My Dearest Part 2

When It’s Fate..its Fate

Part 1 of "My Dearest" was undeniably a masterpiece, setting a high standard that Part 2 had to live up to. While I was glad to see the continuation, my expectations were naturally elevated.

Throughout the episodes of Part 2, I remained optimistic. Despite any shortcomings in the storyline, witnessing the journey of our main characters, the ML and FL, reminded me to cherish the moments of joy they shared. It's a valuable lesson—to focus on the positives amidst the challenges.

Admittedly, there were moments in the drama that seemed far-fetched, where our leads couldn't catch a break. However, I choose to interpret it as the writer's portrayal of fate prevailing against all odds.

Namkoong Min's exceptional acting, worthy of the Baeksang Award, undoubtedly salvaged some of the shortcomings of Part 2. While some may dismiss this drama as a waste of time, it still had its fair share of heart-fluttering moments and comedic scenes, making it a worthwhile watch in my eyes.

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twists, angst,separation,bravery,and somewhat happy conclusion

I am glad that the main couple got a happy end but I felt really bad for Ryan eum, its sad how they left him in that cell still wondering what happened to lee jang hyun.it was so unfair to leave him there without closure.
Also I would not have minded if nam yeon committed sucide, he ended becoming such a useless and irritating character, Gil Chae should be grateful he never chose her.
I do think she has poor taste in men because both nam neon and that her ex-husband were such sorry excuse for men. That's why I felt it was stupid choice to choose him over LJH, it didn't come as a shock to see that he abandoned her when she needed him most he always saw as a beautiful possession and not an actual human being.
I felt sad for the crown prince and crown princess and how they met such a terrible end without even getting justice, worse her son didn't even inherit the throne and the evil concubine just got away with everything's terrible.
I didn't like the unnecessary double amnesia plot and to me it didn't add anything relevant to the storyline.
Also I loved the acting of nam koong min, His ability to make his eyes and face convey so much emotions without even uttering any words was so brilliant.
I felt like part 1 was much stronger than part 2 but overall this was interesting, heartbreaking ,emotional and beautiful story to watch and It was totally worth the journey.

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A review of both part 1 and 2

What both stunned and impressed me the most about the kdrama My Dearest, right at the very start, was how focused it was on the ordinary people and how they deal with war. And what the war does to them. It makes it less of a war epic and more of a human tale of self-preservation and hope at a trying time. which I found to be quite a fresh approach to this kind of historical drama, although many will no doubt find it rather slow and dry in its execution and style.

The story is ruthless in its realism and harshness with how it seems to paint the world. The narrative is very willing to comment on several aspects within society that it tells it’s tale, the nobility and their uselessness, the lack of care that a certain position within society seems to push into you for the people that live around them, as well as society’s attitude towards women in wartimes and just their position in society both outside of that as well. The way it uses these elements to shape itself, the details it shares throughout the story is very tangible, interesting but also poignant. It is incredibly well thought out and effective within the narrative to stir up further emotions both with the characters and the viewers.

These are not the heroes that poems are sung about, but seem to be more everyday heroes of the common folk. Most of their influence is not great within the grand scheme of things, but it is the people who knew them who will always remember them with kindness and love. They are the ones who will tell the stories about them until they disappear from human memory and are forgotten.

At some point, despite their intelligence and strength, as the war and the hardships seem to tighten more and more around them, the characters seem to wear down a bit. But they never lose who they are, their will to fight but how they go about fighting, how they deal with situations changes a little. All that happens very slowly and works very realistically within the story. It’s a really well-handled look at character, as well as how normal people deal with such situations.

The characters do feel sharp and manage to be both a fresh take on the traditional characters that we get in a Korean historical dramas, but at the same time they have quite a bit of the characteristics that we are used to seeing; Jang-hyun may come across as smug and aloof, and Gil-chae may come across as snobbish and somewhat self-interested. But there’s a lot more to them and their flaws are very presant within the story. Overall there are plenty of multi-layered characters that make My Dearest a rather worthwhile and heart-wrenching watch. Everyone has something to say in their own way and all have some point to emphasize within the story. The story touches your heart from beginning to end if people just allow themselves to enter this cruel, realistic world with these characters as a guiding light.

The plot itself goes through its ups and downs, and it does hit a bit of a lull within the second half where the story tends to repeat itself quite often. Characters almost miss each other a few times over the course of few episodes in order to create tension and longing within the viewers, and since the story is already slow by nature it might make some people really struggle. It makes it seem like the story has lost steam and doesn’t really pick up fully until right near the end. But if the characters manage to grab you and make you completely fall for them in the first half of the story, it’s perfectly tolerable.

The story never seems to fall into being too epic or too grandiose in its approach to the narrative, as some costume dramas tend to do to make their heroes seem bigger. Much rather My Dearest seems so focused on being realistic and grounded in reality like it has a bit of an obsession with the human spirit and the lengths to which people will go to survive. It run through the very heart of the series. And the love story, which is really successful on its own, reflects that. It’s very slow and down to earth and it’s quite unusual for a kdrama in lots of ways.

The story takes its time, sometimes excessively so, and repeats itself a bit too often, but even if it takes the story a good while it manages to underline every point that the drama set out to make really well. The story always seemed to know what it wanted to say. And the humanity that this series carries with it and manages to reflect within the narrative does make you cry many times. It’s gorgeous, it’s heartwarming and filled with hope for brighter days that is always enveloped by a little bit of sadness.

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The Chemistry between the leads is the best thing in the show

I will try keeping it Simple and Short :

Watched this show since the first episode of Part 1 dropped and good lord there wasn't a slight moment where i regretted it.
After P1 ended with a huge heartbreak, and P2's date was announced, damn I felt like ML from the show feeling the pain of waiting for P2 to drop.

As for the show you feel all the emotions, happiness, sadness, anger, pain, hatred, thrill, suspense, butterflies, heartbreaks. You will laugh and cry for the characters especially the main leads.

Both the main actors nailed their roles, each and every emotion was shown so beautifully. The story, acting and production value was top notch.

The show is a slowburn and filled with moments of heartbreaks and separations. Till the end you don't know whether there will be a happy or a tragic ending. So if you can handle that then this is the show for you.

(The show and cast deserve all the awards they are getting)

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Lost steam from Part 1, but still a worthy watch

After a heart-breaking finish to Season 1, the story turns once again to the Qing invasion and the atrocities committed in the aftermath on a chaotic, fractured, and helpless Joseon. Only the efforts of officials and people on the ground like Jang Hyun, working with the hostage Crown Prince, are tenuously holding the country together. Despite the horrific suffering of Joseon prisoners of war, Gil Chae manages to rebuild some of the comfortable lifestyle she was accustomed to but is shockingly reminded that class is meaningless in an oppressed state. There are also stark reminders of how women are truly expendible victims. I was waiting to see what choices the characters made when pushed to extremes and this season had some of the most riveting scenes. The tone was lightened at times with romantic tropes (pretending to be sick to get attention) which seemed out of place in a drama of this caliber.

At around Ep15 I suddenly remembered the opening scene of Ep1 which takes place more than 20 years after the 1637 invasion. It was worth a re-watch to find hints at a very tragic conclusion for our heroes. The announcement of an extension came after Ep8 aired and I wondered if there would be a hopeful epilogue. Unfortuately, after Ep20 the Ep1 opening sequence was not yet reached in the story and I was left wondering if the extension had already been inserted. There was no added value to Eps 19&20 and they could easily have been combined into one. Ep1 is recapped in the finale, Ep21.

At times throughout the drama I kept feeling a disconnect between Gil Chae and Jang Hyun's relationship and their surroundings, like I was watching 2 separate shows. Political events deeply affected each of them separately and this was infused into how they dealt with each other during Part 1. However, that influence seemed less evident in Part 2 even though the political pressures never went away. They lived and worked separately for so long that there wasn't much that they actually did for/with each other. It was as if Eps19/20 were there just to make up for their separation, more couple less story, and I felt the show lost momentum at this point as all the other characters got moved to the sidelines. However, the finale felt right once more as loose ends got tied up.

All in all, the acting was among the strongest I've seen in any show (I still think The Red Sleeve's demented king was an acting masterclass). Although Part 2 seemed to run out of steam in the 2nd half, the strong production, story telling, and deep dives into the human psyche makes this show worth watching.

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While retaining the poetic beauty of the original, this second half is a painful epilogue . . .

At this point, I'm convinced the writers are sadists, and I can't stand to watch anymore just to see it all come to a bad end one last time. In sum, the random twists and turns that started cropping up in the last episodes of the first season, multiply in the second half. Hurdle, after hurdle, after hurdle. Just nonsensically raising hopes and dashing them. Will there be scenes that stick with me? Yes. Did I vow to stop watch multiple times? Also yes.

The acting, production values, cinematography, and some key pieces of dialogue are excellent. There are some powerful scenes that will linger on - but we're talking all of 10-15 minutes in 8 hrs of viewing. The key theme of the show is to always persist and survive as there could be the best moments of your life just around the corner.

I feel vaguely guilty, therefore, of not persisting to the end of this one, but frustration and dread was growing with every episode, and life is too short. I ended it at a high point, and I don't have strength to see if things fall apart once again. I would still highly recommend watching the first half/season 1 - it stands on its own and is a true gem of a K -Drama.

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Maybe the best Kdrama of all times.

Ok, I have watched many K-dramas so far—many stories, many romances, many dramas.
I have to say that this might be the best K-drama ever. Everything is in the title: "My Dearest"… The romance is "romancing" and It is not the childish romance you often encounter; it is a mature, healthy romance— it is ride or die.
You get attached to all the characters, even those you’re supposed to hate. You feel the pain, the struggle, the love, the hate… Everything is so well written that it’s scary. One episode, I’m laughing; the next minute, I’m crying.

I don’t know why, but this K-drama reminds me so much of Alchemy of Souls. The same loneliness after finishing it… It was hard to go through all the episodes because I knew I would suffer.

If you’re hesitating, don’t. It is worth watching.

One thing I learned is that true love can never fade, even in the face of all the hardships in the world.

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my dearest vs. the red sleeve

i have two words only: absolutely mindblowing!

much has been analyzed about my dearest solely itself, but i wanted to use this review to stir conversation and draw some comparisons to another fantastic (and may i dare add, even more intriguing) sageuk-- the red sleeve-- in order to encapsulate my frustrations with the storyline of my dearest's main couple and where i see room for improvement.

(warning: some major spoilers ahead for the red sleeve).

1) equality of contributions in their relationship.

what the red sleeve does so well, even amidst a severe power imbalance between a crown prince and his court maid, is demonstrate that the ML and FL view each other as equals. despite the FL's lowly status of a court maid, she saves the ML on multiple occasions that made my heart SWOON, which ultimately restores balance to their power dynamic and also, reaffirms their mutual love for each other. that is what makes the love between them so discernible to the audience. i could FEEL it in my toes.

on the other hand, what was so frustrating in my dearest is jang-hyun's constant unreciprocated affection toward gil-chae. though both shows have this period of "unrequited love" from the MLs to the FLs, although refusing to become the crown prince's concubine, the red sleeve's FL constantly contributed to their relationship and protected the prince as much as the prince is protecting her, which made their affection for each other palpable. although the FL denies her feelings for him, you can see through her facade and really feel her love for him even with their massive gap in social status (which i'll delve into later). as for my dearest, although jang-hyun's love for gil-chae was so painstakingly obvious, i never felt as if gil-chae reciprocated it. the discrepancy between number of times he has protected her vs. the number of times she has protected him is just too large to imagine gil-chae loving jang-hyun with the same intensity and depth in which he loves her. honestly, as part 2 progressed, i started to pity jang-hyun immensely for his all-consuming passion for someone who seemed like she was indebted to him rather than her being in love. i also think this inequality in their respective contributions to their relationship is made worse with the durations of both shows. TRS is 17 episodes in compared to MD's 21, which may have helped me overcome the excruciating unrequited love phase and hang on to TRS's story much more than MD's.

2) the driving obstacle toward their relationships

in the red sleeve, we've always understood why the main couple could not be together; as a concubine, the FL would lose her freedom and be entirely devoted to a man who simply cannot be entirely devoted to her. what made their story so tragic is that their circumstances are entirely out of their control; it was fate that made the FL a court lady and the ML a prince. in addition, the pay-off of the couple finally getting together was truly rewarding in that the audience finally witnesses how becoming a concubine heartbreakingly stripped the FL of her personality and charm. the regret that she feels for giving in to the prince is tangible. the warning that she has been alerting both the prince and the audience over the entire course of the drama has finally (and tragically) come to fruition.

however, for my dearest, the obstacles that inhibited their relationship was the intervention of other characters as well as a simple lack of communication. to me, rather than tragic, these roadblocks were frustrating. to prove to gil-chae that he truly truly was committed to her, jang-hyun should've told her about the dozens of pairs of floral shoes he purchased during his agonizing time in simyang. to show jang-hyun that she was in love with him, gil-chae should've cleared up that his "younger brother" literally told her that he was dead, and also that she was staying with officer gu because she had a duty to her family, not because she didn't love him. their poor communication eventually lead to misunderstandings and it was KILLING me. furthermore, i never felt as if the pay-off of jang-hyun and gil-chae getting back together was as satisfying because their entire story was soon marred with hardship that seemed if it had no end.

despite these frustrations, my dearest has been an absolute roller-coaster exploring love in its most pure, raw, and honest shapes and sizes. jang-hyun's love and devotion toward gil-chae was so admirable. and alas, despite both being sageuks, the red sleeve and my dearest are two completely separate shows with separate romances featuring separate issues of the time period. either way, i highly highly recommend my dearest to those looking for a truly epic, slow-burn love story!

(on a final note, i wish men like jang-hyun were real.)

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Both the parts' review

After watching both parts, I realized that it’s actually a well-written story. In the first part, I was irritated by Kil Chae’s character until the very end. She refused to accept that Yeon Joon loved someone else and kept interfering in his matters while disregarding Lee Jang Hyun’s emotions and sacrifices. In the end, she married another man, which frustrated me a lot.

The second part continued in flashback, just like the first. An old man in jail agreed to tell Jang Hyun’s story but wanted to know what had happened to him first. This led to another series of flashbacks, forming the core of the second season. One thing that confused me was whether the old man was actually narrating the story to someone or just recalling it in his mind. Additionally, I wasn’t sure if the events we, as viewers, watched were his narration or simply the director’s way of showing us the past.

The story seemed to have a happy ending, but it still felt incomplete. I expected it to conclude with the old man, bringing full closure to the narrative.




At the end, I want to conclude by appreciating the outstanding performances of Namkoong Min, Ahn Eun Jin, Lee Hak Joo, Lee Da In, Kim Yoon Woo, Park Kang Sub, and Kim Seo An. While the entire cast did well, they were the best. I also want to mention the actor who played the role of the Crown Prince—his performance was remarkable.

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My Dearest Part 2 ?

It’s time to let go of this drama... but not without saying: THIS DRAMA TOPS IT ALL.
From the acting, storyline, OST, musical score, cinematography, to the love line — BROOO it’s just SO GOOD. PLEASE.

🌟 The Heart of Part 2:
This part really highlighted Jang Hyun’s sacrifices — both for Joseon and for Gil Chae.
Tell me, which man loves the same woman for nine solid years?!
WHO?! The things he endured and did — for love and for his country — no one does it like him. Period. 😭

📝 Deeper Thoughts:
This drama didn’t just give us romance — it opened eyes to the brutality of war, especially for women.
Back then, women were captured, sold, or even forced into sexual slavery. It wasn't their fault. They shouldn’t be blamed or shamed for losing their chastity — yet they were. The scenes where women had to commit suicide or mutilate themselves just to avoid disgrace? Horrifying.
Meanwhile, what were the men — the scholars — doing? Just sitting, shouting at the king? Words weren't enough. This drama really showed how women had to step up, protect themselves, survive, and fight in their own way. Truly powerful. 🥲

✨ Noteworthy Episodes:
Ep 13:
The ending when Jang Hyun saw Gil Chae at the slave market… and the OST started playing 😭
His shock and rage — unforgettable.

Ep 17:
“You are all I need. Poor Gil Chae, rich Gil Chae, cheeky Gil Chae, gentle Gil Chae, Gil Chae who doesn’t love me, my beloved Gil Chae — you are enough.”
And when she asked,
“What about the Gil Chae taken by foreign intruders?”
He replied,
“I should hug her. She must be suffering. It was very painful, wasn’t it?”
I MELTED

Ep 18:
The Crown Prince really slayed here. He was willing to go against his own father — the king — to bring back the captives from Qing. RESPECT.

Ep 21 (Finale):
A happy ending 😭 We made it!!!

🎶 Noteworthy OST – Part 2:
Love Affair by 2NB — this one hit so hard. The emotions it carried in every scene? Ugh, perfection. 🤍

Final Thoughts:
This drama has officially earned its spot as one of my favorite dramas of all time. ✨
It's beautiful, painful, inspiring, and unforgettable.
“My Dearest” — thank you for the heartbreak, the healing, and the masterpiece that you are. 🌙

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