Netflix’s latest and greatest is a sorrowful drama about friendship and jealousy that leaves you devastated and broken by the end of it. However, You and Everything Else, boasting a full 15 episodes, certainly stretches out some unnecessary bits that don’t really need to be expanded on. And ironically, the stuff that is important, such as what happened to Sang-Yeon’s brother and why the girls stopped being friends, all gets glossed over as memories and flashbacks. Instead, the show tries to wrap itself in the garb of a romance, focusing on the love story between Eun-Jung and Sang-Hak, which, for obvious reasons, was set to end tragically. It’s certainly an interesting choice, and while I did enjoy the friendship bits, I found the other stuff really boring and unnecessary, because it takes away from what’s real, so I hope I can get through the important things in this recap. So with that said, let’s jump straight into the recap of You and Everything Else.
Spoiler Alert
How Did Eun-Jung and Sang-Yeon Become Friends?
The show begins in the present day, where Eun-Jung is a famous writer and Sang-Yeon is an even more famous producer. The latter makes a speech after receiving an award, claiming that she owes her life to the former. This leaves Eun-Jung baffled, because they haven’t spoken in over a decade. Next thing you know, Sang-Yeon is visiting Eun-Jung to ask her to go with her to Switzerland so she can get euthanized. At the same time, Eun-Jung has shared a story of Sang-Yeon and her childhood with one of her work-buddies. So we get transported to the past to understand why Eun-Jung really disliked Sang-Yeon.
In the timeline set in the 90s, Eun-Jung lives with her mother in a semi-basement apartment, and is embarrassed about the fact that she doesn’t have a dad, despite knowing it’s not her fault at all. Her mother cleans houses, and Eun-Jung is introduced to a house with two bathrooms. This is shocking to her, because she can’t understand why one family would need two bathrooms. But this is the opulence her new classmate, Cheon Sang-Yeon lives in. Sang-Yeon becomes class president, and Eun-Jung is quite intimidated by her already. Additionally, they both end up having a crush on the same guy, and he chooses to sit next to Eun-Jung because it’s “comfortable.” But in truth, he likes Sang-Yeon. I suppose you could say this is where the insecurities began. One day, Sang-Yeon ends up punishing Eun-Jung by hitting her on the hands with a wooden ruler. This is both humiliating and painful, but Eun-Jung endures, only telling her mom because she’s been crying all day.
But Eun-Jung’s mom tells Sang-Yeon’s mom, and she gets the same punishment. Later, they come face to face, and Eun-Jung tells Sang-Yeon that she shouldn’t have hit her. Sang-Yeon claims she didn’t know who she was back then; she gives Eun-Jung her flute and tells her to hit her. But Eun-Jung doesn’t because she knows it’ll be unbearably painful, way more than a ruler. But I suppose this is the beginning of their friendship. Later, Sang-Yeon offers to be a backup dancer at the school trip for one of Eun-Jung’s friends because one of them is hurt. This is when Eun-Jung realizes Sang-Yeon is a good dancer too. “She’s good at everything she does.”
Eun-Jung becomes close to Mrs. Yoon, Sang-Yeon’s mother, and this makes Sang-Yeon a bit upset. Eun-Jung then develops a crush on Sang-Hak, Sang-Yeon’s brother, and he’s really friendly to her, much more than he is with Sang-Yeon, so this upsets her more. Additionally, when Sang-Yeon sees how affectionate Eun-Jung’s mom is with her, it’s the thing she’s most envious of, even breaking down when she gives her food. The thing that truly sparks mutual jealousy in Sang-Yeon is love, but for Eun-Jung, it’s just material things. However, they become good friends anyway.
What Happens to Cheon Sang-Hak?
Everything goes downhill when Sang-Hak, Sang-Yeon’s brother, ends up committing suicide. He doesn’t leave anything behind for his sister, but he leaves Eun-Jung with a gift, his Leica camera with the film roll. Much later in the future, when Eun-Jung gets the pictures developed and gives them to Sang-Yeon, the latter says it was his will. Turns out, Sang-Hak wanted to be a woman, and he had a lady friend he hung out with because she knew the truth and he was comfortable around her. But unfortunately, Sang-Yeon ended up showing her parents a bunch of letters that Sang-Hak had written (to himself), and everything was ruined. Sang-Yeon blamed herself for her brother’s death, and later, the family went bankrupt, so they had to move away. She didn’t say a word to Eun-Jung, probably because she was embarrassed.
When Do Eun-Jung and Sang-Yeon Meet Again
In the early 2000s, Eun-Jung is in college, and she joins a photography club, led by someone named Kim Sang-Hak. This gets to Eun-Jung, and she feels really uncomfortable around him, specifically because of his name, but after months of avoiding each other (even though they both really like each other), Eun-Jung tells Sang-Hak that he shares his name with a person she knew before. She doesn’t tell him he’s dead, though. A year later, Sang-Yeon joins the same college and the same club, but she pretends her brother is still alive and happy.
Now, Sang-Yeon knew of Kim Sang-Hak because he was a friend of her brother’s online. After months of trying, she was able to log into his account and find Sang-Hak (who had a different username, of course). She didn’t tell him this, but she tracked him down in person too, because she had a crush on him, but when she got to school, she found out that he was already dating her friend/rival Eun-Jung. At first, Sang-Yeon pretends it’s okay, but later she starts to feel like she’s lost the guy she found first. Additionally, she requests that Kim Sang-Hak help her find out about her brother, but she doesn’t tell Eun-Jung about it at all, which really drives a wedge between the trio. Eun-Jung was never insecure about Sang-Yeon and Sang-Hak’s friendship; it was only when she found a letter that Sang-Hak had sent to Sang-Yeon at the university instead of their shared home that she ended up questioning their relationship.
But to make matters worse, when Sang-Yeon visited the woman her brother used to hang out with and learned the truth about him, Sang-Hak was so worried about her that he rushed to look for her without telling Eun-Jung anything about it. While he’s right in not telling her all the details because it’s Sang-Yeon’s story to tell, he even turned off his phone on purpose because “he had no excuse.” This leads to Eun-Jung breaking up with Kim Sang-Hak for good. Later, Sang-Yeon tells Eun-Jung the truth about that day, and why she needed Sang-Hak to help her, but Eun-Jung can’t find it in herself to get back with him because he said Sang-Yeon swayed him. But I do think she forgave him anyway.
Why Did Eun-Jung and Sang-Yeon Split a Second Time?
This whole situation leaves Eun-Jung and Sang-Yeon estranged, even though Eun-Jung was happy to have met Sang-Yeon in the toughest time of her life. To make matters worse, Sang-Yeon learns that her mother is dying and has only 3 months left. Unfortunately, when she calls Eun-Jung to tell her that her mother’s dead, she doesn’t pick up, because she’s just upset. So this is when they cut ties again. Sang-Yeon deletes Eun-Jung’s number from her phone, and Eun-Jung never tries to get back in touch.
Why Did Sang-Yeon Steal Eun-Jung’s Work?
In 2013, the trio meet again, because they’re all working in the film industry (successful photography club, I’d say). Eun-Jung went on to go to art school and become a producer, and so did Sang-Hak, but to become a cinematographer. On the other hand, Sang-Yeon ended up catching the eye of a director, working her way up the industry, and quitting college. She doesn’t have a degree. When Eun-Jung gets her dream project approved under a newish director, she’s super excited until the project is stolen from her and handed to Sang-Yeon because the new director, Gyeong, insists that Sang-Yeon be the producer on the film. Eun-Jung’s company suggests they co-produce it, but Eun-Jung is devastated to let go of the director who literally wrote the script. Still, she manages to keep a straight face and work with her old friend.
When Sang-Hak is brought on board, things get messy again, and after a lot of time spent together, Sang-Yeon still can’t get over him, while Eun-Jung tries her best to ignore the signs. However, Sang-Hak is desperate to get back with Eun-Jung and doesn’t pay heed to Sang-Yeon, which makes the poor girl even more desperate. Ultimately, Sang-Yeon breaks down, admitting to Sang-Hak that she’s in love with him. She also wonders why it’s Eun-Jung and not her. But she makes matters worse by begging Eun-Jung not to get back with Sang-Hak because she can’t bear the thought of it. Eun-Jung actually listens, though she tells Sang-Yeon that she’s being obsessive. The words hurt Sang-Yeon’s pride, and she starts acting distant at work like a petty child. The final nail in the coffin is when she gets down on her knees to apologize in Sang-Hak’s place to the actor of the film over a minor accident, but she was trying to force one of the crew members to apologize earlier, which makes her look like she’s clearly biased. The crew ends up throwing her off the set, and she quits, even though both Eun-Jung and Sang-Hak convinced the crew she wasn’t at fault. It’s her pride coming in the way again.
However, the ultimate letdown is when Sang-Yeon goes to the director who got replaced and asks to work with him by starting her own company. She then steals the script that Eun-Jung worked on with the director, leaving her utterly devastated. This time, she’s done it on purpose, and she calls herself a bad person. She even tells Eun-Jung about her mom’s death in the most nonchalant manner. So obviously, it seems like they’ll never be friends again. Sang-Yeon goes on to become a massive success in the industry thanks to this film.
Why Does Eun-Jung Go To Switzerland?
Now in their 40s, Sang-Yeon finally shows up in Eun-Jung’s life again after she makes her big statement at the award function. She then makes a public apology, admitting she stole Eun-Jung’s work to become successful. She also visits Eun-Jung afterwards, and tells her she’s very sick, but Eun-Jung pretends like she doesn’t care. But after seeing that Sang-Yeon genuinely regrets what she’s done, and obviously seeing how much pain she’s in, empathetic Eun-Jung ends up agreeing to rekindle their friendship and go to Switzerland with Sang-Yeon. The latter is the loneliest she’s ever been, with a husband who abandoned her, and no friends or family because they’re either dead or she pushed them away for good. It was always meant to be Eun-Jung next to her at her deathbed, and Sang-Yeon may have chosen euthanasia because she’s in too much pain, but it’s also because she wants to finally let go of that pride and realizes how much she’s lost because of it.
At the end of You and Everything Else, the girls are friends again and actually talk about their lives. Sang-Yeon asks Eun-Jung to expand on the script that she wrote about them so that Sang-Yeon’s memory lives on. She dies with Eun-Jung next to her, being the one to help her through the pain, and though this will scar Eun-Jung for life, she fulfills her friend’s last wish. Ultimately, she returns home and watches the sunset at the same beach where Sang-Yeon scattered her mother’s ashes. I suppose it’s her way to feel close to both of them. At the end of the day, all Sang-Yeon ever searched for was love, but what she didn’t realize was that she always had it in Eun-Jung.
