A Beautiful World: finale review (TL;DR: a must-watch in my opinion!)

I’ll start off with the things I wasn’t really too impressed with. I felt that Ki Duk Chul’s arc with the random blackmailing could have been taken out as it didn’t really add much to the story, though I believe it was added to show the reality of cops working on more than just one case. I also would have swapped out the death of the security guard’s mother with that of his son’s one instead (maybe an overdose on drugs?), because the show concluded that arc rather hastily and I feel that this would have been the better way to write them both off the story (though I still dislike the truck of doom). I do have a hard time understanding how Sun Ho’s diary ended up in Jin Pyo’s safe but I assume the guard made use of it to threaten Jin Pyo and proof that he knows the full truth of Sun Ho’s fall (show needed to explain this better). Lastly, I was disappointed that Sung Jae’s family didn’t suffer from any retribution despite remaining unrepentant (unlike them I think Young Chul’s mother and Ki Chan will steer their families into the light): if the show cut all the teasers of Sun Ho waking up (which were relatively useless in hindsight) it would have saved enough screen time to show that plus a nice highlight of maybe the female teacher leading the staff to oust the vice-principal (I feel like she did not really have that moment in the show and it was a little upsetting to see the conclusion of the vice-principal’s firing without the process being shown to us).

But that being said, the show did so well in many aspects (for me to nitpick it to such a level indicates that I was totally invested into the show both emotionally and critically). It was a fitting finale for the show: one that started off with Eun Joo’s manipulation of the truth ended with her finding the critical evidence to lock up Jin Pyo. In my opinion, Eun Joo’s is the most fascinating character in the whole show: her love for her son drives her to do anything, whether it be going against her morals or finding the courage to face off against Jin Pyo. Jo Yeo Jung’s acting was a tour de force indeed with the fragility of her mind being so well expressed to the audience: she definitely showed why she is the only one among the adult cast to have won awards for both dramas and films. I also liked that Sun Ho’s parents stepped up to provide emotional support for the two kids who wronged their child the most. Emulating them, Sun Ho himself also is kind and understanding towards both Ki Chan and Joon Suk. I was quite upset to see Nam Da Reum spend his time sleeping in a coma throughout the show but this script was good and it’ll be good to have his name attached to it. Seo Young Joo was also another actor that I wanted to see more off (especially after watching Solomon’s Perjury) but I’m happy with the material that he was given, particularly those scenes with Seo Dong Hyun who did an excellent job portraying Joon Suk.

Ultimately, where the show really impressed me was the writer’s ability to showcase a large ensemble of cast. In other shows, there would definitely be some characters who would be left out without much development, but here everyone had some significant lines that added to the story (even the florist whose appearance could be taken as a cameo!). It’s a feat that’s worth celebrating for when you see other shows have characters to fill the space cough Private Life cough Secretary cough Robot cough Abyss cough (okay the last one is up for debate now but its logic is already falling apart so it doesn’t really matter anyway). I’ll admit that it definitely wasn’t perfect (see above), but this show is a winner that I’ll recommend everyone to watch.