TooEmotional

Hey. What did you make of the ending of the show? A yay or nay? Did you like or hate it?

😂😂😂😂 I was kinda annoyed with Tae Gyeong for hunting down Seon Jae 😂😂😂. But I guess, this way, it guarantees that he remains in their lives. At least they saved us from seeing him sad and depressed in jail😂.

They didn't even have Seon Jae's Aunt talk about him in her final scene😪 . The writers were so cruel that they didn't let her know that her sister has a grandchild- makes little sense.

Tae Gyeong annoyed me in the last two episodes, to be honest. He was acting self-righteous when he and Lucia had basically stolen a company.

What's to stop the Chairman from ordering a hit on Lucia and Tae Gyeong from behind jail cells? He is basically a gangster.

The First Man

This show has made me wonder- are Mothers more important than Fathers?
The reason for Se Ri's behaviour is that she didn't have a mother nor did she know who she was. Would this have changed if the Chairman had re-married earlier on and she had someone to call, "Mom"?
Would the outcome have been different if the Chairman had raised Se Ri lovingly and paid more attention to her? Or what if Ho Se had raised Se Ri and not the Mins? Would she still feel the strong need to fill the void with violent outbursts?
On the other side, we have Mi So who was raised by a single Mom and no Dad. She was loved and well-behaved, even though, similar to Se Ri, she had one parent.

So is the reason for Se Ri's behaviour a lack of a loving parent and environment, or a desire to have have a mother?
Do children in single-parent households fare better if the parent is a mother and not a father?

I only ask because the show is very mother-centric, to the point of ignoring the father-figure. The writers didn't even allow for Se Ri to have a conversation with the Chairman after her parentage was revealed. He is the only father she has ever known. He could have assured her that nothing will change and that he still loves her. I also would not have been surprised if she started acting out again because now she has mother but does not know who her father is.

I wish the show had touched more on Fathers too.

This was a major fail on the writer's part. I think it was one of the storylines that they chose to sacrifice because of time , and the story about the two mothers and Se Ri was far bigger and far too important. I was shocked that Kyung Chae basically ignored that Seon Jae knew about switch and that Lucia was Seol Hui, and hid it from her. Since the beginning of the show, she was so sure that Seol Hui and Seon Jae had been involved in the past and it was one of the reason she never completely trusted him. And she didn't bring it up upon finding out that Lucia was Seol Hui? A major miss. That would have made for a great fight.

The reveal that he is Se Ri's Dad would have added so many other stories too:
It would have led to the Mins ousting Seon Jae and to, I think, Seon Jae eventually betraying them for Lucia and Tae Gyeong;
The writers would have needed to allow for Seon Jae and Se Ri to meet (but they couldn't even find time for Se Ri to talk to the Chairman after the truth about the switch came out so there was definitely no time for this);
Se Ri would have needed to be introduced to Ja Kyung's parents. Given how much Ja Kyung'sMom loved her sister, it was cruel of the writers to not let her know that her sister has a grandchild.

All this is to say that it is really disappointing that they swept such a major storyline under the rug. And in shows like, especially dailies, all the secrets come out.

I have to agree that it was a sad ending, mostly because there was no character growth. For a cast this big, it is really strange. Se Ri is the only character who grew but she was a child when she did what she did so that hardly counts.
Pan Sul is still a loan shark;
Ji Seop is still entitled;
Seon Jae is still selfish;
The Chairman is still unrepentant, which is to be expected of him because there should always be characters like that;
Soo Jung never changed;
Ja Kyung is still a spoilt princess; and
Kyung Chae is only repentant because Mi So was her birth daughter. She even told Mi So that she would never have done it is she knew it was Mi So. Meaning that if it was not her blood, she still would have done it. All that happened to her is that she experienced the same kind of grief that Lucia went through.

So Kyung Chae was denied an opportunity to redeem herself, to grow and change. I really wanted her to work with Se Ri to atone for what they did and for Lucia and Kyung Chae to find a way to compromise and work together and get along. I also wanted Se Ri and Kyung Chae to get their fresh start as mother and daughter, with Kyung Chae having a sound mind. I was so relieved when her psychotic break only lasted a few hours- then the writers went and did this🤦🏾‍♀️. Maybe it's Kyung Chae's comeuppance for what she did to Soo Jung's Mom- she never apologised for that. I also wanted the siblings to finally get along and for Kyung Chae to find love again in the future.
Se Ri is suffering too- Kyung Chae does not remember her 😪.

It really was a bittersweet ending- even for Lucia. She succeeded in stealing the company but she is still sad. Which makes sense because that is the nature of grief. Also, she did not succeed in changing the family and she only got an apology from Se Ri. Were the stories in the newspapers about Mi So ever changed? The Mins had to be the ones to do that, I guess.
If her goal was to appease Mi So's soul, I think the plan failed. Which is likely why we don't have another scene of her at the columbarium, asking Mi So if she is happy now.

😊 ditto.
You're welcome.
Yes- I will watch it for the first week- if it is not too heavy, I will stick with it. I will probably only start commenting after a month- I like to try to understand the direction a show is taking, and understand the characters and their motivations, before I put pen to paper- or is it keyboard to screen? 😂😂😂

I have found the Min family to be quite forgiving- the Chairman forgave his family several times, Soo jung forgave Kyung Chae, and Ji Seop has forgiven his family several times for how they have treated him over the years. So I think that Ji Seop was forgiven and he will have to bear the weight of knowing what he did to his sister. Given that Ja Kyung and Ji Seop have come to adore Se Ri, I think Se Ri forgave him.

In kdramaland, there are hardly any repercussions for baby switches. I don't think Lucia was even told who switched the babies. Seon Jae just informed her that there were two babies in the same ambulance and they were switched. So Seon Jae, Manager Gong and Kyung Chae are the only ones who know who did it.

As for the poisoning incident-I think it is a case of re-writing history. I think more half-way through the show, they changed their mind about the poisoning incident. Because, all of a sudden, Lucia was saying that she carried Se Ri full-term to 10 months and she was in labour for two days. If she had really been poisoned, would she and the baby have lasted two days, at home, alone, with no medical intervention? Was the poison weak? It looked pretty fast-acting. They don't provide any information about how she called for an ambulance. And she did not look full-term at all, the way Kyung Chae did. And they never mentioned the poisoning incident again. So I really do think that, for the sake of the story, they changed their mind about the poisoning. So Se Ri might not have been poisoned at all, which is why she has no health issues.

Also, the writers were trying to throw us off. When Lucia said Mi So had been in an incubator for three months, we all assumed it was because she was born severely premature due to the poison- so we would never even think that a baby switch had occurred. When the switch was revealed, they re-wrote history lol.

Ji Seop snapped. It's one of those once in a lifetime things, and I think it made sense. It has to do with his sense of entitlement. He has lived his entire life believing he will be the heir to Mingang and to have it taken like that, broke him. Lucia messed with not just his identity, but his money too. Being associated with Mingang is also the reason why Pan Sul and his wife agreed to his marriage to Ja Kyung. So losing Mingang means he loses their respect. On top of that, his Dad was arrested too, killing any hope for getting the company back. He needed a way of lashing out and hearing about Se Ri gave him that opportunity, and Se Ri is an easier target, since he could not get to Lucia.
On top of that, he thought Lucia was a gold digger. Kyung Chae did not tell him and Soo Jung that it was all for revenge. He and Soo Jung became casualties of a fight between their Dad and sister, and Lucia and Tae Gyeong- which I always found to be unfair. Why should they lose everything when they are not aware of anything? And I still say that Lucia stole the company. Initially, I was all for it, but looking back now, it makes less sense. The company was never her inheritance and she was never a corporate shark. But if stealing the company had been Tae Gyeong's idea from the beginning, it would have made more sense because his parents have a stake in the company. He should have become Chairman and I do think he would have at least kept Soo Jung around as director. But Tae Gyeong was never that conniving and ambitious- all he wanted was justice for his parents. The Tae Gyeong we knew would never have gone along with a plan to steal the company, because in a sense, that would make him no better than the Chairman. Sure, the tool is blackmailing the shareholders and not murder, but the result is still the same- the theft of a company. It was weird hearing him in Episode 124 when he told the Chairman that his parents' technology started Mingang and they were simply taking it back. That is the first time he said that with his own mouth, and in the penultimate episode?!!!!. It was so out of character and so contrary to his quest for justice mission. If his initial goal was to get back his parents' stake, why did he sit idly for four years doing almost nothing? There was a lack of consistency here.

Back to Ji Seop- he was in such a rage and it shocked Soo Jung, Manager Gong and Ja Kyung. They had never seen him like this so it's no surprise that they were shocked into inaction and were scared of getting hurt themselves. When a person is that enraged, they tend to have supernatural strength and there is not telling what they will do. I would honestly just run away and save myself lol. But in their defence, the ladies did try to talk him down several times. I am also glad that Tae Gyeong did not conveniently walk in to save the day.

Manager Gong would never have been punished- she did it to save Kyung Chae and I think what she did helped to save Mi So's life as well.

Yes- so many characters with no final destination and so many gaps- some very important gaps too. I think they had a lot of ideas and tried to put them all in but then realised far too late that some did not make sense. But they had to see them through somehow, even if it meant sacrificing other important story lines. They tried to overcomplicate things- they should have just stuck with simplicity.

How I would re-write the final Seon Jae scenes:

In her office, Kyung Chae tells Soo Jung and Ji Seop about Se Ri's birth mother, and Ji Seop storms off in a rage. Soo Jung follows him. Seon Jae, who is still shocked by the outcome of the shareholder meeting, sees them rush off. He simply watches as he is caught in his own thoughts. The Min family has never treated him well and Kyung Chae’s latest threat to expose his embezzlement has him thinking that it is time for a change. Over the last few weeks, he has been lamenting about his life and his goals. What is the Kim Seon Jae way that he keeps boasting about? And he keeps remembering what Lucia said about him ending up alone, and Tae Gyeong’s words that he needs to change and turn himself in. Then he also thinks of Se Ri, who looks a little like his mother, and he remembers his parents then he thinks about his aunt who really does love him. He also has a flashback to being by Se Ri’s bedside in the hospital and talking her. He was telling her how much she looked like his Mom. When the nurse asked who he was, he said he is her Dad and asks her not to tell anyone that he came by. At that moment, Se Ri started to stir then fell back asleep. Then he rushed out of the room, and gave the nurse his business card and asked her to keep him updated.
Back at Mingang, as he is contemplating his life, he sees Lucia rush off, then Kyung Chae some moments later, after they both received an SOS from the Min house. He decides to follow the ladies. When he arrives, Ji Seop is waving around a golf club, threatening to strike Se Ri. As Ji Seop raises the club, Seon Jae grabs it and punches him, shouting, “what on earth are you trying to do to my daughter?” Silence ensues as it dawns on everyone that Seon Jae is Se Ri's biological father. He helps up a shocked Se Ri, checks if she is okay, and says, “shocked aren’t you? That’s ok. Give me a call when you are ready to talk". Then he threatens Ji Seop again then he tells Lucia he wants to talk to her and Tae Gyeong. Then he leaves.

Later in the day, he meets up with Lucia and Tae Gyeong, and informs them that he will turn himself and the ledgers over to the police. At this point, Tae Gyeong would not have 'miraculously' found the ledgers. They ask him why he has changed his mind? He says he has lived selfishly his entire life and has nothing to show for it except for money in the bank. So he wants to try something new and to become a father Se Ri can be proud of. So they agree that he will turn himself over the next day. Then he goes to the Chairman’s office and looks at everything, the way he did in episode 125, and reflects on how badly he wanted to be Chairman. Then he walks out. He calls his Aunt to tell her that he is coming over. When he arrives, Ja Kyung is already there and has already spilt the beans about Se Ri. Then he informs his family that he will be going to jail for some time for his crimes. He apologises for disappointing them and asks them to welcome Se Ri.

Then he goes to the Min house and calls Se Ri to ask her to come out. He asks her if Ji Seop is behaving then he tells her that he is going to jail. He asks if she will visit him and she says she will, when she is ready. Then Kyung Chae comes out and he offers her some advice for the last time. He advises her to stop fighting with Lucia and find a way to work things out for Se Ri’s sake. He also tells her to give up on Mingang, for now, and take the time to travel with Se Ri to develop their mother-daughter relationship. She says she will visit him in jail then they part ways. As he walks away, he decides to call Lucia. He tearfully apologises for 'that day' 20 years ago and for breaking her heart. Then he thanks her for fighting to keep their child alive. He vows to become the kind of Dad to Se Ri that Seol Hui always wanted him to be.

The next day, Tae Gyeong meets him at the police station, they shake hands, and he tells Tae Gyeong that he shouldn’t get too comfortable because he will be back soon. Then he turns himself in……………………………..

Episode 125: Finale
Bittersweet Revenge, Bittersweet Ending, and Lost Potential.
The Chairman was right- that was a sham trial- they did not have enough evidence and what happened to the corrupt cop? That was a major loose end. Also, how about Mi So's bestie and the that cafe owner- an apology was owed.
How did Tae Gyeong get the ledgers from Seon Jae?

Poor Kyung Chae- but she got to prove how deeply she loves Se Ri. Se Ri had called her out for not running into the fire to rescue her, which I thought was unfair of her, but Kyung Chae made it up to her. I would have liked to see her grow as a character- walk away from Mingang, start a Mi So foundation or something, and travel with Se Ri so they can develop their mother-daughter relationship.

What happened to Soo Jung? Did the writers forget about her? Did Stella go back to the US? How is Mingang?

No final Pan Sul, wifey and Tae Gyeong meeting?

I am glad they mentioned the Mi So snack bar. It would have been nice if Lucia finally wore the dress that Mi So got for her. The video from Mi So was beautiful. So was Tae Gyeong's proposal- but no kiss? I was so sure all kissing was reserved for him.

When Ja Kyung referred to Se Ri as “our Se Ri”- I immediately assumed she and her parents knew that they were related because it is the first time she has referred to Se Ri like that. But then Pan Sul said there is no blood relation. So I guess that is a secret that will remain with Lucia, Tae Gyeong, Stella, Tae Joo and Seon Jae. It's sad because Se Ri has a whole other family she does not know about and Pan Sul's wife would have been so happy to know about her- her sister's grandchild. She might have even noticed similarities between Se Ri and her sister. But at least Ja Kyung's fondness of Se Ri means that Se Ri is still very much involved with the Min family, which is great.
So Pan Sul and his wife never found out that Lucia is the girl Seon Jae wanted to marry twenty years ago?

If Se Ri really thought about it, she could easily figure out who her Dad is- especially if she remembers the 'family dinner' and that Seon Jae said that they are both left-handed. The writers could have had such great comedic scenes with that- from Se Ri's disdain upon figuring it out to her calling out Seon Jae to ask him if he is her father. He would squirm and try to deny it but they are too alike to ignore. And they would both be frustrated, and he would tell her to never call him, "Dad", but they would eventually grow to accept and adore each other.

Why didn't Stella and Tae Gyeong have also had a sit down with the Chairman?
We finally got an explanation of what the title for the show means- the rich and powerful are the sun and Lucia gobbled them up lol.

The show ended with the core family- Lucia, Kyung Chae, Manager Gong and Se Ri. Kyung Chae is even referring to Lucia as, "unnie", meaning big sister. It would have been even better if Kyung Chae was of sound mind but I love that Se Ri is looking after her and she has accepted her as her mother.

Overall- I enjoyed this show. It consumed me. The cast did an incredible job. And The Se Ri situation was handled really well.

I am sad that I did not get my Tae Joo and Yeon Ah romance.

My major issue with the writers is how they handled Seon Jae. The jail part is fine because he did embezzle from the company and that jail time was earned. But they had set a foundation for character development for him but failed to develop his character in the end. They planted the seeds here and there by showing us snippets of his humanity. They were clearly playing around with the idea of a redemption arc for him, but in the end, I think they ran out of time so they opted for the easiest conclusion, and the future is up to our imagination. The Se Ri-Kyung Chae-Lucia stuff was too important and they could not gloss over it. I think a lot of storylines and scenes were killed because of that.

So, to appease my disappointment, I have re-written Seon-Jae' scenes in the last two episodes. Posting below.

Episode 124:
Greatest scene: On the roof, when Kyung Chae is begging Mi So to leave her alone and she tells Lucia that Mi So is like a vengeful spirit to her. Then she explains that she and Lucia can never be the same because she never got to hold Mi So or look into her eyes. She never got to hear Mi So or Se Ri call her "Mom" the way Lucia has. Amazing scene.

Another awesome scene: When Kyung Chae sees her Dad and he asks why she has such a long face- she tearfully mumbles, “Dad”. Even with all their fighting, the love runs deep and even the strongest of people, simply need their Dad to just listen. That was really touching. And the speech the Chairman gave to her about how her daughter’s blood is running down Mingang's walls and she should not allow Lucia to steal it. Great speech. Quite motivational. Even I was ready to fight Lucia lol.

I also like that the Chairman still accepted Se Ri as Kyung Chae's daughter. It's sad that we didn't get to have a conversation between Se Ri and the Chairman. She is the only Dad she has ever known and she adores him.

Some funny statements:
Ja Kyung to the Chairman: "Your paralysed mouth is back in action".

Seon Jae to the one of the shareholders: "I guess because they are twins, they are double the trouble".
I will miss Seon Jae's quips.

So all the shareholders suddenly have morals and want their kids to pay for their crimes? That is wishful thinking. I can't believe Soo Jung's bestie backstabbed her.

Not the greatest. Which parts annoyed you?

I enjoyed it- not the best ending but I enjoyed most of everything else.
I have watched some way worse shows so this is far above average.
They didn't utilise all their actors adequately and they had potential to do a lot more. At the same time, while it was 125 episodes, they still had so much more story to tell. I think they did their best with the time they had.

Seon Jae still has to pay for embezzling funds so I am guessing he was taken to the police station after a citizen arrest by Tae Gyeong and Tae Joo.
I wish the writers had worked on developing his character. There was potential there. So there was only character development for one character in the end- Se Ri.
Maybe they could have developed Kyung Chae as well, but they opted to regress her mental capacity.

I just saw unsubbed
1. Chairman in jail;
2. Seon Jae was hunted down by Tae Gyeong and Tae Joo and I guess taken to the police station;
3. Ja Kyung and Ji Seop are living with Pan Sul and wifey; Ja Kyung is pregnant- I guess being rich was hindering their procreation
4. Manager Gong is taking care of Kyung Chae. I am not sure if Se Ri is living with them or with Lucia.
5. Not sure about Soo Jung- will have to watch with subs to hear.

She knows- she just acknowledged that Kyung Chae is her Mom too.

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Two mothers grieving for the same child........
Kyung Chae's pain is painful. Still wiping away tears- did I cry this much when Lucia was grieving for Mi So. Maybe even more- but this one hurts so much because Kyung Chae only met Mi So when she gave birth to her so she has no other memories to fall back on. At least Lucia has a lot of memories. I am glad they showed Mi So again to remind us why this journey started.

I have to applaud Lucia's maturity- I was so happy when she told Se Ri that nothing has to change and she is no different from the Mom who raised her. She also told her that both she and Kyung Chae raised their daughters with so much love❤. That was such a beautiful conversation. Se Ri has accepted that Kyung Chae is her Mom and I hope they get that fresh start that Se Ri mentioned while she was pretending to be Mi So. They deserve that. Maybe it's time for Kyung Chae to let go of Mingang- she sacrificed a lot just take it over- her relationship with Ho Se and her mother-daughter relationship with Se Ri.

Se Ri also showed maturity when she realised she had to go after Kyung Chae before she did something drastic.

As for the company, now that we are here, Lucia taking over the company does not make much sense. Her goal was to punish the Chairman, Kyung Chae and Se Ri. Why should Soo Jung and Ji Seop be punished too- they were not involved with the Mi So incident nor do they know that Mi So committed suicide there. They would not have cared, but they are not involved, at all.
Secondly, it really does feel like Lucia is stealing the company- yes, Tae Gyeong's parents' technology was was used to start the company but the Mins grew it. If the company was Lucia's or Tae Gyeong's- and they had been kicked out and were trying to get back in, that would be a different story entirely. But this is not the case. Maybe if it was Tae Gyeong trying to steal the company, that would make more sense. But Lucia....it does not make much sense. Also, Tae Gyeong has not shown any interest in running the company so who will run it? I think Lucia will go back to running a small food store after this- that was her happy place. She had named the store after Mi So. Maybe now she is strong enough to re-open it.
Thirdly, stealing a company from someone who has not committed many villainous acts over the course of the show, has been a victim of multiple kidnappings, and who is now currently in a wheelchair, after a stroke, is not as fun as stealing from someone who has been ruthless for the entire show.

It will be interesting to see how they end this.
I can't wait to see Yeon Ah and Tae Joo again.

💯correct. It really was the only way.
Now it remains to be seen if this will in fact change her. Hopefully, she can now empathize with Lucia and understand why Lucia has gone to such lengths for revenge.
I also hope she will thank Lucia for raising Mi So with so much love.