10 Scenes In The ‘Extracurricular’ Finale I’m Still Thinking About

I finished Extracurricular about two weeks ago and still find my mind wandering back to it sometimes. So I compiled a list of ten moments in the last two episodes that especially stuck out to me. These scenes are either simply awesome to watch in general, or they seriously left me thinking afterwards. Or both. I hope you enjoy the read, but that’s not a requirement.

Spoiler warning: Lots of spoilers ahead. This post is intended for those who have seen the drama.

Age rating warning: TV Parental Guidelines has assigned an age rating of TV-MA for Extracurricular. It’s for mature audiences, and I do not recommend it to my young readers. Please pay attention to this rating and view responsibly.

Worlds collide at Banana Karaoke Club

If you read my previous post where I did a sort of midway, spoiler-free review of the drama, you’ll know that I strongly suspected that Ki Tae (Nam Yoon Soo) was going to be at the center of some sort of big action — but I did not expect a full-on, bullies-united raid on the karaoke bar. They come to Banana Karaoke Club as a massive, pipe-wielding pack of trigger-happy teenage boys and they absolutely tear it up. It’s honestly so epic; the entire scene was possibly my favorite of the drama.

The bullies aren’t the only ones to show up; Mr. Lee (Choi Min Soo) is there to kill Dae Yeol, more affectionately known by our protagonists as Psycho Guy (Lim Ki Hong). Now, we know well by this point that when Mr. Lee sets out to do something, he does it. And I pity anyone who stands in his way. Because they’re probably going to die.

It’s so cool watching the different worlds of our characters collide: the bullies are fighting the karaoke bar goons, Mr. Lee is just taking out whoever gets in his way as he hones in on his target, and our third party of players in this insane mass of chaos are just trying to get the heck out of there alive.

That third party is Gyu Ri (Park Joo Hyun) and Ji Soo (Kim Dong Hee). Gyu Ri went there by herself to try to take out Psycho Guy, but not before texting Ki Tae from ‘Uncle”s phone, saying Min Hee (Jung Da Bin) works there and to come on over (hence, the attack of the bullies). She also plants the phone there, essentially pinning everything on these people.

Just when Gyu Ri needs it most, Ki Tae and his blindly loyal buddies show up and chaos ensues, creating the distraction she needs to get away. Thankfully, Ji Soo figured out what she was up to and comes to help. However, the two are grabbed by Psycho Guy and one of his goons before they can run away. As they’re being dragged away, Ji Soo accidentally drops the hat Min Hee gave him…which comes back to haunt him later, courtesy of Ki Tae. Luckily, Mr. Lee bumps into the group, grabs the karaoke bar goon, and bashes the dude’s face in. He then starts going up the stairs after Psycho Guy, leaving Ji Soo and Gyu Ri free to leave. Before Mr. Lee reaches the top of the stairway, he turns back and — true to his nature — tells the kids something very short and simple, but saturated with meaning: Let’s never meet again.

I believe he knew the almost-inevitable probability of what was coming next: on the rooftop, Psycho Guy stabs him with a pole, and the two fight to the death — literally.

As awesome as the entire scene is, it’s gratifying when the police show up — because Min Hee finally told policewoman Hae Kyung (Kim Yeo Jin) what’s going on — and arrest goons and bullies alike. But our two main protagonists have already absconded to Ji Soo’s apartment — safe…for now.

Someone grieves for Mr. Lee

Contrary to the scene above, this one stands out in a quiet way. When Min Hee is told about Mr. Lee’s death, the tough young girl breaks down in tears. It’s heartbreaking to watch, but I’m happy Mr. Lee has someone to grieve for him — and that Min Hee has someone that she cared for so deeply. Also, kudos to actress Jung Da Bin for the long camera shot that remains on her face while her character processes the news and tries not to cry, but does. The talent of these people astounds me.

Gyu Ri blackmails her parents

The heading says it all. Now, I don’t condone blackmailing anyone (much less your parents) — and I’m not a Gyu Ri fan by any means — but this was such a you-go-girl moment for her because her parents are a bit…much.

Ji Soo almost spills the beans

Teacher Jo Jin Woo (Park Hyuk Kwon) is one of my favorite characters because he’s one of two trustworthy adults in the drama (the other being Policewoman). He is the kids’ cheerleader whether they want it or not. And I love this final scene between him and Ji Soo.

Ji Soo — who is likely very nearly on the verge of a heart attack by this point in our drama — asks Teacher if he’s ever endured something even though he felt like he would explode. Teacher confirms that he has felt that way and Ji Soo asks what happened. Teacher says he eventually did explode, but had someone there to pick up his mess. He then asks Ji Soo if he wants to explode in front of him…so that he can be the one to help Ji Soo pick up the pieces. It’s a touching moment — and for a few seconds, it really seems like Ji Soo is going to open up all of the crap he’s been keeping down this entire time.

And I’m happy to report that Ji Soo tells Teacher everything, they go to the police station together so that Ji Soo can take responsibility for his actions, and the two form a father-son bond that lasts forever and everyone is happy. The End.

Just kidding. If only, right?

Ji Soo and Gyu Ri romantic(ish) moments

I didn’t expect any type of romantic anything between Ji Soo and Gyu Ri — and although calling these interactions “romantic” is stretching it a bit, they were tender moments of genuine care for each other in a more-than-friends way. And despite myself, I thought the moments were really sweet.

The first is the almost-kiss that occurs right after the Banana Karaoke Club bully raid. Because both kiddos are so on edge with all that’s happened, they’re startled out of their reverie by what they think is a police siren but is in fact that of an ambulance.

The second is a scene that happens after Gyu Ri gets the money from her parents. She meets up with Ji Soo and the two of them sit by the water, looking at the city lights. She asks him to fly to Australia with her and they fondly daydream about a possible future for a bit. But he ultimately turns her down.

I don’t necessarily like them as a couple for many reasons — I don’t even like Gyu Ri as a character, honestly — but it was still nice to see a few brief moments of affection between these two. And in a drama like this, I’ll take all the softness I can get.

Min Hee finds out who ‘Uncle’ is

Remember when I said Ji Soo leaving the hat Min Hee gave him at the Banana Karaoke Club would come back to haunt him? Yeah. So, it turns out that Ki Tae finds it while destroying the club with all of his bully buddies. He keeps it to show Min Hee, saying its proof she was there. She, however, knows that it actually means Ji Soo was there. So she calls him to meet up.

By this point, Ji Soo is essentially losing his mind. (Ji Soo’s entire mental breakdown is a fantastic sequence of scenes, by the way! It warrants its own segment, but I’m already almost done writing this, so we’ll leaves things as they are. Let it suffice to say, Kim Dong Hee’s acting blew me away in this drama — particularly in Jisoo’s losing-it scenes during the last episode.) Holed up in his apartment, this kid is very literally worrying himself sick. Gyu Ri has left (or so he thinks…dun dun dun) and Mr. Lee is dead. He feels alone and is no longer able to push down the guilt and fear that are threatening to consume him completely. He suddenly gets the call from Min Hee and goes to meet her.

After she confronts him, it all comes out. Ji Soo is sobbing and begging Min Hee to forgive him and repeating over and over that he meant nothing by it. Again, the talent here is simply incredible.

It all goes downhill when Min Hee does…or, rather, “downstairs.” Because that’s where she ends up, unmoving and bleeding from her head, after the two of them scuffle over Min Hee’s phone which recorded all of Ji Soo’s confession.

Ki Tae finds out the truth

Finally Ki Tae is in the loop! And his reaction is drastic. I knew he’d be angry; I definitely thought he would beat the crap out of Ji Soo. But stabbing him with scissors is more violence than I was expecting from Ki Tae. It just further proves this kid is way more sinister than he initially comes off (which is saying a lot because he’s a ruthless bully).

Stairway ending + a theory

After Ki Tae comes in and stabs Ji Soo, Gyu Ri shows up and busts a lamp or vase or something over Ki Tae’s head. The two of them run out and end up on the stairway landing as they catch their breath for a moment.

Before the scene cuts, Ji Soo looks up and his face changes: it seems as though he sees someone at the top of the stairs. We then see policewoman Hae Kyung — who’s been figuring things out on her own — running into Ji Soo’s apartment, taking in the mess, then following the blood trail out of the apartment and to the stairs.

But the kids aren’t there anymore. Instead, we see more blood smears heading further down the stairs.

My thoughts? Ki Tae recovered from Gyu Ri’s blow and was the one Ji Soo saw standing at the top of the stairway. By the time Policewoman gets there, Gyu Ri and Ji Soo are already gone, but someone was at the top when Ji Soo looked up. It would also explain why Ki Tae isn’t in the apartment when the policewoman gets there: he already left the apartment, most likely finding the two since they left a trail of blood behind them.

If there is to be a season 2, it would make sense to continue with a Ki Tae vs. Ji Soo and Gyu Ri struggle/chase. He was definitely furious; there’s no way he’d let something like this slide.

Hermit crab

The last time we see the crab is for a split second at the very, very end of the drama’s final episode when we see a hand feeding it and the screen suddenly goes black. Prior to this, the last time we saw the crab was when Ji Soo took it to go meet up with Min Hee. He asked her to take care of it for him, but seeing as their altercation ends up with Min Hee bleeding out from her head at the bottom of the stairs, it’s understandable that the crab was left forgotten on the bench.

I’ve done an absurd amount of going back and forth to check the accuracy of the above statements and have the pictures to prove they’re correct. Towards the end — directly before Ki Tae enters Ji Soo’s apartment — we see the crab’s regular container on Ji Soo’s desk, but no crab.

It could be argued that the crab is too small to see in such a shot — but there’s also no green-lidded carrier, which is what Ji Soo takes it around in. He has two containers for the crab, which we can see in this shot earlier on in the episode:

The crab is in his regular container while the green-lidded carrier is in the background.

So the last time we see it was indeed when he met up with Min Hee. But then who picked it up? Because someone is clearly taking care of it. It seems as though someone would have had to follow them to the meeting spot. Otherwise, how would he or she have seen the crab? And if they were followed, did that person see everything?

Feel free to join in the conversation and drop your thoughts on Extracurricular below. As always, thank you for reading and happy drama-watching!

And if you want another interesting read, be sure to check out my most recent post about the unique presentation of domestic abuse in the recent K-drama, At A Distance, Spring Is Green.

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