3 Things We Loved About The Finale Of "The Witch"

It has only been five weeks and 10 episodes, but “The Witch” is already over. While we’ll miss watching Roh Jeong Eui and Jinyoung on our screens every Saturday and Sunday, the good news is that the drama’s ending was extremely satisfying — I couldn’t have asked for anything more. From Jung Hyeok’s (Lim Jae Hyeok) own curse to our main leads’ happy ending, here are three reasons why “The Witch” finale was perfect.

Warning: spoilers for episodes 9-10 ahead!

Jung Hyeok’s mystery

“The Witch” could be considered a short K-drama since it only has 10 episodes. Due to its brevity, the majority of viewers wanted the main leads, Dong Jin and Mi Jeong, to have the most screen time. However, a significant portion of it was given to Jung Hyeok.

Even during the premiere week, Jung Hyeok was shown solving crimes, and the case of the woman with a stalker kept appearing throughout the entire drama, even in the final week. Thankfully, Jung Hyeok’s storyline was not just a way to extend the drama’s length, it actually added substance to the plot.

In earlier episodes, when Dong Jin meets Jung Hyeok for the first time, his friends mention how Jung Hyeok used to be quite popular. However, due to his reclusive personality, he pushed everyone away and now eats alone. That was the first time Dong Jin was shown approaching Jung Hyeok and trying to befriend him. At first, this action was portrayed as an act of kindness, an attempt to prevent what happened to Mi Jeong from happening to Jung Hyeok. However, in the later episodes, the reality turned out to be something else.

While Dong Jin did befriend Jung Hyeok because he reminded him of Mi Jeong, he later noticed striking similarities between the two. The same chain of coincidences that had made Mi Jeong’s life miserable had also ruined Jung Hyeok’s, leading him to withdraw from people altogether.

In the finale, Dong Jin leaves clues for Jung Hyeok, who, being a detective, solves them one by one faster than anyone else could have. Through this process, he realizes, thanks to Dong Jin’s clues, that he himself is also a witch, if he could be called that. Not only that, but Dong Jin had been collecting similar information about him all along and wanted to save not only Mi Jeong but also Jung Hyeok.

Highlighting Dong Jin’s stalking behavior

One of the most controversial plot points in romance media is stalking. Often, when creators want to depict stalking negatively, the scenes are dimly lit, accompanied by eerie or no background music, and the stalker is typically portrayed as an unattractive or average-looking person. Conversely, when the stalker is an attractive individual, the same behavior is romanticized, the scenes are more brightly lit, with romantic or playful background music. While an average viewer might not see this as problematic, romanticizing stalking can influence impressionable minds and lead to real-life consequences.

Since the premiere of “The Witch,” the audience has been wary of Dong Jin’s actions. On one hand, he is trying to disprove the rumor that Mi Jeong is a witch so she can live a normal life and stop blaming herself for the deaths and incidents surrounding her. On the other hand, he is stalking Mi Jeong to gather information for his investigation. Even though he avoids direct contact with Mi Jeong to prevent himself from dying and thus losing the chance to help her, his stalker-like behavior still unsettled some viewers. However, it seems that Kang Full, the writer of “The Witch,” had other plans.

Not only did other characters call out Dong Jin’s investigation tactics as stalker behavior early on, but in episode eight, Dong Jin himself referred to himself as Mi Jeong’s stalker. More recently, Jung Hyeok even told Mi Jeong that she could file a stalking case against Dong Jin if she wished. While these dialogues might seem minor, they highlight that good intentions do not lessen the seriousness of stalking.

Breaking the curse for a happy ending

Although most romance dramas have happy endings, as it is a precondition of the genre, “The Witch” differs from traditional romances since the main leads did not interact until nearly 60 percent of the drama was over. Because of this, viewers were uncertain about Dong Jin’s fate and whether he would survive by the end. However, since he had already proven that Mi Jeong’s affection could break the curse, she ultimately fell in love with him, and he lived.

Even though the couple did not share as much screen time as viewers had hoped, Mi Jeong’s love for Dong Jin did not feel forced. She had known him, or at least known of him, since high school. He was the only person who showed her kindness when everyone else ostracized her. And later, he risked his life just to disprove the rumor about her, not because he would have liked her any less if she were a witch, but because he wanted her to have the happy life she deserved. How could anyone not fall in love with that?

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Hello Soompiers! Did you like the finale episode of “The Witch,” or would you like to change anything? Let us know in the comments section down below!

Javeria is a binge-watching specialist who loves devouring entire K-dramas in one sitting. Good screenwriting, beautiful cinematography, and a lack of cliches are the way to her heart. As a music fanatic, she listens to multiple artists across different genres and stans the self-producing idol group SEVENTEEN. You can talk to her on Instagram @javeriayousufs.

Currently watching:  “When Life Gives You Tangerines”
Looking forward to: “Reborn” and “Weak Hero Class 2.”