to remember. That is why he was able to reach him.

I might not have the most accurate intepretation of the ending out here, but I do think that harping on about reception and battery life is just going to mar your judgement about the ending. Forget reception and the battery!!!!!

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mia

June 25, 2012 at 10:59 AM

So well put ! Let's stop all the nitty gritty getting us to nowhere eh ? And like you said...will only mar our judgement of the ending.

I will forever remember this fantasy tale of a midsummer's dream that allow us some wonderful escapism that makes life more livable. Thank you so much QIM !

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144 Pot

June 13, 2012 at 9:30 AM

Come on people. This is a fantasy drama. The last thing you guys should be thinking about is reception and battery life.

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145 Pot

June 13, 2012 at 9:32 AM

Lol sorry about the double post I swear they told me posting failed the first time round....

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146 Soso

June 13, 2012 at 10:04 AM

Final last comment... what I love also about QIHM is the passion it brought out of people. I love watching and reading recaps, but it takes a special drama to start bringing out the stalker in me, where I start reading all the comments and scouring the internet for any tidbits.

Only 3 had managed to do this, M2F, TK2H and now QIHM.

Thank you all the commenters, too for providing so much to ponder over.

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147 Antique

June 13, 2012 at 10:59 AM

Javabeans has practically put my thoughts for the final episode into words. And perhaps somebody else had asked the same question but there's just too many comments for this particular episode (they're long too! XD) and I will just post it here in the hope of an explanation:

How can Boongdo finds Heejin at the studio in the end?

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topper

June 13, 2012 at 11:34 AM

GPS Locating. Her manager used it on her before, most probably she would have activated the pairing with Boongdo's phone too.

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148 joystar

June 13, 2012 at 2:25 PM

Thank you HeadsNo2 and JB for the recaps!
I've been waitin for this to see your opinions on the ending.

It's nice to find JB's reaction matching the natural expectation from the point of view of the audience who would logically draw the flow of events from any and all visible elements to derive at the conclusion.

The "magically-driven" element of this drama can hint on "HOW" to connect the dots, or even "HOW" dots suddenly appeared,
but without VISUALLY showing the "HOW", the missing link cannot be simply drawn out by letting viewers try ALL viable connections,
until they can make sense, unless they were actually going for the open-ending-scenario, which was neither the direction nor the outcome of this drama.

Mysteries and links were initially hidden, yet they eventually become unfolded before our eyes, so we've come to expect each "mysterious magic" to have links that are visually shown. The magic of the "original talisman" was made through some incantation,
so perhaps the "new talisman" could have been made through another visible way.

As I noted in another forum, the missing "how-the-cellphone-became-the-new-talisman"
conquering time-and-space could have been shown via a visual element of a "magical smoke"?

say, at the end of ep15, what was previously not shown was that when BD burned the talisman, the cellphone was also on the table, so the smoke and some particles from the burning talisman somehow got transferred to the cellphone, making the phone the “new magical tool” carrying the same “original charm” intended for the talisman.

so in ep 16, actually, the cellphone was off throughout, but its “magical” power, as passed on by the original talisman, made it last for at least 1 more year, up to the time when its “magic” is needed again, that is, when BD dies, he should live again in another world.

thus, the cellphone being a modern tool also, connected both worlds (the old and modern world), in a new way, like sending some signal to the modern world for the need for a call-back when it’s not on BD’s body, thereby making HJ recall BD’s number, make the phone in the old times ring again, and finally bring BD back to life, to send him to the modern world as soon as he unlocks it to answer the call...

and so, the director should have just put that “magical smoke” element as scene effects shown as part of the explanation in ep 16, right?

i guess with an establishment of such “magical smoke transfer” to use a new tool as talisman, ppl wouldn’t be trying to make sense out of the totally disconnected idea of having the specially-made talisman/magical tool (originally the paper) lost forever, and yet its charm somehow got transferred to another form (the cellphone) without due explanation. =)

“magical smoke” scene effects on the works:
- ep15 scene with talisman burning on table,
its “magical smoke” touches/reaches BD’s cellphone,
making the latter the new “modernized talisman”
- HJ finally recalls BD, and dials his number due to
the “magical smoke” coming out from the HJ’s cellphone
(since it’s the partner of BD’s now-magical cellphone)
- BD’s cellphone ringing again as the “magical smoke”
works on its ways to send him to the modern world

So, if the "how-the-cellphone-became-the-new-talisman" simply made sense to everyone without room for confusion, then perhaps we can readily hope for a Season 2 with this new magical tool, offering new endless possible twists and turns! :D

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149 Dix

June 13, 2012 at 2:25 PM

I think most of us find it hard to believe in the cell phone magic because our generation is wired to not be able to relate modern technology with magic. I found unbelievable at first but asked myself how come I can believe in a magical written word on a fabric but not a cell phone. The fact that they met and lived through the magic created by the talisman meant it opened a lot of things around them to magic as well, they just didn't know it yet. The cell phone is the first discovery; there may be many other things in their belongings that have become magical. Their case is not normal so it makes sense to expect the unexpected.