I’m getting sick of having to say this, but the ending of Gyeongseong Creature Season 2 isn’t much of an ending. Episode 7 of the sophomore outing hints at further adventures to come in this monstrous version of Seoul, and that’s a shame really, since the follow-up isn’t very good.
There are mother issues and monsters bundled up in Ho-jae’s predicament, forced to choose between the love of his life and his friends, and the finale’s exciting and action-packed enough to feel worthwhile. But this is one of those shows that’s beginning to feel like it might never end, and one has to wonder if the gimmick of switching timelines could justify another go-around just for the sake of it.
Foreshadowing
The finale begins with a confrontation between Chae-ok and Seung-jo that informs a big later development, so it’s worth mentioning first.
After crawling out of the car wreckage, Chae-ok has a discussion with Seung-jo about how his “mother”, Maeda, is actually using him for her own ends. The joy he gets from hunting and killing and the indifference he feels about the fate of his biological mother speak to a true nutcase, but there’s a germ of real underlying feeling in this exchange that is called upon later.
As I said at the top, mommy issues.
Maeda’s End
A good bit of drama in the final episode comes from Ho-jae being given a proposition by Maeda as part of an “experiment”, of sorts. Chae-ok is trapped in another part of the building, about to be shoved in a water tank where either her Najin will be extracted and her memory will be wiped, as his was, or she’ll drown. Ho-jae has to decide whether to rescue her or his three friends.
He elects to go for his friends first, since they’re closest, and Chae-ok delays her submersion anyway by fighting off her attackers for a while. In the meantime, Ho-jae engages in a lot of monster fighting that isn’t edited very well and is blighted – as the rest of the show has been – by cheap-looking CGI.
Either way, Ho-jae saves his friends and escapes from the chamber when Maeda fills it up with nitrogen gas like a sore loser. Ho-jae goes off to save his love while Seung-jo arrives to confront Maeda about what Chae-ok told him earlier. When she brutally reiterates that she harbours no maternal feelings for him whatsoever, he stabs her with his tentacles and throws her into the nitrogen-filled room to smilingly die.
Gyeongseong Creature Season 2 | Image via Netflix
Ho-jae Saves Chae-ok
Meanwhile, Chae-ok is suspended in a freezing water tank as she’s gradually chilled and drowned. As her heart stops, the Najin separates from her, and the Kuroko captain plans to take it with him.
Until Ho-jae arrives, naturally. He beats up the Kuroko captain and sets about breaking Chae-ok free of the tank. He punches it repeatedly while, rather cornily, flashbacks of their most intimate moments motivate him. Eventually, the glass breaks.
Chae-ok is saved, and her Najin is seen lying on the ground in a puddle. The police arrive, waiting on a warrant to search the premises.
A Final Glance
This is where the ending of Gyeongseong Creature Season 2 implies a little more to the story. In a kind of epilogue, we see Chae-ok had indeed lost her memory of what happened. She’s living a relatively normal life and can’t seem to recall having a boyfriend, let alone anything about monsters.
She is, however, having a recurring dream about chasing someone she doesn’t know. Just before the finale fades to black, we see Chae-ok walking down the street and looking back behind her. Eventually Ho-jae’s head emerges from the crowd and the two exchange a seemingly knowing smile.
Despite Jeonseung Biotech’s atrocities having been made public, there are still enough loose ends to justify another outing. But can we tolerate more episodes in which Chae-ok and Ho-jae have to learn to love one another yet again?
What do you think? Is this a logical place to leave the series, especially after a lacklustre season, or should there be more to the story? Let us know in the comments below.
