‘The Winning Try’ Ending Explained – A Brilliant, Emotional, and Satisfying As Expected

There was never a doubt in my mind that The Winning Try would stick the landing and deliver a satisfying ending, but even I was surprised by the sheer quality of its finale. All the big, expected moments are there, both on the field and off, but the secret is a bunch of small scenes and details that are equally joyous and powerful. I expected to shed a tear or two, but I didn’t for a moment suspect I’d constantly be on the verge of an emotional breakdown as Episode 12 delivered another, and another, and another great scene.

And yet here we are. It might not have had an ambitious premise or a substantial budget, it might not have set the world alight and become a viral mega-hit, and there were not one but two on-the-nose Subway sequences that in another show would have probably felt rather like cynical advertising. But now it’s all said and done, I can say with a degree of confidence that at the time of writing, The Winning Try is probably the best, and certainly most wholesome, show I’ve covered this year.

Let’s break the finale down.

Hitting the Target

Episode 12 begins with a few scenes set before Ga-ram’s triumphant return to the field. Almost all of them pertain to the fates of the shooting team, since I-ji and U-jin are both competing in separate events. Kang is watching from Ga-ram’s bedside while he’s still unconscious from the surgery, though he obviously comes to just in time to see the big climax.

That climax is the culmination of I-ji’s ongoing arc of letting her playing career go so that she can focus on being a coach, and it has a very literal interpretation here. While both she and U-jin are competing, Seong arrives to fire Nak-gyun on account of the oodles of admission fraud evidence that I-ji passed to him. Why he chose to do so in the middle of the Nationals is anyone’s guess, but he did, nonetheless, and Nak-gyun predictably causes a massive scene. Luckily, U-jin is wearing I-ji’s earplugs so she isn’t distracted from her match, but when she turns around, she discovers she’s suddenly sans coach and might not be able to continue.

So, Seol-hyeon calls I-ji, who is in the middle of her own heat. And she’s doing well, too. However, as soon as she realizes that her student needs her, she immediately withdraws from the competition and goes to U-jin’s aid. And U-jin wins gold.

Revenge Is Sweet

We finally return to Ga-ram and the rugby team just in time for their final game against Daesang, their main rivals. There’s actually very little to talk about here, since most of the personal character subplots — Ung’s aversion to tackling, Seong-jun’s shoulder, Hyeong-sik flipping out all the time, etc. — have already been dealt with. Now, it’s just about winning.

I’m glad that The Winning Try Episode 12 didn’t make the victory too easy for Hanyang. We all expected them to win, but I still believed right up until the end that they might not. The big in-game moment belongs to Hyeong-sik, of all people, who is injured by a high tackle right at halftime. The resultant cut needs stitches, which requires anaesthetic, which will prohibit him from playing the second half. Adamant about continuing to play, Hyeong-sik has the stitches without anesthesia.

Another smart idea is using a maul, something that hasn’t been mentioned or showcased until this point but is ultimately the purest test of determination and strength for both teams, as a metaphor for Hanyang finally getting over the line, literally and metaphorically. The flashback montage is really just the icing on the cake. The real pleasure is seeing everyone in the crowd supporting Hanyang and finally believing in the team.

Seong’s Downfall

The Winning Try‘s ending would have felt unsatisfying if it didn’t include the moment we’ve all been waiting for, which is, of course, Seong’s professional ruin. Naturally, he takes all the credit for Hanyang’s historic success in the Nationals and even claims to have personally supported the rugby team — who’re the talk of the town — because of how much he believed in them. But his victory lap is short-lived.

Seol-hyeon’s father arrives with inspectors from the Office of Education. He’s in cahoots with Ga-ram, who has provided him with evidence acquired from a vengeful Nak-gyun, who really was determined not to go down alone. Seong’s siphoning of funds is exposed, and he’s stripped of his position — and rightly so.

This does leave a leadership vacuum behind, but thankfully, Kang returns to fill it until her retirement. The entire faculty rejoices over this, and everyone goes out for drinks and food together (another nice flourish — how these meals have gradually expanded to include more and more characters as the show has gone on.)

Tying Up Loose Ends

The remainder of The Winning Try‘s ending is tying a neat little bow around all of the characters and relationships we’ve followed throughout the season. Romantically, things work out well for Ga-ram and I-ji, who get engaged, and Seong-jun and U-jin, who agree to a long-distance relationship since both are graduating. There’s a lot more to both of these scenes, but it won’t sound quite as romantic when written down. Just trust me.

Graduation is a big deal, obviously, especially for the rugby team, since Seong-jun, Myeong-u, and Yeong-gwang are all moving on to pastures new. Seong-jun is accepted into Yonhee University, and Ung makes the national youth team, where Sang-gi — one of Ga-ram’s former teammates whom we briefly met earlier — is the coach. There’s even a suggestion that he and Ga-ram will reconcile. In Seong-jun’s absence, Hyeong-sik is made captain.

At the graduation ceremony, in a final triumphant moment, Ga-ram is reappointed as the rugby coach — he was unsure, given his health issues — while Heung-nam and I-ji both retain their roles as the aerobics and shooting coaches, respectively. Literally everyone who deserved a happy ending gets it, including us, and as a final sweetener, the epilogue reveals that Tae-pung has returned to rejoin the team.