Lookout: Episodes 31-32 (Final)
by CandidClown
For anyone hoping for a nice calm jog to the finish line, I’m afraid you’ll be sadly disappointed, as Lookout ends not with a bang, but a sucker punch. The time has come to say goodbye to our ragtag team of vigilantes, but the question of what waits for everyone after their revenge is completed still looms. They say that when one sets on a course of revenge, they must first dig two graves: one for their enemy, and one for themselves. A hefty price for sure, but for some, it’s worth the cost.
EPISODE 31 RECAP
We rewind to see Shi-wan enter the building some time before Soon-ae and Suji arrive. Soon-ae tells her friend to follow her without asking any questions, and as Soon-ae literally pulls Suji up the stairs, we see Shi-wan place a hidden camera on the stairwell.
Do-han soon reaches the building as well, and Shi-wan watches through the camera as the prosecutor races up the stairs. He murmurs, “The players have entered.”
Upstairs, Suji cries for Soon-ae to only worry about her daughter and just shoot her, saying that if it could have saved Yoo-na, she would have shot Soon-ae herself. As Suji yells that she should only think of her daughter, we see Se-won barely conscious in the utility room, whimpering that she misses her mom.
Do-han continues to race up the stairs, and Soon-ae slowly picks up the fallen gun and phone. She tells her friend that she hasn’t been a good mother to Se-won, but this is the only thing she can do for her daughter, begging Suji to understand. Suji nods bravely, and Shi-wan smirks, telling the detective not to let him down again.
While Do-han is still doing some serious stair-master drills (seriously, how much time does it take to run up a few flights when you’ve got legs that long? Sprint, man!), Bomi and Kyung-soo both urge their leader to hurry. Kyung-soo offers to head over, but Do-han instructs him to stay at the school, promising that he will save Suji himself.
Soon-ae tries yet again to shoot her friend, but with a tortured scream, she drops the gun. This time, Suji makes a grab for the gun, and Shi-wan laughs as the two women fight over the weapon.
The two wrestle for a moment until there’s a bang, and Soon-ae gapes to see that Suji’s been shot in the abdomen. Do-han arrives just in time to make eye contact with Suji before she collapses. He rushes forward and cradles her to his body, begging her to wake up.
Both Bomi and Kyung-soo freeze to hear the sound of the gunshot. Thankfully, Suji quickly regains consciousness and it looks like the shot missed anything vital, but Shi-wan fumes that she survived and restarts the three minute countdown on his utility room bomb.
Shi-wan’s mom hurries into her son’s room and starts looking through his drawings. Suddenly freezing, she remembers Shi-wan’s protectiveness regarding the giant picture frame, and flashes through all the clues that point to Shi-wan having hurt/abducted another girl.
Trembling, Mom walks over and yanks the cover off the giant frame to reveal a huge landscape of their town. Horrified, she stares to see that on the top of the high school is a depiction of Shi-wan locking someone in the utility room.
This proves to be too much for even her conscience to cover up, and she calls the police, shouting that there’s someone locked on the rooftop of the high school.
Do-han puts pressure on Suji’s wound, and she flashes back to the last time he had saved her when she was shot. She gasps that it really was him that time, but Do-han just fusses at her not to move. Soon-ae also hugs Suji to her, admitting that she could never shoot her.
Shi-wan interrupts the moment to observe that Soon-ae really does care more about her colleague than her own daughter, and mocks that Se-won truly is pitiful.
Do-han has had about enough and grabs the phone. He calls Shi-wan a coward, but the boy just turns it back on the prosecutor, calling him a coward for merely watching when he killed Yoo-na. He invites the prosecutor to just watch again this time, and Do-han snarls back that things won’t go his way. Shi-wan just smiles and asks if he’s sure.
As Kyung-soo exits the high school, he sees a line of police and a bomb squad barrel up to the school, sirens blaring. He tunes into the radio frequency and hears the report that a student is locked on the rooftop with a bomb. Kyung-soo mutters that there wasn’t anyone up there, then glances at a nearby rooftop.
In the building, Soon-ae tells Shi-wan that she won’t kill anyone and tells him to do what he wants, sure that her daughter would understand. Suji instead grabs the phone and yells at Shi-wan to stop harassing innocents when all he really wants is her.
Shi-wan snickers, prompting Suji to sneer that a kid like him couldn’t have made a bomb. Except at that moment, Jin-ki calls Do-han to inform him of the bomb threat and Se-won’s location on the rooftop, confirming that Shi-wan really is that crazy.
Kyung-soo watches the police from the nearby rooftop and muses that if Shi-wan’s mother reported him, then she can’t be all bad. (Yeah, no. That ship hasn’t sailed — it’s fallen off the edge of the Earth.)
Said (possibly redeemable) mom is currently in shock after informing on her own son. She picks up one of Shi-wan’s baby pictures and thinks back to all the times she and her husband encouraged their son to hide his true nature while they covered up for him. Clutching the picture, she sobs, apologizing.
Shi-wan taunts the team that they don’t have much time left, so Do-han snatches the phone, walks to the edge of the building and proposes, “I’ll die.” Suji and Soon-ae gape as Do-han argues that everything that happened was is some way his fault, so it should all end with his death.
Shi-wan calls it too boring, so he instructs Do-han to first write a suicide note recanting all his accusations against Shi-wan’s father, Chief Prosecutor Yoon. Suji protests, but Do-han wordlessly takes out a pen and starts writing.
Eun-joong arrives at his office to learn about the bomb and hostage threat at the high school. Meanwhile, the police comb over the utility room while Kyung-soo still watches from afar. Bomi urges him to get out of there, but there’s a sudden static break into their communication. It’s enough to raise Kyung-soo’s suspicions, and he starts running around the rooftop.
The cops break into the room above the school and the heavily armored bomb squad enters to find nothing but a pile of fireworks. Next door, Kyung-soo finds the padlocked entrance to the boiler room, sees the signal jammer above the door, and realizes that they found Se-won.
We flash back to see that when Se-won had run up to the school’s roof, she had seen Shi-wan standing on the nearby rooftop. Se-won followed him up there, then he’d locked her in the room and put the signal jammer above the door.
Afterward, Shi-wan went back to the school’s rooftop and placed the fireworks and sign as a diversion. He’d then looked at the adjacent rooftop where Se-won was entombed and grinned.
Back in the present, Kyung-soo pounds on the locked door while Se-won lies unconscious inside, the bomb timer ticking down to under a minute.
In the building, Do-han continues to write his suicide note but stops when he gets the call from Jin-ki that they didn’t find Se-won. Shi-wan laughs that Do-han’s plan to stall didn’t work. Do-han demands to know what Shi-won gets out of this, and the little psycho offhandedly answers, “I don’t know. The thrill?” It’s too much for Soon-ae, and she screams into the phone that whether or not her daughter dies, she’ll kill him.
Shi-wan isn’t worried since Soon-ae couldn’t even kill to save her own daughter, and he reminds Do-han that time is running out, adding that he’ll tell them where Se-won is – if Do-han jumps. Do-han listlessly turns towards the edge, but Suji grabs him before he can jump and yells that it’s really her that Shi-wan wants.
Soon-ae’s phone begins to run out of battery, and Soon-ae starts making desperate, whimpering noises when Shi-wan warns that when the phone dies, her daughter dies. As the phone beeps, Suji whips Do-han away from the edge… and throws herself off it.
By some miracle (or just a lot of drama magic), Do-han manages to catch Suji before she plummets, resulting in him struggling to hold on as she dangles from the building.
Suji calls up at him to let go, but Do-han grits out that he can’t. She tells him that they’ve recorded this video of Shi-wan so they can catch him after Se-won is safe, and begs him not to let Yoo-na have died in vain. Do-han instead urges, “Let’s live and catch them… If you die like this, Yoo-na will be so sad.”
In spite of Do-han’s best efforts, Suji’s hand starts to slip. Soon-ae runs forward to help her friend, but she’s halted by the arrival of Shi-wan, who has deigned to come join his “players.” Soon-ae immediately grabs her gun and aims it at him, but the little creep holds up his phone to show that the bomb timer is paused at one second, and his thumb hovers right above the start button.
As the detective and psycho have a standoff, Do-han slowly hauls Suji back onto solid ground.
Over at the school, Kyung-soo struggles to pick the lock on the adjacent rooftop while Bomi pesters him to hurry up. Heh, Kyung-soo growls back that it isn’t as easy as it looks in the movies. He does manage to open the door and runs in when he sees the collapsed Se-won.
Se-won rouses just enough to mummer a weak, “I’m scared,” then passes out again. Frantic, Kyung-soo looks around and spots the bomb with one second left on the timer.
In the building, Shi-wan nonchalantly gives Soon-ae till the count of three to shoot Suji, then slowly starts counting down as Bomi chimes into Do-han’s earpiece that Kyung-soo found Se-won. Do-han quickly asks if Se-won is all right, but by then, Shi-wan has finished his countdown and starts the one second timer.
There’s an immediate resulting explosion that Do-han can hear over the phone, and Soon-ae listens as Do-han asks if that was the bomb. She collapses in shock and Shi-wan happily chides, “That’s why I told you to shoot her.”
Bomi watches through her monitors as an unconscious – but alive – Se-won is loaded into an ambulance. She has a minor freak-out when Kyung-soo doesn’t respond to her, but then he pops up in front of one of her CCTVs and assures her that he managed to get them clear just before the blast.
Night has fallen at the building and Suji, Do-han, and Soon-ae all stare blank-faced and defeated while Shi-wan laughs at them. But then Bomi calls Do-han to report that Se-won was safely recovered. Do-han relates the message, and as the others breathe a sigh of relief, Shi-wan’s triumphant smirk fades. Oh man, I didn’t like the smiling, but the frowning is even scarier.
As Suji slowly stumbles over to her friend, she doesn’t notice Shi-wan start to run straight at her. Do-han does though. He shoves Suji out of the way, but it leaves him directly in the boy’s path. Shi-wan barrels into Do-han, and they both stumble to the building’s edge.
As the two slowly tip over the precipice, Do-han looks at Suji and flashes back to her oath to never forgive him, and her accusations that he used her daughter’s death for his own revenge. His final thought is of Suji’s thanks for helping her visit her mother.
With that last memory, Do-han falls, taking Yoo-na’s murderer with him.
EPISODE 32 RECAP
After Do-han’s tragic dive, ambulances and police rush to the building, and Kyung-soo repeatedly asks Bomi what happened. He gets increasingly nervous when she doesn’t answer, but poor Bomi can only stare mutely at her monitor, tears tracking down her face at their leader’s sacrifice.
At the hospital, the priest is keeping watch over Do-han’s sleeping father when he accidentally knocks over a candle. The shattered glass fills him with foreboding, and immediately after, Eun-joong calls to tell him that Do-han “was hurt.” Well, at least he’s not dead?
Shi-wan’s mother also gets a dreaded call, standing in shock to hear that her son is in the ICU. Drat, he lived, too.
Cut to: The hospital room, where both Do-han and Shi-wan lie unconscious, bandaged, and in critical condition. The priest arrives and finds Eun-joong, Kyung-soo, and Bomi waiting outside and looking lost. Poor Kyung-soo looks like he’s about to break down at any moment.
Shi-wan’s mom arrives right behind the priest and comes face to face with the friends and family of the man her son pushed off a building. Eun-joong doesn’t even look at her, and she rushes past to go find her monster of an offspring.
Se-won wakes up in her own hospital room to see her mother by her side. Both mother and daughter cling to one another, sobbing and blaming themselves for what happened. Suji eases into the room as well, and Se-won thanks her mother’s friend for helping her.
Suji and Soon-ae exit into the corridor and Soon-ae asks after Do-han, but Suji looks defeated to admit that he’s still unconscious. She asks Soon-ae for her phone and proceeds to erase the video record they took of Shi-wan’s “game.” (What! But why?)
Soon-ae stares, and Suji says that if they turned in that video, then Soon-ae would get into trouble for kidnapping a fugitive and discharging her weapon illegally. Smiling, Suji urges Soon-ae to forget about what happened today and focus on being a mother to her daughter.
Soon-ae cries in thanks, and when Suji walks away, she calls after, almost pleading, “[Do-han] will be okay. Right?” Suji turns back and nods slightly. It doesn’t really look convincing.
Shi-wan’s mom visits her husband in jail to tell him about their son. She asks if they were good parents, and reveals, “I knew about everything that you had done. I saw how you blamed the innocent, and put them behind bars.” She says that when she was pregnant, she thought about aborting it, fearing that their child would be like his father.
Yoon looks a little teary eyed as his wife starts to sob that she’s being punished for having bad thoughts towards the unborn Shi-wan, believing that this is all her fault. Good grief. Worst family ever.
Suji visits Do-han in the ICU. The priest is standing vigil for his brother, but when she asks how Do-han is doing, he haltingly tells her, “It looks like he won’t make it through this night.” (Noooo!)
The news hits Suji hard. The priest leaves her alone with him, and she takes a seat next to Do-han’s still form. She wonders at how it could end like this when he lived such a difficult life, and tears pool in her eyes when she whispers that maybe now he can find some peace.
Gazing down at him, Suji says that she hated him so much, yet now she’s just as thankful to him. With a final thanks for being their leader, Suji slowly reaches out and holds Do-han’s hand, giving final comfort to the man who was once her enemy.
One year later.
In an underground parking lot, Suji collects a USB from a shady character. Unfortunately, as soon as she grips the drive, an unknown man whizzes by on a motorcycle and snatches it from her hand. She rushes to her own bike and chases after the guy deeper into the garage, only to find him smugly waiting for her behind a wall of hulking bodyguards. The men spread out and encircle Suji, but she strides forward confidently and bashes her helmet into one of the men.
Cue a slo-mo fight scene as Suji dodges between all the men, doing an impressive display of acrobatics as she elbows, punches, and kicks her way through the wannabe men in black. Suji makes it to the man who stole the USB, and in a mighty showdown, she knocks him out with one punch. Yup, she still be badass.
Suji pockets the USB and drives off, not noticing a man emerging from behind a car to take her picture.
After retrieving the USB, Suji calls Kyung-soo and Bomi, who report that they’re currently tailing their mark. (Aw! They all still work together.) Bomi gets in a nice phone PPL by texting their location to Suji, and she and Kyung-soo giggle over how wonderful the phone that he bought her is.
Bomi and Kyung-soo follow their mark into an clothing store, and next thing we see, the guy is firmly stuck between the two of them as they demand his opinion on the men’s underwear they’re buying.
As the two bicker around the man, Kyung-soo uses his light fingers to snag his cell phone and start a hack. Bomi keeps the man distracted by nearly shoving the underwear in his face, insisting he take a closer look since he clearly has terrible taste. Hah!
Kyung-soo finishes hacking and sneaks the phone back into the pocket, and our dynamic duo storms off still “arguing,” leaving the their mark utterly confused.
The two scurry off, and Bomi presents Kyung-soo with a present she bought in the store: a whole pack of his favorite boxers. Bomi coyly grins at her man and tells him to wear them… tonight. (Rawr!) Looking slightly weak-kneed, Kyung-soo beams dazedly. Bomi runs away laughing, and Kyung-soo happily gives chase, neither of them seeing the same man from the garage taking their pictures as well.
It looks like Eun-joong is still fighting the good fight as we catch up to him in a courtroom, where he’s acting as the prosecutor on a drunk driving case. The defendant is a rich punk who smirks as his smarmy lawyer (cameo by Ahn Suk-hwan) uses false evidence and twisted truths to argue that his client had been driving safely at the time of the accident.
Eun-joong appeals to the court that the victim (who is now in a vegetative state) was an experienced driver and hardworking father of two, but things aren’t looking good. Just as the Smarmy Lawyer looks like he’s ready for his victory lap, a messenger brings Eun-joong a USB drive that looks a whole lot like the one that Suji just retrieved.
Triumphant, Eun-joong presents evidence that the punk had been drinking at a club before driving, and they have restored dashboard camera footage of him crashing into the victim’s car. Smarmy Lawyer sits in shock, and the punk petulantly yells at a man in the audience for not erasing the video. The man is none other than Kyung-soo and Bomi’s mark.
Suji calls Bomi and Kyung-soo to report that the trial ended well, and Bomi tuts at the Smarmy Lawyer for his history of defending anyone for the right price.
Kyung-soo chimes in, “That’s why we’re here to teach people like him a lesson.” Bomi nags as him to be more serious since they could get caught, but Kyung-soo just plays cute in response. Suji smiles contentedly to listen to their banter, then tells them she has to stop somewhere before coming home. They both look at the calendar date and tell her to give “that person” their regards.
Back in the courtroom, Smarmy Lawyer is muttering, unsure how Eun-joong outmaneuvered him. The the man who had been photographing our Lookout team enters, and the lawyer greets him as Detective Kang. Kang shows the lawyer his pictures and reveals that these three had helped take down Chief Prosecutor Yoon a year ago, and just now worked with Eun-joong on this trial.
Detective Kang tells the lawyer to call if he’s curious, and leaves with the parting comment that someone else is interested, and “he needs someone who isn’t a civil servant.”
Eun-joong is working when someone comes in and drops a plastic bag on his desk. He looks up and sees… Do-han! (He’s alive?!) Do-han is in full prosecutor persona mode, and he clucks at Eun-joong for getting transferred to some tiny corner of the country after taking the fall for him. Eun-joong insists that he didn’t do it for him, but he stops short when Do-han calls him “hyung.”
Heh, it’s touching until Do-han tries to say it again, but just can’t, and reverts back to calling Eun-joong his trademark “friend.” He then upends the plastic bag and showers Eun-joong’s desk with triangle kimbaps. Do-han calls them a token of his affection, though Eun-joong points out that Do-han usually buys much nicer food for himself.
Do-han grins and cheekily agrees, “Because this is for you, not me.” Eun-joong looks caught between grinning and glaring, but then a voice asks if he doesn’t like the food. Eun-joong snaps back to reality and sees his assistant standing where he imagined Do-han to be. Now that is just cruel.
The assistant asks what Eun-joong was thinking about, and Eun-joong sadly replies, “A friend.” (*Sniff. Whimper*)
Suji’s destination turns out to be the church. The priest soon joins her and thanks her for remembering even after a year. Suji smiles slightly as she asks if she’ll ever be able to forget Do-han. She says that now that she’s fulfilled her promise to Yoo-na, she can just miss her daughter in peace. Except now, when she thinks about Yoo-na, she also remembers someone else.
The priest sighs that he had once hoped that Do-han’s fight would free him from his memories of childhood, except now he knows that there is no need to forget. “When memories of your loved ones are wiped away and you stop missing them, you also lose the reason to live.”
Suji asks what Do-han was like as a child and the priest jokes that because of the chip on his shoulder from his father’s imprisonment, Do-han gave a bad first impression. Suji smiles and adds her first impression of him wasn’t that great either.
Suji flashes back to the first time she met Do-han in that interrogation room and he had ranted about the wonderful meal she had pulled him away from. Suji remembers how he had crouched down beside her and teased, “We’ll have to see each other often then. What if we end up growing on each other?”
In the present, both Suji and the priest smile. He start to tell stories of when his brother was little, and Suji listens, thinking about the man who gave her revenge, and helped her find a life after vengeance.
COMMENTS
Well. I suppose that’s one way you could end, Lookout.
I have to admit, I’m not sure how I feel about this ending. I really want to like it, and on some levels, I do. I’m so happy to see that Suji has found a way to move on with her life, never forgetting her daughter, but no longer living for revenge with no regard for tomorrow. The fact that Bomi and Kyung-soo stayed with her makes it even better since they all make such a great team, and an even better family. The icing on the cake is that they’re working with/for Eun-joong – Mr. The Law Is Absolute is teaming up with vigilantes to catch the bad guys. It’s all great, a wonderful way to tie up our Lookout family, except… I still have so many questions!
Did any of them ever end up serving time, or are they all still fugitives? Who the heck was the guy behind the stalker dude? What happened to Assemblywoman Chae? Is Soon-ae still a detective? Has Se-won picked up some common sense? Is Do-han’s father ok? Where’s Suji’s mom? And — most importantly — what the heck happened to Shi-wan?! Is he dead? Did he wake up? Will he be a psychotic vegetable forever more? Gah! It seems like the show was lobbying hard for a second season, and while I would welcome one, second seasons are very rare for K-dramas and it don’t feel like Lookout was popular enough to warrant one. So now, I’m just left with questions and vaguely disgruntled.
I hate to poke holes since I do love this show. It truly was filled with some superb acting, directing, composing, plot lines, and visuals, and I would much rather spend my last recap praising rather than critiquing. However, there was a noticeable decline in the last two or three weeks, and it felt like the story switched from being character driven, to being plot driven. After all the action and character development, I was surprised and a bit disappointed that the final showdown mostly consisted of everyone screaming into a phone while Shi-wan cackled. I agree that Suji and Soon-are are both mothers that were desperate to save the life of a little girl, but let’s not forget that they’re also seasoned detectives. There should be panic and desperation, yes, but these woman have enough experience to use their brains rather than meekly following orders and uselessly raging at a phone screen.
I honestly believed right up until Kyung-soo found Se-won that they all had some kind of grand master plan and they were just acting helpless, then we’d get another one of Lookout’s patented flashbacks to reveal that they’d already saved Se-won, and this was just an elaborate trap for Shi-wan. Instead, Soon-ae broke down, and Suji shot herself then leapt off a building in an attempt at martyrdom. A harsh assessment, I know, but I’m annoyed. Especially since Do-han actually DID turn into a martyr.
Words really cannot express how unhappy I am with Do-han’s demise. If I try, then I suppose I could understand that the show may have been leaning toward this with all his talk of wanting to pay for his crimes and not speaking about the future; but that is what prison is for – reflections and payment! It just hurts that the team was so close to accomplishing everything and living happily ever after, then Do-han gets needlessly chucked off a building. Instead of Do-han gaining Suji’s forgiveness through time, it was forced on us, because you can’t hate someone who saved your life. You just can’t. It’s a rule. The show literally pushed him into his redemption, rather than let him earn it while finding a reason to live again.
All in all, this was a solid show with a great cast, stellar directing, and (mostly) excellent plot development. I very rarely think a show could benefit from being longer, but in this case, I wish it could have gone on to eighteen/thirty-six episodes so we could get those pesky hanging questions answered. Still, this all started because of family and the lengths we will go for the ones we love. I hope that Do-han has found the peace that he was always denied, and Suji can start her life anew with her vigilante family. And evildoers beware, Team Lookout lives on!
RELATED POSTS
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Tags: Key, Kim Seul-gi, Kim Tae-hoon, Kim Young-kwang, Lee Shi-young, Lookout
Interview with Kim Yoo-jung
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1 giocare
July 14, 2017 at 11:07 AM
HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO US?? HOW COULD YOU MAKE US BELIEVE HE WAS DEAD THEN ALL OF SUDDEN HE’S ON THE SCREEN?? BUT IT TURNS OUT HE’S ACTUALLY DEAD??
I can’t believe I was bawling when they finally revealed that he didn’t survive. We’ve seen him grow as a character so his death seemed fitting considering there was no happy ending for him regardless. Do Han + Si Wan’s fall would’ve had more of an impact if it was aired last Tuesday. That way we would’ve had a whole week to wonder if he survived or not(kinda like Goblin).
But the ending of this drama… It was messy af… There were a lot of parts/character actions that didn’t make sense. And the court scene went on for longer than it needed to. Also what happened to Si Wan?? And his mother?? What about the team leader and her daughter?? Did Soo Ji not serve anytime?? I was expecting them to arrest Si Wan and for him to pay for his crimes in prison. That would’ve been more satisfying. Also that time skip was so unnecessary. Alternative ending: everyone paying respects at Do Han’s funeral. Then they collectively enter the police station to pay for their crimes. Now I’m angry because I wish this would’ve happened instead.
As for a second season unless they’re gonna rise Do Han from the dead I’m not sure if i want it.
This show used to bring me lots of joy but now all I can think about is this ending and I wish I would've avoided the last 2 episodes
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juniebug
July 14, 2017 at 11:14 AM
When they teased us like that, I was bawling as well. Like you said, over the course of the series we've learned so much about him as a character and his growth. I'm going to miss this show so much because of the characters.
The ending had so many things left open that it made me think of Mystery Queen, ending with such a wide array of questions unanswered. I was hoping that everything would be completed, but this ending made me unsure of what I had spent hours watching for the past weeks. I wanted Shi Wan to be caught so much (like mainly everyone else) and seeing nothing about what happened to him made me so mad. He's the main villain! We're not going to find out anything?? Does that make any sense?!
I agree with you completely about the second season. If Do Han comes back I will for sure watch it.
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misamisa
July 14, 2017 at 5:33 PM
they pour salt onto wound /sobs/ cruel writer.
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Lemon Meringue
July 14, 2017 at 7:02 PM
In my head, Do Han is kept alive in a coma somewhere by the priest to help him escape from the certain jail time he'll face. He wakes up a paraplegic but in possession of his faculties. Another Big Bad surfaces and goes after the remnants of the Lookout team. Then Season 2 starts.
That's the only way I'll accept a continuation of this story. No Do Han, forget it.
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osmanthustea
July 14, 2017 at 8:50 PM
It's not impossible, right? After all, they kept it very vague. It could be that they're only suggesting that he's dead. Plus Kim Young Kwang is way too good, way too important to the show that they can't do second season without him.
But I wonder why the hell Detective Kang is still shilling for Yoon? Shi Wan? I suspect it's more likely to be Shi Wan, but there's a possibility that Yoon became extra vengeful after his son died. BUT WHAT DOES KANG GET OUT OF IT? From a man who's so damned by the voice recordings that he can only drag ppl down, to pull himself out of his shit.
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Lemon Meringue
July 14, 2017 at 10:23 PM
Who knows? it seems like they threw that in there in keeping with the penchant for open endings these days. I wish they had done a definitive conclusion of the loose ends, rather than hint at half baked new stories that would in all likelihood never come to pass.
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PakalanaPikake
July 15, 2017 at 2:51 AM
@osmanthustea,
"But I wonder why the hell Detective Kang is still shilling for Yoon? Shi Wan?"
I think the point is that there have been crooked cops as long as there have been cops. And there is an endless supply of power mongers who use them. Chalk it up to human nature and Original Sin. The Lookouts didn't even scratch the tip of the iceberg of evil that exists just below the surface of everyday life. Dang, now I feel really depressed.
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osmanthustea
July 15, 2017 at 6:49 AM
I guess my point is, what does Detective Kang stand to gain from Yoon or Shi Wan? Since I suppose crooked cops are ultimately self-serving, right?
PakalanaPikake
July 15, 2017 at 2:40 AM
@Lemon Meringue,
Hmmm, Do-han turns into IRONSIDE.
Where the hell is the Cliff of Non-Doom when you need it?!?!
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Lemon Meringue
July 15, 2017 at 6:27 AM
But MUCH better looking..
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Stevie70
July 18, 2017 at 1:10 AM
that scenario did happen in 3 shows that I remember but the loved ones don't know that they are alive until the season is almost over ...2 the men recovered and the 3rd he died after being in a coma for several years and his wife saw his ghost and he helped her find the people responsible for him being in a coma
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crazyahjummafan
July 14, 2017 at 7:52 PM
I had expected Do-han to die, though I didn't want him too. I prefer CandidClown's ending, where he earns Suji's forgiveness, and hopefully her love? But for him to die like that...somehow seems so incomplete and unsatisfactory.
And yes, like everyone else, I too am dying to know if Shi-wan made it out alive. Personally, I don't want him to die, but I do want him to be paralysed - be a total vegetable but be able to see with frustration how everyone is living well, except his family, cos dad's serving time and even when he comes out, he has lost his job; mum is stressed out looking after him by herself - no maid cos they can't afford one, and having to live with the stigma and shame of what both her husband and son did, with regrets that she supported them.
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PakalanaPikake
July 15, 2017 at 2:31 AM
@giocare,
I'll pass on more of an impact (she says with a half-hearted "Har"). But I do like your idea of giving the audience time to grok the swan dive off the building, a la Goblin's demise.
As for the impossibility of a happy ending for Do-han, there could still have been quiet satisfaction in living to see the various perpetrators brought to justice, caring for his father -- and continuing the good fight against corruption and misuse of the legal and justice systems. After a decade of planning and hard work, there should have been a truly satisfying depiction of the payoff -- justice being served. But mostly what I've gotten from this ending is bumper sticker philosophy: "Life's a bitch and then you die." After witnessing so many bad guys getting away with murder for so long, there should have been a more definitive meting out of just deserts. It rankles that we don't know exactly how any of the pending cases turned out, or whether Si-wan's earlier hushed-up cases were ever addressed. Arrrg.
It feels as if defeat were snatched from the jaws of victory. Is the show suddenly trying to be "realistic"? I don't expect everything to be tied up with rainbow ribbons, but I do expect major plot points to be addressed and resolved. Egads, I've turned into a stickler like Prosecutor Kim. ;-)
Even if Do-han's failure to save Yu-na is too heinous a sin to be forgiven by heaven, living a life of repentance has its merits. Dying might be construed as the easy way out -- although there has never been anything remotely easy about Do-han's life. It's as if he's lost the will to live, and takes the worst perpetrator with him. Adopting the Los Angeles Police Department motto "To protect and to serve" might have kept Do-han and the Lookouts going. Oh, wait. Everyone else is still fighting crime a year later. So that's what life after revenge looks like -- except this time, it is no longer the solitary existence it had been.
I realize I'm ranting. I've been live-watching 8-10 shows this spring. It truly pains me to see the most compelling drama in the bunch fizzle in the later innings and go out with a whimper. If I didn't have so much invested in these memorable characters and their mission, I wouldn't feel so aggrieved. Please consider my kvetching a compliment as much as a lament for Whata Might Have Been.
When all is said and done, I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to watch a magnificent production by a talented cast and crew. Thanks, Writer-nim, for making your maiden voyage such a gripping story. Keep honing your craft. I'll keep an eye out for your next project.
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2 anonybean
July 14, 2017 at 11:11 AM
Fully convinced that Shin Dong-wook is actually a priest now.
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ar
July 14, 2017 at 12:01 PM
Nooo! That would mean my 0.0000000000001% chance to marry him is down to 0%. I'm still recovering from losing my 0.000000000001% chance with Song Joong Ki.
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Stevie70
July 18, 2017 at 1:01 AM
he is too hot to be a priest...lol....I think the writers were smart to have 3 of the 5 lead characters have a job that involves people to confess or tell secrets (cop, priest, attorney) so they could dig up more dirt on people and have more access to personal files people...all they needed was a psychiatrist
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3 Rachela
July 14, 2017 at 11:32 AM
Do Han never got to tell Soo Ji he loved her :( I'm so sad right now, maybe not Scarlet Heart Chinese version sad but pretty upset. I had to start a Go Ho's Starry Night marathon to comfort myself. It's only sort-of working :(
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C.Lo
July 14, 2017 at 12:01 PM
I did the same thing.
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Rachela
July 14, 2017 at 1:07 PM
It's only Kang Tae Ho/that can comfort us/in our woe :(
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ST
July 14, 2017 at 2:33 PM
Ah, you mean Kang Do Han? That ex-prosecutor who decided to start again in an advertisement company? :-P
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ST
July 14, 2017 at 1:19 PM
I'm doing it right now. At the beginning, I was tearing up when I saw Kim Young Kwang, now I'm better.
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pikapika
July 15, 2017 at 7:12 AM
i tried to watch gogh starry night and gladly my tears are now gone, seeing KYK is now fine lol. His character was different so it didn't remind me of DoHan.
But Dohan (or Kim Young Kwang) has left a deep impression at me. He becomes 100x hotter after i watched Lookout. As i saw him seen in screen i fangirled so hard lol. I rarely have this kind of feeling for an actor, sigh.
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dee
July 14, 2017 at 6:13 PM
did he love her? if he did and confessed to SooJi maybe I'll be more depressed right now
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Lemon Meringue
July 14, 2017 at 10:41 PM
I don't think he dared to let himself think of a romantic relationship with Sooji. His guilt won't let him believe that he could ever be thought of in that light. Knowing her disgust and hurt over his past actions, he must have felt it would be the biggest affront if he were to have romantic feelings on top of all the wrong he had done her. So it think it was his conscious decision to keep things prosaic and business like right up to the end.
But as I wrote below, I think he treasured her. He went to lengths for her that I don't think he would have done with anybody (except perhaps his dad). Did he love her? If you don't view love in the romantic sense, but as a feeling towards a fellow human being, then yes.
In other circumstances, perhaps in an alternate ending where DH lives on to eventually gain SJ's forgiveness, I think a romantic relationship would definitely happen. How could it not, with so much chemistry??
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4 Krampa
July 14, 2017 at 11:32 AM
Comment was deleted
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ar
July 14, 2017 at 11:49 AM
I really feel like dramas need to stop teasing a season 2 and stop attempting a season 2, especially if the drama isn't a megahit. I don't think I'll ever watch season 2s of korean dramas. They're not really built for multiple seasons. And the industry also doesn't seem built for multiple seasons. If there is a season 2, it won't be for another 2 years (Lee Shi Young is pregnant! I'm so happy for her!) and by then, the momentum would have been gone. Like 10 hit shows would have premiered between now and then to grab people's attention.
Killing DH does seem really unoriginal though I did find his death sort of beautiful. However, it's what a typical kdrama would do. But it would be nice of the writer to surprise us. There is an easily believable future for him. He'll go to jail and then come back to take care of his dad. It's not like he killed someone even though he believes he had more to do with Yoona's death than he actually did.
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crazyahjummafan
July 14, 2017 at 8:00 PM
Oh yes, his father! How could the writer do this the poor old man?
Hasn't he suffered enough? Now you're gonna make him suffer some more, knowing that his son died in the hands of the son of the man who caused him so much pain in the first place? (Do I make sense?) And why resuscitate him (Dohan's father) and having him look calm and normal, only for him to grief over his son's death? So so cruel!
When I saw the circled date in red, I was hoping that it was the day he would be released from prison - not his death anniversary!
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5 ar
July 14, 2017 at 11:39 AM
I love this drama and am impressed that it was written by a newbie. I loved how it didn't fall into the usualy kdrama 3rd quarter slump. However, I have mixed feelings about the ending. The ending didn't ruin the drama for me, but made me sad at how it could have gone. I'll start with my rants first and then the raves.
Rants:
-longest. 3. minutes. ever.
-The is-DH-alive fakeout. I don't mind being played by the writer (enjoyed all the husband games in the Answer Me series) and I don't mind twist endings (the controversial ending of 49 days is one of my all time faves), but it felt incredibly heavyhanded here.
-KS trying to wake Se-won up instead of hightailing it out of there. There was a bomb!
-Seems like no one served any jail time after all that talk about taking their punishment.
-EJ's courtroom scene + sketchy detective - waste of airtime.
-SJ's fight scene - too glossy, dreamlike, and cheesy.
-not finding out whether SW's lived or died.
-SJ deleting that recording. Unless she knows SW is also not going to live through the night either, she should have held it as insurance in case the other evidence they had isn't enough. That kid murdered 2 people, FFS!
Raves:
-SJ making that grab for the gun to get Soon-Ae to kill her and Soon-Ae trying desperately not to do it.
-DH being willing to write a suicide note recanting his testimony to save Se Won. An atonement for Yoona's death.
-That scene when SJ threw herself off the building (damn impressive) and the conversation between her and DH as DH was holding onto her so desperately. And the way he said "let's live and catch them".
-I thought it was fitting that DH died saving the mother of the child he felt he had failed. It also felt fitting that it was also death by deadly fall.
-I don't think Si Wan meant to go down, but DH took him down with him. Huzzah!
-SJ holding DH's hand in that hospital and her last words to him. She totally said aloud my thoughts "if you were going to die like this, why did you live so hard?" Why, DH?!!!
-EJ dabbling in vigilantism.
-I hated how EJ's flashback manipulated us into thinking DH was alive, but I'm glad we got to end the drama with aegyo DH.
-SJ's flashback to her first meeting with DH - more aegyo DH! DH was right. They really did ending up seeing each other often and growing on each other. -Ending the drama with fond memories of when DH was alive rather than with mourning his death.
Random thought: I couldn't help but be impressed that SW chose to lock Se-Won in the building next door. Even if they had combed the school for hours, they wouldn't have found her.
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vivi
July 14, 2017 at 12:20 PM
Ah yes you said many things I am also impressed by and frustated with.
If there is a second season, that deleted recording will be one of the device they will work from.
I feel like the prod team suddenly feel like a second season and then rewrite the final 4 episodes like that. Esp that one year later scenes are just... unnecessary? Maybe except the scene in the church and the scene where eunjoong is reminded by dohan. With eunjoong scene it does feel cruel. But it is still a touching scene because we all know how eunjoong despised dohan work ethics
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Ally
July 14, 2017 at 12:25 PM
Yes! About the random thought, that was genius! I noticed the green padlock being locked by Shi-wan but then it wasn't on the door when they were looking for her, but I thought it was a hole in the story. I'm glad the green padlock was there on the actual door she was behind!
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crazyahjummafan
July 14, 2017 at 8:11 PM
May I add in another frustration? Like CandidClown, I too was frustrated over Soon-ae's reaction to Shi-won manipulations. Firstly, she didn't even verify if the pic of Se-won was authentic or photoshopped; she didn't even verify if Se-won was alive, to ask to speak with her; and how could she be so sure that Shi-wan would keep his word after she kills Suji? Frankly, I thought that a smart and experienced detective like her would come up with a plan - at least let Suji know and pretend to shoot her, or something like that.
Furthermore, when Shi-won showed himself at the abandoned building, why did she not shoot him? Why did Suji tell her not to? She could have wounded him and cause him to drop the phone/timer that he was carrying; then they could have taken the device away and stopped the bomb.
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Needaname
July 14, 2017 at 10:41 PM
I actually think Soonae throughout the show was not depicted as a smart character. I actually was frustrated that she always seemed to be the one who is clueless about what's going on...running from one spot to another as she received phone calls in the car...never catching anyone though. She was more heart than brain, at least in many scenes. She talked tough, but really no real action. The way she handled Detective Nam, when Suji warned her about Yoon being behind Nam and yet she asked Dohan who could it be? Even when Suji told her about SeWon and ShiWan, she didn't do much. I mean, Suji did all the work catching the criminals and Soonae just came to collect them. Even everytime she said she wanted to be the one to catch Suji, she didn't catch her, Suji turned herself in. So yes she was even more frustrating in the last episodes! But in a way, in character...when she told Dohan so confidently she'd take care of ShiWan, she couldn't really do it in the interrogation room even though she sneered at him, and then yes lost it when she got the texts! I think they were all just overwrought, consumed by their own inner struggles. Soonae about losing SeWon, Dohan about his guilt towards Suji and Yuna, and Suji about Soonae and SeWon too, not wanting another mother to lose her child. It's like ShiWan was the source of their greatest fear or guilt, and by facing him they were also facing themselves at their lowest point (for being "bad" mothers, for not being able to prevent Yuna's death and using both mother and daughter) so that's why they were vulnerable to his machinations. It was frustrating, but at the same time, I can understand it. Argh, this show, it is a love/hate relationship. Like Suji's words, I hate you for what you did Show as much as I thank you for what you've given us!
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sunshower
July 15, 2017 at 8:22 AM
I would agree with your random thought if not for the fact that Bomi passionately declared that Se Won did not leave school!! So my question is, is there a secret tunnel from school to next building?!
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PakalanaPikake
July 15, 2017 at 11:54 AM
Bomi's statement that Se-won never left the school is what confused the heck out of me when it was revealed that Si-wan had lured her to the roof of the adjacent building.
Maybe there's a translation error in the subtitles I read?
I'm all for creative misdirection, but this feels like a continuity issue or logic failure.
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ramonathepest
July 15, 2017 at 2:29 PM
I'm not sure but I think I've seen in other Kdramas that a lot of S. K's buildings have this skywalks that interject buildings & if not, walking between adjacent buildings might not be spotted if cams are only at entrances and exits routes.
What I want to know is why did Shi wan focus/ hate Soo ji in the first place?
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Stevie70
July 18, 2017 at 12:39 AM
I don't think they knew exactly when she disappeared so their CCTV footage was off a few hours and also Shi Wan had disconnected a few CCTV cameras....wasn't it the same building where he pushed Yoo Na off?
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6 Needaname
July 14, 2017 at 11:45 AM
Why Show!? Why?! Why do characters like SeWon get saved and others like Dohan get sacrificed!
I am glad Suji, Bomi and Kyungsoo are still working together! At least they found each other through Dohan and were able to stay together, it's like they are his legacy! But I was disappointed the last episode pretty much just gave us a music video featuring Suji and a PPL featuring Bomi. Is that really what the last episode should be about?! They could have used these precious minutes for more Dohan or even ShiWan...I would have liked to see ShiWan take his last breath!
A life for a life. I think we expected Dohan not to live, as we were unsure what kind of future he could have, but is no future better than an uncertain/unforgiven future? Was this the only way he could have found his peace? Yes, there are numerous reasons why he should die, but there are also numerous reasons why he should live!
I actually appreciate that the show did not show us his death or funeral, leaving it "open". I really hope this is just paving the way for Lookout 2--the return! Maybe Dohan and ShiWan are both in a coma and will wake up in a few years to give us Lookout 2--ShiWan woke up from his coma and escaped (or his mom had him secretly moved and cloned!) and he is still going after Suji--just because, and our Lookout team mysteriously hears back from their leader. They think it's the priest, but no, it's... Dohan! And SeWon has shown her true colors, she was really a psychopath too! She helped ShiWan--they are soulmates. They team up and it is them against the Lookouts...and Soonae is now in ShiWan's mother position. What will she do?! I will write the script if I have to, can we just get all of our Lookouts back?!
That is all for now I am sure I will be back for more ranting!
Thank you for the great recaps CandidClown and TeriYaki! Besides the ending, this really was a great drama and all the actors and actresses gave incredible performances, no matter whether we loved or hated a character. I have always liked Lee Si Young which is why I started this drama, but I have now also become a fan of Kim Young Kwang! Kudos to the cast and entire Lookout production team! And thank you to all the commenters who shared their thoughts, frustrations, glee, love--or not--for this show! DB is always the best place to be to talk about dramas! That's my DB PPL moment!
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Needaname
July 14, 2017 at 11:56 AM
Also, now that the news of Lee Si Young's pregnancy is out, I wonder if it affected the way the last few episodes turned out. Yes, she said she didn't tell anyone from the production team, but I think she must have told at least the director about her concerns...she did have a lot less action scenes in the last episodes and it did feel like overall there was a shift...maybe that's why we got the slo-mo music video...maybe it was really shot in slow-mo! Which I would totally understand, kudos to her for giving such great acting while in her first trimester of her first pregnancy! But please, safety and healthy pregnancy comes first! I really admire her for finishing the drama, but can't help thinking whether the ending was tweaked to accommodate her condition. The whole day, which should have been just a few hours on that parking/building floor...less action more emotional outbursts...it's like they dragged it so they could just end it there...oh well, still a great show and yes, great acting from everyone!
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meowingme
July 14, 2017 at 12:01 PM
Yes for alternate ending/sequel script please! Se-won as psychopath is on hell of an idea *clap hands*
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Needaname
July 14, 2017 at 12:08 PM
Argh, I really feel like writing the script/sypnosis for Lookout 2 just so we can have Dohan back! Maybe we should all work on it together and send it to MBC! We want Dohan to be alive somewhere and come back, preferably with Kim Young Kwang, but I guess he could also have needed reconstructive surgery and if Kim Young Kwang is not available--although He will always be Dohan to me--I am ok with another great actor!
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ar
July 14, 2017 at 12:16 PM
This is the first time I wish someone is out there somewhere writing some Lookout fanfiction to continue the story. It doesn't make sense of DH to be alive after the end of this drama, but in the fanfiction world - please bring him back! Maybe some shady organization or person faked his death and whisked him away to help him recover. It happens in shows all the time!
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ramonathepest
July 17, 2017 at 6:27 AM
"Why Show!? Why?! Why do characters like SeWon get saved and others like Dohan get sacrificed!"
Huh? Errr, because while Do han was a great complex character to watch, Sewon was an innocent bysyander young teenage girl.
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7 mediamacchiato
July 14, 2017 at 11:46 AM
I know this is weird, but I actually liked that Do-han died. For me, it felt like that was him repaying some kind of karmic debt for not saving Yoo-na. It also would've bugged me if he had survived that fall just because that's too unrealistic for me. (I could see Shi-wan surviving if he landed on top of Do-han, but the question is, did he??)
I was so confused with the amount of unanswered questions that I went back to make sure I didn't accidentally miss a scene! I need a second season of Lookout, but you're right about the ratings--they seem too low to warrant a second season. (I'm still going to hope, though!)
All of the acting was so good on this show but the actor playing Shi-wan blew me away every week. He was so terrifying! I wish we could've gotten more about his motive instead of the random court scene. I know he said he did it because "it was fun," but I feel like there's more to his motive. (Add it to the list of "questions season two needs to address"!)
Overall, I really enjoyed Lookout and I'm going to miss it.
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ar
July 14, 2017 at 11:57 AM
Man the day when I see Park Solomon play some cutie-patootie boy next door in a future drama - like a family drama, my head is going to explode. I'm probably going to start screaming that he killed Yoona and why no one can see it.
I think Shi Wan was just a sociopath - an untreated one because he has horrible parents. I also feel like there was some misogyny at play. He treats people like they're characters in a video game and there is a lot of misogyny in video games.
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vivi
July 14, 2017 at 12:10 PM
Yea it's so sick he tried to make soonae and suji feel guilty for being busy working and single mom at that by (trying) to kill their daughters.
I was half expecting the show to develop on that. I mean he came from a well off family with a very strong father figure who only cares for him if he plays the nice and good student/son, and passive stay at home mom who complies to her husband and even her son's wishes. Too bad we only get very short glimpse of what might be the backstory thru the scene when his mom visited dad in jail.
I feel like the show was cut short too fast. And that slowmo action scene of suji one year later def does not do anything.
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Needaname
July 14, 2017 at 12:34 PM
Hmm...the ratings were low but wasn't the praise high? Can it be like Man to Man and its supposedly prequel coming soon? Maybe the writer already has a related script? And Kim Young Kwang already agreed but they just haven't announced it yet?! Ok, maybe I need to recover from the ending...it's making me delusional! Or is it?! One can dream...
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8 meowingme
July 14, 2017 at 11:47 AM
"The final showdown mostly consisted of everyone screaming into a phone while Shi-wan cackled" >>> hit he nail in the head, @candidclown!
If I wear my suspension of disbelief hard enough, I have to say the ending is gorgeous. It gutted me that Do-han actually closed his eyes and smiled while he fell, he finally paid his debt and at peace. Found it endearing too that they chose to show Eun-joong as the person actively missing him, while others are in acceptance.
(Or maybe the other knows he faked his death and is keeping low to join them for the sequel ^^)
Don't regret watching tho, superb acting all around and a thrilling ride!
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kethysk
July 14, 2017 at 12:33 PM
"If I wear my suspension of disbelief hard enough"
I tried and failed when we moved from mid-afternoon to pitch-dark-evening, with everyone STILL in the building, Si-Wan holding his stupid phone with our Prosecutor-Detective team on edge.
like, really?
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yongsital
July 14, 2017 at 1:13 PM
I was literally screaming at my screen "FOR HEAVENS SAKE TACKLE THE PSYCHOPATH!! Ugh ? what happened to quick thinking Sooji and manipulative Dohan? Why were they just chillaxing waiting for news on Sewon?
In their defense, I think it getting dark was a result of shooting. I think they were really tight on time. Plus, I saw a staff's IG post pleading the rain to go away. For the type of scenes (wires and whatnot being used) they filmed in the building, rain was probably an issue. It looked wet.
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ar
July 14, 2017 at 3:02 PM
I think they only finished filming the day before the last episode aired, so they didn't have time to wait for daylight again to get the shots. In addition to LSY entering her second trimester, I think the rush to get things filmed on time might be why the action scenes were reduced too, since they can take a long time to set up.
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miselpo
July 14, 2017 at 6:20 PM
But I saw the BTS on iMBC and they wrapped-up filming at daylight. After that they filmed KYK and LSY's thank you message.
meowingme
July 14, 2017 at 1:18 PM
It's a plot-huh? so I give up counting plot holes before I even try ?
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9 Krampa
July 14, 2017 at 11:54 AM
I loved this show. I totally did. But come on. Killing Do Han was a lazy, uncreative, and an easy way out for the writer sonthat they didn't have to come up with some sort of believable future for him after the plan of revenge was over. It felt so rushed and unnecessary that it was an injustice to the cast itself to do them dirty and half add the end. Even if there's a season 2, unless Do Han is miraculously alive or has an estranged twin, I'll think twice about watching. And the loose plot thread for Si Wan!!!!!!! Thanks to the writers for ruining an awesome show. But congrats to the entire cast for a great 16 episodes
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Ally
July 14, 2017 at 11:59 AM
I felt that the flashbacks were a waste of story telling time, like they could have told more story if they took some of those out!
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10 vivi
July 14, 2017 at 12:02 PM
Well at least now we know why the poster looked like that. Hahaha.
The ending does seem to be very cruel to Dohan character. As Suji said, he lived a very difficult life to end like that. So I am just making myself feel better by thinking in real life bad things happen to good people too.
I am mostly unsatisfied with how the final show down between Shiwan and Suji went, than about Dohan dying. As the recap said, I want to believe with ur family being threatened and how shiwan placed the guilt on single moms, how soonae and suju reacted were understandable. I am glad Soonae finally showes that she still could not betray her concsience, but I expected better from Suji.
The other thing I am most unsatisfied with is how the show gives Dohan (a lack) of ending. Like he's just dead. They can build on that moment in the hospital leading up to the final moment in the church. Idk maybe give him a funeral. Or some flashback about how Bomi and Kyungsoo were recruited by him without knowing. I mean the show and Dohan worked so hard to give false image to everyone. I am sure his death must have brought more impact to them too in addition to that short scene in the hospital and start of the last episode where Bomi held back her tears. But instead they give us a tease of what season2 looks like. (Honestly I am worried if they do indeed make a second season, they will bring back shiwan to plan revenge).
Nevertheless, this still is one of my fave drama this year. I am glad I stick around for Lee Shi Young even when I doubted the first two episodes.
I hope the drama does good for the actors. This is one of the most solid cast I have seen. There is no dead weight. I watched this initially for Lee shi young but now I am excited to see future projects from the other actors as well esp Kim young kwang and solomon park. And Shin dong wook! How much he matures throughout the years. I still cannot forget his look from soulmate!
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kethysk
July 14, 2017 at 12:31 PM
they could have done soooooo much with Do-Han and his impending death! your suggestions are right on point!
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Needaname
July 14, 2017 at 2:18 PM
But...he's not dead! They just forgot to show us the scene where Suji visited him at the priest's hospital...he is still in a comma...then since she was there she stopped by to talk to our priest...right?!
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Needaname
July 14, 2017 at 2:22 PM
This is where I don't mind being like Se Won, I will only believe what I see! I won't believe it until I see it!
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miselpo
July 14, 2017 at 6:35 PM
I'm with you. I believe Do-han is still in comma and he'll wake up one day. Uuh this reminds me a lot with KWB in UF. They also didn't show his death thus made some viewers to remain hopeful.
crazyahjummafan
July 14, 2017 at 8:27 PM
@ Needaname
"They just forgot to show us the scene where Suji visited him at the priest's hospital...he is still in a comma...then since she was there she stopped by to talk to our priest...right?!"
I completely forgot that in kdramas, that if a person falls from a cliff (in modern times, a tall building would suffice), and there's no DEAD body, he's not dead. If there's no funeral, I'll take it that he ain't dead.
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vivi
July 15, 2017 at 9:38 AM
After rewatching the last 2 episodes, I guess you're right in a way that the show does leave whether Dohan (and Shiwan) is dead open... So, maybe there will be some sort of Sherlock thing going on, if there is a 2nd season. Hahaha
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11 Ally
July 14, 2017 at 12:08 PM
I don't even know what to say. These two episodes were messy, that's all there is to it. I don't understand why they teased us about Do-han's death. Even to the end, when Su-ji said that she was going to "visit someone" I still was holding out hope that Do-han was in a rehab center somewhere. I also didn't understand why there was another detective going rogue and spying on our Lookout team and then telling the defense lawyer--are they setting up a Season 2? I just don't know why they would start that story line.
Also, I was so upset with the emotional wrecks my women were and that the detective didn't put handcuffs on Shi-wan the second he showed up. Or Do-han didn't hold him down so that he couldn't hurt anyone there--because I was afraid Shi-wan would have charged or shot any one of them. I was surprised it was Do-han, though, I thought it would be just Shi-wan dying, myself.
But...they could pull a Sherlock series 2 and bring Do-han back from the grave, but I just don't see this show being that smart to make it make sense. Now, THAT was a great cliff-hanger and resolution.
I was heartbroken and totally broke down when Su-ji and Father Lee were reminiscing about Do-han and the first impression she had of him. He was so happy-go-lucky, and I didn't know I missed that part of his personality.
I'm still miffed about the ending. It's not that I'm upset Do-Han dies, it's just the way he died and how the writers just teased us about it. Why these dramas can't stick the landing is beyond me.
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kethysk
July 14, 2017 at 12:29 PM
"Why these dramas can't stick the landing is beyond me."
soooo well said ! I just don't get how you can ruin 14hrs of wonderful-ness with 2hrs of total messy what-plot-? bad writing !
:-(
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12 jessanno
July 14, 2017 at 12:09 PM
I wouldn't be opposed to Lookout Season two but I do agree with CandidClown. Another season isn't very likely and I do wish some of the questions we have got answered.
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Lord Cobol
July 14, 2017 at 12:21 PM
Since they obviously wanted a season 2 so much, they should have focused the ending on earning it, instead of pleading for it.
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kethysk
July 14, 2017 at 12:27 PM
+1 on this!
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ar
July 14, 2017 at 3:16 PM
I don't get how they could even dream of having a second season. The series had a good reception, but the ratings weren't phenomenal. It should be a clause in some contract- "There will be no second season, capiche? Think about that when you write your ending".
Someone mentioned Mystery Queen, whose open ending I was ultimately fine with since I read it as "...and so these two will continue fighting the good fight for the rest of their lives...even if they don't end the corruption, they will make a dent in it and make a difference for people in their own way. ". Maybe that was what Lookout was trying to go for - reminding them that in the fight against corruption, there is no such thing as closure since people like YSR are as natural and many as cockroaches.
I can make my conclusions about a lot of things and be satisfied, but still I wish they'd confirm for us if SW lived or died.
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ramonathepest
July 15, 2017 at 2:41 PM
Except Mystery Queen's original mystery is why the Detective's girlfriend was killed. For some reason, I'm not itching to know. Cute show that it would be nice to know. IN THE OTHER HAND, why did Shi wan focus in on Su ji and hate her so much? THAT, I NEED TO KNOW!
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13 C.Lo
July 14, 2017 at 12:10 PM
I'm also not sure how Do-han managed to catch Su-ji but it looked Kim Young Kwang was literally trying to pull her to safety. He looked so strong.
It was not the ending I was expecting but the cast did an amazing job. Part 2 please.
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14 Holly
July 14, 2017 at 12:15 PM
You know, I really loved Do Han and I was sad to see him die, but it was well done. However......why did that happen in the first place? When Shi wan was just standing there for so long, why didn't someone get up and arrest his ass! Pardon my french, but really!!! And instead of this business with the man taking everyone's pictures, couldn't they have used those precious minutes to tell us what happened to Shi Wan. If Do Han had to die, then I at least think Shi Wan should have as well. All in all, though, I really loved this show. I have a new appreciation for Kim Young Kwang now.
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ar
July 14, 2017 at 3:26 PM
Me too. I didn't love or hate KYK as an actor, and I never got excited about him in appearing in this movie or that drama. To me, he has this smarmy vibe sometimes that doesn't fit the role of rom-com hero. This role was a great fit for that vibe and then added so many layers to it that I end up feeling sorry that I misunderstood KYK all this time. And then he slayed in all his scenes and was a great match for the intensity of LSY's acting.
I also wonder if it's the power of the exposed forehead... Someone needs to do some serious research on that.
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Ally
July 14, 2017 at 8:30 PM
I've always liked him. I think it was his height and build that drew me in initially--very similar to my own husband. But his acting was really exceptional in this role and I kind of don't want him to play anything but the anti-hero ever again.
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Lemon Meringue
July 15, 2017 at 6:34 AM
LOVED the exposed forehead. So many kdrama heroes sport the side swept or floppy bangs look and v few have the classic, sharp upswept do that KYK had here. Makes a man look like a man, if you know what I mean.
Of course it helped that he had the height, built AND killer suits to go along with it...
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Needaname
July 15, 2017 at 1:09 PM
Yes! I had never watched him before (I went a couple of years not watching anything so missed a lot of shows!) but he is so good! And yes, he is sooo attractive! And loved his styling here! The suits, the fact that he used handkerchiefs! He had me when we saw his silhouette running towards Suji when she was shot by Nam...He really does have a nice shape/form...and also love his big smile! It's playful and sexy! His eyes! So intense and full of expression! His shoulders...his posture...his walk...ok the man is perfect! I need to get some air!
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Needaname
July 15, 2017 at 1:37 PM
One thing that I noticed though is that he doesn't have a distinctive voice...at least I just couldn't pick it out if he is not shown on the screen. And I don't think I could recognize his voice if he wasn't shown...unlike Park Hyungsik or Park Seo Joon or even Cha Seung Won, Jang Hyuk and other actors who have a distinctive voice. I was puzzled why I can't recognize his voice...maybe I just need to watch more of his shows!
15 Kimchipancake
July 14, 2017 at 12:18 PM
Agree that these last two episodes were kinda flat. Can't the two women had used the time to find the girl instead of playing the game with a psycho? Why did Suji think that it's right to help Soon-ae by deleting the video? Soon-ae as a righteous policewoman agreed to it? And isn't it because of such "protecting and covering up" acts, people who have done wrong get away with punishments? In this case Shi-wan can get away if he wakes up and recovers. The last episodes felt like a disappointing mess tbh. It definitely seemed to be written with a second season in mind. We might not get it so where would we get our answers!
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PakalanaPikake
July 14, 2017 at 3:53 PM
@Kimchipancake,
"Why did Suji think that it's right to help Soon-ae by deleting the video?"
I can't help but wonder how much of the incriminating footage was also recorded on Si-wan's camera near the foot of the staircase. -- I totally agree about Suji's prematurely deleting the incriminating video from Soon-ae's cell phone before they knew that Si-wan would never be able to hurt anyone again.
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16 kethysk
July 14, 2017 at 12:26 PM
"Night has fallen at the building and Suji, Do-han, and Soon-ae all stare blank-faced and defeated while Shi-wan laughs at them. "
THIS is basically what bothered me THE MOST about this finale. It took ALL EFFIN DAY!! HOOOOOOW?!?! what kind of a crazy time leap is this?
and don't get me started on how much I dislike ShiWan's mother. I don't care what anyone says; she should have called the cops on her son AGES ago. she's basically an accomplice to murder by inaction.
Things that I did like: Do-Han dying. It was bound to happen. and so much better than having his beautiful bad-boy smile stuck in jail for years on end.
Overall, I really loved this show. I started late and watched all the episodes in 3 days; even pulled off an ACTUAL all-nighter, just to catch up. I have 0 regrets! except that maybe I wish the last 2 hrs hadn't happened... hey, writers, can you re-do the ending? please?
#ImissLookout
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17 Lord Cobol
July 14, 2017 at 12:28 PM
Loved the comments about stairmaster and drama magic to catch Su-ji.
But isn't it also magic how Su-ji recovered so fast after being shot in the gut? Within a few hours she's running in the hospital -- walking around checking on patients instead of being a patient.
Maybe she had a Subway for lunch and it puncture-proofed her stomach (?)
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kethysk
July 14, 2017 at 12:39 PM
hours? the chick got shot in the gut AND survived being dropped over the building, being held by ONE hand, which must have kiiiilled her sides and in realistic terms, just exacerbated the bleeding...
but hey! who cares about a realistic depiction of being shot in the kidney?
lol
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18 kethysk
July 14, 2017 at 12:37 PM
and thank you soooo much for the recap @candidclown
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19 Lord Cobol
July 14, 2017 at 12:39 PM
Seemed like some creative passage of time going on.
It was daylight when Se-won was rescued and the bomb went off. Then it was dark when they took her out on the stretcher. Ok so far, maybe it took the ambulance a while, but....
What was everyone doing in the abandoned building for all that time. Just standing in place? Rehearsing their lines? Arguing about who should jump next?
Wasn't Kyung-Soo being a total jerk by waiting so long before letting Bo-mi know he was ok?
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PakalanaPikake
July 14, 2017 at 2:53 PM
@Lord C,
I figured that he was trying to avoid being caught by the police swarming the site. (The signal jammer would have prevented his calling Bomi when he was still on the roof.) As to whether he ever got around to turning himself in, we'll never know. If he did, it seems he served less than a year in the slammer.
I noticed how dark it was when Si-wan sent Do-han flying off the edge. Did that much time really pass, or was it an artifact of filming for a long time?
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Lord Cobol
July 14, 2017 at 4:53 PM
I *guess* the excess time passing was just a filming issue. It wasn't supposed to be that much time passing and we weren't supposed to notice (?)
But KS could have smashed the jammer or pitched it off the roof and called Bong-mi. Again, it probably wasn't supposed to be as long as it looked.
But if you just accept what we saw on screen, at least one hour passed, probably more, and people who were just sitting around have some explaining to do.
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PakalanaPikake
July 15, 2017 at 3:10 AM
I just realized that the signal jammer should have blocked reception of Si-wan's activation signals to the timer.
Am I missing something here?
Also, what was the deal with the wind-up music box? It had a blinking red light, too. But I highly doubt that a wind-up music box could run for an hour. What the heck was that all about? (Other than providing the creepy music to freak out Se-won.)
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20 Momo
July 14, 2017 at 12:43 PM
I loved the little intertextual reference that happened when Key's character was trying to crack open the lock. Bomi told him to hurry up, so he said, "It's not as if I'm the all-mighty key", which is exactly what Shawols know him as. It's cute :)
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CandidClown
July 14, 2017 at 12:51 PM
Hah! I totally missed that -- nice catch :)
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21 Islander north
July 14, 2017 at 12:44 PM
I didn't like the ending at all...so many unanswered questions and Do-Han dying...come on! I'm annoyed! Good drama until the last episode...what is the matter with the writer to do such a dumb thing?
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22 mistyisles
July 14, 2017 at 12:44 PM
Oof, sucker punch indeed.
I was also convinced that Su-ji and Soon-ae had a plan, until it just kept going and I realized there was no plan -- it was real. Then when Su-ji and Do-han were taking turns volunteering to jump, I was ready to curse the show to the same depths to which I banished God's Gift: 14 Days. It proved just how invested I was in these people, though, because my heart was in my throat the entire time, begging them not to do it. I almost couldn't handle the tension, even while trying to distance myself by noticing all the irrational things.
But, somehow, the way it actually happened didn't make me angry. Had Do-han merely jumped, I would have raged. But having Shi-wan charge and Do-han push Su-ji out of the way and go over the edge with him -- I don't know. It was cliche, but also acceptable to me. I can't decide if I think he tried to catch Shi-wan (thereby stopping anyone else from falling) or if I think he intentionally took Shi-wan down (ha, haha... *sob*), but either way I found it somehow a satisfying atonement for him. And seeing him receive forgiveness in a sense from both of the people who mattered most -- the priest and Su-ji -- was something I needed more than almost anything else.
Most surprisingly, perhaps, the moment I finally came to terms with it was when Eun-joong's fantasy faded away and I realized he really was dead, and the sadness just washed over me. (Between this and Circle, I am not going to be okay any time soon...) There were a lot of things in this finale that did not live up to its potential AT ALL, but ultimately I'm sorrowful but at peace about it, like the characters themselves, I guess.
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23 lavender_lapin
July 14, 2017 at 1:13 PM
Oh man, do I have some words about this finale. First, if there was ever a time necessary for the Tyra Banks 'I was rooting for you, we were all rooting for you! How dare you?!' gif now would be it. I have honestly never been this disappointed with a show/ finale before and it kills me because I loved this drama until the last 30 minutes. I wasn't even crying because I really couldn't believe that they ended it like that. Instead of wasting the last 15 minutes on a one year later trying to set up for a maybe 2nd season, why couldn't they let us actually say goodbye to do-han to get closure and then tie up the many loose ends? For example: did Shi-wan die? how long is evil chief prosecutor going to be in jail for? did any of them actually go to jail? So many questions that I will probably never get answers for. So farewell Lookout; you had a killer ost, a killer killer, and a ending that made me want to throw something off a building.
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Ally
July 14, 2017 at 1:48 PM
And that something would not have been Kim Young Kwang...in my opinion anyway.
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24 chingu
July 14, 2017 at 1:34 PM
I haven't even finished the finale yet, but man oh man I'm hoping the drama magic that helped Do-han pull Suji back up from the ledge will be the same magic that'll keep him alive. I mean, why not, right? They've been doing all sorts of ridiculous and unbelievable stuff, so I wouldn't mind more crazy if it means Do-han won't die.
I can't believe the entire confrontation took the whole day and it irked me every time they each took turns grabbing Soon-ae's phone to talk to that little creep. I'm just so disappointed and frustrated that they played his little game until the end. They're supposed to be a lot smarter than that! What suddenly happened to our Kickass, fast-thinking Justice League? When Kyung-soo realized that Se-won was on the same rooftop as him, why didn't he jumped, hollered, and tossed his arms crazily in the air to tell the cops and the friggin' bomb squad that "she's over here!"? Why was Kyung-soo struggling to open the lock by himself? Just because you're Key doesn't mean you can open up any lock! ... badum ching! Okay, sorry. Anyways, why didn't anyone think to tackle Shi-wan down and grab his phone, or even have Kyung-soo jack into his phone to pause the timer? I really hate that it literally took them all series to catch Shi-wan and that he even lasted this long in the first place. He makes me so mad. His character is so despicable and I hate his nasty smile for two reasons: 1). You're a disgusting little creep and I always want to just smack that smile right off your face, and 2.) The actor that plays Shi-wan isn't that good of an actor, so all he's really got going for him is that creepy-ass smile and it just annoys me so much.
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Needaname
July 14, 2017 at 4:17 PM
Soonae should have shot him once they found out SeWon was ok! She could have shot him in the leg, not to kill but just injure him. Then they had the recording so that would have incriminated him. That's what's really annoying about Dohan's demise after SeWon was already safe...it was a forced "death", not logical that really should not have happened... but they let it happen...the moment they knew SeWon was ok one of them should have taken on ShiWan...and Soonae had her gun pointed at him at one point! Was she out of bullets?
I won't forgive you Show! Even if Dohan was to come back to life in Lookout 2 I will never forgive you! But I guess I can understand you. Oh well...
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25 CandidClown
July 14, 2017 at 1:39 PM
Fun Fact: Lee Shi-young is currently four months pregnant! Apparently she found out while filming.
Methinks that's why there was more yelling and less punching...
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Ally
July 14, 2017 at 1:52 PM
Yes! So happy for her! I'm glad she and her pregnancy are doing well. I'm totally girl-crushing now.
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chingu
July 14, 2017 at 4:04 PM
Honestly, with that newfound knowledge, I feel so bad for all the action scenes she had to do. She decided not to tell anyone until the drama wrapped up filming completely, so I can't watch all those intense scenes the same way again. She hung onto fast cars and fell from buildings, among many other things, too. Woman's hardcore. I'm hoping mother and baby stays healthy and well. Rest, woman, rest!
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Lemon Meringue
July 15, 2017 at 6:51 AM
I was blown away by her professionalism and dedication. For a first pregnancy and in the first trimester at that, having to do the kind of stunts that she did, major props and respect
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26 yongsital
July 14, 2017 at 1:39 PM
I think it was poetic justice that Dohan and Shiwan were the ones to fall. Shiwan being the monster who killed Yoona and Dohan being the one who neglected the crime as it happened. I know I'm probably in the minority here but I think Dohan committed a horrible crime when he turned a blind eye to Yoona's murder. I acknowledge that even if he had run after Shiwan the moment he suspected something, even then he probably wouldn't have been able to save Yoona. What I held against him was his doubt and the fact that his doubt was based on the notion that he could gain something from a LITTLE GIRL'S DEATH. Guys, that's really twisted and sick. Thus, I like the ending the writer choose, in the sense that Dohan had to pay for his crime. Dohan feeling guilt did make me sympathize with him and I'm glad he felt guilty and confessed. It shows us he wasn't like Yoon or his murderous son. On the other hand, I honestly doubt Dohan would have ever forgiven himself. Even if he lived and knew that he had Sooji's forgiveness, I don't think he would have been able to live with himself and his guilt. Even less if he had to see Sooji on a regular basis.
That being said, the execution of his death was rather dull and just badly done. It was like..Dohan falls...okay he's dead...moving on. Uh whut?? You're just going to write him off like that. I think it took some of the emotional punch out of his sacrifice/redemption. And then allllllll the unanswered questions. Show, WHY??? *pulls hair out* So I am rather disappointed. I feel like my disappointment grows as I think about it more and days pass. Ahhgah.
Finale aside, I really liked Lookout and am willing to (partially) forgive it's fallout seeing as it came from a rookie writer. She managed to keep me in love with the show for 7 weeks; it was just the final one that faltered. Dohan, was such a complex and interesting character. I didn't always accept or like his actions and mindset but he was a compelling character. Kdramas have antiheroes but Dohan is one of the best I've seen. I will definitely keep an eye for future works from her!
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yongsital
July 14, 2017 at 1:42 PM
Okay but everything aside I did shed tears when he died. Especially Eunjoong's flashback. ??? And the priest's words about remembering those who died...gosh that sentence really got me. Too close to home.
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Ally
July 14, 2017 at 1:50 PM
I had Circle flashbacks about memories at this point.
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ramonathepest
July 15, 2017 at 2:50 PM
I agree with the first half of your post about Do han's despicable thought processes as to Yoo na BUT, unlike most people here, I thought Do han's decision to fall in Su ji's place and the poetry of his face as he fell - acceptance, atonement and peace as he fell in slow motion were epic and he should have ended there. No hospital scenes afterward to give Su ji added, and unnecessary imo, closure. As she said before, she understood him but could never forgive him, his sacrifice for her life be d*mned. That's how we mother's are.
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27 Ek Ladhki Thi is Kim Eun-sooks no 1 fan
July 14, 2017 at 1:40 PM
This is one of the most confusing and disappointing endings I've seen in a drama this year. What happened to Shi-wan? Last we heard, he was in a coma, but dis he die? Did he survive? What the f*ck happened to him? Who's this new person the Lookout team are working for? How could you make us think Do-han was alive and then spring it on us that he wasn't? I loved this show up until the final scene. I was so mad at the end, like I knew Do-han was going to die but I didn't think it would hurt this much when he did. I would definitely watch another drama by this writer but I hope she works on making a more understandable finale.
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28 June
July 14, 2017 at 1:45 PM
I was so frustrated they couldn't tell us in definite terms that Shi Wan is dead.
Do Han went down with Shi Wan. The vindictive me will choose to think that since Shi Wan wanted to push Suji down, when Do Han fell instead, he grabbed Shi Wan off the building together. And he also manuveured so that Shi Wan is the one below instead of Do Han. So that Shi Wan will be the one to bear the full force of the fall with Do Han's body on top of him.
Else even if Do Han died, there is still a chance Shi Wan can come out alive. Then won't Do Han's death be in vain?
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29 stellaness
July 14, 2017 at 1:47 PM
I really do have to agree that this drama was so good but the ending was not as satisfying as the drama was. They left us with so many questions. Questions that I have been waiting to be answered like Shiwan, what is wrong with him? And did Suji get justice for her daughter's murder? I don't know anymore. I am a little sad and frustrated with the ending. I also wished Shin Dongwook got more screen time.
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30 Lord Cobol
July 14, 2017 at 1:51 PM
“When memories of your loved ones are wiped away and you stop missing them, you also lose the reason to live.”
Nope, still have a reason if there's a new episode of Forest of Secrets coming tomorrow.
And wiping out the memory of old loved
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Ally
July 14, 2017 at 1:56 PM
I just choose to rewrite the ending in my head, especially because I loved all the characters in this one, even Shi-wan, who was so good at being bad. And, no matter how hard I try, I can't forget dear Father Lee, his face and his sizzling black robe, and whatever might be under it. LOL.
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yongsital
July 14, 2017 at 2:31 PM
LOL you! with the priest (I just can't call him Father... ). He was just so chill and handsome and beautiful and insert any other adjective here.
Idk why but I think one of my favorite faces he made was his 'I'm so done with this' face. I always found it funny. lol But I just liked him, period tbh.
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ar
July 14, 2017 at 3:35 PM
Is it wrong to feel he looked really hot and model-like when he was standing by DH's comatose broken body...?
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Ally
July 14, 2017 at 3:38 PM
I was there with you, sister.
31 Laurencia Pandelaki
July 14, 2017 at 2:01 PM
I wish I could un-watch the ending, I'd rather believe he went missing after waking up from coma than seeing him dead. It's too sad. too heartbreaking
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32 PakalanaPikake
July 14, 2017 at 2:44 PM
Thank you for your recap and final summation, CandidClown! Many thanks to TeriYaki and chickachunga for cranking out the recaps with you. Reading them has added immensely to my enjoyment of this series.
Thanks, LOOKOUT, for giving Shin Dong-wook a memorable character in a great cast for his comeback.
I was confused by the site of Se-won's imprisonment on the roof of an adjacent building. Was it another school building on the same campus? I thought that there was no security camera footage of her leaving her school building. This part confused me.
Do-han's demise had been in the air for a while, so it didn't come as a total surprise. The perfunctory manner with which it was dealt, however, stood in stark contrast to the scenes of Yu-na in the hospital. I guess it was indicative of his dire condition and the shocked state of his colleagues. I just hope he didn't break Si-wan's fall and enable the little sociopath to survive. Based on what Mom says to Yoon, Sr. in jail, I'm afraid that is exactly what happened: “What will happen to our son.” Nooooo!
As the final showdown played out, I was struck by the fact that Do-han saved Suji three times (stanched the bleeding from the gunshot wound, hauled her back up when she jumped, and pushed her out of Si-wan's way when he tried to throw her over the edge) -- plus he'd saved her when Detective Nam shot her. One of the alternate titles is GUARDIAN, perhaps implying guardian angel. When he literally took the fall for her, all I could think was, “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). For a person who was reputed to be so cold and uncaring, Do-han was anything but. If he had to die, I'm glad that he got a hero's death. But it would have been even better if he could have found a way to pay back karma by living. Perhaps this was his best chance of stopping Si-wan permanently, thereby sparing future victims. And taking the little bastard out of the gene pool.
For a first-time scriptwriter, Writer-nim did a good job up until the final week or so, when the show unraveled and left loose threads hanging. I admit that I fixate on logic. The devil is in the details. After piecing together myriad clues for 16 hours, I can't just drop burning questions such as “How much jail time did Suji serve?” and “Did Si-wan buy the farm along with Do-han?” and “Was Do-han's father granted clemency because he had been tortured?” The show started with a bang, and kept up the tension and twists for most of its run -- which is why the finale felt a bit anticlimactic to me.
I need and want more closure with Do-han. The show missed an opportunity for Father Lee to conduct his brother's funeral, or to say a memorial Mass for him on the anniversary of his death. That would have been a very Catholic thing to do -- followed by reminiscences with Suji. I was disappointed that Bomi and Kyung-soo didn't join the other Lookouts, considering what he'd done...
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Ally
July 14, 2017 at 2:52 PM
I agree with basically everything you said and a Catholic mass would have been very appropriate, especially after the research Shin Dong-Wook did for this roll, I bet he probably would have been amazing.
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Ally
July 14, 2017 at 3:05 PM
And... my grandfather would probably be rolling in his grave because I definitely would have converted if I saw that scene. ?
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PakalanaPikake
July 14, 2017 at 4:27 PM
continued
I was disappointed that Bomi and Kyung-soo didn't join the other Lookouts, considering what he'd done for both of them. After all, this is the Boss we're talking about! A little moral support for the Boss's brother would have been nice. Maybe it was supposed to be indicative of their moving on in life. Considering how many death anniversary rituals I've seen in Kdramas, I'm surprised something more formal was not done for Do-han.
Sucker punch is exactly the right word for that interlude with Do-han and Prosecutor Kim. It was very well done, and hit me right between the eyes. I'd watched the episode raw, so initially did not know how bad his condition had been in the ICU. It wasn't until Do-han morphed into Kim's assistant that I realized that he didn't make it, which was confirmed by the subtitles. Talk about cruel and unusual punishment for an audience. One mitigating factor: We got to see the old Do-han dripping aegyo while schmoozing Suji and flirting with Prosecutor Kim. It has been so long since he dropped the mask and the Lookouts' campaign became deadly serious.
The cast was excellent, and kept the pedal to the metal right up to the end. I was surprised out of my shoes to learn that Detective Kang from the precinct, who was spying on the Lookouts a year later, was played by Kim Do-Yoon, alias Segul in REBEL: THIEF WHO STOLE THE PEOPLE.
I think I'll have to follow the lead of other Beanies and imagine my own alternate ending for the show.
Would I watch another show by Writer-nim? Yes, especially if she collaborates with experienced screenwriters on a couple of other productions before then.
Thank you to the cast and crew for pouring your hearts into LOOKOUT. ;-)
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Needaname
July 14, 2017 at 8:08 PM
@pakalanapikake
I'm so sad your theory of Yuna being alive wasn't addressed here...but yes, let's not despair, alternate facts, I mean, alternate endings or sequel could still include Yuna being alive. Maybe she and Dohan are recuperating in the same hospital/facility. And Suji one day will have both of them back in her life.
I thought too that it was awkward Bomi and Kyungsoo did not feel the need to go and pay their respects to their leader, which only reinforces the possibility that that's because he is alive! But not quite well to receive too many visitors. Thinking about this more, maybe he is not in a coma but instead has the old kdrama trope of...amnesia! Maybe he is recuperating somewhere safe, but only has memories up to his father's first arrest, when life was still beautiful for him, where he is at peace. A la All About Eve Kim So Yeon's character (yes, been watching too many Kdramas!)! And there he is taken cared of by his dad who has become much improved, and later they meet a little patient there by the name of Yuna! Then one day...his memories come back and the Dohan we know is back! Watch out for Lookout 2!
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Needaname
July 14, 2017 at 8:33 PM
Ah, this is what happens when they leave it up to us to fill in the blanks!
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PakalanaPikake
July 15, 2017 at 3:24 AM
Thanks, Needaname! I'm glad I'm not the only one brainstorming alternate endings for LOOKOUT. Shoot, SIGNAL had the old hiding out in the hospital trick.
I do like your idea that the young 'uns didn't visit because he's still alive. That conversation in the church could have been referring to Yu-na. But I somehow feel that I'm grasping at straws after that scene with Do-han and Prosecutor Kim. (Unless maybe he's out of the loop...)
I'd best calm down before I go off the deep end myself. ;-)
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crazyahjummafan
July 15, 2017 at 8:18 AM
You know, I really really think that Dohan isn't dead.
1) There's NO FUNERAL - he has a priestly brother - so if he was dead, a funeral conducted by that brother would be appropriate.
2) There is NO MEMORIAL. Always, Always, when someone visits the dead in kdrama, there's always a memorial or grave. We only see Suji in the church.
3) Bomi and Kyung Soo asked Suji to send Dohan their regards. If he was dead, wouldn't they have gone with her to pay their respects since it's his death anniversary and he was their leader?
But dang! There's the date circled in red! Ah! Maybe it's his birthday!
Needaname
July 15, 2017 at 9:31 AM
Yes! Dohan is not dead! I think the last scenes just show us that Eunjoong and Suji are thinking about him, remembering how he was because he isn't like that anymore (either coma or amnesia!). Yes, no funeral, no memorial, no death scene (no life support machine going beeeeeep) = no death!
Yes, that circled date (July 10th, 2018) could be his birthday or even just our priest's birthday! Show is playing with us, taunting us, making us think it's a death anniversary, but it's not! It could also be Justice or Promise Day for Suji--the day she fulfilled her promise to Yuna and the day to thank that person...Dohan! Even if it was his death anniversary, he could still be alive. As yes, fake deaths are not uncommon in Kdramas! But only a few people know where he is! Dohan is alive! And will be back!
PakalanaPikake
July 15, 2017 at 12:24 PM
@crazyahjummafan July 15, 2017 at 8:18 AM
Thank you, thank you, thank you! You make a great case for himself still being among the living.
You know, I just noticed a bit of irony: Assemblywoman Chae asked Do-han if he had a way to prove his claims about Si-wan. He replied, “I do. I have the victims. I wonder if they'll believe me when they show up.”
I don't think he was planning to be one of the victims himself.
PakalanaPikake
July 15, 2017 at 1:12 PM
@Needaname July 15, 2017 at 9:31 AM
Thanks for your relentless optimism. ;-)
I don't recall the date when Yu-na died, but thought the date circled on the calendar might be the anniversary of her death.
Oh. July 10 is the birthday of Gong Yoo and Kim Heechul! Belated Happy Birthday, guys! ;-)
You make a very good point: We see a date circled on a calendar and automatically assume it is significant. (TOMORROW WITH YOU used this trick to great effect.)
In English, one of the tip offs that a person is dead is the use of the past tense when referring to them in the third person (he was versus he is). Prefacing their name with "the late" is another way. I don't know if such is the case in Korean.
I totally agree about the old faked death trope. It is used so often in Kdramas it's not funny. Here's to Do-han recovering in peace and quiet a la Hong Gil-dong, Kim Guard, and Baker King Kim Tak-gu's Mom! ;-)
33 elvira
July 14, 2017 at 2:54 PM
Okay, first thing first.
If something happens to Kyung Soo, I swear that psycho kid will fall head-first, kissing the ground sooner than ep 32.
WHAT ON EARTH WAS HAPPENED TO JANG DO HAN???
Okay, technically, Lee Kwan woo???
And since that shady detective is tailing our avengers, and Lee Kwan woo is nowhere to be found on till the very end, can I expect that there'll be second season, where everyone joins our small assemble of avengers and hunting down bad guys?
Please drama God, grant me this one wish.
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34 bmore
July 14, 2017 at 3:01 PM
Thanks for articulating why I was just numb after that last episode. I am slowly growing used to these open ending cable likes to do, especially OCN! But this wasn't just open. It was just ........incomplete? The whole thing just left me staring at my screen wondering.
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35 TM
July 14, 2017 at 3:09 PM
A good drama but what a bad ending! I know some beanies foresaw Do Han's death but I really hoped he would just pay for his crime by going to jail. Somehow killing him is the easy way out, he doesn't need to face Soo Ji or his crime. I also wonder about Shi Wan. Part of me wants him dead since Do Han died (no link between the 2 I know) but on the other end I wish he was alive and for him to pay for his crime in prison.
You know what the ending was too depressing so I think I'll erase the last episodes from my head and imagine a less messed up one where Do Han is still alive and the bad guys just get to spend their entire lives locked up in prison
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36 ar
July 14, 2017 at 3:42 PM
Random thought: What name do you think DH was buried under? It would be really weird for SJ or EJ to visit his grave and see Lee Kwan Woo on the tombstone. Then they'd be like "what? oh yeah, that was Prosecutor Jang's real name...almost forgot. And should we still be referring to him as Prosecutor Jang..."
But if it's Jang Do Han, then it'd be weird for the priest to visit DH's grave and see his own name.
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miselpo
July 14, 2017 at 7:22 PM
Akkgh no don't wanna think he's actually buried but if it should read:
In Loving Memory of
Jang Do-han
A full of aegyo Prosecutor who died for saving someone three times.
It should under the name of Do-han since the priest takes Lee Kwon-woo or else he would have been arrested for forgery.
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37 Lemon Meringue
July 14, 2017 at 3:56 PM
Why, WHY?? I knew all along that Do Han might not make it out alive. Still, I felt cheated and bitter, and not only because he died.
His death was just so FUTILE. The last two eps showed incredible amounts of stupidity and WTF-ery on the part of previously smart, logical, thinking adults. How could two seasoned policewomen and one brilliant prosecutor not get the better of a juvenile megalomaniac who was inexplicably calling all the shots? Why couldn’t Det. Lee alert her team to investigate on the side while she strung Si Wan along? The show had been so clever with its twists that I half-expected the two detective moms to have planned the shot between them. But no, everything had to go down the noble idiocy route.
Even after Se Won was safe and sound, none of the 3 adults were quick-thinking enough to subdue a teenage boy. And did all four of them stand around and wait for darkness to fall??
If Show wanted DH to die as penance for his sins, make it worthwhile dammit! Show us how Si Wan and his family (including his enabling mom) got their just desserts. Show us what legal consequences the Lookout team faced for their actions. Tie up the plot threads realistically, so that DH’s death becomes inevitable and MEANINGFUL. Instead, we got a cruel yank at our chains with a flashback sequence, a pointless action set-piece and a half-baked hint at a Season 2 which won’t come to pass.
I don’t regret watching Lookout, because it was an exhilarating ride most of the way and gave us one of the most charismatic TV characters in recent memory. But the ending let down what could have been a tightly plotted and cohesive little thriller.
The one thing I DID like was the realistic way they handled DH and SJ’s relationship right up to the end. As with before, their most intimate moments came when either was hurt or dying. So much felt, but left unsaid.
I like to think their physical closeness in the last ep - SJ gripping DH’s hand over her wound, his refusal to let her go at the ledge, her holding his hand on his deathbed – crystallised into her growing awareness that she could come to love this man. But everything ended before it had even begun. The realization came too late.
DH’s feelings for SJ were more complex as it was mixed up with guilt towards the mother of the child he failed to save. He felt he owed a debt to mother and child that could only be repaid with the sacrifice of his life. But I believe he was touched by SJ’s courage and inner moral goodness and saw in SJ an equal partner. Someone who understood his journey and provided solace when he needed it. I don’t think he entertained for a minute the prospect of a romantic relationship. His guilt was too overwhelming. But if anything had happened to SJ, he would have been devastated. His desperation to save SJ underscored how much he treasured her. Their relationship was organic, mature and more moving for the lack of any romantic overtures. Hands down one of the best non-OTPs...
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38 chingu
July 14, 2017 at 3:57 PM
Just finished the finale. Rest in peace, Do-han. Er, or is it Kwan-woo? Anyways, like Suji said, you were a great leader and may you finally find peace.
These last two eps have worn me out so much because they were so frustrating to watch, so I literally finished the rest of the finale with the straightest face. I'm not mad, I'm calm, because it's finally over. Although I will mention a few things that annoyed me in the finale: the cheesy slo-mo fight scene, the Samsung phone PPL, the unnecessary introduction of new characters, and most importantly, the way they friggin' tossed that scum, Shi-wan, aside and not even update us on whether or not he's dead or alive and if so, if he's slowly rotting in jail??? Like, what the hell did Do-han even die for? They fought the kid from beginning to end and we all were waiting for it to be over and see HIS demise, not Do-han's, so why didn't you show us anything, Show? *inhales, exhales* it was good knowin' ya, Show. I was with you from the beginning up until the last two eps. You lost me.
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ravennightstar
July 14, 2017 at 6:27 PM
Agreed. As CandidClown said, the Show left us with many unanswered questions! Overall, I was pretty happy with the show as I really enjoyed it. But that's because I'm trying to ignore all the flaws, some of which you have mentioned. That slo-mo fight scene didn't even need to be there. They could have used that screen time to atleast show us what happened to Shi wan! To think that that guy had been the cause of all trouble for our team, and not even get a proper closure! I'd like to think he died as well, because Do han is more built physically and he didn't survive the fall. So, Shi wan, who is much smaller than him could not have survived that fall.
However, him dying isn't what I want either. Because I wanted him to pay for his crimes and wipe that creepy smirk off his face!
Also, that scene where they were all yelling at him over the phone! How ridiculous was that. How long would it have taken for all three off them to tackle Shi wan to the ground? Or how stupid was it that the first thing Su ji did (after finding out that Se won was safe) was walk over to Soon-ae and leave Shi wan just standing there, ready to push someone because he's sooo crazy and no one saw it coming? *inhales, exhales with you*
That aside, Do han!!! T __ T
R.I.P Do han!
You were a great leader, and although you were annoying in the beginning, I grew to like you and your interesting facial expressions (especially that Cheshire cat grin!).
Everytime I think about Lookout, I will always remember you and your sacrifice...and tear up all over again!
*huddles in corner miserably*
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39 anzabee
July 14, 2017 at 4:25 PM
Excellent recap. I had wondered since the beginning that Do-Han would end up dying BUT I DIDN'T THINK THEY'D ACTUALLY DO IT.
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40 Izzy
July 14, 2017 at 4:37 PM
I am upset. I too felt like it was 14 hours of tight writing let down by 2 hours of nonsense. There was so much cerebral going on when it came to taking down YSR - the plot twists and the strategising and turnaround of events had me riveted and clapping for the good guys. But the last two hours - ugh. I know both SJ and SA are both mothers and SA needs to protect her child, but the lack of thinking, the helplessness and the letting themselves get completely manipulated by a teenager (granted, a psychotic one, but still) made me want to tear my hair out in frustration. We have seen that DH is the brains of the team's operations throughout and never was that more apparent - with SJ and SA in charge and DH reduced to a reactive role, it was a total train wreck.
And yes - although I wasn't sure whether DH might live or die at the end, finding out that he didn't make it this way was highly upsetting. I know he wanted to sacrifice himself to redeem himself from the wrong he believed he had done SJ and her daughter by not saving YN from SW, but if SA had not played completely into SW's hands in the beginning, this completely unnecessary death would not have had to happen. What happened to the strong, intelligent women concept here?
And yes - why won't anyone tell us what happened to SW as well? Is he dead or alive, in a forever psychotic vegetable state or incarcerated or... roaming the streets as a recovered amnesiac?
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41 cozybooks
July 14, 2017 at 4:53 PM
I'll be honest... I was really let down by the ending. All of the chase and the smarts and the taking down the bad guys... to end up bowing to the whims of an overly creepy teenager for literally the entirety of the sequence? I kept expecting it to have been a plan on their part like "yeah, I'm pretending to take her where he wants but really we're hooking up with the team, heading to the school and kicking butt". Or "I'm pretending to shoot you so he thinks you're dead so we can go find him and whup butt." Or even "I'm pretending to reach for my pad and paper to write a will, when really I'm gonna chuck this freaking phone off a building and see what that does to the boy who likes to throw people off buildings." I would have settled for any one of those. But no, they went with "I'm going to throw myself off this building because it's the only way this could possibly go down? And it's definitely safe to trust the one threatening us, he couldn't be totally lying and just kill the girl anyway? No? Alright, whatever. I'm mostly over it, just... wishing it was different, that's all. I mean, how did Soo-Ji even escape justice and keep on vigilantie-ing it up anyway? *le sigh* At least, overall, it was a good drama. Just the ending went a bit off the deep end. ^^ Thanks for letting me rant! ^^
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42 Baby Ness
July 14, 2017 at 5:18 PM
I was so relieved when I saw him dropped those kimbap, and then what?! He died?! Why?! So many why's.. anyways, I know my questions won't be answered, so I will move on..
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43 misamisa
July 14, 2017 at 5:45 PM
I always have feeling that Do han will be dead but I never thought he will died unnecesserily.. like the plot don't even need him to be dead. I'm so disappointed with the writer.
The open ending is too much going on. worst, we don't even know shiwan is alive or not.
Whatever it is, I enjoyed watching and waiting for this drama every week. Anyone can suggest what drama should I watch with gendre like this (not heavy on romance)?
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44 IAZ
July 14, 2017 at 6:16 PM
WAS I THE ONLY ONE WHO WAS ENRAGED AND AT THE SAME TIME BAWLED AT THE FACT THAT OUR DO-HAN DIED?!?!?!?!?!?! He did not deserve that kind of death :((((((( i dont know why, maybe it's just me but i'm not a fan of sad endings, especially if the leads really grew on me like Do-han did. I really wished that his character was given a better closure instead of him ultimately throwing himself to his death, or maybe it was just the inner fangirl in me that secretly wanted a loveline between su-ji and do-han ? but anyhoo, i liked young kwang's acting before but I LOVE him even more now, and I just really can't wait to have him grace my screens once again ❤
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ramonathepest
July 15, 2017 at 2:57 PM
I loved his death scene and found it played out so well.
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45 meow
July 14, 2017 at 7:11 PM
I was really disappointed in the ending. The scene where it turned to nightfall - were they all just staring at each other the whole time for hours?? So many unanswered questions.. well, at least our team of 3 *sob* is still together, kicking asses.
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46 mysterious
July 14, 2017 at 7:26 PM
I had a feeling Do-Han would die because because it always seemed like he couldnt forgive himself for Yoo-na's death and if he had lived would he ever have found peace? Personally i think he deserved the chance but his calm expression as he went over shows that he was mmore than willing to sacrifice himself for Suji as that was all he could do for her at this point. Of course I am personally TICKED OFF that he died. I wanted him to find redemption in life not in death. But KYK was fantastic in this. I understand the ending but it doesn't mean I have to like it. ?
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47 izzyhart
July 14, 2017 at 7:54 PM
For me, this final episode gave me a very mix feelings for the endings. I think if Do-Han's alive, that won't make anything for the story, so I don't necessarily dislike that Do-Han died. It keeps the story realistic, I guess. I mean how could someone survive a fall from (I guess) a third story building. But, the way Do-Han died doesn't really give me enough satisfaction and closure for his character.
Also, making the last episode mostly about the longest 3 minutes ever is excessive hahaha. It's so slow that a turtle may win the race, that some of the moments became unnecessary and many questions left hanging with no closure. But all in all, Lookout is one drama that made me watch them even before the subtitle is out just to get over my anxiety to the story before sleep (though I didn't understand what they were talking about).
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48 anoriori
July 14, 2017 at 9:15 PM
Well I guess we'll just have to have a season 2, which I wouldn't mind if they had a good plot for it. One thing about Lookout that I found disappointing was we didn't really get enough of the procedural case by case vigilante crime solving since they mostly just worked on cases related to them. I think there's plenty of things you could explore with a second season, you'd just have to come up with a new overarching Big Bad. Also more Shin Dongwook.
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49 vivi
July 15, 2017 at 1:23 AM
Comment was deleted
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50 ana
July 15, 2017 at 1:32 AM
Despite the glaring plot holes, I enjoyed the ending. Many scenes were filled with flashbacks, so the writer and or pd were obviously running out of time and the story became a victim of the gruesome live shooting system.
When everyone was basically screaming at each other and arguing over who's going to die, I almost lost my patience. This whole ordeal was way too long.
In the back of mind I knew Do Han would either die or end up in a prison. His death became even more obvious when he talked about wanting to set things right and pay for his sins. However, I didn't like the way it was executed. He deserved better.
I love the fact that Eun Joong has become the new leader of the Lookout team.
Hopefully, there will be more bad ass female characters like Soo Ji in the future and more morally ambiguous antiheroes like Do Han.
Kim Young Kwang really impressed me. I'm looking forward to his next drama. Lee Si Young is just... amazing. She did all those stunts, although she's pregnant. Kudos to her and I demand an award for her.
And more Shin Dong Wook, please. His smile when his character was talking about Do Han was so bright and warm.
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