For all the buzz Sky Castle generated during its airing, its final episode was surprisingly underwhelming.
*Spoilers ahead
A Drama that showcases the ugly side of human nature
Sky Castle is a surprise hit in Korea which ended up surpassing Goblin’s viewership record, and is now officially the highest rated cable drama in Korea.
To me, this drama is essentially about exploring the meaning of parenthood and whether what a parent thinks is best for the kid is really good for the kid. It showcases the ugly human nature where each adult has their own selfish agenda and where bootlicking and backstabbing are part of the game to heighten one’s social stature. Kids are used as a tool for parents to further one’s social standing as good results mean becoming the envy of all parents and becoming a role model for other parents to emulate.
Anti-climatic Ep 20 after intense episodes one after another
Sky Castle’s last few episodes were especially intense as there was many dramatic elements, like how Hye Na died suddenly and her real father had a hand in causing her death due to his ambition overriding his conscience, the murderer was unknown and went scot free with the innocent Woo Joo becoming the scapegoat. In short, everyone’s lives was in a total mess and it seemed like there was no way of getting out of this mess.
In the end Han Seo Jin decided to do the right thing and identified Kim Joo Young as the killer of Hye Na even if it means also having to confess that Kim Joo Young gave stolen exam papers to her results-obsessed daughter Ye Soo and got her daughter dropped out from school.
I mean it is heartening that she decided to do the right thing, and that it was done after much consideration and inner turmoil
But I was just incredibly surprised at just how heartwarming and happy the ending was, which in opinion, does not seem to tie in very well with the overall mood of the drama for the past 19 episodes.
Happy Ending for everyone, but feels kinda preachy?
- The pyramid obsessed Cha Min Hyuk accepted the terms his wife dealt and decided to throw away the pyramid and not impose his education values on his children.
- Sky Castle story book by Sue Lim was published
- Kim Joo Young was jailed and Sue Lim even helped to take care of her daughter Kay
- Woo Joo decided to drop out of school and go backpacking in Europe to discover himself
- The selfish and competitive Ye Soo decided to self learn to enter university and even willing to share notes with the twins who studies with her over the weekend
- Everyone decides not to be overly obsessed with their childrens’ results but to shower them with love
I don’t know but I just feel that the ending is way too perfect and happy that it seems to be preaching to all viewers that results are not everything, but that success and happiness in life does not boil down to school results and material success alone.
Prefer more scenes of Kim Joo Young’s repentance
I will prefer to see more backstory and scenes of Kim Joo Young being punished for her crimes and to further elaborate on why she chose to do what she did, because actually so far it had never really been explicitly spelt out why she wanted to ruin all the perfect kids’ lives. I wanted more details of how exactly was Hye Na killed. I wanted to see Kim Joo Young share her story, share her jealousy of such children, and then repent.
What do you guys think of the ending?
Chasing Carefree 