K-DRAMA REVIEW: “Serendipity’s Embrace” Charms With An Interesting Take On First Love Fizzling Out Over Time

August 16, 2024
K-DRAMA RECAPS/K-DRAMA REVIEWS

The drama wraps up its narrative with a controversial ending that leaves me more pondering than satisfied. Is it all okay as long as our leads end up together, or is the process leading to that just as important?

Our leads might have loved each other sincerely, but love alone might not be enough to defeat one certain unyielding character who won’t stop until she gets her way.

Bunny S. watches Serendipity’s Embrace on Viu

Episode Recaps: 01 & 02 | 03 & 04 | 05 & 06 |

Serendipity’s Embrace Final Week Recap

Now that she finally learned the reason Joon-ho left her behind, Hong-ju gets the closure she needs to move on and start afresh. Throughout her life, Hong-ju used to blame herself whenever people abandoned her. But now, Hong-ju has realized that those who want to leave will do so no matter what. She isn’t at fault here. (Joon-ho comes to accept Hong-ju’s decision after acting clingy for one last time, which is the last we see of him.)

After parting ways with Joon-ho, Hong-ju informs her boss of her decision to pull out of the project. But we can clearly see how sad Hong-ju is. Turning that novel into an animation movie has always been Hong-ju’s dream. And it pains her to have to give that dream up. (I thought we would be revisiting this arc along the way and Hong-ju might change her mind and take on that project, but this is it.)

Meanwhile, Hu-young experiences some trouble as well. His mother makes a move, checking out of the hotel and coming to stay with him. And while Hu-young’s mother’s disapproval of Hong-ju is as clear as day, I think we have another problem at hand. Overhearing Sang-pil and Hye-ji’s conversation, Hu-young learns that Joon-ho is the author of the novel Hong-ju was supposed to work on. And during a stay-away-from-my-son meeting, Hong-ju learns that Hu-young’s mother came to Korea to get him back.

Our leads are both hurt to learn about each other from other people and unfortunately, things don’t go well when they try to talk things out. Hong-ju’s abandonment issues resurface again and she calls Hu-young out on leaving her in the dark and argues that he will just leave her behind like Joon-ho. And Hu-young counters that she kept working with Joon-ho a secret from him too.

Luckily, with the help of their good friends, our leads realize what they did wrong and reconcile with each other. Things were pretty much going smoothly until Hu-young’s mother made another move, giving Hong-ju a money envelope. What is even more annoying is Hu-young’s mother filing a lawsuit against him so that he won’t get to land any job in Korea and will have no choice but to give in to her.

Just when I am about to say this woman can’t get any worse, she proves me wrong. Inside the envelope wasn’t money but a credit card and a “generous” offer to Hong-ju. Hu-young’s mother will accept her as long as Hong-ju agrees to move abroad with them. Wow! That woman is bold indeed!

One might think that Hu-young will take a firm stance and stand up to his mother. But not in the slightest did he do this. Worse, he tells Hong-ju to go with him because I guess he realizes he is no match for his mother. Luckily, our girl doesn’t waver, resolving to stay in Korea with the people she cares about and achieve her dreams. Hong-ju sincerely likes Hu-young, but she can’t give up on her life to be with him.

From then on, it is all typical, with our leads spending some quality time together before Hu-young packs up and returns to the US, promising that he will be back again after sorting things out. I was preparing myself for a time skip and a dramatic reunion scene. Yet the drama and Hong-ju chose to give us one last surprise us instead. I guess Hu-young’s mother is unbeatable indeed since even Hong-ju gave in to her as well and agreed to tag along with Hu-young to the US, and I won’t be surprised if Hong-ju stays there forever.

Before rolling the ending credits, the drama gives us a montage of the times Hong-ju and Hu-young were brought together by coincidence, raising the question if coincidences might be brought about by our decisions. And I could have pondered over that theme too if I wasn’t too mad because of that ending. I really wanted our leads to stay together and have a happy ending, but that turn of events makes me wonder about what would have happened to our leads if Hu-young’s mother didn’t make that offer. I guess we already know the answer.

Serendipity’s Embrace Series Quick Recap

Having returned to Korea for the first time in a decade, our male lead, Kang Hu-young reunites with his high school friend and first love, Lee Hong-ju, hoping to make up for the lost time. But the thing is: Hong-ju has no plans to fall in love again after a harsh breakup in the past left her heart-broken.

Serendipity’s Embrace Series Highlights and Musings

Serendipity’s Embrace promised us a fluffy and heart-fluttering tale on memories and first love and the short episode count had us hoping that we would get a tight story without unnecessary filler or unnecessary plot lines. But while the drama did deliver on romance in its initial episodes, things got dragging towards the end.

I understand that the drama wanted a source of tension that could also provide some window of opportunity for character growth. But while Joon-ho’s sudden return arc was wrapped up quite nicely and served its purpose, getting Hong-ju to break free from her childhood trauma, the same can’t be said about Hu-young’s mother.

That character was awful with no redeeming qualities. Instead of admitting to being obsessive and dictating Hu-young’s life, she tried to gaslight Hu-young into believing that was all his choice and that she did nothing to influence his decisions, if that arc was meant to give Hu-young some growth, then why did he stay passive till the end? Not for a single moment did it seem Hu-young was resolute in his decision to stay in Korea. He just kept saying, “I won’t change my mind” and did nothing to solidify his stance until he eventually gave in to his mother.

That lack of resolve on Hu-young’s end made me question if he was really the one for Hong-ju. I mean, the girl has had her share of suffering because of people who enter her life and leave as they please. So, are we supposed to root for her to be with someone who can’t even defy his mother and take charge of his life? Hu-young might not be as despicable as Joon-ho, but both men chose to leave Hong-ju behind.

I would have been okay with it if Hu-young chose to go back to the US on his own accord and convinced Hong-ju to tag along one way or another. But they were both playing into Hu-young’s mother’s hands. And I guess she is now dictating both of their lives and enjoying it to the max. I can’t believe I am saying this, but a separation and time jump might have been better.

That is really one example of an ending that brings a good drama down. Until last week, I had no major gripes on the drama, but this final episode was really hard to sit through.

Serendipity’s Embrace got off on the right foot but went out on a limp. It had a good cast and interesting characters. But it chose to go down the typical and time-worn path instead of capitalizing on its strengths. And with that, I mean giving its leads decent character development and treating the secondary characters like independent individuals and not just plot devices.

Sang-pil was an interesting character, but he barely had any screen time. Hye-ji and Kyung-taek were also cute together, but their story got eclipsed by the main romance and I couldn’t really care about their arc by the time they got together. I also want to rant about the uneven pacing and how some scenes felt boring and unnecessarily long, but I will settle with this and try to move on. What a waste!

Photos and Videos: tvN Drama

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Bunny Sonaki

I am Bunny. Just like you, I am smitten with Kdramas and look forward to watching every Kdrama out there, but is that dream ever possible since they keep showering us with new dramas every day? For me, Kdramas are my comfort zone and a warm hug that makes it possible to face up to whatever life throws my way.

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