"Walking On Thin Ice" concluded its run with a well-made ending that left a deep impression until the last moment.
In the finale of the KBS2 weekend miniseries "Walking On Thin Ice" aired on the 26th (written by Jeon Young-shin, directed by Song Hyun-wook, produced by Baram Pictures·Slingshot Studio), Kang Eun-su (Lee Young-ae) and Lee Kyung (Kim Young-kwang) paid for all their sins and returned to daily life but once again faced a crossroads of choices and conflicts. Jang Tae-gu (Park Yong-woo) and Kang Hwi-rim (Do Sang-woo) met tragic ends after a mad dash, delivering a retributive conclusion.
According to ratings firm Nielsen Korea, the finale recorded a nationwide household rating of 5.0%, proving the staying power of the well-made human thriller until the end. In particular, the scene in which Eun-su, having paid for her sins, flushed the remaining pills down the toilet recorded a peak minute rating of 6.2%, drawing strong viewer response and bringing the six-week journey to a close.
Park Do-jin (Bae Soo-bin) took a bullet meant for Tae-gu and died protecting Eun-su. Tae-gu aimed at Eun-su again, but the gun failed when the bullets ran out, and he disappeared after saying, "From now on, living will be hell. Like me." After Do-jin's funeral, Eun-su was ultimately taken into custody and brought before the law.
Meanwhile, during police questioning, Lee Kyung took responsibility for all the crimes himself. He said, "I was the one who first proposed the drug transaction," trying to protect Eun-su, but Kyung-do (Kwon Ji-woo), having seen through Lee Kyung's false testimony, requested cooperation to capture Tae-gu.
Tae-gu, who was publicly wanted, became the target of a manhunt on charges of killing a fellow officer and fleeing. Nursing his injuries, he hid in a safe house and prepared to flee with the money and drugs he had taken from Eun-su, lingering around his son's school. But after watching Eun-su's video letter claiming he had kidnapped his son, Tae-gu, consumed by madness, headed to where Eun-su was.
Caught in a trap, Tae-gu fled with Eun-su as a hostage despite being surrounded by police, causing a collision and ultimately spiraling into catastrophe. Losing consciousness, Tae-gu was hit by a bullet fired by Kyung-do and plunged into the river, disappearing; a year later his skeletal remains were found, marking the end of the tragedy.
Eun-su served her sentence in prison. Writing letters every day to her unresponsive daughter as she reflected on the past, she was released a year later. Visiting Kyung, who was incarcerated, Eun-su wiped at her eyes and asked, "Don't you regret it? There were things you had to do." Kyung smiled calmly and said, "I wanted once, at least, to do something for you without calculating it."
Kyung brought down the Kang Hwi-rim family with meticulously compiled evidence. After a massive financial disaster that led to a stock plunge and collapse of control, Hwi-rim was arrested by the police, receiving a retributive ending. Eun-su, who had been supporting herself with cleaning part-time jobs, learned of Kyung's successful revenge through the news. Shortly after, Kyung visited Eun-su and handed over a Boston bag containing the money remaining after selling stocks, saying, "Thanks to you, I was able to carry out the plan. If there's anything I can do, I'll help." Eun-su held back tears and said, "I shouldn't have even started, but I'm glad the person who joined me was you. I hope you live well," and the two exchanged final goodbyes, wishing each other's happiness.
While sorting through her moving boxes, Eun-su learned of the discovery of Tae-gu's skeletal remains and let out a brief smile. In particular, Eun-su's narration, "Gretel shoved the witch into the oven. But were they really okay?" sustained taut tension to the end and deepened the play's lingering effect. Eun-su also found the pills she had hidden in her blanket and fell into deep contemplation once more.
Although Kyung, having completed his revenge, returned to his family's embrace, peace did not last long. It was revealed that his father had known 10 years earlier that Kyung had been falsely accused yet settled with the Kang Hwi-rim family. Hearing his father's words, "We can't let our family fall apart because of you," Kyung was engulfed in deep despair and betrayal.
At the end of the broadcast, scenes alternated between Kyung letting go of the last pill in his pocket and Eun-su flushing the remaining pills down the toilet with a subtle smile. Eun-su's final line, "Can a person who has crossed the line once refrain from crossing it again when faced with the same situation?" posed a moral dilemma and left viewers with a lasting impression about human instinct caught in moral quandaries.
"Walking On Thin Ice" sounded a social alarm through the tragedy caused by the dangers of drugs and humans' endless desire, concluding with a well-made ending that left deep questions for reflection. Depicting spectacularly how the fates of Eun-su, Kyung and Tae-gu became entwined and fell into a cycle of tragedy amid each person's desire to protect their family, the drama deeply explored the moral dilemmas within the human psyche. The seasoned performances of Lee Young-ae, Kim Young-kwang and Park Yong-woo shone, and Song Hyun-wook's stylish direction and Jeon Young-shin's meticulous writing combined to overwhelm viewers with breath-taking twists and a weighty message until the end.
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