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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201 Herlene
June 26, 2013 at 9:25 AM
here's a funny thought: what if kang-chi found reincarnated yeol-wool a little too soon (when she's still a child, would he watch her grow up and then romance her, that would be really weird), a little too old (when she's an old lady, remember he said that he will still love her but with that ever-youthful appearance, again weird), a little too late (she's married with three kids in tow, would he leave and wait for her next lifetime? O_O)
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Cheryl
June 26, 2013 at 12:37 PM
Very interesting ideas. The 'too young' thing could be problematic if he stayed involved in her life as she grew up (that would smack of grooming), but that could be avoided if he distanced himself until she was of age and then came back into her life.
I think it would be heartbreaking if he met her when she was an older woman, but there's still plenty of potential there for a close, loving relationship. An episode of the BBC's 'Torchwood' comes to mind in which one of the characters, who is unable to die, pretends to be his own son in order to continue to stay in contact with a woman he loved several decades in the past. They have a mother/son relationship when she's older that's incredibly sweet and touching, and his reaction when she's killed during the epi absolutely broke my heart.
If he met her after she was married w/ children, that would present a problem, but it's nothing killing off the husband wouldn't fix. ;p j/k, of course. Being a friend and *deep sigh* waiting until the next lifetime would probably be the only answer.
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kumi
June 26, 2013 at 1:49 PM
What if she reincarnated in a body of a man? Which could be quite possible, considering her character inclinations.
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Herlene
June 26, 2013 at 4:35 PM
lol that could happen, or it may have already happened, that's why it took him so many centuries to find her...XD
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Dream
June 26, 2013 at 7:32 PM
That would never happen...otherwise it would not be "fate".
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kumi
June 26, 2013 at 9:52 PM
Yep. People bound with each other by debt, responsibilities, promises, etc, are sure to meet at some point in their next lifetimes to pay off/fulfill those things.
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202 Tweetie
June 26, 2013 at 9:26 AM
I am so glad I dropped this drama. I just couldn't move on from the epicness of the back story to LSK's story and bad acting (I always have problems with his over acting and My Girlfriend is a Gumiho is the only one I have been able to watch despite his bad acting in the start he grew on me. Suzy bothered me less actually). I had put it on my to watch sometime in the future list, but it is coming right off.
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hhisc
June 26, 2013 at 1:11 PM
your commenting on LSG acting on a drama you dropped watch again, his acting is far from bad its awesome in fact.
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in times...
June 26, 2013 at 2:09 PM
Actually, he's not that great of an actor. Watched him in "Shining Inheritance" and Han Hyo Joo as well as the other supporting actors/actresses overshadow him. He was my least favorite character and actor.
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Angela
June 26, 2013 at 4:03 PM
that was like his first main lead role though..... he was still a newbie at acting during his shining inheritance days. and he wasn't that bad actually LOL but there was obviously a lot more room for improvement. watch him in king 2 hearts, and tell me he hasn't improved. cause tbh his acting has improved drastically.
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Keke
June 26, 2013 at 5:01 PM
I beg to differ. He has never been overshadowered, I love all his dramas, love his acting and sometimes dislike his co-stars. You should watch TK2H.
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Dream
June 26, 2013 at 7:36 PM
I agree that back then he was just okay....but since then he really has improved...very much. The acting in GFB from him was actually phenomenal. I was VERY impressed with how he can express so much and his acting was very convincing.
Everyone was once young and once a starter. You can't just nail him from his past drama.
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Noona
June 28, 2013 at 6:19 AM
Well said Dream! LSG was amazing in this drama.
Sussie
June 26, 2013 at 1:51 PM
Hi! I believe this drama (bc of the rollercoaster of script... sometimes good sometimes so so and sometimes really dull) didn´t let LSG to show his best.
I recommend you The king2Hearts... that drama is really great and he is awesome there. Give it a try, I´m not exagerating it is a beautiful show with solid plot and acting from everyone ;)
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Emaan
June 26, 2013 at 5:47 PM
:O But Seung Gi is so goood! Really good!! I love him in King 2 hearts!!
Here in this one I am not blaming Suzy. She is still young & has lots to learn but in KangChi Yeo Wol story ; the only one convincing & grounded as an actor was Seung Gi.
But
Choi Jin Hyuk was still the best. haha
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Gulady
June 27, 2013 at 8:39 AM
The best is and will always be Lee Seung Gi for me. ha ha.
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203 Lilian
June 26, 2013 at 9:32 AM
I think I would have been happy with such an ending if the show had not taken itself so seriously. And yes, we all knew she would have to die coz it is her "fate". Oh well....the meta was interesting though but somehow doesn't gel!
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204 Herlene
June 26, 2013 at 9:42 AM
and frankly, i'm not really sure of the moral of the story presented by the ending....that you cannot really fight the fate? that you cannot change what is written in the stars?
tragic story, really. i think kang-chi doesn't believe in the existence of the book, that's why he pose that question to lee soon shin.
so there is no book. he is an immortal and there is no cure. he is stuck living forever and ever to find the incarnated doppelganger of his lost love. and each time he find it, they fall in love and history repeats itself. vicious circle. so that's how an immortal being fall in love with a mortal being: by making the mortal die and reincarnated when the immortal, well, stays undead.
unless of course, he turn her. opss...this is not the vampire diaries!
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205 Dream
June 26, 2013 at 9:54 AM
I am actually okay with the ending... not the best, but acceptable. Afterall, the 10-min ending is no comparison to what I get from the 24 episodes. It is still a very good drama. There were many memorable scenes and frankly speaking, I was truly moved by many of them. Minus the last 10 minutes, Episode 24 was still done in a beautiful way. The death scene of YW and the farewell scenes from KC, they were all very touching. KC's crying over YW's passing was one of the best of his crying scenes.
Considering this drama to to supernatural...(with beast and half-beast and all that), I guess a supernatural ending is ... why not? I do agree that I would probably be more satisfied if the show ended at KC's farewell and leave it up to the viewers' imagination as to what happens to him.
I actually think that LSG acted VERY WELL, and made a big advancement from his earlier dramas. His acting is very convincing. I am very impressed with how he acted the cute, the sadness (and in soooo... many different ways!!), the happiness, the dumbness.... very very impressive with his facial expressions and body language.
With all the good acting and the good storyline, I'll let that last 10 minutes go. GFB is still so far on my top list for 2013, as of today.
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206 dedew jjng
June 26, 2013 at 9:56 AM
thanks db..
so sad,but...
i hated the ending...
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207 skinnymocha
June 26, 2013 at 10:05 AM
I LOVE the epilogue - if only for a tiny glimpse of Sung Joon with nice hair and looking rather dapper. =)
Otherwise, meh.
I gave up hope on this drama long ago so I'm not as upset as a lot of viewers seem to be. I sort of got the feeling this show was going to be a let down around eps 6-8. Well, not exactly a "let down" per se, but just a hunch that it wasn't going to match the epicness and sweeping romance that I expected from it. I want more drama, I want higher stakes, I want more MEANING to everyone and everything... Oh well, at least it was a gradual decline and not a total slap in the face in the final hour. (Queen In-hyun's Man was another story though; I was actually scared to watch the final episode in case it didn't deliver. And it did precisely just that. Ugh.)
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skinnymocha
June 26, 2013 at 10:18 AM
One thing I loved about this drama is the song "Love is Blowing" on the OST. So Tarzan-esque!! (Okay, not exactly Phil Collins-like, but it does put me in the mood for swinging vines.)
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208 browncoat_78
June 26, 2013 at 10:05 AM
The ending was pure stupid, but I couldn't even analyze the stupidity of the ending because I'm still stuck on the part where our villain, who just one episode before admitted that chopp;ing off Kang Chi's head would be the only way to kill him for good, decided that just shooting him would be enough to get rid of him. AND THEN compound that epic act of stupidity with the even grander act of stupidity of a mortal woman jumping in front of a bullet to save (?) an IMMORTAL being from, from WHAT?.... a nasty scar and a little ouchy?
You know, I've seen shows defy all logic and reason to save a character's life, but this might be the first time I've ever seen a show go so far out of its way to kill a character totally unnecessarily. What a bunch of crap.
I watched this whole drama because it was kind of fun and pretty and I love Lee Seung Gi, but it was so poorly written that I think a monkey could have done better. What a waste of actors and an interesting set up.
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209 Quiet Thought
June 26, 2013 at 10:13 AM
I was thinking about avoiding this recap until I had a chance to watch the back third of the series but, then, I remembered why I often avoid watching the last episodes of Kdramas . . . Writer Collapse. Apparently this one was a doozey.
I really, really wish this story had a director and producer who where up to the job. Every time I wanted to enjoy a scene and get into the story after the first few episodes, I found myself practically shouting at the director . . . "Get on with it, you idiot." He dragged out the dramatic shots, fumbled the action scenes, and shot woodland scenes so clumsily it looked like a fanfiction video from your local highschool cos-play gang.
The writer started well, but simply lost it along the way. Presumably overworked and, I would like to think, frustrated by a director who made even straightforward lines of dialogue sound as dull and phony as recorded parking instructions. After a few episodes I gave up on her ever giving anyone something clever or original to say. If anyone reading hasn't seen the story in their own language, don't bother. You can follow what is happening by zipping through the scenes--many of them twice as long as they need to be--and make up your own dialogue, like I did. It will be more original than anything in this script.
What a botched, bungled opportunity.
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210 kumi
June 26, 2013 at 10:16 AM
Now I want to plant blue Platycodon grandiflorus (Balloon Flower) in my garden. What a beautiful flower, thank you, drama!
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211 wag-a-muffin
June 26, 2013 at 10:17 AM
Okay, it's the opening moments of episode 24. Jo Gwan-woong tells his minion to shoot, but before he can fire the gun, Chung-jo runs up and screams, "nobody ever does anything about you! You killed my parents! You drugged my brother! You turned me into a prostitute and NOBODY ever makes you pay for your evil doings!" She takes a sword and cuts off his head. It rolls onto the ground and stares, sightless into crowd of heroes. Meanwhile, the gun goes off and Lee Soon-shin. is shot. Kang Chi does that cut-my-hand-and-drip-blue-sparkly-blood on him and he recovers. The good guys fight and overcome the bad guys--fade to black. Epilogue: Kang Chi and Yeo-Wool marry and go on a quest for him to become human TOGETHER--having learned that they need to face difficulties AS A TEAM and not be all noble ever, EVER again. Lee Soon-Shin builds a fleet dragon metal plated submarines--that sink immediately upon launching. Tae-seo and his sister get back the 100 year inn. They build a monument to their parents. They have drum solo matinees every weekend. Master Dam leaves on an undercover spy mission. And Gom takes over as head master of the school.
Even if you don't like my ending in the least--it is still WAY better than the actual show's ending.
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pogo
June 26, 2013 at 10:48 AM
I like your ending, in fact you guys come up with better endings than this writer did (note to self: NEVER watch any of their dramas again, not even if they star actors I love)
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kumi
June 26, 2013 at 10:58 AM
I like the idea about weekly drum matinees. You know, that dance (Samgo-mu) can be group as well.
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Cheryl
June 26, 2013 at 12:44 PM
Go Kickass!Chung!Jo! WHOOOOOOO! Yeah! Now *THAT* is how JGW should have died! *VBG* Your ending is definitely better.
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minea
June 26, 2013 at 3:44 PM
@wag-a-muffin
agree with @Cheryl. Yup! definitely a much better ending.
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Jess
June 26, 2013 at 7:33 PM
If I could go back in time, I would take your ending to the writer and say, "Look, this person knows exactly how your drama should end. Use it. And no one will egg your house tonight." And then we would all be much happier.
Only, can Chung-jo take Evil Dude out one piece at a time? Just for the hell of it?
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wag-a-muffin
June 27, 2013 at 8:47 AM
@ Jess re: Only, can Chung-jo take Evil Dude out one piece at a time? Just for the hell of it?
Works for me. ; )
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212 Quiet Thought
June 26, 2013 at 10:21 AM
A question about Sagueks for the fans: have you every watched one in which ANY of the characters have a sense of humor? You do get some laughs from clownish, lower class buffoon characters, which is another topic entirely. But there never seems to be anyone TRYING to be wittty or wise or, in most cases, no one even trying to be eloquent. Did upper class Korea not believe in the concept of humor until after the 1945 liberation? Did it have to trickle upward from the peasants and working classes? That would explain the occasional poop jokes on Kdramas. I was raised on a farm, and it's something you can't really ignore in the country.
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kumi
June 26, 2013 at 10:50 AM
Have you watched Sungkyungkwan Scandal?
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pogo
June 26, 2013 at 10:53 AM
I think fusion sageuks tend to have somewhat witty characters (who are not the comic relief), more than 'pure' sageuks do - Sungkyunkwan Scandal had a couple, and the hero of Arang and the Magistrate was a snarky sort.
And the early episodes of The Moon That Embraces The Sun had the heroine's teenage self being very witty in a scholarly way, if that counts.
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pogo
June 26, 2013 at 10:54 AM
oh, and Queen In-hyun's Man! I dare you to watch that and tell me the hero does not have a sense of humour (also, he is smart. SUPER smart), even though it is half-set in modern times.
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Sussie
June 26, 2013 at 11:11 AM
Queen In-hyun’s Man! YAY!
Rewatching it could be my medecine to forget the "bad taste" that this ending has let me...
PS: He is super smart... that was so so appealing for me hehehe
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Quiet Thought
June 26, 2013 at 8:59 PM
Good point, I think Queen In-hyun's Man spoiled a lot of Saguek for me. That hero could lay out a droll comment as sharp as anything on Masterpiece Theater. Everyone else was so freaking dour by comparison.
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213 pogo
June 26, 2013 at 10:44 AM
lol wtf was this even, if the writer was on weed that was a waste of weed and I should have it instead.
JB and GF, I hope you have a few choice words for this mess in the end-of-year roundup, when the time comes.
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214 candiii
June 26, 2013 at 10:45 AM
Against popular opinion. I quite liked the ending. Maybe because I'm a sappy romantic. But it made me giggle like heck when Lee Seung Gi called his valet Ok Man.
But meh.
Yes. The ending was a cliffhanger. But satisfactory. Leaves room for you to dream on, which I personally think is the best ending that a drama could have.
One against a million ^_^
But I'll watch anything with Lee Seung Gi in it.
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Dream
June 26, 2013 at 7:38 PM
I echo on you.
... and all the songs from the OST...the best!
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215 That asian gurl
June 26, 2013 at 11:11 AM
why isn't there a sex scene ggaaaahhhrrr
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216 Melvina14
June 26, 2013 at 12:00 PM
ok, I´m going to pretend this ending didn´t happened and make for myself an ending that makes me happy.
Ending:
Kang Chi went for the gu family book and became human. Yeo Wool stayed him with and had many babies. They both died and Kang Chi reincarnated as Dae-Woong.
THE END xD
No really, this was a horrible ending. Even though I sometimes watched the episode and sometimes I read the recap, I felt that this was horrible. I do not see the point of calling a drama Gu Family Book and not let us see the freaking book in all the story!! I enjoyed the story, but I felt that with Wol Ryung´s and Seo Hwa´s death, everything came downhill.
I felt the writer just made episode 23 as a filler because she didn´t had anyhing else to put. Also, even if Yeo Wool had to die, I wouldn´t have liked to have Kang Chi waiting 422 years to meet up with her, just to have the same ending. Even if it seems mean, I would have liked KC not to stay lonely, but at least have someone else or something!
AISH!!!
Well aside from that, I really enjoyed the drama and enjoyed LSG :D
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217 shelly
June 26, 2013 at 12:13 PM
oh, the show is over. was that as LOL for you as it was for me?... *reaching for a cigar*
so, highlights of the day (in the order i remember them).
the translation: KC killing the minion with his bare hands. he's saying, "i'll kill you with my bear hands". gumiho baby, you're confusing species here. and why so literal? :D
the monk: "oh, so in the end that has come to pass. the end." LOL
seriously? i knew that.
dam giving KC the sword he used to STAB his (innocent, hearbroken) father, causing him to speed away toward becoming a 100-year demon. thank you dam, you're so considerate. then again, so it KC accepting it.
do you know, i love that statue in that seoul square (seen it before in IRIS - the first one, the one that actually counted for something) but i never ever remembered who's statue it is despite of this drama. i have no awe over LSS being in this drama at all. he never DID anything except place restrictions on KC so that he wouldn't use his bear... eh, bare hands to kill someone who totally deserved it. is that PC in joseon era or what?
even KC knows that "letting you" - minion that is - "live is nonsense." like he wasn't even along with this series.
and the death moment - was i supposed to cry? i couldn't help laughing a bit. in a weary way.
this series goes against probability, in having EVERYone and their mother - or father - shed a lonely tear... from the left eye only, that is, right before they start crying their hearts off for whatever they feel like. thank the powers that be gon almost controlled himself, this time.
bruce wayne? are you kidding me? bruce wayne has gadgets and no superpower, this one's definitely connor macleod (said it before). he never dies, he gets a sword of doom he keeps on his wall, he lost someone long ago and oops she's reincarnated, he's not exactly on speaking terms with the other gumiho we know he's acquainted with (though i have no beef with that, actually, because...)
YOUR GIRL IS DYING ON YOU and YOU KNOW GUMIHO BLOOD CAN SAVE HER and YOU KNOW ANOTHER GUMIHO and HE KIND OF OWES YOU ONE OR MORE FAVORS and YOU STILL LET HER DIE?!
WTF writer?! i get it, wol-ryung stole KC's thunder (if there was ever going to be one) but this would have been epic, waking up WR to heal YW - maybe by actually dying in process of whatevs, i'd still be okay with it... cause i'd at least make sense!
they all stood there like wimps and let her die... because, WHY? they had at least that trump in their hands. WTF, seriously.
oh and last but not least - the broom master gives KC a ring to show he's been master's apprentice... at what exactly? sweeping? counting beans? solving puzzles with a lot of help and the actual answers provided to him and then explained in small, one-syllable words?!
LOL
i'm going to pretend this story was all about WR and the rest didn't even happen. what a silly way to destroy that great start. i don't even want a sequel, unless SH gets reincarnated again too, and WR comes to get her. let's start a petition about that.
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shelly
June 26, 2013 at 12:18 PM
err, lots of typos. ignore them. it's ragespeak. you know that language too, i bet.
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Hyung
June 26, 2013 at 1:24 PM
I'm occasionally proficient...LOL
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Hyung
June 26, 2013 at 12:29 PM
LOL i laughed out loud the time while reading this comment. my coworkers think i'm insane.
"YOUR GIRL IS DYING ON YOU and YOU KNOW GUMIHO BLOOD CAN SAVE HER and YOU KNOW ANOTHER GUMIHO and HE KIND OF OWES YOU ONE OR MORE FAVORS and YOU STILL LET HER DIE?!"
I think the Monk told Kang Chi he could only save a mortal that way once. It doesn't work the second time.
"this one’s definitely connor macleod (said it before)." LOL
"oh and last but not least – the broom master gives KC a ring to show he’s been master’s apprentice… at what exactly? sweeping? counting beans? solving puzzles with a lot of help and the actual answers provided to him and then explained in small, one-syllable words?!" LOL AGREED
Seriously, about 98% of the posts i've read in various sites about the ending have been negative. So sad that the story had to end this way.
EPIC start, so-so ep. 3-13, getting better and better ep. 14-20, where is this going? ep. 21,22 - and wow...can i quote some of the other comments i've read from other posters here? - what is this weed-smoking whatthefuckery? episodes 23-24.
After reading so many comments and watching the last episode twice, I am simply... confused. Should I accept it? Should I hate it?
I rewatch many dramas, but this one is one that I, in all probability, will not rewatch. Damn shame.
Hyung over and out.
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Sussie
June 26, 2013 at 1:43 PM
"EPIC start, so-so ep. 3-13, getting better and better ep. 14-20, where is this going? ep. 21,22 – and wow…can i quote some of the other comments i’ve read from other posters here? – what is this weed-smoking whatthefuckery? episodes 23-24. " ... yep... that´s it! you just wrote the same that´s it in my mind right now.
Also, same as you, I wouldn´t rewatch this one...
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shelly
June 26, 2013 at 2:43 PM
no no, WR didn't save YW once, did he? (i don't remember if he ever saved SH that way at any time.)
so they did have the option of bringing back daddy gu to work blood magic on YW and end this in an acceptable if almost-rational way. but then it'd DEFINITELY be WR's show completely lol. what's that word - WR would have pwned KC 110%. make that 120%.
but why use reason when you can one-tear all the way? and was that even manly crying at that death scene? i thought he was trying really hard not to laugh too - as i was - and not succeeding much.
or maybe he was desperate already and losing it lol.
i already deleted the last two eps - don't want to ever see / hear / remember them again. that writer... he or she seriously has a finish problem. you get magic setting, you get rules (that you also can change to fit your mood), you get tragedy and epic from the backstory of non-main charas... and you fizzle it all down the drain for no visible reasons AT ALL.
imho, he or she did it for spite. because s/he could and s/he wanted to do a WTF-ery once in their life lol.
and i didn't even hear some epic music to make me at least not feel like i've wasted an hour... *sigh*
it'd be tragic if i even cared, but i don't. WR got epic and he showed these kids (that are basically his own age or almost there) how it's done. and he did it using clichés too - that's acting. choi jin-hyuk FTW! i just hope no one gets scared and makes his chara in "heirs" some 2D non-entity. lee min-ho is still prettier, he'd need someone to finally act against him (that's not 30 years of experience ahead, so to speak) so they could make themselves shine, respectively.
and i bet there won't be any sequel to this one. in retrospect, it seemed pretty over. and done. and dead. and buried. and not even an almost-city hunter, almost-iljimae2014, almost-faith(redux) plot would make me interested...
which reminds me: didn't that ending also look like "faith"? main charas stand there and look at each other and smile a little and don't speak to each other (well, KC did make some noises). yup, definitely been there before.
SO glad the epic part was in the beginning - cause if i had to go through drek to get to it, i would have never seen it and missed on something awesome. shouldn't they have a movie out of the parents' story planned already? :D
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Keke
June 26, 2013 at 5:15 PM
The first 2 episodes was crap to me, hated the parents' story. And, CJH? I reserve my comments. He is actually prettier than lee min Ho coz he has feminine features. Now LMH is manly, CJH can't hold a candle to him in any way that is why he is still playing supporting roles.
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shelly
June 27, 2013 at 6:53 AM
to each it's own, i guess :D
i liked the parents' story better. you liked the kids' story better. so this show actually gave something to everyone :D
NotaCJHfan
June 27, 2013 at 9:19 AM
@Keke, hurrah, bravo can't agree with you more. I already erased the first 2 episodes from my memory. Some actors are not meant to be and will at best, be second or third fiddle.
shelly
June 26, 2013 at 2:54 PM
wait - did you mean, gumiho blood of ANY gumiho's veins would only save a certain mortal once? i thought it was one gumiho/one try.
and if the rules changed so that it's one (any) gumiho's blood once in a person's life... then i'm cursing up a storm right now and someone in korea is hiccuping over it.
'cause... how in the heck does monk know so much while knowing so little? he doesn't know where the gu book is, that WR came back a demon (after predicting it, too), that WR came back a good guy again (and he had changed wardrobe too LOL) - wth is the monk even there for? i could've done better with some writing on the wall... or some sweep-master's puzzle that said the same things.
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Hyung
June 27, 2013 at 5:28 AM
"wait – did you mean, gumiho blood of ANY gumiho’s veins would only save a certain mortal once? i thought it was one gumiho/one try.
and if the rules changed so that it’s one (any) gumiho’s blood once in a person’s life… then i’m cursing up a storm right now and someone in korea is hiccuping over it."
You know what Shelly that's actually a very good point. I hadn't thought about that. KC saved her...but I didn't think WR would come back and do the same. Although it was unlikely that WR would come back and help his son (I mean ...his story is is even MORE tragic because he had no one around him to help him move on...so once he "went to slee", i doubt he'd wake back up),it still would have been cool if it would have happened. The story would DEFINITELY have had a different and better ending.
I saw an article yesterday on Dramafever that articulated their wish for a season 2:
http://blog.dramafever.com/2013/06/recap-gu-family-book-ending-offers-hints-for-season-tw/
But then later I saw an article on Nate News stating the the director and writer were interviewed and they said that there would be no season 2 because of the difficulties of recasting the same people again blah blah blah.
The point i'm trying to get across is that I am very disappointed how this ended. So sad that everything seems to indicate that they're destined to go through the same patter of her dying for the rest of his years.
I'm kind of....girly....way. I invest a lot of time, and I invest myself emotionally sometimes in some of these shows, while others I watch with cool detachment.
This was one of those shows that, despite all of the flaws, drew me in and wouldn't let go. So, I feel a little heartbroken that not only did they f*** up the ending, but that they have no intention of fixing it.
Hyung over and out.
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shelly
June 28, 2013 at 5:06 AM
they only f-up the kids' ending and by that time i only cared for the laughs, to tell the truth (and i know you get my meaning 'cause we both suffered through the pointless ep 23, right?)
WR and SH's ending was better - in the sense that at least he didn't die-DIE but went to sleep. (sleeping with a cadaver is lame but it definitely trumps dying a demon because he's been noble and sacrificed himself again. and it has the plus that SH is redeemed too.)
the story, for me, is only the tragedy, with some fluff in it to lighten it up a bit. i do like those smiles, but i like the tragic charas more... and the kids' charas were everything but tragic (chung-jo was different, but they shelved her soon in the series and never took her down again, too bad...)
so i don't even care for a second diluted story of re-told fluff, not without the tragedy thrown in for good measure. therefore, good riddance :D
218 Carmensitta
June 26, 2013 at 12:32 PM
After WolRyung left/died for reals nothing interesting happened with this drama. Oh well, it was a fun ride. Thank you, girls, for providing us with these great recaps!
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219 gd
June 26, 2013 at 1:16 PM
I wonder if him saying in the past that the next time they meet, he will recognize and love her first means the process is reversed. One of them was supposed to die in the past and she recognized and loved him first - and who did the writer kill? My lovely Suzy... err... Yeo Wool. Does that mean he's gonna die in this time line? But to keep things positive, if that is to happen, is it a good kind of death? Dying is dying no matter how you look at it, but if the death is about the end of being a divine creature and reborn as a human, just like his dream, then it would be a positive ending after 400+ years. And a continuation of their romance 'til the day they die. Maybe it does make sense... Or just wishful thinking since it is such a crappy ending.
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220 exquisitemelody
June 26, 2013 at 1:31 PM
I actually ended up watching the finale with a friend who has only seen one episode of another drama, and she totally called the 'flash forward and meeting her there' ending. I didn't believe it because I wouldn't have guessed that ending based on my drama experience, but....there it was. And I FUH-REAKED out!!!! Like...whaaaat?
Let's be honest....I only watched the first two episodes, then read until Wol-Ryung showed up again. The parent story was epic compared to the actual story, but I ended up feeling shafted with that storyline in the end because I was confused with how he was able to die (or did he?).
The only explanation I have for this ending is that there's a sequel in the works. And unless daddy ho shows up again, I don't think I'll pay attention.
I just...I don't understand what the point of the drama was. I honestly didn't think she would die because we already had the deaths of the parents (which were totally expected). I didn't think the drama was dark enough to actually kill off any of the leads.
Also...I think our villain got the easy way out. He should've been drawn and quartered in public. Stoned? Beheaded? But seriously...poison? Not enough.
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221 kaimono
June 26, 2013 at 1:32 PM
you know what i want a follow-up. Second series which takes over where the first one left, because with this ending it feels so incomplete...
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222 LaurenLCD
June 26, 2013 at 1:39 PM
I didn't even watch past the parents resting in peace and I'm still feeling... eh? from the recaps after and... mixed for the finale (which feels like sequel bait now that we know what the original title was called).
Who's up for a fanfic version of this where we fix all the writer's/characters'/universe's mistakes? Some corrections to be made:
- That monk being an insert for the writer to machinate the direction of the story. He's just an excuse to a) pull Stephanie Meyers out of his robes and change rules on the fly without explanation (Thanks for telling us NOW that gumiho blood is a one-cure per person. Could've used that knowledge earlier) and b) use the "Fate cannot be challenged." motif. Why can't we have monks or shamans who are just cynics raining on others parades? Not every spiritual/scholarly character needs to be a puppet master.
- On that note: out with the fate/destiny/star crossed lovers schtick. The only one who did it right was Shakespeare and that was because Romeo and Juliet was meant to be satire on the impulsiveness of young love - oh, and the story only consisted of a time span of 72 hours, not months/years/decades/centuries of sadistically jerking around the OTPs so that they can't have their happy ending (or if they do, it's usually by no real work of their own and doesn't teach young audiences that you have to work for what you want and do your best to keep it).
- Kill the bad guy earlier, and/or for an extra twist - have that gunshot meant for Kangchi be for JGW.
- Develop the 4 teachers, Chunjo, Taeseo and other characters more. They were underutilized and their stories were never completely resolved. We can assume Taeseo got the 100 Year Inn back, but what about Chunjo? Does she go back to being a lady of station once her family's name is cleared or does she move up the ranks to become the head gisaeng, wanting to create a life for herself unbound by proprieties and arranged marriages?
- Keep the central focus on Kangchi becoming a human. The side stories should be just that - side stories.
- Have Kangchi's motivation be more than about 'Wun Twue Wuv.' What about the psychological issues that Kangchi had? His additional motivations could have been: separation anxiety and fear of abandonment. The fear that he'll eventually be all alone in the world having seen the love of his life, biological parents, surrogate parents, adoptive parents, and friends all either die, abandon him (physically or emotionally), or deny him the connection to the human world that always felt out of reach because he wasn't like others... Where is it? Wolryung's reason being all about love is fine because he never had the connection to humans and his humanity before Seohwa, but Kangchi could have had a life beyond Yeowool. He could have continued his teachings and raised the next generation of W4, worked for the 100 Year Inn again, became a soldier under Lee Sooshin, became the guardian of the forest since Wolryung can't do it anymore, or something else entirely. It... I don't want to call him pathetic because first love always hits hardest, but it's sad that he just stopped living life to the fullest for the sake of one person. It tells us that he didn't learn to accept that part of the human condition involves losing those near and dear to us and enduring life after. Sure, the time skip shows us that he's loaded, but seriously - counting the lunar cycles for every year? Dude!
Seriously though, as much as we write essays on here - anyone up for a rewrite done right?
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exquisitemelody
June 26, 2013 at 1:44 PM
You know what ending I'd love? The monk found some magic potion that turns SH into a divine creature too and then they both wake up and be awesome divine creatures together
...what? Like it's not possible? THere are no rules in the drama :P
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shelly
June 26, 2013 at 3:01 PM
no, no - the gu family book is actually a spell book and the monk FINALLY finds it and works some magic, in order to make everything un-happen.
and then we get puppy-love daddy gu and a SH that quickly gets over the initial shock of finding she likes furry, and then they get to live happily ever after, so that any and every child they have never leaves to mountain and never finds a two wove that makes no sense.
or they can, but then they're female gumiho and LSG gets to play their boyfriends :D
there, i fixed it :D
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Emaan
June 26, 2013 at 5:57 PM
hahahaa Man you are awesome
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Hyung
June 27, 2013 at 5:37 AM
LOL that was Epic funny. Seriously Shelly, you should submit your rough draft for a remake of this show. I'm sure it'll break the 20% that GFB was never able to. Freaking writer messed it up.
Props on the funny. :)
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wag-a-muffin
June 26, 2013 at 6:41 PM
Excellent idea.
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223 Mikey
June 26, 2013 at 2:30 PM
So are we getting a modern day sequel? If not, that ending sucks! We didn't even get to see the Turtle Ship in action or Kang Chi come back to help the Admiral.
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GD
June 26, 2013 at 2:42 PM
Kang Chi won't be able to help Lee Soon Shin, because that will change history... all jokes aside. If there is going to be a sequel, let it be 12 episodes long and just focus on finding the book. Because by using my own thought process (see previous post - post #219), it seems like that is the only solution to keep it positive. We don't want their fate from 400 years ago to reverse and him dying. She won't be able to live the next 400 years to see a reincarnation of him.
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Quiet Thought
June 26, 2013 at 9:06 PM
How about a sequel in which this impoverished writer brings in the characters from 'Poseidon' and they help build the ROK navy up to face its enemies? Li Shi Young could probably kick ass on any of the reborn characters from GFB.
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224 kngdrama
June 26, 2013 at 2:48 PM
All I can think of is Gu Family Book.
1. What was the origin of Gu Family? Who are the Gus? Divine creatures, humans, monks?
2. Where did they hide the book? Is it a real book, a stone book, a mirage book?
3. The monk said that no one ever was transformed into a human. Is it a ploy to increase demonic population by converting gumihos into demons?
4. Some requirements are written in the other book:
a. Become a vegan for 100 days
b. Do not refuse to help if asked by humans
c. Do not spill blood
d. Live among humans who don't know you are a gumiho, essentially you have to move far away from the familiar land
You are going away on a journey; purified from inside out.
Then what?
Also, if you fail (ate chicken soup, did not help, got into a fist fight and spilled the blood, or accidentally met a neighbor who knew you as a gumiho), then you can use a special wooden knife to pierce the heart of a human you love if the human betrays you. Where will you get the knife? How did the monk get the knife in the first place?
If you become a demon, it happens slowly? Like dementia?
Who are the Gus?!!! Where are they? Gu Family, I want to know their story.
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shelly
June 26, 2013 at 3:10 PM
1. there is no book. the writer of this show had a hazy idea about the book, but that idea quickly got swamped in the cute.
2. see 1
3. i wouldn't trust the monk much. he doesn't know he's right in anything he says and his prophecies seem to come true only if he makes them (kind of like he's making them happen). look at it this way: if he never told YW or KC about being doomed to die - one or them anyway - they'd have never have split, she'd have never had been kidnapped (i do hope KC would have helped there, don't you?), the admiral wouldn't have come the the inn, she wouldn't have gotten in front of the minion who couldn't aim. and so she wouldn't have died.
4. nice comment on the knife. let's pretend the monk made it (i don't think the knife was old, only the wood used to make it) so that it could become a series item, in need.
that also means a lot of gumihos would want to become humans to be with their loved ones, and that they were willing to starve and keep secrets (and if they told, the humans would have wanted to be with them anyway or not? i don't think they would, if it was a surprise sprang on them. kind of like - hey love, i'm a werewolf, the bad kind, but don't worry, i'm working on it?! *screaming and running already*)
nah, the rules were cool in the beginning because it was WR obeying them and making them funny (like hallucinating at eating rabbits lol) - but for KC they were just props. and if he ever was serious about them, he'd have left when he first learned there was a chance of finding the non-extant book.
too bad for the great beginning... this story ends up flopping.
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Fuzzy
June 26, 2013 at 5:18 PM
Hated the beginning ( yawn) , never felt anything for the parents. Cringed at papa gumiho's appearance.
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Tru2u
June 26, 2013 at 7:58 PM
I ADORE Papa Gu appearance. After he came off scene I lost all interest but still stood around till the end. The parents romance even though short was 100 times better than Kanh Chi and Yeo-wool.
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KCYW4ever
June 26, 2013 at 10:35 PM
Totally opposite for me. Never liked the parents' story, don't feel anything for them. Kangdam couple story is million times better.
225 GD
June 26, 2013 at 3:05 PM
Okay. I just got a live update from Drama Fever about the ending offering hints to season 2... OKAY... Then I read one of the comments and this person said that the ending is very nice and can't wait for the sequel. OKAY.
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226 Candy
June 26, 2013 at 3:07 PM
i loved the ending. i hate dramas where everyone dies. this was perfect ending. it was sort of like rooftop prince but different.
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227 ilikemangos
June 26, 2013 at 3:32 PM
Gu family book is one of those shows that actors/actresses would like to add to their resumes for something to brag about. Advances their career(yay, more CFS and project offers), and gains popularity.
Does an actor grow from that project? Probably not.
I remember seung gi mentioning in interviews something along the lines of K2H behind a one of a kind project that he may never be able to star in and jae-ha being a character he'll never be able to portray again in his career. Yes, that kind of project is the kind that gives insight to an actor and adds experience. Here it is obvious that seung gi was intrinsically motivated n K2H while GFB was more of an extrinsic motivation.
On the upside(or downside, however you look at it), Seung Gi came out one of those actors that cries on cue like it's nothing. My poor baby is probably dehydrated because of all those gallons he shed.
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ilikemangos
June 26, 2013 at 3:39 PM
Would like to add that he still may have felt some growth, but a very little one.
For those die hard seung gi fans that may disagree with me.
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minea
June 26, 2013 at 8:30 PM
My thoughts exactly on Seung Gi's crying. I feel like he's been crying in every episode. Poor puppy needs a hug. (And lots of water.)
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228 Perla
June 26, 2013 at 4:14 PM
What really upsets me is that this concept (drama) had so much potential you had all the the right characters with all the right mythical elements and then the show just placed them together in all the wrong ways. Instead of just fast forwarding 422 years we could have set it up when KC goes and sees the monk have the monk predict that KC fate is to only find his happiness or destiny and the Gu family book when all of the people he has saved with his blood (because you can't be saved by divine blood and not have some sort of side effect or lasting effects) get reincarnated; so then if he uses all of his money and hires a dozens of detectives to look for them and have them all gather at say a hotel (Hundred year Inn) then his life has meaning because he is not just waiting for time to start again but actively looking for the family that he loves and a way to become human like he said he wanted in all 24 episodes. That said I would watch the special or a movie sequel to this if only for the hope of getting rid of the feeling this ending left me with.
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Perla
June 26, 2013 at 4:23 PM
Also Chung-jo was my favorite character and she was left out she could have been reincarnated as a top star and all you needed was to have a TV play a clip of her on screen (is that too much to ask for?). Also for the sake of throwing it out into the universe I want Gon and Chung-jo to be a couple and have a happy ending as well; but that might really be asking for too much.
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229 hazris
June 26, 2013 at 4:34 PM
this drama wasbso dissapointing...at the end what about the book? Supposed chage the drama title to be kang chi 1st love or whatever...
So sad for seung gi becoz of this drama is 100%twist form his performance in TK2H..
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230 Echo
June 26, 2013 at 4:48 PM
It seems I am one of the only ones who loved the ending of this show.
I never saw Kang Chi as an Iljimae character - I saw the main plot force as his struggle between his humanity and his non-human half (and the irony that he turned out to be the most human of them all). His struggle was to the end, and I loved that it turned out a disappointment. Life goes that way. A LOT.
I also never saw him as the "hero." He was just a guy caught up in the times of a HISTORICAL drama. The Admiral was the real hero of the time. Why would a no-name gumiho suddenly get to be the sacrificing hero? THAT would just be beyond cliche.
On the Gu Family Book never showing up - I thought it was an amazing f*ck all! moment. Of course, the book is never going to show up. xD I love it that they left it more or less a myth.
And how is the ending a shock? THE ENTIRE SHOW THEY TELL YOU SHE IS GOING TO DIE. It started with a tragic love, and it would end with one. Wasn't that obvious? I mean, it was pretty dang obvious.
Personally, I like the reincarnation twist. It's not particularly a common theme in western liturature or tv, so it was a newer concept to me (or rather, I didn't like the way it was used when I encountered it in western YA novels). He promised to wait for her, even though there is no way he could ever know for sure that reincarnation happened. His love was as long-lasting as his father's. Anything less, and he would have been a disappointing romantic and a disapointing son of Wol-ryung.
I love the concept that she's his "last love" as the proverb goes - *not* a soulmate. A soulmate would be cliche indeed. A "last love" has a lot more life experience and maturity behind it than just randomly declaring a first love your soulmate. She's not his first love. He's found someone he can commit to love beyond a single lifetime - and a love and commitment like that is mature and, in the real world, very rare.
Seriously, he meets her again while she's holding him AT GUNPOINT! I mean, roflol, what better way than that??? (Okay, yes, it's obsurd that everyone was reincarnated AT THE SAME TIME, but I got my giggles out of it.)
Actually, I was disappointed in Wol-ryung's ending - just going to sleep off the rest of his life because his love died? I mean, hello! How unhealthy is that! Why complain about Kang Chi waiting for his love when his father just gave up on life AND HIS SON completely. At least Kang Chi was willing to live and wait on the off chance that his love would come around again (or if not, that he might fall in love with someone else someday and want to become human again). And he's still continuing with making healthy friendships. It's not like he stopped interacting with the human world. (He's a president of a company, for goodness sake! He gets around.)
Product placement - I didn't overtly see any brand names, so to me it doesn't count. It wasn't even half as obvious as American tv/movie product placement. (And if you were a millionaire, would you not have a car and a phone like that? Um, yes. So, I thought the "prduct placement" was practical as opposed to pushing a single certain BRAND.)
I'm sad that no one else liked the ending. I thought it was great. Any other ending, in my opinion, would have sold it short. Ah well.
It seems unlikely that any serious sequel is ever made for any drama in Korea, but I would absolutely love to watch the sequel to this. It left me wanting so much more. What if she thinks he's a creepy for knowing her name and being a rich prig? How is he going to make her fall in love with him? Maybe she changed? Maybe HE changed? It could be fun!
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Dream
June 26, 2013 at 7:46 PM
you are not alone. I am with you too and I know there are others. We are just he minority.
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Jungieyah
June 27, 2013 at 4:16 PM
Agree with you. I love the recarnation twist and so what. Some people didn't get the ending they hope they'll get. It was a surprise to me and i love it. About yeo wool dying. God, i cried so much but from monk's warning, i knew she was going to anyway as it's unlikely that kang chi will die. I hope there is a sequel.
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231 animeluv04
June 26, 2013 at 5:03 PM
The ending should have been this: Kang Chi leaves and finds the Gu Family Book in a few years but decided not to use it yet. Then the story skips to the present where Kang Chi is living a normal life (I honestly don't like him being rich). He meets reincarnated Yeo Wool in Seoul and finally uses the Gu Family Book to become a human. Now as a human, he can finally be together with Yeo Wool and grow old, have children and die together.
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Dream
June 26, 2013 at 7:49 PM
I was thinking about the same thing!
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232 luvs
June 26, 2013 at 5:07 PM
Kang Chi and Lee soon shin scenes were perfect.
Lee Seung gi cries beautifully! He gives the best hugs in kdrama too.
i just remember the best parts of this drama...
it was eye candy - all the beautiful actors and scenery and music - a feast for the senses, and the last 5 minutes was too comical you can't really take it seriously.
a lot of the commentators here are brainy i guess - take it easy - its entertainment. for a serious story - read a good book instead.
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Dream
June 26, 2013 at 7:48 PM
agree... It is just a drama!! And I admit that I was totally entertained from it for the past three months. And isn't that great? So what about the last 10 minutes? (and I wouldn't even call it fraud...... I still like it).
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minea
June 26, 2013 at 8:42 PM
@luvs
"Lee Seung gi cries beautifully! He gives the best hugs in kdrama too."
Wholeheartedly agree on the crying and the hugs. Whenever he cries, he just pulls you in emotionally. And those all-encompassing hugs. *swoon*
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233 chiomy
June 26, 2013 at 5:33 PM
Very disappointing end.... had started checking out by episode 16... not consolation was king 2 hearts
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234 chiomy
June 26, 2013 at 5:34 PM
Meant my consolation
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235 jademwong
June 26, 2013 at 6:19 PM
...I can't even. There are so many things wrong here, I can't even. This stupid finale reeks of Big: started out great, had amazing potential, crashed, burned, reincarnated, and imploded.
Thank you GF for putting in your hours watching and recapping. And thanks you guys for always giving great comments every week!
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236 Dorcas Mutumba
June 26, 2013 at 6:30 PM
"To sacrifice closure in that world, for this… what a damn shame"
My sentiments exactly! #sodisappointed #sosad that show would do that.
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237 MizzMizzEka
June 26, 2013 at 6:59 PM
Really, I cant stop laugh a lot to read those comments and opinion. Some of them I obviously agree about why this drama ending like that.
I just can't react Why Oh Why feeeling about this last episode.
It hard for me to falling in love with this drama saeguk story if theres no Lee Seung Gi, Sung Joon, Suzy and greater senior casts indeed.
Maybe for those side it makes the writer burdened.
But honestly, it feels waste to have ending like that. Especially, what the meaning of the epilogue is Kang Chi become a secret agent with extraordinary power? Such as Soo Haa? Ha. Woh. Oh. Crap
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238 Jess
June 26, 2013 at 7:18 PM
I feel like this drama kicked me in the gut. I loved it all up until last week. I even think it contains one of the best on-screen kisses I've ever seen in a k-drama. And then this...
I mean, it Gaksital'd me by killing her off (and I honestly expected her to live... I didn't think this drama was THAT drama); and then it Rooftop Prince'd me with the reincarnation thing.
I'm just so frustrated and disappointed. I wish I'd stopped at the end of episode 21... maybe even 20. :(
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239 ar
June 26, 2013 at 7:35 PM
Thanks for all the recapping!
I had given up watching it about halfway through since I'm on my American tv show watching spree these days. I still can't believe that THIS is the ending. I'm a sucker for reincarnation endings, but this one was just out of left field, especially when there were so many things in their historical incarnations that were left unresolved. It seems like this drama needs an extra episode to finish things off, yet it also seems like things have been dragged on long enough. The ending feels like it's leaving room for a sequel. Perhaps in a potential sequel, he'll go adventuring and finally find the Gu Family Book. I still don't know if we're talking about a metaphorical book or a real book.
Question: if Kang Chi gets with this incarnation's Yeo-wool, wouldn't she just age while he stays the same age?
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240 laraffinee
June 26, 2013 at 8:10 PM
The writer should spend the next year in a Buddhist Temple, carrying water to atone for that terrible script. The director should join her for 6 months, sweeping floors. Seriously. they actually got paid for that?
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shelly
June 27, 2013 at 7:14 AM
make that a sentence of 422 years. or 5221 full moons. and some change.
just sayin'.
btw. is anyone else listening to the soundtrack? does anyone feels like the BG theme "the land of idea" is a 85% rip-off of "hancock"'s theme called "the moon and the superhero"?
i feel that sentence just got longer...
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241 Tru2u
June 26, 2013 at 8:34 PM
LOL!!!! What a Drama. I wasn't wholeheartedly invested in it, but I did watch all of the episodes. Yes, that's right. From 1-24 and I must say, "What a let down!!!!" Nothing was resolved, NOTHING AT ALL. From ep 1 to 23 the villains seems to have succeeded. We saw him destroying families, RAPING underage girls, MURDERING the innocent, and committing treason against his own country and he ONLY die by poisoning. Are you freaking SERIOUS????!!!?!?!? I wanted to see some suffering. Our hero's suffered for what seems like the entire show, and the villains only suffered for less than 5 minutes? Shit, Yeo-wool dying took her hours, yet Jo Gwan-woong dies in 1 minute? And what happened to the guy who shot her? How, I wish Papa Gu had finished him that one time.
Also, what the hell is up with the moon-tree crescent crap. It's like a never-ending tragic love story. The girl is bound to die again.
Honestly, Everyone here, have already written all I wanted to write, so I see not reason to continue. "Thanks guys"
Ah, well. Not all is lost. I did walk away loving Papa Gu and Mama bear couple. Can I scream here just once? "WOL-RYUNG/CHOI JIN-HYUK, WHY ARE YOU SO DAMN SEXYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" "Phew" ~swoons~ OK, that felt great. Also I have a few OST that I also fell in love with.
All in all I give it a C+ B-, Honestly I don't even know. Maybe a C- But what I do know is that Kang Chi was the original Bruce Wayne. LOL
Definitely NOT a drama I would rewatch. LOL I didn't even cry ONCE.
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Tru2u
June 26, 2013 at 8:45 PM
Lets hope Mandate Of Heaven do it right. Because right now It's the ONLY show that I have Wholeheartedly invest myself into. I'm seriously LOVING it to pieces. Keep it up writers, Plz Don't fail me now. I couldn't handle another let down back to back.
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foulou
June 26, 2013 at 9:51 PM
LOL there's someone who didn't watch Kim Tak Goo. xD
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Tru2u
June 26, 2013 at 9:57 PM
Talk to me. How was that drama?
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ilikemangos
June 26, 2013 at 11:50 PM
Im going to admit, it was even MORE makjang fest with even less cute moments that GFB ( which is what probably kept most people here going) but atleast i watched it to the end, no idea why. Oh i think that was the time period where there was barely any competition and i literally had no interest in any of the currently airing shows.
I think that was joo won's deubt in dramaland(correct me if i'm wrong anyone, not feeling like googling) but ma jun was just a character that i had to see end up with eugene's character. I think if you looked pass all the dramatics (boy, there was tons of tears), at the core baker king had alot of heart because of the underdog story -- and i'm almost a sucker for underdog stories and watching them be successful is rewarding.
GFB qualitatively is better than Baker King but atleast i wasnt all WTF with King's ending.
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Tru2u
June 27, 2013 at 6:57 AM
*Thank You*
But a Makjang fest? I guess I can say pass. Tired of the same recycled story lines. It's become quite tiring. And why 30 episodes? I cannot stand dramas that are extended because of high rating. It tends to drag on FOREVER!!!!!
ilikemangos
June 26, 2013 at 11:54 PM
LOL your ranting just made my day.
Yes, why the hell do the bad guys suffer for a few minutes while the leads suffer the whole damn way.
hahaha.
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Tru2u
June 27, 2013 at 7:14 AM
You have no idea, how much I was looking forward to seeing the baddies suffer in this one. I felt cheated. And should they make another series, it would be predictable. The future Jo Gwan-woong will be the main villian, and CJ will be the love rival. Sorry, after seeing him get away Scott free, without any HUGH reveal of what he had done. I will NOT be watching it. ( I wanted the WHOLE country to know of his evilness, I wanted names to be cleared. I wanted to know, what the hell happened to 100 years Inn. Also, I could careless for a 2nd season. Everything is going to be different. Seriously not in a mode to get to know them all over again.
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242 newgirl
June 26, 2013 at 9:01 PM
The only great thing about this drama was that I got to end it by reading GF's recap and all these comments; some were so hilarious I almost peed my pants. Seriously, I put off doing my taxes for GFB? At least I might get a refund for my taxes.
I like the alternative endings so I'll throw out a few of my own: Keep everything up to the point where KC takes YW for a walk. This saves the dinner scene which echoes the earlier scene at the same table when Kang CHi is moved to tears by his realization that these people are his family. But KC takes YW with his mythical speedwalking to the magical garden where Daddy Ho is in suspended animation. (This reminds us that YW and KC were there before, and it is where YW showed KC she accepted him in all his gummi-ho-ness. KC and YW have the same conversation they had by the river, and when the blue lights come, they awaken Daddy Ho, who arrives in time to save YW. Cut forward to about 5 years later, where we see all the main characters in Kang Chi's life at a picnic somewhere in the forest. There is a new Baby-Ho about 4 years old, with Grandpa Dam and Grandpa-Ho looking on proudly. Grandpa-Ho takes Baby-Ho aside, promising to show Baby-Ho something. Baby-Ho and Grandpa-Ho return with 2 sacks just like the sacks Wol Ryung brought for Seo Wha. Grandpa-Ho opens the first for YW, and flowers and butterflies come out. Baby-Ho opens the second for Daddy-Ho Kang Chi and we see it is a sack of KING SPIDERS. Everyone else falls down laughing, while Kang Chi is so freaked out his eyes flash green and he has trouble controlling his gummi-ho side. Grandpa-Ho reminds him he still has a ways to go before his skills are up to his own, and YW calms him down with a look. Then a fade out from the picnic, while we hear a voice over with KC saying what Tae Seo said about it being better to live with someone you love for
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newgirl
June 26, 2013 at 9:11 PM
Ooops! Accidentally hit the submit button.
...someone you love for 100 years than alone for 1000.
THEN, you can fast forward to the farther future, say 2045, where we see KC and WR and all their Baby-Ho's working as environmentalists worldwide, to save all the forests and magical places from the greedy narcissists of the day. And cut to the reincarnation of Lee SS, who is the new hope for the fractured nation of Korea, working to bring reunification and peace and prosperity to all the people. The Gu family has written a book about achieving prosperity with environmental stewardship which he references. End of story.
I just had a lot more fun writing this than I did watching the last 2 episodes. Why, oh why must K-dramas torture me?
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shelly
June 27, 2013 at 7:26 AM
because you let them?...
how about yet another alternate ending?
YW still gets shot and the monk says the only way to save her is to place her in suspended animation - kind of like daddy gu and mommy human - and KC does that, waiting for the right time / person / medical knowledge to save her.
(why couldn't he? daddy could.)
and [422yrs/5221moons and three days later] someone eventually finds a cure and she's cured. but amnesic. or something. maybe turned into a half-human/half-demon because gumiho magic isn't supposed to play nice with humans' bodies.
and then we get a KC trying to calm down the wife while she's busy being all dark and vengeful for imagined slights he did her, but we'd still be entertained.
throw in a re-incarnated gon who is still in love with her and helping her defeat KC each time.
*imagining it*
much better.
and i have other versions ready too - and no one even sheds a tear in any of these versions, either :D (okay maybe KC 'cause he's a crybaby gumiho.)
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243 Quiet Thought
June 26, 2013 at 9:22 PM
One other thought: while most of the cast that suffered through the whole, clunky, 22 to 24 episodes only managed to maintain their dignity, Lee Yubi as Chung-jo stood out and rocked the character from start to finish. She changed from sweet young thing to traumatized victim to tough as nails survivor to hard-as-porcelin Gisaeng and was always convincing, always standing out from the background foolishness. A fine piece of acting.
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244 Mrs.Gu
June 26, 2013 at 10:35 PM
Wtf that's all I can say.... what's with this ending? Like seriously??? Ending in modern day Seoul?? and what's with Gon and Lee Soon Shin showing up and Kang Chi's door? Do they remember each other??? This ending felt to rushed....
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245 Idcseewho
June 26, 2013 at 10:43 PM
I think the only thing in this drama worth watching was the mother and father love story now that was good and the whole jang chi and family interaction was good too ... The rest of it I didn't care <3 sexy gumiho daddy lol
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Noona
June 28, 2013 at 5:32 AM
I prefer son Gumiho, totally my style !
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246 lil tan
June 27, 2013 at 12:23 AM
this drama is really super amazing..from the beginning it doesn't make me bored..i love all the characters esp the father gumiho..all the actors and actresses really did a good job! but i was struck with the 2013 ending..i honestly think it became a different story..hehehe..422yrs?lol..i was just smilling while thinking, what is this? another sequel? if its another sequel then the first story was nothing bcoz we'll be starting another story just that it is still KC but everything changes already. huh! the best ending would've been the two lovers overcome their fate coz in the first place that's what their fighting for..a much better story than their parents fate...haist...got lots to comment but i couldn't do anything for the ending..haha..still love the whole story except the ending :)
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247 jadetaia
June 27, 2013 at 12:26 AM
Wow, I was not expecting that. At all.
Also, why is this drama even named Gu Family Book when he NEVER. GOES. LOOKING. FOR. THE. BOOK?
That'd be like making The daVinci Code a movie about people mentioning the daVinci code while going about their lives and then going to get lunch in Paris. For four hours. And then someone gets hit by a car. And then they bring in Will Smith to start the first few minutes of a new Men In Black movie before cutting to the credits. The end.
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Dbsklove
June 27, 2013 at 2:13 AM
Ok didnt see this post before posting. I WHOLEHEARTEDLY agree.
LOL @ the simile
AND ALSO: why does yw (who does not have healing power) block kc (who has healing power)? Sigh.
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shelly
June 27, 2013 at 7:30 AM
she doesn't shield him. it's just that evil minions can't shoot straight.
WHY was he even shooting KC at all - well, that's a mystery and only the writer can imagine a reason for it - of the writer wasn't completely indifferent on how the story should actually appeal to people who watch it.
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Hyung
June 27, 2013 at 8:08 AM
I personally think the writer was under the influence of sleeping pills and cannabis. That would explain the nonsensical and confusing ending....Jeez. I can't even call that an ending.
Seriously, it's like they implied "To be continued"...and then said "HA! PSYCHE!"... I used to punch people who said psyche in school...
That's why if I saw the writer in person, i'd probably shake his hand on the amazing beginning, commended him on his efforts to keep the story together from then on, thanked him for the cute/funny scenes throughout, and then punch him in the d*** for effing up the ending.
This series was pretty straighforward. The tone of the show itself wasn't all that serious. The filming didn't give it a dark tenor...so...WHY END IT IN THE MOST AMBIGUOUS WAY POSSIBLE?
Cause he was on sleeping pills and weed. that's why. F***tard.
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Tru2u
June 27, 2013 at 8:13 AM
LOL, I was like, " That's the Ill fate, That's how she actually died?!?!!? -_-....... O.O.......O.o.....) I thought she would go down as a hero or something, but she died because someone idiot couldn't aim right. Her death wasn't even EPIC. Aw well, another drama that was dragged out and the writers didn't know what the hell to do with it.
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shelly
June 27, 2013 at 9:14 AM
"erase and rewind... cause i've been losing my mind."
that's the writer's motto :D
that song ("erase and rewind") is totally dedicated to the awesome writer of this series, to the amazing director, as a thank you for their extraordinary work and in farewell to it.
i wonder at the cataclysmic event that completely changed their imagination and ability levels after the end of episode 2.
248 Dbsklove
June 27, 2013 at 1:14 AM
Oh my god. I'm sorry but wtf?! Why even name the drama gu family book if ur not even going to show is the hero searching it ... Sigh
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249 sanchi
June 27, 2013 at 4:06 AM
WTF? WTF? WTF?
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250 Gumei
June 27, 2013 at 4:37 AM
As I have commented in another blog, the only reason I survived 24 episodes of this drama (actually 22 since I skipped the first two episodes of the parents’ story) is Lee Seung Gi. I can’t imagine anyone else acting as Kang Chi. I can’t explain my addiction to this young man, just that I like everything about him. Hope to see him in a variety or a movie next.
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