I actually find the ending to be undeniably depressing. What they gave us is a fan-favor ending, a cheerful dinner, and laughs with 1988 colleagues, but come on, his real body is in a coma/dead, and his mom and aunt must be devastated!
I mean think about the ending, it’s like someone committing suicide to save Eren Yeager from AOT, or to save IRON MAN... as much as we love to be in that world, we accept it's not real. Similarly, he should have acknowledged that the 1988 colleagues' he was trying to save were not real, they are already dead, and he needs to accept that.
I get the part, When Tae-Joo woke up in the present day and didn’t feel any physical pain from the cut on his hand, he thought it was also a dream, but it was likely due to the severe brain injury he suffered. But they later showed that it was indeed real and the injury triggered vivid hallucinations, blending fragments of his research and subconscious desires into a fabricated version of the past.
Even if he is confused about what is real, if he thinks twice the clues were there all along to indicate 1988 is fabricated: he doesn't have a family there, and the existence of a younger version of Tae-Joo in that timeline also signals that his adult self was never meant to be there in the first place.
In the last episode, when he tells his mom, “There are people who need my help, but I wasn’t able to help them. They’re waiting for me.” he speaks with such conviction, in the present tense, as if the dream world is real. His inability to let go of that fabricated world shows the impact of his subconscious on his mental state.
The worst tragedy is his refusal to accept that the people he’s desperate to save are figments of his imagination.
Rather than seeking help, confronting the trauma, and working through his guilt and delusions, Tae-joo makes the heartbreaking decision to take his own life in the hope of returning to that fabricated world. He needed more than just antidepressants; he needed comprehensive therapy to help him distinguish between reality and hallucination and to come to terms with his grief.
In the end, his choice to end his life feels so depressing. The thought of someone willingly giving up their life to live in an illusion—even a comforting one—is so unsettling!
I kind of see it as a reminder of the importance of mental health care and the dangers of unresolved trauma. As much as we admire his selflessness, his decision underscores the depth of his despair and the heartbreaking consequences of untreated mental health issues.
What do you guys think?
