Twenty Five Twenty One broke my heart into two. Not like the first K-drama I watched, My Girl (2005), which had me ugly crying for days. However, it left an incredible impression on me. This drama left me thinking so much about the ending and why the relationship ended the way it did. After I finished the drama, I started reading reviews online and it left me feeling that the ending needed to be that way.
Na Hee Do and Back Yi Jin found each other and became the most important people for each other. They each gave support to one another and pushed one another to become what they dreamed of being, for Na Her Do's case. It is truly a story of recollection of Na Her Do's most important period of her life. Through Bak Yi Jin, she was able to be the Gold Medalist worth making her late father proud. She became a carpenter because of the advice that Bak Yi Jin gave her. Back Yi Jin was able to move through a difficult part of his life and became a great reporter in the end.
Their support started platonic and as they grew together, eventually became more. However, because of their careers, they drifted apart. Towards the end, their needs differed and they were not meeting eye to eye. I have no doubt they truly loved each other, and many say that there was more that they could have done to be with each other. But in that case, that would have made everything that they worked for and supported each other for seem like it was for nothing. They supported each other from the start and still support one another, from afar, even though the relationship reached its ending.
Don't get me wrong, the drama is not without flaws, but I wanted to give my point on why the ending is great in my opinion. It was a great chapter of her life, but one that needed be closed for Na Hee Do to be the person she became in present time. At least that's how I view it.