[Ishani's Picks] Does "Reflection Of You" Have A Happy Ending?

On December 2, 2021, the iconic revenge drama "Reflection of You", starring Go Hyun-jung, Shin Hyun-been, Kim Jae-young and Choi Won-young completed its 16 episode run with a rather eerily peculiar finale that truly justified its name. However, the question remains: was it a happy ending?

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In the penultimate episode of "Reflection of You", tensions rise to a peak when Jeong Hee-joo takes extreme and deceptive measures to exit her joint project with Seo Woo-jae. Jeong Hee-joo keeps oscillating between redeeming herself as a woman and condemning herself as a sinner and no one, if not Go Hyun-jung, could have portrayed such an emotional vacillation as poignantly as her.

Goo Hae-won at this point, seems little more than a defeated woman consumed by the desperate need for revenge who nonetheless cannot take a strong enough step towards it. What seemed like Goo Hae-won's story in the first half of the show quickly transformed into Jeong Hee-joo's Shakespearean tragedy where she emerges as modern day Lady Macbeth but not quite. Instead of falling irretrievably into an abyss of insanity, Jeong Hee-joo has a spiritual awakening as she repents in a prison of her own making and finally finds true freedom.

The final episode of "Reflection of You" seems to have an overarching theme that doesn't match up with the passionate chase of the previous episodes. Despite the incredible performances by the wonderful cast, the finale falls short of the expectations the drama sets forth. Not only is it morally ambiguous but downright ignorant of the characters' established values. No matter how insolent Seo Woo-jae was, he did not deserve to disappear off of the face of the earth without any investigation into his death whatsoever.

Lisa escapes justice because she is privileged and Goo Hae-won deems her innocent despite the fact that she quite literally, murdered someone only because "she had nothing to do with this". Hiding the fact of his death was bad enough but letting Lisa live in the dark even though her guilt is eating away at her soul will most definitely take a painful toll on her.

One might argue that it was completely unnecessary for Goo Hae-won to instigate Ahn Hyeon-seong into going on a manhunt for Jeong Hee-joo when she herself let her go but in doing so, she not only covers up Seo Woo-jae's murder but in a sense, becomes an accomplice to it. Seo Woo-jae is wronged twice in the same way, once by Hyeon-seong when he puts him into a coma and again by Hee-joo and Hae-won as they erase his non-existence. It is undoubtedly quite unrealistic for Seo Woo-jae's death to go so shamefully unnoticed despite all the media sensationalism around his affair with Hee-joo but viewers are led to a willing suspension of disbelief. Goo Hae-won's brand of justice is a little hard to agree with but we're truly in no place to judge. These are flawed human beings after all, just like everyone else.

Jeong Hee-joo's greed and Goo Hae-won's wrath turn out to be their tragic flaws that bring down everyone around them, including themselves. Yet, after all is said and done, Goo Hae-won achieves her dream and Jeong Hee-joo cleanses her soul back to purity. While Hee-joo's success irked Hae-won, Hae-won's success soothes Hee-joo: as if she has paid for her sins enough. This is further reinstated by the metaphorical tolling of the bell underwater that can now reach Hee-joo with conviction. Life goes on for both Hee-joo and Hae-won but the destruction they leave in their wake is too grave to be disregarded. No one justifiably pays for what they did except for perhaps Hee-joo, to some degree. At the end of the day, as much as you're led to believe that she's the bad guy, she's only a woman trying to survive in a world that is constantly at odds with her. When it comes to Goo Hae-won, you cannot help but wish that she made the decision to start afresh sooner because in essence, she is a bright young woman who deserves the world.

In conclusion, yes, "Reflection of You" has a happy ending but in no traditional sense of the term. Families are torn apart - from Goo Hae-won's to Jeong Hee-joo's but our protagonists (if we may call them so), never put an end to their stories. They live and learn but never give up. Rather than being a drama of a certain genre, "Reflection of You" is more of an experience - a journey. Needless to say, huge props are due to the brilliant cast and the amazing team of "Reflection of You" for giving us such a picture perfect story (all puns intended) that will remain etched in our memories for years to come.

By Ishani Sarkar

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"Reflection of You" is directed by Lim Hyeon-wook, written by Yoo Bo-ra, and features Go Hyun-jung, Shin Hyun-been, Kim Jae-young, Choi Won-young, Kim Bo-yeon, Shin Dong-wook. Broadcasting information in Korea: 2021/10/13~2021/12/02, Wed, Thu 22:30 on jTBC.