We’re right here! We’ve made it to the top! But did everybody else? “My Dearest” stated farewell with an explosive finale, giving us blood, battle, and extra tears than ever thought potential. This present has been a surprising ode to like in a time of horrific political strife, whereas illuminating how the very individuals tasked with defending civilians typically deal with them as puppets simply because they will. So who’s standing? Who’s buried within the earth? Read on to search out out!

Warning: mentions of sexual assault, suicide, and spoilers for episodes 20-21 under.

1. Gak Hwa and Jang Hyun

As predicted, King Injo’s (Kim Jong Tae’s) paranoia persists to the intense. Crown Prince So Hyun (Kim Moo Joon) is useless, however the king hasn’t stopped believing that everybody related together with his son is plotting to take his throne. He has each interpreter who served the crown prince murdered and discovers that Lee Jang Hyun (Namgoong Min) was not solely the prince’s closest aide but additionally oversaw the escapees’ return to Joseon. Jang Hyun is blindsided by the prince’s sudden demise and is arrested. And it’s the ladies who come to his rescue.

There’s no love misplaced between Yoo Gil Chae (Ahn Eun Jin) and Gak Hwa (Lee Chung Ah), however each are ready to place apart all variations if it means saving Jang Hyun. Gil Chae begs her to save lots of him, and Gak Hwa instantly sends phrase to King Injo that the Qing will solely talk by Jang Hyun. The king can’t kill Jang Hyun as deliberate and is compelled to sit down by a spherical of questioning by Gak Hwa who notes that the king killed his son’s spouse on suspicion of treason however with none proof. This lets the king know that the Qing suspect his hand in his son’s and daughter-in-law’s deaths. That menace permits the Qing to maintain the king in examine, and Gak Hwa even helps the escapees return to Joseon. It’s so unhappy as a result of now, the Qing are doing extra for the individuals of Joseon than their very own king. Gak Hwa orders Jang Hyun to return together with her and hold his promise. But he gently says that he can’t.

Gak Hwa doesn’t threaten or kill to get her method. She lastly, lastly sees what it’s to like as an alternative of to own. She wished to have Jang Hyun no matter his emotions, however loving is wanting the opposite individual’s happiness no matter her emotions. And Gak Hwa lastly loves Jang Hyun sufficient to let him go.

But there’s bother ready for him. If the king can’t kill Jang Hyun in secret, he’ll manufacture a cause for it if he has to. And because the individuals hate him, he wants a liar whom everybody will consider, just like the saintly head of students Jang Cheol (Moon Sung Geun), whom he has some critical filth on.

2. Yeon Joon and Eun Ae

We’ve seen bits and items of Nam Yeon Joon (Lee Hak Joo) becoming a member of Jang Cheol’s group of Confucian students, and he’s grown to grow to be his most trusted aide. The bother with Jang Cheol’s faculty of thought although is that it’s pacifist, sexist, classist, puritan, and calls for that the weak sacrifice themselves for the sturdy as a result of the sturdy are apparently all the time proper. It decries new thought in favor of outdated beliefs that hurt everybody however the rich. Jang Cheol is mainly operating a cult of weak males. They’re too snooty to combat, too cool to get their arms soiled and attempt to assist these damage by the invaders, and content material to sit down and do nothing. Jang Hyun’s evaluation of the students years in the past stays on level. And Kyung Eun Ae (Lee Da In), Yeon Joon’s devoted spouse, is beginning to see it.

When Yeon Joon goes off on a rant about how girls assaulted by the Qing ought to simply die (even when the Qing solely touched their naked shoulders!), Eun Ae’s in shock on the ugly individual her husband is. She bravely reveals that she was almost raped by an intruder and saved by Gil Chae. And Yeon Joon, hypocrite that he’s, shuts down. The concept that his spouse has been maintaining this secret from him for thus lengthy is in some way untenable. He doesn’t contemplate her emotions even as soon as, solely his damage pleasure. He distances himself from her and delves totally into Jang Cheol’s new orders. Only, the brand new orders are to kill all of the escapees and punish them as rebels in opposition to the throne. And it begins with Jang Hyun.

3. Jang Hyun and Jang Cheol

Yeon Joon is horrified that the identical Jang Cheol who protested the king’s homicide of escapees is now going to mass homicide them after falsely accusing them of treason. But Jang Cheol has no selection. The king has filth on his father, who falsely accused a household of treason and had them murdered. So the king desires Jang Cheol to do the identical, or he’ll reveal the reality. Under the identical Confucian beliefs Jang Cheol loves a lot, the crime would lead to him being stripped of his place as a scholar and relegated to lower-class commoner. And Jang Cheol’s one weak spot is status. Despite every part he preaches, he loves that each one the students within the nation look as much as him. So he does because the king needs.

Yeon Joon seems into Jang Hyun’s background and realizes that his trainer’s lacking son and Jang Hyun are one and the identical. Determined to make Jang Cheol see cause, he warns Jang Hyun and arranges a gathering between them. Jang Hyun reveals up prepared for battle as a result of he is aware of who he’s. He’s recognized all alongside. And we get the reality of Jang Hyun’s parentage. He’s Jang Cheol’s son however willingly deserted his household after Jang Cheol had his slave Sam Do crushed to demise. The slave’s crime? Loving Jang Hyun’s sister. At first, Jang Cheol debated on elevating the slave’s standing and permitting the connection. And Jang Hyun was so pleased with his father. But Jang Cheol found that Sam Do was the final remaining member of the family of the group Jang Cheol’s father framed. Sam Do really held no ailing will towards Jang Cheol and was very a lot in love with Jang Hyun’s sister, however Jang Cheol nonetheless had him crushed to demise. And he instructed his personal daughter to drown herself. And little Jang Hyun made a selection: to depart, reside as a slave, and stand up on the planet with out his father’s title behind him.

Jang Cheol tearfully embraces his son, at the same time as he tries to protest that he did every part for the higher good. He tells Jang Hyun to only give in to the king as a result of Confucian beliefs. What does it matter if tons of of harmless individuals die? The king’s throne have to be preserved! Jang Hyun refuses and leaves in preparation of fleeing with the captives. And Jang Cheol makes his selection.

4. Yeon Joon and Jang Hyun

It’s no secret that Yeon Joon dislikes Jang Hyun. But he doesn’t need him to die. Deep down, he is aware of that his fairly beliefs are ineffective and impractical, and it’s individuals like Jang Hyun who see the ugliness and good in each side of a battle who can really form change. Yet these pesky Confucian values elevate their head as soon as extra, and when Jang Cheol orders him to kill Jang Hyun and all of the escapees, Yeon Joon sees himself as having no selection however to agree. That’s the factor with Yeon Joon. He by no means sees himself as having a selection. He by no means takes his life in his personal arms and hides behind Confucianism and stronger girls. He’s all the time able to blame his decisions on everybody however himself. Eun Ae is horrified on the man she’s married, who’s prepared to kill aged escapees who’ve endured hell simply so he can look good earlier than the king and Jang Cheol. And Eun Ae, this wonderful girl, leaves him.

Yes! Yes! She deserves so significantly better!

Jang Hyun and Gil Chae flee to their outdated hometown of Neunggeun-ri. When Yeon Joon and his pack of troopers chase after them, Jang Hyun leads them away, promising Gil Chae that they’ll see one another once more. Ryang Eum (Kim Yoon Woo), devoted to the top, places on commoner garments, ready to combat and die for Jang Hyun, however he received’t let him. He knocks him out and vows to return for him.

Yeon Joon corners Jang Hyun and the male escapees, asking them to give up and that they’ll be tried pretty for his or her treason. But everybody, together with Yeon Joon, is aware of it’s all a lie. They combat, and we’re again the place we had been at first of this present. Jang Hyun faces off a military of his personal individuals, the identical individuals he tried so exhausting to guard from the Qing. He’s bleeding badly however fights and fights, and Yeon Joon freezes upon seeing him attempt so exhausting to go dwelling. He thinks again to Jang Cheol as soon as telling him {that a} man reveals his cruelty when he’s afraid. Jang Cheol was speaking concerning the king, however Yeon Joon lastly sees that the identical reality applies to his trainer. Jang Cheol is killing his personal out of worry for his personal place. And Yeon Joon screams on the archers to cease.

5. Jang Hyun and Gil Chae

The battle is over. The useless are many. Goo Yang Chun (Choi Moo Sung) and all of the male escapees with Jang Hyun are useless. Their our bodies had been thrown within the sea. Eunuch Pyo Eon Gyum (Yang Hyun Min) took his life after the crown prince’s demise, realizing all his blissful tales of the crown prince’s bravery had been taken by the king as indicators of his son’s treason. King Injo has a coronary heart assault and at last dies, good riddance. And Jang Hyun is gone.

Yeon Joon returns to search out that Jang Cheol has killed himself out of the guilt of falsely condemning his son to demise. He goes dwelling, and Eun Ae has left him. He’s a assassin now, responsible of terrible issues, as a result of he personally oversaw the homicide of harmless Joseon individuals. His Confucian beliefs have solely harmed, by no means saved. Gil Chae mourns Jang Hyun for years. Yeon Joon tries to kill himself. Eun Ae occurs to return on that day and saves his life. He wakes to search out Eun Ae and Gil Chae watching over him and apologizes to Gil Chae. He reveals that he by no means noticed Jang Hyun die although he was bleeding badly and didn’t discover his corpse. He’s looked for years however hasn’t. He offers Gil Chae Jang Hyun’s final recognized location, and a brokenhearted Gil Chae goes to search out Jang Hyun’s bones.

Instead, she finds information that Jang Hyun is alive. He’s been wandering the nation as a result of his reminiscence is all tousled. He remembers Gil Chae’s phrases and voice however not her face. She retraces his steps across the nation and realizes that he is likely to be again in Neunggeun-ri, remoted within the mountains, the place they as soon as swore they’d reside. And that’s proper the place she finds him. He doesn’t acknowledge her at first (a conceit that will have labored higher if we hadn’t had amnesia actually final week), however all it takes is a stroll within the sundown and for Gil Chae to tug out their rings and repeat the query he’d as soon as requested her on what she was pondering that day they met. The day she was on the swing. She tearfully says that she thought she’d meet the person she was destined to be with, and Jang Hyun’s shaken, realizing who she is. He tells her that he heard flowers blooming, and for the primary time, Jang Hyun really breaks down and sobs. They maintain one another tight, and our lovers are lastly, lastly collectively.

Wait. Wait. What occurred to Ryang Eum? As stunning and wonderful as this blissful ending is, there are a number of moments that would have been axed in favor of giving us a extra concrete ending, just like the amnesia spherical two. Is it conceivable that Yeon Joon wouldn’t have instructed Gil Chae Jang Hyun’s final recognized location for years? And poor, poor Ryang Eum. How did he get locked up in an asylum? He’s been there for at the very least 10 years at this level, solely figuring out that Jang Hyun promised to come back for him. The poor man doesn’t even know what occurred to Jang Hyun! He begs the scholar who visited him to inform him, and we don’t know if he even does! For a present that began with Ryang Eum’s asylum cell, it could have been nice to see him getting out of it on the finish!

But that apart, “My Dearest” stays probably the most beautiful drama of the 12 months in cinematography and storytelling. Was it excellent? Pretty near it. Namgoong Min turned within the 12 months’s best efficiency, and seeing him break down on the finish, this war-scarred man lastly realizing that he can reside now, was simply unimaginable. Give him all of the awards. The sheer quantity of anguish dragged at occasions, and a number of other plot threads (Ryang Eum!) had been left incomplete. But the great thing about this present was that it was greater than a love story. It was an ode to power, love, friendship, and human resilience within the worst of occasions. It confirmed the worst in each the conquerors and the conquered and critiqued the methods that stratified individuals. And if there’s one factor to remove from this drama it’s to like earnestly, fiercely, and as deeply as Jang Hyun and Gil Chae did. Not solely with one another, however with all of the individuals they touched. Because on the finish, simply as with these two, it’s all that love that saves us.

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Shalini_A is a very long time Asian-drama addict. When not watching dramas, she fangirls over Ji Sung, and spins thrillers set in more and more improbable worlds. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram, and be at liberty to ask her something!

Currently Watching:  “Moon in the Day” and “Vigilante.”
Looking Forward to: “Gyeongseong Creature,” “Ask The Stars,” “Queen of Tears,” and Ji Sung’s subsequent drama.