So we’re finally here. After 8 weeks of faithfully chasing this drama, the final episode has come.
 

The episode starts with Seung Jo and Ha Ni going to the university on couple bicycles. When they were parking their bicycles, they saw He Ra who greeted them and asked if they had to make it so obvious [ couple bicycles]. Seung Jo replied that it was his mum who made them do that and that he ran away before she could force him to wear couple shirts as well.
 
He Ra was really observant and asked why Seung Jo wasn’t wearing the most important thing — the ring. Seung Jo told her that they hadn’t gone to sign the register so technically Ha Ni wasn’t his wife yet.

He Ra linked arms with Seung Jo and made a face at Ha Ni behind his back. She told Ha Ni that since the both of them weren’t legally married, she still had a chance, but we all know that she’s joking. Later, He Ra was very impressed when Seung Jo told her that Ha Ni would be trying out to get into the nurse programme because he wanted to be a doctor. " Oh Ha Ni is really impressive… She’s like a star that orbits around the sun!" She exclaimed. Seung Jo asked " Isn’t it natural for the earth to orbit around the sun?" He Ra laughed and said that she never knew Seung Jo had "macho" ideas like this. Seung Jo laughed.
 
On the other hand, Ha Ni started studying real hard in the library.
 
Christ confessed to Jong Gu but was turned down on the accounts that he liked someone else. Jong Gu told her to never turn up at the shop again and after he walked away, Christ looked down in disappointment.
 
Kyung So came to find Ha Ni to tell her about the progress that he made with He Ra. He asked Ha Ni " But Ha Ni… how can someone like someone else so much?" Ha Ni laughed and mock-punched his shoulder, saying " Sunbae! It is very possible a person can like another person that much" and Kyung So laughed because the evidence to that sentence was standing right in front of him!
 
At night, Ha Ni and Min Ah went to find Joo Ri but they found her cutting a customer’s hair in a meek and silent manner. They suspected something and waited for the customer to leave before Joo Ri filled them in. Apparently that customer used to have shoulder-length hair but had been coming into the shop every day to ask her to cut a little of his hair. Day by day, she did this until the customer’s hair was really short now. Ha Ni and Min Ah laughed and told her that " He’s coming to see you!"
 
While on the topics of crushes and boyfriends, Joo Ri told Min Ah that she would never find someone if she cooped up in her room all day drawing. Ha Ni defended her by saying that she thought Min Ah was cool. Min Ah told them that she had uploaded new cartoons and she showed the cartoons to them. They reminisced about the old times as they looked at the cartoons which depicted their high school life. The cartoons were really quite cute! They looked like the real life version of them, except… cuter! Ha Ni’s friends commented that now Ha Ni was Seung Jo’s wife and Ha Ni sighed, because technically, she’s still not his wife.
 
Seung Jo’s mother told Ha Ni that they should just do the register themselves. All they needed was 2 witnesses and the IDs. At first, Ha Ni was really apprehensive about things but after the mother persuaded her, she was in for the idea as well. I didn’t like this part though, because I don’t like how the mother can just disregard Seung Jo’s opinions like that. [Even though I know what’s going to happen later on], Seung Jo already said that they should only do it after Ha Ni changed majors, and to do something else that was sneaky and a show of simple disregard of someone else’s thoughts and feelings, made me dislike the mother AND Ha Ni a little more.
 
Ha Ni found Seung Jo’s wallet while he was bathing, but Seung Jo came into the room before she could take out the ID card. Seung Jo asked her if she was touching his wallet now, and he put the wallet under his pillow. Ha Ni saw but pretended that she didn’t see anything.
 
At night, Ha Ni kept trying to take the wallet that was under Seung Jo’s pillow and she succeeded.
 
However, the next day when Ha Ni and the mother went to the office, they were told that the marriage register was already done. They asked the lady to check again but was told that Ha Ni’s husband, Baek Seung Jo, did it already. Both Seung Jo’s mum and Ha Ni were shocked. I do have questions here– does this mean that Seung Jo had 2 witnesses and that somehow he found out what’s Ha Ni’s ID as well?
 
When they went home, Ha Ni returned the ID card to Seung Jo who told his mother and her that " I lived my life for fooling Ha Ni". He then went on to say that he knew Ha Ni was the kind to work hard and succeed when she worked towards a goal, but now Ha Ni had lost that goal. " I’m so disappointed in you" he said to her [ yeah right] but Ha Ni said that she would work hard.
 
Christ went to find Ha Ni in the university and asked if she could put in good words for her in front of Jong Gu. Did I say that I am always very amused when Christ called Jong Gu " Mr Bong"? It sounded like.. I don’t know.. things bouncing of walls bong bong bong. Right that was super random. Moving On. Christ asked Ha Ni if she knew who Jong Gu was referring to when he said that he had someone whom he liked. Ha Ni knew that it was her but told Christ that there was no such person, which caused Christ to be very happy.
 
Jong Gu’s restaurant just opened and he invited them over [ Seung Jo, He Ra etc ]. Christ suddenly told Jong Gu, in front of everyone else, that she had to return to England on Christmas Eve but if Jong Gu told her not to go, she would not go. Jong Gu was startled and told her that he had only one person in his heart and that was Ha Ni. Upon hearing that, Christ ran out of the shop and Seung Jo looked at Jong Gu with irritation.
 
Seung Jo then asked Ha Ni why she always had to get involve with other people’s matters and he told her that these two might figure out their feelings if she left them alone. He asked Ha Ni what she did together with Jong Gu that made him like that now [ still liking her after such a long time]. Ha Ni was going to tell him at first but started laughing because she realised that Seung Jo was jealous. HAHA.
 
Kyung So wanted to talk to He Ra. He had received the draft notice to be enlisted in the army and He Ra asked what this had to do with her. He Ra told Kyung So that just because she cried in front of him that day did not mean that they were on good terms or anything. Kyung So said that he knew but asked if He Ra could write him a letter when she’s really really bored. He Ra rejected his request and Kyung So got up in disappointment but that guy, he still masked his sadness and put on the " It’s okay, everything’s cool" face.
 
Ha Ni met up with Jong Gu and asked what he did not like about Christ. She reminded him that she’s married now and that Seung Jo was her family now. She told Jong Gu to sit down on the swing and just look at the sky. " That way you will realise your true feelings" she said. Jong Gu didn’t want to at first but relented and the both of them started swinging. I love swings. I love how the air rushes past your face as you got nearer and nearer towards the sky and how you fall backwards and then up and up again.<3
 
Back to Kyung So and He Ra. He Ra actually had a much better impression of Kyung So and it had been improving. As Kyung So walked away, he turned around and told her that he had a real favour to ask and that is " Do not cry alone". He Ra was quite stunned and touched. She stood up when Kyung So walked off and told him that " When I’m really bored…. I will come and visit you" Then she smiled.
 
Kyung So came to find Ha Ni and told her that he learnt a lot of things from her like how one should never be scared of failing.  He learnt how one should say what one felt " Just be honest and say how you feel.. I realise there’s no need for those plans" he told her.
 
He then told her that he had a piece of good news for him — that his friend in the nurse programme would be going to the army with him so there would be an open spot in the faculty! Ha Ni was super happy and she jumped around in joy. Previously she had worried so much because she thought she wouldn’t get in no matter how hard she studied since there was no empty spots. Now, she could have a shot at getting into the faculty.
 
The customer came again and told Joo Ri to cut his hair. Halfway through, he told her that he would be going to the army. Min Ah was shocked but she still took out the razor to shave his hair. Then she cried and hugged him from the back, saying " I will wait for you!"  
 
Ha Ni finally applied for a change of majors and she showed the paper to Seung Jo. Seung Jo commented that the test date and interview were coming near. Ha Ni begged him to practise with her both the theory and the practical.
 
So Seung Jo helped her with it! He was so cute here — he asked Ha Ni what the three requsities were to making a goal and was like " See, I even went to the trouble of giving you a goal". Ha Ni then told him that she made herself a new goal. If she succeeded in changing majors, she wanted to go on a date with him for one whole day. " We got married before we could have a proper date!" Yeah I’m glad you realise how fast your love life is moving:P
 
Then they practised CPR. I was so amused when I watched this because not long ago, I had to attend this course where they taught CPR so basically I was like HEY I KNOW THIS:DD Seung Jo asked if she was treating a healthy person or a sick person [because her compressions weren’t deep enough/not enough strength]. Ha Ni then decided to use all her strength and did compressions. I was laughing so hard here because… I don’t know! Seung Jo was just like flapping and even the mattress seemed to be moving because of how much strength she put in.
 
When Ha Ni got up, Seung Jo suddenly grabbed her and hugged her. " I’ve got a lot of things to do…." she shyly said. " This is study as well.." Seung Jo replied and they were just hugging each other when Eun Jo opened the door.
 
AHH I could hear the silent scream as the couple leapt apart. Eun Jo was annoyed and told them that they should be more considerate because there’s "going-through-adolescence" him next to their room.
 
Aww shy couple.
 
On the day of the paper examination and the interview, Ha Ni was very scared but Seung Jo’s mum gave her the calming pills. She did the paper quite easily because Seung Jo was spot-on on the kind of questions that would appear in the paper.
 
However, she wasn’t so lucky for her interview because the evil woman was there again!
 
Ha Ni did not do well during the CPR test [ I was like ahh Ha Ni you forgot this step!!] and the woman said " If this was a real person, you would have killed someone. We are not going to accept a murderer". That’s it and Ha Ni knew it as she told the family at night.
 
Seung Jo knew that Ha Ni was very disappointed and he attempted to cheer her up by saying that he really wanted to go on a date with her. " A dinner would be all right, right?" and Ha Ni was happy because even if they couldn’t go on the date, they could have dinner together. THE MAIN POINT IS Seung Jo wore the ring! I wonder if Ha Ni noticed?
 
On Christmas Eve, Ha Ni’s dad purposely told Jong Gu that Christ would be leaving Korea that day and his words left Jong Gu feeling conflicted.
 
On the same day, Ha Ni prepared to go for her date with Seung Jo but like the usual her, she was late.
 
To make things worse, she was stuck in a traffic jam.
 
Then, at that second, a motorcycle crashed into a car and the motorist was knocked down. Ha Ni was shocked and rushed down to see what happened. She wanted to help but was demoralised by the woman at the interview. Yet, she knew that if she did not give CPR in time, the motorist could die there and then.
 
With Seung Jo’s words in her head, she went through the procedure smoothly and kept working until the woman had a heartbeat again. Everyone was very amazed as the sirens of the ambulance sounded in the distance. Ha Ni was relieved.
 
Jong Gu rushed to the airport to find Christ but could not see her anywhere. He sat on a row of benches and asked himself " Just what are you doing Bong Jong Gu?" I wonder why characters love to talk to themselves?

Little did he know that Christ was just sitting behind him. Christ heard him and called his name which caused Jong Gu to turn around.
 
The motorist was saved thanks to Ha Ni’s efforts. Ha Ni suddenly remembered the date that she had set with Seung Jo and she rushed off to the meeting place but was very disappointed when she couldn’t see Seung Jo anywhere. She thought that he had left but found him waiting for her outside the cafe.
 
She rushed forward to hug him and was very happy that Seung Jo stayed to wait for her. Seung Jo patted her back as she teared/cried into his embrace.
 
Jong Gu told Christ that Ha Ni would forever be like a nail in his heart but Christ told him that if Ha Ni was one nail, she would nail in 10, 20, 100 nails all over him. Jong Gu laughed and told her that would kill him. Christ then changed her analogy to flowers. " Flowers! I would cover Mr Bong with flowers!" Jong Gu laughed again and took her luggage while inviting her to the shop to taste the new batch of cucumbers that he made.
 
Before they left, Christ gave him a kiss on the cheek and joyfully walked away.
 
Ha Ni was a little disappointed because they couldn’t go on the date anymore so Seung Jo parked his car at a place where they shouldn’t at night. Seung Jo told Ha Ni that it was all right as long as they weren’t discovered and Ha Ni was surprised to see this side of him. He laughed and told her that she’s falling deeper into the Baek Seung Jo trap as she discovered more charms about him. Ahhh Seung Jo I never knew you had this side to you as well! Seung Jo told Ha Ni that she’s his senior now because she had saved a person’s life. " You have save someone… and killed a mannequin" he said.

Ha Ni told him that the reality was very different from what she imagined. She was scared during the interview when they told her that the mannequin was "dead" but when she faced the real situation, she wasn’t scared at all. She said that she wanted to become a nurse at first solely because of Baek Seung Jo but now… she really wanted to enter the programme because it’s something amazing.  I like how in the end, they made her motives for entering that faculty more for herself and less for Seung Jo. I took it as evidence of character growth:P
 
The scene jumped to He Ra in a hot dog shop as she answered the call from Kyung So. As they talked, she laughed happily and genuinely from her heart. She told Kyung So she’s with her friends when in actual fact, she’s in the shop that sold hot dogs. Heyyy He Ra you weren’t with your friends, you were thinking of Kyung So eh??
 
And the scene draws out slowly to show the whole shop. I really like this scene because everyone else in the shop came either as couples or families. He Ra was alone but she was as happy as anyone else. It was as if Kyung So was there to accompany her as well.
 
Seung Jo’s parents had a romantic night at their house as they drank wine. They wondered why Eun Jo didn’t go out that night as they realised that it was a while ago that they had been able to spend time with each other like this.
 
The scene cuts back to the couple as they wished each other Merry Christmas. SO SWEET<3
 
Ha Ni suddenly jumped on Seung Jo again and kissed him. I tried to screenshot but everything was too dark. When Ha Ni finally let Seung Jo go, Seung Jo said that it was usually the guy who jumped on the girl and not the other way round. Ha Ni’s reply? Another bout of kissing Seung Jo and the scene ends here amidst Seung Jo’s attempts to talk through the kisses.
 
We are then showed to what all the other characters are doing. Jong Gu and Christ were happy working at the restaurant.
 
Min Ah published her book and fell in love with a man that came when she signed his copy of her book. Too bad we couldn’t see his face, I would love to find out what’s Min Ah’s tastes like!
 
The guy came back from army and Joo Ri hugged him.
 
Eun Jo rejected someone’s love letter. He’s just like a mini Seung Jo gosh! Eun Jo, the girl’s pretty cute don’t just act cool and walk away!
 
Seung Jo’s parents and Ha Ni’s dad were at some exotic looking place on the beach. I wish they found someone for Ha Ni’s dad though:P
 
He Ra visited Kyung So in the army and all the army guys got very excited at seeing this beautiful lady.
 
The scene returns to Seung Jo and Ha Ni as they kissed passionately in the car. The camara slowly draws out as they kissed and it ended with Seung Jo’s " I love you"
 
 

and thus concludes Playful Kiss

-the end-
 

AHHH so it’s the end! I was quite sad at first but brightened up considerably when I remembered that there are more Youtube episodes to come.

Of course, the scriptwriting wasn’t fantastic. It was loose at some points and didn’t build up to my expectations. At times, it shows such great potential but dwindle to nothing. Yet, what kept me going was perhaps, character building. The characterisation here was a bit rushed but relatively well done in my opinion. The acting wasn’t the best. I guess what makes Playful Kiss a big hit online was how it tries to mirror the reality and how the setting and everything else allows the audience to relate.

It is thus safe to say that I have become Kim Hyun Joong’s fan. I know that his acting wasn’t great but I will definitely check out his upcoming drama. Jung So Min made a good Ha Ni and her acting was applaudable. The other two leads made great second leads and I really like how things end up well for them in the end! To be honest, unlike the majority, it wasn’t Ha Ni who kept me watching. It was more of Seung Jo [note: not Kim Hyun Joong] and the relationship itself that made me want to continue watching this drama.

It has been a great time for me these few weeks as I recap about Playful Kiss. I had lots of fun screencapping. I got to talk to different people who only found this livejournal because of my recaps and trust me, anything else couldn’t have made me happier. I’m in love with the drama because of the couple and their great chemistry. I love every single character here, though I might not say the same for the mother. I like how this drama is more realistic and down-to-earth than any other dramas.

Playful Kiss wasn’t the best drama but it will remain as one of my favourites.

If I’m not wrong, those Youtube episodes will be airing shortly. Do give them your support. I might recap them or something, we will see how(: Till then, all Playful Kiss lovers, don’t be sad!

Do check out other reviews as well!

<3thoughtsramble
   Love is missing someone whenever you’re apart, but somehow feeling warm inside  
   because you’re close in heart.
   ~Kay Knudsen