A Hundred Memories ends with the Miss Korea pageant taking center stage — and not necessarily in a good way. The final two episodes pile on melodrama, bring back throwaway villains for one last scene, and force the main friendship to survive its worst test: poor timing and even poorer storytelling.
Quick recap (so you don’t have to rewatch the cringe)
First, Young-rye competes for Miss Korea — on behalf of the salon and for the scholarship cash. That steps on Jong-hee’s dream. Jealousy simmers. Tension grows. Then a familiar villain from Jong-hee’s past resurfaces with a knife and a grudge. Meanwhile, Jae-pil and Young-rye finally act like a couple while Jong-hee falls apart. The pageant ends in violence: Young-rye’s stabbed protecting Jong-hee. She falls into a coma. There’s a one-year jump. All ends “happily” on the beach. Cue the highlight reel.
The character beats (short and blunt)
- Jong-hee: She’s raw and human. Her pain feels real: a life that never quite settled, a friendship she lost, and an old wound that never healed. The actress sells it. The writing? Not always.
- Young-rye: Earnest, forgiving, and kind. Her pageant speech is a direct address to Jong-hee — sweet and effective. She becomes the emotional center in the finale.
- Jae-pil: Practically a comfort fixture. Their chemistry works. Still, the show skipped seven years we needed to see, so the relationship felt under-baked.
- Mi-sook & the ex-boss: Plot devices more than people. They stir the pot, but their motivations are thin.
What works
- The rain confrontation scene: raw and painful. Jong-hee’s confession — that she gave Jae-pil up because of Young-rye and then resented what she lost — lands. It’s emotional and honest.
- The pageant stage gives the finale a dramatic arena. The speeches are well-placed and meaningful. Young-rye’s answer about memory is the episode’s best emotional moment.
- Performances: the leads carry what the script can’t. They make the messy moments feel human.
What doesn’t work (and why it hurts)
- Seven-year time skip. This is the big sin. Instead of showing growth, the show tells us what changed. Characters become strangers to us overnight. That kills emotional payoff.
- Too many side plots. Random villains, sudden attempts on lives, and thrown-together vendettas clutter the main story. The central conflict — two women in love with the same person and the fallout — was enough. No need for extra noise.
- A rushed ending. The one-year time jump after the coma robs us of the reunion and the apology scene Jong-hee desperately needed. Closure is told, not felt. That’s a storyline crime.
- Missed opportunities. The show had a tight premise: workplace lives of women, friendship, rivalry, love. It wandered into high-drama detours and lost its way.
Themes worth noticing
- Memory vs. presence. The show keeps circling the idea that memories shape but don’t define us. Young-rye’s pageant line about wanting to relive bus attendant days to hug Jong-hee is the emotional thesis: you can’t catch the past, but you can show up now.
- Friendship as loss and possibility. Jong-hee’s grief isn’t just romantic. It’s the mourning of a shared life and identity she once had. That’s a strong, relatable beat. The show just didn’t always let it breathe.
Pacing and structure
The tempo stumbles. The series starts grounded. Then it leaps seven years and expects suspension of disbelief. The finale rushes the healing arc. A steadier pace and fewer side-quests would’ve given emotional scenes room to breathe.
Production notes
- Costume and staging: the pageant visuals look good. Evening gowns, cameras, crowds — they give the finale the scale it wants.
- Direction: some scenes (rain confrontation, the pageant speech) are framed well. Others go for melodrama and stay there.
My take
This could’ve been a tight, moving exploration of female friendship, choices, and regret. Instead, it turned into a mash-up of sensational plot points and hurried resolutions. The actors are excellent. The heart of the story is there. But the writers kept detouring into soapier territory and then skipping the very character work we wanted to see. At its best, A Hundred Memories gives you a real emotional moment. At its worst, it leaves you wondering why it wasted time on throwaway villains instead of staying with two complicated women.
Suggestions the show should’ve taken
- Skip the seven-year jump. Show the slow fallout instead.
- Keep the stakes emotional, not violent. The love triangle and lost friendship were tension enough.
- Give Jong-hee her apology scene in real time. Let us feel the release, not get a time-lapse version of it.
Final thoughts
The finale has high points. The performances and a few stand-out scenes are worth watching. But the structural choices — time jumps and extra melodrama — dilute the emotional core. This wasn’t a disaster, but it’s a missed opportunity. I might remember the rain scene and Young-rye’s pageant line. Beyond that, the show asks us to trust a lot of off-screen development. That’s a gamble that doesn’t always pay off.
Final verdict: ★★☆☆☆ (2 out of 5)
Solid acting and a couple of strong scenes. Otherwise, a finale that leans on plot contrivances and time jumps instead of real emotional closure.
