We are coming off a solid two episodes and things are starting to look up for us recappers! Can Extra-Ordinary You manage to bring us to the end with a smile on our faces? Come find out as Kmuse & Clkytta conclude this recap.

The nothing is here

Kmuse: Did you ever watch the movie The Neverending Story when you were young? (Clkytta: Me! I did!) This is what the last story arc is reminding me of. Slowly everyone and everything is disappearing. As if the world is being swallowed up into a black hole. Ha Ru realizes what is happening and quickly tries to do everything Dan Oh listed on her couples list before he also disappears. I have to be honest here, despite my issues with the show’s writing, this has me really emotional. I hate the thought that everyone is ceasing to exist.

Clkytta: Total Neverending Story feels, but where’s the luck dragon?

Sweet smooches

Kmuse: Awe…Dan Oh has matching couple items on her list so Ha Ru makes them paper chain necklaces. Not exactly what Dan Oh was envisioning but it did result in some super sweet kisses. 100 kisses are also on the list so you have to get started on those sooner than later.

Closure

Kmuse: Baek Kyung and Ha Ru finally have some closure, of course, in the library. It is a sweet moment where they thank each other, in their awkward cranky way. Baek Kyung and Dan Oh also have a great scene where they solidify their friendship. I’m so sad that we got to this spot in their character development at the very end of the story. It feels so much more real than when everyone was caught in the dreaded love triangle trope.

Ju Da is awesome

Kmuse: Just like Clkytta, I loved how they developed Ju Da’s character. I was not expecting her to stay with Nam Ju but it was actually a decision I support. She is trying to better Nam Ju in the shadow world and informs him of the importance of budgeting. Bwahaha.

She also confronts her obvious bullies and tells San Mi to find another hobby. Maybe dating the cute geek that is always right beside her? So cute!

Clkytta: I seriously love that Ju Da owned her role. I also like that she wasn’t trying to change Nam Ju, but she wanted to make him more aware of the world around him. I totally cheered when everyone started calling her the boss lady.

Squid Fairy channels his inner king

Kmuse: Squid Fairy has Ha Ru and Baek Kyung over for desserts as an end of story ritual. Sharing pastries and letting all the bad blood be wiped away and putting the past behind them. He even uses his formal king speech when Baek Kyung tries to leave in order to force the bonding experience. Awe…how many times am I going to tear up this episode?

Jealousy

Kmuse: Su Hyang and Do Hwa are walking into school and Su Hwang has something in her eye. When Do Hwa tries to blow in her eye, Squid Fairy catches them and gets really jealous. It is so adorable. The walk away smiling at each other as Do Hwa wonders at their closeness. I’m left wondering if Su Hyang is ever going to come out and say that she remembers, or if she will just stay by his side quietly to the end.

Making the Shadow real

Kmuse: Baek Kyung’s little brother meets Ha Ru in the fading library and says that Ha Ru is being punished for changing the story. What was most interesting is when he told Ha Ru that he actually made the scenes in the shadow real. I never looked at it like that, and now I am looking at the story in a different light. Maybe the reason wasn’t to have free will but to create their own story outside of the story. Ugh. To be honest I will be happy when I never have to utter the words Shadow and Stage World again. As good as the last few episodes were, I’m ready to put this to rest.

Clkytta: I’m sorry, but Little Brother’s role was never made clear and now he’s Yoda? Meh. I feel like it was a last-ditch effort to make sure Baek Kyung wasn’t left alone, and I’m ok with that, I guess. I like the idea that Baek Kyung won’t be alone, but I spent all this time thinking Little Brother was a total creeper!

Yup, It is the nothing

Kmuse: The Nothing continues to eat the stage to the point where even Dan Oh starts to notice that something is wrong. It is too late as places and people begin to fade. Ha Ru tells her that he is happy that he could change her fate this time, and this is a special time since she was his beginning and end. Dan Oh calls his name one last time as he disappears into nothing. UGH, here are those tears again.

Clkytta: I boohooed. The thing is, the story is ending and we knew the writer was erasing people and scenes, but even knowing that I still cried like a baby.

1 Year Later

Kmuse: I guess that the comic needed one last moment to complete the story. The graduation happens and once again we get all the feels and the realization that maybe I was more connected to the characters then I realized at the time. Everyone gets their happy moments. Even Dan Oh finding a journal of her and Ha Ru’s biggest moments is happy, despite all the tears and sadness. We suddenly hear the sound of a book flipping in the distance. The scene fades.

Clkytta: I knew this wasn’t the end. The journal and the writing on the desk proved that Ha Ru was real and they were in love. Since those tangible moments didn’t disappear that means that Dan Oh’s story did change. Maybe it didn’t change on the stage, but we know that everything behind the scenes changed for the better for her.

A New Beginning

Kmuse: We see a much different Dan Oh racing towards a class. She looks older and possibly in college. Among the classmates we see several very familiar more mature faces. Familiar but with very different personalities. Looks like the writer is, once again, creating characters that are very familiar.

Clkytta: Yay! A new story! I’m super excited about this because Dan Oh is obviously an extra. She’s not part of any of the cliques and she seems to be content. Maybe, just maybe, the writer won’t notice if she and Ha Ru meet. I love that Sae Mi and Nerd Boy are the main couple! That was my ship! Sail away, sail away!

Fated

Kmuse: It comes as no surprise that Dan Oh finds herself drawn to the old tree. One that’s 300th birthday just happens to be that day. She hears a voice over in her head that they will meet at the tree every year and that way they will find each other always. Ha Ru is waiting at the tree when she gets there and they live happily ever after.

Clkytta: Whoa there Kmuse! I know I’m busting in on this recap, but you can’t sum all of that up in that short of a segment. Dan Oh is drawn to the tree, but we have to back up a bit. Dan Oh is walking around campus when she sees a wall of artwork. She is drawn to one of the pictures, a girl and a boy sitting on a bench. They look familiar to her and she takes the picture. We know it’s Dan Oh and Ha Ru, but she doesn’t seem to know that yet. As she walks along, someone says something about the tree’s anniversary. She goes to the tree and waits, but she’s not sure what for. She turns to go, walks a bit, and then decides to go back. She sees Ha Ru, she knows who he is, but neither of them says anything. She says his name, no response. She lays the drawing on the bench and turns away. Then he says her name and they embrace.

Final Thoughts

Kmuse: OK. I like this ending. I felt that everyone got a lot of closure and I left everyone on a very positive note. The beginning of the drama was super strong, as was the ending. And while I wish that the middle had been a bit shorter, I can forgive it in the end. I think this will be a great drama for people to binge. The lack of pauses each week will help with a lot of the issues I had.

I’m still not totally on board with the lack of free will and how they dealt with some of the love triangle story arcs. But I am, on a whole, pleasantly pleased with the drama.

Clkytta: This ending was fantastic! Think about it, they are both extras, like extra extras. The writer doesn’t seem to have them involved in the main story, so that means they are free to live in the shadows. Maybe the writer got tired of these characters not doing what they wanted, so now they no longer have main or supporting roles. This means that they did it! They changed the story!

Farewell till our next recap

Kmuse and Clkytta

Dramas With a Side of Kimchi