My Name Season 1 Finale: Recap, Review & Ending Explained

Sudden Endings

How does Jiwoo get out of prison?

Episode 8 of My Name begins this finale with Jiwoo behind bars. Ms Kang shows up with a message from Mujin, promising that she won’t end up in prison if he has anything to say about it. In fact, Jiwoo is transferred to hospital not long after, which gives Mujin just the opportunity he needs to strike and bring Jiwoo in to him.

Does Pil-Do learn the truth about Jiwoo?

Pil-Do receives a call from Captain Cha while on watch, learning that he’s awoken from his comatose state. Rushing over to see his boss, Cha covers for Jiwoo and reveals that she’s Donghoon’s daughter. He also unveils the truth about Song and how he was undercover, which in turn makes Pil-Do realize that they’ve got the wrong person. He also confirms that Taeju was the one who stabbed him and that Mujin completely deceived her.

Speaking of which, Mujin’s guards infiltrate deep into the hospital as Jiwoo is helped out by an undercover nurse. She gives instructions for how to get away, as she singlehandedly fights off three of her colleagues and slips out wearing a hospital gown. Only, Pil-Do notices her in the parking lot and hurries up to see her.

Having learnt everything, Pil-Do puts his trust in Jiwoo and brandishes his handcuffs, deciding to handcuff themselves together as a desperate ploy to stop them driving off to Jiwoo’s death. A car chase soon ensues though, as Pil-Do and Jiwoo work together to evade Mujin’s goons. Eventually they do lose them out on the road.

Do Jiwoo and Pil-Do hook up?

Realizing they need to lay low for a while, the pair drive to an abandoned beach resort that Pil-Do’s friend has rented out long-term. Pil-Do helps patch up Jiwoo, cleaning the wound on her shoulder. This act of kindness, and his willingness to try and understand Jiwoo, sees our protagonist open up as the pair passionately kiss and make love. Well, that was certainly unexpected! Anyway, they decide to stick together and fulfill Donghoon’s wishes of stopping Mujin no matter what.

Mujin though is consumed by his unfinished business with Donghoon and Jisoo. He’s convinced that everyone has betrayed him, unsure where else to turn. With an arrest warrant out thanks to an unspecified eyewitness (who is probably Captain Cha in truth), Mujin loses control and forces Ms Kang out.

Does Pil-Do die?

Mujin dons a motorcycle helmet and hits the road, stopping at Jiwoo’s car on the road where he shoots Pil-Do in cold blood. As his body slumps lifelessly on her lap, blood oozing from a gunshot wound on his head, Jiwoo grabs his gun and takes off into the street. This is the last we see of Pil-Do but it’s very clear that he’s dead.

Does Jiwoo get her revenge?

With a gun brandished, Jiwoo heads straight into Mujin’s club, using a single handgun to thwart an entire army worth of goons. It’s basically John Wick at this point but impressively shot nonetheless.

Jiwoo fights through the room, hitting off four bullets before reloading. She then leaves a single bullet as she rides the elevator up to the penthouse. It’s either a continuity error or this young woman has just taken a few too many blows to the head! Despite only holding a single bullet in her handgun, she takes out a hallway worth of soldiers, leaving her one on one with Mujin.

Alone at last, Jiwoo confronts Mujin with her gun drawn, gritting her teeth as the boss talks about her father’s lack of conviction. He had several chances to kill her and didn’t take it. Mujin believes that she’s different, almost salivating at the prospect of dying at her hands.

After a little more talking, the pair eventually decide to get involved in a good old fashioned knife fight. Jiwoo and Mujin duel it out with knives drawn, eventually leading to Jiwoo stabbing her enemy in the throat. She watches with satisfaction as he slumps down against the wall, bleeding out.

With police bound for Mujin’s base, Jiwoo stumbles away, a trail of blood following her.

How does My Name end?

We then cut forward an unspecified period of time as Jiwoo pays her respects to her father, placing a picture of herself and Donghoon together on his grave. As she reflects back on the moments that have led to this point, Jiwoo pays her respects to Pil-Do as the show comes to a close.

The Episode Review

They say an ending can make or break a show and for me, this one does break the enjoyment that’s been had up until this point a bit. Episode 7 had some plot contrivances creep in, which we mentioned in regards to Jiwoo escaping out the police station, but episode 8 is particularly egregious. in this respect.

The sudden forced romance feels completely out of left-field and throughout the show there’s not really been any sort of sexual tension or romance between the pair so it feels a bit weird and a forced attempt at making Jiwoo witness another loved one pass away.

The biggest problem here though are the sheer number of questions left unanswered. What happened to Captain Cha? Did no one else actually see Jiwoo in the car? Did no officers think to follow her? And how did Jiwoo get away at the end when a trail of blood would have led directly to her in that tunnel? And when did Jiwoo get the time to photoshop herself next to her father and place it on his grave?

Although Jisoo does get her revenge and Mujin’s threat is thwarted, the abrupt ending just sort of ends things on an unintentional pang of whiplash. Whether this is intentional, baiting for a second season, or not is up for debate but it definitely feels a bit rushed.

Despite that, My Name has been a really enjoyable watch, despite the missteps with this conclusion.