Recap
Remember the first episode? Probably not, but here we are again. The man we first saw then was Yi Yong’s grandfather. He confronted a murderer with an obsession and nearly died.
Yi Yong’s Mom tells him this story, back before the end of the last episode. After that his grandfather was more open with his family. Yi Yong wants to know if he was happy, and his Mom isn’t sure.
Yi Yong is apologetic about not having a job again. His mom is the best mom, she just wants him to be happy and not to worry about money.
Guang Yan messages Yi Yong about wanting help with his career plans, but now we’ve caught up with the last episode. Yi Yong calls Guang Yan to tease him for asking for help when the Baker comes up and introduces himself. He lures Yi Yong into his car and knocks him out.
Chu Ying investigates the Baker with her coworker, then gets a call from a worried Guang Yan. He mentions the Baker’s name.
Chu Ying and Guang Yan are frantic to find Yi Yong. Luckily the landlady who can talk with the Smoke Lady is sitting right there. With the landlady as a medium, Smoke Lady sends out the red threads to lead Chu Ying and Guang Yan to Yi Yong.
The Baker has dragged Yi Yong to a creepy, empty science museum where his dead younger brother liked to eat sweets. He wants to know if Yi Yong sees his brother, who he killed. Yi Yong lies that he does see him to get his hands free. What he’s really seeing is those red threads.
The Baker talks about his murders, which he thinks the victims wanted. Yi Yong draws the red threads to distract him, then bashes him over the head.
Smoke Lady visits the grandfather and finds him holding a note Yi Yong left earlier.
Yi Yong told his grandfather he understood his choice, but he’s different. Helping the apparitions made him feel right, and he can now do calligraphy wholeheartedly. He also has a doctor and a policeman helping him.
The note says he wants the Smoke Lady to help his grandfather be happy. We see his grandfather, sitting up and looking dapper in his coat and scarf. Grandpa knows Yi Yong will be okay.
He flatlines.
Chu Ying and Guang Yan reach the museum but not in time to stop the Baker from throwing Yi Yong over the railing. Yi Yong is still hanging on, but as Chu Ying tries to reach him, he falls. Guang Yan sobs as he tries to resuscitate him.
We see Yi Yong meeting his Dad. Yi Yong admits he once hoped his Dad would leave an obsession, but he doesn’t anymore. Obsessions are scary.
His Dad reminds him of what he said to the bereaved father he helped, to leave room for good memories. His Dad’s obsessions are all his good memories that are everywhere.
Yi Yong confesses that his comics are why they were late and on that bus, and he feels guilty and sorry. His Dad hugs him and is happy to learn he wants to draw comics. Yi Yong says he doesn’t anymore.
Yi Yong’s Dad tells him he’s important and to do what he wants. He wants his Dad to stay, but his Dad says he’s everywhere. They drink the beer together, and neither likes it.
In the real world, Yi Yong coughs up blood. He’s alive!
But he’s in a coma again. His Mom tears up as she tells him about the day and asks him to wake up for Guang Yan and Chu Ying’s sake.
Chu Ying visits and tells Yi Yong about how her nickname was because she was a joke. Guang Yan wants him to wake up and finish the comic and help him decide his career. Yi Yong’s old friends visit too, and they’re clearly all friends.
Guang Yan’s father’s business out front is now a popular bar, with the landlady as the mascot.
Smoke Lady rereads Yi Yong’s note, and says she’ll wait for him to wake up.
Back inside Yi Yong’s head, we see him meet with each of the apparitions he met, one at a time. They encourage him to wake up. The first apparition, the zombie, says he misses Yi Yong and wants Yi Yong to go back to his old self.
Yi Yong wakes up, hears someone whisper “help me” and rolls his eyes.
Thoughts
So, so good. Where do I even start?
Isn’t the Baker an evil mirror of Yi Yong? He’s trying to help people too. The crucial difference, murders aside, is that Yi Yong listens to what people actually want. And even then Yi Yong wasn’t willing to kill the Smoke Lady despite that being what she wanted.
The importance of pursuing happiness was a big part of this final episode. Yi Yong realizes his grandfather ignored the apparitions for his family’s sake, but wants him to be happy even if that means saying goodbye. Guang Yan is starting to think about his future and what he wants. Yi Yong’s parents, unlike many many many parents both real and fictional, just want him to be happy.
Poor Yi Yong. He helped everyone get what they wanted while denying it for himself out of guilt. But those moments with his father and the apparitions left me with a sense that he’s on his way to moving on. Also, the rolled eyes at the very end.
It’s interesting that his Mom didn’t discourage people from visiting Yi Yong the way she did with his uh, first coma. If I had one more minor complaint on this show, it’s that we didn’t get to see more of her.
Guang Yan and Chu Ying’s horror and grief after Yi Yong fell to his presumed death was visceral and well-acted. As was Yi Yong’s horror at what the Baker was saying to him. It really made this entire, tense ending feel scary and awful.
I think the apparitions must have kept Grandpa alive after his fall and Yi Yong alive after this one. Both of those falls looked deadly otherwise.
Chu Ying’s explanation of her nickname to Yi Yong is such a small but powerful thing. She was a joke, but with Yi Yong’s help, she became someone to take seriously. I feel like she’s symbolic of the entire show, which is full of comedy, but also sincere and serious.
For me, this episode does everything a final episode should do. It closes everything up, lets us see where some of the most important characters are now, and gives a hopeful optimistic sense of our main character’s lives after the credits roll..
That said, this is the rare time I can see myself wanting season two of a drama.
Oh No! Here Comes Trouble Main Page
Oh No! Here Comes Trouble is currently available in the US on iQIYI.