K-dramas do the most awesome of episode ending moments. Not all episode-enders are created equal, of course, but the truly unforgettable ones imprint themselves in your brain. Sometimes your jaw drops, other times your heart threatens to jump right out of your chest cavity, and every time it turns you into a raving lunatic chafing for the next episode. What are some of your favorite episode ending moments from a drama?
Just a few episode endings that made Koala gasp:
1. In Hong Gil Dong, when Yi Nok is in the marketplace and there is smoke all around her. Chang Hwe finds her after thinking she’s been hurt, and looks up to see Gil Dong a few feet behind Yi Nok. Chang Hwe grabs Yi Nok for a hug, genuinely happy she’s not hurt, but also to keep her from seeing Gil Dong after those two have been apart for over a year. Bad Chang Hwe! But OMG so hot. Watching HGD was like watching the battle of Koala’s two guys – Kang Ji Hwan v. Jang Geun Seok.
2. In Secret Garden, when Joo Won held the unconscious Ra Im and drove into the eye of the storm. I may have HUGE issues with this drama, but Kim Eun Sook set that moment up perfectly, and Binnie brought it all home.
3. In Chuno, Un Nyun is shopping in the market when she looks up and through the flapping colorful cloth drapes, she thinks she sees Dae Gil. She looks more carefully, and her jaw drops when she realizes that man she has loved her entire life, and that she thinks has been dead for the last 10 years, is in fact not dead and right in front of her. But too bad this sighting happens right after she has just married another man. Yeah, timing sucks. Actually, the entirety of Chuno had some of the best cliffhangers I’ve ever seen, all in one drama.
4. In Beautiful Days, when Min Chul thinks that Yon Soo has left and he stands by his car with his sad sad back to the bus, and then the bus pulls away and he sees Yon Soo just standing there.
5. In 49 Days, when Ji Hyun is about to take The Great Elevator to the Sky, and then she suddenly gets two more tears to complete her three-tear quest.
6. In I Am Legend, Seol Hee is playing at a club with her band. She knows Tae Hyun is in the audience, but suddenly she stumbles during a verse and her eyes widen. Tae Hyun follows her line of sight and see Ji Wook, Seol Hee’s ex-husband, standing in the back watching her perform, an expression of tenderness in his eyes. The Rat Bastard Bus in IAL was so good it was painful to ride.
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The best cliffhanger moments indeed! ;)
I was totally into HGD ending that you mentioned above...gosh, JGS was so damn hot in that scene..and I rewinded it again and again, just to see him pulling Yuri from seeing KJH...and yes, SG is also one of the best episode ending...it was so beautiful
Drama with most cliffhangers - City Hunter! As far as I can remember as of recent.
definitely.. although they got boring towards the end
City Hunter's cliffhangers at the beginning was like - "You call this a cliffhanger?"
But it got better - :P
After episode 5 every cliffhanger of City Hunter was HEART STOPPING/HEART ATTACK...I swear CH almost took me to an early grave. I missed CH soo much.
I think City Hunter had the best cliffhangers ever as far as physical danger. But I find the emotional ones for addictive. I don't think I could ever watch a melodrama week to week.
Absolutely RIGHT!! City Hunter got the best cliffhangers!! VENUS correct..after Episode 5, all its episodes palpitates your heart w/ anticipation and you can't avoid cursing why it had to be another week of waiting..
So true, so true. City hunter was one of the recent dramas that really got the suspenseful cliff-hanger ending well.
well, how 'bout that episode in LTM when we all thought Ki Joon was getting back with his ex and not having the chance to really explain himself to Ah Jung...I remember the uproar over that one
O yeah - loved the scene Ah Jung curled up and crying after confessing to SR
me too..me too!! the cliffhanger ending of LTM ep. 8....
Ahhhh.... LTM. I think episode 8 pretty much made the drama and the ending of 8 was epic. It plagued me constantly for the entire week... So it is with much regret that the ret of the drama didn't live up to that.
City Hunter had some really good cliffhangers. I was actually screaming at my television when I thought Nana had died.
Best Love had a lot of heart-tugging cliffhangers. So much angst that pulled at my heart every week. I was never worried about how things were going to turn out the next moment, but instead I just felt SAD for everyone. Especially poor Dokko Jin. Watching a man madly in love and have it not be reciprocated is just awful.
There were some pretty good cliffhangers in You're Beautiful too. The two that stick out in my mind are when Minyo is wearing the Jackie O clothes, and she's going to out herself, but Shinwoo steps in to save the day...all while Taekyung watches. The other is when Minyo is crying her eyes out to Mother Superior and Taekyung arrives and confesses. I was squealing like a little piglet!
The EXACT episode I thought of too, the end of City Hunter ep.11
I was like "Kim Nana NOOO" T^T when her hand just went limp I had a hard time swallowing it just racked my brain entirely. For me that was one of the best cliffhangers.
Also 49Days had some good cliffhangers towards the second half: Ep 17 when she back hugged Kang-ah I was like "WHO IS IT?? Is it Ji hyun is it Yi Kyung? :O
Ep 14 when Yi Kyung answered Minho like she knew him O_o ^&%$&@ *brain officially warped*
CH did have some awesome endings (backed by great music), but the Nana dead one didn't get me at all. I mean, there was no way they would have killed the main female lead in episode 11 of a 20 ep drama.
See I really felt like City Hunter was crazy enough to do that. It was like when Rachel Dawson was killed off in Dark Knight. Killing off the female lead gives the hero another reason to keep fighting. He's got to live to not only get revenge for his parents, but for his love as well. It puts the hero in a really dark place, and then they have to figure out how to get themselves out--their lady friend isn't there to ground them.
that SG cliffhanger was one of the best, because not only was it set up perfectly, but it was so pretty to look at too!
City Hunter had some good ones too. The one I remember the most is the episode when NaNa shoots the City Hunter not knowing his real identity. Definitely one of those, "Gaaaah! I can't believe I have to wait!" moments
Well, if it's cliffhangers we're talking about, Time Between Dog and Wolf and Giant had some of the best- had me clutching at my heart waiting for the next episode to roll in. Brilliant Legacy had some of its moments too, I think around episode 18 or 19 when the mother of all evil began dropping bombs (all lies of course) about HHJ's character to grandma. That was priceless.
Ooh! I was just about to mention Time between Dog and Wolf in the comments section.
Those cliffhangers were killer. I didn't even watch the drama when it was airing and the suspense still drove me nuts!
ooo i agree with all thoes...now i wanna rewatch them
I know that Koala Did not like City hunter...however I gotta say I loved it!
The best cliffhanger on my opinion goes to City Hunter... mostly every week I was pulling my hair off, yelling and even running like crazy trying to hang on for a week until the next episode...
Totally agree with Koala on Secret Garden moment...
Ah definitely that chuno moment. And the other 3974940101140 times it ended when they were about to cross paths.
And as for 49 days my cliff hanger was that part when we all thought she was going to live but then she mutters the words "I'm going to die" I went crazy. Seriously crazy.
For the currently airing dramas, I'd say Warrior Baek Dong Soo, and The Princess' Man are tied. Those cliff hangers are like killing me. Every week the endings are becoming more intense each time. Honorable mention was episode 10 of Scent of a Woman. *sighs* v_v.
Though I'm eager for Protect the Boss, it just satisfies me to the point that my uncontrollable excitement becomes easy to tame.
Not watching WBSD, but I agree with you regarding TPM. They have had some excellent ending scenes. My favorite is ep 6, when we have the big political showdown between the fathers intercut with SY going to find SR at the monastery.
Oops! Meant WBSD! I should really edit before I click post.
And an "Amen" to the Chuno endings. Some of the best ever.
One of the endings that stuck to mind was I thnk end of episode 4 of Winter Sonata -[yup - good 'ole WS LOL!] - When Yoo Jin went to Min Hyuk's office for a meeting and she'd just picked the jigsaw off the floor and stuck it back - she turns towards the door and her expression turns from gentle curiosity, half smiling in welcome - to - do my eyes deceive me - to stunned consternation and then utter disbelief.