We finally have the answer to who Som-I is in the penultimate episode of Heavenly Ever After. This K-drama about life in heaven is a strange amalgamation of family drama and comedy. I suppose, at its heart, it’s simply a show about finding closure. In this case, it’s after death, but we can have a go at getting ours before too. In the previous episode, we were left in confusion because Som-I said that Eun-Ho was her son, but Nak-Joon tells her that he’s Hae-Sook’s son. None of the possible theories made any sense, but as I started watching this episode, I realized what I had missed out on. This episode spends way too much time trying to extend the Eun-Ho mystery, and I was honestly quite irritated after a certain point, because we had so many puzzle pieces, but somehow the puzzle was still not coming together. But I won’t waste any more of your time beating around the bush. Let’s get straight into episode 11.
Spoiler Alert
Why Does Som-I Resent Hae-Sook?
In Heavenly Ever After episode 11, both Hae-Sook and the pastor get special treatment from everybody around them because they’ve all seen the lottery show. This makes Hae-Sook feel guilty for making him go through with a lie, but the pastor says she’s been treating him like her own kid all this time, so he just wants to repay the kindness. Meanwhile, back at home, Som-I and Nak-Joon break down watching the lottery show, and it looks like the latter has finally realized who Som-I is and why he couldn’t let go of her. On the other hand, Jajang finds himself looking at a mirror that shows him his previous life. All we see is that he gets upset at what he did in his previous life as a dog. He calls it a “bad thing.” Next thing we know, he ends up at the church to talk to the pastor. He tells the pastor that if he hadn’t barked at him as a kid, his parents would’ve probably found him. Jajang breaks down, but the pastor tells him not to worry about it and that he’s forgotten about that day, so he should too. The pastor decides it’s time for reincarnation, and he finally feels ready. Probably because of his relationship with Hae-Sook.
Hae-Sook and the pastor spend a day together preparing to say goodbye, but they’re both very sad. At the same time, Som-I and Nak-Joon spend some time together, and he tells her that they need to go somewhere together, which makes her very happy. But she grows resentful of Hae-Sook when she sees Nak-Joon giving her some love. She also nearly tries to kill her with a pillow in her sleep but stops herself. This is because she wants to be alone with Nak-Joon, and if there can only be two of them, why should she be the one to go?
Who Is Som-I?
It’s finally revealed in episode 11 that Som-I isn’t a person at all, but a manifestation of Hae-Sook’s emotional state when she lost her son, Eun-Ho. The boy had wanted a toy when he was 5, and Hae-Sook had walked away in the market to teach him a lesson, but they’d lost each other then. Hae-Sook had searched everywhere for him, but couldn’t find him. On the other hand, Eun-Ho had gone to the church, because that’s where his mum had told him to go when he was lost, and she’d find him. Unfortunately, because of the dog, she never found Eun-Ho. Instead, the police officer found him and took him to the welfare center to traffic him off as an orphan. But they tortured the poor boy and left him in a room with the window open on a cold winter day. Eun-Ho died that night, but the police officer pretended he was still looking for the boy for months until he quit the job because he made a ton of money. When Nak-Joon found out, he tried to find the man and ask for his son back. Making a run for it, the police officer started to drive off, but Nak-Joon grabbed onto the car, getting flung when he went high speed. Stuck on the road, Nak-Hoon was hit by an incoming truck, which paralyzed him for good.
For months on end, all Nak-Joon prayed for was for Hae-Sook to forget about Eun-Ho, because they never found him and she became suicidal, blaming herself for what happened. However, Nak-Joon’s prayers were answered, because when he woke up from his accident, all Hae-Sook could think about was him, making her erase the memory of Eun-Ho altogether to cope with the trauma and possibly so that she could stay strong for her husband now.
Does Eun-Ho Forgive His Parents?
I’m not sure how the kid could be a grown-up in heaven when he didn’t spend that much time on Earth, but I guess you can choose whatever age you’d like to be. Anyway, Eun-Ho learns from the president of heaven that Hae-Sook is his real mom. But he doesn’t tell her that he knows, especially because she’s got no memory of him.
At the end of episode 11 of Heavenly Ever After, Hae-Sook gets all her memories back because Som-I finally comes to terms with what she is. This leaves them both trapped in a little box-like thing that Nak-Joon can’t enter. Here, Hae-Sook blames herself for leaving her son behind, and Som-I tells her she’s right. Just as Som-I is about to get rid of Hae-Sook, Nak-Joon manages to break into the box to tell her she’s not at fault and to help Som-I let go and get erased for good. Finally, it’s Eun-Ho, i.e., the pastor, who shows up to help his mom get the closure she needs. He tells her that he’s forgiven her, and that she shouldn’t spend any time blaming herself for losing her son or for not having remembered him. He tells his parents that they will meet again in the next life, and recognize each other, because they’re family. Just like that, Eun-Ho disappears. Does anybody else feel like it’s problematic that there’s no real connection between Eun-Ho and Nak-Joon, even though they’re father and son? Peculiar. But finally, Hae-Sook can rest easy, and Nak-Joon and she can spend some time together before reincarnation.
