The Best Hit: Episodes 31-32 (Final)
by gummimochi
It’s time for us to bid Hyun-jae and the rest of the gang farewell and see how every choice made have shaped the course of their lives. Not everything in this last chapter ties up into a neat little bow, but The Best Hit reminds us that life is what we make it, even if some things come in full circle. It won’t be easy saying goodbye to the characters who have made us both laugh and cry at every turn, especially Hyun-jae, who deserves two thumbs up.
EPISODE 31 RECAP
Hyun-jae wakes up in a hospital bed wondering what happened, since the last thing he remembers is riding the plastic sled down the staircase in 2017. He sits up just as a doctor and a nurse come in to explain that he must’ve lost his footing on the staircase and some Good Samaritans saw him lying unconscious in the street outside of the building.
He’s told that he’s been out cold for some time, and the nurse chimes in that she thought Hyun-jae was dreaming about the 1988 Summer Olympics because Hyun-jae kept murmuring “Woo-seung, Woo-seung” (meaning “victory”) in his sleep. Thankfully, he doesn’t appear to have suffered any serious injuries.
He’s told that his head is bandaged due to the bruising, and is confused when the nurse reveals herself as a fan and shyly asks for his autograph. The doctor chides her for the request, only to ask for one himself on his daughter’s behalf.
Later, Hyun-jae processes this information in the bathroom, where he wonders aloud: “Does this mean everything that happened was a dream?” He raises a hand to cover his face and avoid recognition when he sees the sticker picture on his arm. He removes his bandage and sees that he’s still sporting the same haircut from 2017. Phew, not a dream.
Another doctor recognizes Hyun-jae on the way back to his room, mentioning that he isn’t scheduled for treatment today. Hearing that his test results won’t come out for a few more days, he asks, “I came to the hospital yesterday?” Remembering that there were two copies of his music notebook and personalized watch, he wonders if Other Hyun-jae still exists and learns that today is June 17, 1994—the day he went missing.
After changing back into his 2017 attire, Hyun-jae and discovers that his watch is ticking again. It’s already the afternoon, so he rushes out of the hospital room and calls Kwang-jae, who isn’t pleased to hear Hyun-jae’s voice on the other end.
Hyun-jae assures him that they’ve already made amends “sometime later,” but right now he needs Kwang-jae’s help and asks to meet. Kwang-jae refuses and tells him to sleep it off, and then returns to his conversation with Young-jae, who asks if that was Hyun-jae.
Kwang-jae denies it, but he’s clearly distracted as Young-jae says he’d like to shift gears and put out a ballad album. Noticing that Kwang-jae’s mind is elsewhere, Young-jae snaps him out of it and asks how it’s possible for him to keep thinking of Hyun-jae whether or not he’s present. Kwang-jae insists that’s not true, but then cuts their meeting short and rushes out.
Wondering if those two are up to something, Young-jae follows Kwang-jae to a cafe and slips into a booth. Hearing Kwang-jae mention Hyun-jae’s claims of “going off the grid for awhile” tells us that their previously final phone conversation took place recently, but Hyun-jae is happy to see his friend and can’t help cracking up at Kwang-jae’s ’90s hairdo.
Kwang-jae tells him that his hair and clothes look strange too, and then Hyun-jae gets right down to business: “There’s someone I need to urgently find—Yoo Hyun-jae.”
Kwang-jae is understandably puzzled at the idea of Hyun-jae trying to find himself and gets up to leave. Hyun-jae stops him, saying that he knows this sounds strange, but he believes that Kwang-jae can find “Yoo Hyun-jae” through his wide network of contacts.
But Kwang-jae points a finger back at Hyun-jae, exclaiming, “I’ve found him. He’s right here!” Hyun-jae lets out a frustrated sigh, then goes for a different angle: there’s an imposter running around claiming to be “Yoo Hyun-jae.” Over in his booth, Young-jae complains that he can’t hear anything.
The imposter story gets Kwang-jae to ask around and confirm that the Yoo Hyun-jae doppelganger stopped by the studio and was headed down to Paju due to a family emergency. Wondering what that could be, Hyun-jae asks to borrow Kwang-jae’s car.
As Kwang-jae hands over the car keys, he wonders why Hyun-jae always manages to coax him into doing things for him. Hyun-jae returns a smile: “Because you’re my only friend,” and runs out, unaware that Young-jae is trailing behind him.
Hyun-jae beelines for the studio, where an employee approaches and asks if he left something behind. Evidently Other Hyun-jae left minutes ago saying he needed to attend to his deceased parents’ graves. Hyun-jae turns back to ask if he’d mentioned anything about a lake and learns that the same lake where Other Hyun-jae’s car was found isn’t too far from the studio.
We cut to that lake, where the frail-looking Other Hyun-jae is on a boat and spreads his parent’s ashes into the water. He bids them farewell because he won’t be able to tend their graves anymore. Coughing, he tells them not to be too upset with him since he’ll be joining them soon enough.
A storm rages as Other Hyun-jae sits in his car and sheds tears while listening to the radio reporting on the impending double typhoon. He launches into another coughing fit and reaches for his meds, but that does little for his cough, so he angrily chucks the bottle away.
He’s startled when someone climbs into the car and sees his own face. It’s Hyun-jae, who exclaims, “So there was another Yoo Hyun-jae.” Telling Other Hyun-jae not to freak out, Hyun-jae stumbles through his own introduction: “I’m you! Or should I say that you’re me?”
Hyun-jae settles on introducing himself as Past Hyun-jae from 1993 who traveled to the future on a stormy night and returned to 1994. He laughs at how absurd this story sounds, but admits it’s a bit comforting to confirm that Other Hyun-jae came here to send his parents off since he anticipated the worst.
He explains that Other Hyun-jae will go missing tonight, so he wanted to prevent him from coming here at all costs, but didn’t anticipate that they would meet this way. He figures that some moments of destiny are unchangeable. Other Hyun-jae reaches over and touches Hyun-jae’s face to check that he’s real, and when Hyun-jae pulls him off of him, he asks, amazed, “You’re saying you’re me?”
Hyun-jae says it’s true and elaborates that he started to understand why this all began when he read the note Other Hyun-jae left in the security deposit box. He even points out the plastic piggy bank in the backseat to cement his point and protests that he knows this because he came from the future. Well, from the past to the future back to the past, but we already know that.
He reminds Other Hyun-jae of that stormy night when they won the Golden Cup, which Other Hyun-jae remembers as the day he cuts ties with everyone because he thought that money belonged to him. Other Hyun-jae asks how Hyun-jae is living with “that person,” then asks after Bo-hee and Kwang-jae.
Hyun-jae says that’s a long story, but cheerily shares how Kwang-jae, Bo-hee, and CEO Lee all live together in a future where Young-jae is successful. Speaking of whom, Young-jae is hiding behind the bushes in the storm, unable to figure out who the other person Other Hyun-jae is with.
Hyun-jae reassures Other Hyun-jae that their fans remember him for decades into the future. He suddenly checks his watch and sees that it’s minutes to midnight, then sees his own face start to disappear from the sticker picture. He mutters that he doesn’t have much time left, but then Other Hyun-jae asks for more information about Ji-hoon.
Other Hyun-jae is proud to hear that Ji-hoon grew up to be a great kid: “Of course, he’d be great, if he’s my son.” Hyun-jae agrees that Ji-hoon is frustratingly upright, humble, and clever and, and that he’s enough of a good performer to stand on stage. A small smile peeks through Other Hyun-jae’s lips when he hears that Ji-hoon inherited his smarts and attended Seoul University. “I miss them,” Other Hyun-jae declares. “Kwang-jae, Bo-hee, and Ji-hoon.”
A sudden clap of thunder and flash of lightning spooks them both, which Other Hyun-jae attributes to the typhoon. Hyun-jae asks if it’s a double typhoon, and Other Hyun-jae confirms that it is. Other Hyun-jae doesn’t know what time it is because he left his watch at home, but Hyun-jae checks his watch and asks how long it will take them to get to World Agency. Oh, are you planning on sending Other Hyun-jae into the future?
He has no time to explain and says they need to hurry. But the car won’t start, so Hyun-jae says they can take his. Young-jae sees both men leaving, then sneaks into Other Hyun-jae’s car to grab the music notebook. Ah, so that explains how he has the notebook in the future.
12:40 AM. Hyun-jae and Other Hyun-jae zoom down the highway in the rain. They arrive at the World Agency building seconds before the rain suddenly stops. 1:17 AM. Hyun-jae says they don’t have much time and need to get up to the roof.
Hyun-jae runs up the stairwell while Other Hyun-jae wheezes behind him. Hyun-jae grabs a wood plank and tells Other Hyun-jae to go first because this ride could send him to another reality. He hurriedly explains that riding down the staircase was how he landed in the future and urges Other Hyun-jae to go.
Other Hyun-jae hesitates, so Hyun-jae grabs his arms and tells him that this illness he’s suffering from is curable in the future. Other Hyun-jae releases himself from Hyun-jae’s grip and replies with a deep sigh: “I don’t want to. This is my time. Think about it, I’m the Yoo Hyun-jae who resides in this world. If the future you claim is true, then there are things I need to take care of here.”
Hyun-jae’s eyes well up with tears as Other Hyun-jae continues, “If there are things I need to finish here, then I want to do that here. So there was a reason why I was doing all this. If you happen to see Ji-hoon again, give him this.” Other Hyun-jae hands Hyun-jae a bead bracelet as tears spill down Hyun-jae’s cheek. He ekes out, “But you’re dying.” With a smirk, Other Hyun-jae says he won’t go down that easy and reminds Hyun-jae that there isn’t time.
1:20 AM. Other Hyun-jae tells Hyun-jae to return to the time he needs to be in. “And… thanks for coming,” he finishes before pushing Hyun-jae down onto the wooden sign and shoves him down the stairwell. Fade to black.
Sometime in the near future, Kwang-jae yells at the boys to hurry up lest they show up late for their first appearance on a weekly music show. MC Drill is a bundle of nerves, and the idol girl group are jealous that their hoobaes get to appear on TV.
Mal-sook comes running out before the boys leave and thrusts a piece of paper at Ji-hoon. He wonders if this is his first autograph request, but she declares she wants an autograph from every member of a different idol group. Heh. She adorably gives him a bandage, saying that it’ll protect him, and once the van leaves, she and Bo-hee (whom she now calls “Mom”) head inside to eat.
At the broadcasting station, MC Drill exchanges awkward greetings with the other singers while Kwang-jae is on the phone talking to the endless line of PDs who seem to love the duo. The boys marvel at their group name Jay-B written outside of their dressing room, and Kwang-jae chuckles that Grandpa really did pick out a great name for them.
Kwang-jae bows out to take another call while the boys psych themselves up for their performance. Just then, someone plucks out an earbud from Ji-hoon’s ear—it’s Hye-ri, whose girl group is widely popular.
Told that MC Drill is exercising because he suffers from stage fright, Hye-ri slaps him on the back and tells him to command the stage. After she leaves, Ji-hoon asks if those words helped. MC Drill gripes, “No, my back just hurts!”
Later, Jay-B is called on stage, and MC Drill and Ji-hoon exchange a fist bump before making the walk toward the auditorium filled with screaming fans.
We cut to the World Agency office, where Woo-seung, who is now a team leader and the only employee, tells the caller that Kwang-jae isn’t at his desk. Moments later, MJ waltzes and sighs that he’s going through a songwriting dry spell.
MJ plops down in Kwang-jae’s chair (heh, some things never change) and asks if Woo-seung can give him any songs she’s written since he knows that she’s currently studying music composition. She teasingly asks if he plans on releasing it if she does, and the jab hits him where it hurts.
He decides to get something to eat, then pops back in to check if Woo-seung has heard from “Master,” meaning Hyun-jae. Slightly flustered, she replies no.
EPISODE 32 RECAP
Woo-seung returns home that night and greets the photos of Hyun-jae on her nightstand and curls up in bed with the doll he won for her. She’s eating dinner alone when Ji-hoon swings by to drop off a folder from Dad containing a music notebook by a famous songwriter that should help her in her music composition studies.
She already knows of Jay-B’s debut performance today and invites him to eat with her, but he declines, determined to focus all his energy into Jay-B right now. He leaves her to eat, and tells himself that he did a good job back there.
It’s only when Woo-seung is alone again do the tears finally fall, and she asks a photo of Hyun-jae if he’s eating and faring well.
Kwang-jae isn’t happy when Young-jae drops by the bakery. He selects the most expensive cake available for him to buy, and when Young-jae reminds him that Star Punch is still hurting from losing MJ, he’s told he should’ve treated the star artist better when he had the chance.
When Bo-hee joins their conversation, Young-jae is still sweet to her and tells her to call if Kwang-jae messes up. Kwang-jae quickly nips the pleasantries in the bud and declares that he’ll temporarily be using one of Star Punch’s recording studios. Despite Bo-hee’s insistence that Young-jae has a soft heart, Kwang-jae is okay with sticking to the occasional thorny exchange with him.
He later retires to the bedroom, where he straightens the wedding portrait of him and Bo-hee hanging on the wall. Aww. He still remembers the night he intended to propose to Bo-hee and asked an employee to hide the ring in the ice cream.
Kwang-jae kept a close eye on Bo-hee with every spoonful of her dessert, but she eventually reached the bottom and there was no ring. It’s in his, isn’t it? Upset, he had another spoonful and felt himself swallow the ring. HA.
Unable to cough it back up again, he told her that they needed to go to the hospital, where Bo-hee saw the ring in Kwang-jae’s x-ray scan. Kwang-jae then took the tablet and got down on one knee, saying that he’s “swallowed” these words for twenty years and even swallowed the ring. He promises to make her happy and says, “Marry me.”
Bo-hee took another look at the scan and told him: “Thank you. And my answer… is yes.” The doctor congratulated the happy couple, and Kwang-jae jokingly asked if they could extract the ring from his body tonight.
In the present, Kwang-jae asks Bo-hee if they should’ve held a wedding ceremony since they’ve also legally adopted Mal-sook. But Bo-hee wants to wait until they can have a big fancy wedding and tells him that he needn’t work at the bakery since his World Agency duties keep him plenty busy.
She also wants to be a good mother and wife before putting out another album. She makes Kwang-jae promise to do his best whenever that time comes.
As Woo-seung exits a convenience store that night, she catches a glimpse of someone who resembles Hyun-jae. Shocked, she cries out “Thumbs Up!” and runs after him, but then loses him when he turns the corner. Crying, she wonders why Hyun-jae hasn’t returned and if he’s already forgotten about her.
The next day, a triangle kimbap a boy accidentally leaves on top of her planner at the cafe reminds her of Hyun-jae again. A man bumps into her on the street, causing the files in her arms to spill onto the ground.
She bends down to pick them up when someone places a pair of headphones over her ears. She looks up to see Hyun-jae in the flesh and she drinks in his presence for a few seconds before diving in to kiss him.
Hyun-jae fills her in on his latest adventure as they take a stroll through the park and sit on a bench. Hearing Woo-seung ask about Other Hyun-jae makes him feel like she’s talking about another person, though he agrees that he and Other Hyun-jae aren’t quite the same since they lived through different experiences.
He admits he doesn’t know what happened to Other Hyun-jae and guesses that was because Other Hyun-jae didn’t want everything to change because of him. He asks how she’s been doing and doesn’t mind if it’s a long story because he’s got all the time in the world now. Calling himself a great storyteller and listener, he leans in to hear her story.
She’s happy that he didn’t get lost on his way back, and Hyun-jae says he thinks this is the year he belongs in. He then shows her the sticker picture which acted like a compass on his trip to and from the past.
Woo-seung makes him a homemade dinner and tells him to stay here until he has a place of his own. He doesn’t want to inconvenience her like that again, but she insists that it’s fine and that she trusts him not to cross a line.
But Hyun-jae’s mind can’t help but wander while Woo-seung takes a shower. He tells himself not to harbor naughty thoughts, but keeps glancing at the bathroom door. He tries to distract himself with mobile games, but then we see him standing outside of the bathroom door.
He suddenly snaps himself out of it and scolds himself (“Yoo Hyun-jae, you’re better than this!”), then tries to work out his, er, frustration until she exits the bathroom. He’s unable to even stand and curls up into a ball away from Woo-seung when she bends down and points out how worn out he looks.
He flinches at her slightest touch and he mutters that he just won a battle against himself. Saying he needs to visit Kwang-jae, he stalks out of the apartment. Hee.
Hyun-jae shares a beer with Kwang-jae and barks that he won’t ever travel through time again because the last trip nearly killed him. As for his illness, Hyun-jae shares that his fangirl-turned-doctor is helping him with treatment, and they smile over the idea that his fangirls are all adults now.
Kwang-jae asks Hyun-jae to work at World Agency, where he can train the singers and work as a songwriter. It occurs to him that Hyun-jae is still young enough to still perform on stage if he wanted to, but Hyun-jae is ready for a life outside of the spotlight.
Apparently Grandpa is being proactive about his Alzheimer’s and working out on a regular basis. He also attended Mal-sook’s school picnic today and vowed to win all the prizes there. Oh thank god he’s still alive. Then Hyun-jae asks why Kwang-jae helped him so much over the years, and when Kwang-jae says it was because he was his road manager, Hyun-jae corrects him: “You were more than that.”
Kwang-jae admits that Hyun-jae seemed lonely like he was himself, and that thought helped him put up with Hyun-jae’s temper. Hyun-jae scoffs when Kwang-jae says he should address him as CEO Lee, saying that he’s a freelancer. Kwang-jae isn’t surprised and tells him, “Don’t go anywhere far away again, Yoo Hyun-jae. Let’s grow old together now.” Hyun-jae smiles and promises to do just that.
Ji-hoon happens to see a figure pass by the practice studio, and then questions whether or not MC Drill truly suffers from stage fright because he appeared to be a natural performer. MC Drill can say the same about his friend and they strike their group pose… which turns into a wave when a group of female hoobaes walks in.
After dance practice, MC Drill heads out to meet some friends and promises not drink tonight. Ji-hoon turns to head upstairs and sees Hyun-jae waiting for him on the staircase. They exchange awkward pleasantries as Hyun-jae congratulates Ji-hoon for making his debut and confirms that he’s back for good and with Woo-seung.
Hyun-jae confesses that he met Ji-hoon’s father and wanted to explain Other Hyun-jae’s reasoning for the choices he made. Over drinks, Hyun-jae says he told Other Hyun-jae all about Ji-hoon and his dream of becoming a singer. Ji-hoon asks what his father said, and Hyun-jae replies, “He was proud, of course.”
Then Hyun-jae hands over the bead bracelet Other Hyun-jae asked him to relay, and Ji-hoon puts it on next to the watch Hyun-jae gave him. They agree to get along from this point forward and laugh over how strange it is to be living in this time together.
Hyun-jae returns home to find Woo-seung waiting up for him outside. She admits she was nervous that he’d disappear again, then asks for his arm and writes “Woo-seung’s slave Hyun-jae” with a little heart to ensure that he won’t ever leave her again. He grumpily says he’ll get back at her for this, and then they head back inside together.
Hyun-jae keeps to his word too, because one day when Woo-seung returns home, he pops his head out of the next apartment calling out, “Part-timer!” She jumps a foot to see him there and he cheerily said there happened to be a space available here, so he took it. He promises to be a good neighbor and not disturb her before dipping back inside, only to pop out a second later and ask what’s for dinner tonight. Hah.
He swoops back in and pops out again for a third time and suggest that they eat out. She laughs and calls him weird, but he smiles and calls himself truly great.
They end up having a drink with Ji-hoon and MC Drill on the rooftop, and the boys confirm that they moved into another apartment, which means the rooftop studio is currently empty. Hearing that the creative songwriting juices aren’t flowing for Woo-seung, MC Drill jokes that she’s better suited for a civil service position.
She does promise to give her first good song to the Jay-B boys, though, and the four friends raise their cans together, screaming, “Thumbs Up!”
As a montage of the series plays, we hear Ji-hoon’s voice narrate that they drank and were merry that night: “We don’t know if our time right now seems like much of anything. Everything we have might be nothing and trivial, but as a great poet once said, ‘The most magnificent poem hasn’t been written yet; the most beautiful song hasn’t been sung yet; our best days are the ones we haven’t lived yet.’ So that’s why the present and everything we do is precious. We still have our best hit coming.”
Epilogue
Hyun-jae sets up the rooftop studio and carefully peels his sticker picture taken with Woo-seung off of his music notebook and attaches it to his keyboard. Satisfied, he heads outside, where Woo-seung sneaks up on him. As a World Agency employee, she knows that he moved back to this rooftop, then asks how he could run away from her. Hyun-jae counters that her apartment building was way too expensive, and when she asks if he isn’t going to run away again, he assures her: “I can’t go anywhere without you.”
He asks how she can walk around with something on her face. Confused, she asks if there actually is something there. He answers, “Right here,” and pulls her in for a kiss.
COMMENTS
I hope you all stuck around for the blooper reel that rolled during the credits and saw Ra PD sneak up on the actors and softly tell them, “That’s enough.” Hilarious. Even though The Best Hit wasn’t the variety-drama hybrid genre I hoped for, it warms my heart to think that the cast and crew had a blast on set. I really enjoyed the merry-go-round of cameos and the 1N2D callbacks that enhanced the viewing experience in the beginning of the series, as well as learning all the fun bits of behind-the-camera trivia, like how Cha Tae-hyun was credited by his character name from The Producers (Ra Joon-mo) because he felt awkward about using his own name and even wore an “LAPD” snapback on set.
Ji-hoon’s parting monologue perfectly sums up the overall message of hope The Best Hit aspired to convey. Every person has dreams they have chased, put aside, or were lucky enough to achieve, and we could see those varied forms in the lives of our characters. There’s a part of me that wishes the writing could have fired on all cylinders on that front because it was those poignant character moments that tugged at my heartstrings and left me in an emotional mess. I felt for the big and small sacrifices Kwang-jae made over the years, the many opportunities he let slip by, and rooted for him when he finally made a decision for himself. Ji-hoon’s surprise rap in his audition still stays with me weeks later, and I liked that he took one last shot to try and make his dreams come true and bring his bro, MC Drill, along for the journey.
I wish we got more from Woo-seung’s storyline and learned more about what she wanted out of life since she spent most of the series living paycheck to paycheck, then fell in love with Hyun-jae and was able to keep her head above water from that point forward. I also respected Bo-hee’s decision to be a wonderful mother and wife for the time being because anybody—be it a wife, mother, husband, dad, grandparent, or legal guardian—who dedicates their time to maintain a harmonious family environment don’t get enough credit for all the hard work they put in day in and day out.
As for the finale, I was relieved that Hyun-jae didn’t lose his memory upon his return to the ’90s. While we also knew that the memories Hyun-jae made and the experiences he had in 2017 changed him into a different person, I appreciated that the story cemented the idea that he was a different person when he met Other Hyun-jae. In that vein, I suppose I was angrier toward the end upon learning some of the choices Other Hyun-jae made, and yet if he didn’t make some of the choices that he did, then there’s a chance that the time-traveling Hyun-jae couldn’t have set things right in 2017. But then that begs this existential question: What was it about Hyun-jae that Fate decided to intervene and send one of his selves into the future while leaving another version behind (and perhaps leave him to die a lonely death?) Or is it not as cruel (but still tragic) if Other Hyun-jae decided to stay behind so that at least one Hyun-jae gets a happily ever after?
Perhaps it’s better for our sanity to stick with the Hyun-jae we’ve gotten to know over the course of this series. His reconciliation with Ji-hoon made me yearn for all the possibilities Hyun-jae could’ve had as his mentor than his rival in love, since I really did love all the relationships he made and repaired in 2017. Knowing Ji-hoon’s true parentage became less important as the story dug more into Hyun-jae’s disappearance, and regardless of whether or not Other Hyun-jae was Ji-hoon’s biological father, I do see the importance of Ji-hoon getting emotional closure so he can move on with his life (even if it is kind of weird to think that if it was true, and that Hyun-jae and Woo-seung got married, she’d technically be his stepmom).
Even with its flaws, I found some joy in the show’s overall breezy tone that gave us delectable subplots and a loosely strung main storyline. What I loved most, though, was the music—not only did all of my favorite artists lend their voices to the soundtrack, but the song lyrics in the anthem tunes and the rhymes in the rap are wonderfully inspirational and spur me to believe that the best days in life are yet to come.
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Tags: Cha Tae-hyun, Kim Min-jae, Lee Se-young, The Best Hit, Yoon Shi-yoon
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51 katakwasabi
July 24, 2017 at 5:18 AM
i had a lot of fun watching the best hit! i'll miss the whole series and cast.
the 2 Hyunjae scene was awesome. the contrasting characteristics of both Hyunjae's was interesting to watch. Yoon si yoon's acting chops shined in that scene.
hopefully we can see more of him in more dramas to come :)
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52 cloudy24
July 24, 2017 at 5:47 AM
I loved this show! Didn't want it to end. I don't care about the logic, I'm so happy he came back to 2017 and is able to stay. Yoon Shi Yoon was amazing in the show, as were the other actors. I wish I could watch this family grow old together and succeed in making their dreams come true. Ddabong!!!!
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53 loveblossom
July 24, 2017 at 6:15 AM
I wished that we could have seen Ji Hoon and Drill officially perform on stage as JB. And they couldn’t have at least shown Grandpa in the last episode???
The main romance took too much of the storyline so side stories were barely there in the end. The primary reasons I took on this drama were for the variety concept and the music.
This drama was a nice, lightweight watch. Way better and funnier in the first half, but I mostly liked it overall.
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PakalanaPikake
July 24, 2017 at 1:18 PM
@ 53 loveblossom,
I wanted to see JB perform, too! I was even willing to pony up for front-row seats. ;-)
At least we got to see Ji-hoon and MC Drill in their pastel pink suits. They looked very sharp.
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loveblossom
July 25, 2017 at 3:36 PM
Haha they sure did. I kept looking at all the sparkly details on their suits. xD
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54 kittykatty
July 24, 2017 at 6:32 AM
Woah I did not hope the ending like this. I'm not actually disappointed but I was expecting a lot better than this. I knew this would happen when they tried to solve all the problems only in one last episode. Rule number one and the most important to "time-traveler" in dramaland and movieland, YOU CANT BE SEEN BY THE PAST OR THE FUTURE OF YOURSELF, or you'll disappear. It's the most absolute law in every "time-travel" dramas and movies. I know it's just fiction, but seeing yourself from the past talked to you in the present, face to face, was like...meh.
And I'm just mad, to the fact that no one actually cares about Ddabong's "suddenly disappear" (except for Woo Seung). Or maybe the drama didnt show it. Because considering Ddabong made huge impact to their life, their reactions to me were just like "okay, you're back, so what?" That's it.
And how am I gonna accept that there are two HyunJae, one was dead in 1994 and the other live healthy in 2017 present time? Is it possible? Okay, let's just say it is, but if sometimes he got caught by the police for some reason, and they checked his fingerprints, how are they gonna explain to the police?
Okay I know this isn't such a "heart-pounding-time-travel" drama I've usually seen, the show more focused on the funny and the family stories, but I cant help myself for bringing up the show's flaws. Sadly they wrapped up the whole story only in one episode, if they had just added more episodes to solve all the craziness, I think the show must've been better than this. But still, it's "worth-to-watch" enough for me :))
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55 blnmom
July 24, 2017 at 7:38 AM
Thanks so much for all the recaps, gummimochi! Loved your comments at the end.
I liked the finale, it answered all my questions mostly satisfactorily. I'll miss the gang. Haha, MC Drill's "Bro, where's my heart?" cracked me up.
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meowingme
July 24, 2017 at 10:06 PM
MC Drill is such an endearing character till the end. Was expecting the back-slap by Hye-ri to work, died laughing when he went all whiny and "It hurts!" ^^
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56 lolsup
July 24, 2017 at 8:03 AM
I've said this in previous comments, but what a let down.
I appreciate that people enjoyed it for what it was, but having some flaws I feel was a bit of an understatement for this show.
On the contrary I thought there were so many loose ends to this show.
Alas, they did what they thought was best and serve a pot of steaming suck up to the viewers with the love line. I'm such a fan YSY, but even his character started becoming a clunker towards the end.
Oh well! I look forward to everyone's next projects.
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earthna
July 24, 2017 at 5:02 PM
Right? I can't believe I actually dislike YSY in a character like this. How is thst even possible?!
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57 alasecond
July 24, 2017 at 8:12 AM
so did finally JJY had a cameo or not?
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earthna
July 24, 2017 at 5:03 PM
Nope. Unfortunately, he did not.
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58 oosiee
July 24, 2017 at 8:26 AM
2 thumbs up for YSY!! Those scenes with 2 Hyun-jaes were amazingly acted out by him..both were YSY but yet, strikingly different than eachother..Such a hell of an actor <3 <3
:'( so sad that it ended already...Can we get a season 2 for this?
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59 Lirauly Avila
July 24, 2017 at 8:58 AM
I love this drama, It was so fun to watch and the characters were so well played.
I'm satisfied with the ending, I'm the type of person who just enjoy the ride of a drama even if there are things that doesn't make any sense.
The acting of the male lead was so good, the last episode was so well acted. I'm glad that ddabong had his happy ending...
I missed the grandpa tho.... and MC Drill and wanted to see you performed!!!!!
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60 Jamie Opso
July 24, 2017 at 9:30 AM
Thank you for recapping the series, gummimochi! It was fun.
This show was mostly lightweight and fluff, with some genuinely sad/deeply human portions that I really appreciated. It was flawed, sure: I think what I regretted most about it was the lack of character growth for Woo Seung, as others have mentioned. Or was her growth supposed to be learning to relax and enjoy life a bit in the here-and-now? Perhaps that will be easier for her with a permanent full-time job as team leader at World Entertainment, in a company that treats her with loyalty and respect. World Entertainment treats her like a family member, too. That's pretty much what she wanted, as we saw with her quest for a stable civil service job and her intense longing for a normal relationship with her mother. She also got a goofy, emotionally open, reliable boyfriend, and that relationship lets her grow to be goofy and relaxed, and trust her heart again, as well.
I think MJ got what he wanted, too: a fresh start with no secrets, so that's good. Drill got what he wanted, though his secrets were outed against his will. Ji Hoon will really be ok in the end: he has a career, a family, friends, and he will find someone else to love. Intense girl will be ok, too. I think it works out for all in the end. (President Soondae's story is heart-breaking, but he got to reconcile with his daughter in his heart, so that's as much as I can ask for, short of a miracle cure.)
I especially like that they all became a family. Even Yoon Jae is family.
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PakalanaPikake
July 24, 2017 at 7:11 PM
@Jamie Opso,
I think you hit the nail on the head. When I think back on how hard Woo-seung busted her butt working multiple part-time jobs that paid squat while studying so hard for the civil service exam -- so she could end up slaving away in a bureaucracy? -- I'm glad she started working at Star Punch. Like Ji-hoon, she came from a show-biz family, too. I can't imagine her working in some airless office somewhere. Maybe she'll end up collaborating with Da-bong as a songwriter. Or MJ. That could be fun.
The idea that the whole crew, even Young-jae, belong to a family of choice, is lovely. Ultimately, they're all together because they want to be, not because they are entrapped by blood ties.
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Jamie Opso
July 24, 2017 at 7:52 PM
Hi PakalanaPikake! "Like Ji-hoon, she came from a show-biz family, too." I had completely forgotten that. They're all show-biz folks, then!
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PakalanaPikake
July 24, 2017 at 8:26 PM
*waves at Jamie Opso*
It's so good to see you! It's been a while. I'm late to the party, I guess because it's hard to say goodbye to THE BEST HIT. ;-)
Yes, indeedy, they're all show biz folk -- although I don't remember how MC Drill got into the music biz. Now that I think of it, it's kind of weird that there are no "civilians" in the show -- except for maybe bakery customers. Everyone works in show biz.
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61 ohlalaland
July 24, 2017 at 10:59 AM
This show had so many laugh out moments despite the weirdness of the loveline.
The best moments in the final episodes for me were Gwang Jae's ring-in-stomach epic proposal, I knew he was going to swallow the ring but didn't anticipate the proposal that followed...lol. MC Drill forgetting his where his heart is, Young Jae (the most disrespected CEO of all time), Cha Tae Hyun sneaking on set to stop the kissing scene in the bts, and all of the bts.
The whole parallel universe time travel was so weird and I thought the writer just had a hard time resolving the whole father-son loveline (which never made sense in the first place). Other than that, it was nice seeing the two Hyun-Jaes and YSY did a good job portraying both characters.
Kudos to Lee Se Young - first time seeing her act, she has comedy chops. MC Drill, MJ, CTH, Grandpa, Mal Sook. Hong Kyung Min (Young Jae) surprised me the most. I had no idea he could act or do comedy - he needs to act more if singing isn't paying well. YSY aced the hell of out of this role, definitely one of my favourite characters of his. Kudos to Cha Tae Hyun and PD Yoo Ho Jin - loved the sound effects and overall directing style. I will hold off on a season 2 mostly due to the weird writing towards the end.
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62 Yuki
July 24, 2017 at 11:07 AM
Good bye DaBong, I will miss you!!! ? ?????
I had so much fun watching TBH, sadly every good thing comes to an end. I will have to console myself watching 2d1n until Yoon Shi Yoon decides to come back to our screens again. Btw, I hope he picks up a comedy next ?
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63 Jamie Opso
July 24, 2017 at 11:19 AM
To me, as largely fluffy as it was, this show is about coming to terms with both the hand we’re dealt by fate and the decisions we make in life, and about moving forward with intention and reflection. It’s about dealing with the fallout of our actions and inactions, and trying to make things right (or not).
It’s a bit like the Dickens story “A Christmas Carol,” or the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life,” because 1993 HJ gets to see the fallout of his self-centeredness in 2017. (Even though he hadn’t actually committed all those actions, just some of them, he could have and would have, had he not split from from the HJ who became 1994 HJ).
But Hyun Jae is not just seeing a sobering vision of the future, he’s actually been transported into the future to witness the consequences of both his and 1994 Hyun Jae’s decisions in person. And he can’t just go back to the past to try to prevent events from happening, or else Ji Hoon will never come into being. It’s a whole different thing when children come into the picture!
In my life, I have also thought about the mistakes I made and different paths I could have taken. But any different decision I could have made would not have led me to the children I have now, and so I would not wish to undo any of my decisions in life, no matter how much I regret my mistakes and any wrongdoings I committed or pain I caused others. I just have to try to learn from those mistakes and try to do better, and in that way come to peace with them, as President Soondae and some of the other characters did. Forgiveness (of ourselves and others) and reconciliation (of all our selves, and with others) are a really important part of this process. This show was unexpectedly touching in that way, for a show I thought would be silly and light.
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PakalanaPikake
July 24, 2017 at 7:37 PM
@ 63 Jamie Opso,
Well said. ;-)
I, too, noticed a parallel between THE BEST HIT and "A Christmas Carol." Thanks for mentioning IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE. What a classic.
If we are at peace with ourselves, then it behooves us to acknowledge and cherish every person, event, and circumstance that contributed to making us who we are today. Even the "bad" stuff and the souls who present us with challenges.
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Jamie Opso
July 24, 2017 at 8:15 PM
@pakalanapikake
I love time travel stories because the tendency to hash over past events is given real-life consequences: Change things? Don't change things? What is right? What if fixing some little thing wrecks something big? But how could you resist the urge?
The same thing goes for the future: you (or truthfully, I) can become paralyzed with indecision, and analyze every possible way things could go in the future based on every decision made now. What if you make a false step? Consequences, that's what!
Probably in both cases, it's better to just let go and to move on, accepting the possibility of catastrophe while still trying to live with grace. Time travel stories bring that home to me.
:)
(I don't know why I am feeling compelled to write essays today. Most of the time I read recaps and the comment section without saying anything, but enjoying what other people have to say.)
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PakalanaPikake
July 25, 2017 at 8:51 AM
@ 63 Jamie Opso,
I got too tired to crank out my own epistle on time travel last night. But I'm awake now and writing it up. Stay tuned. ;-)
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PakalanaPikake
July 25, 2017 at 11:09 AM
@63 Jamie Opso July 24, 2017 at 11:19 AM
There's a school of thought that holds that we pick our ancestors before we incarnate. In the time between death and rebirth, the coming incarnation is worked out with all the souls who will be ancestors in the family lines so that the necessary conditions will be in place for the new human being. Maybe certain painful events and conditions in one's own life are actually gifts to the incarnating soul of one's child that can only be bequeathed by its parent. Some of the cares and regrets of the seemingly unalterable past might fall away when considered from the standpoint of karmic relationships. I hope this gives you another way to look at the bigger picture hidden behind everyday reality. ;-)
Although I am not a parent myself, I consider it to be the most important calling in the world. I think of mothers in particular as “cosmic doormen.” There is still only one way for souls to incarnate on Earth, and mothers have been opening that door since time out of mind. I don't mean to belittle fathers' contributions, but mothers are the parents who do the heavy lifting of physical manifestation.
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Jamie Opso
July 25, 2017 at 5:19 PM
@pakalanapikake
"Maybe certain painful events and conditions in one's own life are actually gifts to the incarnating soul of one's child that can only be bequeathed by its parent."
Thank you for this, PakalanaPikake. It's a lovely and thought-provoking way to think about the arc and the meaning of our lives.
I'm not sure we could make meaning of our lives if we couldn't think about the past; or if we weren't traveling forward in time, day by day, moving farther and farther from our starting point...so there's that. :)
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PakalanaPikake
July 25, 2017 at 12:51 PM
@63 Jamie Opso July 24, 2017 at 11:19 AM
Maybe the urge to write essays comes from all the food for thought that THE BEST HIT served up. It certainly shook loose a lot of feelings and memories for me. The music is simply terrific, and got me in the feels in a big way. Some of the tracks make me very pensive. I really wish that “Say It” were part of the OST.
Time travel provides timelier feedback than real life in the sense that you don't have to wait years or decades to find out that you screwed up, and how. You can see turning points that in real life can only be discerned with 20/20 hindsight garnered over a lifetime.
On the other hand, maturity is something that can only develop with experience and time. Oh, wait. HJ2017 symbolically receives both from the twin typhoons that bear those names.
Ji-hoon is much more mature than his father is at the same age. We can chalk that up to very different life experiences and the nurturing he received in his odd little family of kindhearted souls. He has parents and friends who love and care for him even before he is born.
Twiggy - 20/20 Hindsight
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbx_srmz-w8
[Yep, that Twiggy, arguably the first '60s super-model, from her 1977 LP “Please Get My Name Right.”]
In the previous recap thread, #34 missowlhead mentioned the Wrong Trouser Leg of Time from Terry Pratchett's Discworld. It's an elegant and convincing mechanism for producing two Hyun-jaes. And it doesn't give me migraines the way the Many Worlds trope in Robert Heinlein's The Number of the Beast did. On the other hand, I'm a huge fan of his Stranger in a Strange Land and Time Enough for Love. ;-)
I didn't watch QUANTUM LEAP when it originally aired because I had my hands full living my own life. When I finally got around to it, I appreciated the way in which the protagonist and his holographic sidekick flitted willy-nilly through time because of a glitch in the equipment. It was unclear whether Dr. Sam Beckett would ever be able to return to his own timeline. But for the nonce, he could act as a temporal knight errant. The charm of the series was that he had no idea where or when he ended up after each jump. Sussing that out was half the fun. The other half was seeing how a seemingly insignificant word or action could influence the lynchpins of history as well as the Everyman characters personally living the situation. It was also great fun when the hero landed in a woman's body, if you can imagine the staid Captain Jonathan Archer of the USS Enterprise on a cross-dressing lark. ;-)
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Jamie Opso
July 25, 2017 at 5:32 PM
High five, fellow sci fi and fantasy fan! I read a ton of Heinlein as I was growing up (and my oldest recently read Stranger in a Strange Land, yay). I really pretty much detested The Number of the Beast, and not for the Many Worlds: talk about creepy inappropriate relationships! Also, no character growth whatsoever!
I have an abiding fondness for Terry Pratchett. :)
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Marie1610
July 26, 2017 at 6:41 AM
I was getting Christmas Carol vibes too! I thought it was a rather clever modern day take on it.
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64 Rhg94
July 24, 2017 at 11:35 AM
I loved everything about this show except the scenes between HJ and WS...Maybe it's coz I shipped MJ and WS
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chana500
July 24, 2017 at 9:11 PM
me too!!!
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65 trav
July 24, 2017 at 11:57 AM
Maybe I came to love this show too much that I'm willing to overlook the plot holes and used cliche. I know that I will remember it with a smile.
And the bloopers at the end of any show is my favourite thing ever <3
Still I'd like to have answers to some questions though:
1) Why did KJ told HJ to run that night if he's in the studio? (ep.2)
2) Where did Other HJ disappear to in the end? I understand that this is something better left unanswered to let us viewers imagine what could have happened. But where did he goooo? I guess he died soon after. But no one found the body of the infamous Yoo Hyun Jae?
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chana500
July 24, 2017 at 9:11 PM
My thoughts exactly, like did no one to the present date found where the heck he was? like half of me hopes he is still alive or something lol
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66 lorepottter
July 24, 2017 at 12:39 PM
Both HJ was the best, and the HJ that wanted know more about Ji Hoon is the thing i expected all season, really caring for him, like a father and not like a friend..
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67 kdrama_watcher
July 24, 2017 at 2:20 PM
does anyone knowthe song playing towards the end of ep 31
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68 NN
July 24, 2017 at 5:11 PM
Thanks for recapping the series! It's the only drama I've been watching. The story is not super compelling and the writing could have been a lot tighter, but I love the heartfelt acting especially from YSY, CTH, actors for Malsook and Grandpa. I wish it did better rating-wise but always hard to tell what would pull in the audiences.
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69 PakalanaPikake
July 24, 2017 at 5:12 PM
Thank you for recapping practically the entire series, gummimochi! Thanks also to girlfriday and javabeans for their recaps of the opening weekend. It has been an honor and a pleasure to read your insights into THE BEST HIT, and to share the journey with so many thoughtful Beanies. ;-)
For me, the music is what grabbed my ear and heart first. But as time went by, I grew to love most of the characters. It was my first time seeing most of the cast, so I'm glad to have met such a nice bunch of actors. I realize that the viewership numbers were low, but attribute that to the late hour at which it was scheduled. Even so, I managed to tune in from the East Coast to stream the finale while it aired in Korea - - a first for me. ;-)
I really was hoping to see JB perform. Seeing them dressed to the nines in their pastel pink suits will have to suffice. Heck, I was hoping to see MJ perform, too. I don't think he ever did even once during the whole run of the show. LOL!
Kwang-jae's ice cream proposal was a scream. It took a while to realize just why he was holding the tablet: to display the x-ray showing the ring. What a hoot!
I loved the scenes of Hyun-jae meeting himself back in 1994. YSY did a fine job differentiating the two iterations of the character. HJ94 had a hard edge, but was ultimately more of a softie than initially met the eye. His sadness, desperation, and resignation were touching. As were his conversations with HJ2017, especially when he asked about Ji-hoon.
When HJ94 opted to remain in his own time, it was as if he were fighting a rearguard action so the future would not be compromised.
I was a bit confused when HJ2017 told his past self about finding the check in the safe deposit box, and HJ94 replied that he'd been thinking about returning the money. That sounded to me as if he had not yet done so (i.e., bought stock for World Agency, and converted the rest to a cashier's check, presumably for Young-jae). However, the notebook Young-jae filched had to have been missing the page with the note about his fatal condition (because it was missing in 2017), so maybe HJ94 had already done the banking? The red plastic pig was in the back seat with the notebook, so presumably the safe deposit box key was already inside it.
I was confused by the view of a smart phone displaying a photo of Hyun-jae with a voice over stating that he died on 17 June 1994 at the age of 24. Elsewhere it was said that he went missing on that date, his car was found abandoned by the lake, and a month-long search failed to locate him. So his date of death is really just a guess. Truth to tell, it looked like HJ94 was about to start pushing up daisies when he sent HJ2017 through the StairGate.
Q: HJ2017 woke up in the hospital and found out the date was 17 June 1994, at about 3PM. His return trip through the StairGate was at 1:20AM the next day. Thus, the date he returned to 2017 would have to have been 18 June 1994, right?
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PakalanaPikake
July 24, 2017 at 8:06 PM
One more thing I loved in the final episode: Hyun-jae looked like a meerkat or a prairie dog every time he popped out his front door after he moved next door to Woo-seung's. LOL!
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70 Juliesean
July 24, 2017 at 8:18 PM
Despite some weaknesses in the plot, Yoon Is Yoon is the one carrying the drama. The other revelation is MC Drill, he is very appealing and has great comic timing, I hope to see more of him on screen soon.
My main grouse is the focus on the loveline. It would have worked if it focuses on the father-son relationship instead. Did we ever find out what is illness Hyun Jae had?
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71 glasswinged
July 24, 2017 at 8:19 PM
This show is far from perfect, but I loved how easy-breezy it felt. It feels.. comforting? It's just so easy to watch; maybe that's why I always look forward to it at the end of a tiring week. Haha. I didn’t mind the romance shift towards the last few episodes, since I like Da Bong and Woo Seung together and always thought Ji Hoon and Woo Seung had zero chemistry. As some comments have pointed out, I won’t mind if the show went on for more episodes, or maybe a season 2 where they can explore more of Da Bong trying to catch up with the times. Heh. I love how Young Jae is the kind of antagonist (can you even call him that?) that won’t even annoy you cos he’s kinda stupid, he’s just funny. Haha. I also like how some problems were resolved quickly without any fuss (the USB switch, MJ’s confession, etc.) so the issues never really piled up that much. I never thought I’d be invested a lot in Grandpa / Mal Sook’s story, but there I was sobbing through Grandpa’s ‘conversation’ with his daughter. </3 Just overall, the drama was light, fun and romantic. I liked it.
I'm completely smitten with Yoon Shi Yoon now. I've only watched him as Kim Tak Gu, and I didn't really appreciate his acting then. But this – his role as Da Bong really fit him like a glove. He's so swoony <3 <3 <3 I need to see him in another rom-com ASAP! I’m also so happy Dong Gu and Cha Tae Hyun are in this together, cos I love love love 1N2D!
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72 chana500
July 24, 2017 at 9:08 PM
I never more disappointed and pleased with an ending before but the best hit manages to just that. When I saw the other Hyun-jae, my heart hurt because I wished he was the one who went into to the future. I wished he didn't have a romance line because the story had so much more potential and his romance line just made eh. Like I really wanted Woo-seung with Ji-hoon or be by herself. To this day, I can't recall a drama that just lets the protagonist discover herself without falling in love. I think the story would have been stronger without it.
Still, I'm sad it is over. I could watch their shenanigans forever and not get bored. Maybe I just extra bitter because I know I will miss them take over my Friday's and Saturday's night.
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73 mira
July 25, 2017 at 12:04 AM
I am a big fan of Yoon Shi Yoon. But this is one of the dumbest drama I have watched so far... I really hope his next project would be better than this :(
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74 gypsea
July 25, 2017 at 3:12 AM
sorry if this has been asked already, but does anyone know if J2's "say it" will be on the ost? it hasnt been any of the ost releases ive seen so far. thank you!
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PakalanaPikake
July 25, 2017 at 8:56 AM
"Say It" isn't listed in the OST on AsianWiki, so I suspect it's not official. It's a crying shame. That's the song that caught my ear. It's a mystery to me that is is not in the official sound track.
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rachel
July 25, 2017 at 10:50 AM
It wasn't listed as OST but it was released as J2's single: https://itunes.apple.com/th/album/tell-me-single/id1246656202
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PakalanaPikake
July 25, 2017 at 11:19 AM
@rachel July 25, 2017 at 10:50 AM
Thanks for that link! I'm glad "Say It" was released as a pair of singles.
I really like the instrumental version. The lead guitar is blistering.
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gypsea
July 28, 2017 at 8:36 PM
thanks so much!!!
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75 jing // thisisakdrama
July 25, 2017 at 5:39 AM
Thank you, show, you will be dearly missed :") In the end, I didn't fall in love with the gag jokes, dramatic reveals or the time-travel concept, but I fell in love with the characters. Other than loving Yoon shi yoon who manages to look so good in every shot (the glorious rain scenes and closeups ahhh :^^^D) , and who makes me want to cry just from looking at the emotions in his eyes, I love how that there was no real "evil" guy (Youngjae gets the closest to this, but even he had his own redeeming points) in the show, and that each character was written to serve a own purpose and not just to prop the main characters up. I think I fell in love with the way the characters grew together, learning to become better and stronger humans, learning to trust and to love heh
This drama was no way perfect, especially in the way they handled time-travel and all the loose ends, but this drama did manage to touch my heart :""""""^)
(and yes i would kill for 13859200 more eps of the 4 of them bickering in the rooftop house plS)
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76 kontrarymary
July 25, 2017 at 6:10 AM
And not to mention Grandpa Sunday's closure with his daughter and him living all out to bring up Malsook. When the old man cried I really died. It was really painful seeing him struggle with dementia.
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77 PakalanaPikake
July 25, 2017 at 12:18 PM
Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken" came to mind as I was mulling over my thoughts on THE BEST HIT's finale. I think it's apropos because it talks of coming to a literal fork in the road, a decision point, and arbitrarily picking a path. I read that the author himself said that it is not about leaving the crowd to do one's own thing, but about indecision and second-guessing one's choices. A friend who always regretted his decisions was the inspiration for the poem. In choosing fork A, we cut ourselves off from all the potentials we could have experienced along path B. Plus we'll never know how things could have turned out had we taken path B because we'll probably never return to the exact turning point again. We can't stand in the same river twice. It's enough to drive one mad, or trigger terminal paralysis by analysis.
This is where I see a connection with OH HAE-YOUNG AGAIN. Premonitions of impending doom were Park Do-kyung's heart and soul speaking to him through a deathbed sense of regret that he had not loved a person enough in this lifetime. As the story unfolds, he discovers within himself the capacity to love and cherish a person he had wronged because of a case of mistaken identity. Despite his making conscious choices to live his life differently, he comes face to face with death. But this time he knows that he has finally loved unconditionally, and therefore has no regrets. There is also a subtext of relationships existing at the soul level beyond time and space that is reminiscent of BUNGEE JUMPING OF THEIR OWN.
Hyun-jae is a different kettle of fish. When twin typhoon Kaola (“Time”) splits the time line and catapults one iteration of his 23-year-old-self 20 years into the future, he literally faces the consequences of his actions. Unlike the Walker In The Woods, Hyun-jae has never considered alternatives, nor the impact of his behavior on other people. Now he is forced to witness the suffering caused by his self-centeredness. No longer the celebrated bad boy of yore, he finds himself in an advanced placement course in the School of Hard Knocks. Meeting the son he fathered along the way, and learning that he contracted a fatal disease thanks to his hedonistic lifestyle, are cosmic whacks on the side of the head that prompt him to change his tune.
I'm convinced that Hyun-jae's meeting Woo-seung and heeding his heart is the crucial step that enables him to grow in empathy and compassion for others. He isn't felled by debilitating visions the way Park Do-kyung was. He just follows where his heart leads. He's no longer in the limelight, and has time and incentive for reflection, luxuries his other self never had. Just as important, Hyun-jae reconnects with his only friend, Kwang-jae, and forges new relationships with the residents of his old rooftop abode. Caring and being cared for, however grudgingly at first, enables him to grow beyond his other self. And that makes all the difference.
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78 JY
July 25, 2017 at 10:06 PM
This drama, in the beginning, and at the end - stresses how important it is to follow your dreams... and to follow your dreams means to follow your heart. Quite a few have been complaining about the ending... about the love line between HJ and WS... about not focusing on the time travel concept... about how it's supposed to be a family sitcom... about how nobody has really accomplished their dreams, so what's the point.
To me, every character in this drama has accomplished their dreams. To say that the characters didn't means they're not really watching with their hearts and the deep meaning and subtlety behind these characters' dreams.
The important message/concept here is not time travel, nor the family drama. Though they both play their parts in this drama to support the main theme of this drama.
Let's recap the dreams of our beloved characters and see how far they have come...
JH
- Debut *done*
- Confessing his feelings to his one-sided love *done*
- Getting closure for his feelings towards his dad *done
- Letting his dad know what he's been up to and how he's doing *done*
MC Drill
- Debut *done
- Coming clean with him being older *done*
MJ
- Coming clean with his past mistakes of his lies *done*
- Leading a truthful and honest career *done*
Grandpa
- Making amends with his daughter *done*
- Making sure that Malsook is well taken care of and that she has a mother figure *done - when Malsook is officially registered under GJ's registry and that BH is officially her mom*
GJ
- Love towards BH being reciprocated and marrying her *done*
- Regaining his footing in the industry and relaunch World Entertainment *done*
BH
- Having a place in her life... this one has a more subtle color to it. From how I see it, her singing career was never the most important thing to her. For her it was her love for HJ - she was even willing to give up her career and go back to her hometown in order to keep the baby. When we first saw her in the beginning of the series, she only started having thoughts of coming back because of (1) the debt; and (2) the what-if's... but you can tell she was never fully emotionally invested. But now that she's officially a wife and a mother - and can say it out loud... she feels content to have this place in her life... so yes, her dreams... *done*
WS
- quite a few people over at Dramabeans complained about how she never got to fulfill her dream of becoming a civil servant. I'm actually quite amazed that they actually see that as her dream... instead of a means to an end. To me, WS' primary dream is to be independent financially, be freed from her mother's dependence, to not be abandoned anymore, to be part of a family. Her secondary dream is to maybe try song composition... but that's not what she craves the most in her life. She longs for the love she never had... and which she was able to find in HJ. So yes, her dreams... also *done*
HJ
- obviously a lot people are...
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JY
July 25, 2017 at 10:08 PM
HJ
- obviously a lot people are going to say his dream is to become a popular singer which he accomplished. But I would say that is not his primary dream either. This is a secondary dream - more like a byproduct of his personality, his needs for survival, his talents and his loneliness. His primary dream is also to be loved, to be part of a family, to be able to have friends, to have that sort of closeness in his life, which he never got to experience for the first half of his life pre-time travel. That is why the second time around in 2017 - he realized that (1) the byproduct of him being a star is exactly what's going to make him even more lonely, more isolated than before because being a celebrity is such a lonely path, and with his past experience of being a loner all his life it would only perpetuate it even more... and therefore (2) he no longer wants to be in the limelight even when GJ suggested... and all he wants is to be in the background, grooming others, while he's in a collaborative environment with everyone else... and of course to be with WS because she's able to give him the love and the feeling of "coming home" - something he never experienced before (he talked about how both his parents were too busy working when he was young). So hell yes, his dreams... *done done DONE*
Now that we have laid out the real dreams of WS and HJ - it's crystal clear why a love line between WS and HJ is pivotal in the story, and pivotal in the character growth for both of them. It's not because the drama needs a ratings boost, nor that the writer changed ship midway. I stand by the theory I've always had - that it's always been the writer's intention of how this story unfolds... and that's why it's able to engage us in such an emotional way... and the time travel, the family aspect of it all are just supplementary in pushing out this theme and the line of events.
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hannaehh
July 25, 2017 at 10:54 PM
OMG thank you for this! Some part of what you said is what I've had wanted to say to those who just dislike this drama because of the dream, loveline and father-son issue, but this drama offers so much more and I value every second of emotions that they portray in this drama. It may not be flawless, but it gives me life lessons.
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Marie1610
July 26, 2017 at 6:39 AM
Yes yes yes! I fully agree. I've never seen this as primarily a sitcom or a traditional family drama either. It's always been about finding out what truly matters to you and having the guts to go for it and also appreciating the value of life through the relationships we cultivate.
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PakalanaPikake
July 27, 2017 at 4:58 PM
@78 JY July 25, 2017 at 10:06 PM
Am I ever glad I popped back to check out THE BEST HIT's final recap thread! Thank you, JY, for your terrific in-depth analysis of the characters and their dreams. Now that I think of it, J2's “Say It” tells us flat out that we'd better pay attention to the role of dreams in the drama (not to mention our own lives). This is the song that first grabbed my ear -- and my heart. It sets the tone for the show, and it is the only song we see Young-jae perform. I'll address Young-jae and his dreams in a separate post.
In addition to dreams, I think there's another message in THE BEST HIT: That life is not a dress rehearsal, and that we have to make the best of the hand that we're dealt. Unless we suddenly find ourselves as time travelers getting a cosmic do-over, we have to play it as it lays and give ourselves (and others) the benefit of the doubt that we did the best we could with the information we had at the time. Our younger, inexperienced selves are deserving of compassion and understanding.
J2 (Yoon Siyoon&Hong Kyungmin) - Say it | 제이투 (윤시윤&홍경민) - 말해봐 [Music Bank Special Stage/2017.06.02]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHnX3uXKQI8
- with subtitled lyrics
On my fan wall I'll post links to songs from the OST with English lyrics that resonate with me. I don't speak Korean and therefore cannot vouch for the accuracy of the translations, but they feel to me as if they emotionally fit the music. Your mileage may vary.
Several other songs deal with dreams as well. “Sky” even uses the imagery of Hyun-jae's broken wristwatch. It reminds me of Joseph Addison's statement that “a clock that stands still is sure to point right once in twelve hours”.
If you think about it, “If You” could be about Bo-hee and HJ94 just as much as it refers to Ji-hoon and Woo-seung - - and later, Da-bong and Woo-seung.
It may not be one of Bo-hee's dreams per se, but I think she came to recognize her need for closure with the missing love of her life. She held out hope for 20 years that HJ94 would someday return to her and Ji-hoon, and thus never held a memorial service for him. It was only after she decided to accept that he was no longer in the world that she met HJ2017. Letting go enabled her to move on and reciprocate the quietly steadfast devotion of Kwang-jae, the legal father of her child.
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PakalanaPikake
July 27, 2017 at 5:06 PM
@78 JY,
Young-jae has been the butt of many jokes throughout the run of the show. It is only in the closing episodes that we gain insight into what makes him tick. After letting the finale marinate for close to a week and then reading your post, it only now occurs to me that it was Hyun-jae's intention all along to leave his composition notebook to his old partner, along with the key to the safe deposit box -- and the reason for his sudden disappearance. But because HJ94 was still beset by the scars of his isolated childhood and the predatory nature of show biz, he turned it into a game instead of being forthright with his partner.
Young-jae plays Art Garfunkel to Hyun-jae's Paul Simon. A gifted singer and dancer in his own right, he attained stardom in the shadow of the multi-talented Hyun-jae. After his partner unilaterally dissolved J2, for years Young-jae had to scrabble to survive by playing nightclub gigs, a far cry from the venues the duo had packed with screaming fans.
What were Young-jae's dreams? To be taken seriously as a performer in his own right, and as a producer. And to succeed on his own. In his 1994 meeting with Kwang-jae that was cut short by Da-bong's phone call out of the blue, Young-jae had just said that he didn't want to release another album of dance music. He wanted to sing ballads. Presumably the second phase of his career was as a ballad singer. Later he met and married Kathy, who bankrolled his dreams to run his own entertainment agency.
Because of his financially precarious past, Young-jae turned into a manipulative mogul who manhandled the young talent his agency factory-farmed like so many trained seals. Perhaps because his own artistic soul had been crushed by the economics of show business, he became strictly bottom line-driven. Young-jae could recognize some (but not all) raw talent when he saw it, MJ being a case in point. But he ran roughshod over the singer's innermost dreams. Not only did he basically steal Hyun-jae's work by failing to credit the songwriter (so he wouldn't have to pay royalties if the AWOL composer ever turned up), he forced MJ to go along in a bid to further increase his value to the agency as enticement to potential investors. His vindictive attempt to destroy MJ's career after he moved to World Agency made me think that it was the kind of hardball that HJ94 would have played. In my mind, HJ94 helped create the soulless impresario Young-jae turned into.
Young-jae's scheme to lock MJ into another contract without sharing the monetary fruits of his success showed him up as a mean-spirited skinflint. HJ2017 was wise to his ways, and extracted his share of royalties without publicly outing Young-jae. The mogul later received his comeuppance from Kwang-jae, who privately rebuked him for treating MJ so badly he left Star Punch as soon as he could. Even so, Kwang-jae and Young-jae understand each other, and will work together in the future.
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79 Ana Rosa
July 29, 2017 at 6:28 PM
I didn't understand a thing yet!
Why did Hyun Jae ( 1994 ) die?
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PakalanaPikake
August 2, 2017 at 4:08 AM
Hyun-jae94 died because he developed an unnamed illness that was fatal and incurable in those days. Roughly 10 years later, medication was developed which could cure the disease.
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80 sundaychild
August 23, 2017 at 5:49 AM
First, the best hit in The Best Hit is its music. The story could have been written much better, especially toward the end, when I felt everything got hurried into loose-end tying-up. That said, this series was a delight in most parts--great help by the aforementioned music. I had fun watching the cameos, knowing quite well that they were mostly from Cha Tae-hyun's loyal ties.
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