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The K2: Episode 16 (Final)

It’s time for The K2 to show off its finishing move as our characters face the truth that finally comes to light in the midst of ongoing danger. Psychological warfare will be their best weapon as the timer continues to tick down to zero, and their lives won’t be the only things they stand to lose. With so much at stake, there is but only one voice we can call upon: Mirror, mirror on the wall—will Je-ha be able to save them all?

FINAL EPISODE RECAP

D-36 minutes. Je-ha races to the JSS headquarters while Yoo-jin tells Sung-won that he may as well give up now that he’s lost the memory card. But Sung-won is prepared to see things through to its potentially explosive end and even reaches for his cigarettes.

While they’re waiting, Yoo-jin asks how his name got roped into Kumargate when JB Group wasn’t among the listed parties. Sung-won explains that he initially meant to set up a trap for his father-and-law and the other mysterious consortium members.

He’d found out that Seok-han was a medical volunteer in Iraq and treating the leader of the Kumar group. Since he and Seok-han were schoolmates, he’d asked for an introduction. He then dropped out of the consortium before things imploded, but then Seok-han added his name to the Kumargate register.

Yoo-jin notes how Sung-won was so close to getting off scot-free, but now it’s clear that he orchestrated it all. “More or less,” Sung-won replies. He wonders how Yoo-jin figured it out without seeing the memory card’s contents, and she says it was all thanks to her computer…

…And finishes the thought in her head: “And Je-ha.” That leaves Sung-won even more impressed by Mirror’s capabilities.

D-33 minutes. Yoo-jin believes negotiations are over now and tells Sung-won to leave with his little bomb. She’d also like his shares before he leaves, though, and Sung-won gives a lazy no. He argues that he’d be penniless, so he may as well die here.

“Do you think dying is that easy?” Yoo-jin returns. Just then, Representative Park’s guards re-appear, demanding that Yoo-jin let them out. She smiles, having expected them to become desperate, and adds, “Should I teach you what’s even more difficult than dying?”

She brightens when Secretary Kim calls to report that the JSS agents have reclaimed the lobby. She isn’t remotely worried that taking back the rest of the building will take time, but that’s when Master Song runs up to report that Anna is somewhere in the building.

Secretary Kim orders a hunt for Anna, and as shocked as Yoo-jin is, she’s relieved that Anna hasn’t been caught by Representative Park’s men.

Speaking of whom, Anna is hiding behind a pillar in the basement level. She overhears her pursuer reporting to Representative Park that they’ve lost her, and Representative Park responds with destructive rage.

Amused by this turn of events, Sung-won walks right up to the glass and remarks how Se-joon likely won’t give up the memory card if Anna is held hostage. He makes a show about how he nearly deactivated the bomb earlier, but now he’ll just wait for reinforcements to arrive and defuse the bomb then.

Yoo-jin scoffs at that, saying that she’ll just replace Representative Park’s men who are itching to leave with her own. She dismisses them and orders them to put down their guns before they climb into the elevator.

They’re greeted by armed JSS agents once they arrive in the lobby and are escorted outside. Se-joon is filled in when he and Chief Joo arrive and is told to come down to the Cloud Nine sublevel immediately so he can trade the memory card for Anna’s life.

Je-ha finally arrives and staggers through the JSS doors to ask where Anna is. He runs over to the security room when he’s told that they can’t confirm her whereabouts, but the main feed won’t work.

On one screen, we see that Representative Park’s men are still looking for Anna in the boiler room. She waits with bated breath, but one agent grabs hold of her and Anna uses the self-defense techniques she learned from Master Song to fight him off and escape.

She crashes into Je-ha and soon they’re surrounded by Representative Park’s men. As they pull out their knives, Je-ha backs up and offers Anna his hand. She takes it, and then Je-ha turns back to the men.

He whirls around to evade the first jab, then lays low to knock the others down and swipe their knives to stab them instead.

Anna averts her eyes from the bloodbath, and then one of Representative Park’s men grabs her from behind and points a gun at her. Je-ha drops the knife and raises his hands…

…And balls one hand into a fist. “Freeze?” Anna wonders. He then gestures her to sit and as she crouches down, Je-ha whips out a gun and shoots the man down.

The sound of the bullet can be heard from the lobby where Secretary Kim order the JSS agents to find Je-ha. Speaking of whom, Je-ha collapses to the ground, barely conscious, and he ekes out: “We have to get out of here.”

Se-joon arrives at the Cloud Nine sublevel and joins Yoo-jin in the glass-enclosed conference room while Chief Joo is dismissed. She turns on the soundproofing, but as expected, Se-joon pulls out the memory card and tells her he cannot hand it over because he needs it to save Anna.

She reminds him that he’ll be throwing away the presidential race and lose everything, but none of that matters to Se-joon anymore. D-21 minutes. Sung-won knocks that they don’t have much time, but Yoo-jin is utterly taken aback by how Se-joon is willing to give up the presidency for his daughter.

Se-joon says he’s not entirely certain about that, but what he does know is this: “I wanted to become president so that I could be more powerful than you… and destroy you.”

She remarks on what a pity it is that Se-joon didn’t come off this strong sooner, but Se-joon counters that his hatred for her would’ve remained. And to that, Yoo-jin tells him what she already told Je-ha—she never killed Um Hye-rin or ordered someone to kill her.

She isn’t telling him this just to get the memory card because that would be as easy as taking candy from a baby. He asks why Yoo-jin acted as if she did kill Anna’s mother then, and Yoo-jin muses, “Could I have feared the idea of you leaving me?”

But then she revises that answer, saying that she likely feared the idea of finding out that she made the wrong choice. “Because I wanted to prove to everybody—no, my late father, that I made the right decision to the very end. Because I wanted to prove that I could make it so that my decision was the right one even if that happened to be the wrong one.”

Se-joon remarks that Yoo-jin worked so hard to seem clever when she, in fact, was so foolish. Getting choked up, she nods, “Yes, I was quite dumb. Happiness was something I never had to prove to other people.”

If that were the case, neither of them would’ve had to work so hard to live the way they’ve had. But too many years have passed now, and she adds, “I’m sorry to have made you live your life like this.”

Her sudden apology catches Se-joon off-guard, and he can only let out a hearty laugh of disbelief.

Je-ha is wheeled into the infirmary while Anna is dragged away. Both Se-joon and Yoo-jin look relieved, and after she asks to be put through to Sung-won’s father-in-law, she asks Se-joon to borrow that memory drive.

Sung-won’s father-in-law puts her on speakerphone, and Yoo-jin proves that she has the memory drive by texting the consortium members the banking information of their slush funds. She gives them ten minutes to remove Representative Park’s men from the premises lest she expose these slush fund accounts to the world.

D-18 minutes. Anna is dragged into Cloud Nine, where Sung-won motions for her to join her family. But just as Anna approaches the doors, Sung-won pulls out a gun and shoots Secretary Kim’s leg.

He then grabs Anna and demands that Yoo-jin open the conference room doors. Yoo-jin lets him in, and when he asks if she didn’t anticipate him having a gun, she admits that she hadn’t because “I thought only underlings would use a weapon like that. Oooh.

That sort of mockery doesn’t faze him, and after Sung-won sits Anna down, he invites the other two to join her. He asks Se-joon for the memory card, but Yoo-jin refuses, and as she calls out to Mirror to shut down the elevators, he shoots her point-blank.

Yoo-jin looks down at the bullet wound, then falls to her knees. Se-joon bends down next to her while Secretary Kim screams in agony. She shakes her head when Sung-won once again asks for the memory card. So Sung-won points the gun back at Anna’s chest, and Se-joon tosses the memory card to his feet.

Representative Park can guess that Yoo-jin demanded that his men back off when the police commissioner calls. He calls Sung-won’s father-in-law and the other consortium members to confirm it, then reveals to the room that the bomb in Cloud Nine is scheduled to go off in ten minutes’ time whether they like it or not.

He reminds them that their enemies and the memory card is in that room, so once everyone is blown up, he’ll be the only one with evidence about Kumargate. He’ll also be the only presidential candidate left in his party, and that gets the consortium members’ attention.

He orders the committee to cut off the power and all outside communication circuits to JSS. Ten minutes should be more than enough.

Je-ha comes to in the infirmary and declares that they must evacuate immediately because of the bomb. Chief Joo calls Se-joon to inform him that the bomb cannot be defused and that they must all leave immediately.

D-16 minutes. Sung-won steps down to check and starts to panic when he cannot deactivate it. He runs back to Yoo-jin, who’s bleeding out, and says they have to bring the elevators back online.

He calls out to Mirror, at which point Yoo-jin says her computer only listens to her. Just as she calls out to Mirror, the power goes out and the emergency generators kick in. Upon learning that neither the elevators nor cell reception is an option, she congratulates Sung-won because his political ally was responsible for this.

Sung-won runs out while Se-joon removes his tie and asks Anna to apply pressure on the wound. Even though Yoo-jin says she doesn’t have to, Se-joon silently urges his daughter to help. And so, Anna takes over so that Se-joon can assess the situation outside.

Yoo-jin looks up at Anna and congratulates her because she’s about to get her wish. Anna tells her not to speak, and Yoo-jin comments that she’ll die at this rate. “That’s right,” she breathes. “Your mother was already dying… when I arrived.”

“Like you, I once had a father. But the funny things about fathers is that they’re never around when you need them, but show up when you don’t need them.” Her words are intercut with the memory of a figure walking around Anna’s dark house all those years ago.

“My father found out about your mother and took it upon himself to deal with it,” she continues in a labored voice. “I begged him not to, but in the end… he ordered one of his men to kill your mother. For my sake.”

“And was that Master Song?” Anna asks. Yoo-jin replies, “So you knew.” We now see what happened: Master Song had snuck into Anna’s mother’s bedroom and stuck a syringe in her neck. She’d struggled and latched onto him, but then knocked over the pills on her bedside table before collapsing onto the ground.

He had hidden in a corner at the sound of young Anna’s voice. She had shrieked upon seeing the bright flashlight, so he covered her mouth and she passed out just as Yoo-jin had walked in.

Yoo-jin explains that she’d gone to the house because she’d found out about her father’s plan, but it was already too late when she’d arrived. She’d known that young Anna and Master Song were hiding in the corner, but she couldn’t bring herself to look at them.

“Because… I was afraid I’d see your face,” Yoo-jin admits haltingly. Just as she’d turned to leave, Anna’s mother reached out to her, and for the briefest moment, she contemplated calling an ambulance.

But then she decided against it, told Anna’s mother that love was never meant to be shared and turned her back on the dying woman. She knows she could’ve saved Anna’s mother, so the fact that she didn’t makes her responsible for Anna’s mother’s death.

“Afterward, I lived my life like my father did,” Yoo-jin confesses tearfully. “No, even harsher than that. On the night your mother died, I obeyed the commands of the devil within me.”

A tear rolls down Anna’s cheek, and Yoo-jin says she can let go now. “I’m the enemy that killed your mother.”

D-12 minutes. Je-ha follows Master Song down to the basement while Chief Joo is told to call for reinforcements. Je-ha forces the elevator doors open and puts on the harness. Securing himself to the wall, he tells the others to pull the rope up at his signal.

He rappels himself down while Se-joon rejoins Yoo-jin, who is barely lucid. Sung-won comes running back when he sees Je-ha and holds Anna at gunpoint. Je-ha runs into the room and examines the spilled blood and the injured parties. Yeah, a lot happened while you were gone.

Sung-won declares that he’ll be leaving with Anna first, and unbeknownst to him, the memory card falls to the floor when she struggles. To his surprise, Je-ha marches forward, but then Anna kicks the memory card away.

Se-joon tells Je-ha to follow Sung-won’s commands, so Je-ha leads them to the elevator. Sung-won puts on the harness and figures he should go up first. When Je-ha says Anna should go up first, Sung-won responds by shooting him in the leg. He throws Anna toward Je-ha, and calls on the group upstairs to pull him up. Anna tries to staunch the bleeding while Sung-won throws away the rope and announces that they all have to evacuate.

Je-ha gets in touch with the others via radio, instructing them to cut the elevator cable at his command. He and Anna double back to the conference room, and Yoo-jin smiles at his return.

He bellows that they have to leave, but Yoo-jin says it’s too late for her. “Is there a place for me to go anymore?” she muses. “I’d like to rest now.” Telling them to take Secretary Kim, she says, “I was wrong. Hurry and save Anna.”

Je-ha rushes to the bomb and urges Se-joon to leave with Secretary Kim. They have no time to argue, and Yoo-jin tells him to leave.

As Je-ha limps down the corridor, he explains to Se-joon, Secretary Kim, and Anna that the elevator has a safety feature in the case of freefall. He guesses that they can go further underground and escape the explosion, but that’s just a theory. Se-joon: “That’s… too bad.”

D-5 minutes. He and Se-joon force the doors shut and he orders the JSS agents to shoot. They all shoot at the cables, and upon seeing Je-ha and Anna hold one another, Se-joon opens the doors again.

They reach out to him, but Se-joon says he has no chance of saving Anna now: “I have to soften the blow.” He knows Anna will do just fine without him because she grew up just fine without him anyway.

She starts to cry, but Se-joon says she’s better off without a father like him. He entrusts his daughter in Je-ha’s care, then closes the doors from the outside.

He runs back to the conference room, to Yoo-jin’s surprise, and then lugs the bomb up the stairs and inside the room with them to help mitigate the explosion. Once he’s brought it in, she tells him to leave so she can close the doors. But Se-joon isn’t going anywhere: “Close the doors.”

So Yoo-jin issues her final command: “Mirror… close the doors. Tight.” A tear falls from her eye and Se-joon walks over to her side. Pulling her into an embrace, he asks her to accompany him in greeting the angel of death.

“We almost seem… like a happily married couple,” Yoo-jin says, smiling. “I’ll say,” Se-joon replies, holding her.

D-25 seconds. The JSS agents continue to shoot at the elevator cables until they finally snap. D-5… 4… 3… 2… 1…

Boom. Je-ha holds onto Anna as the building shakes from the explosion. Team Leader Seo calls out to Je-ha repeatedly, but there’s no response. Team Leader Seo screams out to empty space as the others begin wailing in grief…

…And then Anna’s voice responds, “This is K2.” Mi-ran asks after Je-ha, who haltingly responds, “Hurry up and get us out of here.” Utterly relieved, the JSS agents cry tears of joy. Listen, I know you’re happy, but the guy’s still in a lot of pain.

Some time later, Je-ha testifies against Blackstone while Mi-ran and Sung-gyu wonder what will happen to them now. The housekeeper says Anna inherited everything and lives in the estate now, but doubts that Anna has forgotten them.

While Anna is welcomed into the estate, the mysterious consortium members reiterate how Anna has inherited everything including Yoo-jin’s scholarship foundation. Although Sung-won believes she isn’t much of a threat without Cloud Nine, his father-in-law reminds him that she still has the memory card.

One member worries that Anna might act rashly following her parents’ deaths, but another believes Anna isn’t the exception—once someone has had a taste of power, they won’t easily give that up. It was the same way with Yoo-jin, and it’s only natural that those innocent girls grow up to become witches.

Anna enters Yoo-jin’s old office and sits in the chair her stepmother once sat in. Elsewhere, Representative Park chuckles that he isn’t at all afraid of one girl who will eventually come knocking for his help.

Someone climbs into the driver’s seat—it’s Je-ha. Cut to: Representative Park bound and gagged in the trunk. He passes out but comes to when the trunk door opens and he sees his secretary.

Sung-won walks up to his car looking chirpy until he sees who’s waiting for him in the backseat: Secretary Kim, and she’s got a gun. The men stuff him in, and Secretary Kim emerges from the other side leaving Sung-won’s body behind in her wake.

Representative Park’s secretary leads his former boss to a humble gallows. He bows deeply as Representative Park remarks he had no idea he would end up taking his own life.

Je-ha meets up with Anna at a Subway (c’mon, I was so close), and confirms that everything went well—he’s free to go wherever he likes now. He asks about her day, and Anna says it wasn’t much fun trying to walk in Yoo-jin’s footsteps for a day.

After Je-ha overtly expresses his love for sandwiches, they head back to the attic at the former safe house. Inserting a memory card in, he asks if she won’t regret this because this means giving up all the authority she received from Yoo-jin.

He tells her that all she has to do is press Enter to reveal the corruption among the rich and powerful, only to jump back when she presses it without hesitation. He whines that they should’ve sent the email together, but Anna says she doesn’t want to make a moment like this one meaningful.

She pouts when he complains that she’s doing whatever she likes as usual, but then turns that frown upside down to give him a peck on the lips.

He complains that she’s always acting like this, and when she shuts him up with another kiss, he kisses her back.

We catch up with the lovebirds who are now in Barcelona, and whose conversation we hear in voiceover. He asks if she regrets not being able to restore her mother’s reputation, to which she answers that she doesn’t because she got a father in exchange.

Anna: “Je-ha, I love you.” He says he knows, and as they exchange more kisses under the setting sun, she asks, “But hey, what’s your real name anyway?”

He takes a beat before answering, “Me? My name is…”

 
COMMENTS

Is that you, Yong-pal? I know at the end of the day, it might not matter what our hero’s real name is since he was simply known as “The Man” even before he got his code name and alias as Kim Je-ha, but frankly it still feels unfair to be robbed of what little information we could’ve scraped from him in this finale.

From the outset, much of his character was shrouded in mystery, which is all fine if the understanding is that we as viewers will come to understand him and his motivations behind his actions. But here we are at the end, knowing just a tad more than we did in the first episode—a former mercenary who is (sometimes) driven by revenge, but falls in love and at times turns into the most adorkable guy ever. So thank goodness that actor Ji Chang-wook injected color into a hero that could so easily have fallen to the wayside.

But turning back to the finale, I am glad that Je-ha and Anna got the happy ending they dreamed about. So much of the third act had them surrounded by absurd drama and conflict driven by even more ineffectual villains that I really did wish they would have a normal life one day. How they dealt with their final obstacles were swift and mostly hands-off, with Representative Park hanging himself and Secretary Kim directly avenging her longtime employer’s death. In the end, the writing didn’t choose for Je-ha to shoot to kill and instead handed over the deed to Representative Park’s own hands.

Then there was Anna’s character motivations, which became increasingly hazier by the story’s ending. When Yoo-jin was alive, she was determined to find her mother’s murderer, then later, she was determined to restore her mother’s reputation. But soon after she lost her father, that initial drive seem to fade into the background. Was it because she cherished her father now? Or that it was enough for her to remember her mother in her heart? Perhaps we’ll never know the answer.

All of this circles back to the writing, with each episode building up to an all-important cliffhanger, only to diffuse the dramatic oomph within the first few minutes of the following episode. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t continue to see Yong-pal brushstrokes during The K2rs&quo;s run, with its game metaphors and storybook references. By the end, the show’s main political conflict—the presidential race—became another sub-plot that died with the characters involved in it. This and the mysterious consortium members were two ongoing plotlines I held secondary importance to, though it was of primary importance to Se-joon, Representative Park, Yoo-jin, and others.

Even though there was plenty of slick action scenes and some even cooler fighting choreography (courtesy of PD Kwak Jung-hwan), I can safely say that I won’t be missing the constant shaky cam. I won’t miss the farce comedic moments with the JSS either since I never did think their intentional insertion never quite belonged in a show with such a dramatic premise. But still, I do admit that Master Song’s arc was a surprise, and I’m sure we’ll see the actor again in one of writer Jang Hyuk-rin’s future projects.

So after a mind-boggling game of seven unimportant consortium members, a not-so-special supercomputer, and the longest ticking time bomb ever, I’m ready to call it—…

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16 Episodes out and I will just talk about the good things.
All I can say is that Song Yoon Ah is the best thing that ever happened in this drama.
Choi Yoo Jin is her and this drama is her. She is made of depths of emotions even the ocean couldn't fathom.
Nothing like her would ever be that beautiful, dark and tragic all at the same time.

Excuse me while I drown myself in Song Yoon Ah's captvating beauty..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYTx89bn5TI

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T.T
My last week's wish didn't come true and I feel so depressed now after seeing Song Yoon Ah die three times in just a span of a week (Wedding Dress, Mama, K2). Thanks for the short vid though.

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After 16 episodes, Anna´s mother´s killer didn´t die nor pay for his crime.

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That rubbed me the wrong way also but at least Yoo-jin's father would be put down when he discovers his daughter who he had organized a murder for to get her accepted by the future prime minister. He really would be upset don't you think. He lost twice.

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Agree!

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Thumbs up. I wholeheartedly agree!

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Same here.. it was her acting that kept me going.. i wouldnt have finish this drama if its not her.. She got me.. I am now a fan.

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I also. She could spend her emotions for me, even though she's doing rude things, I couldn't hate her

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I never thought that I could finish this drama but I did. And it's all thanks to her.

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mmm, i agree with this wholeheartedly.

it was her i tuned in for, week after week. song yoon-ah was fascinating, mesmerizing, and incredible. i hope she receives an award/recognition for this performance.

i also spent the entire drama admiring her beauty. TOO BEAUTIFUL.

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I agree. She's very beautiful and portrays the character very well. In fact, I like her more than Anna. I teared up when she died. She's very good!

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Ohhh yes! THE BEST Sya!

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Choi yoo jin is the main character of this story, and she deserve a little love.. her cruel behaviour caused by her misfortune for have a rich and unfaithful dady, maried a deceitful ambitious poor husband, and have a sly evil step brother.. the story will be greater if the k2 could devastatingly yoo jin cold heart.. ko anna character feels like accsesories compared with all yoo jin did in this story(i'm so sorry for yoo na fans, still love her act)..

It must be something wrong with me because deep inside my heart i hope that choi yoo jin wins k2 heart.. i see the sincerity from yoo jin eyes for k2...

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Those who’ve been following this show purely through recaps might think that it’s the most reviled show of 2016 judging by the comments, but it was honestly wonderful. The plot may have been haphazard at times in terms of the fine details of villainy and rescue, but where this story shone was in its characters. Especially Yoojin. Song Yoon-ah’s magnificent turn as a very sympathetic villain will stay with me for a long, long time and was what had me bawling my eyes out at the end of episode 16. This show was supposed to be a reimagining of Snow White but I believe its primary goal was to exonerate the stepmother, and there it succeeded. Yoojin was made, not born. As that consortium member says at the end:
“Choi Yoo Jin was once an innocent young girl too, wasn't she? And it's only after girls grow up that they become witches.”
But we know that’s not true. If there’s anything this show has driven in repeatedly, it is that she was made by the callousness and cruelty of the men around her. Her father, her husband, her minions, all of then showed her the filthy, ugly, warped side of the world. And worse, they left her powerless to it. There are only two forms of existence in this world: predator or prey. So, Yoojin had only two desires: to rise above these people and have them in the palm of her hand, and to be truly loved. And nothing she did ever went right, but she had to keep going on that path or admit that she was wrong, and there were so many people waiting for her to admit that (her father’s mistress and her half-brother for one). Je-ha, if anything has seen this in her, and while he can’t like her for the awful decisions she’s made as a result, he can’t hate her either. It was so powerful to hear her finally admit the truth to Sejoon, and equally painful to see their reconciliation before death.
Sejoon, too is excellently characterized. He’s horrible as a father, a politician and a husband and the sort of person I never want to know in reality. Yet, there’s no denying that he’s a real three-dimensional character. You could never call him a one-note character. I found it difficult to buy his sudden turn to sacrificial hero at the end, and yet I could see it happening as a result of guilt (with respect to his treatment of Anna and perhaps Yoojin) and understanding of all he’s cost so many people due to his selfishness. It was he who set this entire chain of events in motion. If he hadn’t run around on his wife, there would be no Anna, no Um Hyerin to kill, no rift and power struggle between him and Yoojin, no leverage for Park Kwan Soo or Chairman Choi or anyone else. This show reverse the original Snow White tale that showed the king as weak, and dominated by his wife, and depicts Sejoon as the true source of pain in this story. And while the original tale ends with the evil stepmother being fatally sentenced to death, here the chain of events Sejoon unleashed finally ends with him.

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Interestingly, though this show is titled The K2, the character we learnt most about was Yoojin. Most dramas have you knowing the character better than your best friend at the end. However, there are still unanswered questions on Jeha. Why did he join the army? What of his parents? However, there are no unplumbed depths to Jeha. We know how he’ll react given any situation. We know that he can be reckless and violent but incredibly tender. He isn’t a douche arrogant prick to women. And he has practically zero vices save smoking. And Ji Changwook brought him to life so incredibly well. Be it pain, joy, or awkwardness around a girl, there was nothing you couldn’t read in his eyes. Jeha was honestly wonderful, and best of all he was the character we were aligned with as viewers. He was our window into Choi Yoojin, Park Kwan Soo and the insane world of politics. And though we may see these events as farfetched, the present situation of Korean politics demonstrates that things don’t have to be logical to happen. Shamanism for heaven’s sake. Not even a bomb is unrealistic compared to that.
Anna was the show’s weakest link, and turned out to be quite different from her initial description and Yoona’s steely-eyed glare in the show’s first teasers. I actually think that the script limited Yoona. She might have signed up for a colder role but got saddled with a damsel-in-distress. It felt like she was being underestimated, especially since her acting during the first few episodes shows that she can handle stronger roles. I can’t deny being disappointed with her never really going beyond something to be protected, though she did try in her way to do something for Jeha. Half the time, I kept wanting her to take charge and go further, however the scriptwriter seems to have a definite penchant for Yoojin, and given how brilliant she is, I can’t complain even if Anna gets neglected. Because in the end, she’s the one who survives. And I’m glad that she made the decision to walks away from power at the very end, on her own. And I’m glad that she left her desire for revenge behind. She knows the truth regarding her mother’s death, and gained back some semblance of a father, there’s nothing more she needs.
So was The K2 perfect? Nope. But compared to Kdramas where every event is perfect and logical in a sequence of others and humans always behave in logical ways as a response (ex: crime/mystery dramas), this show is a breath of fresh air with characters that make snap decisions on assumptions and half-knowledge, who are proven wrong, who screw up terribly, who can be somewhat superhuman, and who just want to be happy. I’ll miss you, The K2.

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This show was too short. Lot of unanswered questions, but that ending seems like they're setting up for Season 2??

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OH HELL NO. Not unless another guy is cast as Jae-ha... or the production can wait 28+ months after Ji Chang Wook finishes his military service. And even then he won't accept since he wants to get as far away from the action genre as is possible. It was troubling to see all the cuts and bruises on Wook's body from the arduous filming, so I agree with him wholeheartedly.

Sung-won's use of the bomb to take out only Cloud 9 was totally misplaced. Someone should have inserted a few lines of code into the Mirror's framework that contained all the floor plans and menus of each and every Subway franchise located in the Seoul metropolitan area. Only by purchasing the Special Foot-Long of the Day (with extra cheese), one could find the secret wrapper that contained the 'kill switch' to diffuse the explosives at that store. :P

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Have you had a little too much to drink?

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Not enough, or I would have expounded even more. Or you probably don't know who I am in the real world..... :D

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Sorry, cherkell my comment was directed at Sojuboy not you.

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No harm; no foul. :D

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Thank you for your insightful review. Good to know I am not alone.

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"Shamanism for heaven’s sake." We could also speak of Dear Presidents going to Church or Mosque every week and blowing up whole countries and population. Monotheism "for heaven's sake"...

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I am going to miss The K 2 for sure. I do hope that JCW has another hit series very soon. He's my favorite.

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My DH and I just finished The K2 this evening. He went online to read the recap and comments and asked if I left this comment already!!

I am a Pamela Kay too ;)

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"Get us out of here"
Then all the JSS guys start cheering and hugging like idiots -- like we're supposed to -- instead of you know, getting them out of there.

When uncle tried to defuse the bomb, did he try "123456" ????

Shouldn't any bomb big enough to need that huge container have been too heavy for Dad to drag up those steps. What was it made of, feathers? Toxic sandwiches?

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Dad was able to save the day because he too has been living on a steady diet of Subway. Subway sells a very particular type of sandwich. That sandwich actually has several names. In the northeastern US it is called a HERO. Google it if you do not believe me. Think about it logically, the man eats hero sandwiches and is able to perform a heroic deed. That makes perfect sandwich sense.

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@ aranea
I googled it and you were right. There is a Subway Italian hero sandwich. Unbelievable! Hahaha! :)

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The ending was well done. It was a solid final! Great job everyone to the success of k2!

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This show was brilliant from start to finish. Too bad a lot of the Yoona haters couldn't get pass it. You guys just missed out on one of the finest shows of the year. :P

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This show had noticeable flaws in it, even people that love the show are pointing that out.

Calling everyone that does not like the show a "Yoona hater" is why people are so against idols in dramas, even when they can act. Because their stans always shows up to derail the discussion.

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Are you being sarcastic or serious? Unfortunately, I can not tell.

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My dislike had nothing to do with Yoona. I thought K2 was a pretty lame character. Way too much stupid fighting for no good reason. Full of plot holes and "why the hell would ANYONE do that?" stuff.

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But is it not just a movie 🤔 A movie isn’t always ament to be so realistic

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Not a "Yoona hater", but I admit that I'm not fond of her acting. It could have been overlooked, but even K2's character was flat. The most interesting character was Yoo Jin and that's one of K2's saving grace and some of its actions scenes.

But to be honest, I doubt I've "just missed out on one of the finest shows of the year". After watching Signal and R1988, tvN has more finer shows than K2 this year.

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Although Yoona acting was just meh for me, and (saying this as a JCW fan) his acting was even a little spotty at times, the writting was by far the biggest problem. It was very hard to connect to most of the characters and understand their for motivations anything that they did.

In the end, I was left asking what was even the point to the central plot?

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Didn't really like this drama, and not even a Yoona hater at all. She was the least of this drama's problems....

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no one hates yoona. who says they hate yoona??? everyone LOVES yoona and everyone SHOULD love her. her acting is so brilliant that it can blind you. and she saves the drama from a flawed script and the storyline, btw. i think she is the best thing that happened to K2.

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maybe in the future they should cast her in a superhero drama ... like wooondeeer womaaaan!

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Well I guess everyone in this thread actually somehow love this drama, despite the flaws, and not everyone is Yoona hater even if they dislike the drama.
Yoona is improving, she's doing quite good. But she's not the main problem, the main problem is the story, the plot holes. I must say the casting is not actually the problem, it's just the writer-director combo that lacks something. The writing suffers from incoherent writing and uneven development between characters, and sometimes illogical and unrealistic plots. The directing suffers from so many longer-than-needed scenes and shaky cameras.

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yes, I agree. Anna was exactly what Je Ha needed in his life.

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Song Yoon Ah really deserves an award for her role in this drama, the amount of nonsensical lines she made sound decent was just outstanding... Only if the rest of the cast had this talent of rising above bad scripts.

This drama is just.... Imagine if you gave the best camera, the best lighting equipment, the best stunt-choreographer, the best cinematographer and a very good cast to an average director and writer....your finished product would be this drama.

That subway scene at the end was so cringe worthy it became humorous.

The decision making of the dad in the end made no sense, he chose to die with a wife that he had been cheating on, rather than live to redeem himself for his daughter.

Shout out to the person who played Song-Yoo-Ah's step-brother, he also rose above the script in the final episodes.

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I'm having a MAJOR Song Yoon Ah withdrawal here so yeah, I let me live with my own alternate ending:

After the bomb exploded, the police came to investigate and found Cloud Nine empty of Yoo Jin's traces. Turns out, Mirror is also a secret portal to another parallel world where she secretly escaped....

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and Yoo Jin and Se Joon arrived in Kang Chul's world and re-start their unhappy marriage to a happy one. Well, since they're in another parallel world, restart is an option right? Just like how Kang Chul's life restarted too everytime he died.

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Unfortunately, if it's Kang Chul's world, they'll try to live out their newfound romance only to discover they're still living in a thriller, with lots of fighting and people trying to kill each other.

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Or she could have ended up in an alternate world ala Steins;Gate where she can easily make another world line (Alpha or Beta) in which she can prevent herself from dying.

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I will remember this drama with naked actions scene, out of context subway ppl's, second most nOTP couple (first one is by far SWP couple), my first time having a second female lead syndrome and rooting for the evil side. I also will definitely watch the kisses at the end from time to time when I miss JCW.

I did not regret watching it till the end, and there had been dramas that left me like that. It was an OK drama with some outstanding acting moments. Thanks for recapping it!

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my only issue with the finale is.... Yoona kissed JCW... and he kissed her back. hmph

thanks.bye.

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Uhhh.... yeah. Truly. That's the real bummer, isn't it? Wish i was her... ^^

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Show ended with the last scene/epilogue where Yoonah asks "Ya, what is your real name?" and Ji Chang-wook says "Actually my name is..."
I read this was ad-lib. Actors and staffs wondered what was Kim Je-ha/K2's real name, and it was never anywhere in the script. So they add that scene in the epilogue.

Of course, real name is Ji Chang-wook :)

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There were so many what if's after watching this drama but one thing's for sure, time will pass by and I may not remember most of what happened in this drama but Song Yoon Ah's character will still remain in me. It has given so much impact that I will always remember her as one of the strongest modern female characters I've ever come across.

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Just dropping by to thank K2 for casting Song Yoon Ah. I continued watching just to see her. Absolutely brilliant.
Some may not like her character here but she now holds the throne of my favorite female character of 2016. Awards please!!!

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Ahh the finale recap is already up! I'll post some thoughts then comment properly tomorrow since it's late in my timezone...

1) I enjoyed all the dying. I know that's morbid but in Yoojin and Sejoon's deaths, we get their redemption, even though I sort of question just how consistent their decision to die is with their personal agendas and their personalities. They didn't seem like the type to die voluntarily esp knowing their enemies were alive and well. And would Sejoon really give up his presidency to die with his wife just because he found out she didn't kill Um Hyeri? Hmm, gotta think more about that. Still, the whole "I-will-go-down-with-my-ship" thing hit home with me in regards to Yoojin, as well as her final conversation with Anna.

2) Speaking of deaths, can someone explain to me exactly why Assemblyman Park committed suicide? I get he was forced but...by his ex-henchman? Or was it Jeha? Sorry, I guess I wasn't paying much attention since I was still thinking about where exactly that elevator dropped to when the cables got cut.

3) Yeah so that elevator. That's what I thought was insanely weird with the bomb plot. From my understanding, in order to get to Cloud 9 manually, Jeha went to the basement of JSS and then went down EVEN FURTHER to open the elevator doors. But I thought Cloud 9 was the most bottom floor you could go to... apparently not if the elevator went hurtling down in some safe unaffected mystery floor below Cloud 9?? I'm glad they were safe though. And on that note...

4) I loved Jeha and Anna's happy ending! Those final kissing scenes were pure crack. Again, not sure how many here at DB were into the romance, but I definitely invested and got a major payout at the end so my mushy, romantic-loving heart is super pleased. And I'm actually glad they didn't reveal Jeha's real name. I feel like at this point, even if we got his real name, there's still a lot we don't know about him so it'd be a moot point.

Okay, that's it for now... :)

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Re: Assemblyman Park. I assumed Je Ha kidnapped him simply to show that he could have killed him. He then safety delivered him to his underlings. Who then took him to suicide tree on the orders of the Consortium as punishment for failure and threatening them.

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Oooh, thanks explaining, BossyPixie! That make sense... although it's still a pretty convenient death IMO. Not as satisfying as I hoped it would be but at least it was a loose end that they tried to resolve, so I won't complain too much hehe.

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Re:
1. I don't know about anything else, but Choi Yoo Jin isn't the type who willingly die. She's a fighter, she always repay the ones who wronged her with even more vengeful payment. But probably the shot she got from Sung Won changes everything and for the first time she feels helpless and wouldn't stand a chance to be alive. She said she's tired and wants to rest.. That's the signal for everyone that she would die inside Cloud Nine, the thing she cherished the most with Jang Se Joon, the man she loves. At least she's happy in her last moment.

Although I'm still bitter with the way other people think and react regarding this. See my post #17.

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@may2day

I like your talking points. Here are my thoughts on each of them:

1. Redemption for Sejoon but none for Yoojin. Sejoon loved Anna and Hyerin. He dragged the bomb into the safe room to try to contain the blast. This would give Anna a better chance at survival. He also hurt Anna and Hyerin to attain the presidency and death is his self-inflicted punishment. His redemption will be in the next life. Yoojin was consistently self-serving throughout this drama. I can't think of a single moment when she thought more of someone else's life than her own.

2. Someone answered your question. Another reason is that, for Park Gwansoo, the loss of power to seek the presidency is a fate much worse than death. Thus, he had no reason to live.

3. I was thinking the same thing about the elevator. I think they screwed it up. Breaking the cables would make it go down, but the direction of escape should have been up since Cloud9 is underground.

4. Most of the posters here and other "The K2" forums are Yoojin shippers and many or most of those are Im Yoona haters. The good news is that they make up an extremely small segment of viewers in the real world. Most are watching this drama for JCW and Yoona. I thought Yoona played the role of Anna on point and her romance with Jeha was one of the most beautiful in K-drama. Also, the vast majority of viewers, me included, would never watch a drama that starred Song Yunah. She's way past her prime and her portrayal of Yoojin was so over the top that it was embarrassing to watch. Her acting is limited to two facial expressions, and these two are repeated over and over again in every episode. It's a bad case of overacting, and Im Yoona and JCW's natural, understated, and on point acting are in stark contrast.

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you are so bold to say this

"her portrayal of Yoojin was so over the top that it was embarrassing to watch. Her acting is limited to two facial expressions, and these two are repeated over and over again in every episode."

but that's exactly how i feel. I felt that her emotions were too strong in contrast to the rest of the cast and the mood of the show. The K2 is not a melodrama but an action and romantic drama... and i found Yoojin's portrayal to be jarring.

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I've see your comments in the Rating thread which basically you keep emphasizing that she overacts but I chose not to reply there. But here, I just want to say, we all free to express our opinions and it applies to you as well. Of course she overacts but it doesn't mean it is because she cannot act. It is uncommon in kdrama and only very few who can do the 'overacts acting', SYA is not the only one.

"She’s way past her prime and her portrayal of Yoojin was so over the top that it was embarrassing to watch."

Do you know it is very few actress in 40s still be able to lead the show in the primetime (of course daily, weekend family drama excluded). she still be able to lead the shows mean she is still one of top billed actress in Korea. She overacts or not, she has becomes one of the top actress in Korea. Top acttors not necessarily need to be hallyu star, most of top actors in Korea comes from movie sector and SYA has some of good movies under her belt.

"Most of the posters here and other “The K2” forums are Yoojin shippers and many or most of those are Im Yoona haters."

If some saying Yoona is not a great actress , cannot act won't make us as her hater. Disliking her acting won't make us hate her personally. Please be reminded that we are in dramaworld and it is so different with kpop world, although it is still in this entertainment world.

By your comments (here and in that Rating thread) it just simply proves that you are among Im Yoona fans that hating when another older actress,stole the spotlight.

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@Sera

Sera: "you are among Im Yoona fans that hating when another older actress,stole the spotlight"

Thank you for your thoughtful and courteous comment. I know nothing about Song Yunah except for her role in "The K2," so I sincerely apologize to all her fans. No disrespect intended.

I don't think Song Yunah "stole the spotlight" from Im Yoona and Jeha. Yoona and Jeha are excellent actors and, let's face it, extremely attractive, so in any scene, no matter who's spotlighted, they will draw the viewers' attention. In fact, the vast majority of viewers were attracted to the series by these two young stars.

All I'm saying is that Song Yunah was off point in her portrayal of Yoojin, and that forced the entire drama into compromises that ultimately hurt the ratings.

Also, I can see that Song Yunah is an enormously talented actor, but I don't think she has the kind of drawing power that Im Yoona and JCW have. The economics of dramas simply wouldn't support a series that features JCW and a much older leading lady such as Song Yunah. Who would watch it? Her fans, probably, but even JCW fans would stay away and consider a romantic relationship gross and a friendship or mother-son relationship weird.

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Ilove JCW thats y i wanted to watch this Kdrama.. But bcoz of SYA I continued and finish to watch the K2.. She is the best! ??????? ?? the Queen! ??

About Yoona!
Me while ??? watching her! Shes nothing to do.. Cry like a baby! ?? Jeha and Ann has no chemistry! ?

Mirror,mirror whos the best Actress of them all? (SONG YOON AH)

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I don't know about you and others, but after The K2, casting JCW and SYA together in one drama or movie would be a dream come true for me..
Personally I think JCW shines the most with older co-stars, he has starred with several noonas and ahjummas in the past and always has great chemistry with them, including SYA. I really love their interactions, not as romantic couple since they're not, but more as friends/bestfriends.

And I think many people would still want to watch noona romance/age-gap romance? It's popular genre in Kdrama too and if the drama is well-done, I'm sure many people would want to watch it.

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"Yoona and Jeha are excellent actors and, let’s face it, extremely attractive,...."

Ji Chang Wook is an excellent actor, but not in the case of Yoona.

You can say Yoona is the goddess, exceptional beauty, but let's stop dreaming, she is never among the excellent actress, at least until her recent works.

Yes she has a huge fanbase thanks to her popularity as idol, but that won't never make her excellent actress.

Yes she has the power to draw the audience just like Suzy and some other hallyu stars, but it won't make her an excellent actress. While she is not entirely bad, she is far from excellent actress. Let's just credit her what she deserve and not exaggerate.

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@AsianDrama16

1. Absolutely agree with your analysis of Sejoon's redemption. Those are the same points I would bring out plus an extra one: he redeemed himself in terms of Yoojin as well, which is important. For so long, she believed he used her just for his political career, and while this is still true... his desire to "be her companion in hell" or something to that effect shows that he does have genuine feelings for her. He didn't have to hold her in their last moment, but he did. How different would their lives be if he had found out she wasn't the murderer much earlier... I bet they'd still be their self-serving, immoral selves but less jaded when it comes to each other.

As for Yoojin's redemption, I think hers came during her confession to Anna. She explains that it was her father who ordered the murder, but that she was still at fault since she didn't try to help Hyerin when she could have. Not only that, but later on Yoojin admits (to Jeha?) that she was wrong. For Yoojin to acknowledge that she was wrong/that she was at fault -- considering her character, I'd say that's as close to remorse as we'd get from her. Coupled with the fact that she was willing to die in that glass room while urging everyone to leave... it was the most unselfish thing she has ever done. And unexpected.

Jumping down to your last point:

4. I have a more relaxed opinion about Song Yoonah's acting. While I somewhat agree that her acting was too much at times, I didn't dislike it as a whole. I just disliked it when she became too much of the focus romantically, when she really shouldn't have been. Even Ji Changwook stated that there was no romantic thread between their characters, so combined with the PD's statement who said the same thing... I think her acting had dipped too much into the emotional side when it came to Jeha. Other than that, I feel like she did a great job.

And I WOULD watch a drama starring Song Yoonah, but it'd also depend on the plot and the other characters involved. I wouldn't watch it just for her... That being said, I would watch a drama purely for Ji Changwook's sake or Yoona's... so I guess that just boils down to personal preference. :)

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@may2day

1. Your take on Yoojin's redemption makes sense. She appears to have atoned for some of her mayhem by consoling Anna, thereby earning redemption.

But I'm pessimistic and see this deathbed glimmer of humanity in the last episode as consistent with her character throughout the series. In other words, she's still trying to manipulate others. She knows all the right buttons to press. In this sense, she is eerily like Mirror. The fact is, Mirror is her alter ego, and its destruction is synonymous with her own death. Mirror gave her the kinds of information that translated to power over others. Without Mirror -- without power over others -- life would be meaningless for her.

Yoojin admitted earlier that death means nothing to megalomaniacs like her and Park Gwansoo (Choi Sungwon, too) who live for power alone. So her own death is anticlimactic. Power = life. No power = no life. The antithesis is Anna and Jeha, for whom power is not in the equation. Love = life. No love = no life.

The irony is that not only is Song Yunah a great actor, but Yoojin is a great actor, too. Up until the very end, she's manipulating the audience, making them believe that she's really a good person at heart. The fact is that Yoojin has beguiled all her shippers and turned them into what Jeha calls "slaves." In this respect, her shippers are exactly like Yoojin's chief secretary Dongmi.

She gets no redemption points because even her final acts of contrition are ultimately self-serving.

From this perspective, we can assume that Sejoon is showing tenderness to Yoojin as an act of contrition for using her to gain political clout. This is consistent with his character. He is capable of altruistic feelings. He loves Anna and would sacrifice everything for her. And with Yoojin, he feels pity and remorse.

I don't think Sejoon is dying WITH Yoojin so much as he's dying FOR Anna's sake. This is his atonement, his redemption. In the end, Anna says she's glad that she got her father back. The meaning is clear: she knows that her father loves her just as much as she loves him. Love is Sejoon's redemption.

4. Very well said. Agree totally: "I just disliked it when [Yoojin] became too much of the focus romantically, when she really shouldn’t have been."

Re watching a drama starring Song Yunah, you said, "I guess that just boils down to personal preference." Totally agree.

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I really like your analysis. It's thought-provoking, especially your point about the Mirror's destruction as synonymous with Yoojin's death:

"Without Mirror — without power over others — life would be meaningless for her" and "Power = life. No power = no life."

I couldn't have said it better.

And I'm starting to lean towards your point of view, that Yoojin's final scenes was more of a manipulation of the audience, rather than Yoojin actually deserving redemption points.

In her conversation with Anna, we learn just how aware Yoojin is of her own lack of morality. It was this moment that made me want to give Yoojin the benefit of the doubt, but maybe I was just tricked too.

Yoojin tells Anna that in the life she's led, she's become worse than her father. Yoojin also said that on the day Um Hyerin died, Yoojin gave in to the commands the devil inside her issued. Meaning, she's aware that she allowed the darkness inside her to dictate her choices and decisions. Yoojin therefore tells Anna to stop staunching her wound, as if to say that she deserves her death.

But admitting that you gave into evil and therefore, are deserving of death... I guess that doesn't really merit sympathy, does it? I mean, not really?

Hmm... I have to think about it more. But great points!

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That may all be true but to me Anna was played as a child and I will never be able to get over the "kiddie porn" aspect of these relationships. I can't get invested in that kind of romance. I found the romantic scenes between them kind of gross actually.

I have no opinion on the various actors. I've never seen the actress playing Anna in anything before and have no opinion on her acting. I find it tiresome when people try to trivialise the opinions of others who disagree with them.

It is possible to dislike this character and this romance for actual narrative and characterisation reasons. I don't like infantilised female characters in romances with paternalistic older men. This is the same reason I loathed Goblin and thought the romance there was gross too. As a character, Anna was a child and a pretty dumb one at that. She was also super boring.

In contrast, the chemistry between K2 and Yoo Jin was amazing and they actually had a real relationship. They talked to each other as equals, they were honest with each other and they mutually protected each other. I don't think K2 would ever get involved with her because she did do terrible things. But she was definitely the one he was drawn to despite that.

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I know i am too late for this show to post a comment on it but your remark about song yoon ah goaded me into writing this. I know very little of korean entertainment industry having started to watch korean dramas quite recently so i had no clue who im yunah or song yunah were. i watched this drama because it starred JCW but as an impartial viewer, it is really strange to read a comment degrading the actor who did the best job on the show. JCW acted well no doubt, but the character who left a lasting impression was yoo jin and she definitely stole the show. And maybe you are rooting for anna because you are a fan of im yunah, but it is absurd that you van defend her acting in this show. Not only was the character of anna underdeveloped in the story, but even the acting was quite sub-par. she was looking pretty in many scenes but that was about it. she could not evoke my sympathy till the end.

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I want to know about Master Song...he killed her mother and what? no revenge on him? Really? After half the show was about the mystery surrounfpding her death...cop out!

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Yeah, that was a bit of a cop out. I guess there was no revenge against Master Song since he saved Anna and the JSS agents, but I agree there should have been more of a resolution. Or at least a conversation where he apologizes to Anna for killing her mother, even though he was acting on the ex-Chairman's order.

Oh well... I'm just going to pretend something like that did happen lol.

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@Jenn @may2day

Agree. Definitely a cop out. Definitely poor writing. Surprise for the sake of surprise is cheap. We can deduce that Master Song was just doing his job and protecting JB Group, but this was murder.

The writers provide nothing to prepare us for this. Master Song's function has been primarily comic relief and a conduit for backstories. If he was also constructed as a darker character who kills on orders, then he would be believable as Hyerin's murderer. But an evil clown wouldn't be very funny.

Wasn't there a flashback in an earlier episode where Yoojin is holding Hyerin and appears to be choking or stopping her from breathing? This was just before Hyerin fell to the floor. Could it be that Master Song injected Hyerin but didn't kill her and that Yoojin ended up finishing the job? My memory of this is fuzzy, so I may be way off.

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Man, I see a lot of people got the scene with the elevator wrong, although that is the most rational part of the last episode!!

The elevator shaft goes up past the higher level and down past the lower level of the building due to both security and technology reasons.

If an earthquake occurs, or when the power suddenly cuts off, and that happens while the elevator is moving, then its security systems will try to stabilise it, but there's a gap between the time the sensors detect the problem and the moment the system burst to action, and then to the final moment when the elevator finally stops.

The elevator is not only the box that miraculously get us up and down in a building; it is a complicated and complex machine, crane, full of counterweights, levers, hydraylic and electronic devices, and all of these need space both at the top of the "box" that carries people.

And in the case of our drama, a building that is such complex, keeps such secrets, and is full of top-notch technology, surely needs several technical levels to manage all of that, on the bottom of the building, under the "cloud nine" level.

Phew. I hope I made some people get the fact that this is the sanest thing that happened in this episode: why did the elevator go down, and where was all the room for it to go down in the first place?

And yes, the security systems that are provided with it, will stop it from hitting the ground at full speed.

And now, someone explain me what's with all the craziness of this plot. Yes we had some amazing acting from Song Yoon Ah, so why did her character have to die? They had lots of moments when they could have saved her, it's not that her death would have redeemed her in our eyes.

No one can redeem himself with the price of his own life. After you kill, the killed one won't get back if you get killed too. It's not satisfactory enough, get a hold, you all writer-nims, that go on with this despicable cliches!

Man, and her husband...I am speechless. How can you say he was convincing? Why would he suddenly choose to die near the woman he used all his life to get what he wanted...

This end, THIS END!!!

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I am so sorry, about the grammar mistakes and ...I see that even words are missing!

Mian haeyo!!!

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Choi Yoo Jin's class and elegance is on a whole new level. Her relation/friendship with K2 is something unique. They are not a couple, not bestfriends, its something else that can't be described.

I don't know but after the embrace with her husband, my tears started to flow and her leaving pained me so much that I felt really empty inside. That's how good of an actress she is.

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I tried and tried to stay with this show as I really like Ji Chang Wook but the writers did not make it easy. It just got too absurd and I gave up.

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Same. I made it about halfway (and will be forever grateful for that shower fight) but my time is precious and this show was just. so. boring.

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Choi Yoo Jin's last moments was the only reason my tears dropped while watching this drama.

I don't know on the other things but casting Song Yoon Ah as Choi Yoo Jin is the best thing this show had done.

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"casting Song Yoon Ah as Choi Yoo Jin is the best thing this show had done" +100000000000
despite many unanswered questions, plot holes and rushed ending, I'm not expecting season 2 coz I'm too traumatized by the chanting background music, the ridiculous Subway PPL, JCW being beaten like crazy in every episodes and everything related to Yoona. No more, please, let's move on to next drama....

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I totally agree with you @coffeebay and Sera on SYA casting as Yoojin is the best thing in this show plus Jichangwook (since I am a huge fan ahihihi)

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No season 2, but this writer will come up with new drama next. if there's a thing ill look forward with this writer is the female lead.

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I'm excited to see her, maybe in a sageuk next time? I hope Signal's writer casts her in her next drama

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Casting her in a sageuk with Signal's writer would multiply her death chance to 10000x.
And if she's cast as Lee Jong Suk's mother, I won't count past episode 1 to see her alive.

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I wanna see the great Song Yoon Ah in noona romance drama with the adorable JCW... why must JH ends up with Anna....sigh...I kinda hope it was Anna who got trapped in the glass door with the bomb, I'd put a foot long of Subway sandwich, a box of raw Ramen and a pint of strawberry ice cream, set the bomb timer to one hour n tell Mirror to only open the door after she eats them all (yes, I am Yoona hater)

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@kanz
Oh..Yeah..T.T
She might die again. But still, I want her in a new drama as early as spring next year and with a great team (writer-director-actors) of course.

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Give her a drama like Secret Love Affair and I'll die. lmao.

I hope her next project will be on jTBC anddd. maybe a bit lighter role? But honestly SYA shine the most in heavy roles, in which not every actress will be able to do so.

You know it will be great if it will be drama like Age of Youth in ahjumma in 40s version. Maybe Song Yoon Ah can reunite with her Secretary and get those A-lister actresses in 40s to sign up.

Can you picture SOng Yoon Ah+ Choi Ji Woo+Kim Hyun Joo+ Kim Hee Ae play besties in one drama? ;)

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I can totally picture them :)
I agree, Song Yoon Ah shines most in heavy roles. A role ala Secret Love Affair will be the death of me. And I think she is more conservative than other actresses so she may not delve into that genre as for movies. But seriously, I would watch her in another project any time.

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Since Song Yoon Ah is besties with Oh Yoon Ah and Uhm Ji Won I'd like to see them in one drama together.. Probably like Gentleman's Dignity female version.
I'll definitely watch the heck of that show even if it's written by The K2's writer!

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I can see her her as manipulative and scheming Queen in sageuk. I mean, I really can see her.

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RIP YJ. You'll be forever missed. T_T

And, that's a wrap everyone... Complete with Subway and kisses no less. Just like JH's dream, his happy ending. He finally has one.

Thanks for the wonderful recap!

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Song Yoon Ah is one of the greatest discoveries I've had this year. A rare gem.

On the other hand,
LESSON LEARNED:

After dancing with ramyun, you will surely find your true love.

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Ode to Choi Yoo Jin

Never did a villain made me weep at her death. As the final hour went by I realize she won't leave her Cloud Nine. It's probably her everything, even her husband didn't know what's inside Cloud Nine up until this episode. And probably it's a little too late for everyone to convince her to step out of Cloud Nine and leaver her Mirror.

More than the protagonists, I care deeply for the villain. I'm excited and fascinated by Yoo Jin and Sung Won's, Yoo Jin and Park Kwan Soo's and Yoo Jin and consortium members' interactions (though they only contribute a little to a whole story). I was still waiting Yoo Jin to triumph and be above all men. I was still pretty sure Je Ha would rescue everybody inside Cloud Nine. Alas, it didn't happen and my heart is heartbroken seeing Yoo Jin, in Cloud Nine, only with her useless-turned-romantic husband. Waiting for their death. "Will you accompany me on the road to underworld?" could be a new, edgy pick-up line.

--------------------------------
Few things still lingers on my mind:
1. When I see her husband take the bomb inside Cloud Nine, I think to myself since the bomb can't be defused, they should bring the bomb outside!! Outside JSS. Anywhere where the bomb won't harm our characters. And since Je Ha is so smart and powerful it wouldn't be too much problem of him to take the bomb outside. Yoo Jin could even order PKS's men to take the bomb when they leave JSS.

2. If scenario 1 wouldn't work, then they need to bring out everyone, including Yoo Jin. You could just wheel the hospital bed and escape with the elevator. Even if Yoo Jin protests, you should still save her and it's not like she has much energy to protest.

3. Just how low can the elevator go? Cloud Nine is on sublevel 5 and it seems the elevator still going down when Jeha, Anna and Sec Kim escape with the elevator. And who actually rescue them from the said elevator and using what? Is there another underground door we don't know about? I'm a little perplexed too with JSS squad's reaction. They seem happy to see Jeha's alive but no one bother to ask about Yoo Jin and Se Joon. Guys, it's Choi Yoo Jin who hire and pay you, not Jeha. Shouldn't you be concerned of your chairman and her husband first?

4. The final and million-dollar question, WHO WILL BE THE PRESIDENT? Jang Se Joon and Park Kwan Soo are dead and seems no one ever talk about the presidency in the final 5 minutes. If there are two presidential candidates in any country died suddenly, it would be on any international news and the people would definitely talk about the causes of sudden deaths.

Well I guess for me as a viewer, you can't just expect me to be satisfied with two lovebirds in idyllic romantic dates at a Subway store, at the attic and in Barcelona as the ending. I need explanation and I need closure too, especially since the presidency is one of the main plots since the drama being promoted, not the afterthought...

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Maybe this will help as I understand it:

1. The power has been cut off, so you can't take the bomb outside. That is why the elevator can't work anymore.

2. Yoo Jin wanted to stay, and respect her decision. It is the same as the "Captain goes down with his ship", and you respect their decision. The characters understand what Mirror means to Yoo Jin and as mentioned in Episode 15, "Mirror is me".

3. There is probably safety levels. The ground floor of any building is not the bottom actually, there is the structure built up, sewage, electric, mechanical, etc.

4. I don't think that matters in the end. It is not like they are great candidates. There are probably independent candidates running.

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@kanz

Agreed with your query on point 4, which is also why I felt that the show failed to fulfil its potential as a political commentary/drama except to show us that there's deception everywhere. The whole presidential candidate run became more of a backdrop towards the end.

Actually, in the hands of another writer, the happenings after the bomb could have actually spanned a good 2-3 episodes given that there are a significant number of areas to explore, one of which will be the political succession and all. Nonetheless, the show wasn't keen on that and also, seriously, without Song Yoon-ah around, the show would no longer have been captivating.

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Hear, hear

"Never did a villain made me weep at her death"

As tears rolled down my cheeks, i realised the same.

Truly a Yoo Jin show than jeha one

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YES to all of this!
I'm still baffled at Je-soon showing all that strength for dragging that heavy bomb up the STAIRS alone in just under two minutes. It's a bit disheartening to realize that K2 only went down there to save one person and didn't look twice to the woman who trusted and helped him in his path to avenge his past sweetheart's death and current...

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I agree. Wholeheartedly.

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@kanz

kanz: "The final and million-dollar question, WHO WILL BE THE PRESIDENT?"

Good question. The absence of an answer in the denouement makes it clear that politics is NOT the main plot. By pure logic alone, this also means that all the political players -- Gwansoo, Sejoon, and Yoojin -- are also NOT the main characters.

The focus in the final episode is on the murder mystery and the Jeha-Anna romance. We finally find out who killed Hyerin. But this knowledge serves as closure to the subplot of Anna's search for her mom's killer -- not for revenge but for justice.

This leaves us with the Jeha-Anna romance as the main plot. The question was, will their love survive their individual drives for revenge and justice in the heady and ruthless world of politics and big business?

We learn in the final episode that the answer is yes. Love triumphs over the powerful forces of evil.

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If they intend to make Jeha-Anna's romance as the main plot, they should do it since episode 1, not halfway down the show where the characters already have alliances, desire for revenge, justice, etc.

They could probably build up their romance a little bit during their first meeting in Barcelona, then they meet again in Korea and Jeha is set to free Anna.

But the romance started off at episode 6 and even then, Je Ha was still busy to avenge Raniya's death. So it seems the writer just doesn't have enough time or just doesn't care about the political plot at all in the last episode. Or probably he just wants to favor the main romance and as you said to show that "love triumphs over the evil".

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@kanz

Good points. I agree. Pace was a major problem, and it impacts emphasis, so the episodes end up weighting the wrong plots. The plots that are important get less screen time than other less important plots. The result is confusion for us, the audience, who can't figure out how to sort out all the plots and subplots. At the end, when we finally have all the pieces of the puzzle, we realize that they don't fit nicely together.

Still, I enjoyed the series very much and would give it 4 out of 5 stars for brilliant casting and acting all around, amazing action scenes, heart-melting romantic scenes, great sound track, award-winning cinematography, and lights out costumes. I think we could actually go through the entire series and focus solely on the costumes to get an idea of the work that went into building each character through her/his clothing.

I'm criticizing the writing, but I still think it's brilliant, with a lot of irony throughout. Jang Hyukrin's a genius, and he and his team obviously had fun writing this script. Even if all the parts don't fit together perfectly, the whole is extremely entertaining and visually stunning.

I'm also critical of the directing, but I thought it was still brilliant. I'm sure this was both a nightmare and a blast for director Kwak Junghwan who had only 16 episodes to put together a series that challenged all of us viewers intellectually and kept us coming back for more. The fact that we couldn't stop discussing all the episodes in forums such as this says a lot about the director's genius.

All in all, flaws and all, this was an entertaining masterpiece. Well done!

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Ok, so I wasn't the only one really puzzled by the overenthusiastic reaction to K2 replying on the radio while absolutely no reaction regarding their bosses.

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+1!
Are you me? IKR?
It's sad that the writer took the conventional route for the dramas ending. I actually got sick since last night. After crying over YJ's death (I'm an emotional person TBH) , my cold worsened leading to me having fever and headaches.

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@ kanz

^ This was meant as a reply to your post. Sorry.

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@Sam oh I hope you'll get better soon!
I'm not quite an emotional person, but few endings left me devastated, including The K2 with the death of my favorite character, Yoo Jin.

I guess the writer wants to satisfy Jeha-Anna shippers by giving them sweet, diabetes-inducing romance at the end.

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Aww feel better @Sam! I feel your pain.

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I'd like to say i enjoyed this show, but the way it ended, iam not too sure. Yes Je Ha and Anna got their happy ending which is the most thing i rooted for since ep 1. Because as cruel as the world was to these two, they deserved atleast this. There's so much i'd like to say about them, but i got what i wished for and that is enough for me. But what about Yoo Jin?, was she so undeserving of happiness that the drama had to kill off the character? Yes! She was evil, but only to prove to those who looked down on her that she can be as manipulating and sceming as they are. At the end of the day she wasn't the villain but a victim. So why did she have to die? And so miserably to top it off?

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Yoo Jin had to pay for her sin in some fashion. She has killed many innocent people for her rise to power, and she is not innocent and will need to face those crimes.

I didn't think she was going to survive in the end, especially with Mirror.

And I didn't know how the writer was going to give her a proper send off/redemption. And he actually did her justice.

I don't think she died miserably. I really love how she found happiness and love in the husband that she threw everything out for. And that husband returning that love.

I love the last line "We almost seem like a ... happilyy married couple" and that true hug.

It was probably the best way to send off an amazing character of Yoo Jin.

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@Martin I guess for me, I saw Yoo Jin as both a villain and a victim. Even though her circumstances were tragic and we know that she actually didn't kill Anna's mum, we've seen her orchestrate many other evil deeds along the way.

I did feel that her ending was the best that she could have. She managed to finally explain to Anna what exactly happened. Her husband was with her and she realised that the choice many years ago to follow him wasn't so bad after all. When she said to Anna, I finally get to die... I almost sense as if she's been living so terribly for so long, without happiness, that death wasn't such a bad prospect for her.

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@Martin
"But what about Yoo Jin?, was she so undeserving of happiness that the drama had to kill off the character?"

Yes, Yoojin has to die. The unwritten rule in all fiction is poetic justice, which demands that a person who kills another must also die. Yoojin has killed countless people. But redemption can be won with altruistic acts. For example, Master Song murdered Hyerin but saved Anna, so he qualifies for redemption.

Chief secretary Dongmi qualifies for redemption because she risked her own life to protect Yoojin. Sejoon, although he hasn't killed anyone and dies in Cloud9, qualifies for redemption in the next life because, in the end, he cared more for Anna than his own life. Jeha qualifies for redemption because he hasn't murdered anyone and has risked his own life to save others.

"Was [Yoojin] so undeserving of happiness?"

This question assumes that Yoojin wants to be happy. I don't think she does. Happiness is not important to her. What's most important is power and revenge. And these are more important to her than her own life -- more important than anyone's life. As Jeha says, she wants everyone to be her slave. She wants to control people.

Cloud9 and Mirror are her weapons, and for a while, Jeha was, too. She values Cloud9 and Mirror, and she values Jeha in the same way. As her slaves.

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I read this recap in a hurry so I still don't get why YJ can't escape together with JH and A, did the elevator can only carry two person? Or did the bomb activator is planted in her so if she tried to get out, the bomb will explode?

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There was no reason. She'd been shot and thought that it made no sense for them to take her with them. She literally stayed there so her husband had a plot-related excuse to come back. Whatever.

I thought it was hilarious that Secretary Kim is in that elevator, bleeding from her leg THE WHOLE TIME and Anna and Je Ha only have eyes for each other.

Also, when the entire team was doing cartwheels that K2 had survived? Nonsense. I know they like him, but he's not the one paying their bills - that none of them asked after Yoo Jin or the Assemblyman was ridiculous.

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Lol, thanks for the reply.

They should have made a better reason why she stayed since I kinda like the ending where her husband came back to get blown up together.

But I already gave up making sense of this show since the mirror thing so yeah.

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Hahaha the secretary didn't even got a shot while in elevator. Anna and Jeha were busy with themselves.

That's the most nonsensical thing I remember in the whole bomb explosion ordeal. They worry for Jeha&Anna's safety and no one, NO ONE, ever asked how's Yoojin&Sejoon doing. Even if Yoo Jin is evil, some of them are still loyal to Yoo Jin and she's the one who hire them!
I bet if Yoo Jin somehow escapes Cloud Nine with her own ability, she'll fire all JSS employees, except Sec Kim.. LOL

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Exactly! K2 stopped being the show's hero the minute he fell for snow white. It's literally all he sees, dude you're supposed to be more than that, where the hell is your loyalty. Yoo-jin wasn't even that of a bad villain, all she did was fight off opponents in the election and greedy family members.

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@Kendi
Good question. She wouldn't even if she could because Mirror was her life. It was her secret weapon against all her enemies. The only "love" in her life is Mirror. Ever wonder why it's called "mirror"? It's because it reflects her own image. Mirror is Yoojin, and Yoojin is Mirror. If Mirror dies, then she dies, too.

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Eh, didn't Anna kick the memory card away? How did they salvage it? Unless the undefeatable K2 went back into the flames and picked that tiny piece of metal out of the pile of burning debris, which, considering his superhuman abilities, doesn't seem impossible.

I was rather impressed by how Chairman Choi threw that rope down the elevator shaft, effectively preventing the rest of them from being lifted to safety. Can't believe the JSS team didn't tackle/shoot him as soon as he got out though. But then again, that allowed Secretary Kim to get rid of him point-blank, so..

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At around the 50 minute mark of the episode, Anna picks up the memory card, hence before they left, so that's how they have it >.<

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This drama "jumped the shark".

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glad there's things in this world we can still count on.

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@mexmax -
Are you looking to recover some brain cells after watching K2? Try Phantom Detective starring Lee Je-Hoon. It really put the smile back on my face. Awesome action and it actually has a logical storyline. The best part is no Subway sandwiches.

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How many times?

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Unfortunately, too many to count.

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Thank you Gummimochi for all those wonderful recaps and comments:

BRAVO JICHANGWOOK FOR A STELLAR PERFORMANCE!!! You have breathe another life to a well loved character! indeed you are one of the best action star out there! But what separate you is that you have that great acting chops under your belt! Awesome job indeed! I hope to see you again in another excellent project before you enlist next year! You made this little girl here one proud fan again!

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WHOLE CAST and writernim and pdnim for neatly wrapping the drama! It was a satisfying ending far above my expectations!

SALUTE TO THE QUEEN OF DRAMA SONG YOON AH! Such an explosive performance!!! You deserved all the accolades and praises! My respect for you multiplied by hundred folds! The ending scene with Jo Sung Ha at Cloud 9 is such a redeeming and heroic one and it made me cries river of tears! Please make another drama again with JCW, you guys are a perfect pair!

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JCW, the actor, is really a beast to be able to perform all these action scenes by himself, and make it look so natural. Very impress by him.

He should be very proud of himself and did a fantastic job.

He really did an amazing job with the character and what dedication to do all this. I agree that if it wasn't JCW as Je ha, I don't think this hero would come alive.

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I will consider this a happy ending since YJ reconciled with her hb at her last moment.

She was crying so much that at one point I was wondering if those were her tears or runny makeup. They should have given her waterproof makeup for such an emotional scene.

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Thanks for the recap. I also noted the Yong-pal like features. They made me wonder if the writer either followed some of the viewer criticisms of Yong-pal or simply felt the need to make changes on his own. I almost think it is the former as it seems many of the problems people seemed to have with Yong-pal were addressed in K2. For example, our hero remains his bad ass self throughout the drama and doesn't get completly sidelined by the political or corporate manuevering. Also, the heroine doesn't become that which she hates in order to fight it. I know that there have been a lot of complaints about K2 and the writing, and honestly there are things that I wished were different, like the serious lack of more of Je-ha's past. That being said, it felt as if the writer was trying to learn and grow, and since I was actually able to finish this drama, unlike Yong-pal, I would call it a sucess. A person isn't born knowing how to write a great drama script. If a writer tries to improve with each drama, what more can you ask for?

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This is the first time that I've ever felt having withdrawal symptoms over a female character, and a supporting one at that. Hats off to Madam Choi/Song Yoon-Ah for her excellent acting.

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I agree. Although she is not a supporting character.
She is the main character and an ANTIHERO at that.

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We are so used to see the lovebirds as main leads. But yes Yoo Jin is the main character, and she is above Anna.

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I so looked forward to this show and JCW...

Like everyone else, I think Song Yoon Ah owned this show from her first scene. JCW was great too but I could never find this show's soul, its heart. It's like I jumped into it yelling "weeee" and left it soon with a "meh." For me, the brilliance of SYA only highlighted how great the show could've been. The writing was not a strong point for me, to put it kindly--and without that, what is there? And, Yoona just seemed out of her depth.

Will have to wait two years to see JCW in something better. But Sung Yoon Ah...I hope she's blowing us away again very soon.

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Song Yoona both stole the show and saved the show. Without her, this would have been a disaster. JCW worked his heart out, but unfortunately 100 x 0 = 0.

Good Luck Siwan. You will need it.

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I maybe gave this drama a solid 3 min before deciding it wasn't for me..its been interesting hearing the responses to the show and like always there is a love/hate scale for those who watch... This doesn't really add to the discussion at all, but just wanted to say it's nice to read diverse opinions. :)

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“Choi Yoo Jin was once an innocent young girl too, wasn’t she? And it’s only after girls grow up that they become witches.”

This is a great line from the show. One of my favorite that really describes the show and characters well.

And what Power can do to the innocent heart of men.

It is a nice theme for the show.

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That line made me snarl, but then Secretary Kim assassinated Yoo Jin's brother and ALL WAS WELL AGAIN!

...honestly, I can totally imagine an entire series based on Secretary Kim avenging Yoo Jin, hunting down each of those men from the smoke-filled room and murdering them efficiently.

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*OMG* i need this in my life

You need to start writing the script, while i take a bank loan to produce do drama and we can sell it to TVN.

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Secretary Kim might be done with avenging Yoo Jin because she is now back to be the normal mother doing - scolding his son and nagging her husband. She probably is having a memory loss of what happened in K2.

She is now already in a new drama, btw :P

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Which drama? I wanna watch

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Father I'll Take Care of You.

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yeah. sec kim loves yoo jin. she is gay, and of course no husband or children to care about.

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Okay, Subway - you got me this time. Having the main character say "I love this place, I'm in here all the time!" as though shocked by his own irrational love for a chain sandwich shop? That did in fact make me laugh. A lot.

And goodbye Yoo Jin and Se Joon, who may have died in a blaze of glory, but who will be rewarded in the gauzy hereafter with all the tuna salad subs they can eat.

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I laughed too butmout of absurd ridiculousness - really I was laughing 'at' the show not with it!

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lol! Thank you!
I was like...uh...did he just give props to Subway? Like he really said "I love this place, I'm here all the time!"??? Really?

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In an otherwise romantic setting, just after Yoo Jin's death, I laughed out loud seeing Ji Chang Wook saying cheesy lines to Subway.. LOL

Probably Se Joon & Yoo Jin only have 1 desire too in the underworld... to eat as many subs as possible!

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16 episodes and we couldn't learn Je-ha's real name?! Thanks for nothing show!

And I am going to miss Song Yoon Ah on my screen. I'm going to look up everything she's done and watch it. She did such an amazing job with Yoo-jin.

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“You learn eventually that, while there are no villains, there are no heroes either. And until you make the final discovery that there are only human beings, who are therefore all the more fascinating, you are liable to miss something.”
― Paul Gallico

Song Yoon Ah here, Song Yoon Ah there, Song Yoon Ah everywhere and I love it. A big shout out to all the new SYA fans out there like me. I hope she gets another project as soon as possible and I HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL IN THAT DRAMA THREAD (hopefully)!

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Yeah! Ilove Song Yoo ah! (Choi yoo jin)
The Best Actress for me!

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Agreed with the love for Song Yoon Ah! I am definitely looking out for her next drama too.

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I LOVE YOU SONG YOON AH
I LOVE YOU SONG YOON AH
I LOVE YOU SONG YOON AH

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Me toooooo!

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I so want to send SYA letters / gifts or anything just to let her know that she really gained many new fans now. And I want her to be proud of herself, that even she is already in her 40s, she still manage to gain many new fans.

I just want her to be happy... despite of many younger actresses nowadays, she is still shine. ;) I'll try to search if there is any way to do so, and in case any of you interested, will let you guys know in next OT :D

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I even stalk her IG (songyoona2015) and her agency's IG (snowballentertainment) just to get a glimpse of her daily lives and news of her next project.

@Sera please tell us if you find any way to send her letter or gifts.. Surely many of us would appreciate that.
And yes Song Yoon Ah definitely has gained legion of fans thanks to her stellar performance in The K2.

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@kanz @Sam will try to look for ways after I finished my busy works this week ✌

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Yes please :)
I'm happy to be able to come across chingus like you both :)

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Thanks gummimochi for the recaps. At some point, I gave up on hoping for the series to give us any proper backstory to Je Ha, Anna or anyone really. I truly agree that at the end of the day, we know nothing much more about Je Ha than the premiere. In my view, the character of Anna gets even worse treatment, because it almost seems like she regresses from start till end. I would have expected a girl who repeatedly tried to escape from the monastery to have some fighting spirit and determination. Granted, she was up against greater forces back in South Korea, but in almost every life-threatening situation she was in, she kept being portrayed as a victim who would cry out to Jeha for help. And also, what happened to her determination to find out the truth about her mother?

Towards the end, it seemed like the show was mostly keen to tell the story of Yoo Jin and in that aspect, it managed to end off on a good note. Thanks gummimochi and everyone at dramabeans for making this a fun ride, even if the show itself was often frustrating and disappointing!

As always, my further analysis of the episode is available on my blog:
https://kdramaanalysis.wordpress.com/2016/11/13/the-k2-finale/

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Thanks gummimochi for the recap. Honestly I forgot on which episode I stopped watching and relied on your recap instead.

Now that's it's over, it's funny how we expected Healer-esque drama but got modern K-version of Maleficent instead.

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I think its more Snow White and Huntsman-esque than Maleficent *and same like K2, i worshiped the evil-stepmom too ?

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Definitely started borrowing elements from Snow White but I feel the development is more like Maleficent-esque because of humanizing the main villain, betrayal and grudging relationship with the husband with his kid as the hostage.

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What a dissatisfying ending. The plot lost much of its quality around episode 6, but I stayed around for Song Yoon-ah and Ji Chang-wook. I was hoping that the writer would add some pizzazz to the final episode, but the dramatic tension just fell to the wayside.

So many unresolved dramatic beats that would have been drama gold. The one that infuriates me most: Je-ha and Yoo-jin's parting. I can't believe they didn't even get a touching farewell speech! There was so much angsty chemistry between the characters and no resolution? It makes me more convinced that SYA completely elevated the character to another plane which the writer didn't intend for.

What's the deal with secretary Kim? We've seen her hovering around for 16 episodes, and no explanation on her backstory? Why she is the sole person who is 100% loyal to Choi Yoo-jin?

Also, did Se-joon get a personality transplant in the final 10 minutes of the show? I liked that Yoo-jin didn't have to die alone in that clinical glass room but the fact that self-centred Se-joon suddenly sacrified himself was weird.

I'm just always sad when shows don't live up to their initial potential. It's like Yong-pal all over again.:(

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I was able to stay with the show till the end only because of Choi Yoo Jin. Despite the horrible things she has done, something about her makes me root for her. I think Je Ha had more chemistry with her than with Anna.

Totally pointless but why do I feel like Ji Chang Wook and Yoona have a little spark going on in real life. It is not I ship them also but still...

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SYA. *BOOM*

*applause*

*bites sandwich*

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Ok.
After all the tears I shed in the last Episode, I came across this vid of Choi Yoo Jin and Se Joon and it was sooooo beautiful.
This couple is the best example of WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN a happily married couple.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80R5BGsm6_s

***

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Just how far did the elevator go down? Why couldn't you just put the bomb in the elevator and send it down?

Apparently the was only strong enough to blow up one room anyway.

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It won't be enough time and manpower (everyone is basically wounded) to move that big bomb. Also, I don't know if that would collapse the entire building if it destroys the foundation of the JSS building.

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Maybe, but the bomb was light enough apparently for one person to drag up stairs, so surly all of the remaining people could have moved it together in time to the elevator.

And if a segment of the building a few stories above the foundation didn't bring the whole building down then I suppose an explosion in the foundation wouldn't have brought the whole building down either.

IDK, any engineers want to way in on this or is this too stupid of a scenario haha?

Dad and Yoojin dying in the end gave me flashbacks of Titanic and wondering why Rose and Jack couldn't just balance the headboard.

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That ending was one of most satisfying this year in drama land and it kinda made me forget about all the plot hols this drama had all along. What can i say, i'm a mushy girl, and that rain of kisses and tender gazes at the end saved this drama for me. JCW and Yoona have to be one of the prettiest k drama couples i've ever seen.

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100% agree with this!! I was hoping for a happy ending for Jeha and Anna, and we got it and then some with those kisses.

This couple is so visually appealing. And from translations of Korean netizens, it looks like they agree too.

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hehe sorry, meant to say "And from translations of the COMMENTS of Korean netizens..."

Still edit button on here yet? ;)

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@liki @may2day

Totally agree! The chemistry between JCW and Im Yoona is the best I've seen in a long time. The kiss scene where Yoona playfully approaches Jeha and Jeha feigns fear is priceless. These two nailed it. So natural. So innocent. So beautiful. They'll be on everyone's radar for best actor/actress and best couple when the awards roll around.

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Dumped this show long back, just came here to read the finale. And yoo jin dies? And the lovebirds keep stuffing subways n tongue down each others throat? Unicorns and rainbows, no ptsd after ALL that? It ended on such an empty, superficial note. I hope his next has a female lead who stays a bad-ass and doesnt get shafted for being one.

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K2 did a solid job wrapping up the show! It was satisfying, exciting, and emotional.

You know it makes the other plot holes forgettable given how well the ending turned out for this show!

All the characters should be happy, and I do think Yoona did an ok job with the character. While Suzy or IU (no offense to them), somethings take away from the drama, I didn't mind her at all, and she actually has improved. So Kudos!

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HUH? I must live in a different universe.

Suzy and IU both have had hit Korean dramas in the last 5 years. Whilst Yoona has got no hit Korean dramas in the last 5 years.

K2 would have easily exceeded 10% ratings, if the Anna character continued to have minimal screentime, as it easily hit 6.6% ratings by week 3, but then the ratings dropped after Yoona got a lot more screentime.

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You comments are always so pressed about Yoona in every thread . Person above was pointing out Suzys and IU performance that really took away from overall quality of the drama. If there was one thing in K2 that was functioning it was performances by the main cast including Yoona.

And whats the point of bringing up ratings like they are measure of an actual talent. No K2 would never get 10% rating as it had too many things going against it(strong competition in same time slot being one of them). It still did much better than UF and Moon Lovers so i don't see the point of comparison.

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Well that is a happy ending I couldn't care less for. Seriously rolled my eyes at those cheesy final minutes. And I love cheese! So our hero was a mercenary who killed people but the hell with that, let's give him happy times with the heiress in a subway booth.
Oh thank god for Song Yoonah! Choi Yoo-jin was the real hero, she had more character motivation in her toes than everyone else. Secretary Kim finishing smug Sung-won in the back of the car is so satisfying! You go girl.
Thought he final episode was better than the show itself which is something. Here is to future works Song Yoonah. And hopefully another one with JCW before he leaves us.

Thanks for the recap!

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actually he already clarified in ep 15, that he hadn't killed any civilians while being a mercenary

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He hadn't killed any civilians but harmed and killed bodyguards like no biggie.. *snicker*
Even if Je Ha is the hero, he isn't completely innocent person either, kinda like the kings and warriors in the past. They may be a nice person, but if they have to kill and fight in a war, they have to do so.

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I really enjoyed this drama, even though there are a lot of things I would have liked to see differently.

After finally revealing who killed Anna's mother, how come they didn't show any scene about Anna confronting him, or what happens to the killer?

Wouldn't it be better if they put the bomb in the elevator and then cut the wires? Everyone could've lived then?

I wish we could've seen sung won and kwan soo suffer more towards their death lol, it felt really sudden and rushed for two of the main villains of the drama.

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Hi there..Yay! another Sam :)

I guess, the writer's too busy thinking about his happy ending that he forgot to give more thorough thoughts to other characters

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Sam 1

Sam 2.

?

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I just changed my name to Sam_1 so that you won't be confused @Sera. It's still me, Sam..I'll be using it in the future from now on..
And by the way, I mostly end my comments in with double dots..

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@Sam

Good question: "After finally revealing who killed Anna’s mother, how come they didn’t show any scene about Anna confronting him, or what happens to the killer?"

The answer tells us that the murder mystery is an important plot line but it's still subservient to the main plot, which is Jeha and Anna's romance. Who killed Hyerin is important only in so much as it drives Anna's pursuit for justice. Once answered, it's no longer relevant.

In the same way, the political plot is left hanging when we don't know who will be the next president. Again, this is a sign that it's secondary to the main plot -- Jeha and Anna's romance.

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I didn't enjoy the romance in this one. it was ridiculous! i didn't like Yoona character at all and coudn't understand Je-ha's love for her! i started watching it for Ji Chang-wook but then continue because of Song Yoon Ah! yessss she was the only reason i watched the drama till the end.

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I totally agree with you i did not like the romance at all! It was rushed, overly acted, cringe, overly cheesy, not natural! And did you noticed Wook's acting in that Barcelona kiss, he looks like someone who has taken some drugs Lol! He is not in his normal acting for a romantic scene (mind you i have watched all of his drama and MVs) and yeah I watched this because of JCW only and was able to finish because of SYA!

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But dont get me wrong aside from that one scene of JCW, he is such my super hero here, all BRAWN AND BRAINY!!!

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I wanna know more about Blackstone.. What happened after Je Ha testified regarding their crime activity. They wouldn't just stand still right? Perhaps another season? With main focus on Blackstone vs Je Ha, possibly another villain Assistant Kim with her planning on getting revenge of her master's death...

Ahaha too much hopes up.. I miss K2 already :(

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Unless Choi Yoo Jin wakes up from her death, I don't want a Season 2.

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Well, that was... interesting?

I especially liked Yoo Jin's blue suit and Anna's gray sweater dress at the end. :-)

I did enjoy it, sometimes despite myself. I stayed through 16 episodes because I wondered what would happen next, and I cared about the characters enough. I'm Song Yoona's newest fan-ahjumma...

But the writing! Argh. The plot holes you could drive a truck of doom through, the random badly done humor (except for the subway ads which were gold), the dropped plot lines that might have been interesting. (For instance, what was anna's life like in the convent? I think she was a very interesting example of faith in action in C9 with Yoo Jin. Can you forgive someone after that confession? Can you still show compassion to someone who did something so wrong? Can you ask for justice without turning it into revenge? Anna didn't need to be a kick ass action hero, there are lots of ways to be heroic, and we could have had a bit more of that. I think young Yoona could have handled that nicely and, for me, it would have deepened the connection with Je Ha.)

Anyway thank you, Gummimochi, for your recaps! They were wonderful. And thank you beanies below the line: y'all are funny and insightful as always. I don't comment often, but I always read yours.

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thanx for the recaps, they were wonderful!
so...it ended, and i'm really upset that it did, and yes, before anyone comes and asks do we watch the same show or it was just pure stupid ,it's because I loved this drama,flaws and all...it was the first drama with heavy political themes and plot points that I managed to finish..still interested,and i'm not a super fan of any of it's stars but I thought they all did a fab job (YoonA in my opinion did what she could with the material given to her)
as for the ending, I liked it and found it to be a very better ending than that of YP's despite some very questionable points.but I want to point out what I liked about this more than things i could live without, because not much likeable points are said about this show.
first: yoojin's overall character and her relationship with JH.. i'm a sucker for chemistry-filled relationships that can't be really described with the usual tabs or names, this was one of them, and not many of them can be found in kdramas.
The acting: SYA as YJ was amazing..she brought emotional acting to another levels and set new standards.JCW (despite having a much weaker emotional material to work on) was also great and really powerful whenever the character gave him space ( i really liked the scene in ep 15 where he was talking with SJ and chief joo in the car, his expressions were so subtle and on point)..and LJJ was also really impressive as SW.
the overall turn of romance (it could have been better, but still ok) :the parts that i liked,first meeting in Spain, the beach scene, the one where he pulls her cheek, the rooftop scene where he talked about Raniya,the nightmare hug and the attic where he wasn't ready yet(LOL) ,when he was injured and the ending scenes specially the last one in Barcelona was shot beautifully and the chemistry looked really natural, there were also some cute little ones that i liked and made me warm up to them as a couple which weren't showcased in purely romantic scenes.
overall, i really enjoyed this show and was satisfied with it, fingers crossed for better shows coming our way and make it easier to move on....

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Those who scripted shooting a forty isn hero in her ovaries will not be forgiven in the afterlife.

YJ talking so well and so long while losing blood was, well, more terible script writing.

The show I watched did not have an evil YJ. It had a general who fought the war better than other generals who for the first time met someone she could respect who understood war for the nasty business it is.

South Korea is the country where the head of its CIA assassinated its dictator by military coup president at its CIS safe house on 10.26.1979 at a dinner of old men and two pretty young things. The daughter of that dictator is now going down as president--about five percent apporval--due to the revulsion of the country over her shaman buddy who is the daughter of a man apparently in some ways a cause of that assassination 36 years ago, a man alleged (apparently with little basis) to have fathered a child with the current president.

The YJ character evil? Evil causes death? Find your way back to this universe. Gaze on North Korea.

The YJ character was effective the way Christopher Walken is effective, playing against type. Sweet smile hard heart society lady telling low life traitors to blow their own brains out, with a smile, or else she will whack their families. Foolish plot sold by the actress.

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