It really was beautiful watching her retrace her steps to find. I get what the writers was trying to because he went looking for her and so she went looking for him. However, the amnesia just made me laugh histerically especially right after after the first one. However, I am glad they got a happily ever after because I was really expecting tragedy.

Now, I want to know what happened to my Jong Jong and Gu Jam. Did they have babies and live long wonderful lives?

What about my controversial Ryung Eum? Did he stay a beautiful messy elf in prison? Did he get out? Or was he just in prison?

All this to say, I enjoy this drama for the most part. NGM and AEJ were A++ together and apart . They were truly the highlight of the drama. LCA was done dirty though.

... Writernim. You're a Hack.

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Last week I said the amnesia means you can't take anything this show does seriously anymore.

Double amnesia and backing out of your tragic ending (they should be dead) should make you the laughing stock and blacklisted drama of the year.

It's bitter laughter though because I think this show is truly an offence to good Storytelling and Story everywhere.

Good riddance, My Dearest, I did not cry and I will not miss you.

@alathe I've waited a whole day for your recap, and finally I'm rewarded. Like you, I cried without let up during the entire episode. I'm still tearing up while reading about the beautiful ending, and I too have several questions not answered in the finale.

Alright, what's everyone going to watch now that we've put our lives on hold for 3 SOLID months? My currently watching list is full of sageuks and dramas I'm rewatching (especially those of Namkoong Min roles) and I will not move on to anything newer until my heart is satisfied. Here's to more watching and even more rehydration to replenish what out tears diminished. My Dearest is officially entered (by me) into the Korean Archival records as a Timeless Masterpiece.

Thank you everyone for all the INFO regarding the history, and commentary, of My Dearest. Much love to all.

This felt like watching a show where all the pieces were there for something truly amazing, but the screenwriter and production team couldn't quite figure out how to put them together effectively. I feel like this show set out to do three things:

1) Tell an epic love story
2) Explore the history of the Qing invasion and its aftermath
3) Eviscerate neo-Confucian ideas about female chastity, gender, sexuality and class

While I thought it did an epic job of number 3, it was less successful for me with elements 1 & 2. As many people have mentioned, the love story in part 2 became more about trying to find increasingly implausible ways to keep the couple apart (a random princess, amnesia, MORE amnesia) rather than exploring what awesome things they might have been able to do together. Also, many of the historical elements felt rushed - random names would be mentioned as "important", but we never really got to know who these people were or see their significant actions on-screen. Hwang Jin Young continues to be a writer who seems better at exploring philosophical, moral and social questions than at plot construction, and once the show stopped paralleling Gone with the Wind, the set-ups and pay-offs felt off-kilter and awkward. For instance, if Jang Hyun's grandfather's false treason report was going to be so central to the story, why did we only learn about it in the final episode? Finally, while I guess it was nice that there was an openly gay character in the show, the fact that he appeared to be the only gay character in the show's entire universe felt bizarre. If a show is going to spend so much time singling out ridiculous female chastity norms, I'd appreciate if it didn't fall back on the idea that it's fine for characters to be gay as long as they don't actually, you know, have gay relationships and spend their entire lives pining for oblivious straight people.

Jang Hyun & Gil Chae were such a mesmerizing couple. Both clever and fierce. Sweet and kind. Gil Chae was especially riveting. Her transformation from an immature, carefree young lady to a mature, resilient woman was a delight. No doubt she was strong from the beginning too.

I haven't seen a lot of Ahn Eun Jin's and Namgoong Min's acting so it was a great experience watching them here. If I didn't care for their characters, I wouldn't have made it to the end.

It would have been too cruel if the writer had Jang Hyun die. After all he had been through. Part 2 definitely had weaker writing. If this had been preproduced, the writing may have been tighter and this drama a masterpiece. The finale dragged out whether Jang Hyun was alive or not. The first amnesia was so unnecessary when the finale one was more fitting to the plot. Jang Hyun remembering Gil Chae's wish was beautiful and Gil Chae seeing her dream home come true was lovely. Their reunion was touching. This final scene was marred a bit by the first amnesia device though! Namgoong Min was stellar, the two amnesiacs acted differently lol.

Lee Hak Joo commented that Yeon Joon was both brave and pitiful (Thanks @Seeker for sharing this article too). I agree with him. Yeon Joon had conflicting emotions and was tested throughout the drama. Gotta give it to Lee Hak Joo. He acted well.

I love that Gil Chae and everyone went back to their beloved Neunggun-ri and the outcasts found a new home. It's a nice circle from how they started the series.

I liked a lot of characters. Jong Jong & Goo Jam were adorable. I'm happy for them. Ryang Eum is alive, but what else happened to him? *sighs* I'm glad he didn't become a villain though. Also glad to have witnessed Kim Yoon Woo's acting. Need to see him in more roles soon. There was wonderful acting from various players. Crown Prince, Eun Ae, Yong Gol Dae, Choi Myung Gil, etc.

Honestly, the negativity in the previous recap discouraged me from commenting. There were valid points, but still depressing all the same. Anyway, I won't dwell on it.

alathe mentioned the fighters being royal troops, but they weren't. They were palace slaves. Jang Hyun wouldn't have survived if it had been the official army.

However, he has — oh god, please no — no memory — not again — of who — drama gods have mercy! — he is.

^ LMAO. I was of the same mind.

In the end, I will think of this drama fondly due to the main couple. Jang Hyun & Gil Chae were the heart of this show.

Aaaand just like that, it’s over. *Wipes tears* A million thank yous, @alathe for guiding us on this journey. I have truly appreciated your recaps and observations so much! :)

I too can see why they did the amnesia this time. I’m honestly not mad about it. It was only groan-worthy because they ALREADY did it…SIGH. Writernim. I stand by the fact that that entire ep should have just been cut even more now.

I came into My Dearest expecting a good tragedy, but with the way things progressed for our JangChae, I’m not mad they got their softer epilogue. I loved the return of the dream sequence, the literal retracing of steps, how everything became cyclical and fairytale-like.

I *am* mad about Ryang-eum. Him being the white-haired prisoner was not surprising. That it was so sloppily done was. (Not that nothing else has been sloppy, but for a framing device introduced in Ep 1 it sure seemed lazily tacked on.) With no indication of what will happen to him it feels like a needless punishment for a character that was already done dirty. And what did it really even add to the show? Blegh.

There were things I loved about Part 2, but overall it lacked cohesion and the I missed the feeling of being swept off my feet that Part 1 gave me. It wasted time on stuff it shouldn’t have and rushed over or neglected things I cared about. (Poor Eun Ae.) You said it well, Alathe—I cared a lot about this series, so it was painful to watch as it kept dropping the ball.

I could go on and on but I’ll stop there for now. I hope I can eventually make peace with the show and appreciate all I loved about it without focusing on the “could haves"...

Thank you all for your insightful comments! It’s been a pleasure even when it was a rant-filled one ;)

Who is the white haired guy in the prison? What happens to him?

In trying to unpack my feelings about this show, I'm reminded of how some authors talk about their writing process and how they felt their characters assumed lives of their own -- in some ways dictating the story (even though they themselves were the creations of the writer). I wonder how different "My Dearest" would have been had this taken place with Gil-chae and Jang-hyun. Based on this writer's interviews, it seems her goal was to tell a historical tale within the framework of a love story to give it emotional heft. But not centering the characters led to some of the elements that felt like missteps to me: their Forrest Gump-like presence in multiple historic moments even if it seemed improbable, their repeated separations in service of said historical moments, the waxing and waning presence of previously important characters depending on their relation to the historical moment du jour, not to mention last-minute plot/info dumps. That said, the highs of this show were so very high, and I'm grateful for the times when it really did sing, like flowers even.

Thank you, @alathe, for the recaps! I'm glad it's over, and I got one bean, even if I had to FF through some episodes.

Goodbye, Jeonha, and hello Pyeha.

@alathe thanks for a lovely recap! i believe your thoughts resonates with many of the beanies here who truly loved the series! Perhaps Part 1 was so perfect, naturally the expectation that followed will be very high. Hence the agony was real when Part 2 faltered in parts especially in the 1st half. There were also one or two episodes midway where (in GJ's words, ep2) one feels like slapping someone in the face & make them cry!😅 Thank goodness MD pulled through. Notwithstanding the open-endedness for RE and second amnesia (which, agreed, was a-okay as compared to the first one!). In the end, all's well, ends well. MD will be missed & remains a beautiful memory. Definitely sets the standard for an excellent sageuk with the right casting & production team!

Thank you alathe for your wonderful recaps, it feels like we have all been on an immense journey.
NGM and AEJ, wow, what powerful performanceswhich can't have been easy to maintain while filming for 11 months.
The production quality, cinematography, costumes, OST, the rest of the cast, etc were amazing.
The last half of the show seems somewhat bittersweet but the writer did remain consistent, providing endless obstacles to keep our leads separated until the end.
The 3-5 minutes we were given (per episode and only the last couple of episodes) of the leads being happy, together before they were again separated for various reasons was not enough payoff for all the angst, drama and pain we have had to endure.
After watching the last episode I feel like I have been trudging along behind a "dangling carrot".
There are too many conflicting emotions but maybe that's a sign of the show getting under your skin, good or bad and having an impact.
I love this piano cover of the main theme https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSWZOFTegVs.

I will miss this epic saguek. It stands out in my memory for using "Gone with the Wind," then switching to a historical Kdrama--2 different dramas for the price of one! I decided to binge-watch part 2 rather than suffer through weekly drops. There were several times when I thought it could have ended, especially with episode 17 but I lapped up every minute and was glad for the extension.

Looking forward to your comments, Beanies!

A highlight for me was the EXCELLENT music. The instrumentals were well-placed and beautifully composed. Ahn Eu-Jin did a great job on her recording of With My Heart and all of the other vocals were tastefully done.

This review is terrific and the comments are great--I agree with many of the comments about the writing and organization of the plot points so I won't go into detail with my frustrations, however, I still LOVED this drama. It gave me "feels" that were similar to The Princess' Man. Just one little plot point thing: I was worried that since the writer used
movie plots for inspiration, that in these final episodes she would revert to use another movie plot. While searching for Jang Hyeon, I thought she would use the Jeremiah Johnson ending. So, I was pleased points were wrapped up, like finding Jang Hyeon was really alive, the red string/husband dream and the Ryang-Eum in jail (with long white hair) because there was so much meandering in this drama. There was just so much to cover!

I already suspected last week that the amnesia trope was inserted at short notice when the decision was made to extend the drama by one episode. After the last episode, I am convinced that my suspicions are correct. While Jang-hyun's memory loss and his journey back to Gil-chae in episode 21 in some ways ties in with the first episodes and brings the love story to a fairly satisfying conclusion, the first memory loss felt like a spur-of-the-moment stopgap by the writer and was thankfully dealt with fairly quickly. The timeline in episode 19 also didn't fit at all. After all, didn't it actually take much longer for the crown prince and crown princess to have to die than the few weeks it took for Jang-hyun's haematoma and bruises to heal?

Speaking of the timeline, it was weird in episode 21 too. I can't imagine that Jang-hyun was missing for ten years, so the scenes in the asylum must have taken place in the future.

The happy ending didn't surprise me, after the first half of the second part I was pretty sure we would get an ending like that. The writer had fooled us too many times with false leads, so anything that hinted at a tragic ending in the first episode 1 was surely just a feint.

However, some questions remain unanswered. What exactly happens to Ryang-eum? Will he remain a prisoner in the asylum forever?

In the end, I have to say that part 1 was great, part 2 was good, but this was mostly due to the two main characters, the actors, the setting and the music. It would probably have been better for the script if the drama had already been shot before it was broadcast.

Gil-chae will likely always be one of my favourite FL, a strong woman who doesn't let anything get her down and has an irrepressible will to live. It was great to witness her development and I'm grateful that she was given a happy ending.

I admire the way the author has always highlighted the fate of women during and after the war. Her criticism of the stubborn adherence to traditions and teachings at the expense of others was also clear.

The recap did not mention King Injo remembering crown prince while he was going to die, what was the significance of this scene. He is remorseful? or to show that the crown prince was poisoned when he hold the hand of the king which was black in colour?

There was no proper resolution on Ryang Eum, imprisoned because he was Gay?

@alathe , thanks for the recap !!
A long 2 part journey. I liked Part1 better than Part 2 .

I actually liked the Qing better than the Joseon Court. The king did not give us much to cheer for. Sad fate for the Prince and Princess.

The Lonely Qing Princess arc was a bit of a mess. I would probably scrap writer’s ideas and redo that whole segment . Aigoo

The show was pretty, had some good acting , the story though, was a bit of a jumbled mess for me.

I am curious about Jong Jong’s status. Was she a slave before or a consider a servant or was there a distinction between the two ?
With her marriage, was her social class elevated ?

The second part was pretty disapointing. After the first one, I put all my hopes the writer will get the couple together in a good and "made sense" way. But they were separated the most part, they continued to lie to each being too proud, made JH loosing his memories twice, etc.

For the politics, it's less frustrating when the villain is an ennemy who has his own purposes than an ill and paranoid King.

The end didn't make sense in the story but it did with her dream. She ran everywhere and they were finally reunited on a beach.

For JH, I wished we knew his whole story before the last episode... It explained why he didn't like the scholars, the King, their morals. It explained why he didn't want to marry. His father was awful until the end. It would have been nice to get this confrontation before and him finally opening to GC about his past... but she still doesn't know anything about him. It was weird to see him being so "friendly" with General Yong Gol-Dae, when in the first part, he had his toenails ripped out.

For GC, my favourite part with her was when she was running away with Eun-Ae and their maids. I really missed to see these women together after. Otherwise, I found her too immature with JH. Her marriage didn't bring anything to the story neither her kidnapping. I'm still convinced she was too lucky that nothing happened to her and Jong-Jong. In the second part, we don't know how she could give food to so many people. Selling 4 knives couldn't last so long... She spent the most of her time to treat JH and waiting for him.

At the opposite of Beanies, I wasn't fond of Ahn Eun-Jin's acting. I did like her when she wasn't trying to be a noble woman. But when she was playing the noble and young woman, or wife, I didn't like her ton. It sounded too soft and flat for her character.

I didn't understand Ryang-Eum's arc... Why he was in prison and why they needed him to tell this story? I wished he found happiness too.

Goo Jam was the best character! I'm happy that he married the woman he loved :)

My Dearest is a great disservice to Choi Moo-sung and Lee Chung-ah.

In a few words...

Part 1 was amazing. It gave me some of the best sequences I have ever watched in a tv show. I can understand people who disliked part 2 but I think objectively the first part was a high quality drama in everything.

Part 2 is not bad at all but it is worse than the first one and that always blurres the overall impression.

Now... amnesia. I didn't like that writing decision, but at least I guess it's realistic, because JH had been badly beaten. But I dislike the last time jump. It wasn't necessary; I didn't need to see King Injo dying, I didn't want to hear Yeon Joon had been looking for Jang-hyun for years.
And that's what I think is unrealistic, not the amnesia. He was living quite near and she didn't have a clue?
This beautiful and poetic ending would have been better if they had been separated for some months, imo.

Eun-ae leaving her husband even though it came very late was one of the best things that happened in the finale. I was literally waiting for it. Her husband called her "a stain we need to remove from joseon" even she made clear that nothing happened and that the barbarian was killed by Gil-chae - the bravery on the part of this strong woman. Somehow he was deaf to the part where nothing happened and only heard "her wrist was grabbed".
Him saying he was more angry about the fact that she kept it a secret from him for many years than the fact that the event happened earned a stinking 🙄 from me.
So when it was clear that Eun-ae left Yeon-jun to himself and arrogance, it gladdened me.

His suicide attempt did nothing to soften my perception of him. He was an ASS.

But, Yeon-jun was really pitiful as Lee Hak-joo said. But I can never call him brave. He was not, and never was, a brave man. Had he not given that reaction to Eun-ae, I'd call him a brave man.

Someone who deserves the adjective brave is Yang-chun, who despite being a deeply entrenched Joseon man fought himself to shed his bias against a despoiled woman, to the point of embracing the said woman in a warm hug, weeping with the woman. Now, that's bravery in the face of strong joseon ideology. If Yeon-jun thinks he is a Joseon loyalist, he should come see Gu Yang-chun who despite being a thug held joseon principles dear to his heart. You'd think that because of his occupation, Yang-chun would easily be amenable but we saw the work he put in before he could warm up to the captive women in Simyang.

This amnesia, inasmuch as I didn't like it, it made sense. But 10 years...naaah. That's punishment. It was too long. But it does make sense - 10 years I mean - if they want to give us an idea of the length of time Eun-ae spent separated from her husband.

The last four episodes did a very good job in tearing down all the admiration I had for Jang Cheol. His pride/moral justification in his supposed principles is appalling.

Okay not going to lie, I think maybe because I waited and binge watched the final four eps, I was quite exhausted and exasperated when the second amnesia thing kicked in because I was just urgh please give them a break. I also watched the final ep quite late at night and half a sleep so I thought he was dead and she was seeing things so it took me a couple of rewinds to understand what was going on.

SO I did come here prepared to rant a little BUT @alathe your final paragraph stopped me right in my tracks. I didn't even think of seeing it as her living out her dream sequence! Your take literally felt made me feel like the sun had risen in my brain. I especially loved your observation on how the whole drama was centered around this theme of cycles too, because that's something else I'd not thought about either. So seeing it fresh now from through your lens of analysis, I can also appreciate the beauty and the poetry of those final scenes - a massive thank you for sharing your view! 💕

Overall, I'm also with you that the show had a lot of high highs and then a lot of repetitive clunky bits also, but for what it's worth the highs were great and Part 1 will defs go down as being some of the best K-drama I've ever seen 👏

I end on being glad I watched My Dearest even though I doubt I will ever rewatch it. Part I of this drama was so good and made me so invested to carry me through Part II while it was quickly drawing down the banked affection and interest in the drama.

I won't rant about what went wrong with Part II because I think I did that already here and in front of the screen while watching. However, the failure to resolve Ryang Eum's story, with which they started the whole drama, shows how shoddy the drama became with its storylines. I don't think it was done intentionally; I believe all the creators loved this drama and wanted to be great. Instead, I think since this was not preproduced, this juggernaut became too unwieldy for them handle in real time (the extension was a prime example of this) and they were just doing things on the fly. For example, on the last day of filming, which was only a day or two before the last airing date, it snowed when it wasn't supposed to. (I think that must have been the scene the courtyard of the country house where Gil Chae found Jang Hyun waiting. You can see it snowing even though the trees are in bloom as if it were spring.)

The thing I loved about Part II was Gil Chae's growth while retaining her grit and gumption. While Jang Hyun had wanted her to live extravagantly and loudly and seemingly selfishly, Gil Chae took care of others and in the end wanted to live modestly and quietly.

Overall, I left with still some affection for the drama. So thank you, My Dearest.

Thank you @alathe for the recap, it was a good one.
Although I have not watched as many kdramas as our beanies here, I have gone through most of the big ones or I tried to watch them with an open mind. Only one captivated my attention as much as MD, and it still does at every rewatch until this day. Besides the obvious charisma of the actors that I knew nothing about before watching the show, what drew me in towards MD was how GC will be portrayed, if she will end up being the usual female modern activist we are so bombarded these days and if JH will end up being the useful idiot that dies in the end for the love/unrequited love he has for the FL. I am happy to say that it did not happen but that both of them were so well written until the end that it had more impact for the feminism cause than the ones that beat you to pulp with it that it feels as propaganda. As it did, for me at least, for the LGBT movement. I came to love RE, not for his gay inclination, but for the human being he was and that is where, as a society, I think we should thrive to achieve, to see all beings as equal regardless of status, race, gender or sexual orientation and not because of. Sure he had flaws, sure he acted irational at times, sure he had a love for the JH that was not returned (just as the qing princess did) but that is what made him as human as any of the other characters. But showing him alone in a pool of straight people made me think more how hard and lonely it must have been for gays through diferrent period of times and how far we have evolved from those times, just as we did on gender issues. One of the reasons I watch sageuks is to see and understand how those people lived for 500 years of joseon era and still cannot comprehend how it lasted that long without the people revolting against that opresive system and how, until this day, some traces of that is still seen in modern SK. And how, through the years, although not perfect, we are better off because others went through many trial and errors experiments. Korea's history has so many lessons to tell us and because history repeats itself, it helps us to better understand many issues we have today.
As the story progressed, as I have said it before, I was happy to see how the writer portrayed the CP and I think the whole part 2 was dedicated to that. She needed to show the captives to show the change and the concerns he had for them even after his death, through his letter. And the continuation of the events after his death. Although not fully showing in the drama, I got an understanding of how hateful Injo was towards the the crown princess, her kids and her supporters and why he had them killed. Before their return, as I have read, the qings wanted to exchange them, placing the CP as the king and take Injo as a hostage in S-city. The fear and hate that the qings induced in Injo made him suspect anything and everything. Probably that is what drove him mad and kill the CP family, ultimatelly placing...

I love, love this show, but I do agree that the ending was a little aggravating. YEP- the amnesia trope was used one too many times. I wish they hadn't done it earlier, and then the ending one would have been more powerful. But I think even a different ending - with an actual tragedy - would not have been so bad. I think the beauty of this show was that the writers had done enough foreshadowing infused enough realism that the viewers wouldn't have completely been angry about a tragic ending where JH would have died (or even both of them). You could have still shown an "imaginary" idyllic life for the two of them as imagined by Ryang-eum, which would have satisfied as fan service (a la the movie Atonement, I admit). A show doesn't always need to have a happy ending for it to be memorable and leave you with an ache each time you think about how it ended (Scarlet Heart Ryeo, anyone?!).

Needless to say, "My Dearest" is the best historical drama of this decade if not of all time. The acting, emotional OSTs, BGM, scenery, historical background, little details here and there - all of it made this the best historical drama I've ever watched. Crown Prince Sohyeon's hit hard even though I already knew what was coming after watching "The Night Owl" and doing some research on my own. He and his wife deserved so much better, unlike his paranoid, idiotic father!

I'm sure everyone experienced the heart-wrenching pain of JH and GC's times of separation and misunderstanding as if it happened in real life. Surprisingly though, no tears were shed at the finale but Gak-hwa finally letting go of Jang-hyun and ofc the amnesia arc that displayed JH's out-of-this-universe devotion towards GC came really close. Brilliant acting from our three leads in those vulnerable scenes.

Everything came full circle in the end with JH and GC reuniting at the beach in her dreams and everyone back at Neunggeun-ri. Did anyone else notice the hints MBC dropped when they posted the main location clips of each Part 1 clip during the wait until Part 2? I have to say those posts made me realize everything began at Neunggeun-ri and will probably end up back there since it's an empty village perfect for captives to live in peace without anyone disturbing them. I'm extremely satisfied with everything and I won't even complain about the many loose ends that weren't tied up even with the extra 100-minute episode because the actors worked SO HARD filming right up until the last broadcast. Thank you so much, Namkoong Min, Ahn Eunjin, and MBC for bringing this drama to us and thanks Alathe for making such awesome recaps! Here's to a long, happy life for Jang-hyun, Gil-chae, and our big happy family at Neunggeun-ri!

I have not clearly organised my thoughts and feelings with regards to My Dearest. For now, I have also little time to dedicate to that, so this will be just a few remarks around a couple of topics.

The elephant in the room as you, @kodra, called it … I had a thought regarding this beautiful, large mammal with its proverbial long-time memory — in this setting.

The two amnesia events can, I believe, factually/medically, also be explained differently. The first one, with a haematoma in the brain, more specifically a subdural haematoma (the doctor had mentioned that there was no fracture to his skull, so an epidural haematoma seems less likely). If a memory loss of about 12 to 13 months can incur with such a medical condition I do not know. I do not find it implausible though.

I agree that, from a layperson’s perspective and due to the proximity of these two amnesia events in the drama’s portrayal, two amnesias seemed at least odd to my understanding initially.

However, if you consider the second amnesia event, this can be due to the emotional trauma which had reached breaking point after this senseless killing on the beach and after Jang Hyeon had realised that his father had commanded that his son was to be sacrificed for his own reputation and status in society. So, @kodra’s comparison to the condition Gil Chae’s father suffered from, is not far fetched in my view. He lost it after he had to witness his friend’s and long time scholar partner’s murder sacrificing himself for the others, feeling the guilt that he survived …. the survivor’s guild.

Also, the second event occurred after Jang Hyeon realised his father’s fundamental betrayal — as Injo had betrayed his son, So Yon. Fear reveals a person’s cruelty … Beanies, remember that statement ? As true for the 16th century, as it is for the 21st. Jang Cheol’s potential atonement —which I mentioned in my comment to EP 18-19’s recap— does not happen. Instead he sacrifices his son.

For Jang Hyeon, there is only one deeply seated speck of light remaining in his mind, with which he retraces his steps and his sanity. That is linked to Gil Chae and their interactions, revolving around their reunion in Baendari.

In that sense, this second event could possibly be a description of a very serious case of PTSD (there are such cases from the Vietnam war for example, I believe) … and only when the prompts of her description of her husband are given by her on the beach, followed by the ring falling down into the sand and rolling in front of his feet, that speck of light deep inside him flickers and comes to consciousness. Gil-Chae’s desperately pleading expression on her face is haunting, I find … He picks up the ring …

Then —answering his question from years ago in her (bed)room at Baendari, what she had been thinking while riding the swing— Gil-Chae tells him that for some reason she felt that the husband in her dream would come...

The first bout of amnesia established that our hero has serious brain (plus body, mind, and soul) trauma, so it's slightly more credible that a second bout could be triggered by his injuries on the beach, plus the betrayal of his father and kind-of friend. Nice that Ryang Eum's faith in his friend's invincibility is justified; now just break him out of prison/loony bin and I'll be happy.

Huge thanks to @angelshadows50 and @Kodra, who pointed out that MBC broadcast an extended and re-edited episode 21 on November 23 with added scenes showing the fates of some of the major characters, especially Ryang Eum. @angelshadows50's fanwall has posts with detailed descriptions that make both the additional scenes and the episode overall much clearer and tell exactly what's changed and where to find it - go read them! The extended episode is now on Viki with subs, replacing the previously broadcast version.

It's a pity MBC's poorly-planned production schedule led to them being unable to broadcast a better edit of the finale on time - regardless of one's opinion of the show, it's a disservice to the viewers, the actors, and everyone who put effort into it.

Thanks @alathe. Kudos for fitting in so much detail and so simply into your reviews. Not an easy task because when there's 21 episodes. It was so interesting to meet another culture in a kdrama and learn how the Qin operated ...both their harsh governance in the army as well their looser social mores. This drama set the bar for me on so many levels:
First: the cinematography was in lockstep with the mood of every scene...breathtakingly beautiful one moment... yet also excruciatingly bleak in tone, the fast-action cut-a-ways & even lighting & colour if something 'dark' was happening to a character in the scene. Definitely another character in this drama contributing to the action & emotion of the story. Outstanding.
Costumes: Also on point, the jewel colours for the rich played against the drab, dirty white uniforms of the poor which were also contrasted with the wild colourfull clothing of the Qing.
Cast: Wow...ALL of them consummate actors who committed 100% to their characters. Applause for Namgoong Min especially. The wide range of emotions he channelled kept my attention riveted on his face whenever he was in a scene, waiting for his reactions to first flicker in his eyes and then spread across his face. Add in his deep strong modulated voice, and he was the powerhouse in that drama for me.
Plot: I loved it. Some have been second-guessing the choices of double amnesia, and the metaphorical dream ending , but neither of those were important enough in the overall story to dwell on. Instead, I was pulled along by the epic scale of history that the plot was cast inside, as well as the larger-than-life figures the author gave us. Just ‘Wow”. Will re-watch this one day when my heart has returned to a normal beat.

I m late to this party but I have finally just finished watching My Dearest...I actually watched it twice because I love the characters so much. I loved that Jang Hyeon and Gil Chae had a happy, if delayed, ending.

But there are so many confusing things about the end, especially Ryang Eum's story and the timeline. I am assuming he did get out of "prison" since he went to visit Gil Chae (and took JH's fan!), but when actually was that? Also, was the character (name?) that went to look for Ryang Eum the young boy that was raised by the "captive" mother?

Uh, sorry. I may never know these answers and the confusion doesn't diminish my love for this show.

Namgoong Min deserves all the awards he has received for his outstanding performance and it's a shame that Ahn Eun jin has not been recognized. What great chemistry between them.

I know I'm one year late to the party but I just need to process this.

Holy cow I haven't finished a K Drama, let alone a historical drama but "My Dearest" had me in its grip unlike any drama I've watched. I won't say any more because practically everyone has analyzed it here already (Thank you so much, Alathe, for your beautiful write-up!). What I've noticed is that Korean writers tend to overcomplicate a drama then haphazardly end it. Unfortunately, this one fell into this trap as well, I believe. However, I think there are still many redeeming elements to this drama. Namkoong Min and Ahn Eun-Jin, my goodnessss. Chemistry and acting were on fire. I never grew tired of seeing them cry. Each tear they shed made me want to cry alongside them but I was never able to. Maybe the reason why my heart hurts so bad now is that I wasn't able to let it out lol. Facial expressions, nuances, even eye movements were just spot-on. I really didn't see NKM or AEJ; I only saw Lee Jang-Hyeon and Yoo Gil-Chae.

I concur with everyone that Part 1 was well done. I think it could have ended in 16 episodes but maybe the popularity of the drama forced the producers to extend it? As far as I know it's common for that to happen. So writers end up just succumbing to the people's demands, sacrificing artistry.

Nevertheless, I really, really, really enjoyed it. I really want to write a letter to the writer, Namkoong Min and Ahn Eun-Jin hahaha.

Thank you, everyone!