I think that the thing that hurt the most in Twenty Five Twenty One ending was that we all saw signs of how different Hee-do and Ye-jin were in terms of character and those differences were significant and would have strangled their relationship sooner or later.
After Yu-rim's controversial issue about changing her nationality, Hee-do went to find Ye-jin and emphasized her real feelings. She didn't want to be left in the dark about his hardships. She wants to shoulder the burden with him. They ought to share both happy and sad moments. However, Ye-jin took the decision of moving to the New York branch without even discussing it with Hee-do which is really infuriating. If Hee-do's mother didn't tell her, she would have remained in the dark until much later.
As @dramaddictally said, there weren't pulled apart only geographically but that trip brought all their differences to the spotlight. Going on with their relationship under these circumstances without addressing those issues would have resulted in a more heart-breaking and destructive breakup where our once lovers would have come to hate each other and their differences.
For me, I hoped they addressed those matters sooner and I wished Ye-jin would take a different stance and fight for his love for Hee-do even more. Maybe then we could have a happy ending for a unique couple that wrote a new definition of love and gave us one of a kind story.
One thing for certain, this drama will live for years to come and if one day I could get over the pain I felt from the ending, I would gladly rewatch it and enjoy once again such a great masterpiece.

@dramaddictally thank you for sharing this reflective piece and I agree with your thoughts on the dramas I saw. I also agree with this movie inclusion because it was such a shocking element to an otherwise beautiful story. It was a unique way to bring resolution and was the perfect fit for the show.

i never logged on this fast to share my thoughts on this before.
im surprised at myself cuz I watched all the shows stated on this list and personally, I found those endings quite refreshing as not everything in life has to have a happy ending. Of course each show had its flaws with their ending and opinions may vary depending on the viewer.

Personally, out of all the shows on this list, 20th Century Girl really gave me that chest-tightening-heart-throbbingly-painful-ugly-crying-multiple-days-of-pain-didnt-know-how-to-move-on feeling with their poignant storytelling, cinematography & ost. Even though it had a straightforward plot, the way the actors portrayed their characters (KYJ nailed bo-ra's innocence & freedom as a youth) and made the show absolutely shine MY GOD i was a mess for weeks and till this day (its 30dec as Im writing this) i still occasionally think about it (esp that scene with bo-ra looking at woon-ho outside her store in the rain when he tells her he's working at the ice cream store across the street THE WAY THE MUSIC JUST MADE IT SO FJIWOEHTNFQIEODHMFAOWIURCWIOE) the way I know a show has made an impact on me is that I still think about it for a long period of time after it airs.

ahem anyways, have a happy new year yall! I look forward to what 2023 kdrama department has in store for us (nervously sweats as AOS part 2 is ending in two weeks and idk what to expect anymore hahahahahhaahha)

25 21 : for me, the issue was more about Hee-Do being so different as adult than the break-up because it wasn't a surprise.

Yumi : I found Bobby's actions at the end didn't make sense with his character. It's why I didn't like the breakup, because it wasn't natural, they forced it in a weird way.

20th Cenrury Girl : even if the communication ways were different, I found weird she didn't know before. Otherwise, I don't think it brought anything to her character because it wasn't really developped. The whole story was already a misunderstanding between who loves who, so his death was just cruel.

Oooh, I appreciated the way you re-frame these "unhappy" endings. We often forgot that in the story world, the final eps isn't equal the real end of a story. I like to imagine these characters kept on living their lives in their particular pocket dimension. That means, the unhappy ending was merely an unhappy interval in their story, and that there's always another chance for happiness down the road. Even if it doesn't take the shape we viewers wanted.

I also like the optimistic reminder you got for us at the closing of this year. May we all find a way to reframe the disappointment of this year (whether on screen or in real life) with a more positive spin, and turn it into a powerful motivation for a better 2023.

I think what disappointed me most about 2521 is that Hee Do lost her gusto for life I didn't care if she ended up with Ye Jin, but I guess that is life.

I agree with you about the rest, particularly Snowdrop. He had to die, there was no other way out of that.

I know many of the dramas are a reflection of real life and therefore a happy ending doesn’t always make sense. I think my biggest gripe is I have felt lured into believing things are going to work out and then bam! We’re hit with a surprise ending. That’s just rude and disrespectful to the viewers.
On the flip side, yeah, there are times I want an improbable happy ending. Precisely because life is hard and we don’t get many of them in real life. If I want to watch something true to life I can watch the news or reality tv. My reason for watching dramas is to escape the harsh realities of life. But like I said in a previous post, we all have our different reasons for watching.
As far as 25-21, I don’t think I’ll ever get over the ending. It didn’t look to me like Hee-do and Yi-Jin were thriving apart. So, what was the point? First loves don’t last? Still smh.

I like the way you considered Gu and Min-jeong's relationship as a transition from the self-empowering lessons he taught her to those she taught him, and that in both cases, it resulted in them living happier, fuller lives (we're shown this in her case, and in his, although the ending was open, it seemed clear to me that Gu was ultimately going to get there). To me, this relationship personified the saying "I may not be perfect, but I'm perfect for you" and I had no trouble imagining that they stayed together and had a bumpy but healthy (for them) relationship after the curtain fell.

I also think you've nailed what the writers of 25/21 wanted us to see and feel in that ending, and I do understand it was likely intended to be bittersweet. I still hate it, though.

With "Snowdrop," I didn't mind the ending, and I think that's because that despite a very good first half where I was hanging on every moment the main couple spent together, I couldn't stop wishing they'd written these two as already together when the truth of his identity was revealed. Because they had only just met, and barely had time to develop more than a mutual crush, the life-or-death urgency of them ending up together wasn't there for me. Imagine how much more satisfying the whole drama would have been---and how devastating the ending would have felt as well--if these two had dated for at least a month before she found out he was a Northern spy, and viewers had to truly guess as to his real feelings and motives (and we would have eventually seen that he was as sincerely in love as she was). Writing their history as a couple in this way would have also made the power dynamics between them more interesting and nuanced, and her devotion to him more believable from the start.

Recently I've been thinking of 25-21 a lot, probably because I broke up with someone who reminded me of Ye-Jin in many ways. As you mentioned Ye-Jin cut Hee-Do off in moments of crisis and did not allow her into his emotional space. In the process, he also neglected her needs. I remember when Hee-Do said that their love isn't supporting her anymore or when she thought that her support isn't reaching him. I'm learning so much from Hee-Do to empathize but also to stand up for yourself. I don't think that's an unhappy ending and life never really fits into the happy-unhappy binary. I'm so very grateful for this drama!

@dramaddictally I loved this write up! Every word resonated with me cause I like to see the positive in things and the growth of characters who stay true to their convictions to the bitter end. Growth does not always come with roses but it does come with a better ending than the beginning was. It is painful but necessary sometimes. I watched My Liberation Notes and 25 21 and agree with your comments on both. The story ended as it should cause, not all relationships endure the test of time and sometimes are for growth. There is a saying that I can't remember verbatim but it is like: some people are in your life for a little while, some for a season and some forever. They are there to help you for a little while or to love you for forever. They come when we need something to help us learn or overcome or develop a trait we need.

I, for one don't mind unhappy endings especially if it is the logical outcome of the story or in the case of 2521 - is already a foregone conclusion at the start of the show. Same with Yumi's cells 2 - it was very clear from the start that it was not love for Yumi - she was flattered and felt loved but she was not ready. What I actually mind are happy endings that are forced just to make fans happy even if thaf twist does not make sense or too much deus ex machina to make it happen.

twenty five twenty one: i don't know. i must be missing something because the breakup makes no sense to me. or maybe i am stuck because i don't see Yi-jin's motivation for the breakup. he didn't seem so career-centered that he wouldn't be able to be a journalist and be with her. if anything, that would have been true for hee-do and i can understand her not wanting to wait anymore. i can see that he shut her out, but i wish the story would have explained why.
yumi: i am with you. i was only ever invested in yumi and didn't care much for season 1, in part because i wasn't invested in her first relationship. season 2 felt different because her and bobby felt like a real relationship. even him being tempted and the breakup and his lying-- it all felt real. it seemed like they were working through it. i can't quite see how she arrived at the decision that she wasn't in love with him. BUT i was not devastated because i think the story was very clearly about yumi and her ending up with someone altogether different was real and satisfying enough.
my liberation notes: it felt very much like a love story and not at all like one, which made the open ending work for me. and i agree that if i have any lingering curiosity, it is about how Mi-jung affected Gu.
20th-century girl gave me trust issues. i was babysitting my newborn nephew on a breezy fall day, only to have my soul crushed. i am convinced my nephew could feel the drastic shift in my energy and that's why he was crying at the end too. who could see that coming? i have no words of understanding to give this one.