My Perfect Stranger finale Ep16 Ending Explained and Review,Recap

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My Perfect Stranger finale has arrived! When I watched episode 15, I was a bit angry😂. At that time, I felt that the writer’s portrayal of the culprit was too convenient. It seemed like they just inserted a culprit in episodes 13-14 and then added their motive later on. This made me feel empty during the first half of the season when trying to guess who the culprit was. As someone who enjoys guessing culprits in mystery dramas, this really made me angry.

However, My Perfect Stranger ending surprised me a little with its setup and conclusion. The writer even created a so-called paradoxical “loop” that transcends time and space while tightly holding onto the theme of “family love.”

I can’t say that “My Perfect Stranger” is a completely perfect drama because it’s unfortunate that they revealed the culprit too late in terms of character development. Even in “My Perfect Stranger Ending” they only reveal their motive which is quite weak since I think portraying one’s motive is an important key point for character development; without it, viewers lack empathy towards flawed characters.

Nevertheless, since “My Perfect Stranger Ending” has already been set up – let me analyze what kind of paradoxical loop closure did writers give us? There may be some implicit questions and answers found within this analysis despite not addressing some minor details.

My Perfect stranger Finale Ending Recap

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🚗 Continuing from “My Perfect Stranger” episode 14, Yoon Hae-Joon discovers that his car has been stolen and rushes to the tunnel entrance to stop it. Yeon-Woo, who doesn’t know that Yoon Hae-Joon is his son, attacks him with punches and kicks. He even tries to kill him with a brick. Finally, Yoon Hae-Joon remembers that in the future he will be attacked by his own father.

🚗 Meanwhile, Ko Mi-Sook finally confesses to Baek Yoon-Young that Yeon-Woo is the culprit. Baek Yoon-Young urgently takes Baek Dong-Sik to save Yoon Hae-Joon. The Principal Yoon Byung-Goo is devastated when he finds out about this and Baek Yoon-Young feels sorry for how much suffering this answer will cause Yoon Hae-Jeon for the rest of his life.However, during questioning at the police station, Yeon-Woo claims there is no evidence against him and denies being the killer.

🚗 Yeon-Hae Joon suggests comparing handwriting samples but they can’t find any evidence at Yeon-Woo’s house. On another front, Chung-A gives Principal Yun Byung-Goo a letter written by Yeon-Woo which has different handwriting than what was found on matchboxes (because it was written using his other hand), but she recognizes Yeon-Woo’s handwriting on them.

🚗 Suddenly remembering that he had received letters from his father as a child which would have matching handwriting samples,Yeon-Hae Joun goes looking for Principal Yun Byung-Goo only to discover him burning all of those letters except one. He snatches up this last letter and tells Principal Yun Byung-Goo not think covering everything up will make things better in the future; he also insists on correcting Principal Yun Byung-Gu’s wrong decision.

🚗 Yeon-Woo was arrested with conclusive evidence, and Yoon Hae-Joon suggested to Baek Yoon-Young that it was time to go back to the future and make changes. Before that, Baek Yoon-Young said goodbye to Baek Hee-Seob and Lee Soon-Ae. She bought an expensive guitar for Baek Hee-Seob and repeatedly reminded him not to let Lee Soon-Ae cry.

As for Yoon Hae-Joon, he went to meet Yeon-Woo for the last time and understand why. It turned out that Yeon-Woo once thought that Chung-A could realize his dream. He thought Chung-A was different from other women.

🚗At first, Yeon-Woo loved Chung-A and hoped that his son would not experience being abandoned by someone he loved (Yeon-Woo had been abandoned by his mother). However, Yoon Hae-Joon awakened Yeon-Woo; the happy family he wanted was actually caused by himself. Only then did Yeon-Woo realize that Yoon Hae-Joon is his future son.After saying goodbye to Lee Soon-Ae’s family, they drove through a tunnel but unexpectedly found themselves still in 1987/6/14 without having traveled through time.

🚗 Both of them returned to Woojung Village. At this time, Principal Yoon Byung-Goo apologized to Lee Soon-Ae’s parents and expressed remorse while living in pain as atonement. Although Lee Soon-Ae’s father couldn’t forgive Principal Yoon Byung-Goo, he knew it was difficult for him personally uncovering their child’s scars.

Yun Hae-Jun said when he picked up the car on the day of its disappearance, the navigation system malfunctioned, and then accidentally discovered this car.He felt like waiting for Yun-Ha-Jun discovering this car, and someone called him before he hit Baek Yoon-Young in 1978 and said “Only you can solve this matter from beginning to end“, but he didn’t know who it was.

Baek Yoon-Young believed that being trapped here was an opportunity. They could go back to the time they couldn’t realize their dreams, let those people create beautiful memories, and have sweet memories for more than thirty years in the future.

🚗 Therefore, Yoon Hae-Joon opened his heart to Principal Yoon Byung-Goo and said that he used to have a bad impression of his family, but now things are different. He hopes there is someone around him who can accompany him with laughter and care.

Principal Yoon Byung-Goo is also happy that Yun-Ha-Jun thinks so and promises to do everything possible to help Yun-Ha-Jun have such a life.This finally gave Principal Yoon Byung-Goo the motivation to face every day. At night, a stranger came to visit Yun Hae-Joon’s house; surprisingly, it was his future son deliberately giving him the car time machine and calling him on the phone.

It turned out that he wanted to give Yun Hae-Joon a chance for a happy life in the future by coming here repairing the car so Baek Yoon-Young and Yun Hae-Joong could return home in 2021.Finally,the future did not disappoint them.They each had happy lives with families.After some time passed ,they decided returned May 16th ,1978 again,to prevent murder.

My Perfect Stranger Ending Explained and Review

My Perfect Stranger Ending Analysis: Motive of the killer

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“My Perfect Stranger” Ending , the cruel is revealed that Yeon-Woo is actually the culprit, and finally, the audience gets to know the motive behind it. The warning given to victims in the drama was “women who read books are dangerous,” which Yeon-Woo hated. In one scene, a villager asks how someone with everything could do such a heinous act, suggesting that Yeon-Woo may have lacked something inside and thus harbored hatred towards women who read books.

It wasn’t until My Perfect Stranger episode 15 that we learn about Yeon-Woo’s childhood. His mother was always reading and never gave him any attention or affection. She left when he was seven years old and never played a maternal role in his life. To Yeon-Woo, his mother was just an indifferent woman.

“Being abandoned by the person who should have loved me unconditionally in this world, that kind of miserable feeling, do you understand? I kept thinking about the person who left me and cried repeatedly every night. When I experienced that endless pain, I made up my mind that if I had a son in the future, I would never let him live a life like mine. I want to live happily with a woman who knows how to love her children best, so I got together with her.”

Ironically, Yeon-Woo destroyed everything himself because Chung-A’s departure was not voluntary but due to the case he committed which scared her away. Therefore, Yeon-Woo originally thought that Chung-A left him just like his mother did (because of misunderstanding without experiencing their experiences), which is why Yoon Hae-Joon said that Yeon-Woo ruined everything himself and also ruined the chance for a happy family of four (Yoon Hae-Joon, Chung-A , Yeon-Woo and Principal Yoon Byung-Goo).

Of course when applied to Yeon-Woo himself, his resentment towards his mother may be because he does not understand why she did what she did. This is similar to how Yoon Hae-Joon initially disliked Chung-A because he felt she abandoned him but only after going through this experience did he realize what was really going on inside her.

However, it’s unfortunate that the writer didn’t elaborate more on why Yeon-Woo’s mother left. Did she leave just because she liked reading books? Can’t you take care of your child while reading books? At least the writer should have used Principal Yoon Byung-Goo’s character for some introspection but unfortunately they didn’t do so. It would have been better if Principal Yoon Byung-Goo could reveal the real reason why Yeon-Woo’s mother left🤔

My Perfect Stranger Ending Analysis: Time Travel “Closed” Loop

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You may feel that the writer left more questions than answers in the ending. As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, I think the writer did a good job designing this kind of “time-travel loop” . In “My Perfect Stranger” everything finally comes together, although there are still some details that remain unanswered. But let’s try to find some answers to these mysteries!

When Yoon Hae-Joon was a child, Principal Yoon Byung-Goo lied to him and said that his birth mother left because he was a stain on her life. This is actually true because in “My Perfect Stranger” when Yoon Hae-Joon goes to find his mother, Seo-Kyung clearly states that she is still afraid of the demon child inside her.

So Yoon Hae-Joon can understand why he was born and then sent back to Principal Yoon Byung-Goo’s place, and he no longer blames Seo-Kyung for leaving him. However, it was Yeon-Woo who caused Seo-Kyung’s departure.

At that time, Seo-Kyung and Principal Yoon Byung-Goo concealed Yeon-Woo’s identity as the real killer from Yoon Hae-Joon. Several years later, when Yoon Hae-Jeon received a letter written by Yeon-Woo himself as a child, Principal Yoon Byun-Goo became angry about its existence.

Through Seo-Kyong’s letters and information provided later on however; Principal Yun-Byeong Gyu learned about Yeon-Wu being responsible for killing someone which led him into regretting not having contact with young Yun-Ha-Jun since childhood.

But it was precisely because of this “inability to face” and “concealment” that Yoon Hae-Joon had a lonely life. This is the life that Yoon Hae-Joon wants to change. Principal Yoon Byung-Goo burned Yeon-Woo’s handwriting letter, reasoning that he could not let Yoon Hae-Jeon become the son of a murderer.

I think this should also be Seo-Kyung’s idea and fear. The existence of Yoon Hae-Jun became an excuse and reason for those around him to cover up the truth, but in fact it was just an excuse for them to hide their inner fears.

In My Perfect Stranger episode 15, when Yoon Hae-Jeon spoke to Principal Yun-Byeong Gyu, he said: “Do you think by doing this and covering everything up, I will live my life as you wish? Don’t use my future as your excuse.

Although you are hiding everything, your heart is still uneasy.” Therefore, throughout his entire life Principal Yun-Byeong Gyu ignored his grandson while facing away from him coldly; whereas all throughout his own life,Yun-Ha-Jun faced Principal Yun-Byeong Gyu’s indifference towards him head-on.

If you knew what the future would be like, would you still make such choices?” In the end,Yun-Ha-Jun becomes the character who sets things right through his growth story arc by bravely unraveling those hidden Pandora boxes.

I think Yun-Ha-Jun’s choice and actions at the end are like what Lee Soon-Ae’s father said: “It is very painful to uncover one’s son’s scars but thank you.” Basically,Yun-Ha-Jun has achieved bravery in facing reality which can bring out truth without causing everyone pain from concealing it; thus preventing people from living in despair.

My Perfect Stranger ending analysis: Why did Yeon-Woo kill Lee Soon-Ae in 2021 and Yoon Hae-Joon in 2022?

In the ending of “My Perfect Stranger,” there is a scene where Yeon-Woo stands before Yoon Hae-Joon at the entrance to a tunnel, contemplating killing him. During this moment, we see alternating images of young and middle-aged Yeon-Woos in Yoon Hae-Joon’s mind as he imagines being attacked in 2022.

I believe that this scene has two symbolic meanings: (1) The person attacking Yoon Hae-Joon is middle-aged Yeon-Woo; (2) Alternatively, it could be young Yeon-Woo who originally planned to escape to the future. Personally, I lean towards the idea that it was young Yeon-Woo who intended to attack Yoon Hae-Joon because this would connect with why Lee Soon-Ae was suddenly killed in 2021 and how Yoon Hae-Jeon found a time-traveling motorcycle that had already been used.

Now let’s discuss why Yeon-Woo would kill his own son in 2021. In the story, even Yeon-Woo himself is surprised by his actions and wonders why he would do such a thing. Therefore, it can be inferred that in the original version from 1978, Yeon-woo didn’t know that Yoon-Hae Joon was his son. Here’s my theory:

Originally, according to the script, after failing to kill Lee Soon-Ae but accidentally injuring Yoo Bum-Ryong instead, which led him to flee into 2021 where he finally succeeded in killing Lee Soon-Ae – completing his unfinished crime from 1978 – only separated by minutes rather than years apart.

However, since he didn’t know that Yoon Hae-Joon was his son, when he arrived in 2021, there was a year where he might have discovered that Yoon Hae-Joon was investigating the case. This led to Yeon-Woo killing him in 2022 without realizing that it was his own son and thinking that he had harmed a stranger journalist.

Therefore, My Perfect Stranger ending, Yoon Hae-Joon finally tells Yeon-Woo that he is his son in 1978. Perhaps his intention was to prevent Yeon-Woo from seeking revenge on him after being released from prison 34 years later, so as not to leave any regrets. Yoon Hae-Joon also wanted Yeon-Woo to know not to kill him (after all, Ko Min-Soo was also released after being imprisoned for 34 years, so it is speculated that Yeon-Woo would also be released after about 34 years).

So why was middle-aged Lee Soon-Ae killed in 2021? It wasn’t fully explained in the drama. I think it’s likely because Yeon-Woo failed to commit a crime against Lee Soon-Ae in 1978 and accidentally killed Yoo Bum-Ryong instead. This made him afraid and travel through time to 2021 when Lee Soon-Ae happened to be killed.

Therefore, the most probable suspect who killed her would be young Yeon-Woo who traveled through time. Of course, the car will be with Yeon-Woo but viewers may wonder why Yoon Hae-Joon didn’t go back with him – where did he get the time machine car?

This leads us into discussing the “time-space paradox theory” below but overall, it can be concluded that it was due to the existence of a time machine car that caused Lee Soon-Ae’s murder in 2021.

My Perfect Stranger ending analysis: Did the son come before the time machine? Or did the time machine come before the son?

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This part is a bit confusing. It should be said that the butterfly effect and change are no longer as simple as past affecting future. In my conclusion in the picture, there is a sentence that says “Changing the past with the future will cause changes to both, resulting in an infinite loop | closed ∞ loop“, which means there is no clear starting point.

In fact, in this kind of time-traveling theme, there often exists what’s called a “loop” problem. So when Yoon Hae-Joon’s son appears in 1978, I think viewers should instantly wonder how he came here? Why does he exist even though he shouldn’t but also created a time machine?

The answer to all this is; “Time travel ‘Loop'”, usually temporal travel themes must have something related to “Mobius Loop“, which looks like an infinity symbol (∞) loop. The biggest characteristic of this kind of loop is that it has “no specific starting point”. Therefore when we watch My Perfect Stranger, we cannot use linear timelines from past and future to view it but instead look at it through Mobius Loop entirely.

That’s why Yoon Hae-Joon’s son appearing at last in My Perfect Stranger ending has meaning because he only appears after Yeon-Woo was truly caught so that Yoon Hae-Joon and Baek Yoon-Young can happily give birth to him together in their future existence where they create a time machine for his father so that their son can exist on this world.

But you might still be confused by now thinking if Baek Yoon-Young and Yoon Hae-Joon didn’t meet each other or catch Yeon-Woo then they wouldn’t have had their child nor would they have a time machine. Without the time machine, they wouldn’t meet each other and then there would be no child nor time machine to catch Yeon-Woo in an infinite loop of ghosts hitting walls.

Yes, this is a temporal paradox just like the chicken or egg problem where you can’t find the starting point anymore within the ∞ loop. Therefore, I roughly summarized this cycle below and everyone can imagine these events becoming a closed-loop that keeps happening. Yoon Hae-Joon also said “The future will find us”, which means these “future variables” will affect both present and past so that the appearance of the time-traveling car and Yoon Hae-Joon’s son are future variables affecting both present and past:

In 2021, Yoon Hae-Joon travels back to 1978 in a time machine designed by his son and meets Baek Yoon-Young. In 1978, they capture Yeon-Woo and change the future, allowing Baek Yoon-Young and Yoon Hae-Joon to be together and start a family. This leads to their son being able to create a time machine for his father in 2021, which brings us back to the scene where Yoon Hae-Joon discovers the time machine.

This all boils down to one phrase: “Changing the past with the future changes both, creating an infinite loop.” There is no clear starting point. That’s why in “My Perfect Stranger” Baek Yoon-Young and Yoon Hae-Joon have to go back again on May 16th because it was the exact date of the first murder when they had access to a time machine. It can be inferred that every year on May 16th in the future, Baek Yoon-Young and Yoon Hae-Joong will return to capture Yeon-Woo so that everyone in Woojung Village can have a happy and stable future while they themselves can fall in love and have children.

That’s also why at the end of it all, Yoo-Hae Joo says “the future will find us” because he believes that their future selves will do everything possible to find them so that they can correct everything wrong from May 16th together.

They are essentially their own pasts from their futures who believe that their future selves will work hard towards correcting everything wrong on May 16th so as not only overcome any variables but also break free from this cycle shown below where Baek-Yeon Young & Yun-Ha Jun must stop red line (of course I am curious myself as well about why it isn’t May 14th, which was the original date of the first murder according to the script).

My Perfect Stranger Ending Analysis: Only by understanding can we know the reasons behind others’ decisions, and avoid becoming “hateful” to hurt others.

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The most beautiful part of the ending of “My Perfect Stranger” is Baek Yoon-Young’s family storyline. This is the screenwriter’s most successful design, especially in episode 15 when Baek Yoon-Young bought a guitar for Baek Hee-Seob and hoped that he would not have any trauma and live well. Throughout this time-traveling journey, Baek Yoon-Young’s resentment towards Baek Hee-Seob was completely resolved, and she could finally understand in detail why he liked Lee Soon-Ae and how fate played with him.

As for Yoon Hae-Joon, although facing his father as the real culprit made him angry, it was still a bad answer he received. However, he used this bad answer to make his life sweeter. He had Baek Yoon-Young by his side and could also resolve the guilt and pain knot in Principal Yoon Byung-Goo’s heart.

I particularly like how the screenwriter decided to let Yoon Hae-Joon go find Principal Yoon Byung-Goo when everyone else despised him. When Baek Dong-Sik said “Now only Principal Yoon Byung-Goo is left,” it was then that Yoon Hae-Jeon changed everything that Principal Yun Byung-Goo wanted to bury forever – guilt and sin – which gave time travel powerful strength and meaning; correcting everything requires courage but can lead us to enlightenment. We may give out power because of love but we may also lose ourselves because of love.

In “My Perfect Stranger”, “family love” is always surrounding all characters, but the results of love can be completely different. The drama incorporates time-travel elements to allow characters to make decisions without regrets, such as Principal Yoon Byung-Goo’s decision to set things right, Jung Seo-Kyung’s decision to leave, Yoon Hae-Joon’s decision to make his father pay for his mistakes.

Both Baek Yoon-Young and Yoon Hae-Joon from the past have made changes and impacts based on their family relationships. They sincerely hope that future parents can also live their lives with people they truly want.

(I think this is why Yoon Hae-Joon understands Jung Seo-Kyung’s final decision not to be with him.) Because of the starting point of love, sometimes trauma and pain can be healed through understanding. Just like what Lee Soon-Ae’s father said to Principal Yoon Byung-Goo – although he cannot forgive him yet, it is difficult for a father who faces his child’s mistake to dig into their wounds.

Or take the relationship between Baek Yoon-Young and Yoon Hae-Jeon in this drama as an example: one comes from a victimized family while the other is the son of a criminal; they should not fall in love due to their circumstances. However, because of understanding and love, Baek quickly realizes that both she and Yoo are victims suffering from pain; therefore she does not blame him at all.

I think the ending design in “My Perfect Stranger” was great: Baek suggests staying here for some time so that they could create some beautiful memories for those around them. This way at least they will have something good every day over thirty years later when looking back on these memories instead of being trapped in pain.

However I still don’t understand two things: 1) Why wasn’t Ko Mi-Sook the main target? Isn’t she the most obvious one? 2) In episode one, when Ko Mi-Sook and Ko Min-Soo meet, what are their plans exactly? What did Ko Mi-Sook do after telling her husband that she wanted to find out about what happened thirty years ago? 🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔