Wonderful World: Episodes 11-12
by solstices
At long last, the full extent of the tragedies that struck our leads is brought to light. Forced to confront the devastating truth, they join hands in understanding, empathy, and a shared resolve to punish the true perpetrator behind these awful crimes.
EPISODES 11-12
In the wake of his mother’s passing, Seon-yul is met with an unexpected discovery. It turns out his mother had been in the habit of recording her phone conversations, including the one she’d had with her husband on the night Soo-hyun approached him. Now, Seon-yul must confront the truth of his father’s callous cruelty, and the overwhelming grief Soo-hyun had been in that night — the same grief that envelops him now.
Reeling from the revelation, Seon-yul locks himself in his room for days, barely moving from his bed, until Soo-hyun pays him a visit. She knows all too well what he’s going through, and so she gently coaxes him into eating at least a little of the porridge she’s brought.
It takes a while for Seon-yul to pull himself together, but when he eventually does, he reaches out to Soo-hyun through a phone call. When she answers, she’s met with the phone call recording, in an indirect admission of the truth Seon-yul now knows and an unspoken apology for the vitriol he’s directed towards her. Quiet and contrite, Seon-yul admits that he’d blinded himself to her suffering; hating her was the only way he could hold on to a reason to live.
While Seon-yul recalibrates, Soo-hyun continues her investigation into his mother’s accident. She’s amassed a fair bit of incriminating evidence — the onsite skid marks demonstrate that the collision was very much intentional, and CCTV recordings show the driver lying in wait for Seon-yul’s mother to cross the road. When Soo-hyun tracks the perpetrator down, she learns from his destitute widow that he’d been lured in by Joon’s foundation, with the tempting but ultimately unfulfilled promise that his daughter’s hospital bills would be paid for.
Then, it’s revealed that Seon-yul had also done his fair share of detective work, having traced the evidence to the widow too. He’s known about Joon’s involvement all along; he’s simply been biding his time, because Joon had been watching him closely while his mother was still alive. To prove his point, Seon-yul notices that someone has snuck in and searched through his house, just a few days after he’d told Joon that he wanted to look into his mother’s accident.
Before Hye-geum moves away for good, she confesses to Soo-hyun that she’d seen Geon-woo leave the house with a tablet in hand on the day of his accident. At the same time, Soo-jin relays his mother’s last words to Seon-yul — she’d mentioned a tablet with her dying breath. Realizing that his mother’s treasured necklace may harbor a secret within, since she’d given it to him a few days before her accident, he removes her photo from its locket to find a SD card beneath. In it is a photo of a pawn shop, and a transaction receipt detailing the pawning of Geon-woo’s tablet.
Soo-hyun retrieves the tablet, retreating to the comfort of her son’s room as she watches the video Geon-woo had filmed for her birthday surprise. It had inadvertently recorded the accident; Joon’s scornful voice plays over the speakers, admitting to his drunk driving and sneering that he can’t let such small fry taint his political success, all while Geon-woo whimpers weakly. With an ingratiating deference, Seon-yul’s father had offered to take the blame as long as Joon protected his son. Then he’d gotten behind the wheel, revved the engine, and hit Geon-woo again — to kill the only witness off for good.
What an utterly devastating scene — both for Soo-hyun, weeping alone in a room her son can never return to, and for Seon-yul, listening from the doorway as his father’s sin irrevocably taints his memory. It’s one thing to suspect Joon’s involvement, with the knowledge that he had both the judge and the prosecution in his pocket, and another thing entirely to hear every excruciating detail of the murder he orchestrated.
Joon is a terrifying opponent to go up against with his unscrupulous greed and the immense resources at his disposal, and it’s so admirable that Seon-yul’s mother did her all to keep the evidence safe, even though she knew it would paint a target on her back. Now that the full truth has been revealed, I can’t wait to watch our leads join hands against Joon; Soo-hyun’s tenacious resilience and Seon-yul’s shrewd strategies are sure to make them a formidable duo.
After all the time we’ve spent with Seon-yul scheming from the shadows, it was satisfying to see him finally step into the light and boldly take action this week. Leveraging upon all the blackmail material Joon had him gather, he rounds up these political enemies and extends an offer — since Joon is still holding their scandals over their heads, why not join hands and topple him from his throne?
As for Soo-ho, he’s decided to throw caution to the wind and be proactive, too. When Soo-hyun discovers the evidence he’s compiled against Joon and rails at him for aborting his investigation partway, Soo-ho quashes his guilt-ridden helplessness by walking straight into the lion’s den — he approaches Joon to accept his offer and join his team. Both are keenly aware that they’re not allies in the least; they’re simply choosing to keep their enemies closer.
Our central characters are finally making some headway towards exposing Joon for the heartless scum that he is, but there’s still some angst looming on the horizon. Mere days after Soo-hyun finally opens up to Mom, admitting her struggles and seeking comfort through a sweet mother-daughter date, Mom begins exhibiting signs of dementia in front of Yoo-ri. I don’t particularly like how sudden this is — it feels like a paper-thin attempt to pile on the despair in the final stretch — so hopefully the show subverts that trope, because our heroine deserves to have at least some sincerity remain in her life after all the betrayal she’s endured.
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Tags: Cha Eun-woo, Im Se-mi, Kim Kang-woo, Kim Nam-joo, Wonderful World
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1 Sunbeam
April 7, 2024 at 1:42 PM
We are headed towards the end of Wonderful World and the drama is really good with substance, storyline and acting. Queen NamJoo is amazing as a mother returning back to her life after prison and finding those around her are not as she thought they were. Cha Eunwoo also acted very well as Kwon Seonyul, a patient, mastermind that eventually loses both parents, & is everywhere finding pieces of the puzzle to find his justice. The storyline intertwined these 2 strong characters together weaving a story that although they are both hurting, they are also there to help each other find the real villain of the story.
It was very heartbreaking that we find that Seonyul lost his mother and was devastated because he lost his only family member that was alive. The same hurt is also experienced as Soohyun lost the only son she had and now we find out what actually happened. Can't wait for these two to find the evidence and put Kim Jun through the hell he caused for them.
Not sure what Suho had in mind when he decided to work with Kim Jun, maybe he has decided to go all the way and work with Jun,like Seonyul did, to expose his flaws. He has gathered quite enough evidence and this could contribute to the downfall of Kim Jun in the last 2 episodes. He probably needs his detective friend, Han Sang, to help in the end.
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2 jerrykuvira
April 7, 2024 at 2:33 PM
Can someone get Joon some well-deserved prison garbs. I'm sure its up for grabs.
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3 fitra
April 7, 2024 at 9:39 PM
‘Wonderful World, for the victims standing in a world that moves on as if nothing happened’ — by Jung Deok-hyun, pop culture critic
This article refers to how the drama ‘WonderfulWorld’ delves into the profound anger & despair of victims who feel forgotten in a world that moves on after tragedy.
Soohyun (played by Kim Namjoo) & Seonyul (played by CHAEUNWOO), both having lost loved ones, are consumed by rage at the disparity between their suffering & the perpetrator's freedom.
The narrative challenges simplistic notions of good versus evil by portraying the victims as both seeking revenge & experiencing profound empathy for each other's pain. It highlights the flaws in a system that allows perpetrators to evade justice & victims to become ensnared in a cycle of vengeance.
Ultimately, the drama underscores the need for a just society where crimes are punished & victims find closure, emphasizing the importance of acknowledging & addressing ongoing injustices.
Full article: 🔗naver.me/FPB0s6LI
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4 bitu
April 7, 2024 at 9:57 PM
This drama Wonderful World is really good. As you watch ep 1 you want to dig deeper into each episode, you can't stop watching it as it's part of your daily routine. The revenge of this two characters now Focus on the perpetrators. I just want to see justice being serve to this perpetrators
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5 bitu
April 7, 2024 at 10:03 PM
Tô assistindo wonderful e arrasada tô segurando as lágrimas e falhando miseravelmente 😭😭😭, tô sentido a dor da Soohyun e do Kwon Seonyul do outro lado da tela
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6 Kurama
April 7, 2024 at 11:54 PM
The writing is quite frustrating. There is no surprise at all, so we have to watch characters reacting on a loud music about things we already knew...
So now, they know the truth, it will be nice they start acting the 3 together to take down the villain.
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Cecee is done DramaQueening
April 8, 2024 at 2:10 AM
I haven't started watching it yet, but I want to give it a go... and I am already convinced that I will share your views!
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leeboo
May 8, 2024 at 11:34 AM
As husband and wife, both are not working together, it’s really frustrating. She’ll rather investigate with Seonyul than her husband, ugh. Well, there is one final revelation as to who opened the gate.
And like you said, constant reactions to dramatic music. We could see the truth from a mile away so the revelations are not mind blowing
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7 OAsia
April 8, 2024 at 12:37 AM
These were the 2 episodes I liked the most so far. I especially liked episode 11. It was calm, without the hysterical narration that I felt in many earlier episodes. Even music seems to be less cheap for me. I think that the reason why I perceived the episode this way was the fact that this episode (11) focused on two main characters. There weren't many scenes with other characters, and the script bit into the emotions of two characters. I especially liked how the character of a young man in mourning was portrayed. By the way, the acting was good in these episodes. A lot of people always complain about this actor's acting, but in this drama he shows that he has done his acting lessons and you can watch him without wondering why he was chosen for the role. He is suitable for this role.
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Vladdles
April 8, 2024 at 8:32 AM
I agree with you that show is at it's best during scenes between our two leads.
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8 jarchibald
April 8, 2024 at 4:32 AM
This is one of the two dramas I am currently watching together with Queen of Tears.
Some things may be a bit predictable but I am enjoying it. The end of episode 12 still shocked me although I was expecting it. It was brutal.
I am looking forward to how the loose ends will be tied in the last 2 episodes.
Kim Nam Joo is excellent here just like in Misty. Pleasantly surprised that Cha Eun Woo is doing great as well. They have amazing on screen chemistry.
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9 Vladdles
April 8, 2024 at 8:13 AM
Show is definitely gearing up for all hell to break loose in the final two episodes! Despite some obvious flaws I am still finding it compelling, some of the emotional scenes are still a smidgen overwrought however there are unexpected surprises, some welcome some not so much. The death of Gun-Woo and the circumstances leading up to it were much more horrific than I had supposed. I liked that Tae-Ho knows why he was approached by Soo-Jin so we won't be going down that path but I suspect they are not yet done. The altercation between Soo-Ho and Han-Sang was most likely staged to put Joon off the scent. Not overly thrilled with the development of Soo-Hyun's mother's onset of dementia (I presume) ...is it really necessary to add another significant plot line this late in the series? We'll see. Lastly and I hope that I'm wrong but I have a feeling that one of our favourites (ahem Seon-Yul) may not make it to the end of our tale....let's hope that I am spectacularly wrong. Thank you @solistice for your recap and looking forward to reading your final thoughts.
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Vladdles
April 8, 2024 at 8:37 AM
oops stupid autocorrect I meant @solstices !
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Scottie
April 9, 2024 at 5:50 AM
yes, the dementia story line is not great, especially if it is meant to be dementia, it appears too suddenly. It could make sense as a temporary memory loss as a consequence of her break down and hospital stay. Known as post-operative cognitive dysfunction usually happens after anaesthesia and is normally short lived.
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Vladdles
April 9, 2024 at 6:31 AM
Yes I hope that you are right! It has just occurred to me (while typing this reply) we still don't know who left the gate open for Gun-Woo to get out of the garden...if it was Grandma I will throw popcorn at the screen surely that would be too much of a stretch even for dramaland! Is trauma induced dementia a kind of thing?...I would hope not! But she has gone back to that day in her mind.....I need to step away from the keyboard suspect I need to get out more 😉
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10 AtypicalDramaWatcher
April 8, 2024 at 8:44 AM
I just wonder where Gunwoo's dog is?
What was he doing at the time of the accident?
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11 Annie
April 8, 2024 at 2:36 PM
I hope that Suho's friend who threw flour on him was just an act so that the others can see and Kim Joon can be convinced that Suho is really on his side. And I also hope that all three of them will join hands in order to bring Kim Joon to justice.
Maybe it's too much to hope that Seon-yul will become a kind of son for Grandma, who had always been extra nice to him.
And finally the tablet re-emerged! I was thinking that it might contain some secrets, but the recording of the accident and subsequent murder was heartbreaking!
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12 peach blossom
April 10, 2024 at 2:03 AM
The ending twist in ep 12 was brilliantly delivered. Soohyun listening to the audio recording of her son's murder ,not the accident we had been led to believe it was. That was unforeseen despite all our guesses. It was heartbreaking and emotionally moving, and the impact of the thud as you hear it without seeing it had us shuddering.Great use of an audio narrative in a film media. Ep 11 was also hauntingly beautiful in capturing Seonyul's sorrow and conflicted feelings in his father's role regarding Gunwoo's death.Cha eunwoo did such a fine job in portraying Seonyul's grief .Its not the tropes which are common ,but it's the way they are presented and the acting that makes a wonderful world so good.
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