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Yong-pal: Episode 18 (Final)

We’ve come to the end of the road with Yong-pal, where love is the motivator for our characters to either climb upstairs or step downstairs to the world where the other is. For the doctor who would once resort to nearly anything to protect those he cherishes most, he’s given one last opportunity to face the world of the crocodiles. More tears are shed in this final hour, but it’s time to close up the surgical wounds and step away from the operation.

SONG OF THE DAY

Park Hye-soo – “나 하나만 기역해 (Only Remember Me)” from the OST [ Download ]

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FINAL EPISODE RECAP

At the sound of Yeo-jin’s shrieks, the head maid finds Yeo-jin looking distressed in her bedchamber. Insisting that she’s fine, Yeo-jin drinks the likely drug-laced water by her bedside, but when she tries to put it back, it crashes to the floor instead.

But that’s not all—the head maid’s eyes go wide when Yeo-jin asks where her brother is… because she thinks today is the day of the party, the fateful one that took place over three years ago.

Although Tae-hyun can’t hide his happiness after seeing Yeo-jin last night, he does share his concern over Yeo-jin’s health since he doesn’t know what’s wrong.

While Tae-hyun is busy ruminating over that, our geeky hacker is actually doing something about it by hacking into the security system. Despite a close call with Secretary Min, he manages to download Yeo-jin’s medical scans.

Upon receiving the restraining order, Tae-hyun calls Chae-young, who appears to have been waiting for his call. Since Tae-hyun can’t reach Yeo-jin, Chae-young agrees to go and meet her on his behalf.

She and the shareholders are currently gathered in Yeo-jin’s office, and the men believe victory is within their reach. But Chae-young says it’s too early to pop the champagne just yet because Tae-hyun isn’t someone to be trifled with. Given his current behavior, agree to disagree?

The hacker brings the CT scans straight to Tae-hyun, who confirms that this patient has liver cancer. Reading the scans more closely and seeing that they were taken at Hanshin gives him pause, and he’s told that these are Yeo-jin’s scans.

Chae-young plays dumb when Tae-hyun calls her again about the possibility of cancer, though he tells her that it’s simply speculation. He also asks her to relay a message: “When you meet her… tell her that I’ll go up to the thirteenth floor. Tell her she doesn’t have to force herself to come down to the first floor.”

Once Chae-young arrives, she makes a grab for a cup of water meant for Yeo-jin, only to be signaled by the other maid not to consume it. Seeing this, the head maid confirms to herself that it was the water after all.

Chae-young’s visit to Yeo-jin is a short and mostly silent one, since the latter sits at the edge of the bed, unresponsive to her callings. That has Chae-young think she’s just being ignored, putting a damper on actually getting to enjoy her revenge.

Still, Chae-young makes it sound like all of Tae-hyun’s questions were answered when she calls him afterward. It’s cancer all right and Yeo-jin likely sent the restraining order against Tae-hyun because it was getting too hard to see him—last night’s visit was to see his face one last time.

Tae-hyun has to hold back his tears upon hearing that Yeo-jin’s days are numbered, then asks after Yeo-jin’s reply to his message. Since Chae-young doesn’t know the couple’s secret code language, she lies about Yeo-jin’s supposed answer, saying that Yeo-jin said she won’t ever go to the twelfth floor nor to his clinic and will just stay at home.

If those words strike odd to Tae-hyun, he doesn’t let Chae-young know it. Secretary Min pulls up to the house just then, and although he and Chae-young exchange smiles, there’s still an underlying hatred for one another.

After we watch Tae-hyun scrutinize every single step of how his message was relayed and what he heard in return, Secretary Min looks quite relaxed while hearing about how much Yeo-jin has progressed.

He chuckles at the head maid’s recommendation to carry on this conversation elsewhere lest the rest of the staff overhear, because he isn’t the least bit worried since Yeo-jin’s condition is terminal now. Well that escalated quickly.

Secretary Min agrees to the head maid’s next suggestion of moving Yeo-jin to the guest house since her deteriorating health may encourage gossip. It just so happens the manor is expecting guests tonight—Chae-young and her cronies—to rewrite Yeo-jin’s will.

Speaking of whom, Yeo-jin is looking pale and sickly when she’s wheeled into the guesthouse. The maid drugging her water is dismissed, and when Yeo-jin asks for some water, the head maid destroys the pitcher. Couldn’t you have just poured out the water instead?

“You must not… drink this water,” the head maid tells her. Her eyes fill with tears when Yeo-jin insists with an empty look in her eyes that she’s thirsty. The head maid begs for Yeo-jin to come to her senses. “Pull yourself together, Yeo-jin-ah,” she desperately cries. “What’s wrong with you?! Yeo-jin-ah!”

Meanwhile, Tae-hyun is still trying to put two and two together in his office. So it’s a good thing his bodyguard comes in to spell out more of the puzzling details, though he lets slip that he’s still technically Tae-hyun’s bodyguard per Yeo-jin’s orders.

Other than Yeo-jin, the head maid is the only person who knows about it, so when the bodyguard calls her, the head maid speaks cryptically in case someone is wire-tapping their calls (which they are).

The important takeaways from her message about coming to pick up the ring that’s still here waiting for him are that there are guests coming tonight, and that there’s no one to chase out the neighboring dog without him around. Since that means little to nothing to the other security personnel, those notes are thrown out.

But Tae-hyun has figured it out: that Yeo-jin is staying in the guesthouse and to come take her away before their guests arrive tonight.

As for the clue about the neighboring dog, the bodyguard recalls the opening in the fence he made to make sure the dog left the grounds safely. That’s the same entrance he and Tae-hyun use to sneak back in, and the bodyguard takes down a guard so that Tae-hyun can enter.

When he discovers that the doors are locked, Tae-hyun charges through them. He sees Yeo-jin sitting in a wheelchair and staring blankly out the window. He grabs her hand and calls out to her and slowly but surely recognition sinks into her face. “Tae-hyun-ah…”

In a scared voice she asks, “It’s really you, right? It’s you, isn’t it?” He says it is, and Yeo-jin wraps her arms around him and sobs, thankful that he showed up.

So when Chae-young, Secretary Min, and the other shareholders gather together to discuss Yeo-jin’s will, they’re interrupted by the announcement of her arrival. Tae-hyun carefully assists Yeo-jin down the stairs, and the mere sight of her leaves everyone shocked.

Secretary Min calls for security to apprehend them, but that’s when Yeo-jin tells him that he’s fired. She orders the men to remove the guests from HER house.

Outside the gates, Detective Lee and his squad are waiting to apprehend people, since Tae-hyun called him earlier that day. Just when he wonders if they should leave, the gates magically open.

Greeted by the head maid, they’re asked to wait, but it isn’t long before the shareholders are tossed out and read their laundry list of charges including, but not limited to: trespassing, kidnapping, unlawful confinement and poisoning an individual.

When Secretary Min demands to see a warrant, Detective Lee says he doesn’t need one because the owner of the house called to throw out the thieves in her house. So practically everyone from Secretary Min to Chae-young to the corrupt maid is dragged away by the police.

But they aren’t out of the woods just yet because Yeo-jin suddenly faints. Tae-hyun rushes her over to Hanshin (why Tae-hyun. Why take her to the one place where people go to die?) and Yeo-jin asks him not to leave her. She has nothing to worry about because he’s not going anywhere.

Yeo-jin is put on dialysis and she wakes to see Tae-hyun sleeping by her bedside. When Chief Lee comes in to check on her, she makes it clear that he’s the last person on Earth she wants to see. But he’s here to clarify her actual illness: she’s been slowly ingesting a colorless, tasteless, and odorless poison iocaine—er, I mean ethionine that has led to acute liver cancer.

Despite the grave news, the prognosis isn’t all terrible: the cancer hasn’t spread to her other organs so it’s still operable. Of course it is. However, the surgery success rate is pretty low because the area overlaps with her previous surgery three years ago.

Her best shot to live is to allow Chief Lee to operate on her mostly because there’s no one else willing to perform the risky operation. Yeo-jin asks if this means the power dynamics between them have flipped, but Chief Lee corrects her—he’s just a doctor and she’s a patient.

That brings a small sad smile to her face as she wistfully remarks, “That’s right… you were once a doctor.”

Tears fall from her eyes as Yeo-jin says she had hoped to live happily with Tae-hyun for a little longer. All she’s done this entire time was hurt him in the name of her revenge, all to regain her title, she cries.

She pleads with Chief Lee to somehow buy her some extra time. “I want to make [Tae-hyun] happy.” Chief Lee takes a moment and promises to do so.

Because Yeo-jin requires a liver transplant, the head maid offers up her own because she discovered that she was a match three years ago. Chief Lee takes note of it.

While Chief Lee works tirelessly in his office, Yeo-jin falls asleep while talking to Tae-hyun. Nurse Oh stop him from waking her up because she’s likely exhausted. Chief Lee looks somber when Tae-hyun asks him about a possible organ donor because Yeo-jin cannot be cured by a transplant surgery alone.

No one is willing to perform the risky operation, which is when Tae-hyun says that he’ll do it. I… I… I’ve got nothing. At least Chief Lee has enough sense to tell Tae-hyun to get a grip. If he didn’t have a conscience like his past self, he probably would’ve allowed Tae-hyun to let Yeo-jin die on his operating table.

But he’s a new man thanks to Tae-hyun, and he will not let Tae-hyun destroy himself. Tae-hyun breaks down in tears. All isn’t lost yet, Chief Lee says, because a group of specialists will discuss her case.

At the meeting, things start to look hopeful, but then all the specialists state that it’s near impossible upon seeing the CT scans before logging off in turn. The conference room full of doctors file out as well.

So Tae-hyun asks Chief Lee to perform the surgery because he was the one who saved Yeo-jin all those years ago. While that may be true, Chief Lee says he cannot do it now. Tae-hyun gets down on his knees and tearfully begs him to save Yeo-jin again.

Chief Lee lets out a sigh and a tear rolls down Yeo-jin’s cheek.

Yeo-jin catches Tae-hyun off-guard when she says she doesn’t want to get the surgery. He claims a surgeon who’s willing to operate on her will turn up, and she calls him out for being a terrible liar.

She asks him why he hasn’t given her a ring yet, and he answers that he was going to give it to her when they returned to the windy hill. So she asks that he take her there now, and he promises to take her when she’s fully recovered after her surgery.

He refuses to go now, firmly believing that there will be a next time, and she says that this could be her final wish. That persuades him, and in the ambulance ride over, Yeo-jin asks if she can make it to the top. Even if it’s tough, she’s determined to make the journey.

Someone arrives in Korea and aiieeeeee! It’s Cynthia! And a new kid sitting next to her in the taxi. But back to the windy hill where Tae-hyun carries Yeo-jin on his back and jokes that she’s heavy.

They’ve finally made it to the top and Yeo-jin wonders why it took them so long to return to this place. Tae-hyun takes out the ring from its box and places it on Yeo-jin’s finger.

Yeo-jin marvels at how pretty it is, and Tae-hyun sheds a tear before repeating that if a couple shares a kiss here a second time, they’ll never part. And then Tae-hyun goes in for a soft kiss that leads to another and then another.

Cynthia and her visitor head over to Hanshin, because she’s heard about the predicament with Yeo-jin’s surgery. That’s why she’s brought her business partner with her, introducing him as Yong-pal. Er, say what?

But that answer has to wait while we go back to the windy hill, where Tae-hyun takes Chief Lee’s call to bring Yeo-jin back to the hospital. He tries shaking Yeo-jin awake because they have to go, but her head lolls to the side, unresponsive.

Tae-hyun makes it back to Hanshin to be introduced to New Yong-pal, who makes illegal house calls like Tae-hyun once did. He’s here to operate on Yeo-jin.

When they open Yeo-jin up, it’s worse than they expected. While Ex-Yong-pal works alongside New Yong-pal, the head maid is prepped for her surgery. Chief Lee is given the green light to take over, and Tae-hyun tells Yeo-jin in voiceover to hang in there.

Fade to white. Then we hear Yeo-jin’s voice narrate, “One must wake up to escape a bad dream. But if one cannot wake up, the nightmare continues. Therefore that nightmare becomes yet another reality, and that reality will never cease to end… until he calls my name.”

And as if on cue, Tae-hyun calls, “Yeo-jin-ah, do you hear me?” She opens her eyes. He asks if she knows who he is, she answers in her head: “Yong-pal.”

 
COMMENTS

But is he? Yes, he called your name, but you can’t possibly be trying to tell me that this guy is the Yong-pal we all once knew. Because here I thought that he stopped identifying himself with that alias ages ago.

If the attempt here is to make the show’s title relevant by tossing out the name in the final seconds of the last episode, then I’m sorry to say that it falls short. If anything, it puzzles me because Yong-pal is a name that has hardly been associated with Tae-hyun for a large part of the middle stretch of this series, Yeo-jin barely knew him when he was still running around as Yong-pal and making out-of-hospital house calls, and that it was the name Kim Tae-hyun that brought her hope in her emotional darkness. I can understand if the show is trying to make the story come full circle, but thinking about the journey that took us here, I can’t help but think that the show was scrambling to finish and tacked on the same opening narration.

But what really saddens me is all the opportunities that Yong-pal had at its disposal, and yet chose not to use them. In this final hour, Tae-hyun had an honest chance to stand up and be Yong-pal when it came to saving Yeo-jin, to have said “the hell with it” and insisted upon operating on her (…which he sort of did anyway). It would’ve have been totally nuts, yes, and I may not have agreed with it, but it would’ve given Tae-hyun a greater sense of responsibility than disappearing into the wallpaper like he has been ever since he was taken out of the hospital and a shadow of the older brother who would do anything to save his sister. What happened to the reckless, devil-may-care, Macgyver-esque surgeon? Not only that, it truly was a sad sight to see his former brilliance and medical knowledge slowly being sapped away from him with each passing episode until we reached a point where that highly competent doctor who could stick a tube into someone’s chest in seconds would later take a half-day to figure out why Chae-young said what she said… and still not quite know what was wrong.

This is all to say that by saying the alias Yong-pal at the end doesn’t shine the spotlight on a mostly absent aspect of the supposed hero. Especially when the focus was on building Yeo-jin to be a power heroine. Because by doing that, Tae-hyun’s character ended up falling to the wayside, relegated to be the guy sitting at home. Furthermore, if we were trying to highlight that Tae-hyun = Yong-pal in Yeo-jin’s eyes, then why the show would introduce New Yong-pal—who assumes that alias more than Tae-hyun has done for the majority of this series—baffles me. He may have been the other surgical option so that Tae-hyun wouldn’t have to operate (even though he did) but we’re led to believe that New Yong-pal and Chief Lee did most of the legwork in saving her. I don’t want to minimize Tae-hyun’s desperation in asking people to save Yeo-jin’s life, but he’s the least like Yong-pal out of the three of them. It would’ve been different if Tae-hyun had performed this surgery himself despite everyone telling him not to, saved Yeo-jin, and gave her reason to acknowledge him as Yong-pal (as a doctor who broke the rule and saved her life), or used Cynthia’s cameo to try and convince Tae-hyun to become Yong-pal once more, but that’s not what happened. What happened was the the new guy came in to save the day but the one who’s always been there gets the credit.

It always hurts when you see a show that could’ve been far more compelling than it ended up being. Yong-pal had a promising start with an intriguing revenge angle that I wanted to see how it would play out. And then somewhere during the series’ run, the revenge narrative that was grounded in Yeo-jin’s motivation to destroy her enemies ended up with killing off all of her enemies and with literal lofty talk about either climbing up to the thirteenth floor or coming down from it. Not only that, Chae-young’s revenge was a loosely woven scheme of a drug-induced liver cancer in which the rate of success has only been previously recorded in rat studies? Because that guarantees success?

I keep asking myself the question of what could’ve been if the series had opted to use some of their narrative cards at more strategic moments instead of trying to rush through certain elements. If it had chosen to sit upon some key aspects like the blossoming friendship between Tae-hyun and Yeo-jin for just a little longer, if it hadn’t killed off the most interesting characters so early before our heroine got to dive into her revenge, if we had learned about the truth regarding Tae-hyun’s past a little earlier or if we had seen more of a consequence to serious felonies than simply seeing a character’s sense of guilt.

In the midst of these what ifs, Yong-pal still achieved high numbers in the ratings department, surpassing the 20% threshold at times. There’s no doubt that there were times the show was still entertaining despite its brokenness and flaws, and a time when the show had my heart. But we believed in you Yong-pal, we called your name, and you were nowhere to be found. Or maybe I’m just waiting on the wrong floor.

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Thank you for the recap! YP is over...

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Quoting a post from a friend:

"I feel like Yong Pal is a symbol by this point. Lots of us want "Yong Pal" back, but what does that mean? For me, Yong Pal is what Tae Hyun was when he could freely practice medicine. House calls to gangsters? Yes. But also, in his early hospital days, when he would break the rules and why? To save people. He takes such obvious pleasure in being able to help people through medicine. Those early hospital cases demonstrated how he was already limited by the system in his ability to help people. Then when he joined the 12th floor, he was even further limited (like Chief Lee, he really ceased to be a surgeon from that point). And finally, when he became the chairwoman's husband, he could hardly do anything at the hospital at all. So for me, to have Yong Pal back would be to have a Tae Hyun who could do what he's good at. I think it's theoretically possible for him to be married to YJ and still have that, but something has to change for that to happen.

The whole unifying theme of the show in my viewpoint is Tae Hyun going around and helping people in crazy situations and in unlikely ways. YJ was one of those people, and I'm not saying that she's less important as a character because we really need to see her story too."

Yongpal has never been missing. Too bad that some people cant see this vital point above.

You said:
" What happened to the reckless, devil-may-care, Macgyver-esque surgeon? Not only that, it truly was a sad sight to see his former brilliance and medical knowledge slowly being sapped away from him with each passing episode until we reached a point where that highly competent doctor who could stick a tube into someone’s chest in seconds would later take a half-day to figure out why Chae-young said what she said… and still not quite know what was wrong."

Me - TH has never had reason to believe CY is bad. He knows CY to be someone who wants to save YJ from the first moment he met her. How can he know she was going to kill YJ? 6 months have passed and CY didnt act in any way for TH to be suspicious of her. He took only a few minutes to put things together and verify. He was still at the hospital, right? You are so MISLEADING when you say it took him "half a day", trying to make him incompetent.

You said:
"It would’ve have been totally nuts, yes, and I may not have agreed with it, but it would’ve given Tae-hyun a greater sense of responsibility than disappearing into the wallpaper like he has been ever since he was taken out of the hospital and a shadow of the older brother who would do anything to save his sister."

Me - What YJ had is something that is beyond TH's control. What's more, she is someone whom he really loves and cant risk to just do the operation for fear he was going to cause her death. He did it anyway, only after making sure that there will be doctors to help with transplant, and second Whipple surgery. He cant just do the surgery when no one...

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Im loving this :D @far

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CY has show TH another side of her (not necc fake) - but he tends to believe her bec she was even 'volunteering' alongside with him at the orphanage. Helping with kids donations to nun etc. To him, CY's credibility was real.

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@ Far, Affie, jusash

Thanks @Far for your enlightening post.

1) Yes TH had no knowledge about CY's revenge and scheming. Unlike YJ who was upfront about her feelings to TH, CY hid her thoughts and plans well.

2) YJ's surgery was far more complex than a fracture and wound. Sticking a pen or reconnecting a vein ain't gonna help much. The risky surgery required more than a 3rd year resident's experience, expertise and resources. TH may have done lots of back-alley fixing but he was still an "intern". And he did insist to be the surgeon, however, the skill set required at least three doctors.

- if he had been able to perform the miraculous liver transplant surgery, he could have done it on his sister. Instead, he had to consult Hanshin docs and rely upon the US (presumedly J.H. hospital) expertise. The conference was to get a 3rd doctor for the team which yielded no one. So it was timely for Stephanie to bring back a new YongPal, the 3rd doc who was not afraid of taking risks unlike the Hanshin docs

- and it's certainly more exciting to have a group of Yongpalyi surgeons, especially that Chief Lee was a Yongpalyi himself - performed a risky fatal injury in the past and wrongly charged for malpractice and of course, the historic Whipple operation on YJ.

2) TH was never missing in action or in principle. The YongPal in him meant different thing to different people. And for us viewers, we either wanna see a vigilante YongPal with never ending goons and guns going after him or we wanna have a YongPal who inspired others:
- Doo Chul likely turned over a new leaf and assisted TH many times
- the inspired nurses (and his hoobae doc) looked after him
- chief nurse saved his life by informing YJ of the will
- nun and priest admired him for his kindness and sacrifices
- Chief Lee became eternally grateful to him for having a second chance at life and profession
- Detective turned into a trusted and reliable ally
- Housemaid was touched by his sincerity and became a critical player in saving YJ
- even CY saved him after he ensured her safety
- his bodyguard was loyal, won over by TH's humbleness
- Stephanie was inspired by him and found a new boy boy, I mean new YongPal to save YJ
(Sidetrack note: he suited her perfectly)
- YJ saved him, protected him and loved him. She was a yongpal to him as much as he was to her.

Yongpal story is not just about TH but it's about every character in this drama and the people who watch this show.

If we choose to do the right thing according to our conscience. Then we are Yongpalyis too.

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Thank you @ Shuerei! You said so much of what I was thinking and feeling and you did it way better than I ever could have done...thank you, again.

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Shuerei, u explained everything that i want to explain, but u did better. :)

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@Shuerei, *speechless in awe* +1000

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+1000
Thank you...i was a bit taken aback by the recaps...they seemed to have given up on the show...wanting thrills more than the emotions being portrayed there....

the small meticulous details were a great delight...
-TH relying the 13th floor comment to see if CY was genuine or not
- the bodyguard chasing the dog few eps back..they managed to make use of that scene
- how one is unsure whether the housekeeper would indeed be evil like hwang nurse or not

little twists and turns there were truly good

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love the small details too!! thanks much coffeeboysgirl for sharing these points!! <3

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+10000 Thank you so much @Shuerei!! Your analysis for the win!! Long live all the Yongpalyis!!! <3

Because it's so awesome, have to keep repeating this:
he YongPal in him meant different thing to different people. And for us viewers, we either wanna see a vigilante YongPal with never ending goons and guns going after him or we wanna have a YongPal who inspired others:
– Doo Chul likely turned over a new leaf and assisted TH many times
– the inspired nurses (and his hoobae doc) looked after him
– chief nurse saved his life by informing YJ of the will
– nun and priest admired him for his kindness and sacrifices
– Chief Lee became eternally grateful to him for having a second chance at life and profession
– Detective turned into a trusted and reliable ally
– Housemaid was touched by his sincerity and became a critical player in saving YJ
– even CY saved him after he ensured her safety
– his bodyguard was loyal, won over by TH’s humbleness
– Stephanie was inspired by him and found a new boy boy, I mean new YongPal to save YJ
(Sidetrack note: he suited her perfectly)
– YJ saved him, protected him and loved him. She was a yongpal to him as much as he was to her.

Yongpal story is not just about TH but it’s about every character in this drama and the people who watch this show.

If we choose to do the right thing according to our conscience. Then we are Yongpalyis too.

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@Shuerei @Audrey awesome points! As per usual! Reading them fills me with glee and contentment. Every little perfect reason and logic. Oh, just awesome.... awesomeness!

Dunno really know what I'm watching next, but you can be sure youll see me when I see you lol! Stay awesome lovely ones. XOXO!

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@far & @Shuerei,
Thank you for these posts. It'd have been so illuminating if you were writing the recaps.

It makes a big difference how we view a drama. Some people want fast plot development above all else; they become impatient w small touching moments. Many are looking for something specific that they like to see, be it action or thriller or what nought. They are bound to get disappointed when a show's PD team has a vision that differs from theirs.
IMO, a show is better viewed on its own right, w/o preconceived ideas, to let the producers take us where they want to go. I watched Yong Pal w that frame of mind, and didn't have a problem w it at all. Your posts articulate beautifully from that point of view. Salute.

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@ SS, Affie, sera, Audrey, coffeeboysgirl, ohnodaisuki, Affie, kdaddict jcw .....i like strawberries, August, Clara...

It would have been far less meaningful watching Yong Pal without your weekly wonderful thoughts and insights on DB. As much as I enjoyed Yong Pal, I treasured all your inputs and I am inspired by them. Yong Pal is not perfect show in terms of editing and flashbacks. But to me (and I know to many of us), it's perfect in love.

I did not watch Ep. 1 (but I will). Then the moment TH was outed as Yong Pal by Chief Lee, his immediate subservient attitude took me by surprise. I thought this should be interesting. Unexpected. Dark. I wanted to see where his soul lies or leads to. And what a journey it has been to discover his soul was intact, even when things were so dire and hopeless. Thanks to the dark Sunday school lessons here, I will remember to treat my enemies "well". Have faith everyone and see you in other future drama recaps.

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I wasn't planning to come back to this thread but saw that I missed some new posts.

If @Affie, @sera, @Audrey, @coffeeboysgirl @ohnodaisuki @kdaddict jcw, @Queenbi and others who appreciate what this show was about, would like to discuss further, it is still on going on soompi Yong Pal drama thread. People are discovering new things on their rewatch. There are also good write ups. Joo Won cutiewordpress will also be posting translated BTS and other interesting stuff, check it out if you are interested.

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Very wel said. Perfect, perfrct and perfect summarization you have!! I love it!! YongPal doesn't just hold up to his medical skills and knowledge, it also help to forsee people who YongPal helped! ???

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This. Very well explanation.

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You're recap is way too better.. Thumbs up for you

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This was not the worse I have seen. I think YJ. calling him yung Pal was a touchstone between the two of them. But it was still not as bad as level 7 or one about a divorced couple with body swapping.

So it was not great but there is a LOT worse.

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Yeojin knows that he Tae Hyun is Yong-Pal...if we will look at the episode where Yeo Jin learned that she will be killed at the operating table by Chief Lee before the riot at the 12th floor, Tae Hyun visited Yeo Jin there where she told him that she is afraid because she heard them say that they will kill her during the operation, then Tae Hyun told her, no need to worry "I am Yong-Pal"...so she is in the know that he goes with that pseudonym...

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+Infinity!

Of course! I forgot about that. It just got buried in my subconsciousness that Yeo Jin knew Tae Hyun as Yong Pal.
Because he never stop being one. But you are absolutely spot on about it being explicitly expressed.

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It was a nice drama, that underutilized some of its cards. Hope we will get a rounder drama next time.

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Yongpal ended, can't believe it honestly. And this is one of the most confusing and bumpy rides I've ever watched in dramaland.

I have a lot of mixed feelings after watching the last two episodes. Mostly disappointment that I hoped it would end differently.

From the first time I heard about Yeojin's cancer I knew this whole plot would be horrible. And not only the writer implemented it in the storyline, but gave it a central position in a last chapter of his drama. All this just seemed so unnecesary and not wanted by anyone, which made a plot in these episodes feel forced and overdone. I had a higher hopes, much much higher.

And as for the ending, this is one of the very few dramas that would really use that cliche ending when the viewers are showed the happy lives main leads live after the drama. I mean, not only Taehyun and Yeojin deserved it, but WE deserved to see it, because watching the last episode with constant fear that they may really kill off Yeojin was truly a suffering. I'm just pissed, nothing more to say.

I'm also a bit let down overally regarding the whole drama. Because when you have a crazily good cast, a brilliant idea for a plot, resources from one of the top TV broadcasters in a country and a seasoned production team who seems to know what they're doing, one could think you can't fail. It was true, unfortunately only partially in Yongpal. I'm glad the acting was daebak till the very end and the chemistry was also on point, I just wish the story(and the production, because 'WTH, the flashback in a penultimate scene of last episode? Really?') would have been handled differently.

I'm not gonna even write or think anymore about wasted on nothing Cynthia's cameo, out of ass second-found-in-America--Yongpal (who didn't do anything during the surgery and just was there) and the way the evil ones, mostly high officials and directors were just escorted to jail by the police, because someone said they were burglars. I really don't want ridiculous and pulled out of asses explanations to cloud my good memories of Yongpal.

Therefore, despite all the complaints and drawbacks, I'll remember Yongpal as a really enjoyable and engaging drama (and I'm glad they didn't kill Yeojin and at least let us imagine they had a good life together after that). I'll definitely come back to it someday mostly to once more witness the Kim Tae-Hee and Joo Won' pairing on screen.

Thanks to all the team anyway for giving us Yongpal and hoping their next projects turn out as good or more recommended, even better. For the last time, thanks, Yongpal team.

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Oh man. What a letdown. I had such high hopes for you Yong-pal. Such a waste of brilliant characters. Writer-nim, were you kidnapped and forced out of the show to allow someone else finish your work because the last four episodes were nothing like the start of the series.

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I believed I was the weird one when I thought the rating was too high for this drama who make no sense whatsoever but when I read the dramabean and k-netizens comments, I found relief. I'm not alone.?

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U are definitely not alone, I kept wondering too.

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It doesn't help that the other dramas like Scholar, She Was Pretty and Master of Trade Inn all sucked worse. No competition whatsoever. Poor Koreans, forced to watch Yong Pal.

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@Dee. So, but I don't agree with that though. I'm watching Master of Trade Inn, also known as The Merchant: Gaekju 2015, and it is brilliant so far. Chomping on my bits for the subbed version of episode 4 to come out. Plus, twenty again is also airing at the moment and that is amazeballs right now.

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It is my belief that writer-nim was forced to drink iocaine before writing every episode.
(Iocaine! I'd bet my life on it. And there are the Princess's footprints. She is alive ... or was, an hour ago.)

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Writer nim wrote an Addictive Drama!

I hope Yong Pal gets Top Crack Drama of 2015. Best honor ever. ROFLMAO

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@ Itenoria

I stopped trying to rationalise what happened in the drama a long time ago otherwise i wont be able to enjoy watching Joo Won. Roll, roll, roll just roll with it...ahh the memories of Dr Stranger coming back again...

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The things I liked about this ep.:

1-that that employee was suspicious enough (and persistent enough) to somehow hack into Hanshin Hospital medical records, and have access to YJ’s medical records (I want to ask if that is even possible, however considering this drama universe, I guess anything is possible?). 2-That that employee tracked TH down, and managed to see TH and show him his findings. 2-That TH sent a coded message to HJ through CY, and that TH was able to figure out that something fishing was going on, based on CY’s answer (and also based on the restraining order). 3-I love that the bodyguard’s answers to TH’s questions helped confirm that something fishy was indeed going on. 4-I loved the stewardess’ intelligence in confirming that the water was poisoned, and her sending the bodyguard a coded message as well (and not letting the bodyguard talk, so he would reveal anything that would be heard). That was actually one of my favorite scenes in this ep. I replayed that scene a few times. 5-The stewardess having the smarts to move HJ to another wing (TH’s room), which would give TH and his bodyguard better and easier access to her. 6-Sec. Min gloating about things being over soon. I actually liked that scene (a lot) because I got to see Sec. Min smile, and show other facial expressions than his constant stone face. He is quite attractive when he smiles. 7-I also liked the arrest of the board of Directors, CY and her spy maid. That was very satisfying to watch. 8-Seeing the police (or detective) guy wink at TH. 9-Seeing Cynthia back, with a new YP to boot.

I really liked the scenes in the previous epis. where we saw TH trying to adjust to his new life (all the hoop las, and how he was treated), and him cooking for his wife, etc… And I would have liked to have seen more scenes of their new life together, before the show was over. I also was not surprised to find out that the bodyguard had been assigned (personally) to TH all along. That was what I thought, when I first saw him in the kitchen, in ep. 17. I remember thinking, “there is a reason why he is living with TH.”

I knew they would go back to the Hill of Wind, so that scene did not surprise me. I was a little surprised however that everyone seemed to have known that TH had a ring for YJ (OK, maybe just the stewardess and HJ). So does that mean that the stewardess went through TH’s drawers when he was living there, or did TH leave the ring behind, when he left? I was curious about that. And the stewardess probably told HJ about the ring.

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I also thought that the reversal of Dc. Lee, who once had power over HJ, then lost it (and JH almost killed him, I think?), and then had it again was interesting. And since he kind of saved her life, will she treat him better from now on? Also, I guess Sec. Min had his own agenda all along? He seemed to serve DJ at 1st, then switched to HJ once she had the power, while he was also working for Daejung’s Chairman, only to plot HJ’s demise with the board of Directors (and CY) later, so that what? He could have more power himself? (I am just curious…). Because CY seemed very intent on not letting Sec. Min advance (and as we know, she wanted to destroy him). That is one war I would have loved to watch. I guess Sec. Min was a crocodile himself all along.

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Hi Ivoire,

TH left the ring behind in the nightstand drawer in his wing of the mansion when he left.

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I seem to vaguely remember that Tae-hyun asked the stewardess's advice when he bought the ring, so she knew even before he lived in the east wing.

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@Ivoire. Love everything you said! Yes! I really liked the genius hacker too! Quite random. But that single act showed how just how much impact YJ had on him from their first encounter in the WAR ROOM. I don't know if it would have been more realistic if TH had defied all odds and facilitated getting to know the whole truth, I think that would've been much more heroic but, this guy's random act is also a lesson of how we can influence the decisions of the everyday people around us. Butler Yeo is included in this too, of course. Oh man. What an intervention. This drama really did its best and for that I will always give it props! Very atypical...

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Thanks @Ivoire and @ Affie for both of your responses; most appreciate knowing that there are people in Yong Pal's camp that never gave up on believing and understanding what was going on in the drama! And about hacker dude: was waiting for his intervention ever since the break up the the war room scene by Secretary Min---foreshadowing was done by his expressed perplexion over why he, master hacker, could not access Hanshin data base and kept getting "Access Denied". It was inevitable that he would persist, not just because he was one of Yeo Jin's elite team and valued that inclusion, but also because I knew he would never settle for "Access Denied" and would keep wondering "why?".

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In episode 14, TH was with the Butler when he bought the ring, that is why she knew about it.
In episode 16, YJ pretty much assigned the bodyguard to go undercover by asking him to look after TH when TH lef the mansion.

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she went with TH to buy rings for HJ remember, i meant the stewardness.

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I got nothing to say other than I rolled my eyes way too much and banged my head a lot during this finale !
I can take a guess and make lots of interpretation, analysis, conclusion on why these characters are what they are and who they are or how they turned out to be. Yes I can guess lots of interpretation. Guess. Yes.
Finally, this became a show where I can write additional character points in head to make it sensible.
When it could have been real complex, intriguing take on human nature and hospitals and chaebol's justice system.

Am not hating on the drama. Even though it faltered, I had faith in it. But I will agree, YP development was forgotten in favor of creating power heroine. Even though it's a gender reversal where hero was sacrificed for heroine character development while it's usually the opposite in kdramaland.
I can't even do a small fist bump in air.

As gummiochi rightly says, we called your name and you were no where to be found.

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I hesitate reading the comments and review, because:
What I didn't like: It was different from my expectations.
What I did like: It was different from my expectations.
Overall, I still loved it, and after watching 17 and 18 twice, the second time watching was much more enjoyable.
What I'd like to see: a new Yong Pal series with the new Yong Pal.

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Honestly, I wish we'd gone to the States with Cynthia, where she apparently was apparently inspired by her 12th floor experience to set up a new business model and recruit a brilliant, rule-breaking surgeon to take on her cases.

Then we could've still had a McGuyver-esque medical professional flitting around all over the place (best part of the show, for me), AND kept ninja Cynthia!

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Yeah! At first, I was kinda wth because it was really unexpected.
But after watching these 2 episodes for the second time, I actually enjoyed it and felt a sense of fulfillment. :)

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All in all,i for one liked it,neverless it had it’s flaws yet i don’t regret spending my time on it…Joo Won and Kim Tae Hee were wonderful,i for one loved them very very much together and second the cast,loved it,the good guys and the bad,were amazing!A bit sad saying farewell to this cast when i already miss Joo Won even more when who knows when he’ll comeback with the army duty and all,hope still next year will have another project before going to the army…

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URGH. I hate shows that do this, they reel you in, in the first couple of episodes, and then from there its downhill. I'm a little irked that they also didn't tie up a couple of threads, such as
1) Was secretary Min behind killing Chairman Go, or was that Yeo Jin's order? Why was Chairman Go's son, such an enormous motivator?
2) Did crazy nurse Hwang know Yeo Jin before she was placed into a coma? Because why else did she have a picture with her?

Also strange as it may sounds, but for once I kinda wished that the show would have some cheesy time-skipping montage, in that it would have made the relationship between Tae Hyun and Yeo Jin more believable, and this whole 6 months time skip could have been better handled, if they had a montage-esque rundown of what the characters were up to for 6 months. That and it would have made Chae-Young's revenge more believable if we could have actually saw her carry out bits and pieces of it.

Lastly, Its upsetting that this show kept showing flashbacks of Tae Hyun and Yeo Jin's relationship to fill in time, I felt as though the live-shoot schedule and possibly the extension ruined the flow of the drama.

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I REALLY wish we got the answer to #2; Nurse Hwang HAD to know YJ, and there's no reason to put that photo into the show unless there was a connection the writer initially intended to pursue. I was hoping for flashbacks or something.

As for the flashbacks and dream sequences, I genuinely thought Windy Hill was part of a dream sequence, so was totally confused when they started referring to it as an actual destination.

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That is the feeling I got about the flashbacks - just time filler. This is yet one more example to show that most extensions do not improve the show.

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Every time there are flashbacks I remember Anthony (King of Dramas). Yongpal is no different :)

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AGREE "relatnsp between TH and YJ could have been more believable" = dragging the buildup progression wld have been way helpful.

Sure they had more twists and turns in plotline coming, but yet they spent time on the lovey-dovey aftermath without establishing the convincing strong foundations properly.

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O.O

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It's like half-way through the people in charge realized they didn't need to put any effort into this show because people would watch whatever crap they produced. So they stopped trying.

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Well I can certainly say that Yong pal certainly turned the gender tropes on its head. How often do we complain that kdramas always start off with a strong kick-ass heroine that turns into a damsel-in-distress by the end of the series? Now the reverse is true, we start off with a strong kick ass hero who turns out to be a (wuss?) shadow of his former self by the end of the series. Other than the gender-bending role-reversals there was nothing new, or original about Yong pal. I enjoyed the ride though, however it will end up being one of the forgettable dramas for me in spite of its high ratings.

Kudos to Kim Tae Hee, she really emboded her character and did a bang up job as a chaebol crocodile.

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Kim Tae Hee was amazing. What re-discovery!

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1) Liked her transformation to the no spark listless YJ
dulled by drug + illness (well done here KTH!)

2) However as chaebol alligator - her eyes just reminded me of Stairway to Heaven (ie she was one dimensionally perpectually outraged, with alot of huge eye glaring)

3) As chaebol heiress just awakened = pretty to look at, but I felt more vibe fr Joo Won

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*sighs* I'll just keep the good memories of episodes 1 - 6.

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Yong Pal is finally over...can't say I am sad that it is. All I can say is Yong Pal did you offend the writer, that she had to do this to you. You started out so well. Guess they wanted Jun Won to catch up on that much needed sleep that he was lacking.
Hope The Village has more to offer. Jun Won sshi you can snooze now.

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Entertaining drama but fell way short of potential. There really was no overarching theme to this series and it felt like a soap opera of random events happening, especially toward the end (Now she's being poisoned! Now she has liver cancer! Now Tae Hyun gets a restraining order! Now Cynthia's back randomly! Now she's better!).

In the beginning, the drama focused on the theme of social injustice and the corruption of those in power (Yong Pal's mother dying because all the surgeons were attending to a VVIP, the suicidal girl who was abused by the idol, the "emergency X-ray" patient situations...).

That was what drew me in, but the drama ultimately went nowhere with this theme. At the end of the series, things have really not changed, even at the hospital. Because Yeo Jin is the CEO, she gets a whole conference room of expert surgeons discussing her case (when they potentially could be helping save other patients like Yong Pal's mom). She gets a specialty surgeon from Johns Hopkins flown in to do her surgery. She gets a liver donation from her housemaid. A poor patient would have no access to these advantages. So I'm really not sure what the whole point of the drama was.

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Actually Yeo Jin's surgery this time round is a complete opposite from the surgery she had 3 years ago.

Then, all the surgeons were waiting to be called, hoping to get their moment of glory. This time round, no one wanted to operate on YJ. It was only because Chief Lee called for a conference but didn't you see how they rejected it without further thought and left?

The surgeon from John Hopkins was not flown in by HSG. It was the nurses on 12th Floor who called Cynthia. The nurses and Cynthia were all admirers of Dr Kim Tae Hyun. They witnessed first hand how he went about saving patients and he was always kind to others. That's why they were willing to go beyond their call of duty and help.

The Housekeeper donated her liver because of her affection for YJ. She has been with YJ since she was born. Where Nurse Hwang's affection became obsession, Housekeeper's was thankfully more subdued. I think TH also played a part. Remember how TH diagnose her condition?

In her operation 3 years ago, YJ was saved because of her status. Now, she is saved because of people who love her and TH.

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@ SS

"In her operation 3 years ago, YJ was saved because of her status. Now, she is saved because of people who love her and TH."

Lovely comment.

YJ was loved and/or respected by TH, the housemaid, the hacker, the bodyguard, nurse Hwang (in a very twisted way), chief nurse and other nurses...and by her late dad and mom.

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very nice!

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They didn't want to operate on her because it was too difficult. But she still had the benefit of all these top experts consulting on her case, which the average citizen would not have. No matter how you try to justify it, the Johns Hopkins expert would not have been flown in for an average patient. And an average citizen would not have a housekeeper since they were born. So yes, again YJ was saved by her status.

You keep trying to twist things into pretzels to make this plot make sense, but honestly a lot of people do not and stand by that opinion. I think the writers were tired, wanted to go back to their families and sleep, and were just throwing stuff at the wall hoping it'll stick. Nothing you've said changes my opinion at all.

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And again you said it. "Nurses on the 12th floor." Average citizens would not have nurses on the 12 floor calling Cynthia about them. The fact that the 12th floor still exists means nothing has changed.

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But since TH is now back in YJ's life, it very likely will. It though have been nice to see the transformation on screen though. I have feeling Chief Lee at the helm might have made its operations less criminal somehow seeing as he wasnt the one who contacted Cynthia. The nurses did. And it was totally a surprise to him.
I also pretty much think the nurse broke that protocol only because it was YJ and may not be as inclined to do that for anyone else.

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Well said.....sea hasn't watched this without prejudice...

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YP has always been a mixture of genres: action, medical, romance, mystery, revenge etc, but the last 2 episodes contained a new genre which wasn't there before: a whiff of half baked makjang. 6 months of careful planning and conspiracies to kill Yeo Jin yet they only get the butler in the last few minutes? A day or so to unravel the nefarious plan and an unsatisfying ending for the baddies as we only got to see them being dragged by the police? A wife that used to hate her husband and now burning with luuurrvvee and revenge for said husband's death? Argh this is so frustrating. 2 eps extension but we still have so many questions left: what happens next after she opens her eyes? Do you want us to use our imagination? But... but... but I trusted you.

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Since I stopped watching a long time ago I'm just going to believe that Yeo-jin actually died.

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What really got me confused was why the intelligent and cunning Jeo-jin who predicted how the scenario of her brother's "rescue" and eventual death would play out, would carry on keeping the biggest sneaky-rat Secratery Min around? Why? Like he jumped ship in seconds when she woke up despite being 'loyal' to her brother for YEARS plus she hated everyone who played a part in her imprisonment. I mean Min was right in the middle of that mess, he knew everything but never did the right thing. So why didnt she want to kill him like she wanted with Chief Lee. Both Chief Lee and min were on the same boat, i.e. scared of her brother and so they kept following him...so why was he kept around but Chief Lee just HAD to die. Plus later she knew he was going behind her back to communicate with her rivals. Seriously, its not like she NEEDED him to show her how Hanshin runs. She was shown to be competent enough on her own despite being in a coma for 3 years. He should have been the first to get fired once she was in charge.
Secondly, i think the extention damaged an already thinly stretched plot. Chae-young's revenge made zero sense. She HATED her husband one ep and then the next (might i add, as soon as she had the conversation with Sec Min about how she was a nobody without her husband) she starts to love him so much that she is avenging him by slowly causing (?) cancer in another human. Even though technically Jeojin wasnt the one who killed him, she just allowed him to be killed. Chae-young and Jeo-jin had so much potential. They should have been working together since they had both been imprisoned by the same man for years. But noooo we cant have females playing nice and working together. So. Much. Potential. Wasted.

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Those are the type of gaping plot holes that really annoyed me. She did half the job, and then surrounded herself with the same betrayers as before, and yet apparently had no suspicions that anything was out of kilter.

And wasn't it even the same treacherous maid that was spiking her water?

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I wondered about Min too.

First, about his betrayal of Do Joon to Dae Sung Boss. she thought that Min just wanted to get rid of Do Joon to save his own ass. She had no reason he was betraying any more than that since Min could have easily told Chairman Choi of YJ's plan in that takeover but he didn't.

She knew that Min was not to be wholly trusted but she probably had too much confidence that she could watch her back without the help of anyone. That's a fatal mistake. It's probably the same for her father. Why did Dad and daughter ended up trying to fight all their enemies alone? Lonely at the top with no one to trust? I questioned earlier, why did Dad not have anyone he could trust to ensure that YJ wakes up from her coma? Maybe he did and that person betrayed him. Or he really didn't.

Where Tae Hyun won loyalty from his friends, Yeo Jin only knew how to rule with fear. Making almost the same mistakes as her brother. She taught she had a hold over Min by giving him a the important position and saving him from DJ but she underestimated Min's greed.

Yeo Jin also suffered from mental impairment right after DJ died and TH left. They said they drugged her for 6 months. In this episode, the doctor said she suffers from hepatic encephalopathy. This is characterized by personality changes, intellectual impairment, and a depressed level of consciousness.

I wrote this in the previous recap and it's up to you to see if you agree with my point of view. Chae Young is not revenging for Do Joon. She is revenging for herself. But she probably thinks she loves Do Joon and is doing it for him. She is revenging on what she thinks her life could have been.

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Thank you @SS---"She is revenging on what she thinks her life could have been." And to her, "should have been". She was always another crocodile, even with her husband, baiting and taunting him, because she knew she could be a better crocodile than he ever had it in him to be. And don't forget, she would have used comatose Yeo Jin if she had ever figured a way to get her hands on Yeo Jin. So no, I don't find it far-fetched that she participated in a scheme to bring down Yeo Jin by whatever means she could.

Another thought to add: she wasn't pissed because Yeo Jin was ignoring her in that last scene where Yeo Jin was sitting on the edge of the bed staring forlornly into space; she was upset that she couldn't enjoy her revenge in the way she had envisioned it...the Yeo Jin she saw in front of her did not give her the satisfaction of gloating in revenge-glory. It rather stole her "thunder" and rendered her revenge a pathetic thing.

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Also, forgot, Secretary Min--- hate to do the cliche about keeping your enemies close, but hey, in this situation, it's a smart move, and had she not under-estimated how dastardly the little viper could and would act vis a vis "poisoning" her, he would have been effectively de-fanged and the story would have gone totally boring.

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Yes @Audrey, if Yeo Jin had been ruthless, she would have done Secretary Min in. Maybe sent him a truck of doom :D

So what other choices does she have? This man knows the most about HSG and Han Family. If he's not serving her, he will conniving with the other board members. YJ thought it's better to use him as long as she is on top of things. However, she never knew how far he would go. She only thought he'd at most betray her by selling company's secrets or colluding with the usurpers.

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Hi @Audrey and @SS. I understand that you both highly enjoyed Yong-Pal so I think we will just have to agree to disagree on how amazing the entire drama was. I would never deny that Yong-Pal had amazing potential. It was a clever mix of many genres, i.e. action, romance, melo, revenge etc. but quite frankly there were some gapping holes in the plot that made it hard for many to enjoy it to its entirety.
Things like Yeo-jin keeping the same staff (as @Windsun33 mentioned) from Do-Joon's reign. That is a major oversight IMO especially since she knew she was returing to a crocodile infested river. However, lets say that she "PROBABLY had too much confidence that she could watch her back without the help of anyone" (even though I think when you have to start trying to explain away such major mistakes, as a viewer, you have to admit that the writing was a bit lacking).
However, I still stand with my second point that Chae- young and Jeo-yin should have been on the same team after CY helped her with her make-over and brought her to her funeral. Both having been subjected to DJ's treatment of them being like his property. After building him up from the beginning, he turned out to be a pretty lackluster adversary in the end.
I don't think you can explain away the very sudden and out of character change in CY's feelings towards DJ once he was in prison and later after he died. You tried to explain that she wasn't avenging DJ but rather "She is revenging on what she thinks her life could have been". What? How is it Yeo-jin's fault that she no longer has the title of Madame and the same treatment that she had when DJ was alive and she was the Chairman's wife?? I think @DramaQuren put it simply below in the comments (Hope she doesn't mind me coping and pasting it) "And really I didn’t understand Chae-Young’s ‘revenge’ at all! She wanted to escape she got her escape but didn’t realise that escape meant no perks and was therefore resentful that her husband got dinged and killed? Even as she was well aware he deserved it and that she even helped cause it?!"

Lastly, although this is a new point, I can't help but say: Don't even get me started on our sinful herioine. Are we supposed to forgive her for her attempted murder of Chief Lee and potential hand in President Go's suicide just because she suffered from delusions manifested from her own guilt at the end or because other equally insane people GAVE her cancer?

Show had potential. So. Much. Potential.

Anyway, I am sorry to be such a downer but I think its okay to discuss both positive and negative things about a drama but I hate to think that all the nay-saying comments may be putting a bit of a dampener on your happy memories of the show (I am sure you wouldn't allow that but still hope you take it all with a pinch of salt and just agree to disagree with it all).

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Hi @Curious. Thank you for taking the trouble to explain. I am aware that this show has disappointed some who faithfully watched. Negative comments like yours doesn't dampened my mood. It actually gets me thinking that these are areas which the writer can improve in his next outing. What gets my goat are those who make ridiculous remarks and are obviously not watching but jumping into the fray to dampen others' enjoyment.

I do see why those points you raised troubled and annoyed you. Although I can make sense out of them, I admit the writer left it too much for viewers to have to think, wonder and come up with their own conclusions. I do not want dramas to spoon feed us but perhaps,leaving too much to interpretation is also not good.

Viewers were divided into three camps when it came to Yeo Jin. One camp shared the same sentiments as you. They felt that she should be punished for her sins. Thus, the ending left them unsatisfied because YJ got to live happily ever after with TH. The 2nd camp wanted YJ to be forever a crocodile, never to be weak and fight all the bad guys. If TH could not accept it, then he should walk out of her life. So the ending also left them unsatisfied since YJ did came down to the 1st Floor. The last camp are people like me who feel that the message of this show wasn't about paying for your sins. Yeo Jin did not technically kill Chief Lee nor directly killed Go and DJ. So on the side of law, she was not culpable. But surely, Yeo Jin sinned in the eyes of God. So who shall cast the first stone? The answer is no one except God. That in itself is also a lesson for YJ. Her enemies did her great wrong and she knew that the arm of law may never catch them. Still, who is she to take revenge in her own hands? Having said this, YJ did not get away entirely scot free with no consequences. She almost died again. The first time, she received the consequence or 'punishment' for her suicide attempt by suffering in the glass prison for 3 years. Now, she suffered again by almost losing her life for taking the path of revenge. Putting her body through so much damage, I wonder how long and healthy can YJ be? There are consequences alright.

This writer does not give easy solutions. If the aim is to get viewers to discuss and ponder, I would say he has succeeded. If the result is purely confusion and misunderstanding, then he did not get the result he was aiming for. I won't say he failed because he could be the type who stands by the vision of his work instead of pandering to viewers' tastes and preferences.

It will be interesting to see from henceforth, will we see interesting works like Yong Pal but an improved version which tackled some of the problems here. Or will the broadcast stations want their cake and eat it too? Have a drama that treads on untasted waters and yet satisfy as many viewers as possible?

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Could there be a second series? the doctors' conference showed someone seemed to be dictating their response? That TY could not be the only one to assist chief lee was because he wasn't a fully trained surgeon yet. That would make him criminally liable; but he can be present in the OR (as a surgeon in training). Now for the foreign doctor, with expertise on the procedure, to assist in a Korean hospital, if that is acceptable, then maybe there could be a series 2 with different sets of characters. YP has its pretty and for the early episodes, quite a suspense. It lost me a bit; and hoping the writer reads DB to hone his/her craft. We are doing valuable service to humanity, peeps.

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I kinda thought this too. Bec of ratings, maybe open for another Yong Pal series but different story/cast etc....

Anyway I kinda think that TH didnt participate cuz technically doctors are not allowed to operate on direct families something to do with ethics. Second, never has done succesful whipple surg like Chief Lee so of course cant be mcgyver on this. Only way to prob make him the old yp feel is when after whipple and closing...he was able to discern that the main doctors forgot something important that he anticipated.

I like it overall. Killing her in end might be good for some audience. But clearly the writer made the heroine suffer for her misdeeds and redeem her in end. I dont like how some think because he got her brother killed that she has to be killed also. What will be the point?

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IOCANE??? INCONCEIVABLE!!! LOL

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I read that portion of the recap and laughed out loud! That was a great addition - very funny - after all, what recap wouldn't benefit from a Princess Bride reference?

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IKR, this writer must be on iocaine. How else can she get so messed up!

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He, the writer is a "he".

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it should have ended with everyone back together and having a party or something.I Loved YP

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really need season 2. pleaseeeee

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Well call me crazy but this is not the first time I thought that production team intentionally advertising or favoring a certain actor/actress for the sake of some award or money maybe. I stopped watching after ep4. I don't know nothing about Kim Tae Hee but i have to say this Yeo Jin wasn't a character at all. If they make her mental at the end I would totally buy it and would watch rest of it however sigh...cancer what a shame.

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I don't understand why the ending of the series looks like there will be another yong pal series that's because i think revenge plot for yeojin doesn't over yet...really confusing .....but if there are a new yong pal series still with joo won in it, i would like to see what happen next to our yong pal ^o^

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What a big letdown!

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Second seasons work when the first is so well done, so compelling yet leaves many open questions, or suggests new adventures (ah, the lamented yet fantastic Three Musketeers).

A follow up to a first season like this would be excruciating.

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In this case it would not be hard at all to make the 2nd season much better than the first...

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Yesterday was #WorldSmileDay and after watching episode 18, Yong Pal left me with lots to smile about this weekend.

Yong Pal was captivating, very entertaining, a nifty ride, intense and suspenseful with wonderful moments of cinematic imagery. Overall, I loved the magic of Yong Pal; the fact that the main lead characters blurred the normally clear line of good and evil; and its mixing of genres (medical, romance, melodrama, action, comedy, etc). An OTP that first and foremost respected one another, had a mutual commitment to each other, and of course their everlasting love. The imperfections (scars & flaws) of TH & YJ complemented one another. They brought out the very best in one another; made a conscious effort to focus on and not doubt the positives in each other; and possessed the temperament and a willingness to communicate even when it was uncomfortable and uneasy.

Joo Won graced us with masterful acting as Tae Hyun/Yong Pal. Beyond being a skilled and dedicated Doctor & Surgeon; finally a male lead willing to play second fiddle to the heroine.
Kim Tae Hee was awesome as Yeo Jin. A formidable opponent, a beauty with brains, a strong smart intelligent woman, and as a crocodile a fearsome sight...not just another cookie cutter heroine.

Great casting - Joo Won, Kim Tae-Hee, Chae Jung-An, Jung Woong-In, Kim Mi-Kyung, Choi Byung-Mo, Stephanie Lee, and Min Jin Woong.

Choi Byung-Mo - You've made a name for yourself. In Yong Pal as Secretary Min and in My Beautiful Bride as Secretary Kim.

Beyond just being a kdrama about a Doctor burdened by a huge amount of debt that makes house calls to gangsters and the wealthy; Yong Pal is also the tale of a desire for revenge/vengeance and a thirst to retaliate vs. a decision to suppress the desire for revenge and a willingness to continue on foregoing vengeance. After experiencing events and situations that cause one grief and heartache - against all odds - embracing happiness through love. The negative consequences (punishment), its effects (dangers/price); the emotional satisfaction/guilt/regret of exacting revenge; a cycle of retaliation; and the never-ending cycle of revenge. Lesson: Seize the time with loved ones. The execution of revenge can carry a bitter cost when it comes to emotional and physical energy and time.

Yay to Yongpali/Yong pal I thoroughly enjoyed it!

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Dear @August, you have every right to enjoy the drama just like those who have every right not to. Don't let those comments get to you.

I am glad to meet you here on Yong Pal recap. I have been reading Dramabeans for years although I don't participate unless I am totally invested in a drama. This will probably be my last on DB. I don't want to rave or rant as much as I want to discuss a drama. Elsewhere, I encounter participants who were far from unanimous about this drama. From small things to bigger issues. Yet, we could agree to disagree. No one gets slam down for having a different point of view. Or disliking the show as much as liking it.

One difference I could see is that those who disliked it had valid point of views which never veered to misunderstanding the show from the very basic things to the complex ones.

Like someone said previously, they don't have to justify why they dislike this drama, I too do not want to defend this drama at every recap and justify why I like it. And we don't have to suggest someone is on drugs just because they dislike it.

Just like Yeo Jin realized it will always be a never ending cycle of you stab my back, I stab yours. I choose to step away from the madness because I don't like what I am slowly becoming by staying on. A bigger person can rise above this but I don't want to be like Yeo Jin and end up being a monster or poisoned before I know it.

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To each his/her own. Like-minded and/or differing opinions...each person has the right to like or dislike a drama for their own particular reasons. Yong Pal is just one of those dramas where it seems to boil down to personal preference — people either like it or they don't.

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@August! Yasssss! You go! You have every RIGHT to feel good about this show! Right there with you! :D

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Very well said @ August!!

@ SS please don't leave dramabeans. At least tell us your recap and review site coz your thoughts are very insightful.

@ affie ....always with you in enjoying this drama. What other dramas are you planning to watch and comment?

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I agree with @August and what you said about the drama and found your comments very welcome and insightful. At the same time, I really do not feel like given fuel to "flamers" or nay-sayers; personally, I'm not here to get into a pissing contest with anyone. I'm allowed to like what I like for whatever reasons I have and vice versa. Having said that, if I am emotionally or intellectually invested (to borrow @SS's word) in a drama and an insight of my own compels me to add something, then I'll do it or applaud someone who said it bloody well better than I ever could. But it has to be about something that I care about, and sometimes you just don't know when that will happen and hit you---I didn't expect to end up so into Yong Pal, but I'm glad I did because it has meant a lot to me.

I know I will miss a lot of people here---have especially enjoyed the thoughts from @SS, @Affie, @Shuerei, and of others to a greater or lesser degree; I will miss that sharing. And a big part of me really would like to know what y'all see out there on the drama-viewing horizon because I don't want to give up on that sharing just yet...but, it has to be real and mean something, doesn't it? So, if you do not see me here for awhile, it won't be because I'm not reading and enjoying, cause I am happily hooked forever on Dramabeans and the beanies, but because I have to be touched and care about something to want to add my "two cents". Till the next time...

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Thank you for seeing the half full glass. I don't understand why people feel the need to find fault and not go with the flow; will they accept whole heartedly only a perfect drama? Are they perfect? to me the glass was 90% full but 100% enjoyable.

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In my mind, this show ended at episode 6. It was awesomeness up till then.

I'll think of possible developments and endings on my own. The story we got was so disappointing, without clear themes and no character consistency.:(

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I was just starting to enjoy cutthroat YeoJin. I would've loved another episode of her ruthlessness then her death; leaving Yong Pal as Chairman who delegates most of the corporate duties but actively takes over the way Hanshin Hospital is run thereby ensuring cases like what happened to his own mom and sister have more options. He would be the caring doctor that we saw running First Floor Clinic, but would"ve learned he needs to be a crocodile when dealing with the rich and entitled and doctors who make decisions on who they will or won't treat based entitrely on their ambition for advancement. Would've ended satisfactorily for me tyen, even though I hate sad endings. But hey, he could've settled down eventually with Nurse Noona.

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Your comment is a perfect example to how "You don't see things the way they are, you see them the way you are".

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I wish I could have watched the drama that August watched.

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Well do, lol.

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*we all do

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*searches the internet for this other version of Yong Pal August watched*

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Right there with you lol..... Should ask august to send a copy of their version ^^

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Dose yourself with ethionine, maybe?

Downside: liver cancer if you happen to be a rat or a chaebol. Upside: hallucinations will improve the viewing experience.

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@Miranda. Hahahaha! :D I'll bet that would work...or you could just have a great imagination like August!

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LOL :)

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There you go..isn't there anything stronger though?

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LOL

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Okay, so Stephanie Lee is the cameo... But her scene is just, what? Where is the twist that I read from the news ? ??

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What to say about Yong Pal... Hmmm... It was a great drama that lost it's way under the pressures of high ratings that a lot of people feel that it did not deserve past episode 6. I think the biggest problem I had with the script (after suspending all disbelief) is that it did not do transitions well. It's like the writer wanted everything in there yet did not know how to mix them all together. We got action the first few episodes then oops, forgot to deal with the romance so here comes the romance, then oops I forgot I need to focus on revenge now so here comes the revenge and so on and so forth.

The other problem I had with the drama is the overuse of flashbacks. They were numerous and shamelessly long in some episodes with no real value on some of them aside from filling time.

All in all, for me, Yong Pal was a good drama, not a great drama, just a good drama. It's not even on my top five for this year. It's still good though.

Thanks for the recaps!!

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Yong Pal was a drama coming straight from OCN. It's mostly "noir", the most underrated genre on Korean TV,- mainstream channels lately give more chances to those stories but, statistically speaking, we could still count them on the fingers of one hand.

I had countless things to write on this thread but the ending reminded me why I liked all the dark series on cable stations and I don't . It's not a happy ending nor an open one; it's a very sad finale plus my brain can't see beyond the OR and that high-risk surgery with next to zero probability of success.

Thank you for the recaps, gummimochi and Heads No2. You're right. We did cry our lungs out but perhaps we were searching for the real Yong Pal on the wrong channel rather than simply being on the wrong floor.

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I started watching Yong Pal hoping for some sort of Healer/surgeon mashup: guy with mysterious bag full of stuff sneaking into building and vaulting over roofs, doing technically illegal things but living up to his own moral code! Mystery! Surgery! Suspense! And for the first few episodes, when we had the cool lady-at-the-bottom-of-a-well imagery, I was hopeful!

And then came the nuclear centrifuge episode, which I feel was a sign of things to come. It was completely tonally different from the start of the show, and had moved into a strange case-of-the-week format. The plot itself was laughably horrible. JW was already starting to look exhausted. The episode had been put together so late that it aired with editing errors that were very visible. It felt like the entire show had been hit very hard by something, and was now randomly lurching around.

For me it never recovered. Motivations never made sense for more than a few episodes, characterizations were all over the map, and it just felt like the entire show lost its direction. If there had been a solid story arc to start with, it was now lost.

To be honest I don't know why Yong Pal had such crazy hype before it even aired, but I wonder if that "success" is part of what derailed it: interested parties scented money and started wanting to put their stamp on the drama. It happens all the time in production, but I can imagine in a live-shoot environment it's particularly hard to ward off meddlers, especially as you usually manage meddling over time - which live-shoot doesn't have.

Anyhow. I wish this had been a better show. I hope everyone involved gets to catch up on sleep now.

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WTF of ending did I just watch? It has so much potential in the beginning and then went downhill after episode 6. I prefer YJ to die or at least went to jail in the last episode after all the horrible things that she did including conspiring in killing president Go and her own brother.
YJ is a real monster when her brother get to die without killing anyone, she was set free and live happily ever after. How is that serve the moral compass?

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SO MUCH LOVE FOR THIS COMMENT!!!!!

You took the words right out of my mouth, my friend. I mean, how is this murderer a heroine? How does she get a get-out-of-jail-free card after everything that she did?

Does everyone just forget that she killed people (ok, not with her own two hands, but she was totally responsible for their deaths) just like the writers forgot about that camera that Crazy Nurse put in the 12th floor room? I mean, come on, people!

A few tears and hallucinations does not absolve her of those deaths and no, it wasn't right to poison her (though it was stupid) but I think her death would have been better than the way it ended. But then, I can think of a lot of ways it could have ended better.

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@rinoak. The murderer is not a heroine. Just because we appreciate how the character was portrayed doesn't mean she is a heroine, role model worthy of emulation. And we don't know if she could end up in jail. The drama ended with her recovering from surgery. She could stillbe made to pay for her crimes. We just needed more eps. To be able to see all that. I think it ended lovely. A person who had had love and her rightful inheritance taken from her at every turn, got deranged and was finally saved when love brought her from the edge.

I'd say Yong Pal deserves its title then because in this show Yong Pal was definitely the hero.

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I think her crazy power crazed aide may have actually done those on his own, but then she conveniently ignored it when she found out.

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TH should have gone to jail for all his illegal acts as Yongpal. His motives don't make his actions anymore morally or legally right. They can have cells next to each other.

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Gaaaaaaaa.

GM i am saddened by this final episode.

Obviously the ending was ill-planned, probably meant to be filler for eps 19 and 20 that never materialized. BUT STILL.

i am saddened. YP could have been really good. Maybe top 25-30 of all time! but with this pathetic ending, maybe YP can be thrown into the pile of almosts, which isnt bad but the potential to be great was there right up until they turned this into a makjang and forgot about yong pal and the energy that he brought to the table.

sigh.

love the analysis tho! thank you GM!

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"What happened was the the new guy came in to save the day but the one who’s always been there gets the credit."

... but that's not what happened.....

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Exactly!

I keep wondering if
1) our subtitles are wrong
2) we are watching the same drama

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how can it even be a subtitles problem when they literally show TH going around begging everyone to help HIM with the surgery and then making the incision himself when YP 2.0 stood there and looked smug?

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Eh...maybe it so happened at that scene, the pizza delivery boy pressed the doorbell?

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So this is the end of my strange experience in kdrama watching.

Having watched ep 1-4 religiously, stopped, continued watching ep 5-6, stopped again, read ep 7-13 recaps and decided not to watch those episodes (er, just remembered I actually watched 8, can't remember what it was all about though lol), randomly picked ep 14, kinda liked the episode (the start of YJ's revenge?), ep 15 was the last episode I could watch, resorted back to reading recaps only for the two last episodes, now I'm glad I decided not to watch the episodes I didn't watch LOL! A really strange way to follow a drama!

At least I had a nice memory of Yong pal from the 6 early episodes. I'm too old to enjoy a whacky roller coaster ride anyway! Thanks for the recappers! See you at the next drama recap! :-D

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I stopped watching after ep 5 as I saw that it was going downhill faster then a train without breaks. Plus I don't fancy KTH. Average actress

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Yes. He is. He is still Yong Pal. Whether Yeo Jin should have called him Tae Hyun or Yong Pal, it doesn’t matter. Because they are one and the same.

Yes, YJ may not call TH Yong Pal if it’s not for the show’s attempt to make it relevant but she already knew he’s Yong Pal since she knew he saved her risking his own life. Since she saw him leave her behind in that church to bring the new mother and the preemie to Hanshin. It is Yong Pal who left her to become the doctor he always wanted to be. It is Yong Pal who opened the 1st Floor Clinic and never turned away any patient who needs his help even if they can’t pay. It is Yong Pal who never gave up when all hopes for her was lost, she heard him beg Chief Lee. It is Yong Pal that she woke up to from her 2nd nightmare.
When Yeo Jin woke up from her first nightmare, it was Kim Tae Hyun she knew. When she woke up this time round, it was a man whom she knew will not give up his soul for the world to do the thing he loves and it was a man who loves her.

I think while we ridicule the show for taking the possibilities of medicine to unimaginable extremes, we are often at fault to expect the ridiculous. They could easily have make TH be the ultimate hero. Have him single-handedly get the whole surgery going and perhaps led by Chief Lee. Then would we cry out “Yes, he is Yong Pal!”? Perhaps some would and some will roll their eyes at the impossibility. The thing is TH can’t even start that operation because he needed someone more experienced in this area to make it successful. Do we really think TH can handle ALL surgeries? He even has to consult a fellow doctor for pediatric medicine. If that makes you disappointed, then it can’t be helped. But at least we know TH is not Yong Pal and not God. Chief Lee who regained his skills as a talented surgeon is the best person to do the operation with TH because he did the Whipple on YJ before. That ‘Yong Pal’ from America was also needed because TH and Chief Lee could not do it themselves, there’s another part of the operation which they needed help. At least to make sure YJ has some chance to live. It wasn’t deus ex machina. Yes, Tae Hyun could have earned back his reputation to save YJ by breaking the rules to save YJ or go ahead with no one else(he would if that’s all there’s left in the end) if only it was not Yeo Jin. If Chief Lee said he would not risk the operation because he is a better doctor now, would TH recklessly go ahead with the operation knowing it will kill YJ?

We are frustrated with TH slowness in figuring out Chae Young only because we as viewers get to see it all. Step into TH shoes and what do you see? YJ has never told TH why she disliked CY. She never even told TH that CY asked for him in that deal. Instead, TH saw a CY who was willing to help YJ in escaping in the episode 6. He saw a CY who helped YJ at the funeral. He saw a CY who desperately wanted to save her husband and lost him He saw a CY who has a right to be angry with YJ...

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To me, Yong Pal is one of the best dramas I have seen in recent years. But I could see where it failed some viewers. First, the show started out with Tae Hyun being the reckless, shameless but totally engaging genius surgeon Yong Pal. That he had a heart of gold made him a truly wonderful character. The action was almost non-stop and left everyone gripping the edge of their seats. When that all abruptly came to a halt in ep 7 left many with a whiplash. It didn’t matter that the following episodes were necessary to build the foundation of the relationship for TH and YJ. Without those, there was no reason why TH would go all out to stick his neck for YJ and YJ could have chosen an alternative to TH to find her way back to Hanshin. This sudden twist after a jaw dropping exhilarating ride obviously did not go down well with not a few viewers.

As the show progressed to melo, those who forgot that the drama had melo in its synopsis, thought the show had derailed. Some even felt cheated. They wanted the action and thrills back. But the show has always been about a debt ridden doctor who made illegal house calls to save his sister. When he starts making calls to the wealthy, he witnesses all kinds of craziness. Actually, SBS Yong Pal website described Yong Pal as similar to Alice in AIW who went down the rabbit hole and finds a whole new bizarre world.

If I had a choice, I would rather take the melo out of any drama. I could watch Yong Pal if the drama had remained an action packed one with Tae Hyun dealing with an interesting case each week. But when the drama took the turn and went full blown into YJ’s revenge, I was surprised that this wasn’t your typical revenge drama, something which I eschew whenever I can. I will remember Yeo Jin as one of the most interesting female characters in kdramaland. She was so independent, spunky and badass that at the end, I feared she would go into the territory where there’s no turning back. Thankfully, she didn’t. We cannot say there was no justice either. She got ‘justice’ mete to her by almost losing her life twice. First time, for taking her own life, she got imprisoned in her body for 3 years and a murder was attempted on her. Second time, for wrecking revenge on her enemies, she got overwhelmed by all the other crocodiles in the swamp and another murder attempt was made on her life.

How about the villains like Min and CY? I think the drama intentionally left it open. I won’t be surprised if those board members got scot free in the end by bribing the Commissioner. Or that Min and CY could get away with the same methods. In the end, they will all be at each other’s throats. I think YJ has learnt that that’s the never ending vicious circle she would have to live in if she stays on the 13th Floor.

For Tae Hyun, he has already shown Yeo Jin and us that life is about choices. Even at the most difficult juncture of our lives, we can still make the right choice for our happiness. Tae Hyun has never...

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continue

Tae Hyun has never compromised his ideals. His life without Yeo Jin was happy enough but not perfect. There was always a hole, an emptiness which only he knew. If YJ had to be on the 13th Floor, TH would go up but he would never sell his soul and settle in there. He wasn’t like Min who said, Han Manor or rather the 13th Floor was a place where one would get so comfortable that he would never leave.
Yong Pal never disappeared. It was Yong Pal who saved the day. In the end, from Chief Lee’s reversal, Cynthia coming back on just one call, Housekeeper’s getting her soul back, Doo Chul’s help in setting up the 1st Floor Clinic to Sung Chul’s loyalty, it was all because of a guy called Yong Pal. I see that as more enriching than having Yong Pal standing alone as the hero to save Yeo Jin.

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+1000!!

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Thanks SS. Great job attempting to address so many of the main/key points of contention about Young Pal.

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Dear SS
+1,000,000 applause

1) Who is YongPal to YJ?
YJ always knew he was YongPal. In earlier episodes, sleeping YJ wondered about his identity and the gangsters she overheard. In the church, he joked about it and she responded with mixed reaction.

Some viewers anticipated YongPal as city-wide gangster doctor. Chief Lee recruited YongPal as a "partner in crime". Detective saw YongPal as the "obstruction to justice". Doo Chul discovered Yongpal as a "loyal friend".....

But to YJ, YongPal was the guy who woke her up from her first "nightmare", He didn't have to be the YongPal who wields the scalpel. He just need to unlock her glass prison. The first time, she waited with fear and anxiety. This second time though, with trust and calm, she woke up to the same voice. Yongpalyi.

2) Who is YongPal to us?
I see that many viewers expect him to go on forever as a vigilante YongPal and I found that awfully strange because don't get that vibe from TH. Coerced into the 12th floor service, he gave up surgical pathway for his sister. On the 1st floor, his quiet thoughts were on YJ. He was even willing to go up to the 13th floor again for YJ's sake.

It's clear from ep 1-18 that TH had no desire to be a superhero or superdoc, doing house calls for the rich or the criminals. He just wanted to save his sister (and others), regardless of what floor he has to go to. Indeed, we may be searching on the wrong floor.

I loved The Healer and his acrobatic moves and sleuth skills but in the end, he did not end up as a vigilante midnight courier boy or superman. He became a photographer ..not exactly his ambition but he found happiness. And I found YongPal to be exactly where he wants to be - happy with YJ finally.

And to YJ, without Yongpalyi, she would remain asleep forever.

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Awww @Shuerei, AWESOME as usual :D

I think the problem some viewers might have is unrealistic expectation of this drama. If one read the recaps and comments here, one might conclude this drama is unrealistic. Sure, there are parts which might stretch your imagination. However, by and large, I would say the drama is more realistic than what the viewers want to see.

Let's take this issue about Tae Hyun no longer being Yong Pal or that he has faded into the wallpaper. Would it be realistic for TH to do his Yongpalyi work while trying to keep YJ safe, get his marriage registered, stop her from killing Chief Lee and a whole lot of things going on at the same time? I think it would be absurd!

After TH left YJ, was he sitting at home all day eating potato chips on his couch watching football? He was operating his 1st Floor Clinic, helping the orphans and the underprivileged. If that's not Yong Pal, I don't know what is. Like you said, Yong Pal was not just about jumping roofs, climbing into sewers and treating gangsters. YP had to save his sister so he never chooses his patients but he's bigger than that. If viewers couldn't see Yong Pal for what he truly is. then its sad. He's no more than a money grubber. Yong Pal never leaves someone to die. Look no further than Detective Lee. Didn't TH as YP saved him?

As for YJ's case, I think the problem is this:
"It would’ve been different if Tae-hyun had performed this surgery himself despite everyone telling him not to, saved Yeo-jin, and gave her reason to acknowledge him as Yong-pal (as a doctor who broke the rule and saved her life), or used Cynthia’s cameo to try and convince Tae-hyun to become Yong-pal once more, but that’s not what happened. What happened was the the new guy came in to save the day but the one who’s always been there gets the credit."

1) TH did make the final call and he was the one who carried out the operation. The new guy asked him if they should go ahead and TH said yes.
2) The new guy was called because the operation is extremely difficult and they might require his assistance to raise all chances. But he wasn't the one who saved the day at the end.

Aside from this, why do viewers think that TH was out of character or lost that reckless, devil may care attitude we so love? Do we really want TH to go ahead into this procedure solo? And this is after 6 months of not holding a scalpel in an operating theater. Not to forget, TH is after all a 3rd year resident who never finished his residency. Yes, he's a genius but this is no ordinary procedure. If TH were indeed to go into foolhardy. I will call him a egomaniac. So I don't see TH doing what this recap or some want him to do unless everything and everyone has failed him.

TH was Yong Pal through and through. I am glad YJ knew that.

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@ Shuerei

Very nicely explained Shuerei, I love your interpretations on what Yong Pal means.

I think a lot of the grievances and from me specifically, is in the execution of the plots moving the drama along. I feel like i was watching very different dramas at any given episodes, it's just feel way too jumpy. In the last two episodes though it seems that anything goes i have a hard time believing. Well, of course its just a drama i dont have to get work up about it but i do because i like the drama and wanted it to make me believe in it as well.

I'm glad Yeo Jin did not die. That would have been the last straw. For all it's flaws though, it was still an enjoyable drama. Like i said many times before i just have to roll with it and not think too much.

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Couldn't add a comment to @SS's comment on the last part of this thread, so am writing here to thank @SS and @Shuerei both for your wonderful, amazing and friggin' brilliant words! Yong Pal never, ever stopped being Yong Pal, not ever.

And get this people, this ending was never "rushed" or mis-plotted or any of that nonsense. They always had plenty of time to edit/cut/change the last episode and they chose not to do so. Why? Because, the tension and suspense and surprise never, ever stopped from one episode to another---why would they make the ending any different?

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One last comment: this drama has always "hung together"; binge-watch all 18 episodes and you'll see it. And if, by some chance, you do not see this---well, that's okay too, because I did and enjoyed every minute of it!

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+1000000!!

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Sufi, I thought her brother killed her boyfriend. Did anyone else feel they were rewatching My Spring Days during the backpack up Windy Hill? This drama started out so good, and then blew it! I wanted more scenes with Crime Boss and Stephanie. This could have gone in more interesting directions.

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K-Drama writers/PDs ability to so effortlessly and consistently eff up what should be and often began as good shows is amazing.

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It seems like every show that starts off great starts going downhill badly around 1/3 to 1/2 way through :(

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Blame it on the ratings ( high AND low) and the gazillion PLLs. I feel sorry for the casts and crews in mainstream channels but mostly for the poor, poor writers...

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Congrats to this drama though many were commenting here and there. The perks of being a top rating show aye?. LOLS. I enjoyed it much its a roller coaster ride of emotions. This show was so promising and just a few lapses at the end, some people summarized it unfairly. hmmmm. This is a good drama for me, entertained me well. Satisfied with the ending!

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Haha the ending was just crazy lame. If it were the beginning there would be something to say for dramatic impact- but right at the end?

And really I didn't understand Chae-Young's 'revenge' at all! She wanted to escape she got her escape but didn't realise that escape meant no perks and was therefore resentful that her husband got dinged and killed? Even as she was well aware he deserved it and that she even helped caused it?!

Lame!

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When I was watching watch 'I hear your voice' I learnt so much life lessons. This drama teach people that its ok to get revenge, having a killing spree and the worst part is to get away with it. I agree with one of the comments thay YJ is the real monster.

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Sorry for typo as i was typing from my phone

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I thought, after yeojin open her eyes, their are going to have wedding reception. I'm bit dissapointed. After all. It's worth it to watched :)

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A good start, got behind after a few laps, then a total fail at the end... a wasted drama with so much potential...

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"Or maybe I'm just waiting on the wrong floor." Well said, I liked the ending of your summary of the episode than the actual ending of Yong Pal.

The last episode has left me with a lot of questions. What happens after the surgery? Why is there a new Yong Pal? What's the point of Cynthia's role in the last episode? What happens to Hanshin itself, since the chairwoman is in the hospital, and its boardmembers have been arrested? Are they going destroy the 12th floor like Yeo Jin said she would? What about Tae Hyun's future? And his relationship with Yeo Jin?

I had high expectations for this drama, so the last episode was a major let down for me.

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Valid questions @Fifi

I think the writer intentionally left open some of the questions you asked.

I will tackle those which answers are already laid out.

Why is there a new Yong Pal? Yeo Jin needed two operations - liver resection and liver transplant. It's actually quite impossible to survive considering she had a lot of adhesions left over from the Whipple that Chief Lee did 3 years ago. So, Chief Lee and TH needed a 3rd doctor but no one would step up and take the risk. Going ahead by themselves would mean bringing the chances of success almost to zero. This doctor that Cynthia brought came because he is like TH's Yong Pal in nature. His skills are superb plus he doesn't care about preserving his reputation as much as he cares for saving patients.
In the end, when they cut open YJ, the adhesions were much worse than expected. So this new Yong Pal asked if they are still going ahead. TH made that final decision and proceeded. I would say TH was the one who saved YJ in the end but with the help of the new YP and Chief Lee.

The above explained Cynthia's role. I guess there's only one Yong Pal in Korea :D

I think the boardmembers would eventually find a way out. The detective's arrest can only stop them from harming YJ further but the system is corrupt. Same for CY and Min. One possibility is that the evidence gives enough proof to incriminate all of them and serve legal justice or another possibility is that they escape law through corruption to return to the swamp where they continue to fight their never ending political battles. Maybe CY and Min might destroy or even kill each other. These two never learn.

It is certain that Yeo Jin and TH will meet halfway. TH will stay with YJ on the 13th floor until she wraps up HSG matters while the villains are still fighting to come back. Then YJ and TH will leave that kind of life to a much simpler but happier one. By the way, they are already back together in their relationship so no doubt about that one.

I hope my answers help.

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I totally agree with you. I am happy with the ending..even though we hope for more...but it is a nice ending anyway...:)

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i'm not satisfied with the ending, but overall this is good drama, i always like shocking n not simple ending even if it's happy ending,actually i wanna see yj evilness or regret for her revenge or twisted ending. this is the most unsatisfying ending for joo won drama.

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