Synopsis: To appease his grandfather and continue his trend of working hard, Kang Tae Moo decided to meet up on the blind dates set up for him. Realising that the only way to not waste time would be to settle for the first date itself. Shin Ha-ri, is convinced by her best friend who had posed as her friend on the blind date and now, Kang and she are trying to fool everyone while she herself is fooling Kang too (provided by The Movie Culture).
The real question for today’s post is whether or not the ending met expectations. I can confidently say without a doubt the bulk of the show was stellar. While there were multiple annoying misunderstandings leading to episodes worth of unnecessary drama I feel that this is a characteristic of all long shows. With 16-hour-long episodes,
it is unsurprising that the show needed misunderstandings to keep going. Before we analyze the ending let’s give a brief overview of what it was.
Tae Moo’s grandfather’s condition has worsened and as a result, requires improved health care provided only in the U.S. As a result, Tae Moo must travel to the U.S. with his grandfather. He invites Ha-Ri to join him but fearing Tae Moo’s grandfather and the way it may harm his reputation she decides to stay and try a long-distance relationship. Then, one-day Ha-Ri wakes up to her younger brother claiming that Tae-Moo has been caught in a scandal with a cello player. Growing more and more nervous she decides to travel to the U.S. to check on Tae-Moo. However, at the airport, she is shocked to see Tae-Moo himself. After a romantic walk and some gentle banter, Tae-Moo proposes to Ha-Ri claiming that his grandfather wouldn’t let him return home without a fiance.
At first, this seems like an amazing ending, everyone’s happy and married, Ha-Ri has received his grandfather’s approval and it’s a happily ever after. However, there are multiple plot holes that made the ending feel rushed, incomplete, and unsatisfactory. The thing that most bothered me was where Tae-Moo’s grandfather’s approval came from. In one scene he claimed, “I would never allow you to marry Tae-Moo” and in the next suddenly he is requiring Tae-Moo to propose. While a year did go by, the use of the time skip justifying all of these developments makes the ending rushed. We didn’t see their relationship develop over the year making me question if anything really did happen over that one year.
Everything East Asian 