May I Help You: Episodes 15-16 (Final)
by Unit
If you were shocked by last week’s reveal, I’m pleased to inform you that you haven’t seen anything yet. Brace yourself to be even more shocked, and perhaps, disappointed, as the drama comes to a rather unsatisfactory and off-putting end.
EPISODES 15-16 WEECAP
If I could see the future, I’d definitely have nominated this drama for the “Everything was fine until the last few episodes” category in our Worst of 2022 Beanie Awards, but alas! What is with dramas these days and ruining their perfect stories with absurd additions and diversions? First they turn a beloved character into a villain for no good reason, because aside from the shock value, there was absolutely no reason for Hae-an to be the one behind Joon-ho’s death.
Instead, they made him out to be a straight up psychopath, and almost had him jump off the Rooftop of Doom if not for Tae-hee’s intervention. Only then does Hae-an become remorseful, and turn in the black box footage of the accident which implicates him as the truck driver. Afterwards, he apologizes to Tae-hee and pledges to suffer from the guilt for the rest of his life — or at least for all twelve years of his incarceration.
Watching the agonizing footage from the black box sends Tae-hee into another round of depression, and Dong-joo chooses to give him space. It’s only after Joon-ho (in a dream) tells Tae-hee that the accident wasn’t his fault that Tae-hee eventually finds the strength to move on. And with the closure of the Joon-ho case, all’s well that ends well, right?
It’s supposed to be all sunshine and rainbows going forward for the rest of our characters — from Il-seob and So-ra’s growing romance, to our couple who immediately get Dong-joo’s dad’s approval to date, and finally, to Vincent getting a much welcomed investment to expand his errand service business. (I can’t be the only one who chuckled when Vincent wrote “May I Half You” instead of “May I Help You” in his business proposal lol).
But the expansion of the errand business poses a question for Tae-hee: continue as an errand boy, or return to the medical field? Decisions, decisions. Chung-ha is all for Tae-hee’s return as a doctor as she says her goodbyes to him in preparation to move to the U.S. And while Vincent is ‘happy’ that Tae-hee plans to remain in the errand business, it’s obvious that he’d like nothing better than for his nephew to go back to being a doctor.
In the spirit of decision-making, Dong-joo decides to quit her funeral director job after she fulfills her last ghost request, and actually take up studying for the civil servant exam like her dad wants. And this comes after she trails her dad to his security guard job and gets upset that he’s working so hard to support her when she’s just lying to him.
With the warning bells stemming from Dong-joo’s last ghost request, my pulse sped up when she trailed Dad across the road. Thankfully, all stray trucks were held up in traffic or something, but that didn’t stop the nagging feeling I had that the drama was about to do something stupid. Turns out that I was right because a few scenes later, Dad exited the show as a hero after saving a pregnant tenant from a falling object. *Deep breath*
Honestly, I fail to understand what in the poetic nonsense the drama was trying to achieve by making Dad become Dong-joo’s last ghost. It’s annoying enough that I watched this over breakfast (and lost my appetite immediately), but it’s worse because Dad already quit his job at Dong-joo’s request, and he was just staying on until his replacement arrived. This is basically snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, and I don’t think I can forgive the show for killing off Dong-joo’s dad.
Dad’s death adds nothing to the story aside from needless misery, and it’s almost as pointless as the existence of Dong-joo’s other friend who was just there to meet up the required character quota or something. I so hate it when shows kill off characters for trivial reasons, or just because they can. Wake up, you’re a K-drama, not Game of Thrones! Well, I hope the show is happy now after making Dong-joo an orphan — perhaps it might even give itself a pat on the back for giving Dong-joo the ability to see ghosts, since she’s able to see her dad after his passing.
It’s sweet how Tae-hee stands guard outside the room to give Dong-joo more time to spend with Dad, and it’s sweeter that after being the one to groom the deceased people throughout the course of the show, Dad is the one to take care of Dong-joo this time. Fatherly duties don’t end even in death, and I teared up again at the flashbacks of all the father-daughter times they shared together.
As the drama draws to a close, we finally learn the reason Dong-joo was given her ghost-seeing ability. Apparently, her mom was trapped in a fire while pregnant with her, and every single ghost Dong-joo helped on her journey were the people who helped out during the fire. There was the taxi driver who called the emergency services, the ones who alerted the firefighters about the location of the survivors, and Chung-ha’s mom (surprisingly enough) who was the doctor to order the emergency C-section that birthed Dong-joo and prevented her from dying with her mother at the hospital.
Of course, the drama just had to shoo-in the childhood connection trope — or rather, the child and fetus connection trope — because Tae-hee was also in the building at the time of the fire, and he was protected by Dong-joo’s mom. Oh, so that’s how he got the burn scar we saw in the first episode! Anyway, with all 21 ghost requests completed, Dong-joo no longer sees ghosts. The honor now belongs to a rookie at the funeral home, and I’d have found that funny if I weren’t still grieving Dong-joo’s dad.
In the end, life goes on for Dong-joo and Tae-hee, who return to their callings to serve the dead and the living as funeral director and doctor, respectively. And no, we do not get a wedding as a reward for faithfully sticking with the drama for eight weeks plus two weeks of preemptions. Yunno, because the drama was determined to wreck us right to the bitter end, making us mourn for what could have been. And maybe I’m just being emotional, but the drama should just have stuck to the episodic ghost requests rather than pile on this truckload of misery that nobody asked for.
At this point, I’ll just swallow the rest of my very colorful thoughts about the drama’s conclusion. This last set of episodes ruined the entire story for me, and I’m going to slap a “proceed at your own risk” warning on anyone who wants to go ahead to watch the show. May I help you? Pfft. No, you may not! You’ve done more harm than good, and I’d rather watch paint dry than go through this experience again.
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Tags: Hyeri, Jun, Lee Kyu-han, May I Help You, Song Deok-ho
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1 Reply1988 -❣️Mother Bean❣️
December 24, 2022 at 10:15 AM
@unit thanks for staying the course what a terrible ending to a drama with so much potential. I hope your next watch makes up for this one. So glad I waited and have heeded the confirmation from the last few weeks that this one needs to go on the run far away from this one list.
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Unit
December 24, 2022 at 3:43 PM
Between this one and Summer Strike, I've most definitely had my fill of dramas straying far from course. Phew!
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2 jerrykuvira
December 24, 2022 at 11:33 AM
I guess I'll be on the lookout for the next Lee Gyu-han project to watch as this clearly won't be it.
How do you conveniently ruin a solid rep just like that.
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3 pliplipli
December 24, 2022 at 12:06 PM
I expected sadness to the last "client" but I didn't expect the drama to go there. like... this girl already had to grow up without her mom and you didn't need to take away her dad like that, show!
its a shame what this drama become bcs it was nice to see hyeri acting a different personality type and I LOVED the chemistry between her and junyoung, especially when their character were at the flirty/falling in love phase. the drama completely forgot about the swoony part of a romantic relationship at these last episodes. I can appreciate a lot how they never went the noble idiocy route and always stayed by each other during hard times, but dongjoon and taehee looked more like best friends than lovers by the end. or a married couple of 50 years that are more like life partners than young lovers. we only got ONE kiss. what a waste lol
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4 Miss_elly
December 24, 2022 at 12:14 PM
This drama wrecked me. I only watched the last ep today (finally got some alone time) as it’s Christmas and it’s busy. I like others I had a horrible feeling all of episode 15.. and when I was proven right I was kinda speechless. The last few episodes ruined a really good drama.
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5 LaurenSophie
December 24, 2022 at 1:01 PM
I was so struck by the writing quality of many of the earlier episodes that I have to wonder if someone was hired at some point to "fix" the script and we ended up with this. The really tragic thing is that the story they were telling was great! It's not like they ran out of material or themes or anything like that. All they had to do was simply continue revealing the layers of guilt and sadness and loss surrounding Tae-hee's brother's death. No need for Hae-an to be a psycho--just a guilt-ridden young cop with a terrible, alcoholic father who mourns his big brother even after he tries to get over the guilt he feels for letting that brother drive drunk and hit a kid (who he has just discovered is his friend Tae-hee's younger brother).
At the same time, sweet Dad (no need to kill him off!) was prime to find out what his daughter does for a living. Working through all those complicated emotions would have been more than enough drama to get us to the end.
This show had so much going for it (great direction, performances, and chemistry between the actors) but belly flopped so unnecessarily at the end. I'd still give this writer a chance, just in case the original story arc was messed with beyond recognition. But I will definitely proceed with caution.
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6 Toodlepip
December 24, 2022 at 2:57 PM
Lots of ugly crying from me after dad passed. I saw this one coming for a while actually, as dad was just way too nice to escape unscathed. I'd rather the writers left us with hope rather than depression, but, as noted, this seems to be the direction many kdramas are taking these days.
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7 kd6606
December 24, 2022 at 3:28 PM
@Unit, I totally cracked up reading your review - I could feel your anger - and I totally agree 100%. I guess if I am being generous, one could say the drama was about loss, but NOT THE DAD!
I give my bean of shame to this drama and Summer Strike for killing off the nicest, kindest characters just for needless gratuitous effect.
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Unit
December 24, 2022 at 3:46 PM
Heh! I was worried that I was being too emotional with the review, but I just couldn't help it. I was that disappointed.
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kd6606
December 24, 2022 at 6:51 PM
I feel you! That last hour I kept asking myself, why I am still watching this, it just keeps getting worse and worse. kinda painful fascination on how stupid it could get I guess. And I have a very high pain tolerance for bad endings!
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8 Elinor, Team Glasses team co-captain
December 24, 2022 at 4:30 PM
I feel fortunate that Twitter warned me about Dad before I watched, so I was prepared for that and was more annoyed than heartbroken. As an episodic ghost-conflict-resolution drama, it had some really nice moments and I enjoyed those. I did feel completely cheated out of another kiss. @unit, thanks for sticking with it and I totally sympathize with your frustration. Better luck with the next drama!
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9 Bunny Sonaki
December 24, 2022 at 6:28 PM
I cried my heart out during the last episode Why did they do this to dad? He was happy that Dong-ju was going to move back in with him and was preparing to live happily together again. so WHy! This is one of the dramas that had a strong beginning but failed due to turning to overused and useless tropes and it is high time Kdrama writers realize that using tropes for the sake of just using them ruins the shows. Why couldn't we get a happy ending with everyone getting the closure they need!
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10 Britney
December 24, 2022 at 6:38 PM
I didn't think I would make it through the final episode because I was crying through 40 minutes of it.
I kinda saw that death coming (or the death of the pregnant lady) but oh, that didn't stop the pain. I was genuinely ugly crying for 40 minutes. It was truly a noble, touching, and fitting death for him.
I liked how full circle things played out such as her first ghost was Tae Hee's brother and her final ghost was her dad. It felt kinda cathartic that they were able to have that final conversation and he was able to just see what she was able to do as miraculous.
I thought Dong Joo's mom died of complications from a preexisting condition so I was totally surprised that she was the pregnant woman who helped Tae Hee (I thought she was going to be revealed as the mother of the orphan). And the way all the stories were connected! Oh my heart! If memory serves, Tae Hee also ended up helping some of those people.
I just whole heartedly was satistified with this finale. It's bittersweet of course because of the dad's death but it's still so touching and sweet and gives me faith in humanity.
I felt a bit bad for Vincent having to cut his hair because that was his self expression and clearly he was attached to it but he did look dapper with the cut haha (maybe also older?)
It's nice that Tae Hee went back to being a doctor. I would've been fine with either choice (being a doctor or staying at dime a job) but the fact that it symbolized him moving on and being able to help people just once again felt so right for him.
I really love how both Tae Hee and Dong Joo will continue to help people in their own ways and they've helped each other too. I love a parallel so seeing the ending scene of where they started, him as the crossing guard & her just walking past him, to where they are now, happy & content (looking awesome), just made me so happy.
I'm so used to ending dramas being kinda apathetic that when I finished this, it was kinda surprising that I could be so affected and it was a pleasant surprise.
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11 Unaspirated
December 24, 2022 at 9:16 PM
I liked the last part of episode 16 enough that I almost forgive the drama for killing off Dong-joo’s dad. Almost. Was that really necessary? Was there no other way of getting across your message than that? They hinted so hard that they were heading in that direction through episode 15 that I (more than half) expected it to be a fake out. But I should have known, I guess. I’m not saying that I didn’t appreciate all the touching tributes to Dal-shik, especially those by Father Michael, and I’m not saying I didn’t appreciate her opportunity for Dong-joo to say goodbye to him, but I hoped that we were going to move on from the devastation a little sooner than halfway through episode 16. These people already had lots of tragedy to deal with.
All in all though, I’m not ashamed to say that I really enjoyed this drama. I loved Dong-joo and her quiet strength, I loved our OTP and their mature support of each other, I loved each ghost’s unfinished business that we got to witness. The last four episodes didn’t live up to the promise of the first 12 (sounds familiar), but it honestly wasn’t as egregious as lots of other dramas I’ve seen this year, and (maybe sadly) that’s a recommendation.
The things it did poorly can’t be ignored, but the things it did well can’t be either, and I remain charmed by this drama despite its missteps. The things that were great about it at the beginning were still great about it at the end, and for that, I’m very grateful. I didn’t even mind Chung-ha coming back for a second if it means our male lead figured out where he was supposed to be, and So-ra and Il-seob were as cute as I wanted them to be by the end. I even liked the way they ended Hae-an’s story, with him being disgusted with himself, scared by how much his history was repeating itself, and willing to accept the consequences of his crimes. Was it everything I wanted it to be? Sadly no. Am I still going to remember it fondly? Probably yes.
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12 Writers are stupid
December 25, 2022 at 12:56 AM
I wanted the happy ending for them all! I AGREE that killing off the dad was stupid... This is a kdrama that starts off light and ends up with a dark end... such a waste... 😭 I will not recommend this show to anyone....
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Unit
December 25, 2022 at 2:39 AM
I laughed for a minute straight at your username. But then I remembered that I also write, so...🤐
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13 sakuradaydream
December 26, 2022 at 7:17 PM
im super late to this cuz i was on holiday for the past week but im SO thankful that past me decided to drop this drama a couple episodes back and stick to the weecaps cuz it just wasn't gelling with me (i got bored okay?) I just got caught up with what happened since and i only have one thought:
wtf?
that entire shtick took a turn that i didn't see coming.
I was afraid from the start that they'll off her dad AND I WAS RIGHT WTF?????? that was the most unnecessary thing they could've pulled for this drama.
apart from that everything else was just a major turn off for me, makes me even more thankful to past me who dropped it and saved me precious hours of my life
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14 Angie killed by doom writers
December 26, 2022 at 7:58 PM
I'm very unhappy with this ending. I want to vent all my very rude words for the writers but I won't.
Only one kiss. No proposal for Dongjoo or Sora UGH
Then they throw in the story of her power at the end and don't even explain all 21 people. Joon Ho couldn't have been in the fire. He wasn't born.
They couldn't tribute to the dad. Instead of his death, he's just remembering all the time it was just him and Dongjoo before Taehee moves in or they all move to a bigger house.
I hope this cruel writing isn't the new standard.
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15 sakuradaydream
December 26, 2022 at 11:06 PM
past me who dropped this drama would be so glad to know she didn't miss out on anything. idk why but i just got bored of it and their acting was so weird.
I also remember thinking when i first started this drama that if they offed dong-joo's dad i would be so pissed and you can imagine my disappointment when I read this weecap.
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16 Bhavya
December 30, 2022 at 4:24 AM
Its all about the perspective and yours really disappointed me. I guess thats just negativity which can not be helped. A really really great Kdrama which is criticized this badly. I don’t even understand where you are coming from. Well u can have your opinion and i can have mine but its just put badly and negatively. while giving the episode recaps just tell what happened not what u felt. Its a review or your opinion or your emotions or your personal stress put into the recap more than the episode itself.
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17 MajorCarat13
January 24, 2024 at 1:50 AM
Why is my heart breaking for Seo Hae An? He made terrible decisions but he didn't have an easy childhood and life. These last two episodes were a struggle to get through.
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18 Major_Carat13
January 24, 2024 at 1:54 AM
Why is my heart breaking for Seo Hae An? He made terrible decisions but he didn't have an easy childhood and life. These last two episodes were a struggle to get through.
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Reply1988 -❣️Mother Bean❣️
January 24, 2024 at 2:08 AM
👋🏾Welcome to the comments. We hope you will have fun here.
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Midnight
January 24, 2024 at 2:11 AM
A hard struggle. I agree. I skipped them on rewatch.
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