A lot of the time, what might seem like a good ending to the writers or producers might not be what a good ending is to the audience. This disconnect is what causes a disappointing conclusion but as creators of a piece of art, they do hold the rein over how to wrap up a narrative. Besides, it is of course, only right to respect the creative liberty of a writer. However, there’s no compulsion that a viewer has to agree with the same necessarily. Viewers spend hours consuming, engaging with, and committing to a drama so it is only natural for them to be dissatisfied if it does not end to their liking. Criticism is part and parcel of any cultural product, especially when it comes to the entertainment industry. Here are 3 fan-favourite K-Dramas in no particular order, that had an amazing run initially but could have had better endings!
- “Cheese In The Trap” Based on a webtoon that still had not reached its conclusion at the time of the production of the drama, fans were absolutely repulsed, to say the least, by the ending of the drama. “Cheese in the Trap” stars Park HaeJin, Kim GoEun, Lee SungKyung and Seo KangJoon. It is often tricky to deliver on the expectations of fans, especially when it comes to adaptations where the original source material itself is an incredibly popular piece of work. To deviate from the source and orchestrate an ending that is evidently unfitting with the rest of the narrative will inevitably welcome negative criticism. However, the original author, Soonkki actually requested for the drama producers to create a different ending for the drama because she feared the ending would be too similar to the ending she has planned for the webtoon, effectively spoiling it and dampening the hype for its finale in the process. She also shared that after episode 6, she was not notified about any changes to the script or how they were planning on ending the series. Either way, despite all conflicts, the drama had incredible potential which, unfortunately, the ending laid to waste.
- “Record of Youth” Another K-Drama that was highly anticipated in 2020 was Park BoGum’s small screen comeback released right after he enlisted in the military. It also raised expectations because actress Park SoDam of “Parasite” fame was going to play the leading lady. “Record of Youth” had audiences hooked on every single episode, falling for every single character no matter how minute. Each character had their own significance and the drama highlighted the smallest of struggles to the heaviest of dilemmas. However, not just the ending but the last few episodes completely ruined the essence of the drama or the core reason why it drew audiences to it. The heart was lost in the process of making the narrative “realistic” in showing two young career-driven individuals not being able to make space for love. Especially considering the intensity of romance, trust, and affection that was built between our central couple, it became bitterly unrealistic to think that the two would or rather, could stay apart for that long of a period of time without ever mentioning or contacting each other. “Record of Youth” makes you want to root for the strong female protagonist but ultimately, it ends up showing her in a poor light.
- “Start-Up” The biggest and most popular K-Drama of 2020, “Start-Up” was a huge hit and miss when it came to creating a solid plotline with a truly touching success story. Instead, what we got was mushy romance, for the most part, unrealistic detours, haphazard decision-making, and a side of business jargon. What most viewers signed up for was quite the opposite - a story about the rocky but worthy ride to the success of a start-up company complemented by a cute romance in the back spiced up by a comedy of errors. Despite the brilliant acting of the cast, almost all of the characters except for Seo DalMi (Bae Suzy) were neglected and their storylines were left unattended. The universe of the drama seemed to be always conspiring in favour of Samsan Tech, something that is quite hard to relate to even though it adds to the numerous other plot conveniences in the story. The ending is a happy ending, without a doubt, but it only glorifies DalMi and DoSan (Nam JooHyuk) while the other characters are simply relegated to the background as supporting characters, or at least that’s what it looks like. We couldn’t be any happier and over the moon about DoSan and DalMi getting married and finally having their happily-ever-after but any regular viewer would want to see more of InJae (Kang HaNa), Han JiPyung (Kim SeonHo) and the rest and how they grew in life with the time skip. However, they remain static, giving a sense of incompleteness to the story. Which K-Drama would you add to this list? Share your thoughts with Kpopmap in the comments section down below! A Selection Of The Best Of 2020 K-Dramas - Kpopmap Editor’s Pick KDRAMA STORIES|Dec 29, 2020
