The ending for Sweet Home Season 3 explained: what happens to Cha Hyun-su?
Alert: Sweet Home season 3 spoilers abound in this page.
With an action-packed climax full of twists and bittersweet events involving Cha Hyun-su, Sweet Home season 3, episode 8 ends the Netflix K-drama Although Sweet Home's first season was quite similar to the webtoon, seasons two and three were original stories that presented fresh difficulties for the survivors.
Sweet Home's last episode concentrated on Cha Hyun-su, who had recovered control over his body, on his mission to stop Nam Sang-won. Although Cha Hyun-su and Lee Eun-hyeok arrived too late to stop Sang-won from seizing Seo Yi-su's body, following several sacrifices they were able to permanently defeat the special infectee. Though Lee Eun-yu was infected and turned into a neohuman, her last scene implies she will be alright.
Cha Hyun-su, Lee Eun-hyeok, & Lee Eun-yu: A Bittersweet Remunion
At the end of Sweet Home season 3, Cha Hyun-su, Lee Eun-hyeok, and Lee Eun-yu were the only main Green Home still-alive characters. The stadium survivors sought new homes as humanity started to rebuild with the aid of the neohumans. Cha Hyun-su and Lee Eun-hyeok are seen in Sweet Home's last scene poised on the Green Home's roof. Their haircuts and clothes matched their season one look, so indicating a return to normal. Then the scene opens showing Lee Eun-yu alive.
Lee Eun-yu's walking, as if she were performing ballet, revealed her personality returning. From her metamorphosis starting in the finale, Go Min-si's portrayal of Lee Eun-yu had been lacking. Given Lee Eun-yu's vision of her old house and brother, it is reasonable to believe she first fully changed into a special infectee then into a neohuman. Her somewhat detached eyes in the last scene also imply her neohuman condition. But Lee Eun-hyeok's account shows that Cha Hyun-su and he are waiting for the day when neohumans will be able to feel as well as remember.
Neohuman Transformation: A Hope Trip
Working with Seo Yi-kyung, Cha Hyun-su found he could undo monsters back into humans. In the last scene of Sweet Home season 3, Lee Eun-hyeok seemed more "human," implying that, with time and love, neohumans can recover their personalities. Though he cannot immediately alter the behavior of a neohuman, Song Kang's Cha Hyun-su has the ability to turn some monsters back into humans. Lee Eun-hyeok and Lee Eun-yu will thus need time to accross their new life. Luckily they will negotiate this together. One very clear sign of Lee Eun-yu's returning personality is her elegant ballet-like walk.
The fate of the stadium survivors: a fresh start
Many Green Home residents among several other characters died in Sweet Home season 3. Many stadium attendees, meanwhile, survived Nam Sang-won's invasion and the subsequent final battle. The survivors had to find somewhere else since the stadium was wrecked. Cha Hyun-su, Private Park, and other troops kept returning to the remains of the stadium in quest of survivors. Cha Hyun-su also used his abilities to turn some monsters back into humans, so giving mankind an other chance for survival.
The soldiers widened their search radius looking for new locations where the survivors could start fresh lives since there were few places to fit so many people. The Sweet Home characters came upon a sizable population of neohumans on their way from the stadium. Luckily, they came to common ground and developed a relationship rather than strife. Now people and neohumans are working together to reconstruct the planet. Cha Hyun-su thinks working with neohumans is the only way humans will survive.
Nam Sang-won's Defining Moment: A Love Sacrifice
Mostly because of his great power, which let him leap from one body to another, Nam Sang-won was a tough opponent. While Lee Eun-hyeok concentrated on killing Sang-won without regard to the repercussions, Cha Hyun-su sought to guard Seo Yi-su's body and bring the girl back. Sadly, Sang-won attacked Cha Hyun-su jumping into another body despite Seo Yi-su's injuries. Although Song Kang's character flung Sang-won back into the fire, Sang-won was able to switch bodies once more. This time he went back to the near-stadium body of Pyeon Sang-wook.
Cha Hyun-su only came to know his actual identity in the finale; Sang-won was "Ui-myeong". Lee Eun-hyeok offered himself as a sacrifice when Sang-won seemed more confident and strong than ever. With hopes to resist Sang-won's control until they both died, Lee Eun-hyeok meant to let Sang-won take over his body and then toss himself into the fire. This was not essential, though. Still present and able to recover control of his body for a few seconds, Pyeon Sang-wook, the character Lee Jin-wook performed in Sweet Home season 1, It was sufficient for him to throw himself into the fire, so permanently ending Nam Sang-won's rule.
Seo Yi-su's Death: A Tragic Farewell
Among Sweet Home season 3's most important characters was Seo Yi-su, Yi-kyung's daughter. Having the ability to turn people into monsters with a touch, Seo Yi-su hated people and had few meaningful relationships save maybe Cha Hyun-su. Yi-su and her mother worked through things, but Yi-kyung's passing left her daughter exposed. Later on Sang-won used the child as his next host; he started assembling an army of synthetic neohumans. After Sang-won's defeat, Yi-su died in Cha Hyun-su's arms after suffering injuries during the last battle.
The conclusion of Sweet Home deviates from the Webtoon.
The Sweet Home webtoon ended with the Green Home destroyed, Cha Hyun-su turning into a giant monster to fight the antagonist of the tale. In sharp contrast to the Sweet Home season 3 finale, Cha Hyun-su gives his life to save the day at the webtoon's end. With the well-liked Netflix K-drama choosing to venture outside its source material in seasons 2 and 3, the ending of the webtoon reflects Sweet Home season 1. Cha Hyun-su survives and aids in world rebuilding throughout the series.
The Real Significance of Sweet Home's Finale: a Home Constructed on Hope
The ending of Sweet Home season 3 preserves the title of the show as Cha Hyun-su and his friends learn to treasure their "home, sweet home" while they wait for things to get better. Cha Hyun-su, Lee Eun-hyeok, and Lee Eun-yu look like their season 1 counterparts in the last scene—not coincidental. Following all they have gone through, the surviving Green Home residents are back together. But life will be different now, particularly given both Lee Eun-hyeok and Lee Eun-yu are neohumans still discovering themselves. Still, Sweet Home's ending is maybe a happy one, albeit conflicted.
Sweet Home centers on Cha Hyun-su, a reclusive high school student who moves into the Green Home apartment building following family loss. When a mysterious epidemic transforms people into monstrous creatures, Cha Hyun-su and the residents of Green Home must work together to survive, confronting their inner demons and the horrifying threats outside.
