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Will It Snow For Christmas: Episode 16 (Final)

Finally, the end! The angst is over! Phew.

Although I didn’t really have specific predictions for how the story would end, I was fairly certain about the tone that would characterize the finale. The result was pretty close to my expectation, so more than anything, I’m relieved. Did I like the ending? Generally speaking, I was satisfied. Did I like HOW we got there? Um… I’m still working that out. There were things I liked, and things I didn’t.

SONG OF THE DAY

Kim Yeon-woo – “다시 한번 사랑하자” (Let’s Love One More Time) [ Download ]

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EPISODE 16 RECAP

Kang-jin says he’ll take care of Young-sook, but Ji-wan challenges her mother, “You’ll come with me, won’t you?”

A bit uncomfortably, Young-sook answers, “I’m going to stay here with your brother.” At this, Kang-jin shoots her a look, as though he was testing her response and is surprised she went along with it.

Ji-wan persists: “If you keep doing this, I’m not going to come here again. I won’t see you anymore! Will you come with me, or not?” And still Young-sook answers, “I’m going to stay here.”

Turning to Kang-jin, Ji-wan asks in a pleading tone, “Oppa, you cut the tie. You do it. Convince Mom, okay?” But he doesn’t speak up, and she realizes he’s not going to. Frustrated, she storms out of the house.

Kang-jin follows her outside, where Ji-wan tells him firmly that she’s going to bring movers by over the weekend. She’ll carry her mother out of the house if necessary.

Woo-jung has been working all night, so she gets up from a nap in a side alcove by the office area. She wanders out and asks Young-sook groggily where Cha Kang-jin is. Without any reaction, Young-sook answers that he’s probably outside. Woo-jung thanks her, but as she turns away, the implication hits her — so Young-sook knows who Kang-jin is?

She finds Kang-jin still outside and says that she has just witnessed something astonishing that he should know. She relates how Young-sook had referred to him as Kang-jin and not reacted at all. Woo-jung’s bafflement grows at Kang-jin’s lack of reaction — does this mean he knew that her memory had returned?

It seems that Young-sook belatedly realizes her slip, but she continues acting as normal. When she burns her fingers on a hot lid, Kang-jin hurries to get the first aid kit and tend to her fingers. She’s uncomfortable at his continued kindness, and her behavior, while less forced than yesterday, is still strained around him.

However, she’s still committed to her act. When Kang-jin advises her to give Ji-wan a call to soothe her hurt feelings, Young-sook asks, as though hurt, “Are you tired of me?” Kang-jin assures her that he just wishes she would pay Ji-wan more attention.

Coldly, Young-sook blurts, “I’ll handle my child myself.” It’s not an outright admission but it makes Kang-jin and Woo-jung both freeze; it’s something you’d say to a stranger, so it’s telling. Young-sook retreats to her room, but adds, “Ji-yong, you’re my son. Whatever happens, you have to stay with me, okay? Don’t go anywhere, or to anyone — stay with me, okay?”

Young-sook must suspect that Kang-jin has a clue, which is supported by a follow-up call from the Sancheong charnel house. The man explains that he discussed the matter of Ji-yong’s vault with her “younger son.”

I’m very relieved that Woo-jung is made aware of this, because unlike our leads, she’s definitely NOT too noble to keep out of it. Sure enough, she meets with Ji-wan at the hospital and gives it to her straight: Young-sook seems to have her memory back, but she’s lying for some reason. Woo-jung is here to ask Ji-wan why because Young-sook’s reaction is so incomprehensible, but she sees that Ji-wan is just as stunned.

Even more puzzling, Woo-jung adds, is how Kang-jin is playing along. He knows Young-sook is faking, and yet he goes along with it. Woo-jung figures, “In my opinion, it was like she was tormenting him on purpose. Doesn’t somebody have to stop her? Don’t you have to stop her?”

Ji-wan thinks back to her mother’s odd behavior in light of this news. Now when she recalls the lunch conversation, she realizes that her mother was purposely hurting Chun-hee.

When Ji-wan arrives at the atelier, she walks into an argument between Jae-hyun and Kang-jin. Jae-hyun is angry with Kang-jin for turning down yet another fantastic business opportunity and calls him wrong in the head. He says that one year working in China would open up their business’s entire future — why can’t he consider it? Is it because of his sick mother, for whom he’s already thrown away countless great opportunities?

Kang-jin snaps that Jae-hyun should go if he’s so keen on the idea, but Jae-hyun argues that the business associates are only interested in Kang-jin. Angrily, Kang-jin retorts that Jae-hyun can split up the business if he’s so upset, and a fed-up Jae-hyun agrees.

After Jae-hyun storms out, Ji-wan repeats some of his words to Kang-jin, saying that he should take this opportunity and that he’d be foolish to pass it up.

Knowing that her mother is the reason for his decision, she says that she’s going to take her mother tomorrow, rather than waiting for the weekend: “She’s MY mother! I’ll take care of it! Why are you living like this, like an idiot? What did you do that was so wrong? What huge sin have you committed? How long will you suffer from that damned guilty conscience? ”

Kang-jin tells her to be quiet, aware that Young-sook is in the house. She continues anyway: “If you do this, do you think my mother will thank you? If you endure this and lie for her, do you think she’ll feel better? Do you think her hate will go away? You should have told me first that her memory had returned!” Her voice grows louder and more impassioned as she demands to know why he is taking this on alone: “Why do you live like this!?!”

His answer is so startling it momentarily stuns her into silence: “Because I can’t give you up.”

Slowly, he takes her in his arms and hugs her. They stand there for a few moments, Ji-wan crying, until a shocked Young-sook demands to know what they’re doing. Guiltily, they break apart, and Young-sook marches up to Kang-jin and grabs his shirt, all pretenses about her memory loss flying out the window as she rages: “What are you doing to my daughter?! You act like the good son in front of me, but what the hell are you doing to my daughter?”

Ji-wan begs her mother to stop:

Ji-wan: “Don’t do this to Kang-jin oppa anymore. You can’t do this. And he took such care of you. You don’t have that right, Mom.”

Young-sook: “What?”
Ji-wan: “Forgive him now.’
Young-sook: “How can I forgive him? How can I forgive this bastard? His mother killed your father, and he killed your brother. How can I forgive him?!”
Ji-wan: “That’s not Kang-jin oppa’s fault, and it’s not his mother’s fault either. It’s not my fault, or yours, or Dad’s. It was just an accident. Mom, stop now. Stop.”
Young-sook: “Shut up! You awful girl.”

Young-sook storms off to her room, and Ji-wan starts to follow. Kang-jin stops her, saying he’ll go.

Kang-jin kneels before Young-sook, who continues to spew hatred at him, scornful of his dutiful son act. How long has he known she was back to normal? Why didn’t he say anything? “Were you waiting to see how I would act? What is your motive?”

Kang-jin keeps his head bowed humbly. His voice is contrite and halting, like he’s trying to figure things out as he explains:

Kang-jin: “I was waiting for you to tell me first. I wasn’t sure why you were lying, why you kept fooling us, what you were planning, whether you were still upset, or still angry, whether you were still unable to forgive. I was waiting. I was trying to figure out if I should go now, if I should give up and step aside, if this was a road that should end or something I shouldn’t have done from the start. I was despairing whether this was something that shouldn’t continue, something that would be pointless no matter how hard I tried, something that would never change even if I poured all my energy into it. But Mother, I don’t want to give up here. I don’t want to leave things here.”

Ji-wan listens quietly at the door, and Kang-jin now finally looks up at Young-sook with tears in his eyes.

Kang-jin: “Please give up that hate now. If there’s something more I must do, I’ll do it. Whatever it is, I’ll do it. Please forgive me. It must be hard for you, but please forgive me.”

Young-sook is not in a generous mood. She jeers, “How can I forgive you? What can I do for you to think you’ve been forgiven? What were you thinking the past three years while you stayed with me? Was it for mere forgiveness? Is that it?”

He answers, “Yes. That was all.” But she’s half-incredulous that a person could be so noble, unwilling to give him that credit: “That wasn’t all. You did it because couldn’t get over your feelings for Ji-wan!”

Kang-jin:”I did. I believed I could, and I put those feelings aside. I thought I could live having rid myself of those feelings, and that’s how I lived on. But…”

Here the tears fall, and Kang-jin’s voice breaks in anguish.

Kang-jin: “…but the feelings won’t go away. They weren’t feelings that could be given up. It took me three years to realize that. I asked myself a hundred, a thousand times a day, ‘You crazy fool, why do you live like this? If you live as Han Ji-yong, you have to give up Ji-wan. Why do you live like such an idiot? Why are you atoning for your mother’s sin? Only crazy people live like you. Just run away, like my mother, like Ji-wan’s father. If I could stop fooling myself, if I could just think of myself and devote myself to my own feelings, and look only at Ji-wan…’ I told myself that countless times every day, to grab Ji-wan’s hand and run away. I really wanted to run away. If not for that hurt — if only I didn’t know the hurt of being abandoned — I really would have run away. If the voice of the mother clinging to me had been just a little less warm, if the food you prepared for me had been just a little less warm, I would have gladly run away. I don’t know what the past three years were to you, but to me they were warm and happy. Because of you, it was sometimes painful, but I could endure it. Because of you. That’s what it was like for me.”

Against her will, Young-sook is moved by Kang-jin’s sincerity, and sheds a few tears. In a low, weak voice, she agrees:

Young-sook: “Okay. I’ll forgive you. I’ll forgive everything — so let go of Ji-wan. Just let go of her, and leave. Then I’ll forgive you and your mother.”

The hopeful looks that had dawned on Kang-jin’s and Ji-wan’s faces now fall in dread. Ji-wan drops to the ground and Young-sook breaks down, insisting, “I said I’d forgive you, so just let go of Ji-wan!” Kang-jin protests — this is asking too much.

Kang-jin: “I can’t do that now. I can’t let go of Ji-wan — that’s the only thing I can’t do, Mother. I can’t do that, no matter what. Without Ji-wan, I can’t live.”
Young-sook: “Then I can’t forgive you. If you could only let go of her, it would all end. That miserable bad fortune between your family and mine would all end! I’ll forgive every single thing, so just give Ji-wan up and disappear from my sight, I beg you!”

Kang-jin pleads, but this time Young-sook isn’t doing this to be vindictive. Her argument makes a sort of sense, that as long as there are loose ends and dangling threads between their families, she can’t get over her resentment. But if they could cleanly cut all the strings, she’d be able to move on. Now, Young-sook’s voice takes on a pleading tone as she entreats:

Young-sook: “Life doesn’t end because your love does. You can live on without that. Everyone lives like that. I’ll forget everything cleanly and forgive you. I won’t even think of it in the future, or remember it. So Kang-jin, please go.”

For a few long beats, nobody moves. And then, slowly, Kang-jin gets to his feet. He makes his way numbly to the door, where he sees Ji-wan sitting slumped, but passes without a word. Ji-wan starts to follow him, but Young-sook orders her, “Don’t go. It’s all over now, Ji-wan. Don’t go.”

Listlessly, Kang-jin leaves the house and wanders the street. He falls to his knees, the world blurring around him.

Ji-wan shows up at Chun-hee’s door with soju, suggesting a drink together. She’s already had one bottle on her own, so she’s already drunk. She’s here to ask Chun-hee how she continued living after she had left Jun-su the first time. Was she able to survive?

Chun-hee: “I must have survived because I’m here.”
Ji-wan: “That’s good, then I’ll survive too.”

She asks why Chun-hee returned to Sancheong, then, to see her father again. Chun-hee replies, “Because I missed him. Because I couldn’t forget him. Because I thought I’d die.” This answer is less reassuring than the last, and Ji-wan sighs, “I’m in trouble. That means I’ll go looking for Kang-jin oppa someday.”

She asks why Chun-hee clung and dragged out her feelings, but Chun-hee counters, “Do you think it’s something you can end easily? Those feelings won’t end until I die.”

Ji-wan: “Then what am I supposed to do? I’m supposed to live feeling like this until I die? It would be better to die! How can I live like this?”
Chun-hee: “You’re different from me. I ran a tearoom to earn my living, but you’re a doctor. Meet a better man than Kang-jin and live proudly.”
Ji-wan: “But still — if I can’t forget him, what do I do?”
Chun-hee: “Forget anyway. Otherwise, you’ll become a bad woman like me, hurting others and bruising the hearts of your children.”
Ji-wan: “Do you regret it? If you could have that moment again, do you feel confident you wouldn’t run away with my father?”

Chun-hee would rather not answer that, and drinks instead. Ji-wan asks, “If that moment came back to you, could you please resist? Think of me and Kang-jin, and hold back just once.”

Kang-jin arrives at his mother’s place, surprised to find Ji-wan asleep on the ground. He asks what she talked about with Ji-wan. Chun-hee says that Ji-wan and asked if life went on after love, and that she had answered yes.

The next morning, Ji-wan awakens to find herself in Kang-jin’s car, parked at the road by the river in Sancheong. Kang-jin is outside, looking out at the water, thinking back to their teenage years here.

Ji-wan joins him by the water, where he asks gently if she’s sober now, and if they should start heading home. He starts to give her general instructions, advising her to get along with her mother, not to get angry, to check her medicine, to be sure to take her to the hospital. There’s a finality to his words, like he’s passing along the baton since he won’t be around anymore.

After each part, Ji-wan listens quietly and nods. Kang-jin turns to leave, but she stops him with her question: “Then does this mean we can’t see each other anymore?”

He gives a rueful nod. She adds, “And we can’t call each other?” Again he nods, saying hoarsely, “Yeah.”

“Or eat together? Or hold hands?”

The finality of this moment stretches between them. Kang-jin steps forward and gathers Ji-wan in a hug. Looking over his shoulder, she cries and continues, “And you can’t hold me like this either.” Slowly, he pulls back and looks at her. She adds, “Then I won’t be able to say these words again either. I love you. I love you, Cha Kang-jin.”

He holds her face in his hands and kisses her.

When he lets go, he says with difficulty, “Let’s live happily.”

She nods and repeats those words, understanding that he means they’ll be living separately.

And then… ANOTHER YEAR LATER.

(OM*%^!#$%arg*!@&($^@+^*%)

The architecture business is now Lee & Seo, the Lee being Woo-jung. Kang-jin has moved out of the house but the firm has remained, and so has Young-sook. However, Lee & Seo will soon be moving out, and Jae-hyun thanks Young-sook for putting up with them all this time. She has grown fond of them and will miss them when they’re gone.

Woo-jung is late to work this morning, so Jae-hyun gives her a call — and is confused when a man answers, sounding sleepy. It’s Tae-joon, who has mistakenly answered her cell phone. Granted, they slept in separate beds and are both fully clothed.

Tae-joon’s not sure why he’s here, so Woo-jung tells him that she had gotten a call from the bar last night, where he’d fallen asleep drunk. This means she’s #1 in his phone, and she asks why. He answers, “It’s out of habit.” Woo-jung says that that’s going overboard; people will misunderstand.

Tae-joon asks teasingly whether she seduced him — “Did you kiss me while I was sleeping? I’m really sexy when I sleep.”

Looking around, he muses that he likes her cozy apartment. If she’d invited him to live with her, rather than the fancy apartment she had set up for them, he could have been happy. And then, he adds that he’s still open to it, then concedes that he knows this is also excessive.

Surprisingly, Woo-jung tells him that this last part isn’t going overboard.

Tying up a few more loose ends, we check in on Bu-san and Jin-kyung. She tells him that she went to see the doctor, who confirmed that she’s pregnant. Anxious and scared, she barks at him to take responsibility — and Bu-san breaks into a wide smile, only too happy to oblige. He promises, “I won’t abandon you or hurt you. I’ll even name the baby and fuss over it and be a really good father.”

Chun-hee now works for Miss Shin, and the two women look over in bemusement.

Kang-jin is still an architecture teacher at the university, where he wraps up a lecture, then heads out of the hall.

Ji-wan has finished her intern year and now scolds a new intern for falling asleep while on his shift. Her supervisor watches with satisfaction at this reversal (Ji-wan is now responsible and mature!), but when he walks off, Ji-wan leans in close and tells the intern that if he’s going to sleep, he’d better pick a better spot. She knows this great place.

She heads to the university library, and in the lobby, she spots Kang-jin at about the same time he catches sight of her. They both stop in their tracks, staring at each other for a long moment, the world blurring past them.

Then they both start moving again, and pass each other without saying a word.

The encounter scrapes at old wounds, and that night, Ji-wan cries at the desk where Kang-jin used to work. Kang-jin sobs in his car.

It’s a sight that tugs at the hearts of both mothers, who watch their children from a distance.



And so, Chun-hee calls Young-sook for a talk at the cafe. Chun-hee inquires after Ji-wan, and gets back the polite response that she’s fine. Chun-hee replies that Kang-jin is fine, too. Then she gets to the point, asking bluntly whether Ji-wan smiles these days. “My Kang-jin doesn’t. Is Ji-wan happy? My Kang-jin is unhappy. It seems like he’s trying his best, but he doesn’t look happy. Does Ji-wan cry?”

Young-sook hurriedly speaks up, but Chun-hee goes on: “My Kang-jin cries sometimes.” She informs Young-sook that he will be leaving Korea in a week for work, and will be gone for three years. However, she and Bu-san are both pretty sure he’s actually planning to stay away a lot longer than that.

Young-sook tries to maintain her calm, but her hands shake. When she gets home that day and sees the bare kitchen table, she’s reminded of all the happy times she spent there with Kang-jin, back when she believed he was her son.

As a last goodbye, Kang-jin revisits his mother’s old tearoom in Sancheong, then the river. Standing on the bridge, he looks at the pendant in his hand and remembers all the teenage scenes that occurred as a result of the pendant — how he’d lost it, how Ji-wan had tried to retrieve it for him, how he had confessed his feelings for her.

I appreciate that these recollections are captured in stills, rather than in motion, because it strengthens the feel that these are old memories, to be kept in the past like photographs to allow one’s current life to continue. To underscore that point, Kang-jin opens his hand and lets the pendant fall. As it drops into the water, he breathes, as though in relief.

Then, as he walks on, he comes face to face with Ji-wan.

They haven’t spoken in a year; he looks intently at her, and lets her establish the mood. Ji-wan smiles pleasantly, phrasing her question as a stranger would: “Are you a resident here?” Playing along, Kang-jin answers, “Not anymore. I used to live here.”

Ji-wan replies, “I see. I used to live here, too. Then do you know a man who lives here named Cha Kang-jin?” Still polite, he says, “I do. What is it about?”

Ji-wan says, “My mother asked me to convey her greetings to him. Before he leaves the country, she asked him to come eat dinner at our house.”

The significance of this is clear: Ji-wan waits for his response, both hopeful and nervous. The longer his silence stretches, the more her confidence flags, and she adds, “If you don’t have anything to say, I’ll go…” She waits a little more, hesitantly repeating, “Do you have anything to say?”

Keeping his gaze fixed on her, Kang-jin thinks to himself:

Kang-jin’s voiceover: “How have you been? I missed you. I’m glad to see you looking healthy. I’m really glad.”

Disappointed, Ji-wan says, “Since it seems you don’t have a response, I’ll go now…”

She starts walking away slowly, but she can’t quite believe that he won’t say something or come after her, and steals a glance backward.

Kang-jin watches her walking away, and thinks:

Kang-jin’s voiceover: “Ji-wan once asked me: If time turned back to let us make our choices again, which road would we choose? I told her, if time turned back, I would choose the same path. If I just have her — if I just have the woman walking in front of me — I would willingly, gladly choose that path again.”

And now, he starts to follow after her, walking (literally) into the light. The camera pulls back, and in the distance, he catches up to her.

 
COMMENTS

I’m still not sure how I feel about this finale. On one hand, just the fact that nobody died and our leads ended up together should be cause for relief, if not outright celebration. We even got a few extraneous happy endings to add to the glow, such as with Woo-jung and Tae-joon, and Bu-san and Jin-kyung. I never really cared about the latter coupling, but the former surely deserves their second chance, now that both have mellowed out a bit, matured, and learned to appreciate what a good thing they had going. If anything, watching star-crossed lovers struggle so mightily to love each other must have taught them not to take their relationship for granted.

The ending isn’t quite bittersweet — it’s actually pretty positive, so I think it’s too happy to be bittersweet — but it still leaves me wanting a little more, so I’m not perfectly satisfied.

I think I am of two (disparate, opposing) minds about our finale. (1) On an intellectual level, I understand why the writer chose to do things this way, but (2) as a viewer who has laughed and (okay, mostly) cried with these characters for weeks, I wanted more.

For example, I understand Young-sook’s plea for Kang-jin to cut ties with her family. I did not like it, but I could see that it wasn’t her being a villain determined to ruin his happiness. So I won’t complain that it’s a plot contrivance, but I will complain that it made the ending somewhat anticlimactic.

I loved that Chun-hee went to Young-sook to inform her about Kang-jin and remind her that the kids aren’t happy. I understand why the writer chose to keep this moment small, rather than going big and emotional like in the previous episode when Chun-hee begged for Young-sook to let go. Young-sook needs to come to the decision on her own, so pushing her won’t achieve the desired effect. She has to make that step on her own. But still, I wanted more of a compelling reason for Young-sook to change her mind. She goes home and remembers Kang-jin acting like her loving son, and that’s it? I wanted a bigger epiphany for Young-sook — like a scene of her talking to Ji-yong, maybe of him urging her to let go, or something to really convey that she is healed.

And I also understand why the writer framed the ending this way — this is teh first time these kids have had a completely clean slate, so now they get their second chance. No guilt, since Young-sook has forgiven the Cha family, and no opposition, since Young-sook has now extended her olive branch. It’s like Kang-jin’s ending narration — if they had the chance to make their choices over again, he’d choose the same way as long as he had Ji-wan. This is their second chance to make that choice, and now he has Ji-wan with him, so no matter what happens, there will be no regrets.

So I understand that the writer opted for an understated, quiet ending — she’s already given us the melodramatic big gestures, so this would be a refreshing contrast. I understand it, but dammit, I’m Korean and I’ve got a love for melodrama running in my veins — gimme that grand, definitive gesture already!

As for the drama as a whole…

Despite the melodrama tag, this drama was actually infused with a refreshingly light, enjoyable atmosphere. That’s particularly true of the early episodes, and had the drama ended with Episode 10, I’d have been firmly in love with it.

There was a lot of goodness after Episode 10, but that’s where my feelings start to grow conflicted. I understood why things happened the way they did, but I wasn’t enjoying the angst as much. The angst in the first ten episodes was actually a lot of fun (in my opinion), because we always had a payoff and relationship growth accompanying it. In the drama’s latter third, it started feeling like angst for the sake of angst. Poor Go Soo and Han Ye-seul! Did they even realize what they were getting into?

Of course, I say that in jest because both leads have certainly benefited from this drama, despite its middling ratings (it ended today with a 10.9%). I read a few complaints that Go Soo’s tortured acting became tiring to watch, but I think those are in the minority; this drama has been touted as the “Rebirth of Go Soo.” He’s had successful roles in the past, but this and Into the White Night have really established him as not only a pretty face but a pretty strong, intense actor as well.

The responses to Han Ye-seul have been more tempered, and I’ve run across a lot of articles and reviews that qualify her performance, saying, “Even though she has vastly improved her acting here, it’s still lacking…” I agree with that, but on the whole I think Han has acquitted herself pretty well. She could have done more with her role, for sure (and I wish…!), but her efforts to improve are evident; in some of the recent episodes, I thought she showed even more range of expression than Go Soo. She’s still an actress who has difficulty fully immersing herself in character, and she’ll have to choose carefully in the future, but she’s made a lot of strides to distance herself from her old image as a pretty face with marginal acting skill.

And we can’t leave out Jo Min-soo, who played a character who could have been merely irritating and brash, yet instead gave Chun-hee a lot of depth. I could see a number of other middle-aged actresses attempting this role and making Chun-hee hateful, but Jo hit upon that tricky balance of assertive, immature, and vulnerable. Her scenes with Go Soo were simply wonderful.

So I have to conclude that while the ending didn’t leave quite the strong impression I wanted it to, I am glad I went counter to my impulse to avoid all things melodramatic and gave this drama a whirl. I doubt anyone would call it one of Lee Kyung-hee’s best works (not when she has I’m Sorry, I Love You and Thank You to live up to) but it’s not her worst and I wouldn’t dismiss it entirely, either. In between the copious angst and tears, there were a lot of delightful moments.

Will It Snow For Christmas is pretty much a straight, standard melodrama, and some have said that it feels a bit out of step with current trends, or dated. I agree, and the ever-so-slightly-faded color palette and melodic score enhances that feel. However, I look at it in a glass-half-full way; it’s reminiscent of earlier melo fare, but with better acting, music, and overall production quality, making it a “classic” kdrama romance.

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I love the ending. Although it doesn't put the "grandeur" scene, I think it's more real. We are reminded that life goes on, and so does their story. It's a happy ending for sure, but also gets us to think that the couple is still going through a journey of life, and better future is coming their way. I'd been abstinent watching melodrama for ages, but WISFC makes me in love with it again. Thanks for the recaps, JB ^_^

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After seeing and totally enjoying Green Rose, I was really looking forward to seeing Go Soo in another drama.

I must say that this is a total dissapointment.

The only good thing about this drama was the first two episodes.
The actors who played the young leads, were more engaging, the production and direction were more interesting, engaging and enjoyable. Leading us to believe a great drama was in the making.

So much for premature enthusiasm, this drama detoriated episode after episode to the point I was actually hating it. The story became absolutely, absurd and ridiculous from Episode 11 onwards.

What a trashy dissapointment this drama was. They threw every cliche into the mix at the worst possible times, brain tumours, memory loss, love triangles and a whole bunch of other crap to totally destroy this drama and alienate the audience in the process.

I will make a point to ensure that I never watch anything else that the scriptwriters of this woeful and abysmal drama subject us to again!

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Yea.... I decided after watching the whole series that I will block episodes 11-16 from my mind and just say that this drama ended at episode 10 because come on now that was an ending! This way I will not be mad or frustrated with the "real" ending .... scratching my head... saying "That's It?" Hello! I went through all the sadness and angst with you and this is how you are going to end it! Thanks a lot buddy! Uggh anways! Episodes 11-16 was a dream erase it from your mind Mrs. Kaneshiro. All is well again. :)

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the first ten episodes had me, especially the first two. episode 11-16 where so ridiculous. and the ending? no no no whats with the zooming out. grrrrrr... i have very mixed feelings about this drama. VERY MIXED.

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The ending of “Thank You” was also something like this, a happy ending but without much closure… maybe I shouldn’t say this since it is pretty much what it is… well its kind of wishy-washy and not. It is one of those endings where you can’t help but feel like you need it something much more definite, more unmistakable. Is like saying to someone-even when you already know the answer- “I need to hear it from your own lips”
Anyway, I love this type of ending, because it makes you think of what will happen next and I guess everybody is left to come up with their own ideas, which is pretty interesting.
I have come to realize I like dramas written by this writer. I did research on some of her new dramas, and I read that she is the one who wrote "Four Seasons" which has been on my "to watch list" for ages (the drama has not been aired yet) and also wrote "Timeless" which is also another "ghost drama" as I call it, because I can not find it anywhere.
I wonder whatever happened to these two dramas. Can anybody tell me? Thank you.

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I was a little meh at the ending also. I mean, yes, they got together, but STILL! GIVE ME A JOYOUS CELEBRATION FOR GOODNESS SAKE!!! if go soo had said 'saranghae' or something, i'll jump for joy! this is the only time where i m like 'go soo, SPEAK!:"

AND what's with that 1 year later again?!!!!!

Then they should have just made it 2 years of suffering, according to javabeans' calculation, they would be in 2011! it's only february 2010.

yes, the reunion and the cause for this reunion fell a bit flat. if it had been a bit more stronger, i'd believe it. i think the ending is done for the sake of ending.

i, too, loved this show till epi 10. but for the fact that han ye seul have improved her acting and got her spunk back in the latter epis, i'm glad for that.

i actually thought they will never see each other. the breaking up was done well, so sad...but yeah. ending. argh. so close yet so far.

i do love the scenes that both kids are clearly suffering from their separation, how they both cry at the same time in different places. ah, angst. ah, ill-fated lovers. T.T

thanks javabeans, though i watched this drama a month late, i still appreciate your recaps so much! :) makes this drama all the more fun. i hope the writer will write stronger endings next time.

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i guess this really is not my cup of tea. i was dragging the whole time i was watching this. the only reason i tried finishing it was because of the brilliance of the first two episodes.

i actually appreciate the drama. the angst were burdening. it felt like a drama's drama. LOL. but what i liked from it was the tone of the drama. it never did have the big conflicts or villainous plots, and tried to create the conflict within the circle of the characters. it was true to its nature; and even though the final conflicts (JiWan's mom; the incredible guilt trip;) were absurd(imo), it was still within the context of what happened in the earlier episodes. that's also why i appreciate the ending, cause i really didn't expect the ending to be grand. the story was never really big on the reactions and events. it felt like an old drama, minus the over the top situations and conclusions (one amnesia[?] thing was over the top enough for the whole show).

i really hate time jumps, but i do agree that it worked here. it made the story seem a bit more believable and, dare i say, realistic. it made the story mature not just because of the conflicts but because of the time spent brewing over them. but i guess i am no judge, i was satisfied with the series but its not a show i would revisit or rave on about.

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I love WISFC~ Watched it twice and read these posts a couple of times that I've lost count of it. Despite the whole angst that makes it a bit unbearable to watch over and over again, I did enjoy it quite a bit. Yes, I didn't exactly like how the latter of the drama focused on Young Sook but in all, you can't exactly focus on the two main characters all the time - it'll be a bit repetitive wouldn't it? Thus, I decided to agree with the writer for making the latter half a tidbit boring in comparison to the first ten episodes. Obviously, I was hooked on from Episode 1 and 2 due to the children roles, can't wait for them two to have other roles and grow as better actors than they are now.
I actually love Go Soo for picking this drama as his comeback because it suited him quite a lot. His eyes played a significant role in this - starry, glaring eyes equals attraction. Ye Seul was alright as well, except sometimes I do feel the detachment between herself and the role that she is playing. Other actors were pretty good as well. All in all, I love this drama (especially its soundtrack) and I will actually be purchasing this drama in its original copy as soon as I possibly can (just like what I did for Autumn Tale with Moon Geun Young despite the repetition of the plot line).

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I wasnt a big fan of MELODRAMA series.. but this one is actually quiet attract me to keep watching until the end. It may because of Go soo's pretty face...heheh >.< but I hate the fact that he always gave Jiwan no response during most of conversation and gave her a deep stare and sometimes just a merely cool sweetish action, I mean.. this is his character that makes him a cool guy but I really want him to SPEAK moreeee please~~
I dont like the long time leaps too... 2 years.. 1 years.. argh! when I heard kang jin was about to go to Middle east for 3 years, for a second I thought "here we go~~ another 'time leaps again'~~ then fate meet them up accidently in middle east or in korea... everybody forget the past and they finally together. yup thats how it should ends. tskk!

I think this drama should end when he proposed to her in his new build house! I guess it will leave me a deeper memory of an ending rather than the ep16's ending! OMG! it left me unsatisfaction feeling~~~ I hate it when the writer decided to leave the ending for the viewer to imagine .... WHY WHY!??!? I still have a lot of questions! did he go to middle east? are they together now? was he followed her means a YES, i will go to ur house and enjoy dinner!? I don't know what to think.
you know...
I would love to see the ending like the whole casts come to Jiwan's house, forget the past and be a big happy family!
what about you!?

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this drama showed so much promise at the beginning that I was very addicted. The young chap who played the teenage Go Soo was just brilliant!!!
Sadly, the drama dragged on and on after epi 10. Such a dissappointment!! I actually skipped & went straight to the ending after epi 12 and again was deeply disssapointed with the way it ended (the part on the bridge) It fell flat after all the melodrama & all the years apart......aaargahhhhh. Such a waste of my tears on earlier episodes.....hahhahahha!!!

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THE BEST DRAMA!!
I LOVE CHA KANG JIN....Go soo is a very brilliant actor...
this drama becomes so wonderful because of his acting.... can't wait for the next drama..... make it as soon as possible pleeeease.....

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my heart ached until the end. I wanted to claw the eyes of Ji Wan's mom in irritation but nonetheless... the ending. finally the end. i could finally study and sleep peacefully without thinking that i haven't finished this drama yet. that's for my 2 sleepless days. I loved the drama as a whole but don't think would be watching it for any re-runs. i'm going to stick to comedy for the mean time then maybe try Cinderella's sister when my melodramatic senses kicks in again. thank you for all the review and insights. i love reading your thoughts. ^_^v good luck on your future projects.

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This what I call wasting your live for something that you could solve long before it getting worse. Why wasting years only to give this couple their time for their love??? SUCKS!

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so does they end up together??, i still wondering and confuse. Please tell me

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Who the hell approved the script for the last episode?!

I'm so pissed at it right now. Arghhh!

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im not satisfied with the ending because i want to see them married

i really cried to this drama.. i want them ecome happy at the end i want a realy good end..... but this drama is realy awsome

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but i tot KJ was going oversea for 3 years...means they were to be together and KJ decided not to go abroad...so KJ and JW were together..is that what is the ending...

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really hope the ending will end with much better plot...such as both of them are together and looking out the window, then it snows...would that make the story more nicer.i dun like ambiguos ending, letting the audience to guess...

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yes, i agreed with fabulicious. so many questions? if KJ decided to go for dinner, means he is not going abroad and both of them together? is that what is the ending. since KJ followed JW means they are together...hate it to let the audience guessing

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Having seeing the episodes on DVD, I conclude the ending was unambiguously positive and a fitting end to the drama. It's similar to the crisp ending of the 2008 movie version of "Pride and Prejudice".

Kang Jin knows that his mother had been reluctant to give her approval to Ji Wan, aside from Young-sook's resolute opposition to any relations with the Cha family. And surely Ji-wan knows that Chun-hee can barely tolerate her. So both mothers are real barriers to their union. Regardless how persuasive Kang-jin maybe, "the ball" is trully "in the mothers' court".

So the meeting of Chun-hee and Young-sook at Ms Shin's cafe marks the turning point in their attitudes. Prompted by their children's sadness, they must have realised that their antagonism towards each other should stop, letting bygones be bygones before it is too late for each child (Kang-Jin leaves Korea indefinitely and Ji-wan remains unmarried and sad).

I suppose the screen writer intended the viewers to realise that all of us need to "forgive and forget" and not let matters fester for too long. It's due credit to her for dreaming up such an ending.

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I love this drama.. But but but.... In the end, what happens to the mountain house where they proposed to each other?

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Amy asked what happens to the mountain house where Kang-jin proposed to Ji-wan in Episode 11. It's one of the "loose ends" of the drama.

Well, your guess is as good as mine because there's no clues given in that episode.

My educated guess is that Kang-jin sold the property for a handsome profit and subsequently bought the atelier to start his architectural firm. That's a move which any professional person as astute as him would do during the recent economic recovery.

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Thanks John, I might have to agree with you. Since he did say, in episode 16, that he tried to let go of Ji Wan but it took him 3 years to realize that he could not. So, maybe he did sell it off in the effort to forget the past.

That's sad though.... My emotional side would want him to keep it. Since it holds an important memory for the both of them. An ending showing the whole family moving into that house would be simply marvelous! If only the drama is prolonged to 20 episodes.. I'm sure they can tighten up all the loose ends. But that's just purely fulfilling my emotional greed.

Sure this drama has a few 'a little less interesting' parts but I still love it as a whole. It reminds me why Korean Dramas are the best!

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If there is one particular "missing" part in episode 16 which I would like to see is that in which Ji-Wan visits Chun-hee at her home after the meeting at Ms Shin's cafe.

Ji-wan comes to visit Chun-hee at her home or cafe to see Kang-jin but is told by Chun-hee that he has gone to Sancheong (that disclosure will take care of how Ji-wan locates Kang-jin later at the bridge).

Chun-yee then seizes the opportunity to thank Ji-wan and her mother for extending forgiveness and signal her full acceptance of the eventual union of her son to Ji-wan. She adds that, if Kang-jin so wishes, he moves to be with the Han family, now that she has to look after Busan and his wife who are going to be parents. Ji-wan then happily hurries to see Kang-jin at Sancheong, thus setting a more brighter tone to the final ending of the pair at Sancheong.

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I agree with you Javabeans. I enjoyed this drama. I felt like the ending could have been a bit better, but yet I did like how it did have a happy ending. They finally have a chance to move forward and start fresh.

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I'm glad I decided not to watch this and just read the recaps. I would have found it unbearable to watch two grown adults sacrifice their lives for THREE years.

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This drama was great, but I DID NOT enjoy the ending. I would have preferred it if they had gotten married or something. Go Soo is clearly a great actor, i hope he stars in more dramas. But still think that WISFC wasnt as good as Green Rose, where Go Soo acted alongside My Girl actress, Lee Da Hae. That had better ending + more epic surprises!

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your recaps always make the drama far more better!
thanks! i will love go soo forever! hehe

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I loved the ending. I'm just all and all really tired of those cliche endings, you know those endings with a kiss, ending at the airport, ending getting married etc. So I was glad the ending to this drama was unique. Yes it does leave you wanting more but that's kind of the charm of it (like Dream High, people hated the ending but I loved it). It's thought provoking to say the least.

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This was a lovely story and you did a wonderful job recapping it :)

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The ending is as expected-not complete but satisfied.
Is it obvious that they wont be able to let each other go until the day they die? Is it obvious that Jiwan mother takes her first step to forgive the past? Is it obvious that this is an happy ending?
Conversations are deep thoughts, reflects different perspectives and personalities. Overall, it is still strongly a classic Korean's drama: twists and turns, tears and coincidences, tumors and being apart .v.v. BUT, at least I see things different: the solutions- I meant I dont seem to hate any characters in the movies. They have reason to act- even they hurt each other throughout the whole plot. It is all because of "love" which bind into the meaning of "being responsibility" and "family"!

I enjoy the story a lot and I would say it is the most "heavy" drama I ever since.

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I only read all the recaps today and cried my eyes out on this finale. so at the ending does it mean that Kang-jin said yes to the dinner? since he was following her from behind or no?
Also why did they call Kang-jin Ji Yong?
(but "read" I mean I read some parts but mosty skimmed)

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i love ji yong oppa!

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Han Ye Seul is totally forgettable as an actress. I didn't even remember her here. I thought my first drama with her is Myung-wol the Spy. Haha.

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My suggestion is that the Brother died due to suicidal interest. There were clues. First, the abrupt home visit from the brother. Then actually contacting Kangjin, and handing over journals. Then, meeting with his sister and promising that he wouldn't get out of the water if he couldn't find the pedant. He mentioned earlier that he was a sucba-diver and was really good at swimming. Also its clear that the river was sallow as indicated in the footages of Jiwan and Kangjin swimming in the water. And then he comes back to speak to his sister one last time in ep 3, speaking as if he had it kind of planned all along. IT WAS SO SUCIDE!

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does this mean that he will not be leaving overseas? :)

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I like watching this drama it has very sweet n romantic plot(story). But, i bit confuse with the title "will it snow gor christmas?" Coz it has no story at all that connecting with christmas.

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please somebody tell me, i don't understand the ending, does Jiwan andKangjin can be together??

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i mean end up together(HAPPY ENDING YEAYYY)????, because last time i thought that is their last meeting

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