Why is “Twenty-five, Twenty-one” pouring cold water on Nam Joo-hyuk and Kim Tae-ri’s romance when the drama is nearing its end?
Will “Twenty-five, Twenty-one” have a sad ending? Will there be a twist at the end?
tvN’s Saturday drama “Twenty-five, Twenty-one” properly poured cold water on the viewer’s hope that Nam Joo-hyuk would be Kim Tae-ri‘s husband. For those who even made various guesses and hoped for the couple’s happy ending, this is a part that makes them lose their strength.
In the 14th episode of “Twenty-five, Twenty-one,” which aired on Mar 27th, it was revealed that Baek Yi-jin (Nam Joo-hyuk) was not Na Hee-do (Kim Tae-ri)‘s husband. In 2009, nine years after that fateful kiss and becoming lovers, 33-year-old Baek Yi-jin, who was a news host at the time, interviewed 29-year-old Na Hee-do, who won the San Francisco competition and celebrated her marriage. Through the video call, both of their faces showed longing and affection for each other.
This revealed that Kim Min-chae (Choi Myung-bin)’s father, who raised the viewer’s questions from the first episode, was not Baek Yi-jin. In the end, their romance is likely to be a sad ending that will only be remembered as a first love in the past. It is a shocking ending for viewers who have made various guesses about the ending, why Na Hee-do, who has became an adult but cannot clearly remember her school days and why Kim Min-chae’s last name is Kim, not Baek.
As “Twenty-five, Twenty-one” exceeded 10% of viewership and “all-kill” every hot topic chart, various fan theories about the ending were raised in the online community. One of them was that Baek Yi-jin changed his name to Kim. The words “denial of biological parenthood” and “debt inheritance” appeared in the newspapers next to the bathroom’s passwords that appeared in one of the earlier episodes led to some speculations that Baek Yi-jin’s father contacted Baek Yi-jin’s biological parents and asked them to recognize Baek Yi-jin as their biological child, which is why Baek Yi-jin changed his last name to Kim.
Above all, since the name of the reporter who wrote the newspapers is the same as the name of the drama’s props team staff, this adds credibility to the theory. It was also speculated that the bicycle and telescope in Na Hee-do’s room represent Baek Yi-jin.
However, these theories all went down the drain. It is because Na Hee-do’s daughter Kim Min-chae was born in 2007 so Na Hee-do was already married and had children at the time of the interview in 2009, while Baek Yi-jin is still called by the surname “Baek” in 2009.
The viewers were all shocked by the ending of the 14th episode. Audiences who watched the drama reacted, “I can’t believe that they are hinting at a sad ending when there are only 2 episodes left”, “I already expected this ending beforehand. How can I watch them flirting with each other while lying on the same bed in the next episode?”, “Please make a happy ending”, “I want to believe that they got married but try to keep it a secret”, etc.
Like the saying, “Happiness was like a wave but the hardship was a storm. We raised each other up even when we were apart. We grew up together. I passed by my first love without knowing that person was truly my first love”, will the two’s love remain the first love in the past that cannot come true?
An ending like that of “La La Land” in which the two main characters couldn’t form a couple can be a good one, but it will probably leave a deep regret on the viewers who cheers for this love of youth. This is why attention is focused on whether “Twenty-five, Twenty-one”, which is only two episodes away from the end, will take out another last reversal card.
