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Oh My Baby: Episode 16 (Final)

Unrealized expectations can lead to disappointment and in order to be truly happy, our heroine has accepted that she must be more realistic about her future. With the threat of a professional shakeup, she has to consider both her professional and personal goals. What she does know is that there’s only one person that she wants to share her future with but she needs to find out if he feels the same way about her.

  
EPISODE 16: “Questions about things that disappear”

After returning to town, Yi-sang visited a park to snap some photos and noticed an elderly couple sitting on a bench. Yi-sang took a photo of the couple and recalled that he saw Ha-ri arrive home when he stopped by her house.

Leaving the park, Yi-sang returned to a campsite by a lake. The beautiful stars in the sky weren’t enough to keep Yi-sang from checking Ha-ri’s social media. When Yi-sang saw Ha-ri’s latest photo with the comment, “Like always, I’m doing great,” he broke down in sobs.

Yi-sang eventually reconnected with Soo-chul and was asked, “Are you over her now?” Yi-sang admitted, “I tried so hard to avoid her. But I saw her by coincidence. And that was enough to make me crumble down again.”

While Soo-chul understood how Yi-sang must have felt when Ha-ri gave up her dream because of him, he didn’t agree with Yi-sang’s sacrifice in the name of love. After a text from Ha-ri, Soo-chul announced that the (formerly) infertile couple’s baby was about to be born and handed his camera bag to Yi-sang.

That brings us to the moment that Yi-sang came face-to-face with Ha-ri at the hospital. Before they can say a word to each other, the husband hurries the pair to his wife’s room.

The exhausted expectant mother offers Ha-ri a weak smile and confesses that she’s ready to greet her baby. When a contraction causes her to cry out in pain, a nurse appears to take her to the delivery room.

Ha-ri and Yi-sang join the husband in the waiting room but they’re careful to sit apart. After a medical team runs into the delivery room, the doctor emerges to explain that while the baby was delivered safely, the new mother lost a lot of blood. The doctor promises another update once both of her patients are stable.

After an agonizing wait, the doctor returns to report that the wife’s bleeding is under control but she’s still unconscious. When his wife is wheeled to the ICU, her husband accompanies her, calling out her name.

In the ICU waiting room, the new grandparents are now with the husband and when he’s allowed to see his wife, the grandmothers join him. After glancing at Ha-ri, Yi-sang gets up to get some coffee but when he returns, she’s gone. Yi-sang finds Ha-ri outside of the newborns’ nursery and he finally speaks, “What are you doing here alone?”

Ha-ri explains that since the baby can’t be with its mother, she wanted to be close by. As tears trail down her cheeks, Ha-ri realizes, “Our moms all risked their lives to give birth to us, but we forget that.” Looking at the tiny baby in the ultrasound image that the wife gave her, Ha-ri tells Yi-sang, “I shouldn’t have let her wish us luck.” Resisting the temptation to comfort her, all Yi-sang can do is watch Ha-ri cry.

When Ha-ri and Yi-sang return to the ICU waiting room, the relieved husband reports that his wife is awake. He thanks Ha-ri and Yi-sang for their support and promises to stay in touch as he goes back to his new family.

Yi-sang offers a tired Ha-ri a ride home but she asks, “If you were going to worry about me like this, why did you leave in the first place?” Ha-ri informs Yi-sang, “I’m done with the homework you gave me. What about you?” When Yi-sang doesn’t answer, she announces, “I see nothing has changed,” and walks away.

When Ha-ri reaches her house, Yi-sang catches up to her to confess, “I missed you.” Still worried that he’ll bring Ha-ri misery, Yi-sang admits, “Nothing has changed. You weren’t the only one who was devastated. I wished for the treatment to have been a success too, and I felt like my world had collapsed.”

Ha-ri heads for her door but Yi-sang calls out, “I’m worried that…You’ll be miserable and in pain, so how can I ask you to let me love you?” Ha-ri reminds Yi-sang that he urged her to never give up but he was the one who surrendered.

At home, a miserable looking Yi-sang is in his living room when Ha-ri rings his doorbell. Inside, Ha-ri asks Yi-sang, “What if I waited a little longer? How much more time do you need?” Yi-sang confesses that even though he’s anxious about their relationship, “I want to stop that now…Though it may bring misery, I want to be with you. Is that okay?”

Ha-ri reminds Yi-sang that it’s normal to struggle, to even be miserable at times. Moving closer, Ha-ri places her hand on Yi-sang’s face and promises, “I won’t change, so neither will you.” When Yi-sang pulls Ha-ri into a hug, she wraps her arms around him tightly.

Yi-sang sets Ha-ri on his bed and as he leans forward to kiss her, the camera pans away. When the morning sun fills Yi-sang’s apartment, Ha-ri shows Yi-sang that her ring is on the chain around her neck.

Yi-sang asks, “So what’s your answer,” and Ha-ri tells him, “I don’t care if I have a baby or not. I don’t care if I’m with someone or not. I just want to be happy on my own.” When Yi-sang asks where he fits in, Ha-ri explains, “…I love you. And I’m saying I won’t ever get swayed,” and he vows, “I will never run away again.”

As Yi-sang makes breakfast, his ring is back on his finger. Ready to join him, Ha-ri sees a crisp, white dress shirt on a hanger and smiles, “All men want the same thing.” When Ha-ri walks out wearing his shirt, Yi-sang sputters, “I ironed that dress shirt so I could wear it later.”

After changing into her own clothes, Ha-ri and Yi-sang sit down to breakfast and when she gets a photo of the couple with their newborn, she shares it with Yi-sang. Asked if she’s given up on having a child, Ha-ri answers, “…it’d be nice to have one…But I don’t think I’ll be sad about not having a child.”

Ha-ri adds that they’ll have fun together as long as Yi-sang stops making dad jokes and he suddenly imagines a small girl sitting across from him, “Dad…why do you keep making dad jokes when we’re living in 2020? You make me feel so embarrassed.” Ha-ri reappears in front of Yi-sang and advises, “Think of something pure and clean,” and he protests, “I was thinking of something very pure right now.”

Yi-sang visits his doctor to resume treatment and he explains that his desire for a baby has only deepened. After Yi-sang leaves the building, he approaches a familiar-looking baby in a stroller and when she starts to cry, Jae-young stands up, “Why are you making my kid cry?”

At a nearby park, Yi-sang explains that he and Ha-ri are back together for good even though Jae-young didn’t ask. After Jae-young announces that he doesn’t want to be the annoying guy friend any longer, Yi-sang asks him, “…can’t you come back and be her best friend again?” Yi-sang teases, “I didn’t want to tell you this, but I like you…Who knows? We could turn out to be good friends,” but Jae-young quips, “I doubt it.”

As they leave the park, the men witness Ha-ri’s mom trying to get away from a stranger. Yi-sang demands to know, “Are you selling her something,” while Jae-young asks, “Auntie, did he steal from you?”

When the men introduce themselves as Mom’s son and son-in-law, the man hurries away. Angry, Mom informs Yi-sang and Jae-young that they ruined her first chance at a date in decades and when asked why she was trying to get away, she snaps that she was playing hard-to-get. Seeing Yi-sang, Mom announces, “Fancy seeing you here,” as Jae-young makes a hasty exit.

At Dachae Media, Hyo-joo and Eu-tteum work late on ad sales and when they disagree about whether to spend their time renewing existing contracts or getting new ones, Hyo-joo snaps, “Do you not have a fighting spirit or is it your confidence that lacks.” After apologizing to Eu-tteum, Hyo-joo explains that she never cared about her job and now that she does, the magazine is in crisis.

Eu-tteum leaves to get some food for their all-nighter and returns to discover that Hyo-joo fell asleep while working. When she wakes up, Hyo-joo has a pen mark across her face and Eu-tteum exclaims, “I had no idea you could be this adorable.”

Vice President Joo meets with Manager Kim and Ha-ri to warn that the chairman and top executives are ready to cancel both the print and online ventures of The Baby. Vice President Joo assures them that their team members will be moved to other jobs and that there’s a position waiting for Manager Kim. Turning to Ha-ri, Vice President Joo promises to make room for her somewhere.

Ha-ri tells her team the news and when Yeon-ho asks Ha-ri what she plans to do, she admits, “I’m still thinking.” Reminding everyone that they did good work, Ha-ri advises the women to carefully consider their options. Yeon-ho, Hyo-joo and So-yoon propose a last ditch effort to convince the chairman and executives to keep The Baby up and running.

When Ha-ri calls for an all-nighter, Yeon-ho, Hyo-joo and So-yoon put in their hands for a group handshake but Ha-ri tells them, “Save the energy for the presentation.” As the team works into the night, Ha-ri pulls out her phone and calls a contact to ask for a favor.

At Jambi Studio, Soo-chul sadly informs Yi-sang that he’ll have to close down without the work from the magazine. Yi-sang adds to Soo-chul’s worries when he announces, “I’m done renting out the space too.”

Surveying the studio, Yi-sang proposes, “Let’s run this place together instead. Have me as a co-owner.” Happy to finally partner with Yi-sang, Soo-chul accepts his offer and the two men shake hands.

In the morning, Ha-ri leads the way as her team walks to the meeting with the chairman. Ha-ri starts off the presentation with a summary of the magazine’s most popular videos that added to the readership of the print edition.

When the chairman reminds Ha-ri that the magazine’s subscription rate keeps falling, Vice President Joo reminds him that it targets a very specific audience. Ha-ri presents proof that The Baby has twice as many influencers and bloggers supporting them compared to their competition, along with a loyal subscriber base.

The chairman argues that there aren’t enough devoted subscribers to keep The Baby in operation, so Ha-ri offers to take on additional business endeavors to finance the magazine. The chairman announces, “I think it’s time we stop,” but Ha-ri convinces him to watch a video that her team prepared.

The video presents several women who explain how The Baby improved their lives plus a male model who’s now a university student. He shares that his shoot for the magazine when he was five years old launched his career.

Standing before the executives with her team, Ha-ri makes a final appeal, “This is a business, so I know we need to make profit. But…we can’t put a price on our magazine.” After they leave, the chairman begins another discussion about the future of The Baby.

Back at their desks, Ha-ri and the others wait nervously while Vice President Joo makes his case for keeping The Baby. Manager Kim and Eu-ttuem join Ha-ri’s team to wait for news and are present when Vice President Joo announces that while the print magazine wasn’t saved, its online presence will continue. Vice President Joo informs Manager Kim and Eu-tteum that they’re now working for the online business and he asks Ha-ri to do her best on the print edition’s final issue.

Ha-ri escapes to the balcony to call Editor Shim and they meet later for a drink, with Editor Shim’s baby for company. After giving Ha-ri a big hug and telling her, “You did well.” Editor Shim returns to her laptop to submit an article that she just finished.

Ha-ri comments that Editor Shim seems busier than ever and she explains, “Working at home means that I have to work while babysitting.” When Yeon-ho, Hyo-joo and So-yoon arrive, they’re shocked to see their former boss without makeup and in ‘mom’ attire, yet when Editor Shim orders them to set the table, they jump into action.

Over beers, Editor Shim reminds the team, “We knew it wouldn’t last.” When Editor Shim asks about their future plans, Yeon-ho announces that she was asked to head the online platform after Ha-ri put in a good word for her. So-yoon decided to stay on as well but she’s also thinking about graduate school.

Hyo-joo is transferring to the fashion department and Editor Shim warns, “The people there will be nothing but territorial, so don’t let them intimidate you.” When asked about her plans, Ha-ri admits, “I’m drawing a blank. What am I supposed to do with my life?”

Putting the magazine’s closure in perspective, Editor Shim reminds the team, “…don’t think that the cancellation of The Baby was your fault. It had nothing to do with your performances. Blame the darn company instead!”

Ha-ri returns to Dachae Media early in the morning to pen her final column. As Ha-ri writes that The Baby is closing down after thirty years, a casualty of the digital age, she offers the readers an update on her personal quest to become a mother, “I’m still unmarried and without children. However, I now have someone I truly love.”

Yi-sang is drawn into a store after seeing a baby shoe display in the window and Ha-ri writes, “My boyfriend was against having children at first, but he’s been collecting baby shoes in secret.” Jae-young is busy with his successful clinic as Ha-ri shares, “My friend…is now back on his feet and finding his way again.”

Eun-young waits to be interviewed for a job and Ha-ri writes, “My other friend who had to put her career on hold to raise her children…is knocking the high doors of the job market again.” Ha-ri concludes, “We may seem like we haven’t achieved anything, but we’ve been taking small steps forward all this time.”

The sign that reads The Baby Editing Department is changed to The Baby Media Team and Yeon-ho moves to the head desk. Manager Kim calls the existing advertising clients while Eu-tteum hands him a large stack of new leads.

About to turn 40, Ha-ri informs her readers that she’s still curious about what her future holds and she signs off, “Instead of saying my last goodbye, I will be curious of your tomorrow…I hope that you’ll find your own answers.”

On her 40th birthday, a congratulatory text wakes up Ha-ri in her new apartment. Jae-young drops off Do-ah at daycare and we see that she’s now walking. When one of her teachers flirts with Jae-young, he explains that he’s content with his life as a single dad.

At his clinic, Jae-young gets to work on an article “You’re walking already?” Ha-ri has a new office and when she opens the door, Eun-young is reading Jae-young’s article and announces, “Jae-young must be busy writing all day instead of working.” Ha-ri informs her, “Now that he has the most subscribers, he wants to publish a book.”

Since they have so many subscribers, Eun-young suggests hiring some help but Ha-ri reminds her that they can’t afford employees. Eun-young argues, “…we need to hire people and be more aggressive in order to make a profit,” and she asks for a web designer and someone to handle advertisements just as Eu-tteum enters with a birthday cake for Ha-ri.

Ha-ri introduces her friends to one another and after learning that Eu-tteum works in advertising, Eun-young grills him about his job. After Ha-ri stresses, “Our company is one of the best start-up companies with an extremely great vision for the future,” Eutteum realizes that they’re trying to recruit him. Eu-tteum asks for time to think about the offer, explaining, “I’m not as naive as I used to be.”

That night, Ha-ri has dinner with Mom and Jae-young, who wishes Ha-ri a happy birthday by placing meat in her bowl. When they pass it back and forth like kids, Mom threatens, “That’s enough.” Mom asks about Jae-young’s love life and when Ha-ri advises her mother, “You’re the one who should start dating,” Mom turns to her, “Why aren’t you getting married?” After Ha-ri asks to take her food home, they all bicker like a real family and end up laughing.

Mom brings Ha-ri some food to take home while she’s packing some of her things. She learns that Yi-sang had an out-of-town photoshoot but he’s due back that night. When Mom asks about marriage plans, Ha-ri reminds her that she’s in no hurry and assures her, “I’m happy. I’m very happy.”

Yi-sang arrives home with a big box and he smiles broadly as Ha-ri opens her gift. Confused to see nutritional supplements, Yi-sang explains the reason behind his gift, “My hormone levels are very close to average, so we should get ready.” When Yi-sang announces that he wants two sons and two daughters, Ha-ri calls him greedy.

Ha-ri heads to her room and when Yi-sang follows her, he explains, “I want to sleep with you.” Someone needs to explain that it’s not his birthday. Ha-ri reminds Yi-sang, “…if you keep doing this, that gives us no reason to sleep in separate rooms.”

Later, dressed in pajamas and carrying his pillow, Yi-sang knocks on Ha-ri’s door but she reminds him, “We promised to respect each other’s private lives.” When Ha-ri shuts her door, a disappointed Yi-sang stretches out in front of her room and after she changes her mind, he disappears inside.

At Dachae Media, Yeon-ho asks So-yoon, Soo-chul and Manager Kim what a dream about a rainbow colored whale could mean. Soo-chul suggests that it was a conception dream and it turns out that both he and Manager Kim have had ones of their own. Yeon-ho asks, “Who do you think is pregnant,” and the men simultaneously gasp when they wonder if they’re adding to their families.

At home, Ha-ri’s mother tells some friends that she dreamed about a golden pig that she managed to ride before waking up. One of the friends urges Mom to buy a lottery ticket but the other friend argues, “What are you talking about? It’s a conception dream.” When the friend adds, “The baby will be rich,” the women shout with joy.

As they walk hand-in-hand through a park, Ha-ri tells Yi-sang about her latest dream, “This time, a dragon gave me a bunch of magic pearls.” She agrees when Yi-sang guesses that it must mean that Ha-ri’s business will do well. Almost done with her snack, Ha-ri sees that Yi-sang’s hasn’t been touched and offers, “If you don’t want that, I’ll have it.”

When Yi-sang asks if she’s hungry, Ha-ri admits, “I’m always hungry these days.” Yi-sang mentions dinner and Ha-ri exclaims, “I could eat anything and everything,” and he promises, “I’ll cook anything you want.” After Ha-ri tells Yi-sang, “I’ll do anything for you too. Your wish is my command,” they laugh together happily.

Epilogue

Yi-sang carries Ha-ri into a hospital while she pulls his hair. Yi-sang shouts to no one in particular, “Her water broke,” as a very pregnant Ha-ri breathes her way through a contraction.

  
COMMENTS

I think that finale checked off every one of my most important boxes. I was satisfied with the ending thanks to all of those conception dreams and Ha-ri’s ravenous appetite, which hinted strongly that she was already pregnant as we said goodbye to our fertility challenged couple. That epilogue gave me exactly what I wanted though, a very pregnant Ha-ri, proof that she and Yi-sang managed to get their miracle after all. Ha-ri ended up with a forever birthday present and I appreciated that fact that Oh My Baby came full circle when Yi-sang carried her into the hospital just as he did in the first episode, but this time she really was in labor.

As much as I disliked the noble idiocy of the previous episode, I think it was necessary because I never believed that Yi-sang dealt with his infertility. After his broken engagement, Yi-sang kept himself busy with new activities so that he didn’t have to deal with it and that worked for a very long time. But when he fell for Ha-ri and wanted to make her dream of becoming a mother come true, Yi-sang allowed himself to imagine what it would be like to become a father. After his disappointing test results, Yi-sang realized just how devastated Ha-ri was when she learned that she might never have a baby of her own because for the first time, he felt the same way.

I don’t think that Yi-sang was able to accept that Ha-ri was truly all right with the possibility of never having a child because he couldn’t accept that for himself. But when Ha-ri chose her love for Yi-sang, knowing how unlikely it was that they would become parents, it broke down what was left of his wall and he finally allowed himself to be with her. Whew.

In spite of the angst over her career, Ha-ri found the path that was right for her, a new baby magazine, aptly titled Oh My Baby, a collaboration with her friends Eun-young and Jae-young. Even though we didn’t get a wedding, Ha-ri and Yi-sang began their life together and he put down even more roots when he became the co-owner of Jambi Studio with Soo-chul. Jae-young moved past his unrequited love for Ha-ri and discovered that being the father of the adorable Do-ah was what mattered to him the most.

Eu-tteum and Hyo-joo are on their way to becoming good friends, and someday, perhaps more. And it looks as if he’ll be working for Ha-ri’s new venture at some point. I want to thank the drama gods for bringing Editor Shim back to guide her former team through their grief over the loss of The Baby. I grew to love her no nonsense approach and her resiliency and it was great to see her again.

I respect that Oh My Baby tackled the difficult topic of infertility, for both men and women. It was no surprise that Jang Nara conveyed Ha-ri’s highs and lows so deftly and Go Joon was such a pleasant surprise as the hopelessly smitten Yi-sang. I can’t wait to see him again as a romantic lead. I’m going to miss Ha-ri and Yi-sang but I’m satisfied to imagine them raising their kid(s) to the best of their abilities while loving each other.

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Thank you for the recap TeriYaki! I’m glad that we got a happy ending! Happy for Eunyoung to be able to work with Hari and for Hari to be her own boss. I didn’t expect that Hari and Yisang will get a “miracle baby” knowing how serious their problem with infertility. Their faces at the end is my my favorite. I love this drama ( not so much the angst and noble idiocy) but I love it nonetheless and I’m already missing Hari and Yi-sang, Eut-teum and the whole gang...

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I think once Ha Ri let down that desperation and stress to force her miracle it naturally happened like a miracle should be...

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The noble idiocy legitimately ruined this drama for me, even looking at it from @teriyaki's perspective, I actually agree it was necessary, but not when it happened. I thought it was a 180 in character development and it just ruined what would have been a fab drama for me. 😭😩

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I agree with you, and the show does too. To quote Soo-chul: it's not a sacrifice you made, it's just you're not confident enough. That pretty much summed up what noble idiocy is, so why did it, show..?
It's hard for me to accept that our even-keeled OTP could not just sit across each other and have this episode's conversation then and there, instead of after those wasted 3 months. Still enjoyed the show as a whole, but kinda need to adopt selective amnesia...

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It did ruin the drama for me as well.
No other options were explored (he can't have a baby, but what about a donor??), and they didn't even talk about it.

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The ending was perfect for me. I really loved how the writer showed all the different aspects of the characters' choices around parenthood: infertility, single parenthood, the "childfree" lifestyle, the struggle to balance work and family. Each character is portrayed with empathy, and we understand their decisions (even when the people around them are unforgiving.) And of course it was also heartwarming and laugh-out-loud funny at times.

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A humorous aside. The actor playing the mother's boyfriend? By weird coincidence I had just started watching a VERY old K-drama (2004) where the same actor is a side character playing a 'sexy groundskeeper'. Ah, how his roles have changed in the intervening 16 years!

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Indeed a pleasant surprise to see Ahn Suk-hwan's cameo and he'd be a good match to Hari's mom.

He'll forever to me the dad in Delightful Girl Chun Hyang and the funny uncle in My Girl - those early kdrama days.

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Loved seeing Ahn Suk-Hwan's cameo :) Can't believe it has been that long ago since My Girl- time for a rewatch :) Another fun fact: Ahn Suk-Hwan and the actress playing Ha Ri's mom (Kim Hye Ok) played husband & wife in another oldie, but goodie drama Capital Scandal (2007). They were hilarious!! I recommend if you haven't watched.

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Capital Scandal! I did watch it. It was quite a favorite among the beanies back then when Kang JI-Hwan was adored by many in the DB community. Han JI-min's acting was quite not there yet in that drama. Those were the days.

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Yes, those were the days. Now, I don't know if I can muster enough courage to watch it. I know it's best to separate dramas from real life, but when an actor's personal life taints the image of a beloved drama, it's so difficult for a rewatch :(
I also still can't revisit Sungkyungkwan Scandal as much as I loved to.

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Thank you for your review. Some of the subtle vocabulary differences between your summary and the subtitles made a difference in how I perceived some parts of that final episode. The successful pregnancy despite the odds worked for me - who was lucky after surgery for endometriosis. A baby really is a gift and you can't live your life bemoaning the lack of a gift. I'm glad Hari had considered other options and not yet abandoned them and that Yisang was looking towards IVF as a possibility. I do wish they'd at least talked about the obvious solution of asking his brother for a sperm donation if the treatments failed but there's only so much you can put into this before it become a documentary on infertility instead of a Kdrama.

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Last episode's 'noble idiocy' plot line was to show that Ha-ri can live her life just fine without a man or a baby attached. This episode's 'job crisis' plot line shows that Ha-ri is still living her own life, not consumed with having a man in her life or distracted by thoughts of starting a family. Which is all a good message. It also highlights how the noble idiocy plot line was *unnecessary*. Because they gave us much the same 'teaching moment' (for lack of a better phrase) twice. Take a pair of scissor and cut out the noble idiocy story and you've got the same story minus one hour long annoying distraction.

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Absolutely love Yi-sang & Jae-young's park conversation! It's sweet that he doesn't want Ha-ri to lose her best friend, but the way he smoothly delivered those lines, tho... His "I like you", "We could be friends, cause I don't have many" plus Jae-young's flustered smiley response just about killed me! This is the bromance I've been rooting for and only got an itsy-bitsy taste of...

Yi-sang seeing his little daughter in Ha-ri's place is the highlight of the episode for me. Really love how show conveys how he adopted Ha-ri's wish wholeheartedly, am really hoping theirs is going to be a daughter! Although if it's a boy, they can matchmake him with Do-ah, LOL.

Show took the magical ending for our OTP's miracle baby, but love how it matter-of-factly portrays the office ending. It's sad yet it's hopeful because it propels the team out of their comfort zone, and they are all growing. It's something that I appreciate so much from this show, each character is indeed "taking small steps forward" and growing to be a better person and make themselves belong at wherever places they're at.

Thank you show for a good run *blanked that noble idiocy blip at the end*, and definitely for giving us romcom Go-joon! Am already missing his weekly presence on my screen...

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i liked how Hi-sang just accepted Jae-young as part & parcel of Ha-ri's life. he knows that Ha-ri would need friends, so why not make Jae-young part of his circle as well:)

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Thanks for the recap, @teriyaki! I think Ha-ri should have gotten the media team leader job but still she got her own company now. And with the new baby, she'll be very busy! I hope Yi-sang take lots of pictures!!

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Despite slipping into noble idiocy, I still find the ending satisfying. Maybe because it has touched me on a personal level. I will definitely miss all the characters except JY but looking forward to Go Joon and Jang Nara’s future project.

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No matter how much characters and their situations justify noble idiocy I’ve just been so burnt by that trope that I want the drama to try a different trope. If both characters don’t mutually agree on the breakup then I don’t want to see it. This drama had three periods throughout the show that kept showing the characters push and pull with their feelings but the end result is that they end up together so why bother? I know angst drives the story but it just got repetitive and dampen the story for me. The winner in this drama is honestly Jang Nara’s love for babies and the pain she portrayed which was the drama’s strong point. I was even more disappointed in the lack of PDA for a couple in their late 30’s-40.

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I totally agree with you.
The four last episodes quite ruined the drama for me.

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Thank you for the wonderful recaps @teriyaki @dramallama
I was fully on-board the drama and the story it was telling in the first half, the middle episodes lost me a li'l bit where I felt that the main leads had promised to talk and were saying the words but it didn't feel like they were actually letting the other know what they truly felt. That being said the last two episodes had me excited to tune in again. The angst around leads seperation, I took with a barely repressed long sigh. Sure it was needed in real life terms for two people to analyze and unlearn decade long notions about love and happiness. Was it potrayed in a convincing way and did I feel on board with how they 'resolved' to be together in the end? Not completely, although I could see the intent and the performances were great, so on-wards we go.

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To me the show was at its best when dealing with all the characters in a sympathetic light. There were no true 'villians' just people living their lives the best they could. They constantly reached out to the ones hurting amongst themselves , opened up their homes to long lost friends and always lent a sympathetic ear.
*I loved the heartfelt pitch the editorial team made. I think HR knew she wouldn't be able to save the day, but as always she went with her heart and integrity and gave the best that she could. I was ready to roll my eyes when it looked like the director would give in to the emotional pitch when the numbers were simply not their, but the show chose realism and that freed Ha Ri up to finally be her own boss. Loved that YJ also got back in to the race but on her own terms.
*Yayy, the ahjummas were back. Momma lee and them are friends now, apparently!
*Really appreciated how Editor Shim was brought back in. She's stripped bare and is exhausted juggling freelance work and babies but it quickly becomes clear that she's the real boss when she firmly but lovingly tells each of her former team to look out for themselves and go forth strong and fierce.
*I am glad they didn't have JY get back together with JW and he's even holding firm on his resolve to focus on Do Ah and didn't take up the kind KG lady's offer to 'help' with child rearing. Even his professional life is looking up, with a popular blog and possible book contract, JY is back on track again.
*It was nice that JW was finallyy given some time to tell her side of the story and show didn't shame her for her feelings on motherhood or the medical condition that she went through. I do wish this was discussed a bit earlier in the show, so that we could've had more conversations about it, but it was done well so kudos.

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*The show even had me getting emotional over two ahjushis fan-boying over a girl group. Kidding aside, was glad that they also showed the quiet sacrifices and pressures that regular men go through in the quest to provide for their family.
*HJ - The show gave the fashion loving girl three distinct styles to highlight her growth - both professionally and personally. The HJ we end with, know real team work, loyalty and working hard to get what she wants. She's even learnt to communicate instead of relying on her looks and is definitely gonna get her 'reward' soon.
*ET - I cackled when he told HR and YJ he's not as naive as he used to be. Good for you, my dude. He's still retained his best traits - honesty and idealism but is gonna go through the world more aware thanks to the journey he had gone through.
*HR and YS- To me, beyond signaling the presence of the titular baby, their park date showed that these two had already found the happiness they were looking for in each other
*Momma Lee - She really is the best. I'm happy she'll finally get to see her ideal vision for her beloved daughter's life come through. I'mma imagine that she continues to pursue her passions and even score a date or few while living her best life.

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The twist when Yi Sang reacted to Ha Ri in his white dress shirt was cute and funny. I liked them as a couple a lot. Glad they didn't do a big wedding scene. I wish they had more kiss/flirty scenes though.

I understood Yi Sang's choice in needing some time away, but I still would have preferred a different method instead of noble idiocy.
The angst wasn't too bad.

The epilogue was a lovely way to come full circle with the first episode. It was already sufficient to see Ha Ri being hungry and all the conception dreams being mentioned though.

The finale wrapped up neatly. There wasn't a big giddy feeling, but I felt comforted by seeing the characters move on to their next course in life. Thanks for recapping this drama, TeriYaki and dramallama!

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I hate the noble idiocy on episode 15 (kind of necessary, yes, but still really annoying), so I was so glad that Soo-chul called out what Yi-sang did. The farewell to The Baby Editing Team was a sad one, but we finally see besties Ha-ri and Eun-young lead the Oh My Baby Magazine! Hooray for a new start!

Although I wanted more, this show wrapped up neatly and satisfyingly. I am so glad that I picked up this fuzzy warm show. Thank you for your wonderful recaps, @teriyaki and @dramallama!

P.S. Go Joon as Yi-sang is wonderful

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I think this sort of noble idiocy is fine as a plot point. What I mean is that 1)Yi-sang did not hide it from Ha-ri and 2) he was immediately called out on it by her, too. This is the kind of noble idiocy that does happen and, to be honest, I'm not sure is it really that noble because as the recapper notes, it seems that it was more for Yi-sand himself than Ha-ri; HE had not dealt with his infertility and he was almost unable to deal and thus he wanted to bail. So, in fact, it was cowardness, which is something that definitely happens in real life, too.

And, as said, Ha-ri immediately called him out. She did not force him to stay but did make it clear that she was not just accepting his "oh-so-noble" gesture and disagreed with it.

Infertility is a difficult issue in real life and I think it is very, very common for people who do have fertility issues to react like Yi-sang or at least really question if their spouses should be with them and thus sacrifice the chance of having a child even of they don't try to outright end the relationship. And many relationship do, in fact, end due to one party not being able to have a biological child.

So, this much was fine. When noble idiocy is truly infuriating is when there is no proper reason for it and it is treated as a GOOD thing. Here it wasn't. I wouldn't go as far as to say drama framed Yi-sang's reaction as bad per se but he was not portrayed as doing the right thing, either.

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thank you for the lengthy explanation. i actually didn't mind the noble idiot trope coz Yi-sang never really dealt with his pain. they had him shown doing stuff, but i think he was escaping from life then. only when he saw Ha-ri again that he realized he's back in square one.

Yes, calling it out on Ha-ri's part was why i liked this show and the lesson it imparts. most of episode 16 showed how Ha-ri dealt with the fallout, it's empowering to know that although she was hurt, she did moved on and continued to love herself.

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Others have complained about the nobly idiocy separation in episode 15 and 16- and so do I. But I did not let that spoil the show for me.

I still think that Jae-young is irritating even if he is a bit more mature. But Eu-tteum and Hyo-joo both definitely matured. I do not know if the door is still open for something more than friendship or not- but do not knock friendship- in this world friends are hard to come by.

My wife and I both enjoyed this show. While giving our couple a 'miracle baby' was really nice it was not necessary tot he story. But on the other hand why not have a happy ending?

As irritating as Jae-young was as a character the actor who portrayed him did a really good job - maybe too good given how angry we got with him (you should have heard my wife- she was fit to be tied). And I have to say that most of our main and minor characters were well done. My hat is off in particular to the actor and actresses who portrayed Ha-ri's mom, Eu-tteum and Hyo-joo. Even the actors that we saw relatively little of did well- jung-won actually gave people some insight to the problem of post-partum depression: Infertility was not the only problem addressed in this drama.

Once again Jang Na-ra hit one out of the park- but I have come to expect that. I wonder what she will do next?

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I wished the postpartum depression had been more present in JW and JY relation development, as it was only mentioned in the last episode, but it's the first time I see this problem being part in a drama, so I'm glad this is the first step and someday we can gets more time.

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Maybe I'm a little bit too cynical but there were two couple suffering from infertility and both ended up with a baby at the end. I like happy end but in this case I don't think the happy end should have been a baby but more that they find another way to be happy. With a baby, it gives me impression that the message of the drama is too optimist compared to the all drama.

I was happy that Eu-tteum didn't date YJ. I like their friendship like this. Eu-tteum had strong feelings for Hari not only a crush, so I think it matched his personality that he didn't fall for someone else just after.

It was nice to see Hari and JY sharing the meal like in the past, like siblings. JY can be a good friend if he wants to.

My discovery in this drama was Go Joon as Yi Sang, honestly I'm pretty sure that he's 50% of the reason I watched this drama (with his Gum Gum's family). He perfectly played the cute, clueless and manly Yi Sang.

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I would bawled my eyes out if they didn’t end up together 😂
I Sang should have just skipped the noble idiocy act of leaving for the other side’s sake from the beginning, then we’ll get extra time to watch them and their child in a blissful domestic bliss 🤭

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Thank you, @teriyaki for the recap. This is the drama I need for times like this. I really enjoyed it! The noble idiocy was justifiable, BUT three months, really? Absolutely loved the OTP, I discovered Go Joon here. Where were you all this time?

It’s a light fluffy show with serious life issues that’s were tackled well. I love the relationships and character development. My fave is Hari’s mother. I also appreciate the fact that there’s no antagonist in this show.

It would have been fine if HR and YS didn’t end up with a baby, but thanks show for the bonus! I love happy endings!

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Thank you for the recap!

“Yi-sang kept himself busy with new activities so that he didn’t have to deal with it and that worked for a very long time.”

I am very disgruntled with the noble idiocy last episode, but since I am guilty of the same behavior I am going to perceive this as a life lesson to learn from now on.💪

“We may seem like we have not achieved anything, but we have been taking small steps forward all this time.”

Ms. Shim!❤️ I almost cried when she offered that hug to Hari, and I loved the ladies working together and bonding with Ms. Shim. These scenes, along with Hari and her former unemployed bestie starting their own company, give me hope for my own professional future.🥰

Let me salute you all with some fangirling about Yi-Sang: Polka dot pajamas.👍 Also, my prediction that Yi-Sang would be a girl dad somehow came true, because he did have pure thoughts about having a daughter. We may not know the gender of their baby, but my head canon has been decided!😆

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It will definitely be a girl!!

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Thanks @teriyaki and @dramallama for your great recaps for the past 8 weeks!

It have been a few challenging months. Oh My Baby nicely provides the relief and pleasure 'time out' from real life - channeling positive outlook and energies. Hari is such a petite woman and yet stronger than so many men. May I say she's the stronger one in the HR-YS pairing.

Although I have only watched the raw version without sub (and will do so asap), the ending is satisfying. The miracle baby at the end is really the icing on the cake as seeing HR and YS's happy together is all that I want for.

What's impressive in this final episode is the realistic take on The Baby's ending despite the team's pitch and fight. Nonetheless, it opens to the next journey for Hari to be her own boss and work with her best friend - and that's a winning development than holding on.

Drama God has heard our pleads delivering the guest appearance of Editor Shim - love her scene and the camaraderie. I guess I love almost all the side characters in this drama but she's a clear standout as a great role model for the girls. And, of course, mom too.

Very glad that Go Joon is so well received in his first male lead role (after playing so many - deliciously - villain characters). Looking forward to his next drama.

Jang Nara my dear, where will you take us to next?

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Calling out the noble idiot for his noble idiocy was a refreshing touch, but the end was a forced happy one. Hari taking him back after 3 months was too easy.
I thought when she started up her own company with the show's title, that was the "aha!" moment: she had channeled her lost dream into her own business. What happened to it after her pregnancy?
The epilogue seemed to be an after-thought; fan service. While the show showed the struggles of infertility, it did not acknowledge or deal with the struggles of a difficult pregnancy for a 40 year old.
All in all it was an enjoyable show even though it did not reach its full potential.

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The series was worth watching for Jang Nara's acting alone. So many scenes where she didn't to the expected thing but instead did the 'real' thing.

I did chuckle that Ha-ri spend a third of a year or more 'about to turn 40'. I thought in the premiere she was just days away from the big event.

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Well, as much as I knew HaRi and YiSang would have that miracle baby, I was utterly disappointed with how infertility was dealt in the final part of the show, specially HaRi's. A woman in her 40's with endometriosis has very little chances of getting pregnant by natural means. Mainly because endometriosis is an autoimmune disease that basically makes the mum's body reject the fetus.
It would have been great that other options were explored, as a sperm donor, adoption, but HaRi didn't even get a treatment...
But, it's dramaland and I accept it.
I liked this drama until episode 10 more a less. A lot. But then I felt estranged, specially in these last four episodes. It could have been much more, but it didn't.
Good thing: my first Jang Nara drama and I can understand why beanies adore her, she's a magnificent actress.

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I had endometriosis as did my daughter. It can take many different forms and produce different symptoms. I had no problem conceiving naturally 6 months after surgery. My daughter had a decade long struggle and required IVF and had a very difficult and closely monitored 40 year old pregnancy. My ovaries were unaffected. My daughter's were badly damaged and multiple surgeries were required. We definitely agree on Jang Nara.

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Thanks for sharing this. I'm speaking though the very tough experience of a very close friend. She's been trough an ordeal trying to conceive and she's on her 6th month now, but we've cried together so many times...

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Speaking of motherhood, I'm reminded of the Korean version of the series 'Mother' where the heroine and child eventually reunite. I understand in the Japanese version they didn't reunite. Because, you know, she was a convicted child abductor who was barred from approaching the child. In Oh My Baby they gave us the feel-good ending we were expecting but not necessarily the ending it should have had. Because, you know, both parties are infertile and the whole series was about them being infertile.

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This was a good take on infertility but I am disappointed that they never explored the actual theme which was supposed to be getting a baby via sperm donation, not from your partner and without marriage. Yi Sang could still fit into that story with Hari opting for child with help of somebody else. Nevertheless, I liked what we were given. It was heartfelt, I loved Mom's character, she was the standout in this whole story. I mean you could make a story revolving around her perspective and I would watch. Not much to complain, a sweet story with a positive message about infertility and parenthood.

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All along I felt that if they relaxed they would have their miracle. So glad it worked out the way it did. Nicely done. I enjoyed this show very much. All in all a good group of people. Nice growth from the characters.

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JNR fan forever!!! she has this relatable quality & you can't help but feel for her whatever situation she's in.

OMB definitely shined in terms of conversations, regarding parenting, as stated by Ha-ri & Yi-sang's friends and office mates. It also shed light to how hard it is to be a FT mom and have a career to speak of. For sure Ha-ri will make a good mom, based on mom's example:)

I discovered Go Joon in this drama, he's so cute and endearing, maybe coz of the character, but he played his role well, clap-clap!!!

Thank you for the recaps & the beanies' commentary. Reading some of the personal stories makes visiting DB feels like home!

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