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

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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A&@*(@Q&$1J!!!@!>
...was what it sounded like when I watched this episode yesterday. I already had a bit of an inkling to anticipate such an ending, being burned from so many craptastic endings as of late...but DAYUM. WTF, show??? WTF, writer???? *repeatedly smacking head on keyboard*

Now that I got that out of my system...I was ultimately very disappointed with this ending. Seriously, what kind of BS is this?!??! Ugh...so ultimately, the baddies got away with it and our poor Captain Awesome made the ultimate noble-idiotic sacrifice, to make that self-fulfilling prophecy come true and to "save" SB. Damn you, stupid self-fulfilling prophecy and "fate"...I shouldn't have kept up the hopes that this drama would not fall into that ever-growing pile of dramas with shitty endings. But alas...I was fooled once again x/

As I've gotten older, I've stopped believing in so-called "fate" --- so anytime I've seen it utilized in kdramas, I've been a bit apprehensive. Especially seeing how its shown to have such a great importance and how it comes true, etc. etc. I really thought the writer would throw a different ending at us, where the baddies get their just desserts and both SH & DC could buck that damn self-fulfilling prophecy!!!

Why does "fate" have to rule?? Isn't it that one should be able to buck the course and be able to take their own road to whatever lies ahead...?

Was it too much to ask for DC to have a decent ending? Was it too much to ask for the baddies to get their ass kicked/thrown in jail/hung?!? ARGH. WTF is this trend lately with kdramas letting the most (if not all) baddies get away with it, scot-free??? Ok, I guess Prez's son did not (although I have my inklings that he's actually CoS's son, considering how much FL and him bent over backwards to save his weasel-y ass)...and the others that were blackmailed to "save" Prez's son. TH actually wasn't as bad of a baddie as I've thought...sadly, he was manipulated by a maniac, who used his grief.

I suppose the writer had thrown in hints, with the blackouts and pills and such...but mannnnn, I am really disappointed that it was written to end this way. They had the opportunity to change course and write an ending that actually made some freakin' sense...but no, just had to throw the viewers into a frenzied loop there, huh? x:/

But I will say that GG made me into an even bigger fan of JSW, despite his character's very unfortunate and unnecessary demise.

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Wow. I cannot believe how this drama ended! God's Gift is definitely at least second place within my list of top favorite k-dramas but, man... The ending... Not gonna lie, Ki Dong Chan was my favorite character in the history all dramas I've watched. It's not even that he's attractive, it's just that he's AWESOME. And then they had to go and give us this crappy cliffhanger ending... My head knows he died, but my heart is still hanging onto those small strands of evidence that shows he lived. In all honesty, I don't even care how the rest of the drama played out, I just want Ki Dong Chan back! It's been like 48 hours and I still tear up every time I think of him saying"Don't worry, Ahjumma. I'll protect Saet-Byul."

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Its only me, or lee bo-young was so distracted me by her beauty, lol
she's really good in her last three drama, i will waiting for her next project.

And jo seung-woo, i love him!!! *scream*
Since the classic, i was really into him, and now i adore him more...

I always hate when dramas ended, but soon i going to see lee jong-suk *kyaaa*

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he died?! he was awesome from ep 1 to ep 15 and ep 16 he just drowned himself? how can he drown himself when SH just there ?! how can he die...omg.. im so traumatised.

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was so so so so so disappointed that i didnt get to find out what happened to the baddies, esp the presidents son and lee myung han wth. i was waiting all episode to see them meet their ends after all the horrible things they have done but NOTHING happened and instead dongchan died? omg how can you do this to me drama! if only city hunter was here then yoon sung would have been able to take down all these assholes and reveal all their dirty secrets to everyone, or even better, team up with dongchan tgt

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This show was the best, i loved it.. i still do, but the ending.. what a let down. I mean i didnt mind if dong chan had to die or not.. but like JB said.. they shouldve executed it well.

And seriously, when the presidents son confessed.. we all were thinking "they better be recording this" but noooooo.. this whole ep i was like.. "omg, OmG nooo" i actually got pissed lol.

But overall its a good drama, loved it.. just the ending sucked. Thanks for recapping it.

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Oh and Lee Bo Young, that girl picks out good dramas. I hear your voice is still one of my faves :)

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Wait... why did KDC (JSW) kill Saet-Byul in the first timeline?

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Just want to highlight, i believe Dong Chan is alive cause remember this part "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)."

Who could the 3 figures be...

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i really hope ajumma and dong chan end up together,,the ending is way to open,,i just assume that dong chan not dead,,

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he is dead already.. totally dead because they have the flash back thing and he was saying that fate is decided between the girl and him so there is no way that he is still alive.. but anyway, i think this ending is way too clumsy... :( was really expecting way more

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I've always been a silent reader. And now I've watched the finale episode, I'm going to speak! Like all you said, there still so much mystery unsolved (you've mentioned it all). And hell yeah, our captain awesome left to die without some logic reasoning! Not to mention the romantic scene that missing.... does it Ji Sung oppa doing? Does Ji Sung banned Lee Bo Young from doing romantic scene since IHYV? Moreover it's with Charismatic Jo Seung Woo (LOL) hehe....

But afterall, this is the best drama I've watched though! Gonna wait onether project from Jo Seung Woo. I've watched his performance, and wow, IMO he's really good singing classic :D And all of sudden I want to watch him perform live on opera... KYAAA OPPAAAAAA

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Did Dong Cham really use Satoori in this drama? or is it just the way he talk. This is always made me questioning hehe

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That's not how he talks usually, he was born in Seoul. He used the accent for the drama! :D

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What the hell !!!!! Why is the ending like that?!?!?! i was actually expecting more of it.... so screwed up.. i was expecting at least a happy ending for both parties, the child and ki dong chan. andd you know perhaps when he realised that their fate happened to be that way, they just continued on to walk different paths instead of crossing each other. WHY oh Why..... pretty pissed off.. wasn't expecting this ending at all. HMPH ! very clumsy indeed

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i was really enjoying this drama right(even with all the weird twists and turns being introduced to the last scene) up to the end when I guess Dong Chan must have died. I am not clear on why he had to die(He already figured out that Saet Byul was alive) or even how(there was an off camera splash so I assume he died in 3 feet of standing water?

Oh well, I guess you'll remember this drama more for it;s weird/bad ending than if it had been safe and plain vanilla.....guess this will go off and be remembered "artistically" ala Fashion King/Iris/High Kick 2....

Other than that Lee Bo Young was pretty awesome in showing her range of acting skills in my opinion. She was positively kick ass in her action scenes. Big switch from her character on I Hear Your Voice.

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Love this drama. 5 stars all the way . I just love JSW . He is simply the best in Kdrama land, his acting was awesome.
I read somewhere ,someone mentioned he looks little like younger version of Andy Lau. I was thinking the same. Lol.

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I know this is late, but I hope someone reads this. There was a special episode aired as many of you know, and though about 40 min of it was interviews and BTS, at the end they do show bit of a continuation of the end. ater watching that i believe ki dong chan did not die. it wasn't subbed so I couldn't be sure though

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I just finished the drama. And also the special episode.

There's subtitle on subscene.com if you are still keen. but anyway no.... it's still a cliff hanger, no definite answer as to whether Dong-Chan survived. But this setup and script kinda leans more towards him being alived.

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I loved this drama! I was just wondering what the soundtrack at the part, where young gyu, grandma and dong chan took a picture, was????? I tried using shazam and soundhound but nothing came up! Someone tell me please! Thanks!

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What's the song at the part where dong chan visited his mom and ate and cut young gyus hair and took a picture and stuff? I can't even use shazam, someone tell me please!! Thankss

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I think the biggest flaw in this drama is the whole 14 days plot. The production team was so focused on keeping the tone of the drama as a pure thriller, and keeping audiences absorbed that they neglected the importance of story-telling, and character development.

It's such a waste really. They casted such good actors, but at the end of the day, instead of remembering their good performances, most viewers will be stuck, finding ourselves not able to find a proper closure.

The never ending appearance of new villains kind of parallel with US prison break's series. Ultimately, there's a higher organization, eventually involving possibly the presidents' involvement in manipulating these murders.

New trials can only be called innovation if it is a success, despite the production team focus on attempting a "new" genre, it is sad to say the execution was so poor.

They tried TOO hard to break away from the conventional thriller.

I find for any good drama, or good books written, enough breadcrumbs must be given along the way. Usually we find that we can narrow down the suspect into 2 people based on the clues given, but in this drama, everyone had the possibility of being a suspect, which makes any breadcrumbs given insignificant.

Character development was so lacking, the writer never allowed viewers to understand why the villains became the way they are, except for the tattooed guy. The word obsession can describe this production team. Obsessed by the 14 days idea, and neglect all the other important things that makes a good drama.

The team tried so hard to break away from convention, but really, the ending just make it so CLICHE, of all the people to die, and become the suspect, Dong-Chan would create the most Noooooooo, and Whyyyyyyyyyy… The production team probably think that we are exclaiming no and why because it came as a surprise, but in reality it is more so, exclaimed as, what the heck! where is the basis of him needing to die?

There's no connection whatsoever, for the nightmare that Dong-Chan gets, being as he said, a memory more than just a dream. like that twist was just twisted.\
No connection to why he would think the prophecy meant him.
The correct psychological reaction of Dong-Chan should be ohhh, Saet Byul is alived, we changed fate! I mean since the whole driving factor for him to commit suicide was because he taught he or his loved ones was responsible for Saet Byul's death.

The only way for it to make sense for him to die, is if Kim soo hyun died with him. Because afterall, who can travel back 14days and change fate. Their sacrificial death would change the fate of those in the 14days. This ending would have been much more acceptable to me, though i would still prefer if they didn't have to die.
Like come onnnnn, you brought the viewers through a emotional roller coaster ride, and never ending darkness, please shed some light at the end! ZZZZZZ

Would not recommend this drama to anyone...

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THANK YOU dramabeans, reading your comments really helped me find some closure, I guess we all just need an outlet to vent for the wasted 16hours spent.

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Just saw last ep on my local cable channel knowing the ending.The series was too addictive at the beginning and couldnt wait to know the ending.In hindsight perhaps i slhdve waited.Why anyone need to die?This drama plots whr the LeeMyungHan and President's wife shenenigans and extreme actions in beatig people up,dosing with achohol and kidnapping a child and deciding to kill felt like extreme actions.I felt these parts felt makjangi.Cause it took to extremes and manipulated our emotions to an unbelivable lengths.

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I just finished watch this drama. I'm quite lame, right? LOL!

Anyway, I can't believe Ki Dong Chan is dead and the drama's end just like that T_T The starting of the drama until the climax quite interesting and makes me curious what gonna happen next and the past gonna reveal. The last episode showed that Ki Dong Chan is died, yeah after Saet Byul hed of her one hand to Ki Dong Chan's button, he just realized that Saet Byul doesn't dead and save her from throw into water. But I'm quite confusing why he see himself throwing his late girlfriend, Soo Jung? That's weird.

After all, really recommended to watch this drama. I just love Lee Bo Young's acting. Before this, I watched her acting on "I Hear Your Voice"' with my late father. We just love her acting no matter who she collaborate with. This drama I could not watch with my father because he already gone in this world. God bless him.

Good Luck to you, dramabeans in all aspects. Keep a good work!

Have a nice day ya :)

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i think he died heroically..there were a lot of clues in the final minute before the final episode ended. first, the fact that dong chan-shi rewrite his own version as the knight saving the mom and the daughter in the story book is a foreshadow of him replacing set byul's death with his death. i know its just a vague prediction, but i think the story book along with the drama itself should be blend together and be taken as it is. dong chan-shi could have answered set byul that the knight became a hero that everybody will remember and cherish( which is what we see when set byul ahjumma and halmoni doing at the river resevoir; paying respect to dong chan-shi. ) if both of them survive by the way, i think visiting the river after the incident will be a bit traumatic and the river became less significant to the drama which will make it completely out of place for an ending scene. since the ending part of the drama sort of highlighting the river, it shows that the river reminded them of dong chan-shi, their savior. Ahjumma first love, the team leader is still alive instead of getting the honour of dying heroically, which is why dong chan-shi visited him to sort of passing his responsibility to that team leader before he died and partly to amend his mistake towards yong gyu's disability. Plus...its all the tricks of the drama production to make their hero stands out by giving him a heroic death that is seen humble (humble as in its not comfirm to the viewers if he is dead or not) .. i bet we all can relate that a movie or a drama became imprinted in our mind and cherish more if the hero died instead of a happy ending for the hero. in this drama however, dong chan-shi remain a mystery to give a suprise impact on the viewers that there is a type of hero that may or may not be dead; this became more than a hero, a legend perhaps, but his deeds are matter the most. (plus, if you're an asian, you would strongly believe a sudden strange overly nice behaviour of a person can signify that he is going to die. pretty much dong chan-shi followed his mother's request to bring yong gyu to meet the dad and became nice and warm for his family, eventhough we know that it was his last deed before he took the blame for his hyung because he thought he will rot in jail, but it also can be seen as a preparation or last deeds he did before leaving the world) I guess taking minor in literature does give me antenna to detect clues in the drama..

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One word that will describe the ending of this drama..which is Fuckin BULLSHIT!!! I cant believe i waste my time watching this drama...this is the worst and horrible drama that i had ever watch in my lifetime!! Gosh why did i feel soo many things but in the end everyone going to fuckin die anyway...to the writers of this story..f@#% u for making me feel like this...aisyyy seriously lesson learn I will never EVER watch a korean drama again...totally fu@#%&@#!!!! Arghhhhhhhh i hate it..i hate it 10000000...

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Wait, I don't get the ending. Why does Dong-chan need to die (what with the ending being so heavily implied that he DID die) to save Saet-byul?

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I believe that DC lived!! In the last episode DC continues the story of the mother, SB asked if the knight lived right? But she should've already known about the story since in episode 10 DC changed the story and retold it to her right? BUT THAT SCENE WAS DIFFERENT!!!! In episode 10 it was in DC's room at SH's mum's house but this time it was outside. He probably finished the story for her after all the drama ended. And I doubt that it (as in the storytelling in ep 16) was a scene in between all the other episodes (no time bro)

Plus SB should be crying over how she can't marry DC anymore if he actually died HAHHAHAHA

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Você fala português, certo? Só estou comentando por isso. Terminei de ver esse incrível k-drama e achei fantástico, mas terminou de forma tão revoltante porque eu queria muito que ele aparecesse pra dizer que estava vivo e bem, mas você explicou tudinho em seu post, que era um final opcional, enfim, você é incrível fazendo o que faz, continue escrevendo.
Fighting!!!!

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This comment must be quite late but I only watched this show few days ago and finished it. I came here to get some questions answered but what the hell, I guess I could not expect the viewers to be able to see what the show did not produce.

My reactiom at the last few minutes was.. WHERE THE F*** DID DONG CHAN GET THE IDEA THAT IT IS EITHER HIM OR SAET BYUL. I know what the psychic cafe owner, who is Soo Jung's mom, said. "One has to die." But how is the existence of Saet Byul parallel to Dong Chan. I get it when they thought it was either Dong Ho (Dong Chan's hyung) or Saet Byul.

But seriously where is the metaphor in Dong Chan and Saet Byul. I am literally feeling all the rage right now. And the ending which is literally just a Cut not an ending because it just felt like it needed to start all over again put me in such distress. I CALL BULLSHIT. I HOPE SOMEBODY HAD WARNED ME NOT TO WATCH THIS SHOW. I FELT LIKE WASTING 16 HOURS OF MY LIFE AFTER SEEING THE ENDING TURN OUT LIKE THAT.

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My sentiments exactly. @omnomnom I am so glad you cursing at them all like that. There is no justice e for the viewers in this show.

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@Chupsie
I am trying to find closure from watching everybody's comment but to no avail.

INDEED THERE IS NO BASIS TO WHY KI DONG CHAN HAS TO DIE. NOR IS THERE A LOGICAL EXPLANATION AS TO WHY DONG CHAN SUDDENLY CONCLUDED THAT THE PROPHECY MEANT FOR HIM TO DIE.

DAMN IT MY RAGE IS NOT DYING DOWN

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Ok i hope this is my last comment. Anyway I felt smiling while reading people refer to Ki Dong Chan as Captain Awesome because really he is. And I found this from other people's comment...
Aside from the numerous unanswered question, it is such a mystery how
CAPTAIN AWESOME DROWNED HIMSELF IN THREE FEET STAGNANT WATER AND WITH SOO HYUN RIGHT THERE.

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Where are my comments

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Now I found out that the storytelling scene at the end is confirmed to be a flashback. After watching episode 9,10 and 16 again. Saet Byul's cloyhes is tricku because she wore a brown dress in the original story telling scene. Howwver if you look at it a few scenes before she was wearing a red cardigan under a blue jacket few scenes during outdoors. It explains that she wasny wearing them in the story telling scene indoors but she did when they continued outside. But the second more important clue is that Ki Dong Cjam still carried the band aid on his right brow on the story telling at the end, which proves it happened the same day with the original story twlling scene.

However the guy who tapped Young Gyu is shorter to him as we can see the person's ears. It is definitely not Woo Jin but it could be Ho Gook if indeed Dong Chan died.

Argh I can't get over.... ?

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Last in line here on the comments. I think LBY was great and she did what the for a while great script gave her and then it withered into a worthless splash in the shallow lake.

Ugh! The writers/director/producers took a show that we were all willing to accept as being a bit overly hyperkinetic or over anxious in it's plot lines, then they took the show and ruined it. Destroyed it. Corrupted every anxious turn of events, every curve in the road and gave us a plop of luke warm rice.

He HAD to die because the lady in the magic cafe said one must die, oh come on! You took every bit of faith any of us had and gave us a misty look across a meadow and a lake at dusk! You took every time any of us said OH NO! and hung on each scene then flushed each scene into mystic Moojin pond? Better scripts have been written by undergraduate drama majors. All you had to do was end it well, even if a death did take place, let it be a good tragedy. Maybe read Aristotle on Tragedy? What makes a tragedy work and what makes a tragedy fail? well you certainly showed how to make a tragedy fail because it was not even a tragedy, it was not even hopeful, it was not even, even.

I want my 16 hours back. I really liked God's Gift then....
There is nothing more to say other than I was told by a fortune teller in a hazy coffee shop at the edge of the universe of how a hack writer/director/producer team got together and decided to ruin every single element of a mystery, of a crime thriller, of a tragedy and that one of them must be banished to North Korea. If the audience hates the outcome. Splash! A writer stands alone on a shore watching as the producer and director are shoved out into the sea while in the distance a whale calls and a dolphin twitters. UGH!

I still love Lee Bo Young and darling Ginny, and of course the poorly banished to a shallow drowning DC.

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I don't think DC is dead. When his brother is released from prison there are three shadowed figures. I stopped the film at 2:11 and there is clearly a man who pats the shoulder of Ki Young Gyu.

Why the drama didn't want to tell us in a clearer way is insane. Hopefully if this gets remade in Hollywood like I read they will make a clearer ending. Heck I hope they make the whole thing clearer. I still don't quite get Te Oh's part in the whole thing.

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I'm going voting crazy!

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