So in a sense -- evil grandmother's last act was to give them the finger :)

Thanks for the recaps @lovepark. As a fellow scaredy-cat, I have to agree that it was nice to watch something different from the usual k-drama fare. It also had the right balance of not too scary but enough to make me jump 😅. Loved the performances from all 3 leads + Kim Hae-sook too.

I have to pause between ep 11 and ep 12, watching it alone at night in my room. What I like about this drama, it manages being scary and creepy, without being gory. I laughed how the ghost is so hell bent to make people open the door for her and when Sayoung says she doesn't want to burn the finger but her hands go on burning the finger 😂

The last two episodes were incredibly intense, with episode 11 being great. I like to watch thrillers, so I don't get scared much now, but the way the spirit was lurking in front of the car and the underground, with the constant knocking, was really threatening and powerful. This scene will stay in my memory for a long time.

I really enjoyed this drama and it was as good an ending as these folks could have. I would definitely recommend this and once again I am in awe of Kim Tae Ri, she is stupid talented.

RIP to perfectly good mattresses and sofa cushions destroyed during last ep. Wish there was a bit of humor in the drama. It was so heavy throughout.

I felt bad for Hyang-yi, but then I remember some of her actions towards others especially her younger sister.

Episode 11 was a very strong episode.

Best drama of 2023? I think so.

For me, now I get why Kim Taeri is a great actress. She really did well in Revenant after my last drama of her, Mr. Sunshine. 2521 isn't my forté, so no idea about her on that.
Although she didn't look scary at all (her starring isn't really works there 🤭), but I applause her for making this drama is about Sanyoung fighting her biggest demon: herself. And she nailed it especially when she was possessed by Hyangi. Her being deceitful and juvenile-ghost character was almost flawless there.

I always be there for next Oh Jung Se drama 😁...glad he get more leading actor position and will look forward for his upcoming project.

Thank you so much @lovepark for your recap.
A great drama for me, definitely worth binge watch soon!

loved that San-young was the one to finally seal the spirit, loved the wrist reversal, and appreciated that there was no 11th hour miraculous eye recovery. That scene on the bridge when her face juxtaposes her despair and anger ... just wow.

Definitely the best out of all the kdramas airing (or aired) at the same time. Sad that it is not widely available internationally (Disney!). Suspenseful until the very end.. which is a rare one as most kdramas' last episode is usually fluff or PPL fest. Overall excellent acting from the cast (no weak link here, even the cameos brought their A game). Hyangi teen actress was also scarily good.

I said this before, the strength of this show aside from the acting and directing is the plot interwoven with folklore. Even the last scene, I appreciated the lore behind the firecracker festival.

The persistent knocking at the car, the subway, bedroom - goose-bump inducing scare without even showing the ghost. Nicely done.

Bravo, show.

Thank you for the recaps! I loved loved loved that last reversal where San-young takes back control. It's one of those moments that's perfect on a plot level and a character/thematic level. I'm also really happy they didn't magically fix her impending blindness— it might not be easy or fair but she's prepared for it and is still determined to live her life for herself. Oh and hooray, San-young's mom and best friend survived!

As hyped as I was for Hyang-yi's backstory, I was not disappointed. I was constantly split between sympathy for her and horror at her actions, and I really appreciated how she was a clever antagonist throughout. And for pretty much every question I had about what happened in 1958, the show had an answer for me. The only thing I found slightly odd was how easily Mok-dan was substituted when Hyang-yi was pretty explicitly picked out by the shaman. And did the second-born thing come about as a result of it being Hyang-yi, not traditional ritual?

Before I say anything else, I’m with you all, what a great show it was till the end! I am going to miss it.

But the final episodes didn’t begin well for me. The whole no-ghost day and trick grandma plot line was just too convenient and unbelievable. There were other plot holes and conveniences that also stuck out, but then the show gave me two of my favorite moments: the spirit chasing our leads across town and the touching, creepy back hug. What a fabulous reversal of a classic kdrama trope.

I loved Hyan-gi’s story. Even within the short flashback, she was allowed to be complex. That’s always much more interesting to me. Whereas grandma remained evil incarnate, as lordcobol put it so eloquently, gave a finger till the very end. As for mama, I think she redeemed herself a little, and more importantly the show gave her a life of her own, let San-young realize she needs to live for herself, but without requiring a total break of their relationship.

I didn’t guess the twist of Hyan-gi taking over, nor expected how she’d be expelled—or at least fully. And that’s always an achievement in my book for this genre. And finally, we understood why the spirit had permitted them to search for the objects (tho why our leads weren’t more suspicious is another matter).

If I have one big wish for these two episodes, it’s that they’d stretched out a little more. I wanted more time with Hyan-gi’s backstory. I wanted more time when she had fully possessed San-young. And yes, I wanted to spend a little more time in resolution as well. But I wasn’t disappointed. In fact, I was relieved Hae-sang got to live and Hong-sae (who at last deserved his third billing in the third act) and San-young still had their little whatever. Yet, it was bittersweet, the whispering voices of the dead, San-young’s loss of vision. But the dead pass on, and San-young has grown, she will be all right.

Finally, for a show steeped in folklore, it ended as it should, in the stunning firework celebration. Our traditions matter, we should celebrate them.

It wasn’t till the last few eps that I realised Revenant had quite a lot of ferocious female characters: San-young and Hyang-yi, of course, but also Grandma (old and young), the shaman, the hungry-ghost-possessed schoolmate, the bereaved mother who let ghosts invade her village, etc. In contrast, the men are among the quietest and least macho K-drama male leads I’ve ever seen. In fact I think Oh Jung-se and Hong Kyung might have been specifically picked for their ability to hold the screen without hogging it, thus giving Kim Tae-ri’s performance the space it deserves.

Still, I think it’s Hyang-yi who is my favourite character. A bubbling cauldron of envy, suffering, glee, hate, love, shame, fury and sheer will, she completely overturned my “victim as wronged innocent” preconceptions, yet perfectly embodied the ghost’s voice and behaviour. Moreover, thanks to her, this is the first time I’ve found an English title as apt as the Korean one. A lot of fictional ghosts are mainly vengeful or evil, but for all her malice HY’s greatest desire was to return to life, to live again.

I wish the show had had more time to explain some things, though. E.g. Hae-sang’s mum and Prof Gu failed to save their respective children, so how did Prof Gu shift the ghost? And for that, shouldn’t Prof Gu have deserved more gratitude from Hae-sang, and more ire (and swift reprisal) from Grandma? I’m also not sure why the parents, the other villagers and the shaman were ok with Hyang-yi getting Mok-dan to take her place. At first I thought the shaman had planned it for optimal ghostly viciousness (and THAT scene in the shed was truly horrible), but how could she have known that HY would try to rescue MD? If HY had just taken the money and run, wouldn’t MD’s ghost have been a bit weak? Not only was she not the second-born, she might also have been forever content with white rice, fried eggs and the occasional pretty trinket.

This is the winner of kdrama 2023 for me so far. Yes, there were issues - mostly writing left a lot to be desired if you're in the mood to nitpick (and I always am, heh). Like certain "cases of the week" were unimpressive, pacing sometimes felt off (main trio took AGES to team up properly), plot holes and devices were so many, not to mention subpar characterization often only saved by actors (did I blink and completely missed young cop's backstory that would've explain his weird initial attitude?). Thankfully for the show, everything else was high quality enough to make up for those flaws. Directing, music and acting really shone through, it's been a while since I've seen such an all-round strong production. Btw, if anyone's interested, YT and Spotify have full OST, 55 (!) tracks in total. And it's EPIC, gives you chills all over better than AC^^

Let's talk about good things first. Starting with acting - a lot was already said about it being KTR's show first and foremost, and this notion is not wrong, she killed (har!) her part. Boys weren't bad either - OJS is never off, I suppose, even in such stoic and low-key role and HK had his moments too, esp in later episodes. Also, is it just me or OJS was more good looking than usual here? Rich elite vibe suits him))) Supporting cast did well too, special shout out to grandma from hell (bet she'll feel at home down there), shaman lady (another psycho) and, ofc, our titular antagonist - Hyang Yi - who gave an unforgettable performance in the only episode she was in. The award for creepiest back hug in kdrama history goes to... I'm afraid it'll take some time for me to see the gesture as swoony again)))

Visuals. Making this story not straight up horror, but occult thriller/mystery with relatively tame amount of gore worked perfectly. This drama is like that monster supposedly living under scared child's bed - hardly more than a nameless creepy shadow, mundane and even silly, but still can swallow a careless one whole *The Cure's Lullaby starts playing* Who needs rivers of blood when you can opt for subtler things like wrong reflection in the mirror, otherworldly stares, weird smiles or abnormally sized and colored moon? Or the simplest yet most impactful of them all - absolute darkness slowly consuming FL's vision and life, both literally and figuratively. Cursed fishes were silly af, no doubts here, but everything else, esp NASTY folklore bits like child corpses hanged on the tree or the whole yeommae thing... ewww. I both want more exploration of k-shamanism in dramas and at the same time I do not, this stuff is not good for my already low opinion on humankind.

Sound. Oh boy... Watching it at nights was quite an experience. If I ever rewatch, I'll do in in earphones for bigger impact. Don't do it like me unless you really like to have your nerves tickled)))

I really enjoyed this drama, especially its use of folk beliefs and traditions.

Loved it,till date favorite kdrama of the year!!!
Kept me hooked from the start and made me anticipate each weekend...The cast was steller and were perfect for their roles...The drama had a bittersweet ending but somehow works with the whole package....Confess that i somehow wanted something more for it’s finale or better said climax but maybe i'm being too picky here...
Want more of Oh Jung Sae!
Loved the folklore aspect with it's folk beliefs and traditions and found it really intresting and educational,wanted to know even more...

Congratulations fellow scaredy cats. We did it. Albeit me watching with covered screens and low volumes and always in the day.

I loved it, even with all the questions. Example, why did Professor Gu want his daughter to have the hair accessory? Was this something I missed amidst my moments of horror and I blocked out some scenes?

I may be the only one here who teared up when Sanyoung had that epiphany while trapped in the mirror. Her desire to live for herself was so strong that she became braver and physically and mentally stronger, and that was how she overpowered her demon ghost.

That attachment scene was spooky. I have heard stories from ghostbusters that ghosts or demons that possess humans sometimes do so because they like the humans.

While this drama was good, and I enjoyed our team immensely, I cannot rewatch because, creepy horror. And for the first time ever, I have a tiny crush on Oh Jung Se. He looks super good here. Hee.

I came to this late and it became a gripping three-day watch. Initially I'd watched about 5 minutes and stopped. It was way too spooky. Not sure why I summoned the courage to restart. Perhaps I'd glimpsed some positive reviews. Also seeing it was Kim Tae-ri and Oh Jung-se changed my mind because they are stellar actors. It turned out to not be that scary, but in fact a highly moral tale with several flips. As always, many kdrama characters are rarely one dimensional. Their back stories make them sympathetic. The villagers, the parents, the two sisters were desperate and pitiful to one degree or another. The drama showed how inequity, deprivation, envy and greed gave rise to malevolence. When Yeom-Hae sang asked his grandmother if she had killed her husband and her son to live in a room shut off from the world, it summed it up for me.

Others here have pointed out the short comings as well as the merits of the drama. I'm so glad I watched it. Meaty stuff, impossible to turn away from in spite of my misgivings.

Revenant is now available on Hulu.