What happens to Seo-Jin in court?
Episode 14 of Penthouse Season 3 begins this finale with Su-Ryeon thrown in the water and Seo-Jin taken away in a police car. As authorities scramble to the scene, news reports confirm that Su-Ryeon is yet to be found and after 3 days, things don’t look good. With the situation gaining massive traction in the press and tensions high, Seo-Jin’s court case is a high profile affair.
Seo-Jin feigns ignorance, claiming she has amnesia. Drama ensues though when Eun-Byeol is the one to come out and testify against her own Mother. Despite the pain she feels, Eun-Byeol confirms that Seo-Jin is faking the whole amnesia shindig and claims that she’s responsible for both Su-Ryeon and Yoon-Hee’s death.
Eun-Byeol goes on to admit, miserably, that she’s the catalyst for all these tragedies. The issues at the university and the death of her own Grandfather have come about because of her. She pleads with the court for forgiveness, admitting she wants to end it all now and be done with this guilt and pain.
And how is she going to do this? Eun-Byeol decides never to sing again. With a necklace holding a sharp point, she slits her own throat and collapses to the ground in a heap. With Eun-Byeol bleeding out, Seo-Jin is sentenced to life behind bars.
What happens to the other Hera Palace residents after the time jump?
After jumping forward 3 years later, we catch up with the other residents. Kyu-Jin has been released from prison, and he’s now working at the bathhouse, scrubbing down a chairman. Only, this chairman happens to be head of a farm, so his years of work in grooming this man has been for absolutely nothing. However, his scam doesn’t go unnoticed, as the police eventually arrest him. Oh Kyu-Jin, will you ever learn?
Ma-Ri meanwhile, is moving up in the world and is now the true victor out of everyone in Hera Palace. She’s been through a lot but her kindness is rewarded. She’s now moving over to the penthouse suite of Simoon Palace.
Seok-Kyung has been doing pretty well for herself too, helping to teach a couple of students how to sing. Her relationship with Seok-Hoon is still good, and although he continues to send over money, she’s actually working hard and grafting rather than skimping a living.
Does Seo-Jin commit suicide?
At the Cheongju Women’s Penitentiary, Seo-Jin is granted a special 3 day leave given she’s been diagnosed with laryngeal cancer. She’s given a slip of paper, allowing her to travel over to Seoeun Jeil Church where Eun-Byeol is alive, and now working as a conductor for a choir group. A nasty scar across her neck prevents the girl from being able to sing, but she helps others to do what she can’t.
Seo-Jin shows up to see her but thinks twice about actually speaking to her daughter. Instead, she stands atop the motel roof and ends up taking a handful of pills, hoping that Eun-Byeol doesn’t live like she does. As she passes away, Seo-Jin’s operatic singing helps her pass. It’s a bittersweet conclusion for a really prolific character in this show.
What happens to Ro-Na?
Ro-Na has been working in Italy and she’s become a pretty prolific Soprano. She’s a rising star in the scene and even winning awards too. Seok-Hoon and Ro-Na meet up again after 3 years. With Ro-Na so busy with her singing career, she finally takes some time to hang out with her old crush.
Well, they decide to eat pasta together, which is obviously a throwback to last season where he promised to buy her this exact dish. He even has a git for her too, which happens to be keys to his place in Vienna. This will allow her to stay with him when she’s on tour there. And just like that, he leans over and gives her a big kiss.
The day of Ro-Na’s performance goes ahead and the kids all meet up behind the scenes. Everything is much less hostile now between them, with Seok-Kyung and Ro-Na even seeing eye to eye. However, one thing remains unclear – an anonymous figure keeps sending blue roses. It’s certainly not Logan Lee though, who continues to support Ro-Na from afar.
Are Logan Lee and Su-Ryeon really dead?
Yes, as we find out from the final act of the show, the pair are definitely dead. The final performance for Ro-Na is played out twice, with the second run-around showing what really happened.
Logan and Su-Ryeon came to an agreement over how to take down Seo-Jin. Logan had a specially made life-jacket for her, which he wanted Su-Ryeon to wear in order for her survive the plunge, just in case things went sour. Only, Su-Ryeon decided not to wear it.
Su-Ryeon decides to let herself die as a final defiant act to take down Seo-Jin once and for all. She waned her to be arrested for life. And Logan Lee? Well, it turns out he’s also dead. He had a relapse with his bone marrow cancer shortly after Su-Ryeon’s death and this pushed him over the edge, Despite managing to help Ro-Na with her performance, his life comes to a tragic end. I guess he could survive a bomb blast to thee face but not cancer.
This afterlife is finally confirmed as Logan Lee and Su-Ryeon head off to thee afterlife together, walking through that familiar tunnel used in many other K-dramas in the past, including Hotel Del Liuna, Goblin and Hello, Me, bringing this crazy makjang to an end.
So Logan Lee and Su-Ryeon head off to the afterlife together, walking through the familiar tunnel from Hotel Del Luna and Hello, Me.
The Episode Review
So Penthouse bows out with a final conclusion that borrows heavily from some of the better Korean dramas out there. You can tell the screenwriter wanted to make this a really memorable makjang and to be fair, most of the supporting characters do have a consistent arc and a good amount of closure. However, there are some obvious issues here too.
The whole Su-Ryeon suicide-death is a little silly and inconsistent with her character. She’s been established as selfless and there for her kids no matter what. The idea that she’d give all off that up just to see Seo-Jin behind bars feels weird and ill-placed. After all, it’s the dash-cam footage from Yoon-Hee’s death that’s really the evidence that can be used against her more effectively.
Sitting here and picking apart the entire show’s plot holes would be a mammoth ordeal and honestly, you guys probably don’t want to read that so I won’t bother! Penthouse has been an incredibly messy show and this third season is a result of dragging out a story that really didn’t need to be. The show had a decent enough conclusion during season 2 but everything this year has just felt contrived and borderline nonsensical.
The one character in this who does come out well though is Seo-Jin. Her whole arc is beautifully written and the tragic way she commits suicide atop the motel roof, unwilling to see her daughter take the same walk in life as her, is a bittersweet and perfect way to send-off her character. Beyond that though, most of the other material here has been pretty sloppy.
The endings for the kids are pretty poetic but for everyone else, this final fake-out death twist will likely leave a bad taste in many people’s mouths. This has certainly been a memorable show though, it’s just a shame that it’s gone on for one season too many.
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Feel free to check out our full season review for Penthouse Season 3 here! |
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Episode Rating
(2.5)
Yes, season 3 was certainly a mess. But I thought Cheon Seo Jin was a wonderful character. The best female villain I’ve seen in a K-drama since Sin Aeri in Temptation of Wife, from the same writer.
Yes, season 3 was certainly a mess. But I thought Seo Cheon Jin was a wonderful character. The best female villain I’ve seen in a K-drama since Sin Aeri in Temptation of Wife, from the same writer.
This series was so unbearably exhausting. Season 1 was majorly fine but 2 and 3 sucked very badly. All the adult characters (save for Joo Dan Te) becoming good, then bad, then good, then bad was just so awful.
My worst character was actually Ha Eun Byeol. Why was she so whiny and irritating? Why did she judge her parents so much when they literally covered up all her awful acts?
Cheon Seo Jin had no redeeming characters and I found it difficult to root for her at any point.
Oh Yoon Hee not only killed Min Seol A but teamed up with Joo Dan Te at some point to get rid of Sim Su Ryeon? How could she be redeemed by this show?
A huge waste of time.
Absolute waste of time and space
Guys I’m the one whi wronged or you forgot Shim Su Reyon told them she will ecplain why Naegyo didn’t vist them when they grew a bit bit i didn’t see any thing
Second Did Sureyon got the money that Oh yoone left for her in the book which she have her as a gift
Third from who did the blue flowers are from first i thaught she was Sireyon but lately it became known that she is dead
Fourth Every body’s questionn Who is that Mad guy ????????????
The ending part of this drama is just too tragic but anyway it’s okay
And then that haggard looking man at seok kyung’s place of work is still confusing because her facial expression and the man’s voice seems like it’s Joo Dan Tae but I know it definitely can’t be him, maybe he reminds seok kyung of her step father cos no man can survive that kind of casualty that happened to Joo Dan Tae, so that scene shouldn’t have been included if it cannot be explained
Penthouse Season 1 was a masterpiece – Season 2 was ok, and Season 3 was an insult to every intelligent viewer. What made Penthouse good was the congruence of the behaviour of the characters with their motivations. In Season 3 this got totally lost, mostly due to the glaring unbelievability of the Oh Yoon Hee Situation. One of the most shocking moments of Season 1 was the realization that Oh Yoon Hee killed Min Seol-A – that she was actually quite a bad person.
Season 2 and Season 3 try to somehow swindle the viewer into forgetting this fact. Especially in Season 3 you feel like screaming this at every character who now acts on a moral high ground: Shim Su Ryeon on her constant harping on about poor Oh Soon Yee – she effing killed your daughter!!!! ( at first I was happy that Shim Su Ryeon was brought back but that quickly changed to horror as I saw that what was brought back was an intellectual zombie). Then Logan: Oh Soon Yee killed Min Seol-A, who saved your life!! Even Seok Kyung falls prey to amnesia, as she is sorry to have told Miss Jin the whereabouts of Eun-Byeol leading up to the events; – come on, if you think about it, Oh Soon Yee killed your TWIN!!! you must hate her right??
The whole of Season 3 rests on making Oh Soon Yee “holy”, while clearly she was a murderer, and everybody, including Min-Seol-A’s mother, step-brother and twin, don’t seem to care (pretty sad!). This is what ruined the show. Disgusting.
Thank you for the summary of penthouse season 3. I read them all from start to finish. Judging by the ending scene of season 2, I knew season 3 will be very messy and I lost interest in watching it. Like you said numerous times, the show should have ended in season 2 and I think most of the viewers would also agree with this. Su Ryeon and Yoon Hee deserved a better ending after all they suffered. The plot twists are bullcrap. Thanks for writing the summary and saving our time. hahaha.
the mad man where seok kyung is working was joo dan tae, i saw it on instagram; the actor playing joo dan tae was tagged in a photo with kyu jin and seok kyung in the finale 😬
The tragic ending where Su Ryeon died is needless. She survived death twice, survived a bomb blast only to now commit suicide at the end? So, she chose to leave her children? With Cheon Jin still alive?
She acted right by killing Dan Tae, the guy is a monster. In fact, she waited for too long to kill him. Then the tragedy should have ended with the monsters death.
Season 1 and 2 are entertaining but not Season 3 which I think the writer is trying to drag it with ridiculous plot and I give up watching after S1 E1.
The ending is really disappointing. I feel like I wasted my time. Unnecessary deaths are so disappointing. I tried to understand Yoon-hee’s death thinking that the writer has a better ending. But it made me more disappointed when Dr. Ha died too. And really really disappointing that Dr. Ha died without hearing Ro-na’s forgiveness. Ro-na, did not know Dr. Ha’s condition and the series did not show us Ro-na going to his funeral. Suryeon’s reason to suicide is not really acceptable. She did abandon her child again. Like, srsly?? After a long painful battle she did not think of Seol-a’s twin sister. Looks like the deaths of other characters was useless because of what Suryeon did. I had so many issues on this series that I know will take me hours to write down. The writer did not even make eun byeol and ro-na treat each others as sisters. Looks like the writer just want to hurt the readers/viewers of her/his story. A tragic story won’t go like that. It’s not really fair. I hope the writer won’t make another story just to laugh again on viewers reviews. You should not do that to your readers/viewers. You’re not entertaining us, you’re torturing us. I will not be surprised if you’re really laughing on our reviews/opinions. Looks like you killed your characters like it’s just a joke. The lessons on this series vanished because of your ending.
Season 3 was just ridiculous. I couldn’t watch it. They should have ended it in season 2.
I still don’t understand, why it ended with death of the characters that are the mentors and supporters of the children. What happened to the wealth of Su Ryeon and Logan. I am not happy how the story ended. It should be happy ending after all the troubles and death that they went through. Peace, love, happiness and success will be a wonderful ending. Disappointing.
I stopped at season 2..and watched only the 1st episode of season 3..I already knew they were about acting nonsense and ruining the love I had for the movie. Especially at that point where Logan died was said to have died in the car blast.. I’m like why the reoccurring experiences, over and over again..then Joo dan tae still doing evil from the prison and then later released..like how????
I’m okay with episode 1 and 2 thank you..watching episode 3 would have totally ruined it for me..Penthouse
The Penthouse is an amazing movie, I really loved it.
But the death and resurrections was becoming too much why make the movie too tragic it would have been better if some characters stayed dead and others alive
There we’re lots of unnecessary deaths
Who is that mad man at the restaurant where Joo seok kyung is working
Amazing is, Dr. Ha Yoon manages to say his last words to Seo Jin before he dies and then miraculously regain his consciousness and say the 2nd part of his last words to Su Ryeon…hahaha
And I could not grasp the thought that (Su Ryeon ) cared about other children, but she forgot her own. And why the writer doesn’t let them be happy… I was supposed to write my complaints but after reading @sincerelyjeffsy viewpoint, I got which I think answers to my questions… It’s a great series but an unexpected ending… I’m not mad…Thank you Penthouse…
Okay, the whole penthouse journey was awesome, it was a great series. If a friend ask for a kdrama this ones a no brainer to recommend.
I rate the ending 3 out 5. (with mixed feelings for 2.5)
The series ended with all characters having a peaceful life. No threat of dying or being hurt. Everyone didnt forget what happened but did moved on and enjoyed their lives. The problem though is the whole episode doesnt feel like it wants to end the series at all. Its a tragic, i get it. Its not a happy ending i get it but it can be better.
The reason why i rated it low was, they ended it as if its Logan and Su Ryeons story from the start. If the series started at season 3 the ending will fit more but it isnt. They even went fictional, thats not bad the problem is if they wanna go fictional at least full blast since this is the last episode. Yes they have a small tribute to Oh Yoon Hee and thats a glimpse from the past. The ending of Su Ryeon and Logan would have been better if its Dr. Ha and Oh Yoon hee. They even dont have to kill Shim Su Ryeon, I think the writers felt it need that OOMPH and shocker like how Penthouse was giving for the past 3 seasons that they made this decision. They even went on and added an illness for Logan Lee which doesnt make sense. Theres a lot of Plot convenience this season, actually even back in season two they have it. I just didnt expect that the ending would even contain those.
Overall the Penthouse as a whole, was a great series. The ending wont affect how great it is. I enjoyed and became a fan. I even developed a crush on Shim Su Ryeons actress, Lee Ji Ah 😀
you know I never usually get sad at the end of shows but this one did it for me. I’m also kind of mad and disappointed that they had the clichés, and the mysteries that they still threw in. i also agree that they should’ve ended the series at season two, and I also completely agree on how the deaths were unnecessary
@sincerelyjeffsy
IF that’s the case still it was not well executed, yoon hee has suffered her whole life she then experienced the pain of losing her daughter seo jin took away everything from her from the start she at least deserved some closure, there were just so many inconsistencies in the characters and the plot.
What a lousy ending.. After seeing the final episode only i realize that i have wasted all my time seeing all the season to end up with this ending story.
Warped and just plain dumb, and despite all the horrors the male baddy did, at the end they’re just blaming females and it’s the females that have to make the ultimate sacrifice
Is anyone else disappointed that Rona didn’t find out about her dad (Ha Yoon Chul) being blind and dying, not forgiving him – & no funeral for him because she was leaving to America? Like Ha Eun Byeol and Rona never got to resolve their issues/relationship when their dad died? So many potholes in season 3, the writer decides to kill all the parents, except for Jenni/Mihyuks?
The blue flowers?? Is that part fake? And also that man seok kyung saw…we never got an explanation. Its weird how Shim Su ryeon changed her mind because of Ha YoonChul’s last words. To be honest though after Oh Yoon Hee died the plot seemed like it lacked a proper ending
The Ending Is Justifiable
I also didn’t like the ending. But, upon analyzing the writer’s viewpoint, I think there’s a rule in Penthouse that must be followed. And that is a life for a life.
Yoon Hee died the same way as Seol A. Instead, of helping Seol A, she pushed her to death. That’s what Seo Jin did to her. Instead of helping, Seo Jin pushed Yoon Hee to her death to eliminate an adversary.
Next, Dan Tae, of course, there’s no question why he deserved to die because of all the lives he has taken. The same with Seo Jin who took her own life because her sins are irredeemable no matter how long she spent her life in jail.
Dr. Ha’s death is needless as Su Ryeon said because he really doesn’t deserve to die because he didn’t take anyone’s life. But, that was Su Ryeon’s turning point. She thought that what she’s doing is wrong because Dr. Ha died a needless death and she thought that it was her fault.
Su Ryeon died because even how much she needs to kill Dan Tae that time, it didn’t changed the fact that she killed him. So, the rule applies: a life for a life. It doesn’t matter if it’s through suicide or murder.
Logan died because he skipped his bone marrow transplant treatment, because he felt that his life has no more meaning without Su Ryeon. He was abandoned by Su Ryeon. Just like what he did to Seol A which led to Seol A’s misfortunes and, eventually, death.
So, I think, if we follow the unspoken rule of the drama series which is you will somehow suffer the death of the person you killed, the ending is justifiable.
This is just from my viewpoint. Forgive me if there are discrepancies. 😊😊😊
Then who’s coming at the restaurant joo seok kyung working at.. The man with beard.. Cuz seok kyung look very shocked after see him
I think Logan is the victim of what all happened because he came to Korea just to find Seol A murderer but ended suryeon came to him and plan everything to revenge plus made him fall in love with her. After all that suryeon just leave him by suicide and this is not fair. He gamble his life just to make suryeon happy but then….so sad..
I cannot even begin to write my own review because of the disappointing and cliché ending. The afterlife tunnel part is just so passé and ridiculous and unbefitting to the show. It should have just ended in season 2 in a high note than with this indescribable mess. It feels so rushed and contrived and empty.