“Nevertheless” Episode 10: Recap, Ending Explained And Review
JTBC’s drama “Nevertheless” has wrapped up its run a couple of hours ago, let us discuss the finale and explain the ending.
Today, I am here to recap “Nevertheless” episode 10 and share my closing remarks regarding the drama overall. Let us begin.
Note: the below recap goes over the highlights of the episode, it is not a detailed recap of every single scene in the episode.
Note: this will be a spoiler review of the said episodes in the title. This is a subjective review.
Table of Contents
“Nevertheless” episode 10 recap
Na Bi is talking to Jae Eon under the rain, he asks her if she regrets their relationship and she says yes, she says, ‘you, this messed up relationship and everything we did, I regret it. But I won’t blame you since I brought it upon myself.’
She tells him to stop showing up to her anymore and ends the relationship.
The next day, she tells the youngster who has been helping out with her project that she will finish it on her own from now on. Na Bi says she feels pathetic for recalling the warm look in his eyes while they argued and ended their relationship.
Jae Eon shows up at the workshop and tries to hold her hands, she lets go.
Yoon Sol and Ji Wan are happily dating and in their own world.
On another day
Na Bi shows up at the workshop and finds out that a fan had fallen from the ceiling destroying her sculpture. She is in utter disbelief and cries by the sculpture’s side.
Jae Eon is busy organizing his thoughts and thinks he’s brought her pain, he regrets it. He finds out the sculpture was ruined and shows up at night to the workshop, he offers to help her fix it and he’d leave her alone after that.
After a while, they manage to replicate it and re-build it. Jae Eon tells her she looked the happiest working and says his goodbyes, he wishes her a good look and stutters on his words before deciding against saying anything more.
Jae Eon begins to pack his things from the workshop, he packs everything as if he’s leaving. He also asks another student to give Na Bi her green notebook.
After the semester is over
The guys are discussing finishing the semester and bring up Jae Eon who turns out to have disappeared since he finished helping Na Bi. No one has seen him since.
Later, Na Bi meets up with Do Hyeok at the cafe who has grown a following and became somewhat famous. She talks about going to see her mom after the gallery, Do Hyeok is a bit disappointed.
The night before the exhibition
Na Bi is packing some stuff in her closet and she looks over the green notebook and finds out that Jae Eon had actually met her before she’d even known him. Turns out, he saw her at the gallery where her ex-boyfriend had embarrassed her with a piece. Jae Eon said he fell in love with a woman at that gallery. After recalling that, Na Bi then tries calling him and shows up at his old workshop but he doesn’t answer.
On the day of the gallery
It’s obvious that Na Bi is waiting for Jae Eon to show up. She gets complimented by her teacher who also says she should go to Paris.
Do Hyeok manages to show up and brings her a flower bouquet. While talking to him she notices Jae Eon, she puts the flower bouquet back in his hands and runs after Jae Eon who is long gone.
Do Hyeok follows her outside and tells her, ‘you like Jae Eon.’ Na Bi turns him down for good and tells him, ‘every moment I spent with you was filled with happiness, I am sorry.’ He tells her not to apologize, ‘I was able to feel those feelings because of you, there is no need to apologize.’
At a get-together after the exhibition, the students ask Bit Na and Kyu Hyun who liked who first and we find out that Kyu Hyun had liked her since their first year. Bored of the love birds talking about love, Na Bi leaves the place to go back to the exhibition and sees him there.
Jae Eon says he couldn’t bear how much she hated him so he left, she tells him, ‘I hate you, and I know you’re a jerk who toys with other’s feelings. But I feel better now that I see you.’
He is almost crying, he says he likes her a lot and she asks him out. They kiss. He tells her, ‘won’t you regret it?’ she says of course but she will still do it.
After some time
Na Bi and Jae Eon appear to be happily dating. Two girls approach him but he declines to give his phone number saying he has something to do.
Na Bi and Jae Eon both walk by the cafe, she sees Do Hyeok who appears to be talking to someone and smiling, she pulls out her hands at first, but she ends up holding his hands closer.
The end
“Nevertheless” episode 10 ending explained
Does Na Bi end up with Jae Eon?
Yes, the two end up together. Even though Na Bi knows he’ll hurt her, she chose him again because she loves him.
What happens with Do Hyeok?
Do Hyeok got rejected by Na Bi who realized she still has feelings for Jae Eon.
“Nevertheless” ending review- final thoughts
Wow!!! was “Nevertheless” ending disappointing or what? I am disappointed.
When the drama started, I truly thought it was going to be the type of kdrama that educates young women on the dangers of dating men such as Jae Eon. I thought it was going to be a cautionary tale. I had hoped the ending would be different but turns out I am wrong.
Fans say the webtoon ended differently and honestly that would’ve been better because you can tell the writing was leading up to something entirely different. This ending is terrible on so many levels.
I am not the type of person who’d curse an ending because my fav guy didn’t win. In my case, I would’ve loved for Na Bi to just not date for a while and work on herself, on loving herself, and finding herself. I don’t think she should’ve ended with either.
The entire writing and introduction were leading up to this moment, to the moment that shows Jae Eon’s terrible behavior cost him a priceless relationship with a nice woman, you missed the opportunity to teach the youth something valuable. You could have shown how such a character exhausts the woman, how it frustrates her and causes her misery, how she realizes that and decide to choose herself and move on.
Jae Eon is obviously a terrible boyfriend, this is a discussion about the character, not the actor since some of you believe actor=character and become very defensive. Jae Eon manipulated and hurt her so much, we all agree on that, he doesn’t show any ounce of change in his behavior [at least not on screen] yet he is awarded the woman in the end, what does this teach an impressionable teenager?
That its okay to accept toxic men who only care about their feelings because it is okay~~ that is love for some reason because you should still choose him on the chance that he might be so afraid of losing you that he’d change… this is such a terrible lesson to teach. What was the purpose of this entire drama?
The fact that so many young teenagers on Twitter and forms are happy the two ended up together is sad IMO, this man is bad news, this is not a subjective opinion, it is a fact. The screenwriter goes above and beyond to show you he’s bad news, however, she goes back on her portrayal of him and ends up awarding him the girl at the end proving that ‘oh, its okay to be stung by a toxic man because that’s love. Its okay to always cry, be hurt, and end up breaking things off to only go back to him eventually because its lOvE.’
Newsflash, this is NOT LOVE and that is not A HEALTHY relationship. I seriously hope that whoever is watching realizes this isn’t what reality should look like. Don’t date a man thinking you can change him.
It is so sad this drama doesn’t focus on self-love and teaching women to realize when they’re the type that is drawn to toxic men, this could’ve been so much more impactful and memorable but we ended up with this. This could’ve been a cautionary tale and a beautiful sad one. Even if the drama stalled, the ending could’ve still saved it…. This is sad.
Aside from the nice LGBTQ+ representation, this drama is not memorable for any good reason in my eyes.
Some say it was realistic, while it is an interesting way to look at it, it is still a terrible message to convey especially because they hint that he’s changed without showing exactly how which is already terrible. But the thing is, it encourages women to go for such types of relationships at the possibility the man might change. In reality, that doesn’t happen often, it’s highly unlikely a womanizer will change his personality in such a short span of time because of one person who awards his behavior.
I know some of you will hit with me with ‘but it’s a drama jasmine,’ yes I agree, but you all know we learn from dramas and set our expectations as to such. If you’re not the type to get affected, it doesn’t mean others don’t, especially teenagers. Added to that, dramas are meant to take you on the course of characters growth, this doesn’t happen in Na Bi’s case, it is almost as if she’s at the finish line but decides to run in the opposite direction. This makes the drama feel redundent. You end up asking yourself, what was the purpose of it? Yes, I know realistically women might not change as easily but you’re supposed to present growth through the script, what was the purpose of the 10 episodes? If you have people dead on defending the toxic male lead saying he’s changed when we haven’t even seen it properly tells me you either think the character as the actor thus you defend him, or worse, you actually think this is an okay behavior.
The actors did well, I am so thankful for them and they’re the reason we all stuck around. But the majority ship Song Kang and Han So Hee together merely because they’re two good-looking actors neglecting to pay attention to their characters. If you pause to think this through, you’ll realize that it’s such a sad ending.
Such a sad conclusion.
I totally agree with you! Drama series should be very conscious of their plots and drama writters should also be careful of their message to the audience, specially their age ! Many follow and take for granted the messages included in these drama series. Some adopt attitudes because they think it’s cool. Unfortunately, they later experience the high price to pay, plus the most unfortunate consecuences. Be safe!
it is so sad and I know this happens because I used to think the same way
I % agree with ur review. Writers, producers nd directors shouldn’t forget that they have a moral obligation to their viewers.
I agree with Maria and JazineK. The writer should be more conscious of the unsaid message in the ftory. Loving a jerk does ot make him less of a jerk!!!! One should not reward selfishness and bad behavior.
I can see why many are disappointed with the ending.. for me personally, I think it’s more of a realistic approach. Many woman settle and stay in toxic relationships even though they know it is bad for them. Heck, many of us KEEP toxic FRIENDSHIPS. We all know someone doing the same thing. It’s frustrating.
Therefore, I hope with this drama. People that ARE settling, people who ARE in toxic relationships can RECOGNIZE that in themselves and realize that they shouldn’t be this pathetic. And other people who have not been in such a relationship, can LEARN from these characters. 🙂
I totally agree. The drama is so realistic.
And that, Jae eon realizing his mistakes, makes him deserving of Nabi.
I was waiting for a comment like this. its still kinda frustrating how he only realizes his mistakes, when the damage was already severe
Thank you so much for your review! I think she should have chosen herself, and went to Paris especially since she realized how much she loves her work. Just ending things with Jae Eon, in a nice way like she did with potato dude. This should have been a lesson of taking love for granted. Instead it sends the message that a man can get a woman to accept all bad behavior because she’s so in love. I watched because of the male lead, he is so gorgeous, but I did not like his character.
I agree as well. I honestly don’t know why I bothered with this series when I hated how she ignored all the red flags. Like I just watched her stupidity in all 10 episodes. I wish she had chosen herself—her growth, etc—instead of starting a relationship.
The ending is realistic though. At their age, it would have been ideal for her to have matured fast — to completely grow out of a certain pattern begins with a pattern (which is where na bi is).
It’s the time when most people just give in to what we think our heart wants at the moment. The series still succeeded in teaching, in the sense that it shows what it’s actually like to overthink so hard and end up giving in easily. I’m glad it did not preach and stayed along the degrees that are relatable and real.
Because come on, not all people learn from just one Jae Eon in their lives.
The webtoon did turn differently but while I applauded Na bi there, I wasn’t sold. Like I said, it’s a bit far out to figure oneself out in that short a phase.
I do understand the points you make but I have two responses to add. first, in the beginning, it was shown that na bi was in a terrible relationship with another manipulative man signaling she has had this issue for a while.second, in dramas, character growth is important, they’re supposed to learn from their mistakes and grow as people. if it was a movie, it would be passable but dramas usually exist to teach lessons or convey messages. saying the ending is realistic makes the entire drama feels redundant so we arrive at the question, what was the purpose of this to begin with?
I SECOND THIS. WELL SAID. THE ENTIRE SERIES LACKS SUBSTANCE THOUGH IT DOES NOT REQUIRE DEPTH.
NA-BI’S CHARACTER WAS DEGRADING AND THE OCCURRENCES DID NOT EVEN GIVE HER A CHANCE TO REDEEM HERSELF EVEN ONCE. NOT SAYING THAT SHE ACTUALLY NEEDS TO FORGET THE Jae Eon’s ENTIRELY JUST TO REDEEM HERSELF. BUT AT LEAST, THERE WERE NO SCENES (EVEN ONCE) THAT NA-BI SHOWS TOUGHNESS.
FROM TIME TO TIME SHE WILL RESIST BUT ONCE SHE REACHES HOME, OR AT THE END OF THE DAY, SHE’S STILL ROMANTICIZING THAT GUY.
I JUST THOUGHT THAT NABI NEVER HAD A CHANCE TO GROW IN ANY GIVEN SCENARIO.
I agreed with Omu.
This is also one of realistic endings and learnable drama. We ourselves did a lot of mistake. Ex; some murderers solve thier problems with others using violence that they learn from parents. Each one has a different background so we cannot judge how bad Jae Eon is, except try to understand why. He chose to love in his way, he got hurts. Mistakes make us wiser and stronger, if we decide to learn from the lessons.
Couples love and fight to understand each other more, then love grows bigger each time, it is a looping.
In the darkest time, Nabi had a flashlight as Jae Eon then she could come out from the deep hole. She could finish her project on May day and shone in the exhibition.
Forgiveness is the simple prize for the guy who sincerely try to fix his error his best, this is acceptable. None never make mistake.
But the title says it all though, NEVERTHELESS❤️
I agree with this article completely and what people have said. She should have chosen herself, she is not in the right headspace for a relationship. She seemed very unsure in all the decisions she made. I still think majority of their relationship is built on lust. They never had any real conversations If she went to Paris and Jae Eon still pursued and liked her I would be convinced that this is love. But then again the ending is a realistic approach as people always settle for what they think they deserve. But kudos to all the actors they played their roles very well.
Everybody seems to justify the ending saying it’s realistic. There is nothing realistic about it. Jae-eon started missing Na-bi after she went and even asked her out, which was extremely out of character. And the drama did not really show us his reasons behind it, and there was no inciting event that led to this behavior. The love triangle was sloppy too. And Na-bi is just bland. She’s the most boring character I have encountered, and Na-bi and Jae-eon were not given enough context. They just seem very bland.
They should have stuck with the webtoon.
Firstly because I dont think the intention was to be provoking, encouraging a realistic outcome. The interesting part is that everyone seems to have a different view of the whole story. It has sparked a lot of debate. It was NOT meant to be the ultimate “happy together forever love story”. The entire story revolved around symbolism and choices young people make, The butterflies he eventually set free when he decided to let Nabi free. The broken sculpture he wanted to help Nabi repair – symbolising the broken pieces of the toxic relationship. Also ending where he doesnt tell the 2 girls who speaks to him that he “has a girlfriend” – he just says that he has plans. If you dont agree that it was realistic you probably have not experienced a guy like him or you always choose the “safe” one. Men like Jae Eon are selective. These men are charming *as shown by Jae Eon’s character and the Women always tend to give men they love “another chance”. This is what happens in real life. Therefore a realistic ending. The lesson is that ultimately she knew what she was getting herself into.. and that left YOU AS THE VIEWER to decide whether she made the right decision. Expecting anything else – defeats the purpose of the story. Wanting it to end as in a lesson of self love or a lesson for young girls was not the purpose. The purpose was to leave the viewer to decide whether she made the right choice or not.
The good guy actually lied to the bad guy and was just opportunistic and overbearing – looking in. The bad guy realized his mistake and took all the blame; and told the girl that he found his true love but she only realized this when she saw his drawing of initial art exhibit; the girl says she will be hurt eventually not as fact but all her statements were said with more effect than fact. Let’s be real, sol said it all, it’s half the battle and a blessing if you’re physically attracted to the other and in this case it was mutual. Enjoy the ending. It was wonderful.
I felt the same disappointment! The toxic relationship was romanticized. Just terrible.
The ending is so disappointing honestly…
They should’ve made into something more of a lesson…Romanticising this type of relationship only brings doom….
My ideal ending was that she realized Do-Hyeok was clearly the one who makes her happy. That got scratched.
A realistic ending was that Jae-Eon moved to America. Maybe Na-Bi moves to Paris. They grow and reconcile from their mistakes and decide to remain distant friends. Scratched again.
I feel like the ending just comes so far out of left field, and all the build-up and growth was scrapped!!
But my personal take on the scene with Na-Bi hesitating with Do-Hyeok was very reflective of how Jae-Eon hesitates when Sol-A was involved.
I felt that this show depicts Jae-Eon heavily as s this two-timing, deceptive, manipulative, possessive player, but we often overlook that Na-Bi was also capable of such actions because we want to empathize with her harsh break-up past.
She chooses to keep Jae-Eon secret when she’s around Do-Hyeok, and he only learns of him by coincidence. Jae-Eon also points out to Na-Bi that she was no different than him.
The circumstances are very different of course, and I justify neither side. But I personally felt her hesitation may have symbolized Na-Bi’s growth to resemble similar characteristics to Jae-Eon, and that she perhaps maintained a relationship secretly with Do-Hyeok, much like Jae-Eon maintained one with Sol-A.
Just my thoughts on the finale, and personally a view of how the drama can be interpreted better than the fatalistic ending that came to fruition.
I don’t know what the ending was trying to convey but I hoped she didn’t end up with anyone. The movie is realistic quiet alright . it’s just telling us that girls like Nabi will always fall for boys like Jea eno and nothing will ever change that,which is so bad. Nabi is also a little bit like jea eno. They both want happiness without being ready to work for it. I regret watching this movie. So many of Wattpad novels is just like this. Thank you for this recap.