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God’s Gift – 14 Days: Episode 16 (Final)

by dramallama

I wasn’t sure we would make it, but here we are in the final stretch. Believe it or not, we’ve got more twists and turns in our final day, enough to make me doubt if anyone was going make it out alive. It’s been one hell of a ride, and we’re kept on our toes until the very end. All the twists make us a little rushed at the end, but we do come full circle with gaps filled to complete our original timeline. And while we do get the answers, the show still leaves us questioning what could have been, what was, and what will be. But as always, that’s just up to our old friend, Fate.

 
EPISODE 16 RECAP

First Son Kim Joon-seo, provokes Dong-chan, who reacts by chocking him on the hospital bed. Soo-hyun intervenes to stop Dong-chan just as we roll over to our final day.

Now out of Dong-chan’s firm grip, Kim Joon-seo laughs at their attempt to kill him. Soo-hyun threatens him with the pictures, but he smirks. The pictures aren’t enough evidence to prove that he did anything. He tells them to try, but in the time the evidence gets put together, Saet-byul will already be dead.

At that, Dong-chan pulls him into another chokehold, but the bodyguards rush in this time. Dong-chan struggles to get out of the bodyguards’ grip, but Soo-hyun tells him to stop. This guy’s not worth their time.

Outside the hospital, Soo-hyun tells Dong-chan that Kim Joon-seo is right: the pictures alone aren’t enough evidence to prove anything. What do they do now?

Dong-chan gets a call and brightens up when he sees that it’s Grandpa Chu; however, on the phone, it’s not Grandpa but an assistant, who tells Dong-chan to come to the hospital. He realizes that today is the day that Grandpa passed away from a heart attack.

In his hospital bed, Grandpa finishes signing his will just as Dong-chan and Soo-hyun enter. Dong-chan scolds Grandpa for not taking care of his health and drinking all that coffee (aw), but Grandpa replies with an envelope, saying that this should help him with his investigation.

Inside is a written suicide note from Grandpa’s son (Chu Do-jin), which retells the events at Moojin ten years ago. In a flashback, Chief of Staff Lee Myung-han gives the guys two options: (1) become accomplices to the crime and cover it up; (2) be charged of murder and spend the rest of their lives in prison.

Chu Do-jin acts first and makes the decision by picking up the knife and stabbing Soo-jung. Chief of Staff Lee then takes pictures of the three guys with Soo-jung’s blood on their hands as blackmail to seal the deal.

Finally with the truth, Dong-chan looks at Grandpa with betrayal. Grandpa knew this whole time that Dong-ho had been innocent, but he didn’t have enough courage to tell the truth.

Dong-chan reasons that Grandpa must have offered the money to pay off Dong-ho’s imprisonment and tells him that he won’t be taking his money. He tells Grandpa to stay alive and live with repentance.

Dong-chan storms out, and Grandpa stops Soo-hyun before she leaves. He apologizes to her for acting so late and tells her that he has his people looking for Saet-byul. With that, Soo-hyun leaves and Grandpa gasps as he holds his weak heart.

Chief of Staff Lee relaxes in his home when suddenly Ji-hoon pops out in his living room demanding his daughter back. Lee acts oblivious, but Ji-hoon calls him out. He took the jewelry evidence, so let Saet-byul go.

Another flashback, but this time to five years ago when Ji-hoon still worked as a prosecutor. Yoon Jae-han, Te-oh’s hyung and one of the accomplices, offers to testify and asks Ji-hoon to reinvestigate the Moojin case.

Soon after this encounter, Yoon Jae-han dies in a car accident, and Ji-hoon storms into Lee Myung-han’s office, accusing him of staging his death. But of course, Ji-hoon doesn’t have evidence.

That’s where the jewelry evidence comes in. When Ji-hoon found the evidence recently, he threatened to use it against Chief of Staff Lee, but he also had some ulterior motives. In his negotiations, Ji-hoon says that he’s come to question how much he can do to change the world as a mere lawyer and asks Chief of Staff Lee to be a stepping stone for him.

But at this point, Ji-hoon doesn’t care about the deal. He drops to his knees and apologizes for everything. He begs Lee Myung-han to save his daughter and calls himself a dog, saying he’ll do anything he’s asked.

At that, Lee calls for the drop-off of Saet-byul at a nearby hospital and tells Ji-hoon to go to his daughter. How nice but very uncharacteristic of him… This was way too easy.

Morning has arrived, and Grandma reads the headlining newspaper article about the capital punishment proceedings. Suddenly, the corrupt police forces come into the house and arrest both Grandma and Young-gyu for Saet-byul’s kidnapping.

Dong-chan and Soo-hyun meet up with Jenny and Byung-tae to execute their next plan of action. Dong-chan calls Lee Myung-han with the truth and asks to meet up. Then he hands Jenny and Byung-tae the file for safekeeping.

Soo-hyun then gets a call from Ji-hoon with Saet-byul’s whereabouts. Dong-chan offers to go with her, but she tells him to go save his brother. Soo-hyun drives off on her mission, as does Dong-chan on his.

Dong-chan enters Lee Myung-han’s room, sarcastically commenting on how criminals live in great luxury. He kicks the board game off the table and sets down Chu Do-jin’s letter. Lee Myung-han reads the letter but says nothing.

Then he turns on his TV, which shows a live feed of Grandma, Young-gyu, and now Ho-kook, who is knocked unconscious. He says that there’s plenty of evidence — surveillance cameras, Saet-byul’s DNA at the Moojin hideout — that prove that Grandma is the kidnapper. Dong-chan doesn’t express too much worry, however, knowing that his mother isn’t the real kidnapper.

But Lee Myung-han doesn’t stop there. Grandma and Young-gyu will be taken to the police station, but on the way there, they will be allowed to escape. With the criminals escaping, the police will then shoot at them, not with their guns, but with Ho-kook’s gun. He orders Dong-chan to bring the original letter, or else the three of them will die.

Ji-hoon runs into the hospital to find Saet-byul, but she’s nowhere in sight. He calls Lee Myung-han, who tells him that Saet-byul ran away. Soo-hyun arrives and drops to the ground when she hears that Saet-byul is gone.

They’re running out of time, and Soo-hyun decides to go meet the president. She keeps thinking back to the phoenix tail that Saet-byul drew in the Moojin shack, the same one on the president’s ring. Frustrated, Ji-hoon tells her that the president has nothing to do with this scheme — it’s all Lee Myung-han.

Ji-hoon is sure the president knows nothing because he was in Switzerland as the president’s aide at the time. He actually sounds convincing, but Soo-hyun can’t trust him and needs to check for herself.

Dong-chan returns to Lee Myung-han with the original written letter, and the three are set free. Lee Myung-han rips up the letter, and we see that Saet-byul is still trapped in his basement. Oh, he plays extra dirty.

When Ho-kook wakes up, Dong-chan lies that he hit him, thinking Ho-kook was a thief. Then Ho-kook drops the news: Dong-ho is on the list for tomorrow’s capital punishment proceedings. Dong-chan knew this was coming, but the original date was a month later, not the next day. Uh-oh.

Dong-chan goes home and asks Grandma for food, shocking her by being less hostile than he’s been in years. He clearly feels regret for his attitude toward her over the years, and Grandma quickly warms up to his arrival, rushing to feed him. Young-gyu excitedly comments on how this is the first time Uncle Dong-chan has eaten a meal with Grandma and him.

Dong-chan turns to Young-gyu and asks if he wants to go see his father. Grandma protests, saying that Dong-ho will be shocked at Young-gyu’s state, but Dong-chan insists that he promised his brother.

He takes Young-gyu outside to give him a bowl haircut, with a literal bowl on his head. And with Young-gyu freshly groomed, he suggests that they take a picture. Grandma looks back at Dong-chan, confused and worried, while he forces a smile for the picture. It’s a bittersweet moment.

Meanwhile, Soo-hyun is making way in her own investigation of the president. Looking at a video of the president that was recorded at the same time that the Moojin incident was taking place, she sees that he never walked offscreen — he had no time to take a call or do anything else, meaning that he really didn’t know. Soo-hyun puts on a different recording of the president’s inauguration and sees that there are two rings: one for the president, one for the first lady.

The first lady was behind this all, trying to protect her own son. She has been looking after Saet-byul during her kidnapping and initially wants to let her go, but when she realizes that letting go of her would endanger her son, she decides the girl must be taken care of.

But why did Lee Myung-han help her cover up the crime? He says that he respected now-president Kim Nam-joon too much as a person and as a politician to let him to go down for his son’s mistake. He wanted to make him the president.

Lee Myung-han goes down into his basement and orders Tattoo Hand to get rid of Saet-byul. Tattoo Hand protests, saying that this is against his promise.

But Lee Myung-han reminds him that his son’s killer needs to hang in order for his wife to stop her suicide attempts, and the list of felons set for capital punishment can be changed at any time.

Visiting the prison, Dong-chan greets his brother while Young-gyu hides under the table. As soon he sits down, Dong-ho asks if the noose for his hanging will hurt. He cries, saying that he scared and doesn’t want to hurt.

Then Young-gyu pops up from under that table, shocking Dong-ho. Young-gyu is disappointed at first, thinking his father forgot him, but Dong-ho calls out Young-gyu’s name and apologizes to him.

Once Young-gyu is out of the room, Dong-ho asks why Young-gyu is different (since Young-gyu was smart as a child when he last knew him), fearful that he is somehow to blame for the boy becoming mentally slow. Dong-chan claims that Young-gyu was just happy to see him, but Dong-ho knows something’s happened. Then he asks Dong-chan to be Young-gyu’s father if he dies.

Dong-chan refuses, saying that Dong-ho should be his father and live happily together when he gets out. At that, Dong-ho’s face lights up and he asks when he can get out. But Dong-chan looks sadly at his brother, unsure himself.

Dong-chan goes to visit Woo-jin, who is still unconscious at the hospital. He tells Woo-jin that if he takes care of Dong-ho and Young-gyu when he’s gone and his mother passes away, then he’ll forgive him. Oh no, what is he doing?!

First son Kim Joon-seo is released from the hospital and swarmed by reporters when Dong-chan jumps in to give him a few punches. Then he proceeds to tell all the reporters that he’s the real killer in the Moojin cases and framed his brother for fun.

He puts on an act, claiming that he’s the real culprit and that it’s not fun when all the stupid police and investigators can’t figure out a thing.

He’s got the pictures to prove it and throws them at the reporters. Soo-hyun tries to reach Dong-chan but sees on the news that he’s being arrested as the Moojin killer.

In jail, Dong-chan sees on the news that Grandpa Chu has passed away, just like in the original timeline. Then Ho-kook runs to him, knowing that Dong-chan did everything to save Dong-ho. Dong-chan keeps up the act and insists that everyone was fooled.

Grandma comes to the station and asks why Dong-chan is doing this. She accuses Soo-hyun, wrongly thinking that she reported her for kidnapping Saet-byul and now she’s ruining Dong-chan. She regrets not having held onto Saet-byul, dead or alive.

Right then, Soo-hyun runs into the station, and Grandma grabs onto her, demanding her to save her sons. Grandma is dragged out, and Soo-hyun confronts Dong-chan. What the hell is he doing?

Dong-chan apologizes and says he’s done what can. Soo-hyun persuades him to not give up, but it seems that he already has. He tell her that Dong-ho’s capital punishment date is tomorrow, and this was the only thing he could do for his brother.

But Soo-hyun is not ready to give up. She still has time, and she’s going to use it to save Saet-byul, Dong-ho, and now Dong-chan.

Soo-hyun heads over to the Blue House, claiming she needs to talk to the president directly, but the guards won’t let her in.

Ji-hoon hasn’t given up either, and he’s back at Lee Myung-han’s house. Lee Myung-han denies any knowledge of Saet-byul, and Ji-hoon runs at him with a knife, an insane look in his eyes. But the bodyguards knock him down and beat him to a pulp.

Back at the station, Dong-chan is released. Apparently, the lack of evidence means that they can’t hold him in custody, so he’s free to go. He gets his phone just as it receives a text message with a meet-up location to save Saet-byul.

He arrives at the location, which happens to be the same club from the night he can’t remember. Dong-chan comments on the familiarity of the club and rejects any alcohol.

Unable to get an audience with the president, Soo-hyun forces his hand by talking to the reporters in front of the Blue House. They broadcast her public statement live, questioning the president’s lack of action. The president watches her from his TV.

And so do two men at the club. They complain about Soo-hyun’s persistence to meet the president and blame her for losing her child. Dong-chan, now somehow thoroughly drunk, confronts these two men and throws his drink at them.

Having made her statement, Soo-hyun is finally escorted in the meet the president. She tells him that he’s the only person left who can save Saet-byul and hands him her evidence pictures. She explains the truth and points out that her son has a scar on his collar from that night. It’s clear that the president was unaware of his son’s actions.

Tattoo Hand takes Saet-byul in his car, and she assumes that the first lady has let her go. She also sees that they’re headed to Moojin and assumes that Mom and Dong-chan are going to pick her up. She takes out a small wrapped bag and takes out her hair clip.

In a quick flashback, we see that Saet-byul received two clips in Young-gyu’s gift. Dong-chan threw one into the river, and Saet-byul has the other one. The clip hasn’t gone just yet…

Dong-chan is getting beat up just like in the original timeline, and he gets a call. No one seems to be on the other end, so he gets up to leave. He grabs his jackets but leaves one.

As he gets into the taxi, Dong-chan drops his phone on the street and asks the driver to take him to the Moojin reservoir.

Saet-byul begins to grow suspicious as Tattoo Hand pulls her along through the Moojin fields. When she falls, he puts his hands around her neck to choke her, but he can’t.

Understanding that he won’t be able to carry out Lee’s order, he apologizes to Saet-byul and promises to take her home. But in the distance, a group of men arrive and Tattoo Hand runs away with Saet-byul in his arms.

Lee Myung-han is notified, but he seems to have a back-up plan, having predicted Tattoo Hand’s actions. He orders for the preparation of the plan while Ji-hoon lies on the ground, bloody and helpless.

Tattoo Hand hands Saet-byul his phone (with the Angel Foundation bell keychain) and tells her to run. After some hesitation, she runs off and he stays to fight off the men. But they play dirty, and he’s stabbed in his side.

Soo-hyun gets back in her car from her meeting with the president and gets a call from Saet-byul. She tells Mom that she’s in Moojin, but the group of men catch her before she can say any more. As Saet-byul is taken away, her hair pin drops on the ground.

Saet-byul is taken to a church, the same place where Soo-jung was killed. She sits down and empties her bag, looking for her pen, but only the Snake puzzle piece and the bell keychain fall out. She finds a crayon on the ground and begins to draw on the wall – the same drawings from the Moojin shack.

Soo-hyun runs into the Moojin shack, expecting Saet-byul to be there, but she’s nowhere to be found. Dong-chan has also made it to Moojin, and he drunkenly picks up Saet-byul’s fallen hair clip and puts it in his pocket.

And then a bit farther along in the fields, Dong-chan finds Saet-byul lying on the ground. Unconscious or dead? Suddenly he remembers the call from that drunk night—it was his mother, who claimed that she mistakenly killed Saet-byul.

In denial, Dong-chan convinces himself that it wasn’t his mother; it was all him. He killed Saet-byul. In a voiceover, we hear Lee Myung-han’s plot and the reason for Dong-chan’s brain scan.

He knew about Dong-chan’s drunk blackouts, so he manipulated that weakness and made sure he had alcohol in his system the whole time. At the club, his drink was spiked, and in the cab, more alcohol was injected into his bloodstream.

Then Saet-byul was made to look like she was dead, and a woman with a similar voice to Grandma called Dong-chan. Lee Myung-han predicts that Dong-chan will take the blame for his mother, just like Dong-ho did for him.

But that’s not all. As evidence, pictures will be taken of Dong-chan’s actions and will be sent to Ji-hoon at an appropriate time. Lee Myung-han trusts that Ji-hoon will take care of things once he sees that Dong-chan killed his daughter—and in the original timeline, we see that he’d done just that. He’s the one who ordered Dong-chan to be thrown into the reservoir with the cinder block.

Just as Lee Myung-han finishes his briefing with the first lady in her son’s hospital room, the president walks in. He checks the scar on his son’s collar and steps back in disbelief, his doubts confirmed.

Dong-chan walks towards the water with Saet-byul in his arms, apologizing the whole way. Soo-hyun searches for Saet-byul in the fields, when suddenly she gets a call from the president. He tells her go to the reservoir and stop Dong-chan, who thinks that Saet-byul has died.

Dong-chan carries Saet-byul out to the water and starts to believe his worst nightmare. He convinces himself that he was the one in the original timeline to kill Saet-byul.

Soo-hyun yells at him from a distance, and he apologizes to her as well. Just as we roll over to D-Day, Soo-hyun reaches the edge of the reservoir.

The president makes a public announcement about his resignation the next morning, saying that he will be facing the repercussions of his family’s unforgivable deed.

Dong-ho is released from prison and returns to three blurred silhouettes while Soo-hyun overlooks the Moojin waters with Saet-byul and her mother (no Ji-hoon). Please do tell me what happened.

Just as Dong-chan was about to throw Saet-byul in the water, her hand grabs one of his buttons. He realizes that she’s not dead and thinks back to the prophecy. The two people in the prophecy weren’t Saet-byul and Dong-ho; they were Saet-byul and Dong-chan.

This was why Soo-hyun and Dong-chan were sent back to fourteen days ago. A big wave of relief passes over Dong-chan, and he smiles as he says that he’ll protect Saet-byul. With that, he walks forward, into the water.

As our story comes to a close, Soo-hyun and Saet-byul look over the waters, and we’re also shown the ending of Dong-chan’s version of The Story of a Mother as he told to Saet-byul. “The knight saved the child and returned her to the mother. And the child and her great mother lived happily ever after.”

Then Saet-byul asks, “What about the knight? Did he live too?”

 
COMMENTS

And yes, that is the end. We don’t get an answer to the Saet-byul’s question, and the fate of Dong-chan’s life is left open for us to decide. ALKSDJFOIENCZK. In my mind there are two options that makes sense: either Dong-chan realizes that he needs to sacrifice himself for this fight to be over, or he fights Fate and stays alive. But really, show? Did you really have to leave off on a cliffhanger? Given the nature of the show, I realize that this is supposed to be somewhat of an open ending, but this ending doesn’t really give us anything. I mean, it’s THE END, no more, nothing, nada. They’ve got to give us more than that.

In the case where Dong-chan does die (I know, infuriating to think about), we know his reasoning and the steps he took throughout the episode that showed this choice as a possibility. He was willing to take the blame for the Moojin cases to take his brother’s place, and he even went to Woojin to ask him to take care of his family. And when Dong-ho is released from prison, we’re purposefully only shown the silhouettes of three people without their faces. It could be Dong-chan, it could be Woojin, it could be Ho-kook. Who are we to know? But again, who are we to know if all these little hints are just red herrings?

I personally find the second option more compelling. If Dong-chan is alive (as I would like to believe), he’s shown that the whole journey through the 14 days meant something and had enough power to change Fate. Throughout the 14 days, we’ve seen our dynamic duo change things in Fate and alter the course of certain events. Why not this time? This time around, Dong-chan knows the truth and knows what he’s up against. He most certainly had the power to not give any shits about the prophecy and end the battle with Fate.

Overall, it was kind of a confusing episode. Not that I wasn’t confused every episode, with all those false alarms and intricate twists, but I was expecting some more clarity. The show never failed to fool me again with their red herrings and anticlimactic moments, even in the final installment. I was legitimately scared when Dong-chan remembered the phone call from Grandma, who admitted to killing Saet-byul. I definitely saw that as a possibility and thought, “Holy shit, did Grandma really kill Saet-byul?” But nope false alarm. Also, when the tables turned and Soo-hyun had all the burden to save Saet-byul, Dong-ho, and Dong-chan. I was like “Hell yes! Full circle with motherhood and baddass Soo-hyun!” And about two scenes afterwards, Dong-chan was released, and we got lost the potential great moment to an anticlimactic one.

I was getting antsy when there were about ten minutes left of the show, and it was still going the wrong way. I had no idea how it was going to turn itself around and give me that happy ending I desperately needed. I wanted some enlightenment on how everything unfolded, how the baddies were punished, and how our Baddass Mother and Captain Awesome get their well-deserved resolution. But we were give so little, so I’m going to let my imagination flow to create that ending.

But despite the ending, I thoroughly enjoyed this drama. It did its job in making me enjoy every second of anxiety and giving me that right dose of OHMYGOD to make me keep watching. It also showed me a new side of dramaland and a new twist on the time travel element that was executed quite well. And of course, we can’t leave out the acting. Lee Bo-young and Jo Seung-woo gave great performances individually and as a duo, and I really hope we get a chance to properly ship them in the future. And Kim Yoo-bin, charming and wonderful as always.

A big thank you to javabeans and girlfriday for getting me through the bootcamp and letting me write for this awesome Dramabeans community! This was a great first drama recap experience, and I thank all the Beanies as well for bearing with my struggles. Until next time!

 
JAVABEANS’ COMMENTS

What a letdown of a finale. Aside from the Dong-chan question (which I’ll get to in a moment), it was poorly slapped together, its live-shoot process evident in practically every transition. There were cuts that felt like a commercial break had been edited out, which I could have dealt with if only it didn’t also feel like whole scenes had been chopped out too.

Twists are fine and all, and based on the pacing of this story the whole way through, it seemed likely that we were going to be thrown more curve balls. Where the drama dropped that ball, however, is in adequately explaining the twist or building up the tension to arrive at that point so that our principal reaction is “Oh my god, I totally didn’t expect that but it makes perfect sense!” and not “Wait, what’s happening now? Why?”

As for the ending, I believe Dong-chan is dead, but not because the drama showed that to me or explained why satisfactorily. I believe it because the trappings of a heroic death are there (an episode full of goodbyes and making provisions for ones left behind), even if the logic lacks persuasiveness, and also because it’s in all the news stories and the producers have insisted that Dong-chan’s death was something they’d considered from the synopsis stage. So if your drama producer tells ya that he’s dead, I think he’s dead.

Now, here’s the thing. I think a Dong-chan death could have worked. And I do believe many of us would have been fine with an ending where he died if it had been executed well—after all, I do like the poetry of Dong-chan both thwarting Fate (Saet-byul lives) and succumbing to it (the price is himself). If only the poetry coincided with reality. How frustrating was the reservoir scene? The whole build-up of the frame job was to ensure Dong-chan would dump Saet-byul’s body believing that the girl was already dead. Then he sees the girl is alive. And his reaction is, “Ah, then Fate must mean I’m supposed to die instead of her”? Why, why, whyyyyy.

But this drama has always had more ambition than ability to execute. It wanted to do so much and threw so many threads into the mix, when really a solid edit would have done wonders. Clarity, as dramallama mentioned, was sorely lacking, and how can I be content with a finale that leaves me confused? In the beginning the pace was fast and the steady stream of clues and revelations were addicting, exhilarating even, so that I was happy to go along for the ride, thinking it would all clear up in the end. But then the clown car of killers just kept spitting out more bad guys and the plot hurtled forward based on the flimsiest of evidence and the show seemed much more interested in pulling out reversals than ensuring that those reversals felt organic. And I would be willing to accept flimsy logic in many cases—say, for instance, seeing a ten-year-old photograph and immediately knowing that the fifth guy must be our killer—because God’s Gift was always about the direction of the investigation more than the details of the investigation. As long as these clues kept the plot moving, fine. Except in the last case where it does us wrong, and Dong-chan assumes that Fate must be appeased, and that he must be the one to die, and that there’s no other reason for his magical journey back in time, all based on the prophecy that Soo-hyun told him she once heard. Aghhhhhhh.

I was ready to forgive this show a lot of its flaws because it was still an entertaining, sometimes gripping ride and I found every episode to be engaging. So as long as I ended on a satisfying note, my affection could override the minor quibbles with the sometimes-clunky execution. Alas, the finale just tanked it all, and now I’ve just got this sour taste in my mouth. If only I had 14 days to give the producers to go back and do it better. Unfortunately, their stance on Fate’s will sort of suggests they’d just muck it up all over again.

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Tags: featured, God's Gift – 14 Days, Jo Seung-woo, Lee Bo-young

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This show's ending my be a big WTF, but there are a lot of awesome scenes:

- Dong Chan singing to Little Saet Byul and her asking him to wait for her so they can get married someday.

- Dong Chan calling Saet Byul his "wife" when he wanted her to stay hidden while he was getting buried alive in the demolition area.

- Saet Byul being forced to make a decision to give herself up in exchange for Dong Chan's safety.

- The way Kyung Soo's face softened when he looked at Saet Byul playing with his son's toy.

- All of Young Gyu/Saet Byul scenes.

- That moment when it dawned on Dong Chan that the reason his brother admitted to the murders was to protect him because he thought it was Dong Chan that killed Soo Jung. The irony of it is just heartbreaking.

- In the first timeline, i felt like my knees were going to give out like Soo Hyun's when Saet Byul's voice was heard over the phone. It wasn't a very nice scene, but the way it tugs at your heartstrings, even if you aren't a mom, is why I decided to watch the rest of the show.

- Byung Tae telling Dong Chan that he meant more to him than Saet Byul - it was very realistic, in my opinion.

- The very intense scene of Soo Hyun grabbing at the fake ransom man's legs in the train station. It was something that I think every mother would do to save her child.

- When Min-Ah was attacking Soo Hyun and Saet Byul was inside the closet. The little girl kept asking her mom if she was okay, and mom kept assuring her that she was fine even when someone was trying to stab her.

- When they showed in the end that Dong Chan was alive and he lived happily ever after with his mom, brother, Young Gyu, Saet Byul, Soo Hyun, Byung Tae, and Jenny.

Oh, the last part didn't happen?

Yes it did.

It counts even if it's only in my mind.

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All this is a wonderful reminder to why I stuck to this show in first place - so many standout moments. I should just think of them and rewind them in my head, to wash up the bitter taste.

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Right? This is an awesome drama, made even more so with actors like Lee Bo Young, Jo Seung Woo, and Kim Yoo Bin.

And you can't argue that it did a very good job in getting people to discuss the very open-ended finale.

Does he live, or does he not?

It's like one of those Choose Your Own Adventure books. I choose to go with the page that says he lives. Because it makes more sense that he does.

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Right?!?! Wasn't that ending scene just perfect? ^_^

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Here's what I thought of the ending:

It was very confusing. But...it was pretty cool...in a way...I guess.

See, when DC realizes that his "dreams" were actually his memories and it was either him or SB, I thought that meant he already sacrificed his life for her. In order to save SB, DC had to die in the original timeline to go back 14 days and make a different decision the second time around. If he didn't die in the original timeline, he wouldn't remember what happened the first time when he dumped SB's body in the river. This time around, he got that flashback and saved SB instead. I know it's pretty complex and confusing, but I think this explanation would tie in the time traveling better.

So I really don't know for sure whether or not he lived, but it makes more sense for him to live. After all, how could he even die with SB in his arms? Not to mention with SH like ten, twenty feet away. If he threw himself into the river, I think SH would be able to drag him out and perform CPR or something. Plus, he had a happy and determined expression on his face just before the "splash." Is he going to protect SB just this once? Or does he mean he's going to keep protecting her for life?

Anyways, I kind of like open endings 'cause then I get to think and imagine a little more...

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See, I thought it was really clever with the dreams being his memories BUT it was the execution and the maneuvering behind it that left a bad taste in my mouth...

Oooooh, I didn't really think of that! DC promised SB that he would be her knight so he better keep that promise forever until he dies a NATURAL death!

And I agree, the fact that we see DC's silhouette when DH was released and that SH was 20 feet away, close enough to save DC, especially since he had to go back to land to drop SB off, makes me think DC is still alive. That water splash sound could also be interpreted as Sh jumping into the water to save DC like he did for her in timeline #1. We'll come full circle with that.

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Your theory matched mine before I posted my thoughts and read yours, so high five!

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Thank you so much for the recaps GG team! You really did us favours - I mean, the whole audience but specifically those of us who would rather read excellent recaps in five minutes than sit through a whole hour blindly being yanked around by baddiesss. Yikes. From the bottom of my heart, thank you *dogeza bow*

Also, LOL at the end. What was that feeble attempt to make the show all "deep" and "heroic" and "Dongchan's so noble he's gonna sacrifice himself even if he doesn't need to because you know, deaths are cool in dramaland but wait, maybe we'll leave it to the audience because it's waaaay cooler y'know"?

LOL producers and writers and the powers that be. We are perfectly okay with a time jump to a year later where we see Dong Chan walking Saet Byul to school with Young Gyu and then coming home to Soo Hyun's cooking after a long day at work. WE ARE PERFECTLY OKAY WITH THAT Y'KNOW! I mean, if you're just gonna go with a non-logical ending anyway, we want to settle in the non-logical HEA. But gasp! An HEA is actually logical! Gasp! I didn't see that coming!

Still... kudos to Lee Bo Young and Joo Seung-woo for the stellar acting! You made this show worth going through despite the frustrating red herrings that do not contribute to anything other than making us hooked to the drama (and then when we were finally addicted, you give us the boring truth tsk) I will forever remember both of you, you beautiful creatures <3

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Why did Dong-chan try to dump Saet-byul in the lake at all?
Even if he did kill her, he should return her body to Soo-hyun without harming it further.

Also, shouldn't he try to preserve the evidence that he killed Saet-byul to prove that his mother did not do it?

I don't understand...

:(

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i would like to believe DC is alive in the end..!
he's the smartest one in this drama yet the last 5 minutes is not like him at all.. yeah blame that alcohol-shit-thing, but still..
and i believe SH save him this time and jump into the water (splash sound) to bring back his sense.. just like how DC always did to her,save her, bring back her sense, be her knight, this time it's the other way around.. just like how SH promised him in the jail that she will save all 3 of them SB, DH and DC.. she is his knight!
plus, i dont think SH and SB wont be there at the reservoir smiling all long.. if DC dies there, while SB almost, that place would be a tragic place for them..
and after DH is released, we see 3 people, and DH is smiling.. he must have surprised reaction if DC wasnt there...
so for me, my Captain Awesome is alive..! he can't die, not in my book.. lol

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Not in my book either. lol.. In my mind, he was reading the book to Saet Byul after all that has happened, all of them living together, happily.

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What. was. that.

After attempting to cheat Fate for the last 14 days, he gives up and walks to his death //while// holding Saet Byul in his arms? And after Soo Hyun has eliminated the source of threat for both their families? I wouldn't have minded if he died if it made more sense, such as if the big bad hadn't been stopped yet, then I would understand Fate's excuse for the sacrifice for "one of the two." I'm not surprised that Dong Chan doesn't hesitate at all to sacrifice himself and prepares his goodbyes, but I don't see the reason why it was necessary anymore by the end. Or is that the writer's way of telling us that Fate is the final evil, and must restore the balance by still having one of them die?

I don’t think he died. It’s very likely they were able to save Saet Byul with her mom not far away and the rescue team coming, so it’s just as likely they were able to save Dong Chan as well.

Anyways, I loved this drama and Jo Seung Woo and Lee Bo Young, up till the second half of this episode, even with its logical flaws because it told its story compellingly. It is the first time I've felt cheated by the ending though.

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exactly!!! what was the necessity of his death when it seemed the big bad had already been eliminated?

i don't understand why after the realization that he committed the crime, he doesn't just decide, "oh, i was supposed to have done this. i understand, now lemme turn back to the shore." ack!

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I still can't believe how a show that started off so awesome managed to gradually sink into such stupidity and so many plot holes and so many dangling loose ends.

In the end, the ONLY one I cared about at all was Ajumma - she at least showed some growth. Everyone else just got stupider, meaner, crazy, all the above. Even grandma went off the deep end and should be committed.

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Pretty much what my husband said.

I, on the other hand, enjoyed the roller coaster ride very much. Even if the finale was bleh, the ride was very much worth it =)

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The only way this ending could have been any worse is if it had turned out to be the fevered imaginings of Soo-hyun in some psych ward somewhere. Hmmm.... on the other hand maybe that would have made more sense to me. Saet-byul brings home one failed English exam too many and Soo-hyun snaps. Dong-chan could be her psychiatrist, Min-ah, the duty nurse, Mr President, the avuncular head of the facility, Creepy Aide, a mean orderly and so on.

It was like the last episode was written on napkins in some coffee shop 10 minutes prior to filming. Maybe given the current tragic events in Korea right now that's understandable because the writing seemed very disjointed and underwhelming. I did call the President's wife as the mastermind of the cover-up but Creepy Aide doing the dirty work because he "admired" the President and didn't want his career to be ruined is just so weird. This man has killed and falsely imprisoned people, manipulated the justice system regarding the death penalty to cover it up, driven others to suicide and madness, used parental grief to achieve his own wicked ends and been prepared to kill a small child. I'm sorry but I need more than "admiration" as a motivation for my unredeemable evil criminal masterminds. Disappointing is right!

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Aghhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!

I haven't watched this one (and episode 15 as well) but I guess I'll just scream out of frustration in advance. Never trust K-drama.

*flips table*

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If the show has questios remain unanswered, I also have questions for the show:
Why kdrama writers love to write bad endings?
Why they need to kill off the male lead?
Why did Dong Chan do that?
Why did Soo Hyun and Saet Byul smile in the end?
If DC died, there's no way in hell SH and SB smiled like that.

This ending has infuriated me. I think the best thing I can do now is always waiting for a show to finish.

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Firstly..I knew it. My first hunch about the murderer was our DongChan, who dropped Saet Byul into the lake. It was accidental but still it was hin. Secondly, the Harry Potter prophecy, I now understand was between DC and SB, as he said. Initially I was horrified, that DC killed himself to save SB. I screamed, whyyy?? Like many of you here, there was no reason at all! Then I repeated the last scenes and then a light bulb appeared. I am then satisfied...somewhat. DongChan realised that he went back in time to save SaetByul and himself. And to stop himself. One had to die to save another. He 'died' when he was thrown into the lake in the first timeline.This is what I believe happened. This drama, to me, is primarily about him, and Saet Byul .  The splash of water was nothing. Just another flasback of the first timeline. Lol..
Thirdly, what the..all that...and not even a hug between our Dynamic Duo? I cried when SooHyun met DC at the cell and her tears fell. I was sure she was confessing her love. Alas, my hope bubble burst.
  Fourth, i hated that ending. I was waiting in breathlessness, and choked on the slap lee jong suk got on his face.
Fifth: What a waste of 45 mins of nothing! Many scenes were unnecessary!

But thank you for the recap!! I loved the drama overall. It had a different style of photography and editting. (Hated the finale ending).. hell, it even got my husband hooked. But he was stressed out with the ending too.

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@haratiomorales, I agree with you. The prophecy was about him 'dying' in the first timeline in order to save Saet Byul..ultimately saving himself and Ahjumma.

And to reveal the truths: about him and what he did in the Saet Byul brouhaha, about Ji-Hoon, saving his brother, about the President's son, the corrupt practices of some wealthy families, and to mend his relationship with his family. Soo Hyun even understood her mother's actions in the past. The evil will get their punishment in court if not in hell. Lol..

I agree with the rest of you here that it was Ahjumma saving our Captain, hence the sound of that splash. She did say she wanted to save him at the police station. Or it could be Dong Chan dropping into the water from exhaustion but hugging Saet Byul to him. It was shallow anyway.

Anyway, where the HECK is the Prophecy Lady?? The Magical Photo of Mommy and Daughter??

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I believe that DC didnt die just because of SH and Saet Byul smiling while looking at the Mujin water. Sure they cant smile like that knowing that DC died in it (if he died)?

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I feel like I just wasted the my time watching this drama. what a ridiculous finale!!! the heck! did everyone in the production team just agree with the absurdity of the ending? come on!!!

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agreed! what were they thinking?!

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i never actually watched the drama except for one episode. i only read recaps on here so i wouldn't miss out. i'm glad i kept up with this drama because it was a worthwhile ride but i must say this was a horrible ending. i second javabeans but...i love sour things so what's left in my mouth is actually more bland, no flavor and dissatisfying.

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JB - would an extension have saved the ending? I am really surprised that the show stuck to its 16 week format. If ever a show could have used a little more time, this was it.

I did enjoy the show and I would love to see a part 2 if ever one comes too be. I could watch the lead characters all day long. Too bad the don' format shows like in he US or at least have special episodes where a few times a year there is a new episode. A show where the two solve child abductions, etc. *sigh* My brain just wants more...more Ki Dong Chan. He would be my Frazier...LOL

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it's over. no more episodes. no more ki dong chan.

And yet here I am wondering what exactly happened to Dong Chan.....

I can't do this.

I can't believe the show ended on a cliffhanger.

But regardless this drama put me in such a roller coaster, I'd admit there were too many repetitive scenes too, but overall I enjoyed it. It tugged at my heart and made me go crazy with shadiness and secrets, made me sad with twists and heart wrenching scenes.

I also felt that the drama ended with loose ties. We're not exactly sure the fate of Woo Jin, did he ever wake up? What about Ji Hoon, is he and Soo Hyun divorced?

But with the answers we did get, I'm also glad that Saet Byul is fine (thank god), Dong Ho is released, those bastards are punished, but then finally, what about Dong Chan? What is his ending?

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Ji Hoon was noticably absent in the last scene, so I'm guessing it's the show's way of telling us that Soo Hyun kicked him to the curb =) Yay for Dong Chan-Soo Hyun shippers =)

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This ending makes me angry.
what the hell is happening. they make 15 good episodes just to end it with bad last episodes.
arrrrggghh...!

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As I mention before, one trait that I really hate about the albeit awesome duo, is their ability to jump into conclusions really, really fast. I still think Dong Chan is NOT the guy who has to disappear (notice, that I didn't write 'die' here) as mentioned by the prophecy. He just ASSUMED that he is. Coz, if you think logically, even if he died within the 14 days frame, the villain could have thought other ways of getting rid of Saet Byul.

I actually think the guy for the prophecy is actually the President's son. This is because of one particular scene where the First Lady was speaking to the Chief of Staff. These were her exact words (well, according to Viki subs), "Ultimately, that child (Saet Byul) must die for my child (son) to be safe."

This drama was too ambitious with all the twists and whatnot, that I failed at being smart. And now that I think of it, the second killer played no role to the Mujin case 10 years ago. He was great at the creepy factor, but ultimately is just a 'filler' character.

I'm sad that there are too many loose ends. They didn't even show a satisfying comeuppance for the villain, instead we have presscon from the President. What about the Tatoo Guy? Did he die??? I also don't get why Dong Chan's ending should even be question mark. I see no point.

Ah, well, enough ranting. I have to studyy.

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Ooh yeah, that was one of my theories too, that the President's son should be the one in the prophecy, because he and his mom was the other.
What i mean is that according to the Hans chrsiten anderson "the story of a mother", a mother had a choice to kill one child to save hers. This fits with the first lady vs. Soo hyun, since they both would do anything, including killing another to save thier child.
oh dear, am i making any sense haha

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Thanks Dramallama for the recaps and I have been itchy waiting to read the finale recap. Thanks also that Javabeans is also able to comment on this finale episode that had most of us feeling shocked and say.. disappointed.

But as I'm reading Javabeans comment, questions popped into my mind.. Isn't it unlike the first timeline that SH was not anywhere near Mujin? In the second timeline we see her rushing through the waters shouting at DC that SB is still alive, right? So I think that even if DC was still say hallucinating or not, and even if he wants to off himself to protect his mother whom he assumed was the culprit.. I believe that SH could save him from drowning like he saved her in the beginning of the second timeline, right? Who knows DC even received CPR from SH after getting him out of the water.. (yes!) ..

Please share your thoughts and comments to my query.. I'd really appreciate it..

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that CPR part is a win.... lol XD

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"I think a Dong-chan death could have worked. And I do believe many of us would have been fine with an ending where he died if it had been executed well.." <- THIS! I agree with you JB.

I don't know what to say anymore. I'm angry with the show for killing my dong-chan in a manner i don't even understand! Please show, bring my dong-chan back or just give me a clear ending.

Anyways I have read somewhere that there will be a special episode next week. I hope it can clarify everything. I hope its an epilogue.

Overall, I still love this show! I'm gonna miss dong-chan now. :D

Thanks for all the recappers of this show: JB, GF, DL and SB! More power guys. I heart you all! ^_^

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Such little time to type out all the screaming thoughts out here, but I think you guys did it well enough for me.

The last few minutes, I was pretty much just clutching my face in horror then once it ended- *wants to bang head on something at that ending*

Made no sense. Just, why Dong Chan? Also, as much as I loved him the most, I found that in the last two episodes, the guy really lost his cool. Anyone else share that sentiment?

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The one mother-daughter secne that touched me to the core is when Soo-Hyun was being attcjed by Min-Ah, and Soo-Hyun assured Saet-Byul who was in the closet that she was fine.

It was a tear-inducing scene when Saet-Byul overheard granny telling her friend the reason why she couldn't let Soo-Hyun stay in an abusive household. I know Granny could have run away with Soo-Hyun, but that scene left me in tears nonetheless. There are just some things that parents do, to save their children. I hated the First Lady though. If she understood the meaning of love, she wouldn't kill other children. It goes to show that some love are pure, some love are totally blind.

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ugh. typos. "attacked" "scene". Sorry 'bout that

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I watched the final ep via live streaming and i am thoroughly perplexed when they show the sponsor's credit during the final scene thinking 'what is actually happening? Is that the end? Did he live? Did he die?' It took me awhile to process everything. Then i open soompi forum and ppl commented that he died which make me cried a lot (ppl who see me cried would think that a tragedy had occured) because seriously writer? U throw him a lot of lemons throughout his life and in the end u expect him to die? Would it kill u to give him a happy ending? And what with not showing what happened to the villains?

Just like JB said in her comment, i am prepared to forgive this show for all its flaws if only they give me a satisfying ending. I even give up trying to reconcile the 1st timeline and 2nd timeline because while i can understand (mostly) why things happened in the 2nd timeline, why the same things happened in the 1st timeline doesn't make much sense since the characters r/ship and what the characters know in the 2 timelines are different (from what i understand from the 1st timeline).

If only this drama ended well, it might be one of my fav dramas of the year because i do love it very much, flaws and all. But with this WT* ending, it just change my overall review of this drama. I might even blacklist this writer from the future dramas i want to watch. The only good thing i get from this drama is that it introduce me to an actor who had just made it to my list of fav actors of all time.

So for that, thank you writers for letting me know just how awesome jo seung woo is. I hope we wouldn't see each other again.

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I just get so excited when he plays games with saet byul. "Fish ga bak bak" game omg dong chan oppa D:

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I feel like this had been said by many viewers but wow. Wow. WOW. This ending. I haven't been watching many dramas, and this was my first wreck of an ending. And boy, was it disappointing. But first!! Thank you so much for the recaps, dramallma, javabeans, girlfriday, and solabelly. Your insight and comments and recaps were just awesome. Too bad I can't say the same for the finale. I don't even know where to start D: I loved this drama, despite its faults, but then the ending literally was a train wreck. The prophecy! Captain Awesome! The baddies! WHY?!? The prophecy, like many other people said, was strange. It was like the writers shoehorned him in to parallel Saet-Byul. It just didn't make sense. And why did Dong-Chan have to die?? To fulfill the prophecy, and to be the tragic hero?? and seriously, none of the bad guys got the end that they deserved. All the good guys were the ones socked in the gut (most of the time, literally). There's so much more that I cry about the ending, but all the previous lovely viewers already mentioned them so much more eloquently than I could have said, haha.
Sigh, at least I have my imagination. In my perfect world in my head, I'm dreaming that after Soo Hyun told Dong Chan that she would save everyone, she did. Somehow, she talked to the president and showed evidence, punched and beat up the President's son a few times, got the President's assistant dude man a kick with the President's security ppl. both in body and reputation, and then confronted the first lady with a mom vs. mom thing. (i swear im not violent)
Then she would find Saet Byul and Dong Chan, before they end up in the water and he thinks about the prophecy, and drags them out. And then they all lay on the ground laughing and crying and hugging and kissing and that evil corrupt cop gets found out and alll bad guys get what they deserve and everybody's happy and woo jin wakes up and Ji Hoon gets to see Saet Byul before Soo Hyun gets a divorce (Ji Hoon still gets some custody for Saet Byul though because he obviously loved his daughter, at least) and then the grandma is all healthy and at the end everybody goes on a picnic to Mujin where Dong Chan serenades everyone and then he proposes to Soo Hyun. and at the end Soo hyun, Dong Chan, and Saet Byul are in one bed and they read the story with the mother and death and the child, and then it ends with him saying the child lived and that with the help of a knight and the mothers love, they recieved god's gift and lived happily ever after I JUST HAD TOO MUCH TIME TO THINK ABOUT THIS SOBS
but phew this commentary place and the recap was like therapy for me. I'm so glad that many people had the same thoughts as me ;U;

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what the actual frick????? What even happened? I can't wrap my mind around the ending.
I keep imagining, at the end when Saet-byul asks if the knight lived, a voice that says something, but I can never figure out what she's saying. It’s weird and I feel like crying. Nooooooooo

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I remember watching this final episode raw, and I started getting nervous when there was only 45 minutes left for the show, and things just got murkier. Like what's the point of secretly rich grandpa gave that confession letter only to have ripped by the evil secretary like 5 minutes later? And that kept happening until only 15 minutes left and all I saw was DC getting drunk and I knew that it's going to go the way I fear it would go. Then I only had 5 minutes to swallow in how everything comes full circle and the epilogue? I didn't even get to see the bad guys getting their comeuppance! I was so mad by that.
As for DC, I'm actually okay (in cerebral level, because my Ki-Dong-Chan-shaped heart was already reduced to dust when I realized that they just killed him) with the idea of him giving up his life for SB because, yes, in the end you can't really cheat fate. I just hated the fact that he had to throw himself in the lake. It would be better if he died fighting the bad guys or something. You know, just “fight”. Echoing your sentiment JB, my main issue with the show is the execution.

Overall, I didn't feel like I have wasted 16 hours of my life. GG kept my brain engaged and it also had my heart. It has been a while since a currently-airing drama managed to do that. It kept me on my toes and there was really never a boring moment (only frustrating/head-scratching moments). I'm probably in the minority here, but I kinda liked the obscurity of the whole drama. It made me go back and watched certain scenes just to look for hints/clues and it gave me that little satisfaction of getting some stuffs right. I also grew to care for the characters and it allowed me to discover the wonderfulness that is Jo Seung Woo (who actually can play guitar! rawwwrrr!). This is also my first Lee Bo Young drama and her acting in that first two episodes totally got me in the heart, and Kim Yoo-bin, well she is just wonderful as always.

Now lemme watch that Magic Castle scene again....

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WTF. WTF. WTF.

I thoroughly really enjoyed the show, but damn that ending, not particularly Dong Chan's death but like Dramallama mentioned on wanting some enlightenment on "how everything unfolded, how the baddies were punished, and how our Baddass Mother and Captain Awesome get their well-deserved resolution. But we were give so little." The fact that the ending just felt slapped together :'(

I wanted to love you show.

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WTF?!? Horrible ending!! I would have been ok with him dying but not in the way they did it! Completely agree with Javabeans, this ending ruined the whole series for me. No pay off what so ever.

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Can somebody explain this?

In the first timeline grandma kidnapped SB as well (her finger nails were stained) which means that she had used SB to threaten Jihoon as well. But at that time JH did not have the earrings. So why did JH not tell SH where SB is? He didnt have anything he could use against LMH and therefore it doesnt make sense that he acted the same way in TL1 as in TL2. Was it still JH who used SB's shoes to mislead everyone?

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Hi again Javabeans, can you take a look at episode 9 wherein SB and DC were at the lake side.. there were some points of difference from the finale episode that I noticed.. Like SB's jacket was a different one and DC was wearing a jacket back then.. and also I noticed that DC had wound in his face while there was none in the finale episode.. Couldn't it be that DC did not die and he lived to go out on a "date" with SB and get to finish the story with his version that SB lived with her "awesome" mom happily everafter?

I mean, why would the finale show that on the latter part of the episode if not to give us a hint that DC is still alive..( with my feeling that DC gave way for SB to have a happy family together with her parents and granny who have all fought for her to be saved in their own special way..)

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Phew... Okay.... *breathes*
Now that I have had the chance to watch the finale, flip out about the ending, sleep on it, come back to it via this recap (thanks so much and kudos to you, dramallama ^.^) 24 hours after the fact, and think things through... I can actually say that I am quite okay with this ending =) Reasons I'm okay with it being:
1. Saet Byul is safe and sound
2. Fate is a real B----, but Show has shown time and time again who's boss and has control when the situation calls for it
3. The open ending.... It's different from many of the dramas we see nowadays, in that it isn't afraid to give the audience the idea or the possibility of killing off major characters even going into the finale

Now, let me just clarify some of my thoughts....
I can forgive Show for throwing me in for a loop during many, many times while also being on such a crazy emotional roller coaster throughout everything due to all the twists and turns and insanity of everything because it did a great job in presenting things, to the most miniscule and minute detail, yet being able to keep everything accountable and remembering to come back to it, address it, and tie a nice little bow to it

What I can't forgive is the unnecessary number of moments that Show has put me through the wringer with all the possible killers/kidnappers/conspiracy people that kept popping up-- quite literally, actually-- as a plot device which got old pretty fast and which could have been avoided with, hmmm, I dunno.... not being such a one-trick pony for so long??? Just a thought =P
Also, another unforgivable: the very hazy, HASTY, and lazy writing in recent episodes that were supposed to be the most climactic parts of Show so that it would lead us into the finale with all the gusto that it had started the Show with T.T

Things I still am on the fence about, but can forgive-- maybe--depending on what my mood of the day is:
- the open ending, enough said
- no romance but the hinted-OMG-it-just-might-happen moment in the hospital scene where Captain Awesome was decidedly struggling give a stroke to Soo Hyun's hair before leaving the jewelry evidence for her and then booking it (C'mon, please don't let me be the only one who noticed that detail of Captain Awesome and his feels--even for that split second-- or else I think I just might be turning delusional cuz of Show and trying to watch it and deal with it and the Feels it has given me .<

Sigh... Okay..... I think that is it for now.... I think I've got it all out of my system lol ^.^

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I love me some thrillers and intially thought the writer was heading in direction ala Secret Window/Hide and Seek.

Had an inkling Dong Chan was the killer from the get go (http://i1058.photobucket.com/albums/t413/javabeansdb/news/2014/14a/godsgift_prev3.jpg), though wasn't sure how or why.

So I am slightly confused. I'd understand the purpose of framing Dong Chan as Saet Byul's killer in Timeline 2 but for what reasons in Timeline 1?

The ending left a lot to be desired though, but that said what a brilliant show.

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I felt the same but about episodes 15 AND 16, it felt like they had enough material to extend up to 18 or 20 episodes. It seemed like they decided since there had been the previous weeks cancellations, and there were new dramas waiting like 'lets just cut and edit this down to 2 episodes to get back on our programming schedule'.

It rushed more so in the last two episodes then any of the others, and left a jolting ending that was unsatisfactory despite "the prophecy". I almost feel cheated.

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Dong Chana-a...uri Dong Chan-a....wwwwwaaaaaa :(

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At first, when I watched the first 2 episodes, I had remind myself that the tipical thriller drama would give us twist at the end of the drama.
When DC had SB hairpin in his pocket and blood stain in his jacket, I've already had bad feeling about this drama that DC MAYBE the killer but I didn't know how and why. I didn't want to believe myself that it was because his bad drinking habit. I was in denial phase that DC couldn't be the one. And when the drama goes on, how he met with ahjumma, solved puzzles together, and being the only person that not only ahjumma, but also me, to trust. I don't know what if I were ahjumma, having many people around me betrayed. DC is the only person that she could trust. But, a terrible thought came in my mind when I see the CT Scan of DC's brain (in eps 14 or 15) and believe that the bad drinking habit he had was not joke. And ta-da.. the writer-nim (not LMH actually.. hehehe) has made a perfect plan to make DC the murderer. I couldn't believe myself that the prediction I had at first 2 episodes would came true.
And, the answer for the question why DC must die (at least that the ending I believe in now)..
I thought that prophecy was not jokes. If we turn back time to how hard DC and ahjumma tried to save the women from the murder, they finally met their fate and died instead. It was because the murder, which is Cha Bong Seob, is still life. So I interprete the prophecy that said “.... such a fate will only end when one of two disappears.” I think it was for the murderer and victim. To save the victim, the murderer should die. And that's why DC should die in this timeline, because in the previous timeline, he would not died. As I remember, at that time he was sinked into the reservoir, he could save himself. But he saw ahjumma and tried to save her. And they back to 14 days before.
Maybe DC decided to kill himself because he wanted to break the chain fate that couldn't be stopped if one, which is himself, not sacrificed to stop that.
This is the logic that I try to believe. Eventhough I cried so loud last night because the writer-nim make my knight, let's say..died..and leave me in an open ending, I tried to convince myself that not much you can got from thriller-genre drama.
so, I got the lesson that when you watch a drama with thriller genre, do not have high expectation and prepare anti-dotum because you will have a severe withdrawal symptom (like me).
Afterall, this is the best thriller Korean Drama so far and GG14D became one of my all time favorite K-Dramas.
the end.

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I think your theory is the right one amongst all the boring over-the-top complaining posts that I've read. It makes sense. Good intuition. :)
Truly an awesome drama. The last 5 minutes were rushed but there might have been a problem with the editing of the last episode and we all know what a mess it was at that time for drama broadcasting. It's sad but it doesn't ruin this excellent show.

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At the ending, I jumped out of my seat and went "whoa….no way that happened!".
I drama was a fun and intense ride. My wife could not watch because the ferry incident was making her depressed.
Why be mad at the ending? The writing and pacing was never redundant. There was never the over-wrought flash backs we always see in Kdramas that makes me feel like the writer thinks I'm an idiot.
I would definitely recommend this drama. It is more edgier and has more bite than 'Two Weeks'.
Please don't be so angry at ending…..

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Well tbh, this was a pretty shitty ending to a good drama. I agree that it was probably due to its nature but it still feels wrong. Everything felt rushed and open knots were not connected.
I'm kind of baffled of how the president just accept Soo Hyuns proposal and knows his son killed someone with the scar mark. His public speech felt really unsatisfying, we don't really know what happened with the traitors. Same thing with the other police traitor and what happened to Woo Jin.
The producers tried to input some romance but failed to deliver (Byung Tae and Jenny).

It felt super unsatisfying and really rushed but at least they tried to finish the most important cases.

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totally disappointed in the ending. dong chan--dead? why? and suicide? (implied)it doesn't make sense. he had so much to live for now... it just didn't make sense to me... so many death-defying scenes and then he just succumbed to a "fortune-teller's" words?

this drama had a very interesting beginning. had a wonderful cast. but i got totally confused. the final episode was a letdown... i wonder if this was another case of those writers being rushed and so the story doesn't end well...

i have always prepared myself to not-so-good endings of korean dramas. but i guess i fell in love with dong chan myself i couldn't let him die just like that...

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I really hate it when a drama gives us a WTF ending. Its a total betrayal.

I'm glad I traded this drama over old dramas like Thank You and Bright Girl Yeah.. I am getting ready for Jang Hyuk!

**hugs to those who've seen it through and through

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the ending made me go huh??!! I liked that this show is fast paced and that it keeps things interesting. And the idea of making the other guys as accomplices was an interesting plot. Hence leading to one turning crazy and another committing suicide due to guilt. But I seriously see no need for Dong Chan to die....why should he? There is hope that his brother will come out of jail. He finally knows he is not to blame for Young Gyu and the little girl is alive......

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I have already started pretending that I didn't watched the last episode. ....as I would happily live my entire life with the fact that I have skipped an idiotic ending rather than regreting over watching it like I am doing now. ..
I had a lot of expectations from the show but it just proved me wrong at the very end by giving a totally ridiculous,confusing,WTF ending.....
It's looking like the show has pushed me off a cliff or something and it is now mocking me by saying"you expected a happy and sensible ending...hahaha."
WHYYYY????why did you do this to us show....ARGGHHHHH.

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First of all ... "CALLED IT"! Tottally did an "In your face" to my wife when I said several weeks ago that the one to die was DC.

Anyway ... me thinks ... that part of the problem is that with so many dramas every year, year after year ... writers find that the only way to set themselves and their dramas apart is to avoid the obvious "story book ending" by providing endings that they think are off the beaten path ... but after so many dramas doing the "off the beaten path" endings ... these endings have sort of made a nice "beaten path" of their own ... if ya get what I mean ....

It would have been totally in realm of plausibility that the whole "one must die" thing be thrown out ... after all ... they did change fate with SB ... so why not go one step further and just smash the whole notion no fate altogether and prove that love, determination and will of character is enough to change anyone's "fate".

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OMG. They did NOT just end the drama like this. *Stares blankly*

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Definitely a WTF ending. Did anyone else hear the big splash at the end? What was that for?
My long list of questions:

Did DC die from his brain condition?
Did the Chief of Police just let his son go in a coma without investigating?
How is it a black out if he remembers the hair clip and other clues when he is "drunk"?

Do Korean writers not know how to finish/complete the ending of a drama or am I just being biased. Why would Grandma hurt the little girl if she knows her grandson and son both love her?

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anyone else but me keep thinking that the 'splash' sound effect sounded very much like person dropping a duce in the toilet? hmmm ...

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I cried so much when DC chose death. I see a lot of you are angry about the ending, and I won't argue with it. The show did lose it's steam after SB was kidnapped, redeemed itself on ep 15, before going downhill again until the last ten minutes (dong kill me). The reason being that from ep 1-11 ish, the show has (mostly) been condensed in time and an intense watch, but these past couple of weeks has cooled down a little. But towards the last ten minutes, my attention sped up again, and I was practically yelling at my laptop screen for SH to run faster. The episode was edited badly as it was really choppy (although perhaps because of the sewol incident, people had taken some time off? Or maybe they were just in a hurry to rush it and go mourn?) The last few scenes could have certainly been extended a little (perhaps the first 50mins condensed into 40mins). Anyway, what really got to me was the fact that DC looked so relieved that it was actually SB and him in the prophecy. His smile when he said he will protect SB made me cry so hard, not because it was a sad smile, it was a smile of true happiness. For him, his burden has been relieved because previously he couldn't decide between DH and SB, but now that it was him all along, he will choose SB in a heartbeat.

Hope JSW gets daesang, or at least top excellence. He needs to be rewarded.

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Nooooo, they ruined it . it does't make any sense the last episode why why it was a great drama but the ending was ..... speechless

still in shock

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That sucked.

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i feel like the general consensus of the ending was "wth just happened"

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I feel like he died, but because of ferry accident, writer and pd did not show us for sure he died drown. They decided to not show it or else things would get ugly, since lots of kids died drowned when the episode was airing. If they show the scene and made sure he died like it, I think public would really be disgusted and fumming.

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