Twenty Five, Twenty One Signs Off Breaking 11% Ratings with Frustrated Viewer Reception and Forecasting Love and Weather Gets Past 7% with Mellow Satisfying Ending

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• I am so torn on the ending. It’s bittersweet and realistic but I really can’t help but think that this drama had so much potential to be one of the best if they cut out all the present day scenes and give Heedo and Yijin and happy ending. They had such a strong relationship that as a viewer, I felt so hurt that they broke up and I think they could have worked out. Anyways, I still love the drama and all the actors really made the characters shine. Hope they all get the recognition they deserve.

  • Curl, I agree with you.

• I don't have issue with the end but more about the execution of the story.

  For FLAW, 7% ratings were way too high for a poor drama like this.

• I can accept the ending because very few first loves end with a HEA.

  To be honest I could already see the cracks in their relationship even before he went to New York. It's all there plain and simple. Being late on dates, later becoming unable to even come at all.

  For someone like NHD who had lost her dad at a young age, and with her mom's work had become too time consuming that she was barely seen at home. I am pretty sure she would want a bf who is more like Jiwoong. Someone who would be there for her. She did try to adjust, she did try to be patient but for someone who is head over heels for her man wouldn't be satisfied with merely just seeing him on the screen. She isn't his fan, she is his gf. She couldn't reach him emotionally anymore. She couldn't cheer him up like she did before in the past. She finally know what she wanted. And she decided to break up.

  And she was right he definitely needed therapy from his depression. Lots of it.

  They could have worked it out since he returned to Korea years later but I don't think HD wants a husband who would like how her mom was.

  • I have to agree with all your points

    I thought he was selfish a little by asking
    “Is there no room for you to understand me”

    I get why she said those harsh words
    Even me would have shouted
    “What about me?”
    Sorry guys, their relationship was not healthy at all
    It was not even healthy before he went to New York
    And heedo herself said that
    I get her, it was her resolve to break up
    He would have gone for either way
    And that’s the problem - you have to fight for your love. It can’t be either way.
    Yee Jin was always happy to stand by the sidelines and support Heedo as a friend.
    That’s not enough.
    Not enough for Heedo to consider a lifetime of repeated PTSD that she suffered from her mom.

    • I think plotwise this is a wonderful drama, no unnecessary second leads, no evil for ridiculous reason characters. Pretty realistic and i think if this was a novel, it would have been a hit.
      Unfortunately, the last two eps felt terribly rushed, where usually at that stage of a story, more could still be told. Personally i would have liked to see glimpses of heedo and yijin coping with the breakup, and would loooove to see the gang reunite in their older days.

• As I commented on other sites, who wants a realistic ending and what's a realistic ending? Is breaking up a realistic ending, that's a very pessimistic view of the writer because I know many friends who have successful long distance relationships and others who have overcome tougher obstacles than just one is a reporter / anchorman and the other, an athlete. And my main point is, why do we watch kdramas? Certainly not because their plots are realistic because most of them are definitely not! That's the beauty of kdrama! It allows us to dream, to hope, it gives us an uplift to our daily lives. I think to much was written about other things and then, they had to wrap up quickly. What a let down!I couldn't even be bothered to watch the last episode.

  • Lol a north korean soldier and south korean entrepreneur could make it, why couldnt a fencing athlete and a journalist :p

  • Exactly cannot agree more
    We never asked a realistic end , I never thought Baek ijin would fall for Naa hee Do when the drama began ....it's the script that made us fall for BaekDo and why we wanted them to end up together...all those cheerful and sorrowful moments of their struggling phase made us believe in this love ....we are aware of min Chae's existence and there was no hope with nearing end of the episodes then again they even showed their romance their dating phase in episode 15 , giving us more hope . This drama was so good the bond the theme the friendship the struggle everything was so perfect. This could have been the best drama in recent times but the ending just ruined it . I am still struggling to accept this end . Everyday I look for articles , posts , comments I am stuck with baek ijin 's pain , he didn't wanted separation , everytime he agreed to Naa hee do this time too he agreed to her . It's selfish on her part to just think only about her self , baek ijin didn't cheat on her , he was struggling himself , he had so much on his plate ..... And most importantly if kdramas becomes real where will we go ...we never asked for a realistic end . I happily waited every week to watch this drama and I was happy every time I watched ,only to be sad at the end Why writer why ???

• This drama makes it seems like newsroom reporter is the busiest job there is, it doesnt seem realistic to me. I know it’s a job that requires working at weird hours an all, but for sure a broadcasting stations must have several reporters so they can rotate. Also, yijin is a newbie in the newsroom department but he is chosen to go to ny for the 911 event? I would think it’s an important task and many seasoned reporters would want to be in charge of.
  Overall, this drama is just a so so drama for me. Several things seem forced and contrived. Baek yi jin character in the second half is also poorly developed. We never got to know what’s his drive, how from a person who change department to project his love to wanting to stay in NY knowing it would lead to loosing his love? His action of staying in ny says he doesn’t value his love that much.
  I think the only thing I like is the fencing parts and yurim heedo relationship. And what’s with yurim a russian person who was hated by the nation for being a traiter openning a training center in korea? How does that happen???

  • Exactly. You analysis it so well. The later development of Yi Jin's character is so badly planned. Totally agree with you.

  • I suppose, regardless of who she defends, yurim is still a hell of a fencer with outstanding talents and records. And with more kids aiming to study overseas, and they did mention that fencing skills would be an advantage, the parents wouldnt have skipped the chance to have their kids be trained by yurim. The goal is kids getting into ivy league, who cares if the trainer’s ethical views are less admired by the society..
    Also yurim returning to korea to train korean kids is probably a redemption to the koreans in itself..

  • Exactly my point if ji woon can reach Russia and ko yu rim can return and open her training centre where her country people named her traitor , can't Baek do work on their relationship. How smoothly they even conquer their love and were getting married. On the other hand hee do just got married . She moved on so easily. The funeral part where they had a reunion the way hee do behaved clearly showed no sign of regret she was already married then it was so rude and harsh with all the breakup scenes . Baek ijin suffered more than her. I loved Naa hee do I loved all her achievements her strong headed nature , her character but towards the end I couldn't love her anymore .

    • I totally agree, there was a lot of lack of proper communication and a love based relationship needed constant communication to keep it strong and last... I was in emotional pain, the end was not at all justified, it lacked consistency.

• FLAW was a huge disappointment, the last few episodes were so boring and poorly executed it felt like a different show.

• I am recommending F4 Thailand at this point. After 15 well written episodes this drama is very, very satisfying to watch. Every idiotic plot or line in the Korean BoF has been changed to a thoughtful way of solving a dilemma and the OTP actually looks as if they might actually have a reason to be in love.

• I wanted to just comment to….
  Shower lots of love and praises for our boy Nam Joo Hyuk!!!!

  He not only held his own to a leading lady with super acting chops. He more then held his own during the pivotal scenes , in some he was the one uplifting her performance.

  I never though I see this day!
  He used to be so stiff in crying scenes
  But here in the breakout, I can literally hear his gasps of pain, his heart breaking (with mine) and his regrets.
  So. Much. Growth.
  He is becoming despite all odds a really really good actor!
  Gosh, you go NJH!
  Bask in the glory!!!!!

• Rather than is it a bad ending, the ending kinda shows how bad the drama was. I was thinking that the couple will not work out and we'll see how they strive but what we see is a lumpy ending, when it just end without any explanation beside "you need to see the clue in the previous episode"

  No ssssh Sherlock, ofc we did look at it but we also need confirmation. What was the driving edge, the one they can't tolerate and what was the breaking point and the point when they pick up.
  Like in encanto, you see where the crack finally get into climax and when it gets restored based on the same principle.

• I already stated what i think about the end of 2521 in another post . As FLW, i started to get bored after ep 7 , after that i watch it at high speed and it was a Classic Disney happy end for everyone . No balance ! The drama that was perfect is Through the darkness .