How does a show fuck up an ending so badly? I am so mad, lmao. I've seen my fair share of sub-par and unsatisfying endings before, but this is the first time an ending left me so dumb-founded. I found myself reeling at his disappearance. I was already banging my head on my desk from the way the real Baek Sa-eon arc wrapped up, but this is just abominable. They quite literally could have just changed the ending from the original, and made one that aligned more perfectly with the story they painted so far. Even episode 11 was consistent, so why did no one behind the production of episode 12 raise concerns? I didn't think this drama was amazing, but I am so appalled by the ending.

Thank you for your recaps, @mistyisles. It's been so much fun reading and discussing along with everyone else. But what the heck was that finale?!!!!

I'm trying not to rant, but.... My goodness what a shambles! I was so annoyed by the final two episodes I couldn't even enjoy the intimate romance scenes that have become the hallmark of this drama.

WHAT?! WOZZALLDIS???! Oh I want to smack the writers so much. This was an awful ending!!! Sure, the premise was flimsy, but stories have been woven on less. AND there was still so much material that could've been covered. Instead... We got.... this

We never had an episode from Sa-eon/Yu-yeon's perspective. We could have done 2/3 episodes on that alone! Never got to see his private thoughts on love /his own story, and all of a sudden we have to believe he was executing a revenge several years in the making? We just saw someone living his life, so WHAT REVENGE? The came all that useless self-flagellation because Grandpa/dad Baek was an evil POS..... How?! That doesn't even fit with Sa-eon's character, and it didn't help the plot either! Running off to Argan..... To what end? What at all is this??? He was shot, presumably ended up in hospital and was treated and released without his wife/guardian's knowledge? Hee-joo was able to blithely enter a conflict zone?!!! Just... Whyyyyyy?!

And this nonsense of trying to redeem characters that are irredeemable (Mummy Hong? REALLY? Even In-a, tbh) ...... Oh these last two episodes were so stupid.

It makes sense that real Sa-eon is a psycho because his mama, dad, and grandad are all psychos. Genetic. Everyone glossed over the fact that he killed CHILDREN. I'm sorry, I can't imagine any motherly love being anything but relieved someone like that was offed (As the elders would say, he needed killing 🤷🏾‍♀️) Even in real life, the parents of psychopaths are terrified of them. And they try to get them help, not lock them in safe rooms. AND are relieved when they are stopped, because the endless nightmare finally ends. Utter nonsense plot. Let me not even get into Mummy Baek's motivations because I'll just get more annoyed as I type. A story may be fanciful, but it has to be believable to carry us along, ah!

Ultimately, the story was carried by Chae Soo-bin and Yoo Yeon-seok, who did a fantastic job with what little they were given, and added in some electric chemistry. And I had a wonderful, makjang-filled ride till episode 9 or so. This ending has undone all the hard work the actors put in.

I am glad I watched it because I love those two actors, and they didn't disappoint, and the initial episodes were fire, but I need to look up the writer and steer clear of their work. Goodness that was a terrible final two episodes.

when all else fails to get Sa-eon’s attention, her being kidnapped has always worked rather well.

Nice to see a plot point treated with the deference it deserves :)

I have so much to rant about till I don't know how to put them into words. Best I could say is "Am I really watching When The Phone Rings?" by the end of episode 12. I don't know what was I even watching. One minute I think I saw G-Dragon in ajumma headscarf wearing "white" (instead of black to not be noticed) entering conflict area and the next minute I was shocked to see Rambo Sa-Eon out of nowhere.

Gosh, give me back my sanity then maybe I can put my two cents into words.

When The Phone Rings faltered in the ending. I've never used the ffwd my button as I used in episode 12. I was done in under 20 minutes and I don't think I missed anything substantial.

You love him to the moon and back. I know and I see. So please get back to living your life instead of pining for his return.

But to go to a terrorist zone😂😂😂😂. I'm sorry but this is just the height of it. Hee-joo is a fragile being literally. How did she think she could brave that😂😂😂. I had no issues turning my brain off for this drama. But somehow I unintentionally turned it on and the critic in me just couldn't go to sleep.

Still, I'll give it the kudos it deserves. It pulled its punch quite successfully.

And the bedroom scene, that was a perfect gift to wrap WTPR and to start the drama year with.

Starting to get convinced by the theory (by me) that they brought in a new screenwriter last minute to craft the final episode. At the very least we should've seen Hee-joo's evil mom get her comeuppance. And more of Sang-woo and Yoo-ri. What a shame.

Now that this saga is over and done with, we must get to the real mystery: wtf is Argan and where the heck is it supposed to be??

I don't bother going back to check, so I would be grateful if someone can enlighten me on this: When YYS came to rescue Heejoo in that jeep, why did the soldier guys ran away at first to let YYS have enough time to release all the hostages before coming back to chase him and Heejoo?

This is my favorite k-drama of 2024, and one of my favorite k-dramas of all time. Was the storyline sound? No. Did the narrative flow? No. But I had so much fun chasing this drama, participating in the community experience, and cackling over the memes and reactions, that not even a train-wreck finale can dim my overall enjoyment of WTPR.

This drama showed me just how far good acting and chemistry can go to save a bad script (for me at least). This show had a Shein-level script that the actors managed to render into demi-couture. YYS blew me away with his acting in every single scene. You really saw how the years he spent building out his filmography accumulated into the skills for this role. YYS's Baek Sae-on is the best depiction of a tsundere male lead I have ever seen. I'm curious to see where his career goes from here, and wonder if he's getting flooded with offers. I would love to see him in a melodrama, because the dude can do angst so beautifully.

CSB didn't match YYS's intensity at times, but she got better towards the end. Their chemistry was *chef's kiss*. That sunset bed scene was probably the steamiest I've seen in a kdrama.

It has been years since chasing a drama gave me this much happiness. Sometimes in life, one just enjoys a fast food joint more than a 3-Michelin-star tasting menu, quality be damned.

Because it was the last episode, we did not have any 'what happens next' to sweep us along, so we had to face the fact that a lot of the writing and plot points in this drama were rather dire. I enjoyed it regardless. (It was not the only episode in the story where I thought half the time was wasted)
Baek Sa-Eon/ Yu Yeon had major self esteem issues as a result of his loveless upbringing. Without the power of revenge to drive him, he collapsed and ran away. The drama did not sell/explain this properly to us, partly because people in the midst of such a major collapse don't have enough executive function to vanish so well, and to then survive independently in a war zone.
Also because drama had reporter friend and In-A became stupidly loyal to SE/YY and refused to let HJ go and talk to him/slap him out of it. (OK, IA thinks she is protecting HJ, because she has never been able to accept that HJ wants to be with him. But reporter friend should at least be enough of a friend to SE tell HJ that SE is being crazy)
Best moment of the drama: The spotless white sheets in the middle of the war zone. I'm still laughing.

When the Phone Rings ep 11-12 was written by an entire classroom of 3rd graders high on crack cocaine and Monster energy drinks. Each 3rd grader wrote one scene and passed it to the next 3rd grader. There were no bathroom breaks until the entire script was complete.
That’s the only explanation for 35 different illogical plot lines happening all at the same time.
Soo many WTF moments that my brain cells screaming in agony as they died by suicide.
Hee-Joo escapes! Hooray. She’s got a huge head start and can run in any direction. But she falls again, gets knocked out, and ends up right in front of the OG Sae-On. The odds of that…🙄
She then sees the fake Sae-On. Knowing that the real Sae-On is there with a friggin gun, they take their sweet time to embrace in front on their car headlights. Look here! Shoot us please.
The dudes got a gun and there are about a million things you can do besides getting out of the car with zero plan and walk right up to him. It’s not like Hee Jo is even attempting to run away.
The police arrive and they don’t draw their guns despite the baddie pointing a gun at the Noble Idiot (I forget, this ain’t USA, where we shoot first and ask questions later).
But wait- there’s more. None of that was real. A mulligan. Oops.
Let’s shift gears. Let’s go to a war torn country where the school looks like a fancy fancy rich kids school.
Not only that- let’s arrive in a forest alone, unarmed, unprepared, but looking like they are ready for a fashion show. That white shirt in a dark green forest is great camo!
Donated 2 billion? I’d find that idiot husband that donated away 2 billion just to slap his dumb a$$.
Who the heck goes to a country at war to punish themselves? What does that do emotionally to the wife? I’d find the 3rd graders that wrote this and whip his/her a$$.

That was a helluva wild finale. We have Hee-joo, who dreamed only of having an ordinary marriage, sneaking into a jungle warzone, disguised as Jackie O, to ravish her husband, who lbr was just over there in the first place to serve That Look. No chill whatsoever. This was never a totally serious show even though it had its more sincere moments, so playing to its strengths of absurdity and the OTP being OTT worked 😂

Slightly frustrated on behalf of the 406 phone though, that worked like its bill was due to get these two talking only for Hee-joo's husband to forget how to (but that 406 roleplay lol, Do-jae was probably thinking he was better off in jail)

While not enough to put it in skywriting, I did love the drama haha. I genuinely liked the romance, and a blackmail phone bringing the leads together was unique and done well. All credit to Yoo Yeon-seok and Chae Soo-bin, whose chemistry was as insane as the drama itself and whose acting was topnotch throughout so I could just roll with whatever was going on and actually catch the feels at the same time as laughing with all the nonsense (also loved that last song by YYS). Along with some likable side characters and a storyline that managed to out makjang itself every week, this came together to be one of the most fun dramas I've ever watched.

(But I can't take Baek Yoo-yeon seriously without wanting to call his wife Hong Chae-soo)

I loved everything of this drama.

With such parents, it was quite normal the real Sa-eon wasn't normal... His father is completely stupid and his mother is a sociopath too. She was responsible for everything. She knew her son was different and locked him in instead of taking him outside Korea and let him be treated by professionals.

The grandfather/father was awful too but quite brave. He didn't flinch in front of Hee-joo's stepfather, he just gave him a contract to erase the death of his son and the handicap of his daughters.

The mother being sad after Hee-joo's disapearance was pretty funny. Like after 20 years, she feels guilty? It wasn't convincing.

I liked how their workplaces were friendly. She had a great relationship with her coworkers at the station and his team really liked him. It was nice to see Do-jae working with him at the end.

Ji Sang-Woo and Na You-Ri were good friends too. I liked how You-Ri wanted to find Hee-Joo back just to be angry against for her lies.

The plot and the events never made sense, after all I think almost the whole drama took place in June.. .She was kidnapped 3 times in one month... So I like the part in Argan, it was quite entertaining and Yoo Yeon-Seok looked great in all black and action! Their bed scene was super pretty! Was he egoistic by living by his own like this? Oh yeah, and I was happy she did he was stupid with his plans!

For the politics, it wasn't a good idea to base it on real events, but I won't call it propaganda. It was written around 2023-2024.

The best part was clearly the couple and their chemistry. I loved Chae Soo-bin as an interpreter, she looked natural. But Yoo Yeon-Seok was the one who brought the intensity and charisma on screen. His hands (+veins+wedding ring) were their own character, I loved every close-up of them!

Congratulation for the carrot pen to beat the Kimchi PPL!

Unfortunately, I already knew how the novel ended due to an unintentional spoiler and had hoped since then that the drama would take a different route. By the end of episode 11, I realised that these hopes were in vain, which left me quite frustrated. The only upside was that with only one episode to go, the time available was short and in the end I only had to sit through the first half hour. The rest of episode 12 was so sugary sweet that I almost got diabetes, but after the drama before that was okay.

I hate ghosting as a trope, but at least Sa-eon/Yoo-yeon didn't fake his death unlike in the novel, I definitely would never have forgiven him for that. I can even understand that it would have eaten him up to pretend he didn't know what his biological father did to Hee-joo and her family, but he could have solved it differently. But as the saying goes: old habits die hard and apparently he intended to return to Hee-joo at some point. But then he shouldn't have been surprised if she didn't take him back.

The whole Argan plot was super makjang.
When I watch this drama again, which will definitely be the case, I'll just skip the first half of the last episode, so never mind.

Enough complaining, now for what I especially liked about the last episode:

Hee-joo and Sa-eon/Yoo-yeon's new house, finally a real home
The dinner with the friends/coworkers, all characters I've grown fond of
In-ha's apology, which is a good basis for the two half-sisters to build a good relationship for the future
The bed scene with two adults actually acting like adults who are hot for each other, bonus points for not being clothed in bed at the end (an absolute mood-killer for me in scenes like this). But where was his wedding ring, he was still wearing it in the jungle?
The prospect of the two of them continuing their 406 phone calls is also ideal as foreplay ;-)
Black is definitely Sa-eon/Yoo-yeon's colour

Despite its flaws, I love this drama. Is it subjectively the best drama? No. Would I currently give all the beans I earned in 2024 to this drama? Yes, because it entertained me perfectly and the chemistry between the two leads was great. The two of them, especially YYS, were so good that they could say the cheesiest lines without it sounding ridiculous, in fact they made me melt.

When they mentioned his military/special ops/whatever background early on, I expected it to come out in a fight scene or going after the villain. I did Not expect it to be pulled out in the last half hour of the show in a war zone with no explanation. I am flabbergasted at how terrible ep12 was.

I know the last episode has flaws, but I still love WTPR so much.
They have the happy ending I needed.
It’s my all time favorite.
The story, lines, characters, acting, OTP and chemistry really works for me. I am thrilled of their Romance (my SaJu couple).
I love how Yoo Yeon Seok himself love this show too. He even rename BSE after himself to Baek Yoo Yeon 😍. He writes (inspired by Chae Soo Bin, as he said Soo Bin is Hee Joo) and sings “Say My Name” for the soundtrack.
What a lovely song to put on the epilogue. It made it more bittersweet.
BSE/BYY is a swoony character you’ll melt for. Definitely WTPR is a must rewatch. 🫶

I think I liked 96% of the show. The finale contained the 4% that made me 🙄. I think it's fair to say that I'm one of the few (or only) people who don't mind noble idiocy and even I was like "WTF? WHY?" The show already primed us for him disappearing for some time but why did we have to include this particular thing? A warring country with murderous rebels because it has the best sunsets? Are you for real? And then the wife is like "getting shot by rebels is no worse than being here without him! I miss him so much!!!!" 😑
Yeah, I can't with that at all.
Also her getting kidnapped along with the other folks just made me think of what tends to happen to women who are captured in these types of situations and that is not a romantic situation.

Next is the reporter friend is me cause oh my god the cringe with the new name reveal haha. I honestly watched through my fingers. But then again, I also had second hand embarrassment during the bed scene (and the fact that it's the actor singing the OST as he's taking off his shirt). Just all of it gave me the cringe haha.

This made me think about sins of the father/parents. Both mother and son wanted to punish the lead character for what his FATHER did and it's total rational to them and similarly, the lead feels disgusted and shame because his father caused his wife's brother's death. I get it; it must be a weird feeling.

I did like the sister's apology and the mother's moments of regret and caring. I like that they aren't automatically good and it's taking some time and space.

Ep 1-10 were great (with a few lapse of logic)
Ep 11 was medium
Ep 12 was total batshit with unsatisfactory time slips and offensive war comments.
What is the 12 eps format good for if it does not prevent the frustrating separation?

Saeon did a Jaime Lannister / scorpion in the river "that's my nature" and decided to vanish to play rambo as punishment, like the bloody red flag that he is.

No amount of cuddling can compensate the inanity. I need a rewrite of the ending, just as the ending of Business Proposal was rewitten.

It was a fun show, it knew what it was doing until the last episode. I didn’t care for the whole nonsensical plot that I even ff-ed the kissing. I didn’t care for the dumb and dumber couple of ep 12.
Anyway. It was over. I will remember the first 6 episodes fondly.

Well, overall, that was a blast! This show was explosive 🎆 both literally and figuratively with a flurry of bombs, fires and falls (the plot perils became repetitive and OTT for me, but the character explosions (chemistry) fires (passion) and falls (into love) were much more interesting💖)....
so it's ironic that the thing that nearly took out our OTP in the end wasn't a cliff, or a gunshot but goddamn noble idiocy!

Cut to me shouting at Sa-eon 'you claim to be punishing yourself, but you're really just hurting the person you supposedly love. Sort your shit out!' Seriously dude!😱👀

On the upside, it allowed Hee-joo to fully embrace her newfound self-confidence and self-determination. Her line in response to his that 'I've decided not to hold back any more' followed by the-kiss-he -couldn't-resist was great.

I loved her character journey overall and thought she did a fantastic job showing how silent doesn't automatically mean submissive...

It reminded me of a comment I made before re the Little Mermaid references
"I love how this drama is doing a revisionist version where SHE decides when she will reclaim her voice and rather than being heartbroken, she will also get the love she doesn't think she deserves.... "
We see Hee-joo realise that she DOES deserve love💖, which is what gives her the confidence to go after Sa-eon and persuade him that he does too.

Two messed up kids finding a healing (and hot) love together as adults is the bit that felt satisfying (definitely not the weird-ass made-up war zone that he single-handedly navigated alone... or any of the other major plot holes...)😬

Thank you for the recap. 📳🤳 Your comments have made this fun ride a whole lot more fun. 😊🫰🏻❤

Makjang-y wtf-ery, nonsensical randomness, Wattpad drama, whatever you may call it. Indeed boring it was most definitely not. 🤣🤣🤣

How are the "imaginings" of the OTP more intense than their actual interactions. If I was pretending not to cry while watching Saeon imagining a happy beginning to their marriage, I was just as openly wailing seeing Hee-joo's imagined start.

While we can all roll our eyes over uri Saeon and psycho Sa-eon's interaction at the end of day it was just #plot, however webnovel-y senseless it may have been.

I legit thought uri Saeon had actually been shot and didn't realize it was Hee-joo's imagination. Again!?

Can Im Chul-soo's next drama cast him as a marriage counselor. Pretty please.

I was going to skip commenting anything about the Argon misadventures but how can I resist when you say -

So off Hee-joo goes, never mind that it’s still an active war zone, and promptly gets herself kidnapped by local rebels. Which, to be fair, when all else fails to get Sa-eon’s attention, her being kidnapped has always worked rather well.

I have a hundred million reasons why I love DB recaps and this comment right here is a million of them. 👌🏻🤣🔥

This and describing the "reason" for uri Saeon's disappearance ending with "Or something like that." 🤌🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Kudos to Yoo Yeon-seok for selling the "I'm punishing myself" angsty look in a plainly ridiculous scenario but it just makes me respect him more as an actor. 💪🏻👍🏻

Uri Saeon becoming the whipped husband Yu-yeon was cute even though it took a long time coming. I would have loved actually seeing the "increased" family members.

But I don't understand why Hee-joo had to go off to meet up old family members notably her mom who doesn't seem contrite in the least. In-ha has the most meaningful apology I have ever seen. Can we set her up with Do-jae!?

However weird and politically incorrect the last scene may have been but at least the drama knew it worked best when the OTP ring each other's phone. 😂 Although I had the same question - when did Hee-joo not communicate clearly even when she was allegedly not speaking. If anyone it was uri Saeon nee Yu-yeon who needed to open up and communicate with Hee-joo earlier in their marriage and more clearly.

Ooh! And those biceps on uri Saeon. Nice last screencap. 💪🏻❤😊