I think this episode is okay. The rom-com bits are always great to watch, so I forgive the lack of anything that is happening. It is obvious however, that they are building up to one final confrontation between Cho Rim and the serial killer, so all I could think of for almost the entire episode was – Kwon is going to turn up soon.

Kwon pulls his head away and rushes up to the first level to grab his bag. Before he can leave, Moo Gak appears behind him and fires a warning shot into the air.

Kwon asks if Moo Gak can let him go, and the answer is obviously no. Kwon provokes Moo Gak by admitting that he was the one who killed Moo Gak’s sister, and Moo Gak replies by firing a shot into him.

Kwon stumbles out of the house in an attempt to get away, but finds himself already facing hoards of policemen. Moo Gak checks through the bag and finds Joo Mari’s and Chun Baek Kyung’s books with the barcodes.

Kwon screams desperately for Moo Gak not to touch the books.

As Kwon gets dragged away, Yeom is sent to the hospital. While waiting for her to wake up, Moo Gak comments he doesn’t feel great even though they have caught Kwon.

Inspector Kang laments that detectives always have a heavy heart when they caught a criminal but move on to the next case anyway. Yeom wakes up and asks groggily about Kwon. Inspector Kang smiles, “You have caught him.”

I love Nam Goong Min’s desperation as usual, but it makes me wonder – does it make sense that Kwon doesn’t have a better escape plan? But of course, it could be because he never thought he would get caught.

The couple returns home after the doctor chases everyone out of the room, and even at home, Moo Gak continues to ponder, “I guess the sin doesn’t end when the criminal is arrested. The suffering of the victim continues.”Cho Rim cute-ly shuts Moo Gak up and tells him to eat, but to their surprise, Moo Gak feels full after 2 servings.

 

Cho Rim is happy for Moo Gak and notes that maybe it’s time for her memories to return.

As if she’s a prophet or as if her memories are really docile creatures that listen to her, that very night, she dreams of her parents. Moo Gak is awakened by her moans and cries, and rushes to her bedside.

He wakes her up and hugs her, and she tells him that she has remembered everything – her parents, the house on the day of accident, Kwon, the accident.

She remembers everything. Moo Gak pats her back and consoles her, “It’s okay. Just cry.”

I didn’t like the timing of this scene. I know that this entire episode is ‘useless’ in the sense of any concrete plot development, but small things like this irk me. For one, the couple themselves never fully draw the link between Cho Rim’s sight of smells and Moo Gak’s loss of senses. Therefore, it seems a little weird that the both of them are so convicted that once one recovers, the other one will recover too. If they had developed that more, then it would make sense for Cho Rim to recover all her memories once Moo Gak’s senses return. But done in this current way, it feels juvenile and slightly messy.

Kwon refuses to say anything during his interrogation, but is fully broken down when Moo Gak burns Chun’s diary (in actual fact, it’s just an empty book that they retrieved from Kwon’s library) in front of him. Most probably Yeom’s idea since this happens only after Yeom returns from the hospital.

Moo Gak threatens to burn another book, and Kwon begs Moo Gak to stop. He promises to confess everything. Pardon the screenshots, I just had to.

Moo Gak visits Cho Rim’s father and brings home a photograph of Cho Rim’s parents and her, as well as her mother’s ring. Cho Rim touches the photograph tenderly and cries as she reads the diary that her mum wrote for Kwon.

The investigation is over and now Kwon will be handed over to the Prosecutors. Before he leaves, Moo Gak wants to have some private time with him. He unlocks his handcuffs and asks Kwon to apologise to Cho Rim’s parents and his sister now, since he won’t see Kwon ever again. Kwon answers confidently that they will meet each other again and jibes that his apologies won’t make Moo Gak feel better about his guilt of being a survivor. Instead, he will tell him how he felt when he killed her sister.

Moo Gak punches Kwon at his wounded area, before punching his face for Cho Rim’s parents. The detectives stop him before he inflicts any more injuries, and Kwon comments, “I’ll be sure to pay you back.”

So much foreshadowing that it doesn’t feel like foreshadowing anymore.

Anyway, Kwon is carted off to the prosecution office, Kang is commended for his work (even by the rival inspector) and the Special Investigation Team is disbanded. Yeom apologies to Kang for her insolence, to Moo Gak for pulling him into this mess and is grateful for having met Cho Rim. She ends up crying after they give her a toast, “We love you Yeom Mi!”

Cho Rim moves back to her house, and looks through the photos of her old home which her friend had uploaded online. Moo Gak asks if she wants to visit her parents. Turns out her dad had interred her parents to Seoul so that she can visit them when she regains her memories. Moo Gak has also interred his sister to the same cemetery.

Moo Gak looks for an engagement ring. When they visit Cho Rim’s parents, she cries and tells them to rest in peace, “I’ll carry on with my life and I will visit you often.”

In his heart, Moo Gak silently promises to take good care of Cho Rim for the rest of his life. Moo Gak brings Cho Rim to meet his sister, and she apologies for coming so late. “I’m sorry…and thankful.”

Moo Gak comments, “I will let Cho Rim speak to you informally because you are younger than her, okay?”

Now that they have visited their pasts, and maybe put down some of their guilt, it’s time to move on in the present (and towards another confrontation with Kwon). Moo Gak wishes to return to the aquarium and visits his friend who has recently moved from Jeju to work at the Seoul’s aquarium. His friend praises Cho Rim for being pretty and hahahaha somehow I really like this shy-pleased look on Cho Rim and this oh-yeah look on Moo Gak.

Moo Gak comments that it will be great to have a wedding at the aquarium and Cho Rim agrees enthusiastically, “The octopus will give their blessings, and the couple will exchange sea shells.” Moo Gak has his smiley eyes and says, “It’ll be great to do it.”

 

Cho Rim mistakes his statement as an indication of really singing the song and launches right into it.

Haha. Poor Moo Gak comes up with a range of proposals – first he places balloons in the boot of his car, which would ideally float to the skies with the banner, Would you marry me, and Cho Rim will see it.

That is spoilt when he opens the boot of his car, gets caught up in his daydreams of kissing Cho Rim, and a car which slams into the boot of his car sends the balloons flying out of his reach.

(You’ve been warned. There’s lots and lots of Yoo Chun’s screenshots because his expressions are just priceless??)

His second attempt is to propose to her at the water fountain,

but is lucky enough to find from the live sacrifice of another proposal that Cho Rim hates public proposals like this.

But hey, everyone else’s reactions are so unrealistic?? The public is pointing figures at the man and the woman even starts beating up the guy for embarrassing her in public. People do that?? Anyway, Cho Rim is so amused even as Moo Gak pulls her away, “I would beat him up too.”

On a side note, I really wanna hear Yoo Chun sing in his next drama! Proper singing.

Moo Gak’s third attempt involves hiding the ring in the sand of the playground, so that when they walk by, he will pretend to tie his shoelaces and pick up the ring from the sand. That is obviously an idiotic idea, because he ends up not being able to find his ring.

Cho Rim watches grumpily as he digs around.

Watch this adorable guy almost in tears.

Before he can find the ring, his stomach rumbles and he dashes off to shit or to diarrhoea.

Finally, Cho Rim gets dragged to another park. Moo Gak borrows her perfume, dashes onto a bridge, and starts spraying the perfume into the air.

   

Cho Rim watches and her expression turns into surprise and bliss, as the words Will You Marry Me appear in the air. Now that’s the right proposal!

She puts her arms up to indicate yes, and Moo Gak dashes off the bridge to hug her. Awww.

 

He kisses her in quick pecks and she suddenly remembers something. The ring.

Moo Gak asks her where she has picked it up and she reveals that she found it while he was in the toilet. Hahaha.

He puts the ring on her and asks once again, “Will you marry me?” She nods, “Yes I will.”

I kinda like it that they do quick pecks for kissing? I don’t know…I think it fits into the cute-sy, innocent vibes that this couple gives off.

That night, Cho Rim has a nightmare that Kwon returns and injures Moo Gak badly. Moo Gak comes to her house everyday now to make breakfast for her, and assures her that it’s just a dream – the opposite of dreams come true in reality.

 

She nods, but doesn’t look fully assured.

Finally we have the bad news – the car bringing Kwon from the prison to the crime scene veered off into the Han River because of a flat tyre.

Ironically, the detectives now want him to survive because only then he can be brought to maximum justice. After five days, they have only managed to find the bodies of two policemen, and the search is called off. Kwon’s body and the other two policemen remain missing. Kang laments that although this could be Kwon’s punishment from the heavens, he feels bad for the innocent policemen.

The couple usually narrates the happy endings of everyone else in the last episode, but I guess since we are supposed to have a confrontation in the finale, this narration happens now. It’s always one of my favourite parts of any dramas heh, even if I know the ending sucks.

 

The five detectives are promoted a rank because of their good work.

Kang finally gets the daughter he wishes, after six sons. Choong Do resumes his passionate love with Shivanova. Sang Gil turns out to be the only son of a CEO, but refuses to inherit the company because he wants to continue working in the Homicide Division.

Yeom is a professor of criminology, and receives flowers from her admirers. Cho Rim returns to the troupe, where the leaders are incredulous at her humour, “At which point are we supposed to laugh??” Moo Gak quits the police force and returns to the aquarium.

Everything goes swimmingly well for the couple, who manages to buy their flat on a great discount (Moo Gak being happy with 50% and Cho Rim haggling for more). They take a video of themselves in their new apartment, inviting their friends for the wedding.

First take fails because Moo Gak’s expression is all wrong.

Second take fails because Cho Rim forgets and ends up in a full bow instead of a half bow.

Finally, they manage to get it all right in their third take. Choi Moo Gak and Oh Cho Rim are getting married! I promise to be a cute and comfortable wife. I promise to be an awesome and warm husband. Please come to our wedding and celebrate with us! 

 

I love this scene because it reminded me that being Cho Rim’s skit partner was how they started in the first place. And they are really quite cute hahaha.

It’s the day of the wedding! Yeom turns up looking quite pretty, and the detectives deck up in suits.

Choong Do teases about getting Moo Gak to do 100 push ups with Cho Rim on his back, and Cho Rim’s friend tries to get acquainted with Sang Gil, but to no avail.

 

The troupe comes next, and Moo Gak amuses everyone once more with his exaggerated speech and facial expressions. The troupe leader praises him for being a natural at this, and tells him to be a comedian if he’s tired of his married life.

It’s time to get ready. Cho Rim’s friend brings her back to the bride room where she gets her make-up touched up. Her friend leaves to check on what is happening in the main hall. Uh oh, Cho Rim’s all alone in the room now!

Choong Do leads the audience to welcome Moo Gak to the front and as the audience claps for the bride’s entry, the door to the bride’s room opens.

   

Cho Rim’s eyes widen as she takes in Kwon’s scent and she looks up. Indeed, it is Kwon, “Congratulations on your marriage, Cho Rim-sshi.”

(Random note – both look really weird in these close-ups.)

Everyone looks around awkwardly since the bride isn’t turning up and Yeom leaves to check the room.

 

She sees the messed-up room and rushes back to tell Moo Gak and the rest that the bride has disappeared. Moo Gak dashes out, calling her name desperately, “Oh Cho Rim!”

– the end –

I think honestly, this drama could have done better. I like watching happy endings of my favourite couples, so I could get by with this episode. It sounds somewhat like a good idea to have a final confrontation in the finale, since many dramas dwindle to nothing exactly because there is no more excitement in the last episode, and last 60 minutes are usually spent tying up loose ends in a very non-consequential manner. Here, there is somewhat a point to all these happy endings placed in the second last episode, because there is a serial killer out there that can threaten their happiness once and for all.

What I do have a problem with is that although this idea sounds good theoretically, I’m not very sure about its execution. How on earth are they going to make Kwon capture and torture Cho Rim, and yet have her rescued within one episode? What kind of rescue are we looking at and is it going to be satisfactory and thrilling? This could possibly be an exploration of what happens when the girl who sees smells is no longer an aid, but a victim, but I have doubts as to whether the finale is really going to be great.

Everything aside, I do love Park Yoo Chun + Shin Se Kyung. I think they make a very comfortable pairing (but it just occurred to me while typing this, that Cho Rim is 22 years old. She’s getting married at 22??). Yoo Chun has a very boy-next-door but really charming vibe which I like and Shin Se Kyung portrays an adorable, innocent but capable girl really well. I will miss them when the drama ends!

<3thoughtsramble