Duty after School: Part 2

An Underwhelming Outcome

After rewatching the series a couple of times, I can acknowledge that the ending of Duty After School might come as a shock to many. That was certainly how I felt when I watched the ending myself. However, I feel like the finale of Duty after School wasn't a proper sendoff. I feel like they could have built up the Climax even more. The finale felt rushed and undeserved. Also, there are a bunch of plot lines that were never explained again.

The Good:
1. The Cast
The cast was amazing, I can definitely feel the Chemistry between the characters. When I am watching a Kdrama, I always pay attention to the Chemistry because I feel like I can resonate more with the characters if I can sense the Chemistry between the characters. I also love the family vibe between the characters.

2. The Story
The story was great, and was very intriguing, but I feel like the pacing was a bit off compared to Part 1. I feel like the finale was a bit rushed. We see Yeong Soo's descent into madness, but they don't go further and elaborate on it. Instead Yeong Soo gets trigger happy and starts shooting up his classmates without any real reason.

3. Alternate Universe
I love how they incorporated a what if scenario at the end. After watching that finale, it was nice to see the characters alive and well. That way the last time we see them is them laughing and having fun not them suffering. Which is a nice touch. They're rap at the end was also great, it seems like the cast had a blast filming.

The Bad:
1. Abandoned Plotlines:
What happened to Kim Won Bin? He's virtually non-existent in Part 2. His fate is left ambiguous and none of the characters even mention him. I feel like there was a missed opportunity here, he could have filled in the role left by Lieutenant Lee.

What happened to Lee Na Ra? No Ae Seol? and Yoo Ha Na? They never appear again after Yeong Soo's death. Definitely a missed opportunity here. What were their thoughts and feelings afterwards? Where are they? Why don't they show up again? These questions are basically left unknown, and their fates are left ambiguous.

What happened between Chi Yeol and Lee Na Ra? Like I said before Lee Na Ra never appears again after Yeong Soo's death. Again, another missed opportunity, the show hinted that Chi Yeol had feelings for Lee Na Ra, but they never show him confessing his feelings for Lee Na Ra. Their dynamic felt unfinished and unresolved.

So, like what was the point of the Spheres? If you're going kill off most of the cast, it would have better if they had died to the Spheres. The entire point of Duty after School are High Schoolers being drafted into the military to kill the Spheres for extra college points. It would have made more sense for them to die to Spheres because that's the entire point of the show, if they had died to the Spheres then their deaths would have meant something. Instead, their deaths are meaningless because in the end the South Korean Government develop a weapon that eradicates the Spheres. So, they died for nothing along with a bunch of other students.

3. Yeong Soo's Character Arc
Yeong Soo's character development felt very rushed. He descended into madness within one episode. I feel like they could have built up his character more. His entire madman arc was literally just one episode. I feel like if his madman arc was explained throughout a plethora of episodes then we could understand why he did what he did in the finale. Him literally shooting up his classmates was so out of place. I get that he's having a mental breakdown due to the CSAT being cancelled, but like it didn't feel right to send his character off like that. I also don't like how he was perceived in the last episode. The scene with the SA was not necessary.

The Ending
Personally, I think the ending is kind of hit or miss for me. When I was watching the finale, I was shocked and disappointed. When Yeong Soo started shooting up his classmates most of them were done dirty. To be fair, they were caught off guard by Yeong Soo's betrayal, but like you spent so much time developing the characters and showing their personalities, and I feel like all of that was a waste of time because most of them died within a span of a few seconds. I think it would have been better if they put up a fight. Most of them were just standing out in the open and didn't even duck for cover., they basically just let themselves be huge targets. Speaking of characters who were done dirty, Kwon Il Ha's death felt so undeserved. However, I get the meaning, Il Ha has always been a bully to Yeong Soo, and it feels almost right that Yeong Soo get his revenge, but like the way Il Ha died was so disappointing. Mostly because Il Ha isn't really a bully anymore, sure there are some instances here a there, but he has definitely progressed as a character and his sendoff was not deserved.

Despite the underwhelming outcome I enjoyed this series a lot. Definitely one of the best Kdramas out there, and I implore you to give it a watch if you haven't already.

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My Thoughts on the Ending (Along with other parts of the show)

A Sad Ending Doesn't Equal A Bad One.

Firstly, let me explain my ratings (I see a lot of talk about how bad the ending was, so I wanted to write my own take on it, and also talk about other stuff that happened that I only realized after finishing. Sometimes it's better not to search for all the flaws in a show and just enjoy it).

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I found the plot of the story very interesting (I did pick this show to watch because of it, haha). The Aliens had a nice design, and I adore the sound they make. But it lacked in some areas. There were inconsistencies, such as the big deal about them being attracted to sound like they're blind (even though in a later scene we get to see the world through the aliens' eyes, moreover, most, if not all, animals rely on hearing and would naturally go to where any loud noise is to pursue prey.)

Lieutenant Lee, initially, would keep visiting the second sphere that we saw fall from the sky. But we never see anything else about the alien in that one. Furthermore, I wish they would show the different sizes of the aliens, but instead, they only focused on the smaller ones.

They never explain where or why they came to Earth, nor why, after 1 year did they fell to the ground. It's said that they target humans like they have no interest in any other animal (It's pointed out like it's a huge deal), but I highly doubt that's true. The aliens felt like the Demogorgons from Stranger Things, where in each season, there were inconsistencies with them, like one moment bullets don't work on them, and then they are very effective.

We see the army try to find ways to kill them, but nothing works except for the special bullets (in which I remember them saying they don't have enough material to make them, but our characters never seem to run out, but I could be wrong). It's shown that freezing them is very effective, yet the military never thought of that? And it's only shown twice.

Why is their still spheres left in the end? We're also told these aliens are really smart (I enjoyed the scene where one of them threw a rock and knocked over a small statue onto the students, which displayed a level of high intelligence), but at times, they felt like worker bees.

I'm not Korean, nor did I grow up in Korea, and even after googling what the CSAT test is, I just don't understand why, after they regroup at the second military camp, anyone would care about it. More so, why did they say it will still happen in a month? Last I check everyone is in bunkers and aliens are invading your country. The war was not ending anytime soon; even so, it demonstrated just how life-changing one single test can be, that you'd risk your life and kill others over it. It tells a good story that when it really comes down to it, your grades or test scores don't matter and shouldn't hold such a huge weight like the world makes you believe (Correct me if I'm wrong, but this is a play on how big of an issue tests are mentally and physically for students in East Asia that kids will commit because of it).

What happened to the three girls that survied? Where did they get off to? Not to mention Won-Bin just disappearing in part 2. Did the CSATs being canceled really cause Young-Soo to have a mental breakdown where he started having hallucinations? It was so devastating that he betrayed morality (it would have made sense if he had some medical condition that he took pills for and started to go crazy because he stopped taking them).

I liked the mystery of who killed Soo-Chul, who and why someone(s) rigged the votes, and who broke the radio.

Il-Ha had a nice redemption, and I found myself very sad that he got killed. Ae-Seol and Bo-Ra really reminded me of Ann and Kuina from Alice in Borderland. I loved seeing their friendship (dare I say even romantic interest) grow.

I don't think the ending should have changed in the sense that the student shouldn't die, but rather it should have been by the aliens. That would have been pretty poetic.

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I don't have much to say about acting. Because of the language barrier, I can't tell if a line was said how it should (But, when acting is really bad, I can tell). Furthermore, I don't look much into casting, I only care about seeing new faces (considering many US films recycle actors and don't give way for new actors to create a standing).

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The same thing goes for the music. I don't have much to say because nothing stood out to me. There was only one OST that did, but otherwise, the music was appropriate for said scenes; it just didn't stand out to me.

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For rewatch, that's simply because I don't want to cry again. It's not low because this show was bad.

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Now for the main reason I made this review! You're in for a ride heh... TuT

People like happy endings; they want to see the characters they adore and love get the ending they deserve. Especially when they fought so hard for it. But happy endings are overrated.

Sad ones are poetic and within them lies a deeper message. During my fight with depression, I thought what I needed was joy and happiness in my life. So I went in search of any go-happy K-dramas I could find, filled with laughter and dreams. But what I found was that it kept me afloat, delaying the inevitable, that I would soon come to sink.

What I didn't need was to pluck the dead leaves, but to cut the stem at the base. So that when it grows, it'll come back 10x stronger than before. I kept so much to myself, I was gonna down in it all, fighting back tears. When the real solution all along was to let them flow. Only then was I able to smile once more.

It's sad to see a person who you went through so much trauma with become the reason for your death. It hurts, but it's a good kind of hurt. I did not enjoy the ending; they deserve to see their families again. But death does not discriminate, and art is born out of all kinds of emotion. Happiness, fear, disgust, regret, envy, and even grief. Their deaths were ruthless and quick; plot armor did not even give them a chance.

A sad ending isn't a bad ending, and it's all the more memorable for it.

They died where they began, in a classroom. Now, how poetic is that?

(My first review! Ah I'm nervous..... I just didn't like seeing all the hate on the ending because it wasn't sunshiny and rainbows, given that there are plenty, more then plently, of shows with endings like that. And people have this consensus that if the story ending is sad, it's just bad. Anyway, I didn't proofread this, so sorry for any grammatical errors! I'm also bad at expressing deep feelings and moving messages, so this isn't as impactful as I would have liked it to be.)

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An Amazing Build-Up Ruined by a Frustrating Ending

I went into Part 2 already knowing that the ending was bad, but because Part 1 was so strong, I still had high expectations.

At first, the drama continued well. Since Part 2 only has four episodes, it started with solid pacing and quickly pulled me back in. However, one thing that immediately felt jarring was the transition from Part 1 to Part 2. The story suddenly jumps forward by about a month with barely any explanation, and the characters’ circumstances have drastically changed. Instead of showing what happened during that period, the drama simply throws viewers into the new situation without proper context, making the transition feel abrupt and confusing.

There were also several characters who seemed important in Part 1 but were never addressed again in Part 2, which made the continuation feel incomplete and poorly planned.

Episode 2 frustrated me because of a poorly handled burden-type character whose development felt more irritating than meaningful. Thankfully, Episode 3 picked things back up, and by Episode 4 I finally understood why so many people had become attached to this drama. The chemistry among the cast felt stronger than ever, and the bond between the characters genuinely felt deep and heartfelt.

Then the final 30 minutes happened.

And everything completely fell apart.

I knew the ending beforehand, but even with spoilers, I was still left speechless by how absurdly bad it was. Instead of crying, I literally laughed out loud because the entire thing felt so unnecessary, ridiculous, and bizarre that I could not take it seriously.

It genuinely made me question what the writers and director were thinking when they came up with that ending.

How do you spend an entire series building tension, relationships, and emotional investment—only to throw it all away in the final 30 minutes?

And that is exactly why it disappointed me so much—because I actually really liked this drama. I cared about it enough to feel genuinely frustrated by how it ended. Despite everything, I still gave it an 8/10 because overall, I truly enjoyed most of it.

That is what makes the ending even more heartbreaking: not because the drama was bad, but because it had the potential to be so much better.

It is such a waste because the CGI, production, pacing, and overall setup were all so strong—only for the drama to ruin itself at the finish line.

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For me worth watch !

Drama was good the 1st part blown my mind. I also think that there were some parts missing or kinda incomplete story or their were some loop holes to it . Like they havent show anything about the kids they rescued and woo bin. Also how they found there operation base themselves so that was a big gap there but bro acting, awesome I never left like watching a acted show. Good drama but the ending , uh killing em all was so sad bro 🥺 that was totally unexpected like I was like uhh how they will end this a happy or sad or suspense with another season / part but it was totally unexpected broo ☠️ still I m happy I watched it the friendship they had, the bond was so 🥺

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Duty After School - Part 2

- It was better than some other people make of it.
- Sure, the pacing was a bit messed up.. HOWEVER, the ending was solid.. IMO.
- The ending showed that at the end of the day, it wasn't the aliens that were the biggest risk, it was humans themselves.
- I like how they killed off the more irrelevant characters first before getting rid of the other characters where we'd actually feel something.
- I also liked the fact that in the beginning, the students were so sweet, naive, and innocent. So us watching they getting brutally murdered makes us feel something as well.
- The character developments were very nice to see as well. (Il-Ha & Bo-Ra)

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Every thing has an ending and we after sweet home (webtoon) I expected this one

I am not a huge fan of shit hits the fan in the last episode ending. and I also think part 2 shouldn't have been separated from part one and that it could have been better.

That being said. This drama was from episode one a direct attack on the school system and college entrance exam. It had a message and was committed to it. The happening was not "spheres falling" but "exam points being offered". They never made an effort to study, analyze, or inspect the monsters beyond what was needed on site. So beating and solving the issue was never the solution.

I do agree with the idiocy of the adults and was baffled to see parents still caring about the exams; however, I wasn't surprised. The show didn't give us an ounce of hope that the kids will make it (no survivors scenes or experiments and labs like all of us are dead). Is this a good ending? Not really. Is it a bad one? Not necessarily. Would I still recommend it? Yes! If I go back in time would I not watch part 2? Part 2 wasn't bad it was a continuation of part 1 plot, the plot wouldn't change and the ending make sense in that case.

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They should had made the title more accurate for part 2

This drama I swear bro they made All of Us are Dead but better. The ending was so bad, the fact that they killed everyone besides Kim Chi, Na Ra, Ae Seol, and another person died because of that one dude who was first place in class because the other first place died. The fact that some people say that if he did not get bullied he would have not killed anyone even though he killed people who tried to comfort him when he becomes crazy that the CSAT was canceled. That was the worst way they could had ended the dang drama. They also could had at least shown the 4 remaining survivors being together or something but nooo they had to make it look like there was only one remaining this drama does All of Us are Dead but better. Do not watch it, it is so ass that I believe it would have been better to cancel it. The only reason is overall score is 1.0 is because I can't do 0.0 and the only thing that would change my mind is that I see the 4 people well together and see Kim Chi and Na Ra together. Alright enough said this drama is worst than those cringe memes I always find online and they made a really good build up but than ruined it and did not even try to at least give us something good.

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The ending ruined everything !

Honestly, the drama and the concept were very good, but I felt that the ending was rushed. I hated the ending as it was tragic and reminded me of DP, like, why couldn't they just give all the remaining kids a good life? Why did they have to die? If they had to die, let them be killed by the aliens, but how did they die due to an idiotic guy who was too stressed and did something stupid? He could have just asked for forgiveness, but he killed most of the students. I also felt that the prison episodes were unnecessary, they could have used that time to find a safe haven or have the kid destroy the last sphere for a good closure, but no, they put in a useless prison episode(s). This series had a lot of tragic and traumatic scenes, but I really liked the acting by the kids who played the students.

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Worst, most non-sensical ending I've ever seen in any show

If you already watched part 1, do not waste your time continuing this. And do not watch it altogether if you haven't watched part 1.

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