Writer Noh and Director Kim believe you have tears left to cry. Brace yourselves for the last tale in Our Blues that will tug your heartstrings.
The narratives of the omnibus series Our Blues are nearing their end. This time, viewers will embark on an unexpected yet meaningful trip to Mokpo with Dong-seok and Miss Kang Ok-dong.
Nathan Llantos watched Our Blues on Netflix
Episode recaps: First Look | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 & 08 | Mid-Series | 11 | 12 & 13 | 14 & 15 | 16 & 17 | 18 & 19 | Finale Week + Series Review |
Our Blues Episode 18 & 19 Highlights
After all the walls they have seemed to break through, Dong-seok feels confident enough to surprise Seon-A. However, he arrives in Seoul to see Seon-A with her son Yeol and her ex-husband Tae-hun.
He misunderstood the situation and becomes frustrated. Thinking that Seon-A had reconciled and gotten back together with Tae-hun, Dong-seok felt hurt and left honking his truck. He took the ferry and head back to Jeju with a heavy heart.
And before Our Blues Episode 18 focuses on the story of Miss Kang Ok-dong and Dong-seok, viewers get to see what happened to little Eun-gi and her father Man-Su after what transpired last episodes 16 and 17.
Man-Su was given a miracle. His life is now not in a critical state and he has regained consciousness. Little Eun-gi and Miss Chun-hui are delighted that Man-su is recovering well. Miss Kang happily watches little Eun-gi’s video where she joyfully announces her father is getting well now.
Miss Kang’s Wish
In-Gwon, Ho-sik and Eun-hui gather in her cafe to corner Dong-seok. Captain Jeong-jun and Yeong-Ok are also present in the meeting. Over drinks and snacks, they try to persuade Dong-seok to take Miss Kang on her requested trip to Mokpo.
The conversation gets heated. Dong-seok feels offended because he believes none of the gang knows anything about his side. They are all taking Miss Kang’s side because she is old and has frail health. None tried to know the pain that Dong-seok feels.
In-gwon gets riled up by Dong-seok’s sarcastic and cold remarks. He begins taking his clothes off provoking Dong-seok to fight him.
Eun-hui, Jeong-jun and Ho-sik intervene. After Dong-seok’s sister died, Ok-dong remarried and moved in with his father’s friend less than a month later. This upset many people, including Eun-hui. She told Dong-seok that she even cried feeling sorry for him. Ho-sik tried consoling Dong-seok telling him he understands how he feels.
But that triggered him more. He revealed that he witnessed his mother and friend’s father going inside the same room to sleep together, which ruined their relationship. He ranted about how none of them could know how that feels. Moreover, he has not been treated like a son by Miss Kang. Hence, since then, he no longer sees her as his mother.
Opening Old Wounds
Miss Kang is aware that her time is running out. She feels weaker by the day and kept spewing blood. Thus, everyone is hell-bent on making Dong-seok reconcile with her. On the other hand, Jeong-jun approaches Dong-seok differently and drives him out to the coast and lets him watch the picturesque sunset.
Subsequently, he receives a text message from Seon-A. They then conversed on a phone call. For the first time, he opened up to someone about the buried pains he has been keeping. He told Seon-A about how Miss Kang abandoned him after remarrying. She did not protect him when he was beaten up by her new step kids. Likewise, she barely spoke to him as a mother since then.
He told Seon-A just how deep-rooted his issues are with him. To make things worse, Miss Kang once told him that from now on, she is no longer his mother but his aunt. Since she is remarrying, she is now the mother of her new husband’s two sons. It was not easy for Dong-seok. He was slapped by Miss Kang when he protested the idea. As a result, he soon detached himself from his filial duties and feelings.
Seon-A listened to him with care. Hearing everything he said, she did not force him to go like what In-gwon and the others did. Instead, she told him to follow his heart and do what he thinks would be best. Additionally, she told him it would be great though if he can get answers if he confronts Miss Kang. Afterwards, she told Dong-seok that she is not getting back together with Tae-hun. She confessed that in fact, she has feelings for Dong-seok.
Meanwhile in Pureung, Jeju
And amid the situation, Yeong-ju was taken to the hospital. In-gwon, Hyeon and Ho-sik are all anxious about the situation since she was having a hard time while in labor. Eun-hui follows them to the hospital and sees the two fathers crying outside holding each other’s hands. Later on, Hyeon accompanies Yeong-ju to the delivery room.
Meanwhile, Jeong-jun and Yeong-Ok visit Jeong-jun’s parents. Despite it being her drunk idea, Yeong-Ok is now cowering on the fact she will be introduced as Jeong-jun’s girlfriend. She tries to talk Jeong-jun out of it. Eventually, the couple arrives at the condition that Yeong-Ok will only reserve three strikes of inhospitality before she runs away.
Hence, they drove Yeong-Ok’s car and not Jeong-jun’s. He assured Yeong-Ok that he will protect her if ever her parents become rude towards her. He just pleaded she holds back for at least three minutes when that happens so he will not regret going against his parents. At his parent’s house, Yeong-Ok tries her best to be polite and approach Jeong-jun’s mother.
It was very awkward at first since Jeong-jun’s mother is not saying much. But the situation improved when they were all dining at the table. Jeong-jun’s mother placed food on Yeong-Ok’s plate and told her to sit comfortably. She then talked to her and said “It must have been hard for you all these years.” which made Yeong-Ok teary-eyed.
Jeong-jun who was stiff and anxious earlier is now relieved to see that his parents approve of their relationship. Even his father told Yeong-Ok that if ever Jeong-jun is not nice to her he will scold and beat him up for her.
A Trip To Mokpo Part 1
Eventually, Dong-Soek half-heartedly agreed to take Miss Kang to Mokpo. However, he still believes that this is her way of picking a fight with him. He is still mad at how inconsiderate of his feelings this request is. The following day, he fetches Miss Kang and Miss Chun-hui. However, they did not head straight to the ferry since Miss Kang instructs Dong-seok to do certain tasks every time they stop over on their way.
Due to the delay, they had to wait for the next ferry trip. Dong-seok decides to have breakfast. Miss Kang follows him and the two engage in an argument. Mostly, it was Dong-seok who was pissed. Soon after, they arrive at the hospital where Man-Su is admitted. Miss Kang is thrilled to see how much Man-Su has recovered. She was also delighted to see Eun-gi once again.
Miss Kang hands money to Chun-hui to help with Man-su’s hospital expenses. The two talked about how Miss Chun-hui must not rush to follow Miss Kang when she passes away. Miss Kang tells her that she wishes Chun-hui to see Eun-gi attending school and wait until Man-su can walk again.
A Trip To Mokpo Part 2
After the hospital visit, Miss Kang wishes to hold a service for her late second husband. Dong-seok was determined not to attend the service with her. However, he encounters one of his step-brothers who abused him when he was young. This urged Dong-seok to get even with him. Dong-seok kept giving snide remarks which ultimately provoked Jong-u. The two engage in a physical fight which aggravated Miss Kang.
Surprisingly, Miss Kang intervened and spoke a lot. He defended Dong-seok by telling Jong-U her son does not owe him an apology. She shouted that she has a lot of shortcomings and mistakes and Dong-seok had to bear with it for all these years. What more could Jong-U possibly ask of Dong-seok.
Following the incident, Dong-seok and Miss Kang ate together before going to Miss Kang’s hometown. He caused a scene because of the mistake made by the waiter. This upsets Miss Kang and she frantically wants to leave the restaurant. Dong-seok confronts her about why every time he does something to set things right, he is the one who is always wrong in Miss Kang’s eyes.
In his truck, he even told her that he noticed how Miss Kang can smile at her pet dog but could not even look at his son properly. Later on, they head to Miss Kang’s hometown which was turned into a reservoir.
Our Blues Episode 18 & 19 Musings
A heartbreaking at the same time hopeful ending is foreseeable after watching Our Blues episodes 18 and 19. Since Dong-seok and Miss Kang’s introduction in the storyline, viewers have known that their relationship would be saved for the latter part of the series trajectory.
After all the highs and lows that the other characters have experienced and resolved, it was time for the mother and son’s story to be shed light on.
These episodes are indeed thought-provoking. As a son or daughter, viewers would feel conflicted empathizing with Dong-seok. But given Miss Kang’s old age and terminal illness, viewers would also feel pitiful and would wish that the two would reconcile.
Respect and forgiveness are the main themes of Our Blues episodes 18 and 19. It is not unknown that those two themes are often the hardest to give to someone who has hurt you a lot. This is the ordeal that Dong-seok is facing.
Marvel the wonders of Jeju and get to know the stories of pain and hope chronicled by Our Blues. Stream all 20 episodes on Netflix.
Photos: tvN
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