Thank you for recapping this series.

Wow, that was a completely satisfying ending!
I had wondered if Yoon-joo would try and prove herself to her husband, but yay for independence. I wonder if its the first time she has to fend for herself.

I like the eyes half-closed theme in the end. Not just about love, but life in general. Sometimes, I think that what's the point in doing this or that if we all just end up dead? But, while we're living, we have to believe that what we're doing matters/has meaning or else we just wouldn't be able to live out our lives.

Very very nice wrap up for this drama, I am, not completely satisfied but I do think it tied together well in the end. I like how they took the metaphorical Alice in Wonderland ending and interpreted it Cheongdam-dong style, nice one there writers!

Ahh Seung Jo. I'm gonna miss your Winston Churchill's...and random spazzy dances and outbursts. and smiles, all the lovely smiles..*daydreams*

But all in all, thoroughly enjoyed this drama, though it did have some writing problems in the middle somewhere, but the rest of it(including the soundtracks,love 'em!) was like candy I didn't want to finish :)

Thanks for the recaps :-)

Thanks for the recaps. Agree that it was a satisfying ending. I LOVE this series to pieces. I also love the discourse it generated. How it questioned and invited us all to ponder on social disparities and what loving someone truly means. Kudos to the writers for tackling themes, although suggested, not really confronted in kdramas I've watched recently. It has been one hell of a ride and I kinda of didn't want to get off.
I've been a long time fan of Moon, and maybe biased, but her acting didn't feel one note to me. Having watched her grow up and achieve so much already, I have an inexplicable fondness for her. I do understand how it can be a little too subdued for some, but I felt conflict throuhgout -- angry, determined, lost guilty and conflicted. HSK didn't have the luxury for grandiose declarations of love or to romanticize her poverty. Her turmoil was internal, and for me at least, was palpable.
It's one of the best dramas I've watched in recent history, love it, love it love it!!!

Thank you! I also found the ending satisfying. I enjoyed the journey of the whole drama. Its not just something to laugh about, but also food for thought type of drama. I admit the pace could have been picked up a bit, but overall it was good imo.

In defence if mgy.... As she's one of very few actresses I love ( the other being Kim sun ah) her character in this drama didn't have much to work with. If you understand what mgy is like in real life and how completely different she is to her character you will see how great she is... Portraying her character- obviously hating the world, frustrated and trying to be strong. She was cute and annoying in her last drama, a proper bitch in Cinderella sister... And many others. If you'd wtch her other projects... You'll see she's a great actress! I've decided not to judge actors on their characters but rather their portrayal of what they're given... I mean look at lee jun ki in my girl and compare him to now... He has obviously become a better actor... But if you REALLY think about it... He didn't have much to say and work with in my girl... Just a lot of staring and big eyes. I admit though... I found mgy still too young looking against psh... And I felt he was slightly too awkward acting affection with her in subsequent scenes after they got together... Didn't seem natural...

Sadly, this drama did not live up to my initial expectations, but worth the watch for Yoon-Joo alone. Could you hear me squeal when she stuck it to her husband? I feel the actors for the OTP were miss-matched.

Thank you for the recaps!

But I loved loved the drama... And hated it when certain recappers bashed it to pieces saying it lack substance and frustrated with the storyline. What's to not like? There wasn't the typical love triangle, misunderstandings that dragged on, the family feud was portrayed well, characters wee complex and the theme was very well integrated... I absolutely loved episode 15 when seung Jo was waking up to reality and how se kyung tried explaining where she came from and why she did what she did.. It was just all very well written. Smart. In the end seungjo was also alice and waking up from his dream, having met se kyung ... His white rabbit. And they even wrote that se kyung STILL got what she wanted and got into a designer company despite everything that happened... It wasn't wrong... Was it? I'm waffling...

So sad it's finished! :(

I really enjoyed this drama, and I liked the ending, too. I also liked that the characters thought a lot and were confused. It does not always make for entertaining drama, though, so perhaps that is why the writer thought she needed to have the In-hwa sub-plot. I guess it did show that even the coolest characters can have a stupid, petty side.

Now, Park Shi Hoo, take 2 or 3 weeks off, then get going on your next project! :)

It's interesting that I enjoy Moon Geun-young in the movies she makes but I haven't been able to appreciate her in dramas. Perhaps her acting is better suited to a shorter format?

I really wished the writers also focused on Secretary Moon and Ah Jung's relationship. It probably would've been cute.

Hey, gals. Have you read about Moon whom close to the cameraman? He is much older than Moon. I read about it in Park Shi ho fanpage web. They uploaded the video too.

So I was also really satisfied with the ending unlike a lot of the copout endings I've seen in dramas lately. Overall though this drama was by no means perfect I did enjoy it a lot.(Honestly more so the first half then the latter).

Though not everything was executed perfectly I appreciated the message the writers were trying to convey.

I found the both the resolution of and the overall love story between Sekyung and Seungjo believable and credible.
I know I am a PSH fangirl of the highest order but thought he was spot on in his portrayal of Seungjo.

Looking back I don't know if even now we were given a credible reason for why Sekyung kept her secret from Seungjo for so long. Especially when she knew he could find out anytime. I feel like that was where the drama was the weakest and probably lost people.

The Yoon Joo's story arc was probably one of my favorites. I thought her character was complex, well developed and well acted. I had originally hoped that in the end her husband would have loved/understood/accepted her but was very much happy with her finding her backbone and sense of worth in front of her husband and sister in law. (Def one of my favorite sequences) I also was totally shipping her and Tommy at the end!

That's one area where I felt this drama dropped the ball, once again I ask why cast Kim Ji suk and then given him nothing to do. I appreciated him and his ability to make you like a shallow written character. But please can he get a lead role. I think he has paid his dues!

Also looking back even from episode 1 I don't know if this could really be seen as light rom com though there were some pretty funny moments. (those first 2 episodes were pretty heavy). Although I enjoyed this drama I don't know if its intentions were for it to be a feel good drama about the beauty of love.

I really enjoyed this drama. It gave me a lot of ," let me think about that moments,". I questioned Tommy's change in attitude towards Se-Kyung. Did he develop feelings for her near the bend ? hmmm. Thank you for the awesome review. Keep them coming.

Before SK and SJ got back together at the end, and she was interviewing for new things and moving on, and he was moving on too... I thought the drama was over and was pleased with the way it was ending. BUT then they pulled the old, "it was a dream no it wasn't a dream" move and had the getting back together stuff and I realized that my fundamental problem with this drama was that MGY was completely miscast. There were the looks: she is too young-looking for for PSH and I'm sorry but she looks like a cross-eyed potato. But more to the point, her acting was waaaay too subtle in scenes with PSH, and in the last 2 episodes I was getting *really* tired of her either crying or lecturing PSH self-righteously. Sure, you can make us think about class and wealth in modern South Korean society but to have it done through a pedantic, unsympathetic character like SK is just boring.

I missed all the secondary characters by the end, though I appreciate the attention paid to Tommy Hong and Yoon Joo.

Speaking of which... it's funny how much I hated Yoon Joo at the beginning of the series but ended up just loving her character by the end. After she decided to get divorced she looked genuinely unburdened. She smiled so much, so naturally, and just looked gorgeous. Great acting by her.

Moon is suited for more fierce and strong charaters imo.

I was really really impressed by her EunJo in cinderela sister and she was the reason to me end that drama (plus Kim Mi Seok and Kim gAB Soo)

She was good in love me not too. Another fierce/strong role... I don't like when she stays just with that sad puppy face...

As for PSH, he is good, but sometimes he overdoes his strong scene... he does that face ''I'm gona kill you'' in all his angry scenes...

For example, who didn't laugh on his scene on princess man where he screamed ''abuhjiiiiiiiiiiiii'' ?? It was just LOL because it was overdone.

Overall I think the show was pretty good, though the writing could be better (especially in the middle of the show), I did enjoy the ride very much. Actually I haven't a good Korean drama for awhile until CDDA came along. Kudos to all the hard working casts, especially MGY and PSH.

Thanks for the recaps, kaedejun! I was so confused about what Yoon-joo was carrying in those big white bags at the end, so I was really glad you explained that.

I loved how this drama ended. I want to watch it again and catch all the stuff I missed. :)

For a better and more heartfelt take on wealth and class, I recommend I Live in Cheongdam Dong instead.

I agree that he over-acted while she under-acted many a time. They were not a good match imo. A more mature-looking actress like Song He Kyo would be a far better match. There was no chemistry b/n the leads...

The Tommy-Se Kyung conversation about the story of Alice in Wonderland ending with the sister's half-dreaming state made me wonder whether the whimsical dream-like romantic climax complete with kiss (on PSH's part anyway) and revolving background was real or imagined. The last scene where the lovers are high atop their own private tower removed from the rest of the world also felt terribly unreal to me. So my question is: Was the ending a fantasy, conjured by a disenchanted "still angry" Se Kyung wearily lugging her heavy boxes (symbolising the burdens of life), dragging herself through the cold corridors of an indifferent world day after day after day? Could the reality be too harsh and bleak for her to bear making her retreat into her dream of a white knight riding to her rescue in moments of despair? That's one reason why I like this show so much, nothing is as it seems and it makes me question everything right to the end: where does the dream stop, and where does the real begin?

The main problem about some viewers not liking it is because they wished the drama to go this way, but the drama went in another way that made them not happy and some happy.

For example: remember how everyone loved the first episodes of Cinderella sister?

The same happened here. They wished a rom com and got another thing.

Might I add that the same people who disliked how the story ended, are also the same that complain how every kdrama is the same and etc, but when they get a different drama, they dislike it because it didn't go the way they wanted it to be.

As for the acting, I think both actors can do better and lets not forget the pd also says how he wished the actors to act in certain scenes and lets not forget the live shooting system.

I really enjoyed this story and I'm glad I watched it.

" really enjoyed the last episode, because it was satisfying in showing us the growth of the characters"
I agree with you & Thanks for the recaps , Kaedejun.
Its a breath of fresh air to read your more balanced take on the drama .You like some parts & you didnt like some other parts as much & I really appreciated that!
I enjoyed this drama cos it has made some salient points about people who worked real hard to get out of their lot in life, their uphill & against-the-wind struggles trying to move from bad to less bad.
I'm gonna watch this whole drama at one go ,without the dislocation of watching it weekly & without prejudice.
I do believe Im gonna enjoy it even more !!
Thanks again for yr cheery recaps.

I enjoyed this drama to some extent but it was a little to didactic for me to be really into any of the emotions or characters. lots of logic, and not so much pathos. I understand the messeage, but it was really overly beat into our heads.

I enjoyed this drama to some extent but it was a little to didactic for me to be really into any of the emotions or characters. lots of logic, and not so much pathos. I understand the messeage, but it was really overly beat into our heads.

I think overall it was wrapped ok but I wish they didnt try so hard to convince the characters emotions through words.

Thanks Kaedejun for your recap.

In my opinion, it's one of the most entertaining and thought provoking korean drama that I've watched so far for the past 2 years. I may not have seen that many compared to most of you, anyhow, I don't think there's a korean drama with so many layers to peal and discern.
Watching it just on face value, it's easy to understand that most will find it flawed and dissatisfying. But for me, CDDA is one of those that the more you watch it, the more layers you find in relation to the complexity and depth of being a human being.
Because of the vast difference in their upbringing and surroundings, they were world's apart in terms on how they viewed the world. The distinction was unmistakable when Seung Jo couldn't understand why Se Kyung and the others were so determined to enter Cheongdamdong. Whereby for him, it's just a place he lives, not a destination.
For me, the journey of 'waking up' for the both of them were to firstly know and accept themselves fully therefore opening their eyes to see one another clearly. This then freed them from the distractions of the environment they were born into that had made them who they thought they needed to be to survive. With the new found wisdom, they are now apt to make a conscious choice to live their lives in the world of their own creation and not by other's standards.
So may many juicy bits to gain from this drama that I wish I could mention them all and I'm sure there are more yet to be discovered.
This drama is an ambitious feat and I'm glad the writers took the challenge. I'll say, I'm a satisfied viewer. :)

wow, great drama with good start, interesting character n excellent ending.

u dun feel anything being squeezed to the last minute and u dun feel betrayed or given fan service at the end of series.

it's ambitious but i bet it met its own ambition.

this is not just another empty n predictable drama. when u hv the usual kdrama wraps up without dealing with the main problem this drama does it all.

love this drama to the bits!

This might be slightly random but it is something that has been bugging me for the past few episodes. Has anyone else noticed that whenever there's a scene that takes place inside Seung Jo's apartment, you can see the actors' breath when they speak? It pulled me out of the drama every time because all I could think of was how extremely cold the actors must be. The production staff really must have been skinflints about the heating bill on set. Seeing MGY and PSH walk around "inside" wearing lighter-weight indoor clothing in what was probably close to freezing conditions makes me even more concerned for their health during a long drama shoot. The production budget should stretch enough to allow your lead actors to not look like they're one step away from becoming human popsicles.

Thank goodness the ending was fairly satisfactory...it made up for the disjointed latter half of the series. Toward the end of the episode, I briefly thought they wouldn't end up together, when Seung-Jo said "his heart felt at peace" even though they broke up, and my heart was filled with rage that I may have wasted 16+ hours of my time. Luckily, the writer left us with an ending stating "I know you're not perfect, but I choose to take my chance on love with you." I do agree with a prior commentor that the kiss in the lobby looked a little awkward...perhaps the way PSH was hunched over MGY, and the way she had her arms holding him while leaving 6 inches between them.

Also, I was kind of hoping for a love connection between Yoon Ju and Tommy, I think there was a hint of it. The actor playing Tommy really grew on me the last 5 episodes. Oh well, thank goodness it's over. Now I have time to start on Flower Boy Next Door...love me some Yoon Shi Yoon!

Though I didn't like the drama at the beginning (yep, in some cases I watched the show not for the storyline but to see more of PSH's acting) , the ending was ... good.

I understood heroine's struggles and she became way more agreeable to watch. I appreciate that the writer stick to a more unique character (at least in drama-land) till the end, and made it quite realistic ((still, I have to say I didn't like that she used her "fiancee-status" for her workplace; I understand the writer's point there, but I wished she would get a job herself; not a candy-style, but simply a human-style with experience that she gained)).

That aside, what threw me out of the story for a minute was that dream NR1 and dream NR2. When I saw the repetition, I noticed the heroine didn't have a notebook with her and sensed what was coming... I get that the whole situation (or 2 situations, to be precise) was made with the allusion to "Alice story", but...

What I didn't like was that SJ sort of remembered the whole dreaming thing only after a while (so, If the alcohol was stronger, he wouldn't remember it at all and thus there would be no happy reunion, or what??? Or, imagine him remembering such thing after many years, heh... Ok, just joking). But still, since his realization happened just because he remembered the real situation and only after a while, it means, before the remembering, he didn't try to understand the heroine (he just chose to believe that she ran away)... It sort of diminished the whole big reunion. I felt it happened because of some chance, like coincidence (like outside force) more than it happened because of their love (ok, maybe, I'm exaggerating a little bit, but I really felt this way at that minute).

And another thing: the fact that Candy-girls in dramas love everything about the hero BUT his money. I actually never thought about it this way. In my opinion, the point of such kind of dramas is to show that the heroine chooses the hero NOT FOR his money. Not that she hates his money, but that she doesn't choose him for money (money being the ONLY reason why she wants him).

i wish they do a better ending lol XD

im gonna get hated for this.. i followed every episodes (started it because or Park Shi Hoo of course) and i didnt find any episodes boring but i wanted a better ending for Tommy Hong and Yoon Joo --> i love it when she chosed divorce but i thought the bloody hubby of hers will drag her back or she will get other success in life :(

im not totally complaining about seung jo and se kyung ending, its all well but i want more.. i dont know.. like after-happy-ending story? :P
anyway maybe its due to Park Shi Hoo superb acting that made me feels as if Moon Geun Young didnt delivers as much impact..
well.. im looking forward to his next drama <3

Moon Geun Young, she just ruins every drama for me. I don't know what's there about that face, it just makes me want to punch her. All she can do is pull that boring face and cry, she is BORING in all possible ways!

I'm really disappointed with the whole drama. Han Se didn't even do anything that shocking to get that gold digger reputation yet everyone was blaming her and making a huge fuss over it. I hate it how "bad" characters in dramas are never bad. I would have wanted to see Han Se turning really black even inside. I mean, one of the points of this darams was to show that gold diggers are just like us, that the society makes them into gold diggers it's not like the necessarily want to become ones. But.. Han Se a gold digger? Don't make me laugh. And I don't even understand why did she have to become a gold digger since she knew Seung Jo loved her back already. WHY?! She could have just told him I love you and that's it. Vaguely I think, the drama suddenly tries to point out that she became a bad girl just to wake him up from his dream? But I just think that's lame.

Besides I hate it how Yoon Joo got thrown away based on some shady video which didn't really tell much about her. Well they found out she was a gold digger and? What if she was one in the past but now loved her husband? Who didn't really love her back after all even though he said so. Well, I understand the point here but how it was portrayed here it was just plain STUPID. I like the contrast between Han Se's and Yoon Joo's stories. In the end Han Se won again, just like that drawing competition in the past, because she was more honest. But, anyway Yoon Joo's story is way too deep and complicated to be just on the side.

They brought in Tommy and made him seem like an interesting character but... suddenly threw him to the side? His character lacked depth and he was just a guy on the side who was always running after Han Se.

Always hate it when main characters date in the dramas because it's just awkward and feels fake. Until Han Se and Seung Jo started dating this drama kicked ass, after that it just went downhill for me. Besides, was it just me or did all scenes feel just artificial, fake, and pointless. I'm not saying dramas should be 100% realistic but somehow towards the ending all scenes in this drama started feeling really really awkward.

Thanks for the recaps!
Truly enjoy this drama..
I will miss this couple..
Thought they didn't go to Paris as promise but the ending is very very satisfying!
Thank you so much writers for a good ending!
Keep it up!

overall im happy with the endind..very satisfied..thank for recaps...

Candy do exist. Best MGY Unni done a great job. PSH is always with out a flaw. Great actors and script amazing. Am I not mistaken that the writers where the one who wrote deep rooted trees.

I really was baffled by this show and the ending left me really empty. Well, to a degree. I love seeing the cuteness and PSH smiling makes my life a better life to live...but the plot. WTF? It left me hanging in such a big way. The exploration of the themes was so murky because I don't think the show remembered what themes it was exploring half the time. It hid behind convoluted dialogue and unrealistic characters. Well, at least Seung-jo was very unrealistic.

Poor PSH and MGY were so badly underused as was the rest of the cast.

But that said, I did enjoy myself watching it for the most part...it's just recapping a show really makes me jaded. I bet I would've liked it more if I hadn't...

I loved reading your recaps though! Thanks for the hard work!

I can see two things that made this drama worth watching: PSH dancing in his kitchen and his good friend the Doc.

The other things... Huh. there were some interesting points about the society, some of those points were missed, some characters were cardboard, some others were pure vinegar, and there was quite a lot of potential wasted. I guess if Yoon Joo had realized earlier what kind of life she was really living and had started thinking several episodes earlier, this would give an opportunity to show her change with more detail and feeling.

I must admit I watched the whole drama with one song in my mind:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ff4oIojlSA

and therefore I could never really sympathise with the girls. Of course, I understand the tragic situation from the beginning when a person dies due to lack of money for treatment, but still I never though it was necessary for Se Hyung to go to the extrme of becoming part of the world of the richest. I would be absolutely fine with, let's say our Doc - smart guy and as a doctor probably wasn't dirt poor either :)

what i loved about this drama is that it never was what i expected it to be! loved it from ep 1 to the last moment.. i also liked the chemistry between the leads even though i think that PSH was the only one who tried and succeeded in making the chemistry work... i have a feeling that this show wanted to be a MGY focused drama but failed because PSH literally stole the show...

As for me now, waiting for the withdrawal syndromes to fade away...

Well I don't agree with the comments about how we were expecting a rom com and got something else, hence the bashing. I didn't bash. However, when you have "top" actors, when you start with an ambitious-looking agenda that intends to drown the evils of social pretense and vanity with a storm and end up not being able to even convince me why the characters did what they did - and btw Han se's "big sin" - the situation wasn't even realistic enough - what was that about?

It was badly written and directed. It turned a good and vulnerable girl desperate enough to seek another outlet for her ambition and ready to give it all to a more plausible goal into a cold self-righteous "know it all" who pretty much mocked the prince she was in love with. They should have spent more time on her and how she worked hard for every bit of her past successes, they have to spend less time on the previous boyfriend, they need to show us her heart. I could not relate to her. That's why I wasn't bought, I couldn't follow her and feel for her. They made him into a stupid, narrow-minded pompous a$$ who needed to be taught a lesson and that was too much. He was a hard worker too, he was no puppet, he wanted to make it on his own, a self-made man who was in a situation opposite to Han se's. They represented two worlds that converged not because they closed their eyes but because they are a good match - equally driven, equally hard working, equally to give it all to their goal. And they both wanted to be real and sincere. It could have been a good drama, but it was lacking sooooo many things. Thanks

This is my first time watching MGY and PSH. Find him totally charismatic, and SJ's affection for SK is believable. But I hardly felt anything from SK to SJ due to MGY's non-acting. So the ending just makes me wonder if she's really a gold-digger who has succeeded in landing her catch. Very unsatisfying for me. Boo.