Critics and viewers alike noted several key aspects of the finale:
It is revealed that Woo-jae was unintentionally killed by Hee-joo’s daughter, Li-sa, during a violent altercation where he was strangling Hee-joo. Reflection of You - Season 1Eps16
The final episode of Reflection of You (Season 1, Episode 16) delivers a haunting and polarizing conclusion to a story centered on the destructive nature of desire and revenge. This finale departs from typical melodrama tropes, offering a bleak, "human" resolution rather than a traditional happy ending. Critics and viewers alike noted several key aspects
The finale resolves the high-stakes tension between the two leads, Jeong Hee-joo and Gu Hae-won: The finale resolves the high-stakes tension between the
To protect her daughter from the legal and psychological consequences of the killing, Hee-joo stages a disappearance. She leaks photos of her and Woo-jae together, making it appear as though they ran away to Ireland, thus taking the blame for the "scandal" and leaving her family behind.
Years later, Hae-won—who was stabbed by Lee Ju-yeong’s father but survived—finally finds success as the artist she always wanted to be. Meanwhile, Hee-joo lives a life of quiet penance, working as a nurse in an unspecified location, watching her family’s happiness from afar through social media. Critical Review: Strengths and Weaknesses