The Husband Ending Explained: Directed by Kim Jung-hyun, Disney+ and KBS2 thriller Korean drama 결혼의 완성 stars Namkoong Min as Kang Tae-ju, Lee Seol as Ko Se-yun, Woo Ji-hyun as Choi Chi-ung, Kim Dae-myung as Noh Man-hee, Lee Sang-hee as Kim Kyung-ae, Cho Yun-seo as Cha Myeong-hui, Jang Gwang as Dr Ko Dong-chan and others.
The Husband Ending Explained
Who Was the Real Mastermind Behind the Kidnapping and Murder?
The real mastermind behind the entire operation was Chi-ung and not Gyeong-ae, Myeong-hui, Tae-ju’s father-in-law Ko Dong-chan, or Noh Man-hee. Chi-ung was well aware of the operations taking place at the clinic, which involved the illegal use of foetal stem cells for a clinical trial. But Tae-ju became the obstacle when he found out everything about what was actually going on. Initially, Tae-ju was very hopeful about what the procedure could achieve, but then he discovered some irregularities with the stem cell samples and decided to investigate further. He discovered that Dong-chan and Dr Ha were using aborted foetuses instead of adult stem cells. Tae-ju did not want any part of this illegal experiment.
At last, Chi-ung realised that the best way to get rid of Tae-ju would be to murder him, and that’s why he brought Noh Man-hee into the picture. Similarly, using Dr Ha’s financial troubles, he murdered him because he had become a burden. In other words, the kidnapping was not an arbitrary crime on the part of Man-hee and Gyeong-ae. It was Chi-ung who was controlling them and had wanted Tae-ju to be eliminated.
Why Did Man-hee Want to Kill Tae-ju and Se-yun?
The motive of Man-hee was primarily connected to Gyeong-ae and the clinical experiment. Man-hee and Gyeong-ae got involved in the trial conducted by the hospital due to their belief that it could have provided treatment for her spine problem. Nonetheless, when Gyeong-ae was disqualified from the clinical trial because of her criminal history, Man-hee, along with Chi-ung, convinced them that Tae-ju is one of the persons responsible for the disqualification of Gyeong-ae. Consequently, Man-hee regarded Tae-ju as his enemy who denied the required treatment to his wife.
This was taken to another level when Man-hee took action not only against Chi-ung’s initial plan but also against Se-yun by kidnapping her and using her as leverage against Tae-ju. Man-hee did this to torment Tae-ju and make him do what he wants, and at the same time, continued to convince Se-yun that her own husband told Man-hee to “get rid of” her through a horrific video in which Tae-ju supposedly tells Man-hee to do that.
Why Did Man-hee Betray Chi-ung and Why Did Tae-ju Agree to Operate on Gyeong-ae?
In The Husband episode 12, we see that when Man-hee accepted the meeting with Tae-ju, it turned out to be a trap set by Chi-ung, who succeeded in overpowering Tae-ju and tying him to a chair. It was Chi-ung’s intention to eliminate Tae-ju permanently, and he even went as far as preparing a syringe filled with potassium chloride to make Tae-ju die and make his death look less suspicious. However, Man-hee prevented him from doing that. By that time, Man-hee began to understand that all along, Chi-ung had been manipulating not only him but also his wife, using them as a means to achieve his goal regarding Tae-ju.
His suspicions were even further reinforced by reading the report about how ineffective the procedure performed by Chi-ung was, as his 13% success rate was too low for Man-hee to believe that Chi-ung could save his wife. Instead of letting Chi-ung kill Tae-ju, Man-hee assaulted him and let it be known that the life of his wife meant more to him than adhering to his contract with Chi-ung.
Since Gyeong-ae’s situation deteriorated very quickly, Man-hee turned to Tae-ju next and asked him to save her through surgery. Despite the fact that there were enough reasons for Tae-ju to refuse, since both Man-hee and Gyeong-ae were to blame for everything that happened to him and Se-yun, he had to comply, because he could not ignore an emergency case.
Man-hee assured him that he would give all the information about Chi-ung to the police and turn himself in as soon as he saved Gyeong-ae. In order to make sure that Man-hee fulfilled his promise, Tae-ju stopped the surgery until the files were sent to Detective Jang Do-sik. After Man-hee sent all the information, he finished the surgery and managed to save Gyeong-ae. The motivation for such a decision by Tae-ju was neither the forgiveness of the man nor the woman, but his duty as a doctor and providing the information needed by the police to reveal Chi-ung.
What Happened to Noh Man-hee at the End of The Husband?
By the end of The Husband, Noh Man-hee ultimately surrenders to the cops and is taken into custody on charges of his misdeeds. After all goes wrong, Man-hee comes to understand that Tae-ju sincerely wants to save Gyeong-ae and not take vengeance on her. Man-hee is also forced by Tae-ju to forward the evidence against Chi-ung to Detective Jang Do-sik. After Gyeong-ae’s surgery is over, Man-hee comes to see Tae-ju, and it seems like he wants to shoulder the blame for all that has been done. However, Man-hee does not wait to get arrested and instead stabs himself.
Tae-ju stops him from killing himself. He says that the death of Man-hee will not serve any purpose since Gyeong-ae might take responsibility for the crimes that they have committed. In the fight, Tae-ju gets hurt in the process, but he successfully stops Man-hee from committing suicide. The police arrive and arrest him. Eventually, all the crimes committed by Man-hee and Chi-ung become known to everyone, while Gyeong-ae lives after her surgery.
Was Choi Chi-ung Finally Caught by the Police?
Indeed, Choi Chi-ung gets arrested later but not without making a last attempt on the life of Se-yun. The more Chi-ung gets trapped by Tae-ju and the police, the more he realises that Man-hee poses a danger to him, and the proof shows that he was responsible for the illegal clinical experiment, Dr Ha’s murder, and Tae-ju’s attack. Later, he manages to steal a car and attacks Se-yun at the hospital.
The ending of The Husband episode 12 reveals that Chi-ung accuses Se-yun of all that has been happening to her, venting his anger on her due to his hatred for Tae-ju. He makes an attempt to stab her as she tries to run away from him. Even though Se-yun gets hurt in the process, she succeeds in fighting back and stabbing him in his leg, providing the police with enough time to capture him. The police show up right after that and take Chi-ung into custody. All his crimes are revealed, including how he tricked Man-hee and Gyeong-ae, attacked Tae-ju, took advantage of Dr Ha, and shielded the hospital’s illegal medical procedure.
Were Tae-ju and Se-yun Able to Save Their Marriage?
Even after discovering the truth of what really took place between them, the two characters end up unable to salvage their marriage. Most of the time during the drama, Se-yun thought that Tae-ju had deserted her when she needed him the most, while later in life, she comes to think that he even wished for her death. Meanwhile, Tae-ju had kept the secret of what went down involving the illegal surgery and the complicity of Dong-chan to himself since he thought it was the only way to keep Se-yun safe.
It is only now that things begin to mend between them because Tae-ju is able to reveal the truth behind the death of Ha-yun. He tells Se-yun that he had actually done the illegal surgery according to the orders of Dong-chan and had been made to think that by saying the truth, he would have been putting her in even more danger than before. It is then that Se-yun realises that Tae-ju had never really abandoned his daughter as she always thought he did.
Afterwards, when watching the full videotape of the conversation between Tae-ju and Man-hee, one can realise that Tae-ju’s words have been misquoted. Man-hee drugged him and taped his words when he was expressing his regretful feelings and wish to terminate his marriage, but not to kill Se-yun. She realises that when he expressed his wish to get rid of her, he meant that he wanted to get rid of their marriage and not her life. With this at the end of The Husband, she realises that Se-yun decides to leave Tae-ju and get divorced, as now she knows going separate ways was better for both of them.
How Does kdrama The Husband End?
The ending of The Husband has an ambivalent tone rather than allowing Tae-ju and Se-yun to have a typical happy ending. With the exposure of the kidnapping plot, the conspiracy of Chi-ung, and the illegal clinical experiment, the main obstacle left for Tae-ju is solved, and Se-yun comes to realise that he did not want her dead. But knowing each other does not imply going back to their old lives.
Later on, a jump in time reveals Tae-ju opened his own private clinic, whereas Se-yun has also proceeded with her life. At some point in time, Tae-ju visits the forest where Ha-yun was buried, and it turns out that Se-yun meets him there by surprise. Tae-ju and Se-yun catch up on how each of them is doing, and then quietly disappear from one another. At the end of The Husband episode 12, there is no clear reunion of these two people as a married couple; their relationship stays open-ended, meaning that even though their marriage is over, their love is not.
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