S Line Ending Explained: Directed and written by Ahn Joo-young, (S라인) is one of the boldest K-dramas of 2025. Based on Little Bee’s webtoon of the same title, the series tests the limits of psychological horror, fantasy, and social commentary. The series stars Lee Soo-hyuk portrays ethically conflicted detective Han Ji-uk, Lee Da-hee portrays as schoolteacher Lee Gyu-jin, Oh My Girl’s Arin portrays understated intensity as cursed loner Sin Hyeon-hop, and Lee Eun-saem haunts as troubled high school student Kang Seon-a. Each performance has emotional heft in this brief but effective six-episode series.
Kdrama S Line Recap
The Korean drama S Line follows high school student Hyeon-hop, who has had visions of these lines since childhood. She resides in seclusion, tormented by red threads she never asked for. That all changes when a violent altercation in her apartment building compels her to act, pulling her into a world where others—such as Detective Han and his niece Seon-a—find themselves unwilling players of the red-line curse. The glasses that had previously been worn by a murderer now pass from hand to hand, enabling anyone to view the other’s secrets exposed.
As the show goes on, it becomes more tragedy than mystery. Seon-a’s fall into blackmailing and abuse culminates in her alleged suicide, and Hyeon-hop gets a job at a motel that is later a crime scene. In the meantime, Han Ji-uk’s inquiry into S Lines begins to destroy his own sanity. With each case, the line between reality and fantasy starts to dissolve. The glasses show more than red lines—they show human ugliness and the ghastly price of seeing too much.
S Line Ending Explained
What was Lee Kyu-jin Actually Attempting To Do?
Lee Kyu-jin begins as a reserved schoolteacher, but by the last episodes of S Line, she’s unmasked as the mastermind of a horrifying cult centered on the S Line glasses. We find, through flashbacks, that she once saved a young woman from public embarrassment after a leaked illegal sex video made the rounds. To Kyu-jin, the glasses were a means of liberation—a means to regain power through visibility.
But her ideology devolves into fanaticism. She starts thinking people need to deal with every red thread they’ve ever created, even if it kills them. She gets a cult following, promotes ritual murder, and fantasizes about a world in which everyone can see the lines. She’s not a villain—she’s a tragic visionary fouled by her own tragedy.
Did Detective Han Ji-uk Finds Justice for Seon-a?
Detective Han’s story starts as a cynical cop with extra-curricular pursuits and shielding his bullied niece, Seon-a. But when Seon-a goes into a coma after an apparent suicide attempt, Han begins to unravel the layers of what went on. In Episode 5, the most chilling revelation comes—his own father had an S Line connected to Seon-a, which is being interpreted as sexual abuse. Aghast with anger, Han attempts to kill his father during one of Kyu-jin’s ceremonies but is prevented. Kyu-jin later kills the old man herself.
But is that just? Not quite. Han doesn’t receive the catharsis he sought. Even once the truth is revealed, Seon-a is still quiet. The peace between them is all silent. The last scenes depict her awake, but they never discuss it. They just exist together, tied by hurt neither of them wish to revisit.
Also Read: S Line Episode 1-2 Review: Provocative, Bold Premise, Strong Execution, and a Truly Gripping Start
What Happened to Sin Hyeon-hop in the End?
In the final act, Hyeon-hop is stabbed by Lee Kyu-jin after rescuing Ji-uk and attempting to shatter the glasses for good. As the blood spills, it doesn’t drop—it floats, slowly, reddening. The drops collect into a giant sphere above her head, then burst into the air, firing millions of S Lines out across the globe. This dreamlike image of Hyeon-hop half-lifting, nearly weightless, lends her a saintly air—like she is being offered up, or even rising above the painful existence she’s endured.
The instant implies change. Hyeon-hop, whose life has been weighed down by unwanted visions, is the one who frees the truth for all. In accepting her pain and ending the cycle, she brings about a mass awakening unwittingly. In the epilogue, she’s alive and at last “normal”—not viewing the S Lines any longer, not alone, not tormented. But her past isn’t quite put behind her. That last scene at the cemetery illustrates she might never completely be rid of what she witnessed, or the price she paid for it.
Is Lee Kyu-jin Die in the End of S Line?
In S Line Episode 6, Lee Kyu-jin is stabbed by Hyeon-hop after a savage fight on the rooftop-turned-ceremonial chamber. She appears to fall, defeated, and the spell on the cult members around her is broken. But the last few minutes put doubt in her death. As Hyeon-hop pays her respects at Joon-sun’s tomb, she hears the voice of Lee Kyu-jin gently calling for her—once, then twice. No one is around, but the voice is near, almost following her.
This residual presence indicates that Lee Kyu-jin is perhaps not alive in body but very much alive in spirit. She referred to the S Line as a gift, and she wanted it to be viewed by everyone. And now that everyone can view the red lines as well, her distorted vision has materialized. Whatever form she took, be it ghost, memory, or mental wound on those who walked through her life, Lee Kyu-jin’s legacy has not ended. She may be dead, but she is not gone.
Also Read: S Line Episode 3-4 Review: Interesting Shift as Tensions Rise and Secrets Begin to Unravel
