The Potato Lab’s ending is one that’ll remind you to look forward to what’s to come even when it seems like your life has ended, i.e., you’re unemployed. What I really enjoyed about this show is the realistic romance that feels genuine, because both sides are equally stubborn and attractive in their own ways. It’s a balanced dynamic despite it starting off lopsided, seeing as Baek-Ho was the chief, while Mi-Kyung was just an employee he got fired. The show does a really good job establishing the friendships and reminding us that we’ve got people on our side, even when life gets terribly hard, or rather, especially when. The final episode is just a delightful conclusion, but also a beginning to new stuff for Mi-Kyung and Baek-Ho. With that said, let’s jump straight into episode 12 to see if Mi-Kyung and Baek-Ho get their happy ending.
Spoiler Alert
Does Mi-Kyung Forgive Baek-Ho?
The Potato Lab’s finale begins with Mi-Kyung telling Baek-Ho that he’s super impatient and should at least give her some time to take in what he’s said to her. She asks him why he had to fire her when he knew she was innocent. He tells her that he has always been a practical, data-driven guy, and he’s only just realized it wasn’t that he was practical, but that he lacked empathy. He tells her he’s always been cold, but he regrets it all now. He also apologizes to her. She tells him that, with time, she might be able to forgive him, but he needs to wait. Just like that, they make up in the locked-up freezer. The old women find them hugging and then lock them up again, leaving them in the cold for too long, so they get sick from the cold.
Back home, Hwan-Kyung thinks Baek-Ho’s hurt his sister yet again, and tries to evict him from Ward B. But he doesn’t even talk to Mi-Kyung about it, because if he had, he’d know that they’d made up and he’s making a mistake. When he does end up talking to her, he gets yelled at and goes running into Baek-Ho’s arms, crying and telling him that she always yells at him. The next thing we know, they’ve been drinking together all day and fallen asleep in each other’s arms. Of course, Mi-Kyung and Ong-Ju take pictures and even print them out on T-shirts.
At work, Baek-Ho and Mi-Kyung go to different potato labs to buy potatoes to make up their 500 tons. Both of them approach it entirely differently from the other. While Mi-Kyung is willing to beg because she knows how much is at stake, Baek-Ho is his usual practical self. Finally, they encounter a spoiled brat who doesn’t care for Mi-Kyung’s sincerity. But Baek-Ho is a senior to the guy in terms of military rank, which means the guy will listen to every word he says, and finally gives them 98 tons of potatoes, and also says he’ll figure out what to do for 20 tons more (to finish up a 100). In her excitement, Mi-Kyung almost gives Baek-Ho a kiss but stops herself at the last minute. Guess she loves her potatoes and her man, and it won’t be long till they’re happily dating.
In the meanwhile, Mr. Hong, the previous chief, also helps out with more potatoes, showing us how much these people, the farmers specifically, truly care about their work. Mr. Hong thinks he’s to blame for what’s happened, but Mi-Kyung tells him that it’s Baek-Ho’s fault for not paying attention when he came in as the new chief. Of course, if he hadn’t fired Mr. Hong as per the request of the higher-ups, none of this would’ve happened, and 500 tons of potatoes wouldn’t have had to be discarded (oh, the pain in my chest).
Mi-Kyung is irritable with Baek-Ho when they’re off work the next day because there are some layoffs happening, and her time at the lab is limited. At night, he confronts her about it, and she says there’s no point getting mad now when she said she’d forgive him; basically, it’d be oscillating like a pendulum. He tells her that he likes her so much because she’s always been a bit weird and that she argues with him. She thinks he’s saying he wants a crazy woman. She then tells him that she’s crazy because of him and that a single word from him can make her cry, laugh, get excited, or feel anxious. Such is love, my dear. Finally, she tells him that if he reconsiders giving her her job back, it’ll seem like she’s getting an unfair advantage, so she plans on quitting herself. Finally, she gives him a peck on the lips to make him shut up because they’re basically having a heated argument at this point. This completely changes the mood, even though they weren’t really annoyed with each other. Maybe it was just foreplay. They finally end up spending the night together, marking their relationship as official.
What Happens Between Hee-Jin and Ki-Se?
I hope it wasn’t just me who misread Hee-Jin’s speech to Baek-Ho in the previous episode as a sign that she still wants to be with Ki-Se, because dang, I was wrong. It seems she was basically making a last goodbye speech, and she finally visits Ki-Se at his home to tell him so. She tells him she plans on going back to New York, finishing her studies, and getting on with life. They part ways amicably, but at work, Ki-Se is judged for lying about being married to the boss’ daughter for long after they were divorced. In a way, it’s karma, no? But he seems to deal with it fine, and Mi-Kyung also checks on him.
Does Baek-Ho Quit His Job?
The next day, Baek-Ho gets a call about downsizing a company with 500 employees. Baek-Ho then goes to Ki-Se with his problems, because he has nobody else to talk to. Their dynamic is interesting, because Ki-Se is 4 years older than him, but outside of work, they seem to be quite friendly and even make each other laugh. Guess everyone grows, eh? When Baek-Ho returns home, he finds the village gang waiting for him. This time, instead of trying to shoo him away, they’re there to welcome him; he’s truly been accepted, unlike when he first came to the lab. Finally, he tells Mi-Kyung that he’s quit his job and wants her to accept an unemployed boyfriend.
The next day, they go back to the lab to continue work on the 500 tons, but it turns out that they’ve been obtained by another employee named Hee-Dong. The kid they all thought was a little bit stupid was actually a product of nepotism all along. But he’s managed to get 350 tons of potatoes for the lab, saving the day. At the same time, the Rural Development Administration calls Mi-Kyung to tell her that they’ve received her potatoes through Mr. Hong, saying they’re interested in working with her and her variety of potatoes. Mi-Kyung bursts into happy tears. It looks like, finally, things are going to work out for her. The episode is called MK107 because that’s what the potato sample is called.
In The Potato Lab’s ending, 3 years have passed, and Mi-Kyung and Baek-Ho are super busy. Ong-Ju has fatty liver disease, though (yikes), and Baek-Ho is the CFO of the USB guest house, giving customers tours. But he’s also got two more jobs, you know, the life of the recently unemployed. It turns out that Baek-Ho is the one who is bored all the time, because Mi-Kyung is at the lab during the day and at grad school at night, but they find the time for each other. Mr. Bu becomes the new chief of the lab, and deservedly so. The show ends with the Wonhan Retail Potato Lab giving a presentation about their new potato variety, Maroo, meaning Mi-Kyung’s plan has finally succeeded. Additionally, Baek-Ho and Mi-Kyung are basically like low-key celebrities in the village. While this is the end of the show, it’s only the beginning of their life together. In the end, Mi-Kyung is a career woman who makes the decisions about the lab, despite not being a Wonhan employee. She is an expert now, though, as a “Potato” professional.
