MY LOVELY GIRL - EPISODE 16 (FINALE)

The OTP, together again

Hyun Wook plays his song for Se Na. They exchange confessions of love and embrace. The next day, when he comes home from work, he finds Se Na gone and a "Dear Hyun" letter. A year passes and Shi Woo is back from overseas promotions, Hae Yoon is the President of ANA, and Hyun Wook is a top-flight songwriter again, as well as co-DJ on a radio show where he dispenses musical advice. Jae Young's company is in financial trouble, and Hyun Wook tells him he should've stuck to writing songs. Later, on Hyun Wook's recommendation, they extend an offer of hire to Jae Young as songwriter. Hyun Wook meets with his dad, this time a less stressful meeting; his stepmom intends to become a singer and wants her stepson to write a song for her. Se Na heads back to Seoul and goes to see her friend Joo Hong, who is now pregnant. Her husband, Gong Chul, is Shi Woo's manager.


Hae Yoon plays schoolmarm to a couple of little boys.

Se Na and Hyun Wook meet twice and fight twice about the choices she made. Shi Woo finds out she is back and he goes to meet with her. He reads her the same riot act as Hyun Wook, but not so coldly. He asks her to write songs for him, but she replies she has her life to live. Hyun Wook talks things over with his friend, Sung Jin, who suggests that if he's done being mad, he should tell her he wants her back. He proposes using music to woo her. Hyun Wook invents situations to give him an excuse to call her up. The first time he gets her over there, his father and Hae Yoon show up just as he is about to tell her how he feels. The second time is a grand gesture, two keyboards facing each other with a huge bouquet of flowers in the middle, but by the time he sets it up, she's decided to head back early. He uses his spot on the radio program to talk to her directly, tells her to stay wherever she's at. He finds her and takes her into a lover's embrace.


Hyun Wook's father and stepmom, happy together

MY TAKE
I'm a bit confused. Not that I didn't enjoy it, but why all this? Why break them apart just to get them back together again? It seemed like the writers were reaching. So they fought tooth and nail to be together, on again, off again, and on yet again, and then Se Na leaves, even though she loves him. The "I will burden you" card seems much more about her than him. Yes, Hyun Wook's life changed, he moved forward, he's doing what he is supposed to be doing, but wouldn't it have been better with her in his life?


Setting up his grand gesture

That said, I loved the little things that Hyun Wook did to see her again. I laughed when he faked losing his pen and accused her of moving it to get her over to his place. I smiled when he set up the two keyboards facing each other (with the bouquet in the middle), so they both could participate in the song he wrote for her. That's one thing I can say about the show. If nothing else, it is pretty funny. Everything from over the top antics from characters like Kang Tae Min and Shi Woo's former manager to warm, fuzzy, chuckle-worthy moments with Se Na and Hyun Wook.


K-pop Mama

There were quite a few plot threads they left dangling that could have spiced up some of the episodes and gave them more heft. We never see if Jae Young is actually able to swallow his pride and accept the offer to write songs for ANA. We never hear if Hyun Wook's K-Pop mama actually hits the big time. We never figure out if Hyun Wook, Se Na, or the both of them will be writing songs for Shi Woo. And other characters like Rae Hoon, Ra Eum, and Mi Na were gone in the first handful of episodes, never to be heard from again. I would have liked a little more closure than "Se Na and Hyun Wook are together again, thanks."


Hyun Wook as DJ

All in all, it wasn't a bad series, it just suffered from too many tropes and not enough oomph. I'm not sure the writers knew what they intended to convey a lot of times, and I think that weakened the characters somewhat. You had kind of a spineless Hyun Wook, an odd shipping, a threat to the relationship in Shi Woo that was really no threat at all, and a bunch of unresolved things. With that out of the way, I thought the actors did a great job with the material they were given. Kudos go to L, Rain, and Krystal for carrying this series. It seemed to be pretty popular, so we may actually be seeing these guys in other dramas soon. Thanks for watching with me, guys! I'm really enjoying your comments, too. What did you guys think of the show overall, now that the finale has aired?

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