Hyde, Jekyll, Me: Episode 20 (Final)
by girlfriday
On the one hand, the finale of Hyde, Jekyll, Me finally gives me what I’ve been wanting from the show. On the other, I’ve been waiting for nineteen episodes for this stuff to happen, which kind of takes the punch out of getting what I want. It’s time to face the music and decide once and for all: Is it Robin? Is it Seo-jin? Because there’s no such thing as a love triangle in a happily ever after.
SONG OF THE DAY
Coffee Boy – “나를 사랑하자” (Let’s Love Me) [ Download ]
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FINAL EPISODE RECAP
So here we are, against all reason, at Hana and Robin’s wedding. I wish I could tell you that lightning strikes, or that Seo-jin wakes up and asks what the hell they’re doing with his body, or that Secretary Kwon stops the ceremony to ask if everyone is high. But to my dismay, none of this happens.
Friends cheer them on as if this is all perfectly normal, and Robin and Hana exchange rings and share a kiss.
They cuddle in bed while watching the prerecorded congratulations from their wedding guests, and both of them wonder who invited Detective Na. Secretary Kwon can’t even congratulate them without turning into a blubbery mess.
When Hana cuddles closer, Robin throws a blanket over them and they laugh and squeal under the covers.
Later that night, Hana poses for a portrait holding her wedding bouquet, and Robin begins to sketch. But he keeps faltering and hesitating; something is clearly wrong, but he tries to play it off like it’s nothing.
He heads over to his desk and takes out a small sketchpad to try and recreate one of the webtoon sketches he’d recently drawn. But he can’t, and the pencil goes limp in his hand as he realizes that he can’t draw anymore.
Hana sees the pencil fall out of his hand and understands what’s going on, and does her best to hide her reaction. She comes up with an excuse to postpone the portrait, and complains that she’s hungry.
Robin walks over to her and just stares at her for a long beat, then says the one thing that she’s been dreading: “I think my time is up.” He says that he has to go, and Hana can barely ask, “Now?”
She says that he hasn’t even eaten yet, and clings desperately to this idea that he should eat before he goes, and tries to move past him into the kitchen. He pulls her into his arms from behind and just holds on.
Hana’s voice shakes as she begs, “Just one more day. Stay just one more day.” She turns around to face him, and he does his damnedest to hide his tears behind a smile for her sake. She cries that they haven’t even eaten, and he hasn’t finished her portrait.
Robin admits that he can’t—he can’t draw anymore, and he knows it without a doubt now that his time is up.
They begin the round of phone calls, from Dr. Kang to Secretary Kwon. Woo-jung comes by to say her final goodbye, and then Robin and Hana head home, where Secretary Kwon grabs him in a tearful hug. He cries that he always liked Robin, and asks him to forget anything that might’ve hurt his feelings.
Even Chairman Dad is here, and he just silently puts a hand on Robin’s shoulder. It’s not much, but it’s the first nice thing Dad’s ever done. Dr. Kang tells Robin to take his time, and he takes Hana into the room to be alone.
He regrets that he can’t say goodbye to Seo-jin, but Hana takes out her phone because she’s already prepared with a message from Seo-jin. Robin watches the last video message from Seo-jin with a sad little smile, and Seo-jin says that he’s thought about this moment for a really long time.
At first, all he ever wanted was for Robin to go away. Then eventually he realized he’d want to tell Robin that he saved him. But now, the thing he wants to say is: “Thank goodness you were here.”
Robin smiles a little wider, then taps the screen to record a reply. He says that he had prepared all sorts of things to tell Seo-jin, but now all he can think to say is one simple thing: “Let’s not see each other again. Don’t come looking for me again, Gu Seo-jin.”
Heh, I kind of like that their goodbyes to each other aren’t sappy. He pulls Hana in for a hug, and she says in her wobbly, tear-filled voice that she loves him. He presses a kiss to her forehead and tells her that he’ll do all the loving—she just needs to be happy, even if he’s not around.
She nods her agreement silently, and he gives her one last gentle kiss.
Hana comes out of the room crying, and Dr. Kang heads inside. Robin slides his wedding ring off and grips it tightly in his palm, and shuts his eyes as Dr. Kang leads him back through his memories until they get all the way back to the beginning.
When he opens his eyes again, it’s morning, and Dr. Kang and Secretary Kwon are hovering nearby, anxious and hesitant. They ask if it’s Seo-jin, and hold their breaths as Seo-jin focuses his eyes and confirms that it’s him.
Secretary Kwon comes out to deliver the news: It’s done, and the one who woke up was Seo-jin. Chairman Dad beams, and Hana’s face falls. It’s really over, and Robin is really gone. Secretary Kwon asks if she wants to see Seo-jin, but she makes her excuses and leaves, knowing that she can’t face him yet.
Seo-jin looks down at the wedding band clutched in his hand and just takes it in silently. Hana goes back to the officetel she had shared with Robin, and Seo-jin walks through his house and sits in Robin’s room—they’re both mourning him in the same way, feeling suddenly so alone.
Seo-jin spends the night watching every video message that Robin ever left him, from the kind ones to the angry ones, and can’t stop himself from shedding tears.
In the morning, he knocks on Hana’s door and tells her that he won’t stop until she opens up. She hasn’t moved all night from her position on the floor, but after a while of incessant knocking, she can’t avoid Seo-jin any longer and answers the door.
She comes out instead of letting him in, and he sighs in relief that she’s alive. She remembers saying the exact same thing to Robin once when he was hiding from her, but brushes the memory away.
Seo-jin takes her by the wrist to lead her outside, but she stops him. She doesn’t want his comfort, but he reminds her that Robin told her to be happy. He admits that he hasn’t let go of Robin either, and asks if they can’t remember him together, since they’re both unable to let go or move on.
That speaks to her, so she takes Seo-jin to the street with all the murals, and pauses sadly in front of each one. Seo-jin watches her carefully and then noticeably pauses at the same poem that made Robin linger, narrowing his eyes as if remembering something.
Hana is floored when she thinks she sees Robin scribbling on the wall, and turns him around to face her. It’s Seo-jin, of course, and she hangs her head. He asks if it’s difficult for her to look at him, which is a dumb question, really.
But he tells her to think of Robin when she looks at him, wanting to comfort her in any way that he can. He admits that he doesn’t know how to give comfort—he just knows that he wants her to cry less and be less sad. Could you be any sweeter? Gah.
She tells him not to comfort her because she doesn’t deserve it. She confesses that she hoped Robin wouldn’t disappear, even while hoping for Seo-jin to be healthy and whole. She knows how contradictory it is, how crazy she sounds wanting things that can’t exist together. She tells him frankly that she hoped they could be one person—a man with Seo-jin’s qualities and Robin’s qualities, whom she could love freely.
But she knows now that the two aren’t one, and doesn’t want to keep looking for Robin in Seo-jin. She leaves him there, and as he turns back to the wall, he has a flash of memory and sees Robin writing their names.
At night he wanders to the bridge, just missing Hana as she leaves it. There are no fireworks tonight and the water is still, and nothing happens, but Seo-jin suddenly just starts to cry.
He wipes away a tear as he answers a call from Dr. Kang, who gets worried at the sound of his voice. He admits that he’s randomly crying and doesn’t know why—he’s not upset and he doesn’t remember anything new, and wonders if there’s something wrong with him.
Dr. Kang tells him to get checked out at the hospital just in case, but explains that it’s going to be like this as he remembers more of Robin’s memories and his emotions. Seo-jin is surprised at that, since he thought it was just going to be more memories that he gained, not actual feelings.
He looks up at the sky from the bridge, and he sees flashes from the night that Robin was here: fireworks, Hana running to him in tears, Robin breaking down in her arms. He sends Secretary Kwon to make sure that Hana got home safely, and that her friends will check on her.
Hana watches the video from her radio birthday surprise and pauses on what she thinks is Robin gazing at her lovingly, though we know that it was Seo-jin. She tells Jin-ju that she’ll never forget what Robin said to her that day, before leaving for the radio station—that he often thinks that he’s dreaming until he sees Hana and is reminded that it’s not a dream after all.
She says that that day feels like a dream—the look in his eyes as he gazed at her, how happy she felt, without any worry about when that happiness would go away. Jin-ju agrees that Robin doesn’t look worried in that moment either, calling that the face of a man who’s just looking at the woman he loves.
Jin-ju gets another call from Secretary Kwon and tells Hana that Seo-jin is relentless about making sure that she’s okay. She asks Hana where this leaves things with Seo-jin, and Hana admits that she’s comforted by him, but that’s all the more reason to stay away. She feels bad enough that he was wiling to be sick for the rest of his life for her; seeking comfort in him would be too selfish.
Cousin Seung-yeon gets ousted from his position as acting president, and in no time, Seo-jin is getting dressed in a suit to go back to work. He’s facing the press for his official reinstatement today, and Secretary Kwon is extra nervous.
He spills water on Seo-jin and cringes, waiting for the blowback, but it never comes. Seo-jin just answers nonchalantly, “You’re the one who needs to stay calm, hyung.” Say what? Secretary Kwon does a double take and stammers, “Did you just call me hyung?”
Seo-jin thinks he heard wrong, which means it must’ve been involuntary. This is going to be fun.
They head out to the car, and Seo-jin opens the driver-side door, surprising the chauffeur and himself. They stand there awkwardly, as he wonders why he came to the wrong door. It’s a tiny thing, but he’s increasingly weirded out by his own behavior.
His speech to the press is a hit, but Secretary Kwon has his own silent freakout when Seo-jin quotes a line from Robin’s speech, the day he had to pose as Seo-jin to attend the board meeting.
It all goes swimmingly, until Seung-yeon publicly announces in the room full of reporters that it’s all a con. He points at Seo-jin and declares dramatically that he’s not Robin, and challenges him to draw something right there on the spot.
He plops down a notebook and pen in front of Seo-jin, looking smug about his impending triumph. Seo-jin peers down at the blank page nervously, then picks up the pen. To everyone’s shock (and even his own), he draws… exactly like Robin.
Seo-jin hands Seung-yeon the page and walks away, thinking the argument won. But Seung-yeon decides that this means he’s Robin and not Seo-jin, and asks him to name all their acquisitions in the last year. Seo-jin doesn’t even have to blink to rattle those off the top of his head, and kills any suspicion once and for all.
Seung-yeon has nothing left to do but eat his words, literally—he stuffs the drawing into his mouth and starts to chew. Secretary Kwon hands him Dr. Kang’s card on his way out, heh.
Seo-jin walks out of the press conference and ignores the chauffeur holding the backseat door open. Instead he climbs into the driver’s seat and braces himself before starting the ignition and driving away. He goes to Robin’s officetel and looks nervous as he tries the lock code. It works, and he opens the door.
Eun-chang takes Woo-jung shopping to pick up memorial flowers in honor of Robin’s birthday, and Jin-ju calls with news that shocks them. They rush back to the circus office and stare at the news story announcing a new superhero webtoon by Robin, called Somebody Stop Me!
Hana comes in and they show her the story nervously. She’s angry by the time she finds Seo-jin sitting at Robin’s desk, and accuses him of paying a ghost artist to keep creating webtoons under Robin’s pen name.
He knows that she won’t believe him, but he tells her that he can draw and drive now—he’s retained all of Robin’s skills. He says that he’s undergoing a lot of changes, but she’s still adamant that he stop publishing new work under Robin’s name. She asks him to call it off and turns to go, but then stops in her tracks when she sees a sketch up on the wall.
It’s of her—the one from her wedding night—that Robin couldn’t finish. Seo-jin not only completed the sketch, but he knew things that only Robin would know, like the fact that she was holding flowers.
Her eyes fill with tears as she looks back and forth, from the portrait to Seo-jin and back again, trying to process what this means. She turns to him and asks, “What I’m seeing now—is this not a dream?”
She searches his eyes for an answer, but instead he just leads her out by the hand and gets behind the wheel to drive her somewhere. They arrive at a garden, where he takes her to a table prepared with food, and a strange mix of things: chickens, and dogs playing in the field.
She looks back at him with the same searching expression, and remembers telling Robin that she wanted to do this very thing on his birthday, down to the chickens and dogs.
Seo-jin tells her that his time spent as Robin feels like a dream that he couldn’t remember, but he wants to remember it with her: “Not remembering half of my life was my illness, but I was cured because of you, and now I remember everything—the things I did with you while I was sleeping, how you laughed, how you looked at me—I remember it all.”
He ends with, “If you ask me now whether I’m Robin or Gu Seo-jin, I only have one answer: I’m just one man who loved you, loves you, and wants to be loved by you.” Okay, good answer.
When he tells her that he loves her, a tear trickles down her cheek, and he gently wipes it away. He takes her face in his hands and softly kisses her forehead, then tilts his head to kiss her eye.
He makes his way down to her lips and gives her a tentative kiss. When he pulls away, she leans in to kiss him back.
Seo-jin admits in voiceover that he lied about remembering everything: He doesn’t have any memory of the wedding, and says that it’s as if Robin took that one with him when he went.
Cousin Seung-yeon tries to convince himself through yoga and meditation that he’s happy for Seo-jin, though I don’t know if chanting it through gritted teeth counts as meditation.
Hana and Seo-jin tend their new vegetables in the greenhouse and take cute pictures with their harvest.
As they snuggle, Seo-jin narrates: “A day to laugh, talk, feel, be comfortable, and love. Another day to love—we’re living that day.” Closing caption: That day is a miracle.
COMMENTS
I was all prepared to say that this drama’s biggest offense was that it was boring, but then they went through with the wedding, and that just takes the crazy cake. Which is saying a lot in a drama full of kidnapping shrinks, insta-hypnosis, and a fairytale rendition of dissociative identity disorder that makes it seem almost romantic to have an alter ego. He’s brave where you’re cowardly! Artistic and in touch with his feelings! He woos your girl and lets you keep her! My problem was never in the fictional rendering of the Hyde/Jekyll setup—it is, after all, a fantastical idea to begin with, that your alter ego is all things good. I accepted that going in, and I liked the themes that it brought to the surface, about memory and self and fear.
What I had a much harder time with was the heroine—I couldn’t figure out why she insisted that she loved only Robin, when I always saw Robin as an extension of Seo-jin. It felt like a forced and unnatural perception, for her to dig her heels in about their separation. Yes, Robin struggled with his sense of identity because it was a question of survival for him. But Hana is outside of that and should’ve been able to look at Seo-jin and Robin, and help them come to terms with their illness and see that they were in fact two parts of one man. I don’t blame her for Seo-jin’s decision to live with his illness since that was his choice, but I was disappointed when she didn’t call him stupid and noble, and push him to heal instead. And then when she came up with the wedding idea, I finally realized that I could never in a million years understand her. In some sense, her weakness as a character made Seo-jin and Robin shine more, but I would’ve gladly sacrificed some of that for a heroine that I could identify with.
The writing is where the show suffered most, though it’s not a total trainwreck or anything. There are certainly shows that are far less cohesive and far less thought-provoking, and I did really enjoy Seo-jin and Robin’s characters. But OH MY GOD, could the pace have been any worse? Granted, it’s rare for a drama to be truly ahead of its audience (always the mark of a gifted writer), so most dramas follow a rather predictable arc and pace. But this show actually telegraphed its punches and sapped whatever excitement it possibly could at every turn. See that left hook plot twist? Here it comes… in two weeks! I got used to it after a while and just enjoyed the little moments between the characters, but what really disappointed me was that it was languid with lesser plotlines that dragged on for weeks, only to cram the stuff that we really wanted into the final three episodes. Why? Whhhhyyyy. Because I watched this drama to find out how we were going to resolve Hana’s love for Robin, and develop her love for Seo-jin. I thought that was what we were all in it for.
But apparently the writer had different ideas, and instead of spending five weeks on Hana’s relationship with Seo-jin like I gladly would’ve done, we spent weeks upon weeks on doctor Sung Joon and his kidnapping habit, who didn’t even get a send-off in the finale, by the way. But what I actually care about is the fact that we rushed through Hana’s resolution with Seo-jin. This is the relationship that’s important to me, so I can’t for the life of me understand why we rushed through Seo-jin’s transformations into the Robin-Seo-jin hybrid that he becomes. Imagine how great it would’ve been to spend weeks on his gradual changes, and to have her slowly fall for him, despite herself. As it is, her acceptance feels rushed at best and false at worst, because she spent the entire drama refusing to see that they were one man. And truth be told, I’m still hung up on the fact that she didn’t fall for Seo-jin just as Seo-jin, before finding out that he was Robin’s other half. They’re technicalities, but they matter if I’m to make sense of this relationship.
What would’ve salvaged a great deal of the central story for me is if Seo-jin had stayed the focus of the drama. But Robin’s role grew and grew until it almost took over, and I just never found Hana’s relationship with Robin all that exciting. They were smiley and cute, but Robin was juvenile and they were pretty one-note, while Seo-jin was thoughtful and swoony and more complex. That’s not to say that the romance was all wrong; any indication that Robin and Seo-jin were becoming more like each other was welcome, and save for the wedding, I enjoyed Robin’s send-off and Seo-jin’s new post-Robin character.
This drama really was just the Hyun Bin Show, though Hyde, Jekyll, Me’s low ratings are just more proof that you can’t build a show on starpower alone. He certainly played the hell out of the characters and always made me believe that he was Seo-jin when he was Seo-jin and Robin when he was Robin, even when they were undercover as each other. Han Ji-min had more of an uphill battle because her character was written badly and I was often frustrated with her. She lacked spark in the lighter scenes but brought much more in the emotional scenes toward the end of the drama.
And it seemed to take almost the entire drama’s run for the pair of them to find a bit of chemistry, not to mention the added hurdle that the writer wasted so much of the potential for tingle-inducing romantic hijinks. They were cute together; they just never had the kind of love that got you in the gut, or made you think that you’d go move the goddamn mountains yourself if it meant that they could be together. They were a sweet, but take-it-or-leave-it kind of couple. It’s not like I regret watching or recapping the drama, since it was pretty fun to talk about. I suppose in hindsight, I would like to think that if I were sent back in time to make the decision again, I’d be older and wiser and have sounder judgment. The thing is, I’ll suffer a lot for Binnie, and that’s just the truth.
RELATED POSTS
- Hyde, Jekyll, Me: Episode 19
- Hyde, Jekyll, Me: Episode 18
- Hyde, Jekyll, Me: Episode 17
- Hyde, Jekyll, Me: Episode 16
- Hyde, Jekyll, Me: Episode 15
- Hyde, Jekyll, Me: Episode 14
- Hyde, Jekyll, Me: Episode 13
- Hyde, Jekyll, Me: Episode 12
- Hyde, Jekyll, Me: Episode 11
- Hyde, Jekyll, Me: Episode 10
- Hyde, Jekyll, Me: Episode 9
- Hyde, Jekyll, Me: Episode 8
- Hyde, Jekyll, Me: Episode 7
- Hyde, Jekyll, Me: Episode 6
- Hyde, Jekyll, Me: Episode 5
- Hyde, Jekyll, Me: Episode 4
- Hyde, Jekyll, Me: Episode 3
- Hyde, Jekyll, Me: Episode 2
- Hyde, Jekyll, Me: Episode 1
Tags: featured, Han Ji-min, Hyde Jekyll Me, Hyun Bin, Sung Joon
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51 Carinne
March 27, 2015 at 1:06 PM
I'd rather watch Hyun Bin in a tv commercial than this show. Nice recaps, thanks GF for this one. Cheers! *sake bomb for two*
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52 ccut
March 27, 2015 at 3:04 PM
Thank you very much for recapping the entire drama, girlfriday. Your opinions are justified with reason and expressed with good humor that it has been a pleasure reading your thoughts. Our viewing experience may not be exactly the same, but I sure enjoyed learning your views. Since this is the last episode, though trivial it may sound, I might as well add that I also appreciate the pictures you've chosen for each episode. Sometimes the exact moment that leaves an impression on me do come out in your recap, and that makes me smile each time. I don't know how much effort is required in summarizing and reviewing a drama that knows how to tests one's patience, but you sure did a great job by remaining objective. So thanks a million, girlfriday:)
For this episode, I'm not sold on Seo-jin acquiring Robin's abilities, and so easily! I'm also not convinced about how abrupt Hana accepted Seo-jin into her life. But, when it comes to this drama, I've gotten used to abandoning questions and went with the flow to be able to enjoy the journey until the end. And I did for the most part.
After the previous episode of sympathizing with Robin for losing his special memories, I'm glad he got to take with him the memory of his wedding day. He deserves to keep the best part to himself.
Seo-jin and Hana's new relationship is probably the least satisfactory about the finale simply because too little time led to it. If only they dedicated an entire episode to this couple, it would have made a huge difference. I agree with girlfriday that it would have been great if they had dedicated more time in portraying Seo-jin's change in personality and have Hana gradually accept him. It's sad I hardly got to know this new version of Seo-jin. If only this supposedly OTP's romance was executed properly, I will remember this show as Seo-jin and Hana's story. As it is, I'm going to remember Robin and Hana's romance more whenever I look back.
I've been looking forward to this drama ever since I found out Hyun Bin and Han Ji Min would be in it. It didn't turn out as successful as I hoped for; nevertheless, it was a dream come true to see them together romantically. Those two have undeniable chemistry for me.
Congratulations to the cast and crew for completing this drama. They worked hard until the end. They didn't give up, and I'm glad I didn't as well. Despite the frustrations (mostly from bizarre and unexplained turn of events and the lack of character development), I can't deny that Hyde, Jekyll, and Me left me with lots of satisfactory, heartwarming moments. The journey wasn't smooth, but it took me to new and interesting places.
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53 Xtat
March 27, 2015 at 4:10 PM
I agree they could have a lot more EP for Seojin-Robin and hana's love triangle. this drama is not well written. they could just give the damn kidnapping thing until half of the plot and gave the rest on how the heroin will love seojin and accept that robin is a part of him.. and it really sucks that she love robin more than seojin when seojin is the one who sacrifices himself for her.. this drama is too selfish and less addictive.. oh well its binnie guys who cant resist?? i understand why this drama got poor ratings and why this should be not compared to kill me heal me. its a hyunbin show.. and we all all know how much this drama suck you still going to watch it because its binnie. ~ ha ji min really did a lot of work on how to portray such a lousy character i still love her she's a lot of hell pretty!! well the last atleast they give us 3 episodes of what we want for this whole drama..
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54 samsooki
March 27, 2015 at 6:23 PM
Oh my gosh GF... you make me chuckle so much.
Love your writing. Thank you so much for making this drama way more fun than it actually was!!!
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55 shf
March 27, 2015 at 7:42 PM
I agree with EVERYTHING you said, woman!
I would suffer for Binnie, and I did. Many times I wanted to shut this drama off, but my love for Hyun Bin and Han Jimin made me stay in. No matter how slow paced and sleepy boring it was, I stayed until the last episode.
Such disappointment at the rushed ending and the kidnapping Sung Joon situation and how it ended.
I dont really regret watching it because I loves me those two actors, but, yes, how boring.
Hope to see them in better dramas.
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56 DesOk
March 27, 2015 at 8:18 PM
First, I have to give a big thanks to the recappers on this site. They got me to watch some series that I otherwise would have past up, including Gaksital, Healer, Kill Me Heal Me, and a couple others. They also got me to not waste my time, such as Doctor Stranger. Thank You!!!
Second, I must concur with most of the posts that this drama had potential, especially with the cast and main storyline, but it dragged on way too long, had little character development, and pretty much tried to cram in the actual love story into the last couple episodes in a mish-mash way.
I also really thought that they would have Hana find out that it was SJ, not Robin, who was recorded at her birthday party, which would have been a good transition into her realizing how she felt about SJ since they commented that he looked like a man in love and she had appreciated what he (SJ as Robin) said to her before the broadcast.
I am glad they ended up together and there were some good moments in this series to, especially Binnie as SJ/Robin and their interactions with each other via recordings and with the other people around them, but overall, it was not a very good series that wants me to rewatch it like MNIKSS or SG which I can rewatch of his any time.
I liked KMHM more than HJM because of the overall storyline and script. I think both actors did a wonderful job in expressing the different personalities they had in a great way, but sadly KMHM will always be considered better to me even though I really like Binnie and mainly watched this drama for his great portrayal of SJ/Robin.
Also, whatever happened to SJ's mother? She disappeared a while ago. And I really think there was no Terry, but that it was just Robin when he was upset and they thought he was a different personality because it was so out of character for him.
Thank you.
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DesOk
March 27, 2015 at 8:23 PM
P.S.: I also was like WTF when they entered the hall and there was a wedding set up. I guess they told all those people the truth about SJ/Robin, but to have that wedding like that was just..... I cannot even say/describe it words.
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57 EunJiYeol
March 27, 2015 at 10:25 PM
I don't understand why dramas like Blood get criticized for "acting", while netizens have nothing to comment about Han Ji Min's acting in HJ&I...
-_- ..... In my perception the actress in Blood and the whole cast is doing "way"better than the acting Han Ji Min did... I don't understand this world..
O_O
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58 aletac
March 27, 2015 at 11:18 PM
Okay, this ending left me blinking in confusion. I won't even go there with their decision to rape Seo Jin's body because there are just no words. But the biggest thing that left me frustrated was how they spent so much time showing us that Ha Na had never really fallen in love with Robin, but had always loved Seo Jin right from when they were kids, but then never followed through with letting her realize it.
When they were kids, it was Seo Jin she looked out for every day, when she says she first fell in love with "Robin" was when Seo Jin pretended to be him while camping, and her most memorable monent was when "Robin" (Seo Jin) did the whole birthday thing. Whyyy did they throw that out there, then leave it sitting just to fester in our minds??!! And why did they make Robot Chick so dense? How could she spend day and night with these two guys and still, till the end, NOT BE ABLE TO TELL THEM APART???
*Sighs, screams, and throws things*
I had been hoping that in the end Ha Na would take advantage of some of that "think time" she was always boring us with and use her brain to put 2 and 2 together. That would have been a smooth way of getting her and Seo Jin jump started and made sense of some of those doggone wasted episodes. But who was I kidding? I was asking for too much! I mean it was Ha Na we were dealing with. Pshhhhh!!!!
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59 sancheezy
March 27, 2015 at 11:36 PM
I watch the 1st ep and last again
and I think this drama highlighting the weak part of many things
aside from the cinematography,
the writers and plot is obvious but I see Hyun bin is great as cold-type guy but don't work well as nice over the top. His acting as Robin is not that convincing happiness except knowing he cares and he smiles. why he have to smile all the times? I don't think he is bad but he is Shine as Seojin but just okay as Robin. Robin feels like a happy guy but not as nice guy next door that actually funny and spreading love with his gentle or even kid-like behavior.
as for Han Ji Min, it shows that she is limited in cold-unappreciative range of facial expression. She can't really be cold but caring and still thinking, but she always show the same expression for the supposed cold-appreciation scene from her. She always looks like that and feel like that while she is great at showing varieties of happiness in RTP of good at crying scene. I mean, actor/actress has that particular charms but the shows actually can't maximize it and showing what they lack of.
for Sung Joon, even if he is not that awesome villain-look but he is getting some benefit when his acting is actually can fit many style than what he mostly did as nice 2nd male lead.
for the show, they too careful and afraid to make the story, the characters, the relationships into a darker/heavy place, a more confusing place, an unsafe place, and then sat back and let all the emotions play out in the performances of Han Ji Min and Hyun Bin.
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60 lovekdrama
March 27, 2015 at 11:59 PM
The ending was daebak! I love this drama overall. It may not be perfect but I love how the drama projected DID.
(a)Though, I wished they have shown more of the new Seo Jin after his two personalities fused into his consciousness. (b)I also wished that the writer should have developed Ha Na's character and gave her a deeper understanding of the disease. (c)I also wished that they have left that line out when Seo Jin said that he did not remember the wedding because Robin may have decided to keep that precious moment with him. Hmm, that was quite misleading. Seo Jin was the host so it was more like he was the one who was not ready yet to remember that moment and left that part of his memory in his subconscious mind. But maybe they did not do all these to leave us viewers room for our own imagination.
With Hyun Bin's acting, he did a very great job. The drama may not have rated well but I still believe he made the right choice for doing this drama.
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lovekdrama
March 28, 2015 at 12:14 AM
In addition to (c), the other way of saying it; Seo Jin was indirectly saying he was not ready to remember the wedding. hehehe
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61 Claire
March 28, 2015 at 2:15 AM
"The thing is, I’ll suffer a lot for Binnie, and that’s just the truth." Oh Girlfriday, that's exactly how i felt! Honestly, would have stop weeks ago if not for Hyun Bin.
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62 DramaOmma
March 28, 2015 at 7:34 AM
Hammer.Nail.Head.
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Luv2skulz
March 29, 2015 at 9:41 PM
HILARIOUS!!!
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63 Benice
March 28, 2015 at 9:18 AM
Bigotry
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64 cacio310
March 28, 2015 at 9:08 PM
How I can say it? I am love with Binnie, He is such good actor. At the beginning I did not like the drama but I forced myself to watch it by telling myself," Ahh is binnie give him chance!" and I did not waste my time. Even it passed long time since secret garden; he didn't lose his magic touch. It was good to see him in a very sensitive, comic way and easy going by portraying Robin, and absolutely gorgeous, handsome and elegant in Seo jin part and when he shows that deep sight omg no words about, in other words I love to see him in suit. I did love to see him when he kissed Hana`s forehead at the garden or farm it was so romantic, it did kill me, even he did not kissed Hana(Han ji win) the way he kissed Ha Ji Won in secret garden( I always going to be suspicious that something was or is between them(binnie and Ji won))
Han ji win did a good job, the chemistry between them were good, you can sense the love, the way a normal couple share their time when She was with Robin. Binnie is such a good actor and good looking too, sorry girls better than le min ho and Choi Jin-Hyuk (even I started to like him too)
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65 LinLin
March 28, 2015 at 10:24 PM
The only reason I stuck with this show till the end was because there was really nothing else airing that was interesting enough for me. Well... Maybe Hyun Bin's hotness had something to do with it. I think I can sum up this show in two words: disappointing, empty.
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66 harmonyfb
March 29, 2015 at 6:13 AM
I kept waiting for someone to mention that Ha Na had slept with Seo Jin without his consent (we are meant to assume that for the wedding night, yes?)
The whole thing was so screwed up, and I was horrified by the female protagonist's actions. (And the fact that everybody kept going to Dr. Kang, when she is a terrible doctor.)
I will say that I thought Hyun Bin did a good job - he maintained different body language and expressions well (he's no Tatiana Maslany, but he did a pretty good job).
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67 xandra
March 29, 2015 at 10:51 AM
Cnt view the pictures
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68 zaizai00
March 29, 2015 at 3:03 PM
The problem (or strength depending on your preference) for this drama was the writing and not the acting. However, I will say that han ji min could have displayed a handful of other facial expression to give some life to this character.
However, the reason kill me heal me did so much better was because whoever wrote the screenplay made it into a thriller/suspense drama and not this sappy melodramatic crap that this show was. This is a perfect example of why a good story is only as good as the screenplay.
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69 JustRozy
March 29, 2015 at 7:29 PM
"The thing is, I'll suffer a lot for Binnie, and that's just the truth."
What you said!
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70 June
March 29, 2015 at 8:27 PM
Dear girlfriday,
Thank you so much for suffering for us and persevering on the recaps till the end so that I won't need to watch the show ourselves. Really grateful for your sacrifice! :)
The ratings for this show is even lower than Blood. At least it's better than Doctor Stranger? I actually managed to finish Doctor Stranger, though that's a trainwreck itself too...
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71 luv2skulz
March 29, 2015 at 11:22 PM
What the what?!?! Where to start with this one…
Thank you GirlFriday for recapping. I’m sure this was not an easy task, but I definitely appreciated your insights on this crazy drama.
I really liked Cheongdongdam Alice and looked forward to Hyun Bin working with this writer. HJM was thought provoking and dug beneath the surface (as was Cheongdongdam Alice and unlike many k-dramas). But oh the holes in the HJM plot… I actually wanted to throw my laptop while watching some episodes.
Why did HN never get a clue about SJ being the one at the radio station? And let’s backup… how could she NOT tell their gazes apart (if not when one was pretending to be the other)?
Why do SJ and Doctor Kang act so shocked because SJ is crying at the pier? He was crying like two scenes before that while watching Robin’s videos.
What ever happened to HN's job???
Worst decision ever: marrying a fragment of someone else’s existence. I know all good reason is already out the window, but practically, how would that have worked? She would totally wake up to SJ every morning. G-R-O-S-S!
Agree that the writer had way too much going on when all he/she needed was to develop SJ’s coming to terms with his illness/healing and the complicated love triangle that causes. But there really was no love triangle: Robin loved HN; HN loved Robin; HN had some feelings toward SJ (even after all the tears over Robin she basically confessed to SJ in episode 20 at the wall where Robin wrote their names), but nothing with enough tension to make it interesting; SJ loved HN but simply waited in the wings until there was no more Robin. I REALLY wish there had been time for HN to fall for SJ as SJ (while not warm and fuzzy, what a guy!), for it to not feel like Robin was just handing her over to SJ who is doing things as Robin would, and for SJ to process everything that was happening to him without jumping to have to take care of HN.
What was well-done:
The second scene at Robin’s imaginary childhood home. HJN showed her confusion/fear/pain well.
Papa Bear’s goodbye to Robin.
Doctor Kang walking Robin backwards through what was left of his memory.
SJ did not go to the sappy, super cheesy side, which might have been expected. He lost the glasses but did not pick up a huge grin thankfully.
About DID… I am only responding to what I have been presented on the show. I don’t pretend to know anything more, and mean no disrespect to anyone living with the disorder. I perceive Robin as a secondary character/personality because that is how the writer positioned him. It is not that Robin’s emotions or the life he made for himself are not valid, but the writer tells us that SJ consciously created him and Robin ceases to exist ultimately. To me that means he is not a fully formed person like SJ is, which is what SJ says all along.
Last two things, which cannot be overstated: SJ finally gets a kiss in last episode. So, so, so worth the wait...
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72 luv2skulz
March 29, 2015 at 11:39 PM
And Binnie, you were brilliant! Please do not stay away from k-dramas for too long now.
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73 Trinity 🍆
March 30, 2015 at 4:31 PM
The huge problems I had with the show was Jang Ha-Na's character. She was so BORING and felt half dead most of the show. I don't think that was the actresses fault but the writers.
Another problem I had is exactly what you mentioned. The fact that so much time was being spent on Robin and Ha-Na's relationship and then her refusal to love Seo-Jin made the ending romance with feel rushed and not believable.
Hyun Bin did an excellent job playing the characters as you could tell the difference between the two personalities without the hair-style and glasses making things obvious. But that couldn't save the show from poor writing and pacing.
The show was entertaining enough but it is ultimately forgettable and not a show I would suggest to friends.
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74 canxi
March 30, 2015 at 5:23 PM
I did enjoy the show but yes there were three things that made this not as good as it could have been:
1- The pacing
2- Robin's role growing larger and larger (which also affected the developing relationship between Seo Jin and Ha Na because Seo Jin was like...never around lmao).
3- The writing... I feel like they never quite hit their stride though did have their moments, but they never quite settled.
I can agree with the Big comparisons in the sense that the more interesting male lead got side-lined for much of the show's run. Just wanted to see a lot of Seo Jin but it actually turned out to be a show about Robin's struggle. When everything started happening in the last episode, it made me a little mad at what could have been had they stretched all that out. Like, imagine Seo Jin waking up and realizing he could draw lol or drive and then he spends the day drawing a bunch of random things or driving people everywhere just because he can now.
Anyway, it wasn't awful or bad by any means but we could have had it all! T_T Well, I hope Hyun Bin and Han Ji Min, too (!) don't take too long to get into their next drama. I really like the pair of them. Sung Joon, too. I did like the face that the villain of the show wasn't painted as completely bad or a lost cause but I do feel like his send off was kind of lacking. ):
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75 celyw
March 31, 2015 at 10:24 PM
so agreed! I only watched this drama purely because of Hyun bin otherwise the story plot is really really boring. I totally understand why the rating was so so low.
I really cannot comprehend how can that female lead said she love Robin only and really forget the real person is Seojin! If she love HIM then must help to cure him and love Seojin, watching her contemplating btw the 2 frustrated me so much.
Think I am the one who need to meditate too :P
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76 Josie
April 12, 2015 at 11:30 PM
Thanks for the excellent recaps! I love your work.
This show made me very angry. What should have been a thoughtful, intelligent, and caring depiction of the arc of Seo Jin turned into a story of how a vacuous, cruel, and selfish woman essentially went about punishing a man for what can only be described as his desperate efforts to bring order into his life after suffering a severe trauma that left him wracked with guilt and unable to fully function. I hated Hana with a passion for ignoring the seriousness of his mental disorder by antagonising him with her preference for his alter ego Robin and for irresponsibly ignoring/going against the wishes of his psychiatrist. I could not watch the last episode for how cruel I found the idea of the wedding to be. She had no right to do this to Seo Jin and it angered me that she had the support of his ‘friends’ throughout.
I would much rather this show have be about the growth of Seo Jin using the revenge plot by Yoon Tae-joo/Lee Soo-hyun (I like that Lee Soo-hyun had also been duped) but giving plenty of time to their shared recovery (with the professional assistance of Dr Kang). Their jail talks had the makings of something fantastic but then completely dropped off the radar. Robin was essential to the story but it was a huge mistake to write him as the sympathetic hero character and Seo Jin as the antagonist (and then somehow expect Seo Jin to become the romantic hero in the last five minutes of the series). As it was, I cared way more for Seo Jin than Robin (how could you not, for it was Seo Jin that suffered) and it disgusted me that he had to fight so hard just to be liked, when he should have not only been liked but cherished. If there had to be a love interest then she should have expressed a desire to help Seo Jin and work alongside Dr Kang (not against her) to achieve his recovery. On the way, sure, they could fall in love, but for her to express only love for Robin right until the very end was inexcusable. The cow.
As far as acting skills went, Hyun Bin and Sung Joon were a stellar pairing. I am so in awe of Hyun Bin… I wish this had been a huge hit for him but the very poor writing and lame romantic interest let him down. Speaking of the romantic interest, Han Ji-min was seriously unbearable – so dull and expressionless, a perfect choice for a hateful character.
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77 Sharine
April 13, 2015 at 7:53 AM
What disturb me the most is the fact that the main girl didnt even flinched after Robin gone and just accept Seo-jin without any building whatsoever, only because of the crap 'robin is me'. Huge offense for seo jin, but I guess the guy gets what he wants.
some said how people put too much hate into this series, but everyone just had to admit that it IS bad: no character development from heroine or anyone (except seo jin), unnecessary filler from side-heroine, unnecessary circus troupe setting, etc
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78 JL123
April 29, 2015 at 12:54 AM
I actually have to disagree with some of the comments up above. Hana fell in love with Robin because his personality is so different from Suhjin and they have different identities. Also, her character felt morally wrong that she was falling in love with Suhjin because she truly believed that they have different identities which make them different people in her mind (ex. Identical twins = still liking 2 different people). Also, she didn't fall in love with Suhjin after she knew it was Robin (like someone commented above). She fell in love with both because she developed a relationship with Robin where he saves her and gets to know her that way AND falls in love with Suhjin because she saves him and gets to develop a relationship that way. She feels like she's cheating and thats why it was so hard for her.
THAT BEING SAID! Thats why I didn't really understand how she could start a relationship so fast with Robin once he was gone. Its still Suhjin's personality that survived with added memories and skills. The identity (person) itself is not Robin. So i thought it would take her a good few months at least before kissing Suhjin and moving on.
BUT to make it easier for Hana, Suhjin lied about the wedding memory which would have made a huge difference in how Hana would have reacted. That one memory means that deep down inside, Robin is still in there and not really merged with Suhjin's identity. If I were Hana and I knew that detail, It would have made it much harder to move on.
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79 ryeokim
May 4, 2015 at 5:13 PM
HB was great playing the role. He can control his expression even when SJ become Robin, and Robin become SJ. GREAT! I admit that the story was too waste at kidnapping part.. bored... I haven't watch KMHM yet. so I can't compare the story.. can I ask something? what's matter with HJM? why many of you dislike her? I think she was quite good... would you like to tell me?
and where was the place *name of the place* on episode 19? (when Robin HJM scene, there were walls and they take picts together).
khamsahahaeyo :))
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80 Maria
May 16, 2015 at 8:52 AM
I just finished watching the drama. I know I'm a few months late and shouldn't be commenting here at all. But, I just really feel the need to say what I think.
First, I like Hyun Bin's perfomance in the drama. He was able to portray Seo Jin and Robin well. I know who is on in every Seo Jin/Robin scene. That was amazing actually. Second, I like the main premise of the story. It hooks you. Too bad, it wasn't able to hook me until the final episode. I did finish watching it just for the sake of seeing what will happen to Seo Jin. Poor Seo Jin! The show was so unfair to him. Hana became his girlfriend because he suddenly became artistic, etc. This is a best example of Deus Ex Machina. "They just need to be together." Come on?! Seriously! Lastly, it is dragging. Why have a 20-episode drama if the story can be told in 15 or 16 episodes? It's not like there was a lot going on aside from kidnapping and all those mental hullabaloo.
Of course, one drama cannot stop a kdrama fan like me to watch. I still have hope that I may find a gem these days.
Heading back to bat cave.
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81 panda
June 1, 2015 at 6:25 PM
I was little late to watch this drama. Honestly recording through the bad comments i almost didnt give it a try to watch this.
But you know what, I LIKE THIS DRAMA SO MUCH. I HAVE NO REGRET AT ALL WATCHED THIS DRAMA.
I like how the story goes from the first to the end. I think the ending was so nice and lovely. I am very satisfied how the writer wrap the ending nicely and everything back to the place. In the last 5 episodes, after Lee Goo Hyeoun got arrested, i currious about how the writer will solve the problem about this double personality. And it ended smooth. Very nice...
The last 2 episodes, really touch my heart. I was feel so sad and cry when Robin was almost missing. But iam glad that in the end we can see Robin through Seo Jin. They becomes one.
Hyun Bin like always you are such a brilliant actor. You act so great here that i can feel the difference between Seo Jin and Robin. And the emotion u gave us in every talk and every scenes, it was deliered to the audience so great.
And Han Ji Min you are great actress too. You play so well and have a good chemistry with Hyun Bin.
Well i think this drama have s o much good casting and it really worth to watch.
Good job everyone...
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82 Shairli Saad
June 16, 2015 at 11:59 PM
I totally agree with your review. I just started watching the series ie. at early episodes and I already had this feeling deep down inside that it's not going "my way". Shouldnt the heroine try bringing seo jin & robin together? I really prefer Seo Jin's character as there is story in it. Should I stop watching? Wasting my time? Aigoo.....
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83 Meikulit08
July 20, 2015 at 6:54 PM
Hi! I am not a Korean just a KDrama fan. I find this drama surprising because I thought I will just laugh until the end but I am surpised because it left tears to my eyes. I cried for almost an hour because of this drama.
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84 Meikulit08
July 20, 2015 at 7:25 PM
Some people are commenting about how *terrible* the characters are well in fact it only showed the reality. Each of us has our own flaws so just appreciate the beauty of the drama...In fact, it was a masterpiece!
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85 LittleItaly94
August 16, 2015 at 10:57 AM
Wow, I feel like I'm the only one who really liked this show.
I was pretty disappointed with Ha Na's character in general, and the fact that her relationship with Seo Jin didn't really reach romance. However, I understood her character.
I really liked the kidnapping/missing Dr. Kang subplot. It kept me in suspense, and when Dr. Tae Joo showed up at Seo Jin's house, I was practically jumping up in down going, "Oh no, y'all!!!"
This is the first K drama I've seen with Hyun Bin, and I'm new to K Dramas, so it made me want to watch more of his work. I think he's a great actor, and I loved how different he made Seo Jin and Robin seem. Even their smiles look different! I loved watching Seo Jin develop. When Robin finally accepted who he was (as a part of Seo Jin), it was sad to see him go, but very well portrayed. I'm glad that they emphasized that Robin didn't exactly disappear, but that he melded into Seo Jin.
The hypnosis was iffy, and I would have liked a more accurate representation of DID (senior year pscyh major here). However, I take it for what it is, a drama.
All in all, I actually liked this one a lot more than others that I've seen, even ones that are critically acclaimed, like Secret Garden. I honestly actually couldn't finish that one. If you all think the pacing for Hyde Jekyll Me is slow, don't try watching Secret Garden.
Anyway, that's another story. Hyde, Jekyll, and I is tied with Lie to Me as my favorite K Drama so far. I'm really glad I watched it.
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86 Yogurt
October 5, 2015 at 11:16 AM
"And truth be told, I’m still hung up on the fact that she didn’t fall for Seo-jin just as Seo-jin, before finding out that he was Robin’s other half. They’re technicalities, but they matter if I’m to make sense of this relationship."
That is so so so true... I just can't digest the fact that, she only ended up with Seo-jinnie because he became Robin-Seojin hybrid.. That is so not acceptable.. Not because of his personality, his identity as Seo-jin but because he acquired Robin's memories and emotions.. Bleh!!! I dislike it so much..
I did think initially, that maybe Seo-jinnie will end up having Robin's memories to compensate his dsappearance.. But the final product is so much worse than what I thought.. Terrible, really..
Guess Ha Ji-Min really gets to act in dramas where the guy she loves/marries ends up disappearing and then she finds her happily ever after with the doppleganger.
But even so, Park-Ha(Ha Ji-min's character in RP) was likable, but boy Hana really needs to consult a shrink, like asap.. Falling in love with a fake identity was still plausible, since she thought of him as a twin..but who marries a fake identity?? Is that normal? Maybe her mental ability also started vanishing after discovering Seo-jin's truth.
Hana is one strange character..
Seo-jin-ah, I feel for you boy.. Its like settling for the consolation prize..
Nevertheless, I had high expectations from this drama because "HYUN BIN" but the only good thing is that your acting is always good.. So it was bearable because of you..
Thanks for the recaps Girlfriday... You deserve a standing ovation for seeing this through the end.. Thanks a bunch :)
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87 Kat
October 18, 2015 at 1:51 PM
I have NEVER related to a review so much in my life!!
I totally agree that the wedding was so unnecessary and outright ridiculous! Also, I HATED how Robin became the focus of the drama, I think it would have made more sense to keep the plot set on Seo Jin who was DEFINITELY more thoughtful and emotional. Although that may just be a kdrama symptom in which one just falls for the initially coldhearted CEO who has a softer side, I actually feel that Hana and Seo Jin were the better pair, despite Robin and Hana being more alike.
It was also ridiculous how near the end of the drama everything about Lee So Hyun was just DROPPED even though he was a MAJOR plot component. Like okay, he was captured and all is well, but you could have at least given him a better ending.
This drama wasn't TERRIBLE but it could have used a LOT more work and way better planning.
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88 laye
October 27, 2015 at 8:55 AM
y did robin go!!!!????:( am about to cry .......
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89 R
November 21, 2015 at 9:39 AM
wait what so does seojin actually love her or is it just because he's starting to feel robinish? the last part
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90 roxie
December 5, 2015 at 10:51 AM
I'm so sad. Robin should have been the one. director goo just pisses me off.
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91 dramadreamer
December 17, 2015 at 6:10 PM
aigoo... what to say about this drama ? if not for Binnie... well... doubt if I would have started watching it in the first place! badly written and paced. First half focused on the reason for SJ's DID which never convinced me. The kidnapping happened so long ago that it felt odd that SJ would stil be traumatised by it for so long. Same for YT (sung joon). while the second half finally switched directions back to the relationship between the alter egos and their love interest. Honestly, I never understood why SJ would fall for Hana. The only reason they even had contact with each other was becoz of Robin's infatuation with her. And what about them falling for the same woman 5 years ago? Felt that they could have given more clarification on that.
And I couldn't help recalling Han Ji Min's role in Rooftop Prince. The poor woman lost her man by having to watch them disappearing right before her eyes in RTP as well as HJM! Except that it was Yoo Chun who started fading out during their "wedding"! For some reason, I also felt that the wedding was in bad taste in HJM. knowing that Robin was gg to leave any minute - think the wedding would actually pain him more knowing that he would never be able to live a long and happy life with Hana ( as Robin and not Seo Jin).
Agree that Seo Jin is the more complex and interesting character btween the 2. Binnie does complex v well and agree with GF that the drama was weak by choosing to focus more on the flat cardboard character of Robin.
However, having said that, really glad to have watched HJM and rekindled my undying love for binnie! have started re-watching Secret GArden just for his scenes (fangirling).
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92 Jsvt
December 29, 2015 at 6:53 AM
True. I was rooting for more seojin and hana moments (lyk the campfire watnot) i wanted her to fall for seojin for being seojin. there were so many moments he could've looked cool, and so many moments she could have started to feel something. I was compelled to read the this ending while at ep14 because it feels more and more like Robin's the main dude. And even after I find out they seojin nd hana end up together, I dont think I feel quite satisfied.
Wouldnt it have been cooler had she said something like she's fallen in love with both sides of him but she prefers the seojin part more now or sumting?
Sigh.
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93 Michelle
October 9, 2016 at 6:00 PM
But I do see Robin and Seo Jin as different people. They're minds and personalities are completely different. When one takes over the body, the other is gone. To me- when Seo Jin took over, he was not Robin. When Robin took over, he was not Seo Jin-- you know? ...In the earlier episodes, Seo Jin PUSHED her back, not caring the KILLER running after them got her as long as he was safe.. But as soon as HE WASN'T Seo Jin anymore, ROBIN RUNS to save her and even JUMPS off from how many stories up to catch and save her... Seo Jin hurts her. Robin saves her. . Yeah. For me the two are different people. They share a body. That's it. But mind, personality, experience are their own.
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94 Fiza
November 3, 2017 at 2:22 PM
Totally agree. I would like to see more of the development of Hana-Seo Jin relationship after Robin left since Hana was having problems to accept Seo Jin easily. It shloud be as much details as how Robin spending his final week doing and remembering only the sweet things with Hana. And because accepting Seo Jin isnt as easy is accepting Robin, the later part should invest in getting both Hana an Seo Jin adjusting to the new relationship building - and because the show is more about Seo Jin, it should display the crucial turning point of him recovering after 15 years of illness. Bet it is not going to be easy. And we want to see the emotional ride that he is going through - as Seo Jin. Hyun Bin surely played both characters well. Can we have Hide, Jackell, Me Season 2 with HB exploring, discovering and unlocking more and more Seo Jin's new emotions by acquiring Robin's skill, please? Psychologically it will be something like watching a troubled child learning to "grow" and that would be an experiece either to make or to break him. And because the double life Seo Jin is adjusting to would also play a crucial part to handle the fame. So many more plots worth exploring!
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95 Messy
April 16, 2018 at 3:07 PM
Comment was deleted
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96 Dani
March 13, 2020 at 12:38 PM
Team Goo Seojin here, from way back when he was a jerk!! 😂 The whole thing with Hana honestly kind of seeming to choose Robin was quiet frustrating
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97 Liyana Metali
March 23, 2020 at 2:44 AM
Hi I was still wondering if I might missed out one of the episodes but did Hana’s Circus friends knew about Robin is a character created by Seo Jin due to his illness DID?
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98 Butterflygirl
July 14, 2020 at 2:16 PM
Is it weird that I watched a show with such poor ratings 5 years after it aired? All for Binnie. I admired him in CLOY and then fell in love with him as Kim Joo Won in Secret Garden and being unable to move on, decided to stream HJM. Binnie Binnie Binnie... actually I got what I came for, so you won't find me complaining much about the show, but having watched it, I do realise what much of the criticism was about. It really pains when the writer is unable to do justice to a masterstroke as a story plot (I am talking about a kinder Hyde and a romantic angle to the age old story). That being said, Hyun Bin was amazing as both Seo Jin and Robin and he was the only reason I kept on watching the show till the end, even though many a times, the urge was almost irresistible to simply read the recap of the final 2 episodes due to the slow pace of the writing. Despite everything, I was sobbing my heart out in the 18th and 19th episodes; Binnie was that convincing as Robin! Unlike girlfriday, I had a softer spot for Robin right from the beginning; maybe because I knew somewhere deep down that he would disappear in the end, being just an extension of Seo Jin. So while continuing the series, I literally tried to train my mind to think of him simply as a different version of Seo Jin, to try to avoid the inevitable heartbreak, but I was unable to do it; Binnie was that convincing as Robin being a completely different person from Seo Jin! However, the moment the magic broke was the scene at the bridge while watching the fireworks when Robin suddenly forgets the memory of the one day he especially wanted to remember. That felt extremely pretentious on the part of the writer as if purposely trying to wring out emotions from the viewers; and I simply hated that they had to show a wedding to recreate that memory or a better one in place of it. The show lost my emotional connect from that point forth. I understand that Robin needed a send-off, but I feel the script dragged it out till it was laid threadbare. At the same time, it completely lost focus from Seo Jin in the last few episodes, such that it seemed he himself is an imposter when he suddenly returns to his normal life. Of course, his union with Ha Na seems equally pretentious and forced.. although to be very honest, I never really believed that Ha Na loved only Robin like she kept claiming. It seems to me that she loved both of them, her compassion/love, like a seesaw, tilting more in favour of the personality more in need of comfort and care at a particular point of time. In the beginning when Robin was just portrayed as a happy go lucky personality, without a care in the world, his relationship with Ha Na seemed fake and Ha Na seemed to be connecting emotionally much more with Seo Jin who was struggling with his past trauma. However towards the later part of the show, when Ha Na thinks she wronged Robin and sees him depressed and anxious about his survival, their relationship blooms. The script could...
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99 Steely
August 18, 2021 at 11:40 AM
It's hard to imagine how this entire situation around Robin's departure wouldn't be a new and deeply rooted trauma for Seo-Jin. The alternate personality created after his original trauma ended up being loved and celebrated above his real self from almost every side. Even his return to being the head of Wonder Land was the result of Robin's success as a webcomic artist. The woman with whom Seo-Jin is in love even goes so far as to marry his alternate personality.
This can't be healthy for Seo-Jin and his sense of self. And becoming romantically involved with Ha-Na after receiving Robin's skills and memories seems incredibly unhealthy for both Seo-Jin and Ha-Na.
There were two diametrically opposed concepts in this show: The concept that Robin was an inseparable aspect of Seo-Jin and the concept that Robin was a distinct and independent person. Those two ideas can't logically coexist, but the drama seemed to try to make them coexist. The result was, unsurprisingly, that the drama failed to do so and, ultimately, seemed to leave the audience with the impression of Robin as a distinct and independent person. And, also unsurprisingly, that made the ending, with the "merged" Seo-Jin, a source of cognitive dissonance for the audience.
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