[Drama 2019] Graceful Family, 우아한 가

[Lmangla]

6 hours ago, celebrianna said:

With the big Evil triumphing to the end the rewatch value has seriously plummeted for me. Many times I think Korean writers who choose these types of plot should seriously sit down and watch the Chinese drama Nirvana in Fire. Formidable and deadly villains who were brought to justice by 10 years of carefully laid plans by the brilliant yet tragic protagonist.

unfortunately, for most of us, we are not going to be rewatching. even if the punishment was light, it would have been satisfying if ms han and her squad got at least mentally squashed for all the crimes they did. if they had felt humiliated and broken, then the number of years wouldn't matter. thanks for mentioning nirvana in fire. it looks like I might need something good and satisfying to wipe off the irritation I am going to feel after ep 16. I am dreading watching the final episode now. sigh

 

2 hours ago, thistle said:

So, here's the question:  Exactly how annoyed were You?

 

Me?  I made a cake, and I ate about 1/3 of it for supper.    That should score pretty high on the Annoyed Scale. 

I played sudoku online instead of skimming through the raw for any OTP scenes like I usually do.

[foreverempress]

My response:   ...Seriously.. WTFFFFFF? Was I supposed to be moved by Han's team speech at the 1:00 hour mark? This is how you ruin a half-decent drama in a finale...

[thistle]

49 minutes ago, foreverempress said:

My response:   ...Seriously.. WTFFFFFF?

 

 

Just finished watching.

My response:  Pfffffffftttttttt!  

[Bejaffled]

Well, that was a load of piffle. A very unsatisfying ending. 

[hush puppy]

First time here. This is how I show my annoyance at the Finale.  Han has not only committed many crimes - she literally Destroyed The Entire Family. 

 

The whole TOP squad showed No Remorse.  It is like this Drama promotes the idea that Crime Does Pay; that it is alright to do so as long as you have the Wit to defeat the Law

 

I'm disappointed at the Prosecuter (the Son).  He seems to be so ignorant of his Trade.  Han has to give him some First Hand Lessons

 

There is no comparison for the Chinese Drama - Nirvana In Fire.   No Chinese drama is able to do that so far

[thistle]

Nightmares.  Nearly 4 AM.  Can't sleep now.  So annoyed.  The background music from this drama keeps playing in my head.  And I have been trying to figure out where it all went so wrong.  I think that this drama "jumped the shark" (an apt fishy expression, don't you think?) the night that SH stayed at YD's home.  That scene was so weird and out-of-place.  After that their relationship seemed to go stagnant.

 

Then there was the change of focus at the end which seemed to be in favor of Han's nasty illegal tactics.  That made me feel more than a little ill.

 

It was great that the Milk Witch could perform a last-minute rescue for SH but it was such a throwaway moment because there was no relationship development there.

 

We were left with so many unanswered questions:  like why was Han so addicted to the Mo family, etc.

 

The dark turn when WS killed himself was out of place--he should have had the courage to live on so that he wouldn't hurt SH any more than he already had.  His character was sensitive enough to know that and he had already shown his strength in enduring his family's scorn.  Suicide just did NOT fit.   And seeing Han's crocodile tears afterwards was sickening.  She never displayed emotion before (unless smirking counts)--why now?  Who could believe she was had human emotions anyway?

 

And then there was that statement by Mrs. Jung that she was indeed "family" to SH--was she trying to admit that she was her mother and that the story about SH's natural mom dying was a lie?

 

It wasn't an open-ending but the time jump and SH leaving for America absolutely let all the air out of the dramatic balloon.  Our couple was an afterthought after all since too much of the air time was taken up by TOP and Han.  

 

I loved this drama until it completely let me down at the end.  Just so unsatisfying.  Sometimes I hate KDramas.  The ending of Graceful Family is one of those times.  Disappointment is a worse feeling than anger--at least anger has a direction; disappointment is futile and shapeless.  I am very disappointed.  And, unfortunately, yet again feeling betrayed by the ending of a KDrama.  Why do I keep on watching these things?

 

Being grumpy and sleepless at 4 AM because of a drama is not good. 

 

......edit to say that I am taking back my Thistle DP because the Picasso fish just isn't funny anymore.

 

 

[maribella]

I haven't seen too many great endings for k dramas. This one is like an afterthought. 
 

YD's mother was not helping at all to get her release, was she? If she had confided in her son what Han promised her, maybe he could have focused on the three from the beginning instead of waiting for the cctv.

 

I have no problem with the kiss, but it would have been better without it. Handholding and meaningful looks should be more than enough when a pair had not met or kept in touch for a 'few' years.

 
On a scale of 1-10, I would give a five for this episode.

[hush puppy]

1 hour ago, maribella said:

I haven't seen too many great endings for k dramas. This one is like an afterthought. 
 

YD's mother was not helping at all to get her release, was she? If she had confided in her son what Han promised her, maybe he could have focused on the three from the beginning instead of waiting for the cctv.

 

I have no problem with the kiss, but it would have been better without it. Handholding and meaningful looks should be more than enough when a pair had not met or kept in touch for a 'few' years.

 
On a scale of 1-10, I would give a five for this episode.

 

Too true.  I notice a lot of K-Dramas (there are good ones too) tend to have a very Fast-moving & Exciting opening episode - only to "sizzle out" unceremoniously in the end.  Leaving a very Unpalatable Taste

[Lmangla]

such mixed feelings on the ending.

wan soo!    once it got confirmed that wan soo was indeed the murderer, then it was expected in a way that he would kill himself. for him, it was never about trying to get away with the murder. instead it was all about acceptance and wanting approval. like @guinearoyal put it, the only person in the family who saw him as a human being with potential, loved and approved of him was seok hee and without that, it would have been difficult for him to go on... 

 

besides seok hee, yeon do really didn't want him to be the murderer either as he recognized that wan soo had a good heart. along with seok hee, yeon do is just as stunned and cries on the suicide. this wasn't the kind of truth that they wanted. however, one thing that wan soo did do is he didn't run from the truth once he knew the game was up. he instead prepared a confession and delivered it himself to the prosecutor's son. if he had left it in his room or elsewhere, TOP would destroyed it. so he ensured that the confession stays. in a way, he punished himself rather than let justice take its course. if he had seen that there would be people waiting for him afterwards who loved him, then he might have chosen prison instead @Sushimi. makes me wonder if he would have chosen prison if seok hee had indicated that she would forgive him even if he was the murderer as long as he accepted the truth?

 

the murder was in a way stand in for second wife and that is the sad truth. he was punishing seok hee's mom when he really wanted to punish and confront his mom for being so cruel. was kind of annoyed with the tears of second wife and wan joon. they never cared when he was alive and now it pricks them when he is gone? pfft, what a waste.

 

if it wasn't for that pathetic last minute at the end of the drama where ms han and her old squad drive off, the drama was sort of satisfying with its hand of justice.

 

after yeon do's dad water slap, the other person who really shook ms han was wan soo. she seemed to think that as long as you put in effort, you will always get the result you want. whereas wan soo says that a failure doesn't mean lack of effort and she will never understand because she has never faced failure. for people who have never faced failure, any step back is hard to digest. in this case, wan soo took himself out of TOP's manipulations by ending his story. so she and her squad can't spin the story in another way and it means that her 15 year successful cover-up has now turned into a failure. it is ironic that he won some movie award after his death but it also was another blow to ms han. she had been gloating and goading that he needed to be a movie director and do something but she never knew that he actually had talent. so her assessment that he would turn out to be nothing was indeed wrong. another area where she failed.

 

@thistle ~ am not sure if ms han felt any emotion for wan soo but I think her realizing that they just lost big time may be the reason she got a bit emotional. it wasn't just her first defeat but a decisive one. also, wan soo said that if ms han had used her heart, she would have seen him. she would have recognized that he actually had talent. so she was wrong in many ways and it felt like that was behind her tears. while I was cheesed off at the ending, ms han and TOP getting defeated itself was a big deal. instead of running away, they had to accept responsibility and had to accept failure. for those like yeon do and seok hee who have faced failure many times, it is easier but not for those who always got what they want, this is a thorn that will burn in their soul. so we must be satisfied with that tidbit. 

 

as for wan joon and second wife, it was indeed a fitting punishment. while the jail term itself was less, it is the loss of their precious ambition that is more hard hitting. after all of that, they realize that someone (wan soo) cared for them but they were so focused on their ambition and greed that they lost true affection. so what was the point of all that ambition? they have also lost their reputation and their swag which they are never going to get back after they rejoin society. others will spite them. in that sense, they were punished. papa mo I assume just stays in coma and eventually slips away.

 

we have two people in this drama who ended their lives -- wan soo and also the prosecutor. in both cases, they made a mistake and bad choices but they were also loved and human. so the prosecutor's son will now become a good one who cannot be bought and will be for justice.

 

as for the time jump, in a way it made sense. both yeon do and seok hee needed to kind of heal from everything that happened. for seok hee, wan soo's death really hit her hard. she needed to step away. it is interesting that she chose to study law but finds no heart for it. MC group runs itself with a professional manager and so no more family wrangling. yeon do stepped away once he re-aligned TOP to the new goal of empathy and has become a public defender. he also needed to something else and breathe a bit. while the kiss was bland, it is clear they are now ready to commit to each other long term and move forward together. so not too bad.

 

altogether -- this isnt' the ending I wanted at all. however, compared to some drama endings where I was fuming afterwards for days, I am okay with this one. however, the ending completely removed any rewatch and downgraded the drama a lot. episode grade: it is a 5 for me as well @maribella

 

 

[ktcjdrama]

Anyone caught that Han might have an inkling that WS is about to end his life? But I guess she just couldn’t be bothered to prevent it... *still sour over his death*

[maribella]

1 hour ago, Lmangla said:

himself rather than let justice take its course. if he had seen that there would be people waiting for him afterwards who loved him, then he might have chos

Isn't it ironic that WS in a fit of rage killed AJR, starting from her refusal to divorce Mo, but Mo went to the house to tell her the real artist that he chose the fake artist, mother of his children. He did not have to do anything but suck up to his father. Tsk tsk. 

[Lmangla]

50 minutes ago, ktcjdrama said:

Anyone caught that Han might have an inkling that WS is about to end his life? But I guess she just couldn’t be bothered to prevent it... *still sour over his death*

she seemed really shocked and dazed by the news -- it wasn't something they had even anticipated. she only put it into context afterwards. it has been a while I actually cried for a fictional character and it wasn't even the leads. it was a side character! wah, wan soo.

 

39 minutes ago, maribella said:

Isn't it ironic that WS in a fit of rage killed AJR, starting from her refusal to divorce Mo, but Mo went to the house to tell her the real artist that he chose the fake artist, mother of his children. He did not have to do anything but suck up to his father. Tsk tsk. 

what is sad is that if papa mo had told second wife that he intended to divorce, then none of this tragedy would have occurred. instead, they all just played games with each other. and second wife didn't even care for papa mo even though he had been willing to divorce seok hee's mom. Second wife even stole his shares while he is in the hospital. so in the end, it is all for naught. neither papa mo or second wife really cared about each other. it was all about MC group, succession and money.

[smhelen]

4 hours ago, thistle said:

The background music from this drama keeps playing in my head. 

One thing I won't miss is the stupid background music. All in all, I liked the progress of the drama. BUT, now that I watched the ending, I changed my mind and I wish Han threw herself off that building. 

 

The ending was anti climactic, unsatisfying and under rated. The screen writers did not serve themselves well and I will not be following them. 

[rocher22]

The writer cannot convince me that WS should have ended that way. 

 

Ms. Han remained principled and strong until the end.

Whether or not these principles are wrong.

Some other powerful family will surely offer her a job.

 

I liked that scene on the street between SH and YD, even though 

the kiss was mild. 

 

[thistle]

4 hours ago, maribella said:

On a scale of 1-10, I would give a five for this episode.

 

Same.  

And the drama as a whole would have been an 8 for me but not now.  5.

I actually regret wasting the time I spent re-watching before the finale.

[Emily Bett]

I firmly believe that  if WS would have gone to jail, SH and SJ would have been waiting outside for him on release day. She would have forgiven him and spent the next few years supporting him to gain back his inner self confidence. He was a broken man who was hurt by everyone around him since he was a kid but there was hope for him, I just wish he would have waited out the hard days.

 

Honestly for me, WS was the true antagonist and protagonist of this show. His story started it all and his story ended it all.

 

 

[sksen]

I don't think the writer has enough time make the ending any better. I still like this show regardless.

[astoral]

Ending just seemed so rushed and unsatisfying. Like, they just wrapped it up by doing some slow-mo summary of everyone's prison sentences LOL (yall know which scene i'm talking about ) i wanted to see HYS crying over MWJ getting arrested but we didn't even get that

 

[serendipity...]

Not sure whether I'm in the minority but I didn't like the finale episode. The build up was great throughout the drama but the last episode was sort of a let down. I was expecting a high voltage climax but it was kinda lukewarm. I guess my expectations were sky high but nevertheless, it was a cool drama

 

3 cheers to the director & the entire cast. FL was just too damn good! *clap clap*

[thistle]

36 minutes ago, serendipity... said:

Not sure whether I'm in the minority but I didn't like the finale episode.

 

You're in the majority, judging from the other posts here.  The drama was good; the finale was a shamble.