Article: "The second 'Lovers in Paris"… everything was a dream, ‘Reborn Rich' ending causes controversy
Source: Maeil Business
Song Joong-ki's 'Reborn Rich' drama is causing controversy.
A large number of viewers are expressing regret and disappointment stating, "This is the most absurd ending ever since 'Lovers in Paris.'"
In the finale episode that aired on the 25th, Jin Do-joon (Song Joong-ki) dies in a car accident, Yoon Hyeon-woo (Song Joong-ki) who was kidnapped and shot in the first episode, falls into a state of unconsciousness for a week and at this time experiences Jin Do-joon's 17 year old life as a dream. Hyun-woo wakes up after Jin Do-joon dies and joins hands with Seo Min-young (Shin Hyun-bin) and Oh Se-hyun (Park Hyuk-kwon) to uncover the truth behind Jin Do-joon's death. Hyun-woo reveals at the hearing that Jin Young-ki (Yoon Je-moon) was behind the incident and that he was also an accomplice in his death.
The drama ends with Song Joong-ki going back as Yoon Hyunwoo succeeding in his revenge of the Sunyang family and states, "I know now. It wasn't a time travel or a charade but a confession. This is penitence for Jin do-joon and for me, Yoon Hyun-woo." In the end, It turns out that the turbulent 17 year life that Yoon Hyun-woo lived as Jin Do-joon was all a dream.
Immediately after the finale episode aired, voices of anger and criticism erupted in online communities and Naver Talk bulletin boards. In a Naver poll conducted over the drama's ending, the dissatisfaction rating by viewers exceeded 70%.
Famous webtoon writer Joo Ho-min also expressed strong reactions to the ending on SNS writing, "It's XX.." Some viewers wrote, "If they had just stuck to the original, they wouldn't be getting criticized to this level. Let's heal again after watching the original."
In the original web novel, Jin Do-joon does not return to reality until the end and becomes the chairman of Sunyang Group, succeeding Jin Yang-cheol (Lee Seong-min) overtaking all the other characters in the family. In addition, Jin Do-joon goes to Hyun-woo's place of death, holds his last rites and lives as Jin Do-joon. However, in the drama, the main character is returned to reality and Jin Do-joon dies.
'Reborn Rich' gained popularity by depicting the story of Song Joong-ki, a 'dirt spoon' who was born again into a chaebol family and began living his second life. It incorporated the true reality of the huge economic and social issues into the story of the Sunyang family reminiscent of a real chaebol group. The actors, including Lee Sung-min and Song Joong-ki were also well received for their passionate performances.
According to Nielsen Korea, the finale episode recorded a rating of 26.9% and failed to exceed the record held by 'The World of the Married' (28.4%) that aired in 2020 and ranked second in JTBC's all-time top drama ratings.
Meanwhile, SBS drama 'Lovers in Paris' that aired in 2004 gained popularity for its portrayal of the love story of Han Ki-joo (Park Shin-yang), a 2nd gen chaebol and Kang Tae-young (Kim Jong-un), an ordinary woman, against the backdrop of Paris, France. However, in the finale episode, everything was revealed as writer Kang Tae-yong's scenario leaving viewers in panic. Since then, it has been talked about every time a drama does well however it causes disappointment with the ending.
In an interview with a media outlet 13 years later in 2017, writer Kim Eun-sook stated, "I'm still reflecting on myself. I thought of the ending as a 'bonus track' at the time but since the viewers didn't accept it, I realized that it was a bad script."
- [+2,723, -14] A sh*tty mess of a drama from a script writer who got writer's disease and smeared sh*t all over the original work.
- [+1,531, -128] This is the first time in my 30+ years of life that I've ever seen such a drama with the all-time worst ending, ever.. Zero re-watchability or continuity and a delusional script writer Kim Tae-hee who turned the entire chaebol family into some criminal enterprise and made a succession into a devious crime. With Lee Kun-hee, Lee Byung-chul, and Lee Jae-yong's achievements for our country.. how many.. ugh, I just.. in my life, I will never again watch another drama by Kim Tae-hee, ever!!!!
- [+1,040, -200] This is a great example of how feminist and leftist dramas end up..
- [+712, -10] Writer Kim Eun-sook also turned 'Lovers in Paris' into a dream too and viewers went crazy at the time so I never thought any writer would ever do something like that again.. I didn't expect to see an ending like that again 10+ years later.. OMG
- [+407, -22] Just re-air another episode next week with a different ending..
- [+344, -22] If the writer had poor writing skills they should've just stuck with the original. Then articles like this would've come out and they could've avoided a scandal. Does it make sense that someone that got shot in the head and dove off a cliff had a higher survival rate that someone who got hit by a truck twice?
- [+307, -1] How can they ruin an original work like this? To get a 26% viewer rating on cable practically means the entire country is watching but this script writer smeared dog sh*t all over the drama and put the entire nation in an uproar. Chairman Jin Yang-cheol wouldn't even be in the spotlight if it wasn't for Lee Sung-min's acting. The actors completely hard-carried the drama with their talents only for the writer to smear sh*t on it and turn the drama into a monstrosity. If the writer didn't have the talents to properly close out the drama she should've gone with the original ending.. ugh so pathetic!
- [+237, -4] The reason people go crazy for dramas is because they depict what's difficult for us to achieve in reality. Viewers were able to live through watching a 'dirt spoon' character suddenly become a chaebol son, predict the future through his past and fight head-to-head with the enemy. To come out with an ending saying it was all a dream.. this is practically taking the viewers back to the reality they live in, making any hard work in real life seem futile. Who would be satisfied going through such a joyful dream only to realize it was all a dream when they wake up in the morning?
- [+214, -2] Because this sh*t writer wrote the ending like that, everything that happened during Jin Do-joon's life makes zero sense and any probability of continuity is goneã…‹ã…‹ã…‹. Daebak, this writer turned this great drama into a melon.
- [+191, -1] She turned the drama of the year into the worst drama of all time with the finale episode ã…‹
- [+182, -2] ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Seems like this writer's entire message was to say all chaebols are corrupt, that's itㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅌㅋ the only thing in the writer's brains is their hatred for chaebols ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
- [+107, -1] This f*cking third rate writer really smeared sh*t all over the original work. Apologize to the original creator!