With death looming right around the corner, our characters come to terms with their true feelings, and open up to each other in this final hour. They face their old wounds in order to mend their relationship and find peace. Despite the struggles and heartaches our characters endure, the show reminds its audience that everyone deserves happiness.
EPISODES 19-20 WEECAP: Ok-dong & Dong-suk
Dong-suk decides to fulfill Ok-dong’s wishes before she dies, but in exchange, he plans to ask her all his burning questions. After dropping Choon-hee off at the hospital, Dong-suk and Ok-dong shop for food and head to the oldest stepson’s apartment for the memorial service. Ok-dong asks Dong-suk to stay, but when they ring the doorbell, a stranger opens the door. The stepson moved across the street a year ago, and Dong-suk realizes that those ungrateful jerks never invited his mom to come in the first place.
In the parking lot, Dong-suk crosses path with the oldest stepson who barely acknowledges his existence. Irked by the dismissal, Dong-suk whirls around and joins the memorial out of spite. During dinner, the wife attempts some small talk, but Dong-suk mocks the stepson for losing all his dad’s fortune. Throwing food in Dong-suk’s face, the stepson accuses him of stealing from his family and causing his dad’s death.
Ok-dong holds Dong-suk back, but when the stepson calls him pitiful, she glares at the stepson and chucks food at him. She defends Dong-suk for being a patient son and scolds the stepson for twisting the truth since his dad died because of him.
In some ways, Ok-dong dealt with her past by avoiding it, which is something Dong-suk struggled with as well. In the end, mother and son had more in common than either realized, and because of their shared experience of loneliness, Dong-suk was able to see Ok-dong outside of her role as his mom and have sympathy for her as a person.
Forgiveness is messy, and goodbyes are rarely clean-cut. There is a still a lot of remorse and unspoken words between Ok-dong and Dong-suk, but despite all that, I believe they both got the closure they needed. Dong-suk was able to release his anger, and as a result, he can now move on with his life and build meaningful relationships.
As for Ok-dong, she died after experiencing her happiest day, and she got to spend time with her son and leave him behind knowing that he won’t be alone like she was. While her life may have been a tragedy for the most part, her final moments were filled with happiness, allowing her to pass on without any lingering regrets.
The athletic meet ends with a group “chicken fight” and as the two sides charge into each other, the camera cuts to all the various characters. The show ends with the following message: “There is one mission we must never forget. We weren’t born into this world to suffer or feel miserable. We were born to be happy. We wish everyone happiness!”
With that, the show concludes with a montage of its cast and crew. An appropriate ending for a story that was about people who are often overlooked. Though the drama was met with mixed reviews, I thought that overall Our Blues was an interesting watch with memorable moments and a phenomenal cast. The drama highlighted people in society who aren’t typically the protagonist, and with the omnibus format on top of that, the show offered something slightly different from the usual fare. Its message of hope was also appropriate for the current times. While the story never shied away from suffering, the creators made it clear that everyone — despite their flaws and hardships — deserves happiness.