The final episode is here!
Whether the finale matches our expectations or not, the ending is always tough to watch. It’s our human condition: both in our kdrama lives and our real life, it’s always hard to leave behind the ones we’ve devoted much time and energy to love. That’s why we all root for a happy ending for our characters, the good people, not the bad. We see, reflected in their plot-driven fates, our own struggles for happiness, purpose, and love.
For Seri, JungHyuk, his fabulous squad, Dan and “Alberto,” and more importantly, for all of us real people in this blog, I’ve only one wish: let your hearts be staid. 🙂
“Omnia Sol: Let Your Heart be Staid”
by Z. Randall Stroope
…And when we part, and sorrow can’t be sway’d,
Remember when and let your heart be staid.
Omnia Sol temperat,
absens in remota,
Ama me fideliter,
fidem meam noto.
Meaning, when we must say goodbye, and sorrow can’t be soothed, remember the times when we were together, and let our hearts be steadfast, unwavering, and unshaken.
Omnia Sol temperat, the sun warms everything
absens in remota, even when I’m far away.
Ama me fideliter, love me faithfully
fidem meam nota. and know that I am faithful.
Let’s enjoy the show! Get tissues ready, but break out the champagne! Group hug, everyone!
Meaning, when we must say goodbye, and sorrow can’t be soothed, remember the times when we were together, and let our hearts be steadfast, unwavering, and unshaken.
Love this one. 👆🏼I can’t believe we’re going to close another chapter in our kdrama book. I hope the ending will tie everything together and for it to be an extra memorable one especially to those who wishes for HB and SYJ to be for real. ☺️
Thanks in advance to everyone and yes, group hug! 🥂🙌🏻🥰
How many kdramas have we given a proper send-off, agdr03? 🙂
I don’t think this writer will have an open ending. As other viewers have commented, she’s done a happy ending for an alien and a human, and a mermaid and a reincarnated man. What sort of political statement is she making that she can’t conceive of a happy ending for a SK woman and a NK man?
Plus, she has almost two hours to properly wrap up this thing. Didn’t somebody write that the Ep 16 was going to be more than an hour and a half? lol.
I’m grieving and it hasn’t even started yet. I need that hug 🤗
Good question. 😃 We should have an encyclopaedia by now right and not a book? 😉
I was a bit shocked as well with the almost 2 hour ending for a finale episode. 😄
Agree! If she can’t pull this off, given that it’s a big ratings winner at home and internationally then she won’t have any more dramas that will get picked. 😆
I’m loving the idea of the twins already so I’m sure I’ll be happy with the ending.
Didn’t the mermaid kdrama show Lee MinHo and Jun Jihoon with little children in the epilogue’s happily-ever-after or something? So yeah, I wouldn’t be surprised if this writer made it happen here, too.
No she was just heavily pregnant at the end. ☺️
They had a much simpler life away from the city and of course, near the sea.
Yes, she won’t give a sad ending. But I’m sure I’ll probably cry as usual. 😂
Oooh sorry but I’m not sure about Dan and SJ though. 😬 I saw some clips on Instagram and it was pretty emotional and I have a feeling my tissues might be more for them than our main leads. ☹️
I need champagne. Lots of it. I need a hug too. And I need a happy ending.
🙂 It’s breakfast time here so I won’t be watching Eps 15 and 16 till I get home late in the afternoon. But I’m ordering mimosa (orange juice + champagne) to put me in a good mood anyway.
Happy viewing!
Dear All, this is a bit of an off track query after a stormy night. What significance does rain have in K-dramas and C-dramas? It always shows up and seems to be like another character. Does it always represent tears or drama or an excuse to huddle together under an umbrella, or can it have other meanings?
I predict
1. SEri is faking her death, complicit with the NIS agents to get RJH to go back to North Korea.
2. Gu will recover just fine and decide to stay in NK with Seo Dan – he’ll give his money to the NK government in exchange for legitimacy there.
3. The troop will get medals for bravery having successfully completed a mission in SK.
4. The mean brother and his wife will be cast out from the clan but I don’t see them facing criminal charges.
5. Harmless brother and wife will reconcile with SEri and they, with Mom and Pop, will be happy family circle for SEri (and RJH obviously)
6. Her staff will get some time off (and/or bonuses)
7. Manager Oh will go to prison
8. I cannot work out how RJH leaves NK without harming his parents but I’m sure the writer has found a way. – other than a long time lapse and him taking up concert piano again , or becoming an ambassador I cannot work it out. SEri won’t go back to NK.
9 SEri will fulfill her ambitions and take over Pops company and RJH will fulfill his by playing piano professionally again.
9. RJH and SEri will marry and live somewhere v comfortable. The end will be 10 happy moments in their future lives.
Thanks, @Smartie. As Stephen Fry said, ‘Would that it were!’
I won’t get the last episode until after supper. The best thing for a rainy night.
I think that there will be a happy ending for Seri and Captain Ri. I also think that the group and his parents will be fine.
For Dan and Seoh, with her Mother behind her in the background, I’m sure they will be ok too. I hope so.
I want to see him help to bring down the brother and his wife.
This episode was hard to watch because of the pain that Captain Ri was going through. He had to protect everyone he loved now and his emotions were running so high, he let that monster Cho Chel get inside his head. Sweet, sweet, Captain Ri.
I want a happy ending too.
I haven’t been this excited about a drama since A Beautiful Mind. Sorry for mentioning it here, but it’s lead characters reminded me of Seri and Ri… a little.
Hoping for the best….because these two need to happy ever after, there is no way around it.
I approve episode 16. It was almost 2 hours, but it’s so worth it. Savor it.
Agreed with @John L. My heart is so full ♥️♥️♥️
I will need a good sleep (the show comes out 10pm where I live) to think about how I found Ep 16. I am torn between underwhelmed, confused, and happy.
Also glad there was a reference to saudade. This is how i feel now that the series is over.
Yes!!! Savor it!!!
I watched both episodes at a go and there was so much 😭😭😭 and 😂😂😂. I had many rounds of tissues, but I am so glad for a closure for all the different characters. JH and Seri’s happy ending is expected but I love how many things in ep16 echoed what happened in the past episodes. Things like
– saying 10 things to the plant,
-the story of the broken bowl where the parent waits for the son being echoed in what JH and SR says to each other
– how JH still watches over her (at the hospital and the SMS he sends)
Plus many sweet thoughtful moments, friendship, comarade…so much that i love about the ending 😍 enjoy it!
Episode 16 did nothing for me. It felt hallow at the end. Seri and JH’s love story was so endearing episodes 1-8 because we see them slowly falling in love, not with travel magazine worthy scenery in the background, but with a backward NK village as the setting. But because of that they interact in natural earthy way, clam bake, picnic, meals together, Seri washing dishes (after the hearts scene), JH making noodles for her. It was earthy and domestic, the long lasting type of love right?
Now after over an hour of mostly fillers (the second pair had so much flash back, I felt they had become the leads), we finally get to the end of the OTP meeting in Switzerland. Suddenly they are this super suave couple, with a love nest high up in the mountains in Switzerland, having fancy picnic. Its like a town and country magazine shoot or something. Tbh, I didn’t even feel the chemistry between the two leads at this point. JH felt like he was just posing to be hot, and Seri is his arm candy. When JH met Dan in the village, I was like, hmm, since both Seri and SJ are gone, maybe they should give their arranged marriage another chance.
Can someone please tell me the name of the song playing at the end of episode 16 when they’re both
standing overlooking the lake??
I liked EP 16. The 15 days arrangement is doable. Living in Switzerland forever was an impossibility. Lots of couples I know of the same nationality live like that sans NK SK complication. They’re called “Twin City families” where I’m from. We were ourselves a twin City couple for 3 years. We met once a year over Christmas break for 15 days 😂 we got married in Christmas break too coz no other time was suitable for leave application on both sides 🙈
Regarding the EP being underwhelming in some sense, it was to be expected.
They would be very careful as they’re dealing with a very sensitive issue with the public. Better underwhelming than cause a protest/risk a sueing.
They need to be politically correct and not come across as sending any type of incorrect or illegal message.
I liked the side stories and cute characters too. It would have been too monotonous otherwise. It was just a story of a forbidden love that has been retold a hundred times before. The side stories made it refreshing.
I’m over the moon with happy ending!!! I can go back to the office on Monday and gives my “ABK boss” 101% productivity versus trying to tele-commute ( Yes! I did use it as an excuse to re-watch the episode and checking this blog the whole time hahaha 😂)
Thank you every one for making my heart smile 😊!
Rollseyes:
https://open.spotify.com/track/0iy99OhafllEwkOFU4y2IE?si=e1w9Ev4VRwqJYOhB9tWUXA
Kim kyung hee – sigriswil
I did not expect to cry a bucket of tears for a finale but I cried a dam as they did my Seongjun – Dan couple dirrrtyyy .. I mean a heartbreaking sad ending 😩😓. I know the writer would like to tell that life must go on even when your beloved is not on your side anymore. Bur seriously, does Seongjun really need to diiiiieeeeee😭😭😭😭.
The lack of chemistry in Switzerland scenes, I would say, is because they shot them first before the NK scenes, I think. Hahaha I’m not sure but yeah, my guess.
Sorry, for people who might think I was silly to not fly to another “city” for a weekend, well, that city was in another country. 🙈 Apologies for a personal explanation but somehow I thought it was necessary.
Also, I think HB’s model swiss avatar was in fan service. Too many people demanding that he appears in his hair-done, suave look for too long.
I’m v disappointed by the ending. Great up until the last 10 minutes. 2 weeks a year – seriously???? Where are the twins??? How can they have kids. They had to be a better way. I’m giving it a 👎. SEri could have gone as a businesswoman to NK regularly. He could have become an ambassador to any place.
I feel like starting a petition to unify the country….
I agree with Smarties! I’m so disappointed with the ending! 2 weeks a year? That’s it? Then no communication for another year? And they killed Gu and Dan will now live her life alone, but have a successful career WTH?! 😭 No happy ending any where. And why was Gu and his babysitters able to make calls to SK, but JH can’t figure out how to get his hands on an illegal cell phone?
I thought the ending was good, but not outstanding. I was hoping that the OTP could have figured out something more than 2 weeks/year. How unsatisfying for a couple when there is no endpoint to anticipate. I could imagine 2 weeks in Switzerland, plus 2 months music summer camp, 2 weeks in cultural exchange in China, etc. Having said that, Seri’s company was making inroads internationally in places where she might well meet JH in the future.
My heart sank when the paramedic took the mask off and was glad for Dan’s successful revenge. I was glad to see the soldiers and village folk thriving. I hope the ladies would come to value Capt. Chi Soo as we did. He might be a great match for one of them. JH’s father redeemed himself greatly with the rescue, and augmented it by asking after Seri. My favourite bit might be Man Bok recording bird song in a field with a huge grin on his face. He looked 10 years younger in that frame.
Thank you, @packmule3 for having us come along on this great adventure. Now, I’m just really curious how much a flight costs to Switzerland for a weekend.
I approve the last episode too!
It was like a Long goodbye, giving all the characters, squad and ahjumas, mothers , basically everyone screentime. I love it because the special thing about this drama, it is beyond the OTP or second leads, I like all the supporting cast and their relationships.
I commend the writer for making the 2nd leads line shine in the ending phase of the drama and pulling it off with confidence. Using them to highlight – a different kind of love- a love so brief and sudden. what Dan had was a once in a lifetime love, contrasting her Long unrequited wait for someone who never looked her way. And her scene with Hyuk showed she understood that. Slow clap…
it also mirrored the OTP , because their love is a different one – theirs was to the theme of “Love will find a way”
I like it that it was fate who found them but destiny who led them in the finale. Both did actions to make it happen to meet againand again , I presume Hyuk picked up piano again because his life was changed due to Seri (obviously circumstances allowed but I don’t think it will be wrong to presume he pulled the connections) and Seri actively pursued the music scholarship project to continually give him ways to find her.
She even let her brother lead the project (check another character development for the female lead)
Most importantly, it was his message to her : “ we will meet in the land where this flower blooms. I don’t know when or how, but we will” it was very different from all those defeated goodbyes he was resigned to before
That is destiny in my interpretation
Yes it’s not happily ever after
But trust me guys, I’m married – it’s THE fact that these 2 meet up ONLY 2 weeks a year a guarantee they will last a Long Long time LOL
Love the last scene, a shout out to the production team for setting up the various pictures showing that we are looking at N years later
look at son ye Jin face when she sees Hyuk walking up the grass slopes with the flowers. That’s love.
And Hyun bin in the last 20seconds is a sight to behold. Allow me to swoon – I think that was his best look in his career.
Switzerland also looked beautiful – I hope the tourist office paid them some TOP dollar Or gave them lots of chocolates lol
But best moment of the episode – was the separation: when he shouted: don’t run,
I told you DONT run. And the way she ran in desperation.
It was heart wrenching, very well acted and filmed
Congratulations to the team
Strong to the finish and although not perfect; but absolutely a delight to watch
Thank you guys too!!
Finally got some sleep. This show took a toll on my sleeping habits.
I’m still underwhelmed but also happy. It’s confusing. But perhaps it’s because I had conditioned myself to believe the final episode will give some closure, and some fan service scenes (like twin babies, as some internet leaks seemed to have pointed out/ never trust the leaks, I tell you). Someone on reddit mentioned that the set-up was more than just 2-weeks in a year. My understanding was that it was only 2-weeks. Did something get lost in translation when Seri explained it to Mr. Hong? They said Mr. Hong mentioned she frequently flew to Switzerland, and it was aside from the regular visits for the classical piano concerts.
And yes, I was hoping that Seri running to see the guy playing the piano would be it. It would have been apt if it was Seri who found RJH instead. But that would have been too cheesy.
The ending felt open. Maybe it was the best given the story is about NK and SK. I’m under the impression they couldn’t suggest a North Korean defecting or running. So political correctness could have influenced the ending. If it’s just a 2-week affair a year, would it be sustainable? Perhaps that’s why the door was left wide open to one’s imagination. Maybe they had figured out a way to make it work. They made that choice. I wish we got a dialogue on the choice they made together.
You can also sense the chemistry wasn’t in full bloom yet in Switzerland. It was there but not quite as palpable like in the other episodes. Reminds me of an interview where Hyun Bin mentioned the difficulty of getting the emotions right for scenes with contrasting contexts: running into one another first as seen in the epilogues, and then an ending sequence wherein they had to act like they’ve been through everything, even when in reality, they hadn’t begun filming the NK and SK scenes).
Happy to see Dan taking claim of her independence. Being single should be considered a happy ending too! And yes, that scene in the demarcation line was my favorite in the episode. Tremendous acting from SYJ and HB, and beautiful cinematography. That’s RJH crossing the line again for SR.
In hindsight, the show lost a bit of its charm when the setting moved to SK. There was a quaintness in Ep 1-10 that I loved. I still enjoyed Ep 11-16. Perhaps with so much happening in the second half of the show, and so many overstaying villains, I had unconsciously demanded that they give more than a five-minute wistful look over the hills.
It was really what @Stardust said. One long goodbye. But I’m satisfied with the show. It’s been a great ride. Thank you @packmule3 for making us rant here. I’ll be on a condolence period for a while as I deal with the withdrawal symptoms and not watch a kdrama for 6 months.
Lovebangwon: Thank you so much!!!!!! I have spent way longer than I’d like to admit looking for the full version of this song.
Thank you Drama Queen. At least I’m not alone in my disappointment. Bizarre that the writer could give a satisfactory “happy ever after” ending to an alien and a human/ mermaid and a human but couldn’t here. The end of Legend of the blue sea was brilliant. I l.o.v.e.d. it. Love from a star ended well. But this was a bit silly. Why didn’t he have her number and as soon as he got to a foreign country he could phone her- rather than all this “searching” on streets and hilltops. Bizarre. And if he was involved with her scholarship foundation (as appeared to be the case) surely he had reason to contact her even from NK. What upsets me most is the lack of family life in her future – no kids; no marriage. She was lonely to begin with and it looked like a lonely future ahead. If one of them gets sick or dies the other might not know for 50 weeks!!!! And if she got pregnant he wouldn’t know until she turned up with a 3 month old – who would grow up without a father around.
Could he not have gotten a job as a spy in the south!!! The chicken delivery guy did! Could the writer not have played a Once upon a time in Korea card and had a reunification take place x number of years hence- if it’s good enough for Tarantino then ………. I am still unhappy. And I’m not even going to mention Dans story. Gees. 😡
Btw Switzerland is exactly as shown. The tourist board wouldn’t have had to help find locations. It ALL looks like that. I was wowed by it. So book that ticket Fern!
Seung Jun died, so I don’t care if SR and JH are together. Poor Dan will stay single for life. What good is independence if you are alone? Very disappointed in the ending. I kept hoping until the last second that Seung Jun will appear, that somehow he faked his death or something like that, but instead we get interminable Switzerland scenes. Come on, writer! Was it really necessary to kill him off? I will avoid your dramas from now on. I guess I should stick with tragic sageuks, where I am prepared for a bloodbath from the very beginning of the drama…
My favorite scene of episode 16 is the separation at the demarcation line. Both actors did a tremendous job at conveying their desperation and the realization that this was IT. I felt their emotions. Also, I did like JH’s positive let’s-make-it-work tone. It gave hope.
The ending “solution” was fine, but not particularly “smart’ as many here have pointed out other possible/better solutions.
Two weeks per year? What is the purpose of this “solution?” Is this sustainable in the long run? I don’t know how to feel about this. Couldn’t it be, for example, an all expense paid summer music camp for select youth from underprivileged countries for three months? It’s actually a more meaningful length of time for talented young pianists to hopefully interact with mentors from all over the world (residence pianists?). In this way, the charitable act is indeed for a good cause and not just an easy way for SR and JH to get together.
Lesser chemistry at the reunion? If they’ve been away from each other for three years and without any communication, I’d think their chemistry might be a little awkward at first. So, I’m fine with that.
No communication the rest 50 weeks of the year? I think someone here already mentioned the ridiculousness of this. Surely there’s got to be a way…
Having said all of the above, I did like the fact that they worked toward finding a way to be together in this episode.
The epilogue of SR in a “home” (their home? there are photos of them displayed in the house) and, later, with JH in the field is probably purposely left vague so each viewer can interpret it his/her own way. For example, it could be thought of that after a number of years, JH and SR finally settled down in Switzerland and start their own family.
Thanks for allowing me to comment here.
I agree with @Kiko about the scene at the demarcation line.
I also agree about the sort of open to interpretation ending that is also politically correct.
But am I the only one who thinks this solution is not ridiculous? He’s from NK ! You can’t set up businesses there! You can’t leave NK for good to go anywhere. It’s not allowed. Even if she does she does go as a business trip, she wouldn’t be allowed to fraternize.
They have to show what is legal no matter how underwhelming it is.
I’m sure one can imagine them communicating via emails to the music school. He won’t be allowed other communication but he can surely email to a swiss University ID. She came up with good solution here.
A long distance also doesn’t imply that any other person in short distance is better. It’s a personal choice. Seri’s choice 🙂
And as I said before, I’ve done this 15 days a year myself before (of course with Skype and FaceTime and calls… But in a busy week how much time can you spend with your phone anyway given a major time difference? How many nights can you sleep at 3 AM to talk with your partner? Not many 🙂)
All through the series we wanted them to fight for their love. They arrived at the best possible solution for them. It can’t be happily ever after through always being together physically for all stories. They are as together as can be for their geopolitical scenario.
This show has become one my fave recent kdramas, possibly all-time. It’s not perfect, but I just love the way it made me feel when watching it, especially their scenes in NK.
As for ep 16, there are several “what could’ve scenarios” in my mind due to the semi-open ending feeling I get. It’s happy, yes, but the writer made it in a way that also left us to our imaginations. Are they finally together? Yes. That part is clear enough. But I want more details of how they spend their everyday lives (video calls using European phone? weekend trips?). I’m not sure SR only sees JH 2 weeks in a year only because her secretary called out that SR travels to Switzerland a lot. But imo, I don’t mind it so much because anyway I’m sure SR and JH will find a way to spend more time together over time. Overall, I’m quite happy with how it ended. They finally fought for their relationship yay!
And I have to say, the scene at the demarcation line, as many of you think, is brilliant. It’s heartbreaking and tear-jerking at the same time. HB and SYJ totally pulled it off.
Kudos to the entire CLOY team! I heard CLOY finale rating hit 21%, the 2nd highest rating in cable tv history. Great job.
Also, thank you @packmule3 for allowing us to rant and rave in this page. I’m truly glad I came across this page by coincidence (fate? lol). Your posts make me enjoy watching this drama even more. I can’t wait for the next kdrama you will talk about. Cheers!
@Stardust: well-said – couldn’t agree more with you on the following points.
“She even let her brother lead the project (check another character development for the female lead). Most importantly, it was his message to her : “ we will meet in the land where this flower blooms. I don’t know when or how, but we will” it was very different from all those defeated goodbyes he was resigned to before. That is destiny in my interpretation
Yes it’s not happily ever after. But trust me guys, I’m married – it’s THE fact that these 2 meet up ONLY 2 weeks a year a guarantee they will last a Long Long time LOL
Love the last scene, a shout out to the production team for setting up the various pictures showing that we are looking at N years later
look at son ye Jin face when she sees Hyuk walking up the grass slopes with the flowers. That’s love.”
I’m glad that they didn’t give up on each other and their relationship. When SR was back to Switzerland for the first time, walked around to find RJH, she said that: “It’s impossibile for me to consider you a memory. So I’ll be waiting and praying” – that brought tears to my eyes.
They are very happy and enjoy what they can manage – that’s important lesson learnt from this drama as well.
I think it’s possible to manage more than 2 weeks together (when there’s a will, there’s a way). Meeting only 2 times a week is probably a good way for their relationship to last long as you said lol.
Agree with you that the way SR looked at RJH when he walked up the hills with flowers for her in his hand – that’s definitely LOTS & LOTS of love and affection there. Fingers crossed that it’ll last a long time.
@lovebangwon:
“Rollseyes:
https://open.spotify.com/track/0iy99OhafllEwkOFU4y2IE?si=e1w9Ev4VRwqJYOhB9tWUXA
Kim kyung hee – sigriswil”
Thank you very much for the link – It’s a beautiful song. I was looking for it after watching Ep 16.
Definitely in the top 3 OST for this drama for me. So dreamy and pure.
A lot of pictures and posts have been coming out on social media, including this: https://twitter.com/bingingonbinjin/status/1229220787632005121?s=21
and this:
https://twitter.com/poppypoppies/status/1229238161995288577?s=21
These posts appear to suggest that the original ending may have differed from what we saw. I remember a political party in Korea filed a case against the show for supposedly romanticizing NK. Maybe that influenced the ending. But who knows. Maybe I’m looking for subtext where there is none in this show.
@themanwashere, thank you for those links. I think she looks pregnant in the 2nd, don’t you? I have to say, when she arrived at the hotel in Switzerland for her 2 week stay, I would have sworn that the tables were set up for a wedding. Possibly script change or director playing with us?
Having looked over all of the comments and re-watched the end, I’m more content. Here are a couple of things I would have loved to see at the very end: Hyun Bin in more appropriate clothes for the high alp reunion along with some not overt dialogue along the lines of ‘Where are you staying? – are you expecting guests?’ so I don’t have to be co-writing mentally; Seri making noodles for him according to his recipe in their Swiss kitchen; Hyun Bin with bed-head making drip coffee there as well; a little bit of everyday skinship such as him plaiting her hair or her giving him a neck rub. Just some little things that lovers do. I did love their hand-holding at the concert.
@Smartie, I shall have to check Ryanair’s website. 😊. Nothing direct from our local. I lived near Geneva for a few months many years ago and travelled around but I haven’t been back.
Thank you Themanwashere. I looked at those tweets. I feel better now. In some multiverse they live together permanently. I also saw the photos of the twins on Instagram. Holding hands with SEri who was in costume. Clearly the writer intended giving the ending the couple deserved but was thwarted. That’s ok. I can imagine the rest. It’ll get leaked hopefully.
@themanwashere thank you!
They chose public whining over a less-than-perfect end rather than risk a sueing over a less-than-legal scenario or much worse, hurting public sentiment over NK SK issue.
Writer’s choice 😂
As viewers we can choose to extrapolate like @Fern, @Smartie and many others have suggested here. 🙂
Oooh, thanks for sharing these, themanwashere. Very interesting.
🙂 Why have you been lurking all this time, lovebangwon? You and Dey? Let me poke you two on twitter.
Thanks for sharing.
You’re not the only one upset about Seung Jun’s death. Ugh. Knetizens on naver and nate were, too.
http://netizenbuzz.blogspot.com/2020/02/tv-spoilers-crash-landing-on-you-finale.html
Thank Fern for giving me the mental images of RJH and Seri’s everyday life I needed. Am soothed.
Can somebody please tell what happened to the fab squad? To Chi Soo in particular? Did he stay in SK? Did the others live? Manbok and his family?
Morning! Just finished watching both episodes and about to sleep.
Chi-su became Captain of the Fab Four ☺️ Manbok and his family transferred to Pyongyang because he got a job at a radio station.
I’ll comment tomorrow. What beautiful and very insightful comments all around. All in all it was a good ending and good enough for me. I am very sad too about SJ dying. The only thing is I didn’t think the almost 2 hours episode was necessary. This is just me. 😊🤞🏻
Have a good day everyone. 😊
😘 Thanks, agdr03. Did you marathon this?
It’s been a wild ride falling in love with this drama, the characters and a story with you all! There were many wonderful scenes. The golden scene were the last farewell as RJH runs out to hug and protect Seri from running too close to the demarcation line and Manbok’s new job of recording the sounds of nature! And how much younger did he look in the scene! So so beautiful.
I’ll talk about my ideal ending because I found it underwhelming. Like what others said, I think this comes at the cost of pre-filming scenes. If you compared this scene with the scene when RJH searched for her in SK, you could tell the difference in their chemistry that would’ve nurtured over the many months of filming together later on. I think also I just didn’t like how he ‘magically’ appeared in front of her. The last scene in the epilogue though saved the ending, because it was more natural. And the camera work was more smooth. (did not appreciate the fast drone swirls, the chopping editing in between the kiss in the ending…)
My ideal reunion in Switzerland would’ve been:
RJH actually performing on stage as part of the scholarship program that Seri funded (getting rid of the street piano busking scene). Seri hearing the song and her rushing to find him playing the song. Because that was how she found hope right? But yeah… maybe it has been done before (cue: My Sassy Girl/Lala Land).
Or at least, maybe in the Paragliding scene, when he talked to her in Korean, she could’ve recognised his voice earlier, and then slowly uncovered the paraglide to reveal him?
Or another idea is that she literally crash lands on him once again like episode 1 haha. Or something that shows the he also was searching for her too… instead of just standing there casually.
Also if the writer planned out the rings earlier, then they could’ve worn the rings in Switzerland. But that’s a minor thing. The production team, writer and cast worked very very hard for this show. Hooray!!!
A spring day in Pyongyang. Seo Dan walks carrying her cello, lost in her thoughts. She crosses the bridge and suddenly she sees Seung Jun standing in front of her.
Seo Dan: “I have been waiting for you. What took you so long?”
Seung Jun: “I had to take care of some unfinished business before coming back to you.”
Flashback: Seung Jun makes a dramatic appearance in SK and reveals the schemes of SeRi’s brother and sister-in-law. He returns the money he stole from SeRi’s family by donating it to the music foundation. He spends some time in prison.
Seo Dan: “Now that you are here, what do you plan to do?”
Seung Jun: “Well, I could be a shooting instructor. But I also got a master baker and a pastry chef certification while in prison. Don’t you think that the citizens of Pyongyang deserve to be introduced to some glorious sourdough and French pastries?”
I totally understand why people turn to fan fiction. This is my first lame attempt, but it made me feel better.
OOOhh. You just gave me an idea for a blog post. Wait a second.
@Fern i love your suggested lines for JH. Sounds more suave tbh!
There are a lot more of these photo nuggets out there. I also saw a photo of one of the babies wearing an adorable tomato onesie (it looked like they were really planning on twins) plus some merchandise items (a family of vegetables with twins as stuff toys). I can’t find the one with the onesie anymore but the stuffy toys are on Twitter.
But do take the links with a grain of salt, everyone. There have been several pictures of the “what could have been ending” including official stills of JH and what looked like a pregnant Seri on the TVN’s official social media accounts. The photos were from scenes that were never aired. I’m not Korean and can’t be bothered to Google translate articles, but posts and forums and tweets abound discussing the supposed political interference on the story’s ending. It sounds petty to me but not entirely impossible given the situation in the Korean peninsula. If it’s true, then I’m a bit disappointed that the writer wasn’t given the full freedom to write her story. But then again, I also understand why.
I forgot to mention that Dan and Seung Jun open a bakery and a restaurant, but not in Pyongyang. Instead, they move back to the village. The restaurant is where the local orphans hang out. Dan’s mom ends up with Captain Chi Soo, of course!
What does politics have to do with a work of fiction and cute babies in tomato onesies? Is it because RJH has to be a defector in order to marry SR legally?
@Snow Flower, yes please go ahead and unleash your inner writer. Qu’ils mangent de la brioche (and pastries and sour dough bread)!
You write one, too.
I challenge all sassy bees to make one up. 🙂
@Jillian the cute babies in tomato onesies were seen as possible references to the original ending of CLOY (although unconfirmed), including the rest of the unaired media photos. The Christian Liberal Party lodged a complaint last January against the series for “glamorizing NK” .
People have discussed that the case, and perhaps attendant concerns on a largely sensitive issue like SK-NK relations, may have influenced how the ending turned out i.e. downplaying any suggestions of a defection. Of course, all this is still conjecture at this point. It’s just that the photos of unreleased scenes have driven many viewers to deduce there must have been a different ending than from what was broadcasted.
I will offer a quote which I think would have worked into the screenplay after the reunion. “To be apart, in those hours, was more than they could bear; and to touch a thing of sweetness and anguish. She moved all day, lightly, in the shelter of his arm.”
–Dorothy Dunnett, Checkmate
Aah i see. Thanks for explaining @themanwashere !
I’ll probably be the minority here just thought the last episode was beautiful. The things that touched me was (1) She looks forward to that 2 weeks together every year, (2) them holding hands during the piano recital, (3) the collection of photos of them on the table in their Switzerland residence (especially the photo of her on the bridge), and (4) the way they looked at each other at the end.
They went through so much to find each other. In the end, they got to be together. Isn’t that Love? The story was beautiful.
Perfectly imperfect … that’s how I see Ep 16. The ending is the beginning of their relationship as lovers, still with obstacles, but after what they’ve been through, what’s a DMZ line … just, a line.
Liked the subtitle of Peace @ military demarcation line scenes. This drama shot to the top of my all-time unforgettable drama list but then, I can only count on my one hand, the best that I’ve seen so, I may not be a good barometer. The only thing that saddened me a bit is I will have to wait for quite a while before HB & SYJ pair up again… ☹
Howdy! Yes, I did a marathon of both episodes. 😊
Ooohhh loving those alternate ending scenes/scenarios. I’ll try later. Internet at work is still down. Booooh! 😁
I’m glad to learn here about the political-correctness reason the plot went vague. But still, most of the finale seemed like filler. None of you are going to bitch about the plot holes, such as, wasn’t Se-ri supposed to get some prison time? And, seriously, why would the NIS buy Hyok a cell phone to record messages on? How does a guy who hasn’t played piano for 10 years get into an orchestra? A “defector” to the South is not only allowed to leave NK again, but go to Europe every year??? SK does’t use any of them as spies, nor does the squad get “re-educated” in a gulag? Hyok’s dad kills the head of military police and gets away with it?
OK, the hell with logic. I laughed, I loved, I cried. And that scene at the Demarcation Line! I’ll remember this drama for its sweet first half in NK. But my all-time favorite (of the 26 dramas I’ve seen), by far, remains “Mr. Sunshine” (and I wonder why no one here seems to have watched it. Is it only on Netflix in America?)
@S.moureen, thanks for bringing up the plot holes. I thought that Se-ri’s prison time was one option. Others were a fine or a delayed sentencing. I think it depended on the recommendation by the NIS, and it’s obvious what they thought of the couple. I liked that Mr Kim showed RJH the message app and in the last seconds of the goodbye scene at the border, Mr Kim turned towards Se-ri to see how she was.
I had imagined that the cell phone was RJH’s. They said that they had used it to trace his movements by GPS.
Yes, to all the rest. I mean, the national orchestra yet. 😂 Bless him, he must have been VERY talented. How about the Avengers-style music when RJH’s dad shows up at the scene? Unlike the other good guys, he just went and shot that Jabba-ish Director of the Military TWICE to make sure he was absolutely dead. The look on RJH’s face.
Sorry, @Fern. My bad. I remember now Se-ri said she COULD get prison time. But still confused on the cell phones. If it was RJH’s, why did it need to be explained to him? Also, I guess I’ve been thinking that since a NK phone can’t connect to SK, that it wouldn’t work in SK, but maybe I’m wrong on that as well.
No worries, @S.moureen. I have been assuming that it was the cell phone that RJH was using in SK, which might be different to the one he had in NK, perhaps bought shortly after he arrived. Remembering that Dan told SJ he can only get apps from a physical app store in NK, RJH might be unfamiliar with many downloadable apps. It looked to me that Mr Kim kindly suggested the app knowing that communication would be impossible and then coached RJH on how to use it. (Much as I get advice from my daughters who hold my phone skills in scorn)
Eureka… re: hand holding under the table.
JH & Seri’s relationship is still a ‘secret’ in the open public.
A) Although they are together in Switzerland, they arrive separately at the piano performance & show no open affection.
B) When they are physically embracing, it is out in the open field where no one can see them…
C) he finds her out in the remote (paragliding) landing pad
Wha… the depth of this drama A***.
(Thanks y’all for enhancing the experience.)
I stumbled over your blog after a [frantic] Google search of all things cloy in an effort to get [some form of] closure now that the series has ended. What followed is a binge-read of your Crash Landing On You category…very impressed. Massive thanks and huge props for putting all that you did out there, in full RBF pomp.
During my Google search [yes, we are back there], I also stumbled across a Soompi thread [desperate effort ver. 2] and came across an intriguing observation where fire is involved that I was hoping you can maybe help make sense of – the presence of “flames” have somehow symbolized something growing in the relationship (I might not have them in order)
1. Flame from unscented candle
2. Flame from scented candle lol
3. Clam bake bonfire
4. Flaming motorbike in front of the truck
5. Train bonfire
6. Candles at restaurant during first snow
7. Birthday candle flame (now this last one might be a stretch)
Now, and forever will be a fan of your blog.
From one to another,
Starlett
Hi Starlett,
Welcome to Bitches.
Would you mind giving me the soompi thread that discussed the flames so I can have the context? I don’t want to go over somebody’s head.
Thanks.
Oh…the person forgot the flame from schoolhouse when they were snowbound.
I’m going to disagree with most posts here and say that I think Seri sees RJH more than two weeks out of the year–it’s only in Switzerland that they have a home and can live together for those two weeks. The clue to this is when her staff says, “Where are you going now?” They wouldn’t say that if it had been 50 weeks since she last went to Switzerland. I imagine she has been meeting RJH on weekends throughout the year wherever he has been performing–which is perhaps one reason she wanted her company to branch out into China as an excuse to go there. However, this arrangement is going to be unworkable if they want to start a family. But given that Seri is a baby in an earlier 1989 flashback, she is around 30 when the show begins and they have a little more time to decide about this. Perhaps he can become an international pianist and make Switzerland his home base and she can move there also?
Your objection is noted. 🙂
I haven’t watched the last episodes so I can’t comment. I’m reserving my drama grade and wrap-up post when things settle down a bit.
I find that most posters here are open to other interpretations as long as these interpretations can be supported by script. They SHARE their opinions and comments. I don’t believe it’s anybody’s goal or intention to dictate to others how they should interpret and enjoy the kdrama. As long as the discussions don’t collapse to the level of fangirling Hyun Bin and idolizing everything JungHyuk did, I take both the raves AND the rants, analysis and insights with a laissez faire attitude.
@S.moureen @Fern I have the same phone as the SK characters. The feature is included in the messaging app of most Samsung devices although it was only through the show that I found one could schedule messages up to a year. It’s pretty useful if you remember you need to message someone at work but it’s a Sunday. Rather than postpone and then forget it completely, I schedule a message for Monday morning.
@S.moureen I would have wanted them to use the Fab 4 as spies (Manbok had to return for his family). Especially after the show made it seem Pyo would be so inclined (he’s taken in capitalism after experiencing body wash and shampoo), and when asked if he’d like to stay, I thought he’s say yes. He mentioned he had no family to return to anyway.
I just like to highlight that a lot of viewers have impossible endings for the couple
North Korea is not the rest of the world – the citizens can’t travel freely and are closely monitored. Only the elite gets to go overseas but there have to be an official reason and that period is closely monitored. Even as a foreign diplomat, they are often rumoured that they have at least 1 “hostages” back home (hostage in no sense that they are ill- treated and probably life is as per usual but they are just in North Korea and can be threatened anytime) where if you disappear overseas, your love ones will pay the price. If you defect, someone pays the price.
So for Hyuk to disappear in the horizon it’s impossible. For him to go frequently to Switzerland it’s also impossible
For him to register marriage with Seri – also impossible – that would be treason
The most plausible way is – he is in the group with the official country musicians for Seri’s sponsorship project – and this happens annually when they are allowed to come to Switzerland for exchange and concert (think: olympics)
During this period, he hides away with her because his dad is powerful so he can get away with some inside help
But when the time comes, he has to get on the plane and leave
Hostage: Dad and mom back home, I won’t be surprise if his squad will be entangled especially if it’s revealed he has ties still with Seri
And he can’t have a mobile to keep getting in touch with her once he’s out of Switzerland. Obviously when he’s there he probably has one
The sponsorship project will end but what I believe is they both will continue to find a way. As Long as he can continue on official duty somehow as a Musician you can think of countless projects similar to the grant sponsorship etc. Perhaps one day when his parents passed on and he choose to defect (and that still comes with risk for his friends back home) or if reunification happens, they can reunite for good.
So that’s their reality but it’s the best they can get
Love finds a way
The premise sets it up that it’s possible for them because 1) she’s very rich 2) he comes from an elite family
If either of the above was not there, it would be impossible for them. Not even 2 weeks a year.
@John L: Love what you wrote:
“I’ll probably be the minority here just thought the last episode was beautiful. The things that touched me was (1) She looks forward to that 2 weeks together every year, (2) them holding hands during the piano recital, (3) the collection of photos of them on the table in their Switzerland residence (especially the photo of her on the bridge), and (4) the way they looked at each other at the end.
They went through so much to find each other. In the end, they got to be together. Isn’t that Love? The story was beautiful.”
I also believe that the ending of CLOY is so full of love. As long as they love each other that much, and don’t give up on each other, I believe that they’ll have the motivation to go through more and find ways to be to be together for much longer. I believe that they’ll stay together for much longer after the drama’s ending, and have twins (I’d love to see their twins in tomato-onesies-that’d be super adorable).
Another thing I love about the ending is that it portrays RJH & SR’s time together and their house full of simple happiness (even though I doubt having a house overlooking a beautiful lake in Switzerland is not simple without a fortune): photos of them together over time, flowers picked down the hill, panoramic view over the lake.
What I love about RJH’s character is that he’s kind, calm and can encourage SR to find simple happiness in everyday’s life and to love herself more. The way that SR looks at the ending: it seems like she is full of life and happiness and full of love, not only love for RJH but also love for life. I believe that their life together is going to fill with a lot of love and joy in discovering more beauty and happinesss of life together.
One plot hole in the final episode is RJH’s father shooting twice at the Military Director and getting away with that. The Military Director is among the most high-ranking officials in North Korea, probably in the Political Bureau. In communist countries, this bureau (or its equivalent) consists of a handful of elite members who are the highest ranking officials and make top most important decisions for these countries. I hope Papa Ri didn’t kill the Military Director off and could make a case to get away with shooting him.
That aside, one thing I love about the final Episode is the parents of RJH and SR. They are kick-ass characters. To be honest, after watching the final episode several times more, I have more appreciation of the parents, as well as the depth of the Park Ji-eun’s writing as she brought about a lot of thoughts and lessons learnt.
RJH and SR’s parents are real fighters and protectors when it comes to beloved children. Papa Ri showed up and shot the Military Director (hopefully half-dead) because the bad guy was going to execute this only surviving son without trial. SR’s mother drove recklessly to take her to see RJH one last time.
They both saw their children through. SR’s mother pushed her to go see SR one last time despite SR’s saying that she didn’t want to and she witnessed how much RJH cared for SR when she lost consciousness. The first thing Papa Ri asked his son after saving him is about SR’s safety.
The parents saw their children when they were vulnerable and broken to pieces and picked them up and didn’t give up on them as well. When RJH was on the verge of being assassinated, being reducing to tears shaemlessly because of a woman, or when SR was near death – they were all there.
All of these are relatable, because I have seen all of them in my parents and the way they have treated me. As I grow up, I develop a new level of respect and appreciation for my parents, thus, I try to care more and spend more quality time with them.
One thing I admire about SR’s mother is finally she could love a daughter who is not her own blood. In Game of Thrones, Catelyn Stark couldn’t bring herself to love a mother-less child (i.e. Jon Snow, her husband’s assumed bastard son). I think that child is a living evidence of her husband’s betrayal and sparks jealousy in her everyday. It took SR’s mother a lot of courage and a big heart to be able to forgive, let go of the hatred and jealousy in her heart and love SR. Once she opened her heart, it opens the opportunity for more love to be in her and SR’s life.
More points to ponder for me, Jerrykid84, when I do my final grade for the drama. Thank you.
I’ll watch the last two episodes tomorrow. I’ve marked them down on my drama schedule.
@S.moureen:
“And that scene at the Demarcation Line! I’ll remember this drama for its sweet first half in NK. But my all-time favorite (of the 26 dramas I’ve seen), by far, remains “Mr. Sunshine” (and I wonder why no one here seems to have watched it. Is it only on Netflix in America?)”
I have watched Mr. Sunshine (and my guess is many here have seen it too). It’s an outstanding drama, especially the visuals and cinematography. How you pick your all-time drama depends on how it makes you feel. No objection to Mr. Sunshine and I like it too. It’s heroic and it has a good storyline and a lot of legendary moments.
However, CLOY brings about a lot of thoughts and lessons learnt to me. The feel that CLOY’s brings to me is all about innate kindness, simple intimacy and happiness, sacrifices and redemption in everyday’s life, and all nuances of everyday’s love between lovers, family, friends and co-workers. The love and happiness in CLOY are simple and relatable, and they make me feel that if everyday we try a bit harder, we can create as much happiness as witnessed in CLOY.
@Jerrykid84, thanks for putting this in words. ❤
@JerryKid84, I agree with you. The parents came through, they each seemed rather paralyzed before, but like all around them, they were inspired by an incredible love story. I would include Dan’s mom too, I love her, that she was the one who brought Seri’s Choice cremes to the village ladies was just awesome. Throughout the show I kept wondering what the parents would do, and the last episode closed things up nicely, more than nice. But I do think JH’s dad will get away with killing the military director. He amassed some damning evidence about the guy, and can spin a tale about why he has to be killed. When that second bullet hit, it was loud. There were already so many gunshots in this show, but that second bullet was powerful. Reality is still what it is, that second bullet felt like a jolt.
This is an exceptionally beautiful love story. Does anyone skip the intro song when you watch the show? I think midway in the SK plot line I could see where the writer was definitely going, it was written in the intro, so I didn’t bother with seeking greener pastures in alternatives x, y, z….that is not the point. But that intro was so interesting, it felt off didn’t it? It wasn’t some emotional song, but kinda mundane, the couple eating lunch, walking to work crossing both worlds but shows no emotion or drama. The symmetry of the plot was undeniable, they each got shot for each other and almost died in their own country, they each crossed the border to the other side, he is the son of a powerful family where power matters, she is the daughter of a rich family where money does. Half time in the North, half time in the south.
I am been tracking what people say about this show and I find it fascinating, here on this site and in others. The intensity of feelings by the viewers is undeniable, and I think it is high time people talk about why. There are plenty of shows out there pulling heartstrings, but I do think this one is special. I think our reaction tells a lot about us too. Based on the intro song, the bones of the show was set from the get go. To me, this writer did not act like some puppet master directing the characters to do this or that, but told a story through embodying the characters fully, emphasizing on relationships and stayed true all the way. This is like a giant thought experiment gone right and masterfully executed, and telling it at this time is significant. I think it’s gutsy.
@S.moureen i think Seri not being to proson was explained by her father when her second oppa was telling him that Seri was being prosecuted and it was not good for the company’s image.Her father clarified that it was prison of felony so she would probably be let off with a warning or some compensation.
I was wrong–I previously said that Seri’s workers accuse her of leaving work all the time so she must be meeting RJH in other places around the world. It must have been wishful thinking on my part, remembering it that way. I went back to that scene and see that her staffer actually says, “Ma’am are you going to Switzerland again? Did you hide treasure there or something? You’re not Heidi, so why do you keep going there?”
Dang, I had really hoped they were seeing one another more than two weeks out of the year. I still have hope, with her company branching out in China, that she and RJH could meet there also. Two weeks out of the year just doesn’t seem enough.
It proves the power of this story that I’m still sitting here two days later pondering this, and rooting for this couple!
🙂 What you’re feeling is normal, BethB.
You’ve been emotionally invested in this show so of course, now that it’s over, there’s a void left in you. You’re still feeling its phantom presence like people with amputated leg or arm feel a phantom limb.
Some of us here have been through this over and over again. For me, one of the ways I distract myself is starting on a new project (i.e., Dr Cutie) a couple of weeks in advance to prepare me to let go of the current drama. It’s…hmmm…how do I describe this? It’s similar to Tarzan when he swings from one vine (or liana, to be exact) to another. Before he lets go of one vine, he’s already holding on to another one, ready to swing on.
Feel free to keep discussing the drama here (or elsewhere). If you discover something new or you find a way to look at the story from a fresh new light, go ahead and share. I don’t close a thread unless the spammers annoy me.
Oh! Another way of coping with the end is writing fanfics. Go ahead and try your hand at it. lol. You can start with an imaginary dialogue and work your way from there.
Wow, the collective insights and wisdom here are awesome. I’ve learned a great deal on how to think deeply into the CLoY story from reading your comments.
Have faith in love because it will always come through for you.
I have lurked on this site for a few weeks now. I am quite new to k-dramas and CLOY is only my 4th, but I have become heavily invested in it. The storyline and the filmography have really impacted me. Before discovering BOD, I had no one to talk to or vent with, since my husband and my friends do not watch doramas at all. This site has provided a lot of background information that has helped me appreciate the series even more. I had no clue as to Han, cultural traits, or even some of the storyline details from NK. I migrated from a communist country as well, and maybe that’s part of the reason why I have gotten so emotionally attached to CLOY. I think I may need a condolence period after this finale. I have not laughed and cried, almost simultaneously, with any other show ever!
With that said, I am still not clear on the ending. I will re-watch the entire 16 episodes soon, now with Spanish subtitles, and see if the English translation left some things out for me. I could not understand how much time really went by before they met each other again, and/or if they ended up living together in Switzerland or if they only met there two weeks out of the year. I am scouting for some behind the scenes with English subtitles, and heard that the ending might have changed due to political reasons. If that’s the case, maybe it would explain why they are not wearing their couple’s rings in the last scene (or maybe it was just filmed before). This is probably the most beautiful love story I have watched, so my sincere thanks for deconstructing it and sharing your analysis with us.
Welcome to the blog. 🙂 I knew there were plenty of lurkers out here. I’m estimating that the current posters are less than 3% of the lurkers out there.
The ending is always an emotional one for everybody. Just as I told BethB, it’s normal to feel an upheaval. And if you’re coming from a communist country yourself, I’m sure you’re viewing the whole enemy/ally conflict and capitalist/communist polarity from a different vantage point.
Please share with us if the Spanish subtitles come up with a better rewording.
Thank you to everyone for all the insightful comments. It has helped me see other aspects of CLOY I wouldn’t have seen otherwise (like the transformation of the parents, and the fact that Seri has begun to wear more feminine apparel, from the flowery outfits RJH buys for her in NK to the floral dress she wears in her apt. when she receives the gift plant, to the floral dresses she wears in the last two scenes in Switzerland). I appreciate a community where I can discuss things like this because I can’t convince my husband or my friends to watch Korean dramas!
I think one reason this is such a powerful story is that it fulfills what the book, Story Genius, says is the real purpose of fiction, which is to show internal change in a character. “Internal change… is what the story is actually about: how your protagonist’s external dilemma… changes her worldview.” It also helps that it is a classic plot, a modern day retelling of Romeo and Juliet (with a happier ending).
One nitpicky thing I haven’t figured out is how Seri was able to do the portraits of the women in the village for her new product line–particularly the Wol product, which Wol Suk says looks like her the day she got married. How would she have known what she would have looked like then?
@BethB, when I saw the portraits of the NK village ajummas on the Seri’s Choice lotions, I was very happy. Without having had access to a camera during her time in NK, I imagine Seri got those portraits by sitting down with a sketch artist and describing these ladies in detail (perhaps with her loving memory softening their flaws, as in the case of Na Wol Suk). That means when she interacted with them in NK, she really looked at them. What a difference from when she was running her company in SK prior to her paragliding accident! Back then, I doubt she truly looked at, or could describe, her staff that she worked with daily; for instance, she didn’t see the discomfort they were in, being held at work late on a Christmas Eve, and even when it was called to her attention, she didn’t care. I believe she chose to try her best to send a loving message to these ladies in a way they possibly could receive it, knowing that contraband SK products do make it into NK.
For those of you mourning the death of Gu Seung Jun, I recommend you dry your tears. I think there’s good reason to believe he survived his gunshot wounds and will reunite with Seo Dan in Russia. So why do I think GSJ is alive?
1. As we’ve seen time and again in this drama, falling unconscious after a gunshot wound does not equal death. The sound of flat-lining relates to Seri in her SK hospital bed, which is the scene immediately following this one in the NK ambulance (which seems bare of even the most basic monitoring systems). I’m a tad miffed at the show for trolling us so hard with GSJ going limp, the aide removing his oxygen mask, and the sound of Seri’s monitor starting during the last few beats of the ambulance scene.
2. Seung Jun is being pursued by a Chinese gang. I’m not entirely clear on the reasons why, but we do eventually learn that the “who” behind it is Evil SIL. Anyway, SJ told SD that he expected to have to dodge the Chinese gang even after leaving NK and returning to his home turf. For SJ to be safe, something has to happen to discourage the Chinese gang from trying to find him. Leaking false news of his demise might be an effective detriment.
3. Seo Dan does grieve, but do we definitively know for what? We’ve seen many times in this show that characters feel deep sadness at the thought of separation for reasons other death. For them, geographical separation and the limitations imposed by political separation is like a final goodbye. (And I loved the moment between SD and her mother, who through most of this show was played with a comic flair. Mom really stepped up when she said to her daughter, “We’re here to cry with you. We can listen to you. And we can go through all the hard times with you.”) This scene jumps back into comedic mode with clueless uncle telling SD he can find her a better guy than GSJ. If SD was mourning a dead GSJ, that is not remotely funny. He loves his niece and wants what’s best for her within the confines of their (privileged) life in NK, and I can understand his point of view that a relationship between SD and GSJ isn’t ideal, but I can’t believe with his soft heart for his niece he’d say something so cruel to her if her love ended tragically.
4. In the conversation between SD and a beaten-up Director Cheon (I’d imagine a result of his helping GSJ escape from capture), Director Cheon says “About Gu Seung Jun…I’m sorry about that.” That is vague. What exactly is Director Cheon sorry about? SD tells Director Cheon she plans to eliminate the members of the Chinese gang remaining in NK (“…Tell me where they are. There’s no way they will leave this country alive.”) SD says she’ll also target those who financed the Chinese gang, who she suspects is Seri’s brother #2, and we know includes the evil sister-in-law. This looks like revenge, but it could also be to neutralize the danger to someone who’s still alive.
5. In the very next scene, Brother #2 is talking with Evil SIL, pinning blame on his wife and trying to absolve himself of responsibility. He’s the first one in the drama to use the word “die” in relation to GSJ. Further into their conversation, Evil SIL uses the word “killed” in relation to GSJ. She makes it sound like he was collateral damage. But are these two reliable narrators? They weren’t eyewitnesses; someone else had to feed the information to them. How accurate was that source?
6. We see a scene where SD is at the matrimonial apartment in the village as it is being emptied. This must be some time after GSJ’s shooting, because her mother has had time to travel to Europe and back (as divulged to the village ajummas). SD becomes sentimental when she sees a coat GSJ wore, flashing back on memories of a time they were together and he made her laugh and smile in spite of herself. Those memories bring her to tears; her mother, standing behind her, is also brought to tears when she sees her daughter’s pain. Then we see SD on the bridge where she’d met up with GSJ, and she recalls the affirming words he spoke to her before he kissed her tenderly. She sobs at the memory. I think the show is messing with our heads again, setting us up for the assumption that the only thing that would bring her that much sadness is GSJ’s death. But remember, we’ve seen other forms of parting bring out intense emotion in other characters.
7. The very next scene is SD’s mother meeting with JH’S mother. It sounds like the meeting was instigated by SD’S mother and a surprise to JH’S mother. SD’s mother is wearing the same outfit she wore at the matrimonial apartment, where she witnessed her daughter’s enduring devotion to GSJ. SD’s mother bows contritely, surprising JH’s mother, and says she’s apologizing for bringing the news that as far as she’s concerned, the engagement between SD and JH is cancelled. Her reason: “Dan says she doesn’t want to marry Jeong Hyeok…things are different now. I’m breaking off this engagement because my daughter doesn’t want it…Dan has someone she loves. And the guy loves Dan even more than his own life. So I have no choice. We only live once. And they love each other more than their lives. There’s nothing I can do about it.” I don’t speak Korean, so I have to depend on the folks doing the subtitling to get it right, but what I see is Mom talking about love in the present tense: reciprocated love in the present tense. It’s a love that Mom acknowledges should move forward despite her reservations, so it is a love she sees as having obstacles. Could obstacles other than death cause sadness within a relationship? Um, yeah, we’ve seen a lot of that in this drama.
8. In the scene following the meeting of the two mothers, SD comes to visit JH at his home, to his surprise. She divulges that she’d been in his house with GSJ when JH wasn’t present, having memories as she looks toward the spot where GSJ gave her the ring. JH asks her, “Where is he now? I couldn’t reach him.” Her answer: “He went far away. He will never come back.” Again, I think show writer is messing with us. Sure, SD’s words could mean GSJ has departed the living realm, gone forever. But another logical translation of her words is that GSJ traveled a great distance (such as back to England?) and will not return to North Korea. That second bit is certainly believable, keeping in mind that GSJ came to North Korea surreptitiously and the State Department caught on to him when Cho Cheol Gang’s nefarious businesses were busted. If GSJ was officially allowed to leave North Korea, as a UK citizen, he would likely have been put on a no-entry list; if he snuck out of North Korea, then re-entering might lead to his being caught and punished for his previous illegal entry. SD delivers her vague answer to the question about GSJ’s current location with a steely gaze into JH’s eyes, almost as if she’s challenging him. The next part of their conversation is again vague for a bit: we don’t hear JH’s full question so we don’t have a point of orientation. SD cuts him off when he asks “But why…” It soon becomes clear that her response has veered from GSJ to the reason her relationship with JH didn’t work. She doesn’t behave at all like a woman mourning the death of one who has captured her heart: she is pissed at JH and armed with the courage to call him out. Reflecting on how GSJ treated her in contrast to how JH treated her gave SD a basis for realizing that JH’s disregard is not her fault.
9. SD’s mom and uncle consult by phone with the shaman who appeared in an earlier episode.
Mom: “When do you think my daughter will get married?”
Shaman: “There’s only one man who’s the love of her life. But three years ago, they parted ways. That means there’ll be no more men in her life.
Uncle: (whispering) She’s pretty good.
Mom: (whispering) Shut up!
Shaman: However, she’ll become extremely successful. She’ll go abroad quite often as well. With the amount of success she’ll have, she won’t need a man.”
Mom: “But still, she’s going to be lonely. Could there be a solution to that?”
Shaman: “The solution lies within the capital. She could find a man in one year, six months, or even a month. Which one do you prefer?”
Uncle: (mouths) “Pay her!” (Supply the capital to get the solution.)
[Seo Dan enters the room carrying her cello case.]
SD: “What are you doing?”
Mom: “I heard this fortuneteller was good. I was wondering when you’d get married.”
SD: “Didn’t you always tell me to live a trendy lifestyle? [Mom nods.] Then let’s live that way. Being single is the trend nowadays.”
Mom: “Well, you’re right about that, but…”
SD: “I’ll be busy preparing for my performance in Russia next month. I’m going to rehearsal.”
As SD walks with her cello on her back, on her way to rehearse for her upcoming performance in Russia, we see her briefly break into a smile. I believe that smile signals her anticipation of a meeting with someone in Russia who’s good at making her smile: the very-much-alive love of her life, Gu Seung Jung. Are Mom and Uncle in the dark about her being in contact with GSJ? Probably, because SD has good reason to keep a relationship with a non-North Korean secret. Will SD and GSJ be able to have a sustainable relationship? As a musician who travels frequently outside North Korea, SD will have many opportunities to connect with GSJ. Does she need to marry him to have a fulfilling life? No.
Hi BethB – I actually agree with your initial assessment that Seri travels to Switzerland more than once a year.
“Ma’am are you going to Switzerland again?…You’re not Heidi, so why do you keep going there?”
Her employee is aware of the musical foundation their company has set up, so he wouldn’t question her if she was visiting Switzerland only once a year. The fact that he asked “Why do you keep going there?” alludes to the fact that she’s going more often than would be needed for the foundation. In addition, the employees even suspect that she has a beau there because of how often she goes. If she was going only once a year, there would be no grounds for such suspicions.
My heart is happy knowing that they see each other more than once a year (probably very often) based on the employee’s incredulity. 🥰
Thanks, @welmaris. Well-argued. 👍👍
I’ll second the motion that SJ is alive per @Welmaris’ points. That was very thorough. 😊
I’m trying to see if I can link her comment to the fanfic and alt-end thread. I’ll have to do it later when I’m on my laptop.
Re=posting Oli’s comment here. -pm3
I love the alternative endings but.. I think I like the ending as it is.
Mainly because it makes me properly annoyed at North Korea’s regime.
It seemed appropriate for that horrible regime that SJ ends up dead in that ambulance with the medic not even trying to do CPR or anything at all really. With no equipment in sight in the ambulance. While SeRi in South Korea, after flatlining, gets proper treatment and lives.
It’s also horrible how people are prisoners in that country that JK has to go to extremes as to schedule messages for a year in advance before returning to NK.
That he is probably only lucky enough to meet his love 2 weeks a year only because his father is a high ranking official.
Horrible that he could physically defect (he’s strong, witty and willing to take the risks to do it) but can’t if he doesn’t want his parents executed.
How cruel is that place?
I didn’t think much about what happens to the families of the defectors from the north before this and I really appreciate that this show made me think of this.
I can’t understand how anyone thinks the drama glamorises North Korea. It shows how horrible it is in so many ways. Sure it also shows how people there can be warn and adorable but that is ok, the regime is no fault of theirs.
Back to the story, for Se Ri and JH to live a normal life, he has to stop making more ties with other people in North Korea (that should be easy enough for him) and either wait for his parents to die or try to get them out of there as well. I’m sure something of the sort is how their story unfolds. He has to at least get his mother out. I loved the scene when JH returned to her.
Oh, and I also love the NIS dudes, they were the most adorable. The drama makes a super good job here too and sending the message that a totalitarian regime is cruel and democracy is kind.
I mean sure, any country has its fair share of corruption and cruelty but there’s no comparison to a regime that keeps its people locked up and kills or tortures those who don’t comply
Garh.. aren’t I a ray of sunshine today?
thanks for moving my comment here packmule,
you’re right, it’s better fitted here.
“The purpose of fiction is to show internal change in a character.”
SYJ was asked in the press conference about why she accepted this role. I’m paraphrasing the question but she was asked if it was worth the heartbreak for a SK woman to love a NK man. She said that her character was able to change because of his love & yes, it’s worth more than the heartbreak. Which explains her character’s answer to go through everything again just to meet & love him.
And show, you could have just added an end scene with the pregnant Seri & happy Papa-to-be Jung Hyuk, since you seemed to have shot something. No explanation needed on how they got there …
🙂 I knew you’d understand, Oli.
There are different purposes to a thread.
Some posts I wrote intentionally to be tongue-in-cheek, like the ChiSoo post. lol. That was a litmus test, actually. I find it fascinating who got my sense of humor and who didn’t. 🙂
Some threads are meant for getting over sadness and discontent. And that’s the purpose of the fanfic thread.
Some threads are meant to be expansive and to give us a break from being too focused on just one drama. The Rain thread was just like that.
Some threads are for rants and raves, like the Open Threads. I’ve blocked a few newbies because THEY complained about posters criticizing the drama, the actors, etc.
I don’t think the newbies got the memo. Posters can attack — or “bitch about” is the gentler phrase — the script, drama, characters, actors, and even writer. But I won’t allow attacks or criticisms on posters.
I so dislike the moderating aspect of blogging. 🙂
Thank you, welmaris! Now that I have dried my tears, your comments make perfect sense. SJ’s supposed death is the only thing that did not work for me in this perfect drama. I was thinking that the writer was not planning to kill him off, but did so in order to appease the viewers who were complaining about the glamorization of NK.
I agree with Oli too. There are warm and friendly people there, but the regime is brutal.
Maybe the capital the shaman was referring to is Moscow?
@packmule3 I lost the Soompi thread 😭 ~ it’s buried deep in 568 pages of ILY HBs 😒(not spelling it out lest I be comment-auto-deleted) but when it was written, it didn’t have the birthday candle and the (forgotten) schoolhouse stove. Timeline-wise the comment must have been made in the first few (7?) episodes. I binged watched so it is all a fantastical blur!
BTW my new vine is Goblin. 🥂
This is in praise of the military intervention scene.
I woke up this morning thinking about the last scenes with RJH and his father, Ri Choong-ryeol. The father is a great strategist and a survivor. It was enlightening to see him go from armchair plotter to saviour in two scenes. Such a difference between the two men. What would have happened if the military director didn’t pull his pistol and provoke self-defence – I don’t know. But I don’t believe for a minute that RCR didn’t intend to kill the military director with the second shot; he took a step forward to execute a better hit. Judge and executioner – he is truly ruthless. RJH seemed shocked by the entire intervention. I don’t think he believed his father cared so much for him to do this. I understand that RJH’s mother influenced, but it went beyond that.
The discussion in the car was short but telling. They don’t look at each other, but RCR tells RJH that he’s glad he came back alive, accepting the apology ‘I’m sorry for making you worry. Then RCR looks at RJH and asks if Se-ri is all right. ‘Yeah.’ ‘Are you crying?’ RCR then heaves a huge sigh and the scene is over.
At that moment I think RCR sees this: sensitive, artistic younger son → hardened, efficient but damaged soldier → sensitive, vulnerable man. RCR couldn’t have known that RJH had Cheol Gang in his sights at short range and didn’t fire, he didn’t know that RJH then nearly shot himself, but I think he could have guessed. When RJH was hugging his mother, his father came up and clapped him on the back. (Sort of an echo of RJH hitting Kwang Beom in the arm after he de-activated the landmine.)
Thanks.
On second thought, I don’t want to see the comment. I can make up my own interpretation. But this time, I’ll add three more so we can have 10 flames incidents. There are 12, 13 scenes but I’ll limit myself to 10 because 10 fits in well with the motif.
I should be post it this evening. Let me finish with my Dr. Cutie first. And work. I’ve to work, too. lol.
@StarlettOnAB and @packmule3, Dan lit a candle for her and SJ in RJH’s house. When she and RJH met there in the last ep., she admitted that she found his camera (and its revealing images) whilst searching for that candle. She admitted, of RJH + Se-ri, ‘it was meant to be.’
Thanks, Fern. 🙂
I watched parts of Ep 15 but not 16. Glad to know that there are no flame scenes left for JH and SR after the birthday candles.
Oh but I think there was flame scene in ep 16. During the piano recital SR and JH sat together on a table lit with candles lol.
On second thought the candles was just the table decor, no one lit anything in the scene so maybe it is not very significant.
@Fern, excellent analysis on the military scene. That scene was delivered with such impact, I took a jolt with the second bullet. On the whole, the show closed things up with the parents but I still wish there is more about the fathers, and of the marriages between the parents. I don’t entirely understand JH’s dad motivations, he married an artistic woman who scolds and defies him openly, he seems to takes it and gives her what she wants half heartedly, or maybe it’s what he wants too? One time the mom accused him of risking their son for his career, is that true? They seemed cold but when the mom spoke of taking poison she said she wouldn’t continue to live without her son or her husband, that’s telling. He seems to be justice seeking too when he confronted the military director against extrajudicial killing, but when his man spoke of taking Seri out in the middle of the night and get rid of her that seemed like a completely natural thing he said. He also didn’t investigate his first son’s death.
The father son conversation was interesting, so unlike the emotional scene between Seri and her mom. You are right, I think dad understands his son well enough and that’s why he sent those five soldiers to fetch him in SK and not some operatives. Dad also didn’t intervene and force JH marriage through. It seems to me this man does everything half ass, it’s probably a survival thing. I was somewhat hoping that his parents, mom and dad both would do more to send him abroad permanently. From what I can tell Asian parents do that all the time. See this is the part I would love some insights from the North Koreans.
I also woke up thinking about the show. I came up with 10 wish list relating to CLOY. Highest on top, more than anything else is to hear from the North Koreans. I wish they can see this show and tell us what they think. The divide is just insane and I think the writer did a great job engaging the audience to that problem. Right now folks are still much occupied with the plot and the couple and such, but when that dies down a bit, it would be great if the conversation turns that way.
I loved the shot of birds flying freely over the DMZ and between the two Koreas.
@Snow Flower, is that the shot of Man Bok recording in the marsh and it sounds like flying geese approach and he starts to grin? 😁
@Josie, thanks for your thoughts on the father-son conversation. My thought when the dad asks, ‘How is Se-ri?’ he is also hoping to see if now RJH can put this cross-border romance behind him. When he asks, ‘Are you crying?’ and RJH doesn’t answer, in my mind he realises RJH a. can’t forget it and b. perhaps RJH isn’t cut out for the sort of military career he himself has had. That is why he let out the big sigh.
Later, when RJH tells the military village wives that he is leaving, he says he was ‘discharged by his superiors’. (I admit I don’t know how military service works for those who had advanced formal education in NK.) Discharged before his service term is finished is how I understood it? I’m thinking his father has realised there are other, more suitable ways for him to serve his country and pulled some strings. As well, it might not be safe for RJH to be in the military, having blown the whistle so thoroughly on so many personnel. I agree when you say it would be great to have North Korean input on the likelihood and impact of sending a family member away permanently, or even for more than a couple of weeks at a stretch
I’m probably reading too much into it, which I’ll blame on personal concerns regarding children and destiny (not fate). I loved how the actor playing the father managed to convey so much with so few words and so few movements.
@StarlettOnAB, @Jilianand & @packmule3, one of the first flames I recall was when RJH lit the propane or kerosene burner to boil water when making handmade noodles for Se-ri.
I still covet that noodle dough squisher thingy.
To continue to add to the bird symbolism in CLOY (see post on ep 1&2):
* the geese flying back in V -formation symbolises a change of season
*swallow -associated with love, loyalty and peace, joyful, decisive and full of hope.’
@Fern, no I don’t think you are not reading too much into it. This whole show made me think of my parents and how I should be with my child very much. I thought it was strange JH was at that outpost to begin with, seems like it is part of elite sons training as his brother went to the same unit, but based on what the bad guy said, the father did not investigate the older son’s murder on purpose in fear of what he may find which I wondered about before, but yet sent the younger son back to the same place? Dad arranged the marriage of JH to Dan for purpose of money was it but allowed it to drag out for so long and had to negotiate with JH to get a wedding date. Dad applies control but not absolute control. He operates in a funny way, such a high up figure in an authoritarian regime…he cuts a fascinating figure. The mom’s conversation with Dan’s mom was interesting too, I remember JH mom sitting across Seri during lunch and had a flash back of the dinner with Dan, I assume she realized how different her son was with Seri compared to Dan, and then later she was so bold in allowing JH and Seri be and defying her husband. I thought she would apply pressure in letting them be a couple all the way, I assume she would want a grandchild, yes those lovely twin girls. If she didn’t fear death by poison, why not go all the way and just force her husband to defect or something.
Fern,
I think the birds were seen right after the emotional border scene.
There have been a few comments in this stream that mention JH’s mom. I want to highlight something relating to her that was quietly presented, but shook me because it showed how big the stakes were for her. When JH’s dad is dressed in his uniform in preparation for his rescue mission, he sees his wife waiting in the living room. He glanced at the packets of folded paper on the coffee table in front of her. There’s also a glass of water. He assures her he’ll see her soon. The military rescue transpires; JH and his team are saved from execution. JH and Dad drive home. How long did all that take? I’d imagine it was hours. Back to the home of JH’s parents: we see Mom still sitting where Dad left her. (No question in my mind after seeing this where JH got his steel backbone and unwavering resolve when standing watch over Seri.) JH’s mom hears someone at the door and instantly grabs one of the folded paper packets. She drops it in her joy at seeing her son. The packet hits the ground and we see it contained a white powder. I believe it was poison she was prepared to ingest if anyone other than JH and her husband had come through that door. Poison provided to special agents for the purpose of suicide upon capture had already been discussed by JH’s team when they were being transported following their capture by the NIS. JH’s mom knew her life was forfeit if her husband failed in his mission.
@Fern, in continuing the thought, JH’s mom position is understandable but wrong in my opinion. She wanted her husband to bring her son back alive, of course she wants her son alive, and maybe she isn’t terribly worldly and does not know what the world is like outside NK, but if she knows enough about her son she should’ve asked instead, “is my son happy and safe in SK with Seri?” With whom she approves of, a position she didn’t seem to consider during the ordeal. So many parents I know would’ve made that choice.
Here we see Dan’s mom and Dan doing the right thing in the end and accepting fate the right way. Their problem in the beginning was how they completely disregard right and wrong and just getting their way no matter the cost. I guess the theme of this show is how much nobility matters, I totally get JH and Seri’s decision making, they draw the line each time where if it hurts a victim they back off, it isn’t to devalue their love but the opposite. From those decisions brought forth so many incredible events and everyone rises above, it’s where the magic of this show lies. The writer brought to a life an archetypal couple and brings them down just enough for us to relate to, with pouting and comedy, but nobility in the end is what sets this story apart from others.
So two weeks a year make sense, unless JH’s parents changes their mind.
I can’t get over the NK/SK exchange scene. I’ve probably watched it over 5 times over already. I have to give the director and production big props for setting that up.
My main emotional moments:
*The geese in formation as the SK entourage approaches the border line. The significance of JH Gang going back home.
*The overhead shot from the SK side as they walking toward the border line.
*JH’s feet as he crossed over the line.
*The handcuffing of the JH gang as SR’s mom drives up.
*Slow motion of SR running toward JH.
*JH gang turn around as they hear SR screaming for JH.
*SR crying, running, and screaming that he cannot go. “You can’t leave just like that … I can’t let them take you like that … What do I do if you just leave me like that? … How would I live after you leave like that? … What should I do?”
*JH “Stop Running!”
*JH crosses back in SK to be w/ her.
*Guns being drawn from both sides as JH crosses back into SK.
*The camera pans each of the JH gang as soon as JH & SR hug.
*I especially loved Man Bok’s expression as it seems like he is relieved they were together.
*SR: “Are you being arrested? … No, I can’t do that. I can’t let you go … Don’t leave. Can’t you stay here?”
*JH: “You came into my life like a gift … I’m just grateful for that”
*JH: “I broke your heart with my word the other day. It broke my heart too. I’m so sorry.” I honestly felt what he said was what made her faint than the blood infection (ep 15). It was so difficult for me to watch as he said those words.
*SR: “So … Can’t we see each other again? … I will never get to see you again? … Forever? … What do I do? … What should I do when I miss you so much?”
*JH: “You asked if you can meet someone you miss that way … You can.”
*When they both say “I love you” and the way SR cradles his face.
*When they finally separates them and their hands are separated. Her hands just dangle in the air.
*Every time JH looks back, SR is in tears.
*Geum Eun-dong w/ the double heart
*Pyo Chi-soo say “Take care, Se-ri.” I like it because I think this is the first time he has said her name out loud and his voice cracks as he says it.
*The wide angle from the back while SR watched them as they were taken back into the NK convey was dramatic as well.
*The overhead shot of the SK side looking into the NK side was good too. Several of the SK NIS team looking at SR while she wept gave me the feels–the empathy.
There are just too many scenes that were wonderful here and they deserve all the credit.
Other scenes I enjoyed:
*When SR’s mom tells SR that JH never left her side.
*The most emotional one for me was when SR woke up and looked for him and he hid from her. WHY?!!! WHY?!!
*JH making the hard decision to leave the hospital after SR woke up–just the agony of his face. If SR was my woman, I don’t think I could of been able to do that.
*SR’s tenacious driving to make sure her daughter see’s JH.
@John L, thank you for this list. Yes the border scene was incredible. And I would add all scenes with NIS agent Mr. Kim, I feel like I saw him in another show somewhere, but what empathetic eyes! Especially in the hospital when he interviewed Seri back in Ep. 15 when he looked at her hearing her side of the story, and how he turned back to check on Seri after JH crossed the border. How absurd the whole situation, but how they managed to weave so much humanity and comedy is brilliant.
I think you are not the only Mr. Kim fan. 😊
@Josie, I think we are in agreement. I would think in JH’s mother’s mind she would have had exactly that thought you asked, “is my son happy and safe in SK with Seri?”
I think in a parallel drama universe, if JH’s soldiers weren’t involved, JH would have found a way to stay. In that same parallel universe the sensitive nature of his father’s position wouldn’t have affected the NIS’s actions and he would have been asked if he wanted to emigrate as his men were asked. I think then his mother definitely would have approved since she liked Se-ri and appreciated how Se-ri had affected JH’s life. It was clear to me that his mother had JH’s best interests at heart back when she brought Se-ri forward to interrupt the argument between RJH and his father.
There is so much integrity and so many kinds of love in this drama but I feel that without the politics (family and national) the unique and required tension wouldn’t be present.
I was wondering about that water bowl… so I Googled it. Read that filling a bowl with clean water was a ritual of shamanism done by Korean women every morning, as a prayer for protection from the gods against the “han” spirit that packmule3 wrote about so well. The show made a broken water bowl a symbol of love through reverence for the pain of a lost son. Though other religious practices were played for comedy (the fortune-teller, the sister-in-law’s prayer group, the insurance guy’s Bible). Shamanism is still practiced in SK, but I read that it is denigrated as “backward.” This could be a relic from the colonial period, when Japan outlawed shamanism. Or, since only women can be shamans, it could be the Witch/Madwoman stereotype.
I don’t know enough to understand what shamanism says about Korea. But I won’t forget that bowl.
Hi there! First time posting here. I am one of the 97% who has been a silent reader of this site LOL! Enjoyed reading all the thots and comments about CLOY, a kdrama that I got addicted to after a long while. I was especially fascinated by the North Korea premise and scenario of this drama, and of course charmed by the chemistry of the OTP. Many other thots here that I concur with, like the parents role and how different they are from the usual kdrama tropes, the friendship of SR with the ducklings and ahjummas, the difference of NK vs SK society and so much more!!
I wanted to share these articles/ links with everyone here which was an interview done with one of the key writers of CLOY. He is a NK defector who is also a script writer in South Korea now. His perspective is especially interesting as he seems to have given most of the NK perspective and detailed plot line in the drama.
Crash Landing on You: meet the defector writer behind stunning details on North Korea
https://subin.kim/4464
Crash Landing on You: your questions answered
ttps://subin.kim/4475
Here’s a bit of his background – more details in the first article :
The defector writer behind the scenes
Kwak Moon-wan, who defected from North Korea more than a decade ago, was the one who midwifed the storyline.
Unlike the other defectors who offered some consultations in the production, he joined the team of writers led by Park Ji-eun from the beginning, who is best known for the global K-drama sensation My Love from the Star.
Among more than thirty thousand defectors living in the South, no one could do the job better than Kwak. Born and raised in Pyongyang, he graduated Pyongyang University and Cinematic Arts, majoring in film directing before having served in the Supreme Guard Command.
As a member of the elite force in charge of ruling Kim family’s protection, Kwak witnessed what happens behind the shroud. It also led to his descent.
************
Enjoy reading it CLOY fans!
Interesting read! Thanks for sharing, 97%-er! lol.
There are too many comments above and I don’t hv time to read one by one. Skimming through, some are disappointed with the ending due to lack of kids…and that the couple only meets mere 2 weeks out of a year.
Basically:
“Why can’t Seri go to NK and invest there so they can meet often… Or anywhere else in the world”
“why can’t they get married and live together normally??”
“why not send RJH as a spy like Kim Soohyun’s character so they can meet often”
*takes a deep breath*
*it’s gonna be like a lecture*
*sorry occupational disease*
Now. Perhaps 16 episodes aren’t enough to learn about NK-SK dynamics and politics. Heck, even studying it for years might not be enough.
For all the questions above, my (exasperated) comment is just “Those are more non-sensical than the ending given to us.”
Here’s the thing. The writer can make alien and human, then mermaid and human together (and hv kids). Absolutely. Because those two dramas are 100% fantasy.
Crash Landing on You is NOT.
Sure, it has disclaimer that it’s all fictional. But the countries are real, the conflicts an politics are real. The writers (main writer and team) did a splendidly thorough research and managed to balance out real and reel in this drama. I couldn’t ask for more (except for MORE KISSES between the leads). But they are limited in their creativity in terms of legal-political boundaries that they have to comply.
“If I were the writer, maybe I should write a fantasy Reunification.” Of course. But local audience will scoff and drag down the rating to 1% lol. And they cannot put additional scenes on fantasy-agreement between two countries which can pave the way of two characters’ meeting.. Who’s got time? The drama is long enough as it is.
*off track*
Back to the question.
Why are those non-sensical?
1. Seri can invest her whole family fortune to NK, but it won’t make Kim regime allows her to marry JH… Sure, meet secretly…but it’ll bring us back to the problem of who RJH’s father and RJH is.. Might as well write a letter to Kim regime and ask for public execution of RJH family and Seri.
2. SK and NK citizens aren’t allowed to meet, let alone get married. Ha. They can only meet if NK citizen defects, or they meet abroad, like what one of the defector writer say…and that’s what they’re suggesting in the ending.
3. Sure. Sends RJH as a spy, he’d totally end up like Kim Soo hyun in Secretly Greatly.. Now this is also where my little disappointment lies about the ending.
In what capacity RJH meets Seri in Switzerland? Knowing NK’s regulations, it must be an official visit. Perhaps he’s under National Orchestra where he currently plays piano. But it wasn’t clear whether he’s there to receive scholarship himself (it’s for students? And he’s not really a student??), or he’s taking his students there to perform.
Also, though it’s for a short term, wouldn’t his move be scrutinised by the government too? They aren’t that free to move around without being under surveillance. If RJH is there as a full time student, wouldn’t he be under more intense surveillance?
Knowing RJH’s background, he perhaps hv his ways to escape detection… But until when Seri and him meeting like that? NK students abroad are also prone to government’s sudden call to go back to their homeland… So, his arrangement with Seri does not make sense for a long time.
The ending is also vague in terms of how many times Seri is meeting him. The piano competition is for 2 weeks..but Seri’s employees have implied that she goes to Switzerland very often…? Does it mean that she’s actually meeting him often, but the longest is two weeks? Or how?
Again, I don’t think their arrangements make sense for a long term, as long as RJH is a North Korean citizen.
There’s no way for them to contact each other either… Someone mentioned about the possibility of RJH and Seri contact each other during their separation weeks. Perhaps after their reunion, they hv established ways to contact each other (it’s also possible if RJH indeed stays in Switzerland as a full time student…though the surveillance might also be there)…yet the drama leaves it up to our imagination.
AH there’s also fan accounts about extended endings where they get married and have kids in Seoul. But we don’t know HOW it happens… It’s not possible unless RJH defects..but I don’t think the production wants to include that political issue in this drama (besides, if he defects, what about his parents?). Hence, the question about RJH citizenship is not resolved until the end. The ending was very vague… But for me it’s the best they can give us, tiptoeing all the legal-political issues.
@Crabbielife, great points.
SYS, Thank you for the link. It was very interesting to read a NK defector’s take on the drama. I grew up in a totalitarian society myself (not NK), and many details of NK life in the drama reminded me of my own childhood. I also read the discussions about CLOY in an online forum in my own language. The other commenters noted the similarities too. I am very grateful to the writer for creating such endearing NK characters and making us care for the ordinary NK people who live their lives under very difficult conditions.
I wanted to give a shout out to JH gang, especially when they were about to be executed after arriving back from SK. Man Bok jumps in front of JH to protect him. Man Bok failed to protect JH’s brother and he vowed to protect JH w/ his own life. JH, of course, pulled him to the back of him so he wouldn’t get hit. The rest of JH gang surround JH to shield him from execution. Like, wow! Talk about the bravery and love they have for JH to sacrifice their lives for him. So moved by each and everyone of them.
SYS, thank you for the link. Happy to think that dictators don’t get to control all the narratives, the idea that this show may make its way to the north gives me hope.
I am seriously plugging this show to my friends, having a hard time, people just won’t give it a chance. I get a lot of “this just ain’t my kinda thing”…I know exactly what they mean, “Asian men are just not attractive to me”. Which leads to my second wish, that CLOY break this bias.
I found this article online on how they brought the NK scenes to life.
https://news.yahoo.com/amphtml/creators-crash-landing-explains-making-015420918.html
@Snow Flower, you’re welcome! Watching CLOY made me dig out info about North Korea and the people there. Before that, I’ve only read news about Kim Jong Un and Kim regime. The drama made me sit up and pay attention to the people of NK, and my empathy level for them have gone up significantly. I’ve begun to separate the people from the government. Before that, there was hardly any info in key media about the plight of the NK people. CLOY has really helped raised interest into this matter. It’s really a case of entertainment media playing a role in societal perception! I’ve also read a lot of comments from fans of the drama who came from a totalitarian society and they have the exact same feedback as you!
@Josie, I have the same feeling as you, hopeful that the new generation of NK are no longer just bowing down to the Kim regime but rising up slowly but surely against their iron fist rule. Pray that positive change and freedom for the NK people will happen sooner, rather than later. I’ve seen one video interview of a top political defector who said many in the ruling/ elite class are also not happy with the Kim regime. Many was hoping for change when Kim Jong Un took over the country, but it did not happen. If the people rise up, I believe there will be politicians who will support them. But it won’t be easy.
I often watch dramas for the same reason I read Austen over and over again; they provide the happy endings that reality often times deprives us of. And even if I am new to K-dramas, I have to say, CLOY did provide that happy ending for me. Yes, I agree that I would have loved to see the twin girls and their happy, mundane day-to-day life. However, I know first hand how these types of relationships work, as my sister married off someone after years of a long distance relationship whilst living in a communist country.
I admire the writer’s attempt to provide that for us. The way I see it, RJH could get a contract as a musician in Switzerland and live there for x number of years without it affecting his family or anyone else, as many communist countries do enter into cultural exchange agreements. I believe YSR travels there often and they spend more than two weeks together. They will still face many obstacles, but a future together is not necessarily impossible. Upon his father’s retirement, his parents could easily move abroad under diplomatic roles. If you think about it, both RJH and Dan spend several years abroad, without any negative repercussions.
Aside from the wonderful love stories, the F5 and the lovely village ladies, this drama has brought worldwide attention to life under a communist regime, and how much it affects not only economical status, but social interactions as well. I am thankful that I stumbled upon it by accident, reminiscing of my own times under a similar regime, and that I found this amazing group of drama lovers who so intelligently appreciate and/or dislike the stories we were given.
@SYS, and to add to it, I see the power of this show in its message. My husband was a soldier who patrolled another very contentious border in the past. He had so much interesting insights into the military side of things which I knew nothing about. Eventually we started discussing how this show provides a feminine solution to a serious problem the masculine side can’t solve. But he would never watched it if I didn’t make him. What I love about this show is how balanced it was, the male actors and crew took this rom com so seriously, I don’t know if there is an equivalent in another movie, I can’t think of one. The main couple in particular was so well balanced and I think they role model how things should be.
My next wish is that the guys will give such shows a chance.
@Josie, it would be interesting to know your husband’s opinion on the military side of things – even if the contentious borders and military organisations are different. My father-in-law was stationed near the Korean DMZ with the British army, but it was very long ago now.
@IcedFireAngel
Thank you for your post!
It reminds me of how lucky we are to live in a democratic society…
GREAT admirations and tremendous respects go out to the writer and every one on the team!
It’s wishful to think that I’ve been secretly hoping that both Koreans will open up like Vietnam so folks can travel to see families …
Yesterday BBC America had an interview with 2 NK defectors who said that the prison term there for anyone caught watching a Kdrama, or any piece of foreign media, was 7 to 8 YEARS. The couple was a male prison guard and a female prisoner who escaped the prison and swam across a river into China.
I wish the show would partner with an group that helps defectors, so we fans could channel our goodwill into actual support (like the fans of Kpop group BTS who have charity drives in their name). Perhaps a good partner would be the group just founded by an ex-NK diplomat now running for election into the SK National Assembly. Anyone among this lovely group here know how to start such an effort?
@Fern, my husband don’t talk much but he did have quite a bit to say about the military side of this show. Most of it I feel like it’s off tangent to share in detail in this blog. But speaking generally, he had a lot of insight into the protective gears and weapons he saw, husband went nuts seeing Captain Ri carried around a pistol instead of a rifle during patrol, he thought that was ineffective in that situation. He went in details about how North and South placed their troops and landmines and their military strategy, the whole digging tunnel thing, all in relation to other contentious borders and operations in the world. And the bomb, the nuclear bomb, how the North Koreans got it and how other dictators fare with and without it, and how they work with each other to develop one. We had lots of geopolitical discussions. He talked about sleep, what sleeping while patrolling is like and how he was trained to sleep. Also about martial arts, what kind of fighting techniques soldiers were taught and use. It was very interesting, I didn’t know that side of him that well. And when I told him about all the hubbub from the fans regarding the love story, all the angst people felt about Captain Ri insisting on sending Seri back and returning to NK himself despite being that much in love my husband’s reaction was downright funny, he said, “The man had a mission, he completed it. That’s great.”
@S.moureen, thank you for telling us about the BBC America interview. Yes, I would love to help too if there is a way.
@Josie, thank you. That’s amazing. It sounds like your husband has had some interesting postings and now you know more about him as well. His reaction is great, too – one military man appreciating another. 😊
I don’t think gu seung jun died, i think dan seo’s family made the authorities/police and enemies think that he did to cover/protect him. The mother of dan seo seems to have had him taken care of in Europe —(perhaps with a new identity) thus, apologizing to captain ri’s mom. When dan seo and captain ri were talking they only said parted ways, not actually dead. When dan seo is said to be going to russia in a month, she seemed secretly happy, maybe they will never get to get married as sk/nk citizens but they will be together outside Korea too like Seri and Captain Ri. I think that he fainted upon dan seo’s answer but did not actually die as the ambulance staff felt his pulse and then removed oxygen as he is still actually alive and was able to speak but just fainted which is why he did not respond to dan seo’s plea to treat him as there is no need to given that he is already ok.
Hello PackMule!
First of all, thank you again for this summary of drama so finely described with multiple details that I am unable to detect as a spectator.
Nevertheless, I’m focused on the drama in another way, concerning the writing and the rendering of the scenes.
There is a lot to learn and appreciate from a drama like this.
Indeed, this is what I call a “blockbuster drama”.
And everything has to be perfect, starting with the writing, because a lot of means have been monopolized, a huge budget.
However, a blockbuster drama is not necessarily exciting for me.
A perfect blockbuster drama is above all something that is aimed at the greatest number of people.
It involves levelling down, unfortunately.
In the past, screenwriter Park Ji-Eun wrote another blockbuster drama “My Love From the Star”.
Everyone liked it, including me. I hoped it would happen again on CLOY, but unfortunately it didn’t.
In the meantime, Park Ji-Eun also wrote “The Legend of the Blue Sea”, which is catastrophic in many ways. (I watched the whole thing anyway, it was bad but addictive).
Despite the many details and references, I would have preferred something much more intense than a classic romantic comedy.
However, the ratings don’t deceive, this drama was a great success, with its whole regiments of fanatics.
For my part, the drama lacks nervous tension, it is drowned by too many actors and secondary scenes.
The whole thing has this artificial side that I don’t like, and I didn’t manage to invest myself with enthusiasm.
I couldn’t feel sincere emotions as I would have liked, it lacks consistency.
Maybe I wasn’t on a good day for that kind of drama, too…
The drama was sometimes insipid, soft, boring, soporific.
However, strange as it may be, I noticed that this did not prevent a drama from being a blockbuster (Goblin is a good example).
The first episode was immediately appealing, with a simple and clear situation that helps to immerse oneself totally in the story.
I liked that the expression “Crash Landing” became a real scene.
I note several other qualities to the drama:
– A good villain in the person of the commander of the truck brigade.
– Comedy scenes that are sometimes good, but sometimes forced.
– Some good romantic scenes.
– The presence of actor Jeon Kuk-Hwan, a legendary actor.
– And of course, the writing about North Korea, and the use of real facts to feed the story (like the train breakdown).
– A perfect rendering of North Korea by the director. The illusion was perfect.
– A little more interest in episodes 15 and 16.
Other points I noted.
– Often the dramas have a humor referring to the situation of “being in a drama”. This has been used too much here.
– The references to classic dramas: Starway to heaven, Memories of the Alhambra, and Chuno slave hunter.
– Chuno was the first historical drama that I saw and greatly enjoyed. “Crash Landing on you” is cruel, because the ending of Chuno is completely spoilt.
– To create a parody, music from Memories of the Alhambra and Chuno were used. Note that for Chuno, it is a drama whose music is very often used as a parody in many other dramas.
– The death of Gu Seung-Jung: in the majority of the dramas that deal with drama making, the scene of the hero who dies by gunshot in a last fight is used as a cliché (be melodramatic, man to man, etc). The death of Gu Seung-Jung reproduces this cliché very exactly. The impression is weird because although the scene is dramatic, it is also a parody scene.
– Many script points have been copied (or inspired) from other dramas. In King 2 Hearts, the military competition team is the basis of the drama (whereas it is used as an expedient in CLOY). In King 2 Hearts, the humor about a North Korean military officer addicted to South Korean culture is already used (a very rude officer is a fan of the girls-band “Girl Generation”).
– The idea of a North Korean villain who becomes a criminal in the South is already used (I don’t remember in which drama, but I’ve seen it).
– The number of product placement is abusive, between BBQ and SubWay. But I forgive, they have little choice. Kdramas do better than American series for a budget 10 to 20 times less.
We can find two scenes that are awful from a credibility standpoint.
– The escape in a paraglider. It should have been a dangerous scene, with wind, shiver, vertigo. Let’s not forget that Jung-Hyuk isn’t attached to the paraglider! Instead, it was turned into a romantic scene. The way Jang-Hyuk clings to Se-Ri is totally unrealistic. Normally, he should fall down, knowing that he has to support his own weight (1m84, 75kg!). He should wrap his legs around Se-Ri, clinging to the paraglider strap with all his strength.
– The battle ends in episode 13. Jang-Hyuk goes to the warehouse. Why is he going? Because Se-Ri is supposed to have been kidnapped. But the kidnapping failed. The drama villain should’ve asked for confirmation on whether or not the kidnapping succeeded. The fight that allows Se-Ri to escape the kidnapping is comically shot (clears throat). The final scene outside the warehouse is completely wobbly. The trajectory of the bullet is impossible to understand. The fighters inexplicably stop fighting. The military officer Jang-Hyuk does not bother to do everything to save his wife, check the pulse and breathing, call for help, make a pressure point on the wound. NO, he just stands there like an idiot hollering. His friends arrive, and what do they do? The same thing! Jeez, is someone going to try and save her life?! Here we are at the level of bullshit you can find in “Starway to Heaven”, when the hero prefers to stay stupidly outside the cabin while his fiancée is dying inside (this drama also exhausted my nerves, and it’s a big LOL).
So much for my final comment.
In spite of my disappointment, I still have a certain esteem for this drama.
As a blockbuster drama, this is much more interesting than “Descendants of the sun”.
I think it deserves to be seen, at least for its first part, whose context is realistic and completely new.
I link an interesting article about the drama and one of its main technical advisor:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-51526625
I agree with @Wenchanteur
I was trying to think why the ending fell a bit flat for me, even though I wanted a happy together again ending and got it. @Wenchanteur’s posts and the one on destiny not fate (http://bitchesoverdramas.com/2020/02/11/crash-landing-on-you-on-destiny-not-fate/) I believe help to explain why.
Finding Seri in Switzerland Too much ‘by chance/coincidence’ and it’s put down to fate (actually partly destiny since they both engineered to be in the same place, but couldn’t set the time).
I missed the reference to taking the wrong train when JH and Seri were stuck beside the train that broke down. But it sitll seems like it was fate again that they met when she went paragliding. Show did not give us a sign that he had been diligently looking for her, in order to end up where she ‘crash descended (Hah!)’ again, he claims that he had accidentally taken the wrong train and had ended up exactly at the right spot. It’s true that she had first shared the Indian proverb, “Sometimes the wrong train takes you to the right station, ” but that’s all JH claims to have done, ie found her by chance again.
Anyway, their ‘finding each other’ does not feel reasonable and their being together does not feel earned. This and many other incongruencies, unlikely scenarios no matter how sweet, and the fact that these ending scenes were shot first rather than later, made the ending feel off.
I liked it well enough, but I actually liked Goblin a whole lot more.
👏👏👏
Now, you’re getting why I haven’t posted my final grade and why I haven’t been *moved* to watch the ending. 🙂
Ethos, pathos, logos.
The kdrama had pathos. But the writer came up short in the other two departments.
Greetings,
I just found your blog (and sent you a fan email :-)). I know this is late for discussing CLOY, but I am hoping someone can answer this question. What did Capt. Ri’s mother have in the papers on the coffee table? She was fiddling with them when she told her husband that she would not live, if her son did not come back alive.
Was it poison? Thanks for any help.
@Joan, it does seem in context that Capt. Ri’s mother was prepared to take poison if her husband/son did not return.
Welmaris,
Thanks for responding. I was wondering if I had missed some significant cultural piece! Thanks again
Just finished this drama on Netflix. I was more interested in and engaged by everyone in the cast but the fairy tale lead couple, despite what were apparently the writer’s best efforts at bludgeoning the audience into thinking them utter perfection.
Seri lost me. She was supposedly so unhappy she was going to commit suicide, but she’s catty enough to look at Seo Dan and think “He can do better”? And Captain Ri is supposedly a leader capable of inspiring loyalty and a world-class musician, but isn’t mature enough to pay his fiancee the courtesy of behaving as if he knows she’s on the same planet? Watching him with Seo Dan in Switzerland was like watching my little brother when he was stuck with his older girl cousin, but my brother was only 11 at the time.
They didn’t engage me at all until the scene at the border: both actors hit all the notes there.
One performance that really caught me was the actress who plays Seo Dan’s mother: she manages a dignity at the end that’s just flawless.
And the two second leads were more compelling than the main leads — possibly because the writer didn’t seem to have tattooed “You’re supposed to just love me” on their foreheads.
To be fair, I watched with subtitles, and sometimes the translations simply aren’t the best: I’ve seen clips on YouTube that had subtitling that was different from what was shown on Netflix and the wording seemed much more sensible, if anyone sees what I mean. The scene in which Seri supposedly manipulates her brother into funding the music outing was a good example: she might as well have said “Do this, you moron.”
I won’t be looking for a Season Two: I got too much ‘Everybody must love Seri’ in this one, and any sensible fairy tale writer stops at ‘happily ever after’. I’d only watch if they included the rest of the original cast and found a credible way to give Seo Dan her happy ending, because she actually managed to grow on me: she was a real, flawed person, not a Mary Sue. And considering that Seri’s father didn’t have much in the way of ethics, I’d like the writer to manage to find a believable way to have SJ live and put all that scammed money to good use.
After that, I just felt like the writers were bound and determined to bludgeon the audience into seeing Seri as perfection.
Fair enough.
Towards the end, it appeared to me that the writer was pulling out all the stops to make me fall for the lead couple, and I couldn’t so I pulled out.
I didn’t give it a final grade so as not to disappoint the other viewers.
No, I wouldn’t want a Season 2. Part of the appeal of this kdrama is their hidden/lost memory of each other. The writer exploited that for first half of the drama. A Season 2 on the other hand would build up on the fact that they chose to live a life separate from each other, and to meet briefly once a year. I can’t see how Seri and JH could ask for a do-over or a reboot when they entered this kind of relationship with open eyes. In the end, it was a “han” bonding that they settled for.
reposting for @Cleopatra
-pm3
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Hello Everyone,
I just wanted to let you know that yesterday I finishes watching CLOY. I know that there is not an open thread about CLOY. So I will write some of my thoughts over here.
I really enjoyed the series. I prefered the first part in N.Korea than the second in S.Korea for portraying ethnographically the people in the village. The story wouldn’t be the same without the Ahjummas and the Dumplings.
The second part has really meaningful scenes regarding the things that needed to be said between Captain Ri and Se-Ri.
As for the ending I think it lacked in some parts, mostly because it was shooted in pre-production and there had a totally different vibe regarding our OTP.
I want to stand that CLOY is not primary a love story as we think.
For me, it is a political statement about what is happening in a country that is divided for political reasons.
How life is progressing for both countries.
How people are living in their respected towns.
We get to see the most inward emotions and battles: their anxiety, stresses, how they bond, what is really important in life.
How they could react in stressful and unlikely situations.
How some have a family by blood, while others create an extended family due to love, respect, unity.
How people are reacting in happy, bittersweet and life-threatening moments in life.
For all the reasons above, I think that CLOY is all that firstly and then our OTP’s love.
I have to add that Dan and Alberto’s love shouldn’t be that bittersweet. The actual time they really found each other, they lost each other. That was very disturbing to watch.
Lastly, I do hope that people will understand that we – human beings – are all inhabitants of this planet. That we all have our inner strengths and struggles. We bleed the same, we love the same, we laugh the same and we break the same.
Let’s not forget that. Let’s make this world a better place for ourselves and the next generations to come.
*Peace*
reposting @GB’s comment here, too.
-pm3
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@Cleopatra Thanks for this nice reflection on CLOY. I liked the show while it lasted, but felt meh about the end, and agree with what you say. It’s weakest part was its conclusion, which is such a shame, since that colours one’s impression about the rest of the show somehow.
You’ve given us a good reminder, that people are more alike and akin than different, regardless of the barriers we place around ourselves or others. And nothing goes on to prove this as well as the pandemic does, where a tiny virus in it’s multiple mutations, can affect all of us in the same way. Yes indeed, let’s make this world a better place!
٩꒰｡•‿•｡꒱۶
reposting @Cleopatra’s reply here.
-pm3
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Kalimera @GB!
I tried to give CLOY a balanced opinion. That is justice for me.
Mostly because I expected more from the writers after the first half.
But, it is more useful for me to stand to what is important for us to remember and not to focus on what it didn’t work in the end.
If it was another story I wouldn’t even bother. But this story has so much backbone. And here I am, after I finished the TV-Series everyone was telling me to watch since last year and I have my own thoughts about it.
Is it the most memorable k-drama I have seen? No.
Is it the perfect reminder for people to see who we are? Yes.
This Pandemic made me more philosophical than ever. Mostly because we can all relate from the issues that were arisen. That is indeed a wake up call! 🙂