Summary
Beyond the Bar’s ending ties up a lot of loose ends in a satisfying finale that nonetheless avoids pulling the trigger on Hyo-min and Seok-hoon.
I’ve been saying all throughout Beyond the Bar that Seok-hoon and Hyo-min work better as colleagues than as a potential couple, so you can imagine my consternation when it quickly became obvious that this finale was going to be backdropped by love as a theme. I expected things to go one way or the other. I could see myself being okay with either, but what I wasn’t expecting was this limited series to have a much more ambiguous ending, leaving things on a somewhat uncertain note, seemingly just for fun.
Ugh. That’s less than ideal. But luckily, from a plot and character standpoint, Episode 12 is otherwise very good, and capably manages to tie up almost all of the loose ends that have begun to dangle in previous weeks. Things between Hyo-min and Seok-hoon are left up in the air, but Min-jeong and Jin-woo get the romantic payoff that people expect. Na-yeon’s vision for a fairer Yullim is a go, even if Seung-cheol can’t quite step down without evident ill grace. It’s a solid, satisfying climax, or at least it would be if it weren’t for the deliberate “love comes in all forms” subtext that underpins the leads’ arc. But mileage may vary in that regard.
Love Is In the Air
As mentioned, love is very much in the background of Beyond the Bar Episode 12. It manifests in multiple ways right out of the gate. After the whole debacle with Hash, Yeon-a agrees that Seok-hoon can look after him, but only if he finds someone to share custody with, which means venturing onto a dating app at the exact same time as Hyo-min. The – disposable, granted – case of the week involves a couple, Min-chan and Hyeong-yeong, raising their child – conceived through IVF – within a co-parenting agreement that strictly prohibits the usual marital matters. Min-chan is developing feelings, and Hyeong-yeong thinks that’s a breach of the legal agreement.
This case sort of functions as an excuse for all the core characters to discuss the finer points of love and relationships. The idea of what constitutes an ideal marriage or romantic relationship is totally open to interpretation, which is obviously the point, and informs a lot of other dynamics that we see playing out between different characters.
Case in point: Seong-chan arguing the divorce case from the other side of the aisle gives Hyo-min the opportunity to sting him with a jab about relationships not ending in marriage; the plaintiff being granted a divorce is pointedly not an excuse to affect the parenting, relating to Seok-hoon’s deal with Hash; and Jin-woo using the round-table discussion to assert he’d shower the person he loves with devotion and affection naturally progresses his relationship with Min-jeong.
Jin-woo and Min-jeong Are Getting Married
The main obstacle in Jin-woo and Min-jeong’s romance is the age gap. That seems like a comparatively minor issue to stand in the way of true love, but some people really care about such things. Min-jeong is worried that Jin-woo’s family might not accept it, so cancels their planned dinner, leading to Jin-woo proposing to prove a point.
Min-jeong refuses to marry Jin-woo initially, but that’s not really the point in the short term. The moment clarifies that the two love each other, and Jin-woo is determined, pulling advice and influence from other characters and subplots at play in the episode, leading to a climactic vow-reading scene at the end of the episode.
This time, Min-jeong agrees to marry him, providing the ending of Beyond the Bar with the romantic payoff viewers were expecting without having to provide it through the leads. It’s a smart choice, since that still isn’t quite finalised; even during the festivities, Hyo-min and Seok-hoon are left contemplating their own relationship and personal ideas of love and happiness.
The Hynic Core Case
There’s not much point in breaking down the precise details of the Hynic Core case since the matters of ownership, coercive deals, and corporate double-crossing are really quite secondary to the fundamental idea of whether Na-yeon can implement a fairer, more meritocratic structure within Yullim or whether, as Mr Ko believes, corruption will always ultimately win.
To be fair, the evidence seems to support Na-yeon in this case. I’m naturally sceptical of that viewpoint, given I’m jaded and cynical, but I also think it’s the right one for this show. The strong-arming and sneaky gamesmanship shouldn’t work here, and so it doesn’t, which is appropriate for a finale.
Seung-cheol doesn’t back down graciously, but he does ultimately back down, paving the way for a reinvention of Yullim under Na-yeon’s stewardship. It’s another thing, a bit like the relationship between Hyo-min and Seok-hoon, that seems ideally suited to a second season, despite Beyond the Bar being billed as a limited series.
Hyo-min and Seok-hoon Don’t End Up Together (Yet)
As mentioned, the ending of Beyond the Bar doesn’t have Hyo-min and Seok-hoon commit to a relationship one way or the other, which has largely been the approach it has taken throughout. I still think that they work better as colleagues, friends, and as a mentor and mentee, but I also have to concede that they’re pretty fun together during the blind date that they both end up on.
That date does raise some of the potential issues – age gap, different working status, etc. – that would have to be ironed out in the event of them moving in a more romantic direction. You could easily see another season of this length beating around the same bush.
Undeniably, though, both would also find themselves in better personal positions to pursue that kind of relationship. Seok-hoon has been through everything with Yeon-a, while Hyo-min has dealt with a lot of her familial issues. It could work. Whether or not we’ll ever get to find out, though, remains to be seen.
