The end.
My three major complaints:
This show dragged on. The plot didn’t need 16 episodes to come full circle to this central message:
It underutilized the male lead HyunJo. Because we were only seeing his past actions, his character growth appeared stunted. We’ve been waiting for him to wake up since Week 2.
Finally!
source: ourfictionzeal.com
I don’t mind a woman-centric drama but YiKang wasn’t compelling enough. If the writer was trying to re-create a mountain ranger version of Lara Croft, that iconic Angelina Jolie role, then he/she didn’t succeed. As heroines go, YiKang’s personality was rather bland. She wasn’t edgy and unforgettable.
Nonetheless…
Let’s enjoy the show.
Exactly! Ju Ji Hoon is soooo underutilised… and Yi Kang’s scenes made me ffwd cos I don’t need to see more about something which has been told before. Nevertheless,it’s finally ending. I am looking forward to binge watch a number of dramas I have been putting on hold. And movies too😁
Well Episode 15 continued slooooow. However by the end we get to see the murderer. Episode 16 is to see whether YG gets away alive and if HJ lives or dies.
Episode 16 and Series Review / Notes
This is one of those shows that I felt was superbly self-indulgent: lingering lovingly on scenes of the mountain and much less on the humans. And actually, I guess, the title didn’t lie. Show is aptly named because the theme and star of this show was the mountain itself. In fact, I feel this was PPL for travel to Jirisan, South Korea. LOL.
Thinking back … yup, Jirisan was the main player throughout. All the humans were its minions, scampering about, trying to figure out what they were supposed to do with anything and everything that the mountain (and the weather) threw at them. If we accept this premise and see Show through this lens, I suppose one cannot complain. (*wry smile*)
It seems we are supposed to accept that the mountain was the one behind HJ’s visions: that it had chosen him as the one to whom to reveal the murderer, goodness know why. When HJ did not succeed in interpreting whom the mountain was trying to point the finger at, and got bashed in the head, mountain decided to hold on to his spirit as a means to maintain communications with other humans.
In the conversations between HJ and Killer or between Killer and YG it was an argument on whether Jirisan was endorsing Killer’s actions or judging him. In the end it was the mountain, itself, which finally despatched the killer. I suppose after it got the job done, (the job that the humans failed miserably in achieving), it returned the spirit of HJ to his body and he started breathing again (after the plug had been pulled on him in 2020).
I guess Show was determined to end 2021 on a happier albeit inexplicable note. I felt that it was a cop out that we jump into our future ie 1st January 2022, for New Year, and find that not only has Hyun Jo totally recovered, but Yi Gang has also regained the use of her legs. It didn’t/doesn’t? make sense and Show never gave us the people recovering and reconnecting part to fill that hole and the need to know. But Show’s worst crime after all this, is that it gives us zero conversation between YG and HJ, except for a voiceover as they look at each other through the New Year crowds on Jirisan. (*throws hands up*)
My other grouse is that after so much time, so much hiking, so many questions asked, so few lives were saved. There was such twisted goings-on at Black Bridge Village that could have been shown earlier and hinted at more clearly to increase interest, but everything gets revealed only at the end when interest has paled. By the end of 2020, practically the whole population of Black Bridge Village had been decimated.
Unanswered question or unconvincing answer: Why should Se Wook have been so willing to get his grandfather and cousin killed? Even if he had been having a hard time, (says Killer) why was that enough to convince Se Wook to embark on serial killings?
Human interest bits 2021?:
We only get to see Jo Dae Jin’s daughter at the end. And he finally lets go of Jirisan to spend time with her. He had been tied to the mountain because of the killings.
The most touching relationship tale in the end was Yu Gyeong’s side story, as he breaks down over his passing the promotion exam, not out of joy but out of grief, because it was something he had wanted to achieve for Yang Sun.
Il Jae becomes the boss and the lottery ticket winner, (in an act of making amends?) whose stubbornness in seeking her ticket led to Yang Sun’s accident/death, actually comes to be interviewed for work as a ranger.
Side note: Soompi has an article where our leads speak on how they enjoyed this show and that it took longer than most shows to be filmed. No wonder, since they had to be there across 3 seasons to shoot the mountain-scapes with its different looks. Yes, the mountain had to be given time to put on its makeup and change fashion for the camera LOL.
https://www.soompi.com/article/1503288wpp/jun-ji-hyun-and-joo-ji-hoon-share-thoughts-as-they-say-goodbye-to-jirisan
Of the shows by the same writer, Signal is by far the stronger. The Signal walkie-talkie came on loud and clear and gave proper information. Making Hyun Jo the uncomprehending human walkie-talkie for a mountain that wanted to catch a killer was just a bad idea.
What I gained from this Show: beautiful scenery, appreciation for mountain rescue in all weather and seasons, and a great deal of respect for any mountain!
Phew, what a ride. I’m glad GB’s here to give us comprehensive episode reviews for this drama. Thank you GB 😍.
I’d say, the story’s great and compelling but it is betrayed by the storytelling. Who do we exactly blame for this wreck? Director? Writer? Editor? Producer? It’s such a bummer because this is suppose to be the 10th anniversary representative drama of tvn. And then the stellar casts! I’m okay that they enjoyed filming this drama, but they are also betrayed in this. Drama underutilised their acting prowess.
One fun bit that I could take away in the last episode is the scene when Yu Gyeong met Hyunjo’s sister on the trail and she tried to give him the ppl product (BB Lab). He didn’t accept the product and dashed away from her. I guess he has enough with the ppl, he already had Egg Drop? with Yang Sun 😂.
That ppl is nasty using Hyunjo’s family as product endorsers tho.
Well, if I can go to Korea, I will visit Jirisan hahah. Or not, I’m afraid I will encounter some revengeful spirits there hahah jk.
Not very satisfied with ending.
I mean writernim keep sending mixed signal with hyun jo and yigang relationship status🤣 until the end..
If they are buddies she should show us, they are buddies. But she keep messed up..
I was once watching drama where the lead truly just act like buddies or teAm in god gifts: 14 days drama. Even the actors smiling to each other, they show us different vibes. Not in romantic way. I love that drama. Starring lee bo young and choi seung woo..
And im not satisfied with the reason behind kim sol killing ppl.. i meant his motive not strong enough to make him hating ppl. .
I hope to see my jun ji hyun in better project ❤️
Hi @LeeDale9198, I’m glad you made it to the end of this series.
I feel that if they’d really wanted to showcase a story, it could indeed have been compelling and the actors could have had a lot to do, but just in 3-4 episodes. If the rescue and operations could have been carried out in service of the plot, that would have been great too and taken us to maybe 6 episodes.
More character development and backstory to explain the different reactions of characters, to build up the connections between them so that it would matter that much more to us when anything happened to them, would have been great, and taken us to maybe 8 episodes.
More than half the series was the depiction of Jirisan in all her glory or being scary. One message might be: Human beings are presumptuous to think we are entitled to anything of the mountain. It is out of the graciousness of the mountain that we are allowed to survive and thrive on it.
As to laying ‘blame’… all the decision makers are responsible. All except the actors and crew, probably. Actors do as directed by script and PDs. It could be that the aim of this Show is different from what we are used to. My guess was that it was one big PPL for Jirisan. If everyone bought into this aim, then I guess they might not think they are betrayed.
I was thinking about the PPL with BB Lab, that it was good Gu Yeong was suspicious… after all that poisoned yoghurt thing, he was wise to be wary of accepting any food from strangers. LOL.
Hah, if I could take the trouble to travel again, in this climate of infection everywhere, a quiet mountain with few humans might be a good idea actually. 🙂
The thing is, @GB, if the production team wanted to promote tourism at Jirisan with this series, then I think they went about it the wrong way. The general message I got was the mountain is a killer.
The show showed me hundreds of things that the mountain could kill us, not counting a serial killer on the lose. A flash flood, a forest fire, a forest where trees look alike, snakes, shamans who curse people, arduous trails, blizzards, crazy hikers with watermelons, roaming ghosts, cliffs, mushrooms, incompetent rangers, wrong turns, lightning, angry mountain gods, mysticism.
🙂 The show didn’t inspire me to visit the place at all. Instead, it made me fear it because it’s such a vast mysterious place.
Well @pkml3, then if Show’s aim was to promote Jirisan, it was more a fail than a win, or there was another aim.
I’m trying to imagine if someone could want to produce something to make people fear the mountain. Maybe in a bid to make it intriguing and mysterious Show went too dark.
@GB, the opening declaration framed the drama for me. IIRC, I quoted it in my First Impressions. He said the mountain was a land of hope and spite and the land between this world and the next (i.e., death).
Personally, once the writer started assigning supernatural characteristics and animistic superstitions (like spirits and spiteful Mother Nature) to natural occurrences (like orographic precipitation, rock slides, forest fire), I thought that the writer was instilling fear of the unknown.
People don’t get this: the universities were the direct result of the Christian belief that
a. nature is designed by a supremely intelligent and rational God, and
b. men are created in God’s image, thus we too are intelligent and rational, and capable of knowing God’s works.
The monks created the first universities as “cities” and repositories of learning and understanding. They believed that logic and methodology can be applied to God’s creations. Since the Christian God isn’t capricious, we can understand His creation by studying it in a logical and factual manner.
That’s how this belief in animism i.e., that spirits live in trees, take the shape of bears, send mists, darken skies, and give good grades to students, (like we saw in “Jirisan”) was gradually dispelled as silly and imaginary, and replaced by the scientific and rational approach.
😂 My university-trained mind had to suspend disbelief a number of times to plod through this drama. This definitely didn’t live up to my expectations of the writer of “Signal” so now I’m beginning to wonder if “Signal” was just a fluke. 🤔
If I have to guess what the writer’s intention is. My guess is:
1. Evil doings will be uncovered, no matter how clever/discrete you think you are
2. Mountain will not approve and be used by people for the wrong intention
3. The rangers are the guardians of the Mountain. They are there to ensure the travellers are safe, whether they want to live and die.
People change their minds in the mountain. Often they got inspired by the mountain and see hope. There is something about nature that is potentially cannot be captured through TV. I personally always feel refreshed when seeing beautiful scenery, breathing in the fresh air and love the smell of trees in real life. That feeling is a lot harder to experience through TV.
However, I do question:
1. If the mountain is on the good/rangers’ side, why did it let all the bad things happen. It can kill Kim Sol in the various disasters we been through
2. Why was the murderer’s mobile phone not analysed before?
As pm3 predicted, HJ lives and I am happy about that. I am also happy to see YG can keep on doing what she loves. Looks like she has improved through her physio. However, I felt a little empty and do not have a great emotional gain, or felt any new wisdom is bestowed to me. I suppose the sun rise gives us hope that 2022 will be a better year!
@Viva, I was wondering whose phone that was. I think it was a phone that belonged to one of the ‘accidental’ deaths, hence it was not put through forensics to check it out.
I believe there were times when HJ brought belongings of the dead to the police station. That might have been how he knew that there was still evidence that Kim Sol had not burnt away.
I was actually quite touched by how the people greeted the New Year’s sunrise. LOL the rangers saying that the sunrise will look the same the next day too.
Show of course ended it in 2022 for us because there is hope ahead for all regardless of spirits or mountains, disability or near-death.
Ahh right. Thanks @GB! That phone has a bee sticker on it. Then the notebook also has a been sticker on it. I think the phone belongs to first murderer (Is his name Se Wook?) HJ saw the sticker and remembered he bought the phone back from the water. That’s why the police thought it belongs to the dead only. Not the first murderer.
Yes the drama ends on a hope for the better! Yes the sunrise will look the same the next so every new day is a new hopeful day! 🙂