I’m not against open endings but that was just lame. Again characters making all kind of choices that don’t match their history or personality.
Does anyone know where was that last place? Is it Seoul?
… hnngg
I actually liked the ending. It was thematically consistent.
“Again characters making all kind of choices that don\’t match their history or personality”
Could you expand upon this? From your POV?
I personally thought the whole point of the ending was how actions have consequences and how one moment of irrational, or fear or helplessness can effect everything. How desperation can lead to worse and worse decisions being made, even when it’s not actually what you want to do.
The way I see it they had 3 options for the ending:
1. total annihilation, both leads die because their choices lead to irreversible circumstances, depressing as shit, their actions ultimately destroy them.
2. a glimmer of hope. redemption is seen through a window. Jisoo turns himself in. instantly the weight is lifted from his shoulders. he takes the fall for everything. Gyu ri leaves alone.
or,
the one the chose to do, which I see as a combination of the two:
3. they are lost, and they can never go home.
Will they keep making decisions that spiral out of control, till they became like the brothel owner and her boyfriend? Will they become ever more toxic and dangerous for each other? Or will they get out? Will they make it through? Will they learn from their mistakes? We don’t know because right now, they are lost. They lost themselves and they are lost from everyone else. It is tragic yes, but it’s supposed to be.
Yes, I felt the idea for the ending was something like that but they could have achieved it in a much better way. I like any kind of ending really, as long as it makes sense for that narrative. My favorite endings of kdrama are probably 49 Days, which most people hate, and Reply1988, which is still a bit controversial. You talked abou a few possibilities of endings for Extracurricular but I remember imagining dozens and yet felt the chosen one was more of a cop out than a proper ending. There are characters that can just vanish and it’s poetic, it’s part of the message and the story being told, but I don’t think JiSoo was one of those, or Guyri. He’s been through a wild ride and we barely knew what changed in him or if anything at all, when he finally decides to turn himself in we don’t know if he’s finally questioning his moral choices or if he’s just feeling guilty about the teacher or the death of Mr Lee or if he’s just tired of hiding. We don’t even know if he’s the one who called help for Minhee or if he just left her there and what he thinks about doing any of that. Since the show did so little character development for the leads I thought they would at least give a proper closure to tell a story because this whole “bad decisions lead to worse actions” has been there from the start. This is the kind of story that needs to show us those consequences. And we can’t even be sure they are “lost” as you said because the story hasn’t been realistic from the start. The mobster got stabbed several times and suddenly had just an arm sling so Jisoo might have a passport hidden somewhere, got instantly better and fled to another country! He’s happily picking fruit somehwere while saving money to go to college in Sydney.
About the strange choices that don’t match the character’s personalities. I like all characters for being complex but don’t feel any of them was realistic, their decisions are dictated by the necessities of plot instead of natural consequence of their situation and personality. JiSoo is supposedly smart but he hides piles of money in his house, personal information on the work phone and doesn’t even bother changing the password to the apartment. He doesn’t know how to open a cafe door, or buy his own coffee, he doesn’t think to give Gyuri an excuse before running away, he calls the cops but instead of any other complaint he uses the minor working at the motel. Is that how a person who manages that kind of service would act? I’m not saying he can’t be inexperienced or socially awkward, but he can’t be so dumb and sloppy if he’s living that double life for over a year. One minute he acts docile and passive around the teacher and the other he is some evil mastermind pimp telling Minhee to choose if she wants the client to get beaten because he can’t pay the fine for his actions. I kept thinking, make up your mind show! Who is this guy? Then I thought, ok, nevermind! It’s kdrama so they … cont.
It’s kdrama so they can’t go all the way, he gets to be mean but also cute. It doesn’t work that way but it’s very entertaining so I’ll just not think about it, I’ll just take any crazy this guy does to keep the story going.
This not thinking business isn’t easy though. They keep acting crazy, he yells at her on the street when she gets his money stolen but doesn’t take his phone! It’s right there! Then next episode she’s back to blackmailing him for it. Instead of getting her money as compensation for what she did he not only accepts her as a partner but doesn’t even agree on how much she would get for it. He also shows her where he keeps that locker, giving her access to Mr. Lee, the money and later keep secrets in that sofa. They both know the gangsters are after them and still go back to their places and even to school, they never get suspicious about the box or the money. Guyri never had any courage to argue with her parents but suddenly she gets information on a silly thing, (those guys from boyband? Easily fired from such companies) and blackmails them for a lot of money. They were very controlling but just comply with her demands. Minhee was a week person that only cared about being accepted in her world, she was upset about being fired but she never questioned Uncle’s way of doing business that is until last ep, when she suddenly decides she’ll go to the police even if JiSoo has already told her he will turn himself in. I know she wants to blame someone for Uncle’s death but it still seems very much out of character. Guyri and JiSoo helped her before, why would she go that far? She might not get arrested but she would also get some consequences, would it be worth it? Again, no problem, if her story had led her there, if this was really earned. And we get to JiSoo taking the phone and instead of breaking it he just keeps the evidence. And opens the door for Kitae, who got his address quite fast and simply disappeared after the fight. Why would he even open that door for anyone besides Guyri?
I wrote too much already, guess I kept remembering how all that not thinking went ehehehhe. Maybe you’ll think it’s being picky but it’s a show trying to be in a realistic setting so the mind keeps expecting them to react as the characters being presented and it’s harder to ignore when they don’t.
Another explanation I forgot. That ending seems to have been made to please everyone, it can be understood so many ways that people who wanted them to get punished will imagine they are hiding and he’s maybe dead, while those who wanted them to escape can also easily imagine they are far away.
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Lixie
May 11, 2020 at 12:39 PM
Extracurricular ep 10
I’m not against open endings but that was just lame. Again characters making all kind of choices that don’t match their history or personality.
Does anyone know where was that last place? Is it Seoul?
💜🍍☠ Sicarius The Queen of Melonia ☠🍍💜
May 11, 2020 at 7:46 PM
… hnngg
I actually liked the ending. It was thematically consistent.
“Again characters making all kind of choices that don\’t match their history or personality”
Could you expand upon this? From your POV?
I personally thought the whole point of the ending was how actions have consequences and how one moment of irrational, or fear or helplessness can effect everything. How desperation can lead to worse and worse decisions being made, even when it’s not actually what you want to do.
The way I see it they had 3 options for the ending:
1. total annihilation, both leads die because their choices lead to irreversible circumstances, depressing as shit, their actions ultimately destroy them.
2. a glimmer of hope. redemption is seen through a window. Jisoo turns himself in. instantly the weight is lifted from his shoulders. he takes the fall for everything. Gyu ri leaves alone.
or,
the one the chose to do, which I see as a combination of the two:
3. they are lost, and they can never go home.
Will they keep making decisions that spiral out of control, till they became like the brothel owner and her boyfriend? Will they become ever more toxic and dangerous for each other? Or will they get out? Will they make it through? Will they learn from their mistakes? We don’t know because right now, they are lost. They lost themselves and they are lost from everyone else. It is tragic yes, but it’s supposed to be.
Lixie
May 12, 2020 at 8:57 AM
Hey Sicarius! Thanks for your reply!
Yes, I felt the idea for the ending was something like that but they could have achieved it in a much better way. I like any kind of ending really, as long as it makes sense for that narrative. My favorite endings of kdrama are probably 49 Days, which most people hate, and Reply1988, which is still a bit controversial. You talked abou a few possibilities of endings for Extracurricular but I remember imagining dozens and yet felt the chosen one was more of a cop out than a proper ending. There are characters that can just vanish and it’s poetic, it’s part of the message and the story being told, but I don’t think JiSoo was one of those, or Guyri. He’s been through a wild ride and we barely knew what changed in him or if anything at all, when he finally decides to turn himself in we don’t know if he’s finally questioning his moral choices or if he’s just feeling guilty about the teacher or the death of Mr Lee or if he’s just tired of hiding. We don’t even know if he’s the one who called help for Minhee or if he just left her there and what he thinks about doing any of that. Since the show did so little character development for the leads I thought they would at least give a proper closure to tell a story because this whole “bad decisions lead to worse actions” has been there from the start. This is the kind of story that needs to show us those consequences. And we can’t even be sure they are “lost” as you said because the story hasn’t been realistic from the start. The mobster got stabbed several times and suddenly had just an arm sling so Jisoo might have a passport hidden somewhere, got instantly better and fled to another country! He’s happily picking fruit somehwere while saving money to go to college in Sydney.
About the strange choices that don’t match the character’s personalities. I like all characters for being complex but don’t feel any of them was realistic, their decisions are dictated by the necessities of plot instead of natural consequence of their situation and personality. JiSoo is supposedly smart but he hides piles of money in his house, personal information on the work phone and doesn’t even bother changing the password to the apartment. He doesn’t know how to open a cafe door, or buy his own coffee, he doesn’t think to give Gyuri an excuse before running away, he calls the cops but instead of any other complaint he uses the minor working at the motel. Is that how a person who manages that kind of service would act? I’m not saying he can’t be inexperienced or socially awkward, but he can’t be so dumb and sloppy if he’s living that double life for over a year. One minute he acts docile and passive around the teacher and the other he is some evil mastermind pimp telling Minhee to choose if she wants the client to get beaten because he can’t pay the fine for his actions. I kept thinking, make up your mind show! Who is this guy? Then I thought, ok, nevermind! It’s kdrama so they … cont.
Lixie
May 12, 2020 at 8:59 AM
It’s kdrama so they can’t go all the way, he gets to be mean but also cute. It doesn’t work that way but it’s very entertaining so I’ll just not think about it, I’ll just take any crazy this guy does to keep the story going.
This not thinking business isn’t easy though. They keep acting crazy, he yells at her on the street when she gets his money stolen but doesn’t take his phone! It’s right there! Then next episode she’s back to blackmailing him for it. Instead of getting her money as compensation for what she did he not only accepts her as a partner but doesn’t even agree on how much she would get for it. He also shows her where he keeps that locker, giving her access to Mr. Lee, the money and later keep secrets in that sofa. They both know the gangsters are after them and still go back to their places and even to school, they never get suspicious about the box or the money. Guyri never had any courage to argue with her parents but suddenly she gets information on a silly thing, (those guys from boyband? Easily fired from such companies) and blackmails them for a lot of money. They were very controlling but just comply with her demands. Minhee was a week person that only cared about being accepted in her world, she was upset about being fired but she never questioned Uncle’s way of doing business that is until last ep, when she suddenly decides she’ll go to the police even if JiSoo has already told her he will turn himself in. I know she wants to blame someone for Uncle’s death but it still seems very much out of character. Guyri and JiSoo helped her before, why would she go that far? She might not get arrested but she would also get some consequences, would it be worth it? Again, no problem, if her story had led her there, if this was really earned. And we get to JiSoo taking the phone and instead of breaking it he just keeps the evidence. And opens the door for Kitae, who got his address quite fast and simply disappeared after the fight. Why would he even open that door for anyone besides Guyri?
I wrote too much already, guess I kept remembering how all that not thinking went ehehehhe. Maybe you’ll think it’s being picky but it’s a show trying to be in a realistic setting so the mind keeps expecting them to react as the characters being presented and it’s harder to ignore when they don’t.
Lixie
May 12, 2020 at 6:47 PM
Another explanation I forgot. That ending seems to have been made to please everyone, it can be understood so many ways that people who wanted them to get punished will imagine they are hiding and he’s maybe dead, while those who wanted them to escape can also easily imagine they are far away.