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Mask: Episode 20 (Final)

There’s a lot of ground to cover in this final episode, and while I can say that all the loose ends are tied up, the bows aren’t as neat as they could have been. But justice is a messy thing in the end, and sometimes punishment comes from a direction nobody expected. But there’s always hope that, if you live honestly and without wearing a mask, you can find your happiness.

EPISODE 20: “Our House”

Min-woo and Ji-sook stay the night in the cabin, but in the morning, Min-woo panics when he wakes up in an empty bed. He gets ready to go out looking for Ji-sook, when she saunters in all chipper, and he grabs her in a relieved hug.

She only went out for toiletries, and sits to shave Min-woo’s five-o-clock shadow. It’s completely unnecessary for her to do it for him, but it’s obvious they’re both enjoying the intimacy. So cute.

Ji-sook’s smile is starting to look forced by the time it’s time for them to leave, and Min-woo stops her for a long minute just to look at her. The car ride is quiet, but Ji-sook takes Min-woo’s hand, and I love that she’s the one reassuring him. He asks her one last time if she can’t stay with him, offering to run away with her if that’s what it takes, but Ji-sook wants to pay their families back for all the pain they’ve endured on her behalf.

Seok-hoon promises the family to find Min-woo and convince him to confess, which has Mi-yeon gaping at his audacity. Seok-hoon says that Min-woo probably ran away because he remembered killing his wife, and says it doesn’t matter whether he believes that’s true — what’s important is that the police believe it.

Remembering Mi-yeon’s confession that Seok-hoon brought a doppelganger into the house to replace a dead Eun-ha, Stepmom says pointedly that she hopes he exposes everything soon. Later he asks Mi-yeon what her mother knows, but she just asks if he’ll stop when she tells him, or make another plan to stop her mother talking. Will Mi-yeon herself be next? She’s got a point — his plans are getting rather convoluted.

He gets upset when she suggests he would hurt her, but she says that Min-woo is her brother, and she can’t stand by and watch him be framed. Seok-hoon insists there’s proof Min-woo killed Ji-sook, but Mi-yeon just laughs, because she knows it’s “proof” that he concocted. She warns him to stop it all or she’ll expose everything. Or, he could always just kill her.

Min-woo’s car is found by the police, empty — he and Ji-sook are being driven in a different car by trusty Chang-soo. Aww, he gripes at them the whole way for making him worry so much. Min-woo reminds him to keep this a secret, but Chang-soo isn’t worried since they’ll just tell the police everything and then Ji-sook can go home, right? Ji-sook just asks to see her family first, to say goodbye, and Min-woo says he has a plan to make sure that Seok-hoon can’t get out of this.

Min-woo meets Seok-hoon in secret, saying that he wants to go home. He plays along with Seok-hoon’s belief that ji-sook is dead, admitting that she died because he hesitated to jump into the water, but that he’s not prepared to confess. He says that he wants Seok-hoon’s help proving his innocence.

Seok-hoon says that the police think Min-woo took Ji-sook to that lake to kill her, but Min-woo says that Seok-hoon’s defending him is the only way he can go home. He offers Seok-hoon everything — his shares, even the whole company — in return for his help. Seok-hoon says all he wants is for Min-woo to come home. Looking triumphant, he says he’ll hold a press conference and prove Min-woo’s innocence.

Ji-sook visits her father and Ji-hyuk and updates them on everything that’s happened, but it’s not time to resume her life yet. They’re just happy to have her home for a while, and make her favorite seafood stew for her. While they’re cooking, she watches her boys fondly and remembers eating the stew with them when her mother was alive.

As they eat, Ji-sook chatters happily about opening a restaurant together later, and tries to ignore the empty chair at the table. They send her off, and she promises to come back soon.

Ji-sook barely turns the corner before Director Shim and his goon grab her and drag her off to talk to Mi-yeon. Meanwhile Seok-hoon tells his SJ informant that at the press conference, he’ll make Min-woo into a liar, and nobody will ever believe a word he says again.

Ji-sook asks Mi-yeon if anything was resolved while she was gone, as Mi-yeon said would happen — Min-woo was framed for murder and Seok-hoon is still scheming. Mi-yeon repeats that she’ll stop Seok-hoon, but Ji-sook doesn’t think she can. How many more people will be sacrificed?

Mi-yeon says she’s right, that she can’t stop him, and more people will probably die just like Eun-ha. Uh, didn’t you kill Eun-ha? But I believe she’s saying that if Seok-hoon isn’t stopped, she’ll keep killing to protect him.

Min-woo’s family and Eun-ha’s father attend the press conference, but when it’s time for Min-woo to come out and start, Mi-yeon finds him and insists they talk first. She asks him what he was going to say at the press conference, but he just says he’ll say what needs saying and asks her to tell everything, too.

He knows she saved Ji-sook, and that she’s a good person. She only did those bad things because of Seok-hoon. She can confess instead of waiting for the secrets to be exposed, and live unburdened. A peaceful look comes over her face and she apologizes for everything, and asks Min-woo to tell Ji-sook she’s sorry.

She leaves, and the cops flanking Min-woo stop him from following her. Once she’s alone, Mi-yeon makes a call, asking them to do something and saying she won’t regret it.

Min-woo is brought into the press conference, and Seok-hoon gets started. He says that Min-woo didn’t kill his wife on purpose, but that it was an accident while he was mentally unstable. He mentions Min-woo’s childhood sleepwalking, and the time when he forgot that he nearly drowned his wife in the pool.

Seok-hoon goes on to talk about the DNA evidence linking the blood on the rock to the blood on the clothing found near Min-woo when he woke after the fire. But he says again that Min-woo’s wife’s murder was an accident, and that he belongs in a hospital, not a jail.

He leaves the podium and whispers to Min-woo that this was the best he could do for him, but Min-woo doesn’t respond. He takes the podium himself , and starts off saying that on the day of the fire, he was indeed found with the bloody cloth. But his wife was taken away by someone, and driven to the lake to be drowned.

She’d probably spent hours being afraid of dying because of him, and he apologizes… for not finding her alive sooner. He’s sorry for being unconscious while they were driven to that lake, and for not waking when the bloody cloth was put in his hand. He apologizes for everything, and names Seok-hoon as the person who did those things.

Furious, Seok-hoon storms the stage to grind out through his teeth that Min-woo will be sorry for this, since the evidence points to him. Min-woo laughs at the fake “evidence” and says he has his own proof. And here she is — Ji-sook walks right into the middle of the press conference and announces, “I’m Choi Min-woo’s wife, Byun Ji-sook.”

Eun-ha’s father asks if she’s alright, and Ji-sook bows to him and apologizes, confessing that she’s not Eun-ha. She goes to the podium herself and Seok-hoon actually cringes away from her, which is so satisfying.

We see that Mi-yeon had told Ji-sook the entire story of Eun-ha’s death, how she had intended to drug her hoping she would be in an accident while driving home. But instead she’d drowned in their pool. She tells Ji-sook to tell everyone the truth at the press conference.

Ji-sook does just that, and goes on to reveal that she’s been posing as Eun-ha ever since. Papa Choi is horrified to think that his daughter killed someone, but the maid who drugged the wine is there to back up Ji-sook’s story.

Ji-sook says that living as Eun-ha was difficult because she had to lie, even to the people she loved, and that she feels sorry towards Eun-ha’s loved ones as well. She apologizes, and says that in order for all this to stop, she wants to report someone. She also points towards Seok-hoon as the guilty party, and tells the entire story in detail as Chang-soo passes out packets containing all the proof.

Min-woo’s prosecutor friend enters the room, and Min-woo says he’ll be turning all the evidence over to authorities. Seok-hoon finally starts to look nervous, and when the police move towards him, he and Scar make a run for it. Whoa, Scar actually sacrifices himself to buy Seok-hoon some time (I wish I knew why he’s so loyal). Seok-hoon gets down to the parking garage, where Mi-yeon drives by and helps him escape.

In the car, Seok-hoon realizes that Mi-yeon is the one who saved Ji-sook when he tried to drown her, and she just says she couldn’t let him become a murderer. She says she’s got plane tickets and asks him to run away with her, but Seok-hoon isn’t prepared to stop now.

Mi-yeon confesses that she told Ji-sook everything, and that they have no choice but to leave. She can’t go home after this. Seok-hoon tells her to go then, but that he can’t go with her. He says there’s something she doesn’t know about — the reason he married her.

He finally tells her his father’s story, how he worked for SJ Group very hard, even after his fingers were severed in the accident. His reward was to be fired since his productivity went down, and without his fingers, he never could get a good job. Then he fell during a protest and became paralyzed, and his mother passed away from the shock.

Her father came to his mother’s funeral to give the family compensation money and get his picture taken for the papers, but then he’d smiled, as if Seok-hoon’s family meant nothing. Mi-yeon apologizes on her father’s behalf, and begs Seok-hoon again to disappear with her. He roughly pushes her hand away, and says that he promised he would get revenge on her father, and he’ll never stop.

She finally relents and says that, if he won’t stop, at least don’t let her see him get caught and lose his pride. She says his plane ticket are in the car, and tells him to go and never come back.

Seok-hoon turns to walk away, and Mi-yeon calls after him. She asks him to say one last time that he loves her, even if it’s a lie. For once, maybe for the first time ever, Seok-hoon is honest with Mi-yeon: “I do not love you. To get revenge on your father, I used you.”

Min-woo and Ji-sook are allowed to talk together for a moment, and she smiles at him as she repeats Eun-ha’s words from so long ago, “If you wear a mask, you can’t be happy.” She says Eun-ha was right, and they both admit how good they feel.

Seok-hoon waits for his flight at the airport, and finds a note from Mi-yeon with his ticket. She’d wondered if they would be on the plane when he read it, or already in Cuba, where they went for their honeymoon. She’d written happily about fishing and dancing together, and Seok-hoon starts to look as though he regrets his decision to leave without her.

As he reads the letter, Mi-yeon approaches a cliff high over the ocean, looking peaceful for the first time. She’d written that she’d always loved him, and always would, and Seok-hoon starts to cry. He folds the letter, then jumps up to call Mi-yeon. But someone else answers her phone, and he’s speechless as they deliver the bad news.

Stepmom breaks down at Mi-yeon’s funeral, screaming for her daughter, and a shocked and crying Seok-hoon stumbles into the room as Papa Choi and Min-woo try to support her. He bows deeply when she asks how he dares to show his face, and she takes out her grief on him, beating his chest and demanding he bring her daughter back.

Papa Choi bellows at Seok-hoon to get out, and Min-woo just punches him so hard he falls to the ground. Min-woo whispers that if Seok-hoon cared about Mi-yeon even a little, he’d go take responsibility for his crimes.

Papa Choi and Min-woo sit outside, where Papa Choi blames himself for pitting his children against each other and putting them in opposition. He brings up Min-woo’s mother’s death, saying that he never knew she’d had his child and when he found out, he’d wanted to come see him. His mother had misunderstood and thought Choi’s men were going to take her son away, and that’s why she ran with him. Min-woo says it doesn’t change anything, and that he’s different from his father — he’ll spend his life protecting those he loves.

Some time later, Ji-sook gets a letter delivered to her jail cell, from Min-woo of course. They exchange letters during her jail sentence, chatting about nothing, passing the time until she’s released. Min-woo spends his time learning to cook, hopefully better than before.

Chang-soo plays a song for Yeon-soo, asking how she likes it as their wedding song, which makes her eyes go wide. She squeals over the engagement ring, while Butler Nam-chul bursts into tears. Not much has changed, ha.

Seok-hoon’s jail cell is searched, and in one of his books they find a photo of Mi-yeon, When asked who she is, he smiles serenely and says she’s someone he’ll be seeing soon.

Four years later, Ji-sook is out of jail and celebrating her birthday with her loved ones — all of them. Min-woo leads the birthday song, and she wishes that she’ll always be as happy as she is now. The classy restaurant they’re in belongs to her and her father, who seems to have finally turned his life around.

Later Min-woo and Ji-sook go on a picnic with their adorable curly-haired little girl (named Min-sook after her parents, awww), and of course Min-woo is worried that she’ll get sick playing in the dirt. Ji-sook smears some dirt on his face, and little Min-sook copies her mama, earning her a kiss from her hovering daddy.

As the happy family enjoys their day, Ji-sook says in voiceover that people worry about getting to the top of the mountain in life, and always struggle for it. But if they turn to look at the flowers, they can discover how sweet they smell. Now she knows that happiness is enjoying the flowers with her loved ones, and she will live her life being happy like that.

COMMENTS

It was a sweet ending, but I’m afraid this final episode Comments section isn’t going to be very flattering, though I’ll do my best to give the show the credit it’s definitely due. I’m disappointed in how the show ended in several ways, not least of which being that Seok-hoon’s Final Evil Plan was… to hold a press conference? I suppose his plan was framing Min-woo for Ji-sook’s murder, but it loses its punch when we didn’t even see him put it into action. If you’re going to build up your villain as the ultimate evil for twenty episodes, then at least let us witness him attempt his final act of revenge. And really, he did all this, planned his entire life around getting revenge, because Papa Choi once smiled? I get it, that’s a horrible insult at someone’s funeral, but it also could have just been an innocent attempt to connect with young Seok-hoon. It doesn’t explain Seok-hoon’s intense need for justice, especially since it seems as though he was a good father-in-law once Seok-hoon became family.

But I have to give all the credit in the world to Yeon Jung-hoon, who played the character with a delightfully shivery menace and a sexy snarl we won’t soon be forgetting. Though Seok-hoon’s potential for mayhem was never brought to fruition, and it certainly wasn’t for any lack on the actor’s part. Without him, Seok-hoon wouldn’t have been half as threatening as he was, and I was never less than incredibly impressed. Though the character let me down in the end, Yeon Jung-hoon’s performance was the highlight of the drama, in my opinion.

On the other hand, Mi-yeon was a character that, in my opinion, was so wonderfully complex and heartbreaking, and I just loved watching her struggle through the show. This may be the first time that a villainous character was my favorite character in a drama (okay, maybe the second time ~cough~LiarGame~cough~). I adored that she wasn’t just black or white — she was a thousand shades of moral grey, depending on the day and how strong she was feeling. She was so true-to-life in that most of us aren’t entirely good or entirely bad… bad people often do good things, and good people certainly occasionally do bad things. I still maintain that, though she was responsible for at least two deaths, she was never intentionally murderous. I believe she thought Eun-ha would simply get a bad scare in the pool, but not actually drown, and that she only intended for Ji-sook’s mother to have her surgery postponed. Mi-yeon’s problem is that her “pranks” went too far, and in her defense, her reactions to the realization that she was responsible for those deaths, was horror at her actions. Both times, she questioned her worth as a person, and she was never under any illusions that she hadn’t done a terrible thing.

So even though it’s a familiar drama trope, I understand why Mi-yeon took her life. She knew there was no going back and that she would never live a happy, normal life with the man she loved. Seok-hoon said he didn’t love her, and she always knew it, but she finally lost hope that he ever would. She knew her life would most certainly be spent in a jail cell, and she chose to go out on her own terms. I can actually respect that. It’s a credit to both actors that we felt the tragedy keenly, when Seok-hoon had his change of heart only minutes too late to save her.

But though I loved Mask for its wonderful characters, I can’t forgive its habit of dropping bread crumbs that led to nowhere. So much of what got me hooked and kept me fascinated was the anticipation of discovering the truths behind all the delicious hints, and I feel cheated that they were just never addressed. It’s lazy storytelling, and it’s not fair to your viewers. Were Ji-sook and Eun-ha somehow related (remember the dead sister?) or were they true doppelgangers? Why did Seok-hoon want Min-woo to die so badly if it was his father he wanted revenge on? Who the heck was Scar and why was he so devoted to Seok-hoon that he’d let himself be caught? And as for the hints we were given that were cleared up, I felt the answers were weak at best. For example, why did Papa Choi never once tell Min-woo about the night his mother died? You’d think he’d have wanted his son to know it was a mistake. And the missed opportunities for dramatic tension, such as the teasing that Seok-hoon might start to fall in love with Ji-sook (or at least confuse her with Eun-ha) and cause him to become conflicted about using her, then just never doing anything with that. What a wasted opportunity, when we could have seen Seok-hoon descend into the satisfying trap of madness that he tried to create in Min-woo. I still want to see that drama.

I think it’s just that the show had so much potential, and we were all on the edges of our seats for weeks waiting for all that potential to blow up into some amazing, thrilling storytelling. But instead everything just fizzled out, and we were given a nice little happy ending in the hopes that we wouldn’t notice that nobody was ever in much real danger. I do think that for sixteen episodes, the show was great, and there’s no doubting that Min-woo and Ji-sook made for a great romance story. They were perfect bookends for each other, and I’ll always love how Ji-sook got to be the knight in shining armor to Min-woo’s damsel in distress. I’ll try to remember how much I’ve loved them when I think back on Mask, and I will definitely have fond memories of the show, though I’ll mourn the show that could have been.

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Thank you so much for the recap, and for your thoughts on this drama. I actually liked ep.20. I was afraid to watch it, because I was not sure of what to expect. I started watching it, and then I stopped watching after 20mns (when MW was about to go into the conference room). And then I finished the drama this morning, not long ago. And though I wish there could have been more scenes about the home life of JS and MW, I can’t say that I was deeply disappointed. In fact, I was not really disappointed. I figured the writer would have quite a bit to wrap up in the last ep., and I might have been right. The great performances until the very end also made me like this ep. Most things were neatly tied with a bow, and I am OK with that.

The actress playing MY was soooo good, she made MY a compelling character till the end. To reiterate (to the viewers), that all MY ever really wanted was her husband’s love and a family, through YIY’s acting, made me feel sorry for MY. Too bad she didn’t have the courage to face her wrongdoings, and pay the lawful price for it. That last scene with SH, when she begs him to tell her (even if it is a lie) that he loves her, was done in such a moving way. I really enjoyed YIY’s acting in this drama (she was also good in YFAS, however she didn’t have many epis. to star in). I was glad to have seen her more in this drama. I hope she won’t be typecast in villain roles (or in manipulative ones).

I also loved all the scenes between JS and MW, even when they were away from each other. And how cute and adorable was their daughter? And how cute and adorable was JJH baby-talking to that little girl, and him kissing her? That made me feel ticklish (winks at Cocobeans :-) ). I wanted to see more scenes of MW and JS with their family (and with JS’s family). I also wondered what happened to MW. Did he continue to work at the company?

And CS and JM got married, YAY!!!! So cute, was his proposal. And I loved it, when JM told JS that only she could tell CS how cute he was. I would have to say that I was not sure what to make of SH’s last minute change of heart about MY. Was that believable? I know… Some of us were talking (in ep.19 recap), about not trying to think (too hard) through this drama. The thing though is that when SH told MY that he didn’t love her, and that he had only wanted to use her, he seemed very intent on hurting her (which he managed to do). So for me to see him come back, sorrowful made me question him (just a little bit). I was glad to see that he finally realized how much MY had loved him, and how good he could have had it with her. If only he had listened to his dad… (but then, we would not have had a drama, and a melodrama at that). Am I to understand that SH was jailed for life? He said that he would go see MY soon (or something to that effect). SH wanted to destroy the chairman’s family and their lives, and to an extent, he managed to do that.

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"Too bad she didn’t have the courage to face her wrongdoings, and pay the lawful price for it. "

I don't know, you know. I think the price she paid was the punishment she believed she deserved, not guilt alone - it wasn't one life she directly caused to end, but two. And I think her biggest driving force might even have been the hope that with her death, she could finally stop Seok-hoon. All things considered, I think it was the most fitting outcome for her character.

When she rescued Seok-hoon from the press conference and was driving away in the car, you know what I thought? I really, genuinely thought she was lying about plane tickets and passports, and was going to drive both of them off a cliff - again, fitting (see: opening of episode 1). I was even the tiniest bit disappointed that that wasn't the case!

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Yes, I thought they were going over a cliff too. The show started with a car going over a cliff -- why not end with one too.

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Me too, I was also thinking, MY would take suicide and bring with her SH off the cliff.

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Oh HELL yes that is exactly what I thought.

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It would have been a great ending for both of them.
But we wouldn't have seen the emotions of Seok Hoon after Mi Yeon' s death...writer's choice is to let us see at last the sensitive door to Seok Hoon's heart...and so we even feel sorry for him.

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Some of the scenes I loved in this ep. : 1-about one minute into the ep., when JS offered to shave MW, and she asked him “don’t you trust me? Haven’t you seen me work with knives? Are you scared?” The look MW gave the razor made LOL. Why so cute?!!!! And then MW (almost sighed), and (as if resigned to his fate) said, “how can I be scared?” (or something to that effect). 2-When JS buttoned MW’s shirt, and when MW held JS’s head, soaking in his last moments alone with her before they faced the world, (and before she went to jail). 3-The birthday scene, at the restaurant. MY asking SH to go away, and begging him to tell her that he loved her (one last time). 4-MW, JS and their daughter playing, and walking. 5-When bad-wig ahjussi and his minion were arrested, their reactions to not wanting to let go of the money was funny.

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Yeah me too! I love how this show always inserts some humour into every episode.

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Thanks LollyPip for the great recaps of Mask! Your comments about the shortcoming are totally spot on, too.

That last time when Seok-hoon said he didn't love her, I think he was lying again - if he HAD said he loved her, that one time, it would have been true. It was a really fitting way for them to part, I thought - him always lying. By that point, it's pretty clear he came to care for her, without even realising it.

I honestly don't know why, but the whole scene of Mi-yeon's goodbye, suicide and funeral had me in tears. So for that, at least, Mask delivered.

"Who the heck was Scar"
OK that's easy! Once City Hunter was done with him, he needed a new master who wouldn't betray him. So he went to Seok-hoon (lol).

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I agree that the comments by LollyPip about the shortcomings of the drama were spot on. Interesting that some of the commenters here had mentioned many of them in their critique of the drama.

About this, "That last time when Seok-hoon said he didn’t love her, I think he was lying again," I felt the same way. There was something in SH's body language, something in his voice (the tone of it), that gave me the feeling that he was lying. He seemed forceful in how he said it, and his intention to hurt her one more time was very clear. It felt to me as if because his original plan had not worked, he was going to emotionally destroy at least one Choi family member (on his way out, or down), and he did. And I can also see how this came to be "By that point, it’s pretty clear he came to care for her, without even realizing it."

I didn't cry about this, though it made me really sad "I honestly don’t know why, but the whole scene of Mi-yeon’s goodbye, suicide and funeral had me in tears. So for that, at least, Mask delivered."

And about this, "“Who the heck was Scar”
"OK that’s easy! Once City Hunter was done with him, he needed a new master who wouldn’t betray him. So he went to Seok-hoon (lol)."
I too was surprised that Scar would sacrifice himself for SH. Too bad he didn't have a better master. I loved him in CH, and I loved him here. He makes for a very good (bad) minion and henchman.

I would like to add that Scar tried being a good guy, before realizing that being scary and dangerous suited him better, or was his preference (or maybe he is like MY, good one day [in one drama], and then bad the next day [or more so maybe when the role calls for it]). Scar was in the drama Angel Eyes last year, and I did a double take when I saw him wearing an emergency worker uniform, saving people's lives, and having a few funny lines (and a different haircut). It felt so weird, when I first saw him in that drama. It took me some getting used to, really. What does that say about some of us viewers, when we so love an actor in a certain type of role that we are very surprised when they play the opposite? :-) Interestingly enough (and even maybe funny enough), I didn't do a double take when I saw him as a bad guy in this drama, and this time with glasses (I thought he looked good with those glasses). Whatever works for you Scar, and whatever helps you pay the bills :-)

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I agree that SH was lying to MY on the bridge, but rather than hoping for her destruction, I think it was a final parting gift of freedom. He had her so tangled up in his web, I think he thought he could set her free, and give her a chance at another life after him.

Then, reading her letter at the airport, it seems like he realized that it was impossible for her to let him go, and that he didn't really want to. That phone call was heart breaking.

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I love your theory about that!

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MY and Sh's last scene together got me in tears, that scene was the highlight of episode 20 for me. I actually wanted SH to leave with MY and live happily every after, because i pitied them so much (despite all the evil they have committed)... Kudos to the actor and actress who played it to perfection - I am impressed with how Yeon Jung-hoon made me question whether he loved or not loved MY throughout the show. To us it was pretty natural to think that SH only used MY to get what he wanted, and he was lying whenever he told MY that he loved for. But each and every time he said it, the way SH hesitated a fraction of second before he said it, and the way his eyes looked, I could't help but think: does he love his wife, or he somewhat feels something for her? And that last scene- when he said he didn't love her, i think he lied again, or maybe he thought he was telling the truth, but deep inside, he actually loved her a little, just a little.

I feel tempted to go rewatch Vampire Prosecutor again, just to bask in Yeon Jung-hoon's awesomeness one more time~~

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Suddenly im wondering if those two could have been the leads of a shw where their story was the main one. Imagine an evil couple as our leads? We've nvr seen that so hw great that would have been? And we knw the actors can play those roles well. We would have had more time to strengthen SH's back story and hence his motivations to get to the top. It would have been awesome. They could definately pull it off.

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I cried too when she was begging SH. And then I wondered y I was crying. The scene was really well acted by YIY. Looking forward to her other projects. Hopefully she'll get some major roles here on out.

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Cracks and all, I still loved it. I loved that Mi Yeon had me sympathize and hate her in the same drama, SEVERAL times! I loved Yeon Jung Hoon's Seok Hoon! He was really evil for no reason to me! The couple together of Ji Sook and Min Woo, I just loved, loved, loved! And it is because of these ingredients I was very forgiving of the story overall!

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All because of the awesome characters right? Me too!! ;)

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I agree! Mi Yeon just wanted love from Suk Hoon but he couldn't give it to her that is why she did all those things. But in the end, Suk Hoon did care for her just one bit. ?

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If Secret was one perfect revenge k-drama, Mask (with some more boost to "a bit silly villain in the end" SH) was one perfect k-telenovela! Even if it had more than 100 episodes and terrible, vicious things had happened plot-wise, I think we couldn't have embraced any other finale than this one, for each and everyone involved.
Justice has been served, ladies and gentlemen! The cuttest baby-girl is the ultimate verdict... Thank you for your recaps, your comments and the commitment to this journey! I enjoyed the ride all the way... ;-)

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@kalel

So, following your criteria, episode 20 is not too much a patch-work, huh?

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On the contrary, I still feel the writer's need to tie every (or nearly every) loose end up. So, lots of information is being given while the FF button is turned on.

SH's family story and background, his motive on that "legendary" revenge for which he got married MY without being in love with her (?), MY's romance and married life before JS came to her family, MW's father's rush explanation about what happened to MW's mother, JS's conviction and the time leap ( it happened in Secret, too) and so on...

While quite a lot of the previous episodes were much slower, the series' last week recovered lost ground as much as possible... :-)

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Addendum:

I LOVE their baby's hair. I WANT her hair. So adorable!

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@ fishfingers_fb,

I found it funny that you left me a comment, while I was working on my comment to your post :-)

I LOVE their baby's hair as well. It was the 1st thing I noticed, that and the fact that she was chubby. She is soooo cute. I almost died hearing JJH baby-talking to her, and whining to JS about dirt and his daughter. And those kisses he gave her, *SWOON* He totally acted like a dad, and so did SA (I loved it when she was holding her hand and kissing it). And now I would love to see both actors (together or separately), in a role where they have to be parents... to babies or toddlers :-)

There are two songs from this drama's OST I have on repeat: Lyn's song, and this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkADk_skVrA

I just LOVE these songs! Lyn (or LYn?) is an amazing singer, and I have listened to some of her other songs, and seen her in a few variety shows. The 2nd song just makes me want to dance, every time I hear it...

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Hear hear, the 2nd song (by Junggigo and Jooheon Monsta X) makes me happy and cheerful every time I hear it.. My favorite of the bunch..
Lyn's OST is also very nice and always used for OTP scenes.. Overall, i love all OSTs in this drama..

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Lyn's Just One Day is used in every sweet scene of our otp and although it is used excessively, I didn't find it annoying, not like *cough* Heirs' Love is the Moment. And I'm not sure whether I'm correct, but I think all the songs were hardly used except for Lyn's. It's kinda a waste. ;)

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Personal preference:

I am the oddball who didn't like the child. And thought it was all kind of awkward - the whole parenting thing - it might have worked better with another kid = this one looked like it belonged to neither of them (both skinny).

Don't enjoy kids generally who are dressed up to look old, which I felt was the case here. (Tablo's Haru is cute in a not-trying hard way, this one ....errr)

That curly ajjuma perm didn't sit down well.

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Lollypip, many thanks and respect to you for recapping Mask. My love for Joo Ji Hoon kept me here and I really would watch these four actors do anything for any number of episodes. All the juicy story lines and potential fun side character development that was left to rot, all the OTT PPL, all the lack of logic - oh, pshaw! It was full of (unintended, I guess?) laughs and while I couldn't watch it again I'm glad I didn't miss it.

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Absolutely agree 150% with everything you said in your comment. I love when someone can speak my own thoughts more clearly than I can think them!!! :) Yeon Jung-hoon and Namgoong Min were the best ever Bad Guys this year!! Both of them completely eclipsed the other actors in their shows. I am greatly disappointed in this show for all the reasons you mentioned, but also because the 2 leads are people I would tune in for anytime. However, to me, they both felt like they were acting in slow motion. Their dialogue, voices, movements were so slow and deliberate. It was very strange and very detaching for me where their characters were concerned.

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I liked Mask, but i think that episodes 19 and 20 were not necessary and actually made the story get draggy and lose its momentum.
Loved conflicted Mi Yeon and twisted Seok Hoon, liked all the moments from the main pair.... But Seok hoon's reasons to try to get revenge were not enough (for me) to justify all the plotting and murderous evil deeds, and after hearing his explanation to Mi Yeon for his behaviour i had the same feeling of insatisfaction that I experienced with School 2015's big revelation of Soo In's misterious death... I can understand it's a sad and terrible situation but not as tragical and dramatic as the writer was trying to hint to make me invest my feelings and understand their actions a little more. Or maybe I am getting numb and insensible to suffering?
We will never know what was the deal with Glasses guy (did he ever get a name?)... And, was i the only one expecting more skinship between Min Woo and Ji Sook? I mean, i would have loved to have a scene insinuating the conception of little Min Sook... I better go look for the new sub episode from Oh My Ghostest!
Thanks for the recap :)

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Nope. You not the only one wanting more skinship. I always knew we weren't getting a bed scenem tho I hoped for it. I think ep 19's kiss the consolation prize for nt having the bed scene. But how awesome it would have been if the bed scene and then seeing Minsook would have been? I really just wanted some otp time in this ep. There was toooo little of it. And I really do dislike when dramas end by giving us 5 mins with out main characters. It nt satisfying enough.

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Loved the show but writer nim u should have kept it good all the way... Anyway loved the leads an I can forgive those loopholes at the tail end of the show! Tanx for the recap lollipip!

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Loved the show but writer nim u should have kept it good all the way... Anyway loved the leads and I can forgive those loopholes at the tail end of the show! Tanx for the recap lollipip!

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This show got worse and worse with each episode. Min-Woo and Ji-Sook could have revealed the whole thing 5 episodes earlier and Seok-Hoon would be arrested in no time. Why were they so afraid of Seok-Hoon? They had the video showing Seok-Hoon murdered someone and another video showing his confession of trying to kill Min-Woo. Both MW and JS acted so timid and were totally intimated by SH that they kept their mouths shut. It just did not make much sense. By keeping quiet, both of them almost got killed by SH. The two money-lenders were so incompetent but yet it was funny that everyone wanted their services. The show, although still quite entertaining, just had too many holes. The writer could have done better.

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I think MW at that time didn't want to expose SH as that would mean JS would be exposed too. So they took extra episodes to decide to punish SH after all ><

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One word: Entertainment.

Sure there were plot-holes galore, the whole show probably could have wrapped up at 16 episodes, the OTP could have had more cuddle sessions and Ji Sook could def have gained a back-bone much earlier but gosh darnnit - this was like a terrible train wreck I just couldn't stop watching!!!

I felt the same after watching Secret....maybe drama remakes aren't Korea's forte but no one does makjangs better than Korea (well maybe Hindi drama serials are equally as crazy but span literally YEARS).

Thank you for the recap journey Lollipip!

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+1, @Kay!

This writer's work is so addictive, indeed! Usual makjang elements tied with whole new ribbon. Loved Secret, too... :-)

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whatever the loopholes the writer has a talent of making his/her stories so addictive,i hate makjang but I always end up watching his/her work with untrigue

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sorry typo intrigue

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Thank for the recap. Aaaaah Mask is over ? but I am very much aware you should have ended on episode 16.Haven't watched this episode, I think I'm scared or something I want to watch it but at the same time I don't. Does that make sense.It's like I have to summon the courage to watch it.

To all mask lovers ? and lollypip, it's been a wonderful journey even with the mishaps, I enjoyed reading the recaps and the comment section.

Let's meet in the next great drama ? ? ? ? Anyeong ?

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I enjoyed this whole drama even if of course could have been better but i love the way this writer keeps one anticipating,for me at least has some addicting writing type...I really think SH along the way lost his original purpose of revenge and started to use that one moment to justifie his doings and keep going rather that admiting he was doing all for his own greed and just couldn't stop nor wanted,one could see he cared for MY even if he didn't want to admit it or didn't realise it,he was so deluded by his own revenge bubble he created that he didn't get out of it or maybe he just didn't knew how to be happy or afraid of being...from what i understood by his last scene is that he planned to comit suicide in prison more likely,something very cowerdly...i liked the ending four our main couple,very sweet..like mentioned it wasn't the perfect drama but i liked it a lot and the actors did more than an amazing job,really adored the cast and their chemistry....Still hoping soon for a leading role for Yeon Jung-hoon with the right amount of dark side to it,want to see more of him in another thrilling type of drama this year,he really rocks this slighty darkish characters(Oh Vampire Prosecutor) and anticipating the writer's next project as well,hope this year(consider him please)

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awwww what a cute ending..MW is gonna be a doting appa to baby Minsook (had to laugh cause the shipper thread that soompi created is called Minsook couple ha)

Overall I'm satisfied with the drama and I really can't complain if that's something that a drama can do for me. Thanks much to Lollypip for recaps!

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Thanks for recapping Mask LollyPip & Javabeans. I truly appreciate it.

Mask started off with a bang and for many episodes was most definitely addicting - a mare's nest of intrigue and troubles. A coup in casting Soo-Ae, Ju Ji-Hoon, Yeon Jeong-Hun, & Yu In-Young as the leads.

Along the way Mask lost its edge and faltered into loosely plotted territory. Even so, all four actors played their part in elevating this drama despite the unevenness of the story-line sometimes and its flawed writing. If not for SA, JJH, YJH, & YIY and their character portrayals, many viewers might not have been as willing to just enjoy the ride and to overlook many of the plot holes and at times illogical events that were just to apparent to ignore.

Be that as it may, high marks for the role reversal of the damsel in distress plight. For much of the drama it was the male lead Min-Woo instead of the female lead Ji-Sook.

Elated to see the lead females (Ji-Sook/Eun-Ha & Mi-Yeon) styled and wearing fashionable clothes, shoes, jewelry, and even the nail polish throughout the drama. As the episodes progressed, some of the Product Placement (PPL) was overdone and not embedded as subtly as it had been in the earlier episodes.

Still, I'm glad I watched Mask as it was airing. Overall I'll look back on Mask as a drama with great OTP chemistry & 4 solid leads :) that I watched during the spring/summer of 2015.

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The highlight of this episode imo is the scene between suk hoon and mi yeon all the way up to when suk hoon came to the funeral giving up his one chance to escape. Man, the acting during their conversation and all the way up to the funeral part was absolutely fantastic and even though i absolutely hated both characters their story really broke my heart. The soundtrack is also amazing.

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Honestly Secret Love was so much better to me it almost makes me wonder if this is indeed the same writer. Though he/she does seem to have a penchant for sizzling chemistry between two leads who probably shouldn't be together, and women giving birth in prison.

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Agree. This drama had many of the same writer and team as Secret Love, but was for sure not up to the same standards.

I suspect that this was somewhat hastily written, to follow up on the smashing success of Secret. Secret also made use of quite a few cliches, but not as many, and had far fewer plot holes - and as noted - far fewer breadcrumb trails that led nowhere.

I liked the drama, but it was nowhere near as good as Secret.

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I loved like you Secret. I found it to be "korean-ly" coherent, until my sister marathoned it recently after my recommendation and bombarded me with questions about the fiancee, the step-mom, the real mom, the "stolen" child who was left abandoned etc., making me realize that Secret wasn't necessarily better or had less plot holes. On the contrary it was a "little" show against Heirs that started to do twenty episodes, then was cut down to sixteen and when it crushed Heirs, it was too late to increase the episodes. Secret just achieved the fun factor and originality more and wasn't prude in getting a bit more physical.

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I might be in the minority but I loved Mask much more. Perhaps I liked it more bc it was lighter. And since I get turned off by makjangs this drama was a great in between. I dont think Secret is as great as its made out to be tbh. It gphad its flaws too which it seems many have forgotten.

Also, this otp was so much stronger, whereas in Secret it was pretty bizarre and disfunctional. The chem was imo much better here.

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I definitely agree: the chemistry between Soo Ae and Jo Ji Hoon was almost unbelievable!
I prefer, by far, Mask

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I kept watching for the otp only. The show teased us about jisook's dead sister and how sukhoon might confuse her with eunha but they didnt milk enough and ended up with plot holes. It wouldve been makjang if eunha and jisook are sisters but at least its more satisfying bcs we get to cover the hole.

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First off, I'm happy that it's happy ending though I'm a bit disappointed with the whole show..

Things I like:
1. Of course our OTP, Ji Sook and Min Woo and thanks to the actors, Joo Ji Hoon and Soo Ae, their characters don't fall flat and instead they have built wonderful chemistry and sweet romance. If the actors somehow lack chemistry I might drop my interest in the drama. But they didn't, they completely perfectly complement each other. I always enjoy their romance story, the cute parts, and even wanting more (more REAL bedscene :p).

2. Devil OTP, Mi Yeon and Suk Hoon. Again, it's the case of wonderful actors playing great characters. Character-wise MY and SH are more interesting most of the time than JS-MW. They're the one who bring the thrills and the fear. SH is a bit predictable, but MY is unpredictable, one minute she can protect MW the other she could kill or harm someone.. Anyway I applaud the actors and their characters until the end. Their send-off and goodbye is sad, and it actually doesn't make sense at all but I cried when SH reads MY's letter and she is on the verge of suicide.

3. Nice clothes and good use of PPL. For once, Heirs director and his production team could provide nice, appropriate clothes for their characters who live as chaebols/rich people. Most of the time I was in awe seeing Ji Sook/Eun Ha wearing nice dress, outfits, shoes, etc. Mi Yeon also has nice (sometimes OTT) fashion sense. Suk Hoon is the one who always wear nice, snazzy suits. LOL. While MW likes to wear colorful suits. I'm also not annoyed at all with over-the-top PPL because the writer could write them into the story creatively.

Things I dislike:
1. Bad wig loanshark and his goon. I wish they died/put in jail earlier. I was even cheering SH who almost bury them alive. Their characters are truly unnecessary and annoying.

2. Writer dropped many hints and plot points but so many of them still not answered/half-answered by the end. For instance, doppelganger, so EH/JS are actually doppelganger? Why no one ever ask why they look so similar? Even JS never questions why she and EH are look alike. Were they actually related or not? In an attempt to wrap up the story, the writer also write rushed closure for EH's death and her father, MW's mom and Papa Choi, SH's revenge, etc.

3. Illogical things and most people in Mask-land are idiots. MW's escape from police? laugh-out-loud funny. MW and JS reunion on the side of a road and chat freely? Unintentionally funny and makes me worry if police/loansharks would find them. Papa Choi and Stepmom still surprised EH is dead and MY kills her? Unbelievable. The most spectacular car crash and fall off the cliff in history? Only in kdrama, because it defy logic.

All in all, despite my love for Mask and I have plenty of them, I can't ignore so many of its shortcomings like LollyPip has pointed out. But I would still remember it fondly as the show I'm addicted to and the show I love...

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I totally agree with #1. Many times I just wished for that Truck of Doom to show up and smoosh them.

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It is the final, but the show lost me since the ep 18 (or ep17?). I could't believe myself with so many times I skipped some parts while watching this because ...I dont know... things became so predictable. I once loved Mask immensely, including all the characters but now...

Well, thanks for the enjoyable ride! I'm still impressed with the details or parallel stories or the humor such as how the maid made the cake for JiSook and MiYeon or how adorable the bromance between MW and his butler.

That being said, I still like the ending between MW-JS, it was a perfect wrap up for them. and Cute Min Sook gets curly hair which I'm curious who brings that gene to her lol.

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Thanx for the recap Lollypip... after finishing ep 19 I knew that the last ep will have many stories.. But one big missing thing that I really annoyed is about if eun ha and ji sook are twin... What's with the memorial tree where they found ji sook's mother collapsed?

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thanks for recapping mask

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Good recapping.keep up the good work

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Thanks for recapping this series! This drama ended up having a lot of flaws which was disappointing but I think there were also some great things as well. It satisfied my need for something more melodramatic.

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And it's over!

I like the ending, everything was resolved beautifully. The dinner scene was like Jisook's hope coming true: that people with money and power can smile together with people without them. :)

In this episode, I felt that Miyeon and Seokhoon almost stole the limelight from out main otp. Kudos to not just only the writer but also the actors! I think Miyeon was one hauntingly compelling character, and yes it's rare to feel sorry for an antagonist (I don't think she's a villain). When Miyeon died, I remembered what she'd said to Seokhoon: maybe if she were dead, he would finally look at her, and he really did. Maybe it's some kind of foreshadowing.
I have read stories about large revenge plots happening just because of something small. I would've put this theory into SH, but I think Papa Choi's smile was...bitter and sad? So I'm not really satisfied with SH's reason for revenge. And about this: "Why did Seok-hoon want Min-woo to die so badly if it was his father he wanted revenge on?" I think SH wants Papa Choi to feel the pain of losing a loved one, just as how SH had lost his parents. So...yeah I think SH didn't have to do all this, but of he hadn't, we wouldn't have our otp...

Minwoo and Jisook. I haven't watched such a beautiful love story on Kdrama for a long time! Really have to give this to the actors for their perfect chemistry. A cute couple and a cute couple with chemistry makes a whole lot difference. I just wish that the writer would make the separation as bittersweet as the last episode, to show that the both of them, inseparable, miss each other that much. But other than that, this otp was the best for me in all the kdramas I've watched. ♥

Overall, Mask hasn't got a good plot but boasts for its awesome actors and characters. And as @Wag_a_Muffin had commented in the recap of ep.19: "There is good crazy-plot-holes-unbelievable dramas and bad crazy-plotholes-unbelievable dramas. And Mask was definitely one of the good ones." It just sums up the whole drama, and I'll definitely have very fond memories of Mask...oh gosh I am tearing up...anyway, for the record, this is only the 2nd drama I've watched to the end in 2015, so it is a good drama.

Last but not least, thank you so much lollypip for recapping Mask!

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I was very hesitant to watch the last episode. I'm not sure why, maybe I thought it would fall flat or something too ridiculous would happen but I'm glad I finally did.

Yes, there were weak moments and Seok hoon's reasoning behind all of his planning and evil doing was the biggest of them all. Why he was so intent on going after Minwoo instead of his father in law made little sense.
Who was Scar and why was he so dedicated to Seokhoon? I was really hoping that Seok hoon would reveal that they were brothers or something during his confession to Miyeon.
Seo Eunha's father reaction to finding out his daughter was someone else.

But there were GREAT moments.
I didn't realize how satisfying it would be to see Mr. Badwig Loanshark get arrested crying about his money.

Miyeon's last scenes. The actress did a great job and I realized even though she was responsible for two people dying, I would have been okay if she had her happy ending. Her last request to be told she was loved even if it's a lie was so heartbreaking.
When Seokhoon told her that he didn't love her and never had, I don't think he realized he was lying till he read her letter. His comments in prison about her being someone he would be seeing soon made me think he was either going to kill himself or be killed (does the death penalty exist in Korea) and all I thought was "Death is too good for you and you don't deserve to be with Miyeon" but I thought how happy it would make her to be reunited with him and I gave him a pass.

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Thank you for spend time for give us all the recaps.
I love this drama.
I love all the actress and actors
I love everything including all the crazy, all the WTF, all the cuteness.
.....

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I am 100% with you :D

Despite the weirdness at the near ending so many people complaining, I must say kudos to WRnim on how he introduce our main characters (MW-JS) at the beginning of the show, and their growing love and trust to each other. Especially MW and his OCD syndrome. Though we all know it shouldn't be something to laugh about (the syndrome), but I found it hilarious and made us feel sympathetic to the character which is in on hand so darn handsome and rich, but on the other hand has a weakness. While JS is just a simple girl next door who's not even a star employee in her work (her selling performance is disappointing).

To me, every flaw seem has their own explanation such as why did MW-JS spend too much time to chat on the street in eps 19. Because to me definitely not necessary for them to run and hide anymore since the wife is still alive (for the police) and JS is with her hubby (for the gangster who's been chasing her under MY's order). And, did they had sex that night? Probably not, because MW (or both) know they will be separated. Though I didn't know why the need to light up so many candles...

Definitely a drama I will happily watch again over and over. Mask 2015 is just Daebakkk!!

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Where did JS get the clothes she was wearing to go out and buy stuff at the start of this episode? Did they have extra clothes in her size stashed in the house? Does the product-placement-fairy bring stuff if you hold your breath and wish real hard?
Remember, at the end of ep 19 she was still in her hospital pajamas -- although not for long, I suspect :)

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@Lord Cobol

Good question...without clear answer!

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maybe amazon delivered overnight :) :) :)

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That fairy really gets around, even better than Santa.

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I agree about loving it until episode 16 but then it got so sloppy with enormous plot holes that it became lame. Plot holes are so insulting to viewers and it frustrated me no end to stop loving the drama because someone's not keeping the director and writer straight on continuity. Mask had me hooked from the start but I let it off the hook (catch and release!) completely in the last few episodes. Give me the brilliance of Oh My Ghostess and the lovely scary sweetness of Scholar Who Walks the Night!!

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Mask ended up in a somewhat sweet note despite all the craziness. I was tempted to give the final two episodes a pass since nothing made sense anymore after Ji Sook's mother died. But I forced myself to watch it because of that endearing couple, Ji-sook and Min-woo. Once again I am less than satisfied with a drama ending. Maybe my expectations are too high, but I often find myself disappointed by how things turn out towards the ending of a series.

If they were going to hold a press conference to out Sook hoon, explain to me why they had to wait 20 episodes to do it? They had the goods on him many episodes ago. The recording of him killing Ji-sook's old classmate coupled with his admission that he shot Min-woo would have been damning enough evidence to put him in jail eons ago and would havebmade tabloid fodder for years.

As for Mi Yeon, I admit to feeling kind of sorry for how she turned out because the drama wants us to feel sorry for her....but then again, not really. This is a woman who killed two people by not doing the right thing and would probably have killed a third person, Ji-sook, by interfering with the planned police rescue. The fact that she killed herself rather than live with the consequences of her actions says a lot about how mentally unbalanced she was.

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It was an imperfect ending for an imperfect show that was the perfect junk food watch.

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Hahahahahaha! What a sh*&^@# and unsatisfying ending. Somehow that's perfect for a series that started with Soo Ae underplaying her character and then the writer underwriting the plot halfway through. If I could sum up the production for this show in one word it would be: Lazy.

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@ Susan
+10

I believe I've felt greater contentment finishing a show with much less to recommend it than I do with the ending of Mask. I am relieved that it ended actually as I found too much was filler and that it was dragging. Read ya again!

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Hi Growingbeautifully!

Did you notice how those elements that were off early in the production began to snowball until a mess arrived?

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Hi Susan

I know when we started to notice that the plot was no longer tight and the villain no longer that compelling and how motives became more and more inexplicable. I guess that was the snowballing LOL! I'd really love to be able to review it both as a happy watcher of shows and as an objective reviewer. I'd like to know why something is good or bad or what was done right/wrong, and why I enjoy something that is not good even.... I feel that Mask has helped me to experience this. I enjoyed (at least parts of it) it and deplored it at the same time!

I look forward to more of your take on I Remember You... let's see if although it lost is main source of tension, it gives us something more to stress over so that we don't get bored. :)

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You're going to be out of luck there. I've stopped watching I Remember You.

It just isn't good anymore. It had so much potential at the beginning - I loved the early episodes, but now it looks like they're tweaking it to make up for disappointing ratings. It's morphed into a more conventional KDrama. The characters are less and less interesting. I never cared about the romance (the early premise was far more exciting and interesting) but, now that IRY is trying to develop more in that direction, it would have been nice if the main couple had chemistry. They are wholly unbelievable.

The acting has always been good - but without a strong intellectual direction, it has nowhere to go.

In conclusion - meh! :-) I just can't be bothered to watch it any more.

It's been a pretty disappointing run of shows this quarter - IRY, TTILY, Mask and OMG all turned out to be unwatchable at some point.

I'm still laughing over the unintentional comedy in SWWTN and catching up on shows I hadn't seen yet. I finished Two Weeks a few days ago - wow! That was good! I'm rewatching Pinnochio right now. Also great.

Ah, well, let's see what they give us in the fall! :-)

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:) Susan, better luck next season!

I'm still enjoying it for the story at least and the leads together still work for me, so I'll be watching it and I will look out for that "strong intellectual direction" as you put it.... or at least will watch to see if I get bored. :D

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I'm glad you like it. At the end, the most important thing is that people enjoy themselves! :-)

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This would/could have been much better with 16 episodes and leaving out a lot of the silly fluff and the stupid debt collectors.

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Thanks for the recap, LollyPip!

I agree with your final comments that this ep. didn't tie up all the loose ends and it could've made the drama better if those things were properly addressed.

I applaud the main cast of leads since I really enjoyed their performance. Love all the cute and moving moments of MW-JS and the last scenes with SH-MY. It really made me care for the characters. And overall, it's a series that has drawn me in and made me look forward to my Wed/Thur. ^^

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Me too!
What shall I do the Wednesday and the Thursday :-( ???

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I'm watching Scholar Who Walks The Night and will probably check out Yongpal. XD

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Suk Hoon, Mi Yeon and Eun Ha meet again in the underworld, and the triangle love story continues ....

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@han lol.;) But you got me noticing that Seok Hoon said he will be meeting Miyeon, not Eunha. Maybe he did care for her after all?

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Thanks for the recaps Lollypip! You always get interesting dramas to recap.

I really enjoyed this drama. It was such a guilty pleasure to watch. I have no regrets whatsoever for the 20 hours spent watching this plot hole riddled makjang goodness.

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Thanks very much LollyPip for steadfastly recapping and reviewing this show. Watching this show with you has been that much more fun and that much less frustrating.

I feel that I've said all I want to say about this show already and in the OT. I'll just add that I'm still glad I got to see the 4 actors at work again and together and would love to see them in other shows separately or together again.

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It ended with happy ending, i like this and i am so sad when MY died.

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Thanks all cast to bring a amazing drama for everyone.
I love Mask.

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Came here to say how freaking cute that little girl is

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Now that Mask has ended, I really wish we would get to see Yeon Jung Hoon in Vampire Prosecutor 3 this year.. I'm really missing Min Tae Yeon..

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Not me. I would be perfectly happy if there was a worldwide ban on any more vampire movies. And superhero movies too.

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@Windsun33 hahahahahaha. shud be banned at least for this year n next year.

@maknae_reader mybe next year. i cant bear anymore with too many vampire stories this year, even Vampire Prosecutor is the only vampire stories. Currently there is Scholar Who Walks the Night airing, but i dun watch that much, i just watching for my fav character only.

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Thanks for the recap, LollyPip!

It was a pleasant journey watching and reading the recap of this drama. It not an excellent drama, it has flaws, but still enjoyable to watch.

Thanks again... and looking forward to read your writing in another drama!

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Thank you very much for the amazing recaps til the end LollyPip !!! :)

I will never regret watching Mask although I must say that I've been more addicted with Secret. What can I say? Secret was done by two writers that's why the story is more strictly written than Mask although Mask has more comedic elements that I love.

If not for this drama, Soo Ae would still be remembered as the hated villainess Joo Da Hae and Ju Ji Hoon wouldn't have been back on track and Yeon Jung Hoon would still be known as the Vampire Oppa that we know..

Nonetheless, I can say I love Mask to the point that I've been addicted to it for some time. Another thing that I loved in this drama is that the OTP Soo Ae and Ju Ji Hoon should do romcoms again because they really suit that genre and I miss seeing them in lighter dramas..

Overall, Mask is an enjoyable and unforgettable ride and one of my favorites of 2015.

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my personal preference wud be Secret and this. . But for Secret i have watched thrice already, not sure when will i repeat Mask for second time :D

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Firstly, I've got to say that this drama really captivates me throughout the show, and despite the many loopholes and continuity errors that have been pointed out. I think that the good acting and story was enough to make me overlooked some of this seemingly obvious holes...

Well, many have pointed out that the drama was unable to address the link between Eun Ha and Ji Sook, suggesting this as one of the major plot holes. Personally, I thought that the writer has already cover this in the first episode where the first to see their doppelganger would die first. and true enough, it was Eun Ha who first found out about doppelganger and passed away later. so I hope that this would help to reduce the confusion that some of you might have.

Another point that I would like to add is that papa Choi's smile at Seok Hoon's mom funeral. well, i guess that perhaps Seok Hook was quite mature at the time and realised that his presence was just for the reporters to report that he "cares" for this staff. but the smile was obviously shown as his lack of love for the people who has lost their loved ones. i mean compared to an evil looking smile, you would much prefer someone to say a few words of encouragement, wont you? and of course, would you even smile when someone died?

although in the end Miyeon decided to end her life (that part really saddens me despite all the evil deeds she has committed), I felt that it was appropriate in the show and i agreed that it was kind of foreshadowed in earlier. i really like this character <3

of course, i loved the chemistry between Jisook and Minwoo, it's like their story is the key in this drama. although i do prefer to have more intimate scenes between the two, but less is more and they have a cute daughter at the end, woohoo for happy endings. moreover, this ending was great in the sense that Jisook was willing to admit her crimes and finish her time in jail instead of always running away and denying them, which she could and continue to use Eun Ha's money. this really highlights the the quote that this show is all about, "you can't be truly happy if you're wearing a mask", so Jisook removed her mask and is now able to bask in her deserved happiness with Minwoo

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My personal annoyances besides the ones mentioned, like all the plot holes.
1. The dad just seemed really stupid. It was never really explained how he got into debt for millions when his only means of support was... What??
2. Brother went from idiotic total ass to smart co-conspirator. Say what?
3. Overuse of product placement.

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Considering how outrageously it started - with a literal deer in the headlights and a literal cliff-hanger in the first 90 seconds - there was nowhere to go but down after that.
Still it could have been worse. Plot holes and makjang were pretty much announced at the start. You expect logic while hanging off a cliff over the ocean and answering your cell phone?

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Yes, the deer in the headlights, what a beautiful symbol of prey and fear together...

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Ji Sook and Min Woo's chemistry was overflowing eversince they started falling for each other! I just can't find the words to express how perfect this show is. It had a great ending (for me) and I recommend everyone to go and watch it!! I don't know but this show was great from beginning to end and it gave me so much feels. From being happy to sad to angry, etc. 10/10 for this show! And kudos to the actors who did well in their roles! ??

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I totally agree.
I cannot see myself as a drama expert, but since two years I saw about 25-30 Korean dramas ( I mean entirely, not left over after 4 or 5 episodes) and Mask is my most daebak experience of dramas.
Addictive during more than two months...great! Thrilling and fascinating!

Ji Sook and Min Woo becoming stronger day by day, while their love is born and grows under our eyes...Min Woo healed from his maniac syndrome and obsessions, thanks to his wife. When he learns that he has been drugged, he falls down, but in a firm embrace his wife supports him: at last, he is not alone anymore. Some would prefer more passion, more fever, more sex, but it's about healing somebody from 20 years of solitude and despair. It takes time!

The most symbolic scene: when they cross the river, on a path of stones, hand in hand. Strong enough at least from being together, a wonderful and almost ideal image of the husband/wife relationship.

Being myself a man, maybe too sensitive, I like very much the male characters who can show their weaknesses, their limits. Min Woo is a perfect character, according to this taste!

Impossible of enumerate here all the sweet moments in this show.

Makjang, yes, after all, but as it is said before( thank you @ Lord Cobol:-) ) after 1 minute 30, Ji Sook is in a car, handcuffed at the wheel, only hanged by some fragile wires, and you must have at least a miracle to save her. After that, you take all the rest as a journey through a nightmare ( the family house has no windows, no daylight is coming in, so you think easily that it's always the night inside, which is false, as you can see sometimes...)
Nightmare takes end in ep. 20 with the scene of Seok Hoon in jail, that ended with a black insert ("plan noir" in French...) After this, story is finished since" happy people have no story" :-)

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this is one of the most awesome drama, which all characters played important roles. so far the same feels i got from few other drama such as Secret, Empress Ki and few others. The actors/ess potrayed their character very well.

the villains in this drama is successfully made viewers hate and love them at the same time. Kudos to all!

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for those who wanna see YIY in other dramas, please try Empress Ki as well. Shes really good there. So far i just watched her on EMpress Ki. three Musketeers as well as this. gonna check her other drama later on.

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