Rooftop Prince: Episode 20 (Final)
by javabeans
Well, wouldn’tcha know: Here’s a surprisingly satisfying ending for a series that was in danger of losing its way on multiple occasions. We finally get at the truth of the big Joseon mystery, and I was pleasantly surprised with how well it worked with the plot we’ve seen thus far, and the characterizations of our characters (in both time zones).
I’ve always wanted to go back to the Joseon times more, and missed the story that got left hanging after the first episode, so I was reminded of how I felt when beginning the show. It makes me think that it was a shame the show didn’t capitalize on the past storyline more, though I can see that the whole point was in making the future the key to the past.
In any case, if a flagging drama had to pull out one really strong episode amid a bunch of middling ones, the finale sure is the place to do it. It seems viewers agreed, since the finale pulled Rooftop Prince into first place after giving up that slot to Equator Man for weeks; it went out with a 14.8%, while Equator closed with a 14.1%. The King 2 Hearts ended on an 11.8% rating.
SONG OF THE DAY
Fanny Fink – “Hear Song” [ Download ]
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FINAL EPISODE RECAP
Yi Gak disappears from the modern world, leaving Park-ha crying on her lonely rooftop. As for the other side of the wormhole? We find Yi Gak reappearing in his own era, still dressed in his wedding suit, sitting in a barn.
It’s a strange sight for the locals, and he attracts stares as they pass by the marketplace. Then a team of policemen barrel through the crowd right for him, yelling, “Stop! Capture him!” Who, me? turns into OhcrapRUN!
As he flees, he literally runs right into Chi-san, who’s also running, still dressed in the same shorts and flip-flops he was in when he disappeared from the 21st century. Wait, have you been running for two whole days? Or does the wormhole dump all travelers into the same time, despite staggered departures?
Lucky for them, these are incompetent officers who lose him in plain sight. Though I suppose since they’re Prince Yi Gak’s line of defense, maybe not so lucky after all.
The boys briefly split up in the chase, and when Yi Gak finds Chi-san, he’s unconscious in the street with blood smeared on his face. He moans in pain… and then licks the blood away—ketchup, his favorite trick—and asks, “They’re gone, right?” HA, and now it makes sense why Chi-san was eating a hamburger in the car when he vanished, because now he clutches a small foil ketchup packet. Handy, that.
They’re safe from the authorities, but now the problem is how to get back to the palace without being immediately cast away as crazies. Thankfully, Yi Gak spies something in the distance: two ordinary-looking Joseon men, drinking from beer cans. Haha.
Looks like Man-bo and Yong-sool’s ever-present backpacks saved their hides after all. They didn’t leap with Joseon money, but they were able to trade a pack of gum for a full meal; a little modern marvel goes a long way.
Thirsty Yi Gak reaches for a drink, but the can is empty and Yong-sool reminds him (a little defensively, heh) that they were responsible for their own belongings. (As in, If you wanted one, you should’ve packed one.) Fortunately, Man-bo thought to pack the prince’s royal garb, which eliminates their biggest concern.
Elsewhere, Minister Hong—Bu-yong and Hwa-yong’s father—is informed of the prince’s shocking reappearance at the palace, which he does not take as good news. If Dad’s reaction weren’t enough to tip us off that he’s secretly aligned against the prince, how about the fact that his partner (dun dun dun!) has Tae-mu’s face? (Apparently his name is Muchang-gun, but no need to introduce new names at this point, is there? Joseon Tae-mu it is.)
Minister Hong angrily tells Joseon Tae-mu that the prince was reportedly taken care of last night when he was chased through the forest. Ahh, so the boys have returned just one day after their initial time-leap, and Joseon Tae-mu did try to assassinate him. Heh, so his incompetence as a murderer spans time and space; good to know some things are consistent.
Lord Tae-mu gets up, takes his sword out, and slices down the two henchmen stationed outside: “It appears that the assassins made a mistake last night.”
The ducklings return to the palace to meet the prince after having some time to go home, see their families, and dress in their old clothing. They’re puzzled at the inconsistency of the time lapse as well, which resulted in one sisterly, “Ew, gross, get away,” when Man-bo gave his sister a bear hug in relief, since she’d just seen him the day before.
They wonder if it could have been a dream, and at Man-bo’s modern reply of, “No way, that’s crazy,” Yi Gak reminds them all to remember their Joseon mannerisms. Ha, now they’re fish out of water in their own time zones. Talk about monster jet lag.
Now that everyone’s back in their rightful places, it’s time to turn their attention to that mystery. The prince orders his team to set up a special division at the Euigeumbu (the Joseon department investigating crimes under the king’s decree), and to summon the princess’s family there.
Bu-yong’s mother can’t understand the summons, and she’s still grieving for her daughter. But Minister Hong understands the greater politics at play and declares that it’ll all be over soon: “Either I will die, or the Crown Prince will.”
Thus they are rounded up and brought before Yi Gak, who asks if they understand why they’re here and where Bu-yong is. Minister Hong claims complete innocence regarding Hwa-yong’s death, and his wife explains that Bu-yong is shut in her room, suffering from a contagious disease.
But Yi Gak isn’t here to find out answers, but to reveal them. He begins with the death seven days ago:
In flashback, we see Bu-yong looking wistfully at the prince, hidden around a corner as he walks through the courtyard. She trips and falls, dropping a cosmetics container with powder, which spills to the ground.
Yi Gak comes up behind her as she’s crouched on the ground and has a little fun teasing her. He offers his hand, tsk-tsks about her tripping yet again, and asks about the dropped container. Bu-yong identifies it as face powder sent to the princess by their older brother.
Yi Gak is delighted to hear that she hasn’t been able to figure out his puzzle—what dies though it lives, and lives though it dies?—and says that if she doesn’t produce the answer by tomorrow, he wins.
Bu-yong visits unni Hwa-yong in the palace and makes her deliveries: the powder from their brother, and a letter from their father. Bu-yong notes that the powder smells a little different, wondering if it’s because it’s from China, and asks to take a look. But Hwa-yong—who opened the letter looking disturbed—snaps at her not to touch it, rattled by whatever Daddy wrote her. To kill the prince, perhaps?
There’s one last thing, and Bu-yong hands over a new handkerchief she has embroidered for the prince. But Hwa-yong is so upset by the letter that she barks at Bu-yong to leave.
Bu-yong arrives home while Joseon Tae-mu is sitting with her father, and the two men clam up at the sight of her. Curious at their unfamiliar guest, Bu-yong asks her mother about him, and learns that he is Muchang-gun, the prince’s half-brother. He’s such an obscure prince that Bu-yong has never heard of him, but that’s because he was kicked out of the palace when he was three, when his mother was dethroned.
Bu-yong starts to wonder at the curious circumstances, especially when her mother dismisses her questions and says vaguely that it’s Dad’s business. The clues are too odd to ignore, and she muses that the powder didn’t smell like cosmetics. She remembers her father’s letter, which she was instructed to bring back after the princess had read, which she forgot to convey back to Dad.
Bu-yong takes it out and reads the ominous contents: “Your Highness, today is the day. Listen to your father’s words carefully, you must not make a mistake.”
Bu-yong understands that a plot is under way, just as Minister Hong remembers that he was supposed to get the letter from her. He sends his underling (brother? son?) to retrieve it, which is found in Bu-yong’s room, open and clearly read.
She’s gone, though, having raced away to the palace, desperate to interrupt the deadly plot. Joseon Tae-mu can’t have that and orders his men to capture her, killing her if necessary. His coup is on the line.
As Bu-yong runs, we hear the rest of the letter’s contents: That Hwa-yong is to handle the dried persimmons at their nightly tea, distracting the prince long enough to sprinkle the powder on top.
So Hwa-yong presents the prince with his new handkerchief, and while he admires it, she poisons the persimmon and serves him tea. He comments that he met her sister today, and that he saw her tripping and spilling that face powder. The longer he talks, the more nervous Hwa-yong gets, shaking in guilt and fear.
Just as he reaches for the persimmon, Bu-yong is announced. She has to explain her presence somehow, and Hwa-yong rebukes her for ignoring the rules, telling her to come back tomorrow. Both sisters distractedly eye the persimmons—one needs the prince to eat it, the other is relieved they’re yet untouched.
Yi Gak is in a generous mood, though, so he allows her to stay and asks what she has to say. Bu-yong replies that she has solved the puzzle, making him chuckle. He’d told her she had until tomorrow, so this is her way of winning the bet (he assumes).
She says, “The answer is… Bu-yong (lotus).” Hwa-yong smirks at the audacity of naming herself, but the prince asks for the explanation. Bu-yong explains how the lotus is a flower that grows in a pond, whose roots go deep below into the ground, where all living things die. In order to flower, the lotus takes in that which has died; even though it lives, the flower must die for its seeds to again fall to the ground to bring new life. Furthermore, in Buddhism the samsara is a concept of the birth-life-death cycle, which is represented by the lotus.
Yi Gak laughs at that, impressed, and concedes that he lost again. By now Hwa-yong is edgy and impatient, and dismisses her sister. But Bu-yong can’t just go, and asks for her reward: the persimmon.
Aww, that’s so sad. And a helluva lot more poignant a sacrifice than running in front of a car, because while the situations are paralleled, the actual mechanism of the conflict works much better in this intrigue-laden Joseon era, with treason and coups and betrayals galore. (She can’t reveal the truth without condemning her entire family to ruination and execution, so she’ll just eat the poison and save the prince.)
Hwa-yong looks troubled while the prince finds the request paltry, but Bu-yong entreats him to comply, saying that this is what she needs right now. With trembling hands, she takes them and eats, every last one. And Hwa-yong doesn’t say a thing.
When she’s done, the prince calls it a night, and Bu-yong asks him to live in peace. Hwa-yong hangs her head, blinking back her own tears. When Bu-yong leaves, she’s already feeling the effects and stumbles weakly. She asks the court lady that if the princess should look for her later, to meet her at the Lotus Pavilion.
Then, with difficulty, she staggers out to wait by the pond, breathing painfully, remembering all her times with the prince.
After the prince goes to sleep, Hwa-yong slips away with two court ladies, heading to the pavilion. She leaves them outside the building, then faces her dying sister inside. I’m going to give Hwa-yong a wee bit of credit in thinking that she is rightfully horrified that her sister is dying, even if her first words are to blame Bu-yong for “ruining everything.” But it’s very wee.
Hwa-yong points out that Bu-yong’s big sacrifice isn’t going to fix much, since once she’s dead it’ll be easily discovered that she was poisoned, and their whole family will be killed if it is linked to an attempt on the prince’s life. But Bu-yong pleads with her sister for one last request, to protect the prince.
To that end, she has a plan: Dress Bu-yong in the princess’s clothes and pass off her corpse for Hwa-yong’s. If her body is believed to be the princess’s, it’ll deflect the suspicion away from an assassination attempt on the prince (whereas, nobody has cause to murder a nobody like Bu-yong, so if her body were discovered, the inquest would continue). This means Hwa-yong will have to give up her identity as the princess, but it would spare the family’s life. Furthermore, without his connection to the princess, their father loses his position of power and therefore he can no longer be a threat to the prince, and therefore the coup against Yi Gak will stall.
Time is running out, and Bu-yong gasps in pain that they must hurry. The women trade clothing.
Outside, however, Joseon Tae-mu is on the prowl, dressed in dark assassin’s clothing. He spies the court ladies and approaches the Lotus Pavilion, and cuts them down—finally, a successful murder! Yay?
Hwa-yong, dressed in Bu-yong’s clothes and face mask, emerges from the pavilion alone and runs to her father’s house. Bu-yong, meanwhile, starts to cough up blood. She clutches a letter in one hand and rises with difficulty to hide it behind a screen.
Outside, she looks into the water for long moments, shaking in pain and fear as she prepares herself. Murmuring, “Your Highness,” Bu-yong closes her eyes and falls into the water to her death.
End of flashback. In the “present” day Joseon timeline, Yi Gak finishes relating this story to the Hong family with angry condemnation.
Minister Hong insists that it was the princess who died, and it seems like the parents really are surprised. Yi Gak challenges them, asking if they can be absolutely sure that the sickly daughter at home is Bu-yong. He orders his ducklings to search the household for Bu-yong, and accompanies his team of special investigators to scour the property.
She is discovered hiding, and Yi Gak reaches to uncover her face, just as they hear the approach of attackers. It’s Joseon Tae-mu and his team of rebels, leading to a skirmish in the courtyard. He seizes his bow and arrow and shoots at Yi Gak… getting him square in the chest. Oh noes!
Yong-sool corners Joseon Tae-mu, though, stopping him in his tracks with a sword to the throat. And curiously, Yi Gak doesn’t seem to be in pain as he pulls the arrow from his chest. Aw, did his marriage pendant save his life?
Now he turns back to Hwa-yong, ordering her to raise her head to face him. He pulls the mask from her face, and sees his wife. That confirms everything, and he looks at her with furious contempt. Hwa-yong grabs his legs and begs for mercy, crying that she knows nothing, pleading for her life. Yi Gak thunders, “How is it that a wicked thing like you could be the princess?! It is not me to whom you should beg for your life—you should beg it from Bu-yong!”
He orders everyone rounded up and taken to the Euigeumbu to be charged as traitors. His men rush to his side, and he reveals the pendant Park-ha gave him, now dented from the arrow. He tells them, “Park-ha saved my life once more. Dummy.”
Hour of judgment. Yi Gak charges Minister Hong for the attempt on his life, and orders father and son executed by beheading. He charges his half-brother, whom he’d thought of favorably despite their long estrangement, with the same crime and punishment. In memory of Bu-yong’s sacrifice, he spares Hwa-yong and her mother, but strips the princess of her crown and sends them into exile.
Some time later, Yi Gak walks along that bridge alone now, thinking of Park-ha. He makes his way into the Lotus Pavilion, his gaze settling on the screen against the wall. The painted butterfly glows briefly, bringing him closer, and that leads him to a discovery: the letter Bu-yong had slipped between the panels.
He rips the letter out of hiding and reads the words she’d written in her dying moments.
“Your Highness, if you are reading this letter it means you are alive, and that makes me, Bu-yong, happy. There is one thing that is good about dying. I am glad that I can now say the words I have long held in my heart. I loved you, Your Highness. I cared for you my entire life. That which lives despite dying, and dies though living—even hundreds of years later, I will love you.”
Yi Gak sheds tears, and then has an idea, scrambling to write a letter of his own, which starts, “Park-ha-ya, I arrived safely. How are you?” He rolls up the paper and slips it into a tube, then tucks that into the palace hiding place he’d once shown her, where he retrieved her jade wedding pendant.
Back to the present, where Park-ha returns to the palace. She finds the hiding spot and feels around, hoping for something. She does, and opens the tube with anticipation, finding the old, yellowed parchment.
The letter continues:
“If you are able to read this letter, three hundred years will have passed. And if this letter finds its ways into your hands, I take back my words calling you Dummy. Is your fruit juice business going well? I can only imagine how you are doing, unable to touch you. I miss you like crazy. I want to hear your voice, and touch you. If I could die and meet you, I would die right now.”
And then, a familiar face arrives to order an apple juice. She’s in such a daze that he has to call to her twice, and then she doesn’t even spare him a glance. It’s Tae-yong, or is it Yi Gak?, and he smiles pleasantly at her.
The letter goes on to say, “I should have said I love you more. Park-ha-ya, I love you. I miss your smiling face like crazy. You must be well.”
The customer pays and keeps looking at Park-ha expectantly, like he wants her to look at him. But she barely notices, and he leaves.
Back to Joseon, where our ducklings… have set up a food stand of their own, selling—what else?—omurice. They even make their own fresh ketchup, bickering like old friends, and Chi-san even plugs in his iPod to ignore Man-bo’s nagging. Ha. What’re you gonna do when those batteries die, huh?
The boys make their delivery to the prince, and then poof, instead of their Joseon hanboks they’re wearing those comfy newfangled tracksuits, so they can eat their omurice in comfort. HAHA. Okay, that’s pretty cute.
They wolf down their food like old times, but as he finishes, Yi Gak finds himself on the verge of tears and sad thoughts. He makes an excuse, but the boys know what troubles him, and offer him a park-ha peppermint as dessert. And today, Yong-sool gets the evil eye for crunching into his, hee.
2012. Park-ha arrives at work to find a postcard of the Seoul Tower stuck into her front door, with a note asking her to meet there tonight.
On the flipside is a new sketch of her, depicting her at her juice blender, with Tae-yong’s familiar initials in the corner. And THAT gets her attention, finally.
She arrives at the meeting point and waits for a while, masses of tourists passing by in a blur. When the crowd disperses, one person is left standing by her side, looking at her with an expectant gaze.
It’s Tae-yong (or is it?), and he asks, “Why are you so late? I’ve been waiting for a long time.” Park-ha asks where he’s been, because “I was here the whole time.”
He’s looking at her like he knows her, but it’s not entirely clear which incarnation this is. My brain says Tae-yong, but the heart hopes for Yi Gak…
Tae-yong holds out his hand to her, and she takes it. The moment she does, suddenly the man transforms right before her eyes, wearing prince’s robes.
They look at each other with tears running down their faces, both thinking to themselves, “Even after three hundred years pass, I will love you.”
COMMENTS
I was holding out hope till the very last moment that Yi Gak had found a way back to Park-ha somehow, even if that would have flouted all narrative logic. (Hey, it’s not like the show has a lot of that left to lose.) But no, it’s Tae-yong standing there at the end, as the couple’s last words remind tell us that we’re looking at the three-hundred-years-later version, not the original.
And even though I balk at the idea of swapping out one Yoochun for another, reincarnated soul be damned, the show does manage to soften the blow by giving us the image of Yi Gak at the end to assure us that yes, he is the same person. (Kind of.) As in, this isn’t a cheap copy that we’re left to settle for, but as close a thing to the real deal as you can wrap your head around.
I confess to not being entirely sold on the reincarnated soul making up for the loss, but I appreciate the last scene’s depiction of the reunion—it isn’t the same pairing that we’ve been watching all series long, but because Park-ha sees Tae-yong dressed as Yi Gak (in her mind, it seems to be saying), it’s like their souls recognize each other. The material world and their current bodily trappings change from lifetime to lifetime, but the essence of their love is still there, and that recognition sweeps through them both.
It’s not a perfect happily ever after, but I’m strangely okay with it. Possibly because this show isn’t one that sticks with me emotionally in the first place so its flaws don’t upset me terribly either. I suspect that if the show had gone out on Tae-yong and Park-ha together, I would have been unhappy, but the swap to show Yi Gak standing there, reinforcing that it’s supposed to be the same soul, does go a long way toward getting me to accept it.
I do feel like Yi Gak sure got stuck with the short end of the stick, in that he loses both Bu-yong and Park-ha and has to live the rest of his life single. He’s got his sidekicks there, which helps, but he doesn’t get a consolation romance like Park-ha. I guess she’s the one who has to live knowing that Yi Gak is already dead, but somehow I think it’s worse to be him, either pining or grieving or in an existential state of “Well, I guess it all works out in the end, even if it’s not MY end.”
On the other hand, his Joseon storyline was always about bringing justice for the murder, not recovering a lost love. He starts out the drama grieving for his wife, and he never harbored illusions of being able to jump back in time to bring her back to life. So in that regard, he succeeds in what he set out to do: uncover the murderer, realize the truth, and punish the wrongdoers. If he hadn’t time-warped in the first place, he would still have had to deal with the grief of losing a loved one; at least in this case he knows he loved the right one?
I was satisfied with the wrap-up of the Joseon mystery in the final episode, and found Bu-yong’s sacrifice pretty heartbreaking. I understood it and felt for it, even though the very same action in 2012 had me scoffing and rolling my eyes. Her act had more emotional impact, and I felt the bittersweetness of Yi Gak’s discovery of what she’d done.
The finale also made me think that the seeds were planted well enough in advance to convince me that the writer DID know what he was doing. He clearly had the important beats worked out from the start, and the neatness of the resolution proves that this there was a decent amount of forethought given to the plot. The problem this drama had is the opposite of a lot of other live-shoot dramas, where you can sense the story unraveling at the seams and writers throwing whatever they can at the show to keep it going. Here, it feels like the show knew how it was going to end, but didn’t do a good job budgeting its plot in the middle portion and ended up whipping up whatever stories it could to keep the show treading water till it could dovetail with the planned part.
I do wish the plot mechanisms were more explained, though, since I’m still left wondering at the reason for the time-jump in the first place. We get a vague understanding that there’s a Fate-like power deciding when to move them forward and backward, and I think we’re safe in assuming that this Fate allowed Tae-yong to wake up after Yi Gak left his world. But it never quite addresses the Why of it all. Do random other people throughout history also get to visit their future selves, when something goes awry in their own worlds?
All in all, Rooftop Prince was a fluffy drama that I could watch easily without thinking too hard, especially when the show brought on the cute characters, fish-out-of-water jokes, hilarious sight gags and puns, and the sweet chemistry between Yoochun and Han Ji-min. It definitely is a show where the charm of the cast makes up for a lot.
Ultimately there wasn’t a whole lotta plot, which means that half the show was spent stretching out the same beats and repeating them with slight (but insufficient) variations on the same theme. Here’s a case of a show that should’ve been ten episodes at most, having to scrounge up stuff to fill twenty.
At least we had amusing interactions, with beautiful crying by Han Ji-min and an impressive leap in performance by Yoochun, who stretched himself a lot with this role. I’ll look forward to more things in both their futures—as well as the Joseon ducklings—though the production team is on notice.
RELATED POSTS
- Rooftop Prince: Episode 19
- Rooftop Prince: Episode 18
- Rooftop Prince: Episode 17
- Thing vs. Thing: Time-traveling Heroes
- Rooftop Prince: Episode 16
- Rooftop Prince: Episode 15
- Rooftop Prince: Episode 14
- Rooftop Prince: Episode 13
- Rooftop Prince: Episode 12
- Rooftop Prince: Episode 11
- Rooftop Prince: Episode 10
- Rooftop Prince: Episode 9
- Rooftop Prince: Episode 8
- Rooftop Prince: Episode 7
- The untold love story: Rooftop Fashion King
- Rooftop Prince: Episode 6
- Rooftop Prince: Episode 5
- Rooftop Prince: Episode 4
- Rooftop Prince: Episode 3
- Rooftop Prince: Episode 2
- Rooftop Prince: Episode 1
Tags: featured, Han Ji-min, Jung Yumi (2), Lee Tae-sung, Micky Yoochun, Rooftop Prince
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101 riri
May 24, 2012 at 11:22 PM
the things i always remembered from this drama they never forgot give some funny plots in every single episode...made this drama a perfect comedy bromance :)
huffff ^_^
bu bye RTP...really nice drama,
hope to see Yoochun play another drama with Han ji Min
will miss them a lot plus the ducklings
they r all great ^^
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102 eternalfive
May 24, 2012 at 11:30 PM
Aww okay, this last episode was pretty sweet. If only it could've been the same the whole way through. Anyway, thanks for your fantastic recaps, JB!
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103 ayn
May 24, 2012 at 11:32 PM
Thanks for the recaps. Enjoyed all of them and your side comments of course - loved them!
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104 Kiongna
May 24, 2012 at 11:36 PM
So much tears my poor eyes produced, so much laughter and anger too at the villains grrrrrrr but so worth it..all 3 wed & thur dramas EM, RTP & K2H - truly made the past few months chasing them so satisfying!
Thanks so much dear Javabeans!
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105 Florentine Lily
May 24, 2012 at 11:38 PM
Goodbye RTP. It's been rocky but it's been sweet!
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106 Kelly
May 24, 2012 at 11:50 PM
i like the way you write complete Episode at this web ...but i like to watch that complete Episode in video as well...hare i found a new channel where you can easily watch that complete Episode with English subtitle.
http://yrfreetv.blogspot.com/2012/05/rooftop-prince-ep-20-eng-sub-sbs-attic.html
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107 purplemay
May 24, 2012 at 11:51 PM
I love it! thanks for the recap!
waiting for eng subs patiently...
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108 shirin-noona
May 24, 2012 at 11:53 PM
Dearest Javabeans!
Watching dramas is a hundred times more enjoyable when we have your recaps to read.Actually half of the time your recaps are better than the actual drama!So thank you so much for your hard work.I loved this drama and I loved your recaps,even though I have a totally different ending scenario in my head!:D
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109 lestrange
May 24, 2012 at 11:57 PM
I still wanted Yi Gak with Park Ha to be together in the end, but I can accept her with Tae Yong b/c not only is he Yi Gak's reincarnation, but also because it's probably the only way for the story to end happily while still making SENSE.
The plot and time-travelling logistics didn't really leave an option for another ending that would have been happy AND logical.
Still a great drama overall. Loved it!
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110 Minty V
May 25, 2012 at 12:21 AM
can someone clear this up for me?... i can't read Hangul so is the romanized name Park Ha or Bak Ha?
i know it's trivial but i'm curious LOL
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Minty V
May 25, 2012 at 12:27 AM
oh, similar question -- Lee Gak or Yi Gak?
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fluffyinflight
May 25, 2012 at 3:21 AM
Yi Gak, but who now had a few of Tae Yong's qualities eg drawing. Look at the Princely pose when they met in the end, Listen to what was said and the way he looked at her. Listen to what he said while he was at Joseon in the last epi . He said he could die now if he could meet her again and that's what I think happened. If it was really Tae Yong through and through, he would've introduced himself to her, but the person never did that, listen to what they said, and the reference to the 300 year wait. and the way they were both crying. They both knew who it was and they both remembered "everything".
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Raitei
May 25, 2012 at 8:17 AM
I think it's Park Ha (although the actual spelling in Hangul is Pak Ha). Not really sure about this one.
For the prince, both are correct. Yi Gak is the McCune–Reischauer romanization while Lee Gak is the Revised romanization (currently the official system used in Korea, I believe).
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111 bd
May 25, 2012 at 12:31 AM
1st thing, Yi Gak/Yoochun needs to be arrested for the "crime" of wearing too TIGHT jeans just look Yoo Jae suk in an ep of RM a few weeks ago (Park-ha's jeans were skin tight, but she's a girl so she gets a pass).
As for RTP, I suppose my 1st instincts were right when I found the 1st ep to be nothing more than the typical K-drama cliche story-line w/ 1 dimensional, overexaggerated stereotypical antagonists.
Pretty much lost interest right there (the scenes in NYC w/ the crappy white actors didn't help either) which is why I ended up holding off on RTP for a while and instead, watching "The Moon That Embraces the Sun" (which was pretty good during the "kiddie" eps and then fell apart).
Came back to RTP and enjoyed the next few eps solely b/c of the Joseon Power Rangers. Unfortunately, the times w/ the JPRs started to diminish more time was spent on corporate machinations/power grab and romantic and family relationships which was all pretty much a mess (and I really like corporate/palace machinations as long as they are done well).
Watching K-dramas, I expect and can deal w/ a certain amount of typical K-drama cliches or situations like "noble idiocy" or "characters just missing each other as they cross paths" or "characters who coincidentally happen to bump into each other" ("Lie To Me" really abused that one), but RTP was full of one bad cliche moment or situation after another and the writer(s) really dragged out the "noble idiocy" btwn Yi Gak and Park ha where basically I no longer cared whether they got together or not.
From the onset, I though it was kinda weird that Park ha and Se na weren't blood sisters like in the past, but as it turned out, they were - but oh, what a way to work that and just about every K-drama cliche in the book.
Now I know that the protagonist(s) being raised by a single parent or grandparents is pretty much standard fare, but 2 blood sisters who thought they were just step-sisters who were abandoned by their birth mother at SEPARATE times and then raised by a mother (which one sister thought was her birth mother) who was the sister of the birth mother who also happened to marry the same man, until the one sister made the other disappear by virtue of abandoning her on the truck, the accident and then amnesia - and then adoption to the US.
Not even sure what I wrote is coherent, but C'MON!! Even for K-drama-land, this premise is simply RIDICULOUS.
Now, I'm someone who can accept for the sake of the story - time travel, a 900 year old 9-tailed fox who comes to life, switching bodies, ghosts, etc. - but the whole thing about the relationships about the mothers, sisters and the same husband is totally unbelievable (frankly, ridiculous and a bit sick).
And then you had Park ha being trapped in a warehouse that is ablaze, being trapped in the back of a freezer, getting hit by a car when she could have easily yelled out to Yi Gak (or move out of the way herself), and all the times she got in trouble due to Se na b/c she set herself up so easily (none of the schemes were particulary intriguing) or could have gotten out of it if she had just opened her mouth.
Basically as time went on, Park ha become more and more the helpless victim and even worse, more and more of an idiot.
Key example is when YG told PH of the copy of the her family photo in Tae-mu's desk (which of course, YG didn't get to see the face of the mother); so instead of waiting for YG to go back and take a pic of the photo as planned, PH blows the cover and asks TM about the pic, totally alerting him and giving him a chance to get rid of the photo (this is where the writer intentionally makes his heroine stupid so that the charade about the mystery of the woman in the photo can be dragged out even longer, as well as a facade of "suspense").
But the idiocy hardly stopped w/ PH or w/ the photo. Chairman Jang was about to see the PH's photo until she was interrupted by a phone call (cliche), but then Jang has the envelope w/ the photo for basically a whole day until she returns the envelope to PH in the car. Aside from SN not trying to get rid of the envelope w/ the photo when it was right in front of her in the car, Jang had the photo in her possession this whole time and she DIDN"T bother to LOOK at the photo?
And of course, PH didn't ask Jang if she saw it while in the car and only when she returned to the airport was the photo shown and the relationship revealed.
By this time, the buildup for the emotional (cliche) airport scene took SO LONG and was so convoluted that any emotional impact it had was long gone.
Yi Gak as Tae-yong wasn't immune to idiocy as well; getting crap from halmoni for missing the impt. meeting (would it have been that difficult to divulge that he spent that time saving someone's life? Methinks halmoni would have approved) or instead of simply telling the cop that he needs to step out of jail for a moment, how 'bout telling him about the video from car that was in the accident?
And aside from a woman abandoning 2 daughters at diff. times and all the stuff that went along w/ that (accident, amnesia, adoption, etc.), we have the father who died, a guy (Tae-yong) who should have been DEAD (he was floating face-DOWN in New York harbor), but ended up in a COMA (in of all places Chicago) and a dead grandmother and the biological mother who just happened to strike it rich and also have what it seems is a terminal illnes, numerous car accidents/getting hit by a car, blackmail, being trapped in a fire, being poisoned, etc.
The writer(s) pretty much hit every K-drama cliche in the book, which would have been OK if it had been done some ingenuity/refreshing twist but no, it was paint by numbers cliche.
And the writer did things w/ absolutely no rhyme or reason - I mean really, how did TY end up in Chicago of all places and how did TM find out about it after all this time?
Now, all the bad cliche-filled story-lines/situations could have been somewhat alleviated if there had least been some snappy, witty dialogue, but that was in short supply or if one really developed feelings for the characters where the emotional moments really rang a bell, but alas, that was not the case.
All the big emotional moments such as the 1st moment when PH and YG confessed their feelings for each other, when grandma died, when PH and Jang found out they were mother and daughter, the wedding at the end - had little or even ZERO emotional impact due to the situations all being dragged out too long and/or being overly SAPPY.
Even if we overlook the whole Chairman Jang abandonment of 2 daughters at separate times, there was no logic behind her actions/emotions.
Jang didn't seem that moved upon seeing Se na and was willing to give up on the search for PH after only a short-while (yeah, she sure seemed intent on finding her "lost" daughter). And after Jang and PH finally discovered the truth after all this time, Jang still ended up getting on the plane and going to HK? For someone who supposedly has a terminal illness, shouldn't she want to spend time w/ her daughters?
And considering the circumstances, I think a discussion about abandonment was in order (now THAT could have been a real emotional moment).
And did anyone really believe SN having that CHANGE of HEART at the end, when she was as evil as can be during pretty much the entire series?
This was someone who not only screwed PH over so many times, she still tried to screw PH AFTER she found out that they were really blood-related sisters.
This is the same SN who didn't want to blow her cover even when the mother who raised her (who she thought at the time was her birth mother) was hit by the car TM was driving (TM was more considerate about the mother and PH - just as long as they didn't get in the way of his power/$$ grab) - so now someone who has been totally selfish all along is now willing to undergo a major surgery and then surrender to the police (when the authorities had nothing on her)?
And what was the deal w/ TM demanding the surrender of ownership in the company in return for SN's help? And once TM had ownership transfer and knew that GY gave SN all the evidence against them, why did he have to flee Korea (by small boat of all things)?
There was no need to leave at that point and really, simply having the paperwork for transfer of stock ownership isn't exactly the path to get access to the company's coffers, esp. if one supposedly is a fugitive in hiding.
And really, the hidden recorder recording a confession thing? It was so paint by numbers and why the heck was TM running TOWARDS the cop car?
There was no authencity to these characters or actions - which totally drained any suspense or emotion.
Even PH's character was over-the-top goody, goody. PH could have busted SN so many times, but she kept her mouth shut and as RTP went along, the writer(s) made PH more pathetic and more stupid. And after all the things that SN did to her, including, plotting and acting as bait to get YG murdered, PH STILL forgives her? OK
Also didn't quite buy the relationship btwn PH and YG. 1st off HJM and MYoochun didn't exactly have much chemistry (unlike say, KTH and SSH in "My Princess") and the development of their relationship wasn't as well done as in other romcoms (YG was all gaga over SN and then dropped her like an anchor), being overly sappy too many times.
And what exactly was the PURPOSE for YG and the JPRs to leap 300 years into modern times? One would think that it was to solve the mystery of the "Crown Princess' death" and that throughout the series that YG and the JPRs would learn clues that would help them solve the mystery, but really nothing.
But when YG and the JPRs went back to Joseon time, he all of a sudden had all the answers? This is another example of lazy writing (of the writer just throwing crap together).
I mean really, why would Minister Hong, the FATHER to the Crown Princess want to get rid of the Crown Prince? Same goes for the Crown Princess, who unlike SN, already ACHIEVED power/wealth by being married to YG.
And apparently, Bu-yong is about as bright as PH. So eating the poisoned persimmons is the solution? W/ her dead, there's no one to warn the YG about her father and General TM's plot, and as it turned out, she died in vain b/c her father and brother were still beheaded and her mother and sister still banished into exile.
The JPRs are the only thing that saves RTP from being the complete trainwreck that "Secret Garden" and "Lie to Me" are - all 3 being examples of cliche filled storylines, ridiculous scenarios that make little sense and/or plotlines that get dropped abruptly w/ no explanation and over the top/1 dimensional stereotypical characters and the absence of witty, memorable dialogue (instead getting lame and overly sappy dialogue).
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meru
May 25, 2012 at 1:00 AM
I almost though I was reading another recaps.
Hehe :D
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Coco
May 25, 2012 at 1:24 AM
Sweety, you're too bitter, and you make everything sound complicated. Tsk tsk tsk...
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meru
May 25, 2012 at 1:53 AM
hahaha :D Agree, just enjoy the show lol
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Tommy Gun
May 25, 2012 at 2:50 AM
Nah he was just TROLLING but we gotta respect him for that, it could probably have taken him an hour writing the recaps above, summing up the whole drama from ep1 to ep20.
Kudos to you my dear Troll :)
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Minty V
May 25, 2012 at 2:59 AM
but i feel sorry for anyone who went through a whole kdrama just to find out they hate it :(
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sweetooth
May 25, 2012 at 4:23 AM
DANG. It sure sucks to be YOU.
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barwnkesteven
May 25, 2012 at 5:00 AM
TL;DR
That's alot of writing for not liking it?
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madsu
May 25, 2012 at 5:36 AM
bd.. Thank you for that inspired episode by episode rant.
With you ALL the way.
Even JPRs were unbelievably under utilized. If the Prince had known some marital arts and had an ounce of sense, JPRs were useless. They should have been spying, body guarding, researching and strategizing like nobody's business, but they were dutifully absent for most of the central episodes.
The Prince is an absolute moron and PH is beyond belief. Their modus operandi is empty threats (I will totally crush you), and then hand over the trump card (if any) at the next possible opportunity.
It was just that TM was also such a colossal incompetent that saved them, time and again. At least they are all consistent idiots.
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christa
May 25, 2012 at 4:39 PM
oh look, here's another Rooftop Prince closet fanatic. :)
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Tommy Gun
May 25, 2012 at 6:00 PM
...or bd in disguise heheh.
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Yuika
May 25, 2012 at 11:34 AM
Whoa! U mad bro?
"I mean really, why would Minister Hong, the FATHER to the Crown Princess want to get rid of the Crown Prince? Same goes for the Crown Princess, who unlike SN, already ACHIEVED power/wealth by being married to YG."
This has been explained a number of times on some of these comments; it's a situation the writer took straight out of Korean history. Minister Hong's rationale for wanting to get rid of Yi-gak, despite being his father-in-law, was because he had a hand in deposing the previous Queen (Yi-gak's mother) and having her executed for some unnamed reason by poison. He did not want to be persecuted for his crimes after Yi-gak became King (if he were to ever find out), so he teamed up with Joseon Tae-mu to make sure Yi-gak could never discover the truth. And then, Joseon Tae-mu could seize the crown and become King (since, after all, he's a Prince too...being Yi-gak's evil stepbrother and all). The Crown Princess in RTP (aka Joseon Se-na) was merely a pawn aiding her father with the task. All of that is a direct reference to the life of Jang-heebin, who was ordered to die by poison by King Sukjong (supposedly Yi-gak's father in RTP) in 1701.
It's just all too common to see throughout global history, not only Korea's, the various factions within a governing body trying to fight to the death over power. One wants a coup, and the other doesn't. There are many more references to clarify what you think is pure nonsense - if you're more aware of Korean history, you just might be able to make the connections. Here's a link for you if you ever feel interested:
http://dramahaven.com/actual-model-for-rooftop-princes-yuchun-is-joseon-gyeongjong-tragic-ending/
Geez, for a series you seem to have hated so much, you sure spent a good chunk of your time producing that essayrant. Never ceases to amaze me, how some people will devote the precious time they'll never regain on something they absolutely can't stand. Whenever one don't like something, that something isn't called a "waste of time" for nothing, you know. :)
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112 alice20
May 25, 2012 at 12:52 AM
Their unrequited love. So sad :( And no, I do not buy that a TaeYong makes up for a lost YiGak. :P
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113 riri
May 25, 2012 at 1:08 AM
the things i always remembered from this drama they never forgot to give some funny plots in every single episode...made this drama a perfect comedy bromance :)
huffff ^_^
bu bye RTP...really nice drama,
hope to see Yoochun play another drama with Han ji Min
will miss them a lot plus the ducklings
they r all great ^^
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dreamerjhk
May 25, 2012 at 1:16 AM
But, Taeyong is YiGak .( Memory, Heart, Soul)
YiGak who remained faithfull for 300 years. (I wrote down my reasoning on post 61)
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dreamerjhk
May 25, 2012 at 1:18 AM
sorry was trying to post reply to 110
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Tommy Gun
May 25, 2012 at 2:58 AM
Yes I think so too, Taeyong with Yigak memory and soul, its not just a reincarnation.
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114 Coco
May 25, 2012 at 1:18 AM
I love this drama! Sincerely love it!
The ending is sad but perfectly satisfying. At least Bak Ha was left with Tae Yong in the future to console her "eyes" with, but Lee Gak was left completely alone in Joseon. There was no Bu Yong in Joseon to meet Lee Gak. Poor guy. If another persimone doesn't kill him, then heartache will. I absolutely love the ending.
Definitely on top of my favorite drama list.
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115 thorned sakura
May 25, 2012 at 1:30 AM
The ending for me was enjoyable (note: enjoyable, not satisfying) enough. However, there is one thing that is bothering me (Actually, a lot of things, but most of them have been discussed already and some are just minor things that I can pass on as proof that the writer/s aren't overthinking this drama as I am)
Anyway,what could BY/CP's dad have desired that required him to plot together with YG's half brother for YG's murder and involving his own daughter in the process?He could've gotten all the wealth and power he desired (or at least all that the joseon TM can give him) by being the CP's father alone, so what was in it for him?
OK, maybe I am just overthinking this. time to let go now...thanks for the review dramabeans. Your review means as much to me as the drama itself (because I swear, watching Kdramas and not have anyone to share it with is enough to make one go crazy!grrr...)
Now, off to obsessing over QIHM~
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116 Roro
May 25, 2012 at 1:44 AM
I really really will miss this drama :( My cream couple is the best the best couple ever.
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117 sebsob
May 25, 2012 at 2:11 AM
Thank you for the wonderful recaps, it is much appreciated.
Reading everyone’s posts, I can see that everyone has their own take on it, which I think is a good way to view it; end it in the manner that sits best with your own heart and mind. This is just my own interpretation that I am adding to the mix, though one that has been mentioned before.
Sageuk murder mystery and time travelling made for some kind of enchantment BUT I am so glad that the writers understood that there is beauty in the ordinary too.
Though it breaks my heart, I would not have ended it any other way because this end was the truth of the matter. That harsh heart flinch of an end that I dreaded, and then covered, veiled and sealed in hopes of fantastic miracles of fairy tale endings. Strangely, I find my heart bruised yet soothed too. I always feared this end, from the moment Park Ha looked up with dejection from that library book, either Yi Gak died OR lived a life alone or maybe even lived it out with another.
This inevitable, ordinary and quite natural end of loss is something I can relate to and thereby making the characters authentic and more real. I liked their choice of acceptance of fate over frustration with it, for you cannot bargain with something you have no control over. Since there is no way to enter into a dialogue, you can only negotiate with yourself.
I loved that note, wherein Park Ha doesn’t look at the world around her, or its people. I have always felt that we are allocated certain amount of love that fate bestows upon us through different means throughout our life, from our parents to our lovers, our companions and our children. Just like many people who are ‘separated’ from their beloveds, she cuts herself off from the means to new love. True it isn’t the same as the one before BUT it is still love. I know for most people it will be bittersweet, but I have always had this fondness for stories about finding new love after tasting true love. It isn’t about forgetting the past but allowing your heart to expand to include more love. It’s about not denying yourself the allocated portion of love in your life whilst true love awaits for you in the afterlife.
Rooftop Prince’s cheeky and adorable flirting enticed me to linger but this end has wooed me into binding myself to it more permanently. Despite my penchant for escaping the sadness of reality in fictional happiness, I find myself liking this end very much for it added a note of honesty to all that came before.
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118 purplemay
May 25, 2012 at 2:16 AM
i love it...
its a sweet and satisfying ending...
their love remains after 300 years...
reincarnated Lee Gakk (aka Taeyong) will no longer be alone since reincarnated Bu Yong(aka BakHa) were saved from death...
So sad though that Lee Gak wasn't able to love Bu Yong the same way she does all the while but at least he was able to experienced it from Bak Ha
i'm in love.... im gonna miss them especially Cheo-ha....
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119 6002forever
May 25, 2012 at 2:34 AM
All I can say is this is the only Park Yu Chun drama that made me cry buckets towards the end. And made me sad. I didn't feel that for Miss Ripley and I thoroughly enjoyed the ending Lee Seon Jun had with his wife at bedtime in the last scene of SKKS.
Like most of you here, I feel sad for Lee Gak that he has to live life alone, especially after falling in love with Park Ha and knowing what real love is.
The only consolation is that at least one partner ( Park Ha) gets another shot at happiness with Tae Yong ( whom we want to believe has Lee Gak's memories , hence his saying that he has been waiting for her for a long time.
I feel lost now that I no longer can see this beautiful couple together whose chemistry and great acting makes up for what is lacking in the story.
And I have a wish for this couple to "be together" again - the interpretation is up to anyone.
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Hornybee
May 25, 2012 at 3:48 AM
"I feel sad for Lee Gak that he has to live life alone"
Alone? haha certainly not. He was a king remember? He had dozens of concubines to his beck and call :)
Loveless life? uh probably but who knows.
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120 avarachika
May 25, 2012 at 2:46 AM
Lmao, why are you all so sad with the ending. Hehe, at first I was confused, but thinking about it again I now understand. Yi gak is Tae yong and Tae yong is Yi gak. It's the same thing as Bakha is Bu yong and Bu yong is Bakha. You have to really think and connect all the loose ends before you make the conclusion that yi gak is in fact taeyong. Yi gak has never felt that way about Bu yong until it was her death that made him go into the future and fall in love with Bakha. Yi gak would have never known about the love that he could have had for Buyong if he didn't travel into the future since it was always about the crown princess. Bakha would have never have any experience of love for taeyong if she had not met Yi gak since taeyong was supposedly murder. Don't you guys realize that it was their (taeyong and buyong's) death that signifies the meaning of love that took place for yi gak and bakha. They may not even have the chance to know they were meant for eachotheer if their other counter lad did not experience death for them to transcend time to find love for one another. It's confusing to understand, but you may have to reread my paragraphs again and think about yi gak's riddle; you would have to die to live and live to die. I believe that taeyong is in fact yi gak and has waited for over 300 years to finally be with her again, but got into a coma because of taemu. That's why he instantly liked her at the beginning and also at the end, it totally showed that he had character traits of yi gak, the smile at her shop he gave to her and the fact that he knows where it was, and the posture of the way how he was standing and him asking her that he had waited a long time. The time transcend was for bakha to know and love yi gak so that when she meets taeyong, she will remember their love since taeyong has all of the memories already but it wasn't his time to meet her yet. To clarify yi gak's ending in joseon time, yes, he did died without having his love bu yong or bakha, but he was able to reincarnate into the future as taeyong remembering bakha and ding ding ding that's how they still get eachother at the end because taeyong has been silently waiting for bakha to show up despite whose ever name it was whether taeyong, yi gak or bakha, buyong. You just can't get the name wrong because they are of one person. You have to think that the time transcend was there to allow bakha and yi gak to love the right person since some circumstances would have never let them met or fall in love with eachother.
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Hornybee
May 25, 2012 at 3:54 AM
I read you loud and clear chika, honestly I believe you're right. Now I can lay my heart to rest, happy that our rooftop prince has a happy ending indeed, thanks.
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121 siopao
May 25, 2012 at 4:09 AM
Good ending.
At first I was confused with the ending. But the statement - "where were you I was waiting for you for a long time- indicates a conscious reincarnation". Even the stance of the present day prince indicates the joseon prince... Yes we can all be relieve that it was a happy ending.
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122 Arhazivory
May 25, 2012 at 4:16 AM
Thanks for the recap JB. I am completely satisfied with the ending and the last two episodes reminded me of why I liked the show in the first place. I do feel sad for Yi Gak but I'm sure he'll soon find love again; and he HAS to continue his family line and produce an heir so he'll search for it.
^^
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123 Ai Ming
May 25, 2012 at 4:28 AM
I felt so sad for Lee Gak. He lost Boo Yong and Park Ha...
The ending is beautifully sad. Nevertheless it gives hope. Like they finally find each other again.
Even if Tae Yong doesn't have all the memories of Lee Gak, he's still his reincarnation. They're different people but they still have the same aura, the same soul, and the same fate: to love and be loved by Boo Yong/Park Ha (god, I'm gonna have stomach ache from all the sickly sweet talk^^).
Tae Yong doesn't actually need the real memories of Lee Gak, he just has to follow his intuition~
just like one of this "I-have-the-curious-impression-that-I-already-know-you" kind of situation ^o^
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124 harorochoi
May 25, 2012 at 4:35 AM
I wonder what happened to Yi Gak in Joseon. Is he living alone?. I kinda feel sad for Yi Gak cause there's no Park Ha in Joseon's time. hmm..
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125 Raitei
May 25, 2012 at 5:38 AM
I just have to say, though the drama ended with a lot of questions unanswered (at least explicitly), I'm still rather satisfied.
The last episode is rather intense, especially the flashbacks leading to Bu Yong's death. I cried so hard at her sacrifice. She was so sweet and her love for the prince was so pure. How could one not love her?
The character's ending for the leads are a little vague, but given Tae Yong's stance and speech, I would assume that he has the memories and Yi Gak's feelings of longing and love for Park Ha. So, both of them got the happy ending they deserve after all the struggles and waiting they endured.
I'm a little sad, though, that they never cared to show the reincarnations of the ducklings. I think it would have been great if they could have given at least a glimpse of them and perhaps a way for all of them (Mimi and Becky included) to connect with each other.
Yes, the ending for the RTP isn't the best, but it is certainly heartwarming and satisfying, at least for me.
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126 debs
May 25, 2012 at 5:48 AM
thanks for all the recaps! at times reading the 'deconstruction' was a laugh and a half! its been a while since I watched a movie or tv show that made me cry and I have to say the last 2 episodes had tears rolling down my face - even shed a few tears over Sena and forgave her for all her wrong doings when she held Park-Ha's hand just before the liver transplant. Whatever am I going to do without my weekly fix of watching the ducklings
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127 KDadik
May 25, 2012 at 5:54 AM
“Even after three hundred years pass, I will love you.”
It seemed to me that they changed to YG and BY recognizing each other and not TY and PH.
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128 tieykah
May 25, 2012 at 6:28 AM
this drama amazing.every episodes triggered my pulse.wahaaa~
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129 beggar1015
May 25, 2012 at 7:08 AM
I was surprised to be so satisfied with this final episode. The story grabbed me from the get-go and the pacing never let up, eliminating any slow drags. I'm almost wishing the entire show had been about the Joseon murder mystery with no time-traveling escapades at all.
I'm also wishing the make-up department had left off that sorry looking beard from Joseon Tae Mu's ensemble. I couldn't help but laugh every time I saw him, especially as he was trying to look so evil and failing miserably.
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130 Sho
May 25, 2012 at 7:33 AM
As I figured and wrote on the previous recaps there were some really good indications and most of my predictions did occur sans a few changes.
I didn't expect the Riddle to have the answer as herself. Everyone in their right mind would have thought it would be Memories or Butterfly, which I was even expecting. Who would have known that she was the answer to the riddle all along (and explained pretty nicely to understand)
A lot of people still can't get who it is at the end so here is my explanation to the whole thing.
We're gonna go very detailed and it might be TLDR but I just wanted to get it out of the way as well.
1. We're going to go back to the whole Reincarnation Theory. On Episode 3, Manbo and Yi Gak speculated 2 things, 1 was that a reincarnated person cannot remember their past (as in Tae Yong won't remember Yi Gak's Memory, Sena won't remember Hwa-Yongs Memory, Park Ha won't remember Bu-Yong's memory and Tae Mu won't remember General Mu's memory).
2. Reincarnation Theory also said that, the same soul cannot exist in the same era, this theory is a bit botched but is still correct as Tae Yong never woke up from Coma while Yi Gak was currently present.
3. Yong Tae Yong in Episode 1 did "not know who Park Ha is" they however were fated to meet as everyone now knows. In fact they were "supposed to meet" without the troublesome Taemu ordeal. At this point we can say, there is nothing in common between Yong Tae Yong and Yi Gak other than "outer apperance" and "fated to meet Bu-Yong's reincarnation". We really can't tell what Yong Tae Yong's personality is other than easy going at this point, it's simply too small of an episode (1) to know what he is like with others outside Tae Mu.
4. *Everything that happens between Yi Gak and Park Ha from Episode 3 - 19* (Drama, Love, Fate etc)
5. Yi Gak and the Ducklings return to Joseon. They "have the memories of themselves being in Seoul 300 yrs later". Reincarnation Theory #1 doesn't get botched up here cause they don't have Amnesia or memory loss like how Boong-Do did in QIHM when his tailsman got cut (sans in RTP there isn't such an item to time travel more or less convenitently). It means that Yi Gak is able to tie his Memories as.
Yi Gak -- Yi Gak 300 yrs Later -- Yi Gak back in Joseon with his past memories and his future memories.
The letter he gives to Park Ha that reaches her 300 yrs later is a testiment that both dimensions are on the same line, what I mean is that, Yi Gak could of dropped that letter at the hidden place and it would of reached 300 yrs later but in a different scenerio since in his time, he was able to change history by solving the mystery that pulled him 300 yrs into the future to begin with. If the event of pulling him into the future did not happen, we probably will have a very different scenerio in the present.
6. Yong Tae Yong visits Park Ha at her new fruit juice shop. At this point no one can tell if this is Yong Tae Yong or Yi Gak, but there are some nice speculations such as the fact that this guy is smirking at her. One would think if it was Yi Gak, he would have the face of a person like "I finally got to meet you" but at the same time if this was really Yong Tae Yong "he would have no reason to be smirking to a girl who is pretty much beaten down as crap and dumbfounded. Unless of course Yong Tae Yong was just a bastard who couldnt' tell how she looked"
7. When Yong Tae Yong asks Park Ha to meet at the designated location and they both show up. First off, Yong Tae Yong has his "hands behind his back". Park Ha's observation to notice Yi Gak back in Episode 16?was when she noticed that he had his "hands behind his back" while waiting for the Elevator and the Couple Ring was just to solidify this fact.
8. The last few lines mentioned in RTP goes along the line of "Why are you so late" (300 Years). This line can be depicted as.
"I waited for you for 300 years since going back to Joseon"
9. When Yong Tae Yong gives her hand to Park Ha, and she clutches it, he turns into Yi Gaks Crown Prince outfit. This isn't the fact that Yi Gak Timewarped back to the present, it's a "symbolism" to show that when Yi Gak died in Joseon, he was reincarnated into Yong Tae Yong with everything Yi Gak was. We're not talking about just outer apperance here, we're talking about, Memories, Most likely personality etc.
and yes if people get confused on how Recinarnation Theory on memory will work here if Yong Tae Yong had Yi Gak's memory. Remember what I said above, Yi Gak time travelled to the future, and then went back in time. It's not that he has his memories of the past, but his memories in the present that he made from Episode 2- 19 was placed in Yong Tae Yong. When Yong Tae Yong woke up, it's essentially just remembering everything Yi Gak was doing this entire time and because when he time travelled 300 yrs into the future with his past life, Yong Tae Yong also knows his Joseon memories.
10. HJM's FB update on Memories. That's just to solidfy the point on the end being Yong Tae Yong but Yong Tae Yong was always Yi Gak.
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sarah
May 25, 2012 at 7:46 AM
i agree wit u!!!
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Sho
May 25, 2012 at 7:48 AM
to top it off further.
11. Yong Tae Yong has absolutely "no reason" to ask why she is late if it was just Yong Tae Yong considering HJM was the one waiting for Yong Tae Yong (no let's just call him Yi Gak at this point) to show up.
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sarah
May 25, 2012 at 7:57 AM
can ur post ur theory to rooftop prince soompi threads? a lot of watcher cannot understand the ending and still confuse..thank u...
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sebsob
May 25, 2012 at 8:49 AM
Firstly, you are very intelligent. Secondly, thank you; an alternative interpretation for when I don't feel like crying.
Thank you. : )
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131 annieee
May 25, 2012 at 7:56 AM
thank you for bringing us along this ride, jb! i checked out of the show midway because i was getting reallyyy tired of the taemu/se-na machinations, but i was still curious to see how things would end up with park ha and yi gak, and how the whole time-warp/fate thing worked. i'm not satisfied with the ending, because it neither gave us a happy ending for our couple, nor made any attempt to really explain the logic of the time warp. but then again, this show was lacking in the plot logic department since day 1. i was sincerely hoping that yi gak would somehow transcend the time-space continuum to be with park ha, even if it required some weird deux ex machina magic to make it happen (maybe smth like the ending of my gf is a gumiho?). alas, park ha is left to be with yi gak's modern-day reincarnation : ((. i think the last scene with park ha imagining yi gak just makes everything even more depressing, because it just reminds us that she won't ever be with him, and yi gak in the joseon times can't be with either park ha or bu yong. maybe yi gak can keep writing letters and burying them in the hiding place in the palace, and they can keep communicating with each other that way?? i'm still confused with the whole time warp business because it seems like what happened in the modern times had an actual effect on how things ended up in the joseon times (i.e. park ha's pendant saved yi gak from the arrow), so fate somehow gave yi gak the opportunity to survive his assassination attempts, travel to the modern era, and figure out what happened with his newly acquired knowledge? seems like the time travel did change the course of history...anyways, i guess it's good yi gak retained his memory of park ha and what happened in the present, though his romance couldn't be consummated : (
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132 jiajia
May 25, 2012 at 8:07 AM
absolutely loved this show.
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133 sarah
May 25, 2012 at 8:16 AM
after this i will follow dr jin.. time travel drama too.its looking good drama...same like rtp.. cos i like park mi young and song seung hun costar...
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134 dee
May 25, 2012 at 8:29 AM
sob... quite a happy ending... but also heart breaking... thank you so much for recaping.. althought i haven't watch the drama. i really enjoy reading your recaps.
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135 Corn tea
May 25, 2012 at 8:30 AM
The last line is the best line in the whole drama. I kept rewatching it and rewatching it. Without it, rtp is a frustratingly pointless story. With it, rtp is one of the best love stories ever told in a drama.
Gotta go watch the last scene with the last line now ;-)
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136 Connii
May 25, 2012 at 8:36 AM
Ok here goes my interpretation it'll prob get buried anyways but I HAD to share my thoughts:
I feel that rooftop prince ended up on a rather happy note, though most people don’t agree. We see Bu Young die from the poisoned persimmons and in her note she writes that her love is like the lotus flower and for her to live she must die. I think she meant her love couldn’t truly live without her dying or that she wasn’t truly living with her heart sealed up and for her to confess it in the form of dying for him she showed she truly loved him with her entire being.Although she’s dead now she will just be reborn again and her love will prove through the test of time.
In the final moments of the series we see Lee Gak’s letter to Park Ha and him saying the same thing that no matter what he will still love her no matter the distance of time and in its own form I think it’s meant to give Park Ha closure with Lee Gak and open her heart up to Tae Yong telling him that it is still him and although she fell in love with Lee Gak he still is in fact Tae Yong.
I don’t think she realizes that fact until she sees that Tae Yong left her another message and it all comes flooding back to her and she decides to open her heart and consider giving Tae Yong a chance since she was supposed to meet him as he is her fate/destiny.
And the final scene when we see her waiting for him and its full of people and they’re all just passing through I think is a representation of time passing and she’s been waiting this whole time and he appears in the midst of all those people is when their souls finally meet.
My reasoning? The park/tower they’re at is empty when it was previously full of people and although he’s dressed as Tae Yong he turns into Lee Gak and she stays as Park Ha he says, “I’ve been waiting where have you been?” She responds with “I’ve always been here.” Why would she stay as Park Ha? Because her purpose as Bu Young was fulfilled and since then her new purpose was to meet him again as a new person that could demonstrate it freely (as opposed to the Joseon period with all their rules), as for Lee Gak he was left indebted to her and unfulfilled seeing as how he realized that the one who he in fact actually loved was already gone from his grasp, his purpose as Tae Yong was to be able to reciprocate the love and sacrifice she made for him (example: restoring her family, protecting her from harm, providing her with her own store). All of this proving their love withstood time and any obstacle that was thrown at them.
As for he eating so many god-damned persimmons I think she was flustered (Han Ji Min wonderfully executed this entire episode) because it was all happening so fast she had to try to think quick on her feet and you could tell she was trying to think through it and come out with a solution. I think it’s really easy to pick apart dumb decisions when you’ve had time to analyze but in the heat of the moment you’d be surprised of the stupid things were capable of.
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137 spatches
May 25, 2012 at 9:24 AM
I would like to ask, i remember at one point, ParkHa went to the library and read some books, and she discovered something... was it explained on what she discovered??
Or was it another drama??
And i don't understand TaeYong's part.
So TaeYong, who was in a coma-like-state, but because after YiGak left he is somehow cured of all ailments so that he can find ParkHa?? I just wished they explained that part... that's the only thing i'm rather unhappy with. I guess i'm asking for it to make sense?
All that said, i admit i cried, i find it beautiful that in the end they are back together, but i pity YiGak... he had to go back without ParkHa, and in the Joseon era, BuYong had died (and what a noble sacrifies she made, as opposed to the one in 2012)...
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138 Ann
May 25, 2012 at 9:37 AM
I rate this drama 10 starts. . Make me thinks that love lost to true the time ... I really enjoy this drama..
Thanks tho all the actors and writers :)
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139 Ann
May 25, 2012 at 9:39 AM
Love this drama the pinces roof top
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140 Di
May 25, 2012 at 10:42 AM
OMG! I was crying like a baby over there u_u such a beautiful drama!
thank you for your recap :D
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141 Soyb
May 25, 2012 at 10:46 AM
Thank you for the recaps. I was so ready to throw this drama to the crap category, but surprisingly, the final two episodes managed to elevate the experience and I was indeed left feeling more or less satisfied. I just wish like you, they could have avoided all the makjang mess in the middle. It would have worked better as a shorter drama, but nothing can truly excuse all the drama cliches that were thrown in. Ah well, I will just remember the sweet OTP and the Joeson "ducklings" with fondness.
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142 Mia
May 25, 2012 at 11:34 AM
Well ,the final episode really satisfied me.I generally like Korean dramas because they are imbued with symbols,because every minor detail is important to build the plot.Reincarnation,time travel,eternity of true love make a successful mixture.I have read one comment about how sad is the Joseon prince left alone in his world,but let's not forget he still has the hope he will meet his beloved later in Tae Yong's reincarnation.Otherwise Bu yong's symbolism(LOTUS FLOWER) is ineffective.
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143 Ivy
May 25, 2012 at 11:37 AM
things were dragging toward the middle, but this episode redeemed the entire series! Loved, LOVED the ending. what a great ending...did not disappoint at all. Looking forward to Yoochun's next project!!
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144 Lilian
May 25, 2012 at 12:13 PM
hmm...It was fun to watch in the beginning, went downhill in the middle, went back up a little at the end. So overall, not a must watch but I wouldn't say it's bad. I definitely love those scenes with the 4 guys. Just wished we had the villains better written, or given less screentime
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145 yume
May 25, 2012 at 2:36 PM
Have to sign in or sign up to DL the song...? :[
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146 exquisitemelody
May 25, 2012 at 2:43 PM
Fun fact for the afternoon: Park Ha first encounters Tae-Yong in the first episode after she throws an apple at him. Tae-Yong/Yi Gak first encounter Park Ha in the end the last episode when he asks her for apple juice :D
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christa
May 25, 2012 at 4:33 PM
Awww! :) Who would've thought apple would play a significant role in their meeting? haha! Thanks for pointing that out!
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gretac
May 27, 2012 at 2:07 PM
Nice!! Thanks for catching that!
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147 ninatizmi
May 25, 2012 at 2:53 PM
As usual, javabeans thoughts were so professional! :) I am actually reading this not for recap, but for your comments! haha
btw, I think YiGak still is lucky to have the J3 with him at the 21st century. At least he's not the only one who's missing PakHa ryt?
I was LOLLING at the part where YongSul chewed pakha candy! hahaha that was so havey!
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148 Runa
May 25, 2012 at 4:55 PM
Thanks a lot for the recap. It's a really touching ending and i can't stop thinking about that till this morning.
However, i think it would be great if Tae-yong could share the same thoughts and minds with Yi-Gak while he was in coma. Perhaps after he got back to his conscious state, he would say "I've dreamed about you all the time, Park-Ha. I dreamed that I was a prince from Joseon that came to Seoul to settle your life."
In my opinion, they both just saved each other's life. While Bu-Yong saved her lover's life in Joseon, the man just got to Seoul and saved her life by revealing her birth mother and got her life settled before he went back to Joseon. The story was really taught me that fate is real and whenever or wherever it is, people that meant to be together always meet and feel the love in such an unexpected way.
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149 yaya
May 25, 2012 at 5:05 PM
so it was was a shoddy murder mystery but it is a great romance drama. how many things that happened in real life actually makes sense anyways?
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150 NewKDramaAddict
May 25, 2012 at 6:44 PM
Great ending to a pretty decent drama. The mystery was for the Crown Prince to solve. I pretty much figured from the beginning that it was not the Crown Princess! Overall, it was not bad! I enjoyed it enough to sit through all of the episodes. Hope to see all of the actors again soon.
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