The Happy Ending
So here we are, the season finale of Love With Flaws split across the final two episodes. It’s been a pretty rocky ride up until this point and between dark drama, quirky slapstick and a myriad of subplots that haven’t always worked that well, Love With Flaws few bright spots do just enough to see it over the finish line with a feel-good finale that wraps things up reasonably well, even if it does feel a little rushed and unsatisfying for a few characters. A clingy Kang Woo begins the episode by regrettably saying goodbye to Seo-Yeon as she heads home, where Mi-Kyung and Jang-Mi await her arrival asking just where she’s been. As Mi-Kyung catches up with her friend, she realizes that she didn’t wear the sexy lingerie and realizes it’s true love if Kang continued to be with her. At breakfast, Seo-Joon drops to his knees with Joo-Hee and asks for help. They head up to HS Entertainment together where Hyun-Soo calls in Ho-Dol and puts him on the spot, showing that he was the one who uploaded the video that got him in trouble. It turns out Kang-Woo was a witness as we see him at HS a few episodes ago passing Ho-Dol in the corridor. The young boy is fired but Hyun-Soo promises not to tell anyone why, allowing him to get a job elsewhere. Outside, Seo-Yeon shares a nice moment with him as they discuss meeting and competing on stage. Ho-Dol also meets with the other two brothers, including Won-Jae whom he gives a picture of his father’s suicide spot. He takes the picture and rips it up in half. Soon after, he heads in to see Kang-Hee who tries to break up with him but he stubbornly refuses to let go. Speaking of not letting go, a clingy Kang-Woo embraces Seo-Yeon as she heads home and together they confront her brothers to try and persuade them that Kang is a good match for her. While they have their doubts, Jang-Mi pipes up and mentions that he’s the grandson of Shinhwa Foods. Unfortunately with this news, Won-Jae learns the truth and breaks things off with Kang-Hee given their family set-up. At school, Min-Hyeok gives up all his snacks while Kang-Woo heads to therapy where he sees two Dr Lees. It’s here the roles are reversed and Kang-Woo gives Dr Lee advice, given he’s been adopting his brother’s role. Dr Lee pleads with him to keep his brother out of it, dropping to his knees. Kang-Woo looks at Kim Bang-Gu square in the eye and tells him never to do this again before walking away. A drunk Won-Jae stumbles home and asks if Seo-Yeon is happy. After hugging him, he walks away and drinks water before she decides to make him some food. The next day, Kang-Woo and Seo-Yeon meet Kang’s parents and things are awkward, to say the least, especially as he asks her to switch shoes. Unfortunately this causes her a lot of pain and as they head home, she nurses her painful heels while Kang-Woo gets to work during the night designing clothes. Jang-Mi confronts her Mother and things end on a dramatic note, while Min-Hyeok confronts his past with a woman who calls him “Dr Candy”. He’s decides to go away for a bit and leave the school, ending with a handshake for Seo-Yeon rather than a much-deserved hug between the two. That evening, all the group gather together to wish Min-Hyeong farewell. Kang-Hee also shows up too but before Seo-Joon can say anything, Kang-Hee and Won-Jae text each other while sat at the bar together, slowly inching closer together. Outside, Kang-Woo wishes Min-Hyeok a safe trip before they shove each other repeatedly, leading to Kang eventually wrapping his arm around him and promising that they’ll keep in touch and message. We then cut forward three months to see Seo-Yeon and the others up to their eyeballs in sweet potatoes thanks to Ho-Dol and his Father. At school, Dr Lee arrives but now he’s working as a delivery driver. He hands over a package from Min-Hyeok, who is off helping others abroad, and requests that she wish Kang-Woo well from him and say hi. It turns out Kang has been working for 3 months on a secret project and as Seo-Yeon returns with the package full of food, she bursts in and sees that he’s made the wedding dress of her dreams; the same one she asked for as a child. As the episode closes out, we receive a montage of all our characters and what they’re up to now which is a nice, fuzzy moment for all our characters as we receive a happy ending for all our characters! While the Kang-Woo and Seo-Yeon drama has felt a little formulaic across the weeks, the sub-plots, despite their flaws, have actually kept this one intriguing. Dr Lee is the stand-out comedy element here and the drama has done well to add some taboo LBGT topics to the forefront of this comedy, not often seen in other shows of its kind. For that alone, the show has been a breath of fresh air but beyond that, the stories have really meandered over the weeks and lacked a good amount of substance, which is a bit of a shame. Out of all the characters here, it’s ultimately Won-Jae and Kang-Hee who feel the most naturally fitted and although plenty will take to the exploits of this quirky romantic comedy, it’s hard to look past the issues with the storytelling and pacing, which has swung between dark melodrama and quirky slapstick each week. Despite that though, the finale is pretty good and bows things out on a suitable high, doing the best it can with what’s been provided. Whether it’s made the journey worth it or not will depend on your own personal preference of course, but the finale does a reasonable enough job to round things out nicely.
