182

I Remember You: Episode 15

by dramallama

We’ve reached the eve of the finale, and our beloved show doesn’t waste a moment to develop our story, complex characters and all. Being reunited with two monsters brings Hyun a load of troubles along with some answers, all piecing together to amend Hyun’s fragmented memory. Though Hyun knows too well what fate lies ahead, his faith in his brother’s transformation seems to blind him from the inevitable. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, but remember who you can trust.

 
EPISODE 15: “Is a happy ending possible?”

Trying to buy Ji-an more time to search through Lee Joon-young’s room, Hyun tells Joon-ho that he knows who he is. Joon-ho confirms his identity by taking Hyun’s hand to check his undetectable pulse, a déjà vu moment for Hyun. Meanwhile, Ji-an tries to escape with a few photos from the album, but she’s met with Lawyer Jung (and his creepy smile) as soon as she exits the room.

Hyun finally recalls his interaction with Joon-young in his youth. And he thinks to himself, “After going around in circles, I’ve finally come to this point.” He’s overcome with a strange feeling that everything he’s done — his interview about his understanding of the critical period, his visits to Korean — has been for this moment.

Joon-young silently replies in his head, “I know.” He thinks back to the proud moment when he read the interview, realizing that Hyun still remembered him.

Ji-an agrees with Lawyer Jung that they’ve indeed run into each other in an unexpected location. She tries to leave, saying that she’ll come back when Joon-ho returns, but Lawyer Jung blocks her way.

He warns her that he’ll know what she took and who took it. He walks towards her threateningly and looks at her curiously. “You must not be afraid of getting hurt or disappearing from this world.”

Joon-young asks why Hyun wanted to meet him, and Hyun admits that he initially wanted to know who he was, why his father called him a monster. But he’s figured that out. Now he’s curious why Joon-young did all of this. Why he killed his father, why he kidnapped his brother, why he made Min his protégé, and what he wants from them.

Joon-young senses the resentment, and Hyun spits out that he has no reason to be thankful for something he never asked for. Hyun realizes that Joon-young must have done everything with good intentions, but the impact was the exact opposite. Joon-young claims that Min would have been too much to handle for Hyun at such a young age, but Hyun refutes his point. Had Min stayed with Hyun, he may have had the opportunity to grow up normally.

Lawyer Jung confronts Ji-an about the stolen items and asks politely for Hyun’s sake. It’s his last call, but Ji-an comes out strong as well. For Hyun’s sake, she asks for the last time that Lawyer Jung cooperate to help them catch Joon-young. He needs to escape him too, right?

Joon-young tells Hyun that they have lots of time ahead of them, so they should address each issue gradually. Hyun smirks at the idea, and Joon-young says that he should be heading home now. He knows that Hyun has been stalling, and he’s played his part long enough.

Before Joon-young leaves, Hyun grabs his wrist and says that he’s not done. Joon-young gets up close and seethes that he doesn’t want to be disappointed anymore today. “Because I thought you of all people would know. You would…” He doesn’t finish his thought and goes on his way.

Hyun immediately calls Ji-an, who shows Lawyer Jung the call as a signal to leave. He grabs her wrist, and Ji-an requests that he let her go. After a tense moment, he suggests a different exit route. He smiles as he lets her go, but as soon as she leaves, his smile drops into a stoic glare.

Ji-an runs into Hyun outside, and he scolds her for her brazen actions. She knows it was foolish, but she was afraid the room would be gone, along with their last strand of evidence. He still chastises her for her recklessness, but that recklessness has given them evidence. She shows him the pictures of the children.

At home, Joon-young tells Min that Ji-an took the picture of “that child.” But Min comforts him in saying that there’s only so much they can find with a picture.

Ji-an tells Hyun that there was a full album of photos but she just grabbed a few because she was in a rush. Joon-young will find out soon enough, but these children’s photos are essential evidence. Who are these children? Possibly the children Joon-young killed?

Hyun corrects her assumption: These are children that Joon-young saved. Thinking back to Joon-young’s own story, Ji-an realizes Joon-young’s motive to save the children, but that doesn’t wipe away the murders he committed. He warns her not to do this ever again, and she nods in agreement. The problem is, she’s already been caught by Hyun’s brother, Min.

Joon-young brings Min a cup of tea and brags that Hyun remembered him. Min responds by saying that he figured out that Joon-young lied to him about Hyun abandoning him. Joon-young tries to avoid the topic, but Min presses on: Why did he lie to him for 20 years?

Joon-young admits that 20 years ago, he believed that Min would be a hindrance to Hyun. He didn’t intend to take Min, but when Min was conveniently hidden in his car, he decided it was fate. Joon-young recognized him right away, who he really was inside.

Then he plants another seed of suspicion in Min’s head: Is Hyun really happy to have him back? He tells Min to carefully examine Hyun’s face to see if he is really happy. Though they may seem alike, they are very different. To Min, he asks, “Do you think your hyung can handle all the wrongs you’ve committed? Could there be a happy ending in your future?”

Min replies, “We’ll see. But one thing’s for certain, there is no happy ending between me and you, Uncle.” He takes a sip of his tea and says again with a death glare, “Alas, the last one [I kill] is you.”

Team Leader Kang drowns his sorrows with soju, thinking about his father’s misdeeds towards Ji-an’s innocent father. Myung-woo joins him upon request, and he plays the role of a good sunbae, awkwardly comforting him and giving him a shoulder to cry on. Then Team Leader Kang asks for a place to stay, since he left his home. Ha.

Hyun watches Min sleep and replays Ji-an’s warning about Min in his head. According to Ji-an, Min’s relationship to Joon-young seemed stronger than expected, and she was afraid that he could potentially harm her.

Sitting by sleeping Min, Hyun thinks back to his conversation with Joon-young, who asked if he could handle someone like Min. Hyun says aloud that he can because Min will change. He strokes Min’s head before leaving, and Min opens his eyes, having heard Hyun’s words.

The next morning, Hyun repeatedly reminds Min to take his medication, and Min complains about his nagging. Min says that even as children, Hyun would nag him and their father about everything. Hyun argues that in turn, Min would follow him around asking where everything was.

Hyun fixes up Min’s tie and drives him to work, which makes Min a happy little brother. He tells Min to take it easy at work and offers to pick him up later. Cute.

In the office, Ji-an is met with a silent team, all avoiding eye contact with her. She notices this and asks what’s going on. Team Leader Kang delivers the news that the DNA evidence confirmed that the skeleton belonged to her father and his death is approximately the same year that Joon-young escaped.

Ji-an stays strong and optimistically states that this is good news. This evidence can prove her father’s innocence, as it significantly decreases the chances of him being Joon-young’s accomplice. But her optimism is short-lived.

Team Leader Kang pulls her aside to reveal his father’s wrongs. He tells her that he can’t even forgive his father, so he doesn’t expect her to be forgiving. He’s considered leaving the job to ameliorate this situation, but he asks to stick around to help in any way he can.

On the stairs, Ji-an vents to Hyun about her frustrations. If Chief Hyun and Deputy Chief Kang were siding with Joon-young, how can she trust anyone? Her teammates pass by, and Hyun says that it wasn’t too long ago when he didn’t trust Ji-an either. But Ji-an says that she won’t assume or suspect anything too rashly, especially with her team.

Myung-woo spots the two on the stairs and looks at them with suspicion. His intuition tells him that there’s more going on between the two, but Ji-an tells him directly that he shouldn’t make assumptions so quickly. Hyun follows and echoes Ji-an’s warning. Myung-woo laughs off his suspicion in relief, but I think he’s onto something.

Ji-an posts the children’s photos on their case board, revealing very little about their significance. She simply states that they can provide a lead, and Eun-bok looks particularly shifty.

Hyun picks up his brother from court, where he won the case for his defendant. Min points out the man behind them, the victim’s uncle who seemingly raised the girl like his daughter. With one look back at the defendant, the uncle quickly walks away.

Back in the office, Hyun looks up the case file with Myung-woo’s expectedly simple password (his birthday). He finds the details surrounding the girl’s death, that she was sexually assaulted. He remembers seeing the uncle’s star ring on his pinky finger, an unusual trinket for a man his age.

When Hyun returns home, he’s bothered to find Joon-young casually cooking up dinner for the three of them. Yeah, not your home bruh. Joon-young says that food is always better when shared. But still, not your home.

Over dinner, Hyun tells Min about his findings on the case. Something seemed very wrong when he saw the uncle earlier today looking rather nervous and antsy than infuriated. The defendant, Sung Min-hyuk, seemed angry, without a hint of guilt, as he glared at the uncle. The ring seemed to belong to the victim, which is another telling sign that the uncle was the real suspect. Joon-young nods in agreement, as this is a pattern of sex offenders.

Min asks if that’s all, and Hyun looks back at him confused. With this understanding, Min wonders where the two men would be right now. Joon-young presumes they would be together, and Min casually agrees.

Realizing the gravity of the situation, Hyun steps away to call Myung-woo with his suspicion of a possible murder. Sure enough, when the team arrives on the site, Sung Min-hyuk exits the home covered in blood.

Hyun looks back at the two men, undisturbed by this murder. He approaches the two at the dinner table and asks if they’ve casually held such conversations like this during the past 20 years. They nod, and Hyun storms out, disappointed and shaken.

Joon-young finds him outside and hands him a notebook. It’s his father’s notebook, and Hyun notes that stealing people and objects must be Joon-young’s hobby.

Hyun flips through his father’s notebook, which records his anxieties about young Hyun becoming a monster. He seems to understand his father’s sentiments, but he vows to use different methods with Min. He won’t use his father’s isolation tactics, rather he’ll face the issue head-on.

Min watches his brother ponder from behind.

When Myung-woo and Seung-joo return from the site, they tell Ji-an about Hyun’s psychic abilities to sense crime. They look around for Team Leader Kang, and Ji-an mentions that she hasn’t seen him since earlier. She realizes that he might still be in the surveillance room where they talked, and she’s right.

He’s been sitting there alone, having lots of thoughts going through his mind. Ji-an understands his apologetic attitude, so she wants him to help. She has another thing to add, especially with a prior experience in the situation and because she trusts him. Is she going to reveal the identities?

Myung-woo calls Team Leader Kang late in the office, but he’s still nowhere in sight. Team Leader Kang is still in the surveillance room, digesting the information that Lee Joon-ho is Lee Joon-young. When he asked earlier, the man was sitting right in front of him.

Hyun reads further into his father’s notebook and finds signs of missing pages before the page that questions little Hyun’s intentions. His thoughts are interrupted by a call from “Get Lost,” aka Ji-an.

He meets her outside, and she tells him that she stopped by on her way home. Of course, he makes a note that her house isn’t on the way, and she asks him to just go with it. As they go on a walk, their hands brush up against each other, and Hyun takes the opportunity to grab her hand. Yeee.

Holding hands, they both walk comfortably together and update each other on their tiring days. Ji-an tells Hyun that she told Team Leader Kang about Joon-ho and how he froze at the realization. They laugh at the fact that he asked for Joon-young’s identity right in front of his face.

Hyun stops to commend Ji-an for stopping by, and Ji-an suggests that he stop by next time. Every time she stops by, he needs to come by three times. He agrees, and they continue on their cute little walk.

At home, Min broods about Joon-young’s question of whether Hyun is truly happy to have Min back in his life. There seems to be some serious doubt in Min’s eyes, but his thoughts are cut short by Hyun. Min jumps out of his daze and gives Hyun a box that was delivered earlier. Hyun asks that they unbox the package together.

The package contains the gifts given to him by Min, and Hyun asks Min what each one signifies. Min says that it’s of little meaning now, but the little details in the drawings spark Hyun’s memories. Tears filling his eyes, Min blurts out that he won’t kill people if Hyun tells him not to. “Then, will a happy ending be possible?”

Hyun wonders how he’ll be able to mend Min’s past, and Min seems to know the answer. He doubts that a happy ending will be possible, but Hyun assures him that they’ll make it possible.

Joon-young looks through his album of children photos and thinks back to his call with Eun-bok earlier in the day. Eun-bok warns him about the children and information the team may find, and Joon-young calmly asserts his confidence in the children he saved.

Looking through the photos, Ji-an begs to differ. She knows that one of these children is bound to feel victimized by Joon-young, and she’s determined to find this child.

Driving Min to work the next morning, Hyun receives a call from Indebted Friend, who has the background information on the orphan. Hyun asks that he leave the file with a colleague, Myung-woo. They know each other from a past encounter, and it seems that Myung-woo is still convinced that Indebted Friend is into some shady business. Heh.

The moment Friend sees Eun-bok, he recognizes him as the orphan and clings onto his envelope a bit tighter. He leaves the information with Myung-woo, and it’s left openly on Hyun’s desk for Eun-bok to swipe.

In the bathroom, Eun-bok looks through the file, which is all the information about his history. He drops the photo and it slips halfway under the stall door. Another person on the other side picks it up — it’s Seung-joo. He recognizes the photo from Ji-an’s posting on their board and drops it on the floor before heading outside.

Eun-bok slowly opens the door and picks up the photo. He carefully scopes out the area and leaves, but Seung-joo watches him from behind.

Eun-bok returns to Hyun and Myung-woo fighting about the missing file. He casually offers the envelope to Hyun, letting Myung-woo roll with the assumption that he left the envelope on the wrong desk. But Hyun smells something fishy.

Seung-joo confirms with Ji-an that Chief Hyun’s death wasn’t a simple robbery and tells her about the order Chief Hyun gave him about looking into specific staff members. He hesitates to tell her about Eun-bok and decides that he won’t tell her.

In the stairwell, Hyun looks inside the envelope and finds only a resume for Eun-bok.

On the rooftop, Seung-joo confronts Eun-bok, in denial that his team hyung could be the culprit. Eun-bok feigns ignorance, but Seung-joo knows better. He pulls out his gun and threatens Eun-bok to remain still.

Hyun approaches the rest of the team members, looking for Eun-bok. They know he went to the rooftop with Seung-joo, and Ji-an joins the conversation by saying Seung-joo seemed to have something to tell her. Hyun tells the team that Eun-bok seems to be the one. He’s one of Joon-young’s children.

The team rush up to the rooftop to split up the fight, Seung-joo pleading that Eun-bok turn himself in and Eun-bok claiming that Seung-joo knows nothing. The gun gets kicked aside, and Hyun picks it up.

As soon as he grabs the gun, a flurry of memories from his youth rush through his mind. There seems to be some connection to his brother’s drawings and young Hyun grabbing a gun. A tear falls as he struggles to remember, and Ji-an sees his unstable state. She catches him just as he collapses, the rest of the team looking at them with surprise.

 
COMMENTS

I love that this episode’s central romance is the bromance of a tragic and complex brotherhood. Something about the brothers’ reluctance to accept their reality pulls at my heartstrings because you can see how much they’ve longed for each other. It’s so sad to see every interaction between the brothers, not knowing which one may be the last. But the façade is slowly fading, and both of them know it. You can see it in Min’s sad, teary-eyed face. That face hits me hard.

Min seems to be the paradigm of the nature versus nurture debate. Both sides come out separately in his interactions with Hyun and then with Joon-young. The two sides are chilling, especially when they’re juxtaposed in a scene — one moment he’s smiling, the next he giving us the death glare. The duality of his character is played oh so well by Park Bo-gum, who has Min’s character down to the tee. A lovably innocent younger brother turned murderer isn’t an easy character to portray, but he does it perfectly.

The interesting thing about this debate is that I don’t know which side is right. Both Hyun and Joon-young have compelling arguments about what was best for Min. Given Joon-young’s context, his reasoning makes sense. He believed he was doing the best for the children he saved, even in the murders he committed. As seen with Eun-bok, it seems that some of the children did believe Joon-young did him a favor. The one catch is that the method of repayment was wrong, illegal, and immoral. Humanizing our monsters with their backstories has me sympathizing with their rationales, and that’s a great feat on our writers’ part to make me feel so connected to the bad guys. I feel for these guys, so much so that I question if I may be a psychopath. Okay, I’m not, but I feel for their longing and attempt to save children reflecting one’s own difficult childhood.

Ji-an’s resilience and dauntless nature continues to awe me. I strongly believe that she should be the muse of all female characters going forth because she strives to be none other than her own person. I admire the independence that comes with her strength, as well as the compassion that balances out her drive. She surpassed any expectations I had for her character, which is such a rewarding feeling. Gotta appreciate the awesome female protagonists while they last, they’re quite rare. She’ll be sorely missed when this show ends.

Ahh, the ending is near, and I’m not sure how to handle it. I Remember You is a gem in the flood of dramas, and I thank the drama gods that the quality of this show didn’t suffer despite the painfully low ratings. Though I wish the show had gotten more attention and viewership, I kind of like that this show was strongly appreciated by the few who loved it. You know that the viewers who picked to watch this show were in it for the long run, and I thank y’all who stuck with the show. I trust that the show will give us a fulfilling ending, maybe with some justice, heartbreaking bromance, more hand-holding, and the final piece of Hyun’s memory.

RELATED POSTS

Tags: featured, I Remember You, Jang Nara, Seo In-gook

182

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Best drama of 2015 so far...it'll take a lot for another to dethrone it..*sigh* but now I'm sad that it's over..the bromance was seriously so damn good..I'll miss PBG and SIG. :))

0
11
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

that last rooftop scene had me screaming at my screen for everyone to hurry their butts up there..lol

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

"it’ll take a lot for another to dethrone it"

Precisely. It's exactly the same for me.

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

My best drama of 2015 so far too. I haven't liked a drama this much since The Devil in 2007.

0
5
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

i soooo agree with you..my best drama after quite sometime :D

0
1
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

haha yeah I didn't realize 2007 was 8 years ago. such a long time!

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Oh my gosh, yes The Devil, that was one great drama and that ending was one of the best as well.

0
1
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

And to think both dramas are from KBS!

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

The Devil has owned the genre since 2007, you're right. High-risk productions unless in cable networks. Fantastic stories both of them and amazing acting!

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

My favourite of 2015 too. One of the very, very few dramas that I wish was longer.

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

ME TOO!

Loved the depth of this drama and the bromance triangle was so fascinating and well acted. PBG is totally killing it and definitely a rising star to watch.

The scene when Joon Young leans in to express his disappoint after 'playing along' was so unsettling and the dinner scene where they casually describe a murder was very unnerving...

Going to miss this show when it finishes! Havent come across such an intelligent and high quality show in such a long time.

The theme of "what happens when the evil one does good" is superbly interwoven in the various story threads with some great beats of comedic relief...who can forget when Hyun tries to guess Son Sunbae's password "you're simple, simple simple simple..." LOL

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

It is certainly in my top 4 faves of 2015 but not at the top. KMHM stills sits at the top of my list.

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

I'm horrible at writing a lot for such meaty shows, but..the brothers anguish is really such a big point in the show. Min crying was..hurtful to say the least. I'm so glad he didn't take Lee Joon Young's words in such a negative way that he went back to hating his brother once again. However, it was heartbreaking for him to realize that whatever the case, he and his Hyung cannot have a happy life. Too much has happened for it to end that way.

But, on the top of all their angst, it's so lovely to see them spending time together, especially when Min gives those smiles whenever his Hyung does something for him. Their moments together are precious.

Their relationship really drove the feels home. Props to the actors.

0
3
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Min is breaking my heart. He started off looking like a born psychopath who was irredeemable, but now there are so many moments when he looks desperate for intervention - not necessarily in the murdering, just someone to give him a point to travel towards other than Lee Joon Young.

The fact that Hyun doesn't even know that LJY's set up hurdles in Min's mind and yet clears every single one of them by being open and loving (without being cloying) is working so well for me. Every time Min almost holds his breath, waiting for any sign that Hyun's turning on him, and Hyun doesn't fail him.

Seriously though - poor Min. That kid was just desperate for someone to tell him what to do, or for someone to be proud of him, it's not hard to see how a child without a moral compass could grow up that way. And now even as an adult he just wants his brother to set the example of what he should do.

0
2
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Indeed, I think it is the intention of the writers to point out that Min was not evil per se, but a product of the circumstances. He is indeed longing for Hyun and seems eager to accept a good influence in his life.
On the other hand, Hyun's childhood looks shady, with his lost memories and all. Could it be that Hyun also did terrible things back then and only Min was transformed into a murdered because of being raised by a psycho?
Is this the message that they want to convey, that nurture, not nature, is what makes evil people?
Of course Min still needs to go to jail and to psychological treatment, but his tragic fate is breaking my heart, since he is clearly desperate to be more "human" and be loved. I just hope that he does not die in the end, fingers crossed!!

On a lighter note, this show is so enjoyable. The humor is on point, they have a great female lead, the males are to die for, and the bromance is the icing on the cake...I thought that Hyun drying Min's hair was a climax, but I was so wrong. The bromance keeps going and giving us wonderful moments. My favorite scene, when Min said that he would be the breadwinner and support Hyun *-*

Off to watch the finale now. I'm scared, hope that no one else dies.

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

JiAn courageously ask Min: “let’s me ask you a favour, for your brother’s sake, help me and your brother, we must catch LJY, for your own sake, you know you must get away from LJY too.”
Min grabbing her wrist tightly, JiAn tried again “you will let me go right?”
JiAn is not truly fearless here, she feared, but this was the only right thing to do, a last struggle to bring Min back to feed the good wolf, that may still survive inside Min. if she don't try, to remind Min to stay on the Good side, Hyeon is the one getting hurt, to love Hyeon is to also love the ones Hyeon loves, namely his brother. and Hyeon alone cannot be clear minded enough to make right choice, someone that believe in him, and won't fool himself herself, that as long as he repent, and hide somwhere, and don't get caught, there will be happy ending. Justice must be served, beacuse there is a Creator, and Hyeon believe in this Creator, JiAn knows, thus, Hyeon will not be happy, if Min won't fight it himself. Hyeon will not be able to fight LJY alone, and fear of Min becoming like LJY his whole life.

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

How did something like High Society beat something so interesting, so fascinating as I Remember You? Sigh.
Aside from the ratings, I just want to say that Park Bo Gum is KILLING it in this role. I'm so happy that he'll break out into a big star this year through Answer Me 1988, cause he really deserves it.

1
4
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Park Bo Gum was nothing short of great. Going to be keeping him under his radar.

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Omg, I didn't know he was gonna be starring in AM 1988. That's hilarious. I loved the first one so much, I didn't wanna watch the first 'sequel' (despite Yoo Yeon-Seok's involvement and all the good things I heard about Go Ara), but this one might be worth it.

Also agree about the injustice with High Society ratings being higher than this. TV Tragedy of 2015. Persevere lovely show, persevere.

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

100% agree. Hope that the new drama will not transfer him into just a Idol boy. He is capable of doing much more.

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

I will never understand drama ratings. Netizen response was really, really good though! I honestly hope that broadcast companies don't take this as a sign to stop producing these sort of shows because this is honestly what Kdramaland needs far more than another chaebol story (whoa, I just realized that there were no chaebols in this drama! How awesome is that?)

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

I don't think we'll walk away with everyone alive, despite the fact that we could have a semi-happy ending. Min behind bars and visited by Hyun WOULD be a happy-ish ending for them IMO but I just don't think we'll get that. My guess is Min will choose Hyun over Lee Joon-ho, but that it'll cost a life or two.... :-(

Love Ji-an. So awesome through and through. And so sensitive to her surroundings – one look at Hyun at the end and she instantly knew something was very, very wrong.

And: the handholding. Awwwwww. The romance plays such a small part in this drama, but it is so much better than in so many rom-coms.

Anyone else think this drama has like another 4 episodes worth of material? I mean, I do think they can wrap it up in one, but I could also see a more in-depth exploration of some of the conflicts still present.

0
2
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

@alua

Good guess, ? however ... this show is nothing if not unpredictable! LOL.

I like that Ji An is not afraid to show (risk being ridiculed) that she does not know something and to ask for an explanation, and at first, she did not appear entirely that smart... but her powers of observation, of putting 2-and-2 together and zooming to the right conclusion or acting with the right response, has made her one of the strongest heroines in kdramaland. That, together with being able to hold her own in a fight or during an arrest. :) And to top it all, like you say, she's sensitive too! The motherly, nurturing side of her is not lost although she can be a bad-ass cop.

I find it so refreshing and so right that the romance did not get over emphasised. It was done just right. So true to character, so real and so well understood, that our OTP never had to say a word about it or how they felt and we are totally convinced. Loved the hand hold and those smiles of acknowledgement. About equal in merit with the one in Healer LOL!

After watching the finale, I found practically all my most burning questions answered, therefore I do not feel a need for more episodes. Of course if there more of the cute and scenes of family time, I'd be more than happy to sit through another episode to make more good memories of I Remember You. :)

0
1
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Ji-An explained why she did that most dangerous act of ransacked his secret room alone (which many chided as stupid and rash): “because I was afraid, I thought he may get rid of that room, of all the evidence and leave nothing…”One must always remembered that she is a cop, that is exactly what a cop should do, at urgent spilt second, you just need to brave the tiger’s dan alone, forget that you are a petite size female.
“the kids area alive but their parents are dead, right?” smart JA, always derived and understood very fast when hints were given. Not just was she brave, she always think fast, and guess correctly, and she is speedy in piecing the zigsaws together, eg. When she guessed correctly that Hyeon was finding his brother, and later on, that she did found the brother, and much later on, Min was the brother… all 3 incidents she guessed correctly by piecing whatever he said to her.
JA: “LJY didn’t save those kids… he had killed an enormous number of people before that… so let’s say they were bad people, But nevertheless, these are murders.” Not only was she brave, not only was she smart in guessing, she is always the lighthouse to his moral compass, the anchor when he dozed off to wander away to escape the truth.
Hyeon:“don’t make me worry about you this way, huh?” JA: “But I already got caught by your brother… to be honest, I thought I was going to get hurt, so I was scared.” Not only is JA is brave, and smart, and righteous, she truly cares and willing to sacrifice for Hyeon. Many people in order to stay in the good-book of their loved ones, they will hide the truth from their loved ones, and will not even things that their loved ones doesn’t like to hear. For Ji-An, she was scared not just because she will be hurt, but how shall it hurt Hyeon, if his beloved brother is the one who hurt his one True Love, Ji-An. She knows if anything happens to her, Hyeon will be hurt. This is what she scared of.

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Definitely one of the most underrated dramas of the year.

0
1
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

YES.

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Thanks for the recap... I really enjoyed this drama. This is one of the great drama that is well written and well executed by the actors... I agree that bromance is so great. PBG is so good as a Min. I have to admit that I do have sympathy to LJY and I do feel sorry for his childhood years and up to now because all he wanted is to be understood and to have family with Hyeon and Min. Ahh... I got to salute the writer for the job well done and all actors for making this drama so awesome.

0
0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

I defintely agree it is so underrated when IRY is the best drama... I wonder why it is so underrated?

0
2
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

probably because of the change in main lead. initially, it wasn't SIG. that's what i read.

0
1
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Yep, two other actors said no then SIG jumped in. That is so sad that this kind of unnecessary confusions on leads took away the attention this drama deserved. Korean sure doesn't know what they are missing.

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Didn't start watching this show until Sat morning and I was all caught up by Sunday late afternoon. I can't believe there's only one more episode left and that it's been getting low ratings. Compared to some of the sloppy dramas I've been watching, this one is so tight.
It says a lot about the actors and the writer(s) involved that even though you know the bad guys are going to get their punishment, you sort of wish that they won't.
What am I going to watch when this is over?????

0
1
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

I know right! Scholar who walks the Night has turned out to be nuttier than a fruitcake and I certainly have no interest in the drama KBS has lined up next week to replace this. It's post-KMHM blues all over again *sobs*

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

wow the recap was almost too fast! I haven't watched the episode yet, but compulsively clicked and now looking through slitted eyes so I don't accidentally get spoiled. Just want to say BIG THANK YOU, DRAMALLAMA, for the wonderful recaps of this brilliant show.

don't want it to end don't want it to end don't want it to end

0
1
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Yes, thank you very much for the recaps--all those who've contributed. Love your insight, Dramallama, so helpful with such an intricate and dense script.

When I go through the recap list I realize all the dramas that have NOT been recapped, so thank you, thankyouverykamsa Dramabeans for including I Remember You. What a great show this has been.

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Thank you @dramallama for such a speedily completed and good recap.

I'm interested to note that when Hyun and Ji An were on the stairs talking, that you say, "Hyun says that it wasn’t too long ago when he didn’t trust Ji-an either." Which is probably the more correct interpretation, because the subs say that he was talking about her not trusting him until recently. That statement actually works both ways, because neither of them began their adult relationship with full trust. And yet on that staircase, they knew that among all others, they could only trust each other completely. Myung Woo may have only thought of a 'romance', but he had been spot on about there being something more between them.

I did so love the fact that more than once Ji An takes the information to Hyun quickly and tells him even unpleasant things honestly, and that she reveals how she feels even when it embarrasses her. From distrust to a full show of trust. And Hyun is the same in his own way. He lets her know how much she worried him by her risky breaking into Joon Yeong's home, he has never lied to her and he chose her home as his hideaway when he was a fugitive. Both of them have accepted the hard, painful and embarrassing truths from each other and not belittled each other, but instead grown closer. It makes their relationship without the skinship even, all the more swoon-worthy. That walk home and 'inadvertent-deliberate' handhold was one of the sweetest (since Healer's theater handhold) that I've seen in kdramaland. It spoke volumes with the smiles of acknowledgement on their faces and yet without a single word about how they felt about each other.

And how I loved that they still retain their mobile phone names for each other. Iin a show that began about labeling people/children unfavorably and changing the way they are regarded by society, it's so funny that the these labels: "That Jerk" and "Get Lost" which should have denigrated them, might have become terms of endearment.

And what I crowed over a whole lot: our calculating, "people-owe-me-and-should-pay-back" attitude of Hyun's has finally disappeared. "I stop by your place once, but for each time, you stop by my place 3 times," orders Ji An and Hyun actually happily agreed! LOL

It's still hard to say at this stage, but I'm trusting and I hope that "That Jerk" and "Get Lost" end up walking jerkily but steadily down many roads, getting lost together even, but hand in hand. :)

0
5
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Jian's face after she confronts Son Sunbae for the "tactless" assumption was hilarious. Our girl panicked much like her secret crush was just outed to everyone in the school cafeteria. Haha. Cutie.

Common Jian. You know he's onto something. Haha

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

GB. you know my craze over Healer....
I was not prepared to like Ji-An, at least not this Ji-An (Cha Ji-An), given that I had already sworn allegiance to Oh-Ji-An (of Healer, being my “first one and only girl crush”….LOL)
infact, I half way jump wagon into I.R.Y. since was never a S.I.G. or J.N.R. fan, seen their past works quitted half way. Now am I glad of ever wandered into I.R.Y. out of boredom and discovered unpolished gems in both S.I.G. and J.N.R.
Ji-An win not many fans or rating thru this drama, but the few that she won, she won right into their hearts, personify her in plain quiet invisible but sincere… “not loud” acting, no-frill acting.
she was not given more screen times, due to fact that KBS do give in to Fans’ service, bow to fans demands to see more of “Brotherly Love” “Hyung-ship”… but with those little scenes, she awe in her plain ways without needs to clad in branded, just ponytails n denim. She is definitely not loud, she yak nag n protest but she don’t “shout”… she is invisible almost her whole 20 years in shadow behind Hyun, and even willing to take a back stage when Min reemerged. She doesn’t demand unique treatment in a all-guy team, in simple terms, she is unlike many K-Drama Main female lead, she is like a supporting role, a wallpaper…
but, goosh, does she stand up in her sincerity and trust and devotion, in Hyun, she acts as his conscience to steer him back to truth, his refuge after an emotional drained day, his ear n shoulder to cry on….
a simple walk, a gentle holding of hands, can send our hearts up to celestial realm, a simple, “I am very tired today…. Me too…” and they smile in unspoken conversation… only a heart that beats in the same tune and understanding can bring out volumes in a simple “me too”…. And allow each of them to be themselves plain and genuine and raw …. Allowing themselves to let down their guard for that short moment…. (hyun really needs that after the discourse between the 2 psychos n hopeless plight of Min’s redemption)…. He really meant it when he said, “you done well to drop by”.
and we were all gratified that he smiled and said Okay, to drop by 3 times every time she drop by.
Ji-An, ways surpassed the glaring pageants of Park Shin Hye, Uee, Kim Tae Hee, Yoona….
she is simply Ji-An, will not be forgotten, for a long long time (beside my the other Ji-An, Oh).

0
2
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Thanks for this @mary of bethany

You do put it very nicely and bring together so many note-worthy aspects of Ji An. As you may notice in a few of my comments, I too applaud the character of Ji An. Definitely one of most rare characters in kdramaland, a heroine so natural, humanly flawed but relatable and lovable, persistent and brave, truthful and smart, able to fight like a cop and yet love like a little mother. I also want to commend her character for facing the 2 wolves inside her when she wanted to kill Joon Yeong, and for deciding to feed the good wolf instead. :)

0
1
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

@Growingbeautifully and @mary of bethany, I love how you two elaborate on Hyun and Ji Ann relationship. This one will last long on my mind and my heart. The bromance sure outshines the romance but each scenes of Hyun and Ji Ann never lose the flame and made my heart so WARM. The way they look at each other eyes then smile, awww...

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

“I stopped by on my way home,” “this is not the way you go home.”
“do you really have to point that out?”“…oh, you did well to stop by.”
“let’s walk a bit.”
“Today was a tiring day”…”For me, too”
“I’m glad you stopped by on your way home.”
“for every time I stop by, you stopby by twice, no, 3 times.” “okay, I will.”
thru-out the whole 16 ep, something stands out different from other dramas, this OTP don’t really have cheesy lines. Nothing deep and cloud-nine degrees… Just simple daily conversation material dialogue between Hyeon and Ji-An.
Maybe because of this, it felt so real and sincere, and touching. Lots of hidden feels inbetween words, not loud displays of emotions, nothing like declaration of “I love you” even thru-out the whole 16 ep. The closest we got, is that 15 + alpha explaination Hyeon bestowed upon Ji-An, telling her this is how she is in his heart… still nothing close to “I love you”. But to me, that simple “I’m glad you stopped by…” shakened me more than any Lee MinHo’s love declarations. To have Hyeon willing to own up that he is “glad”, is unblemish gold.
(by now mid Sept, i watched this like 3 to 4 times) Simple dialogue can shaken me like this, am surprised.

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

EP15 was the tightest episode for this drama yet. Really, the emotions, the pace, the grip... everything just continues to get tighter at a steady pace until I'm unable to breathe.

Though I haven't seen EP16 with subs yet, watching live, it literally felt like I was struggling to breathe underwater for a good 15 episodes and then EP16 was when I reached the surface to get a good gasp of air----

And then now I'm still swimming in this drama ocean---capsized! I'm swimming and I have nowhere to go. What do I do after this drama? What should I do?

Hyeon-ah. Hyung. Help?

0
1
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Gosh that was exactly how I felt after the finale. Like some vital part of my body had been taken away and I was trying to learn how to live without it. Just when I was recovering from KMHM!

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

I am restraining myself from clicking episode 16. Live in denial huh. I don't ever want it to end T_T

0
0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

About this wonderful bromance! While the romance is great and all, (and I'm glad we have it between our two lonely children who were bereft by Lee Joon Yeong and in the process, found each other), but the brothers relationship takes the cake!!!!!

My feels are with them. These first loves within the family seem to me to beat many other romances of children meeting and finding each other again. This brothers' first love makes sense because they had so much together to begin with. Min loved being with his hyung, drawing together, being cared for by him and sharing secrets. Hyun always had that amazingly mature way of caring for his family. His love naturally spilled over in how he served them without resentment or rancour. That they were forcibly separated and spent over 20 years either longing for each other or in a fog of forgetfulness and loneliness is so heartbreaking. That when they meet again, they cannot have that carefree camaraderie but instead have a sword of separation or death continually over their heads, is tragic, beyond my understanding. Kudos to the show for making me care so much for a brothers' relationship, even grieving or preparing to grieve in advance that they can never go back to what could have been. :( :)

0
0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

More from the recaps:

LJY:
“Because I thought you of all people would know. You would…” [understand?]

"I don't want to be disappointed with you anymore today."

Powerful words. Great writing. Powerful acting by CWY. He's the most underrated actor for me in this whole drama. It's a personal viewpoint but I think he easily overtakes PBG in the intensity and consistency of his acting caliber.

Acting rank grade:
1) CWY
2) PBG and SIG (A tie, because I can't choose). Heh.

0
9
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

@ riarallahssi

' LJY:
“Because I thought you of all people would know. You would…” [understand?] ' ... "But you and I..." When I was listening to him say this, and then stop short ... I felt that the thought that went through Joon Yeong's mind was possibly surprise that although he read people well, he had read Hyun wrong. (Possibly he would have said, "But you and I are different afterall.")

Hyun was not as similar to him as he had believed. Later he tells Min that although Min and Hyun look similar they are very different. He said he did not want to be disappointed again... I feel he was possibly disappointed with this realization. He had wanted all 3 of them to live together as a family of sorts (I wonder about that other family of his in the US??? Conveniently forgotten.) but Hyun would never have been like Min to have accepted this.

One of the grey areas in this show, is the question of how much of a role Joon Yeong may have played in putting the idea of Hyun's being a monster, into his father's mind. Joon Yeong seems to have gathered that the father was worried about his son(s) maybe even earlier on, then he meets Hyun and learns that Min is the monster and that the father was mistaken in Hyun. Yet he taunts the father about his worry over Hyun instead of setting him right (he was keeping a secret, I guess) or just keeping quiet about his sons.

Joon Yeong's going around 'saving' kids indicates that he thought he was doing the same thing by going to Hyun's home. About the first thing he did when he escaped as seen by the neck wound. He had no thought of making a family out of Hyun or Min at first, but the setup with his killing the father and finding Min in the car, made Joon Yeong think it was fated/meant to be that he could have his own psychopathic family. The tragedy has so many parts and layers. I find it so pathetic that Joon Yeong was so pleased to have been remembered by Hyun and to be called by his real name, and then so disappointed that Hyun was stalling him and not thinking like him at all.

What I feel for Min, in that there was so much hope for him if he had had a 'normal' upbringing, I also feel for Joon Yeong. In the end it was lack of family, lack of acknowledgement and of being abused or forgotten that fueled much of his drive to kill. As Hyun said, if only he had know or remembered what Min's cards had meant, he could have blocked so many killings,... in the same way, if there had been a good adult caring for young Joon Yeong, there might have been no killings at all. If only Joon Yeong had not heard that Min was labelled a monster, he would not have saved Hyun or taken Min. If only Hyun had remembered his brother and gone out to find him, Min would have been not-a-killer. So many if onlys... I feel so sad.

This is one show I'll definitely remember.

0
1
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Hang in there... the ride is about to get sadder. LJY lives and breathes by Hyun's genius and "un-judging" logic. To LJY, Hyun is his only equal and the only one who ever cared to see the situation for what it was and not judge him to be a monster then and there.

Also, these if-onlys of yours will be satiated before the drama ends. Go watch the finale my friend. I encourage you to. :)

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

I agree with you about CWY--superb acting and expressions conveying creepiness, hurt and longing. The creepiness was a constant, in fact. Someone commented that he seemed a bit creepy during the Happy Together interview, which I'd have to rematch.

His previous roles are pretty different--I've seen a lot of comments about Heirs or KMHM, where he's likeable, reliable. But then look at his performance in 100 Year Inheritance--that makjang of all makjang dramas that I endured for Eugene and Lee Jung-Jin--and he's an unbelievably annoying, entitled, Mama's boy with an obsessive desire to reunite with his ex. Very different roles but played so well.

He's probably one of those actors that stays in character on the set, hence the underlying creepiness throughout. I've heard SIG is--he's commented about talking in satori off set with Eun-Ji in Reply 1997. And apparently when Jang Nara and Lee Chun Hee first met him as IRY started--and independtly--they said they felt like they were meeting his character, aloof, cold. LCH said he was pretty close to rude, lol.

Kudos to all the actors...their roles were very well interpreted.

0
6
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Wait CWY was in Heirs? Oh right! He was in Heirs! Hah. That one is definitely not a favorite so... CWY was so forgettable there!

LOL re: SIG, to which SIG excuses himself by saying he had a bad hangover then. Hahaha.

As far as I've followed SIG, he seems like an actor who tries to embody the characters he play as much as he's personally able to. Remember High School King of Savvy? He was quipped as an energizer bunny for being too energetic then. LOL. All in all, much respect.

0
5
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Heirs was forgettable over all, not just CWY. Honestly, that has got to be up near the top of Dramas Not Living Up To Their Hype.

You're right, SIG does immerse himself in his roles; apparently works very hard thinking about his approach, studying the script on set, etc. He was very strategic in how he interpreted his first role in Love Rain (hey, Heirs, here's a list-mate!), thinking of what he could bring different to the role since he had no experience, no star power... hence going incognito, gaining 20 pounds, speaking in Satori ("..I can HEAR you!" at the group date, lol) and generally creating a character that was the highlight of that less than stellar production.

0
4
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Yes, given that SIG might never had a proper acting class, he really work very hard on every projects. He was called "practice bug" during King's Face time since he kept asking for more on practicing the action skills on set.

That made me think that might be this hard work is the main cause of that "mess" on his house hehe...

0

"He was very strategic in how he interpreted his first role in Love Rain (hey, Heirs, here’s a list-mate!),"

Hahahaha! And I sat through that one too. It was that one point in my kdrama life when I felt, "ah so KDramas aren't always great. Nothing is always great in life." That, and what was the title of that Taiwanese remake about a girl pretending to be a boy? Amanda Bynes made a movie-remake of that one too.

Thankfully, SIG hasn't disappointed me so far. he has consistently delivered and evolved to be better since the first time I saw him--- even in productions that were so poor, he gave effort (The tragic hole that was No Breathing, which SIG coped with by saying: "It's ok if something fails, I always think the next one will be better"). I hope he never does disappoint, ever. The day I watch a lackluster SIG performance will be another day to affirm that the world isn't always perfect. Heh.

0

P.S. I'm so sorry Seo In Guk for hanging the hopes of the world on your broad shoulders. Peace.

0

"P.S. I’m so sorry Seo In Guk for hanging the hopes of the world on your broad shoulders. Peace."

Haha, @riarallashi. Very nice.

0

And, most importantly, dramallama your recap is awesome. It's very good. It concisely captured the important gists of this episode.

Huuuuuuuu... I'm going through a wreckless withdrawal. Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

0
0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Dramallama, Rejocie, MANY THANKS for staying with us thru, recapping, and indulging us, putting into recaps the exact words that we wouldn't write out....
i gonna say something not very “welcome” here.. have been holdin on till now.
actually i have not much empathy towards Min. while LJY do stirred some strings within me.
guess, if Park BS is casted to act Min, and given that Park BS played Min to almost perfection in his forlorn puppy eyes look, if another actor were to be cast as Min, i guess the Min-swoon factor will NOT be that great, lesser even any chants of bromance… thus, all hail the power of EXCELLENCE CASTING.
(i like Min more in Tomorrow Cantebile). Min’s psycho straits isn’t a result of “bad bringing up” or “childhood traumas”. he was the Monster (killed some dog even? lied to his dad about Hyun as the one drawn the Hydra-beings thingy), thus, even if LJY didn’t kidnap him, and Hyun was locked up instead of Min in that bunker, Min may just grew up left to be weird and hiding a “hyde jekyll” identity. what he needs is therapy and counseling, even if LJY never “corrupt” him.
look away from Min to LJY, you find a very diff story. LJY is A complete TRAGEDY. Guess he was a gifted child, abandoned, hurt, loneliness, even physically abuses. His mind was so twisted, that he actually did he should be complimented for saving Hyeon from his bunker-prison guard (dad), and providing the safe haven for Min to “be himself and develop his gift” by bringing Min away from a “normal” upbringing.
thus, LJY looked so “unappreciated” when he was smacked into realization that Ji-An was hurt by his birthday gift. not once do i think, he ever wanted to hurt Hyun, or Min or Ji-An, guess he really has a soft spot for unfortunate kids. Someone ever said, the thin line before a gifted genius crossed over to become a psycho, will be his humanity, when he has given up his humanity and wanted to play God using his god-given gifts.
The difference between Min and LJY is, if both were given loving Parental nurtures from young, LJY will becomes a Senior Hyun, but Min will be an eccentric artist by day and Min by night.

0
2
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

I don't know if you have watch ep 16, but i don't think Min is a mosnter by born, because there is still some missing memory here (their mom's death).

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

I think your every comments were over praise to Ji An. I don't hate her, but not love neither. Sometimes she was quite annoying, always do something stupid and need someone to save her.

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

This show has had the best "bromance" since Lee Jong Suk and Won Bin. I love the scenes in which Hyun tries to baby Min. His resistance and eventual acceptance is too cute. You can almost forget that he is crazy.

On another note, I love the paring of Ji-an and Hyun. They call each other out all the time. From his "cherish" to her "I was just in the neighborhood" they catch each other on everything. Their eyes are completely open to each other and they understand both good and bad points. I wish there was more time for the romance cuteness, but as long as the last episode is complete, I won't complain.

0
0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

"I feel for these guys, so much so that I question if I may be a psychopath. Okay, I’m not.."

HAHAHAHA now I know that I'm not the only one questioning myself!! Seriously, this drama is so good I watched all Episodes in 4 days. Let's forget about the ratings and enjoy this show. It's indeed definitely one of the best dramas of 2015. Sooo satisfying... I'll miss watching it.

The conversation at the dinner table was so creepy and funny at the same time. Everytime I see Joon-young I'm somehow reminded of Lee Kwang Soo. Thumbs up for Hyun handling both of them so well. As for Ji-An, daaamn she's so fearless and cool.

I really don't want anyone to die but be sentenced. Maybe Min and Joon-young get some kind of therapy behind bars and we'll see their improved sides after years? Although I think it's not possible for psychopaths.

However, I have a feeling that someone might die in the last episode.

Hopefully, NOT!

0
1
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

OMG i thought i was the only one! i feel you!

Lee Joonyeoung's path is so freaking sad, and to be fair it was not his fault.

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

It's ending Huhu how can we proceed with our lives when this beautiful drama ends???

This episode did not feel any rush at all like any dramas that's reaching their finale. The episode is still the same or even getting better!

I love the fact that we did not forget about that small memory about the brothers' mother. I was wondering when they would address it and just at the right moment.

Perfect. Perfect! And Jang Nara sang one song for the OST! Why you no give me a duet, Show?!?

0
4
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

"This episode did not feel any rush at all like any dramas that’s reaching their finale. The episode is still the same or even getting better!"

You can say that again. So many pre-finale episodes feel rushed and sloppily patched/hacked together in effect ignoring and forgetting what made the drama click and work all the previous episodes.

0
1
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

I know! It's rare to find this kind of drama and I want a season 2 or an SP! HAHA Although that's quite impossible since Kdramas aren't like that unlike Jdramas so yea, all I can do is rewatch the last episode with subs and cry at the corner :'(

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Which song does Jang Nara sing? Because I looked it up and found nothing... anyway, it's sad that Seo In Guk didn't sing. :(

0
1
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

I don't know the title yet but it sounded like her, the song that played for the last two episodes.

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Thanks, dramallama, for your recaps and wonderful comments. You probably never know in the beginning quite how the drama you picked to recap will really turn out, but you got lucky on this one! :-)

That hand-holding scene was so electric, wow. This is the best OTP of all time, no question.

Was the killer of the week Kyu-Dong, from Monstar? I can't tell, he looks younger. If it is, it's the fated crossover of my two favorite dramas!

0
0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant! Can't believe it's ended!! *sobs*

Many thanks recapping such an awesome show! It's most definitely underrated, but thankfully, well appreciated by those who tuned in! Going to miss this one when it ends - and I don't say that a lot about dramas these days!

0
0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Want to comment before I go watch the finale...Hyun killed someone when he was young and he forgot but Min clearly did. He said, "Don't remember but I was born this way" so he must have seen it. Basically I feel like this is going to all end in tears because either several people have to die or everything will be left unresolved because there is no proof now.

Ji an is getting reckless taking evidence without a warrant and use it to investigate...and breakinh into serial killer houses but I expected that from her

Hyun realized he was in the twilight zone at that dinner table

0
5
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

I felt for Hyun, the horror that went through Hyun at that dinner table with Min and Joon Yeong. They spoke of the one who was afraid and the one who wanted revenge on him being together so casually, knowing that, that scenario would probably spell murder, and they chewed their food with such calm enjoyment! So chilling and yet, quite funny.

But it may be another reason that will drive Min to do what Joon Yeong wants, ie to leave Hyun, because Hyun is horrified by his attitude to murder.

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

That twilight zone comment...hahaha..spot on

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

The dinner table was so awful. Can you imagine sitting there, realizing that your treasured younger brother was brought up having these sorts of conversations? And it's only a matter of degrees - most people would hear Hyun's calm dissection of the murder case and find it weird and off-putting, but then Hyun is taken aback to realize that there's another, active thread to the murder and that these two at the table not only suspect it, but are totally unaffected by the fact someone could be dying right now.

It's impressive that Hyun spends so much of his time determined to help fix Min, versus being tormented about what could have been or was for Min in the past. At that dinner table I think it caught up with him, and he needed some time to recenter himself so he could be the self-assured hyung Min so desperately needs again.

0
2
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

You're so right! The absolute detached small talk about killers, patterns and other jolly little things was Min's everyday life. It sent chills down my spine. It's a scientific fact in Psychiatry that the luck of constraints and restrictions are most common in repeated offenders. Growing up in such an environment was so scary!

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

So agree at your final paragraph. You put it so beautifully @Miranda. I kinda feel like its hard to empathize with Hyun compared to Min or LJY, but maybe it's because Hyun character is so capable. He always knows the best answer. He need not help or sympathy and empathy from others. He just need Ji Ann to hug him and hold his hand haha...

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

As great as this show is, there are some plot holes or things not explained...

Can anyone tell me... what is the link between the purple flowers or hyacinth in Hyun's memory of his mother's death and the purple flowers that Killer Yang in the Chinese prison gives his victims? Yang and Min seemed almost like friends instead of just lawyer and client... did Yang know about the hyacinth and use that as his murder motif that Min also used in his card?

Was it ever made clear who wanted Ji An dead? Min had ordered her killing at first and then changed his mind but he had spoken to someone on the phone about it... might it have been Yang? And why did he change his mind about killing Ji An?

I shake my head at that father of Min and Hyun ... what's a police psychologist doing with a gun? and with leaving it easily available for two young kids in his home? That father's ineptitude and fears was really the source of the tragedies.

Joon Yeong's friend: Why should the girl who brought Joon Yeong food be so faithful to him?

0
7
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

"Was it ever made clear who wanted Ji An dead? Min had ordered her killing at first and then changed his mind but he had spoken to someone on the phone about it… might it have been Yang? And why did he change his mind about killing Ji An?"

I think it was Yang who ordered the hit on Jian but Min decided to save her at the last moment.

"I shake my head at that father of Min and Hyun … what’s a police psychologist doing with a gun? and with leaving it easily available for two young kids in his home? That father’s ineptitude and fears was really the source of the tragedies."

So agree with you. Let's not forget that their father left young Hyun to take care of his little brother practically on his own. If the father had spent more time with Hyun and Min, he would have seen the two boys real nature. Ahhh i forgot, he let Joon Yeong messed with his head as well. That father sure is lacking.

0
1
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

@JanuaryBlues
Thanks for this. :)

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

I agree that Yang likely ordered the hit on Ji An, and Min facilitated it - though it's very possible that Min was an active coordinator in the entire plan, especially as he spoke to the hitman.

The purple flowers might have been Min upping the stakes after all the damn cards didn't get Hyun's attention. "The cards are too subtle? Fine! I'll partner with a serial killer and suggest that he bring hyacinths and one of my weird paintings to the victim before he kills her to death! So now Hyun can arrive on-scene to see a dead woman, the hyacinths, and MY PICTURE ON THE WALL." Of course, Min didn't know at the time that Hyun genuinely didn't remember any of it.

At least the show established that the father had a habit of leaving stuff behind, which I appreciate.

Joon Young's friend might have some sort of survivor's guilt and Stockholm syndrome: he didn't kill her, he apparently stayed in touch, and she also treated him as something borderline-human. The entire event would be a massive psychological shock to a teenager, and considering Joon Young made all the bodies disappear, he may have stuck around to make sure she didn't disrupt that plan. The girl knew how badly Joon Young was being treated and possibly saw a measure of justice in what he did, felt guilt for letting him out, was stuck conspiring with him by not mentioning the murders, and maybe in the long run developed a bond with him. Or, and I think this becomes a lot more obvious in the next episode, she's a parallel to the junkyard girlfriend who followed her boyfriend's lead in kidnapping and murder, but Joon Young's girl is more of a conspirator than a co-murderer.

0
4
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

@Miranda
Thanks for your in depth response and conjecture. Your suggested answers to both questions is entirely plausible.

Do you have a background in psychology by the way?

I too felt that Yang and Min had something up their sleeves and I forgot that Min's painting appeared in the scene of the first murder. Definitely a sign that they were in cahoots.

If ever there were a way to add an episode to this wonderful show, I would like that much of it could be spent on the relationship between Joon Yeong and the lady friend who helps him. :)

0
2
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

No proper background in psychology, but the field I work in focuses on human behavior and a few years back I got interested in psychopaths and read everything I could get my hands on. They're really interesting.

I kind of want to know if the lady friend is the woman in those pictures of his "family". Did he "save" a few kids and in repayment they went to a photo studio to pose for those photos?

0
1
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

@Miranda

I pause at that photo of the 'family' and it did not look like her. Among the many photos, there was one of a woman and Joon Yeong and a boy outdoors, but still it did not look like the same lady.

So another thing I'd have liked to have known is whether that family was real or a fake created when Joon Yeong took on his Medical Examiner persona.

0

"The purple flowers might have been Min upping the stakes after all the damn cards didn’t get Hyun’s attention. “The cards are too subtle? Fine! I’ll partner with a serial killer and suggest that he bring hyacinths and one of my weird paintings to the victim before he kills her to death! So now Hyun can arrive on-scene to see a dead woman, the hyacinths, and MY PICTURE ON THE WALL.” Of course, Min didn’t know at the time that Hyun genuinely didn’t remember any of it."

I really laugh reading that part but yes i agree. Min must have been the one pulling the strings for the women and hyacinth murders and poor Yang didnt even know it.

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Oh no....what could those memories flooding in be???? Could it change the dynamics between the two brothers?? Ahhhhh...i really feel for Hyun and Min

0
1
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

A crazy theory: what if Hyun was the bad child back then? It seems that he shoot his mother and we did not see who killed the puppy that Hyun was hiding. What if Min was influenced by Hyun?

I love how there is still room for big surprises in the last episode. Hope that none of the brothers die, I don't know if I can handle it.

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Thanks a lot for sharing your point of view as great as this drama reflectively. Reading recaps somehow occured to be reverse of watching live-actions ^^
"When Hyun returns home, he’s bothered to find Joon-young casually cooking up dinner for the three of them. Yeah, not your home bruh."
Lol. This guy really makes one wonder exactly when he will come to his senses. Because when he said that he would like to stay together with brothers I thought "Yeah, that's not gonna happen bro." I guess making fun out of killers and all serious issues was unique part of this show.

0
0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

This drama reminds me a little bit of the Xfiles (telling my age lol)

There's the understated romance and UST and the lost younger brother that drives the main caracter (though in the X files it was younger sister)

It has sort of the same vibe too me... especially the romantic parts...

Anyhow, I cannot believe this show had low ratings... but then again other many great dramas had low ratings in Korea and became "cult favorites" in the K-drama fandom.

This and Oh My Ghostess are the best dramas of 2015 in my opinion... tight writing, awesome character development, complex characters, amazingly strong female lead... it has all the things I like in a show...

It may be that which caused the low ratings... a lot of K drama watchers I think are in it for the escape/entertainment. . And something dumb and overused like High Society serve that purpose better than this show that had much more depth and bite to it...

I will look forward to future things by these writers/actors and producers! Now I'll go watch the final episode (someone hold me) and then marathon the whole drama.
♡

0
4
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Oh my, the X-Files!!! I loved that series. Darkly humorous, smart and quirky and so good at suggesting a romance without showing it. Wish there were more of the same!

0
2
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Well, if you haven't watched Fringe yet, you should at once. Sci-fi, a dash of romance, and a beautiful father-son story to rival the best Kdrama relationships. Plus, wacky dark science humor. All five seasons are available and the show was allowed to complete its story in a short-run half season. Get your tissues ready.

0
1
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Thanks @BobJoeBuilder, sounds like just the ticket to get me out of the post-IRY slump! :)

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Oh, X files is my all time favourite. I just rewatched the whole nine seasons last year. I'm so glad there are people here, like X Files and I Remember You is my top five favourite in Kdramas.

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

I've been saying this for the last episodes but this episode really made me pity LJY. All he wants is for someone to understand him because every one who sees him looks at him like a monster. When Little Hyun said his father thinks he's a monster, I suppose that made LJY think Hyun would understand him that's why he was so disappointed when instead of understanding, all Hyun has for him is contempt. Didn't he leave Hyun after killing his father? LJY wanted to know what kind of adult Hyun would be without the label monster attached to him. He wanted Hyun to grow up normally. I believe this is why LJY also said Min is dead, so Hyun won'tbe burdened by the past. In LJY's head, everything he did was for the better of everyone.

It got me when Eunbok was screaming "What do you know?" because that encapsulates the good and the bad choices of our characters. The "good guys" of this drama made good choices because of their own circumstances and the "bad guys" of this drama made their bad choices because of their own circumstances. Harming other people are bad, yeah it's immoral and illegal, there's always the choice not to harm but our bad guys chose to go down that path because of how they grew up and we, who grew up not living their hell, don't know anything. We don't know what it was like for them. But there's another ingredient to this recipe. Like the stalker case and the mistaken father case, even put in the same situation, individuals won't react differently. It's which wolf you feed that will win. For these bad guys to make their bad choices, there needs to be the predisposition to make those bad choices first.

Why can we judge these monsters so easily? Because we lived a life so different from theirs and because we didn't feed the bad wold inside of us. Don't we all have our moments of weakness, when we hated someone so much we wanted them dead/harmed? Or wished death/harm on somebody we despise? Or felt happy when someone we didn't like was harmed/something unfortunate happened to them? But we never acted on our thoughts because we are better persons but if we grew up differently, if we made a few bad choices in life, would we have turned out as monsters too?

0
8
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

*individuals WILL react differently

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Love your last 2 paragraphs, that was extremely insightful! It's true though, its easier for the good to judge the bad because we don't live nor do we understand the world they lived in. I think the whole born/raised as a monster is a connected idea, you can be inherently born with personality traits that the general society deems bad but unless they're properly "cultivated" they won't be in the environment that would aggravate these traits - causing a domino affect in the escalation of crime; i.e. hurting animals, to killing animals, to hurting humans, to killing humans.

0
4
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

I think that's what this drama wants to portray, that we may be born a certain way or predisposed to act a certain way but it is a mixture of that and our environment that influences our choices. If someone understood LJY or showed him he was not alone, that he didn't need to kill and save himself over and over, someone who genuinely cared for him rather than looked at him and think of him as a monster, would things have turned out differently?

0
3
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Funny you mentioned that, LJY repeatedly ponders that question whenever he observes Min and Hyun throughout the drama. Especially in the finale where Hyun remembers LJY telling him he has the choice to do good or bad - in his own "caring" way, Hyun was LJY's experiment. He saw himself in Hyun and I believe he wanted to give Hyun a different upbringing to see how "normal" a child that was born psychologically different (Hyun's definitely a genius of some sort) could be. He took Min to represent his current state of mind, all very disturbing to look into and understand as not many of us out there inherently choose to do things in LJY or Min's way.

Also found it interesting how the writer connected and showed how LJY's brain processes kindness in the last few episodes, this is a man who truly believed to the very end that his acts of kindness in saving people was good for society. Highly debatable if someone could take someone else's life. Great to see the fallback of some of his "kindness" decisions in the finale too.

Don't know about you, but I'll definitely have an eye out for future projects from our resident murderer and murderer prodigy!

0
2
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Didn't LJY admit he felt jealous because of this? All he wanted was someone who will understand and he can see that understanding he has longed for in Hyun for Min.

That's the case for psychopaths or anyone else whose mental health is wired differently. They need help but everyone is so quick to judge and persecute them because we don't understand. It's easier to put them away in jail rather than to help them because society has always hated nonconformity.

I heard they already have projects lined up for both of them, PBG with Reply 1988 and another psych-thriller drama for CWY.

0

@ian
I'm eagerly waiting for projects for SIG. Sadly, they say the guy is up for military service.

*sobs

0

+ 15 + alpha

"Don’t we all have our moments of weakness, when we hated someone so much we wanted them dead/harmed?"

Oh we definitely do. Never be too quick to judge, not even by the laws given to us at face value: this is the moral of the drama that ultimately stuck with me. Also, we all have the power to choose which wolf. And we'll always have choices.

0
1
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

I love that there are so much good things to take away from this drama about our outlook in life and how we treat other people. It's one of its charms.

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

I think that if Min had grown up with Hyun, he could have only reined in his murderous tendencies only so much and eventually he would kill someone. According to Joon Yeong anyway but Joon Yeong did read Hyun wrong so he could have read Min and the other children wrong.

One thing that bugged me, when Eun Bok met with Joon Yeong after he killed Chief Hyun, Joon Yeong said to him that he did not have to do what he did. Does that mean that Eun Bok acted on his own?

I honestly thought that the show's plot was going to be about Joon Yeong manipulating Min and others to toy with Hyun in an elaborate game for his own amusement. But the show took a different and much better route, i am so glad. I was able to guess a lot of things in this show but the consequences and how the drama chose to deal with it always throws me for a loop. What with floods of Western and Korean dramas about psychopaths, it's nice to be able to watch a show with a fresh approach.

0
1
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Min wants to please Hyun so much, even as an adult, that it's easy to imagine he would have grown up the same way. Even if he was "born this way" (as he fully believes) and can't gauge right from wrong, he instinctively looks to his hyung for clues on how he should behave, and over time that might've been enough to train him into behaving lawfully.

I also thought that Eun Bok acted alone, which is interesting.

This has been so much better than your typical show with a superintelligent psychopath pulling everyone's strings - I'm sure it was much more challenging to write as a very gray morality play, but was so much more compelling with the brotherly love as the core and everything else teasing apart motivations and assumptions and the idea that psychopaths aren't just merciless killers, they're people who work with an entirely different set of rules and values and that can make them unpredictable and scary. But they are capable of showing loyalty and a sort of love, and this show handled that wonderfully.

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

I love how this drama is so nuanced and all shades of grey instead of the black/white good/evil divide that so many shows give us. I particularly appreciate how they make Lee Joon-Young, Min and Eun-bok such complex characters, allowing us to spend time with them and seriously think about what drives people to do what they do.

I will be really sad when this show ends. i am enjoying some of the other dramas, but by far this has been my favourite of the bunch, and so rarely does a drama of this quality come by. That said, looking forward to the finale! I know there is some pain to come because this show is too good to give us easy "happy endings", but I hope an appropriate ending for everyone can be found.

0
1
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

"I love how this drama is so nuanced and all shades of grey instead of the black/white good/evil divide that so many shows give us. "

Yes, me too. It's the best point of the drama. I think it poignantly questions conventions and asks people to be less horrid with judgements and all.

I feel like a broken record, always repeating how much I love this drama.

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Just adding to everyone's thoughts:

The BROMANCE!!!!! (So awesome)
Park Bo Gum!!!!! (So perfect)

WHY THE LOW RATINGS WHEN THIS SHOW IS SOOOO GOOD????? (Sorry for yelling, but I know yall understand)

Also, PLEASE don't kill off Min! (Please ... )

0
0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Been watching IRY because of Seo In Guk and I love how he has portrayed his character. But Park Bo Gum has certain stole my attention! Great acting skills for an actor that's barely 25! He crept in so quietly and did an awesome job to showcase the monster side of Min. My hair stood at some point of time when I watched his character. This drama series may not be as good as "Criminal Minds" but scriptwriter has really done a great job! I did actually empathize Joon Yeong when they revealed his painful childhood. It also reminds me that in real life, there's no clear distinction of black and white. We really have many shades of grey areas that leaves us to make even tougher choices. Great job for IRY cast and production team!

0
0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

thank you for quick recap Rejocie...this drama is awesome, great actor, great story. thank you team, writer, and PD.

I think it depends of how the family took care of LJY, and he will have a normal life. It really made me pity, because he just want a family to live with him. I hope it will be a happy ending for Hyun and Min, and Jian of course :)
love them so much

I will remember this drama, naraguk, CWY, PBG...
thank you....

0
0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

I am already having a withdrawal from this show. This show has been the very best kdrama for me this year. Well acted. Well thought of. I am very very impressed. And Seo In Guk blew me away! He is so charismatic. But Jang Na Ra and all the supporting actors were no slouches themselves. Hands down my favorite drama this year.

0
0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

No offense to Reply series fans, but it will take one heck of a character for PBG in Reply 1988 to beat his Min portrayal here. If he will be applauded for a role, IMO it would be for I Remember You. But I will definitely keep fingers crossed that Dramabeans team will also recap Reply 1988 :) I have been a fan of Bogummie since Gaksital ♥♡ He was also good in Wonderful Days and of course in Naeil, despite how the story just went downhill. I hope he gets a lead role after Reply 1988 because he totes deserves it!

Also, I agree that CJA may now be the epitome of female leads. Rather, she should be. I totally love it when female leads are as "manly" as the male leads, if you get what I mean.

Will hold on my final thoughts when the final episode recap is posted.

All in all, definitely the best drama this year so far, and my personal favorite ever. Near perfect!

0
0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Park Bo Gum as Min. NAILED IT.

Don't worry all, I might be a psychopath too.

OMG, what is happening with Hyun? Was their mother a terrible mother, did Hyun kill her? Or did someone attack their home and killed their mother and Hyun killed them?

You know that a character is good when you start asking questions about whether their actions are really morally wrong. It's like when Hyun said about the pictures, "they're children that JY saved." And I was like nods. And then Ji An said, "No, these are the children of the people he murdered." I'm like, okay, you have a point but---see it's the but that's dangerous. I mean, sure murder is wrong, but--

OH GOD. I'm in a panic because today we get the last episode. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH.

0
2
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

I totally get what you mean. This to me, was the strongest and eeriest part of this show because it was so hard at times to see why Lee Joonyoung and Min needed to pay for their crimes. Heaven knows, I'm still confused. These are such incredible, well-written and brilliantly played characters!

0
1
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

@ Julia and Shalini
That question of taking responsibility for the wrong one does... when one does not feel that one did anything wrong. This is an interesting theme that is being explored from this episode into the next with the theme if those who do evil can have a happy ending.

I love the timing where just as Min is thinking about how Hyun might be having a hard time over his evil deeds, at the same time Min's cards come to give Hyun the traces of his killings. And then we have Eun Bok having to face the consequences of his killing. While Hyun gets a memory of another killing that knocks him out.

Yes it is so hard to see why people who seem so nice and good should have to pay for evil that they no longer do, when the show has made us understand where they are coming from, how they too are suffering or how mistaken they are in what they think is OK. But I like that this show insists that no matter what, killing and hurting people is wrong, and cannot be justified. The perpetrators should not be allowed to get away with it, even in order to eradicate more evil (as was the justification used by Prosecutor Shin, the Planning Officer and Chief Kang).

It will be hard to explain to our psychopaths why they must take responsibility, but we hope to see that in the end. :)

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Also, about the hyacinth. I believe it represents Min. It links Min to the legend behind the origin of the flower.

"Legend has it the origin of hyacinth, the highly fragrant, bell-shaped flower, can be traced back to a young Greek boy named Hyakinthos. As the story goes, two gods – Apollo the sun god, and Zephyr the god of the west wind – adored Hyakinthos and competed for his attention. One day, while Apollo was teaching Hyakinthos the art of throwing a discus, Zephyr, in a jealous rage, blew the discus back, killing Hyakinthos with a strike to the head. Apollo named the flower that grew from Hyakinthos's blood hyacinth." From http://www.teleflora.com/meaning-of-flowers/hyacinth

SPOILER. It will make more sense in Ep 16, now that I think about it. For those who knows what sorta happens in the finale will hopefully get what I mean.

Basically, Min is Hyakinthos, while Apollo is Hyun and Zephyr is Joonyoung.

Anyway, the hyacinth in the first serial killer case isn't about the dude locked up in China. I believe it was always meant to be Min's additional signature or message to Hyun, just like the cards. Had Hyun remembered the Mom's murder, he could have connected it to Min right away. But alas, he was a twice victim to amnesia.

0
1
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Could be, but that seems more up Hyun's nerdy alley than Min's cryptic hinting. I think Min just got fed up of having his scarygram gifts to Hyun not getting any reaction, so he stopped sending cards and sent a really specifically staged serial killer instead.

Given Min's involvement in both pressuring the woman from Yang's case and arranging for the aborted hit on Ji An, I can't help but wonder if he was "helping" Yang with the murders. Possibly just by suggestion, possibly a little bit more, but I think Min was looking for a very specific tableau for Hyun to see: a dead woman and hyacinths. And then his own damn painting on the wall with a janus-headed figure.

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Ok, did Hyun accidentally kill their mom and trigger Min's darkness? O.o

0
0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Ah! I loved this drama so very much! The acting, the character development, the bromance and romance, the mystery and even the serial killers! I really thought that 16 episodes won't be enough to really chalk out the full story but the writers somehow managed it quite wonderfully!

I won't give out any spoilers for the next episode here, but its safe to say that this drama doesn't EVER disappoint! :) One of the best kdrama of 2015, inspite of getting criminally low ratings.

1
0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Thanks thanks so much for the recap. I love this drama and it's heartbreaking to see the ratings didn't get the love it deserves. Now, gonna re-watch this drama again and dig out more shows by SIG to cure my withdrawal syndrome.

0
0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

As soon as i saw the main lead i knew i had to watch this one.....my instincts told me that this will be a winner.....An awesome drama after a very long time. I mean i loved healer and kill me heal me every bit of them but this one tops them all.
Sad that its ending but if this one needs to be good then it cannot be dragged and thankfully the PD had the good sense of that too.
Will re-visit all the episodes once again and will wait for the next drama from Seo in Guk.
Fighting !!

0
0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

I don't even have a brother and I cried and feel watching the bromance. I can seriously feel the hurt and pain they have to go through. Unf.

I never thought I could cry. The feels of the characters Lee Joon, Min, Lee Joon when he was young (Do Kyungsoo) is so intense. Perhaps too intense for me. //creys

this drama deserves an award, people.

0
1
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

It really does! It's such a shame the ratings weren't higher!

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Don't have much to add, but do wish to say how much I love the show *sadfacecauseIjustfinishedthefinale*

0
2
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

that moment when there aren't any words left but I still revisit the comments searching for people who are grieving as badly as I am because the drama has ended.

I hereby sit by your comment and wear a face just as sad. :(

0
1
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

I feel you! Sobs.

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

This drama is seriously good and the bromance o meter is really off the charts awesome! I'm going to miss this drama, it's easily one of the best dramas produced this year.

0
0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Also, bad idea watching Nae-il's Cantabile after seeing PBG's acting here. I kept reading more into his knowing glances at times. haha!

0
2
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Ahaha, he was such a sweet character in Cantabile, but I could see how his creepy/crazy glances could stay with you in a drama with a completely different tone!

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

In Wonderful Days he was cold enough, portraying a kid who had a proud attitude towards life. He had some practice there... In Cantabile he was more jealous than emotionless.

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Hi! first time commenting here. don't know if it will even appear properly or not. But am in love with this show and really depressed that it is ending. Or Ended. Thank you Dramabeans and to the people recapping this show. Understanding the show was easier. And good to know there are others too who feel the drama withdrawal. I thought it is me:) I hope this comment shows, would like to comment more and I am really in love with k-dramas. Thanks.

0
1
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

pancchi, welcome to express yourself here, like yourself, i only joined the wagon and yak during my Passion with Healer... do keep up posting, even if not much response at time. you never know, maybe the Casts themselves may read whatever you wrote one day... esp those who are literate in English... and maybe they can be motivate by what you wrote.
reading recaps and postings sometimes is therapeutic for a drained out stressful day.... sometimes loving our OTP alone, and fangirling behind our laptop alone, will not give us much joy, than knowing that our favourite OTP or adored Stars are loved by many... and to know the depth of how much the role they act are being understood by fans... are really gratifying, i still remembered how thrill i was when i read so many fans truly loved my Park Min Young and Ji chang Woo in Healer.... i was thinking, if only they (Park and Ji) really read all the fan's posts... how happy will they be.
so, pancchi, just enjoy yourself reading and posting... welcome to the family here.

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

I discovered the best thing of 2015 kdarams, PARK BO GUM!!! :D :D

0
0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

On a side note Jang Nara was caught up in a car accident [again] on the way to shoot ep16 and while all her staff went to hospital for a check she went on to the shoot with out being checked on herself :-(

0
1
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

dont worry, she's fine.
she went to hospital just after the last shoot. and all is well.
hope she get a good rest.

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

dramallama, thank you for giving us the recaps that this drama truly deserved. it has been underrated in many ways. i eagerly await the final recap...dun dun dun!!!!

Park Bo Gum and Choi Won Young are just fantastic. They really are the stand outs in this drama. For me, this drama just reinforced why Park Bo Gum kept tugging at my heart strings in Cantabile.

I have appreciated the writers so very much for sticking to a story, not relenting to the dismal viewership, and producing something that was coherent and thought provoking. Like many have mentioned before, I am ready to rewatch this from the beginning.

0
0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

I am very afraid that we will get an open ending and our two resident psychos will walk away without punishment. Or one of them dies which is also too simple. People feel bad for them as Min is cute and lost and "his uncle" is simply confused and misunderstood but for me they are both serial killers and they should spend the rest of their lives behind bars no matter how cute they look.

0
9
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

I think though that if justice will be served conventionally, it will be slightly off key to the layers of nuances to the drama. The drama was very poignant in the sense that it made me rethink norms. If it were to end in alignment with norms, it'd feel a little too boxy for my taste.

0
3
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

"The drama was very poignant in the sense that it made me rethink norms."

+1 on this. This drama definitely challenges the "comforts" of the society.

You kind of understand Min and Lee Joon-yeon NOT because they are cute and all, but you just get that this is why they are what they are. In drama/movie aspect, it's called character empathy--where you feel for the character because you witness his background. It's effective writing on a technical level.

Whoever said that "good" and "justice" must be the only thing interesting in the world, right?

0
2
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

*Lee Joon-yeong

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

True. The writing in this drama employed a lot of technical approaches. While not out-of-the-box original, its strength is in thematic consistency. I appreciate that the writer was able to weave deeply unanswerable musings into the plot that it affects any viewer who has been through similar dilemmas, or has asked similar questions.

[Referring to the finale now- because the recap isn't out and I can't help myself any longer] Moreso, I appreciate that he didn't take it upon him to tell the viewer that "such" is right and "such" is wrong. He merely presented the issues so that he solicits empathy, declares that the world is hardly just despite structure. And then he returned the question back to the viewer: regardless, which wolf would you feed? Furthermore, I appreciate that he hinted on "love", "acceptance", "rejection", and "abandonment" as values that majorly influence the answer to that question. With that approach, it was able to end compassionately and effectively left the power to the viewer, which is just so right on so many levels since the only person entitled to that very choice is the viewer himself.

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

People feel bad for Min because he's cute and lost? There may be shallow people who think like so but that is a gross oversimplification of the whole drama. I don't think we watched 15 episodes worth of excellent writing for a viewer to come to the conclusion that being "cute" is the reason why people would pity Min or for LJY because he's misunderstood. They should be punished for their crimes and the drama never fails to remind us that every episode. But to feel for these people and understand where they're coming from is the very purpose of the whole drama because what else are we watching 15 episodes of character development instead of focusing on the typical k-drama romance if not for this very reason? This is what the drama is teaching us. People aren't black and white, and those who refuse to see are people so blinded up in their moral high ground they can't see past their self righteousness.

0
3
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

"People aren’t black and white, and those who refuse to see are people so blinded up in their moral high ground they can’t see past their self righteousness."

Again, +1 for this!

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

"People aren’t black and white, and those who refuse to see are people so blinded up in their moral high ground they can’t see past their self righteousness."

Hahaha. It could be that way. Trust that it's difficult to stray from polarities because it's almost certain that some never return. If it's not in them to question it then I shall not invite them to it because I'd rather not be accountable to their lost-ness. And then, I do my best not to point against self-righteousness because then I'd mirror the very judgmental perception I oppose. So, I'll just say "ah" (with Min's tone), "so that's the way it is." Then I smile (as Lee Joon Young does) and say, "so it is".

I always loved how both Min and LJY spoke as though they were privy to secrets of the world and we weren't. In a way, they too sat on wiser high-ground.

I'm all cryptic here. Am I really replying to you? Haha. I've absorbed the persona of the characters waaaay too much.

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

+1

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

I don't think there is any benefit to Min being in jail, the uncle maybe. Min has a mental illness, and if you watch any other crime dramas, mental illness equals to mental hospital instead of jail.

Being in jail may well just worsen his condition, being surrounded by criminals and people who will be cruel to him and he will plot revenge.

I actually wish (I know it won't happen) that the show will be cunning and find some way for Min to escape, like Catch me if you can - the movie, etc.

Anyway the police didn't have enough proof to catch them so far, and in the game of law, you ain't got proof then you ain't got him. For them to confess and turn themselves in would be 'too fairytale' for these people.

0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

This is probably the best well-rounded drama I have seen since Answer Me 1997. The acting, writing, directing, camerawork, characters, ost, romance and bromance were all done really well. There are so many good things about this drama but what I really appreciated the most was the low key romance. It felt natural and complimented the main story instead of overshadowing it.

0
0
reply

* Register or Login (Get credit for your great comments)

Required fields are marked *

Join our newsletter ♥

Editors' Digest

Currently Airing

PRIME-TIME DRAMAS THIS WEEK
Monday-Tuesday (April 22-23) Weekend (April 26-28)
STREAMING DRAMAS THIS WEEK
  • Blood Free 5-6 (Disney+)
  • Goodbye Earth 1-12 (Netflix)