This heartwarming tale of two men with a shared passion comes to a close, and though the end is bittersweet, the show never loses sight of its message of hope and love. Our elderly student gets his chance to soar alongside his teacher, and together, they show the world that it is never too late to start something new.
EPISODE 12 RECAP
As soon as Deok-chul enters the studio, the familiar setting jogs his memory, and he remembers doing ballet. The others start to grow hopeful, but Deok-chul still cannot recall what he did or even who was here with him.
His eyes land on the barre, and Deok-chul walks up to it as if in a trance. As soon as he grasps it, he sees himself practicing with another man. The picture slowly comes into focus, and Deok-chul remembers Chae-rok.
Hearing his dad whisper Chae-rok’s name, Seong-gwan grabs his camera and shows him a recording of his practice. One by one his memories return, and Deok-chul recognizes all them. However, their happiness is short-lived as Deok-chul tells them that he has forgotten the entire routine.
Seong-san offers to call Chae-rok and break the news to him, but Hae-nam stops him. She believes Deok-chul should go in person and tell them the truth. She says that he should give them his apology as well as his gratitude, and Deok-chul nods in agreement.
While Chae-rok waits anxiously for Deok-chul’s arrival, the other dancers warm up for the gala. Sori and Seung-joo walk around the hall to check on everything, and she tells Seung-joo that he earned his piano back for becoming a human. He says that he does not need it, and she wonders if he wants a new one, instead.
Seong-gwan calls Chae-rok before they arrive, and once Deok-chul gets to the concert hall, he tells the truth to Seung-joo. He apologizes for not informing him sooner and explains how he only remembers doing ballet and having a performance today.
Seung-joo pulls Chae-rok aside and scolds him for being stubborn. He does not see how Deok-chul can perform, but Chae-rok begs him to trust him. He brings up Seung-joo’s old words about how he hates seeing Chae-rok sit in the audience, and he tells him that he feels the same way about Deok-chul.
Chae-rok refuses to let things end this way and wants Deok-chul to finish on stage. Seung-joo looks over at Deok-chul in the audience and finally relents. As Chae-rok tells Deok-chul the good news, he assures his nervous student that they can do it.
Eun-ho offers to drive her parents to the gala in her car, and Seong-san lets her take the wheel. Meanwhile, Seong-sook and Young-il buy some flowers before the show, and Young-il informs his wife that Deok-chul likes baby’s breath. She wonders how he knows her dad so well, and Young-il points out that Deok-chul is his dad, too.
One by one the family members arrive, and the seats are filled with familiar faces—even Ho-bum has come to watch. In the dressing room, Chae-rok hands Deok-chul a present and tells him that he put a spell on them for good luck. Deok-chul cannot take his eyes off the shoes and thanks Chae-rok.
The gala begins, and the first performance goes underway. Seung-joo drops by the dressing room to check on his final performers, and both Chae-rok and Deok-chul tell him that they are ready. In the concert hall, Moo-young arrives a little late and takes his seat.
Soon, the second performance starts, and our duo gets ready behind the stage. Before taking his position, Chae-rok asks if Deok-chul can do it, but Deok-chul forgets to answer, completely absorbed by the others’ dance.
An unease creeps into Chae-rok’s voice as he bombards Deok-chul with a series of questions, asking who he is and what he loves the most. Deok-chul turns his attention back to him and answers everything with conviction.
In the midst of his confusion, Deok-chul hears Chae-rok’s voice in his head, and all his memories from this past year flash before his eyes. Just as Chae-rok said, Deok-chul’s body remembers, and he recalls his one wish: to do ballet.
Deok-chul’s arms move on their own, and his feet follow. As his body dances, his mind clears, and Deok-chul grabs Chae-rok’s hand. They spin on stage and dance together, showing the audience the culmination of their grueling practices and love for ballet. Holding hands, Deok-chul and Chae-rok stare at each other before taking their final leap, and they soar through the air.
Deok-chul wakes up in his room and sees the bouquet he received from the gala the other day. He sits down at this desk to put away his ballet shoes, and he finally notices the message Chae-rok wrote on the inside. With tears pooling his eyes, he stares into the sky and says that it all feels like a dream.
That evening, the family gathers to celebrate Deok-chul’s successful performance. While everyone is in a good mood, Deok-chul announces his decision to move to a nursing home, and cold wave of reality washes over them.
He tells them that he will eventually forget who they all are and does not want them to see him in such a state. Everyone tries to convince him otherwise, but Deok-chul tells them to think of it as a trip and asks them to respect his last wishes.
Later that night, Seong-sook sits with her dad to talk with him privately. He tells her to hurry home before the roads get icy, and she asks if he will drop her off, then. She mentions how he always picked her up from school when it rained, and she wanted to repay that kindness to her children.
Life turned out differently, though, and Seong-sook says that it was for the best. Rather than pass his love onto her own kids, she wants to return it back to him. Deok-chul grabs his daughter’s hand, and she begs him to let her take care of him the same way he did for her. She cries into his shoulder, and Deok-chul cries as well.
Chae-rok visits his mom with Moo-young, and they place a ticket next to her urn. He says that it would have been nice to have her there, too, but he knows that she is watching over him even now.
Early the next morning, Chae-rok wakes up annoyed when his phone rings, but he bolts up in bed when he hears Deok-chul’s voice: a morning call. Hae-nam wonders where Deok-chul is going since his lessons have ended, and he tells her that he still has one more task to accomplish.
Another change in morning routines occurs at Seong-san’s home as he stays behind and sends his wife and daughter off to work. He looks more comfortable in this new role than before, but from his expression, he clearly longs to leave with them as well.
Chae-rok grumbles about Deok-chul as he arrives at the studio and stops in his tracks when he sees him waiting for him there. Pretending to be grumpy, Chae-rok asks why he came in today, and Deok-chul reminds him that he is his manager. Since he soared already, now it is Chae-rok’s turn, and Deok-chul resumes his duties.
When Seung-joo comes in, he sees the pair working together again and smiles. During practice, he pushes Chae-rok who follows his instructions without a single complaint.
After their lesson, Seung-joo asks Sori to come over, and they talk about Deok-chul for a while. She finally asks why he called her, and he places a ring box in her hand. He says that this one is more expensive than their first, but she closes the lid without saying much. He pouts at her lackluster response and takes back his proposal. Pfft.
Seong-gwan calls for a family meeting and dresses up for the premiere of his documentary. He plays the video for everyone, and they smile as they watch Deok-chul practicing ballet. It ends with his audition, and Deok-chul tears up as he sees himself on screen.
Afterwards, Deok-chul sits outside with his youngest and thanks him for capturing his finale. Seong-gwan admits to wanting more time with him after hearing about his illness, but as he was editing, he realized that Deok-chul felt the same way.
He tells his dad that he is returning to the hospital since he now understands what he can do as a doctor: give people more time. He promises to do his best, and Deok-chul supports his decision wholeheartedly.
As Chae-rok disappears from view, Deok-chul runs after him for one final hug. With tears streaming down his face, Deok-chul lets him go, and Chae-rok wipes away his own tears as he moves on ahead.
Three years pass by, and Hae-nam is now a professional at tracking down her husband. Now that his illness has progressed, Deok-chul walks around the neighborhood delivering letters which are really just notes telling the random receivers to call Hae-nam if they see him.
After finding Deok-chul, Hae-nam convinces him to come home by promising him ice cream. While Deok-chul eats his cone on the couch, she tells him that Chae-rok is returning and wants to see Deok-chul. He does not register what she says and instead asks when it will snow.
At the radio station, a junior writer tells the main PD and writer that their guest might have fallen through. As they scramble for a replacement, Eun-ho offers a solution and solves the problem with calm and poise—no longer the frantic young writer she was before.
As for her parents, Ae-ran is now the head consultant and runs an entire department filled with employees; and Seong-san works for a baseball team and proudly displays his glove from Deok-chul on his shelf. Though a lot has changed, their personalities remain the same as Seong-san sends a text message to the family chatroom, telling them to all come over since Chae-rok is visiting.
I know some viewers were dissatisfied with the Alzheimer’s disease plotline, but seeing the creators’ final message, it became even more clear to me that Deok-chul’s illness was never meant to wring tears out from the viewers or to make the audience pity him. Rather, it was the catalyst that helped Deok-chul start anew, and the message of the show takes an entirely different route from most stories concerning dementia patients, the terminally ill, or the elderly. Navillera is not a show about accepting one’s end or even embracing life’s ultimate finality. It is not even about living every day to its fullest like so many shows portraying similar themes often choose. Surprisingly, the show is about beginnings rather than endings, and through Deok-chul, the creators are able to tell the audience that it is never too late to start. After hearing about his condition, Deok-chul does the unthinkable: he goes after his dream and starts something new. Though he faces a disease that will strip him of his memories, Deok-chul does not let it stop him, and instead, it pushes him to ignore all his previous doubts and be true to himself. Whereas so many stories about the elderly and Alzheimer’s patients revolve around the past or simply enjoying the here and now, Navillera wants its audience to know that hope always exists. It may not be in the shape or form you want it to be, but it is there, motivating people to pursue their happiness. Thus, Deok-chul’s illness is not about his end, but signals a new beginning and the start of his journey to soar through the air.
All the characters embody the show’s core theme, sending a message to the audience that it is okay to start whenever. Some people may be in a place like Eun-ho where they do not even know where to look, while others are like Seong-san and need to leave their current path to start over. There are also individuals like Seong-gwan who may be going back to something they left behind, or those like Seong-sook who are finding something they have forgotten. It’s also a message to the Ho-bum’s and Se-jong’s of the world, telling them that they can move on from their past and pursue their dreams or whatever makes them happy. It’s for the Seung-joo’s and Sori’s who may think that they already failed but in reality, life has so many second chances. Lastly, it’s a love letter to the people lost like Chae-rok, struggling every day for their dreams but losing sight of what they want, as well as for the people like Deok-chul who may be running out of time and think only the end remains for them. No matter the case, the creators made it clear that wherever you are in life and whatever your situation might be, there is still hope in the world, and it is never too late to start.