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Big: Episode 16 (Final)

Well, it ends. Listen, my mother said that if I don’t have nice things to say… waitaminute, my mother never said that. Let the ragefest begin!

This show is basically a lesson in math. Turns out you can have great parts, but the sum can add up to less than those parts. I know! I didn’t know it worked that way either! But math is wily like that. And apparently, so are dramas.

SONG OF THE DAY

Big OST – Gong Yoo “Because It’s You” [ Download ]

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FINAL EPISODE RECAP

Da-ran makes her big confession (handy to have the whole cast rounded up) that she’s in love with KKJ. She takes off the ring and leaves it on the table. Kyung-joon drags her away, and her parents are left to apologize to the in-laws.

Kyung-joon calls her crazy—he’s going to lose his memory and she’ll be all alone and hurt. Da-ran: “I’m going to remember. Even if it hurts, I can’t pretend you weren’t here.”

He stammers, “You’re not going to pretend it didn’t happen?” Is the question you’re really asking, Then was the last episode all for nothing? Because that sure is MY question.

Da-ran: “No. Because I said that my feelings for you were real. The you that I like is there. He’s there now and will be in the future.” He looks at her, dumbfounded—but he might not remember, and he might call her a crazy person!

She says through her tears that it doesn’t matter. She’s going to remember and protect their love, and she’s going to tell him everything. She’s crazy now, so why not go with it? He agrees that she sure doesn’t appear sane.

She gives him the watch she fished out of the lake, and he decides she’s officially crazy. He cups her face in his hands, sighing that she’s all dirty and smelly. She says it again—that even if he can’t remember her, she’s going to remember for the both of them, and that she won’t let go of him.

A tear falls as he hugs her tight.

Little Kyung-joon’s vitals spike, and his heart rate gets dangerously high. Se-young calls the parents, who run over and stay up with him that night, worried.

Kyung-joon and Da-ran walk down the street hand-in-hand, and he asks if she doesn’t want to go home and shower first. But she says she’s going to have to learn to be seen as a crazy person by the entire world, so she may as well steel herself now.

To that end, she decides to pick some flowers out of a planter on the sidewalk, to make up for the time she threw out the flowers he gave her. She runs across the street to wave them about and sing the Pororo song, and she successfully gets called crazy.

Kyung-joon runs over and sighs that he’d hate to forget this—it’s fodder for a lifetime of mockery. She says in turn that there are so many things she didn’t do for him when she thought he’d remember, and now that he’s going to forget she’s just full of regret.

Mari comes back to the restaurant to retrieve her fake ring and asks Aunt and Uncle to be a witness for her when Kyung-joon wakes up, to say that she’s the one who was by his side the entire time.

They nod that she’s right about that, and she sighs that she’s the only one who has the right to be by his side, and not lying Gil Teacher who goes back on her promises.

The Gil family waits on pins and needles for the fallout, and Choong-shik worries—if Yoon-jae and Da-ran left like that, the air must be frosty between them right about now…

Cut to the happy couple shooting furtive smiles at each other across the kitchen table. Kyung-joon starts in on his interrogation: “When did you first start liking KKJ?!” He slams his hands on the table for emphasis.

She retraces her steps, like the time she felt something when he showed up at the theater, or realized in the park that she was no longer waiting for Yoon-jae, but searching for Kyung-joon.

She argues that they should be going over his half of the story since his is the memory they have to recreate, but he counters that his part is just full of pain, like the time he confessed he liked her and she called him a blood clot, and on and on ad infinitum. Well, when you put it like that, *sadface.*

She wonders why she didn’t find the courage to confess her feelings sooner, and he tells her to just do well from here on out, because he’s going to write it all down from now on. And then they just make moony eyes at each other in an explosion of cuteness.

Mom and Dad sit by Kyung-joon’s bedside all night, and Mom says it feels just like when Yoon-jae was young and sick all the time. She wonders how it feels the same now, watching over Kyung-joon.

Da-ran heads home to face the music, telling Kyung-joon that they can’t exactly see each other out in the open anymore. He asks if they should just run away to the boonies and she vows not to do any more running.

She steps through the door cautiously to find the whole family waiting for her. They send her upstairs right away. Mom comes in brandishing a pair of scissors: “Even when my mom cut off all my hair, I still liked your father.”

She tosses Da-ran a wedding photo, and in it Mom’s hair has been chopped off. She asks now if Da-ran wants to end up the same way. Da-ran says it doesn’t matter, because if she has to pretend her feelings aren’t real, then she’ll never be able to smile like Mom in this photo.

She closes her eyes and braces herself, and even when Mom grabs her hair and puts the scissors to her head, she says nothing in protest. Mom stops when she sees Da-ran’s resolve, sighing, “You’re really crazy, aren’t you?”

Mom sobs in her room, as Dad comes to pat her back. She adorably calls him Teacher, and cries that she just said the same things to her daughter that her mother said to her. She wonders now how much she broke her own mother’s heart. Aw.

Kyung-joon stops by the hospital to check on his coma body, and is alarmed to hear about the near-heart attack. Se-young remembers that he first woke up in the morgue after the accident, after being declared dead.

He confirms it. Oh noes. This is going to an ominous place.

He sits with Teddy, blowing balloons, and tells himself the body swap will be fine—just like inflating a balloon, deflating it, and then inflating it again. But next to him, Teddy over-inflates his, and it pops, jolting them both. Kyung-joon grabs his heart in fear.

Meanwhile Mom happily tells Se-young to wait for Yoon-jae to return to his old self. Mari tells Kyung-joon that she’s going with him to Germany, but he says they’re not going anywhere.

He tells her that Gil Teacher will stay by his side when he wakes up and Mari gapes—you mean by your side, the little brother of the man she just cheated on? She calls Da-ran crazy, and he affirms that she is with a goofy grin.

Kyung-joon spends the entire next day trying to see Da-ran, but the Gil Family is on high alert, taking shifts to watch her every move. He finally has to romeo his way to her window late at night, and puts his arms out to 10:10 for her to jump.

She’s about to when Mom stops her, reminding her not to do something as despicable as keep all her options open (ie. play both Yoon-jae and KKJ), a phrase that means in the literal sense, to “maintain your fishing pond.”

Da-ran grumbles that her pond only has the one fish, and then worries, “What if it dries up and dies?” She decides to jump, to water her fish and save it.

She gives Kyung-joon his watch, newly fixed, and then leaves him with a peck on the cheek. He watches her go with a swoon, muttering that if she was going to water the pond, she should’ve splashed him, not given him one little drop. But then he goes right back to swooning.

The next day Mari stomps into the hospital with a team of bodyguards in tow, and declares that she’s going to take Kyung-joon away. Um… are we adding kidnapping to your ever-growing list of crimes? Because you can’t just steal people’s coma bodies and get away with it!

Kyung-joon goes to see Mom to tell him that he’ll go to Germany with Dad, and they should leave Coma Kyung-joon here. To his surprise, Mom says she’ll stay here with Kyung-joon then.

But they’re quickly interrupted with bad news: Kyung-joon is gone. WUT. She really took him? How does a person just walk away with a coma patient? SIGH. Whatever.

She answers Kyung-joon’s call to announce that she’s going to hide him away till he wakes up, and keep him from ever seeing Gil Teacher again. “You said Gil Teacher was crazy? Well then I’m double double double crazy!” Um… were you waiting for someone to argue?

He tells her that he’ll just stay in this body forever then, and not get treated. She starts to panic that he’ll die that way, and Kyung-joon calls her bluff: he’ll meet her tantrum for tantrum, and he’ll just die in this body if she keeps going. She breaks down and tells him she’ll stop.

Kyung-joon tells her that being with Da-ran is what he wants, and Mari can’t force things to go her way while ignoring his feelings. She counters that he’s doing the same, ignoring her feelings and Yoon-jae’s.

She puts the ring on the table to remind him that when Yoon-jae wakes up and finds Da-ran by Kyung-joon’s side he’ll be as heartbroken as Mari. Yeah, but I doubt he’ll resort to kidnapping to argue the case.

At the same time, Little Kyung-joon’s vitals spike again. Teddy and Rabbit worry that they yanked too hard, and we see that the Miracle picture has been torn in two.

Mari continues on her quest to meddle, and why this character is even still trying to run interference at this point is beyond me. She goes to the mandoo restaurant to lie to Da-ran that she hid the ring in the mandoo filling, just to send her digging for it.

Da-ran bursts all the mandoo to look for the ring and then chases after the delivery guy to steal other people’s mandoo dinners, all the while feeling terrible that she ignored Yoon-jae’s feelings.

At the hospital, Yoon-jae-in-Kyung-joon’s-body cries a tear, and then his heart rate goes shooting up again. But Kyung-joon shows up to hold his hand, and he comes back down to normal. Kyung-joon says he’ll wait until Yoon-jae’s stopped time gets cleared up too.

He finds Da-ran trudging along in the street, looking for something. He guesses right away that it’s the ring and he says he found it. They stand across the street from each other, talking on the phone, and Kyung-joon sighs that it won’t work for them to hold hands right away, will it?

The blinking red light and her silent pause confirms that he’s right.

He wonders how long it’ll be before they can be together, hoping that it won’t take too long. He worries that he won’t remember and they’ll be apart for so long that they’ll miss their opportunity.

But she assures him that she’ll remember. Kyung-joon: “If my heart has grown enough to be able to look back at someone else’s heart, if my heart has grown just a little… then won’t I wake up, not as a child who knows nothing, but someone who can remember Gil Da-ran, just a little?”

She says that her heart will grow too, every day as she remembers him. She promises to keep growing her heart, so that it’ll be impossible to ever let him go.

Kyung-joon finally (FINALLY) spells it out plainly for Mari, that he’s not going to wake up by Da-ran’s side right away, but he’s not going to stay by Mari’s side either. He tells her to stop running after him, because no matter how much she does, he’ll never go to her.

Just think of all the felonies that could’ve been avoided had you done this sooner! He says he ignored her feelings completely in all this and did as he pleased, but now he feels sorry and can’t keep letting her do this.

He says he’ll put up a very clear signal for her, and puts up his hand, “Mari-ya, stop coming.”

She looks up with her puppy dog eyes and cries, and then steps forward, just until her head meets his outstretched hand. Aw, that’s kind of heartbreaking. She goes literally as far as he’ll let her, and stops there, resting her head against his palm. He drums his fingers on her head one last time.

And then Choong-shik sees her off at the airport with a long face, as he watches her approach the gate. He calls after her at the last minute and runs up to write his name on her purse.

Mari: “Gil Choong-shik!” Choong-shik: “That’s right! I’m Gil Choong-shik! This will probably take about ten years to repay via pizza. I will pledge that time to you. You wait, Jang Mari!”

And then he walks away, finally getting his cool exit down just right. She smiles after him.

Kyung-joon meets with Mom to go over travel plans, and finds her studying a notebook. He asks what it is, and she says it’s her Kyung-joon notes, gathered from Da-ran and Mari, so that she can learn as much about him as she can.

She worries that he’s a picky eater and that she isn’t the best cook, but Kyung-joon tells her to do her best, and prepare for a cold response since he’s not the most well-behaved child. He grins to himself, touched at her effort.

Ae-kyung and Na Teacher pass around their wedding invitations, and Ae-kyung asks Da-ran what she’ll do next if Yoon-jae heads off to Germany. She says that he’ll return someday to give her an answer.

She says that she’ll tell him then, that she’s no longer waiting for his answer, but has come to love someone else, even more.

Kyung-joon watches over his body and says that he’ll meet Yoon-jae soon, and by now I’m just screaming, You said that eons ago. Can soon be now?

He runs into Se-young and apologizes to her for acting so immature lately, and says that when she touched his arm after the accident that was kinda sexy. She should do it again, when Seo Yoon-jae returns. He walks away with a smile, leaving her confused.

Da-ran walks through the park and stops to drop some money for a homeless man sleeping on a bench, and is shocked to find her green umbrella sitting right there, still with her name and number on it.

Wait… did you just steal from a homeless man? Er…

She takes it to a shop to get it fixed and finds Kyung-joon watering the lawn. She tells him to make it rain and opens the umbrella, asking if he remembers the day they met.

He remembers, and confesses now that he followed her off the bus, not because she stole his umbrella, but because he swapped them on purpose. Ha.

They ride the bus together now, remembering that day, and he says how funny she was, giving herself away with the radio story. He saw that their umbrellas looked similar so he slid his over to her, and she picked his up without even looking.

They wonder that if he liked her enough to do that, maybe when he wakes up, there’ll still be a little of her in his heart.

They get off the bus and she opens her umbrella, and he puts his hands over hers just like that first day. She hopes that if she remains in his heart, he’ll come after her again. He asks that if he does, for her to hold onto him, no matter what, and tell him about their love.

Kyung-joon: “Then we’ll come back to this time.” She takes his watch and says that the moment she tells him her feelings, Kang Kyung-joon will return to this instant, and says he’s now been hypnotized.

They get ready to part, and she starts to cry but smiles through the tears. He ekes out that he’ll be going, but then stops to say one last thing. “I didn’t want to say this. I wanted to say it to you when I returned, but… Gil Da-ran, I love you.”

A tear trickles down his cheek as he says it, and then he puts the umbrella back in her hands, and walks away.

One year later.

Da-ran is a teacher at a new school, and Mari sends her an email to say that both boys have returned to their rightful places, and that neither remembers anything after the accident. Wait… the big finale body swap happens offscreen? @&*#$T#*#KK!

Kyung-joon hasn’t asked about Gil Teacher, and per her promise to Kyung-joon, Mari won’t tell him.

Da-ran says to herself that per her promise, she’ll continue to remember.

Rabbit gets better and even gets to go home from the hospital, and Teddy gives her a big hug. Ae-kyung and Na Teacher are pregnant and happy. And Da-ran still stops every time she sees sunflowers.

Choong-shik slices and dices as the new chef at the mandoo restaurant, and Mom and Dad say that Da-ran is due for a visit, after stopping by her old school. Choong-shik heads out to send Mari yet another package of mandoo, only to find her standing at his door.

She’s here to accept an award, having turned her stalker photographer skills into an artistic pursuit instead. Well that’s lemonade out of lemons if there ever was. Choong-shik asks hopefully if she’s been eating the mandoo he’s sent, and she says her dog enjoys them.

She admits she’s tasted at least one, and he asks her how many points she’d give them. She judiciously says, “One.” Choong-shik pumps his fist in the air, to have finally made it out of zeroland.

At this rate it’ll actually take you a hundred years to get your girl. He asks if they can take a picture together and eagerly awaits the day he’ll get to two points. Aw.

Da-ran drops by Kyung-joon’s old house and sees a mother and her son living there now. She says she used to live here and just dropped by, and as she leaves the kid says that the hyung who was just here said the same thing…

It starts to rain, and Da-ran hops on the bus. She hears her letter being read over the radio, wishing the person she loves a happy birthday this June 24. Da-ran whispers on the bus, “Happy birthday, Kyung-joon-ah.”

The radio message continues that she’ll be going next month to see him, and though he won’t remember, she’ll tell him everything that she remembers. She looks down at her watch and it’s 10:10.

The message concludes, “I’m running towards the time right now, 10:10.” She looks down at the aisle, where another green umbrella lies next to hers, and she smiles.

She gets off the bus with her umbrella, and then suddenly a voice calls out to her: “Gil Da-ran!” Wait, that’s still Gong Yoo’s voice. Urg, and though we only see him from above as he runs under her umbrella, it’s still Gong Yoo. WHY. Why Show, why.

It’s supposed to be Kyung-joon back in his own body, but they refuse to show it to us. This is so lame. I waited sixteen episodes for them to reunite like this?

He puts his hand over hers and she looks up. And then the scene is intercut with Kyung-joon’s farewell scene, earlier in the episode. If we were going to do that anyway, would it have killed you to have Shin playing the present-day half of his own character?

Past Kyung-joon tells her to hold onto him if he comes back. Da-ran looks up and smiles at him now, “Hello, Kang Kyung-joon.”

Kyung-joon plays it cool, saying that he just came around because he was curious how she was doing, and she says she knows the real reason (his little crush). He walks off with the umbrella and an, “Uh-oh, you’re overreacting.”

Back to Past Kyung-joon, who asks her to hold on, even if he’s mean and cold and bristly in the future. She runs after him now, returning that gesture and putting her hand over his under the umbrella.

Past Kyung-joon says that when she tells him her feelings, they’ll return to this moment. She smiles up at him now, and his watch reads 10:10.

Back to Past Da-ran: “I love you.” Past Kyung-joon: “The moment I hear those words, my heart will grow, as big as it is now. Like a miracle.”

They beam at each other, and then we end, on Past Kyung-joon and Past Da-ran, under the umbrella on that day they parted.

 
JAVABEANS’ COMMENTS

What? Huh? What? What? Was that just in her head? What? How did he get his memory back? What? What was the point of the year? Did Yoon-jae get over his sadface? What?

I have no more words for you. Drama, you don’t deserve any more words. Go sit in a corner and think about what you did.

RAGEQUIT.

 
GIRLFRIDAY’S COMMENTS

*HULKSMASH*

THE FUCK? We don’t even get ONE measly glimpse of Kyung-joon in his own body, even when they meet again? BAH. So. Disappointing. I know it’s jarring, but you’re the one who stuffed the hero in the wrong body for the entire goddamn series; own up to it and let us see the couple who’s supposed to be together, TOGETHER. If that’s the line you’re playing, you have to see it through!

It’s not like Shin has to appear 30 for crying out loud; he’s just 21 so how hard is it to let us see the 21-year old hero in his own body, finally getting the girl? I was so ready to say that despite some unnecessary episodes and senseless prolonging of plot points, that they managed to salvage a satisfactory ending. Until they didn’t show the swap. And then that last scene… where they didn’t give me my ONE moment, of Da-ran with the real Kyung-joon! Aaaaaaaaargh.

That’s just… plain mean.

Siiiigh. So many ways this drama went awry, and sadly, I think it began at the roots. They should’ve stuck with the original Big concept of a boy who rapid-grows into his own 30-year old body, because then at least it would’ve been HIS body. Having him stuck in Yoon-jae’s shell (even till the final moments of the show, dangnabbit) just kept me at arm’s length the whole time, knowing that she was having to look past his shell. Sure, it’s admirable that she can, and I went along because I expected that we’d get the final scene with Kyung-joon in his own body to say yes, Da-ran still loves him completely, as himself. IS THAT SO HARD? Why must you take that away from me? How can a story culminating in a body re-swap… not show the swap??? I. Don’t. Get. It. And did Yoon-jae just never come back to see his fiancée, or did that happen offscreen too? Why do you need a drama if all your most interesting narrative payoffs are going to happen OFFSCREEN?

Okay, calming down now. Truth be told, I might be angry now, but I was pretty checked out emotionally for most of the show’s run. There were definitely things that kept me invested, like Gong Yoo’s fantastic performance. But a showcase for one actor does not a drama make. And despite my love for Gong Yoo as the teenage Kyung-joon, my heart is always with the story first and foremost. That’s why I needed to see Shin playing the character in the end, because to me, telling me that they re-swapped offscreen is not enough. If I’m buying into the idea that he’s one character, no matter whose body he’s in, then you have to trust that I’m going to buy it till the very end. It shows a lack of trust in the audience, and for that, I feel betrayed.

I certainly don’t think that it was all bad, because there was a whole lot of cute and some good coming-of-age stuff in there amidst the confusing. But one thing I constantly asked all series long was: Are we there yet? I feel like somehow every step of the way, the show never got a step ahead, never surprised me. I held out hope that the boys would swap back sooner than the final hour (because honestly, I think the fallout is FAR more interesting than the lead-up), but that didn’t happen, and then to top it off, we didn’t even get to witness the big moment. No heartfelt first official meeting between the brothers, who saved each other’s lives? No my-hand-was-warm-because-you-reached-out-to-save-me-first? No wonder twins, activate? Nuthin’?

It’s really too bad that the whole drama failed in the writing department, because the Hong Sisters have penned some of my favorites over the years. I don’t love all their works before Big, and neither am I going to just write them off because of this one drama. But I’ll call a dud a dud, and this one just sailed right into the crapper. It turns out you can’t shape a whole drama on one big premise and leave things like logic and character motivation and emotional payoffs at the door. We kinda like that stuff. It’s sorta why we live here, in dramaland.

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A Big wtf to the ending.

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Ditto!

I got so frustrated with Best Love. And now this..! They practically butchered the story. We're being treated as real idiots. I'm no longer a fan. Never.

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Yes. They treat us like fools.

They make us buy and have hope for the story, only to trick us and let us all disappointed in the second half of the drama.

Never watching Hong sisters drama again.

I gave big a chance and see what happened.

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Aw -- one failed drama does not mean they aren't capable of greatness.

But yes. this show apparently believes we are too weak to handle kyung joons actual face.
ohbuddy.

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Well, it would have been a bit of a gross-out to see Da-ran being all lovey-dovey w/ the real Kyung-joon, who looks like a 14 yr old boy (doesn't look 18, much less 20), which is why I could never buy into the romantic relationship in the 1st place).

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One? Sorry I don't loved ANY hong sisters drama, most were ok or I didn't like it so... I guess I already know I don't like their dramas, no?

not everyone love them.

I thought big would be different.

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well, I think because seo young jae and kang kyung jun were supposed to be twin. so kkj will have the same face as his brother when he become adult .he will resemble him.

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so pissed. I feel like i just watched a 16 hour long vitamin water commercial.

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I guess you're right. Even me, I think Kyung Joon's face isn't match with Gil Daran's age and it may look so awful if they left the ending with those two. For me it's better that it's Joon Jae's face haha even though it's Kyung Joon's soul. Gong Yoo and Lee Min Jung has this spark though :)

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they've been treating us like fools all along with all those gaping holes in every plot in this drama

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The Hong Sisters are overrated.

This drama was a fail, I checked out like 8 episodes ago. The drama was boring, draggy, pointless and plotless.

So Yoon Jae never really like Daran, then why did he propose? Why did he stalk her at the wedding, only to then have an affair and treat her like a burden.

The parents, the crazy Mari, the boring extra story lines. The whole thing was a mess.

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Well, that's what I stated as well.

'My Girl', 'Hong Gil Dong' and this - complete messes.

MGIAG - lots of flaws but worth it just for Shin Min ah as Mi-ho.

'Best Love' has been their best/most complete work thus far.

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This is so unclear to me too :( so confusing.. why does he have this engagement ring after all and stalked Gil Daran from the wedding and then when he got his body and soul back, nothing happens between them well in fact they are married aren't they? :( this can be corrected.. hoping for season 2 :D

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Hong Sisters, you SUCK! WTF is with you guys??!! You make the first few episodes funny and exciting, the next episodes dramatic and romantic, and the last is...wha...? Cheapos! So NOBODY ended up with ANYBODY???!!! I thought I liked this drama...! No wonder the veiwer ratings were so terrible! Big, you suck..

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I feel like I fell into a Mass Effect 3 ending

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HA! :( I know what you mean...

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ha ha ha! That was SO random. I rage-quit on ME3 ending and never went back -- I have yet to see the extended cut. But I don't care anymore about that.

And I stopped watching BIG after episode 3 or 4 and never went back, so I'm glad I missed that one.

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I really don't get it with the ending.....No actually I don't get it with whole story.... it's make my head spinning........

And Poor Shin, so He just cast for the drama we call BIG just for BIG SLEEP, He slept for 15 episode.....*Sigh*

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AGREE..this drama is WEIRD, shin never got the chance 2 use d body n yoon jae's character never really showed up..what a waste of time T-T

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haha...i totally agree with you!! Even i love lee tae ri has more acceptable ending where ki bum appear again at the end "after a few years" compared to big, its only one year later!!Its kinda ridiculous to see gong yoo act as 19/20 year old kang kyung joon!!I think if thew just show up shin won ho, at least its kinda little acceptable ending.It will make the DVD sale turn out bad because i think i'm gonna to tell my friend that want to buy that,"this drama ending is turn out really bad, you will be terribly disappointed for it". Haha...Actually overall big is not that bad, its has it own flavour,romance,comedy but its just the ending!!I'm kinda found the last ep has so much unneeded scene where it should been replace with shin win ho scene!!Arghh!! As long as i keep remember big ending, it make me want to pull out my hair...!!I hope shin won ho get it own role that make him really shine because he is already a scene stealer for big!!

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Wow Annis I didn't understand the crazy plot either. Ending what ending???

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deja vu ... girlfriday and JB was totally pissed with cinderella's sister finale LOL!

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OMG! I stil haven't seen the last 3 or 4 episodes of Cinderalla Sister! Is it a clue not to see it at all?

Big means big disappointment then. I was thinking of seeing this one. But it seems that it's not going to worth my time. This whole thing makes me apreciate 49 Days more.

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lol

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best comment.

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I know some people were turned off by the character of Dokko Jin in 'Best Love' (which I really liked), but BL is the Hong Sisters most complete drama when it comes to storyline and supporting characters.

MGIAG had one great character (and an endearing performance by SMA) which made it worth it.

Even tho 'Big' had Gong Yoo's performance, it just wasn't enough to overcome the rest which was a complete mess (up there w/ SG, LTM and RTP as bad, paint by nos., K-dramas/romcoms).

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I became a Hong sisters fan after watching MGIAG because the story, character, and ending twist was unique and touching. But what is this?? I really dont get the whole point of body swap if we dont really see much plot to it, and even the ending nothing has really changed! It would me much better if they cut out episode 15, and instead spend more time or have a new episode on having KKJ back into his body after the 1 yr and actually see how he gain his memory back or still is in love with GDR, and having GDR and SYJ sort out their feeling. This ending is just making me question what is actually going on. I don't understand this at all! Really!

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Best Love was better--his public confession gave me warm, fuzzy feelings and the final conflict had a more solid basis.

This is just...running for the one of the worst kdrama finale ever. Which is extremely disappointing because BIG had so much potential, in both premise and actors. D:

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I so agree, I was screaming by the end of this . WTF is this ending indeed! What a way to completely ruin what could have otherwise been a great drama. They completely ignored key plot points in the story to focus on bs and stupidity. That ending was completely ridiculous. Like, really? This isn't one of those dramas that need a "leave it to their imagination" kind of ending. I love Gong Yoo and that is why I watched this series, but the rest was just a waste of time. Why was GDR such a lame, gullible female character that was completely toyed with by a 17 year old girl EACH AND EVERY TIME! I'm so dissatisfied. And poor Shin, he must have had bedsores after all the time he spent in a hospital bed. Really? REALLY? You can't let us have one moment with him and GDR? DONE.

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Why did you get frustrated with best love? What was so wrong about best love's ending? But yeah this ending just sucked!! The only good thing about it were the actors......a man named gong yoo specifically.

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how do you define a HAPPY ENDING! perhaps, this is what the HS's aim for, for people to talk and analyze, you'll never forget an ending that ruined your 16 hours. I still haven't forgotten Bad boy's ending . that's how effective it is! Anyway, I dont care about the brothers and the rest, I just want to see daran and KKJ (in his own body of course) doing all those cute acts that lovers do, for at least 10 minutes you know. Is that too much to ask! Is that toooooo mucchh toooo ask ( pulling everyone's hair)

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no ending or the last two episode could have saved this when it only managed to shine the first 2episodes. disapopointing. > gonna leave the spelling mistakes in. Dissa-popo-pointing.

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Thanks for making me loled

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Bad Boy's ending scarred me for life. I'm happy I stopped watching Big somewhere in the middle, so I'm not too disappointed. I enjoyed reading the recaps and was hoping it would get better and have a satisfactory resolution.

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Me too! I saw where it was not going and constantly checked in/out. This was one drama that the recaps did it justice!

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i couldn't even get mad, my brain just shut itself down.x_x

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lol! same as mine! SHUT DOWN!!!

I even watched it live and do recaps.. but sadly in the end I was like, WTF?!

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waaaahh the live recaps even gave me nightmares!!!

worst ending ever! i hate the hong sisters. wtf.

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second.

i can't care anymore. gong yoo was the show's only saving grace. (that and they completely convinced me to buy a samsung galaxy note phone).

how can you not show us what yoon jae was on his way to tell her? how show? how!? isn't yoon jae going to have a teensy problem with da ran DATING HIS BABY BROTHER/ TWIN?! after she MARRIED him?! are yoon jae/kyung joon's parents not going to be a little peeved that she traded in one brother for another? did yoon jae just get off the plane in germany having had a RANDOM fit of MEMORY LOSS?! for the love of christmas!

i feel like i just ended a relationship with a good-on-paper but manipulative in real life BF. i know its for the best. but im still upset that i wasted so much time.

also. am incorporating RAGEQUIT into my vernacular going forward. thanks dramabeans.

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Same here on all counts, especially re Samsung Galaxy. And Oli-bi-ah Lau-run A-line skirts. Seriously though, your good-on-paper boyfriend analogy is On Point.

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I know, right? And I really really really really wanted Shin to have more screen time!! Please, couldn't they have just let him play Kyung Joon for the ending? PLEASE? Needless to say, I was dissapointed. The Cute was cute, but episodes 15 and 16 really made my head hurt. While the WTFery wasn't as bad as let's say, Dr. Jin, but seriously, this was not what I expected. *sadface*

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And so the rage-fest begins.

After watching the finale yesterday, I thought, "Oh Boy, DB's comment section's gonna have a pot-luck party of mad mobs tomorrow." **I was more elated by the next program guesting Cha Tae Hyun.**

My head is still floating from the vagueness. Now, I'm curious as to how Kdrama/TV writers write their stories. They have a clear vision of how it will all plan out, right? But do they re-write it as the episode progress (or regress) and consider viewers reactions? It almost feels like this was an experimental gig on their part and we've been a labrat for 16 episodes.

It's not bad of an ending, it's just lacking and I can only sigh. Can't wait for the Arang and the Magistrate to wash down some of the 'Big' aftertaste.

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Thank God for the recaps... I would have wasted my time watching this drama! Gosh... this is a very BIG disappointment! :( The early episodes had a lot of promise, but it turned out to be just... blah.

Props to Gong Yoo though. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have spent my wasted time on this WTFery.

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Actually thought the 1st couple of eps were mediocre before it got decent (the 1st few eps after the body switch).

KKJ (in his actual body) wasn't of much interest and that was when Da-ran was at her most annoying (even tho the Hong sisters managed to keep that up for pretty much the entire run).

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Yes, I've added WTFery to my lexicon also!! Great word!

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I felt just the same, even few episodes back. A TOTAL labrat. Like the screenwriters are reading viewers comments and adjusting the plot to please just about everyone or avoid getting someone angry and disgusted... But the result is pretty much the opposite - noone liked the ending...

I think they didn't let Shin play his part in the end because of the numerous comments 'I can't imagine DR with KJ in his own boy's body, sooo gross!'. I think they didn't show the two brothers reunion because they couldn't make up a pretty pink coloured satisfying story for it. I think they erased their memories for the same stupid reason - lack of imagination and lack of courage to show some not-so-appropriate reactions (like the older twin ALLOWING his li'l bro to have his way with the ex-wife; or asking the question 'How could you marry me while I was in a coma?!').

All of the useless side characters and plotlines... Like Mari, like uncle and aunty, like the 'twin' story of the brothers, like the heart rate of SJ in coma and etc. It all felt like the screenwriters dropped any ideas they had at the moment INTO the show to avoid a possible dead end. None of this ideas'd been used properly. Even the love story, the main storyline, was erased in the end. We didn't even get to see 'the face' of the new beginning of this love story. Disappointing.

This show needs one more episode or better - a total remake of the last two episodes. 15 was so pointless, they could fill it with some real action, with some answers to the given questions. Yeah, I'm happy that 'rabbit' is getting better, but the kid is a totally side character! I'd rather see YJ in his own body, KJ waking up, KJ having to deal with the new family, DR explaining to her relatives who KKJ actually was and of cource the romantic reunion - with some FACES, please! With this retrospection it looked like DR is having a hallucination after going completely out of her mind.

I really think they didn't have the courage to keep the natural directions of this (in the beginning) great storyline. Sorry for the loooong comment...

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haha...i totally agree with you. They should make a storyline like they have made at beginning. This is among the reason why i sometimes don't like major channel because they like to rewritten the script based on rating n response compared to cable channel that they don't have rating to been exposed so they just make based on their previous script written( just look on rooftop prince that has unconsistency plot compared to queen in hyun's man that have better storyline n also big that have too much twist n bad ending compared to i love lee tae ri that more consistency n better ending)I'm totally hurt right now!huh...

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They could just keep at leats ONE of the story lines. they've created... But what's left is ZERO. All what've been developed is erased... I'm pretty disappointed for this 16 hours. And next time I watch a K-drama, I'll check if it's 'Hong-sisters' to avoid it. Enough is enough. Sorry and hat-off for the fans...

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@kcekce: "I really think they didn’t have the courage to keep the natural directions of this (in the beginning) great storyline."

I totally agree. The ending was a cop-out. I'd been wondering how they were going to deal with such an interesting (and scary! which was why interesting, actually) setup. Turns out they dealt with it by... not dealing with it. :(

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maybe there will be a sequel drama "Big 2" hahahaha lol

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I never thought I'd say this but... Dr. Jin is much more entertaining than this !@$#$%^^& of a disapppointment called Big.

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appropriate first comment tbh.

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I'm the only one that liked the ending. Justification on page three, comment 135. Haha. Knew everyone would hate it, but I actually like it for a variety of reasons. I think it does work...

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Oh and I think the ending does treat the viewer as smart... which is probably why you are griping.

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no they don't lol you guys that want to pull off something good out of the crap ending...

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Yes, they do.. they leave you to figure out the characters, their character arcs and to script your own ending like the original Big movie rather than show you 100%, put it on a silver platter, deliver it to your front door, make sure 100% you got the package and make sure you *ate* it.

Semi-open endings like this means that they are treating you as smart rather than stupid. It means there is something to be gained from an open ending that usually people won't get.

Super closed endings treat the viewer as more stupid than stupid because it means they don't trust the viewer to figure it all out. Try again.

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I beg to disagree. One lesson I distinctly remember from that one Creative Writing class I took is that a writer should be the one to decide what she wants for her characters and deliver that to her audience as best as she could.

I like open endings too. It's true that it gives us a chance to imagine an ending the way we want to. But it doesn't mean that the writer should put a stop to the story and leave the audience to resolve the conflicts, all by themselves. It's lazy and an obvious weakness. An open ending can only be justified and is only worth it if the major conflicts have been resolved.

You're the writer. You should take control of your own work if only for YOUR sanity. I don't know how the HS can feel fulfillment writing Big knowing that they weren't able to show a satisfactory, not even necessarily happy, resolutions for their characters.

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The conflicts did get resolved, but not on a silver platter.

Choon Sik, Mari, KKJ, YJ, and Da Ran's character arcs resolved. All the things that were promised at the beginning of the drama for these characters in terms of character growth alone were achieved.

Episode 15 and 16 showed that, but it was through smaller events, which isn't their usual style. And I know subtle doesn't go well with most foreign audiences. Especially on the American side who like blunt on a silver platter, faster delivered please.

All character arcs safely resolved, KKJ, grew and will continue to grow and remember as Da Ran makes him remember.

Did you think about the virtues, vices, and character arcs for all characters I listed? Can you do that?

Since this was a character-based drama rather than an event-based drama like the previous dramas, it's all about resolving the character arcs. I guarantee, even if it was one thing (which is often done in J-dramas) all characters listed grew by the end of episode 16.

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BTW, Semi-open ending does work with the theme of maturity--because often maturity is a place that is mysterious--you don't know what your face or future holds and it has insecurities in it...

Also Semi-open was the way that the original Big movie ended, but on a sad note rather than a happier note.

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Um, that's a little condescending isn't it? You didn't like the ending because it's too smart for you?!!

I also question your closed ending = pandering to vapid stupid viewers, and 'only smart people get open endings' theory. It depends on the context as well as its execution, and in this instance, the open ending of Big seemed lackadaisical to a lot of people. Statistically, we're bound to have lots of smart people in that group.

You're welcome of course to have a different opinion, but there's no need to be condescending of other people's opinions, especially if you have no idea what the impetus behind their thoughts are, and why they liked or disliked it.

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Someone said that the ending made the viewer dumb (read up the line) And I countered and said that the ending treated the viewer as smart, which is why you are griping. As in Open endings treat the viewer as smart and you'll hate that because it's not delivered on a silver platter (i.e. everything is shown for you). Closed endings, and super closed endings treat the viewer as dumb and don't trust the viewer.

Most US and drama endings fall in the semi-closed range...

Despite what people think, this was NOT a super open ending. This was a semi-open ending. This ending resolved all character arcs, like promised, but shuffled the events to the background.

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I'm aware it was a response to another comment, but it still sounded condescending whether that was your intention or not. Specifically, that because the Big ending is semi-open it supposedly asks its viewers to be 'smart', and since you were one of the ones who 'got it' you're smarter than the ones who didn't, hence the very condescending "which is probably why you are griping" line.

I also still don't agree with your logic. Having an open ending does not automatically mean the viewers are being asked to use their brains. Open endings and semi-open endings can be just as lazy and be pandering to audience desires as much as closed ones, and vice versa. There's no set formula because it depends on the situation and the execution. In this case, a lot of people are griping because Big's ending felt like an easy way out; not addressing several difficult issues the writers themselves set up, and that smacks of laziness, not to mention bad writing and a terrible structure.

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This is where I justify the ending and you hate me for it. *grins*

You hate it because (On a meta level)

You are used to Hong Sisters dramas having weak characters, fast pacing and strong and sweeping events. This drama isn't that, so in order to compensate you looked at the only thing that resembled that: Gong Yoo. Then you started to play into the KKJ story arc in which you forgot all of the other characters and then forgot what the story really was about. And add injury to insult, you really didn't watch the original Big movie. Am I right?

Sorry... but this is why it failed in your eyes. But story doesn't function for one character, it's a the function of several characters interacting. (or the lack of characters interacting on a grander scale) and that's where you probably will hate this drama.

No, if you back track your episodes back to episode 1, take away that expectation that it will be weak characters and sweeping events with over the top humor, you are left with a drama where it actually does work to the very end.

Track these characters in particular and their character backgrounds: Choon Shik, Teacher Na, Mari and most of all Gil Da Ran. Do you in the current time know their faults, their virtues and how they changed by the end of Episode 16? Probably not if the ending doesn't work for you. In fact, you probably missed that by the end of the first scene of episode 15 that KKJ's character arc had come to a complete circle and end. I didn't realize it until episode 16.

The reason that is... Gong Yoo has some sweeping acting. Which is the drama's greatest asset and greatest weakness. Because he played it over the top at times, you found yourself watching him, but the fact is that while he was having fun, you lost track of things like Mari's family owns an estate and a helicopter. Da Ran has been sheltered her whole life. Choon Shik maturing in the background and Mari slowly coming around--though she's more up and down.

Also, it did follow the original Big movie closely, leaving me with a stronger senstation of the ending than the original Big movie did and that's where I was suddenly thinking--hey, this works. Unlike the majority of Hong Sister dramas they didn't spell it out for you. They went for stronger characters, slower pacing and a more even character arc. This drama lived and died by the characters rather than the sweeping events and the events that they threw at the characters. The original Big movie by large part did that, but this drama took it to the next level.

Yoon Jae, or the bigger body from the original movie became more of a symbol of what that was than the original movie. He became a symbol of te character's hopes and fears, like the original movie, but also of the viewer's hopes and fears, which is why him not showing up even to the end works out for me. It's like the Big movie... you get the same feeling from the older body--you like all of the other characters begin to project on it.

All the characters fully came to a full circle. Their character arcs finished, though not in the way that the normal viewer would have expected from the Hong Sisters. They went subtle. And I'm sure that people hated that. They wanted a silver platter-but the thing is that a silver platter wouldn't have served to make a person think back on the theme of maturity and look at the drama as a whole. You are left, like the original Big movie to script your own ending. Only you feel lighter that the original because the end was happy rather than sad. It's gutsy. And that's another reason I like the ending. You don't expect gutsy from the Hong Sisters. You expect a closed ending that fits viewer expectation 100%, but in doing gutsy, there is a statement there.

This drama pulled out the feelings from the Big movie and made them stronger... and that's what I will take away from this drama to envy from the Hong Sisters. (Also the gutsy ending... I'm not quite sure I would be able to risk going against viewer expectation in order to make a statement...)

Stop and go back to reflect on the other characters, the smaller events, the throw away lines, watch the original Big movie. I swear the ending will work for you after that, if you are willing to stop and contemplate. Your gut reaction falls away and slowly, I think you'll find a warmth bubbling from the ending that is slow and rolling.

Once you can do that I swear, the ending will slowly work for you.

And for the last time... because it needs to be said, Da Ran is NOT immature. She's mostly, until episode 15, sheltered and untested. She's never made a decision all her life. Get that through your skull and I swear that the ending works even better.

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Well, let's assume you're wrong, 'cause I never liked Hong sisters dramas (I didn't even know that the shallow screenplays I've seen are thairs, before reading the comments for this show). Looking back on the 'Hong' series I've seen - shallow, shallow, shallow, and just trying to shock you or make you cry at some point. If I knew the author's the same as in 'You're beautiful' or 'Delightful girl', I wouldn't waste my time with 'Big'. Sorry, everyone:) And I don't give a F bout GY, just got to know his name these days, though I do admit that he's a good actor.

'Big' caught me in the beginning with somewhat brave and non-traditional storyline - a love story of a boy with 8 years older teacher + the body swap in her fiancees body. And they ruined it all:)))

KJ's character, developed in all 16 eps, is getting deleted. The age gap becomes even bigger after 3 years of 'amnesia' - KJ wakes up in his 18-years old mind. All of the side characters and storylines are just dropped. That makes me think they were put there 'just in case' to start with.

The 'unknown future' seems like a symptom of a panic fear of the screenwriters. 'We don't dare to show the face of the youngster in the end, she's already 29', 'We don't dare to leave a monster-mom in the plot', 'We don't dare to show what YJ thinks about his past forgotten relationship and his brothers relationship with the ex', 'We don't dare to leave the kids to die', 'We don't dare to... anything'.

Whit this ending nothing makes sense. Because there were planty of illogical 'open plot-doors' left with no explanation or excuse. Screenwriters just didn't do the job to put together the pieces, and these pieces don't make sense apart.

The 'twin' story would work, if the body swap happened to be permanent. Switching places - why not? The 'hater-mamma' would work, if she didn't create a permanent connection between her husbant and his beloved one by givin her own child to her. Or if monster-mom stayed a mentally ill hater till the end. Three years of waiting and love - it'd work, if both lovers had their memories kept. Questioning 'Does YJ love me?' would work, if he woke up to answer that question... Etc.

This ending was nothing like 'Let's make the audience think a little', it was more like 'Phooo, we got to the end at last, lets just sweep all the useless and inappropriate stuff we wrote and pretend it never happened'. My feeling for this plot is 'lacking courage', rather than 'giving a riddle'.

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I beg to differ, the side story characters didn't get dropped, they were pushed to the background as people tracked KKJ's storyline over the rest. You didn't prove that my statement was wrong. You said you tracked KKJ's storyline, but you didn't track the other plotlines. You forgot about them, and admitted so when you said you thought they got dropped. But they didn't. There was important character growth in episode 15 and 16 for both Da Ran, Mari and KKJ. (though KKJ's character arc ended at the end of the first scene of episode 15.)

And KKJ's story didn't get reversed at all. The last lines were that he would remember if Da Ran persisted, meaning that nothing was lost.

Go over the background character's character arcs again. How did Mari grow by the end of 16? Can you track that for me, and then I'll see if it matches up. If you can do that, perhaps you will see the small bits of growth. The ending was very subtle.

There were *marked* lines for Mari at the very end that made her grow as a character. Can you find them in episode 16? Or did you lose it when the story made a different statement and you thought episode 15 was filler? (Which, BTW, it wasn't.)

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Habve to agree - all the side stories were useless and either went nowhere or were dropped w/o explanation.

Also, Da-ran really didn't change much throughout the drama; she was pretty much indecisive and clueless thru the whole thing.

Her 'confession' at the end felt forced. esp. since the romantic relationship never really felt believable in the 1st place.

The Hong sisters wasted time w/ those endless teasers about the 'big reveal' (of who KKJ's biological parents really were and the fact that the 2 were brothers) - w/ the actual reveal being anticlimatic (yeah, overhearing a conversation - sooo original and dramatic - lol).

But there was plenty of opportunity for some REAL drama, tension and expression of emotions/feeling w/ the 2 brothers switching back to their own bodies and realizing that they are brothers who love the same woman.

That's where the real drama of the series should have been but the Hong sisters inexplicably decided not to go there and just regurgitated the same conflicts (and moping) btwn KKJ and Da-ran (how many times did they an argument about how they felt about each other?).

There are times when an open-ended or semi-open ended ending is appropriate and thought-provoking (such as in "Joseon X-Files), but here, the Hong sisters just took the LAZY way out like they did pretty much throughout the entire series.

Just awful, cliche filled writing from the Hong sisters that went nowhere and really didn't even provide much in cute scenarios or witty dialogue (at least romcoms like 'My Princess' gave us plenty of that).

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@bd I respect your opinion--I agree that the *events* could have been stronger, though this round they were trying to get the characters to work out. However, the side stories weren't useless--Hong Sisters do one thing that they will sacrifice all else to--events, characters, pacing, conflict. They will sacrifice all those to get the *theme* of the drama to work. I noticed this particularly in My Girlfriend is a Gumiho. They did this in YAB and Greatest Love too. They will sacrifice everything to get the theme to work.

This time the theme was maturity. Each character was assigned a part in maturity and they were using the characters to test questions about maturity. Since no one else seemed to get it and the fan rage died down a bit, I'll spell it out.

Maturity by character:
Da Ran: Sheltered, mature, untested. Indecisive.
Is this mature?
Character arc: If put to the test and put in a difficult position, can she mature? And at what speed? I saw them try to test the character, but the character was stubborn because she couldn't get out from underneath her over protective family. Every time she was on the verge of making a decision, they swooped in. So it was a big deal when she went against their objections and left.

Her character arc ended on her ability to fight for what she wants, and even taking the harder path to do so, which is why the ending didn't end with her on the bus. She needed to show the audience she could *follow* through which she hadn't done before. So the ending was for *her* and *KKJ*. (The not showing the face is another maturity thing-- getting to that later.)

In this case, I think the inability to buy it wasn't due to the writing--I thought some of the acting decisions could have been handled better. Da Ran was a bit too deer in the headlights. If she was played as intelligent, but inexperienced more, I think people would have liked the character more. That's an acting, not a writing decision. (O.o;; Been on both sides of the fence...)

Mari:
The Question: How one deals with loneliness, is that a sign of maturity?
Mari's whole character arc hinged on her ability or inability to deal with feeling alone.
This, too, was illuminated through lines like you can go around her house in the US in 15 minutes by Helicopter. Mari doesn't give up. Mari's father always gives her money to do things but isn't there and only listens to her--but you get a sense of desperation from the character because her *only* family is KKJ. She says so several times. (I'm his only family). But he's also really her only family too. She also learned boundaries and respect for those boundaries.

When she said "I got the signal to stop" and did... and then accepted Choon Sik, even in a small way, that's when her character arc ended.

The Teacher Na storyline was a different kind of maturity--the ability to let go and to ability to fight for love. This was a different kind of fight than the KKJ storyline. This was a fight of persistence and realization.

The side story with the Principal, that was more for gags and laughs. Korean Humor style. (Also a Hong Sisters trademark)

Choon Sik's storyline should be obvious... his storyline ended when he signed Mari's bag and insted of following her around, fought for her--which is a similar storyline to Da Ran with the difference that he was irresponsible at the beginning, and by the end he's helping in the restaurant cooking and trying to become a human being. (See episode 1, schoolyard scene for the large change)

Then you have KKJ...
KKJ's storyline was his ability to *both* mature, accept responsibility for himself and others (he started out apathetic) and accept and fight for love (For himself). His story stopped at the end of 15 when he said he wanted to *accept responsibility* for someone else and their heart. If he'd gone into amnesia then he wouldn't have had the time. Granted, this could have been done earlier, but since they were experimenting with smaller events and stronger characters, (and I feel the hand of the director this time who was doing slice of life before this) they opted out of doing it earlier.

So by the end of the first scene of 15, his plot line ended and he realized in order to get Da Ran to fight to be with him, he'd have to make it difficult and wanted to see her fight for it, which is why he gave an instruction manual at the end. KKJ is immature, but he's pretty good at reading people (Think back to his Uncle) He's good at manipulating people into what he wants. So he wanted to ensure that Da ran was strong enough to fight for him, which was the banjun in 15, which made the audience feel cheated, but the smaller events made a statement. Sweeping events really don't make maturity happen. Disasters can break people as much as bolster them. His storyline isn't a waste because Da Ran's mission per his instruction was to make him remember their love, thus all of the things he learned inside and outside of their relationship are there.

As for not showing his face, I immediately got it though I knew the fan rage was going to be high. Maturity--when you were a kid and dreaming of growing up, did you ever wonder what your adult face would look like? Did you know automatically what was on the other side? The Big movie pulled these questions at the very end, too. I remember feeling... but then what happens when he grows up? What will he look like then? Will he ever find her? The end of the Hong Sisters drama by not showing his face also pulled the same kinds of questions forward. You don't know what the other side of maturity looks like. You don't know what your face looks like--in fact it might never have a finishing point. If you show the face, then it has a finishing point and since the center of the drama was KKJ, you need his face to be ever evolving. (Thus how they sacrificed everything for the theme of the drama). I also think the blocking on this was a directing decision too. 'cause story boards are the job of the director as well. (I watch a ton of BTS...)

Maturity is slow. It is painful. It does take experience. It does take persistence. it does take the willingness to fight. It does take knowing yourself, taking on responsibility, being able to accept and give love. You will feel loneliness. It is different for everyone and just because you are 35, doesn't mean you are any more or less mature than an 18 year old. (Which is why the side stories were needed from a writer POV.) It's not the destination, it's how you get there that matters. It's the smaller steps, not the huge sweeping events that usually make people mature. (Stories like huge sweeping events to force characters to mature, but that's not real life). A semi-open ending makes one think about the journey to get there. Maturity is the same way. That's the statements made by this drama. If anything, Hong Sisters are blunt about their theming.

So next drama, I expect stronger characters, and they probably will bring back strong events, but probably not as over the top. I also predict that they again, will center the drama on theme alone and sacrifice everything to theme, hell or high water. I also am expecting them to borrow more Japanese conventions like they did this time around, though it was kinda incomplete borrowing... (Their love of foreign media shows up a lot in their dramas through story telling conventions and allusions) Also, they will bend to the director again with their writing, as with Hong Gil Dong.

So no, the side stories were not useless, they did have a function. Not arguing that the execution was 100% on this drama, but they did function towards the larger goal: What is maturity anyway?

And no, I'm not saying that this is their best drama ever... but for what it was, it did finish what it set out to do with an ending that made functional sense towards what the Hong Sisters seemed to want to accomplish.

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kim yoonmi:

that is one BIG justification for a small, pathetic drama.
at least you're enjoying. rock on.

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LMFAO!!!

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I guess I love story more than you do.

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lol agree!!

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Kim Yoonmi, I'm with you on this. I, too, enjoyed this drama from second episode to last. Like in I Need Romance, I was more invested in how the characters developed and "those little things" that make the story feel less rehashed, cheesy and predictable.

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I thought I was the only one in the entire world that got it. TT *hugs* I'm glad I'm not alone.

I really liked the understated parts of this drama. I'm not saying the execution was 100% there-0-there were some rough edges, but for what it set out to accomplish from the writer's POV, I think it did what it was supposed to do. I enjoyed it for the quieter character moments which were not undercut by the larger sweeping events that could have taken place. I liked it for the Character-based story...

And for that, it *did* resolve everything...

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Are you kidding me? You think people don't like the drama because it's too "smart" for them?

I've watched the entire filmographys of talents like Kim Ki-duk, Lee Chang-dong, Hong Sang-soo, Park Chan-wook, Hur Jin-ho etc.

Do you think I have a problem with open endings?

This drama had terrible writing, terribly flat characters, repetitive pacing, illogical decision making on par with shit like Heroes and some of the most unnecessary noble-idiocy I have ever seen in a drama.

The fact that you think Mari is a character worth studying says a lot.

You write well, but you spend your time trying to justify artless drivel like this. I'm not sure if you are a troll or just severely ignorant of good film.

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@Kim Yoonmi

"Did you think about the virtues, vices, and character arcs for all characters I listed? Can you do that?"

Thank you for asking. No, I actually can't do that. But congratulations to you for being able to do what I'm not capable of. I see you're a cut above most of us when it comes to threading through K-dramas. *nods head with respect*

As for me, a regular viewer with an average mindset, I judge a Kdrama based on how much the story makes sense to ME and MYSELF alone. I mean, who cares, right? Big was a complete and utter BS (sorry for using that) to me and I welcome other people's opinions of it, especially the ones that differ from mine as it helps me see the other side of the picture.

I don't, however, care for others' condescending tones that are masked under pseudo-intelligence. I know you're just stating your thoughts, not convincing anyone. But if and only if convincing us that Big made sense was your purpose with all those points you wrote, I'm sorry to say that it was an epic fail, at least for me. :)

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Is it just the issue of the ending? This show is held together by the actor Gong Yoo. Though I like the actress Li Min Jung, the character of GDR irritates from Ep 1. She is the most irritating character in the whole show. Actually I don't remember any "heroin" in a drama who irritates this much. Wrong choice of character, and drama, LMJ. Someone should tell the Hong Sisters to take a sabbatical!

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Casting decisions aren't the choice of the writers.

I do think Lee Min Jung's acting could have upgraded a bit. And Da Ran wasn't immature... she was sheltered, which was fixed in episode 15 and 16... though I'm sure by then people were only looking at KKJ's story arc only... which is why the ending wouldn't work out. If you expect the world to revolve around one person, it won't work. So it is true of a story. You don't get richness from a story by making it about one character. Thus if you just tracked the story arc of one character, no matter what you do, no matter what story you consume, if you only go for one character's story arc, the ending will never work out... which is the trap of this drama. (You are told not to do this in writing too... time and again--characters have their own motivations. The world doesn't revolve around your POV character's desires.)

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I don't think any actress in Korea could have played da ran without most of us hating her. She was just a terribly written character. She was so weak, fickle and self-defeating ALL THE TIME. In the first couple of episodes she was the clumsy-but-spunky girl the Hong sisters always write, but they just destroyed her.

This is why Kdramas need to be written and filmed before airing. I just don't understand why it's still done this way, it completely ruins the show.

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Big was such a let down and it totally ruin my hopes of "2012 being the best drama year"...

Anyway thankyou so much for recapping Big until the end, I was on the verge of dropping this show if not for Gong Yoo this show would not be bearable.

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So disappointed in this drama.

If you are as disappointed as I am, go watch the #1 drama of 2012, Queen In Hyun's Man. A little cable drama that could, while Big is the network drama that failed.

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Yes, I loved Queen In Hyun's Man, despite the less then perfect ending. Favorite drama of 2012 so far.

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agree ... QiHM is also my #1 drama so far for 2012. though GY, LMJ and baby Shin did a great job, and I got my wish that Da Ran and Kyung Joon will end up together, am still very disappointed on how the drama ended. too many unanswered questions and a lot of stupid scenes from side characters like Mari.

this drama should be titled I love Gil Da Ran instead of BIG ... because the drama I love Lee Tae Ri is more of a remake to american movie Big than this drama .. the only problem with ILLTR was a zero chemistry with all the cast and the female lead looks 40's than her 28 yrs old character lol!

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And ILLTR was actually better! I switched to that when I stopped watching Big and so glad I did!

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Me too. I switched to ILLTR too when I dropped Big. And I actually think that they have cute chemistry. Maybe because I like PYJ and her character that resembles her persona in Family Outing. Anyway, back to BIG, I planned to watch the show again from the point where I dropped it, but after seeing the ragefest, I don't think I'll do it.

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My thoughts on the show:
1) I was watching episode after episode, waiting to be 'hooked' on the drama, but it never happened.
2) I wanted it to be unconventional and not take the icky teacher-student romance route, but rather be about finding family love.
3) I was waiting for the body-swap since early on, and I never got one except some damn cop-outs every time.. and when it did happen I get a freaking time skip. This happened in Best Love too when they just time-skipped over the most dramatic moment of the heart surgery.
4) I wanted to actually find out what kind of person Yoon Jae was and see the closure between him and Daran.
5) Daran was beyond annoying. I hated her.

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^ THIS! Exactly how I feel. :|

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Wtf those writers smoked?!

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They were meant to WRITE crack but it looks like they ended up smoking it instead.

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LOL spjork. good one

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LOL! ROTF!

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Same thought, except for #1.
I only watched ep. 1 and stopped 'cause I got busy and the drama didn't intrigue me enough, I decided to wait for more episodes.
WOW, AIN'T I LUCKY OR WHAT! First time I follow my intuition and I save 15 hours from watching train wreck drama !!!

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100% agree!

Where's Yoon Jae's "true story" part?
The Finale body swap happens off-screen?
Skip a year again?
How about the miracle?
What about the mysteries?
Looks like not only Gyung Joon who has lost his memories.
the writers too

.....this drama is diamond which then turn to be ash.

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aaaarrrrgggh WHERE IS YOON JAE?

i think its not fair! hate Da Ran!

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GIRLFRIDAY!!!!!!

if i weren't a girl, i'd ask you on a hawt date!!!! <3

BIG hugs and kisses for your efforts. you, love, have made my summer!

BEST RECAP evah for the WORST DRAMA evah.

fricking huge BIG GOODBYE...moving on.

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Yes truly!!! I was hoping by some MIRACLE (that's what this was supposed to be about, right?), the recap would explain:
1. Why the body swap happened in the 1st place?
2. Why YJ stayed in limbo land -- what miracle was taking place for KKJ?
3. How there were planning on explaining DR dumping her husband YJ and then falling for his much younger long lost brother KKJ?
4. Did the body swap happen years ago when KKJ originally saved YJ?
5. Was YJ in love with DR -- how devastated was he to be dumped? Did she tell him she was dumping him b/c she fell for KKJ in the last 1.5 to 2yrs and was he curious HOW and WHEN she fell for his comatose long-lost brother? How devastated, confused, used did he feel at finding out that his fiance was so desperate to marry a doctor that she did it while he was an amnesiac.
6. Why did the parents NEVER acknowledge their biological son -- why give him up to the surrogate?

WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHYYYYY?????

I actually LOVED "Greatest Love" -- it keeps getting better on re-watches and I choose to forgive the huge blunder around the surgery. Dusting off Coffee Prince and Han Gyul to erase this nasty taste.

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Gaksital will never forgive the Hong sisters. and taht´s final. Just never. or I´ll eat my pants.

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Well THAT was an unsatisfactory ending. What a let down!

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The ending is simply the juxtaposition of the two guys in which the older guy now has changed, more sensitive and appreciative of her, with the girl more patient and forgiving toward him (based on the younger’s guy last request to “stay by ‘him’” (he knew full well that the future “him” isn’t going to be him)

It is the only logical ending. She fell in love with the person fitting that very physical and mental aspects (sensitive, no fear of intimacy). In short, it is the changed older guy riding on the wave of her memories of the younger guys, giving the older guy the chance.

Any other “ending”, her love would be self-destructive as it hangs on what has passed, dead and unreal, rather than focused on what can be built through patience, sensitivity, appreciativeness

The younger kid was running to her to admit having a crush, no more no less. Would they have loved? FAT CHANCE, just as in real life. He only was able to approach her because he got a borrowed body. Relationships in real life require multiple coincidences, and blind courage to the point of shamelessness sometimes, don't they? :-)

The execution may be a bit clumsy, but it makes sense. This is the more sensitive, appreciative older guy benefiting from the cloak of past memories laid out by the younger one, making her more patient and receptive to building a relationship based on true love (rather than duties, expectations from others), that's all.

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this is the best interpretation i've ever seen :)) you point did make sense!

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Seconded. It's WTF!

I think we are always waiting for that body swap moment where KKJ's soul is going to return to his body and vice versa. And yeah, it happened OFFSCREEN. And then in the end, who was that? KKJ in SYJ's body????

I wanna write off that Last part, the 1 year Later.

I am soooo disappointed with the ending. It's the worst happy ending ever.

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I really like Gong Yoo and I always look forward to his dramas, but BIG...is a BIG disappointment for me..it started really promising but I dont like the way the story ends..i personally dont like having affairs in marriage and worse to the husband's younger brother..10 years younger..yaiks! Gong Yoo's character here needed help ( that's the reason why they switched souls?) and he ended up getting cheated on by his wife and younger brother (intentional or not ) when it was clear he loves Gil Ran from the beginning. And Gil Da Ran...really? even if they switch back you are going to stay by Kang Gyun Joon's side? WHY? what did Seo Yoon Jae ever did to you? so you are going to make the younger brother remember your affair after they switch back...when you are married to his Hyung... and you broadcast this to your family that you are going for the younger sibling after you married the elder brother as if its a heroic act..coz u love him? ewww!!! I dont root for adultery reel or real life...Its one BIG mess this story..and whenever there is "switching souls" plot...they should switch back in the end.what's with the umbrella thing? was it KKJ or Seo Yoon Jae? Im thinking its KKJ!! .everything I expect to happen in this story did'nt happen. I still will watch Gong Yoo, Jang Hee Jin, Lee Min Jung, Baek Sung Hyun, Suzy in the future. im just saying the Hong sisters messed up the story..or maybe I just dont go for this kind of plot, not my cup of tea. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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To the ENDING ---> My reaction (imitating Shin) "Uh Oh... Stupid"

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damn i hate the ending.

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Yah, the Hong Sisters didn't really researched at all. I mean, wtf with the hospital setting. First and foremost, you can't continue on being a doctor if you just go to the kids' room and play with them all the time and he isn't even fired for that! Ha! Then how could they leave KKJ's body in the hospital for a very long time? Doctors would even recommend for a patient like KKJ to be discharged and be taken care at home or in a Long term care facility. Duh! More than a year has passed and the body still looked normal as ever! With no mobility at all, he should have bed sores all over and died with infection.
However, I still tried to watch the episodes anyway. I have watched a lot of korean dramas and they entertain me at some times so, I'll just let this one go. Hehe.. in my own opinion that is.

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i think its just fine. trying to make the ending different from the usual romantic dramas.

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best ending ever. the last thing i want is for the 1st scene of the drama repeating itself.

since everyone knows it's going to be a long and slow happy ever after, let it end this way.

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without Gong Yoo, this goes to the sewer!!! they held me up in a very boring midstream for nothing. i just wanted to kick myself for staying till the end. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

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I feel sorry for Shin Won-ho (Kang Kyung-joon) for being whole the time in his bed. It would have been great if he had a bigger role in this drama.

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guyz dont be dissapointed , I know how you all feel , me too im so freaking dissapointed . Just accept that because THERE ARE NO HAPPY ENDINGS IN REAL LIFE

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I'm not sure what to think of this show. My expectations were high going in and then I didn't understand why I wasn't getting addicted as it went on like other Hong Sisters Dramas. It's the biggest disappointment of the drama season, maybe even the year :(.

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AGREE. This is the biggest disappointment of the year. After a boring ep 15, I fastforward ep 16. The ending was TERRIBLE.

The biggest surprise of the year is Queen In Hyun's Man. The best KDRAMA of the last few years.

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But Queen In Hyun's Man had a polarizing ending. I stood on the dissatisfied side of the fence.

Big, on the other hand, I cannot imagine anyone liking this WTF ending. I've read comments comparing it to Fashion King's ending, but since I didn't watch Fashion King, I can't confirm or deny.

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Everything was wonderful from episode 1-10 and then we had fan service followed by another head-scratching ending. After watching the brilliance of the first 10 hours I couldn't mask my disappointment, actually.

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Haven't finished QIHM yet, still more to go but nothing can touch King 2 Hearts to me! That show was just purely....effortless. They had a premise, kept to it. The added things to the original premise (unexpected and exciting events) satisfied the audience. When they DID have a problem, they DEALT with it WITHIN an episode or two, instead of dragging it on like other kdramas.
This drama was like dragging harder than a drag queen (idk lol)

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i agree with 909 (sorry couldn't reply to your comment directly). gave up on big after a couple of episodes, glad i didn't waste any more time on it. king 2 hearts is my 2012 drama standout so far, Gaksital a close second. but we drama fiends still got 1/2 year left so fingers crossed there'll be more goodies than baddies.

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Watching QIHM right now and so far it's good. But it's nowhere as awesome as my two picks for best drama of 2012: SUFBB and Salaryman Chohanji.

I'm just sad that Big let me down such an epic way. I was hoping for just a bit of disappointment.

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@909 & @sweetspring: I LOVED TK2H & the Ah-Ha couple! This show had the biggest heart. For all their plot failings those HS definitely knew how to develop their characters.

As for Gaksital I just couldn't get into it. Was unable to connect to it emotionally.

A good thing for dramas in recent years...they cater to different tastes...we can agree to disagree!

<333333

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Thanks so much Girlfriday!!!!

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I could not even read this whole recap, I just skimmed! What a waste of a show. A waste of the Hong Sisters. A waste of ALL the actors, mostly Shin who only got to lay in a bed for hours on end. Waste of time! I hate to be this harsh, but gosh... where's the pay off?!

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Well, at least he was well-rested. Way to beat the live-shooting system! xD Oh, but he probably couldn't eat because he was so busy pretending to be comatose.

Which gets me... that he was just on an IV for more than a year? They didn't feed that poor kid?! Oh, brother.

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Poor GY, left out on a limb trying to save the unsavable. It headed south way back and smelled kind of rotten, ala Bad Boy. I have to add this broken heart to that one....Because I thought the H sisters would give us a payoff, lame or not.

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is the ending that bad?

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This ending was a big disappointment, as others were saying. I just don't understand how the supporting characters such as Ae-Kyung and Teacher Na, and Choong-Shik and Mari had nice endings while the main couple--- the main attraction of the show, left us with even more questions. Questions that didn't need to be left out. Sucks.

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I thought it was man. I was so disappointed by the same things Girl Friday was. Psht.

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What.The.Heck?!?!
All the unanswered questions!!!!!!!! GAH!

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The hong sisters bit off more than they could chew for this show.
In the end, you look for the easy way out of this hot mess, and TADA! Here is what we get.
This is one of those shows that pose hundreds of questions and answers perhaps 5.
Only Lost gets to do that, show! No excuses.
Thanks JB and GF for the time/effort put into recaps for this show!
Love coming here cause our taste/thoughts in k-drama land are almost always aligned, makes me feel like I’m not the only one.

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LOL on the Lost reference.

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You and me both mango, both *sigh*

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Haha! Love the Lost reference!

Totally agree with you on how it was an easy way out for them...

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Behind you...me too.

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Is Big trying to be profound like Lost with all the questions? Isn't this supposed to be a fluffy romantic comedy? I can't understand why we get no answers in the final episode. Why the hell does Mari know more about the brothers than Da Ran does? WTF happened to Da Ran's promise of finding Kyung Joon and making him remember? I seriously don't think the Hong Sisters had the story planned out from the beginning...

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I feel cheated, they took the easy way out, sigh. It’s like I asked for food and was given cotton candy.
I can’t believe the swap that everyone (well me) took place off-screen! I wanted to see the fall-out and see KKJ and DR find their way back together.
So I really hate the time-jump which I also hated in Best Love. It would have been more memorable that way!
I would have loved to see YJ and KKJ get aquianted with each other. I would have loved to see his family make amends to him. I would have loved to see Daran pursue KKJ and get him to remember her. I know he remembered her a little by wearing the watch but I would have loved to see the recognition come to his eyes, like a lightbulb lighting up. Or a feeling of deja vu. Or (if they hadn’t mentioned he was attracted to her pre-swap) she would have recreated the dates they had to remind him. Convince him the little things she knows about him like doesn’t like mushrooms. I wanted to see him learn to walk and talk again with her help since he has been in a coma for years.
I always thought YJ was a silent character in KKJ and DR’s relationship. I wanted to see his character have resolution. I wanted to have a scene where DR explains everything that happened (too cruel and impersonal to do this in a letter, he deserves a face-to-face!). I would have loved YJ to tell her if he really loved her or he was having second thoughts. I also wanted to know what he was going to tell her that day at the park before the accident. I wanted to see YJ come to terms with KKJ and DR’s relationship and give them his blessings.
I feel like the Hong Sisters took easy outs where they shouldn’t but surprisingly did the hard way something they should have gone using the easy way. At the end of ep 15, when Daran gave her confession, she should have explained exactly why she felt that way. She should have laid everything on the table. How KKJ’s soul was in YJ that is why he started behaving differently than before. Why the Hong Sisters are content in letting everyone think she is crazy, I will never understand! This could have been great fodder for the rest of episode 16.
Last but not least, I really wanted a recreation of the Shin Daran scene from episode 1 showing Shin’s face and not GY’s. (I still think they took an easy-out. Sorry am not buying the sudden 1-yr growth spurt as Shin has looked the same for the past few years and he was in a coma.) What they should have done is show Shin’s face 1s then the next GY’s, interchanging. Or they could have shown DR and Shin reenacting a scene she did with only GY (not umbrella scene)and showing them side-by side. To show tthat she still loves the soul irrespective of the shell.
Question if KJ never lost his memories when in the 1st swap, why would he loose them now?
I am just itching to rewrite this drama! I’m sad that what started as an ambitious project just whittled away to fluff. Le Sigh.

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I so agree! This show ain't no Lost, quit trying to make it seem "smart"

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right, right. When the questions themselves and the mystery is totally awesome, even if every answer isn't addressed, or things are still left loose, you can be a bit forgiving- because the questioning process was so exciting and interesting- but here, it was already all so lame the only thing that could have saved it was a good conclusion and we didn't even get that...

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Also - 'Joseon X-Files' for a K-drama reference.

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This is the least of all Hong Sisters' drama for me.

Im super disappointed in a BIG way.

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well i still give the Hong sisters the benefit of a doubt on their next turn..but really this show was just a showcase for Gong yoo..til the end..not that i didn't love him here but yeah..

anyway, Hong dramas don't always make sense and never without plotholes but it's the CRACKTASTIC thing that really drew me to their works..the waiting in vain for the next e, watching w/o subs, watching 1st before reading the recaps, rewinding countless funny & romantic scenes that u end up watching 2 hours for a 1 hour drama...& this one just sorely lack that. too bad.

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I've seen the other dramas penned by the Hong sisters and , yeah, they were all cute and fluffy..Big also offered us cotton candy but the plot kind of stagnated and then rushed everything in the last episode...It would have been nice to see KKJ in his own shell reuniting with Daran at the end. If I were the director, I could have suggested to the writers that Shin played his character at the end..it's possible to do that in a production, right?...LMJ and Shin were cute in the beginning of the drama so I think that they'd be able to deliver the same feeling.I know that KKJ and YJ were twins but that's not enough reason to use Gong Yoo for both at the end to implicate that...it was only a year that has passed for crying out loud!Did the Hong sisters feel that using a younger actor in the finale would arouse critisisms among the conservative or traditonal audience since it's given that they're (technically) a couple our about to be?were they worried about the age gap?the teacher-student relationship?the family relationship?...because if they weren't, they could have just stuck with the plot and put Shin and made him all cute-while-cold around Daran in the end...that would make the day for those who followed the drama...

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Not wanting to see Shin Won Ho and Lee Min Jung 'together' isn't just limited to the conservative or traditional --- I remember countless posts about people hoping that KJ remained in YJ's body because it's just hard to picture DR with someone who looks like he's still in the throes of puberty. I can understand why the Hong sisters opted out of showing KJ in his true form but the ending still sucked massively.

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It's the last Hong Sisters drama for me too. They SUCK and can't write dialogue for anything. Worst.Ending.Ever. (yes, even worse for me than Fashion King - at least I laughed at that one) This one just pissed me off PERIOD.

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So Agree about this being worse ending than the Fashion King! Maybe because of the expectation from a seasoned writing duo with track record was higher. I think the Hong Sisters really underestimated the viewers' intelligence and slapped one together to make money. I feel personally offended..

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I liked the first episode as its own separate drama and then 2-16 as another one. That being said, episode one was my favorite and that's it.

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I feel like I wasted 16 hours of my life

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seriously... =(

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ditto

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I second that!

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This is where I'm at. If it wasn't for Gong Yoo. For Gong Yoo, I'd watch paint dry. Which watching this drama was about the same thing.

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that right...knowing how disappointing the drama is I'm still going to watch for my fav..GY. period.
wonder what is the ending??*wondering* is it that bad as everyone says, not a single positive comment, what a pity, its GY first drama after his army service right. Hope he gets a better one next, worth his while.

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Rule, that's not true. I like the ending . The drama is not the most riveting one out there for sure but I Love gong yoo and he was mostly really good in it and made me love the character kj.

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Even for GY, I could not watch One Fine Day!

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OMG! I totally agree. I LOVE GY, but my gosh, One Fine Day is bad...I have made several attempts, but I can't even sit through 1 full episode.

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Me either! I tried like four separate times, about a year in between each and I couldn't get into it. It was just boring!

I couldn't get through this disaster either, quit after ep 4 haha.

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Will someone put me out of my misery? Because I totally loved One Fine Day =X What's wrong with me?!?!

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truth.

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totally.... it's so disappointing.... i still love gong yoo and lee ming jung but this drama is really a waste of their talent....

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I like looking at Gong Yoo - so it's not a total waste.

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WORD.

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What was that?
I don't know what happened....

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am i ready for this?@_@ all righty, bring on the brain meltdown~!

btw thanks for recapping (and staying with) this drama jb & gf. saranghae~<3

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it kills me to say this because i had so much faith in the hong sisters but i am disappointed. very, very disappointed.</3 :(

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Why, why, why?! This drama had all the ingredients for greatness. At the end of the day, all it did for me was scratch my head in wonder and say what?

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**all it did was leave me scratching

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Is... Yoon-jae still in a coma?

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EXACTLY! people asking these type of questions means the show didn't do a good enough job of answering!! I want 16 hours back!!

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lmao. there shall be more questions like these piling in.

exactly why hong sister's didn't wrap it up expertly enough. @_@

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so many questions! I'm still confused. Glad I didn't watch the last two episodes, saved myself from "ragefit" mode. Maybe they should have a press conference answering these questions? lol.
p.s Somehow I knew they would cop-out on the body-swap like they copped out on the wedding of YG/KKJ and GD. I mean, we were waiting for the wedding for sooo long and then...they skipped it. From then on, I started watching half-heartedly.

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I really wanted to love this drama. even after a really terrible unnecessary episode 15, I was hoping that 16 would make up for it... I really really wanted there to be some resolutions...

the ending didn't really answer any of the questions the drama was asking the whole time, did it? did YoonJae really love Daran? Can the student-teacher relationship work out in KyungJoon's own body? Does KyungJoon remember anything? What happened when they switched back and HOW did it happen? How did YoonJae cope with all that happened when he was sleeping?

We know nothing... I'm so disappointed =(

On a positive note: Gong Yoo and Lee Min Jung really showed great acting talent throughout the drama. and the drama was so awesome up until episode 14 (minus episode 13, which sucked).

Sigh..... SAD!!!

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For me, I think after episodes 9-10 I started to become really annoyed with this drama. There were too many unanswered questions already after episodes 9-10 and the questions just continued to pile up with each subsequent episode, with no resolutions EVER!
"Sigh... Sad" for me too!

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amen sistuh. left the train at 10, and followed recaps just to see how everything would play out.
except, nothing played out.

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Same here. Worse I feel like an idiot to even have wasted my time keeping up with the recaps after ep 9.

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15 did have a function. That's the problem. The ending doesn't work if you don't go back and understand the function of episode 15.

Episode 15 functioned to help bloister and finish the character arc of Da Ran. If you rewatch it from watching Da Ran rather than the lovely Gong Yoo, and keep in mind everything I've said about Da Ran to this point (I.e. she's not immature, just untested) then it *does* work and the ending makes final sense.

Also it did follow the Big movie closely.

Subtle doesn't go over well, I guess, and that's why I'm also guessing why the ending won't work for the majority of you. You'll hate it. I'll like it though.

JB asked for subtle from the Hong Sisters for years and now that she's got it, she hates it. Haha. I'm amused.

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Okay. let's say that episode 15 was about Daran's character development and by the end, she is comfortable in her own skin, she knows what she wants and her character shows growth...

what about EVERYTHING else!?

I guess I'm missing your point about how the ending works and the story is in any way complete... hahaha

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good your fine with it! If only this BIG is all about DARAN, then , FINE! but , man, what's all about that MIRACLE, the prevailing issue since beginning of this drama, is that about DARAN too in EP 15. So to hell with your SUBTLENESS, drink it, jump with joy in it, toast it with your HS's.

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The ending DOES work IF...

- You don't mind having many unanswered questions after the reswap (about Yoon Jae, Yoon Jae/Da Ran, Yoon Jae/Kyung Joon, etc.)

- You were satisfied hearing Gong Yoo's voice and seeing Gong Yoo's hand and body in place of Shin's, who is the REAL Kang Kyung Joon.

It's a small thing, and it may sound stupid, but seeing Kyung Joon in his original body in the end with Da Ran would have left me satisfied with the drama. I know many people didn't want to see the very young looking Shin with Min Jung, but we would have been left with GY & MJ in the past flashback as the final scene anyway. And just as Girlfriday, I could have easily forgiven and forgotten all the drama's shortcomings had they shown Kyung Joon in his real body, smiling and sharing a tender moment with Da Ran, paralleling their first meeting.

All in all I can say that I don't hate this drama. It gave us a lot of Gong Yoo and Lee Min Jung cuteness...and I'll remember it just as that.

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I agree with you there, Jane. I think I would have enjoyed the ending a lot more (could have even forgiven the crapfest that was ep 15) if they had just showed us KKJ in his own body! Wasn't the whole point of the drama to show us how two people fell in love regardless of all the obstacles in their way and despite outside appearances. And then to go and show us GY in the final scene completely negates that!!!

Argh! I feel like I was cheated and that they had no reunion at all. It screams of cowardice to me.

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I agree...if this drama was based on the plot of a switch, then damnit let's see it through, please. We needed to see Shin in his original body for this to have come full circle. Even the whole, "when I wake up, I wont have any memories of us together" plot MAY work, if the writers used the fact that KKJ liked GDR from BEFORE the accident. They would have been able to start over from there. But it only works, if you show us the original body.

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Wow, seriously? Smug, much? You're trolling, right?

If, by subtle, you mean a hot steaming pile with underdeveloped characters, loose ends, gaping plot holes, and tediously repetitive/gratuitous and ultimately pointless storylines, then yes, the Hong Sisters have delivered subtlety in spades with Big and JB has received exactly what she's asked of them.

It's great that you managed to enjoy the show and it's interesting that your take on the quality of writing differs from the majority (although I frankly disagree with most of your points on page 3) but is it really necessary to underestimate and belittle the intelligence of others just because their opinions happen not to fall in line with your own?

Please take a moment to consider the fact that perhaps other people might be just as capable as you are of recognizing and appreciating nuance and understatement but they aren't possessed of raging inferiority complexes or well-versed enough in pseudo-intellectual sophistry and one-upmanship to read way too much into a drama to the point where they begin see things that aren't actually there.

Maybe, just maybe, people who are not you are entitled to their own opinions and should be afforded some respect. You know, out of plain ol' common courtesy so people are free to express their views without fear of being bombarded by passive aggressive put downs designed to bolster someone else's obviously ailing self-confidence.

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THANK YOUUU!! <333333333

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It's worst than "2001, Space Odyssey" with monkeys throwing bones into space. Seriously, WTF! If I want a metaphysical trip I would take drugs.

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People who liked the ending seem to think they got some secret to understanding the meaning of the show and are being really condescending and are calling people who did not like it names! (the name calling is more on another site not here) Seriously?!

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THIS! I can understand if the theme of the drama appeals to people. But artistically, psychologically and story wise: IT MAKES NO SENSE!

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Word.

This is what I was asking myself. Was there a secret to this plot that only the intellectually capable can get so that they get a satisfactory ending? Am I one of those who didn't understand? Lol.

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THIS!! Someone messaged me on Livejournal just to link me to her tumblr post explaining why the ending was really good. :|

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Yes--- I agree that seems like we're having to read too much into this drama in order to make it work. If the writers were trying to do something more subtle with Big, that didn't come across in the final product for the majority of viewers (including myself). All I know is, I felt uncomfortable, and my personal take on this genre of TV/storytelling/drama/ is that a good production challenges the viewer and keeps them engaged while making us comfortable with the end. "Comfortable" doesn't necessarily mean that we get to have our cake and eat it too, but we truly feel a sense of closure.

I'm thinking of a TV drama right now where the last episode just cuts off in the middle of the main characters eating dinner, suggesting that he was shot and killed. Since he was the main character, we don't see anything after his death. On one hand, it leaves the viewer with a lot of questions, but at the same time, we feel a sense of closure because of the way the events played out leading up to the finale.

Lots of things to love about this drama, just some issues with the writing and probably the editing, as well.

Of course---I'm not "expert"--- just my humble opinion. :-)

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Woah snap! This was so satisfying to read. I agree, its fine if the ending worked for you, but don't act like you're more intelligent than everyone else, just cos you're in the minority.

For me, the ending was hugely unsatisfying, because I like *all* of my characters to have satisfying endings, rather than just one or two. I like my themes to be rounded out through logical storytelling, rather than vague meandering. I also think that if you base a plot on a bodyswap device, you need to commit to that device, or it undermines everything the bodyswap brings about (change, love, maturity, growth, trials and reward, etc).

If you disagree, that's fine.

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Amen spjork.

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Yes! Taken the words out of mouth but said it like 1000% better.

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I've also watched the American film version and it does appear that this drama is loosely based on it. The emotional maturity of both the main characters; having their character development come into full circle and experiencing internal conflict as the story near it ends seemingly close to the drama, but not so much. I think it vastly differs in the relationship, where in the main couple of the film version isn't as great and overwhelming as KKJ and D, and it's more about letting go as this drama is to holding on.

Also, There was no third party involved in the film that needed to be considered greatly. The boy transforms into his adult-self, no identification, no reputation to uphold, previous involvements and responsibilities. He had a fresh start as an adult, own mistakes and decisions that doesn't affect anyone but his own. Unlike KJJ, he needed to adapt into someone, filling in the other shoes, a size bigger than his.

I think it's quite interesting when the story's unfinished and left to the viewer's imagination. This sort of set-up might only work for the dreamers-alike but the majority of the population only wants to be entertained.

The ending did work, it made its run but didn't go into full distance.

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Can't help to reply your post...
You keep talking about character arc and how "(the show) did follow the Big movie closely", so I try to look it from your pov, try again and again ...
Sorry, I really can't see it. Except for the body swapping, this BIG takes a really big turn to another premises from that BIG, and not in a better way. ^___,^

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Let's come to the hospital together everyone! all of us need a brain check after this drama.

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too late, strawberry.

we watched it and now WE ALL HAVE BRAIN FETUSES.

and i'm not gonna let dr. jin operate on me, so i'll be skipping the hospital visit, thank you very much.

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...well, I liked Choong-shik and Mari's ending.... pretty much all I have to say.

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saving grace, at least..?T_T

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they did have a wonderful, genuinely satisfying ending and it made it like Mari just a little bit again (disliked her turn from cute psycho to devious-wtf-psycho).

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Not much to say... this was terrible. After the first twenty minutes I couldn't watch any more and just fast-forwarded through the rest of the ep. Like What. The. Fuck?? So bad. I'm irritated as hell.

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WOW. in all my dislike of this dreaded drama, i did NOT imagine they would go out like this.. suckabiss style.

for all those who stuck with it, sorry. this must BLOW for you guys.

please come back good, hong sisters. ~

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The DB site currently is showing me the puppies banner. Makes me feel much better. Off to look at puppies and not dwell any more on what-could-have-been. (But I'm sure I still will.)

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D'AWWWWW... so cute ~ <3 <3

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I love your reaction, but I also loved the show.
Thanks for the recap even thought you didn't really like it.

Best question: Did Yoon Jae get over his sadface?

I am guessing the Hongs never really cared for YJ, not even a little bit. He must have really pissed them off somewhere back in development. Poor guy.

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that was the shortest JB comment i've read lol!

thanks JB and GF for recapping this. not my fave hong sister drama, but the show had its moments. sadly those moments were few ugh.

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ahhahah aknow.
i was like, wow, JB must be either 1. really pissed no words could describe or 2. checked out long ago, duncare.
I feel like it's both.

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I think JB blew a fuse trying to make sense out of the mess that was. leaving things to have us fill in the gaps on our own is ok but leaving the end so it looks like you are missing the final episode which ties things up makes this look just plain horrible. I am glad we saw our heroine develop and show determination and confidence in herself but we do not see any answers that frankly had us all hooked on the show to the end. Very dissappointing ...

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A lot of people might be disappointed in this ending or the drama overall because it is written by the HONG sisters. Personally, I am disappointed in this drama because I had such a high expectations. First of all, its a freaking drama about soul/body switching and it is written by the hong sisters!! Also, I LOVE the CASTS for BIG!! Therefore, I had really high expectation!! After watching the first two episodes I was like its pretty good! The music was good and the chemistry was amazing!!! KKJ was soo adorable!!!
After the first two episodes it started going downhill and here are the reasons why:
1) Mari was tooo annoying!!! Her behaviors was a little too much. I am referring to the scenes where she smashed the window/door with the chair!! (I am just criticizing her character not SUZY) I dont want to offend her fans lol
2) the whole family secrets/identities was overkill!!!
3) I CANT believe KKJ just FREAKIN SLEPT (COMA) for like the whole drama! SERIOUSLY WTF!!! i was like oh he going to wake up the next episode based on the preview but no!!! wth !!!!!
4) Biggest problem!! WHAT DID YJ HAVE TO TELL DA RAN BEFORE THE ACCIDENT!!! WAS HE REALLY A CHEATER?? DID HE REALLY LOVE HER? AIRPLANE TICKET??? SO MANY UNANSWERED QUESTIONS???

I think the drama would be less draggy if KKJ woke up like near the middle and then DA RAN tried to help him recover his memories!! it will be hilarious on how the family going to react with her dating her ex-husband's brother !! MORE drama and beating from her mom!!! It would be more interesting!! Seriously they should have really tone down the whole family secrets!!

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I'd like to believe that Seo Yoon Jae was a cheater , it would calm my nerves and vouch for KKj and Daran's love story. But based on the scenes the drama have shown, it seems it was not.
1. Yes he had the key, but never once came
2. there were flashbacks of him how he get attracted and eventually propose to her in the beginning (remember the dinner conversation with fellow doctors)

I guess, SYJ was going to tell daran, that He LOVES her but He needs time to look for someone , who have given him a second chance at life, to give him more life chances so that they (SYJ and DARAN) will have more time to spend together.

I agree the family secrets and those fraternal twins are overkill.
I agree Mari 's character was overly blown and wickedly used.

Well, if I'm the writer, I would lean into KKJ 's happiness in realizing he has a father, a mother, a brother .a family bliss of happiness! Bit I'm not the great HS, or not so great at all! Whatever!

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at the start of this show, i thought there was no way it could be anything but a win/win. even if the show wasn't that good, at least i'd get to look at gong yoo. but i was so so wrong b/c i couldn't even brave this show after episode 9 even for gong yoo. i. just. couldn't. take. it. anymore. and my disappointment in the hong sisters almost physically hurt b/c i just wasn't prepared for them, of all writers, to fall this flat. the series is over now and i guess that's the only win we'll get.

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yesssss like secret garden or something like that i mean........they just keep it goping even when it doesnt make sence anymore....i agree wit u if i been like that ufffff what a show....instedd aggggggg....OMO WHYYY WHYYY i have beenn such a fan of hong sister i mean......my girlfriend is a gumiho ...umm that whats the best...this one it was as bad as a mexican soup opera ...i should know im from there...even thalia in maria mercerdes was better thats this one.....what i always like about hong sister drama (at least the ones id seen) its that the women was always so strong....and this one...umm i felt like punching here...THANKS ANYWAY DRAMABEANS....

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So mad. The ending would have been so much better if it was Shin at the end in HIS OWN body..

I loved this drama but right now I'm so upset!

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This ending was full of suck. I had a ragefit when I watched it. I want my 16 hours back!!! What a waste of Gong Yoo... >_>

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lols

full of suck, appropriate phrase for a crap-toid drama.

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srsly i totally gave up

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I can't talk myself out of hating the ending. I remember how upset I was at the Hong Gil Dong ending, but I came to terms with it and even though I hated it, it made sense in a way. I even liked the Lovers in Paris ending that people hated. It was trying to be clever and artsy and fumbled a bit.

But this ending was just, imo, cowardly. Look, I don't need to see the swap (though with all the almost-swaps, I think it is sort of owed to us to see it actually happen). I don't even need to see how things went down when the two guys switched back. I don't need to see what happened in that year apart. I can forgive a lot of things.

But I wanted to see Da-ran with Kyung-joon's real body. But the powers that be were too chickened to show Da-ran with a young Kyung-joon. People have become too attached to Yoon-jae's body - when the message was about the opposite- having Da-ran fall in love with the soul inside the body. Not feeling confident that the audience will accept our young kiddo, Shin as Kyung-joon, they have a 30+ year old man play his 21 year old self- a man who is so obviously Gong Yoo. Maybe there will be a sequel to this drama called Jack (loosely based off the Robin Williams movie about a kid who is aging several times the normal rate)?

The end felt sort of rushed too, which made the decision to drag out the angst in ep 15 even more ridiculous.

I agree with you, the sum is just less than its parts -and it has got some amazing parts that really showed a different side of the Hong sisters writing. I thought they were brave to change it from their usual formula. Lee Min Jung and Gong Yoo were superb. Shin was pretty good for the 30 minutes we got to see him.

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LOLOLOL,
Javabeans: "RAGEQUIT."

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LOL!!!!!!!!! but it was Girlfridays "*HULKSMASH* THE FUCK?" That got me LOL, I'm so DAMN happy i stayed with I Do I Do!!!!!!!!! couldn't get pass episode 1 for BIG, oh! how i love Gong Yoo

maybe next.

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OMG! What a crappy ending. I cannot believe I had such high hope for the ending and I was hoping to see the swap but it never happened! So not happy with this show.

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The only possible explanation is that the Hong Sisters gave up at some point and just wrote the rest of their drama while drunk :( What a waste of Gong Yoo and Lee Min Jung.

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It would have been funnier if they were drunk.

By the way, before I forget, thank you for recapping, JB and GF! :)

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it might have been better if they were drunk.
then they wouldn't wimp out and give us that ending. and maybe, there'd be alot of laughs v. hulk smashes.
shakkin my head.

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LOL. True!

I was so excited for this pairing and they ruined it! Gah!

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This drama had so much potential and yet like so many other kdramas, they had to go ahead and screw it up...

I was absolutely livid when the series ended as it did... I really have to question what was going through the writer's mind when they wrote this episode!

What a waste of two episodes!

Instead of going through the theatrics of their tragic love, they could at least concentrate on the aftermaths of the body swap back to their original soul/body... That will give better closure than doing that whole one year later and the super cryptic (or not so cryptic) ending with Daran and Kyungjoon...

So much potential... So much laziness on the writer's part and in the end made a well started drama to some regurgitated rubbish... Not recycled... But absolute crap fest.

Though to this day, this drama ending does not beat the likes of lovers in Paris or love story in harvard.... Nu uh....

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Agreed. It was a waste of two episodes. It was also a waste of good talent. Gong Yoo and Min Jung cud hv been greater if script was - as u aptly described - "lazy".

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you question the workings of the minds of the hong sisters?

from now on...i'm calling them the BONG sisters. as in, smoking from a water pipe...a BIG water pipe.

BONG BONG!

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Thanks GF and JB! You really took one for the team... after I watched the first 3 episodes or so I just dropped it from my to watch list... I do love the recaps though...much better than watching the actual show.

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Gahhh...!

Stupid ending..

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LMFAO at JB's and GF's hilarious end comments, I died.

On another note, i hated this ending. GG.

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Hi, does GG mean good god? Just curious...

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Good going, maybe?
I know it was first derived from online games or video games where after a battle, people would say "good game"

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maybe GOOD GRIEF if we take her whole sentence in context.

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pretty sure it means good game, usually used sarcastically when someone does something stupid?

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it is Good game indeed. Used as a farewell to the oposite team players when any of the teams wins, after a good match.

The opposite is BG, bad game... wich is probably the correct expression to be used here.

This romance got awful and stupid around episode 8-10. Then it snowballed till the end.

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in the gaming world, we use GG to sarcastically tell the other team, "Good Game".

...but not really ;)

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go back and read JB's side comments with girlfridays recap on cinderella's sister finale ... it's deja vu hehe ..

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Only thing that kept Big from being a total time suck was Gong Yoo. He's come a long way since his awful acting in My Tutor Friend. I could have lived w/the poorly constructed story if the Hong sisters had given me an ending. & about Suzy, got tired of her character after the first couple of episodes. She plays the same type in all her dramas and the movie. Is this her fault or the writers? 16 episodes and she has no character growth at all. Bring on the next drama please.

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I actually like Suzy acted Jang Mari....She's super annoying,crazy,cute,gutsy ,weird and annoying and wicked...and i like her fashion...she acted the character as what the writers wanted her to be...(so sad, she's not developed well) She really improve in Big

Go Hye Mi is different..she's not crazy, but a overconfident spoiled brat who develops throughout the drama DH (which was so EPIC) She's my favorite character

Seoyeon was the girl next door type...she's so refreshing to watch...

Suzy is a good actress...too bad the writers just blow her character away from the norms LOL!

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Likewise, my 1st impressions of GY weren't favorable based on MTF and what little I watched of 'Spy Girl', but 'Coffee Prince' totally changed my impression of GY.

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first off, it's obvious they used ep 15 as filler cause they got scared to write about what would happen after the switch. i mean seriously what was the point of that ep? this final should have been 15 and ep 16 should have dealt with the aftermath.

didn't want to attempt the issues of KJ being in his own body with DR or finish up the YJ thread. i mean if you're too scared to do it then don't bother writing the whole thing in the first place.

total bullshit they didn't show shin as KJ again.

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Thank you for the recap!

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Thank you for recapping gf/jb!

Man, I know the Hong Sisters have experience and history and all that, but I could have pitched so many ideas to them about this particular drama. I REALLLLLLLLLY wanted to see the young Kyung Joon (not Gong Yoo's KJ) back in his own body and interacting with Daran. Really, would that have been so hard? He was so cute in the beginning with Daran, I was salivating just thinking about them reuniting for real in the end -- but alas, it was not to be.

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hahaha, salivating, can't imagine. I was fantasizing with open arms and legs, wide eyes, standing hair, all bodily fluids leakin' everywhere. aahhh gross! good it never happen or else my mom will call 911!

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LOL. Comment rated NC17. I feel the same BTW. :)

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@flyingbunny: I agree, what about those questions?!

I... I just can't. That was a terrible ending.

I'm watching episode 8 but now I feel like I shouldn't even bother watching the rest of the series since the ending is crap. Gong Yoo is awesome but I am so bothered by how the story and the last episode makes absolutely no sense.

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JUST.STOP.NOW

omgwhy---STOP

otherwise you'll get the brain fetus like us.

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Biggest question of all: In the beginning episode when Gong Yoo's character is racing to teacher to tell him how he feels personally, we never friggin' find out what he was meaning to say! And why was the whole affair thing (even though there wasn't one) even brought up? And why oh why was Gong Yoo's looking for his younger brother??? The EXACT reason...

a;skcasoda'sdkvna'osidjfa'sidfj!!!!!!

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Goong Yo, was looking for the brother to use him as his medicine on standby just in case he needs his precious blood again. Seo Yoon Jae, love daran, but he was afraid that if he gets sick again, he might die and daran will be a widow. So he resolve himself to find the cure (which is the brother) before he marries DARAN. Poor KK!

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Ummmm, yeah. I don't understand. I wasn't invested in this drama at all, but I tuned in to see Gong Yoo. And while usually I'm like the more Yoo, the better, the last 5 minutes of the drama should not have included him as the lead. Even if you don't show his face, everyone still knows it's Gong Yoo. I don't know what was intended, but I think having him close the drama just undercut the whole plot.

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Dear Gong Yoo,
I love you, but next time, please pick a script that's already been written so you know for sure what you're getting into. Thanks.

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That goes for Yoon Eun Hye as well.

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LOL. I concur.

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AMEN.

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I gave up on this show four eps ago and I'm truly sorry to have watched the final two just so that I can see how it ended. It sucked!

I've been burned by both Hong sister shows that I've watched: Big and MGIAG. Lots of cuteness, but lacking substance and dragging out an unsatisfactory (and in this case, confusing) ending.

The story seemed to spin its wheels for most of the drama's run and ... I don't know what they were going for with that ending. I wish I had quit this show earlier.

Thanks for the recap and the hulkrage!

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I agree... I think lately, the Hong sisters are really overrated. Could never understand why people like MGIAG... Only one I liked was You're Beautiful.

I didn't really invest time watching this drama because I knew the ending would be like this. Didn't want to have another 49 Days-like "ragefest" (as girlfriday puts it).

I think the initial set up of Big was pretty good... but they couldn't follow it through. And what the heck... all the anticipated scenes: wedding, switching back of bodies were all done off camera! Was the budget that low or something? Definitely feel cheated...

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Dear Girlfriday, Dear Javabeans thanks for the recaps and for your tough efforts.

Dear friends, as Girlfriday said "This show is basically a lesson in math". In my opinion, minus times plus equals minus.

I think that the first episodes and the story plots of those episodes were good (we should say the truth, some times they were great and strong), BUT, there is a BIG BUT, the PD ,writer sisters, and all the assisting and producing group couldn't manage the whole series. From the 8th, it was obvious that they had changed some story lines, but it became more obvious at the 3 final episodes.
In my eyes, because of some reasons (the two most important are lack of management in script writing and directing the upcoming events) they rushed the ending episodes, not just the last one.

Although, the main leads, I mean Gong Yoo and Lee min Jung did good job, the story suffered from an imbalance. Dear Director! HOW you want to manage the BIG SWAP in just one or 2 episodes, when you spend the rest of the series on some emotional aspects and effects?!

To me, the last episode was just like a radio show, i mean a radio story, and i didn't need to open my eyes to watch it. What I watched were just lots of conversions, flash backs ,and a bunch of some smart phones and cloths advertisements (you know, the last one killed me, too lame).

They showed unsuccessful swaps several times, so i think they thought that it's very unnecessary to show the main swap onscreen and they decided to do it off screen. They rushed it, they had to shorten the story, but they totally failed.

To conclude!! It's unfair to say the series is totally bad. No, it's not completely bad, but they ruined the story. They could manage it better.

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As much as I love Gong Yoo and Lee Min Jung and sweet moment in the series (such as Pandas, 10:10, sunflowers, plastic bags, puing puing and ... concepts, also their sweet and good chemistry and relationship), I still feel too disappointed about the ending. At the end of Coffee Prince I felt a little disappointed, but at the end of coffee prince, you got at least 80 percent of what you wanted and what you waited for. Anyway, I still love Gong Yoo and Lee Min Jung and appreciate their efforts and their acting skills. I also love BIG's 1st to 13th episodes, and its sweet moments, and never forget them.

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The ending is disappointing but....

I wanna satisfy myself..

Maybe... Mari was lying. Maybe.. KKJ's body never wakes up and KKJ's soul is still in YJ's body.

Hey, afterall, Mari always lie to her benefits. And like Girlfriday says.. They never show us the switch.. So i am gonna have my happy ending this way

Hehehe

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Maybe, this was all a dream. and ep 2-16 was never real.
Inception anyone?

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No.

Just No.

Haha and if it was a dream, maybe YJ saved KKJ.

At the hospital, KKJ is found resting, just having a caliente dream with his teacher.

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CT, I'm gonna jump on this bandwagon with you.

Maybe Ma Ri is lying (when isn't she?) and the brothers didn't switch back. Maybe they got stuck in each other's body.

Remember when the kids tore the miracle picture? Wasn't it around that time that KKJs comatose body had the 1st heart rate spike that didn't involve KKJ leaving YJ's body? Maybe it was then that YJ's spirit entered KKJ's empty body permanently. Maybe the torn picture represents the break in their supernatural connection and their inability to switch back.

Wasn't it also around that time that we see YJ in KKJ's body crying, probably because he realized that he had forever lost his chance with the woman he loved or that he had made the ultimate sacrifice for his younger brother's happiness?

So maybe the person meeting GDR in the final scene was the unchanged KKJ in YJ's body and that's why he went by the house they shared and was wearing the watch she gave him. He has all their memories.

Whew! Man, these Hong sisters sure make us work hard for a decent ending, huh?

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Once again, reading your recap with tears of laughter streaming down my face lol my side hurt from all the laughing....:D

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hmmm...you don't even deserve to be loved in your own body...what the...???

*calms down* I BLAME THE BRAIN FETUS FROM DR JIN!!

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I just came from dr Jin after an hour of therapy, it really helped. He has a BIG list of patients from Big :D

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Hahahaha..... so I think i need to go there too. how many lines I have to wait until get therapy ?

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That was the ENDING?! Seriously?! WTF Hong sisters! You couldn't even commit to DR and KJ's pairing to the end! Would it have killed you to use Kyung Joon's real body in the final scene? I feel so cheated...so wronged...BIG time!

BIG deception.
BIG disappointment.
A really BIG waste of Gong Yoo and Lee Min Jung's chemistry/talent. You should never waste pretty pairings!

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It WILL KILL them ! MOther's will complain, the show is promoting teacher-student relationship.

It WILL KILL them ! the woman is way too old for the boy, if it was the oother way around, it would have been acceptable!

It will KILL them to meet all your expectations, so you better die in DISAPPOINTMENT!

so they rather KILL you ALL, therefore , RISE UP from the grave, and let your REVENGE rage in DRAMA world!
Hep Hep Hurray, guess , fans are crazier than daran and Mari! LOL!

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I'll hire GAKSITAL to do the job. Period.

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AND SHOULD NEVER EVER WRITE AGAIN!

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Lazy, lazy, lazy. What a waste of a decent bunch of actors. And honestly, if I hadn't read spoilers and recaps and just went ahead and watched the episode, I might not even have understood the ending.

Using a crappy flashback for the ending sequence? Lazy. They could've at least done something similar to the ending of Rooftop Prince. That might've packed a little bit more punch, if at all. -__-

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I could not believe they used so many flashbacks in the finale when they had a story to tell (although I realize now that SYJ as a character was NEVER going to get an ending or any form of closure). I was like, "I liked the cute. I got the cute. Now end this story with even a facsimile of rationality!" Didn't get it. Really? Wasting screen time with flashbacks?!

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I'm thinking the impossible... Fashion King wasn't the worst show- ending this year! This takes the cake for WTF moment of the season. I love Gong Yoo and stuck around but this is just viewer abuse. I know this is the love story of KKJ and GDR but boy did Yoonjae get screwed, as if hinting that he'd get together with that irritating doctor was going to be justifiable. Why couldn't they have just woken them up in episode 12 and deal with the screwy moments of who am I, what did i miss. Not remembering what happen's after a year doesn't mean everyone else was sleeping. Show get some DAMN sense.
Sorry now i'm not making any sense. I was disappointed from episode 12 on, even with the twists. Its not a necessary twist if you can't untangle the damn thing at the end writers. They shouldn't have bothered with the last two episodes and cut the cord on this one at 14 when viewers still had hope and gave a crap. This is one of those moments where letting the viewer's create their own ending would have been fine and dandy, especially if they knew they were going to pull this crap. So basically the last two episodes was meant to remind the viewers that the show hit its pique at episode 3 and we're the suckers who stayed behind. Secret Garden is looks like a bleeding wonderland after this nonsense.

Was there any point to the switch at all? Why didn't they just make a story about an immature guy who's brain never left high school falling in love with a teacher who helps him mature through her excessive indecisiveness and naivete. We still get Gong Yoo and Lee Min Jung, keep her family toss his, and give me something tangible to work in. This switch was a cheap gimmick by the Hong Sisters to grab viewers, if only they had reciprocated the viewers love and faithfulness by giving us an actual story.

Someone please help me justify why i stayed on through this!

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BTW thank you JB and GF for your awesome recaps throughout these 16 episodes. Your both amazing, sorry for raging.

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justify you y u stayed? maybe, perhaps, were in the same mental state with MARI n Daran.

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I don't think they meant it as a cheap gimmick. There seems to be some sort of mystical reason with the story about one angel saving another. I think the set-up was pretty good. The atmosphere was soft and calming. Good actors. A compelling hero. The mysterious nature of the switch. The drama's got some good stuff. It looked like it was going to be the most mature of the Hong sisters' dramas. It had a promise of character growth and a coming-of-age story.

But as the story progressed, it seemed like the Hong sisters have a huge case of writers' block and they were just throwing anything on the table. I wonder if they were writing the scripts an hour before shooting the scenes. They've got some good material but just needed some major editing and advising. And whoever thought it would be a great idea to use Gong-yoo's body as young Kyung-joon in the end needs to be smacked.

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the reason I'm calling it a gimmick is because the two people who switched never really confronted one another. I just wanted some answers, some people are about the OTP, but i didn't like one half of the pairing and focused on the story. Maybe thats where the frustration comes from, that the plot went from zany fun to dull to convoluted and then just down the toilet. I never felt like DaRan was truly invested in the relationship and felt like it was a one man Gong Yoo show (which is also why i stuck around). Its a love story but they got the family situation too involved and never really resolved it. From episode 8 i kept praying Yoon Jae would wake up and do something, when the family relationship was connected for us i kept hoping we could find more involvement from Yoon Jae and see how he really cared about his brother and the consequences of decisions made by adults. Poor Kyung Joon was always defending himself, always fighting for someone to understand him, and i don't think even Daran did. In a body switch there has to be learning by both sides. Things would have been so much easier to accept if they had just killed Yoon Jae, and had KKJ decide which body he wanted to be in, there would have been actual drama.

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"Its not a necessary twist if you can’t untangle the damn thing at the end writers."

EXACTLY.

It was almost like they introduced all of these sub-plots and twists, and then either ran out of time or ran out of steam, leaving them unresolved. On the other hand, the main conflict between Da-Ran and KKJ just ran in circles. It reminds me of college papers I wrote while pulling "all-nighters." I was always left thinking to myself, "This is a great topic and I started really strong. Too bad I waited until the last minute to write it, because it could have been one of my best papers."
So yeah...kinda disappointing, especially considering how strongly this drama started out.

I thought the acting was fantastic all around, and I loved the visual aspect of this drama--- vivid colors, beautiful close-ups of actors faces that really showed off the acting talents of this cast, I liked the wardrobes and the sets, etc., and I liked character development with Da- Ran and KKJ. I just felt like the writers lost faith in this project, and I don't think they ultimately trusted the audience, either.

As for the body swap specifically, OK, I will admit that a part of me just wanted to see KKJ in Gong Yoo's body with Da Ran forever. But, by the end of the drama I really would have been OK with seeing KKJ in the correct body. I find it ironic that "facing fear head-on" was a major theme throughout the drama, and yet, the writers wouldn't even allow us to face our fears in seeing KKJ back in his own body! I really loved the chemistry between Gong Yoo and LMJ, but I thought that Shin and LMJ has some nice chemistry in episode 1, too. Had the writers chosen to develop that a bit more before the accident, I think the audience may have been more comfortable with the idea of seeing those two together in the end, even if it was just a few shots of KKJ in his own body in order to clarify that, yes, they DID indeed switch back.

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I agree with most of what you said, but...

Fashion King IMO still maintains the "honor" of worst ending of the year. Maybe worst ending ever.

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we were all stuck at 10:10
that's the only reason i can think of at the moment

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70 % of drama i liked, at the end i always said WTF ... so this drama goes to same category ... except GONG YOO nothing interest me ... A both brother and both age GY nailed it ... he carried this whole BIG drama in this broad shoulder ... Bravo ... Hope he come back in drama land ASAP .... my wish

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Yea!!! to that....after reading all the messy comments i just saw the scenes with GY and forwarded the rest..that way it was worth it. He did a jolly good job..buck Up you're the best GY..we love you sarang he

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Rule, I just replied to your post on the first page.. That I did like the ending and gong yoo was mostly awesome in it although I didn't like how he played kj immediate post swap. He might have been directed to play it as such I guess.

But ya, it's not the best drama by a long short but I still love gong yoo BIG time :)

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