To @katakwasabi and @laica, thank you for my enjoyment of Kairos weecaps and my pleasure fun watching of this.

I knew that 10:34pm thing had just appeared for the final episode. I felt glad that there's no need for season 2 for me.

I still loved SSR and I'm now a full-time fan and my fave for him. Along with SSR (who was busy with SBS reality show Master in the House), we wished all the cast and crew behind Kairos a safest year and good luck on all the next projects be successful enough.

Super solid ending. I guess I was just spoiled by the rest of the show keeping me guessing, but I did find it a bit predictable. I will say since that’s my biggest gripe with it, it’s way above most kdrama endings in recent memory. Our leads were awesome all the way through, and I kept hoping for some redemption from the antagonists (besides the chairman...we all know kdrama CEO’s are pure evil).

I’m a sucker for time travel, and everything about this drama was on point. The direction, the acting, the pacing, all great. I’ll definitely be recommending it to folks interested in a good show to watch (as I felt it was pretty underrated the whole way through by most).

While it's true that the villain was defeated in a pretty mundane way (i.e. via not one but two recordings of him rather implausibly admitting to his crimes), it’s the way it was done that was fresh and exciting. The recordings themselves are a trope, but what’s new is that they are recordings of almost exactly the same thing, said incorrigibly by the same person on two different occasions 15 years apart. And the guy chooses to say the same thing even in an alternative future. It’s a really amazing way to underline the cyclical nature of good, evil and life itself.

And there were other surprises. I expected Seo-jin to tell Do-kyun the truth (cos SJ has always struck me as being honest to a fault), and DK to try harder to persuade Hyun-chae to run away with him. But what actually happened makes more sense. Last week HC told DK she regretted nothing; SJ said she deeply regretted DK’s death - ergo, the only thing DK could do to make her see the light was to die for her.

It’s stuff like the above that demonstrates once and for all that a good cast and creative team can do wonders with a clutch of tropes wrapped in an overused genre. The passionate female lead, the cold male lead, the collapsing building, the adulterous couple, the mean mercenaries, etc etc - they are all here, but every single one of them is never less than compelling, and fits perfectly in the dazzlingly convoluted time-crossing narrative.

The last episodes confused me with the different timelines and all the changes, it was kinda repetitive. But in a general way, it was a great drama. I really love the fact that the story was consistent with its own rules until the end, the fantastic element worked very well. It was nice to see the characters unify to fight together. They formed a pretty good team! It was nice touch that Kim Seo Jin gave the winning lottery numbers to Gun Wook to help him and Ae Ri.

Thanks so much for your great recaps and comments, Laica. And also to all the beanies. It was been fantastic having this place to discuss about this show.

The only thing I didn't love about the ending is that it ended. This drama has been such a rollercoaster, such a fun ride, and a beautiful story about learning to trust others really well acted, directed and written. A perfect team, I can't say it enough.

I loved how the show payed attention to characters, even the side characters were so well written and defined we could understand their motivations, whether they were moved by desperation, greed or love. I want to praise Kang Seung Yoon and specially Park Ho Young. His Det. Park was present in every single timeline and had a special part on whatever happened but as the future changed and he couldn't remember the past as the timeline was erased I could see how he still was there, his true concern about SeoJin and his situation.

And of course hands down to SSK and LSY because without them this drama couldn't have been as perfect as it has been.

OMG, it seems last time I wrote my comment on dramabeans was 2months ago. I have been do busy with work and trying to balance watching like 5kdramas at the same time means writing about them took lesser importance.
This drama was absolutely gripping from beginning till end. But it seems changing the past or present or future it clearly showed the outcome may not be satisfying. Doing your best is always the best.

Well acted all around,it just shows no Chairman in kdrama world is ever good,and many business ppl always have the idea doin things for the greater of more ppl is good although some may get left behind. Well that is all for my write up.

I don't know if anyone else here noticed that Dabin and Seojin conversation about stars at the end of ep 16, is the same way the pair were introduced in ep 1. And it's amazing to see how different they were back then and now. In ep 1, Dabin wanted to stick stars on her room ceiling but dad was too busy to entertain her. Now, they are stargazing together and having conversations about stars and the solar system. I went: 'awwwww' as I watched them. So cute!

What does Kairos mean ?

I loved this show, it was suspenseful, smart and imaginative. The only negative was Hyun Chae's father storyline. It didn't make sense. Why not have your murderer for hire, Taek Kyu, kill him. Why did she want Tae Kyung to kill her husband instead. That was the only negative for me, the rest was really excellent.

@laica Thank you for another recap. The scene where Hyun-Chae imagines that Do-Kyun is still alive made me sad for what could've been between these two. What would their lives have been like if they hadn't chosen to go down the path of revenge and greed.

The ending sequence of Episode 15 starting with both Seo-jin’s getting in the elevator was so well done.

Episode 16 was perhaps a tad anti-climatic, but it was still satisfying, with everyone getting what they deserved. I'm glad Hyun-chae and even Jin-ho were going to get some sort of punishment for the planned kidnapping.

Geun-wook's confession to Ae-ri was sweet.

Kairos was a drama I wasn't even planning to watch but became one of my favorites of the year. Just really well done, with great writing, directing, and acting.

What a ride!
I wasn't expecting anything when I watched the first episode but kept on coming back for more because it was sooooo good. Definitely one of the BEST dramas I've seen.

Oh and yay for my ship! Geunwook and Aeri ♥
He confessed and paid back the money he stole! lol

I don't know why they did not include a back story on how Do Kyun got into Yujung Construction. Was it thru Hyunchae? I wished they provided an explanation...
Anyhoo, I am still satisfied and happy with the ending.

Not much to add to what's already been said by others but this is definitely one of my favourite thrillers maybe ever. The direction and editing were A+.

I love this drama so much. I’m im-patiently waiting on eng subs to finish watching the finale.

this drama lifted its way to be in my 10 year Top Ten...

well, i'll have to revisit that list, but i really, REALLY enjoyed this drama!

so many *finger hearts* to the whole drama, no complaints about a hasty ending or sloppy tying up ends... it just was a very good ride! i don't need a certain ending (happy, sad, having a romantic pairing where there shouldn't be, etc.). i'm so glad it just ended as it should have.

i waited/stalled for days to finish this series. i think, i truly think i didn't want it to end.... so i stalled for days....
; )

I love this comment a knetz wrote. I didn't notice this while watching, reading recaps, commenting about the finale until I read it on twitter:

The future has changed because of the past every time. At the end, the past has changed because of the future.

T_T

Thank you so much for recapping this drama Laica, I enjoyed these weecaps so much.
What a wonderful show and I wish we could have one more episode of Seo-jin and Ae_ri spending time with their loved ones.

Hyun-chae, there was no need to take things that far and I'm relieved that she has been arrested to pay back some of her crimes. I hope she gets the help she needs in time. it's great to see that the story started and ended with jin-ho revealing the truth and with him finally apologising to Seo-jin.
I'm relieved seo-jin and da-bin now have another support system with Ae-ri and her family. I'm sure they will be a part of each others lives and remind each other how important it is to cherish the present.

Chairman too was despicable, I can't believe that it came down to money, so many families hurt because of his greed.
He needed to be punished more along with Taek-kyu. Again Taek-kyu, his motive was money? One thing, I wanted the show to answer was how Do-kyun and Taek-kyu met. Also if Do-kyun met hyun-chae again at the company concert or if he was always dating her since college?

Great solid ending!! IMO I prefer aeri and seojin not falling in love bc they seem more like siblings to me. Their age difference could be 10 years ngl!! ALso, geonwook and aeri kinda cute together despite the fact that he scammed her (woops). Seo Dokyun was Hyunchae's gift for her hard life. He's so loving and loyal...he let her marry another dude and just keep waiting for her for 10 years. Even when he knows he'll die because of her, he continues to protect her. Hyunchae really dug her own grave bc of her greed. She didn't treasure dokyun, the person who cares abt her the most

At the last episode, Hyun-Chae’s has finally realized what’s truly important in her life after losing Do-Gyun. I find this intriguing because when SJ lost his wife and his kid in episode 1, he realized how much he really treasures them in his heart. I can’t help but compare the character development of SJ and HC of episode 1 and the last episode. Losing their precious ones is the only way they would come to their humanity. We see SJ finally becoming an active dad to Dan Bin and we see HC finally opening up to SJ showing humanity.

Somewhere deep in my heart, despite everything that happened, I still wanted HC, SJ, and Danbin to be a family. For some reason, I just felt empathy for HC and how her character came to be all psycho and twisted.
I’m not saying that we should justify HC’s actions but to understand that she was lost and didn’t know what to do her whole life. As a means of surviving she tried to kill her dad and this might be the start of her demented way of solving problems. This leads me to wonder if there is a deeper meaning why she married SJ and stayed with him a while.

In the Prison Scene, we get to understand the motive of HC a little better.

Investigator: “You could have just divorced him. Why did you do all of this?” “Was it for money?”

HC: “It was… all because of my greed” “At that time, I had gone to submit paperwork withdrawing from school” “I was getting tired of the poor man I was living with, then I met you” “You seemed like the savior who could help me recover everything I had lost” “I was struggling because I didn’t want to lose anything” “But I lost everything that was precious to me”

It’s quite intriguing why HC did not divorce SJ early on. I thought that it was because of the money, but something still doesn’t feel right. I honestly thought that HC saw a future with SJ where she will gain love, social status, and a family. If HC had gained that from SJ from the start, I think she will not have gotten this far in the drama. SJ was shown to have a cold personality and was always busy for his family. However, when their family went to a camping trip HC has shown a bit of humanity. What SJ has been a warm husband continuously from the start? Would things have changed?

Despite of SJ knowing that his wife cheats, he still cared for her and fulfilled his role as a husband and a father. From reading the analysis post, I agree with Lacia that SJ may have shown mercy to HC when he warned Do-Kyun of his impeding death. He knows that HC cares for DK. If only SJ knew early on about her abusive childhood from the start… would it have changed anything?

It’s an unpopular opinion but I still hoped that SJ and HC would not continue with the divorce. I truly think that HC could still work it out with SJ whom she sees as a “savior”. Thanks to DK’s sacrifice that HC finally gains humanity and snaps out of her twister mind of thinking. I wished that she still gets to be a mother to Dan Bin and a wife to SJ.