Jeongnyeon: The Star is Born – K-drama Episode 12 Recap, Review & Ending Explained

Episode 12

Episode 12 of Jeongnyeon: The Star is Born begins with So-bok announcing that Cho-rok will be playing Asanyeo, the princess. Jeong-nyeon and Yeong-seo are allowed to choose the scene they want to audition with. Still upset with Joo-ran’s departure, Jeong-nyeon throws away the pin she bought with Joo-ran. Yeong-seo finds it and returns it.

Mr. Ko comes sniffing around the place. Yeong-seo hears Do-aeng arguing with him and realises how bad the situation is. Because of the debt from the joint performance, investors aren’t helping Maeran. Things get worse when debt collectors begin to raid the place.

Yeong-seo goes home to find her sister leaving for the States. She says she’s going to get married and quit singing as well. Apparently, she never quite liked it. Yeong-seo then confronts her mother and asks her to hand over her share of her grandfather’s inheritance.

Han Ki-joo is in a terrible mood and rants about how she was called a sinner for only bearing daughters and not a son. Yeong-seo makes a terrible barter then. She promises to do whatever her mother wants if she can get her inheritance and do this one last performance.

Back at Maeran, a group of fangirls tell Jeong-nyeon that they are excited for her to be the new prince. They say they didn’t only love Ok-gyeong, they loved all of Maeran. Yeong-seo offers So-bok her money but she doesn’t accept it. Yeong-seo leaves but is more dismayed and Jeong-nyeon encourages her to stay and keep performing.  

So-bok visits a credit union for a loan. She tells the creditor that this new production will give birth to a new male lead and a new era. They agree to give the loan! However, Do-aeng wonders if they should postpone the play.

So-bok returns to find Jeong-nyeon struggling with a scene and offers some advice. Jeong-nyeon then describes how much gukgeuk means to her and the others, which encourages So-bok. In a turn of events, she later sells the building to Mr. Ko. She says her real pride is in giving her troupe members a proper production.

So-bok speaks with Yeong-seo about her version of Asadal. When Yeong-seo compares herself to Jeong-nyeon, So-bok advises her to keep going through all the ups and downs she faces. The audition begins and Maeran’s students are involved as judges. Yeong-seo and Jeong-nyeon end up choosing the same scene for the audition, where Asadal returns from sculpting a statue of Buddha to find that his wife has passed away.

Yeong-seo goes first and offers an emotional, moving performance. The judges wonder if there is a point to the audition. It’s Jeong-nyeon’s turn next and we only see a bit before the scene cuts to loud applause. Yeong-seo herself says the judges don’t need to deliberate. Jeong-nyeon is the new prince. So-bok and the other judges agree.

So-bok visits Hye-rang and finds her drowning herself in alcohol. Hye-rang has given up on herself but So-bok tells her that Eun-jae, the little girl, still needs her. Meanwhile, Do-aeng offers the role of Dal-bi, the antagonist, to Yeong-seo who is more than happy to take it. Jeong-nyeon later finds So-bok looking at Maeran’s building and they talk about her selling the property. So-bok says that Maeran is about its people, not the place.  

The day of the performance arrives. Hye-rang comes to the theatre with Eun-jae. She tells the little girl to call her “mom” instead of “aunt” because she is her mother.

The students get ready backstage and the girls discuss how this could be their last performance. But they assure each other that every performance matters. Jeong-nyeon then gets a bouquet of flowers with a note. It’s from Joo-ran, who calls Jeong-nyeon her dream and wishes her well.

The play begins. Ki-joo, Yong-rye, Jeong-nyeon’s sister, and Patricia are in the audience. Jeong-nyeon and Yeong-seo play sculptors building their respective stone pagodas. Dal-bi is eager to see Asadal’s genius work and sows seeds between Asadal and his wife, so as not to distract him.

However, this leads to Asadal’s wife’s death. We come back to the scene from the audition, where Asadal laments his wife’s death. This time, we see Jeong-nyeon’s full performance. She gets a standing ovation and Yong-rye tears up as well. Jeongnyeon: The Star is Born Episode 12 ends with everyone cheering Jeong-nyeon’s name as she takes a bow.

The Episode Review

Jeongnyeon: The Star is Born Episode 12 is a lovely finale. The K-drama brings Jeong-nyeon’s journey to its peak, getting her to the point that she dreamt about all along. Everything in the story seems to have been moving towards this moment and with twenty minutes spent on the final performance, the grand spectacle of it all makes the journey worth it.

The other characters seem to complete their arcs as well. Yeong-seo depicts how far she’s come by being her most vulnerable and empathetic self yet while still absolutely killing it on stage. And then there’s the sting of Joo-ran’s tragic ending, made more visceral by her heartfelt note to Jeong-nyeon.

This episode also brings out the GL element of the series a bit more than usual — having Joo-ran say that Jeong-nyeon is her longing and having Hye-rang confirm that Eun-jae is her daughter (and therefore Ok-gyeong’s too). While it’s clear that the makers could not blatantly call this a queer story, they have added enough elements of queerness that this part of the series cannot be denied and that’s a credit to them.

In the end, we don’t get much confirmation on the future of Maeran. Perhaps we are meant to assume this is where history takes its course and the film industry takes centre stage. All in all, the episode is a good mix of heart, tragedy, and catharsis, and works as a solid finale.