kang mae is walking in a tunnel heading on to a lighted exit with a view of a lake. a lake which pretty much signifies lots of memories.

just finished the series exactly 10pm last night and my first impression with the ending is…. huh? that’s it? or is there another episode to watch? i keep on looking at the file i have and it says FINAL EPI 18. but my mind speaks there must be a secret epi lols.

i really enjoy the series and decided to read recaps along. i am not a very technical person and i usually note more of the things i like, not that i neglect to see flaws but if they are bearable i’ll bear with it.

your so called “manufactured conflicts” aren’t that manufactured to me at all. since this is a music industry there is in great need of a concert to showcase the main theme of the show. and also, those conflicts were to give details on kang mae and gun woo’s relationship as teacher and student. without those conflicts we’ll ain’t see how rebellious gun woo is and how kang mae will try his best to make an unknown to all help.

waking up this morning means more time to think about the ending. and yeah, it doesn’t pissed me at all now. with an open ending i can freely think of kang mae not leaving the orchestra.

the concert they did went well, the advise to close them down been trashed and they’re back on their track again – now much passionate, stronger and able to battle things that will come their way.

gun woo – studied at the university as per kang mae’s advise. there someone’s eyeing at him for love.

ru mi – undergone surgery and it went well in the part taking out the tumor. but her hearing isn’t back to normal after the operation that she needed to still wear a hearing aid.

kang mae – though not leaving the orchestra, he temporarily flew abroad to accept a one-time concert conducting for the munich orchestra. he comes back to korea having much confidence with himself.

he checked ru mi on her classroom, sees her playing her own compose melody and the professor noted once again that her melody tells about really loving an ill-tempered man. ru mi blushed and got surprise seeing kang mae in the room. the professor was as surprise as ru mi and greeted kang mae – saying
“maestro, it is you, how kind of you to drop in”.
kang mae relied with “am i kind? but just now you said about me being an i’ll tempered man”. the prof trows in a confused look but understand it all when kang mae nod and looked at ru mi.

after class, kang mae discussed few things with the prof while waiting for ru mi. when ru mi comes out, he bid goodbye to the prof and hold ru mi’s hand. together they walk holding each other’s hand. on their way, they bumped in with other members of the orchestra who noticed their gesture and is now teasing them. ru mi shyly tried to slip away her fingers from his hand but he hold on them firmly and look at her in a “why, are you being ashamed of me?” way. ru mi smiled and they’re hands are twined with ease.

they continue walking till they reach the park and there they sat down looking at the lake. kang mae talks about the munich orchestra but is not receiving a comment from ru mi so he face her, just then ru mi commented and admire kang mae for his superb skill then she lifted her head, looking awkward to see kang mae’s face inches from her. kang mae barks in “why?” which du ru mi responded with a smile. kang mae’s face shifts back looking at the lake again, but ru mi heads on for a cheek-kiss. stunned kang mae looked at ru mi as if he’s going to scold her but then he smiled a bit and boyishly trying to fight back another smile.

ooooohhh were am i? shoot i’m here in the office.

To speak about love between musicians in general is to say that playing together most DEFINITELY arouses all kinds of crazy emotions. Music, although analyzed and methodically picked apart, is emotionally driven. Often times its hard to pick apart emotions built by musical cooperation and and those that come from genuine affection. The love triangle was something I think could actually happen…well, at least how it began. It got k-drama’d somewhere in the middle…

Character comments in the eyes of a musician:

Gun Woo the elder, not even Toscanini got away with the crap you pulled, there is NO WAY Gun Woo would’ve actually been able to do so many of the things he did in the real world. FORGET THAT! I’ve been under conductors like that and it really does make life miserable no matter how genius their conducting is. Oh K-drama land…(however, the character’s portrayal was masterful. I love that sneer.)

Ru Mi: Her character drove me BONKERS. Make up your mind, open your mouth and make a choice. But, her deafness struck home for me. My number one fear is to go deaf. I would lose every other sense before I would want to lose my hearing. In terms of being able to play, even if I have water in my ears my pitch and tone quality suffers. She would’ve been out of the game much earlier. To be a performing musician is to have EXQUISITE hearing. I thought her choice to compose, however, was a good one and realistic.

Gun Woo the younger: As a forever Jang Geun Seok fan its my duty to say I loved him in this. However, bias aside, I really did enjoy his performance . I thought it was much more nuanced than his other work. The facial expressions finally deviated from the monochromatic (like in Hong Gil Dong where he improved only in the last few episodes). Working directly with the music (IMHO) brought out the emotion. I rather like the open-ending. In our world, even if you’re immensely talented, if you don’t get the right opportunities and/or really hustle for work and exposure, you get washed away. Our careers, timewise, are 80% hustle and 20% music making (unfortunately). I spend more time making phone calls, driving to gigs/teaching/rehearsal, schmoozing (the kind NECESSARY to make contacts), answering emails, scheduling and rescheduling (and rescheduling and rescheduling), working out time conflicts …etc… etc… etc… than I do practicing cello and actually making some damn music!

The music: Great selection of music but OMG the cuts they made were ATROCIOUS. HOWEVER, I do like that it exposed the k-drama masses to classical music and not just Baroque or Classical era things, but Romantic and 20th century works too. CLASSICAL MUSIC IS COOL PEOPLE! Hooray for shows that focus on our lives.

Anyway, there was my long winded partial analysis of the series at large.

Thanks again for your recaps and commentary.

One of the great points of K-drama is the ability to resolve a series without completely closing all threads. In conventional drama, one of the reasons is for repeat seasons. But K-drama doesn’t really lend itself to extending itself more than one season. However, it does have an annoying habit of not lending itself to consistent ending points, for instance extending 2 episodes, or curtailing one, which can lead to inconsistent closures.

Having said that, Beethoven Virus ended nicely. Without intruding on many people’s own interpretations on the disposition of the characters, I’d like to add my 20 wong (~2 cents) on my views.

And let’s face it: I love happy endings, or technically, spiritually lifting endings. Mush isn’t just for Iditerod doggies, you know.

Spoiler alert, obviously. In addition, I assume everyone has seen the whole series, particularly the last episode.

1. First, my significant change that I would have loved to have seen in the Ep. 18 final.

During the final song, Du Ru Mi’s hearing goes completely out. Startled, with initial panic, she stutters her bowing. Mae Kang looks at her, immediately realizes what is happening, and does his mind-meld scene with Ru Mi. She gains confidence, and even though she doesn’t hear the music, she senses it by playing according to Kang’s direction. In the meantime, she smiles, knowing that though she will never hear again, she is playing her ultimate finish as a player, and she smiles peacefully. Kang’s eyes lock with hers, as perhaps the ultimate consummation of their relationship happens right there. In that moment, Kang realizes the significance of what just happened to Ru-Mi, and though he remains just as comfortably authoritive, he realizes that if he had been conducting, she may not have recovered in time to savor the moment (as Gun-woo would not have yet had the ability to project that communication), this is probably the key moment in Kang’s life where he gains his complete humility. Gun Woo notices all of this; his emotions are fully seen through his trumpet playing, yet he understands what is going on. How powerful a scene would THAT have been?

2. These are the outcomes I would love to have imagined for the characters. I will save the RumiKangGun triangle for last. In short, here is the “Where are they now?” file:

-Mayor Choi’s (Evilface) embezzlement comes to the forefront, and he has to resign in disgrace, perhaps to undergo an investigation (by the Prosecutor Princess? ha ha). The new mayor, who saw the Last Concert, immediately starts the new Philharmonic up again, and the new emblem contains a picture of a flower and, of course, a mouse, which becomes the unofficial name for the philharmonic. Due in large part to the efforts of the new administration in promoting as well as the main characters, The Sungnan-Mouse Philharmonic (hereby known as SMP) becomes the music center of not just Korea, but all of Asia.

-Kim Gab Yong (old Oboeist): While on a nursing home bench in a picturesque garden, he dreams of flying into a cloud, where he sees a beautiful picture of Ha Yi Deun (Hayden/Eden), the flautist, playing a beautiful melody, but she morphs into his actual (deceased) daughter, also playing the flute. He plays his oboe with her in a loving duet, and they both fade into the heavens; on earth Gab Yong smiles peacefully, passed away.

-Ha Yi Deun (flautist): She excels in her gifted music school, turning out to be one of the top graduates. She returns to be the top guest player in the new Sungnan-Mouse Philharmonic, as she tours the world as the “Yoyo Ma” of flautists. Financially, it is revealed that Gab Yong was actually quite well off as he had been frugal since his daughter passed away. Yi Deun uses a significant portion of her half of this inheritance to start a foundation for sending poor children to music schools. One of her recipients is the son of the poor Korean who saw the concert during the flood times. Of course, as she became a world class phenomenon, she became the most financially successful of the “irregulars,” and was easily able to financially support a complete children’s music fund, appropriately named in Kim Gab Yong’s honor. One of those directors is the dad of the boy in the flood victim segment.

-Kim Joo Yeon and Kim Joo Hee, the Vanessa Mae-ish electronic violin twins: They become main players for the orchestra. Joo Yeon (or was it Joo Hee? Never mind) marries Bae Yong Gi, the comic relief trumpeter.

-Bae Yong Gi, the trumpeter with a breathing issue: Another main SMP player, but plays cabaret on the side, as frankly, he really enjoys the atmosphere there. Marries one of the electric violin sisters. Never solves his breathing issues.

-Park Hyuk Kwon, contra-bass: Another charter SMP player, as well as one of its initial managers or directors. With a nice salary, he, Jin Man and the kiddies move into the house that the Kangs stayed in, as the original owner stayed in California for so long he was elected Governor. (OK, not really, but it does seem strange that one would leave a house for ~7 months, which was the time frame for BV)

-Jung Hee Yun: Another charter SMP player. She and her husband worked at remaining close and loving, and even invited the chess club woman to family events. (Her kids remain pains in the ass, though; can’t have everything LOL)

And now for the main triangle players. First, their careers:

-Kang Gun-woo, the younger: Became the first conductor for SMP. Studied like a big dog for years as per Mae Kang’s recommendations. Got an A in everything while building SMP (along with Park, Ru-mi, and the new mayor) to its world-class status as the premier Asian philharmonic. Guest-conducted around the world. He would take two or three tours later on, including one with the Boston Pops Orchestra. Helped arraign some of Du Ru-mi’s compositions (see below). He would become one of the world’s greatest conductors of the 21st Century, having a spirited but completely respectful rivalry with Mae Kang. Each time he did his infrequent tours, Mae Kang would come back to conduct SMP, which has become THE plum guest conductor job when Gun-woo is gone.

-Du Ru-mi: The last sounds she hears on Earth was the last part of the symphony in the park. But she maintains her inner desire for music, and now deaf, she imagines music in its greatest glory, thanks to Mae Kang’s own passions and memories. Indeed, she has acquired “Beethoven’s Virus”, the illness that made her lose her hearing. But she keeps on studying and ultimately becomes a composer. While most classical compositions are now done to score movie soundtracks, Ru-mi’s music maintains a much higher level of classical nuance; and with significant input and collaboration in the arraignments by Gun-woo, she becomes the greatest composer of the 21st Century, and her legacy would be measured by historians along with the greatest composers of all time; certainly the greatest woman composer. She is unaminously voted as an honorary charter member of SMP.

(Side note: aural surgery may likely cure most “deafness” by 2030, but I will assume that no cure will be available in Ru-Mi’s lifetime).

-Kang Gun-woo, the elder: Maestro Kang greatly filled in one major piece missing from his stature with his stint in Korea, and particularly with his association with Ru-mi and Gun-woo: humility. That’s probably the simplest way to summarize his far more complex persona. With that key issue, Kang is now able to stay more patient, and allows him to maintain his composure while still demanding the best, and then some, from every musician he associates with. He makes sure that Gun-woo maintains his GPA, knowing that he (Gun-woo) is more talented than himself. In a way, he is not just helping Gun-woo out of pure philanthropy; he is actually helping create a sole rival to help HIMSELF stay his best, and to maintain his humility. This relationship is beyond that of a teacher-student or father-son, as both men are driven, are talented, and without peers.

Finally, as to the love triangle:

I cannot in good conscience imagine who ends up with whom from a romantic standpoint. Both Ru-mi and Gun-woo have a strong, under the surface relationship with Mae Kang that is not romantic, but is actually stronger in their own merits. Yet those same bonds can never be severed and replaced with the other person. In other words, the peace that Ru-mi experiences with Mae Kang because of his brilliance and lonliness cannot be replaced by Gun-woo; conversely, the conductive passions and the brilliance that Gun-woo shares with Kang cannot be replaced by Ru-mi. Finally, I got the overall feeling that Ru-mi and Gun-woo never “clicked” romantically. Yes, there were moments, but given their levels of phenomenal talent as described above, I’d like to think that their actual bond is stronger than that of most lovers as it exists. And that bond is also stronger than their desire to meet others for marriage. Finally, I admit: this allows the triangle to exist on a permanent, yet non-jealous scale, as all three need the other two’s unique bonding levels to become as great as they all will become. Indeed, Ru-mi and Gun-woo will most probably remain the closest physically, but never consummate to marriage because of Maestro Kang’s influence.

And that’s the best answer I can give. Yes, I have a vivid imagination, but I’d like to think that such an ending would exist. If they come out with BV2 (or perhaps a theatrical production sequel), though, then all bets are off. But hopefully, I’ve satisfied a few cravings with my own remunerations.

Now, to be fair: the creators of the show may have wanted the last performance of the last episode to be just that: the last one, before everyone disperses to their common lives. I really can’t belie that vision with my own meanderings above, and perhaps it is best. But for now, I’ll leave the following as a finish.

Throughout the years, Ru-mi occasionally sends Kang a voicemail, video file, or whatever improved communication technology will exist, of her playing the violin (deaf). In her mind, the music is sweet and passionate; in reality, the sound that actually emanates, though technically all right, is noticeably off pitch and slighly off beat, as it would be impossible for a deaf person to know if the music played is in pitch (without external guages). Yet when Kang listens on his end, he smiles, and hears the same sweet, passionate music that Ru-mi played because of their shared, unmatched passion, and includes those recordings with his most precious musical possessions, especially those of the mind.

really love kim myung min. very good actor, really amazing

and so as the others………… excellent

as I was watching the drama, I,ve predicted that this drama would really earn a lot of awards, and i was not mistaken

really wonderful, words can’t express

i,ve always been scolded by my parents for ignoring other things just to watch BV again again

hehehe this is my fifth time

still lacking i’m planning to watch again..

because of this drama, i was encouraged to continue and love music more. I’m even starting to plan to be a conductor someday

really hoping for a part 2. really inspiring….. I’m really hoping a part 2