Episode 14 of Welcome to Samdal-Ri was especially moving. It was odd that Sang Tae’s journey was delayed for so long, only to be hastily resolved in one episode. But it was well written and presented so that it felt natural, and the following is the recap.
Spoiler Alert
How does Sam Dal and Yong Pil’s date go?
Yong Pil and Sam Dal decide to date, no matter what happens. They have tried being apart, but that made no one happy, not even Sang Tae, who was still suffering from the loss of his wife. It had also not benefited Mi Ja in any way, who was still silently seeking forgiveness for what had happened that day. Sam Dal and Yong Pil decide to continue with their lives and relationships while trying to convince Sang Tae on the side. This time, they also have Mi Ja’s active support.
Yong Pil moves back home, and when Mi Ja brings him food, she doesn’t leave it out as usual but comes into the house to serve it to them. Sang Tae is furious as usual, but Mi Ja is not passively suffering anymore. She questions him about why it could be her fault when it was an honest mistake. Additionally, if it were really the case of negligence or murder, she would have been in jail for many years. She tells Sang Tae to just eat the food and, if he can’t, to let Yong Pil eat it. Sang Tae is left with no choice but to sulk in private. But Yong Pil reminds him that the foods Mi Ja brought home were his favorites, so of course he should eat them.
Sang Tae’s mother-in-law may have blamed Mi Ja in a fit of anger, but when she calms down and collects her thoughts, she asks Sang Tae not to blame Mi Ja too much. Perhaps the old woman has already forgiven Mi Ja, but her dementia makes her forget the forgiveness once in a while. Coming to the sisters, Hae Dal understands that her daughter is setting her up with the dolphin man. As for Jin Dal, she comes to know that Dae Young was cut off by his family for trying to bring the theme park to Samdal-Ri, which has once again been shifted to Namdal-Ri.
Sam Dal and Yong Pil plan to go on a hiking date with each other, but those plans are derailed when Sam Dal’s assistants come to Jeju to help her with the exhibition. They don’t know yet that Sam Dal is dating, but when they insist that she share their tent with them, Sam Dal has no choice but to reveal the truth. Yet they don’t let her be with Yong Pil. However, they like Yong Pil and note that Sam Dal seems much happier and more relaxed with him than she ever did in Seoul. Additionally, Yong Pil is too good-looking to not like. He is a little upset about these changed plans, but he ended up liking Sam Dal’s friends, so it all worked out. Getting along with your partner’s friends is a huge green flag in any relationship. Meanwhile, Sang Tae is working on moving on from Sam Dal. He has understood that he could never get between Sam Dal and Yong Pil, but he has been stuck in that place for so long that he doesn’t know how to move forward.
Does Sang Tae give his blessing to the couple?
Sang Tae is being reminded time and again that he was not the only one to suffer a loss, but he was the only one to be selfish about it. Mi Ja reminds him of her own guilt, and for once, Sang Tae cannot ignore the efforts she has been making all these years to earn his forgiveness. Even Pan Sik picks a fight with Sang Tae, demanding that he stop being unreasonable because Mi Ja has been crying herself to sleep all these years. Maybe physical violence was really the answer because Sang Tae admits that most days, his anger is the only way for him to remember his dead wife. This means that he is softening and getting over things, but that is coming with a guilt of its own, considering his belief that what happened was very unjust to her. When Sang Tae goes to his wife’s shrine, Yong Pil mentions how he had expected his father to think about him, but it was still not happening and the battle was still on.
At the end of Welcome to Samdal-Ri episode 14, Sam Dal meets up with Sang Tae in the shrine and tells him how she was hurt that someone who had cherished her so much as a child had grown to resent her for something that was nobody’s fault. Sang Tae used to say that he wanted Sam Dal to be his daughter, and he later said that she should have nothing to do with his family. Sam Dal expressed her disappointment with that and said that whether or not she and Yong Pil stay together, she will always love him, and there is no changing that. The entire conversation reminds Sang Tae of himself and his wife. This is exactly what he told her when he was trying to pursue her—that he would always love her, even if she placed her favorite singer first in her heart. He also remembers how Yong Pil said that he took after his father in the way that they could never get over the woman they loved. Sang Tae was still hung up on Mi Ja, and Yong Pil had never even tried to get over Sam Dal. Sang Tae has found forgiveness in his heart, but it was this realization that made him realize that the couple were worthy of it, and he finally gave them his blessing to be together. They can finally be together now.
Final Thoughts
Eun Ju’s career is going nowhere, so she is once again trying to sabotage Sam Dal. She is the only problem left in this show, and once that is dealt with, Yong Pil will need to address his ambitions, and everyone will have a happy ending.
