Gu Family Book: Episode 24 (Final)
by girlfriday
Uh… so THAT happened. There are words. They’re forming slowly because I have a melty puddle where my brain used to be. It’s finale time for Gu Family Book, and I’ll tell you one thing: It ain’t boring! Ha. Hahahaha. Heh. Heh. Heh… *cries*
The finale brought in 19.5%, which left it just shy of ever breaking that elusive 20% barrier. I feel that it’s fair, because the show left ME just shy of sane, so quid pro quo. Tit for tat, and all that jazz.
FINAL EPISODE RECAP
We backtrack a little to Kang-chi’s visit to Lee Soon-shin, where he says it’s time they take out Jo Gwan-woong. Or eons ago, but who’s counting? Lee Soon-shin says he’ll trust Kang-chi but in exchange he has to make a promise not to take any lives by his hand, in the name of revenge. Kang-chi promises.
After rescuing Yeo-wool from the Piñata of Doom, Kang-chi tells her to rest, but she says she wants to be there for the epic moment when Jo Gwan-woong finally gets his due. Well you can’t blame a girl for wanting front-row seats to that showdown. *grabs popcorn*
Now back to the confrontation with Jo Gwan-woong, where our good guys line up like sitting ducks for Jo Gwan-woong’s gun-toting minion to take his best shot. He lights the fuse, and Yeo-wool is the first to turn around and see him. Crap.
She sees that he’s aiming for Kang-chi (which confuses me since I thought we were going after Lee Soon-shin to pin the murder on Kang-chi, but whatever it hardly matters at this point) and jumps in the way.
She takes the shot in the shoulder. Everyone freezes, and Jo Gwan-woong scowls at the shot wasted on the wrong target.
She falls into Kang-chi’s arms and gasps, “Don’t go anywhere! Don’t disappear!” A tear falls, and then she closes her eyes.
Kang-chi’s eyes light up green with rage, and he storms over to Minion like the Terminator, not caring that the guy is fumbling to reload his gun. He’s not fast enough anyway, and Kang-chi yanks the gun out of his hands and starts punching him in the face over and over and over again.
Kang-chi strangles him as he bleeds, growling that a useless human like him needs to die. Whoa. So quick to forget our promises, Gumiho Baby.
Lee Soon-shin calls out to him to remind him that it’s an irreversible path once you spill blood, but he argues back that this one can die and it would be better for everyone.
He’s about to go over the edge when suddenly Yeo-wool calls out to him, and it works like an instant de-hulking pill. He runs over to tend to her like he wasn’t just about to kill someone two seconds ago.
The boys get ready to move her, when Jo Gwan-woong suddenly declares that no one can leave. Oh, you’re still planning to attack? Then why were you just standing around watching the show with the rest of us instead of attacking when you had a diversion?
So then we’re back to square one, with swords raised on both sides. Jo Gwan-woong orders them all killed, which is when Lee Soon-shin finally steps up to say that he can’t abide any more of his villainy, and calls in the troops.
Suddenly the place floods with his soldiers, and Lee Soon-shin arrests Jo Gwan-woong for framing innocent people as traitors, selling state secrets, and attempting to murder him. Uh, if he could just be arrested for these crimes, then why have we let him run around for twenty-four episodes?
The Japanese emissaries skedaddle post-haste, and Jo Gwan-woong is left to defend himself. Even though his guards have the slowest reflexes known to man, they use gas bombs to slip away. We don’t even get to see the chase, so I’m assuming that means he got away.
Next thing we know, Soo-ryun and Chung-jo are getting word that Yeo-wool is on her deathbed, and we see Master Dam sitting by her side as Teacher Gong says there isn’t much time left.
A flashback to Little Yeo-wool brings us to that day when she first asked Dad to teach her sword-fighting. He asks why, and she says that someone got hurt because of her, and all she could do was stand by and cry.
Little Yeo-wool: “If I don’t want anyone to be hurt because of me anymore, then I have to become stronger.” Aw. She learned to fight because of Kang-chi. Dad heaves another long sigh and stalks out.
Kang-chi is at So-jung’s house, asking for some way to save Yeo-wool. So-jung sighs that it happened after all, and that there’s nothing Kang-chi can do when a human meets her fate.
He doesn’t much like that answer, and insists, “There must be something I can do! Yeo-wool will die!” But So-jung says that’s how Fate works, and all he can do is accept it. He says that the best he can do is to go be by Yeo-wool’s side till the end.
When Kang-chi returns to the school, he finds out that Master Dam and Gon have gone after Jo Gwan-woong.
The hunting party scatters through the woods, and Jo Gwan-woong starts to show signs of a cracked noggin—when a guard asks for their next move, he mutters at him to ask Minion because he’ll know what to do. The same sidekick who got hauled off by Lee Soon-shin’s men?
It doesn’t take long for Master Dam to close in on Jo Gwan-woong’s location, and a fight breaks out. Even when he’s down to a few last guards, he manages to slip away… only to run right into Kang-chi.
Jo Gwan-woong orders his men to kill him, and Kang-chi just lets his green eyes glow and tells them they can live if they drop their swords and walk away. They choose life. It’s pretty funny to watch Jo Gwan-woong get ditched so quickly.
Even after all that, he’s still posturing and screaming that Kang-chi will die, and Kang-chi just super-speeds over to him and claws at his arm. They don’t show much, but he reacts like Kang-chi just cut his hand off. Or is that just wishful thinking?
Kang-chi looms over him: “Does it hurt? This is nothing compared to the pain you’ve caused us.”
We hear through gisaeng exposition that Jo Gwan-woong got hauled off to Lee Soon-shin, hog-tied and short of one hand. But… I wanted to SEE that. In all its bloody and ridiculous glory. What the hell?
Now that Jo Gwan-woong is powerless, Chung-jo can no longer be pushed around by the other girls, and they back out of her way.
Yeo-wool opens her eyes and finds Kang-chi holding her hand. She sits up and asks after Dad, worried and sorry for what she’s putting him through. Kang-chi holds her and says she should just hurry up and get better then. She looks up at him and says she has three wishes. Aw man, is she really gonna die?
That night the family gathers for dinner by candlelight, as we hear Kang-chi tell Master Dam that Yeo-wool’s first wish is to eat with everyone. I like that wish. They laugh and joke good-naturedly, though Master Dam is just sitting stoically, trying not to look at Yeo-wool.
They laugh about how Yeo-wool was taller than Gon until they were eleven, and how he still doesn’t eat carrots like a little kid. Kang-chi outs Tae-seo for picking carrots out of his food too. I’m taking that as a sign that they’re meant to be.
Yeo-wool starts to struggle against the pain, and both Kang-chi and Dad notice blood dropping on the floor. Kang-chi gently suggests they go back to her room now, but she wants to stay just a little longer. Oof, that one thing gets to me—her wanting to stay at the dinner table just another minute.
Dad finally turns to her and says she should go rest now. She starts to cry as she tells him: “I’m sorry, Father. I’m sorry, Father.” He just wraps her tiny hand in his, and says with tears streaming down his face: “You are my greatest happiness, Yeo-wool-ah.”
Once Dad cries, the floodgates open, and everyone starts to cry. He asks Kang-chi to take care of her, which is a bittersweet way to finally get that approval from Dad.
He carries her down the hall, and she asks for her second wish—to go on a walk with him. He takes her to the river where they sit for a while, and she asks something she’s always been curious about: “Why are you afraid of spiders?” Kang-chi: “Because they have too many legs.” It’s true! They have too many. What do they need all those legs for anyway?
He asks if she remembers what he said to her back then—to be his wife. “If I ask you the same thing now, what will you say?” She wonders when he remembered, and why he didn’t say anything about it till now.
He says the second he knew her name, he remembered, “But you had already begun to mean something to me.” He asks again:
Kang-chi: Will you marry me?
Yeo-wool: Even though I can’t cook?
Kang-chi: Will you marry me?
Yeo-wool: And my sewing is terrible?
Kang-chi: Will you marry me?
He starts to cry, and she wipes away his tears. “Don’t cry, Kang-chi-ya. I don’t want to be a sad memory for you. I want to be a happy one. I want to be laughter to you, not tears. When you remember me, I want you to be happy. That is my third wish.”
He takes her hand and makes her promise: “Let’s meet again. Let’s meet again. I’ll wait for you.” She nods.
Kang-chi: “I love you.” Yeo-wool: “I love you.”
As they kiss one last time, blue lights come floating in around them. Kang-chi thinks in voiceover: “When we meet again, I’ll recognize you first. When we meet again, I’ll love you first.”
And then her hand drops away from his, and she falls onto his shoulder. He calls her name, but there’s no answer.
He holds her close as he breaks down in tears, and then he narrates: “And like that, the sound of her breath stopped. And in that moment, my time stopped.”
Time stops for everyone as they mourn Yeo-wool’s passing, and then when we find Kang-chi sitting in her room, staring at the flower he gave her, now wilted.
Tae-seo finds him there, still numb and not knowing what to do. He asks if Tae-seo thinks Yeo-wool might still be alive and happy if it weren’t for him, and Tae-seo says that if he had to choose between living a hundred years or only living a hundred days but with the person he loves, he’d choose the hundred days.
Tae-seo: “Yeo-wool was happier than anyone because of you.”
Tae-seo leads him out, and that’s when we see that Kang-chi has a bag packed. Everyone is outside waiting to say goodbye, and he bows to Master Dam to thank him for everything.
Master Dam asks if he’s going to find the Gu Family Book, but Kang-chi says no—he’s going to spend some more time living as he is, waiting until he re-meets the person he wants to grow old with.
Teacher Gong gives him medicine and takes a ring off his finger and places it on Kang-chi’s hand, saying that it’s a sign that he is his disciple. Aw. Dad hugs him goodbye, and then Master Dam presents him with Yeo-wool’s sword, telling him it’s his to keep safe now.
He bows one last time, and takes his leave.
Gon, who’s been conspicuously absent from the proceedings, steps out to watch him go. He says to himself in a quiet voice, “Go well, Choi Kang-chi.”
Kang-chi doesn’t turn around, but he knows Gon is there. He just raises Yeo-wool’s sword above his head as he thinks: “Be well, friend.” Okay, that was kind of badass.
Chung-jo gets a package—it’s the shirt she made for Kang-chi, returned to her. She wistfully recites a proverb that means that first love makes a person grow, while last love completes them, and then sets out towards the prison with a purposeful look in her eye.
She bribes a guard to get inside, and walks right into Jo Gwan-woong’s cell. He does in fact have a stump for a hand. And the reason we were deprived of that violence is…?
She says she came here to pour him a drink, and tells him it’s time for him to die now. He takes the gesture as a sign of mercy, given the punishment he’s about to face, but she just steels her gaze and says that she just wanted to cut off his breath by her own hand, that’s all.
He takes a drink, and asks for another, as he calls his life un-fun and muses that he wasn’t greedy—he just wanted to feel alive. Her expression doesn’t change as he starts to cough up blood, and then she leaves him there to die alone. Farewell, Stumpy. It wasn’t nearly painful enough a death for you, but we’ll take what we can get.
Kang-chi runs into Lee Soon-shin on his way out, and says he doesn’t really know where he’s headed. Lee Soon-shin tells him there’s no real answer to being human, save for trying, every day. He tells Kang-chi, “Of all the people I have met in my life, you are the warmest, kindest person.”
Kang-chi promises to come running if he ever signals for help, and asks if he really thinks that the Gu Family Book exists. Lee Soon-shin says that if he believes in becoming human, then it must exist.
Kang-chi smiles and continues on his path.
And then in Yeo-wool’s room, the blue lights return and bring her flower back to life.
Fade out, and then when we fade back in, it’s 422 years later in present-day Seoul. Errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. WHAT. Suddenly he’s Hong-Giljimae?
In a fancy modern apartment are very familiar old relics: Gon’s sword, Teacher Gong-dal’s medicine jar, Yeo-wool’s sword, her purple flower. We only see a man from behind as he showers and gets dressed, and then a close-up of the ring on his finger, and a familiar red shirt hanging in the closet.
As he flips through a magazine we see that Teacher Gong-dal has been reincarnated as a doctor of eastern medicine, and then he gets a call from Yoo Yeon-seok, which is Tae-seo’s actor’s real name. This is getting too meta for my liking. So this is Tae-seo’s soul reincarnated, and he shouts at his friend to hurry up and get to the party.
Kang-chi looks out his window and narrates: “The 5221st crescent moon I’m meeting alone.” And down below in the street, a familiar voice cries out, “Excuse me!” as she runs through the streets.
Kang-chi finally turns his face to the camera as his butler calls to him, and it’s Servant Choi. What, you made your dad a butler? WTF, Kang-chi-ya? And even Ok-man is a valet downstairs.
As he drives through the city, we get glimpses of modern life (and a little moment where he smiles up at the statue of Lee Soon-shin, ha). Kang-chi narrates: “The world changed so quickly, and the way that people live has changed so drastically.”
At an intersection, a woman runs past his car in a blur, and it makes him do a double take. But the light changes and he keeps driving ahead. As he arrives to meet his friends, suddenly he hears a woman crying for someone to save her.
He sighs and pretends not to hear it, but she screams again, and he can’t ignore it. The woman screaming turns out to be Yeo-wool’s teacher, reincarnated, and she’s currently about to get her purse taken from Ma Bong-chul, who’s still a loan shark gangster even in this life.
Kang-chi shows up to save the day, only to beam when he sees Bong-chul and Teacher. “Are you taking money from people even here?” Ha. He counts to three just like the old days, and flashes his pretty green eyes at him before he beats them to a pulp.
He’s just about to have his hero moment, when a familiar voice calls out behind him to freeze. Everyone else takes off running, and Kang-chi puts his hands up with a sigh, saying it’s all a misunderstanding.
But when he whirls around, he stops cold. It’s Yeo-wool, inching closer to him with her gun raised. Is she a cop? Seems fitting.
She comes closer and tells him to freeze, which he’s already doing because his mind is blown, and he finally manages to say, “Yeo-wool-ah…”
She looks back at him quizzically: “How do you know my name?” Huh, so she’s the only one who has the same name?
She asks if he knows her, and we hear Kang-chi’s voiceover again that when they meet again, he’ll recognize her first and love her first.
He finally answers cryptically with tears brimming in his eyes, “I might know you, and I might not.” And then he looks past her to find a peach blossom tree and a crescent moon hanging up above. He finishes in voiceover: “And my time that had stopped… began to flow once again.”
End credits… and then an epilogue.
Kang-chi’s doorbell rings and he’s shocked to find Gon at his door, bearing a national security ID tag. The man behind him takes off his sunglasses… and it’s Lee Soon-shin.
COMMENTS
WHAT. THE. FUCK.
Is this writer on crack? The thing is, I totally see what she was trying to do, and it’s even theoretically the kind of ending I would love for a hero’s journey. Really really, promise promise. But dude, you can’t just slap that ending on without doing the legwork to make it organic, lived-in, and earned… hell, even remotely sensical. There’s a finesse to the execution! You can’t just decide your hero’s gonna be Iljimae and then shove us into the future. That’s messed up. I feel manipulated out of tears, and worse, cheated out of the hero’s journey that would have brought us here in a satisfying manner.
You know, I actually watched this series much like Jeon Woo-chi–with low expectations for a cute, fun hero story, delivered with cheeky laughs. It was never going to be epically amazing, but I wasn’t going to hold it to that when it was trying to be lighter fare. But this—trying to turn Kang-chi into one of those iconic in-every-generation heroes in the eleventh hour—was done so poorly. I may even have cringed less if they didn’t decide that he had to be Bruce Wayne, or that everyone from 422 years ago just happened to be reincarnated in the same lifetime. (Or was this the seventeenth Tae-seo he’s been buddies with? Who knows?) Just because you have a supernatural world doesn’t mean you get to do ALL supernatural things all willy-nilly. There are rules. What you sacrifice for that fancy surprise twist ending is that you went there on your own and left us all behind.
Kang-chi could’ve been that kind of hero… if that was what you were building towards for the past twenty-three episodes. But it wasn’t. And I know because I was there for all of it. We started in a good place, with an epic backstory and a great beginning for a hero. We set up a fantastic character who stood up for the weak and used his strength for the greater good. But then we let that sit there for the love story to take center stage. Living, loving, and dying was what he desperately wanted, and he fought for his human side to win out. So we wanted that for him. Because he told us so. We spent the rest of the episodes wondering if Kang-chi would ever get to the goddamn book and become human, and then gave up hope that this show would complete anything other than the romance. Because we spent SO MUCH time on the romance. And it was sweet, and cute, and all it needed was a pretty pink bow happy ending to satisfy us. That’s it.
Instead we got a death to wring tears out of us, and then a left-turn fast-forward so sharp that my whiplash is having whiplash babies. And the crux of it, really, is that it gained nothing in doing so. All we did was come back around to the romance. I suppose if you’re in it for a sequel, that’s another story, but then I hate people who shunt an ending in service of a sequel even more. Basically, if your endgame was this all along, then you should’ve done a better job shaping Kang-chi into a hero of the people. A champion. Someone who, I dunno, sacrifices becoming human to save the world? For instance?
And this is all before even getting to the fact that they pulled the reincarnated soulmance ending, which drives me crazy. The straight version: Kang-chi is still Kang-chi, but Yeo-wool is reincarnated, and he’s going to love her all over again. The fanwank version: Yeo-wool is also still Yeo-wool, because she still has the same name while no one else does, and her purple flower power gives her the right to do this. I dunno, I’m making it up. The point is, this kind of soul-in-new-body ending always leaves me with that niggling feeling that something’s not right. Because it’s not the same. Because she died, and he didn’t, and there wasn’t even any time travel for anyone who wasn’t us, and because then the healthier thing to do would be to move on with your life and date Catwoman or something. I get that pining for 5221 moons is, well, moony, but I thought the entire setup of the parents’ doomed tragedy of a romance was that the kids were going to get it right. And they did everything right every step of the way, only to get rewarded with a 422-year engagement.
I was all ready to put this show to bed with satisfactory B-marks, because it was fun and chipper, and a cool twist on gumiho lore. Though it didn’t explore the full extent of the beast/man divide, I thought that it had interesting ideas at the center and that we were just going to wrap up our narrative neatly. Even the sadder version that ends at the fadeout with Kang-chi walking down the dirt road—that would’ve been better. Less than stellar, but it would’ve been an organic ending. I might’ve even liked it. I’d still be upset at Yeo-wool having to die (because that’s just plain mean, is what) but I could be okay with Kang-chi setting out to live his life as half-human half-beast without her, and learning to accept himself as he is.
But so much of the emotional payoff I wanted was never delivered. And a finale that did that would’ve been enough for me to overlook the obvious flaws, like stretching story for 16 episodes into 24, or the unfortunate inverse stakes for Wol-ryung (epic, tragic, life-and-death) and Kang-chi (heartfelt, but juvenile, and not nearly as earth-shattering by a long shot). We were even shafted on the villain’s big comeuppance, which I know was not cut for censorship, (Remember when Wol-ryung yanked the still-beating heart out of a man and liked it?) not to mention that the drama’s over-reliance on Lee Soon-shin to come and save the day steals our hero’s thunder. I had fun with this show, even if it was never on a deep emotional level, but these last two episodes really took the wind out of my sails. It was such an interesting universe, rich with potential. To sacrifice closure in that world, for this… what a damn shame.
RELATED POSTS
- Gu Family Book: Episode 23
- Gu Family Book: Episode 22
- Gu Family Book: Episode 21
- Gu Family Book: Episode 20
- Gu Family Book: Episode 19
- Gu Family Book: Episode 18
- Gu Family Book: Episode 17
- Gu Family Book: Episode 16
- Gu Family Book: Episode 15
- Gu Family Book: Episode 14
- Gu Family Book: Episode 13
- Gu Family Book: Episode 12
- Gu Family Book: Episode 11
- Gu Family Book: Episode 10
- Gu Family Book: Episode 9
- Gu Family Book: Episode 8
- Gu Family Book: Episode 7
- Gu Family Book: Episode 6
- Gu Family Book: Episode 5
- Gu Family Book: Episode 4
- Gu Family Book: Episode 3
- Gu Family Book: Episode 2
- Gu Family Book: Episode 1
Tags: featured, Gu Family Book, Lee Seung-gi, Suzy
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51 JenJen
June 25, 2013 at 9:03 PM
If YeoWool can be reincarnated, why couldn't WolRyung wait for SeoHwa to also be reincarnated? I also don't understand YeoWool's death. If the shot was that fatal then I would think she'd have died more instantly. Also, throughout this whole series, KangChi's character development was actually quite dismal. We never actually searched for that Gu Family Book either. Can't believe I actually watched all but this last episode..... worst I've seen this year.
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nicoli
September 6, 2013 at 1:57 AM
the shot were not fatal yeowool died because of blood lost because it's the early period there's no such thing as operation and transfusion so the wound that yeowool got made it sever to the extent of taking her life... and about the wolryung and seohwa.. wolryung turned out to be a 1000 year ghost so he will lost all of his memories so how can he wait for seohwa to be incarnated and wolryung he's already dead and not a mythical being so he can't accomplish what kangchi achieve.
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52 amberscube
June 25, 2013 at 9:03 PM
Disappointed with the ending!
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53 Cielo009
June 25, 2013 at 9:04 PM
They actually killed YW. I didn't think they do that, I thought she might somehow live coz of the mighty powers of their love or something, and her actually dying for a brief moment means that her fate has changed and poof their problems are all solved and they live happily ever after. but no, they killed her, they actually killed her. Curse you drama.
Everything was building up to the war with the villains and we all end up with him just getting his hand chopped off and those Japanese baddies just get away with it? WTH did we just waste all those episodes to get a crappy ending to that part of the drama.
And can I say it again, they killed off YW. The saving grace of this drama was the cute-lovey-dovey romance and they kill the leading lady. Unless there's an actual season 2 or something to that effect (which we all know won't happen), I'm gonna pretend that this finale never ever happened.
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54 passerby001
June 25, 2013 at 9:04 PM
On d other hand, I think it's a great cliffhanger so far :)
That is, IF season 2 is really going to be carried out. IF NOT, then yeah: It's totally a disappointing closure.
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55 Z
June 25, 2013 at 9:04 PM
I don't get it. What did she die of? A gun shot wound tho the shoulder? Are those fatal now?
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KDaddict
June 25, 2013 at 9:12 PM
To her lung, thru the scapula, it looks like.
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Nanaki
June 25, 2013 at 9:57 PM
How did she sit up for dinner and converse with a lead ball in her lungs?!
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Pam
June 25, 2013 at 10:28 PM
Lmfao! I thought the same...like shouldn't she be lying in bed-dying gracefully? And she was menstruating on the dining floor??? Where was the wound? How come when KC carried her I didn't see blood on her clothes?
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KDaddict
June 26, 2013 at 12:30 AM
I know. I didn't know whether to be mad at them or to laugh. It was completely ridic.
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Cheryl
June 25, 2013 at 10:49 PM
I suspect it's infection and complications from the wound that killed her.
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KDaddict
June 26, 2013 at 12:33 AM
You are a much more logical person than the writer.
I think she was looking at her watch.
"25 mins left. Gotta throw in a dinner. 15 mins to go. How many PPL have we got?"
What killed her was very far fr her mind.
"There was a gun, folks. What more do u want fr me? Time's up. I'm outta here. Paycheck pls."
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Cheryl
June 26, 2013 at 12:16 PM
LOL! It wouldn't be the first time I've put more thought and consideration into something than the writer has. ;) The sad thing is, infection and complications from the gunshot isn't even a difficult handwave explanation to pull out of your ass for why someone in that era would die of a gunshot wound, know what I mean? *sighs*
When the wound started bleeding again at dinner, I was like, "Oh, geez, it reopened. Damn, it's bleeding a lot. Not good, but get her back to her room, rebandage, keep her resting. So why's everyone acting like this is the end of everything?" And she's showing weakness and that she's Really Tired. So? That's to be expected and nothing to weep over like this is the last time you'll ever see her alive. It took me several minutes to figure out she was supposed to be dying, and I was So Annoyed with the writer(s) for making a complete dog's dinner of it because all the signs did NOT point toward YW dying, they pointed toward her overexerting herself and needing to rest.
I don't think it would have been overly difficult for the writer(s) to contact a historian familiar with flintlock muskets and find out what would happen if someone was shot and the wound wasn't properly cleaned out. If they need info on infection, talk to a medical professional.
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56 star5
June 25, 2013 at 9:06 PM
I DIDN'T EVEN WATCH THIS SHOW AND I'M PISSED!I watched till the third episode and stopped. I mainly found papa gu's story really interesting. When Kang chi grew up, i just couldn't watch it anymore. I personally love Lee Seung Gi but I just couldn't get myself to watch it. I watched the daddy parts and followed the recaps. AND MAN I'M GLAD I DIDN'T WATCH! Like wtf is up with the ending? it's history repeating itself, yeo wool is gonna die again because of that darn tree and crescent moon. The writer was on crack seriously.
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Owl
June 25, 2013 at 9:16 PM
Now that's funny - I didn't even watch the show and I'm pissed - ( big smile cuz I need it after the finale)
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57 MEalways
June 25, 2013 at 9:06 PM
Ahahaha... just as I expected. YW died and KC goes to find the book... but err... he happens to come to the future and repeat his life all over again?
Where's the book?
Or that is the meaning of 'eternity'?
Well, I don't want any eternity if it only means I have to live my life all over again.... kekeke...
Now 'Shark' don't fail me, pretty please?
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MEalways
June 25, 2013 at 9:15 PM
Oups forget one important thing:
THANK YOU very much, girlfriday.
You're superb (*pat in the back*), I salute you for your work + hours of watching & writing.
Hope and pray that you'll find the next drama you recap will be more satisfying.
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58 junomints
June 25, 2013 at 9:06 PM
the ending is really … *speechless* by the way, why is this show called the Gu Family Book when it hardly appears in the show?
this ending is obviously done to pave the way for a Gu Family Book Part 2: My-boyfriend-is-half-a-gumiho, twilight-kangchi-immortal-gumiho-meets-mortal-gal-yeowool-sequel.
so keep a lookout, they will be back~
otherwise, no sane writer will allow this to happen, urgh!
thanks dramabeans for all the recaps, love reading your comments as always!
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Pam
June 25, 2013 at 10:32 PM
Sequel should be reversed in the style of twilight-Now YW will become Bellaesque and beg KC to turn her into gumiho....so she searches for the book. Lmao!!!
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Cheryl
June 25, 2013 at 10:53 PM
If there is a second season and they turn YW into a Bella-wannabe, I will have no choice but to fly to Korea and have Words with the writers. Strong words. To turn YW into a whiny, self-centered, shallow, useless twit? NEVAH! Not while I have breath in my body! ;D
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59 Abbilol333
June 25, 2013 at 9:07 PM
uh... I think the writer forgot what the whole point of this drama is. I mean its name is "Gu Family Book," but Kang-chi doesn't even go on a journey to find it. He doesn't even become human, just remaining a gumiho forever and waiting for Yeo-wool. Honestly the fangirl inside me was happy that everyone was happy-go-lucky in the future and Kang-chi still gets the girl...kind of. The rational side of me wanted to bang my head against the table. Seriously I could have even accepted him becoming miraculously human because he earned it and the gu family book isn't a physical book. The writer had so many options but man this one was just stupid. Really disappointed but I loved Suzy and Lee Seunggi in this, hopefully they get to work together again in a better drama.
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60 Sam
June 25, 2013 at 9:09 PM
I'm SO CHOCKED I can't even.
I feel manipulated. I cried so much and now I have to wait for the sequel for them to be happy togerher? this is so mean!
The worst thing is, I know EXATLY how this sequel is going to be! everything will REPEAT and then in the LAST MINUTE he will save her from death. Ugh
I also don't buy this reincarnation thing. She's not the Yeo Wool who went through a lot with Kang Chi. She has the same soul and this is soooo profound BUT she's a stranger.
Also, I never thought Tae Seo would be a party beast LOL modern times =p
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Stardust
June 25, 2013 at 10:21 PM
Weell, if Tae Seo is still some fancy hotel's heir, being a party animal may actually be more interesting than his bland character written for his past life hahahaha he could have pulled a DUI, and got arrested by modern day Yeo wool, but falls for her, so he bucks up... but gets upstaged by a half gumiho, which, defines WHAT exactly? Half? Does it mean he will age, but at a slower rate? Or his life span will be HALF of how a normal gumiho would be? What IS that Gu family book??!
okay, I'll take my chill pill now pls.
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Pam
June 25, 2013 at 10:34 PM
Yeah, he should be managing the Hilton or something! Lol!
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61 PeepsLeAwesomePotato
June 25, 2013 at 9:09 PM
"Just get WolRyung to heal her!"
I forgot where I read that but it brought to my mind images of KangChi ripping the entrance to the moonlight cave open and thwanking Dad's head to wake him up so that he can 'politely' slice his wrist to heal YeoWool. And dad's face would be like "what is this twit-head I fathered??"
Oh man, I would rather have seen that than this ending! WHAT THE TRAVESTY HAPPENED HERE?! The first 2 episodes were so promising, the summary promised me something else but all I got was this Big Civil Servant unholy baby!
Baby Gu, I am going to complain to your father, even if I have to whip him awake while enduring the stench of a rotting SeoHwa who has probably already been reincarnated into a fisher-woman. I don't know. I don't care.
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62 Sajen
June 25, 2013 at 9:11 PM
First I just want to say I agree 100% with girlfriday said, it's pretty much what I was thinking just she beat me to it.
Second show you and I have to have words I watched the first 22 episodes because I thought I'd get some kind of happy pay off, but I had decided not to watch 23 unfortunately I did watch 24. I have 100 problems with you 1 your writer's an idiot, 2 your director's a moron, and 3 the producers are the biggest fools of all for hiring the writer and director the last 97 are simple repeats of the first 3. I am one of the few people that liked the end of Hong Gil Dong because I think that's the perfect ending for a hero I even think all hero stories should end with the hero and his lover dieing in battle together against their enemy, but as heavy handed as it was, you could see it coming a mile away, the Hong Sisters did their work they set up that ending you did not. All you had to do was kill Jo Gwan Woong when daddy Gu came back and just let daddy Gu be full on evil with no chance of redemption and you'd have the perfect set up to make Kang Chi an all time hero or whatever.
Whew that was a long rant, but I feel better now so all's good, I wonder the chances that anyone actually involved with Gu Family Book will see my rant.
This ending solidifies my theory that the writer only cared about Wol Ryung and Seo Hwa's story and only wrote the rest because someone held a gun to her head or something.
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63 Coleen
June 25, 2013 at 9:11 PM
Hi GF! Thanks for the recap :D
The ending was... unexpected. I am experiencing conflicting emotions at the moment. I hate it and at the same time love it. I was really hoping that joseon Yeo Wool will live. Like there will be some magic or unexpected twist that will make the "one of you will die" prophecy untrue. But at the same time, if they let Yeo Wool live, I feel it will be something like "for-the-sake-of-a-good-ending-let-her-live" type of writing. That's why I also somewhat "love" the ending as it made sense, as it was more realistic. BUT, I really am a sucker for happy endings, and most of the kdramas I have watched always end up with the main leads living happily ever after (okay that was so disney, but yeah). I thought that joseon yeo wool might live again as we see her flower came back to life but when the screen showed me modern day stuff (like those traffic lights and phone) I was like "noooooo they really are going with dead joseon yeo wool". And the possiblity of them ending up together again with the reincarnated yeo wool is somewhat a 'happy' ending, but for me, I'd really want him to be with joseon yeo wool. I really rooted for the two of them (love suzy and seung gi's chemistry) but suddenly joseon yeo wool had to die. That was seriously a wtf moment for me. :( I super agree with GF's statement- "The point is, this kind of soul-in-new-body ending always leaves me with that niggling feeling that something’s not right. Because it’s not the same. Because she died, and he didn’t, and there wasn’t even any time travel for anyone who wasn’t us, and because then the healthier thing to do would be to move on with your life and date Catwoman or something. " - THIS. I totally understand this. The ending somewhat remembered me of the ending of rooftop prince.
But even though I hate yeo wool dying, the scene where they were sitting by a river really got to me. It is my first time to experience such emotions in a drama that I cried. Heck, I even cried just by reading your recap. It was just so sad and heartbreaking, but it really had an impact on me that I even rewatched that scene maybe 2 times. I think that Kang chi is the most lonely hero I've known from all the kdramas I had watched because basically it's like almost everyone dear to him left him. And the fact that they fast forward to 400 something friggin' years made us think just of how long kang chi waited for another yeo wool. which is sad to think of.
Sequels seldom happen in kdramas, but what's with the epilogue... (but I don't get my hopes up)
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64 tangledfracture
June 25, 2013 at 9:11 PM
well said gf. gahd. effing finale!! :( ahhh Istill cant believe that they ended that way.
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65 raindrops1
June 25, 2013 at 9:13 PM
Thanks for the recap GF. I too was look forward to hearig your thoughts on the ending.
I also feel like the writer took a very sudden left turn which like you left me with whiplash. I just don't get it. I was naive enough to think that we would get a happy ending. I thought that KC and YW had earned their happy ending because they did things so much different than KC's parents. Sigh. I don't understand.
Maybe there will be a sequel in the works but honestly, if there is I'm not sure I want to watch it. I'm not sure I would trust the writer to not pull another unexpected turn at the 11th hr again.
GF, It’s finale time for Gu Family Book, and I’ll tell you one thing: It ain’t boring! Ha. Hahahaha. Heh. Heh. Heh… *cries*---->I know exactly how you feel. Here I thought I would have a big smile on my face because I thought KC and YW would be able to do what KC's parents did not do. Oh but instead I'm left not knowing if I should cry or laugh (the crazy, histerical laughter, kind)
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crazyahjummafan
June 26, 2013 at 1:56 AM
On your last paragraph, I agree! I was laughing last night with all the messaging from the Hearties, and to keep myself from crying hysterically from the pain and absurdity!
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66 yumii
June 25, 2013 at 9:13 PM
thank you.
What was weird was that everyone (except for his father and brother[?]) showed up in his life at the same time.
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67 Tiffany
June 25, 2013 at 9:18 PM
Omg, I never quite commented here because I always felt all I had to say was already said. But given that everyone (or mostly everyone) hated the ending; I just wanted to leave out a comment.
I must be an oddball but omg I found that ending so freakin epic. I know it was abrupt without an actual set up. But the way Kang chi waited for centuries just for his time to start again, for his Yeo Wool to come back again is so epically romantic and really works I'm terms of the theme of this show.
I also adored how he slowly saw the people he had then called family. Those who loved him even if they knew who he was. They left his life a long time ago, but slowly, they all show up again and he's finally back with the people who'd eventually grow to love him just like in the past.
But what I loved most is that he lived a long but happy life. He didnt sulk in the moutains and he didnt live like a hermit. He knows thats what Yeo Wool would've wanted. He lived for centuries, made a life for himself, all the while waiting for the one person who he'd want to be human for again. There's just something so damn epic about that. How this time he would love her first, but at the end it would always be them again like was then. She's still Yeo wool. And this time he'd make her fall in love with him; just like she did him. They're fated and will be together one day; that's the feeling I got when I saw them meet.
Gah. I must be the only one but I find that romantic, epic and different. I somehow see the epic true love in it. It also sets up for a second season. And although I find that so unlikely; who knows?
P.s. does anyone know of a sequel in recent times with the same cast members?
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KDaddict
June 26, 2013 at 12:38 AM
Ke ke ke. Looks like yours is the minority opinion.
I don't hate it much, and even That is a minority opinion.
But that's ok, cos here on DB, they don't skew ppl for having a minority opinion, generally speaking. :D
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crazyahjummafan
June 26, 2013 at 2:00 AM
Thanks for sharing a different view. Reading your view has somewhat lessen the agony. And of course, seeing Seunggi looking so suave and hot. (I know I'm repeating myself) - I have to, to cheer myself up!
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claud
June 26, 2013 at 6:20 AM
Tiffany,
Thank you so much for your comment I totally felt the same way!!! I agree with the others it would have been better to show us or work the drama to that moment but I also love the surprise behind it and Hong Gil Don Drama totally hated the end I am a sucker for romantic endings and this drama gave me that so I am really happy with it! I thought like you it was so romantic for him to roam the world and live until he could find her again waiting for her.. and to me the reincarnated Yeo Wol is not different at all from Yoseon Yeo Wol one because same person same soul and I am happy that she came back as she said she would for him Totally love it :)
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Arishia
June 26, 2013 at 12:20 PM
I liked it. I guess that makes only two of us, eh? I didn't get any sense that their past fate HAD to repeat itself, and meeting under the crescent moon over the blooming tree is where they, as soulmates, meet. That was why he was tracking and counting crescent moons all these years. I don't know, it all worked for me just fine. Oh well... Ah, the sequel setup was abrupt, for sure. But if there is a sequel, and it's going to be Gon, Soon Shin, Kang Chi, and Yeo Wool in the NSA, with all the other players along for the ride, that could be fun.
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Stephy
June 26, 2013 at 12:34 PM
Finally ! I totally agree with you! I was thinking the same thing when they met again. Kang chi knew in his heart that he was eventually going to meet Yeo Wool again, he waited for her for 400 plus years, not wanting to become human until they were reunited again! That's such a epic love story! I also feel she's still the same person and it won't take too much time for her to remember and fall in love with Kang Chi again! I am so happy someone finally agrees with me! Lets hope for a season 2!
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Tiffany
June 26, 2013 at 5:31 PM
@ everyone who replied lol
I'm seriously so glad to find people who actually thought it was such a good ending. My initial hope was for Kang chi to turn human and for them to live a happy life, grow old together and that was that. And if it was done that way, I'm sure I'd have loved it. But honestly, there's something more poetic about waiting for centuries for the one and only girl you love.
Kang chi must've encountered thousands of women in his 422 years without YW. But to keep counting those crescent moons, having a big smile on his face - knowing that she'd come back one day and they'd meet. That is one untold of, epic and true love story.
When he sees her; he has this smile on his face. It's like he knew it was just a matter of time. I think the peach blossom tree and crescent moon doesn't represent death. It represents fate. Fate that they'd meet again, fate that it would always be KC-YW and fate that their love will be as strong; even after 422 years.
I cannot gush enough on how much I loved that ending. How amazing and awesome it was and how much goosebumps it gives me every time. I wish some would see it in a different light. It emphasizes on the power of love and that itself should be worth a lot.
The ending with Gon and LSS was really interesting. I thought it was to say they needed KC's help for some national security thing. Just like in the past. Maybe that's how he works with YW? Cz she's a cop? I'm sure she'd remember everything eventually. Given the blue lights, only her having the same name and the unwilted flower. And imagine finding out that someone waited for you for 4 centuries! I really hope they do a second season. It would be amazing to see all that unravel.
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Jungieyah
June 27, 2013 at 4:04 PM
First time commenting.
To be honest i love the drama to the very end and just like you tiffany, i thought the ending was epic as well. The fact that he waited so long for yeo wool makes me feel asdfghjkl. I keep wondering that if there ever was a sequel, how will he make her fall in love with him and what obstacles will be in their way. After all, they're living in the modern age now. Fingers crossed for a sequel.
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68 Francis
June 25, 2013 at 9:20 PM
I'm glad I'm not the only one who went "What the hell' at this last episode. The ending is really like Gaksital meets Rooftop Prince without the awesomeness of the former.
Sidenote: the lead female characters of GFB and Jang Ok Jung were killed off in the last episode. JOJ lasted longer on screen though.
That said, I was expected Yeo-wool to die. So it didn't come as a surprise. But it was like WTF after with how they settled JKW, and with reincarnation thing. At least Gaksital is/became a hero even though he loses his girl, Kang-chi becomes what, I dunno. And at least Rooftop Prince we were kind of set up for the ending, you know the reincarnation and stuff. But Gu Family Book just plonked it down on us like that.
Gu Family Book was still entertaining though it was let down by the last episode. I actually preferred the last episode to Jang Ok Jung from the fleeting glances I stole watching the livestream of both shows. The impact was much more emotional.
At the end of the day, Gu Family Book is not about heroism like Gaksital, it's still a romance show.
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Rovi
June 26, 2013 at 12:21 AM
Of course Ok-jeong SHOULD be killed by poison. Wouldn't want to have a scenario like in QIHM where the Annals got all messed up starting from 1694, and in the end Queen Inhyeon was beheaded.
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69 elizarock
June 25, 2013 at 9:20 PM
I get that people don't like the reincarnation thing, but I also don't think that the writers had any intention of making KC a hero. Nowhere was it implied that he had become a legend or "hong gil dong/iljimae" He was just a divine creature that chose to live a long time in order to meet his love again. He helps people, but it doesnt mean he's a legend. I am pissed that they named this drama "Gu Family Book", but yet we never got to see it or find out if it even exist. One more thing that has me confused is the tree with the crescent moon in the present time. Does that mean that they have the same fate and she will die again? Because that would truly be a damn shame. I hope he leaves the healing balls for the next fatal wound.
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70 Quinze
June 25, 2013 at 9:20 PM
So Gu Book was never about the damn Gu Book???
Like seriously wtf??
Last night I though okay-in the last hour they'll rush to wrap this shizz up right?
But NO. You kill off your main heroine of the story, spend the whole foolish episode CRYING about it which honestly I couldn't even BE sad about because I was so FLABBERGASTED.
And THEN like you said whiplash us into the damn present day!! I did NOT enjoy that because it was so friggin' jarring!
Arghhh, I feel like I just wasted WEEKS on this drama. Like there was no enjoyment because these last 2 episodes sapped every build up.
If you were going to kill the heroine, you should have done it in yesterday's episode so that we could have a day to at feel that loss and see our hero's steps in comping.
That was a cop-out and it just wasn't done well at all.
Gu Book my ass.
Also I wanted to whack that stupid monk. Like killing her off was so defeatist and he kept saying you must accept your fate. Like shit could you not have made this an uplifting message of fighting your fate and succeeding?
WHAT WAS THE DAMN POINT?
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Stardust
June 25, 2013 at 10:35 PM
EXACTLY!! Thank you for summing up that elusive line of what I was thinking.
What was the point? What IS that book?
What an empty feeling.
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Quinze
June 25, 2013 at 11:30 PM
Hah just like the question:
"How many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie roll center of a Tootsie pop?"
...The world may never know!
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KDaddict
June 26, 2013 at 12:40 AM
Ha ha ha ha ha. I think we r back to the writer is on....sth.
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owl
June 26, 2013 at 8:08 AM
that's it - we're left with an empty feeling about the GU book. Didn't the monk know all along ? It really was a Wizard of Oz "what you were looking for was never any farther than your own backyard" scenario. So the monk was Glenda, and KC was Dorothy and YW was the scarecrow, and ...
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skelly
June 26, 2013 at 10:49 AM
Gon was the Tin Man and Teo Soo obviously the Cowardly Lion, and LSS was the Wizard of Oz and we all know who the Wicked Witch of the West was...
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owl
June 26, 2013 at 11:53 AM
...the Japanese entourage were the flying monkeys, and the villagers who gathered at the 100 Year Inn were the munchkins
ding dong
Quinze
June 26, 2013 at 12:10 PM
LMAO, this is priceless.
And ridiculously accurate haha.
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kdramapedia
June 26, 2013 at 12:39 PM
omg, it really IS The Wizard of Oz! LOL
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owl
June 26, 2013 at 12:51 PM
The Gizzard of Gu~the korean adaptation of W of Oz
(okay, now I'm just slap happy)
71 Passerby
June 25, 2013 at 9:22 PM
What I want in sequel
1.Set in modern time
2. Everyone in the Academy now works for National Security. Except they don't fight terrorists but mystical creatures.
3. Create a clan of gumihos since human villian would be of no threat to Kang Chi.
4. Modern day LSS recruits Kang Chi to help eliminate said clan.
5.Kang Chi continues romance with YW and everyone gets a happy ending
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KDaddict
June 26, 2013 at 12:43 AM
Words like Academy, National Security scare me these days. I'm sure they'd find a writer to turn your perfectly good idea into Civil Servant Sth.
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72 Francis
June 25, 2013 at 9:23 PM
For those who wanted YW to live, it wasn't going to happen. From the moment the gun fired, it would probably end that way.
As for the death scene, it was touching. But really I felt JOJ's one was more compelling. I would encourage others to watch the two scenes and see which one is better.
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73 Passerby
June 25, 2013 at 9:25 PM
The title of drama is also known as Kang Chi The Beginning. So this could be a origin story setting up the sequel if there was one.
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74 velasina
June 25, 2013 at 9:25 PM
Oh ..i hate the ending, why there is reencarnation?
Seems that another story will begin in the next season..*sigh*
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75 May
June 25, 2013 at 9:28 PM
Yup. Totally disappointed. The first 2 episodes should have been the whole drama.
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76 Kdjjang
June 25, 2013 at 9:30 PM
I am LMAO @JB comments, I couldn't have said it any better.
"Errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. WHAT. Suddenly he’s Hong-Giljimae?"
"WTF! that's what I said! Lol I went blonde for a sec and was omg'ing for a whole hr, cause nothing made sense. I think I pulled a muscle by cringing too much.
Btw what is Hong-gijimae? my first thought was rich flower boy
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kdramapedia
June 25, 2013 at 10:04 PM
She's comparing Kang-Chi to Hong Gil-Dong and Iljimae
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77 Hmm...
June 25, 2013 at 9:30 PM
Now that I saw ending.... maybe they should of established in episode 1, that YW (Suzy) had died in KG's arms. He would then time travel in the future only to find out that YW reincarnated into a modern day cop. He thinks that it's her so he brings her back to Josen and establishes our drama. That would of been a better story.
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78 Crystal
June 25, 2013 at 9:32 PM
I LOOLed at your "my whiplash is having whiplash babies" comment, GF!
I, too, feel the same. We all have been so invested in this drama and the characters and to have THAT kind of ending is just BS. I'm still pissed. Before this aired, I was hoping they wouldn't pull a reincarnation thingy majig... but boy, they did! I admit it was kinda cute seeing all these old characters being reincarnated to their somewhat past selves, but would I trade that to have the drama end on KC leaving the academy (even with YW's death)? ANY. FREAKING. DAY. UGH. I'm so disappointed...
I feel usedddddddd. My tears........ How could you use me like that, writer-nim?! HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO YW?! She was my favorite character who stood up for what she believed in. Never once did she stagger away from her true character. AND TO HAVE HER DIEEEEE... It just doesn't make sense! It would've been better if KC died while trying to attain this "Gu Family Book" that was talked about for 24 freaking episodes... and then him becoming a demon.... and then YW still loving him despite that, because... because... because she's freaking YW--the badass girl we all fell in love with. Sigh.
Thank you for recapping, GF! *whimpers*
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79 crazykel
June 25, 2013 at 9:33 PM
Everyone hates the ending, but I actually liked it this time, which was not my reaction to RTP's reincarnation ending.
I'm probably in the minority, but I don't really care. I'm looking forward to if they do a sequel...was it my favorite drama? No. Did I have issues with the last two episodes? Of course, but I'm intrigued by what could come if this continues. I mean, I'm actually glad they didn't get their happy ending yet...Please don't shoot me...
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passerby001
June 25, 2013 at 9:36 PM
yup! I second you :)
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80 Garrdan C
June 25, 2013 at 9:33 PM
Thanks very much, girlfriday, for staying true and recapping all this time until the drama's end. I enjoyed your recaps so much.
As with many, I am sad and majorly disappointed with the ending...actually it started with episode 23, when the storyline went off strangely and became somewhat disjointed. I've enjoyed and liked the start and throughout most of the episodes...until the last two.
I truly expected a much better ending, with Yeo Wool NOT DYING, but living happily with Kang Chi and company, GW dying a lingering, painful death and Gon and Ms. Manners hitting it off as a couple...their scenes clicked!
I have yet to watch a Kdrama that presents a good ending!! Most that I've watched fall flat or ar totally awful at conclusion. Anyone know of one to recommend for my next drama? I'll be most appreciative.
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Chigal
November 13, 2013 at 12:10 AM
Jewel in the palace had a beter endin. Faith 2,
time 0f d0g and w0lf. S0me writers ends it wel
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81 bashful
June 25, 2013 at 9:34 PM
Thanks much GF for the recap and the excellent review of this finale. I had a feeling yesterday that YW would be the one to get shot and killed because why have the shooting scene be the cliffhanger of an episode if a very important character isn't the one who's going to be harmed. Still I was wished for the best for the protagonists in this story. Writer didn't grant my wish. :( I didn't like the ending, and hated the last freaking scene. And the point of that scene (of Gon and LSS), was?
I was expecting for the "Gu Family Book" to finally appear today, although yesterday's episode made me think that perhaps GFB is really not a book but that it is GF life's story... To me, a more satisfying finale would be where we see KC honoring YW's memory by doing good for the people he meet. Then we could say that although we did not see him find the GFB, we see him actually writing it as he lead and live a life of a good human being. The. End.
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hanie
June 25, 2013 at 9:55 PM
I think it is as a redemption to SungJoon for having ugly hair for 23 episodes. Yes, that is definitely the reason.
Your ending ( and everyone else's) is better.
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bashful
June 25, 2013 at 10:19 PM
LOL! Thanks for your reply. It makes sense. Indeed, that could only be the point of that scene! :)
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KDaddict
June 26, 2013 at 12:51 AM
What can we expect fr a drama that couldn't manage to give Sung Joon decent sageuk hair over 24 eps? 12 weeks, and they couldn't get it right, not even once.
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82 sunshine
June 25, 2013 at 9:34 PM
It was the most annoying ending!
I felt wasted my time watching and waiting for monday-tuesday to come just to got this ending!
Promise I curse the writer of this drama so badly!
What the heck with him!?
It must not be. . Gu Family Book the title of this drama
It's better if the make it as " The Introduction of Gumiho Baby and his adventure!"
Then that way I understand the ending!
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83 Angel Yi
June 25, 2013 at 9:39 PM
WHATTTT... idk what to say. It was kinda cute... but WTF... WTF... WTF... HOW?!?!!??!?!?!!!?!??!??!!!?!!??!??!?!?!?!! They make us cry because of YW's death.. then they just zip us into the future... -___- i still cried, and it's not the WORST ending I've ever seen but still... Now I wanna cry because of how the ending turned out!
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84 totorosmile
June 25, 2013 at 9:42 PM
i feel gyped, like i did when i watched big (coincidence that suzy is in both?). ahhhhh RUDE.
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85 Kim Fieka
June 25, 2013 at 9:43 PM
Frankly speaking, I haven't watched this ep yet, since I'm still waiting for the English sub, being a limited-Korean language speaker. And I always, always read GF's recaps first and spoils myself silly, so for that THANK YOU, for the recaps.
Now back to the story, I was actually crying halfway thru the recap, from the time Yeo Wol got shot to the end where he said goodbye to Lee Soon Shin, and I agree. I would have liked if the story ends like that, although I would have liked if the blue light comes and restores the flower and resotres Yeo Wol's life as well and we get a very Gumiho-like, magical Happy Ending.
Buttttt... They HAD to bring us into the future, where I was practically rolling on the floor laughing at the reincarnation thing. DOn't get me wrong, I would LOVE to see Kang Chi in the future, BUT I thought it would have been better without all the other reincarnations?
And how Kang Chi would meet Yeo Wol, naturally. Like bumping into her in the subway, or knocking her cup of coffee in Starbucks, something cliche but romanticky (?). and natural even?
But letting her be a National Security? Err yeah... Not so much...
Overall, I was ready to give this drama a B+ for letting me enjoy a fantasy-romantic drama, what with me not liking Sageuk's so much.
But I just might have to change my mind... *sips choco drink*
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86 blegh
June 25, 2013 at 9:44 PM
I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! a while ago I read a manhwa just where the giy was immortal (but because of a curse), and everytime the girl was reborn and fall in love woth him, she'd die the moment she kissed him. near the end the girl said, "next time when I meet you again I'll love you first". after watching this drama, from the first ep I had hunch and also hoping that the ending would be something similar. yayyyyyy!!!
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87 pigtookie
June 25, 2013 at 9:46 PM
I agree, it may have been more satisfying to leave Kang Chi alone and Yeo Wool dead. And have Kang Chi's reincarnation meet Yeo Wool's reincarnation if we must. It makes a better impact than a happy ending Kang Chi and Yeo Wool.
It's a shame Yeo Wool didn't get more characterization and internal conflict, as it seems like her main purpose was to be an impetus for Kang Chi, a voice of reason when he fell into monster mode. Her character was too cool to just be left at that, but if they were going to focus on the romance it would've made the romance much better.
I suppose the writer wanted to focus on Kang Chi's story more, then, and that's fine except they lost the focus, of what it takes to be a human rather than a lost beast. They had the story pieces for that story, and the politics detracted from it, though conflicts and struggles usually move the central conflict/story forward.
The parents' story was rather nice.
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Quinze
June 25, 2013 at 11:26 PM
I wonder if they did that because they felt the actress wasn't really capable of more depth?
Like Suzy was cute but she really couldn't handle more complex emotions.
It sucks though because Yeo Wool was an awesome character on her own. But she existed mainly as a romantic lead. I'm fine with that if they were going to deliver on KC's story at least.
But like you said they lost sight of that too. When did the General become such an important character?
Either the writer got stuck- which is a shame because you can't start a drama without a general plan in mind on how to END your story. Or for some reason or another they had to scratch out whatever story they had in mind and settle for something easier to execute?
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88 Minominomo
June 25, 2013 at 9:47 PM
WHAT. AN. ABSOLUTE. FUK ? Was literally my reaction to the ending . Ok so basically he havent find the so called "gu family book" and still stay the same as gumiho for Foreverrrrrr????? And afterrrr 422 yearssss yeo weol recarnation suddenly appear and they will fall in love magically like that? Why is this drama called gu family book? Why the hell cant kangchi heal her wound if he can heal gon? He still remember her after 422 years ? Is that even possible? What is the point of lee soon shin appearing in the end? *cries* okay gfb ended at 22 . 23&24 dont existtttt
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89 crazedlu
June 25, 2013 at 9:49 PM
WOW. The show DID NOT in ANY WAY set up its world for Hero Kangchi. I like how shows like this and MoonSun pretend to be epic and cool, but end up being all about romance.
Ew. Good riddance. Good thing I stopped tuning in.
Let's move on, eh?
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90 hanie
June 25, 2013 at 9:49 PM
I'm laughing but I'm not sure at who.. at myself I guess. Damn I got cheated again~
Reincarnation is just plain lazy and the plot is not even good. I mean, if you wanna do it, at least makes it worthwhile and epic... Using it just for PPL? Lame
And why killed YW when KC has that power to save her? I mean, you just used it in few ep before, use it now!!! This is the right time to use your gumiho power.
To think that this is the same show that give us WR's emotional & heartfelt ending~
Show, next time when you put something in the title, in this case, A BOOK, at least try to explore it so that I would feel so cheated. Get it?
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91 maxzzr
June 25, 2013 at 9:51 PM
Thank you for your recaps, I did like this show and I enjoyed it up until the last two episodes.
It was well executed but poorly written. I wanted the ending to be much much more . I have said this before and I will say it again, I'm okay with a sad heart breaking ending, and what I want is a satisfying ending. The finale didn't deliver.
modern KC doesn't seem to remember all that he had learned in the past, he seems to be back to his old self before his master died and before he found out he is gumiho. I mean he has his dad working for him, he is driving a nice car and he doesnt want to help a person in need. All he wanted was to go back home and sleep.
Anyways , my personal favorite moment was when YW dad told her you are my happiness. that line really touched me.
Girlfriday thank you for all your hard work
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92 tara
June 25, 2013 at 9:52 PM
i'm an avid fan of dramabeans, and I'm on here all the time...but I've never left a comment until now. Because I simply have to...
This was the most out-of-left-field-esque drama ending that I've ever seen...and made absolutely no damn sense!!!!! I, too, was watching this drama with anticipation because honestly, dramas in the past year or so have disappointed me and I thought this was going down a great path. WTH, I was so dead wrong!!!! >:| This ending has gotta be one of the biggest disappointments of all time...even AHYI had an ending that made more sense than this (and that's speaking volumes, no?!)
I mean, if the writer was going to broach the topic of the Gu Family Book, and Kangchi's path to becoming human...shouldn't Yeowool still be alive?!? I had an inkling with yesterday's ending that it would be her that would get the shot, but damn...to actually kill her, Kangchi's soulmate and the freakin female lead?? Unbelievable. Once she died, it was all shot to hell...quite literally. I mean, after all the atrocities committed by JKW and he only gets a hand chopped off and drinking poison? Wayyyy too easy way for someone so evil to die. Should have gotten tortured and dying a slow, agonizing death...but nooo, an easy way out. Such a damn shame!
It's a damn unfortunate shame because there was such a great buildup (Wolryung and Seohwa's story was the best part of the drama, for sure)...only to be led to the ultimate letdown. The past few episodes were getting a bit draggy, so I had some concerns...but NEVER did I think there would be a senseless time-jump with reincarnations to boot! That was utterly ridiculous!!! What a way to screw up all the ways to further develop all the interesting bits and pieces that were, unfortunately, just wasted. What a waste of a story, what a waste of talent.
Shame on the writer (definitely gonna keep her and AHYI's writer on my black list of dramas I'll never ever watch--to think, she wrote TKoBKT!!) and MBC for letting this atrocity air like this.
It's been a sad reality and a growing concern that dramas these days have been starting off with such a rich and exciting backstory, to lead to an absolutely horrible ending. Of course, there are some dramas that start off horribly wrong (AHYI and Dr. Jin, to name two) and keep on going, and I don't get the audience ratings -- to keep watching a sinking ship fall even further...uh no thanks. There are dramas right now that I'm watching (YTBLSS and ISYG, to name two) where the drama is beginning to unravel incredibly and get downright annoying. Are the writers all incredibly stressed to the point where they're just writing down senseless annoying crap? I'm getting wary of future dramas failing to deliver...better keep my expectations veryyy low from here on out.
Thanks for wasting my time...anticipating a great story but to leave with a bitter taste in my mouth with a hole in my brain from getting my mind blown with such crap.
Just had to leave my two cents from this utter atrocity...mind officially blown.
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minea
June 26, 2013 at 9:31 PM
"I mean, after all the atrocities committed by JKW and he only gets a hand chopped off and drinking poison? Wayyyy too easy way for someone so evil to die. Should have gotten tortured and dying a slow, agonizing death…but nooo, an easy way out. Such a damn shame!"
My thoughts exactly! The character of JGW made me bloodthirsty to the point that everytime I see him on screen I just want to grab a bow and arrow and shoot him myself. And so I was seriously anticipating an epic way of how they will off him. But gorammit! I was not expecting such a wussy end for him. After all the mayhem and destruction he caused, THAT was how he died?! O.o
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93 hime
June 25, 2013 at 9:53 PM
That's it? Everyone was waiting for a very good ending - maybe more tears to shed and a little humor. But fast forward to 422 years? Oh well..
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94 bangsstory
June 25, 2013 at 9:54 PM
The ending feels like they're setting up a sequel. When it was obvious that Yeo-wool will die, knew that Kang-chi was going to stop searching for the book. I even thought that he was going to stay in the mountains a la Gumiho Daddy. That Yeo-wool pre-death and death scene made me bawl A LOT. But when Kang-chi said that they'll meet again I knew that they're going to meet in 2013. I wasn't even surprised that we jump to 2013 and everyone he knew then he knew or will meet in this 'alternate universe', if that is even it. Of course, people who live for years and years (like vampires) accumulate their wealth so why not Gumiho Baby?
About Lee Soon-shin stealing Kang-chi's thunder? SO. TRUE. He just so happened to be the lead. But as a hero. NOPE. He's as Lee Soon-shin's bidding, so are the other 'Masters'. Not that he doesn't do his country good, but isn't Kang-chi the hero with Gumiho genes and supposed to do extraordinary things here? Not just super speeding, jumping far distances, smell-tracking and saving everyone with his blood. Wol-ryung and Seo-hwa's closing was done beautifully, I believe, so why can't Kang-chi have even just a tad short of that? Now I'm ranting. But this ending well deserved that rant.
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95 Star
June 25, 2013 at 9:54 PM
I would love a sequel to this... Only with Seung gi and Suzy it it.. But I don't know if I can trust the writer.........
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96 Nanaki
June 25, 2013 at 9:55 PM
I was going to write a very short and pithy "what the f*** was that", but just about every other comment has done so.
What this show could have been will haunt me forever. I don't even mind sticking on the 'let's try this again 500 years later' thing, but WORK IT IN for God's sake. And not letting us see the bad guy suffer and rot - WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!
And on a purely superficial note - at least for a few seconds, Gon had fantastic hair.
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97 Mary
June 25, 2013 at 10:05 PM
Now I understand why it was called a melodrama
Now I undersand what its title song meant
Now I understand why the drama's name was Kang Chi,The Begining as opposed to Gu family Book
Now I understand prophecies musnt be overlooked
Now I understand that dramas should be watched after it have been completly aired
Uh.I dont know how I feel about this all.
Taking the whole drama into consideration.
It looked as though in the middle of all the chaos somethings were rather forgotten or pushed to bottom
Jo Kwan Goong's end wasnt at all satisifying.After all he did,thats what he deserve?I was expecting for something more
well you cant complain nearly Everything lost its way around the middle.
One thing was certain though,Kang Chi never gets any happiness.Overlooking the fact that everysingle person got reincarnated ,when he lived in Joseon it felt like poor kid couldnt have anything he wanted
Orphaned due to circumstances.
Though taken in by a good family couldnt exactly be a member of it
The person who he looked upto as a father dies to save him
The place he called home is taken in by our dear old arch villian
He turns into a beast
His first love is disgusted by this fact,adding fuel to his own thoughts of bieng a monster
HIs mother decides to desert him for his greater good
The person he dared to own dies because she met him under a tree during some geographical conditions
Uh....Show why do u complicate one's life so much?
Although there are many things to be angry at This is the first show which made me cry like crazy.I bawled and bawled .Maybe because I stuck onto it until the very end and in the end they decide to gift me with something they themselve wouldnt have tought to do so until the 11th hour-REINCARNATION.
I so well knew that prophecy couldnt be overlooked but still I was hoping for a loophole in the last min.Until the screen was filled with cars and lights and a setting of 2013.I had even imagined that the Dam family was jinxed -a possiblity that no girl of the family can live after a certain age.
and screw Harry Potter i even thought the possibility of Yeo Wool bieng saved form this by her mothers sacrifice.But no.Not at all.Well thats not possible.Sorry that was indeed going overboard.
To be honest the show hast risen to the expectations that it had given me.
Though I loved it.Ya wierd.I am still crying when i watch this epi for the 3rd time.
And honestly I do think a second part would be posssible.Though it would be really difrent from what it had been in first
It could be a rom com drama.with a 16 epi with Kang Chi and Yeo Wool part 2's romantic adventures,well it would be insane to have that hope.well just saying
Anyway............Will always remeber Gu Family book....
Will remember your Hero......Choi Kang Chi........who just made you want to stick onto the show until the very end
Yeo Wool you redefine the word herione with your bold character,i really want you to teach the other characters in dramas how stupid of a thing is to be a noble idiot.......
Love You Show......Goodbye...untile we meet agin in a sequel(*fingers crossed*)
Thanks Dramabeans.
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98 kdramafan
June 25, 2013 at 10:07 PM
Thanks GF for the recap.
OMG! Wackiness throughout KDramaland. TG for GF for recapping what I couldn't watch:)
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Quinze
June 25, 2013 at 11:32 PM
lol this is when our essay long rants come out. We're all feeling cheated!
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99 Fruitplus
June 25, 2013 at 10:10 PM
Thanks GF.
You have said what I am thinking. Such a forced ending, I believe it is a last minute change for suggestive HE in current time. Such a disappointment.
But I must say, LSG did well in the whole series.
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crazyahjummafan
June 26, 2013 at 2:56 AM
Yes, whole-heartedly in agreement with you there! He was Choi Kang Chi, through and through. And I'll forever love and remember this lovely and cute couple, KC and YW!
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Noona
June 28, 2013 at 6:00 AM
Agree with you totally, I wouldn't have survived 24 episodes otherwise.
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100 rhumball
June 25, 2013 at 10:11 PM
I dont understand why the 'flower' got revived, but then we have to wait 422 yrs later for YW to come back. The writer should just make up some rule to revive her (considering she always came up with rule here and there).
Seriously.. the worst possible ending. Trying to be different/unpredictable? Well, it didn't really work. It's not like we've never seen this kind of ending before. It's just doesn't tie with the rest of the drama.
From now on, if it's MBC drama, i'm not going to watch until it ends. I seriously suspect this is related to product placement. Get the $$$ at any costs, even if it's sacrificing viewers. Ya ya.. just throw some 'bone' at the viewers (dream of 2nd season).. we know that is not going to happen.
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crazyahjummafan
June 26, 2013 at 3:04 AM
I too thought that when the flower revived, YW would too. Even if it was totally out of this world, (what in this drama wasn't, anyway?) they could have revived her, because her love was pure and good and loyal. They could have KC crying over her dead body, and as he kissed her lips for the last time before sending her off, the blue lights could have come on and healed her because their love conquered all!
Children shouldn't watch this drama, it's so delusional!
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