#from hee do to yurim

[koyurimapologist]

tell me they’re not in love? you can’t.

[zorya-reads]

Oh look I drew fencing ppl instead of studying.

Na Hee-Do and Ko Yurim from the Kdrama 'Twenty-Five Twenty-One' on Netflix

Each doodle roughly 2 min

Yes, I meant to draw Ellie and Anastacia from Rwch, but got totally sidetracked while searching for references.

[wingedshoes]

rewatching 2521 to get a grounding sense of reality again. almost at the last episode. maybe it's because i knew how it would end but their breakup only made me sad, not angry. it makes perfect sense, with their age and financial situation differences no one in their lives noticed it, but they had way too different milestones to cross as people. and while it gutted me i also understood.

but no one can take away crying uncontrollably over na hee do and ko yurim's friendship from me. you can pry the scenes of their madrid match and their HUG from my cold, dead hands. how similar their views on fencing are, their motivations. for the self and for the family. BUT THEY'RE KIDS. excuse me im gonna go cry again.

[yeo-rims]

making my mom watch highlights of taeri's filmography, but also it is the fact that she's interested in telling stories about one's journey. be it interior or exterior, specially her shows, she's always standing up for something, fighting for something. and her characters could be alike, jeongnyeon COULD be na hee do, but they're not, because not only her scripts care about the character she's playing (KES look away) but the way she portrays each character is that different from the former. na hee do would never go to the mountain to sing, because she would never take advice from someone trying to destroy her. even in her desperation to beat yurim, it's heedo that save's her from self-harm. but jeongnyeon isn't like that, her desperation is so much more visceral, you believe, honestly, that if she can't do this she will die. and it's not that hee do didn't have the same spark, but jeongnyeon has the sort of desperation that leads to blindness/straight up crazy behaviour. she'll lose her mind if she can no longer sing, and you feel all that from how she begs one more chance, how she has no ounce of pride in that scene. it probably comes close to gu sanyeong learning what the ghost been through before dying. it's the sort of desolation that, upon looking at it, you can't do anything but feel as helpless as jeongnyeon. she gave her all, and she lost all she could give, and you can't help her, you're as helpless as jeongnyeon in that scene, as everyone in that theatre with her. it works so well because we're all powerless in the face of her losing her voice, and even the actress that don't know her feel that impact because they got a taste, but now it's gone.

[fakeyellow]

twenty-five twenty-one broke me 😭😭 watched it the other week (it's the only one I've seen from the ones u listed in a previous post)

can't wait for saturday tho 🤭

it was so fun to watch! i loved na hee do with baek hi jin and go yurim so much! that ending- oof

[sololosabelaluna]

and you have a right to be mad at the finale!! we all were!! it makes no fucking sense for them. it hit so hard esp since i watched this live during the pandemic and god for a hopeful show, i felt it was so out of place it ended the way it did, esp for THEM. i cant stress it enough. they shouldn't have ended it up like that. i love them so much and the shitty ending won't take away what was built up til ep 14 idc. idk those ppl in the last 2 eps. take some time away from it and watch it again (preferably only to ep 14) it'll feel empty but its a drama i always come back to. im like on my 4th rewatch but i now skip older heedo scenes 🤷🏻‍♀️

Hi anon! this is bit late but i've been busy and wanted to have time to reply bc i knew i would need to rant about this lmao.

god yes i saw mixed reactions to finale with some people saying it was realistic, but to me it wasn't. like you said for such a hopeful show to end it like that? yeah no (god i cant imagine watching this in real time and during the pandemic, im so sorry)

heedo and yijin breaking up and never speaking again makes no sense after establishing during 13 episodes that the whole fundation of their relatioship was mutual and inconditional support (like, i could understand them breaking up at that point for a bit bc they were both young, but never coming back together and not being in each other's lives anymore ????) (and i hate to compare them like this because i really liked them as a couple but yurim and jiwoong making it through yurim moving to rusia but baekdo not making it through new york?) i think what i find more upsetting is not them not working romantically, but that they are not in each other lives anymore after being so important and so fundational even before they started dating. THEY WERE EACH OTHER'S WHOLE SUPPORT SYSTEM, literally in heedo's words he was the only person who rooted for her even when her own mother didn't, WHICH GETS ME TO MY NEXT POINT

the more i think about it and the reason i dislike the finale the most is that older hee do seems to be so lonely? that aparently she doesn't keep in touch with ANY of them? these people were the only family she had in her teens, her first support system after her dad died. she was so lonely when we started the show and i feel like we ended with older heedo just as lonely. and the thing i hate the most is that the final message of the show is that it is inevitable to lose those things when you get older. that friendship and love are things you only get when you are young. im in my late 20s and things do get more complicated as you grow and it is harder to mantain friendships but it is not impossible if the people are important to you. so i refuse to believe the show telling me that by the time im in my forties im going to be alone. i don't think the heedo we spent 16 episodes with, who grew up so alone and was resigned to live like that before starting the show, deserved to end up in her 40s with only her mother and her daughter (and married to a man we don't even know the name of) and with such bleak outlook in life.

ok this got very long, sorry and thank you for giving and excuse to get all this out anon. aparrently i had a lot to say lmao. as for rewatching the show, im a huge rewatcher of things, but my first reaction when it ended was that i was never going to rewatch it because I was very sad. but rn im on a maybe i could rewatch it skipping the finale because i actually really loved the show and the characters but idk idk let's see. also lol at you skipping older heedo's scene, same THAT'S NOT MY HEEDO.

[uweiy]

I def want Na hee do(our main girl) and Go Yurim(fencing girl) to end up together but I also don't dislike Baek Yijin(male lead) whatever shall I do ༎ຶ‿༎ຶ

[starburstfloat]

Thoughts after ep 15

People can say what they want about the show, how the writers seemingly owe the audience a happy ending, and I can agree with some points, but overall I want to point out that a lot of these critiques tend to miss the main culprit of the show, namely time.

Time is what determines their age: each new year, they are a year older. And with each new year they fall into adulthood, they fall into a new set of hardships. Not because they possess some inherent incompetence or didn’t learn their lesson the first time life gave them struggles. But because life is fucking tiring.

Tbh I’m surprised this show is just rated 12+ in Korea if I’m not mistaken, because behind the fluff and joys of Yi Jin and Hee Do’s wins, both as individuals and as a couple, lies so much melancholy.

And the reason it’s sad isn’t because the writers are pressing some unrealistic slams of misery onto our protagonists - it’s the realism of it all that gets to me.

Because it’s portraying how being a young adult is so, so exhausting. Yi Jin’s work schedule and lifestyle demands are a handful. Hee Do’s training and adjustment to fencing without her best friend by her side is mentally straining. Yi Jin’s high level of empathy, his distraught at seeing people’s suffering, merely fuels his internalized professionalism dilemma. Also, Yurim’s adjustment to training in Russia (that deserves a post on its own because I fucking cried during that last competition scene). But anyhow.

Among this all, they persevere. They push and shove and cry and drink and they get up again and do it all again because they have a spark within them. I can’t think of any other kdrama that highlights youth in this subtly courageous way. Because the show isn’t about being the best or winning over someone’s love. It’s about much smaller things: it’s about getting up in the morning to train, sending your loved one a text, apologizing first, wiping your lover’s tears, showing up for the people you care about, hugging your friends.

This episode did a great job at highlighting the importance of having a support group close by. Because once Yi Jin gets placed in the US, and he’s separated from Hee Do for months, we see it take a toll on their relationship.

A relationship they have built years of mutual trust, adoration, and admiration on. The beauty in the writing is once again the subtly. I was expecting some grand kdrama cliche - some sort of betrayal, some shocking news, some glaring difference that would rock them apart. But no. It’s the slow, gradual decline of dates. The more frequent “hey, sorry I can’t make it” calls that gradually level down to “sorry, can’t make it” texts. For Hee Do, it’s the sinking feeling that as time has progressed, she’s not a priority. For Yi Jin, it’s the sinking feeling that work never ends. Remember, they have elevated one another to bring out the best of each other: he’s brought Hee Do patience and composure, while she’s brought Yi Jin passion and action. And yet, regardless of how strong their bond is, time and distance does in fact wither that shit away. It does steal love. They are not cracking at the seams because of some bad character traits. Neither of them is the bad guy. It’s just life, dude.

I think it’s quite a powerful message for a kdrama, because kdrama romance tends to function off the unspoken idea that “love can fix anything”.

This show takes that message and goes, “Sure, love is powerful. It can change people. It can change their entire life. But it can’t fix everything.”

I’m not saying I’m doubting they’re together by the end of the show. Knowing how well planned out this show is, and how often they’ve taken the audience’s anticipation and spun it in a different direction (think Yurim dad’s car crash), I’m satisfied in knowing this show could end with baekdo endgame or not. Also, considering how well they pulled off this episode (which again to reiterate, I did not think it would be possible to show Yi Jin and Hee Do drifting apart after they’d established SO MUCH CHEMISTRY for 14 episodes and yet they proved me wrong), I know the writers and directors have the capacity to give us a finale worth watching.

See y’all tomorrow for the end. Bring tissues. I know I will.

Peace out.

[underdevelopedbutterfly]

Before I use all my energy to write everything I wanted to say regarding the ending of 2521—undoubtedly, 2521 warmed my heart with its brave, hopeful, and passionate portrayal of youth. Its theme of perseverance, going against the cruelty of the times, and that step ladder analogy regarding our dreams have given me so much hope on those days I feel so anxious for the next chapter of my life. I may not love the ending, but I will always remember those.

Now, while the journey has been beautiful, I was left deserted after I finally reached its destination. I was left feeling hollow and disappointed to what a beautiful cathartic drama it could have been to myself. So, allow me to share my points on the why I am feeling like this. If you stumble upon the points here which you don’t agree, I understand, though I want to be objective with this, this can still be affected by own biases. But if you relate, well, hugs to the both of us!

the bad and the villain

The forceful initial narrative in the latter episodes for Heedo and Yijin’s character and relationship despite their evolution and deterministic spirit to persevere towards the cruelty of the times. This led the drama to diverge from its initial theme of persevering against time and end on a note which is just painfully devastating.

For 13 episodes I witnessed the building of their friendship, to them being unconditional supporters of each other’s dreams and as individuals and to finally, witnessing their great love that finally bloomed. While at first, they met as a youth and a young adult, I’ve witnessed them fall in love with each other at an emotional level. So, for us who loved them and witness their beautiful love, it was painfully devastating to have them break apart due to external forces of an initial narrative that keeps on trying to fit itself into the characters and themes that evolved for so much more.

the friendship of Ko Yu Rim and Na Hee Do as equally important as the romance of Baek Yi Jin and Na Hee Do

For this, I wholeheartedly agree. While at first, I disliked Yurim’s unprofessional attitude towards Heedo, as soon as Heedo accepted her friendship as Yurim introduces herself as Injeolmi, my heart has already been warmed to accept them both in my heart. Their fencing matches as enemy rivals were already breathtaking to watch. I also have no complaints and loved how episode 14 highlighted Ko Yu Rim’s story and her friendship with Heedo. That last fencing match would always be the main highlight of this drama and it was such a beautiful moment to witness.

So now, get me in on the second point, but why despite in all its glory, and powerful writing, many can’t still appreciate that ending just because the romance of Yi jin and Hee do didn’t make it together? Personally, it is the lack of convincing narrative and execution that couldn’t conclude Baek Yi Jin and Na Hee Do’s great love that is satisfying for the people who rooted for them—a lot. It was the forceful narrative that it was just a first love—and not a great love that both Yi jin and Hee do would want to keep on fighting for. Whereas, in Yurim and Heedo’s friendship and rivalry, I was already satisfied during that Madrid match and the 2009 timeline where she visited Heedo to congratulate on her retirement, I got no more words for them and I’m really thankful for their great and ultimate friendship.

Now, this drama which one of its greatest themes is about perseverance and being stronger than the times still couldn’t justify the breakup of that great love of Yijin and Heedo in an organic way that it won’t feel like there were no longer residue of regrets. To some viewers and to me, from how we’ve given meaning and witnessed their love for 13 episodes up to the start of episode 15, what went wrong to their relationship were just pure character and relationship development regression that still could’ve been addressed to deliver a narrative that is true to its theme from the previous episodes.

realistic ending to the leads vs happy ending to the rest of characters

There are already many counter-thesis posts to the narrative of realism to the ending of 2521 for our leads, but I’ll still write mine. Hee do and Yi jin despite their great love, unconditional support for each other, and a love that is already unreal to the world, still couldn’t withstand the test of time, however, all the characters except them were given happy unrealistic endings. Here are the instances:

Yu rim and Ji woong. This couple who started as highschool sweethearts despite the harshness of times still delivered for 10 years and sweetly ended to a fencing proposal.

Yu rim who became a Russian national and a fencing athlete and whose her parents were her greatest priority and was still feeling extremely responsible because of that parental love.

Ji Woong who’s still studying and having part time jobs to buy a ticket to visit Yurim in russia and who also have unresolved issues with his mother and father. Jiwoong who also became a CEO who’s probably became very busy because running a business ain’t easy.

And yet, the relationship of this two, what the show didn’t take much time to build, still, despite all odds were still able to make it. It is not unrealistic for them to be together, and I don’t want to undermine their love because it seems pure to me as well and I sincerely rooted for them. But the main question is, how they were able to make it?

For 10 years they were able to beat all the odds but we weren’t privy to their challenges as the couple and how they’re able to solve it. And in the name of realism, it feels a laugh to the pain of the great and unreal indispensable love of Yijin and Heedo that was broken apart because the show needed to complete its remaining narrative.

We are expected to believe that they were just able to make it and had the healthy and smooth sailing relationship for those 10 years. Relationships experience hiccups, minor and major fights, but there were efforts and communications to it and it’s an active choice to keep on choosing your person at the end of the day.

Whereas, Heedo and Yijin weren’t allowed to have the chance to communicate and talk healthily after their first major break-up fight at the tunnel. Sure, they embraced each other and bid each other a heartbreaking goodbye. However, the truth that there’s still no proper communication still withstands, and that’s why we have the breakup words written in Heedo’s diary and it is heartbreaking for me, that only after 20 years, she’s able to free the guilt of having said those words.

Are there other narrative choices than that? Yes. However, those two characters didn’t have that chance not because it is all for the better, but only because that is the intention of the narrative—to break them apart as first loves who supported one another from apart (and never meet again as friends…ever). Though as the viewers, we know that they still love each other and even if we want to push them similar to how Jiwoong pursued Yurim in the airport to realize that their love is still worth fighting for and that distance and times that were breaking them apart in 2521 were just a big wall they need to climb up together, we are powerless because the narrative that the creators build up in last minutes of episode 15 had already been final, irrevocable and intended to permanently break them on the last episode.

Hence, if the narrative of breaking up with your first love was not the initial intention from the start, we could still have witnessed a strong relationship rooted from friendship and unconditional support that stood against time with Heedo and Yijin, which is convincing and not unrealistic at all because it could’ve been a chance to show the character growth from both sides towards a healthy relationship. Had it been different, it could’ve been a great highlight and true from the theme that the drama already established for the rest of its episodes.

In respect to the creators and their choice of the narrative for Yijin and Heedo’s story, I believe what could have been done for it to become acceptable to the viewers was if the pacing had been fixed and there were rooms to show trials and errors before it had finally been broken apart.

Now, I did not enumerate this to say that all those 15 episodes and their love was no longer important just because the two leads I am are rooting for did not last as a couple, I’m just trying to pinpoint the inconsistent narrative choices of the creators in the ending as opposed to the realism narrative.

Lastly, realism as the theme of the drama. Like the pacing problem I already pinpointed, I do not agree that realism is its main theme. Starting from episode 1, the drama didn’t have the realism vibe starting from its color palette, instead, it is spunky, hopeful and had a very comical feeling, so I beg to disagree on that. The only time I believed it changed its tone is from the moment in episode 15 when Yijin is thrown on the abyss of the cruel narrative of 9/11.

Okay moving forward…

the cheap

Ji Seungwan meeting again with Yijin’s older brother in 2009, which I can also add to the happy unrealistic ending category and seriously, a scene that I’ll just laugh at for further disappointment.

the neutral

Ji Seungwan and her becoming a variety show assistant director. To be honest, I am happy for Ji Seungwan having this job. She can choose the job that she knows will make her happy because she doesn’t need to fit her life to people’s expectation—but if she really did become a lawyer, president, and whatsoever, I’ll still be 100% happy for her. Now, for the complaints she aired on her job, I believe those were just pretty normal sentiments. We can complain all they day long with our jobs, but we’ll still be sad without it anyway (this happens to me and my projects).

However, similar to everyone who rooted for this girl a lot, after her quitting on school and standing up for justice, I also wanted to see more of her growth in 2009. And I want to know what happened to her DJ Wanseung pirate radio show.

the disappointing

Min chae. Since we are able to witness this great story because she’s reading the diary, despite others criticism on the present timeline, I still expected a lot from her and thought of her as a pivotal character. But the ending gave her very little of importance and a very brief screen time.

Yes, Min chae decided to continue ballet again and inspired to write her own story as a youth, but that felt extremely…flat…to…me. I already expected that, but what I wanted was more for her. Maybe, show moving scenes with her mother or at the least, I see a passion from her to continue ballet, but it didn’t deliver…to me…yeah. I kept reading that this show isn’t just about romance, and I highly agree so instead of having almost the whole runtime trying to justify the breakup of Yijin and Heedo, the creators should have given much more of Minchae especially on its closing.

Now, what’s also the point of Minchae reading the passionate first love romance of her mother? Is that just for the fun of it or a bait from the producers to show the possibility of Heedo and Yijin getting together?

2009 and the present, what about the friendships?

The cruelty of the ending was not that Heedo and Yijin only had broken up for good, but they didn’t meet each other again or allowed to have a friendly talk after all those years. The break up is already one thing, but at the very least they should have stayed friends because before anything else—they are best friends.

Their last meeting is in 2009 and while it is good that in their flashback at that interview, they only remembered the good memories that allowed them to be there on their success (La La Land ending, was that the plan?), it is sad that those two persons we’ve seen to draw strength from each other and were first and foremost, best friends before they started becoming lovers, never ask each other again how they are doing in life, greeted on important occasions or met at all for all those 20 years. Just. Utterly. Devastating.

Next, Yu rim and Hee do, my favorite besties while probably still have huge respect and support to each other, didn’t find the need to reach in other’s lives again seeing how Min chae doesn’t even know her at all in the present. Just impossible and unrealistic.

The 2009 talk in Seungwan’s father death (we didn’t even learn she still had one). I just hoped we got better moments instead of that.

the justification: it is heedo’s story

I have read posts concluding that it is Heedo’s story after all as a way to justify why we didn't see the present lives of the other main characters and to all the plot holes that were never addressed.

My main problem with this is because the creators purposefully included those scenes and lines and yet they weren’t addressed.

We spent the first five episodes of the drama with also Yijin’s arc, we saw his struggle, saw him break down in episode 10 and have a vulnerable moment with this father and saw his traumatic experience in 9/11. The rest, we were shown his nightmare that Heedo would be no longer in his life and again, very devastating. So, how can that justify that it is just Heedo’s story when they released more from it outside of what’s written in the diary? Then we had a time jump and showed that finally, he’s able to reunite his family, however, that scene was so little and I felt like the ending didn’t give him a fulfilling resolution that I wanted to see from all the struggles the creators created to fit its depressing narrative. At least, a moment where I see him talking with his father and mother and brother, might be probably enough. We also didn’t have a closure on the line from episode 10 “you were my consolation ten years ago”, which left me being extremely disappointed.

the depressing lines

First, the moments of youth that Heedo dared say would last forever were just an illusion she loved living in it.

Second, youth is just a practice.

To be honest, those key points from her present-day monologue as she feels nostalgic in the tunnel can be open to many interpretations and if it resonated with you, that’s good. But to me, it just created a bigger void in my heart. Like others, I expected that, “While moments of youth already passed, as you age, you can still create more meaningful moments with your family and loved ones. That even your youth days already passed, it is still not late to pursue what gives you passion.” I know Heedo already fixed her relationship with her mother, had a daughter whom I know she loves so much, and have that wood workshop as her own private self-place and she dedicates to her father as well and to her moments of youth, but it just wasn’t highlighted better in the ending that will allow others to fully feel her happiness in the present. In fact, I felt like the present timeline didn’t have a good amount of screentime to create a beautiful balance to the nostalgia they want to portray.  

When present Heedo said on episode 10 that forgetting things are not bad, I still thought she’s full of wisdom and expected that it will give me a positive outlook on the ending continuing from that statement of hers.

Now, for the youth is just a practice statement, this hurt my heart when Yijin from episode 16 said this, not because it is realistic, but to me, it feels undermining the struggles and perseverance of youth in their everyday lives. In these times, where youth are being ridiculed because of their age and lesser experience in life compared to the adults, that statement seems to be counterproductive. And it is also romanticized in present Heedo’s monologue—it’s just probably me—but I disliked the words they chose for the ending.

now, the good

While many things became depressing to me in the end of 2521, I still want to give an applause for the actors for giving me a haunting traumatic experience of the breakup created by the cruel narrative force of its creators that despite the great love of the characters they still wouldn't make it. The rest of the good things are for creating strong female leads, for concluding Heedo and Yurim’s friendship in a beautiful way though I hoped more to see them in the present and still, for having a non-toxic male lead character and a great love story that will be nurtured in my heart.

bonus: the alternative narrative as opposed to Yijin and Heedo’s breakup

Aside from the healthy communication that they deserved in episode 16 after their argument at the tunnel, I do not believe in the narrative choice that Yijin will apply for that New York City’s correspondent position without Heedo’s knowledge.

If ever that Yijin would want to apply for that is only because of a greater calling or responsibility he’s feeling from his job as a reporter and not due to financial status as opposed to what others are telling. Yijin, who values Heedo as his life-long partner and who loves her a lot and respects her individuality and intelligence, would never ever not consult Heedo before applying for that position.

That is the last straw and the cruelest narrative choice that the creators pursued, and I will not accept that because that is not the Yijin I knew. If Yijin wishes to pursue that, he would first talk to Heedo and from there, that will allow the room for him to fully open his heart to her and that would be such another heartbreaking but meaningful highlight in their relationship.

Moreover, if the creators will only be after realism in a truthful way, Yijin will be able to get support from his family in Korea regarding his traumatic terrorist experience in New York, especially from his father. Remember, he is in the height of a terrorist attack—no family will not be concerned for their family member during those times. It is just a pure cruel choice from the creators to put Yijin in that doomed and traumatic situation. It also allows the pursuance of the narrative that it will be too much for Heedo to take care of him—but still, people keep forgetting that he’s her best friend before they become romantic partners.

Lastly, Yijin’s hope is not only with Heedo, but also through his family—father, mother, uncle and to Yi Hyun, his little brother.

So yeah, this is not enough to cover everything, but I’m still glad to pour it here. While I’m still disappointed with the ending and I’m disheartened by the narrative cruelty of the creators as the drama reached its end, I realized that I am still thankful for it that I got to know my comfort, and beloved characters, Heedo and Yijin, and for that, I think that’s enough for me to give them the happy endings I have in my heart stored for them and also to the rest of our squad—Yu Rim, Jiwoong, and Seungwan.

[kestrel-of-herran]

2521 ep.13 summary

it is with great responsibility that i fulfill my commentary duty to the fandom on this unhappy occasion. here is a cursed text (credit to the translator!) and my efforts to uncurse it.

Heedo conveyed her true feelings to Yijin, but he kept pushing her away. Yijin heard an unexpected story from ChanMi while contemplating his relationship with Heedo. Meanwhile, Heedo and Yurim will play their last team match in poor condition.

okay everyone gather round!!! therapy circle!!!

guys. guys we all KNEW this was gonna happen eventually

“hurt each other at 24/20, fall in love at 25/21” remember??? this is all GOOD this is just good pacing!!! we have four more episodes; we can’t have action without conflict. we can’t have four episodes of beach trips, that’s not how good tv works. the alternative is far far worse: getting the couple together at 12-13 and breaking them up at 15-16. the structure the show is using is the structure that gives us the best potential for an endgame!

guys that preview screams “TREMBLE IN FEARRR”. what did i tell you about false foreshadowing they are going to resolve this, stay CALM

their professions getting in the way of their relationship has been foreshadowed for weeks and weeks. it’s gonna happen, it’s gonna be bad, and then it’s gonna be good again. ENJOY THE ANGST. get popcorn with your tissues. we’re about to see their love being tested, and see how ferociously it fights back.

baek yi jin the noble idiocy trope in waiting that you are

to the twitter posts pointing out the cameo of a real-life fencing athlete with the surname of “kim”: THIS IS A RED HERRING YOU LOVELY FOOLS. it’s so in your face that there is literally no other purpose it could serve. they even put it in a teaser and who reveals their ending in a teaser??? pls

last episode’s theme was about quitting your dream as an act of bravery, and in this one hee do and yu rim are about to play their last match. does this mean that hee do and yu rim are going to give up on competitive fencing for good?

hee do not being in fencing = yi jin’s profession not being a point of conflict between them. there i solved it who wants a cookie?

[park-king-lot]

How does the ending of 25 21 make sense?

<these are just my INITIAL thoughts 😭 so please proceed reading the attached pictures because they are far more accurate and correct than mine>

And for the record, Yi Jin did not choose work over Hee Do. It’s just that they have these irreconcilable differences and specifically their filial traumas. Read the pictures below to know more and just ignore my nonsense paragraphs written in small font haha.

From the get go, I have been thinking on how writernim approves of noona romance, of big age gaps between lovers. This is because in Search WWW, FL and ML's age gap is glaring but they somehow made it work. But then writernim writes story in a feminist point of view. She approves of noona romance but not the opposite of it that is ML being way older than FL. I think writernim considered grooming.

And this is perhaps why Hee Do said that it feels like Yi Jin is more sincere in apologizing than in telling he loves her. Because Yi Jin is aware and knows that Hee Do is younger than him so he always expects that she will understand and sympathize for him all the time. He is aware that Hee Do relies on him because of his emotional support. And I feel like their tunnel breakup conversation is Yi Jin borderline gaslighting Hee Do.

When Yi Jin asked Hee Do if she is sure about them breaking up if she can handle it, it gave off some creepy and icky vibes for me.

I think writernim doesn't want them to end up being toxic for each other that's why she didn’t do Baekdo endgame.

----

But I’m taking back all of these because I have found the perfect  explanation for the ending to make sense!

And I would like to sincerely apologize to Yi Jin for labeling him as a toxic character by the end of the show 😭 I'm so sorry. It's just that his selflessness was a bit of a stretch that it did some harm on the people around him? 😭💔

Let’s also not forget how Yi Jin ran away or ghosted whenever he is having a hard time.

Episode 2: Yurim and Yi Jin met again in the school and she was mad and hurt at how Yi jin didn’t contact her or even leave a word when his family went bankrupt. She told him all her struggles yet he didn’t even considered talking to her after the crisis happened. Episode 5: Yi Jin once again vanished without a word and moved to her mother’s hometown when the creditors tracked down his younger brother.

Episode 15 to 16: Yi jin didn’t tell Hee Do that he was having a hard time in New York and that he applied a job there

 https://mydramalist.com/695149-twenty-five-twenty-one#comment-9244553

[consigliere-vincenzo]

you don’t build up one of the greatest relationships (i have ever seen in kdrama if im going to be honest) for 15 episodes just to break them up in ep 16. there hasn’t been any major red flag throughout their time together, their relationship wasn’t doomed from the start, it was build on the foundation of trust and patience and communication. the only possible hint that we got that it might not be happy ending were those few minutes of the present days. but usually if a show wants to make it clear that these two will never work it out at the end, as writers, they should ease the audiences into it not just giving up a whiplash in the last episode. from a storytelling perspective, it makes no sense. like no matter what i just can’t wrap my head around it. and this isn’t even about, oh i just want them to be endgame, but it feels SO much more. it feels like being tricked and misled for the past 14 episodes. and yes as audiences, we are expected to be tricked by the writing and that’s perfectly fine as long as the ending justifies it. but with 2 episodes left? how are they going to justify this? and yes sad ending is fine. i have enjoyed many shows that has sad ending, it’s all about execution and the pacing that lead to the ending. but 2521 was NOT set up to have a sad ending (at least one where the two main leads don’t end up together). the entire time, it has always felt like we were told, “they don’t end up together because they just don’t” by the characters in the present days and we just have to buy that. the show has done nothing to actually lead us to that. you don’t spend THIS much time developing the kind of relationship that yijin and hee-do has just to split them up.

anon i agree with everything you’re saying but i’m afraid sometimes kdrama writers just don’t give a F.

at times they just do what they want and it doesn’t have to make sense or be in line with what they set up. what infuriates me is that i started this show ready for it to have a sad ending because to be fair, they told us upfront that it was kim minchae and not baek minchae and the official site literally told us that the group was no longer close.

but like you said, as the episodes went on, they really lured us in with the possibility of a happy ending- in fact, it seemed impossible for it to NOT have a happy ending- if these two can’t make it work- we’re all doomed, right? they marketed it that way, because honestly who would watch 16 hrs of tv if you knew you would have your heart brutally broken at the end.

but that’s from the viewpoint of the viewers- the issue here is does kwon doeun care- let’s face it- we’re at her mercy. what story does she want to write. does she view 2521 (as a whole) as a romance- or did she really just want to talk about how we don’t know how beautiful our youth is until it’s all passed and done with. i questioned many of the plot choices she made in ep. 10-12 she seemed to drag this whole ‘youth is beautiful’ thing a bit too much and she seemed intent on spending a disproportionate amount of time fleshing out yurim’s family drama. at the time i thought these were just poor choices but now that i look back on it- i’m thinking- well maybe the story she is writing is not the story i’m watching. because i’m watching baekdo’s relationship- that’s my thing, that’s our thing. but is it her thing? idk.

[yeo-rims]

i love your post-2521 episode thoughts - i just wanted to know why you think people were so devastated by this ending, like abysmally so. i completely get why people were sad that they didn't end up together, and yeah i also personally don't think the latter episodes were as well executed as they could have been, but i don't think that they were /that/ terrible. yeah they hurt, and yeah we want escapism but just curious about what you thought about how the response to the ending was

Oh, dear anon, I have a lot of thoughts about it so bear with me!

First of all, thank you for this ask. It means a lot that you liked my post!!

Now, what do I think? I was talking to the brilliant @elderflowergin that one of the reasons I feel the ending made people so devastated coincides with the fact that the show also ended. You know grief is not something we only feel when people die, we can grieve anything that we lose, honestly. In a way, the show ending will make us sad if we cared enough to talk about it as much as we did online. So I think that was a factor.

Another thing is that when you put their breakup on the last episode it gives us not so much time to get used to it, Hee Do in the future is fine, but we, as viewers, had less than 10 minutes to get over that and jump to the next scene. Time healed her wounds, and time will heal ours, too.

Losing them like that, the drama and the couple we invested so much of our energy on, it can be hard.

My next theory is that people aren't used to not getting what they want, especially in dramas. I've read a lot of posts about escapism, and I am not against it, honestly. But this show is not the reply series and that can be felt in the first 10 minutes of episode 1 (reply 88 is a favorite of mine, but it is a show that sells on nostalgia and first love is the only type of love).

2521 is about heedo's journey, her dreams, passions, fears and relationships. The love she has for Yurim is as big and as important as the love she has for Yi Jin. The drama never made one more important than the other, we had episode 14 dedicated entirely to Yurim because she is that important. We had that Madrid match too. But, for some people, this show was a romance, because that's what most kdramas are.

The romance in it was well made, their friendship was so good and it is hard to not root for a couple like them when they work so well together. But the reality it is that despite how well they worked together, the times, again, crushed their relationship. No amount of communication would be able to heal the trauma Yijin went through. And it wasn't Heedo's job to wait for a broken man to come back home. The situation they were in... it's not that the support wasnt reaching them, but that support was becoming too much. Yijin never wanted to burden Heedo with his trauma, but Heedo is the type of person to do everything for the ones she loves. So is Yijin. They had so much love for one another that they realized, at the end, that staying together would bring them pain, would make them worry too much and sleep too little and try too hard in a time they had a lot of other priorities.

They were very mature to realize that, and I see people saying that Ji Woong managed to visit Yurim in Russia, but c'mon, there is a ferry boat to russia from korea. Ji Woong isn't dealing with war trauma either. so he is willing to sacrifice a bit of his time to work for money.

Heedo has no time, Yijin has no time. They both want what's best for the other and they want the other one to be happy and achieve everything they dream of. Yijin's dream was to reunite his family and he did it! How big that is, right?

So going back to my point, I feel like people were watching this having in mind every other drama that managed to make their couple work, despite how unrealistic it was. But bringing cloy into this makes no sense, it only tells me they don't understand what cloy was even about, either.

so far we have 3 things: the show ending, the couple ending so abruptly, and our expectations being crushed.

I also think that people are afraid of growing old. The number of theories that said someone had dementia, alzheimer, or anything to justify things that are so normal... Wild. But also, the younger the audience, the more I saw comments about how present heedo is awful, her life is pathetic etc etc. the show calls us out on that, too, saying that it is an illusion to want it all, but we do it anyway.

The last thing would be this mentality that a lot of people have that love is only worth it when it lasts "forever". That true love is only true love if it ends up in marriage. Do you want something more real than the love Hee Do had for Yu Rim? We can't get any more true than Hee Do saying she loved Yi Jin with all her heart. Things end, we are afraid of that, we think the moment something ends the whole thing lost its meaning. There is nothing good to remember if it ended, right?

If it weren't for Yi Jin, god knows what Hee Do would've done to change schools. If it weren't for Hee Do, where would Yi Jin be even at? He was hopeless, she was too reckless. They grew together, and sadly they also grow apart. But they never stopped loving each other. But a lot of people think that Heedo marrying someone else (after 7! years) means that the show wasn't worth it. Meanwhile what the show tried to say all along is that even if it is for a brief moment: love, laugh, be happy. Get up and try again. It's ok if that moment ends, you can do it all again, as long as you're alive. The memories can fade, but the feeling we have of living a full life is what keeps us going.

I guess it is a bit too much for some people, especially in difficult times like the one we are in now, to face the reality that no moment is forever. Not even the precious ones.

[grrrlsoverdramas]

Thinking about:

Yijin and Yurim having a childhood oppa/dongsaeng relationship; Yurim being mad that he doesn’t actually treat her as family; and they’re no longer “close” because Yijin is ashamed of/overwhelmed by his poverty and she isn’t a priority in her life. Meanwhile, Yurim grew up poor and had this rich oppa in Yijin. Then the second he was poor like her family, he stopped talking to her. And now he’s really close friends with her classmate/rival who is wealthy and seems carefree. Like is Yurim kinda being a Big Baby? Yes, but also, like, yeah! This is shitty from her POV!

Yurim “jokingly” telling Yijin not to say he was having a hard time since he ghosted her family, and Hee-do telling Yijin he sounds like a different person on his high school tapes. Yijin being willing to look pathetic and cry in front of Hee-do, but also her being the only person that really makes him hopeful or happy because of that.

Yijin not being able to tell Hee-do that Yurim was wrong, because no matter what he’s not going to talk about his dongsaeng like that. Yijin calling after Yurim that he met Hee-do by accident even though he had called her and bought Full House vol. 15 and was carrying it around and literally ran out of work to find her. Like, did he not want Yurim to be mad at him or not want Yurim to be mad at Hee-do? Or did he not want Yurim to think that Hee-do was more important to him (even though she is)?

Yijin telling Hee-do that he would be rooting for Yurim. Like, a bit as a joke about her stupid boyfriend, but probably a bit because he’d feel disloyal if he didn’t say it, even if the truth is that he’ll root for both of them but he wants Hee-do to get everything she wants. And he feels safe telling Hee-do that he’ll root for Yurim, because he knows she’ll respect him even if she’s angry. But he probably couldn’t do the same if Yurim asked, he’d probably avoid the question or say he was rooting for Yurim still.

It reminds me of Coffee Prince when Eunchan says Hankyul can’t yell/throw tantrums in front of Yoojoo, but he does with Eunchan. And that Hankyul actually is the guy that throws tantrums when he’s upset, not the guy that never tells a girl he likes her because it might hurt his friend’s feelings.

Yijin has a hard time being emotionally honest with most people. Because the truth is that since his family went bankrupt he’s been/has felt craven.  And Hee-do is the only person he’s with where he can kind of be an ass.  But like eventually he’ll grow up and they’ll grow up and they won’t just be a safe space for each other but they’ll be in love and I hope he figures out how to be a little more emotionally honest with everyone and less craven!

Because everyone around Hee-do wants Yurim to win, and even a part of Hee-do want Yurim to win, and the only person she actually wants to hear supports her over Yurim would be Yijin. Because him (+her coach) are the people she actually believes are rooting for her at all.

[ibrethhere]

Both we and Baek Yi Jin were so afraid that at some point he’ll have to choose between Hee Do and journalism and that will end up hurting the person he most loves, but we forgot that YuRim is also in that world, and he also is reporting about her. We lost her from our equation, and it hit us hard.

[uweiy]

Ok having Yurim be sorry she was so mean to Hee Do was somewhat satisfying but I still don't get why