Doona! E9. Is this scene at the start of E9 a big clue? Read my comments below and decide for yourself (spoiler alert).
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    That scene abruptly cuts to Won-jun waking up in bed. Was it just his dream? If so, is he able to dream of future events? Notice he is wearing the same clothes as in the last scene, in Japan.

    Future events? How can we verify that? Here is how: I found a Reddit thread discussing this show, and user Turbulent_Culture679 shares the following: “The opening scene of ep 9 at the “flower park” is at Oishi Park near Mt Fuji in Japan. You can see the distinctive pink bushes and the base of Mt Fuji in the background.”

    If you are interested, here is the full thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/KDRAMA/comments/17bzifi/comment/k5xegqt/

    So think about it. The last scene of E9 shows us Doona and Won-jun are both in Japan, but not together. We do see Doona turn for a moment as if she recognizes him. With the foggy, surreal, and non-linear editing we see throughout E9, is it too much of a stretch to believe that first scene actually happens later, and the two are deciding to rekindle their relationship? Won-jun arrives at Oishi Park wearing the same clothes we saw him in at the shopping mall. He gives Doona a half smile. I, for one, will embrace this interpretation of the ending.

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      Gosh I wish the editing were better near the end of this drama.

      I’m gonna offer that you can have your wish, Tim!!

      However (하지만), I have a different preferred ending–the glory of an open ending!! I sort of hope that these two got what they needed out of their time together and that now they can both move on instead of getting stuck in old habits.

      I liked it when she said (ambivalently), “I don’t need you anymore,” and he shouted back, “I KNOW.” That was the perfect release of their relationship’s tension for me. She admits that she was using him, he admits that he knew that and didn’t mind it (but does now)…but to get out of this bind, either SHE is going to need to accept him on his own terms (as his own person) now–which she can’t because, ahem, IDOL–or they need to move on from what they had.

      I mean, your way’s fine too, but yeah.

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        I agree your preferred ending seems to be the most logical one. I am actually ok with that ending of them going their separate ways, each with the closure they needed. I’m ok because the writers did a good job of explaining that to us. Nevertheless, my eccentric nature inexplicably pulls me toward the other possible ending…

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        I think the scene where she breaks down in her apartment after meeting him contradicts her claim that because she is surrounded by people so she doesn’t need him anymore. It’s an emotional statement in the heat of the moment and Won-jun counters that with his emotional plea to leave him in peace.

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          Mmm. Interesting. I do think she cries in her apartment before that interaction–but I take your point. I suppose I’m making a slightly different claim. I think that there’s a difference between “needing” him–like in a co-dependent support sort of way which is how it clearly started (and what I think she’s saying when she says she doesn’t need anymore, and he agrees)–and wanting to be with him as two independent agents (actual love), which I do agree she eventually wants (hence the tears you rightly bring up).

          BUT, the problem is that she can’t really have that, because “idol.” I definitely don’t want to leave the impression that Doona doesn’t love Won-jun. She does. I don’t think she did when she said those words back in the middle of the show, but I do think she does come to that eventually.

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      I watched it and it’s not the same coat. The collars are different.

      So if they wanted to make me understand the scene happened after, the last scene, it missed.

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        True, the collars are different, but that isn’t enough to invalidate the importance of the Oishi Park scene. Did they really meet in Japan? Or was it just Won-jun’s dream of a possible future?

        We may never really know the writer(s) intent, but it does provide a more open ending that can appeal to more viewers.

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          I don’t know… Why choosing to show this scene at the beginning? People have to remember the exact place? The clothes? Etc when they didn’t speak and there were a lot of things between?

          Again, the editing was really bad. It took off a lot of the story, character’s development, etc.

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            Agreed – the editing was lacking in this last episode.

            Here is a hypothetical scenario (just my musings). Stay with me here…Netflix HQ calls the Doona! production team and says something like “we have budget constraints, wrap up this show in 9 episodes”. The production team is forced to comply, yet they are deep into the production of the show, and already have shot much more footage then can be shown in 9 episodes. What do they do? Answer: they try their best to get creative, albeit within their new working parameters. They have to make hard decisions to condense important parts of the story, which includes deleting scenes (some already shot). They look to their editing team for salvation. Can the editors splice together an episode 9 ending that (while short of the original vision) is still appealing to viewers? The editing team does their best to “think outside the box” and comes up with the time fast-forward/out-of-sequence presentation we see in E9. It’s not perfect, but it gets the job done within their production constraints. We, the viewers, are expected to understand the shift in their narrative presentation, and flow with it.

            As with all hypotheticals, this is just my speculation.

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            @GhostofTim

            They had very bad editors. Even if they had to reduce the show, it was a director’s choice to make a clear or not ending. They put this scene after the hotel one and the end is full of hopes. At the beginning, it’s just interrogations.

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            Bad editing or lazy writers? This show didn’t have an “ending,” rather, it had a “stopping.” The secondary characters all had a reasonable ending to their arcs, but the narrative for the leads was not wrapped up.

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      It’s bait. Bad dramas will do that sometimes. Good ones too.
      If somebody is upset they didn’t not end up together they can imagine that was a sort of prediction dream if they are not, they can just ignore it.

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    Fyi: all the rail road crossing scenes in the intro were filmed in Japan.

    The crossing reminded me of Japan and scenes from jdrama when I watched the intro. Looked closely and saw Japanese letters/words in the background. Not sure the location of the railroad crossing had anything to do with plot or it’s just for aesthetic purposes hahaha 🤣

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    Maybe……but it is SO OBSCURE if that is true.

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