At the end of this friends-to-lovers tale, we’re here to give you all of the positive moments of the last two episodes. Some of our favorite pair ups finally confessed their feelings, while other characters grew in other ways. For those wondering if there are some not so positive things we might say about the show, this might be the recap for you.
The Fangirls left me to finish this positive recap out, and I will try my hardest to list all the good things about these final episodes. But I’ve been given permission to save a section at the end where we can talk about where we felt the show went wrong and some of our complaints.
Positive Thoughts:
Ji Wan is a Rock Star
The press release a picture of Jae Hoon and Yu Reum out in front of their house, and one of the cast members does an anonymous interview saying they know that a producer on the show slept with a cast member. Both PD Kang and Yu Reum think the interview is about them and seem to want to take the blame for it. A hero swoops in and saves the day for both of them. Ji Wan is very smart and she’s right when she guesses Joon Ho is the culprit. She blackmails him into handing over the pictures he took of PD Kang and The General outside his bedroom door. She gives Yu Reum the evidence, which allows the two PDs to take control of the narrative how they see fit.
Drama Geek: I was cheering so loud when Ji Wan finally showed how much she knew about Joon Ho’s true character. She threatened to expose him for all the things he’d done on the show, and I almost wish she had. He got off way too easy, in my opinion.
Kmuse: This was my second favorite moment from our last week of episodes. Ji Wan stood out from everyone else and kept me invested in her story to the very end.
The Maknae: Can we just make Ji Wan the main character of this drama? She ROCKED. I loved her growth arc and her bravery.
Sismance!
Flashbacks are the star of the last few episodes for happy moments. They take us back to college to see how much PD Kang sat in the background and saw that Yu Reum had loving parents who took care of her, and how socially accepted she was within their department. Kang’s family life molded her into the PD we saw during the series and it’s sad that these two women didn’t get close sooner.
They do bond over drinks when Yu Reum brings the flash drive with the damning sexy time pictures on it. Yu Reum drops it into a glass of soju and tells her they’ll handle the press without exposing PD Kang. Yu Reum asks why Kang hates her so much, and Kang doesn’t want to tell her. Then they both overhear a group of women badmouthing PD Kang and it sets Yu Reum’s protectiveness off. She defends Kang PD by eating chicken feet with lots of passion. She gets her point across and you can tell PD Kang is touched. Kang finally breaks down and says she hates Yu Reum because she has everything.
Drama Geek: I think you’d have to see the chicken feet scene to understand how it was part of Yu Reum defending her. It was both gross and hilarious. These two have great chemistry and if they ever work together in the future, I know they could actually make something great. Even if they don’t, I think they’ll continue to be a support to one another in an industry where it’s hard for women to succeed.
Kmuse: I was sad that we didn’t get more of these two sprinkled throughout the drama. They have such amazing chemistry and I like how they make each other better people/workers. That chicken feet scene was beyond gross. I alternatively gagged and laughed out loud.
The Maknae: True story, I fast forwarded through the chicken feet. LOL. But Yu Reum’s continued protectiveness of Kang PD and Kang PD’s willingness to bend a little to help Yu Reum was touching, and I’m glad we got this hint of sismance before the drama ended.
Truth Wins
The show airs its final episode and they decide to do a live broadcast right after to clear up the rumors about a PD sleeping with a cast member, hopefully to save the production. They ask everyone that agreed to date on the final episode how it’s going. Tae Mi says she and Chef John are still dating, which shocks Chef John. He feels they are still just getting to know each other–aka they probably haven’t gone on a date since the broadcast. Ji Wan says she and Joon Ho agreed to date for exactly one month. The couple that actually seems to still be dating is Soo Mi and The General. He’d confessed to her that he’d slept with someone on set, but says that it was before they agreed to date. She makes it clear if they date that she’d expect him to be faithful and he heartily agrees.
Drama Geek: They make it into the positive section because I feel like they are closest to a couple that really might date after a show. They enjoy each other’s company and started out with honesty and an open mind. I’m cheering them on.
Kmuse: I loved that despite their start being kind of fake (I’m sorry but their relationship wasn’t very real during the filming), the drama showed us how important communication is. He was honest about what happened and didn’t start their real dating with a lie. I have so much respect that because of their open communication we see a healthy relationship develop.
The Maknae: The only couple I really was invested in was Chef John and Ji Wan. I wanted him to upset things by choosing her in the final episode, instead of doing what was expected of him. To have the lawyer and The General be a real, honest couple instead was a great addition.
Actually, I Like You. Will You Marry Me?
Once the broadcast ends, Ji Wan waits for the bus and Chef John pulls up and offers her a ride. He finally gets up the courage to ask her to try dating him once she’s finished her month with Joon Ho. He doesn’t know that she only agreed to the one-month time period because of the blackmailing incident. Ji Wan breaks down in tears when Chef John says he likes her. They embrace and we find out at a reunion dinner 6 months later that THEY’RE GETTING MARRIED.
Drama Geek: I was so happy when they got together. They were the most genuine connection made on the show and they made my heart happy. I had wished that he’d confess on the show in front of an audience, but when they announced their marriage, I was happy they’ll have some privacy with that.
Kmuse: This was the relationship I cared about. When I got bored with our OTP, this couple kept the romance alive. I am 100% team Chef and Webtoonist.
The Maknae: Let the wedding bells ring! This couple made me the happiest, and I only want good things for them FOREVER.
Getting Your Life Back
During the live broadcast, Ji Yeon clears up the rumor about Yu Reum and Jae Hoon and also lies by saying she’s the one Jae Hoon kissed earlier in the broadcast. The couple gets to save face in front of the cameras and both of them decide on some good healing steps as they move forward. Jae Hoon is ready to go back to being a surgeon, but takes it slowly and pretty much becomes a resident again to gain his confidence back. In the meantime, Yu Reum goes to Paris for some much needed rest and recovery. She’s had a very stressful few months and needs time away from her job and regular life.
Drama Geek: They both went through a lot and I’m glad the show had them take time away from each other while still communicating and being a couple.
Kmuse: The only thing that would have made me happier is if they had some serious therapy while they were separated. These two needed to work through a lot more than a simple bout of depression.
The Maknae: Yay for forward progress and WOW — Ji Yeon impressed me. How many second female leads are that selfless? Not many, from what I’ve seen, and it made me like her.
Sang Woo’s Got Game
A little side story during the show was that Sang Woo saw a picture of Jae Hoon’s sister and thought she was pretty. Fast forward to present day: they’ve been chatting with each other and finally go on a date. The two are so cute I wish we’d gotten a lot more of them. Even six months later, it seems they are still dating and happy.
Drama Geek. MORE SANG WOO!!!!
Kmuse: I was so happy that he was making sure that she knows he has abs. I couldn’t stop laughing.
The Maknae: Sang Woo is the CUTEST and I would have loved more of him all around.
Now, It’s Time For the Claws
What went wrong with the OTP?
Drama Geek: The two were sizzling with chemistry during the first 6 or so episodes. Then the reality show started and it fizzled so hard. Yu Reum called off her wedding and went into an understandable depression, and the couple never recovered. Add the reality show balancing act Jae Hoon had to do with the second female lead and it made everything about the main couple BORING. I don’t think there was a scene between these two that made me giggle or swoon after the mid point.
Kmuse: I can’t believe how boring these two ended up being. I felt that we got no relationship development once he backed away in ep 7. There were no cute friend moments, looks of longing, or witty bantering. By the end of the drama I didn’t even know why these two were together. Not to mention that the wishy-washy final monologue left me feeling meh.
The Maknae: This is not where I expected the cute couple from the first part of the drama to go. I think the hard part is that when kdramas sit in emotions, they SIT IN THEM. That means that we got dragged into Yu Reum’s (well deserved) depression, which dragged the whole story down. The wedding to the ex-fiancé was a completely unnecessary storyline, and could have been replace with more of her cute parents, developing a relationship with Kang PD, making more moves forward with Jae Hoon — ANYTHING but what we got.
PD Kang’s Form of Therapy
Drama Geek: I actually appreciated that PD Kang had a good growth arc and we got to know her more. Now, picking her next project as a way to dig deeper into her family issues probably isn’t the best way to handle everything. She made some really bad decisions while producing her last two shows, and I’m not sure she learned her lesson.
Kmuse: Once again, someone needs some serious therapy. Doing a variety show about dysfunctional families and their version of therapy is not going to cut it.
The Maknae: At least Kang PD is trying to figure out her experiences? I want to give her the benefit of the doubt, because it’s gonna take a LOT for this woman to admit that therapy might be helpful.
Would You Watch Kingdom of Love 2?
Drama Geek: I actually dreamed about how I could have made the reality show more interesting. It started out fun, and I did like the characters, but the way they set everything up left me annoyed and bored. WHY did the men get to choose all of the time? Why couldn’t we have had way more mixing of couples and some real dates where they could get to know each other? Where did the sexy feel of season one go? And finally, what happened to our opening sequence? I even went back to the first scene and the promo header is: Someone on the show is getting married, can you guess? They imply this happened before Yu Reum and Jae Hoon get together and sometime after she’s been gone for a bit. Did the real show run out of money or time to film this ending to the reality series?
Kmuse: I did like seeing how much ethical decisions go into making reality tv. It is a thin line between entertainment and exploitation. That said, the actual show the viewers were watching was not that interesting. All of the competitions and dates felt very bland and it was annoying that the men always got the first pick in the challenges and chose the women. It was off-putting and I would not be watching the actual show.
The Maknae: I’m not a fan of reality shows, and this drama did NOT change my mind. I was in it for the OTP and the OTP alone. Thankfully, the behind-the-scenes action of the show saved the drama for me.
Final Thoughts
Drama Geek: This show started out so strong with lots of interesting characters and tons of sparks flying. It lost its way about halfway through and limped to the end of the show. I was bored with the last 4 episodes and lost almost all interest in the main couple. This will not be one I recommend and gets a 7 out 10 for me.
Kmuse: I also give the show 7 out of 10 stars but I do recommend it for a certain type of viewer. This is not a romance but more a look at human nature. Not to mention it is much more an ensemble cast rather than a solo OTP focus. The side characters got some great layers and I ended up more invested in their stories than that of the main couple. It was worth the watch but I will not be rewatching this show in the future.
The Maknae: I’m not sure I could honestly recommend this drama to anyone else. Boring is boring is boring, y’all. I did give the drama 7.5 out of 10 purely for Ji Wan’s story. If the focus had been on her and Chef John, I think we would have had a much stronger story.
The Fangirls
Dramas With a Side of Kimchi