Misty: Episodes 15-16 (Final Open Thread)
by mary
mary: Misty didn’t manage to beat Woman of Dignity in ratings, but what it lacked in finale numbers it made up for in… staying power? No one’s going to forget this show soon.
odilettante: 8.4% isn’t too shabby, especially for cable, and it’s now the third highest-rated JTBC drama (just after Strong Woman Do Bong-soon).
mary: I’m sure all the Misty beanies are itching to share their thoughts in detail, so here’s what happened this week, to help us make sense of the last few minutes.
WEECAP EPISODES 15-16
Tae-wook finds Hye-ran hastily leaving his office. She pretends not to have seen the traffic violation letter while Tae-wook pretends not to notice that she’s already seen it.
Meanwhile, Myung-woo meets Eun-joo to talk her out of her misguided hate. But when she refuses to let things go, he breaks her protest sign and practically admits that he killed Dong-hyun. And he could kill her too if it comes to that.
Hye-ran tries to ignore her doubts about Tae-wook, but while claiming her brooch from the evidence room, Detective Kang shares that it was the brooch that started it all. He concedes that it’s his fault for chasing her so obsessively, he lost the real culprit: someone close enough to Hye-ran to take the brooch from her home after her rendezvous with Kevin Lee.
That night, Tae-wook comes home to an empty house while Hye-ran treats the News Nine team to drinks. A suspiciously couple-y moment between Ji-won and Reporter Kwak prompts the team to compare him and Tae-wook as perfect guys, and only Reporter Yoon notices that Hye-ran is just faking the happy facade.
The following morning, Eun-joo ignores Myung-woo’s warning and continues her one-woman protest outside the JBC building. Reporter Yoon, on Director Jang’s request, approaches Eun-joo for an interview. They don’t notice Myung-woo watching them talk.
During the interview, Eun-joo insists that the contents of Hye-ran’s black box chip is evidence of Kevin Lee’s murder, but Tae-wook deleted them. Yoon, upon learning that it contains footage of Hye-ran and Kevin’s affair, points out that the footage proves the opposite. Hye-ran was in her car, why was the brooch in Kevin’s? And Hye-ran’s obvious efforts to appease Kevin means she wants to handle the affair quietly. Yoon also points out that Tae-wook, as Hye-ran’s lawyer, should’ve known this. It was counterintuitive for him to delete it.
Yoon makes plans and fails to meet with Hye-ran because a man with a crowbar attacks her. Hye-ran rushes to her friend in the ICU but Jang is already there. He tells her that Yoon might’ve been attacked after coming to the same conclusion as Detective Kang. Hye-ran rejects this theory and storms out. She confronts Eun-joo for being the last person to talk to Yoon, but Eun-joo turns it around on Hye-ran by revealing that Yoon met with Tae-wook before being “mugged”. Eun-joo sees how tortured Hye-ran is at the increasing evidence of Tae-wook’s guilt, and she ends her protest, having achieved her goal of making Hye-ran miserable.
Hye-ran hurries home and finds proof that Tae-wook purchased duplicates of the coat and shoes he was wearing the night Kevin Lee died. She asks him if point-blank if he killed Kevin Lee, but he just invites her to the vacation they promised to go to. She backs away and begs him to answer the question, and Tae-wook finally answers yes.
We finally see that night from Tae-wook’s point of view: finding Hye-ran asleep on the couch and consumed by anger at seeing her wearing the brooch, he chases down Kevin Lee’s car and argues with him in a deserted area. Tae-wook warns Kevin to stay away from his wife, but Kevin rubs in the fact that Hye-ran loved him, her old boyfriend, yet her husband never even heard those words from her. Tae-wook shoves him into a wall in anger and walks away, but Kevin’s head hits the wall hard enough to kill him, and he slumps to the ground.
Tae-wook loads Kevin’s body into the latter’s car and drives around, looking for a place to die together. He crashes the car into a pole but ends up surviving, and decides to make it look like Kevin died in an accident. He scrupulously cleans off any evidence that he was in Kevin’s car — but fails to notice Hye-ran’s brooch was left behind.
Hye-ran is devastated to now know the truth, and wishes Tae-wook had just killed her when he learned about the affair. Tae-wook is silent as Hye-ran leaves, but he thinks to himself that anything he says will just sound like an excuse, when the truth is he’s in pain but he still loves her.
Hye-ran watches over Yoon in the hospital, where Eun-joo finds her to say goodbye. But not before repeating that Hye-ran is at fault for ruining everyone’s lives. Tae-wook’s now included.
In the early hours of the morning, Director Jang finds Hye-ran drunk and crying nside the studio. She questions everything she’s worked so hard for, wondering if Jang has regrets, too. He tells her that people can’t really pinpoint the exact thing that’s wrong in their lives — they’re all just trying to survive each day. As for regrets, “news” is always first in his mind. Nothing else is fun or meaningful.
A slightly sobered up Hye-ran walks out of the building, recalling Eun-joo’s bitter words about her ruining everyone’s life. This time, Hye-ran questions Eun-joo’s accusations. She never asked Myung-woo or Tae-wook to kill for her, they just did so without anyone understanding how unhappy she was.
Speak of the devil, Myung-woo shows up like the ninja he is and tells Hye-ran to buck up. He never blamed her and no one should blame another person for their choices in life. He’s here to say goodbye, and as he walks away, he thinks that he’s happy that a nobody like him is able to give her a future.
Tae-wook drops by his parents’ house in the morning after waiting up all night for Hye-ran. He’s here to say goodbye to them too, since he won’t be able to visit them where he’s going. When his father asks why, he admits it’s because he killed someone.
Reporter Yoon finally wakes up and asks about Tae-wook. She reveals that when she questioned Tae-wook with the growing pile of evidence, he admitted to killing Kevin Lee. He was planning to turn himself in after the vacation with Hye-ran. Hye-ran remembers Tae-wook insisting on a vacation when she was trying to get the truth out of him, and she runs home looking for her husband.
Meanwhile, Detective Kang drops by Tae-wook’s office where he gets scolded by Office Manager Lee for torturing the couple. Kang insists he’s just doing his job, and Lee shouts at him to do it properly instead of this blind search that messes everyone up. Lee cries in his car as he remembers Tae-wook giving him tickets and reservation for a vacation as if he’s sending him away. But Lee senses something wrong and insists on postponing the vacation. We see that he found Tae-wook’s discarded shirt and bandages the morning after his fight with Kevin, and Manager Lee threw the evidence away.
Tae-wook meets with Hye-ran and confirms what Yoon said. He also apologizes. He was confident of his love at first but as they grew further apart, he felt more pathetic. He leaves to surrender to the police but Hye-ran runs after him and begs for some time so they can figure out what to do together. Tae-wook is touched that Hye-ran is considering delaying or covering up the truth for him, but it’s just a pipe dream for them.
Hye-ran walks into Director Jang’s office and writes tonight’s headline on a piece of paper: “Kevin Lee’s murderer surrenders himself to the police. He is Kang Tae-wook, husband of news anchor Go Hye-ran.” She goes back to her desk and waits for the news to blow up as we see Tae-wook walking to the police station. And in the desk beside hers, Dae-woong gets a tip from his source that Kevin’s murderer surrendered. His name? Ha Myung-woo.
Myung-woo confesses to killing Kevin Lee and Dong-hyun, much to Detective Kang’s frustration. His detectives report finding Myung-woo’s hideout full of Hye-ran posters like an obsessed fan and a bottle of drugs that matches the type found in Dong-hyun’s body. Detective Kang grabs Myung-woo in anger, demanding to know why he’s choosing to throw away the rest of his life. Myung-woo, true to character, repeats he’s never considered the things he’s done as “throwing his life away.”
Director Jang mobilizes the News Nine team to cover this breaking news. When Hye-ran protests, he insists they’re reporting a fact: Myung-woo confessed to killing Kevin Lee. He wants Hye-ran to move on from this and use her newfound popularity to start a show where she can interview everyone — even those in power. Jang labels an envelope with Kevin Lee’s murder, to be filed together with news he’s been saving for the right moment, but at the last minute he doesn’t put Hye-ran’s note in it and puts an empty envelope in the box.
Manager Lee hands Tae-wook a letter from Myung-woo. In it, Myung-woo tells him to protect Hye-ran until the end as the punishment for his crimes. Tae-wook shows Hye-ran the letter and she wordlessly locks herself up in her room, crying at how messed up everything is.
A short time later, we see Tae-wook preparing to be a guest in the second episode of Hye-ran’s successful new show. Detective Kang confronts him outside with the news that Myung-woo will be sentenced tomorrow, wanting to see Tae-wook’s reaction and hating that a murderer such as him is still living a good life.
As Hye-ran prepares for the interview, she thinks about her dream of happiness and believing it was something she could achieve. Tae-wook wonders about his dream, too, as he drives to the station. He’s not sure if his dream is Hye-ran, or merely to appear perfect to her. He re-imagines the scene when he interrupted Hye-ran’s interrogation at the start of the series. But this time, he introduces himself as her husband and immediately confesses to being the last person Kevin Lee met with the night he died.
In the present, Tae-wook closes his eyes as a tear falls. He steps on the accelerator and we hear a crashing sound while the scene fades to black. In the studio, Hye-ran opens the show and takes questions from the audience. Someone asks if she’s happy, and Hye-ran hesitates, unable to respond. Backstage, her stylist looks shocked after answering Hye-ran’s phone.
Meanwhile, Hye-ran hasn’t budged from her seat at all, freaking out Jang and the rest of the team. Hye-ran thinks to herself that people who live a crazy life are chasing things that can’t be caught. She turns to the camera, and her eyes fill with tears as we hear Tae-wook asking, “Hye-ran, are you happy?”
COMMENTS
mary: You have to give it to them. No one did expect that kind of ending.
odilettante: I feel a little self-congratulatory because I knew over a week ago there’s no way Tae-wook would be able to live with the guilt of killing Kevin and letting Hye-ran go through the farce of being blamed for it. I believe my exact words to you were “falls on his sword.” Okay, so he “went into a tunnel” instead, but same concept.
mary: I wanna replace it with the concept from Smart Prison Living where *spoiler alert* going into a tunnel just means going in and out of prison. But more than Tae-wook’s death, I’m more disappointed by the fact that we cut so abruptly away from Hye-ran. I spent 16 episodes agonizing with her! I want to know what she’ll do after finding out Tae-wook is dead, not get a vague reflection on how difficult it is for her to be happy — and then nothing.
odilettante: Apparently I’m the only one who didn’t mind the ending, but that’s because I never really expected a true “happy” ending. This drama has always felt kind of like a modern-day sageuk to me, so the fact that anyone was still alive in the end was the unexpected part. My only real disappointment was wanting to see Kang Yool and Hwanil totally destroyed, but I suppose I just have to trust that Prosecutor Byun and Ji-won will continue their respective investigations.
mary: Gah! Don’t remind me of the dropped threads and unanswered questions, because my brain starts making a list. Like what happened to her dream of bringing down the greedy people at the top? Why was the black box chip in Kevin Lee’s coat? We can probably pick any satisfactory theory from the past Open Thread comments, but the show made such a big to-do about it, you’d think they’d give us a little hint in the finale. I’m not asking to be spoon-fed, but I want to know what I just ate.
odilettante: Not to mention what, exactly, was on that black box video. Does that mean Tae-wook’s reaction to it is more out of his sense of guilt and grief knowing what he’d done to Kevin than seeing seeing Hye-ran’s actions? And who was Kevin planning to meet that night? Was it Ji-won? His manager? How did the fake witness describe the fight between Tae-wook and Kevin so perfectly, even though it was proven he couldn’t see anything? Or was that just a masterful Tae-wook bluff? There are enough questions left in this drama to fill another season. In fact, I may have already plotted one out in my head and will be happy to share my ideas with JTBC provided they give me full access to Hye-ran’s closet.
mary: I definitely agree that more episodes would’ve helped. For answering questions, showing us more of the characters we’ve become invested in, and fashion. You know, I watched that timer run out in episode 16 thinking, “She’s wearing the same coat for how many days now? odilettante will be sad at the lack of pretty clothes.”
odilettante: I feel like Hye-ran’s clothes are a character unto themselves. When she’s wearing the same outfit more than once, you know something serious and emotional is going on. Plus, did you notice it wasn’t until after the trial that she started wearing softer floral ensembles instead of her usual tailored pantsuits and dresses?
mary: Yes, someone even described it as Hye-ran being like the embodiment of Spring. If Spring ever worked so hard to find its own version of happiness, stumbled on it unexpectedly, then got pummeled by Life and Consequences the moment it got a little bit soft. Can you tell I’m slightly bitter? Quick! Let’s talk about the happy stuff!
odilettante: Um… well, I loved how smug Myung-woo was in his confession about killing Kevin, just because of how much it annoyed Detective Kang. Not to mention Tae-wook’s adorable assistant gets three cheers from me because of the way he yelled at the detective to stop harassing Tae-wook and Hye-ran.
mary: I think a more competent cop would’ve been able to poke holes in Myung-woo’s story. But I’m glad they spared us extra doses of Kang’s shoddy sleuthing to give us more satisfying scenes. Like the News Nine party and that look Kwak gives Ji-won when she saves him from drinking. I imagine Ji-won’s glass is now stored in his office drawer too. Also in the list of satisfying things? All the times Myung-woo refused to join Eun-joo’s blame-Hye-ran-for-everything party.
odilettante: Even though I’ve never been a fan of Eun-joo, I couldn’t help but feel that she got the short end of the stick. She tried to live a dream life but her husband never loved her, she lost her unborn baby, her best friend turned out to not be a friend, and now Myung-woo says all of this started because when Eun-joo was a teenager, she told Myung-woo that Hye-ran was going to see the creepy jewelry store owner to get money for her tuition. It made it seem like Kevin could still be alive now if that night hadn’t happened, as though it was the butterfly moment that led to this hurricane.
mary: It didn’t feel to me like he was blaming her. It seemed like Myung-woo was giving her some tough love: “Okay Eun-joo, you wanna play the blame game? Then everything started with you and your petty gossip. See how shitty that sounds? Hye-ran didn’t make me kill anyone. You didn’t make me kill anyone. We all made our own choices. Stop hating and just live your life.”
odilettante: Which seems to be a point of this drama. Choices have consequences, good or bad, and blaming someone else for your actions will get you nowhere. We’re all just driving into the mist — hopefully with our eyes open, though.
mary: Noooo… I forgot about that for thirty seconds. But I know you’ve made your peace with the ending, can you share why you think Tae-wook’s final choice makes sense?
odilettante: Tae-wook’s greatest strength is his greatest weakness: he is a man of integrity who keeps his promises. He vowed that he would make Hye-ran fall in love with him, and she did — unfortunately a little too late. But mostly he vowed to support Hye-ran, which is why he accepted his punishment (as described by Myung-woo): to protect Hye-ran until the bitter end. Having failed to do that when she was first accused of Kevin’s murder, he resolved to uphold his promise, removing the last weak link that could possibly ruin everything she’s fought so hard for all these years — her career, her reputation, her unrelenting effort to bring truth and justice to the world. Maybe he can’t fix the past, but he can do his best to remove the final barrier to Hye-ran’s happiness.
mary: The final barrier being himself? So you’re saying his death will cover everything up, close another dark chapter in Hye-ran’s life and let her live a perfect-looking life at the top. All the corrupt people she can expose and the female anchors she can inspire and the gorgeous fashion they can wear, but at the price of one Tae-wook?
odilettante: Essentially, yes, although Hye-ran will undoubtedly have PTSD knowing that the men she’s loved have either killed or died because of her.
mary: I feel so bad for her. Once again the man she loved chose to go hero and leave her all alone. But I guess it’s all about accepting people’s choices. Tae-wook chose to end things this way. The writer chose to end things this way. I mustn’t disappoint Myung-woo by putting the blame elsewhere. We fell in love with Misty. No one forced us to watch it.
odilettante: But we might have forced a few beanies to watch it, just based on these open threads, so hopefully they don’t hold it against us!
mary: To the Misty beanies, thank you for trying this new format with us. Thank you for the brilliant theories and jokes. And thank you for not camping outside our doors with a sign saying “It’s your fault for making me watch this.”
odilettante: It’s been fun sharing in the discussions each week, and while Hye-ran’s happiness may be in question, we’re happy that everyone stuck with us until the bitter and foggy end.
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Tags: Ahn Nae-sang, Ji Jin-hee, Kim Nam-joo, Misty
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51 Lilium
March 28, 2018 at 7:11 PM
I don't necessarily have an issue of the show making TW Kevin's killer if explained convincingly (even that was wobbly) but I do object to the nonsensical last 15 minutes. The so-called sacrifices made by the men in the 11th hour made no sense because it suddenly became about them when all along the show was about her. To me the disconnect was jarring because the character development and motivations of TW and MW were hitherto so underdeveloped.
It was shock for shock sake. That's why people have come to the conclusion about ambitious women
Aside from that there were so many issues that the show brought up that were never dealt with even remotely satisfactorily. The card from the black box notwithstanding... the lack of honesty and communication in this marriage... the poor investigation into Kevin's death.
All in all it was a poor ending. Not just because of the shock of fingering TW as the culprit, not just because of the last 15 minutes but because there were so many threads left hanging just so that we could get this vague existential malarkey of an ending.
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52 Lois
March 28, 2018 at 7:21 PM
I know from what I have been reading that my comment will be unpopular, but I think Hye Ran is the "villain" of the piece. I think the reason the title "Misty" was chosen is because we are supposed to be mystified as to how all these horrible events can be revolving around this seemingly innocent woman. I found a lot of the things Hye Ran did questionable, but what clinched it for me was when we saw how Hye Ran came to own the brooch. Tae Wook bought the brooch for her in his joy at her pregnancy. When Tae Wook presented it to Hye Ran and she basically said, "Yeah, I got rid of the baby, but I'll consider this a gift for the announcer's job, k?", I knew Hye Ran was a narcissistic monster posing as a beautiful, elegant woman. Having been raised by a woman who resented raising me, I did not have a problem with Hye Ran having the abortion. What I did object to was the emotionally brutal way she delivered the news to Tae Wook. As far as Hye Ran abandoning her "high values", she did no such thing. Hye Ran's values were getting whatever she wanted whenever she wanted. We already saw this when she dumped the man she came closest to loving, Jae Young, for a man she didn't love, but provided her with prestige.
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53 strawberryicecream
March 28, 2018 at 8:59 PM
Wow...that was one of the most confusing dramas i've watched. What was the point of Myung Woo taking the fall? I feel like it just made the situation worse for everyone as and it also ended up making him appear incredibly selfish. Tae Wook was ready to tell the truth, and Hye Ran was ready to deliver it on the news. Instead, Myung Woo confessed for something he didn't do, burying a truth everyone was PREPARED to shed to light on, completely ignoring their decisions on the matter. It didn’t sit well with me that it seems the fall for Tae Wook (with the additional condition that Tae Wook’s punishment is to protect Hye Ran) is depicted as noble on Myung Woo’s part. As in, Myung Woo gets a say in what Tae Wook’s punishment should be when the latter was robbed of his opportunity to take responsibility in the first place. And if protecting Hye Ran means protecting her reputation (since Tae Wook’s crime could be considered a “stain” on her reputation in terms of career) that also comes off as unfair for Hye Ran as well. I highly doubt Tae Wook committing suicide instead of serving his time in jail is what she would’ve wanted. Not to mention, thematically this show was a mess. The themes for the most part in terms of plot came down to: Who done it-> others using the case for their own personal gains (as if a commentary on how people don’t care actually for the truth/ just want to benefit from it), tied with an incredible amount of corruption among the elites/government-> to the importance of the media exposing crimes/relaying the truth -> to taking responsibility for one’s actions-> to no one is at fault, because we make our own choices-> to end on: when we want to make a choice for ourselves, sometimes people interfere and keep that from happening (Myung Soo’s actions at the very end)???
Misty was my crack drama: mind games + an incredibly flawed, but admirable heroine+ interesting themes (aside from the above, I’d also add how rising the ranks as a woman is incredibly difficult, etc).
I feel like I would’ve preferred if the drama ended 15 min earlier even if there were still questions unanswered ex: why the black box chip was in the Kevin’s possession. Because ughh those last 15 min felt like an undoing of what this drama was going for/building toward.
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strawberryicecream
March 28, 2018 at 9:04 PM
By the end of it all, I'd still stay I had an enjoyable experience with Misty. The ending does take it down a few notches for me unfortunately, but the previous episodes were still one heck of a ride.
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54 Miss Flame
March 28, 2018 at 9:48 PM
"I had always thought that I had everything. But, when I open my hand there's nothing. Perhaps we try to catch thing that are impossible to catch. Is that why we live life like we're crazy?".
My gosh. I lived for that last words.
When Misty was over my heart break up. Since trial's chapters, when little details about truth did show up, I was begging to gods for a happy ending. But when Hye Ran, referring to Myung Woo's murder, sayed to Tae Wook: "if he had listened to me, if he had believed in me...", I realised that a break point happened before we noticed it. If everthing would have been perfect, this would not have been the greatest drama of season.
I really (really, really, really) wanted to trust Tae Wook's unconditional love. But Misty is not (just) a sweet romance, there is a lot of thing behind main couple. Relationship between Hye Ran and Tae Wook felt real (not just realistic), but also felt strange and twisted. It is not coincidence that Painful Love's verses (courtesy of Lee Seung Chul) sounded like a dark echo: "Love is love / it’s only a wound".
Tae Wook's wounds took Kevin Lee's life. His death what was a stupid mistake caused by a rush of anger, jealousy and sorrow. What tell us the truth about Tae Wook: he was a man madly in love, crushed by his manly pride. And that fact emptied Hye Ran's heart forever.
Everyone hoped a twist as the last chapter approached...Well, I don't know if this strange finale was all that everone was expected. Myung Woo's act for sure surprised us, but that's all. I liked a lot the ambiguous ending, it seems that the viewer must suppose what happened and live with uncertainty. Still, it was very bittersweet. It suits to drama's narrative: thuth came little by little, until leaving us dissatisfied. This is living.
Go Hye Ran is probably one of the best characters of kdramas' history. Her brave and fierce personality make her too attractive, we understand why men around her fell for her so deep. Like a human, more than a woman, she serves as example that we have rights to be greedy and harsh in our road to arise. Even if she was mean, even if she lost a lot... she put her ambition and dignity before anything.
It is very hard find a character with so much personality, so aware of its own limitations and desires, so capable to continue when its decisions lead it into disaster. Hye Ran knows what means asume consequences of life and charge them on her own shoulders without any embarrassment. She lived for herselft, but also lived for her news, wicht means that she lived for truth. The question is, does she regret it?
However, I will thanks to Kim Nam Joo for gave life to Hye Ran. Damn, this woman has passed six years out (of small screen) and returned to performance an apassionate character with extraordinary ability. To me, she deserves a big prize, this will be a great hit drama just because of her. Call me fangirl, she was so stunning and gorgeous that I'm still...
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55 littlecharmsy
March 28, 2018 at 11:07 PM
At first it seemed that Tae-wook was sacrificing himself because of his love for Hye-ran. “Are you happy?” was his way of justifying his death. By his dying, Hye-ran can really be happy because the detective would stop harassing her. She won’t have to live with a killer. And her name would not be tainted because of his confession. Never mind that his death could possibly break her and make things worse.
In episode 11-12, Myung-woo tells Tae-wook that pride, not love for Hye-ran, is the reason he killed the loan shark. Is Tae-wook protecting Hye-ran or his pride? Myung-woo tells Hye-ran that Tae-wook loves her very much.
But in the end, it seems Tae-wook was protecting his PRIDE. As some Beanies have already pointed out, he was on his way to the interview presumably to confess that he killed Kevin Lee. There probably would have been a stay to Myung-woo’s execution, he is absolved of his crimes after a re-trial (his Hye-ran shrine and drug relating him to the agent’s death would be ruled staged) and set free. Tae-wook goes to prison, and Myung-woo now can pursue life, liberty, and Hye-ran. The idea that Myung-woo and Hye-ran could be together would be unacceptable to Tae-wook, who believes that he has loved and sacrificed so much for Hye-ran for so long. No one else can love her; no one else does love her more. In the scope of things, however, Tae-wook had little to offer Hye-ran, no? LOVE? Myung-woo and Kevin loved Hye-ran. Myung-woo has offered up his life (twice!), and Kevin Lee was a passionate lover and the love of Hye-ran’s life. Ultimately, it’s a pissing contest that he didn’t want to lose.
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Kurama
March 29, 2018 at 2:46 AM
I don't think that Myung Woo influenced like that the decision of Tae Wook. I think it's more like Hye Ran won't live with a murderer so either he pays for his crime or he leaves. Myung Woo would have gone to jail anyway for the murder of the manager and the fact that he beat Reporter Yoon. And Tae Wook believe in justice too, he was prosecutor after all, so if he doesn't go to jail for his crime, he must be punished and he chose suicide.
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56 Lira
March 29, 2018 at 5:23 PM
God I was so in love with this drama. I couldn't watch the last two episodes after reading the reviews, so I came here and read everything. I'm glad I didn't watch it and I won't. The ending doesn't make any sense, I wish they could have done something better, THEY COULD have done something better....the characters don't deserve that
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57 redbean
March 30, 2018 at 3:13 AM
to me, Misty is an alternative take on makjang dramas, with so many characters in self-induced suffering, whether they know it or not. while the logic may not run very well for the drama, i find looking forward to the next episodes and rooting for various characters (even jiwon, on and off), which is something rare nowadays in dramaland..
Hye Ran - who bulldozed through life on questionable circumstances (should she have accepted university fees from Myeong Woo, should she have sacrificed her child to break the glass ceiling, should she have met with her spurned lover to keep her job, etc..) Myeong Woo - who has to appear in this drama as the most unrealistic character ever, not just as Hye Ran's guardian angel and sin-absorber, but also to remind audiences that such a character in real life will probably not give you the happiness that you seek either. Tae Wook - he was a willing puppet turned willing puppeteer. i had thought he would transform into a stronger man for Hye Ran as the plot flowed, but still he chose suicide instead. Rest of this interesting makjang palette - the ex-lover, ex-high school classmate, questionable workplace integrity and reality within the jbc office, the Chaebol Dad, the Chaebol Mother-in-Law, simplifying the legal/fact-finding process for convenience (personally found the disappointing scenes with prosecutors, detectives, court scenes used as convenient plot devices to generate footage for News on 9)
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58 Iriwa~anajwo~
March 30, 2018 at 3:35 AM
Tae Wook could choose any way to end his guilt for all I care. But I despise his choice this time! changing lane and wait for anything to hit his car. He was risking other people's life. 😤
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59 isbjorn
March 30, 2018 at 7:03 AM
The last episode of this grown-up, serious drama with amazing cinematic values and a perplexing, strong, admirable (mostly) female lead has upset me so much that I can't even read Mary and Odilettante's back-and-forth--always inspiring, exciting, and fun, and my (as a DramaBean newbie) favorite part of the site. I hope my emotions calm down (it's been almost a week now, come on emotions!) enough so I can start to wrestle w all the questions, deal with the disappointments, and come up w all alternate endings I can imagine.
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mary
March 31, 2018 at 9:18 AM
You gotta read the other comments, maybe reply and vent your feelings so your heart can be free to love another show again.
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isbjorn
March 31, 2018 at 3:08 PM
Thank you! I have been trying, and given a few more days, perhaps I'll really be able to dive into the comments and set my thoughts, feelings, and heart straight. Right now, I can't even vent my feelings because they are so conflicted.
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60 SummerBreeze
March 30, 2018 at 8:55 AM
The writer hates Hye-ran! or someone that was the inspiration for her character that although she is loved obsessively by three men in their own way, she will not have any one of them. And she is cursed that any man who will ever love her will meet his tragic end. Though she will be successful in her career, she will grow old alone, bitter and haunted by the ghost of Tae Wook and their unborn child. But then her greed started all of these chain of events starting with Myung Woo. He must've been possessed by the evil spirit when he did that coz why do you hv to kill the guy when he could've just punched him. whatever, he made his choice and that's to be the hero of Hyeran. Or maybe he likes prison life.
Kevin Lee was just a teaser, I think he was the one who got us hooked in this drama with the steamy scenes that he can do alone even with a just a piece of plank. Well, he's been a bad boy, a bad,bad boy.
Doesn't make sense how he died, TW just pushed him ok, a bit hard but still..maybe his skull is soft. It was supposed to be climatic and surprising that it was in the end the husband who killed the lover. Classic crime of passion but nobody wanted that ending.
I was even thinking maybe it was the cameraman of Hyeran, like he was obsessed and just wants to eliminate Kevin for being an annoying prick to his Sunbae Hyeran. anything...
Myung woo didn't even need to kill Kevin's assistant, but he needs to go back to prison so...
Tae Wook- what can I say he would've been perfect, darn it but Kevin just had to die, tchk, there'd no way out but just commit suicide.
Choi Ja Hye in Return also committed suicide after her revenge, what message are they trying to send here?
Well, Hyeran, are you happy now?
If you chose your unborn child before would things have been different? Hell,yea.
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61 CaroleMcDonnell
March 31, 2018 at 7:14 AM
I'm seriously so glad i jumped off this wreck before it sank. Everything i feared would happen happened. The "ugly" betrayed wife isn't validated much, the poor guy gives up his life for the beautiful aggressive woman. If the writer wrote this with a heavy dose of cynicism i could handle the darkness but the story is created so we are so made to be on Hye-Ran's side and to absolve her. Too much.
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62 mary
March 31, 2018 at 9:24 AM
It's a week now and I'm still confused how Kevin Lee could die from a single push. Maybe there was an undiagnosed fracture in his skull from getting hit by a golf ball?
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63 Tootsiedoodle
March 31, 2018 at 12:52 PM
IT’S MY fault why did i watch this drama.... ugh. IT’s so good yet it’s so heartbreaking and emotionally satisfying good drama you need in your life. I regret yet i dont as well. For me, everything was perfect. I agree it wasnt the drama you wish a happy ending would happen after *spoiling myself from reading other beanies their theories // theory about misunderstanding Hye Ran and Tae Wook not believing in her //* but i had been cheering Tae Wook so hard since he’s trying his best to be the BEST HUSBAND EVER. But as it close, you’ll believe more that it was his fault. Why did you make me fall in love with you Tae Wook?!?! I feel Hye Ran sooo much. But what can we do? He’s still a manly man with his pathetic pride (no offense! Because that really hurts for men). He loves Hye Ran and jealousy took over. Any man would kill of he knows his lover is cheating on him (even if Hye Ran did not). From here on, I knew this would have a tragic ending. But I didnt expect that it would involve Tae Wook killing himself and Hye Ran...ohh I could just imagine how it would devastate her. It would be “less” tragic if the plan pushed though—Tae Wook confesses and face his punishment and Hye Ran facing all the humiliation. At least that would have been much justified and put an end on all these twisted fate they were in.
But one thing i’m amazed about was Hye Ran and Myung Woo’s story and how it parallels Tae Wook and Hye Ran now. A big twist and perfectly done. Myung Woo’s undying love and devotion to protect Hye Ran was at first astounding but doing it again for her... dude it doesn’t make anyone thankful. You just made Hye Ran more guilty and unhappy because of that. Though it was obvious that he’ll take the blame again, but writer-nim this is way too tragic already. Can we give at least Myung Woo the happy ending??
Overall, i havent watched this kind of drama for the longest time. That drama where everything just seems to nicely done and well-thought of. It’s not a good ending that will make you fuzzy and warm, it made me cry and my heart aches so much how tragic this is but plot wise this is i think a good production. From the casts, character development, plot, drama pacing... (couldn’t really praise the ost though...not my cup of tea maybe) this is a drama that was high-quality. A true drama at its finest. Well done, Misty! Thanks for making my heart ache. Now time to go back to light and fluffy k-drama romcoms or my favorite k-variety shows (SHINHWA BROADCAST FOREVER i need my dongwan happy pill) to heal my broken heart.
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64 Orangeorange
April 3, 2018 at 1:22 AM
It seems like a lot of people thought the ending was disappointing - maybe it’s becuase I haven’t watched a drama in ages but I thought it was actually quite interesting, especially the closing shot. Of course it’s not the ending I would have liked by I can accept it, I would still say that I enjoyed the drama. And yes there are many unanswered questions and questionable aspects of the show but overall, I thought the show was good.
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Orangeorange
April 3, 2018 at 1:34 AM
Some more specific thoughts:
- ha myungwoo was portrayed in such a romantic way but in reality he was totally crazy- how he killed the jewellery store owner was not normal or justified at all...and all of his actions following his release...totally crazy. Also why the heck did he Take the fall for Kevin Lee’s murder????
- tbh Kang tae wook’s jealousy and anger after seeing hye ran get in the car with Kevin Lee was justified imo. Hye ran also should have told him about their past relationship- I don’t understand why she lied about that the entire time. Of course they both had a role in their failed marriage but Seeing hye ran and Kevin together plus Kevin mocking him must have been such a blow for him- he really loved her a lot..
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Orangeorange
April 3, 2018 at 1:43 AM
Continued..
- can’t believe Kevin Lee died from being pushed against a wall...in that sense I feel bad for Tae wook, it was just a push?? I’m not condoning his actions but the force with which he responded to Kevin Lee taunting him is somewhat understandable. However his actions following the incident are inexcusable
- also I ended up liking Han Ji won but it’s kind of weird the way her previous attitude and affair with Kevin Lee was so simply dropped and forgotten
- I have to say although the show dropping hints that tae wook was shady, the whole revelation of him being the killer and his intention behind deleting the black box footage was still Surpring- I thought it was a good twist lol???
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Orangeorange
April 3, 2018 at 1:49 AM
Lastly...
- not sure how I feel about the suicide...I’m also not clear on his intention for doing so. In that sense, I suppose the ending was actually a little disappoint- i would have loved to see hye ran confront him about it on her show. That being said, a story doesn’t have to follow the route that is most satisfying or obvious, not following the most satisfying route doesn’t make a story necessarily bad.
- hye ran and Kevin Lee had the best chemistry lol
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65 Melody
July 13, 2018 at 6:04 AM
Hey pls tell me who is murdurer??? Thnx
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matrice
March 26, 2022 at 2:10 AM
TW, the husband.
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matrice
March 26, 2022 at 2:11 AM
Actually, it was manslaughter (the guy pushed him against a wall, and he hit his head, but was clearly not intending to kill him, it was a freak accident).
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matrice
March 26, 2022 at 2:34 AM
Actually, from what I understand MW committed another murder recently on top of the old one, so them too, I guess
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matrice
March 26, 2022 at 2:36 AM
Technically speaking, MW's one is the only actual murder, as TW's was manslaughter, having been a freak accident (he was not trying to kill him and did not realize he had died -he was incredulous when he realized he had hit his head in the wrong spot and it would have been almost funny if it was not tragic-)
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matrice
March 26, 2022 at 8:49 AM
To be clear, TW did not try to kill KL or even beat him, he simply pushed him and walked away, the guy died for a freak accident -was actually wondering about the length of the sentencing-. Compare this to even just something like the widow's assault with a fork that was completely swept under the rag.
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matrice
March 26, 2022 at 8:53 AM
Actually, MW *also* confessed to killing Baek Dong-young, so KL's murder was really just a "cherry on top" -of course, they didn't find him, he was the one that confessed, so it was still a sacrifice-. I actually had some questions regarding his first murder (the child rapist), given that he was defending the female lead as she run outside, and he was a minor (I believe both conditions to be true, but am not sure about either to be honest)... point is, I found the length of the sentencing strange given both or either extenuating circumstances -on top of believing the world is objectively a better place without the child rapist in it-.
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66 matrice
March 26, 2022 at 1:44 AM
I disagree with the "obsession with her" bit, maybe for MW, but not for TW. FL's assessment is more correct: they had different expectations. I don't really see him being concerned about cheating as being "possessive", seems like kind of an expected, obvious boundary. The fact that he did not trust her is also not something against him, as factually speaking when she claimed that she did not sleep with Kevin Lee and acted outraged he would think that she *was* lying. It's just that the truth was different from what it appeared: she was telling KL lies to get him to back off after he pushed himself on her and filmed the encounter.
Regarding the other major issue, the abortion, I must say that more than it being the right or wrong decision (her body her choice, after all), the key thing is that they did not even discuss such an important, life altering decision (the guy was running around happily buying jewelry).
I disagree with the "it's nobody's fault". It's true that people make their own decisions, but it's also true that people's actions have consequences. In that respect, it was a bit funny to hear FL complain about ML's not telling her something, when she lied to his face regarding the "affair" (in quotes because she was coerced and blackmailed) and she even claimed that everything would have been fine had the men in her life trusted her, when she was factually lying at least in TW's case -this "pretend that reality does not exist" lie is the same pattern in FL and ML's cases-.
About the brooch, I was confused about whether it was an accident that it ended up in the car, and don't really understand why he collected it from her jacket.
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matrice
March 26, 2022 at 1:49 AM
While I don't consider misogynistic TW and MW's behavior (neither of them skirts responsibility, and the widow's claim that people's actions have consequences does have merit: FL knew her husband knew about the brooch, she could have explained how she was coerced into kissing Kevin and pictures were of her were taken, and when her affair in the car was brought up, instead of lying she could have told the *whole* truth, namely that she lied to Kevin Lee to get him to back off, because he was threatening her), I do take issue with the show making it seem like you can't be career focused and happy at the same time -I get that this is part of FL's characterization, but I would have liked to see a character, and specifically a female character, that was well adjusted and career focused and happy, just to point out that it's not a binary choice between stay-at-home-mom and suffering (her missing her mother's funeral was something I am conflicted about because it's not clear to me whether she hated the woman and/or had reason to, due to the pawn broker past)-.
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matrice
March 26, 2022 at 1:50 AM
I meant her mother's "last words", not her funeral, of course.
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matrice
March 26, 2022 at 2:08 AM
The "mysoginistic" thing was not an original claim, just something I saw on some kdrama forums (then again, you see people reading things into kdramas that are not really there, freaking out over age gaps, etc. -though Secret Love Affair is a nice departure- and being generally what they claim they hate -not granting agency to and disempowering even the most independent female character-).
I didn't find TW particularly controlling. Being concerned about infidelity when confronted by KL and not having any explanation (or his wife outright lying to him, as with the cam in the car) seems pretty normal. On the abortion issue, more than him being right or wrong (it was her choice in the end), the main concern is that they did not talk about this major life decision at all (as evidenced by him being completely blindsided). I mean, on the other side of the coin we have characters like the cheating wife in My Mister that wanted her husband to distance himself from his family and community because she felt insecure and was possessive/needy, and ended up cheating with his worst enemy and lying to his face for a year. The same people would be simpathetic and say "it would have all worked out had he complied and moved away", cutting away an essential part of his life/relationships. As I said in other reviews, the same people would flip off where the situation reversed (a la Crazy Rich Asian), the latter being the correct perspective in *both* cases (if we want to be objective and call a spade a spade). Being possessive and wanting to change your partner is either always a problem or is not (in my opinion it is).
I don't really feel that the same level of "possessiveness" is there in TW's case. Fundamentally, he loved and accepted his wife. The abortion issue split them apart, and despite her claims to the contrary it was *not* clear that she did not love him (her waiting for him at their first date, etc.). He was the only one that fully accepted her. Here I am not saying that he was right on the merit (ultimately, it was her choice as it was a decision that affected her body: her body, her choice), but it was a major event, and they did not even bother to discuss it (him getting all his hopes up and buying her a present without even thinking what she did was a possibility clearly indicates that it was not something they had discussed, otherwise he would have been disappointed, but not blindsided). On the merit of the situation and wanting to change her, it's inadvisable as per what I said above, but he ended up accepting her as she is. Asking for honesty and communication is not really to o much.
The thing is, the truth is not even expressed in the cam video. She was coerced (she clearly indicated she did not consent to the kiss, and tried running to the other room, it's not as if she did not scream at the top of her lungs Kevin Lee's actions are any more consensual) and blackmailed, it's not true that she loves Kevin and merely...
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matrice
March 26, 2022 at 2:09 AM
...merely "needs" her husband (she was revolted and cleaned her mouth after the encounter).
matrice
March 26, 2022 at 2:56 AM
I mean, if that's misogynistic and controlling, would we call Kevin Lee's wife the same if their roles were reversed? I think we should not, and that having some basic standards is not asking too much out of a relationship (in terms of communication -her knowing that he was given the jewel by KL, and them not discussing it, as they did not discuss the abortion issue-, as well as in terms of the fact that both KL's wife and TW have a basic expectation of their partner not cheating on them -TW's wife being coerced and blackmailed, of course, there it was not the case of a serial cheater, but of a truth that is not conveyed by the photos or even the cam footage, and that should have been told to TW rather than the lie of "nothing happened" as we will seen even in his manslaughter case that denial is not the correct approach: there is an objective reality out there, and people that should be able to make choices, such as the choice of using the cam footage or not in his wife's case, though of course confessing was always an option if things went south, and he did manage to hake his cake and eat it too, saving her from the murder accusation and salvaging her reputation/job/etc. which would not have been possible had the evidence of the affair surfaced-).
On lack of trust, the argument would be more convincing had TW's wife not *actually* been lying. He was correct in not trusting what she said, as it was not actually true as per the cam. These are the facts. It's just that the cam does not tell the whole story, namely that in the footages the one she was lying to was Kevin Lee, and that the latter had coerced her and threatened her.
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67 matrice
March 26, 2022 at 2:22 AM
I don't really like/agree with the "suspiciously couply moment between Ji-won, ..." bit (maybe I am deluding myself, but I like to think the drink scene was a parallel with Ji-won and FL), thankfully we were spared outright romance between the two.
I get that the show is trying to put a positive spin and show her "growth", but I really can't get past the sociopathic callousness she showed at the thought of hurting someone that did not ever do anything to her, showing no sign of regret or shame when Kevin Lee's pregnant wife confronted her. More than that, the demeaning lack of self respect and plain stupidity of her jeopardizing her career for someone she does not feel anything towards (even continuing after she was caught), and her talking about how useless studying is and "an anchor is an anchor" when she can just... what, be a groupie and chase after someone rich and famous? This is why I found demeaning trying to draw a parallel between her and FL.
In the course of the show she grow into her profession and clearly changed with respect to the importance she gives her job, but I would have liked to see her complete lack of empathy and self respect addressed (Kevin Lee being someone that would cheat on his pregnant wife with two women, one of which he forced himself onto, filmed and blackmailed, on top of being violent -consider the scene when she threw the glass bottle on the ground-).
I kept asking myself: why? how am I supposed to think of her as intelligent and career driven, when she is jeopardizing her career for a whim? Or reconcile the "lofty ideals" with someone so shameless and lacking in empathy even when facing the pregnant wife whose family life she callously wrecked?
I would have actually been contented with any explanation, it would have been a thousand times better if she had seduced the guy to gather information on the corrupt firm or something, at least then I would not think "she does not care about her studies and career, and jeopardized her job for a whim".
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matrice
March 26, 2022 at 2:23 AM
I think that this is different from FL. She might have been willing to ruthlessly squash the opposition, but she never destroyed people's lives for a superficial whim, she had rational motives for her actions, and you did not think "shallow and stupid" when looking at her actions.
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matrice
March 26, 2022 at 2:46 AM
I think that her complete lack of shame, regret or empathy towards the pregnant wife (someone that did not do anything to her, and whose life for all she knew she had completely wrecked) would need to be addressed where they to have a relationship.
FL did not really hurt people without a care for a whim (if she did walk over people, she had rational reasons).
The young reporter accepts that about FL because he knows she does what she does for her values, and to be excellent in her profession. Ji-won thought little of her studies and career, jeopardizing his job to be the groupie of someone that would "three-time" his pregnant wife with two women, one of which he coerced. As well as being a selfish and violent (broken bottle) scumbag. That she would approach someone so unworthy for a whim, without an actual reason, is demeaning towards herself and hurtful her own self respect and self esteem. I would have preferred had she seduced him to get news on the evil corp, or had any reason besides stupidity to risk her career for a whim.
By the end she comes to respect her career. Seeing some remorse for hurting another woman that was already being mistreated by a self centered man that took her for granted would have been nice. FL is ruthless, but is not a sociopath lacking empathy that hurts other people that did nothing to her to satisfy a passing whim. And she has self respect and standards (I would say KL before she left him was a different person than the scum that coerced her into a kiss and threatened her).
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68 matrice
March 26, 2022 at 2:28 AM
"from her misguided hate"
Misguided up to a point, it's hard to understand whether she believes the video or whether she took on board the FL's words about her lying to her husband and really feeling disgusted with the whole thing -the actual reasons for sleeping with him are up in the air... did she betray the husband and friend for the Blue House job? Or was she trying to protect her marriage? It's pretty clear in the drama that it's not true that she sees it only as something of convenience-, but I agree with the general feeling: it's certainly true that the one she should be most pissed off is her husband, or at least Ji-won, who shamelessly faced he and showed a complete lack of empathy for her.
FL was coerced into the kiss, filmed and then blackmailed. She knew about Ji-won's affair, but she only capitalized on it, she did not force either of them to sleep together. She was even the one that revealed it to the now widow, eventually, otherwise she would still be out of the loop.
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marice
March 26, 2022 at 2:33 AM
I really liked a couple of scenes:
- the one when she faces Ji-won and tells her that she took care of her husband and should get paid; I only hoped to see a fraction of that coolness when facing her husband
- the one where she told FL that she would have not even looked at Kevin had she met someone like TW (I actually think that personality wise they would be more compatible, both wanting children, for example, though of course it would make for less conflict and less interesting drama due to... less drama, pun intended)
- when she confronted the online commenters and gossipers about their behavior
- the fact that people are responsible for their actions is true, but it is also true that actions have consequences and we don't live in a vacuum, I can't agree fully with her on FL, and think that she should be more pissed at her husband and secondly at Ji-won, who was a willing participant, and was not coerced or threatened into having an encounter with KL
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matrice
March 26, 2022 at 10:33 AM
It's hard to understand whether she loved him or not (maybe she did but was in denial due to her mother's experiences). But he certainly did manage to get her to love him as he planned. And she hinted to MW that she loved him (he asks "does he love you *as well*?") and to KL (in the car, while lying) that he was the one person that understood and accepted her fully.
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69 matrice
March 26, 2022 at 10:04 AM
Actually, I completely forgot the part in episode 3 where she tells TW's mother that she wanted an abortion to become an anchor because she wanted her father in law to acknowledge her, and he did when she became an anchor; she hoped to conceive after that, which obviously didn't happen and now she is older, and if she could turn back the clock she would have made a different decision... not sure I like this additional detail, because logically speaking the temporal order does not compute... does it make sense for her to cite the father'n acknowledgment if he did not acknowledge her until *after* she had the abortion? Anyway, besides the "we could have another kid" bit TW does not know *any* of this (they should have communicated anyway, but in particular if his family acknowledgment is what she was after discussing this together would have been particularly useful -why does his father's opinion of her matter more to her than her husband's is only one of the questions they should have discussed-).
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matrice
March 26, 2022 at 10:07 AM
In addition to the "losers/villains" that told her to stay home, we could add the mother in law asking about the kids, I put her in that general bucket anyway because they kind of have an antagonistic relationship and they are unreasonably cold towards her in the beginning, though his father appreciates her for the right thing (her willingness to to to any length deliver justice on the corrupt kleptocracy). The gist of the observation holds, the show's message is clearly that the "stay at home with the kids" people are wrong.
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matrice
March 26, 2022 at 10:29 AM
Actually, I can't quite understand whether here she is being serious or whether she is manipulating her mother in law/husband (she is the one that explicitly tells him she is using him, after all, and it's hard to understand whether she means it, given the flashbacks, her watching him before going to him the first date, etc.).
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70 1MoreDrama
September 20, 2023 at 1:49 PM
I just finished this and had to scratch my head and see what others said before me…what was this ending? Tae-Wook being the killer wasn’t my problem - I would not have been surprised even if he framed his wife deliberately and gleefully cackled, rubbing his hands together evilly when he confessed all to her. It made some sense that he would have killed Kevin accidentally in rage and then tried to hide the truth. It COULD have been a powerful statement about rich entitlement if HR discovered it and he broke down revealing an entitled brat underneath his suave exterior. If Hye-Ran were the murderer, gleefully cackling and rubbing her well manicured hands together evilly while laughing to herself as her husband went to jail, I would be ok. I expected Myung Woo to take the fall, honestly. BUT:
What the heck with the messaging? Strong powerful women destroy all the men in their orbit? Don’t pursue power or you will suffer!? Women are the problem? I mean…this is the message I felt the final scenes conveyed. And, IF that was the intended message (I don’t think it was) then Hyo-ran should have been the murderer! I would have enjoyed that, even though I was rooting for her all along. She was such an awesome anchor and female lead!
There were my usual complaints with this show (which I mostly enjoyed).
1) why don’t you just tell your husband/wife X, Y and z!? Life would be easier this way.
2) are you really going to get in a car/room/office with this person and not lock door?
3) private matters discussed in the very public hallway/stairway/office but with door left open a bit.
I hated - as did many people who have commented more eloquently before me - that the show left us with Myung Woo totally unexplained. Made nothing of that first murder. Finished the thread with the corporate take downs sort of unresolved. Kept Eun Joo around to just have her lamely stand with a protest sign? Why not utilize her and then, if you can’t come up with more story, have her leave and give Ji-won some story again. Mostly, though, it was the ridiculous message - Powerful women destroy the men who love them - that bothered me. I loved this for so long and feel cheated.
I really like melodramas with a side of thriller (this is a bit like Trolley for me). And the gorgeous clothing, hair, skin and body on Hyo-ran - I was so jealous in my sweats!
Ok I’m done rambling and accidentally did a screenshot of this page and now I have those awful flashers in front of my eyes!
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