The IRIS members betray Sa Woo, who is shot in the crossfire during the hostage situation. During a press conference, the IRIS members attempt to assassinate the North and South Korean leaders but are eliminated. The drama ends with Hyun Jun being killed by a sniper while on the way to propose to Seung Hee.
When I read that this drama would end with a tragedy, I didn’t want to continue watching but had to for the sake of this class lol. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a kdrama with a tragic ending but wanted to know the reasoning behind why the writers chose this route for the storyline. Apparently Lee Byung Han wasn’t able to shoot IRIS 2, which is why some viewers think the writers chose to kill him off. Furthermore, in the movie version of IRIS *spoiler alert*, it is shown that Sun Hwa was the sniper who killed him and was actually a part of the IRIS organization, which totally does not make sense as to why she’d risk her life and jump in front of the bullet for him in the last episode. Some viewers even speculate the Seung Hee was a part of IRIS too, letting the organization know when her and Hyun Jun would be meeting up. The killing of a main character is usually made to invoke grief and a sense of reality but the ending of this drama was very unsatisfying for me, personally. I’d rather have a happy ending but the killing of Hyun Jun just seemed to be more of a cash grab to make more sequels and continue the storyline by figuring out who killed him.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that they show different snipers for the movie IRIS and IRIS 2 throws me off...
DeleteHyun Jun’s Second Death
ReplyDeleteSpoiler Alert: Hyun Jun dies at the end.
It is interesting to see how it is quite typical to elicit fabricated death scenes for the main character as meaningful plot. It has occurred so many times in countless dramas where viewers of any drama know that if the main character “dies” they will come back alive and the explanation to how they didn’t die is a feat in itself. This worked for the first time that Hyun Jun died. He came back with drive and purpose and his death was not all lost in vain because he came back as a more developed character. Many viewers of the drama were confused and angry about Hyun Jun’s death. But I believe that his death was quite realistic and predictable. There have been many flags raised to signal his upcoming death especially how Baek San kept iterating that Hyun Jun could be easily killed if they (his organization, IRIS) wanted to. Hyun Jun’s death proved the power and influence of IRIS. They were not going to let our hero walk away freely and unpunished after all the trouble he has caused for the organization and by touching the “forbidden fruit.” Even the powers of K-Dramaland could not save our hero from death and live happily ever after with his leading lady.
If i didn't know he was unable to shoot IRIS 2, I would believe in the powers of K-Dramaland and think that he is still alive. His death wasn't shown clearly, and it only showed him getting shot then looking at Seung Hee, but doesn't show him losing consciousness. If he was shooting IRIS 2, this could still have acted as a good suspense (? kinda not really since it'll be his second time not dying) to start off the second one.
DeleteSomething that we see in this episode and that we do not see in real life is the constant collaboration between the DPRK and the ROK. Although this is a crisis in South Korea, Sun-hwa is willing to help with the planning process in saving the hostages. Furthermore, she also takes a bullet which may have hit Hyun-jun. They are taking all these risks in hopes of a reunified Korea at the summit. However, this collaboration between the North and the South would not occur in reality due to their different ideologies. Unifying the two countries would make them choose one single way to run the country. Currently, North Korea is a socialist state which uses communism and believes in the idea of juche. South Korea is a democratic republic which allows the people to vote for their leader. Unification will see the fall of one of these countries so it doesn’t make sense that both countries agree to have this summit or willing to risk the lives of their people to help the other side. Sun-hwa should have never been shot and should be sipping on some tea back in the DPRK.
ReplyDeleteWhen Koreans meet their superiors, they show their politeness and respect. This is also an important part of Korean culture. When Koreans are interacting with their superiors, they are required to be humble and very careful. However, they become free, outgoing, and friendly especially when interacting with their equals or friends. Koreans found in big cities in most case are rude especially to visitors or strangers and are egocentric. There rarely apologize when the jostle or accidentally push other individuals in public arenas.
ReplyDeleteThis is even more random than your comment on ep. 19.
DeleteI found that the ending of this episode really disrupts the flow throughout it. As the final episode of the drama, it ended a lot of speculations and loose ends that were present throughout the drama. *Spoiler Alert* Sa Woo died in this episode, which puts the “brotherhood” storyline between him and Hyun Joon to rest. Everyone previously exposed as having affiliated with IRIS was addressed (most died, except Baek San), and the unification summit between the North and the South seemed to be on the right track. Lastly, Seung Hee and Hyun Joon seemed like they were going to have a happy ending. They were some place with a nice ocean view that seemed to be far away from the troubles in Seoul. This episode was about tying up loose ends and three minutes until the very end, it introduces a new one. Hyun Joon’s sudden and unexplained death adds suspense until after the drama is over and leaves audiences bewildered; which is consistent with the suspenseful theme of this drama. This may be one of the reasons why the writers decided to kill Hyun Joon off so late into the episode. Not only does it end the drama with a bang, but also saves them from having to address his death until IRIS 2.
ReplyDeleteAdding onto Karen's point on IRIS having a lot of power, I'm surprised Seung Hee is still alive at the end. I think that Seung Hee is a part of IRIS, and there were many scenes to prove so, such as the Jeju Island scene, the phone call in the car, her being a part of the IRIS database, and many more. Originally I thought she was kept alive after spying on the North Korean agents was because she needs to be kept alive in order to get Sa Woo into IRIS, but then I realized she was a part of IRIS. Therefore with the most recent phone call in the car, her mission was to kill the president of DPRK, but she kept trying to refuse. Eventually she ended up at the event, but ended up killing her own snipers instead, causing the whole mission to fail and all of the terrorists to die. I'm not sure if any other missions she executed were also a part of IRIS too, but near the end it starts to show that she does not agree with what IRIS does. Another reason why I think she didn't die at the end is because she is like IRIS's "daughter", in which she grew up in the organization and was with Baek San for so long, and anything she does can be forgiven or seen as a "rebellious" stage. If the drama continued after Hyun Joon's death, I think Seung Hee will either kill herself or try and take down IRIS and die with it (except I don't know if her character development made her strong enough to be able to come to her senses and take down IRIS.)
ReplyDeleteWith the drama coming to an end in episode 20, I am quite confused as to why Hyun Joon had to die in the end. The only speculation I have leads me back to Baek San's biblical reference of hyun joon's faith to be one of punishment as he ate the forbidden fruit. However, that quote by Baek san in itself is even more confusing, because where in the drama has Hyun Joon act against something that could be referenced to "eating from the forbidden tree". Anyways, I find it extremely uncomfortable to have finished a magnificent drama with such a negative ending. I was hoping that Hyun Joon was one that beat the odds, saved the country, and enjoy the rest of his life with the hottest girl he's ever seen. The man needs to enjoy life after all he's done, but no, the writer decided to throw him out. It would be interesting to find out what really is the reason, or is it just the idea that once you betray your country, you are doomed? but then the country betrayed Hyun Joon first. Noone will know why Hyun Joon really had to die.
ReplyDelete병한....
ReplyDeleteI was so proud of you guys when I realized that until ep. 15 (blog participation grades were only until ep 15 to be fair to all groups) none of you ever missed an entry, but then you started missing at the end (or posting real random nothingness like Shengjie did above). If you'd held it together a couple more episodes i would have been impressed until the very end with your hard work, teamwork, effort, etc. Still, though, I think the IRIS group did a great job overall. Quite happy.
ReplyDelete