When the Phone Rings - Finale.
After thinking it over and sitting with the ending of When the Phone Rings, here are my overall thoughts on the show. I liked it. Yes, even with that ending. I knew after the 1st ep that I will not take the show as some sort of "serious" kdrama and readied myself for a the show to have somewhat of a makjang or exaggerated narratives twang to it...
While this show wasn't a full blown makjang which I appreciate, because frankly that is just not cup of tea, it really did immerse me into the world that they created.
Was I a bit disappointed? Yes. In my opinion, the ending needed heavy reworking, and frankly I think the show would have benefited if it was extended to 14 episodes to better flush out the remaining plots.
Writing wise, I really disliked that the writer pull the noble idiocy trope last minute. They were communicating so well in the previous episodes… So what changed? I also think the ending with the "real" Baek SaEon his mother was lackluster. He was tormenting the main leads, constantly threating their lives whole lives throughout the show and yet we only hear/see quickly that he died on scene. I felt that the way it was shot/written, just left me feeling a bit unsatisfied - felt a bit to easy. I would have also loved to see a scene to provide more insight to the extended family, especially Hong In Ah.
I think with extended episodes it would have let the writer breathe and write a ending that didn't include unnecessary tropes & convince them that adding the war torn country plot was a not a good idea b/c let's be frank the fuck was that? I know it was taken from the novel but …. omitting it would have been 1000% better.
Episodes 1-10 were fantastic. Starting from ep 11, you could tell plot became a bit strained. As for the last episode, the beginning was good - brilliantly acted by Choi Soo Bin, Middle -I'm erasing it from my memory and end was fantastic. I wished writers could learn that what the audience wants is to see the leads thrive and be happy, and yes, showing the characters happy for the the whole last episode is acceptable. Other than that the overall plot was fun. It was INSANE but fun.
Also, the acting really carried the show. Point blank, without the brilliant acting of Yoo Yeon Seok & Choi Soo Bin, the show would have me saying ahnyeong by ep 2. The dialogue had to have someone execute the lines with a certain "swagger" or precision for me to not find it overly cheesy and frankly believable.
So, would I recommend When the Phone Rings to someone?… I would… with a warning. While the ending may have people thinking it was a waste of time, which is perfectly fine, everyone's opinion is valid, I rather enjoyed it until the end.... Maybe it's because I usually drop shows when I get bored of them, which unfortunately happens often.
overall rating - 8/10
I also bring you my visual representation of my thoughts...
