"Help me." "Mary Kills People" ended with Lee Bo-young's desperate "scream ending," torn between the desire for assisted death and carrying it out. However, while the weight of the issue remained, the 1% range ratings expressed disappointment.
The 12th episode (final) of the MBC Fri-Sat drama Mary Kills People (written by Lee Soo-ah, directed by Park Jun-woo), which ended on the 12th, showed Woo So-jung (played by Lee Bo-young) and Choi Dae-hyun (played by Kang Ki-young) standing at a crossroads, once again questioning assisted death after the conclusion of the "phenobarbital murder case" three years earlier. Ban Ji-hoon (played by Lee Min-ki), after showing a change in his values regarding assisted death, was thrown into confusion by Woo So-jung's desperate plea for help and delivered a powerful shock.
First, Woo So-jung was working as the director at Maria Welfare Hospital, run by Father Yang (played by Kwon Hae-hyo), and volunteering there, while Choi Dae-hyun, having finished his sentence, was released and returned to the welfare hospital. Ban Ji-hoon, who closed the investigation into the "phenobarbital murder case," continued a delicate relationship with Woo So-jung as a donor supporting Maria Welfare Hospital.
Then Woo So-jung was troubled as she watched conflicts between cancer patient Kim Sun-joo (played by Kim Young-ok), suffering extreme pain from metastasis, and her daughter Young-eun (played by Kim Guk-hee). Kim Sun-joo and Young-eun, who had a special bond from caring for Ban Ji-hoon in his childhood, clashed sharply: the mother saying she no longer wanted to endure painful treatment, and the daughter, burdened by debt, wanting to give her mother better treatment.
Finally, when Kim Sun-joo said, "I don't want to receive things like treatment. I want to leave after looking at your face as much as possible," Young-eun decided to spend her mother's last moments happily, but suddenly Kim Sun-joo's dementia progressed and she asked Ban Ji-hoon for euthanasia, saying, "I'm in so much pain I want to stop living." Learning her mother's true feelings, daughter Young-eun asked Woo So-jung for Kim Sun-joo's assisted death, but while pushing her mother, who had lost her memory and was standing in the middle of the road, she was struck by a car and died instead.
After her daughter's death, a distraught Kim Sun-joo, in a brief lucid moment from dementia, again asked Woo So-jung for assisted death, and Ban Ji-hoon also revealed his wavering values, saying, "I used to think for any reason you should never give up life yourself. I hope she will be more comfortable." At that time, Koo Hye-rim (played by Kwak Sun-young) visited Woo So-jung, again proposing a business and leaving phenobarbital as a gift, and she gave a crazed smile to the imprisoned Dae-hyun drinking alone, asking him to kill her healthy husband as well.
Finally, when Ban Ji-hoon called out the name of Woo So-jung, who was standing by Kim Sun-joo's bed, Woo So-jung, holding phenobarbital in one hand, let out a desperate voice saying, "Help me," unfolding a "yearning scream ending" that left a heavy aftertaste.
However, unlike the first broadcast rating of 3.2%, Mary Kills People showed disappointing ratings that fell by 2 percentage points to 1.2% in the finale. In particular, contrary to its broad messages, it failed to quench viewers' thirst as the latter half progressed. The work's seeming inability to define a perspective on "assisted death" left an unsolvable assignment.
Still, it left its own message. Because it raised the social issue of human rights and dignity and assisted death. Here is a summary of what "Mary Kills People" left behind.
# human life and death, fundamental philosophical questions
Mary Kills People directly addressed the topic of assisted death through the story of a doctor who helps terminal patients die and the detective who tracks them, prompting timely questions needed in our era. The empathetic tales of terminal patients choosing their final moments amid extreme pain and the families wanting to ease their suffering reminded viewers of "death," the final moment everyone will one day face. In particular, conflicts of perspective and opinion over assisted death as "murder or salvation" prompted a reexamination of human dignity and the value of life. The weighty questions about life and death that ran through Mary Kills People instead awakened consideration of "what kind of life to live," delivering sincere meaning rarely seen in typical dramas.
# Lee Bo-young, Lee Min-ki, Kang Ki-young, successful dramatic transformations
Lee Bo-young, Lee Min-ki and Kang Ki-young proved perfect character embodiment through dramatic transformations unlike any they had shown before. Lee Bo-young vividly portrayed the complex inner life of Woo So-jung, a unique character torn between a calling to save patients and a belief in respecting a suffering patient's final choice. Lee Min-ki excelled in pace and control, portraying both detective Ban Ji-hoon's instinctive investigative ability and firm, upright resolve, and the terminal patient Jo Hyun-woo, who attempted undercover infiltration. Kang Ki-young maximized human charm in his portrayal of Choi Dae-hyun, a devoted supporter of Woo So-jung, showing warmth toward patients and a firm will regarding assisted death. Lee Bo-young, Lee Min-ki and Kang Ki-young challenged new genres and characters and delivered all-out performances, earning praise such as "new career roles! They made the characters shine."
# combination of genre appeal and social discourse
Mary Kills People delved head-on into the weighty, heavy topic of assisted death, something rarely attempted in existing dramas, providing a special appeal. By blending assisted death into suspense, it created heart-pounding tension and unpredictable anticipation, birthing a new genre that stimulates both social discourse and genre interest. Director Park Jun-woo displayed delicate direction that highlighted character play, from Woo So-jung and Choi Dae-hyun attempting assisted death, to pursuing detective Ban Ji-hoon, drug dealer Goo Gwang-chul (played by Baek Hyun-jin), and traitor within the police An Tae-seong (played by Kim Tae-woo). Writer Lee Soo-ah appropriately captured the weight of real-life everydayness and social issues in everything from weighty lines to tightly constructed narrative.
The production team said, "In Mary Kills People, through the weighty issue of assisted death and the last choices of patients suffering extreme pain, we ultimately wanted to leave the question, 'What kind of life will we live?'" and added, "All the actors and production staff went through a demanding process of deep thought and reflection while filming Mary Kills People, which makes it particularly meaningful. We hope it has become a drama that gives viewers a new resonance."
[photo] OSEN DB, provided by MBC.
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