I thought she was breaking up with him. Turns out she just wanted to go to law school.

I loved the ending, i thought it was so great that there were no grand villains who committed fully criminal acts, just people on a power trip trying to get their own way and some people who were a bit nasty but not unrealistic and their own insecurities and hubris took them down. The two women's reputations taking a hit because they got into a hair pulling fight and students gleefully took videos of it and posted them online was somehow the funniest but fittest retribution. This is also why having a whole cast of interesting and different women with agenda like here is so good, because you can have the two biggest irritants be women and they feel like real characters instead of just gendered exceptions or writerly misogyny.

I loved the main couple but i do think the drama needed some more episodes just to build a bit more normal time together, they had early sweetness but the harsher things set in pretty fast in episode time and i wish there had been more time just to marinate in normalcy, but i loved them together anyway. I love that Hye Jin had multiple people by her side who loved and respected her, not just her boyfriend, and i loved that Jun Ho lost his cockiness but didn't turn to despair and instead matured and tried his best to figure out a future with her together. Them being in love and mature enough to give each other time and talk things out was really nice.

I also like that it didn't feel like Hye Jin got chased out unfairly even though technically that was the trajectory, there had been signs of her feeling disillusioned by her life, and getting to a place where she doesn't need to worry about money anymore and can truly concentrate on finishing what she wanted to do before becoming a teacher was a really nice arc. The proposal scene was also very cute, though lol, kinda fast. But I shelved my disbelief because it was written well and I wanted the happy ending. Ryeo Won is always great, I thought Ha Jun was great too and i enjoyed this side of him.

Min Ji was one of my favorite parts of the last episode, such a minor character and i felt so many feelings for her! That was really good writing and acting, all the secondary characters felt like they had rich interior lives even in the small bits we saw and i love when shows do that. Chung Mi was right up there with the leads for me and her storyline with seung kyu was adorable. I don't think we were meant to take him seriously about the new hagwon with Chung Mi, he was trying to boost his girlfriend's profile with his mom because he knew about both their ambitions, I thought it was a cute mother son scene, and the resolution with her as vice director was well done too instead of trying to build from zero.

I'll miss this drama, i had maybe some minor quibbles early on but I loved almost everything and this pace and grown up conversational style is not that common in dramas.

For these episodes, it was nice to see how our heroes infused some doubts and it was enough for the women to not get along anymore. The situation wasn't perfect, not sure there was a winner at the end, but they could survive and gain a new goal in life.

I love this kind of dramas focused on characters and their feelings. the world is not black or white and this drama showed it very well. There wasn't a big villain but people with needs, feelings, ambition, etc.

In general, Jung Ryeo-Won was stunning in this role. I felt so much for her character. For Wie Ha-Joon, he wasn't bad but I think he lacks some depth. I liked their love story and they were credible but the little spark was missing for me.

I liked how the supporting characters were written like Hye-Jin's friends. They were such a lovely couple and the friendship was really nice to watch.

I was kinda stunned how Seung-Kyu just asked an appartment and an academy from his mother like it was nothing... I would never dare to ask something like that like it was a due. I already had issues how he squatted at Jun-Ho's house and slept in his bed....

At the opposite, I loved Chung-Mi. She was ambitious and didn't hide it but not to the point to step on people. I really liked her honesty.

The teacher was a really good character, I loved his evolution and how at the end, he seemed happy.

I miss Si-Woo at the end! I was such a lovely boy!

Thank you @dramaddictally for that lovely recap. I appreciate your observation on the role reversal at the end! I didn't connect that. I thought more of how they both left the classroom - for Jun ho it was metaphorically as he matured and stepped into a more nuanced sense of himself and the world around him. For Hye jin it was in a literal sense. She had been "stuck" in the classrom because of money, as much as she enjoyed teaching and was excellent at it.

I too loved the style of storytelling. My favourite were the long conversation shots and camera angles that caught every emotion from awkwardness to shame to desire, especially with that city backdrop. The rain. The transitions from night to day and vice versa. The indoors nature of it. It all felt contained yet open.

I'm still trying to process what my take aways are but these last two episodes in particular struck me because one of the threads I followed throughout the show was people behaving badly and wanting to be patted on the back for it. From the assistant director to the teachers. It was compounded by an attitude of "if I can't have you, then I will destroy you". This theme has been popping up more vividly in a few dramas lately.

Which is why I probably found the scenes were they (Hye jin, Junho, Min ji, Chungi mi) cried together and supported each other incredibly moving. It was tender and raw felt like a much needed counteraction to the above.

Pyo Sang Seob ended up being my favourite character primarily because he served as a reminder to me to give people the space and chance to show me who they are. I think the show did that very well, presenting him one way and making him seem "irredeemable". But most people are not irredeemable when we get to know them. I would go as far as to say he showed the most growth in how he adjusted and adapted in the end. I found that inspiring.

I could go and on but I enjoyed this show for how it made me feel and what it made me reflect on.

Looking forward to your thoughts @tabong now that The Midnight Stress is over!! 🥰

Wonder if the lurking guy will ever get a date that way.

"Not everything can be boiled down to good or bad." - Well said. I think the drama is at it's best when it focuses on exactly that. Chung-mi's story last week, and the TA's story this week are absolute highlights. But therein lies the problem for me: the actual main storyline is the exact opposite of this, as it basically boils down to good vs bad.

At the end, I am left with questions. What was this show really about? What was it trying to tell me? Because I originally thought it was about instructors & teachers, and about how we teach, and the best way to teach these students, and about the system in which this happens. It was complex and complicated, and didn't boil down to "this good or this bad", because the writing refused to do that. It was great. All of this then led to the big argument in episode 11, but that's when things took a turn, and not for the better. Suddenly this big and complicated argument was immediately resolved, in a very black-and-white way. And then... well, nothing, because basically all of these themes were abandonded, as the story then shifted into the classic tale of good vs evil, where everybody perfectly fits into their little designated box. A story once so complex and complicated became so simple and safe.

Yes, I very much enjoyed my time with this show, because of the characters and their relationships. And sure, seeing good win against evil is as entertaining as ever. And yet, I have to admit that I am very disappointed, because I feel like this show was so much more... until it wasn't. The wasted potential might be the real tragedy here.

And while I think Hye-jin going back to studying makes sense, it also feels like something that completely comes out of nowhere in the last 20 minutes. And with there also being quite a few loose ends, I think the ending as a whole is satisfying enough, but not exactly great.

But maybe this show wasn't about this. Maybe it wasn't about all the aforementioned themes, or about the romance, or about the 2-dimensional villains and their 2-dimensional plans, maybe it wasn't even about the leads. Maybe this entire show was about Chung-mi's rise to power, about how she became the new top instructor. Because at the end of the day, she's the biggest winner. She gets it all, including a future husband and Hye-jin's TA. She arguably gets the most happy ending. Maybe everything else was just irrelevant and this was the real main plotline. Chung-mi is the best, and deserves the world, so maybe this is a great and very satisfying ending. And with that thought, maybe I can move on from the show, happy and in peace with this ending.

Wow I don't know how to feel about the end. I was like that's it?

I thought this was an exceptionally well written and directed (except for the music, as you said @Dramaddictally) drama about adults having to learn who they want to be both within and outside of their professional lives. The dialogue was top-notch, and I loved the way all the characters (and actors) had their big moments to shine. The story was both straightforward and nuanced with a satisfying resolution. I also felt like the production team respected the intelligence of its viewers; nothing felt dumbed down OR too unnecessarily complex. All in all, this is a very grown-up drama.

I enjoyed the romance and thought both leads did very good work, but I could imagine two other actors having more fiery chemistry than these two did. This is not to say that they weren't cute, sexy, and interesting together, because they were. But this wasn't one of those extra-special pairings where sparks seem to leap off the screen whenever the two are in the same scene. Nevertheless, I think Wie Ha-Joon did well in this role and wasn't miscast any more than Jung Ryeo-won was. It's just perhaps that I can't help but imagine somewhere out there would have been a legendary pairing and this wasn't quite it.

My only real complaint is that I wish this had aired earlier in the year, because even though the subject matter doesn't translate necessarily to "cozy," the minimal lighting, rainy scenes, and simplicity of the story make it more of a cold weather watch.

As I pulled together my main talking points—loving the production style, loving the secondary couple, loving Jung Ryeo-won but not Wie Ja-hoon as much as I wanted to—I realized I’m just repeating the recap. Ha!

I also loved the trajectory of Mr Pyo and the discussion around the education system, including the wonderful lessons on Korean literature. I did feel all this got a bit lost toward the end (esp with that somewhat makjang hair pulling). Perhaps they just needed to dedicate more time and nuance to concluding it.

In any case, a good drama tho it won’t join my greats list. And I look forward to seeing all these folks again in their next outing.

(And I’ve been enjoying the OST, probably one of only a handful of Beanies to do so. LOL. Tho I agree it did feel too uptempo for the vibe of the show as some Beanies said.)

The Lurking Guy reminds me of Kaw-Liga

Hank Williams Kaw-Liga

Min Ji😍😭😍😭. I loved that scene so much. I really enjoyed this drama and loved all the pieces of it. I am glad Hye Jin is going back to school. I also laughed out loud when Chung Mi made sure her love knew he would be taken care of and his mother doubled down.

Dramaddictally, thanks for the recap !

I liked the drama overall , it was kind of subdued and I almost* wish there could have been a bit more of some of the side characters .

(* At the risk of goofing the show up with additional episodes ,which usually translates to piled on late episode angst for the OTP, which the show then has to rebound from, but all too often they bungle the ending. Whew ! )

I am glad they did not do that!🥰

Jung Ryeo-won😍

I wish that during the hair pulling , the Grey Witch’s silvery tresses turned out to be a wig , so she flees the scene bald headed. 😂

I loved this show and I'm going to miss it a lot.
I loved the conversations about education, life, success, and love. And I loved watching Hye Jin's journey.

I like how the show acknowledged all her work, success, and the importance of the career she built, but it also acknowledged that the life she was living wasn't healthy, stable, or even the one that she really wanted.

I like that Joon Ho was there to push her. Because of him she got out of her comfort zone, she left all the rules and formulas that she knew, and she decided to take risks. He makes her "think again."

Think again about your role as a teacher, think again about what learning is supposed to be about. Think again about your priorities, and think again about what you want to do with your life.

I like how it ends with Hye Jin choosing herself. HJ deciding to be open about her relationship is something the she wouldn't have done at the beginning of the show. It being wrong or right was never the question. She would've hide it because that's what she was "supposed" to do to protect her status. But now she isn't scared of choosing herself and what she wants.

And that's also why I feel proud of her for choosing to go back to studying. Everyone knew that the scandal was going to pass and that she would rise back from the ashes like the phenix she is, but she chose not to. She used this opportunity to go back to her original path. That's a really brave decision for someone like her.

I guess this drama was about seeing Hye Jin going back to the past to make things right. First as a teacher, and then as a student. I love this for her. I hope she has a healthier life from now on.
I'm gonna miss my girl.

Now talking about these two episodes in general:

1. The fight between Gray and Assistant D was WILD. It was the only thing I didn't like from these episodes. I get the AD has gangsta energy, but Gray Queen has this elegant aura around her. It felt so out of character.

I loved the lead up to the fight, tho. I think Joon Ho and Hye Jin did great in creating the context, but... Idk, I wanted them to keep it "classy" till the end. They could've added another ten minutes to the episode and make Gray and AD destroy each differently. With another type of rumor, Idk. The fight was weird.

2. Joon Ho going around creating doubts, hostility, and spitting facts was SO refreshing and satisfactory to see. I loved it! EP 15 was probably the first time I took this kid seriously. 😂
Get your diploma, man. You're all grown up now.

3. Min Ji... Wow. I wasn't expecting her to make me cry.
I loved her conversation with Hye Jin and how both of them wouldn't stop crying.

I liked how she felt offended by what the AD told her, but she also felt tempted because of the money. Like Joon Ho said, she's "human." But what I liked the most is that it was her student that brought her back on track.

This type of scenes and little moments are what...

At the risk of hyoerbole, I really do think this drama is a masterpiece on the level of shows like My Mister and My Liberation Notes. Most kdramas take us through a plot very ably, but I felt that every line in the script had something to say - it wasn't didactic, but thought provoking and treated the viewers as intelligent people who can grasp nuance and complexity.

My finak thoughts echo the recap! One thing in particular I appreciated is that it told us about characters' backgrounds/perspectives, but it didn't make their actions or choices inevitable. Both Nam Cheong Mi and Hye Jin's TA could have turned on Hye Jin and look out for their own financial wellbeing or ambitions, were briefly tempted to do that, and then chose not to. Other characters (like Yoon Ji Seok) gave into their worst impulses despite knowing better, and some - like the social studies team lead - had a moral compass and compassion to do the right thing.

Not everything was perfect
- I think the english name chosen reflected it poorly, and Graduation would have served the story better and matched expectations.
- I liked the romance ok, but it was more intellectually interesting than anything else. The leads didn't have the electric chemistry we've seen in previous shows by this team. But I'm so thankful that we didn't have a family disapproval storyline - Junho acted like an adult with his family and persisted in his choices
- In praising the different choices of the teachers above, I wish we'd seen that a bit more nuance from the parents. I'm sure it was intentional, but it infuriated me in ep 14 having to watch the mothers gossip and then remove their kids from the academy based on hearsay. I know SK education culture is very extreme but can't imagine that *all* parents are so rash and judgmental.

How are we going to wrap this up in two episodes? I figured the ending was going to be rushed... and it was (to me).

What happened to Mr. Pyo? I wish I would've seen a bit more of him too. Is he teaching classes his way? Did he stay at/leave the academy?
Where is Si Woo?? Please don't tell me he went to med school. I at least would've liked to seen a bit of his trajectory, see him in class, seen him figure out writing. He was posited as Jun Ho's fave, and it would've been nice to see some of that mentorship.
How are the classes going? With the new teaching style? I know they said money is not that important, but how are the classes going overall? Is teaching outside of the book successful?
Speaking of class, I would've liked to seen more classes being taught.
More of that and less fighting/scheming. Though Jun Ho telling those people off was VERY satisfying.
Going back to the crying scene, I was confused with Hye Jin's reaction at first (even though I know she covers up her vulnerability). What do you mean?? "Don't be emotional"..... nooooo. He needs emotional support. Ya'll both do. What are you doing!?! But then she opened up. Ok.

Shoutout to the TA. That was a very touching scene. Relatable.
Overall, the drama was relatable. And I LOVE a good relatable drama. Plots I can relate to (I've been there). Themes I can relate to and/or enjoy (education, selling one's soul for a job, etc). Characters I can relate to (shoutout to the girls). Though I do still find Jun Ho somewhat of a cardboard cutout of a character.

I would've liked to seen the story drawn out, maybe a few more episodes, but I'm satisfied with it overall.

Bravo. A well done show that I will miss.
It was soo stressful starting from around episode 13-14 and I think it resolved itself nicely.

The good (soo much good):
So many STRONG and relatable female characters:
I'm now a fan of Jung Ryeo-Won as Hye-Jin. She was masterful in all of her expressions.
Chung-Mi - who is probably the perfect example a true loyal friend. I don't think I've been this invested in a secondary character. She had the best lines.
The TA Min-Ji. She came out of nowhere from a barely there character to one of my favorites. I luv her!
Pyo Sang-Seob - the teacher with a true redemption arc
Eun-Hoo - we all need a supportive friend like her.

The bad:
The overbearing repetitive english soundtrack.
The Korea education system overall. OMG - the stress levels of both the students and adults is just through the roof

The okay:
The parents we just sort of toxic here. I'm glad they didn't take this to extremes like almost all Kdramas these days.
Joon-Ho - I found it hard to relate to him. I though all of the women were better written and acted

Its the fault of the bad English title. The word 'Romance' isn't in the original title, 'Graduation' is. I realized Midnight Romance was a 'Trojan Horse' title for an office drama halfway through episode 1 (which I didn't mind at all) but the reviewer kept clinging to the hope of an epic romance.
This was the first series of a promising new writer, though she did write a hour drama special back in 2022. Park Kyung-hwa.
I consider this series an acting masterclass. It felts as though the smallest glance had been accompanied by a page of notes in the script explaining the characters feelings, mental process, doubt, fears, etc. Nobody in the cast was just standing there waiting to recite their dialog.

I'm glad I watched this drama, but I didn't feel a big passion for it. I wasn't itching to start each episode right after they were available. There were sly and clever scenes. People skillfully analyzing and challenging their opponent. Raw, heartfelt ones. Giddy, sweet ones.

Good casting. I like the Jung Ryeo Won & Wie Ha Joon pairing and they did well in their roles. I didn't have a problem with Ha Joon. He pulled off the mischievous, youthful trait along with being passionate. The romance had a bit of spice, but it and the rest of the drama were mostly subtle.

Chung Mi was a standout character. Somewhat uncommon. Ambitious, but not cold. A good person, but not overly sweet. No loud displays of affection. Not a jealous second lead.

I really did not like the English OST and the repetition of it.

Too bad we didn't get to see Shi Woo one last time~!

10/10. I loved this drama. It was the hagwon version of Misaeng: great, realistic characters (main and secondary ones) and conflicts, and a deep look into the inner workings of an industry. Makes me want to see what happens to all the characters.

I ultimately liked this show a whole lot more, much more, than when I began. I found the posters and title misleading somewhat, and it did take a mental lane-change from pure romance to office+ a bit of romance, to appreciate it fully.

More than anything, I absolutely loved the portrayal of women in the show- it showed all sides- mature, supportive, ride or die, immature, jealous, bitchy, sarcastic, emotional, super cool, maternal, professional- you name a type, it was there. A woman could be any or all of these, and the director really brought out every aspect.

The only real stereotype I hated was the hair-pulling fight. It was just too much for me, but I guess necessary for the show. It needed a dramatic climax to resolve the hagwon dilemma, and this did it efficiently for the time left.

Another quibble was that I'd have loved to see a time jump in this case- Jun Ho, Ms. Nam, and Mr Pyo, all teaching to packed classes in their own style, Hye Jin thriving at law school and at home (JRW can never leave the legal profession, can she?!), a reunion at the bar, Si Woo studying anything other than medicine...

I loved all the main characters; each was a perfect fit for the show, good or bad. Ms Nam, her bf and future mil- such a fun trio. Wi Ha Joon was surprisingly a great foil for Jung Ryeo Won... Big vs dainty, brash vs cool, expressive vs reserved... A great pairing I really wish we'd seen more of as a couple.

All in all, it's a show that I will rewatch in time to savour slowly (because full disclosure, I still didn't watch eps 13/14, but jumped over all the nastiness straight to 15 😄 )

Waiting to see if Red Swan or Auditors will catch my eye, else straight back to episode 1, will I go!