[mslee's Final Thoughts] Episode 24 Empire of Gold

After 24 episodes, 24 hours the drama ended. I'm sure by now, most have read what the ending was. My initial reaction when I watched the live streaming and saw TJ walking towards the beach...I did not almost believe it! Is this what I waited for the last few weeks? 

The drama started with a lot of promises. The pilot episode was daebak! No one ever predicted that the 24 episodes will be somehow dragging. Well, it is written brilliantly up to a certain point. After the marriage, the so called business/convenient marriage, my hope were high, anticipating the promised synopsis of romance between the lead actors. But then, the story stayed away from that, still I hoped and waited. But when episode 18 came and finished, I am the first one to jump off the ship, the shipping fans who was disappointed and perhaps fooled into believing that there will be love and intimacy between TJ and SY. Of course I stayed to watch and find out how it will end. 

I began to forgive the story of how it flows and stayed it's course. The fact that SH and TJ shared a deep understanding from the beginning made me see that the writer had difficulty in changing the way it will go. SH was always there for TJ, even sacrificed herself in his behalf. If TJ promised her forever, I was willing to understand that.

But for the last episode, even his promise can not made SH stay. Even if she begged him to leave with her, his ego, his ambition, his greed, made it so hard for him to do that. So what exactly is left of TJ as a man when he could not even fulfill his promise to SH?

Then after all the troubles of climbing the top, of pursuing the battle, what happened? He did not even win. He told about his sin, how he was the one who committed the crime against Kim. But he did not even submit to the prosecutors. He gave his shares to SY. yeah, after what he had been through, in his point of view, it has been hell inside the CHOI family, but in the end he just did that, gave his shares to his most rival.

The reason I waited for the ending is to see redemption, to see if TJ will realize what he has been doing all along, to see if he will hear voices of reasons besides him. Even his friends could not do anything for him.

The story should have been beautiful. The story should have shared lessons in life in a positive way. The story should have turned around and make people watching it find happiness in the end. But it did not deliver what I waited to see in the end. Every one is unhappy. No one came out winner. SY was left all alone.

My initial post about TJ ending his life was, His ego is so huge, he can't accept defeat so he chose death to tell the world 

"hey, this is what I choose for myself, you don't dictate what life I lead, or I go to jail."

TJ is his own man. He won't answer to anyone. He will choose his own path or punishment if he had too and I think he did just that.

But then, there's talk of open ending, seeing that there was a yacht just far on the horizon. Even so, if that indeed is some kind of escape, well, it's not also an option for TJ. he will be a coward, not that he wasn't by jumping on the water, but will also be one, running away from being prosecuted.

The writer made TJ a very strong character, but his end made TJ a big coward. 

What did I gather after watching EOG? That power will be reason enough to destruct someones life if not controlled. True. Ambition without control will make one greed for more. Family will be destroyed.

One thing I learned following the drama, don't believe in the synopsis. it can totally fool you.

And what started as beautiful can be ugly in the end.

Sorry, the lines were all great, but who needs it when it will all end as if those lines did not have weight. 

Well, got to stop now, or else, I will be complaining again and again.

this is mslee1107 writing my final thougths.