Welcome to the Open Thread, everyone! Gosh, can you believe that we’re already at the end?? 🥲 It’s been such a good time, rewatching this show; thank you for joining me on the journey! ❤️
SOME IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS, before we begin:
1. There’s no Spoiler Zone this week, since this is the final two episodes of the show.
2. Our next Wednesday group watch will be of Heard It Through The Grapevine, which will start on 4 May 2022.
I will make an announcement with all the relevant details, next Wednesday, 27 April 2022.
Without further ado, here are my reactions to this set of episodes; have fun in the Open Thread, everyone! ❤️
My thoughts
Episode 19
I find that I tend to be wary of penultimate episodes, because so many dramas end up messing it up, as they try to amp up the excitement and dramatic tension, to usher us into the ending.
Because it’s been so long since I last watched Healer, I honestly didn’t know what to expect, coming into this penultimate episode.
I’m so pleased to say that this turned out to be a lot more solid and satisfying than I’d imagined. This, even though I already have a high opinion of Show, overall. That’s pretty impressive.
For a start, I was pretty horrified that our baddies successfully get Healer on camera, and even manage to coerce Jung Hoo into admitting to a murder that he didn’t commit – all by threatening him with the safety of first Moon Ho, and then Young Shin.
I have to admit, though, that their plan is very shrewd, and I also have to admit to feeling reluctantly impressed, that their plan actually works.
Guh. These people are horrible.
Elder looks so benign, even as he basically blackmails Jung Hoo into working for him.
Moon Sik is kinda worse, in my books, because the person he’s manipulating and using for his own agenda, is his own brother. And he just keeps on smiling through it all, even though he can totally see that Moon Ho is very upset.
He reminds me of an indulgent parent, who’s smiling at his child’s peevishness, because he knows that the child will grow up to see the error of his ways, and realize that Dad had been right all along.
Except in this case, he’s not Moon Ho’s father, and he’s the one who’s delusional about how right he is. 🙄
I’m so relieved that Young Shin’s ok – that scene where Secretary Oh is holding her hostage, was so stressful to watch! – and that Jung Hoo gets to her relatively soon.
The way Jung Hoo and Young Shin cleave to each other, the moment they set eyes on each other, so full of relief, is moving to behold. After all that stress, this feels like a sweet respite, even though Jung Hoo’s technically still in trouble.
It’s so sweet, to see how worried Jung Hoo is, for Young Shin’s safety. The way he keeps checking, to make sure she’s not hurt, and wasn’t manhandled, is so tender, and I do love how searching his gaze is, as he looks at her.
On another note, I’m so glad that Jung Hoo doesn’t do the noble idiot thing and attempt to withhold information from Young Shin. Instead, he tells her everything, including how he’d made the false confession, and how Elder’s threatening him with it.
Ahh. It sounds simple, but this kind of forthright honesty between couples, particularly in times of danger, isn’t as common as you’d think, in Dramaland.
I love that Jung Hoo and Young Shin talk about it so plainly, and I love that Young Shin is immediately with Jung Hoo, on not giving in to Elder’s demands, even if it means a dangerous fight ahead.
Plus, it’s just like her, to want to fight alongside Jung Hoo, even though it means being in danger. I’m glad though, that Jung Hoo dissuades her from it. After seeing how Young Shin’s safety can be used against Jung Hoo, it does seem like the wiser idea, for her to stay out of it.
It is so heartachey, though, as Young Shin realizes that she won’t be able to even see Jung Hoo for a while, since he’s going off the grid to deal with the situation with Elder.
I know this is partly her wanting to see him because she knows she’ll miss him, but I also get the sense that this is coming from a place of worry.
Young Shin’s concerned for Jung Hoo, because he’s going to be in a dangerous situation, and not being able to contact him, means not knowing whether he’s ok. I can imagine how hard that would be.
Over at Moon Sik’s house, again, we see how delusional Moon Sik is, the way he thinks that Jung Hoo being noticed by Elder, is a great opportunity, rather than a great danger.
I’m glad that Myung Hee’s tapped his study, because this turns out to be the way she learns that Ji An’s alive, and that Moon Sik had lied to her about Ji An’s death.
Gosh, that must be so horrible for her. I’d honestly rather that Moon Ho had told her, earlier. That would have been a less horrible way to find out, for sure.
The breakfast scene the next morning, when Myung Hee tells Moon Sik that she’s leaving to look for Ji An, is so masterfully delivered by Do Ji Won.
Myung Hee’s got such complicated feelings towards Moon Sik. He’s the one who had been there for her, when she’d had no one, and nowhere to go. He’d literally saved her.
And yet, he’s also the one who had lied to her about Ji An’s death, thus inflicting the greatest emotional wound on her, as well.
Do Ji Won’s delivery of Myung Hee’s response to Moon Sik, as she lays all of this out, is so wonderfully complex and so elegantly profound. So much gratitude, giving way to such a deep sense of betrayal.
Oof. It’s hard to imagine how Myung Hee must feel, but Do Ji Won’s delivery gives us a very good flavor for it, I think.
In the meantime, I have to admit that it’s pretty cool to see Jung Hoo in Healer mode again, as he goes about collecting the fingerprints of all the guys working for Manager Ahn.
It wasn’t until this point, that I realize it’s been a while since we’ve seen Jung Hoo don his Healer wings, and I got a thrill from him slipping in and out of places unnoticed, while getting all the information he needs.
At the same time, it’s so poignant to see Jung Hoo and Young Shin being separated, and working to deal with the isolation, in their own ways.
Young Shin looking out her window, on the off-chance that Jung Hoo’s hanging around her home; Jung Hoo hiding out at an internet cafe, and watching Young Shin’s reporting videos on Some Day; there’s so much sweet angst here.
Because both Young Shin and Myung Hee are going through a hard time, I found it extra nice, to see them get to spend a bit of time together, when Moon Ho brings Myung Hee in to Some Day, for an interview.
That scene, where Young Shin tells Myung Hee, so animatedly, all about “her man” fighting against Elder, and Myung Hee listening so intently, is so, so lovely and heartwarming.
THE FEELS, y’all. 🥰🥰🥰
Augh. The only thing that would’ve made it better, was if Myung Hee knew this was Ji An who was telling her all about “her man.”
On a completely different note, I am quite tickled to realize that Detective Yoon kinda-sorta-maybe-definitely has a crush on Ahjumma. HAHA.
I don’t know how I managed to miss this on my first two watches – I was probably preoccupied with our OTP, that’s what – but this was a new discovery for me, this time around.
It’s in the little things, like how Detective Yoon is so pleased to see that burner phone that Ahjumma’s left for him, that he kisses it briefly, and smiles this dorky shy, very pleased smile, like a teenager who’s just managed to score the phone number of his crush.
GOSH, like seriously, HOW DID I MISS THIS BEFORE?? I love it, in case that wasn’t clear. 😂😂
That said, I was really quite nervous about Manager Ahn and his team getting hold of Ahjumma’s location, and racing over there to get her. I’m just so, SO relieved that Jung Hoo manages to catch wind of it, and gets there in the nick of time, to save her.
It was still very poignant, though, to watch Ahjumma pack her things to get out of there. From what I can tell, this had been her home; she ate, slept and worked there, all the flippin’ time. The way she looks at the kids’ clothes that she’d knitted and set aside, is also so full of pathos.
Guh. It feels like Ahjumma’s leaving her life behind, as she prepares to run away. 😭
Still, better to leave your life behind, than get caught in a dark trap set by bad guys, so I’m just glad that Ahjumma’s ok.
The silver lining to this incident, is that Jung Hoo and Ahjumma finally meet face to face. Ahhh!! This is almost as exciting as Jung Hoo and Young Shin properly meeting face to face, for the first time.
I love Jung Hoo’s expression of curious wonder, and I love the fact that he just can’t stop himself from staring at Ahjumma, now that he’s got her in front of him. And, the way he laughs to himself, is kinda great; it makes me feel like he’s happy to see Ahjumma, finally. 😁
I’m so intrigued by the way Jung Hoo asks Ahjumma if she’d like to do something fun, after talking about how he’s tired of fighting against the minions that “they” hire.
And then we cut to Jung Hoo, Young Shin, Moon Ho AND Ahjumma, all fired up and looking ready to rock and roll.
Ahhh! It looks like we’re heading into our final showdown, and it promises to be badass AND exciting.
Bring it on, Show! But also, do you really have to end..? 🥲
Episode 20
All in all, I’d say that while I didn’t love everything about the finale, Show does give us an ending that’s pretty solid, when everything’s said and done.
And when I say that I didn’t love everything about the finale, I’m being a little nitpicky, really, because Show does pretty darn well – as long as you remember that this one is best digested with a manhwa lens on.
That manhwa lens comes in very handy, to deal with any stretches in logic, and any required suspension of disbelief, to go with. And, because I love this show so much, I’m more than happy to lean into the manhwa lens all over again, to get maximum satisfaction, from this finale.
For a start, I am very much entertained by the scene where Manager Ahn’s men try to ambush and intimidate Young Shin, and Jung Hoo swoops in, in full Healer mode, and basically kicks those guys to the curb, all while trying to provide a nice explanation to Dad and Ahjusshi, who are tied up, and looking on.
Their shocked faces tickle me a great deal, as I imagine their previous impressions and opinions of Bong Soo being a weakling who can’t protect Young Shin, come crumbling down to the ground. 😁
Tee hee hee. It’s so great. And I feel so vindicated, on Jung Hoo’s behalf!
Also, I can practically see the gears in Dad’s brain churning, as he tries to piece everything together in his head in a way that makes sense. 😆
I also love the idea of Moon Ho, Jung Hoo, Young Shin and Ahjumma joining forces, to work as a team.
Ahhh! Just the idea of this hodgepodge team, working in harmony, each contributing their unique skills and talents towards a common goal, pleases me greatly. 🤩
I also love the secondary idea that comes to the fore, that as a team, these people help and protect one another. Like how Ahjumma and her team prevent Moon Ho from being caught in that trap, where he’s photographed in a compromising position with a minor.
And, it’s also touching, that when their plan to find the real person responsible for Park Dong Chul’s murder fails, Young Shin is quick to volunteer to run away with Jung Hoo, if all their other efforts to go after Elder fail.
Aw. Her sincerity about this is so sweet, especially since she is cognizant of the fact that this option would entail her leaving behind all the other people whom she holds dear.
It’s not that she wants to; it’s that, it all boils down to the fact that Jung Hoo is the most important person to her.
One of the key things I was a little dissatisfied with, in this finale, is the fact that we don’t get to see Myung Hee receive the news from Moon Ho, that Ji An is alive, and that Young Shin is indeed Ji An.
After all that build-up towards what feels like a key plot point, it feels a bit like a cheap move, that this reveal happens off-screen.
Sure, we do get a wordless happy reunion, complete with smiles and tears, but.. I guess I wanted more, from this arc.
I wanted to see Myung Hee receive the news, and process the news, and I wanted to see more than a silent reunion. I wanted to hear what Myung Hee and Young Shin had to say to each other, now that they’ve finally found each other again.
I do love, though, that we get to see Dad showing Myung Hee all of Young Shin’s photos, over the years, and talking through each one. That was sweet. That shared love for Young Shin that draws these two strangers together so swiftly, is truly moving to witness.
I’m also a little dissatisfied that Moon Sik isn’t directly implicated in our team’s final takedown of the baddies. I suppose I can infer that Moon Sik would be implicated during investigations, though.
I did find that scene, where Jung Hoo goes to seek Moon Sik out, and Moon Sik drunkenly identifies himself as Gil Han, very telling. It makes me think that all these years, he’s wanted to be Gil Han, to Myung Hee – when that’s the one thing he can’t be.
I suppose this is his escapist fantasy, that he’s really Gil Han after all. It’s pretty sad, come to think of it, that his fantasy, is to be someone else, other than himself, even though the world at large looks upon him as a highly successful man.
The entire Plan B mission, which turns out to be an undertaking to incriminate Elder, while faking Jung Hoo’s death, has a heist-like flavor to it, and I think, is best digested with a manhwa lens on.
That makes everything land a lot better, particularly in terms of how everything conveniently falls into place, exactly as our team needs it to.
And of course, there’s the thing where Jung Hoo’s right there, alive, but yet he’s reported as dead.
And there’s that other thing, where Ahjumma doctoring past files, to replace Jung Hoo’s face with the real Park Bong Soo’s face, conveniently erases everyone’s memories of these documents looking different, in the past.
The manhwa lens helps with all of that, to smooth over these little humps and bumps, that an over-analytical lens would find troubling.
Am I a little miffed at Show for leading us to believe for a hot minute, that Jung Hoo’s died? Yes, for sure.
Am I more than mollified, though, that Show reveals quickly enough, that it had all been a ruse, and that Jung Hoo not only comes out of this alive, but no longer with murder charges against him? Definitely yes as well.
Plus, I’m just really happy and buzzed, to see Young Shin and Jung Hoo, continuing to live the reporter life, after all of this blows over, with Young Shin being the one to front the interviews, and Jung Hoo being her cameraman and photographer.
Aw. That feels quite fitting, doesn’t it, that Jung Hoo’s following in his father’s footsteps, just like Young Shin’s following in her mother’s footsteps? 🤩
And most of all, how very lovely, that they are just.. happy together, now. They’re no longer wrestling with unknown ghosts from the past, nor are they dealing with bad people who want to get rid of them because of their ties to an inconvenient past.
They’re free to live, to love, and to be, and I love that.
Last but not least, it makes me inexplicably happy, to see that Jung Hoo still likes to hang out in high places – but the difference is, he doesn’t hang out there alone anymore, because now he’s got Young Shin with him.
Ahhhh. The feeeels. So lovely. 😍😍
“Oh my love.. I’m all yours.. And there will never be another one ’cause I’m eternally yours..” ❤️