Frings

For sure, pseudonyms/stage names are different from a true (legal) name change - I was talking about the latter only, but you make a good point in bringing it up!

Tbh Yurim herself might not have changed her name legally as well - though given how unrealistic it is that she went to Russia in 2020 and was naturalized by 2021, I wouldn't expect this part to be too real. :P

No apology required, I also struggle to leave my comments short when it comes to this show LOL

In this case it might be the rare case that I reply more briefly because I just agree with what you said completely.

And it's an ode to the writers that we can imagine these different outcomes for the main characters as realistic, but not frustratingly baseless/vague. The way we are looking at it is still rooted in the development of the characters thus far and imagining them being hit by reality in the way that people, who are as multi-faceted as they come, can: in infinite ways influenced by who we are. In shows with lesser writing, people would be attached to one or maybe two outcomes based on a limited character definition/personality.

Dang, I'm looking forward to next week but sad that it'll be the end of seeing what else the writers would have in store. :'(

Yeah, I'm still confused too... also because MC does not look 15, though that might be because we've spent all season watching grown ass adults playing teenagers hahaha

Do you remember when it is that MC's age is mentioned? I genuinely don't recall it, even tried skipping back a bit but couldn't find it...

Bahaha yeah, for the seconds that it was plausible I quite enjoyed the notion! I can make a bunch of theories in it being about Yurim, but I doubt it would be any of them hahaha. There's also the factor that maybe they're cheeky and using 2521 in international age, though I can imagine people rioting if so after all the speculation lol

To be fair, she changed only her first name to a Russian one hahah. In Korea, changing your last name is quite the big deal given the attachment to bloodlines and family heritage (also one of the reasons why adoption is still unfortunately way lower there than in other countries of the same development level).

Good point, I think they'd definitely be remiss to not address it since it's such a big part of his character.

Ohhh you're right, I was thinking about it because of the assumption that maybe she had MinChae when she was 26, which would make 25 being her last medal make sense - also since 21 would be her first Olympic Games.

No no sorry, I meant Heedo's medals!

Reading the comments below and remembering what HD said to YR in this episode about Madrid, a thought just came to me:

What if 2521 is the ages Heedo got her first and last Olympic medals on? 🤔

I think not only it wouldn't be a story, it wouldn't be realistic, right? I can't think of a single person who can say they've achieved and maintaned that perfect balance hahah. I think we all have our hangups and traumas no matter how old or mature we are - and these are very young adults still. To me Heedo has the right to have the more restrictive boundary that she has, especially considering the trauma of her father's death. And we all falter sometimes - Yijin himself has had the whole plot point about boundaries, desires, and faltering.

Very well said, I couldn't agree more.

I also really appreciated how they tackled Yijin's struggle - that alongside Yurim's own hard choice and sacrifice (and her family's) was a two-time punch. I could relate a lot to both of them, and it presented such interesting and in-character developments emotionally and dilemmas for everyone as they age, Heedo included.

The show tackles youth so well - it's rare to see teenagers be actually well and realistically written, and now they're doing the same with early adulthood... Ughh my heart!

We didn't see the other kids take an issue with Yijin's duties, though? Yurim herself encouraged him and said that he had to do it. The reaction shot for the friends for me seemed moreso because they knew what was coming for Yurim, especially given the closing line of Yijin's report about Korean citizens being disappointed on her.

Heedo's dilemma about it is entirely different however. She has lived a life full of resentment in looking at her mother's job being picked over herself and her family over and over, and eventually having her own mother deliver the news that gave Heedo such a hard time when she won her first medal. We saw how much Heedo values Yurim and the people she cares about (even so much as winning them the team tournament after saying that they're the reason she competes), and I feel having Yijin needing to report on Yurim was better than having him needing to report Heedo: in a way, it shows Heedo what Yijin is like as a person rather than as someone who loves Heedo in a special way. And what she saw she didn't like. To her it seems to mean that he also picked reporting over Yurim's feelings, and over his relationship with Yurim - and that is something that she can't get behind. She might have gotten closer to her mother, but I doubt she has forgotten or fully forgiven her for not picking her over her job (in HD's eyes).
Her mom and the coach's reactions are also borne from their personal biases; though a big difference in what happened there is that it seems Heedo's mother did not actually reach out to Coach to learn her side/the truth, nor apologize, whereas Yijin went to Yurim.

As for the public's perception or issues about reporters, IMO it's a (potential?) conflict of interests. Journalists are supposedly meant to be neutral (though I don't personally believe in neutral journalism lol, so emphasis on supposedly). Consider that against the fact that Yijin made the documentary that eventually changed the public's perception about Heedo, as well as the fact that any exclusive reports he'd get would come from being intimate with her (instead of "just" being "well connected"). It could be an issue for UBS at the very least for sure if it came out (noting that for Heedo's mom, she even kept it a secret that Heedo was her daughter). I guess if he no longer was involved in reporting (especially for sports) then I reckon it'd be less of a problem? But anything he covered in regards to her would be put under scrutiny and potentially misrepresented, which could be harmful to both their careers.

That all being said, your question might still be answered differently by the writers - who knows, maybe they are together after resolving this conflict, and proving Heedo's mother and the coach wrong.

For real, it was so good... and HD being YR's safe place to finally break down in lieu of diving... aaaaaaaaaa and no match measuring up to fencing against YR for HD even years later... AAAA now I'm seriously wondering what happens with Yurim in the future as well

Tbh it does feel like an intentional misdirect, plus the entire time that dialogue was happening it felt very weird to have happen on broadcast, even moreso if she was married to someone else (they're clearly talking kinda intimately despite his attempted misdirect of her being his first reporting athlete). Who knows with these writers though!

everyone is talking about baekdo while i just spent the last 45 mins smiling and crying at heedo and yurim's love story

jesus this show!!!

i haven't finished the latest yet, in the middle of watching but my godddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd i love go yurimmmmmmmmm

I'm with you, I'm quite fond of stories that celebrate the value of relationships (in general, not romantically only) that don't last forever. Life is made of so many chapters, and just because most chapters end before the end of the full story doesn't mean they lose value or meaning; on the contrary, given that without those you'd never get a journey worth going through in the first place.

For another example that isn't about YJ/HD: I kind of love the contrast of teenage HeeDo being like "this is the absolute best day of my life" then grown up HeeDo being like "hmm wait... what day?" because while for some people it detracted from what that day meant, for me it was an ode to youth and truly living those experiences in the moment, knowing how much that meant to the you of the moment, and showing just how much more life and joy you still have to live ahead. Maybe grown up HeeDo's happiest day in life now is, I dunno, the first time her daughter says "mommy" - does that detract from the joy of that day in the past? Nah.

Back to YJ/HD though, I think that for them to not end up together and for their time together to still mean so much to HeeDo would be lovely. Some of the most valuable people you meet in life might well not be with you for that long for whatever reason, but damn can their impact change your life forever. To equate the value of their relationship to only being there if they end up romantically together forever is losing out on a lot that the show spent ages building - and maybe similarly to you, I feel like the writers would have to work very hard to make that type of ending not feel hollow given the themes they've spent so much time building.

I think our Heedo/Yurim crew is mostly found on twitter, not so much here nor on reddit.

Subbed Episode 0:
https://twitter.com/annyeong7822/status/1507049399654174721

WELP just saw this and the pictures and know I'm 100% going to cry