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Queen In-hyun’s Man: Episode 16 (Final)

This is a show unafraid to explore the darkest parts of itself, taking us down to the depths of separation and emotionally gutting us in the best and most frightening of ways, so that the payoff has never felt more earned or deserved. In short, this episode is like running through an emotional obstacle course backward and blind, and it’s AWESOME. But also terrifying. Yet poignant. But mostly terrifying. Queen In-hyun’s Man, what have you done to me?

 
FINAL EPISODE RECAP

One year has passed. Soo-kyung and Hee-jin are in the midst of a move, though Soo-kyung’s doing most of the heavy lifting while Hee-jin pesters her from the salon, getting dolled up for a poster shoot.

She gets a call from her director asking her to do some narration work for a documentary program entitled Untold Stories of History, and more specifically for a special segment called Queen In-hyun’s Man. Hee-jin is clueless as to the meaning, and is curious that the show will be exploring a rumor she’s never heard of – that Queen In-hyun had a secret lover.

The segment is being pushed forward because of new evidence discovered a month prior, which seems to wash over Hee-jin as unimportant even as she accepts. It seems safe to say that Hee-jin has lost her memories of Boong-do, and this evidence raises some red flags – could it be Boong-do’s letter?

Hee-jin gives the documentary notes a cursory read on the ride home, curious that none of this was mentioned in her drama script. It delves into the rumors surrounding the Queen and Boong-do, a name that prompts her to say aloud: “Kim Boong-do?” She doesn’t recognize it.

Soo-kyung comes home to find Hee-jin engrossed in the notes, eager to share the juicy story she’s reading. She tells what we all know – that Boong-do was thought to have an illicit affair with the Queen, was interrogated, and died – though not long after, he was cleared of his charges. In the Annals, his passing is noted as a wrongful death due to unfounded slander.

However, the documentary tackles what supposedly happened after, with a prime minister’s recently-discovered memorandum revealing a Boong-do sighting one year after he was considered deceased.

Flash back to 1695 and the minister in question, Nam Gu-man. An accidental brush with Boong-do sends our scholar running Minister Nam’s men chase him to the inn where he’s been staying, always packed and ready to flee. He evades capture but leaves behind a book, which they deliver to the minister.

The minister finds Boong-do’s letter to Hee-jin inside, recognizing it for certain as Boong-do’s handwriting, and puzzles over the mystery. Boong-do rides away to a fork in the road, and since the destination doesn’t matter to him, he lets his horse decide which way to go.

Minister Nam goes to tell Sukjong about his strange encounter, further stumped when Sukjong asks if Boong-do looked as though he’d been suffering, claiming, “I owe Boong-do a debt.” He reminds the befuddled minister not to tell anyone about what he saw – Boong-do is already a dead man.

And so Minister Nam took to his private journal, where he wrote what Hee-jin reads today – though he may not have been sure of what happened between the King and Boong-do, he was sure Boong-do lived on the run near the border regions, and was sympathetic to his plight because his existence would forever remain a secret. (Until now.)

Soo-kyung finds Hee-jin still poring over the notes hours later – are they that interesting? Hee-jin sighs that she feels sorry for Kim Boong-do, whose life was totally ruined because of a woman. Aww.

Back in Joseon, Boong-do just can’t seem to catch a break, since he’s even recognized by a man drawing water from a well. Uh oh.

A monk comes upon him in the forest and recognizes him as the one who came searching for the head monk one year ago. Boong-do sighs that he used to think the eight provinces of Joseon were large, but his travels have now changed that view.

The monk asks, “How long will you keep running away? Aren’t you tired?” Boong-do replies, “I am tired. But although it is laughable, this has become my reason for living.” The goal of running away has become his only goal at this point, he explains, and if he were to lose that, he’d lose a reason to keep going.

Not knowing the reason, the monk advises him to pay the price if he’s committed a crime, rather than running away. Boong-do: “I want to do that too. But to be caught and to pay the price would be an even greater crime.” The monk doesn’t understand, and Boong-do doesn’t have time to explain – the man who saw him earlier has brought guards with him, and they give chase.

Boong-do finds himself surrounded by armed men who call for his arrest on charges of murder. (For the gibang massacre that left Yoon-wol and Ja-soo dead.) He’s able to fight off as many as he can, but the numbers just aren’t on his side. He looks from the crowd of people gathered to the men, sizes up his odds, and drops his weapon to surrender. Nooo!

Back in the present, Hee-jin records her lines for the segment. She mentions the letter Boong-do wrote and adds that “In it, his deep affection toward a nameless person and the sadness of their parting is evident. Considering the circumstances at the time, scholars speculate that the letter was intended for Queen In-hyun.”

I’ll be honest, I teared up just hearing her recording partner read Boong-do’s letter. Hee-jin listens intently to the letter written to her, and it’s infinitely sad that what Boong-do prayed for – that even if she read the letter in the future, she wouldn’t know it was for her – has come true.

She narrates, “A man who wanted his love to forget him. It was probably because she was beyond his reach.” As for Boong-do, mentions of the woman in later documents reveal that he was able to keep his memories.

Break time. Hee-jin watches a bit of the dramatic reenactment before Dong-min sweeps her away for a chat. Eek, is she with Dong-min again in this reality?

Thankfully that doesn’t seem to be the case, though Dong-min would like it to be. He’s all excited that she’s up to date on his overseas activities while she deadpans, “I don’t want to say this because you’ll just act superior, but news about you is all over the internet. It’s impossible not to see it.” Dong-min: “It’s not acting superior. I am superior. Only you call it acting.” Ha.

He whines about how lonely he is and how they should start dating again, even when Hee-jin points out that he’s supposedly dating a girl group member ten years his junior. Dong-min fires back that she’s too immature: “No matter how much I think about it, there is no other woman like Choi Hee-jin.”

Well, he’s got one thing right. Hee-jin isn’t having it, and points out Na-jung walking nearby, saying that they’d be a perfect fit. Dong-min, being the child that he is, calls Na-jung over to ask if she wants him to do her the favor of dating her, “Because I’m so lonely now, I can’t afford to be picky.” Haha.

Na-jung gives him the universal symbol for “No”, and Hee-jin asks exasperatingly, “When will you grow up?” Dong-min: “I don’t want to grow up.” How I love thee, Character Consistency.

Dong-min’s manager comes to collect him, but not before sliding into the chair next to Hee-jin’s in order to ask if Soo-kyung’s seeing anyone. I can’t tell if Hee-jin genuinely doesn’t know what he’s getting at or doesn’t want to, but it’s adorable how she finally sizes him up and claims that though Soo-kyung hasn’t said anything, it seems like she might have someone. Ha.

I love that Soo-kyung acts all put-out upon hearing it from Hee-jin in the car, even going so far to call Dong-min’s manager an ajusshi, although she’s clearly preening from the attention. Of course, she can’t act like Hee-jin did wrong by telling him she had someone (or she’d blow her aloof cover), and so she can only bark at Hee-jin that the documentary was a bad idea the second Hee-jin points out they’re late.

The documentary filming has gone on location to the palace, and Hee-jin grows nostalgic over the place she used to see every day for filming, now that it’s been a year. The camera pans around her and smoothly transitions us to the Joseon period, where Boong-do was brought in after being arrested.

Like Hee-jin, the sight of the palace brings nostalgia with it. However, Minister Nam and a bunch of other ministers round the nearby corner, and Boong-do turns his face so as not to be recognized…

…Which segues us back to Hee-jin. She begins to describe the famous tale of the political strife and struggle to reinstate Queen In-hyun, which has formed the basis of many dramatizations. From within that upheaval, there are records of one man who died an innocent man – the subject of today’s documentary, Kim Boong-do, Queen In-hyun’s man.

As she talks we see Boong-do standing in her path, three hundred years ago. She passes through his image as though he’s a specter, both of them standing on the same ground in two totally different times. She’s separated visually only by color while Boong-do and his surroundings remain in black and white… only the colors start to fade in and out, blurring the separation of their realties, however briefly. And Hee-jin seems to sense it.

She continues on, sometimes standing alone, sometimes standing with her back to Boong-do. She tells his story as it’s written, only tears begin to fall and she doesn’t know why. This. Is. Heartbreaking.

In his time, Boong-do is finally taken away, just when it seems like Hee-jin would be able to see him if she’d only turn around… but the director calls for her attention and the moment is gone. Something in her tells her to turn around, but by the time she does, she’s just standing alone.

Boong-do is put in prison until his scheduled morning interrogation. He’s only concerned that he’ll be recognized since he made a promise to Sukjong that he would never appear in this world again, but for now, he’s out of options.

Soo-kyung calls Hee-jin on her drive home to ask about the crying incident, and Hee-jin replies honestly that even she doesn’t know why she cried, only that she suddenly felt sad without reason. The feeling still remains.

In prison, Boong-do opens his bag where he’s been keeping his modern suit and phone all this time. Aww. He focuses on the necktie specifically, and flashes back to Hee-jin showing him how to use it, replete with a kiss. And then… oh no.

He fashions it into a noose and prepares to hang himself. A storm begins as Hee-jin waits at a stop light and turns the radio volume up, playing a song that’s become their theme.

Tears form in Boong-do’s eyes as he slips the noose over his neck. Hee-jin begins to cry. (I can’t stop crying long enough to write.) So does he, and we flash back and forth between both their faces… until Boong-do kicks the stool out from under him and hangs himself.

Hee-jin feels it in the present and sobs. Boong-do’s feet hang inches off the ground. As she cries desperately without knowing why, a memory flashes of when she programmed Boong-do’s name in his phone as “Player,” only she doesn’t know who that is. A phone search reveals nothing, though she remembers his number and punches it in.

And in the room where Boong-do hangs, his phone rings. NO. Hee-jin begins crying so hard she hyperventilates and leaves her car, while all her memories of Boong-do come flooding back. The horror hits her even worse, if that’s at all possible, and she crumples to the ground.

She goes to the documentary director still drenched from the rain, demanding to see the footage from their segment. She’s left alone to watch, finally coming upon the letter Boong-do wrote. We hear his voice reading it as she sees his face on the screen, and the realization that this letter was for her comes crashing down.

“Will we forget each other?” The letter reads, as her phone begins to ring in her car… “Or will we live unable to forget, forever tormented?” Memories of Boong-do play on the projection screen like a movie as Hee-jin watches, grief-stricken. “In an aimless life, to not even have those memories would be hell. And you… and you… if you should happen to read this letter far into the future, I pray you will not realize for whom this letter is meant.”

Only now does Hee-jin realize what Boong-do did so that she would forget him, knowing that he lived with his memories. Dear god, this poor girl. What more can she go through? What more can we go through?

The door opens behind her. Boong-do’s voice calls out, “Why didn’t you answer the phone after calling me?” She turns around, and there he is, standing in the suit he carried with him all this time. How…?

Boong-do: “I had to search for you for so long. Didn’t you call me? One hour ago.” He holds up the phone, Hee-jin just stares in shock, and he smiles.

Flash back to Boong-do hanging from the ceiling. The sound of the phone ringing brings him back from the brink, and through blurry vision he can see the screen lit up on the floor in disbelief. Filled with new resolve he grasps the noose around his neck and pulls, slowly choking as he tries to free himself.

The knot from the rafter eventually gives way, sending Boong-do sprawling to the floor, coughing. He’s barely able to grab the phone, and the moment he answers it he disappears…

…And reappears in modern day Seoul. He’d answered the phone only moments too late, since Hee-jin left it inside her car when she scrambled out of it for breathing room.

He takes one look at his surroundings, and though his vision is still blurry he can recognize the lights and sounds, and laughs with joy once he realizes where he is. He’s still got the phone to his ear and says, barely able to contain his happiness and relief, “Hello? Hello? Are you listening? Hello? Answer me please, ‘Most Beautiful Woman Ever’.”

He laughs again. Oh Boong-do, I’d laugh with you if I weren’t still emotionally traumatized.

“Are you just going to stare dumbly like that?” he asks Hee-jin, back in the present. “If you summoned somebody who was living just fine, shouldn’t you take responsibility for it?” Hee-jin can barely stammer out: “Close the door.”

He does. Hee-jin asks him to come closer, and reaches out to touch his cheek as though she still can’t believe it. “You’re real…” she murmurs. “You’re alive.”

Boong-do is even in the mood for jokes, since he tells her in his usual deadpan delivery that the year passed speedily for him – he travelled around and left a lover in every province. She playfully calls him out on lying, saying that the evidence is right there, and points to his letter projected on the screen.

Hee-jin asks him how this all happened – what about the talisman?

Boong-do: “I burned it.”

Hee-jin: “Then how did you come here?”

Boong-do: “I came back because you called me.”

Hee-jin: “Me?”

Boong-do: “You.”

He cups her face in his hands and wipes away her tears, and they convey more with looks than words can do alone. He brings up the tie (Too. Soon.), claiming that he missed the use that she’d taught him, “So much so that I wanted to die.”

She tugs on the tie just slightly, the way she did when she first introduced it to him, only this time it’s Boong-do that swoops in for the kiss.

Hee-jin: [in voiceover] “A chance encounter that started with a gap in time… that meeting already ended a year ago. Our reunion now is not because of a mysterious talisman written by a monk, but because of a string of memories that belongs only to us both. Now begins our second encounter. Now, I am his lifesaver. The price to pay? All he has to do is stay forever by my side.”

And Boong-do interrupts his own makeout session to look at the screen curiously – how does his letter still exist? Ha, I love that he’s all upset that his private letter isn’t so private anymore. He’s all, I must destroy it! which gets a chuckle out of Hee-jin, because it’s going to stay in the museum, forever out of his reach.

More kisses. Lots more.

The projection screen plays an epilogue, as Soo-kyung sits Boong-do down to get the skinny on this boyfriend Hee-jin never mentioned before. She starts rattling off questions about what university he attended, where he lives, his parents… and Boong-do chuckles, because this will be the third time they’ve had this conversation.

 
HEADSNO2’S COMMENTS

Now that I’m left to stare at the pile of tissues amassed from this finale, I can only shake my head at how oblivious I was at the end of episode fourteen, thinking, “Well, what could possibly go wrong from here?” Answer: EVERYTHING.

I don’t mean that in a negative sense at all, because I remain completely floored by this writer’s ability to wring maximum emotional impact from her scenes by going above and beyond, without me feeling manipulated in the process. It’s something I’ve noticed throughout the series, but where it really started to kick in was Boong-do’s talisman fade-outs – him disappearing on Hee-jin once was bad enough, but to let him reappear just long enough for them to see each other before ripping them apart? That is tragic.

And again, with Boong-do’s hanging sequence – it’s something that would have been horrible any way it was presented, but using the necktie, with all its previous warm and fuzzy connotations, was just plain traumatizing. And yet, it was such a testament to how thought-out everything was in this series – nothing was wasted, and every moment had its purpose. A necktie gift with smooches can later turn into a noose to hang our hero, and an innocuous joke about an illicit royal affair can turn into the means in which our lovers reunite. I never felt like this show was unsure of where it was going, and yet that surety didn’t equal predictability. It’s one of the (many, numerous, countless) things I loved about this show.

This is one of those dramas that got me at a gut level all the way through, and on that same level, I’m satisfied with the talisman/conflict resolution. I kept second-guessing that feeling when it was all said and done, worried that I was all too eager for a fanservice offering. And maybe I was, because even though the critic in me would have acknowledged the completely logical and realistic end – with Boong-do hanging in prison and Hee-jin living forever with her memories and no way to reach him – my satisfaction would only ever remain on a mercenary-like cerebral level. I would have to grudgingly accept the cold logistics and move on.

And yet, while having fantasy elements in a story does not automatically preclude wholly realistic ends, the use of fantasy in the resolution stayed fairly organic to the world in which it was made. The talisman had its own logic, sure, but in the end it was still just a magical piece of paper written by a bald guy. It had a set of rules and stuck by them – something I feel is always a necessity with mystical elements – and rather than feeling like the hand of fate swept in to fix everything, it suited the way the magic has worked so far for Boong-do to finally pay his debt for cheating death, with death. Without any hope of being saved Boong-do was ready to give up everything, and only at that last crucial moment did the tide turn so that the phone, a recurring motif throughout this drama, could ring with what was literally a life-saving call. Or did it? It was hard to see through a veil of tears.

Queen In-hyun’s Man was a show unto itself, seamlessly blending time travel, mystical elements, comedy, action, intrigue, and romance all into one perfect sixteen-episode package. It managed to be all things while sacrificing nothing, creating the most wholly-engaging romance I’ve experienced since The Princess’ Man, while still sustaining a lively ensemble cast that didn’t just seem to exist in our lead couple’s love vacuum. That’s a feat that’s becoming rarer and rarer, and serves as a testament to the love and care put into creating the world of this drama, which is a care I could actually see from moment one, and one I could feel when the week between episodes seemed to span years. There are a million tangible things you can attribute to this drama’s sheer magnetism (stellar directing, writing, acting, ensemble, soundtrack, Ji Hyun-woo), but in the end, it’s just another kind of magic.

 
JAVABEANS’ COMMENTS

And you were almost perfect.

This drama ranks pretty high on my all-time list, and managed to meld together an impressive blend of intrigue, romance, and emotion with tons of style and a captivating ambiance to boot. I loved the leads, and even when the supporting characters got upsetting, I always understood where they were coming from. The tone was pitch-perfect and moody and dramatic, and the writing worked with the fantasy time-travel device in a sharp, smart way that never assumed we were dumb, and always aimed to be thoughtful and clever. It stayed a step ahead of us and delivered in multiple ways—the romantic crescendo, the political machinations, the mystical time element. Everything was so well-placed that I was convinced it would be perfect through and through.

It’s just… one little thing. Which isn’t such a little thing, in fact. Oh, the deus ex machina, the higher power that swoops onto the stage in the last act and cleans up the messes created by the humans.

I was all set to put on my best debater’s hat and reason out why the ending worked for me, and why the phone-transportation trick was a smart way to resolve the conflict and not, in fact, a letdown. But here’s the thing: If I have to work to convince myself that it made sense, then it didn’t quite make sense.

To be sure, there are a number of ways I could probably explain the ending. Some people may call it searching for meaning in an ambiguous moment. Others have coined the term fanwank.

I get the purpose of the ending: It was Hee-jin who “called” him back, in both senses of that word. Now that the talisman’s power has been broken, all that remains is love to tie them together. It’s a wonderful message, and one I’d been looking forward to. It addresses Hee-jin’s earlier question about what cause-and-effect would be if they began a relationship, and Boong-do’s response that while their initial meeting may have been coincidence, every subsequent encounter was driven by their decisions. What an awesome line for a romance drama to take, when so many times the two leads are painted as victims—of family, of interlopers, of Fate, of circumstance.

So I love that this drama gave our couple agency over their feelings. The writer seemed determined to avoid the cliche where Fate jerks people around purely because something was “meant” to be or not be. No, this couple got to decide. Imagine that! Kudos all around. Furthermore, the drama has shown all series long that the power of their love transcended the talisman’s pull—it was so strong that Boong-do and Hee-jin could recover their lost memories even when their talisman-connection was severed. So… love opens wormholes?

But the actual mechanism of the resolution? The cure-all phone call? I’m not on that train, sorry. To borrow the drama’s own terminology: The effect was awesome, but the cause… not so much.

I have no problem accepting the existence of magic in this world; the entire time-travel premise requires it, after all. But you need to establish it, explain it, make it a part of your world. The magic of the talisman was well-established; the mojo surrounding that phone call felt pulled out of Drama’s ass. If you don’t set up the resolution adequately, then it becomes a last-minute cheap trick. The reason it leaves people dissatisfied is because Drama presents one problem, makes you worry about it, then announces, “Ha, just kidding! It’s really something else.” It’s a cheat.

This is the difference between leading someone naturally to a conclusion, and pushing them there by force. So the cell phone summons becomes an act of force(d logic), and lovely intentions aside, the effect leaves me drooping a bit. I try not to let it get me down, but I can’t pretend it doesn’t just because I don’t want it to.

For a drama that brilliantly avoided falling back on the same old set of well-worn cliches running rampant through dramaland, it’s a bit disappointing that this show pulled one out in the eleventh hour, when it really mattered. It KILLS me that the one time it misstepped is the one really crucial moment, the big climactic revelation. I dearly wish I could brush it under the rug and say it doesn’t matter, but it does.

Oh well. Perfection was probably too lofty a goal. Queen In-hyun’s Man still trumps most dramas this year, and perhaps the past several. If only it didn’t feel like it left me hanging in the end. I’ll forgive you, drama, if you give me a Boong-do to compensate.

 
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Thank you thank you... I was waiting on the final recap of this fantastic drama to end my QIHM obsession. It was nearly perfect (the drama I mean) and I'll take it when honestly I can't say that about any drama I've watched so far, even the ones I've enjoyed a lot.

Thank you Dramabeans for introducing this drama to me in the first place. If you hadn't started recapping, I would have missed out on this wonderful experience!!!!!

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Yes yes if it wasnt for the recaps here I wouldnt have watch this awesome show. Thank you ladies again and again.

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Ohmigod it's here!!! The ending's recap is here! I've been waiting for this for ages now! Thanks girls! You're the best. :D

Now on with the verdict. Gawd I love this show. I love this show more than I love my family. I even love this show more than I love Dramabeans and you girls (and that's saying a LOT). And although the resolution at the ending may have been a letdown, it's not enough to lessen my love for this drama. The use of the phone (or any other thingamajig the writer wanted to use for that matter) for the time-skip may have been more acceptable, you know, if the drama gave it more time for build-up and explanations. And since the show just employed it out of the blue, many may feel that what the writer(s) did was a cop out.

Actually my theory about the phone would be that since it's an object of the future, a technology that cannot exist in the past, it has to and must be brought back to the present to to, I don't know, put all things back to where it should be. and this reason may actually explain why the phone turned out to be the device that brought Boong-do back to the future. HOWEVER, this approach is very far from where the drama's coming from or where it's angling to. Actually, they never paid much particular attention to this side (technologies and other shizz) so maybe this is just me getting all scifi-ish for no reason.

Anyway, ONE bad thing aside, this drama is still one of my most-loved shows of all time and watching this is such a treat. God bless Korea for all our drama fix. And God, please bless me a Boong-do while you're at it.

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This drama was beyond magical. Watching those two leads act was like intruding on someone's intimate moments.

It was not just watching good acting, it felt like I was watching real love on screen. I guess a lot of people felt the same way, because the talk about this drama was never oh the acting is so great, but "are you sure, this is fake, because it feels mighty real."

I guess real it was. You could see the love in Ji Hyun Woo's eyes. I saw the love in Yoo in na's too. I am the type to want to pair actors together because they are doing their job well, well those two just felt I was witnessing fate coming together on my computer screen. Eerie and oh soooooooo beautiful.

This drama really does raze the bar. I can't stand those love triangle anymore. They are so overdone. One man, one woman finding love and going through the motions that goes with it.

Queen In Hyun, I raise my glass to you. And here is the hope that if the universe is kind, Yoo in NA and Ji Hyun Woo come together for real as they were meant to be.

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"I can’t stand those love triangle anymore"- Me too! I don't care how good someone says a drama is, it it has a triangle, I avoid it like cholera, head trauma, projectile vomit or diarrhea (a little Dr Jin reference here).

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For everything that was good, beautiful in this drama I can close my eyes for cphone...
QIHM has one of the most beautiful love stories, and cast who delivers. I didn't expect drama to became this big, but well deserved.
I enjoyed the ride, but everything must end. QIHM it was magic while it lasted...and you won't be forgotten.

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lovely post.

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I have to agree with javabeans about the ending.

For me, it would work much much better IF when HJ recalled everything, THAT ALONE helped BoongDo to travel to 2012. No mechanism. No phone-call. (I couldn't help but question how the battery and the signal work in 300 years ago.) Just the fact that she remembers him is enough. (And here he is, in the line between life and death, so it would be a perfect timing for him to time-travelling one last time, hehe).
For other drama series, I would just simply laugh it off and accept that illogical magic. But QIHM has been consistently logical and well-explained, so I expected more from the writer.

Anyway, I still love love love this drama!!!

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Yeah, if he had transported in mid hanging (ergo, I wished the tie had been the catalyst), it would have been perfect! In other words, how dare Boong Do use a tie for something other than a kiss!

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Here'll be my perfect ending, kkk:
BD decided to hang himself with the tie, but before that, he changed his clothes to the modern suits that HJ bought for him, with the phone in his pocket :). (i.e. he wanted to die with part of HJ by his side ;P).

At the same time, HJ was in the car and suddenly feel all the pain in her heart. (I loved that everytime he is in near-death situation, she felt it. Poor my girl!). Then all the memories with him flooded back into her head.

She remembering everything makes him "time-travelling" to 2012 .

And then she calls him. Teehee.

P.S. I love how this show makes all of us argue and think so much. Very few romantic trendy K-drama could really do that, I bet ;).

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that's exactly what i thought!! hahahaha

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I agree with you on this one!

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I had no problem with the use of the phone as a new talisman.

The original talisman was gifted to Boong-Do and was powered by Yoon-wol's love for him, and it was established in the previous episode that she could use (most likely subconsciously) it to call him through time to her, when she needed him right before she died.

The phone is Hee-jin's gift to Boong-Do, powered by her love for him, and she used it to call him through time when she needed him.

Every episode from the first one where he spent his first night in the future in the empty library room watching her phone ring repeatedly and not knowing what it was or how to answer it (and her use of another phone to find him), to the call from Jeju which she didn't answer at first because she didn't know who was calling, to the call at the awards show that was intercepted by Soo-kyung, to the telephone booth, all of these things built up the importance of the phone to tie them together. A phone was instrumental to their being able to meet each other at all. So the phone made perfect sense to me.

I was quite happy with this series <3

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awesome explanation!! That was the theory floating in my head, but I couldn't really put it into words. You've explained it beautifully, and I'm sure that's what the writer intended to convey :D

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IT'S FINALLY HERE THANK THE LORD.

I see lots of long comments and I can't wait ti read them once I'm done reading the recap!

Thanks so much HeadsNo2!

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Actually, I don't think it was a case of deus ex machina conjuring trick at all. I think it was a perfectly 'rational' (if I might use that term here) resolution, and here is my explanation:

It was not the phone call that did it (despite the beautiful line BoongDo spoke to HeeJin at the end), but the talisman, still at work after all this time. Its power was not gone just because it had been physically burnt -- remember, it was emphasized over and over that the talisman has its own life and would do what it must, despite all attempts to control it -- clearly, that included physical destruction, as well -- it was a mystical device after all. The talisman was just waiting to complete the process it started, a process it controlled from start to finish.

The removal of Kim BoongDo from Joseon to modern Seoul began with the first use of the talisman, and once begun, it continued inexorably until he lost all his connections to Joseon one by one. He gave up, or lost, his wealth, his honor, his loved ones, and in the end the only thing left to lose -- the only thing keeping him still bound to Joseon, that is -- was his life. When BoongDo gave that up too, his connection to his native world was finally severed and he was automatically part of the other world. As for the timely phone call, it was just a symbolic manifestation of the same process, its reflection in HeeJin's world, not the actual mechanism of BoongDo's transportation.

Now, isn't that so much nicer? :)

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one of the best dramas i've watched in some time. i enjoyed watching it AND reading the recaps. thanks :-)

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This drama has ruined me. I am completely unable to move on. Thank you so much for yet another amazing recap. Reading yours and Javabean's recaps on this show has been a treat.

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I'm surprised the prison guards didn't rifle Boong Do's bag. Now that was unbelievable.

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I was surprised they gave him his possessions. That was kind of strange.

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I was holding out on watching the finale cuz I was afraid it will be disappointing.. that's what

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(continuing on..) the comments seem to indicate. But after watching it, I like it. With a drama like this, I don't mind some magic swooping in to save the day. It is pretty impossible to give them a happy ending under the circumstances. But then, I also like how the magic wasn't completely nonsensical (there are loopholes) that Hee Jin's memories/love enabled his second talisman.

I feel that if it wasn't a phone, the effect would have been better... ring or wristwatch. We know that anything on him gets transported so, anything else would've worked.

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For an underhyped drama, I was totally blown away by how good it was. I love it when viewers are caught off guard by a drama that blows all the other contenders out of the water.

Cellphone magic? I don't care as long as there's a happy ending for the OTP. Besides, too much thinking makes your head hurt.

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I cried so hard both in ep 15 and 16. I was so afraid that the writer will separate the two leads forever! I m so grateful that they united at the end. I do agree that the phone mechanism was probably the least logical plot, but I wanted the leads to be together so bad that I'll just let it slide.

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I think this is a movie that upholds fate in a very strong way. True it upholds the individual's power of life, etc...but Fate and the Gods were also smiling down on the OTP.

The Deus Ex Machina at the end -- with the cellphone-- actually works. It felt like a true Deus Ex Machina, in that the fact that Boong Do was killing himself (wholeheartedly) and that true committment to deat was "noted" by the Gods, and also still an influence of the talisman, even though the talisman was burned and presumably powerless.

The fact that the documentary guy called her in to do the voice-over, the fact that the minister kept the letter and recognized the handwriting,---these could all be attributed to fate (Something outside of them wanting to be together) or to their strong bond with each other.) But one has to admit that controlling the lives of others is more in the province of Fate than it is in the power of OTP lovers. No matter how strong lovers are, can their combined energies cause the minister to save the letter, a director to write a script based on that letter, and create cellphone connection in a prison 300 years earlier with no cell towers?

When she is in the car and calls him just when he is committing suicide, it could be her spirit and his calling beyond the ages and blurring time. But I really prefer to believe that the gods had decided that Boong Do had suffered enough. Although Hee Jin's narration implies the talisman is powerless and that she is the life-saver of her man, I see Fate and Mercy stepping in. And that's when a true Deus Ex Machina works... when the characters in the play have earned it.

I totally loved this drama. Not sure when I will love another as much. Thanks for all your recaps.

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The phone call bugged me, but to be honest I would have taken unicorns, rainbows and magic bubbles if it meant our couple got a happily ever after. I wish they had done something else, I'm not sure what, but I'll take it.
Fanwank it is.

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Oh my god, this prg didn't just do what I think it did? It didn't REALLY delete my longest rant ever? Ahh, such a slimey little bugger!

Well, anyhoos, long thing short'ish:

At first I was irritated with trivialities in the ending: anyone ever tried hanging themselves and then, after hanging for some minutes, tried to push their fingers between their necks and the noose (that is being tightened with the whole dead wieght of the body, pardon the pun) and LOOSEN the noose by lifting themselves up, while the feet are still dangling in thin air? Anyone ever tried how fast one loses consciousness after the blood flow to the brain ceases? (It's a matter of seconds). This was annoying.

But, in medias res:

In all the earlier instances when Boong-do was about to die, he wasn't willing to really give up his life. So, he was given a life, but not really GIVEN a life. This time he was really willing to give up his life and was also REALLY given a life.

This made sense to me.

The talisman being burned before all this? Liked. It. Alot. Now I didn't need to think 'Oh, where did that faceless-monk-that-we-never-got-to-see get the power to scribble such a powerful talisman?', or 'Did Yoon-wol gain some mystical powers through her incessant prayers for Boong-do?'. I was able to go 'Oh, so the talisman was merely one representation of this godly inexplainable force that just. happened. to these two. No more explanations needed, can concentrate fully on the love story now'.

The ending with steamy kissing and 'joking' after nearly choking was rather bleh though. This drama could have done better than that, it was too... Hollywood-no-brainer.

A very good drama still :)

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And he shouldn't have been able to laugh and talk like that either! (After trying to hang himself) :D

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LOL!

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To me... tht time after seeing how sad and broken Heejin is he was just trying being the pillar of strength for her. We know how much Boong Do hates making Heejin sad thts why he burned the talisman previously in order to erase her memory to enable Heejin to move on with her life.
I love how both of them complements/support each other. Remember the the rooftop scene where Boong Do was crying, she was his pillar of strength then, offering him her shoulder to cry on by putting her cheery face on to lighten up the mood.
This time around, it was Boong Do, see how he broke into smile when he successfully made Heejin chuckle. It didn't take away the seriousness of his circumstances before but he was staying true to his character and it only emphasis of how much both of them complements each other.

I love this scene so much, its so beautifully acted, watching it make my chest heavy, so much so I feel it about to burst. The ambiance, lighting, beautiful background music, perfect acting and direction. Ahhh..its just pure LOVE

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Ditto on the effects of the hanging. But it's ok. In the larger of context of him wanting to die without thinking of living, and thus cancelling the initial cause-and-effect karma imbalance, it'll slide.

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The tie noose thingie was fully analysed a couple of days ago on the Korean dcinside boards:
http://gall.dcinside.com/list.php?id=peongkang&no=17851

The explanatory images have gone now, but apparently it was a normal knot rather than one of those noose knots!

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I liked the phone ending. I didn't really think of it as the new talisman. I thought of it more of like what kept allowing Boong-Do to keep going back to the present all along. Hee-Jin and Boong-Do's connection.

Of course, the talisman had something to do with that too, but I think that by the time the talisman turned black, that power was dying or flickering. I dunno if anyone noticed, but the talisman turned black twice--It turned black,he was able to avenge Yoon Wol and then go back to the present. He was there for a brief moment, but before he poofed, the talisman turned a deeper black. It was something I missed the first time and then realized after I re-watched that scene. But, anyway, dead talisman. Burning it was a good solution because it would seemingly take away everyone's memories and blah blah live separate lives. Except for the fact that Boong-Do was left with his. The first time, it was Hee-Jin and I think that's because he was gone, back to his time, and she was desperately holding on to his promise of returning. She lost her memory after she figured that was the last time she would see him again. Now, I think it was Boong-Do who was desperately holding onto something--his memories with Hee-Jin. He just thought maybe he would lose those if and when the talisman was burned but I don't think he truly believed or for better word, was sure of this.

So, when Boong-Do is about to die, even without the talisman, I thought that he might still be able to go back. I think the phone call coming through even though he was in a different time was there to say they are finally truly connected (bars be damned!). And like HeadsNo2 said, it was a recurring motif...they had to use it sometime. It's nice because it's the call that came through when all those other calls (in similar situations) were missed. Who is to say it wasn't the talisman putting the cork on that magical phone connection the whole time, anyway? Goodbye Talisman, Goodbye metaphorical time/space train-station?

Improbable? Fuck yes. But so is time-travel.

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Saying the phone is the "new talisman" isn't off or nonsensical to me either.I mean if Yoon-Wol's sincerity in keeping Boong-Do safe could end up in opening a space/time portal through paper then why can't Hee-Jin's sincerity in trying/wanting to reach Boong-Do cause a similar riff in time? They're both wishing the same thing. That he doesn't die/is dead. It's just that the portal opens up from whatever they're staking their hopes on.

Yoon-Wol=paper
Hee-Jin=phone

Why exactly not? Because a monk didn't write on it? Psssht, whatever.

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This:

Yoon-Wol=paper
Hee-Jin=phone

is also perfect.

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Somewhere another commenters posted that she had wished the new talisman was a thing more magical. Well, to Joseon eyes, the cell phone is probably helluva more magical than a saffron silk talisman. In some ways, I feel as if QIHM was trying to make us question what has become so mundane to us. The use of the phone booth in particular - a rather quaint one at that - made me step away from how I've come to take the cell phone for granted.

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Aww, what a lovely interpretation of it. ^^

In truth, I barely use my cell phone, I guess I take it for granted too, lol. But, if it was gone I'd probably feel that loss. If any connection was gone, you'd definitely feel it. BD and HJ always had their memories as their biggest and strongest connection, but I guess they also needed something tangible to help them along and create that big jump. Haha, cell phone it is, then. One call filled with sincerity, ordering one Boong-Do to stay :D lol.

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Please people, I'm telling ya it was NOT THE CELL PHONE -- it was the TALISMAN still at work!

YES, IT WAS THE TALISMAN --see #58 above for the explanation.

Don't try to justify using the cell phone as a new backup talisman, because I agree that's just a trick not worthy of the caliber of the rest of the script -- the original talisman was still at work because physical destruction is irrelevant to it (its power was still intact after it was cut in half, remember?).

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I agree with you. The talisman still affected him...after all, how could he be rewarded for trying to fully kill himself..by NOT dying? The very idea that he could not die when he was willing to die...is still part of the talisman. I wonder if he ever thanked Yoon Wol for helping him to find his true love. Just saying.

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I don't have problem with the assumption that the talisman still holds its effect.

What makes me uneasy is
How could HJ's call reach BD's phone in 300 years ago? HOW? (I'm sorry but when involving something technology like phone, I want it to be logical and so. I'm fine with the talisman and the monk though.) I'm trying but still unable to explain it, hmm. Sorry for being levelheaded then. (Blame it on QIHM for making my expectation so high!)

As I said before, the ending would work much better for me if BD was transported to 2012 first (thanks to HJ's recall of everything) and the phone rang after. (i.e. everything would still be the same, except for the order.)

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Magic. Why does it have to be logical when the whole story is based on something illogical. WHY? (I'm sorry but you're being inconsistent here, not levelheaded). Sorry for blowing my nuts but I don't get why people keep bringing this complaint up. If they can accept the magic reason for the first 15 episodes than they should be able to accept the magic reason for one episode at the end.

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Agreed. It is primarily a fantasy story. Fantastical things will happen.

There's a reason why a magician never reveals their tricks. It's because it makes it less enjoyable. It's not supposed to be something you question, just something you watch happen.

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It's not a problem at all. The phone call coming through is perfectly 'levelheaded', as you say, because it's a sign that the time warp connection has been re-dstablished by BoongDo's attempt to kill himself. The writers were thus letting the audience know what was going on. And although this is beside the point, if the call had gone through after the time warp, it would have been kind of lame -- the dramatic impact would not have been there.

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My interpretation of this ties in with the very first scene of the drama. Although it never appeared again, do you remember the concept of times merging together, until they came to that one point where Hee-Jin and Boong-Do met?

I think by the time Boong-Do was hanging himself, the "barrier" preventing time travelling was breaking down. Don't ask me how or why, because I can't quite explain that either. Maybe because Boong-Do was finally committed to giving up his own life? In any case, I believe that was why the phone call went through and thereafer allowed Boong-Do to time travel again.

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Anyway, I love this drama. It is such a cute, romantic and fresh drama, but it still gives us many things to talk and discuss about. It forces us into both the fangirl mode and the logical/brainy mode at the same time.

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Honestly rather the cell phone, I think it was the memories that brought them together and trumped over all, which I respect more so because whether liked or not memories are powerful yo, ^^ just my take on it...

Also rather than him calling her, I think that the call went through and he was on the line, just she had left.

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When I first finished the drama, all I could think about was how I should have stopped at 14 when things ended the way I wanted them to. (With them being so happy together, I didn't care about wrapping up the whole talisman thing) However, after seething for hours about how stupidly they played off the cell phone calling him back, I tried to put myself in the writer's shoes and ask why that would work. It acted as his modern talisman. Before Yoon Wol's talisman was destroyed, Hee Jin tried calling him but it wouldn't work. Only after it was destroyed could her talisman call him, as there wouldn't be an imposing force from Yoon Wol's. I just have to wonder after she lost her memories of him, did the phone delete his number since he didn't exist? Did she see "player" and delete the number herself? If she had remembered him and called his phone at a time when he wasn't in danger of dying, would it still have worked? In any case, I guess I shouldn't be too upset about a cell phone transporting someone from a time without cell phone towers to the present, when I've believed in a piece of paper that did essentially the same thing. (Also, only Boong-do would interrupt a makeout session like THAT to ask about something that could have waited.)

Thanks for the recaps! This drama is definitely my favorite of the year so far even if the ending wasn't perfect.

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Yup, only Boong Do would get righteously indignant about something he wrote in that past. That was hysterical!

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I was completely fine with the ending, honestly I had no idea it had caused so much rage among the fans until I read the comments here, haha!

When Bong Doo hung himself and the phone rang I was like, "ok this is stupid" because I thought it was just added for the sake of moar tragedy. Then they met each other, and I was there watching wondering how the hell that had happened, but then Bong Doo said "I'm here because you called me", I had my answer. Their connection was so powerful and they were so drawn to each other that not even time could separate them, and the phone wasn't even that important (as in, I don't think it was magical or anything, I just think the sudden rush of memories and their love is what made possible for him to be brought back to the present.) It's like she said, it wasn't because of a magical talisman (or cellphone), or some other complicated explanation of magic or physics or fate laws, it was simply because she called him, because of their memories. I mean I didn't come to that conclusion after thinking about it, it's just how it came across to me when I was watching :P

Thank you so much again for recapping this wonderful drama, it has set the bar way too high for me, haha!

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I do think it is funny that many commentators accept the premise of time travel by a "magical talisman" but don't buy a cell phone would ring if it is off, there would be any battery power left after a year or you could get cell reception in 1695.

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I don't have a magical talisman, but I do have a cell phone ;-). I can't even get reception inside my office, much less in 1695!

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Lol right.

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LOVE THE ENDING. I really felt for these characters. Thank god I'm alone at the moment because I was a crying mess.

I love how they gave a purpose for the fact that it was only them two who remembered when everyone forgot everything. It came into play at the last moment. He destroyed the talisman choosing to remember and her to forget. Only, she couldn't and the talisman had no power over that. So I liked how it was her regaining her memory that allowed him to be brought back. I don't see it as a cop out of love conquering all. It follows through with everything they've been doing, like with affair, the necktie... the memory hitch came into play. Love this show to pieces and it was perfect for me. There wasn't one instant where this drama let me down. I believe drama you have become my number 1 of all time. Sorry to all other dramas. You've been replaced.

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Agree with you. I wasn't let down either :) DVD needs to come out NOW.

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After King2Hearts (bittersweet ending; good for leads; bad for a couple of likable supporting characters) and Fashion King (horrible, horrible, horrible ending), I'm not going to quibble about QIHM's ending. Yeah, the cell phone might knock this drama down from a perfect 10 to a 9.8 in my opinion, but it's still one of the best KDramas that I've seen.

By the way, QIHM is headed to Viki. I'm glad, because I'd like to watch it again, with subs, good quality, and witheach episode in "one piece" instead of four. Hopefully, DramaFever will pick it up as well (so I can watch on the Roku)...I inquired on Twitter and basically got the "we'll pass the suggestion along" response.

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VIKI! Yeah!!

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NOW?
AFTER ALL THAT WORK I DID DOWNLOADING AND DOWNLOADING AND SYNCHING AND RESYNCHING?

I AM NOT COMPLAINING. REALLY. I AM VERY HAPPY.
SEE :) I AM EVEN SMILING.

I guess all that effort made me even more fond of Show...
I guess that means Dramafever will pick it up, too.

Whoever over there decided to get Dr. Jin instead should be given a talking to...just saying...

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Agree about DramaFever, just read all of the 5 star comments there. Everyone that watch at DF, make sure you click email me when available so DF knows we are waiting!

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(I actually do that every time I go over there. You can trick it, and ask a bunch of times.)

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2 episodes loaded on viki, no subs! Reality is getting closer and closer!

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Bahahahaha. I love Viki; everyone there is hilarious. I'm looking forward to all the comments people are going to leave.

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Did anyone get the Dramaload for ep 11?

For the tip toe kiss, it just reads
....... OMO!!!!!!! O.O

through the whole thing. I LOL every time.

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Bahahahahahahahaha! At least they're accurate.

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Noticed that too. OMO indeed!

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ha ha! i for one have nothing to fault this drama, 10/10! just wondering though, the people defending the supposed flaws of this drama, how many r making intelligent sensible points and how many r just on QIHM fan girl mode?!! I am a fangirl for sure, cuz everytime somebody bashes on anything abt this drama a little piece of my fragile heart hurts ; )

why so serious people QIHM rules, supposed faults and all atleast we all agree on that. only sad point is KBD wont be there to receive his deserved accolades when award season rolls around ; (

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I loved the ending. Not because the OTP end up together, but i think that the "You called me" made sense to me.
BD disappeared from the present because YW 'called' him. It wasn't because of the talisman but because YW called him. So it made total sense to me that he went back to seoul because HJ called him. I actually didn't need much convicing of the ending.

I think they shouldn't have made the phone ring. He should have just disapparated (?) to the present when she tried his cell phone. I think that was my only gripe. As a person working in a telecom company i can say that no cell will work in a networkless world. magic or not. Wands may work... cellphones no.

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Amazing amazing amazing. how can I describe this show? lately I've seen some great shows in kdramaland. thank you Kdrama god!! some of the best kisses ever ever ever!! :)

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I agree with HEADSNO2 that it wasn't so much the phone as it was his dying without any hope of being saved - paying that debt. If just a phone call would have saved him - she tried calling him back when he first disappeared on her.

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Best. F'ing. Drama. Evar.

tvN is hot - my second favorite drama ever is Shut Up: Flower Boy Band.

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Thank you so much for this recap and your final thoughts.

I felt a little deflated at the end too, but not so much because of the details but rather where they left it. What I mean is that the the whole drama was focused on the issue of time travelling and so forth, that the final two episodes didn't seem to add that final chapter culmination, peak and conclusion. It was more of a continuation of a bumpy ride.

I am not saying that I did not want the last two episodes, because I thoroughly enjoyed them and thought that they added much to the continuing story and 'drama' BUT what I wished for was some of the story set here in the future; where we get to see Boong-Do adjust to the future, his life with Hee-Jin.

Sure, he is such an all rounder that I don't see him failing to become a success here too AND neither do I doubt that their true love would smooth over any relationship hiccups either BUT all the same I would have liked to have seen him struggle to find a place for himself, here with Hee-jin, for that last chapter conclusion.

I guess, I am just being greedy and I suppose that is where my imagination should start working.

An excellent drama, congratulations to all involved and much, much heartfelt gratitude.

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This was a time extending this drama by 1-2 episodes would have done it justice!

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Agreed.

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i heard they're airing two special episodes this week!

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I think they cancelled this. They were going to, but...not anymore ):

BUT there is this:

http://ygunited.com/2012/06/09/queen-in-hyuns-man-to-officially-release-dvd/

BONUS FOOTAGE!

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I also loved the bit during the ending credits where he goes through the questioning for the 3rd time :) He's a pro at answering those questions now, and her reaction is wonderfully consistent ^_^

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i watched episode 15 and 16 in the same day. and pretty much cried through both. i felt drained at the end and depressed that the drama was over.

favorite drama of the year. hands down. i hope that more people get to watch it now. it's really just, amazingly wonderful.

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Thank you so much!!! I was waiting for this! :)
I did watched the finale and I have to say it was as I expected, except for little details, but at the end I got the finale I was expecting.
I know javabeans does not "like" the cell transportation thing at the end, but in episode 15 the cell become a expectant tool that the writer will use, because s/he don't just put stuff around and don't use it. I knew that he will come back at the end of his life because Hee jin will call him, like the other girl called at her end. I was satisfied with this end :)
QIHM is has been a ride that I am most willing to take again, thank you so much for so much talent in S. Korea! :)
Boong-do i will definitely miss you mil! :)

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THANKS for all the recaps, and the love, and the opinions.

He laughs again. Oh Boong-do, I’d laugh with you if I weren’t still emotionally traumatized.

Soooo true!

As Heads pointed out, I am also amazed at how they put us through and rethrough and rethrough AGAIN the emotional ringer, but I NEVER not ONCE ever felt manipulated. I don't know how. I just didn't.

For the record, I am ProCell Phone ending.
I have no qualms whatsoever with him being called (back) from the dead/near death via the phone, or her memories, or anything. The magic connection between them, whether it was powered by God, Deus, Buddha, Samsung, AnyCall, Fate or Marty McFly, couldn't be broken. Yes, their love was the talisman.
Why were they so lucky? Why them? Were they the only lucky OTP in the history of time?
Maybe, maybe not, but as far as I am concerned, they deserved it, and their happiness makes me very happy indeed.

I think that it is awesome that everyone has theories and feelings about it, and I am impressed with how well folks are presenting these ideas.
Yet another reason DB is the best place on earth.

Before I finish this particular post, I need to say:
OMG OMG OMG Didn't JHW look completely hot in EVERY SINGLE SHOT IN BOTH 15 and 16?!

I know that part of it is that Writer Song has built for us a perfect man, but all that personality stuff aside he was beautifully styled whether it was Mr. Perfect Joseon, Mr. Perfect Modern Casual, or Mr. Perfect "I am wearing a completely boring Black suit, with a white shirt and a freaking black tie and I still look THIS good!"

And for me, all-best-kisses-ever-in-a-drama-ever aside, the most memorable and sexy Boong Do-ism in the show was:
The Slow Blink
I would pay lots and lots of money to be the receiver of The Slow Blink.
It makes me insane.
Even more believe it or not, than the kimchi kisses from FBRS.
I don't know if that is from JHW or someone on the crew, but it is genius, and I will love him forever because of it.

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LOL jomo! I also noticed how good that suit looked. I was just like "what is THIS magic??? Did she have it tailor-made?!"

The Slow Blink was awesome. I rewatched it too many times, hahaha.

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There should be a wireless provider called ProCell. :)

Maybe we should make teams. The ProCell and the AntiCell.

Would there be an inbetweenCell? coz i`d be in that one.

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Come to the ProCell side, we have Una-shaped cookies.

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Two points stand out:

"DB is the best place on earth."

The Slow Blink. Sexy as hell, yeah!

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kiyaaaaaaaaa. the slow blink. I die.

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Honestly, I'm rather glad for him that he's off to the army after this. I can't imagine that it'd be easy transitioning from Boongdo to some other k-drama hero. He's such a lucky dawg to have been Boongdo. Can you imagine all the other k-drama actors wishing that they had been offered Boongdo? But I'm so glad it was none other than JHW. I really can't imagine Boongdo as anyone else. Spirit embodied, indissociable.

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It's amazing how this show played out our all time romantic scenarios besides the slow blink :-

- passionate kisses
- longing looks/stares
- phone booth back hugs
- polite conversations (you're not dumb, just lack of knowledge..awww)
- bicycle back rides
- strolling along train rails (don't try this at home!)
- how to take advantage of tinted car screens
- how to take advantage of neck tie
- how to take advantage of enclosed area eg. lift & library

did I miss any?

and the most amazing part is I suspect JHW is a romantic himself...I'm so happy for YIN.

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Aaah, one more - slurping same strand of pasta...

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omo u are soo right... this show has all my favorite romantic scenes !!

i really love when they stare at each other ... magic !!

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The slow blink. I don't get why it's so romantic but it is. It says so so so much. "I'm here. It's just us". It's the same as his slow blink from when he was in the crowd and they were staring at each other. Le sigh. I replayed both times over and over and over...

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Many, many thanks to Javabeans and HeadsNo2 for introducting me to and recapping this series. I usually just read recaps in the interest of time, but I'm glad I made an exception here. What an incredibly fun and addictive run!

After watching the entire drama and reading everyone's comments, I understand why people are riled up on multiple fronts. The denouement - and the premise of the show, for the matter - left more than enough room for debate.

Perhaps my personal taste is at play, but I rather like that not-so-clearly cut facet of this show. I see what the writers were doing, and I rather admire them for it. The show has finished, but like a fond memory, a little time and reflection give a specific moment even greater meaning.

Though the execution wasn't perfect, the experience was sublime.

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Definitely, unabashedly, absolutely agree!!!!!

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seem like I'm the only one bother with the rain. well both of them was in the rain, she is still wet. so how did he get to dry himself and the clothes too??

I mean did he get to sauna and get ready before meeting her or some?

and yep the mobil thing was a let down.

Afghanistan he is going to army now T-T see you in 2 years bong.

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I've been waiting for this recap for the longest. And I wasn't disappointed by the commentaries. Thank you.

For me, the ending worked symbolically after the episode ended and not during. While watching the show--when the phone rang as Boong-do was close to death, my initial reaction was WTF and I have issues. There was no logical basis to introduce the phone here but more importantly, I was expecting the writers to BLOW ME AWAY and the writers didn't with the phone. That was the disappointment. The more I thought about it, the phone makes logical sense since it represents, simplistically, Hee Jin pure love as the talisman represented Yoon Wol's love. The phone (or the red phone booth) thematically, throughout the drama, was an important tool.

I generally don't expect much and just want to me thoughtfully entertained but QIHM was different and I expected perfection or close to it. QIHM so far is my favorite drama this year and one of my all time favorites.

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I'm still thinking about this drama... I think I would have maybe preferred the scene in the cell to be as follows: Boong Do, being close to death, vanishes and is transported forward to modern day seoul and simutaneously we see the phone being activated with Hee-Jin's picture for symbolic measure of love, memory, devotion, etc., So, the whole scene of him freeing himself and answering the phone is deleted. This scene is not necessary and only causes confusion by putting too much emphasis on the phone. The phone should only play a symbolic role as it did throughout the drama. I think it bothered me when the phone became an active participant. This way, the show goes back to the original theme of the talisman, 'to die so you can live', the ultimate sacrifice, and love and memories.

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Pretty good alternative....letting the cell be just a symbolic gesture so that all these brouhaha surrounding the ringing phone had never ever started at all.

On second thought, even the ringing of the phone in 1694 with no network service in ancient Joseon, even a symbolic device, will also invite tons of gripping, lol

Best if there's no phone call at all ? And our girl would not be able to say "I save you and your price is to stay by my side forever?" lolz

But actually I am a pro cell fan.... hehe.

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I can't believe this show has really ended. So brilliantly done in so many ways, I have no idea what show I will be watching after this. Thank you so much for all your recaps!!

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I loved the ending, but I also felt a little let down about the use of the cell phone at first. Then I thought about it, and it works well. The talisman was embedded with Yoon-wol's feelings, and that is why it worked. We see Hee-jin preparing the cell phone with just as much care, with the hopes of being able to call him to her. Plus Boong-do's acceptance of death bringing Her memories back had a very interesting meaning to it. Only by being truly willing to die could the cell phone talisman work for Boong-do.
The only thing that bothers me now is that bit in the very beginning of the show, where Boong-do is in the palace and has his horse jump over the wall just as arrows are about to hit him landing him in the future to ride up to Hee-jin's car. What happened to that? I was hoping the show would come back around to it. But it seems like it never actually happened.

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heh...launching point for QIM, season 2!! He ends up going back in time again!

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Worst. Calling. Plan. Ever!

;-)

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cell-phone talisman - I like this idea!!!

i think that opening sequence was simply a metaphor for the drama. it didn't fit with the story as it played out, so I'mf ine with them dropping it. plus the production got themselves a nice promo still out of it too (the kiss) - and i'll admit it's one of the reasons why I decided to check the show out.

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Thanks so much for some awesome recaps!!! I loved loved LOVED this show!! So glad I decided to follow it (per your recommendations!)

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Omo .... the DB final episode recapture is out... does this mean that QIHM is officially finished? *waaah*

I have watched a lot of dramas in the last few years and this has jumped to No 1. It's like a sickness I cant shake off. And I want to infect everyone with it. In fact, once I get confirmation that the DVD will have English subset I plan on getting a copy for all the important and loved women in my life. May cost me some money, but in this sometimes cold and harsh dating reality, I think we can all use a little KBD in our lives (or a LOT...just saying').

This drama has raised the bar for me also. So much that I haven't picked up dramawatching again yet. I read recaps but cant quite bring myself to commit. I spent so much time stalking soompi, downloading raws., reading recaps on a handful of sites, and re-watching and downloading stubbed episodes...it literally kept me so busy that now I feel a bit... LOST. I have my husband looking at me strangely for wanting to re-enact certain kisses. Ugh.

I think it's a true testament to how much this drama was loved that people will discuss the pros and cons of its ending even a week after the finale has aired. People don't feel this passionately over something they feel blase about. We all talk about BD and HJ like they are close friends of ours. And they were. For 16 beautiful weeks we were a part of their worlds...and I feel blessed to have been a part of this wonderful QIHM family.

I have always been content to watch dramas and read recaps on my own (it was my secret single behavior until it became my guilty pleasure married behavior -I always told loved ones, yes DH included, quoting SATC "It's my thing, let it go".) Until this drama. Never have I wanted to have a group of drama enthusiasts with me more... spazzing and squealing and crying (snotnoses and all) together.

I swear, sometimes on soompi, I swear I can hear a collective sigh during one of BD's kisses. I felt a group swoon under BD's intense gazes. As thundie's prattle said so eloquently, never has falling in love been depicted more deliciously. I know I fell. And I fell so hard I fear I am ruined now.

Thank you DB, Heads and girlfriday for recalling this! I fall under the category of people who would never have watched QIHM had I not read your recapture. And the loss would have been so great.

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""I have my husband looking at me strangely for wanting to re-enact certain kisses. Ugh""

Hahahahah! I had a good laugh Mrs D! I do the same thing too! Why won't men just oblige?

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My husband was happy to help out. He was like,
"What? I have to kiss you again?

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bwahahahahahha! LOL! Jomo, you kill me with your irrepressible spirit.

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Hi y'all. I enjoyed this drama and the recaps for the most part. The last 2 episodes were full-on but I started to think all the OTP had in common was lust though at the end I didn't care. It was a good drama better than others I've seen lately and I give thanks for that.

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The ending was beautiful.

The cell as a teleport device was an interesting touch. I'm glad she called.....

Thanks Heads and JB for picking this one up as a recap project!

Looking forward to Arang and Nice Guy. :)

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Yay for a fabulous drama! Without having read any other comments I want to talk about the cellphone thing. I definitely agree that it doesn't fit the logic of the drama on a mechanical level since "love opens wormholes" was never a concept that they pushed from the beginning. But "memories open wormholes" is one that they suggested. The strength and importance of memory was a theme that was there from the beginning, and if you think of the cellphone as simply the pen that connects the dots already laid out, then it makes sense: It's them thinking of each other in (roughly) the same place at the same time - even though Hee-jin doesn't remember their relationship - that opens the wormhole, not the fact that the cellphone magically rings.

If it was just the cellphone being "magick", why wait a year? Why not use the tie instead? You could argue that it doesn't really matter what item they used, because it would still be a fail, but I think the cellphone fits because there are simply more memories attached to the phone (and phones and phone calls in general) than to the tie. That's a lot of explaining, I know - I'm just trying to say that the cellphone works for me on an intellectual level as well as an emotional level, even though it isn't a watertight theory. I suppose years of being a fan of fantasy stories has led me to accept that nothing involving magic can be perfectly logical, since magic is by nature illogical and irrational (in contrast to reality and real-world rules).

JB accurately points out that the drama allowed them to decide their fate pretty much all the way through, and then let Fate have its day at the last minute. That was a disappointment with me too. Iwasn't 100% satisfied with the eclipse/spirit grandma resolution of "My Girlfriend Is a Gumiho", for the same reasons. With these types of stories it always ends up with "Fate/God/Spirit Grandma smiled on them and let them be together" as opposed to "they slashed open the wormhole with an enchanted sword" which would be my preferred ending or "they ripped open the wormhole with their bare hands", which was an ending that I absolutely loved in another story (though it wasn't a wormhole) . But eh - I am merely a lowly audience member and I'll take what I can get. And if what I get is a chockload of awesomeness with a little logical fallacy thrown in, I'm a happy camper :)

Thanks loads for the recaps, Heads and JB!!!

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now reading comments - glad to see I'm not the only one on the memory theory train. and happy that i'm not the only one philosophizing over a drama's ending, lol. I love you, Dramabeans and Beanies <3

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This comment is purely to leave my mark in the annals of Dramabeans.

Haha. :)

I am writing this for you and me both Dramabeans.

I might forget that I had written this comment (Never!)

Or even this comment itself might disappear (y3k)

For me or for you DB, this comment itself is written for whoever will hold on to the memories.

I might struggle to understand Korean sometimes, but one phrase will always be the same.

Saranghae DB.

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Awwwwww!

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Sunny <3 .

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"...if you give me a Boong-do to compensate"

@javabeans: Just stay in line please ^^~

Agree in some ways, the ending were missing its crucial explanation of cause. But the great effect, make the ending was "forgiven" to me ^^~

I'm really victim of romantic story LOL

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“…if you give me a Boong-do..."

Maybe Kim Sam Soon was prescient-- remember how hard she tried to change her name to Hee Jin?

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Maybe it wasn't all about the phone...

Two roads diverged in a wood, and the horse,
The horse took the one less traveled by,
And that made all the difference.

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Lol, clever girl....
:)

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Cell phone didn't work for me as the first thought was how could stay charged. The object that bong do brought the past to the present or vice versa did not freeze in time. It just likes the wounds bong do sustained in Joseon could be treated in modern world, it is continuous. If the cell phone were to have the similar power as talisman, you live when u die, bong do didn't have that in possession when he hanged himself. And, was the cell phone turned on all the time? The writer should have built up this theory more. And yes, ji hyun woo confession was distracting as I confused that with the plot, after all, choic hee Jin was an actress and I was reading live cap before watching the last episode. Somehow, it made me fall out of love after watching 16

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Do any of you lovely ppl know where I can view a clear video of Ji Hyun Woo confessing his love to Yoo In Na at the fan meeting?

I can only search in English and all the videos on Youtube are very blurry.

I LOVE that they may be dating in real life. How Sweet!

If any of you have ever read medieval romance novels (ala Judith McNaught) you will know that the protagonists are meant to be together when the heroine's head tucks neatly under the hero's strong manly jaw.

And Yoo in Na and Ji Hyun Woo fit like a puzzle. Hearts.

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"...when the heroine’s head tucks neatly under the hero’s strong manly jaw."

*Laughs* So true!

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