Well my friends, believe it or not Pinocchio has come to an end and I have to say, I'm happy with the way this one turned out. The story wrapped up nicely, the bad guys got what was coming to them, the good guys seem to have found their own versions of "happily ever after." And surprisingly enough, one very rotten character managed to find redemption which honestly, shocked the snot out of me, not because she found redemption but because I was okay with it. Wow, I must be getting soft!
In all honesty, I'm glad Song Cha Ok not only saw the error of her ways but repented. She was such a horrible character throughout most of this drama and there were moments when I really wanted nothing more than for her to drop off the face of the planet. However, now that I can look back at this thing as a whole, I admit that ultimately, this was a much better path for both her and In Ha, even if it was a bit painful. Cha Ok did a lot of things wrong and with 14 years of being the bad guy to make up for, painful moments were inevitable. That being said, I applaud Cha Ok for willingly shouldering the responsibility of her actions and for finally doing the right thing. I guess when Park Ro Sa decided she needed to keep In Ha in her pocket, along with her mother, Cha Ok realized things were only going to get worse. Rather than attempting to keep things from getting out of control, Cha Ok decided it was best to let her entire world fall apart and free both herself and her daughter from the clutches of a monster like Park Ro Sa.
I suppose it might be a bit harsh of me to call Park Ro Sa a monster but really, she was a nasty piece of work. Who knew such venom could hide behind such a sweet exterior? This week Ro Sa showed her true colors and oh my word! That woman is pure evil! I mean she hired a guy to walk into YGN's news room and start shooting people with a nail gun and then run over to MSC and attack In Ha and Cha Ok with a knife. If that's not the perfect mix of crazy and evil, I'm not sure what is. I did enjoy watching every single one of her schemes fall completely apart as she tried to outrun the tidal wave of accusations that eventually swept her away. There's something very satisfying about watching a bad guy get what's coming to them and my only qualm about the whole thing is knowing that poor Bum Jo had to suffer so much as a result. Poor baby! It wasn't his fault he was born to such a mother. It must have been incredibly difficult for him to play the part of the spy but he did the right thing and he suffered no more than Dal Po and In Ha suffered when they had to turn on their family members.
The good news is, no matter how hard it was for Dal Po, In Ha and Bum Jo to turn on their family, each of them did it for the right reasons and in the end, things worked out for the best. Well, except maybe for Bum Jo. I'm afraid his mother will never see the error of her ways but after spending three years in prison, she might have a change of heart. Maybe. Even if she doesn't, two reformed family members out of three isn't bad. At least Dal Po and In Ha get to spend the rest of their lives rebuilding relationships with their long-lost relatives. Boy, it really stinks to be a drama second-lead, doesn't it? Not only does Bum Jo not get the girl, his mom goes a bit crazy and is shipped off to prison, his company nearly goes bankrupt and ends up being run by someone complete stranger and he has to return to MSC as a hopeful intern. Again. Poor guy! He just never catches a break! Still, Bum Jo seems happy enough and I have a feeling he's going to be just fine.
Actually, it seems like pretty much everyone has found their "happily ever after." An Chan Soo and his family seem to be happy, even though the burden of having three children might get to be a bit much at times. (Hang in there buddy! It gets better as they get older!) Im Jae Hwan and Nosy Jang end up married. (Which I'm actually pretty happy about as they were so cute, constantly making Lee Il Joo jealous.) Kim Gong Joo finally grew a backbone and though he suffered a little for it at the time, he ended up in a much better place, is now a much better person and that just makes me happy. Yoon Yoo Rae has joined the ranks of Nosy Jang but I think that's a good thing for her and I don't think it's going to affect her blossoming relationship with Cap Hwang in the least. I have a feeling she and Cap are going to work out rather well, it's just going to take some time since Cap Hwang has such a cool and unaffected reputation to uphold. (Oh, what sparks are going to fly once word gets out about those two!) Choi Gong Pil finally unadopted Dal Po, which sounds like the most horrible thing ever but in reality, it was the right thing to do. By allowing Dal Po to become Ki Ha Myeong, Gong Pil gave Ha Myeong the freedom to live his own life rather than the life of Gong Pil's lost son. Of course by unadopting Ha Myeong, Gong Pil was also giving him and In Ha his blessing and that's pretty awesome. By letting Dal Po go, Gong Pil may have lost a son but he gained a grandson and we all know that Gong Pil, Dal Pyeong, In Ha and Ha Myeong are all going to live the happiest of happy-ever-afters.
All in all, Pinocchio was an enjoyable drama and now that it's done I can walk away from this one perfectly satisfied with the way things played out. Broken relationships were restored, wounds were healed, wrongs were made right, lessons were learned, characters grew and I got a warm-fuzzy "happily ever after" to boot. As a drama addicted zombie, I can't ask for more than that.
