These two beloved sweet home characters deserved much better.
Based on the webtoon of the same name by Kim Carnby and Hwang Young-chan, Sweet Home, a gripping Netflix K-drama, offers a terrifying universe where humanity faces a dangerous threat: a mystery illness that turns humans into monster entities. Although the show's shock value is raised by its many character fatalities, two particular characters—Yoon Ji-su (Park Gyu-young) and Seo Yi-kyung (Lee Si-young)—deserved far more satisfying ends than what the television version produced.
In Sweet Home Ji-su and Yi-kyung both die off.
Though Yoon Ji-su is among Sweet Home's most engaging characters, her early death disappoints me. She is essential in Cha Hyun-su's (Song Kang) path in the webtoon, giving him cause to hang onto his humanity. But the television version lessens Ji-su's importance and emphasizes instead the romance between Hyun-su and Lee Eun-yu (Go Min-si). Sweet Home thus chooses her death over investigating the webtoon's storyline and fails to completely develop Ji-su's character. Ji-su's last death especially in relation to her possibility for a major part in next seasons highlights the letdown around her character.
Analogously, the killing of Seo Yi-kyung marks yet another brutal turn in the story. Unlike Ji-su, Yi-kyung is an original character developed for the television version, which lends more erratic fate. One of Sweet Home's most gripping narratives arises from the arrival of Seo Yi-su (Kim Si-a), Yi-kyung's daughter, who must make a difficult decision after her metamorphosis into a monster sets off her moral dilemma. Given Yi-kyung's apparent death in the season 2 finale, there was much possibility for this plot to be developed. But its quick closure feels inadequate, and Yi-kyung's passing a few episodes later leaves a gaping void in the final part of Sweet Home season 3.
Seasons 2 and 3 of Sweet Home Eliminate a Lot of Characters
The terrible deaths of Ji-su and Yi-kyung reflect a larger trend of character fatalities in Sweet Home; they are not isolated events. From the first eight survivors into season two, the count rapidly declines as the show runs on. In some of the most startling events of Sweet Home, Green Home inmates Jae-hwan (Lee Joon-woo), Seung-wan (Woo Jung-kook), and Su-yeong (Heo Yul) die from the brutal reality of the place. Following this is the sad death of Cha Jin-ok (Kim Hee-jung) in season three, a terrible choice Nam Sang-won (Lee Jin-wook) took.
The terrible path of Sweet Home does not exempt new characters added in the show. It is quite poignant when outsider Yang Ho-sang (Hyun Bong-sik) dies especially when Ha-ni (Chae Won-bin) breaks his vow to him. Driven by scientific curiosity, Dr. Lim (Oh Jung-se) dies in season 3, episode 7 in a fire. Thanks to the return of Sang-wook's consciousness, Sweet Home's villain, Nam Sang-won, likewise suffers a terrible fate and is thrown into the same fire as Dr. Lim. Many of these deaths impede the emergence of later narratives even while they add to Sweet Home's shock effect. Presumed dead only three episodes into season 3, Chief Ji (Kim Shin-rok), one of Sweet Home season 2's most fascinating new characters, is a riveting figure whose complex and tough circumstances leaves her story suddenly cut short. Given the small number of original characters who survive the series, this trend of character deaths afflicters many others in Sweet Home, thereby weakening the K-drama.
Just four green house residents remain at the end of Sweet Home.
Though it would have been ideal to see more characters die at the end of the series, much as their counterparts in the webtoon, four of Sweet Home's original cast members survive. One of Sweet Home's particular infectees, Hyun-su, gains insight in juggling his human and monster parts. Believed to have died in the season 1 finale, Lee Do-hyun's Lee Eun-hyuk unexpectedly returns as a neohuman, gradually recovering his humanity. A nice respite is the survival of these original Sweet Home members among the many tragic deaths of characters like Ji-su and Yi-kyung.
The paths of the other two survivors are less apparent. Both Lee Eun-yu and Kim Yeong-su (Choi Go) give in to the monsterizing process, implying they might resurfaced as neohumans. But Hyun-su says he wants Yeong-su restored and proclaims his determination to turn Eun-yu back into a human should he discover her first. Whatever the particular situation, some original characters' survival gives some hope in the face of the several losses Sweet Home brings.
