The songs featured during the recap:
Star by Colde
Starlight by Max Shin
Europe by Kim Jin Ah
Childhood by Kim Jin Ah
The satisfying, bittersweet ending where Ban Ji-eum chooses to forget her past lives, ultimately freeing herself from the curse she placed on herself in her first life.
The emotional weight of Ban Ji-eum’s decision — giving up her memories to protect her loved ones — and how it mirrors the choices we sometimes have to make in life to move forward.
How Moon Seo-ha steps up in this final episode, taking on the role of comforter and guide for Ban Ji-eum, showing his growth from passive and traumatized to a strong, supportive partner.
The beautiful inyeon between Ban Ji-eum, Moon Seo-ha, Yoon Cho-won, and Ha Do-yoon — how their fates have been intertwined across lifetimes, and how that deep connection ultimately brings them all together in the end.
The tender and heart-wrenching scene between Ban Ji-eum and Yoon Ju-won’s mother, where Ban Ji-eum hugs her, offering comfort while Ju-won’s spirit watches on — a moment that embodies the power of love across lifetimes.
The long-awaited romantic resolution between Yoon Cho-won and Ha Do-yoon — his slow realization that love is worth the risk, capped off with a swoony confession and kiss.
Kang Min-gi’s poignant arc — from mysterious guide to tormented soul — and how Ban Ji-eum’s forgiveness perhaps allows him to begin his own journey toward peace after 23 lives.
The surprising lightheartedness of the final scenes, with Moon Seo-ha, Yoon Cho-won, and Ha Do-yoon conspiring to bring Ban Ji-eum back into their lives, complete with a meet-cute at the braised kimchi restaurant.
The importance of braised kimchi, the dish that symbolizes home, love, and memory, and how food plays such a key role in grounding Ban Ji-eum even after she loses her memories.
The stunning cinematography throughout the episode, from the dramatic Dutch angles on the Mujinjeong bridge to the soft, glowing scenes of Ban Ji-eum’s memories fading away.
The reversal of roles in the final confession scene, with Moon Seo-ha as the pursuer, mirroring Ban Ji-eum’s relentless pursuit of him at the beginning — a beautiful bookend to their love story.
The deeply touching message at the heart of the show: that forgiveness — of others and of ourselves — is the only way to truly move forward, and that holding on to hate only chains us to the past.
The special 1 episode review of When The Phone Rings that we will do next week!
The announcement of K Drama Chat Season 11, where we will recap and analyze When Life Gives You Tangerines, the highly anticipated Netflix drama starring IU and Park Bo-gum, set on Jeju Island and spanning decades of history and romance.
References
Great podcast edition and analysis! I have some stuff:
ReplyDelete1) I agree with all your comments about the loose ends, but loved the show. On past lives, in 1950 there were about 2 billion people worldwide, and now we’re up to 8 billion. That means that the huge majority of those alive now could not possibly have a past life, at least a human one! But it’s fun to think about. I’ve always thought it’s funny how people remember being an Egyptian princess or infamous pirate, but never a lowly peasant, which 99 percent of our ancestors were!
2) I grew up Catholic, not active now. But I’ve always thought that the sacrament of confession was a great thing. In school we were told that God only forgave you if you were genuinely sorry, resolved to never repeating the sin and had done everything you could to make amends to whoever you had wronged. This allowed you to learn the lesson and move ahead with your life. You can’t be of benefit to anyone else if you are preoccupied with guilt and worry about the past. You can let it go. I think the letting it go IS forgiveness, of yourself and others, and the real theme of this show.
3) Joanna, I hope you’ll spend some time on the terrific OST for When The Phone Rings in the upcoming podcast. It has many beautiful songs, but my absolute favorite is “May I Love You?” by Jae Yeon.
4) Great pick on Tangerines! I solemnly promise not to watch ahead, I hope everyone does!
Ellen, fantastic insights, thank you! Especially about forgiveness in the Catholic religion. As a Catholic myself, I know forgiveness is an important ideal.
DeleteI will be sure to talk about the OST for When The Phone Rings. I just bought the album and there are 66 songs!
Glad you are excited for Tangerines! We are as well!
Ellen, if your takeaway from being Catholic is not to be preoccupied with guilt, you may not have been doing it right! Or maybe that only applies to Irish Catholics! LOL
DeleteAs a proud Irish American with family in Ireland, you’re so right! But I never did think I was going to burn in hell for eating a hot dog on Friday!
DeleteHi Joanna, Sung-Hee and Ernielyn,
ReplyDeleteThank you on your review of See You In My 19th Life. Its detailed yet very humane.
I watched See You In My 19th Life during its live airing and at that time there were a lot of noise surrounding the series, some pleasant and some criticism. Most webtoon fans were not satisfied with the series because there were scenes which did not parallel to the webtoon or popular parts of the webtoon missing. I did not read the webtoon. I took the series, as it is but watched it for nth times.
I believe the series is a series that you need to deep dive to appreciate the plot and its profound meaning. There’s so much in it - life, love, lost, grief, deliverance and of course reincarnation. The cinematography is impeccable and Shin Hae Sun, weaves magic into this series. I love this series and Shin Hae Sun.
I have been following your podcast for a while now, looking
forward to your coming kdrama review.
Loves,
Selyn
Selyn, thank you for your comments. I believe you've commented on lots of episodes on Spotify.
DeleteI agree with you that 19th Life was worth a deep dive. This is my third watch and boy did I learn a lot about what really happened in this show! And I appreciate it so much more! Thank you for listening!
Such a nice episode, enjoyed your banter! 😃 You definitely pointed some things out to me that I didn't notice. Can't wait to watch When Life Gives You Tangerines with you!
ReplyDeleteToska, thank you for your comments! Sung Hee and I love having Enabel on the show because she is so funny! And yes, Tangerines is going to be great! Thanks for watching and listening with us!
DeleteThank you for the recap of See You In My 19th Life. I had forgotten about the ending, and it’s such a happy one, notwithstanding logic.
ReplyDeleteI’m delighted you picked When Life Give You Tangerines. I adore IU and Park Bo Gum. We can all watch and discuss the series together. Hoping it’s as good as all our high expectations.
Hi Diane! Thank you for your comments!
ReplyDeleteYes, Shin Eye sun is amazing! This is our second show with her! Did you listen to our Mr. Queen season, season 5? We laughed so hard during that season, but we also realized how deep that show was!
I don't really know how next week's episode about When The Phone Rings is going to turn out. We don't know HOW to analyze a show in just one episode, but we are going to try!
I have watched one episode of Love Scout and so far, I love it! More to come!
Another great podcast and another great season in the books ladies! I really enjoy it when Ernie is on the show, it gives it a slightly different vibe which is a cool change of pace. Joanna was basically writing fan fiction for all the unresolved parts of the show!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed all the “actual” speculation about all the unresolved issues in the show that we will never know, as opposed to the usual “fake” speculation of what will happen in the next episode! As for the speculation about how Ji-eum could resume her life while forgetting some of the most important aspects of it, I think you are just over thinking it! It’s a K Drama!
I had the same thought as Ernie about the parallel to Queen of Tears and choosing to lose your memory. Because, in a sense, what is your life other than all of your memories? Sorry, didn’t mean to get too existential on you there! Actually, we have an expert on memory loss on the podcast. Sung-hee, does it feel like you are living a new life every time you rewatch a K Drama you have already seen? Do you say “It’s all good now” at the end of every series you watch? Maybe Season 10 should have been called See You in Sung-hee’s 10th Life!
Not sure if prisons are a K Drama element, but they certainly are prevalent in K Dramsa. Actually, the three places that show up way more in K Dramas than everyday life are prisons, hospitals, and funeral homes! But if you are going to have a white truck of death, chances are you will see all three of those!
I agree that Ji-eum’s mom definitely knew she was her daughter. I think that was the whole point of showing her younger prior life.
Overall, I enjoyed this season even thought I had watched this previously. I went back and looked at my official rankings and had originally given this show a 7 out of 10, and I stick by that ranking. I loved all the female characters in this show and hated all the male ones! Seo-ha and Do-yoon were painful to watch! That kiss with Cho-won?! I’m guessing his first ever kiss! Ugh! And the only pick up lines Seo-ha has are the ones his girlfriend used on him but has since forgotten?!?! Come on guys! If I say “It’s all good now,” do you think I can lose all memory of these two guys?!
So excited for Tangerines! But there is no way I will be able to not binge it. So I guess I will know the answers to your genuine speculations in each podcast!
Thanks for a great season.
It’s all good now.
Malcolm, how are we going to trust YOUR speculations if you binge? You have just cast suspicion on your upcoming comments, which I do enjoy. Take the oath! Also, I was going to say that the kiss with 2nd couple sucked, but that was exactly the problem!
DeleteMalcolm, so glad you enjoyed this season. We loved reviewing See You In My 19th Life!
DeleteWe know you're not a fan of the male leads and we totally get it! I warmed to them, but in my first watch, I didn't think much of them, either.
Glad you approve of the choice for Season 11. It's going to be great!
*I really liked the podcast for this series. Unfortunately, not the series itself. It is a decent one (I gave it 6/10). Certainly watchable, but out of the 60+ Kdrama I have watched, it languishes in the bottom 10-15 places.
ReplyDeleteWhile it discusses some very interesting themes, its framing as a romance didn’t work for me at all. The major culprit by lightning years is the male lead. It was a failure on every single level. The writing of the character is meh. The actor is not bad, but certainly not a lead material acting wise. But, worst of all, he has virtually no chemistry with Shin Hye-Sun. It was a REAL struggle for me to see them as a couple. It is tough to enjoy a romance when you have very low investment in the couple. I blame the production team (not the actor) for that last bit. Or maybe, Koreans have different chemistry perceptions.
What saved the show for me are the female characters and their interactions.
* I am not an OST person at all. The only exception is “My Mister” (It had lots of old songs). Once in a while I notice a song, but it is not my thing.
I do like to listen to Korean songs, but they are all old. Usually 80s and early 90s. There are some in early 2000s.
*I have eaten Braised Kimchi. I had a South Korean colleague at work. It was great fun chatting with him, but he didn’t watch that many dramas. He used to tell me that I should meet his wife lol. Still, he used to tell me stories about South Korea.
Anyway, we went out few times to a Korean restaurant, and we had Braised Kimchi one time. I liked it, but it was a bit spicy.
* I finished “Beyond Goodbye” (Jdrama) based on Joanna’s recommendation. I liked the series. I think the premise is borderline Sci-fi. It is my kind of drama though. Slow, contemplative and lots of suffering lol. I also liked it being a tight 8 episodes only.
However, there is something about Jdramas that prevent them from becoming favourites (apart from Alice in Borederland).
Korean TV series are just better.
*I have finally joined Viki now that is 100% legal where I am. God! I need more than 19 lives to watch all the stuff on offer lol.
Anyway, I watched first episode of “Goblin”, but it didn’t grab me.
Currently I am watching “The Red Sleeve”. Finished 4 episodes, and it is enjoyable so far. But, honestly, these laws around Royals are so absurdly harsh and unreasonable. And these punishments!
Seven Seas, thanks for watching this season with us!
DeleteGlad you liked Beyond Goodbye. I agree that it is a clow burn. The cinematography is not the quality of a big production Netflix K Drama, but I loved the acting, the actors, and the storyline. The whole show was very moving to me.
I'm gonna have to get me some braised kimchi sometime soon!
And so glad you now have a Viki subscription. Yes, it's overwhelming, but just think of all the classics that you can now watch, like Scarlet Heart, Coffee Prince, Legend of the Blue Sea, My Love From the Star, Descendants of the Sun, and on and on.
Re: Goblin, it took Sung Hee a couple of years to finally finish Goblin. When she finally pushed through, she said that she finally understands why people love this drama so much. If it was more widely available, I would have wanted to do Goblin in a season. If you can push through, I think you'll find it really meaningful. I LOVED the grim reaper character and the scene in the tea house.
I LOVE Red Sleeve. Everything about it was amazing: the actors, the acting, the music, the hanboks, the chemistry between the two. You may decide to stop at episode 16 though.
Can't wait to Tangerines! Woot!
My own speculation to add to the pile.. Ban Ji-eum had to forget those from her past lives because she had to go through her final reincarnation and forget her past lives! Obviously a lot of loose ends, on a personal level I’m disappointed that there were so many things left to us to speculate, but I will admit that it makes the story feel more real. There are many things in our day to day lives that we will never know the “why” for… including why the chairman has bandaged his hand.
ReplyDeleteFor my last push that K-Dramas are wonderful to watch as someone who is neurodivergent; I don’t actually think this is a story of someone with multiple personalities, or other mental illness. This is certainly a story of someone who remembers their past lives and is trapped in a cycle of rebirth from holding onto their rage. But… many times our main character says something that is just “crazy” for someone to say! And how people respond and react to that is with love, care, and trying to believe her.. Where in North America we would (typically) jump to ostracism. It isn’t a surprise to me that Asian cultures have better track records for those with mental illness, these stories bake in how to respond to those around us with love. (Unless they’re a freeloading father making a scene and blackmailing our heroine in the hotel lobby, but that response was justified!).
In all, happy with the show, loved watching and listening along. Sad that so many things felt unnecessary along the way because they didn’t turn into more story arc, or get a proper explanation.
Excited for the next season!
Ryan, thank you for your comments.
DeleteYes, Ban Ji rum had to go through her final reincarnation to forget her past lives. There was a price to pay for remembering and not remembering. Lots of loose ends, but I was happy with the ending. I thought the message of not letting your rage trap you in the past was a powerful one.
I think K Dramas are wonderful for everyone because the story lines get deeply explored and yes, in this show, Ji hum is not seen as crazy. Love it all!
The next season is going to be great! We can't wait!